by K. F. Breene
“Yes, it is.” I accepted a steaming mug from Mr. Tom. “Here’s the thing: that low magical ceiling isn’t fair to the gargoyles. I’m going to try to break it.”
“No need,” the basajaun said, munching on a banana. “The mountain will help.”
“What, by doing a little rumble?” Mr. Tom asked.
“It was just warming up,” the basajaun replied.
I remembered that rumble. The vibrations beneath my feet had been subdued but unmistakable. I also remembered what Elliot Graves had said after I hit the wall of a tunnel with my magic. He’d seemed genuinely nervous about the prospect of bringing the ceiling down.
Austin stared at me from across the way, and I could feel the coiled darkness within him. He was battle-hardened and ready to claim the victory we were owed.
My smile was back. My manic cackle. My departure from rational thoughts.
“Just go with it.”
It was the first time Ivy House had spoken to me in these tunnels. She’d clearly followed our progress through the links.
“This is your destiny. Seize it.” It was a battle cry if I’d ever heard one. She was egging me on.
“Go for it,” I said to the basajaun, and Austin nodded. “No more playing by Elliot Graves’s rules. If he won’t come out to me, he will go down with the ship.”
“Yes!” the basajaun roared, fired up. The shifters shed their clothes, including Austin, and changed, adding to the chorus. The gargoyles and Niamh turned into their other forms, joining in.
Edger yelled, “Whoopie!”
If vampires roared, he’d clearly forgotten how.
Magic pulsing through me, feeling the call of battle in my bones, I headed for the door. “Let’s go.”
“Change,” Ivy House said.
“I might need to talk to—”
“You are a female gargoyle and the heir. You have given in to your beast. You are, even now, calling your cairn. Change, and show them that you are no mage. Own what you are: a creature with magic. An animal, if they so choose, that is more than they can ever be. Show them. Change.”
I stripped off my muumuu and shifted like the others had. My claws tapped on the ground as I walked toward the foyer. My wings fluttered behind me. It felt wrong to be trapped in this mountain. Wrong to be away from the sky.
“Wake up the mountain,” I said to the basajaun, which came out a garbled mess.
Nathanial repeated it, much better at speaking in his gargoyle form. Really, I had no idea how he’d understood me. Very handy, that guy.
The ground beneath my feet vibrated, and somewhere deep within the rock, I swore I heard a moan.
The path to the battlefield was the same, but we traveled it so much differently this time. Adrenaline coursed through us, one and all. Fire pumped in our middles. The excited shifters were breathing in hard pants, and the wings of the gargoyles fluttered like mine.
The sunlight cut across my face as we emerged outside, but I didn’t raise my hands to it. I looked up at the magic keeping us enclosed, keeping us on the ground, and a strange pulse blasted out from my middle. Nathanial roared, followed by Jasper, Ulric, and Mr. Tom. The basajaun took up the call, followed by the shifters. The mountain groaned louder, its rumbling intensifying.
“Whoopie!”
I shook my head. There had to be a cooler thing for Edgar to shout.
As we descended the steps, I paused and pointed. The magical roof of the makeshift colosseum had been altered. It was a huge dome now. Plenty of room for even Hollace to fly.
Elliot Graves clearly wanted to meet with me in the flesh. There could be no other explanation. He’d allowed me all of my resources, and given the strength I had on my team, no one would be able to defeat me.
How could I ever have doubted?
“You were a Jane,” Ivy House said, and I wondered if I’d thought that at her instead of just to myself. “You are now a gargoyle. You are donning your mantle and owning your place as Ivy House heir. Banging that alpha has done as much good for you as pining after you has done for him. You’re welcome for forcing him into it at every turn.”
When she started singing “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” I cut her off. Couldn’t she stick with the battle cries and call it a day?
The setup was the same in the locker room, down to the attendant in the red coat. Her eyes widened when she saw me. They drifted down my body, snagging on my wings as I fluttered them.
“Hel-lo?” I ground out, trying to be as clear as possible.
She started. “What are you?”
“A female gargoyle,” Cyra said. “Cool, right?”
“I thought you’d be as ugly as the men—” The woman cut herself off, as though realizing her words might cause offense, about-faced, and walked from the room. Apparently that meant we were supposed to follow her.
The sand in the arena was the same, but for some droplets of blood here and there. The blue sky above called to me, and as I followed the woman to our position, I looked up.
Forms of all different colors and sizes soared in the sky, gargoyles all, some just outside of the dome and some far beyond it. Thirty, at least, more than had flown from town to await our call.
Even as I stood and watched, in rapture, wanting to lift into the sky and soar with them, two more flew over from the closest peak, coming toward us and joining the others.
“Joining your cairn. You will lead them, as Austin leads his pack,” Ivy House said, and this time I didn’t understand how she knew what was going on. I wondered if there were more secrets she had yet to share, and if I’d have to figure them out the hard way.
Rufus and his mages waited on the other side of the field, staring up at the circling gargoyles with their hands as makeshift visors against the sun. He’d clearly won the battle against Maverick, something I’d missed because of mating.
When we walked toward them, they lowered their gazes. Even from the distance, their body language gave away their shock. They’d probably expected us to shift after the match began, like we had last time.
A voice boomed out from higher in the viewing area. Elliot’s.
“Greetings, all.” He stood in front of a chair, tucked behind a rock barrier, here in the flesh, just like the other day. His warding spell offered him safety—supposedly—and so did the distraction in front of us.
I hadn’t gone for him the other day because of the way the fight had ended. Because I hadn’t wanted to risk messing with his spell, knowing he could take a shot at me while I tried. Because I hadn’t wanted to make a fool of myself in front of the other mages if I failed.
But the time for self-doubt was over. I needed to take advantage of this bubble of amazingness. He might be able to get a shot off, but I’d spent the last month practicing how to defend my crew and work magic at the same time. I could handle it, knock that spell down, and go after him.
His tenure of rigging the game was over. His constant influence in my life was at an end.
It was time to say goodbye once and for all to Elliot Graves.
Twenty-Four
“A slight change to our contest of champions today,” Sebastian said, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach and the nervous sweats, made worse when Jessie flapped her wings in a gorgeous aura of color and rose into the sky. “It seems a freak accident has befallen our dear Chambers. His whole crew has been wiped out. We are not investigating because, frankly, I don’t care. So, in light of his inability to protect himself from whatever may have gotten to him…” Sebastian let a beat of silence linger. It would make them curious. The rumors that it had been Jessie were already spreading. It would only help her, and her not claiming it would add to her mysterious power. “We have our final competition today. While I ask that you please don’t kill each other, because networking after this competition might be in our—all of our—best interests, I will not penalize you for doing so. Accidents happen. Try not to—I repeat, try not to kill your opponents—but I will not penalize you if you do.�
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Rufus didn’t seem to hear him, hands slack at his sides, staring up at Jessie…who was staring straight at Sebastian.
“You need to go.” Nessa shoved at him as he took his seat. “You need to leave. She’s not here for them. She’s here for you.”
“I know.” He shrugged her off, watching the female gargoyle hover in the sky. His gaze drifted further upward, to the swirling gargoyles staring down on them. “It’s exactly as Jala envisioned it.”
“Which means you don’t have long. Give up on this, Sebastian. I had no idea what you were getting yourself into. You were right, okay? The shifters, her— Oh holy hell.”
The great thunderbird rose into the sky. Thunder pealed, shaking the ground beneath them.
He braced his hands on his knees. The thunder died away. The shaking grew more pronounced.
“Oh no,” Nessa breathed, and it was obvious she recognized it too. The prophecy was upon them.
“We can’t run,” he said, holding on to his courage, remembering the days when he hadn’t been afraid of much of anything. Clearly that was only because mages weren’t scary. He’d been missing out on a large part of the magical world. If he lived through this, he’d remedy who held the power, and it wouldn’t be the corrupt organizations that had their fists wrapped around it now. “We can’t tell anyone to run. Those who survive will be our allies.”
“But—”
“We can’t run.” Sebastian took a steadying breath, Jessie still staring right at him.
The biggest gargoyle snapped his huge wings to the sides, the sound sending a shiver through Sebastian’s body. The great beast rose into the sky, and it struck Sebastian that he hadn’t ever been in a place to really appreciate their dexterity in flight. While the thunderbird was massive and powerful, these creatures turned on a dime and dove and attacked at a breakneck pace.
Jessie turned toward the opponent, who was just now starting to rapidly fire spells.
They were so outmatched that it wasn’t funny.
Jessie didn’t bother to fling the incoming spells away. Each member was equipped with a defensive spell, and the energy from the onslaught of spells soaked into the shield, seemingly spreading to her team, making them more powerful.
“That shouldn’t be possible.” Sebastian sat forward, the danger forgotten. “Is it the link she has? Is Ivy House acting as the go-between, transferring power?”
“The big alpha gets her power, right?” Nessa said.
Sebastian shook his head as Jessie lazily fired a spell down at Rufus. She was far away from him. If another mage had attempted a shot like that, it would have lost potency by the time it hit its target. But Rufus went flying through his band of young mages. If not for the distance, Jessie’s spell would’ve probably ended his life. Maybe that was why she was staying so far away.
“The protector magic is different, and it doesn’t look like he has it yet. Or knows he has it. He’s not using it, at any rate.”
The great polar bear rushed in and swiped at someone, but didn’t connect the way he had in the last battle.
“He’s taking it easy on them,” Nessa said, riveted, just like Sebastian was.
Jessie dove, and all four male gargoyles quickly dove with her, covering her on all sides.
“She’s not a great flyer,” Nessa whispered, biting her nails.
Jessie sent out a thick ribbon of a spell. Before it got to Rufus, it fractured into spears and slammed into each and every mage on the other team.
“Oh!” Nessa jerked back in her seat. “Did you see that?” The mountain rumbled under them, shaking now, like an earthquake. “Oh God, Sebastian. Crap. Go!”
“Not yet,” he said, heart in his throat, shaking all over. “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to work out.”
Because it had to. Because it was either that or it would be the end of him.
Jessie’s wings snapped open, stopping her up short. The largest gargoyle did the same before grabbing her around the middle and pumping his great wings, jetting into the sky.
The phoenix swooped down in bird form, sending a streak of fire into the air. She didn’t spray the enemy or catch their spells, like she’d done in the battle with Kinsella. She merely dripped on them.
It was plenty.
They screamed and ducked, diving away, clutching themselves and rolling on the ground.
The thunderbird swooped in next. A peal of thunder froze everyone before lightning zigzagged around him, catching people with its tiny filaments. But it was nothing compared to the defenses he’d shown in that initial fight with the gargoyles. He was holding back, too.
“What are they…” Sebastian looked up as the mountain lurched. The big gargoyle—Nathanial—was flying Jessie toward the top of the dome with powerful pumps of his wings. She was going to break through his spell.
“Sebastian.” Nessa pointed.
The basajaun had hung back, which was not like him. He was kneeling now, his palms pressed to the ground.
Nessa reached out and grabbed Sebastian’s hand.
“Here we go,” Sebastian said quietly.
Twenty-Five
I held between my palms an intense ball of pure energy and power, pulled from everyone’s defenses. Nathanial flew me up to the dome, knowing I needed speed and that my smaller wings couldn’t do that job. The gargoyles above us circled the dome, waiting to join us, eager to fight—I felt it clouding the air.
I answered with a pulse of power, not quite sure how or what it meant, but it felt as natural as breathing. I was meant to lead. It had taken giving in totally to my beast in the mating to feel it. To know it.
I liked it.
Somewhere below, I heard the basajaun roar. The rumbling of the mountain grew louder, more violent. A deep, subatomic groan spoke of large, probably horrible things about to happen.
I needed to make sure my people didn’t get caught up in that. Thankfully, I’d summoned enough gargoyles that we could transport all of our non-fliers to safety, much as the shifters might hate it.
When I neared the magical dome, I closed my eyes, drawing magic from my very core. Light flared against my eyelids, and I felt the heat between my palms as I hurled the ball with all my strength. A pulse of raw power rocketed out from the point of impact.
I felt the magical dome bend, stretch…and then shatter. Magic released in a heady wave.
Sky clear, gargoyles dove in around us, circling, waiting for what came next. Waiting for me to lead.
I pushed away from Nathanial, and he let me go immediately. I put out my hands to clear the gargoyles in my way and dove down to join the rest of the team. Isabelle and Kace circled the last two standing mages, flinging spells that only added to the strength of our defenses. They had courage but not much power, which was more than I could say for Rufus, who was hightailing it across the field toward the locker rooms, followed by five of his people, Edgar whooping and hollering behind them.
A few more mages lay on the ground, either curled up and hoping for this all to go away or (hopefully) playing dead. My team had showed their merit, and the mages had shown that they didn’t usually do a lot of actual battling. My early experiences in the magical world had clearly been unique. They gave me an advantage. Regardless, the fight with Rufus was over.
The fight with Elliot had just begun.
Something told me that Elliot wouldn’t roll over and play dead quite so easily as the others. He had a list of faces on his wall. He was an outlaw. You didn’t get that status by playing nice.
The chairs in the small stands rocked. People jumped to their feet, hands out, looking at the ground, looking around, probably wondering if it was an earthquake. Elliot had already stood, hands out for balance, staring at me. I couldn’t read his expression, but he knew it was on. He had to.
He’d wanted to test me, to see what I was really made of, and he was about to find out.
I flapped my wings as hard as I could, pushing forward with as much speed as I could muster
. The ground gave a mighty heave and the basajaun roared. The standing mages toppled over. The shifters braced or stumbled. Everyone in the stands was thrown onto their sides or forward. Elliot somehow remained standing, still staring at me, seemingly unmoved by the scene around him.
Dirt and rock slid down from the peak in front of me. A dust plume rose into the sky just beyond the stands, and beyond that the ground caved in, crushing the network of tunnels within it. I realized with horror that we’d left all our stuff in our rooms. Hopefully the basajaun had worked out some kind of compromise with the mountain.
The people in the stands staggered, running toward us to escape the collapsing mountain behind them. I swooped down toward Elliot, hands held out in front of me to deliver the first spell, but he disappeared.
I kept going, not believing my eyes, cursing myself for not bringing a revealing spell. Nearly there, I sent a jet of magic at the spot he’d inhabited, then fired off more magic all around it, trying to hit anything still there. The mountain heaved. More areas caved in, probably the second series of tunnels the basajaun had mentioned. Anyone in them was lost to the rubble and rock, a thought that might have made me feel guiltier if an anguished roar hadn’t risen behind me. A moment later, Austin went offline. Unconscious, not dead.
Heart in my throat, I snapped my wings taut and angled, wrapping myself in a tight defense spell so I could safely look back.
Bile rose. Austin was gone.
Elliot forgotten, everything beyond Austin forgotten, I banked fast and dove for Broken Sue, who was slapping at the ground and roaring. As soon as I landed, I changed into my human form so I could talk, not worried about nudity for once.
“What happened?” I demanded amid the deep rumble of the mountain’s shifting. It was quieting now, settling.
Austin’s distance grew. He was being carried away, not toward the collapsed tunnels but in the other direction, still unconscious. I sent a thread of healing in case it had been blunt-force trauma of some kind.
