Page 22 of Rock Hard Alien

It was a very personal question, but if I wanted to protect her from everything that could do her harm, I needed to know her fears.

She ran a hand through her hair and didn't say anything for a while.

“The stone is... broken?”

“The stone stays buried.”

“Yes. That. I would have to think about that first. But I can give you part of an answer. I'm terrified of heights. Climbing ladders is the worst part of my job. I've learnt not to look down, but you get high enough that the ladder wobbles with every step and you know that if you slip, that's it... I hate it. I wish they'd built gargoyles and grotesques on ground level. Annoyingly, they're usually on roofs and walls, which means ladders. Scaffolding is slightly better, but we only use that if it's a longer restoration job because it takes so long to put it up.”

“Have you always been afraid of heights?”

“I think so. I can't remember a time when I wasn't.”

“Did something happen or-”

“Not every fear is based in trauma,” she interrupted. “Some people just don't like heights. It's not my fault you're a flying gargoyle and love being away from solid ground.”

Something had upset her.

“What's wrong?” I asked as gently as I could manage.

“I just once again realised just how big the difference is between us. Differences, plural. You fly. I'm scared of heights. You're huge. I have a tiny cottage. You're ancient. I'm about to turn thirty. You...”

“None of that matters. All of that can be overcome. Are you upset by these differences because you're starting to accept that you are my mate?”

She glared at me. “No. I'm just thinking about it... because.”

“Because what?”

“Because nothing. It's just because. Now stop and answer the question yourself. Biggest fear. Tell me.”

I didn't have to think about it. “Turning to stone once more. Unable to move, stuck, becoming a watcher who can never engage, never interfere. I have had to watch terrible things from that wall and I wasn't able to even close my eyes or turn my head. I had to watch whenever I was awake. Which is why I tried to sleep as much as I could. It is horrendous to be a permanent witness who has no chance to change anyone's destiny, least of all my own.”

Her expression softened. “That sounds awful.”

“It was. You waking me from petrification was the best moment of my life. Feeling life return to my fingers was-”

I wiggled the fingers of my right hand to make a point and froze. My thumb didn't move. My skin had gone hard around it.

Stone.

I was turning to stone once more.

Nine

Georgie

The terror on his face made my blood run cold. He hissed at his hand, a sound so full of desperation that I reached out and put a hand on his thigh. I would have wrapped my arm around his shoulders, but the wings were in the way and he was too tall.

“What's wrong?” I asked, but I could see the change in his skin myself. His hand was still the same colour, but while the texture of his skin was that of polished granite, his thumb now looked like dark sandstone. Just like when I'd first seen him on that castle wall.

He was turning back to stone.

“Why? Why now?”

He didn't answer.

“But I'm next to you. Touching you. You said being close to you would stop it from happening again.”