he and Nadya stood their ground as two of the shrieking gargoyles swooped in from opposite sides to try and close in on them. Nadya waited for them to get close enough to see the black slits of their second pair of eyes before firing a short burst of automatic fire directly above them. The gargoyles parted and flapped away, getting close enough to the humans to slap the Amriany’s heads with the tattered tails at the ends of their bodies.
“Noises,” Milosh said with a crooked smile, “and a set of cast iron balls!”
Not far from the Amriany, Liam and Minh had their hands full. While Liam roared and swiped at the gargoyles, Minh kept her head down and did her best to avoid getting hit. As Paige watched, Liam turned one gargoyle into wet ribbons while another clamped onto his back. The Full Blood reached over both shoulders, grabbed the fleshy creature and ripped it away before howling with a pain Paige could actually recognize. He turned to bite another one in midair, giving her a good look at a strip of his back that had turned from a dirty white to light gray. Liam howled louder, arched his back and cracked the substance off him in what looked to be chunks of freshly dried cement.
Paige smiled and reached around for the spot where she’d been hit. The substance was still on her but had the consistency of paste. When she examined her fingers, she could feel it solidifying around their tips. The stuff broke away in a thick crust, taking a layer of skin along with it.
The Half Breeds weren’t content to stay within the trees. As Liam thrashed and fought with the gargoyles, the wretches surged out from hiding to attack the creatures that filled the air directly above the shoreline. Some leapt at the fliers, only to get their heads, shoulders, and upper bodies wrapped up. Others were brought down by several that enveloped them and didn’t let go until the solidifying paste was smeared over their bodies. Liam might have attracted more of the things, but was slashing too wildly to destroy very many of them.
In stark contrast to Liam, Minh kept her chest low to the ground and moved in slow, slinking steps. The gargoyles wound up either skidding along her back like stones across a pond or ignoring her completely. That stretch of good fortune ended when Cole rushed up to her and drove his spearhead into her side as if he’d finally chosen the perfect spot to plant his flag. Minh stood up and roared loudly, lifting him off his feet.
Paige stood up in the water, wiped off as much of the stuff from her back as she could and sloshed toward the shore. She was stopped by a gentle hand placed upon her back. Twisting around, she saw Tristan reaching out to her while crouching on the surface of the water as if the rippling reservoir had frozen beneath her feet.
“Let him go,” the Dryad said. “He knows what he’s doing.”
“Cole never fully knows what he’s doing,” Paige snapped. “And are you walking on water?”
“Yes,” Tristan said in a calm that seemed as out of place in the midst of battle as a woman did perched upon the surface of a lake, “and yes.”
Minh’s bellowing roar filled the air as the green glow in the water faded and died off completely. Tristan rose to her full height, displaying a perfect figure wrapped in veils of dark green and bright purple. With the water sprayed onto her flawless skin and the wind blowing around her, she became the spitting image of a siren lovingly depicted by the sailors who’d almost drifted to their deaths in pursuit of them.
It hadn’t taken long for Cole to regain his bearings. Still holding onto his spear with both hands, he curled his legs up to press both feet against Minh’s body. The spear came loose and he hit the ground on his side, leaving the wet stain of gargoyle innards smeared upon her fur. Almost immediately several of the gargoyles diverted their path to encircle her. Even though Minh slashed and roared at the flying creatures, she turned her gaze to Cole and bared her fangs.
“That’s it,” Tristan whispered as she closed her eyes.
Cole struggled to get to his feet and stood with his spear held in front of him. Paige could only watch for a second before she once again sloshed toward the shore.