26. Stuck Between a Rock and a Gargoyle
Stuck Between a Rock and a Gargoyle
Moni
“Hey! You’re like a mood ring, too,” I point out, looking at the angry gargoyle standing in front of us.
The stone man looming over me is at least seven feet tall and as wide as a tree trunk.
His wings snap in irritation, revealing a wingspan of an impressive twelve feet.
Compared to our resident gargoyle teacher—who’s a grump yet still dignified—this one is shrouded in mystery and wild magic.
A gothic wild armored tinkerbell on steroids.
I wish I had his cool effects. I’m just a walking mood ring of colors.
His skin is cracked open, and molten red lava flows underneath his rocky surface.
I’m sure at any moment, he’s going to hit his limit and pop like a pimple and explode all that hot magma, like a virgin trying his first honey bee suckle pop.
Oh! I wonder if he has a fast temper and is like that with his partner.
Does his partner get upset with him a lot because of it?
That would be horrible. Aww, poor guy. No wonder he gets so upset; he’s having problems with his partner in the bedroom.
I don’t know why, with that massive thing hanging between his legs, they shouldn’t be, well, unless he was a quick igniter, then yeah…
I could see the problem. Aww, poor guy. Always the first to the finish line and never the winner.
I watch as emotions ripple across the gargoyle’s face until his rocky skin turns to a dark gray. His fire disappears, and his jaw drops, showing four very sharp canines.
“Did you just go from being scared of me to emasculating me in two seconds?” he asks in awe.
“Oh.” I feel my cheeks turn hot, knowing I’m turning pink. “You heard that? I meant to think that.”
“You did. I can read minds,” he states simply. “You may call me Blessing. Now what brings you to my territory and my den?” he demands, addressing the others, clearly dismissing me, the crazy one.
I don’t mind, it gives me a chance to shrink down and look around. I’ve never seen a Gargoyle nest—den—whatever they call it.
“We have found something that belongs to you,” I hear Rez say, and I glance back to see her hold out the egg she had taken earlier from the cave.
The gargoyle stumbles in shock and awe as he shuffles towards her, giving thanks for their return.
“How were they taken anyway?” I ask, zipping back and forth. I feel the need for coffee hit me, and I pull out the special blend that Gus made me this morning. The special herbs hit me with zeal, and an electric current flows down my spine, causing me to moan out loud.
Chester’s eyes heat up, and my brothers just flinch in disgust.
“Don’t ever do that in our presence again. Do you understand us?” Ryker demands.
“It’s disgusting,” JP agrees.
“If we’re done here, come. The woods are not safe, they now have eyes and ears,” he says as an explanation, and walks toward the rock behind him, disappearing before my eyes.
“What the hell?” I almost lose my coffee, but my knight in shining armor grabs it and my hand and pulls me behind him.
“I got you, baby,” Chestie says as he walks us behind the invisible wall and into a vast cave inside a mountain I had no clue was here. Then again, it’s not like I come and visit my cousins and their hostile woods.
We walk down a dark yet smooth, short tunnel that opens into a cavernous chamber with multiple corridors leading away.
There are torches lit and attached to the walls, illuminating the area sparsely, which makes me think they have no problem seeing in the dark.
There are a few tables set up on the far right with low-back chairs that would be perfect for me and my tail.
Oh! They are for the gargoyles! I realize a little too late as multiple gargoyles walk out of the corridors as if they’ve been summoned.
Most look curious and excited to see us in their homes as they all come and look us over.
Before I can ask any questions, my left wrist starts itching so badly that I can’t ignore it.
I rub at my bark to cure it, but instead of the instant relief, I’m bombarded by a panicked Lord of Hell.
‘Moni? Sweetie, are you okay?’ Dad’s voice rushes out, causing my bark to pale to white and flash glitterbomb.
‘Yes, what’s wrong?’ I shriek. ‘Is this a code red? Is that why you’re reaching out? Oh my word, we’re dead, aren’t we? I knew it, this is it…. I’m too young to die. Right when I feel my life coming together, it’s already over,’ I cry.
‘Sweetie. Stop. That’s not it at all. I wanted to check in to make sure you guys were okay after I saw that some contenders died in Ever Woods already, and I couldn’t find you in the live feed,’ Dad explains.
‘Oh!’ I chuckle to myself. ‘Yeah. We're with the Gargoyles right now’
‘Phew. Okay, I feel better. As long as the Stoned Gremlins are taking care of my princess, then I can rest easy. Let me know if you need anything, okay?’ Dad insists.
‘I will. Thank you.’ I feel the connection close, and I can’t help but have the biggest smile on my face.
JP looks over at me and mouths ‘dad’ and winks, letting me know he heard some, if not all of our conversation, which I don’t mind. We’re a tight-knit family, and I love that about us; we don’t keep secrets.
Chester squeezes my hand, “Your dad?” he guesses, looking at my smile.
“Yeah, he’s just checking in,” I tell him before taking in all the new gargoyles joining us.
They come in different shapes and sizes, and all in different states of dress.
Some, like Blessing, choose to go with what the Fates have blessed them with, while others come in full dress and even have makeup.
I don’t know how they found a foundation to match that stone color, but toodles to them.
They all vary in different ways, colors, sizes, tails, and horns—some without—but the one thing they all have in common is that they are made of stone.
“Is this normal?” Rez whispers. “I kinda skipped this chapter.”
“I think most of us did,” Knox replies, observing every gargoyle himself probably as an opponent.
“As I had said before, I am Blessing. I am the leader of this Clan, and now that we no longer have spies, we can talk plainly.”
“Spies? Do you know where the spies are?” Rez asks desperately.
He simply nods and cracks a knowing smile.
“Tree knots.”
“What?” a few of us call out in disbelief.
“Tree knots,” a younger gargoyle says as she steps forward, holding her tail.
She kind of reminds me of myself, except she’s wearing a pale yellow dress and has straight midnight black hair and blue eyes.
“If you look closely, you can see them move.” She moves over to Blessing to grab his leg, and I immediately put it together.
They are related, probably father and daughter or at least older siblings.
Since gargoyles guard their secrets strictly close to their hearts, we don’t know how long they live.
Shit, the fact we’re standing here is a huge thing.
They might put us in history books for even getting this close to gargoyles outside of Professor Stone.
“To answer your previous question, our hatchlings were taken from our nursery a few weeks ago from creatures that normally don’t attack our kind.
From what I’ve discovered, they traded them to poachers.
I thought our young ones were lost to us and sold off,” Blessing reveals as he runs his fingers through the girl’s stony midnight curls.
“I don’t know what purpose they are using our young, but we have lost too many.
There are rumors that our blood is used for powerful spells, or others want to build armies of our young, but I refuse to believe our young can be broken that easily. ”
My heart drops thinking of him trying to hold his family together, all the while knowing babies have gone missing and feeling that guilt.
Even if it’s not his personal fault, the guilt would eat at him.
I don’t have to look at myself to know my bark has shifted to blue, but it’s confirmed when Chester’s warm arms wrap around me.
Blessing shifts slightly, making me wonder if I’m making him uncomfortable with our public display of affection, and suddenly, I can’t remember if they have any customs we have to worry about.
I know we didn’t go over this in school, but I did live with Matthew and Levi.
Surely I would have picked up something.
‘Your friendship with the shadows is enough to favor us,’ Blessing’s garbled voice rings out in my head.
I glance around the room and notice by the look on my friend’s faces that they can hear him as well.
“Come, let me show you where our young ones were kept. Oh, but first, can I unite our family with the ones you have brought home?” he asks, and indicates Rez’s pack on her back.
“Sure,” Knox says, pulling out an egg from his S.I.N.
box and holding it out. A young white-haired gargoyle runs up to him with tears streaming down her face.
She reaches out with trembling hands and gently grabs the egg, cradling it against her chest and bowing to Knox before whispering “thank you” and quickly disappearing into a side room.
It’s the same process with all the eggs until the last two, when Blessing holds them up and asks who will come and claim them until birth.
He explains that they are orphans and their parents fell in the last fight.
Two young, twin red-headed gargoyles who look no older than twelve come up and volunteer, but in reality, they’re probably over hundreds of years old.
Blessing pats them on the shoulders before turning and motioning for us to follow.
He starts walking towards the back, and Chester grabs my hand before we follow.
As we trail behind, I notice small sections carved out of the stones, some at ground level and a few that you would need a ladder or wings like me to reach, but all lead into rooms. Some have arches or beds, dressers, toys, and even nests on the grounds.