GARGOYLES: Re-Awakening

Love Stories: 2

Demona watched Goliath as he dove after the falling Elisa, tucking his arms, legs, and wings in tight to minimize the drag enough to catch her. As soon as his hand clasped firmly around hers he spread his wings and caught the wind. He sailed with her to the nearest rooftop, set her down, then jumped again, catching an updraft back towards the castle. The whole maneuver took less than a minute. He was magnificent, Demona thought to herself, but he was still naive. He should have let her fall. Now, another human had seen him. This had always been the difference between him and her, Demona felt. She knew how to focus on what was best for her kind. He was soft.

The intruders were rushing back toward the helicopter. The crash of their second chopper was a disaster they had not anticipated, and there was no telling what else these creatures might do. Demona saw them scrambling and her hands twitched, itching to finish at least a couple of them off, but there was a bigger problem—the second cop. Bluestone was lying near where Elisa had gone over. The crash and explosion had thrown him against the wall and left him unconscious. Demona walked over to him, slowly. Her eyes burned into him as she approached. There was hatred there, a hatred that went far beyond this person. It was the kind of hatred that makes everyone in its path the same, regardless of who they are. She reached down and grabbed the collar of his coat, hoisting him effortlessly, like a stringed marionette. She raised her right hand slowly and set her sights on his throat.

"Demona!" Goliath yelled. He had just made it over the wall and landed not far from her. " Stop!" She looked at him, but did not set Bluestone down nor drop her hand.

"He must not be allowed to leave," she said coldly. "He has seen too much, and we are too vulnerable."

"We do not even know who he is. He was not part of the attack," Goliath replied, sternly.

"Irrelevant," Demona said. "He is a threat nonetheless. You have been sleeping for a thousand years, Goliath. You do not know how things have changed. You do not know how much more dangerous the humans have become."

Goliath could see the determination in Demona's eyes, and worse, the icy indifference. It worried him. He did not yet know, and would probably never truly comprehend what had happened to her in the thousand years since they last spoke, but he was beginning to fear that it had changed her in ways so profound that she was no longer the mate he had loved. He needed to be alone with her. He needed to find out what had happened, where they were, and most importantly, who she had become. But for the moment, he needed to save this poor, crumpled human and he knew reason alone would not be enough. He stepped slowly toward her, and kept his eyes locked with hers. "You would kill him as he sleeps?" he asked. "Just as we were to be killed while we slept?" It was a desperate play, but it worked. Demona hesitated, which was all he needed. Goliath reached up slowly and took her raised hand in his. "Not like this," he said.

Demona looked into his eyes. They were steady and full of conviction, just as she remembered. And then, reflected in his pupils, she saw herself. It was a reflection that reminded her of how she used to be, as Goliath's beloved, who did not always agree with him, but who was willing to follow him no matter the outcome. For the first time, she felt the true weight of what it had been to be alone for a thousand years. She let out a groan of disgust and let Bluestone drop to the ground. "We will regret this," she said.

Goliath was about to respond when Xanatos arrived from the air. His Gargoyle exoskeleton had rocket capabilities, which allowed him to fly over short distances. Goliath took an attack position, but Xanatos raised a hand to signal him to wait, then removed his helmet. "No need for alarm, Goliath," he said. "Just a piece of technology I had constructed for emergencies. Tonight qualifies I think." He looked around him whimsically at the smoldering wreckage.