Gargoyles I, II, III: Dark Angel Alliance

by Rach Elle

  The creature continued to growl, his red eyes the only thing Sunders could see. They were low to the ground, like it was on all fours. The monster bared his white fangs which flashed in the moonlight and he started moving closer. On instinct Sunders lifted his gun and pointed it at the monster. “Stay back,” he warned, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  The creature stopped and cocked its head to the side. Sunders’ relief was short lived as the gargoyle began to stand up; its massive size suddenly overpowering in the darkness. It spread its wings and whipped its tail against the ground. Sunders’ hands quivered even more and he prepared his finger to pull the trigger. Suddenly, the creature took after him, his large legs moving at a sprint. Sunders didn’t have time to think, he pulled the trigger and the bullet exploded from the barrel. The monster jumped out of the way and into a rose bush as the bullet ricocheted off of the cobble stone. The sound of the gun fire echoed in Sunders’ ears and his eyes whipped back and forth to see where the monster had gone.

  A vicious roar sounded to the right as the huge beast leaped from out of a rose bush. He landed on all fours in front of the Finder. Sunders re-aimed his gun and the monster pivoted to the left, slicing his tail through the cold air and knocking the gun out of the Finder’s hands. Sunders stumbled backward and tripped over his pack, landing with a painful thud.

  Quickly, he reached into his bag and pulled out a tazer. Without worrying about his aim he pulled the trigger and watched as electrodes latched onto the gargoyle, bringing him to his knees in pain. The creature howled as Sunders dropped the tazer, grabbed the last weapon he had – a knife – and turned to run away. He stopped almost instantly at the sight of another gargoyle standing mere meters in front of him. His eyes were red and his fangs were bared. He walked slowly out of the shadows and into the moonlight, growling violently. Sunders’ eyes widened as he took in the sight of him. He had shoulder length, flowing blonde hair and a frightening scar running along one side of his face.

  In defense Sunders lifted his knife, jabbing it in the air toward the blonde gargoyle. He began swinging it wildly back and forth, hoping to fend off the beast. Swiftly, the gargoyle lifted his hand and stopped the knife midair, his fingers wrapping around the blade as it cut deeply into his palm. Blood began seeping down his arm. Sunders stared with horror into its eyes, searching for some sign of pain; but the gargoyle didn’t even flinch. He snatched the knife from Sunders’ hands, threw it to the side and latched onto the collar of his shirt. He lifted the Finder centimeters off the ground and slammed him against a ballroom window.

  As Sunders dangled at the mercy of the two gargoyles before him he barely processed the sound of someone opening the ballroom door.

  “Bloody hell,” a female English voice blurted, “Is it a Protector?”

  “That’s my best guess,” the blonde growled centimeters from the Finder’s face.

  “N… no… no,” Sunders stuttered from behind his ski mask. “I’m not a Protector. Please, I didn’t come here to hurt you.”

  “Could’ve fooled me,” the large gargoyle said as he gripped his recently tazered chest.

  “How many more of you?” The blonde asked. When Sunders couldn’t find his words he slammed him against the window again and demanded, “Tell me how many more there are!”

  “N… none; I came alone.”

  “Bullshit,” the female voice said again. Sunders looked past the beast in front of him to see a petite brunette wearing a soft pink nightgown.

  “No, really,” Sunders continued, “No DAA, no officers; no one knows I’m here.”

  “So they won’t miss you if you don’t come back,” she bit.

  “What’s going on?” A strong, urgent, American male voice asked.

  Sunders managed to turn his head to the side just long enough to see Junior Cross in his human form walk through the ballroom doors. “Junior!” Sunders blurted. “Junior Cross, it’s me!”

  The two gargoyles and the female looked at Junior with shock, who stared at the masked Scotsman with confusion. He narrowed his eyes and slowly reached outward. Sunders could feel Junior’s fingers grip the ski mask before lifting it off of his head.

  “Shit,” Junior cursed. Before him was the man from the park; his face only slightly less busted than the last time he saw him.

  “You know him?” The blonde asked, his red eyes turning to icy blue.

  “Unfortunately.”

  “Is he DAA?”

  “Yeah.”

  The blonde’s eyes flashed to red again and his lips peeled back from his fangs.

  “It’s not what you think!” Sunders cried. “Tell them Junior; tell them how I helped you in the park!”

  Junior looked to the ground and clenched his jaw. He didn’t want to show any compassion to the man that led Protectors right to him.

  “Tell them, please,” the Finder continued to beg. “The old gargoyle would be dead if it wasn’t for me.”

  Junior cringed.

  “And Awilda would be…”

  Junior’s eyes burned red as he lunged toward the Finder, latching onto shoulders, ripping him free of Zeff’s grasp and throwing the man to the ground; his body and head bouncing off of the cobble stone before sliding to a stop. Junior stared down at the limp Finder as he struggled to move even slightly, before passing out completely.

  Everyone stood in silence for a moment before Junior’s eyes returned to blue. He exhaled loudly and grumbled, “Let’s get him inside.”

  Cooper and Zeff looked at each other, each searching for the other’s consensus. Finally they both headed into the ballroom as Bawli lifted the Finder’s legs and Junior lifted him by his shoulders. Together they moved the unconscious Finder into the castle.

  27

  Sunders didn’t open his eyes, even though he could tell he was awake. His lids felt too heavy and he had a throbbing headache. It didn’t take long for him to realize he was tied to a chair; and he wasn’t alone.

  “So who the hell is he?” Cooper asked.

  “He’s the Finder that brought Awilda here; to this country.” Junior said, studying the man that pretended to be asleep.

  Zeff turned and headed up the staircase.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Cooper called to him.

  “To get the last piece of the puzzle,” he said over his shoulder.

  Cooper crossed her arms in a huff. She looked back to Junior. “How did he find us?”

  Junior shook his head slowly, “I guess that’s why he’s a Finder; he’s good at his job.”

  “What else does he know?” She waited until he looked at her. “Does he know that we shift?” She mouthed the last word.

  Junior appeared unfazed as he nodded. “I was a gargoyle in the park. He recognized me almost instantly tonight.”

  “Bloody brilliant,” she cursed, “now the DAA knows everything about us.”

  “No,” Junior narrowed his eyes at the Finder, “just him.”

  “And the bloke with the flash drive, remember?”

  “I’d be willing to bet he’s the same guy. He’s the one that led the Protectors to the park so he was probably the one monitoring the hotel too. My guess is he saw Kingsley shift and that’s how he knows who I am.”

  “And you don’t think he told anyone?” Cooper crooked a brow.

  Junior shook his head, “He turned against the Protectors in the park. He made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t there to kill. When the Protectors thought differently he fought against his own men. I don’t think he told anyone what he knows, and I don’t think they know where he is right now.”

  “So if we dispose of him no one will come looking.” Cooper said flatly.

  Junior’s ears perked at the sound of rapid footfalls reaching the top of the stair case. “Unfortunately,” he looked at Cooper, “that’s not your decision to make.”

  Awilda flew down the staircase and ran across the living room to the beaten and tied Sunders. She reached the Scotsman and kneeled in front
of him, “Sunders,” she cooed as his heavy eyes slowly lifted, “Oh Sonny, are you alright?”

  Sunders did his best to muster a smile, “Just a headache is all.”

  Tauggle appeared next to Cooper, who recoiled instantly.

  “Nice to see you too,” he mumbled.

  “What the hell is going on?” Cooper breathed.

  Zeff reached the bottom of the stairs and continued his even, long strides to the commotion in the center of the room. “I figured the girl deserved to be privy to the conversation.”

  Cooper dropped her arms in a huff. “Is no one else concerned that the Dark Angel Alliance may be kicking down our front door at any moment?”

  Zeff pursed his lips, “Perhaps it would ease our minds if we knew whether or not he was really alone. Tauggle, can you do a perimeter sweep?”

  Tauggle frowned, “What, and ruin my view?”

  “What view?” Cooper asked.

  Tauggle smiled coyly as his eyes wandered the length of her slender body sitting beneath a soft pink nightgown that barely reached her thighs. Cooper’s eyes widened in disgust and she threw her arms around herself to try and hide from his prying eyes. She turned and ran up the stairs toward her room to grab a robe. Tauggle watched her tiny strides carry her swiftly up each step. He smiled playfully at Zeff, “She’s delightful,” he mocked.

  “Tauggle,” Awilda’s soft voice caught his attention, “please do a perimeter search like Zeff said.”

  Tauggle slightly lowered his head and disappeared.

  “Should Dr. Crispin be here for this too?” Bawli asked from his stance in the corner.

  “I went to his room; he’s in no condition to be included.” Zeff said.

  “So we’re making the decision without him?”

  Zeff nodded.

  Awilda looked up at the scarred gargoyle with alertness. “What decision?” She asked.

  Zeff’s eyes slowly drifted over to Junior, who still watched the Finder intently.

  Junior could feel everyone staring at him, waiting for him to field the question. He didn’t want to. He knew it would only make Awilda hate him more. Finally, he looked into her eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat, “The decision of whether or not to let him go.”

  Awilda furrowed her brow in confusion, “Of course we’ll let him go, what other option is there? He can’t live here. I’m sure Cooper would never go for that.” She watched the sadness overtake Junior’s deep blue irises as he remained still and silent. Tears suddenly threatened to sting her eyes. “Wait,” she choked, “you can’t,” she lowered her voice to a whisper even though she knew Sonny could hear every word, “you can’t kill him.”

  “We don’t know if we can trust him,” Zeff began, his voice stern and solid. “He could lead others to us.”

  “Then don’t shift!” Awilda blurted out before gasping and cupping her hand over her mouth.

  “It’s alright,” Bawli said, “Junior said he already knows.”

  Awilda dropped her hand. “Well good,” she continued, “So if, and I do mean if he can’t be trusted and he brings a whole army here, just don’t shift. Even if they do believe his crazy story about shape-shifting gargoyles there’s no way he’d be able to prove it.”

  “It’s true,” Sunders cut in, his head still reeling. He was still having trouble processing the likely bleakness of his very near future. “It would be pointless for me to tell anyone about you. I have no proof.”

  “Only because we intervened,” Zeff grumbled.

  The image of the two boys that stole his flash drive played in Sunders’ mind. Of course they were a part of this group. Hell, they were probably shifters for all he knew. He suddenly felt very helpless; and not just because he was tied to a chair.

  “Even if he couldn’t prove our existence to others,” Zeff continued, “we would still be under surveillance; the DAA monitoring our every move. We would have to leave this city and start anew elsewhere; that is assuming we can escape their watchful eyes.” He shook his head, “We can’t afford to be as much as a blip on their radar; too much trouble.”

  “But killing an innocent man isn’t?” Awilda could feel the tears building behind her eyes.

  “He was trespassing.”

  “He’s not here to hurt any of you!” She cried.

  Zeff exhaled slowly and clenched his jaw to remain stoic. He looked away from Awilda’s crying eyes and said in a low voice, “You don’t know that.”

  “Yes, I do,” she choked. When Zeff wouldn’t show any emotion her eyes darted to Junior. “You know it too,” she continued, “You saw him in the park. He tried to help us.”

  “I thought he led Protectors right to you,” Cooper’s harsh voice interrupted as she reached the bottom of the stairs in her thick, floor-length robe.

  “That was before,” Awilda tried to explain. She continued to beg on her knees, “Please, Junior.” Finally he raised his sorrowful eyes to meet hers. As tears streamed down her cheeks she whispered, “Please.”

  Tauggle appeared behind Sunders. “The property is clear of intrusion; he’s alone.” He reported to no one in particular.

  “Good,” Cooper said flatly. “What’s our decision then? You all know my vote.”

  Junior’s stare never wavered from Awilda’s brown eyes. The irises quivered under blankets of tears. She looked so small and helpless. His mind pushed past the memories of their fights, the pain he’d caused her in the park and the pain she’d caused him when she pulled away from his kiss; and he landed on the memory of her huddled beneath him as he faced off with the Protectors. Despite all the words that had been exchanged between them and the horrific mistake he almost made; she held him. His mind replayed so vividly the feel of her slender arms wrapping around his body and her head pressing against his chest. He could remember the smell of her hair and the sound of tiny sobs escaping her lips. She was so scared but she trusted him to protect her; and it gave him strength. Regardless of what has happened or what will happen between them neither one could ignore the fact that they truly needed each other.

  “I’m going to assume no one heard me,” Cooper sliced through the silence. “What is the…”

  “There is no decision,” Junior cut her off.

  “Come again?”

  “We sleep on it.” Junior watched Awilda exhale for what seemed like the first time since begging for Sunders’ life. “We can make the decision tomorrow when we’ve all calmed down.”

  Cooper scoffed, “Uh,” she drew out the syllable, “I don’t think so.”

  “We’ll have a better idea whether or not anyone’s coming for him then. And if they aren’t, let’s not rule out the fact that having a mole in the DAA could work to our advantage.”

  “Assuming we can trust him,” Zeff grumbled.

  Junior nodded, “True, but trust has to be earned, which is impossible for him to do in the next five minutes. Let’s at least try to give the guy a fighting chance. It’s the least we can do after all he did to help us in the park.” He looked up and made eye contact with Bawli, “Untie him and show him to his room. We’ll each take shifts to guard his door; just in case he tries to make a run for it.”

  Bawli began untying the Finder.

  “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Cooper said frantically, “Zeff, if you have anything to say, now would be the time to say it.”

  Everyone looked to Zeff. After a few seconds of contemplation he nodded to Junior, “I’ll take the first shift.”

  Sunders could feel his shoulders relax as the rope tension around his wrists suddenly slacked. Awilda worked on untying his ankles from the chair legs. He looked up to Junior with earnest eyes. “Thank you,” he said.

  Junior’s expression was stoic, “An eye for an eye; we’re even.”

  A bruised and beaten Sunders leaned on Awilda more for emotional support rather than physical, since there wasn’t any way she’d be able to support his weight, as Bawli and Zeff led them up the stairs. Cooper trailed behind
, mumbling something about bad ideas and having the worst house guests ever. When the group finally turned the corner at the top of the stairs and disappeared from sight Junior took a deep breath; exhaling all of the anguish he worked so hard to suppress just moments ago.

  “Why did you do it?” Tauggle asked.

  “Why did I do what?”

  “Spare him; he could be more trouble than he’s worth.”

  Junior shrugged, “At least now he has a chance to prove us wrong.”

  Tauggle slowly turned his head to the side, “This was less about him and more about Awilda. You did this for her.”

  “Nothing gets by you.”

  “Sparing his life won’t make her love you.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Then what is the point?”

  Junior looked at the pale, white haired Limrid. “Letting her know how much I love her.”

  28

  Junior sat next to Sunders’ bedroom door. His feet were planted, his arms rested on his knees, and his head was turned to the side and angled downward as he watched Awilda sleeping next to him on the hallway floor. She had been there since before the start of his shift watching over the Finder. They wouldn’t allow her to sleep inside the room; being as stubborn as she was she camped out right in front instead. Junior smiled as the morning sun rose in the sky, highlighting Awilda’s brown and gray hair and the soft skin of her cheek. Slowly, he lifted his hand and pushed a few strands of her hair back with his fingers so he could see her ear and the gentle curvature of her jaw line. Her light pink lips were barely parted and her brows were slightly pulled downward as if she was concerned or stressed. He had a feeling he knew what she was dreaming about.