“What would?—”
“Come on.” Sebastian plucked at Nessa’s sleeve before standing. “Let’s get to the road.”
Another couple of garhettes hurried over as Sebastian and Nessa edged around them.
Jessie waved her hand and tore down the dome. She turned then, once again giving Nelson her attention. Her voice boomed, enhanced by magic. “I’m sure you’ll be tempted to file every grievance you can think of, but I have knowledge on my side now. I’ll fight every single one, but hear this—I’ll fight them on principle alone. I will fight them so that you don’t have a leg to stand on. Rest assured, I don’t care one bit about status in a community that looks to you for guidance. A community that wipes out the status of a gargoyle who’s put in fifteen years of excellence because you don’t approve of his origins. Your opinions don’t rule me, and they don’t rule Tristan. Your derision is nothing more than the ramblings of an old, out-of-touch gargoyle. I’ve proven here today that I can fight, that Iwillfight, and that my team is excellent in battle. We used but a portion of our people, and that was plenty.” She waved her hand, and the sheen of magic trapping him in vanished. “Get a good look, Nelson, because this is as close as I willevercome to working with you. I have nothing against your cairn, just you specifically. Our door is open if any of Tristan’s old team want to work with him again”—she turned and swept her gaze across the township—“and if any garhettes want to see how it feels to have their blood sing. Battle isn’t just for men. I think I’m proof of that, no?”
She walked forward with her head held high and a confident bearing. Austin remained at her side, his power pumping and his gaze fierce.
Shifters fell in with the precision they were known for—with the precision Tristan had shown above.
Basajaunak looked around for a moment, not following. “We get to kidnap now, right?” one of them said to another.
“I think that’s just for the gargoyles,” the other replied hesitantly.
One of the garhettes in sturdy clothes slowly raised her hand. “I mean…you know…for the fighting…”
The scene burst into mayhem. Basajaunak raced this way and that, male and female alike, grabbing up the garhettes who obviously wanted to join their ranks. They bore down on those ladies with teeth and snarls and their fur puffed out on their huge bodies.
Many of the garhettes screamed. Some ran, while others just clenched their fists and squeezed their eyes shut, stiff as boards. The basajaunak caught them and threw them over wide shoulders—that, or carried them under an arm. One held two garhettes, dangling them by their ankles.
“Right, but how are we going to get them all to the camp?” Jessie asked in confusion as she walked through the melee. “The additional transportation won’t reach us until tomorrow. Should I fly back? Or rather, be flown back? I’m exhausted. I won’t make it far.”
“No, you can ride with me. We’ll figure out space,” Austin said, barely heard above the pandemonium as he reached Nessa and Sebastian. “The basajaunak will probably be fine to run. For them, it isn’t too far.”
“Here.” Sebastian held out the potion that would turn them visible again to Nessa. She swallowed it down as gargoyles dove and swooped. These didn’t only grab the battle-ready garhettes—some grabbed the ladies in dresses and one a man in a suit.
Nessa stepped aside as her potion wore off, not wanting a jogging basajaunak, caught up in the fun, to accidentally trample her. The shifters passed, a few nodding at her as they did so. At the end of their line, she started forward, only to hear the heavy beat of huge wings.
She startled, looking up. Tristan descended in a rush of power and strength, his arms out. She twisted to get out of the way, but he was too fast. He grabbed her around the middle and hoisted her up, gentle for a creature of his size. He gathered her close in a tight hold and blasted into the air.
Other gargoyles were already up there. The captives in their arms kicked and punched and twisted. They were all obviously idiots. Did theywantto fall?
She thought about wrapping her arms and legs around him in a death grip. That would give her some assurance of safety. Instead, she relaxed into his arms and let him have control, like she had that other night.
He cradled her against his chest, one massive arm around her shoulders and the other at the back of her legs. His hold was firm and strong, and the last of her worry bled away.
“Goo-od,”he said, and she smiled with the praise, then laughed. But it was a fun game. One she would be the victor of. She did love to win. Self-discovery could wait.
Peter
“Pete, you hurt?”
Peter shook uncontrollably as he crouched behind a stone outcropping at the base of the fortress. This area badly needed to be refurbished, but fifteen minutes ago, he’d been glad for it. It had given him something to hide behind when that monstrous beast descended on him and something sharp and painful smacked him sideways.
He looked up at his friend John, the other senior guard selected to monitor the cairn’s most prestigious collection ofwealth—mostly jewels and gold, in this case. Any textiles would be ruined in the dank surroundings of this area, a place no one really wanted to guard for long.
“I…I don’t know,” he answered, patting himself. No blood, no holes in his uniform. No evidence of what had caused the pain. He said as much.
“Magic, bro.” John hoisted him up with rounded eyes in a somewhat comical expression. He didn’t take much seriously. It’s why he’d failed to become a guardian. “She zapped me good. I went ass over end. Badass, though, right?” He tsked. “That female gargoyle is something. All that magic, bro?” He nodded. “Badass. I wish we had one.”
Peter wasn’t sure he did. Training with her would hurt more.
“I was more worried about that…bear thing,” Peter admitted as he gave himself another once-over. “What was that? A polar bear, right? One of those shifters? It happened so fast, I didn’t get a good look.”
“A polar bear, yeah.” John passed Peter by, aiming for the entrance of the small room at the back. “Pretty hardcore. If I hadn’t been flung, I might’ve pissed myself, yeah?” He chuckled. “Ah, they weren’t trying to hurt us. They never do in these things. Just scare us.”
“It w-worked,” Peter stammered.
