44. A Griffin’s Wings Will Only Take Them Part Way
Chapter 44
A Griffin’s Wings Will Only Take Them Part Way
The Host
Two Months Ago
A knock coming from The Host’s door caused him to lift off his leather chair where he had been staring listlessly out the window. He expected Harold or possibly even Nightingale, but he was shocked to see it was someone else entirely.
“Can I come in?” The man glanced around the hallway behind him. “Quickly, please.”
The Host inclined his head. “Sure.” His mind was still fluffy, still filled with cotton balls from his last dosage, but it was steadily clearing.
He stepped back gesturing for the man to join him inside.
“Why are you here?” The Host asked.
“My younger brother.” The man shifted anxiously on his feet. His familiar golden mask adorned in red crystals on the corners. “Are there cameras? Can you truly be trusted?”
The Host heaved an exasperated sigh. “Is this a ploy? A Sponsor coming to offer me another bribe?”
“I’m not here as a Sponsor.” The man, apparently satisfied that they weren’t being spied on, walked to the empty couch and made himself at home.
The Host shut the door and turned to face him.
“What do you want, Drago? Or should I refer to you as King?” The Host found no amusement in this, his job now was to know everyone and everything that took place inside this game. He knew exactly who the man before him was. Recognized his mask, his voice. The man that had entered his home was not only a Sponsor but the leader of Grypheem.
“A Griffin’s wings will only take them part way,” Drago murmured. “I need your help. To free my brother’s wings.”
The Host narrowed his eyes. “What an odd thing for a leader of another country to say.”
Drago steepled his hands and lowered his head. “Violencia has captured my brother. Again. And this time he will end up in this game. I could not help him any other way. I need you to keep him safe.”
The Host laughed, walking back to his leather chair and leveling the man with a glare. “So, you are here as a greedy Sponsor? Using your own brother to profit? To line your pockets.”
“No!” Drago barked out, standing up in his rage. “I would never! I am not like them! I am a man of honor. ”
“A man of honor? You’re a money hungry monster just like all the rest of them,” The Host spoke plainly. Ensuring his heart beat remained level and calm. He would not let this man force him back into the depths of unconsciousness.
“You know my brother. He made you a promise. And I am here to help fulfill it.”
“How could I possibly know him? You are from a different country,” The Host replied emotionlessly.
This time Drago was the one to let loose his own humorless laughter. “You think that there aren’t any outsiders in Violencia?” Drago tugged four files from his coat. “The bottom one is my younger brother. Take a look through it. But know this–when the time is right, I will be helping him to escape with or without you.”
Drago did not wait for a response before dropping the folders onto the table between them.
“I want this game to end more than anyone else. I am on your side, on Anadil’s.”
The Host didn’t believe him, nor did he look down.
“I’ll be in touch,” Drago promised as he marched out of The Host’s home.
The Host waited twenty-three minutes before he moved again. In that time, the gears in his brain adjusted to the onslaught of information.
Once it was all properly stored, he finally peered at the folders below.
The top name caught his attention. Oleks. A memory thrashed its way into his skull. Of a time many years ago when a man by that name had sent Julian to find Griffin.
No. It can’t be.
The Host shoved the other two folders aside, finding the bottom one.
This time he could not contain his rapidly beating heart .
Griffin.
The man that had been in his prison years ago. Drago’s younger brother. The missing Prince of Grypheem. The Griffin gang’s leader.
It did not take long for The Host’s pulse to kick too high. For the needle to prick his neck. For his world to spin and dissolve.
The Host did not feel hope, but there was something. A thin strand of a possibility that perhaps just maybe…
He might actually escape this gilded prison once and for all.