It was just that the only person he trusted with it was himself.
He had to smile at his own hubris.
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions ...
He reached for a fountain pen from the edge of the desk and spread the sheets apart. Before he could get started, the fax machine in the corner began to clatter.
Hmm. He wasn't expecting anything. Out of an abundance of caution, he put his notes back in the drawer and locked it. The fax machine had stopped chattering by the time he was done. He went over to see what it had spit out.
The fax was from the University of Oslo in Norway, puzzling him, for he didn't remember requesting anything from them. Then he saw Jess's name on the top sheet, and remembered abruptly that she had mentioned she'd sent them some pages from the book for translating. With everything that had happened, he'd completely forgotten about that, and apparently, so had Jess.
He hesitated briefly, but there was nothing to suggest the faxes were meant to be for Jess's eyes only. There was a cover letter from the university, which he glanced at before flipping quickly through the pages of rough, blocky scans, most of them showing Norse runes with annotated translations in English written next to them. One page was almost entirely taken up with drawings of some sort of—medallion? An ornamental carving, perhaps? This one was annotated mostly with question marks.
Mace flipped back to the cover letter.
Here are the translations you requested. It's quite an interesting project. What did you say this is from? We were wondering if it was a fiction project you were working on, or perhaps something like another Voynich Manuscript, an authentically old manuscript with made-up contents. Or, rarest of all, an actual, untranslated version of a previously unknown myth. We'd be very interested in seeing the original!
Most of this is concerned with an object called Hrungnir's Heart. Hrungnir, if you aren't familiar, is a giant made of stone in Norse mythology. His heart is also said to be made of stone.
This manuscript talks about Hrungnir's Heart as a physical object that can be placed in a human or animal body and turn them to living stone like the mythological giant. It goes on to say that it can be used in reverse, to turn living stone to normal, inanimate stone once again.
We've never come across a story like this in the extant writings, so we would be fascinated to know where you found it!
By the way, we were also curious if you know someone named Professor Javic Lundgren. Is he a friend of yours? He's come around several times wanting to see the translations. We showed him what we had at the time, but if you can contact him, you can let him know the project is finished.
There was a nearly illegible faculty signature scribbled below—Dr. so & so.
Mace lowered the page and frowned deeply.
Perhaps the secret was not as lost as they had hoped.
This Javic ... could he be Black Robe? Or someone else looking for the book? Jess had mentioned that Black Robe had said he was working with others.
Mace flipped back to the drawings. It could be a medallion of stone, he thought.
Was it possible to turn someone into a gargoyle just by using a physical object, no ritual needed? Maybe the ancient Vikings were the earliest gargoyles. Perhaps they had the secret long before medieval alchemists came across it.
Memory stirred. Family legends half-forgotten. Stories told around the fireplace when he was only a child.
His mother used to say that his family came to Newfoundland originally because their people had lived here once. That once, very long ago, Newfoundland had been home to gargoyles.
It had been settled by Vikings, in the very distant past. But all of that was gone now.
Or was it?
He had to look for this thing ... Hrungnir's Heart. Maybe it didn't exist. Maybe it was only a legend.
But if it was real, he couldn't risk letting Black Robe beat them to it, and get his hands on it, and destroy them all.
If you enjoyed this book, please join my mailing list so you won't miss Mace's book, Stonewing Gargoyle, Stone Shifters #2, coming later in 2021!
Most of the previous events described in this book (Reive's poisoning and the fight with the gargoyles) took place in Dancer Dragon, Bodyguard Shifters #6, if you haven't read it yet. Available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!
Bodyguard Shifters #7, Babysitter Bear, will be out soon.
A note from Zoe Chant
Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list: http://www.zoechant.com/join-my-mailing-list/. You can also visit my webpage at zoechant.com or follow me on Facebook or Twitter. You are also invited to join my VIP Readers Group on Facebook!
Please consider reviewing Stoneskin Dragon, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
Stonewing Gargoyle, Stone Shifters #2, Mace’s book, will be out later in 2021. Also look for Babysitter Bear, Bodyguard Shifters #7, coming soon!
Cover art: © Depositphoto.com
Also by Zoe Chant
Bodyguard Shifters
Bearista
Pet Rescue Panther
Bear in a Bookshop
Day Care Dragon
Bull in a Tea Shop
Dancer Dragon
There is a convenient boxed set of the first four books.
Bears of Pinerock County
Sheriff Bear
Bad Boy Bear
Alpha Rancher Bear
Mountain Guardian Bear
Hired Bear
A Pinerock Christmas
Boxed Set #1 (collects Books 1-3)
Boxed Set #2 (collects Books 4-6)
And more … see my website for a full list at zoechant.com!
If you enjoyed this book, you might also like my paranormal romance and sci-fi romance written as Lauren Esker!
Shifter Agents
Handcuffed to the Bear
Guard Wolf
Dragon’s Luck
Tiger in the Hot Zone
Shifter Agents Boxed Set #1
(Collecting Handcuffed to the Bear, Guard Wolf, and Dragon's Luck)
Standalone Paranormal Romance
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Keeping Her Pride
Warriors of Galatea
Metal Wolf
Metal Dragon
Metal Pirate
Turn the page for a preview …
Preview: Shifter Agents
If you enjoyed Stoneskin Dragon, try SHIFTER AGENTS by Lauren Esker!
Full-length HEA shifter romantic suspense! The men and women of the Shifter Crimes Bureau fight to protect their mates and the other shifters in the Pacific Northwest.
Handcuffed to the Bear
Guard Wolf
Dragon’s Luck
Tiger in the Hot Zone
Boxed set: Books 1-3
Keep reading for a preview of the first book in the series, Handcuffed to the Bear: