Page 75 of The Huntsman's Heart
“That is a problem,” Corvin says in a low tone to Évandre. “If we release him, he could easily outpace us if we cannot fly, even if we could follow.”
“What if I carry your stone blocks?” I ask him.
He turns to me surprised. “You would do that?”
“I would do anything if you will help me get to the princess.”
At this, his hard expression softens. Corvin and Évandre share a look. Raban trots back into the courtyard and drops his stone at his feet. “Well? Are we going?”
“Why not just leave him here and go ourselves?” says Corvin.
“Leave me if you must, only go. Quickly.”
Évandre hums. “No. I do not think that is wise. Alaric knows the area. He can guide us.”
Corvin sighs. “I hope you are right, Raban, that we can trust him.”
“I know I am.” Raban begins untying my bonds, and Corvin sighs but moves to help him.
Soon my hands are free and I can untie the belt around my ankles and stand. “You will not regret trusting me. There is only one thing that could make me do harm to the princess. Or to you. If I feel the call, you must promise to restrain or destroy me.”
“Will you know?”
I nod. “I will.”
“Then we will watch over you,” says Évandre.
Varkhul, Knochenwolf, and Grimmfang whine as we saddle Tharrok and head toward the gates. Raban kneels to scratch behind their ears. “We will return. Don’t you worry. You must stand guard until we do.”
They bark as we leave the castle ruins, but there’s nothing to be done about it. I could not carry their stones as well as the three I already have. Two I fix to Tharrok’s saddle and the lastI carry on my back myself. The gargoyles laugh as they spread their wings and disappear above the treetops, and I have more than a few moments of jealousy wondering what it would feel like.
Tharrok snorts in disdain and flicks his tail across his flank. He hasn’t stopped fidgeting with the makeshift sling we made to allow him to carry two of the heavy stone plinths since we left Havenrock. The third hangs on my back in a pack we fashioned from old curtains, so I know how he feels. Raban drops through the treetops laughing. “It feels good to fly.” He brushes pine needles from his hair, casting me a sideways look with a shy smile. “Let me carry that for a while.”
I huff. “I said I would carry them and I will. Did you see any sign of her?”
He shakes his head. “No. We cannot see much through the trees.”
I am worried. I still cannot sense any dead things nearby. What if she has borrowed every vessel from the castle to Blackthorn? The thought chills me.
As if sensing my mood blackening, Raban places his hand on my shoulder. “We will find her. You will see. She is strong.”
“She is also stubborn. I hope that means her spirit will hang on instead of going…wherever it is that spirits go after they are done here.”
“Do you believe in paradise?” he asks.
“I do not believe I will go there if it exists.”
“What about me? Do you think I have a spirit?”
I look around at him, surprised. “What else is it that brings the stone to life?”
“I hope so. Then if the princess has gone, maybe I can follow.”
I hope quietly to myself that she has not, but the motive is selfish, so I say nothing. Guinevere clearly belongs in paradise. And if her gargoyles can eventually join her there, it is only me who will suffer if she has.
There’s no sign of Évandre and Corvin. Raban and I walk on for a while in silence, but a comfortable silence. The straps of the pack dig into my shoulders, and we are slower than I would like. We’ll have to stop at daybreak too. I’m of two minds about whether to be faithful to my word and stay with the gargoyles or try to go on alone once they are stone. Tharrok will need to rest, though. And I find the thought of betraying them less palatable than it would once have been. If it is anything like last time, I will need their help to save Guin anyway. I wish she would have listened to me when I told her she wasn’t ready.
When morning is close, Évandre and Corvin alight to join us. “We must tie you until the night,” says Corvin.
