Page 23 of A Highland Gargoyle's Lucky Star
Panicked, my body acts on its own, and I viciously stab a finger right into one of his eyes.
He rears back, howling in pain, and I take the opportunity to grab the needle out of his hand, then slam it right into his chest and press down the plunger.
For a moment, he stares down stupidly at the needle, and so do I.
Whoa.
Malcolm staggers to his feet, shaking his head and looking dazed. His nose is still bleeding and his right eye’s swollen from my well-placed finger jab.
“Whoa, dude. I think you should sit down.”
I don’t know why I’m trying to help this guy who was… what? Trying to drug and then traffic me or something?
“Have… to… go…” he says as he reaches for the handle of the door leading outside.
“This is a moving train!”
But he isn’t listening.
Just as he opens the door, his eyes roll back in his head and he starts to fall.
I lunge for him.
I don’t entirely know why. After all, the dude just attacked me. But I also don’t really want his death on my conscience.
For a second, I feel a moment of hope when I grab hold of his arm. But that quickly turns to outright fear when I realize I’m not strong enough to pull him back inside.
Instead, I get dragged along with him and we start sailing out of the open door.
So long, sweet Scotland fantasy. Apparently my life has turned intoThrow Mama from the Traininstead ofHighlander.
I squeeze my eyes shut at the sight of the ground I’m about to make impact with.
Fuck you, tarot card! You were wrong. My bad luck is literally going to kill me this time.
Then the air is knocked right out of me when something swoops in and lifts me until I’m flying.
Literally.
When I can breathe again, I warily open one eye to see that I’m ascending into the night sky.
I open the other eye and slowly look up.
Into the face of the person who saved me.
Or should I say, thegargoylewho did.
The incredibly sexy gargoyle who’s holding me in his arms and whisking me away into the night.
“Calgon, take me away,” I whisper, channeling Mama Delilah in the midst of this magical moment.
Chapter six
Elryk
Among Otherkind, not all species are gifted with fated mates. To this day, we do not fully understand why that is. All demons have fated mates, for instance. Dragons are the same. But orcs, sphynxes, centaurs, satyrs, and many more species do not. Gargoyles, therefore, are all the more unusual in that only a very select few of them will have a destined partner. This inconsistency is yet another mystery of the universe that cannot be readily explained—at least not yet.
Gargoyles with fated mates share a special and rather unique bond with their beloved. By virtue of their sacred duty and what it entails, Guardian gargoyles usually find partners who possessmagic that complements their own, making them even more powerful and effective in protecting the ley lines they watch over. However, in recent decades, it seems that some clans are experiencing waning numbers of these unions, bringing into question what will happen if the gargoyles can no longer safeguard the wellsprings of magic in this realm.
