aisling grimlock 03 - grim discovery (19 page)

I was halfway up the front walk when I heard rustling behind me. I tightened my grip on my keys to keep them from clinking and kept my pace even. I didn’t want whoever was following to know I suspected anything. If I could get close enough to the door … .

“Look out!”

I wasn’t sure where the voice came from, but I listened. I felt a presence moving in at my right, so I hopped backward instead of moving forward. The wraith was a black blur as it lunged, overstepping my position by almost two feet.

“Oh, why am I not surprised?” I grumbled.

My hip kept me from moving as fast as I wanted, and even though I knew someone was out here – someone had warned me, after all – I had to act fast if I expected to survive.

Without a weapon I didn’t have a lot of options. The best one I had was my mouth, but if I screamed for help and Jerry ran out I’d put him in danger. There was nothing in this world that could make me do that.

The wraith spun, his fingers outstretched as he reached for me. I was about to knee him in the groin, desperately hoping they still had equipment to damage, when something barreled out of the darkness and knocked me to the side.

I hit the grass hard, my hand brushing against one of the solar lights Jerry insisted on placing along the walkway. I yanked it out of the ground and studied the pointed metal end for a moment before rolling to my knees and pushing myself to a standing position.

The light from the townhouse was dim – and thankfully all of the lights in the neighbor’s unit were out, which meant they were probably in bed and not bearing witness to Armageddon – so I had to squint to focus on the thing that knocked me out of the way. It was clearly one of the winged dog-owls, although this one looked different from the previous specimen.

Whatever it was, the wraith didn’t like it. It kept lashing out and trying to catch the winged creature, which was too fast for the likes of the wraith. I was enjoying the scene when I felt a second wraith approach. They almost always travel in pairs, so I wasn’t surprised when it closed in on me.

I gripped the solar light tightly, biding my time until it was almost upon me. I swiveled quickly, giving no thought to what would happen if the sharp end wasn’t enough to incapacitate the wraith. It wasn’t as though I had a lot of options. I plunged the stake into the wraith’s heart and immediately took two long strides back so I wasn’t within its reach should it attack.

The wraith screamed – although it was feeble and barely audible from where I stood. As if time slowed, the wraith turned and focused on me, its black robe billowing in the night air. It took one step in my direction and I was about to try running when its body started flaking apart. The solar light wasn’t a great weapon, but it did the job.

I pushed the disappearing wraith out of my mind and turned to the second attacker. The dog-owl clearly had the upper hand as it zipped by the wraith’s face and lashed out with dangerous-looking talons. The wraith reared back, and I took the opportunity to ram the stake into its back, hoping I was in the general vicinity of its black heart.

The wraith stumbled, stunned that the final attack came from me instead of the flying beast. This wraith crumbled to the ground, turning to ash before the body hit the cement.

“Well, that was fun,” I said, as I regarded the flying beast. It watched me with curious eyes. Unlike the dog-owl that attacked me a few hours earlier, this one didn’t have glowing red eyes. My new friend’s were more a somber gray. “If you’re some sort of weird bat, I’m telling you right now I’ll kill you if you try to give me rabies.”

The dog-owl snorted. No, really, it snorted. “I’m not a bat.”

Well, this was new. “You can talk?” I was dumbfounded. “What kind of bat talks?”

“I’m not a bat.”

“Are you a dog-owl?”

“What’s a dog-owl?” The creature’s mouth moved and the more I stared at it the more uncomfortable I became. There was something rigid about the beast’s body texture. I couldn’t put a name to it, but I figured I should recognize it. I just couldn’t.

“If you’re not a dog-owl, then what are you?”

“I’m a gargoyle, stupid!”

Oh, well, that explained everything.

“HOW
was dinner, Bug? I’m sorry I couldn’t make it, but I had a couple come in for a wedding consultation and they were clueless.” Jerry sat on the couch, his eyes trained on the television, his feet – pink toe separators in place – resting on the coffee table. He’d obviously just given himself a pedicure. “Is Aidan on his way?”

“I’m sure he is,” I said, holding the door open so the gargoyle could pad inside. On all fours he looked like some horror movie monstrosity. I couldn’t hold a conversation outside in case someone saw it and thought I was mistreating a dog – or doing horrible human and fly mutations in the basement – so I had no choice but to let him into the house.

“What are you doing?” Jerry asked, tilting his head to the side. “What are you looking at … oh, holy hell, what is that? Tell me that’s not a bat!”

“It’s not a bat,” I said, dropping my purse on the table and hobbling into the living room. My already-sore hip throbbed after I had been yet again tossed to the ground. I started to think I would need a hip replacement by the age of thirty.

“Why does everyone think I’m a bat?”

“It talks!” Jerry pointed at our guest, his finger shaking. “How can a bat talk?”

“If you call me a bat one more time I’ll mess up that pretty nail polish you’re trying so hard to keep neat,” the gargoyle snapped.

“Don’t threaten him,” I warned, flicking the gargoyle’s pointed ear and cringing. He felt kind like mushy stone. “Are you the same kind of gargoyle I see on top of buildings and in front of those dilapidated old hotels down in Detroit?”

“Stop encouraging that … bat … to talk,” Jerry hissed. “You can’t keep that thing, by the way. We agreed when we moved in together: No pets.”

I made a face. “If I remember correctly, I made that rule because I was convinced you were going to adopt some rat dog and dress it up in sweaters,” I reminded him. “Trust me. I do not want this creepy little … gargoyle … to be a pet. Although … do you do tricks? I’ve got a lifelong nemesis who I would love for you to dive bomb.”

“Shoo, little bat,” Jerry said, waving with his hands as he steadfastly refused to move his feet. “I’m sure there’s some nice farm in the Upper Peninsula where you could find a permanent home.”

“I’m not bat, you … poof!”

“Hey! Don’t you dare call him that,” I snapped. “It’s not his fault. We’ve never seen a talking dog-owl.”

“I’m a gargoyle!”

“You keep saying that, but I’m pretty sure they’re not real – except as architectural details,” I said, moving toward the refrigerator for a can of soda. “Do you want something to drink, Bruce?”

“Who the hell is Bruce?” The gargoyle sounded like my father after spending twenty minutes arguing politics with me. He was just that irritated.

“You look like a mutant bat,” I said. “That made me think of Batman. What’s Batman’s real name?”

“My name is Bub, and I can’t believe I saved the life of someone so incredibly stupid,” the gargoyle spat.

“Well believe it,” I said, popping the top on my Diet Coke as I returned to the living room. “You can’t believe I’m this stupid and I can’t believe you’re a gargoyle named Bub. I guess we’re even.”

“We’re not even,” Bub scoffed, rearing back on his haunches and giving me a clear view of his … oh, I can never speak of that. “I saved your life and you owe me. Why are you staring at that wall?”

“I’m guessing they don’t neuter gargoyles,” Jerry said, his eyes drawn to Bub’s rather large package. “Wow. Do you … um … have you ever … um … ?”

“What is he babbling about?” Bub asked.

“He wants to know if you ever considered wearing underwear,” I said, refusing to let my eyes wander to Bub’s nether region. “That thing is obscene.”

“That’s my tail, you idiot!”

That made me feel better. “Oh. Whew. I was starting to feel really sorry for Mrs. Bub.”

“Me, too,” Jerry echoed.

Bub glanced around the townhouse as though searching for something.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for hidden cameras,” Bub replied. “I figure I have to be on some hidden camera show, because no one could be as dumb as you two.”

“Hey, I invited you into my home and I didn’t have to,” I said. “I don’t need your crap. It’s already been the day from hell.”

“You shouldn’t invite bats into the house, Bug,” Jerry chided. “Vampires can’t enter unless you invite them, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for talking bats.”

“I saved your life,” Bub countered, rolling his eyes at Jerry’s comments. “You owe me.”

“I owe you jack, buddy,” I argued. “I killed both of those wraiths out there. You just … zoomed around like a little dog-owl and made weird noises.”

“I yelled and warned you that you were about to be attacked.”

“I already knew I was about to be attacked, Bruce.”

“Stop calling me Bruce, you idiot!”

Griffin cleared his throat in the hallway, causing Bub, Jerry and I to jolt. I hadn’t heard the door open, and the sight of Griffin and Aidan standing in the hallway staring threw me for a loop.

“I told you I saw a dog-owl,” I announced, puffing out my chest out. “What do you have to say now? Head wound, my ass.”

“What is that thing?” Aidan asked, giving Bub a wide berth as he circled the room and moved closer to Jerry.

“That’s Bub,” Jerry explained. “He’s a gargoyle and that’s his tail, not his … you know … in case you’re wondering. I already told Aisling she couldn’t keep him. He doesn’t look like he sheds, but I’m not sure I can find a litter box for something that big, and I’m not cleaning up after him.”

“I don’t want to live here with you cretins,” Bub snapped. “I’m afraid your stupidity would cause me to lose IQ points by sheer proximity.”

“Is this the thing that attacked you this afternoon?” Griffin asked, his eyes never moving from Bub’s hunched form.

“You were attacked this afternoon?” Aidan was incredulous. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“That’s what Griffin and I were talking about when you walked into my bedroom and made a scene,” I snapped.

“Did you have to be naked when you were talking about it?” Aidan was shrill. “So far today I’ve dealt with the mother of all hangovers, Dad’s meltdown, you naked and now … this little rubber thing.”

“He doesn’t feel like rubber,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll have you know that most men would love to see me naked, by the way.”

“It is impressive,” Jerry agreed.

“If he doesn’t feel like rubber, what does he feel like?” Griffin asked. “Wait … do I even want to know why you’ve been touching this thing?”

I caught Aidan and Griffin up on my walk to the townhouse, taking a small side journey so Aidan and Jerry could hear about my afternoon adventure. When I was done, Griffin was furious.

“Are you sure both wraiths are dead?”

“I stabbed them with one of Jerry’s solar lights.”

“You didn’t break it, did you?” Jerry asked. “Those were expensive, Bug.”

“Can we stop talking about you guys for five minutes and instead focus on me?” Bub asked. “Good grief. I’m a guest and you’re treating me as if I’m a member of your loser family. I don’t care about your inner circle … crap.”

“Why are you here?” I asked, shifting my attention to the gray monster. “You called out to warn me. I’m grateful for that, but I heard the wraith approaching.”

“I also knocked you out of the way. Did you forget that?”

“No, and my really sore hip thanks you,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Griffin moved toward me, making sure he didn’t let his feet get close enough for Bub to bite, and gently ran his hands over my hip. “It doesn’t feel like the wound has re-opened. I’ll put more Neosporin and a new bandage on it before we go to bed.”

“Aren’t you going to thank me for saving your idiot girlfriend?”

Griffin arched a challenging eyebrow. “Thank you. What the hell are you doing here and what do you know about the dog-owl … er, gargoyle … that attacked Aisling this afternoon?”

“I don’t know who that was or why it’s they’re moving on you now,” Bub said. “I was watching the townhouse because I wanted to warn you that trouble was coming. I didn’t feel it was right to leave you exposed.”

“What kind of trouble, and who’s ‘they?’”

“What do you know about gargoyles?” Bub asked.

“I know that their tails kind of look like big … .”

“Aisling,” Griffin warned, shaking his head. “What do we need to know about gargoyles?”

“We’re not good or evil,” Bub explained. “We’re neutral. We like to remain hidden and in our own little world. We don’t pick sides … until now.”

“Why are you picking sides now?” Aidan asked.

I was almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Someone is amassing an army to go after you, girlie,” Bub said, focusing on me. “You’re the prized gem in a really big crown. Whoever gets you gets a big pot of money and they’re offering rewards for the person – or entity – who nabs you first.”

“Well, I don’t like this one bit,” Griffin growled. “Who is paying gargoyles to go after Aisling?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Bub said. “I stay out of politics. We’ve been in existence for a long time, although our numbers our dwindling as our habitat erodes. We’ll be in existence after you’ve all shuffled off the mortal coil. I don’t like it when people move on my turf and disrupt the natural order, though. Someone is summoning a bunch of wraiths to this area, and they’re all supposed to grab you.”

“What do the gargoyles have to do with it?” I asked, my heart flipping.

Griffin slipped a reassuring arm around my waist and kissed my cheek. “It will be okay,” he whispered.

“They’re watching you,” Bub replied.

“But you’re not watching me,” I clarified. “That’s what you said, right?”

“I came to warn you because I genuinely believe if the wraiths get you the balance of power in this area will shift,” Bub said. “I’m not here to fight battles. I only wanted to make you aware of the evil that’s brewing.”

“Where are the wraiths converging?” Aidan asked, his mind clearly busy. “Can we get to them during the day?”