Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Even from behind, Nessa could see the basajaun heaving with laughter. He was probably thinking, Did you see their faces?!
Tristan’s gargoyles flew around him as if they were one entity. The effect was almost like a patchwork blanket moving across the sky.
“Wow,” Sebastian whispered. “He’s gotten better at commanding those gargoyles.”
He had. A lot better.
The enemy guardians looked like a mess of fliers, flapping their wings at various distances apart, at various heights, clustered in some areas and too spread out in others. The leader flew in front of them, tense where Tristan looked utterly composed and confident.
“This cairn has bigger guardians,” Sebastian said. “I mean, not all of them, but there are a lot more of the bigger gargoyles in this cairn compared to ours.”
“Yeah, not to mention more guardians in general. For this battle, anyway.” Nessa chewed her lip, suddenly nervous. “He needs to win. This all falls apart if he doesn’t.”
The enemy guardians were all together now. Their leader snapped his wings, then darted forward. His people started behind him haphazardly.
Tristan snapped his wings in turn, but his people matched his advance, perfectly synchronized and holding their pattern. They were clearly much more disciplined, even though they weren’t as prestigious as the Gimerel cairn guardians.
“Tristan is showing that he’s a much better commander,” Sebastian whispered, watching the sky. Everyone on the ground was doing the same, the basajaunak and shifters having stopped trying to intimidate so they could look up.
“But will his people be enough?” Nessa picked at her nail. They certainly looked like the underdogs, not as large, as Sebastian had noticed. Not as robust or strong in flight. Not as numerous.
The two groups closed the distance. Gargoyles growled or roared. Hands came out to grapple. At the last moment, Tristan’s gargoyles changed pattern. Small groups separated, some going high and some low. Tristan plowed through at the same level, knocking people away like a bowling ball headed for a strike.
The enemy startled, pausing in confusion at the change. Tristan’s people took advantage. The groups who went high dove down now. They singled out one or two and swarmed, tearing the enemy out of the sky in short order, not killing, per the rules, just maiming. As the rest of the enemy recovered, the groups who’d gone low sped upward and punched through enemy clusters, breaking up any group effort and scattering enemy formations. Those at the back of Tristan’s formation sped forward, further bursting the enemy’s organization apart. As they did, they picked off guardians, reducing their numbers. It was like the inside of a washing machine, surging and twisting.
The enemy scattered, and any pretense of planning vanished.
That was what Tristan had been going for.
He thrummed his wings, giving a command. Then the real battle started. His people attacked viciously, groups going after the largest and strongest enemy gargoyles first. It was nothing like the battle at Ivy House, where there had seemed to be gargoyles everywhere, utter chaos. This was organized and systematic, Tristan maneuvering his people with obvious accuracy.
“Holy crap.” Sebastian gave Nessa a toothy grin. “His gargoyles are sensational. He’s leveled up, big time.”
He certainly had. He was doing the convocation and Ivy House proud.
Cyra and Hollace didn’t participate. Hollace pulled up high, into the updrafts that had given the enemy gargoyles a real problem. His great wings fluttered and rolled with the turbulence, but the winds didn’t bring him down or send him careening away. Cyra dove around him and fought the gales. Fire flew every which way.
“Look.” Nessa pointed them out to Sebastian. “They’re playing.”
“They’re letting Tristan beat the cairn on his own. That way, Nelson can’t say Tristan cheated and used legendary creatures to take down Gimerel guardians. Smart.”
“Yeah.” But even that seemed to open eyes. Garhettes were pointing, and people came out of their homes or the shops to look. “Are they marveling because Hollace and Cyra are very cool creatures or because they’re strong fliers?”
Sebastian shook his head. He didn’t know.
Niamh was nowhere to be found. Probably soaring below, or maybe back at the van and her cooler. She wasn’t one to sit around empty-handed.
The enemy started to fall, the equivalent of limping in the sky. They sank out of the battle and struggled to their home slope. Once there, the basajaunak grabbed them and put them into a group before standing over them and roaring. Shifters walked through the crowds again, back to intimidating.
It turned out the garhettes liked intimidating creatures. They trailed after the shifters with sparkling eyes and hopeful smiles. Tristan had explained about the fake kidnapping thing—garhettes usually liked to play hard to get. These didn’t. They were all but begging to be taken.
Only the biggest and strongest of the enemy guardians were left, including their leader. They tried to regroup, struggling to get back to each other. Tristan’s team was there, though, blocking their way. Separate and conquer. He handled them expertly.