The Second Jackson- Piper McLean book 1

Thank You Zoe

Lani

I went weightless.

My vision blurred. Claws grabbed my arms and lifted me into the air. Below, train wheels squealed, and metal crashed. Glass shattered. Passengers screamed.

When my eyesight cleared, I saw the beast that was carrying me aloft. It had the body of a panther- sleek, black, and feline- with the wings and head of an eagle. Its eyes glowed blood red.

I squirmed. The monster's front talons were wrapped around my arms like steel bands. I couldn't free myself or reach my sword. I rose higher and higher in the cold wind. I had no idea where the monster was taking me, but I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it when we got there.

I yelled- mostly out of frustration. Then something whistled by my ear. An arrow sprouted from the monster's neck. The creature shrieked and let go.

I fell, crashing through tree branches until I slammed into a snowbank. I groaned, looking up at a massive pine tree I'd just shredded.

I managed to stand. Nothing seemed broken. Frank stood to my left, shooting down the creatures as fast as he could. Hazel was at his back, swinging her sword at any monster that came close, but there were too many swarming around them- at least a dozen.

Percy had Riptide drawn, swinging his sword skillfully. I drew my Tremor. I sliced the win off one monster and sent it spiraling into a tree, then sliced through another that burst into dust. But the defeated ones began to re-form immediately.

"Are these what I think they are?" I yelled.

"Gryphons!" Hazel said. "We have to get them away from the train!"

I saw what she meant. The train cars had fallen over, and their roofs have shattered. Tourists were stumbling around in shock. I didn't see anybody seriously injured, but the gryphons were swooping toward anything that moved. The only thing keeping them away from the mortals was a glowing gray warrior in camouflage- Frank's pet spartus.

I glanced over and noticed Frank's spear was gone. "Used your last charge?"

"Yeah" Frank shot another gryphon out of the sky. "I had to help the mortals. The spear just dissolved"

I nodded. Part of me was relieved. I didn't like the skeleton warrior. Part of me was disappointed, because that was one less weapon we had at our disposal. But I didn't fault Frank. Frank had done the right thing.

"Let's move the fight!" Percy said. "Away from the tracks!"

We stumbled through the snow, smacking and slicing gryphons that re-formed from dust every time they were killed.

I had had no experience with gryphons. I remember a few stories from Zoe, but before that? I'd always imagined them as huge noble animals, like lions with wings, but these things reminded me more of vicious pack hunters- flying hyenas.

About fifty yards from the tracks, the trees gave way to open marsh. The ground was way too spongy and icy, I felt like I was running on bubble wrap. Frank was running out of arrows. Hazel was breathing hard. Percy's sword swings were getting slower. I changed Tremor into Hurricane first chance I got so I would have a lighter weapon, but I was still getting tired. I realized we were only alive because the gryphons weren't trying to kill us. They gryphons wanted to pick us up and carry us off somewhere.

Maybe to their nests, I thought. Zoe told me the first time she fought gryphons they wanted to take her to their nest and had made off with a new Hunter. They found her and saved her, but the gryphons had tried feeding her to their young.