Chapter 8
Breakfast the next morning was just coming to an end when Peyton’s phone pinged with an email notification.
He pulled out his phone and opened his email .
He was surprised to see it was from his cousin, Padraic.
His father had thrown Padraic and his family out of the clutch years ago; they were now registered as rogues, which Peyton had always thought was harsh. He read the message.
Hey cousin, long time no speak! I heard our cousin, Puff, is now king; good for him.
We’ve heard rumors of a war coming. I didn’t think it was true until I heard an email had been sent out. You need to warn your brother that rogues from all groups are being called to someone called Barnabus’ side.
If your brother needs our help, just shout, and we’ll do what we can.
Puff looked across the table and saw his brother frowning at his phone.
Brother, you okay?
Peyton looked up. “We have a new problem.”
Just as he said this, there was a lull in conversation and all eyes turned to him.
“What’s wrong, Peyton?” Paris asked.
“I’ve just had a message from Padraic.”
Really? Puff enquired in surprise.
Peyton nodded. “Our cousin and his family were thrown out of the clutch by our father and registered as rogues,” Peyton told everyone.
“All they did was question a couple of decisions my brother made. He got angry and threw them out,” Paris added.
Peyton nodded. “Anyway, he said that Barnabus has sent emails out to all rogues, no matter the species, asking them to join his army.”
Gasps were heard around the table.
“That’s disturbing,” Baylan said.
Blake nodded. “It is. I have no idea how we can stop them from responding and joining him.”
“I don’t think you can,” Alex said.
“I can message Padraic back and ask him to look into things if you want,” Peyton offered.
Can he find out much? Puff asked.
“No idea, but I can ask.”
“I don’t know if it’s true, but years ago I heard there was a rogue island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. I think it was set up by some rogue lion shifters, and they opened it to all rogues,” Donovan said. “Almost like a pirate island.”
“I’ll ask him,” he paused and looked at Puff. “Unless you want to reply to him.”
Puff nodded. If you think it will do any good.
“It will,” Paris put in. “Especially if you welcome them back into the family.”
I can do that.
Donovan quickly looked at Tudor. “No excuses, you still need to rest.”
“But ..,” Tudor started to say.
“Sweetheart, you have to,” Alex said, taking his hand.
Blake looked at them. “What’s going on?”
Tudor sighed. “I need to shift and rest.”
Blake looked confused. “Okay, not seeing the problem here.”
“I don’t know how long I’ll be resting for.”
“Still not seeing an issue, Tudor.”
“There’s so much to do,” Tudor replied.
Blake gave him a gentle smile. “That’s why there are two other rulers, both of whom live here, plus you have Alex, Dane and your father who can look after things for you.”
Dane laughed. “Bad luck, little brother, off to the rooftop with you.”
“You can laugh, Dane, but once Tudor finishes resting, you’re next. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve not rested either.”
Dane stopped laughing and scowled.
“What about you, Donovan?” Ares asked.
“I’m a lot older than my sons, so I can go longer without rest, but I’ll take my turn when Dane has rested,” he replied.
“I can rest with you, sire,” Gentzen said to Tudor.
Tudor smiled at him. “Thanks Gentzen I can have Bubo fly around and keep me updated.”
Alex looked at his mate. “Can you hear us in your stone form?”
“When we’re guarding not properly resting we can see and hear I don’t know about deep resting,” Tudor said, looking concerned. He turned to Alex. “I can’t not be talking to you Alex.”
“Don’t worry, Tudor, you’ll be able to talk to Alex, including your gargoyles and the pack,” Ares assured him. “The only time you won’t be able to is when you’re in a deep sleep, the same as if you went into a normal deep sleep.”
Tudor sighed in relief.
“Sweetheart, is that why you’ve not rested?”
Tudor nodded. “I couldn’t not talk to you Alex.”
Alex leaned in and kissed him. “Now you know you can. Let me walk you outside, and you can rest, okay?”
Tudor nodded and looked at Blake and Puff. “But if you need me, I’ll do what I can to shift back.”
Tudor, rest properly. If rogues are coming, we all need to be in top form, and that includes you. Puff told him.
Tudor sighed again. “Fine, fine, fine.”
“That’s the spirit, Tudor,” Jason said, grinning at him.
“I’ll come and sit with you, and keep you both company,” Henry said, looking at Tudor and Gentzen, grinning.
Tudor laughed. “Thanks Henry okay I’m going I’ll see you all whenever Gentzen are you ready to go now?”
Gentzen nodded and stood up. “Yep, sire, see you all soon.”
Tudor and Alex stood up and, after a round of ‘byes’, they left the kitchen.
“Donovan, is there a set time for resting?” Ash asked.
Donovan shook his head. “No, it depends on the gargoyle and how tired they are. Most gargoyles have to rest a couple of times a month, depending on their age. The older the gargoyle, or the stronger the gargoyle, the longer they can go before needing to rest.”
“What would happen if Tudor didn’t rest when he needed to?” Henry asked, looking concerned.
The gargoyles around the table grimaced.
“His gargoyle would force the rest,” Cade said.
“Seriously?” Nick asked.
“Yeah,” Dane replied. “It wouldn’t matter what Tudor was doing either; his gargoyle would force the shift, and it would be painful.”
“Now we know. We can all watch out for Tudor,” Baylan said.
“I think now he knows he can still talk to Alex, he should be fine resting when he needs to,” Ares said.
The three of them walked outside. Tudor was clutching Alex’s hand.
“It won’t be so bad, sweetheart. You can still talk to us, and you can chat with the others that are resting.”
Tudor nodded.
“But sire, you need to properly rest first,” Gentzen cautioned.
“I know I was just scared that I wouldn’t be able to talk to my Alex.”
“I would have found a way to chat with you, even if I couldn’t have heard you answering. I would have climbed on the roof and sat with you, or sent Bubo with messages,” Alex assured him. “Now, where are you going to perch?”
The three of them had walked a little way from the back door and turned to look at the roof. They saw other gargoyles resting around the roof.
Tudor pointed. “There that’s where I was when I was sent here I could see and hear everything but I wasn’t resting then.”
“And I can go there,” Gentzen pointed to a space not far from Tudor’s.
“Perfect,” Alex said, pulling Tudor into his arms. “I’ll be waiting for you, but rest as long as you need to. We need you at your peak.”
Tudor wrapped his arms around Alex and rested his head on his mate’s chest. “I know but I’m going to miss you love.”
“And I will miss you, but I’m just a thought away. Now kiss me and then go and rest.”
Tudor lifted his head, Alex dipped his, and they kissed, with Tudor putting all his love into the kiss. Slowly they pulled back. “Love you.”
“And I you,” Alex dropped a kiss on his nose. “Now go shift.”
Tudor nodded and pulled out of Alex’s arms, looking at Gentzen.
“Ready, sire?”
Tudor nodded. “I guess let’s do this.”
They both partially shifted so their wings came out.
“Amazing and so pretty,” Henry said, popping up next to Alex.
“Your wings really are,” Alex agreed.
“Thanks see you soon.”
And with that, both Tudor and Gentzen flapped their wings and flew to the roof, Tudor to his spot and Gentzen to his.
Gentzen grinned down at them and shifted into his proper gargoyle form of mottled grey. As he shifted, his gargoyle hunched down, his wings spread out, and he turned to stone.
Alex looked at Tudor, who was smiling softly down at him and with a final wave, Tudor shifted.
“Wow,” Henry said, looking at Tudor and Gentzen.
“Wow indeed,” Alex agreed. Sure, he had seen Tudor shifted before, at the vigil, but that wasn’t really the time to look him over, and it wasn’t a proper resting shift.
In Tudor’s shifted form, he was like the others, hunched down, his wings were out wide, his ears pointed, and he had two short horns coming out of the top of his head. He was a deep grey, and much larger than Gentzen, indeed larger than the other gargoyles who were also resting.
“You’re stunning, sweetheart,” Alex called up.
“Thank you love.”