Page 1 of Stone Heart
Chapter 1
He made his way to the front of the crowd, silence echoing throughout the night. His warriors lowered their attention to the ground, and the sea of bodies parted to allow him to reach his destination. He curled his upper lip into a sneer while he gazed at the tendrils of smoke still lingering in the air.
That air shifted slightly, as if it sensed the anger mounting in his chest. He stared at the empty sight of where the stone staircase ended.
He sniffed.
Sulfur.
A growl vibrated in his chest, and he stared at the one thing his people were to guard.
The portal to the Terra realm.
“How did this happen?” he asked through clenched fangs. He turned, taking in the faces of his gargoyle warriors.
Gargoyles—a winged humanoid race of soldiers have guarded the portals to the human realm for close to a millennium. Never before had something escaped through a portal and gone undetected.
His focus went back to the area where the portal appeared when opened, the clear night sky the perfect backdrop to the rooftop access to this world.
It was a highly protected area that sat on top of one of the tallest buildings in Cleveland. The Steel Bank building, an old run-down structure in the heart of the toughest area downtown.
To the human eye, the edifice appeared dilapidated, abandoned, even considered haunted. But it wasn’t. It was warded with the strongest of magic to hide something so powerful.
A portal that connected the Terra realm with a multitude of realms.
Portals were located in major cities across the world. Sydney, Las Vegas, London, Tokyo, Moscow, and Cairo.
All protected by gargoyle clans.
Rhodack Gahnoth, leader of Clan Gahnoth, waited for his head of security to respond.
Vikuth stepped forward, anger blazing in his eyes. His demonic face mirrored Rhodack’s scowl. His head of security had been with their clan since they were children. Vikuth had taken a pledge to serve Rhodack when they were younger and had never let him down.
“That energy blast knocked out all our sensors during the day. We came right away—”
“What crossed over?” Rhodack’s three clipped words were met with silence.
The gargoyles surrounding him shifted uncomfortably. Rhodack’s sharp eyes took in the group. He already knew the answer they feared to relay to him.
They didn’t know.
Someone wouldn’t knock out their power grid, burst through the portal, and not come through. This was a carefully thought-out plan. Whoever it was had big balls to attack the portal when gargoyles were at their weakest—during the day.
Something or someone was now in the Terra realm that didn’t belong.
“Not quite sure,” Vikuth admitted quietly.
Rhodack’s growl echoed through the air. His wings on his back shifted as his irritation grew. Rhodack was the strongest of the gargoyles in his clan. It was he who they looked up to, and it was he who was feared as the fierce defender of the realm.
He held his clan to the highest of standards, and this lapse of care was unacceptable. He stepped forward toward his longtime friend. He narrowed his eyes on Vikuth when he stopped directly in front of him. As the leader of the clan, it was Rhodack’s job to ensure the gargoyles warriors were at their best.
Vikuth’s steady gaze met Rhodack’s. Being his friend would not keep Vikuth from feeling the wrath of the clan leader. If anything, Vikuth would suffer more at the hand of Rhodack for the breach. It was Vikuth who was the head of security. He would answer to Rhodack on why something had crossed over under his watch.
The realm depended on the gargoyles for protection. It was the gargoyles who ensured this realm was protected from those who would want to tear the world apart.
“I want to know what the fuck crossed over and why, Vikuth. You and your men will not rest until it’s found.” Rhodack shifted his attention to the gargoyles standing behind Vikuth.
Vikuth nodded. “Yes, sir.”
