Page 7 of Gargoyle Sentinel
“Only what? Some kind of practical joke?” Simon's voice cracked. “You know, having your friends lurk in alleys wearing whatever the fuck that was, isn't my idea of foreplay.”
“I don't have friends here,” Danny blurted, immediately regretting how pathetic it sounded. “I mean, I don’t know anyone who would do something like that.”
“My ride’s three minutes away.” Simon turned, picking up a light jog. He peered over his shoulder as he increased his pace. “Don’t follow me.”
Danny crossed his arms angrily. “Don’t worry. You’re not that interesting!”
Even as the words left his mouth, he realized they were more than an insult. They were the truth. Which meant he’d been ready to go fuck yet another stranger he didn’t think was all that great. Getting laid so he didn’t have to be alone. Once in a while, okay. But almost every night? If only there were someone he actually gave a shit about. Even better would be someone who gave a shit about him, too.
An ominous, rumbling growl sounded behind him, and he whirled around with a gasp.That’s enough introspection for one night. He needed to get back inside, where there were plenty of people. Figuring out how to get home could be handled in the safety of the bar.
“Are you all right?”
Danny yelped, whipping back around at the sound of a man’s deep voice. The tone was what he’d usually consider soothing, yet somehow it was making him squeamish. He regarded the brawny, pale-skinned man who towered over him. Here was another devastatingly handsome guy, another potential hookup that in truth did nothing for him. Maybe his dick was broken.
“Uh, yeah.” Danny cleared his throat. “I’m fine, I just…” He glanced over his shoulder, almost certain that he heard something like a stick, or large claws, scraping against concrete. He chuckled shakily, muttering to himself, “That’s ridiculous.”
“What was that?” The strange man moved closer, and Danny stepped back without thinking. “Did you say something?”
Danny put his hand to his forehead.So odd. His thoughts seemed muddled, as if he’d downed two shots of tequila in a row. It didn’t make any sense.
“You know, I think I should go back inside,” he said, the words like marbles he’d struggled to push out.
The man placed a gentle hand on his elbow. “You’d better come with me. You don’t look very well, and there are dangerous people inside the bar. They’re trying to hurt you.”
Danny’s stomach clenched. “Huh? That doesn’t make any sense.” He shook his head, trying to clear the fog that had settled over his mind. He yanked his arm away from the stranger’s grip, though it felt like trying to move through molasses. “Who the hell are you?”
“A friend,” the man said, his voice silky smooth, almost hypnotic. “I’ve been watching you, Danny. Keeping you safe.”
Danny’s addled brain managed to register the red flag. “Fortunately, that’s not creepy.” He tried to move away from the stranger, but his legs weren't cooperating. “What’s happening to me?”
The man smiled, revealing too-perfect teeth, the incisors unusually pointy. “A little something to help you relax.”
A cold sweat broke out across Danny’s forehead. This was bad. Epically bad. The man’s face seemed to shift slightly in the dim light, features becoming sharper, more predatory.
“You drugged me?” Danny managed to gasp, his vision beginning to blur around the edges. The man’s features appeared wavy, like a mirage in desert heat, occasionally revealing something that couldn’t possibly be human underneath.
“Such a crude term,” the stranger replied, wrapping an arm around Danny’s shoulders as his legs threatened to give out. “I prefer to think of it as…easing the transition.”
Danny tried to scream, but his voice emerged as little more than a whimper. The few pedestrians passing by didn’t even glance their way, as if they couldn't see what was happening right in front of them.
“No one will notice us,” the man said, reading Danny's thoughts with disturbing accuracy. “A simple glamour. They seeonly what I want them to see—two friends, one helping the other home after too many drinks.”
Danny’s legs gave way beneath him, and the stranger caught him with surprising strength, lifting him as if he weighed nothing. Through his rapidly tunneling vision, he caught glimpses of monstrous silhouettes against the alley walls, twisted, hunched forms with what looked like wings folded against their backs. The creatures moved with a strange, stilted grace, their eyes gleaming with an unnatural ruby fire in the darkness.
“Look, Danny.” The man laughed, a hideous, booming sound. “Meet your adoring fans.”
As the man’s laughter echoed in Danny’s fading consciousness, he managed to croak out, “What are you?”
“Something ancient,” the man whispered, his breath icy cold against Danny’s ear. “Something that’s been waiting for you for a very long time.”
Danny's vision blacked out completely as he felt himself being carried into the alley. The last thing he registered was an inhuman noise, as if someone had beaten a huge wasps’ nest with a bat and they were swarming, stinging, hurting…
Destroying.
Chapter Three
The moment Malachi reached the outer edges of Aspen, Danny’s presence slammed into him like a physical force, nearly driving him from the sky.
