Gryphon dynasty
Natalie Yacobson
Fiona followed the unusual golden eagle into the mountains and witnessed a witchcraft ritual in which a whole company of beautiful werewolf princes took part. All would be well, were it not for the appearance of a powerful rival, the Griffin Queen, and the curse of the sea witch, which lies on all the princes. Each of the brides of their dynasty will become a victim unless she herself turns into a griffin.
Gryphon dynasty
Natalie Yacobson
Translator Natalia Lilienthal
© Natalie Yacobson, 2022
© Natalia Lilienthal, translation, 2022
ISBNВ 978-5-0059-2672-2
Created with Ridero smart publishing system
What curiosity leadsВ to?
Fiona went after an unusual bird and greatly regretted it. The golden-haired gyrfalcon led her high into the mountains. Her dress was torn and her arms and legs scratched, and the bird was now climbing aВ little higher, then he zigzagging, as if toВ taunt her and lead as far away from crowded places as possible. If she had not found that ill-fated feather on the road, she would not have noticed the gyrfalcon. AВ chain ofВ ridiculous events coupled with curiosity could lead her into aВ trap.
Fiona looked back. The height she had climbed was dizzying. The carriage that had passed down the road looked no bigger than aВ grain ofВ sand. And the gyrfalcon flew even higher. It was pure suicide toВ follow it, but it was scary toВ go back down as well. The soles ofВ her shoes were slipping on the mountain trail.
AВ little higher up there was aВ gaping hole inВ the cave, and voices were heard from there. Could it be that there were people alive up there? Lost wretches like her? The gyrfalcon flashed its golden plumage inВ the sun and disappeared into the opening ofВ the cave. It had been foolish toВ follow it from the start, but when she saw the glittering golden bird, she decided it was aВ sign from heaven.
There were hums and mysterious chants coming from the cave. Fiona listened:
В«One who calls toВ us?
Who sleeps, who waitsВ for?
The master ofВ the world is coming,
InВ aВ century or this year,
Show yourself to us, among the deserts…»
The winds have brought and confounded the sounds. It’s a hymn of sorts! It sang of the sands and the glittering deity, but there were only mountains and road dust beneath. Still, Fiona went, and then even climbed forward. The words of the hymn were both frightening and intriguing. The monotonous hum struck with mystery, and the golden gyrfalcon, which flew into the cave’s yawn, was very much to be seen again.
«Have you fallen in love with him?» Fiona scolded herself harshly. «He’s just a bird, and you’re dreaming of him like a bride dreams of her fiancé. Go and get him! He has wings and you haven’t. Fool!»
Talking to herself had been her favorite pastime since she’d been without a family. But she might as well talk to these mountains. They would not answer. The hum coming from the cave should not be considered a response to the wails that escaped her lips.
She almost fell down. To fall was to crash to her death. Fiona’s heart pounded fast and frightened. Her disheveled reddish hair made it difficult to see properly.
She had toВ crawl back toВ the cave. Pity there was nothing toВ hold on to, and she had no rope or cord. Fiona had already managed toВ find aВ small ledge, leaned on it and pulled up. Now she could see into the cave, which hovered at an enormous height.
Inside, aВ fire was blazing. Who would think ofВ stoking it inВ the warm season? The fire was strange. It glowed blue, then purple, then turned golden yellow. It must have been aВ play ofВ light and shadows. No warmth came from the flames. Several big proud birds sat silently around the fire, but no people were visible inВ the cave. Then who was singing?
Fiona made aВ last desperate effort, pulled up and climbed into the cave. It was cool and gloomy inside. Sparks from the fire sprinkled, but many ofВ the objects around the fire were still unlit.
Fiona shuddered when bones and skulls crunched under her foot. There appeared to be many in the cave, and they all looked human. Don’t panic yet! It was the chanting that had startled her, and dead skeletons could not sing, as she knew. A flock of beautiful, majestic eagles had gathered around the fire. They sat around so rankly, as if they possessed royal manners. Wasn’t she dreaming about all this? No, the scratches and abrasions on her hands were real. The pain pinches the skin that has been peeled off. It doesn’t hurt in dreams. And in reality, there are no such big eagles who behave like well-mannered men of high society. Besides, one eagle has something like a miniature crown glittering in its head. It’s probably some kind of speck that only looks like a crown from a distance.
The whole golden eagle was not toВ be seen among them. Only the largest bird had aВ few tail feathers ofВ gold.
В«Who are you?В»
Fiona turned at the voice behindВ her.
«We didn’t call you!» The handsome young man, a blond boy, was assessing her with an arrogant look. «We could not have been summoned by a puny country girl who was not a deity.»
«Who are we?» He was the only one Fiona could see before her, and she wondered how he had managed to get up here without bleeding like she had. Not a scratch on him. The blond man was dressed like an aristocrat, in a sumptuous blue camisole with lace cuffs woven with images of griffins. He put his jeweled ringed hands on Fiona’s face.
В«She is beautiful and gentle! She would be good for breakfast.В»
«Condor, leave her alone!» A man’s voice came from the fire. «Come with us! We can’t complete the circle without you.»
Fiona rubbed her eyes in amazement. How she hadn’t noticed at once that there were boys bent over the fire. It was a whole circle of thirteen boys. Where were the birds? One feather was burning in the fire, and the action around the fire itself resembled some kind of witchcraft.
В«We have aВ guest!В» The tallest ofВ the lads opened the circle. В«Come toВ get warm? Or have you flownВ in?В»
Is he joking? Fiona tensed. Barely had the boys’ hands parted as the flames went out. The cave was immediately brighter without the fire. Daylight penetrated the narrow manhole. It was as if the fire was blocking the light rather than creating it.
В«Let her go!В» Condor muttered dryly.
В«Let her stay,В» protested the lad, who was aВ head taller than the others. He was the man inВ charge.
В«IВ am Orvel,В» he said, В«and these are my brothers, Leroy, Tarth, Otton, Lestan, Archibald, Vernon, Hawthorne, Seyn, Warwick, Terence, Simon, Wern, and Condor.
The last name was as if it were superfluous. Orvel almost forgot about him. The handsome blond twisted unhappily when he heard his name.
«And I’m Fiona,» she called timidly. Orvel’s anthracite eyes hypnotized her.
В«Send her away!В» Condor insisted.
«Can’t you see? She is one of ours.»
В«She is the girl from the village!В»
Orvel beckoned him toВ be quiet.
So they are all brothers? They really do look a lot like each other. Fiona considered them. They were all beautiful, all with dark silky hair and piercing blue eyes. It seemed to be a color commonly called violet, even though it was a poetic comparison. And Fiona was no good at poetry, but she would have liked to compose madrigals in honor of such handsome men. How pale they all were! Not a blood in their faces. Orvel had eagle-like features. The golden-haired one here was Condor. So he’s their brother too? You couldn’t tell by his looks.
«You’re not from the village,» Orvel determined.
«It is true. I’m from the mill, which is in the countryside.»
But he shook his head in the negative as well. His predatory gaze slid over her figure. Fiona immediately felt ashamed of her plain burgundy dress with lace-up front. Only maids wore it. All her new acquaintances, on the other hand, were dressed like princes. She, on the other hand, wore no bows or jewelry. The only gorgeous thing about her was her wavy red hair, which reached to her waist. It’s more orange than red, so she’d be lost in the fall foliage if she were fleeing from a flock of eagles. But now it was summer in the woods. Among the green trees, her bright hair was easy to see from on high.
Why did such thoughts pop into her head? Fiona wondered toВ herself. The fear that she was about toВ have toВ flee from aВ flock ofВ birds ofВ prey appeared suddenly and was getting stronger and stronger. Unreasonable fears had never plagued her before.
Could it be that witchcraft was indeed practiced here? Fiona had heard from gossip mongers that when village witches witchcraft on people, the victims began to suffer inexplicable fear. But she’d never heard of rich aristocrats being able to do black witchcraft at the cauldron like hillbillies.
«Would you like to join us?» Orvel nodded at the circle of skulls laid out around the already extinguished fire. «We were just waiting for someone to be the last one to show up, and here you are. It’s a sign! You have to close the circle. Condor is of no use.»
The blond boy gave a grudging snort, and regarded Fiona as if she were an annoying beggar who should have been expelled from decent society long ago. The girl clenched her fists in frustration. Well, why exactly the most handsome guy turned out to be such a nuisance! If only he had had a good character! Then she wouldn’t have been able to get away from him.
But it was Orvel, not Condor, who was the most courteous. For some reason Fiona didn’t like Orvel at all. Perhaps it was his predatory gaze. His dark eyes seemed to drain all her energy. Only to spite Condor, she nodded eagerly.
«I’m ready to join you.»
Orvel rejoiced. She hoped he wouldn’t get her involved in any adventures. She’d already taken a perilous journey chasing a bird. She didn’t have the energy for another adventure.
«I knew you were sent from on high,» Orvel took her hand and scratched it lightly. His nails are sharp, aren’t they? For some reason the color was black.
В«Get ready for round two,В» he turned toВ his brothers. В«We have one more try.В»
She wondered what he meant by that. His brothers immediately flinched. Fiona noticed, as they parted, that in the center of the skull circle, besides the fire, there was a carcass that had been butchered. Was it a doe? Or was it a deer? The carcass had been skinned. You can’t tell by eye now. Orvel took her closer, and Fiona shuddered. It’s the skinned carcass of a woman.
«Yes, don’t be so frightened!» Orvel acted as if she were imagining it. «You’re trembling! Calm down! Otherwise it won’t work. Do you like to dance? All the village girls love to dance at village parties. Let’s all take turns leading you in the dance.»
«Except for me,» said Condor, stepping to the edge of the cave as if he were going to jump down and fly. He’s got a lot of nerve! Or maybe he dislikes her so much that he’d kill himself not to dance with her.
The cave was no ballroom, but it would do for emergencies. Orvel led her inВ the dance first, then Leroy, then Tarth, and so everyone took turns doing aВ circular pas with her, passing her from hand toВ hand.
«That’s the one!» Orvel looked at her with delight. «It was like she was made for all of us, not just one of us. And her hair is like a flame. We don’t have to test her anymore. She was definitely sent to us.»
For aВ moment Fiona thought the circle ofВ gentlemen beside her was aВ circle ofВ eagles. They moved their wings and wanted toВ peck. But instead ofВ pain she felt fresh kisses on her lips.
A large bird circled at the entrance to the cave, but Fiona didn’t care anymore. Suddenly a woman’s voice called out to all the brothers.
«Who is she?» There was a lady standing on the threshold of the cave, not a large bird. That’s too bad, Fiona sighed. The bird could be chased away, and the lady had a capricious and self-assured look.
«Your timing is bad, Ornella. We’re busy.»
Orwell said that. The other brothers frowned. Only Condor obediently stepped aside, letting Ornella go ahead. Is he inВ love with her? He looks just like aВ lover!
The lady is more elegant than beautiful. She has the same griffin embroidered inВ silver thread on her splendid corsage as all her brothers wear.
В«She is superfluous,В» Ornella looked down at Fiona. В«Let her go where she came from.В»
«Let her stay,» Orwell put his arm around her waist. Fiona flinched. He had eagle claws on his hands. He’d hurt her a little. Maybe he didn’t mean to, but living with a bird’s claws instead of nails meant being a predator against his will.
В«If she does not leave, IВ will tear her toВ pieces!В»
The arrogant lady was not joking. Somehow all her boyfriends were wary of her, or they were just fawning over her from the fact that they admired her. Fiona already knew that for young guys the most important thing is the girl they are in love with. But they didn’t all fall in love with her right away, did they? What was so special about her? Did she come here on a date with them or to perform a witchcraft rite?
Whoa! The circle might not be witchcraft. The skulls might have been left inВ the cave byВ savages, the feathers byВ real birds, and the noble gentlemen here are just havingВ fun.
Fiona did not want toВ become their next amusement.
She would not leave, and the lady offered, taking off her black scarf. She didn’t seem to be wearing it a minute ago, but she couldn’t have pulled it right out of nowhere.
«Let’s play pinch-hit!»
The boys went pale all at once.
«You don’t want to, do you?»
