Karim nodded while Sue opened her mouth to protest.
A yelp was all she managed, because her gargoyle picked her up in a flash and leaped up.Several flaps of those big wings of his in quick succession, and they were high in the sky before I could so much as wave Sue goodbye.I heard a distant, “You jerk!”from my friend, and then they became impossible to spot in the night sky.
Heavy silence fell.Karim and the gargoyles strained to hear any news, while I gave in to panic-induced scenarios.Why were Tisvali and Saxan taking so long?Had Deidre and her partner disappeared without a trace?Was there a gruesome discovery that the searchers would rather share in person?Or were they overcome by monsters pouring into the forest through the eastern border at this very moment?
Karim stiffened beside me, shoulders snapping rigid, expression turning sharp.
“What’s happening?”
“Found.”He still had his eyes closed, listening intently to whatever signals his superhearing detected.
They’d found Deidre!“Alive or…”
Before I could make myself finish that thought, Karim’s whole body loosened, and the tightness in his jaw gave way to a relieved smile.“Alive.”Opening his eyes, he met my gaze.“She’s safe and well.”
The subsequent burst of wing flaps and excited cheers around us let me know the missing gargoyle had been found, too.
I could finally breathe with ease.Everything was going to be all right.
We didn’t have to wait long for Deidre and Tisvali, because they arrived by air.Now that I knew everyone was safe, I could finally appreciate the sight of Mr.Too Muscular for His Own Elvish Goodbeing carried like a bride on her wedding day by Mr.Heavy Logs Are No Biggie.
“Deidre, report,” Karim demanded while the gargoyle carrying her was trying to land in front of us.His wing span was much bigger than Saxan’s, meaning some creative maneuvering was necessary to keep those bat wings off our heads.“Why didn’t you respond to my calls?Is that blood yours?”
I gasped.Now that her partner had finally landed, I had a clear view of Deidre’s dress.Which was spattered with blood all over.Yet, her exposed skin didn’t have a single red drop on it.If you didn’t count her bloody clothing and the messiest braid I’d ever seen, she looked okay.
Instead of replying to Karim, she patted her partner’s impressive chest.“You can put me down now, tiger.”
His response was a deep growl.Was he angry at her touch, the nickname, or her demand?Whatever the reason, he lowered her feet to the ground with the utmost of care.
“Deidre.”
“Nah, Karim, the blood is not mine.”
“She’s fine.”Tisvali confirmed, standing next to Deidre now that his means of air transportation had rejoined the other gargoyles.He sounded and looked equally amused.“They both are fine.”
That made me take a better look at her gargoyle partner.It turned out it wasn’t just his wing span that was bigger than Saxan’s.The whole of him was bigger than each of his kind present.I couldn’t be sure with his dark-blue complexion, but it seemed he didn’t have blood on his skin, only on his loincloth and sword handle.
“There were blood-cursed, a small infiltration team,” Deidre piped up.
Karim’s eyes narrowed.“Why didn’t you call for backup?We knew nothing of this!”
“I wanted to.”She shrugged before turning to look at the gargoyle behind her.“Ris said we could handle eight blood-cursed onour own.And we did.Cool, right?”Judging by the look on Karim’s face, it definitely was notcool.“Our hunters can clean up; the corpses are by the lake.”
“Threat was eliminated,” Ris’ rumble surpassed King Xaniban’s.“Investigation is needed.A coordinated infiltration attempt.”
Karim nodded at the clipped report.“Rest assured we will look into this.Thank you for keeping Deidre safe.”
The giant gargoyle flapped his wings, sending dry pine needles swirling off the ground.“It was an honor.”Moving past Deidre to join his fellow warriors, he added, “A blessing.”
Was I imagining things, or did the tips of Deidre’s ears twitch?
I took a closer look at her while Karim was sending the gargoyles off with a short message for their King.I expected Deidre to be glad that her unwanted guard duty was over, but she looked conflicted.
“Are you all right?”
“Absolutely!”If she’d purposefully opted for a fake cheerful tone, she nailed it.“Why?”
“Um, nothing.”The fight with the vampires, combined with working alongside a gargoyle, must have shaken her up.That had to be it.And here I was, reminding her of the experience with my questions.“By the way, you’ve got some pine needles and tree bark in your hair.”
