Page 51 of Sprite Wedding
He must’ve sensed something. Maybe he caught my scent still lingering out here. He climbed onto my back and curled up into a ball, the same way he’d do if we were hanging out on the sofa together inside.
I wish I could pet you and give you treats, buddy.
He couldn’t hear me. What a comfort it was to have him out here. He was a great cat. Okay, sure he was a finicky, picky, pain in the furball, but he was still awesome. If I ever got out of this stone, I was going to shower him with affection and treats, so much so that Sebastian would scold me for spoiling Shadow. That was okay. I told Sebastian he spoiled me with food, and I was just carrying on what he had taught me.
A few raindrops fell. Oh, terrific. I’d be stuck out here no matter what the precipitation. At least, it wasn’t hail or frozen rain. That would suck.
Shadow crawled down and took cover beneath my dragon belly.
Now you’re using me as a rain shield?
Fortunately, the rain shower was brief. It actually helped cool the temperature in the air.
Later that morning, my garden—my sanctuary—turned into a supernatural circus. Countless staff from the Network paraded through my oasis as they attempted to get a read on what was going on. If they knew where Zoe had gone, they didn’t mention it in front of me.
Pandora, Cassandra, and several others talked through different counter spells and shared their talks with other Networks. They tried various attempts to free me, but nothing worked.
Sebastian and Gianna attempted to lift my spirits with platitudes. One of the shifter guards named Stefan visited. He was as heavy-footed in human form as he was as a gargoyle, trampling through ground cover. I was on good terms with him, but if I got out of this stone cage, I was going to give him a hard time about stomping on my sedum.
Then again, if he found a way to free me, I’d be much more likely to kiss him smack on the lips than give him crap.
Pandora asked him, “What do you think?”
He walked from one side of me and then the other before placing one of his meaty hands on my chest. He cocked his head and stared into my stone eyes for several seconds. Was he trying to communicate with me? If so, I couldn’t hear a damn thing.
“There’s something different about his form,” he replied. “It isn’t the same as our stone.”
“How so?” Pandora asked.
He shook his head. “Not sure. I tried to reach out to him, but my message won’t get through. This magic isn’t like ours.”
It’s sprite magic! Sprites are hiding in the garden!I attempted to shout from my stone.
He didn’t show any signs of hearing me.Suffering snapdragons, if anyone could understand the transformation to stone, it was a gargoyle. And if he didn’t recognize whatever shifty sprite magic had locked me in this form, was I stuck here forever?
Panic climbed as I itched to be freed from this prison, yet my fear remained trapped inside, shuttered in my skull.
Stay calm. Freaking out isn’t going to get you anywhere—especially since you can’t move.
That freaked me out even more. My heart thundered, breath coming short. Or was that all in my imagination? My nose and mouth weren’t moving. Did that mean my organs weren’t either? Were they as stone hard as the rest of me? A stone heart and lungs couldn’t function…
Oh, blazing toads on hot asphalt, was I—dead?
No, I couldn’t go out like this! More panic rose.
I rocked to soothe myself in stone form, while I knew it wasn’t physically possible. I was stone cold frozen and unable to even twitch a pinky. If I was dead, what was going on?
Was I a ghost who didn’t know I was dead? I tried to will myself to move away from the statue. Nope.
If I was in a spirit form, I should be able to move, right?
Ugh, maybe my body hadn’t just turned to stone; perhaps it had petrified. Petrified! All that remained was my spirit locked in stone. I remained tethered to this statue as punishment for something I’d done.
Who had I wronged? What had I done wrong?
Nothing immediately leaped to mind except small infractions like pulling dumb pranks on my roommates. That wasn’t enough to causethis, was it?
How long would I be stuck in this stone purgatory?
