Further on, I found that the rest of the enemy had been trapped between the mage’s magical wall and the shifters. No contest. The only experienced enemy had been up near the house, and we’d taken care of those early. These had clearly run at the first sign of assault. I hadn’t saved all that many. Time had not been on my side.
I took to the sky with the rest of the gargoyles, soaring above my woods, real darkness descending now, but no more glowing creatures remaining. In the front I found Edgar in a swarm of insects, zipping after a leather-clad woman, who was chasing a large gray sort of humanoid. Was that the golem that one of the neighbors kept in their basement? It must’ve been.
I dove down next to Edgar. “Ah-tzz gooo-in ohh’n?”
He popped back into his vampire form but kept running, much slower this way. “Oh, hello, Jessie. The golem got out, which was very helpful for the battle, but he’s about to get away, and I’m not sure this town needs any more nightmares. Can you scare him back the other way? He needs to be plunked back in his basement.”
“Daaa ooo’man?” I asked, hoping he caught that I was asking about the woman.
“Oh, her? Well she’s angry because the golem killed a bunch of her people and she’s trying to kill him. But don’t worry, I’ll deal with her, if you could just get that golem turned back around…”
Honestly, I had better things to do.
I rose into the air and pointed at a couple of the gargoyles, Darid and Jim. Or was it Slith? I always mixed them up. I gestured toward the golem and made a circle in the air. Round him up.
They flew forward, lagging but managing. As I headed toward the front of the house, I noticed the magical shields set up by our extremely vanquished foes were still in effect, shimmering like I’d expected the magic in the woods to shimmer. The battle that had raged there, in a very tight vicinity, was evident in the many bodies piled up on the lawn. Those who’d survived the mounted spears had been done in by the poison fog. If they’d survived the fog or managed to skirt around it, as a few had, probably the mages, they’d succumbed to the grass giving way under their feet and dumping them down into a pit of spikes.
I hadn’t even known those were there. Ivy House’s defenses seemed endless, and I still hadn’t needed to use any of the ones that would seriously deface the property.
The three people who’d made it through the front yard fun run had clearly found Edgar, who had to be plenty full and would no doubt sleep for a long time after this. He’d picked up the slack without having been told to. He might be weird as all hell, but he was a keeper.
Silence settled over the property, that strange absence of sound after the conclusion of the yelling, screaming, and clashing sounds of battle. We had a lot of work cut out for us tonight. There were a lot of unmarked graves that needed digging.
As I put my hands to my waist, gulping in the air and letting the stress of the evening die away, I heard, “Jacinta McMillian, you have some serious explaining to do!”
One battle down, one to go. I had to deal with my parents. There was no way they could ignore magic after this, but worse, they’d now know the danger that came with this new life. I just hoped it didn’t cause any mental breakdowns.
Fortunately, it had to wait until after we got rid of the evidence. I had some time to stall before I faced the music.Twenty-FourDirt on my face, in my hair, and arms limp as spaghetti, I sighed as I looked over the front yard.
“I’ll have this fixed up in no time, Jessie, don’t you worry.” Edgar wiped his forearm across his dirty face, leaning on a shovel beside me.
The bodies had been cleared away and given a resting place in the woods of Ivy House, to be called upon again when we had a need. The motorized magical spears had been shined up and then tucked back into the ground, covered over for now, although they’d left behind scores of dirt in thick lines through Edgar’s lush grass. Little divots also dotted the greenery from where the nozzles had risen with the poisoned fog, perfectly visible, since the lights at the base of the house still shone.
I nodded at Edgar and made my way to the back of the grounds, mostly intact except for the patches of crushed flowers. Austin emerged from the trees, his chest bare and smeared with dirt, the gray sweats covering his lower half equally dirty. Logan, the barrel-chested guy from the bar who had once offered to help me kill and bury one of my internet dates, walked beside him. He’d been one of the wolves. On the other side walked a guy I didn’t know, with a bald head, light blue eyes, and a strong but lithe body clad in purple house sweats except for his bare chest.