Page 16 of Gaga for the Gargoyle
“Yes. I need booze.”
He nods and extracts two glasses out of the cupboard, then grabs a bottle of whiskey and vodka from a cabinet. He holds them up, one in each hand, for me to choose.
“Vodka, please. Neat.”
He fills the glass halfway and hands it to me. I choke it down and give the empty glass back for more.
He raises a brow, and I point at the glass. He shakes his head at meagain.
“Don’t judge me. I’m trying not to freak out here.”
“Not judging. Just...entertained.”
He hands me the refilled glass and sits down at the table across from me.
“So you’re not freaking out. Why is that?” Locheran asks, eyeing me over his glass as he takes a drink of hiswhiskey. “Did you know of our existence before meeting Xander?”
“Yes and no. It’s a long story.”
“Would you like to share?” Locheran muses.
“Not really.”
“Okay then.”
I’m relaxed enough now to scope out the place. It’s totally a bachelor’s pad: empty white walls, bare minimum furniture, including a brown couch and recliner, a coffee table, and television mounted on the wall.
“You live here?”
“Yes.”
“You should...paint. Hang some art or something.”
“I should, huh?”
“Sorry, that was rude.” I sigh. “Okay. Please tell me what’s going on.”
He takes a long draw of his liquor as he forms his answer. I assume he’s going to leave out details. Maybe censor things a human shouldn’t, or can’t, know.
“The locks on the door are infused with the magic of our shields. Yes, they should work.”
“Should?”
“They’ve worked up until now. There’s never been a breach of our units or Xander’s penthouse.”
“Why now then?”
“He should really be telling you this.”
I take two large gulps of my vodka and shake my head. “No. Either tell me, or I leave.”
I won’t, but he doesn’t need to know that. I seem to be important to Xander for some reason even though we just met.
Locheran purses his lips. “Xander’s wards are only as strong as he is. He’s...weakening.”
“Weakening? Why?”
He shifts in his seat as I refuse to break eye contact with him. “I can’t tell you that. If you want to leave, then go. But that’s not something for me to share.”
