by Jamie Hawke
What? I needed more magic, or more power, before I would be able to wake more gargoyles?
I grimaced and made eye contact with the first. Good thing this hadn’t happened before Steph left, or we might have been in trouble. As it was, the gargoyle growled, dodged an attack that came too close, and then ripped the witch’s arms off before bashing her head into the concrete at the side of the rooftop. Finally, she took the witch’s limp body and placed her against the side. With a swift strike from her tail, the spade was in the back of the head, severing something within, and then the gargoyle kicked. The head disconnected and fell over.
The body fell to the roof.
Turning to me, the gargoyle stomped over. “What’s the problem?”
“Apparently, I’m not powerful enough to wake two, yet.”
“Shit.”
“I know. This… isn’t good.”
“The demon lady will be back.” The gargoyle approached the other and crouched next to it to get a better look. “No, our situation isn’t good at all, but it would be better if we had Kordelia on our team. This, by the way, is Kordelia.”
“I see. And you are…?”
“Ebrill. And you?”
“Call me Jay. Short for Jericho, but I usually go by Jay.”
She analyzed me for a second, then shook her head. “I’ll call you Jericho. Has a nice ring to it. Does it mean anything?”
I frowned. “You’re… joking, right? I mean, it’s in the Bible, and…?” She was staring at me with a blank expression, so I shook my head. “Not important.”
“At any rate, we should set up wards then get inside. You do at least know how to set up wards, I hope.”
“Sorry.”
She scrunched her nose, then motioned me over. “It’s simple, really. Start like this,” she held her hand up, then waved it across and in a semi-circle at the end, “curve it like this, and say, ‘Ddiogelu.’ Try it.”
As she said the words, a blue line of light appeared in front of her, hovering there as if a flame had been dragged across and the image left behind captured on a camera. I nodded, figuring this was easy enough, and made the motion. “Dioglew.”
“Again,” she said, frowning. “Ddiogelu.”
This time I said it right, “Ddiogelu,” and the same light appeared. As it did, my screen flashed up and showed a new spell there, reading, Barrier Ward: Ddiogelu. It even showed a little motion that went along with the spell. Convenient, in case I forgot.
She saw me eyeing empty air—or so it appeared to her—and grunted. “Before, when you said you have no spells?”
“Ah, right.” I turned, preparing to cast another, but she put a hand on my arm.
“Not necessary, but we should cover all four sides of the building, to be safe.”
I nodded, walking with her to the next, as I explained, “I’ve always had this weird ability to sort of change things around me. Like once the air was all smoky at a campfire, so I sort of made it… not. Or when my buddy Devin was doing really badly in a PT test with me, wheezing and whatnot, I sort of touched his shoulder and gave him extra stamina and courage, I guess. It’s all confusing, really. Maybe in my head, or—”
“You’re a transmuter,” she said, voice betraying her awe.
“No, just… a what?”
“Transmuter. It means you’re a lot more powerful than you give yourself credit for. You need to learn to harness that, embrace it, and we’ll be golden.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded, had me perform the ward spell, and then motioned for me to get the next side while she ran and jumped, gliding over to the far side to take care of that one. Once done, we moved for the trap door, glancing back once at the carnage we had left behind—mostly in the form of the witch’s bloodied body, as the death knights were gone.
“They won’t be able to get back in without an invitation,” she said as we climbed down. I glanced up to respond, quickly realizing that wasn’t the gentlemanly thing to do when descending steep stairs. She had her ass out as she lowered the hatch above, and basically, I had the full view of the way the cloth was tied underneath, hugging her mound.
“Good,” I said, my voice catching. “Great.”
I didn’t know if she caught on to my nervousness, because I looked away and quickly descended the stairs. When we reached the bottom, my aunt’s secret room was in a shambles—holes blown into the walls and shelves knocked over, my aunt lying dead on the floor. “And the bodies?”
“For now, leave it.” She strode past me, easily tossing aside a fallen shelf that should’ve taken the two of us to move. “Right now, I’m starving.”
“Oh, actually, there’s food already made.” I pushed ahead, opening the door for her and grinning like a horny teenage boy. She saw it right away and chuckled but nodded her appreciation for my move with the door.
“Lead the way, my lord.”
I laughed, then wondered if she was teasing me or thought I could be a lord. Considering my clothes and this house, it could be an easy mistake. Nothing that needed to be addressed at the moment, I figured, so led her down to the kitchen.
75
I couldn’t believe how much food Ebrill was devouring. As if she hadn’t eaten in days. Then again, she was a gargoyle. As far as I knew, she had always been a statue so had never eaten, or else she’d been a statue for a long time, but once been awake? The best way to find out, I decided, was to ask her.
“So, all of th—”
“No,” she said, mouth full, crumbs flying.
“Excuse me?”
“You want answers. I want to satiate my hunger. My want wins.” She glanced over, took a bite of a sausage that she held in her hand, and added, “When I’m done, I’ll explain to the best of my recollection. Wine.”
“I’m not taking orders, or whining, or… what?”
“Get me a glass of wine!”
While usually the bossy woman thing didn’t turn me on, something about it coming from a gargoyle was an entirely different story. I smiled as if she had just complimented my package, then turned to find a bottle of wine.
I found a wine fridge or whatever they’re called in the pantry, took out a bottle, and uncorked it. Moving back to her, I noted how she was sensually licking her lips, eyes moving to meet mine as she did so.
“Two glasses,” she said, leaning with elbows on the kitchen island in a way that made it difficult not to stare at her very exposed cleavage. She continued to eye me as I poured, then cocked her head, motioning me over. I went, holding out a glass for her to take. She put her hands on my chest, grinned, and then moved them down toward my abs. Then, taking the glass and raising it, she said, “Thanks.”
I looked down and realized she had just wiped sauce from the glazed chicken on my shirt. “Really?”
She chuckled and held out the glass. I clinked mine against hers, as annoyed as I was.
“You find me sexy, don’t you?” she asked. “Even… like this?”
I sipped and allowed my eyes to roam over her, as she did the same to me. As odd as it was to be staring at an actual gargoyle, I wasn’t the least bit scared anymore, or even confused. The only emotions running through me were pure lust and infatuation.
I decided to tell her so.
Only, my aunt had just died and my girlfriend had turned out to be evil. We had killed a witch—or rather, I had watched this gargoyle decapitate her right in front of me. Maybe telling her I wanted to bend her over this kitchen island and fuck her raw wasn’t the best move, just yet.
“You are stunning,” I said, going for a complimentary but safe route.
“I see.” She took a sip of her wine while eyeing me. “What are these clothes? This house? It’s so… odd.”
“Not what you’re used to?”
She shook her head with a long sigh. “It doesn’t seem like it, but truth be told, I’m not sure. Everything’s blurry. Not my vision, but the memories.” With a long look my way, she motioned for me to follow.
We made our way to an adjoining visiting room where she sat back on a posh couch, spilling some wine and not seeming to care. She sat like a lady, but after a moment, looked at me and then motioned to the seat at her side.
“I don’t want to have to yell to be heard,” she said.
Certain that wasn’t a legitimate concern, I took the seat and smiled, drinking more of my wine. “You’re sure they can’t get past the wards?”
“Unless they’re invited in, yes. Which makes me have to ask—”
“Please, don’t.” I grimaced, then sighed. “The one with the white hair. She was my girlfriend, until tonight.”
“Ah.”
“Apparently, she’d been setting all this up, planning for it… I don’t know.”
Seeing how distraught I was, Ebrill put a hand on my leg and leaned in. “She might have been being used the whole time, you don’t know.”
I nodded, then frowned. “How much… do you know?”
“About my past?” She glanced up. “I know the other woman’s name is Kordelia, and remember that she has a special sort of magic.”
“You knew how to do the wards,” I pointed out.
She nodded. “Yes. A certain amount of magic makes sense to me, as if it’s part of life. Yet, I feel distant.”
“You have no idea how long you were in stone? Or if you even had a life before?”
“I definitely had a life.” She set her now-empty glass down. “I know more than just her name. Kordelia and I were something like… lovers.”
I both perked up at this image and felt deflated at the idea that my chances with her were shot. Which made me laugh.
“What’s funny?”
“Sorry, just… Damn.” I ran a hand through my hair, then placed it on hers, which was still on my leg. It was only a friendly gesture as I explained, “For some reason, I was imagining—sorry, but I might as well confess—imagining the two of us together.”
“And that’s funny?”
“No, but you said—about Kordelia, I mean.”
She eyed me while gripping my hand with hers from beneath, then started moving it up my leg. “That doesn’t mean we’re off limits.”
“Oh?”
I looked down, watching our hands move to my inner thigh, and felt the blood rushing to my crotch. “But you… Oh.” Her hand had brushed against the lower side of my package, but she pulled it back then, turning to take my hand in both of hers.
“The past is a blur, for now,” she said. “I remember her laughing. I remember her holding me, and me her. The way her lips felt on mine, and… I feel an emptiness no statue can fill.”
“An emptiness no woman can fill?”
She frowned, laughed, and then gently slapped me. “Not what I meant.”
I grinned. “Joking.”
This time, she put my hand on her leg, and leaned back, though not all the way as her wings didn’t fully allow that. Her eyes sparkled as if daring me, trying to see how brave I was. If she thought I was going to back down, she had another think coming. Sure, my mind was going in circles, but she had saved my life. She had kicked my old, crazy girlfriend to the curb, and as far as I could remember I had never seen a woman so beautiful, horns and wings included.
My hand moved along her thigh, feeling the tough but soft skin. I set my glass aside, then leaned in and allowed my other hand to join, the first going instead to her side and wrapping around her back as I scooted closer. My right hand met cloth, and I hesitated.
“Is this too soon?” I asked.
She nodded. “Testing you.”
“What?” I pulled back, confused.
“I had the sense that part of my power lay in the realm of seduction—of bending the will of others to get what I want—but wasn’t sure. You proved in part that it’s true, but also that you are strong-willed.”
“Isn’t it possible that I simply thought you were attractive and…” Even as the words came out, I knew that was only half of it. Considering what we’d been through, me making a move like this really didn’t make a lot of sense unless I factored in some sort of attraction spell like she was talking about. “Damn, so you’re like… some sort of succubus.”
“No.” She sat up, taking my hands and holding them while staring into my eyes. “I’m no demon, I promise you that.”
“A gargoyle can’t be both?”
“I don’t know, but I can tell you what I am or am not, and I’m definitely no demon, especially not one that would suck your life or whatever via sex.”
“Only one way to find out.” I winked, squeezing her hands.
She frowned. “I might have to see if there’s a way to dim the effects of my powers.”
I laughed, hearing myself. “Yes, that might be smart.”
“That, or get it out of the way to cut the tension.” She stood and started for the door. “But first, we need to figure out a game plan, and probably see about teaching you some more spells. We need to be ready in case they find a way around those wards.”
“But you said they couldn’t.”
“What do I know?” She laughed and held the door for me this time. “I can’t even remember how I got here. Better to be prepared, though, in case.”
76
“Your ex was looking for something, right?” Ebrill started as we worked our way back to the room where my aunt had died. “Did she give any indication of what that might be?”
“She mentioned something, more than once. The word, what was it. Hona? Something like that.”
Ebrill glanced over and frowned. “Liahona?”
“That’s it!” I couldn’t help but notice the worry in her eyes. “You remember?”
“Something about protecting that thing,” Ebrill said. “Nothing more.”
We entered the room and froze.
“She was here when we left… right?” I stared at the spot where my aunt’s body had been. It was now an empty spot on the floor, the shape of her body outlined by the debris surrounding it. “I’m not going crazy. I’m not.”
“As far as I know, both are true.”
“Bodies don’t get up and walk away. Not in reality…” My eyes met hers, a nervous chuckle following. “Then again, in my reality magic doesn’t exist and statues certainly don’t come to life.”
“I was more than a statue, before I was a statue.”
I frowned. “And that helps?”
“Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. But, what do we know?”
Racking my brain, I shrugged, feeling hopeless. “This was my aunt’s house. She apparently knew some magic and passed some of it to me. Or, the ability to learn more, maybe?”
“And if this was her house, we have to assume that she knew something about me,” Ebrill added.
“Why?”
“Because Kordelia and I were statues on her roof.” She began looking among the fallen objects. “That has to mean something. Maybe we can find a clue as to why.”
“Now that you mention it, your style doesn’t exactly fit her taste. Knowing that she was into magic, and that you came to life, she must have brought you in from somewhere else.”
“The odd part of that being that she never brought me to life,” Ebrill replied.
“Maybe she did, but your memory resets each time?”
Ebrill considered this, pausing in her search, but then shook her head. “I wouldn’t know if that were the case, but I don’t think so. Bits of memories are returning, and none relate to anything in this time period. Nothing with the woman whose corpse we saw here on the way down.”
“Bringing us back to the question of where the hell her body went.” Something she had said caught my interest, though. “Wait, time period?”
“Yes. I see men and women in a very different style of dress, riding horses and carrying swords.”
“Actually, that’s fascinating. You’re describing what could be a medieval time, maybe, which kind of checks out with your armor… what little you have.”
She turned m
y way, eyebrow arched. “You don’t think it’s enough?”
I gulped, eyes moving along her hips. “From the perspective of a young man such as myself, it’s the perfect amount.”
That earned me a laugh. She returned to her search but paused only a moment later, shaking her head.
“This isn’t the place,” she said, heading for the door.
“It has to be. She used a spell to get back here, she—”
“No, this is the room that led to the roof, and maybe was supposed to be a safety room of sorts, but it wasn’t where she would have kept her darkest, most secret treasures.”
“And you have an idea where she might?”
“I… know where I would, if I were her.”
Or so she thought. We moved along the various passages for what felt like hours, her running a hand along walls. She stopped to listen to the house at times, and then muttered curses. I didn’t mind initially, considering what a view I had. While I felt bad for staring so much at first, this lady was so beautiful it almost felt like a crime not to. She was focused on finding answers, but my mind was more interested in the distraction from all of this that burying my face between her breasts would be.
As we were passing my room, I remembered the stains her fingers had left on my shirt and said, “Just a sec.”
“A what?”
“One moment.” I stepped in, went to my suitcase and found a new shirt. I quickly took off the old one, then noticed her looking at me to the extent that now I felt like the eye candy.
“Not bad, my lord.”
“Why do you call me that?”
She grinned as I put my shirt on, and said, “For the fun of it. You’re clearly not a lord, no offense, but I find men enjoy being put up on a pedestal. Do you not?”
“If you mean you’re flirting with me, I’ll take it.”
Her laugh was pleasant and every bit as seductive as her look. “I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot of time together, Jericho. Trust me, we’ll have our chance.”
