Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“I don’t know, but she doesn’t have anything now. Neither of them does.”
The first garhette took a few steps that way, hands on her hips. The gargoyles above circled, forgotten by most of those on the ground for now. “It doesn’t look like she took anything.”
The other stepped forward to stay at her side. “You’re sure she had—”
Another garhette jogged over with a crooked smile. This one wore sturdy clothes. “She had a bag going in there, did you see that?” She mimed something around her middle. “It was orange with black writing. Did you see it?”
“Yes! But now she doesn’t have anything at all. Did she put something in there?”
“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 I will fight, 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 will ever come 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 they want to fall?