Knights-of-Stone-Bryce

by Lisa Carlisle

  Bryce, Lachlan, Mason, Gavin, and Calum sat on the flat rocks. Their oversized frames bumping into each other in the tight space. Their parents scrutinized each one of them, making them squirm like they were young boys. Mairi stifled a laugh at the ridiculous sight.

  “Calum, tell me now,” Aileen demanded.

  “Well, Lachlan worked with a female wolf shifter named Raina,” Calum began.

  Lachlan shot his brother a warning look.

  Calum appeared to have caught the warning. “Anyway, she helped Lachlan tap into his energy and he learned to project it. We all worked together connecting our magic and projecting it out. Lachlan joined ours with that of the wolf shifters and tree witches. It worked! The humans were knocked off course.”

  “And Lachlan?” His mother gave Calum a piercing glare.

  “He—uh—experienced technical difficulties. With all the energy coursing through him and all.”

  Aileen raised her eyebrows. “Continue.”

  “He was simply depleted for a wee bit,” Calum said, drooping under her withering stare. “Needed some time to recover in stone to restore his energy under the sun.”

  Aileen embraced Lachlan, again. “Oh, Lachlan. My eldest. I can’t imagine.”

  “He’s all right, Aileen,” Angus barked, although his eyes conveyed concern.

  Mairi watched the family dynamics play out as an outsider. Fascinating. Although she loved her parents, they’d never expressed this type of affection. They didn’t hug or show how they cared the way Bryce’s parents did. The interactions between the brothers also intrigued her. Although they ribbed each other constantly, it seemed natural as part of their close-knit group. As an only child, she didn’t have any sibling relationships to compare it to. She sensed deep attachments in their family, one she’d never had with her own, nor did she realize existed until now. An ache within her intensified, loss on so many levels.

  Could she find a new beginning in a clan like this? No. She wasn’t ready. The wounds were too fresh, the mourning only just begun.

  “It was all Raina,” Lachlan admitted. “She saved me.”

  “The wolf shifter?” Angus raised his heavy brows.

  “Aye. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

  Lachlan’s tone held a bit of reverence when speaking of Raina.

  Aileen loosened her hold on him. “Do you have feelings for this wolf?”

  Lachlan took a deep breath and said, “She’s the one. My mate.”

  Judging by Aileen’s gasp, this was unexpected. “The one?” Aileen echoed. “A wolf shifter?”

  What was it like to have someone care so deeply about a mate? Mairi stifled a groan. It was something she might never experience. She didn’t have a clan anymore, let alone a potential mate. She stole a glance at Bryce. When she caught his gaze, she quickly looked away.

  Angus’s eyes widened to the size of boulders.

  “What in bloody hell is going on back there?” Angus boomed. “Some kind of cross-species orgy!”

  A small laugh escaped Mairi, and she covered her mouth.

  Bryce flashed her a boyish grin before facing his father. “Da, it’s not like that at all. We’ve simply come to be more open-minded to others on the isle.”

  Bryce came to the defense of his brother. How sweet.

  “The divisions between us are outdated,” Gavin added. “It’s time to embrace a new future.”

  “You sound like a bloody politician.” His father wagged a heavy finger at Gavin.

  Mairi bit her lip to keep from laughing aloud, again.

  Bryce said, “We’ve learned it’s better to work together to create more possibilities for all, rather than cling to past prejudices.”

  She glanced over the hills, replaying Bryce’s words. It had some wisdom.

  Bryce’s parents continued to pepper their sons with more questions about recent events.

  Angus turned to Mason. “What’s this I hear about you living with a tree witch?”

  “Um…” Mason responded, his face turning as pale as moonlight.

  Bryce stepped in. “Mason chose the perfect mate for himself.”

  Mason shot Bryce a grateful look. Bryce clearly cared about his brothers. It tugged at her heartstrings, but they’d already been stretched too far in recent days. Still, she couldn’t help but admire his loyalty and devotion to them.

  Bryce’s words didn’t help Mason much. For several minutes, his parents fired questions at him. Why a tree witch—evil and dangerous enemies of the gargoyles?

  After a heated pause, his mother said, “At least they’re finally settling down. I might be a grannie one day soon.”

  “Nobody’s having any babies, yet,” Mason said, spreading both arms wide. Still pale after the onslaught of questions, he managed to smirk at his brothers and add, “Although I’m enjoying the practice of making them.”

  During a bawdy round of laughter, Aileen smacked him upside the head.

  Bryce caught Mairi’s eye and winked.

  Bryce did his best to tone down Mason’s inquisition. He was surprised when his mom turned to Mairi.

  “I know you’re in need of a place to stay. If it’s all right with Duncan, our alpha, you’re more than welcome here,” his mother said. She put a comforting arm around Mairi’s shoulders.

  Bryce’s muscles clenched. Why? That was what he’d asked for. He’d been at her side for hours. The sudden realization that she’d be gone hit him with an unexpected pang.

  “Thank you,” Mairi said. “I’m very grateful. To you and your sons.”

  When she smiled at him, it was a wonder he didn’t melt onto the side of the hill. Like Earth being swept away by lava. The smile lit up her entire face, making her beam. Glorious.

  Of course, she belonged here. She was from the Highlands. She needed the protection of a clan.

  Besides, he’d only met her this morning. Mere hours—a miniscule portion of his life. He had enough going on. No room for a female companion for more than a night.

  Even if Mason and Lachlan had changed, that wasn’t what he wanted.

  He cleared his throat. “Lachlan and I need to talk to Duncan. I’ll be back shortly.”

  She nodded with a small smile.

  Lachlan and Bryce approached the guards and requested an audience with Duncan and his inner circle of enforcers. To save Mairi the pain of having to retell the story to a room full of gargoyles, he took on that task.

  Plus, after that inquisition, he didn’t want to be the one to tell his parents more about the threat of demons. How his mother would worry. One situation in which facing the alpha was much easier.

  After Lachlan introduced the reason for their visit, Bryce took over. As he told it for a second time, it somehow became his story, too. Maybe it was empathy for what Mairi had gone through. He sensed it was something more, not that he could identify what exactly that something was. What he did know was that he had to take some sort of action. He couldn’t return to the Isle of Stone without doing something to help her move on with her life.

  After he’d finished, Duncan said, “Bring her to me.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  The tender interactions of Bryce’s family had left Mairi bereft. The loss of her family echoed with a dull ache. She’d walked away to get some air and paced the sloping terrain. The clan lived in an abandoned castle atop a hill. Strangers living inland; far from the ocean she so loved.

  Bryce found her several minutes later. A fluttering sensation rippled through her. A light in her darkness.

  “Duncan wants to talk to you about what happened. Are you up to it?”

  The less she thought about the demons, the better. But that wouldn’t make them go away. “Aye.”

  “Come with me.”

  Bryce led her through an entrance flanked by two guards. He led her down a dark, candlelit tunnel that led below ground. Why would anyone choose to live in the cave-like areas? They weren’t bats! Perhaps for greater protection. Blast. She’d rather hide in
plain sight.

  When they entered an underground chamber, Bryce halted in front of four gargoyles.

  “Duncan, this is Mairi. Mairi, Duncan, alpha of the Calder clan.” He pointed to the others nearby. “And these are his enforcers, Malcolm, Rupert, and Quinn.”

  She didn’t know the customs of this clan, but since they all were in gargoyle form, a proper greeting would be best. She placed her hand over her heart and nodded in the traditional gesture used in formal situations with her clan.

  He nodded in response. “Welcome, Mairi. Bryce has told us of the attack on your clan. Tragic.”

  “Aye, it was.” How many times would she have to hear similar words and choke down the now familiar lump in her throat? At least, she didn’t stammer this time.

  “It’s a dangerous situation. We must take action. Before we decide on what to do, we need more information as to what we’re up against.”

  They were going to get involved? Bryce was right—she couldn’t go after the demons alone. They’d eviscerate her. Yet, putting her trust—her fate—with another clan, all gargoyles—didn’t sit well, either. What if something happened to Bryce? Or one of his brothers? His parents would be as torn apart as she was. No. More so. Was there any greater pain than a parent losing a child?

  But someone had to stop the demons before they destroyed other families.

  “I will share all I know.”

  “In the meantime, you can stay here with our clan. Bryce mentioned your situation.”

  Of course he did. Bryce had only offered temporary shelter; he had enough to worry about on the island. Still, rejection slapped her. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she managed to say.

  “Bryce described them as demons,” Duncan said. “That could be a wide range of malevolent beings. Could you be specific? How many, how they approached, what they looked like, and any other details you can remember?”

  Mairi had tried to bury their image countless times since the attack, yet their glowing red eyes pierced through every recess in her mind. She took a deep breath and let the horrid memory resurface. “Around a dozen of them soared in to where my clan had lived for many years, along the cliffs on the northern coast of Durness. They flew like dark shadows across the night with fraying dark gray capes, so wispy, I thought they were spirits at first. Not of solid flesh.” A shudder ripped through her, causing her throat to tighten. When she continued, her voice was strangled as it came out.

  Bryce squeezed her hand. “It’s all right. You’re safe, Mairi. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.” His tone conveyed concern. “Can you continue?”

  His gesture and words fortified her. She tightened her grip on his hand. “Aye.” Their image still burned in her mind. “The demons were difficult to see, except for their eyes. They glowed with a red fire, a fierce intensity that burned through the darkness of night. Their skin was pale, almost translucent, revealing the bones within. And the shape of their bodies was distorted—some kind of grotesque mix of bird and man.” She snorted. “Many call gargoyles grotesque, and we aren’t considered pretty by any measure, but these were different.”

  “How?” Duncan prodded.

  “The sensation they provoked. Just being around them left no doubt they were evil. The sound their tattered capes made when whipping through the air. It invoked—pure terror. Not sure how to describe it, but I’ll try. Like wind battering through the Highlands during the fiercest of storms. An unnatural screech that makes your skin prickle with goose bumps.” She furrowed her brows and rubbed her fingers between them. “Or that could have been from the chill that emanated from their horrid forms. Blanketing everything with a biting frost.”

  The gargoyles remained quiet, listening to her tale. She was surprised she’d made it that far, but there was more to tell.

  “Another thing I’ll never forget was the stench. Like a rotting animal carcass. Nauseating.”

  When she’d finished, she faced each of them awaiting their reaction.

  Duncan’s expression had turned grave. “How did they attack?”

  She’d forgotten he’d asked about that, so caught up in the horrid sensation of even being near one of the demons.

  “They picked off gargoyles who were alone. Two on one. Always a stealthy, uneven, cowardly attack.” A vivid memory of the two that captured her flashed in her mind. Each had taken an arm and mocked her with cruel laughter. She suppressed another shudder.

  “They slashed with sharp talons and ripped at gargoyles’ necks, slicing through the thick hide as easy as if it was liquid. But not to drink their blood; to tear out their throats.” She squeezed her eyes shut as the memory of her clan mate’s murder replayed before her. His screams as he attempted to fight off his attackers. Her captors had held her down and made her watch, taunting her they’d get to that point with her when they were ready. An urge to run out of the underground tunnel welled up. She couldn’t be surrounded by these dank walls. She needed open air; she had to escape.

  She froze. These gargoyles were her only chance, lest she let the demons roam free to continue their rampage.

  Bryce still held her hand. “It’s all right, Mairi. You’re safe.” His voice was low and rumbled like thunder. “You’re with me.”

  She focused on his warm touch, on the comfort it provided. Once she stifled the urge to flee, she continued. “Then they tore the rest of the gargoyle into pieces, t-t-tossing body parts to the ground.”

  She breathed with relief when she was done, every limb sagged with exhaustion. How she’d gotten through that, she didn’t know. That had better be the last time.

  Duncan stared at her for a long moment. “Did your clan live near the Smoo Cave?”

  “Aye,” she replied with hesitance, senses flaring with awareness.

  “Bring me a map,” Duncan ordered no one in particular. One of the sentries brought him parchment that he unrolled to reveal a map of the U.K.

  Duncan studied it before he said. “I heard stories in my youth of spirits that haunted the cave but thought it was only a myth.”

  “What have you heard, Duncan?” Lachlan asked. Wariness edged his voice.

  “Her descriptions sound like the sluagh.”

  “The sluagh?” Bryce repeated, echoing her question. She’d never heard of them.

  “Aye. The unholy hosts of the darkest of souls. I’ve heard tales of them haunting the Highlands, before my time. Stalking to hunt victims during the darkness of night.”

  “Why would they return now after all these years?” Bryce asked.

  “Good question. They may have slipped back through this realm.” Duncan tapped his fingers on his chin. “Some say they guard a portal to another world.” His tone turned grave. “Someplace I’d never want to see.”

  Mairi pictured a scene worse than hell. It had to be if creatures like those demons existed there. From the grimace on the faces of many gargoyles, she imagined they envisioned their own version of such a place.

  “If that’s what is spreading terror through the Highlands,” Lachlan began, “what can we do to stop them?”

  For a long pause, Duncan said nothing. Had he even heard Lachlan’s question?

  “Fight.” Duncan responded. “And pray it’s enough.”

  Although shivery tentacles wrapped around her spine, she wouldn’t be intimidated by the demons, again. “I will destroy them.” Lust for vengeance welled up in a flash, overtaking any sense. “They took everything from me. Everyone.”

  Duncan leaned forward. “Child, you have no chance on your own. And if they are terrorizing the Highlands, we must all try to stop them.”

  “How?” she asked, one part of her hopeful with their help, the other worried about dragging others into such danger.

  “We will send scouts, first. See what we’re up against.” In a grim voice, he added, “If they are what I fear, they won’t stop—unless someone stops them.”

  In the quiet that followed, the unsaid echoed in her mind. That someone would be the
m.

  The gargoyle named Malcolm paced. “How can we defeat them, Duncan? Are they immortal?”

  “That, I don’t know for sure. I never found any written references of them, just heard stories. If they’re immortal, we’d have to find another way. Force them back to whatever realm they slipped from.”

  Her gut clenched. How in bloody hell would they manage that?

  “Unless they have a weakness,” Duncan added.

  “Like what?” She leaned forward.

  “Good question,” he replied. “Vampires are immortal, but they can be destroyed by various means—decapitation, sunlight.”

  “How will we discover a weakness?” Bryce asked.

  “The only way we can,” Duncan replied. “Trial and error.”

  Several gargoyles groaned before all went silent in the chamber. It wasn’t the most foolproof of plans.

  For the next hour, Duncan and his enforcers debated the best tactics on how to hunt the demons, drawing on their experiences from other battles.

  “With your experience, our clan will follow your lead,” Lachlan said with a nod.

  “Unfortunately, my experiences have shown such battles lead to bloodshed and tragedy,” Duncan replied. “No one truly wins with so many losses on both sides.”

  Mairi’s stomach hollowed. Duncan was right. But what other choice did they have?

  Duncan had organized a group of four of his enforcers to survey the Smoo Cave and the location where Mairi’s clan was slaughtered for more clues as to how they’d organize the attack. While they surveyed, Bryce and the remaining gargoyles stockpiled weapons—anything that could inflict damage. In addition to swords and daggers, they incorporated other elements to aid in the challenge of facing the unknown. Silver coatings. Poison on sharpened tips. Even small sachets that contained flammable components.

  Duncan raised his eyebrows at Bryce and his brothers. “You remember how this works, I’m sure.”

  The brothers exchanged sheepish glances at the memory.

  “Aye,” Bryce replied. The others echoed the sentiment.

  One side of Duncan’s mouth curled into a half-smile. “Almost burned the damn forest down,” he muttered.