by K. F. Breene
“No pun intended,” Ulric murmured.
“Not to mention the mages, who have some real skill,” Austin said. “I could take the basajaun, but you all would have to handle the mages. I couldn’t handle both.”
“Except where are they all?” Niamh asked, putting out her hands. “They must have left Jessie here for safekeeping while they went to do…something, but they’ll be back, sure they will, and we still don’t know how they cut Jessie off from us.”
Austin cracked his neck and then hovered a hand next to the barrier. It gave off no pulse or charge. He could feel no magic at all. Very fine work, indeed. Mages of this caliber would only work for a hefty sum or an important boss.
A boss who may or may not be on the way to collect his or her prize.
A boss who may or may not be Elliot Graves.
They couldn’t waste time trying to find the lower entrance. They had to get Jess out of there now, and the best way to do that was to help her help herself. It was to empower her to play hero. He might not be able to draw the magic out of her, but he could draw out her confidence and her faith in herself. He could give her the courage to face her situation. It was what a good alpha did.
Besides, he could not bear to leave her in that cage while he stayed removed, safe. His place was fighting beside her, and he’d be damned if he’d back away because of a little pain.
He licked his lips. He could get to that cage, he knew he could. It would take every ounce of power he had, but he could do it. He could even rip that door open. Then what, though? He couldn’t jump down in human form—the fall would kill him before he could heal. And he couldn’t jump down in animal form because the path was too small. The spikes would kill him before he could heal.
“Do you think that chain could hold the weight of my animal form smashing onto it?” he asked. The chain holding it off the spikes was thick and well made, but the rust signified age. It wasn’t what it used to be. The last thing he wanted to do was make the cage fall—if it did, the path would catch the corner and tilt it so the spikes slid between the bars and impaled the person inside. Maybe Jess could hold the bars on the side of the cage and escape the thrust of the spikes, but she’d be trapped in there.
Damn good deathtrap.
“Even if it could, you’d be unconscious by the time you got to it,” Damarion said, turning to see Austin’s face. He held out blackened fingers, obviously having tried the barrier to get a second opinion. “The pain is excruciating for just a few digits. Putting your whole body through that will kill you. Maybe not right away, but you wouldn’t have long. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t stand in your way. You’re a distraction Jacinta doesn’t need.” He glanced back at the others. “We will search for the other entrance. We know what we are looking for—we have but to find it.”
“They might’ve hidden the entrance,” Mr. Tom said.
“They didn’t hide this one,” Damarion replied.
“Then there might be the same spell on the other, non-hidden, entrance…” Mr. Tom said.
“I won’t black out from the pain,” Austin said, “and Jess will heal me before I’m lost to it. That’s not a concern. What about that chain?”
“Doubt it,” Mr. Tom said, leaning forward and peering through the gloom. “It’s not reinforced where it connects to the cage. That is probably on purpose. Rattle that cage too much and whoopsie daisy, down it goes.”
“You’d need to jump in animal form to clear the spikes,” Niamh said.
“I know,” Austin said.
“But ye would need to change back into human as ye neared the cage, suffer the pain, and grab on to that chain, hoping Jessie remembers how to heal.”
“I know.”
“This is probably a fool’s errand,” she said.
“Probably.”
“This is ridiculous.” Damarion turned and made a circle in the air. “Have fun on those spikes, bear. I’ll save her myself. Come on.” He stalked to the cave entrance, almost all of the gargoyles falling in behind him.
Cedric watched them go, then he turned and faced front, his allegiance clearly to the few members of Ivy House.
Ulric blew out a breath. “I hope to hell you make it, Mr. Steele, because I’m about to burn a bridge by staying here with you all.”
“What are you thinking?” Niamh asked Austin quietly.
“I’m thinking that today is the day Jess learns how to fly.”
25
Tears of frustration in my eyes, I felt like kicking something. My wings would not pop out. They just wouldn’t. I’d have to wait in this godforsaken cage until that hairy creature came back and tsked at me for lying about my access to magical flowers.
I stamped my foot, then froze when the cage vibrated under me. Best not to mess with my rusty hanging lifeline.
Puffing out a breath, I glanced at the shadowy area, terrified someone would come walking through it at any moment. Terrified they’d take me away, far out of reach of Austin and Niamh and the others. Seeing nothing, I glanced longingly at the other opening, and then widened my eyes.
People stood behind the filmy barrier, and I recognized their statures immediately. The thin, almost wilting frame of Mr. Tom; the comparatively short silhouette of Niamh, hands on hips; the hunching vampire, who looked like he was hugging himself; and the broad form of Austin, standing close, staring at me. If they’d been talking, I hadn’t heard them, that barrier obviously locking me into a sound vacuum.
My heart surged with hope. They’d found me! Somehow, they’d found me, and there they were, looking in.
If the mages came and tried to move me, they could at least follow them. I didn’t see Damarion, but he was probably there somewhere, or maybe still in the sky. With those powerful wings, he could fly for a long time without needing rest. He’d made it all the way here from across the country, after all.
“If there was ever a time for wings, it is right now,” I muttered, facing them, my hands still balled. “Now more than a few minutes ago. I need to get to them.”
Austin backed away from the shimmering magical wall, and I felt the frown crease my face. Hopefully he wasn’t planning to leave and find the other entrance. If anyone could find it, he would, but that hairy creature would be back long before that. He’d only planned for that lunch break and a faux-sprained ankle. Even a real sprained ankle wouldn’t keep him very long.
“Austin can probably take that creature, though,” I mumbled to myself, willing my wings to pop out. Or grow, or whatever was supposed to happen. Of course, the creature had mentioned the mages might be alerted by the sound of the chain descending. That meant they were probably in the area. If they came back—
A burst of light filled the opening, and the hulking shape of an enormous polar bear pushed the others aside.
“What is he…”
My heart leapt when the huge beast launched through the barrier. His beautiful white fur instantly turned ashy, as though it had been on fire, and smoke trailed from his body. His skin under his fur had blackened as well, intense burns covering him, blistering the skin, some peeling away to show blood-red patches beneath.
My stomach dropped out and fear squeezed my middle—could he survive that type of damage? Would he be able to stay conscious?
His paws stayed splayed, though, and he soared toward me, aiming right for the top of the cage. Nearly there, a blast of light and heat pushed me back. His human form emerged right as he hit the metal top, jerking the cage to swinging.
He slid across the surface, all blood and burned skin, and nearly went off the other side of the bars.
I cried out and threw up my hands. He slammed into a solid wall of air, stopping his forward momentum and smashing his nose. Not missing a beat, he reached back and scrabbled for the chain, wrapping a horribly damaged hand around it and pulling himself to safety. He clung there for a moment, his whole body shaking, the pain clearly unbearable.
Still he held on, and I reached up, wanting to cure all of this.
Hating that he’d done this for me.
His sigh preceded him dropping his head, and I latched on to his center with the magical connection I could once again feel, pumping magic into him. I didn’t know if it was energy, or healing, or even if it was helping, but it was all I could manage.
“Thank you,” he said in a wispy voice, laying his head down for a moment as the cage groaned and swayed and the spikes below us stared up hungrily.
“Why did you do that, you idiot?” A tear slipped down my face, and I reached up on my tiptoes for him.
He dropped a hand to catch mine, wincing as he did so.
“I couldn’t leave you here on your own, Jess. Whatever comes, we’ll face it together,” he said, and though I knew it had to be agonizing, I gripped his hand tightly.
Tingles spread across my skin and prickled my scalp. My stomach felt like champagne bubbles fizzed up through it.
His moan bespoke ecstasy and his eyes fluttered, the patches of bloody red already gone from his still burned and blackened skin.
“My God, that feels good,” he said in a breathy whisper. “You’ve taken away all the pain and replaced it with…”
I didn’t need him to mention what I’d replaced it with. The evidence was currently reaching down through the bars at me, and I wasn’t talking about his hand.
“Sorry, I don’t know—”
“No, no, it’s okay…” he said.
I nodded and bit my lip, trying to look anywhere but at his lower half. It was not easy.
“Did you get a look at your captors?” he asked, his voice already stronger.
“Just at the bar. I woke up in this cage. A big, hairy creature was down below. He wouldn’t let me out, but he did agree to leave me alone for a while. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll be gone. He’s supposed to be guarding me.”
“How’d you get him to leave?”
“Apparently flowers are his weakness.”
Austin chuckled softly, the action turning into a haggard cough. “That mage did a helluva job on that barrier. It’s a good one.”
“You shouldn’t have jumped through it! They probably don’t mean to kill me, Austin. I can’t say the same for you.”
“We won’t be here to find out.”
“I admire your confidence, but I’m locked in here. I can’t figure out how to magically unlock it.”
“I got it.” He dropped my hand and crawled forward, but stopped when his unmentionables bumped against the bar. “Oops. This is probably incredibly awkward for you.”
I huffed out an unexpected laugh as he worked his way forward again, a little more careful than normal with a part most men didn’t want to scrape up. Near the edge of the cage, which was still swinging, he grabbed one of the bars on the door and his muscles bulged. The door clicked, the deadbolt bumping against its frame, but it didn’t swing open.
“You keep healing me. I’ll worry about this,” he said.
I grimaced, because I hadn’t intentionally stopped.
I thought about his wounds and about his nervousness about his privates and the rough bars, trying to jump-start the magic I largely didn’t know how to do consciously.
“Mmm…maybe don’t work directly on…that part…” He groaned, stopping for a moment and lowering his head. “It’s distracting me. We don’t have that kind of time.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I muttered, my face burning. “I’m just trying to—”
“After we get out of here, please feel free to practice that trick on me. I’ll make myself available any time.” He smirked as he readied to yank on the bar again. “Any time.”
“This is no time to joke around,” I murmured.
His muscles bulged again and he grunted. With a loud clang, the door to the cage ripped open. The top hinge popped off, and the door swung downward, the other hinge groaning with the effort of holding on. Unable to handle the strain, it tore free and the door went somersaulting down toward the spikes.
It hit and bounced a little before settling, part of it sinking into a gap between the spikes, the rest stuck on top. The sound reverberated through the room.
“That was loud,” I whispered.
“I can’t hear the others through that magical barrier. If there’s another barrier of some sort down below, I doubt anyone will hear anything,” he said, swinging his legs over the lip of the cage and slowly lowering himself.
“That hairy creature said he couldn’t let me down because of the noise.” I touched a healed part on his pec, his skin almost waxy in appearance.
He covered my hand with his and his eyes softened. “He was probably just saying that to save his skin. Those mages would kill someone for less, I have no doubt. Nice fashion. That a new trend?”
I looked down at my backward shirt. “I was leaving room for my wings.”
“Gotcha. About that, how’s it coming?”
“Do you see any wings?”
“It’s going well, then, got it.” His chest rose and fell with a deep breath, and he looked down at the spikes below. “Your healing magic works incredibly quickly. Or maybe it just feels that way because you’re numbing the pain.”
“How are we going to get out of here, Austin? I don’t know that you can jump down there without hitting those spikes, and even if you didn’t, you’d probably go splat.”
“I can’t, no. That’s out of the question.” His gaze roamed my face. “I’m waiting on my knight in shining armor to save me. That’s you, by the way. I figured you needed a damsel to live out your true potential.”
I lowered my brow, my stare definitely hostile and probably unhinged. “This isn’t a time to joke. I couldn’t even get that lock to open, and my wings won’t come. I’m dead in the water. I’m basically just waiting for the bad guys to save me at this point.”
He spread his arms. “And then I came along and ruined your plans.” His expression sobered. “I apologize. Whatever you’re doing with your magic is making me feel like I’ve taken a happy pill. Listen, Jess, your days of being rescued are over. You have the ability to save yourself—and me. There’s a reason Ivy House chose you above the Havercamps and everyone else. Mr. Tom, Niamh, and Edgar—they all know Ivy House chose correctly. I know Ivy House chose correctly. All that’s left is for you to believe it. I need you, Jacinta. I need you to fly me out of here, because I am positive they will kill me when they find me with you. I’ll make it incredibly hard for them, but there’s not much I can do stuck up here in human form. They’ll take me out. I’ve put my fate in your hands. I’ve put my life in your hands.”
“But why?” I groaned out, dread overcoming me.
“Because I know you can do it,” he said softly. “I believe in you.”
I shook my head. “Even if my wings come out, they’re going to be smaller and weaker than the guys’.”
“They’ll be big enough and strong enough to carry me in human form. I don’t weigh that much. Mostly.”
I blew out a slow breath, searching his eyes for a hint of doubt or nervousness, but all I found was unwavering support and conviction.
A soft metallic squeal interrupted my teeth grinding. My heart racing, I looked down at the shadowy area, wondering if someone was coming for us. Best-case scenario would be the hairy creature, but who knew what he would do with an intruder.
The cage jolted, dropping an inch.
Austin grabbed my shoulders out of impulse, looking up. Niamh and the others pushed closer to the barrier, something clearly sparking their worry.
“What was that?” I asked quietly, the cage shaking and my voice shaking with it.
“I might’ve put that chain under too much stress.” Not letting go of my arms, he bent backward, looking down at the spikes below. When he glanced back up at me, any signs of mirth had completely dried up. “We’re out of time. You can do this, Jacinta. Remember what I said? Grab life by the balls? Well, this time, grab your magic by the balls. You control it, not the other way around. Think about what you want,
and do it.”
The soft squealing preceded another jolt, dropping us a little further. The link connected to the cage was clearly pulling free. I didn’t have to see it to know that. When it released, down we’d go.
It wasn’t just Austin’s life in my hands—it was both of ours. No one would come to save us.
I had to play hero, or die trying.
26
“Jumping out isn’t going to work.” I licked my lips, my mind running a mile a minute. “I almost died falling from that cliff and nothing happened.” I turned my back to him. “Brush my… Brush your fingers right next to my shoulder blades. Maybe it’ll help if I can feel the spot where the wings are supposed to be.”
Another squeal from the chain made me flinch.
The soft brush of Austin’s fingertips sent a ripple of heat through me, but the spot wasn’t connecting. Something about it felt wrong.
“Smaller wings, yes, but I’m still a female gargoyle…” I clenched my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut when the cage jolted down. Austin’s touch didn’t speed up, nor did it become harder. He didn’t show the fear he must be feeling…
Incredulity roared through me when I checked on him through our magical connection.
I turned around with wide eyes, finding his beautiful cobalt gaze completely open, and completely trusting. He wasn’t afraid at all. Not even a little bit. He wasn’t nervous or wary. He believed, with everything in him, that I could do this. He was just waiting for it to happen. I felt the strength of his conviction like I felt my own terror.
Something unfurled within me. Tears came to my eyes, and this time it wasn’t frustration. This time I didn’t even know what it was.
A thought occurred to me, like a lightning bolt crashing down.
“I don’t just sprout wings, I change form. I’m a female gargoyle. I’m not human anymore, I’m a creature, like Mr. Tom and Damarion. I’m not human, I’m magical…”
Excitement and awe bubbled through me.
Austin nodded, a little smile tickling his lips. “So then, be magical,” he said softly.
