Protected by Stone (A Paranormal Romance Novel)

by Cynthia Brint

  Forgotten purpose... so Vibbs was a child with magic, forgotten in darkness. He must have buried that memory deep, too scared to move on past it. I thought I understood, my attention focusing intently on the black-thing in front of me. “Then, whose memory are you? Why are you here?”

  He didn't shrug, but he might as well have. “A mystery to even me. A revenant can't remember. When they do, they finally move on.”

  “So all the guests here, they're magical shadows of people? Of humans like me?”

  “All things that have magic can become a revenant, yes,” he said. “They cannot cross safely through either world, living or dead. They're... outcasts. Yes.”

  “Outcasts,” I whispered.

  Qui'nxious gestured over my head. Turning, I knew he was pointing at the painting. “We are cursed to wander the world, never settling, often fading without peace. Tessa helped make a place for us. She welcomed us here, this little nest of magic. Here, the revenants have come, able to take their time to remember why they exist... if they so choose.”

  Looking at the lantern, I touched it protectively. “Are you really sure that, if this leaves here, the magic will vanish?”

  “It will certainly vanish, yes,” he said flatly. “But... I am not sure what that will actually mean, in the end.”

  Blinking slowly, I considered things carefully. “Let me ask you something. You said Tessa made it safe here, but you said before that you were here before she changed this place, right?”

  He froze like a statue. “That is—yes, I was here before then.”

  “How were you here, if you're telling me that things will change if the lantern leaves?”

  The revenant was twisting in place, more unsettled than I'd seen him. “Stop. I'm not ready to remember, not yet.”

  “Sorry,” I said, crinkling my nose. “I wasn't trying to do anything, I didn't mean to do it for Vibbs, either. I just... I just want some answers.”

  “Revenants have always existed,” he said slowly. “And they will continue to. Yes, you're right, this place draws them in naturally. That was true before Tessa.” He paused a long moment. “Her mother started it, she called to them long before Tessa. The magic of your family's blood has always been special.”

  “Except for me,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  His beak glinted like ink, turning when he stared at the painting again. “I'm not so sure, Farra Blooms. Your reign has been different, yes, but to say it hasn't had some magic... well.”

  My veins pumped, his words battling my self doubt. “Tell me what to do. You know so much, what's the right decision here? Do I stay, try to protect the lantern? Do I give it to the sylph?”

  Qui'nxious wandered towards me. Wordless, I stood from the desk, meeting him in the middle of the room. Holding the lantern between us, I watched him as he touched the light with his stubby blue fingers. “What is most important to you, Farra Blooms?”

  “Most... important?”

  Lifting his serpent-arms, he brushed silky palms on my forehead. It was a sweet gesture, my heart swelling. “Will you keep your protector safe, or yourself?”

  “How am I in danger?” I asked. “The sylph wants the lantern, not me. I figured that part out.”

  His hands floated away from me. “Things cannot stay as they are. If you keep the lantern from the sylph, the snow will not stop.”

  As if he'd called the blizzard into the study, the back of my neck felt cold. “What?”

  “The sylph is powerful, it has grown terrible in its hunger, become insane. Yes. The whole region will drown in snow. Without the sun, Grault will grow weak, then fade. It will become a death sentence for many.”

  Clutching the lantern, I drew warmth from it. “No! Grault, all those people... was it because I took the lantern outside? Is this my fault?” He said nothing to counter me, my voice rising in my hysteria. “Did no one know? No one but Tessa, and... and you, that this lantern was so special?”

  “I knew it was special, yes,” he said quietly. “I always knew. I promised to never say more. Why Tessa did not warn you, child? I hazard to think she only kept the sylph at bay by accident born through fear of never going near it again. She might not have known it was worth warning over.”

  “Qui'nxious,” I said, “you're telling me there is no right answer. Grault becomes stone with nothing to protect, or he dies anyway, while the town and everyone suffers because I hung onto this thing?”

  Stepping backwards, he moved in reverse. “I didn't say there was no right answer. I only told you the outcomes I could see. Farra Blooms, what you do is up to you. Your decisions have always been your own... I imagine they will remain so. Yes.”

  “Wait!” I shouted, but he didn't slow his exit. It was easy for him to vanish into the hallway.

  Holding the lantern tight, I stared around me in a wide circle. Ultimately, I ended up gazing at the large painting of Tessa and Bizzy. “What am I supposed to do?”

  There was no one to tell me. I knew that, more so as time wore on. “Tessa,” I asked the picture, “why did you think it was wise to leave me with all of this? You picked the wrong person. I don't have magic or spells, anyone else would have been better. I'm not like you, I never—I never was.”

  I'm no more use than a memory of you, Tessa. I'm a ghost in my own right, another revenant in this house.

  With only silence at my back, I turned and left that room of books behind.

  Chapter Eighteen.

  I watched the snow rising with mounting defeat. It would soon be impossible to leave the house at all. The place had become a mess, reminding me of how I'd once lived at my old apartment.

  Grault hadn't spoken to me in two days. The revenants had vanished, making me suspect they'd left for whatever 'other world' they knew of. It was depressing, thinking that they found a place where they were outcasts to be more welcoming than Tessa's house.

  My house, it's my house, I reminded myself scathingly. Everything is falling apart. Sitting in my room, I stared out the window blankly. It was all white, the beautiful snow becoming something terrible to behold.

  I saw a shadow roll across the ice. The bat-wings told me it was Grault. He must be patrolling outside, making sure the sylph doesn't come back. He can't keep that up forever... none of this can stay this way.

  Folding my arms, I fought down the urge to go talk to him. We hadn't spoken since the kitchen incident. It was so hard, I ached to be near him, to just get some confirmation that he hadn't been luring me in for his own benefit.

  I wasn't great at letting things rest.

  Pushing away from my window, I crept towards the stairs into Grault's room. I'd figured out why I had never seen him use that attic entrance before. The giant window was his door, it was easy to fly in and out from there as he pleased.

  “Grault?” I called softly, tugging the stairs down. Inching up, I poked my head over the ledge. “Are you up here?”

  He perched by the window, dusting snow off of his hair. Hard muscles gleamed like white ice. I knew he must have just come back inside, his wings were still showing.

  He truly doesn't feel the cold.

  One of his ears twitched, eyes jumping to me in a blink. “Farra,” he said, brows knotting. His horns, every hint that he was a gargoyle, shrank away. “I didn't expect you—I didn't think you'd come see me.”

  “I need to talk to you.” I wanted to see you, I thought privately. Climbing up, my legs carried me warily over to him. They were tight, fighting the urge to launch me at the man I'd been so enamored with.

  Am I still? He made my heart ripple, my tongue swollen. How could I pretend anything was different?

  Shifting, he grabbed his coat from a wall hook, sliding it on. I hated seeing him hide away his perfect torso. “About what?”

  “About... all of this,” I said, gesturing at the circular window. “This snow, the house, I need to ask you what you think should be done.”

  His response was fast, he clearly thought it was obvious. “We s
tay here, the lantern stays.”

  “Did you know,” I whispered, “that everyone in the town is going to lose their homes over this?”

  Grault leaned on the wall, peering out at the foggy glass. “Would you rather we lose our home?”

  “We?” I asked, staring him down. “Are you worried about the house, or yourself?”

  The fire in his eyes made them into liquid tar. “I am worried about you as well, Farra!”

  “Only so far as it keeps you from turning into a statue again,” I spat.

  “No!” he snarled, jumping at me so fast it left me breathless. His hands gripped my upper arms, trapping me. The lantern fell to the floor. “It was never so simple as that!”

  I couldn't blink, couldn't move. He was strong enough, wild enough, that I knew he could tear me to shreds.

  So why wasn't I afraid?

  My throat was raw as I spoke. “Then what? What was your end goal, if not to keep me trapped here, to keep this place going so you could live?”

  “I wanted to live with you!” His breath was hot on my face, welcome in the chill. That guttural voice made a mist between us. “I didn't simply want to live, Farra. I wanted you to want to stay with me. Yes, at first it was simply a relief that you would come here. Who yearns for death?”

  Funnily, my mind thought of the revenants. I said nothing, I wanted to hear him.

  “Farra,” he said, softer that time. “All I wanted was for you to love me, to want to stay here with me. The truth is that I cannot leave, I'm bound to protect the magic here. If things fail...”

  Looking away, I hung my head. “Things have already failed. Everything is a mess, all because Tessa fell in love with that sylph.” My chuckle burned like acid. “We're suffering because of another person's choices.”

  “Love isn't a choice.” He pulled me in, a roughness in his lips. He needed me, needed me to know how he felt. He really does love me. Distantly, I noticed I wasn't shocked.

  A dam broke inside of me. Crumbling against his chest, I kissed him back harder than he ever had with me. I was hungrier, desperate for his touch. The world is going to end for us. Buried in snow. Is this just how it was meant to be?

  “No,” I said suddenly, pushing him back.

  “What?” He blinked in confusion.

  Brushing my hands up his jaw, I held him still. “No, we can't just accept this. There has to be something we can do! A way to save everyone.”

  Grault pulled me back, cradling my head to his chest. “Everyone?”

  His coat felt good on my cheek, scratchy like stubble. “Yes, a way to save you, this place, and the town.”

  Those long fingers brushed through my hair. “Why didn't you mention yourself?”

  I parted my lips, then closed them.

  “Farra,” he said crisply, taking my chin in his grip. I had no option but to look at him. “Why didn't you name yourself?”

  “Because... because it's obvious I mean myself, too,” I stammered. Don't I?

  His eyes said he didn't believe me. It was his slow understanding that gave me a chill. I knew the look of someone who'd come to a conclusion. “I know what to do,” he said.

  “What?” I asked excitedly.

  He moved to the bed, wrapping the blanket around me in a single motion. Swaddled tight, I gasped when he lifted me in his arms. “Grault! What are you doing?”

  “The lantern has to stay here while I figure out how to fix this,” he said. His steps took us towards the window. I felt him shifting, heard the leathery sound of his wings appearing. “But you, Farra. You don't need to be here. You can be somewhere safe.”

  Chilly wind hit me in the face. “No!” I shouted, flinching at the snowflakes. He hugged me close, my stomach free-falling when he jumped into the winter sky. “Grault, no! Stop!”

  He wasn't listening. The noise of his wings mixed with the wind, I couldn't hear my own shouts, my plea for him to turn back. He's serious, he's going to get me out of here.

  He thinks he can fix this alone.

  It was an exhilarating ride, but it didn't last long. The distance he could move was stunning, the clouds of snow breaking on the horizon line. That amazed me, seeing how the storm had a defined end point. It was too surreal.

  I knew we'd flown over Barrow Village, but he was taking me further. The next village was miles away, only just touched on the edges by snow. It was safe from the danger of the sylph.

  It was what Grault was looking for.

  Gently, he swooped to a landing in the hills. The ground was white, but yards away, green existed. It was late, but it made me wonder how it would have looked to have the sun beaming down, rubbing elbows with a blizzard.

  The instant he touched, placing me on my feet, I shrugged out of the blanket. “What do you think you're doing!?”

  “Go, stay in that town,” he said, looking behind at the black sky. “I need to hurry back before the sylph tries to enter the house and get the lantern. It isn't safe alone—”

  “You're not safe alone!” I shouted, fighting the urge to slap him. “Are you insane? You can't leave me here and handle this by yourself!”

  His smile broke down my wall, left me vulnerable to his abrupt kiss. It was short, too short. “Stay here. I promise, I'll fix everything. I said I would protect you, I meant it.”

  Opening my mouth, my argument died in the burst of air from his wings. Grault took off into the sky, flying as no creature should have been capable of. In seconds, he was a speck in the distant snow storm.

  Clutching the blanket, I gave it a hard squeeze. “Dammit!” How could he do this? I was sure his heart was in the right place, but he was insane to think he needed to handle this alone.

  Tightening my jaw, I looked at the nearby town. Grault was wrong, I wouldn't sit idly by while he put himself in danger. However, I knew that there was no way I was getting through miles of snow as I was.

  I needed supplies.

  ****

  “Excuse me,” I said, rolling my shopping cart up next to the clerk. “I'm looking for a few items.”

  He looked me over, clearly spotting the blanket I'd draped over my back like a cape. Proper as a peach, he ignored what I was wearing. “What can I help you find?”

  “I need something that will let me walk through...” I scrunched up my face. “Hm. Is there any chance the train is running from here to Barrow Village?”

  “No, ma'am,” he said, shaking his head rapidly. “No trains are going anywhere in that direction until the storm clears.”

  I figured as much. “Alright,” I mused, “then I'm going to need gear to help me through, say, ten miles of snow?”

  He didn't try to hide his disbelief. “Excuse me?”

  “I need to get through the snow. I know, it sounds crazy, I get it. Can you just direct me to what I'll need?”

  The clerk stared me on, full in the face. When I didn't flinch, he began walking down the aisle. “This way, ma'am. I believe you're going to want some snowshoes.”

  That wasn't the only thing he suggested.

  Checking out of the store, I toted new boots, new gloves, a face mask and a thicker coat.

  When Grault had told me before, that I would never want for anything, I didn't think he'd imagined I'd be spending the money left for me like this. Layering everything on, I ignored the stares people gave me in the parking lot.

  The town of Fog Water was bigger than Barrow Village, but only just. It was made smaller than usual, too, because it was packed with people. It didn't take me long to realize many of them were from Barrow Village.

  They fled to here, I thought sullenly, seeing all the stressed faces. They've lost their homes, what will they do now?

  I wouldn't let myself think about it. If I fixed everything, they'd have their town back.

  With new determination, I headed for the train tracks. I didn't get far before I spotted a familiar face, the two of us mirroring our surprise.

  “Farra,” Dirk said, pushing his hat high. “You won't f
ind a train here, if that's what you're waiting for.”

  I started to smile, but it faded away. “I'm—I'm so sorry about your town, Dirk. I'm going to fix it, don't worry.”

  He stepped close, eyeing my outfit, then the snowshoes in my grip. “You're not going to walk all the way back to that house, are you?”

  “I have to, it's the only way.”

  “The only way to what?”

  Bending down, I started stringing on the shoes. “To stop the snow, to save Grault.”

  The doctor hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “I feel like I missed some important details. What are you saving someone like him from?”

  Someone like him. I lifted my eyes, pulling the knots tight. “You know what he is?”

  “I don't,” he grunted, “just know the man hasn't aged a day since I first met him over thirty years ago.”

  Standing straight, I peered at his face thoughtfully. “Why do you and him not get along? I don't get it, you both cared about Tessa, I'd think you'd have been friends.”

  His laugh was harsh, it turned into a cough. I reached for him, but he brushed me off with a wave. “Friends. Well. I'd say the fact we both cared for her was the problem. I'm positive Grault knew what I felt for Tessa, my gut says he never liked that. Maybe he was scared of me taking her away, lord knows she'd have never done it.” He spoke with an empty smile, a joke that had no punchline.

  It was a tender spot for him, I knew it. But I suspected he could answer something for me. “Dirk, why did she never give you a chance? Even after everything?”

  His hat was tugged low, so low. I could see nothing but his hard frown. “Oh, Farra. Tessa was always holding out in her heart for the person she truly loved. I wished it was me, one sided love cuts like a razor, but it never was.”

  I felt a hot flash of jealousy. “Who was it?” In my mind, the picture of Tessa and Grault smiling together rose up like indigestion.

  Dirk squinted at me, speaking slow and steady. “You already know. Though she never went back in that lake, that woman always loved the sylph. I never understood, but what's in our hearts only need answer to us, no one else.”

  A weight I hadn't known was there lifted away. Sliding on the face mask, I glanced at the tracks. “I think I understand. But, that makes me realize something sort of scary.”