by Karen Duvall
Gavin poked the blade at me and jutted his chin toward the stairs. “But I’m in control now. Let’s go on upstairs, shall we? There’s more room up there to…move around.”
I had to stall him, distract him. I’d lost the knife, but if I made it to the back door, I could run to Quin’s car and grab the gargoyle stones from the trunk. One shard would be enough to create a knife of my own.
“Wait,” I said, walking backward down the hall and away from the stairs. “I need to ask you something.”
He looked down his nose at me. “There’s no time. We have a dinner reservation and we can’t be late.”
I licked my dry lips, knowing exactly whom that reservation was with. I also knew what was on the menu. Me. “Before I die, the least you can do is tell me about my mother.”
Following me down the hall, he stopped waving the knife and pierced me with a grave stare. “Felicia is dead and gone. She no longer matters.”
My cheeks burned with anger, but I was determined to keep it together. “Tell me why you killed her.”
“You know very well why. She had what I wanted. She had you in her belly.”
A chill ran through me as I considered my next question. “But why was she here in Denver?” I was almost to the end of the hall now, my back facing the door. “I know she tried to steal Saint Geraldine from the vault.”
He stopped dead, his pallid skin going one shade lighter. “Who told you?”
“Does it matter?” I swallowed, fearful of the answer to my next question, but the mystery of my mother had to end. No more secrets. “You brought her here to see Geraldine. You wanted my mother to help you find the Hatchet knights. What I don’t understand is how you found her to begin with.”
Gavin grinned, his thin lips stretching over teeth gritted shut. “I didn’t find her.” He grabbed me by the throat and shoved me hard against the door that rattled on its hinges from the impact. “She found me. And her attempt to kill me failed.”
I struggled to breathe as his hand tightened around my windpipe. His skin was rough, the multitude of scars on his palms and fingers digging into my flesh. The healed sigils that branded his will with the dark side burned me like fire.
I aimed a kick at his groin and missed. The knife was only inches from my heart, but I’d rather he stab me than slowly strangle me to death. Gavin got off on torture, the slower the better. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of prolonging my death for his own entertainment.
He yanked me away from the door and flung me down the hall toward the stairs. I tripped and fell, landing hard on my knees.
“Get up. And get moving.”
I did get up, but I didn’t give up. I gagged for breath as I staggered down the hall, my mind racing. I had to get my hands on those stones.
He planted his booted foot in the small of my back and pushed. I lurched forward, then spun around to make a run for the back door again. But Gavin knew me too well.
He stood in my path, fingers splayed, a green ball of energy gathering between them. He balanced it in the palm of his hand. “Remember your friend the monk, and how he died?”
How could I forget? He held in his hand that same energy that had sucked the air from Brother Thomas’s lungs, stunning him so that Gavin could shoot a bullet through his head. I wasn’t fated to meet the same end. I still had too much left to do. So I turned around and obediently trudged toward the stairs.
“That’s a good girl.” His footsteps tapped loudly on the linoleum floor behind me. “Your mother tried to steal from me, Chalice. It was only fair that I steal something from her. Too bad she got away from me, but I still won. You were quite a prize.”
Owning me was his revenge against my mother? “How did you know she was a knight?”
“Like I told you many times. You have your mother’s eyes.”
I led the way upstairs and tried to figure out how I could gain myself a few extra minutes, but a few minutes wouldn’t be good enough. I wanted it all. For a chance to win my prize, my freedom, I’d have to play Gavin’s game.
Shui hadn’t come to me when I called because I’d had Gavin’s knife, and he knew I would use it on him without hesitation. He was a ferocious creature, but also a coward. He might not even bother to show up, forcing me to turn into a winged devil just like him. Except that now Gavin had the knife, and Shui would surely heed the word of his master. My fate was in Gavin’s hands.
I walked down the red-carpeted aisle between the pews and stopped at the altar.
“That’s far enough.” Gavin lifted his wrist to let light from the full moon illuminate his watch. “He should be here any minute.”
“And then what?”
He grinned. “And then I’ll let him have you.”
My heart leapt into my throat. “What about your plans for the new me? I believe my new name is to be Sha’ling.”
“You belong to Shui now.” Gavin gave me a pitying look. “He’s been a good and loyal servant for years, and he deserves his reward.” He turned the beautiful knife in his hands and its surface reflected red-and-purple light from the full moon’s glow through the church windows. “His mouth has been watering for a taste of you for a long time. It’s only fitting that I let him dine on his bonded human.”
I inhaled deeply, rooting for Shui’s scent. The overpowering odors of polish and disinfectant were all I could smell.
“In anticipation of your screams, I cast a soundproofing spell on the church. You could light a stick of dynamite in here and no one would hear the explosion.” His eyes danced with menace. The man really was insane. “This will be a private dinner party, yes? We don’t want the police interrupting Shui while he’s feeding. It could get ugly.”
I glanced at the windows set high into the cathedral’s vaulted ceiling. Something far larger than a bat flew this way. I jerked my gaze back to Gavin, who continued admiring the knife. “It wasn’t made in the mortal realm, you know. Nothing so perfect could come from such a benign plane as this one.”
“Where did you get it?” I cast another furtive look at the sky. The winged creature circled, waiting, thinking.
“From hell.” He swiped the blade through the air again. “I don’t know how old it is, but it’s the only one of its kind. And it belongs to me.”
I needed more time. “I saw Zee’s ghost. Too bad she didn’t survive the blast.”
The skin around Gavin’s eyes tightened. “And you’re wondering how I did, is that it?”
I said nothing.
“The paintings in the first room you were assigned weren’t the only portals in the house.” He winked at me, as if sharing a secret. His voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. “Poor Zee was too big to fit through.”
I threw another quick glance up at the window.
Gavin huffed. “How typical. You’re about to lose your life and you have the audacity to roll your eyes at me? Why am I not surprised?”
The words had barely left his lips when a huge crash sounded from above, the stained-glass window exploding to rain shards of color over our heads. I ducked beneath the altar and Gavin scrambled for shelter beside a huge statue of the Virgin Mary. Shui flew around the ceiling, his extended bat wings almost too large to flap effectively inside the church. So he glided in graceful circles, around and around, like he had all the time in the world.
Gavin slithered out of hiding to stand out in the open. “I’ve missed you, Shui,” he called to his winged monkey. Sweeping an arm out at me, he added, “Look what I brought you.”
Like he was the one responsible for bringing me here? Shui wasn’t that stupid. And just to prove how stupid he wasn’t, he swooped down, heading straight for Gavin.
Gavin didn’t have time to hide again. He held up the knife in a threatening manner, and I assumed the blade is what got Shui to target him in the first place. From the look of hatred on the gargoyle’s face, he was finished taking orders. He was done slaving for Gavin. He’d become a rogue gargoyle on a murderous mission.
Shui’s t
alons gripped Gavin’s wrist before he could wield the knife. Wings flapping to stay aloft, Shui clung to Gavin so tight that the man screamed in agony. After a few more seconds the hand holding the knife separated from Gavin’s bleeding arm and fell with a bouncing thud to the floor.
Staring in disgust at the severed arm, I rushed out from beneath the altar to retrieve the weapon. But again Shui swooped, using his front claws to grab both hand and knife from the floor. He charged Gavin again, only this time he plunged the knife into the old man’s chest. Just as it had done so easily with the Maågan demon, the blade slid into Gavin’s body.
Gavin gawked at the gargoyle, his eyes bulging with shock as blood spurt from his mouth. The bloody stump where his hand used to be reached for the creature as if pleading. But the deed was done. And if a baboon could smile, Shui did a great imitation of one. His lips drew back from dripping fangs, and he let out a long roar of triumph that shook what little was left of the glass in the windows above.
As ghastly a scene as it was, I rejoiced in the monster’s victory. He’d done us both a favor. We both watched as Gavin collapsed to the floor and went still.
I looked from Shui to the knife still protruding from Gavin’s chest. Shui tensed and so did I. But before I had a chance to make a move, the knife crumbled to dust right in front of us.
“What the—?” I started to take a step toward Gavin’s body, but Shui issued a warning growl. “How did that happen?” I imagined the answer was the usual one when it came to most magical objects. Once the weapon had done its job, it was spent. Game over. “Shit!”
Shui peered at me from where he stood beside his dead master’s corpse. His lips spread in a parody of a smile. Oh, he was loving this. Having me at his mercy was a dream come true.
He lunged at me, knocking me onto my back, then sitting on my chest to hold me down. I could hardly stand the stink of him. His gray scaly skin was stained red by whatever poor creature he’d devoured last, and I knew for a fact he hadn’t showered in months. As for his breath? It was all I could do to stay conscious.
I was scared out of my mind, but I did my best to hide it. Even so, Shui had an uncanny knack for sensing emotion. He might have been a coward, but he was a shrewd coward, extremely self-centered and always hungry. He smelled my fear and from the gleam in his eyes, he found it delicious.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” I told him. “Stick with me, give me what I need to stay human, and you can wreak havoc wherever and whenever you want.” Yeah, like I’d ever let that happen.
He gave a derisive snort. He knew I was bluffing. His mouth opened, then widened to show a double row of pointed teeth sharp as razors. Leaning in close, he gave me full view of his impressive dental equipment. I breathed hard and fast, calling on that part of my intellect that wasn’t consumed by fear.
Then I thought of Aydin. Courageous, protective Aydin who was the best and only friend I’d ever had. He’d stolen my heart, and now it was breaking for him. I blinked back the tears that gathered, savoring the few memories I had left of a life too short to be fully lived. I mourned my sister knights spread all over the country, the only family I had left that I’d never get to meet. I even grieved for the fallen-angel father who had tried to save my life. Would I get to see him in the afterlife? Would I see my mother?
Warm saliva dripped from Shui’s open mouth onto my forehead and dribbled into my eyes. It stung like salt water and made my vision blur.
Just as he lowered his open maw toward my face, the sound of beating wings ripped his attention from me. He leapt back as the taloned feet of another gargoyle swept across his shoulder, slicing through flesh and drawing blood. He roared in surprise and pain, grabbing his arm and glaring up at the ceiling with hatred in his eyes.
I retreated back to my hidey hole beneath the altar and gazed up at the winged beast that sailed up to the ceiling. I expected to see Shojin, Aydin’s gargoyle, but it wasn’t him.
Had Aydin already found another winged monster to fight Shui? I squinted and spotted a monster as striking as Shojin, but more feline than hawklike, and not nearly as big. Larger than Shui, though. Its flying was wobbly as a baby bird on its maiden flight. The leathery appendages looked shiny and new, like something freshly hatched. Then I saw its eyes. Its ice-jade eyes bright as two stars shining from an animal face covered with brown fur.
I couldn’t believe it.
eighteen
“AYDIN?” I CRIED. PLEASE, GOD, DON’T LET IT be him. When I had dropped him off at the airport, he still had a few hours to get to Shojin and he’d had plenty of time to make it to Quebec.
But he must have purposely missed his flight. He’d thought I would fail at fighting off Shui, and he had been right. Aydin sacrificed his humanity for my life, and for my freedom.
I didn’t know if Shui recognized whom he was fighting, but the shock of a sneak attack had worn off and he was now in full battle mode. What little fur he had stood up in spikes along his scaly back and he hissed at the new gargoyle flying above him. Hesitating barely a second more, his powerful wings lifted him up and off in the direction of his enemy.
I had to do something. Shui was small but vicious, and he’d have no trouble ripping out Aydin’s throat. I thought of the broken gargoyle bodies from the Fatherhouse ruins stored in the trunk of Quin’s car. The chunks of stone were sharp enough to do the job I needed done.
I rushed down the aisle, aiming for the back door of the church. Once outside I raced to the car parked at the curb.
Remembering how sharp the stones were, I removed my jacket and used it to wrap the pieces so that I could carry them back to the church. These stones were the answer to my prayers. Now I could kill Shui so that Aydin would live, and then…
My heart turned over when I considered what he’d become, but I knew how to reverse the change. Barachiel had said, Once you’ve changed, you must eat the heart of the gargoyle you were bonded to.
I didn’t try to stop my tears this time. They froze on my face as quickly as I shed them, and I wiped my cheeks with my shoulder, the yarn from my sweater sticking to my frosty skin. Careful not to trip and fall on my lethal bundle, I forced my stiff legs to run to the church.
The two gargoyles were locked in a fierce embrace, their wings beating wildly in an effort to stay airborne. I saw Shui’s teeth clamped on Aydin’s arm, but Aydin’s talons had sunk deep into Shui’s side. Blood rained down on the pews below them. I ran beneath the wrestling pair, who appeared to be weakening. They were losing altitude. Suddenly, they both plummeted in a tangled heap to the ground.
My first instinct was to run to Aydin, but Shui stood in my way. He growled, teeth bared. I peered at the downed gargoyle that lay on his side, unmoving.
One wing unfolded, then Aydin grew still again. He hadn’t turned to stone. He was still alive.
I had to stay strong. I couldn’t help Aydin if I were dead. And I couldn’t turn into a gargoyle now even if I wanted to. Shui would see to that. All I wanted was to be with Aydin. If I lived, he had to live, too.
I opened my bundle and dropped my load of rocks, watching the larger pieces break into long shards that glistened in the moonlight. Good. The more sharp bits the better.
I glared at Shui. “Come and get me, you wrinkled, ugly, smelly son of a bitch.”
Shui howled and charged. He wasn’t too steady on his feet to begin with, so when his talons hit the lake of blood on the floor, he went sliding. Just as he began beating his wings for lift off, I jumped at him, both my feet extended, and kicked him in the ribs where Aydin had already done some damage. Shui doubled over, landing on his back atop the broken bodies of his dead comrades.
Stone shards pierced the gargoyle’s body, the angular tips forced upward to protrude from his chest and belly. He screamed, his eyes stunned wide, his mouth agape and showing yet another rocky point that had pierced through the back of his head. He gasped one final time before his body stiffened. A sound like shattered crystal filled the church as his sca
ly skin solidified, his wings becoming webbed granite, his eyes glazing over like glass marbles. In an instant, his entire body turned to stone.
The back of my neck began to sting, then burn, and I panicked. Freedom should feel calm and beautiful, not agonizing. But tentacles of fire bored through my body and snaked down my spine. They curled around my arms and legs, choking my neck. Just when I thought I would pass out, the pain subsided. A bone-deep chill replaced the burning. My body spasmed, my teeth chattered, and I toppled backward to the floor, my head banging against the blood-soaked carpet as I went into convulsions.
Seconds later, it was over. A sublime peace fell over me and I knew I’d survived the worst of it. I was finally free. I touched the back of my neck and the flesh there was tender to the touch. When I brought my hand away, it was damp with blood.
As good as this news was, I didn’t feel like celebrating. I still had Aydin to worry about.
I rolled over to my hands and knees, my joints complaining at every move, and crawled toward the injured gargoyle. Aydin’s chest lifted and fell with slow breaths. His shoulder showed puncture wounds, but he wasn’t bleeding as much as before, not like Shui had been. Regardless, he was still hurt. And he needed me.
“Aydin?” I smoothed my hand over the ruffled brown fur covering his face. He still retained some semblance of his former self. It was his crescent-shaped eyes the color of sage leaves that made him recognizable. I’d know him no matter what kind of creature he became. “Aydin?” I said again, coming closer and petting the injured shoulder that was already starting to heal.
He blinked and widened his feral eyes. Seeing me, he scrambled to his feet and hobbled backward, moving as far away from me as he could without tripping over a pew.
Choking back a sob, I said, “It’s me, Aydin. It’s Chalice. Don’t you recognize me?”
He blinked again, then bowed his head, shoulders slumping as his wings drooped from his back. He wouldn’t look at me.
I stepped toward him and a warning growl rumbled in his chest. I wasn’t sure how much someone’s personality changed with the transformation into a bloodthirsty killer, but I no longer believed all gargoyles were murdering fiends. Take Shojin, who seemed as gentle as a house pet. Aydin wouldn’t hurt me.