Did he imagine it, or could he hear the graze of her shirt as it slipped from her shoulders and fell to her feet? The rasp of the pull of a zipper, and then those nimble little fingers tugging the coarse denim over the lushness of her hips, over the round swell of her backside, down those long legs.
His groan resounded through the otherwise quiet night.
Running in the middle of the day sucked.
Early morning, great. Early evening, even better. In the middle of the day, she was a little too much white girl to enjoy the sun beating hard down at her.
It must not be as issue for gargoyles. Not like they were pasty like her, and the odds were good sunburn was an unknown for them.
That in a nutshell was why she had not been able to convince Terak to let her run at her usual times. He look mystified that she would equate something as insignificant as turning as red as a lobster to the possible danger from attack, and since she would be safest from attacks in the middle of the day, that was when she would run. So sayeth from on high.
Damn stubborn gargoyle. The only thing she had to fear was heatstroke.
It was a gorgeous day, and in good news for her skin, there was a decent amount of cloud cover, though not enough to lose the cheer of the day. She was running on her favorite trail through the largest wooded park to be enjoyed while still within the city’s limits. She might not have left the city, but darned if she didn’t feel like she was in her own woodland habitat.
Two men came from behind and sped past her, both at a pace much faster than her own ten-minute mile time. One turned and ran backwards for a couple moments, smiling and winking at her before turning around and catching up with his friend.
Ha, ha! Still got it. Nice to know she could get a glance or two, being on old maid and all.
Up ahead a tall woman in a red running bra and matching spandex shorts came running toward them, jogging in the other direction. Both men slowed as they stared at her, eventually tripping over each other’s feet.
Larissa half expected to see their tongues in that mass of body parts. The men righted themselves and took off at top speed to finish their run.
Her own oversize shirt and baggy shorts were a hell of a lot more comfortable than that red number. Who put lace edging on anything you were supposed to exercise in? That had to chafe.
Who cared what those guys thought anyway. Neither of them were built. Compared to Terak they were pubescent boys, and no doubt Terak could bench press both of them with his tail.
Terak… urgh.
The last two weeks were the most disturbing of her life, and yes, she was including the week when she first got her period. She had been attacked by zombies, kidnapped by a gargoyle, found out her best friend had some sort of secret life amongst the new races, had a brother who was acting suspicious, and a father who was still upset at her for asking questions about the security of the city.
And she had a gargoyle protector she was starting to care about, maybe even like.
Out of all the above, that last one kicked her hardest in the solar plexus.
He had wings. And a tail.
A tail.
How the hell did this happen? Stockholm syndrome? Some power dynamic because she was the helpless little woman and he was the big, powerful gargoyle?
No, it was because of his chest. No male should have a chest like that, and he never wore a shirt. Never, like they offended him or something. Maybe she should be grateful that at least he wore pants.
No, she shouldn’t be.
Yes, she should.
Well…
Back to chests. Terak’s was so broad it might take
hours
to explore every inch exposed. And that chest tapered to that stomach, which was not a six-pack but an eight-pack. What human had an eight-pack? How could a human guy compete?
Gargoyles were very unfair to humans. Maybe she wasn’t right to help them become friendly with other races. All the other females of the various species would jump them on sight.
But if any of them jumped on Terak, she’d have to tear the female’s hair out. To protect inter-races relationships.
Was inter-races a word? Well, it was now.
Sweat soaked hair fell into her eyes, and Larissa pushed the damp tendrils that clung to her forehead back into the mass of hair knotted on top of her head.
Heatstroke. Had to be heatstroke causing these freaking thoughts. No matter how much Terak complained, she was never running in the afternoon again.
Up ahead was the most delightful part of the run, a steep incline that always made her swear she would give up running every time she crested it. Turning up the volume, she forged ahead.
The scream rent the air, the sound of feminine terror stopping her cold. Instinct had her turning before her brain could warn her it was a bad idea.
A woman, the one in the skimpy running gear, six feet in the air and grabbed around the throat by…
Oh dear
gods
…
Orcs.
Why hadn’t she fought dad harder about the wards? But this… how was she to know this could happen? Orcs in the park, backlit by a hazy sun during an afternoon run where she should be safe.
Her hands hung there, cold, numb. Her mouth opened, she knew it opened, but no sound was coming out.
Orcs.
“Not her.”
They spoke? Those monstrous creatures could
speak
?
And then one of them locked eyes with her. He threw his head back and roared, the guttural noise flaying her exposed nerves. The rest of the orcs turned their attention to him. He proceeded to point at her.
“Her!”
By the gods, me?
No.
No.
Are you involved with the necromancers?
But she wasn’t. Never, she’d never had anything to do with them.
This couldn’t be happening.
Orcs, larger even then Terak, their greenish skin oozing and oily, their heads misshapen, like someone used their skulls for batting practice.
A dozen orcs now chasing after her.
She was running, she was running even though she didn’t remember turning from them, branches flicking over her skin as she crashed through the wooded area. The ground vibrated from the force of the running creatures, creating an uneven surface under her feet.
“
Terak!
” she screamed. She hadn’t seen him during the run, but he had to be here. He had to be. He promised he’d protect her and Terak, Terak would always keep his promises.
She tore through the forest, bramble and brush scraping against her body with every step. Heavy footsteps were so close, the clang of metal and the rhythm of their stride gaining.
This couldn’t be happening. She was a nobody, a nothing. This couldn’t be happening.
A primal scream sounded from above and powerful relief surged through her body, stopping her in her tracks as she looked for him.
Terak.
He was here. She was safe.
Terak’s arm emerged from the trees. From above he grabbed the tallest orc and brought him into the air, wrenching his neck so hard to one side that Larissa heard the crack of bones.
The orc stopped moving, and Terak threw the body far away, then proceeded to drop to the ground, grabbing another orc, his clawed hands ripping into the orc’s chest through the metal casing.
The other orcs turned to Terak, all but one. One orc still had her in his sights. He shouldered through the others surrounding him, coming straight at her. Terak turned from the orc he was fighting to launch himself at that one, preventing it from getting any nearer to her.
That move left his back unguarded, and another orc took advantage, taking its sword and slicing through Terak’s wing.
Terak made no sound or movement to indicate he had been struck with a sword. He never stopped fighting the orc in front of him, keeping it from getting near her.
She could get away. Now, while their attention was on Terak, she could run to her car on the other side of the wood and escape.
An eye hanging from its socket.
She had stood there, waiting for the zombies to grab her.
If Terak hadn’t been there, she would be dead. Afterwards he held her in his wings as she cried and he called her brave.
I don’t want to die.
I don’t want to die and I don’t know what to do.
But I never want to be that person in the alley again.
There had to be something she could do beyond run away in her car.
Her car…
She didn’t have a weapon but she had two thousand pounds of magic-fortified metal at her disposal. Could an orc survive being run over?
Only one way to find out.
Larissa ran to the vehicle. Her fingers shook as she turned the key in the ignition, but the car started readily. Putting the seat belt on she gunned it, spinning the wheel so hard tires squealed.
Her massive SUV took the grass easily, the bumps and dips rocking her in her seat but not bothering the car. The trees were spaced far enough apart that the car was able to drive through the openings.
The fight was in front of her. Several orc bodies littered the ground, but three orcs still fought Terak. Terak held his own, but his chest and arms were swathed in large splashes of red and his one wing was useless, the skin flapping in the wind.
Larissa pressed hard on the gas pedal, aiming the car at the two orcs who were furthest from Terak.
The orcs responded moments too late to the sound of an approaching car, lifting their heads as the car rammed into them. She rolled over them, sickening thumps and crunches that had her stomach begging to lose its contents. She clenched her teeth against the urge to vomit.
One hand appeared from underneath and landed on her hood, and the face and shoulders of one orc came into view.
Ahead was a thick line of trees. Pressing down on the accelerator, her body went tight, bracing for the expected impact as she headed straight for them.
She closed her eyes before they hit.
The car dipped down and the airbag deployed, pressed into her face so she couldn’t breathe, her nose flattened and her chest punched concave. The wait for it to deflate was eternity, but she pushed at it, speeding up the process the best she could.
She turned the key, and thank gods the car started again. She put the car in reverse and made her way back to Terak.
There were no more orcs alive. Terak had more wounds than before, with blood streaming over a good portion of his body. He was erect but kept stumbling, falling to his knees.
She parked the car and rushed to his side. His right side seemed the least injured, so she took his right arm and propped herself under it to help him move toward the car. “Your wing,” she said, though it wasn’t as if he needed her to point out the obvious. There was no way he could fly.
What were they going to do? He wasn’t allowed within city limits. If they were caught driving in the city the authorities would take him into custody. Her too, but what would happen to her wasn’t the worry. If he was jailed the other gargoyles would attack to free him, stomping on the possibility of a peaceful coexistence.
It had
Disaster of Epic Proportions
stamped all over it.
Maybe it was time to call dad. Dad would be furious, but he would help Terak escape considering the gargoyle had saved her life. Of course, then she would have to tell him what was going on, and her father would lock her up before she finished telling about that first night.
But she couldn’t see an alternative. Terak needed medical attention and she couldn’t risk a fight between human and gargoyles. She owed Terak that and much more.
“Terak, I’m going to call my father. I think he’ll help us. At the very least we need to get you to a hospital.”
“No hospital,” said the gargoyle, sweat beading his forehead. “No father.”
“I’m not a nurse. You’re wounded and in no shape to fly or fight, and if a gargoyle is seen within city limits, they’ll take you into custody.”
“No father,” he repeated, his breaths rapid, his voice reedy. He was going to pass out soon. She could convince him after she had him in the car, and she needed to get him there before he passed out. There would be no way she could handle his weight by herself.
As she got him settled into the passenger side there was a buzzing underneath her hand, a vibration so small she didn’t bother to look as it was occurring, focusing instead on the belt buckle. She turned to Terak…
… And startled back, hitting her head on the inside of the car, the pain bringing tears to her eyes.
Larissa’s eyes slid shut as her hands grasped the newly formed bump. Maybe she had seen wrong, but her eyes opened, and no, she hadn’t been seeing things.
Instead of a gargoyle sitting in her passenger seat, now there was a human male – bare-chested and bloody, with black hair and stone grey eyes.
“Say nothing,” he said.
Then he fainted.
Human.
Human.
Human.
The words beat through her head at the same rhythm as her heart, which was currently doing double-time since she was carting two hundred and fifty pounds of a gargoyle-turned-human through her bedroom door.
The bed lay before her, smooth sheets and fluffed up pillows, and it might as well have been a mile away. “Terak?” she asked, but a pained groan was his only response. He was fading out of consciousness fast, and there was no way she could pick him up if he crashed to the floor.
No way around it.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she muttered as she hefted his arm away from her and all but knocked him to the bed.
He upgraded from a groan to a yelp as his battered body collided hard with the mattress. “I’m so sorry,” she said again and again, the words on repeat as the maneuvering began to get him fully situated.
Finally he was settled and the growly sounds diminished to only a few every minute. Larissa pushed her hair back from her face with both hands. A rising tide of panic was cresting through her body, starting low in her stomach and rising up her chest.