Seeing a gargoyle for real made me think about the demons they were whispered to be. The creature looked like something that might have crawled out of fire and brimstone, breathing shadow and smoke.
“What are they waiting for?” I asked.
“Not sure.”
The Gray’s hooves stumbled. I tore my gaze from the gargoyles and held on tight as Avan maneuvered the Gray into a steady gallop. I peered over Avan’s shoulder at the controls. I didn’t know much about Grays, but I could figure out what a frantically flashing light meant. Even in full daylight, I could tell the energy stone was considerably dimmer.
“Hmm,” Avan said, sounding a lot calmer than I felt. “Definitely smarter than I expected.”
I connected the dots. The gargoyles had been biding their time, waiting for our energy stone to die out. I tried not to panic but didn’t do a very good job.
“I thought you said the stone would last us to the Void,” I said.
“That was my optimism talking.”
I dug my fingers into his stomach and felt his muscles contract. I slid my hand higher, my palm pressed to his chest, and was somewhat relieved to discover that his heartbeat wasn’t nearly as steady as his voice.
“Hold on,” he said.
He bent lower over the Gray’s neck, and I followed suit. I turned slightly to keep an eye on the gargoyles as the Gray burst forward. My arms tightened around Avan. The wind stung my face and tugged at our clothes.
Every sense sharpened as we raced closer to the tree line. The gargoyles picked up speed along with us. But we were faster. They slowly fell behind.
The forest was less than a mile ahead. We could make it.
The gargoyles must have realized this as well because they abandoned their strategy to bide their time and began aiming their claws for the Gray’s legs and flanks. I could hear their snarls and guttural snorts. Clicks and grunts.
“I think they’re talking to each other,” I said. Maybe the Kahl had combined them with other creatures we didn’t know about.
Up ahead, the trees were a blockade of brown bark and dry branches, rushing to meet us. I didn’t see enough space for the Gray.
“Drek,” I whispered, and clenched my eyes shut.
We crashed through the forest. I held on as the Gray galloped along, jarring us back and forth. Bark scraped my arms. Branches raked across my skin and ripped through my hair. I tucked my face between Avan’s shoulder blades as he forced the Gray through. I dared a glance behind us but couldn’t see the gargoyles. I heard them, though. They mowed through the underbrush with the coarse sound of claws tearing through roots and dirt and scoring the trees.
The Gray stumbled again.
I gasped as its front legs rammed into a raised root, the noise screaming in my ears. Or maybe that was me. I lost my grip on Avan, and we flew off the saddle, sailing into the branches. Brown and green whirled in dizzying and painful confusion. I brought up my arms to shield my head as something smashed into my back and shoulder. The air rushed from my lungs. For several excruciating seconds, I couldn’t move or breathe.
Then I groaned, prayed nothing was broken, and pushed up onto my hands and knees. A few yards away, the Gray lay on its side, metal warped and chest smoking. I blinked through my burning eyes and found Avan also lying nearby. His arm didn’t look right.
My ears were ringing. I tried to say his name.
A huge gargoyle burst through the trees and landed on top of the Gray. The metal groaned beneath the gargoyle’s weight. The creature looked at me and then at Avan. It pounced.
Time crept to a near stop. I heaved forward, fighting against the threads that tied me to its flow. For the first time, I felt them snap around me. My limbs moved quicker, more easily. I focused on Avan’s prone form and the gargoyle—its body extended midleap, its open mouth exposing two sets of serrated teeth, and its curved claws aimed at Avan. The threads brushed against me but didn’t drag. I was free of them.
I scrambled for the rear of the Gray, reaching for the prostitute’s knife that had fallen from my strewn bag. Then I threw myself in front of Avan and brought up the knife, slashing at the gargoyle’s chest just as my grip on time slipped. Time sprang forward.
All the air left me again when the gargoyle crashed into me. My back hit the ground, the creature crushing me. I couldn’t even shout.
My hands came up as I braced for the pain of claws and teeth—but the gargoyle slid off me, slumping to the forest floor. Blood from the knife wound pooled around its chest.
More gargoyles broke through the trees, pausing near the Gray to take in the scene. They growled, coming closer. I forced myself to my feet, standing between them and Avan. I gripped the knife so hard that my hands hurt.
Don’t think. Don’t think. I could move free of time now. I could do this.
I reached again for the threads.
CHAPTER 12
THE GARGOYLES STOPPED.
It wasn’t me—I hadn’t touched time yet. Since I couldn’t hold on to the threads for long, I had to plan it just right.
One of the gargoyles lowered its head, luminous yellow eyes flicking between me and the dead gargoyle at my feet. A tremor went through its frills, and the other gargoyles backed away. The rest of them lowered their heads as one.
I licked my dry lips, my bravado ebbing. They didn’t look as if they were determining how best to eat me. If anything, they looked wary, but what did I know about reptiles?
Maybe they hadn’t expected to lose one of their own. Honestly, I had no idea how I’d even killed the other one, because I was pretty sure I hadn’t cut it deep enough. Their tawny gazes were unflinching. I held their stares. I couldn’t show them weakness, even while my heart pounded in my ears and my breath came in frantic pants.
“Come on,” I breathed, lifting the knife higher. The threads glittered around me. “If we’re going to do this, then let’s do this.”
After a moment, it dawned on me that they weren’t looking at me at all. They were looking at the knife in my hands.
Avan groaned behind me. I heard the rustling of underbrush.
“Stay still!” I shouted without checking to see if he listened. “You’re—”
“Fine,” he said.
He appeared beside me, brushing off his torn tunic. I didn’t dare look away from the gargoyles to inspect his injury.
“What are they waiting for now?” Avan asked, raising a broken branch that I doubted would be much of an obstacle for their claws.
The gargoyles looked at Avan, then back at the knife. Suddenly, in unison, they slunk away. They kept their heads down and their bodies low, sliding over root and bush until they had melted into the forest.
I waited, fear and adrenaline still pumping beneath my skin. Why would they just leave? Was this a trick? Maybe they were circling to attack from behind.
“I think they’re gone,” Avan said. “That was pretty strange.”
He lowered his makeshift weapon. I barely heard him.
“Kai.” His fingertips brushed over my knuckles, coaxing the knife from my rigid hands. I had to remember how to uncurl my fingers.
Once Avan had the knife, all the energy drained from my limbs. My body folded. Avan caught me around the waist before my knees hit the dirt.
“They left,” I said, sagging against him in disbelief. I didn’t think I could have fought off a whole pack.
“You okay?” he asked, setting me down. “Hurt anywhere?”
Everything hurt. But I shook my head because I could still move, which probably meant nothing was broken. And we were alive. Amazingly.