Chapter 89
CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE
Ellery
“This is Indon,” I said when I stopped before Ianto.
The giant never looked up to anyone, but as Indon stood at his full height, Ianto had to tip his head back to take him in. “I’m Ianto.”
Indon bowed his head to him before focusing on the others as I made my introductions. While I spoke, Mr. Fletcher and Ruby also made their way over.
Ruby held a cloth bag and a canteen; when she offered them to me, I nearly snatched them from her hand.
I was starving and so thirsty my mouth was parched and my throat burned, but I restrained myself from tearing into the supplies.
None of them paid attention to me as they continued gaping at the gargoyles.
“Where are the others?” Scarlet whispered. “There were a lot more of them in the cavern.”
“After being locked away, most of us have chosen to remain outside of this place,” Indon replied. “They are enjoying their freedom.”
“Will you ever return to your cavern?” I asked.
“At one time, it was our safe retreat and place to rest, but we will never return.”
“I wouldn’t either.”
Unable to resist anymore, I unscrewed the cap on the canteen and took a long swallow of water before making myself stop. I wanted to chug it all down and then drink a hundred more of them, but I’d make myself sick if I did.
My hand trembled as I lowered the canteen and focused on the wall in the hopes of suppressing the clawing urge for more water that had taken up residence in my chest. I didn’t dare look at the food; I’d tear it apart like a vulture on a corpse.
“How many of you are there in total?” Ianto asked.
“One hundred and fifteen,” Indon said.
“Holy shit,” Luna whispered again. “You told me there were gargoyles, but I never… I didn’t… I… I’m not sure what I was expecting.”
“Tempest is their land to care for,” I explained as some of the other amsirah crept closer. “They don’t like what’s happening here either. Our ancestors betrayed them, but they want to help us make things right in Tempest again. They’re going to help us.”
“Are they going to kill us afterward?” a young woman asked.
“No!” I said more sharply than I’d intended, but we couldn’t have that rumor getting started.
We needed the gargoyles, and they deserved peace.
If amsirah feared them, they’d never find the tranquility they deserved.
“At one time, amsirah and gargoyles worked together in harmony, and we’re going to do that again. ”
“We’re both the rightful caretakers of this realm,” Indon said. “Tempest needs us both to thrive.”
Part of me thought Tempest would be better off without the amsirah, but I kept that to myself. If Indon wasn’t considering it, then I wouldn’t put the idea in his head.
“Can you open a portal out of the realm?” a man asked.
“We cannot open portals,” Indon replied.
“Oh,” the man said with disappointment.
“This is our realm to defend,” I said. “And now we have to figure out how to win this war.”
Some of the amsirah here had fought during the Ghoul War, but none of them were leaders like Ryker or in it as deep as Tucker. None of us were strategists.
“Did you lead armies before?” I asked Indon.
“We worked with the amsirah to keep Tempest safe, but we rarely had any problems here,” he replied.
“Probably because the other immortals were too scared of you to try anything,” Luna said.
When Indon stretched out his wings, some of the amsirah gasped and stepped back. Indon ignored them as he fluttered his wings for a second before closing them again.
“Perhaps,” the gargoyle acknowledged.
“If the other immortals knew of your existence, wouldn’t they have continued to spread that truth instead of allowing it to pass into legend?” Scarlet asked.
“We didn’t travel to other realms, and while some of those who ventured here would learn of us, Tempest rarely received visitors.
Those visitors probably spread the word about the protectors of this land.
In doing so, they warded off any potential enemies,” Indon said.
“However, if they stopped seeing us and the amsirah erased us from history, then we would have passed into legend far faster with the outside immortals than we did among the amsirah. You knew nothing of us.”
“That makes sense,” Scarlet said.
“So, you don’t have a lot of experience with battles?” I asked.
“No, we don’t,” Indon said.
I scrubbed at my face as I pushed aside the exhaustion clinging to me. I should eat, that would help energize me, but the gargoyles hadn’t eaten either.
“Are you hungry?” I asked Indon. “It’s been a while since you ate.”
Indon’s mouth quirked toward a smile. “We are fine, child. We’ll eat after we leave here; enjoy your meal.”
I dug my hand into the bag Ruby gave me and removed an apple; I almost cried as I bit into the juicy fruit.
“If we planned how to steal from the rich to give to the poor successfully, we can do this,” Scarlet said. “Let’s put our heads together and come up with a plan.”