Chapter 8 – Ryker
RYKER
Lamia has fallen asleep before the fire, and the last rays of sunlight are fading on the horizon.
I watch her, feeling conflicted. When I’d come to this island, pulled to it with an absolute knowledge that this is where I’d find her, I’d watched her from the safety of the woods, not knowing what to expect.
And then I’d spotted her.
I’d expected that seeing the monster would bring back feelings of rage. But there was no anger within me, only disturbing emotions that made no sense. I’d watched her shift into her human form and dive into the waters.
And I’d been transfixed.
She was a monster, but she was also the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
She had long, black hair and brilliant green eyes, rimmed by red.
But she was also tall, strong, and well-formed.
Her waist was narrow, almost too narrow, like she needed a hundred good meals to put some meat on her bones, but her breasts were large and tempting.
Every inch of her was like a feast for my eyes, and I’d stood beneath the shadows of the trees feeling things I never imagined. Gargoyles were known for having a weakness for women, but female monsters weren’t women. Were they?
And then she’d emerged from the water and cried. She’d cried so hard and so long that I no longer wanted to capture her, or demand her to end this curse, I just wanted to know what had brought her to tears. I hated that weakness inside of me.
I’d never known it existed.
I gently place another piece of wood in the fire and study the woman again. Her features are softer when she sleeps. Less miserable. Less tortured. Like maybe in sleep she can smile.
The thought disturbs me. What do I care whether she smiles or not?
And then my gaze slides over her. That feeling rises within me. An attraction as powerful as the rays of sunlight. A deep desire that borders on obsession.
It has to be because of what she made me into. That’s the only answer that makes any sense.
Frowning, I look at the sky as it grays. And off in the distance, I see shapes.
In an instant, I rise. I know immediately what they are. Gargoyles.
I don’t want to leave this woman here alone and risk that she might leave, taking my only chance at returning to normal with her.
Especially since my attempt at binding her wrists had been useless, resulting in torn shreds of fabric when she’s broke free from them to sleep.
But as I look at her, I know she’s deeply asleep.
If I’m quiet, there’s no reason I can’t return before she awakens.
Moving away from her and the fire, I reach the shoreline. Shifting into my gargoyle form, I hesitate.
I’d assumed they were coming this way because they were pulled by her too. That they were her other Protectors. But that didn’t make sense. They could just be going out for a flight.
So why do I feel that’s the truth deep inside?
Part of me wants to wait and see what direction they take, but the other part wants to speak to them out of her hearing.
Taking a deep breath, I flap my wings and shoot into the sky.
It takes no time at all to reach them.
The two gargoyles are familiar to me, and yet I can’t recall their names. One has reddish-blonde hair tied at the nape of his neck and a beard. His mouth is curled into a smile even before I speak. The other has slightly overgrown blonde hair and a serious face.
But both have the same red-ring around their eyes that I do.
“You’re looking for Lamia?” I say.
The man with red hair smiles. “Nice to see you again, Ryker.”
I frown.
“Don’t remember me? Not to worry, I doubt I leave as much of an impression as you do. I’m Vincent and this is Darius.”
“I remember you,” I say, filing their names away.
His smile wavers. “So, you’ve joined the Red-Eyed Brotherhood?”
I raise a brow.
The other man, Darius, shakes his head. “He’s been trying to decide on a name for us. I didn’t agree to it.”
“I have my own Brotherhood,” I say, even though my chest aches at the thought of the Brotherhood I no longer fit into.
Vincent’s smile widens. “Well, I’m still brainstorming names. We don’t have to choose that one.”
I sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. “You both are looking for Lamia too?”
Vincent opens his mouth, but Darius thankfully interrupts. “Yes. We felt like she was this way.”
“She is,” I say, glad to have the conversation on track. “I found her on the island just ahead.”
Darius’s gaze goes to the island and anger leaps into his eyes. “Did you kill her yet?”
I shake my head. “No, because I don’t want her dead.”
“You don’t want her dead?” Darius asks, his light green eyes filled with disbelief.
“I mean, I don’t want her dead yet. Not until she can fix whatever the hell she did to us.”
“Is there a way to fix dead?” Vincent asks, smirking.
“There might be,” I tell them.
Vincent’s smile fades, and he rubs the back of his fingers along his slight beard. “You’re serious.”
“I am.”
“How?” Darius asks, his gaze ultra-focused.
“There is a place. If we take her there, she might be able to undo this.”
“Sounds like a trap,” Darius says, voicing my own worries.
“It could be. But it’s our only chance.”
Vincent’s expression becomes far away.
Darius is slow to respond. “Is it really worth it for just the chance to undo this? I mean, we don’t even know that we’re that different.”
I stare at him. “You don’t think you’re different.”
He looks away.
“If you guys feel like I do, then I know you want to change it.”
Neither answers for a long time.
“But…maybe we won’t feel this connection to her if she’s dead,” Darius answers as if selecting each word with care.
“Connection?” Vincent finally says. “It’s more than that, isn’t it?
I don’t know what you guys feel, but I feel changed to my core.
I feel like a different person. Like something inside of me will never be the same again.
There’s this…hunger that food doesn’t fill.
There’s this aching…loneliness that isn’t me. ”
I stiffen. That’s exactly what it feels like. And then there was my reaction to seeing Blaise’s blood. Just the thought of how I felt makes me sick.
“It’s like she took part of our souls,” I say.
Vincent looks between us. “Well, shit. So, it might not be as easy as just killing her.”
I nod, my chest tightening. “There’s something else.”
They stare at me, waiting. A breeze moves through us, and my wings adjust, keeping me level with them.
Vincent finally raises a brow. “You going to tell us or what?”
I take a deep breath. “Lamia fed on our blood, right?”
They nod.
“Have either of you…seen blood since you came back?”
“No,” Darius says, answering me like I’m crazy.
“I did.” I clear my throat. “And…I kind of wanted some.”
“Blood?” he repeats, his eyes widening.
“What do you mean ‘kind of’?” Vincent asks, and I hate how worried the red-haired man looks.
I force the words out. “I mean, I really wanted it. Like I couldn’t control myself.”
They exchange a glance.
“Well, fuck us,” Vincent says. “That’s definitely not good.”
“It’s more than that.” Darius’ whole body seems to go rigid. “It means we could end up like her. We could become monsters that kill for blood.”
All humor is gone from Vincent’s voice. “So this isn’t just about our eyes or feeling weird. If we can’t fix this, the lives we knew are gone in all ways.”
I nod. “We have to take her to this Cave of Blood, acting as her Protectors, according to the book, and we have to bring some kind of treasure to offer to the creatures that live there in exchange for their help.”
“So let’s tie up the monster and drag her to this place.”
“There’s more,” I say, choosing my words with care. “We’re going to have to be her blood source on the way there.”
“Fuck no!” Vincent shouts.
Sweat trickles down my back. I wonder if he’ll be so quick to argue when he sees Lamia. The idea makes something flash within me. Desire, thick and needy.
“Her hunger will make her dangerous. Innocents will be hurt.”
He glares. “So we’re just supposed to offer our blood to the monster who killed us?”
Darius folds his arms in front of his chest, which almost looks comically in the air. “I have to say, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
I wasn’t so sure about my acceptance of this plan, but the more they challenge me, the more sure I am. It’s a strange feeling. One that reminds me of what a leader of a Brotherhood would feel.
“We are gargoyles. Our job is to protect the innocent. If what’s required to do so, and to get our lives back, is a little blood, can you honestly say it isn’t worth the price?”
“This isn’t like risking life and limb in battle!” Darius runs an angry hand through his blond hair, glaring at everything around him.
“Think of it as the same.”
His mouth pulls into a thin line.
“And what’s to stop the beast from simply draining us of all blood again and ending our lives?” Vincent asks, his question oddly practical.
“We have each other this time,” I tell him, and even as I say the words, I know they’re true.
“So we’re going to journey with this creature, let her feed on us and take us somewhere that could be a trap?” Darius stares at me, hard.
“Or we could just kill her and risk remaining this way forever? Or take her on the journey and be responsible if she takes any lives along the way?” My words are clipped.
He stares, his gaze a challenge for a long minute, and then his anger cracks. “Fine, we do it this way. But if she so much as looks at me wrong, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
I nod in agreement.
After an oddly quiet moment, Vincent speaks, his voice soft. “And what will we do if we start to crave blood the way she does?”
It’s strange. Vincent is a younger gargoyle than we are. His manner and the way he speaks doesn’t quite fit with the world I knew, and yet he’s a gargoyle through-and-through. Beneath his humor is a sharp mind and a sense of right and wrong that I appreciate it.
I both hate and feel relieved that he spoke my own fear. “I think we’ll have to cross that bridge if we reach it.”
The sun peeks above the horizon, and we all look at the sky, blossoming with light. It’s a strange moment. Like the calm before the storm.
“So,” Vincent stares up ahead at the island. “Do you have her bound there?”
I shake my head. “She’s sleeping.”
“And…what’s she like?”
I imagine her naked body, tanned and curved in all the right places. I think of her sadness that wraps her like a cloak.
“Different than I expected.”
“Well, no matter how she appears, none of us can lose sight of our goal.” Darius looks at the island. “We get free of this curse. And then, we get our revenge. We do what we failed to do the last time, and we kill her.”
“Agreed,” says Vincent.
I hesitate. “Agreed.”