by E A Price
“We were laughing,” said Kylie, sighing dramatically. “Seriously,” she said to Brenda. “I can barely go to the bathroom without him turning up and asking what I’m doing. Him roaring and banging on the door is not conducive to what I want to do in there.”
Luc pouted and started grumbling. Kylie shook her head and slipped an arm around his waist. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“I’m kidding. I love it when you do that.” She smiled at Brenda. “See? He’ just a big ole teddy bear,” she said affectionately.
His whole body bristled, including his wings, but he didn’t seem overly put out by her statement. Ric snorted back some laughter and Luc shot him a look that promised retribution later.
‘I Fought the Law’ belted out of Brenda’s phone. She grabbed it and rejected the call.
“Was that your uncle?” asked Luc.
“Ummm…”
“You are not answering.”
“No,” she said tersely
“That’s the third time he’s called,” said Kylie in disapproval. “And the third time you didn’t answer. He’s a good man.”
Luc growled.
“Fine, he’s an okay man.”
He growled again, and Kylie patted his stomach. “Settle down, big guy. Maybe he’s wondering where you are.”
“Probably,” Brenda muttered.
“Perhaps it is past your bedtime,” said Ric, giving her a maddening sneer.
“I’m a grown woman; I don’t have a bedtime. If you need reminding, let me show you my adult teeth again.”
Luc chuckled. “Settle down, let Amalric heal first.”
He muttered and folded his arms. The words insufferable and irritating were just discernable.
Andrew came into the room. “Guys, the chief of police is skulking outside the gate. I turned the alarm off before he set it off. Didn’t want to give him a reason to run in here.”
They looked at Brenda.
“Guess he’s looking for me.”
“I do not wish for the clan to come under scrutiny,” rumbled Luc.
“I guess I’ll go.”
Her phone rang again, but the ring tone, this time, was ‘Painted on my Heart’.
“Oh!” She blushed and rejected the new call.
“Boyfriend?” said Kylie, smiling widely.
“Uh, yeah. I better go. Bye.”
Ric snorted and followed her.
“You are telling me that there is a male willing to risk his life by allowing you to get close to him?”
Brenda stopped and glared at him. “He doesn’t go nuts and attack me.”
Ric’s face tightened. “I wasn’t attacking you; I was simply trying to stop you from leaving.”
“By force.”
“You forced your way into our garden and then ran away before we could question you,” he argued.
“That was an accident, Bob…”
“Ah yes, the slobbering creature with bad breath.”
“Preferable to yours!” she snapped. “It’s called mouthwash. It’s a marvelous invention; you may wish to try it. Goodbye!”
With that, she hurtled down the drive with him calling after her.
“Oh yeah, well… I… you…”
Ugh, he was aggravating. But at least, she got the last word in.
“You!” he yelled.
“Good comeback,” she hollered over her shoulder.
Her amusement at the strange gargoyle lasted until she reached her uncle.
Chris shifted from foot to foot. “Hey, I thought you might be here.”
“Yep.”
She waited until the gate opened remotely and went through, it clanged shut behind her.
“I’m sorry.”
“Okay.”
“Am I going to get the silent treatment?”
“No, I suppose that would be childish,” she said grudgingly.
“Yeah, but I’ll let you have it this time.”
“Maybe I’ll just be passive aggressive for a week or so. That’s the adult way of handling things.”
Chris grinned. “Well, not adult, but that’s certainly how all my exes handled problems.”
“Can we go home?”
“Sure, you ah, have fun in there?”
“Ah ha.”
“What, ah, what exactly were you doing?”
“Just talking to Kylie.”
“Oh, more girl stuff.” He looked infinitely uncomfortable, and Brenda had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing.
“Yeah, more girl stuff.”
“I don’t suppose you could make any friends your own age?”
Great, she makes a friend, and he still complains. “She’s not that much older than me, and the girls in my class are really immature. Besides, she’s younger than you. But then you are ancient.”
“Okay, you got me there. We still on for Ghostbusters on Saturday?”
“Sure.”
“That’s my girl.” He slung an arm around her shoulders as they walked home.
Chapter Fourteen
“No date tonight?” sneered Pike.
Chloe scowled at him. “Shut up.”
Monroe looked up from his computer screen. “That girl, Brenda, went back to the house again. She was there for like half an hour.”
“Maybe your boyfriend found someone new,” sniped Pike, thoroughly enjoying Chloe’s irritation.
Bell ignored them both as they started arguing. “Johnson, tail this girl Brenda. I want to know where she goes and who she talks to. I don’t want to approach her directly, but I think she will be useful.”
*
Annis smiled as she found Dragoslava sitting quietly, staring at the small TV Gustave had set up for him. It was on mute, and Drago did not appear overly interested in what was on, but he was calm. The chains attaching him to the ground were very much present, and the claw marks gracing the walls and ground had not disappeared, but when he looked at her, he softened.
Gustave told them that the late Professor Hardcastle believed that being asleep for so long could affect their minds and bodies.
Annis considered she was lucky. Dragoslava was a great warrior in his day, one of the strongest, one of the bravest. That he now struggled to control himself. That he couldn’t recall where he was from time to time must be so difficult. But the moments of lucidity were more frequent and although he had bad moments, Annis was optimistic for the future.
She did not like that they kept him locked away, but Drago agreed it was for the best. If he was free and came across one of the humans, he may not recognize them and may mistake them for an enemy. He did not believe it was worth the risk.
“It is nearly dawn, would you like anything?”
“No,” he rumbled before adding, “thank you.” He turned the TV off. “I scented a new human. She was here last night as well.”
Annis gave him a genuine smile. “Yes, her name is Brenda. She is a sweet young woman from the town.”
He gave her the ghost of a smile in return. “You think everyone is sweet.”
“I don’t think Amalric is sweet,” she protested, teasingly.
“He is at a difficult age. It should only last for another forty to fifty years.”
Annis giggled softly at his joke. The fact that he could find humor in their situation surely showed that he was improving.
“I think Amalric may be softening. I believe he has some attraction to Brenda.”
“Poor girl.”
Annis placed a hand on Dragoslava’s shoulder. “You are sure you do not need anything?”
“No. Will Brenda come here again?”
“I expect so. Would you like to meet her?”
“No. I just have a bad feeling about her.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ric shot another arrow into the makeshift target. Gustave had put together some targets using hay for them to practice. They weren’t great, but they would do.
He wasn’t sure why he was restless, but he was. He had been ever since Brenda l
eft the previous night. Something was bothering him, but he was not sure what. It must be that female. Something about her made him edgy, made his insides clench at the mere thought of her. And he did not like it.
He tensed as he aimed.
“Hi.”
The arrow careened through the air missing the target altogether. He spun and found Brenda watching him.
“Good aim,” she quipped.
“You distracted me,” he grumbled.
“Sure.”
Ugh. He muttered about unbearable females as he retrieved the arrow.
“Where is everyone?” she asked, watching him with interest.
“Kylie discovered some more locations. Andrew and Maggie went to one. Gustave and Bea to another. And Kylie and Luc went to another.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Luc went?”
“Yes,” he hissed.
“Yeah, he’s going to blend right in,” she muttered.
Ric grunted. “The rest of us must hide in here for fear of scaring people, but our chief may do as he pleases.”
“How come he went? I thought by the way he was looking at me that he was prepared to do just about anything to keep your existence a secret. I was envisioning a long walk in the woods and me digging my own grave when I met him.”
He ignored her odd words. “He did not want to let Kylie go on her own. They had a long and lengthy argument about it until eventually she was too tired to argue anymore.”
“Please tell me he’s doing something more than wearing a funny wig and glasses?”
Ric tilted his head to one side. “You speak in riddles, female. Bea has a van; Luc will remain in the back while Kylie drives. The location is only a few hours away. And if Luc goes it means he can put the statue into the van himself.”
Brenda raised an eyebrow. “So he left you in charge?”
“Yes,” he said proudly, before adding, “Gracchus and me. Who let you in?”
“Annis and just a heads up, I brought Bob. He’s currently slobbering over her, but if I whistle, I’m sure he’d come running to give you a friendly hello.”
He grunted, not liking the sound of that at all. Hell beast. “Why are you here? You do not have plans with your boyfriend?” he taunted.
She sighed. “My boyfriend is in Phoenix.”
Ric gave her a blank look.
“It’s on the other side of the country. I used to live there with my grandma. Now I’m forced to live here.”
“I have been asleep for hundreds of years and am now forced to live here.”
“Yeah, okay, you win.”
“It is not a competition, but I always win at everything I try.” He grinned, cockily.
“Well, you just won the most pompous gargoyle award so congrats, took some doing with Luc around I can tell you.”
Ric harrumphed. “I take it you came to see Kylie or Maggie.”
“I suppose.”
He stared at her, and she sighed. “I don’t really have any friends here, so I… just kind of thought I could hang out here.”
“By now I am sure Gracchus is watching TV if you wish to join him. Or Annis will be in the house doing laundry or some other female pursuit.”
“Female pursuit?” she spluttered. “Buddy, laundry is something both men and women need to do.”
His wings rustled as he raised himself to his full height. “In clans, the young mothers and the older females unable to fight anymore do any cooking and laundry.”
Brenda’s eyes flared at his condescending tone, and he had to admit, he enjoyed it. Her blue eyes were a very fetching color to start with, but when angered, he found them exceedingly appealing. Something that surprised him.
“And which is Annis?” she asked in a snippy tone of voice.
“She is unable to fight.”
“So she’s your slave? While you’re out here enjoying yourself she’s in there,” she waved a hand at the house, “toiling away.”
Ric faltered. He had been trying to rile Brenda. Why he wasn’t sure. He told himself that it was because she was a devil woman, but really he enjoyed the attention she gave him, and he wasn’t sure she would give him any if he weren't annoying her. But, her worries over Annis truly did baffle him. Annis could not fight. Therefore she must serve the clan in another way. It was simple.
“Annis is happy to do these things,” he explained slowly.
“Is she?”
“Well…”
Brenda tapped her foot. “Have you asked her?”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “No, but she has never said otherwise.”
“Ugh!”
She stomped into the house. Ric frowned after her. Inscrutable female. He had upset her – admittedly he had been trying to – but she had not been aggrieved over the way he spoke to her. No, she was focusing on Annis. Humans were very strange.
The cell phone Chloe had given him vibrated against his back. He recalled he had said he would meet her. He should probably go and talk to a sane female, he thought venomously. He just wished he could say that to Brenda’s face. Then she would know that she was not a sane female and that Ric had another female in his life other than her, not that he had her, she was nothing to him. Grrr.
Ric couldn’t deny that his agitation had somewhat lessened on knowing that her boyfriend was hundreds of miles away. He wasn’t sure why it would matter, but the idea of a male touching her was… unpalatable.
Humph. She was trying to bewitch him with her big blue eyes and her scent of sweet roses and it would not work!
*
Marsters smiled smugly at the other council members. “My niece tells me she has made contact with one of the gargoyles. A male called Amalric. She has ascertained that there are more gargoyles awake. They are hiding in the old Hardcastle house. We should have killed the professor years ago; then we would already have them.”
Blackthorne ignored her snide aside. He could care less about Marsters’ opinion. “And Lucifer? Is he there?”
She demurred. “My niece assumes so.”
“She does not know?” asked Harthill.
Marsters' eyes flickered uncertainly. “Well, she has made contact with the male, she is not sure about the other gargoyles with him. She believes there is a number of them, but she has not been able to get him to confirm anything yet.”
“So for all we know, Lucifer could be anywhere by now,” said Monk, tiring of Marsters’ attitude.
“This is disappointing,” agreed Blackthorne, tapping his fingers on his chair.
Marsters bridled. “They have not been able to get into the house or ascertain how many are in there yet, but they are doing surveillance. It’s just that the magical wards are strong.”
“And this Amalric?” rasped Adler.
“He is a young male. My niece tells me he is large and strong.”
“I have not had a viable male in years.” He looked to Blackthorne. “Lucifer is too valuable, but I would like to see if this male is a suitable subject.”
“It sounds like he would be ideal,” simpered Marsters, always keen to stay on the right side of Adler.
“I would need to get some DNA to see if he will make a match with Twenty-Six.”
Blackthorne mulled it over for a few moments before nodding in acquiescence. He gave Marsters a sharp look. “Tell your niece to get a sample of DNA.”
Chapter Sixteen
Annis smiled as Bob rested his head on her leg.
“Really Brenda, I am grateful for you help, but it is not required.”
“That guy just grinds my gears,” Brenda complained as she took out her frustration on an unsuspecting pillowcase.
Annis took the pillowcase out of her hands. “I believe it cannot take any more folding.”
“You should have heard the way he was talking about… ah…” Brenda’s eyes slid to the ceiling.
The female’s naturally pink cheeks bloomed even pinker. “Me?”
“Yes, he was talking about you like you were some kind of s
ervant.”
“It is okay.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Amalric cannot help it. It is the way he was raised. It is the way we were all raised.”
“Well, things are different now.”
“Indeed, they are.” Annis held the case up to her nose and inhaled. “Fabric softener and washing machines are truly wonderful. Much more preferable than washing garments in streams.”
“Yeah, we do live in a wondrous age. And an age where men and women should be equal.”
Annis gave her a patient look. “In my time, female warriors were considered equal to male warriors. I am not a warrior, so I have to do what I can. Warriors were never expected to cook or wash.”
“Well, times have changed,” argued Brenda, stubbornly. “I mean, I help around the house, but Uncle Chris does the washing and the cleaning and just about all of the cooking.” Brenda wasn’t the best cook, and he only allowed her to touch the oven if he was too busy working to make anything himself. Even then he insisted she stick to the kind of meals that just need the plastic peeling back and being thrown into the oven.
“He sounds like a very good man.”
“Yeah, he is.” It was annoying sometimes.
“It will take time for Ric to realize things have changed. He is young.”
“He’s an idiot.”
“And stubborn and prone to overreacting.” Annis gave her a significant look.
“Are you suggesting I am overreacting?” she asked, only slightly outraged.
“Perhaps a little.”
Brenda narrowed her eyes. “You just pretend to be meek; you’re really as sharp as a whip.”
Annis shook her head. “I was wondering if you could do me a favor. If it is not too much trouble,” she added hastily. “I am still trying to learn how to cook and would like some help with a recipe.”
“Sure, my skills aren’t the best, but I’m pretty sure I can read a recipe. But I thought Kylie said you guys like raw meat.”
“I actually find that I prefer my meals cooked, and I prefer vegetables to meat. Another way I am abnormal.” She stared at her perfectly folded pile of washing. Brenda didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone look so sad.
“No, you’re unique,” said Brenda firmly. “And there’s nothing wrong with having a vegetarian gargoyle.”