by A C Warneke
She laughed at the humor in his words, his voice, as he spoke about the fates. “They’re positively Machiavellian, aren’t they?”
“And how do you suppose Machiavelli became so clever?” he winked at her as Ferris returned with the movie she wanted to watch, a cartoon with singing gargoyles.
Melanie looked at Vaughn and burst out laughing, “I can’t believe you have this movie. It’s a children’s cartoon.”
“Rhys thinks it’s funny to buy up everything that has gargoyles in it. But I’ll have you know, this movie has some pretty dark, intense scenes.” He sat back on his heels and held the movie up to make his point, “There is a man that is conflicted and threatens to burn down the city in order to lay claim to the poor girl he lusts after.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t watch that one until you’re older,” Melanie told Ferris, taking the movie and putting it on the couch behind her.
Instead of being upset, Ferris sat down to play checkers with Vaughn, once more settling into her chatter, going on in some length about her love of the gargoyle sitting on the roof and how she would much rather have the gargoyle than some pony, any little girl could have a pony but a gargoyle would be something really spet-cat-ular and maybe Aunt Mellie wouldn’t mind giving up her room to a gargoyle since ponies poop a lot and gargoyles probably didn’t, though if they did, it would probably be rocks, which wouldn’t be so bad because rocks were pretty cool.
It was difficult to keep a straight face as Ferris spoke so earnestly about so many topics. Suddenly she turned to Vaughn, “Do you have a mother, Mr. Vaughn?”
“Of course I have a mother, little one,” he smiled, leaning back against the couch. “But she lives very far away and I don’t get to see her very often.”
“I would miss my mommy if she lived so far away,” Ferris sighed, sliding her hand into Melanie’s and looking at her aunt with love. “And I would really miss my Aunt Mellie.”
Ferris’s words brought happy tears to Melanie’s eyes, even as she was absurdly curious to learn more about Vaughn’s parents. If he had parents, wouldn’t it be expected he would be able to have children? Or maybe he could only have children with another gargoyle and why was she even worrying about this when he was human now and she wasn’t even thinking about having children any time soon?
“You’ll have to tell me about your mom and dad someday,” she said, resting her chin on his shoulder. He was so solid and she knew that she could lean on him in the strongest of storms and not get blown away. How did she get so lucky as to find him?
He took her other hand in his and brought it up to his mouth, kissing it tenderly before he shook his head, “My parents are…” he smiled remorsefully as he opened his mouth and no sound came out. Shaking his head, he offered a conciliatory grin, “They’ll make themselves known when the fates are ready. They like to keep their mysteries.”
“Are they…” she glanced at Ferris and lowered her voice, “Are they like you?”
“Not exactly,” he hedged, not offering anything more and with Ferris there, she wasn’t going to pry. Not yet, anyway, there was time.
Ferris went very still and quiet. When Melanie looked at her to see what had captured her attention, she saw Ferris was staring at the doorway with wide, worshipful eyes. Knowing what she was going to see, she turned her head and saw Armand and Rhys standing there. They were both dressed, thankfully, and where Rhys was smiling – he was always smiling – Armand looked like he could do battle with a storm cloud and come out the victor.
Ferris was oblivious to the hostile undercurrent as she slowly, carefully, got to her feet and walked over to the taciturn man. Melanie expected the little girl to start chattering a mile a minute but she remained respectfully, almost reverently, quiet. Armand crossed his arms over his broad chest and glared down at the little girl, who remained blissfully ignorant to his anger.
Armand glowered and finally broke, “What?”
Ferris swallowed, her voice so soft it would have been impossible to hear if the rest of the room wasn’t completely silent waiting to hear her words. “You’re the gargoyle.”
Armand’s top teeth pressed into his lower lip but Rhys clapped him on the back, preventing him from saying the word out loud. It didn’t prevent him from stalking from the room, slamming every door he passed through. Melanie was pretty sure he was double and triple slamming some doors because there couldn’t possibly that many doors in the Nosuntres’s suite.
“Who is this gorgeous little creature?” Rhys asked, breaking the silence long after the doors stopped slamming. Smiling, he knelt down on one knee and met Ferris’s thoughtful blue-green eyes. “Hello, there, sweetheart. I’m Rhys, I’m Vaughn’s brother.”
“Are you a gargoyle, too?” she asked earnestly.
His voice was solemn but his eyes sparkled as he answered the little girl, “I am.”
“Do you think it is wise to encourage her?” Melanie asked, concerned despite Vaughn’s reassurance that imps left children alone.
“The damage is already done,” Rhys grinned up at Melanie, his brown eyes laughing. “Would you have me lie to her?”
“No, of course not….” Then she realized he was laughing at her and she playfully slapped his shoulder, “Oh, stop. You’re worse than my brother.”
Without missing a beat, he sat down and pulled Ferris onto his lap, “What say you we kick Vaughn’s butt at some checkers?”
Ferris gave him her brightest smile and Melanie noted she had won another heart. Since her niece was so well situated with two large guardians, she was going to find a bathroom to take care of her personal needs. Giving Ferris a peck on the cheek and Vaughn a slightly longer kiss on the lips, she made her way to the closest bathroom.
Of course she had known that Vaughn would adore Ferris because it was impossible not to adore the little moppet, though Armand seemed to have been immune. But that was Armand, a world onto himself, impossibly gorgeous and utterly alone. She wondered what had happened to make him into the man he was, who had broken his heart and how long ago it had happened. How old were the three Nosuntres brothers? How old was Vaughn? How much of the world, of history, had they been witness to?
There was so much to ask him and if her brain didn’t short circuit the moment she was within visual distance of him, she would have thought to ask. Like she told her sister a lifetime ago, when the sex wasn’t so brand, spanking new and she was able to think straight when he walked into the room, she would ask. Of course, there was always the possibility that she would never be able to see straight when he walked into the room. Maybe she would always have Vaughn goggles on, wanting to touch him, kiss him, make love with him, whenever he was within spitting distance.
“Oh!” she gasped as she stepped out of the bathroom and saw Armand leaning against the wall, looking so forsaken and alone. She wasn’t sure he had even seen her until he turned his head and she saw the desolation in his green eyes.
“Can’t you see what you’re doing to my family?” he asked, his voice bleak. “Long after you’re gone I will still be here, picking up the pieces of his shattered heart. Did you have to make him fall in love with you, with your family? You’re going to destroy him.”
Helplessly, she shook her head in denial but he didn’t give her a chance to speak, his words broken. “Gods, why couldn’t you have left him alone?”
“Armand….” His name came out without sound but he had already dismissed her with a wave of his hand and a sound of disgust. She could only stare as he disappeared into one of the rooms. Shaken by the encounter, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and leaned against the wall, feeling guilty because she was the reason Vaughn had given up his nights, she was the reason Vaughn had become human. No wonder why Armand hated her.
How could she ever make it up to him? She feared that no amount of chocolate would ease his tormented soul. How long would it be before Rhys came to hate her? Before Vaughn despised her? She hadn’t considered the implications when Vaughn had offered to give up his n
ights for her, she only thought about having him to herself, all night and all day. It had been terribly selfish of her to accept his offer without thinking about the consequences.
Maybe there was a way to reverse the spell….
That thought was a dagger to her chest. If he was no longer human, what chance did they have as a couple? What kind of future would it be if he had to disappear every time the sun rose in the morning? How could she explain it to her parents that her lover only existed at night because during the day he was stone?
What was going to happen if he decided to become a gargoyle again? She would grow old while he didn’t age. What happens when she was in her seventies and he was still young and beautiful and she realized she had spent her whole life with only half a man? Would she come to resent him for remaining perfect when she was old and wrinkled and withered up inside?
Wiping the tears from her face, she pasted on a smile. Instead of dwelling on the what if’s and could have beens, she was going throw her whole being into loving Vaughn and let the future take care of itself. After all, there had to be a reason why the fates chose her to be his mate. They couldn’t be so cruel as to give him to her only to take him away, could they?
She snorted at her own foolishness. Of course they could – they were the fates. They could do whatever the hell they pleased.
Chapter Sixteen
Melanie strolled through the winter wonderland holding onto Vaughn’s hand. Ferris held her other hand as Rhys and Jenna walked a few feet ahead of them, eyeing each other thoughtfully. Jenna had been so hesitant to agree to the double date, but in the end, it was Ferris who settled it. The little girl used her big, blue-green eyes and told her mother how wonderful it would be to finally see the ice sculptures in real life instead of on television. When Jenna looked to Melanie for help, Melanie widened her own eyes and said that it was a sight no little girl should miss and wouldn’t it make a wonderful memory if they took Ferris.
Outnumbered, Jenna graciously gave in. At the time, she hadn’t known that Melanie had invited Vaughn’s brothers to go with and while Rhys was more than eager to go and meet the stunning woman he had seen while in his gargoyle form, Armand refused to be a part of the travesty that was Melanie Jacobs. In the weeks since Vaughn had relinquished his gargoyle-ness, Armand had grown increasingly irate, finding fault in just about everything Melanie did. Unlike Rhys, he refused to have anything to do with her family, going out of his way to avoid them.
The weekend Ferris had spent with Melanie only reinforced how much Armand disliked her. Because her apartment was too small for the little girl to be cooped up inside for very long, it had made sense to temporarily move into Vaughn’s quarters, putting them in closer proximity to the man. Every time they walked into a room that Armand was in, he would walk out, even if he was in the middle of something. If he happened to walk into a room where they were, he would turn right around and leave. It was horrible and hilarious all at once.
Ferris adored him and the more he ignored her, the more fascinated she became. She insisted on spending all day outside with her gargoyle, climbing into his lap and having long, one-sided conversations with the stone beast. Melanie felt so sorry for Armand, having to keep his stone form altered for such extended periods of time. Every hour, or so, she would insist on Ferris running inside on some pretense or another. It couldn’t have been easy for Armand, but he never complained, accepting the little girl’s presence in spite of his own misgivings even as he silently fumed about Melanie. He really was a good man.
From the time Vaughn gave up his nights, nearly three weeks before, he and Melanie spent nearly every moment together, talking about everyday stuff, occasionally delving into deeper issues and humping like bunnies. It was humbling for Melanie to listen to Vaughn’s stories, about how human nature had remained the same no matter how much technological progress had been achieved. There were always those who hungered for power, those who hungered for wealth, and those who hungered for love, those who were always searching and never finding because they were searching in the wrong place, those who always questioned and those who never did, those who found spiritual enlightenment and those who used spirituality for their own glory.
They didn’t discuss his family beyond Rhys and Armand even though she was infinitely curious to learn everything about him and his world. Anytime she would ask, which was often, he would give her his slow smile and tell her that he would tell her but he was bound in silence. Apparently the fates would only allow her to see a little bit of the picture at a time. Vaughn explained that if she saw too much too soon, learned too much before she was ready, her brain wouldn’t be able to handle it and she would go into catatonic shock and might not ever recover.
Then he would laugh and shake his head, telling her he didn’t know why the fates were being so reticent in their sharing their secrets but they surely had their reasons.
It didn’t stop her from asking the questions in the hopes that the fates would give her another morsel.
Though they disagreed on some issues, they had agreed on most and their discussions were filled with much laughter. Vaughn listened to her thoughts and encouraged her to delve deeper into them, often playing Devil’s Advocate to get her to think beyond her comfort zone, making her truly examine why she believed what she believed. It disturbed her that she had never really questioned her beliefs before and hadn’t realized how much she had absorbed and accepted without ever really examining it. She began to see the world around her in a new light.
And not in the manner of gargoyles and imps and wizards.
They connected on so many levels, but every now and then, when he thought she wasn’t looking, he would get a distant look in his eyes, staring off into space, lost in his own thoughts. When she would ask him about it, the sadness disappeared and he would smile at her and tell her how much he loved her. But the haunted looks grew more and more frequent and it was getting harder for Vaughn to hide his despair from her. He was always so strong and she wanted to be a shoulder he could lean on, to give him some of her strength and it was only a matter of time before he broke and told her his burdens.
She wanted him to lean on her so she could be his rock for a change.
With her fingers entwined with his, Melanie leaned her head against Vaughn’s shoulder, smiling to herself as they walked amongst the crowds of the Winter Carnival. As cold as it was outside, she felt toasty warm inside, knowing that she loved a wonderful man and she was loved in return.
Mentally, she continued making a list of all of the things she wanted to share with Vaughn, from travelling the world and exploring all of the myths that weren’t really myths to the more mundane like taking walks along the lake or going to the state fair. Of course, the Minnesota State Fair was not mundane in the least and she was looking forward to experiencing the craziness of it with Vaughn.
Of course her family loved him almost as much as she did and her mother was already asking if there were any wedding plans in the works. She also hinted that a few more grandchildren would be wonderful, that Ferris was nearly six and needed a few cousins close to her own age, forgetting the fact that Ferris had tons of cousins on her father’s side. Melanie didn’t have the heart to tell her mom that there might not be any children, even if she, herself, held out hope that things were different now that Vaughn was human.
She couldn’t ask because she wasn’t sure what she wanted to know the answer.
“Look at that one, Aunt Mellie,” Ferris called out, tugging her hand and pulling her over to an intricately carved ice sculpture. “Isn’t he beautiful?”
Melanie had to laugh when she realized she was looking at an ice gargoyle, very similar to the griffin Ferris had claimed for her own. Standing on her tip toes, she whispered into Vaughn’s ear, “Kind of reminds me of Armand.”
He huffed out and amused laugh, turning his head and giving her a quick peck on the lips. “It kind of does.”
“I want a gargoyle,” Ferris murmured thoughtf
ully, repeating her earlier sentiment, studying the beautiful lines of the ice sculpture. Running her small hand along the clawed foot, she looked up at Vaughn. “I want this gargoyle.”
“Honey, he’s made of ice,” Vaughn smiled, getting down on his haunches so that he was at the same level as her. “He would melt if you took him home.”
She made a frustrated sound as she frowned, “That’s not what I mean."
He took her hands in his, tilting his head to the side as he studied the little girl. “Then what do you mean?”
Ferris looked up at her Aunt Mellie, her big, blue-green eyes desperate to make her understand, “You know what I mean. You have a gargoyle.”
Melanie grinned, joining the two as she squatted down as well. Slipping her arm through Vaughn’s, she nodded sympathetically, “I do know and there’s nothing more wonderful than your very own gargoyle.”
Ferris’s frown melted into a dazzling smile and she beamed, “Exactly.”
Vaughn’s brows were pulled into a frown as murmured in warning, “Melanie.”
She shook her head, waving off his concerns, “Rhys has been a far worse influence, Vaughn. He….”
Her words faded away as she saw one of those stupid, green creatures again. It was sneering at her with too many sharp, pointy teeth in its wide, ugly mouth. Slowly, she stood up and looked around, wondering who was going to be trying to attack her this time. The incidents were increasing as the days passed: strangers would randomly come up to her and try to start a fight; friends would call up and divulge a dark secret, even if they didn’t pull a full Peter on her; customers were complaining about her chocolates, which nearly brought her to tears.
The imps mostly left her alone when Vaughn was nearby and simply watched her from a distance, but the moment he turned his back they would circle. She didn’t want to worry him and make him feel like he had to hold her hand all of the time, so she mostly ignored the creatures. There were more than she could see but she didn’t know how she knew. She figured they were like cock roaches and for every one she saw, a hundred more were lurking in the darkness. To see one when Vaughn and Rhys were nearby was alarming and made her very uneasy.