Etched In Stone: Cursed, #1

By Prometheus Susan

Benton had no idea that his decisions had such dire consequences. Not only did witches exist, he had chosen to put the wrong one in the 'friend zone'. Now, his mistake led to his curse. Deemed to spend life as a gargoyle. Unless, true love really existed? 

 

Delphine had broken up with her boyfriend, Mike. But he refused to take no for an answer. Figuring that taking her chances with the dead was easier, she bought a cemetery to escape her stalker ex. 

 

Something about the gargoyle statue drew her in. 

 

Something about her, made the resident spirits welcome her. 

 

Will Delphine escape from her ex? Is she the one to break the curse for Benton? Or will their forever be etched in stone?

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Prometheus Susan
• Release date: Jul 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223278177

Prometheus Susan

Prometheus is the mother of two boys, 19 and 26. As well as a loving wife to her husband of 31 years.  She lives in northern Illinois with her family, two cats,pet bunny, Fred and a puppy, Bear.. An avid Chicago Bears football fan regardless of how bad they play. But differs from the rest of the family in regards to baseball. They are Cub fans while she is a Brewers fan.  For years, Prometheus has had stories floating around in her head when she finally decided to put them to paper. Following a long-held dream of being an author. Bringing the crazy muses that she had to life, sharing them with everyone else.  Besides her love for her family and friends, coffee is her biggest love and addiction. The summer will find her at the beach or waterpark, soaking up those beautiful rays of sunshine. She finds cooking to be very relaxing, experimenting with new recipes. Crafting is one of her other ways to relax and unwind. Pink and sparkly is her signature. 

Book preview

Etched

In

Stone

By Prometheus Susan

Copyright 2022 Prometheus Susan

Etched in Stone

Written by Prometheus Susan

Cover art by. Anytime Author Promotions

Published by Prometheus Susan

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, dialogues, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real in any form. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, locations, living or dead is coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author.

Table of Contents

Etched In Stone

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter 1                        

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

About the Author

Other titles by Author

To all my dear friends and family.

Thank you for your understanding, support, and love. Without all of you, this dream would not be a reality.

Thank you for being there when I needed a shoulder to cry on, bounce ideas off of, or when my mind is going a million different directions and I’m not making much sense. Or when the writer's block hits and so does the frustration.

Thank you to all  my readers. These stories are dear to my heart. Sharing them with you is a dream come true. Thank you for all your support.

Each of you means the world to me. Love ya all. 

She was not being unreasonable. Glenda knew that she was right. He was stringing her along. Benton needed to be taught a lesson. You do not play with a woman's emotions and walk away. "It was you that turned my heart to stone. Therefore you will suffer the same fate as my heart until the kiss from your true love sets you free. Sunrise to sunset, your fate will be as ice cold as stone. Never will you travel far, for your place will be where souls go to rest until that kiss. Forever will the gargoyle be a part of you."

He waved to her as she left. Her words had a sting to them at the time. Benton didn't understand why his skin tingled besides blaming it on the wind that had picked up. He went over to Amy's house to watch a movie. Ended up getting home at the time the sun was starting to rise. He remembered the feeling of lightness in his body, the transporting of time, then the cold feel of stone. When he opened his eyes, he could not move. His vision was blurred as he looked through the stone eyes of a gargoyle situated in the middle of a cemetery. Life as he knew it was over. All because he had not loved Glenda.

Chapter 1

He would roast them for dinner if one more pigeon shit on his head. He hated Spring. Truth be told, since he became what he was, he hated all seasons. Summers were too hot, with the sun beating down upon him. Winters were too cold. Icicles hung from different body parts. Snow buried him until the night came.

Autumn and Spring brought about the rain. Benton didn't mind that as much. It was the emerging birds and animals when the weather turned warmer. Especially those damn rats with wings. If they weren't shitting on him, they were trying to build a nest on any surface of his body. He wasn't there for them to sit on. The problem was, he couldn't shoo them off of his body. He was at their mercy until the sun went down on the western horizon.

Then again, none of this would be a problem if he hadn't pissed off a witch. He would still be human. Instead, from sunrise to sunset, he was a stone gargoyle. Benton hadn't expected to feel the heat or cold while in the form. There wasn't anything he didn't feel. A bird pecking at the top of his head hurt. Brisk wind, whipping up the dirt from the ground, stung when it hit him. A hail storm was fucking painful. He couldn't cover his head or face and wasn't able to move. A modern-day stoning, except, it was ice.

There were one or two bright spots in his existence. He got to scare teenagers. They usually visited during the month of Halloween. He left them alone if they weren't being disrespectful or disruptive. Most were respectful of the graves. It was the ones who had taken liquor bottles from mom and dad's stash, swigging from the bottle, that were the troublemakers. Acting as though they were the first to do this. It was the age-old, right of passage where kids stole liquor to have their parties.

Hell, he had done it. Been sick as shit the next day too, wishing for death as if it would stop the rolling of his stomach and that pounding in his head. His grandmother had not been sympathetic. She blared music as she vacuumed. If that wasn't bad enough, his grandfather had him outside in the sun doing yard work. That was also the last time Benton had a hangover. Lesson learned the hard way.

He had learned that he could stay as a gargoyle after the sun went down. Benton could move in that form once it was dark. He enjoyed waiting until one of the kids would come near enough to him that he could reach out and touch them. It never got old when they turned around, he smiled, and they ran off screaming. You filled in your time the best you could when it was unlimited.

As far as he knew, his time as a stone gargoyle was unlimited. He remembered what Glenda had said. It was you that turned my heart to stone. Therefore you will suffer the same fate as my heart until the kiss from your true love sets you free. Forever will the gargoyle be a part of you. Forever seemed unlimited to him. What she meant by that forever part, he had no clue. The kiss would never happen.

How the hell was he to find his true love when he was set in stone for most of the day, returning to the same spot as soon as the sun started to lighten the sky. Come nightfall, he could turn human and leave the cemetery. There were a few problems with that. He had no money, no change of clothing, and no way for any woman to contact him. His future was not the brightest. Same thing day in and day out.

His actions would have been different if he could go back in time. Benton wished he knew then what he knew now. Unfortunately, life didn't work that way. He reflected back on his life. There was not a time that he had caused anyone harm. He had been helpful to those around him. Benton had prayed that Glenda would realize that she had overreacted and come back. That never happened. He never saw her after that night she put the spell, hex, or whatever it was on him.

Chapter 2

It began as a typical Friday night. Benton and his buddies got together after work at their favorite bar. Greasy food, plenty of beer, shots, and a few pool games to start the weekend off. Same as the Friday before and the one before that. If it was a holiday week, their Friday night became Saturday. None of them wanted to stay out late and be up at the crack of dawn for work the next day.

He should never have talked to Glenda at the bar. Benton was refilling their pitcher of beer. She had been the first one to speak. He made small talk with her while waiting. She was a beautiful woman in a bar on a Friday night. He bought her a drink. Hard to believe that was three years ago.

Before he knew it, she had joined their game of pool. He had played right into her trap. Of course, Benton hadn't realized it was a trap that night. Nor had he realized she was as vindictive as she was. If there had been red flags, he hadn’t seen them. Would his outcome have been different if he’d ignored her that night? He didn't have the answer to that.

He’d been a gentleman. She’d laid the hints down strongly that going home with him was an option. He’d told her that wouldn’t work because he lived with his grandparents. Glenda had no problem sneaking in or taking him to her home. She’d been persistent. He might have taken her up on the offer if he wasn't taking his grandparents shopping the following day. Would it have made a difference? Benton doubted it.

They did make dinner plans for that Saturday night. They had a great time Friday night, so Benton wanted to see where it would go. He was attracted to her and she seemed to feel the same way about him. If they clicked, great; if not, they could be friends. Or that was his thinking.

He had been dead wrong. The dinner date led to a movie date which was the end. The goodnight kiss from the dinner date had him wondering about their chemistry. Movie night sealed the deal for him. Benton felt like he was kissing his sister when he kissed Glenda. There was no desire or passion. Physical contact felt wrong. There was nothing sexual about what he was feeling.

It wasn't her; it was him. There was no chemistry between them for him. Usually, a deep kiss from a beautiful woman and his cock got hard. The feel of her against him, and the smell of her hair, would spark that desire to move his hands and touch places on her body that ignited a passion for her. None of that happened with Glenda. If anything, his cock went into hiding. Afraid to come out.

That was when the trouble started. He had taken Glenda out to dinner after the movie date. Explained politely that he wasn't feeling any chemistry between them. He told her it wasn't her, it was him. Benton took all the blame for there not being anything sexual developing between them, but he would like to be friends. He enjoyed her company. She was fun to be around.

Benton had thought she understood what he was saying. He thought he was clear as day. Once again, he had been dead wrong. After that night, they went to the movies or to dinner. He didn't realize his actions could be taken as something that wasn't there. They hadn't shared a kiss since that first movie date. He had kept his hands to himself. Evidently, none of that had mattered.

He held open the doors for her. He paid when they went out. Benton made good money. He didn't mind paying for friends. If he did the invite, then he paid. You never expected a woman to pay. That was how he was brought up.

Chapter 3

They did this friend's night once a week for a few months. Benton enjoyed hanging out with Glenda. All came to a head when they were out shooting pool, and a woman was flirting with him. He was flirting back. She bought him a drink, and he bought her one. Normal interactions between a man and a woman who found each other attractive.

Glenda was not happy about the interaction. Benton should have known then that something was up. But he hadn't, he figured as his friend, she didn't think the woman was good enough for him. What else could he have thought? Glenda was hanging on him. He gently set her off of him. Her reply when asked what she was doing was simple. I'm saving you from making the biggest mistake of your life.

Benton thought Glenda meant that the woman would break his heart. That she would use him for money or gifts. Cheat on him. The list was endless of what that statement could have meant. Never would he have thought that Glenda meant he would end up cursed forever. The idea had never crossed his mind that Glenda meant if she couldn't have him, no one could.

He had shrugged off her curt, under the breath comments about the woman. Showing less skin is more ladylike. Did she drown in that bottle of perfume? Blonde is not her natural hair color. Those breasts are not genuine. Does she not know how to keep her hands to herself? Could she be any more slutty? She is practically humping your leg.

Benton did want to find out if the woman's breasts were natural or not. He found her sexually attractive. Taking her home for the night was worth the risk of waking his grandparents. That was probably his biggest mistake. He had gone home with her. Glenda was fuming, but he hadn't thought much of it.