Forever The World of Nightwalkers - By Jacquelyn Frank Page 0,92

he didn’t have time to spin long yarns of explanation, it was best to avoid the topic altogether for the moment. Diahmond was very thoughtful, exhibiting an even calmness of approach that was not present in very many Gargoyles. They had been built for battle and for rough work, and with that came aggression and fortitude and very little inner peace to temper it. A Gargoyle’s temper was one of its greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses. In a rage they were nearly unstoppable, stone juggernauts that plowed through their enemies by the dozen … but that rage also blinded them to their moral compass, hazing the line between right and wrong.

They all waited until after Max hurriedly took his leave, all of their eyes trained on the dark reaches of the property in front of them. The landscaping was vast, from perfectly manicured to wild woods, and their potential enemy could come from anywhere before them.

“There,” Ahnvil said, unsurprisingly being the first to spy the hulking figure on the drive. Not via the woods or over the walls, but the drive, with its white stones making it a bright beacon through the dark.

Jackson didn’t wait any longer; he walked forward, the stones sharp beneath his bare feet and keeping him highly aware of his surroundings. That and almost ten years of being a cop. When he stopped, his phalanx of Gargoyles halted with him. Until Ahnvil suddenly changed form and leapt in front of Jackson, his huge bulk blocking Jackson’s view of the approaching stranger.

“Ahnvil!” he barked.

“Kamenwati,” Ahnvil snarled.

Kamenwati. Now he expression on his faceed. i understood Ahnvil’s reaction. To his right he saw Ihron bristle, his flesh turning to stone in a ripple of gray as he shook himself and snarled like a wolf in a pack, his blood running as high as his clansman. Of course any of them would bristle at Kamenwati’s closeness. After all, he was Odjit’s right arm. But for Ahnvil and for Ihron … Kamenwati was their creator. He had been the master of these hulking creatures and the gods only knew what humiliations and torments Kamen had forced upon his pet Gargoyles. Jackson placed a hand on Ahnvil’s arm, feeling the rigid, immovable mass of stone that he was. But he knew Ahnvil could feel him.

“I know this is difficult for you, my friend,” he said softly, “but you must stand behind me and allow me to face him. There’s nothing to fear. I have the three of you at my back and he is alone. He would be very foolish to provoke us.” Although, he had often considered Kamen to be more than a little mentally unbalanced. Not necessarily in the avaricious, borderline psychopathic way that his mistress was … but not quite all there either.

Since there was no moving Ahnvil if he didn’t want to be moved, Jackson was forced to step around him, his relatively slighter build slipping between the wall that was Ahnvil on one side and Ihron on the other. He turned his back on the approaching figure just long enough to give them a harsh look.

“You are independent beings and far be it from me to tell you how you should feel, but I am still ruler here and if you wish to remain with us you must listen to the commands I give you, no matter how distasteful it may be to you in that moment. You are free to leave, of course, but until you take your touchstones elsewhere and bid me farewell you will adhere to my rules and my wishes.”

He turned to look back at Kamenwati, whom he had heard come to a halt several feet away. And that was when he saw the blood-soaked man Kamenwati held against himself. He was so drenched and caked in the stuff that he almost seemed like he had been thickly painted with it, making every part of him unrecognizable.

“I bring this man to you, for I believe he is yours and you call him friend,” Kamen said, sounding as though he were in pain and out of strength himself. “But he is near death, so come and fetch him quickly.”

The words made Jackson freeze in place for all of a heartbeat.

Leo.

Leo!

With a roar of fury Jackson ran forward, barreling into Kamenwati, ripping away his grasp on Leo even as he drove him into the stone drive, their bodies crunching over it as they slid to a stop. Jackson pulled his weapon out of pure habit,