Page 16 of The Stone Initiation
She pushed out of her seat, ducking her head so as not to smack it on the roof of the bus and stomped to the front.
“Don’t mind her,” Touron said. “She’s an Aziza. She has a lot to prove.”
Aziza? That name was familiar. Wait…It was one of the big five. Who were the others again? Halle…Mason and…shit…Albion and of course Basque. That was it.
I wasn’t surewhythey were the most powerful though. Just that they were.
The doors of the bus squealed open, jolting me to focus on the world outside the windows. The twisty streets of Old Town had been replaced by rolling fields and forestland bathed in the orange and crimson hues of a setting sun. Scents of fresh earth and pollen drifted through the open doors, a far cry from the smoggy atmosphere of Old Town.
“Where in the Rim lands are we?”
“This is Stonehaven territory,” Touron said. “Acres of land designed to test the next generation of guardians. But don’t be fooled, there are threats here too, threats that the next generation must control and subdue.” He smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “At least that’s what the induction manuals say.”
I couldn’t help but relax around this guy. “You got a manual?”
“Nope. But my brother did when he enrolled three years ago.” He shrugged. “I got a peek at it when he.... Interesting stuff.”
“So, your brother’s a guardian then?”
The warmth left his eyes. “He was, yeah.” He looked like he wasn’t going to elaborate but then changed his mind. “He was killed a few months ago on a mission. Grotesque attack.”
“Grotesque?”
“Used to be on the gargoyle team but they work for the graynites now.”
He’d lost his brother too. Telling him about Romi wasn’t an option, not if I wanted to keep my identity a secret and root out the truth. If the gargoyles knew I was a Basque and if there was some cover up, then they’d clam up even more.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
He smiled at me with sad eyes then tipped his head toward the exit. “Come on, we should go.”
The driver was gone, but there were three other buses parked on the grass outside, and more gargoyles climbing out of them.
They cracked their necks and stretched, obviously pleased to be out of the yellow metal contraptions much too small for their bulks.
I caught sight of our driver huddled with four other large males wearing driver uniforms.
Sharniza stood alone in a clear spot, away from the other gargoyles who seemed to have formed their own little groups.
I felt their gazes on me, heard whispers of half-blood and bait, and my blood simmered. Romi had hinted how it would be for a halfblood. Explained the derision the pure blood had for my kind, and how fraternizing between human and gargoyle was frowned upon. But seeing it…feeling it firsthand, was a stomach turning experience.
It made me feel lesser. Dirty somehow, and I hated that.
“We’re not all assholes,” Touron said. “But it looks like this month’s quota is full of them.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah?”
“Gargoyles come from all over the rim lands,” Touron said. “From each major settlement, not just from Arcadia.”
I knew this one. “The home of the power five?”
“And a few other houses affiliated with them through mate bonds. Arcadia is a stronghold, but if we have another dark event, I doubt the rabble will be allowed in.”
“Aren’t gargoyles supposed to be protectors of humanity?”
“Oh yeah, and I’m sure they’ll save enough of the humans to stop them going extinct.”
“Figures.”
