Page 120 of Hearts of Stone

“The English for the master of the castle,” I finished for him and grinned. “Well, you’re not in Scotland anymore.” I flung an arm wide. “This is Australia.”

“Australia…” His eyes seemed to take in every detail. “It seems a beautiful place, but those roses… I’ve smelled something similar in my lady… I mean, the master’s lady’s gardens. Perhaps they are the same varietal?”

Talking about bloody rose varieties under the moon’s glow? I laughed at the sheer insanity of it all, but as he stepped back to discuss this further, I saw something else had changed. The three gargoyles watched on in wonder, but they were the only ones that remained. The spot where Madeline had stood was now empty, just a faint glow in the air marking where she had been.

Had I drained the last of her power? Had I sent her too soon from this world into the next? I’d never know. I did hear a small sigh, or maybe it was a breeze blowing past. Sending the leavesswirling, it whirled upwards and into the sky, to dissipate into the stronger currents that swept past up there.

“Forgive me, brothers,” Wulfstan said when he noticed the others. “I am Wulfstan of Tonbury Castle.”

“Graven of The Eyrie,” one of my mates said, nodding to the house. “My home, and now yours, for we are flockmates.”

“You are one of my lady’s fated mates?” Wulf looked down at me, a clawed hand curling around my shoulders and then scraping across the bite mark Graven had left, forcing me to shiver. “You look to be strong lads. It’d be a pleasure to serve amongst you to keep my lady’s lands safe.”

“And to keep her safe.” Carrick shot me a meaningful look. “Our Jade is beautiful as she is reckless.”

“So very reckless indeed?” One of Wulf’s eyebrows jerked up then as he inspected me thoroughly. “We’ll have to work very hard to keep her from making mistakes too terrible to rectify.”

“She seems pretty capable of doing that herself,” Seneca said, surging forward. “You…” His claws raked the air helplessly before moving to cup my jaw. “You…”

“I ensured our flock is complete,” I said, with a complete lack of contrition. “We’ve rectified some of the mistakes of the past, but there’s more to be resolved.”

I turned then to the two gargoyles I’d seen first when we went on the ghost hunting tour of Z Ward, picking my way through the rubble now with no fear at all. Whatever poison had lurked within these walls, it was all drained away.

“Jade…” Graven said as light glowed in my hands. “Jade, let’s…”

“Be free,” I said, slapping my hands down on each gargoyles’ chest. I watched the stone melt away with satisfaction, saw the two creatures come back to life, but their reactions were less satisfactory. One shrank back from me like a beaten dog,whirling around, wings clasped around him, as Wulf pushed forward.

“Beware, my lady. This male looks like the Devil himself is riding him. You don’t want to get within his grasp.”

But the gargoyle didn’t strike out at us, he merely took flight, his wings raking through the air as he tried to get free of us as fast as he could, and to get as far from us as possible.

“Graven…” The other gargoyle stared at his claws, flexing them before looking up at us. I saw the tightening around his eyes, the pain there. “We’re free?”

“Free, Axton.” Graven’s voice was full of sorrow and empathy. “Free of everything. You can remain here if you wish or—”

“I can feel Caraxes,” Axton said, flapping his wings experimentally. “Thank you for the offer, but I must go.”

And with that, he took off as well, and we saw several other gargoyles take off from the roof at the same time.

“I hope like hell no one is watching the skies with a telescope tonight,” I said.

“A telescope? What is that?” Wulfstan asked.

“A device that allows you to see something from very far away,” Seneca told him.

“Like a spyglass? One of my masters had one of those. A treasured thing it was, too.”

As we walked towards the house, I felt that strange kind of tiredness that washes over you gently, letting you know it’s time to rest. It came with a sense of satisfaction, I realised as we went inside the house, showing Wulfstan the light switches, then explaining what electricity was, which led to a discussion about electrical devices and us turning on the TV. I flicked through the channels and then smiled as I saw Disney’sGargoylespop up. I pressed play and Wulfstan started, staring at the screen intently, then asking us a million questions about how it worked. Afteran episode or two, I made some popcorn and we all munched on that, my gargoyles transfixed by the storylines. It wasn’t long after that Harry knocked on the front door.

“Jade, I…” He looked past me and saw the four gargoyles sprawled across the lounge room floor, the others explaining genetic engineering to Wulf. “I saw the light on and I came by to say I found some lads who can fix your Mr Big situation.”

“No need,” I said, ushering him inside. “Wulfstan, this is the estate’s caretaker, Harry.”

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Harry,” Wulfstan said, bowing deep as he offered him a claw. Harry took it, dumbly staring up at the Beast of Z Ward.

“But… He…”

“Mr Big was Luther Whiteley,” I told Harry, but it was Wulf I watched. I needed to see if there was any sign that the name would provoke a reaction, but the big gargoyle just listened intently, like this was another nugget of information about modern life.

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