Stone Destiny (Stone Passion #3)

by Warneke, A. C.

  Any woman would jump at the chance to fuck him all night long. God, it killed her to think of him with another woman, giving up his nights to another woman, choosing years of being frozen instead of being with her.

  Her grandmother was right: being a gargoyle was vastly different than being human. Time wasn’t as much of a concern when one had all of the time in the world. Sitting frozen for sixty or seventy years would be nothing in the grand scheme of things, not when he had brothers that were thousands of years old, not when he was expected to live for thousands of years.

  She should accept Raphe’s offer. It would serve Armand right for choosing safety over passion. Except it would be awkward to have sex with Raphe even once and she couldn’t imagine having to spend an entire night connected. A shudder tripped down her spine at the thought and she had to squeeze her eyes shut to erase the image from her head. “Ugh, gross.”

  The sound of her voice in the silence startled her, making her jump. Laughing nervously, she concentrated on not thinking about Raphe and sex at the same time. As gorgeous and wonderful as Raphe was he was like a brother. She grew up with the little twerp, taking the brunt of Michael’s teasing to protect the gentle Raphe. But then he went and grew a couple of feet, gained forty pounds of pure muscle and got obscenely gorgeous and pretended to be as worldly as his brothers despite his desire to save himself for true love.

  She wasn’t going to be the one to take his gift no matter what. Unlike Armand who took girls’ virginities without any reservations or second thoughts. This was why she wanted to remain numb for as long as possible, knowing that as soon as she allowed herself to feel anything she would feel hurt and betrayed. What she didn’t expect was the anger: anger at Armand for leaving her, for never giving her a chance, for fucking another woman and giving some nameless woman his nights.

  The nights should have been hers and she should be spending her days sitting on the roof as a gargoyle, not pouting and plotting in her old bedroom. Anger and hurt and sorrow raged inside of her and she wanted to return to the point where she felt nothing. It hurt because she knew that if she had the misfortune of drinking the Medusa-wizard blood concoction she couldn’t be sure Armand loved her enough to bring her back to life.

  A tear slid down her cheek at the realization. After all, he gave up his nights to a complete stranger in order not to give them up to her. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it against her stomach as she rolled into a ball and tried to contain the pain that speared her through the heart. “Oh, God.”

  “Don’t cry, Ferris,” a smoky-rough voice murmured. The bed shifted as Ajreis sat down, putting his hand on her shoulder to give comfort. She squeezed an eye open and saw the imp sitting there, watching her with helpless, pale brown eyes.

  In his human form he was an attractive man, not on the level of gorgeousness that was Armand but still handsome in a boy next door kind of way. His features were disturbingly even, with a nose that was neither too big nor too small, lips that were neither too fat nor too thin and a chin that was simply there. He was medium height, though taller than his imp form, with a rather slender build and a mop of unruly, light brown hair.

  As normal as he looked, though, it was still a surprise every time she saw him in his human form. It was just too weird having the human Ajreis threaten to carve her initials into Armand’s stone chest to avenge her broken heart. Such threats were better suited coming from the lips of a mischievous imp.

  “I’ve made a fool of myself, Aj,” she said wretchedly, absently stroking Fray’s golden scales, feeling the low rumble of his purr against her chest bone. She scooted over while Ajreis slid into the bed next to her and slid an arm beneath her neck. Fray raised his head and looked at Ajreis, taking his measure, before yawning and nestling his head against Ferris’s throat, apparently unconcerned by the imp in her bed.

  “Hush, Ferris,” he crooned, stroking her hair with his long, slender fingers.

  She smiled a little, taking the comfort he offered. Sometimes she wondered what made him different from the other imps but if he knew he never told her. She didn’t mind because she loved the imp shifter as much as she loved her gargoyle brothers and she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.

  “Do you remember the necklace your aunt gave you all of those years ago?” Ajreis asked from out of nowhere, bringing a vague recollection to Ferris’s mind. “A pale green stone set in a metal disc? You need to find it."

  Slowly, almost as if she were in a trance, Ferris set Fray down and slid off the bed, crossing the room to an old jewelry box that sat on top of her dresser. Sitting on the chair, she pulled a drawer out and grabbed the key, her hands shaking as she unlocked the lid. She remembered that her aunt had given her the necklace shortly before getting in a car accident. Melanie had made her promise to always wear it, that it would protect her, and for years Ferris had faithfully worn it.

  It wasn’t until she hit ninth grade that she took the necklace off because the other kids had associated the necklace with Freaky Ferris, telling her she was a baby to still be wearing the piece of junk. She had cried for hours as she locked it in her jewelry box.

  She had been an idiot to ever try to fit in with her classmates.

  She looked at Ajreis as he sat on her bed and nodded his head in encouragement. Nervously, she pulled the pendant out of the box and held it up, the medallion shimmering as it dangled in the light. Her blood started pounding through her veins as she slowly put the silver chain over her head and around her neck, settling the pendant between her breasts. Heat emanated from the stone, warming the parts of her that had been frozen for so long.

  Closing her eyes, she put her hand over the disc and pressed it harder against her skin, letting the tears fall as she remembered the joy she had experienced when Melanie had given her the necklace all of those years ago. Her heart thudded against her fist, reminding her that she was still alive and there was still hope. There was always hope.

  “Look, Ferris,” Ajreis whispered, his voice a million miles away. “There’s more.”

  Tentatively, she peeked back into the box and found a business card that looked brand new even though it had to have been at least ten or fifteen years old. It was indigo and in gold ink was written the name Omari with an address below. According to the card he was only a few hours away, living in Chicago.

  The wizard who had given Aunt Melanie the necklace had been named Omari. Ferris had forgotten his name.

  A smile played at her lips as she looked at Ajreis, “You’re a genius, Aj. Who else could possibly have a vial of Medusa’s blood but a wizard?”

  He mirrored her expression, the smile turning his ordinary face into something beautiful. They stood up at the same time and met in the middle of her room, hugging and dancing and laughing like the oldest of friends. With shining eyes, she went over to the bed and scooped the dragon into her arms and kissed him on his golden snout, “We have a wizard’s card, Fray.”

  “Hmmph,” the young dragon grunted, a small smile turning the corners of his wide mouth upwards as he scrambled out of her hands and sat on her shoulders, curling his body around her neck. Tomorrow the three of them would drive to Chicago and hope that the old wizard was still in business.

  Chapter 10

  Forming a New Plan

  God, the drive across Wisconsin was always so mind-numbingly long but Ferris didn’t want to speed because it would be a very bad idea to get pulled over having an imp and a dragon as passengers. Even though the veil between the two worlds was long gone humans remained rightfully weary of imps, who gleefully continued with their pranks, earning their bad reputation.

  Finding a parking garage close to where the card said the shop would be, she parked the car and looked at Ajreis, his gray-green skin, wide, muddy-green eyes, and large mouth full of too many pointy teeth, she sighed, “How is this going to work?”

  He looked at her as if she was an idiot, “Ferris, imps are still invisible to most humans.”

  Her brows d
rew together as she mentally slapped herself. The imps had been a part of her life for so long and the veil was now lifted she had just assumed everyone could see them. Hell, she should have sped through Wisconsin and risked a ticket. Lightly butting her head against Fray’s, she softened her voice, “What about you, little one? Do you want to go in and meet a wizard?”

  It is unwise but I would not miss it for all of the treasure in the world, he growled, the words broadcast telepathically in her head.

  Taking a calming breath, she got out of the car and made her way to the street level, her gaze drifting to Ajreis every few feet for reassurance. She wanted to reach out and take his hand, to have the physical connection, but she knew holding onto nothing would gather too many strange looks. It was just after two in the afternoon and she realized she hadn’t made a hotel reservation. It had taken nearly seven hours to get there and she was not looking forward to another seven hour drive.

  Oh, well, Chicago was a large city; she was certain she’d be able to find lodging for the night.

  On the street, she passed several bars that catered to those humans interested in the supernatural. She was fairly certain that a few of the patrons loitering outside were not human. They looked at her with hunger until they noticed the dragon draped around her neck and the imp at her side. Then they looked like they weren’t quite sure what to think. The new order of things between humans and Others was still so new that most of the world didn’t know how to react to a human so comfortable in the supernatural world.

  Her eyes were so busy taking in the colorful beings that she almost missed the discreet door with the address that was listed on the card. Coming to an abrupt stop, she peered into the window that had the word Magyck painted on it. The display was filled with all things magical, from crystal balls and tarot cards spread out in a reading, to the skull with symbols carved into it, to the glass containers filled with various plants and herbs and if she wasn’t mistaken a jar full of eyes of newts.

  Taking one last glance at Ajreis, she pushed the door open and stepped inside, crying out in alarm as it slammed shut behind her, leaving Ajreis on the other side. Fray’s talons dug into her shoulder, piercing the skin and drawing blood. Ignoring the pain, she pounded on the door and tried to turn the knob but it was locked. “Aj!”

  “I’m alright, Ferris,” his scratchy voice assured her from the other side of the door. “The wizard put up a spell to keep imps out.”

  “Damn it!” Ferris swore, turning around and resting her back against the door, her eyes widening in her head as she saw the rest of the store. Every surface, every nook and cranny, every available inch of wall space, was filled with… stuff. It was a treasure trove ripe with hidden secrets and she itched to explore. Distractedly, she asked, “Are you going to be okay, Aj?”

  He chuckled, “Of course, Fer. I’ll simply pop off to one of the supernatural bars and grab something to drink. Are you going to be okay?”

  “Uh huh,” she muttered, looking from the dragon statues to the crystals to the incense, seeing and missing a million other things. Slowly, she pushed off the door and walked forward, running her fingers over the lush material of a robe or a dress, examining the intricacies of an exquisite figure of a fairy, breathing in the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg.

  “Can I help you?” a craggy voice came from behind her making her jump and spin around to face the man she hadn’t even known was there. Twinkling hazel eyes in a face lined with age and laughter met her gaze and she pressed a hand against her chest to slow the pounding of her heart.

  “My goodness you scared me,” she said, her lips automatically curving into a smile at his presence. His hair was extraordinarily long, as white as virgin snow and incredibly beautiful. He exuded light and warmth and she felt good just standing in his presence.

  “My apologies,” he grinned, pressing his palms together and bowing his head slightly. His smile faded as he looked at her more closely, a frown wrinkling his forehead even more. Reaching up with a trembling hand, he traced the shape of her face without touching her, whispering in a voice filled with something akin to awe, “You’re just as I remember.”

  That was a weird thing to say and it took her aback for a moment. Of course, he was ancient. He probably thought she was her Aunt Melanie, with whom she shared a strong likeness. Holding out her hand, she grinned, “I’m actually looking for a man, er, a wizard, named Omari.”

  He shook the cobwebs away and chuckled, ignoring her hand and looping his arm through hers, pulling her further into the store, “You don’t know how long I have waited for you, my dear. It seems like many lifetimes have passed.”

  “I think it’s only been fifteen years,” she gently corrected. “But that wasn’t me, that was my aunt. She gave me the necklace that you gave her and that’s why I’m here.”

  His other hand reached up and he fingered the pendant that rested between her breasts. “She promised me sanctuary in exchange for this necklace.” He paused and she looked at him, his ancient and powerful gaze borrowing into her soul, “And now that promise falls to you.”

  Startled, Ferris looked away from him and felt the hope fading away. If she already owed him so much how was she ever going to afford a potion that would slow down her aging process? Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she forced her eyes to meet his. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

  He smiled slightly before his expression turned mournful even though his eyes still sparkled with laughter. “Alas, I am an old man and no longer require sanctuary but I have a young, er, apprentice, who will take my place. I think you will be most pleased with Marick.”

  Lost, she quickly nodded her head, “Of course! I will try to fulfill my aunt’s bargain.”

  He laughed, the sound surprisingly full and youthful-sounding for such a frail looking, old man. “Oh, Ferris! I remember how generous you are, even more so than your beautiful aunt. Now come, we will discuss arrangements.”

  Ferris’s brows drew together in a frown because she didn’t remember telling him her name. She also had the oddest feeling that he was toying with her but she didn’t understand why. She was a stranger to him and yet it seemed as if he knew her and not her aunt. Stumbling after the surprisingly spry old man, she put a hand on Fray to keep him steady even though his talons were still buried in her skin. “Are you Omari?”

  Without slowing down, he looked over his shoulder and laughed, “Of course I am. Who else would I be?”

  “I really don’t know,” she muttered, following him into a backroom that was like something out of an Arabian dream, with filmy material draped from the ceilings and pillows strewn about the floor, all in bold, jeweled colors. Amazingly, Omari just sort of flowed to the floor, situating himself comfortably on the floor and motioning for Ferris to join him. Awkwardly, her hand still on Fray, she stumbled down, falling on her butt with her legs flailing out in front of her. If Omari hadn’t put an arm on her shoulder to steady her she would have fallen over backwards.

  “You must be careful, darling,” he crooned, running his hand down her arm and then back up before touching the tip of his finger to Fray’s snout. The little talons withdrew and the pain hit in a fresh wave, making her wince. Omari moved his fingers over the marks and warmth nudged out the pain. “Oh, my poor dear! You’re going to have blood stains on your shirt. You should have a little faith, Fray. I’m not one to eat little dragons.”

  Fray relaxed slightly until Omari ruined it by saying, “I only eat dragons when they’re fully grown.”

  The talons dug back into her shoulder and Omari laughed heartily, running a soothing finger down Fray’s back, “I am teasing you, little dragon. I don’t eat dragons at all. Too crunchy.”

  Once more the warmth pushed out the pain as he healed the tiny wounds. He met her eyes, laughter still shining so brightly she couldn’t help but smile again, “This little one must trust you. Has he been with you long?”

  Absently, she reached up and stroked Fray’s cheek, smiling a
s he butted his head against her chin. "I’ve only had him for a month.”

  "Extraordinary," he murmured.

  "He was a parting gift from the man I love," Ferris said, feeling the need to explain. "A gargoyle actually. I was sort of hoping you would be able to help me."

  He arched a white eyebrow and she colored in mortification because she hated asking for anything, especially from a stranger. Swallowing her pride, she continued, "His name is Armand."

  The man's eyes lit with interest and his smile grew a little shrewd but still he didn't speak. Clearing her throat, she dove right in, "I was just wondering if you had a vial of Medusa's blood lying around so I could… retard my aging?"

  After a moment of silence, the brilliant smile lit his face once more and he leaned back on his pillows, “I might have what you need. Do you accept my terms?"

  "Sanctuary?" she asked, just to clarify.

  He nodded, excitement rolling off him and hurtling into her. "Young Marick will appear on your doorstep two weeks after you return home. I would suggest finding your own apartment because Marick can be quite persuasive but he also enjoys his privacy, especially during intimate moments.”

  “Um, I’m not looking for a roommate,” she interrupted. Raising her eyes to his, the heat burning through her cheeks, “Or a, um, lover.”

  “Perhaps not immediately,” he conceded, looking at her with a measure of sympathy as he patted her hand. “But eventually….”

  “I just want to know if there is a way I can stop aging so I can be there when Armand wakes up,” she blurted. “I’ll give the man a place to live and if he needs my protection, or whatever, I’ll do what I can, but I simply want Armand.”

  He stilled, the energy around him coalesced and she realized she was in the presence of a very powerful being. Softly, his words barely more than a breath, he asked, “Do you know how long I’ve waited for you?”