Previously published in the print anthology Dark Dreamers.
There are those who do terrible things in this world, and others who simply watch. As a gargoyle, sworn to protect the weak, Charlie can do neither.
He has been imprisoned by a witch, and his only release will come at his own destruction—or through the help of clairvoyant Aggie Durand. Held captive in a circle of sand while his brothers stand frozen in stone, his spirit can escape only through the agony of death—drifting outward as a phantom of warmth.
Guided by the cries of a kidnapped child, he seeks a champion and finds Agatha, a psychic investigator who navigates the shifting currents of the future. Fierce in her courage, she braves gunfire to shield the innocent—never expecting to feel her soul claimed by an unseen protector.
Sweet as a kiss, she is the one dream he does not dare desire—and yet, she might be his soul's salvation.