Stone Guardian (7 page)

He must have seen that determination in her face because he exhaled deeply. “Agreed. I will share all knowledge with you.
However
, if we find ourselves in battle, my words are absolute. You may not question my orders, you will obey.”

“That’s fair.” Larissa rose from the couch, holding her hand out to him. “I think we have a deal then.”

He rose as well, looking at her hand like he had never seen the appendage before. “This is what humans call a ‘handshake’?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” It had been pure reflex to hold out her hand. She hadn’t considered it an unusual motion. Then again, not like she had much experience with any other race. “I wasn’t thinking…”

She started to pull her hand away, but before it moved even an inch downwards Terak engulfed her hand with his.

His skin was warm, callouses and scars marking every inch resting against her palm. Up close his claws were more like mini-curved daggers.

“This is how humans become allies?” His voice had softened, the timber dropping a few registers until it was a rough brush against her spine, and she fought the unexpected shiver, the first of the night that had nothing to do with fear.

“Yes.”

“Then make no mistake, little human. You are under my protection now, and I protect what is mine.”

The
whoosh
of students running past her in the hallways, the slamming of lockers, the girls talking about their hair and clothes and make-up and the boys talking about the girls – all welcome signs of normalcy to Larissa as she made her way to her first class of the morning.

The bell rang moments before she entered the door. “Okay everyone, that was the bell. Settle down and take your seats,” Larissa said as she headed toward her desk, placing her bag on the chair and taking out graded papers and lesson plans.

Juvenile grumbling, paper rustling, and feet shuffling met Larissa’s words in first period History. The mood was not a shiny happy one.

Ah yes, what senior in high school didn’t love being up this early, especially on a Monday morning with only a few weeks until vacation. It was about time to petition for hazard pay.

Larissa handed out papers and accepted homework, answered some questions and shushed Jason Evans after he let out a wolf whistle when she passed. All in all, a normal Monday, making the events of this weekend seem even more surreal.

Necromancers after her? No, no.

A gargoyle protector? What an insane notion.

“Now,” said Larissa, coming to stand in front of the room. “We are going to get into a favorite topic for most. We are going to discuss the Great Collision.”

As expected, a hush fell over the room. No student could keep up the façade of indifference when the topic of the Great Collision came up, reason
numero uno
she always saved it for Mondays. “Twenty-six years ago, probably the most momentous moment in history outside of the actual creation of life occurred. I’ll let your science teachers explain the theories behind why it happened, parallel dimensions and quarks and neutrons and all that good stuff. That’s not for my discussion here.”

“You trying to tell us you weren’t a science genius, Miss Miller?”

Ah, Jason Evans, star quarterback and all around smart-ass. Class would not be the same if he didn’t inject his
too cool for school
attitude into her lectures at least once a day. “Science is wonderful, Mr. Evans. I do admit though, I never had quite the head for it. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask Mr. Patel to go into details for you. Anyway, the Great Collision. In layman’s terms…”

“Dummy terms!” Jason interjected.

“Layman’s terms,” Larissa continued on, not bothering to waste breath to engage him. “Our universe is comprised of multiple dimensions, also sometimes called realms. How many is still a question the scientific community is grappling with, but that has no bearing here. What matters for our discussion is two of these realms collided. One realm was very similar to what you see around you every day – skyscrapers, cars, computers, cell phones – but humans were the only sentient race and no magic existed. I’m sure many of your parents have already told you stories about the good old days.”

Groans sounded then, followed by tales of parental misconduct. Larissa let it go for a few moments before bringing attention back to her. “The other realm was a realm of sword and sorcery. Elves and dwarves existed there, as well as countless other races and magical creatures. For simplicity, we have come to label these dimensions the Human Realm and the Magic Realm, though humans did exist in the Magic Realm. The difference is they weren’t the only sentient race.”

A hand rose at the back of the class. “Miss Miller, my mom told me we used to use oil and electricity for power, not magic.”

Larissa nodded. “That is true. In the Great Collision the Human Realm absorbed the Magic Realm. Earth is the same physically as what it was before the collision. What changed is now Earth can sustain magic, which was something not possible before. Once the chaos from the collision began to settle, wizards and mages were able to figure out how to supply our energy needs magically.”

“What’s the difference between a wizard and a mage?” a female voice interrupted. Taneasha Jackson reminded Larissa of herself at a younger age, too smart by half and surrounded by family who protected her to the point of suffocation. The young woman was more likely to be found in a library than at any of the school events.

“Good question,” said Larissa. “A wizard is someone who channels magic from the Earth through spells and different items. A mage is someone with an inborn gift for magic and channels magic from themselves. Mages are much rarer and more powerful, but they usually are more limited. They have a gift for a certain type of magic and can only create spells that use that classification of magic. Different classifications include transmutation, illusion, conjuration-”

“Necromancy. Are we going to talk about necromancers?” asked Jason, in a sly voice with a little too much enthusiasm backing it.

“Not as much as you probably want,” Larissa said. Not at all, if she had a choice.
An eye hanging out of its socket
, and she rubbed the heel of her palm against her forehead as if the motion could erase the image. “Why are you not supposed to be so excited over necromancers?”

In the tone of someone who is humoring you and wants you to know it, Jason said, “They derive their power from death.”

“Exactly,” said Larissa.

“But all the girls love vampires, and I’d look hot with red eyes,” Jason said, causing some girls to giggle and smile in his direction.

“Yes, well, while all vampires are necromancers, not every necromancer is a vampire. Only the strongest of necromancers become true vampires.”

Jason leaned back in his seat, a satisfied smirk over his mouth. “Gives me something to work for, then I’d have an eternity with the ladies.” The guys all started high-fiving amongst themselves, and Larissa shushed them before the words got too far out of hand.

Taneasha spoke again. “I want to learn more about the fantastical creatures that we thought were myths until they appeared after the Collision. I really want to see a unicorn one day.”

“Ever see any, Miss Miller,” asked a voice from the back.

Not until three days ago.
“No, I’ve lived in the city all my life and never traveled outside of it.” Maybe it was time for that to change, though.

Another male voice from the back said, “Unicorns are too girly. I want to see gryphons, basilisks, dragons, like that.”

And from the doorway came the response, the voice a smooth feminine growl. “There are no dragons.”

Larissa hadn’t heard the door open and turned to question why someone was interrupting her class.

The textbook Larissa was holding slipped from nerveless fingers, causing a sharp crack as the second silence of the morning fell over the classroom.

In the open doorway stood the redheaded woman from Friday night, her gaze locked on Larissa as she leaned against the frame, her arms and legs crossed in what would have been a relaxed posture for anyone else, but on this woman it seemed more akin to leashed watchfulness.

The woman continued, “Dragons were as much myth in the Magic Realm as in ours, disappointing as that seems.” She smiled then, the barest trace of a dimple in her grin. “Or maybe not. Having a dragon fly overhead would not be my idea of a good time.”

She was the very definition of an Amazon – taller than some men with broad shoulders and long limbs displaying muscle, but her evident strength only highlighted how very feminine she was. She had classic features most women would kill for and hourglass curves her musculature enhanced.

A higher-pitched feminine grunt came from behind the redhead, and the redhead’s body shifted as she glanced behind her. “Move your ass, Fallon. I want to see her. I missed all the excitement, remember?”

“If you quit poking me, I will,” the redheaded woman said to whoever was back there, and took several steps into the room.

Larissa’s mouth gaped as she beheld the person coming in behind the amazon.

This woman was short. Very short. So short even the platform heels on her shoes only brought her to average height. She was wearing an elaborate jade green kimono – except unlike a traditional kimono the skirt ended mid-thigh – with matching jade hair styled in three rolls and piled so high it added an extra half-foot of height to the woman.

It was hard to tell what age or ethnicity the woman was under her dramatic kabuki make-up. Best guess, early-to-mid-twenties, and Japanese but mixed with some European ancestry.

The unnatural quiet the class had been under broke. With one voice, her students started calling out questions – about the women, what they were doing here, why did they want to talk to Miss Miller?

“Quiet,” the woman called Fallon said, her voice level but her tone absolute, and in a situation Larissa had never before experienced her class shut up as they were told. “Miss Miller, I have some questions for you. Please step outside with me.”

The small Japanese woman sat on Larissa’s desk, crossing her legs once she was settled. “It might have sounded like a request, but it really wasn’t.” She flicked her fingers at Larissa in a dismissive gesture. “You need to go. I’ll stay with the kiddies.”

Sure enough, the redhead didn’t look like she was moving, and Larissa didn’t want to have this conversation in front of her students. Stifling a sigh, she said, “Class, talk quietly amongst yourselves for a few minutes. I’ll be right back.”

There was an empty classroom a few rooms down. Larissa went in, not bothering with politeness to allow the woman to enter first. The redhead followed, though not before her eyes scanned the room. Classic tactical maneuver. No cop in the world ever entered anywhere before getting the lay of the land.

The woman didn’t crowd her, but her unwavering gaze and unvoiced suspicions made breathing a tad difficult, like wearing a shirt with a constrictive collar. It was so different than how she felt with the gargoyle, where toward the end their interactions edged into the companionable.

Larissa cleared her throat, ready to start this inquisition. “How did you know where to find me, or who I am? Who are you, for that matter?”

“Me? I’m Fallon, and the monochrome midget currently alone with your students is Laire. We’re part of a group that protects the city.”

Larissa crossed her arms in front of her chest. “If that’s true, why didn’t I know you existed before today? If you know about me, then you know my dad’s the Chief of Police, and he’s never mentioned you.”

Fallon’s lips twitched, though if the tic was irritation or amusement Larissa couldn’t guess. The woman’s features were neutral as she studied Larissa. “Why would you expect
daddy
to tell you? From what we can gather, it would be the opposite.”

The
zing
brought a flush of heat to the back of Larissa’s neck, but she pressed her lips hard to keep from responding. This woman wasn’t going to provoke her into anything, if that was indeed her plan. And the bit of embarrassment didn’t mask the fact Fallon neither confirmed nor denied that Dad knew about them. If this whole protection business was the truth, that meant either Dad had kept this from her – and given his standard
modus operandi
that wouldn’t be a shock – or this group was very, very secret.

And if a very, very secret group told you about their existence…

“Oh gods, you’re going to kidnap me now, aren’t you?”

The corner of Fallon’s lip quirked at Larissa’s outburst, that shadow of a dimple again displayed. “Your students saw you walk out of a room with me. It would be kind of stupid for me to grab you and run.”

“You could make them forget. Who knows what kind of magic you can perform.”

“I don’t do magic. I turn your attention back to Friday night and the big-ass sword I was carrying. My job is to run and swing.”

Larissa’s head was heavy on her shoulders. Laying it on the desk and closing her eyes until the woman disappeared would be heaven. Unfortunately, there was no chance Fallon would cooperate. “What do you want from me?”

Fallon walked over and crouched in front of her, bringing them to eye level. “What happened Friday?”

“I don’t know. You tell me. You were there so you obviously knew what was going to happen.”

Annoyance reflected itself in Fallon’s features. “You would think I should have been told the reason I was there, but no, the person who sent me doesn’t believe in giving anyone details. They think it’s enough to send you on your way.” By the end of the sentence Fallon’s eyes were narrow slits and murder was written over her face.

Not anxious to step on this particular minefield, Larissa still had to ask. “What about afterwards? Couldn’t you get any information from the zombies?”

“No. No information from that path.” Fallon’s tone was a stop sign, telling Larissa no questions asked would be answered.

Larissa swiveled in the chair and stood, needing space. “I don’t know why the zombies were there. I wasn’t even supposed to go out that night. It was a spur of the moment decision to join my dad’s poker game. I think it was a coincidence, nothing more.”