Curse of the Gargoyles (Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

them, pushing Elsa back with my wrath.
    “You created this disaster. You drilled your experiment into the flesh of a living creature, and you’re blaming the gargoyle ? You deserve to be nullified.”
    I spat my final words at the cowering woman and listened to them fade in the ensuing silence.
    “They’re gone. They’re all gone,” Elsa moaned. Her tears morphed into full-body sobs and she crumpled to the ground. I turned away.
    Oliver reared up on his hind legs, flaring his wings and hissing at Elsa. I patted his head.
    “We’re not letting this gargoyle die because she’s afraid.” Or because I am.
    Anger helped counter some of my fear. The gargoyles needed someone they could depend on to help them. I’d been passing myself off as a gargoyle healer; I couldn’t turn aside now when things got dangerous. If Seradon thought I had a better chance of saving the marmot’s life than she did, I had to try.
    I looked up, expecting censure. Grant, Seradon, and Velasquez watched me approvingly. Kylie had her “I told you so” expression firmly in place when she met Grant’s eyes.
    “See? She got her courage all warmed up,” Velasquez said.

3
     
     
    “Okay. We’ll let Mika give it a try,” Grant said.
    “Excellent idea, sir,” Seradon said, earning a flat look from the captain.
    I fisted the hem of my shirt in my shaking fingers to hide them. This was the right decision. I might not be the strongest elemental, but I was strong where it mattered. I was a gargoyle healer.
    For now. If I get burned out, I won’t be healing anyone, my traitorous subconscious whispered.
    “Get up,” the captain said, half lifting Elsa to her feet. He bound her hands behind her back with tight null bands. The spell in the ropes was redundant, but they still functioned as strong restraints. Elsa slumped forward, her long dark hair hanging in curtains on either side of her face. “Kylie Grayson, you will escort Elsa to the ward. I want her in the custody of the city guards.”
    “But—”
    “And you will stay on the other side of the ward,” Grant said, the full command of an FPD captain in his tone. “I’m not taking the chance of you distracting Mika.”
    Kylie’s spine snapped straight, but rather than argue, she looked to me. I read the question in her expression: If I wanted her to, she’d go against Grant’s orders and remain. I shook my head. As wonderful as it’d be to have her supportive presence, she wouldn’t be able to do anything. I’d breathe easier knowing she was safe on the other side of the massive ward.
    “Fine. Good luck, Mika.” Kylie gave Oliver a quick pat and whispered something to him, then reached for Elsa.
    “You’re letting me go?” Elsa asked, bewildered.
    “You’re under arrest, but you can’t stay here.”
    “Thank the gods.” She fled. With her arms imprisoned behind her back, Elsa couldn’t balance well, but that didn’t slow her down. Kylie scrambled to catch up.
    A fresh wave of icy trepidation slid down my body.
    “Don’t even think about spying,” Grant called after Kylie. “No listening weaves are going to penetrate that ward.”
    “You know, this is kind of scary,” Velasquez said to me. He peered at the divided magic inside the shield. “She was right. If the purifier gets loose, it’ll rearrange the very laws of magic itself.”
    I glanced at his expression. His tone was matter-of-fact, without a hint of the terror his words evoked in me. Like the others in the squad, he looked focused, as if this level of danger was an everyday challenge. Maybe for them it was.
    “You’ll need to link with us—to get through our shield and for your safety,” Seradon said.
    Velasquez shifted to my left and Grant took a position to Seradon’s right. Marciano and Winnigan moved so the squad was evenly spaced around the shield and gargoyle. Oliver launched into the air, flapping heavily to the rock pillar behind Grant where he could oversee everything. I glanced back the