Page 86 of The Stone Initiation
“I thought the fae lived in Faerie,” Palia said.
Mistress Mirrowind nodded and her sleek silver-blonde hair shimmered in the late afternoon light spilling in through vaulted windows. “Yes, at one time they did. But their world was tainted by a darkness. One they were forced to flee from. I believe it was contained,” she pursed her lips for a moment, “eventually. But I don’t know the details of how. I can say, however, that one breach into the fabric of a world can weaken the fabric of a connected world, and maybe the taint that infected Faerie was what allowed the gray to enter the human world.”
“So, there arenofae in the rim?” Dayn asked.
“If there are any left, then they will be hidden.“
“Are they a threat to humans?” Ginia asked.
“Not unless humans allow them to be.” She smiled, flashing even, white teeth. “Fae have rules, and they can get what they want by clever manipulation. If a fae takes a human, then the human has usually unwittingly made a deal with the creature.”
“Can we extinguish a fae?” Palia asked.
“We are not so easily vanquished,” she said, sapphire eyes twinkling.
We?Shewas fae?
The room went silent.
She laughed, a soft tinkling sound. “Oh, relax dears. Not all fae are after your soul or your first born. Some of us are more concerned with the larger picture. The Graynites threaten us all, even the fae.” She widened her eyes. “After all, a soul is a soul, and a fae soul is powerful fuel.” The light in her eyes dimmed for a moment, and my heart ached for her even though I didn’t understand why. “Now who’d like to see an accurate rendering of a Graynite.” She flicked on the projector and plopped a slide in.
The white screen behind her lit up with the frightful image of a huge hunched over monster with spines on its back, an elongated maw, and long, thin fingers tipped with blackened claws. Its tail was thick and ridged with spines.
“Graynites are powerful creatures who have no soul, which is why they feed off the souls of others.” Mirrowind said. “They came out of the gray in the same moment that the gray retreated back into its own world. We succeeded in closing the rift, but the graynites remained.”
“What was the gray?” Ginia asked. “What was itexactly?”
“It was an atmosphere,” Mirrowind said. “A smog, thick and dense spilled into our world, and within it were creatures unlike anything you’d ever seen. They devoured while the gray itself eroded and killed our lands. The gargoyles were the only ones who could withstand the smog, their stone skin providing protection against the toxic effects of the air. The air of another world.” She looked at the window, her eyes glazing over as if she was back there, back in the time when it happened. “So many died before they were able to close the breach. We evacuated, moving as many humans and supernaturals to the city as we could while the gray ate away at our lands.” She blinked and she was back with us. “Anyway, you know the rest. The guardians found the breach in the gray and closed it, forcing the gray back into its own world along with all its creatures. But our world…what is now known as the rims, was left devastated. The mageri stepped in to help as much as they could, but they had a whole city of humans and supernaturals to deal with. From what I’ve learned it was no easy feat wrangling them into order, but the creation of the wards around the city and subsequent Accords within, have brought order.”
“Yeah, great for them, sitting in their bubble all safe and sound,” Ginia said.
“Oh…” Mirrowind looked across at us. “My dear, the city is far from safe. It’s had its own share of catastrophes, all narrowly averted, but still…”
“Is it true that there’s a graveyard of the beasts somewhere far east?” A goyle at the back of the class asked.
“Yes,” Mirrowind said. “But that sector is off limits, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
I had a question. “You said the gargoyles beat back the gray…but how?”
“With a mystical explosive created by the joint energy of the most powerful witches. When activated, it would force the rift to close in on itself. We knew that the creatures needed a certain atmosphere to survive—the atmosphere that came out of the rift, what we called the gray. We realized that if we shut it down, the gray would be forced to retreat, and what was left would die. Five gargoyles were chosen to deliver the mystical explosive. To fight their way through the hoard of infected and get to the rift. Does anyone know who they were?”
“I do,” Dayn said, looking proud of himself. “Basque, Mason, Halle, Albion and Aziza.”
She beamed up at him and a stab of annoyance shot through me that he got to bathe in that smile.
“Correct,” she said. “They sacrificed themselves to save us all, and in doing so blessed their bloodlines with the power to kill the Graynites that managed to get through.”
Wait a second. “Are you saying only those five bloodlines can kill a graynite?”
“Yes. That’s correct. Any gargoyle can fight or wound a graynite, but only one of the five bloodlines can kill one. Most alpha teams have one of the five bloodlines in their troops, and the elite team is made up of all five. It’s the only team that could potentially take down the Graynite alpha.”
“They have an alpha?” Palia made notes furiously in her book. “What is his power?”
“We’re not sure, but we believe he’s like a queen bee or a queen ant. The colony can’t survive long if he dies.”
“So, if he dies then…they all die?” Palia set her pen down. “Cut the head off the snake…”
Mirrowind smiled tightly. “It sounds simple, but the Graynites also have a hive. A fortress in an area of the rim that is warded with dark magic. Shade is a kind of power only they can use, and so far, we’ve been unsuccessful in breaching those wards.
