City of Death by Laurence Yep Read Free Book Online Page B

fleece, she saw more war griffins sparring with dummies mounted on tall poles. When a griffin struck a dummy in the wrong spot, the dummy swiveled and the pole attached to the dummy hit the griffin and sent her spinning to the hoots and laughter of the other griffins.
    Still other griffins were honing their agility by flying obstacle courses that contained not only hurdles on the ground, but nets suspended in the air with only narrow gaps through which to fly. And a third group was attempting to take a mock fort from a fourth group.
    In the valley beyond, lean, sleek griffins darted around pylons over a snowy oval. “Are those warriors too?” Leech asked.
    Scirye had seen pictures of them. “No, griffins come in all sizes for all sorts of purposes. Those griffins are getting ready for the great air races in the summer.” She pointed to another group swooping and swirling. “And those griffins are practicing for aerial polo.”
    A forest of pines covered either slope at the end of the valley and here griffins about the size of collies took turns diving upon a dummy of a bird. Their shoulders were broad but their haunches were slender.
    â€œAre they war griffins too?” Koko asked.
    â€œThose are hunting griffins,” Scirye explained.
    As they flew over steep gorges sliced out of the mountain by the river and wide valleys, Scirye realized that Kles’s eyrie was much larger than she had thought, for it included not only training grounds but pastures with sheep and goats eating from bales of hay. Fences separated the fields—resting under the layer of snow—and their bordering fences stitched the land like a patchwork quilt. Though bare of leaves now, there were also row after row of almond and fruit trees waiting to blossom in the spring.
    Everything suggested a prosperous and well-managed domain. In fact, Kles’s clan believed that Oesho the wind god had created this lovely home just for them.
    Leech let out an appreciative whistle. “The griffins have everything they need for the winter.”
    â€œIt’s not just winter that can cut the land routes off,” Kaccap explained. “The lyak have invaded in the past to steal the gold.”
    Koko had been sitting hunched with fatigue but he perked up now. “Gold?”
    â€œThe eyries were placed here partly to guard the imperial gold mines,” Kaccap said. “Lyak means thief in the Old Tongue.”
    â€œYou wouldn’t happen to have any samples around, would you?” Koko asked. “You know, sort of as a souvenir.”
    â€œForgive the badger,” Bayang said. “His mother dropped him on his head when he was a baby.”
    Two giant griffins had been carved from the stone at the mouth of the next pass. They stood, ever alert, unwinking eyes staring at the world. At the moment, though, snow covered their shoulders and icicles hung from their beaks.
    When they burst over the next valley, Scirye saw numerous humans and wagons on the road leading to a sizable, prosperous town. Beyond it was another lake, but this one was as large as a small sea.
    Kaccap explained that the miners, farmers, and shepherds lived here along with all the other humans who served the eyrie’s needs.
    From the way M ā ka pressed herself against her griffin’s back as if trying to hide, Scirye suspected they were also overly critical of the entertaiment hired for their banquets.
    The ancient eyrie of Kles’s clan lay at the end of the lake in the tallest mountain honeycombed with caves and tunnels. Here and there were areas where the gateways had been cut in even rows and at equal intervals, but many had been carved as needed over the centuries so that they were scattered about randomly.
    Unlike the rest of the mountains, the snow had been tidily swept away from the openings as well as the ledges and platforms. On its peak, though, was a steel radio tower, a concession to modern times. Snow blew from