In another few moments, the pink gargoyle lifted off with the stone version of Mr. Tom, the weight not seeming to affect him at all. The gargoyles who were toting our possibly alive but maybe dead attackers left with him. Only the uninjured stayed behind.
“We don’t have long to wait for my friend,” I said as the gargoyles stood in place. They didn’t seem impatient, but then, they didn’t really have facial expressions.
A moment later, I heard the soft rustle of something coming through the trees, something that sounded about half the size of what I was expecting. My connection said it was Austin, though, and a moment later he edged out from the dull green foliage, a massive polar bear bigger than any such creature in the wild. Standing on all fours, he was tall enough that his shoulder nearly reached the top of my head. His own head was full of sharp teeth, and each of his claws could rip a person apart with a single swipe. When he stood on his hind legs, you just really hoped he was on your side.
Head low, a deep growl in his throat, he advanced on our group slowly. His focus was on the basalt-gray gargoyle, who, upon seeing the enormous predator suddenly in our midst, turned quickly and snapped out his wings, the claw on one ripping bark as it passed a tree trunk and the other punching into a wall of bushes. He didn’t have the space to maneuver, though. If there was a fight, Austin was much better equipped to handle it. As the gargoyles’ hands came up, though, revealing his claws, and his mouth opened to expose his long canines, it was clear he wouldn’t let that stop him.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Despite my survival instinct instructing me to get out of there, I jogged between them, my hands held high. “Whoa, whoa. Friendly fire. Austin, this gargoyle and his people saved my life. He literally plucked me out of the air. They took down someone shooting magic at us. Four people, actually. The threat is gone. What we need now is to find one of the fallen. Alek—remember Alek? He went down, and since he’s not a part of Ivy House, I don’t know where to find him.”
Austin’s intelligent blue eyes regarded me from within his awesome beast form. His head swung slightly until he was looking at the large gargoyle again, that stare enough to unnerve even the most courageous. The gargoyle stood his ground, though, his muscles still flared and his wings fully expanded.
With a huff, Austin took a step before dropping down to his belly, making himself vulnerable in a way that showed an incredible amount of trust in me and my ability to control the gargoyles. I ran and jumped onto his back, not making it all the way up and scrambling. He reached back with his large paw and pushed me the rest of the way.
“Thanks.” I reached into his fur, coarse on top and baby-soft within, as he rose to all fours. “Try not to thwap my face with the branches. I don’t want to go flying again just yet. I’ve had enough of that for a while.” I turned to the others. “Follow us in the air. When we stop moving, one of you can come down and get Alek, yes? Niamh, go home. I have more than enough protection. I don’t need you bleeding out.”
“I’ll be—”
“Go home. You’ll only slow us down.” I stared at her, brooking no argument.
“Fair play to ya,” she muttered. “See ya at the bar. I need a drink.”
“Go, Lassie, go! Find Timmy!” I motioned us on, grinning at his sudden burst of speed. At least if I fell off him, I wouldn’t go splat.
After we found Alek, we could get to the bottom of who’d wanted me captured or dead.11Niamh waited in Ivy House, her leg pounding like the bejesus and Earl hunched down in his stone form beside her. She’d made him very comfortable by decorating him with doilies and potted plants. When he came out of his healing stupor, or when Jessie called him, needing something, he’d shake everything off and create a big mess that he’d then obsess over.
It was the little things.
The host of very polite gargoyles waited in a few of the other sitting rooms in the house, mostly dead quiet. Their kind didn’t say much. Where had Earl gone wrong?
That crew had taken out the attacking mages without much hassle, which was good news. Bad news was that those mages had gotten Alek before they’d been taken out. He hadn’t made it. Jessie had insisted one of the gargoyles take the body back safely to Ivy House. She’d wanted to ride home with Austin. She’d clearly had enough time in the sky for the moment.