“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.