“Prince Bartlett,” the tree nearest us said, its voice a crackle of dried leaves. “Is this how you greet your guests?”
“Elder,” Cade said. It sounded like a title, but he didn’t bow his head or make any movement of deference. “It’s not.”
I could hear his heart speeding up with each passing second. When he looked at me, his eyes were wide and searching. This might be familiar territory for me, but he was a novice when it came to war. I had enough experience with combat to know inexperience was a good way to get killed.
And I couldn’t afford for Cade to get killed. Not because of the loss of a million dollars but because I needed him. Iwanted—I cut off the thought, unwilling to promise anything for a man I hadn’t even known three weeks ago.
There were four gargoyles. One was injured; the other three circled. I watched their patterns for just long enough to tell that they were guarding the injured one, protecting it as best they could.
“How many of you are here?” I asked the dryad.
The elder tree paused, her words taking longer than I liked. Battle was always a matter of seconds, and we were wasting the only advantage we had.
“Five,” the elder tree said.
“Can all of you fight?” I asked.
“Yes,” the tree said.
“For now, keep yourselves and the other two mages safe,” I said. “Cade and I will take care of the rest.”
“We will?” Cade asked.
I grinned at him. “We’re the dream team. We can do anything.”
“I’m sorry, are we a nineties basketball team? Is Michael Jordan around here and I’m just not aware of it?” Cade raised an eyebrow, arch and annoyed, but I could hear his heart pounding in his chest, hear the carefully controlled fear.
“You’re Jordan, I’m Scottie Pippin, and we can do this,” I said.
Then I was off, Cade behind me, moving swiftly. When we reached the SUVs and the mages hiding behind the doors, Cade shouted, “Protect the dryads!”
They were so focused on the gargoyles our sudden appearance startled the mages, and one of them let loose their spell early, the magic exploding wildly against one of the gargoyles. It chipped some of the stone, dust drifting down, but didn’t do any real damage.
“Prince Bartlett!” The older of the two gestured. “You should get out of here. I’ve never fought creatures like this.”
“Leave them to us. Take the dryads back to the house.” He lifted up his hand, and a black net flew into the air, wrapping around one of the gargoyles and dragging it down.
The mage gaped, his mouth working for a moment. “My prince, I will not abandon you.”
“Now!” Cade ordered. A gargoyle swooped down. I wasn’t shifted, but I could feel it under my skin, the strength, the pop of bone and muscle that made me stronger, faster, able to do more than my human body should be able to.
I leapt up and wrapped my arms around its wings. As I bore it down, I heard the pops of mages disappearing.
Gargoyles were creatures made of stone. There was some argument about whether they were even sentient or just creatures ruled by the magic that had breathed life into them. They came in multiple shapes and forms, but these ones looked like the classical ones you’d find on cathedrals: massive wings, demonic faces, clawed hands and feet.
The one I fought had eyes that were larger than its face supported, and sharp teeth snapped at me as it tried to shake me loose. The two of us plunged into the earth, its claws and weight digging a deep groove in the soft forest soil.
I leapt up immediately, pointing at it. “A net!”
Cade didn’t need to be told twice. He thrust his hand forward, and a net sprang into existence, slamming over the gargoyle.
It struggled but couldn’t get up. That left us with three remaining gargoyles. They shrieked, spiraling higher and higher in the sky until they were like carrion eaters circling a carcass.
“The spell you used to melt the manacles,” I said shortly.
Cade nodded, immediately understanding. “How are you going to get them close enough?”
I looked down at the gargoyle at my feet. It snapped at me, tearing at the magic, but it was impossible for the creature to break free. Looking back up at the three circling gargoyles, I made a face. I didn’t like what I was about to do, but I would do it anyway.
