Page 46 of The Beauty and the Griffin

I almost expected Geneva and Hortense to show up.

Some kind soul had turned down the bedclothes for me, but I was far too grimy to even touch that bed. I gently shifted my sleepy egg from its dusty wrappings onto the satin counterpane, then dug through the wardrobe full of gorgeous garments and selected a fluffy wrap of some kind. “Look! It’s feathers. Just for you.” After tucking it around her, I slid the bundle into the center of the bed so it couldn’t possibly roll off. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, little chicky.”

I knew that if I tried to sleep, I would fret all night, wondering why and how the Gamekeeper came to be in the Forbidden Palace. The warmth of his greeting had refueled my courage. If necessary, I would search the entire palace. “But I need something clean and practical to wear,” I muttered. On the off chance it might contain something practical, I searched the bureau drawers. Bingo!

Minutes later, clad in a flannel shirt, corduroy trousers, and old-fashioned house shoes, I stepped into the hallway. It felt so good to be out of that snowsuit!

“I know you’re here somewhere,” I muttered. A sconce further along the hall glimmered to life, then one beyond it. “Oh! Um. Would you help me find the Gamekeeper?”

The sconces blinked, and another one lit up. “Okay. Thank you.” Hoping for the best, I followed various light fixtures and lamps as they obligingly led me along the corridor, around a few corners, and up a spiral stair to a lighted room. Its door stood ajar, so I peered inside at what appeared to be a study with bookshelves lining the walls—the light came from a small fire on the hearth. I knocked gently at the door. “Hello? Gamekeeper?”

“You may enter, Beatrice.”

The act of stepping through that door was more difficult than I’d anticipated. His shadowy presence felt at once familiar and foreign, comforting and disturbing. “Hello.” I did my best to seem at ease, but my voice sounded overly bright even to me. “Am I intruding?” I took a step back toward the doorway before I realized what I was doing.

“Not at all. Please feel free to sit down. I hope you and your young companion find your rooms comfortable?”

So . . . this palace was his home? He sounded hospitable but impersonal. Had I imagined his pleasure when he spoke to me in the dining room?

“Oh, yes. Quite comfortable,” I answered quickly, dropping into an armchair.

He sat in the highbacked chair behind the desk and released a sigh that reminded me of his great size. “Good. The servants are eager to please, and they will respect your privacy.”

Servants. Someone or something had to be working the lights, but the idea of silent invisible people observing me everywhere I might go was disturbing.

I drew a quick breath, working up my courage. “I’m here to . . . I mean, I came to meet you . . .” Something terribly like a sob tightened my chest, and I fell silent.

After a moment, he spoke in his familiar gentle tone. “I imagine you would like an explanation.”

“Yes.” It was a starting point.

“What do you wish to know?”

“This sounds crazy, I’m sure, but Win swears that a griffin told her we would be trapped forever if we came here and that a terrible Beast prowling the palace grounds will kill and eat us just for trespassing.” Once I got started, the words poured out.

“Ah. Please set your mind at ease. While I live, you, your young friend, and the eggs are safe here in the Forbidden Lands. Under normal conditions, the magical barriers allow friendly people and creatures to cross its borders at will, but an enemy who sneaks into my land will be unable to leave. Unfortunately, the barrier surrounding the Forbidden Lands, which includes this palace and the refuge I provide for endangered magical creatures, is currently compromised. I am trapped here.”

“But . . . but who could trap you? My grandaunt, who is some kind of enchantress, told me that you are the Trollkarl, the most powerful enchanter in the world.”

“Being Trollkarl does not make me invincible—it is nothing more than a title. And some of my colleagues on the World Magic Council have betrayed not only my trust but the entire world’s.”

“Oh.” I blinked, trying to remember what Auntie had told me. “Oh! The Mirror? The one Raquel Cambout used to attack Eddi? I mean, is that what they’re using against you? To control people and creatures?”

I saw him nod. “Yes. Many of the creatures attacking Faraway Castle are under the Mirror’s thrall. And I suspect that Mirka, the mother of your griffin eggs, was coerced by the Mirror of Alviss into revealing vital information about the borders of Faraway Castle and the Forbidden Grounds.” After a pause, he inquired, “How did you, Win, and the eggs come to be here?” he asked.

“On Christmas night, Auntie sent me to Faraway Castle. I thought we were there for a holiday, but then she sent me to a cave with orders to escort Win and the griffin eggs to the Forbidden Palace.”

“She sent you to the cave?” He sounded appalled. “Vlad and Mirka’s nesting cave?”

“You weren’t expecting us?”

“I had no idea . . . I was most pleasantly surprised when you appeared here . . . but . . . How did you get here from there?”

“You didn’t know we were coming?”

“Please tell me how you . . . how you . . . Justhow!”His voice held deep concern and bewilderment.

So, I told him, even the part where Win twice tried to lose me in the tunnel, and I sensed his rising anger. I saw no reason to share my dream of Niel—it was only a dream, after all—but as soon as I ended my tale in the wine cellar, he launched out of his chair and paced into a corner where two bookshelves met.

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