Page 27 of Kiss the Dawn
Was it a gargoyle trait to be hot?
All they had with them was a backpack each. No weapons. Nothing that screamed hunter, so I relaxed.
Lorenzo somehow managed to get the gargoyle males talking about themselves, about some place called Stonehaven where they’d been stationed. Most of it went over my head, but I gleaned that there’d been some kind of world-ending event, one which got Lorenzo all excited, then they all spoke superfast for several minutes, connecting over their understanding of whatever had happened.
Names were dropped, and by the time coffee cups had been refilled, it was clear that Lorenzo had no doubt that these males were who they said they were.
The conversation turned to us.
“So are you going to tell us what the hunters wanted from you?” Levi asked.
“Maybe,” Lorenzo said. “If you tell us where you’re truly headed.”
Tension spiked for several seconds.
“You don’t trust us,” Curi said. “I get it. That’s fine.”
“All I can tell you is that we too are in the midst of averting a world-altering and potentially ending event.”
The males exchanged another look, and Levi spoke. “I think we’ll know whether we can trust each other soon enough.”
“Agreed,” Lorenzo said. “Now, is anyone hungry?”
“Starving,” Curi growled. “What you got?”
“I have pasta, chicken, and steak?—”
“Steaks,” they said in unison.
Lorenzo looked to me to check if that was okay. We’d already had steaks, but I could never say no to a decent steak. “Sounds good to me.”
“And I’ll cook,” Curi said. “As a thank you for the ride.”
I polishedoff my meal and sat back with a hand on my stomach. “Sorry, Lorenzo, but that is the best steak I haveevertasted.”
Curi winked at me. “One of my many skills.”
“Well, whatever those skills are, lead with this one,and I’m sure any woman you pursue will fall at your feet.”
Shadows filled his eyes, and his smile dimmed a little. “Thanks.”
The vehicle hit a pothole, rocking me in my seat a little. Rodney was driving fast, making up for the time he’d taken to eat his meal, which had been barely ten minutes. We’d fed him first because he’d skipped lunch, and by the time the rest of us had our food, Rodney had been back in the driver’s seat. The man was dedicated to keeping to a schedule.
Levi peered out the window. “Sun will go down soon.”
“Yeah,” Curi said. “I might get out and fly a little.”
“What about you?” Lorenzo asked Levi.
Levi smiled wryly. “I’m a half-blood. No wings.”
And there was so much more to learn about these males. Rodney stopped the vehicle to let Curi out. We watched from the window as he walked a little way into the field and tipped his head up to the darkening sky. He stretched, and his body morphed, expanding into a massive stone form with mighty wings and a thick, powerful tail, but his clothes stretched with him.
How the fuck?
His powerful thighs bunched in a crouch, then he shot up into the air, wings catching the night to propel him into the sky.
Rodney started the engine, and we set off once more, crawling along on the road, tracking themonolith that was Curi as he cut a path across the night sky.
