Heartbeat Passage Ch. 03

Celeste's horn shone with a golden beam of light, magic shooting towards the sky as her mane lifted up and away from her neck. Christian curled his fingers into the damp sand, struck by her beauty even in the pit of battle. She was astounding. Sharptalon scurried to Nighthunter's side and hissed, both stalking forward to flank the unicorn on two sides. Gathering herself, Celeste took an uncertain step backwards, tossing her head as her hind hooves sank into a patch of damper sand, clogged by a rivulet of water. She stumbled and Christian lurched to his feet, slinging a pebble so that it skittered across the talons of both advancing gryphons.

"Oi!" He bellowed, forcing his voice to carry. "Some predators you are! Ganging up in a pack! Common dogs!" He laughed, putting as much derision into the sound as possible as Celeste found firm footing. "You can't even hunt alone. Are you sure you're real gryphons after all?"

The gryphons glanced back, giving enough time for Celeste to cloak herself in magic, her form shimmering as she threw up a silvery barrier that shocked the gryphons like a jolt of electricity. Stunned, they rocked their heads back and forth, shook themselves, and turned to easier, unshielded prey. Christian gulped. Move! He shook himself and scrambled upright, darting behind a weather beaten log with gnarled, whitened roots reaching towards the sky, grabbing another fistful of pebbles, for what little good they would do him. The best thing he could do was not hinder her so that she could see their unwelcome guests off.

Celeste charged, head down and horn raised as the gryphons screeched and leapt for Christian, flapping to take flight a metre or so above the ground - not hard enough to gain any true altitude. He ducked and a brilliant ray of light shot over head as Celeste counter attacked, spearing them with a point of magic that seared off feathers with a black singe of burning. Their fellow screeched, flapping her wings erratically and Nighthunter hissed as he whipped around, hardly dissuaded by the strike. He'd had worse and Celeste knew it, drawing on that knowledge to maintain her attack. It was not her forte - what unicorn would enjoy battle? Her eyes narrowed at the corners and she snorted, nostrils showing a red slash of heat within.

Holding no magic of his own, Nighthunter was not about to give up and feinted to the left, darting for the unicorn's flank as she sidestepped, nearly on top of Sharptalon. Further back, pacing anxiously back and forth with her tail whipping, Sunwing shrieked and flapped like a fledgling toppled out of the nest. As Sharptalon struck, Christian cried out, hanging off the roots of the fallen tree, sheltering him, and struggled not to look away. Yet he had nothing to be worried about.

He should have more faith in her strength and watched, jaw slack, as she handled herself admirably. Ducking away from the sharp talons, Celeste blocked the gryphon's swipe with solidified magic, using it like a shield to beat him back. Voice curdling into an equine scream that he could hardly believe came from her lips, Celeste bucked, twisted and slammed her magic into the gryphons, catching Nighthunter with the full brunt of it. Only dealt a glancing blow, Sharptalon squawked, only taking pause and stock of the situation when he caught sight of Nighthunter sprawled out on the ground, lifting his head. Hatred burned in the gryphon's eyes.

But Celeste had already won.

"Begone with you!" She cried, magic warping the air around her body so that her shape flitted in and out of visibility. "I'll have no more of your silken tongue, though I can say nothing for your talons! They are blunted by your ways and your feathers dull from trespass. You have no meaning to be here!"

"Nighthunter..." The female gryphon, Sunwing, crawled on the ground to his side, belly rubbing through damp sand. "Nighthunter, are you well? Can you take flight?"

"Well enough to fight!" Nighthunter growled, struggling to his feet, although one wing drooped dangerously low. "Stand against me, unicorn, and we shall see who deserves to rule our forest! You have reigned for far too long!"

"Nighthunter! Have some sense!" Sunwing snapped, speaking up at long last, though she cast Celeste a hateful look. "Up on your paws! We must fly! The alpha must hear of this!"

The mention of the alpha - was that like in a wolf's pack? - seemed to jolt him into action. Nighthunter heaved himself up, one wing drooping yet not broken. He stretched it out, wincing. It would pain him to fly but would not hold him back. Snarling, he turned his back on the unicorn, spraying a derisive jet of urine from his feline hindquarters, a feeble attempt to mark territory that he believed should always have been his.

Celeste wrinkled her nose and stared Nighthunter down until he turned tail, shoulders slumping.

"You may return, but you shall never claim what you seek."

Celeste shot of a spray of sparks from her horn; they were for show but they got the gryphons moving, trotting along the sand as their wings pumped, skipping into the air.

"We shall meet again, princess," Nighthunter cawed, voice almost drowned out by his laboured flapping. "And, next time, you shall have a very different kind of gryphon to deal with. One that you will regret crossing."

Christian edged away from the shelter of the tree, lips twisting as the roots cast long, gnarled shadows across the sand like the fingers of a great beast. The problem, however, was that beasts were becoming enemies as much as friends, showing themselves beyond the outskirts of lands mankind had claimed. Myths were alive and kicking. And they were coming for them.

He stroked Celeste's neck as she nickered, hiding her distress behind a nudge of her muzzle into his chest - too swift for the gryphons to notice.

Nighthunter would not leave without one last jab, however, and called back as they flew out of earshot.

"Unicorns will not survive!"

Celeste shuddered and Christian murmured sweet nothings into her ear, holding her as tight to him as was possible until her trembles subsided, knees once again steady. The day had drawn on and sunset crept across the land, touching the lake with shades of red and orange. Once again, the crackle of magic fading from her horn, Christian was stunned by her form and poise, not a hair out of place even after a fight in which she had charged across half the sands and back - all to defend him. How could he ever match up to such a breathtaking creature? Without her, he would surely be carried off by a gryphon to who knew where!

He shook his head and stepped closer, breathing in her sweet scent in slow, deep breaths as if she was the elixir through which his life may be lived.

"You saved me, Celeste," he said, arms around her neck and face buried in her mane. "You protected me..." Words seemed too much, too cliché. "How can I ever repay you, my sweet? What can I ever do for you that can meet every drop of what you do for me?"

"Oh Christian," she murmured, lipping the back of his neck where his hairline began. "You should already know the answer to that one."

She lifted her head to look into his eyes, a light breeze lifting her mane from her neck as her white coat glowed pink in the sunset.

"I'll always be your white knight."