When a Gargoyle Lives (Gargoyles Book 2) Read online

  He thought of his kiss and with Chloe and huffed. The coldness and mechanicalness of it repulsed him. How he could have ever entertained thoughts of taking her as a mate baffled him.

  His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out of his belt. Chloe’s name did not appear on the caller ID, and so he knew it must only be one other person.

  Eagerly, he answered. “Brenda.”

  “It’s me,” she replied. There were some shuffling and grunts down the end of the line. “No!”

  “Brenda!” he snarled. The phone creaked under the intense pressure of his hand. His wings unfolded, readying to take flight. “What is happening? Where are you?”

  “Kevin… Kevin… he…”

  The line went dead, and Ric resisted the urge to crush the infuriating device in his hand. She was in danger. That monstrous human boy had returned and was hurting her. He had to find her; he had to help her. His heart clenched at the thought of never seeing her pretty smile again, of never listening to her musical laugh as she made fun of him.

  He hit the callback button on his phone, and a woman told him that the number he had called was unavailable. He yelled at her that Brenda was in trouble, but the woman seemed unconcerned. He then cursed her and all her future offspring. He was becoming accustomed to technology, but he hadn’t quite mastered the idea of automated messages.

  Brenda. Kevin could be doing anything to her at that very moment. She was scrappy, but the boy could have brought a human weapon. One of their awful guns. She could be lying in a pool of her own blood at that very moment…

  No, losing her was unacceptable. If need be, he was prepared to show himself to the world. He did not care what happened to him. The only thing that mattered was Brenda’s safety.

  He spread his wings, readying for flight.

  “Amalric,” called a gentle voice.

  “Not now, Annis.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Brenda is in trouble; I must go to her.”

  With that, he left Annis twittering on the ground as he soared into the night.

  Hold on he thought, willing Brenda to hear him. He would save her and then he would never let her go.

  *

  Ric dropped to the ground in front of Brenda’s house. He could not hear or see anything amiss. The house looked dark and empty.

  Maybe Kevin had abducted her, and thrown her into a vehicle so that he may take her away from Ric. Take her back to this Phoenix place Brenda mentioned.

  He scented the air, and the delicate aroma of Brenda lingered along with her uncle’s, but it did not smell fresh. And thankfully, he did not smell any blood. But that also meant that the attack may have happened elsewhere.

  Where did Brenda go when she was not at the house? Who did she speak to? Who did she know?

  Belatedly, he realized how little he truly knew about her. He wished he had taken more time to understand who she was. While that was a very alien thought for him to have about a female, he furiously told himself that there would be time for that later. After he saved her from her lunatic ex-boyfriend.

  Ric stilled as he heard a click. He sensed danger and his wings flexed. Slowly, he moved down to a crouch.

  Someone was nearby. Not Brenda, not even that oaf, Kevin. Someone who was taking great pains to try and hide their scent.

  He sensed movement behind him. Just the barest twitch. And then another movement to his left.

  Ric remained painfully still. There was more than one of them, and judging by the increased shuffling movements, they were growing impatient.

  It was dark; there were no streetlights outside Brenda’s house, and the porch light, which had been on when he visited the other night, was switched off.

  It was an ambush. They were there for him. He had thought Brenda was in danger and had stupidly abandoned his clan. Damnit, he should have told them what was happening.

  Undoubtedly, these unworthy snakes knew he was there. Hell, if they were using those night vision goggles humans had invented, they could probably see him. Human technology had a lot to answer for.

  He could hear seven – no make that eight - distinctly different bodies moving, but there may be more. His fists tightened; patiently letting the seconds tick by as he waited for their attack.

  They wanted him to move first, but he wouldn’t. Humans were easy to fight. But humans with their modern weapons were a different matter.

  Eventually, one of them grew bored and lunged at him. Ric roared and sprang to his feet, his wings exploding out of his body, knocking the man over before he could even pull the trigger of his weapon.

  Ric grabbed the man and threw him at three more advancing on him. He clawed, lunged at beat at them. He spun, lashing out at one with his tail, sending the male flying through the air, crashing into a car with a sickening crunch. They tried to tether him, to wrap chains around his arms, but he spun, dragging the human still futilely clutching the chain, and hurling him into more of them.

  He had brief moments of satisfaction as bones crunched and they screamed in what was either pain or horror. Most likely both. Ric roared, baring his fangs as he swiped his claws at an advancing male. The human jumped back, narrowly avoiding being sliced open. The faint smell of urine reached Ric’s nose.

  But as scared as they may be, they certainly did have weapons – painful weapons, and what they lacked in individual strength, they made up for in sheer numbers. For every human he took down, another two seemed to pop back up. His body was wracked with agony as electricity coursed through him. They hit him again and again with darts and tasers. He could only fight the effects for so long before their weapons took their toll.

  He took hold of one of them by the neck and the male, although scared managed to jab him with a knife.

  Ric howled, and he stumbled, and they piled on him. Those who could still walk. Most of them were rolling around the ground moaning. He felt a needle being jabbed into his neck and as everything faded to black, Brenda's face swam before him.

  For their sake, she better be safe.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Brenda found Annis in the kitchen, fretting as she refolded the same sheet over and over. She’d enjoyed dinner with Chris, almost inhaling her burger, onion rings and chili cheese fries. Then she went home and brushed her teeth – because onions, chili, and cheese made a potent combination. Especially as there was a chance she may be kissing a certain gargoyle again soon.

  It was a lucky break when Chris went out on a call. She hadn’t relished the thought of trying to climb out of her window. Although she didn’t feel good about being sneaky, it was necessary.

  She’d tried standing out the gate and waving outside the Hardcastle house, but no one seemed to be letting her in. So, yes, she resorted to Bob’s hole. Crawling under a hedge was starting to feel normal. Then, it had been a very odd week.

  “Everything okay, Annis?”

  Annis almost leaped a foot in the air; her wings flapped helplessly, and she spluttered at Brenda. “What are you doing here? Isn’t Amalric with you?”

  Brenda felt a tickle of fear. “Why would Ric be with me?”

  “He said you were in danger. He took off after you.”

  Her heart boomed in her chest. “After me? Why would he think I was in danger?”

  “What is happening,” rumbled Gracchus, exploding into the room. “Child, you are okay? Where is Ric?”

  “I have no idea!” she cried. “I assumed he was here with you. What the hell is going on here?”

  Gracchus bared his fangs. “I have a very bad feeling about this.” He held out his huge hand, which contained the remains of a mangled cell phone. “I found this in the garden after he left.”

  Brenda felt the bite of jealousy. “Chloe gave it to him.” She paused. “He told you about Chloe, right?”

  “Yes,” growled Gracchus, “he divulged that information last night.”

  “When did he leave?”

  “I don’t know,” murmured Annis. “Perhaps th
irty minutes ago.”

  “I think Ric might be the one in danger.” Brenda ran her hands through her hair. Her thoughts thundered in a thousand different directions, worrying at what might be happening to him. That she’d never see him again.

  Worry turned to fury. “I knew it; I knew I hated that… that… woman.” Even if she’d only briefly seen her and heard a couple of snippets of her voice, Brenda knew she was evil. She recalled that Chloe was the woman who helped her pick up her belongings after she knocked into her friend. That couldn’t have been a coincidence.

  “Where would he go?” snarled Gracchus, angrier than she had ever seen him. Gracchus was always mild, kinder than the other males, but the fury on his face made her shiver. “Where would he look for you?”

  “I don’t know, my house, maybe.”

  “You will show me the way,” he ordered.

  “We’d have to walk through town. I don’t think you can really do that.”

  His dark eyes narrowed. “I had no mind to walk.”

  *

  “Brenda? Brenda?”

  His voice echoed through the small, dark house. Chris rubbed his jaw. He was tired from working nearly every hour of every single day – he didn’t need this crap. Not that he tended to sleep anyway. He’d barely slept more than a few hours each night since he moved from Portland. But, sometimes it really caught up with him, and he was almost dead on his feet. Which was why he decided to ask one of his officers to deal with the call tonight – it was only Ms. Perkins, and she just wanted someone to rant at.

  He knew Brenda had been through a lot, what with the move and then Kevin – Chris wanted to beat the living daylights out of that little fucker - but he had thought that he was, at least, making headway with her. Then she decides to sneak out. He’d only been gone from the house for fifteen fucking minutes! It was a surprise they didn’t pass each other going back and forth from the house.

  Maybe he should cut her some slack. She seemed okay, but he wasn’t exactly the kind of guy interested in talking about feelings. If he ever admitted to having one, he had to scratch his ass just to regain a little manliness. Or his balls if the situation really was dire.

  Chris had known Kevin was bad news since the moment Brenda introduced them during a visit – the little shit had the gall to grab Brenda’s ass right in front of him. But he honestly never pegged Kevin for being violent. Chris was losing his touch. Time was when he worked in Portland he could spot a wife beater in a crowded room.

  Chris rolled his shoulder, groaning at the ache in his muscles. Maybe he was just getting old. Until Brenda came to live with him, he’d still considered himself young. Thirty-six was by no means ancient, but being around a youth half his age certainly made him feel his years.

  Although weirdly, Brenda always seemed to be tired. And he knew who was to blame.

  He’d always liked Kylie and Maggie, even if Kylie used to get all giggly around him and Maggie called him Chief Tight Pants. But maybe they weren’t such a great influence on his niece. He knew Brenda missed her grandmother, and that a female presence was welcome, but they were keeping her out to all hours, and she still had school to think about.

  It would be different if he were married. He ignored the twinge of sadness and slowly made his way outside. He was going to find Brenda and get her home.

  Chris squinted as he looked at his car. He had a car, but most of the time he walked everywhere – even after dark, finding the cool night air soothed him.

  He ran his fingers along the side of the door.

  “What the hell?”

  Where the fuck had that dent come from?! Immediately he suspected Brenda had driven his car and crashed it, but he always kept the key with him. Unless she had developed some serious hotwiring skills – she couldn’t have even started it. Who the fuck did this then?

  Great, just what he needed. He let out a breath and set out for the Hardcastle mansion.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Brenda put her head between her legs. In the last ten minutes, she had learned two things. One, it was really hard to navigate from the air. Two, she was not a good flier. Or at least, she was not a good flier when she wasn’t surrounded by the comforting presence of a plane.

  Gracchus had not lied about not walking.

  Nope, he ordered Cai to follow him, grasped Brenda and jumped up into the air like it was nothing. When he’d managed to pry her arms from around his neck, he’d asked her where she lived and after a few wrong turns, they made it. It was only because of her fear for Ric’s safety that she didn’t scream at him to put her down.

  Brenda lifted her head, hoping that the surrounding area had stopped spinning. Gracchus was down on all fours, sniffing the ground. Cai was inspecting her uncle’s car, in particular, the dent that seemed to have appeared. Crud. That was not something that Chris could miss… a worry for later. They had more pressing matters.

  “Anything?” she asked.

  Gracchus stood up to his full height. Six-foot-ten if she was any judge – seven and a half including the wings. He looked around him, his chest swelling as a look of disgust marred his face and his tail whipped wildly.

  “There is gargoyle blood on the ground.”

  Cai growled. “Could he be dead?”

  “No, or at least he was not killed here. There is not enough blood. He was injured, though.”

  Cai sniffed the air. “He was here, but I cannot follow his scent.”

  “They will have taken him away in some kind of vehicle. The scent of the metal beast covers everything.”

  “Human technology,” jeered Cai.

  Brenda was too distressed to be offended, or to point out how quickly the gargoyles had taken to technology and actually enjoyed it. Loved it in the case of Gracchus and the TV, or Annis and the washer.

  “Who could have taken him?” she asked softly.

  “We don’t even really know who our enemies are anymore, child.”

  “We are surrounded by enemies,” hissed Cai.

  “You also have some friends,” said Brenda hotly.

  Cai bared his fangs, and Gracchus snarled at him. Cai backed down, and again Brenda was taken at how dominant Gracchus could be. She had found Cai to be much more daunting, and yet he submitted to Gracchus in a heartbeat.

  Though, she wasn’t scared of him. Gracchus placed a huge hand on her shoulder; his claws pushed against her. The pressure was a little reassuring.

  “What can we do?” she said.

  “We must talk to Luc. We will think of something.”

  “But Ric, he’s all alone. I can’t…” The words caught in her throat as tears threatened.

  Gracchus’ hard face softened minutely. “He’s a warrior, born and bred, child. He will survive.”

  Brenda sniffled and told herself to pull it together. “He better.”

  “What if Amalric has told his captors of our existence?” asked Cai. To Brenda’s surprise, he looked a little anxious. But then, he had a mate and a son to think about.

  “The wards on the house are still strong. We should be safe.”

  “Wards?” said Brenda.

  “Spells to keep out unwanted visitors.”

  “I was able to get through.”

  “The wards are only supposed to warn us and keep out people who will do us harm. It is mainly so we are safe in the day. Come.” He held out his arms.

  “But…”

  “We will find him, child.”

  They had to, because, at that moment, she felt like she was being torn in two, and that wasn’t a feeling she wanted for the rest of her life. That big idiot really had a hold of her. If he got himself kidnapped and killed now, she’d never forgive him.

  *

  Chris shook his head. He should not be doing this. Scaling the gate was a bit drastic – particularly for a man his age who really needed more exercise - but with his niece missing, not answering her phone and no answer on the intercom, he was going to find out what the heck was going on.


  The front door was locked, but he snuck – no, walked quietly – around the house and found the door to kitchen wide open. He was not trying to break in; it was more like a visit from a friendly neighborhood cop. Sure, that worked for him.

  There were piles of laundry on the table, and someone had started chopping some carrots. Someone had to be here.

  Chris held still and listened. He could hear someone on the phone, a female voice. Not one he recognized, but it was soft and sweet and appealing, and he was completely struck dumb by that thought. When was the last time he ever thought that about a woman’s voice? Had he ever had that thought before?

  He was about to call out hello. Better he announce his presence than be found snooping. He really was going to, but the blood-curdling roar that sounded through the house stopped him in his tracks. He froze in the middle of the kitchen. Were they keeping a bear in the basement? That sounded like one hell of a bear, and it was definitely illegal to keep a bear locked up and… his thoughts sped away from him as someone hit him over the head.

  *

  The phone was ringing. Annis bit her lip. Should she answer it? Was she allowed? Would Luc be angry with her if she did, or if she didn’t?

  Oh, if only one of the others were here. But with Ingrede feeding the baby and Drago chained in the basement, that firmly left her in charge and she was terrified. She was never in charge. She kept her head down and did as she was told – just like she always had. Behavior her clan had beaten into her over the years.

  A voice told her she was being stupid and weak. It was just a phone. She knew how it worked. She could answer it for heavens sake!

  She was just scared, and years of being scared, of being programmed to behave a certain way were not going to disappear simply because she no longer had a sadistic chief or a mother who could barely stand to look at her.

  With a surge of confidence, she grabbed the receiver and squeaked out a hello.

  “We have Amalric,” said a female voice.

  “Who is this?” she whispered. “What are you talking about?”