Title : Manhattan Skies Series : Choice of DestinyAuthor : Marie NoireSummary : Tech support operator, Destiny Constance, keeps having flashbacks to a life not her own... or so she thinks.------
Scotland 964 AD
Their adult watcher was nervous, pacing up and down the rookery stairs like a wildcat he’d once seen in a cage. Her tail slashed through the air in agitation, listing tensely for the battle above ground, her eyes glowing a dim red in the darkness. The hatchling shivered and burrowed closer to the bale of hay he’d crouched next to with his two closest brothers. The battle had started not fifteen minutes ago and still it raged above. Vikings had attacked almost without warning, catapulted fireballs announcing their hostile intents. One hatchling had suffered some burns to her wings, but the adults had managed to herd all of them into the rookery without any more casualties. Their sitter was the smallest of the next oldest rookery, the ones who had just ascended to become warriors and she was apparently not happy about being assigned to watch the seventeen hatchlings instead of actually fighting the battle. Roars were becoming louder, as though the battle had shifted to inside the walls of the castle. Clanging swords and humans yelling echoed through the door of the rookery. The watcher stopped in the middle of the stairs, crouching on all fours and staring at the door with concentration. In the darkness, her eyes flared brightly as a deafening crash resounded through the stones. A heavy battle axe sliced through the door as though it were paper; two more hits and it hung useless on it’s ravaged hinges. Every hatchling gasped as five of the largest Vikings they’d ever seen strode through, human eyes searching the darkness. Their torches revealed the gathering of young gargoyles; all no larger than a human child of twelve and all very frightened… easy prey. The female with burnt wings started crying, screaming in her young voice for the other adults. The watcher attacked without warning, leaping at the Vikings from her readied position where they hadn’t even noticed her. She succeeded in killing two outright, flinging them from the high staircase to the stone floor below. The remaining three brandished their weapons eagerly, eyeing the female with glee. She was small by human standards and tiny by a gargoyle’s… she had no sword or axe to fight with… and she was on the ground with no time or room to climb or glide. The hatchling could tell that the Vikings thought they could cut through her like brush and then move on to the hatchlings with no one to stop them. He quietly called his rookery siblings over to him, urging them to hide under or in the hay while the Vikings were distracted by their watcher. If she didn’t manage to scare them off or beat them, they all would be dead before sunrise. He watched as she fought, dodging and fighting the Vikings’ weapons; slashing at them with her talons and swiping at them with her tail when she could. The Vikings were losing confidence; for although small, this female was quick and able to out-maneuver their heavy swords. Finally she managed to eliminate one more fiend, slashing him in the eyes and throwing him against the wall, a loud crack reverberating with deadly finality. Two on one, she fought still, although the hatchling could tell she was tiring… and quickly. Where were the other adults? Why wasn’t anyone here to help her? A roar was heard in the broken doorway and the hatchling recognized the shape of the clan leader easily. One of the Vikings ran to face-off with the new threat, leaving the larger one behind to deal with the watcher. She had heard his roar as well and turned briefly to determine the owner. That was all the remaining Viking needed. One quick sword thrust. A spurt of crimson blood. The watcher’s cry of pain. It would be imprinted in his memory forever. The watcher fell, the sword wound in her back stealing her breath and strength. The leader roared, a demonstration of both anguish and rage. He threw the Viking in front of him hard against the wall, breaking his spine and skull in one swift motion. Before the Viking who’d fatally wounded the watcher could react, the leader was upon him, using his talons with savage brutality. Using both hands, the leader smashed his talons into the Viking’s back just below his armor and pulled in opposite directions, all but ripping him in half and sending the sword flying from the man’s spasming hand. It landed with a harsh clang near the stunned hatchling accompanied by a fine spray of crimson as his entrails likewise hit the stone floor. The hatchling heard the sickening squelch of tearing flesh and sinew, followed by the agonizing scream of the human. He covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to block it out. Silence. The hatchling opened one eye. The leader had stumbled over to the barely breathing form of the watcher, cradling her limp body in his arms gently and stroking her brow ridges with his own. The angle allowed the hatchling to see her wound, a deep stab through her ribs, slicing through her left lung and probably her heart as well. She would never make it to sunrise. “Stay wi’ me… just stay wi’ me until sunrise. Ye’ll be fine, love.” The leader whispered to her, placing a gentle kiss on her paling lips. She coughed and panted, the blood was filling her collapsed lung quickly… soon she would breath no more. Her lips moved briefly, but the hatchling could not hear her weakened voice above the now-dying battle sounds. The leader nodded and replied softly in kind. Her eyes flickered and closed, her blood-stained body twitching slightly in cold hands of death… then she was still. The leader looked shocked, disbelieving the sight of a newly ascended warrior dead in his arms. He closed his eyes and held her closer, supporting her head against his neck. Tears formed in his dark eyes even as he held back sobs. The hatchling crept closer, his eyes fixed on the lifeless form of the young female. He shivered at the sight of dark red blood staining the ends of her wheat-colored hair. “Leader..?” he whispered softly, reaching out a small hand tentatively. The leader halted his grief to look at the beaked hatchling through hazy eyes. “Aye, lad? Is ever’one else all right?” “Yes. But… is she..?” he asked, hopeful although he knew the answer. “Aye, lad… I’m afraid sunrise can no’ save our brave lass now.” He said, his voice choked although he tried to keep it steady. “She always said that she wasn’t going to ascend because she was the weakest…” the hatchling wondered aloud, taking her motionless hand in his and rubbing his brow ridges over it, trying to force back the tears that threatened. “But she just saved us…” “Tha’ she did, lad… tha’ she did.” One by one, the rest of the hatchlings emerged from their hiding spots, crying out in grief or standing in stunned silence as they saw their favorite elder lying dead in the leader’s arms. With a deep sigh that made his large wings heave, the leader stood and picked her up, carrying her up to the main grounds of the castle with the hatchlings trailing in his wake. The battle had been won and the rest of the adults were celebrating a victory, complete with no casualties… or so they thought. At the approach of the leader and the mournful hatchlings, they all silenced, staring at their fallen sister with both astonishment and gloom. This was the first of that rookery to die in an attack… and the first gargoyle ever to die protecting the hatchlings and eggs. “Come…” the leader spoke softly, but with the quiet authority they had all come to expect from him. “We have a hero’s burial te accomplish before dawn. Te the sea with ye all.” Even the hatchlings followed down the rocky cliffs to the beach down below Castle Wyvern, to the place where gargoyles let the sea claim fallen clan members. The beaked one nosed his way to the front on all fours, desperate for one last look at he and his siblings’ savior. The salty water washed away the blood from her skin and hair, until he could almost believe that she wasn’t dead… only asleep or unconscious. The leader spoke briefly of the sacrifice she had made for the younger generations; how she, the least likely candidate for bravery, had given her young life for those of the clan’s children and future. In less than a year’s time, she had gone from hatchling to warrior to hero to martyr. As the sea waves gently pulled her away from the shore and from sight, the hatchling could no longer contain his tears, no matter how un-warrior-like it was. Tears trickled down his beak and into the sand. She had been the favorite watcher, the only one he and his rookery siblings didn’t torment on purpose. She was always willing to comfort or encourage them to try new things, even though she was often considered a coward. He would miss her terribly. As he glanced over at the leader, the hatchling thought he could see the older gargoyle’s eyes also filled with tears, his great chest shuddering with restrained sobs. But that couldn’t be. Warriors didn’t cry.
“Hey, Destiny. Welcome back.” Steve greeted the young woman who strode through the door of the Ayrie building as though she owned it. She turned while walking, winking at the security guard. “Thanks. Although I’m not really back… just here to get the schedule for the next two weeks. I think I could use another two weeks vacay. Hawaii was beyond great.” “Catch any unsuspecting Hawaiians?” he called. “Not unless you count the pick-pocket I tripped up at the airport.” She shrugged, entering the elevator and punching the button for the top floor. She didn’t hear Steve’s reply as the elevator carried her heaven-wards to the medieval castle that graced the top of the Ayrie building, a construction that had made it the new tallest building in New York a few years back. Destiny toyed restlessly with the dog tags that hung around her neck, a keepsake from her years in the military. She had joined out of high school and found her niche right away. Unlike some of her compatriots, who had joined up only for the college money, she enjoyed boot camp. Striving for more power and speed, learning discipline to be a soldier, it all felt so familiar to her at times. She’d even harbored the smallest of crushes on her drill instructor. However, it had been more in favor of his teaching than his handsome face. The elevator dinged its arrival and the doors slid open silently, allowing Destiny to stride into the main hall of the castle. It had once served as a dining room for Scottish occupants, but now it was the crux of the entire castle section; in order to gain access to any other part of the castle, anyone had to go through here first. Destiny sighed and tossed her hat onto the desk that was her work station for every shift. As a day guard for Xanatos, her job was to make sure everything important was locked and that no unauthorized people came poking around. Almost the second she was at the desk where the schedule was posted, the phone rang. Reflexively, she picked it up. “Xanatos Enterprises, Ayrie Building, Destiny speaking.” She replied. “Diz? It’s Jack… is Monica still there?” the voice of the night-shift guard asked in a raspy tone. “No, looks like she left a little while ago, why?” she answered, looking at the schedule. “I’m supposed to be on tonight, but I’ve got bronchitis and I can’t-“ he sighed, coughing slightly. “I’ll take it. I’ve got to make up my hours anyway. See you on Wednesday.” She replied brightly before hanging up the phone. Destiny busied herself with buying a TV dinner and stowing it into the small refrigerator and then signing into the computer system to announce her arrival. That done, she set about checking two weeks’ worth of backed up e-mail. Her green eyes flicked up at the numerous video monitors at frequent intervals, watchful of intruders. Spam. Advertisement. Advertisement. Newsletter. Invitation to a Yahoo! Club. Message from old army buddy. Plea for money from college-bound cousin. Message from ex-boyfriend. Praise for her Dungeons and Dragons web page. Request for a character sketch. Cupid Report from Match.com. Amazon.com announcement. It was spam and junk mail for the most part, with a few messages from friends and family that needed replies. She typed up quick declarations that rumors of her death were exaggerated and quickly checked the two message boards she frequented and her web page’s guest book. An hour and a half later, she was done fiddling with the computer and pulled her notebook from her duffel bag, yet another throwback from the army. The camouflage-patterned bag looked as though it had been through World Wars three through six, but still managed to serve its purpose of carting Destiny’s various stuffs everywhere she went. Notebook settled on her knee and metallic purple pen in her hand, Destiny set to writing her random thoughts down.
Another day, another dollar, I suppose. But this place is creepy at night. Note to self: never agree to take Jack’s shift again. I definitely think I prefer this place in daylight. I half expect Dracula to come creeping up on me any second. There would be something fun to explain to Mr., Burnett. Well… there was this… vampire… Times like this, I wish I were a cop. Half of police academy done and now I’m stuck doing this security guard thing because I need the money. Gotta love how debts of deceased ones wait until after you’ve already spent the insurance money to pop up. Poor dad… he didn’t mean for this to happen I’m sure…but it wouldn’t have hurt him to pay off that $10,000 Visa bill at least slightly.
BANG Destiny jumped about three feet in the air, her heart pounding like a jackhammer, her eyes searching frantically for trouble. Her hand stole away to her gun reflexively as she rose and headed towards one of the stairwells that lead up through the castle. The silence was deafening and Destiny made the mental note that this particular stairwell led up to the kitchen and not to panic too much. For all she knew it was Fox feeding Alexander. “Sorry about that, Owen. We’ll clean it up.” A female voice that Destiny had never heard before reached her ears. “Quite all right. But please keep that dog out of the kitchen from now on.” Owen’s moderately bored tenor answered. Right on cue, the gravelly rumble of a dog’s deep bark echoed down the stairs and Destiny relaxed shaking her head at herself and stalking back to the desk. Spooky old castle was getting to her. One accident in the kitchen and she was calling that SWAT team on a dumb dog. Wait a minute. When did the Xanatos’ get a dog? David claimed allergic last time Fox suggested it as a playmate for Alex. And who was the owner of that other voice? As far as she knew Xanatos’ only family was his dad… and Fox avoided hers at most costs. She shook her head again. Chill, soldier… just chill. The Ayrie building is not going to come under attack when you’re the only one here. Besides, you heard Owen talking to her… he’s a straight as they come. Nothing is wrong. She sat and hopped back onto the internet, hoping to distract herself from the gloomy surroundings. A Dungeons and Dragons fic later, Mr. Burnett himself approached her, his unflappable demeanor ever so slightly ruffled. “Miss Constance? You aren’t scheduled to be on until Wednesday morning. What are you doing here?” he asked without traditional preamble. “Jack is busy dying from bronchitis, so he called and asked me to fill in since I’m the only one with the time to recover from night shift to day shift. I thought he would’ve called you and informed you.” She explained mildly, being one of the few people not intimidated completely by Owen’s personality. “Hmm. I have not checked the messages since before five, perhaps he did. However, Miss Constance, I will urge you to ignore these outside monitors and focus your attention on the inside ones, understood?” he pointed out said screens. “Certainly, sir.” she nodded, barely resisting the urge to salute him as he walked away. She sighed once he was out of sight and stretched over the back of her chair. Only three hours into the shift and she was ready to bounce off the walls. She re-checked her e-mail and went into a Yahoo! chat room for Dungeons and Dragons RPG under her elven persona. After fighting with a few dark elves and capturing the attention of an amorous paladin, she was bored there as well. She sighed and decided a bathroom break was in order. After five minutes of washing her hands in an attempt to kill time, she pulled herself back to the desk, plopping into the seat with exaggerated exasperation. Unbidden, her gaze turned to the upper monitors with their heaven-ward eyes. A dark shadow flitted across the high-resolution screen and her breath caught in her throat. What on God’s green earth..? She looked closely, staring intently at the pixels for another glimpse of whatever it was. At first, nothing happened; the only things moving on the screen were the turret flags that Xanatos had order out up for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Maybe she had let her eyes trick her. Then she got more than a glimpse! Another black shadow crossed the camera’s path, its large bat-like wings made partially transparent by the moon shining brightly behind it. Destiny jumped back from her chair, flinging the wheeled seat against the wall in her anxiety. With a shaky hand, she punched the com-link button to Owen’s office. “Mr. Burnett? This is Destiny at the castle desk… do you read?” she called, her voice misleadingly steady despite her trembling hands. No answer. “Figures… never around when you need him.” She grumbled to herself, still staring at the monitors as though the creatures were going to break through the screens and attack her. From the corner of her eye, she saw another, smaller shadow glide past a different camera. Then the upper monitors all went black. Destiny blinked. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Ignoring Owen’s instructions, Destiny took off for the stairwell that led up to one of the balconies and climbed halfway up it. There, she paused, listening for sounds other than the pounding of blood in her head. “C’mon, Lex! Let’s go already.” A male voice urged. “Almost done… there! Got it!” a decidedly younger voice replied. “Xanatos won’t even miss this.” “A four-thousand dollar laptop computer? Nah… that’s lunch money to him.” The first voice replied. A-ha! Burglars. Dumb ones too from the sound of it; hang-gliding to a multimillion-dollar castle to rip off a computer. Destiny drew her gun and crept up the stairs, listening to the thieves continue their banter. “Hold it right there!” she yelled, springing at them from around the corner, her gun leveled at them with grand authority. What met her eyes nearly made her knees buckle. Two creatures stood there, looking at her in surprise. The larger one was red-skinned with a shock of long, white hair and an imposing beak. The other was about her size with olive green skin, large eyes, and an odd variety of webbing for wings. Wings? She looked closer. Yes, the first one had wings as well, but she hadn’t noticed due to their caped positioning over his shoulders. “Take it easy, lady.” He said softly, taloned hands raised in defense. “Stay right where you are.” She ordered when he would have crept closer. “Last I checked, this was called breaking and entering and it was highly illegal.” “So’s aggravated assault.” A deeper voice behind her added in an almost jovial tone. Before she could respond in any way, a clawed hand of turquoise picked her up by the wrists and lifted her several inches off of the ground. The owner’s other hand relieved her of her gun and crushed it without preamble. “Hey!” she exclaimed as it clanged uselessly to the stone floor. She was turned to face her attacker, an even larger creature with sea-monster ears and small horns running down his skull. “Let me go!” she growled, struggling against his iron-grip with no success. She stopped and contented herself with panting furiously. “Lex, go get Goliath.” The red one ordered, approaching her. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” “I’m a security guard for Mr. Xanatos! Now put me down!” she answered angrily, somehow unsurprised by the fact that the red one’s eyes were glowing a bright white. “Not yet… why did you attack us?” Destiny stopped and smiled, an idea forming in her head. “Take a wild guess!” On the word “guess” she swung her body back and brought her knees up to her chest. On the back swing, she kicked out, hitting her captor square in his gut. With an oomph, he let go and she dropped down, running before she even hit the pavement. She couldn’t go back the way she came, the larger creature blocked the way… so she sprinted within the castle, taking various turns and twists to confuse them. Where to go? The library! It was deepest in the castle and had a doorway leading back to her desk. With purpose now, she took off for the library, running through the kitchen and the empty hallway as a shortcut. She turned a corner and ran smack into a wall… or at least that’s what it felt like. She fell backwards, landing hard on her bottom, stunned. There wasn’t supposed to be a wall there! Had she taken a wrong turn? Then she looked up. There stood the absolute largest creature she’d ever thought of. Easily eight feet tall, as thick as an oak tree, and lavender-skinned, he did nothing but stare at her, his eyes stern and foreboding. She couldn’t breath… all she could do was try to crawl away from him while still facing him. Her legs wouldn’t respond correctly, they slid over the stone floor as though it were coated with ice. Footsteps behind her. The three she’d seen before had caught up and now blocked the only other way out. “Goliath!” the smallest one called. “You found her!” “Indeed.” The large one in front of her rumbled deep in his chest. “Is she… okay?” the red, beaked one asked, causing her to turn slightly in surprise. Was she all right? Why should he care? “I…I… think… I’m okay.” She stuttered. “What… what are you going to do with me?” “First… who are you?” Goliath asked, taking her by the wrist and hauling her to her feet as though she were a rag doll. “Um… Destiny Constance… I’m normally daytime security for the Ayrie building. But the night shift called out and I took over for him. Damn… I knew I should’ve listened when Owen told me to ignore those monitors. Now I’m in for it.” “You sure she’s telling the truth, Goliath? She did have a gun.” Broadway asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I have ID… see?” she fished her security card out of her wallet and showed it to them all, praying that they would believe her. At this point she already felt like an idiot; now she knew what was going on. These were those gargoyles she’d been hearing about on TV… and they matched the stone statues that Xanatos had imported from Scotland. Apparently he had known of their liveliness and bright them here. They lived here… and she had tried to arrest them for burglary. Way to go, Diz… “Hmm…” Goliath rumbled. “Should we get Xanatos… or Owen?” the smallest one asked. “I mean, it’s fairly certain that she does work here… but they’ll want to deal with her, don’t you think?” “Probably.” Goliath nodded. “Lexington, Broadway… you take her to the kitchen and keep an eye on her. Brooklyn, you come with me.” The two gargoyles, the small one being Lexington and the large one being Broadway to her figuring, led her back through the hallways to the kitchen. Inside, there were two more gargoyles, two females! The taller of the two had the same coloring as Goliath, although her stature bespoke of a somewhat willowy mother. The smaller was different from the others; her golden skin and small horns were in keeping, but she didn’t have the heavy brow of the others and her hands were small and five-fingered. “Good Lord… how many of you are there?” she asked as she sat down. “Never mind that.” Broadway answered gruffly as the lavender female came over to him. “Broadway… who’s that?” she asked in a soft voice. “One of Xanatos’ security guards apparently.” Lex answered, hopping up on the counter and rummaging through the cabinets. “Do we have any fluff left, or did Broadway eat it all again?” “It’s over here, Lex… you can have it when I’m done with it.” The golden female replied as she spread the white concoction on a slice of white bread. “Thanks, Cassie.” Lex replied. Destiny looked back and forth between all of them, eyes wide but calculating. These creatures looked exactly like the massive stone gargoyles that “guarded” the castle during the day… could they really be the infamous gargoyles she kept seeing on the news? They certainly didn’t appear to be public enemy number one, as the media might have her believe. Hell, they were just like any other family group she’d ever encountered… like she and a few of her army friends were on the odd occasions when they got together. Cheerful banter, wise-assed remarks, and general camaraderie… vicious and life-threatening my ass. She stood up in surprise when the ones called Goliath and Brooklyn reappeared, with Mr. Xanatos in tow. The billionaire sighed and assumed his usual position of arrogant indulgence, leaning against the countertop next to Destiny. “Well… I guess I’m going to have to put you on night-shift now.” He smiled, clapping her on the back at her look of relief. “I’m not fired?” she asked in disbelief, a smile on her face nonetheless. “Nonsense. You’re the best security officer I’ve got. We just need to draw up a contract that states ultimate silence on this issue. I’m sure you understand.” He offered, drawing out his cellular phone and hitting some buttons before speaking into it. “Owen, would you bring a standard silence contract up to the kitchen please? Yes, I know Miss Constance is not at her post. Thank you, Owen.” Destiny continued to sit at the counter with her mouth slightly agape. “Thank you… Mr. Xanatos.” She offered. “No thanks needed, Destiny. You just saved me the trouble of choosing who was going to take Jack’s place when he leaves next month anyway.” He nodded before turning on his heel and striding out, leaving several slightly confused beings. “You… you’re all gargoyles… right?” she asked of the group in general. “Yes.” Goliath rumbled, his face still stoic and ever-so-slightly annoyed. “How many of you are there?” she asked. “Eight.” The lavender female volunteered cheerfully. “I’m Angela, that other female over there is Cassandra. And that’s my father, Goliath.” “I’m Angela’s mate, Broadway… these two are my rookery brothers, Brooklyn and Lexington.” The turquoise one who had crushed her gun spoke up, his tone more good-humored than ever. “Okay, that’s six… who’s missing?” Destiny asked after a quick head-count. “Hudson and Bronx.” Lexington piped up. “Hudson’s probably watching television in the other room and Bronx is a gardog, sort of like a dog.” “I see…” Destiny nodded, wondering briefly why the terms gardog and rookery brother made some odd sort of sense to her. “Have you always lived in New York?” Thus began the saga of their journeys from Scotland to New York, how they had acquired both enemies and friends, how they had discovered Avalon and the eggs there, how they had saved Xanatos’ son, and how everything had come to pass. They each took turns telling stories to Destiny well into the night; Brooklyn relating tales of how he’d come to be second-in-command and his love for Cassandra, Broadway telling of the time he accidentally shot the police detective Elisa, Lexington recounting of his trials with the Pack, Angela revealing anecdotes of Avalon, Cassandra giving reports of when Demona had kidnapped her and almost destroyed her. Bronx wandered in at one point and, although suspicious at first like any other guard dog, befriended Destiny quickly… mostly because she scratched behind his ears continuously. “Wow…” was all she could say when the clan was done. “And to think I’ve worked here for three years without ever knowing about you guys… not even suspecting. Who would’ve thought such things could happen?” “Now you know.” Goliath finally spoke after having remained fairly silent throughout the long stories. “And we must have your solemn oath that you will never use your knowledge against us. There are… too few of us to risk it.” “I understand completely, Goliath… and you have my promise… on my parents’ graves.” She whispered, touching his massive hand in a gesture of sincerity. “Welcome to the club.” Brooklyn joked lightly. “Hope you don’t mind things blowing up… seems to follow us a bit.” “So I’ve heard. I knew the Quarrymen were fanatical and boring… I didn’t know they were stupid though. At this rate, PIT’s going to have a new member soon.” Destiny grinned. “So when do I meet the old man… Hudson, was it?” “C’mon, we’ll introduce you.” Cassie pulled on Destiny’s hand. She, Brooklyn, and Lex all led Destiny through a few hallways and into a smaller room set-up with a couch, a large TV, and one very occupied easy chair. “Hey, Hudson… we’ve got someone we want you to meet.” Cassandra announced their arrival, waving at the older gargoyle. “Canna it wait until Star Trek is over?” a rough, Scottish brogue replied with weary tolerance, the chair creaking as its occupant turned to see the newcomer. “An’ who would th’ lass be?” “Destiny Constance, sir… recent night-time security guard, former army chick, and new friend to your clan.” She strode forward and offered her hand for a shake. Without thinking, she grasped his wrist instead of his palm, offering a more intimate and stronger shake. He blinked in slight surprise at that, but gripped her wrist in return nonetheless. “Hudson, lass.” He nodded. She couldn’t help but give him the once over, more intently than she had the others. Hudson, although not as large as the aptly-named Goliath, was still a formidable-looking gargoyle. He was a medium tan in color, with a beard of light gray, although some slivers of his younger color were present. One eye was the same deep black as the other gargoyles, but the left eye was discolored to an amber hue, a scar line running through its center. She realized belatedly that he must be blind in that eye, although his stare did nothing to hint at a handicap. His build was much like Broadway’s; large and heavy-boned, with a significant amount of extra weight… however, his bulk was made up more of muscle than of fat. Destiny tried not to think of how prodigiously strong he probably was. “Pleased to meet you, Hudson. What’re you watching?” she inclined her head towards the television set that sat complacently in front of him. “Some ol’ episode o’ Star Trek.” He shrugged. She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. I don’t like the old ones… I like Next Generation much better. Patrick Stewart is hot.” He raised a brow ridge in response, plainly amused that young Destiny could possibly think an man so much older than herself was attractive. “Angela seems te like tha’ number one lad… Riker, is it?” Angela blushed a little, nodding in affirmation of the name. “He is… rather handsome.” She admitted, sending Broadway a sideways glance. The turquoise gargoyle stiffened his jaw slightly, pretending to be affronted. “I thought I was handsome!” “You are, Broadway.” Cassie patting him consolingly on the shoulder. “But a girl needs her little fantasies every now and again… right, Angela?” She nodded. Hudson rolled his eyes. ‘Whatever ye say, lassies… te tell ye th’ truth, tha’ Riker reminds me far too much of Xanatos.” Destiny considered. “I never noticed that before… you’re right!”
*****
She breathed in deeply, watching one of her rookery sisters ahead of her swoop and dive through the night sky, performing the ascribed maneuvers of defense beautifully. Her sister soared up to the stars, her flame red hair trailing after her like a flame as she glided. It was a chilly night and she could see her breath misting the air. Behind her, a few more of her rookery siblings watched the one in flight, whispering among themselves and giving last-minute advice to each other. It was the night she’d been dreaded ever since she’d been old enough to understand… the night of ascension. The night when the fledglings of the oldest rookery came of age and took on the test that would make them warriors… hatchlings no longer. She had never been as quick to fight as her siblings; she was not as strong, strategic, or coordinated. No one had ever said anything to her face, but she knew that few of them expected her to pass the test. Even with their leader’s private tutelage, she was doubtful herself. While her fighting skills had improved under the leader’s watchful eye, her gliding skills were rather weak when compared to the likes of her siblings. She was fast, true enough, but she wasn’t as adept at sharp turns or aerial acrobatics. Cheering interrupted her thoughts and she turned to find her favorite rookery sister being congratulated by the elders. With a smile, she headed over to embrace the blue-skinned warrior warmly. “I knew you could do it.” She said, forcing a cheerfulness she didn’t feel. “You’ll be fine, sister. I know it! With all of the training that our leader’s been giving you, there’s no possible way to fail.” Her sister insisted, caping her wings gracefully. “Congratulations, sister.” A male who had already been awarded his warrior status came over, a smile splitting his handsome face. “You were the best so far.” “Thank you, Goliath.” She tossed at him with a mischievous smirk. He wrinkled his nose disdainfully at the name that the humans had bestowed upon him recently. “Must you call me that?” “It is what the humans call you… it’s the first time they’ve shown interest in us.” The smaller female explained in a soft voice. “Besides…it does suit you.” He drew himself up proudly, all but puffing out his chest in a display of testosterone-induced satisfaction. “Does it, now?” “Oh, don’t encourage him.” Her sister sighed, punching him in the shoulder playfully. “He knows full well why the humans call him that.” “Indeed.” Goliath replied, the wind thoroughly stolen from his sails. “It’s your turn for the test, sister.” She took a deep breath and looked at the balcony edge fearfully. “Oh, dear…” “You’ll do fine.” Her sister reminded her with a pat on the shoulder. “Of course. You’ll be gliding in battle with the rest of us before you know it.” Goliath added sincerely. “Thanks.” She offered them a smile of her own and headed for the edge. As she looked over it, she could see several of the elders, including the leader, looking up at her and giving her the go-ahead. She caught the leader’s gaze and he smiled at her, nodding encouragement. She leapt off of the edge and glided high.
*****
Destiny awoke slowly reluctant to leave her dreams, as far as she was concerned the wind was still whipping through her hair and caressing her wings. Wings? She sat up, staring out the window at the sun-streaked sky. Wings? Why had she been dreaming about having wings? Dreams of flight she’d had of course, but not like this. Meeting the gargoyles and befriending them over the past few weeks had apparently affected her dreams… now she was imagining herself as one of them! She rose from the bed and walked to the window, gazing out at the clouds in the azure-hued sky. Her new friends would be in stone sleep… no sense in even going to the castle before sunset and that was a few hours’ off. With a sigh, she put her robe on and ran a comb through her blonde hair before heading into her small bathroom. A few minutes later, she stood under the heavy stream of hot water, staring at the tiles intently. This was too weird. Whenever she was with the gargoyles, she felt as though she’d come home… that she’d finally found some long lost friends. Or was she the long lost friend? She adored them all; Goliath’s quiet authority, Brooklyn’s unrelenting good humor, Broadway’s cooking, Lexington’s curiosity, Bronx’s sloppy dog kisses… Hudson’s intriguing accent. She couldn’t quite place it, but while the sight of the others going about their nightly routines filled her with companionship and sometimes pride, Hudson’s habit of confining himself to the chair and watching TV made her sad somehow. He did leave several times a week to teach reading somewhere called the labyrinth or to visit a local author named Robbins… but other than those few outings, he was glued to the chair. She could tell that he was not happy about it either… but pride kept him from volunteering at anything else. He reminded her intensely of an uncle she’d once had. Uncle Max had been the one who’d convinced her to join the army in the first place, he had been a soldier in Vietnam and later, a high-ranking lieutenant. But after he’d retired… his whole demeanor had changed. Where once he’d walked with shoulders back and head held high, he rarely left his Southern Jersey home. He felt useless because he wasn’t working, just draining social security from the government he’d once taken such pride in serving. It took time, but eventually he came to accept that just because he was no longer a young soldier defending his country, it didn’t mean that he was worthless. Hudson seemed to be suffering from a similar depression. Although he was still a fit warrior according to the others, he felt that his age slowed him down and made him a risky commodity to them. In a way, this might have been true… Hudson was almost one hundred and thirty years old, minus the thousand years in stone sleep… about sixty-five to a human. He was not as swift or limber as he had been as the leader. He was blind in one eye and his war-hardened muscles were starting to show signs of atrophy. But instead of working to rectify such indications of aging, he had succumbed to the ravages of time. Destiny sighed, her heart giving a small twist of pain. Yes, Hudson’s situation reminded her of Uncle Max’s… but that was where any comparison stopped. Whenever she was alone with him, she couldn’t help but be entranced by his accent, or his battle-scarred wings, or his wounded eye. She knew, without being told, that his usual gruffness was not meant personally… that his confidence was not easily caught… that he could not have adjusted to the twentieth century quickly. Sometimes, he stilled seemed baffled by modern conveniences… a quality that made her giggle and adore him. She sighed again, finally moving herself to lather up the bath poof and run it over her body. The others would think her insane if they knew even half of what she thought of Hudson. At times, they almost seemed to be pushing her to spend time with Lexington since he was the only single among his brothers. But Lex was more inclined to babble about computer games and she had little interest in technical specs. Besides, she found Hudson far more handsome than his younger compatriots. Yes, he was older, battle-marked, and occasionally grouchy… but somewhere in her heart, something had been stirred. Where she felt as though she’d known the others before… she was certain of it where Hudson was concerned. She never wondered how his wings would feel wrapped around her, or how his accented voice would sound when in soft whispers, or how he would look when touched to the soul… she already knew. There were times when she had to bite her tongue to keep from calling him things like her leader, her mentor… her love. She shook her head, sending drops of water and shampoo spraying across the shower door. The dreams had to getting to her. She should really go see a shrink. But how to approach such odd subject matters? “Hi, I’m Destiny and I have dreams about being a gargoyle…” She almost laughed at herself as she got out of the shower and picked out her clothes for the night. A security guard she was, but she hardly dressed the part most of the time since taking the night shift. More often than not, Xanatos told her to get away from the desk for a while. Owen was more than capable of keeping the place under control. She was beginning to wonder why he even kept her on the payroll. Even on nights where she was supposed to be working, she often found herself watching a movie with Hudson, if only to get him away from those horrid Star Trek episodes and reruns of Wheel of Fortune. She introduced him to The Highlander, Robin Hood, and even The Three Musketeers. Much to her delight, he didn’t sneer at the mushy parts like so many other individuals of the male persuasion had. There was hope for males everywhere yet.
*****
“Good evenin’, lass.” Hudson greeted her when she arrived in the TV room. He was in his usual spot in the easy chair, remote control in hand, channels clicking by faster than the speed of light. “Hey, Hudson. What’s up?” she smiled, tossing her wheat-colored bangs out of her eyes and seating herself cross-legged at his feet, leaning back against his knees. “Up where, lass?” he asked with a glance towards the ceiling. “You know what I mean, you goof. What are you doing?” she slapped at his leg in a scolding manner. “Nothin’. Just watchin’ some television, lass. And ye?” he shrugged, turning his attention back to The Crocodile Hunter. “Anything earth-shattering?” “I dinna think so.” He finally graced her with a look of curiosity. “Good… cause you’re coming with me.” She nodded, using his knees as leverage to get up and tug at his hands. “Am I? An’ where might we be goin’?” he asked without budging from the chair. “Out.” She answered enigmatically, continuing to tug at him rather ineffectually. “Where, lass?” “Oh, c’mon and come with me…” she insisted, finally managing to pull him up. He shifted forward, following her with obvious reluctance out onto the balcony. “Up there… can we get up there?” she asked, pointing at the highest tower the castle had to offer. “Aye… if I carry ye up te th’ roof.” He nodded, now looking at her with bemusement. Looked up at the tower again, quickly guessing that it had to be a good several stories above any other part of the castle. Despite army training, she’d never been fond of heights… and the idea of being carried to such an altitude did not agree with her much. “Well… if that’s how we get up there… then… that’s how we get up there.” She nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat. Bolstering her courage, she walked up behind Hudson and closed her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to do so. Hudson raised a brow at this show of audacity, but began climbing the side of the wall nonetheless. Destiny pressed her face against the back of his neck, no doubt squeezing her eyes shut against the long drop down. He could feel her heart in its frightened double-beat against his spine and swallowed hard. It had been a long time since he’d felt such sentiments about any female… to say nothing of a human woman. While he never voiced any opposition to Goliath’s choice in recent mate, he held high hopes for the continuance of their race through traditional couples. However… he was beginning to see how a warrior could be swayed towards those of the human persuasion. She reminded him so much of… no, he refused to let himself think of her. His sweet, brave mate had been stirring in his thoughts too much already in recent days. Not that he had forgotten her by any means, but in order to secret their forbidden union, he had been forced to conceal his heartbreak from his clan for years. The only way to do that and to retain his sanity in the same vein was to not think of her. His murdered mate had since resided in the back of his mind, in the places he visited between nighttime hours and stone sleep or when feeling particularly forsaken in his new environment. They reached the top in no time and Destiny settled on her feet gratefully, her breath steaming in the cold, night air. Hudson crossed his arms and looked at her with familiar mock-superiority. “Are ye happy now? We’re out.” He asked good-naturedly. “Ecstatic. I always wondered what the view was like from up here.” She smiled, turning to lean against the raised ledge, looking out over the city with bright eyes. “Wow…” Hudson was equally spellbound, but not by the view. The angle that Destiny turned away from him, her stance and figure against the stone wall, the way that her hair was tossed gently by the light wind that always ornamented such heights… she looked exactly as his lost mate had that one night… when everything changed.
“Lass? What’re ye doin’ up here? Ye should be training wi’ the others.” He approached her, surprised to see any young gargoyle merely standing around. She turned slightly, enough that he could see the tears standing in her eyes and the way her wings wrapped tightly around her, as though trying to shield herself from all of the world. She recognized him instantly and guiltily looked down, wiping an errant tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “I… I didn’t expect anyone to come here…” she whispered, her commonly soft voice rasped by sadness. He put a heavy hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him more fully. “What is it, lass? Why’re ye weepin’? Ye should be excited, wi’ the ascension comin’ up.” She looked down again, pain crossing her pretty features. “I’m not looking forward to the tests, my leader.” “And why not? Isna it what ye’ve been trainin’ for?” he asked, genuinely confused. “I can’t do it!” she cried suddenly. “I’ll never pass the tests! I’ll be a hatchling, while my brothers and sisters become warriors.” He sighed. It was true that this particular hatchling was not as skilled as her fellows; she was over-cautious and sometimes clumsy, her fighting skills lacked immensely, and her gliding was uncertain. So far, the only pluses he’d seen in her qualities for ascension were her ability to successfully plan an attack beforehand and her talent for stealth. She was small and slight, having none of the usual bulk that even female warriors acquired… but that could be turned into an advantage easily… with the right training. “Ye’ll pass the tests, lass… I promise. Come wi’ me.” He said with a determined expression, taking her hand in his and pulling her to the edge. She leapt into the air after her him, her wings slightly unsteady. “Leader… where are you taking me?” she asked in a scared voice. “Te the shoreline… we’ll want to be left alone fer this.” He answered cryptically, pulling her along to the cliffs that Castle Wyvern resided on and straight down to the rocky shore. They landed on the slightly sandy ground and he turned to face her, his eyes assessing. She fought the urge to wring her hands. Without a word, he took her hands in his and placed his sword within them. “Leader, what-?” she started to ask. “Take th’ sword, lass… and I’ll teach ye how te use it.” he cut her off. “Teach me?” she repeated. “You… you mean it?” “Aye. Tha’s what I said.” He nodded. “Ever’ night, ye meet me here for a while… we’ll go over yer skills.” “You think it will help?” she asked hopefully, her eyes bright. “Aye. Wi’ me by yer side, ye’ll ascend wit’ flyin’ colors.”he nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm. That was yet another plus to her skills, she was eager to learn and fight if given the chance. Often a little specialized trained was all that was required in cases such as hers, someone to take her under their wing and guide her. (To Be Continued!) |