Guardian of the Abyss (14 page)

"I have wings," she complained.

His lips quirked. "Yes, my love. You're a gargoyle."

"Well, have you seen these things? They're huge! I can't fit into the cave entrance." Now she sounded downright peevish through their link as she reached in as far as she could to talk to him by touching their fingers through the barrier Abaddon pretended was there.

"You have to calm down," he told her. "Calm yourself and imagine them sliding back in."

He was thrilled to note that her color and her light were both much stronger... though her light was still far too weak. Much weaker than when he'd first changed her, though much better than the last few days and weeks.

"Here," he thought to her. "Look into my mind for how to do it."

A few moments ticked by and then there was a sudden 'whoosh' and a 'pop'. She fell forward into his arms as if pushed. With a relief that he didn't need to feign, he wrapped himself around her, needing to reassure himself that all was well. He once again forgot to wonder that his wings were back as they held her against him as he pushed her hair away from her face as he kissed her and looked at her and kissed her again. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth, her eyelids.

"I thought you were dead," she said through their shared bond. Her hands clung to his forearms. "I was so angry when I woke and you weren't there--"

"I was--"

"You know that you're talking pretty publicly, right?" intruded Thanatos' voice. "I imagine being cut off for so long makes it hard to keep it private, but you might want to start practicing. We can all hear you."

Abaddon recognized it for the warning it was. "No," he admitted, "I didn't. It will take time before we learn."

"I don't care," Sarah announced. "I love you, and I don't care if the entire world hears it. I thought you were gone, so for all I care, they can make a movie out of it." She leaned forward, sobbing against his chest. "I was so afraid. I couldn't hold us on the beach and I thought we were going to die."

They clung to each other and ignored the world until he felt her begin to tremble. Lifting his head, he saw that they were alone. He picked her up in his arms as she curled up against him. His wings snapped away easily, and he went back into the main part of the underground house.

"She must rest," he informed Thanatos.

Thanatos nodded, saying something to Alexis. She replied and he led them down a corridor. Opening a door, he explained, "The vampire who trapped us here made a lot of bedrooms. Alexis wants a large brood, so he ensured there'd be room for them all. Fortunate, except that there are only twin beds, I'm sorry to say."

Abaddon didn't know what that meant. "It doesn't matter. We have been resting on the floor for... I'm not sure how long now. A long time." He slipped past the other man into the room. "She'll be in statue form anyway."

When Thanatos left, he encouraged Sarah to turn into a statue.

"I still can't," she admitted.

"You spent the day in human form?" he demanded.

"Yes," she admitted, her head ducking. "And I'm starving. I had those cookies, but that's it, and I'm really, really hungry."

"But you're a gargoyle," he argued, confused.

"What if I'm different? You made me, right? Have you made others?"

No," he agreed. "There was another female gargoyle, but she was made by the sorcerers and with a very different method." Then, clearly reluctant to leave her, he nonetheless got up and went into the other room. Thanatos was sitting sprawled in one of the odd chairs sitting in the kitchen, while Alexis bustled about the kitchen. Smells rose again, different from before.

When he saw Abaddon, Thanatos sat up immediately, every line of his body alert as if expecting danger.

"Be well, my son," Abaddon raised his hand to forestall him. "I do not blame you, that was pretense for others."

Thanatos relaxed and sat back. "What can we do for you?" he asked.

"Sarah is hungry." Abaddon was uncomfortable admitting it to another gargoyle.

"Some of the werewolves are visiting for dinner," Thanatos replied, "perhaps she could join us."

"You eat?" Abaddon was surprised at the revelation.

"I would offend my wife if I didn't," the other gargoyle grinned back at him. "And one does not offend one's wife." He turned to speak to Alexis, and the woman brightened and smiled at Abaddon. Thanatos turned back to him, "You don't get to offend her, either."

"Of course not," Abaddon agreed. He hesitated for a moment.

"What is it?" Thanatos asked when he didn't immediately air his concern.

Abaddon rubbed his head. "Sarah cannot form clothing yet. Nor can I form any but what I have currently done." He had the feeling that a loincloth wasn't the appropriate thing for a dinner.

Chapter 19

Sarah paced the room. It was beautiful, decorated in browns and golds, with touches of bright blue that brought the room to life. Peaceful as it was, though, it did nothing to alleviate the anxiety that twisted in her stomach. She felt better, but sitting all day in the sun had done little but made her ache for Abaddon.

Before she could get lost in the thought, however, the man himself opened the door and stepped inside. He carried an assortment of clothing.

"Alexis said that some of this might fit you. I hope so. I'm sorry that I cannot find something specifically for you." His regret was written on his face.

"This is perfect." It was more than she had expected, and it was one thing to be naked when you were rescued, but walking around that way had been old before it even began. She sorted through the clothes, pleased, though slightly embarrassed, to find that they were maternity clothes. Of course, the poor woman probably didn't have much else, since she'd had one child recently and was already pregnant again.

Not that anything else would have fit. Since getting sick, Sarah had put on an uncomfortable amount of weight in some places, and lost a bunch in all the wrong places. She sighed and slipped on the clothes before following Abaddon out to the meal that she could smell wafting through the air.

It was lasagna, and she could feel her stomach cramp with hunger just from the scent. She had stopped eating after she'd been changed, not wanting to make Abaddon kill fish for no reason. She knew it bothered him, so she had tried to consider his feelings.

Walking into the room, she was a little surprised to find that the table Abaddon had laid on the day before was now surrounded by werewolves, humans, and gargoyles, and covered with food. Conversation halted as they walked in. One of the men stood up and handed Abaddon a pair of jeans, which he pulled on in the other room, quickly stepping back in when it was done, the jeans still hanging open.

She dragged him back out and buttoned and zipped them, trying to ignore the erection that immediately arose from her touching him... with limited success at best. She always wanted him, and knowing he felt the same made it hard to go back into the other room. Finishing, she smiled and they tried their entrance again. This time, there were seats for them beside the head of the table where Alexis and Thanatos sat.

Food was passed around, and she watched in surprise as Abaddon clumsily put food on his plate and on hers. She didn't object, knowing it would hurt his pride. "Thank you," she said, verbally and through the link created by their brushing arms.

"You welcome," he replied out loud, in English.

Unable to resist a moment longer, she took a bite of the lasagna. It was so delicious that she desperately wanted to savor it, but hunger rose in her with a ferocity that made her fight the need to extend her wings.

She was only distantly aware of people near her pushing away as lights sparkled under the back of her shirt. She won the fight against her wings, but her hunger pulsed like a living thing. As fast as she could eat it, she devoured the lasagna, then some green beans, and some squash. No sooner did she run out of any kind of food, than more took its place.

She ate with single-minded focus, unaware of the passage of time or of how much she was eating. At last, she felt the worst edge of her hunger abate, and looked up to find people staring at her out of the corners of their eyes while they tried in vain to carry on conversations.

Deeply ashamed, she sat her fork down. "I'm so sorry," she muttered to Alexis. "I... I didn't mean to be a pig. I was just so hungry."

Alexis smiled and leaned towards her. "I take it as a compliment. Not even the werewolves like my food that much."

"Hey!" one of them objected. A chorus of disagreement and discussion of Alexis' cooking filled the room. Alexis winked at her, and Sarah found she adored the other woman. They were probably as different as two women could possibly be, but Alexis was endearing and genuinely kind.

"So any idea how far along you are?" Alexis asked. The room once again fell silent, and Sarah felt all eyes on her.

She blinked. "I'm sorry?"

Alexis reached over and patted Sarah's stomach. "I'm sure you'll feel him moving around soon."

"Oh," Sarah shook her head. "I'm not pregnant. I got sick and I put on..."

Everyone was staring at her with patent disbelief. She turned her head to look at Abaddon, who was staring at her as if she'd grown two heads.

"Can't you feel him?" Thanatos asked. "We can all see him." By 'we', she understood that he meant all of the gargoyles.

"But I..." she looked at Abaddon. "How long have you known?"

"Not long. He only quickened before we left our grotto."

Sarah was grateful for their link, because she wasn't sure she'd have had the patience to explain what Alexis had said.

"You didn't realize?" Alexis asked. Her eyes were filled with sympathy. "Are you unhappy?"

"I... I'm stunned," Sarah admitted. Her eyes skittered to Abaddon. He was gazing at her with a hooded expression.

"I think we need to talk privately," she finally said, taking his hand and dragging him out of the room after begging Alexis and Thanatos' pardon.

Once back in the room they'd been given, she turned to face him. He stood staring at her. She stared back. For a long moment, they had a face-off, until she finally walked over to lay her hand on his chest. "How do you feel about this?" she asked.

His inklike eyes gave nothing away as he looked down at her. His hands rose and ran up and down her arms. "I fear you may see this as an unwanted snare. I know how free-spirited you are--"

"Is that how you see it? An unwanted snare?" she demanded.

"No," he replied, stopping her as she would have pulled away. "I see it as something so indescribable that 'miracle' barely scratches the surface. I know it's not the modern way to feel, but I... I already love him. Our child, made in love... there aren't words for how I feel. But I know  that you have choices and ways to rid your body of him if you..." He broke off and she felt him try to curb the tide of misery the thought evoked in him. "If you don't want him." She felt rather than saw him look away. "I feared that knowing how I felt would sway your decision, when you feel like it should be yours and yours alone. The ability to destroy a child in the womb is not new, no matter what they want you to think in your culture."

"You don't think it's my right alone?" she asked, distracted for a moment by the statement.

"No," he answered. "I don't. We made him together. You chose to lay with me and take this chance."

"I didn't know I could get pregnant as a gargoyle," she admitted. "But I would never do that. I don't believe in abortion as birth control, so you don't need to fear that."

"But you are angry," he acknowledged.

"Well, it should be my choice, not just something I feel is my choice."

He shrugged. "I refused to lay with you," he reminded her. "You promised not to cease trying until we were together. I would say that you made your choice."

Irritation warred with acceptance in her. He was right, she had done exactly that.

"I've never been seduced before. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," he told her.

She gasped before she realized he was joking. She narrowed her eyes. "You can't distract me that easily," she smacked him on the chest.

"Are you unhappy?" he asked, serious again.

"No," she admitted. "I think I feel kind of like you do, although I never really wanted kids. I thought they'd get in the way of my life."

"You will find that they become your life, and that never goes away, even after centuries."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," she told him with a laugh.

"It's a mixed blessing. Just think of it as another adventure," he suggested.

Sarah's stomach took that moment, just as he leaned forward to kiss her, to protest. He blinked down at it.

"I think I'm still hungry," she admitted.

"But gargoyles--"

"--don't get hungry." She finished his sentence. "How many pregnant gargoyles have you known?"

"Um, I've never known one. I guess we'll figure it out as we go. Let's go see if there's any food left."