by A C Warneke
Rhys’s laughter rang out and her heart trembled in her chest; she was just a foolish girl. What had she been thinking trying to see him when he had been separated from his family for just as long as she had been? He needed this time with his brothers. As soon as Melanie got out of the bathroom she would leave.
It wasn’t so bad; she’d be seeing him in a few days when the weekend hit. She was just having difficulties returning to a normal life after everything she had been through with Rhys. She was just going to have to deal with it like a grown up and not some love-starved twit.
With a sigh, she headed back the way she came, bumping into Melanie as her sister came out of the bathroom. Melanie was very pale and her blue eyes were huge in her face and Jenna had to grab onto Melanie’s shoulders to keep her steady. “Lenni?’
Melanie looked up at her as if she didn’t recognize her own sister. Jenna shook her sister to keep her lucid “Lenni; what is it?”
Melanie held up the white stick, her hand trembling, “I’m… I’m….”
Then her eyes rolled back and her body went limp and Jenna was barely able to catch her as she fell. “Rhys! Vaughn!”
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hall and in a whir of movement Vaughn had Melanie cradled in his arms, brushing her hair from her face as he crooned her name. She found herself in Rhys’s arms, staring into warm chocolate eyes, “When did you arrive?”
“I, um,” she looked at Melanie who was slowly coming around, her eyelids fluttering. With a helpless glance past Rhys, she asked, “Is she okay, Vaughn?”
“I’m okay,” Melanie muttered, pushing her hair out of her eyes and laughing uneasily. “I just haven’t eaten enough today.”
Jenna frowned at her sister but Melanie made a negative motion with her head and frowned back. As Jenna watched, Melanie pushed the stick beneath a table where it went unnoticed by the others. She gave Jenna a limpid smile as she winked and leaned more fully into Vaughn’s embrace, sighing dramatically. “You can let me go, Vaughn; I’m all right; really.”
Ignoring her words, just as Melanie intended, Vaughn carried her into the den they had been lounging in before the excitement began, with Rhys and Jenna following quietly behind. Armand was still sitting there, as calm and as unruffled as ever. Seeing Vaughn with Melanie in his arms, he arched an eyebrow, “What happened this time? Did Melanie slip on a banana peel or something?”
“You know that only happens in cartoons,” Rhys said, slapping Armand’s knee to move him over. Reluctantly, Armand grabbed the dog and stood up from the couch, making space for Melanie, whose cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment over Vaughn’s concern. He was so solicitous of her, offering her all of the comforts he could think of until Melanie was laughing from some of his more ridiculous suggestions. Jenna couldn’t help but smile as they interacted with one another, their love so apparent a blind man could see it.
Jenna glanced at Armand and saw the longing pass over his face before he caught her staring and quickly masked it. She arched an eyebrow at him, smiling when he mirrored the image and acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Of course, had she not seen the other reality than she would never have known he had feelings for Melanie at all.
The smile fell from her lips and her heart went out to the taciturn man; he never had a chance, either in this life or the other one. Looking at Melanie she saw that her sister only had eyes for Vaughn. How on earth were they going to bring a child into the world if they only had eyes for each other?
A heavy arm was draped over her shoulders and she smiled as Rhys’s scent filled her senses; who was she to judge her sister when she was just as hopelessly in love with Rhys. “What really happened, Jenna?”
“That’s kind of for Melanie to say,” she said, scrunching her nose, not sure how her sister wanted to handle the situation. Holding up the bottle of wine that she had somehow managed to hold on to, she grinned, “How about I pour all of us some wine and we can relax and catch up with everyone.”
“I’ll get the glasses,” he smirked, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. He stopped, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her flush against his body. Taking her lips in a more passionate kiss, he breathed, “I’m glad you’re here; I’ve missed you.”
He was gone before she could reply and she found herself looking at three wide-eyed moppets staring at her with large grins. “Hello, Jenna.”
“Hello, boys,” she grinned. “How was your first night in the city?”
Their eyes grew even wider, “It’s amazing; there is so much to see here, to do.”
They spoke over one another, their voices combining until Jenna couldn’t understand a word any of them were saying. Armand’s quiet voice cut through the cacophony, “Boys.”
They instantly quieted, looking at Armand with worshipful eyes. Jenna had to chuckle; the man had a way with children whether he knew it or not. Well, there was at least one person who would be able to keep an eye on the spawn of Melanie and Vaughn.
Rhys appeared a moment later with five glasses and a corkscrew. Winking at Melanie, Jenna generously poured four glasses of wine and a little dribble into the fifth glass. With a grin, she handed Melanie the glass with barely anything in it. “Cheers.”
Vaughn gave her a funny expression but simply smiled, his hand stroking Melanie’s hair as he drank his wine. Jenna had to bite her lip to keep from laughing but it was too funny and she had to set her glass of wine down. The two of them were unbearably adorable.
“Why aren’t you drinking?” Rhys asked, entwining his fingers with hers.
“I am just enjoying the show,” she said, nodding her head towards the couple on the couch.
He nuzzled her neck, “She has barely let him out of her sight; Armand says she is paranoid about losing him even though she’s much more powerful now. And they’re fully bonded. I don’t think anything can come between them.”
Jenna let out an awkward laugh, reaching behind her to grab her wine. It wasn’t where she thought it was and she almost knocked it over before catching it with her fingertips. Holding Rhys’s eyes, she slammed down the thick liquid, needing something to hold her tongue until Melanie decided what she wanted to do, how she wanted to handle the news.
The taste exploded in her mouth, a cross between metallic blood and decay. Slamming the glass down, she wiped her hand across the back of her mouth, trying to erase the taste. With dawning horror, she watched Rhys and Armand bring their glasses up to their lips and she cried out, “Don’t drink it; it’s gone bad.”
As they lowered the glasses, Jenna felt the heat of humiliation in her cheeks. “I am so sorry; the wine must have been a bad batch or something; it’s vile.”
“It’s not the smoothest vintage I’ve ever had but for something that is one step away from being from a box it’s not bad,” Armand said smoothly, sipping the wine as he offered her a backhanded compliment.
Jenna looked at him as if her were insane, “I’m pretty sure it’s rotten; it tasted like… God, it tasted like death.”
“I don’t think you drank the wine,” Armand said carefully, standing up, concern actually etched on his gorgeous face. Worried by Armand’s show of emotion, she turned to Rhys only to find him drained of all color, his eyes wide in his face. Her worry became a living thing, crawling like maggots in her gut. “What is it? What did I drink?”
“Sweetheart,” he said calmly, grabbing her by the arm and leading her over to a second couch. “I don’t want you to worry but I think you might have drunk all of Medusa’s blood.”
Jenna’s eyes widened in alarm as she turned her head and met Melanie’s gaze, who stared back in terror. “Lenni.”
“How did this happen?” Armand ground out through lips pressed together in a firm line.
Turning her head, she saw an imp standing in the corner looking shamefaced and resigned but he disappeared before she could point him out and she had to wonder if she had imagined him. Lifting a shaking arm, she pointed to the spot and turn
ed to Rhys, “I think the imps thought they were being helpful.”
“Fucking imps!” Armand bellowed, throwing his glass against the fireplace where it shattered, spilling blood red wine everywhere. With a grim expression, he turned to the younger gargoyles, “Boys, go to your room and keep yourself occupied while we deal with this.”
“But,” one of them began to protest.
“Go,” Armand said, brooking no argument as he handed Michael the little white mop dog and the boys scampered off, apparently understanding the gravity of the situation.
“Um, I don’t feel so well,” Jenna muttered, pressing her hand against her stomach where streaks of pain were already spreading outwards. If she lay down and didn’t move maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Slowly, she sank to the floor, trying not to struggle too much and shatter the thin layer of skin that was holding her together. Rhys’s arm was around her, easing her down and she met his eyes and tried to smile, “I drank the poison but I didn’t mean to.”
Rhys took her hand in his, leaning over her, “Sweetheart, just hold on; we’ll figure this out.”
“I might be okay,” she whispered, clutching his hand, truly scared. She didn’t want to die, not when she was finally learning how to live once again, not when there was so much worth living for. Her fingers tightened as she held onto Rhys, onto hope. “Melanie survived.”
“Yes, she did,” Rhys said with a smile that wobbled, gently stroking her hair away from her face. The pain was worse than what she went through when she had Ferris; it wasn’t just her belly that cramped but her entire body.
“I can help her,” Melanie said, pushing her way through the bodies to reach Jenna’s side. Naturally Vaughn was by her side, holding her steady as she trembled in the face of Jenna’s death. Framing Jenna’s face in her hands, she met Jenna’s eyes, “Jenna, look at me.”
“Lenni, no,” Jenna breathed, trying to flow into the pain until it passed. Only it didn’t pass and it didn’t lessen. “You can’t.”
“You’ve always been the strong one; let me do this for you.”
Jenna would have laughed at her sister’s word, knowing them for the lie they were but she couldn’t make a sound. The imps had promised not to hurt Ferris; didn’t they know that there was more than just physical pain? At least her daughter would be taken care of; she had a group of gargoyles who would guard her with their lives as well as the well-intentioned but ultimately misguided imps.
She could die knowing she had finally lived and her daughter would be safe. Maybe she should have chosen the other path.
As he held Jenna’s hand, Rhys watched in helpless despair as Melanie held her hands over Jenna’s body and closed her eyes, gathering her strength from within. Suddenly she was carefully but firmly pushed aside and Omari was there, cursing in languages that were long gone, his violently green robes fluttering around his body. He glared at Melanie and growled, “No; you are not to touch her.”
“She’s my sister,” Melanie protested, glaring at the white haired man who held her away from Jenna. She struggled against Omari’s hold but it was futile; even in her new incarnation she was no match for an ancient god.
Omari shook his head, placing a hand on her flat stomach and gazing at her in empathy and meaning and Melanie stilled. “You cannot risk harming the baby.”
Something shattered behind him and Rhys looked over his shoulder and saw Armand standing there with a grim expression on his face and a layer of dust on his knuckles. But Rhys’s concerns were on Jenna, who was no longer conscious, “Father; do something.”
Omari scowled at him as he kneeled next to Jenna and held his hands over Jenna, much as Melanie had done earlier. Closing his eyes, he spoke through barely moving lips, “Before any of you ask, I need to determine how much she ingested. And no, this was not how it was supposed to happen.”
Ignoring Omari, ignoring Vaughn, Melanie crawled back to her sister’s side. Taking Jenna’s other hand, she shakily held her other hand over Jenna. Omari slapped her hand away, growling, “The baby.”
Tears streamed down Melanie’s face as she lifted her hand once more, stubborn in the face of an even more stubborn Omari. “I can neutralize the poison; I know I can.”
“The. Baby,” Omari repeated, looking pointedly at Melanie’s midriff. “Do not take any needless risks since I am here to fix this since I know what I’m doing and you don’t. Now, sit back and let me work.”
“Father,” Rhys whispered. “Will she live?”
“Of course; the two of you love one another.”Omari glanced up at him as he held his wrist up to his mouth and bit down, puncturing his flesh with eerily sharp teeth. Holding the wound up to Jenna’s mouth, he made her drink a few drops. The room was stunned into silence as Omari took his arm away and brushed a few drops of blood away from Jenna’s mouth. “Why do you think it is so important for my blood to be in her system alongside Medusa’s? The imps weren’t supposed to give her the blood until after I altered it with my blood but I guess one of them saw an opportunity and took it.”
Four sets of eyes stared blankly at him and he shook his head in mild disappointment, “True love and all of that rubbish, people; do you think I’d foolishly put Jenna’s life in danger?”
“Yes,” Armand bit out angrily. “You did it to Melanie.”
“I took a calculated risk,” Omari clarified. “There was a sixty two point three four percent chance of success and those were acceptable odds in order to get Vaughn back.”
Rhys glanced at his golden brother and saw the color drained from his face as he was reminded of how close he came to losing Melanie in order to be reunited with her. At least he hadn’t had to witness his love suffer.
Melanie’s eyes were wide in her face as she simply stared at Omari. Moistening her lips, she cleared her throat and softly asked, “Does my sister have the same chances?”
“Nah,” Omari said, his hazel eyes gleaming and Rhys felt a vice-grip clutch his stomach until Omari chuckled. “Her chances are much higher since she has already gone against the odds and chose him at Medusa’s temple.”
Rhys exhaled slowly as he gathered Jenna in his arms, holding her as her body slowly stopped convulsing. But she was still so pale and she wasn’t waking up; what if Omari was wrong, what if Jenna had already used up her luck when she returned to this life? What if he lost her? “Jenna, you’ve got to stop doing this to me, sweetheart.”
“This bond is permanent,” Omari said softly with a meaningful glance towards Armand that Rhys did not understand. “Unlike the accepting of a gargoyle’s gift this bond cannot be broken. It is also why there are no female gargoyles; the one that had accepted changed her mind almost a thousand years later and Abednago released her.”
“I would never have changed my mind,” Jenna rasped, her voice scratchy. It was beautiful and Rhys let out a cry as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest, rocking back and forth in his relief. “Why did you give me the poison?”
“Don’t you know that you are also one of the gods’ favorite mortals?” Omari asked as she sat slumped against Rhys’s chest. Omari reached out and brushed a strand of black hair from her face and smiled tenderly, “Well, immortal now?”
“You could have asked me,” Jenna said, unmoving in Rhys’s arms but he didn’t mind; he wanted to hold her; he had to hold her.
“You would have refused,” Omari murmured and Jenna remained silent, her answer in the set of her mouth and Rhys couldn’t blame her. But now he didn’t have to worry about losing her; she was his….
“Jenna,” he whispered, his mouth suddenly dry as he considered the possibility that she didn’t really want to be bonded to him; she had never actually agreed to accept his gift, telling him that it was something she would consider. “Are you okay with this?”
She looked up at him, her eyes moving over the disconcerted expression he didn’t even try to hide. Suddenly, her lips curled into a brilliant smile and she cupped his cheek in her slender hand, “Rhys, it’
s not how I planned on spending eternity with you but now that it is over I have no complaints.” She laughed out loud, her eyes dancing as she looked at him with all of the love in her heart, her soul, “I’m bound to you forever; there is nothing more I could want.”
He closed his eyes in gratitude, hugging her tighter as love and ecstasy rushed through his veins. Resting his cheek against the top of Jenna’s head he looked at Omari, “What happens if we perform the ritual?”
“I imagine the bond will be even stronger,” he answered casually. He chuckled as if he what he said was amusing. “Though I can’t imagine how much stronger it could possibly be.”
“Will I become a gargoyle?” Jenna asked softly, looking at Melanie who retained her humanity even during the day. But Lenni had taken the poison after Vaughn had been turned to stone; she had died and been reborn in order to bring Vaughn back.
Omari stared at her unblinkingly, a god caught in the headlights expression that was not comforting. “I… hadn’t considered that. I guess you’ll have to discover the answer to that one for yourselves.”
Jenna’s held fell back against Rhys’s chest and she closed her eyes and groaned. She felt Rhys’s chest rumble against her back as he laughed and she couldn’t help but smile, “I guess we’ll still have to wait until I’m forty.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead, lingering a little longer than a heartbeat, and gruffly said, “I guess that is all right just so long as I know we are together.”
“Forever.”
Epilogue
Rhys carried the cake with the forty candles on it over to Jenna, who looked so damn sexy lying on the bed in nothing but a smile. Her black hair fell in waves to the middle of her back but her face remained unchanged since that day nearly sixeen years before when she drank the blood of Medusa. And he loved her more than he ever thought possible. “Happy birthday, my love.”