by Rach Elle
Junior’s eyes were suddenly laced with sorrow. He knew what she was referring to. Now there was no denying her place in this world. She had just stared into the face of evil and it backed down; obeying her command. She was the destroyer and would have no choice but to accept her fate. He couldn’t bring himself to confirm or deny so instead he only stared at her, wishing like hell he could make all of this go away.
“You should have killed me when you had the chance,” she said emotionlessly.
A crackling sound bit the air. Everyone looked toward Cooper who watched the stone Limrid intently. The stone casing spidered and cracked all over his body until finally it shattered; sending tiny shards flying in all directions. Cooper shielded her eyes until the debris settled. Slowly, she lowered her arm as Tauggle pushed himself into a sitting position. He shook his head like a wet dog before picking up a piece of the stone that was meant for Cooper and holding it between his fingertips. He smiled and sighed, “He tried to turn a gargoyle into stone; well, at least he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.” He looked up to see the petite gargoyle sitting on her knees in front of him.
She gasped at the sight of his shimmering, gold eyes. “You fought for us; on your own volition,” she whispered.
Tauggle wanted to recoil; the last thing he could ever be was valiant. Limrids were not a noble race. He shrugged, “Don’t read too much into it,” he said flatly. “I do a lot of crazy things when I’m bored.”
“But how?” Bawli asked, massaging the side of his head where a cinderblock indentation used to be. “You were under orders not to use your powers if it affected another living being.”
Tauggle ran his eyes across all of the gargoyles that stared at him until he landed on the chocolate brown eyes of Awilda. “I’d hardly call that being living,” he said somberly, “not yet, anyway.”
Awilda wanted to scream and run away. She knew what Tauggle meant. She knew that one day soon that dark mass; the one that swallowed her father and Regina would possess her. It would overtake her body and manifest its evil through her and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it. And God help them all if the demon that claimed her had a Limrid as his second in command.
“You’re free,” she said suddenly.
Tauggle’s eyes widened as he stared at her, stunned, “What?”
“I’m letting you go. I’m no longer your master; you’re free.”
“What are you doing?” Junior asked in a hushed voice.
She looked up at the gargoyle that still hovered over her, “You’re going to have enough to deal with; you don’t need an all powerful Limrid against you too.”
Tauggle waited for something to happen. He expected a bright light or something similar to when he was claimed not too long ago; but there was nothing. He didn’t feel any different. He looked down at his un-changing hands and body.
Unsure of what to make of the situation he eyed a shard of stone lying next to him. Telekinetically he lifted the piece and suspended it in the air for a few seconds before sending it flying across the expanse and pelting Junior in the head.
“Hey!” Junior’s lips peeled back to show his fangs.
Tauggle shrugged, “Just testing.” He couldn’t help but smile as he realized he was truly free.
“Cooper,” Bawli called, the urgency in his voice slicing through the air. “Are you alright?”
Everyone looked at Cooper as she slowly rose to her feet; her eyes glistening with tears as she stared upward. They followed her line of sight to see the charred arm of Zeff hanging lifelessly from the ledge of the spotlight and a sudden wave of sorrow overcame them all. They remained quiet as Cooper walked toward her friend; her small wings hanging from her back and her tail too short to reach the ground. She approached the spotlight and looked up at the motionless limb. Her lips parted but no sound came out. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced her vocal chords to work, “Move,” she said with a quivering voice. “Please, move.”
Tears overflowed and cascaded down Cooper’s cheeks as she looked up at her friend. She wanted to reach for his hand and hold it like he had held hers so many times in the past. She could vividly see him alive and well; the way he used to care for her and the way he looked at her when they were lovers so long ago. What she wouldn’t give to see the blue of his eyes staring back at her one more time. “Move goddamn it!” She screamed before dropping to her knees and crying; burying her face and her sobs in her hands.
Awilda could feel tears escaping her eyes as she watched the grieving gargoyle. She looked up to see the fearless action hero. Her mind replayed the memory of Zeff in the forgotten storage room; the way he spoke as he stared upon the stained glass Aaron; such reverence. And such sadness. As she watched Cooper crying for the sacrifice he had made just moments ago she realized he was Aaron reincarnated; the warrior who sacrificed himself to save the blessed bloodline. Quietly, she promised him his memory would not be reduced to a few lines in the story. He deserved so much more.
Sunders slowly entered the clearing, his heart heavy and his chest aching for the fallen gargoyle. He looked up to see the arm that hung from the spotlight. He never had the chance to truly know this man, but it was clearly his loss; as evidenced by the tears and the muffled sobs coming from the petite shifter on her knees.
Sunders wanted to say something. He wanted to console the female gargoyle and express his condolences, but he didn’t feel it was his place to do so. He was about to turn away when he noticed something very slight. He waited, his heart refusing to beat until he confirmed that it was real. Finally, he saw it again; the pointer finger attached to the lifeless arm twitched. His chest swelled with excitement, “He’s moving.” He managed to say.
Cooper lowered her hands and sniffled. She looked up to the Finder and saw he was watching Zeff. She lifted her chin upward and held her breath for what felt like eternity. The entire world seemed to stop; suspended in time as she focused on that motionless limb, trying to will it to move again. Suddenly, his fingers twitched and she burst into tears again as she jumped to her feet. “Zeff,” she called, “Zeff, can you hear me?” She turned toward Bawli and Junior, “We have to get him down!”
Everyone jumped to their feet. “Tauggle,” Awilda called, “Can you get Zeff down from there?”
Tauggle lifted his hand and gripped his fingers as if gripping onto Zeff’s body. Slowly, and carefully, he lifted the gargoyle and lowered him to the rooftop, lying him down on his stomach. A round of gasps escaped everyone’s lips as they realized Zeff had been impaled. A large shard of glass was sticking out of his lower back.
Sunders knelt down beside him and pressed his fingers against the side of his neck. “There’s a heartbeat; it’s faint, but it’s there.”
“Should we remove the glass?” Cooper asked, frantic.
“No,” Sunders shook his head, “we don’t know just how much damage has been done. If any of his organs have been ruptured he could bleed out.”
“Well we can’t just leave it!”
“Agreed; he needs a doctor.”
Junior scowled, “Haven’t we already been through this? We can’t take him into a doctor looking like this and he can’t shift in his condition.”
“Won’t he heal on his own?” Awilda asked, “I thought you healed a lot faster when you were in your shifted state.”
Junior looked down at the girl with grave eyes, “There are some things even a shifter can’t come back from.”
“I know of a doctor we can take him to,” Sunders interrupted. “You turned me down in the park but I think this time it’s our only option. He needs to have this removed by someone who knows what they’re doing and it needs to be done soon. Judging by the weakness of his heartbeat I don’t think we have a lot of time.”
“Oh bloody hell,” Cooper dropped her hands to her sides, “he’s got my vote.”
Junior placed his hands on his hips, “Fine, where are we taking him?”
“The United Financial building,”
Sunders said.
Junior turned to Tauggle, “Do you think you could poof all of us over there?”
Tauggle shook his head, “My powers although vast are limited. I cannot travel with more than a few of you.”
“Okay,” Junior sighed, “you take Zeff. I’ll take Awilda; Bawli you grab Sunders and… shit; I forgot about Alvin and Mason. Cooper, you don’t think you could…”
Cooper’s little wings slumped with inadequacy, “I’m not exactly equipped to handle extra weight,” she said somberly.
“Maybe Tauggle can take those two along with Zeff.”
“What about James’ van?” Bawli suggested.
Junior shook his head, “I have a feeling they took the keys with them.”
“Vin can hotwire it.”
Cooper shot him a surprised look.
Bawli recoiled, “Um, I mean, I can only assume. He probably picked it up by watching all those action movies.” He tried to backtrack as if he didn’t know firsthand that Alvin had the know-how.
“I’ll drive then,” Sunders spoke up, “I’m not entirely sure how to get to where we’re going from the air anyway.”
“We know where United Financial is,” Junior assured him.
“Actually,” Sunders cut him off, “we need to make one little stop first.”
55
Madge cradled a mug of hot tea in her hands as she sat curled up on her sofa. All of the lights were off and her two teenage children were fast asleep. The high-rise flat was completely quiet – it was the most wonderful noise in the world.
She sighed as she looked around her darkened flat. The furnishings were nice, the features were top-notch, and the building had a repair man that was Johnny-on-the-spot compared to the other shit-holes she’d lived in previously. She wished she could say she’d earned all of this, but the fact of the matter was that she’d still be in one of those shit-holes if it weren’t for her brother, Marvin. He signed the rent checks and paid for the furniture. She had tried to refuse his generous offer in the beginning but he insisted. Once he got an idea in his head there was no changing his mind. He had always made it his life’s mission to look after his big sister. And when Madge’s husband left her for another woman he didn’t miss a beat with stepping in and throwing money at the situation. She sighed again. She wished Marvin would find someone to make him happy. Behind his bleeding heart was a lonely soul.
Her eyes drifted sleepily over to the windows that overlooked an empty business park and side streets that led into more residential neighborhoods. Everyone was asleep at this hour; not much to look at. But that was the norm at this time of night. She often times grabbed a night cap and sat in silence around this hour; it was the only time she ever got to herself. Her kids took up a lot of time and attention; her work consumed every day; and her aggravating ex-husband enjoyed stirring up trouble during every minute in between. Finally she began claiming these midnight hours as her own; her chance to get away from it all. No interruptions.
A light knock sounded at the front door. Madge almost dropped her tea as her head whipped toward the sound. Who could that be? She wondered as she set her mug on the end table and stood up from the sofa. She crossed the living room and reached the front door. Nervously, she peered through the peep-hole. Her eyes widened and a smile reached her lips at the sight of Sunders Harper standing on the other side of the door. She quickly cinched the sash of her robe tighter around her waist and combed her fingers through her hair before opening the door.
“Mr. Harper,” she said softly, “Are you alright?”
The Scotsman smiled, “May I come in?”
“Of course,” she said, stepping to the side as his broad frame moved past her. Butterflies swirled about in her stomach as she closed the door. She had never truly longed for Sunders; but she had always found him attractive. He was tall and his arms were muscular. True, there had been many occasions when he’d shown up to work with a hangover; and many more when he’d shown up still drunk. She had seen him in his worst state; disheveled, depressed, heartbroken. And she had seen him in his best days; still a little disheveled. Seriously, did the man own a comb? But regardless of his mental and physical state on any given day he had always been kind. His eyes were always sincere and his touch had always been gentle. She’d often times wondered what it would be like with him in her bed. And she’d be lying if she didn’t admit she’d imagined this exact same scenario; Sunders arriving at her door in the middle of the night having finally realized that the thing he needed most was the touch of a woman he trusted. Of course, in her fantasy she was about six sizes smaller and wearing a sexy negligee; but she’d take what she could get.
Madge cinched the sash of her bathrobe tighter again, trying to give herself the appearance of a smaller waistline. She considered removing the robe altogether since it added extra pounds, but she didn’t think the puppy print pajama top with matching bottoms would be much more of a turn-on. She watched with anxious eyes as the Scotsman walked toward her wall of windows overlooking the business park.
“This is quite the view you’ve got here,” Sunders said as he began opening the windows. They were floor-to-ceiling and a bit heavy, but his strong arms bared the weight as he unlocked them and lowered the top panes to the floor. The chilled breeze snaked its way into the flat and Madge suddenly felt grateful she decided not to ditch the robe.
“Sonny,” she began, only slightly hesitant with using his first name. “How are you?”
Sunders turned to face her and smiled again. “I’m good Madge, how are you?” He asked as he moved toward her.
“I’m fine, but I’m also not the one showing up at your flat in the middle of the night.”
Sunders nodded his head as he closed the distance between them, “Aye, I do owe you an explanation.” He looked into her big eyes and took her hand in his, raising it to chest level and cupping his other hand over it; locking it in place between his palms. “I have a favor to ask of you.”
Madge nearly swooned, “What is it?”
Sunders’ expression went grave, “Please, don’t scream.”
Madge’s brain worked to process the request as a crunching sound was heard just outside her windows. She looked over to them as the peaceful night was suddenly blocked by the sight of an enormous gargoyle with tattoos all over his arms gliding through the open window and landing in her living room just as two more winged figures appeared in the night sky and followed suit. Madge’s eyes widened and her heart beat with fear as she looked into the faces of three monsters. Her mouth opened and she inhaled a gust of air, preparing to scream as loudly as she could when Sunders let go of her hand and cupped his palm over her mouth. He positioned himself to stand directly behind her, his other arm wrapped around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides. “Now Madge,” he said calmly and quietly, “Remember that favor I asked of you? Well, this is why. What you see before you are gargoyles; true gargoyles. They’re not here to hurt you. Do you believe me Madge?” He turned her head to look into his eyes. “Do you trust what I’m saying to you?” He waited for a moment before she finally nodded. He smiled, “Good, now I’m going to remove my hand. Keep in mind that even if you scream these creatures will not hurt you. But they will disappear, leaving you to feel pretty silly when re-telling this story with no evidence to speak of, yeah?” Madge nodded again. Sunders slowly removed his hand.
Madge stared at the three creatures in her living room. Two were male and one was female. The female was much smaller than the other two. She was thin and her wings were tiny but her face carried an intensity found on a pleading mother. She was scared and looking to Madge for help.
Her eyes grazed over the two winged men. They both stood tall with stern eyes. The one with a large gut was broad but the one with tattooed arms stood out above the others. He looked prominent… and dangerous.
“Oh, Sonny,” Madge breathed, “where did you find them? How?”
“As much as I’d love to delve into detail, I can’t. We need
your help,” Sunders began.
“With what,” Madge asked, unable to take her eyes off of the creatures before them.
“One of them is hurt; you were a nurse when you first came to the DAA, weren’t you?”
She finally tore her stare away from the gargoyles and looked into Sunders’ urgent eyes. “Yes,” she began, “but that was a long time ago.”
“Well,” he placed his hands on her shoulders and began turning her to face behind them, “let’s hope it’s just like riding a bike.”
Madge gasped before cupping her own hand over her mouth to conceal the noise. The last thing she wanted was to wake her children and have them be privy to this madness. She lowered her hand as her eyes stared upon a thin, pale man with white hair somehow holding the weight of an injured gargoyle. He lay limply in the man’s arms, motionless, seemingly lifeless. A huge shard of glass stuck into his back.
“Oh my,” Madge breathed as she rushed over to the hurt creature. She lowered to her knees to look at the puncture site on his back. “It looks really close to the spine,” she said. She began analyzing the rest of him; the wings and tail that seamlessly protruded from the creature’s back; the shirtless torso and then the face. She recoiled only slightly at the large scar that ran down the length of the right side. This creature was a warrior, she figured. He’d clearly been in a scuff or two. She returned her attention to the wound at hand. “Sonny,” she said, looking over her shoulder toward the Scotsman, “this is far beyond my level. Even when I was actively a nurse I wouldn’t handle situations like this. There’s no way I could…”
“I know,” Sunders said, his eyes suddenly hard and severe, “but you know someone who can.”