Page 34 of Shamrocked
“You heard him, Ri. That’s your ticking clock. Then Warwick’s getting you out of here.”
I bit back the arguments and entreaties. He’d only ignore me. My best bet was to figure out how to break Doran’s curse. Then it wouldn’t matter how long Keane could roast the imps and keep them back. I pressed my lips to the little gargoyle again. I touched his nose. I closed my eyes and prayed. I hugged him. I yelled at him.
And the stone glared back at me, silent and frozen.
Tears burned my eyes. I risked a quick look around to see how the guys were holding up. Blood ran down Aidan’s cheek and he held his left arm awkwardly, clamped against his side like it was hurt. A chunk was missing from the sleeve of his leather jacket. Ivarr’s shirt was bloody beneath his coat. Exactly as in my painting. Dirt and sweat streaked his face, deeply lined with exhaustion. It must tax him to have to keep the light so bright, and he’d also had to help kill the kelpie. Keane shot controlled bursts of flames from the weapon on his hip, but I could tell by the tightness on his face that he was worried. Seriously worried.
Warwick pressed against my back, one hand on my shoulder, his green magic spilling down over me. Shielding me.
We’re running out of time.
I squeezed my eyes shut and remembered the last time I’d dreamed of Doran. He’d held me while I fell asleep. He’d whispered my name and stroked my hair, his voice so gentle and deep, lulling me to sleep. Or the dream when he’d almost made love to me. It’d been so real. If we all died, I’d never have the flesh-and-blood version of that dream. I’d never get to capitalize on the heat in Aidan’s blue eyes, or the sultry curve of Keane’s luscious mouth. Or feel Ivarr’s light bathing my naked skin in a golden glow. Or wrap myself in the black silk of Warwick’s hair.
A tear slipped down my cheek and dripped onto the miniature gargoyle. I didn’t remember picking him up again. I sniffed and wiped the dampness off him, my finger settling in the hollow of his throat below his Adam’s apple.
His naked throat. There wasn’t a necklace. The heavy chain, with the stone pebble dangling from it. That’d been in the dream.
I looked up at the larger statue, and he wore the necklace. The chain was as thick as my wrist and the circle was white against the darkness of his stone body.
Scrambling to my feet, I touched the round stone hanging from the chain. The white circle lay ontopof the statue, not a part of it, even though the chain itself was carved into stone. The round part didn’t feel like rock at all. In fact, it felt like bone.Brittlebone. I slammed the meaty heel of my palm against it, but it didn’t break. I needed something harder.
Aidan cursed beneath his breath. I spared a quick glance at him and I couldn’t hold back a cry. Two imps clung to his back, biting him, sinking those long beaver-like teeth through the leather coat like it was nothing. He grabbed one of the hairy beasts by the neck, slung it down on the ground, and stomped it into a bloody smear, but the other one sank teeth into his neck just below his ear, making him bellow.
“I’m out.” Keane pulled the flame thrower off his shoulder so he could use it like a club. “The ground’s shaking. I think the imps called for reinforcements.”
I didn’t want to know what kind of reinforcements a bunch of hairy ravenous monsters might call from the depths of the earth. But I had the answer when the dirt wall burst open. A tall, putrid pea-green scaly thing pushed up out of the ground.
“Pooka!” Aidan whirled around and glared at me. “Get the fuck out of here, Riann. Go!”
I picked up the miniature statue and shot a glare at Warwick. “Not yet.”
With all my strength, I slammed the smaller statue against the bone-colored disk hanging from Doran’s throat.
18
The disk cracked. I slammed the base of the statue down on it again and again, breaking the circle free of the chain. The corner of the miniature statue broke off too, but all I cared about was that ivory disk.
A deep, low growl rumbled from the depths of the ground, and an earthquake heaved me up into the air. I slammed back to the ground, too hard, knocking the wind out of me. The light winked out. I called for Ivarr, but I couldn’t hear anything because my ears were still ringing. I coughed, choking on dust and dirt and the stink of something that smelled like roadkill baking on the asphalt for days in August.
I pushed up on my hands and knees, blinking furiously. Something stared back at me. Close. Two red beady eyes blinked. Stained teeth as long as my thumb flashed in the darkness.
My first instinct was to scramble to my feet, but I made myself hold still, staring back at the imp. It tipped its head and made a chirping sound that wasn’t scary. In fact, it might have been kind of cute. But then I realized that it was only calling its friends over to share the tasty morsel it’d found. Two more imps joined the one watching me. I didn’t dare look away to see where the guys were. I tried to use my senses, but my ears were still ringing. Surely they were okay. An earthquake wouldn’t hurt the three treasures who’d already defeated a giant horse octopus and twenty or more hairy dog-sized rats.
The three imps suddenly quivered. Cowering, they scurried backwards into the darkness.
Grinning, I relaxed a bit and rocked back on my heels. “Whew. That was close. Is Ivarr okay?”
Aidan didn’t answer. Neither did Keane or Warwick. I could hear heavy breathing behind me, so my ears were improving. The hair at the base of my skull prickled. If it wasn’t my guys…
Doran.I did it. I freed him.
Heart in my throat, I whirled around and froze.
The pooka stood just paces away, drooling as it looked at me. Lanky hair like seaweed clung to its head and it reeked even worse than the imps. It looked like a green Sasquatch, mostly scaled, but with uneven patches of mossy hair.
Near the stairs, Aidan and Warwick both fought another pooka, barely holding it back. Keane cursed and yelled on the other side of the room, swinging his empty flame thrower like a bat. Ivarr lay on the ground behind him. He wasn’t moving.
It took me a moment to realize the large gargoyle statue was gone. Chunks of stone and rubble was all that left. A small cry escaped. Oh fuck. I’d broken him. I’d shattered Doran into a million pieces.How the fuck am I going to put him back together again?
