by A C Warneke
His sigh was so comically theatrical Jenna wasn’t sure whether she should apologize or applaud. Between this strange man and the exquisite woman on the elevator Jenna was convinced everyone in the building was a little crazy. Maybe it wasn’t an apartment complex at all but mad house for all the delusional people out there and Melanie somehow managed to get herself admitted.
Once more the man laughed and Jenna found herself shamefully aroused by the sound; it wasn’t natural to be attracted to one man while thoroughly lusting after another. “I do wish I had found you before Rhys; you’re simply delightful.”
“I’ve barely said more than a few words.” He was definitely mad….
“But your thoughts are charming.” And she had the strange sensation that he was serious, that he could read her mind and that the building wasn’t quite what it seemed. While it was possibly an insane asylum she was starting to think that there was so much more to it, something that lay hidden just beneath a thin veil. “Ah, and you are beginning to see. Since the situation is so dire I believe the transition will be much smoother for you than it was for poor Melanie.”
“What do you mean?” she asked slowly, warily.
“The true nature of the world you inhabit,” he replied enigmatically, a slight smile playing about his full lips. “The world that has embraced Melanie as one of their own, despite the very humanness of her nature. It looks to be embracing you as well; interesting since you are not as… open to the possibilities as Melanie has been.
“You are far too stubborn,” he continued to catalog her faults. “But I think you will be just as accepting and that is most peculiar.”
She wanted to ask more but Rhys returned, followed by an absolutely stunning piece of masculinity: the harshly beautiful, black-haired Armand. The man was dazzling, with eyes the color of the frozen sea if the sea were ever to freeze in the Caribbean, a green so pure it almost hurt to look upon. His jaw had been painstakingly carved by a master; he was devastatingly perfect and devastatingly cold. He was a marble statue come to life or a god sent to Earth to walk among the lesser beings. His beautifully sculpted lips were pressed together as he entered the room, as he filled the space with his disapproval and his magnetism.
The stunning man was scowling, his green eyes flashing as he glared at the white-haired Omari. “What are you doing here?”
“I come bearing gifts,” Omari grinned, rising to his feet and towering over Jenna, who suddenly realized how very tall all three of them were. He held his empty arms out and Armand’s scowl deepened. “Though they are a bit late for the Christmas festivities.”
“Ho fucking ho,” Armand grimaced, his eyes lighting on Jenna for only a moment before dismissing her and returning to Omari. “Unless you know how to get Vaughn back then your gifts are of no use to any of us.”
“Wait,” Jenna interrupted, confused and way out of her depths. What the hell did Lenni get herself involved with when she hooked up with Vaughn? “Where’s Vaughn?”
Omari gave her a pitying glance as he said, “He’s stone.”
Dumbfounded, that was definitely not what Jenna expected to hear and she didn’t know what the big deal was. It was true that Melanie wasn’t that fond of pot but Jenna doubted that would have been a deal-breaker, not with how Melanie practically glowed with love….
“He’s not stoned,” Omari laughed and once again Jenna felt that flash of arousal. Guiltily, she looked at Rhys who was watching her and she felt even guiltier. But then Rhys smiled and the arousal she had felt upon seeing Omari’s smile was no more than a shadow for the lust that swamped her body with Rhys’s smile. “He’s stone; he’s a gargoyle because Melanie didn’t make it back in time to accept his gift.”
“And now we’re attempting to figure out a way to bring him back,” Rhys offered, his eyes sparkling with laughter as he watched her.
“So we’re bringing another human into our world?” Armand sneered, dragging his hands through the thick, short strands of his midnight hair. He glowered at the room in general, saving a particularly contemptuous glare for Jenna but she wasn’t paying a great deal of attention, her thoughts on Omari’s words. “Great, just… great.”
“I understand the words you’re saying but they don’t make any sense,” she managed, speaking slowly in case everyone in the room was truly mad, including herself. “What do you mean that he’s a… gargoyle?”
Omari looked at her as if he didn’t understand why she was having difficulties with the conversation. “Well, usually it takes longer for the fates to allow this quick exchange of knowledge but the circumstances are dire so….”
“Oh, no; let me,” Armand scoffed, interrupting the white haired man. With a scowl, he spoke slowly, carefully enunciating each word. “He’s a gargoyle, just as Rhys and I are gargoyles, only he gave up his nights for Melanie and she didn’t make is back in time to accept his gift and now he is stone. Until she dies.”
“Enough, Armand,” Rhys growled.
“Dies?” Jenna gulped as her gaze flew to Rhys and he gave her a reassuring smile. She rasped, “I just want to see my sister.”
“In a moment, my dear,” Omari said, taking her hand and leading her over to a couch. With a gentle nudge, she found herself sitting on the plush sofa with Rhys on one side and Omari on the other, her legs pressed together by muscled thighs on either side. Armand sat in one of the leather chairs and continued to glower. “Now, as I was saying, I have a plan.”
“You said no such thing,” Armand bit out.
Omari cocked his head to the side and contemplated silently for a moment; Jenna had the impression that he was replaying the recent events to see what he said and when he said it. With a blinding smile, he returned to the present, “You weren’t here yet; I was telling the lovely Jenna that I have a plan.”
Needing some proof that she wasn’t dreaming or possibly unconscious after hitting her head on something, needing to connect with another person, she slipped her hand into Rhys’s. As he twined his fingers with hers and squeezed, she was oddly comforted; she could face any manner of monster with Rhys by her side. She glanced up and caught Armand glaring at the simple gesture of her holding Rhys’s hand.
Then he lifted his gaze and cold green eyes pierced the depths of her soul and she had to remind herself to breathe. But the suddenly frigid air hurt her lungs and she could only wheeze. His lip curled in derision as he sneered, “Did Rhys give you hope, Jenna?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to pull her hand from Rhys’s but he wasn’t letting it go. His fingers tightened around hers, grounding her as Armand taunted her with poisoned words.
“Shut up, Armand,” Rhys warned in a low voice which was so different from his usual, lighter tone.
“Did he wrap his arms around you and make you feel safe?” he continued to provoke, fury and rage and hurt twisting his face into a beautiful mask. “Did he make you feel special, Jenna? Make you feel as if you could fly, as if you could soar with the eagles – or the gargoyles?”
Hurt and embarrassed by the stinging words that were too close to the truth, Jenna turned her head and found herself staring into the warm depths of Rhys’s brown eyes. The world faded away as he reached up and brushed a strand of short dark hair from her face, his fingers lingering on her cheek, “No one existed for me before you, Jenna; you’re all that there is.”
She knew that he had been with countless women but she understood his words. Her heart pounded thickly in her chest and she wanted to believe him; she wanted to risk almost everything to be with him. But now was not the time to be getting mushy; she had to think about Melanie…. “Is my sister in a lot of pain? Is she going to be okay?”
“She’s fine, Jenna.” At her look of abject disbelief – she had seen the photo – Rhys’s lips curved into a slight smile and his eyes danced, “Truly.”
“May I go to her now?” She didn’t know why she was asking permission. Without waiting for an answer, she started to stand up but she still held Rhys’s hand. Letti
ng go, she was stopped by Omari wrapping his fingers around her wrist and pulling her back to the couch.
“Sit,” he commanded, his fingers burning into her skin through the layers of her clothing. With a gasp, she raised her eyes and caught the desire blazing wildly in his half-shuttered hazel eyes. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply and his voice was guttural, “Two of your kind over such a short period… gods I want a human so badly it hurts. It physically hurts.”
A low growl erupted behind her and the desire melted from Omari’s face to be replaced with amusement. His smile was charming and nearly irresistible as he held her gaze and chuckled, “Don’t worry, Rhys; I can control myself…. It would have been easier if there had been a larger gap between Melanie and this one but I can control myself. After all, it is the only way to get Vaughn back before Melanie passes from this life into the next.”
Jenna’s eyes widened painfully as Omari’s chatted so calmly about Lenni’s death, even if the words weren’t as harsh as Armand’s had been. Frantically scurrying away from the crazy, beautiful person, she found herself on Rhys’s lap. A solid arm wrapped around her waist and a broad palm rubbed her back, “Breathe, Jenna; Melanie’s not going to die any time soon. Just breathe.”
Whipping her head around, she felt calmness rush through her as she met Rhys’s gaze. His nostrils flared as he exaggerated the act of inhaling deeply; numbly she followed his lead. And then she felt her head clear as oxygen rushed back into her lungs. Holding his eyes, she breathed with him. He murmured, “That’s it, sweetheart; just breathe.”
“And you wonder why I have to wait,” Omari said wryly, a smile in his voice. “Even without sex she breathes for him; she already belongs to him.”
“I refuse to lose another brother to these two girls,” Armand growled darkly.
“You don’t have a say in the matter,” Omari said softly but with finality. “If they are meant to be there is nothing either of us can do.”
“Now that’s not true,” Armand retorted, slaying Omari with his green gaze. “There’s plenty you can do but you choose to play your games and let the rest of us twist in the wind.”
“You cannot see the big picture, Armand,” Omari’s voice was suddenly weary with the knowledge and cursed understanding of the ancients, of an immortal. “Everything is changing.”
The silence that followed that announcement was heavy, oppressive. Everyone stared at the white-haired man and in that moment Jenna knew that Omari wasn’t human; that Armand and Rhys and Vaughn weren’t human. And Melanie had been right all along.
Abruptly, the veil lifted and she was flooded with the realization that another world existed right before her eyes but she had refused to see it, even when Melanie and Ferris constantly pointed it out. It was a terrifying thing to discover; how much had she missed?
“You see so quickly,” Omari’s voice cracked the weighted atmosphere and Jenna shook her head, trying to erase the disturbing thoughts and recriminations. She could do nothing but stare at him as an entire world opened up to her.
“It’s too fast,” Rhys protested, slowly rubbing his hand up and down her back.
“So she breaks,” Armand scoffed, dismissing Jenna with a wave of his hand. “One less human to keep our secrets.”
“Fuck you,” Rhys growled, never ceasing in his caress.
“It’s the way it is meant to be,” Omari interjected, his voice calm, reassuring. “Now, Rhys; I want you to go to your mother and ask her for a vial of ambrosia.”
“No,” Armand bit out, his green eyes blazing with frozen fire.
“Ambrosia?” Rhys asked, the excitement in his voice, hope in his eyes, snapping Jenna out of her stupor.
“She’ll know what I’m talking about,” Omari giggled, which was slightly disturbing; most men didn’t giggle for fear of losing their man card. This strange man made male giggling into an art form. Clapping his hands together in private delight, he continued, “Your mother has to believe that the two of you are wildly in love but Jenna is reluctant to perform the ritual. Tell her you need another option, something that will give you… time.”
“What does this have to do with Vaughn?” Rhys asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Omari didn’t answer the question as he stood up and held his arms out to the side, once again giving Jenna the impression that he was very powerful and much, much older than she could possibly imagine. “The two of you will go on a… quest and Vaughn will be restored to us. Well, that was already a given since he would be released from the curse whence Melanie passes into the next life.” Waving his hand through the air, dismissing the callous words with a wave, he added, “You will take your trip and get to know one another on a much more intimate level and Vaughn will be restored to Melanie.”
He yammered on some more but Jenna was lost within moments as he talked about Greece and Vaughn. Greece? “Greece? You want me to drop everything and go to Greece?”
Omari abruptly stopped talking – Jenna hadn’t even realized she had interrupted him with her question – and looked at her as if she were mad. He was the mad one. “Yes, Greece; now pay attention.”
Numbly, she tried to follow along and eventually he managed to convince her that going to Greece on the spur of the moment was the good and prudent thing to do, that Ferris would be well provided for and if she ever wanted to find peace it was something she had to do.
By the end of Omari’s lecture, Jenna was almost positive it had been her idea to begin with.
Chapter 7
After the decision was made to go on the bizarre quest, Jenna was finally allowed in to see Melanie and the sight that had greeted her eyes made her gasp in shocked disbelief. Her sister had no injuries; she was completely healed and in no way resembled the bloodied and broken photograph that had caused Jenna’s mad dash to the city. Still, Lenni had lost too much weight and her bones were protruding outwards, just beneath her skin; it was not a good look on her.
Dragging her sister out of the cool shower, she managed to get a towel wrapped around Lenni’s skinny body and set her on a chair so her could brush her sister’s damp hair. “You’ve been keeping a lot of secrets from me, Melanie.”
Her sister gave her a sheepish look as she tried to explain but her words were disjointed until Jenna told her that there may be a way to get Vaughn back. Melanie immediately perked up at that, begging to be allowed to go with. Jenna was on the verge of giving in when Rhys appeared, denying the possibility before Melanie could get her hopes up.
Standing in the doorway he looked so incredibly handsome and Jenna had to fight the urge to throw herself into his arms. After all, he had promised that the next time he had her in his arms he was going to make love to her. It wasn’t the appropriate time but she knew that they would be consummating their relationship as soon as the plane took off.
After a few minutes of discussing the upcoming journey, Rhys let out an exclamation and dug in his pocket, pulling out a chain with a pendant attached. With a sultry smile, he handed it to Jenna, “Omari asked me to give this to you; it’s a protection charm.”
Jenna had seen a similar charm around Lenni’s neck, a disc with a greenish colored stone in the center. It looked ancient and knowing what she now knew she wondered if it were truly enchanted. Absently, she took it, sliding it around her neck as she drank in the sight of Rhys. When he touched the tip of his finger to the pendant, she sucked in a breath as electrical currents zapped along her skin. “Tell him I said, ‘Thanks.’”
“Will do,” he grinned, as reluctant to leave as she was to let him go. But she had her sister to worry about and when Melanie made a slight sound of distress, he made his excuses and left.
After she managed to get Melanie dressed and looking almost human, Melanie teased her about liking Rhys and being attracted to him while he was a gargoyle. Jenna stumbled backwards and sat down hard on the bed. She hadn’t put two and two together to come up with the fact that Rhys was the stone monkey she had admired all of tho
se weeks ago.
And he had seen her while she had been sunbathing topless on the roof. She fervently hoped that he couldn’t see when he was a gargoyle. And if he could….
Jenna’s cheeks went up in flames as she realized she had been in practically nothing; and a skimpy pair of bikini bottoms hardly counted. But she had seen him naked, too. Granted, at the time he had been in his gargoyle form: a laughing monkey with a wide, toothy smile, large, proturbant ears, intricately carved stone wings, and a massive, muscular, anatomically correct, male physique. He had been gorgeous and very well hung.
Rhys was that gargoyle. She was stunned and oddly giddy.
“Melanie, you have to come home with me,” Jenna said softly, holding her sister’s eyes as they lay on Vaughn’s massive bed. “I freaked out when I saw you on the news and mom and dad are probably worried sick.”
“I don’t want to leave,” Melanie protested in a small voice, as if staying close to Vaughn would bring him back sooner.
“I know, sweetie,” Jenna crooned, stroking her fingers through Melanie’s long, dark hair, gently kissing the crown of her head. “It’ll just be for a few days and then you can come back.”
Melanie looked at her with wide, sorrow-filled, blue eyes and Jenna would have promised her anything to get the desolation out of those eyes. “Promise?”
“Of course.” But her heart pounded against her ribs; how could she leave her sister alone when the love of her life was frozen in stone? How could she not when the trip could mean bringing him back? Standing up, she pulled Melanie to her feet and offered her a trembling smile, “Now, let’s go home so you can help me pack because the sooner I leave the sooner Vaughn will be back.”
Melanie threw her arms around Jenna then, hugging her for all she was worth. “Thank you, Jenna; this means the world to me.”
“I know,” Jenna kissed her sister’s cheek as she returned the hug with the same desperation that Melanie felt.
When they were in the car, she wanted to erase the forsaken expression on her sister’s face so she murmured, “It must have driven you nuts not to be able to tell me that you had been right all along.”