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It's been a while since the last main story update, so I think a recap is in order:

First off, I decided to change ‘The Black Fists’ to ‘The Black Hand.’ It’s a name you hear a lot in video games, usually referring to terrorist groups. The name was originally inspired by a turn-of-the-century terrorist group that assassinated an Austrian duke named Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an event that set off World War 1.

Jack refuses Shorak's offer for help to defeat the Black Hand. As a result, Shorak holds Claire and friends ransom to try and force the matter. It's revealed by Claire that Jack isn't really her brother, though it remains unclear who he actually is and where Claire's real brother is. Claire's condition deteriorates. Jess and Ryder team up to escape from the Iron Talons' Camp to get Claire help, got help from a Shrieker Pigeon (a servant of The Siren, one of the leaders of the Black Hand) during the effort. It's revealed that Claire is dying from silver poisoning from a silver bullet shot at her at the end of Book 1. Extreme measures may be needed to save her life. In the aftermath of Jess and Ryder's escape, the Blue Dragon Weston is unfairly blamed for their escape and Silver getting hurt and is exiled from the Iron Talons.

Ethan returns to the story working alongside the Silver Claw, a major Mystic Gang in the city. Ethan was the man who force-fed Daniel a Gryphon Veil at the beginning of Book 1, which is the reason Daniel is now trapped as a Royal Gryphon. Out of anger, Daniel attacks Ethan and somehow turns into Gryphon form. How he was able to do this is a mystery, even to him. At the same time, DA (a Vordr that's been following Daniel around since Book 1) has strangely stopped communicating after this incident. As a peace offering, Ethan gives Daniel a magical collar that automatically clothes him whenever he turns into human form.

Through a mysterious deal formed between Jack and the Silver Claw, Jack is able to secure Claire's freedom. Claire's condition continues to worsen, though now she's being cared for in a hospital in the city. Despite the seemingly-good direction things are moving in, Alex is acting strangely. He leaves one night to speak with Shorak in private. Later that night, Ben (the last of Claire's group being held for ransom by Shorak) is released to Jack. According to the dragon that delivered him, Alex volunteered to take Ben's place until Jack fulfills his end of the deal and delivers the much-needed supplies to the Iron Talons. Jack is infuriated by this turn of events, despite the fact that it looks like a good thing on the surface. It's implied that Jack is hiding something very important from all of them.

And that's the end of the current events section. Time to get back to your regularly-scheduled program

Chapter 14: A Deal With the Devil, Part 1

“It’s true, you never lie, but making a deal with you is worse than making a deal with the devil.”
- Shorak to Charon, Gryphon Paladin 2, Chapter 10

Wes walked down the city street aimlessly, his duffel bag slung over his left shoulder. He didn’t know where he was going, he didn’t know where TO go, he just kept going. He figured he’d just find a place to stay for the night (what little was left of it) and figure out his future in the morning. Passersby gave him a wide berth.

As he made his way along, however, he could feel something was horribly wrong. There was something horribly wrong with him, more specifically. He forced himself to continue, though.

He staggered, leaning against a wall as his vision swam. He felt sick. The cold snow pelted down on him from above, making him shiver. He shouldn’t even feel the cold - not like this, anyway. Something was wrong with his inner fire, like it was flickering and fading away...

Finally, he collapsed in an alleyway, trembling, unable to go any further. The duffel bag fell to the ground near him as he fell. He closed his eyes, just willing it to stop. He’d already suffered enough that day.

~What’s wrong with me…?~

He hadn’t eaten anything for hours, but his stomach churned. He staggered to his feet. Finally, his stomach lurched and he vomited against the ground.

As his stomach emptied, he felt a tremor going through him. His limbs were shaking violently, his tail felt weird. He knew this sensation...he’d felt it many times before…

“Please, Garmr’s Gates, no…” he begged to no one.

No...no, Shorak WOULDN’T…

He roared in agony, unable to hold it in as his bones cracked. His body spasmed and he fell to the ground writhing. The changes happened very quickly after that.

His scales started to dissolve, disintegrating into thin air, leaving his skin completely bare and open to the elements. This didn’t last long, however, as gray hairs started to grow, covering him from nostrils to tail tip. Fur...he was growing fur. His tail thinned and shortened, turning more canine. His horns disappeared. His large, beautiful wings started to shrink, though they didn’t disappear. They turned from blue to crimson. From the sides of his head, where his ear-holes were, a pair of canine ears formed and moved to the top of his head. He bit down reflexively as his muzzle shortened just noticeably. He roared again - or rather, he tried to. What came out was the howl of a wolf. His long neck shortened considerably. His reptilian nostrils became a wet nose. Finally, after about a minute, it was finished.

Wes lay there for a long time like that, eyes shut, willing it to not be true, for it to just be a nightmare. He clutched his head in his paws and curled into a ball, crying uncontrollably.

“Please…” he growled, “...please, I didn’t do it. I don’t deserve this…”

Finally, he opened his eyes, still crying. He looked around and spotted a window nearby. His new body wasn’t much different in shape from his old, though the new length of his tail and neck off-put his balance at first. He jumped up and stared at his reflection. The reflection of a green-eyed Oliatiau stared back at him. His eyes were still the same shade of green, though they lacked the reptilian irises. An Oliatiau...a winged wolf...he wept at the sight.

“Why, Shorak…?” he whispered. “Why…? I’d never do that to Silver…”

He was silent for a long time, just staring at his reflection. He knew Shorak did this to him. THIS was the real reason why the old man didn’t kill him: Shorak turned him into this as punishment, as an eternal reminder of his ‘betrayal’. He could still speak, he still had his wings and could fly, but his fire was gone. His inner fire, the thing that MADE him a Dragon, gave him immunity to fire, gave him the infernal breath that symbolized his kind, was forever extinguished.

He would never be a Dragon again.

Phillip perched on a lamppost, watching the store’s entrance. A few people entered and left, but not many.

~Why am I even doing this?~ he wondered silently, shaking his head.

He was definitely curious about who Jack really was, but if the man caught them...well…he shuddered to think of the consequences. But it was a nice distraction, something to do other than recon around the city. So, here he was, about to steal a priceless magical artifact from a Hydra.

He shifted in anticipation as said Hydra finally left the building. No one else was inside, to the best of his knowledge. Carlos quickly trotted down the sidewalk, heading up the street. He didn’t even glance in Phillip’s direction. The latter spread his wings and swooped down, soaring through the open doorway.

He quickly fluttered, landing nimbly on the tiled floor. The room was dark but he could see well enough. Shelves, medical supplies, a few beds.

~Come on, come on…~

He scanned the shelves, then jumped up onto one. Nothing here he needed, just a few jars. He flew to another and kept looking. And another. He was about to give up when he finally spotted it on a shelf among boxes of bandages: a large, gold monocle with a long chain. It looked like a normal monocle. but the glass had a distinct shimmer to it. This was what he was after.

~Yes!~ He grabbed the chain with his left foot and reached for the pouch on his leg with his beak.

“Hey, what are you doing?” an annoyed voice demanded, almost giving Phillip a heart attack.

He immediately took flight, heading for the exit. He was still holding the chain in his talons.

“That’s not yours!”

Phillip made his escape like a bat out of hell, and only looked back once to look for pursuers. No one, which surprised him since someone spotted him. Not a flyer, apparently.

He landed on a rooftop and studied his prize. He’d never seen one before, but this was definitely a Scryer. They had a certain air to them anyone would recognize by instinct, even if they’d never seen one before. He held it up in the moonlight with a foot, admiring the craftsmanship. A master enchanter’s work, for sure. He carefully stowed the device in his pouch and took flight again.

~I think that’s enough shenanigans for one night. Time to get this back to Daniel.~

The police station wasn’t far from there, only a few blocks. However, only a few hundred feet away something caught his eye. He looked curiously downward, seeing an Oliatiau in an alleyway crying.

Jack was furious - more so than Daniel had ever seen him before. Angrier even than when Daniel challenged him. He had just gotten off the phone with someone, and clearly it didn’t go well.

The teen wasn’t sure what, if anything, he should say to the Kitsune. Alex taking Ben’s place...clearly, it pissed Jack off, but why? They were going to get Ben back anyway, right, so what’s the harm?

Jack finally walked out of the police station, looking slightly calmer, for once. He pocketed his cell phone.

“What happened?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” the man answered flatly, calmly. “I’ll deal with Alex. In the meantime, I have a job for you.”

Daniel’s ears perked. A job? Jack hadn’t sent him to do anything since they arrived, so this change made him wary. “But what about…?”

“Claire is being taken care of.” Jack paused, and his voice lost a little of its edge, softening. “She’ll be fine, I promise. Right now, this is more important. Without Alex here, I need you to do his job for me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. “We’ve been tracking the Black Hand’s movements through the city for a while now. Phillip was supposed to go out on recon this morning, find out where they’ve moved to. We’re not sure what they’re doing, and that’s why we need to keep an eye on them.” He held up the device. “Whenever this beeps, tap it. It won’t be very loud, so no one but you should hear it. If you can’t respond for any reason, double tap it.” He walked up to Daniel and, without asking permission, attached it to the pouch around the gryphon’s leg with a hook.

Daniel was a little worried. He wasn’t exactly made for stealth. Then again, Jack wasn’t in the best mood to be questioned right now. Besides, Daniel needed to get his mind off Claire. There wasn’t anything he could do for her right now, so sitting around worrying wouldn’t accomplish anything.

He nodded. “What if they see me?”

“Both times Phillip went out,” the man responded, “they noticed him at least once. They didn’t attack him either time. They’re more concerned with what they’re doing. Keep your distance, follow them whenever they leave an area. I’ll call you for regular reports. If they DO come after you, don’t fight them. Run away and try to get back here to the station. If this happens, quickly tap the communicator 3 times. This’ll tell me you’re in danger and I’ll come looking for you immediately. If you can’t get back here, find a place to hide, wait it out.”

Daniel nodded in understanding. “Where’s the group now?”

“To the south, along the north side of the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge, when Phillip last saw them. It’s been almost a full day since then, so they’ve probably moved. There’s a goblin, a gryphon and a harpy in the group.” The man stepped back and gestured to the sky. “Remember, don’t engage. We need information, not to eliminate them.”

Daniel nodded again and spread his wings.

He took his time flying, thinking over the mission he’d been given. It seemed simple enough, just recon.

~Jack was in a better mood,~ he thought silently. ~Something must be going right, for once.~

As he neared the river, he scanned the area, rooftops, shoreline. No sign of the group. He followed the river west, scanning. Suddenly, the communicator beeped and he tapped it with a claw. “Have you located them yet?” Jack’s voice asked.

Daniel shook his head. “They’re not along the river. I’m gonna…” He paused, spotting something in the distance. Brown feathers, down an alleyway off the waterfront upriver. “Think I spotted something. Investigating.” He tapped it again and the connection cut out.

As he neared the alley, he perched on a nearby rooftop. 3 Mystics we’re talking in the alleyway. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but there was a goblin, a gryphon and a harpy, exactly what he was looking for. The goblin was pacing, muttering under his breath; the gryphon lounged on the ground, watching the small Mystic’s movements; the harpy perched on a trash can, fiddling with something in her talons. Both avians had brown feathers. The gryphon was mid-sized for the species, coming up a human’s waist. It was female, by the lack of ears. They looked bored, maybe waiting for something or someone.

Daniel settled into a more comfortable position. This could be a while.

Wes was cold, soooooooooo cold. He knew what it was, but his inner fire never let him feel it. He wandered the city streets for hours. Eventually, he ambled into an alleyway.

He shook his head, sighing. “What the hell am I gonna do now?” he wondered aloud.

Suddenly, he jumped as a loud, menacing growl split the air. He scrambled backward as a large shape rose to its feet further down the alley, a single yellow eye gleaming in the darkness.

Wes almost turned and ran, but a sense of familiarity hit him. That eye“Silver!” he realized.

The large Shrrg regarded him silently. Wes wasn’t sure what to do. Silver wasn’t attacking, just staring silently. He knew Wes, but he knew Wes as a dragon. The large wolf could be unpredictable towards strangers.

Silver didn’t look good. Half his face had been shorn off like with a sword, including his right eye and ear. It’d already scabbed over, but it wasn’t pleasant to look at. Whatever attacked him that night did quite a number on him. Other than that, however, he looked fairly healthy.

Suddenly, Silver perked up, sniffing the air curiously. He approached Wes suddenly, sniffing at him, examining him.

Wes didn’t understand at first, but it slowly came to him. “You know it’s me, don’t you? It’s my scent.” He started to relax as Silver licked the side of his face.

Wes should’ve known, but he almost believed Shorak. The man was so angry, so ready to blame Wes, that Wes almost believed it himself, that he was somehow to blame for what happened to Silver. But Silver knew. He was probably the one person who knew who really did it, and Wes couldn’t even communicate with him.

“What are you doing out here, Silver? You should be back at the camp.”

“Bird.”

Wes started, surprised. Wait, did Silver just…? “What bird?”

“Little gray bird. Need find.”

It didn’t sound like Draconic, but something else. Wes remembered Shorak communicating with the wolf with growls and barks, but he never asked about it.

“Was it a pigeon?” He remembered seeing a pigeon flying around the camp all the time. Pigeons weren’t a weird sight in a city, but this one had black eyes. “Did a pigeon attack you?” Silver nodded in response.

Suddenly silver walked past him, out of the alleyway. “Hey, wait up!” Wes called out, quickly following after him.

Alex lay curled up in a small shack, alone. No need to guard a voluntary prisoner. As he lay there, he couldn’t help wondering if he was doing the right thing. This was incredibly stupid, even by his track record.

~What Jack is doing is wrong,~ he reminded himself, repeating the same argument with himself that landed him here. ~He’s gonna get a lot of people killed doing this. I have to do SOMETHING.~ Alex wasn’t sure what he’d tell Shorak, but the man knew there was more going on than Alex wanting to help a friend. He wasn’t an idiot, after all.

He was startled out of his thoughts as something landed on the floor next to him. He looked to see Shorak watching him from the doorway and his old backpack full of clothes on the floor.

“Get changed,” Shorak said brusquely. “We need to talk.”

Alex sighed and closed his eyes, then nodded after a moment. The time had come, it seemed. He quickly changed forms and got dressed.

They walked in silence at first, strolling through the camp. Not many people were up at this late hour, so it was quiet. Alex wasn’t sure what to say, where to begin.

“Why are you really here, Alex?” Shorak suddenly asked, slamming to a halt. He held the young man with his penetrating gaze.

Alex sighed after a moment. “I want to join the Iron Talons.”

“Why? You do that and you can never go back to your friends, your family, your career with the Order. You’ll be an outcast, just like the rest of us.”

“Because Jack is lying to you, Shorak.” Alex looked up and met the man’s gaze. “I can’t keep doing this, Shorak. The lies, the deceit…it’s killing me on the inside. Those supplies are never going to arrive, and that’s not even the worst part.”

Shorak’s expression turned to anger. “He gave me his word!”

Alex shook his head. “He’s stalling for time, making promises he won’t keep. In 2 weeks, the army is going to arrive in Boston in force to secure the city. He already cut a deal with Brocke and the Silver Claw so they won’t be targeted.”

There was a long, drawn-out silence. Finally, Shorak looked away. “I should’ve known. Even after all these years, that man hasn’t changed at all.”

The look on Shorak’s face…he didn’t look angry, or even surprised. He looked resigned, defeated. Alex always suspected there was more going on here and saw his chance to pounce. “Why does he hate the Iron Talons? Why does he hate you all so much that he’d do this to you?”

Shorak shook his head in response. “He doesn’t hate the Iron Talons.” Alex was about to argue, but Shorak quickly explained: “It’s ME he hates. He and I…we have a lot of history, a lot of bad blood. He hunted me for 20 years.” He looked back at Alex. “Do you know what Jack actually does for the Order of Hurgran?”

Alex nodded. “He solves problems. They send him in to fix bad situations.”

Shorak chuckled softly. “True enough, but there’s more to it. He’s their last resort, their contingency. They send him in to solve problems by any means necessary. He has a reputation for leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, earning him the nickname ‘Ajax the Red.’ 50 years ago, they sent him to kill me.”

“That was back when you were in the Black Hand, wasn’t it? He failed and now he’s come to finish the job, now that he’s found you again?”

“Ajax could never let go of the past. I left that part of me behind long ago, and the evil group I had created.” He closed his eyes. “But he’ll never forgive until the day I die. Maybe he shouldn’t.”

:D (Big Grin) — Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

It's been a while since the last main story update, so I think a recap is in order:

First off, I decided to change ‘The Black Fists’ to ‘The Black Hand.’ It’s a name you hear a lot in video games, usually referring to terrorist groups. The name was originally inspired by a turn-of-the-century terrorist group that assassinated an Austrian duke named Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an event that set off World War 1.

Jack refuses Shorak's offer for help to defeat the Black Hand. As a result, Shorak holds Claire and friends ransom to try and force the matter. It's revealed by Claire that Jack isn't really her brother, though it remains unclear who he actually is and where Claire's real brother is. Claire's condition deteriorates. Jess and Ryder team up to escape from the Iron Talons' Camp to get Claire help, got help from a Shrieker Pigeon (a servant of The Siren, one of the leaders of the Black Hand) during the effort. It's revealed that Claire is dying from silver poisoning from a silver bullet shot at her at the end of Book 1. Extreme measures may be needed to save her life. In the aftermath of Jess and Ryder's escape, the Blue Dragon Weston is unfairly blamed for their escape and Silver getting hurt and is exiled from the Iron Talons.

Ethan returns to the story working alongside the Silver Claw, a major Mystic Gang in the city. Ethan was the man who force-fed Daniel a Gryphon Veil at the beginning of Book 1, which is the reason Daniel is now trapped as a Royal Gryphon. Out of anger, Daniel attacks Ethan and somehow turns into Gryphon form. How he was able to do this is a mystery, even to him. At the same time, DA (a Vordr that's been following Daniel around since Book 1) has strangely stopped communicating after this incident. As a peace offering, Ethan gives Daniel a magical collar that automatically clothes him whenever he turns into human form.

Through a mysterious deal formed between Jack and the Silver Claw, Jack is able to secure Claire's freedom. Claire's condition continues to worsen, though now she's being cared for in a hospital in the city. Despite the seemingly-good direction things are moving in, Alex is acting strangely. He leaves one night to speak with Shorak in private. Later that night, Ben (the last of Claire's group being held for ransom by Shorak) is released to Jack. According to the dragon that delivered him, Alex volunteered to take Ben's place until Jack fulfills his end of the deal and delivers the much-needed supplies to the Iron Talons. Jack is infuriated by this turn of events, despite the fact that it looks like a good thing on the surface. It's implied that Jack is hiding something very important from all of them.

And that's the end of the current events section. Time to get back to your regularly-scheduled program

Chapter 14: A Deal With the Devil, Part 1

“It’s true, you never lie, but making a deal with you is worse than making a deal with the devil.”
- Shorak to Charon, Gryphon Paladin 2, Chapter 10

Wes walked down the city street aimlessly, his duffel bag slung over his left shoulder. He didn’t know where he was going, he didn’t know where TO go, he just kept going. He figured he’d just find a place to stay for the night (what little was left of it) and figure out his future in the morning. Passersby gave him a wide berth.

As he made his way along, however, he could feel something was horribly wrong. There was something horribly wrong with him, more specifically. He forced himself to continue, though.

He staggered, leaning against a wall as his vision swam. He felt sick. The cold snow pelted down on him from above, making him shiver. He shouldn’t even feel the cold - not like this, anyway. Something was wrong with his inner fire, like it was flickering and fading away...

Finally, he collapsed in an alleyway, trembling, unable to go any further. The duffel bag fell to the ground near him as he fell. He closed his eyes, just willing it to stop. He’d already suffered enough that day.

~What’s wrong with me…?~

He hadn’t eaten anything for hours, but his stomach churned. He staggered to his feet. Finally, his stomach lurched and he vomited against the ground.

As his stomach emptied, he felt a tremor going through him. His limbs were shaking violently, his tail felt weird. He knew this sensation...he’d felt it many times before…

“Please, Garmr’s Gates, no…” he begged to no one.

No...no, Shorak WOULDN’T…

He roared in agony, unable to hold it in as his bones cracked. His body spasmed and he fell to the ground writhing. The changes happened very quickly after that.

His scales started to dissolve, disintegrating into thin air, leaving his skin completely bare and open to the elements. This didn’t last long, however, as gray hairs started to grow, covering him from nostrils to tail tip. Fur...he was growing fur. His tail thinned and shortened, turning more canine. His horns disappeared. His large, beautiful wings started to shrink, though they didn’t disappear. They turned from blue to crimson. From the sides of his head, where his ear-holes were, a pair of canine ears formed and moved to the top of his head. He bit down reflexively as his muzzle shortened just noticeably. He roared again - or rather, he tried to. What came out was the howl of a wolf. His long neck shortened considerably. His reptilian nostrils became a wet nose. Finally, after about a minute, it was finished.

Wes lay there for a long time like that, eyes shut, willing it to not be true, for it to just be a nightmare. He clutched his head in his paws and curled into a ball, crying uncontrollably.

“Please…” he growled, “...please, I didn’t do it. I don’t deserve this…”

Finally, he opened his eyes, still crying. He looked around and spotted a window nearby. His new body wasn’t much different in shape from his old, though the new length of his tail and neck off-put his balance at first. He jumped up and stared at his reflection. The reflection of a green-eyed Oliatiau stared back at him. His eyes were still the same shade of green, though they lacked the reptilian irises. An Oliatiau...a winged wolf...he wept at the sight.

“Why, Shorak…?” he whispered. “Why…? I’d never do that to Silver…”

He was silent for a long time, just staring at his reflection. He knew Shorak did this to him. THIS was the real reason why the old man didn’t kill him: Shorak turned him into this as punishment, as an eternal reminder of his ‘betrayal’. He could still speak, he still had his wings and could fly, but his fire was gone. His inner fire, the thing that MADE him a Dragon, gave him immunity to fire, gave him the infernal breath that symbolized his kind, was forever extinguished.

He would never be a Dragon again.

Phillip perched on a lamppost, watching the store’s entrance. A few people entered and left, but not many.

~Why am I even doing this?~ he wondered silently, shaking his head.

He was definitely curious about who Jack really was, but if the man caught them...well…he shuddered to think of the consequences. But it was a nice distraction, something to do other than recon around the city. So, here he was, about to steal a priceless magical artifact from a Hydra.

He shifted in anticipation as said Hydra finally left the building. No one else was inside, to the best of his knowledge. Carlos quickly trotted down the sidewalk, heading up the street. He didn’t even glance in Phillip’s direction. The latter spread his wings and swooped down, soaring through the open doorway.

He quickly fluttered, landing nimbly on the tiled floor. The room was dark but he could see well enough. Shelves, medical supplies, a few beds.

~Come on, come on…~

He scanned the shelves, then jumped up onto one. Nothing here he needed, just a few jars. He flew to another and kept looking. And another. He was about to give up when he finally spotted it on a shelf among boxes of bandages: a large, gold monocle with a long chain. It looked like a normal monocle. but the glass had a distinct shimmer to it. This was what he was after.

~Yes!~ He grabbed the chain with his left foot and reached for the pouch on his leg with his beak.

“Hey, what are you doing?” an annoyed voice demanded, almost giving Phillip a heart attack.

He immediately took flight, heading for the exit. He was still holding the chain in his talons.

“That’s not yours!”

Phillip made his escape like a bat out of hell, and only looked back once to look for pursuers. No one, which surprised him since someone spotted him. Not a flyer, apparently.

He landed on a rooftop and studied his prize. He’d never seen one before, but this was definitely a Scryer. They had a certain air to them anyone would recognize by instinct, even if they’d never seen one before. He held it up in the moonlight with a foot, admiring the craftsmanship. A master enchanter’s work, for sure. He carefully stowed the device in his pouch and took flight again.

~I think that’s enough shenanigans for one night. Time to get this back to Daniel.~

The police station wasn’t far from there, only a few blocks. However, only a few hundred feet away something caught his eye. He looked curiously downward, seeing an Oliatiau in an alleyway crying.

Jack was furious - more so than Daniel had ever seen him before. Angrier even than when Daniel challenged him. He had just gotten off the phone with someone, and clearly it didn’t go well.

The teen wasn’t sure what, if anything, he should say to the Kitsune. Alex taking Ben’s place...clearly, it pissed Jack off, but why? They were going to get Ben back anyway, right, so what’s the harm?

Jack finally walked out of the police station, looking slightly calmer, for once. He pocketed his cell phone.

“What happened?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” the man answered flatly, calmly. “I’ll deal with Alex. In the meantime, I have a job for you.”

Daniel’s ears perked. A job? Jack hadn’t sent him to do anything since they arrived, so this change made him wary. “But what about…?”

“Claire is being taken care of.” Jack paused, and his voice lost a little of its edge, softening. “She’ll be fine, I promise. Right now, this is more important. Without Alex here, I need you to do his job for me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. “We’ve been tracking the Black Hand’s movements through the city for a while now. Phillip was supposed to go out on recon this morning, find out where they’ve moved to. We’re not sure what they’re doing, and that’s why we need to keep an eye on them.” He held up the device. “Whenever this beeps, tap it. It won’t be very loud, so no one but you should hear it. If you can’t respond for any reason, double tap it.” He walked up to Daniel and, without asking permission, attached it to the pouch around the gryphon’s leg with a hook.

Daniel was a little worried. He wasn’t exactly made for stealth. Then again, Jack wasn’t in the best mood to be questioned right now. Besides, Daniel needed to get his mind off Claire. There wasn’t anything he could do for her right now, so sitting around worrying wouldn’t accomplish anything.

He nodded. “What if they see me?”

“Both times Phillip went out,” the man responded, “they noticed him at least once. They didn’t attack him either time. They’re more concerned with what they’re doing. Keep your distance, follow them whenever they leave an area. I’ll call you for regular reports. If they DO come after you, don’t fight them. Run away and try to get back here to the station. If this happens, quickly tap the communicator 3 times. This’ll tell me you’re in danger and I’ll come looking for you immediately. If you can’t get back here, find a place to hide, wait it out.”

Daniel nodded in understanding. “Where’s the group now?”

“To the south, along the north side of the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge, when Phillip last saw them. It’s been almost a full day since then, so they’ve probably moved. There’s a goblin, a gryphon and a harpy in the group.” The man stepped back and gestured to the sky. “Remember, don’t engage. We need information, not to eliminate them.”

Daniel nodded again and spread his wings.

He took his time flying, thinking over the mission he’d been given. It seemed simple enough, just recon.

~Jack was in a better mood,~ he thought silently. ~Something must be going right, for once.~

As he neared the river, he scanned the area, rooftops, shoreline. No sign of the group. He followed the river west, scanning. Suddenly, the communicator beeped and he tapped it with a claw. “Have you located them yet?” Jack’s voice asked.

Daniel shook his head. “They’re not along the river. I’m gonna…” He paused, spotting something in the distance. Brown feathers, down an alleyway off the waterfront upriver. “Think I spotted something. Investigating.” He tapped it again and the connection cut out.

As he neared the alley, he perched on a nearby rooftop. 3 Mystics we’re talking in the alleyway. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but there was a goblin, a gryphon and a harpy, exactly what he was looking for. The goblin was pacing, muttering under his breath; the gryphon lounged on the ground, watching the small Mystic’s movements; the harpy perched on a trash can, fiddling with something in her talons. Both avians had brown feathers. The gryphon was mid-sized for the species, coming up a human’s waist. It was female, by the lack of ears. They looked bored, maybe waiting for something or someone.

Daniel settled into a more comfortable position. This could be a while.

Wes was cold, soooooooooo cold. He knew what it was, but his inner fire never let him feel it. He wandered the city streets for hours. Eventually, he ambled into an alleyway.

He shook his head, sighing. “What the hell am I gonna do now?” he wondered aloud.

Suddenly, he jumped as a loud, menacing growl split the air. He scrambled backward as a large shape rose to its feet further down the alley, a single yellow eye gleaming in the darkness.

Wes almost turned and ran, but a sense of familiarity hit him. That eye“Silver!” he realized.

The large Shrrg regarded him silently. Wes wasn’t sure what to do. Silver wasn’t attacking, just staring silently. He knew Wes, but he knew Wes as a dragon. The large wolf could be unpredictable towards strangers.

Silver didn’t look good. Half his face had been shorn off like with a sword, including his right eye and ear. It’d already scabbed over, but it wasn’t pleasant to look at. Whatever attacked him that night did quite a number on him. Other than that, however, he looked fairly healthy.

Suddenly, Silver perked up, sniffing the air curiously. He approached Wes suddenly, sniffing at him, examining him.

Wes didn’t understand at first, but it slowly came to him. “You know it’s me, don’t you? It’s my scent.” He started to relax as Silver licked the side of his face.

Wes should’ve known, but he almost believed Shorak. The man was so angry, so ready to blame Wes, that Wes almost believed it himself, that he was somehow to blame for what happened to Silver. But Silver knew. He was probably the one person who knew who really did it, and Wes couldn’t even communicate with him.

“What are you doing out here, Silver? You should be back at the camp.”

“Bird.”

Wes started, surprised. Wait, did Silver just…? “What bird?”

“Little gray bird. Need find.”

It didn’t sound like Draconic, but something else. Wes remembered Shorak communicating with the wolf with growls and barks, but he never asked about it.

“Was it a pigeon?” He remembered seeing a pigeon flying around the camp all the time. Pigeons weren’t a weird sight in a city, but this one had black eyes. “Did a pigeon attack you?” Silver nodded in response.

Suddenly silver walked past him, out of the alleyway. “Hey, wait up!” Wes called out, quickly following after him.

Alex lay curled up in a small shack, alone. No need to guard a voluntary prisoner. As he lay there, he couldn’t help wondering if he was doing the right thing. This was incredibly stupid, even by his track record.

~What Jack is doing is wrong,~ he reminded himself, repeating the same argument with himself that landed him here. ~He’s gonna get a lot of people killed doing this. I have to do SOMETHING.~ Alex wasn’t sure what he’d tell Shorak, but the man knew there was more going on than Alex wanting to help a friend. He wasn’t an idiot, after all.

He was startled out of his thoughts as something landed on the floor next to him. He looked to see Shorak watching him from the doorway and his old backpack full of clothes on the floor.

“Get changed,” Shorak said brusquely. “We need to talk.”

Alex sighed and closed his eyes, then nodded after a moment. The time had come, it seemed. He quickly changed forms and got dressed.

They walked in silence at first, strolling through the camp. Not many people were up at this late hour, so it was quiet. Alex wasn’t sure what to say, where to begin.

“Why are you really here, Alex?” Shorak suddenly asked, slamming to a halt. He held the young man with his penetrating gaze.

Alex sighed after a moment. “I want to join the Iron Talons.”

“Why? You do that and you can never go back to your friends, your family, your career with the Order. You’ll be an outcast, just like the rest of us.”

“Because Jack is lying to you, Shorak.” Alex looked up and met the man’s gaze. “I can’t keep doing this, Shorak. The lies, the deceit…it’s killing me on the inside. Those supplies are never going to arrive, and that’s not even the worst part.”

Shorak’s expression turned to anger. “He gave me his word!”

Alex shook his head. “He’s stalling for time, making promises he won’t keep. In 2 weeks, the army is going to arrive in Boston in force to secure the city. He already cut a deal with Brocke and the Silver Claw so they won’t be targeted.”

There was a long, drawn-out silence. Finally, Shorak looked away. “I should’ve known. Even after all these years, that man hasn’t changed at all.”

The look on Shorak’s face…he didn’t look angry, or even surprised. He looked resigned, defeated. Alex always suspected there was more going on here and saw his chance to pounce. “Why does he hate the Iron Talons? Why does he hate you all so much that he’d do this to you?”

Shorak shook his head in response. “He doesn’t hate the Iron Talons.” Alex was about to argue, but Shorak quickly explained: “It’s ME he hates. He and I…we have a lot of history, a lot of bad blood. He hunted me for 20 years.” He looked back at Alex. “Do you know what Jack actually does for the Order of Hurgran?”

Alex nodded. “He solves problems. They send him in to fix bad situations.”

Shorak chuckled softly. “True enough, but there’s more to it. He’s their last resort, their contingency. They send him in to solve problems by any means necessary. He has a reputation for leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, earning him the nickname ‘Ajax the Red.’ 50 years ago, they sent him to kill me.”

“That was back when you were in the Black Hand, wasn’t it? He failed and now he’s come to finish the job, now that he’s found you again?”

“Ajax could never let go of the past. I left that part of me behind long ago, and the evil group I had created.” He closed his eyes. “But he’ll never forgive until the day I die. Maybe he shouldn’t.”