Page 35 of The Gargoyle's Gift
Seir laughed, then his face abruptly became serious, and he nodded. “He’s right though, once put up they cannot be moved. It’s wise to be very, very sure.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Seir,”
“And you!” He jiggled my arm up and down once more, grinning broadly, his several additional pointed teeth showcased by the gesture. “This is going to be fun.”
“Quiet down!” my father shouted. “Everyone has been briefed of the plan, correct?”
“Yes sir!” was the majority response.
“We are to move as quickly and stealthily as possible. Your entry points are on your documents. Think of that place andonlythat place as you step through the doorway. It may feel a little disorienting but having a way to move in and out faster than we could fly is very important, understood?”
“Yes sir!”
“You have one hour to deliver your items. If for some reason, it is unsafe to leave one, move on to the next. The return portal is located on the grounds at d’Arcan. Enter at the observatory, and they will direct you from there. If you have items left when the hour is up, deliver them back here. Everyone is to check in at the meetinghouse once they are finished, clear?”
“Yes sir!”
I found myself giving the response as well, adrenaline pumping as Gaius squeezed my hand, then moved to the front of the pack to lead the group out of the infirmary with my father.
We crossed the square in front of the meetinghouse, proceeding toward the ancient tree under which celebrations were always held.
“If you don’t mind demonstrating?” Father asked Seir, who was positively giddy.
“Of course.” With another broad grin and an odd salute to the crowd of gathered stone kin, Seir stepped up to the trunk of the tree and… disappeared.
Several men gasped, jostling one another in jest that they would throw one another in.
“Oh, for saints’ sake.” I shook my head and reached for Gaius’s hand. “Ready?”
“Not a chance, Little Dove, but I’ll go with you anyway.” He dipped down and kissed me, and then, together, we walked into the tree. For several long moments, I felt as though I was being turned inside out and upside down… then we walked out through the smithy in the Barrens.
Gaius and I worked together, crisscrossing our area of the city in flashes of wings and moonlight. There were more stone-kin prancing across roofs, in the sky, and running around stealthily on foot than I’d ever seen in Revalia, let alone at one time.
Seir caught up to us just after we’d delivered my final necklace to a bronze letterbox. My father had also joined up with us, a broad smile on his face. Everyone was doing their job, but also having an immense amount of fun.
“It’s like Samhain,” Seir said with a grin, “except instead of children asking for treats, we’re delivering things. Oh! Or Yule! My brothers and I always tried to sneak around late at night to leave one another little treats when we were young. We’d always end up running into one another then just sitting around in the hallway opening them. Too tempting to wait until morning.”
“Demons celebrate holidays in such a manner?” Gaius asked.
“Of course we do!” Seir replied, shaking his head and waving a hand like Gaius was jesting. “Don’t stone kin?” Then he disappeared.
“Wait. Did you …?”
“I saw it too. Or rather, I didn’t see where he went.”
“He does that,” Father said. “Instant travel, portals or otherwise, is one of his powers.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” Gaius chuffed.
When the hour was up, we flew back to the conclave, finding a full-blown party underway at the meetinghouse. If there was one thing for certain, stone kin would take any opportunity for a celebration, even during hours better served by sleeping. I hoped nobody required my attention in the infirmary because of it.
As we walked past, several of the men made a point to thank Gaius for having them along for the fun, his shoulder was sure to be sore after all the thumping. I stepped to the side and let him have a moment, his gruff expression breaking into a smile as heshook hands, trying to sidestep away from the crowd so he could follow me.
I checked in with the aunts who had been left to collect any undeliverable pieces, and Gaius finally caught up as I reached the end of the infirmary building, only a handful of leftover items in my pocket.
“Your place or mine?” he asked.
“Presumptuous question, sir.”
