Free The Glass Gargoyle (The Lost Ancients Book 1) by Marie Andreas Page B

hobby.
    “Nothin’, sir.” The boy’s voice dropped into his southern roots. “I just know what we all know. You are lookin’ for symbols, we find them, we get away from them, and we tell you.”
    The air felt even heavier in the silence, then the sound of a back being slapped broke the tension. “Wise man. Very well you know my…” He stopped in mid-sentence and took a step my direction. “What is…?”
    I stopped breathing, willing my folded legs to have not gone numb in the last few minutes. Whoever he was, he killed far too well and too easily for me to let him find me.
    He paused and I debated whether to run or stay still. The prey side of my family line screamed run, the smarter side said freeze.
    “Never mind, I thought I heard something. Keep your teams on twenty-four hour searches, and move slowly. There will be traps and anything could be a clue.” A rustling sound followed. “I will be unavailable for a period of time. If you find anything, contact my people and they will get word to me. And get rid of this body far from here. We don’t want him connected to me, do we?”
    “No sir.” The educated voice was quick, and just a bit panicked. “We will find it, sir.”
    “See that you do.” How four words could sound that menacing I had no idea. There was no way anyone could pay me enough fame or fortune to be in that digger’s shoes. The scary man’s booted footsteps took him away from my site but I was in no mood to move yet.
    It was a good thing I didn’t. A few minutes later, a huge, winged form flew overhead.
    My gut tried to crawl out and flee. Whoever that scary cultured voice was he was either a syclarion, the shape changers who ruled most of the known world from unseen seats of extreme power far from here, or he had one working for him as a mount. I wasn’t sure which thought was more terrifying.
    There was no place I wanted to be more at that instant than my home. Or even better, the Shimmering Dewdrop. Taking low deep breaths, I tried to calm myself. Why in the hell would anything here be big enough to bring the attention of a syclarion? I’d never even seen one. Beccia was a modest-sized town and didn’t attract the big fish. But I knew who they were, and I knew they were supposed to be the ones who protected the kingdom.
    But unless dragons had suddenly popped out of the mythology books, become real, and their kids were flying around, there was nothing else that could have been as big as that shape that had flown over.
    Swearing to myself, I tried to weigh my options. Things had gotten a hell of a lot worse in a tiny bit of time. I needed to re-evaluate spying for Harlan and trying to catch Alric. Neither action was worth getting killed.
    Just as I was trying to sort out my thoughts, shouts came from behind me.
    Damn it, the guards must have figured out someone got in when they were gone. Maybe I’d left a trail or triggered something I didn’t see. Whatever caused it, I had to get out of here now. The fact that the terrifying shape changer was gone didn’t calm me much. His new foreman could call him back.
    The crashing of brush and shouting of voices grew closer. With a start, I realized the guards were chasing someone else, not coming to grab me. I could sit tight until they blew past.
    That thought worked great for about two seconds until the crashing took a drastic—and for me horrific— sudden turn. The man-sized shape that crashed into me knocked me to the dirt and pinned me. It was also well-muscled and disgustingly familiar.
    “You!” Both of us yelled at the same moment, grabbing the attention of both the foreman and the guards.
    Alric jumped to his feet, pulling me with him. “Run, damn it.” He turned and noisily ran in a different direction, leaving me with a clear path out. I wasn’t about to look a gift rescue in the mouth so I took off in the opposite direction, sticking to the bush as much as possible, but still moving.
    I got lost in minutes.
    I was