Found (Books of Stone Book 1)

by B. L. Brunnemer

  Ranulf was strangely quiet as we walked towards a school, an elementary school. Oh God. “Schools are out on vacation, right?”

  “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Yeah, they’re on vacation,” Zahur answered. I let out a relieved breath. Then another thought hit me.

  “What about the teachers?” I asked the group. They were quiet. That wasn’t good. I moved faster, following the trail to the school steps. I sighed and looked to the others. Everyone’s face was grim. I started up the steps first. The door was unlocked. Please let none of the children have come to play on the playground. The halls of the school were silent. The scent of blood hit my nose. Ranulf cursed.

  I led them down the left hallway, past the office and classrooms. The spell led up upstairs.

  “The third door on the right,” I whispered. They all shared looks. Atticus made hand gestures.

  “What the heck does that mean?” I asked, frustrated.

  “He’s just saying he’ll take point and act as a distraction while everyone else surrounds it,” Ranulf answered.

  Atticus gestured to me and pushed his hand away from him twice. I understood that. Stay back. Yeah, yeah. That was already clear. I just nodded. Everyone pulled out weapons as we moved down the hallway.

  When we reached the doorway I stayed in back as directed. Atticus moved through the door, quickly followed by the rest of us.

  It was crouching on the head of a woman, its long nails cutting flesh and pulling it to its lips. Bodies were torn apart, pieces here and there. Blood soaked the floor so your feet squished when you took a step.

  It turned to us, its long, sharp teeth bared in a gruesome smile. “Gargoyles, so glad you could come. Your kind are tasty.”

  The guys moved in.

  A pink sweater caught my eye. A little girl’s body lay among the other body parts. Her face was towards me, her blue eyes frozen and unseeing. Fury built in my belly. I turned back to the fight just in time to watch it jump up to the corner of the ceiling, cackling. I snapped.

  I raised my hand and reached out as if to grab him physically. I wrapped energy around its waist. I made the motion of slamming him to the floor. It was still cackling as it dove face first into the floor, splintering the wood around it. The guys turned to me as I walked up to the circle around it, my fury burning. I flipped my curled hand over. The Rakasha flipped then slammed down hard again.

  It continued to cackle and squirm under my hold, at least until it saw me.

  “It’s you. He told us about you,” it said in a hiss as it continued to squirm. “He’s coming for you and you can’t stop him,” It sniggered, its hands gleefully clapping. Blood boiling, I closed my hand and turned it hard. Bones crunched as it screeched in pain. I met its yellow eyes.

  “Who told you about me?” I demanded.

  It cackled. “Abaddon.”

  I debated going into a demon’s mind to find the answer. Weighed the risks versus the reward. I sighed. Even I didn’t like those odds.

  “He’ll make you his,” the demon laughed. Before I had a chance to blow the thing apart Atticus’s sword drove into its chest. The demon cried out in pain. My eyes snapped to Atticus, but this wasn’t my Atticus. This gargoyle’s eyes burned with fury.

  Zahur took my arm and moved me back as Atticus drove the blade into the demon’s thigh. It screamed. Atticus continued driving his blade into the demon, keeping it alive as everyone else got out of the splash zone. He made the demon suffer, and the look in his eyes told me he felt no regret for it. And quite frankly, neither did I. Finally, when the demon was mostly meat and bone, he took the head, killing it.

  Everyone was silent as Atticus cleaned his sword and put it back in its sheath. He lifted his head. His eyes were cold and hard when they met mine. It felt like a blow. He moved around the demon’s remains.

  “Burn it,” he ordered coldly when he strode by, not even looking at me. I looked at the door he left through, stunned by the change.

  I turned back and set fire to the demon’s body before I followed the others out of the classroom and down the hall. Everyone was quiet as we walked down the halls.

  “Where’d he go?” I asked.

  “Probably bringing the car,” Ranulf answered. “He’s the fastest on foot.”

  When we walked outside Atticus was already back with the SUV running at the sidewalk. Everyone else climbed in back leaving me the front seat. I climbed in and closed the door. Atticus didn’t look at me. His hands gripped the wheel tightly. I reached over to touch his shoulder but he shrugged me off as he pulled into traffic. The old Atticus was back, cold and silent. I didn’t understand what happened. He tore apart a demon… why was he acting this way?

  “Shit,” Zahur snapped. Everyone but Atticus turned to him. “Something’s wrong in the Ether.”

  Then he was just gone. Poof. Just not there anymore.

  “Now we’re one down,” Ranulf muttered. Atticus said nothing as he moved through traffic.

  I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going, not until we stopped in front of my store.

  “What are we doing here? We have more demons out there,” I asked from the passenger seat.

  “We’re one down,” he said, his voice hard and cold.

  “Seriously? We’re calling it a day?” I couldn’t believe this. When Atticus didn’t answer, I’d had it. I wasn’t going to put up with this again, he was my husband, damn it. I turned to the guys in the back. “Give us a minute?”

  They both nodded and slipped out of the car. I waited until they moved away from the car.

  “What’s wrong, Atticus?” I asked directly.

  “We have a job to do, and you have to work in the store,” he said, his voice still cold as he kept his eyes ahead of us.

  “Atticus,” I snapped. “Look at me.” His hands gripped the wheel tightly before he turned to me. Emotions fought in his eyes, they flashed cold, then hot, then cold again. “Tell me what is wrong.” When he turned back to look out the windshield I pushed it. “Why are you acting this way?”

  He was quiet so long I thought I might have to stay in the car all day, but he finally opened his mouth.

  “I lost it in there,” he said quietly, his voice strained. “When he said Abaddon was coming for you, I lost control.” He clenched then unclenched his jaw.

  “Atty, he threatened me. Of course you got angry,” I told him gently.

  “I lost control. I was furious and my anger just took over.” His eyes went to the steering wheel as he shook his head. “He was right. I’m going to kill everyone I care about, just like the rest of my family.”

  I reached over and took his hand off the wheel to hold it in mine. “You didn’t come near us, Atty.” He lifted his head to look at our hands. I continued, “You didn’t even cause arterial spray which, given the damage you did, is impressive and wasn’t an accident.”

  He was quiet for several heartbeats before he asked, “I didn’t?”

  “No, you didn’t,” I told him gently. “Even when you ‘lost control’ you still made sure not to hurt your team.”

  His hand gripped mine tightly as he searched my eyes for something. If he found it or not I didn’t know. He looked back out the windshield, his face still like stone. He pulled his hand from mine. I bit back the hurt from him pulling away.

  “Atticus.” He didn’t look at me which lit my temper. “You aren’t a monster that’s going to hurt the people you care about.” When he continued to say nothing, I snapped. “Are you listening to me?” he nodded.

  “Do you believe me?” I demanded.

  “I don’t know,” he said, his voice still cold.

  “Atticus…” I tried again.

  “You need to go to your shop. And we need to get going,” he told me.

  Still angry with him over his sudden change I grabbed my coat. “Just don’t go after the Succubus without me. She’d eat you guys alive.” Completely irritated with him I opened the door and climbed out, making sure to take my weapons w
ith me. Falk and Ranulf were leaning against my store window. “Stay safe.”

  Falk reached out and squeezed my shoulder before heading to the car.

  Ranulf smiled at me. “I know this is bullshit, lass. But he’s my boss.”

  I nodded, letting him know I understood. He got into the car.

  I watched them drive off. Then I smiled. For such powerful gargoyles, not one of them noticed that the store was already open.

  I shook my head as I stepped inside. Rina was behind the counter boxing up books.

  “You are the best woman in the world, you know that?” I said as I came in.

  “I know,” she said with a smile as she taped a box shut. “It’s not often you call in the morning begging me for help.”

  “And offering you triple your usual pay,” I reminded her.

  She chuckled. “I know.” She eyed my gear. “Heading off to work your other job?”

  “Yeah. Apparently I’m not allowed to play with the boys,” I said dryly. She winked at me.

  “So you’re going to go out alone,” she said in a knowing voice.

  “Exactly.” I pushed away from the counter. “I’ll see you later.” I headed out the door and across the street to the parking garage.

  It wasn’t long before I was at the Succubus crime scene in a cheap, flea-bag hotel. The poor man had probably thought it was his lucky night. I flicked my fingers to unlock the door, then pulled the yellow crime scene tape off the doorway. Making sure the hallway was empty, I moved inside.

  The hotel room was sparse, just a bed and dresser. You didn’t need much else in this kind of hotel. I moved to the bed and waved my hand over it. A Succubus kill was bloodless, they simply drained the life out of you as you orgasmed, but they always left a trace of themselves behind. It was unavoidable.

  My fingers found the small hint of energy. I smiled as I tuned into it and followed it.

  It led me downtown, to one of the high-class hotels in the city. I garnered a few looks at my wardrobe but I kept walking through reception to the elevators. The trail left the elevator at the top floor. It wasn’t long before I was at the door. I made sure the hallway was empty before knocking.

  “Housekeeping,” I said with a Russian accent.

  The door opened. She was stunning. Thick black hair, big violet eyes and a body any man would drool over. I blasted her back into the room. I walked in and shut the door behind me. She got to her feet, smiling.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve faced a gargoyle with that kind of power,” she said, her voice was seductive but it simply slid over me without effect.

  “Not gay, sweetie,” I mocked.

  Her eyes glowed bright. “This should be fun.”

  I stayed where I was on the broken glass of the shattered coffee table, watching her body stop convulsing. I focused on breathing. That had hurt like hell. I groaned as I sat up. Wiping the blood from my face I flicked my fingers and her body went up like tinder.

  The hotel room was destroyed. Pieces of drywall fell from the ceiling, holes the size of people were through the walls. Almost the entire floor was destroyed. I needed to move before the humans called the cops.

  As she finished burning, I got to my feet and gasped. The stabbing pain in my side told me at least one rib was broken. Bruising was everywhere, but that I could live with. I sat on the torched bed and closed my eyes. The Succubus had gotten a lucky shot. I had just thrown her through the bathroom wall. Tile shattered as she hit and dropped. I was pulling more energy to throw a lightning bolt when the ceramic toilet came through the hole in the wall, slamming into my side. A toilet, broke my ribs. I was never telling Astrid about this. I poured energy through my body. Fixing my broken ribs, I whimpered as they sealed. I sat, trying to get my breath back, as I watched the body burn.

  When her body was just a black mark on the carpet I got to my feet and made my way out of the hotel, trying not to stagger.

  Driving home had me breathing deeply from the pain. I needed to heal more of my bruises when I got home. Then hot chocolate and a soak in the tub.

  After what felt like forever, I started climbing the stairs to my apartment.

  Raised voices caught my ear. When I reached the landing, I found the males’ apartment door open. Shouting was coming from inside so I walked in.

  “Damn it. More gauze!” Atticus snapped.

  “No, I need stitches.” Zahur’s voice was exhausted. My own pain forgotten, I hurried through the apartment and pushed a bedroom door the rest of the way open. Zahur was on his back in his bed, his shirt gone, his body slashed and bloody. His jeans were open so his hand could press against his lower abdomen. His other hand was holding just above it. Both were soaked in blood. Someone had tried to gut him. I stood there, stunned, as Zahur gave Atticus instructions on how to stitch him up. I had a better way.

  I moved past the others and nudged Atticus out of my way. My hands covered Zahur’s. I met his silver eyes. His sweating face was almost white from blood loss. “I’ve got you, old man.” I closed my eyes and concentrated. My marks glowed as I pulled energy and moved it through my hands. “Move your hands,” I muttered. When Zahur’s hands lightened the pressure, I moved my hands under his. Round, slippery organs met my fingers. No one tried to gut him, they had succeeded. I concentrated on running that energy through his body, forcing tissue to knit and mend. Scars were inevitable with this kind of healing but at least he wouldn’t be down long.

  When his abdomen was sealed I concentrated on his bone marrow, forcing it to work faster to replace his blood loss. When his level was in the safe zone, I pulled back. I practically dropped to the floor. Hard arms caught me and turned me to sit on the bed.

  “Just… one sec…” I gasped as I tried to get my bearings. Parchment filled my lungs as fingers lifted my chin.

  “Where did you get these?” Atticus demanded.

  I patted his hand before opening my eyes and meeting his burning eyes. “Yell at me later. Let me finish fixing him up.” I turned on the side of the bed to face Zahur. I wiped at the blood pooled over his stomach. Falk handed me a towel. I thanked him as I cleaned off Zahur’s lower abdomen and stomach. A large ragged scar went from his pelvic bone up to his belly button, but the wound was closed and everything back where it needed to be. That’s when I noticed he was practically hanging out of his pants.

  Not even thinking about it, I covered him with a sheet before I moved up the bed to his side. His eyes were closed, his color better. Rapid healing of this amount usually required the body to rest. There were still deep cuts on his chest. I dug into the kit on the floor beside the bed and pulled out what I needed. I tore open the antiseptic wipes.

  “So, what happened?” I asked them as I began to clean the cuts on his chest.

  “There was a breach in the Ether,” Ranulf answered. “That’s all we got before he was giving instructions on how to fix him.”

  I finished cleaning the wounds on his chest. I reached out and touched a fingertip to the edge of the deepest cut. A bronze hand snatched mine, causing me to jump and my bruises to protest. Zahur’s eyes met mine.

  “Thanks.” He swallowed hard before looking up at Atticus. “It’s not a demon pulling them through. It’s an angel.” The room fell into stunned silence. But I didn’t care; he was bleeding again.

  I moved his hand from mine. “Let me finish the worst,” I told him. Those chocolate eyes met mine with a small twist of his lips before he nodded. I put my finger on the worst cut again. “This might hurt.” It was all the warning I gave. I focused the energy I had left and ran it over the cut. He grunted as I moved as fast as I could, sealing the gash. When I finished I was dizzy.

  “I… I think that’s all I’ve got left,” I admitted.

  “It’s more than enough, Evie,” he whispered, his eyes ran over my bruised face. “There are herbs in my bag that will help with your bruises.” I patted his shoulder absently.

  “Rest now,” I told him. He nodded then promptly passed o
ut. I reached for the bandages. A hand grabbed my wrist.

  I looked up to meet Atticus’s worried eyes. “Falk will bandage the rest of his wounds, we need to take care of you,” he bit out. Oh, great, he was mad.

  I didn’t even argue. I just got to my feet and moved towards the door. Atticus was giving instructions as I stepped out into their living room. I didn’t get far. I was leaning on the back of one of the sofas by the time he came out of Zahur’s room. He took my arm and led me around the sofa. I sat down, careful of my bruises. He disappeared then came back with a smaller first aid kit. He lifted my chin with his fingers and assessed my bruises.

  “Where else?” he demanded. I began to unbuckle my vest. His hands removed mine and did it for me. He pulled the vest off slowly. It helped not having all that pressure on my ribs. I shoved my tank strap down my arm. He examined my shoulder carefully.

  “It’s strained, it’ll be fine tomorrow,” I reassured him.

  His piercing eyes met mine. “What else?” he growled.

  “Ribs, back, legs. I’m just a bunch of bruises,” I admitted. “They’ll be gone in a few hours.

  He took a deep breath; his hard eyes ran over me again before he got to his feet.

  “Stay here,” he ordered coldly. I carefully leaned back against the couch with no problem. I didn’t know where he went, but it wasn’t long before Ranulf was in front of me.

  “What did you go after, lass?” he asked.

  “Succubus,” I admitted. “She was feisty.”

  He chuckled. “Is there anything you need?”

  “A bath and a mug of hot chocolate,” I said wistfully. He smiled as he examined my arms.

  “Evelyn.” Atticus was back, his voice hard. He took my hand and helped me to my feet.

  Atticus ignored Ranulf as he led me into the bathroom. The room was hot, the mirror fogged over.

  He closed the door behind us. I leaned against the counter simply because it hurt to stand straight.

  “You’re taking a bath. I’ve already put the herbs in the water,” he announced as he came over, knelt down and began untying my boots. I was trying to figure out a way to ask him to leave when he got to his feet and started pulling the rest of my clothes off me.