By the time night fell Alex was seriously concerned that Balthazar hadn’t shown up to rescue her. Maybe he didn’t know where she was. They had flown pretty far from where Shirdal had taken her. It was possible that he just wouldn’t be able to find her. She wondered how long he would look for her before he gave up.
“It is better that he not come,” Shirdal said, sensing her distress and attempting to soothe Alex. “He would only die in vain.”
Alex could still hear the worry behind the griffin’s words, even though he tried to hide it. He had been fretting about Balthazar’s arrival since he found out who exactly he was, but none of that really mattered to Alex. All she could think about was that he hadn’t come for her, and her stomach sank to her knees at the thought that he wasn’t going to come.
“But he promised me,” Alexandra’s eyes were downcast as she spoke. “He promised that he’d protect me.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Shirdal said, sincerity shining in his eyes, “but it’s best you learn that you cannot trust the word of a demon.”
“I just...” Alex shook her head. She didn’t want to believe that he had chosen not to come for her. She wanted to believe that he had tried and he just wasn’t able to find her.
Although she wanted to be rescued, her initial opinion of Shirdal had changed greatly. Yes, he had technically kidnapped her, but that really wasn’t the way the griffin looked at it. He couldn’t help the need he had to collect precious and valuable things anymore than she could help the attraction she had for Balthazar. Shirdal had welcomed her into his home and he had been nothing but kind to her. She didn’t want to steal away one of his eggs now.
“Are you hungry?” Shirdal asked, sitting up suddenly on his hind legs. Alex could see the desire to cheer her up in his eyes. She hadn’t eaten all day, but she didn’t have an appetite now. She just shook her head.
“It really is for the best,” Shirdal said, huffing out a sigh and settling back down. “You’ll like it here. I will make sure of that. Something the demon could never do for you.”
Alex let out a heavy sigh and stretched out on the cold floor of the cave. She closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would come and take her away, but it didn’t. The gnawing thought that Balthazar had abandoned her to the griffins ate away at her. She turned over, trying to get comfortable. The griffin mates had fallen fast asleep and past them Alex could see the stars twinkling in the sky outside.
Suddenly the statuesque form of Balthazar blocked out the moonlight that filtered into the cave. His right hand gripped the woven branch rope that had taken him most of the day to make. His left hand held a bag that undulated gently and had taken him the rest of the day to put together. Alexandra’s heart leapt into her throat at the sight of him and she sat up.
Her brows drew together when she realized he wasn’t coming any further into the cave. He was just standing at the entrance, staring at her. She stood up on shaky legs and picked her way around the sleeping griffins.
Balthazar stood at the entrance, watching Alexandra, waiting for what he knew she was going to do. He had precious little time with the girl, but one thing he had learned to count on was her ability to get into trouble. He didn’t have to wait long for her clumsiness to manifest itself. She stumbled on a rock and fell to the ground, a grunt escaping her lips. Shirdal’s feathered head popped up and his eyes snapped open. Balthazar dropped the bag he was holding and a writhing mass of serpents slid out and began to make their way across the cave floor.
Shirdal and his mate immediately reared away from the serpents. A single bite from the creatures had the ability to mortally wound them. It was their one major weakness and a secret they tried hard to hide, but Balthazar hadn’t come into this unprepared. He had gathered as much information about griffins as he could before he had left the palace with Alexandra.
Shirdal picked at the snakes with his massive beak in an attempt to protect his mate while Alex scrambled to her feet and made a dash towards Balthazar. Shirdal caught her with his tail, tossing her back against the treasure horde at the back of the cave. His mate went for Balthazar, leaving three surprisingly small, blue green eggs exposed.
Balthazar slid under the she griffin and made a grab for an egg. A growl ripped through the cave as the female griffin’s talons dug into Balthazar’s back and he was thrown against the stonewall of the cave. The egg fell from his hand, rolled across the floor of the cave and came to a stop just between Alex and Shirdal. The female griffin returned to her nest and shielded the remaining eggs with her body as she shrieked wildly. Her black eyes darted around the cave, watching the chaos unfold.
Shirdal’s concentration was split between saving the egg, keeping his newest treasure, and the deadly serpents that now littered the cave floor. He didn’t have time to react when Balthazar used his speed to appear right before him. He tossed the open end of his rope around Shirdal’s neck. The beast pulled away, and clawed at Balthazar. He caught him in the torso with the tip of his fore talon and tore open the almost healed wound from the fight with Baal. Balthazar growled in pain, but did not let go of the rope. His head snapped back to Alexandra as he wrestled with the rope that was wrapped around Shirdal’s neck.
“Grab the egg,” Balthazar growled out.
“No,” Alex screamed at him, “I’m not going to steal his egg. It’s not right.”
“Girl,” Balthazar shouted. The whites of his eyes flashed red as he fought to maintain his hold on the griffin. Alex was taken back by the sudden shift. She had never seen his eyes do that before, but she quickly recovered.
“My name is Alexandra, not girl,” she said, her jaw setting as she crossed her arms, “and I’m not stealing his egg.”
Shirdal snapped his head around and he reared back. He overpowered Balthazar and kicked him to the front of the cave. He landed against the rocky surface with a heavy grunt and barred his fangs at the griffin before he rushed him again. This time he changed direction before he reached him and snatched Alex up into his arms. She felt a nauseating tug on her body as they suddenly appeared at the entrance of the cave.
“I won’t allow you to be harmed, OK?” Balthazar said softly as he looked down at her.
Alex didn’t have time to fully comprehend what he was saying before her body was jerked violently away from him. As she felt herself falling through the air, the realization hit that Balthazar had just thrown her off the cliff. The air was forced from her lungs in a panicked yelp, and Alex clamped her eyes shut as her body tensed for impact.
She felt another sharp jerk as the griffin’s paw wrapped around her just before she hit the ground. He circled around, landing on the ground at the bottom of the cliffs. Balthazar landed in front of Shirdal and Alex, making a small crater from the impact of his jump down from the height of the cave.
“Give me the human, and I’ll leave you and your mate be,” Balthazar said, straightening. His body shook from his exertion and he was panting heavily. Shirdal reared his head back and fluffed his feathers out as he snapped at Balthazar with his powerful beak.
“You don’t want to leave your mate alone with a cave full of serpents,” Balthazar said, sensing the griffin’s hesitation at giving back his newest acquisition. “She can’t fight them off by herself.”
“This isn’t over, demon,” Shirdal shrieked, his talons digging into the ground for leverage before he lifted into the air. A strong rush of wind beat down from his massive wings as he flew back up to his cave.
Alexandra felt her body being jerked again and a hot wave of nausea washed over her. When her eyes focused, she realized that she was alone with Balthazar in the middle of a forest. He was covered with blood and he collapsed under the weight of his injuries.
“Balthazar,” Alexandra gasped as she tried unsuccessfully to keep him from falling. She looked over his ripped torso and her face contorted in concern. “There’s so much blood.”
“I’ll be alright,” Balthazar said, trying to push her worrying hands off him. His efforts were surpri
singly weak and Alex became even more worried.
Balthazar watched as Alex fretted over his wounds and he wanted to laugh. She looked so afraid, as if he had been mortally wounded. Granted, he was injured and exhausted from so much exertion of power, but he would heal in a very short amount of time. It was touching though how concerned she was for him.
“There’s so much blood,” Alex said again, her eyes welling up with tears, “and these scratches are so deep.”
Her hands probed the slices that the griffin’s talons had left in Balthazar’s chest. He winced as she hit a particularly sore spot. Alex sniffled, trying to hold back her tears. She didn’t know what to do. He looked like he was bleeding out.
“I’ll be fine, girl,” Balthazar said, grabbing her wrists gently and pulling her hands away from his injuries. “I would be better if you had listened to me and grabbed the egg.”
“Well I’m glad I didn’t,” Alex said, pulling her hands away from his grasp. “We shouldn’t be stealing their eggs anyway. It’s not right.”
“Even if it’s the only way to return to your home?” Balthazar asked. He scooted up a little so that he could rest his back against the trunk of a tree.
“We can find another way,” Alex said, looking up at the demon with determination set in her green eyes. She bit at her lip as she once again looked over his wounds.
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I grabbed the egg,” Balthazar scoffed, reaching into the pouch that was attached to his belt and pulling out a shiny blue green egg.
“No,” Alex said, her voice rising angrily. She stood up and paced in front of Balthazar. “He may have kidnapped me, but that’s nothing worse than what you did. He doesn’t deserve to have his eggs stolen.”
“I kidnapped you?” Balthazar asked, his eyebrow cocked as his voice hardened. “Funny, I thought we found you unconscious and alone. Perhaps my brother should have just left you there to fend for yourself?”
“Whatever,” Alex huffed. She folded her arms over her chest and looked away. She didn’t want to fight with him right now. He had a good point, but she wasn’t about to tell him that right now. She was just mad at him for stealing the egg.
“You’re a naïve creature,” Balthazar said, grunting as he shifted against the tree.
“I am not,” Alex shot back, her bottom lip pushed out as she pointed a finger at him, “and Shirdal warned me about you, about all you demons.”
“I’m sure he did,” Balthazar said, “We try to kill the damn creatures whenever we can.”
“Why?” Alex gasped, mortified at the frankness of his words. “Why would you do such a thing? He’s a kind creature and you’re no better than him.”
“Didn’t you wonder were all his treasures came from?” Balthazar asked. “They’re stolen. Mostly from my people.”
“Well that still doesn’t give you the right to steal his eggs,” Alex said. “And it especially doesn’t give you a reason to kill him.”
“Griffins feed off the flesh of our children,” Balthazar said icily as he narrowed his eyes at her. “That gives me a reason.”
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