And they do.
“Take a step back.”
The one in front of me moves backwards, looking confused. I exhale and push my brunette hair out of my face. Nothing has prepared me for this. For the first time, I have no clue what to do. My phone has no service, but even if I could call the station, what the hell would I say?
They’d think I’d lost my shit.
“I’m Detective Bisset,” I start, gathering my composure. “From the Philadelphia PD. You better do what you’re told or I’ll arrest you all.” I eyeball them all and point at the man who’d caught me. “Over there, with the others.”
His eyes go from me to the others, and the same look of confusion takes over their faces as well. He moves gracefully for a man of his size. I take a minute to look them over.
They’re all tall and muscular, and handsome in a strange way. They’re more human than monster, save for the wings, fangs, and claws where fingernails should be. I push my shoulders back, take a deep breath, and try to come up with something intelligent to say to them to show my place of authority.
But all I can come up with is another, “What the fuck?”
The largest of the four steps forward. “Who are you?” he asks. His voice is deep, and his words rumble through me, causing tingles to rush between my legs.
“How about I ask the questions,” I counter, not liking how damn attractive I’m finding these strangers right now. “Whatare you?”
“We are brothers Templar.”
Rain starts to soak through my jacket. I suppress a shiver. “You’re Templar Knights?”
“We were.”
I blink, lips parting as I’m once again at a loss for words. “But now you’re…”
One of the men who was perched on the side of the porch cracks a smile. He’s youthful, looking the youngest of the bunch, and very good looking, even with the fangs.
“Now we’re gargoyles.” He laughs, and the odd sense of security I felt earlier vanishes. Gargoyles. No. Fucking. Way. I pull my arms around myself, trying to stay warm.
“How?”
“You’re shivering,” the one who caught me says.
“Yeah. It’s forty degrees and raining.”
“You should take shelter.”
My fingers are starting to feel numb, and the colder I get, the harder it will be to take part in a fight if one was to break out. But the thought of having those things inside the house with me is unnerving.
“Please, my lady,” he urges, looking at me as if he knows me…as if hemissesme.
The cold is starting to seep into my bones, and the temperature is low enough for me to become hypothermic. Seeing that my options are either to stand here in a stare-off and slowly freeze to death or go inside, I choose the latter.
I move onto the covered porch, feeling better just to be out of the rain, and go to the door. Then I stop, whirling around. The door is locked. I came outside from the open window upstairs.
“Is something wrong?” one of the younger ones asks. He has sandy blond hair, a chiseled jaw, and rough stubble covering his face. Like the others, his flesh is more gray than tan. The discoloration webs across his broad chest, moving along with the veins under his skin, mottled and blotchy.
“It’s locked. I didn’t intend on being thrown off the roof when I went out there.” I’m impressed with the strength of my voice. I’m standing here shivering like mad, looking down the porch steps at four half-man, half-gargoyle creatures. I’m teetering on the edge of losing my shit for real.
“You slipped.” The dark-haired one moves in front of the others. “And I caught you.”
“I wouldn’t have slipped if you hadn’t startled me.”
He diverts his eyes. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. With your permission, my lady, I can take you back to the roof.”
My mouth falls open and I slowly shake my head. He extends his hand and waits on my response. Things are already crazy. Why not take it one step further?
