When a Gargoyle Lives (Gargoyles Book 2) (4 page)

Chapter Eight

“Going out again, boy?” asked Gracchus.

Ric gave him a peevish look.  For such a large creature, Gracchus moved very stealthily.

“Yeah, I thought I’d take a short flight.  Nothing outside the grounds,” he lied.  “I thought it would be okay because it is cloudy tonight.”

“Hmmm.”

Ric stilled under Gracchus’ penetrating gaze.  After a few moments, the older gargoyle shrugged.

“Luc wants us here tonight.  Maggie and Andrew are due back, and he wants to perform the spell on the new gargoyles straight away.  He wants us all to be there.”

Ric looked towards the woods.  Chloe would be waiting for him, just as she had been the past three nights.

Gracchus followed his gaze.  “Something wrong?”

“No.”

“Good, I think I hear the vehicle arriving now.”

Gracchus walked away, and Ric breathed in and out.  He would just be late.  The spell would not take long.  Kylie would awaken them.  Luc would give his boring speech about reuniting the gargoyles.  Hopefully, they would not go berserk like Dragoslava, and then Annis would prepare them food while Gracchus showed them how the TV worked.  In an hour, he could slip away and go see Chloe.

He pulled the cell phone Chloe had given him out of his belt; he kept it hidden behind his wing – it was their secret.  Admittedly, he had not wanted to take it from her, but she insisted and said she wanted to be able to contact him at all times.

She had laughed, raucously as he tried to use it.  He had used Kylie’s before, but this was a very different model.  He had smiled and tried to hide his irritation at her reaction.

Ric recalled Kylie trying to teach Luc how to use an iPad, she had smiled sweetly, and teased him gently, but she had done so in encouragement, and out of affection.  Chloe almost snorted with laughter at his expense, and he did not like it.  But then she had batted her eyelashes, and he had felt that strange stirring within him, and he had ignored his annoyance at her.

He texted her that he would be late to their meeting.

Perhaps he was being too hard on her; Chloe had been nothing but kind to him.  She was interested in him, asking questions and listening to the answers with rapt attention.  His wariness was ebbing, and he found that he was enjoying the company.  He could talk to her in ways he could not do so with his clan.  He found the words spilling out of him, telling her how frustrated he had been, and she listened with sympathy and was compassionate to the plight of all gargoyles.

However, the most joy he found with Chloe was in listening to her describe all the interesting places she had visited.  It was one thing to see them on the TV, with Gracchus chuckling wildly next to him; it was another to listen to someone who had actually been there.  The world was such a different place, and living within the confines of the house in no way showed him what it could be like.  He enjoyed hearing of her experiences, although he couldn’t help the twinge of longing it brought with it.

Chloe texted back immediately. 
Why?  What’s happening?

Nothing.  Have to attend a meeting.  See you soon.

Ric was still reticent about some things.  She knew he was not the only one of his kind, but he tried not to talk about the others too much.  He was beginning to trust Chloe, but he could not live with himself if something happened to one of his new clan or the humans helping them.  She did not need to know how many there were, or even their names.  Although, maybe one day that would change.

He had considered what would happen if Chloe did become his mate.  She was female, she was available, and she had accepted his presence – surely that was the least anyone could hope for in a mate?

He could not imagine that they would share the same affection as Kylie and Luc.  But then most matings were not born of that.  He could not imagine Chloe falling asleep in his lap while reading a book, as Kylie did with Luc.  He could not imagine himself stroking her hair or tenderly kissing her forehead either.  Gargoyles did not tend to behave that way.  A male gargoyle was more likely to compliment his female’s ability to swing a blade than cuddle with her.

Chloe texted back. 
Are you sure everything’s okay?

He growled in impatience and texted back. 
Yes
.

He would never have had such affection with Kara either, but then she was a warrior.

If only Kara had survived, he thought angrily.  He and Kara had grown together since younglings.  She was always the fastest, strongest, always besting him in every fight.  She had scoffed when he first told her she was going to be his mate.  Scoffed and then beaten him in a tournament.  His mother had clucked her tongue when she saw the wounds Kara gave him.  His father had chuckled and congratulated him on his choice of mate.  Eventually, he had won Kara over – by besting her in a wrestling match.  She had always been so strong, so full of life.  They would have made a fine pair.  He regretted he would never know what it was to take her as a mate.

But Chloe was here now.  She knew what he was and was not running, screaming in the opposite direction.  At least, not anymore.  Perhaps there was something there – he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or not, but she seemed to be coquettish towards him – not something female gargoyles bothered with.  When female gargoyles decided they wanted a mate, they tried to claim them in much the same way a male would – through shows of dominance and aggression.  He didn’t really like the human way of flirting.  It felt wrong.  Females should say what they think.  Any flirtation should begin and end with them clobbering a male with a battleax – the gargoyle equivalent of a wink.

Chloe had put her hand on his the previous night.  It had been so long since he had been touched by a female, and her affection hadn’t been unwelcome.  He wasn’t a lovesick fool, practically panting over her – as Luc did to Kylie – but it had felt quite pleasant.

She texted back. 
Are you mad at me?

He replied no and placed the phone back into his belt.

His parents had an arranged mating, and eventually, affection grew between them.  Perhaps the same could happen to him.

*

Kylie stood in the circle, her hands trembling slightly.  Luc took each one and pressed kisses to the palms before reluctantly stepping out of the circle.  He folded his arms and smiled at his mate.  Only the flicking of his tail betrayed his unease.

The incantation took a lot out of his mate, and as much as he needed her to perform the spell, he disliked her doing so.

Kylie raised her hands, took a large breath and started chanting.  It was over in a matter of seconds.  She lowered her hands, panting lightly as swirls of pink energy alighted around the statue.

It worked.

The skin of the entwined gargoyles slowly heated, turning from stone to flesh but they did not move.  Even Ric, still preoccupied with his own thoughts watched in rapt attention.

The gargoyles didn’t stir.  They were locked in an embrace, with the female wrapped inside the male’s wings, her head nuzzled into his neck.  The male had one arm around his mate, and the other wielded an ax.

The silence was punctuated by a sigh and what sounded like the cry of a baby.  Kylie stepped forward.

“No!” roared Luc.

The male hurled the ax at her, and she froze in horror.

Chapter Nine

“You know, Bob, you’re not exactly making new friends here.”

He ignored Brenda and dug at the hedge.  Yes, another walk, and another visit to the Hardcastle estate.

Brenda groaned at the stubborn dog.  “If we’re not careful Andrew Hardcastle will take out a restraining order against you.”

She didn’t really mind where Bob took her for the walk.  She needed to get out of the house and get away from the two annoying men in her life.

Kevin had been grouchy about the fact that she couldn’t call him as often as he wanted, and then there were the recriminations about the fact that she moved in the first place.  He had wanted her to move in with him and his two roommates.  She’d been tempted, even if his roommates were pervy morons, but her grandmother made her promise to go live with her uncle.  And she couldn’t say no to the woman who raised her.  Not while she was on a respirator at least.

Meanwhile, her uncle had been nagging her about dumping Kevin altogether.  He wasn’t the monster Chris made him out to be.  Yes, he smoked pot now and again.  And yes, he had been arrested once.  He had the munchies, so he went to a seven-eleven where a couple of cops happened to be grabbing a coffee.  They were probably tipped off while he was trying to eat a bag of cat food.  But that didn’t make him a bad person.

Even with Kevin in Phoenix, she felt like she was stuck between the two men.  Both stubborn.  Both irritating.

“Come on, Bob; people are definitely going to see that.”

There was now a huge hole under the hedge.  One that Bob was wriggling his rounded belly through.

“No, bad Bob,” she admonished uselessly.  “Don’t you dare!”

Yep, he’d ignored her completely and managed to get his wide body all the way through and was now dragging her by the leash.

“Stop it right now!”

Brenda yelped and dropped to the ground.  The only thing that stopped her from being dragged into the hole was the fact that she let go of the leash.  She heard Bob barking as he ran away.

“Crap!”

Maybe there was still a chance that she could retrieve Bob before anyone noticed what he’d done.  And she knew what that entailed.  With serious reservations, she followed Bob through the hole.

*

Ric dove at Kylie, pressing her to the ground, covering her with his wings.  Luc retrieved the ax and snarled at the newly awakened male.  The male growled and clutched the female closer to him who snapped her fangs at Luc.

Gracchus moved towards them.  “Chief,” he growled.

Luc simmered with rage, his whole body shaking as his eyes flashed.  “Kylie,” he snarled, his mouth barely able to form the words.

“I’m fine,” came the muffled response.

Luc swung the ax in his hands.

Gracchus held up his hands.  “He was just disorientated and trying to protect his family, Chief.  No harm done.”

“No harm done?!” howled Luc.

Gracchus tilted his head, and Luc looked in that direction.  Ric pulled Kylie to her feet and stood in front of her protectively.  The cry sounded again.

“Is that really a baby?” asked Maggie, who was huddling behind Annis with Andrew.

The male let out a roar.  And then a barking dog ran into the circle followed by a young woman.

*

Brenda thundered to a halt next to Bob.  His barks had ceased, and now he was staring up at the… the.. creatures with just as much surprise as Brenda

Her eyes zipped around, looking at the amassed… people?  Were they people?

She saw Kylie staring at her open-mouthed while Maggie and Andrew gave each other fearful looks.  But the rest… they were not human.  Aliens, maybe?  Or demons?  Maybe they were some kind of weird cult, and they’d managed to bring some demons to earth from hell.  They all had wings, and horns and claws and were terrifying.

“Brenda,” said Kylie, quietly.

The largest male’s eyes burned into her accusingly.

Another male let go of the female monster he was clutching and attacked the huge male.

“Luc!” called Kylie as her hands flew to her mouth.

“I guess I should have knocked first,” said Brenda.  Then she grabbed Bob’s leash and with a surge of adrenaline, managed to half-drag and carry the dog out of there.  It was a monumental feat considering his enormous size.

“No, Brenda, stop!” called Maggie.

Hell.  No.

She wasn’t stopping to see what they were up to.  They can keep their demonic orgies to themselves!

She was almost in the hole when she felt a whoosh of air from behind her, steely arms wrapped themselves around her, pulling her back against a rock hard chest.

“Don’t struggle,” boomed a voice near her ear.

“Yeah, right!”

Brenda clamped her teeth down on his arm.  He howled in surprise and dropped her.  She fell to the ground, spinning onto her back and booting him between the legs.  Given the way his eyes bulged, he sucked in a whistling breath, and he staggered away from her, it was a safe bet that was a sore spot for these creatures, too.

“Why, you…” he snarled, apparently getting his second wind.

Bob, who she would never say a bad word against again, leaped at him, snapping and snarling.  The creature held Bob away from him at arm’s length.

“I could use some assistance!” he hollered.

Maggie and Andrew ran up and crowded around Brenda.

“Are you okay?” asked Andrew.

“Is she okay?” snapped the creature, indignantly.

“Umm, I don’t know,” answered Brenda, truthfully.  She looked between Maggie, Andrew, and the glowering creature.

Slowly, as if they were approaching a frightened deer, Andrew and Maggie edged closer, and each took a hold of her hands to help her up.  Bob was still barking at the creature who was growling in return.  Brenda supposed she should take control of the unwieldy mutt.  She didn’t move.  She couldn’t move.  She couldn’t stop staring at the enormous wings on the creature.  Not to mention his horns, his blue skin, his almost black eyes, his claws and his freaking tail! 

Brenda gasped as she watched in surprise as another creature approached.  A female, tiny compared to the male currently fighting a losing battle with Bob, and not much larger than Brenda herself.  She too had pretty much all the same attributes as the mail, except she was pink, and Brenda noticed the scarring and hole in one of her wings.

“What is his name?” asked the female softly.

“Bob,” murmured Brenda.

The female soothed the fur on Bob’s back and made hushing noises.  Bob eventually quieted.

“You may put him down now, Amalric,” she said.

The muttering male did, and Brenda frowned as Bob – the traitor – jumped up and tried to lick the female.  Some guard dog you are, she thought tartly.

The female looked at her and then looked down.  “Luc wishes to speak to her.”

“Humph,” said the male.  “Tell him to don full body armor first.”

Brenda scowled at him as he stomped away.

Maggie squeezed her hand.  “I guess it’s too late to say this is all a dream.”

Brenda raised an eyebrow.

“Thought so.  We better get this over with.”