as my head stopped swimming, I reached for my magical connection with Austin—I felt him at once, his presence strong and sturdy. He wasn’t dead, thank God.
“How’s Austin?” I asked.
“Right as rain. He took one of the pills.”
“He did?”
“Well…” Mr. Tom lowered the bottle a little. “He took one and threw it while giving me a threat, but…”
“Is he really right as rain, then?”
Clearly seeing that he wouldn’t get his way, he pursed his lips and deposited the bottle back on the nightstand.
“He is, yes. Already out and searching for those mages who grabbed you. I’ve never seen him so worked up. He is taking the situation very personally, which is not good news for them. Too late now, eh? I’m forever glad he is on our side.”
“He healed and everything?”
“Mostly. He has an amazing capacity for pain. I am, quite frankly, shocked. He stayed awake all the way home, asking for status updates on you. He didn’t change form until he reached Ivy House soil and Ivy House started healing you both.”
I let out a breath. “Amazing capacity for pain, yes. I couldn’t handle it. It was…”
Mr. Tom nodded solemnly.
I tried to run my fingers through my tangled hair before giving up. “All my failures with flying, and he put his life in my hands because he had faith I’d figure it out in time to save us both.”
“He’s a remarkable leader. He brings out the best in his people. And look! You flew!” Mr. Tom beamed, his scowl morphing into a proud smile that would have scared children. “When Ulric saw you, he stepped forward in such a rush that he burned his face on that barrier. Everything about your gargoyle form is perfect. It is a thing of strength and beauty, and you carried someone as muscle-laden as Austin Steele with those tiny little wings! Oh, what a treat to watch. Horrifying, and you surely shaved decades off my life span, but majestic.”
“Right, right.” I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and reached for my phone. “How long have I been out?”
“Two days. You had a lot of healing to do.”
“How long has Austin been on the hunt?”
“He’s been working on it for almost a day. As I said, he has a pretty incredible tolerance for pain. Last I heard, he was only finding dead ends. Those mages are advanced in their magic, and he doesn’t have a starting point because Damarion and his gargoyles couldn’t find the lower entrance to that cave. Once you were freed, they came back here with you.”
Damarion and his gargoyles.
They were supposed to be my gargoyles.
That problem would have to wait.
I sent a quick text off to Austin: Where are you?
To Mr. Tom I said, “I know a creature who can help us find the entrance.” I headed for the closest, my skin feeling strangely crackly.
“Oh, that basajaun? No, I’m afraid that is out of the question. Austin Steele tracked him down, but the creature wouldn’t tell him anything. He tried to subdue the basajaun, and Damarion tried to dominate it, but neither succeeded. Austin Steele worried he would kill the creature if it led to an altercation, and Damarion pulled back, which leads me to believe he feared he’d be bested. You have to be careful with basajaunak. They have large extended families and hold grudges. They are like a hairy, stinky mob. Kill one of them and their whole unit shows up and tries to claim vengeance. We don’t need that kind of heat.”
I shook my head, pulling on some jeans and a shirt. I clearly hadn’t appreciated the full extent of Austin’s prowess before. Handling that kind of pain not once, but twice, shrugging it off, and getting back out there to secure his home was… It was almost larger than life. It was unbelievable.
“Those two guys can’t even be in the same room without going for each other’s throats,” I said. “Clearly that…what was it? The hairy creature?”
“The basajaun. He came in when you were flying. Hairy, stinky, wild, prone to hold grudges…”
“Right, that creature. Well, clearly he’s cut from the same mold as Austin and Damarion. That, or the guys came on too strong, posturing and acting like macho idiots, and he wasn’t having it. I’ve got something he wants, though.”
“Really?” Mr. Tom followed me from the room. “What’s that?”
“Magical flowers.”
“I’m not following…”
My phone chimed, and I glanced at the screen.
Austin: At the bar. Organizing sentries throughout town. You okay?