The House of Grey- Volume 6 by Collin Earl Read Free Book Online Page B

looked skyward as if for some sort of sign or heavenly visitation. Another boom resounded, louder and more menacing. The monsters reacted to the noise, though the growling, barking and howling was far from anything interpretable. It did, however, make one thing clear and thus confirmed Monson’s suspicions: The booming echo was directing the creatures. Which became even more apparent when, in a single motion, the heads of every gargoyle turned and looked right at Monson, Casey and Artorius.
    “Grey…,” Artorius said with concern. “What did you do?”
    Monson smiled ironically. “I gave the predators something to prey on.”
    Artorius glared indignantly at the encroaching creatures. “You gave them something to prey on?”
    His eyes went wide with comprehension. “You mean that light show just a second ago…?”
    Monson nodded. “Yep. I think these things react to strong magical power. If someone releases a lot of Kei then the Midday Darkness will attack them.”
    Casey and Artorius retreated towards Monson.
    “So these things are all going after you because of all that silver stuff you just released?” asked Casey, adjusting his sword from hand to hand.
    “Yeah, that about sums it up,” answered Monson, already in the beginning stages of one of his combat spells. “Those things are probably coming after me, which I’m hoping will give the others some time to find cover.”
    Artorius held his claymore pointed down, his muscles starting to tense. “So our job is to take these guys on?”
    Casey pointed upwards. “Don’t forget the big ones flying out of the Coliseum.”
    Monson and Artorius raised their eyes, only to see the large creatures they had left mere minutes ago streaming out of the top of the structure and heading in their direction.
    “Grey.”
    “Yeah Arthur.”
    “If I die without ever having a girlfriend, I swear I am going to come back and haunt you.”
    Monson laughed as he finished scripting his spell. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    He spoke the words of the spell— “Combat Spell Fifty: Molded Spears”—and touched the ground to release the spell. The earth moved at his command, shaping and reshaping until several dozen long, pointed rock spears enclosed the boys in a protective circle of stakes.
    “I guess you really did like 300 , eh?” said Casey. “Spartans are awesome. Told you it was a good flick.”
    With a second slap of the ground and another whispered phrase, the massive stakes scattered about with deadly accuracy. The spears found their mark, skewering unsuspecting gargoyles where they stood. Casey and Artorius, not to be outdone, followed Monson’s spell with ones of their own. They both launched a series of small, molten fireballs, flinging the baseball-like projectiles at machine-gun speed.
    Gargoyle after gargoyle fell under the combined pressure of the spells, but still they came;  they were neither cautious nor fearful. Although for a time Monson was quite hopeful— the tactic was working and they were leveling scores of the magical creatures—after the seventh or eighth use of these spells, Monson knew they were in trouble. The spells were tiring him out and his two friends were burning through their Glyian Combat Gloves’ power sources. Not to mention, the spells were losing their potency. He did not know how much longer they would have access to them. Sure enough, after a few more minutes of frantic fighting, Artorius and Casey’s gloves went dead, reduced to magical oven mitts. And still the flocks of gargoyles kept coming, many of the smaller ones and an increasing number of the large ones. The boys were going to be forced to rely on their swords, which was not a promising prospect. They needed to think of something, and fast.
    “Do we run?” Monson yelled after completing another combat spell.
    Artorius scanned the area, his head swiveling from left to right as he spun on the balls of his feet, releasing another combat spell. “I don’t think