Chapter 7 – Steven
STEVEN
Ican’t shake this feeling, this strange sense that the world is calling to me. The sun, the stars, and even the moon are whispering to me, and I don’t understand any of it.
Except that I think it has to do with the dragons and the golden light.
“What does it feel like for you?”
I turn and look at Clark. He looks worried, and the last thing I want to do is stress him out.
When the Elites called us and charged us with this task, none of us expected for them to demote Clark and make Max our new leader.
The Elites made the decision, but they did it with no explanation at all.
I knew Clark was worried, scared that he’d screwed up in one way or another.
I felt pretty sure he was on the edge of something right now, and the last thing I want to do is push him over.
So, I try to keep the worry out of my voice. “It’s sort of like the stars and sky are… calling to me.”
Clark gives a curt nod. “Mine feels more like something’s trying to escape beneath my skin.”
We both feel it… a change.
The thing is, Clark and I were made, not born like the twins.
And gargoyles who are made always sense things on a deeper level.
We were formed from the earth, and so we’re connected with the earth.
Max and Arthur may have changed deep down too from our encounter with the dragons, but they just might not know it yet.
“What do you think of the woman?” Clark asks me.
Every muscle in my body tightens as I think of her.
Clark, like me, always puts the needs of our people first. I can remember from the time I was carved, when I awoke in the artist’s tiny shed, I felt a responsibility that weighed upon my shoulders like the weight of the world.
I didn’t see women for women. I didn’t laugh or smile or… live.
Until my master, my builder, died.
I shake my head, trying to clear out the old memories of sadness and pain. What had Clark asked? Oh yes, about the woman.
I don’t like her.
She makes me feel… different, like she matters.
That is not something I want to feel. The only thing that should be important to me is my people and my Brotherhood, not a strange woman with deep eyes filled with pain and loneliness.
I shouldn't care about a woman battered and frightened, even if a deep, painful need to protect her claws within me.
“She’s just a woman,” I tell Clark, staring at the horizon.
He’s quiet for a long time, and I glance casually in his direction.
His beard is wilder than when we were back at the gargoyle sanctuary.
His skin is more tan, and his blue eyes are pale against his skin.
There’s something about him since we started hunting this monster—something dark and tortured that he’s trying to hide.
“Arthur likes her,” Clark says, his tone harsh.
I stiffen. We can’t lose him again. “What makes you think that?”
“It wasn’t what he said about her. It was what he didn’t say.”
I speak without thinking. “I’m sure Max has an eye on the situation.”
Anger flashes in Clark’s eyes. “Fuck it! Max isn’t leader material. He’s all about diplomacy and shit. He can’t take charge when it’s needed, and I know he won’t take charge on this situation with the woman and his brother.”
I don’t want to say it, but I have to. “You were the leader when Arthur went rogue.”
He turns those angry eyes onto me. “So, you’re saying it was my fault?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m saying that we were all there, and none of us could stop him.”
A tense silence stretches between us.
I take a deep breath. “Max didn’t ask to be leader.”
“I fucking know that.”
“But you know he has to be. It was commanded.”
“I fucking know that too.”
The last thing I want is to get punched in mid-air, but I won’t be able to relax until it’s said. “And you also know that Max is completely out of his element and will need your guidance? Because the last thing we should do right now is make this situation harder on him.”
He huffs, but I see some of the tension ease from his shoulders. “The Elites didn’t seem to think he needed my guidance.”
“Because they’re always right,” I say, smiling.
He turns, and the anger leaves his face. “They did welcome Medusa herself into our sanctuary.”
I laugh. Medusa has grown on all of us, but it doesn’t mean any of us thought allowing her into our lands was a good idea in the first place.
Suddenly, we hear a song on the wind.
“What the fuck is that?” Clark asks, his familiar frown back in place.
“I don’t know.” I squint through the clouds and then down towards the ground.
“Let’s check it out,” he says, and before I can answer, he shoots down through the clouds.
I don’t like this idea. The singing is strange. Not human. Not a creature, but something in between. The hairs on my body stand on end, but I sink lower, following my Brother.
Flying out of the clouds, the singing grows louder, almost deafeningly so. It washes over me in waves. Immediately, I spot the source of the songs. Women lounge on rocks around a small island. All of them are beautiful, and all of them are singing loudly.
Suddenly, nothing else matters, nothing but hearing more of their song. I have to be closer to them.
I dive down and land on a rock.
Five of the women crawl higher to reach me. Their song fills my ears, my brain, and my blood. They begin to pull at my clothes and strip my bag from my back.
I’m trapped, held by the song that keeps me here. Somewhere in the back of my mind I know that these women are sirens. Their faces are covered in scales as they lean over me, singing into my brain. Their eyes wild, and their scent is salty and wrong.
One of them pulls off my pants. “Oh, he’s a big one!”
Her words start to tear through their song.
“What’s wrong?” one of the sirens asks from above me. “Not yet ready to give us our babies?”
I think my nose is bleeding, and maybe my ears.
One of the women runs claws down my belly that slice at my flesh. “We can’t enjoy you until you speak the words, but we can keep you here until you do.”
I can’t fight them. I can’t move, can’t even look to make certain that Clark is okay.
They drag me into the water, their song still coming from all around me. There are moments I think I’ll drown, when I can’t swim up for air, but they hold me under. Each time, just when my lungs are screaming for air, they surface, allowing a second of air before dragging me back under.
I’m pulled onto a beach. Beneath a tree a massive cage sits open. I’m dragged inside by hands that seem to be all around me. A second later, Clark is thrown inside. After binding both our hands, they close the cage and lock it. And at last. At last, the horrible song fades.
Outside our cage dozens of sirens cover the shore. One woman with striking blonde hair and big blue eyes smiles. “Gargoyles, welcome to our home.”
“What do you want from us?” I ask.
Something drips from my ear. I look down. Sure enough, it’s blood.
“We want what all sirens want from the men who are lured by our song… your seed. Once you agree to impregnate all of us, we’ll release you from this cage. You can enjoy our bodies, our food, and the comfort of our island.”
Clark and I exchange a glance.
His eyes narrow, and he turns back to her. “No way in hell.”
Anger flashes in her eyes. “You are big, viral men, and we are beautiful sirens. What could possibly stop you?”
He doesn’t flinch, even though her words are like knives in my ears.
“If we wanted to ‘mate’ with you, you wouldn’t have needed to tie us up and throw us in a cage.
Now, you should know, we’re gargoyles. We’re stubborn and we live forever, so understand me well, there’s no chance in fucking hell we’ll have sex with any of you. ”
She flashes her sharp teeth. “Oh, you will. Trust me. With enough time, you will.”
The siren turns, and the others follow her back into the water. As soon as they’re gone, we both begin trying to escape from our bindings and the cage.
Unfortunately, it quickly becomes obvious that the cage and cuffs were made by a very powerful god who is a good friend of ours. We’d know his magical work anywhere.
“I’m going to thank that asshole for this when we get back,” Clark says, settling back against the bars.
I look at him and almost laugh. We’re both naked and bound in a cage. Who would have thought this is how our little adventure would go?
“So, what do we do now?”
Clark shrugs. “Wait for an opportunity to escape, or hope the others find us.”
He seems so casual, but then, not much ever scares him. Me, on the other hand, I’m worried. Not just because of the sirens and this cage, but because that feeling inside of me is only getting stronger.
What am I going to do?