Heart Of Stone

by Cynthia Eden

  Sabrina yanked open the door and ran into the hallway.

  ***

  He was dying. Adam watched as Sabrina raced away. She was going after the binding stone. Would she get it in time?

  He felt so cold. A cold that sank into his very bones.

  Chained to a fucking binding stone. Brought down by something so small—a rock. A damn rock. He hated being trapped…

  Sabrina wants me to fight.

  She’d kissed him. She’d said she loved him. And she’d asked him to fight.

  Sabrina wants me to fight.

  Sabrina…loves me.

  Inside, the beast began to stir. The beast should have been silent, controlled so completely by the stone but…

  Sabrina loves me.

  The beast began to claw at his insides.

  Adam lifted his hand, and he saw his skin begin to harden.

  Transform, right the hell now. You become the beast, and you’ll live. He wanted to live. For her. For them both. He wanted to live because he wanted to see what could happen next for them. He wanted to live…

  Because I love her.

  Eric had ordered him to bleed out and to die…right in front of Sabrina. But Sabrina wasn’t there any longer. She’d left the room. If he died then…he wouldn’t be bleeding out in front of her.

  Adam’s lips curled into the faintest of smiles. The sonofabitch should have been more careful with his command.

  Stone began to spread over Adam’s body and Sabrina’s words whispered through his mind once more, giving him power, giving him strength. Giving him hope.

  You are strong and you are brave and you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you, and I am not going to let you die.

  He wouldn’t let her die, either.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Sorry I couldn’t get you out of the limo, Raymond” Eric’s voice carried easily as Sabrina crept toward his study. “But the fire was raging. I had to look after myself. Surely you understand that.”

  Soft, rough laughter came in response to Eric’s words. “Self-interest…yeah, I understand that.”

  She had the knife gripped in her hand. The same knife that Eric had ordered Adam to turn on himself. She hadn’t been about to leave that knife in the room with Adam. The guy might have started cutting himself again.

  Not happening.

  She inched toward the door. She’d been lucky. None of Eric’s goons had appeared during her frantic rush down the hallway. Maybe Eric had sent them all away so that he could better enjoy Adam’s bloodbath.

  “You have news about Sabrina.” Eric sounded curt now. He wants to get back to the blood. “That’s why I agreed to see you. Tell me…and then you can walk away.”

  “I want money. Cash. Fifty thousand. I think that was the price we discussed before. Payment for intel.”

  Eric gave a grating laugh. “Not like I have that money here…”

  “It’s in your safe, asshole. I know it is. Open the safe and give me the money. Before he-he died, my brother told me how Sabrina’s power works. I know how you can control her magic. Pay me, and I’ll give you that information. I’ll let you know how to control Sabrina.”

  No one controls me. Sabrina inched a bit closer. His words about controlling her were a lie, but what about the witch? Was he dead? Had he died in that limo fire? Or was Raymond lying about that, too?

  “Don’t mean to tell you about your business…” Eric drawled. “But you look like you may need to be in a hospital. Those burns are pretty bad.”

  “The fifty thousand. Give it to me…or I won’t talk. You’ll never know her secrets.”

  She was right outside of the study. Sabrina drew in a deep breath. This was it. She’d have to attack as fast as she could. Attack and get the damn stone.

  She risked a quick glance around the edge of the door. Eric’s back was turned to her. He was opening his safe. Raymond stood a few feet away from him. Her gaze swept quickly over him, noting the changes in his aura. Red—as red as the burns on his body. Anger. Fury. And…

  Raymond looked up. He met her stare. He didn’t say a word.

  “I plan to keep Sabrina very close from now on,” Eric announced. “I think that’s for the best.”

  Sabrina slipped into the room. Raymond’s aura had definitely changed. He had changed. She could see that now.

  “She’s a muse,” Raymond said. He inclined his head toward Eric’s back. “She inspires people…to be their very best…or even their very worst.”

  Eric’s fingers stilled on the lock. “Are you saying she inspired me to be my worst?”

  He started to look back at Raymond, but the other man was already attacking. Raymond lunged forward and slammed Eric’s head into the open door of that safe. “No, you bastard, you were already fucked up.”

  Eric screamed and stumbled away from Raymond, and when he did, she saw that he was gripping a gun in his right hand. He looked as if he’d just pulled it from the safe.

  He’s holding the gun…so where is the stone?

  Eric fired, shooting wildly at Raymond. The bullet hit Raymond in the stomach and he fell, groaning and twisting.

  Sabrina attacked. She drove her knife into Eric’s side. He yelled and then he was aiming that gun at her. Right at her heart.

  Where is the stone?

  “Sabrina?” Eric blinked. Blood trickled from his temple. “How did you get loose?” His gaze shot to the door behind her. “Where is the stone freak? Is he dead?”

  “You’re dead.” She stood before him the same way she’d stood before another lover…one who’d taken the wrong path. “You went too far. And now the only way to stop the madness…it’s to use that gun.” She was pushing forth all of her power, trying desperately to get into his mind once again. She’d done it before, so long ago…I must do it again.

  Eric’s gaze seemed to turn bleary. “You…stop talking…”

  “You don’t want to point it at me. I’m not the one you want to shoot.” She smiled and moved closer to him. The gun pressed to her chest. She had nothing to lose, so Sabrina was going all in. She was using every bit of her power, every single drop of her magic. If she didn’t reach him, if he proved himself immune again, then she’d be dead. But I have to try…for Adam. I have to fight. “You want to end the pain, don’t you? The pain is inside you. To end the pain, you have to fire the bullet. Fire the bullet at the one person you know is responsible for all of this…”

  He was sweating. The knife was still stuck in his side. She didn’t think her magic was working on him. Again. He’d gotten too strong, somehow, and—

  Where is the damn stone?

  “What are you…doing to me?” The gun was sliding away from Sabrina’s chest.

  It’s working! Her whole body was shaking from the strain, but her power seemed to be getting to him. “I’m taking away your control,” she whispered back. “How does it feel, you sonfoabitch?”

  He stared at her in dawning horror, and then the gun was pointing at his own chest. She thought he’d fire. That he’d squeeze that trigger, that—

  “No!” Eric bellowed. He lunged away from her and hit some button on the side of his desk. “Guards…coming now…stop you.” He was holding the gun, it was trembling in his grasp.

  He’d resisted her power, again. This was what she’d feared. Somehow, he’d grown immune to her. He could fight her when she tried to influence him.

  I won’t give up. “You will end the pain,” Sabrina said, moving closer to him. “You will…”

  But he shook his head.

  A roar echoed through the cavernous house. Sabrina’s horrified gaze turned to the door. She could hear the rush of footsteps pounding toward them. Eric’s guards. He’d sounded the alarm and they were rushing to the study but…

  Someone else was coming, too.

  She recognized that roar.

  Gargoyle.

  Her gaze flew back to Eric. His eyes had widened. His left hand started pawing at his pockets�
�

  He’s keeping the stone on him. Sabrina threw her body against his. They fell back, rolling against the edge of the desk.

  And the gun went off.

  ***

  Men with guns were running toward Adam.

  They lifted their weapons. They fired. Fools. Their bullets couldn’t hurt stone. The men should have known better. Gunshots seemed to thunder all around him.

  He grabbed the two closest men. Ripped away their weapons. Used his claws to slash against the weak human bodies.

  Some of the guards gave up right then. They dropped their weapons and fled.

  Others didn’t. So Adam attacked them. He threw one against the nearest wall—the man went through that wall. Adam knocked out two more and then…

  “Stop, gargoyle!” Eric’s voice.

  Adam looked at the men around him. Eric’s attack force. Only they weren’t attacking any longer. They were on the ground, limp. They were finished. So he followed the sound of Eric’s voice. He entered that study. And he was sure that his world stopped.

  Eric stood beside the desk, a gun in one hand and the fucking binding stone in the other. And at his feet…Sabrina lay bleeding. Her face was pale, her eyes huge, and for once—that brilliant blue color seemed muted.

  “Kill the human.” Eric pointed to another man in the room. A man Adam hadn’t even noticed at first glance because he’d been so focused on Sabrina.

  Sabrina is hurt. Sabrina is…dying?

  Could a muse die from a bullet wound? It sure looked as if she could.

  “Kill Raymond!” Eric shouted. He dropped his gun and reached for Sabrina. His hand went to the wound on her chest. He pressed down.

  Adam glanced at Raymond. The guy was dragging himself to his feet. Swaying.

  Adam looked back at Eric. The bastard was still holding the stone, but he was obviously freaking out over Sabrina. Whispering to her, telling her how sorry he was, that she was going to be all right, that—

  “Nothing will be all right.” Sabrina’s weak voice. But her hand suddenly flew out and she wrenched the stone out of Eric’s grip. She threw that stone, sending it crashing against the wall. A chunk of it broke loose on impact. “Never again…it’s not going to be all right…not…for you…”

  Adam charged forward. He grabbed Eric, locking one hand around the human’s neck and lifting him high into the air.

  “R-Raymond!” Eric croaked. “Get…stone!”

  He was trying to bark orders to the same man he’d just wanted to kill? No way would Raymond be dumb enough to do what the jerk wanted. No—

  Adam glanced to the left. Raymond had grabbed the stone. He held it tight.

  “S-smash it…” Sabrina cried, her voice breaking. “Be strong…be more than…than Eric…Smash—”

  Raymond slammed that rock against the wall. This time, one piece didn’t just break off. The entire thing shattered into a dozen pieces and as it broke, the stone that had been covering Adam’s body shattered, too. The stone fell away from his skin. For the first time, he didn’t have to fight his way to freedom. He just…became a man again.

  Eric was staring at him with shock in his eyes. “No, hell, no!”

  Grimly, Adam smiled back at him. “Yes, hell, yes.” Then he drove his fist into Eric’s face. Again and again. Bones smashed beneath his blows. Blood covered Eric’s face. The guy tried to fight back, but he was useless.

  Eric fell.

  Adam grabbed the gun from the floor, ready to finish the guy…

  “Adam?” Sabrina’s voice. Too weak. Too soft.

  With the gun in his hand, he turned toward her.

  She was smiling at him. “You…you’re a man now…not a monster.”

  She’d become even paler. He bent next to her, and he saw just why Eric had been frantic over her. Her wound—it was bad.

  “Your heart?” Eric whispered.

  She pulled the gun from his hand. He wasn’t even sure where she’d gotten that energy. “Don’t…start your life…being on the wrong side…” She licked her lips. Was that blood trickling from her mouth? “It can be…good. You can be.”

  Behind him, Eric groaned. The bastard was still alive.

  Adam put his hand to Sabrina’s chest, trying to stop the blood flow. “Tell me how to fix you.”

  “I don’t…think you can…”

  No, no, she wasn’t dying. He scooped her into his arms and leapt to his feet. He’d fly her to Luke. He’d—

  I can’t fly. I don’t have wings anymore.

  “Luke!” Adam bellowed as he tilted back his head and stared up at the gaping hole in the ceiling. “Luke, dammit, I need you!” Sabrina was one of the dark paranormals…that meant the Lord of the Dark could help her. He held dominion over her, so he could surely find a way to heal her, right? Or, shit, maybe she just could be sewn up at a hospital. That was all she needed. A hospital and—

  “I do…love you.” Sabrina’s lashes were closing.

  “And I love you and you’re going to be fine. Do you hear me? Fine. Luke will appear. He’ll heal you, and everything will be fine. You are—”

  A gunshot blasted. The blast was so close—it had come from the gun that Sabrina still held. Even so weak, she’d fired.

  Adam looked over his shoulder.

  A bullet had blasted into Eric’s chest. The man was on his feet, as if he’d been caught mid-attack. Eric blinked in shock. Then he looked down at his chest. “S-Sabrina?”

  She was smiling as he died.

  Raymond was staggering around—Adam figured that guy was going to make it. Sabrina was his priority. She was what mattered. She was—

  The room seemed to shake. Wind whipped around him—wind, in a closed room. Closed except for the roof. He looked up once more, and sure the hell enough, they had new company.

  Powerful wings beat against the air—and then Leo was slamming his feet down onto the floor as he landed near Adam.

  “You’re not the one I need,” Adam snarled at him. “Luke has to get his ass here right now. Sabrina is hurt!”

  Leo blinked. “How can you always tell us apart so easily? We’re twins, after all.”

  Adam growled. “Get Luke.”

  Leo’s gaze swept over him, then over Sabrina, and finally…over Eric’s still form.

  Raymond ran from the room. Or…staggered out.

  Then Leo’s gaze returned to Adam. “Something’s different.”

  He wanted to rip that bastard apart. “Sabrina is dying! She needs help! Get Luke here!”

  More wind. Only this time, the whole house seemed to shake—and a new hole was made in the roof as Luke came crashing down to join them.

  Luke stood there for a moment, his wings spread behind him and his head bowed. “I get so tired…” he muttered, “of everyone needing me for something. A vacation would be nice. A little alone time with Mina.”

  “Fuck your vacation!” Fear and anger cracked in Adam’s voice. “Sabrina is dying!”

  Luke’s head snapped up. “She can’t die.”

  “No, no, she fucking can’t! I need her! I love her and I can’t let her go! I can’t—”

  Luke crossed to them. He put his hand on Sabrina’s cheek. “No, you aren’t listening to me. I mean…Sabrina literally can’t die. I don’t know what she told you, but according to Fate…”

  Behind him, Leo swore.

  “Sabrina will always walk this earth. A muse has to be here. Good or bad, she’s here. It’s the way for certain paranormals. Nature won’t let the most powerful die out completely. She’s the last muse standing…so that means she always stands.”

  Hope stirred but when Adam looked at Sabrina’s face, she was still far too pale. And still. She also damn well wasn’t standing. Instead…“She’s bleeding out.”

  Luke’s hand lingered on her cheek. “It takes a while for her to heal. But she will heal. You think this is the worst wound she’s had?” He gave a rough laugh. “I’ve seen her nearly decapitated, seen her with a dozen broken bones, I�
�ve seen—”

  “Who the fuck hurt her?” Adam’s voice was low and lethal. He’d find the bastards. He’d rip them apart.

  Luke’s gaze slowly rose to meet his. “Something is different here.” And he was…worried? His gaze flew around the room, as if he was looking for something. Then he moved back and seriously started to search.

  “Who hurt her?” Adam bellowed.

  “Humans, mostly.” It was Leo who answered. Luke was ripping apart the room—searching for who the hell knew what—but Leo was just standing there, watching Adam. “Some paranormals. When you live as long as she has, you do make enemies. A lot of them. Sometimes, those enemies were even once your friends.” He pointed to Eric’s still body. “Or your lovers.” His lips thinned. “Sabrina had vowed to me that she’d never kill another human, not after Akin. Guess that proves you just can’t trust—”

  “Don’t say another fucking word.” His voice was low and lethal, but the hands that held Sabrina were gentle.

  At his tone, both Luke and Leo seemed to focus completely on him.

  “I don’t care what you think, Leo,” Adam continued as the rage and fear grew in him. “Sabrina is good. She only killed that bastard because he was a monster. Have you seen what he did to his victims?”

  “Sabrina inspired—”

  “Evil lives in some people,” Adam rasped, cutting through Leo’s words. “No matter how hard they try to fight it…it’s there. She didn’t make that jerk evil. He already was.” His gaze fell to her. “And now she’s hurt and you two aren’t doing a damn thing for her. She’s bleeding and it won’t stop. I need it to stop. I need her.” He whirled from them, heading for the door. They weren’t going to help him. He’d get Sabrina to a hospital. A real doctor who could stitch her up and—

  Luke was in his path. As fast as a blink, the guy was there. “If you lift up her shirt you’ll see that the wound has already closed.”

  Adam’s heart stopped. Was it true?

  “Put her on the desk. See for yourself.” Luke’s voice was surprisingly calm, but his hands were fisted at his sides.

  Adam hesitated.

  “See for yourself,” Luke said again. Only his words sounded more like an order this time.