Anir answered. "Star Trek costume. We've finally found our niche—twentieth-century science fiction conventions. We not only blend, but we keep winning the costume competitions. Talk about getting booty…and I mean that in more ways than one."
Seren gave him an arch look. Was that even English he spoke? Unwilling to waste time asking about it, Seren chose to ignore it.
"Why did you call us?" Garafyn asked.
"I need you. Kerrigan is in trouble and I need to return to Camelot to—"
"Whoa!" they said in unison.
Garafyn shook his head. "You can forget it. I'm not ever returning there again. Ever…ever…ever."
"Please," she begged. "Kerrigan needs you.I need you."
Garafyn narrowed his eyes. "And I don't care."
"Aye, you do."
Seren turned at the new voice to see Elaine nearing them. She'd met the woman only a time or two, but she knew from experience that Elaine was standoffish. She had an intensity that was sometimes hard for the men to take. She also expected only the best from people and tended to be a bit unforgiving.
"Greetings, Garafyn," Elaine said in a cool tone as she joined their small group. She looked him up and down. "My how you've changed."
Garafyn curled his lip. "Don't start on me, Elaine. A lot more than my appearance has changed. I no longer feel any kinship with you or the others."
"Really?" Her voice was thick with sarcasm. "I would never have guessed it, given how all of you turned on us."
Garafyn rolled his eyes as he sneered at her. "Yeah,we turned onyou …" He narrowed his gaze menacingly. "Use your head, woman…and I use that term loosely. Who's the friggin' gargoyle here and who isn't? Don't you think that if we turned on you, Morgen would have rewarded us with something more than this damned curse?"
Elaine's expression didn't change. "Given that it's Morgen…No."
Anir scratched his head with one claw. "She has a point there."
"Shut up, Anir," Garafyn snapped.
"Sorry, but she does."
"And I don't care," Seren said between clenched teeth as she added her own glare to theirs. "Right now, the only thing that matters to me is the fact that Kerrigan is suffering because he helped us. Now, who is decent and caring enough to help me rescue him?"
Garafyn let out a snide laugh. "For the record, that's not particularly motivating to those of us who pride themselves on being indecent and indifferent. Just FYI."
Seren clenched her fists and made a sound of disgust. "I don't understand half of what you said, but I don't care. Give me your key to open a portal to Camelot and I'll go alone."
"I don't—"
"Give me the key," she said, letting her demon show.
"Wow," Garafyn said at the sound of her demonic voice. "That's pretty damned scary. Good tone, and the red irises are a particularly nice effect."
He held the medallion out to her.
Before she could take it, Blaise did.
Seren growled at him.
Blaise stared her down. "Don't give that Kerrigan look to me, young lady. You don't know your way around Camelot. I do, and I'm not about to let you go alone."
"I'm with you," Elaine said, much to her surprise. Elaine didn't strike her as the type of woman to do something so foolish.
But in truth, Seren was glad not to be going alone.
They all looked at the gargoyles.
"Only four can go without warning Morgen," Elaine reminded them.
Garafyn let out an agitated breath. "I might as well be the idiot. This kind of noble stupidity is what got me cursed to begin with. Maybe I'll get lucky and Morgen will actually kill me this time."
"I would argue," Anir said, "but I'm still young and that really attractive redhead at the Star Trek party was making eyes at me." He clapped Garafyn on the back. "I've too much to live for. Good luck."
"I really hate gargoyles," Garafyn growled. He turned toward Seren. "All right, princess. Let's go die."
"Let's not," Elaine said. "But if we do get into trouble, I say we sacrifice the gargoyle."
Seren thought Garafyn might have made a face at her, but with a gargoyle one was never sure if it was a face or just his natural countenance.
Blaise held his hand out. The medallion was wrapped around it. Seren covered his hand with hers, then Elaine and finally Garafyn, who still looked as if he didn't really want to do this.
They faded from Avalon, then appeared in a small, empty room in Camelot.
Elaine grimaced at the black and gray color scheme of the spartan place. There were