Protected by Stone (A Paranormal Romance Novel)

by Cynthia Brint

  Nothing happened.

  “Is it stuck? Do you need a key?” I asked, expecting him to look embarrassed. Instead, he tipped his head at me and gestured at the door.

  “Miss Blooms, after you.”

  My face fell, eyebrows scrunching. “What do you mean 'after me?'”

  “I can't open this door, I need you to do it.” As if to make a point, he gripped the handle with one wide hand again. I saw the exertion on his face, his teeth revealed for a scant second as he struggled to twist the knob. In the dark, I thought they looked sharp, his eyes blacker.

  He released it, dusting his palms on the front of his grey jacket. His expectant look sent a nervous chill to the back of my neck. “You're joking with me again.”

  “Again?” he balked, looking offended. “I never joked with you, Miss Blooms. Not once.”

  I didn't like the implication of that. “So you can't open this door, but you're saying I can?”

  Grault parted his lips, a flicker of irritation dancing in his features. His hesitation, next, startled the both of us. “To be fair, I can't say for sure you can open it. I've been running on the assumption that, as Tessa's blood, you can.”

  “That's your reasoning?”

  “Open the door, Miss Blooms.”

  I threw my hands up, though I whispered instead of shouted. “You're messing with my head.”

  “Just open it, please,” he huffed, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

  “Stop playing games with me!”

  He made a noise, a growl, before glaring at me so hotly it cracked my composure. “We're wasting so much time here, Miss Blooms! Why won't you open it?”

  We stared at each other, my face blank, hands damp and shaking. And then he noticed it, perhaps before I did. “You're scared, aren't you?” he asked, lowering his tone in a way that made me blush with shame. “You're actually scared to do it. Why?”

  “I'm—I'm not scared,” I said, hearing the lie on my tongue. Turning, my own brown eyes fixed on the brassy knob. “It's just a door, that's all it is.” A door that he can't open, in a house that he says can listen. A house owned by my grandmother who might have been a witch.

  I'm not scared at all, no.

  Swallowing, blood pounding in my ears, I watched my fingers hover over the handle. Just turn it, it'll be locked like it was for him. Just watch and see. Just watch... just...

  We both heard the metallic sound as I opened the door. It set my skin on fire, my shock so solid I almost missed Grault's amazed gasp. “It actually worked,” he said in awe.

  Standing in the doorway, I had no response. I was too busy gazing inside at the room with its wide shelves of books, its bits and bobs, all lit up by the first bright lantern I'd seen inside.

  And there, hanging on the wall in front of me, was a painting of a young woman with messy dark hair, kind chocolate eyes, leaning contently against a huge golden retriever.

  Someone who looked just like me.

  Chapter Six.

  “How?” I breathed out, standing on the very edge of the open doorway. I didn't look at Grault, I couldn't tear my eyes from that smiling painting. That peek into my past. “How does she look just like me?”

  “That's what bothers you? No 'how did the door open?' Just how do you look alike?” He stepped around me, letting me catch a glimpse of his profile. He, too, was watching the painting with reverence. “You're her granddaughter, it only makes sense.”

  It only makes sense. My knees wobbled, threatening to throw me as I stepped forward. The floor inside was soft and gold. I didn't know what I was going to do, not until I touched the lantern. It sat on the desk below the painting, lighting up the heavy books that lay around like lazy cats. “When was the last time you were in this room, Grault?”

  He didn't answer. Twisting, I watched him curiously. There was a sadness in his face, a look I understood. When you lose someone close to you, it leaves a mark that only others with such an experience can recognize. “Grault?” I asked again, gentler.

  The tall man focused on me, blinking sluggishly. “Forgive me. Tessa spent so much time here, it still feels like she...” Trailing off, he gave his head a hard shake. “Never mind. I was last in here two weeks ago. She sat at her desk, asking me to get her a book from the shelf. When I turned around, she was—” He cleared his throat. “After she died, her body removed, I was never able to get back inside.”

  “Two weeks,” I said, turning back to gawk at the lantern. There's no way this should have lasted so long. It seemed so impossible, but... would Grault go to so much trouble to trick me with such a ruse? What would be the point? “Can I ask how she died so suddenly?”

  “I'm unsure. She was very ill. She acted like she knew her time was coming. It felt like her life simply ended.”

  I wonder if it was a heart attack. I don't know how old she was, but what else kills so fast? “How is this lantern still burning?” I finally blurted.

  He came to stand beside me, that long shadow falling over everything. Reaching down for the lantern, the tips of his elegant fingers touched mine. It was a brief touch, nothing more than a graze, but it made me yank my hands to my sides nervously. Grault didn't act like he'd noticed. “Do you want the real answer, or will you think I'm lying again?”

  I knew the answer he would give me. With the eyes of the painting on us, old books and a single light illuminating that room, the answer actually felt... possible. “Magic,” I hushed, the word alien on my tongue.

  “Magic,” he agreed. Lifting the lantern, he studied it curiously. “Tessa could do many things. She had a natural talent. I take it, as her blood, that you must sense it all around us?”

  Blinking, I gave a sheepish shrug. “Sense it?”

  His face smoothed. “The energy, the magic. Isn't that why you believe me finally?”

  My skin was slick from sweat where I rubbed the side of my neck. “Honestly, I don't know that I do believe it. Maybe that's dumb. I just thought... well, you would say magic, and I don't have a better answer than that.”

  Grault's look of disbelief tugged at something, a part of me that I was all too familiar with. “You don't feel the power around you at all?”

  I'm disappointing him. I can see it in his eyes. “No, I... should I?”

  Setting the lantern down, he studied Tessa's painting as he spoke. “Of course, you're her kin. It's natural for you to have a connection to the ethereal.” He saw my baffled look when he turned back, though the flicker of sympathy he gave me did little to help my guilt. “Ah, perhaps it's just too new. Tessa was around the mystical her whole life.”

  “Right,” I murmured, amazed that I could be feeling bad. Calm down, you don't even know what's going on, not really. It's too soon to feel like a failure.

  He cleared his throat politely, motioning at the lantern. “Take it, let's go meet your guests.”

  “My guests, right,” I laughed, lifting the lantern quickly. It was heavier than I expected, swinging into my hip and making me flinch. “Gah. Wait, why do I need this?”

  Grault was already leaving the room, I hurried to tag after him. “Tessa always carried that with her, it never left her side. It may serve as a reminder to the guests of who you actually are,” he said, as if talking to himself. “I'm not sure how they'll react. The ones that expected you to come are mad at how long you waited, the others might not want you at all, and then there are those who doubt who you are altogether.”

  “I didn't wait,” I argued, walking faster to keep pace. “I didn't know about any of this.”

  “They don't get that, Miss Blooms.” We stood in the main room, surrounded by stairs again. He spun, eyeing me in a flash of... nervousness? “I'm simply warning you. I've told them the details, it's on you to assure them.”

  “Assure them of what?” I asked, the lantern dangling from my fingers. I wanted to put it down, it was hurting my shoulders. The idea that it was somehow offering me protection, combined with Grault's cryptic words, made me clutch it harder.


  Turning in place, my pale companion looked from one landing to the next. “Assure them you'll be able to take over and fix things here, that you can replace Tessa.”

  “I—but I don't know that I can! Or,” I added softly, “that I even want to.”

  He leveled a look at me, eyebrows rising high. “What?”

  Speaking was hard, my throat was so tight. “I told you before, I don't know if I'm capable of being a caretaker. This place is a wreck, I wouldn't know where to begin, I—”

  Above us, around us, the world groaned. It was a deep sound that curdled in my bones, made me stand straight as a rod. Grault was still, eyes hardly moving. “Shh. It's not the time. The house knows you're here. Going into Tessa's study must have drawn its attention. Now, everyone knows you're here.”

  I wanted to say something, anything. My urge to understand what was going on around me was fighting my desire to lock up in fear. Standing in the center of that room, surrounded by the sounds of the very structure shaking, I had the idea I might be crushed any second. An earthquake, a landslide, the world opening up at my feet and sucking me in...

  All of that made more sense than the moment the first of my—my—new tenants appeared on the stairs above.

  In that moment, nothing made sense any longer.

  The first thing (for it was surely a thing, what else could I call it?) was yellow as a sunflower. Shaped like a slug, ghost-like in transparency and movement, it floated down the stairs towards Grault and myself.

  On its own, the creature would have scared me. But it wasn't on its own. From the halls above us, surrounding the stairs, the other guests began to show themselves.

  There was a tall thing, almost human save for the thin, electric blue arms and the black bird-like face.

  Three tiny beings, blobs that reminded me of living milk with child faces, peered around the top of one of the landings.

  Everything glowed, or crawled, or floated, or walked. Not a single thing looked human.

  And still, they kept coming.

  I didn't notice I was squeezing Grault's hand. I didn't remember reaching for it. I only noticed when he clasped my fingers firmly, pulling me back into some semblance of sanity.

  “Everyone,” he said clear as a thunder clap. “This is Farra Blooms.”

  Impossible. Impossible! This is all impossible!

  “She'll be the new caretaker of our home.”

  This isn't—it can't be—how is this happening?

  “You should all be very patient with her as she settles in.”

  I couldn't stop trembling. My eyes ached from how wide they were. Staring at the beings, my mind struggled to make sense of what was in front of me. Everything Grault had said, had hinted at...

  Was it actually true? I'm seeing it, I'm seeing it right now. It has to be true, it...

  And then the yellow slug came down the stairs, wavering along, speaking with no discernible mouth. “Oh, thank goodness! I was starting to think we'd actually have to leave. How I loathe traveling, it's simply—”

  And that was it. I couldn't take it. That high pitched scream was foreign, I didn't recognize it as my own. Instantly the creatures fled, vanishing up the stairs or around the hallway corners out of sight.

  Grault spun me, holding my shoulders. “Calm down!” His hands covered my entire upper arms, and when he shook me, I had the distinct impression he could have crushed my bones with ease. “Miss Blooms, look at me!” The lamp jiggled in my grip from the motion. I'd forgotten all about it. “Miss Blooms?”

  Blinking in a daze, my heart racing to outrun my thoughts, I covered my mouth. I was scared I would scream again. “Grault?” My whisper was muffled, but his eyes said he heard me. “What did—what was—oh my gosh. I didn't imagine that just now, did I?”

  “Of course not,” he said, his intensity shifting to disgust. “Would you truly think none of this was real, even now? Even after seeing your guests?”

  His disdain for my disbelief bothered me, but I found too much safety in his touch to shrug him off. “I just... I've never seen anything like this. Like them,” I hushed, daring to glance upstairs.

  He bent low, looking straight into my face. “Miss Blooms,” he said, “you're dealing with things outside of your experience. I understand that. Now, more than ever. But listen to me.” He moved his head to the left, so I followed his eyes. Some of the creatures were peeking at us around the corners of the hallways above. “These are your guests. You're insulting them by acting so afraid of them.”

  “How am I supposed to act?” I felt my pulse rising as I saw my 'guests' eyeing me.

  “Like a host,” he said gently. “You must act as Tessa did. She welcomed her guests, all of them.”

  His serious tone drew me back, I saw my curious face in the reflection of his black orbs. “Was my grandmother... never scared of them?”

  There was no pause, he answered without a hitch. “Tessa was never scared.”

  “Not once?”

  “Never.”

  Frowning thoughtfully, I stepped away from Grault's touch. I was still shivering, my knees like water as I tried to stand tall. Looking upwards, I lifted the lantern enough to illuminate more of the room. I had no real plan, I only tried to imagine what a host should say to their guests.

  “Um,” I started, “I'm Farra. It's... it's nice to meet you all. Really nice. Yeah. Yes.” Not my most eloquent speech. Great job, me.

  The creatures didn't seem convinced. The tall bird-faced thing, spindly blue arms swaying, moved to the top step. Its voice was low, devoid of emotion. “You look very much like her.”

  “I—I'm sorry?” I asked.

  “Tessa, you look like Tessa. When she was... younger. Yes.” It had no eyes, only a long, curved beak. Unlike the slug from before, when this being spoke, the mouth moved.

  Lifting the light over my head, I squinted upwards. “What's your name?”

  It took a step down the stairs, arms drifting by its hips. “Qui'nxious, child. Yes.” Behind it, I saw movement. Some of the tenants were following suit, inching my way.

  “Qui—Quinchess—er,” I muttered, peeking up at Grault for help. Amazingly, the bird-thing laughed. I hope that dry sound is laughter, anyway, I thought to myself when I looked back.

  Its small, uncomfortably thin fingers touched the bannister at it stopped on the bottom step. “Qui'nxious. Try again.”

  I fumbled with my tongue. It didn't want to make the right sounds. “Qui'nicksius. No, sorry, Qui...” It nodded, encouraging. “Nn... nch... eaus...” Though it had no eyes, I felt it was staring at me expectantly. Gritting my teeth, I tried with more confidence. “Qui'nxious. How was that? Better?”

  “Very good, yes. Good.” Qui'nxious moved, standing over me. I hadn't realized how tall he—it—was, but now, I saw it stood above even Grault. “Tessa's kin. Are you truly?”

  Grault cut me off. “She is, there's no doubt. Gina was her mother.”

  “Yes. But Gina was not like Tessa, you know this.” Qui'nxious swung low, its beak waving near my nose. In the light of just my lantern, its black body looked like oil. I thought, if I tried, I could have knocked him over.

  Why do I think it's a him? Something in the voice, the poise, maybe that was it. It didn't matter, I was more concerned with how close he was to me.

  “Are you and Tessa connected?” he asked me. Nearby, I heard Grault make a low noise, like a car engine.

  He doesn't like when people doubt him, does he? Lowering the lantern, I considered my answer. “Of course I am. She was my grandmother, we're blood.”

  “There is more to connections than blood,” Qui'nxious said in his emotionless voice. I didn't see him move in time; his stubby, child sized fingers on the ends of his too long arms brushed my cheek. He felt like velvet. “There is much more to taking up Tessa's mantle than simply being blood. Yes.”

  Frozen on the spot, my eyes burned as a rivulet of sweat rolled from my forehead into them. “Like—like what?”


  “Do you want to care for this place, child? For all of us whom you do not know?” He paused, cradling my cheeks softly. “Who you fear?”

  I considered what Grault had said to me. Tessa was never afraid. My response was louder than I meant. “I don't fear you.”

  “No?”

  “I—I won't when I get to know you, I mean.” It sounded silly to me, but thinking through my fog was difficult.

  Qui'nxious was quiet, a perfect statue as he looked at me. He rubbed my chin, something that was close to affectionate. Unbending, he made the sound from before; that odd, raspy laugh in his chest. “Farra, correct?”

  “Yeah,” I said, touching my face where his blue palms had been. “Farra Blooms, that's right.”

  “I look forward to what your reign here brings, Farra Blooms.”

  My reign...

  He strolled backwards, not taking his eyeless gaze off of me. Then, as he turned to walk up the stairs, the spell that seemed to keep the other creatures silent and still broke.

  One by one, they came towards me. This time, I didn't flinch away. I was still scared, the cold feeling lived deep in my gut with no sign of fading. But I made myself stand there, arm twitching in pain from holding up the lantern.

  The beings spoke amongst themselves, a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty. They didn't seem frightened. It must help that I'm not screaming at them anymore.

  “Will you bring the light back?” The question came from a small, orange thing that resembled a hamster merged with a goldfish. It hovered down by my knees.

  Blinking, I lowered the lantern, crouching in front of the tiny creature. “Sorry, what?”

  “The light,” it said, bobbing up and down as if swimming in air. When it spoke, pink gills on the sides of its neck rustled. “It's been so dark in here for weeks.”

  I gave a sidelong look at Grault. He was staring at me in that stoic way of his. “Uh. Well, I'd like to. How do I... do that?”

  “Tessa would just wave her hands,” the little thing said enthusiastically. To help, it waggled its weird fins. “Then they'd come on! Just like that!”