by Price, E A
“Wow, a vegetarian gargoyle – whatever next.”
“I believe my grandfather had a point, but it is more likely that the enchantment was powerful, but not powerful enough to shed us of our beginnings completely - hence the need to remain in our stone state during the day. We were born as statues. It is really no different from humans. Both races need to rest. The difference is that our rest is enforced. Merlin had to choose between us being alive during the day or the night. He chose to make us alive during the night – in the darkness, to fight the darkness as my grandfather would have said.”
He was silent for a few moments as he stared at their joined hands.
“Do you know if any of your family members survived?” Kylie asked, softly.
“No, little one. They died before this happened. I have had over a thousand years to mourn my parents and grandparents – I am at peace with that.”
“My parents died when I was four.” She cringed; she didn’t know why she felt the need to share that.
His forehead crinkled in concern. “I am very sorry for that, little one. Your life must have been very hard.”
“Probably not normal, but I wouldn’t say hard.”
“I wish I had been there to protect you.”
“Me too, no one would have messed with a kid who has a gargoyle for a bodyguard,” she laughed at the thought of turning up at school towing Luc behind her.
“No one will… mess with you again,” he told her, solemnly.
“So, back to the story, what happened? Something must have gone wrong, right? One minute, everyone’s happy and the next…”
“Yes, little one. Our relationship with humans was tenuous at best. We were feared by most for what we could do. And the lingering practitioners of dark magic hated us. In spite of Queen Guinevere, some supporters of Morgan lived. They fled and continued to plot. In my time, it was Guinevere’s great, great, great, great, great grandson on the throne, Arthur II.”
“No way!”
“I see that legend has not survived either,” he remarked, dryly.
“No, if I remember rightly, Guinevere and Arthur didn’t have kids. I think after Arthur died she went to a nunnery or rode off with Richard Gere or something. But I might be getting muddled.”
“Hmmm, history is very badly remembered.”
“Yes, clearly, by the fact that your kind has been forgotten.”
“That may have been intentional,” he said, darkly. “Our allies trusted us, but many did not, and it was not as peaceful a time as any of us would have hoped. Many warlords and would-be kings attacked Arthur, hoping to kill him and take his crown. Many were aided by the descendants of Morgan’s allies. None were successful; the attackers could not hope to prevail against us.” His teeth gleamed as he gave her a predatory grin, but it soon softened.
“They attacked Arthur’s allies, trying to weaken him. At the time, my clan had an alliance with the Somneri Clan. My second in command was Ophelia, a strong female gargoyle. Our clan produced the greatest gargoyle warriors in the land.” His chest inflated to heroic proportions. “And Faylinn, the daughter of the leader of the Somneri Clan, was a powerful witch. Together we were unbeatable.” He paused, his eyes clouded. “Those were good days. In spite of the fear and hatred I felt from many humans, the acceptance and kindness from my friends was enough.”
“Did all the gargoyles feel that way?”
“No, little one. There were those who were uneasy. Although we were accepted and had an arrangement with our friends, we were not permitted to own land. Some gargoyles believed we were treated no better than slaves. I could not agree with that. We were free to go where we pleased and do as we pleased. We did not need riches. Anything that we needed we bartered for; our wants and desires were very different from humans. The land gave us what we needed. When we were hungry, we hunted. When we were unclean, we bathed in a river.”
Kylie wrinkled her nose and Luc let out a long hoot of laughter. “I see I have offended your delicate sensibilities.”
“You don’t smell like you bathe in a river.”
“Would you know what that smells like?”
Kylie had a flashback to high school. Boys at that age didn’t tend to be well groomed – at that age they tended to go through a phase of believing that body spray was a good substitute for taking a shower. But no, they didn’t stoop to jumping into a river. “Well, no, but you smell nice… uh, I mean…”
“Thank you, little one. You also smell very pleasing.”
She brushed off the compliment. “I’m sure it’s just my body wash.”
“No, it is you.” He brought her palm to his mouth, and she held her breath as he inhaled her scent. “It is you.”
A blush threatened to turn her into a lobster. “Oh, thank you.”
“Where was I? Oh yes. For a while, there were no attacks. We thought we had repelled our enemies. It was mere days before Arthur was due to marry. Many of the Blanc Clans and gargoyles clans arrived at Camelot for the celebration. Our enemies converged after daybreak. They sought to take the castle while we were sleeping. The human army and magic practitioners kept the invading armies at bay until we could wake. But when we did, something was wrong.” His tail wrapped around her ankle more firmly. “In spite of the deaths of their soldiers they didn’t stop. It was a slaughter. They sent wave after wave of humans to us, and we struck them down. They were just distracting us. The descendants of Morgan’s allies, the remaining Noir Clans were readying the spell.”
“A spell?”
“The spell,” Luc corrected. “Or rather the enchantment created by Merlin to bring us to life.”
“How did they get it?”
“I do not know,” he murmured, quietly. “It had been locked away in Camelot, under the heaviest of guards and enchantments since the day it was cast.” He gripped her hand more tightly. His thumb caressed the back of her hand. “One moment we were fighting our enemy, and the next moment my friends, my brothers and sisters were falling out of the sky. I could barely believe what I was seeing. It was nighttime, and they were turning to stone. So many were destroyed in an instant. Many who were already on the ground were immediately smashed apart with glee by our enemies. I tried to reach them, to help them; when I found Ophelia she was already stone. As I knelt down to help her, I felt the change come over me. It was no different from when the dawn arrives, but I knew I would not wake again.”
Anger radiated from him, and he growled. Kylie once again saw him as a beast rather than a man. She saw the fury and the violence he was capable of, and instinctively she recoiled. The hurt confusion on his face as she pulled her hand from his was too much to bear. She swallowed her fear – now was not the time for it. Luc had been through so much, more than any man should. The last thing he needed was her petty worries.
Forcing herself to act with a boldness that she had rarely felt throughout her life, she pushed herself into his arms and gave him a hug. She glimpsed his look of amazement as she rested her head on his shoulder. At first, his massive body was tense under her touch – as unyielding as stone she thought, mirthlessly. But as she curled her arms around his neck, her fingers rubbing circles into his warm, smooth skin he slowly unstiffened. He wrapped his arms around her. His strong muscles molded her to his body and with what felt like a completely natural move she settled on his lap. She closed her eyes and nuzzled his shoulder. He let out a throaty groan.
Luc stroked her hair. It seemed to give him comfort, so she didn’t stop him. “What happened then?”
“I do not know many of the details, only what I was told. The enchantment was changed – reversed, I suppose. All gargoyles reverted to their stone state – it killed the people who cast the enchantment, but it worked. A lot of my kind were killed within the first few moments. Almost all of them, I think. Thankfully, some of the Blanc Clans were able to save some of us. I was fortunate enough to be one, but I have never been clear how many others of my own clan survived.
“Our allies
failed to repel the attack and they were forced to flee. Arthur was killed. The throne was gone. The Clans tried to reverse the enchantment, hoping to defeat the enemy. But without Merlin’s spell they could not. Faylinn was able to modify the enchantment for me so that I could hear her when she spoke – but that was all I could do. Merlin’s spell was lost to our enemies; we never found out how it came to be in their possession. But it was suspected that one of our allies betrayed us.
“Each clan fled with as many of their gargoyles as they could. However, the new king, Maddox, I believe his name was, offered them pardons if they handed over the gargoyles. Some did.”
Kylie gasped. “That’s terrible!”
“Yes, but they truly believed that we were turned to stone and were not going to live again. And they needed to protect their living families. I cannot say I would not have done the same in their position.”
“But if they still wanted the statues, then they must have known that you were still alive. They must have known there was hope that you would wake up one day.”
“You are very logical, little one. Yes, they knew we still lived. I believe they must have been afraid that one day, a powerful wizard or witch would have been able to break the enchantment, and they did not wish for that to happen.”
“You were stone for nearly a thousand years?” she mumbled through a barely concealed yawn.
“Indeed. Maddox did not last long on the throne. He fought his way to the throne but was not able to keep the promises he made, to his allies to get there. He was soon overthrown, and there was much unrest in the country for nearly fifty years. From what I am told, the magical wars nearly ripped a hole in the world. The people using magic were not as skilled as Merlin or even Morgan. They were ordinary people who had been given magic and could not control it. Eventually, a new king, I do not recall his name, was found, and he decided for the good of the country, that magic had no place in his rule. I believe he thought it wise to forget such a dark chapter in history. But it saddens me that my kind are not remembered. We were once fearsome warriors, and yet now we are known as nothing more than ugly statues.”
“You’re not ugly,” Kylie whispered into his neck. “The professor said that time was running out, do you know what he meant?”
“Yes. Those who cast the spell over us were not able to turn us completely to stone – Merlin’s magic still lived inside us and still burned brightly. But they were able to ensure that we would not sleep forever. After a thousand years, if we were still not awoken, we would turn to stone completely. As powerful as Merlin was, even his magic could not live forever in stone. Magic is a living thing, it needs to be alive, it needs to be used. And Gargoyles were not meant to live this long.”
Kylie opened her mouth to ask another question, but it was swallowed by a huge yawn.
“I can see I have given you a lot to think on, and you are tired. You should rest.”
She stirred as Luc lifted her. “What happened to all the dragons?” she mumbled, sleep overtaking her body.
“They died out many years ago, little one, even before my time.”
“Shame.”
He carried her to bed and carefully arranged the covers around her.
“You’re not leaving are you?”
“I will be here when you wake.”
“Good, don’t want you to go away.” Then Kylie gave in and slipped into the oblivion of dreamworld.
Chapter Twenty-One
When Kylie did awake it was to find sunlight streaming into the bedroom and that it was gone noon. She was very late for work. In spite of her hurry, she carefully peeked out of her room to find Luc already turned to stone and kneeling in the middle of her living room.
She was a little relieved, a little disappointed and a little intrigued. But first she was more than a little late for work.
Kylie threw on a coat and stormed down to the antique shop, narrowly missing tripping over Gary, who was hovering outside the door. Luckily she lived over the place where she worked. Of course, that meant that she didn’t actually have a good excuse for being late.
She burst through the door to find a bemused Bea talking to Andrew Hardcastle of all people.
“Sorry… late… overslept…” she panted.
Bea beamed at her, and surprisingly, so did Andrew. Neither of them reacted to Kylie’s state of undress. “That’s probably my fault,” he said, jovially. “I kept you up at the house for too long last night; I’m sorry.”
“She’ll be fine,” said Bea, dismissively before turning back to Andrew. “Yes, the legend you’re referring to is, I believe, about Miranda Halliwell. As far as I know she was a local midwife who was reputed to be a witch because she brought a baby back to life.”
“Lot of witches in this town,” muttered Kylie.
Bea winked. “If you believe the legends. I think people just deemed any woman a witch who did anything extraordinary. I’m afraid that’s all I know about her.” Andrew sagged a little. “But I expect Maggie will know more. I doubt there’s a legend about a witch within five hundred miles she doesn’t know about.”
He brightened. “You’re right, I’ll go see her right away. Have a nice day, ladies.” He practically kicked up his heels as he left.
“What was that about?” grumbled Kylie, severely lacking without her morning coffee.
“He tells me that Edwin was drafting a book about local folklore. Of course, he didn’t get the chance to finish it. I believe Andrew is toying with the idea of actually writing the book himself. He said his business is sound, so he appears to be throwing all his time into this.”
Kylie slumped onto the counter. “He seems very excited about it.”
“Yes, he does,” said Bea, thoughtfully. “It’s a shame Edwin didn’t live to see it. But then perhaps Andrew wouldn’t have even considered doing it if Edwin were still around.”
“He tried to touch my boob when I first met him,” came Kylie’s muffled voice as she rested her head on her arms.
“Did he dear? That’s nice.”
“Not really.”
“Well, the buttons have come undone on your pajama top, and you appear to be flashing quite a lot of décolletage and he didn’t even give you a second look.”
Kylie groaned and quickly buttoned up her top. “Maybe I’m just losing my allure.”
Bea laughed and then gave her an indulgent look. “My dear, go home and relax. Take a day off - you’ve earned it. I’m not sure if Andrew will sell me anything – he’s become quite attached to the collection – but he paid us very handsomely for last night. And he’s asked me to try and source some antique benches for his garden, which is a lovely idea. He seems certain that he won’t charge anyone for seeing the garden either. I suggested he have a donation box for a local charity. He’s turning into quite a charming young man.”
“Yeah, he’s a real saint. Might I suggest witches without borders for the charity.”
“Go home,” ordered Bea. “It’s clear you’ll be no good to me today, and I’m not sure how many sarcastic comments I can take before I throttle you.”
“I better go then, for my own safety.”
“Try to relax.” Bea looked her up and down critically. “You look kind of stressed. Are you sure there’s nothing worrying you?”
Kylie pretended to think about it. “Ummm, no, not really.” She did feel a little guilty about lying to her aunt, but as sweet as Bea was, there was no telling how she might react to Luc. “I’ll see you later.”
She walked out of the shop and lo and behold straight into Holling and Lara. Holling raised an eyebrow at her state of undress, but Lara just snorted and rolled her eyes. They’d get stuck there one day if she kept doing that.
Holling tried for a dazzling smile, that a few weeks ago probably would have had her melting all over the sidewalk. “Morning.”
“Yeah, morning,” mumbled Kylie, ungraciously.
“How are you today?” he asked, giving her rumpled pajamas and trench coat
the once over.
“Well, I…”
Lara glared at her in distaste and interrupted. “Have you seen Andrew?”
“No,” blurted Kylie. Shit, she just lied. Why did she lie? She was getting good at it anyway. She ought to get a gold medal in lying.
The tall blonde snorted and turned on her heel to walk away, muttering something about Andrew either being a trucking pit or maybe a clucking fit.
“Ignore her,” said Holling, smoothly. “Trouble in paradise.”
Kylie watched her as she strode away, as elegant and scary as a Valkyrie. Numerous men turned their heads as she passed them. Well, if what Andrew and Lara had was 'paradise', she could honestly say she wasn’t interested in getting some of that.
“You do look a little tired,” said Holling, gently.
“I haven’t been getting much sleep,” she admitted, unthinkingly.
“Something been keeping you up at night?”
There was a smile on his lips, but it certainly didn’t reach his eyes. He knows something, a little voice in her head said. Maybe she was just paranoid. Kylie tried not to react to the question, but she was sure that she paled at the insinuation.
“Just my own insomnia, and Andrew last night. After you left, he and my aunt talked for another hour. He seems very taken with his uncle’s collection.”
“Yes, he has surprised us all,” replied Holling, blandly.
Kylie let out a theatrical yawn. “Well, I think I’m going to go catch up on some sleep. Nice to see you.”
She dashed away before he could say anything else and was thoroughly relieved to be locked away in her little apartment.
When had Holling started to seem so creepy?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kylie surfed the net as she waited for sunset. She was trying to research gargoyles, and potentially look other gargoyles who might be like Luc. It was slow going. She could hardly type ‘gargoyles who come to life at night’ into a search engine. She’d already tried – it was pointless.
