Love, Lies & Blood Ties - Whitby Shadows Series Book 2

Chapter Twenty-Five

I froze for a few minutes because I didn't know what to say or do. Hannah was something, I guessed a witch from the whole potion comment, and my mum had all her memories back. I certainly hadn't expected this.

"Are you ok?" Luke said, rubbing his hand on my back.

"Are you a witch?" I asked Hannah.

She shook her head. "Nope. I'm something you would never expect."

I glanced at Luke.

"Hannah is a gargoyle," he said, as if it was the most natural thing to say.

"A what? As in the ugly stone creatures that sit on a church?"

"Uh hum," Hannah said, coughing. "Do I look like an ugly stone creature to you?"

Luke laughed. "Gargoyles are classed as shifters because they shift from human form to their...not so human form."

"Do I dare ask what that might be?" I asked, looking at Hannah with a raised eyebrow.

"We don't turn into stone, but we do have exceptionally thick skin. Not much can penetrate it."

"But what do you look like? Are you...you?"

Hannah grinned. "Oh no. We kind of look like trolls to be honest."

"You mean like full on naked and slimy and stuff?"

She laughed. "No, there's no slime, thank you very much."

"But you are naked?"

"Not as me, in human form, but naked in the sense that gargoyles don't really have genitals so there's nothing to cover."

I frowned. "But if you don't have genitals then how do you...you know...make more of you?"

"You mean HAVE SEX?"

My entire face flushed with heat. I don't know why, I just couldn't bring myself to say the word. It felt naughty for some reason.

"Our Cat here has a really bad aversion to the word SEX, don't you, Cat?" Hannah said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Luke put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me. "I think it's cute."

"I'm certainly not complaining," Mum said.

"Alright, alright. Can we please stop trying to embarrass me?"

Hannah laughed. "In answer to your question, we have to be in human form to reproduce."

I pointed at her. "Now that word I can deal with." I pursed my lips and asked, "Have you known about me all this time?"

She nodded. "Think of us as bodyguards. I was born specifically with the purpose of being your bodyguard, so I had an extra shot of magic most gargoyles don't get. That means I'm stronger, fiercer, and tougher than a regular gargoyle."

I didn't know what to say. How could I possibly even begin to process that? Did this mean our entire friendship had been nothing but a lie? Something that was forced rather than something that developed naturally?

"Are you ok, Kitty Cat?" Mum asked. "You've gone a little pale."

I nodded. "Yeah...it's just a bit of a shock. I didn't expect to find out that my best friend was actually forced to be my best friend." A wave of tears built up in my eyes, springing out of nowhere. "I need some air."

My mind swimming with emotions and trying to make sense of everything, I ran for the back door and opened it, only to reveal the beginning of yet another rain shower. I slammed the door shut and sighed, cursing the stupid weather and everything about this whole damn scenario.