The Lost Heir (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 1) by E.G. Foley Read Free Book Online Page A

little overgrown island in the center of the manmade lake, where Jake had taken up residence in an old white gazebo. It was very peaceful gliding through the still waters. Her hard day at the market was forgotten. Soon she spotted Jake standing on a boulder near the water’s edge.
    His back was to her, and with three rocks flying in circles above him, she thought he was trying to juggle, but then she saw that his hands were not moving, and she scowled. Boys! Why don’t they ever listen?
    As soon as her swan boat bumped against Jake’s island, Teddy bounded over the side and dashed up onto the land to go and see him. The dog’s barking broke Jake’s concentration, and the three fist-sized rocks he had been levitating with his mind plunked to the ground.
    Dani put the oars in their holders and carefully stood up. “I thought you weren’t going to do that anymore,” she said as she threw her sack over her shoulder and hopped off the boat.
    “Huh?” Jake pretended not to hear her over Teddy’s happy barking.
    “Don’t complain to me when you get the headache.”
    “It’s not as bad as before.” He squeezed his temples with one hand. “I think I’m getting stronger at it.”
    She was not sure if that was such a good thing. The headache at least kept him from using his powers too much.
    She produced the potpie from under her cloak and his blue eyes lit up. “Ah, Dani O’Dell, you’re a right plum lass, you are.”
    “I know,” she replied.
    He took it from her and went to sit on his favorite boulder. The next thing she knew, he was shoving huge bites of mincemeat pie into his mouth in a most unmannerly fashion.
    “Give Teddy some. He’s starving.”
    “Dance,” Jake ordered through his mouthful of food. The terrier danced, and Jake tossed him a good-sized crumb.
    Reluctantly, Dani went over and broke a piece of the potpie off for herself. So much for her good intentions, she thought with a shrug. Then she sat down with a flounce of her dreary drab skirts on the top step of the gazebo that Jake had made his temporary home. His few belongings were strewn about inside it.
    “So what happened after you ran off?” she asked. “I saw those men chase you. I guess you got away.”
    He paused in his chewing and gave her a guarded look.
    “What?” she asked, nibbling on the famous pie-crust.
    Jake snorted like a half-wild colt and tossed his dirty blond forelock out of his eyes.
    “What did they want?” she demanded.
    “To kill me,” he said matter-of-factly.
     

     
    “What?”
    Perhaps he shouldn’t have told her, Jake thought.
    Dani’s green eyes grew as round as the algae-covered pond surrounding his little island. She stared at him in dread. Once he had said that much, however, it was too late to back out from telling her the rest.
    The truth was, he was glad to share it, because secretly, this was one of those rare occasions where he could admit he might be in just a wee bit over his head.
    He told her all about it, though he skipped over the magic bits. He knew that topic gave her the willies. Instead, he simply told her about his so-called uncle, the Earl of Griffon, and Derek Stone and his unjust arrest.
    Jake was all too familiar with the process that Derek would undergo after the police wagon took him away.
    The bobbies would haul him into the nearest police station, where he’d be thrown in a holding cell for a few hours until it was his turn to stand before the magistrate. Known in street language as a “beak,” the magistrate served as a sort of first-round judge, who would determine if there was indeed a case to be made against the person arrested.
    When it was Derek’s turn to be brought into the courtroom, probably this evening, the beak would ask questions of everyone involved. Their answers would help the court decide if there was enough evidence to formally charge Derek with the crime. If not, the case would be dismissed and he’d be free to go.
    But if the beak determined there