Page 70 of The Stone Initiation
I tried to shake off the thoughts but they persisted.
The powers that be, the powers that governed gargoyle arcana had created one for me.
Shut up brain.
I was one of them. A gargoyle. Not just a human. And after years of shunning this world and telling myself it didn’t matter because I didn’t belong, to find out now that it had claimed me in the most primal way possible was both comforting and terrifying.
Buthe’dnever claim me.
I jogged up the path to my dorm and went straight up the steps.
AndIcould never claim him, not that I wanted to…
But knowing this potential bond existed meant I belonged, and that mattered.
Safe in my room, I shut the door on all the mate thoughts, stripped off my clothes and headed for the shower. It was time to wash away the day.
* * *
There wasnothing as refreshing as a hot shower, and when I padded back into my room ten minutes later, a glass of milk sat on my bedside table.
The ghost was back. “Hello? You can come out. I’m not afraid.” I picked up the glass and took a sip. “Thanks for this.”
A chill skimmed over my bare arms and a figure materialized by the window.
The woman was probably in her twenties, but it was hard to make out her features properly with moonlight streaming through her body.
“Hi.” I smiled. “My name’s Cameron. You’re Parker, right?”
“Melanie,” she said softly. “My name’s Melanie.”
“Thanks for the milk and the coffee this morning.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “It seemed like a nice thing to do, considering we’re roommates.”
Roommates? “This was your room?”
“Itismy room.”
O-kay so this was a little creepy. “You’ve been here the whole time?”
“I’m here most of the time…when I’m not.” She stepped away from the window into the gloom of the room, and I finally got a good look at her. Dark hair, gray eyes and a cupid’s bow mouth. She was pretty, and dressed in an old-style night gown. “Sometimes I go out there. I can get quite far now, but then I’m back here again.”
I set the milk down. “Do youwantto be here?”
She frowned. “I’ve got to stay. I’m waiting.”
“Waiting? What are you waiting for?”
She gave me a wan smile and a one shoulder shrug. “I can’t remember, but it’s all right. I’ll know when it gets here…the thing I’m waiting for.”
My heart went out to her. She was stuck here due to unfinished business she couldn’t remember. I’d dealt with ghosts before. Some of them destructive. Angry and bitter. Clinging to life because they simply didn’t want to admit theirs was over, but this ghost…she was sweet and lost.
“Why did you jump out of the window the other day?”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “I was bored, and it’s always fun to see huge gargoyles scream.”
I chuckled. “Nice.” I perched on the edge of my bed. “You worked here?”
