Chapter 20 – Lamia
LAMIA
Las Vegas has got to be the brightest city I’ve ever encountered, and it’s brimming with life.
Which is exciting and terrifying, all at once.
I know deep down I need to feed before we reach all the people.
I can feel that my control is slipping. But I haven’t wanted to ask the gargoyles. Not after their injuries.
A shudder moves through me, and I lean in closer, breathing in Ryker’s delicious scent.
His pulse leaps, moving faster. “What are you doing?” he asks, his voice taking on a strangely husky note.
I can’t tell him the truth, so I lie. “I was a little cold.”
He grunts in response, but pulls me even closer against him as we fly.
I close my eyes; his erection hasn’t softened since he first held me. His shaft is right there, pressed between my legs. A hot, hard part of him that I find myself rubbing against every now and then. Desire and need move within me like something living.
“Can a gargoyle have sex while flying?” I ask.
“Fuck,” Ryker mutters, breathing hard. “Why do you ask?”
“Your cock,” I say, and I’m shocked I said it aloud.
He clears his throat. “We’re, uh, always hard.”
“Really?” And I sound far too excited for my own good. “Even after plunging into a woman? Even after coming?”
His hands are tighter on my upper thighs. “Sometimes.”
“Lucky women,” I murmur against his neck.
A shudder moves through his body. One that I’d like to think is in response to me. Even if I’m wrong.
“Where should we land?” Vincent asks, and I realize he’s right beside us.
“There,” Ryker tells him.
I don’t see where he points, but I tense.
“Is it…is it near people?” I ask.
He takes a minute to answer. “No.” Then he pauses. “Do you need to feed?”
“You were all hurt—“
“Do you need to feed?”
I hate having to admit it. “Yes.”
“Then we’ll do that soon.” He hesitates. “Just tell us when you need it. That’s what we’re here for.”
Oh yes, they’re here to make sure the monster in their care doesn’t go crazy and kill everyone. I feel my shoulders sag.
We land gently a few moments later, and I pull back from Ryker’s shoulder to see that we’ve landed on a roof behind a large neon sign.
Instantly, I’m aware of how tight my skin feels, and the slight burning in my veins.
Knowing the signs that I’ve been in this form too long, I close my eyes and shift.
When I open them, the men are looking at me again, and I know what they’re thinking. I’m disgusting in this form.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I try to look strong and unaffected by their emotions.
Ryker draws his bag off his back and pulls the book out from beside the cup. Opening it, he and the other gargoyles stare at it for a long time.
“It’s a slot machine,” Vincent finally said. “One that needs three red hearts. And that symbol up there tells us the casino we need to go to.”
Ryker nods and closes the book. “It’s good that you died last. So much of this world is still confusing to me.”
Vincent’s cheery smile wavers. “I guess.”
“Just be careful.”
We whirl to the giant neon sign. A goddess wearing a dark, low-cut gown is sitting in the center of the O. She drops down from it, her movements fluid and graceful, then sweeps her long blonde hair back from her shoulders.
“You have no idea how many years the gods have been waiting for someone to win that prize.”
I stare at her. “So, they have a trap planned for us?”
She smiles. “They have a lot of traps planned for you four. But I made the bet that you’d succeed, so I wanted to give you a little advice.”
The gargoyles exchange a glance.
“What is it?” Ryker asks, his tone irritatingly respectful.
Her gaze sweeps from his head to his toes as if she’s drinking him in. “Sorry, handsome, I fuck gargoyles, I don’t talk to them.” And then she looks back at me. “Your love for your children is the only thing that will work.”
Her words steal my breath, and I feel my heart aching.
“And if I succeed, will I get them back?”
Her smile widens. “It’s possible, sweetheart, just don’t let anyone or anything distract you from your goal.”
“But will I hurt them again?” My heart pounds as I speak the words I fear aloud.
A smile touches her lips. “Not this time. They will always be safe around you, this I promise.”
And then, she’s gone.
The night’s silence is strangely filled with tension. Somehow the mention of my children has made me feel like someone’s kicked my legs out from under me. While at the same time, I feel something changing inside of me. It’s possible to get my children back.
None of this is about me anymore, or the gargoyles. It’s about my children.
I failed them once. I won’t do it again.
My mind slides back to the past, and I see the woman I was so clearly it’s like the years have melted away. I fought for them. Protected them. Did everything I could to make them feel loved and cared for. I can do that again. I will do that again.
A hand touches my arm gently.
I look up to see Vincent with his arm around me. “You okay?”
“I killed them. I can’t be upset. I don’t have the right.”
Something changes in his expression. “Everyone makes mistakes.”
“Not mistakes that kill the people they love.”
His gaze grows intense, and he turns me slowly to face him. “How much do you know about gargoyles?”
I don’t understand where he’s going with this. “Not that much.”
He looks like he’s debating with himself. “We have masters. And we’re expected to obey them. But not all masters are good. Not all of them…. Some of them make you do things you’d never imagine doing. Not everything you do is your fault. Some things are out of your control.”
Suddenly, something changes in his expression, and he steps away from me.
Ryker and Darius are watching our exchange with interest. I look to them for help, but they appear just as confused as I am. What’s Vincent talking about? What could a gargoyle possibly do that could be anything like becoming a monster and killing one’s children?
Vincent clears his throat. “All I’m saying is that maybe you’ve been looking at things wrong all these years. Maybe it isn’t your fault, not any of it. Maybe you need to be putting the blame where it belongs. On the fucking gods.”
“Zeus and Hera,” I say softly. “I hate them. But they didn’t…I did.”
He opens his mouth.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” And even I can feel myself closing up, hiding away the things that hurt me.
At last, Darius speaks. “So, should we find this casino and look for the slot machine?”
I nod and will myself to shift back into my human form. Ryker hands me my sandals from his bag and I put them on, trying to calm myself down.
We already know that there will be a trap. We just need to make sure we can get out of it.
But first the monster needs to feed.