Gryphons Quest (10 page)

"Now, tell me, little one. What's happened?" he asked, softly.

Heather began to cry. Her tears fell into some of the scratches on her face, stinging the sensitive flesh.

The pain was enough to help her gain some control.

"I know I shouldn't be here, and that your family and Shayla don't want me near you. But there just wasn't anyplace else to go." She tried to continue speaking. But her minimal control left.

"Niall...h-hh...he..." she tried to talk.

"My parents and Shayla are away for a few days. To me, it doesn't matter what they would think of your coming to me. You need help and I'm here for you." He took a deep breath to control his panic over her condition. "Did that son of a bitch try to force himself on you again, lass? If he did, I'll rip his heart out!" Gryph cupped her cheek with one hand.

"You don't understand, Gryph. He's not h-h-human!" Heather stammered as she tried to speak.

"Take a deep breath, Heather, and tell me what he's done." Gryph lowered his voice, trying to calm her.

Heather did as he suggested, pushed her hair away from her face and began. "I was leaving the museum." She stopped, closed her eyes and tried to gain more control.

Gryph waited patiently, searching her face to gauge her injuries.

"I saw this green light. Like the one in the stairwell the night you were hurt."

Gryph gripped her shoulders carefully. "What else did you see, lass?"

"I tried to get out of the parking lot but it...I mean, Niall, blocked my way. Gryph, he literally tore the door off my car. He's insane, and he's turned into this...this thing" her wavering voice drifted away.

"So, it was him. I suspected as much, but I wasn't sure until now. He was the demon I fought in the museum," Gryph said as he massaged Heather's shoulders and pushed loose strands of her ponytail off her face. He searched her features for other injuries. The woman's hands were practically in shreds.

Drops of blood stained her shirt and torn jeans.

"He spoke to you?" Gryph asked, trying to sound calm. I'll rip his cowardly spine out!

"Yes," Heather nodded. "He wants the stone we took. And when he finds it's gone, he'll want this one, too." She pulled the second stone from her pocket and gave it to him.

"By all of the...Heather, where did you get this?" Gryph looked at her in amazement.

"I found it in a Peruvian vase by accident."

Gryph continued looking at her in complete wonder. She had managed to retrieve yet another stone and escape a demon. He'd never met anyone like her. She had more courage than any three men he knew. Outsiders were not as weak as he'd been led to believe. Certainly Heather wasn't.

"You can't go back to the museum, and you can't go to your apartment. It's as I've suspected. This man knows where you'll go and won't hesitate coming for you. Especially, since you know what he is."

He cursed himself for not trying to get her to leave town. She hadn't been safe since he'd approached her. What she'd been through was his fault, and the guilt almost crushed him.

"Gryph, please...please, tell me what in hell is going on? Who are you? What kind of power do these stones have, and why won't you tell me everything?"

He pulled her into his arms and held her close, stroking her hair. "First, let's clean these wounds before they become infected. The beast didn't make any of these marks on you, did he?"

"No, I had to run into the park to get away from him—it. I got caught in some thorns."

"That's good, because his claws contain a powerful poison. That's what almost killed me. Now, we'll get you taken care of. Then we'll talk about what happened."

His low, deep voice was like a soothing ointment to Heather's shattered nerves. Gryph led her upstairs to his bedroom. "Here, use this robe." He handed her a dark green, terrycloth robe from the closet.

"There are fresh towels and a first aid kit in the cupboard. I want you to make sure you clean those wounds well. I'll be back in half an hour. All right?" he questioned as he watched her movements.

Heather nodded. He walked over to her, kissed her gently on her forehead then left. She was already beginning to feel more calm. But she would never be able to rid herself of the monstrous vision she'd seen earlier. How could such a thing exist? What Niall had become defied every known law of physics and nature. Fighting off pain and the shock of what had happened, Heather's intellectual brain began to put pieces of things together. Gryph was trying to stop all this. That was why he was here. Of course, he couldn't go to the police. They'd never have believed anything and, in light of a murder investigation, he might have become a suspect. Exactly who he was didn't matter quite as much, though her curiosity would keep her asking questions. He was doing the right thing, trying to stop anyone else from being hurt.

In her book, that made him a hero. No legend she'd ever read about could equal what he'd already done.

Men like him were rare and wonderful. She slowly walked into the bathroom, trying to sort her feelings.

She scrubbed herself under a hot shower and washed her hair, then entered the bedroom and was tying the robe when Gryph knocked on the door and joined her. Heather ran to him and he held her.

There was no doubt in her mind that was exactly where she belonged. She snuggled into his chest and almost cried with the need to be there.

"Easy, lass. I've made some hot tea. It will help you feel better." He handed her a steaming mug. When she took it, he began to adjust the sleeves of the robe she wore. It was sizes too large, but she looked so adorable in it. So precious. If anything had happened to her...

"Gryph, you once told me those stones held a special power. I thought it was just a legend. Now I know it isn't. We have to find that other rune stone. Niall doesn't need them to change into that devil thing anymore, but he wants to keep the stones so that no one else has the power. He thinks he's killed you.

And he admitted killing Ned and the prostitute in the park." She paused and sipped her tea, her hands visibly shaking as she did so. "I feel like I'm in the middle of someone's bad dream."

"It's not a dream, little one. It's real enough. It's to my advantage if he thinks he's killed me. I can use it against him. As for us finding the last stone, you can forget it. You're not leaving this house until I get the damned thing myself. Understand?" He stroked her drying hair, tucked a bit of it behind one ear, and adjusted the belt of the robe to fit her tiny waist.

"You'll never get in the museum without setting off an alarm, and there are thousands of places where the stone could be hidden. What I don't understand is how Niall got his hands on them, how he found out what they were and why he's keeping them at the museum." She walked away from him and started pacing.

"Heather, come here," he gently commanded.

"I've wondered if McPherson was in on this too. Although I can't believe he'd be capable of murder."

"Heather," Gryph calmly spoke louder, trying to her attention again.

"How did Niall invoke this kind of power unless he translated the symbols on the stones? He'd need help to do that. Outside the professor's realm of knowledge, I'm the only one with that kind of expertise and I can assure you I didn't translate any such thing. And what can anyone do about Niall now that he has this ability to change himself into this horrible thing!"

"Heather, stop.” Gryph took her by the arm, walked to the bed, sat down and pulled her into his lap.

"You need to calm down. You've been through too much." He paused to put the cup of tea on the night stand and to make sure he had her attention. Then, he waited until she was comfortably within his arms.

He searched her face, noted the scratches and saw the trust in her eyes. How he'd love to hold her there forever. Just make the world go away and leave the two of them alone. He sighed, knowing she'd hate him for being a creature, too. Though he wasn't like the one who had just tried to kill her, that lovely look of trust would die and turn to horrifying disgust. His heart felt like marble, even as she felt so soft and inviting. He took a deep breath and tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. To stay calm for her sake.

"First, I suspect that when McPherson took the stones from Ireland, this Niall fellow found out about them from the professor himself. Second, McPherson had probably heard of the stones' legend and allowed them to be translated thinking no harm would come of it. Once translated, I'm told the spell is easy to invoke. Third, I don't think this man wanted to move the stones from the museum because it gives him a quiet, isolated place to practice the powers he's so recently acquired. They become stronger the more they're used. Your friend the security guard probably walked in on something he wasn't meant to see and was slain for it. And lastly, Niall will have to be destroyed. It's the only way to stop him now."

Heather stared at him as she searched her battered senses for the proper words. "You've been sent to recover the stones and, more importantly, kill Niall. That's was this is all about, isn't it?"

Gryph could only look at her. He neither denied nor confirmed anything. He'd already told her too much. His mission had involved her in his world and had almost cost her life. As it was, he'd never forgive himself for what she'd already been through.

"You can't kill him, Gryph. You've seen what he is. No insult intended, but you and five like you would be no match for him. Besides, even if they don't believe it, we should go to the police. They can deal with this."

"Like you said, they won't believe any of it. So, what would you tell them? Would you say that a man has invoked an ancient Celtic spell from the stolen Rune Stones of the Tuatha De Danann and that he's now walking the streets of New York killing at will? What do you think they'd do?"

Heather listened to his words and realized how impossible it sounded, but she wanted to keep Gryph from being slaughtered like Ned. "If I said it like that, the police would probably lock me away and say I was crazy. But I could tell them only that he attacked me a second time and that he told me he committed the murders. Maybe they'd find him and get a confession out of him. I've already reported him once.

They're looking for him now to press assault charges."

"Maybe they would go after him and maybe they'd even find him. But at what cost? He might kill one or more of them by turning into that creature. He would surely escape then disappear someplace, taking the one remaining stone. Then, he'd surface again and hunt you to get back the other two stones so that only he would have their power. I'm trying to keep anyone from knowing about the damned things, Heather. If this man got desperate enough, there's no telling how many people might be exposed to all this. That can't happen. Not ever"

"But to send you to take a life, even an evil one, isn't justice. And it isn't fair to you."

"It's what has to be done." Gryph shrugged. It's what he'd always done. Only this time his mission was a thousand times more lethal.

"He'll kill you," she whispered, finally admitting out loud what was worrying her most.

He sighed. "I've been sent to stop him. It's a chance I'll have to take." He smiled when he saw the concern in her eyes. No one but his parents had ever looked at him like that. "Besides, I've got a few surprises for him. He caught me unprepared before. That won't happen again."

Heather shook her head, then wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. He hugged her back, desperate to assure her that he would be all right. Even if the truth was that he didn't know what the outcome would be. Knowing Niall would come after her gave him incentive he never knew he'd have.

Heather pulled slightly away, and her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "Gryph, if the professor knows the translation, what's to keep him from using it or telling it to someone else who will?"

"To invoke the stones' power, one must have physical contact with all three stones the first time the spell is uttered. Thereafter, the stones are no longer needed. Remember, I told you about the legend. If McPherson didn't take advantage of using the spell when he had all three stones together, it's too late now. Telling someone the translation wouldn't do any good. It would be like wishing on a star. One must touch them all at once."

"Why did Niall turn into such an awful creature, and why would the stones have been endowed with that kind of power in the first place? Someone must have realized that they could fall into the wrong hands. I mean, what if someone like Hitler had gotten hold of the things?"

Heather looked at him with such confusion that Gryph held her close and rocked her gently. "Long ago, the power of the stones was used by ancient Celts to defend, protect and render justice. There was a particular clan chosen to protect them and hold their power secret. When the last members of that clan died, the stones were buried with their remains. They weren't ever supposed to be found or used again.

Their origin is steeped in legend. No one really knows exactly why they were first created or how.

McPherson found them by looting that same clan's ancient burial site. He probably didn't know what he had, but the damage is done now. If the stones' power is invoked for evil intent, the user becomes the reflection of his soul. In Niall's case, his soul is that of a demon."

"But..."

"Hush, now," Gryph interrupted, placing gentle fingers over her lips. "I've already told you all I can and more than you needed to know. You mustn't ever repeat what I've told you to anyone. Now, rest and drink the tea I brought you."

"Don't worry. All this is too unbelievable," Heather murmured. "Nobody would ever listen to me." She reached for the mug, drained it, and snuggled deeper into the warmth and security offered against his broad chest.

That was true, Gryph thought as he held her a moment longer then took her empty tea mug before laying her upon the bed. She looked up at him with all the trust in the world in her eyes. She would never look at him like that again if she knew that Niall wasn't the only beast in her life.

It didn't take long before the Fairy herbs began to work. Her eyes closed, and her breathing began to slow. Gryph hated to drug her, but she wouldn't have slept otherwise, and she desperately needed the rest. His fingers lightly brushed her hair back. It was all he could do to keep from lying next to her and pulling her close. He could smell her clean body and feel his own respond.