“Who would be sending these creatures?”
“It has to be Lucian. He knows you are going to transform soon, and will do anything to try and capture you before you seal your bond with Lucifer’s son.”
“Maybe I should be caught. Then I wouldn’t have to seal any bonds.”
“No. Being with Lucian will be just as dangerous as being with Lucifer. He’s wild and has no restraint. There are no rules that bind him, and he has no conscience. All he cares about is revenge and ruling the Underworld, and will do whatever it takes to make that happen. I need to get you back to the house and into the barrier.”
“I know you’ve probably heard this before, but you will need to hold on tight, like your life depends on it. I don’t think this will be a simple flight home.”
He set me down on the branch, and I faced him. He was so much taller than me and his huge muscles bulged from under his shirt. I didn’t think I would be able to wrap my legs around his waist, but I would try if I had to.
“You ready?” he asked in his deep voice.
“I’m ready,” I whispered. “How much further are we from the house?”
“A few miles.”
“Oh God.”
“You should be praying to him about now. We could use all the help we can get.”
“What if we stay low, like down on the ground?”
“There are Hellhounds all over these woods. They’ve released at least a dozen, and who knows what else.”
“Alright. Well, I guess one big lion bird is better than a dozen Hellhounds,” I said, my voice shaking.
“Let’s hope,” he exhaled.
I tiptoed to reach my arms around his neck, but he put his large hands on either side of my waist and lifted me up, then locked his left arm around me. His right held his sword.
“Can you make us invisible? We need every advantage.”
I closed my eyes again, willing invisibility, and when I opened them, we were gone, and I could only see his outline.
“Hold on,” he demanded, “And try not to scream.”
“Okay.”
We shot into the sky, but Bane stayed low to the trees. He tried to a zig-zag to throw off our scent. Well, that was my best guess, and I wouldn’t question it. Whatever he was doing was trying to save our lives.
There was another loud, ear piercing screech. I turned to see the enormous black figure soaring right toward us. It was fast, and I could see its sharp talons out ready to strike.
Bane shot straight up, and even though we were invisible, the gryphon followed us.
“It can see us?” I panicked.
“Yes.”
The creature was huge, and Bane was right. Its body looked like a gigantic lion, but the rest was an eagle. It was completely appalling, and reminded me of the creature in hell, the one that burned Kade. Its wingspan was between thirty to forty-feet long, and its beak was razor sharp.
I’d heard an eagle call before, but the sound this creature made was not even close to that. It was more of a horrifying death scream.
“Can it blow fire?”
“No,” he answered, concentrating.
I wasn’t going to ask him anymore questions.
Bane banked left and I tightened my grip on him. As I glanced down, I saw the Gryphon still heading toward us, fast.
He tucked his wings behind his back and we began to fall hard and fast. I wanted to scream, but managed to hold it in. The weightless feeling was torturous, and felt like it was never going to end.
He finally unfolded his wings and we evened out, soaring right above the tree line. Because we were low he wasn’t able to see what was above him. He quickly did a roll, and as he did, I let out a yelp.
The Gryphon was right above us and came crashing down, knocking right into Bane’s right wing, sending him spiraling into a tree. Bane released his grip on me and caught one of the branches and pulled us up. My grip was so tight, he didn’t need to hold onto me.
We heard loud growls in the distance, heading in our direction. The Gryphon screamed right above, soaring in a large circle, waiting for us to come out. It was also signaling the Hellhounds to our location.
The Gryphon was much too large to come down into this area. The trees were too tight and pressed together.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“We can’t stay here much longer. We have about a mile left before we reach the barrier.”
A mile could have been a thousand miles, especially with creatures and Fallen surrounding us.
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
“You’re asking me?” I shrieked.
“Yes. You made it through the levels of the Underworld and survived. You have what it takes to survive within you. Do you have any suggestions?”
I thought about it. “Does the Gryphon have any weaknesses?”