Curse of Stone

by Nikki Lockwood

  “It is good to see you. Come in.”

  “Stone, this is Professor Santini Homayun, head of mythology, folklore, and religious studies.”

  “Hi, it’s Danielle, actually,” I corrected, casting an annoyed glance at Jamie. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  I held out my hand for a handshake, but Santini clasped his hands together, moved them closer to his chest, and peered down over his nose at my outstretched hand.

  “Pleasure.”

  He turned and walked around his large mahogany desk to his black leather chair and plopped down. Jamie walked into his office, and I followed close behind. We sat in the chairs in front of his desk.

  My body tensed for a moment when Jay’s arm rested around the back of my chair.

  “Now what can I do for you?” Santini asked.

  Jamie looked at me, then back at Santini. “She has a few questions for you.”

  “Let me guess, about werewolves?”

  “Werewolves?” I questioned, almost laughing at the ridiculousness of it. “Werewolves aren’t real.”

  “Oh, okay, what’s your question?”

  Santini gave Jamie an unusual look, like he was trying to communicate to Jamie with his eyes.

  Jamie turned and smiled at me. “You’re up.”

  Santini’s eager smile was unnerving.

  I paused. “I was wondering if you knew anything about…gargoyles?”

  Santini stared at me, then leant back in his chair. His fingers intertwining and resting on his chest.

  “According to legends, gargoyles were said to be the greatest warriors of the old world, from great lands and civilizations, such as the Vikings, the time of the pharaohs, Mayans, ancient Greece, and Rome, you get the picture. They are one of the oldest creatures in mythology.”

  I slid to the edge of my seat, eager to hear more.

  “It is said, that each one of them made a deal with the devil to live. The men were given immortality and lived in a castle that has long been buried from daylight.” Santini narrowed his gaze. “You see, during the age I speak of, no Cathedral had been built yet. From this castle, they were enslaved to carry out the devil’s will. Many centuries passed before they united against him. The devil, angered by their treachery, cursed them to a life worse than death – to become winged beasts, gargoyles, because if they would not serve evil, then they would be punished to look evil, never able to return to human form again. But even when placing a curse upon someone, the devil always had the upper hand. Every morning at sunrise, they would turn into solid stone, only returning to living form at sunset – living in darkness for all eternity.”

  “So, what happened to them?” I asked. The information was like lightning rods cracking in my head, with each new piece of the story, another spark set fire to more questions.

  “Cursed out by the devil, without a home, they hid in the shadows, until one day, Yahweh, or as you know him, God, offered them a place in this world. They became what is known as one of the three defences against evil. Because they weren’t evil at all, they were just cursed men with good hearts, that succumbed to trickery. Yahweh believed that he could use their evil appearances to ward off further evil. But he couldn’t break the curse placed on the men, and knowing that they were good men, he gave them the ability to choose between gargoyle form and human form at night, but during daylight hours, they would still be cursed to stone. However, he gave them a home on holy ground.”

  “What happened to the devil?” I asked.

  “For the devil to walk on the Earth’s plane, he must have a foot hold, whereby a person’s soul must be sacrificed, so that he can claim the body for his own. He couldn’t body jump to stay on this plane unless another sacrifice was made. After the gargoyles made the pact with Yahweh, they captured the devil, and killed the human form he had possessed, banishing him back to the underworld, to hell, where he waits for the day when he can return.”

  “So, you’re saying that according to legends, gargoyles are said to be real, and come to life at night?”

  “That is what the legends say. At night they protect this world, and humans from all manners of evil beings, and creatures of darkness.”

  “How do you know all this?” I asked.

  Santini eyes fixed on me, then slumped back in his chair. “It’s my job.”

  “Is it possible that someone could have seen one of them?”

  “Well yes, anything is possible, but these are just legends, and old-world legends at that. Why do you ask such a question?”

  “Oh, her grandmother reckons she saw one with her sister in a cemetery when they were teenagers,” Jamie said.

  I shot him a dirty look.

  “Is this true?” Santini studied me.

  “Yes, Gran and her sister, Ruth,” I said, noticing that as I mentioned Ruth, Santini’s eyebrows raised, and his eyes lit up.

  “That is curious.” Santini’s voice lingered. “And what happened to your grandmother and Ruth?”

  I paused, there was something menacing, unsettling about the way he said ‘Ruth’. It hissed as it rolled off his tongue. I didn’t know if this was Santini’s typical behaviour and odd personality, but there was something about him that was starting to creep me out.

  “Nothing. But the next night Ruth disappeared.”

  “Fascinating,” he said, visibly delighted with my response. It was disturbing.

  “Why is that fascinating?” I asked.

  “That you are sitting in my office. The granddaughter of someone who has seen one,” he said, his face twitched.

  I froze, the thudding of my heart silenced all other sounds. The eyes that stared back at me, no longer cold, but those belonging to another man. One blue, one green.

  Another ripple. Santini’s face disappeared. My eyes widened. The face that replaced it was otherworldly handsome. Oh, god. A chill ran down my back, and a cold dew settled on my upper lip. It was the face of the man from the alleyway.

  “Stone,” Jamie said, but the world around me fell silent. He gave me a gentle shake. “Stone?”

  My concentration broke, and as I blinked the face disappeared. Santini stared at me, his eyes narrowed. I wiped the sweat from my upper lip with my sleeve.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Are you okay? You zoned out there for a bit.” Jamie asked.

  A rush of warmth raced to my cheeks. I cast a glance at Jamie, then to Santini. “Nothing it doesn’t matter.”

  Santini’s body shifted, his head tilted to the side, eyes locked on me, as if questioning me, but without words. Did he know that I’d seen the face? He couldn’t possibly, could he?

  “Could I ask one last thing?” I asked.

  “What would a potential gargoyle sighting and a girl disappearing have to do with each other? How would they be linked?”

  The coldness remained in Santini’s face as it lit up with a sinister grin. “It could mean anything or nothing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t you see. Gargoyles protect this world and humans from evil. So, if a human saw them, according to legend, a demon had to be on earth.”

  “Demon?” My eyebrows raised.

  Santini nodded. “There are all kinds of monsters in this world, and sometimes the truth is best left undisturbed.”

  Jamie had said the exact same thing to me, and Maurice for that matter.

  Santini glanced at Jamie and a wicked smile curled up his face. “Yes, why don’t you ask your friend here about werewolves.”

  “That’s enough.” Jamie burst upright.

  I jumped.

  “He just told you to leave the truth alone. For once in your life, bloody listen and heed the warning,” Jamie growled like it wasn’t up for discussion.

  I tightened my jaw. He was hiding something. His reaction was a dead giveaway. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Nothing. But for fuck’s sake, Stone, promise me, that you will drop it now.”

  “You know I can’t do that.�
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  36

  Jamie weaved between traffic in his dodge charger. The streets were darkening as the night rolled in. He hadn’t uttered a single word since we’d left the university, and for him, that was weird.

  My eyes wandered up his bronzed sculpted arms. He really was beautiful. My pulse thudded beneath my skin. Chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. Even the thought of his hands on me, flustered me in ways I didn’t expect. We’d never ever crossed that friend boundary. Why now?

  “What did Santini mean by asking you about werewolves?”

  Jamie didn’t answer, he looked dead ahead. In what felt like minutes, was only seconds, his shoulders relaxed. His head turned to me. Those big blue pools of blue, flickering in the passing headlights.

  “He was winding you up,” he finally said.

  “But he mentioned it twice?”

  “Just drop it okay.”

  “What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.

  The car fell silent as it pulled to a stop at the red lights on the intersection.

  Jaime turned his upper body towards me. “You know me better than anyone else. What could I possibly be hiding?”

  “That you’re a werewolf.” My answer was a test. Half joke, half fishing for his response.

  Jamie burst out laughing. “Yeah, good one.”

  I didn’t respond. But I’d seen the nonchalant gaze he used to divert conversation. There were secrets in his eyes. He was hiding something. Right now, he wasn’t going to tell me, but I’d figure it out.

  The traffic light turned green, his foot hit the accelerator hard, and we skidded through the intersection.

  I leant my head against the inside of the car window and cast my eyes up towards the night’s sky. The stars seemed brighter tonight, and silhouettes of buildings were carved out like a backdrop scene. I lowered my eyes, watching the people walk hurriedly along the dim lit footpath, as we sped along the streets.

  A jolt of ice ran through me. Amongst the blur of people on the street, my eyes met another. On the edge of the alleyway, two onyx eyes glistened beneath a mixture of streetlight and starlight. Ruth? No. Within a second, I unclipped my seat belt, and turned back towards to where our eyes met. My breathing choked, like two hands had wrapped around my throat, squeezing tight. Small balls of dew took residence on my face. A chill cloaked my skin, a loud wheeze escaped at the release of my throat.

  Ruth stepped out onto the footpath pushing her trolley. Beneath the scraggy grey locks, and a purple hat, her face, emotionless, illuminated in the glare of passing headlights. But her eyes, like the depths of hell holding innocent souls, and mine were being sucked towards her.

  My mind raced. The photo in my pocket weighed heavy. I wasn’t going to let her brush me off. Not with proof of who she was.

  “Stop,” I yelled. “Pull over.”

  But I’d said it too late. As we turned the corner onto Devon Street, everything around me moved in slow motion, my body was flying sideways, my hands flailed unable to grab hold of anything, as I flung across to the driver’s side, and slammed into Jamie as we sped around the corner.

  He cursed me as his arms moved in rapid motion pulling the car back out of the oncoming traffic. Fast as possible, pushing against him for leverage, I clambered back over to the passenger seat.

  “Fucking hell, I just about crashed,” he growled. Gritting his teeth; knuckles whitened around the steering wheel.

  “Stop the car. Stop the car,” I repeated.

  “You will be the death of me. You are going to get yourself killed and take me along too as collateral damage. Damn it, Stone, you are completely reckless, with no regard for those who care for you.”

  Before the car pulled to a complete stop, I opened the door, jumped out, and ran, around the corner, towards her.

  “Hey,” I called out, but Ruth didn’t stop.

  It took a moment to catch up to her. I raced to the front of her trolley, and grabbed it, stopping her in her tracks.

  “Ruth,” I said.

  She raised her dark purgatory eyes, with a frightening glassy glare.

  “What happened to you?” I asked.

  “Get away from me, you foolish girl,” she spat.

  “Claire told me that when you were younger, you saw a creature with glowing red eyes.”

  “Hush now child.”

  “No, I will not. Where have you been all this time?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “If nothing else, we are family. You owe us an explanation,” I added.

  She tilted her head to the side and stepped closer to me. I watched her every move. Her appearance became more frightening the closer she got to me. She did look like the Ruth in the photo; even hidden beneath her deeply ingrained wrinkles, it was the same face. But her eyes. Those eyes, like soulless pits of endless darkness, were different, evil even. Ice filled my veins. Every nerve ending prickled with cautious awareness.

  “Family,” she spat. “I have no family. He is my family. He is all I have. You speak lies.”

  “I am your family,” I said with conviction. “You are my great aunt.”

  The back of her hand whipped across my face with a crisp sting. “Silence, I will not listen to your lies.”

  I took a step backwards and held my cheek. “Who is he, Ruth?”

  She cackled.

  “Did he take you? Is he the one that made you forget your own family, your sister, made you forget who you are?”

  “Silence, you slippery tongued human,” she hissed. “She will not have him, he is mine.”

  I pulled the photograph from my pocket and held it out for her to take it. “Here, if you don’t believe me, look. It’s you.”

  Ruth glanced down at the photo, then snatched it from my hand. “This is trickery. Lies.”

  “Look at it,” I demanded.

  She stared at me. My insistent expression not faltering. Her eyes shifted to the photo. There was a flicker in her eyes, then she shoved the photo back at me.

  “A long time ago, yes,” she uttered.

  Behind her, Jamie was striding towards me. His hands curled into fists. The look of pure anger on his face.

  “What happened to you?”

  “I must go. He will come,” she said.

  Something had her visibly frightened as she flustered about in the trolley.

  I stepped forward. “Who is he, Ruth?”

  Her black eyes fixed on me once again. “No, no, no. He will come. I must do as he commands.”

  “Who will come? What must you do?”

  “Radu.”

  37

  “What the bloody hell is wrong with you?” Jamie landed in front of me.

  Ruth disappeared into an alleyway.

  I knew he was expecting an answer, but my mind wasn’t on him.

  “Stone, are you even listening to me?” His words jolting me to the present. “Are you crazy? Jumping from a moving vehicle to chase a bum down the street. Are you trying to get yourself—”

  “Don’t even start,” I barked.

  “What was that all about? Who is that woman?” he snapped.

  It was none of his damn business. He was keeping secrets, so I could too.

  “Does this have something to do with your gran?”

  There was nothing I could say to him that he wouldn’t barrel me for, so I said nothing.

  He threw his hands up in the air and huffed. “Of course, it does, everything is always about Gran. Bloody hell, of all the crazy shit. I love your gran, but this has to stop. You’re putting yourself in dangerous situations for this. I can’t believe you.”

  I didn’t answer. My face flushed red.

  “Damn it, I am only trying to protect you from doing something stupid or getting yourself hurt. But you make it damn near impossible to help you.”

  I’d never seen him so angry before. Gritting his teeth, growling, eyes flickering with glints of gold. The heat coming off him, so hot on my skin, it almost burnt. His body was trembli
ng.

  It caught me off guard. Choking words that I would normally throw back at him. But it seemed like there was more to this. “Why do you even care?”

  38

  Trembling, I stomped towards my apartment. Eyes glazed over, locked on thoughts of that fucking pain in my arse.

  ‘Why do you even care?’

  Her words both shocked and stung. I went silent because the rage of both myself and my wolf was spiralling towards being out of control. Her life was not worth gambling over, not in search of those winged bastards. Couldn’t she see that?

  If she thought this was going to make me back off, she was wrong. Her body had reacted to me.

  I slammed my apartment door open. My feet wanting to enter but they felt like led fucking weights. Hands coiled into tight fists, my claws flexing in and out, each time slicing through my flesh. A wet warmth dripped from my hands.

  Stone would be the absolute death of me. I knew she was reckless, but jumping from a moving vehicle to confront that woman… I paused. My senses had completely shut off the minute that woman’s hand touched Stone’s face, my vision had blurred into a white blank rage.

  Who the fuck was she?

  It didn’t matter, because whoever she was, I would find her, and rip her fucking arms off for touching what was mine. No one fucking touched my girl.

  But there was something else. Stone was hiding something. When I asked about Gran, her tone had changed, into the low pitched one she used when she was lying. Fuck. I am such an idiot.

  When the weight lifted from my feet, I strode inside my apartment. Velkan, Cai and Tiffany were already here.

  Tiffany’s face widened in horror, and she jumped up as her gaze hit my hands. “Jay?”

  I stormed into the kitchen, poured a glass of whiskey, and guzzled it back in one breath. The vein in my temple throbbed like a bitch. Any moment now it would burst.

  Tiffany appeared in front of me, her hands trying to grab mine, but I held them firmly shut.

  “What’s happened?” Velkan asked, standing on the opposite side of the kitchen counter. “Is it Danielle?”