Page 41 of Dragon's Golden Mate
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The battle was over instantly.The last of the orbs from the young witches blasted against the wall and fizzled out. Gavin and his bandmates stopped in their tracks, looking around with alarm. Cassandra no longer had a hold over them. The light from the portal was gone, and Lucille launched a globe of warm yellow to hover over their heads and illuminate the scene.
Though the pain of fighting against her family was gone, a new pain had lodged itself in Maeve’s breast. Still in her wolf, she leaped down into the basement to see Kendrick’s ragged, destroyed body lying on the dusty stone floor.
No. No, no, no.Parts of him had been completely peeled away, leaving gaping wounds. His wingslooked more like long, clawlike appendages from his back. Blood pooled around his belly and tail. His mossy green was turning a dull, bruised shade of brown.
“I think he’s going to be okay.” Beck had changed back into his human form. He moved along his uncle, assessing the damage and sucking in his breath when he saw a particularly painful wound.
“It was incredible.” Griffin had made his way down now, too. “He grabbed Cassandra and flew straight into the portal. I thought he was a goner, and I think that’s what he intended. He was going to sacrifice himself for everyone else. But then the gargoyles grabbed a hold of him. They pulled him out.”
Lilith limped slightly as she carefully lowered herself into the basement. “The portal must not affect them the same way. They’re not flesh and blood.” She carefully bent down to touch her finger to the top of the dog-like creature’s head.
It sat back and scrutinized her, unsure. The cat, however, had made up its mind. It butted its stone head against her leg. When Lilith moved her fingers down its back, it lifted its hind end in the air and flicked its tail.
Kendrick.Maeve gently put a paw on Kendrick’sforearm. The other dragons were in awe over Kendrick’s feat and how the gargoyles had rescued him, but all she could see was a dragon who looked as though he were dying.
Maeve.His voice wasn’t very strong in her mind, but it was still there.
“This won’t be an easy thing to come back from,” Beck said gently, seeming to address both Maeve and Kendrick. “I think he pushed the limit on just how close a shifter can get to death without actually dying.”
Why would you do a thing like that?
In return, she got a message not from Kendrick but from one of the gargoyles. The perspective was from behind, as though she were one of the creatures as it latched onto his leg and dragged him back to reality. Maeve saw Cassandra’s body exploding into a million pieces. She felt the relief that the gargoyle had experienced, as well as a fear that dissolved just as their enemy had. They’d been terrified of Cassandra, but they’d risked their lives to help save Kendrick.
Not knowing how to share her own thoughts without using the words, Maeve locked eyes with the hawk. She blinked slowly as she bowed her head.Thank you.
“Maeve?” Amanda called to her from above. “You might want to see this.”
Ewan had joined his clanmates now. “Go. We’ll take care of him.”
Beck gave her a boost out of the hole.
Maeve longed to keep her wolf so that she could keep a line of communication open with Kendrick, but she had to be able to talk to the others, as well. She put her wolf away and felt the ache of her human bones as they returned. It’d been a long, hard fight. She dusted her hands and looked around.
The church had paid the price for the battle. She and Kendrick had chosen not to fight the gargoyles when they’d first attacked, knowing that they couldn’t do much without hurting the building. That suddenly felt like a long time ago, even though it’d only been a few days.
In the light from Lucille’s magic, she could see just how the battle had devastated the interior of the cathedral. Hunks of plaster and lathe had been taken out of the walls. Scorch marks, mostly circular, burned into anything that hadn’t fallen apart on impact. A chunk had come out of one of the columns, although it was still holding for the moment. Many of the pews were splintered and dinged, and a few of them were broken completelyin half. She recognized the one where Lilith had fallen. It’d smashed into pieces and even pressed down into the floor beneath it. The floor was covered in dust and debris, and more dust still hung in the air.
“What injuries do we have?” she asked Amanda, knowing that the energy healer would be able to help.
“Not many,” her niece told her. “Some cuts and bruises, and maybe some bruised egos to go along with them.”
That sent a small amount of relief through Maeve’s shoulders. It meant that they’d taken her words to heart when she’d asked them not to hurt the young witches and shifters.
“And they’re all right…otherwise?” she asked, wondering if any of the bitterness and anger she’d seen in her young coven members remained.
“I believe so. Come and talk to them. You really need to.” Amanda brought her up onto the altar.
Leather Jacket and Chain were sitting on the steps that led up to the pulpit. Fresh pink scars showed on their cheeks and hands, but they were completely able-bodied as they leaped to their feet.
“Listen, lady. I’mreallysorry,” Leather Jacketsaid. “I’ve never done anything like that before, and I don’t know why I did.”
“Same,” Chain agreed, skimming a hand over his bald head. “That was wicked weird. Were we all on something?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Maeve said cautiously. “You were under the control of a woman named Cassandra. She was using your music to control you and others.” Her stomach clamped as she briefly wondered how many other people had been at the concert and if Cassandra had been able to make them do anything out there in the rest of Salem. At the very least, the threat was gone now.
“Wait.” Leather Jacket’s brow crinkled as he looked at his friend. “Is that the chick who said she was going to be our manager?”
