Stone Cursed

by Lisa Carlisle

  Stone Cursed

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Taurus

  Lisa Carlisle

  Contents

  Stone Cursed

  About Stone Cursed

  Other Books by Lisa Carlisle

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Zodiac Shifters

  Acknowledgments

  Knights Of Stone: Mason

  Knights Of Stone: Lachlan

  Knights Of Stone: Bryce

  Seth

  Knights Of Stone: Calum

  The Highland Gargoyles Series

  About the Author

  Stone Cursed

  Copyright 2018 Lisa Carlisle

  Edited by Chris Allen-Riley

  Cover design by Ravenborn: https://www.facebook.com/RavenbornCovers

  *

  The right of Lisa Carlisle to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please do so through your retailer’s “lend” function. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at lisacarlislebooks@gmail.com.

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

  Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at lisacarlislebooks.com, facebook.com/lisacarlisleauthor, or @lisacbooks.

  Created with Vellum

  Stone Cursed

  Lisa Carlisle

  STONE CURSED

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Taurus

  by Lisa Carlisle

  About Stone Cursed

  Locked in stone.

  On his night off from sentry duty, gargoyle shifter Alec heads out for a night flight. But, when he spots a strange green light, he soars closer to investigate.

  And is caught…

  Veda has had doubts about Kai since they left their coven to seek ley lines in the Scottish Highlands. But, when he curses a gargoyle with dark magic, she’s forced to act. How can she free the gargoyle from his stone prison without invoking Kai’s notorious wrath?

  If you’re a fan of the Zodiac Shifter novels, you’ll love meeting this Taurus shifter who is as sensual as he is stubborn.

  Stone Cursed is standalone novella in the Highland Gargoyles series.

  Other Books by Lisa Carlisle

  Underground Encounters series

  Steamy paranormal romances set in a underground goth club that attracts vampires, witches, shifters, and gargoyles.

  Smolder

  Fire

  Ignite

  Burn

  Heat

  Blaze

  *

  Chateau Seductions

  An art colony on a remote New England island lures creative types—and supernatural characters. Steamy paranormal romances.

  Darkness Rising

  Dark Velvet

  Dark Muse

  Dark Stranger

  Dark Pursuit

  *

  Underground Encounters series

  Gargoyle shifters, wolf shifters, and tree witches have divided the Isle of Stone after a great battle 25 years ago. One risk changes it all…

  Knights of Stone: Mason

  Knights of Stone: Lachlan

  Knights of Stone: Bryce

  Seth: a wolf shifter romance in the series

  Knights of Stone: Calum

  Knights of Stone: Gavin (coming soon)

  *

  Stone Sentries

  Meet your perfect match the night of the super moon — or your perfect match for the night. A cop teams up with a gargoyle shifter when demons attack Boston.

  Tempted by the Gargoyle

  Enticed by the Gargoyle (coming soon)

  Captivated by the Gargoyle (coming soon)

  *

  Night Eagle Operations

  A paranormal romantic suspense novel

  When Darkness Whispers

  *

  Vampire Blood Courtesans

  A multiple author shared world series.

  Pursued: Mia

  *

  Berkano Vampire Collection

  A multiple author shared World Series.

  Immortal Resistance (Division 3)

  *

  Visit LisaCarlisleBooks.com to learn more!

  Don’t miss any new releases, giveaways, specials, or freebies! Join the VIP list and download a free read today!

  www.lisacarlislebooks.com

  Chapter 1

  Alec stood on one of the towers of the castle and peered out. The endless rolling hills of the Highlands had once seemed exciting, an emerald canvas with pockets of blue jewels to explore. Yet, several months after relocating here with his gargoyle clan, the call of the ocean beckoned him.

  He opened a mental communication link with his father. It’s my night off. I’m headed out for a flight over the ocean.

  His shifts rotated between guarding the castle remains where the Calder Clan lived or patrolling the area by air for signs of danger.

  Again? His father replied. You might as well be a sea bird with all the time you spend there.

  Alec ignored the admonition in his father’s comment. I’ll be back by sunrise. Alec ended their mental connection.

  He cloaked himself in gargoyle magic, so he could fly the skies undetected by human eyes. He unfurled his wings behind him. With a leap off the edge of the stone, he was airborne. His wings took over from there, flapping through the night sky and carrying him north over the Highlands. The air cooled him with its soothing whisper. Only flight could provide this solace, when he could soar toward the stars and leave his troubles on the earth for a brief period.

  Although thousands of stars twinkled overhead, the effect was muted by a fine mist that clouded them as well as the waning moon. Visibility was more difficult, even with a gargoyle’s superior night vision. No artificial lights from human cities or villages illuminated the darkness as their clan’s location was far from where any humans lived. The remote location offered privacy, yet at a cost.

  They were in the middle of nowhere.

  At least, that was how it had seemed to him. The crumble of rock in which they’d made their home seemed more of a relic of the past rather than a home for their future.

  Perhaps it was foolish to dwell on a done decision. When the Calder Clan had lived on the Isle of Stone, Alec was as eager as the other gargoyles to relocate to their ancestral home in the Highlands. Humans had discovered the island. It was only a matter of time before they ruined it.

  Yet, Alec asked himself a question more often in recent weeks—had he made a mistake?

  He missed living on the island. The sound of the waves crashing against the rocky cliffs lulled him to rest after he shifted to stone and restored his energy under the sunlight.

&nb
sp; But, he had to snap out of it. His future was with his clan here. It was time to quit moping and adapt.

  He ventured north past mountainous peaks wreathed by mist, a lone loch, and fog-covered forests to head to the Scottish coastline. An odd green light flickered in the distance. Was it the Northern Lights? He approached it. No. It originated from the earth not the skies, and it glowed with an unnatural hue.

  Alec’s gargoyle instincts flared. Whatever this was had to be investigated. It hadn’t been long since the gargoyles had battled the sluagh, demons that had massacred almost an entire clan of gargoyle shifters. If this light signaled malevolent activity, he had to warn his clan.

  He attempted to open a communication link with his father. Nothing. Alec tried again with other members of his clan.

  Bugger. No luck. He must have flown out of range. He’d have to investigate on his own.

  Alec slowed his trajectory as he approached and searched for cover. Nothing would shield him near the source of the light, but the nearby forest would have to do. He dipped low and circled in, taking cover in the boughs of a tree.

  A small cabin was situated hundreds of feet from the tree line. A tall, thin man wearing a black hooded robe and holding a staff stood with a petite woman with dark hair and a forest green cape in front of an enormous black cauldron with the strange mist.

  They had to be witches.

  He scowled at the discovery. Whatever magic they attempted to practice couldn’t be good. Even at his distance, he could smell the distasteful odor, one that reminded him of burning flesh and foul rot. His nostrils curled.

  “Kai, are you sure about this?” The woman’s voice had a hint of an Eastern European accent, and spoke with an edge of uncertainty. “Something seems off.”

  “Of course, I’m sure. This one isn’t enough. We need to find a stronger crossing.” The man’s accent was thicker, his tone heavy, almost a growl.

  She raised her hand and dropped it. “I sense darkness. I feel it draining me.” Her voice wavered.

  “You fear the dark end of the spectrum too much.” The man paced before the bubbling cauldron. “It’s the only way we can tap into our full potential.”

  “No,” she said. “You can’t. Our coven practices in the light.”

  “We’ve left the coven, Veda,” he snapped. “Whatever rules they preached don’t apply to us here. We carve our new path forward, embracing all that the world has to offer.”

  “I did not agree to that when I left with you.” Her voice hardened. “This was not what we had planned.” She raised her index finger.

  He cocked his head and sneered as he eyed her. “Careful, my sweet. I’d hate to think you’re opposing me like the others.” The warning edge in his voice was as sharp as an icicle.

  She took a step back. “I’m not. And nobody in the coven has either. Just because someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t make it an all or nothing relationship. That’s what people do—they disagree and compromise.”

  “Veda.” He laughed without mirth. “You’re so young. So naive.” He raised his hand and turned his head. “Wait, what is that?”

  Alec’s muscles turned taut. Shite. Could they see through the magic that cloaked him?

  The man narrowed his eyes at the woods. He pointed his staff as he strode forward. “Reveal yourself!”

  Alec struggled to extract himself from the branches of the tree. He had to get out of here. Nobody in his clan knew where he was, and the man’s tone promised punishment. As soon as Alec found room to extend his wings, he hurled himself into the night, headed far from there.

  “A gargoyle shifter,” the man’s voice twinkled with amusement. “Brilliant.”

  What was so funny about that? Alec didn’t turn to look. Escape was paramount. He’d return with his clan, armed, to investigate. After only two flaps of his wings, a tingling spread over them. Hot shivers shot through his body, which then cooled and hardened.

  And hardened even more.

  He couldn’t flap them any longer. They were frozen.

  His ribs tightened like a vice, squeezing his lungs. His heartbeat rammed up to rocket speed, slamming his blood through his veins.

  But, then the flow slowed like a slow-moving stream, tightened his muscles. He flailed his arms in a desperate attempt to stay aloft but failed. His limbs hardened.

  To rock.

  Fuck.

  His face was the last to freeze, right as he’d started to plummet. He was locked in stone.

  The grassy grounds rushed to greet him as he crashed to the earth.

  Chapter 2

  Alec hit the earth like a rolling boulder and fell back onto his stone wings. The man’s cruel laugh sliced like a sword lashing Alec’s gut.

  He tried to initiate the shift back to human form. Nothing. His muscles had solidified.

  Shite. This wasn’t like his statue form. No, it was a curse. Created by dark magic. And it was bad.

  “Kai! What have you done?” The woman cried. She ran over to Alec and ran her fingers over his arm.

  The warmth of her soft hand provided comfort, followed by a quiver of dread. He was trapped.

  Would he ever find a way out of this prison?

  “A gargoyle trapped in stone.” The man’s lips curled into a twisted grin. “What a fitting punishment, albeit an ironic one.”

  A swell of rage twisted through Alec like a tornado. He envisioned breaking free and pounding that repulsive smile off the man’s face. But, when Alec attempted to clench his hand into a fist, not even a spark of life ignited.

  “This is excessive,” she cried. “It’s not right!”

  “He’s a trespasser,” the man spat. “A gargoyle spying on us. Naturally, I couldn’t let him go.”

  “Look what you did to him!”

  He ran his finger over Alec’s shoulder. “I’m quite pleased with my work. I’ve finally harnessed my ancestral powers—magic that’s been dormant for so many generations.”

  “It’s wrong.” She covered her mouth and shook her head as she stared at Alec’s immobile form. “You can’t do that to him. To anyone.”

  The man grabbed the woman by her upper arms and glared at her, flaring a protective instinct in Alec.

  “We came here to enhance our magical abilities,” the man snapped. “To tap into the energy that flows in these lands. And yet, when I finally accomplish a spell I’ve worked on for ages, you berate me. You should be praising my accomplishments.”

  “I would never, never, never praise such dark magic.” She didn’t cower from him although fear flashed in her eyes. “Harm none, Kai. None.”

  She wiggled out of the man’s grasp and stormed to the cabin. He followed her inside.

  Alec was alone.

  Desperate to reach someone, he tried to open a communication link once again. But, nothing. Not even a fuzzy signal.

  As he stared at the darkening sky, he considered his options. There had to be a way out of this predicament. Somehow.

  Too bad nothing came to him. An edge of despair slipped in, reaching from the tips of his wings and creeping into his soul.

  Panicking won’t help.

  Right. He had to focus. Had to think.

  The night turned darker, and still no solutions flashed like a hopeful star overhead.

  The sound of a door opening caught his attention. With his limited peripheral vision while he lay awkwardly on his back, he couldn’t make out who had opened it.

  Footsteps approached. As they grew louder, the uncertainty triggered a new tremor of anxiety.

  The dark wisps of a woman’s hair were the first thing to come into view. It was the woman.

  He would have exhaled if he could breathe. Her presence didn’t project malevolence the way the man’s did.

  She chanted words in a language he didn’t recognize and raised her hands. What was she doing?

  She circled around him, spreading something that looked like black dust. What was that? Salt? She repeated the same strange chant. />
  The stone that encapsulated him softened. As it weakened, Alec wiggled his fingers. And then his toes. Yes, they moved, too!

  Several more seconds passed before he was able to move his arm and legs barely an inch. He could only twist in his rigid cage.

  Still, he struggled to break free from it. The stone prison softened and turned more pliant. As he pushed through it, the surface shifted like tectonic plates grinding against each other to create mountains.

  The woman moved back into his line of vision again. Her eyes widened with excitement as she eyed the results of her work. She repeated those strange words as she stood directly before him and waved her hand in a circle before his torso.

  In the next second, he broke through, sending pieces of rock and dust scattering in all directions like an exploding star. He was in human form once again.

  She gasped, and he caught her gaze. Their eyes locked, and something odd simmered between them. This dark, ethereal angel who had come to save him.

  No, he was free. No time for questions that would delay him.

  He whispered, “Thank you,” and unfurled his wings.

  Something was wrong with them. They were too heavy, as if still weighed down. But, he was able to flap them clumsily, and so he did in a desperate bid at escape. His movement lacked grace, and it took him longer than usual to ascend, but he could fly once again.

  “Veda!” a loud roar from below drew his attention.

  Fuck, it was the man. Alec soared, still sluggish from the curse. If he’d had his full capacities—shite, if he’d had a quarter of his capacities, he’d go back and beat him with his own staff. With how weakly Alec flew, all he’d be doing was asking for a repeat invitation back to that cursed cage.

  Once he’d reached a safe distance, concealed by the shadows of the forest at night, he glanced back. The man had retrieved his staff and waved it as he shouted at the woman.

  Alec descended into the boughs of a tree to watch. When she cowered, raising her arms up to shield herself, his heart lurched. Gargoyle instinct pierced through the desperate urge to fly away.

  The man didn’t strike her, though. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her inside the cabin. What was he going to do? Punish her?