Found (Books of Stone Book 1)

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Evelyn, it’s me.” James Demer’s voice filled my ear. My heart jumped into my throat.

  “Hi James, what’s the news?” I asked, anxiously. There were a couple heartbeats of silence.

  “I can’t buy your entire collection, Evie,” he said, his voice troubled. “I can maybe buy the best four you still have.” My heart dropped. Damn.

  “I’ll take it,” I said, my voice thick. “I’ll send them to you today.”

  “I’m sorry, Evie.” He really did sound sorry.

  “Thanks.” I hung up the phone. The shop was quiet, waiting to open. I took several deep breaths. Okay. I was going to have to convince Gumner to let me do a payment plan. Then I could save my private collection. It’s okay, it will work out. I’ll convince him.

  I put away my anxiety and turned everything on for the day. I called UPS for a large pick up. They’d be here this afternoon. I looked at the orders on the site, then printed them out and got to work. I can do this. I can do this.

  Atticus

  The mall was loud and full of humans. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. We had other things to do, more important things.

  “I’m going to kill you,” I growled at Ranulf.

  He chuckled. “It’s Christmas and you have a Match,” he reminded me. “You have to get her a present.”

  I grumbled wordlessly as the others joined us. “And why do they have to?” I asked.

  The others laughed and shook their heads.

  “Because we like Evie,” Zahur explained. “She’s been a friend to us and friends give presents on holidays.”

  I wanted to punch him. I fought back the urge as I looked around the busy mall. I spotted Astrid coming down the escalator. “Did someone call her?”

  “I did,” Ranulf admitted with a smirk. “She’s Evie’s best friend. Astrid is willing to help us find things she’d like.”

  Books, she’d like books, you moron. But since I doubted there was an antique dealer in the mall… “Fine."

  Astrid strode up to us, smiling. Mostly at Ranulf. “So, gifts for Evie,” she announced. “I’m going to walk you through some stores and I’ll point out things she’ll love. Sound good?”

  “Sounds good, lead the way Gift Goddess,” Ranulf announced.

  “Gift Goddess? I like it,” she decided as she turned and led us further into the mall.

  She took us into a kitchen supply store. “There are several stores she loves, so I’d suggest you buy from one store each.”

  "We only have an hour, then we have to get back to work. Everyone understand?" I asked.

  The others murmured agreements as Astrid led us into a store. She began to show us the things Evelyn loved but would never buy for herself.

  My phone vibrated. I pulled it out. It was a notice from Evelyn’s bookstore website. I’d been outbid on several books.

  Holding back a grin, I put in a new bid on a couple books, a few thousand over the last bid.

  “What are you doing?” Zahur asked from behind me. The sneaky bastard.

  I sighed. “Evelyn’s business is going under.” I shrugged. “I’m making some bids on a few books.”

  He scowled at me. “When did this happen?” He pulled out his own phone and found the site for the bookstore. “Shit. Her books are selling, though.”

  “It’s a long story,” I admitted as I watched Falk head to the counter with something. We followed. I was halfway to the counter when my phone vibrated again. I checked it. Someone had outbid me by several thousand dollars. I went to the site. I recognized that email address: Zahur. I outbid him, again by several thousand dollars.

  I reached the counter as they finished paying.

  “Would you like this gift wrapped?” the woman asked.

  “No,” Astrid said instantly. “Do you have gift bags instead?”

  “Of course,” the woman said as she pulled out a gift bag.

  Astrid turned to the rest of us. “Never give her a gift in wrapping paper. Especially not gold,” she informed us. I was about to ask why when my phone vibrated again. I turned to see Zahur’s satisfied expression. This meant war.

  The hour went on like that. Going from store to store, Zahur and I outbidding each other. At least until the others found out. Then the bookstore site became a war zone.

  I eventually slipped away to find my own gift for Evelyn. I was standing in a jewelry store looking at several lockets when Astrid found me.

  “Thinking of a locket?” Astrid asked.

  I took a calming breath and let it out slowly. “Yes.” There, I had kept the annoyance out of my voice.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” she said. “She already has one. It’s a family heirloom and she wears it all the time.”

  I had noticed that small locket whenever she played with it. “Then perhaps a bracelet.”

  She leaned against the display and raised her eyebrow. “Have you decided to stay with her?”

  My back stiffened at the question. I shot her an irritated look before moving on to the bracelet section.

  She followed. “Come on, Atticus. Tell me. I’ll even keep my mouth shut.” She stepped in front of me, stopping me. “Are you going to stay and be her Mate?”

  My heart slammed in my chest as the question lingered in my ears. I had already made this decision when I hung up on Cyrus, I’d just never voiced it out loud. I met her gaze. “Yes.”

  She smiled. “Her ring size is six,” she said before stepping out of my way and leaving the store.

  A ring? Astrid was mentally unstable. We were still trying to figure out how to talk to each other. I kept looking for something she might like. I found a nice pair of drop diamond earrings that would look beautiful on her. I was at the counter paying when a ring caught my eye. It was lovely, Victorian, a small ruby center stone with gold metalwork that surrounded two small diamonds. It was something Evelyn would no doubt love. What was I thinking? This wasn’t the right time. I turned back to the cashier and paid. As the day went on, that ring stayed in the back of my mind.

  Evelyn

  It was the end of the day when my cell phone rang. I finished the address on the label before answering.

  “Yes?”

  “Little one.” Helix’s voice surprised me. He only called when something was found on a patrol.

  “What did you find?” I asked.

  “We don’t really know, but it’s something you should see,” he explained. “Meet us on the roof of 32458 Johnston Street and my scout will fill you in.” I hung up the phone and tucked it into my pocket.

  “Rina, can you close for me?” I called.

  “Yeah, no problem,” Rina answered from the office. I hurried around the counter, grabbed my jacket and headed out the door, straight to my apartment. Surprisingly, it was empty.

  I changed into my hunting gear, only this time no coat. I also left the short swords behind and slid daggers into sheaths at my hips. I pulled my hair into a tight braid and headed up to the roof.

  Thankful it was dark, I took a deep breath and pulled my wings out. They burst from my back in a shower of blood and sinew. My wings slipped through the slots in the back of my tank and armor. My wings were beautiful, at least to me. Raven black feathers from crest to tip. I pumped a few times to get my blood flowing.

  I smiled, then ran across the roof and jumped. My wings flapped once, twice, and I climbed higher. I flew through the sky, the wind howling at me as I stayed out of human sight.

  It only took ten minutes before I found the building. It was at the back side of a dead-end alley. I dropped to a crouch on the edge of the roof. Movement to the right had me pulling a blade. A Red Cap raised his arms. One of Helix’s scouts. I put the blade away along with my wings.

  The Red Cap came forward to crouch next to me. He was a small thing, almost human sized. Only with spider legs. Perfect for running along roofs and staying hidden. His green eyes turned to me.

  “Report,” I whispered.

  “I’ve watched this alley over
the last three months,” he said. He pointed at the manhole cover in the middle of the dead end. “A human comes out with meat and throws it down the manhole.”

  My temper sparked. “Why am I only hearing this now?”

  “It was cattle meat. Always,” he explained. “Until a few weeks ago.”

  I watched the alley and took a deep breath. There was copper on the air, and the taste of something wet and moldy. “And?”

  “I didn’t say anything because I thought I might be wrong, but the meat changed,” he whispered. “I thought at first chicken, or goat. Then I was assigned to another area for a couple weeks.” I turned to him. His yellow eyes were on the manhole cover. “Now, the human brings out body parts. Human body parts. Every three nights.”

  I met his eyes. “This needed to be reported to me sooner.”

  He bowed his head in apology. “I apologize, Warrior Evelyn.”

  “Follow your instincts. You’re a Red Cap; you know meat,” I reminded him. He nodded. I turned back to the alley. “Go, I’ll handle this.”

  “He won’t come out until past ten,” he warned. The Red Cap didn’t wait, he took off into the shadows.

  I stayed and sat on the ledge, my feet dangling over the alley. I threw an illusion over me that made me invisible to human eyes. And I waited.

  It was around 9:00 p.m. when my phone vibrated. I checked it.

  Atty: Where are you?

  Oh no. I forgot to leave a note.

  Evelyn: Got a call from the Red Caps, checking it out.

  I sent him the address and tucked my phone back into my pocket.

  It wasn’t long before Atticus dropped beside me. I looked up and had to stop myself from gaping. His wings were scaled and leathery. There were no feathers to speak of. They were amazing. He pulled his wings into his back, sliding through the slots on his white button down.

  “I have an illusion up, so you might want to get down,” I told him. He sat beside me, his posture rigid.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he whispered harshly. I didn’t bother explaining. I reached over, touched his hand, then cracked my barriers. I touched his mind gently and filled him in within seconds. He took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. I pulled my mind back and closed my barriers again.

  “I forgot to leave a message,” I admitted. “Sorry.”

  He sighed. “I know you can take care of yourself, but… a simple text to let me know…”

  “Alright.” I didn’t argue. I was in the wrong. I forgot to tell him, it was that simple. Atticus shifted to sit on the ledge beside me, his thigh touched mine.

  A streak of light caught my eye. I looked up in time to see the last of a shooting star. “It’s a nice night out at least.”

  He looked up at the star filled sky. “It’s a nice spot, not a lot of light pollution here.”

  I snorted. “This is the closest we’ve come to a traditional date.”

  “I brought you lunch,” he said quietly.

  I kicked my heel off the building as I looked down at the alley. “Was that a date?”

  “It’s the closest we’ve managed,” he muttered, his voice strained. “Do you… do you want to go have actual dates?” My heart jumped into my throat. We were actually talking about us and what we were. I started fidgeting with my locket.

  “I guess. I-I don’t know how this is supposed to go with gargoyles,” I admitted.

  “We’re screwed,” he said dryly. I chuckled quietly. He grinned.

  “I know with humans there are stages, but I don’t think that will help,” I said.

  “We could always ask Zahur,” he pointed out.

  “Oh God, no.” I denied that immediately. He chuckled.

  “I feel the same way,” he admitted. “What are these human stages?”

  “Well, there’s meeting, just getting to know each other on dates, then it’s established you’re in a relationship. Then from what I’ve seen… someone asks the other to marry them. Someone says yes, they become engaged and then married.” I resisted the urge to squirm. Why was this so awkward to talk about?

  “Well, I don’t think the dating phase is quite accurate to our situation,” he said softly.

  “Neither is being engaged, but at the same time it is. Because we are Matched.” I sighed. Why was this so hard?

  “So… I guess we’re at the established relationship phase?” he asked, awkwardly. It was clear he’d rather be talking about anything else. And frankly, so would I.

  “That sounds about right,” I agreed. I wanted to end this conversation as fast as possible. Where was this human?

  As if in answer to my question, a door to the alley opened up slowly. I automatically moved to a crouch. So did Atticus. It was a human man, around his thirties. His clothes were meticulous as he made sure the alley was empty. He went back through the door then came out carrying a large, wrapped bundle. A human shaped bundle.

  “Atticus….”

  “I see it,” he whispered back.

  We watched as he carried the bundle to the manhole. He dropped it to the cement carelessly. A pale leg fell out from the sheet it was wrapped it. Even from the roof I could spot the cuts and bruises on the skin. The human opened the manhole, cursing as he did.

  “Stupid whore. Worthless, uncooperative, not right. Next time I’ll get it right…” he muttered to himself. He dropped the cover to the ground. He lifted the sheet covered body and held it over the hole. “Dinner time,” he called before dropping the woman’s body into the manhole. A cry rang out, and it wasn’t human. Then crunching reached my ears. My stomach churned as the feeding noises continued until he closed the manhole cover.

  We watched in silence as the human walked back inside.

  Then my temper burned. “What is down there?”

  “Stay here,” Atticus ordered. He dropped to the alleyway, silent as a shadow. I followed and landed beside him. He shot me a look, I shot him one back.

  He sighed then moved to the cover and started pulling it off without even needing a crowbar. The stench was horrendous, rotting and foul. Before I could climb down he stopped me. He shook his head then began going down first. If he thought I was going to stay up here he was nuts. There was a splash. I began to climb down after him. His hands at my thighs stopped me from climbing down further.

  “Don’t. It’s flooded down here,” he warned. “I’ll check it out. You go back up.”

  I turned on the ladder and looked down. The water was at his waist, it would be almost to my chest. Pieces of flesh and bone floated on the surface. Yeah. I wasn’t going to argue.

  “I’ll go up top,” I told him as I started climbing. He chuckled quietly.

  “So, it only took waist-deep disgusting water for you not to argue?” he asked. I looked down at him.

  “Waist high on you, but almost chest high on me. And females have a stronger sense of smell,” I countered before climbing up the ladder, his laughter following me. I climbed out and stood at the manhole, waiting. As time went on I started pacing, my fingers playing with my locket.

  What was taking so long? I hadn’t heard him shout or anything.

  It seemed like forever before Atticus’s white hair appeared at the bottom of the ladder. He climbed, cursing under his breath. When he climbed out the stench of the sewer came with him. I fought the urge to pinch my nose closed as I threw a scent containment shield around him. Now no one could smell him, not even himself.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “It’s a trapped Qalupalik,” he announced. “I broke the chains holding it to this part of the sewer. It’ll head out soon.”

  I was stunned, Qalupalik usually only ate fish and loved large bodies of water. They were once thought to take children that came too close to the shore, but it was a myth told by mothers to their children. This made no sense. “How’d it get in the sewer?”

  Atticus was looking at the door the human came out of with his jaw clenched. “I’d say the human lured it in and trapped it.�
� He turned back to me. “He’s been using it to clean up the bodies of the women he’s killed.” Anger burned in my heart.

  I looked at the door. “Well, let’s go pay him a visit,” I said.

  “Agreed,” he growled

  I headed for the door. I waved my hand; it unlocked and opened. Atticus slipped in before me, I rolled my eyes as I followed. I muffled our steps as we walked into the dingy back hall of a house. There were screams, but the low sound and pitch told me they weren’t real. A movie? Atticus stopped in a doorway on the left. When I reached him I saw why.

  A metal medical table sat in the middle of the kitchen instead of an island. It was covered in blood that dripped onto the floor. I stepped inside to get a better look at what we were dealing with. That’s when I noticed the photos.

  Pictures covered the top cabinets. Each and every photo was of a woman being tortured. Skinned, cut, burned. It didn’t matter to this guy. I walked around that kitchen and wanted to get my hands on this bastard. Atticus went to the filthy instruments on the counter.

  Finally, I had enough. I turned and strode toward the sound of the TV. I stepped into a dark family room doorway where the TV was the only light. It was enough light, however, to show me the human masturbating. The screaming on the TV grew worse. I looked. It was a video of the human raping a woman as she screamed in pain. Bile rose in my throat, my stomach lurched. I covered my mouth and turned away from the room. Atticus was there in a heartbeat. His hands on my shoulder, his eyes searching my face. The woman on the TV gave a horrible scream. I shuddered. Atticus looked over my shoulder. His eyes glowed, his face changed. The Atticus I knew was gone. This Atticus was pure rage. He stepped around me. Glass shattered and the screaming stopped.

  “Who are-” The human’s voice was cut off. I braced myself and turned back around. Atticus had the human’s throat in his hand as he pinned him to the wall. The human had managed to get his pants up before Atticus had reached him.

  “You sick motherfucker,” Atticus bit out, his hand squeezing. The human’s eyes bulged. “How many women have you tortured? How many did you kill?” he snarled. Atticus dropped him, he fell to the floor gasping. “A quick death isn’t good enough for you.” Atticus grabbed the human by the back of the neck and began to drag him into the kitchen. Atticus pinned the human’s face against the cabinets, next to the pictures. “That’s what you think women deserve? Huh? You disgusting fuck!” He shook him hard. “I know what you deserve,” he growled. “Let’s give it to you.” He jerked the human away from the cabinets and out into the back hall. I followed, my skin crawling just being in the house.