by Amity Green
“Bandia na Teasa,” I read out loud. I read it again, a little faster. They were the words the man who’d burned in my dreams said before he caught fire. He’d bent the last word, “Teasa”, pronouncing it as my name, Tessa. New words appeared. “We long for your return.” The tome belonged with me. Pages would soon hold my will once more. I was so very misunderstood by everyone around me.
“Tessa!” A familiar voice pulled at me from outside. I yearned to follow, closing the cover, willing myself to return to him. Chaos erupted around my small form back in the courtyard as I sat cradling the huge book to my chest.
“Tessa!” Peter called again.
“I’m here.” He searched for me, frantic until his eyes met mine.
“Bloody hell, Tessa, hide that thing.” His eyes shot to the horizon as the sun winked out, silver light glinting through trees. “Get to the car, now!”
I ran hard toward the Aston on winged, light feet, feeling amazing although dried blood and fluid cracked and clung to my skin and hair. I sprinted to the garage-side of the car, knelt, and slipped the book inside, clicking the door latch softly.
My skin tingled as scales erupted across my body. Gloaming closed the day and ushered in sweet nightfall. Wings unfurled at my back, yearning to chase wind. The twilit grounds became heavily contrast in my focus. I’d changed quickly being amped up, barely feeling the transformation.
I’d never watched Peter change before. He became a gargoyle in under a second, taking to the air in the process. There was a huge size difference in his human form and his gargoyle. He twisted to look above his head.
The air became thick with the sound of beating of wings. Three soaring forms circled the courtyard. Peter reacted quickly, pumping his wings, gaining altitude above the grounds.
Hamish’s sword dropped to the turf from Petra’s clawed grip with a muffled, metallic thump. Serpentine eyes watched the circling gargoyles. She snarled low, taking flight. Petra picked up speed at an amazing rate, gaining altitude and smashing into one of the scouting gargoyles like a hawk hitting a pigeon. They tangled in the air, tearing at scaled flesh with talons, shrieking. The two bodies plummeted to the ground in front of the house, brawling as if they didn’t notice the fall. Petra suffered a punch to the throat as the other gargoyle took flight, jetting into the cover of trees beyond the manor. She rolled to her feet, launching herself in the direction the other had fled.
Peter neared another gargoyle, soaring fast, claws distended in front of his body. Just as he grew near, a larger gargoyle hit him with the force and sound of two cars colliding, knocking him away from his intended target. The two churned in the air, audibly landing blows against plated flesh. They spiraled in the air, losing control of flight. The two winged bodies smashed down onto the roof of the house, rolling to the ground with the clatter of armored bodies, nearly crushing the small form of a human huddled against the wall.
“Brea!” I drew a tight breath. Time stilled as I searched the scene around her. Gargoyles were really close. Fear for her life took me back to feeling like a helpless human in a beat. I prayed she stayed close to the house for cover.
No such luck. When Peter and the other gargoyle fell in front of her, she screamed, running from the tussle, putting her frail human body in plain sight of everything on the grounds and in the air.
“No! Brea!” I screamed toward her. She acted like she hadn’t heard me, turning in a circle as she watched the darkening sky above her. The gargoyle Peter had missed in the sky twisted in the air, changing the trajectory of flight when he saw her. He laughed. Looking at the car, Brea took off toward me at a dead run. My clawed feet tore at the gravel as I leapt into the air. I beat my wings as hard as I could, doing my best to keep level and stay against the ground rather than get higher in the air. It worked. I sped toward Brea.
So did the other gargoyle. He’d seen me and was plummeting from the sky straight at us.
“Nooo …,” I moaned as I sped up. I had to make it to Brea before he did. If he hit her with the force and speed he had behind him it would end her. I quit watching him and locked my eyes on Brea. She’d seen me coming and was running hard toward me. Her eyes were frantic. I hated seeing her so scared. I extended my arms, ready to catch her hands.
Airborne bodies collided above us in the fading light when Brea and I grabbed onto each other. “Get her out of here, Tessa,” Osgar yelled from above us. He hit the other gargoyle with such force that they shot away from us, onto the grass where they fought like animals, tearing at each other.
My claws scratched the flesh of Brea’s forearms as I clutched her protectively to my chest and flew as hard as I could toward the garage. She clung to my shoulders, feeling tiny in my grip. I needed to get her to the car.
“You made it!” She cried between ragged breaths.
“Barely,” I said.
I alit between the Aston and the garage wall, setting her gently on the ground. I squatted, furling my wings.
“Get in the car and stay down, okay?”
She nodded and hopped in. “Be careful Tessa! Get Peter and let’s get out of here!” She sounded impossibly young with so much fear in her voice. I wondered if I’d ever been that young. The door clicked shut and I heard the lock sound. Brea was out of sight behind the dark tinted glass. I turned to find Peter.
I stilled. The blood in my veins iced.
A gargoyle I’d seen in the long hall the day I found Hamish and the others dining on human flesh stood in front of the car, tail lashing, a long, heavy sword held in a clawed grip. A black gaze looked from me to the backseat, where I’d stashed Brea and the book. Stalking forward, it peered darkly at me with undersized, gleaming eyes from beneath a lowered brow. A pair of glistening, black horns jutted from its forehead while it examined my small existence.
Seeing myself as a beast’s prey was an eye opener. The monster gargoyle seemed to have lost what humanity it once had. If any.
I stepped closer to the car. The thing was going to have to go through me to get to Brea. Not that it appeared to be a difficulty. The beast towered above me, drawing nearer. Adrenaline surged, making me tremble. I did my best to look bigger, curling my claws into fists and unfurling my wings. “Get back,” I growled.
The beast let its head roll back laughing, an ancient evil thing, a demon that matched its appearance. Lowering its face again, it continued to smile wickedly, bringing the blade into view between us. Stepping back, it leveled the sword at shoulder height, measuring me out.
“Kai isn’t around to protect you now, is he?”
I hadn’t thought of it that way at all. Maybe Kai had been holding the monsters up there at bay. I hiccupped, instantly hating my nervous tick. It laughed again.
This thing is going to end me.
I swung a fist hard on impulse, connecting fast with its jaw. I screamed, which came out more like a lethal sounding siren. I pounded it with another fist, rocking the monster’s head to the side. I used my wings each time I swung to reach, taking flight and putting as much momentum as I could behind each strike. The thing didn’t try to stop me from hitting it. Instead, it smiled.
Infuriated, I stepped back, breathing hard. Blood dripped from one of its nostrils, gleaming black in the low light, matching the color of the things scales. I glared.
The thick blade flashed in warning before it swung, I crouched, ready to dodge or to feel the cold bite somewhere in my flesh. Somehow it missed. The blade whipped through the air at an awkward angle, flying far off target.
The gargoyle spun away from me to face another of equal size. Light grey scales gleamed as the new gargoyle stalked forth. Sword held high, it wasted no time laying into the brute, striking two rapid blows into the dark flesh of the other.
I backed away as a lethal sword fight took place between the silver toned gargoyle and the ebony scaled beast who’d intended to chop me up with a sword. The new guy was much faster on his feet. The fight would be over quickly. Dark blood splattered the Aston and the gr
avel with each slicing, sword strike.
“Run, Tessa,” a familiar voice urged, mid-swing.
“Crispin!” I was amazed. He didn’t respond, continuing to dodge the strikes of the lumbering black gargoyle.
I leapt into the air, looking back once as he ended the fight, severing the blocky head from the dark gargoyle’s body with a graceful, spinning slash of his sword. I’d just seen a warrior in action. He’d saved my life.
Fighting erupted across the grounds like hot spots in a grass fire. The sickening sounds of fists and claws striking bodies, screams of triumph and pain, and the clashing of airborne gargoyles created a din that brought my senses to a new level of awareness. Things were dying, and others were killing. Distant moonglow was the only light on the grounds and that, together with my amped up gargoyle sight, still didn’t make it easy to see everything that went on. I suspected every noise in the darkness, and tried to look everywhere all at once.
Osgar still fought against the gargoyle that nearly caught up with Brea. The two grappled furiously, with Osgar holding his own. He placed a kick to the other gargoyle’s midsection, causing him to double over for a millisecond before he turned to try to fly away.
Osgar fought to hold on to the other when it fled, losing his grip on first a bloodied arm, then a forked tail. The other gargoyle kicked and beat his wings hard, breaking Osgar’s hold. He soared into the darkness, vanishing from sight. I flew toward the house to find Peter in the melee.
Something reflected silvery in the moonlight below me. I dipped close to the grass, seeing my dirk winking at me like a little beacon. I snatched it from the ground without landing.
Peter fought with a different gargoyle. The one that had hit him in the air lay unmoving on the grass. He saw me nearing him and called out, mid-swing. “Tessa! Get down!”
I turned in the air, too late to avoid getting hit. A missile knocked me to the ground. I tumbled on the grass with another gargoyle. We wrestled, flashing from human form back to gargoyle when we grew close enough. I struggled to get a clear view of my assailant, but I was crushed against the ground right then, my neck held firmly under the other gargoyle’s elbow. I twisted hard, trying to smash to any body part in reach while I sliced at anything with my dagger. I managed to get an arm between us, and planted a knee in the grass, flipping us over. I bit down hard when part of a wing covered my face. We rolled over, clawing at each other. I was struck so hard in the abdomen that reflex pulled me into a tight ball. My back and ribs took two additional kicks. I screamed, trying to get up. Something cracked hard against my face and the world went fuzzy. I covered my head with my arms, becoming familiar once more with the possibility of my own death.
“Get off her,” Peter growled low. I didn’t move my claws from my face but I’d never been so happy to hear Peter’s voice. The other gargoyle grunted and his weight lifted from my back. I chanced a look to see Peter fling him to the ground beside me. I rolled away and managed to get to my feet while I watched Peter pummel the other gargoyle. Soon, it quit moving.
Peter looked at me, drawing quick breaths. He walked toward me. “You all right?” he asked, reaching.
“Yeah,” I said quietly. I was dizzy and exhausted. My back and wings hurt and I tasted blood again. He pulled me vertical and my head screamed.
The sound of wings huffed overhead. I fought off vertigo and a pounding cranium, searched the dark sky. The silhouette of a single gargoyle flew over the circle of stones beyond, followed by two more. When they’d flown out of sight, I followed Peter into the air toward the manor to find Petra. She stood beside Osgar, along with Crispin and another gargoyle I’d never met. Two more landed with them before we touched down. Our war was over, and it appeared we’d won.
Chapter 32
Morning sunshine glinted across dew covered grass as I blew warm air onto my numb fingers, wishing I had a sense of control over my burst of heat. Just as quickly as the sun lit the sky, clouds took the light into gloom. Ironically, I wasn’t tired at all. I was a little sore in places, but the transformation had healed my wounds for the most part. My emotions drug through the morning, hanging up on any little thing. We’d spent the night constructing a funeral pyre.
The bodies of fallen gargoyles rested atop the tall arrangement of brush and poles. Ravenous flame consumed the wooden stand like manna. In moments, fire licked at the mourning sky. Shadows ricocheted between the standing monoliths of the sacred circle.
Solemn faces encircled the cremation from a distance. Some mourned, and we all paid respect. Peter stood between Petra and I. Brea leaned close and gripped my hand.
Crispin stood next to Osgar, who looked at me and bowed his head, closing his eyes for a brief moment. I didn’t know what to say, honored by his actions. The last time I’d seen he and Osgar, they were in direct sunlight so I couldn’t tell what they looked like as humans. Crispin was taller with green eyes and freckles that matched his auburn hair. Osgar’s ice blue eyes could melt fog. He was the first man I’d seen wear a kilt. Standing a few inches shorter than Crispin did nothing to diminish his athletic build and the way I’d seen the warrior side of him, fighting to free his home and family.
Peter broke away from us. He took the torc from his neck and handed it to Osgar, who bowed his head again, sliding the twisting, thin metal cuff around his throat. No words passed between them. Peter dipped his head slowly, then returned to stand beside me. I gripped his hand tight, tears filling my eyes. They were all hurting, and I hadn’t been able to meet any who’d died so the rest of us could live on. There was some guilt attached to that.
Peter pulled his hand away from mine, replacing it a second later with a cold, silver pocket watch. I recognized it as Ezra’s, from the first time we’d spoken, what seemed like a year ago.
“He’d want you to have it,” Peter said before I could refuse. “He gave me my timepiece when I was young. He thought of you as family.”
The gesture did the trick, pushing me over the emotional edge. Tears ran freely. It wouldn’t have done any good to try to stop them. An odd sense of relief prevailed, letting emotion show rather than keeping it bottled up. I slid my hand inside my pocket, keeping the watch wrapped in my grip.
The fire hissed, the heat of flame growing as it lusted over its newborn life.
* * *
Life’s ball field had changed entirely, with a whole new roster of players, for me especially.
Magical, unexplainable things lived among us.
I hadn’t slept well after the fight that day. Seeing that much death and almost being one of the dead, twice, rattled me. I was grateful for sunrise.
A breeze filtered through my hair, reviving my spirits some. I walked the grounds, enjoying the magnificent gardens without Kai’s shadow dulling out natural beauty. When I’d first arrived, the place had seemed shrouded by an overlying air of darkness, but it became brighter, as if a breath of new life had been pumped into the environment. I saw potential, rather than waste. I broke into a run, skirting the ruined castle wall, rethinking the events of the last week.
A grove of trees crowded the stones so I cut through them. Lush forest created a canopy. The trees breathed with happily buzzing wildlife. Insects chirped and birds flitted from limbs. I stopped running, standing still and enjoying my time in the moment. Low branches created passages, tucked away beside thickets entwined with ivy. Trails were beat into the grass, weaving around the bases of trees and through tunnels in brush. I began to walk, stepping outside the cover to see the bluest expanse of still water sparkling with dappled sunlight.
The castle had been constructed on a hillside, and just below lapped the crystal clear waters of Loch Ore. Tears burned the back of my eyes as the artistry of my surroundings inspired awe at the powers of nature. I was humbled. Change had brought me there against the will of Fate. Somewhere, something vast and controlling graced my small existence with the ability to continue, and the presence of mind to acknowledge a blessing when I saw it. There was magic in s
uch beauty.
I pulled myself away to go back inside, breaking into a run again to make good time getting back. I couldn’t wait to show Peter what I’d found on the west side of the castle ruins.
I skirted the main hall, overhearing a bit of conversation between Petra, Osgar and Peter.
“There’s no way he’s dead,” Peter said, pointedly.
“The hunt will heal Ezra. ‘T’will take time.” Osgar’s voice was reassuring.
“How could you possibly know that?” Petra asked.
I slowed my pace a little, hoping to hear the answer. Petra’s tone might have been condescending, but she had a good question.
A moment of silence ensued. Finally, Peter answered. “A druid. He continues with the old practices. Shape shifting included.”
I kept walking, making a mental note to pursue that information later. Scents of nutmeg and cinnamon warmed the air as I continued the short distance to the kitchen. I pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator and leaned against the cabinet. Not knowing so much about the world I’d been brought into was intimidating, in a way. I’d read about druids. I hadn’t realized I’d meet one in an urban setting while shopping for a good book.
I sipped my water, cooling down from running, pondering the way I viewed the existence of the human race. Some of the vastness was gone. The species hardly rested at the top of the figurative food chain, or held the title for being the most powerful. As a human, I’d been subject to the whims of the universe.
The counter tops gleamed in the sunken lighting of the kitchen. The beautiful manor would be leveled and that was a shame, but I completely understood the motivation. Clan Logan, as I’d learned, was free. They would rebuild Castle Logan and rid the grounds of anything Kai had built in the midst of their home.
“What’s wrong, Tessa?” Peter asked. He leaned against the refrigerator, looking at me intently.
I couldn’t help but smile. Peter was magnetic. I searched the warm expression on his handsome face. The dark outline surrounding the light grey part of his eyes contrasted intensely. He’d let his hair hang loose over his shoulders. He really could make my mouth water.
