Knights of Stone - Lachlan by Lisa Carlisle Read Free Book Online Page B

battles, yet the main structure still stood strong and proud. High on the stone walls gargoyles perched as stone. Lachlan would choose the same location, watch for danger while basking under the sun or moon rather than hiding from the world in a dark cavern, the way other gargoyles had chosen to do. His feet became leaden as he led his brothers to the base of the castle. An entrance hidden in the rocks led to the various caverns where many gargoyles rested.
    He swallowed the distaste and greeted the gargoyles he recognized guarding the entrance. “We’re here to see my parents.”
    “We’ll get them,” the older of the two guards said. “Remain here.”
    He disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Lachlan shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Calum chit-chatted with the other guard, who was around his age. After minutes passed that stretched like days, their mother and father emerged.
    “My boys!” Their mother ran forward, hugging as many as she could in her reach. Since her sons were sizable, she then bear-hugged each one in turn, and then fretted over Calum the way she always did. He was the tallest of them all—and her baby.
    His mother’s warm welcome lessened the weight of anxiety tightening the back of his neck into knots. It was like lifting a massive obelisk off his back. Was there anything more comforting than a mother’s unconditional love?
    “How good for you to visit,” their father greeted them with a more stoic nod and pat on the back.
    When Lachlan asked for a moment with the two of them, their father led them away from the castle and stopped at a cluster of oversize rocks where they had more privacy. Lachlan, Bryce, and their mother followed while the others remained closer to the castle.
    “How are things?” their mother asked.
    Lachlan ground his teeth, searching for an appropriate response. “Eventful.”
    Their father assessed them through a steady gaze. “Your brothers?”
    Mason was in love with a tree witch, but that could wait. “No, they’re fine. It’s more of a transition on the isle.”
    “What happened?” His mother stepped forward, her voice filled with concern.
    His father’s voice was more guarded. “Something with your rock concerts, isn’t it?”
    The clan, including his father, was not pleased about the humans treading over the Isle of Stone. They took it as a sign to return to their ancestral homeland in the Highlands while Lachlan and his brothers remained, seeing an opportunity. For the first time, they could play their music as themselves rather than masquerading as humans the way they did touring European cities. Some gargoyles labeled the differences in opinion as a generation gap. Others called Lachlan and his brothers reckless and disrespectful to the ways of their clan.
    Yet none of them had ever played on stage, felt the rush from performing. When Lachlan and their brothers picked up instruments in their youth and taught themselves to play, it had opened a new world for them. A creative outlet. A way to express themselves in a way they’d never been able to in the many still hours as they watched from stone.
    When Lachlan played bass guitar on stage, he burned with vitality, experiencing a vibrant existence his life had lacked. The need for gargoyles in a world run by technology had changed, and they needed to adapt or they might as well die out like ancient relics. In a way, performing had given him a purpose, just as his new role as alpha had, but in a different way. If he could find a way to continue with both, that was all he’d ever need to live a meaningful life.
    “No, Da,” Lachlan answered his father in a measured tone. “There was an incident with the wolf shifters.”
    “You battled them?”
    “No. Let me explain.” Lachlan summarized what had happened with the wolves attacking the humans with as few details as possible. He rushed to the point where all had agreed to make peace and restore the veil.
    His father wasn’t having