“Many cultures know of Cassia and Adria—though they call them by different names—and many the universe over love them for their sacrifice and their benevolence. Adria loved order so much that she created laws to govern the universe that the sisters both adored and despised. Then she created humans and declared them the perfect creation.”

The Crone snarls a little at this, like she can’t believe anyone could have the nerve to call humans perfect. And while I’m a paranormal now versus a regular human, the girl who was raised in the human world for seventeen years of her life bristles a little at the animosity, even as I acknowledge that a lot of it is completely justified. After all, look what we’ve done to Adria’s planet…and to one another.

“Cassia, on the other hand, loved chaos and—not to be outdone by her perfect sister—created paranormal creatures and declared them flawless as well.” She smiles kindly at us. “And here you all are, children of Cassia’s love and imagination.”

She pauses like she expects us to thank her, but no matter who the Crone thinks she is, I have a hard time imagining she’s one of the two goddesses in a millennia-old creation myth. Call me skeptical, but it’s a little hard to believe—even in a world where vampires and dragons walk the earth.

“But from the moment they were created, humans and paranormals have been at odds,” the Crone continues a little abruptly when a wave of adoration doesn’t immediately come her way. “And so Cassia and Adria watched as their beautiful creations went to war. Humans, who believed in order, tried to tame the universe. They set rules for everything and gave everything a place in the order of things. Paranormals, on the other hand”—she shakes her head like a benevolent mother who will never understand her children—“have never flourished in order. They like to fight, like to sow discord and havoc wherever they go.

“This angered Adria, who was furious at the way her children were being destroyed by the children of chaos.” She looks particularly hard at Hudson, as if vampires—and he in particular—are responsible for everything bad that’s ever happened in the world. “Seeing her creation being destroyed broke Adria, and she poisoned the Cup of Life that was meant to nourish her sister and her. It was the cup that would allow them to travel through realms and continue creation in them all.”

She shakes her head at Adria’s wickedness. “And when Cassia, the goddess of chaos, went to drink from the cup, she was immediately poisoned and fell to earth as a demigod, her powers half of what they once were. Adria felt bad for her sister but felt righteous in her decision to protect her creatures and the order necessary for all to flourish. Except the silly goddess forgot one very important thing.”

She pauses dramatically, even goes so far as to drain the rest of her lemonade in one long sip.

Macy is on the edge of her seat now, her hands twisted in her own dress as she all but wills the Crone to continue. “What happened?” she finally asks when the Crone doesn’t continue fast enough for her. “What happened to Adria?”

“She forgot the most important advice Aciel had given her. The universe requires balance in all things—and she paid the price.”

“What price did she pay?” Flint asks, and he, too, looks like he’s dying to know what happened.

“And what happened to Cassia?” Macy asks. “Was she okay?”

“Adria fell to earth, too, as a demigod stripped of some of her most important powers. For what befalls one sister must always befall the other—to maintain balance. It is the oldest magic in the universe.” She shakes her head as though sad the sisters had forgotten this lesson and what was to happen next. “And Aciel, who had loved and adored them their entire life, abandoned them. They said it was only until they learned their lesson, that once they learned how to get along—how to balance chaos and order—they would come to get the twins.”

Her voice trails off as she looks past us and out the large glass picture windows at the back of the room. “But that was a long time ago,” she finally whispers. “And Aciel has never come back for either of them.

“And so, the story goes, Cassia and Adria are trapped on this earth to this day, forced to watch as generation after generation of paranormals hunts generation after generation of humans and vice versa. Both sides constantly fighting, refusing to compromise, unable to live in any kind of harmony or balance—just like the sisters who created them.”

Her voice hitches just a little and she pauses, blows out a long, slow breath, as if telling this part of the story physically hurts her. Eventually, though, she continues in little more than a whisper. “As fights continued between the two creations and resulted in the First Great War, both sides pleaded with their creators to choose a side, so that finally they could live in harmony—even if that meant wiping the other side out of existence altogether.

“And so Adria began to help her beloved humans, training them in the way of hunting and destroying paranormals once and for all. They destroyed lives, ravaged whole villages of paranormals, brought some of the species to the brink of extinction, but still the paranormals wouldn’t yield. Still they continued to fight the humans until a devastating chaos reigned over the world.”

She pauses for a moment, her gaze skimming past everyone else and focusing on me alone.

Her eyes are super freaky now, glowing so brightly that they hardly seem real. Tension grows in the room as she stares at me, and shivers work their way down my spine. Even before she says, “It was into this chaos, this disorder, these extremes of love and hate, that you—that all gargoyles—were born.”

96

Balance Beams Aren’t

Just for Gymnasts…

But They Should Be

My whole body flashes from cold to hot to cold again as her words sizzle on my skin and skate along my every nerve ending.

I’ve tried to remain unaffected by her dramatics, tried to act like the story of Cassia and Adria wasn’t nearly as fascinating as it is. But she’s got me with this one—and the satisfied smile on her face as her eyes return to semi-normal says she knows it.

This is what I’ve been looking for in all those books. This is the origin story of gargoyles that I haven’t been able to find anywhere.

Hudson must sense my excitement, because he slides his hand across the small amount of couch cushion between us and wraps his pinkie around mine. A whole different kind of nervous energy slams through me at the first brush of his skin against mine.

When he uses his pinkie to gently squeeze mine, I squeeze his right back. And am shocked by the amount of heat that small interaction sends spiraling through my entire being.

As if sensing she’s lost my attention, the Crone clears her throat several times. Only when all five of us have refocused our attention on her does she finally begin this latest iteration of her story.

“Though the deity had left Cassia and Adria to suffer alongside their creations, Aciel had not forsaken them completely. And so, upon realizing that the world and creatures created by the daughters might never find balance—which would leave them trapped on earth forever—Aciel gifted them with a creation of their own. Gargoyles.”

She gives me an eerie smile, the one that has the hair on the back of my neck standing up straight. In response, I can feel something deep inside me stirring, coming to life. At first I think it’s my own gargoyle, responding to the rapid changes in my body as I try to absorb all the information the Crone is giving us.

But then I hear his voice deep inside me. I haven’t heard it for weeks, but I recognize it the moment he starts to talk.

No, he tells me. No, no, no. You need to go.

It’s okay, I tell the Unkillable Beast, who is somehow managing to talk to me despite the distance between us. She won’t hurt us.

This is bad, bad, bad, he tells me.

It’s okay, I say again. I need to know how we were created. I need to know what happened to us.

He doesn’t say anything else, just sends me a feeling of foreboding before fading away. I just wish I knew if it was because he’s trapped and needs me to come release him or if it’s because he knows something I don’t and is trying to tell it to me…or trying to keep it from me.

Don’t worry, I tell him. I promise I’ll come back for you. I promise I’ll free you.

But he’s gone as easily and unexpectedly as he came.

“So this deity, who created the girls, made gargoyles?” Luca asks, eyes narrowed in concentration.