The Conduit The Gryphon Series - By Stacey Rourke Page 0,42

I will research our situation.” As soon as the last word left her mouth she morphed into the eagle and blazed off into the horizon.

“Wow.” Gabe’s eyes widened in mock awe. “You must really feel like crap right now.”

“Yes. Yes I do. Can we go now, please?” As much as I wished he would leave this alone, I knew he wouldn’t.

“Sure.” A smile played at the corners of his lips, as he motioned for me to lead the way. We made it all of fifteen paces before he started in. “I mean, you just made an angel cry. I can’t say for sure that you’ll go to hell for that kind of thing, but it doesn’t look good.”

“Shut up, Gabe. And she’s not really an angel.”

“Keep telling yourself that. I’m sure you’ll find it very reassuring while you’re burning in the eternal hell fires, right next to the puppy kickers.”

I muttered a few expletives under my breath, but kept walking.

Gabe matched me stride for stride. “I gotta ask, Cee, is it out of your system now? Or do you need to track down good ole’ Saint Nick and kick him in the crotch?”

“Leave her alone, Gabe.” Kendall said as she trailed us. “She’s got a lot on her mind right now!”

“Thank you, Kendall.”

“Yeah. She’s busy trying to find the Easter Bunny, so she can rip his fuzzy, little tail off.”

I glared over my shoulder at her. “Et tu, Brute’?”

Their tittering laughter echoed through the forest.

I thought I had gained a good distance on them when Gabe jumped in front of me. With his back to me, he kept his gaze locked to the north of us.

“What now? Oh, ha, ha, ha. Is the Gryphon coming to settle the score for me making his BFF cry?” I tried to push past him, but he blocked the way with one enormous arm.

A hand locked onto my shoulder and pulled me back. I turned. Kendall silently motioned me to come to her. A low, rumbling growl escaped from my brother’s chest. All the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention.

“What is it?” I whispered.

“We’re not alone.” Gabe’s voice came out a deep, disturbing rumble.

“The panther?” Kendall asked, her tone surprisingly calm.

Another menacing growl confirmed it.

“We’ve got to go! We aren’t ready yet for him to report us to Barnabus!” I grabbed Gabe’s arm and tried to yank him toward the parking lot.

Gabe’s head snapped around. To my astonishment, yellow slit cat eyes bore down on me. “Do you think you can outrun a panther?” He snarled.

I’m kind of worried about outrunning you right now.

Instinct made me release his arm. Despite my trembling voice I tried to reason with him. “Gabe, you’re getting ready to change. That’s pretty obvious. If he sees that, he’s gonna know. I am asking you, please, calm down and come with us. Now!”

The tall weeds beside us rustled. We were out of time. Gabe growled. His lip curled up to reveal sharp fangs emerging from his top and bottom jaw. Whatever was in the grass halted.

“Kendall, take Celeste and go.” He rumbled.

I started to object. To demand that he come, too. Then I caught sight of his skin. It rippled as if something crawled beneath it. Stretching. Churning. Preparing. As revolting as it was, I couldn’t look away. Gabe hit a crouch just as the black panther slunk out from the reeds. As soon as it saw Gabe its ears went flat to its head. It snarled and showed its teeth.

A mighty “king of the jungle” roar tore out of Gabe and shook the ground we stood on. The panther flinched. Its feline eyes widened. Its ears perked. No mere human could make that noise. Gabe just gave us away. With a roll of his neck, the panther turned his yellow eyes to Kendall and I. Did you know panthers can smile? They can. It’s terrifying.

Gabe entered the next, more gruesome, part of his transformation. Beneath his seemingly elastic skin, his skeletal system began to shift. With sickening snaps and pops his bones dislocated, then reconnected in their new formation. Hair sprouted up on him, everywhere. As awful as it was, my masochistic eyes refused to look away.

Gabe’s head swiveled to Kendall and I, as the bones in his face separated and locked outward to form a wide muzzle. “Rrrrrun, dammit!” He yelled in a barely human tremor.

That was it. It was time to go. I grabbed Keni’s arm and scrambled down the path. Roars, lashes,