Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Ellery
Part of me wanted to argue Ryker’s statement; we could climb onto the gargoyles and fly away from this place. We’d killed the aristocrats and freed him and the children; no one could fault us for taking our wins and fleeing.
But the duke didn’t know the aristocrats were dead, the children were free, and Ryker was here. We’d never have this big of an element of surprise again, and we couldn’t give the duke a chance to regroup from his losses.
We were so close to the duke. So close to ending all of this. No matter how badly I yearned to rest and be with Ryker, we couldn’t walk away now. If we did, we might never get another chance to kill him.
I just didn’t know how we were going to pull that off. Closing my eyes, I leaned into Ryker.
We’d made it this far without being detected, but our luck couldn’t hold out forever. In fact, I was sure it was about to run out… if it hadn’t already.
“How did you get from the dungeons to here?” I inquired.
“The servants’ tunnels,” Ryker replied.
Around us, the line of children dwindled far faster than I’d anticipated as the gargoyles carried them away. None of the gargoyles had returned yet, but they should be back soon.
“How are we going to get to the duke?” I asked as Tucker strolled over to join us.
“I’ve been considering that,” Ryker said. “Trying to get to him while he’s asleep could prove impossible. The servants don’t have access to his rooms, and he’s heavily guarded. Not to mention, if they haven’t woken him yet, they will soon.”
“There’s a battalion of soldiers on his floor,” Samael said.
“Of course there is,” Ryker said with a shake of his head. “There’s no way we’ll get to him… even with the gargoyles.”
“They don’t move easily through enclosed spaces, and their claws tend to give them away, but they’ll help us,” I said.
“I’m sure they will, but right now, what we have going for us is our element of surprise.”
“I don’t think I’m going to like what you’re thinking,” Tucker said.
“What are you thinking?” Samael asked.
“When Veni came to those dungeons, he had soldiers with him, but not a whole lot. If we return to the cells, or that lower level, he won’t expect us to be free. We could ambush him.”
“I don’t want to go back there,” Lawrence said.
“None of us do.”
“There’s no way the gargoyles are making it through the servants’ tunnels,” Tucker said.
“No, but if they attack the palace from above, they’ll draw a lot of the soldiers away from the interior and onto the parapets and fields.”
“But that will push the duke into hiding,” I said.
As we spoke, Ianto, Luna, Scarlet, Mr. Fletcher, and some of the others came closer to listen. Another gargoyle left with the last of the children. Indon’s claws clicked against the rock as he and the three other remaining gargoyles joined us.
Ryker cast them a wary glance as Samael, Lawrence, and Tucker edged away from the gargoyles. They didn’t run, but they looked tempted to as their eyes darted around the room.
“Not at first,” Ryker said. “At first, he’ll want to know what they are, where they came from, and how to control them. And he’ll also try to make sure that I’m controlled.”
“No one controls us,” Indon said.
“I understand that, but the duke won’t. He’ll see you as something that could help him cement his reign over this realm… or as a threat to eradicate.”
“So, he would try to replace me with the gargoyles,” I said.
“No, he’ll still go after you. He wants you because of me, and because you humiliated him. Plus, to him, the fact that you’re so far beneath him status-wise, yet possess more power than he does, is infuriating. He’ll want to destroy that.”
“Yeah, he does,” Samael agreed. “He keeps himself mostly calm when he’s around others, but he can’t hide the loathing in his eyes when someone mentions you two. You could be completely useless to him, and he’d still want to destroy you both.”
“Sounds like a lovely man,” Indon remarked.
My lips twitched toward a smile. I didn’t think the gargoyles had a sense of humor, but I was wrong.
“Ryker, this is Indon,” I introduced. “He’s not the king of the gargoyles, they don’t have one, but he is…”
“The one who speaks for us,” Indon filled in for me.
Ryker studied him for a minute before extending his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Indon’s hand swallowed Ryker’s within his grasp. “You as well, lightning bearer.”
Something unspoken passed between them. I didn’t know what it was, but I sensed they each understood Ryker was someone who could lock Indon away again, and that it was better to be allies than enemies.
Or at least I hoped they understood it, for all our sakes.