So, naturally, I immediately started thinking of things I could do to provoke him. But I didn't get too far with this line of thought.
"Hush," he said suddenly, his eyes narrowing into blue slits as his head turned toward the window.
I didn't like him telling me to hush, especially since I wasn't saying anything. I got to my feet and planted my hands on my hips. "Don't tell me to—"
"Shut up," he commanded, and spun around to face the window.
As I stood glaring at him, the window shattered with an explosion of noise and flying shards of glass. Something crashed into the room. Something huge and vaguely humanoid in shape. Do you know what happens when a giant something crashes in through your window? You scream. You don't mean to scream. It's not planned. It's just so startling and unexpected that you can't help it. Terror just pours out of you in a high-pitched wail of noise. My hands flew to my face, I froze in my tracks and screamed.
But despite the noise I was making, whatever-it-was didn't appear too interested in me. It tore the hanging sheet out of its way, yanked Reason off his feet and started dragging him toward the huge opening in the wall that had been a window only a few moments earlier.
Reason clawed at the floor, the couch, the small coffee table, trying to slow down his departure through the window. His eyes connected with mine. "Run," he shouted. "Run, Lainey!"
I didn't know when I'd become Lainey, but I didn't question his command. I'd already done the "freeze" part of the natural-instinct routine. Pretty effectively. Now it was time for the "fight or flight" part. I turned and ran behind one end of the counter and charged out the other side…with the cast-iron fry pan in my fist.
As the monster lifted one large foot onto the windowsill, I raced across the room and swung the heavy pan with all my strength, bringing it down on the thing's head. The pan bounced off of its stone-hard hide with so much energy I was lucky I didn't shatter all the bones in my wrist. The thing was armored! Like a dinosaur. Like an ankylosaurus, to be specific. And my frying pan hadn't put so much as a dent in its massive helmet-like skull.
With craggy fingers wrapped around Reason's ankles, the monster hauled him toward the window while he twisted on the floor, trying to get a hand on his knife, which had slid toward his back. I turned the pan and tried again. This time, the side of the heavy pan connected with the monster's face and it howled in fury. I did it again. And again. And the whole time I'm screaming in pure 100-proof terror while Reason is shouting at me to get out of there.
A wedge of stone fell to the floor and left a trail of dark red as it bounced away. I was pretty sure it was the creature's nose. The idea that I'd hacked off its nose was so gross that it just made me scream louder.
On about the tenth whack, the abomination let go of Reason's ankles and lifted an arm to shield its face. I just kept hammering away until the thing ducked its head through the window. With one last screech of rage, the monster reached for me. I saw a set of sharp claws fly toward my face then Reason was there, shoving me out of the way, his knife hacking at the monstrosity's fingers.
As I watched, the thing leapt away and disappeared into the night.
Reason's chest heaved in a few breaths as he turned his awed gaze on me. He looked like he'd decided he'd better watch what he said to me as long as there was any cast-iron within reach.
The sturdy pan dangled from my right hand. I lifted my left and pointed at the empty window, the cold night breeze lifting the filmy white curtains and ballooning them into the room. "What was that?"
"A harpy," he panted, clearly familiar with the thing that had just smashed into my studio apartment. "It was after me."
No kidding. "Don't you think you should have told me about harpies?" I exploded. "You should have warned me that they came optional with gargoyles."
He shook his head and looked around at the mess. The bed-sheet that I'd tacked to the ceiling a little while ago lay crumpled on the floor, tangled with the broken glass. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting this. If I'd thought this was going to happen, I'd have definitely said something."
"Something like—oh by the way, now that I'm your roommate, there's a good chance your life might end tomorrow?"
"Aye," he growled, "Something exactly like that."
Chapter Eight
Angrily, I wiped at something wet that was dripping down the side of my face. I hoped it wasn't monster spit because I was already grossed-out enough. "How about I promise to keep your secret and you go back to Pine Grove and leave me alone?" I yelled, frowning at a red smear on the palm of my hand.
Reason stepped toward me and his blue gaze swung up to my hairline. "You're bleeding," he said. There was a strange note in his voice that I couldn't quite identify. It almost sounded like it pained him to see me hurt. But that couldn't be right.
He grasped my arm but I yanked away. I wasn't trying to be difficult. I was just afraid of that wild, haywire connection kicking in like it had earlier. I didn't want to go all girly on him and wooze away in his arms.
But Reason wasn't having it. He captured me in one arm as his thumb gently pushed my hair back from my face. He tilted his head and checked out my wound. His eyes softened so I guessed that meant it wasn't too serious.
"So, why did you do that?" he murmured.
"Hmm?" I mumbled, my gaze locked on his beautiful mouth, rendered speechless by his closeness. Essentially, going all girly and woozy on him.
"Why did you attack that harpy?" he asked softly.
"I don't know," I answered and my shoulders lifted in a small shrug. "I didn't think. I saw it dragging you to the window and just acted. I guess it was instinct."
He shook his head and held my gaze. "Instinct would have told you to run."
I felt a little insulted on behalf of the human race and shoved out of his arms. "Oh, so only gargoyles can be noble and brave, huh? You must have a pretty poor opinion of us lowly humans."
He didn't fight back or argue. He just watched me with a quiet smile on his face.
Wow. I hadn't seen him smile this much before. He was really cute when he smiled. Like, really. I dragged my eyes away. "I wonder how much it will cost to replace that window," I pondered seriously as I looked at the big, dark hole in the wall.
"We might not want to replace it with glass," he pointed out just as seriously. "At least, not right away."
I wasn't expecting that. "Do you think that thing might come back?"
"That one or another one like it."
"Another one?" I exclaimed. "You think there might be another one out there?"
His dark brows pulled into a frown as he looked at the window. "We need to cover up that hole and it needs to be something stronger than glass."
"Whatever it takes to keep a harpy out," I agreed with a sigh. "But whatever we're going to do, we need to do it before it gets cold in here."
Actually, it was already cold in there. I wondered where we could find a sheet of plywood. Or maybe a large piece of cardboard would do. It would keep out the cold, if not harpies, and it might be easier to find, considering none of the hardware stores were open at night. Maybe we could check out the dumpsters behind one of the electronic stores for something big enough.
About then, someone started pounding on the door to my apartment. I must have been jumpy because I flinched at the sudden noise. I turned toward the door but Reason stepped in front of me and grasped the doorknob. He hesitated a moment then swung the door open. Levi stood on the other side, with one of his roommates. His gaze hitched a bit on Reason, then it hurried over to me. "Are you okay? What happened?"
I gestured behind me. "The window broke. I think it must have been the wind."
I could tell that Levi wasn't too impressed with my lame explanation. I think engineers are skeptical by nature. It probably doesn't help that they know too much. He gave Reason an accusatory stare like he thought maybe it was his fault. Like maybe we'd been fighting or something.
"We'll check the garage for a piece of plywoo
d," he offered, then disappeared with his roommate.
"Shouldn't you go with them and help?" I suggested to Reason.
He leaned his shoulder blades against the closed door. "I'm not leaving you alone."
"That thing that broke in here wasn't interested in me," I pointed out. "I think I'll be safe. In fact, I might be safer if you're not here."
He just crossed his arms over his chest; I might as well have been talking to a statue. I know that probably sounds like an intentional pun, but you know what I mean.
Levi and his roommate reappeared about five minutes later, carrying a large sheet of plywood between them.
"You found that in the garage?" I asked, thinking that was a lucky break.
Levi shook his head as the two guys carried the flat piece of wood across the room. "There wasn't anything useful in the garage. This is part of the bed I built."
"You built your own bed?" I asked, awed.
He jerked his chin upward as he and his friend angled the plywood against the window. "This is the piece that supports the mattress."
Reason didn't appear to be as impressed as I was. "We'll replace it tomorrow," he offered curtly.
"No big deal," Levi answered so coldly you could almost feel the temperature drop in a room that was already damn chilly. He dug some nails out of his pocket while his friend produced a hammer from underneath his arm. "It's a twenty dollar sheet of wood. I can pick up another one tomorrow with my truck. What do you drive?"
I don't think Levi was trying to be mean. He probably didn't know that Reason didn't have a car. But I felt sorry for my roommate. His mouth curved downward as he swept the nails from Levi's hand, took command of the hammer and started tacking the plywood into place.
When they were done, Levi rubbed his hands against his jeans. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked me and flicked his pointed gaze toward Reason. It was pretty clear he thought Reason was responsible for the broken window and might be capable of worse violence.
"I'll be fine," I told him and waved him toward the door. "Thanks so much for your help."
He stopped in front of the open door and planted his feet. "Give me your phone," he insisted in an I'm-not-taking-no-for-an-answer tone.
I dug my cell out of my pocket and handed it over, wondering what he wanted with it.
He punched in his phone number and gave it back. "Call me if you need me," he said gruffly.
Wow. So, that was kinda nice of him, trying to look out for me, even though it was completely unnecessary.
Evidently Reason thought it was unnecessary too. Suddenly, he was standing right beside me, kind of towering over Levi who was a few inches shorter than him. He slapped a twenty in Levi's hand. "Thanks for the wood," he growled. "And Elaina won't be needing you."
Puzzled, I closed the door and turned around to search his face. It almost seemed like he was jealous but that was probably wishful thinking on my part. I guessed he just didn't want me making any friends in case I told them about him and his pack.
Reason locked his gaze on me. "Can I borrow your phone?"
I gave him a sideways look, wondering if he planned to delete Levi's phone number.
"I want to call Pine Grove," he explained impatiently and stuck his hand out.
I handed him my phone. "Do you know how to use it?"
He checked it out. "I think I'll be okay. It looks similar to MacKenzie's."
I couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that kicked in every time he mentioned MacKenzie's name. I knew it was dumb, but I couldn't help it. I knew Reason thought a lot of MacKenzie and I wanted to be there at the top of the list with her.
He keyed in a phone number then opened the bathroom door and checked out the window while he waited for someone to answer. He was probably wondering if we needed to board up the window in the bathroom as well. But it was only about a foot square. Way too small for a harpy to get through.
His voice was low as he talked on the phone. "Valor. It's Rees. We were just attacked by a harpy. Elaina's apartment. It came in through the window."
I sent a melancholy look at the ugly piece of wood covering the window. It was going to be so dark in the morning. It was going to be so dark all day long! So much for my bright, well-lit studio apartment.
"We're okay," he continued, glancing in my direction. "It turns out my new roommate's a holy terror with a fry pan." The grudging note of pride in his voice made me feel insanely warm inside and helped to ease that twinge of jealousy. "Lainey helped me fight her off."
My head jerked in his direction and my eyes opened wide. Her? That thing was a her? Seriously? That was the ugliest she-thing I've ever seen in my life.
"I think Elaina took out one of her eyes," he continued matter-of-factly.
"And her nose," I murmured, eyeing the chunk of rock behind the couch. A squiggle of blood wandered across the floor to its location.
Reason swept the wedge of stone up into his hand and headed for the trash under the sink. "And a nose," he agreed while I shook the glass out of the crumpled bed sheet. "Aye, that's what I was thinking," he said in response to some comment from Valor. "Let's watch the news and see if anything's reported."
"What?" I asked when he finished his call. I pulled a dustpan and broom from the closet. "What are you guys thinking? Why are you going to watch the news?"
He actually seemed excited. I thought the emotion was way outta line considering what we'd just been through. How can you put a positive spin on a harpy attack?
He grabbed the broom from my hand and started sweeping up the mess. "We're thinking if there are harpies in Boulder, it might mean my family is somewhere nearby."
"Family? What family? I thought your family was living with MacKenzie in Pine Grove."
He shook his head. "Three members of the pack are missing. My brother, Chaos, and two of my cousins. They came over in a shipment from England but the delivery truck crashed in Limon, about eighty miles east of Denver. We haven't caught up with them yet."
"So, why do you need to watch the news?"
"To see if there's any recent coverage involving anything that sounds like harpies. If there isn't, that probably means the harpy was in Boulder before you and I got here."
"What's the alternate explanation?"
He brushed the glass into the dustpan I held against the floor. "There might have been a harpy in someone's private collection or in a museum, and it broke out when it scented my presence in Boulder."
"Scented?" I questioned him. "What do you mean by scented?"
In answer, he made a fist. I watched as four spikes slid from beneath the knuckles on his hand. Wow. So, these were the barbs that MacKenzie had warned me about.
"The barbs are poisonous. It's the venom that the harpies can smell."
I leaned toward him and sniffed. "I don't smell anything."
Automatically, he pulled his fist away, increasing the distance between the sharp spikes and me. "Not too close," he warned. "The poison can be deadly to humans."
"What happens?" I asked as an involuntary shiver gripped my spine.
He seemed reluctant to offer any details but eventually said, "A large, sudden dose could turn you to stone."
I felt my eyes stretch wide. "Seriously?"
"Aye," he muttered. "It would be pretty serious."
"Forever?"
"Probably 'til the end of time," he said soberly.
That didn't sound too optimal. I straightened and crossed the room to the kitchen, emptying the dustpan in the trash. "So, what did the harpy want with you?"
"My venom," he said, following me into the kitchen and pacing restlessly. "The creatures crave it like nothing else."
"It's not poisonous to them?"
He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Nay."
"So, why don't you just give her some?"
His head jerked upward and he stared at me like I just wasn't getting it. "It makes them stronger, more powerful, almost invincible. Once the venom is in their bloodstream, they become virt
ually indestructible. Imagine something pure evil that can't be destroyed."
I had to admit that didn't sound good. "So, they want the venom so they can be stronger?"
"Nay. They want it because they're vain. They think the venom makes them beautiful."
"Does it?"
He shrugged. "We can't tell if it works or not because gargoyles see what's inside a person before they see what's on the outside. And harpies are so evil, that's all we can see."
I returned the dustpan and brush to the closet, feeling a little exasperated about the idea of harpies springing up unannounced all over the place. "Just how common are these harpies?" I asked him.
"That's the thing. They should be rare. There was one in Denver that escaped from a collector's mansion and followed us home to Pine Grove. But we killed that one. And we know of maybe three more that followed Chaos's shipping van from St. Louis. But you wouldn't expect to find one in every town," he exclaimed, looking exasperated himself.
"So, you're thinking the monster that attacked us tonight is one of the St. Louis harpies?"
He nodded as he watched me.
"Well, I think that's a reasonable assumption," I told him reinforcingly, crossing the room and pulling my laptop from my messenger bag. I figured I could check the local news channels' websites. I placed my computer on the coffee table and pressed the power button. "Let's see if we can find any news about a missing harpy in Boulder."
"Gargoyle," he corrected me as he joined me on the couch.
I questioned him with a look.
His expression was a study in dark annoyance. "The reporters will call it a gargoyle, not a harpy. Because it's stone and it's ugly, and they think of gargoyles as being ugly."
"That's only because they don't know any better," I said softly as I waited for my laptop to boot up. But I thought it was kinda sad the way those monsters had hijacked the name of such a beautiful race.
"I can't find any news," I told him when I'd completed my search. I'd found a short article about the missing teenager Levi had told me about, but nothing that smelled of gargoyles or harpies.
The Greystone Bundle (Books 1-4) Page 45
