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Chapter 5
“Reed!” I woke with a startle, his name screeching past my throat. Sweat drenched me, and my hair plastered to my head and neck. Had the gargoyle killed the lion shifter? And there was nothing I could have done to stop it.
A balmy breeze swished past my cheeks, and outside the orange skies darkened. Nightfall approached. On the windowsill, Gingernuts perched like a god, overlooking the land, waiting for the sun to descend so he could claim my hair. He could have it all. Untangling myself from the sheets, I hurried to the bathroom, my hair dragging behind me, coating the floor and cushioning my steps.
Surely, Reed had survived. He seemed agile and would have run, using the forest to dodge the gargoyle. Right? My stomach hurt thinking about him dead.
I passed the wooden panel that portioned my bathroom from the rest of the room. I’d painted it bright yellow to lighten the place, though right now I felt anything but cheery.
After a quick wash of my face and body, a squawk came from outside. I jolted around, knocking over the bucket. Water gushed all over the wooden floor. “Oh, shit!”
I grabbed two towels from the rack and laid them over the mess, soaking up the water. Everything made me jumpy and unfocused while my chest ached with worry over Reed.
Enchanted magic gave me running warm water, just like the pantry always filling with food, to ensure I had everything I needed for eternal imprisonment. Except my sanity. I patted down the hair on my head and glanced in the mirror. Darkness danced under my eyes, so I pinched my cheeks to bring out their color and try to smile but couldn’t. Still looked like I hadn’t slept for a week. Lately, I’d woken up exhausted, even though I’d slept through the day. I ought to have slept more, but I refused to spend another second of free time inside the tower.
Something tugged on my hair behind me.
Gingernuts was there, kneading his claws into the bundle on the ground. “Don’t worry. This will be yours soon enough.”
Next, I climbed into leather pants and a shirt, but the buttons refused to close up. What the hell? I glanced down to see I’d put it on inside out.
What’s wrong with you today?
“Stop talking.” I redressed and pulled on a black vest over the shirt, which I laced tightly across the front as I stepped into my boots. With my blade tucked in my belt, I stared outside to the blackening skies. Not long now. I rushed through my routine of feeding Gingernuts dried fish pieces along with a bowl of milk. I prepared myself a plate too. Bread, cheese, and lard. I couldn’t stomach much more. Sitting at the table with my food and Gingernuts eating his nearby, I flipped through the book I’d stolen yesterday from a lord. Opening it flat on the gargoyle page, I read the text and stuffed a piece of bread and cheese into my mouth.
Ah, okay, so apparently, the first ever gargoyle had been a witch’s lover. He had once been a normal human who’d betrayed her, so the witch had turned his heart to stone, making him incapable of ever loving again or feeling emotions. Another witch had found him wandering aimlessly through the sandy realm of Utaara and decided he’d make the perfect soldier, so she’d taken his blood, replicated it, and injected the stuff into dead bodies. Add dark magic, and they’d come to life as stone creatures. The witch had used her undead army to battle enemies on behalf of a royal family in Haven Realm in Darkwoods.
I glanced outside momentarily and took another bite of my meal. This history had taken place right here in the ruins. So that was where the gargoyles had come from, though they’d lost the fight because the family had been killed. So did the witch who’d hexed me have more gargoyles waiting somewhere? Or had she just found one and worked out a way to activate it?
I gripped the book and hurried through the next line… A dragon-tooth dagger could pierce their exterior.
Hell! I choked on my meal and smacked a palm into my chest, then drank down the stuck crumbs with my glass of milk.
“What the hell?” I reread the lines. There was a weapon that destroyed gargoyles? “Son of a bitch. Why didn’t I steal this book earlier?”
How will you find such a dragon dagger?
My ex, Gage, was a dragon shifter, but I’d never seen him fully transform. Once, he’d unleashed his wings, which were spectacular. But that was it, and he’d refused to talk about why he wouldn’t change all the way. I somehow suspected he had a fraction of dragon blood in him, giving him minimal abilities, but he told everyone he was a full-blown dragon. Regardless of his reasons for potentially lying, he might know where I could find a dragon’s tooth.
I’d heard stories that there might be a few dragons living deep in the forest and mountains of Wildfire realm. No one I’d spoken to had ever seen a dragon either, and for good reason. They’d burn you to a crisp.
Outside, the sun had almost vanished behind the horizon. Once it had, I’d go and check on Reed.
So I kept reading. There was a weakness to the undead army. The spell had softened their hearts. If anyone pierced the organ, the gargoyle would turn to dust and perish.
I gasped and slapped my hand on the table, startling Gingernuts, who leaped around and hissed in my direction.
“Sorry, sorry. But, shit! This is it. The freaking demon upstairs is going down.” My knees bounced under the table as I returned to the book.
Without the dragon-tooth dagger to smash through the stone body, one had to get close enough to stab a blade in between the moving stones protecting its heart. All before the gargoyle attacked you.
You sure about this? Sounds a bit too easy for my liking.
“Didn’t you just read the book…? I could use a normal knife.” This was the first time I’d found a way to possibly take down the creature. Even if I didn’t have a dragon-tooth dagger, I could pierce the heart through the gaps with a normal blade. It didn’t come without dangers, but I knew where the best bladesman in Darkwoods worked. For enough money, Dustin would do anything. Yeah, getting close enough to the gargoyle to stab his heart was a dangerous job, and hence Dustin would ask for a huge payment. He was fast with knives, hopefully meaning he didn’t need to get too close to the gargoyle. His throwing ability wasn’t something I could replicate, so I would need to count on his help.
Don’t get your hopes up. This could fail big time.
On my feet, I paced from the bed to the table, ignoring my negative side. I was desperate and needed a way to eradicate the gargoyle. I’d detail the risks to Dustin, but if things went haywire, he’d have to run to avoid getting hurt. The gargoyle was solid stone during the night from Vanore’s spell. But when the sun rose, his body form morphed into smaller rocks that allowed for his movement and revealed gaps for stabbing him. Meaning as soon as dawn arrived, we had to skewer the gargoyle just as he woke up. And before he got the upper hand on us.
