Stone Maiden

by Tina Gerow

  “But, then how will Logan raise the child of destiny?” Astor asked in a quiet whisper.

  “Once he’s dead, Charity can go public with their engagement and the fact that she carries Logan’s baby. The world will raise this child as Logan’s. There’s no risk of revenge in the prophecy if the child of blood dies with him.”

  Astor started for the door.

  “Astor?” Nicholas waited until he turned back. “Yes, and try not to screw this up. My patience with you is at an end. Enlist some of the human servants to help so we have round the clock pressure on them to die.”

  Astor nodded and left.

  Nicholas sighed. That was the interesting thing about prophecy, it had a way of twisting around to happen the way it was meant to anyway. He would have to follow all of the nuances that would allow the Dark One to win. God always played fair, so there had to be a way for evil to rein. Nicholas just had to ferret it out, or his Master would be extremely displeased.

  Everything seemed to be in place, now if he could just figure out how to use the latest piece of prophecy he’d come across. Convert the secret seed of darkness before the child of blood is birthed and evil shall reign. He had tortured a priest for four days before he’d gotten that piece of the prophecy. He was determined it not go to waste.

  *****

  Logan closed the door behind him, muting out James and Dara’s words. He took a cleansing breath and turned to face Charity. He wasn’t sure what to say to her, but this wasn’t going to work. His entire being screamed at him that he was going down the wrong path. And with the prophecy at stake, not to mention the well-being of his child, he had to go with his gut.

  When he turned to face Charity, evil emanated off her in visible waves and fire sparked in the depths of her eyes. But when he blinked and looked again, he saw only Charity’s lovely face, reddened with anger. I’ve been having lots of strange visions lately. Maybe that succubus bite affected me more than I thought. Then again, maybe the universe is trying to tell me something.

  “You have no right to embarrass me in front of the hired help, let her threaten me and then drag me in here before I’ve had a chance to defend myself.”

  Charity’s tantrum continued long after Logan stopped hearing her. Her words became a buzz inside his ears and a sense of foreboding and dread told him everything he needed to know. Logan stood in front of her for what seemed like hours until finally she wound down and stood staring at him with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “What the hell are you staring at?” she demanded.

  “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, why don’t we sit down and discuss this like two civilized human beings.” Logan gestured for Charity to precede him.

  She watched him for a moment, but then turned and walked over to sit down on the king-sized bed. Logan followed, taking the armchair facing the bed.

  “Charity,” he began, his mind racing for what to say next. “I think it’s time we put all our cards on the table.”

  “Finally,” Charity harrumphed. “Let’s discuss this and maybe you can get your priorities in order.” She leaned back on the bed regally and eyed him with disdain and triumph.

  Logan shook his head. She wasn’t going to make this easy. A sense of profound peace flowed through Logan’s body and he knew what he was about to do was the right path. He couldn’t explain it logically, but he knew. “I’m sorry this has been so difficult for both of us. You and I never had any kind of a serious relationship. It was all about the sex for me. For you, the hope of propelling your career forward.”

  She looked stunned at the unexpected turn of the conversation. “Logan, how can you think I don’t care for you?”

  Logan cut Charity off with a gesture and stood. “Don’t. The time for the bullshit has passed. You know every word of what I just said is true.” He ran a hand through his hair and then straightened to face his future.

  “I’m ashamed to say this, Charity, because I’m no longer the same person you knew. But I never meant to have you be anything to me other than a passing diversion. And if you weren’t pregnant, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. We have absolutely nothing in common other than being in the same industry. And I was a shallow and extremely selfish person. But then all of the attacks started—attacks that you know nothing about, because you aren’t even interested enough in my well being to find out.”

  Charity opened her mouth to retort, but Logan mowed over her.

  “That’s how I met Ariel. And she changed my life. I finally found out what it was to truly care about someone else more than myself.” Logan stepped forward to tower over Charity. “I will give our child my last name, my time, my money and my love. But I belong with Ariel, and I can’t do this anymore.” Using his index finger, he pointed back and forth between the two of them. “But I’d like for us to be friends and I want to very involved in my child’s life.”

  He watched as Charity’s gaze flashed fire and her whole body vibrated in anger. “You can’t do this to me.” She shot to her feet and stood toe to toe with Logan. “No man has ever turned me down. You have to rethink your priorities, or I’ll go public with the fact that you got me pregnant and then won’t even acknowledge your own child!”

  Logan shook his head. Even pregnant, Charity only thought about herself. What had he ever seen in her? He dropped his gaze to her heaving chest, and a small internal voice reminded him exactly what he had seen in her, as well as what he hadn’t. You got yourself into this mess because you lusted after an extremely fine set of tits and a nice tight ass. He shook his head as once again he wished hindsight revealed itself beforehand.

  “Charity, you can threaten me all you want, but even a scandal like that would only improve my career. And besides, as soon as you try to bluff it through and take me to court, I’ll be agreeing to support my child, asking for visitation and wanting to be a part of its life.” He put a hand on each of her shoulders and met her angry gaze. “This is better for both of us. You aren’t any happier with me than I am with you. You wanted what my career and songwriting could offer you.”

  Logan saw the calculation in Charity’s gaze as she started to protest and then switched tactics. In the next instant, tears filled her eyes and her chin trembled. He resisted the impulse to applaud.

  “But, Logan,” she said and blinked just enough to allow a fat tear to roll down her cheek. “How can I live without you? You’re my whole world. Please, just give me another chance. I can change.” She pressed herself against him, tried sobbing convincingly as an excuse to rub her breasts against his chest.

  This was the mother of his child and he’d willingly gone to her bed. They needed to make peace between them if this was going to work. He hugged her and she melted against him. Glancing down, he saw the feral smile flash across her face before she replaced it with more weeping. “Charity,” he said, continuing to hold her and resting his chin on her head. “I think we can do this together if you’ll drop the drama, be yourself and allow us to be friends.”

  She stiffened in his arms and then pulled away. “You bastard!” she shouted and then grabbed a vase off the nightstand and lobbed it at him.

  Logan ducked as the vase narrowly missed his head and shattered against the wall behind him, sending crystal shards of glass flying around the room. “Charity,” he began, but then had to duck again when a lamp followed the path of the vase. He ducked again, but when the crashing sound of the vase never came, he looked back to find Dara holding the vase unbroken, and James holding Charity’s wrist to keep her from throwing anything else.

  She glowered at James for a long moment and then in a flash, the cool calculation was back. “I’ll have my lawyer call you to discuss the details. You will be providing well for this child and if you want to see it, you’ll make sure to keep me happy.” She turned to face James. “Let go of my hand.” When he finally complied, she said, “I no longer want to be cooped up with your white trash hired help and your pet manager. If you have no
desire to be anything but friends, then I’m done here. I’ll see you in court.”

  She turned to walk away, but Logan stepped into her path, blocking her. “You’re in danger if it gets out that you’re carrying my child right now. There have been several attempts on my life and I don’t want anything to happen to you or the baby.”

  She glared up at him, all pretenses dropped for once. “I gave you a chance to play the humble father and husband. You’ve told me you prefer the help. I’ll hire my own protection and send you the bill.” She stepped around him and continued out the door.

  Dara put her hand on Logan’s arm to keep him from following her. “Odeda will shadow her until she finds someone to keep her safe.”

  “I think I’ll call one of the members of my kiss to come and take her home. He can protect her as well as keep her entertained.”

  Logan sat on the bed long after James and Dara left him alone with his thoughts. He knew Charity was just using him and he knew he’d done the right thing. So why did he feel so miserable? At times like this, he missed his old self. The self who could walk away from a woman without regrets or conscience. But he also knew he couldn’t raise a child while he was living a lie.

  He dropped his head into his hands and did something he hadn’t done since his mother died.

  He prayed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Logan stepped into the cockpit of the private plane and slipped into the co-pilot’s seat. He buckled himself in and then glanced over at Ariel, who expertly operated the controls. After searching for something to say to break the silence, he said, “Can all gargoyles fly planes?” All that had come out of his mouth since they’d boarded the plane had been one-liners and lame icebreakers.

  Ariel laughed, the sound of it bubbled over his skin in the enclosed space. “No. But a few years back a foreign diplomat we were protecting took flying lessons. So, I got to learn along with him.”

  Another heavy silence fell between them and Logan grimaced. After her sisters told her about the discussion he’d had with Charity, he’d hoped for a more intimate feeling between them. It was as if Ariel held him at arm’s length for some reason, but he could tell it was with reluctance. He shifted in his seat to face her and tried again. “I’m surprised the others didn’t want to wait an extra day and go back on the private plane – there’s enough room for ten or twenty people back there.” He nodded toward the back of the plane. When Ariel didn’t respond, he tried again. “And thanks for staying with me. It’s easier for me to be available now than to wait for a space in Tim’s schedule.”

  Ariel glanced over at him, her face lit with excitement. “Are you kidding? It’s not every day a girl gets to meet Tim McGraw. It was really sweet of him to sign those autographs for me to take to my sisters.” She returned her gaze to the equipment panel and flipped a large toggle switch in front of her, which Logan suspected had something to do with altitude. “Besides, it’s probably best if you and Charity aren’t on the same plane until she cools down.” The cool tone in her voice, obvious.

  “So you did hear about that. I wondered since you didn’t say anything.” When silence descended in the cockpit again, he sighed. Should’ve stayed away from that subject. He turned toward the window to see fluffy white clouds sail by. They looked like soft swirls of cotton candy and they were so close, he thought he could reach out and grab one.

  Finally, Ariel cleared her throat. “Are you going to write that song for Tim?”

  Grateful to have another chance at a conversation, Logan answered. “Probably. But I told him it wouldn’t be ready for his next album. I have a few other songs already in my head I need to get down on paper before they are gone.” Mostly songs inspired by you…

  When he glanced over at her, it worried him to see her face devoid of color. He touched her arm and confirmed his suspicions. Her skin was clammy and cool to the touch. “Ariel? Are you okay?”

  She didn’t turn her head to look at him, only nodded and swallowed deliberately before answering. “Would you mind grabbing some of that tea in the black tin out of the galley and bringing me some hot water? I think I’m still getting over my…cold.”

  He detected the slight hesitation before the word “cold,” which only assured Logan she kept something from him. But confronting her now when things were still fragile between them didn’t seem like a good way to get her to open up. When she was ready to trust him again, Logan was confident she’d confide in him. And now that he’d straightened things out with Charity, they had all the time in the world.

  Logan returned with the tea a few minutes later and handed her the steaming cup.

  Ariel flipped another toggle switch on the console he assumed was the autopilot since the controls began to move on their own. She held the mug between her cupped hands as if basking in the warmth emanating through the ceramic. After blowing away the steam, she sipped tentatively and then sighed.

  Almost immediately, her color began to return, and the knot that had formed inside his stomach began to loosen. “Wow, that’s fast-working tea.”

  She nodded and took another sip. “Alonna’s recipe for supernatural health.”

  Logan absently rubbed the spot on his inner thigh where Alonna’s permanent purple lip prints remained. “I’m glad she gave you something that helped.” And yours isn’t even permanent.

  He relaxed against his seat and began to study the cockpit. There were hundreds of gauges, knobs and levers, some of which he could decipher with common sense or from various movies he’d seen. But others reminded him of being inside an alien spaceship, and looked foreign and ominous.

  The gentle sounds of Ariel’s sips were the only punctuation to the drone of the engines, and for the first time since he’d boarded, the silence settled between them comfortable and warm.

  The mountains in the distance grew larger, and he returned his attention to inside the cockpit. Maybe she’d be willing to teach him to fly. It looked like just as much fun as driving his cars.

  Suddenly a loud popping sound startled him, reminding Logan of the pop gun he had as a boy. The plane shuttered and a wrenching sound shimmied through the metal beneath his feet. Then without warning, the plane lurched to the left, smoke and the sound of rushing wind filling the air around them. Pain seared along his arm as hot tea spilled across Logan’s bare skin. He looked over in time to see Ariel’s head bang into the side of the cockpit with a resounding crack. A trickle of blood blossomed on her temple, but she wiped it away with the back of her hand and began checking the plane’s gauges.

  “We’ve lost the left engine,” Ariel yelled over the noise. “We’ll have to jump.”

  “Can’t we restart it?” His voice sounded far away as if he was on the outside watching this happen instead of here in the thick of it.

  “Lost as in it is no longer attached to the plane,” she yelled over the din. “Someone must have planted a remote detonator.”

  “Shouldn’t we start calling mayday on the radio?” he asked, swallowing his panic.

  Ariel only shook her head. “No time.” She unbuckled her belt and he followed her toward the back of the plane as quickly as he could. Logan couldn’t understand why they couldn’t still fly on one engine, but then another wrenching sound convinced him Ariel’s course was the only way.

  The scene in the back of the plane filled him with horror. There was a small hole in the side of the plane, the edges charred and black. Wind rushed past them whipping his hair and clothes against him in painful slaps. The plane lurched again and he realized they were in a steep dive. He stepped toward the compartment where the parachutes were kept, but Ariel shook her head and pulled him toward the hole.

  “Hold on to me tight,” she demanded.

  Before he could let himself think about what he was doing, he threw his hands around Ariel’s waist. Ariel threaded her hand through his back belt loop and jumped out through the hole taking him with her.

  Icy air surged past them stinging Logan’s face and arm
s, and then he made the mistake of glancing down. The ground sped toward him and he tasted bile and panic in the back of his throat. Then suddenly, he saw Ariel’s wings materialize on her back. He breathed a sigh of relief, the impact of the resistance of the wings against the air jarred him so hard his teeth clacked together. But once he recovered, he realized that their descent had slowed.

  “Are you hurt?” Ariel asked against his ear, her voice soft and tentative. He shivered at the feel of her warm breath caressing his skin.

  Logan shook his head and reached up to check the cut on Ariel’s temple. Blood coursed in a steady stream down the side of her face and he pressed his hand against the wound trying to staunch the flow. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. We need to land somewhere and get you medical attention.” She nodded and he noticed her face looked pale and white. Blood continued to ooze through his fingers and he wished he could maneuver enough to pull off his shirt to press to the wound, but any movement he made seemed to require her to correct their course, so he tried to stay still.

  An ear-splitting explosion made them both jump and he almost lost his grip on Ariel. He anchored his arms around her neck, careful not to limit the motion of her wings and craned his neck to try to see the source of the explosion.

  In a valley between two large mountains, the remains of their plane still blazed. Logan swallowed hard as he realized that without Ariel he’d probably be down there with the wreckage. He breathed a sigh of relief as Ariel continued past the wreckage and finally set them down in a small clearing surrounded by pine trees.

  “I never thought I’d be so happy to have my feet on firm ground again,” he said.

  Ariel smiled up at him weakly and then panic shot through him as her eyes fluttered closed and she sagged against him.