“Doing nothing is a mistake,” I said. Niamh disappeared into the house, and I called after her to grab a bag. “Waiting for them to trap me again is a mistake. Striving to protect myself is not a mistake. That basajaun will talk. Get ready to catch me if I fall out of the sky, though. That’s the only part of this plan I’m not real sure about.”

28

Niamh touched down on the mountain right after an exhausted Jessie, who still looked great despite it. She had that beautiful, swirly magic streaking the air behind her wings, the effect incredible. Female gargoyles were worth all the fuss. If only Jessie could get her magic working like it should, she’d be on fire.

All they needed was time. After this, hopefully they’d have a little of it.

If not for Austin Steele, they would’ve already lost her, Niamh had no doubt about that. They would probably still be searching for the lower cave opening, long after the team of mages had already moved her.

Faster than the males, Jessie changed into her human form and then sank to her hands and knees, panting with fatigue. With a thrum of wings, the male gargoyles landed all around them, Damarion changing immediately so he could go to her.

He clearly hadn’t gotten the—pretty obvious—hints that Jessie had been throwing out all morning. Whatever that gargoyle had done the other day, he’d completely lost her interest. Niamh could not wait to hear the story.

First, though…business.

Trees crowded in around them, cutting off their view, and hopefully the view of anyone in the area. That big ol’ basajaun could smell them, though, if it was around. Those things had sharp senses and mean tempers. Niamh did not want to tangle with one of them. She almost couldn’t believe Austin Steele was going along with this plan.

Then again, Austin Steele had changed. The shift had been subtle at first—Niamh honestly hadn’t noticed it—but it had been as blatant as the nose on her face since the incident at the cave.

Something had clicked over for him. A switch had been flipped. He’d become more of an active leader—and not in the chest-beating sense. He was confident, strong. He didn’t bother with Damarion anymore. It was like he’d stopped seeing the gargoyle as a threat. Niamh was very curious as to why.

There came the huge polar bear now, slinking in between two trees, stopping to stare as Damarion helped Jessie to her feet.

“Here.” Earl handed Niamh’s clothes over. “Though I’m not sure we should put them on. I fly faster than I run.”

“That ol’ basajaun isn’t gonna chase us. If it chases anyone, it’ll be Austin Steele or Damarion. Just trip one of those younger gargoyles to put more people between yerself and the beast, and cut in the opposite direction the others do. Ye’ll be grand.”

“Why Ivy House ever pegged you for a team player, I do not know,” Earl muttered, shrugging into soft white sweats.

“Neither do I.” Niamh put on her shirt. That oughta be good enough. Her lack of pants earlier hadn’t seemed to bother Jessie terribly much. Earl was right, though she hated admitting it—running was not the way she wanted to go if that ol’ basajaun got pissed.

“I’m good, I’m good.” Jessie pushed Damarion away. “Thank you. Ulric, do you have those flowers?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ulric pulled forward the somewhat crushed bouquet of flowers. Stuffing them in his clothes bag probably hadn’t been the best of ideas.

“Thanks,” she said distractedly, taking the flowers and glancing back at Austin Steele. “Are we in the right area?”

He huffed affirmatively, and then worked around the gathered gargoyles, slipping through the trees and padding over the slushy snow that hung around this high up. Dark clouds slid across the sky, promising rain, sleet, or more snow. At this altitude, maybe all three. Flying in that wouldn’t be much fun. For Jessie, it would be downright life-threatening. She’d need to accept Damarion’s help, although it was sure to be an awkward flight.

“Are you sure about this?” Earl asked Jessie as he caught up to her, his wings fluttering behind him in the wind.

Niamh pushed through the gargoyles to get to Jessie’s other side. “Given enough time,” she said, “we can find that other cave opening, Jessie. Ye don’t have’ta—”

“It’s fine. Honestly, this guy—basa… Why can’t I remember that name?”

“Bigfoot,” Earl said. “Dicks and Janes call them Bigfoot.”

“Right. He mentioned something about that. He doesn’t like being called a Bigfoot, though, since those aren’t real. Honestly, I’ve never even heard of the basa…” She huffed. “I think it’ll be fine. The reason I left Edgar home is so I could trade every edible thing on Ivy House property if need be. I think he’ll go for it.”

Austin Steele stopped and looked back at Jessie.

A trickle of adrenaline seeped into Niamh’s blood. They were here. They were about to see if the basajaun would meet Jessie calmly, or if he’d take one look at the army of gargoyles and the shifter he’d already turned down and raise hell.

“Get ready to run,” Earl whispered.

29

“Stay back,” I said, really hoping I hadn’t made a grave mistake, since everyone else seemed really put off by this creature. “Everyone stay back.”

“This is a fool’s errand,” Damarion said through clenched teeth, pushing up between Niamh and Mr. Tom, who were drifting backward. “That creature has incredible strength. More so than me or the bear. It will tear you limb from limb. Reconsider.”

“No. You weren’t stuck in that cage, helpless,” I said, fire rising through me. “I hated that feeling. I never want that feeling again. I will find those mages. That basa…ha…oon?”

“Very close. Good work.” Mr. Tom gave me a thumbs-up.

“He knows the location of the cave mouth.” I continued forward, my hand clenched around the stems of the flowers. “With that information, we have a much better chance of tracking those mages. We need to be on the offensive, Damarion. We need to be in a constant state of readiness. If we’re ready, we’re in control. I want to be in control of my fate.”

“I applaud your desire to be in control,” Mr. Tom said. “And when the time comes, I hope you will take control, and run to save yourself from this short-tempered creature. Let Austin Steele stay and fight. He’s more able for it.”

“Do you ever just think to yerself, if I wasn’t such an eejit, I’d have more friends?” Niamh murmured to Earl.

“You should talk. The only people who willingly speak to you are paid to. They serve you cider so as to improve your personality.”

“If only there was an easy solution for making ye more agreeable.”

“Here we go,” I whispered, tuning them out. A clearing lay up ahead, blotchy snow lying in clumps on the ground. Gray rocks rose away on the right, and I could see that was the way Austin’s snout pointed. That was where the creature likely sat or hid.

Now or never.

I stepped out beyond the tree line, and Austin moved to block the others from following me. He pushed forward until he was even with the last line of trees, directly behind me, his head peeking out, showing his presence but not engaging. Hopefully that was what it meant, anyway. And if it meant something else, hopefully it wasn’t something that would piss off the basa-whatever.

“She should’ve at least brought Susan,” I heard Earl murmuring. “It’s a fast little cut-and-thrust sword, great for sneak attacks. Get in, slash ’em up, get out.”

“What’s a small sword like that going to do against a basajaun?” Niamh asked. “It’d be like giving ’im a paper cut.”

“Paper cuts sting. That’d make the brute at least pause before backhanding her across the clearing. You can get a good sprint in during a pause.”

“Shh,” I said. They didn’t need to give the creature any ideas.

I edged out further into the clearing, and I wasn’t going to lie: having Susan along wouldn’t have been a bad thing, if only because it would have bolstered my courage.

Sitting on top of the highest rock sat a creature whose hair draped his body in dusky brown waves. He rose when he saw me, and slowly worked his way down to ground level, standing on the same plane as me. I had to tilt my head up to see his face and enormous nose, even from the distance across the clearing. He had to be nine feet tall, with ridiculously huge arms hanging at the sides of his massive upper body.

“This is, quite possibly, her worst idea yet,” Mr. Tom muttered from the trees.

I had to agree with him. The big guy looked a lot bigger when not viewed from above.

“Hi,” I said, and gave a stupid little wave. All of my cool confidence had gone out the window in the face of this massive creature. Now, standing face to stomach with him, not even remotely on a level playing field, with a bunch of smooshed flowers instead of a sword, I was definitely having second thoughts.

“How do you hide from hikers?” I blurted. I couldn’t help it.

“Oh.” He tilted his head at me, his wide nose shadowing his mouth. “How nice of you to ask. It is an art, really.” He looked behind him, found a flat part on one of the rocks, and sat. He crossed an ankle over his knee and put out his arms for inspection. “My coloring does help me blend in, but don’t fool yourself—it’s not easy being mistaken for a tree. I have no branches.”

“Is he not very bright, or does he think we’re not very bright?” Mr. Tom whispered much too loudly.

“The trick is standing very still. Also knowing where the hikers will pass you.” The creature motioned in front of him like he was peering through the trees.

“If I had to guess, I’d say he is the one who is not very bright,” Mr. Tom whispered, still much too loudly. “There are actual hiking trails, after all. It isn’t rocket science—”