Page 57 of Etched in Stone
“You are not full Khargal,” Ray said, but to his credit, he slid to the side, removing most of his weight from Erlend’s chest.
“Nope. Half and half. You know, like the stuff they put in coffee. All good and perfectly harmless.”
“Most people that claim to be totally harmless are quite dangerous,” Ray replied.
“Yeah, I get that, I swear. Your girl over there was just filling me in on the situation.”
“Don’t you know the situation?”
“I’m beginning to think I don’t know the whole of it. I mean, I was told to bring this thingy to the top of the mountain or it would explode.” He reached inside his coat and pulled out a sigil. “A big boom, a couple of city blocks at least.”
Ray snickered.
“What?”
“You're an idiot to fall for that load of crap,” Ray said, standing up.
Erlend just lay there.
“You mean I have been climbing and starving up on this mountain for a grand load of crap?”
“The sigil isn't going to explode. Doesn't even have the capability to. It'll fizzle if they decide to activate the auto destruct, but that would be less dangerous than a toaster catching on fire.”
“A toaster on fire? You sure? I mean, maybe my source is more knowledgeable than yours.”
“I've rebuilt them from scratch. They don't go boom. It's impossible.”
“Then... why did he-”
“It's our ride home,” Ray said.
“We're gonna get sucked up into a spaceship and go travel the universe,” Jesse added.
Erlend was quiet. He sat up and looked at the pair.
“I think we've got a few more thousand feet to go,” Ray said. “I found a good place to wait, I think. It should be shielded from the wind.” He looked at Erlend.
“I can take her and then come back for you,” he told him.
“Aren't I a little big for that?”
“I'm not going to leave a Khargal on the side of a mountain so close to getting home.”
Erlend nodded and shrugged. “It's up to you. Now that I know I'm not carrying a bomb, well, there's no rush.”
Ray rolled his eyes and scooped up Jesse into his arms. With a few broad strokes of his wings, he flew up, spiraling against the air currents, getting higher and higher with each powered surge. Jesse did not want to look down. Even the trees looked tiny from up here. A large bird flapped below them.
“Wait, is that another gargoyle?” Jesse asked.
“Might be,” Ray said. He didn't look. He had his eyes glued to a large outcrop just above them.
He landed on it and settled Jesse there. There was a hollow place there for them to sit and wait.
“Are you sure it's high enough?”
“It should be. Honestly, I think anything above the tree line should be fine, but I don't want to take any chances,” Ray said.
“So Erlend might be fine where he is?”
