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Dredd has never been a monster of many words, but I can’t help but think his current lack of speech is purposeful and meant as punishment for keeping Julianna. None of this is her fault, just mine. I’m the one who should know better than to get distracted this close to finding the Keystone with the coven so near to discovering the location of the Relic Room.
I roll to my side in the cot, spreading my wings and shifting Julianna onto the bed. Moving my wings out of the way, I pull a blanket over her. I wait for the moment her snoring returns, then turn to face my brother.
“Stop fucking around, Dredd,” I hiss out, crossing the small cave to stand in front of him. “And explain yourself.”
The closer I get, the more I see that the expression on his face isn’t irritation but concern. He blows a heavy breath out through his nose before he finally speaks.
“They’re one of us, Titan.” He shakes his head and looks at the ground.
I frown, my brows dropping as I struggle to comprehend what he’s saying.
“We weren’t the only gargoyles who survived,” Dredd adds.
“That can’t be true.” I feel the Pull gouge into my chest. Hope, perhaps foolish and stupid, matches its intensity. “We looked for centuries.”
Twenty gargoyles were created to guard the Relic Room, five for each side of the four-sided fortress. Each of us is a part of our own brotherhood. I led Dredd, Knox, Rook, and Stiel as we guarded the entrance. Maximus led the five who guarded the back, which faced the tiny German village on the edge of the Black Forest. Colossus and Atlas each led the brotherhoods that faced either side of the wilderness.
“It is true, brother,” Dredd says. “Maximus survived.”
All the air is sucked out of my chest, and my vision focuses down on Dredd.
Maximus led his brothers in the fight that night four hundred years ago. He was so determined to get the Keystone for himself that he destroyed us and the fortress in the process. But I saw him fall under the rubble.
“So that is why he flew from you.” I release an irritated hiss. “Where was he hiding? Doesn’t matter. He’s come to Los Angeles to finish what he started.”
“He saw us first and got a head start. Knox was able to follow him for a while. Rook was with him, but Maximus was able to shake them both.”
“What does he think he is going to do once he gets the Keystone?” My body is tense, my lips a flat line. “He can’t possibly know of the Relic Room’s location.”
I’m angry at myself for having left the wrap party so quickly without checking back with my brothers more thoroughly before leaving. I’d assumed the Strange I felt watching me was either a member of the coven keeping an eye on our progress or, perhaps, an intrepid young Strange pulled to the strong source of magic that was the Keystone without any real knowledge of it.
Julianna lets out a small noise as she stirs in the cot, pulling the blanket tight and curling her knees up to her chest. I can still feel her warmth on my chest, and her scent is caught in my nostrils.
When I look back to Dredd, he is silent. I can see in his dark eyes the weight he carries, though, as their leader, it is my burden.
“Where is everyone now?” I ask sharply.
“Knox and Rook are still circling the hills. Stiel is back at the penthouse. Drusila and a few witches from the coven should be there soon.”
I look down at Julianna, who continues to comfortably sleep through all of this. I should’ve never taken her here tonight, not with so many more important things needing my attention. Still, I don’t want to leave her, not after everything we just did.
“You have to go,” Dredd chides.
“I know,” I nearly snarl. I take a deep breath and turn back to Dredd. “I need you to take her back to the penthouse. She has a fear of heights, so do not wake her up.”
Dredd nods. For all our butting of heads, I know I can count on him to do the right thing.
I gently unfurl my wings and lift the sleeping Julianna in my arms, wrapping the blanket tight around her form. Dredd grabs another, and I cocoon her in it. Her face is so relaxed, I loathe to let her go like this without a word, but we both know the arrangement we agreed upon. We are both in this, ultimately, for ourselves.
“Titan.”
Dredd’s voice interrupts my thoughts and shakes me from my delusional thinking. We’ve waited too long for this moment. I’ve waited too long. The brotherhood is too close to getting everything we worked for.
I kiss Julianna on the top of her head gently, sure not to wake her up.
“Go quickly.”
He nods and turns towards the mouth of the cave, then stops suddenly, turning back to me.
