Stone Guardian (Entwined Realms) Page 6

  Taneasha spoke again. “I want to learn more about the fantastical creatures that we thought were myths until they appeared after the Collision. I really want to see a unicorn one day.”

  “Ever see any, Miss Miller?” asked a voice from the back.

  Not until three days ago. “No, I’ve lived in the city all my life and never traveled outside of it.” Maybe it was time for that to change, though.

  Another male voice from the back said, “Unicorns are too girly. I want to see gryphons, basilisks, dragons, stuff like that.”

  And from the doorway came the response, the voice a smooth feminine growl. “There are no dragons.”

  Larissa hadn’t heard the door open and turned to question why someone was interrupting her class.

  The textbook Larissa was holding slipped from nerveless fingers, causing a sharp crack as the second silence of the morning fell over the classroom.

  In the open doorway stood the redheaded woman from Friday night, her gaze locked on Larissa as she leaned against the frame, her arms and legs crossed in what would have been a relaxed posture for anyone else, but on this woman it seemed more akin to leashed watchfulness.

  The woman continued, “Dragons were as much myth in the Magic Realm as in ours, disappointing as that seems.” She smiled then, the barest trace of a dimple in her grin. “Or maybe not. Having a dragon fly overhead would not be my idea of a good time.”

  She was the very definition of an Amazon – taller than some men with broad shoulders and long limbs displaying muscle, but her evident strength only highlighted how very feminine she was. She had classic features most women would kill for and hourglass curves her musculature enhanced.

  A higher-pitched feminine grunt came from behind the redhead, and the redhead shifted as she glanced behind her. “Move your ass, Fallon. I want to see her. I missed all the excitement, remember?”

  “If you quit poking me, I will,” the redheaded woman said to whoever was back there, and took several steps into the room.

  Larissa gaped as she beheld the person coming in behind the amazon.

  The other woman was short. Very short. So short even the platform heels on her shoes only brought her to average height. She was wearing an elaborate jade green kimono – except unlike a traditional kimono, this woman’s skirt ended mid-thigh – with matching jade hair styled in three rolls and piled so high it added an extra half-foot of height to the woman.

  It was hard to tell what age or ethnicity the woman was under her dramatic kabuki make-up. Best guess, early-to-mid-twenties, and Asian but mixed with some European ancestry.

  The unnatural quiet the class had been under broke. With one voice, her students started calling out questions – about the women, what they were doing here, why did they want to talk to Miss Miller?

  “Quiet,” the woman called Fallon said, her voice level but her tone absolute, and in a situation Larissa had never before experienced, her class shut up as they were told. “Miss Miller, I have some questions for you. Please step outside with me.”

  The small Asian woman sat on Larissa’s desk, crossing her legs once she was settled. “It might have sounded like a request, but it really wasn’t.” She flicked her fingers at Larissa in a dismissive gesture. “You need to go. I’ll stay with the kiddies.”

  Sure enough, the redhead didn’t look like she was moving, and Larissa didn’t want to have this conversation in front of her students. Stifling a sigh, she said, “Class, talk quietly among yourselves for a few minutes. I’ll be right back.”

  There was an empty classroom a few rooms down. Larissa went in, not bothering with politeness to allow Fallon to enter first. The redhead followed, though not before her eyes scanned the room. Classic tactical maneuver. No cop in the world ever entered anywhere before getting the lay of the land.

  The woman didn’t crowd Larissa, but her unwavering gaze and unvoiced suspicions made breathing a tad difficult, like wearing a shirt with a constrictive collar. It was so different from how she felt with the gargoyle, where toward the end their interactions edged into the companionable.

  Larissa cleared her throat, ready to start this inquisition. “How did you know where to find me, or who I am? Who are you, for that matter?”

  “Me? I’m Fallon, and the monochromatic midget currently alone with your students is Laire. We’re part of a group that protects the city.”

  Larissa crossed her arms. “If that’s true, why didn’t I know you existed before today? If you know about me, then you know my dad’s the chief of police, and he’s never mentioned you.”

  Fallon’s lips twitched, though if the tic was irritation or amusement Larissa couldn’t guess. The woman’s features were neutral as she studied Larissa. “Why would you expect daddy to tell you? From what we can gather, it would be the opposite.”

  The zing brought a flush of heat to the back of Larissa’s neck, but she pressed her lips together to keep from responding. This woman wasn’t going to provoke her into anything, if that was indeed her plan. And the bit of embarrassment didn’t mask the fact Fallon neither confirmed nor denied that Dad knew about them. If this whole protection business was the truth, that meant either her dad had kept this from her – and given his standard modus operandi that wouldn’t be a shock – or this group was very, very secret.

  And if a very, very secret group told you about their existence…

  “Oh gods, you’re going to kidnap me now, aren’t you?”

  The corner of Fallon’s lip quirked at Larissa’s outburst, that shadow of a dimple again emerging. “Your students saw you walk out of a room with me. It would be kind of stupid for me to grab you and run.”

  “You could make them forget. Who knows what kind of magic you can perform.”

  “I don’t do magic. I turn your attention back to Friday night and the big-ass sword I was carrying. My job is to run and swing.”

  Larissa wanted nothing more than to lay her head on the desk and close her eyes until the woman disappeared. Unfortunately, there was no chance Fallon would cooperate. “What do you want from me?”

  Fallon walked over and crouched in front of her, bringing them to eye level. “What happened Friday?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me. You were there so you obviously knew what was going to happen.”

  Annoyance reflected in Fallon’s features. “You would think I should have been told the reason I was there, but no, the meddling bitch who sent me doesn’t believe in giving anyone details. She think it’s enough to send you on your way.” By the end Fallon’s eyes were narrow slits and murder was written over her face.

  Not anxious to step on this particular minefield, Larissa still had to ask. “What about afterward? Couldn’t you get any information from the zombies?”

  “No. No information from that path.” Fallon’s tone was a stop sign, telling Larissa no questions asked would be answered.

  Larissa swiveled in the chair and stood, needing space. “I don’t know why the zombies were there. I wasn’t even supposed to go out that night. It was a spur of the moment decision to join my dad’s poker game. I think it was a coincidence, nothing more.”

  Fallon stood as well, and Larissa conceded that Fallon rising to her full height was a much more impressive movement than she could ever pull off. “What about the gargoyle?” Fallon asked.

  “What about him?” Good, no cracks in her vocals. Learning to deflect her father’s questions was paying off in unexpected ways.

  Fallon’s eyebrow arched. “He flew away with you. You were gone for a considerable length of time. Are you telling me that happens to you every day?”

  “Of course not. I don’t know why he was there either. He flew me away, and I guess when he decided it was safe, he brought me back?”

  “That simple?”

  “Well, at the time it wasn’t! At the time I was scared to death. Actually, I’m still sleeping with my lights on. But I don’t know what to tell you when I have no clue why what happened on Friday night… h
appened. Zombies attacked, you appeared, the gargoyle appeared. The more time that passes, the more it becomes a blur in my head, which is good, because I want to forget it!”

  Fallon stared at her as though she were bug under a microscope. Breathing as she did in her yoga class, Larissa quieted her mind, quieted her body. She would not give away anything. No matter what assurances Fallon gave, the little warning bell in the back of her skull was still sounding an alert.

  Fallon’s body relaxed, the signal to Larissa that she won this round. At least she wouldn’t be kidnapped again right now, but Larissa didn’t need the thinning of Fallon’s mouth to tell her that the amazon was not yet finished with her. “By all means, you know nothing and the gargoyle flew you around for a couple hours before taking you home. Why, it almost sounds romantic.”

  “I need to get back to my class now.”

  “Of course Who am I to deprive those poor children of their education? Then again, Laire is probably educating them beyond their wildest dreams.” Fallon went to the door and opened it, then turned and motioned for Larissa to precede her out.

  Larissa entered her classroom to find her students scribbling notes with a frenetic intensity, their expressions sharpened as they seldom were for any of her lectures.

  Then she heard the Asian woman speak.

  “Yes, I do realize men who have an orc ancestor tend to be really ugly, but that’s why they invented paper bags. Trust me, as long as a guy knows he’s getting some, he’ll wear a pink bunny costume if that’s what’s needed to seal the deal. What matters here and what you need to remember is guys who have some orc in them are hung like nobody’s business. If you like your men large and dominating, make a beeline for them.”

  “What about elves?” called a male student.

  “Elves are ridiculously high maintenance. If that’s fine with you, the key to elves is the ears and the back. Sure, they like the other areas fine, but if you want to make one a little puddle of goo, spend ten minutes massaging their back. It’s practically a sure thing after that.”

  “What are you telling my students?” While Larissa’s squeaky tone may not have been what one would call commanding, it did stop the small woman from talking.

  “I was answering questions. They are woefully unprepared to enter the real world,” Laire said, turning back to a student in the front with her hand up.

  “I think that’s enough question and answer. Let’s go,” said Fallon, a quick movement of her head signaling the other woman to get off the desk.

  “But Fallon, they need educated. You wouldn’t believe the misconceptions they had about how to have sex with a shifter.”

  Fallon walked over to the desk and grabbed the woman’s ear, walking toward the door without waiting to see if Laire was on her feet yet. “Ow, Fallon, ow! Let go, I’m coming, I’m coming!”

  “Goodbye, Miss Miller,” Fallon said. Larissa didn’t have to be a mind reader to see the for now Fallon mentally added onto the end of that sentence.

  Fallon walked toward the door, pulling the smaller woman behind her. “I knew I should have brought Aislynn,” Fallon said as they left the classroom.

  Laire’s snort was loud and clear, though her voice was fading as they walked away from the classroom. “Good idea to bring an elf among hormonal high school seniors. Do you really think Ais wants to be the jerk-off fantasy of the graduating class… OWWWWWWW!”

  *****

  “So I hear there was much excitement in your class this morning.” Olivia Berry took her usual seat across from Larissa in the teacher’s lounge, leaning forward as though she’d be able to get the full scoop faster that way.

  “That’s one way to put it,” Larissa agreed, not looking up from the book she was reading. It was always nice when Olivia went crazy over good gossip, a situation not to be rushed.

  Olivia didn’t even try at uninterested. “Tell me all or I’ll seduce one of your brothers and give you the play by play.”

  The full body shudder overtook Larissa before she could stop it. “Eww. Don’t even talk about that.”

  “Michael is seriously hot…”

  “Fine, I’ll talk! Just stay away from the male members of my family.”

  Olivia settled down, smug radiating from every pore. “So who were your guests? I won’t even tell you the official version of the story, it’s too much BS to believe.”

  “Why are you such a conspiracy theorist? Maybe the official story is the real story.” Olivia said nothing, just blinked once, twice, three times. Larissa sighed. “So here’s what happened. I was attacked over the weekend…”

  Olivia’s face lost its maniacal interest, replaced by pure concern. She grabbed Larissa’s hand. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I am, I am,” Larissa reassured her, squeezing Olivia’s hand. “I was attacked by zombies.”

  “Zombies!” Olivia’s voice ricocheted in the empty room.

  “Shh!” Larissa admonished, looking around to verify they were indeed alone. “I’d rather not everyone know, thank you.”

  Olivia leaned closer, her voice lowering. “Are you kidding me? Zombies?”

  “Yeah, zombies. And those two who visited me wanted to know why.”

  Olivia’s body shook as if in preparation for the answer. “And why were you?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Disbelief was as evident on Olivia’s face as it had been on both Terak’s and Fallon’s. “You have no idea?”

  “None. I think it was an accident and they attacked the wrong woman, but everyone around me seems determined to believe I was attacked on purpose.”

  Olivia pulled back then, angling away from Larissa, her hand smoothing her brown curls back. “It seems likely that attack was on purpose. Necromancers don’t make many mistakes.”

  “And what would you know about necromancers?” This was new. Olivia had never expressed any personal knowledge of the other races before.

  Olivia shrugged, the movement the height of nonchalance. “Only what everyone else knows. Mages that powerful probably don’t make mistakes.” Changing the subject, she motioned to the book Larissa had open. “What’s that? Going to teach gargoyles?”

  It was Larissa’s turn to shrug. This part she didn’t want to mention to Olivia. “After my attack, I thought it would be a good idea to be a little more concerned with the other races. They seemed interesting.”

  Olivia studied the picture, tapping the gargoyle illustration with one long red nail. “I would have chosen another race to start with. Outside of necromancers, I can’t think of any creature I’d want to meet less.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because, if they had nothing to hide, they’d be part of the world among all the other creatures. Hell, you can even find necromancer clubs in certain areas.”

  Which was disturbing, but considering how vampires had been romanticized and fetishized in the Human Realm before the collision, the fact those clubs existed wasn’t as shocking as it should have been. “Maybe they’re afraid. It can’t be easy to enter the world when you’ve always shunned it before.”

  “Well, yeah, or maybe they are as evil as the necromancers but don’t have that dark, sexy-charm swagger to cover their deviousness.”

  Deviousness. There was no word she could think of less right to describe Terak. No, he wasn’t telling her everything, but it seemed to come from a place of protection, not slyness.

  Then again, she could be fooling herself.

  “Olivia, have you ever left the city?”

  “Why, are you thinking of taking a long weekend or something? Your dad would flip.”

  “No, it’s just…” Larissa looked down at the picture again. “I’m starting to think about what I don’t know. It never occurred to me before, but the attack has me thinking about things.”

  The bell rang, and Olivia stood. “I have class next period, so I’ve got to get going. If you need to talk, I’ll be free tonight.”

  Larissa shook her head. “I’m
fine. Really.”

  Olivia looked dubious, but nodded. “If you change your mind, give me a call.”

  When she left, Larissa stared at the drawing in the book, at the large wings and sharp claws. The picture was terrifying, yet it was not nearly as impressive as seeing the creatures in moving flesh.

  Emulating Olivia, she stroked the snarling face on the picture. Terrifying, yes, but she couldn’t quite remember ever feeling so warm as when she had been enfolded in Terak’s wings.

  Larissa looked out the window. Was a gargoyle nearby, watching her? The sun was shining, a light wind whipping the occasional leaf past the glass. How could a gargoyle exist on a day like today? They belonged to the night, to full moons and dark clouds and the wind howling through trees.

  They certainly didn’t get involved with people like her, boring people with a too-stifling family and a regular job. She had no money problems, no social life… hell, she hadn’t even had a steady boyfriend yet. Growing up, the brothers had scared off anyone who they didn’t think was good enough for their baby sister, and then Dad took over with the matchmaking. Her big weekend plans involved playing cards with her family.

  How sad was that?

  How could someone like her attract the attention of necromancers? Or gargoyles?

  Stubborn gargoyles who don’t listen to reason and take over your life even though they may be next in line for the Ultimate Evil award.

  Why couldn’t she have been saved by an elf?

  Chapter Eight

  When going back to your childhood home, there is that one perfect moment. It’s the moment where, as you grab the door knob and start turning, memories jumble across your mind like the spill of photographs from a box, quick and cluttered and all of them so damned good you wish you could crawl inside one.

  “Baby sister! Get your ass in here, you’re letting the cold air in.”

  And then a male member of the family opens his mouth and reminds you why you moved out.