Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
“She’s got nothing on me,” Withor said, much too angry for that to be true. “But are we really going to let her get away with this? She clearly violated your privacy, too, Gerard. You said as much.” He’d leaned forward as he spoke, his face red and spittle flying out of his mouth. “She violated our trust! I say we denounce her right here, right now. She’s not a real gargoyle. She got the magic from a house, of all things. She isn’t technically one of us.”
I finished my wine just as Mr. Tom walked in with another glass. This one had the potion in it that would allow me to see and hear Nessa and Sebastian once they took their invisibility potions. Austin refrained from the potion, wanting to use his senses for the mages so he could stack his abilities against the gargoyles’.
“Would anyone else like a refresh?” Mr. Tom asked.
“I would, my boy, thanks.” Gerard lifted his drink. “I’m flying home. You can’t get in trouble for drunk flying.” He paused, but when no one else ordered a refresh, he continued, “We’ve always maintained that to shift into a gargoyle, you must be a gargoyle. If you cannot, your abilities are latent. I’ve known guys that couldn’t shift, though it’s rare. They are technically garhettes, though they usually just leave the life behind and become Dicks. However she got the ability, she shifts, therefore she is one of us.”
“Let’s call a spade a spade—Withor is just pissed that she’s got dirt on him.” Nelson’s eyes glittered. “The question is, how powerful is this dirt and what can she do with it?”
“I won’t be blackmailing him, if that’s what you mean,” I said. “I will be watching him, however. I’ll be ready to help his people should they need it, in any way they require.”
Gerard’s brow lifted and he leaned back. “Whoa. This just got serious. What are you hiding, Withor?”
“It’s just that thing with the production cairn,” Withor spat before downing his drink. “She’s just trying to make it seem worse than it is.”
“It must’ve been pretty bad if she threw that production cairn leader out on his duff,” Eram said suspiciously.
“Well, what about you?” Withor demanded of Gerard and then Nelson. “What does she have on you?”
Nelson smiled and spread his fingers. “I got some rather nice little gifts nodding toward hobbies hardly anyone knows about. I’ll spare you the suspense—it’s just rock collecting and bird watching. I don’t fly with the guardians as much anymore. I don’t have to, you see, with a lead enforcer of Tristan’s caliber. I started collecting rocks and bird-watching to pass the time. She very nicely informed me that they weren’t embarrassing hobbies at all and I shouldn’t try to keep them hush-hush.” He rubbed his chin. “Nice touch, that. Very effective.”
I bent my head in thanks. Sebastian for the win.
Speaking of, he and Nessa slowly entered the room, invisible to everyone but me. No one seemed to be the wiser, except for Austin, whose emotions quickly registered recognition.
Gerard scratched his head. “Yeah, I got gifts. There was one little secret she found out about. I have no idea how. I won’t spare you the suspense. Keep guessing if you want—I’ll never tell.”
He was mostly joking, and that was good, because the idea hadn’t been to shame him for his foot fetish. We’d just given a nod to his “secret” so he’d know we were capable of digging deep.
Eyes turned to Eram, who scowled back at the others. We’d delivered him proof of embezzlement. He was only skimming a little off the top, but it would still reduce his status if people knew, not to mention have people question his leadership.
Patty was bursting with the need to tell people.
The message we’d been trying to convey, in addition to our power of discernment, was that these cairn leaders weren’t perfect and had better not judge me for not being perfect either.
I now doubted they’d understood.
“When’s dinner?” Eram barked. These guys had to be terrible poker players. “This meeting is getting tedious. I remember now why I hate being in your company.”
“That’s hurtful,” Gerard said, grabbing his new drink from Mr. Tom. “It’s not untrue, but it’s hurtful.” He winked at Mr. Tom. “Thanks, bro.”
“Dinner is ready to be served,” Mr. Tom informed us. “Shall we wait for the gargoyles now snooping through the second floor, or will we allow them to continue looking through all of our worldly possessions while you dine?”
“Let’s give it another few minutes,” Nelson said, swirling the contents of his glass. “This is a big house. I don’t want anything popping out at me that Tristan hasn’t inspected.”
“You’re sure giving him a lot of power over your operations,” Withor accused. “Word is, there’s starting to be some confusion over who is actually leading your cairn, you or him.”