Stone In Love

Chapter 22

"911. What is your emergency?"  

The woman from the call center spoke calmly and articulately, ready to help me through my dilemma as I rushed around turning on every light downstairs. I decided to avoid the second floor to keep the rest of the house out of the loop as long as possible. I wasn't eager for them to know I was involved in the newest Warner Brother's movie The True Crimes of Gargoyles And Demons.

"There are intruders in my backyard."

"Can you describe the intruders?"

"One, maybe two, men. Large build. Dark hair. Dark clothing."  I left out the part about wings and razor sharp talons. I wanted the woman to contact the police, not the loony bin. 

Sylvie appeared on the stairwell, speaking through a yawn. "What's going on, Reese?"

I held up my hand to stop her before she reached the bottom. "Stay where you are. Somebody's casing the place." I stood in the center of the living room, eyeballing the locked drawer containing the firearms and remembering that Dad kept the key in his bedroom dresser. Damn. So much for keeping my freaky life a secret.

"Oh, shit! He's in the front yard." Sylvie pointed at the bay window right before it exploded, and I dove for the floor as glass spewed across the tiles. A large, winged man flew inside, tearing down the curtain as he stumbled toward me. Sylvie joined me in a scream as the guy snatched me up by the arms, digging his talons into my skin.

I fought like any decent psycho bitch, clawing his face as he dragged me through the open window, and I felt a sting on my calf as it scraped against broken glass. Still clutching the phone, a released a long string of curses as his wings unfurled and lifted me over Dad's neatly-pruned hedges. 

"Miss Kentwell. Can you hear me?" The 911 operator's voice echoed as we rapidly gained altitude, but I had closed my eyes, knowing I would probably pass out if I didn't. I figured we were well above the trees, since Sylvie's hysteria was fading fast beneath me. Hopefully, that meant she hadn't been snatched. "Stay with me, Miss Kentwell. Help is on the way."

"Too late. I'm fucked." I forced out my curse before swiping my thumb across the screen, silencing the useless operator. I damned sure wasn't having a phone conversation one hundred feet above the ground, although this was a guess since I hadn't opened my eyes yet. I didn't need to see the view. I knew the city lights were twinkling below me. I knew every landmark by rote. But I figured the nostalgia would be lost without the protection of high grade aluminum and a licensed pilot.

With the wind hitting me in the face at thirty-five miles an hour, also a guess, I finally willed my eyes open and found that I was right on all counts. Everything was fucking brilliant and I was fucked. The winged man-beast had me on lockdown, with his calloused hands constricting around my shoulders and his thick claws digging into my pits. A second man flew beside him, and although they looked like gargoyles, I was pretty sure these two weren't sent by the cavalry. Both sported a set of dark horns that curled out of their foreheads. 

We were headed north. That much appeared obvious, but I didn't spend much time sightseeing. I was considering my options for escape. Fighting these guys off was riddled with pitfalls. Where would I go? Falling to my death was not on my bucket list. It wasn't even on my preferred methods for dying list. The two demons had not said a word to me or each other, and their silence only added to the gravity of my fucked-upness. Still, I was a firm believer that everyone had a weakness, so I attempted to bridge the gap between predator and prey

"So, where are we headed boys?" I asked casually.

Demon number two glanced over as if he might engage me, but his comrade threw him a death stare, and he returned to grimacing mutely at the starry horizon.