“Alois is not stable yet,” Kaleb declared, tripping. “I will trance while we wait for Sam-El to find Burkhart’s creator. Summon me when he returns.”
“Where will you go?” Nathan asked.
“To the nexus where Lucien was created.” Kaleb stepped through the veil.
Nathan turned to look at Mr. Henry and was about to ask if the old man was okay when his phone went off in his pocket. Nathan answered it.
“Nathan, have you heard anything?” Severin asked. “Have you tried to call Meino?”
“No, I don’t have his number. I’ll call Jenny and see if she does, she knows him better than I do.”
“Where was Meino’s destination?” Mr. Henry asked, apparently not noticing that he was interrupting.
“Mr. Severin in Maine. Mr. Talbot is there to meet him,” Nathan answered Mr. Henry before returning his attention to the conversation with Severin. “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”
Nathan hung up on Severin and dialed Jenny.
She picked up immediately. “If this is about Meino and Burkhart, then Mr. Sullivan already called, and I’m getting ready to tear some heads off some necks.”
“Good to know. We have help in this end.”
“Keep me updated, and you stay safe.”
“You—” click “too.” Nathan looked around, finding Alex and Mr. Pritchard had joined them. “Operatives are moving into place.”
“Did you find out where they are?” Alex asked.
“No.”
“And Kaleb is in trance,” Mr. Henry said.
Lucien kept passing through Nathan, who let himself be soothed by his lover’s presence. “Mr. Henry, can we try the black mirror just to do something and not just wait?”
“I agree, dear boy, standing around being useless is not the most pleasant feeling in the world.
“Can I come?” Alex asked.
Mr. Henry nodded curtly and left. Nathan and Alex followed, and Nathan missed Lucien’s essence as they descended the stairs to the part of the mansion Lucien was forbidden to go.
“Remember. Absolute silence,” Mr. Henry said before they entered. Mr. Henry put the glasses on and removed the cloth covering the mirror. He stared at it for a long while, and Nathan wondered about what could hide a Gargoyle. Maybe it was like the temple with sigils strong enough to keep an Angel out. Or maybe it was like the sigils they had painted onto the Gargoyle’s body to hide him when he flew Nathan to safety.
Mr. Henry covered the mirror again, put the glasses on the table, and pointed to the door. They exited, and once the door was closed behind them, the old man sighed as he slumped against the wall. “I couldn’t sense them.”
“So we wait for Kaleb to see if he found a way,” Alex concluded.
Mr. Henry nodded and preceded them up the stairs.
“Mr. Henry, when looking in the mirror for magic, what did you find?” Alex asked as they walked back to the salon.
“I tried to tune in on Gargoyles. All I found were the homes of the Order.”
Bright light had stopped them before they entered the salon, and they turned to find Sam-El standing next to a much taller androgynous being, and Nathan could almost feel energy pulsate from it. He felt almost high in its presence.
“I cannot feel my child of stone.” Even the new Angel’s voice was strange and melodic.
Kaleb walked through the veil, and the tall Angel took in the sight of him.
“He can’t feel him, Kaleb. What did you learn?” Mr. Henry asked.
“That together we might be able to. I hold the elements of both stone and ether. By feeling your soul, I might be able to feel the stone your soul empowers. Don’t think they can ward against an element.”
“You mean if he’s behind Angel warding? Like at the temple?” Nathan asked.
“Exactly. We have a spell that Gargoyles can feel. I’ll try to tap into that wavelength, meaning I’ll sense all Gargoyles, but with a direct connection between the soul energies, I can backtrack it and feel the element. At least that’s what the energies told me. I need to connect with a Gargoyle, though, so we need to be on the roof.”
“I have a Gargoyle in the garden,” Mr. Henry said.
“Let’s go see him, then.”
“Her,” Mr. Henry said, leading the way.
At seeing the female warrior, Nathan wondered what she would be like if animated. She was grand to look at. As they approached, Nathan heard an indistinguishable chatter.
“Thank you,” the Angel said, putting its hand on the Gargoyle.
“Did you hear what she said?” Nathan whispered to Alex.
“No, just mumbles.”
Kaleb put a hand on the Gargoyle before he turned to look at the Angel. “May I touch your soul?”
“You are trusted by many. I will allow it.”
Kaleb closed his eyes and reached his hand toward the Angel. It stepped closer, and Kaleb shook as he made contact.
With bated breath, they watched and waited while Kaleb worked.
Nathan felt increasingly nervous on Meino’s behalf. He’d heard of how badly Meino had been beaten because he refused to leave Burkhart’s side. The Order had moved in on them in the nick of time. Nathan had seen Meino grow fonder of Burkhart, and he’d even seen Meino and Burkhart hold hands like lovers did. His heart ached for the hardship the two had to go through because of Templars.
Nathan’s phone rang, and he hurried away to not break Kaleb’s focus. He seemed pretty closed off to the world, though. “Hello?” Nathan whispered as he ran for the terrace.
“Gargoyles are calling something we don’t understand. Do you hear it?” Jenny asked.
Nathan focused, but no, he didn’t really hear any muttering. He heard a low roaring sound like an intensified hum of electricity. “I think it’s Kaleb they’re feeling. What do you know so far?”
“I know that Jared’s girlfriend is one lucky woman. She was in a car crash on her way to the airfield. She’d have been on the same damn plane if not for the need to go to the hospital to have her hand x-rayed. The plane disappeared about half an hour over the Atlantic, but Mr. Sullivan thinks they just cut the transponder to make it look like the plane went down.”
“How did they even get people on that plane?” That was so not Nathan’s area of expertise, but he’d seen enough spy movies for his imagination to be able to conjure up a whole array if things. Half of them were probably impossible in real life, but then again, with magic in the picture, there were probably way more likely scenarios than what he could imagine.
“He’s got a few ideas about that, too, and by the look on his face, he’s pissed off.”
“Be careful,” Nathan whispered, then turned to see what was going on back at the Gargoyle.
It wasn’t himself in the fray, but his mind sometimes jumped at the opportunity to remind him of the fear he’d experienced the first time the Order’s operatives had dusted him. He even felt the twinge in the scar on his leg, left by someone trying to kill him with a huge hunting knife.
Kaleb let go of the Angel’s soul and stepped back.
“Wait, Kaleb’s got something. I think. I hope.”
“I gotta go. Call me.”
“You, too.” Nathan hung up and leaped down the stairs to catch the conversation. Kaleb looked sad, and Nathan feared he hadn’t been able to find Burkhart.
Then the Angel nodded slowly. “Let it be his choice. Let his will be free.”
“Yes.” Kaleb glanced at Nathan. Then he stepped backward, and the veil swallowed him up.
“What happened?” Nathan asked.
Mr. Henry tried for a smile, but there was not much hope behind it. “It seems only one can be retrieved.”
Nathan’s heart sank.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Meino’s shoulders hurt, and his fingers were getting numb from lack of circulation. So far, the three men in the room had unloaded a huge amount of weird qu
estions, and they kept asking if Meino had summoned a Demon into the body of the Gargoyle. They kept asking who his target was or what he wished to achieve by dealing with the Devil.
God fanatics claiming themselves to be God’s army on Earth. Meino finally understood some of what Burkhart had tried to explain before they left Hamburg.
Meino tried to make it clear that he hadn’t spoken to any devils or demons or tried to gain power or wealth by whispering into the Gargoyle’s ear what he would give to be served by the unholy. Just their phrasing made Meino lose hope that there was any way out of it.
“You do understand what this means for your soul, don’t you?” the man, who had led the majority of the conversation, or monolog as it were, asked.
“I understand that you think you have some direct line to God and that He tells you to kill everything your limited little brain conjures up!”
“You are a Blasphemer. The profane mind was never able to hear God, but maybe your mind is tainted. Poisoned by the Devil.”
Meino rolled his eyes and regretted his attitude immediately as another hard blow fell on his unprotected face.
Don’t antagonize them, Meino, please.
But what other choice did he have? The things they said was just so far out. Plus, Meino wanted to keep the focus away from Burkhart.
“What did you ask the Devil for?”
“Nothing!” Meino bellowed. “I haven’t made any deals, I haven’t danced around the full moon naked around a pentagram or whatever it is you imagine people do. I fix cars, and sometimes I drive big trucks to move heavy objects. Like that one.” Meino nodded toward Burkhart.
Good, Meino.
The man sighed resignedly. “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m not surprised,” Meino snapped. “You believe something so far out, and you even believe you have a direct line to God? You’re messed up!”
Another blow fell on Meino’s face, and more blood seeped through the cut on his cheek from the first blow.
Meino, please stop antagonizing them. Your spell is strong, it broke the barrier. The Gargoyles have given word back. Someone is working on locating us. A demigod.
“Why do you keep insisting on me hurting you? Just tell us the truth about this Demon trap.”
“Listen to me,” Meino sneered. “I have no idea what a Demon trap is!” Meino kept surprising himself, and he wondered whether it was the tough lady, Jenny, who had rubbed off on him, or if seeing ghosts and hearing one scream so bone-chillingly was what had helped toughen him up.
“We’ve been at him for six hours now. Listen to him, he’s beyond saving,” the other man said.
“I think you’re right,” the first one said.
“What does that mean?” the young man asked. It was the first time Meino had heard him speak.
“It means we can’t save everybody,” the first one said.
Dread closed around Meino, but no matter what he’d answered and no matter how he’d tried to seem like someone ignorant about anything supernatural, it hadn’t mattered. It was like they were waiting for him to confirm something in particular, and unless he did that, they wouldn’t listen. And their screwed-up thought process was not one he could even begin to see through enough to guess at what it was they wanted to hear.
“Maybe he’ll talk if we take away the Demonic bond?” the second man asked.
The first nodded slowly. “Get the sledgehammers.”
“No!” Meino struggled against the ties.
“We work to set your soul free,” the young man said.
“Save your energy, Tavi, there’s no reasoning with a human whose soul is bound to that of a Demon in a trapped form.”
A demigod is here to save you, Meino, he can enter the room through me.
Relief flooded Meino at that announcement because then they could save Burkhart from the men. “Wait, wait!” But something in Burkhart’s choice of words made Meino stop. “What does that mean?”
It will break me. Kill me—
“No! No, Burkhart!”
The man gasped and turned to look at Burkhart, and Meino saw his mistake. “Don’t talk to the Demon!” the man shouted, grabbed Meino’s hair and yanked his head back hard enough for a neck joint to pop.
Meino screamed from pain, and Burkhart roared. “He’s not! No, Burk, don’t, please!”
“Get the hammers!” the man shouted and let go of Meino’s hair.
They will break me, Meino, but if the demigod does it, then you are safe! He can only enter my stone while I am alive, my soul is his way into the room. I am your guardian, let me guard you!
Meino sobbed. “No.”
Honor my sacrifice, little one, say yes, please, say yes.
The man stalked closer, lifting the hammer over his head.
Fear ripped through Meino, and the pleading tone to Burkhart’s voice tore at his heart. “I love you, Burk.”
And I you, little one.
“... Yes!”
The hammer collided with Burkhart’s shoulder, and the Gargoyle exploded—the sound of the stones and the surprised scream from the humans were drowned out by Meino’s wail. A fierce roar followed on the explosion, and where Burkhart had crouched stood a nearly seven feet tall being as gray as Burkhart’s sleeping form, but he had many horns and four huge wings spread out almost as wide as the room. He looked terrifying and angry as he scanned the room. Then he threw his arms out, energy shot from his body and smashed into the walls, and the shimmering magic dimmed or seemed to explode off the wall.
The demigod, which Meino could barely believe could look so demonic, sped toward one of the humans, grabbed him, and they both disappeared. The other two screamed and ran for the door, but the demigod returned to stand in their way. He grabbed them both, and they all disappeared.
An ear-deafening silence dominated for a few long seconds, and only Meino’s hectic breathing could be heard. The demigod appeared in front of Meino, making him jump. The gray being changed to a human with long black hair and crystal blue eyes. He knelt next to Meino and looked at him with unmasked pain.
“I’ll bring him home, too, I promise.”
Everything went by without Meino being able to grasp all that was happening. The ties around his arms and legs fell away, the young man grabbed Meino, and a sickening feeling took over before everything crashed in on Meino’s body. He fell forward onto his hands and knees and vomited.
“Meet us in the garden.”
Meino looked up, finding himself on the floor of a library with many from the Order around him along with people he didn’t know. He recognized Nathan. “Where am I?”
An old man came closer. “My name is Mr. Henry. I am from the Order. You are in my home in Seattle. You are safe now.”
A cold and hollow feeling spread in Meino’s chest. “Burkhart?” But the Gargoyles deep voice didn’t coo the soothing deep rumble in his head. “Burk?”
“Come on, let’s get to the garden,” a big bald man said and grabbed Meino’s arm. He helped him up and steered him from the library. They all went out onto a big terrace overlooking a gardening project.
Someone placed an arm around Meino’s shoulder, and he jumped, looking up. But it was Nathan. He knew Nathan.
A burst of wind made them all stumble back, and the demigod appeared with his arms spread out, stones levitating in the air around him. Meino pushed Nathan’s arm away and ran for the stairs, but he kept his eyes on the demigod. The stones plummeted to the ground around him.
“Stay there!” the demigod shouted and pointed at Meino. But Meino didn’t want to stop. Strong arms pulled him back, and he sobbed as he watched the demigod ignite a big circle. Then a fiery pentagram filled it.
“Stay here, Meino, Kaleb needs room to do whatever it is he’s doing.” Nathan reached over to hold Meino’s hand while the big man still held Meino tightly against his chest.
The demigod, Kaleb, held out his arms and focused intensely
enough to bring a furrow to his young face. All the stones began moving and rolling toward him, and finally, Meino saw what he was doing. He was reassembling Burkhart. With bated breath, he watched as his friend became recognizable, and his breath hitched once he saw his face.
Finally, Burkhart sat crouching in front of the demigod, who lowered his arms, and the pentagram extinguished. The strong arms around Meino let go, and Meino ran to Burkhart, hugging him.
“Burkhart, oh, my God, Burk... Burk? Burk?”
He didn’t answer, and as Meino stroked the surface of his friend, he even felt that the stone was dead. The realization punched all air from Meino’s lungs, and he gasped for air while something built inside of him. A scream. And when he finally managed to draw air into his lungs again, the scream that tore from his throat left it raw. His body felt empty once the scream was gone. Another sob escaped Meino, and he climbed onto Burkhart to lie on his back the way he had as a child when he dreamed of adventures with him. He could barely believe that their adventures were over already. They didn’t even have enough to fill the first book.
“Meino.”
He looked up, finding the demigod looking trashed and tired. His hair had come loose from the hair band, and he held his hands to his chest, shaking.
“Step back again,” Kaleb said.
“No... I... I just want to be with Burkhart.”
The big bald man from before with the intense eyes sauntered over, grabbed Meino around the midsection, and carried him effortlessly back to where Nathan stood with Mr. Henry and two others. Meino tried to fight him to get back to Burkhart, but his heart wasn’t really in it. He didn’t even know why he should try anymore. He’d lost the man he loved.
Kaleb stepped up to Burkhart and took a deep, shaky breath. He then embraced the still form of Burkhart, and it looked like the air shook around him. Kaleb fell to a knee, panting.
“What’s he doing?” Meino asked.
Gargoyle Rising Page 32
