Chapter 27
Jessie
“Tristan, great to see you again!” Gerard put his hand out for Tristan to shake with a big smile.
“I heard about the raid on Gimerel. Wow! Talk about leveling up, huh? You put the heat on that cairn. They are still reeling. They’re losing guardians left and right.
You gotta show me some of that setup so we’re prepared to fight with you next time. ”
Tristan smiled politely at him. “Of course. I’ve devised a pretty seamless system that can expand with more people or reduce to just a small team. It makes things safer, while being easy to integrate other guardians.”
Gerard blew out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “Intense.” He put his hand on Tristan’s shoulder and faced Evan. “This gargoyle right here”—he pointed at Tristan— “is a genius. He’s the best there is.” He looked at me. “You got lucky to snap him up. I’m telling you.”
“I think I’m the lucky one, actually,” Tristan said humbly. “I didn’t level up on my own. I followed Alpha Steele’s exemplary leadership and pack structure, and I get to battle and train with a female gargoyle. She connects and organizes us all with magic, so I can much more easily do my job.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember that connection.” Gerard put his hands on his hips. “That was excellent. The battle was terrible, truly awful, but you can’t help feeling alive during stuff like that.”
“You are a battle species, after all,” Austin said, his hand resting on the small of my back.
“Yeah, we definitely are.” Gerard nodded.
“Thank you again for coming to visit.” Evan smiled at me. “And thank you for the service you did for my family in helping my cousin. It showed what a caring person you really are.”
“Don’t believe any of those rumors from her first connection meet-up.
” Gerard shook his head at Evan. “They didn’t even give her a chance at that meeting.
It was over before it even began, and then the others had to lick their wounds.
I mean…” He indicated Tristan. “Gimerel’s best walked away from a cushy post and took a place in what he must’ve thought at the time was a risky venture.
That’s how well she showed, and they crapped all over her. ”
He did a raspberry and waved it away.
Evan smiled but didn’t comment. He’d be making up his own mind. Hopefully, that mind would be open.
“Please.” He stepped aside and gestured toward the house. “Come through. I have us setup in the drawing room.”
The interior of the house was dimly lit and strangely hushed, like sound didn’t travel very far.
Colorful light bounced around the front room from the stained-glass windows.
We walked into the main hall where a vaulted ceiling arched over us, supported by ribbed columns.
In the center of the large space stood a round table with a polished black top.
Showcased on the table was a sculpture I recognized from Ivy House.
While very pretty and probably expensive, given the gold inlaid in the stone, it wasn’t priceless, unlike some of the other pieces in that house.
It hadn’t made the cut into the art room that Mimi had set up.
Clearly, Tristan thought it would be better used for this purpose.
Given it was on display in a prominent place in this gorgeous house, he’d been correct.
“You outdid me.” Gerard paused at the sculpture, narrowing his eyes at me. “This is classy and expensive. I can never seem to get the two together.”
“I beg to differ,” Tristan said, following us with the other guardians. “The Porsche you gave Jessie was expensive and very classy. I love that car.”
Gerard shrugged. “I’ll take it, though it definitely isn’t classy like this.”
Evan paused to admire the sculpture. “It’s stunning.
Every time I pass it, I’m riveted. The gold could be fake and the stone cheap, and I’d still stop and stare at it.
The design, a flame in a breeze swirling with gold, is entrancing.
The artistry is excellent.” He shook himself out of his daze, his eyes shining as he looked at me.
“It’s perfect. You’ve pinpointed my love of art. ”
I opened my mouth to say that Tristan picked it out when I noticed the very subtle shake of his head, an action the gargoyles would surely miss. Training to read body language had its perks.
Instead, I said, “I have the bowl sculpture you sent on display, as well. Naomi, Austin’s grandmother, is remodeling our home, and she had hoped it came from a new production cairn we’d acquired.”
His smile was appreciative. He inclined his head in thanks. “That production cairn has yielded some great artistry. It is something of a risk, of course.”
“Why is that?” Austin asked, following him as he moved on.
Light flickered from sconces on the walls, decorative bulbs made to look like small flames that resembled torches. He stopped in front of two wood paneled doors and his gargoyles stepped forward to push them open.
“Our kind typically look for practical items over those that are decorative.” He led the way into the drawing room.
“If they spend money, it’s often on nice fabric for clothes or jewelry, or on furniture made to last. The glass coming out of that production cairn is mostly decorative.
We can make wine and drinking glasses, bowls and plates, vases—but all of it will be higher priced than the usual fare.
It’s made to impress, not to exist. Then, of course, we make the sculptures, chandeliers, things like that.
I’m not sure the gargoyle culture is going to buy on a large enough scale to earn real income.
I’m coming up with ways to pivot if we need to. ”
I marveled at the study. It had the same gothic feel as the rest of the house, with a high ceiling and tall, mullioned windows.
Heavy velvet curtains in a deep mustard color swept to either side, allowing in muted lighting.
A large stone hearth on one wall with paintings caught Tristan’s eye, and he went to investigate.
Plush, burnt-red velvet sofas sat atop a patterned rug that somehow brought the room together.
Lights made to look like candles glowed on the walls.
It was absolutely gorgeous. Mimi couldn’t have designed this room better.
“And why do you plan to only sell to your kind?” Austin asked, taking a seat on one of the sofas. After I sat next to him, he laid his arm across the back behind me. “Why do gargoyles keep all their products in-house?”
Evan sat facing us, and Gerard took the other couch.
A tray housed snacks on the coffee table between us similar to those that had been offered on the plane, and a stand of drinks were kept on a rolling cart off to the side.
The moment we were comfortable, a woman in a white coat and black slacks came in to fill our plates and offer us drinks.
“Because…” Evan blinked at him for a silent moment. “That’s our market.”
Gerard accepted a plate of cheeses and grapes before asking for a vodka soda with two limes.
“Austin brought this up to me, too.” He leaned against a pillow and threw an ankle over his knee, getting comfortable.
“After I stuttered for a bit, I realized the answer was that we don’t know how to sell to anyone else.
We’ve cut ourselves off from Dicks and Janes, we don’t do much with shifters, and mages are too dangerous. Who else are we going to sell to?”
Austin passed on the snacks, having eaten his fill on the plane, but accepted a glass of sparkling water. He didn’t immediately comment.
Gerard went on, cheese stuffed in his cheek.
“Even if we could sell to Dicks…” He pushed up a little more, swallowed and went on.
“My cairn isn’t setup to get large shipments of product to them, and we certainly aren’t set up to ship direct to customer.
We’re not as removed as this cairn, but we’re also high up in a mountain.
Most of our production cairns are, as well. It isn’t feasible.”
Evan hadn’t looked away from Austin. “What Gerard says is true of most cairns,” he said.
“We have the airstrip right there, though. Withor had his faults, but he did have a logistical mind. Regular shipments in private jets would be pricy, however. I doubt parcel carriers would come all the way out here. It wouldn’t be worth their while.
And then there is how to sell in the Dick world.
I wouldn’t have the first clue. Shifters, either. ”
“Then sell to me,” Austin finally said. “Give me wholesale prices and I will give you sales in bulk. Not all your products, most likely, but I definitely want those glass products. We make money, you make money.”
Evan ran his thumb along the top of his glass. “This is the carrot to join the convocation, I assume?”
“No,” Austin replied. “This is business. Some of these cairns have excellent products, but they are wasted in the small amount of trade you do within the gargoyle community. I see an opportunity. Our production cairns are filling warehouses as we speak. We have salespeople already making deals. If you won’t take this opportunity, I will be happy to. ”
I put my hand on Austin’s thigh, pride welling up. He was one helluva businessman, as ambitious as he was tenacious.
He took a sip of his drink. “Food for thought.”
“I’ll say.” Gerard scratched his chin.
“About this convocation,” Evan said. His eyes sparkled with intelligence, and his gaze was focused.
He was curious, and that was good. He didn’t plan to shut us down right away.
“Gerard has spoken a bit about it, and Patty has no end of information, it seems. I’m curious about your territory specifically, though, not the organization at large.
Not yet. I wondered if you could field some questions? ”
“Sure.” I gestured him on.