Page 49 of Gryphon’s Fire

I didn’t like how close Jima and Helios were. Evidently Lazarus didn’t either. He stood and reached for Jima’s arm, ready to pull him back. Helios’s eyes caught the motion, narrowing as his lips pulled back in a low growl full of teeth. “You will not tou⁠—”

Before he could finish, Helios was suddenly gone. I was positive I caught a brief, surprised look on his face before he vanished.

“What the hell just happened?” Grayson asked, standing and crossing the short distance to where Helios had just been, Martin hot on his heels.

“I don’t…” Jima’s wide eyes looked around the room as he whispered, “Helios?”

Nothing but silence answered him back. For a moment, Jima appeared positively lost. “Do you think he’s okay?” The obvious worry surprised me. “Not that I care,” Jima huffed, determinedly looking away from me.

“Curious,” Tabitha said, still seated, her gaze flicking between where Helios had been and Lazarus.

“Seriously,” Grayson said. “What do you think happened? I mean, one minute he was just standing there, giving Lazarus murder eyes and then… Oh. Oh!” Grayson spun on his heel, grabbing Martin’s shirt and tugging it back and forth. “Helios wanted to harm Lazarus. He wanted to hurt one of us.”

Understanding widened Martin’s eyes. “The barrier.”

Grayson nodded. “Pixie magic is magnificent.”

“It is,” Martin agreed. “I had wondered what would happen if⁠—”

“What is going on?” Silence immediately permeated the room. “Which one of you is known as Jima?”

“Oh shit,” Grayson cursed before stepping backward and running into Martin. “Another djinn?”

Grayson wasn’t wrong. Standing, I set my cup of tea aside and held a halting hand out toward Eldon, either asking or warning him to stay where he was. “Aurelia, I presume,” I said by way of greeting.

The scuttlebutt sitting atop Aurelia’s head opened its mouth wide, yawning and casually revealing a mouth with a double row of razor-sharp teeth. The scuttlebutt’s tail was wrapped alarmingly tight around Aurelia’s neck, not that she seemed to mind. On an otherwise bald head, the scuttlebutt took on the appearance of an odd toupee.

“I am Aurelia,” she answered, eyes flicking around the room, briefly settling with interest on Vi and Blu. I shifted, placing my body between the wyvern and Aurelia’s sightline. Her eyes narrowed with annoyance, but she made no further move.

“Hello, dear,” Tabitha greeted. “It has been a long time since you’ve checked in on Little Fang.”

Attention diverted to Tabitha, Aurelia inclined her head slightly. “I have had other interesting endeavors.” Head tilted to the side, Aurelia asked, “Am I expected to continue checking on Little Fang’s welfare? Is this still my responsibility?”

Tabitha shook her head. “No. Navarre is very taken with Little Fang and does an excellent job caring for her. Our quarters have even changed, and both Navarre and Little Fang spend many hours outside. Besides, I’m happy to see you and Fuzzy Britches getting along so well. I even heard there are little ones. Is that correct?”

“Yes.” Aurelia preened. “Fuzzy Britches had three offspring. Erasmus’s mate, Franklin O’Hare has named them. I am still uncertain of his choices but for now have kept them as Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose. The young are currently staying with Erasmus’s mother, Lydia Boone. For a human, she is a trustworthy caretaker.”

Tabitha bowed her head. “A fine compliment coming from you.”

“It is,” Aurelia proudly agreed before her eyes narrowed again as she curiously looked around the room. I had a feeling she was seeing far beyond the walls containing her. “I have not felt pixie magic deployed quite like this. It is…unsettling.”

Clearing my throat, I stepped toward a still silent Jima, laying what I hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder. I was surprised he was still in his humanoid form and hadn’t reverted to his ferret form. “We have Tenzen Huxley to thank for the magic and associated barrier. It was not without great cost and lost life.” Thankfully, Martin was on the former list and not the latter.

More tattoos flared and Aurelia’s Caribbean blue eyes glowed from within. “That is a name I do not desire to hear again. Huxley was like every other would-be master.” The disdain in Aurelia’s voice was evident.

“It is a name I do not desire to speak,” I answered.

Aurelia’s tattoos calmed, as did her eyes. “I still have not learned which one of you is this Jima Helios is so bothered by.”

Clearing his throat, Jima said, “Th-that’s m-me.”

Head tilted down, Aurelia’s eyes raked Jima from his toes to the crown of his head. “You do not appear harmed.”

Jima shook his head. “That’s because I’m not.”

Aurelia scoffed. “Helios overreacted. I will inform him you are fine and also explain the way the pixie barrier works. Helios is not as familiar with pixie magic as I am. He did not understand the consequences of his actions.

“You are very small and not as menacing as Fuzzy Britches.” Aurelia ran her fingers through the scuttlebutt’s fur before reaching into her shirt, between her breasts, and pulling out a charm. Thrusting it at Jima, Aurelia said, “Helios wants you to keep this with you.”