Courage

by Taylor Longford

  Defiance fought back a smile. "It's a little more…enduring that that."

  And I'm thinking, how enduring can it be? Because I assume we're talking about a couple of kids that are high school age. "But Valor and MacKenzie are young, right?"

  "They're young," Defiance admitted. "MacKenzie's sixteen and Valor's a year older." He looked at his brother as if he was hoping for some help.

  So, I turned my gaze in Courage's direction and waited to hear what he had to say.

  "When a gargoyle finds the right lass for him," Courage started, "he's very attracted to her."

  I shrugged. "That sounds normal."

  "Instinct commands him to mark her with his rune," he said, choosing his words carefully. "His barbs actually bleed venom. He…can't stop it. At least, not easily."

  And that was worth thinking about. Because I'd seen Courage's venom before—about a week ago—although I didn't know it was venom at the time. I frowned up at him. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

  "Maybe," he answered which was just about as noncommittal an answer as you could get. But let's face it; guys excel at the whole noncommittal thing.

  "So, when you kissed me that day after the tornado, your venom leaked from your barbs because…you wanted to mark me?"

  He turned his wrists in the shackles and lifted his palms. "I wanted to give you my rune. You were…the right lass for me."

  "Oh," I sighed, thinking that was kinda romantic.

  "There's more," Defiance interrupted dryly.

  "More?" I asked, wide-eyed.

  Courage nodded and continued reluctantly. "Once a gargoyle gives his rune away to a female, he can never give it to another girl."

  "Keep going," Defiance prompted his brother.

  "And once a gargoyle has given his rune to a female, he's bound to her. Forever."

  Forever was a big word. I struggled with it for a few moments before asking, "What…do you mean by forever?"

  "He'll never leave her. He'll care for her and stand by her and protect her for the rest of his life."

  I cleared my throat and looked at Defiance. "That sounds pretty…enduring."

  "You're telling me," he muttered.

  "So," I suggested a little tentatively. "It would be good if a gargoyle waited until both he and his lass were a little older before making that sort of commitment, right?"

  "Right," Courage answered with a look of pain in his eyes. "But it's hard. Because he's fighting instinct the whole time."

  "It can be very draining," Defiance added, and sighed like he knew exactly what he was talking about.

  "But MacKenzie's only sixteen," I said. "Not a whole lot older than me. And Valor marked her anyway?"

  "Mac wanted Valor to do it," Defiance explained. "Once she was wearing his rune, he couldn't be forced to give it to a harpy. Since then, we've eliminated three of the monsters. At this point, we think we're clear of harpies. At least, in this part of the country. But if we were to venture into a different area, we might run into more of their kind."

  "I should imagine there's a good many still hanging around the old country," Courage muttered.

  "Aye," agreed Defiance.

  "So, Valor has given his rune away," Courage said in a lighter tone. "What about the others?"

  "Dare has a lass," Defiance told him. "So do all of the others except for Havoc."

  "I guess that's not too surprising," Courage remarked.

  I sent him a questioning look. "Why do you say that?"

  "Havoc likes the lasses," Courage answered. "All of them."

  "Every one of them," Defiance added.

  "I'd be surprised if he ever actually picked one," Courage said.

  Defiance snickered. "Then you'll be even more surprised to know he's waiting for a twelve-year-old to grow up."

  "Twelve?" I exclaimed. "That sounds like a long wait."

  "Well, Sophie won't be twelve forever," Defiance pointed out reasonably. "On the other hand…"

  "What?"

  "In his stone form, Havoc can be sixteen for as long as he likes. In four years, Sophie will be sixteen too."

  "He likes her that much?" Courage asked.

  Defiance gave an offhand shrug. "She's a sweet little girl but that's not why Havoc's waiting."

  "Why's he waiting?" I chipped in.

  "Sophie was sick," Defiance explained. "She was in the hospital when Havoc made the promise. He said he'd wait for her to grow up if she'd try to get better. And when she turned sixteen he'd take her to…that prom thing."

  "Ah," Courage murmured. "Well, he has to keep his promise, doesn't he?"

  "Aye," Defiance answered. "He has to keep his promise. I just hope Sophie isn't disappointed with him when she's sixteen."

  "Why would she be disappointed?" I asked.

  "Because he's…Havoc," Defiance snorted as though that explained everything.

  Courage just grinned. "You'd have to meet him to understand," he said.

  I snuggled my shoulder against his, and decided I was looking forward to meeting Courage's family, especially the sixteen-year-old who'd wait for a little girl. That was pretty rare in a guy and I wanted to see it…assuming we ever got out of that bare concrete bunker with the meat hooks in the ceiling.

  "And what about you?" Courage asked his brother.

  Defiance got a misty look in his eyes—as if he could see beyond the plain concrete wall we faced to something beautiful standing just out of sight. "I have someone," his brother answered softly. "Her name's Whitney."

  Courage wrapped his fingers around mine and gave them a gentle squeeze. "And she's wearing your rune?" he asked.

  But before Defiance could answer his brother's question, a sharp crack of sound echoed in the empty room. It was just the door banging open at the top of the stairs but we were on edge and the noise made us jump. Immediately, our eyes swung in that direction.

  Chapter Eleven

  A pair of fashionable black flats appeared on the top step before a tall, slender woman moved gracefully down the stairs. Her legs were clad in expensive black knit and she wore a short red jacket made of the finest leather I'd ever seen. I'm guessing a dozen baby goats had given up their lives to make that jacket. And when the woman's face came into view, I assumed we were dealing with Olivia Olander because of her long white hair—currently pulled back in a thick braid.

  She was taller than I expected. Quite tall for a woman. Maybe six feet or even six-one. As soon as she reached the landing at the bottom of the stairs, she turned and sauntered into the middle of the dimly lit room. She struck an elegant pose, one hand on her hip as she surveyed her prisoners. And as she smiled down at us, it was hard to believe she was the sort of person who went around kidnapping people. It was hard to believe she was responsible for anyone's death or any kind of a threat whatsoever. She was just so…lovely.

  She crossed her arms and targeted Defiance with a thoughtful gaze. "Just when I think I'm running out of gargoyles, a new one shows up," she murmured. "Hello darling. What's your name?"

  Defiance set his mouth in a hard line and glared up at her.

  "Where did you come from?" she asked, tapping a red lacquered fingernail against her cheek. "Are there any more of you back home? How many more? And most importantly, where can I find them?"

  Defiance's only answer was a deep, rumbling growl that would have made a pit bull proud.

  "I can make you talk," Olivia purred while pure violence flared in Defiance's eyes. "Oh, not by hurting you. I'm sure you're much too noble to break under torture. But could you sit and watch while I played with the other one? The one you came for? Could you keep your silence if I sent Bjorn down here to gouge out his eyes?"

  Surging to his feet, Defiance lunged at her, his chains a metallic clash of sound. A snarl curled his lips as he strained to reach her.

  Her head tilted back and she laughed. "Is he your brother? Your younger brother, maybe? I think I detect a family resemblance. Of course, all of you gargoyles are so beaut
iful, it's hard to tell you apart. Then there's the girl," she said slowly as she stepped toward me but kept her gaze on Defiance. "Your girlfriend?"

  Courage's eyes locked on my face. "She's mine," he barked.

  "Ah, so one of you can talk. That's nice to know." She leaned down and lifted my chin with an elegant finger. "She's a plain little pumpkin," she murmured.

  "You don't know anything about beauty," Courage growled.

  Olivia gave him a wide-eyed look. "Maybe not. But I know plain when I see it. Why haven't you shared some of your venom with her? Lord knows she could use it." Her smile was cold. "But you boys don't like to share your venom, do you? Never mind. It's late. We can take this up again in the morning. My lab equipment should arrive sometime tomorrow and we can start pumping venom. Bjorn will be down in a little while with some water for you."

  She turned and headed for the stairs. "I'll let you have the night to think about what I said and the questions I want answered. Just keep in mind I don't make idle threats. I meant what I said about the eyes."

  Rage boiled up inside me and started spilling out. "Why would you do that?" I shouted, trying to get to my feet while Courage knotted his fingers in my skirt and held me back. "Why would you want to hurt either of these boys?"

  Olivia wheeled around to face me. She seemed angry that I had the nerve to challenge her when I should be quaking in my boots. Maybe she didn't know that ranchers' daughters don't quake all that easily.

  "Because they never give me what I want," she hissed. "And they're always slipping through my fingers. I refuse to lose another gargoyle. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure they stay here and supply me with venom. Even if it means ripping out their wings. Even if it means crippling them so they'll never walk again. And where are they going to go without any eyes?"

  Then she went on a rant, lifting her hands to the ceiling.

  "Why do you think I bought this place when I already own a bigger property in Boulder? I bought it because I needed a place that those other damn gargoyles don't know about. A place that's registered in of my guard's names so the FBI can't trace the purchase back to me. And why do you think I outfitted it with a top-of-the-line infrared thermal sensing system? Because it allowed my men to know the moment you two set foot on my property. Seconds after you got here, they picked you off with those darts loaded with sedative. This place is a gargoyle trap," she shrilled triumphantly. "Look around kids, because this room is going to be your home for the rest of your lives."

  She was ridiculous. But scary at the same time. Crazy scary.

  "Well, I found this place," Defiance pointed out in drawl that suggested he wasn't too impressed or scared. "Those other gargoyles you mentioned will find it too. They'll come here to help us."

  "Let them come," she snarled, and stabbed a finger in Defiance's direction. "I'm ready for them this time. I'll pick them off one by one and fill up this room. The only question is…do I have enough chains? That's the question I want you to answer. And you'd better be ready to talk in the morning."

  Her harsh words echoed in the empty room as she stormed up the stairs.

  "The lady has a temper," Defiance muttered.

  "No kidding," Courage murmured, and finally loosened his grip on my dress.

  I dropped down between them and pulled my skirt around my knees. "What are we going to do?" I asked on a rough sigh.

  Courage recaptured my hand in his. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."

  "Maybe. But I'd feel better if we had a plan," I whispered, searching his worried eyes and wondering how Olivia could want to ruin something so beautiful.

  Courage sent a hopeful look in his brother's direction. "Any ideas?" he asked.

  "I have a plan," Defiance answered in an even voice. "But it involves Lorissa."

  "Me?" I exclaimed, thinking we were in nothing but trouble if Defiance was counting on me to save the day. "I'm your plan?"

  "Aye," he answered with all the confidence in the world.

  I wasn't feeling it.

  But we didn't get a chance to discuss Defiance's save-the-day plan before the guard came. The door opened and I saw a pair of scuffed black boots at the top of the stairs. I saw a plastic jug of water dangling from the guard's big rocky fist. I started hyperventilating just thinking about what he might do to Courage in the morning…if he waited that long.

  Defiance leaned toward me. "Let it loose," he whispered.

  "What?" I squeaked out.

  "Your power," he muttered. "Let it loose."

  It took me a full second to figure out what he was saying. What he was asking me to do. What he was giving me permission to do.

  I couldn't help Courage with the power of good. I couldn't heal his wounds. I couldn't make him strong enough to tear his shackles from the wall. I couldn't make him not feel the pain these monsters had planned for him. But I could do something else. I could stop the people who were trying to harm him. I could use my magic against those people. Just like I'd used my magic to locate Olivia.

  Defiance was right. I could help after all.

  It had been a long time since I'd used the powers I'd unwittingly unleashed when I was a kid. And I hadn't known what I was doing at the time so I didn't know how the magic worked. But I was wearing the wooden bracelet Courage had carved for me. And I was ready to make some wishes. Narrowing my gaze on the heavy pair of boots at the top of the stairs, I "let it loose" and made a wish.

  It wasn't a big wish. It wasn't a complicated wish. It was a relatively simple little wish. In short, I wished the guard would trip on the stairs. But I was feeling pretty desperate when I made the wish. And I was angry, too. I wasn't going to let those people hurt Courage or his brother, not if I could help it.

  As I glared at the boots moving down the steps, a fine tremor shook the house, raining a shower of concrete dust down on our heads. I dismissed it as some kind of minor earthquake or maybe a heavy truck rumbling down a nearby street; it never occurred to me that I was causing the house to shake. Then the light bulb overhead flickered and exploded. But just before the room went dark, I saw the guard's head hit the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

  The room was silent as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and eventually I could pick out a dark form crumpled on the floor. A virtual mountain of a man with yellow hair.

  "Did you see that?" Defiance whispered in awe.

  "Aye," Courage answered, sounding just as shocked.

  "What the hell did you wish for?" Defiance asked as we stared at the unconscious guard, blood dripping from his nose and puddling on the concrete floor.

  "I just wished he would trip," I muttered.

  "Trip?" Defiance breathed. "That guy didn't trip. He did a swan dive from the third step."

  "Head first," Courage added in a whisper.

  "I wasn't trying to kill the guy," I told them. "Just knock him out. I tried to tell you guys. I tried to tell you that…I was bad."

  "Oh, aye. You're bad," Defiance chuckled. "Wouldn't you say so, Courage?"

  "Wicked bad," Courage snickered. "Just as bad as anything I've ever seen. But he's not dead; I can hear him breathing. Now, do you think you could do one more thing for us, Lissa? Do you think you could check his belt and pockets for a set of keys that might set us free?"

  "Okay," I whispered. I got my feet beneath me and crouched between the two boys. "Wh-what if he wakes up while I'm looking for the keys?"

  "I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon," Defiance snorted. "But if he does, remember you're the one with the power."

  Slowly, I straightened and checked Courage's eyes.

  "You'll be alright," he whispered, even though he looked worried. "Just be quick. We have to get this done before he's supposed to check in again on his microphone."

  "Be quick," I told myself as I tiptoed over to the dark pile of unconscious guard. "I have the power." Holding my breath, I reached under his jacket and ran my fingers along the back of his belt, hoping to feel the cold metal jingle of
keys.

  "Try the front of his belt," Courage whispered.

  "Roll him over and try his pockets," Defiance murmured. "Hurry!"

  Feeling very tentative about that little task, I gathered my nerve and gave the large mass a shove. Then another one. "This guy's heavy," I grumbled as my third push finally rolled him onto his back.

  "Hurry," Defiance hissed. "Someone's coming."

  But it was too late; I wasn't fast enough. I don't know if the guard's microphone had broken when he fell down the stairs and if the equipment had sent out some sort of alert to the rest of Olivia's security force. Or maybe the guard was supposed to be in constant communication with the others. But the door opened at the top of the stairs and three large men rushed down the steps before I could react.

  Not too long afterward, I was hanging from one of those hooks in the ceiling. The men had wrapped my wrists with duct tape. But before they did that, they ripped off my wooden bracelet…just to get it out of the way. They didn't realize they were removing the source of my magic. It was just pure dumb luck on their part. But dumb luck aside, I was completely powerless to help myself or the boys.

  The hook had been slipped between my bound wrists. And with all my weight hanging from that point, the tape was doing a good job of cutting off my circulation. It wasn't long before I'd lost all feeling in my hands.

  "I'm sorry," I whispered after the men had disappeared back upstairs, leaving us alone in the dark.

  "Not your fault," Courage insisted. But the shadow in his eyes had deepened to something darker than dread. And I knew that his look of fear was for me; he was afraid of what might happen to me…while I was afraid of what might happen to his eyes. At that point, things didn't look good for either of us.

  The grim lines etched into Defiance's face suggested he was out of ideas. He didn't have a backup plan for his backup plan. And nobody knew where we were. We were in trouble. The kind of trouble that doesn't have a happy ending. "MacKenzie will find us," he growled. "She couldn't scry for Courage because she doesn't know him. But she knows me. She'll find us."

  "When do you think she'll start looking?" I asked.