“You would have us bare our throats to humans and the Guild. I would have us rule over all.”
“Except we would not.” Terak raised his voice, a whiplash against Nalith’s pathetic excuses. “We would be nothing except servants to necromancers, existing at their whims. I would rather ally and learn to live in this world than be nothing but cowed in front of the necromancers and a bully to all other races.”
“You are like your father before you, too weak to walk in real power.”
“What you call power I call cowardice – an inability to move forward and meet this realm and its challenges. I will not ally with evil because my own fear.” He nodded to Malek. “Take him away.”
Before Malek could step forward, Nalith brought out a short sword. “You think you are such a great leader? You call me a coward? I call you the dog of a human. I challenge you.”
“You would fight me with a magical weapon for the challenge?”
Nalith smiled, a vitriolic twist of lips. “It is not forbidden, Mennak.” The title dripped contempt as Nalith circled him, the sword before him.
For a coward, his hold on the sword was surprisingly good. There had been practice with this weapon. “Drop the sword. You will not be forgiven for this.”
“Once you are dead and the pathetic leadership you have displayed is no longer in effect, I think I will not only be forgiven, but I will lead this Clan to a new age of gargoyles.”
Nalith swiped at Terak and kept moving. Terak stayed away. Nalith was not a warrior, even if he could handle this weapon. A mistake would be made soon. Terak had to keep Nalith off balance and angered. In anger, mistakes were always made. “You think to be leader? If our enemies see you charge into battle the only way they would be hurt is by falling down in laughter. Younglings have more skill in battle than you.”
“Spoken like a true savage. You have no skills save for your prowess on the battlefield, and you would demean those of us who truly rule the Clan.”
Nalith lunged again, but his arm was overextended. That was the opening Terak needed. He grabbed Nalith’s arm and wrapped his tail around one of Nalith’s ankles. Nalith pulled back but overcompensated, and with Terak’s tail still around his ankle, he could not right himself Nalith fell, and Terak grabbed the sword.
Several warriors came and restrained Nalith, taking him to the dungeon even as Nalith screamed about the mistake they were making in following Terak.
Malek approached Terak. “Is the human well?”
“Yes. She is unharmed. I saw her emerge from a side door during the assault on the club and collected her.” Terak placed a hand on Malek’s shoulder. “The attack was executed flawlessly. You did well. Were there any problems?”
“No. There were no injuries on either side, and everything went according to plan.” Malek looked uneasy then, his head dropping a few inches. “The Oracle came up behind me. She told me you had the woman and asked if I could retreat because she wished to get her nails done.”
“She is indeed a being unlike any other.”
“That is one way to phrase it.”
“Mennak.” Krikus’s voice cut through the low rumble of the remaining crowd.
Terak looked away from Malek. Krikus was striding through the crowd in battle armaments that gave reminder to his days as a great warrior before he became a Council member.
“Yes, Councilor?”
Krikus came to stand before him, metal bracers reflecting the light around them. “Was there any truth in Nalith’s words?”
His people stood silent as they witnessed the second great clash of the evening. “Let us be plain. What is it you wish to know, Krikus?”
“Your Clan deserves to know the truth of the situation regarding the human.”
The crowd had grown around him, wave upon wave of his people. There could be no more subterfuge. He would be the leader that would make his father – make Larissa – proud, or he would not be leader at all.
“I have only always wished for the good of my people. It has been what has guided me from the moment I have been born. However, Nalith has spoken some truth. I am lost without my little human. She is my mate, my Meyja,” Terak said, ignoring the gasps that surrounded him. “And I proclaim her so in front of all of you. I will live at her side, and if the Clan cannot accept her as my mate, then I will leave the Clan.”
Krikus alone seemed unsurprised by Terak’s proclamation. “And to accept the human is to accept living among the other races of the realms, is that not true?”
“We no longer have the luxury of isolating ourselves.”
Krikus stared him down, something the older gargoyle had not done since Terak was a boy. “You have given the Clan much to consider. You must allow Council and Clan time to discuss.”