Stone Passions Trilogy (Stone Passion 1, 2, & 3)

by A C Warneke

  The bulky robes disappeared as well until only a pair of silk pantaloons covered him from the waist to mid-thigh. Sleek muscles lovingly wrapped around his body, the sinewy cords flexing beneath golden skin. She had seen him as the ancient Omari and the eminently gorgeous Marick but she had never seen his true form before. She had to admit that Apollo was breathtaking.

  Slowly, cautiously, he approached her, a slight scowl doing nothing to mar his beautiful face. Closing his eyes, he moved his head in an arc, breathing in deeply. After a moment, he looked at her with curiosity, “You have the scent of humanity about you but you’re no longer human.”

  She shook her head in agreement, watching him with wide eyes, a blade of unease twisting in her belly for it wasn’t wise to call out the gods. “I’m not.”

  He crept closer, slowly reaching out towards her but not touching her while she held herself very still. Cocking his head to the side, his interest in her deepened, “We were lovers but I have no memory of this… why?”

  “You’re in my past,” she explained, caution making her words come out slow and a little thick. “I’m in your future.”

  He nodded his head as if her explanation was completely rational. Crossing his arms across his muscled chest, he asked, “Were we lovers before or after you were human?”

  “While I was human,” she answered, her cheeks burning with red fire.

  His eyes darkened as he looked at her, probing into the depths of her soul. It was a struggle to remain still and not squirm beneath his penetrating gaze but he was a man she loved as a friend once and he was the father of her children. Suddenly his hand shot out and he wrapped his long fingers around her throat, squeezing with just enough pressure to let her know it wouldn’t take much for him to rip her head off. The heat of his skin scorched her, reminding her he was Apollo. Tears smarted in her eyes because she hadn’t actually believed he might cause her harm.

  But, no, he wasn’t choking her, he was simply examining her, tilting her head from side to side, his eyes never leaving her face. His thumb brushed over her lower lip as he rasped, “You’re very beautiful.”

  “Th… thank you,” she murmured carefully, searching his hazel eyes for a glimpse of the Omari or Marick she had loved. The man, no, the god, standing in front of her with his fingers wrapped around her throat was emotionally guarded and isolated. She would say lonely but she didn’t think Apollo would appreciate the sentiment.

  “I have been… resting on Mount Olympus for many years,” he murmured, almost to himself. With a slight smile, he added, "Except for the years I get to spend with my Beloved.”

  “Medusa,” she whispered, regretting the word as soon as Apollo’s eyes flared with anger and betrayal, as his grip on her throat tightened. Clawing at his wrist, trying to break his chokehold she quickly added, “I know this because I’m in love with your son. I’m in love with Armand.”

  His grip relaxed some but he didn’t pry his fingers from her neck. The curiosity was back in his expression as he studied her once more. Eventually, his brow pulled together and he let out a little sigh of vexation, “Damn it! I cannot read your mind.”

  Her eyes widened, “Of course not! The blood running through my veins wouldn’t allow for such an invasion.”

  He almost smiled at that but carefully kept his expression neutral. Licking her lips and holding his eyes, she murmured, “I am willing to… exchange blood, if you think it will help.”

  Before the words were completely out of her mouth, a large, wicked looking blade appeared and he had let her neck go in order to grab her wrist. Holding her eyes, he sliced her palm open, ignoring her gasp of pain. With more care, he barely nicked his own palm and pressed it against her gaping wound.

  “Asshole,” she muttered under her breath, pouring everything into his puny wound, watching as his eyes widened in bewilderment and then understanding. When she reached the end of her story so far, she jerked her hand from his wrist and closed up the wound, wiping the wet blood that stained her hand on the silk of his pantaloons. When he arched his brow at her behavior, she snorted, “You’re the asshole who cut far deeper than necessary.”

  He chuckled, the warm laugh familiar and comforting. This was the man she had known, not the merciless automaton who thought nothing of slicing her hand to the bone. "Why didn’t you use your powers to prevent me from cutting so deep?"

  Holding his eyes, she softly answered, "I had no desire to fight you and if I had hesitated you would have walked away."

  "You choose to hide your true nature. Fascinating." He studied her for a moment, curiosity in his hazel eyes. “I take it from your memories that you wish to return Armand from his frozen state.”

  She shook her head no, “This isn’t my life, Oma… I mean Apollo. I need to return to my time and I was hoping you might be able to send me back to my present.”

  “Time is fluid and the future is not set in stone,” he said, sympathy swimming in his hazel eyes. “I cannot send you back because there are a million possible futures and only one that is yours.”

  Ferris’s shoulders slumped as a crushing wave of defeat crashed over her. Damn it! She was going to have to suck up nearly five hundred years of living underground….

  Apollo’s warm laughter shook her out of her melancholy. “Fear not, my love, you will have to spend some time underground but not nearly as long as you think. Besides, I can’t have you mucking up this time line, not since I finally get my human.”

  She looked up at him, almost afraid to hope. “What can you do?”

  His smile should have worried her and would have had she not known him so well. “What I have planned for you is similar to the faerie realm where you spent so much time but in reverse.”

  Ferris’s grin almost hurt her face, “So, how much time are we talking about? A hundred years? Two hundred?”

  “Well, it really depends,” he said carefully, his eyes dancing. “If you want to interact with people, well, faeries, we can go the two hundred year route. However, if you’re anxious to get back home... a year and some change.”

  Ferris’s jaw hit the floor, “What’s the downside?”

  “You’ll be in a time bubble,” he explained, watching her expression closely. “You’ll have everything you could possibly want except interaction with other people, human or otherwise. Well, you’ll have Fray.”

  “I’ll do it,” she said without hesitation, without having to debate the pros and cons of either option. “I want to get home as quickly as possible.”

  He chuckled, “Yes, I imagine you would.”

  She couldn’t wipe the smile from her face and was unprepared for when Apollo closed the distance between them and took her into his arms. Heat from his body slammed into her and she almost swooned, which made her want to smack herself across the back of her head. His mouth covered hers and she did swoon a bit. He kissed with incredible skill, teasing her lips apart before expertly using his tongue to tempt her into a deeper kiss.

  Breathing harshly, he pried his lips away from her and rested his forehead against hers, “Good luck, Ferris. I’ll be biding my time until you come back into my life and I promise not to give your secret away, not to anyone. No one will know we’ve met before, that you set all of this in motion. They will think it was a quirk of fate but we’ll know the truth.”

  He stepped back and a wavy wall separated them and then he was gone.

  Turning, she saw the luxurious interior of the bubble she was going to be spending the next few months in, a cornucopia of delight for all of the senses. Floor to ceiling bookcases filled with every book she would want to read, a stereo system with all of the music she loved, colorful pillows spread across the floor, on the plush couches. Off to the right was a luxurious open bath with a massive claw foot tub. Natural light flooded the room from the skylights overhead and the massive windows interspersed with the bookcases. Heavy curtains were pulled to the side and tied off but she could imagine the complete darkness that would envelop the room if
they were closed.

  Her art supplies were stacked up against one of the walls, ready and waiting for her for when she wished to paint. There was no kitchen but there was a note instructing her to wish for whatever she desired and it would appear. With a grin, she wished for a banana split and then laughed in delight when it appeared.

  Grabbing the dessert, she wandered over to the door, wondering what kind of world she was going to be spending the next year and a half in. Pulling the heavy door open, her breath caught in her throat as she saw the gorgeous garden that surrounded her fantasy room. Setting the ice cream down, she glided through the door and into the open air.

  The sun caressed her skin with its warmth and a gentle breeze lifted the strands of her hair. The scent of honeysuckle and jasmine filled her nostrils as she looked around. She could see the rippling edges that marked the boundary of her bubble, making the world beyond a land of indistinct form and shadow. At the far end was a rectangular shape: the door. If she ever left the bubble she was going to have to be extremely careful not to disturb the plans already set in motion.

  She just couldn’t imagine ever wanting to leave the bubble before she needed to because in less than a year and a half she would be back home with her children, her family. With Armand.

  There would be one last confrontation and then she would either be able to embrace her destiny or finally turn her back on it.

  Fray pried himself from her body and blinked at the surroundings. His deep voice rumbled through her as he murmured, “This is perfect for us, Dragon-Mate."

  Chapter 19

  The Truth is a Jagged Sword (The Roof)

  Armand’s heart was racing in his chest, mocking him for his stupidity and pride, as he desperately searched the ground for Ferris, knowing that he wasn’t going to find her. Even though he didn’t know where she had gone he took great comfort in the fact that she wasn’t splattered all over the sidewalk. But where was she?

  She could be in an infinite number of worlds, each with an infinite number of parallel realms, in an infinite amount of time. And if, by chance, he found her he couldn’t be sure that the Ferris he found was the Ferris he lost. As he numbly stood there, he knew that he'd be a fool if he tried to search for her through all of space and time.

  Fuck that. He was a fool and he would find a way to get her back. He wasn’t going to lose her now, not after it took him so long to finally see what was right in front of him all along. He would go through Hell to find her.

  A chuckle from behind him had Armand spinning around, his chest tight. Apollo stood there in all of his blinding magnificence, a tired smile on his face. “You just might have to go that far.”

  Armand’s fingers curled into fists and it took every ounce of will power to keep from crossing the distance between them and punch his father in his perfect face. But Apollo knew where Ferris was and for that alone Armand would keep his fists from connecting with Apollo’s jaw. Through clenched teeth, he ground out, “Where is she?”

  “Did you really think it would be so easy?” Apollo tsked, shaking his head in mock disappointment as he walked over and swung a leg over the ledge before he sat down, his vibrant robes swirling around him in a way that was not at all natural. Staring out across the city, his hazel eyes ancient and fathomless, Apollo murmured, “Sit, son, there is much we must discuss.”

  Stiffly, Armand sat down with his back to the city and the space where Ferris disappeared. The uncontrolled bouncing of his left leg was the only indication that he was anxious to get started on his search for his beloved. Pressing a fist into his thigh, he willed the leg to stop twitching. “Do you know where she is?”

  Apollo smiled slightly but instead of answering the question, he said, “It’s a beautiful night. I forget how beautiful the night can be, especially since I so hate the dark, but this? It’s beautiful.”

  Armand closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His father would only become increasingly more annoying the more Armand wanted something. It was just unfortunate that he had never wanted anything as badly as he wanted Ferris back and Apollo knew that. Of course his father was going to torture him for as long as he could. Grinding his teeth together, he muttered, “Yes, it’s lovely.”

  “I’ve never been a very attentive father,” Apollo murmured unexpectedly. Armand’s head jerked around at that admission but Apollo was still staring out over the city, that vague half-smile still curving his lips. “It might surprise you to know that I spent more time with you and your brothers than I did with any of my other children, with any of the other gargoyles.”

  Apollo did turn his head at that, arching an eyebrow as he murmured softly, “You should thank Ferris for that.”

  Armand scowled. He wasn’t able to thank Ferris for anything because she. Was. Missing. Besides, how could Ferris be responsible for Apollo being less of an asshole father unless…. His heart punched his ribs, “Did she come to you and tell you she’s given up on me? Is she… is she yours now?”

  “She was never mine, Armand, even when I held her in my arms and fell in love with her.” Sorrow and lingering heartache darkened Apollo’s face and Armand actually pitied the man because he knew what it was like to love Ferris.

  “I was coming after her,” Armand admitted softly. “As soon as she said goodbye, I realized I couldn’t live without her, and that was before I saw her paintings of me. She’s in my blood, father. Have you ever needed someone so desperately that you couldn't breathe without her?”

  “Yes, twice: your mother and a girl I met once. Ferris,” Apollo laughed, turning his attention back to the oh-so-fascinating cityscape. His wry smile softened to a genuine smile and his eyes warmed as he murmured, “She brought me back to life, Armand. For a long time I simply existed on Mount Olympus, watching my power gradually fade away until only a pocketful of humans worshipped me. My only joy in life was the handful of years I was allowed to spend with your mother, with Medusa. Gods, I loved that woman but every moment I spent with her I lost a little bit more of myself. After you and your brothers were born I fell into the deepest, darkest despair I had ever known and I knew that my time was coming to an end.”

  Strangely, it hurt listening to his father talk but, just as strange, Armand wanted to hear everything. Lost in his memories, unaware of the stiffness easing from Armand’s body, Apollo continued, “But suddenly this beautiful girl stormed through the walls I had built up and demanded my presence.” He chuckled to himself, “It was shortly after you were born, maybe fifty or sixty years? She never knew how close she came to being squashed like the bug I first believed her to be. Thank the stars I refrained from killing her before I actually listened to her.”

  The stiffness returned with a vengeance at Apollo’s words, to the point Armand was sure his muscles were just going to break if he so much as blinked. Apollo must have heard the low growl that came from the back of his throat because his father abruptly stopped speaking and looked at Armand with wide, guileless eyes. “I didn’t kill her, son, I just said that it was my first impulse to do so, just the same for any other human demanding an audience with me.”

  “Why didn’t you… kill her?” Armand asked in spite of his better judgment.

  “She called for me by a name known only to a handful of people,” Apollo said with an easy shrug. “It was the name I used when I introduced myself to your mother all of those millennia ago, the name that is secret.”

  “I… see,” Armand reluctantly conceded with a wry smile, imagining Ferris boldly and bravely facing a god. Only Ferris.

  “She willingly shared her blood with me,” Apollo murmured, the awe still in his voice after all of this time. “It… changed me somehow, made me appreciative of the world around me. I mean, she was a goddess that retained her human sweetness and it was extraordinary. Plus, it renewed my hope of finally having a human.”

  At that, Armand swung and punched his father in the face, taking no satisfaction in the look of shock Apollo gave him as his fist connected with Apollo’s
chin. With a shrug, Armand shook out his hand, and muttered, “Go on.”

  Working his jaw back and forth, Apollo eyed Armand warily before he scooted a few inches further down the ledge. Apollo’s eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before he straightened his spine and casually asked, “Do you ever wish things could have been different? That Katrina accepted your gift all of those years ago?”

  Armand expected the dull ache that he associated with Katrina to fill his chest but there was no pain, only a quiet certainty that Katrina was not the woman meant for him. “I used to but I don’t anymore. I think I would have made her life miserable.”

  Apollo’s smile was wide and knowing and Armand should have been weary but he was so tired of keeping everything to himself. Relaxing his shoulders, Armand softly admitted, “I think it was necessary for Ferris to come into my life as a child because she was a threat I never saw coming so I had no chance to guard my heart against her.”

  “I think it would have been better for me, however, if she had waited until she was an adult,” Apollo said. At Armand’s scalding look, Apollo chuckled, “Of course, if that were the case then everything would be different and you would be stuck with a gargoyle mate more in love with your brother than with you.”

  Armand arched an eyebrow and waited for an explanation but Apollo didn’t offer one. Apollo’s mercurial moods shifted once again as he became melancholy, “She really is something, isn’t she?”

  “She’s everything,” Armand said passionately, his heart in his words. In the silence, he replayed their conversation in his head and realized what had been unspoken. Glancing at Apollo from the corner of his eye, his question came out as a statement, “Ferris went back in time.”