The Sword and the Flame: The Forging

Chapter 25

The threat still hung over the land, due in large part to dragons and their various offspring still populating the world. Just because humans hadn't seen any for nearly two hundred years didn't mean they weren't there in hiding, waiting for their chance to attack and take back a world they felt was rightfully theirs.

"It'd serve the humans right to have everything they worked for burned to the ground." Fech chuckled to himself. Yes, humans were the biggest fools of them all.

His master couldn't be counted among the fools. No, Renard was wise, though not as smart as he led himself to believe. He played these other humans as fools. Mern and Berek hadn't bought their freedom; they purchased a guaranteed day to enter the Abyss. Having them both sharing the same friends only made it so much more delicious. Fech raised himself from his perch atop a building three streets away from the inn they shared and summoned his spell. At that moment, Fech truly appreciated his master and the way his mind worked. A laugh began deep within him as the magic flowed throughout his body. Magic was an inborn ability all gargoyles had, but few ever reached the level Fech had.

At the completion of the spell, a fireball streaked from Fech's hands and into the city. In its wake was a thick fog, making visibility impossible from below the rooftops. From his vantage point, Fech watched the fireball explode into the floor where he was sure Berek and Mern were staying. The two would have to be close together, he was sure of that.

The moment the fireball made an opening large enough, Fech launched into the air and flew towards the building. Even above the thick smoke it was difficult to see at times. It all depended on how the wind was blowing. He hated fire, as do all gargoyles, but he wanted to see the carnage for himself. The magical fire had mostly burned itself out in the few seconds it took for him to land inside the opening.

Fech expected to find the charred bodies of the fighter and mage there, but instead of the sweet smell of death, his lungs filled with acrid smoke and other scents. The most prevalent of those belonged to the human mage Mern. So, he had been there. Realizing he must've just missed him, Fech cursed himself for his bad timing. Irritated at having missed, but elated the hunt would continue, the gargoyle turned to leave the carnage he created. There were other scents there, but he dared not breathe too deep or the smoke would irritate his lungs further. Fech leaped into the air and headed back towards his perch to wait for nightfall. The city would be on high alert and the chaos would prove interesting. He intended to watch the humans run about as though they could do something. Renard could wait; he needed to cheer himself up after missing his targets.

Fech's spirits did lift somewhat when he thought about what the rest of the afternoon would bring. He could already hear the humans below him yelling at one another, but their voices didn't carry well enough for him to understand their meaning. Knowing the people below him were most likely scared and looking for a place to hide like rats brought a chuckle to the gargoyle as he neared his previous perch. He'd reach the safety of it before the smoke finished disappearing.

Without warning, an arrow flew past his neck, missing by mere inches.

After spending his life among humans, it was a shame Fech had such a low opinion of them. He couldn't be blamed for that, though. It was an inherited trait among his kind. More the pity that neither he nor Renard thought of the possibility of being spotted from the ground. Fech believed he was hidden due to his inability to see the people below him. It never occurred to him they'd be able to see him against the bright afternoon sky.

There were only one or two arrows at first, but there would be more on the way. Furious, Fech let out a roar but it did little good, he could hear more of the city's soldiers on the way. What he thought to be a lazy day watching the people of Hope run around had turned into a fight for his life. Those pathetic humans were smarter than he thought.