It was easy.
Too easy—which meant it wasn’t the primary attack.
He spun around, looking for Jayna.
She was gone.
“Eva?” he called.
She stood near the door, staring out into the street. “She’s missing.” Her voice was low and angry.
The Dragon was littered with a dozen bodies, and Imogen made her way among them, stabbing her sword into them, making sure that none of them got up again. Gaspar flicked his knives and grabbed another from one of the bodies, wiping it on the man’s back before shoving it into his pocket.
“Where did she go?” Gavin asked.
“Somebody came for her,” Eva replied. “I can follow her, but…” She looked over to Gavin. “If they were powerful enough to take her, I won’t be able to stop them.”
“Let me help,” Gavin said.
She frowned, her brow furrowed, then she nodded. “She’s saved me more times than I can count, and I’m not leaving her to them.” Eva looked over to Gavin, and a pained expression filled her eyes.
“I’ll help you,” he said.
They stepped outside into the darkness of the early morning.
Gavin glanced over to the stone wolf still sitting there. “I thought you were supposed to protect me,” he said. The wolf stood and looked up at him. “Great. And now you react?” He turned to Eva. “You’ll need to ride with me.”
“Ride?”
He climbed onto the back of the stone wolf, and the others emerged from the tavern. Gavin shot Gaspar a hard look. “Are you sure you’re well enough?”
“I’m not staying out of this,” Gaspar said. “If I ended up injured because of this bastard and now he’s going after others, I’m not staying behind. You go ahead and try to stop me if you think you can.”
“I’m not going to stop you.”
Gaspar looked over to Eva. “Good. Then are we going to get going?”
Gaspar was angry in a way that Gavin hadn’t seen before. Maybe it was because Olivia had been abducted, or maybe it was simply the continued attacks on the city, but whatever it was, Gavin worried about what Gaspar might do.
How aggressive would he be when it came down to it? And would this be more than Gaspar could handle?
Imogen climbed onto her strange stone creature.
“I’m coming too,” Wrenlow said.
“You shouldn’t,” Gavin said.
“He captured me once. And I can be of help. You know I can.”
Gavin clenched his jaw. Even though he didn’t want Wrenlow to come along, he also wondered if maybe he needed the help. Cyran was going to be too much for him. In order for him to stop Cyran, it would take all the help he had. His team.
Not only the people that were there with him now, but the enchanters and the constables too. That was what Tristan would not expect.
Jessica stepped out of the tavern and handed the satchel of enchantments to him. “I was just bringing you this.”
Gavin slipped it over his shoulder. “I need you to get word to the constables.” He swept his gaze around the street. They were out there somewhere; he was sure of it. Jessica had been meeting with the constables to keep the Dragon protected for a reason. “I’m sure you have a way?”
“I might,” she said.
“Tell them to hurry. I suspect the constables have enchantments for speed and strength that will work for that as well.” He had hoped they would, at least. Otherwise, the fight would be just those with him, and it might be short-lived. “I’m sorry about the Dragon. I’ll help restore it when I get back.”
“I will hold you to that, Gavin.”
He turned and looked over his shoulder at Eva. “Do you have some way of following her?”
“The trail is moving quickly. I don’t know if we’ll be able to move fast enough to keep up with it.”
“Give these stone enchantments a chance.”
The wolves raced forward, following something Gavin couldn’t tell, but Eva obviously detected it and communicated with the stone creatures in some way. They darted through the streets and reached the forest beyond the edge of the city. They didn’t go far before they stopped in a darkened clearing.
Gavin sorted through the enchantments Zella had given him. He found the small pebbles for speed, a couple of markers for strength, and then a ring. Enhanced eyesight.
He slipped it on. The dark forest brightened.
Gavin climbed off the stone wolf and patted him on the side, smiling at him. It felt foolish to do so since the wolf was not anything real or alive, but he had been helpful.
“Well?” Gaspar asked, getting down from his stone creature.
“Now we just have to—”
Gavin didn’t have a chance to finish.
Shadows appeared out of the forest, flowing as if they were alive.
They had a foulness to them, an odor that filled his nostrils.
He much preferred the cold washing of a different kind of magic, though this was easier to destroy.
“This again?” Gavin muttered.
He rushed forward, readying for the attack, but Gaspar held on to him.
“Maybe try a different approach,” Gaspar said. “When we charged in before, we were surprised by what he did.”
“What would you have me do?”
“Be smart for once. You love to fight and prove how powerful you are, but maybe you don’t have to.”
“If not me, then who?”
Gaspar nodded to the stone creatures.
“I don’t like that,” Gavin mumbled.
“No, but we don’t have much choice, do we?”
Gavin patted his stone wolf and frowned. “I’m sorry, buddy. I need you to protect me. Go in there, tear shit up, and then come back.”
Gaspar shook his head, muttering under his breath, and he leaned down and said something to his own stone wolf. Imogen did the same, but then she slipped into the trees and disappeared.
The stone creatures sped forward. Gaspar pulled something out of his pouch and set it on the ground, then tapped it. A massive giant-shaped creature, looking something like a man, came to life and lumbered forward quickly.
“I feel more confident with you sending that one out there,” Gavin said. “I don’t want to
