Chapter 18 – Shade
SHADE
When I’d touched the angry gargoyle, I’d pulled on his connection to the gargoyle named Jordon to learn where he was. I will go to him and see if he can help me in my task to free Elliot.
The thing is, I’ve been thinking a lot. I’ve realized that if I just unchain Elliot and teleport him out of the castle, the vampires will know I freed him.
But if I can bring down the barrier that keeps the gargoyles in their forms, they can pluck him free and be gone.
No one would suspect I took something that would be more useful to a vampire.
I won’t need to lose my only home, and Elliot will be safe. It’s what they call a win-win.
But somehow, I think I need to find someone calmer than the last gargoyle to help me with this plan. Namely, how to get the crystal free without being caught, and also to create a plan that won’t lead to the gargoyles attacking the vampires.
I don’t want violence. And the last gargoyle I met…I doubted he could control himself well enough not to be violent.
I teleport into the woods I pictured when I touched the angry gargoyle. They’re different than the woods surrounding the vampire castle. There’s less moisture in the air and more heat. The leaves crunch beneath my feet and the trees feel silent.
When I emerge out of the clearing, I find the gargoyle I had seen in my vision. He’s lying on his back in a field full of yellow daisies. His eyes are closed, and his chest rises and falls.
I kneel down beside him, sensing the spell that keeps him trapped in slumber, even if I don’t quite understand it.
This gargoyle is different from the others.
Even in sleep there’s a tension to his face that I don’t like.
His hair is dark auburn and wavy. Unable to help myself, I touch it, letting the smooth strands slide between my fingertips.
And then I let my fingers drift over his beard, the same fascinating shade as his hair.
He’s big, like the other gargoyles, but his shoulders are less broad. Instead, his muscles are so…tight, that there seems to be nothing soft about him. Nothing at all.
I like him, I decide. As long as he isn’t like the angry one.
“Jordon,” I call his name.
The spell that enchants him isn’t the thick, sticky kind that’s hard to push away. Instead, it’s light, as if it was nearly done already. So I shake him softly and feel his heartbeat quicken.
I call his name a few more times, watching as his eyelids flutter.
When they finally fully open, his eyes are the most brilliant green I’ve ever seen. Deep, almost like thick jungle leaves. And they’re intelligent as they focus on my face.
“Jordon, you must be the last of the gargoyle brothers.”
“Who...” The word comes out thick, and he clears his throat. “Who are you?”
I realize my hand is resting on his chest, but I don’t move it. “I’m going to help you rescue Elliot from the vampire castle.”
Some of the fuzziness fades from his expression. “But there was the warlock and the damn sphinx! Where did they go? Their house was right here.”
I shrug. “It seems they didn’t wish to remain where you could find them. The spell they weaved on you kept you asleep, but uninjured.”
“Shit,” he mutters, pressing his hands to his face.
“Why did you want the warlock?” I ask, fascinated as I watch the muscles in his arms bulge.
“I thought he could help me remove the barrier that keeps us from saving Elliot.”
“Oh,” I smile. “Well, I think I can do that.”
His hands drop from his face, and suddenly his eyes are scanning me more carefully. “Are you…are you the shade?”
I nod.
Beneath my hand, I feel his heart speed up and his breathing grow more rapid. “You’re a monster.”
I cock my head. “Elliot and Cody are kind. Damon is an asshole. Who are you?”
His brows rise. “You’ve spoken to all of them?”
I nod. “I like Elliot and want to help him, but I don’t want the vampires angry with me.”
It’s as if I can see the wheels spinning in his head as he tries to process everything I’ve told him. But I don’t have to process anything, I just get to stare at this beautiful man and wonder what he’d do if I tried to kiss him right now. Given the “monster” comment, he probably wouldn’t enjoy it.
Which is a damned shame. I bet his lips are soft.
“So, you’re going to help us take down the shield that keeps us from entering in our stone forms?”
I nod. “But I have a condition to my help.”
“Okay.” He says the word really slowly.
“I don’t want the vampires hurt. I’ll only help you if you get Elliot and go, without causing any trouble.”
“You know we were sent to kill the vampires and take you…”
“I understand, but you’ve failed in that mission. Right now, I have one of your kind as my prisoner, and the rest of you are stuck outside the walls of the castle with nothing but your dicks to play with. It seems to me that rescuing your friend is the best thing that can come of this situation.”
“Hell,” he mutters.
“I did not want to present this idea to Damon. He seems too angry and drunk to be of any help.”
“No surprise there,” he says under his breath.
“And Cody was very nice, but it sounded as if you were the one to speak with.”
He sighs. “I am second-in-command.”
I finally lift my hand from his chest. “So, it seems you have my deal or no deal. What would you like to do?”
He regards me for a long minute. “I’ll make the deal.”
I clasp my hands together in delight. “This means that Elliot will be free, and I won’t lose my home!”
“It’s not your home; it’s the vampires’ home.”
I feel my smile fade away. “So, tell me, gargoyle, where is my home? In the dark Underworld with the shades who laugh about death and pain? If that’s my home, I choose another one, and the vampire house seems as good as any other.”
“Except that vampires are killers.”
“I haven’t seen any killing. Only willing blood humans.”
“Then you need to look more carefully. Lord Drac and his people love to kill. They’re violent and dangerous. They ally with horrible creatures and then double cross them when they become of no use to them.”
I hate that there’s the strangest ring of truth to what he says, so I change the subject. “Do you wish to return to the other gargoyles?”
After a minute, he nods slowly.
I reach out and snag his arm, then teleport us both back to beside the lake.
Jordon lets out a string of curses. “What the hell just happened?”
“I brought you back,” I say, shrugging.
He looks at me like I’m crazy, but slowly climbs to his feet. When he’s standing tall, he grabs his head and swears again, mumbling about the warlock and a terrible headache.
Saying nothing else, he begins to walk through the forest, and I follow slowly behind.
A while later, we come to a little campsite. A fire burns in a pit and Cody and Damon sit around it, eating something in a bowl. When they look in our direction, both men stand up in a rush.
“The shade is behind you!” Damon shouts, reaching for his sword.
Jordon scoffs. “I know. I led her here.”
“To our camp? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“We made a deal,” Jordon explains, his voice taking on a slight edge.
“Your great plan is to trust a monster? How about the warlock?” Damon’s blade is pointing in my direction, which is almost comical. I’d be long gone before he even got close to me with such a thing.
“The warlock was a bust, and we don’t seem to have many other options, so this is our new plan.”
Damon shakes his head. “Trusting a monster will just get us killed. It’s probably a trap.”
“But all our other plans will get us killed.”
Jordon plops down on a rock and dishes out more food from a pot hanging over the fire into a bowl, then digs into it.
Cody looks in my direction. “Would you like something to eat?”
The food does sound good. “Sure,” I say, ”but could Damon put away his sword? I’d hate it if he accidentally hurt himself.”
“Hurt myself…?” Damon’s mouth drops open.
Jordon snickers from beside the fire.
“I’m not going to hurt myself! I’ve been using a sword longer than you’ve been alive!” he shouts at me.
I frown. “Of course you have. I’ve technically been alive for just a few weeks.”
This time, Cody’s mouth twists into a smile. “Just put the sword away. She’s helping us.”
Damon keeps the sword level at me. “You two don’t have enough experience with monsters. They can—”
“Never be trusted,” I cut in.
Damon’s blue eyes narrow in my direction.
“Just sit down and shut up,” Jordon orders him, rubbing his temple with one hand.
I sigh. This is getting old fast.
Teleporting to just behind him, I wrap my hand around the sword and teleport away. A second later, I’m by the lake. I drop his sword there, then return to the guys.
It only took a few seconds, and Damon is staring at his empty hand in shock.
“Your sword is by the lake,” I tell him, then turn to Cody. “Can I have my food now?”
Cody is trying to hide a smile, for some reason. He dishes out some of the food, and I thank him, sitting down next to him.
Damon makes an angry sound, almost like a roar, and I glance back up at him, raising a brow.
“You sound like you have a lot of experience with hunting monsters. More than the others here.”
“I do!” he huffs at me.
I cock my head. “It must have been a long time ago, because you’re terrible at it now.”
“I’m not!” He advances on me.
I don’t move. I have plenty of time to escape, should I need to. I’m more enjoying putting this gargoyle in his place. Something about him just feels like the broken edges of glass. Like he was once something beautiful, but now he’s all sharp, jagged edges.
“Damon.” Cody’s voice is soft.
To my surprise, Damon’s anger melts away, and he looks at the blond man. “I’m just trying to keep all of you safe.”
“We get it,” Cody tells him.
Damon’s shoulders relax, ever so slightly, and he throws himself back down on his rock and starts eating as if I’m no longer here. My gaze swings from the angry dark-haired man, to the stoic Jordan, and the kind Cody. All of them are so different, and yet, they fascinate me.
“So, how do you plan to take down the magical shield that keeps us from using our stone form?” Jordon asks.
I take a bite of the stew, and find it surprisingly good, flavorful even. “This is excellent.”
Cody blushes beside me. “Thanks. I like to cook.”
“I could eat this every day,” I tell him, digging in.
His food isn’t fancy like the food of the vampires. But it’s hearty and good. I meant it when I said I could eat it every day.
“My mother taught me how to,” Cody tells me, his cheeks continuing to darken.
“Your mother? I wonder if I had a mother before. I’m sure I did. I hope she taught me to cook, because it seems like a useful skill.”
“The magical barrier…” Jordon says, drawing my attention back to him.
I wink at him, even though I’m not sure why.
“Yes, I remember. I know where the magical item is that makes the shield work, and I think I can teleport it away from the castle and let you all in to rescue Elliot from my room.” My gaze swings to Jordon.
“I have his word that you’ll do it without hurting any of the vampires. ”
“What?” Damon’s jaw drops.
Jordon gives a sharp nod. “It’s the only way she’ll help us. And we need her help.”
Before Damon can speak, Cody does. “It makes sense. At this point, it’s more important that we save Elliot than complete our mission.”
“And what the fuck will happen to Elliot when we return as failures to his father?”
I try not to perk up in interest. What about his father?
Jordon rolls his eyes. “It’d be better for Elliot to return a failure than for us to lose him altogether.”
“Why return at all?” I ask.
All three of them look at me at once, as if they forgot I was there altogether.
“It’s our home,” Cody says, frowning.
“But none of you seem very happy there, and I know Elliot isn’t. He feels ashamed of his injury, but he shouldn’t be.”
Damon’s face softens into an expression I’ve never seen from him.
“It wasn’t his fault. He let his guard down around a monster.
Any of us could’ve made the same mistake.
And he paid for it. He was in pain for months.
They weren’t sure if he’d ever walk again, but he wouldn’t stop trying until he could.
Not that his father appreciated him for it. ”
My belief that their kind doesn’t deserve Elliot only intensifies. “So why do you have to complete this mission and return home? Why not make your own home?”
Cody opens his mouth, closes it, and looks to Damon.
But Jordon is the one to answer. “It’s just how it is.”
I finish my meal without speaking. This time, my mind turns with all kinds of things. Namely, what it means to have a home and a family. Do I not understand because I don’t have a real one?
I hand my empty bowl back to Cody. “Thank you for the meal.”
Standing, my thoughts wind together.
“Wait! We didn’t come up with a plan!” Jordon says.
I look back at him. “The plan is simple. I go to Lord Drac’s room and get the crystal and get it out of there, or break it, if I have to.”
“So why do you sound worried?” Cody asks, crinkles forming at the edges of his eyes.
Do I sound worried? I realize that I do, because I am worried. So many things could go wrong, and I’m taking a risk by helping the gargoyles. Not that it’ll stop me.
But it was more than that.
“I’m worried if I go to his room, he’ll touch me again, and I don’t like when he touches me.”
Every one of them tenses, and I feel my stomach turn.
Teleporting away, I feel as if I’m running away from my shame, even though I shouldn’t feel that way. They’re worried about Elliot’s life. They don’t care that I might have to be around a man who makes my skin crawl, so why did I tell them?