“You should see your face.” She laughed. “You didn’t think I would show up empty-handed, did you?”
“You didn’t. You brought the guards.”
“Nope. I brought the gargoyles.”
“How?” I’d been too tired last night to ask how Kylie had convinced the guards.
“I figured that if Anya didn’t trust people, she would trust gargoyles. So we found the two you saw. After Anya talked to them, they went to the guards with me. They couldn’t dismiss me then. And once the guards saw that huge ward, they stopped dragging their feet and called in backup.”
“Just in time, too,” I said. “You’re the real hero, Kylie. I’d be dead without you. All I did was—”
“Hold that thought,” Kylie said. She whipped together threads of air and water, weaving a giant sphere and dropping it over both our heads. At my quizzical look, she said, “Better than memory. It’ll catch everything we say. What did you think my follow-up story was going to be, Mika? I’ve been dying to hear what happened all day, and I know my readers feel the same.”
“Your readers?”
Kylie winked. “Spill.”
I spilled, telling her everything that happened from the moment I’d come face-to-face with the kludde to collapsing in the guard’s arms after healing the lion. She bombarded me with questions, drawing out details I’d happily have forgotten. I made sure to emphasize that I hadn’t been heroic. I knew how Kylie’s imagination worked, and I didn’t want her getting carried away.
Kylie waved my words aside. “You saved the hatchlings’ lives. That’s heroic.”
“That was nothing more than any earth elemental would have done.”
“But—”
“Kylie, I was terrified every step of the way. I shook in my boots when confronted with the kludde. I froze when Walter had the crossbow on me. The little dragon has more courage than me.”
“Modesty is good, but being blinded by it? Stupid. Mika, you might have been scared out of your wits, but you still went through with the rescue. You saved the hatchlings’ lives.”
“You would have done the same.”
Kylie touched her hands to the edges of the sphere and it contracted to a globe that fit in her hand. With a flick, she sent the spell winging toward her room.
“I couldn’t have done the same, Mika,” Kylie said. “I don’t know anyone else who could, not even another earth elemental. Mika, your specialty is so much more than quartz. Do you hear what I’m saying? Your specialty is healing a magical creature. That’s . . . that’s downright rare.”
“But it’s mainly just quartz and fire,” I protested.
“You’re being obtuse,” Kylie said. “Now read my first front-page piece.”
Kylie thrust the paper into my hands. I blushed at her opening paragraph: Last night, a lone woman bravely infiltrated a megalomaniac’s lair to rescue three tortured gargoyle hatchlings. Mika Stillwater, an earth elemental and quarry project manager, acted at the behest of two orphan gargoyles, stepping into the role of hero as if she were born to it.
“Really? This is . . .”
“True,” Kylie said.
“Embarrassing. I told you—”
“Oh, hush. Read.”
Kylie filled in the backstory, highlighting Herbert’s rescue and the atrocities he’d endured. There was a good deal about the guards’ actions—the unit who broke Walter’s ward, their strategic capture of the kludde and its handler, the raid on the temple—but no mention that they hadn’t believed me or Kylie without the backing of two adult gargoyles.
Eight people were arrested for attending the illegal auction. The police are tracking down leads on a dozen others. Walter Pratt remains at large, the article concluded.
“They didn’t catch him,” I said.
Kylie shook her head. “In the confusion, most people got away, though I obviously didn’t say that. That wouldn’t earn me any favors and it might alarm the public. I went by the station today to see if there was an update. They think Walter’s gone to ground. My rumor scouts confirm it. There hasn’t been a useful peep about him.”
“He really liked having the power,” I said, remembering Walter’s expression of triumphant superiority when he created the enormous ward that rocked us all. “He’s not going to stop.”
“I don’t think so, either. Look at how many people showed up for the auction. He was going to make a fortune.”
“Speaking of money . . . Any word on getting my—our—money back from what the police confiscated from the kludde handler?”
“I think that’s the last thing on their mind,” Kylie said. She patted my arm; I didn’t feel consoled. My final hope to salvage my career imploded.
Her gaze went to the lion on my bookcase. “How’s he doing?”
“Good. Sleeping.” I wanted to curl up on my bed and savor the oncoming depression, but that would be uncharitable. Not to mention counterproductive. I still needed to finish Althea’s project before I headed off to work tomorrow. But first: “Are the two adult gargoyles still here?”
“They went home this morning.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t had a chance to thank them or to explain that I hadn’t been trying to overstep my abilities by being the one to heal the hatchlings rather than searching for someone stronger. “Did the other hatchlings go with them?”
“Nope. They’re all still here.” Kylie grinned and bounced on her toes. “Four gargoyles, even if they are very small, lined up on a house full of nobodies has created quite a stir in the neighborhood. Ms. Zuberrie acts like she was put out by all the visitors we’ve had today—it’s been nonstop, Mika; everyone found an excuse to drop in—but you can tell she’s never been happier.”
I grinned back. Holding court must have thrilled Ms. Zuberrie to her toes.
Kylie followed me out to the balcony. The hatchlings were outlined against the twilit sky, all four in a tight clump close to the balcony edge. Four pair of glowing eyes watched us. Everyone looked okay. I felt an unexpected swell of pride.
The dragon spread his crimson-veined crystal wings and launched straight at me. I caught him and staggered back against the wall, my arms straining under twenty pounds of wriggling rock. Bracing his front paws on my chest, hind paws on my palms, he put his square, stone-bearded face in mine and, very precisely, enunciated, “Thank you.”
His voice carried an undercurrent of chimes.
“You’re welcome,” I said. A flash popped, blinding me. The gargoyle jerked from my arms and flapped to the balcony railing, growling at Kylie.
“That’ll look great with the next article,” she said, unapologetic.
I wasn’t sure what would happen next. I didn’t have any experience with baby gargoyles, or gargoyles of any kind. “Um. You guys are welcome to stay here as long as you want,” I told the hatchlings. “Or to go, if that’s what you want . . .”
The dragon flew to the bookcase, landing on the shelf beside the lion and knocking several books and knickknacks to the floor. The cub opened an eye, saw the dragon, and closed it. Herbert flew to my worktable. The cygnet stretched her wings, then folded her head under one and went to sleep. Anya closed her eyes, too.
I glanced at Kylie, and she shrugged.
“I guess they’re staying. I need to get writing,” she said. “I’ve got an article due tomorrow.” She danced in place, then left, singing.
“And I need to finish the vials,” I told the room at large, settling into my work chair.
Herbert picked up a seed crystal, tossed it to the back of his mouth, and swallowed it. His eyes bulged. He hunched forward, and with a loud, wet hacking sound, threw up. The crystal landed in a slimy puddle and rolled across my worktable.
12
After the last few days’ excitement, it was unfair to rise with dawn, dress in dull work attire, and trudge down to breakfast, only to be intercepted by Althea in the foyer. Stifling a sigh, I summoned a smile.
“I see your friend’s description of your ‘cond
ition’ was an exaggeration,” she said.
“Have you been waiting long?” I asked, wondering how I’d missed the bell chime.
“Three days too long, Mika Stillwater.”
I winced. I’d walked right into that one.
“Let me just—”
“Your lack of professionalism is appalling. I am a forgiving person—”
I gaped at the lie.
“—otherwise I’d see you never worked in this city again. It’s not as if your services are unique,” Althea said. “There are a hundred other earth elementals in the city who can do what you do.”
My spine snapped straight. “If that were so, you would have contracted through someone else,” I said, shocked by my boldness even as I spoke.
Althea’s face pinched tighter. “Quality is of no use to me if it is to the detriment of punctuality.”
How long had she been waiting to use that line? “If you’ll just wait—”
“I am through waiting!”
“—here,” I continued, speaking over her. “I will return with your vials, Althea Stoneward.”
She clamped her mouth shut, affronted I’d used her full name as if she were an apprentice under my authority. I turned away before she could see me smile. Feeling a little more perky, I trotted back upstairs. I would be delighted to see the last of Althea.
I was three steps into my room before a prickling sensation on my neck registered. I glanced around, and adrenaline spurted through me. The lion and dragon were imprisoned on my bookcase in cages of crackling destructive magic. The dragon twisted in panic, but the lion stared behind me, wide eyes affixed.
Dread loosened my body, and I spun toward my bed. Lying, hands clasped behind his head, muddy boots crossed at the ankle atop my pillow, was Walter Pratt.
“Hello, Hero Stillwater,” Walter said, rolling to his feet.
“How did you find—” No, I knew the answer to that question. The article in the paper. “How did you get in here?”
“I see you’ve restored the hatchlings. Very useful,” he said. “Opens up a world of possibilities.”
He was only a fraction taller than me and similar in build. There should have been nothing terrifying about him, with his sandy-haired, boy-next-door looks. But up close, I could see madness in his green eyes. The open door was just three steps away, the balcony a little farther. A shout would echo downstairs and also reach Kylie’s room, if she was there.
Walter flicked a hand, and a blast of air closed the door. I jumped, eyes darting to the balcony, but Walter shifted to block that escape. He tossed a handful of objects at me. I flinched and ducked, instinct restoring movement to limbs I’d forgotten existed. I grabbed for air, fashioning a deflective shield even as the items clattered around my feet. I glanced down. Over a dozen seed crystals rolled chaotically before snapping into a perfect circle around me. Walter engaged the crystals.
A blanket of magic smothered me, bearing down as if to flatten me. My neck strained, my spine compressed. I collapsed to my hands and knees. The pressure eased, allowing me to twist to look up at Walter.
“Much better, Mika.” His smile chased ice through my veins, jolting me from my stupor. I grabbed for magic. It trickled to me, warped and weak from the swirl of wood, fire, and air that trapped me. I was no match for Walter’s power, and we both knew it.
“You and I will make a great team,” Walter said.
I screamed, finding my voice at last. “Help! Kylie! Help!”
Walter cocked his head to the side and cupped his ear; bruises circled his left wrist from the dragon’s bite. “What’s that, Mika? Did you say something?”
My stomach sank. I screamed again, wordless frustration and fear unleashed into a sound-consuming void. Walter was one step ahead of me, again.
“Tsk-tsk, Mika. Don’t interrupt. I’m annoyed with you. Do you know how long it took to set up last night’s auction? And then you ruined it all. I could happily kill you for that.”
I kicked a crystal with a booted foot. Pain convulsed up my heel, through my ankle, my knee, my hip, vibrating through every joint and muscle of my body. When it receded, I was lying on my side, knees curled to my chest. Walter’s feet were in my line of sight. He was standing at my worktable.
“You have some skill,” he said, holding out one of the vials I had finished last night. “Such delicate work.” He dropped it. The vial shattered against the floor in a musical tinkling of paper-thin crystal. “Each one as perfect as the last,” he mused, selecting another and dropping it. Shards sparkled across the hardwood floor.
“Stop,” I said. It came out soft, pathetic, breathless. I rolled to my knees. The cage had constricted, but I squished under it, refusing to remain vulnerable on my side. “Stop!” I shouted. I couldn’t lift my head to see above Walter’s thighs. Another vial fragmented against the floor. “Stop it, you sick bastard!”
I stared at the shards of my labor and welcomed the surge of anger. It helped me think. Walter had trapped me in a net just as he had trapped the gargoyles. I’d removed the nets at the temple; I could remove this one. I wasn’t a helpless hatchling. I was an earth practitioner. No one was going to bind me with quartz.
I probed the seed crystal in front of me. A whirlwind of wood and fire and air suffocated the trickle of magic I held in a feeble grasp. Doing my best to ignore Walter while simultaneously appearing to be doing nothing more than hanging on his every word, I relaxed into the chaotic energy, searching for a pattern. Four times, it knocked me out of its weave, my dribble of magic buffeted by the raw power of Walter’s creation. On the fifth try, I found a weak link at a seed crystal where the magic funneled through narrow bands.
“Your death, however satisfying that might be,” Walter continued, “is a shortsighted goal at best.” A vial crashed to the floor. “Your abilities are too valuable. With you, there is no limit. I can sell the hatchlings a hundred times, and when they’re returned, useless, you will repair them. It’s a beautiful cycle, Mika.”
Bile washed up my throat. Walter didn’t respect the lives of the magical creatures, and he certainly didn’t value my life. He viewed the hatchlings and me only in terms of his monetary and magical gain. But I wasn’t going to be a victim and neither were the hatchlings.
I cut the flow of power from the first seed crystal. It rolled an inch toward me, unfettered by the binds of the spell. I prayed Walter wasn’t paying attention and focused on the next crystal. It took three more severed links before I felt a difference in the level of magic I could pull. I worked even faster, snapping the locks on my cage with increased efficiency.
“FSPPs will look average compared to me. Full-five companies will beg for my services.” Walter laughed.
Eight of the fifteen seed crystals were disconnected, and the prison holding me cracked into a semicircle of wild magic. Walter whirled from the table in shock.
I scrambled away from the snapping current of power. Walter shoved the freed crystals toward me with a blast of air. I was ready this time. I opened myself wide to raw power. Hundreds of hours working with quartz made it easy to resonate my magic with the seed crystals hurtling through the air. I thrust my power through each crystal, claiming and stacking them in a line across the floor at my feet, forming a half-inch wall between Walter and myself. At the last second, I felt the seed crystals at my back lift and spin in my direction, dragging the deadly, uncontrolled magic with them.
13
I sidestepped, crashing into my coffee table. Dividing my focus, I held the clean crystals at my feet and pressed destructive elements into the hazardous seeds still in Walter’s control. I worked faster than ever before, breaking the links between Walter’s erratic net and each crystal while it was still in the air. Walter’s unfettered magic flared out of control, scorching a flat line in the bathroom wall before extinguishing. The empty crystals clattered to the floor and scattered.
“You can’t win this fight,” Walter said. “You’re hardly a medium spectrum, and I’m so
much more.”
It was true. That didn’t mean I had to give up, though.
“Kylie! Guards!” I yelled. As I predicted, Walter launched an air net to catch the sound, and that gained me precious seconds. I jammed earth magic through the scattered crystals, aligning them with the seven in my control. With a shove of blunt earth element, I grew them together in a single rod. Just as fast, I severed the crystal in four places, making five bars of quartz, each as long as my palm. With a blast of air, I knocked them toward Walter. If I could get them around him, it would make a far stronger cage than the string of seed crystals—
Walter threw up a wall of air, blocking the crystal. “Ah, ah, ah,” he said, shaking a finger at me. He increased the push of air, and I strained to hold the quartz bars in place. The brilliance of my spontaneous plan betrayed me as Walter turned it against me.
Walter grinned and added an ounce more of air, toying with me. The crystal bars inched closer. In a head-to-head challenge, Walter’s magic eclipsed mine, and I’d lost my advantage of surprise.
At Walter’s feet, a handful of crystal shards shifted in our elemental battle. I almost dropped my weave of air when I felt those shards move. In straining to force the quartz bars around Walter, I’d left myself wide open to all quartz, and even broken, the residue of my magic in the shattered, fragile quartz responded. The beginning of a crazy plan formed.
I pulled a trickle of magic from the wall of air holding the crystal bars at bay. They jumped three inches toward me before I slowed them to a slide again. Walter barked a laugh.
“Give up now, Mika, and come with me. You know it’s inevitable.”
In two feet, the crystal bars would trap me, and Walter was eroding that distance with alarming speed. Panicking seemed like a good option, but I smothered the urge.
Only my extensive work with quartz enabled me to quest with a feeler of earth magic through the shards while most of my attention remained on the air struggle between us. I directed magic through the brittle scraps beneath and around Walter’s booted feet, connecting each fragment into a complex web. As the crystal bars slid another hand span toward me, I expanded the linked network of earth magic, at first as large as Walter’s feet, then as wide as his shoulders.
Magic of the Gargoyles Page 6
