by Shane Morgan
I dropped my head and sniffled. “They’re monitoring her. Anything could happen.”
A warm hand touched my arm. I looked up and met Sarayas’s saddened features. She was now in her human form. “No, Calissa. We meant…”
“I’m sorry,” Lars muttered again, “but if she’s still alive, she will turn.”
“What?” I spat. Then it hit me, and my eyes widened. The demon blade. “No. But I didn’t turn into one.”
Sarayas lowered her hand from me. “Calissa, you’ve managed to remember even after drinking Obel’s elixir. More than ever, it’s clear to us that you’re no ordinary human. I’m not so sure about your friend.”
“I have to be certain.” Lars switched into his human form. I’d only now noticed his black clothing and matching jacket from the club. Strange how my body had sensed the familiarity before my mind caught up.
His handsome face and sincere eyes almost made me forget the dread of the night.
Almost.
Lars handed his spear to Sarayas and secured a knife in his left boot. My anxiety grew.
When he started past me, I gripped his arm. “No! Shari’s fine. She won’t turn.”
“Forgive me,” he murmured.
Sarayas grabbed my hand and pulled me back.
“No, wait. Let me go! Lars, don’t do it. She’s fine. Lars, please.”
He stopped walking and cast a sidelong glance. His eyes lingered on my face a moment before he said, “Let Calissa go, Sarayas. She needs to see.”
I marched ahead of him, convinced that my friend was all right. Still human. Shari wasn’t going to turn into a demon. I was sure of it. She would fight the change.
“Stop,” Lars said when we crossed the street to the entrance of the hospital. He slipped off his jacket and put it over my shoulder. “You’ve been shaking since...”
Caught up with everything going on with Shari, I hadn’t paid attention to myself. I did feel cold in the warm air, probably brought on by anger and pain.
“Thanks,” I mumbled and continued inside.
Shari’s parents were sitting in the waiting room, holding each other, and quietly praying. Hakeem paced around, hands on his head.
“What’s going on?” I asked him, fear rising in me once again.
“She stopped breathing a few minutes ago.” He roughly wiped his face. “They said she’s okay now. We’re waiting for them to move her to another room.”
“Oh…” I peered at Shari’s door, shoulders drooping.
Lars gently touched my back as if to comfort me. But I shuddered, and he moved his hand fast.
Swallowing hard, I asked Hakeem, “Did they say if it’s okay to see her again?”
“Not right now,” he answered. “I swear if I get my hands on the piece of shit who did this…” He didn’t finish, too overcome with fury. He plopped down on a chair as if exhausted and rocked while tears streamed down his face.
I turned to Lars. He glanced at Shari’s room door and back at me.
“It’s too public,” he whispered. “But you must understand, Calissa, the longer we wait, the lesser the chance of stopping her from escaping.”
“She won’t turn,” I whispered back harshly. “And if you think I’ll stand by and watch you kill my best friend, you have another thing coming. I will stop you, Lars.”
His eyes wilted with remorse. “Know that if I don’t, another guardian will.” He walked past me and sat on the other side of the waiting room away from everyone.
I collapsed on the chair next to Hakeem.
And so, we waited.
Thank goodness Shari was still here. I couldn’t lose her. She was all I had in this life.
My eyes started to blur for some reason, and a vision of fire in dry, cracked lands came to me. A chilling roar boomed in my head then. I straightened on the chair, gripping the edge of the seat and trying to breathe steadily.
No soon after calming down, a loud beeping went off all of a sudden. My body instantly became tense.
Nurses ran past us, heading for Shari’s room.
“Oh, no!” Her parents cried and stood up quickly. “What’s happening?”
Hakeem dashed in that direction with them.
I glanced over to where Lars had sat. He was gone.
No.
I hurried to the room. Everyone was gathered inside, mystified.
Her bed was empty.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Mr. Graham yelled at the nurses. “She’s injured! How could she just get up and walk out?”
“Where did she go?” Mrs. Graham wept.
We filed out of the room and began searching for my friend. This couldn’t be happening.
Did Lars take Shari?
Dammit.
If he did anything to her, I would never forgive him.
Reaching the end of the corridor, I yanked open the door and came unto a set of stairs. One led to the top, and the other was for the emergency exit.
I was about to go down when I glimpsed spots of blood leading up. Gasping, I hurried in that direction and opened the door, running outside to the top of the building.
Frantic, I searched the area until locating Lars. He had his eyes set ahead. When I followed his gaze, I saw Shari in her hospital gown. A few spots of blood at her stomach. She didn’t seem to be in pain, though.
Lars morphed into a gargoyle and took the silver knife from his boot.
“No!” I ran toward him.
He grasped my arm and warned, “Stay back, Calissa. She’s not your friend anymore.”
“Yes, she is!” I countered, fighting to free myself.
“Look!” he yelled. “Look at the eyes!”
Shari stood at the edge. Her eyes. My God. They were blazing red. She had an evil smirk on her face, chest rising and falling intensely.
A dark shadow formed behind her within seconds.
“No.” Lars shoved me to the ground and leaped into the air, flying toward her with his knife pointed straight, ready to kill my best friend.
Rahel appeared suddenly and embraced Shari, pulling her inside the darkness just as Lars slashed at them. They vanished into thin air.
He landed on the edge of the building and glared back at me, huffing in disappointment.
Flying back, Lars pulled me from the ground. “Your friend is no more. I am sorry, but you must accept that.”
Tears trickled down my face. He stepped closer, lifting a hand as if to touch me. When I staggered away, he reconsidered.
“I have to return you to the Gargouille kingdom.” His voice came out rough.
“What about Shari?” I rasped, crying. “We have to find her. Maybe it’s not too late.”
“She is gone!” he sputtered. “This is the truth of your world, Calissa. The next time you see her, she will be your enemy.”
I cringed.
My enemy? “No, I don’t believe it. Shari could never be that. She would never hurt me.”
His jaw clenched.
Frustrated breaths seeped out.
“Come,” he growled, reaching for me. “It is not safe here.”
“No. I’m going to find her.”
Ignoring my squirming, Lars tightened his arms around my body and ascended into the clouds like the speed of a bullet.
8
When we landed in the courtyard of the Gargouille kingdom, no one was excited about my reappearance, as expected. Once again, I curled over and threw up the contents of my stomach, shaken from crossing into a different world.
“Have you gone mad?” Anya scolded Lars, storming up to us. One of the guards was with her. “You were told to return the human, Lars.”
“Calissa remembers us. She remembers after drinking the elixir,” he explained.
Irritation contorted her features. She snapped her head to me. “How is that possible?”
Lars flared his hands. “I do not know. But whatever the truth is behind Calissa’s existence, it drove Rahel to make another attempt at taking her. Our leade
rs are wrong. It is not a coincidence. She seems to be important to the demon master.”
“Rahel said I was the key,” I muttered, trying to stand up straight. Their eyes focused on me.
“The key to what?” Lars asked, voice low.
“Don’t know.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Take me to the sacred pool.”
Anya gasped; eyes enlarged as she cut to Lars. “You told her about the elder’s sacred pool?”
“I did,” admitted Obel. He ambled toward us. “And I agree, she needs to enter.”
Sarayas and Ezio landed in the courtyard right after. Sarayas evaded my eyes.
“No sign of the newly turned demon,” said Ezio.
“Shari…” My voice cracked. I hugged myself as a brand-new ambush of pain came over me.
My best friend is gone.
Lars shifted closer to my side and touched my arm. He’d switched from his gargoyle self.
Anya glanced over me and hissed. “Filthy human.” Looking at Lars, she warned, “Regardless of what you think, King Deo and the queen will not take too lightly to this.” Then she stormed off toward the large stone building, the guard following her.
“Come with me,” Lars said softly, motioning in the direction of the sleeping quarters.
“What about getting answers?” I swallowed and added, “Shari?”
He turned his head. “You’ve endured quite a lot. You should clean up. We will meet with the leaders after.”
“But…I need answers now.” I’d lost too much.
Obel chimed in, “I understand your distress, Calissa. However, I am sure you’d like to remove your friend’s blood from your body.” He waved at my t-shirt.
I glanced down at myself and eased aside Lars’s jacket. They were right. I felt sickened by my drenched top and stained fingers.
Quietly, I walked with Lars into the massive building and went out to the garden and hot spring. He retrieved fresh clothing for me, and I washed Shari’s blood away from my skin, discarding my clothes afterward.
When I finished cleaning up and meandered to his room, I saw Lars standing at the opening in deep thought. He was in his human form, dressed in a white shirt and matching loose pants.
“We’ve all lost someone to the dark ones,” he said, tone low and compassionate. Facing me, he observed my appearance and exhaled. “I know it hurts, but the best thing to do is set Shari’s soul free. She’s suffering within that body now.”
A tear escaped and slithered down my cheek. Lars came up to me and wiped it away with his thumb.
He sighed. “You do not fear me like this, only as my true self?”
“I don’t fear you,” I said, looking into his grey eyes and feeling warm as I recalled him watching me hours ago in the club.
“But…you always quiver when I’m a gargoyle. You even refer to us as weird creatures.”
I ruffled my curls and walked to the opening, gazing up at the starry sky. Although my heart ached, the waterfall was calming to my ears.
Lars came to my side. He stayed quiet.
“At first, I was afraid,” I admitted. “Can you blame me? My world has changed completely in a matter of days, and I can’t begin to understand why. I’ve learned that the beings you read about in books are real. You…you’re real.” I looked at him as I went on. “My best friend is gone, Lars, and I don’t even know why. She was all I had. She was my only family.”
The damn broke free once again, and my body trembled as I cried.
Surprisingly, Lars towed me into his arms and allowed me to break down against his chest. He didn’t speak; just held me there while I bawled for what felt like forever.
9
As night transitioned into day and back again to dark, I stayed in bed, unable to find the strength to get up. Stuck in an abyss of immense loss, I’d barely slept. My eyes ached from so much crying. My body felt weighed down with pain and anger. And my heart… It was broken. Empty.
Lars hung around the entire time, always watching, and even tried speaking to me, but I hadn’t heard a word. Still, his presence provided a bit of peace.
Sunlight poured into the room, indicating the start of another day since losing Shari.
Releasing a painful breath, I rolled over in the ginormous gargoyle bed. My heart fluttered to find Lars near the opening in the wall in his human form.
I uncurled my body and struggled to sit up when he moseyed over to the bed.
“You did not sleep,” he said, sitting beside me. “Nor would you eat.”
I glanced down at my hands. They were no longer stained, but I could still see my best friend’s blood on them.
“You didn’t sleep either,” I breathed out.
He lightly touched my arm. “We rarely do. Besides, I was concerned for you, and it is much more refreshing to watch you dream.”
Curious by his words, I met his gaze. “Gargoyles, don’t dream?”
“No.” A half-smile tugged at his lips, making my body relax some. “That is a human thing.” Lars glided over my face, studying me. “What do you dream of, Calissa?”
I rolled my shoulders. “Crazy things. Sometimes good, and at times…terrible.”
“I see,” he muttered, still observing my features.
“Um, what’s it like?” I asked, not looking away even though an indescribable sensation was trickling across my skin. “I mean, being a gargoyle?”
Creasing his forehead in thought, Lars dropped his eyes to my fingers and cautiously traced them with his hand. His touch was rough yet soothing. “It feels natural. It is all I know. There is pride in being a gargoyle. I find it difficult to explain.”
“I get it. You say you watch over our world, what are some of the things you like about humans?”
His face brightened as he peered up at me again. “Your desire for freedom. To live how you choose.”
I scowled. “So do gargoyles, no?”
“We are restricted by rules. We do only what is expected of us and what is instructed by our leaders. We do not get to choose.”
“Hmm.” This intrigued me. “If you could, what would you choose?”
Lars pondered while staring at my lips. As he moved closer, I gulped and reacted with shudders when he gently brushed my face with the back of his hand.
He seemed so fascinated. Perhaps this was the closest he’d ever been to a human. A woman at that.
Someone knocked on the door and pushed it open suddenly, making us both jump up from the bed.
One of the king’s bulky guards entered. “Lars, the council has gathered in the great hall. They have waited while the woman grieves as you’ve requested, but will no longer do so. The leaders ask that you join them immediately.”
My heart warmed. Lars had asked them to give me time? That was thoughtful of him. But now all I could think of was taking revenge for Shari.
“I’m coming,” I told the guard boldly.
Lars nodded to him in respect, and we followed him out of the room, walking down the long passage and across a lovely garden being cared for by children.
The young gargoyles were quite beautiful, both males and females. Like tiny cherubs.
Moments later, we reached the vast hall. Sunlight flowed into the room from the tall glass ceilings. The architecture of this entire kingdom was remarkable. A freaking masterpiece, hidden from the human eye.
Obel, Ezio, and Sarayas were already there waiting. Sarayas glanced away as if uneasy when I gazed at her.
Luuk and Ilris stood off to the side.
Ilris offered me an empathetic smile. I managed a partial one in return.
My stomach clenched when I glimpsed an annoyed-looking Anya. She narrowed her gaze and fired invisible lasers.
The woman-gargoyle did not like me for whatever reason.
We came to a halt in the middle of the room.
King Deo harrumphed aloud from the stone platform where his throne stood. “Condolences for your loss. But I was also informed that you remember our world
after drinking the elixir. How?”
“We’re beyond curious, human. Just who are you?” Queen Vaira sat next to her king. She had a perplexed expression.
“No freaking idea,” I replied truthfully. “Before this whole thing started, I was a simple girl working at a hookah lounge. I have no clue who my birth parents are or why my life has turned upside down.”
I paused as pain rippled through my body. My voice came out low and shaky as I continued. “All I know is, my best friend was stabbed and turned into a demon because of me. And that a demon master thinks I’m some kind of a key.”
Whispers erupted in the room.
“What key?” asked the king, hushing everyone.
I threw my hands up. “I don’t know. Didn’t think to ask while the only family I had was bleeding out before me.”
“Father,” Lars cut in, “we seek permission for Calissa to enter the sacred pool, so we can find answers once and for all.”
Loud chatter resulted. Everyone seemed stunned.
Queen Vaira shot up from her throne. “Never. No human is allowed.”
“Then tell me what to do,” I argued, exhausted by the whole thing. “Because I’m getting to a point where if I see another demon, I might just go willingly.”
Gasps resounded as a result of my candor.
Queen Vaira ignored me and glanced over my shoulder. “Obel, surely you must have an idea by now?”
“I’m afraid not,” he answered, stepping up to my side. “I’ve never seen demons so determined to take one human.”
“I agree,” Lars added. “Calissa doesn’t know her bloodline, so we have nowhere else to seek answers. The sacred pool is the only way. Please, Mother. Father. She’s lost someone she cared for deeply. We must help.”
His sincere words touched me so much, I looked at him and gave a slight smile in appreciation.
“But a human has never stepped foot inside our sacred pool, brother,” Luuk pointed out. “Let alone a human that is tainted by a demon blade.”
“That is very risky,” Queen Vaira said. “A curse could befall us from doing such a thing.”
The great hall exploded into loud arguments, everyone apprehensive about Lars’s plea.
“Silence!” King Deo shouted at the room.
