Chapter 5

“Reed!” I woke with a startle, his name screeching past my throat. Sweat drenched me, my hair plastered to my head and neck. Had the gargoyle killed the lion shifter? And there was nothing I could have done to stop it.

A balmy breeze swished past my cheeks, and outside the orange skies darkened. Nightfall approached. On the windowsill, Gingernuts perched like a god, overlooking the land, waiting for the sun to descend so he could claim my hair. He could have it all. Untangling myself from the sheets, I hurried to the bathroom, my hair dragging behind me, coating the floor and cushioning my steps.

Surely, Reed had survived. He seemed agile and would have run, using the forest to dodge the gargoyle. Right? My stomach hurt thinking about him dead.

I passed the wooden panel that portioned my bathroom from the rest of the room. I’d painted it bright yellow to lighten the place, though right now I felt anything but cheery.

After a quick wash of my face and body, a squawk came from outside. I jolted around, knocking over the bucket. Water gushed all over the wooden floor. “Oh, shit!”

I grabbed two towels from the rack and laid them over the mess, soaking up the water. Everything made me jumpy and unfocused while my chest ached with worry over Reed.

I patted down the hair and glanced in the mirror. Darkness danced under my eyes, so I pinched my cheeks to bring out their color and try to smile but couldn’t. I still looked like I hadn’t slept for a week. Lately, I’d woken up exhausted, even though I’d slept through the day. I ought to have slept more, but I refused to spend another second of free time inside the tower.

Something tugged on my hair behind me.

Gingernuts was there, kneading his claws into the bundle on the ground. “Don’t worry. This will be yours soon enough.”

Next, I climbed into leather pants and a shirt, but the buttons refused to close up. What the hell? I glanced down to see I’d put it on inside out.

What’s wrong with you today?

“Stop talking.” I redressed and pulled on a black vest over the shirt, which I laced tightly across the front as I stepped into my boots. With my blade tucked in my belt, I stared outside to the blackening skies. Not long now. I rushed through my routine of feeding Gingernuts dried fish pieces along with a bowl of milk. I prepared myself a plate too. Bread, cheese, and lard. I couldn’t stomach much more. Sitting at the table with my food and Gingernuts eating his nearby, I flipped through the book I’d stolen yesterday from a lord. Opening it flat on the gargoyle page, I read the text and stuffed a piece of bread and cheese into my mouth.

Ah, okay, so apparently, the first ever gargoyle had been a witch’s lover. He had once been a normal human who’d betrayed her, so the witch had turned his heart to stone, making him incapable of ever loving again or feeling emotions. Another witch had found him wandering aimlessly through the sandy realm of Utaara and decided he’d make the perfect soldier, so she’d taken his blood, replicated it, and injected the stuff into dead bodies. Add dark magic, and they’d come to life as stone creatures. The witch had used her undead army to battle enemies on behalf of a royal family in Haven Realm in Darkwoods.

I glanced outside momentarily and took another bite of my meal. This history had taken place right here in the ruins. So that was where the gargoyles had come from, though they’d lost the fight because the family had been killed. So did the witch who’d hexed me have more gargoyles waiting somewhere? Or had she just found one and worked out a way to activate it?

I gripped the book and hurried through the next line…A dragon-tooth dagger could pierce their exterior.

Hell! I choked on my meal and smacked a palm into my chest, then drank down the stuck crumbs with my glass of milk.

“What the hell?” I reread the lines. There was a weapon that destroyed gargoyles? “Son of a bitch. Why didn’t I steal this book earlier?”

How will you find such a dragon dagger?

My ex, Gage, was a dragon shifter, but I’d never seen him fully transform. Once, he’d unleashed his wings, which were spectacular. But that was it, and he’d refused to talk about why he wouldn’t change all the way. I somehow suspected he had a fraction of dragon blood in him, giving him minimal abilities, but he told everyone he was a full-blown dragon. Regardless of his reasons for potentially lying, he might know where I could find a dragon’s tooth.

I’d heard stories that there might be a few dragons living deep in the forest and mountains of Wildfire realm. No one I’d spoken to had ever seen a dragon either, and for good reason. They’d burn you to a crisp.

Outside, the sun had almost vanished behind the horizon. Once it had, I’d go and look for Reed.

So I kept reading. There was a weakness to the undead army. The spell had softened their hearts. If anyone pierced the organ, the gargoyle would turn to dust and perish.

I gasped and slapped my hand on the table, startling Gingernuts, who leaped around and hissed in my direction.

“Sorry, sorry. But shit! This is it. The freaking demon upstairs is going down.” My knees bounced under the table as I returned to the book.

Without the dragon-tooth dagger to smash through the stone body, one had to get close enough to stab a blade in between the moving stones protecting its heart. All before the gargoyle attacked you.

You sure about this? Sounds a bit too easy for my liking.

“Didn’t you just read the book…? I could use a normal knife.” This was the first time I’d found a way to possibly take down the creature. Even if I didn’t have a dragon-tooth dagger, I could pierce the heart through the gaps with a normal blade. It didn’t come without dangers, but I knew where the best bladesman in Darkwoods worked. For enough money, Dustin would do anything. Yeah, getting close enough to the gargoyle to stab his heart was a dangerous job, and hence Dustin would ask for a huge payment. He was fast with knives, hopefully meaning he didn’t need to get too close to the gargoyle. His throwing ability wasn’t something I could replicate, so I would need to count on his help.

Don’t get your hopes up. This could fail big time.

On my feet, I paced from the bed to the table, ignoring my negative side. I was desperate and needed a way to eradicate the gargoyle. I’d detail the risks to Dustin, but if things went haywire, he’d have to run to avoid getting hurt. The gargoyle was solid stone during the night from Vanore’s spell. But when the sun rose, his body form morphed into smaller rocks that allowed for his movement and revealed gaps for stabbing him. Meaning as soon as dawn arrived, we had to skewer the gargoyle just as he woke up. And before he got the upper hand on us.

So tonight I had to visit the local club, Brawl, where Gage worked as a bouncer, so I’d ask him about a dragon-tooth dagger while I was there to speak with Dustin. I chewed on my lower lip. It had been months since I’d seen him, and each time I did, my emotions ran amuck. Guess that came from breaking up with a man whom I adored, but I’d rather risk a broken heart than the gargoyle breaking him.

A few months ago, a drunk had stumbled into the ruins and the gargoyle had killed him. Reality crippled me. If I hadn’t been careful, that could have been Gage. He’d kept insisting on taking me home, and I’d used every excuse under the sun to keep him away. This was why I had to break up with him. For his own safety.

My breath hitched all the way to my lungs. Reed was somewhere out there. Was he still alive? I had to check to make sure he wasn’t lying there dead or wounded.

I returned to the book and at the bottom of the page, a section about only powerful witches controlling a gargoyle ended mid-sentence because the next page had been torn out. Damn. But I’d read enough to know what I wanted.

Most ancient spell books had vanished at the time of the old war between the realms, and none were available for sale. So it was a surprise I’d heard about this text from a client, even if it was tattered and torn.

I smiled and bounced on my toes. “Today will be a good day. I feel it in my bones.”

***

The stifling night air closed in around me as I dashed through the woods, puffing as I’d run here from the tower.

“Reed, can you hear me?” I gripped a lantern while I scanned the dark undergrowth for him. I could have sworn this was exactly where the gargoyle had dumped him. Around me was debris, ferns growing to my knees, and a few boulders, but no sign of a body. I kept searching, not ready to leave just in case he remained hurt, or worse yet, dead. What if another predator had made a meal of him? Even if it were a wild cougar or panther, such an attack would leave behind a clue, right? Blood or bones.

Sweat drenched my skin, and my heart throbbed as I pictured Reed torn up and dead somewhere in the woods. My fingers curled into fists. I scanned the scrubland, the shadows between trees.

“Reed!” I yelled. “If you’re here, say something. Please.” I jumped over an oversized dead branch just as an owl hooted overhead. I flinched and plastered my back against a tree. Tonight the forest seemed darker than usual, as if a black mass collected above on the branches. Or it could have been me, feeling alone and vulnerable.

Cougars attack from behind. We won’t see it coming. Leave now.

“You’re not helping.” Staying on the main track offered a better chance of seeing anything sneaking up on me. Except I couldn’t leave yet. I had to keep searching for Reed, so I kept moving through the forest. “Reed!”

After what felt like half the night and coming up short in finding Reed or any evidence of him butchered, I marched out the way I’d come. I sped up, leaving behind the dense woods, thinking I might pay the local lion shifter pride a visit to make sure he’d arrived home all right.

Before long, I reached the dirt track and hurried along, swinging my lantern left and right at every shadow, imagining a cougar leaping out at me. The hairs on my arms stood on end the whole trip, and I looked over my shoulder at every noise. Yeah, this would be the last time I listened to my paranoid subconscious.

Voices reached me before the lights of the tiny town, Ghost, revealed themselves.

Ghost had a scattering of tiny huts that reminded me of crouching wolves. Most of the cabins were rentable for a night of pleasure with one of the women working at the masseuse parlor.

If someone weren’t looking for the location, they’d miss it in a heartbeat. No one talked about Ghost, but most local men knew it existed and visited frequently. The only reason I’d discovered the place was because I’d gone exploring in the woods and found the area during the night.

I followed the narrow track toward the town. Light poured out of the tavern windows, and a sign reading, “The Foolish Moon” hung over the entrance. A man slouched by the door, either sleeping or passed out from too much booze. Voices and music boomed from inside while across the makeshift road stood a two-story wooden home with a verandah. Out front were two men studying me with leery glares. Guards for the girls working at the parlor.

But neither of those places was my destination. I searched for the house where anyone with a silver coin or ten could double or triple it in a night.

So I marched past and headed to the first hut near the tavern. The windows were covered in lace curtains, revealing nothing inside. A garden of yellow flowers filled the front yard. It wasn’t much to look at—and I suspected that had been the intention. I set my lantern just outside the house, alongside several others.

I reached the door and knocked—three quick thumps and a sharp yelp, followed by two slow slaps of my palm to the wooden frame. Yep, one had to know the right way of getting in or you were booted out. Lucky me, I’d dated a bouncer and he’d revealed the secrets.

The door creaked open to a dimly lit room, and an elderly woman with short, white hair greeted me. Age lines scored her face, and one might have mistaken her as weak. Worst mistake ever. I’d watched her stand up to men twice her size. After all, she owned Brawl, the most popular fight club in the realm. It wasn’t illegal, but it was exclusive.

“Girl, it’s ’bout time,” she said. “Gage’s been driving me crazy with his paranoia you weren’t coming back to visit him.”

I rolled my eyes and stepped inside, bathed in the strong smell of spices. “He needs to get a life.” I hugged Bertha, her petite size all part of her illusion, a feint to make the unsuspecting think they could get past her. The woman was a master in wielding a sword, and she always targeted her victim’s ankles.

“Good to see you again. Is Dustin fighting tonight?” I broke our hug.

“He’s up first, and they’re about to begin, so get in there.” She waved me in and added, “All bets are placed at the door now. Too many people weren’t paying.”

“Makes sense.” I strolled through the room with a couch facing an unlit fireplace and down a corridor with a single candle sitting on a side table tucked in the corner. Farther to my right stood a metal door. Instead of reaching for the handle, I tapped the wall to my right. The wall slid open on springs. A set of steps led downstairs and more candles sat in carved-out pockets in the walls, guiding my passage. I descended. Behind me, the door shut. Hoots and cheers found me from lower. I rushed down the two flights of steps where the air stunk of perspiration and freshly turned soil. I pushed aside fabric draped over the entrance and waltzed into a room four times the size of my place inside the tower. In the center stood an arena surrounded by sandbags and filled with hay. Candles littered the three enormous candelabras dangling from the ceiling, and all around were chairs filled with people cheering. A bald man with way too many muscles flexed his biceps for the audience. A young man dressed in red and green clothing with a hat tipped with bells was blowing raspberries at the strong man, kicking straw at him. Mr. Muscles roared and grabbed the jester by the waist and tossed him across the room, where he landed behind the chairs. The crowd exploded in applause. I smirked at the theatrics that people adored.

“First fight’s about to start. What’ll you bet?” a woman on my right asked, as I turned to find her tapping her fingernails on the chalkboard behind her, on which she had scribbled two names. Dustin Incinerator vs. Cayden the Chaos Bringer. Everyone who attended had to bet with the house as a minimum for the cost of entry.

“One token for Dustin.”

I paid and collected my red coin carved with a wolf head on one side. With it in my pocket, I slid into the back row because it was empty and that meant I didn’t have to make small talk. Don’t get me wrong. I loved crowds and mingling and letting myself be carried away with conversations. Anything that made me feel less alone. But tonight, I wasn’t here to make friends. I had to stay focused. I’d approach Dustin after his battle to ask for his help.

A loud bell rang, and everyone fell silent. I straightened in my seat as my champion, enormous as a bear with a hairy chest and shoulders, strutted into the pit. I smirked, having seen him fight. Despite his size, the man was fast, which meant he’d be quick when tackling the gargoyle, and if he had to escape. I counted on his agility to keep him alive.

Dustin pounded his chest with a fist and roared, giving me shivers. Who didn’t enjoy a decent fight? The crowd exploded with cheers…definitely a favorite. He rarely lost a fight, but then would I expect anything less from a bear shifter? Their kind was rarely seen outside the White Peak realm. I’d met a few in my time, and each had been burly and terrifying.

A few full moons ago, a bear shifter had put out a call to help him with a curse, so I’d caught up with him at a tavern in Darkwoods and we’d struck a deal. For a huge bag of gold coins, I’d promised him a witch who’d fix his problem. He’d been quick to agree, and one thing I’d give his kind, they took everything seriously—from the six shots of rum he’d drunk without a sign of being intoxicated to his ceaselessly stoic expression to punching out a thug who’d decided on the wrong time to hold up the tavern.

Anyway, Bee had been the perfect person to help the bear shifter with his curse. She was a friend of mine I’d bumped into when I’d sensed her magic the first time we’d met. And damn, that girl was powerful, but she’d said she couldn’t help me with my hex because she only did white magic. A load of bull. She was scared of her power—I saw it in the way she trembled and shied away from the topic. I’d had plans to convince her to change her mind over a month ago. I was supposed to meet her at a bar in White Peak to introduce her to the bear shifter. It was risky to travel so far, but this was the highest-paying job I’d ever been offered. So I’d booked a seat on a superfast carriage with dragon horses. Except the venture had ended brutally for me. The carriage’s tire had snapped and sent the vehicle into a spin, crashing us into a tree. Both horses had panicked and broken free. I’d trekked back home fast but never made it. The gargoyle had found me and beaten me so bad, I hadn’t been able to walk for days. So I’d missed our appointment.

Hopefully, she’d helped the bears with their dilemma. I might need to find a way to catch up with her soon and explain why I’d ditched her.

Don’t recommend it. She lives in Terra and it’s too far. You take too many unnecessary risks.

“Maybe I’ll ask her to visit me somewhere in the middle between us.” It would give me enough time to return home before sunrise.

“Hey, Sugar Pops, still talking to yourself?” A deep male voice found me, and a ping of excitement filled me as it always did when Gage approached.

He plonked down next to me, his arm brushing against mine, and his warmth was a blanket engulfing me. No matter the weather, his skin sizzled hot. He wore a black shirt with gold buttons. His belt buckle was a golden flame, and even his damn shoes were tipped with gold. Yep, dragon shifters loved their sparkle.

“Heard you’ve been missing me.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

He had the greenest emerald eyes crowned by busy brows. Short, black hair shone like onyx stones beneath the candlelight. His stubble added to his strong appearance—a square jawline, solid chest, and thick arms. But something more always lay behind his gaze, like a hidden treasure just out of reach.

We might have broken up a few months ago, but I still adored him. I never should have dated him. What could I offer? A life of only spending time together at night? How long before I would slip up and the gargoyle killed him because Gage wouldn’t back down from a fight? I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. So I’d made the hardest decision in the world. I’d broken up with the man who treated me like an angel, and it had defeated me, but this was for his safety. Not mine. I had a shitty life. And now doubts flooded my mind about asking Dustin to help.

What if things derail fast with the gargoyle?

I planned to put myself in the line of fire to give Dustin a chance to run if the situation got out of hand. The gargoyle always went for me over others. But I prayed it wouldn’t get to that stage and Dustin’s swiftness with a blade and his strength would give us the upper hand over the gargoyle. Something I lacked.

“I always miss you,” Gage whispered, distracting me from my thoughts.

“Don’t, Gage. Please.” My chest constricted. We’d forged a bond where we used to finish each other’s sentences, where I’d beam with excitement each moment we spent together, where his laughter brought more joy to my life than I’d ever experienced before.

Around us, the audience boomed with cheers. Dustin pumped his fist into the air while his opponent lay sprawled at his feet. I’d missed a great blow, yet sitting next to Gage brought back too many amazing memories—and that wasn’t a good thing. Gage always left me tingling, so I’d kept my distance from Brawl to avoid the agony.

“What’s been keeping you away for so long?” he asked in his nonchalant way, as if he didn’t care that we sat next to each other without me reaching out and taking his hand in mine like we always used to do during fighting matches. I’d squeeze his fingers each time someone threw a punch.

“Been busy with jobs and stuff.” I smiled, but the gesture felt fake knowing I was here to ask Dustin for help with a problem I couldn’t tell Gage about. If I succeeded tonight, then Gage and I might have a chance together.

The book I’d stolen had said to stab the gargoyle in the heart. That was my focus. Back in the arena, Dustin had his opponent over his head, spinning him as if he were bread dough being tossed into the air. The crowd laughed and screamed for him to slam his challenger down.

Gage’s leg nudged mine.

I glanced up at him. “Have you by any chance worked out a way to transform into a full dragon yet? I’ve seen your strong wings that once. Just curious if you managed to change the rest of your body.” They were mesmerizing and glorious. Apparently, the only part of him that could shift. I squirmed in my seat, hoping he wouldn’t read too much into my curiosity.

He raised an arched brow. “If I had, I’d have flown over your tower to get your attention. I’d collect you and fly you to every realm you’ve always wanted to visit.”

And that right there was why Gage would always be in my heart…He loved hard, and he was loyal. I missed him so damn much, but fear kept me at bay. I couldn’t risk his safety until I was free. He deserved better. Heartache swirled unrestrained in my chest, and my head swam with the cruelty of life. Yet Gage looked at me with a smile in his eyes. One day I craved to carry the same positive outlook for my future.

“One of my clients is searching for a dragon-tooth dagger. That’s why I ask.” I hated lying to him, and I lowered my gaze.

He rubbed a hand over his jawline, the scratchy sound of his stubble cutting through the silence between the applause. Dustin paraded around the arena, his rival on the ground with a bloody face.

“Wish I could help, but…” His words faded, and I took his hand in mine, squeezing it.

“It’s all right. Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Regret washed over me in slow waves. He’d grown up homeless with no family, discarded as a child, never knowing much about dragon lore.

His brow furrowed, and I stared out as Dustin marched out of the arena. He’d have a few more battles tonight, but before that, I had to speak to him.

I slid to the edge of my seat, my attention on Dustin, who slipped behind a black curtain that surrounded the room in a U-shape. “Hey, can you get me backstage? I need to speak with Dustin.”

“Why?” Gage’s faced twisted into one of disgust. “The shifter’s a murderer-for-hire and most steer away from him, so what would you want with him? Planning on knocking someone out?” He cocked an eyebrow, staring at me with judgment.

I feigned innocence and placed a hand on my heart. “Such accusations. I might have a job for him for a client.” Gage didn’t need to know I was the so-called client. “Now, can you help or—?”

He got to his feet, towering over me. “He’s hired for two things—appearing in a fighting pit or taking someone out—so what’s going on?” His voice darkened and his eyes narrowed with that inquisitive glare.

I licked my lips and kept staring between the curtain and back at Gage, who eyed me with suspicion. “It’s not what you think. But don’t worry. I’ll sneak in myself.” I got up and slipped past him, but he grasped my wrist.

“Not if I stop you.” His grip tightened. “Talk to me, Elliana.”

Just freaking tell him already.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t bring myself to reveal the truth because then he’d try to stop me. Or worse, he’d insist on joining us. I couldn’t focus if he got hurt, and I was already putting Dustin in danger. Even if I said no, Gage would follow. Because he couldn’t sit back, he’d get involved with taking down the gargoyle, meaning one or all of us would get hurt.

“Look. It’s just a client who needs Dustin for a job, and I don’t ask too many questions about the tasks, you know that. The less I know sometimes, the better. I collect my money and connect people. It’s what I do. Now cut me some slack. Will you help?”

He didn’t speak for a long moment. Instead, he studied me, as if trying to see into my thoughts to extract the truth. My palms sweated, and I wiped them down the front of my pants. Lying to Gage never sat right with me. I just hoped that one day I could tell him everything, and he’d forgive me.

“Can’t believe I’m considering this,” he said. “You know he’s a nasty piece of work? I don’t want you alone with him.”

His words scared me, and I’d heard rumors that Dustin murdered without remorse. He was someone who’d take out the gargoyle. And if that meant spending time alone with a man who killed without care, I’d take my chances. Because it meant the possibility of freedom.