by Price,E A
“I slipped him a twenty, and he gave me a key to their room. It’s the one at the end. I’ll go and…”
Castor interrupted. “I shall be the one…”
“No, we all shall,” corrected Luc. “Andrew, drive around to the side of the motel. The overhead lights all appear to be broken. I believe if we are careful, we will not be seen.”
Andrew gave them a doubtful look, but given the mood on the long drive over there, he wasn’t about to voice his objections. Maggie would never forgive him if he went home dead!
*
Chris dragged Zach’s clothes onto his body. He was grateful to be out of his dirt and blood encrusted jeans, and was virtually jumping for joy at having found a pair of boots that would fit him. Not that he could really jump at that moment. His ankle was turning a charming shade of purple.
He heard a crunch behind him and nearly toppled over as Annis came into view. He hastily buttoned up his new trousers, hoping she didn’t see him blush.
“You need not be modest. I have already seen you naked,” she said unabashedly. “You do not have anything to be ashamed of – quite the opposite.”
“Ah – thanks.” He didn’t know what else to say. The nature of his relationship with Annis was changing and fluctuating so fast, and he had no idea where they stood at that moment. He didn’t want her to say things like that, not while his head was so muddled. But then he also didn’t want to see her parading around with her perfect long legs, and peachy, round breasts – but she couldn’t help that.
“You are welcome, of course.”
Annis picked up his dirty jeans as he finished dressing.
“Don’t bother,” he said, “I think they’re past saving. Leave them here.”
She started folding them when something dropped out of the pocket. It made a soft clinking sound as it landed on the ground. Annis grasped it between two claws and held it up to him.
“This was in your pocket.”
Chris stared at his wedding ring. He’d forgotten it was there.
He held out his palm, and she dropped it into it. “Thanks.” He quickly stuffed it into his new pocket.
“It is your wedding ring, is it not?”
“Yes,” he replied shortly. Chris felt a twinge of annoyance that this would be the human custom Annis knew about. There was plenty she didn’t, but she just had to know this one.
“Kylie also wears one,” she murmured, as if in explanation. “When Luc learned of the custom, he insisted a ring be found for her.”
“I’ve never seen it on her finger.”
“She wears it around her neck. She carries it with her, as you carry it with you.”
He grunted and pulled the boots on, ignoring the swollen ankle that was begging him to put it out of its misery.
Annis rubbed the edges of her wings. “You do not want another mate? I understand it is acceptable for humans to accept a second mate.”
Chris snorted. “Sometimes a third, fourth, even fifth – in fact, there’s really no limit.”
She took a step closer to him. “But you do not want one? You wish to remain true to her? That is the gargoyle way also.”
“It is?” he asked impassively.
“Indeed. Gargoyles may slake our need with as many partners as we choose, but when we mate, we mate for life.”
He decided to circle back to the whole slaking a need business. He didn’t want Annis slaking anything with anyone. The visage of Castor flitted through his mind, and he beat it away. “What if your mate dies?”
Annis squared her shoulders, and her wings twitched slightly. “Then we must stay true to their memory. That is not to say that we cannot lay with other gargoyles, but we may not mate, and we may only produce younglings with our mate.”
“Pretty strict.” By gargoyle logic, he wouldn’t be allowed to marry another woman. He wasn’t sure why he cared; a few days ago, he wouldn’t have given a shit.
“It was much stricter for humans in my day.”
“Yeah, I guess it would be. Divorce is still new – or at least relatively new to you.”
Annis hesitated. “Castor was once supposed to be mated, but he never went through with the ceremony. Time ran out before he could complete the mating.”
Chris couldn’t help the jibe, “Guess he doesn’t want to remain true to her.”
Annis shot him an indecipherable look. “They never had a love match. His mating was not like yours.”
Chris looked away partly in shame for the untruth in her words, and partly out of fear that Annis had already made up her mind to mate Castor. Above all, he didn’t want that.
“Your wife, she was very lucky.”
“She’s dead.”
“I am sorry,” Annis stammered, raising her hands to her face as her cheeks bloomed dark pink, “I did not mean…”
“I know. But even before the accident, I would hardly call her lucky.”
“I meant that you are a good man. She was lucky to find a mate like you.”
Chris swallowed as he remembered the days following Mara’s death, as the lies she’d told him, truths she’d kept from him unfolded. “I wasn’t a good husband.”
Annis shook her head. “I do not believe that.”
“Believe it or not, it’s true.”
“You are still in love with your wife,” she whispered, unable to look at him.
He wasn’t sure whether it was a statement or a question, but his heart squeezed in pain. He wasn’t in love with her. He should have been, but he wasn’t. Not one tenth of the feelings Annis incited in him were ever present in his heart for Mara.
“What do you know about my wife?”
“Not much,” she replied uncertainly, “only what Bea has mentioned in passing – and I assure you, Bea meant no harm. Her name was Mara, was it not? You must have loved her very much.”
“I don’t think I ever loved her at all.”
Annis gasped softly, and Chris let out a mirthless laugh.
“That sounds harsh, right? But I can’t imagine she loved me either. The whole thing was just crazy and impulsive. It was just an infatuation, and it didn’t last.”
“I am sorry, I did not know.” She looked at him with pity, and that just made him madder.
“No,” he growled almost accusingly, “you thought I was a good man, thought I was a good husband who lost his wife in a tragic accident. Truth is, I was relieved when she was gone. I was a lousy husband, and it was a relief when she was no longer around to fuck with me and make my life hell and…”
“Sshhhh.”
Annis took him in her arms, cradling his head against her shoulder. Her hands gently moved up and down his back, and she rocked him slowly. She was treating him like an infant, and he did not care. For the first time since Mara died, he allowed himself to cry. Allowed a few tears to trickle down his cheeks in grief. For a long time, he had held onto his anger at himself for being a bad husband, for not stopping Mara on her self-destructive path and for his guilt over her passing. Perhaps it was finally time to let it go.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Andrew rolled his eyes and wished he had brought Maggie with him. He was worried about Chris and Annis too, but he could do without this. Maggie wouldn’t have put up with the gargoyles’ bullshit. The two males were arguing again – loudly and in the motel room. Andrew feared someone was going to hear them and come running. How he could explain away two enormous gargoyles, he had no idea.
“This room smells of coupling. Annis has coupled with that damn human!” snarled Castor.
“Annis can do as she chooses, and Chris is a friend to the clan.”
“Clearly so that he may take advantage of our females!”
Andrew tried to imagine Chris as the type to run around seducing gargoyles. He wouldn’t have thought any gargoyle would be easily seduced!
“You are a fool. We are here to ensure their safety, whether they choose to indulge in sexual intercourse is not our concern right now.”
&n
bsp; “Trust you to be so uncaring. There are so few female gargoyles in the world – they should only be permitted to mate with other gargoyles.”
“I will not put such boundaries onto my clan.”
“Of course not, but then you are a human lover, you traitor!”
The males were virtually locking horns and about to indulge in a throw down when Andrew clapped his hands. “Guys! We can’t do this right now, and we certainly can’t do this here.”
Castor flicked his tail and hissed while Luc grudgingly nodded in agreement.
Andrew tried not to roll his eyes again – they were going to get stuck there one day. “I say we grab all of Chris and Annis’ stuff and get out of here and think of a plan.”
“I will not be told what to do by a human,” complained Castor, who had never looked more like a sullen teenager than he did at that moment.
“Andrew is clan,” rumbled Luc. “You had better learn to respect humans or there will no longer be a place for you in the clan.”
“Then maybe I should find another clan.”
That started another round of arguing and Andrew took a seat. He wasn’t going anywhere.
*
Chris rearranged his pants – they were a little tight in the groinal region. Perhaps he should scratch his balls too, or at least his ass. He was still feeling a little discombobulated from his tearful outbreak to Annis. Three years he kept that in and with a few polite words she managed to pry it out of him. He didn’t know whether to yell at her or throw her on the ground and kiss her all over – he’d certainly prefer the latter.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever let go of the guilt over Mara. When it came to his marriage, he’d acted rashly, foolishly, and she had acted even more foolishly, but she lost her life. They should never have married, but when they did, he should have made more of an effort. It was easier to ignore all the problems with his marriage, to ignore all the issues Mara had, so he did, and it ended in tragedy. But he wasn’t the only one to blame, and he had to move on.
The tracking chip had been dumped on the ground, covered with a pile of sticks - which, if someone was boneheaded enough, might be mistaken for a cowering gargoyle. They had found some bear traps to encircle it – carefully covering them with leaves.
Annis, in spite of her objections, was in a tree, hiding. Her balance and climbing skills were remarkable. Chris would have thought her wings would have been cumbersome, but she scuttled up the tree like a squirrel.
She did not wish to be out of the way, but all the men who were likely on their way to them were after her. If their half-baked plan fell apart, one of them could spot her and shoot. He did not want to risk that.
Zach, now only in his underwear, had been moved to a tree further away, gagged - because his death threats were getting old – and also covered in leaves. It wouldn’t really fool anyone if they looked too closely, but on first glance, he kind of looked like a bush.
One by one, the least stealthy hunters in the world crept towards the hidden chip. Lord, Elmer Fudd could have done a better job than them. They spotted one another and called out angry greetings to one another. Each telling the other to fuck off and that they were going to bag the gargoyle first.
None of you are bagging my gargoyle Chris thought grimly.
On seeing the competition, all four of the hunters became reckless and ran towards where they thought Annis was. Like dominoes, they fell to the traps, each screaming as the metal jaws clamped on their legs.
With his last burst of speed, Chris sprang up and ran to them, ordering them to put their guns away. None of them paid any attention to him, but none were holding their guns anymore. They were all clutching at their respective legs and couldn’t give a fig about Chris aiming a rifle at them.
Slowly, Chris lowered his weapon and considered which of the four men would be the best option to give him an idea about how to get through the electric fence.
“Holy hell!” grumbled a voice behind him. “What have you done?”
Chris spun and a fist connected with his jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. The black-clad man who had to be called Haddock took his rifle away.
Carlton with a gaping mouth surveyed the four whining hunters. Haddock took the opportunity to kick Chris in the ribs. He was about to go for another kick when a growl a tiger would be proud of sounded behind them.
Haddock spun to see Annis flying towards him, wings outstretched, purple eyes flashing, and claws reaching for him. The impact of Annis crashing into him sent him careening along the ground, and Annis shifted her wings, curving her trajectory towards Carlton. The large man started trying to run away, but he was certainly not built for running, and Annis landed on him, dragging him to the ground. She pounded her fists and claws into him as he groaned and cried.
Chris, with a lot of effort, dragged himself over to Haddock. He was relieved that the man was knocked out cold. Chris really didn’t have much fight left in him.
With the little energy he had left, he stumbled over to Annis. Carlton was looking at Chris with pleading eyes as Annis raised her claws. Chris went against his first instinct and stopped her – Carlton deserved it and so much more, but Annis was not a killer. Chris gripped her wrist and she whipped her head in his direction, eyes flashing and fangs bared.
“Annis, sweetheart, it’s over.”
Her nostrils flared, and she let out a small growl. Her eyes darted between him and Carlton, still cowering beneath her. After a few moments, her eyes lost their fire and softened to their natural, brilliant lavender hue.
“Chris,” she whispered, climbing to her feet.
Chris pulled her arm around his shoulder and hugged her, burying his face in her silky hair. She still smelled as fresh and beautiful as ever. He smelled like a soccer team that had just played eight games in a row.
After a few moments, Annis’ shaking body molded against his and she nuzzled his shoulder. Chris almost cursed in annoyance as, in spite of his tiredness and his injuries, there was still one part of his body that couldn’t help but get excited by her nearness. It was getting a little embarrassing.
“You flew,” he grunted, trying to take his mind elsewhere.
“Well, actually I glided.” She laughed softly without much humor.
“Are you okay?”
“I think my wing might be broken; it did not fare well being airborne.”
Chris leaned back a moment and saw that her scarred wing hung behind her, dragging on the ground, making her slouch. “You’re in pain,” he grumbled. She opened her mouth, and he warned her not to lie to him.
Annis closed her lips and nodded. He thought he was all out of anger, but it just started welling in him again. Taking Annis’ hand, he drew her behind him and gave Carlton as hard a kick as he could manage at that moment – which was not very hard.
The man’s face and torso were streaked with red – cuts from Annis’ claws. Chris felt a swell of pride. She might be kind hearted and gentle, but even a kitten can draw blood when threatened.
“How do we get out of here?” asked Chris, roughly giving Carlton another kick.
The man let out a moan and slowly pulled a small remote control out of his pocket. He tossed it on the ground. “I think I’m dying,” he whined. “I think I’m bleeding internally.”
“Yeah? Think yourself lucky all your organs are still on the inside. Unless you’d like them on the outside…”
Chris inclined his head toward Annis, and she dutifully flashed her dangerous talons. Carlton let out a spluttering cough as he tried to object.
Annis scooped up the device and studied it. “What does it do?”
“My jeep’s half a mile that way.” Carlton pointed with a wavering finger. “It has GPS to the exit. Push the red button on the control to get through the fence, and then the yellow button gets you through the outer fence. Take the jeep, take whatever you want and just go.”
Annis handed the device to Chris.
“Are there any more surprises
waiting past that fence?” he asked.
“No,” hissed Carlton impatiently.
“No more of your gorillas?”
Carlton’s eyes flickered. “Just Zach,” he admitted. “I don’t know where he got to.”
Annis smiled wanly. “We have already been introduced to Zach; he will not pose an imminent problem.”
Chris aimed the gun at Carlton who uselessly tried to cover his face.
“You don’t have to do that,” Carlton said.
Chris looked at Annis; her eyes shone in the moonlight, and she shook her head. “No, I don’t,” he said, “and I won’t – but only because she doesn’t want it. But you better not be lying, or I will be back.”
With agonizing slowness, Chris bent down and punched Carlton in the face, knocking him out. It sent a jarring pain up Chris’ arm, but he was going to enjoy the look on Carlton’s face for years to come.
Chris struggled to stand up, and Annis helped him, grasping his arm and hooking it over her shoulder. Together they limped away.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Annis shivered in the back of the jeep.
“You cold?” asked Chris, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.
Finding the Jeep and getting past the fence had been a breeze and they quickly got the hell away from there, only wondering slightly at the protestors outside the compound. Chris took note of where it was – he was definitely going to report this place in some way, but he couldn’t risk Annis being there when the authorities showed up.
“I am not cold, but I feel the dawn approaching. I will be stone in an hour.”
Chris chuckled awkwardly. “Been a hell of a night, right?”
“Indeed.”
Their eyes met in the mirror before the honking of a truck forced him to look away. Her purple orbs shined at him.
“I want to put a few miles between us and that place first; then we’ll stop and get something to eat before you need to sleep. I don’t know about you, but I am dying for something a bit more substantial than energy bars.”
“Yes, I too am hungry. I am so hungry that I could ride a horse.”
“Do you mean, eat a horse?” he asked cracking a genuine smile.