by Jake Bible
“Inside,” Roan ordered.
Geffe didn’t argue and was down and scrambling to the cathedral doors before Roan had fully settled. Tom hesitated, but gave the dragon a nod and jumped down from the grotesque’s back to follow Geffe inside.
10
“GOOD TO SEE you,” Morty said as Tom squeezed through the Gs to enter the cathedral. “I didn’t think you were going to make it.” He nodded at Tom’s missing wing and hand. “Looks like you almost didn’t. How’s that ego doing? Still fine?”
“Do not be rude, Mordecai,” Roan called over his shoulder. “A comrade in arms has been hurt.”
“What? No, it was a joke. He said something to me earlier at the casino about ego and . . . ,” Morty replied. He shook his head. “Never mind. You had to be there.”
“The wounds are nothing,” Tom said. He shrugged and turned to face the horde that was already swarming back at the cathedral. “But I do have your friend here to thank for extracting me from the possessed army.” Tom looked Morty up and down. “You took a direct hit. How are you not harmed?”
“Yeah, about that,” Morty began.
Before Morty could finish, two RPGs flew at the cathedral entrance, but both were incinerated by a stream of Roan’s fire.
Morty and Tom watched as Roan dug his claws into the steps, breaking the stonework over and over until there was nothing but gravel before the cathedral doors. The dragon shifted his weight and lay on his belly in the gravel. He closed his eyes as the horde was almost on him.
A flash of light erupted from the grotesque and enveloped the entire cathedral, creating a visual shield of wavering blue and white. Morty and Tom took a couple of steps back, completely taken by surprise at the show of power.
“I didn’t know he could do that,” Morty said.
“He should not be able to,” Tom replied. “He is a grotesque, not a gargoyle.”
“He’s always been different,” Morty said. “Now I see why.”
The horde reached the shield and the first line of possessed went up in blue flame.
“He will not be able to maintain that kind of power for long,” Tom said. “We will need a contingency plan.”
“We always do,” Morty said.
He turned from the doorway and regarded the Gs who stood behind them.
“We can’t stay,” Morty said.
Geffe, Antoine, and Xue regarded Morty with cautious, but understanding eyes. They each nodded then looked at Tom.
“He was made by Desiree’s grandfather,” Morty said. “The second to last Stonecutter.”
“Where is she?” Tom asked.
“The infirmary,” Antoine said.
“Will she live?” Tom asked.
“For now, yes,” Antoine said, those three words telling everyone that the odds were not good.
“Take me to her,” Tom snarled.
“I’ll do it,” Geffe said, glancing over his shoulder as the horde of possessed continued pressing, and dying, against Roan’s shield of protection. “I’m no good up here, anyway.”
“None of us are,” Morty said. “Let’s meet in the infirmary and we’ll plan our next move from there.”
“We do not have much time,” Xue said. “Roan is strong, but he cannot hold back the power of Hell forever.”
“Yeah, I know,” Morty said.
“What happened to your gargoyle?” Tom asked.
Morty nodded at that far-off courtyard. “A collaborator got to him,” he said. “The human was killed, but Artus is solid. I don’t know if we can do anything for him.”
“That’s not true,” Coins said as he approached the group.
“Coins?” Tom asked, his face showing nothing but complete surprise. “How . . . ?”
“I’m why she was leading you south,” Coins said. “Come on. I’ll explain in the infirmary. Right after I do something.”
He turned from the group and walked through the nave. No one headed for the infirmary; instead, they quickly followed behind Coins.
“What is that in your hand?” Morty asked, seeing a small vial clutched in Coins’s stone grip. “Is that blood?”
“Yes,” Coins said.
“Her blood,” Tom said and nodded, his confusion turned to understanding. “I see what must be done.”
Coins entered the courtyard and knelt next to Artus’s still form. Deek was playing a quiet, somber tune and he stopped as everyone came into the courtyard.
“Keep playing,” Coins said.
Deek shook his head as if to say it wouldn’t matter, but started playing again.
Coins opened the vial of blood and poured it over Artus’s head. There was no light, there was no whirling of air or crackling of electricity. The gargoyle simply opened his eyes and blinked at the Gs standing around him.
“Oh,” he said after a second or two. “Oh, I see now. Yes, she is right.”
“What?” Morty asked. “Who is right? What do you see?”
“Welcome back, Artus,” Xue said, giving Morty a harsh look.
Coins and Antoine helped Artus upright and the old gargoyle nodded in thanks. “I am fine now,” Artus said. “I will be fine until the time comes.”
“Time comes?” Morty growled. “Someone better be telling me what the ever-loving hell is going on soon, or I swear I’ll . . .”
He trailed off and shook with frustration.
“Yeah, I feel the same way, big guy,” Geffe said and patted Morty’s leg. “Like trying to navigate the range on a cloudy, starless night.”
“Here,” Coins said and handed Artus a second vial of blood. The gargoyle took it and held it in a shaking stone hand. Coins steadied him. “Don’t hesitate.”
“I shall not,” Artus said. “Now, all of you, go and prepare. There is little time.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “So little time.”
“Will someone tell me what is going on?” Morty nearly roared.
“Infirmary,” Coins said. “That’s where everyone is at.”
Except everyone was not there. The remaining wards were still huddled in the corner of the nave as the Gs walked out of the courtyard.
“Come on, people,” Antoine said. “We’re moving.”
The people stayed where they were.
“Move,” Xue roared and specks of lava shot from his mouth to melt the stone floor of the nave.
The wards moved, crying and weeping as they hustled out of the nave, headed to the infirmary.
“That’s one way to get the giddyup back in their britches,” Geffe said.
“Man, your cowboy shtick is getting stronger by the minute,” Antoine said.
“We are who we are,” Geffe replied, his donkey ears twitching back and forth.
11
HANNAH WAS HOLDING Desiree’s hand when the remaining wards, followed by the group of Gs, came bursting into the room. The woman looked weak, but was more herself than before. Desiree was sitting upright on the medical table, drinking water, her body wrapped in several blankets. The girl’s eyes were nothing but hollows and shadow as she regarded the newcomers.
“What’s going on out there?” Hannah asked. “What happened?”
“We lost the faeries,” Morty said. “The possessed got them.”
“Oh, dear,” Hannah said, a hand going to her mouth.
“What about the cathedral?” Kimmy asked. “Are we safe?”
Tom barked a loud, harsh laugh and all eyes fell on him. “What would you like to be the answer? Because anything other than no would be an outright lie.”
“Dial it back,” Morty said as he patted Tom on the shoulder. “Go sit down by your ward.”
“She’s not my ward,” Tom snarled. “She is the last Stonecutter.”
“Yeah, we g
ot that part,” Morty said.
Tom stomped off to join Desiree and the girl brightened briefly at the sight of him coming toward her.
“What is our situation?” Olivia asked. “I saw the shield go up. How? That is not Artus’s doing.”
“Artus died,” Morty said and Olivia gasped. He shook his head. “No, not forever. Some of the girl’s blood brought him back.”
Olivia shifted her gaze to Coins.
“You said it would help,” Olivia said. “But I did not think that was what you meant.”
“It wasn’t,” Coins said. “It only bought us some time. Not much, but some.”
“The Stonecutter’s blood will allow the gargoyle to help the dragon maintain the protection around this cathedral,” Tom said. “But he is too weak to sustain it for long even with the power of the grotesque doing most of the work.”
Olivia widened her eyes at Morty, the question unspoken.
“Roan,” Morty said. “He brought up the shield. Not sure how he can do that, but he did.”
“What does that mean?” Brian asked, his voice close to a panicked whine. His tone elicited whimpers and mutterings from the other wards. “How much time do we have?”
“Yeah, and what happens when that runs out?” Rider asked. “Do they get in? Are we going to become like them?”
The wards all shouted questions, talking over each other, no one asking anything other than what would happen, what would happen, what would happen.
“Quiet,” Xue roared.
“What he said.” Morty sighed.
The group quieted down, but not entirely.
“Coins told me what needs to be done,” Elisa said. She was sitting in the far corner, her head in her hands. She didn’t look up as she spoke. “I think I know a way we can pull it off.”
She sniffled and a tear fell from her downturned face to land in a growing stain of moisture on the floor. She sniffed again and finally looked up. Her face was nothing but anguish and grief. “There has to be another way, though,” she said.
“There isn’t,” Coins said. “Trust me on this. The second I saw her, I knew why she was here.”
“Why?” Antoine asked. “What are you talking about?”
“He is talking about these mountains and the Stonecutter’s blood,” Tom said. “At first, I did not know why Desiree insisted we navigate south instead of heading somewhere more remote where we could hide until she grew older and stronger. But now I know.”
“You said she came here for you,” Morty said to Coins. “Talk, Coins.”
“When I was brought here, it was only a few months after Desiree’s grandfather carved me,” Coins explained. “I was new, fresh, and filled with his magic. The moment I was set inside this place, I was connected to something greater than all of the Gs of the world combined. Did he know that would happen? I’m not sure, but it’s that connection that Desiree locked onto.”
“Which means what?” Morty snapped. Olivia placed a hand on his arm. “Sorry. Keep talking.”
“These mountains are some of the oldest in the world,” Tom said. “They sing with ancient power. They vibrate with the energy that created this planet. They are a direct link to the rest of the world.”
“Which means, if we succeed, we can affect the entire planet,” Coins said. “We might be able to stop the possessed and send the demons packing. Kick their asses out of here and back through the Gates.”
“If she dies,” Elisa said. “Tell them that part, Coins. Tell them that she must be bled dry and die for that to work.” She sniffed some more and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “If it will work at all.”
Eyes turned to Tom. He nodded. “It will work.”
“It will,” Coins said. “I wish it wouldn’t, but it will. There’s still a problem.”
Morty laughed, a harsh, sharp bark of derision. “Oh, is there? Beyond killing a little girl, what’s the problem, Coins?”
Coins ignored the sarcasm. “For her blood to be effective, she must be bled dry in a place that connects to the core of the earth. Her blood must have a direct line to the very bedrock of this planet.”
“So, we dig a hole,” Geffe said. “I’ve found that quite a few problems can be solved by digging holes.”
“Not that easy,” Coins said. “This ground is nothing but clay for yards deep. It would take forever to dig a hole that would finally reach the granite and limestone underneath.”
“Elisa knows a place,” Highlander said. When eyes turned on him, he shrank back and lifted the collar of his T-shirt up to cover half his face. He glared at everyone until they looked away.
At Elisa.
“The quarry over off Grange Holler Road,” Elisa said. “It’s nothing but granite and limestone. Four hundred feet deep into the ground. The hole is already dug for us.”
“How do we get her there?” Antoine asked.
“Morty can fly her,” Geffe said.
“And do what? Kill her myself when I get there?” Morty asked. “Are you joking?”
He shook his head and partially spread his wings, finally showing the damage he’d taken when the RPG had hit him. It was easy to see the stress fractures that crisscrossed the stone.
“Then there’s this problem,” Morty said. “I didn’t get hurt as bad as Tom here, probably because I was close to the sanctuary, but this still isn’t good. I might make the flight, I might not.”
“Her blood could repair you,” Coins said.
“She does not have enough,” Tom said. “And he cannot carry me, as well. I will not allow Desiree to sacrifice herself without me there. That is not acceptable.”
“I had a feeling this would come up,” Elisa said as she stood and wiped her palms up and down the thighs of her jeans. “Good thing I have a way to get there.”
“You gonna grow wings all of a sudden, little lady?” Geffe asked.
“No,” Elisa said. “But I may grow wheels.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t the answer I was expecting,” Geffe replied.
“Elisa? Would you care to explain?” Olivia asked.
“I have a truck,” Elisa said. “One of my foster fathers was a mechanic and showed me how to work on engines. I’ve kept the truck up over the years outside the sanctuary grounds. Just in case.”
“Just in case of what?” Antoine asked. Everyone gave him a sharp look. “Oh, right, yes, in case of this.”
“I can get the truck, we load her in, then drive to the quarry,” Elisa said. “Then she does what she does and we’re saved. Yay . . .”
The wards muttered about wanting to be saved, how would she get there, would she take everyone with her, what would happen to them. The muttering grew until Xue snorted out a plume of fire. The silence was instant.
“They will follow and fight you the entire way,” Morty said. “They probably know about your truck. Hard to keep secrets out there.”
“They don’t know about the truck,” Elisa said. “Why would they? The possessed don’t drive.”
“But maybe they saw you or followed you?” Geffe asked. “It’s possible.”
“Possible, yes, but not likely,” Elisa said. “I was careful. Used to be a junkie, so I know how to get to a stash hole without being followed.”
“A truck is a little bigger than a stash of drugs,” Morty said.
“It’s not the size of the stash, it’s the not followed part that matters,” Elisa said. “Trust me on this, will you?”
No one spoke for a long while until several explosions shook the cathedral.
“Time is running short,” Tom said. “Your protectors are already weakening.”
“We go now,” Olivia said. “We will trust that Elisa knows how to, as she says, stash a truck.”
“I go,” Morty said.
“With Tom, Geffe, and Coins. Antoine, you and Xue remain here with Olivia. Help protect the cathedral.”
“And the wards,” Brian said.
“Yes, and the wards,” Morty replied, rolling his stone eyes.
“I’ll be going as well since none of you know where the truck is or how to drive,” Elisa said.
Morty started to argue, but he had no argument against that.
“Fine,” he said. “You will drive.”
“I will go too,” Highlander said.
“No way,” Morty snorted. “You’ll lose your shit the second we get outside this room.”
“We all lose if she dies on the way,” Highlander said. He looked at Elisa. “Is the truck big enough for us all?”
“Yeah,” Elisa said. “It’s plenty big.”
“I’m coming as well,” Hannah said, still holding Desiree’s hand.
Olivia nodded before Morty could protest.
“Between myself, Xue, and Antoine, we will keep the cathedral secure,” Olivia said. “But only for as long as the protection holds. After that, we will not last long.”
“We still have the problem of the possessed fighting us the entire way,” Morty said. “I will be limited if I’m stuck on a truck.”
“As will I,” Tom said.
“We have a solution for that,” Coins replied.
12
THEY STRIPPED THE armory bare. Half of what was left went to the wards still hiding within the infirmary and the other half went to the group that would take Desiree to the quarry.
“This is kind of badass,” Geffe said as he held a revolver in each hand, belts of bullets strung across his chest like mini-bandoliers.
“This is heavy as hell,” Morty said as he picked up a .50 caliber rifle. “How did the faeries handle all of this?”