“How awful,” I murmured. “Were you aware of the passing of time?”
“Sometimes we’d awaken to take in our surroundings, but we mostly slept... until you arrived.”
“That’s good.”
“How many years have passed?”
“Thousands upon thousands; I don’t know the exact number.”
The gargoyle lifted his head to take in the others around him. Weight settled around his shoulders as they sagged a little, and his gaze shifted to the ground.
“We’ve lost so much time,” he murmured.
“I’m sorry for that. I can’t… I can’t imagine what it must feel like.”
“Tempest must have changed so much over the years.”
“I… I don’t know. The temple and the Revenant Woods still exist.”
“Yes, there are those things.”
“What happened after our arrival?” I asked as a way to distract him from the sadness I sensed from all the gargoyles. “Were you able to go back to sleep?”
“Sleep was more difficult to come by. For the first time in millennia, we had hope again. The trees brought you to us, but not only that, you were different thanallother amsirah. It’s hard to sleep when the possibility of freedom is so close.”
I could understand that. Unsure of what to say or do, I remained unmoving within my protective circle.
It was then that I realized my teeth had stopped chattering and the goose bumps on my arms were gone. I’d been so focused on the gargoyle before me and trying to hear the others, that I hadn’t realized the temperature was far more moderate.
I had no idea why, but returning the stone to the gargoyles had brought warmth back to this underground place.
“Why… why is it warmer?” I asked.
“Because the Heart is back where it belongs. Things are right again down here and with us,” the gargoyle replied.
That’s because they were cold and dead before the heart returned life to them.If that wasn’t a sign I’d done the right thing, then I didn’t know what was.
“Retract your lightning, child,” he urged.
The gargoyle’s words reassured me that my lightning was a barrier and would keep them at bay. I didn’t know what good that would do for the other amsirah, but at least they couldn’t kill me right now.
If we were going to work together, I couldn’t keep them shut out. I had to trust them, but I still wasn’t sure I could.
“My name’s Ellery.” I didn’t know why I was telling him this. Perhaps, if we knew each other on a first-name basis, it would be less likely to kill me. “And you are?”
“I am Indon, leader of the gargoyles. We will help you, Ellery, but you have to release your lightning for us to do so.”
I gulped at his words as I looked to the other creatures, crouched in the shadows. There were over a hundred gargoyles in this cavern; I couldn’t see them all, but I knew they were there… watching and waiting.
I’d come here for their help, and I couldn’t stand here surrounded by lightning for the rest of my life, but the idea of releasing it and exposing myself to them terrified me. I had no idea what these creatures would do once I lowered my barrier.
“It’s nice to meet you, Indon,” I told him.
“You also, Ellery.”
With those words, which I hoped were true, I lowered my lightning and drew it back into my body. Only the crackle at my fingertips remained, so I could still see a little bit of the cavern, but Indon vanished from view as the shadows deepened.
For a long moment, nothing happened, and then air rushed toward me as Indon surged forward, grasped my arms, and ripped me off my feet.
