Part 41 (2/2)
”How?”
She pointed to the nearest gargoyle, a fearsome beast with the fangs of a lion and the wings of a bat. ”I need to get up there.”
”Up there?”
”Yes, on top of the pedestal.”
Blaine did not want to go anywhere near the gargoyles. ”Won't it wake?”
”It might, but it's a chance I'll have to take.”
He noticed the others had drawn close, crowding behind him, judging him with their barbarian eyes. Feeling their stares he knew he didn't have a choice. ”My sword is yours.”
She gave him a half smile. ”I don't need your sword, just a leg up,” but then her face turned grim. ”Don't touch the stone, don't even brush against it.”
He nodded, finding it suddenly hard to swallow.
Looking past him, Kath nodded to the others. ”Get back from the gate. Keep well away from the gargoyles,” her voice trailed to a whisper, ”for I know not what they'll do.”
Bear and Boar pushed forward, their weapons unsheathed. ”Let us fight for you.”
She gave them a soft smile. ”Loyal and brave, you'll both fight by my side in the citadel but not here. Honor my wishes and stand with the others. Swords, no matter how stalwart, cannot prevail against stone.” Kath hefted the crystal dagger, holding the milk-white blade aloft. ”This is the only weapon that can damage such a foe...and by the will of the G.o.ds it's mine to wield.” Sunlight danced along the blade. For half a heartbeat she seemed more than a mere girl.
The others backed away, their faces fierce with blue tattoos. Hands on weapons, they stood thirty feet from the gates, every stare locked on Kath.
Sighing, Kath sheathed the crystal dagger, and then turned her stare toward Blaine. Any trace of uncertainty was buried beneath a mask of stone. ”This way.” She led him around the back of the nearest gargoyle. ”This one will do.”
Even from the back the stone beast looked menacing.
”Give me a boost up but then get away. And take care, lest you touch the stone.”
”What are you going to do?”
”What I must.” She gave him a half smile. ”End a nightmare or die trying,” but the smile did not reach her eyes. ”Tell Duncan I love him.”
He stared at her, lost for words.
”It's time.” She drew him toward the monster's pedestal, stopping a dagger's length from the stone.
The beast's malformed shadow loomed overhead.
Blaine's mouth went dry but he did not flinch. Lacing his hands together, he bent down as if to give her a boost onto a tall horse. Kath set her left boot in his hands and leaped up. He pushed, straining to give her extra lift.
She vaulted upward, her hands catching the lip of the pedestal.
Blaine edged away, expecting the beast to pounce, but the gargoyle remained frozen.
Kath swung up onto the pedestal, dwarfed by the stone beast.
Steel hissed from leather. Blaine unsheathed his blue sword, but the gargoyle remained lifeless.
Kath stood on the pedestal, staring up at the gargoyle. The monster reared over her, thrice the height of a tall man, a nightmare cast in stone. Kath drew the crystal dagger, her voice a whisper, ”For Honor and the Octagon!” She touched the dagger's tip to the statue's flank. Crystal touched stone yet the gargoyle remained quiescent, nothing but a statue. Kath stepped forward and disappeared into the gargoyle.
”By the G.o.ds!” Blaine staggered backwards, his sword clutched in his fist. She'd disappeared into the stone! He hadn't known what to expect, but not that, never that! His heartbeat thundering, Blaine joined the others, his stare locked on the gargoyle.
At first he thought it was a trick of his eyes, but then he was sure. The statue moved! Muscled rippled beneath stone as the beast awoke. Wings unfurled and claws reached for the heavens. Jaws of a lion, claws of a dragon, wings of a bat, the great stone beast rose to its full height. Its huge jaws stretched wide and then snapped shut, as if it had swallowed something it did not like. The beast clawed at its own belly, stone raking against stone. It writhed upon its pillar, its claws making an ominous sound, but it did not roar.
And then it suddenly stilled...frozen once more.
Blaine held his breath.
The steppes went quiet, not even a breath of wind stirred.
The world seemed to wait.
The gargoyle shuddered. The great head reared back, jaws gaping wide.
Blaine thought he heard a sound, like the release of a long held sigh.
Without warning, the gargoyle exploded. Bits of stone blew in all directions. A piece of jaw thunked into the steppes. A clawed talon landed near Blaine's left boot. He staggered backwards, his hands raised to guard his face.
The rain of stone stopped.
The dust cleared.
Kath stood alone on the pedestal, the crystal dagger raised to the heavens.
”Svala!” All around him, the painted warriors knelt, a single word on their lips like a prayer. ”Svala!”
They knelt, but Blaine would not bend the knee. Instead, he kept watch, his blue sword gripped in his fist.
Eleven more gargoyles remained. Blaine expected the others to fight, but instead they knelt. They knelt, their clawed hands extended in supplication.
Kath leaped from the empty pedestal and strode to the next gargoyle. The great beast wrapped its hand around her waist and lifted her to its chest, clasping her close as a lover. Kath melted into the statue. This time the beast did not fight. Throwing its head back, it uttered a long held sigh...and then shattered into a thousand pieces.
Kath stood alone atop the pedestal.
All around him, the painted warriors cavorted and laughed, shouting the word ”Svala!” like a prayer or a triumph.
Blaine watched as Kath moved from one gargoyle to the next. Each time the gargoyle gently lifted her to its breast. When she entered the last beast Blaine dared the roadway, walking to the beast's pedestal. The last gargoyle shattered into a rain of stone, but somehow the pieces missed him.
Covered in rock dust, Kath stood on the pedestal, pale as a ghost, dark shadows beneath her eyes.
”You did it.” He reached up to help her down. She felt light in his arms, as fragile as gla.s.s.
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