by A C Warneke
Melanie was silent for a long moment and Jenna heard a sniff. “Lenni, are you crying?”
“No,” she denied even as more sobs escaped. Then she was laughing because she was crying. “This is ridiculous, Jen, I cry for no reason. I was watching a commercial for a candy bar the other day and I just burst into tears when the voice over started describing the gooey caramel. It’s ridiculous.”
Jenna laughed, “Are you sure you’re not pregnant, Lenni?”
Melanie laughed even harder, “You know that is impossible. Now, good night, Jenna, give your gargoyle a kiss from me.”
“Get some sleep, sweetie,” Jenna smiled, hanging up the phone. As she turned the phone off, she looked up to see Rhys’s stone eyes on her, a smile on his face. “You’re awake. How long have you been awake?”
“Not long. It’s good to hear you laugh” he murmured, touching her cheek with his fingers, drawing a long line down her neck and over her ribs. “I’ve missed you so much these last few weeks.”
“It only felt like a few hours,” Jenna murmured, her fingers toying with the amulet around her neck, surprised to discover that it was still there. Touching her finger tips to his face, feeling the carved stone beneath her fingers, she trembled. “Where ever it was that I was at, in only felt like a few hours. I was turning thirty and I had a son and a daughter and there was no darkness in me.”
Lying within the arms and wings of Rhys, she haltingly told him about the other life, laughing at a few of the memories and in tears by the end. In the cozy hollow he had created she told him everything, sometimes repeating herself as her emotions got the better of her. And as she talked, the lighter she became, feeling the burden of long forgotten regrets and dark and bitter grief lift from her soul.
Chapter 19
As the sun set, Rhys shifted back to his human form and stared out over the sea, lost in thought. He was in awe that after everything Jenna had been given in the other life she still chose to remain with him. He wasn’t too proud to admit that he didn’t care why she chose him just that she did. Throughout his life he had been the youngest, the one who didn’t take life too seriously because his oldest brother was too serious by half. All he cared about was pleasure, receiving as much as possible and sharing the wealth with all of the beguiling beauties he could lure to his bed. It wasn’t that hard to find willing women and over the years he had enjoyed far more than his fair share, sometimes more than one at the same time.
But then along came a delicate, raven-haired beauty and he was lost. From the first moment she stepped foot on the roof all of those months ago he had been drawn to her, even as a gargoyle. She made him want to be a better man, she made him want eternity with one woman, something he never thought would happen for he simply enjoyed women and variety too much. Now he couldn’t even get it up for another woman.
His mother’s words echoed in his head, Do you not find it odd that both you and your brother have found love in such a short period of time? In truth he hadn’t thought about it because he had been too deliriously happy to question his good fortune. It’s just strange, that’s all.
She had also told him that everything was changing and after listening to Jenna’s experiences on the other side he was a little alarmed. As far as he knew threads didn’t just magically appear, they came from existing threads. And they sure as hell didn’t glow. What the heck was coming? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know even if it meant he would be able to fly during the day.
A slender hand slid into his and he looked down to find Jenna standing there looking a little wan in her white gown but still so beautiful it made his heart ache. She looked like a Greek goddess, the material hugging her body and hinting at the charms beneath. Squeezing her hand, he asked, “How are you feeling?”
She laughed nervously, pressing her hand against her stomach, “Better.”
Draping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her into a hug, just needing to hold her and keep her near. As she rested her head on his chest he once again had that overwhelming sense of rightness and they fit together seamlessly. Kissing the top of her head, he murmured, “We should think about getting home soon.”
She let out a long sigh, “I feel so bad: I’ve slept through most of our time here.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” he assured her. “Besides, it gave me a chance to spend some time with my mother. And my newest brothers.”
Jenna pulled back and looked up at him, her lips parted in surprise, “There is another group of gargoyles? Will I get a chance to meet them?”
Rhys felt the color flood his cheeks as he looked down into the face that he loved, “Actually, Medusa has asked us to take them home with us. They’re of an age and it is our turn to foster a pod. Would you be okay if we took them with us?”
“Of course,” Jenna agreed readily, without even having to think about it. “Where are they? What are their names?”
“Um,” his face flamed hotter as he thought of the three young scamps.
His mother’s sparkling laughter filled the air as she strolled into the room, her body barely covered by her latest filmy gown. “They’re named after an adorable cartoon I once saw: Michael, Leo, and Raphe.”
“Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael,” Rhys muttered under his breath. Jenna slammed her hand over her mouth to contain her laughter but her giggles still escaped. Her laughter was like a drug and he would never get enough of it.
“They’ve been in and out these last few weeks,” Medusa explained. “They are just like their older brothers, wandering off for hours at a time, exploring the island and pretending to be mighty warriors though they are but small little gargoyles. I think it will be good for them to live in the city.”
Rhys heard the twinge of sadness in his mother’s voice and knew that it had to be so difficult to relinquish her children not knowing when she would see them again. If she would be seeing them again. His mother looked up and caught him staring at her and she offered a slight smile, “Perhaps when the walls come crashing down I will be able to get off the accursed island and visit my boys where they live.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Jenna gushed, not knowing that when the walls came down his mother would probably be going straight to Mt. Olympus as the gods and goddesses tried to reestablish their order by besting the others through a series of challenges. It was something he had discussed with Medusa while Jenna lay sleeping. Of course, it was all just a theory since neither of them knew what was coming. His young brothers would be growing up in a whole new world.
He met his mother’s eyes and shared a sad, knowing smile. He couldn’t even begin to fathom a world without his mother. But he also knew that she longed for her punishment to end and to finally be reunited with her immortal sisters. She wanted to be released from the torment of having to fuck bodies that were slowly turning to stone.
“Aha!” she cried out, laughing as three small moppets surrounded her, three handsome boys smiling at the first human they had ever seen. “And speaking of my babies… I’d like to introduce you to Michael, Leo, and Raphe.”
Michael was the oldest at nine and a half with white blond hair and brilliant green eyes. Leo was next at eight. He had ash brown hair and golden eyes, a shade very similar to Vaughn’s eyes. And finally there was Raphe, the baby of the gargoyles at five almost six, the same age as Ferris. The little angelic mischief-maker had blue-black hair and nearly violet eyes and was a heartbreaker in the making.
Jenna stared at them in a mixture of awe and affection, with a little smidgen of nervousness mixed in. With a shaky smile, she murmured, “Hello, um, I’m Jenna….”
“We know who you are,” Michael smiled perceptively for a preteen. “You’re Rhys’s mate and a human. Momma says we’re to live with you and Rhys, Armand, Vaughn, and Melanie.”
Jenna turned her head and looked at Rhys with a warm smile as she spoke quietly, “Were you ever this small?”
He laughed, “Once upon a time, many, many years ago.”
“I can’t even imagine,” she mused. “I bet you were adorable.”
“You have no idea,” he chuckled, taking her hand and closing the short distance between the groups. As he looked as his youngest brothers a wave of melancholy threatened to engulf him: these three were going to be the last of their kind. His mother cupped his cheek and when he looked at her she was smiling up at him. Covering her hand with his, he closed his eyes and let the sadness go for there would be time to mourn later. Forcing a smile and ruffling Leo’s brown hair, he scooped little Raphe up into his arms, “These three are holy terrors and they put the imps to shame.”
“You and your brothers were just the same,” Medusa said with chuckle, wrapping her arms around Michael’s shoulders. “In fact, the three of you were worse. These three never tried to go cliff diving from the north shore.”
Jenna sucked in a breath as she stared at Rhys in horror, “Where the jagged rocks are?”
He blushed, “We were young and apparently very stupid.”
“It’s a wonder any of you made it out of your childhood in one piece,” Medusa reminisced. “The most stress these three have caused was wandering down to the tide pools and trying to capture a mermaid. Lilaila’s mother was not pleased when she found her daughter playing tag with three gargoyles.”
“There are mermaids?” Jenna asked, her lips parted in surprise, though why she would be surprised at this point she didn’t know. Her wonder did make Rhys chuckle though.
Bending forward, he placed a quick kiss on her opened mouth, “Yes, love, there are mermaids.”
She shook her head and made a face, “Of course there are mermaids. Of course there are.”
“Come,” Medusa said, holding her arm out. “Let us gather on the veranda for dinner. You can tell me more about your life, Jenna, and I can tell you a little bit more about mine.”
Jenna’s eyes widened in anticipation, eager to learn as much as she could about the gorgeous Medusa. The elegant beauty watched her boys closely, absorbing every detail as the four of them teased one another, rough housing only a little. Jenna imagined that if they were alone they would be wrestling on the ground, Rhys in the middle of all of it.
After they ate, the four boys wandered off somewhere, leaving Jenna alone with Medusa once more. “You said that most choose the other path but how many have come back?”
Medusa looked at her over the rim of her delicate tea cup, her dark eyes sparkling with laughter. They were so similar to Rhys’s dancing eyes that it was a sharp reminder that this woman was Rhys’s mother. Jenna still had difficulties wrapping her mind around that one simply because Medusa appeared so young. Except when Jenna looked into the other woman’s eyes and saw the sorrow of a thousand lifetimes staring back. “Other than you?”
At Jenna’s nod, Medusa set her tea cup down and leaned back in her chair, stretching luxuriously until the material of her sheer gown was stretched taut over her breasts. Jenna felt the heat rise in her cheeks but she tried to act normal because if Medusa was comfortable than she would at least pretend to be. Medusa’s grin was mischievous as she finally answered, “There was one other, a man whose destiny was always to leave.”
She vaguely remembered Medusa saying that there had only been one other but at the time Jenna had been not altogether lucid. Giddy with the knowledge that she was discovering the truth behind the myth, she asked softly, “Perseus?”
“Yes,” Medusa answered with a pleased smile. Pulling her legs up beneath her bottom, she grinned, looking heart-achingly young. “He was a stunning boy and quite surprised when he discovered that this island was not inhabited by a fearsome creature. At least, not during the night.”
Jenna lowered her lashes, not willing to see the self-loathing in Medusa’s eyes over her stone form. She couldn’t imagine that Medusa could be that hideous during the day, not when Rhys was so beautiful in his gargoyle form. Slender fingers touched her chin and she tilted her head back to find Medusa looking at her in bewilderment, “My form during the day is as the myths describe me: I have the torso of a woman and the lower body of a reptile. Serpents writhe on my head passing for hair, I have deadly claws for hands and my skin is covered in scaly armor, everywhere but upon my wings and my beautiful breasts, which only makes them that more horrific.
“I am a hideous beast,” she finished with a sad smile. Running her hands over her exquisite body, molding the gown to her firm breasts and flat belly, she beamed, “But at night I return to my human form and it is most pleasing, especially when I do not have to entertain my petrifying humans. At least during the day I do not burn with the need to fuck, the gods were not that cruel.”
Jenna inhaled slowly as tears welled in her eyes. Medusa brushed her thumbs over Jenna’s cheeks and smiled softly, “Do not cry for me, child, for I am at peace. Now, where was I? Ah, yes: Perseus.
“He arrived just after the sun set, a glorious man in his prime,” she sighed, looking out across the water as if she could see the boat he had arrived on. “He took one look at me and declared his undying love, promising me the world if I would run away with him.”
Turning to Jenna, her eyes dancing with laughter, she murmured, “I don’t think he was very smart because he never thought to question why I was on this accursed island all alone. He simply ignored anything that didn’t make sense to him. He ignored quite a bit.”
Jenna put her fingers over her smile, not wanting to disrupt the flow of Medusa’s tale. Heaving a voluptuous sigh, Medusa’s smile faded, “He was in love with love, with beauty and romantic ideals. We were lovers for a few weeks before he finally became curious as to why I disappeared during the day. He followed me but he wasn’t very discreet and I knew he was there but I let him see. I had hoped….”
Her words trailed off and the sadness that had abated returned, burnishing her dark eyes until they were endless pools of night. Shaking the mood away, she curved her lips upwards in a sensuous smile, “I was a fool. When he saw me, he grabbed his sword and swung, slicing off one of my snakes off in the process. He grabbed the severed snake and fled and when the night came I had a chunk of hair that was much shorter than the rest.”
“How did he escape the trap?” Jenna asked softly.
“As I said,” she murmured with a smile. “It was his destiny to leave this island. He only had the one path and for a few weeks I had a lover that was neither Apollo nor a human slowly turning to stone. And from that union I had one child, neither imp nor gargoyle, simply… mine.
“Of course, the fates took him away from me and I do not know what happened to him,” she closed her eyes and breathed through her delicate nostrils, fighting for composure, something Jenna understood far too well. Reaching out, she simply took Medusa’s hand in her own, offering silent comfort, knowing words would be inadequate. “I don’t know if he even survived for he was an anomaly and the Fates are quite odd when it comes to anomalies. I think perhaps they kept him to themselves. Or they killed him. I try not to dwell on it since it has been so very long.”
Medusa squeezed Jenna’s hand and smiled in gratitude, “Of course, I could have asked my lover to search for him but that just seems… crass. He knows all of my darkest secrets but that one and it is the only one that matters.”
“What is the child’s name?” Jenna asked softly, her heart racing in her chest at the thought of bringing Medusa her long lost son.
“He is lost to me, Jenna,” she murmured softly. With a gentle smile, she added, “Please do not open old wounds.”
Jenna’s eyes widened in her face at Medusa’s perceptiveness, making the beautiful woman laugh. Reaching forward, Medusa ran her fingers lightly along Jenna’s jaw, “I have been around for many years and your thoughts are clearly written in your eyes. At this point I am simply grateful that two of my boys have found love and happiness. It is all a mother could ask for.
“Now, come, let me show you the rest of my home,” Medusa grinned, standing up and smoothing the front of her diaphanous gown before
holding a hand out for Jenna to take.
As Jenna slid her hand in Medusa’s she slowly came to her feet, eager to see the rest of the place but apprehensive. “Will I fall into another trap?”
Medusa looked at her with wide, dark eyes, her expression blank for a heartbeat before it melted into a breathtaking smile, “No, my dear. You have already been tested and you have passed. There are no more traps.”
Jenna breathed a sigh in relief, having no desire to go through the rabbit hole again and discover another life she would have to turn her back on. Silently, she followed Medusa as she gave a tour of her home, pointing out the various works of art and telling the stories behind a few of the pieces. She explained that every creature comfort was provided to her, courtesy of Apollo and a few of the gods who had taken pity on her, though they did not break the rules by joining her on the island. Except for Poseidon, who used to use the water to visit her upon occasion, though it had been many, many years since he had been there.
She let out a long sigh, “So many of the old gods have grown weary of this place and have returned to Olympus. Only Apollo remains and I think the only reason he stays is his desire to fuck a human.”
Jenna’s brows pulled together in a frown, “I have always thought Apollo had taken many human lovers, and not just females.”
Medusa laughed her light, tinkling laugh, “No. He has bedded mortals but not humans. Do you see the difference?”
Jenna grinned and shook her head no and Medusa laughed harder, “The mortals he bedded were not human, at least not entirely. They were the children of lesser gods or supernatural creatures, half-breeds. Poor Apollo is the only god whose radiance is too much for a human to endure and most become ill as soon as they enter his personal realm.”
