Helena, Carlos, Mal, Evie, and Jay stood level with the main ramp to Maleficent's Forbidden Fortress, Carlos in the front with the other four behind him. The teenagers watched in awe as the ancient stony gargoyles guarding the old lair growl as they came to life around them, the bridge rumbling beneath their feet. The griffins' horrible eyes glowed green, illuminating the fog around them, until they were practically shining a spotlight on the four intruders. The gargoyles uncurled their hunched backs, now almost doubling themselves in height.
The creatures were truly ugly. They had snaggly teeth and forked tongues. None of them, especially Carlos, could look away from the hideous faces hovering over them.
Jay swallowed as a gargoyle leaned down, looking as if it could spring at Carlos at any moment. "Oh, we are so screwed," The son of Jafar muttered, the others silently agreeing with him.
"Who goes there?" boomed the gargoyle to the right of Carlos.
"You cannot pass," said the one on his left.
"Yeah? Says who?" Carlos took a step back, as did the rest of the group following behind him. They looked at each other nervously, unsure of what to do next. They hadn't known about the gargoyles, and hadn't expected a fight. This was going to be more difficult than they expected, maybe even impossible.
But it didn't matter. Even Carlos knew there was no turning back now.
"You ugly things need to move!" said Mal, shouting from behind him. She glared at the griffins. "Or I'm going to make you!"
The gargoyles growled and grimaced, flapping their stone wings as a threat.
"Any ideas?" Carlos looked over his shoulder nervously. "We don't have weapons or magic. What would we fight with? Besides, how do we fight something made of stone?"
"There has to be a way," Mal said. "We have to pass!" she shouted again. "Let us through!"
"Yeah, I'm not sure that's working," Evie sighed.
The gargoyles glared at the children with glowing eyes, their fangs bared, their stony wings beating the wind. "You cannot pass," they said again in unison—and just as the creatures spoke, the thick gray clouds surrounding the long stone ramp dissipated, revealing a gap in the bridge, a forty-foot gulf with nothing below but air.
The bridge was broken, virtually impassable.
"Great," Jay said. "So it's over. Fine. Whatever. Can we go now?"
The others just stared. Carlos had to admit Jay was probably right. There was no apparent way to reach the castle. They had come all this way only to fail. Even if they could pass the gargoyles, there was no way to cross the bridge since there was no bridge. It was hopeless. Their journey ended before it had truly begun.
"No, not yet," Helena then spoke up, all eyes landing on her. They were shocked when she took a step forward, only to a stop as she felt a hand latch onto her wrist.
"Uh, Helena, are you sure about this?" Carlos asked, holding onto her wrist gently. He tried to hide how nervous he was in front of the others, but he was sure it was obvious. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt by those things.
"I got this, de Vil," Helena said reassuringly, Carlos reluctantly letting her go. He had to trust her first and see where this was going.
"Um, what is she doing?" Jay asked, looking from Helena and back to the others. Evie only shrugged and Mal crossed her arms over chest.
"Let us pass," Helena demanded.
"You cannot," The gargoyles said once again
"I won't ask again," said the daughter of Hades. "You will do as I say."
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Hellfire | Isle of the Lost
Fanfiction[ Cover by @gwizly_ ] ❝She is both, hellfire and holy water. And the flavor you taste depends on how you treat her. ❞ - Sneha Pal [Book One; Prequel to "Fire Within" #1 in dcom]
