“No. Ireland.”
“Come and sit. I rarely have company,” Tex said.
He pointed to a blanket under a small makeshift shelter. Was that the man’s home? Tex settled himself under a metal awning that he must have constructed himself. Donal sat on the edge of the tattered blanket, his mind searching for a way to help this person.
“The dumpster outside the McDonald’s on fourth is a gold mine for food, too. I’ll head over there later.”
“Do you know what time Meg goes to work?”
“Meg?”
“Yes.”
The man cocked his head to one side. “You aren’t a stalker are you? Or a burglar?”
Donal put up his hands. “No sir. I’m just looking out for her welfare. I feel she is in danger and I must protect her.”
The quizzical look on Tex’s face told Donal the man didn’t understand.
“I don’t really keep track of her, but I think she works at the plant at the Navy Yard. I’ve seen her get on that bus.”
When in Ireland, she’d told him that she worked for a wool processing plant. That must be what Tex was talking about. He would have to plan on being on her route at some point so he could make contact.
“You asked if I was a stalker. This is a bad thing?” Donal said.
“Yes. Some men think they are dating a woman and aren’t.”
“I have no interest in dating Meg.”
He wasn’t allowed to. It went against the gargoyle code and why he and his brothers had been encased in stone. His next problem would be how to arrive and leave this roof without Tex seeing him fly. He couldn’t follow Meg on foot without her seeing him.
The first trip would mean going from building to building in the air. He’d have to distract Tex somehow and make sure the man wasn’t here when he returned. He’d never think he’d had bad hooch two nights in a row. Hooch? Some things didn’t change no matter how many millennia went by.
If only someone could guide him in the more subtle ways of the present that he couldn’t glean from Meg. She’d been their only visitor for years. No one could see the church unless they were a fairy and Donal was getting the impression that they were hard to come by these days.
Did no one believe in magic anymore? How sad that the world had moved on from that. It wasn’t a perfect time, but everyone knew their roles then.
Tex stood up abruptly. “It’s almost time for the food deliver at the deli on the corner. I can’t bring you with me, but I’ll bring some food back. You stay here.”
Tex left him. Perfect. Donal walked over to the side of the building where the entrance was. He’d watch for Meg then fly until she was safely at work. He didn’t know where the threat came from, but he knew in his soul that she was in danger.
Chapter Four
Meg had rushed out that morning to get to work, still feeling jetlagged. She hadn’t been able to get away for lunch so she invited her friends over for snacks and drinks that night.
She wasn’t going to cook and they didn’t expect her to so while she waited for her friends to arrive, she put the food out onto platters. She’d shopped on her way home. They didn’t need fancy, but they weren’t complete barbarians. Or maybe she wasn’t.
The doorbell wasn’t through buzzing when Colleen marched into the apartment. “Hey.”
They hugged. Colleen looked over the plates of food. “You having an army? You get enough food to satisfy an Italian grandma. I know. I have an Italian Grandma.”
Meg smiled. Colleen She was a defense attorney who had defended some high profile clients for her young age. She grabbed life with both hands but was the least serious of the three.
“Wine?”
“Of course,” Colleen said. “I cannot wait to hear all about Ireland.”
“It’s a beautiful country.”
They carried some platters into the living room. With the food settled onto the coffee table and their wine glasses filled, Meg sat on her loveseat. Colleen chose her usual spot on an antique rocking chair. Meg’s grandfather had made it when she’d been adopted by her parents.
“I bet. Do you at least have pictures?”
Meg pulled out her phone. She found her Irish Trip folder before handing the phone to Colleen. Her friend swiped to look at each picture while Meg sipped her wine.
“It is beautiful. I am so going there this year.”
“You haven’t taken a vacation in five years.”
Colleen laughed. “I know, but I plan on one this year. My boss has insisted. I have too much accumulated.”
“I’d go back in a minute.” Meg settled back in the cushions. “It felt like home.”
“Mm. I’ve never been anywhere that felt like that besides home, of course.”
Colleen brushed her reddish blonde hair out of her eyes. Meg knew she wore it in a bun at work, but the hair came down when she took off her suit. Literally and figuratively.
The doorbell rang again and Fiona breezed in, a bottle of wine in her hand. She wore a flowered skirt and a tank top. Sparkly Birkenstocks completed her outfit.
“Ola, gals,” Fiona said.
Her red hair in ringlets flopped around her face as she bounced into the room.
“Of course Fi brings a bottle of wine,” Colleen said.
“The hostess always gets a gift,” Fiona said, kissing Colleen’s cheek.
She kissed Meg then sat.
“I’m hardly a hostess,” Meg said.
Fiona shrugged. “Sorry it isn’t that creative. I was knee deep in clay when I realized what time it was.”
Meg reached over and pulled some gray matter out of Fiona’s hair. “You’re still knee deep in it.”
Fiona laughed. “Sorry. I have some figurines I have to make for a client.”
“Speaking of figurines,” Colleen said. “Show us this gargoyle.”
Meg’s eyes twinkled. “Let me get it.”
She headed into the bedroom while Meg and Colleen caught up on the news of the day. Meg looked at her nightstand. The gargoyle wasn’t there. She’d been so busy this morning and when she arrived home that she hadn’t notice. Odd. She searched under the bed.
“Something wrong?” Colleen said from the doorway.
Fiona stood beside her.
“I can’t find the gargoyle.”
Fiona waltzed into the room as she took control. “How big was it? Did you put it in your drawer?”
“Too big for the drawer,” Meg said as she stared at where it had been sitting.
Something niggled at her memory. Something she’d dreamt about last night.
Fiona looked under the bed. Colleen peered into the bathroom.
“You have the strangest look on your face,” Fiona said when she straightened.
“I had this odd dream. I thought someone was in my bedroom,” Meg said
She hadn’t been afraid. Instead she had a sense the person was there to protect her. From what she had no idea.
“And they stole the gargoyle?” Colleen said.
She let out a little laugh. Meg knew it sounded odd, but it was just as weird that her statue was gone. “I kind of liked that thing.”
“Oh? Tell me more about the dream?” Fiona said.
“It was a man and he had wings. I assumed that talking to the gargoyle before bed made me think of wings. I didn’t think anything of it besides that,” Meg said.
“You’re jetlagged,” Fiona said. “I think you need more wine.”
“What about my gargoyle?”
“Are you sure you didn’t dream bringing it home?” Fiona said.
Colleen shook her head. “She sent me a pic of it.”
“Ah,” Fiona said. “You didn’t move it somewhere?”
“No. I didn’t even look at it. I was late this morning,” Meg said.
Fiona locked arms with her. “You need more wine. I’m sure it will turn up. You did something with it in you sleep.”
Meg laughed. “That would be the only explanation that could make sense.”
Fiona dragged her back to the living room. Colleen handed Fiona Meg’s phone. “Check out the photos.”
Fiona flopped on the couch Meg’s phone in her hand. “Wow. I think I could truly be inspired in such a beautiful country.”
“As if you need anything to be creative,” Colleen said.
Fiona’s art had been in many galleries in the city. People from other countries commissioned pieces for their homes. She was that well known.
Fiona shrugged. “I’ve been doing fine when someone knows that they want, but I’ve had little inspiration for creating my own stuff.”
Meg turned to Fiona. “Really?”
Fiona frowned. “I’m sure it’s temporary.”
“I have a new boss,” Meg said.
“Colleen said that. Wasn’t that job your next step?” Fiona said.
“Yeah and I don’t know where it leaves me now. I may have to look outside the company for an advancement,” Meg said.
“But you love that company.”
Meg shrugged. “It’s changing and I think some of the higher ups who like me will be retiring soon.”
“Well, for tonight you don’t have to think about it,” Fiona said, handing the phone back to Meg.
“Nope. Tonight it is all about us,” Colleen said.
They toasted, smiling at each other. They were right. Meg didn’t have to think about it now, but she hoped she’d find the statue. She’d gotten used to talking out her problems with just such a gargoyle in Ireland.
She could use his quiet confidence right about now.
***
Donal perched on the edge of the roof, listening to the murmur of the conversation of Meg and her friends. He couldn’t make out the exact words because the windows were closed, but he could tell from the tone that they were friends.
Good. If she were going to be in danger, she would need people around her. Not just him, though she wasn’t going to defeat whoever was after her without him.
He wasn’t sure about the sounds of the city. There was just so many people here. Living as a stone statue on a church facing the North Atlantic had been boring. There had been no cities when he’d been animated last time. The fay and gargoyles lived in the country. Fairies preferred being underground while gargoyles liked high places to see if anyone was coming. Goblins travelled at night.
Donal dutifully surveyed the city. If a goblin was here, this would be when it would attack.
“Is that comfortable?” Tex said from behind him.
Donal glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
“Being perched like that.”
“Uh, yes.”
Donal hadn’t thought about how he was crouching. It was just something that gargoyles did. He’d never questioned it. Being tall, they wanted to make themselves less visible from a distance.
Tex leaned against the low wall surrounding the roof. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“I’ve been going over and over what I thought I saw last night,” Tex said.
Uh. Oh. “Yes?”
“You did fly onto the roof.”
Donal weighed telling the man the truth. He’d been his only friend so far. “Yes. I did.”
The man didn’t flinch. “What are you?”
“A gargoyle.”
“Like on Eastern State Penitentiary? Come to life?”
Donal didn’t know the place the man was talking about, but he could explain his story. “I’m not from there. I’m from Ireland.”
“Well, yeah. The accent. I get it.”
Donal smiled. He listened to the girls’ conversation winding down. Meg would be asleep soon. “Do you want to hear my story?”
Tex laughed. “I’ve got nothing but time. Oh, I brought you back some food.”
Donal had to admit he was hungry, but he could go for days without eating if necessary. Not that he’d ever had to. Hunting was one of his skills, but he wasn’t sure where to hunt in this city. “Go raibh maith agat.”
“What?” Tex said.
“Thank you.”
Donal followed Tex to his hovel. They sat on a blanket. Tex opened a bag with golden arches on it, handing Donal something with meat and bread and something green in it.
“It’s a Big Mac. The restaurant has to throw out food that has been around for a certain time. This manager often cooks it up and leaves it outside for us homeless.”
Donal dug into it, but wasn’t sure he could eat a lot of it. It made him thirsty.
“It isn’t fine cuisine,” Tex said, “but it fills the belly.”
A few minutes after eating it, Donal could still feel the Big Mac in his stomach. He guessed it was an acquired taste. “Are there places to fish?”
“There are fish in the Delaware and the Schuylkill Rivers.”
Donal pointed to the East. “This river here? What is it?”
“That’s the Schuylkill River.”
“Skookill?”
“That works. It’s one of those words that it’s easy for us Philadelphians to say.”
So that was the name of the city. When he was in Meg’s bag he couldn’t see anything and truly had no idea where he was. He only knew that the sun rose over the ocean that he’d seen during his flight. He wondered if it was the same ocean that he’d been staring at for centuries.
“There is an ocean that way,” Donal said, pointing east again.
“The Atlantic.”
“Ta.”
So he was on the other side of it. He wasn’t homesick, he was just happy to know there was water nearby and not just a river or two.
“So, now that I’ve shared my food, will you tell me your story?”
Donal sighed. He might as well tell him everything. “First, if I find us meat, is there a way to cook it?”
Tex eyed him. “You stealing stuff?”
“No, I saw some green and I think I can get some animals. If not, I can fish.”
“You need a license to fish.”
“I will be fishing at night. No one will know,” Donal said.
Tex shrugged. “Okay. I don’t think I can cook at night because then that’ll bring attention to us.” He pointed down. “There are apartments with stoves and ovens downstairs. Most of the residents go to work somewhere else so we could sneak in.” Tex flexed his hands. “I can usually jimmy a lock.”
“That would be wrong?”
Tex laughed. “When you are homeless what is right and wrong kind of blurs. We won’t take anything from them, just use their oven.”
Donal nodded. He had a feeling his sense of things were going to be tested, but he also knew he would do whatever needed to be done to protect Meg. He would need to stay alive and eat to do that.
“Then I will go fishing when the sun sets. If you do me a favor.”
“Sure.”
“Can you stay awake until I get back and look out for goblins?”
“Goblins? Well I don’t know what they look like.”
Donal rubbed his chin. He needed a shave. “They are small creatures with pointy ears and lots of teeth. They will be furtive and sneaky.”
“Will they be on the roof?”
“I don’t know. I just know that they might be coming for Meg.”
Tex straightened. “I will protect Meg.”
Chapter Five
Meg decided on a coffee before she climbed onto the bus for her trip to the Navy Yard where her company’s offices were. The day had dawned sunny with only a hint of humidity. The dog days of summer were a few months away.
The coffee shop on the corner of her block was teeming with college students. Some waited in line with backpacks. Others sprawled by tables with laptops opened in front of them. She recalled those days of pajama bottoms and coffee.
She was sure a group project was going on in one corner.
“Large coffee with a shot of cinnamon,” she said when it was her turn.
She needed a little spice this morning.
Glancing around as she
waited for her order, she realized she didn’t miss those days. When she left work, she was done. She never had to bring any home. She never had finals, just the stress of a new boss who she hadn’t met yet.
She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She could handle this or she could find a new job. She had her degree from Wharton and that meant you could write your own ticket. Because she’d had an internship with this company and loved her boss she’d stayed with them. Maybe it was time to move on.
As she walked towards the door, a man at a table caught her eye. He had pale skin and black hair over the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. She almost stopped to gawk at him, but knew that wouldn’t be acceptable.
In Ireland people were friendlier. She had to remember as much as it was the City of Brotherly Love, it was a still a city.
He smiled at her over his newspaper. How odd. She hadn’t seen someone close to her read the newspaper in ages. Must be an old soul. There was something familiar about him, but she didn’t think she’d seen him before today.
She smiled back then pushed open the door to outside.
A crowd of people waited at the bus stop. When it finally arrived, she climbed on only to see the guy in the coffee shop sitting in the back. He must have gotten on at the back door. This could be fate, not that she believed in such flights of fancy. Still. She could sit next to him.
She traversed to the back. He still had his paper in his hand, but no briefcase. Seemed odd, but she was on the bus with lots of people.
“Hi,” she said. She motioned to the seat next to him. “Anyone sitting there?”
“Not that I can see.”
His words carried the slightest lilt of Ireland. She sat. “You’re from Ireland.”
“Yes.”
“I was just there on business.”
“Where?”
“Leanaun.”
He nodded. “I’m from County Galway.”
“What a coincidence,” she said.
She looked out the window, not wanting to disturb him if he was going to read his newspaper. He folded it up. “Where are you headed?”
“The Navy Yard.”
“Me, too.”
“You work there?”
“A new job,” he said. “My first day.”
“Oh. That’s why I haven’t seen you before,” she said.
When Garogyles Love Trilogy Page 3
