Shaedes of Gray: A Shaede Assassin Novel

A vicious snarl cleaved the air, and the earth shook beneath me. I looked wide-eyed to the first gargoyle and watched in horror as it sprang from its perch and mauled the girl, tearing at her flesh with razor-sharp teeth. It no longer resembled hard granite; the gray flesh appeared smooth and supple. The sinews of its body flexed, and its wings beat slowly, stretching a body frozen in stone for ages. Its dull skin quivered as it lapped at the torn and bloody body it held in a clawed grasp. And the tongue that had once been curled inside its gaping mouth flicked out, forked and seemingly as sharp as a whetted blade.

Tyler’s stolen form shimmered for a moment, a wave of clear energy reminding me of a mirage. Or a glamour. A clever creature, indeed, but no Shaede could change its form to that extent. I leapt toward the imposter and tackled him to the ground, surprised at how easily I managed the feat.

I wrestled the dagger from his hand, still dripping with my blood, and held the tip to my would-be killer’s throat. “Show yourself,” I said.

The mirage flickered, and dull, expressionless eyes transformed to a milky blue. His head deflated and became small and girlish, fragile even, framed with mousy brown hair. The masculine frame grew more female and much more delicate. I stared at the tiny woman beneath me with disbelieving eyes. All at once, the truth seemed stranger to me than the illusion.

“Delilah,” I said.

“There’s nothing you can do!” She seethed. “It’s already begun, and once the transformation is complete, the Enphigmale will be free!”

I looked up as a second guardian emptied his bowl, mimicking his neighbor’s actions. He fed the blood into the gargoyle’s mouth and it sprang to life, devouring his body in large, crunching bites.

“Why?” I had a hard time wrapping my mind around her decision to see this awful thing through. She was Tyler’s friend. I thought she’d been mine. What was her motivation? What could have filled her with so much hate?

Surrounded by enemies, I tried to assess the risk to myself and my only ally. The bear, or, rather, Tyler in bear form, pulled against his chain, but he was safe. And the third guardian of nine emptied the last of my blood from his bowl. Azriel stood guard at the bower, frozen by fear or wonder as he watched the grisly scene unfold. And the Lyhtans . . . they were so entertained by the violence, they’d forgotten about me altogether. But that would last only so long.

“They awaken,” Delilah said in awe. “The Enphigmale will mete out death to those who imprisoned them. And for my part, I’ll finally have revenge.”

“Revenge?” Good lord, what kind of grudge could Delilah be harboring to prompt her to set these events in motion?

“Do you know how long I’ve waited?” Delilah wailed. Her eyes darted from side to side, making her look on the verge of madness. “What I had to do to orchestrate it all? It will all be worth it. Once he’s freed from his beast, those who’ve wronged us will pay. He promised me!”

Christ, she wasn’t making an ounce of sense. I debated a course of action. Listen to more of Delilah’s incoherent ramblings, or shut her up once and for all. With a heavy-handed swing, I knocked her out in a single punch. Taking a chance, I cut several strands of my hair with her dagger, using them to secure her wrists behind her back and her ankles. I plucked her from the ground and tossed her down on the dais, leaving her until I could decide what to do with her. In the meantime, I had a ritual to stop and a bear to set free.

Three of the kids were in the process of being devoured by the living Enphigmale. Their batlike wings flapped in the breeze while they enjoyed their meals.

I crept slowly to the center of the clearing where Tyler had been chained. His purpose seemed pretty clear now. He was meant to be dessert.

He leapt and strained against the links in an effort to pull himself loose. Grabbing a section of chain in his mouth, he shook his head back and forth, gnawing down again and again, but the links held. He paused, panting, and changed his course of action, clawing at the spike protruding from the grass instead. Breaking into a run, I dropped to my knees and wrapped my hands around the spike, pulling with all my strength. The ground released its hold and I yanked the spike from the dirt with ease. He couldn’t run or fight while dragging the long rope of links behind him, though, and so, with a pat to his large, furry head, I braced one hand against the collar and pulled the chain with the other. I strained and groaned, yanking as hard as I could without hurting Tyler. The link at the collar weakened, and it pulled away by small degrees.

“Come on,” I said as I pulled. “Just a little bit more.”

Tyler dug his furry heels into the grass and leaned backward to help. The chain gave more with our joint effort, and I’d managed to separate the link enough to free it from the collar. A movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I buried my hands into his furry side, shoving at Tyler’s massive form. “Run!” I shouted.

He took off with amazing speed for such a lumbering creature. I rolled in the opposite direction as one of the Enphigmale landed in the very spot we’d occupied. Its tail swished from side to side, cutting into the soft grass with ferocious force, throwing pieces of turf flying this way and that.

I trained my eyes on Tyler, and he stared straight back. “We have to take out the kids before they wake any more of them up!”

His head bobbed up and down and he took off, circumventing the living gargoyles and the bower where Azriel stood, eyes wide and mouth agape, unable to do anything but gawk like an idiot at the havoc he’d helped to give rise to.

Armed with nothing but Delilah’s dagger, I was at a disadvantage. I looked around for anything that might pass as a weapon, but the closest thing I could find was the cast-aside chain. I reached out, snatching it back to me like a whip.

Menacing silver eyes glinted from the dark gray, monstrous head of the Enphigmale, and its tail jerked to and fro as it studied its prey. I stole a quick glance behind its shoulder, watching as Tyler successfully tackled one of the boys, bringing a swift and seemingly less-painful end to his life. A moment later, one of the girls met the same end. But four remained, and one had already tipped her bowl to the gargoyle’s mouth.

I looked back at the beast whose wings flapped like great paper kites to stir up a balmy wind. When I shut my eyes against the dust and bits of grass flying at my face, it took the opportunity to attack and leapt toward me. I felt a rush of energy as it came at me, and I twirled the chain in a frantic circle and let it fly, striking the gargoyle in the face and knocking it to one side.

A Lyhtan spectator cackled wildly at the entertainment, drawing the Enphigmale’s attention from me. It charged, head down, straight for the Lyhtan. His—or her—screams pierced the sky before it fell under the pouncing beast. The Lyhtan screamed in horror while the gargoyle clawed and bit chunks from its segmented body. Wary, the crowd of Lyhtans began to disperse as shouts of alarm rang out around them. It seemed they’d just begun to realize that this little scene wasn’t going down the way they’d expected.

Tyler had tackled kid number five before she could drain her bowl into the statue’s mouth, and I looked to Azriel, who remained stock-still at his post beside the bower. As seconds continued to tick away inside me, the changes became more pronounced, and I noticed again how time meant something completely different to me now. I moved quickly, and I noticed so much more and processed the information, while the outside world continued at a much slower pace. I studied the bower and the black space beyond it, finally recognizing it for what it was: a portal.

I’d first been brought into the clearing through the bower. Perhaps this place was like Avalon—another realm, unseen in the middle of a bustling city or peaceful lake. The bower was the entryway to this place, and Azriel stood guarding it—or waiting to let something out of it.

Knocked off my feet, I tumbled to the ground in a tangle of hair and limbs and claws and tough, leathery wings. Another Enphigmale had finished snacking on its sacrificial lamb and turned its hunger on the closest thing —which happened to be me. I placed both feet against its belly and shoved, tossing it away before its jaws could clamp down on my arm. It rolled once and regained its bearings, shaking its massive head and charging again. With one swift movement, I rolled onto my back and kicked, thrusting myself to a standing position. I braced myself, holding the chain in both hands, ready to defend myself in any way possible.

Tyler made short work of the remaining teens, enraptured by their sacrifice, and only four of the nine gargoyles had been awakened. Three had scattered among the Lyhtan ranks to enjoy fresh kills, and the remaining one was hunting me.