by Price, E A
Kylie arched an eyebrow and tried to stem her hiccupping giggles at the thought of Brian – the dick - doing anything more heroic than opening a jar of pickles. He wouldn’t even tell people to be quiet in movie theatres – he left that entirely up to her. “Well, my last male is currently bouncing up and down on a blonde harlot in New York.”
That explanation in no way answered his question. Kylie sighed. “I guess back where you come from, women’s lib was just a far off dream. Well, in my day, women do whatever they want. We can have the same jobs as men, we can live alone, we’re equal to men – we can do anything. Bet that never happened in your day.”
Luc puffed out his chest. “Female gargoyles are as much warriors as males,” he told her, proudly. “My second in command was a female called Ophelia.” A brief flash of sadness clouded his face, but he quickly stifled it. Apparently warriors didn’t indulge in feelings of a sensitive nature – not for too long anyway. “She was a strong fighter who could better many a male gargoyle.”
Kylie crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “But you think I need a male?”
“You are human.” He said it as if it explained everything.
“But it’s not like I’m going to be fighting male gargoyles. Who’s to say I can’t better human males?”
Luc gave her a long, appraising look, taking in every inch of her curvy body, right from her full thighs, her soft belly up to her plump breasts. “You are not a warrior,” he declared, seemingly satisfied. “There is no shame in it. Your body is soft and easily injured; you should be protected.” His face darkened. “As I witnessed the previous night, there are still too many in this world who would take advantage of attractive females such as you, too weak to defend themselves.” His voice turned low and gravely. “I cannot bear to think of what that male intended to do to you.”
“I am not too weak, they just caught me by surprise.” If she hadn’t been walking around like a freaking zombie – all because of him waking up and scaring the living tar out of her – she would have seen that guy coming sooner... probably. Righteous indignation swelled in her chest before her heart stuttered as his words actually sunk in. “Wait, did you just say I was attractive?” Blood rushed to her cheeks in amazed embarrassment.
He blinked at her, and his tail flicked almost nervously, grazing her ankle. “Indeed, for a human.”
“For a human?” He didn’t really need to add that last part.
“Yes, both in body and spirit, I find you remarkable for your kind.”
Kylie gulped. “Oh?”
“Look how easily you have accepted my presence.”
She felt guilty; she wished she could have accepted him more easily as someone like Maggie would have. “When we first met I fell over trying to run away and knocked myself out.” She rubbed her head, gingerly pressing her fingers against the bruise. “I bet I have you to thank for putting me on that lounger.”
Luc inclined his head to acknowledge that was true. “In my time, when humans knew of my kind from birth, I met many who would not look upon me with the ease that you do. Nor converse as we are doing so now.”
“It’s not really a big deal. You’re actually kind of easy to talk to.” Honestly, the horns, the wings, and the red skin – in spite of her misgivings it was amazing how you could get used to something so quickly.
He smiled. “I find that to be true of you, also.” His expression became grim. “But I fear that there are many who would not accept me.”
Kylie had visions again of Luc being dissected in a government lab, and she shivered.
“Are you cold?” he asked, quickly. His tale flickered over her ankle again.
“No, just… concerned for you.”
“Your compassion does you justice. Are you sure that it is acceptable for you to be alone in my presence? I understood that human females required a chaperone until they were married.”
Kylie let out a snort of laughter. “Maybe a thousand years ago.” She saw his pained expression and apologized. “I keep forgetting that this must all be very odd to you.”
“Yes, but being able to talk to you is helping.”
Her heart fluttered but before she could really think about what that meant, there was a loud banging noise from the door.
“Are you expecting someone?” he asked, guardedly. His tail, that had been curled around her ankle was swiftly removed.
“No, I…”
“Kylie, my dear! Yoo hoo! Are you in there?”
Kylie sagged a little at the familiar voice. “Be right there! It’s my Aunt Bea,” she explained, and if she didn’t know better, he seemed relieved. “I’m sorry, you better…”
“Hide,” he murmured, his amber eyes twinkling.
“Sorry.”
“No, you are right. Until I am sure how people will react to my presence, I am content to stay in the darkness.”
He stood to his full height, his horns scraping the light fixture. She took his hand, leading him to the bedroom. He knocked over a vase, a ceramic flamingo figurine and a pineapple shaped lamp with his wings as he allowed her to hurry him.
“Are you alright in there?” called Bea.
“Just getting dressed,” shouted a flustered Kylie.
Luc folded himself into the room. “I’ll try and get rid of her.”
He pressed her shoulder lightly; warmth seeped into her body. “Thank you, Ky-lee.”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she babbled in delight. She looked into his eyes for a few beats before she remembered her aunt. “Crappity crap!”
Kylie ran to her front door. Bea, in an immaculate business suit, swept past her and took in Kylie’s flushed cheeks, rumpled appearance and the disarray in the apartment.
“Are you okay, my dear?”
“Umm hmmm, yep, fine, tickety-boo!”
Bea raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything. Tickety-boo?! Who says that?!
Her aunt’s shrewd eyes noticed the two glasses of water. “Am I interrupting something?” Was that a hopeful lilt in her voice?
Kylie shook her head, fervently. “They’re both mine. I was actually… exercising. I was doing aerobics. I’m trying to shift a few pounds and get in shape. I just don’t want people to know. And I get thirsty when I exercise – hence the two glasses of water.”
Her aunt nodded. Yes, sadly this excuse seemed to fit. “You’ve nothing to be embarrassed about. But I think you look fine as you are, dear. But if you ever want to join my speed walking group let me know. It’s a very gentle and social way of staying fit.”
The members of her speed walking group were all over sixty and the nosiest women in town. They walked all over town never stopping for little things like cars. They thought that cars should get out of their way. And one member was actually under the impression that things like fences and trees should do the same. “I’ll think about it. So, how was your trip?”
“Lovely, thank you, dear.” Bea sat demurely on the couch. “How have you been? Has anything interesting happened?”
Kylie held her breath as the events of the last couple of nights filtered through her mind. “Nope.”
“Well, I have some news. Andrew Hardcastle called me. He wants me to go up to the house and appraise some of his pieces. He indicated that he would be willing to sell some and, of course, he will pay us for our time.”
“Our time?” she repeated, hollowly.
“Yes, he suggested that as you were such a frequent visitor you would be helpful and might know about some of the pieces. I thought you’d be pleased. After Edwin died, you constantly asked me to offer to buy his pieces, and now I have the chance.”
Kylie bit her lip. That was true - she had. Except the piece she had been worried about was now in her bedroom and probably listening to this conversation. But why the sudden change of heart by Andrew? Holling was suddenly showing her interest, and now Andrew had changed his mind. Something odd was happening, and she had a bad feeling about it. Could they possibly know about Luc?
&n
bsp; “Wouldn’t Gustave be better equipped to help them? I only went up there a few times, and the last time I did I got lost in the house.”
Bea frowned. “You’re right. It is strange that Gustave didn’t even wait for the funeral. I’m surprised at him. He was always devoted to Edwin. The last time I asked Andrew about it, he said they were looking for him because he inherited from Edwin’s will.”
“He did?”
“Oh, yes. Quite a lot, I understand.”
Kylie had a bad feeling about Gustave’s fate. “Was Andrew okay with that?”
“He seemed to be. I don’t think Andrew’s a bad young man, a little shallow perhaps and a world away from Edwin, who was – bless him – crustier than a loaf of bread. I think Andrew only inherited because Edwin promised his sister-in-law he would keep an eye on him. I think there was a bit of a love triangle between the two brothers and Andrew’s mother.”
Kylie tried not to shudder at the idea of the professor being involved in a love anything.
Bea got to her feet and smiled. “So how about it?”
“I’m not sure…” She didn’t want to hurt Bea’s feelings, but she had a much more pressing matter to attend to. At the moment, it was hiding in her bedroom and was probably growing impatient with staring at the faded cloud wallpaper.
“Please? I might not get this chance again.” Bea gave her a small pout mixed with an old lady glare. Bea wouldn’t be harsh enough to remind her that she had helped her out when she was in dire straits, but then Kylie wouldn’t be selfish enough to forget.
“Okay,” Kylie mumbled, reluctantly.
“Thank you, dear.” Bea kissed her cheek.
“Can you give me a few minutes to straighten up?”
“Of course, I’ll be in the car.”
Kylie firmly locked the front door behind her aunt. Lest she do anything you’d expect from a TV show and come back in – having forgotten something - and catch her with a gargoyle.
She found Luc sitting on her bed, a look of displeasure hardening his face. “Did you hear all that?” she asked, lamely. Of course he had.
“Yes,” he replied, a little coldly, climbing through the doorway. “Who is this Andrew and who is he to demand any of your time? I thought you did not have a male.”
Kylie flushed at his tone. Was it her imagination or did he sound jealous. “He’s nothing like that to me; he’s the professor’s nephew. After the professor died, I was worried about what he was going to do with the professor’s collection of antiques.” She tentatively placed a hand on his arm. “I was worried about what he was going to do to you.”
His eyes hooded. “Before you knew that I was alive?”
“Yes, I guess I knew you were special even then.” Kylie ducked her eyes. It sounded so trite, but it was the truth. Since the moment she saw him, she had been drawn to him. And now she kind of guessed why.
Luc lifted her chin with a knuckle, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I am truly fortunate to have met you,” he murmured, in a purring rumble.
He shook his head and took a step away from her. “I am selfish. Of course you must go and assist your aunt. And I fear that this may be selfish too, but it would be helpful to me for you to find out as much as you can about the professor’s collection.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I mentioned last night that I was asleep for a thousand years. But if someone touched my hands and spoke to me I was able to hear them. The people that protected me protected numerous others of my kind as well. The professor hid me in the garden, with magically protected hedges. I expect the others were hidden as well. We must find them and free them from their slumber, and soon. After one thousand years has passed they will remain in their stone forms forever.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Everything alright?”
Kylie jumped and almost dropped what appeared to be a Faberge egg. She saw her life flash before her eyes – in dollar signs. Thankfully, she was saved from becoming Andrew Hardcastle’s indentured slave. Holling – the one who had startled her and slick bastard extraordinaire – caught the egg.
He chuckled as she clutched her head, and relief roared through her like a tidal wave. Was that the first time she’d ever heard him truly laugh?
“Fine, why?” she gasped after a few moments.
He handed her the egg, and she reverentially put it back on the shelf. “You appear to be on another planet at the moment.”
Yes, she very well may be. How could Luc just suddenly dump the news that there were lots more of his kind and that he expected her to wake them all up?! She wasn’t convinced that she even woke him up, and he wanted her to run around trying to do it to others. It was kind of a big responsibility just to dump on someone who had no idea what the heck they were doing.
Kylie had been quite angry when she left, and Luc had actually seemed amused by her reaction. She had told him in no uncertain terms that she expected him to be there when she returned because she had dozens of questions for him
“Something on your mind?” persisted Holling, cutting through her thoughts.
“Oh, no.” Possibly the fate of a race of gargoyles. “Nothing at all.”
“You’ve been very quiet since the party. Usually, you’re so talkative.” He frowned, clearly he didn’t know whether this was a bad thing or not. Given that he usually avoided talking to her, she thought he’d be pleased.
“Oh, probably just the bump to the head, knocked some sense into me.” She tried to grin but suspected that it wasn’t altogether successful.
“Hmmm.” Holling gave her a thoughtful look. She could feel a pressure in her head, a suggestion that she should confess and tell him everything. Thankfully, by the time she was ready to confess all her high school crushes, it eased. She relaxed, and he changed the subject. “How much did you know about the professor’s collection?”
“Nothing, all I ever did was deliver a few items he bought from Bea. She’s the expert.”
Holling traced a finger over a bookcase. “He owned a lot of books about magic.” He let that sentence hang in the air, almost like a question.
“Yeah, my friend Maggie was so jealous. She’s big on folklore and stuff like that. She runs nighttime tours of the town.”
“Are you into that kind of thing?” It was tossed out idly, but he was watching for her answer. It was almost like he was testing her, and she had no idea what the right answer would be.
“Not really, I’d rather stay home and do my laundry than attend a séance.” At least any séance like the last one Maggie dragged her to. You could see the strings they were using to open and shut the curtains to pretend a ghost was doing it, and they were using those birthday cake candles that re-light when you blow them out. She knew it was a sham but really – they could have made an effort!
He opened his mouth to say something, but Kylie gasped when she saw the gargoyle. “Oh! What happened?” He had been in disrepair before but now he looked like he’d gone ten rounds with a bulldozer.
“It was dropped while it was being moved,” said Lara, dismissively. She walked over to them, standing as close to Holling as humanly possible without actually draping herself over him like a boa constrictor and glaring at Kylie. Kylie could care less, but she was amused by the fact that Holling didn’t exactly look pleased.
“That’s such a shame,” said Kylie, as she surveyed the damage.
Holling stepped away from Lara, who in turn sauntered back over to Andrew and Bea. “I don’t think it was worth much.”
Kylie jutted her chin stubbornly. “The professor liked it.”
“Its face was already half destroyed.”
“The professor wanted to repair it – shame he won’t get the chance. It was a beautiful piece.” Of course, she now had a new appreciation of gargoyles.
“You like gargoyles?”
Kylie tensed at the question. “Yes,” she admitted. “I do. I think they’re impressive pieces. I imagine it took years to create them.”
“Did the professor have any other gargoyles?” Holling asked, nonchalantly.
Time froze for a moment as they stared into each other’s eyes. He knows something, she thought. “There’re the ones above the front door,” she offered, casually.
“Yes, other than them.” His voice was even, but his body was tensing, impatiently.
She paused, briefly. “No,” she replied, slowly. “He never told me about any others.” Which was technically true; she stumbled on Luc by accident.
Holling’s eyes narrowed. She glanced over at Bea, who was giving Andrew a lecture on woodworm. Andrew actually seemed to be interested, but Lara was rolling her eyes and scowling. Cow was even pretty when she looked mean.
“I’m very pleased you called me, Andrew,” said Bea, with warmth. She meant it, too, Kylie could tell. “You did the right thing.”
He smiled boyishly. Men usually did with Bea. She had the uncanny ability to make all men feel like good little boys, even if they happened to be in their late fifties.
“Actually, it was Lara’s idea.” Bea looked at Lara who preened. No, there was no love lost there. Andrew didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve been dithering about what to do about everything, but she insisted I call you.”
“Thank you,” said Bea with a watery smile. Lara gave her an imperious flick of her head. “It’ll take time to go through and catalog everything. Your uncle was a clever man, but paperwork seemed to fox him. I doubt he kept records of half the things he bought.”
“With your help I’m sure we’ll get through it in no time.” He beamed at Bea and, did Kylie’s eyes deceive her or did Bea smile coquettishly in return?
Lara apparently didn’t like this mini flirtation – even if it very definitely wasn’t going anywhere. She pointedly angled her body between the two of them. “I keep telling Andy he needs to do something about the garden. It’s a horrible mess. There’s plenty of room for a tennis court out there.”
Bea pursed her lips in disapproval. She had no objection to tennis courts; she was just someone who was of the opinion that they belonged in other towns. Let them spoil the beauty of other towns. “The garden,” she said, sternly, “was actually designed when the house was first built, by a local woman who was reputed to be a witch.”
