Free Trouble with Gargoyles: an Urban Fantasy (Moonlight Dragon Book 3) by Tricia Owens

For too long you have stirred the pot of discontent and beat upon the drums in your attempt to incite an uprising."
    A breeze moved through the room, lifting the curtain and revealing only air behind it. The cloth settled once more over the humanoid head and chest, but I could see that Kleure now recognized he wasn't dealing with a person. He realized as I once had that the Oddsmakers were "other" and, as they'd claimed, legion .
    "You cannot be allowed to continue, Kleure of the Wood."
    Goose bumps jumped out across my skin. Melanie, clutching me tight, must have felt my fear for she shuddered violently.
    Kleure, though, stood strong. "You will never silence us. My voice is only one of a chorus of outrage and—"
    "We agree. You will continue to send a message, but not the one you intended."
    Kleure turned to look at me then. His look of calm condemnation said, This is all on you. This is what you support.
    I didn't have time to feel outraged or defensive. The Oddsmakers acted too quickly for that.
    I knew as soon as it began that I would never forget what I saw. Nor would I forget the sounds, both of the physical atrocities that were perpetrated upon Kleure, and of his screaming. I held Melanie's monkey head tight against my belly so she wouldn't see the worst of it, but I forced myself not to look away, not even to blink. The longer it went on, the greater grew my fierce need to witness all of it. So I wouldn't be able to pretend afterward that I hadn't understood what was happening. So I wouldn't be able to look in the mirror and see an innocent.
    Because I wasn't innocent. Not while I stood silently by and did nothing to stop this.
    When it was over and what remained of Kleure lay smoking on the floor of that place, I tried to swallow, but my mouth and throat were as dry as the valley. There was a ringing in my ears, but it was only the vestiges of Kleure's agony and terror.
    Something whimpered. When I looked down and realized I was on the verge of crushing Melanie to death, I immediately unclenched the muscles in my arms. My entire body felt like it had been balled tight to survive a tumble down a cliff.
    "Why did you…do that?" I choked out. I wanted to cry in sheer rage.
    "So they would all learn," the sickly sweet voice replied. "Have you learned?"
    I wanted—needed—to scream, but I didn't. "Why did you do it that way? Why be—" I fought back a shriek, "— monsters? "
    "Because for those who feel the need to fight, only the most dramatic of examples will kill that need."
    It was a warning as much for me as for the sort of shapeshifters who frequented downtown and the Keyhole. I liked to mouth off against the Oddsmakers because it made me feel like I was showing my independence. But Vale had warned me again and again not to push them. I now realized it wasn't because he'd been tortured by them, or at least that wasn't the only reason. He understood what they were capable of. He appreciated how utterly cruel and sadistic they could be.
    Movement near what had been Kleure made me suck in my breath. I watched, heart pounding, as the yellow canary settled on the floor beside the remains. It chirped pitifully, its pain unmistakable. I wanted to scoop the little bird up and protect it just as I tried to protect Melanie. I didn't care that it had once been an associate of Kleure and might have tried to peck my eyes out in a fight. I wanted no more death and suffering tonight.
    "Tell them what happened here, little bird. Spread the information far and wide: the Oddsmakers exist to keep the peace and to keep you safe. To fight us is to fight the well-being of every magickal being in Las Vegas."
    The figure beneath the black cloth turned my way. "Is that understood, Anne Moody?"
    My head throbbed and my vision edged with red. Had Melanie and the canary not been present, I would have burned us all to ash. "I understand perfectly."
    I didn't try to hide my outrage and fury. But nothing was said to me, and when the pain at