Page 25 of Gryphon’s Fire

Keir’s pink cheeks turned fiery red. With a scoff, Keir lightly smacked my chest. “Pretty words.”

“True words,” I countered.

Teeth tugging on his bottom lip, Keir dipped his head. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“I would expect nothing less from my wise and powerful gryphon.”

Keir shook his head, but he couldn’t hide his grin. “Come on, Cassanova. We need to speak with my brother.”

Lacing our fingers together, Keir gave a gentle tug. I followed easily. “Do you think Eldon knows about the tracking device?”

“No,” Keir quickly answered. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say I completely trust my brother, but what I do trust is that he doesn’t want Jaakobah to find him.”

“Logical,” I answered. “Jaakobah wouldn’t have placed the tracker in Eldon’s clothing.”

“Agreed. That would be too risky. A change of clothing or shedding his clothing would have interfered with Jaakobah’s plans.”

“That means one thing.”

Keir nodded. “It’s somewhere inside Eldon, and most likely my brother has no idea it’s even there. Now, the trick is finding it. I didn’t see anything obvious when I helped Eldon out of his clothing.”

“If, by chance, there was a tracking device in Eldon’s clothing, it is ash now.” Eldon had requested his clothing be thrown out. Keir asked me to take care of it, and I took things one step further by burning them. I did not regret my decision.

“There may have been one there too, but I stand by my theory that it’s inside Eldon somewhere and I think I may know how to find it.” Keir threw a hesitant look over his shoulder and added a questionable, “Maybe. I need to speak with Grayson.”

My eyes widened in understanding as my brain whispered, clever gryphon.

“You want me to do what?” Grayson Delarue stood there, hands fisted on his hips and an expression of confusion pinching his face. Martin stood behind him, his palm resting on Grayson’s shoulder.

“Is that even possible?” Martin asked.

“That’s what I want to know,” Keir answered. “What do you think, Grayson?”

Blowing out a deep breath, Grayson shook his head, tossing his silvery-white hair back and forth. “Honestly? I have no idea.” Grayson placed a finger on his chin, eyes narrowed in thought and gaze periodically darting Eldon’s way.

“I want it out of me,” Eldon stated, his voice just shy of hysterical. “If that bastard put something inside me, then I want it out.” Desperation laced its way into Eldon’s plea. Keir’s brother was well enough to sit on the edge of his new bed, legs dangling off the side and feet barely touching the floor. A blanket was draped across Eldon’s lap and one of Keir’s shirts hung off his diminished frame.

“Trust me, I get it,” Grayson answered. “And I’ll be happy to help, if I can. I’m just not certain.”

“But you’re willing to try?” Eldon pleaded.

Grayson threw his hands up and shrugged. “Sure. Why not? Might be fun.” Grayson cringed. “Sorry, probably not the best choice of words given the situation.”

“It’s fine,” Keir waved Grayson off. “Did… When Eldon first arrived, you were in your wisp form. Did my brother sing to you?”

“Sing?” Eldon questioned. “You know I can’t carry a tune, Keir. Why on earth would I have been singing when I crashed into⁠—”

“That’s not what I meant,” Keir answered. “Grayson is a will-o’-the-wisp. Treasure sings to him.”

Eldon stared down at his damaged body. “I’m hardly treasure.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Grayson said as he stepped closer to Eldon. Martin followed, ever a stoic and protective presence. “And to answer, yes, he did sing.” Grayson visibly flinched. “It wasn’t a…pleasant song.” Rubbing the fabric over his heart, Grayson seemed genuinely pained. “Thankfully, the song didn’t last long. It stopped as soon as Keir realized who you were, turning you into found treasure.”

“Wh-what?” Eldon flicked his eyes from Keir to Grayson. “I don’t understand.”

“Few of us do,” Martin answered before asking Grayson, “Do you really think you can find this tracking chip?”

Grayson shrugged. “Don’t know. It depends on how the one who hid it thought of the device. If they viewed it as treasure, then it should sing to me. Assuming Jaakobah was the one who implanted it, if that asshole didn’t think the chip was very important, then it won’t sing.” Lacing his fingers together, Grayson said, “Only one way to find out,” before cool blue flame licked up his fingers, racing up his hands and stopping at his wrists.