closer. “The female Full Blood that helped rip apart Atoka? Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Cole lied. Actually, it was only a partial lie. According to Tristan, Minh had been sent away in the same burst of energy the Dryad had used to transport him, Liam, and Paige to Finland. Tristan told him Minh had been sent to one of the older Dryad temples located somewhere in a Japanese bamboo forest. The nymphs hadn’t been eager to tell the Skinners where the temple was located, and as long as Minh was encased in a similar stone shell hidden away from humans, Cole and Paige were content to leave her there. Others, like the Vigilant, on the other hand, wouldn’t be so willing to let sleeping dogs lie.
“Who’re you talking to on that phone?” Jessup asked as he wedged himself between Cole and Paige. “Tell me!”
“What’s wrong with me?” Cecile asked in a voice becoming sharper with every inch that Jessup closed in on the bars. “Why can’t I move?”
Cole stepped back and stretched out an arm to shove Jessup back. “Get that thing away from her!”
“You’re the ones that wanted me to bring the Jekhibar down here!”
“It’s waking her up!”
The creaking that Cole had heard a little while ago became more defined and then took on the sharp, snapping sound of breaking ice.
“Why the hell would I ever listen to you?” Jessup grumbled as he stomped toward the stairs. Rather than climb back to the first floor, he turned to one of the other Skinners who had followed him down and handed the metal box to him. “Take this up to where it belongs and shut it away.” Then Jessup pulled a small wooden ax from where it hung at his belt. Now, the creaking from the cell mingled with the sound of wood stretching into a new form as the crude ax took on the shape of a tomahawk with sharper, jagged edges.
When Paige moved to shush him again, she swung her arm at Jessup as if she meant to knock him through a wall. “Cecile, listen to me. Can you hear me?”
“I can hear everything!” she screamed through the connection. If it had been a real electronic signal, those words surely would have caused some major feedback. “Those things are still on me. I can feel them. They’re biting me. I’ll kill them and then kill those Skinners who brought them here. Kill them all!”
Even after Cole lowered the phone, he could still hear Cecile’s crackling voice cursing him. “Jessup, how can we put her back to sleep?” he asked.
The older Skinner stepped up to stand with Cole, Paige, and Rico rather than insinuate himself into the group. Where he had been aggressive and suspicious before, he was now plainly one of them. It was the first glimpse Cole had seen of the man who helped him survive the carnage in New Mexico that marked the beginning of this conflict. “That stuff I took from what was left of all them gargoyles back in New Mex wasn’t just the paste that coats their prey in rock. There’s something else. A toxin. From what I’ve been able to piece together, gargoyles inject some sort of paralyzing substance into their prey when they feed. Damn near everything is bigger or stronger than them, so—”
“Real interesting,” Paige snapped. “If we can knock Cecile out again, I’m liking that idea.”
There was another dry creaking sound, followed by a pop that sent a small mist of gray dust away from Cecile’s left shoulder. Little chunks of the stony facade broke away and rolled down her chest, making it obvious just how thin the rock truly was.
“Can this cage hold a Full Blood?” Cole asked.
Rico’s eyes danced beneath the thick ridge of his brow. “The bars should hold, but I don’t know about the rest of the structure. She’ll be able to dig out through any of those other walls without too much effort.”
Cole reached over his shoulder to grab the spear harnessed on his back. Since the phone was only broadcasting dead air now that the metal box was out of the room, he stuffed it back
“I don’t know,” Cole lied. Actually, it was only a partial lie. According to Tristan, Minh had been sent away in the same burst of energy the Dryad had used to transport him, Liam, and Paige to Finland. Tristan told him Minh had been sent to one of the older Dryad temples located somewhere in a Japanese bamboo forest. The nymphs hadn’t been eager to tell the Skinners where the temple was located, and as long as Minh was encased in a similar stone shell hidden away from humans, Cole and Paige were content to leave her there. Others, like the Vigilant, on the other hand, wouldn’t be so willing to let sleeping dogs lie.
“Who’re you talking to on that phone?” Jessup asked as he wedged himself between Cole and Paige. “Tell me!”
“What’s wrong with me?” Cecile asked in a voice becoming sharper with every inch that Jessup closed in on the bars. “Why can’t I move?”
Cole stepped back and stretched out an arm to shove Jessup back. “Get that thing away from her!”
“You’re the ones that wanted me to bring the Jekhibar down here!”
“It’s waking her up!”
The creaking that Cole had heard a little while ago became more defined and then took on the sharp, snapping sound of breaking ice.
“Why the hell would I ever listen to you?” Jessup grumbled as he stomped toward the stairs. Rather than climb back to the first floor, he turned to one of the other Skinners who had followed him down and handed the metal box to him. “Take this up to where it belongs and shut it away.” Then Jessup pulled a small wooden ax from where it hung at his belt. Now, the creaking from the cell mingled with the sound of wood stretching into a new form as the crude ax took on the shape of a tomahawk with sharper, jagged edges.
When Paige moved to shush him again, she swung her arm at Jessup as if she meant to knock him through a wall. “Cecile, listen to me. Can you hear me?”
“I can hear everything!” she screamed through the connection. If it had been a real electronic signal, those words surely would have caused some major feedback. “Those things are still on me. I can feel them. They’re biting me. I’ll kill them and then kill those Skinners who brought them here. Kill them all!”
Even after Cole lowered the phone, he could still hear Cecile’s crackling voice cursing him. “Jessup, how can we put her back to sleep?” he asked.
The older Skinner stepped up to stand with Cole, Paige, and Rico rather than insinuate himself into the group. Where he had been aggressive and suspicious before, he was now plainly one of them. It was the first glimpse Cole had seen of the man who helped him survive the carnage in New Mexico that marked the beginning of this conflict. “That stuff I took from what was left of all them gargoyles back in New Mex wasn’t just the paste that coats their prey in rock. There’s something else. A toxin. From what I’ve been able to piece together, gargoyles inject some sort of paralyzing substance into their prey when they feed. Damn near everything is bigger or stronger than them, so—”
“Real interesting,” Paige snapped. “If we can knock Cecile out again, I’m liking that idea.”
There was another dry creaking sound, followed by a pop that sent a small mist of gray dust away from Cecile’s left shoulder. Little chunks of the stony facade broke away and rolled down her chest, making it obvious just how thin the rock truly was.
“Can this cage hold a Full Blood?” Cole asked.
Rico’s eyes danced beneath the thick ridge of his brow. “The bars should hold, but I don’t know about the rest of the structure. She’ll be able to dig out through any of those other walls without too much effort.”
Cole reached over his shoulder to grab the spear harnessed on his back. Since the phone was only broadcasting dead air now that the metal box was out of the room, he stuffed it back
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