Harlequin's Deception (The Naked Truth Series Book 1)

by Candi Fox

  Several minutes later they found the students they had been looking for. What was left of them anyway. All five of the college students were dead. Some of them were whole and some of them were in pieces.

  Looking at the scene turned her stomach. She was glad her date ended before she ate dinner. She wasn’t sure if she could have kept it down.

  She searched the scene as Rick called in the details to Lieutenant Meyers. There were three males and two females. The females were left intact, though their throats had been ripped out.

  Though they suffered a gruesome death, it was nothing compared to the men. They had been torn into several pieces and it looked like parts of them had been consumed, possibly by the gargoyle.

  It was impossible to tell without studying the bite marks left on the bodies. She really didn’t have the time for that. She was concerned about the gargoyle. She would need to stun it or kill it.

  Once a gargoyle tasted human flesh, it would always crave it, and no mortal man could stop it. Magic or paranormal abilities would have to be used. There was a chance she could turn the gargoyle back into a statue, but that would take surviving the night and casting just the right spell as the sunlight hit the gargoyle.

  Harley opened her backpack and started pulling out spell components. She would start by putting up a ward perimeter. The ward would keep the team safe, and allow the forensics team to come in. They’d have time to process the crime scene.

  Her first goal was to make sure no one else died tonight. The first thing she did was cast a spell to protect against the wind in the area. Next, she created a circle using black salt. Not the kind found in Hawaii. This was black salt she made using sea salt and sacred ash. She had also bespelled the salt with magical energy.

  After making the circle complete she made an intentional doorway that only she could open and close to allow others in and out of the circle. She then placed white candles around the circle using magic to light them. Between her earlier spell against the wind and the magic, the candles would remain lit.

  By the time Lt. Meyers and the rest of the team arrived, she had heard, but not seen, the gargoyle twice. She was surprised that nothing else had shown up. They had crossed the vampire’s ward at least an hour ago.

  Either the wards were old and the place abandoned, which she doubted or the vampire was waiting for something before showing his or her hand. If Harley had to make an educated guess, it would be the latter. Vampires tended to be calculated. Life was like a game of chess to them. There was no rush to make a move, just planning and plotting until the right piece could be moved.

  Harley filled Meyers and his team in on the circle and the rules for entering and leaving. Several of the team snickered in non-belief, but Meyers was in charge and he ordered them to follow the rules.

  She pulled the cloak tighter around her body, while the forensics team did their own brand of magic. She was eager for them to get done and leave, so she could find the gargoyle.

  That it hadn’t attacked again was nothing short of a miracle. Once a gargoyle let blood, it tended to become a killing machine. At least the gargoyles that attacked for no reason. The ones that were defending something lived by a totally different set of rules.

  The college students had crossed into warded land, but there were no signs they had stolen anything. Maybe they disturbed a grave or went looking in the wrong place.

  She hadn’t heard the gargoyle since Meyers and the other humans had arrived. What was it waiting for? Not that she was complaining. Her job was to keep them all alive until they could finish their job.

  Just as the team was finishing up the gargoyle swooped down upon them. Talons outstretched it swiped one of the forensic team members, who had been loading equipment back into the truck.

  Deep gashes appeared on the man’s arms. He screamed and rushed back toward the circle. Harley just had time to open the doorway she had created before the man crossed the line. Blood streaming down his arm, his face contorted in pain.

  The gargoyle slammed into the barrier and screeched in pain. It was angry that it lost its prey. The gargoyle was rather large. Harley would guess it was at least ten feet tall with a twenty-foot wingspan.

  Most of the team pulled guns and tried to shoot the gargoyle. Problem was, their bullets just hit the barrier and fell flat. She was glad none of them ricocheted.

  “That’s not going to work inside the circle, or out.”

  Meyers looked at her. “Why wouldn’t it work outside and why didn’t you warn us? Those bullets could have ricocheted and killed one of my men”.

  “I did warn you. Problem is, no one listened. The gargoyle’s skin is like stone. Did anyone bother to load the regulation paranormal bullets?”

  Meyers grimaced. It seemed to have slipped his mind. Not usual for the lieutenant. She’d been on dozens of missions with him, and wondered what was up.

  “We only have regular bullets. When the teens called in, it was believed to be a hoax.”

  “Even so, Meyers. You are normally prepared for anything. This isn’t like you.”

  Meyers seemed irritated by Harley’s comments. She didn’t have time to dwell on it. The gargoyle was back and continuing to throw its body against her barrier.

  They were good as long as no one panicked and broke the circle. If one person broke the circle the barrier she put up would be gone. She quickly scanned the faces of the men around her. Some of them seemed nervous. This wasn’t a good sign. If they bolted, someone was sure to get killed.

  Their regular bullets would not do any lasting damage to the gargoyle, and she couldn’t save everyone and fight the gargoyle.

  Had she been home or at her office, she would have had weapons loaded with special ammunition. As it was her magic was going to be their sole protection this evening.

  The injured man lay on the ground, holding his arm. The blood continued to flow, though it seemed to be less than when he was first wounded. Still, the man would have to have a magically trained medical person look at the wound.

  Most supernatural wounds were never straight forward. Some never ceased to bleed, while others infected the person with various maladies. The hospitals all staffed personnel that were capable of supernatural healing or treatment.

  She needed to get the rest of the team to safety. She needed to do it as fast as possible.

  “Meyers, I have a plan. I’m going to open the portal. The door of the circle. All of you need to be ready to get to your vehicles. The plan is to get you out and the gargoyle in.”

  Meyers looked at her incredulously. “You want my team to run and leave you in here with that creature?”

  “Basically, yes.”

  Meyers was outraged. “I will not run, while you are in here with that murdering creature.”

  “None of you has the ammunition required. It’s going to take magic to take the gargoyle out. I can’t fight him and worry about all of you at the same time.”

  Meyers looked offended. “Fine, but I don’t like it.”

  “Noted. Now please get ready. We only have one shot at this.”

  Harley took her high heeled boots off. She didn’t want to take the chance of getting the heel caught or tripping while she was fighting. She also took the cloak off.

  It was cold but the wind had died down. She drew the blade out of the tattoo, surprising everyone around her. No one knew she was carrying a sword. Then again that was the point of the tattoo.

  The blade glowed softly in the darkness. A soft purple light surrounded the blade. The sword made of Damascus steel had runes inscribed down its entire length. It was a full tang sword with a relatively plain looking handle.

  It didn’t need to be pretty. It did the job. She felt the energy hum along the blade as the gargoyle hit the barrier once again.

  Harley looked at Meyers. “Ready?”

  Meyers nodded. His team was ready. Harley opened the door to the circle, while the men were filing out she sent a minor spell at the gargoyle which distracted
it from the men and made it angry with her.

  Everything was going as planned. The gargoyle flew into the circle after her. Harley didn’t have time to glance and see if the others were safe. She was far too busy fending off, an angry gargoyle.

  The gargoyle swooped straight at her. She just had time to bring the sword up to block his incoming talons. As it wheeled around planning on coming at her again, the edge of its wing knocked her flat on her ass.

  The fall jarred her. She didn’t have time to get back to her feet before the gargoyle was upon her. It landed on her nearly crushing her in the process.

  The big guy was heavy. The air in her lungs rushed out as the gargoyle’s full weight settled upon her. It snapped at her throat. Harley barely managed to move her head aside in time.

  She was in serious trouble. Her arms and most of her body were trapped under the gargoyle. At this point, there was no way for her to use the sword against the gargoyle.

  She hadn’t had time to prepare any larger spells and had no potions on her. Thinking quickly, she rushed a light spell that temporarily blinded the gargoyle.

  She used the distraction to wiggle her sword arm loose and plunged the sword upwards. It wasn’t a killing blow. She didn’t have enough leverage or strength behind the blow.

  The blade slid through the stony skin like it was flesh. Pushing through with ease. It was enough for the gargoyle to recoil, lifting its weight off her. She rolled out from underneath it and got to her feet. Still trying to catch her breath.

  She wondered if the weight of the gargoyle had crushed her ribs, most likely it just bruised them. Before the gargoyle retained its full balance, Harley rushed it, using the sword to cut into its side.

  This time the magically imbued sword cut the gargoyle’s skin like butter. The gargoyle swiped at her catching her off guard and slashing deeply into her left arm.

  Blood began to trickle down her arm and onto her left hand. She wiped it off on her skirt, still holding the sword tight with the right hand.

  She dodged another swipe from the gargoyle and landed a mortal blow, driving the blade through its heart.

  Once the gargoyle had collapsed, Harley drew the blade out of its chest and cut off its head. It took her two attempts to remove it. She was shaky and in pain.

  She moved back a few feet, breathing heavily before her legs gave out. She made it ungracefully to the grass. She was covered from head to toe in blood. Her blood, and the gargoyles blood.

  She heard a loud pop, looking up, just in time to see the gargoyle’s body explode. The explosion blew thick black dust and ashes everywhere.

  Harley couldn’t see out of the circle. Hell, she couldn’t see more than a couple of feet in front of her face.

  She heard Lt. Meyers call out her name. “Harley, I can’t find the door. I saw the gargoyle strike you. Are you alright?”

  Her arm was still bleeding. Harley was sure that a few of her ribs were bruised, possibly cracked. She wasn’t okay.

  “I’m fine Roger. Don’t worry about me.”

  “No man or woman left behind. Lake, you know that.”

  She was in trouble. Lt. Meyers never used her last name unless he was upset, or she was in deep shit with him.

  “I will be safe inside the circle. Please get the injured to the hospital. I can always call you to come back if I need help.”

  “That wound looked pretty deep.”

  “It’s not that deep. It will be fine. I probably won’t even need stitches. She hated lying to him, yet she saw no other choice. She would be able to get out of the circle by simply dispelling it.

  She wanted them to leave first. Harley had no idea if the black soot like ashes that covered everything would affect anyone outside of the circle.

  She didn’t know that gargoyles exploded after death. In fact, in all her studies she had never ran across a case of exploding gargoyle.

  Harley reached out with her senses. The ash contained dark magical energy. Why it wasn’t affecting her she didn’t know, yet without a doubt, she knew it was some sort of trap and would harm normal humans.

  She tried to keep the fear out of her voice. “Roger, get everyone as far away from here as you can. Call for magic backup. We need a whole team. Something in this ash is toxic to nonmagical beings.”

  “Harley, are you alright?” His voice had dropped low so only she could hear him. It was thick with worry.

  “I will be okay. I promise. Please just get everyone out of here. Get the containment team here.”

  “Let me call it in. At least I can give you a time before I leave.”

  Lt. Meyers came back a few minutes later. “The team is on its way. It might be an hour before they get here. Are you going to be alright, until then?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You know I don’t like leaving you behind.”

  She shook her head. “I know you wouldn’t leave any of us behind. I’ll be okay. Please just get everyone else to safety.”

  She drew a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She really wasn’t sure if she would be okay or not. No sense in putting other lives in danger. None of them could do anything for her.

  As the hum of last vehicle’s engine became a distant memory the ash began to settle. It swirled around her as if a wind were blowing it then slowly began to fall away from the protective dome, allowing her to see again.

  As she sat there catching her breath several figures emerged from the dense woods.

  A sinking feeling overtook her as she realized this was not the cavalry coming back to save her. It was the vampire welcoming party.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Six figures passed through the “door” of her protective circle. They didn’t even have to pause to find where it was. She wondered if they had been watching her from the woods, while she fought the gargoyle.

  Three of the figures were vampires. One female and two males. Two of them were ghoul thugs, and the last was a jester.

  Out of all the paranormal beings that currently approached her, she was least happy about the jester. She hadn’t had to deal with them very much, as such they were still an unknown entity to her.

  He was tall, his skin fair. His neon green hair was kept short and spiky. His frame was lean, almost too thin. He was wearing baggy jeans, black leather boots, a t-shirt with an ICP (Insane Clown Posse) logo on it and a ripped, worn looking jean jacket.

  His energy seemed to be stronger than the others. It was chaotic, to say the least. The trouble with jesters is you never knew what you were going to be dealing with.

  They could be mildly deranged or completely unhinged at any given moment. She sent up a silent prayer to the goddess that she would survive the evening.

  The female vampire stepped forward. “You’ve trespassed on our master’s property. Come with us.”

  The two ghouls stepped forward and leaned down to get her on her feet.

  “Don’t touch me. I can get up on my own.”

  The female vampire sneered. Her full crimson lips turning into a snarl. “They weren’t helping you. They were restraining you. You are not a guest, you are a prisoner until the master says otherwise.

  She would be giving the “master” a piece of her mind. The ghouls grabbed her and roughly hauled her off the ground.

  She bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying out. As one of the ghouls grabbed her injured arm. Blood still seeping out of the wound.

  “Hey let me put my boots on.”

  They ignored her. Her struggles only further injuring her arm and making her ribs feel like someone was taking a sledgehammer to them.

  She was walking barefoot through the woods. Over sticks, rocks, and other normal debris. Harley’s feet were taking a beating as they walked.

  They walked for twenty minutes before Harley saw the first out building. It looked like a small smokehouse. The buildings though well maintained looked as if they had been built in the 1800’s. Harley wasn’t an expert on architecture, so it could be a replica
of the age. It was as if they were stepping back in time.

  The house they approached was a large manor home. Enormous in fact. The house was made of stone with steeply sloping roofs, pointed arches and fancy carvings in the stonework. There were tower-like structures at the end of each side of the house. Several gargoyles sat on the edge of the rooftop looking fierce.

  She spotted an empty space where the gargoyle she killed must have been sitting. The Gothic style architecture was fitting for a vampire.

  The landscape would be very austere in the winter time. Like something out of an Edgar Allen Poe poem. They entered the front door of the home. The three vampires first, she and the ghouls and the jester followed behind them.

  She was led down a long hallway and through a double set of doors. Harley didn’t have much time to look at the outside or the interior. They entered a large sitting room, or perhaps a parlor. At the far end of the room, a large fireplace was lit with a roaring fire.

  Several black chairs sat around the fireplace in a semi-circle. The ghouls stopped half way into the room. The vampires and the jester walked up to the back of the middle chair, kneeling behind it.

  “Master we have brought one of the intruders. The others were gone by the time we arrived. This one killed one of the gargoyles.” The female vampire spoke in almost reverent tones.

  “Bring the captive forward, Zoe.”

  The ghouls tugged at her. She nearly fell onto the floor. Her body ached, and the blood from her arm was still slowly flowing. It should have coagulated long ago. She would need to seek medical attention.

  Her mind reeled with the possibilities as they approached the other side of the room. She was too tired to fight, but she would if she must.

  The ghouls dragged her past the back of the seats and in front of whoever spoke earlier.

  Harley got her first glimpse of the vampire she knew set the wards. She could feel the power rolling off him. She hadn’t felt it earlier and wondered if he had blocked her. Ancient vampires had a lot of powers. She was guessing this was one of them.