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CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

Ellery

Once back in the Revenant Woods, relief stole through me. We were free to breathe fresh air again and surrounded by the beauty of the wilderness, even if monsters crept through the shadows.

And beneath us, the gargoyles remained trapped in a cavern, waiting to be freed. I understood Ryker’s and Tucker’s hesitance to help them, but we couldn’t leave them there.

Those creatures were beyond pissed off and eager to unleash on those who’d trapped them, but they were stuck there because our ancestors stole their heart from them. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than the fate they’d suffered.

“We’re only getting one side of the story,” Ryker said as if he’d read my mind. “For all we know, those amsirah stole the Heart because the gargoyles had turned on them. They might have taken it to survive.”

Safely back beneath the trees, we all stopped walking to face each other. We couldn’t return to the encampment until we straightened this out.

“If they were Ivan’s ancestors, then they stole it because of greed,” Ianto said. When Ryker’s eyes narrowed on him, Ianto shrugged. “We have to look at every possibility,” the giant said.

“If a lightning bearer can free and trap them, then what do you think they’ll do to those lightning bearers once they are free?” Ryker demanded.

“I’m not saying we should free them,” Ianto said. “They freak me out, and I have no doubt that if they didn’t try to eat us, they’d tear our limbs off and throw them from the heavens.”

“What a lovely picture,” Scarlet said.

“And probably accurate,” Callan added.

Scarlet grasped her elbows as she hugged herself. I wasn’t too thrilled about the image either.

“If someone eradicated the history of the gargoyles from the temple, then someone survived what happened in that town,” Tucker said. “And they didn’t want anyone to know about what happened or that the gargoyles exist.”

“Why not?” Scarlet asked.

“To keep the knowledge of that town and the danger of the stone buried,” Tucker explained.

“If future generations learned of its existence, they might go after it, even if it meant their destruction. Greed causes many immortals and mortals to do crazy, stupid things. They couldn’t take the chance of the stone rising to the surface or the gargoyles being freed.

“They destroyed that part of our history and erased the gargoyles from existence to keep later generations safe. I’m going to assume it was the scholars who survived. The temple never sank; it wasn’t part of the town, and everyone was clearly going about their lives when the stone destroyed them.

“I’m assuming it happened during the day because no one was getting ready for bed or still in their pajamas, other than the youngest children. So the scholars would have been at the temple when the stone unleashed its power and sank the town.

“Some sea villages would have most likely existed back then too, so those amsirah would have also lived. That’s how we all exist; our ancestors survived.

While all the survivors probably would have kept the secret of that town to themselves, some of the stories of gargoyles did pass through the generations. ”

“If it killed everyone in the town, then why not everyone in Tempest?” I asked. “The magnetic storms affect the whole realm, not just those closest to the stone.”

Everyone pondered this until Ryker spoke. “I have a feeling when the stone started to unleash its power, it also began sinking the town into the cavern below. The earth covering it saved the rest of the amsirah from destruction and also protects us during the magnetic storms.”

“Most likely,” Tucker agreed.

“There’s always been rumors and legends about gargoyles in Tempest,” Callan said. “My mother would tell us stories about gargoyles flying over the land, watching over us, and protecting those who resided in Tempest.”

“My mother told the same stories,” Ianto said.

“Without proof of their existence, gargoyles became nothing more than legends,” Tucker said. “And while I’m sure the amsirah back then vowed never to share what happened, secrets always have a way of coming out, and in this instance, they came out as stories that entertained children for centuries.

“What happened to that town occurred thousands upon thousands of years ago. The histories in the temple go back for a few hundred thousand years, and judging by our population now, of course, taking into account the death toll from the Ghoul War, I’d say those gargoyles have been trapped down there for at least a couple hundred thousand years.

The scholars could have destroyed all prior written history and started writing a new one after the town sank. ”

My breath sucked in as Scarlet’s hand flew to her mouth. “How awful.”