20
“Gargoyles?” Gemma echoes.
“Yes.”
“How…how is that possible?”
“They used to be men, but were cursed.”
Gemma’s heart rate increases, evidenced by the little monitor on her finger. “Men? There’s more than one?”
“Yes. There are four. Jacques is who you met tonight.” I swallow hard, glad she can’t see my pounding heart. “I’ll explain the rest later. It’s…it’s complicated.”
“More complicated than you opening a rift?”
I laugh. “Much more. The rift was an accident, and I think I can fix things. But the guys…” I shake my head. “Like I said. Complicated.”
Gemma pulls the thin sheet up to her chin, eyes getting misty. “You’re the real deal.”
“I guess.”
“You are. And I’m so sorry.”
“Gemma,” I say, looking her right in the eyes. “What you did was shitty, but I forgive you, okay? I’ve never been good at this whole making friends thing, so maybe I picked the worst person to become friends with, but I kinda can see what you did. I know you’re sorry. So stop apologizing because it’s a little annoying.”
“Okay.” She smiles, shoulders relaxing a bit. “Who cursed them?”
Gemma’s seen enough to warrant an explanation, but I’m not going into the gory details just yet. “I’ll tell you that later. And probably on a need-to-know basis.”
She rests her head back against the pillow, looking a little pale again.
“Are you okay?” I ask, preparing to call for the nurse.
“Yeah. I think I’m in shock. I’ve always believed in magic, but seeing it…knowing there are other…other things out there…it’s a lot to take in.”
“Tell me about it. I used to think magic was a crock of shit until recently.”
She swallows hard. “What else is out there?”
I watch the shadows of someone’s feet walk by the little ER room. “It’s more like what isn’t out there. Vampires are real, but they’re not sparkly and sexy.”
She wrinkles her nose. “I prefer my vamps to look like Eric Northman.”
I laugh, and the curtain gets pulled back. A nurse’s assistant comes in with a wheelchair and says she’s going to take Gemma up to her room.
“I guess I’ll get going,” I start, moving out of the way as the CNA starts getting things ready to help Gemma into the chair. I grab a piece of paper from the counter and dig a pen out of my purse, writing down my cell number for Gemma. I feel a little bad for leaving her, but she needs to rest and I need to get back home and make sure no one else has been attacked by Pink Dress Ghost.
“Call me in the morning,” I tell her. “Let me know what’s going on.”
“I will. Thank you, Ace.”
* * *
“You haveno idea how much I need this.” I take the glass of wine from Thomas and lean back on the couch.
“I have a bit of an idea,” he says, sitting next to me. “Judging by the look on your face.”
“And how tense your shoulders are.” Gil stands behind me and massages my muscles.
