by Rain Oxford
And I thought I couldn’t breathe before.
I heard a tearing sound in the background and knew Henry had shifted into his jaguar form. Instinctively, I released my magic to freeze both my friends and the stone creature. I didn’t want Darwin and Henry attacking my familiar any more than I wanted my familiar attacking me. Unfortunately, it didn’t work on the gargoyle.
Faster than I could follow, he advanced on me and the next thing I knew, he was tearing my chest open with his talons. I clenched my teeth and tried to punch the creature… only to receive severe pain in my knuckles.
Cold spread through my chest as my blood poured onto the stone slab beneath me, but it felt like it was releasing some of the pressure. I managed to suck in a lungful of air before the darkness flooded my vision. When I stopped fighting the nausea and lethargy, it started to fade.
* * *
I’m not sure how long I was on the ground, but when I opened my eyes, I felt like I had been asleep for a few hours. Vincent was taping a bandage to my chest. Darwin and Henry were standing behind him, watching me worriedly. My loving familiar was nowhere to be seen. “What happened?” How am I not dead?
“Did you actually try to punch stone?” Darwin asked.
“The gargoyle answered your call,” Vincent explained, ignoring my young roommate. “He must have felt a strong desire to live and thought you were worth saving.”
“He healed me?” I could feel the gargoyle’s presence in my mind, as if he was watching over my shoulder.
“Not quite. Like I said; he answered your call. He completed the familiar bond on his own and took your weakness into him. Your pain is his now, but because he’s made of stone, he doesn’t need a heartbeat or breath.”
“So… he healed me.” That sounded pretty healed to me. There was no pain at all in my chest.
“No. In a very figurative way, he traded hearts with you so that his immortality could protect you. If he dies, so will you. Fortunately, I highly doubt anyone can kill a gargoyle. He can’t be controlled by any magic, including yours. You’d better stay on his good side. If you’re separated for too long, you’ll die.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. It depends on the wizard.”
“A hundred fifty to a hundred sixty hours,” Darwin said, showing Vincent up. He shrugged when Vincent looked at him. “I could be wrong… by half an hour or so. Call it six days before you need to panic.”
“Distance is not a factor, though,” Vincent said encouragingly. “He could be in China and you would still be connected. It’s when you enter other realms that his absence will become a problem, so I would suggest not staying in the shadow pass for days.”
Darwin couldn’t stop himself. “Because if you do… you will die in seven days,” he whispered spookily.
“Smack him,” I told Henry before sitting up. Henry smacked Darwin in the back of the head.
Darwin whined. “Why? I was being clever! You two are so mean to me.”
Vincent stood, which I thought was to give me room, and smacked Darwin in the back of the head as well. Henry growled and pulled Darwin away. I laughed. Darwin tried to steady me when I stood, but I didn’t need the help. “I’m okay.”
He slid his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, as if he just realized he wasn’t wearing any gloves. “You’re really okay?” he asked. “It wasn’t what you planned on, with your life relying on your familiar instead of the other way around.”
“Hey, I’m great with that. My familiar is literally made of stone and I can’t think of anything less killable. I’m not going to have a heart attack when things get rough. This is cause for celebration as far as I’m concerned.”
“I was hoping that your power would help me find Scott,” Henry said, his voice quiet and deep with disappointed.
“We’ll get him back. Where’s his teddy bear?”
“In the room.”
“Well, let’s go get it, find him, and bring him home.”
* * *
Addie was in our room when we arrived. I paused at the door, and examined the lock. “Hey, guys, this door locks!” I said with exaggerated enthusiasm.
Darwin gasped. “OMG, you’re right! Why have we never used it before?”
“Because we don’t have a key, and a deadbolt wouldn’t even slow a wizard down,” Henry said dryly.
“Did your girlfriend switch sides?” Darwin asked. Henry pushed him out of the doorway and closed the door. “What? I was only asking if she was going to be a wizard now.”
Addison glared at him.
I picked up the teddy bear off of Henry’s desk and looked at him expectantly. “You’re going to either have to send Addie away or tell her what’s what.”
Henry sighed. “I have a five-year-old son who is in danger from a drug dealer who attacked me last August.”
Her face turned ashen. “How could you keep this from me?”
“We rarely do much talking,” he said.
“And whose fault is that?!”
I ignored their arguing, closed my eyes, and focused on the heavy presence in my mind. “Gargoyle, can you help us?” Addison’s shriek made me open my eyes. The gargoyle was standing before me, plenty close enough to kill me if he wanted to.
Henry put his hand over Addie’s mouth when she started shouting something.
“This belongs to Henry’s son, and we’re worried about his safety. Can you bring him to us?” He pressed his bat nose against the teddy, sniffed it, and vanished. “At least he isn’t perpetually angry like Ghost,” I said.
A furious hiss followed my words and we all turned to see Ghost sitting on my desk. “You’ve been replaced, cat,” Darwin said. Ghost glared disapprovingly at him.
“What’s going on with Vincent?” I asked. “Remington said Vincent was talking to Hunt when Vincent was with me.”
Before the cat could make any attempts to answer my question, I felt a huge weight overcome my own mind, as if I was going into trance. It was almost like a forced, rough vision. I saw Scott hiding behind a dumpster in the middle of an alley. Despite the fact that my gargoyle was perched on the roof of a tall building that made up one wall of the alley, I could see the child with perfect clarity thanks to the gargoyle’s exceptional eyesight. It was quite different than human perception, though, as I could see moving things more clearly than stationary objects and light reflected in a way I couldn’t really comprehend.
Scott heard a gunshot from one end of the alley and ran down the other way. I couldn’t stop him. When a black van pulled up to the mouth of the alley right in front of him, blocking his way out, he shifted into his jaguar form. Unfortunately, he wasn’t used to it and instead of having cat-like reflexes and speed, he got tangled up in the clothes. A man got out of the truck, picked him up, and tossed him into the vehicle.
When the truck sped down the road, the gargoyle followed, giving me an aerial view of the child’s location. Unfortunately, I had no clue where they were going.
Just like with a vision, I had to force myself back into my own mind. I realized my eyes were dry and they stung when I closed them, as if I hadn’t blinked the entire time I was seeing through the gargoyle’s eyes.
“That was really creepy,” Darwin said with concern. “Your eyes turned completely white. I’m assuming you saw something.”
“Yes, and we will get him back.” Ghost was gone, so I assumed whatever he came to tell me wasn’t as important as saving Henry’s son. He had, however, left behind something; a small, inch long, metal pin. I slipped it into my jacket pocket to examine later.
“What did you see?” Henry asked. His arms were around Addie like she was the one who needed support.
“They got him, but the gargoyle is following them.”
Henry let Addie go, opened the bottom drawer of his desk, and retrieved a leather sack. “Let’s go.”
“What’s that?”
“My fallback. As a thief, I had to have a way to defend myself if I got caught.”
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“As a what?” Addison asked.
* * *
We were already in the truck and heading south when the gargoyle “called” me. I closed my eyes and gave into the heavy feeling in my mind. I didn’t recognize the place at first because all I saw was a roof and grass, but then the gargoyle landed on the room across the street and gave me a front view of the house Scott was being kept in.
“That son of a bitch,” I said. I heard my words from a distance and focusing on it pulled me back into myself. I opened my eyes. “That bastard took Scott back to your place.” Henry sped up until he was driving as fast as Clara and Professor Nightshade. I pulled the disposable cell phone out of the console and dialed a number I knew very well.
Darwin was huddled on the floor in the back by the time we pulled up to Henry’s house. I had only a moment to look around for my gargoyle because Henry wasn’t wasting any time. Not finding my familiar, we left Darwin, since he said he couldn’t move, and went to the house. I reached out to turn the knob, but Henry slammed his foot into the middle of the door. The door didn’t actually break in half, but it did burst open and one of the hinges snapped off.
Simon Sinclair was once again standing over the chair in Henry’s living room, only it was Scott sitting in it. Scott was unconscious, gagged, and tied up with duct tape and rope. His clothes were torn and covered in mud from his earlier shifting. Considering the temperature outside, that was dangerous.
“What did you do to him?” Henry growled. His skin was darkening and lightening, for he was fighting the change with great difficulty.
“He’s just asleep… for the moment,” Sin said with a grin. He pulled out a rugged knife and pressed it against Scott’s throat. The goons were different this time, but they were all dressed in the same black uniforms, so it wasn’t like I could identify any of them anyway. One of them, however, was very distinct.
Henry’s claws shifted. “Don’t spook him,” I warned.
“Don’t move a muscle,” Sin said. “Change back or I’ll slit the kid’s throat before you can get on four paws. I know all about you fucking were-cats.”
I scoffed. “Do you? Have you killed any?”
“Of course,” he lied. I could see it in his eyes; that fresh fear. The drug dealer had only recently learned about the paranormals, and I doubted he really knew anything more than that it existed.
His lie worked in my favor. “Give up the boy. There is only one way you’re walking out of here, and that’s without a single drop of blood spilled.”
“He’s not getting away with this,” Henry growled, struggling harder than ever to hold his person form.”
No, he wasn’t going to get away with it.
“You’re not the one calling the shots here. Now, you, Sanders… You want the kid free? Get your gun out and shoot Henry.”
“Do it,” Henry said. “Devon, stop playing around and do it.”
“Alright,” I said, pulling my gun from its harness. Sin smirked. I pushed my magic into his mind and the minds of his goons, easily freezing every one of them. I then shot Sinclair in both knees. He hit the ground screaming and Henry went to his son calmly. The more Sin screamed, the more Henry’s muscles relaxed, until Sin tried to stab Henry in the back of the knee. Without looking, Henry kicked Sinclair in the face, effectively giving the human something new to scream about.
Henry got Scott untied, picked him up, and returned to my side. “Forget the plan; I want to kill him,” he said.
“I know you do, but this is better.” I heard the sound of a siren get closer and closer for a minute. “Right on time. Get Scott settled in the truck and ask Maseré to come on in.”
Having his son in his arms was the only reason he obeyed instead of attacking Sinclair anyway. Seconds later, the living room filled with Maseré’s pack, many of which were police officers. They weren’t local, but police are police and badges are badges. Maseré’s heavy hand patted my shoulder. “You couldn’t have waited for us? You of all people know it only complicates matters when a human gets shot.” Contrary to his words, his tone held no disapproval at all.
I had already explained who Sinclair was on the phone as we drove here. “Actually, it doesn’t. He knows about paranormals. He’s admitted to killing cat shifters. Therefore you can do whatever you want to him.”
“Do you have proof he knows about us?”
I released my power over one particular goon and pointed to him. “The shifter standing right there can testify.”
Said shifter rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever. I’ve been spying on Sin and his operations for nearly a year and now all my work is down the drain.”
“Who are you working for?” Maseré asked.
“Cadence Temple.”
Maseré sighed. “You are very far out of your territory, young man, and in quite a bit of trouble.” Even though he was a powerful, dominant wolf shifter, Maseré would go easy on the younger shifter.
Sinclair, however, was going to suffer, which was exactly what he deserved.
Maseré patted my shoulder again. “I’m impressed. Should you ever decide to stop playing around and be a real cop---”
“Don’t you start on that,” I interrupted. One of the alpha’s wolves growled at me, but Maseré just laughed.
“I’m only teasing. I heard you led the school against the council and crushed them with only two deaths.”
“Two too many in my opinion, but one of them was Kale and the other was killed by Grayson, so I’m not particularly wallowing in regret.” I went outside to find Henry leaning against his truck, still holding Scott. “You can set him down, you know. Nobody’s going to run up and take him.”
He looked uncharacteristically nervous. “I… I was going to set him down, but the visor said kids need a car seat. Does a five-year-old need a car seat?”
“I have no idea. I don’t think we should move him much until he wakes up and we can be sure he’s not hurt.”
Darwin finally emerged from the truck so that Henry could lay Scott down on the back seat. “What do we do with him now?” Darwin asked. “He can’t exactly come back to the university with us. It’s dangerous.”
Henry shook his head, not taking his eyes off the kid. “It won’t be dangerous. Next semester, he can start at the children’s school, but I’m not… I’m not ready to let him go.”
Scott was an adorable little kid. “Actually, I doubt it’ll be that dangerous,” I said. “You might have to fight off the women with a stick, though. There will probably be two hundred women fighting to mother him.”
Henry scowled until Scott started to squirm. It took a few minutes, but he finally opened his eyes… wide. His eyes widened in fear of seeing us until I thought he was going to hurt himself. Then, before trying to get away, he sniffed the air. Recognition filled his eyes and they locked on Henry.
Can a shifter identify a family member he never met by their scent? Apparently they could, because although the kid sat up slowly and scooted away to the other side of the truck, he didn’t scream.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Henry said gently. His accent faded very slightly, probably in an attempt to seem more familiar to Scott.
“You smell different than everyone else,” Scott whispered to Henry.
“Do you know why?”
“You look like me. Are you my daddy?”
Henry nodded and struggled to swallow. I knew that his overwhelming emotion was causing his throat to close up, but when Scott made the same swallowing motion, I realized the kid had a lot more in common with his father than his shape-shifting abilities and his appearance. Then, to my surprised, Scott crawled closer to us and reached for his father. Henry didn’t hesitate; he picked up Scott and hugged him as if he would never let him go again.
* * *
Maseré had made short work of cleaning up the evidence we left behind, so we headed back to the university. Darwin drove while Henry and I sat in the back with Scott between us. It had been quiet for half an hour,
since both Scott and Henry were deep in thought. Henry kept stroking Scott’s hair as if he couldn’t believe he really had his son back.
“I knew you were looking for me,” Scott said.
Henry dropped his hands in shame. “I don’t want to lie to you. I had the chance many years ago to---”
“Was it because they moved me?” Scott interrupted. “Is that why it took you so long? Do you know who took me? Did you send them to jail?”
Henry put his hand back on Scott’s head. “The people who took you are very, very bad people, and no, they’re not in jail. If I ever tell you that the bad people found us, you have to trust me. Can you do that?”
He nodded.
“They took you when you were still a little baby and they lied to me. They made me think I would hurt you if I didn’t stay away.”
The child thought about it, but I figured he was too young to really understand. All he knew was his father was back, and in my opinion, that was all that mattered. He had a father who loved him and would do anything for him.
“Are we going home to Mommy? Does she know you found me?”
Henry’s throat instantly closed up again and his hand froze in Scott’s hair. “The bad people killed her,” he whispered after a few minutes.
“Are they going to take me again?”
“Never.”
“Why did they take me?”
Henry didn’t answer. “Because they wanted your dad to be a bad man and he wasn’t one,” I said.
* * *
When we got to the school, Scott had fallen back to sleep, so Henry carried him up to our room. Fortunately, we only encountered a couple of people on the way. However, I knew that word would get out soon.
He laid Scott down very gently in his bed. “We need to get him a kid’s bed. If he has to go to the bathroom or something at night, I do not want him trying to climb the ladder.”
“Are we going to try to hide him?” Darwin asked.