Before the door slammed shut, Pops hugged me. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine. Go see your son." Troy smiled at me quickly before he and Pops were hugging Jesse, clapping him on the back, and talking to each other all at once. I watched them with tears in my eyes, grateful the three of them had been reunited, even if it was in jail. Rayne seemed unsure about what to do. I went and stood beside her and Laeddin, occasionally wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. Seeing men cry with joy was a sight I would never forget. The sheer happiness in that cell seemed to increase the light in the room. Once the initial hugging and expressions of delight were over, they lowered their voices and talked, their words rushed as they tried to catch each other up on all that had happened. I didn't interrupt. Nor did I use my abilities to listen in. They deserved some private time together.After a while, I sat down, pulling Laeddin with me. Rayne had already returned to her corner and appeared to be sle
Over the next two days, we discussed numerous ways for all of us to get out of the cage. The plan was simple. Pops and Troy would escape and take Jesse and Rayne home with them. After seeing the guards' reactions when bringing them in, we figured it would be best for Professor Pops and Troy to escape the castle immediately and come back for Jesse and Rayne when an opportunity presented itself. Since Laeddin and I couldn't leave without the piece of crown, we didn't get involved beyond planning to escape itself. Truth be told, once we were out and away from whatever magic blocked Laeddin's power, Laeddin could just pop us home. Easy as that. But, of course nothing was ever as simple as it sounded.Pops and Laeddin seemed to be fine without any basic human necessities, so what little food Pops and Troy had brought with them was divided between Troy, Jesse, and Rayne, and they finished everything within the first day. They seemed okay, especially Jesse and Rayne. In fact, they looked
Several flights of dull stairs later, we reached the main floor. Wide open with an enormous circular light in the center of the common area, it reminded me of the grand body of an octopus with its dimly lit tentacles going in every direction. Male and female gargoyles, mostly with some shade of brown or dark red wings, bustled around, busy with their jobs. Troy looked at Professor Pops. He winked. They intended to go through with the plan. In an instant, Troy shuddered into his dragon form. The gargoyle holding him jumped back in fear as Troy's body suddenly became very big and scaly. The gargoyles scrambled, looking to Vyne for instructions. "Get after them," he shouted, taking hold of Laeddin and me before we could escape. Jesse and Rayne fought against the gargoyle holding them, but they couldn't break free. Faster than I believed possible, Pops climbed on Troy's back and with one giant swoop of his wings, Troy launched himself toward the ceiling. It was probably a hundred fe
"A genie?" The emperor climbed down the steps, too excited to stay seated. "Fascinating! I've heard of your kind but believed you all dead. You must grant me three wishes."Laeddin cleared his throat again. "Indeed, I am the last of my kind. My brothers have all gone." My irritation at Laeddin momentarily fled at the mention of his brothers."And the wishes?" The emperor towered over Laeddin now, but Laeddin didn't balk."I am Laeddin, genie of the lamp, and I can only serve one master at a time.""So, someone else controls you." Disappointment softened the gargoyle's features. Well," he returned to his seat. "I am Jagg, high ruler of Garoth." He lifted his arms in the air as he spoke. "And I demand you accommodate me."Unfazed as ever, Laeddin bowed deeply. "Well, genie of the lamp, tell me who your master is," Jagg said, resting his elbows on the armrests. I shuddered at the tone in his words. If Jagg knew I was Laeddin's master, he would have me killed. There was no doubt about it
Skye appeared followed by Scotch and Rave. "Edge," Skye said, coming up behind him. "We have two mortally wounded. A dozen more have been taken to Avak. Where is the emperor?"Edge turned to face them. "Jagg is no more." "He's dead?" Rave pressed, searching the wreckage that'd once been the throne room. Most of the statues were only missing a chunk of rock here and there, but the statue of the woman with the bird-like wings was miraculously unscathed. She stared down at me kindly and I wondered if her statue was made of a stronger stone than the rest of the castle, or if it was protected by magic."He's gone," Edge clarified. "So he isn't dead?" Her expression alternated between confusion and worry.Edge shook his head. "No more questions, Skye. Not now." He spoke with finality. Skye bowed her head. "Yes, Liege." Amber burst through the rubble and immediately began organizing clean-up crews. Within minutes, dozens of gargoyles began clearing away the rocks and debris. At that pace
"Yeah, great, more magic," I said. Jesse laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Why are you taking me into this horrible mess?""Because you said you wanted to find Laeddin. I saw him. Come on." He took my hand, leading me after him. Together, we maneuvered through the crowd while Graves spoke with Edge. Then the green-clad man addressed the crowd. "I have I had a vision!" The room grew quieter still until only the occasional child could be heard. "In my vision, I watched Edge ascend the throne. He is meant to be the next high ruler of our realm." The group began talking at once. "Can it be?""The wizard cannot lie." Graves weaved his fingers together while he spoke. "Our people will be unified once again. All hail Edge the Courageous!" Just then I saw the genie climb the steps and take his place to the right of the throne. "Laeddin." I waved, trying to get his attention. He inclined his head, letting me know he saw me. Gargoyles who'd been fighting only moments before raised
"This is ridiculous," I said throwing myself into a chair. I was completely stressed out. So many emotions skittered through me, I didn't know which direction to turn. "We don't have time to be hanging out and attending celebrations. It's already been four days. We need to find that piece of the crown and get out of here." The world would become completely dark in a little over a month and we still needed four more pieces of the crown. On top of that, I needed to find out what happened once we had all of the pieces together. My worst fear was that I'd get the crown and it wouldn't do any good. I'd go against Sharra and she'd finally succeed in taking over my body. If I failed, the world would go dark and everyone I loved would be destroyed. The thought terrified me. I took a deep breath. The first piece of the crown had entered my body after I destroyed the assassin. Now, the only reminder that the crown existed came in the form of a single small diamond in the center of my
The castle buzzed with gargoyles moving about, getting ready for Edge's inauguration ceremony."Excuse me," I stopped one of the gargoyles rushing by."Yes?" She was a small female, and she looked frightened by me. "Can you tell me where the wizard's chamber is?" I tried to keep my voice gentle so I wouldn't scare her any more than I already had. Her eyes grew large. She pulled out of my grasp and pointed up. "Top floor." "Thank you." Jesse and I headed for the staircase she indicated and began to climb. On our way up, I asked, "So what's the story? Why did Edge want to talk to you?" We came to a landing and paused. Jesse went past me and continued up. As the silence lengthened, it became obvious he was having a tough time talking about whatever it was. I made a face before running after him. When we reached the top of the second landing, I tried again. "So?""What?" He feigned ignorance."The new emperor. Edge. What did he tell you?"Jesse went over to a nearby window, hopping up