Free Gargoyle: A Reawakening (Briarcliff Series, #2) by Lorraine Beaumont

Glancing
towards Simon, he noticed he was not as large, but that was to be
expected. He was still a youngling, and had not phased as many
times.
    “ It would seem so.”
Alistair smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
    Simon stood off the side,
acting disinterested. Sipping his drink, he watched them both over
the rim staring one another down. Their inky black hair whipped in
the wind. Alistair’s unease was palpable…the caged animal trying to
break free once more. Adriane, always in control—a silent force of
reckoning. Simon smiled into his cup his eyes flitting back and
forth between them, silently counting backwards… Ten…nine…eight …his own
body tensing in anticipation of the fight that was about to ensue.
It would be one hell of a close match now, if Alistair was so
inclined.
     
    Adriane held his stance, not ready to
relinquish the tenuous hold he had over either of them, at least
not yet. He needed them to believe he was the one in control, even
though he was not so sure any longer. It had been a long time. A
tremor passed through him. He felt Alistair pushing out, testing
him. His control was slipping backward as Alistair gained ground.
If he wasn’t careful he would lose what little ground he still had.
Pushing his mind to the limit, he used every bit of his reserve
strength he had acquired from the pit to get Alistair to bend to
his will once more.

    Alistair felt the nudge
against his mind. Shifting on his feet, he focused, pushing back
mentally, a force surged through him, he felt himself gaining
ground but just as suddenly he began to feel the slow intense burn
on the inside of his left arm, liquid fire filling every line … the
pain becoming unbearable. The marking on his arm throbbed, the
design glowing vibrant blue. Horrific memories slipped from the
crevices of his mind, binding him once more. His body shuddered. It
was too much to bear. Tearing his darkened gaze away he submitted
once more. He stalked purposely away.
    Adriane shuddered, clenching his hand into a
tight fist trying to release the pain that had gathered behind his
eyes. It felt like a thousand needles had been jammed into his
head. A drop of blood slipped from his nose, spattering to the
gravel underfoot. He quickly wiped it away before Alistair saw.
     
    Simon, however, caught the action. A slow
smile crept across his face as he turned away and walked over to
join Alistair.

ANXIOUS
     
    SATURDAY * 8:03 PM
     
    “ What time is it?” Moriah
asked, fidgeting nervously.
    “ About five minutes later
than the last time you asked,” Kingston replied, checking out
another crowd of people ambling down the drive. He spotted Colton
and Chance waving them over.
    “ I wonder what’s taking
them so long,” Moriah asked, looking up the drive watching Colton
and Chance waving towards Kingston. She spotted Heather Bishop and
her sidekicks, Addison and Brianna walking beside them.
    “ Babe, she’ll be back soon.
It does take a while to get to town and she had to shower,
right?”
    “ Right,”
Moriah said absently, watching Heather grab hold of Colton’s hand.
He leaned forward, saying something to her. Heather pulled back,
laughing, smacking him lightly. Dick.
    Chance broke away, jogging over as he pushed
his hand through his sun-streaked hair. “Hey, this looks totally
sweet. How’d you score this place?” he asked Kingston.
    “ I have my ways,” Kingston
said.
    “ Sure, right. Of course you
do,” Chance acknowledged, knowing full well Kingston’s family was
so loaded it wouldn’t surprise him if they owned the place and
everything else in a thousand mile radius. They were like the
Rockefellers of New England.
    Colton broke away from Heather and snuck up
behind Kingston. “Boo!” he yelled loudly in his ear and grabbed
hold of his shoulders, squeezing them. “
    Kingston didn’t even flinch. He turned,
annoyed, raising his brow defiantly. “Hey man, you’re rumpling my
shirt.”
    “ Dude calm down, it’s just
a