Page 44 of Cruelly Fated
Heads lifted and unease rippled through the room like a current. But not from the gargoyles. No, they didn’t even act surprised. Their gazes remained pinned on me, their hands fidgeting now and legs bouncing.
My jaw tightened, and my muscles coiled, spurred on by the dragon’s instinctual fight mode.
Darkness descended over the mess hall. Then the generators stuttered to life, but only emergency lights came on, one by one in an eerie sequence. Something didn’t sit right with me. If theprison didn’t have full power, some of their systems would be down. The question was which ones?
The gang got up, grinning maliciously. Each planted a sneakered foot with their foolproof security anklet on the table. In perfect sync, they pressed a release button that should’ve only worked for the guards, and their bracelets sprang open, clattering to the floor.
Overbearing silence fell over the hall, then chaos erupted.
Inmates who’d been watching, let out wild whoops and cheers, some following suit and unlocking their own restraints.
Fuck.They’d hacked the prison’s security?
The gang members lunged into the air, shifting mid-flight into their stone-skinned gargoyle forms, and landed around my table like a pack of winged wolves.
I rose to my full height, rolling my shoulders back and letting a snarl curl on my lips. If this was how they wanted to play… My fingers drifted toward the cuff on my own ankle.
“Uh-uh.” The leader clicked his tongue.
My gaze followed his. Behind him, two of his men held Old Pete in a choke hold. One razor-sharp claw hovered inches from the old man’s throat. Allie’s grandfather gasped, his face drained of color, and his gaze set on me. They were using my only protégé as their leverage.
“Leave yours on,” the leader hissed, his voice barely human. “Or he ends up like them.” He pointed at lifeless bodies strewn around us.
Guards lay sprawled, their blood pooling into puddles beneath them. Quick and silent deaths. Who knew gargoyles were this efficient? I grimaced at the piles of tables and chairs in front of the doors. They would slow down reinforcements. I would have to play this out smart to make sure I lasted long enough.
My dragon clawed at the inside of my ribs, begging to be let loose instead. Heat swelled beneath my skin, and steam curled from my nostrils. One twitch of my fingers and the stone-hearted bastards would become gargoyle smithereens.
But Pete…
I glanced at the old man. I had grown fond of him. And then there was Allie. I’d rather die defending her family than be the reason she suffered another loss. I backed my hand away from my ankle and, straightening, I lifted both hands, palms out.
To my left, a gargoyle let out a low, grinding rasp. The others clicked their claws against the floor in some sort of code. I cracked my neck and knuckles, feigning ease. We had all the time in the world to start this brawl, right?
I lunged.
Relying on surprise to tip the scale in my favor, I collided with the small cluster to my left. I drove one gargoyle into the wall and flung another over the table. Yelps and crunching of stony bones filled the air.
I whirled as a tide of snarls and wings surged toward me. Outnumbered didn’t begin to cover it. Dozens of fists pummeled my body. I gave up trying to guard my ribs and shiftedmy strategy to inflicting as much damage as fast and precisely as I could.
I had to last. For Pete. For the slim hope that someone was on their way. And because, for the first time in a long, brutal stretch of years, I cared if I came out alive. Because ofher.
The creatures slashed at me, the edges of their wings sharp as razors, slicing air and skin alike. Blood soaked through my shirt and dripped down my sides. My limbs began to lag, each reaction slower than the last. A grunt tore from my throat as something heavy slammed into the back of my leg, buckling me.
They wanted me on the ground. Easy prey. Cowards.
I caught the next gargoyle by the throat and squeezed until I felt the cartilage crack and give with a sickening pop. His head lolled to the side like a snapped marionette. I swung his limp body into the wing coming at me from the left, using the dead as a shield against the living.
Didn’t matter. His comrades shredded him like meat, talons tearing flesh from bone until the remains collapsed into a puddle of gore at our feet. Two of them slipped, stumbling face-first into the blood-slick floor.
My footing faltered on the mess of limbs and liquids.
Six gargoyles hunted me now, crouched low in a crescent shape, their claws clicking rapidly against the tile. Careful not to trip, I stepped over a dismembered arm as I repositioned near a cleaner patch of floor.
The dragon inside me huffed, hot breath rising through my nose in angry streams. He was caged, but not muzzled.
I flicked a glance toward Pete. Still alive and pinned beneath a curved claw.
The gang leader leaped onto a table, his talons scraping the metal top, and let out a deep rattling croak. The gargoyles herding me hissed back in response.
