Chapter 2 Kate screamed The strange animal shrieked back Its wings beat against the air while its sharp claws kept a tight grip on the Wif fle ball Kate scrambled backward to get away from the animal’s curved beak and golden eyes Michael was just rounding third base Hey Try to catch me he shouted Coming back to her senses Kate jumped up and sprinted after her brother down the third base line Michael stepped onto home plate and came to a complete stop Kate plowed into him They fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs Safe Michael announced in a good imitation of their older brother Stephen Then his eyes nar rowed Hey you don’t even have the ball
SAVING THE GRIFFIN Kate took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder The creature if it was even there hadn’t followed her I couldn’t find it she lied Michael stood up I can No Kate’s hands closed around his left ankle Maybe the creature was just one of Sig nora De Checchi’s statues Maybe her imagina tion and the flickering shadows had made it seem to move The shriek she’d heard might have been an echo of her own scream But that beak and those claws had looked so sharp We’ve got to go Kate said quickly It’s going to rain I just felt a drop I like getting wet Michael said He tried to shake his leg free It’ll just take a second You can’t Kate insisted Why not Kate kept a grip on Michael as she got to her feet Remember that Italian monster I told you about The one that wasn’t real Right Well it is real And it has our ball Michael smiled Cool Is it a friend of the prince Who Kate asked confused You know Prince Eduardo The guy at that monastery we hiked to last week 5
Kristin Wolden Nitz Kate pressed her lips together Michael thought she was telling another one of her made up stories She always presented them as facts Um no it’s not So is it a griffin Michael asked Well it does have fur and feathers Kate said At least I think it does Ha That’s exactly what I told you Michael said crossing his arms And you didn’t believe me I know I’m sorry Kate said Her voice sounded high and shaky even to her own ears She had to stay calm She had to get her little brother out of there Well this griffin she rushed on wants to borrow the ball tonight But don’t worry It’ll give it back tomorrow Okay Kate held her breath But before Michael could answer the ball popped out of the hedge Some kind of animal about the size of a six month-old kitten charged after it The softness of its fur and its downy feathers suggested that it was not yet full-grown Whoa Kate said softly The animal caught up to the ball and pounced It somersaulted twice still managing to hold on with its claws and pecked at the ball a few times Then the creature paused to look up at Kate and Michael Its ears twitched 6
SAVING THE GRIFFIN The griffin doesn’t want to borrow the ball silly Michael told Kate It wants to play with us Kate stared The way the griffin was acting did remind her of how their dog Patches invited them to play But she noticed that its eyes looked worried If she were alone Kate might have stood very still to see if the creature would come to her But she had Michael to think about Her little brother was her responsibility She turned just in time to see her responsibility run forward toward the crea ture and drop down onto the grass 7
