THE NEXT MORNING GREDEL WOKE us before dawn. The burly man had gotten over his nerves around us and we'd discovered he had a pretty good sense of humour. We simply weren't in the mood to appreciate it first thing in the morningsure, we may have had eight hours sleep, but a dozen more would have been nice.Waking to the sudden clashing of two tin plates wasn't the best start to the day. Gredel retreated from the room at a decent pace when all our heads jerked up at the racket. Loi growled some not-so-polite words after him and a pillow flew from Sian's direction but fell short, bouncing off the edge of my cot. I dropped my head back with a groan and grinned when I heard Kassie do the same. It took another five minutes of grumbles and groans before we reluctantly climbed out of bed and shuffled around our small tent space, getting dressed and packing up.Keeping busy almost allowed me to ignore the annoying voice in my head that mumbled about flying and heights (and lack of safety belt

ALEK FELL SILENT, lost in his thoughts and Loushka let him be. She knew where he'd like to set up camp for the night so continued on while chatting with the other griffons. The conversation stayed firmly on their four guests, each griffon voicing different theories as to why Elena wanted them, and where they came from. Phroma felt grateful that Gredel had his lovely wife to go home to and a little concerned at the intensity already being expressed between some of the couples.'After all,' she reasoned to Nesha 'We only met them the other day. We still don't know what their powers are. For Elena to be so interested they must be either very valuable, or very dangerous.'Nesha politely acknowledged Phroma's concerns, though personally felt the women weren't dangerous to them.Kerak butted in, furious that Phroma would insult Kassandra. 'I think the women are really niceI like Kassandra.''Settle down, Kerak,' admonished Tomiar gently. 'Phroma's not saying Kassandra or the others are

SABYN AND LOI TALKED THE whole flight, leaning backward or forward to speak in the other's ear. He told her all about his family, she learned he had two younger sisters who commandeered much of their parents' time. The twins, Lenia and Franti, were just sixteen and at that boy-crazy stage.'It made the last visit we had at my family's home embarrassing,' Sabyn shook his head at the memory.Loi laughed at the thought of the teenagers trying out their charms on the boys. 'I'll bet that doesn't go down well with Gredel,' she spoke in Sabyn's ear.He roared with laughter.'WHAT? WHAT'D SHE SAY?' DEMANDED Tomiar.He relayed Laura's words to her. Tomiar chuckled and sent him an image of the last time Gredel had visitedit showed the large man pasty white while the two girls closed in on him, their eyelashes fluttering and hands clasped demurely in front. Gredel told Sabyn afterward, in no uncertain terms, that he would never again visit without Citaan.AUDREY SEEMED TO LOVE THE view

ALEK PACED AT THE FRONT of the lodge while he waited for Catherine. About to go in search of her, he stopped when Audrey appeared at his feet, whining and crying with excitement. He laughed and bent to pat her.'She's super excited,' Catherine called out as she walked in.Alek looked up to greet her then stopped. She wore shorts that revealed shapely legs and a fitted tunic. He gaped at her for a moment. 'Run?! Err, I mean, go for a run?' He flushed when she gave him a funny look, suddenly aware of his abrupt tone.'Yep, are you feeling alright?' Her green eyes stared up at him in concern.Shake it off Alek, he thought to himself. It's not like you haven't spent the last two days together. 'I'm fine. It's just warm in here. What did you do to your hair?' he changed the subject quickly and studied the intricate braid that ran down the back of her head.I TURNED TO SHOW THE plait off. 'Sian did it for me. It'll keep my hair out of the way.''Clever,' he commented and gestured wit

ALEK JERKED BACK, THEN FLUSHED red, turning to stare at Loushka for a moment. I got the idea and bit my lip to keep from laughing. Actually, my head now spun in a rather impressive manner. The awful thumping had vanished and my veins felt like they hummed with desire. I could feel a very silly look develop on my face and glanced down to hide it.'SORRY.' ALEK THOUGHT SHEEPISHLY.'Oh I don't mind,' Loushka thought, 'And Cat certainly seems better for it. But next time shield your mind. I really don't need all those unsolicited thoughts flooding in.'Alek looked down at the woman snuggled in his arms. Appearing to sense his gaze, she looked up, green eyes slanted in pleasure, looking very cat like.'Arrrgghh!' Loushka shrieked verbally and mentally, startling Alek and Cat. 'That's it! I'm taking you back to the lodge and you are in separate rooms dammit! Keep your mind on something non-sexual or you are walking back to the village!'Oops, Alek winced. Need to work on that mind shi