Page 41 of Stone
Chapter 21
Broken
The mother idol was silent asGarenthwinged away from the building, but he knew it was because he had secured her. She was content to be back in his possession, yet for some reason that didn’t reassure him.
He hurt. With every stroke of flight, the pain increased, making it increasingly difficult to keep flying. The wound in his sidefelt hot. It was becoming difficult to focus. Worse, he couldn’t use his right arm.
Minbartold him he wouldn’t die as long as he retained possession of the idol. But he had lost it, and now he believed he was being punished for that transgression. He would have to suffer to pay for his disobedience beforePetbewould allow him to resume his non-human state,ifhe regained it.I may be too late. I may have to remain this way…forever?
Garenthbreathed in the crisp air. This high up it smelled not of the city and its noxious odors, but it was clean. Pure. If he had to remain in this form, awake for all eternity…
Agony lanced through him. He stuttered, his wings halting in mid-stroke. He started to drop as his body seized up on him. Alarm andfear spiked as he struggled to resume lost altitude.
Blinking, he searched around for someplace to land, but nothing looked familiar. The obelisks appeared to have changed, both in shape and location.
Coasting downward, he circled and crashed onto the nearest roof. He was lost. He knew it and had to admit it. Crawling toward the edge, he tried to stand but his leg almost wentout from under him. Overwhelmed by a bright spear of pain, he dropped onto his knees, still pressing the precious black bag to his chest.
He knew he’d been wounded, but now he was beginning to wonder if his injuries were life-threatening. Were they so intense that the mother idol couldn’t save him? Or was she condemning him to die because he’d allowed her to be taken from him?
He rubbed his forehead. It was getting harder and harder to think. His thoughts were growing confused. His logic was becoming tangled and twisted, and more convoluted by the moment.
A metal bird fluttered overhead, drawing his attention. At the sight of it, he realized he was flying around aimlessly. He had the mother idol back in his possession, but now what? What shouldhe do now? He knew he hadn’t thought past acquiring the vial. He hadn’t made any plans beyond regaining it. It was time he did.
His first impulse was to return to his native lands across the seas, but that wasn’t feasible. Not now, anyway. Not while his body continued to be wracked with pain. These next few hours would determine whether or not he would completely regain all of hishumanity, or if he would revert into his stone self again. If he became fully human, there would be no way he could fly back to his homeland. And it was too dangerous to start on his journey and risk losing his power of flight while he was over the seas.
He struggled to get to his feet when something warm ran down his side and over his arm. In the dim light coming from below, hestared at the dark fluid oozing over his stone exterior.
Blood. He was bleeding.
“What do I do?” he murmured.
He was answered as an image, a visage, appeared in his mind. A face. A beautiful face with a heart-tugging smile and dark eyes that had learned to look past the outer monstrosity of his own appearance.
Brielle. He had to return toBrielle. She would be able to help him. She would take him in and allow him to recover until he could figure out what to do next.
Lifting his face to the heavens,Garenthopened himself to the winds. Holding the black bag to his chest, he prayed toPetbefor guidance.
Something nudged him, urging him to turn around. He obeyed, and found himself staring across a wideexpanse where the waters of a river sparkled underKhonsu’slight.Garenthstraightened and looked to his left. Yes, that tower. And to his right, that obelisk with the glowing red beacon on top. He knew where he was. He knew in which direction lay Brielle’s home. He was no longer lost.
Giving a prayer of thanks, he leaped over the edge of the roof and gritted his teeth as he foughtthe pain to go to her.
* * *
She still felt groggy when she awoke. The nap hadn’t revived her. If anything, she felt more out of it and less inclined to get up.
Brielle glanced around the dark room. Not seeing a familiar figure on the fire escape landing, she rolled over in bed to glance at her alarm clock.
8:29
Damn. She’d been out of it for hours.
Her first inclinationwas to go ahead and get her bath, and go straight back to bed. Getting to her feet, she went into the bathroom to relieve herself, when she was hit with an intense thirst. She padded into the kitchen and withdrew the quart of milk from her fridge to drink straight out of the carton. In the back of her mind she imagined what her mother would have said if the woman caught her pulling sucha stunt. She smiled as she imagined what she would have told her.
“Hey, it’s my apartment, my rules. I’ll use a glass at your place, but here I don’t feel like needlessly dirtying one just for a few swallows.”
A loud noise interrupted her reverie. Brielle froze, unsure if she’d imagined it.
A definite scraping sound came from the bedroom. No, from the fire escape.
