Stone Passions Trilogy (Stone Passion 1, 2, & 3)

by A C Warneke

  She sucked in another painful breath, her eyes flying to Armand, who stood stoically by as a griffin, his expression stony and blank. No wonder why Armand hated her. He knew she would have to make this impossible choice. Blinking rapidly, she tried to be rational, to think, but her brain wasn’t cooperating. Her head pounded and she couldn’t think at all. She needed to talk to someone, she needed her sister. “I have to go home.”

  “I understand,” Vaughn said, sounding so damn resigned she wanted to scream at him.

  She did scream at him, “No, you don’t! I don’t understand! Why didn’t you tell me this before we ever began this stupid ritual? Why did you let me believe we'd be together forever?”

  “I’m so sorry,” he meekly apologized.

  “How can you ask me to choose between you and my family?” she cried, starting to hyperventilate. Reaching out, she steadied herself by placing a hand on Rhys’s stone chest as black dots danced behind her eyes and the world spun crazily. “Oh, God, I can’t breathe.”

  At once, Vaughn was there, his arms around her, protecting her, shielding her. His broad palm was rubbing her back and his warm, familiar scent clouded her brain even further. “Relax, my love, and just breathe.”

  Her breath hitched in her throat as she tried to breathe past the blockade in her throat. How could she love the man that caused her so much pain? How could she not? “I have to go.”

  With an arm around her waist, he led her over to the door that would allow her to leave. Softly, he asked, “Will you be back?”

  She looked up at him, her eyes glossy with heartbreak and despair. “You’re asking me to give up my family, Vaughn. How can I make that choice with only a few days to decide? God, why didn’t you tell me before you offered?”

  He licked his lips with the tip of his tongue, straightening his shoulders as he looked down at her. Finally, he rasped, “I didn’t expect to love you so much.”

  She gasped as if he struck her and her eyes filled with agonizing pain as she turned around and stumbled away from him, too shocked to speak, only needing to get out of there. The air had turned to water and she couldn't breathe. She was choking and she just needed to get out of there.

  Vaughn swallowed thickly, letting her go and watching her struggle to open the door and then disappear through it. He stood there for a long time, not noticing when the sun went down and his brothers returned to their human form. When Rhys put his hand on his shoulder, he jumped.

  “She’s not coming back, is she?” Rhys asked softly.

  “No,” Vaughn answered, resigned and stoic. Shaking his head as he stared at the closed door, he repeated himself. “No.”

  “Damn her!” Armand swore, smashing his fist against the brick wall and shattering the brick.

  Alarmed, Vaughn crossed to his brother and grabbed him, shoving him against the broken wall so that they were facing one another, “No, Armand! Listen to me – Melanie loves me and I think, had she been given enough time, she would have chosen me. A month just isn’t enough time.”

  “You still have four days,” Armand growled, his eyes blazing, a mixture of rage and despair. “Why has she decided not to spend your last days with you?”

  Vaughn looked away and swallowed past the lump in his throat, “I think it would have been too painful, to be with me knowing that I was going to… leave her.”

  “She’s going to come to regret it,” Armand murmured, his tone softening.

  “Yes,” Vaughn acknowledged. “And when she returns here I want you to promise me that you will her tell that I love her, that I will always love her, and that I want her to be happy.”

  “You ask too much of me, brother,” Armand despaired, clasping Vaughn’s forearms with his hands, his eyes glistening with useless tears.

  “It’s all I ask of you,” Vaughn said with a sad smile.

  “What are you going to do now?” Rhys asked softly.

  “Get completely smashed and figure out how I am going to live without Melanie when I wake up,” he said with a rueful smile. They all knew that he was talking about waking up from his decades-long sleep.

  “You’ll get through,” Armand offered empathetically. “Even on days when you think you’re dying because it hurts so much each time your heart beats, you will get through.”

  “Besides, you’ll have us there,” Rhys promised. “We’ll be by your side the entire time you’re asleep and we’ll be there the moment you wake.”

  Vaughn clutched his chest as he struggled against the debilitating pain those words caused, “She’ll be gone when I wake up and I’ll never see her again.”

  His knees gave out and he crumbled to the ground at the thought. She was forever lost to him and he didn’t know how he was going to take his next breath. Armand’s arms came around him and his older brother promised, “You’ll get through it.”

  The problem was he didn’t know if he wanted to.

  A few days later, Melanie was lying in her bed, still debating what it was she was going to do. Her entire body ached and if she was brave enough, she would have thrown all caution to the wind three days ago and returned to Vaughn. But she wasn’t brave. She was a coward and that awareness of her true nature made her sick.

  She tried to talk to Jenna but it was impossible to explain her dilemma when there was so much she couldn’t say. So Jenna held her as she cried, offering comforting words without needing to know why her sister’s heart was breaking.

  How could she give up her family?

  How could she give up Vaughn?

  Even a visit from Frankie did nothing to cheer her up. Her friend had been as bright and cheerful as ever but Melanie hadn’t been in the mood for bright and cheerful. She just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. Anything was better than the anguish of having to choose between her family and the love of her life.

  “Oh my God, did you hear about Vanessa and Peter?” Frankie gushed, oblivious to Melanie’s misery. “The two of them flew off to Vegas last week and got married. I can’t believe he actually married the tramp.”

  Melanie hadn’t heard the news but it didn’t come as a surprise because it was what she asked Vaughn to do. Not able to meet her friend’s eyes, she asked softly, “Did you know she had slept with him when we were still together?”

  Frankie was silent but the color crept into her cheeks and Melanie had the answer. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You broke up with him less than a week later,” Frankie confessed. “I thought you knew. When I realized you didn’t know, it didn’t matter anymore and I didn’t want to cause any problems between you and Ness.”

  “But you changed towards her.”

  “Well, she had always been reckless and irresponsible but sleeping with a friend’s boyfriend was too much….” Frankie paused and truly looked at Melanie. Cocking her head to the side, she frowned, “You don’t seem very angry about it. Why aren’t you angry?”

  Melanie tried to smile but her lips faltered and her eyes welled with tears. “I just don’t have the energy to care.”

  Frankie understood without Melanie having to say anything. She took Melanie into her arms and held her as she cried.

  Rolling onto her side, Melanie watched the morning sun spill into her room. Between Frankie’s sympathy and Jenna’s support and Ferris being Ferris, Melanie had loved being home again. Even with the suffocating weight of the world hanging over her head, she had spent a lot of time with her family over the past couple of days, laughing and crying. It only made it that much more difficult to make a decision.

  “Aunt Mellie?” Ferris’s little voice came from the doorway. “Can I come in?”

  “Isn’t it awfully early for you to be up?” Melanie asked, forcing a smile as Ferris came into the room and crawled up onto the bed.

  “I heard you crying last night,” the little girl admitted, her blue-green eyes wide with concern. “Are you all right?”

  Melanie’s smile became genuine as she hugged Ferris, “I will be.” />
  “Mommy says you broke up with Vaughn,” Ferris frowned. “Why?”

  “It’s… complicated.”

  “But you love him,” Ferris pressed.

  “Sometimes love isn’t enough, sweetheart,” Melanie said solemnly. Holding the little girl in her arms, she whispered, “It’s just not enough.”

  “If I loved somebody I would make it last forever,” Ferris declared, equally solemn.

  “I know,” Melanie said, torn between laughing and crying. Sitting up, Melanie faced the little girl as she removed the enchanted amulet. It had been days since she had seen any imps and in a few hours, it wasn’t going to be needed any more because Vaughn promised protection. With a sniff, she put it over Ferris’s head, smoothing it in place, “I want you to always wear this necklace, Ferris. It’s very special.”

  “Why, Aunt Mellie?” she examined the necklace, holding it up to the light and turning it around in her hands, mesmerized by the sparkly charm. “What does it do?”

  “It’s magic,” Melanie whispered, touching the pendant with the tip of her finger. Sadness washed through her but she pushed it down; she wasn’t going to cry in front of Ferris. “It protects whoever wears it and keeps them safe.”

  “Where’d you get it?”

  “From a wizard named Omari.”

  Ferris beamed and then threw her arms around Melanie’s neck. “I love it, Aunt Mellie! I’m never going to take it off.”

  “Good girl,” Melanie whispered, wiping a tear away and breathing in the fresh, clean scent of Ferris. Squeezing her eyes tight, she hugged the little girl a little longer, not wanting to let her go. “I love you, Ferris. So much.”

  “I love you, too, Aunt Mellie.”

  Deliberately letting Ferris go, Melanie wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled, “Now, why don’t you run downstairs and see if there are any doughnuts for breakfast while I get a shower?”

  “Okay!” Ferris beamed, running out the door while admiring the necklace at the same time.

  Tonight was the new moon and all Melanie had to do was get through the day and then it would be over. But how was she going to get through the rest of her life?

  Chapter Eighteen

  Vaughn woke up that morning not knowing how he had fallen asleep. It was his final day of being a man, of being animate, and he didn’t care. After all, it was hard to care when there was a hole in his chest where his heart used to be. Instead of spending the day with… her, he sat on the roof and just watched the world pass by, trying to memorize as much of the hours of daylight as he could. He was never going to give up his nights again because it hurt too much knowing… just knowing.

  The normal sounds of the city filtered through his numbed senses: the distant sound of traffic on the interstate, the roar of engines and the honking of horns on the street below, the far off wail of an ambulance taking some poor bastard to the hospital. It was leaden and dull without… her, and he didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as he would have if… she was with him.

  As the day gave way to night, he knew that she wasn’t going to come. By the time the sun sank completely, his spirits disintegrated completely. He hadn’t realized that he had hoped she would return until the sun set and she wasn’t there. In that moment, he lost all hope and wished he could become stone immediately instead of having to wait until dawn.

  Somehow he managed to get through the night. Having his brothers around helped; they made the interminable waiting bearable. The three of them stayed on the roof, talking about times long past and drinking copious amounts of alcohol. By the time dawn approached, Vaughn was numb, either from too much alcohol that was too quickly wearing off or too much pain.

  Shaking his head, Rhys pulled Vaughn into an embrace, hugging him tightly. “I’m so sorry. I had hoped….”

  “No, don’t apologize,” Vaughn slurred, keeping his eyes open as the sky began to lighten. It was going to happen soon because he could already feel the tightening of his body. Strangely, it felt the same as all of the other times he had returned to his gargoyle form. “I asked for too much.”

  He knew what to expect when he turned to stone completely. Armand had talked about it throughout the years, but even more so in the last couple of days. Sound would be muted, like he was listening to someone whispering under water; there were no colors, no vision; he wouldn’t be able to feel anything with his body but he would remember. He was going to be with… her always but it was going to be vague, like a fading dream.

  Armand told him that the time would pass quickly, that it would feel as if only a few days had passed and when he woke up… she was going to be gone. Vaughn struggled to catch his faltering breath; the next time he woke…. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of his brother’s embrace. Swallowing painfully, he entreated, “I want her to live a long, happy life, guys. I want her to fall in lo…,” he swallowed painfully and had to take a moment before he could continue. “Love, get married, have children.

  “Please keep an eye on her,” he continued, feeling the despair wash over him as he thought of… her. Blinking a few times to keep the tears from falling, he added, “Remember everything about her life so you can tell me after… afterwards.”

  Moisture glistened in all three sets of eyes as the sky continued to lighten to a dull gray. Looking out over the city and the dawn about to break, he gulped down a mouthful of bitter air. “Tell her I love her.”

  “Of course,” Rhys answered, glaring at Armand to keep his thoughts to himself, who thankfully didn’t say he had been warned.

  “Be there for her until….” He had to catch his breath but it was stuck in his chest, painful and cold. “Until she dies.”

  “For what it’s worth, I think she truly loved you,” Rhys offered, tightening his grip. His words caused a well of panic to surge through him, in spite of the alcohol. In a few minutes he was going to turn to stone completely and he was never going to see her again.

  “Oh, god, I don’t want to do this,” Vaughn panicked, looking wildly from one brother to the other. His heart pounded erratically in his chest and he was going to be sick. The reality of the situation was crashing around him: she was going to be dead when he woke up and he was never going to see her again. “I don’t want to be stone; I don’t want to give her up!”

  Armand hugged him tightly, his own heart breaking on his brother’s behalf. “Hush.”

  “Forgive me, Armand,” he rasped, feeling the tug of dawn. “I finally understand.”

  “Hush,” Armand repeated, the word catching in his throat. “It’s all right. Everything will be all right.”

  That wasn’t true but Vaughn appreciated the words. It was better than Armand’s condemnation. Why couldn’t he have had more time with her? Two months wasn’t anywhere near enough time. He wanted a lifetime with her, a gargoyle’s lifetime. He wanted eternity. God, time was going to pass so quickly for him and she was going to be gone and he was never going to see her again.

  He hadn’t had enough time with her.

  How had Armand survived when Katrina didn’t accept his gift? At least she had shown up with tears streaming down her face to tell him she couldn’t live as a gargoyle. Why hadn’t Melanie shown up to at least say good-bye? Where was she? Why did it have to hurt so much, knowing that he would love her for all eternity and she hadn’t even come to say good-bye?

  Swallowing his pain and tears, Vaughn forced himself to step away from his brothers and face his fate. She didn’t choose him and it would be over soon. There was no turning back and when he awoke she was going to be gone and he would have to learn to live without a heart, just as Armand had done. He would survive.

  As the final vestiges of night fell away, he stood on the edge of the building and looked out in the direction of Melanie’s house. The first rays of the sun spilled across the gray sky and all of Vaughn’s thoughts fell away until there was nothing left, nothing at all.

  Air rushed back into Melanie’s lungs as she struggled to remember where she was, wha
t she was doing. She had been on her way back to the castle, back to Vaughn, when everything fell apart. She had stopped to get gas in her stupid SUV and when she went to start the damn thing, the engine wouldn’t turn over. Somehow, she managed to convince Jenner to pick the car up after he got off work, telling him that he would find the keys with the store manager.

  Anxious to get to Vaughn, she had called the cab company and was picked up less than twenty minutes later. Her nerves were strung way too tight and she was going to be sick but she knew that she was doing the right thing. She was going to be with Vaughn. He was just going to have to deal with the fact that she was still going to visit her family but she was just going to limit her visits to nighttime.

  It had all made sense at the time.

  So why did every inch of her body hurt and where the hell was she? Glancing out the generic window, she saw that the sun was still hovering in the sky. She could still make it. Sitting up, she cried out in pain as needles pulled at her arm, her hand. With a vicious tug, she pulled the damn things out, not caring about the blood because she had somewhere she needed to be.

  Slowly, she struggled out of the bed, wondering why everything hurt so much before she realized she was in a hospital room and her lower left arm was in a cast. She frowned as she caught a glimpse of her reflection. At first, she wanted to look away because she didn’t want to get caught staring at the bloodied and bruised stranger. It wasn’t until she turned her head and the stranger did as well that she realized she was looking at herself in a mirror.

  She wondered what the hell happened since there was a row of stitches along her left eyebrow, her lip was split and looked like it was still oozing, she had two black eyes and various other bruises coloring her face, the shade a mishmash of greenish-yellow and purple. Unable to move faster than a snail over a mound if salt, she ran a hand beneath her breasts, feeling the band around her torso, the wrappings around her ribs, and she wondered if they were broken or merely bruised. It didn’t matter, they still hurt like hell.