by E A Price
Chloe texted back. Are you sure everything’s okay?
He growled in impatience and texted back. Yes.
He would never have had such affection with Kara either, but then she was a warrior.
If only Kara had survived, he thought angrily. He and Kara had grown together since younglings. She was always the fastest, strongest, always besting him in every fight. She had scoffed when he first told her she was going to be his mate. Scoffed and then beaten him in a tournament. His mother had clucked her tongue when she saw the wounds Kara gave him. His father had chuckled and congratulated him on his choice of mate. Eventually, he had won Kara over – by besting her in a wrestling match. She had always been so strong, so full of life. They would have made a fine pair. He regretted he would never know what it was to take her as a mate.
But Chloe was here now. She knew what he was and was not running, screaming in the opposite direction. At least, not anymore. Perhaps there was something there – he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or not, but she seemed to be coquettish towards him – not something female gargoyles bothered with. When female gargoyles decided they wanted a mate, they tried to claim them in much the same way a male would – through shows of dominance and aggression. He didn’t really like the human way of flirting. It felt wrong. Females should say what they think. Any flirtation should begin and end with them clobbering a male with a battleax – the gargoyle equivalent of a wink.
Chloe had put her hand on his the previous night. It had been so long since he had been touched by a female, and her affection hadn’t been unwelcome. He wasn’t a lovesick fool, practically panting over her – as Luc did to Kylie – but it had felt quite pleasant.
She texted back. Are you mad at me?
He replied no and placed the phone back into his belt.
His parents had an arranged mating, and eventually, affection grew between them. Perhaps the same could happen to him.
*
Kylie stood in the circle, her hands trembling slightly. Luc took each one and pressed kisses to the palms before reluctantly stepping out of the circle. He folded his arms and smiled at his mate. Only the flicking of his tail betrayed his unease.
The incantation took a lot out of his mate, and as much as he needed her to perform the spell, he disliked her doing so.
Kylie raised her hands, took a large breath and started chanting. It was over in a matter of seconds. She lowered her hands, panting lightly as swirls of pink energy alighted around the statue.
It worked.
The skin of the entwined gargoyles slowly heated, turning from stone to flesh but they did not move. Even Ric, still preoccupied with his own thoughts watched in rapt attention.
The gargoyles didn’t stir. They were locked in an embrace, with the female wrapped inside the male’s wings, her head nuzzled into his neck. The male had one arm around his mate, and the other wielded an ax.
The silence was punctuated by a sigh and what sounded like the cry of a baby. Kylie stepped forward.
“No!” roared Luc.
The male hurled the ax at her, and she froze in horror.
Chapter Nine
“You know, Bob, you’re not exactly making new friends here.”
He ignored Brenda and dug at the hedge. Yes, another walk, and another visit to the Hardcastle estate.
Brenda groaned at the stubborn dog. “If we’re not careful Andrew Hardcastle will take out a restraining order against you.”
She didn’t really mind where Bob took her for the walk. She needed to get out of the house and get away from the two annoying men in her life.
Kevin had been grouchy about the fact that she couldn’t call him as often as he wanted, and then there were the recriminations about the fact that she moved in the first place. He had wanted her to move in with him and his two roommates. She’d been tempted, even if his roommates were pervy morons, but her grandmother made her promise to go live with her uncle. And she couldn’t say no to the woman who raised her. Not while she was on a respirator at least.
Meanwhile, her uncle had been nagging her about dumping Kevin altogether. He wasn’t the monster Chris made him out to be. Yes, he smoked pot now and again. And yes, he had been arrested once. He had the munchies, so he went to a seven-eleven where a couple of cops happened to be grabbing a coffee. They were probably tipped off while he was trying to eat a bag of cat food. But that didn’t make him a bad person.
Even with Kevin in Phoenix, she felt like she was stuck between the two men. Both stubborn. Both irritating.
“Come on, Bob; people are definitely going to see that.”
There was now a huge hole under the hedge. One that Bob was wriggling his rounded belly through.
“No, bad Bob,” she admonished uselessly. “Don’t you dare!”
Yep, he’d ignored her completely and managed to get his wide body all the way through and was now dragging her by the leash.
“Stop it right now!”
Brenda yelped and dropped to the ground. The only thing that stopped her from being dragged into the hole was the fact that she let go of the leash. She heard Bob barking as he ran away.
“Crap!”
Maybe there was still a chance that she could retrieve Bob before anyone noticed what he’d done. And she knew what that entailed. With serious reservations, she followed Bob through the hole.
*
Ric dove at Kylie, pressing her to the ground, covering her with his wings. Luc retrieved the ax and snarled at the newly awakened male. The male growled and clutched the female closer to him who snapped her fangs at Luc.
Gracchus moved towards them. “Chief,” he growled.
Luc simmered with rage, his whole body shaking as his eyes flashed. “Kylie,” he snarled, his mouth barely able to form the words.
“I’m fine,” came the muffled response.
Luc swung the ax in his hands.
Gracchus held up his hands. “He was just disorientated and trying to protect his family, Chief. No harm done.”
“No harm done?!” howled Luc.
Gracchus tilted his head, and Luc looked in that direction. Ric pulled Kylie to her feet and stood in front of her protectively. The cry sounded again.
“Is that really a baby?” asked Maggie, who was huddling behind Annis with Andrew.
The male let out a roar. And then a barking dog ran into the circle followed by a young woman.
*
Brenda thundered to a halt next to Bob. His barks had ceased, and now he was staring up at the… the.. creatures with just as much surprise as Brenda
Her eyes zipped around, looking at the amassed… people? Were they people?
She saw Kylie staring at her open-mouthed while Maggie and Andrew gave each other fearful looks. But the rest… they were not human. Aliens, maybe? Or demons? Maybe they were some kind of weird cult, and they’d managed to bring some demons to earth from hell. They all had wings, and horns and claws and were terrifying.
“Brenda,” said Kylie, quietly.
The largest male’s eyes burned into her accusingly.
Another male let go of the female monster he was clutching and attacked the huge male.
“Luc!” called Kylie as her hands flew to her mouth.
“I guess I should have knocked first,” said Brenda. Then she grabbed Bob’s leash and with a surge of adrenaline, managed to half-drag and carry the dog out of there. It was a monumental feat considering his enormous size.
“No, Brenda, stop!” called Maggie.
Hell. No.
She wasn’t stopping to see what they were up to. They can keep their demonic orgies to themselves!
She was almost in the hole when she felt a whoosh of air from behind her, steely arms wrapped themselves around her, pulling her back against a rock hard chest.
“Don’t struggle,” boomed a voice near her ear.
“Yeah, right!”
Brenda clamped her teeth down on his arm. He howled in surprise and dropped her. She fel
l to the ground, spinning onto her back and booting him between the legs. Given the way his eyes bulged, he sucked in a whistling breath, and he staggered away from her, it was a safe bet that was a sore spot for these creatures, too.
“Why, you…” he snarled, apparently getting his second wind.
Bob, who she would never say a bad word against again, leaped at him, snapping and snarling. The creature held Bob away from him at arm’s length.
“I could use some assistance!” he hollered.
Maggie and Andrew ran up and crowded around Brenda.
“Are you okay?” asked Andrew.
“Is she okay?” snapped the creature, indignantly.
“Umm, I don’t know,” answered Brenda, truthfully. She looked between Maggie, Andrew, and the glowering creature.
Slowly, as if they were approaching a frightened deer, Andrew and Maggie edged closer, and each took a hold of her hands to help her up. Bob was still barking at the creature who was growling in return. Brenda supposed she should take control of the unwieldy mutt. She didn’t move. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t stop staring at the enormous wings on the creature. Not to mention his horns, his blue skin, his almost black eyes, his claws and his freaking tail!
Brenda gasped as she watched in surprise as another creature approached. A female, tiny compared to the male currently fighting a losing battle with Bob, and not much larger than Brenda herself. She too had pretty much all the same attributes as the mail, except she was pink, and Brenda noticed the scarring and hole in one of her wings.
“What is his name?” asked the female softly.
“Bob,” murmured Brenda.
The female soothed the fur on Bob’s back and made hushing noises. Bob eventually quieted.
“You may put him down now, Amalric,” she said.
The muttering male did, and Brenda frowned as Bob – the traitor – jumped up and tried to lick the female. Some guard dog you are, she thought tartly.
The female looked at her and then looked down. “Luc wishes to speak to her.”
“Humph,” said the male. “Tell him to don full body armor first.”
Brenda scowled at him as he stomped away.
Maggie squeezed her hand. “I guess it’s too late to say this is all a dream.”
Brenda raised an eyebrow.
“Thought so. We better get this over with.”
Chapter Ten
Ric rubbed his arm, muttering curses as he glared at the female. Kylie was fussing over her as she told her a brief history of what had happened to his race.
He had always known that humans were meat eaters but had believed them to have somewhat dull teeth. This female, however, appeared to have a set of fangs to make even a dragon envious. Not to mention that kick she gave him. He wouldn’t be right for days.
Then there was her hell beast. The hairy, slobbering mutt was currently curled around Annis’ feet whimpering as she scratched his ears - when he wasn’t throwing snarls in Ric’s direction that is.
Humph.
The mated pair, Cai, and Ingrede had calmed a little after Luc bested Cai. They were simply scared, hungry and protective of their child. They turned to stone trying to protect their youngling, and when they woke they did not know the war was over. They simply lashed out at everyone.
The reaction was understandable. Younglings came first.
After Luc had them submit, they were taken to a comfortable room in the house; they were fed and allowed to relax. Luc gave them a brief summary of what happened and then left them in Gracchus’ care. He was not the most caring of gargoyles, but he was forthright and was very calm in every situation. He would answer any questions they had, and would also be able to subdue Cai if he took it into his head to attack again. Ingrede had allowed Luc to see the child, but she was still leery of everyone else and was keeping the child close to her.
It was good, though. A youngling meant the continuation of their race. And Cai and Ingrede would probably have more.
Luc, although still somewhat dismayed that Kylie had almost been hurt, was pleased. Though his wariness around Cai would probably remain for a long time.
The female Kylie called Brenda regarded them all cautiously. Though when she got to Ric, she scowled and he bared his fangs, and she snorted before looking away.
“So, gargoyles?” she said in disbelief.
Kylie nodded and bit her lip. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“I suppose it’s better than a demon orgy,” she murmured, almost too quiet even for gargoyle hearing.
“Huh?”
“Nothing. So there are more like you, but you have to wake them up?”
“Yes, hopefully, lots more.”
Brenda blew out a breath and leaned back. “That’s quite a story.”
Luc rose to his feet and slowly walked over to Kylie. Brenda’s eyes widened slightly as her heartbeat sped up.
He placed a hand on Kylie’s shoulder. “There is more.”
Kylie blushed. “I was trying not to overwhelm her.”
Ric groaned under his breath. Like that was going to stop him. Luc possessed the subtlety and restraint of a dragon in a paddock full of sheep… Dragons in particular were notorious for stealing and carrying away sheep. They were the scourge of sheep farmers everywhere in their day. It was probably an outdated reference for humans he mused.
“I have taken Kylie as my mate,” declared Luc, in what Ric thought was rather a pompous voice. Even more pompous than his usual voice.
Ric refrained from slapping his forehead. After he was awakened by Kylie, the first words out of Luc’s mouth were practically, ‘I have mated this human, she is mine, deal with it, or else’. Kylie should just consider herself lucky she was allowed to go through the gargoyle history with Brenda before the big oaf blurted it out.
Brenda blinked at Luc before breaking out into hoots of laughter. The room was silent as everyone stared at her in shock.
Luc’s wings flexed as his chest inflated. “You find this fact amusing?” Icicles dripped from his words.
“I find it all hilarious,” spluttered Brenda.
“I think she may be a little hysterical,” said Kylie, stroking the young woman’s arm.
“Do you want me to slap her?” offered Maggie, innocently.
Maggie was somewhat earthier than Kylie. The curse words he had learned from Maggie should hold him in good stead if he ever became embroiled in an argument with a human. Although, he was not sure he wished to see the young woman hurt.
“I would not risk it,” he said gravely. “You may never see your hand again.”
Brenda’s laughter died away as she caught his eyes and he swore she actually looked a little smug. Damned female.
A ghost of a smile crossed over Luc’s lips. “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”
Brenda looked down at her knees, and started scratching at a grass stain. “What happens now? Now that I know about you.”
“Nothing,” said Kylie firmly.
Luc sucked in a breath as if he was about to object, but Kylie shot him a look, and he merely grunted.
She beamed at Brenda. “Honey, I’m sure this is all a shock to you. You should go home and just let it all sink in.”
“But you must not tell anyone of us,” said Luc, sternly.
Kylie pursed her lips. “Yes, I was getting to that. Please don’t say anything. It could be dangerous for all of us.”
Brenda chewed on her cheek for a few moments, watching as Bob licked Annis’ ankles. Ric rolled his eyes as Annis cooed at the wretched animal.
“Okay,” Brenda agreed.
Kylie smiled in relief and squeezed her hand.
Brenda jumped as her phone started buzzing. Music Ric later learned to be a new popular music song called, ‘I fought the law’. He found it much more interesting than the classical music that Bea tried to force on all of them. But to be fair, any music was more interesting than the paltry offerings of his day. He would be happy never to hea
r a lute again.
She grimaced. “It’s my uncle.”
“You better answer it,” said Maggie.
Brenda did. “Hey, Uncle Chris.”
His voice was so loud with worry they didn’t need enhanced gargoyle hearing. “Brenda, where the hell are you? You took Bob out two hours ago!”
“I… ah…”
Maggie took the phone. “Hey, Chris, it’s Maggie. Sorry, she’s been with me, and we lost track of time.”
“Oh, doing what?”
“Talking about girl stuff.” She emphasized the last two words and they appeared to have a magic effect as he immediately quieted.
“Oh I, ah, okay, sure. Tell Brenda dinner’s in half an hour.”
“Will do, Chief Tight Pants.”
Maggie hung up, and Andrew frowned at her. “Chief Tight Pants?”
Kylie raised an eyebrow. “Girl stuff?”
Maggie shrugged. “I was willing to go all the way up to tampon to freak him out.”
It was Ric’s turn to frown. “Tampon?”
He bristled as Brenda gave him a look of disdain. Double humph.
“I better go,” said Brenda. “C’mon Bob.”
Annis smiled and then dipped her gaze shyly. “I was pleased to meet you, Brenda.” Bob nuzzled her hand. “And of course, you too, Bob.”
“He likes you,” said Brenda.
Pleasure bloomed over Annis’ bashful face. “The feeling is mutual.”
Luc did not make a move toward her. He nodded a goodbye while standing painfully still. She was scared of Luc, and he was trying not to exacerbate those feelings. He supposed Luc was quite imposing. Although, the bloody female didn’t appear to be frightened of him in the least. If anything, he suspected she was laughing at him. He looked down at the bite mark on his arm again. Grrr.
Kylie and Ric walked her out of the house. Ric gave the hell dog a wide berth.
“I could drive you home,” offered Kylie.
“It’s not far; I think Bob could use the exercise.” She patted his portly stomach and Ric sneered at the beast, who barked at him in return.
“Will you come back and see us tomorrow night?”
Brenda hesitated, before looking at Ric. “Maybe. I need…”
