Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
She set fire to his fur and raked across his neck with more magic. Then again, bombarding him.
The wolf howled again, and she lifted him into the air. He was lying down now, unable to fight back.
“That is what it is to fight a mage,” she told the crowd in an icy tone. “And this is what happens when you disrespect me in my territory. I was a past Jane, that is true. But now I am a female gargoyle, and we give no quarter. As I said, if any of this is unsettling for you, you are free to leave. Otherwise, you will respect this territory, and you will follow the rules. It really is that simple.”
She stepped closer, and the shifter moved through the air.
“I’ll just put this outside. He won’t die. When he heals enough to limp out of here, he will be asked to leave the territory. If anyone even flinches at me while I am handling this, I will kill you spectacularly. I think we can all agree that my warnings are not for show.”
“What about that other one?” Dave motioned at the shifter who’d run in to tell his alpha about the drop-kicking incident.
“He hasn’t broken any rules. Escort him out peacefully. If he resists, drop-kick him.”
Even the gargoyles were still now, some of them with gaping mouths.
“And that is why I chose to come dressed as I am,” Nina said with a smile in her voice. “I figured there’d be a big brawl tonight. Now? I think likely not. I doubt anyone else will chance getting drop-kicked off the ledge or turned into a pincushion and hovered out of here.”
“Likely not,” Sue said, his posture swelled with pride. “I also think anyone who planned to challenge Jessie just changed their tune.”
Jessie returned as though nothing had happened. “Let’s eat, shall we? I’m starving.”
15
Tristan
“These shifters, man.” Gerard put his fingers to his head and gestured like they exploded outward. “I had no idea they were this volatile. They do such a good job of holding it all in.”
The aggression in the air was palpable as they stood outside on the grass, having finished a subdued dinner an hour ago and then moving out to the non-alphas. A few packs had already left, their bodies tight and eyes down. None of the visiting shifters had dared look at the basajaunak lounging around the trees or grass. The large creatures showed zero concern for the pounding hostility around them.
Alternately, the gargoyles laughed and joked and mingled, meeting friends from other cairns, people they’d met over the last couple weeks, and just generally having a good time. They didn’t mind the basajaunak at all, not even the Elder. They didn’t bother themselves with the stoic shifters, either, giving them plenty of space. They might like to battle, but they weren’t idiots.
“They can be, definitely. But this lot…” Tristan took a sip of his drink. “Some of them are laughable. I had no idea how good I had it with Austin and Sue and all of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some of these shifters are so firmly steeped in the concept of hierarchy that they base their worth on it. If they feel someone with less power, they want to claim dominance over that person. They get pushy and try to boss the other person around. If the other person has the same title, they puff up and take offense. They’d probably all be fighting right now if not for the basajaunak.”
“Ah.” Gerard nodded. “Challenges galore tomorrow.”
“Probably.”
“They’re easy to rile up. I might try to challenge one, though they don’t seem to have many fliers.”
“No. And I’ll bet they go for the wings first.” Tristan felt adrenaline thrumming in his middle. “I don’t care. I bet I can prod one into challenging.”
Gerard laughed. “I’ll let you go first.” He scratched his chest. “Why didn’t Jessie and Austin invite any of the garhettes? I thought they were part of the fight now?”
“Jessie thought they’d work with the basajaunak and settle everyone down.”
Gerard scoffed. “Or else they’d take offense to something and beat down some shifter.”
“Or maybe that, yeah.” Tristan grinned. “They were at Ivy House earlier having their third garden party.”
“Oh, chasing the gnomes around?”
“Yeah. They’ve staked their claim. None of the gnomes venture close to Ivy House anymore, but the garhettes aren’t having much impact on the deeper woods. The gnomes have organized, I guess. When the garhettes venture too deep, the gnomes overwhelm them and force them back. It’s a full-scale war with very strange weapons.”
Gerard bent over, laughing. “What kind of weapons?”
“Well, the gnomes have their garden supplies, and the garhettes have random household objects, like brooms and rolling pins and whatever they have at hand. I saw one chasing a gnome around with a chair.”
Gerard kept laughing. “Why?” he wheezed. “Why not actual weapons?”