Page 47 of Hated By the Gargoyle

I screamed.

And then I was able to see.

Two more gargoyles like Qanek were fighting him.

One was huge. Not as muscular as Qanek, but tall and dark gray with a fiery purple set ablaze in his chest. He had long black, curly hair and towering horns and a feral expression that made me whimper.

The other gargoyle was taller, thinner, and a lighter gray, with a very light blue color burning in the center of his chest. For a moment, he appeared to be made of shadows, like they molded across his body like the wisps of tentacles.

The two gargoyles circled Qanek.

Everything about this was menacing, terrifying.

As one, they charged in his direction.

I screamed again, unable to help myself. I watched the larger, gray and purple gargoyle sink his claws into Qanek’s abdomen while the other used shadows to wrap around Qanek’s neck. Qanek thrashed like a beast tearing free of his confines. He swiped at them, all instinct and survival.

The other two put up a fight, and Qanek was strong. So strong.

But not strong enough against the two of them.

They subdued him, breaking one of his wings and causing him to roar out in pain. Then, they were shoving him face down on the ground, whipping out ropes of shadow magic that kept him tightly restrained. He thrashed and thrashed, but it didn’t work.

He couldn’t break free.

“Don’t hurt him!” My voice was a weak rasp from so much screaming, but the words escaped my throat anyway. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing!”

Despite everything, I didn’t want him to die.

I… I cared about him.

Maybe more.

“Calm, brother,” the dark gray and purple one hissed, keeping a knee against Qanek’s head, pushing him further onto the ground. “Calm.”

Brother?

I stared at the two gargoyles.

Qanek had mentioned his brothers to me very briefly.

Nazzar and Xavir.

He’d called them fools and hadn’t said much else, except that they had abandoned him, given up on him. Yet he also told me that they were lethal.

Deadly.

And they’d hunted their own brother…

What did they plan on doing to him?

To me?

I whimpered and Qanek struggled again, only stopping when there was another whoosh of heated air in the cave. This one, more sinister than the last.

This one brought a dredge of fear down my spine.

The entire cave darkened, like death had come calling. Everyone in the room stilled as three shadows formed before the three gargoyle brothers.