Chapter 74
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
Ellery
I’d been right about the sun setting on another day. The silvery glow of the rising moons bathed the land as I stalked around the rubble, examining it closely. They’d managed to accomplish a lot, but I had an idea that could accomplish more.
I asked the others to leave the pit before lifting my hands and twisting them in a smooth motion. With deft movements, I’d done something I never had before by opening the lock inside the Earl of Oakley’s bedroom.
Now I concentrated on creating something new to help with this. I couldn’t create a tornado; it would help remove the debris, but it would only cause more damage and could kill those trapped below.
I didn’t let myself think about Ryker and the others while I worked. If I got too emotional, it might affect my abilities.
The amsirah had moved back, but I heard their whispers. They knew I was the one who’d done this, and I had to prove to them that I could keep my abilities under control and would never be a threat to them.
I had to show them that, while I’d destroyed the palace, I’d do whatever it took to help and protect them.
Indon and the other gargoyles circled above, watching and waiting to help if I called to them. I prayed I wouldn’t have to do that.
With care, I created a funnel of wind that wasn’t quite a tornado, but it rattled the rocks until one of them rose into the air. Another followed, then another, and another.
They rose higher and higher as they emerged from the pile more rapidly. The gargoyles snatched some of them from the air, but I lifted the others out of the hole and settled them on the edge.
As I gained more confidence in my ability to keep this under control, the process went faster. The amsirah resumed stacking the rocks into the backs of wagons and hauling them away to keep space open for me.
Those with the ability to control the wind helped speed up the process by blowing the rocks to the side of the pit, rather than having me set them there. I uncovered numerous bodies of guards and servants who weren’t lucky enough to escape the downfall.
Many were still alive, but others had their skulls smashed in so badly their brains covered the stones around them, making it impossible for them to heal. Others were so crushed that their hearts were pulverized.
As we worked, we sorted the dead into different piles. We’d bury the servants and burn the soldiers.
We also separated all the survivors. They took the guards to the Revenant Woods, where the poltergeists eagerly awaited their arrival.
I agreed with their decision to give the guards a fighting chance, even if it wasn’t much of one; I was okay with that.
After Ianto returned from one of his trips to the forest, he told me that Farley and the other poltergeists started singing whenever they brought more of the condemned to them.
It was a little macabre, but if it kept them happy, then so be it.
After a couple of hours, I uncovered Zira. She burst out of the rubble and into the air, but when she went to take flight, her broken wing created an odd flapping movement.
While I had no connection to the gargoyles, I felt her panic as she continued trying to fly away. Like a terrified bird bashing against a window, she flew into the side of the pit, bounced off, and did it again.
I didn’t think it was her broken wing fueling her movements, but rather her imprisonment. Two gargoyles swooped down, gripped her arms, and lifted her away. They soared out of view, taking her somewhere safe to heal.
Near where I uncovered Zira, I found six servants. Four of them had perished. With tears in my eyes, I helped the others carefully remove them from the rubble. They carried the two injured servants away and the dead to the burial pile.
“They chose their path,” Tucker said from behind me.
“I know.”
I said the words, but a stone had lodged itself in my stomach. Fortunately, I had to keep focused on the task at hand and couldn’t wallow in guilt.
What’s going to happen if I find Ryker and the others dead in here?
You’ll keep going until it’s done, and then you can fall apart.
And then I could fall apart.
I was about halfway through the rubble when the sun started to rise and I uncovered the Countess of Halsbad. She’d survived but was in bad shape and unconscious when they pulled her from the rubble.
Unlike the guards, she wouldn’t be set free in the woods. Now that we’d taken control of the realm, we required someone who could open a portal out of here.
Even though she was unconscious, the amsirah locked her in chains and escorted her to the jail in Nottingshire. They’d ensorcelled it to ensure amsirah couldn’t open a portal out and her powers would be useless there.
I found Bria soon after. Her broken body was so crushed that her heart was pulverized. A twinge of sorrow tugged at my heart as they carried Leo’s last living, now dead heir, away.
About an hour later, I discovered the Baron of Muzek and one of his daughters. He didn’t survive, but she did. Unlike the countess, she was awake as they took her to jail.
Further down, I uncovered the baron’s wife and another daughter. His wife had also perished, but the daughter lived. She was so badly injured that, while her eyes were open, she didn’t blink or move when taken away.
I dug out more servants and guards before discovering the duke next, which meant I had to be getting closer to the others. My elation over discovering him, and that he hadn’t fled the realm, was buried by the realization that he still lived.
Like the other survivors, he was badly wounded but conscious as he struggled against the amsirah who would gladly tear him limb from limb. And judging by the looks on their faces, they were contemplating it.
“We’re not setting him free in the woods,” Tucker said.
“Is this him then?” Indon asked as he landed nearby. “Is this Ryker’s father?”
“It is,” I confirmed. “And while he couldn’t open a portal out of the rubble, he can open portals out of Tempest. We can’t have him escaping.”
The duke glowered at me, but when Indon moved closer, his eyes shifted to the gargoyle and widened. He gawked at Indon while a soft, trickling sound came from nearby.
Frowning, I searched for the sound before glancing down at his filthy, torn clothes. My mouth dropped open when I saw the wet spot at his groin.
The Duke of Locke had just pissed himself.