Free Stone's Kiss by Lisa Blackwood Page B

me.”
    “My daughter–in–law never got over that night. It broke something within her. Don’t blame yourself. Perhaps it’s for the best she’s with Lily now.”
    “But why name me after her? Surely it created painful reminders.”
    “Pain, yes, but sweet too. It was my way of honoring her for leading the gargoyle to us and saving her brother.” Gran sighed and looked at the gargoyle where he crouched next to the bed. His empty plate lay on the floor next to him. “We were new to this place. No one knew Lily. They wouldn’t know you were not the same girl. So you became Lillian.” She sighed. “I have kept my promise to the gargoyle as best I could, but now there is an enemy beyond my ability to defeat. Yesterday they came here to destroy my coven, and found you here alone. I am sorry. We had no idea they were ready to move on our territory.”
    “Who are they?” Lillian asked. “And why don’t I know any of this? Why keep the truth of me?”
    “Forgive me for the lie, but the gargoyle told me to say nothing of magic. So I thought it best if you believed you were Lily. Your uncle came up with the idea about losing your memories in a near drowning—a half truth is easier to accept than outright lies. And brain damage explained why you would need to learn our language and details about our world.” Gran paused again, and looked down at her hands. When she looked up, she gave the gargoyle an intense look. “I’m interested to hear the reasons why the gargoyle wanted you to know nothing about magic. That was a curious stipulation.”
    Lillian followed her grandmother’s gaze. Gregory balanced on his haunches, one hand braced against his bent knee, muzzle bowed until it touched his chest, eyes focused unseeing on the ground. At the moment, he looked about as talkative as a stone.
    “Right. Better luck next time.” A cold sweat broke out along Lillian’s back. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the gargoyle’s reasoning—her gut told her there was more amiss then just bad guys trying to kill her. She returned her attention to Gran. “What do you know about the creatures who attacked me?”
    “Not enough. They call themselves the Riven. We don’t know their agenda, but they are a gathering of outcast magic wielders. Before, we speculated they were led by vampires. Now after your attack, we know that to be true.”
    “Why attack me? Why now?”
    Gran broke eye contact and glanced out the window. “This isn’t the first time they’ve made a move against us,” she said, her voice strained. She took two deep breaths and when she spoke again, her voice had smoothed out. “Six years ago we were caught unawares. There had been rumors of a dark underground movement, one which could unbalance our community and expose us to the humans, but no evidence was found to backup our theories. Then the disappearances started. At first we thought a blood feud had broken out between the Clan and the Coven.”
    “Wait,” Lillian interrupted. “So the Coven is made up of your people—the witches. But this Clan, who are they?”
    “We of the Coven are descendants of the few ancient human bloodlines gifted with magic. The Clan is a mix of the other magical races, many of which were once enemies. But our diverse peoples banded together for one simple reason: survival. The Clan’s numbers were always less than ours, but now they are many, many fewer. While they may not age, the dwindling magic has killed many of them. If they don’t find a way back to the Magic Realm, all the Clan will perish in time.”
    Lillian rubbed at her temples. “So the unicorn is Clan, and my brother is Coven. And Clan and Coven are allies?”
    “Now we are, but that wasn’t always the case. At the thought of another blood feud, members of both Clan and Coven became paranoid and defensive. The Council gathered to put a stop to this, for a blood feud would expose us to the humans. The last time such a thing happened was long ago and