by Price, E A
Holling had been around a lot – not in a stalkerish way like Gary, but just around. Whenever she was at Lucifer’s Hall, he was there, watching her. He had asked, casually, if she wanted to go out for coffee a couple of times. He had asked her so nonchalantly that neither invitation really felt like a date, so she found it very easy to say no. Still, he was reaching a Willy Wonka level of creepiness. What? Surely Kylie wasn’t the only one freaked out by both film adaptations?
Kylie slipped into her apartment just in time to see Luc awaken. He roared, he stretched, and he grinned at her. She smiled and almost dropped her books. He rushed forward, frowning at her as he took her bags.
“Little one,” he admonished, lightly. “These are far too heavy for you.”
“It’s fine,” she said, rubbing her shoulder.
He growled, and his wings fluttered. “You should not lie to me. I will not allow you to injure yourself.”
“Well, you can’t be with me all the time.”
She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, and even more so when she saw the way his face hardened. He was already pretty fearsome, but when angry or annoyed, he looked downright terrifying. She cringed right down to her shoes.
“Luc…”
“Forgive me,” he rumbled. “I need some air.” He turned to leave, his massive bulk trembling.
“Just…”
“I will be careful that nobody sees me leaving your home,” he hissed over his shoulder.
“You know that’s not…”
“No, I’m sorry, I just… I need some air.”
With controlled restraint, he left and closed the door behind him. The windows barely shook at all.
Kylie rubbed her forehead. It wasn’t that she was being mean – she was being honest – he couldn’t be with her all the time. But she still regretted blurting it out like that. The fact that he couldn’t watch over her during the daylight hours bothered him more than he would care to admit. He growled and cursed over every scraped knee, every bumped elbow and every broken nail. She was kind of a klutz. He seemed to think that if he had been there, he could have prevented them. But he was being unrealistic and putting too much pressure on himself. She doubted the goddess of poise and grace could prevent herself could prevent Kylie from falling over.
She relaxed and had a bath. She laughed as she thought of Luc trying to bathe in a river. In spite of his questionable hygiene he always smelled good – like fresh pine, and rain. It must be a gargoyle thing. A human would never smell half as good.
After, Kylie fixed herself a pot of noodle soup. She was concerned that Luc had not returned, but a little relieved that he wasn’t watching her eat. Her eating habits were also a source of contention. Luc was forever lecturing her on how to eat right and lambasting her on the fact that she didn’t eat enough. She knew allowing him to read her nutritional guide was a bad idea. Kylie liked fruits and vegetables… kind of. She liked banana milkshakes and carrot cake. True, she was trying to diet, but mostly her diet consisted of eating smaller portions of the fatty foods she normally ate, instead of swapping them for fruit and vegetables. Luc was trying to make her eat healthily and trying to make her live longer. It was annoying.
She heard a slight thump on the roof and knew that Luc must have returned. She waited five minutes but when he didn’t come inside, she ventured outside. She clambered up the railings, precariously balancing on her tip-toes, and saw Luc perched on the edge of the roof.
“Hey, wahhhh…”
Her foot slipped, but instead of meeting the cold, unforgiving surface of the ground, she was pulled into the warm arms of a gargoyle.
“You really must be more careful,” he barked at her. Apparently, his flight had not done much for his mood. “What would you have done if I had not been here to catch you?”
“If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t be trying to climb onto the roof,” she retorted, tartly.
He opened his mouth and then huffed. “You have a point, little one.”
Luc settled her into his lap; both arms clamped tightly around her, and his tail curled around her leg for good measure.
She smiled at the sight before her. The town was always pretty, but it was beautiful from above. Of course, she couldn’t look right down at the ground – that was far too nauseating – but looking at the sky and the twinkly stars was fine. “I can see why you like to come up here. It’s beautiful.”
He grunted. “I would not call this beautiful.”
“No? I guess it looks very different from your time.” She felt a pang. She couldn’t even imagine how odd everything must be to him. “Maybe it will be easier when the other gargoyles are awake. You could have Gargoyles Anonymous meetings to complain about the state of the world.” She tried to laugh it off as a joke, but his mood was too somber to be amused.
“If they do ever wake.”
Kylie chewed her cheek and tried not to let any tears escape. She was already feeling the pinch of failure; she hated the thought that he agreed with her. “Luc, I’m trying my best…”
She gasped as he twisted her in his arms, panicking that he was about to throw her off the roof. But no, he was merely turning her to straddle his body so he could see her face. “Forgive me, little one. I know how hard you work, and how unfair this burden is to you. My anger is not at you, but at me. I feel helpless. I should be doing more, I should have done more to prevent it.” He closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath.
Kylie ran her fingers down his cheek, and he pressed into her touch. “What happened isn’t your fault. You’re doing everything you can right now. Things will get better.”
Luc snorted. “Is your life better now?” he asked, mockingly. “Have I improved your life?”
“Yes,” she replied immediately and confidently.
“You are saying that to spare my feelings,” he grumbled.
Kylie rolled her eyes. Gargoyle men clearly weren’t that different to humans. “No, if I were sparing your feelings I would tell you that I didn’t find you telling me what to eat totally annoying.”
Luc’s brow creased as he looked at her. “I only say it for your own…”
“Yes, yes, yes – still annoying. But, honestly, yes I am happier since you came into my life. I was kind of miserable before you crash-landed here.”
“I do not believe I crash landed. I was here before you.”
“Regardless. My point is, I was miserable before I met you…”
Luc bared his teeth. “I will gladly hunt this Brian male down and show him the error of his ways.”
Yes, she had confessed all about cheating Brian – she’d never seen Luc so mad. He said he couldn’t imagine a male that would treat his female so poorly. He still had a lot to learn about the modern world. A few weeks ago she might have actually considered his offer, but not now.
Kylie waved a hand. “Not necessary. I don’t even feel anger toward him anymore. But, my point is, you gave my life purpose. It sounds dumb, I know…”
“Thank you,” he said, sincerely.
“You’re welcome.” She smiled and for a few beats they stared into one another’s eyes until there was a tremendous growling noise. And no, it didn’t come from Luc.
“Your stomach…”
Kylie cringed. “No, that was… probably just a stray bear.” That horrible, unladylike grunt was definitely not coming from her.
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Yes!” She’d had her allotted three hundred calories for the night. Damn diet.
He was back to his disapproving hectoring that was still annoying but also a little endearing. “Clearly you have not eaten enough. We will go inside, and I will ensure that you are fully satiated before anything else.”
“You’re so bossy.” She was only half censorial – mostly she was teasing.
Luc jutted his chin. “Yes, I needed to be to lead my clan. Very often I had to make gargoyles do things they did not want to do.”
“I’m not one of your g
argoyles.”
“No, you are my friend, little one.”
Kylie sighed. “You don’t make it easy to disagree with you.”
“I am glad to hear it. But I must take you inside, you are beginning to shiver.” He pressed her a little closer to his chest, and she snuggled against him.
“What were you doing out here?”
“Thinking. I am still trying to understand how I was woken. I do not mean to offend you, but I wish I could speak to someone who is familiar with magic. If I could understand how it happened, then I would know how to wake my brothers and sisters. But first we need to find them. I am frustrated that we do not seem to be making progress.”
Kylie rubbed his chest, and he groaned, lightly. She almost bounced up and down on his lap as a thought practically beamed into her mind. “The professor owned a lot of books on magic,” she told him, excitedly. She beamed at him expectantly, and he looked blankly back at her.
“I see, that is an interesting fact but…”
She shook her head. “No, I mean, now the books are Andrew’s and I’m up at his house all the time,” she paused as Luc huffed – he wasn’t altogether pleased about that, “I could borrow one of his books.”
Andrew might have let her borrow one if she asked, but the books were old and valuable. Lara had seen dollar signs in front of her eyes akin to a cartoon character when she found out what they were worth. She had forbidden either Kylie or Bea from taking any of Andrew’s possessions anywhere – even to get them appraised. If she asked, and he said no and then a book went missing, it would look… well, exactly like it was – like she’d stolen it. But if she just borrowed it and took special care of it and returned it without anyone the wiser – then that would be fine.
She had already looked into buying some kind of magical books – but she had no idea what to look for, and those that sounded like they might be authentic were pricey.
“No,” he rumbled, in a voice that brooked no argument. “I will not allow you to take such a risk.”
She opened her mouth to argue nonetheless, and he reiterated his previous sentiment. “You will not do this. Promise me you will not do this.”
Kylie scowled at him and mumbled incoherently.
“No, Kylie, you will not do this and that is the end of the matter.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The very next day, Kylie looked around surreptitiously before she pulled a book off the shelf and slipped it into her oversized purse.
Yes, she was completely ignoring what Luc had told her, and she was borrowing one of the professor’s books.
None of the books had been catalogued yet, so Kylie told Bea she wanted to start with them. Bea agreed it was a good idea. Boy, she was getting good at subterfuge. It was a gift, really.
While they were working at Andrew’s house, Bea had hired an extra set of hands to watch the antique shop. It was a teenager called Gwen who looked like she would burst into tears if you raised your voice a smidge too loudly, but she seemed competent enough and had actually sold quite a few items. Unlike Kylie, she seemed to have a natural aptitude when it came to selling antiques.
Kylie had scanned the bookcase until she found a book that she thought might be helpful – it was on transmogrification. She seemed to think that had something to do with changing shape or appearance, so surely that would apply to changing statues. She had no idea but figured it was a start. Besides, if it were no good, she could just borrow another book. It was easy to borrow this one; it would be easy to do it again.
She was just about done congratulating herself when she heard a cough behind her and every inch of her froze in terror.
Slowly and reluctantly – because she really hoped that a meteor might strike in the interim – she turned to find Holling smiling at her. Smiling in amusement – not glaring in fury. She wasn’t sure which was worse.
“Is that your book?” he drawled.
“I was going to bring it back, I’m not a thief,” she blurted as surely she turned paler than an albino.
He sniggered. “I’m sure.”
The urges to flee and burst into tears warred within her. “I just wanted to borrow it to read.”
Holling stepped toward her, and she forced herself not to move backwards. His arm brushed against her and every hair on her body raised in objection to his presence. His touch made her shiver, but not even in remotely the same way that Luc did. It was strange, but she was more scared and more repulsed by this gorgeous man than she was by a gargoyle. Not that Luc was repulsive – not at all. He was actually a handsome creature.
He reached into her bag, and she let him. She froze on the spot in horror. She’d never done anything like this. She’d never misbehaved when she was growing up – she hadn’t needed to, she was allowed to do almost anything she wanted so she rebelled by being a well-behaved angel.
Holling pulled out the book and turned it over in his hands. His eyes gleamed. “Late night reading?”
“It, uh, just looked interesting,” she said, faintly. “My friend Maggie is always talking about magic and witches, so I thought…” The words just trailed away from her.
He watched her for a few beats before slowly returning the book to her bag. “Why don’t you have dinner with me and I won’t say a word?”
Kylie stared at him in shock. It was the most overt he had been about his interest in her. In fact, it was blackmail. He was blackmailing her to go out on a date. She considered that a lot of women would actually be flattered by this – that he would stoop so low just for a chance to enjoy her company. Kylie was no longer one of those women.
“I know how uptight Lara is about Andrew’s possessions,” he continued. “I don’t see the harm in you borrowing a book. And I don’t see the harm in the two of us getting to know one another a little better.” He lifted his hand and for a moment Kylie thought he was going to slap her. She breathed out when he didn’t but tensed right up again as he pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. It was a gesture that Luc sometimes made when they were talking. He would smile and say that he wanted to see her face. His sharp talons, which could be so deadly, would lightly graze her cheek as he took the utmost care not to hurt her. When Luc did it, it made her all warm and bubbly. When Holling did it, it made her cold and uneasy.
Every fiber of her being told her not to say yes to him. She wasn’t fond of Holling – no, that was an understatement, she was creeped out by him - and to say yes felt like it would be a betrayal of Luc. She didn’t like the feeling, but it was there. Apart from her own niggles of guilt, she wasn’t sure if she could leave him alone at night. Luc quizzed her about her days, and became silent and still if she ever mentioned a man’s name. She didn’t want to confront it, but she knew he was jealous. It wasn’t an emotion she was used to eliciting in a man. Brian could have cared less if she had spent the night sleeping over at an ex-boyfriend’s apartment. But Luc was unhappy if she even talked to another man.
Kylie almost told Holling to call the cops and slap her in irons, but she thought better of it. She didn’t want to lose access to Andrew’s house.
“I’d rather do lunch,” she said, grudgingly. She hoped her face didn’t reflect her inner mood – sourer than a lemon.
He brightened almost manically. “Perfect, how about tomorrow?”
“Sure,” she said, morosely, as if she were being led to the gallows. How bad could it be?
Chapter Twenty-Five
“You look pleased with yourself,” simpered Lara, sidling towards him with wary cautiousness.
Good, she thought, perhaps something would cheer him up. He was a freaking emotional roller coaster. A couple of nights ago one of Holling’s associates had caught Gustave sneaking back into town; they’d snapped him up and were trying to get information out of him. Sadly, the old man wouldn’t even tell them why he had been trying to get back into town. He was a tough old bastard she’d give him that. Holling had some of his idiot friends interrogating him non-stop, but the old
guy was locked up tighter than a vault.
She sighed, and some of the tension left her as he allowed her to slip her arms around him. He only ever allowed her to do that when he was happy. When he was mad, he could easily send her sprawling across the room with a backhand.
The times he did that were her fault, though. She should have known better than to fawn all over him when he had more important things to think about. At least, that’s what he said.
He really was in a good mood, because he patted her hand in what might have been considered a tender way. She almost mewled like a kitten but remembered herself. Holling didn’t like displays of affection. She was already pushing her luck by hugging him.
“I caught Kylie Summers trying to steal a book on transmogrification,” he told her, gleefully.
“How dare she? I’ll have that little bitch arrested!” snarled Lara. Stupid, fat sow! Lara wasn’t overly fond of any women, judging them all to be rivals. She didn’t have female friends. But she particularly disliked the way Holling tried to flirt with the cow. Holling was hers. Arresting her would suit Lara down to the ground.
“No, it’s a good thing.”
“It is?” she asked, uncertainly.
“Yes,” he snapped, impatiently. “It means I’m right.”
“You’re always right, my love,” she said, adoringly.
His eyes tightened, whether, from the endearment or her compliment, she couldn’t tell, so she hurried on.
“So what have you done with the book?”
“Nothing, I let her take it.”
“Why?”
He rolled his eyes in aggravation. “Because it means that she does have magic – she’s trying to wake one of them up. Transmogrification is about changing one thing to another – why else would she want the book?”
Lara uncharitably thought that she was probably trying to turn her cat into a boyfriend. Dumpy women like Kylie tended to have lots of cats and enjoy knitting. She didn’t say it, though. Holling was excited, and when Holling was excited that was good for her. Besides, what did she know? Maybe Holling was right? Maybe Kylie the dump truck was some kind of witch and really was getting close to waking one of the gargoyles.
