The Queen of the Night

Chapter 22

"I don't like him!" Gerald exclaimed.

I ate a protein bar that I found stashed in the kitchen. Maybe it was the cook's, but I couldn't resist eating it. It was blueberry with chocolate chips and blood was stashed in between all of that. It was chilled perfectly so that it never dripped.

"It is suspicious," Dennis mused.

I leaned against the railing next to Harry. After trying to get me to talk about the incident for nearly an hour everyone got the hint that I was deep in thought and I didn't want to be bothered.

Why would Nick lie? Did he really not believe Eric? How could I trust either of them? But I trusted Eric. I couldn't explain why but I did.

I hummed to myself a tune I knew but I didn't remember where I'd heard it. It was an early 2000's rock tune. I didn't remember the band or the song name. I only remembered that this was my favorite tune. I probably heard it on a Saturday evening when a neighbor had his garage door open, which was an open invitation for anyone to come and join him for dinner. In the fall the streets were filled with the sounds of football games and the summer was filled with rerun of NASCAR races. Between all of that he played rock tunes as loud as legally possible. My family never listened to anything that wasn't gospel.

Tisha tapped on the rail. "But what would Jared have to gain from lying?"

"To cover his own ass!" Gerald exclaimed.

I looked up at Harry. He was as frozen as a real statue while the others roamed around freely. Why? He didn't feel warm either. Was he dead? Or maybe they were mistaken, and Harry wasn't really a gargoyle but a stone statue.

"I'm telling you, Jared is bad news." Tisha half yelled.

"None of you are helping!" I yelled without raising my voice so that I didn't wake the whole house. "I think we've decided something is going on with him, but what? You all are the eyes and ears of the household. You've got to know something that you aren't piecing together." I looked at the three of them. They all stood so still I had to touch Gerald's shoulder to make sure they hadn't been turned to stone somehow.

A blood curdling scream made me accidentally pull out a few feathers from Gerald's skin and it forced Dennis to tackle the girl it came from. All I could see under his paw was a matted ball of brunette hair, the girl's eyes were so wide I was surprised it didn't swallow half her face, I don't think I would've recognized her if it hadn't been for her plump cheeks, which tried to escape toward her eyes and away from the gargoyle's stone paw. Jillian punched and kicked at him vainly as his huge claws came around her mouth.

I ran over and knelt by her. "Jillian. Jillian! Shh!" I grabbed her hand as if the feel of my skin against hers could somehow make her silent. "It's fine. You're okay. Dennis, get off her!"

He moved stiffly back to his post. Tisha and Gerald moved even slower so as not to frighten her with any sudden movements. When they stopped moving Jillian screeched, "They move, and-and-and they talk, and-and..."

I held up my hands, "Quiet! I know, Jillian. I know. They aren't supposed to so keep your voice down. They're Gargoyles."

"I know what they are!" She hissed, trying to whisper.

"Shh, listen. They are creatures called Gargoyles. Cursed to only wander the night. They used to be Chimeras. Or, rather, they are chimeras, but their name has changed over the centuries and this isn't the point. Just don't tell anybody about them, okay? Nobody is supposed to know they exist or that they can move."

Gerald chuckled and when I turned I saw that he was turned around, facing us. "Ignore him. That's Gerald, this is Dennis, Tisha, and Harry...we aren't sure if he's even awake half the time, or alive, for that matter."