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)
Ivy House was ratting Nessa out!
She poked Sebastian and pointed at the image.
“Yeah, so I just left it for now.” Jessie shrugged. “I’m sure something can be done with it. A focal point in a garden or something. It’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but…yeah.”
“What about his?” Mr. Porsche pointed at Withor, a name so bad he required no disparaging nickname.
“You don’t see it, do you?” Withor asked grumpily.
“I actually really enjoyed that piece,” Austin said. “I thought it was very well done.”
“Oh yeah?” Mr. Porsche, who just could not sit still, threw his arm over the back of the couch. Sebastian narrowly dodged it. “What does it look like?”
Austin described it as Nessa pointed at the doorway. “Let’s go spy on the guardians and see if they notice.”
“I’m actually going to put it in an art hall we’ll be setting up,” Jessie said, glancing their way with tight eyes. It meant she was worried about them.
They’d be fine, though. If they needed backup, Ivy House would intervene. Probably.
“I’d say that I would invite you to see it when it’s done, but I’m not sure I could tolerate the company,” Jessie said in a flat tone as Nessa and Sebastian exited. Most of the room erupted in laughter.
“She was being dead serious,” Sebastian whispered. Technically they could talk at full volume, but whispering just felt safer.
“That’s what makes it so funny. Wait, we don’t even know which area of the house we’re going to.”
“I’ll just go check on the place settings,” they heard Mr. Tom announce in the sitting room. “I assume dinner will begin shortly…”
His annoyance was unmistakable, and Nessa couldn’t help but chuckle. Only Mr. Tom would passive-aggressively chastise the biggest leaders in the gargoyle world, his employer included.
“But seriously, Jessie Ironheart, tell me…” Mr. Porsche let the words hover for a moment. He was the only one that didn’t sound patronizing or condescending. “What sort of cairn are you actually looking at establishing?”
Mr. Tom turned the corner with his chin held high and an unmistakable air of importance. If Nessa hadn’t known better, she’d have assumed he was the most influential person at this gathering.
“Wait, I want to hear this,” Sebastian said, pausing. “You go on.” He motioned her forward before heading back into the sitting room.
Nessa didn’t want to hear. They were probably about to poke holes in Jessie and Austin’s setup.
Those two would never have a bona fide cairn. Not like these gargoyles. They’d never have a bona fide pack, either, because they were inviting all manner of creatures to join them. The idea of fitting in with a mage organization was just laughable. They were the red-headed stepchildren of the magical world, the misfits on the outskirts of “normal,” and they’d be the best there was because of it. These guys wouldn’t understand until the truth of it hit them in the faces.
She saw now why Sebastian’s plan was a necessity. Handling an attack would be the proof. It would be the evidence of this territory’s greatness that slapped them in the face.
If only she’d had more time to prepare. As it was, trying to get it organized was like cupping water in her hands and trying not to let any leak out.
Mr. Tom put out his hand to silently shepherd Nessa in front of him. When they were down the hall a ways, he softly whispered the few rooms she would probably want to head to.
“Take the hidden tunnels,” he added, stopping by the wall and touching a spot that looked like all the other spots around it. A door popped open, no lines or cracks hinting at it the moment before. “The house will guide you.”
She knew that well enough, though she didn’t really want to be trapped in the bowels of this place without Sebastian.
The shove ended her hesitation, and Mr. Tom shutting the door behind her dunked her into complete darkness.
“Oh hell,” she said, spinning around and feeling for the door. “I can’t do this. This isn’t the sort of courage I possess…”
A light clicked on behind her, an eerie pale blue.
“Is that better? I’m not sure.” Shaking and not afraid to admit it, she turned slowly and stared at what looked like a stone mouth.
Down the way, another light illuminated the narrow passageway.
Sebastian had described these passageways to her. He’d worked in the deep parts of the house for a while now. She’d never ventured into them, though. Honestly, she’d never been invited. Apparently this was her chance, like it or not.
“Definitely not,” she murmured, following the tunnel slowly. When she got to the next glowing orb, not even really a light and without any sort of wiring she could discern, another lit up farther down the way. Then another, until she was following the house’s lead up a set of creaky, narrow stairs with walls on either side.