Page 42 of A Highland Gargoyle's Lucky Star
Kelwyn casts a quick glance at the older woman gargoyle, who turns her unnerving gaze in my direction. I shiver. There’s a powerful but invisible aura to her that she must have been tamping down earlier, but now I can feel it like a wall of energy in the room. “I am the Oracle of the DarkWing clan. I am the one who foretold your coming.”
I blink at her. Vaguely, I recall Elryk saying something along these lines before, but I’d kind of shoved it to the side of my mind when my libido took the driver’s seat and all I could think about was getting closer to the hunky gargoyle.
I steal a glance at my savior, who remains oddly stone-faced—no pun intended.
He’s being a bit weird all of a sudden, and I find myself frowning.
I focus back on the Oracle. “You had, like, a vision about me or something?”
She inclines her head gracefully. “I foresaw that a Conduit would be coming to us in our time of need.”
I look around at all of the faces watching me and can’t help but be confused. “Um, I don’t know what this Conduit thing is. I’mjust a guy who nearly got kidnapped and trafficked by a weirdo on the train.”
Although, now that I think about it, that was super strange. I really don’t know why I was targeted. Sure, I’m pretty decent-looking, but I can’t imagine that traffickers would be desperate enough to have me that they’d follow me on a train. Nor does it seem likely they hunt for victims on trains either. That would be highly inconvenient and riskier than most other options.
“You are the Conduit I have foreseen, Noah Price,” the Oracle says, interrupting my meandering thoughts.
“And what exactly is a Conduit?
Her answering smile is faint. “That is the more appropriate question to be asking.”
It’s my turn to arch an eyebrow at her. “Okay. Well, do you care to explain then?”
I hear Braewyn, who’s sitting on Elryk’s other side, snicker before he covers his mouth.
The Oracle, however, seems far from offended.
Her lips twitch. “The vision did not tell me that you would be so delightfully… feisty, but it is a good attribute for a Conduit to possess. You must be strong in spirit as well as character for what lies ahead.”
That doesn’t sound ominous or anything.
“You’re giving me all kinds of shades of mysterious right now, which is cool but also annoying. What exactly is it that you believe I’m supposed to do for you?”
She closes her eyes for a moment as if contemplating her next words.
“The DarkWing clan has long been charged by the Goddess with protecting a powerful magic that runs through our lands. It is centered around a ley line that feeds much of the magic in this world and is believed to be the first and most ancient source ofmagic in this realm. We are the Guardians destined to protect it from those who covet its power for themselves.”
My heart pounds in overdrive.
“Oh my freaking god. This is like something out of the movie,Highlander! Are you guys immortal? Can you only be killed by someone chopping off your head?” I gasp and then whisper, “There can be only one.”
Braewyn dissolves into knee-slapping laughter. “Hahahahaha! I bloody love this guy. So damn funny.”
Elryk grunts. “We are not immortal. Many things can kill us but decapitation definitely works.”
Braewyn wipes at his eyes, his laughter finally subsiding. “We’re tougher and harder to kill than a lot of species, longer-lived as well, but I’m afraid we aren’t like the characters from that film and television franchise.”
“Aw, nuts,” I mutter.
“Our clan works together to guard the line. We don’t battle each other, only the forces that try to attack us,” Elryk explains.
“I see. So you all guard this magical line from weirdos who want to roll up and be all Sauron-like in their agenda to become some evil lord of the universe or something?”
“Aye, that pretty much sums it up,” Braewyn says.
Kelwyn studies me for a moment. “There are sometimes lone individuals who seek power solely for themselves, but in other instances, we have many who come to battle us en masse. The DarkWing clan has successfully fended off all such attempts over the centuries, but we find ourselves in a difficult position now, one we’ve never faced before.”
I glance at Elryk, who’s getting stiffer by the moment and not in a good way.
