Page 18 of The Gargoyle's Grace
My heart dipped, my fork scraping painfully against my plate. “The work camp?”
Magnus inclined his head in answer as he shoveled eggs into his mouth with a slice of toast.
“I could be convinced,” Vassago nodded. “I have to be back by the afternoon, though. I have a guest coming.”
“Shouldn’t take long. I’ll need to make a stop back here on my way out of town anyway.”
“Dare I ask?” I looked between them.
“You know what kind of people end up in the camp,” Magnus shrugged, though he seemed unusually pleased with himself.
“Yes, I do, which is why I’m concerned.” The Marchand girls’ parents had been the last recruits for the camps I was aware of. I knew exactly what kind of people ended up there. Only the worst kind.
“What kind of guest?” Magnus asked abruptly, as though what Vassago had said finally registered.
“Is it the chemist you mentioned?” I asked, glad to have any sliver of information Magnus didn’t. I knew my irritation with him wasn’t healthy or even rational, but it’s how we operated most of the time. It was the normalcy I needed to balance my emotions this morning.
“Yes, she’s coming to tour the campus.”
“She?” Magnus teased, his smile broad.
“Yes,she.” Vassago finished his breakfast with a polite dab of his mouth with his napkin. Looking every inch a regal lord, he leaned back in the seat with his coffee cradled between his hands. “I’m betting she’ll be either a good candidate to be a student, or perhaps a good addition to the staff. I believe her to be stone kin, as well.”
“This I’d love to see. We’ll be back as soon as possible,” Magnus promised.
As the men made off to collect their quarry, I cleaned up and prepared for my trip to the market. Just as I was headed out the doors with my list, they were coming back in, three stocky men in tow.
I blanched, my stomach giving a mighty lurch as I recognized them. That in itself was no easy feat as they’d been beaten quite severely already.
“Magnus,” I said, tearing my eyes away from the bruised faces. His expression was blank, and it was like I was looking at someone else entirely.
“You don’t have to worry about them anymore,” he said simply, voice raspy as though he were partially in his stone form despite the human face he wore. “I’ve brought them here so you could see for yourself. They’re no longer a threat to you. They never will be again, I swear it.”
“How did you…” I stopped, ice in my veins as it clicked together.
He’d been following me last night. All night. Not just into the woods. I wanted to be angry about it but couldn’t quite muster the emotion over the relief that I no longer had to look over my shoulder or seek these men out.
Vassago stood off to the side, looking thoughtful. Magnus had smears of blood on his face, hands, and clothing. Somehow, the demon had none. His silver vest and white shirt were as pristine as ever. How he’d managed that was a mystery, because I would have put good money on some of the bruises belonging to his fists.
Magnus shoved them all to their knees in the dirt, each of their heads lolling back on their necks as he grasped them by the hair. “Apologize to her.”
The first man’s mouth pinched tight. The second began to snivel, fat tears rolling down his face. The third spat on the ground at my feet.
“Now, that’s not very nice.” Vassago cuffed the third one soundly in the temple with the hilt of his sword. He looked more than dazed, pupils wide as he blinked through the pain and probable concussion.
“They’re much braver now that they’re not six ales deep and about to piss themselves,” Magnus mused.
“Are you sure they need to be taken all the way to camp?” Vassago asked, full mouth turned down in a frown. “Seems like a wasted trip. Nobody will miss them, but I could use a nice day flight.” He rotated his shoulders, loosening up the muscles around where his wings would emerge from.
“A swift death is too kind,” Magnus replied. “They should be on the right side of some hard labor for a while, I think, since taking advantage of others has been such a point of pride in their current employment.”
I shivered again, unused to seeing this colder side of him. I still wasn’t afraid of him though, which made me wonder what that said about me.
“Very well. How about now, boys? Are you ready to apologize to the lady?” The white-haired demon raised his blade menacingly.
They shifted on their knees, none of them brave enough to look me in the eye save a few shameful glances.
“Apologize.”Magnus’s voice was a low, thunderous threat. He somehow managed to use intense volume without shouting.
