“Suit yourself.” Harriet glanced out the window then back to Donal. “Meg’s family wiped out my family.”
“When?”
“Several millennia ago.”
“And you still hold a grudge?”
“There was a fairy who escaped. Meg’s ancestors.”
“And you think Meg knows anything about that?”
“Whether she does or doesn’t, I have to kill her. I’m just having fun making her miserable first. Then my family’s curse will be done.”
“You think she’s the last of the line?”
“As far as I know,” Harriet said.
Donal cocked his head. “What’s the curse?”
He knew a few things about curses so he couldn’t help his curiosity.
“That we only live to be forty.”
Back in the day, that would have been old, but Donal knew life expectancy had increased since then. He rubbed his chin. “And I’m betting that you’re approaching that age.”
Harriet’s back went straight. “It took me a little time to find Meg. Her parents hid her well.”
“Did you kill her parents?”
“No, my sister did, but she’s gone now. We didn’t know Meg existed until my sister was already dead.”
“Did you kill her adoptive parents?” Donal said.
He still didn’t know how he was getting out of the situation alive. Harriet didn’t have him trapped, but he knew he’d never get far if she wanted him dead. He cursed himself for walking into this trap.
His judgment had been clouded by his feelings for Meg. He never should have made contact, but he’d been forced to. He couldn’t protect her without her knowing who she was. Life had been simpler years ago. Everyone knew who their enemy were. Today, people hid behind facades.
He’d told her about her true nature to shield Meg, but that had been a mistake. If he’d had more time to convince her what she was, he could have then showed her who he was.
It might have been a shock, but at least they would be together in dealing with Harriet.
“You know that you aren’t getting out of here alive.”
“And what if Meg isn’t the last line of fairies?”
She leaned forward on her desk. “Do you know something?”
“I’m just saying, you had trouble finding Meg. What if she has sisters?”
Harriet waved a hand. “Well we’ll just have to ask her.”
“What?”
Harriet laughed then nodded at the door. Donal turned his head to see Meg standing there, her mouth open, her face pale, her eyes round.
Chapter Nine
A gasp escaped Meg’s lips. She put a hand to her mouth. What had brought her back here? She’d never know, but now she was glad she had. Why would Donal be talking to Harriet? “Oh?”
Harriet laughed, drawing Meg’s attention to her. She couldn’t figure out why Donal would be here. Because of her past experiences with men, she was sure it wasn’t good. She stepped into the office. “What’s going on?”
Donal’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. Harriet cackled again. This could not be good.
“You going to tell her?” Harriet said.
She hadn’t stopped laughing. Donal fidgeted in his seat. Guess he hadn’t been expecting her. “Meg.”
“Save it.”
“Why are you so sure this is a bad thing?” he said.
He stood and took a step towards her, but he was catapulted back into the chair. It looked as if he’d been yanked into it. His mouth gaped open and his arms flailed. Something was terribly wrong with this situation
She blinked as Donal struggled to get out of the chair. She shook her head, before turning to leave.
But she couldn’t. There was something compelling her to stay.
“Let her go,” Donal said.
“Not until she knows what you are.”
Meg looked over her shoulder as Donal gave Harriet a horrified look. She had no idea what was stopping her, but things were too weird. Had she eaten something wrong at lunch? Was this an hallucination?
Invisible fingers dug into her and spun her around.
“Show her,” Harriet said.
“She isn’t ready,” Donal ground out.
“All the more reason.”
Harriet laughed wickedly.
“You have to let me up,” Donal said.
He was able to stand, but he pulled at his legs with his hands.
“You aren’t going anywhere, Donal. Just transform so we can get this over with,” Harriet said.
Donal mouthed “Forgive me,” then the air around him shimmered like a special effect. As she watched, her heart beating out of her chest, Donal’s features changed. His skin became scaly lizard green. His feet grew talons and out of his back two wings sprouted. Where Donal had been, a hideous gargoyle-like creature stood.
A familiar gargoyle.
He looked like a larger version of the one she had talked to in Ireland. What the?
Her mouth hung open. Was Donal that gargoyle? How could that be?
None of this made sense. Her brain couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation. She doubted she ever would. Whatever force had held her in place was gone. She spun around and raced out of her boss’ office, unsure if she would ever come back.
She ran to the stairwell, the sound of Harriet’s cackling laugh chasing her. Before she reached the bottom floor, her phone was dialing Colleen. “I need to see both of you. Now. At my apartment.”
“I’ll call Fi. No worries.”
Chapter Ten
Colleen had convinced Meg that she’d pick her up after getting Fiona. An expensive car stopped in front of her office building. The window rolled down to reveal Colleen driving and Fiona in the passenger’s seat.
“Hop in,” Fiona said.
Meg climbed into the car.
“Tell us everything.” Fiona shifted in her seat to look at Meg.
Meg tried to compose herself, but the words gushed out, belying her panic.
“Donal’s a gargoyle.”
She’d been admitting it in her head but saying it out loud to her best friends didn’t make it sound any less crazy. Fiona and Colleen exchanged a glance. Meg held up her hand. “I know it sounds crazy, but I know what I saw. In front of my eyes, wings came out of his back and fangs sprouted from his mouth. He looked like a larger version of the gargoyle I’d spoken to in Ireland.”
She rubbed her hand down her face. “.He told me that I was a fairy and that I could wish good things for people. So I wished that the coffee man could get his past due bills paid, and they did. Right then and there. Then I wished that my aide would get (I can’t remember what it was, but put it here) and that came true. Right away. Right after I wished it. Too specific to be coincidence. I’ve been wishing for good things for people and they’ve come true.
“But I wished that Harriet, my new boss, would get a better job offer, and that didn’t come true. I have no idea why, but it just got worse. For Donal. And me.”
Meg told them everything that Donal had told her that had seemed preposterous a while ago, and all that happened in the office before she couldn’t say anything more. Colleen had stopped the car, but they were still in the parking lot of the Navy Yard.
“Okay, let’s start from the beginning,” Fiona said.
Meg took a deep breath. “There was this church in Ireland, outside of Leenane that I used to visit. Pretty, and very old. Ruined for the most part. But peaceful. There were three gargoyles on a shelf above the door. I used to talk to one of them about my issues. There was so much going on and he was a good listener. You must think I'm crazy.”
Fiona pulled out her phone. “Okay. Got it. He was a gargoyle. Spell the name of the town.”
Meg did. Fiona brought it up on her phone’s map app. She handed it to Meg. “Show us this church.”
“I can’t. It won’t show on Google Maps.”
Colleen’s brow wrinkled. “Why not?”
; “Because it can’t be seen except by fairies,” Meg said.
Both friends nodded slowly. “Donal told you that.”
“Yes. But I didn’t imagine the church or the gargoyles,” Meg said. She crossed her arms. Her friends weren’t helping.
“Okay. This is so wild, but let’s assume that Donal is a gargoyle. Did you feel any threat from him?” Fiona said.
At least it appeared that they believed her. Did she feel threatened in any way by the gargoyle? She pondered that for a moment. “No. I think the threat came from Harriet.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
She recalled the scene. Harriet was laughing. She demanded that Donal show Meg who he really was. He’d been reluctant, but he did it and what did she do? She’d run away. Oh. God.
She’d run away.
“What did you think was going on?” Fiona asked.
What had she thought was going on?
She replied slowly, gathering her thoughts on this impossible situation. “I don’t know. I just assumed it wasn’t good. The guy I like and the boss I hate were together in a room.”
“You assumed that he was doing something wrong?” Colleen asked.
Meg put a hand over her mouth. “I did. He was stuck there. Helpless. The same way I had been only moments before. He couldn’t move even after I could. Harriet must have done that.”
She couldn’t get the vision out of her head. He’d looked at her helplessly. His eyes pleaded with her, but she’d walked away.
“Didn’t you mention that you thought Harriet was odd? Something was wrong with her?” Fiona asked.
“Yes. And I left him there. Alone with Harriet.”
Meg reached for the door handle. “He tried to convince me that I was a fairy. He’d never had a chance to tell me what he was.”
“You don’t know the whole story,” Fiona said.
Her friend was right. Meg hopped out of the car and raced back to the office. She had to help Donal even if she didn’t know what she could do. She heard her friends not far behind her. She couldn’t wait for them.
The ice around her heart melted and knew she had to be with Donal. Why had she been so reluctant to help him? It seemed the obvious course of action. She must go to him. Now.
***
Donal had watched Meg go, his heart breaking. He was at Harriet’s mercy now, but he would go down fighting. He’d stay in his gargoyle form, and he might have a chance against her. His duty was to protect Meg and that meant defeating Harriet.
Her human form disappeared and she sat on the desk in goblin form. Her eyes burned red. Her skin had turned green and her ears stuck out to the sides. What truly intimidated him was the many teeth in her mouth.
She hissed and spit at him, but he couldn’t move his feet. He could defend himself, but not as easily with his feet stuck to the ground. He would die trying because that was the creed of the gargoyle.
Meg was his fairy and even if she never knew his feelings for her, he would do his best to keep her safe. What he’d love to have was an enchanted sword, but those were not easy to come by in Philadelphia in the twenty first century.
No, he’d have to bite her on the neck and sever that main artery. It would take all of the power in his jaw. If he could get her close enough he could get his talons in her and keep her still, but she was a goblin. And she was free. She moved quicker than he did.
He licked his lips, feeling the sharpness of his gargoyle teeth. He hadn’t been able to fly in a few days so he hadn’t been in this form recently. He was getting used to his human form.
He flapped his wings. At least they still moved.
“Prepare to die, gargoyle,” the grotesque figure snarled.
Her fetid breath washed over him, making him want to gag, but he wouldn’t show weakness. He had a warrior’s heart and if it stopped beating today at lease it would stop in battle. He swiped at her, but she leaned out of the way. He hadn’t ever encountered a goblin that had magical powers like this. Had they developed since he’d been in stone?
He was truly out of his depth. Still. He thought of Meg. If he defeated Harriet, Meg would be fine. No one would bother her and his appearance in her life would just be a footnote.
The idea of Meg with someone else hurt him, but not as much as the swat from Harriet. He leaned out of the way, but not enough. She took a chunk of his armored skin. It would take more than that to get through it. Right now it remained his strongest defense. His skin wouldn’t last forever, but if he could hang on until the goblin made a mistake…then he’d strike. It might be the only recourse he’d have.
Harriet cackled again as she flew at him. He grabbed her and held her away from him, her face inches from his. He gagged on her breath and awful stench. Baby powder couldn’t cover her true smell in her true form.
He bared his teeth, his head leaning to one side. Before he could take a bite she was back on the desk, crouching. Then he snapped his jaws at her. A wound appeared on her side and he’d done that.
He growled in triumph, but it was short-lived as the goblin threw herself at him. As much as he outweighed her, she had momentum on her side. He held onto her, his talons digging into her as his other warm went down to break his fall.
The goblin stole a glance behind him and growled.
“Stop!” a voice sounded from the doorway.
Chapter Eleven
Her boss had turned into some hideous creature with fangs and claws and tiny wings coming out from her back. Even worse than she was in human form. Meg shuddered, but she knew that she had to save Donal. He was fighting for her. She didn’t know exactly why she finally believed what he’d told her, but she did.
Maybe being faced with two fantastic creatures she’d only read about in stories as a child had changed her mind.
Her hand moved defensively and a ball of light shot from it. The ball hit Harriet, who screamed. Donal managed to get himself upright.
“Touch me, Meg and undo her magic,” Donal whispered.
She didn’t want to be close to the monsters, but she did it anyway. At her touch Donal was able to pick up his feet. That gave him some leverage to grab Harriet. He sunk his talons into her.
“Turn around,” he said to Meg. “You don’t need to see this.”
She couldn’t take her eyes of off them. “Go ahead. I want to see her demise. She’s screwed me over for the last time.”
Donal nodded then sunk his teeth into the creature’s neck. Black ichor spurted out in all directions. Meg was so fascinated by the scene, she didn’t even flinch when some hit her.
It smelled like an infection. Harriet let out a bloodcurdling scream again then her body went limp in Donal’s hands. Meg stepped toward them, wanting to touch Donal again.
He’d killed the creature.
“No.” Donal held Meg back with his outspread wings. “She isn’t dead yet. I can still hear her heart beat,” he said.
Meg nodded, wondering where her friends had gotten to. When the creature finally let out what could only be a death gasp, Donal let go of it. His gaze went to Meg. “You’re safe.”
Somehow she knew that. She ran to Donal, who stepped away. “I’m a mess, Meg.”
He transformed before her eyes. The fangs receded. The wings tucked themselves back into him and his legs were once again like a man. Somehow his clothes had appeared though they were tainted with a black substance.
Colleen and Fiona burst into the room. They looked at everything. “What the Hell happened here?”
Donal swung around to face them and began barking orders. “Get Meg home and cleaned up.” He lowered his gaze. “You ladies weren’t here.”
“But the cameras,” Meg spoke quickly.
The gargoyle shook his head. “I can take care of those recordings. Go, Meg. I have to take care of this body.”
Her friends yanked her out of the room before she could ask any more questions. Or they could ask of her.
***
; Donal sighed. The goblin was dead. He figured there were more so Meg might need his help, but would she ever look at him the same way again?
That was a concern for another time. Now he had to erase those recordings then clean up Harriet’s office. There would be no explaining black goo on her carpet. Meg had to keep working here so he had to do this right.
Tex. Would the man help him?
He fished his phone out of the pocket of his jeans. He pushed the buttons on the phone for Tex.
“Donal?”
“I need your help.”
“Where?” Tex said.
Donal had to smile. He’d made a friend. He gave Tex the address where he was then he tucked the phone back into his pocket. Retrieving products from the janitor’s closet, Donal set about cleaning up the remnants of Harriet. He’d drop her in the ocean later to hopefully be eaten by fish. There would be too many questions if her monstrous body washed up on the shore somewhere.
Tex arrived a half an hour later. He surveyed what Donal was doing, his gaze taking in the dead body of the goblin. “What do you need?”
“Can you finish up here?” Donal said.
“Do you have a bag for that…thing?” Tex asked.
Donal held up a black trash bag. “I just need to get it to the roof then I’ll unwrap her. You don’t have to do this.”
“I’m fine, Donal. Go do what needs to be done.”
With the goblin bagged, Donal climbed the steps to the roof. The sun was setting and he hoped it would be dark enough for him to avoid anyone seeing him if they looked up. He took Harriet’s goblin body out of the bag then turned back into his gargoyle form.
He flapped his wings as he carried her out to sea. She dropped with a soft splash while he hovered, making sure she sank. He was back in human form when he landed on the roof.
His thoughts went to Meg. She’d come through in the clutch, but would she have permanent trauma from the event?
Chapter Twelve
Meg hadn’t seen Donal since the craziness of the previous night. At three p.m. she’d awakened, thinking he was there, but she’d seen no sign of him.
When Garogyles Love Trilogy Page 7
