Angelica stood on the hill overlooking where the old barn had been. Its charred remains, a result of the fight between Dylan and his father, had been removed and in its place a new barn was being built. Apparently building with magic went a good deal more quickly than what she was used to. It had been less than a week and it was all but complete.

She enjoyed the wind playing across her skin before deciding her afternoon walk was done and headed back toward the mansion. Dusty was sitting in the library, pouring over his books.

“What do you think Dylan is bringing back?” she asked.

“Well if he’d told us, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Dusty replied without looking up.

“Do you think it might be another servant? Nicole wasn’t a surprise though.”

“Did you need me, Miss?” Nicole slid from the shadows in a manner that Angelica was only just getting used to. The stunted demon had a sort of camouflage. It did not make her invisible so much as your eyes felt like they wanted to ignore that she was there. As such it made it very easy to forget she was there, which seemed like a perfect quality for a servant to have.

“No, sorry Nicole.”

“Very good.”

“I wouldn’t mind a drink, Nicole,” Dusty said with a smile. “Cold if you could.”

“Of course, Master Dusty.” She left the library.

Dusty chuckled. “I wonder if I’m enjoying having a servant too much.”

“I hardly think it’s odd to enjoy having someone else do things for you.” Angelica pulled a book from the shelf and flipped through it absently. “It is what she’s being paid for, after all. It’s no different than asking a baker for a loaf of bread.”

“You’re used to having servants.”

“Yes, and soon you will be too.”

Nicole came back in along with a mug and set it beside Dusty.

“Thank you.” He smiled.

The servant nodded and moved back to the wall.

“Oh here, I found another spell.” Dusty pushed the book he was reading around and pointed to a line.

“Winds from the South.” The book lifted from its place and floated into Angelica’s open hand.

“You’ve been practicing…”

“Yeah well spells are a lot easier now that I’m not trying too hard.” She read the page in front of her. “Another ice spell. Sounds like it’s supposed to make it snow.”

“Over a small area anyway. We’ll have to try it later I suppose.” Dusty took a sip of his drink. “This ‘ability’ of yours is annoying. I have to go through all these books just to find spells specifically made for mixing elements.”

“You enjoy it.” Angelica chuckled.

“Well I did find that one fire spell…” he paused. “Ah, seems like Master Dylan’s back. He says he wants us to come down to the barn.”

“You still haven’t told me how you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Talk with Dylan without actually talking. You said it’s not mind magic.”

“It’s a wind spell, though used in a rather complex way.” Dusty stood. “We send our words on the wind, but it doesn’t work if you don’t know where the person is. He knew there was a good chance I was in the library, so the spell reached me. Though if I hadn’t been here and you were, the words might have reached you instead.”

Angelica nodded as they walked out toward the barn. There were a few men putting up some of the final planks on the far wall. The two humans walked into the barn to see Dylan standing by one of the stalls.

He motioned them over, nodding into the stall.

“Did you get a horse? I was wondering why you were rebuilding the barn.” He looked into the stall. “Oh wow.”

Two bird-like heads looked up at the group standing outside the stall. One of the creatures was black and the other gray, both curled up together with wings folded over their backs.

“Beast demons?” Angelica asked.

“They’re a species of demon called a gryffin. They’re bred and raised as mounts.” Dylan replied. “These two are brother and sister, from the same clutch.”

Dusty let himself into the stall and knelt down, holding out his hand. The black colored gryffin looked up and made an odd chirping meow sound. The teen ran his fingers through the feathers on the black gryffin’s head. “Do they have names yet, Master?”

“I was going to leave that to the two of you.”

“Well then his name is Candith.” Dusty smiled. “It was the name of a very powerful master of wind.”

“Ah yes, I remember that story. He loved his sister so much that the wind protected her at all times.”

“What was the sister’s name?” Angelica asked.

“Wirith.”

“Well then that’s what her name is.”

The gray griffin stood, moving closer to Angelica, chirping. The young woman reached out, feeling the soft feathers. She wondered if their wings were actually capable of carrying them in flight. To be able to ride one across the sky as opposed to land bound horses. To watch the ground fall away as they soared.

But then there was not much space around the mansion that was inside the barrier. Certainly not enough space to fly freely as they were meant to. Why would the demon introduce her to them…she could never ride them. Was he attempting to rub her captivity in her face?

“So are they for your plans as well?”

Dylan nodded. “Getting to and from town will be much faster with these two.”

“Still going off and leaving me here?”

He stroked Wirith. “It’s not like that.”

“So you just like dangling freedom in front of me just to snatch it away?”

“You are a gue-”

Angelica’s temper broke. “Stop saying that! I might be safe from whatever danger you think there is, but I do not take kindly to being a prisoner and even less so to be lied to about it.” Angelica glared at him angrily and then stormed off. It bothered her that she did feel so much like a guest, almost a part of the household.

“Miss Angelica…” Dusty called after her.

These gryffins reminded her of the restrictions on her. She wanted to go home, she wanted to see her parents and especially her sister and apologize. She wanted to stop pretending she was a friend of her jailers.