They were good as long as no one panicked and broke the circle. If one person broke the circle the barrier she put up would be gone. She quickly scanned the faces of the men around her. Some of them seemed nervous. This wasn’t a good sign. If they bolted, someone was sure to get killed.
Their regular bullets would not do any lasting damage to the gargoyle, and she couldn’t save everyone and fight the gargoyle.
Had she been home or at her office, she would have had weapons loaded with special ammunition. As it was her magic was going to be their sole protection this evening.
The injured man lay on the ground, holding his arm. The blood continued to flow, though it seemed to be less than when he was first wounded. Still, the man would have to have a magically trained medical person look at the wound.
Most supernatural wounds were never straight forward. Some never ceased to bleed, while others infected the person with various maladies. The hospitals all staffed personnel that were capable of supernatural healing or treatment.
She needed to get the rest of the team to safety. She needed to do it as fast as possible.
“Meyers, I have a plan. I’m going to open the portal. The door of the circle. All of you need to be ready to get to your vehicles. The plan is to get you out and the gargoyle in.”
Meyers looked at her incredulously. “You want my team to run and leave you in here with that creature?”
“Basically, yes.”
Meyers was outraged. “I will not run, while you are in here with that murdering creature.”
“None of you has the ammunition required. It’s going to take magic to take the gargoyle out. I can’t fight him and worry about all of you at the same time.”
Meyers looked offended. “Fine, but I don’t like it.”
“Noted. Now please get ready. We only have one shot at this.”
Harley took her high heeled boots off. She didn’t want to take the chance of getting the heel caught or tripping while she was fighting. She also took the cloak off.
It was cold but the wind had died down. She drew the blade out of the tattoo, surprising everyone around her. No one knew she was carrying a sword. Then again that was the point of the tattoo.
The blade glowed softly in the darkness. A soft purple light surrounded the blade. The sword made of Damascus steel had runes inscribed down its entire length. It was a full tang sword with a relatively plain looking handle.
It didn’t need to be pretty. It did the job. She felt the energy hum along the blade as the gargoyle hit the barrier once again.
Harley looked at Meyers. “Ready?”
Meyers nodded. His team was ready. Harley opened the door to the circle, while the men were filing out she sent a minor spell at the gargoyle which distracted it from the men and made it angry with her.
Everything was going as planned. The gargoyle flew into the circle after her. Harley didn’t have time to glance and see if the others were safe. She was far too busy fending off, an angry gargoyle.
The gargoyle swooped straight at her. She just had time to bring the sword up to block his incoming talons. As it wheeled around planning on coming at her again, the edge of its wing knocked her flat on her ass.
The fall jarred her. She didn’t have time to get back to her feet before the gargoyle was upon her. It landed on her nearly crushing her in the process.
The big guy was heavy. The air in her lungs rushed out as the gargoyle’s full weight settled upon her. It snapped at her throat. Harley barely managed to move her head aside in time.
She was in serious trouble. Her arms and most of her body were trapped under the gargoyle. At this point, there was no way for her to use the sword against the gargoyle.
She hadn’t had time to prepare any larger spells and had no potions on her. Thinking quickly, she rushed a light spell that temporarily blinded the gargoyle.
She used the distraction to wiggle her sword arm loose and plunged the sword upwards. It wasn’t a killing blow. She didn’t have enough leverage or strength behind the blow.
The blade slid through the stony skin like it was flesh. Pushing through with ease. It was enough for the gargoyle to recoil, lifting its weight off her. She rolled out from underneath it and got to her feet. Still trying to catch her breath.
She wondered if the weight of the gargoyle had crushed her ribs, most likely it just bruised them. Before the gargoyle retained its full balance, Harley rushed it, using the sword to cut into its side.
This time the magically imbued sword cut the gargoyle’s skin like butter. The gargoyle swiped at her catching her off guard and slashing deeply into her left arm.
Blood began to trickle down her arm and onto her left hand. She wiped it off on her skirt, still holding the sword tight with the right hand.
She dodged another swipe from the gargoyle and landed a mortal blow, driving the blade through its heart.
Once the gargoyle had collapsed, Harley drew the blade out of its chest and cut off its head. It took her two attempts to remove it. She was shaky and in pain.
She moved back a few feet, breathing heavily before her legs gave out. She made it ungracefully to the grass. She was covered from head to toe in blood. Her blood, and the gargoyles blood.
She heard a loud pop, looking up, just in time to see the gargoyle’s body explode. The explosion blew thick black dust and ashes everywhere.
Harley
