“Fifteen years,” she said automatically, clapping a hand over her mouth to stop the intrusion of sound into his fury.
He shook his head, “I know what is going to happen, Ferris. Accept it and I will give you what you seek.”
Her eyes widened in her head and a fear she had never known before swept through her. This man, this wizard, could destroy her in an instant if he so desired. She was a fool to believe she could do business with such a being and come out on the other side unscathed. Scrambling to her feet, she stumbled backwards away from him, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.”
“The deal has been made, my darling Ferris,” he said, slowly coming to his feet, his movement graceful and strangely beautiful. He moved towards her, seemingly without movement, his hazel eyes glowing with power as he smiled, his teeth very white, “You will come to love Marick. Oh, not as much as you love Armand, but Armand is going to be frozen for years. Are you just going to wait for him?”
“Yes,” she answered softly, almost certain of her answer.
He smiled, reaching out his long finger and touching her cheek. His eyes closed in ecstasy as he sucked in a ragged breath and Ferris’s skin prickled with unease at the burning sensation. Opening his eyes, he grinned and the energy swirling around him ebbed away and he was simply Omari, an old wizard once more. “Come, Ferris, let’s find you a room and then I will show you the Chicago few humans have ever seen.”
“I have a friend with me,” she said delicately, not wanting to anger the mad man again.
“Ah, yes, the ever loyal Ajreis,” he said with a mild grimace. “I fear the imp will have to find his own entertainments tonight. Imps and, er, wizards don’t get along.”
Ferris nodded her head in understanding, “Imps don’t get along with most people. But Ajreis is different. He’s my best friend.”
Omari smiled slightly, his eyes sparkling once more, “No exceptions, I fear. Ajreis will just have to enjoy the nightlife with his fellow imps tonight. In fact, he has already discovered his brethren and is at the moment losing himself in Naughty.”
“Pardon?” she asked, pretty sure he left a word off there at the end.
“He’s losing himself in Naughty,” Omari repeated. “It’s a magical realm in one of the bars that offers anything the mind can conjure up. Perhaps you’d enjoy a brief taste?”
“Uh, no,” she said quickly, shaking her head no. "What about Fray?"
“Bring him with us,” he grinned. "He'll be a hit with the nightingales."
Living at the Castle, Ferris had thought she had seen most of what the supernatural world had to offer but nothing could have prepared her for the decadence of Others in their natural environment, unfettered by human rules and gargoyle guardians. The creatures here reveled in carnality, watching her with hungry eyes as they openly partook of willing human flesh and blood. Keeping close to Omari's side, she refused any and every drink that was offered to her for fear of what might happen if she drank something laced with the blood of an incubus or the magic of a faerie.
Satyrs, incubi, vampires, warlocks, weres, all were accounted for in the magic nightclubs of Chicago. Scarily enough, she was fairly certain Omari was the most powerful creature there, holding the monsters at bay as he led her through the darkness. With every step she took she realized how sheltered she had been living at the Castle under the protection of the gargoyles. The creatures there respected the boundaries that had been put in place between the human world and the mythical realm whereas the creatures of Chicago looked as if they had no knowledge of such boundaries ever existing.
With wide eyes, she watched as a girl lost herself in ecstasy as a vampire drained her of her blood. The girl's eyes suddenly open and as she looked at Omari, her lips parted. Pulling away from the still feeding vampire, she stumbled closer to the old wizard. "Look at the light that surrounds you… it's beautiful. You're beautiful."
She clutched her stomach and winced in pain the closer she got but she didn't stop. Ferris looked at Omari to gauge his reaction but the old wizard was ignoring the girl. She nudged him and when he looked at her, she shook her head, "Aren't you concerned?"
He smiled, the lines deepening around his eyes and making him look even more ancient than he had just five minutes before. "She's suffering from too much blood loss, my dear. Her master is taking care of her now. Look."
Ferris's mouth fell open as the handsome vampire gathered the pale girl up in his arms and carried her through the crowds. He kissed the girl's lips and her attention was once again upon the vampire and not Omari. Pleasure swamped her features and Ferris couldn't help but be intrigued by such behavior. "Fascinating."
"There are creatures here who could give you the most exquisite pleasure, Ferris," Omari said, his voice a hypnotic rumble in her ear. "Any number of them can help you forget a foolish gargoyle."
Ferris smiled at that, "I doubt that. Armand is quite unforgettable."
"All of them would do anything to taste your sweetness, including an old god that desperately wants a human," he said softly, his words warping her thoughts. "Haven't you ever wondered about what it would be like to have sex with an incubus? Or a vampire?"
Laughing, she shook her head no, "Never. There's only ever been Armand."
"Perhaps my young protégé will change your mind," he muttered, sipping at his drink that appeared out of nowhere.
"It's unlikely," she said with a soft smile, surprised when a drink suddenly appeared in her hand. Looking at Omari, she frowned, "I don't want this."
"You look thirsty. Drink," he grinned. Nodding towards the colorful concoction, he added, "It's safe, Ferris. I have no interest in hurting you."
Holding his hazel eyes, she took a cautious sip. Tropical flavor burst over her tongue, bathing her insides in a warm glow. She then spent the rest of the night mesmerized by the shadier side of supernatural life, chuckling at the little anecdotes Omari whispered in her ear.
Chapter 11
The Price to Be Paid
At some point in the years since Armand became frozen in stone, Ferris figured out how to live again with only the occasional plummet into despair at the thought that she would never see Armand again. She was able to laugh and pretend she had a life because she had discovered a true friend in Marick. He was the perfect man and if her heart hadn't been irretrievably tied to Armand's she might have fallen in love with him.
Just as Omari had promised, two weeks after she returned from her visit with the old wizard Marick showed up on her doorstep, looking like something out of an erotic western. He had a long duster on over a pair of leather pants with cowboy boots and a Stetson, his dusty blond hair hanging to his broad, broad shoulders and his six pack abs begging to be licked.
Not by her, of course, but still… begging to be licked.
He smiled at her, his teeth brilliant white and too perfect, and his hazel eyes sparkled with laughter. There was something so familiar about him but he was so dazzling she couldn’t think about whom he reminded her of. He wasn’t human, of course, but he never got around to telling her what, exactly, he was. And then he became one of her best friends, teasing her, laughing with her, bringing her back to life. He also spent a lot of time flirting with her, trying to seduce her and half the time she almost thought he was serious.
“What are you?” she had asked.
He was silent for a moment before his lips curved into a brilliantly wicked smile, “I’m a lesser god.”
Cocking her head to the side, she frowned, “I’ve never heard of you.”
“Of course not,” he conceded. “I’m a lesser god. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be barely more than a footnote on the whole Pantheon list? It’s hell on the ego.”
Of course, he and Ajreis got along about as well as a two fish in the desert battling over the same, miniscule oasis. It wasn't really a problem because Ajreis fancied himself in love with someone new and spent most of his nights with her. Now that he was confident in himself, he pret
ty much spent every night as a man instead of an imp. Ferris didn't know whether or not his girlfriend knew his secret or not and it didn't matter. Ajreis would tell her when he was ready and she was just so happy for her friend, who deserved to love and to be loved more than just about anyone she knew.
Fray, on the other hand, got along fabulously with the lesser god. The two of them spent hours playing chess. On three different boards. Of course, Ferris had to be there to move Fray's pieces, since his little arms and big body did not do so well with the chess board. The dragon took great pleasure in talking out loud, only rarely speaking telepathically anymore. They had no secrets from Marick.
On the fifth anniversary of Armand's entombment, Ferris felt the weight of mortality pressing down on her. Even with a drop or two of Medusa's blood every month she felt time as a living thing, dragging her further and further away from the man she loved. It didn't matter that she still looked the same as she had nearly five years before because she felt older. The doubts that were always in the back of her mind reared their ugly little heads and she wanted to drown her sorrows.
Marick poured her a glass of wine before pouring himself a glass as well. Sitting down on the couch, he held up his glass and solemnly murmured, "Cheers."
With a wry nod, she swallowed the wine down in one gulp, barely tasting the expensive alcohol as it burned a path to her stomach. She didn't want to think about the life she had been forced to create without her heart. It was a good life but it was missing something. It was missing Armand. She had spent far too many lonely nights in her bed, crying herself to sleep.
She also felt guilty because she hardly ever spent any time at the castle anymore. If she went, then she would want to spend time on the roof with Armand. And then she would crawl into his arms and never want to leave. Then there were some days that she just wanted to forget him because he wasn't able to take her into his arms and tell her everything was going to be alright. She had hoped that after five years the hole would have been easier to bear but it wasn't and time just kept marching on.
"I miss him," she whispered, leaning into Marick's embrace, taking comfort in the cowboy's arms. If it weren't for Marick, she probably would have packed up her life and moved to Tahiti by now. Since she had Medusa's blood, she could have travelled the world looking for the secret that would bring Armand back to her, losing herself in the process. He kept her somewhat sane.
"He left you, Ferris,” Marick whispered in her ear, lightly kissing her neck while pouring another glass of wine. She had no idea how many glasses she had drank, having lost count before she even began. Tonight was a night to drink to forget. In the morning, when she looked in the mirror and saw that she wasn't aging, that all hope wasn't lost, she would pull her big girl panties up and persevere.
This time, she took her time sipping the wine, enjoying the bouquet of flavors. Closing her eyes, she slouched further into the couch. "I know."
“Armand has slept with hundreds, hell, thousands of women,” he murmured seductively, nibbling on her earlobe. She was far too depressed to care. “He slept with a stranger so he wouldn’t have to give up his nights to you.”
“Shut up,” she chided, the hurt too close to the surface on the anniversary of Armand becoming a statue. She put her hand over his gorgeous face and pushed him away. “Omari promised he would look into finding a solution. I just have to wait."
“That old wizard is a fool.” Marick stiffened in the seat next to her and scowled, “It shouldn’t be taking this long and I shouldn’t have fallen in love with you, you’re a human.”
Ferris looked at him, covering her mouth as she struggled not to laugh at Marick’s outburst. Nudging him with her shoulder, feeling the effects of too many glasses of wine, she murmured, “In a way you remind me of that old wizard.”
He slid his hand into hers and twined their fingers together. Resting his head against the top of her skull, he heaved a sigh, “You spent a single night exploring Chicago's supernatural nightlife with him, Ferris. You know nothing about him.”
“It was a very intense night,” Ferris said, emphasizing the word intense, smiling slightly at the memory from another life. Laying her cheek against the curve of his neck, breathing in the scent of sunshine and Marick, she sighed, “It was a good night.”
“Yeah,” he whispered in agreement, toying with her fingers.
She lifted her head and looked at him as if he were mad, “You weren’t there, you doofus.”
His smile was slow and erotic and her breath caught in her throat. Shaking her head to clear it of alcohol and confusion, she was about to say something else when his mouth covered hers. The connection with another being was so intense that she lost herself for a moment, savoring the taste of heat and desire and wine.
But the taste was off and the lips were wrong. Pulling back, she covered her lips, staring at him in shock, "What are you doing?"
He gave her his most charming smile and kissed her on the tip of her nose. Crowding in a little closer, he refilled her glass of wine. "I kissed you."
"Yes," she nodded, her brain sloshing around in a pool of wine. "I am aware of that. Why?"
He shrugged his broad shoulders and didn't quite meet her eyes, "Because I wanted to."
"But you've never expressed an interest in me in that way," she whispered.
"You've just never noticed." His smile was wry as he shook his head, "What if you do all of this for him and it's not enough? What if he doesn't want you when he wakes up?"
Her words caught in her throat because it was something she had refused to think about. Hearing Marick speak her deepest fears out loud made her want to cover her ears like a child. Licking her lips, she swallowed her doubt, "He loves me."
"Aw, sweetheart, you're still so very young," he murmured compassionately, killing Ferris with kindness. Twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers, he heaved a dramatic sigh. "If he loves you he never should have left you. I never would have left you."
The alcohol was making her weepy and she felt the tears welling in her eyes. Suddenly she was so confused as the doubts became overwhelming, laughing at her, taunting her for being a freak. Nobody believed in destiny anymore, certainly not twenty-six year old women who had a dragon for a pet, an imp shifter for a best friend and a lesser god as a roommate.
"What am I supposed to do?" she asked brokenly, looking up into the warm hazel eyes of a lesser god. "He's all I want."
"He's all you've ever known."
"He's all I want," she repeated softly, drowning in the warmth of being desired and wanted.
Ferris burst into Omari’s Saint Paul shop, her heart racing in her chest, her blood freezing in her veins, and her stomach in turmoil. She was grateful his card said that he was in town instead of Chicago. “Omari! We need to get him back, now! Omari!”
He stepped out from behind a wall, wiping his hands on the front of his shirt, his long, white hair in disarray, a bead of sweat on his forehead. For some strange reason he didn’t look as old as she remembered him; he had fewer wrinkles and he was more robust. Oddly, his eyes weren’t as full of laughter as before. He looked at her and for a moment, she could have sworn he had Marick’s eyes.
Shaking her head to dispel the image, she crossed the short distance between them, unable to get her heartbeat under control. Shaking, she put her hands in his, tears glistening in her eyes, “Omari, please, I want him back.”
“I gave you Medusa’s blood so you won’t age,” he said calmly, his lips pressed together in a thin line, almost as if he were angry. “Why do you feel the need to rush things?”
“I want him back,” she said miserably, her eyes glistening with tears. “Besides, I only have the one vial of her blood. It’s not going to last the sixty or so years that I'll need it.”
His gaze moved over her face, taking note of the desperation in her expression. After a moment, he came to a decision and slowly nodded, his shoulders heaving as he sighed. “There are two ways to wake him,” he sai
d, igniting Ferris’s hope. “The first is to kill the woman who has his nights.”
Ferris gasped, immediately dismissing the absurd suggestion. She knew that the second option wasn’t going to be much better and the little drop of hope was going to be dashed against the rocky edges of her heart.
“The second is to have an immortal fall in love with her.” That little spark flared for only a heartbeat before he put the kibosh on that one, too. “Unfortunately, there is no creature willing to cross a gargoyle, not for a mere human. And if there was such a creature it wouldn’t end well for the woman. Are you really that selfish, Ferris?”
Two tears slipped down her cheek because in that moment she was that selfish. She wanted Armand with an unbearable desperation. Drowning in Omari’s accusing stare, she finally shook her head no, surprised by the sense of relief that she wasn’t willing to condemn some poor woman to Hell because she had been lucky enough to accept Armand’s nights. “Then tell me what I can do.”
His eyes moved over her face in a caress that was almost loving. Reaching up, he brushed a strand of hair from her face, letting his fingers rest against her jaw. He finally met her eyes and she saw the longing in them and she held her breath. He framed her face with his hands, holding her gaze, unwilling to let her look away. “Oh, Ferris, simply take this time to grow up, to experience life and all that it has to offer before tying yourself to one man, even a gargoyle.”
“I can’t,” she choked out, desperate to tear her eyes from his and unable to do so. Wrapping her fingers around his surprisingly strong wrists, she held onto him, afraid of letting go.
He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping the tears away, as he continued watching her. “Why not?”
Swallowing thickly against the lump in her throat, she rasped, “I love Armand, Omari, you know that. But I fucked up… I mean, I really fucked up.”
“What happened?” he asked slowly, cautiously, his eyes watching every nuance of her expression.
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