Gargoyles: Clan Manhattan -- Volume #29: "Spirits of the Green"

Volume #29: "Spirits of the Green"

The attackers swooped over the rainforest quickly, leaving no stone unturned in their search for the defenders. They blasted through trees and ruins, nothing remaining behind to mark their presence other than rubble and fire.

Huddled in a small cave, Zafiro leaned against the wall, cradling the dying body of Obsidiana to him. He had a hard time holding the tears back.

"You'll make it, amigo. You have to. The Green needs you, and me."

Her breaths came as a great struggle. "No, Zafiro. It is ... time for me to rest at last."

"Just hang on to sunrise. I can take the pendant off ..."

But Obsidiana heard him no more. She slumped lifeless, her wounds finally overtaking her. Zafiro held her close to his chest, one last embrace to his mate.

Delicately taking the pendant from around her neck, he put it around his own. The attackers approached the cave ...

And suddenly, they faced the last guardian of the Green, the rage in his breast uncontrollable as his eyes shone white-hot with his grief and fury. He roared into the night, leaping full-force at the enemy.

One blow later, the battle was over.

She had spent her nights here more often, as her loneliness had grown. It was now her sole purpose in life to guard this small portion of the Green. Perhaps in the future, those outside of the forest would know enough to guard it themselves.

She swooped into a high branch of a great tree, scanning it against the rest of the landscape of the magical isle she had called her home for nearly 10 years now.

Avalon.

She sighed a great breath. Nothing seemed out of order. She leaped once more out of the tree and into the night ...

... when suddenly a piercing magic presence grasped her by the throat. Literally. The pendant around her neck glowed wildly, leaving her unable to control her flight as she crashed to the ground. And when she hit, she hit hard, knocking branches off of trees in her path all the way.

When she finally hit bottom, the gargess known as Turqueza sat straight up. A strange glow appeared in her eyes. Suddenly she had a single-minded quest.

She pulled herself upright, launching herself into an updraft, toward the castle she had not set foot in for nearly three years.

She burst into the courtyard of the castle in a great rush. Hurriedly, she ran over to the one she recognized as Gabriel, the clan's leader. She widened her eyes as she finally came up to him.

"Who ...?"

Tom, the guardian, turned suddenly to see Turqueza gripping Gabriel's shoulders pleadingly. "Gabriel, where is my son?"

"I ... I don't understand ..."

Tom placed a hand on her shoulder. "You wouldn't happen to be referring to Lina's friend from the forest, would you?"

Turqueza stood stock still. From the forest?!

"You've seen him! I knew you had!"

"She means ... Rain? But that's impossible, he couldn't possibly ..."

"Por favor, amigos ... tell me where my son is!"

Rain came up to the top battlement of the Castle, approaching his leader and love, Rosanna. Approached her slowly, as he could see she was deep in thought about the defense parties. He finally found an opening to come up behind her.

"Anything interesting?"

She turned around to see him, smiling. Even though one of her eyes was cybernetic, both of them seemed to radiate her affection for him. "Not yet. The Rokkans are quiet tonight."

"Any idea why?"

Rosanna sighed, approaching him. "I don't know, really. I keep thinking of Brianna and the possibility that they're all around the world killing the other gargoyle clans."

Rain approached close enough to touch her now. He placed his arms around her.

"It's frightening."

"Courage, Rosanna. We'll make it."

She looked up at him, smiling again. But suddenly his expression became one of shock and pain, as he backed away from her. Gasping in pain, he gripped the pendant around his neck, kneeling to the stones of the battlement.

"Are you all right? Should I get Coyote?"

"NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Rain's scream took even Rosanna by surprise as he rocked his head back and yelled into the night. Naturally, the sound brought the entire clan rushing up to the battlement in a panic. They arrived to see Rosanna with her arm around Rain's shoulders, crouching next to the staggered and obviously in great pain gargoyle.

"Keep back, folks! I don't know what's going on ..."

An otherworldly glow emanated from the pendant around Rain's neck, projecting itself toward the stones in front of him. The light soon formed a shape, then a ghostly form.

Goliath came to the front of the group, recognizing the gargoyle that had materialized. "It's ... Zafiro."

The shade looked around at the group, then down at Rain, still grasping his midsection.

**You are not who I was expecting.**

"I'm just full of surprises." Rain stood up, facing the shade fully.

Zafiro nodded. **So it's true. You are Turqueza's son.**

"Turqueza?" Rosanna looked at him, shocked. "As in Guatemalan Turqueza, as in a gargoyle that escorted a bunch of trees to Avalon Turqueza?!"

Lina stroked her chin thoughtfully. "So that explains why he was by the hot trees ..."

All was lost, though, as Zafiro approached the gargoyle, his hand outstretched. **I greet you, son of my clan. We have much to discuss, but little time.**

"I think I'd agree."

**Then let me touch you, Rain. All you will need to know will be revealed.**

Rain hesitantly nodded. Zafiro approached him slowly, sensing the fear in the living gargoyle, and placed a hand gently on Rain's forehead. The shade's hand started passing into the gargoyle's forehead, as Rain's eyes glazed over with the knowledge he was now receiving at high speed.

The barge landed on the shores of Avalon. The two gargoyles escorting this precious piece of the Green scrambled off their perches in the trees, heading over to where a lone human stood. He appeared to be wearing a leather jacket and blue jeans.

"Welcome. We've been expecting you."

"I've almost got it!"

Coyote had been spending more and more of his days with the Guatemalan gargoyles, as he enjoyed their company more than he did his fae brothers and sisters. Of course, mortals had always held a strange attraction for him.

"Just a few inches farther ..." Jade urged the trickster on, sitting in the branches of a giant tree. They were trying to reach a piece of fruit that Turqueza had requested.

Finally, Coyote had his hand firmly around it. "Got it."

A sudden breeze kicked through the giant rainforest tree, knocking the two beings on the branch for a loop. They fell, unable to control their descent.

Desperately, Jade tried to unfurl his wings. The dense foliage around him, however, made that all the more difficult. His wings got tangled in a patch of loose vines, and he pitched forward, falling headfirst toward the floor of the small forest section.

Coyote finally had his wits about him enough to let his powers levitate him. Then he looked to see Jade falling. Before he could react, the gargoyle struck the hard ground.

Turqeza could barely control her emotions as she prepared the cremation. She had already been in tears most of the day, but the sad task of removing the mystical pendant from Jade's neck had been nearly the breaking point for her. She backed away from the pyre, dropping a torch at its base and setting her companion's body ablaze.

Coyote stood by her side, watching the sad ceremony. And when it seemed like she would jump into the flames, he was there to hold her back. Away from her mournful gaze, Coyote looked back toward the castle of Avalon, anger flaring in his eyes.

"Come on, you three little bitches, get yourselves out here!"

Coyote's angry demands into the night were finally answered by the appearance of the Weird Sisters. Draped in their vestments of Avalonian royalty, they approached the trickster.

"Why do you call us out here, Coyote?"

"You should be grateful to us."

"We saved you from falling into the mortals' lives."

Coyote snorted, disgustedly. "Oh, you three high and mighty ... just because you have a thing for torturing mortals, does that give you the right to murder them wantonly?"

Luna gave him a sideways look. "Wantonly?"

Selene shook her head. "Everything we have ever done has been in the name of our king."

Phoebe gestured toward the castle. "Come, Coyote. We await your return."

Coyote stood there, facing the three witches angrily. "No."

All three chimed in unison, for once. "What?!"

"You heard me. No. Nothing you have ever done has been in Oberon's name! Everything you create you use to your own ends, whatever they may be. Truth be told, I always thought you were pretty great tricksters in your own right, looking at all of the cruel gags you've laid upon humans."

He turned his back to the Sisters. "And you can't ever convince me that you care for anything but your own selves. But I do. Jade was my friend, and Turqueza still is."

He stalked off, back to the small part of the Green.

The days went slowly by, as Turqueza finally came out of her shell, eating what Coyote offered her, keeping up her strength. However, the nights seemed to be more and more mournful. She finally came up to Coyote, embracing him.

He looked upon her bemusedly. "What's this for?"

She smiled sadly. "We had intended to become mates. I mean, we'd been promising each other for years that we would carry it out. And now ..." Her face twisted in sorrow again. "Now we will never have the chance."

He held her closer, comforting her.

Their friendship had been strong from the beginning, when the trees had arrived. But now the magic soil of Avalon was helping the Green to flourish brightly here. And Turqueza had never been happier.

Even thoughts of her sorrow at Jade's death seemed to be forgotten. Her time with Coyote was slowly bringing the two of them closer together.

finally, one night when he was tending to the trees with her, it finally blurted out of her mouth unintentionally.

She looked over at Coyote. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Coyote."

He looked up in shock. Shock great enough to send him falling off the branch again. Turqueza quickly swooped under his fall to catch him.

"Well now, it looks like you truly have swept me off my feet!" The two laughed, then embraced fully, gliding further into the night.

He knew of her wish for a child, but had no idea how he could fulfill it. Suddenly, the idea came to him. He closed his eyes, concentrating his fae magicks on the one thing he never had cast a spell upon.

Himself.

The strapping gargoyle picked Turqueza up from the floor of her living space, a small pyramid constructed from Avalonian stones.

"What ...?"

"It's me, Turqueza."

Then she saw his face. His beautiful face. "Coyote!"

He carried her out of the pyramid, unfurling his wings into the night and carrying them both off.

Something was wrong. Surely, she could not be laying the egg now! It had only been three days since her night of passion with Coyote.

The egg had barely been there for two days when it was hatching. Turqueza was becoming more and more confused, and looked to Coyote for guidance.

"It is his fae blood. That's what's causing this."

Turqueza looked to Coyote. "I don't follow."

"The fae don't have a childhood like mortals, Turqueza. We usually spring full-formed from whatever womb we may have been gestated in, and find our place in Oberon's court immediately."

"Oberon's court?!" The horror in Turqueza's voice was evident.

Coyote grew a firm look in his eyes as he spoke. "Never. We must keep him secret from Oberon and the court at all costs. One day, he will bring forth mine and Jade's revenge."

The little gargoyle burst free from the shell, looking less like a hatchling and more like an adolescent. He roared his discontent into the world.

Coyote smiled. "Welcome to my world, my son." He placed Jade's pendant around the newborn's neck. "Remember."

Zafiro pulled his hand away from Rain's forehead, his image fading. **There is more, but those are the details you need to know.**

Rain stood there, shellshocked. His mouth hung open, the weight of these revelations finally resting in his brain. He turned to look at Coyote, then back at the spirit. "How could you have known, if you're still in Guatemala?"

**The pendants link us all together. We knew of Jade's death as it happened. We also knew of your birth. And now, the links are down to two.**

The shade was now joined by another, a shade which Goliath and Angela recognized as Obsidiana. **We leave our legacy with you, Rain. You are our spirit. The Green is yours, hijo.**

The two shades unfurled their wings, moving to the walls of the battlement and flying off into the night. They disappeared soon after crossing into the moon. As soon as they were gone, however, the group was distracted by the sound of another gargess coming up to the battlement.

"It's true! You are here!"

Rain turned to face the gargess he now recognized as his mother. He smiled widely, rushing into her embrace. The mother and son were soon joined by Coyote, as they moved down off the battlement. Slowly, the rest of the group moved off with them.

This only left Rosanna standing there on the battlement. Somehow, she had been able to see Zafiro's revelations to her love, possibly by some magic link created by their relationship. She was now hurt and confused.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she looked after Rain. "My God, who is the one that I love?"

To Be Continued

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