In the Service of the Gryphon Princess
Talox leaned both his talons on the parapet, squinting at the horizon. Somewhere in that direction, just over the Grey Hills, gryphons were fighting dragons. If the brave gryphon squadrons should fall, if the rampaging reptiles should reach the Spring...
Flamboyance
I allowed myself a small squawk of triumph as I landed. Waking up so early had been worth it. I'd just claimed one of the best perches on the whole seafront. It had an eye-catching position on a slight promontory, overlooking a busy section of the...
Sky and Sea
Long ago, it happened that Gryssos the god of the sea fell in love with Aelyria the goddess of the sky. In those days Aelyria took the form of a great white bird, and Gryssos that of a sleek black whale. Gryssos was infatuated with Aelyria from...
The Dragon and the Thief
Dellerton slunk slowly into the dragon's lair, his feet touching the rock floor with professional soundlessness. The air was thick with sulphuric dragon-stench, but there was no sign of the foul beast yet. He risked another step forward, and then...
Old Flames
Kreel stirred. There was, at first, no outward sign of it: he lay motionless atop his great mound of gold, curled round in a circle so the tip of his long tail rested on the scales of his slender neck. The only evidence that he was awake was the...
Fire and Smoke
The first firework thrust into the night sky on a pillar of fire and smoke and exploded in an orgasm of orange light. Following on, dozens more, screaming and gasping through the air, spurting streamers of bright colour across the darkness, an...
Price of Passage
"I think we can dispense with these," he said, casting off his human visage. I followed suit, and we both took a few moments to stretch our wings, swish our tails and stamp our feet, feeling the life pour back into our neglected bodies. We were the...
Grey-Eye
The wind roared under my wings, supporting me. With a powerful downward beat I thrust myself forwards through the warm air, feeling the sky surge faster over my streamlined form. There was the turbulent gale where my head penetrated the oncoming wall...
Echobright
Three females were perched on a stone parapet high above the street. Their wings were folded and their long grey necks thrown back as they sang out into the bright blue sky. They sang their parts in the Song, the sky-filling harmony to which we hyeloki...
The fire dragons
He was back, sliding through the cold air in great swooping circles with me at their centre. Balanced on two great wings, he lit the night sky with ostentatious jets of fire from his throat, the flame glittering off his vivid red scales. A part of me...