When A Gargoyle Investigates Page 9

  “You are injured,” he growled. “I can smell blood.”

  Melissa inhaled as he strode over to her and dropped in front of her with a loud thump. A low sound vibrated out of the back of his throat as he gently grasped her leg. She had to quash an ‘eep’ as his claws gently pressed into her thigh as he inspected her knee.

  Dragging her eyes away from the intense expression on his face, she dared a glance at the knee that was getting all the attention.

  “Oh,” she muttered dismissively, “I must have scraped it on the roof when the gargoyle lunged at us.”

  She hadn’t noticed it happening – no, her attention had definitely been elsewhere.

  “I must get you home immediately,” said Gracchus, in a tone that plainly suggested she had been maimed and hadn’t just suffered a minor booboo.

  “I hardly, think – oh!”

  Gracchus lifted her into his arms and strode towards the window. He closed the window behind them, juggling her between his arms, but refusing to put her down.

  “Gracchus, there’s no neeeeeed!”

  With absolutely no warning, he jumped off the building, and they were soaring through the air. Melissa wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder.

  She could feel him chuckling beneath her, but she didn’t care – she wasn’t exactly a great flier even when there was an airplane or a helicopter between her and the ground. All she had now was a pair of arms, and big and muscled they may be they were still only arms. Though, she could not deny that she was actually a teeny weeny, eeny miny, little bit less scared than on their previous flight. Perhaps, if she kept trying, in small increments, she would be okay with it. But, it really would take a lot of practice for her to be okay with flying. She just hoped Gracchus was around for long enough for that to happen.

  *

  “May I use your telephone?” asked Gracchus as Melissa rifled through her first aid box.

  “Really?” She smiled, and her eyes widened almost excitedly, “Umm, sure, of course – all yours.”

  Gracchus frowned at her reaction. Melissa waved her hand. “Sorry, it just seems odd to think of a thousand-year-old gargoyle using a phone. I mean, it shouldn’t, but it does.”

  He softened his expression. “I admit, I found it odd at first – the idea of communicating across such large distances without the aid of a magic mirror is…”

  “What the what now?!” exclaimed Melissa.

  She dropped the box and stumbled into the living room with a look of amazement on her pretty face. “Did you just say magic mirror?!”

  “Yes.”

  “You mean a mirror – that is magic?”

  “Yes, that is what a magic mirror is,” he said in amusement.

  Melissa laughed and shook her head in disbelief and then laughed again. He was starting to recognize that look – it meant there were lots of questions on the way.

  She didn’t fail to disappoint. “So, what could you do with a magic mirror? I mean, does it tell you whether you look good or not? Is it all knowing, can it really say who is the fairest in the land?”

  “The fairest in the land?” he repeated in confusion.

  She ignored him. “Can you only make calls to other magic mirrors, or…”

  Gracchus held up a hand. He was loath to curb her enthusiasm, but he needed to make a call. “I will answer all of your questions in due course. But first I must make a call, and you must attend to your injury.”

  “It was just a scrape,” she protested.

  Gracchus gave her a hard look and pointedly glanced at her leg.

  Melissa rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I’m about to lose it or anything.”

  He quirked an eyebrow at her.

  “Fine!” she chuckled in mild exasperation and stalked back to the first aid box.

  Appeased that she was attending to her injury, Gracchus grasped the phone and dialed the mansion. He was surprised when Martha answered the phone – perhaps she was spending more and more time at the mansion. Her mating to Drago was still new, and Gracchus understood she still retained her own house in town, but she answered the phone as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

  “It is I, Gracchus,” he declared.

  “Hi, Gracchus!” trilled Martha, sounding surprisingly elated to speak to him. “How are you? I feel like we haven’t seen you in ages.”

  “I…” he started.

  “Who are you talking to?” demanded an angry, deep voice in the background. It was Drago, and as usual, he didn’t sound happy or pleasant.

  “It’s Gracchus,” declared Martha.

  “Why is Gracchus calling you?” grumbled Drago.

  “He didn’t call me – he called the house,” said Martha in a gentle voice.

  Gracchus groaned loudly and flicked his tail impatiently as there was some more grumbling from Drago, some mild rebukes from Martha and some general scuffling for the phone.

  Melissa was quietly sorting through the first aid box and pretending that she wasn’t straining to hear what was going on. He gave her a meaningful look, and she pursed her lips and waved some gauze at him. He nodded in approval and her eyes rolled to the ceiling in frustration. She may think he was overreacting, but humans were so soft and brittle, he would not risk this human getting ill. He had a strange feeling that he would not like to live in a world where Melissa Sanchez did not exist.

  After what felt like an interminable amount of time, the argument on the end of the phone seemed to end, and Luc finally came on the line.

  “Gracchus,” rumbled Luc.

  Gracchus grunted at his chief.

  “I am relieved to hear from you,” said Luc. Gracchus was surprised to hear it, until Luc qualified it with, “My mate has been worried.”

  Ah. Luc would not worry about him – he believed Gracchus capable and would not worry about him until he had reason to do so. Kylie, on the other hand, seemed to worry incessantly and had probably been twittering in worry at Luc about Gracchus’ safety – and now Luc could definitively tell his mate that he was okay.

  Kylie had tried to send Gracchus away with a cell phone so that he might, ‘call home’ every evening. Gracchus had nixed that idea stating that he had nowhere to put it – and he certainly did not wish to put it in his loincloth. He had seen a documentary on TV suggesting that cell phone radiation could be destructive. There was no way he was putting something potentially dangerous anywhere near his manhood – even if that part of him was not being put to use at that time. Self-consciously he flicked a look at Melissa and then cursed himself.

  “What news?” asked Luc.

  “I am in contact with a human,” said Gracchus neutrally. Melissa did not need to know he had essentially been spying on her.

  “Oh? Melissa Sanchez?” Luc correctly guessed. “I take it you are using her telephonic device?” he said with a slight edge to his voice.

  Luc’s annoyance was perhaps to be expected. Gracchus’ assignment was merely to judge her trustworthiness, and yet he had inveigled his way into her apartment, eaten more than once with her and was now making use of her facilities. Not to mention the fact that her cats seemed incredibly enamored with him. He bent down and stroked the ginger cat that was named Cheetara.

  “Yes,” replied Gracchus simply. “Circumstances… forced my hand,” he said vaguely.

  Luc grunted but didn’t say anything. His chief would not dwell on it.

  Gracchus took in a deep breath. “We have encountered another gargoyle in the city.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “One of Blackthorne’s? One he has created perhaps.”

  “I do not know. He fought well, and seemed to have real training.”

  Gracchus certainly wouldn’t admit it, but there was a distinct twinge in his lower back from his earlier exertions. There was no way in all of Avalon that he was going to tell Melissa that. She didn’t need to think he was getting to old to be a warrior. He still had plenty of fight left in him.


  The male he fought was still young, but Gracchus believed he had received some real training from another gargoyle, but whether that was before they turned to stone or not, he could not say. It depended on how many other gargoyles were already in the world.

  Gracchus explained about Melissa’s victim, and how she appeared to know of gargoyles and that she had apparently been killed by a beast.

  “We need to find him.”

  “Yes,” agreed Gracchus.

  If he was just a confused young male, then he should become part of the clan. If, however, he was killing people, then he needed to be dealt with before he revealed the secret existence of gargoyles prematurely.

  Gracchus watched as Melissa sauntered towards her bedroom, yawning and stretching. She had given up trying to listen to his conversation – his side of it wasn’t exactly stimulating he supposed.

  “I can send you assistance,” said Luc. “Perhaps Grey and Ryia.”

  Gracchus winced as he considered both gargoyles. They were abrasive, angry creatures, and would hardly cooperate with Melissa and her investigation. Besides, Grey was an unmated male – he really shouldn’t be spending any time with Melissa.

  He watched as Melissa ambled out of her bedroom, smiling sweetly at him. She had changed into her nightwear – a pair of incredibly short shorts that showcased her shapely legs, and an oversized t-shirt that utterly failed to camouflage the fact that her breasts were unfettered and rolling free beneath the thin material. No, Grey definitely didn’t need to be anywhere near her.

  “No,” rumbled Gracchus perhaps a little too forcefully. “I mean, I do not believe that would be wise.”

  “You may be right,” agreed Luc. “Neither is particularly… subtle.”

  Few gargoyles were thought Gracchus.

  “Be careful, and keep me informed.”

  “Yes, Chief,” agreed Gracchus and hung up the phone.

  “Chief?” repeated Melissa, almost startling him as she appeared at his elbow.

  “Ah, yes.”

  “So this chief person is in charge of you?” she asked interestedly.

  Gracchus nodded, but before she could ask anything else, he dropped to the ground in front of her and inspected her wound.

  “It’s fine!” groused Melissa. “See?” She wiggled her leg in a way that elicited some very worrying feelings from Gracchus.

  “Yes, I see,” he murmured, watching the wiggling leg perhaps a little too closely. “I must go,” he blurted just a little urgently.

  “You don’t have to,” she said, her voice taking on a shade of shyness.

  “What do you mean?” he murmured, slowly standing to his feet.

  Her breathing quickened, and the swell of her breasts heaved. “You can stay here; I could make up the couch or...”

  “I am not sure that is a good idea,” he said slowly. Not given the urges her mere presence gave him. Being close to her while she was in her bed might be a little too much to bear.

  Melissa jutted her chin slightly. “You said I could trust you.”

  “You can…” She could… mostly, but it had been an awfully long time since he had been with a female and he was only partly made of stone.

  “But…” He took a deep breath and admitted, “During the day I turn to stone.”

  “Oh, I have to admit I did wonder about that – I mean that’s usually how gargoyles are portrayed.”

  His lips curled into a small smile. “You did not ask me any questions about that.”

  Her cheeks blossomed pink. “No, but it was on my list, and I have half a dozen follow up questions to that and…”

  “Another night,” interrupted Gracchus kindly.

  “I meant what I said; you can stay here.”

  “I fear that if your mother were to find me here, you would not be able to explain my presence.”

  Melissa’s mouth bunched in irritation. “You’re right. If it weren’t late, I’d have the locks changed.”

  “I will be fine, but thank you for the offer.”

  He started to move to the window, and she placed a hand on his arm and flashed him an expression of worry. “You’re sure you’re safe during the day?”

  “I am confident I am. I am more concerned for you – there are so many dangerous people in this world, and I worry about you.”

  A small smile danced on her lips. “You mean without you there to look after me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I guess I’ll just have to stay out of trouble until nightfall,” she teased.

  “I would appreciate that,” he retorted, though he wasn’t really joking.

  Melissa laughed softly, and Gracchus lingered, not wanting to leave. But he had to, and not just because he would be stone in a few hours. Thankfully, an enormous yawn from Melissa and a series of disgruntled meows from her comfort of cats brought him to his senses.

  “They’re hungry,” she murmured regretfully.

  “And you are tired,” he added, even more regretfully. “I will leave.”

  He wrenched himself away before he allowed any of that regret truly to take control. He had more to worry about than his own desires anyway. There was an unknown gargoyle loose in the city, and he may have killed someone. Gracchus needed to worry about that situation first, and if there was any worry left over, then that could be taken by his worryingly strong desire for Melissa.

  Fourteen

  Melissa hummed in between sips of her hot chocolate. Usually, she’d be guzzling coffee at that time in the morning, but she was feeling a little… what was the word? Bubbly? Jubilant? Lighter than air? Well, whatever the word was, she was feeling it and had decided on a large hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and salted caramel sauce. Yep, calories be damned.

  The more time she spent with Gracchus, the more this good mood increased. She had plenty to worry about, yet she was just so… so happy to have met him. She giggled inwardly as she thought of the way he had worried over her knee – it had to be the tiniest scrape in the entire world! Yet, he had acted as if she had received a near-fatal injury. He was sweet, really.

  Melissa wondered about this chief he had been talking to – she wondered about the other gargoyles he knew. How many of them were female? Not that it mattered – she was just in a wondering mood. Would they like her if he introduced them?

  Course, her mood had to dim a little when she got to her office and found Colt angrily stalking around, eating up the space with his long-legged strides. Then she remembered that their evidence had been torn apart by a random gargoyle.

  “Umm, morning, Colt,” she said with bright cheer like she didn’t already know the reason for his agitation.

  Colt gave her a hard look – in between stalking – and for a moment she thought he could read the guilt written all over her face. His eyes looked dark and wild.

  “All of our evidence was ruined last night,” he nearly growled, and for a second she was reminded of Gracchus.

  He looked at her expectantly, and she gave herself a mental kick. “Oh! Good heavens, what happened?”

  If he noticed anything amiss with her reaction, he didn’t say anything.

  Colt shook his head. “Don’t know. The technicians arrived there this morning, and everything was destroyed – they don’t know how anyone could have got in. They were pretty pissed after climbing all those stairs.”

  “I’ll bet. Did they find any prints?” she asked uncertainly.

  Did gargoyles even have fingerprints?

  “No, nothing, any prints even our victim left were all ruined.”

  “Damn.” She set her purse and chocolate down on her desk. “At least we have the photos.”

  Colt muttered something unintelligible, and she dropped down into her desk chair, yawning. She wasn’t very good at managing on only a few hours a night, but it was difficult to drag herself away from Gracchus.

  “Still sleepy, huh?”

  “Hmmm?”

  Colt smiled stiffly. “You said you were going to
catch up on sleep last night.”

  “Oh yeah, ummm,” she did say that, “I just laid awake all night thinking about this case.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, imagining what it would be like to actually catch a gargoyle?”

  “Oh!” Her cheeks flamed, virtually broadcasting her guilt and she focused on switching on her computer. “I thought you were sure it was just an animal attack.”

  Colt shrugged and sat down in his office chair with a heavy thump. “I’m open to it being a gargoyle.”

  “But not a werewolf? Because, I kind of like the werewolf option.” Mostly because it meant it would keep Gracchus a lot safer.

  Colt flashed in annoyance and scowled. “You have no evidence it’s a werewolf.”

  “You have no evidence it’s a gargoyle,” she retorted. “Our witness seemed to think…”

  He let out a loud, and frankly obnoxious snort. “Our witness has no idea what she saw, and besides, given that she ran away, I hardly think we can categorize her as reliable. It’s much more likely to be a gargoyle.”

  If Melissa wasn’t getting so irritated by his insufferably cocksure attitude, she might have actually found it amusing that they were arguing over whether one mythical being murdered a woman over another.

  She was about to reply when her phone trilled, and she grabbed it, only pouting lightly at Colt as she snapped out an uncharacteristically angry, “Hello” into the phone.

  “It’s Detective Simpson,” declared the arrogant voice on the phone.

  Great, just what she wanted at that moment!

  “Hello, Detective,” she muttered, and the displeasure that passed over Colt’s face mirrored just how she was feeling inside.

  “We have another body, same MO as your other victim and another witness with a crazy story. You better get down here.”

  He rattled off an address, and breathlessly she told him they would be there right away. With his usual charm, Simpson said, “Whatever,” and hung up.

  “Come on, we have a crime scene to get to,” she said and then guzzled the rest of her hot chocolate. It evaporated as quickly as the remainder of her good mood.

  *

  Thankfully, Detective Simpson didn’t hang around at this crime scene. He gruffly pointed at the victim, and then he was gone.