Page 31 of The Beauty and the Griffin

Who could resist? That wistful little voice did things to my heart. Her parents would certainly disapprove, but they could always rename her. “Yes, I will think of just the right name for you, sweet little chicky.”

Her happiness radiated in warm waves.Love name. Love Beeetrice.

A despairing groan interrupted us.

“Oh, no! Oh,no!You ruined everything!” Win, still flat on the floor, tipped her head back to glare at me upside-down. “You’re so dead—you’retouching its shell! Now they’ll tearmelimb from limb too!”

“You should be grateful I caught her. We’re all four still alive, no thanks to you. Get up and start walking.” Cradling my darling baby egg in one arm, I jerked a thumb at the void behind me.

The girl sat up, rubbing the back of her head, then stared at me in dazed disbelief. “Why did the Beast’s barrier let you back through but not me?”

A barrier? By the eggs’ light, I studied our surroundings with greater attention. Rock and more rock, cold and deep. And there was magic in the aperture, an invisible barrier that I’d passed through both ways with no trouble.

Win had pushed me through it, intending to trap me in the caves without my pack. Without my egg.

Anger flared. “Maybe because, unlike someone else I know, I didn’t plan any treachery.”

She sulked. “You’re an idiot.”

“I’m not the one with a splitting headache. Why try to run? You already knew I could pass through the barrier. Come on. Get moving.”

“My head hurts. My vision is blurry, and I bit my tongue.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“I might have a concussion.”

“I sincerely hope not, but we either start walking or sit here until we freeze or starve.”

“If we don’t starve or get massacred by goblins or cave trolls, the Beast will swallow us whole.”

I shrugged, feeling oddly lighthearted. “Ooh, let’s get going and find out which! My choice is ‘arrive safely at the palace.’ Maybe someone’ll throw a creepy-costume ball just for us.”

Win slowly stood up, clutching the back of her head. “Give my egg back.”

“Not a chance. You’ve proven yourself untrustworthy, so I’m carrying both eggs until you start behaving rationally.”

“But I need it to see the way.”

“Tough. I don’t trust you.” I tucked the gold egg into my backpack beside her sibling, who glowed silvery blue as if in greeting. “Now, let’s go.”

The eggs’ light easily penetrated my backpack, illuminating the tunnel’s sandy floor. Although it sloped downward, the tunnel’s height and width would have allowed a large horse to pass through without scraping its ears. Winifred started walking. Head and shoulders bowed, she stumbled over every irregularity in the floor.

I didn’t react.

She complained about her aching head.

I let her moan.

The path led steadily downward, and when it widened into an actual cavern, Win kept walking straight ahead until we reached a wall with two tunnels, one leading upward, the other leading down.

“Which path do I take?” she asked.

I felt a vibration from the eggs.

I took a step toward one tunnel. Nothing. I moved toward the downward-sloping tunnel and instantly felt something like approving purrs. “Thank you!” I purred back, then told Win, “The right tunnel.”

This pattern continued. Every time we reached a fork or branch in the path, the eggs chose a tunnel—sometimes sloping upward, sometimes down. We munched on snacks along the way, and I finished my bottle of water. I had no way to measure time, but we must have hiked for several hours before the tunnel suddenly opened into a huge cave complete with amazing rock formations that reflected our egg light in vivid colors. Winifred soon located a trickling stream. “It smells fresh, and there’s no steam, so go ahead.”

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