appearance just before you bespoke the spell. Tell me true, Karen."
92
Stone Heart
by Candace Sams
She wanted to be tactful, but he was watching her closely.
"Well ... you were a gargoyle ."
"Aye. I knew this from villagers who spoke around me while I was cursed. But how did I look?"
She sighed, shrugged her shoulders then let him have it.
"You were pretty revolting. But then ... a lot of gargoyles affect me that way. In my opinion, they all look sort of menacing."
"Tell me more," he insisted.
"All right." She paused and wished he hadn't asked. "You had a leering devil's face, horns on your head, two stupid-looking, tiny wings on your back, and there were stone chains wrapped around four heavy, lion-like legs." She waited for him to respond, but he didn't right away. It seemed as though he was contemplating this information before commenting.
"The Sorceress who bespelled me wanted my stone appearance to be a reflection of the life I led. She succeeded."
"I don't believe that. You've been a complete gentleman with me and anyone else we've encountered. There's nothing menacing about you, except your size. You have half the people in the restaurant smiling at you. Even the woman at the hotel desk thought you were a hunk. A complete side of beef." Karen added the last part as a way of expressing her own opinion without his knowing.
"What is the meaning of the word hunk and why would the lass have thought me something fit to be served as a meal?"
Karen laughed. "Those are compliments . I'm telling you that the girl thought you were extremely attractive. You were 93
Stone Heart
by Candace Sams
kind and irresistibly handsome. Didn't you notice how she looked at you?"
"Ah, yes. I noticed her expression, but was not sure she really thought me handsome so much as she simply lusted.
She should be more careful casting suggestive looks. I ignored her, but someone else may not. Someone, like the man I once was, might take advantage of the looks she did cast. That would no' be something she bargained for."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, lass, that I once would have taken advantage of a girl who looked upon me in such a way. Whether she wanted my affections or no'. That is one of many reasons why the Sorceress saw fit to make a horrifying sight of me. The face you saw was that of a lecher. The leer represented my lack of propriety, and the wings were made small to represent my fall from whatever grace exists on this Earth. The chains bound me in that state and were meant to hold me forever."
Karen shook her head and her hair swung over her shoulder. "I don't believe that! The person you're describing wouldn't have saved a little girl's pet and earned her lifelong devotion. And if the Sorceress had thought you were that bad and she had the power, why didn't she just kill you?"
Whatever anyone else thought of him, this kind giant was incapable of any sort of harm, as far as she could tell.
"What she did was worse than kill me. I wanted to die.
Many times." He paused. "Then you came and I knew redemption. I have had a very long time to think over the wrongs I have done to others. I will spend the rest of my life trying to purge them."
94
Stone Heart
by Candace Sams
"I don't care what you say, or what you've done in the past. You're not capable of hurting anyone. I won't ever believe that."
His heart warmed at her words of loyalty though he knew they were misplaced. "You don't know me a'tall. Believe me when I tell you I have done unspeakable things, Karen.
Nothing was beyond me. Nothing."
"Even if I believed what you're saying, that was then . It was a long time ago," she argued. He looked away as if the landscape was more interesting than the conversation they were sharing. Before he did, she glimpsed a terrible pain in his eyes. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him. Questions about her ancestor and what had happened while he was cursed. But clearly, he didn't want her to continue the
92
Stone Heart
by Candace Sams
She wanted to be tactful, but he was watching her closely.
"Well ... you were a gargoyle ."
"Aye. I knew this from villagers who spoke around me while I was cursed. But how did I look?"
She sighed, shrugged her shoulders then let him have it.
"You were pretty revolting. But then ... a lot of gargoyles affect me that way. In my opinion, they all look sort of menacing."
"Tell me more," he insisted.
"All right." She paused and wished he hadn't asked. "You had a leering devil's face, horns on your head, two stupid-looking, tiny wings on your back, and there were stone chains wrapped around four heavy, lion-like legs." She waited for him to respond, but he didn't right away. It seemed as though he was contemplating this information before commenting.
"The Sorceress who bespelled me wanted my stone appearance to be a reflection of the life I led. She succeeded."
"I don't believe that. You've been a complete gentleman with me and anyone else we've encountered. There's nothing menacing about you, except your size. You have half the people in the restaurant smiling at you. Even the woman at the hotel desk thought you were a hunk. A complete side of beef." Karen added the last part as a way of expressing her own opinion without his knowing.
"What is the meaning of the word hunk and why would the lass have thought me something fit to be served as a meal?"
Karen laughed. "Those are compliments . I'm telling you that the girl thought you were extremely attractive. You were 93
Stone Heart
by Candace Sams
kind and irresistibly handsome. Didn't you notice how she looked at you?"
"Ah, yes. I noticed her expression, but was not sure she really thought me handsome so much as she simply lusted.
She should be more careful casting suggestive looks. I ignored her, but someone else may not. Someone, like the man I once was, might take advantage of the looks she did cast. That would no' be something she bargained for."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, lass, that I once would have taken advantage of a girl who looked upon me in such a way. Whether she wanted my affections or no'. That is one of many reasons why the Sorceress saw fit to make a horrifying sight of me. The face you saw was that of a lecher. The leer represented my lack of propriety, and the wings were made small to represent my fall from whatever grace exists on this Earth. The chains bound me in that state and were meant to hold me forever."
Karen shook her head and her hair swung over her shoulder. "I don't believe that! The person you're describing wouldn't have saved a little girl's pet and earned her lifelong devotion. And if the Sorceress had thought you were that bad and she had the power, why didn't she just kill you?"
Whatever anyone else thought of him, this kind giant was incapable of any sort of harm, as far as she could tell.
"What she did was worse than kill me. I wanted to die.
Many times." He paused. "Then you came and I knew redemption. I have had a very long time to think over the wrongs I have done to others. I will spend the rest of my life trying to purge them."
94
Stone Heart
by Candace Sams
"I don't care what you say, or what you've done in the past. You're not capable of hurting anyone. I won't ever believe that."
His heart warmed at her words of loyalty though he knew they were misplaced. "You don't know me a'tall. Believe me when I tell you I have done unspeakable things, Karen.
Nothing was beyond me. Nothing."
"Even if I believed what you're saying, that was then . It was a long time ago," she argued. He looked away as if the landscape was more interesting than the conversation they were sharing. Before he did, she glimpsed a terrible pain in his eyes. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him. Questions about her ancestor and what had happened while he was cursed. But clearly, he didn't want her to continue the
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