Flight of the Gargoyles: Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles, Book 4 by Rebecca Chastain

Author:Rebecca Chastain [Chastain, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mind Your Muse Books

8

Terror strangled my scream. My feet hung over open air. Lots and lots of open air. My chest scraped against the outside of the Splendor, my precarious fingerhold on a railing post the only thing keeping me from plunging to my death. Straining, I tried to pull myself up. My biceps quaked. I kicked my legs, searching for a toehold, but the airship’s rear wall curved inward, beyond my reach.

Craning my head up, I searched for a better purchase. The tail end of the stone marten dangled above me. The gargoyle clung by a claw to the ship, his one good onyx wing splayed, the other trapped against his body. I shoved a platform of air beneath his hind legs and heaved him onto the deck. Pain exploded in my brain, the magic overload darkening the edges of my vision. My hands slipped on the slick wood. Fire burned through my forearms. I couldn’t hold on much longer.

“Mika!” Oliver’s shout pierced the air. A carnelian meteor cut through the sky, Oliver’s glowing energy inside my head flipping to the dizzying location beneath me. Stone feet braced against my soles, and Oliver flapped hard, lifting me. It wasn’t more than an inch or two, but it was enough for me to get a better grip. I sobbed my thanks.

“Hang on. He’s coming,” Oliver panted, his words choppy as he strove to support me.

A warm hand seized my forearm, and a boost of air magic hit my feet. The tattooed man bent over the railing, his face shadowed by the Hopper above us.

“Let’s get you aboard,” he said.

“Hurry,” I pleaded.

Marcus could have lifted me with air alone, but this man was weaker, and it took a combined effort of muscle and magic to hoist me over the railing. The top board scraped my stomach and bruised my knee, but I hardly noticed as I flopped to the deck. My arms possessed the strength of cooked noodles, and my chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. Afraid I would vomit, I stayed on all fours instead of flopping onto my back. My savior collapsed to his butt beside me and gave me a wan smile. I tried to convey my gratitude with a nod, too winded to speak. The marten loped to my side, pressing against my wet pants. I stroked a trembling finger down his neck and tracked Oliver in my head. My friend coasted around the Splendor, staying airborne when I would have preferred to lock him in a hug.

“Marcus?” I croaked.

“Right here.”

A knot of tension in my gut unraveled at the sound of Marcus’s voice, and I would have collapsed if he hadn’t wrapped an arm around me, lifting me to my feet. His body heat seared my chilled flesh when I flung my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek to his bare chest. His heart pounded loud and fast beneath my ear, audible above the creaks and groans of the tethered ships and the raucous bird cries.

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