Gargoyle Redemption (The Gargoyle Redemption Trilogy)

by Bria Lexor

  “You’re nothing but a half-breed,” Erasmus snarled. “And like your mother, you’ve fallen in love with a human. How pathetic!”

  I could see Abel become angrier by the minute. I looked down, and to my surprise, there was a dark black jewel on Erasmus’ pants. I plucked it off and held it tightly in my palm.

  “What are you doing here, Erasmus?” Abel growled pointing his sword at us.

  “Last night someone stole two of our jewels from the safe. You wouldn’t happen to know where they are now, would you, little brother?” Erasmus asked tilting his head to the side.

  “Ha!” Abel scoffed. “How the hell should I know?” Abel grunted. “I think your Hunters should keep better tabs on their stuff don’t you think?” Abel said inching his way closer towards us. I knew Abel had a plan, or at least I hoped he did.

  “Maybe you should check with your vampires or whatever friends you’ve got left,” Abel spat at him.

  This angered Erasmus. He threw me roughly to the ground, and my knee fell into the black wooden dresser, causing instant pain but nothing too severe. Abel jumped over me and started fighting Erasmus. I scrambled to my feet, ran towards the door, and watched them go at it. Abel’s sword kept clashing with Erasmus’s sharp claws.

  Finally, Erasmus ran towards the balcony and flew away. I thought Abel was the only gargoyle who was able to be awake during the day. Abel was panting now as he shoved the sword back into his necklace. I thought he had stabbed himself but taking a closer look at it, the cross was back in its original form, and Abel ran to my side to check on me.

  “Shinka, are you alright?” He asked picking up my arm. I had a long gash in it from Erasmus’s claws. “You’re hurt.” He started to wipe the blood with a nearby towel, but I stopped him.

  “It doesn’t hurt that bad,” I said putting pressure on my wound with the towel. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a brother outside of the clan?” I asked looking up at him.

  Abel sighed. “That’s because he was locked away because he didn’t want to work with the Clan after our Father died,” He replied shaking his head. “The Hunters must be desperate to have gotten him out of the reformatory.” Abel paused. “Now that Erasmus knows you’re here, he’s going to come back again until he gets what he’s after.”

  “Well, he’s going to have to listen to me then,” I said throwing the towel into a sky-blue hamper that was sitting beside the door.

  “What do you mean?” Abel asked with a look of confusion on his face. I opened my palm revealing the black jewel and the other two jewels I had. Abel slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “I guess Erasmus isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, now is he?” I grinned slyly at him.

  Chapter Nine

  When darkness finally fell and the gargoyles awoke, Abel explained to them what happened. They gathered around me to see which jewels I had, and his twin sisters were ecstatic. Judging by their excitement, I knew then the jewels belonged to them.

  “How did you get these, Shinka?” Ambrosia asked, picking up a pale pink jewel.

  “Um... someone gave them to me earlier today,” I said choosing my words carefully.

  “Who gave you these?” Abel asked staring at me with a solemn look, and I knew I should have told him about Kaitlin’s talk, but I was afraid he would be angry with me again, and I really did not like it when he was mad at me.

  “Kaitlin,” I said in a small voice. Abel shook his head in disappointment. “And who is this ... Kaitlin?” Thaddeus asked with curiosity in his voice. “A Hunter’s daughter,” Abel said flatly, and I heard a gasp from all sides.

  “Shinka,” Aura Nova asked meekly. “Your friends with... a Hunter?” There was a hint of betrayal in her voice, and I felt an aching feeling in my heart that made me sad.

  “No!” Abel said quickly, coming to my defense. “Kaitlin’s not her friend!” Abel glared at me, and I knew he was about to chew me out. “Shinka, let’s take a walk.”

  Abel grabbed my hand and walked through his room, up the hallway, down the stairs, and we left the house. When we were a good distance from the house, Abel grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me in the eye.

  “Shinka, you can’t tell them your friends with a Hunter,” he stated. I started to protest. “Kaitlin just handed them to me, Abel...”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I could hear the hurt in Abel’s voice. “For this relationship to work we have to trust each other. You know that.” I started to run when Abel caught me by the waist and lifted me up off the ground.

  “Abel let me go!” I yelled at him, but he would not put me down. “I’m sorry, but she did that on her own.” I shot at him. “And if you don’t trust me like I trust you, then maybe we should just break up!”

  Abel put me down and held me tightly in his strong muscular arms.

  “I believe you, Shinka,” Abel said softly. “But I am so afraid I will lose you to them, and I don’t want that. Do you understand what I’m trying to say to you?”

  Just then something hit the ground, and I crouched down to look at it. It was a hot pink jewel; I picked it up, and I showed it to Abel.

  “That’s not an Alarica jewel,” Abel said as a nearby car suddenly exploded and evil laughter filled the air as seven figures emerged from behind the flames.

  It was the Hunters, and they were coming for the jewels. Abel shielded me with his body and stood, drawing his sword, as the Hunters continued coming toward us. I looked over toward Kaitlin, and she just smiled triumphantly at me. I knew then Kaitlin had once again betrayed me. How stupid was I for falling for the friendship lie? Kaitlin did not want to be my friend; she only wanted to kill me!

  “Ah, Miss Fox we meet again.” I recognized the voice belonging to Kaitlin’s father. “I would like my jewels back.”

  “I-I don’t have them anymore,” I stammered backing slowly away from him. And I really did not. I gave them to Abel’s sisters.

  “You’re lying!” Kaitlin yelled. “I gave two of them to you earlier today.” Kaitlin had pure hatred in her voice. “So, you can drop the innocent act, Shinka!”

  Abel raised his sword just as a whooshing sound passed overhead. I looked up to see the Haven Clan landing in front of me and Abel. I felt relieved to see all of them, especially after what had happened back at the house.

  “Lapis, take Shinka to a safe area, we can take it from here,” Queen Llewellyn ordered. Abel took my hand, and we started running towards an abandoned alley. I heard gunfire in the distance and growls somewhere behind us and, as we reached the end of the alley, Erasmus landed in front of us making us stop in our tracks. He growled at us as Abel still had his sword in hand ready to attack when I pulled out the black jewel from my pants pocket.

  “You’re not going to do anything,” I said flashing the jewel in the light as Erasmus realized I had taken it from him earlier. By the look on his face, you could tell he was mad for not keeping his things more locked up. Erasmus started to laugh. Abel and I exchanged glances obviously missing the joke.

  “What are you laughing at?” I demanded as Erasmus moved closer towards us.

  “You fool’s!” Erasmus said. “That trick won’t work for me because I already have a master!” “You do?” I asked backing away from him. “Erasmus belongs to me!” A familiar voice said from behind Erasmus. Then without warning, Kaitlin flipped over my head and snatched the black jewel from my fingers. “Your brother told me all about you, Abel.” Kaitlin grinned evilly at him. “Or should I be calling you Lapis instead?” Abel growled at her as he pointed the sword at Kaitlin’s heart ready to strike if she made any sudden movements.

  “Tell me why I shouldn’t decapitate you right here on the spot?” Abel asked with pure hatred in his voice. That scared me a bit. I did not know Abel could sound so... cold. But I guess being hunted down for centuries would do that to you.

  “Oh please, spare me the tough guy act!” Kaitlin replied rolling her eyes. “I gave you three Alarica jewels today, and this is the way you r
epay me?” Kaitlin acted like she was offended by our ungratefulness towards her.

  “That last jewel wasn’t an Alarica jewel!” Abel stated keeping his ground as he circled around both Erasmus and Kaitlin.

  “Of course, it is, Abel.” Kaitlin smiled before Erasmus flew away with her. “That jewel belongs to your girlfriend.” Kaitlin laughed evilly. “You remember her, don’t you?”

  Chapter Ten

  As the gargoyles flew us back toward the house, I could not help but notice the drastic change in Abel. He asked for the jewel on the flight back, and I handed it over to him.

  “Tuffara is alive,” Abel said to himself as we landed.

  I stopped walking and looked back at him. He did not even notice me, and I knew something was up. When the sun rose in the East, the Haven Clan transformed back into their stone forms, and I finally gathered the nerve to ask Abel what was going on with him. At first, he hesitated, then finally he spoke. “Shinka, you know I love you right?” Abel asked running his fingers through his spiky hair.

  “Yes?” I said feeling the fear rise in my chest. Was Abel going to break up with me after all? God, I was only thinking it out of anger. I really did not want to break up with Abel. That would just suck. I followed him from his bedroom, down the stairs, and into the living room. I sat down next to Abel on the couch and looked down at my feet waiting for him to speak.

  “The truth is, no matter how hard I tried, I never really could get over her,” Abel said. I noticed a faraway look in his eyes, and I knew he was thinking about her. I waited, shifting uncomfortably in my seat.

  “A long time ago we were friends with the Meta clan. Their leader had a daughter named Tuffara, and she was exceptionally beautiful,” Abel said with a small smile.

  I knew where this was going, but I sat and listened anyway.

  “Tuffara was one of the best female fighters around, and we were going to marry.” Abel paused. “Then one day something happened to her, and Tuffara just disappeared. To this day, I never stopped searching for her.”

  Abel finished his story, and I just nodded. I could already feel the tears stinging behind my eyes.

  “If Tuffara truly is alive,” Abel sighed, “then I have to find her.”

  I could not take anymore; I stood up and headed for the door. Abel tried to stop me, but I pushed him away with all my might.

  “Don’t touch me!” I screamed unable to hold back the tears. “Shinka, I...”

  I ran out the door and did not look back. I did not care where I was going; I just needed to get away from him. I finally stopped at a park, realizing I was far from Abel’s house, and I did not know the area at all. I sat on a bench for a little while and decided to head back when a woman suddenly approached me. She was dressed in all black and had on a pair of dark sunglasses.

  “Excuse me!” The woman asked as she approached me with a warm smile. “Have you seen this dog?” She showed me a picture of a small poodle. The next thing I knew, someone was behind me covering my mouth with a cloth that had a gross smell like ammonia on it making it hard for me to breath. Within seconds, I lost all consciousness. I awoke with a slight headache and looked around not recognizing my surroundings. I stood just as Kaitlin entered the room.

  “I brought you something to eat,” Kaitlin said cheerfully, like we were still best friends or

  something.

  “I’m not hungry,” I said to her as she set the plate of food down on the top of a dresser. It was pizza and a side salad. I loved pizza, but I do not care much for salad.

  “Where am I?” I asked, not moving just in case she had something up her sleeve. “My house,” Kaitlin replied casually walking over toward a window.

  “So, are you going to kill me?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest. I waited for her to answer. Kaitlin had an innocent look on her face.

  “Shinka, I already told you I would never hurt you.” She paused. “Don’t you believe me?” “No, I don’t,” I said tapping my foot anxiously against the wooden floorboards. “Why am I here?”

  “Well, I thought we could have a girl talk,” Kaitlin replied sounding excited by the thought, but I just wanted to find Abel and get out of here.

  “Well, you didn’t have to kidnap me you know,” I said feeling frustrated Kaitlin went to that extreme on me.

  “I just wanted you to know that Tuffara’s coming back really soon.”

  “I don’t care, Kaitlin, I know he loves her, and all I want is Abel to be happy.” “Lapis is only with you because you’re special, Shinka,” Kaitlin said knowingly. “What do you mean?” I asked not understanding what she was getting at. “Sorry, Shinka,” Kaitlin replied turning away.

  “What...”

  There was a sharp pain in the side of my neck, and I passed out again.

  Chapter Eleven

  I was in and out of consciousness. I swore I heard Abel talking to me, but I could not remember. I kept having strange dreams about Abel and Tuffara. She was sealed away and wanted me to set her free, but I did not know how. Finally, I awoke, and I was safely back in Abel’s bed. I looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen. I stood and started for the door, but suddenly felt dizzy. Abel caught me just as I was falling to the floor.

  “Shinka!” Abel cried looking very relieved. “I was so afraid I lost you, my love,” Abel said caressing my cheek.

  “What happened?” I asked unable to remember anything.

  “Aura Nova found you lying unconscious in the park. You were running a high temperature and nearly died. What happened to you?” Abel asked, placing me gently back into his bed. My head hurt as I tried to remember.

  “The Hunters; they did something to me.”

  “Did they hurt you?” Abel asked really concerned about my well-being.

  “I don’t know?” I whispered. I was not feeling good, and I remembered someone had given me a shot in my neck. My hand instantly felt where the shot had been, but by now the hole was gone. Abel said I had been out for a month and a half and had missed a lot of school. Abel turned one of the spare bedrooms into a studio and I so wanted to record something, but I had to wait until I was feeling better.

  “Abel, you didn’t have to do this,” I said turning toward him.

  “I know, but I wanted you to feel more at home,” he replied. “And you did need a studio.”

  I thought about it and gave him a small smile. “Thank you so much!” I said, giving Abel the biggest hug, I could with what little strength I had. “Tuffara needs you.” I could see that far off look in his eyes again as I said this.

  “Shinka...” Abel started, but I cut him off.

  “Abel she’s trapped somewhere, and you have to find her!” I do not know why I said these things, after all, they were only dreams, weren’t they?

  “Shinka, Tuffara’s dead,” Abel said as he closed his eyes. “The Hunters were trying to rile me up. But she’s gone.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I started feeling better, and Abel finally let me go back to school. He kept a close eye on Kaitlin, but she stayed clear of us. I wanted to ask her what they did to me, because I have not been the same since. In choir, I got the lead in one of the songs, and I did not even try out for the part. Natalie and her gang of losers were mad at me of course, but what can you do? My WRX was ready, and I finally got to enjoy my car. It was awesome, and I loved it. After the park incident, Abel rarely lets me out of his sight. He still carried around the pink jewel I knew belonged to Tuffara.

  “Do you just want me to go?” I asked him one day when we were walking to his car in the parking lot.

  “Why?” Abel asked, stopping at my car. We just stood there like idiots. I did not want to feel the pain I was feeling for him if he genuinely loved someone else.

  “Because you still love Tuffara, and I’m just getting in the way.”

  “Shinka, you’ve replaced the emptiness in my heart. I do not want you to go. Ever.”

  I wanted to believe him. But my heart was aching wi
th sadness, and I knew Abel could feel it as we went home. Night had already fallen, and Abel transformed once he stepped out of the car. As we walked silently upstairs, the other gargoyles were chatting amongst themselves excitedly. I soon saw why. Standing alongside them was a beautiful gargoyle, and I intuitively knew it was Tuffara. I looked towards Abel, and he was taken in by her beauty.

  “Lapis!” she exclaimed, giving Abel a hug. I turned away and walked back inside. I was feeling every emotion at that moment, and they were not the good ones.

  “Tuffara!” Abel exclaimed, cheerfully. “Where have you been all this time?” I heard him asking her. I felt like I ceased to exist the moment he saw her. Then I felt jealousy creeping in.

  “I was sealed away by the Hunters, and when I awoke, I realized I was set free.”

  That was when Abel said those words that burned into my soul. “I’ve missed you so much, my love.”

  I could not take any more, that was all I could handle. I quickly packed my backpack and ran out of the house to my car. I drove around for a while trying to clear my head, but his words rang out over and over in my mind.

  I have missed you so much my love.

  I decided to stay at the Marriott for the night. I could not believe this was happening to me. I mean Abel and the rest of the Haven Clan were so impressed by Tuffara’s return that none of them even noticed me leaving, and that really hurt. I cried myself to sleep and was going to give Abel a piece of my mind when I saw him in school the next day. That is if he even showed up.

  Chapter Thirteen