Gargoyle: A Reawakening (Briarcliff Series, #2) (12 page)

Two hooded figures emerged from the shadows
flanking either side of him. Their long gnarled fingers worked the
chains from the columns. The restraints that bound him fell heavily
to the ground. His arms were dead weight at his sides. The hooded
figures, grabbed the chains, pulling him forward. He stumbled…
falling to his knees, they jerked him back up, pulling him towards
the clearing. He tried to pull back, his muscles protesting,
painfully as he fought for freedom.

A rock jutted up from the ground, blackened
smears across the top. No! He cried out, pulling harder, using
every bit of strength he had left in his body. His mind spun in
circles. Memories bombarded him, like a whip, snapping, as pain
shot through his head. Angry tears filled his eyes, burning them.
He jerked back, screaming… remembering what he really was….

CURIOSITY

SATURDAY * 9:07 PM

The station for booze was set up away from
the stage, towards the opposite side of the mansion. At least the
stench of urine wasn’t sucking up all the fresh air over here. Evie
picked her way through the crowd and took her place in line. She
hoped something would be left by the time she got to the front. A
crowd of girls hurried away. A tall, dark haired guy moved to the
front of the line and lifted the lid to the huge Igloo vat, dipping
another cup into the mixture. He had three. Evie knew what it was:
Barnaby’s Jungle Juice. The drinks to choose from were on the slim
side, cheap keg beer or mind-eff alcohol. She couldn’t decide which
one she wanted to drink. She stared sightlessly ahead, trying to
make up her mind while listening to another band hit the stage.

Alistair froze. He lifted his head and
inhaled deeply, pulling in and savoring the sweet unmistakable
smell. The rhythm of his heart picked up, beating faster. Tingling
sensations spread across his skin. The smell was…intoxicating. He
reached out and filled another cup, waiting…

Evie puffed out her cheeks
and expelled another gusty breath, while she waited for the booze
hog to move.
Gawd, was his ass gonna drink
it all?
She was about to say something but
then he reached out his arm. Her stomach did a funky flip. There
was a tattoo on the inside of his arm. She remembered that tattoo
from last night. Wiping her damp palms on her skirt, she tried to
get her rampant emotions under control.
Was that him
? Leaning to her left,
she tried to get a better view but someone cut right in front of
her.

“
Move your ass, Evie,”
Heather bit out, parading past quickly, flipping her hair, butting
in front of her.

Evie ducked quickly out of
the way before Heather’s long hair smacked her in the face.
Bitch.

“
Hey dude, you planning on
hogging it all?” Heather asked nastily.

Alistair turned slowly around, his black
eyes amused. “Well I wasn’t, but I can,” he assured her.

Heather gaped in shock.
Not from his words though. No, not that. He was, without a doubt,
the hottest guy she had seen…
ever.
She immediately regretted being snide with him.
“Ha! I was so kidding. Take another if you like.” She lifted her
hand towards the igloo.

Alistair looked her up and down, trying to
decide which would serve him best. He wasn’t completely sure if she
was the one. He could still smell her, but she didn’t look the way
he expected. She was pretty though. This human had long black
curling hair and crystal blue eyes. Her lips a light shade of pink,
pressed together in a firm line, sizing him up as he did the same
to her. He nearly laughed.

Stepping back to dodge Heather’s hair again,
Evie wanted to yank it from her head. The way Heather was swinging
her hair around reminded her of a horse’s tail. And every time she
tried to get a look at the guy, Heather big ass shifted and blocked
her view completely. There was no way she was giving up. She
dropped from the line and stepped through a crowd of people at her
side.

“
Sorry, excuse me,” she
said apologetically, ducking her head as she squeezed between the
warm bodies. Once she was on the other side, it was even harder to
see.

“
Damn
!”

Not only was Kingston
skimpy on the toilets he was also a cheapo when it came to the
lights. The only ones lit were shinning directly on the stage and
the booze table. So Heather and the guy were both cast in dark
shadows. Not to be deterred she cut back across the grass, her
shoes were soaking wet. She hoped it was from the dew or booze.
“Please don’t be piss,” she muttered while veering quickly to the
left to avoid colliding with a half-naked guy climbing out from the
bushes.

***

Simon yanked the t-shirt over his head,
climbing out of the bushes. It was tight. He yanked the material
down again letting out a frustrated sigh. He had two choices,
either the too tight shirt or the way loose one. He fingered the
material. It was lightweight and had a nice feel to it; he
definitely preferred this one. Looking over his shoulder, he
spotted a foot protruding from under the bush. It was red.

“
Sweet!” He loved red
shoes. The ones on his own feet were stained and boring white.
Nonchalantly he looked around making sure he wasn’t being watched,
and then jumped back into the bushes.

A short time later, he crawled back out,
wiggling his toes in the heavy material of the shoes. The bright
red color made him smile. He glanced back over his shoulder.

“
Shit!
”

A bare foot stuck out from
under the bush. Whistling, he backed up and once he was close
enough, he kicked the now bare foot back under the bush.

Satisfied no other body parts were visible,
he took off towards the crowd. Mid-step he stopped. The wind had
changed as suddenly as the music. He lifted his head, catching the
scent. It made his pulse race.

“
There’s a live one in the
crowd.” He smiled, revealing straight white teeth. He followed the
scent, his muscles jumping reflexively in anticipation as the smell
became more prevalent. His mouth began to water. “Just. Like.
Candy,” he said before dashing off into the midst of the
crowd.

INDULGENCE

SATURDAY * 9:17 PM

“
So what is your name?”
Heather asked sweetly, sizing the guy up in front of her, and took
a delicate sip of her drink.

“
Alistair,” he supplied
easily. Looking her over, she was an eager one. He breathed in her
scent. She wasn’t the live one he had smelled earlier—no, she would
be a waste of his time, not giving him what he really needed, but
this one, she was pretty.

“
Alistair,” Heather
repeated, feeling the distinct name tumble off her tongue. “Are you
Greek?” she asked, trying to sound coy, batting her mascara coated
lashes at him. He certainly looked Greek—as in Greek God.
Seriously, it didn’t get much better than the guy standing in front
of her now. She pressed her shoulders back, flipping her hair
slightly. It was a practiced move—one that she mastered to show off
her endowments along with her crowning glory, her hair. Slowly she
lifted her eyes to his face, fully expecting him to be “hooked” on
her line…

“
Not
again
,” she muttered. He was looking
intently over her shoulder, like he was interested in someone
standing behind her. And she knew who it was. First Moriah stole
her boyfriend and now stupid Evie was probably going to steal this
guy too. Heather was tired of …
them
. All she ever heard was how
sweet and cool Evie was, and how hot whore-face Moriah was. They
were little better than trash in her book. They didn’t even have
money. Evie dressed like a moron with her thrift shop clothes and
cheap jewelry. Heather knew if it wasn’t for Evie’s dumbass,
introducing Kingston to Moriah she’d probably still be dating him
instead of Moriah. At least that is what she wanted to
believe.

Not that it mattered
anymore. Kingston was an ass too—seriously. She had always thought
Kingston was the one and only for her…but what if he wasn’t? What
if she deserved someone better? Maybe someone like the guy in front
of her now? There
were
hotter fish/guys in the pond. And Heather wanted to believe
she had the perfect bait. She was super attractive and rich—a
winning combination. What more could a guy ask for? That thought
disintegrated from her mind when she expectantly turned, and the
guy brushed past her like she wasn’t even standing there. Taking a
bracing breath, she adjusted her jacket and smoothed her hand over
her hair. “Who needs stupid boys anyway,” she grumbled angrily. Her
self-induced bravado slipped quickly away and her shoulders
slumped. “
Who am I
kidding?
” she muttered. What good was her
bait when no fish even wanted to bite? Why was she the one to get
dumped? She let out a slow deflated breath and sighed
heavily.

Alistair searched the
crowd for Simon’s peppered spikes. “Damn, where did he go?” he
muttered in aggravation. This was the second time now he thought he
had spotted him but it had turned out to be a girl this time. He
turned back around his chest rumbling slightly with
humor.

Halfway back to the drink
station, he stopped and looked over at the girl that had talked to
him earlier. Her audible sighs getting louder as she stared at the
ground. Dipping his head down he tried to see her face. He pulled
back, a bit surprised by what he saw. Only moments before she had
seemed so confident but now—there was something
vulnerable…
familiar
in her demeanor, it gave him pause. Memories stirred in his
mind of another shy girl from long ago. He leaned back and took
another drink, the contents making him warm in places that had long
since gone cold. He watched the play of emotions crossing the
girl’s face. He could almost hear her thoughts—
almost
. He couldn’t read minds but
he could certainly read expressions, it was a knack he had from
long ago. A special trait he held onto from his past life carrying
it over to his present one. The one where he was part flesh and
blood, part Gargoyle, he was a Centurion, a little of both not
enough of either. Stuck in between worlds, human and otherworldly,
and he hated every moment…but lately, as each new phase of the moon
brought him back, he noticed something. He was getting stronger,
able to stay human for longer periods. Memories, once buried deep
were also coming back. Not all of them, but they were more vibrant
and tangible then they had been in the past. Something had changed.
He didn’t know what, but he felt different. He tested his strength
on Adriane and was pleased to see he was getting weaker, or else he
himself was stronger. He had a different kind of connection to
Adriane. They were the same but different too. It didn’t matter
what it was. It simply wasn’t fair. And Alistair planned to do
something about that.

A mixed group of people stumbled past him,
gathering to his side to refill their drinks. The girl was still
staring down at the ground, not paying any attention to the people
brushing past her. Her long dark hair had fallen forward in a thick
wavy curtain as she continued to stare at the ground. Glancing at
the ground, he wondered what could be so interesting. All he saw
was smashed grass, dirt and a few rocks. Walking forward he ducked
his head down so he could see her face. “You okay?” he asked, a
frown crossing his brow.