When A Gargoyle Investigates

by E A Price

  Colt cradled his brother as the life slipped away from him, trying not to cry and failing miserably.

  Gracchus turned away, wanting Melissa’s comfort, but the sight before him nearly made his heart stop. Rather than his pretty, excitable, compassionate human, she was lying on the floor while red blossomed over her white shirt.

  “Melissa?” he whispered in disbelief. But his momentary hope that she was merely playing some kind of practical joke died. She was hurt, dying and the life was seeping out of her before his very eyes.

  “Melissa!”

  He was later told that his roar could be heard a mile away.

  *

  Thump! Thump!

  Chris took a right turn. Grey was currently perched on the van roof, scenting their way. He thumped once for left, twice for right and thrice to stop. Chris was grateful that the roads were pretty deserted at that time of night – the last thing they needed was people seeing a gargoyle riding around on the top of a van. There had been that one car but… well, the guy was kind of swerving, so Chris figured him to be drunk and unlikely to believe what he saw really. Chris had called it into the local police to make sure they pick him up before he did any damage.

  Thump!

  Chris swerved at the last moment to take a sharp left down a small lane. There was a loud growl from the top of the van and the sound of Grey scrabbling to hold on. Grey would probably yell and curse at him later but, well, they were men on a mission. He wished he might have persuaded Gracchus to switch places with Grey, but he could easily see that Gracchus wasn’t about to leave Melissa’s side. He was a little surprised, but, hey, good for him. Gracchus was a good guy, and Melissa was great – actually, yeah, they deserved each other.

  Thump! Thump! Thump!

  The thumps were urgent, and Chris slammed on the brakes. There was a yelp as a gargoyle soared in front of the van, crashing to the ground with a resounding crunch. Grey clambered to his feet and glared at him through the windshield. But there was no time for recriminations, or even ass whoopings, as someone started firing at them.

  Thirty-One

  Gracchus stared through the hospital window, watching Melissa’s near lifeless body. She looked so small, so helpless in that hospital bed. Her body was riddled with plastic tubes while monitors beeped around her. For the first time in his life, he wished to cry.

  He wrapped his wings around himself. It was a cold night, but there was no way he was going to leave his vigil.

  Chris had managed to persuade the nurses to assign her a room with a nice ledge so that he may watch her. That was all he could do too – watch. He was useless and helpless – as useless as he had been when she was shot. He should have protected her; he should have done something!

  He barely moved as someone landed beside him,

  “Gracchus.”

  “Chief,” he murmured, not looking up.

  He was surprised that Luc had actually traveled there, but he was in too much pain to really take any notice.

  “You have had an eventful time here,” he said.

  Gracchus grunted. No doubt by now Chris had told him everything.

  “She is your female.”

  A mixture of pride, possessiveness, and fury swelled in his chest. He thought of her warm smile, the gleam in her eyes and the moans she had made when they lay together. He should be so lucky.

  “I cannot mate again,” he said dully.

  Luc’s wings rustled as he shrugged. “I do not see why.”

  Gracchus looked at him sharply – the first time he had voluntarily taken his eyes off Melissa since he had found his place outside her window. He had not even removed his eyes to eat. Chris had merely leaned out the window and shoved food at him, grousing at him that starving himself was not going to help Melissa. He had to say he did not care much for pastrami sandwiches, but Chris said unless he was going to act reasonable and get his own food, then he was stuck with whatever Chris could bring him.

  Luc was merely standing beside him, arms folded and giving him a patient, rational look as if he didn’t have a care in the world. The nerve. It was completely at odds with the turmoil churning inside Gracchus.

  “I have already had a mate.”

  Luc looked at Melissa. “Things are different now.”

  “Are they?” muttered Gracchus, resuming his watch over Melissa.

  Beast men, Morgan Le Fay supporters, blood and death – things did not seem quite so different to how their lives used to be.

  “Rules for humans are different now,” said Luc. “They have much more freedom than they ever did in our time, so why should the rules not be different for us?”

  Gracchus grunted.

  “Gracchus.” He stiffened as Luc placed a hand on his shoulder. “If you wished to mate again, no one would stand in your way, I would make sure of it. Considering how small our clan is, do you really think it is sensible for any of our clan to refuse to mate?”

  Gracchus peered at him, his brow furrowing. His tail flicked as he wondered whether he should be annoyed or not. “You are saying you wish for me to mate because you want me to father more gargoyles?”

  “To put it bluntly, yes.” Luc grinned at him. “But I would appreciate it if you did not tell Kylie I said that. She is much more…” He considered his words. “Romantic than I am about the mating habits of our clan mates. Also, I am told by Chris that Melissa is a fine and kind female, and I think mating would make you happy. You are my friend, Gracchus, I want you to be happy, and I want you to have love in your life.” He paused. “But I would appreciate it if you did not tell our clan that I said that. Some of them are much less… romantic than I am about the mating habits of our clan mates.”

  Gracchus stared at him for a couple of beats and then resumed his watch over Melissa. He knew he wanted Melissa for a mate. That had become pretty clear to him. But was he the mate she deserved? He was old and weary and under his watch she had been shot. Couldn’t she do better than him?

  “The new gargoyle is awakened,” said Luc.

  He grunted in reply. Chris told him they had removed the sleeping gargoyle they found at Marsters’ house.

  “The others… they are taking some time to adapt, but I think Twenty-Six’s presence is helping.”

  Chris also told him how he and Grey had found two living gargoyles. They had tracked the truck transporting them and after a brief fight, the gargoyles had been liberated. Chris’ own account had been brief and factual; undoubtedly Grey would have a lively story about it later, embellishing his own involvement and heroism to gargantuan proportions. Gracchus was sure he would enjoy it and roll his eyes at it in equal measure.

  “Chris has said he plans to visit her later, and he will bring you some food.” Luc squeezed his shoulder. “Take care, my friend.”

  Gracchus nodded and felt the air around him whoosh as Luc left. He stared at Melissa. He was not sure he deserved her, but did he really think he could stand by while she found another to mate?

  *

  “Hey.”

  Gracchus grunted as Colt pushed Melissa’s window open and maneuvered his large body through the small hole.

  “Chris asked me to give you this,” said Colt, tossing a small silver missile at him.

  Gracchus caught it without looking away from Melissa.

  “Roast beef sandwich, with a little horseradish sauce and a piece of bread in the middle soaked in gravy.” Colt smacked his lips. “You’re lucky I didn’t eat that on the way over here.”

  Gracchus grunted again.

  Colt took a step closer. “She’s going to be okay, you know? Doctors said she should be awake soon. Your girl’s pretty stubborn; can’t see her leaving us any time soon.”

  “She is not my girl,” muttered Gracchus, his tail swishing to and fro.

  Colt snorted in laughter. “Yeah, she is. Pretty sure she’s been yours since you met her. I never stood a chance.”

  Gracchus humphed, and he felt himself ease a little.

  “I
know you don’t like my kind; can’t say I blame you. I had a long talk with Luc. Don’t think any of your clan like my kind much – they made that clear. Not a lot of people can get on with people like me, that’s why we hide.”

  Gracchus turned to look at him, and the reasonable part of him pushed to the fore. “I am sorry for that. It is not easy to hide. It is not fair either. Nor is it fair that you should be hated for what your kind once did. You are her friend,” he pointed to Melissa, “so you must be a good man, and I will try to treat you with the respect you deserve.”

  Colt smirked. “No wonder Sanchez is smitten.”

  “Humph.”

  “I just want you to know that I want this Blackthorne guy out of the picture too.” Bitterness entered his tone. “He took my brother from me.”

  Gracchus nodded. “The clan will come to accept you.”

  “Yeah,” he sighed, “but I wouldn’t worry too much. I’m used to being an outsider.”

  “You are not like the beast men of my day,” admitted Gracchus slowly.

  “Guess we’ve changed over the years.”

  “Your scents certainly have.” He still didn’t know by his scent that he was a beast man when in his human form.

  Colt smiled wryly. “Yeah, well, running water and lavender bath salts make a hell of a difference.”

  Gracchus scrunched his nose. “Lavender?”

  Colt chuckled and started climbing through the window. “Take care, man.”

  *

  Aleck growled as Samson landed in front of him. Or more like crash landed.

  “What happened to you?” demanded Aleck, worriedly searching the night sky in case of danger.

  To put it mildly, Samson appeared to have been dragged through a hedge backward… by his tail. The male was disheveled, and sporting bruises on top of bruises.

  Samson had been dispatched by their currently absent leader, Ophelia, to break into the office of a human and destroy any documents pertaining to gargoyles. Ophelia refused to say why this was necessary or how she even knew this human; she had merely sent Samson on his way.

  Aleck had argued this with her, growling that it was far too dangerous to send Samson on his own – he was barely out of his youngling years. But Ophelia had been adamant, and she was not a leader who admired or even tolerated opinions that differed to her own. He had tried to reason with the others of their small clan, but gargoyles were not exactly reasonable to begin with, and given that Aleck had barely been awake for a month, they did not trust him yet. They did not really trust Ophelia either, and if she had not disappeared, he was sure that another of the clan would have already challenged for leadership. Elson, in particular, was a somewhat aggressive male.

  Samson growled and stumbled, and Aleck took his arm to hold him up. The younger male gave him a wary, affronted look before he calmed and nodded in gratitude. In spite of Ophelia’s questionable guidance, Aleck was sure Samson would be a good and honorable gargoyle. He was not sure he could say the same of the rest of their clan.

  “There was another gargoyle,” said Samson.

  Aleck rumbled in surprise. Ophelia had been emphatic when she told them they were the only gargoyles left in the world. “In Portland?”

  “Yes. He was at the human’s office.” A tinge of bitterness entered his tone. “We fought, and I was lucky to get away.”

  “You did not know him?”

  Samson shook his head and winced as he was touched with pain. “He was older than me but fast and well-trained. I could barely keep up with him. He was green like you but bigger than you.” His lips twitched as if in apology. “He was as good a fighter as I have ever witnessed.”

  Aleck almost smiled as he thought of his brother, Gracchus. His older and much more serious brother had never met anyone who could best him in combat. Sadness washed through him. A flicker of hope still burned that Gracchus may still be alive somewhere, but it was probably too much to hope that he was that close by.

  “What has been happening here?” Samson looked around. “Where is Ophelia?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Thirty-Two

  Melissa’s eyelids fluttered open. It took a lot of effort because they did not want to open, but she persevered until she was finally blinking at her eggshell-painted surroundings.

  “Hey, take it easy,” said a familiar and relieved voice.

  “Oh lord,” she croaked, “I haven’t been knocked out by a werewolf again, have I?”

  “No,” said Colt, “you were…”

  “I know,” she murmured finally focusing on her unkempt partner as he hovered over her with a mildly worried expression, “and I’m sorry, that was insensitive. Your brother…”

  “Sanchez,” chuckled Colt, “you couldn’t be insensitive if you tried.”

  “But your brother…”

  “He’s gone,” he admitted sadly.

  “Colt, I…”

  He placed a hand on her arm with infinite gentleness. “I know.”

  They shared a compassionate look and then she stared at his hand on her arm. “I can’t feel that at all.”

  “Yeah, they’ve got you on the good stuff. How do you feel?”

  “Groggy, but not in pain at least.” She looked down at her heavily bandaged shoulder. “How long have I been here?”

  “Not long, and you’ve been in and out of consciousness today.”

  “I have?” she murmured wondrously.

  “Yep, apparently you woke up earlier and asked a doctor whether his tail got in the way when he was flying.”

  Colt rubbed his stubbly jaw – he always looked a little unshaved, but now he actually had the outline of a beard. He should grow one; he had a Superman jaw, and it would suit him.

  “Oh my,” she snickered, “I don’t remember that.”

  He laughed. “I don’t think they took you seriously. You need anything?”

  “Some water would be nice, and I’d like to sit up more.”

  “I’ll see about a drink and let the nurse know you’re awake.”

  Fifteen minutes later, after being thoroughly fussed over by two nurses, a doctor, and Colt, she was sitting up, she had managed some sips of water to alleviate her dry mouth. She was starting to feel more like her old self. She almost couldn’t believe she’d been shot, but she remembered the bangs of the gun, the pain and then nothing… now, here she was. In a hospital bed, drugged up to her eyeballs and sporting a hefty amount of bandages.

  After the final nurse left, she finally got to ask the question that had been worrying her since she came to her senses.

  “Gracchus?”

  Colt smiled and settled into a chair beside her. He looked like he’d been sleeping there. “He wasn’t hurt.”

  No, she hadn’t imagined he would be; she couldn’t believe anything could hurt Gracchus, but she would still worry. She would always worry about Gracchus; she couldn’t help herself. She loved him.

  Melissa sighed in relief and then cringed. She still had her loved one, but Colt wasn’t so lucky.

  “I really am sorry about Caleb.”

  Colt sighed. “Yeah, me too, but I lost him a long time ago. He left when he was still a teenager without a goodbye. I never even knew he got married for fu… for Pete’s sake. Honestly, until he just turned up on my doorstep, I’d kind of come to accept that I’d never see him again.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I think I feel sorry for him more than anything. He never had much happiness in his life.”

  “How did you explain all this to the FBI?” Melissa gestured around the room.

  “Using an intricate web of lies which is completely un-unravelable.”

  Melissa giggled as he made Itsy Bitsy Spider motions with his hands.

  Colt shrugged. “I also had Chris to back me up on that. It’s lucky no one really gives a shit about what happens in our department; though things might change since you were hurt. I ran into one of the directors who was talking about coming along on one of our investigat
ions.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t Thomson, was it? He likes doing that kind of thing. Don’t let him into your car, he always brings food, and he always spills. Last time it took me two weeks to get rid of the chili cheese fries stain.”

  “Yeah, it was him. When I saw him he was eating a chili dog – half of it was already on his tie.”

  Food spillages aside, he was a nice enough boss, but he was a massive skeptic. It was not easy to interview about a potential mermaid sighting when he was tut-tutting over your shoulder.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Not your fault, Sanchez,” he said immediately. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you from the start. I joined the weird cases department to make sure that the secret of my kind was kept a secret – I’m just used to hiding who I am.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t feel like I could trust you with the truth about gargoyles.”

  “Yeah, I’d heard the legends, but I didn’t really think they were still around.” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “But I kind of thought you were trying to pin the murders on one.”

  He gave her a wry look. “I was just trying to keep my partner distracted with fanciful notions.”

  “What happened with Chris and Grey?”

  “They managed to save two gargoyles.”

  “Wow,” she breathed. Gracchus must be thrilled - two new gargoyles for his clan. She glanced at the clock. It wouldn’t be sunset for an hour yet; he would still be stone somewhere. She wondered how soon she could see him. Maybe he had already gone home, but it wasn’t that far away. She could surely drive up there… when her shoulder was a little better.

  “Chris took them back to the clan in Devil’s Hang, along with the stone one that we saw in Marsters’ office. It was at her house so we decided to take it while we could. Kylie already woke him up.”

  Melissa raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Kylie?”

  “Yeah, Luc’s mate.”

  She gazed at him blankly. “You know even more than I do.”