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I didn’t know if this guy was a friend or an enemy. All I knew for sure was he was big, intimidating, and I couldn’t see around his wings.
He growled at the werewolf and I realized he was nearly tall enough to look the wolfman in the eyes. Damn. For those not familiar, it’s not uncommon for a male werewolf in his wolfman form to be just over seven feet tall. We’re talking over three hundred pounds of claws, fur, and shit-your-pants muscles.
“Fuck it,” the she-wolf said. “This is more bullshit than she’s worth.”
I moved to the left enough that I could see around one wing, and saw the werewolves backing down the alley. Once they were several feet away they all turned and ran.
The gargoyle turned to face me and water cascaded down the ridges and curves of his impressive physique. He had the body of a man, wings like a bat, and large ram’s horns. Long dark hair clung to his pale gray skin. I wondered if he felt like cold stone, or like the warm flesh of a man.
“Who are you?” I said, gripping my whip tightly. “Why did you interfere?”
“Tris Grima?” he asked.
His voice was deep and gravelly and his ethereal blue eyes glowed brighter when he spoke my name.
“You’re the second person tonight to know my name and I have no clue in hell who you are.”
“My name is Hugh Garet and I am the guardian of your bloodline.”
Well, I wasn’t expecting to hear that. I had no idea my bloodline even had a guardian. “And which bloodline would that be? The witch half or the faerie half?”
He smirked. “The witch half.”
I wiped strands of long wet hair back from my face. “Haven’t you heard? I’m dead. I’m also the last of my bloodline on the witch side, as far as I know. So, I guess that lets you off the hook.”
“Not so fast,” he said taking a step forward as I tried to move around him.
He reached out a hand toward me and I didn’t move away. His skin was shockingly warm against mine as he touched the small amulet I wore around my neck.
“I was summoned,” he said. “When your blood touched this stone.”
I put my hand over his and a thrill ran through me. It was as if the world stood still and I no longer felt the icy touch of the rain. I’ve been around metaphysical stuff enough to recognize magic when I feel it. No magic I’d encountered had ever felt like the touch of his hand. I wasn’t sure what to call it, but it was strong.
“That was unintentional,” I said softly.
“The summoning part, or the magic I felt between us just now?” he asked.
“Both.”
His wings flapped once, casting droplets of rain into the air. “I can’t just leave,” he said.
I flicked my whip to the side and it turned back into a belt. He looked surprised, but didn’t comment while I put the belt back around my waist.
“Can we at least get out of the rain to discuss what the hell is going on?” I asked.
He looked down at his body. “I suppose I should change.”
He moved as if stretching his back and his wings disappeared. Then, he stretched his neck and his horns quickly retracted until they too were gone. As this happened, it looked as though his skin came alive. The pale gray faded giving way to smooth white skin.
The only things that remained the same were his eyes, his hair, and the black pants he wore. Unlike when a werewolf transforms back into a human, there’s wasn’t much difference in his height, other than his horns were gone.
“Wow. That was impressive,” I said.
“All except the part where I’m standing barefoot in an alley,” he joked. “Clawed feet don’t exactly mix well with shoes. Please tell me you drove here.”
“Didn’t you?”
“No, I flew.”