Page 43 of Grotesque
I’ve upset him. Corban caught me and Gerald the other night.Caughtseems like a strange way to term it, he is my husband after all, but when Corban came to call on me and found me in bed with Gerald instead, he was livid. I’ve never been so terrified of my angel.
I cried out and Gerlad jumped up, but he was gone by the time Gerald lit a lantern.
The crunch of gravel brought me back to reality. I scrambled to my feet and leaned over the back of the couch to see Quint’s car rolling to a stop.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I seethed.
I marched out to meet him on the front porch, armed with my best “get the hell off my property” face.
Quint was leaning into his car, grabbing, oh for fuck’s sake, were those flowers? He jumped when he turned and saw me already waiting for him.
“Sorcha,” he started.
I held up my hand. “I don’t want to hear it. And honestly, it doesn’t even matter. We barely know each other so it’s better to not drag this out. Take that—” I motioned to the bouquet gripped in his hand, “—and leave.”
Dark circles framed his eyes and as his mouth dropped open, I noted how exhausted he looked. “Can I just say something?”
Annoyance rose like bile in my throat. I ran my tongue between my teeth as I tried to swallow my frustration. On topof it all, was the growing awareness of somethingotherdripping into the space between Quint and myself. A prickling sensation crawled over the back of my neck, and I wondered if Corban was somewhere watching everything unfold.
I turned, looking for any sign of him. Rosaline’s last entry was far too fresh, and he’d already threatened to kill Quint once.
“I want to ask for a second chance. The flowers won’t fix what I said, I know that. I just wanted to apologize. To do something nice, and maybe sit down and talk. I’m not asking you out again or anything. I don’t expect that. I’m sorry, Sorcha.”
I was only half listening to Quint as I stepped off the porch to look at the balcony. As soon as my foot landed on the gravel the strange dark pressure hit me with twice the intensity. I faltered at the same time Quint did.
“It was all bullshit,” he said slowly. He took a hesitant step back toward his car. “What are you looking at?”
The gargoyles on the second floor looked hungrily from their posts, mouths gaping. He said he wasn’t, but Corban had to be a gargoyle. No,closehe’d said. What was similar to a gargoyle?
“I think you should leave,” I said quietly.
My gaze moved slowly across roofline, and lingered on the stone dragon-like creature that lay coiled over the porch. Its long neck was twisted and curved, horns rising from its head in vicious points.
“Sorcha?”
I pointed to the creature. “Do you know what that is?”
I felt Quint’s presence beside me. “A dragon?”
“But it doesn’t look like a regular dragon.” It was shaped wrong, its body morphed and hulking. Dread’s cool hand pressed into my gut. I flicked my gaze to the rest of the house. Were there more of these things?
“No,” he said slowly. Quint stepped in front of me, his back now to the house. If he felt the same presence I did, he was doinga better job of ignoring it than I was. “I just came by to see if you were ok. Those bruises looked really serious.”
I tried not to let those words affect me as I walked down the side of the house, Quint trailing behind me.
“Are you ok?” he pressed.
I was getting more agitated by the second, and if this rising feeling was a clue to anything, so was Corban, wherever he was. Chills burst across my skin when I finally turned to face Quint. I looked up into what appeared to be genuine concern reflected in his soft eyes.
That wasn’t an easy question to answer. Of course I wasn’t fine, but I couldn’t tell him the truth and give him more fuel to add to the ‘Sorcha’s crazy’ fire. “I am,” I said.
“Has he come back?”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Sorcha.”
“Quint. It’s fine. I’m fine. Let’s just forget any of this ever happened.” I spread my hands out in front of me. “I’ve got a couple of things I need to catch up on inside.”
