Why did such thoughts pop into her head? Fiona wondered to herself. The fear that she was about to have to flee from a flock of birds of 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.
«Get ready for round two,» he turned to his brothers. «We have one more try.»
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 in the dance first, then Leroy, then Tarth, and so everyone took turns doing a circular pas with her, passing her from hand to 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 a moment Fiona thought the circle of gentlemen beside her was a circle of eagles. They moved their wings and wanted to peck. But instead of 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 in love with her? He looks just like a lover!
The lady is more elegant than beautiful. She has the same griffin embroidered in silver thread on her splendid corsage as all her brothers wear.
«She is superfluous,» Ornella looked down at Fiona. «Let her go where she came from.»
«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.
«If she does not leave, I will tear her to pieces!»
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 in the cave by savages, the feathers by real birds, and the noble gentlemen here are just having fun.
Fiona did not want to 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?»
«She wants to be with us, so she has to share our games.»
She blindfolded Fiona, scratching her cheek lightly with her claw.
«Let’s start a regular game, and then a game of steel! If you don’t catch us, you’ll be sorry. No more than a minute to catch each one.»
Unusual game! A minute passed, and Fiona was scratched with a claw so that she screamed.
«Courage!» is the woman’s voice, but it is no longer her hand, but the wing of a huge bird. It is running across her elbows, and at the end of it is a claw! There is pain again! Fiona screamed at the top of her voice. She tried to remove the bandage, but it was as if it were glued to her eyelids. She couldn’t see anything under it. There was a reason it was black! It stuck to her skin like Velcro!»
«Stop it!» Fiona shouted, but the attacks didn’t stop. Someone was laughing in a corner in the distance. Something was being moved across the floor, obviously skulls. Then there was the crunch of bones breaking. Someone had stepped on the skulls on purpose. She tripped over one of them and almost fell.
Nearby, birds’ wings flapped, voices echoed in the distance. Where did people go when there were birds all around? There was a whole flock, and they were scratching at her with their claws.
«Stop it!» It was the Condor’s voice. He tore the blindfold off Fiona’s face. Birds were circling him. One wing hovered over his shoulder, hiding his arm. Or was it his arm that had become a wing? Fiona backed away from him, seeing his eyes redden.
«Run for your life!» He advised her hoarsely.
She ran as fast as she could, knowing that she would never have another chance to escape. But there was no escape. At the exit she slipped, fell, and rolled down the stones. Her dress caught on something and kept her from falling for a long time. Fiona had expected a sharp bough or rocky ledge to have pierced her skirt, but it was the claws of a large bird. It was a gryphon! Fiona had never seen a real live gryphon in her life. It was only on a tapestry. But this gryphon was agile and alive. And it looked at her like a victim. One second its red eyes studied her with long gaze, and then suddenly its claws gripped her narrow waist and took off with the victim into free flight. The land and mountains remained far below. Fiona realized that there was no use in lashing out now. The gryphon soared so high that the surrounding world disappeared behind the clouds.
Dead Witnesses
She was looking for an unusual bird, and so she found it. The gryphon carried it in its talons like a toy. The feathers on the tips of its wings whipped across its face, and it was bright golden. So this was the bird she had naively pursued. She should have tempered her curiosity. Then she wouldn’t be dangling in the bird’s claws now, like a dolt. They were stuck somewhere between the celestial spheres and the tops of the snowy mountains. It was at the level of the pinnacle clouds.
It was cold and scary. It was as if gryphon had figured he had every right to her, for she was the one who had first started chasing him. She was mistaken! What could he do? If he’d known her to speak human, she’d have apologized. There they would have parted ways. But a gryphon didn’t know human speech. It was useless to ask him to go down and let her go free, so Fiona cried and kept silent.
You have played the game! Curious fool! Goes looking for an adventure on her head! She had her eye on a golden bird! It would have been better to find a dragon’s treasure. A bird of prey doesn’t have golden feathers. And they’re hardly made of pure gold. It is just the color of gold. Fiona scolded herself. She should have been more circumspect.
Ornella’s annoyed cries came from somewhere downstairs. She was not happy to have a toy taken away from her. Fiona was tired of feeling like a toy. Now it was scrapes and scratches, now it was flying in a bird’s claw! It’s an outrage! And the annoying shouts of the arrogant lady are cutting to the ear. How can she even hear the voices of people left far below? Not even the mountain tops can be seen anymore. They have disappeared below under the clouds.
The gryphon hugged her tighter. He was agitated for some reason and even looked back. Fiona screamed now. Its sharp claws pierced the fabric of her dress and then sank into her skin. Somewhere behind her there was a sound. It was an overhead echo that picked up her cries. No, there is no echo in the clouds! Someone was flying behind them. Fiona tried to look back. There were many griffins there. A whole flock! They are catching up.
The gryphon carrying her stirred and flew faster than the wind. Had he decided to take her only for himself, without sharing her with the others? Is she his dinner? What else would a large bird of prey need her for?
The flapping of wings behind him grew louder and louder. There was no escape now. One gryphon had already separated from the flock and was gaining on them. Fiona was frightened. If they fought over their prey right in the air, she would not escape the fall and death. She suddenly realized that her greatest fear was to crash to her death. Once she and a friend were taking sacks of flour to a feudal castle, and she saw a noblewoman there who killed herself by throwing herself from the castle wall. Everyone said she had been driven mad by a coastal witch who had wandered into the castle, but that was not what struck Fiona, but the condition of the fancy-dressed body, which had turned into a bloody puddle. Bundles of feathers protruded from the torn flesh. So the griffin feathers tickling her cheeks at the moment reminded her involuntarily of the shock she had experienced in the past. Was it a bad omen that she would end up like the lady who smashed her forehead on the blocks beneath the fortress wall?
Now the two griffins would collide in the sky, and there would be no fighting. But the griffin carrying her suddenly released one claw and golden lightning flashed through the clouds. The bird that had been chasing her screamed in frustration. The lightning struck it and ignited the plumage on its chest. The flock behind it also let out agitated shrieks. The lightning must have struck them, too.
Fiona suspected something. The lightning was as golden as the gryphon’s claws. Could it be magic? And griffins themselves are widely regarded as magical birds. Fortune is said to smile on whoever sees one, at least from a distance. Fiona, on the other hand, has only grinned at the grim tragedy. Apparently she is a rare loser.
