Chapter 13 – Lucas
LUCAS
Rokad, Narath, and I have managed to put out the fire. Smoke clouds the air, and humans have begun to come out of their dwellings to see what the fuss is about, but it’s done. We hear a firetruck in the distance and pull back to the top of a nearby building, watching in the shadows and waiting.
Somehow, we managed to help this town stop a fire from spreading, but that wasn’t our goal.
We wanted to catch the monster. This was Conley’s section of the city to watch.
The fact that he’s nowhere to be seen is making us all nervous.
Even Narath, who is always one step from killing the phoenix, seems worried, so I know it isn’t just me.
“Where could he be?” Rokad asks, and the muscles in his jaw tense.
“Maybe the culprit went into the woods? We could search there?” I suggest.
Rokad considers my words. “We give it five more minutes, then we start a search for the phoenix. But if he was just goofing around or some other shit--”
“I’ll tear his head off and use his fucking body as a puppet,” Narath snarls.
Rokad lifts a brow. “No, we’ll do pairs next time and make sure he does his job.”
“And maybe stop threatening to kill him every time you get mad,” I say, giving Narath a look. “Your threats are starting to sound like the period at the end of each of your sentences.”
Narath stands to his full height, and I see Rokad glancing toward the street, checking to see if anyone might see him.
My massive brother looks down at me with those cold, dark eyes of his, and I fight the urge to shiver.
Narath might constantly feel the need to hurt all of us, but I’m pretty sure he won’t kill Rokad and I.
Pretty sure, but not one hundred percent sure.
“Soon I will feast on someone’s blood,” he growls.
I wince. “Okay, big fella, but let’s save it for our enemies. Conley is on our side.”
He makes an angry sound of disbelief. “The phoenix will never be on our side. When we have killed every monster, we will kill him, then all his people, then--”
“Then? Fuck, man, there’s more to life than killing.”
His entire face tightens. “Not without her.”
His words drop between us, and I look at Rokad.
I raise my brows and nod toward Narath. It’s time.
Rokad needs to tell him that there’s a chance that the beautiful woman doesn’t want us.
That it was a one-time thing for her, and that he can’t keep obsessing over her.
Rokad keeps saying he’ll have the conversation, but I think he puts it off every time he sees how just the mention of her has Narath thinking about something other than blood and violence.
Still, this obsession is going too far. For all we know, we’ll never see her again. And even though that makes a strange feeling roll through my chest, it’s a possibility we have to prepare for.
“So, the thing is…” Rokad clears his throat, his face a familiar mask as he looks at Narath. “About Em, well--”
“Em!” Narath says, sounds exciting.
“Right, about Em--”
“No, Em!” He points.
Now he’s seeing her? Fuck. We really need to address this. “Have you ever heard of a one-night stand, buddy? Because that’s what we had, in her eyes. If she wanted more she would have stuck around long enough.”
“Shit!” Rokad is looking where Conley is pointing.
I lift a brow and look in that direction, then focus back on Narath and open my mouth. My brain catches up, and I jerk back in the direction, only to see Conley carrying Em in his arms. And...is she cradling a dog?
“What in the hell is this?” I mutter.
“Em!” Narath sounds like a kid on Christmas. He races to the end of the building, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet.
And then, Conley lands in the middle of us.
“You’re here!” Narath exclaims, hurrying up to her, and then he freezes.
My gaze goes to the beautiful woman, and for one minute all I can think about is the fact that I’m pretty damned sure I’ve missed her as much as Narath did.
I don’t think it’s because she took my virginity either.
I think there’s just something about this woman that makes me crazy.
Something that pulls me toward her and makes me never want to let go.
“She’s hurt,” Conley says.
And it’s like his words are a bucket of ice.
He sets her slowly down, but keeps his hands on her waist. When he does, we see her back, and a sick feeling explodes inside of me.
Her skin is red in some places, black in others, and there are huge blisters.
What’s more, parts of her clothes have melded with her burns, creating a horrifying vision of her skin.
“What happened?” Narath says, and his voice is terrifyingly calm.
Em answers. “We tracked down the monster. It turned out to be Ceuthonymus. Conley tried to take him down, but when I saw the beast was going to hurt him, I jumped between them. It probably wasn’t my smartest move,” she says, followed by an uncomfortable laugh.
And it all happens too fast. Narath is on top of Conley, roaring like an animal, and his fists start crashing into Conley’s face.
He manages two or three blows before Rokad and I are there, trying to tear him away, but it’s like the big guy can only comprehend that Em was hurt because of the phoenix.
“Stop!” I’m shouting, begging.
We’re big. But Narath is bigger, and fucking crazy. If he can’t calm down on his own, if he’s wound up the way he gets, eventually he’s going to get to Conley. And I think he could honestly end up killing him.
“Narath!” Rokad roars, but even though he’s getting pissed, Narath is still attacking the phoenix.
“Enough!” Em shouts.
Narath hesitates, then keeps attacking.
Her voice comes out softer. “If this is what you guys are like, the baby and I will have nothing to do with you.”
Baby? It’s like the world slows down. Narath’s attack stops, and all of us are looking at the woman like she’s grown an extra head. My gaze goes down to where she’s holding a dog against her stomach, and sure enough, she looks like she has a slight baby belly.
“You’re pregnant?” Rokad asks, breathless.
She nods, glaring, then turns on her heel and starts walking toward the door to the roof.
“Wait!” I shout at the same time as Rokad.
She doesn’t wait, though. She keeps going.
And then Narath’s voice comes, soft but sure. “We don’t care who the father is. We will love you and the child like our own. You and the baby are now ours. And human, demon, whatever the father is, we’ll never ask.”
Her entire body stiffens, and she looks back at us. I see pain and confusion in her eyes. “What are you talking about? You four are the only men I’ve been with…”
The implication settles between us. She’s only been with us. Which means the baby is biologically one of ours. Even though Conley isn’t technically in our Brotherhood, any baby born to a Brotherhood of gargoyles is the whole Brotherhood’s.
I hate it when I feel tears sting my eyes. This is impossible. Phoenix babies might be more common than gargoyle babies, but they are all rare. Gargoyles can try for hundreds of years and never have a baby of their own. If this child is ours, it’s a miracle.
“Are you sure?” Rokad asks.
Narath turns and punches him, sending our brother slamming into the roof. He roars again, and then his words seem to tear from his throat. “Don’t question her! She’ll run away again!”
“I won’t run away. I never run away from anything,” Em says. “But I’m also not going to stay around a man who can’t control his temper. That’s not safe, for me or the baby.”
She opens the roof door and hisses, before crumbling to her knees.
Narath is there in an instant. He doesn’t touch her, just falls to his knees beside her. “You’re hurt. Let us take care of you.”
Her golden eyes catch his gaze. “And when you’re angry, will you hurt me like you hurt them?”
Pain flashes in his dark eyes, and his face crumbles. “I could never hurt you or our child.”
Her mouth draws into a line, and she tries to stand. He takes her arm gently, but she tugs it away and manages to get up herself.
“We know you need our help,” Conley says. He’s on the ground, brushing blood from his lip with the back of his hand. One of his eyes is almost swollen shut. “We can get you there a lot faster than a car can go, and offer protection in case Ceuthonymus comes back for you.”
There’s hesitation in her gaze as she looks from Narath to us.
“We’ll never hurt you,” Rokad promises.
She slowly puts her dog down onto the ground, and even the dog is looking at us like we’re idiots.
“Okay, you can come with me, but only because I think I’m going to pass out soon.
But we’re taking my car. I bought it. I earned it.
And I’ll need it to keep hunting. Let’s get to the car and call Dr. Leo. She’ll know how to help me.”
“Okay,” we all agree as one, too afraid that she’ll suddenly change her mind.
“Conley.” She says the phoenix’s name tenderly. “Can you fly me down to my car? Or will Narath attack us?”
“Never,” Narath whispers, sounding heartbroken.
Conley rises, looking sore, but crosses to her and gently pulls her into his arms.
She looks at me. “Will you take Charm, my dog?”
I look down at the dog. She’s got mostly white fur with splotches of autumn color. One of her legs has an assortment of scars running over it, and she seems to hold it without putting weight on it. She is a strange kind of animal, but if she’s important to Em, she’s important to us.
Kneeling down near the dog, I call, “Charm, come here.”
The dog looks between Em and me, then slowly moves to me. I pick her up cautiously in my arms, and I swear both she and Em give me a look that promises pain if the dog isn’t safe with me.
No worries there.
Em tells us where to find her car, and we go the long way, circling over the woods and trying to avoid the area of the city that’s chaotic.
When we get to the car, we put Em in the front seat, where she lays on her side, with Conley in the driver’s seat, and her head in his lap.
Her dog is by her feet on a little bed, and she hands me her phone where I’m sitting squeezed in the back with my brothers.
“Call Dr. Leo, she’ll know what to do.”
And then, she promptly passes out.