Trouble with Gargoyles: an Urban Fantasy (Moonlight Dragon Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

through the front yard and crossed the sidewalk until we reached the iron gate surrounding Moonlight's yard. Here, Vale had to pause because of the magickal wards protecting the property.
    They wouldn't let him in, which meant I could have ditched him there. But deep down I was glad that he was pushing this. Moonlight had driven me to near suicide by chicken wings. It was time for some outside help, or at least another opinion. Feeling like you were going insane was kind of a lonely feeling.
    I entered the yard while he and Melanie watched from the safety of the sidewalk.
    "What are we doing?" Melanie whispered.
    "Why are you here?" Vale countered.
    "I could tell Christian wanted some time alone with his mother." Melanie's normally bright countenance dulled. "I think he's afraid she won't be able to return to her body and she'll eventually fade away."
    "I'll find out for certain," Vale promised, making it sound like he'd resurrect Diana's dead body if he had to. It was nice to have such a determined, kickass boyfriend.
    I rearranged the white quartz and the black obsidian in the yard so the rocks formed a new pattern. Every day required a new pattern that arose from my subconscious. It was a neat twist on the usual defense and one that Orlaton had taught me. For as much as a snotty brat as he was, he had been surprisingly helpful of late.
      The wards dropped silently but noticeably, as though someone had opened the door of a sealed room. One minute pressure was there, the next it had vanished. I approached the door of Moonlight with a trepidation I tried not to let my friends see or sense.
    After unlocking it, I hesitated with my hand on the knob. "Just so you know, anything could be inside. And I mean anything . Elvis riding an elephant, your last girlfriend turned into a man—it's all possible."
    Vale dismissed my warning with an impatient nod. "Just open the door, Moody."
    He asked for it…
    I pushed the door in.
    As soon as I did, Melanie gasped, "What is that ?"
    We all stepped inside for a closer look, which was the worst thing we could have done.

Chapte r 3
     
     
     
     
     
    The shop was dark. Close your eyes dark. That shouldn't have been possible because of the two large front windows facing the streetlights outside, not to mention the light that oozed in from the back studio.
    But something was up, not only because of the unnatural darkness but because it revealed flashes of blue within it, as though someone in the shadows was trying without much luck to spark up a lighter.
    It wasn't just one lighter, either. Maybe dozens of sparks periodically flashed throughout the shop in the vicinity of the ceiling. Oddly enough, it was a somewhat charming effect. It made me think of mini stars struggling to be born, or perhaps neon colored glow bugs trying to kick start their illumination. Or, just a bunch of really stoned concert-goers who'd bought shitty lighters. I could feel Vale and Melanie close behind me as I moved toward the tiny blinking lights to try to determine what they were.
    We made it easy for the front door to slam close under its own power. Made it easy for the room to go completely black. We all spun toward the door, but in my gut I sensed we'd already made our fatal mistake.
    I was right.
    The sparks above our heads suddenly exploded into brightness, prompting us to cry out and fling our hands up to shield our eyes. Our eyes rapidly grew accustomed, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
    I loved Star Wars: A New Hope. Who doesn't? Han Solo is hot in it. But I could unequivocally state that I wasn't a fan of the trash compactor scene when it was occurring within my own shop. Melanie screamed when she realized what was happening, which I admit was an expected response but it wasn't exactly helpful .
    "Moody, what the hell is going on?" Vale shouted above the rumble of four walls and a ceiling somehow managing to move toward us. The walls I got, but how did the ceiling come down when the walls