Heart of Stone Ch. 18

"I think that's more than I wanted to know." Mary laughed softly.

*~*~*~*~*~*

After dinner was served and cleared away, the gargoyles met Emma, Cindy, Eliza, Lila, and Alice. Even though they were prepared, they reacted much like Mary expected. Aiden had an imposing appearance on his own, but with Esme, Calvus, Jerel and Kitra standing behind him, imposing turned quickly to terrifying. For that reason, it was decided that they should come in one at a time. By the time Kitra entered, the women were almost accustomed to meeting gargoyles. Eliza was still clearly frightened, but Connie was fascinated. She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at Calvus and Jerel in a way that embarrassed the two gargoyles. Mary could tell that Aiden was surprised, but he said nothing. Mary excused the women, when she was alone in the room with the gargoyles, Calvus turned to Aiden.

"Z'avi?"

"Go to where the other humans are. We will join you shortly."

Calvus nodded. The other's followed him out of the room. Mary noticed that the others looked at Calvus as a second in command. She wasn't sure if that was a formal position like his position as her protector, or simply the result of Aiden's trust in the older male. She wasn't sure it mattered really, she rather liked the idea of it.

Once the others were gone, Mary had to focus on the matter at hand. She knew that they had to attempt another waking. They had all agreed on it the night before. This one didn't have the same routine feeling of the others, though. Mary was more nervous than she had been the first time. Logically, she knew that she had done nothing wrong the last time, but the feeling of the failure sat in the pit of her stomach like a stone.

Aiden lingered in the dining room with her.

"You are frightened, Child." He leaned down and kissed her forehead lightly. She rested against him.

"I know I shouldn't be. What if this one doesn't wake either?"

"Then we will return him to the earth, as we did with the one before him."

"Aiden-"

He stroked his thumb over her lips. "The end of life is as natural as the beginning. It has been so long since we were enchanted. In that time it is only reasonable to think that not all of us would wake."

"What if he found a way to modify the enchantment? To keep the rest from waking when we release the original spell."

Aiden put his arm around her shoulders and guided her out into the hall. "I do not think that is possible. Deep down, neither do you."

"No." She sighed. "Alright, I suppose everyone is waiting."

He squeezed her shoulder lightly.

In the beginning, Mary's concentration was off, but she managed to put her nervousness aside and they woke a male named Meris. He was slightly older than Aiden, but it was clear that Meris was overwhelmed with the whole experience. He looked at Mary and the others with anger heavily laced with fear and suspicion. Mary wished there was something she could say to reassure him, but she knew that Aiden or one of the others would be better equipped to put him at ease. She didn't resist when Robbie offered to escort her back to the house.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Over the next week, the feeling of jagged chaos that surrounded the arrival of the others softened and smoothed until a routine was established and people found their place in that routine. Ramona, David, Robbie, Quentin, Stuart, Alex, Ron, Gordon and Andy could still work, so they spent their days in the drawing room turned business center. Caroline, Mary and Veronica provided clerical support. Nigel spent part of his time on the phone with his colleagues, but the rest of the time he spent with Jenna. Mary wasn't sure what they did all day, but she decided that it really wasn't any of her business either.

The "treatment room" as Robbie called it was almost as well-equipped as Nigel's office. Mary wasn't sure where he got the equipment or the supply of drugs, but she found she didn't really care either. She felt much more comfortable knowing that all those things were there if she needed them. Nigel also let her know that he preferred she deliver in a hospital, but if this went on long enough he was prepared and equipped to perform a Cesarean section there in the house if necessary. Mary hoped it wouldn't come to that.

With each passing day though, more people arrived to stand outside her gate. By the end of that week, she wasn't able to count how many there were. Aiden and the others told her that the property was completely surrounded, though the borders had not been breeched, nor had anyone even attempted it. She and the others were starting to feel them though. Each day after lunch, they went out onto the front lawn, formed a circle, and used their combined energies to perfect and maintain Mary's defenses. Large as the crowd was, its energy barely registered on Mary's defenses, and then it wasn't a constant. She wondered how many it would take to pose a serious threat.

The presence of the others inside and outside didn't change the fact that Mary was struggling with insomnia. She didn't think it had much to do with what was going on, she simply couldn't find a comfortable position in bed. For the first few days that the house was full she paced around her own sitting room, but by the middle of the week she had begun to wander down to the library again. Sometimes she was able to find comfort on the sofa there. Even if she couldn't, she always managed to find something to read.

The others had been there for about a week when Mary again found herself wandering at night. Aiden and Calvus were off somewhere with the other gargoyles. She went down to the library and settled herself on the sofa with a book. Before long, Mary fell into a light doze.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The little sounds that invaded Mary's sleep seemed too soft to really exist at first. She tried to focus on them, but each time she did they would stop. Finally there was a slightly louder thump. Her eyes fluttered open, she realized there was someone else in the room behind her. She sat up slowly and looked over the back of the sofa, expecting to see Aiden or Robbie. She was surprised to see Meris flipping through the pages of a book. Aiden had told her that he was learning English even more quickly than the others had, she hadn't thought of him reading though.

"Meris?" She said softly. He still looked at her with fear mixed with embarrassment.

He turned quickly. "Z'tavick? I...forgive me. I should have asked your permission." He put the book down again.

"No, you shouldn't. This is your home as much as it is mine." She sat up slowly.

"I am not worthy of such generosity." He sighed.

"Why not?" Mary was shocked to hear him speak that way. Aiden had always been so confident. The others were, too. She had come to believe it was a trait of all gargoyles.

He looked at her for a moment, as if deciding whether or not he should speak. "My clan was respected, but I was not the most respected member of that clan. There are many others who should have survived. I can be of no use to Z'avi, or to you."

"But how do you know that?"

"The others-" He looked away. "The others were well known, both inside and outside their own clans." He shifted nervously from foot to foot.

"I don't understand." Mary admitted. "Would you like to sit and explain it to me?" She pointed to Aiden's chair, and Meris sat. She wondered if it was because he wanted to or because he was granting a request made the leader's pregnant mate.

"Esme is the healer that other clans sent for when their own healers were at a loss. Calvus was a warrior in his own right, but after his metalwork made its way to almost all of the clans. Jerel was a tactician and a diplomat. Kitra was never in the circles of power in her clan, but she found acceptance in the society of other females who trained as fighters. The males of her clan did not accept her, and no one chose her as a mate, but she did have a kind of respect."

Mary sat up, her feet tucked under her. "And you?"

A derisive little smile tugged at his lips. "I was a disappointment. Has Z'avi ever told you about the Gal'ach'nor?"

The punctuated growl meant nothing to Mary. If Aiden had ever spoken about it the word was not registering in her memory.

"I don't think so, but I admit that many words in your language sound the same to me. I tried to learn some, but, that didn't work out very well." Mary blushed a little. Some of the tension left his shoulders. She noticed that they weren't as broad as Aiden's. He had the muscles of a flying creature, but in general, Meris was much more lightly built than Aiden.

"I am not surprised. Ours is a difficult language under the best of circumstances." Another little smile touched his lips, this one was much more genuine. "I am also not surprised that Z'avi didn't mention the Gal'ach'nor. I am certain that it meant little to him in the long run."

"What is it?" Mary prompted.

"A competition. Every twenty years clans would gather. Differences were put aside in the interest of forming and renewing bonds. When one has friendly memories of others, it is much more difficult to escalate a conflict with them."

"That makes sense. So it was kind of a party?"

"Some of it yes." Meris sat back in the chair. "There was feasting and trading. Mates were negotiated for, and taken. There were also competitions in craftwork, hunting and fighting. The Gal'ach'nor was competition for warriors." The tip of his tail twitched nervously.

"How did it work?"

"The rules were simple. Only males could enter, and they could enter only once while they were between twenty and forty years old. Those participating were to be ready at any time. Matches were assigned by drawing lots from a bag. Rounds went on until there was only one left standing. By chance the first round was mine, my opponent was Callas. I was larger, older, more experienced. I should have won easily, but there were so many eyes on me I froze. Callas struck first." He touched the side of his head, caressing a large scar. "When I awakened again it was over. Z'avi was barely old enough to enter, but he was the last standing."

"But someone had to lose that first round." Mary could see the embarrassment of the loss was still fresh and she ached to reach out to him, but there were strict rules about physical contact between a mated female and an unmated male. She had no desire to make him feel more uncomfortable.

"That is true, but it is considered an embarrassment to the loser and to his clan. My inaction only made it worse. The female I had chosen as my mate did not speak to me again. When I tried to speak with her father, he saw me only long enough to tell me that his daughter would be mated to another. My father lost all faith in me, so did the other members of my clan. It followed me until we were frozen." He looked away, his head hung in shame.

"Maybe that wasn't your time." Mary said softly.

He glanced at her from under heavy brows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for me, I wasn't anything before I came here. I had no idea magic existed, even if I had I certainly wouldn't have believed that I had any magical ability." Mary said. Meris looked at her curiously. "When I came here I was terrified. Then Aiden woke up, and he helped me find my confidence. Before is a part of me, but it's not nearly as important is now."

Meris smiled slightly. "But what am I to do now? I know nothing of these times."

"I don't know, but if you let that loss define you, you'll never figure it out."

"I see why he chose you." His smile reached his eyes for the first time.

Mary got up awkwardly. "Thank you. I hope you won't mind if I say goodnight now."

"Of course not Z'tavick." He seemed like he wanted to say something else, so she waited. "May I read your books?"

"Read anything you like. Rest well, when you get there." She smiled and left Meris alone in the dim room