Page 45 of Gryphon in Light

They followed Treyvan back to that now-familiar hill where Kel’s transformation had taken place. Treyvan pointed out a place for them to wait, and after assigning someone to see to Ammari’s affairs, sat comfortably on his haunches. From his nonchalant attitude, Hallock realized that this Gate business was so routine it was nearly as familiar as flying to Treyvan. So instead of watching the gryphon, he intently watched the spot where this Gate was supposed to appear, because Treyvan had made it very, very clear that it was not going to be open for long, and the faster they got across it, the better.

“Watch forrr the moment when therrre arrre treesss and a rrroad,” he said shortly. “Then gallop.”

This was only the second Gate Hallock had ever seen, and he didn’t find the experience any less uncanny than the first time he had watched one—first the bloom of light in the shape of a disk, then a sort of rippling effect, then suddenly—the landscape that should have been on the other side of the Gate was gone, and in its place was, as Treyvan had said, a road and trees. He put spurs to his horse, who, startled, leapt across the intervening space and into the Gate, followed by Genni’s horse and the pack horse.

He pulled up and moved to the side as soon as his horse’s hooves touched the new road, to make sure that Genni and the pack horse got across all right. For a moment, as the latter dashed past him, he saw Treyvan, talons raised in some sort of gesturing motion—met his gaze for an instant—and then the Gate was gone, and in its place was just the road and trees.

There was no sign of any civilization. Even the air smelled different. Wilder, somehow.

I wonder how far he dropped us from this Vale.

And at least they were not handicapping the Guard by taking three good horses with them. The one thing that the camp had in abundance was horses; attrition had been high among the mounted fighters, plus they had all the horses from the mounted mercenaries they had captured. The captain knew everything about horses that Hallock didn’t, so the three beasts he had selected for them were steady, sound, with high endurance, and not at all skittish. Just—wary of sudden gryphons.

The very last thing that the captain had done before they left on their way was to pass the title of First to the woman who was currently Hallock’s Second, and to give Hallock a brand new title: Military Attaché. Give advice when asked, fight alongside the allies if needed, otherwise observe, don’t be afraid to volunteer, and don’t command anyone unless the leaders of the expedition put him in command.

Easy orders to obey, especially given this was exactly what Hallock would have done in the first place.

And that, essentially, was how the four of them, with Ammari up behind Genni and Jefti up behind Hallock, found themselves in the middle of nowhere on a “road” of sorts. More of a track, although it was wide enough for a cart to pass. Since they were under trees and he couldn’t see the sun, and his navigation skills were average at best, that left him at an impasse.

Well, now where were they to go? The road went in two directions, after all . . . which was the way to the Vale, and which led away from it?

I don’t bleeding know. I have to assume that Treyvan pointed us in the right direc—

That was his thought, which was interrupted rather rudely by half a dozen people stepping out of the thick undergrowth and onto the road to his left, bows bent, arrows nocked and pointed at them. Since the only Hawkbrother he had ever seen was Darkwind, and these people looked somewhat like Darkwind, and were dressed to blend in with the forest—

—and had various birds of prey flying in to roost in the branches overhead, within easy attack distance—

it was reasonable to assume that the Vale was in their direction.

Well, that seems definite.

Jefti gasped, and Genni let out a little squeak. Hallock eased his horse past Genni and Ammari. “Valdemaran Military Attaché Hallock Stavern, present and accounted for,” he said, with a crisp salute. “Requested to appear at k’Valdemar Vale by Silver Gryphon Kelvren of k’Valdemar Vale, relocation facilitated by Silver Gryphon Adept Treyvan.”

Two of the people with arrows pointing at him looked at each other, then lowered their bows. The rest did the same, more slowly.

“It would have been nice to get some warning,” said the taller of the two, with evident irritation. Hallock had to admit that he lived up to the legends. His multi-colored, layered, and wrapped clothing in browns and greens was both unfamiliar to Hallock and instantly recognizable as camouflage, and his sharp features stood in notable contrast to the Valdemarans Hallock was most familiar with, farmers or Guards, who tended to be square-faced and bulked up with muscles. His hair had been braided and clubbed like a warhorse’s tail, a practical adaptation Hallock approved of.

“Oh, Treyvan probably used his teleson to warn Firesong just before he put up the damned Gate,” said the other, an older version of the first man. “And Firesong didn’t realize how fast that one can work. From what I hear from the other gryphons, he can place a hole in the sky while flying toward it.”

He bent his bow to unstring it and slung it behind his shoulder, then walked toward them, hand extended. “First Warden Leafblade k’Valdemar. I hadn’t heard anything about a military attaché, but I have heard of you from Kelvren via the hertasi. Who’s the rest of your party?”

Well, that blew over easily, without any perforations. “My wife Genni, who’s a Healer’s Hand, my . . .” think quick, Hallock— “. . . Guard apprentice Jefti, who has ambitions to be a trondi’irn after meeting with Kelvren and Whitebird, and his ma, Ammari.” Stretching the truth a bit, but not all that much. “No gryphons with the Guard, so if the lad is going to study to be a trondi’irn, he needed to come with me. Master Treyvan personally charged me with seeing to Jefti not a candlemark ago.”

“Well, you’re lucky we all speak Valdemaran here,” Leafblade said without any sign of anger. “Opening a Gate this close to a Vale is going to get the whole Vale roused. We’ll walk you on in. Treyvan, eh? What’s he like?” Jefti walked around to each of the Tayledras, and shook their hands, then let them all know what Treyvan was like, in enthusiastic detail, as they walked.

The walk wasn’t remarkably quick-paced, but there was just so much of the new to take in that the newcomers kept going a few paces once their escort had stopped. A long-downed tree to the sunward side of the road gave its roots as the frame for the most remarkable pair Hallock had ever seen in his life. The human of the two paled in comparison to his bondbird, which was a firebird, and a huge male firebird at that, tail and crest streaming out behind him as he flapped his wings rapidly where he perched near his human’s shoulder, false-sparks in a plume in the air behind him, the edges of his feathers all alight. Hallock was utterly mesmerized, and he wasn’t the only one. Genni gave an actual squeal, Ammari gasped with her hands clasped under her chin, and a glance at Jefti showed the boy’s eyes were like a pair of stars.

With the firebird to look at, the Hawkbrother, who otherwise would have stood out among these “Wardens” like a peacock among chickens, barely rated a glance.

Which was a shame, because he was worth looking at. He had long white hair twisted into many tight braids threaded with silver rings, and wore a mask that was apparently made of firebird body-feathers, probably from his own bondbird, the eyeholes and border rimmed in silver. His garments were a layered set of robes in silver, charcoal, and white, held closely to his body by a wide cloth charcoal-colored belt that featured a pair of embroidered firebirds on the front. Beside and behind him, a large gazelle-like creature with stacks of blankets on her back watched them patiently from where she lay on the greenery.

The masked man simply spread his hands, palm up. His firebird hopped to rest on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Leafblade,” the Hawkbrother said in Valdemaran. “Treyvan neglected to tell me he was going to open a Gate and send Hallock Stavern through, until he’d actually done it. He may as well have shouted ‘Catch!’”

When Leafblade snorted and said, “Gryphons!” the masked stranger turned to Hallock’s group.

“I am Adept Firesong k’Treva. You are obviously the Hallock Stavern that Kel wants on our journey, but who did you bring with you?”

That meant the same introductions all the way around, as the rest of the Hawkbrothers faded into the underbrush and were invisible within moments. Firesong looked extremely interested when Hallock mentioned that Jefti might be interested in learning the trade of the trondi’irn. “Is this so, youngling?” he asked Jefti directly.