Chapter 2 – Edgar
EDGAR
It’s nearly midnight when the shifter finally appears at our meeting place. Irritation rises within me. I am the leader of the gargoyles. I shouldn’t be left waiting.
For any reason.
“Is it done?” I ask.
He twists his hands. “I gave the siren the enchanted book.”
“Did she assure you Lamia would get it?”
He stares down at his twisting hands. “She said that her friend would appreciate it.”
My glare sharpens. “We need to draw her out. Do you understand?”
He nods, even though I know he doesn’t.
My teeth clench together, but I dig into my jacket and produce the well-wrapped book. “Per our agreement.”
The shifter reaches for the book, but I don’t let go when his hand clenches around it. “But if you failed in your job, I’ll come looking for you. And you won’t like what I do.”
He nods, and I let go of the book.
I watch until he disappears into the shadows, and then I release a slow breath.
Another voice, that of a woman’s, comes from the darkness behind me. “Do you think it’ll work?”
“Lamia is the most dangerous female monster of legend. She cannot control herself. Dangling such an enticing carrot before her will draw her out. And when she starts killing, it’ll show what I’ve been trying to remind my people. That a monster is a monster, no matter how pretty.”
“They still won’t kill Medusa or Keto.”
I feel every muscle in my body tighten. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you see the world as a chess game.
Every move has consequences. Every move takes you closer to your goal.
By forcing Lamia out into the world, I am not killing Medusa and Keto in one sweep.
Nor am I convincing every gargoyle that we must return to the old ways.
But I am moving a piece to where it must go.
And from there, everything else will fall into place. ”
“And what if she’s successful?”
I laugh. “The map will ask her to collect some of the most well-guarded, powerful items imaginable to achieve something close to impossible. No one will be able to survive those tasks. Especially not her.”
“You sound confident.”
I smile. “That’s because I am.”
A monster is a monster, no matter how pretty.