Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ellery
When I turned back to the crowd, I counted the heads. By my calculations, two teams remained out.
I searched for Mouse in the crowd but didn’t see the young boy anywhere. He’s safe. He’s smart and fast. He’s fine.
But my heart still ached for the child. I hadn’t seen him since the duke forced us to retreat to this cavern. I hoped he hadn’t gotten caught up in the fires the duke set, or worse, taken by the duke’s troops and sent to the palace with the other children.
Mouse was so wild at heart that imprisonment would destroy him. As soon as this was all over, I would do everything I could to find the boy.
I turned away from the others and walked over to the shadows near the entranceway to join Indon. “Can you communicate telepathically with the other gargoyles?”
“Yes,” Indon confirmed.
I wasn’t astonished by this confirmation. A little unnerved, perhaps, but not surprised. “Are the remaining two teams okay?”
“Yes. They’ll return soon.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, but while I wanted to slump to the floor and huddle there, I didn’t have time to relax. Once the last two teams returned, we had to enact the next phase of our plan.
“Where are the children?” I asked.
“In a dungeon beneath the palace.”
“That asshole put them in a dungeon.”
The duke was a giant piece of shit, but that was horrific, even for him. From the group of huddled amsirah, Ianto rose and strode over to me. When he reached my side, he handed me some jerky and an apple before removing his blanket from his shoulder.
I tried to wave it away, but the giant was two feet taller than me and easily two hundred pounds heavier. Saying no to him was impossible.
“You need it,” I insisted.
“I’ve been here longer than you, and I’m warmed,” Ianto said. “Take the blanket and eat; Ryker would kick my ass if I let you go without.”
I managed a wan smile for him, but the reminder of Ryker was a sharp pang to my heart. The cavern was full, yet I felt empty.