Found (Books of Stone Book 1)

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Both?” he asked. When I hesitated he added, “Twenty-seven families.”

  I sighed, he was right. “Agreed.”

  “Done,” he agreed, then turned around and bellowed, “Bring the long table!”

  My stomach lurched as I turned to the others and began unbuttoning my jacket.

  “Evie, what’s going on?” Zahur asked as I began pulling my jacket off and handing it to Ranulf.

  “I’m really glad the three of you came,” I admitted as I took off my boots and socks.

  “Why?” Zahur asked suspiciously.

  “Because you’ll be able to carry me out of here,” I said absently as my hands went to take off my harness and sword.

  “Why are we going to have to carry ye, lass?” Ranulf demanded. I handed him my harness.

  I looked up at him and told him. “Because I won’t have my legs.”

  10

  Evelyn

  “What?” Ranulf demanded.

  “I won’t have my legs,” I repeated. I explained more fully to them as I took off my jeans. “Red Caps value one thing above all else: Flesh.” I folded my pants and put them on the pile in Ranulf’s hands. Now I was standing around in black, hip hugging panties and my purple oversized sweater. “Sex or meat. And I’m not giving him the first. So, meat it is.”

  “Why you? You didn’t do anything!” Ranulf snapped. I met his eyes.

  “Because the deal was with me,” I told him. “And because Atticus didn’t check with me like he should have, I have very limited options right now.”

  “What are the other options?” Zahur asked.

  Getting irritated I listed them off on my fingers. “Marry Novak, sex with Novak, sex with one male from each of the families of the twenty-seven Red Caps killed. Or, I chop my legs off, the twenty-seven families eat them and I regenerate in the next twenty-four hours.” They were speechless. “This is the consequence of Atticus not making a simple freaking phone call,” I snapped, becoming furious again. Two Red Caps brought the long, wooden table made specifically to take lower limbs. I took a deep breath as adrenaline flowed through me. “Zahur, by any chance do you have any major pain killers in that bag?” Novak took the huge ceremonial battleaxe and began sharpening it. I appreciated it. The sharper the blade, the faster the cut, and I had to do this twice. Oh God.

  “Is there any way to get you out of this? Can one of us take your place?” Ranulf asked. I shook my head.

  “No, it’s me or nothing,” I told him. He clenched his jaw, closed his eyes and took deep breaths.

  Zahur pulled out a vial of liquid and a syringe.

  “Gargoyle strength morphine.” Zahur began drawing up a dose. I wrung my fingers as I watched them wipe down the long table.

  “Have it ready for right after they take my legs, please,” I told him.

  He looked at me like I was insane.

  “I can’t have drugs in my system when this happens. It’s a Red Cap rule” I explained.

  “Screw this, let’s just leave,” Ranulf stated. I shot him a look.

  “We can’t, it’d make the Treaty void,” I explained. “Their numbers are one hundred and eighty-two; do you want to take that on yourself?”

  “One hundred and eighty-four,” Helix corrected as he joined our group. “Mytara had her twins two days ago.”

  “Oh.”

  Helix looked at the table as he held out a pen to me. I took it, then began to mark where the cut line should be on both of my legs. When I was done, Novak was disinfecting the blade with alcohol. I really appreciated that. I didn’t need a huge infection knocking me on my butt right now. I handed the pen back to Helix, then looked at the others. Each of them looked furious. Well, they could join the club.

  “I need someone to hold me down,” I admitted. Zahur and Ranulf cursed and shook their heads.

  Falk just stepped forward. When I turned back around everything was set up. Novak looked to me.

  “Ready, Evelyn?” Novak called. I nodded and started walking over with Helix and Falk at my side. Zahur and Ranulf brought up the rear.

  “Thank you for holding me down. I hate asking, but I know me,” I told Falk, my fingers playing with my locket.

  “I wish I could take your place,” Falk said, his voice rough.

  “I know.” My body was shaking when we reached the table. This was so going to hurt.

  Novak met my eyes. “I imagine Helix is your chosen?”

  “Yep, the guy’s fast with a blade,” I joked. Novak handed the axe to Helix. I let out another breath and laid down on the birch-wood table. “Just got a freaking pedicure too,” I grumbled as I placed my arms over my head. Falk’s hands went to my wrists and pinned them to the wood.

  I took big deep breaths as Helix made sure to iodine my legs around the pen marks. I met Falk’s eyes. His hands moved from my wrists to my hands. He still kept me pinned, but it was more comforting for me. I gave him a small, grateful smile.

  “I’m going to do this fast, little one,” Helix told me. I nodded.

  “Don’t stop for screaming,” I reminded Helix. Hands went to my ankles. I recognized Novak’s grip. I actually didn’t mind. “Thanks, Novak. I didn’t think of that.”

  “You’d make a formidable queen,” Novak replied quietly.

  “Eh, too stubborn,” I reminded him. Novak chuckled. I looked at Helix. “Do it.”

  Ranulf

  I cursed again and again as Falk and I carried Evie between us. This was a fucking nightmare. She just had her legs chopped off! When the axe fell, I had to turn away. Her scream as the axe fell again would haunt my dreams for years. Zahur had been quick with the drugs and the tourniquets, but she was still losing blood.

  “I’m killing Atticus the minute I see him,” I growled as we turned another corner, picking up the pace.

  “After we take care of her,” Zahur snapped. Falk and I carried Evie between us, pale and unmoving. She was still conscious somehow, and panting through the pain. This was entirely too close to losing my little sister, Meryl, who had died in childbirth. It didn't help that Evie’s breathing was short and shallow just as Meryl's had been. Only now I was carrying Evelyn.

  “One more turn and then the door,” Helix assured us.

  “Thanks for helping us get her out of here,” Zahur said, as we all but ran down the tunnel.

  “Of course,” Helix said. “Her recovery will be much easier this time with you males around.”

  “This time?” I growled. Helix nodded as we turned another corner.

  “To earn her standing the first time, Novak took her arm,” Helix explained. The door was in sight. He opened it for us. “Take care of her, and if your leader does something like this again, I’ll be taking his body pieces instead of hers.” Zahur and I agreed instantly as we carried her through the door into the sunlight.

  Atticus

  What the hell was taking so long? I shifted against the car. The things that could have gone wrong kept running through my mind. I should have gone with them. Why didn't I go with her? I'd know what was happening right now.

  She didn't understand what I was trying to do. When we get back to her apartment I'll sit her down and explain what happened. And how gargoyles usually run things. Would she even listen?

  How could she make deals with the creatures we were supposed to be keeping in line? I didn't understand it. But if it worked for her, if it kept her safe here when I was gone... I'd take it.

  The door to the tunnels opened. About damn time. I straightened as Falk and Ranulf hurried out carrying… Evelyn. It took me a moment to process what I was seeing. Evelyn’s legs were gone, only bloody stumps remained. I moved towards them.

  “Open the doors!” Zahur shouted as they ran towards me. “We need to get her back to the apartment now!” I turned around and opened every door to the car. Falk and Ranulf slid into the back seat with a bleeding, pale Evelyn. Zahur climbed in and straddled the console so he could work on Evelyn.

  “Drive!” Zahur shouted.
That snapped me out of my shock. I started the car and gunned it.

  “What the hell happened?” I demanded.

  “SHUT UP!” All three of them yelled at me. Stunned, I focused on driving. My Match was in the back seat, without her legs. I pushed down on the accelerator. Evelyn gasped.

  “Dose her again,” Falk growled. Zahur cursed as he worked to draw up another dose.

  “She’s streaking!” Ranulf shouted. I cursed. Streaking meant that her veins were starting to turn to stone. There was so much damage that her body was shutting down, trying to save itself.

  “I’m on it,” Zahur assured him. I weaved through traffic and blew through stop lights without a thought. She whimpered as they tightened the tourniquets. My chest tightened at the sound.

  “Sorry, lass, but we have to stop the bleeding before you turn to stone,” Ranulf explained.

  “I know,” she bit out.

  A beat later Zahur sighed. “Thank God, she’s unconscious.”

  “Now, what the hell happened?” I growled as I took a corner too fast and almost went into the other lane.

  “You fucking happened!” Ranulf snapped. I glanced back at him before looking back at the road. He was serious.

  “What are you talking about?” I demanded.

  Zahur was bandaging what was left of her legs as he answered. “Remember that deal she had with the Red Caps? Since you didn’t call and talk to her before ordering us to go in and take out that outpost, she had to make amends for their dead.”

  “And guess what the Red Caps value?” Ranulf growled.

  “She had to give up flesh because of you,” Zahur told me. “And since there are twenty-seven dead at the outpost she had to give up enough flesh to satisfy those twenty-seven families. Guess what they’re munching on right now.” My stomach churned. What the hell? I screeched the car to a stop in front of the building. Everyone worked together to get her out of the car and into her bedroom in the apartment.

  Ranulf sat on the dresser, Falk leaned against the wall next to the door and I stood at the end of the bed with my arms crossed over my chest.

  We watched and waited while Zahur worked on her. When he had her stable and comfortable Zahur sat down on the side of the bed and sighed.

  “She should be out for a bit,” Zahur announced. “I can keep her sedated if she wants while her legs regenerate. But I want to ask her first. We need towels or more sheets if we aren’t going to destroy her bed.”

  “I’ll buy her a new one. Now, someone, explain to me again how this happened.” I ordered. Ranulf was pale. Falk was somber as Zahur explained, in detail, everything. By the end of it I was swallowing back bile.

  “So, if you had just listened to her and called before we went into that outpost, she’d still have her legs,” Ranulf summed up for me.

  I shook my head. It shouldn’t be this way. “I just wanted to clear the city. We were going to leave when Cyrus ordered us back. I just wanted…,” I said absently as I looked at her. Her skin was deathly pale, I could barely see her chest moving.

  “Then maybe you should have been listening when she spoke,” Ranulf reminded me.

  “She went down there knowing exactly what was going to happen,” Zahur announced. I ran my hand down my face. I… I just couldn’t. I walked out of her bedroom, then out of her apartment.

  I hurried up the stairs and out onto the roof.

  The fresh air helped, but it wasn’t a minute before I was sick over the side of the building. When I thought I was done, the image of Evelyn in that bed hit me and I was sick again. When I finally stopped, my pulse was loud in my ears.

  I sat on the waist high ledge and tried to think. Why hadn’t I listened? Why didn’t I just fucking listen? I closed my eyes and hung my head as my chest threatened to explode. I took deep breaths as what I did sank in.

  I was the reason she had to sacrifice her legs. It was all my fault. It was nothing more than not listening. Because we were going to leave. Because I wanted her safe. Pure fucking stupidity. I cost her both her legs. Guilt tore through me, ripping me to pieces. I deserved it. She asked me to call, and I … my eyes burned as I opened them. My talons were digging into my thighs. The pain didn’t even register. Why didn’t she tell me? I cursed myself as it hit me. She tried to tell me. I obviously wasn’t listening or even willing to listen. How could I do that to her? To my Match, my Mate? Emotions tore through me, eating me alive, breaking through every barrier I had ever created.

  Desperate, I picked up my phone and called Cyrus.

  “Yes?”

  “She lost her legs,” I told him, my voice dead. “She had some deal with the Red Caps and I fucked it up. She lost her legs because of me.”

  “Well, that’s what she gets for being stupid enough to even think of making deals with the Red Caps,” Cyrus growled. Anger surged through me.

  “She isn’t stupid. She’s resourceful and clever,” I growled low. “She’s managed to keep every species in this city in line. Something we’ve never managed.”

  “Is that emotion I hear Atticus?” he demanded.

  “Yes,” I snarled. I couldn’t stop it. It was storming through me and I was lost in it without a compass.

  “Get control of yourself, you little wanker,” Cyrus ordered. “Use those exercises I taught you. Put away the emotion. The last thing you need is to feel emotion for this stupid female. You owe this female nothing.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was nothing he hadn’t said before, but now… it was like I was hearing it for the first time. And I realized the complete bullshit he was spouting. Furious, I hung up and barely resisted throwing my phone into the alley below. The weight in my chest grew heavier as fear took hold. One emotion moved to another and another, tearing through me, leaving chaos in the storm’s wake. What was right? What was true?

  A hand came down on my shoulder. “Breathe Atticus, slow deep breaths.” Zahur’s voice was soothing. I did as he said. It helped. I could breathe but my chest still burned. He sat down beside me on the ledge. “I thought you would be having a problem, your Match is injured and you had a hand in it.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, my voice thick.

  “Well, the contract-”

  “Not that,” I snapped, turning to him. His dark eyes ran over me, assessing. “She brings up everything I’ve buried. I can’t stop it. Can’t bury it again. She just … leaves me in chaos, with no idea where to go.”

  Zahur raised an eyebrow. “Is she hurting you that way? Or are you?” I didn’t understand.

  “What?” I bit out.

  His face was understanding. “I’ve known you since you were adopted into the community, Atticus.” Zahur turned to look out over the rooftops. “I’ve watched as Cyrus taught you to bury every emotion, every feeling. Over and over. I saw it. And I’ve stood by, mostly because it seemed to work for you.” He turned back to me. “But now it’s all coming back, isn’t it? Every emotion eating you alive?”

  I closed my eyes and nodded.

  “That’s not her. That’s everything you’ve chosen to ignore. Chosen not to feel,” he explained.

  “Cyrus said-”

  “Fuck what Cyrus says,” he snapped. I turned to meet his angry gaze. “Cyrus’s own Match didn’t want him. That male is a robot. You aren’t.” Was he telling the truth? Did Cyrus’s own Match refuse him? Reeling, I turned back to look down at the alley.

  “I don’t know what’s right anymore,” I admitted, still fighting to find an anchor to grab onto in the storm.

  “Ignore Cyrus’s lessons and feel,” Zahur instructed. “What do you want?”

  “Her,” I admitted, my voice barely there.

  “Atticus, you know I was Mated.” Zahur sighed. “I only had her for a year before I lost her. That female…” He swallowed hard. “I would trade every day of my life since to have one more hour with her.”

  “But what’s best for her? Since we all know it’s not me,” I pointed out.

  “How do you
think she should be treated by her Mate?” Zahur asked.

  “Like she’s precious,” I answered instantly, without thinking. “She should be appreciated for being who she is.”

  Zahur gave me a half grin. “Then why aren’t you doing that?”

  I swallowed hard as his question hit like a kick to the gut. Why wasn’t I? I looked down in the alley. Cyrus's lessons aside…. she was my Match. And I was treating her like…. bile rose in my throat.

  Zahur sighed. “Your Match, your Mate, is downstairs, drugged, injured and hurting,” he pointed out logically. “What do you want to do?”

  My mind racing, I muttered, “I should make a report-”

  “Atticus,” he snapped. I turned and met his demanding gaze. “What do you want to do?”

  “Be there. Take care of her. Make sure she’s not in pain,” I admitted.

  “Start there,” he advised before turning and stepping back onto the roof. “I need to check on her. She should be waking up in a couple minutes.” Before Zahur left me on the roof he handed me a small container of mints.

  With the storm tearing through me, only one thing was clear: her I wanted to be with her. The pain in my chest eased, I took deeper breaths. She probably wouldn’t take me now, but she deserved better. And from now on, that’s what she was going to get.

  I popped a couple of mints into my mouth, got off the ledge and crossed the roof. I was down the stairs and in her apartment in a minute. When I walked into her room the others were still there. Someone had gotten towels to place under her. Zahur was checking the veins along her legs for streaking as I took off my suit jacket.

  “How is she?” I asked, setting my jacket on the dresser beside Ranulf.

  “She agreed to sedation,” Zahur announced. Some tension inside me eased. At least she wouldn’t be awake through the pain of regeneration. My eyes ran over her. Her breathing was shallow and short, her face strained even while drugged. Was the dose not high enough? Was she still in pain?

  “Zahur, look at her face. Check the dose,” I ordered.