Found (Books of Stone Book 1)

by B. L. Brunnemer

  Astrid winked. “I’ll give you that.” She finished her toes and put her feet on the floor carefully. “Now, tell me about Ranulf.”

  I laughed before I filled her in on what I knew. Nothing I told her eased her attraction to the gargoyle.

  When the pizzas arrived, I answered the door only for Ranulf to open the door to the males’ apartment. He took over and paid for the food, then, despite my protests, brought the pizzas into my apartment. The other males soon followed through the open door.

  “So, what did we get?” Zahur asked as he joined us at the breakfast counter. I pulled the pizza for us and waited for the guys to leave. They all started to settle in, talking about a rugby game. My gaze met Atticus’s. I mouthed ‘please?’

  His jaw clenched. “Grab the pizzas and take them over to our place. The ladies have plans,” he announced. The males grumbled as they grabbed boxes and headed for the door.

  “Thank you,” I called quietly to Atticus before he left. He gave me a small bow from the neck before closing the door behind him.

  Astrid started laughing. When we brought the pizza to the living room she was just getting herself under control. I opened the box and started eating while she got ahold of herself.

  Finally, I’d had enough. “What is so funny?”

  She stopped laughing. “That male is so hooked, it’s funny to watch.”

  I finished chewing. “What are you talking about?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  We turned on Magic Mike and went on with our usual girl night activities.

  Halfway through the movie, Astrid’s phone went off. She growled as she answered.

  “Yeah?” Her head dropped back to the sofa. “It’s not my job.” She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Fine.” She hung up.

  “David?” I asked gently.

  “Yes, it was Alpha dick,” she growled. “He wants me to put another female wolf back in line because his fucking Mate is too weak to do it herself.” She yanked on her boots.

  “He still won’t assign a new Alpha female?” I asked.

  “No, because he wants his Mate to step up. Only she’s not,” she bit out. “She doesn’t even have the guts to call and ask me for help herself.”

  “I’m sorry, Astrid,” I said. “Is there any way you can refuse? Challenge her?”

  She shook her head. “Some days I think it’s time to look for a new pack.” She turned to me. “You decide to leave, give me a chance to pack a bag.”

  I reached over and hugged her tight. “Of course. I need my Astrid.” She squeezed me back before pulling away. She got up and headed out the door without another word. I sighed and turned off the television.

  I got up and moved to my bookcase, looking for a book. The Count of Monte Cristo, I had started it earlier and since Astrid was gone, I figured I'd finish it. Finding it, I was just walking back to the couch when there was a knock on the door before it opened. Atticus came in wearing designer navy pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved white shirt that hugged the muscles of his chest.

  “Ranulf told me Astrid left,” he explained. He held up his book. “Do you mind if I read in here. The others are being extremely loud.”

  I smiled to myself. “Sure, I was about to start a night of reading myself.” I curled up in the corner of the sofa as he sat at the other end. “What are you reading?”

  “The Iliad,” he replied, his nose already buried in the book. I smiled to myself. He really was a book geek. I went about reading my book.

  The apartment was quiet except for the occasional shouts of joy from the apartment across the hall. It was soothing.

  Eventually I got up to make tea, taking my book with me. I continued to read as I waited for the kettle. I was so engrossed that I set up two mugs for tea then waited, leaning against the counter. When the water boiled I poured it into the mugs and let it steep for a few minutes. I turned the page several times before I took out the teabags, then added milk and sugar to one. And only sugar to the other. My nose still in my book, I picked up both mugs in one hand and walked back to the living room. I stopped by Atticus and gave him the one with only sugar then moved back to my spot on the couch.

  As the evening went on I ended up laying on my back on my part of the couch. Something touched my foot. Looking over my book, I watched Atticus as his hand absently massaged my left foot. My body warmed as I watched to see if he knew he had done it. When he stopped to turn a page, his hand went back to my foot, massaging again. It was sweet. I hid my smile behind my book as I started reading again.

  When the lines began to blur I called it a night. I said goodnight to Atticus and went to bed, falling asleep quickly.

  I was at the parlor door, I opened it to find it empty. Empty except for the gifts under the tree. And a note on the side table. I picked it up. “Darling, your Mother and I have taken ill. We’re resting now. Please, open your presents- Dad.” Strange, it didn't look like his handwriting. I turned toward the gifts, excited.

  “Evelyn!” Atticus’s voice tore me from that hell. I opened my eyes to Atticus’s face, sweat rolling down my skin. Atticus was above me, his hands on my arms.

  “I’m awake,” I said in a trembling voice as tears rolled down my face. I closed my eyes as I tried to shove those memories back behind their door. I struggled. They kept coming back.

  His hand cupped my face, his thumb running over my cheek bone. “You’re still crying. What’s wrong? Tell me.” His voice was hard, with an edge of desperation. I shook my head, it was stupid. I always had these nightmares near Christmas.

  “Bad memories,” I told him.

  He cursed. The bed shifted. His arms moved around me, pulling me on my side and against his chest. I buried my face against him and clung to his cotton shirt as I tried to stop crying. He held me close as his hand ran down my hair then down my back, over and over, his touch soothing. The scent of parchment filled my lungs, helping me calm down.

  He held me until I stopped crying. When I calmed down he loosened his grip on me.

  “What memories?” he asked quietly.

  I shook my head. I just got them behind their door, I wasn’t about to open it up again. “It happens every winter. It’s okay.”

  “You were crying in your sleep,” he bit out. “That is not alright.”

  I sighed, then lifted my head to meet his eyes. They were concerned. He was worried. “I don’t want to talk about it now.”

  Those golden eyes searched mine. “But you will?”

  I nodded.

  He pressed his lips together. “Alright.” His arms moved out from around me, he shifted to sit at the side of the bed. I didn’t want him to go.

  “Atticus,” I barely whispered before he got up. He half turned to look down at me. “Stay. Please?” I asked quietly.

  He grew still, his eyes ran over my face, searching, before he nodded. I moved to give him room. He pulled the covers back and climbed in.

  The bed shifted as he got comfortable. I rolled onto my back and tried to relax so I could fall asleep. I shifted a bit, trying to find a comfortable spot.

  Once I did, I started to fall asleep, only to jerk awake before I could go. I didn’t want another nightmare. I looked up at the ceiling, listening to Atticus’s breathing, deep and even. Time moved along slowly, I started counting sheep. It didn’t work. My body begged for sleep but my mind wasn’t listening.

  I was about to say enough and go read on the couch when the bed shifted. Suddenly I was face down in bed with Atticus’s hand between my shoulder blades. I tried to move but that hand held me to the bed firmly. The fingertips of his other hand ran over my back.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, on the verge of blasting him into the ceiling.

  “Getting you to sleep,” he stated. What? I was about to tell him to let me go when his hands moved and his fingers pressed into a spot on each side of my spine. My body tensed and relaxed at the same time as a wave eased up my back. It was both relaxing and a bit p
ainful.

  “Oh. Whoa,” I breathed as I laid my head back down on the bed. He held pressure to those spots between my shoulder blades for several minutes. Then he moved his fingers down and pressed again. I groaned. I couldn’t think at that point, all I could do was lay there as he moved down my spine, encouraging the muscles in my back to relax. Everything grew hazy as he moved his hands up to the back of my neck. His fingers pressed into a spot that had me closing my eyes. The last thing I remember was a blanket moving to cover my shoulders.

  I woke up slowly, pressed against someone. Which was new… I rubbed my cheek against his soft fabric and I shifted my knee higher. As I floated there I realized I was snuggled up to his back, my arm around his waist, my knee bent and thrown over his hip. I took a deep breath and breathed in parchment. Huh. No…. that can’t be right. No... I had to still be asleep.

  As time went on, I became aware of a long-fingered hand holding mine against the middle of his chest, over his heart. I gave his fingers a squeeze. They squeezed back. He was awake.

  “Comfy...” I mumbled, wondering who I was next to. It felt like Atticus... smelled like Atticus...

  “Do you usually take all the bed like this?” he muttered, still half asleep.

  I rubbed my cheek against his shirt. “Uh-huh. Sorry.” I hugged him tight before slipping my hand from his and moving away from him to give him room. I rolled over to my back on my colder side of the bed. Was my heat turned on? I pulled my blankets up to my chin as I curled up on my other side. The bed moved. He shifted his body close to mine, his body heat warming me. I cuddled back into him until my body met his. His arm tentatively moved around my waist. He gently buried his face in my hair and took a deep breath. “It’s alright,” he whispered, his arm tightening on me a little before I fell back to sleep.

  14

  December 20

  Evelyn

  The sun on my face woke me up. I stretched as I rolled onto my back to find I was alone. Wait, that wasn’t right. I rubbed my eyes and looked over at the other side of the bed. It was already made, perfectly. Still half asleep, it hit me.

  Atticus. Atticus slept here last night. Then my memory came flooding back. My nightmare, him waking me up. Me asking him to stay. Then waking up wrapped around him. Him asking if I hogged the bed normally, even how hesitant and unsure he was wrapping his arm around my waist when I was cold. That was Atticus. I rubbed the morning gunk from my eyes as I absorbed that.

  I asked him to stay last night. I looked at the closed door and wondered if he was going to mention it. Oh, I hoped not. I knew why I asked him to stay. My stupid nightmares. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  I hated Christmas. Grumbling about Santa and elves, I took a shower and went through my usual routine. I pulled on a pair of worn jeans, a gray scoop neck shirt and a navy cardigan. I pulled on my newish pair of brown leather ankle boots with just a bit of heel to them. I hadn’t worn them yet and they did look good. I made sure to braid my hair and check my make up before leaving the bedroom.

  When I came out everyone was already there. Zahur was at the stove already making pancakes.

  “Morning,” I said as I moved to the coffee maker.

  “Morning,” everyone said at once. I smiled as I poured coffee. When I turned around Zahur handed me a plate of food and a fork.

  “Thanks,” I said, taking the plate. I went to the breakfast counter to stand at the end. Instead Atticus got up, giving his seat to me. “Oh, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said quietly as he headed for the sink.

  I sat down and started eating.

  “I want to go out and find these warlocks today,” Atticus announced as he turned and leaned against the sink.

  I lifted my head to meet his eyes. “Can we split up to get it done faster? I have a lot of orders at the store.”

  He nodded. “That’s a good idea, and if they aren’t at their homes it’ll give us more time to find them.” I looked down at my breakfast, suddenly not hungry.

  “Sounds good to me, let's get started,” Ranulf suggested.

  Everyone got ready to leave, the males loaded up on weapons and I grabbed my coat.

  I ended up with Ranulf at the third warlock’s address. It was in the cruddy part of town. After I parked the Mustang I wondered if I’d come back to find it whole, gone or in pieces.

  “Alright, lass. How do you want to play this?” Ranulf asked, making sure to stay with me as we crossed the street.

  “I was thinking, ‘Hi, I’m a gargoyle. What the heck have you been doing?’”

  He chuckled as we reached the run-down building. “That’ll work.” He opened the door and let me walk in first. Immediately the smell of urine hit my nose.

  “Oh, ew,” I muttered. I plugged my nose as we moved further into the building. Trash was scattered here and there. Mindful of my shoes, I stepped over or around it. “Maybe I should have changed my shoes.”

  “You look like a librarian today,” Ranulf pointed out as we started up the rickety staircase.

  I looked over my shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow. “You have a thing for librarians, don’t you?”

  A grin spread across his face. “Nay, lass. I like the wild ones.”

  “Then you’ll love Astrid,” I teased as we reached the third floor. I checked the apartment number before heading down the dirty hall.

  “The smell just gets worse,” he muttered. I took a good whiff. The smell was rotten and thick on my tongue. I knew that smell. I turned and hurried down the hallway to apartment 311. The smell was thicker here. I tried the knob. Locked.

  I stepped back. “Break the door, please.”

  “I smell it too,” he muttered before taking his large booted foot and kicking the door clean off its hinges. The scent tripled. I held my hand over my mouth and nose. He cursed.

  “Stay here.” Ranulf stepped through the door.

  “Not a chance.” I carefully followed. He came up short, I almost bumped into him. I stepped out from behind him and bit back a curse.

  Three bodies were lying on the floor of the mostly empty apartment. The south wall was covered in symbols I recognized. It was a spell to tear a hole through the barrier. The center of the circle was scorched, the wallpaper burnt away and the plaster beneath more than cracked.

  “We'll call the others. Tell them we found all of them and the portal,” I said absently as I examined the floor. White paint surrounded the three bodies, symbols and runes circled the warlocks in a protective circle, except… I needed a closer look. I carefully stepped around the circle, trying not to step in the liquified remains.

  Ranulf took my hand to help me keep my balance as he spoke on the phone with the others. I tiptoed around the circle, looking at the symbols. Ranulf came with me, helping me keep my balance. When I got to a cleaner patch of floor I bent down and took a closer look. No... Not believing what I was seeing I blinked hard, trying to clear my eyes. The image didn’t change.

  “I don’t know these symbols,” I said. “I mean, it’s a protection circle, but against what, I don’t know.” I used Ranulf’s hand to help me stand. I pulled out my cell and took pictures of the markings. Then I moved to the wall. The symbols for opening a crack were there, nothing was different on the wall. Ranulf hung up as I stepped back to his side.

  “Atticus says to go open your store and see if you can figure out the symbols,” Ranulf said as he put his phone away. “I need to stay until they get here.”

  “Okay, I’ll head back”— I began to tiptoe again— “and get started on research.”

  Instead of helping me, Ranulf’s hand turned me around. Then I was upside down, over his shoulder with his hand wrapped around the back of my knee.

  "Come on, lass,” he said cheerfully.

  I laughed as he moved through the room. "Why?"

  "You're moving too slow." When we were out the door he set me down. He straightened and turned to the doorway.

  “Hold on,” he said as he
propped the door against the doorframe. “I’ll walk you back to the car. I need some fresh air.”

  We headed back out of the building.

  When we got outside I took a big breath of fresh air. Ranulf had me moving towards the car.

  “It’s not a good sign that you don’t know those symbols, is it?” he asked as we crossed the road.

  “No, it really isn’t,” I admitted. “My mom made darn sure I learned as much as I could every day.”

  “An overachiever?” he asked.

  “If the subject was the difference between life and death, yes.” I stepped up on the curb. “It wasn’t just her though, I wanted to learn.”

  He walked me to the driver’s door.

  I opened the door then look up at him. “I'll see you later."

  “Drive safe,” he said. He stayed on the sidewalk until I started the car and drove off.

  Atticus slipped into my mind. Not this morning’s Atticus, but the male that slept beside me last night. Did I ever cross his mind? He seemed to be warming up to me. But this wasn’t dating, it was… like an arranged marriage. And I wasn’t exactly the best judge of character.

  It had just been a few years since my last relationship. And that had been a huge mistake.

  Atticus, he was my Match. If I ever wanted to have children, it’d be with him. Did he even want kids? There was still so much about him that I didn’t know, that he didn’t know about me. We needed to start talking to each other; we couldn’t just keep having small moments together.

  As I pulled into the parking garage, I decided I would try to ask Atticus out on a date. I locked the door and hurried over to the store. Maybe I’ll ask him over for dinner? The idea knotted my stomach. Would we be able to talk like we did yesterday? We were still being careful of how we spoke to each other. Would we ever be able to just talk without worrying about insulting each other?

  I walked into the store with the phone ringing. I didn’t bother to turn on the lights, I hurried to the counter and answered. “De Haven Books, how can I help you?” I asked, my voice hurried.