Page 26 of The Dragon's Stone Hearted Mate
“What’s that?” I whispered back to him.
“Promise me that you’ll kill whoever you need to so that you can come back to me. I’d do it myself but I’m stuck here.”
“I’ve killed my fair share of assholes,” I reminded him. “You saw that during the claiming vows.”
“I did,” he nodded. “Keep it up, though. You’ve only just come back to me. I can’t lose you again already.”
“I will always come back to you – whatever it takes,” I said and kissed him one more time before I had to head out and face all the messes my brother was still making despite his being dead.
Chapter Thirteen
Rho
While I was a stone there was little I could do to aid anyone. Now, I was fleshy and free to meddle. After giving my dragon enough time to clear the Other World gateway where Cutter kept watch, I left the camp too. Before turning back into flesh, I was unsure if I could leave the camp. Except now I knew my boundaries were much broader than I first expected. I’d already left the camp when Morvan and I wandered down the treelined path where Cutter so rudely interrupted our almost lovemaking.
“Thought you’d show up,” Cutter said from his hiding spot behind a large boulder about twenty yards from the Other World gateway my mate had slipped through not long before. “I’m not sure what you want me to do. I can’t exactly go to Earthside either.”
“Do you know how to get ahold of that wolf who came last night?”
“Last night?” Cutter yawned. “Was that really only one night?”
We both glanced at the rising sun. Yep. It was only one night.
“I’m not sure. I can try to yell for him, though. Maybe I can be loud enough that someone tells him I’m looking for him. I haven’t tried to contact people on Earthside before,” Cutter said and bit his lip in thought. “We could ask Sherry to get a message to him, but what’s he going to do?”
“Be there when it’s time for Morvan to talk to his brother,” I said. “And maybe he can curse the assassins to make them slower or something.”
“You’re afraid he’s going to get trapped over there too, huh?” Cutter asked.
“I’ve waited too long for him to come back to take any chances.”
“I’m not leaving here yet,” he said, leaning back against the grey and brown boulder. “I’m watching for assassins. Besides, there’s more room to fight ghosts if they show back up. I’ll yell for the wolf man, and you go talk to Sherry.”
“She’s afraid of me,” I sighed.
“Then be gentle. You better hurry up. We don’t know how much time has already passed over there. If he doesn’t hear me yelling, we need a back-up plan, and Sherry can go over there. It’s all we have unless you have his phone number or something. It’s that or you go and talk to one of the pointy-eared men. Though, one is so freaking mad at you. He stepped in the man-goo, and it ruined his favorite boots. Shouldn’t wear your favorites to work but no one ever asks my advice.”
“Thanks, Cutter,” I said and left the lion to watch for ghosts and assassins, silently wishing there was more I could do for him too. “One thing at a time,” I reminded myself.
The elves frightened me less than Sherry. I could deal with anger, but her fear made me uneasy. I was the same ‘Pinky’ as I’d ever been, but she saw me differently now that I was flesh again. Some people would never understand that while forms change, the soul remains the same as it ever was. For someone who spent so much time at a grief camp I figured she’d know that, but it was something she was yet to learn.
The elves narrowed their eyes at me as I approached the door. As old as they were, I doubted they’d met a gargoyle before. There weren’t many of us and those of us who were made from stone were rarely able to travel via their doorways. My kids were the exception because they were not made directly fromstone. I grew them and they shared DNA with a dragon. No one could keep a dragon where they didn’t want to be.
“Can you even use the door, rock boy?” The elf who lost his favorite boots asked.
“Don’t be rude,” the taller elf scolded him. “You’ll have to excuse my brother,” he said to me, pushing a flaming red lock of hair behind his ear. “It’s only his third day on the job and we’re all wondering if he’s actually cut out for it.”
“I am. People should just place signs where---” the other one started but his brother slipped a graceful hand with long fingers over his mouth.
“What my brother meant to ask was is it safe for you to leave this place,” he smiled.
“I’m not here to leave. I need to get a message to Earthside,” I told them.
“My brother would be happy to deliver it for being so rude,” the redhead smiled.
“I’m not his messenger boy,” the elf in question said finally slapping away his brother’s hand.
“You are this morning,” the other elf said. “Take his message and go. The job of a guardian will never be without its messes. It’s something you must accept if you are to remain in this position, brother.” He turned his attention back to me. “If you will write your message and tell him who needs to see it, he will be a speedy messenger.”
