Magic of the Gargoyles: An Elemental Fantasy Novella by Rebecca Chastain

Author:Rebecca Chastain
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Occult, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror, Fantasy, New Adult & College, Paranormal & Urban, Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages), Genre Fiction, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Mind Your Muse Books
Published: 2014-10-19T23:00:00+00:00

10

I ignored the guard and knelt. The dragon hatchling loped toward us. His stubby legs hadn’t been able to keep up. I felt a twinge of guilt for having forgotten him, too, but mostly gratitude as my weariness faded with his magical boost. I tumbled a handful of seed crystals from my pocket and focused on the lion hatchling and the magic still leeching from his burned-off limbs.

The cub absorbed seed crystal after seed crystal, devouring my magic with them. Like Herbert, the cub’s four legs and wings had been burned away. Even with the dragon hatchling amplifying my power, my magic was clumsy by the time I got to the lion’s fourth leg. The elemental strands quivered with fatigue when I painstakingly finished the final wing. The lion hatching remained unconsciousness, but he was resting, not dying.

Vaguely, I was aware as I worked of the guard kneeling beside me, watching with rapt curiosity. When I leaned back, I went into freefall, then I was in the guard’s arms, supported against his broad chest. The dragon hatchling curled up against my sprawled leg, tucked his nose under his tail, and went to sleep. His magical amplification dropped away, and with it my consciousness. The guard shook me, and I fought against the darkness. Not yet.

I reached for the satchel and the final hatchling, but my arm wasn’t working right. It felt so good to relax against the man’s warm chest. My eyes drifted closed again.

“This looks cozy,” a woman’s voice said from above me.

“Captain!” The guard shifted and I dropped toward the floor, only to be caught before impact. “Uh, sir. I was just— She fainted and I— The gargoyle, sir, she healed it,” the guard stammered.

There was a commotion behind us, then Kylie was at my elbow. She grinned at me. “I knew you could do it, Mika.”

At her heels were two enormous gargoyles, one a pony-size onyx and amethyst gryphon, the other a cross between a goat and a winged pit-bull, but twice the size of either, with a body made of spotted green jasper. The temple floor shook beneath the gargoyles’ steps. Their eyes glowed with rage.

The guard’s grip on me tightened, and I thought I probably would have been afraid if I hadn’t been so tired. The goat-headed pit-bull sniffed the air, then bounded on huge rock dog paws down the stairs to the ceremony room. A handful of guards rushed after her.

The gryphon stopped at my feet and thrust her face in mine. Under the scrutiny of those fierce eagle eyes, I found it hard to breathe. Then her attention shifted, first to the unconscious lion in my lap, then to the dragon curled at my leg. When she spotted the scared cygnet, still injured and wrapped in my leather bag, she sat back on her haunches. A small blue-green winged panther slid from under the protection of her wings and landed at her feet, scurrying under the gryphon’s belly to peer through her thick legs.

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