The Griffin's Flight by K.J. Taylor Page B

doing it! I tr—I have tried everything, but I c-cannot—make it stop—”
    Arren couldn’t bear it any longer. He put his arms around her and held her to him. She tried to pull away at first, but finally stilled. “Do not touch me,” she mumbled.
    “It’s all right,” Arren said again. “I’m not hurting you, I’m just trying to make you feel better.”
    “And how will this make me feel better?” said Skade, her voice slightly muffled.
    Arren couldn’t help it; he smiled. “You’re crying,” he said. “It’s what humans do when they’re unhappy. Holding on to someone makes them feel better. See?”
    She shuddered in his arms. “Why?”
    “I don’t know, but it’s always worked for me. It’s a human thing.”
    Skade pressed herself against him; she was thin and bony, and he could feel her heart pattering. “I wanted to die,” she said at last. “I wanted to drown in that pond. I hated you for pulling me out.”
    Arren felt an ache in his chest. “It’s okay, Skade. We’ll find the cave, and you can change back. You’ll be healed.”
    Skade said nothing. She did not try to return the embrace, but she did not try to pull away from him, either.
    “Do you want me to let go now?” Arren asked gently.
    She pulled his arm away from herself, and he released her, but she did not move away. She looked him in the face. Hers was tear-stained, but her gold griffin eyes were as fierce as ever. “Thank you, Arren Cardockson,” she said, rather stiffly. “I … thank you.”
    Arren wanted to touch her, to try to comfort her further, but he didn’t want to risk making her angry again. “Who would do something like this?” he asked softly. “Who would—why would anyone turn a griffin into a human? It’s monstrous!”
    Skade turned away. “I will travel to the spirit cave with you. If I can. But I am—I do not know if I will be healed there, if we ever do find it. Spirits are treacherous. They do not help all those who come to them, only those they deem worthy.”
    Arren felt a sick twisting sensation in his gut. “Why would you not be worthy?” he asked, trying desperately to block it out.
    “I am not an innocent victim, Arren,” said Skade, without turning around. “I was not cursed out of malice. It was punishment.”
    “Punishment for what?” said Arren.
    She turned to look at him. “I am—I was a rogue griffin. I lived in the city, but one day I turned on the humans around me. I killed many. I was judged to be unstable and therefore worthless, and when it was clear that I had declared myself an enemy to humankind, the great council of griffins decided they would punish me, not with death but by forcing me to live as a human.” She closed her eyes. “Arakae cast the spell on me, and when it was over I was banished and told that my fate was to wander the world in human form, with no hope of ever changing back.” Her eyes opened. “That is why I have decided to trust you, human. Because you and I are alike. We are outcasts and murderers, and both of us are cursed.”
    “Cursed?” Arren repeated dully.
    She nodded. “That is why you are so desperate to go to the cave, so much so that you decided to take my side rather than Skandar’s, even though you barely knew me.” She sighed and sat down with her back to a tree, evidently exhausted. “It only makes sense. When so many griffins want you dead, there is every chance that those with the power have death-cursed you by now.”
    Arren looked away. “Yes.”
    There was silence after that. Arren gazed up at the sky, scanning the endless blue. There were a few birds up there, but no sign of anything that could be a griffin. His feeling of sickness increased.
    “I’ll just fix the fire now,” he mumbled. “Are you hungry?”
    “Yes,” said Skade. She got up. “I will help.”
    Arren opened his mouth to tell her she should rest, and then shut it again. He wandered off into the trees and gathered wood. When he returned, Skade was