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The Third Cycle
Kristafori (i.d.wilson@top.monad.net)
OK, here we go. Gargoyles are the property of Bueana
Vista and Disney. All terms, names, concepts, themes, ect.
ect. used in Mage: the Ascension and Vampire: the Masquerade
are property of White Wolf gaming studios. All the songs I
quoted are property of the artist. All the above named are
not mine, I didn't make them up. But the rest of it is all
mine, mine you hear me MINE!!!! Copyright Kristafori 1997.
This story is dedicated to my friend and editor Stickman
-----
"I've been numb, I'm revived, can say I'm not alive," -
Meredith Brooks
-----
It was a bright day, sun shining and not a cloud in the
sky. It was a warm day, even for New York in May. The
crowds passed in the streets, hurrying from here to there
without a thought about it. It was almost noon on the island
of glass and steel that is Manhattan. A young woman dressed
in jeans cut-off shorts that were slightly raged around the
edges and a black T-shirt moved through the noon day crowd.
Her hair was blond with darker roots and in the front of her
hair line, near the part, was a streak of bright purple
hair. All of the hair that was obviously bleached hung just
below her shoulder blades that stuck out for no apparent
reason. She had a pale complication and was in need for
some sun. Her eyes where hidden behind some very dark
sunglasses. Around her neck she wore a pendent of some kind
of brilliant blue stone that caught the sun's rays and
transformed them in to the most beautiful blue light that
ever was. She was impossibly thin, her ribs stuck out and
you could see almost every bone in her.
She looked at her hand, then the address of the
building she was standing in front of they matched. She
looked up to see if she could she the top of the building
that she had heard was 10th century castle from Scotland,
But she couldn't see through the glare of the sun. She
shrugged and walked inside.
The inside of the skyscraper was cool and relatively
quit compared to the outside street. There was a security
desk and a row of elevators along the far wall. She walked
up to the guard's desk. The guard turned his attention from
the baseball game on one of the monitors to her.
"Hi, I'm here to see David Xanatos," she said and
checked the name on her hand to make sure she go it right.
"Ya, no kid'n-," the middle aged guard was cut off by a
man in a blue suit and glasses.
"I'm Mr. Xanatos's personal assistant Owen Burnett. If
you would come this way, please," Owen lead her to the
elevator to the personal living space, the top floors. The
guard sat there with a puzzled look on his face then he went
back to the game. Owen pushed the button and the elevator
doors opened, she stepped in and Owen followed. There was a
mechanical hum as the elevators started up.
"Hey is it true that the top of this place is some kind
of medieval castle?" she asked excitedly. Owen looked at her
blindly and a little impatiently.
"Yes it is true," he said with a sight, he had been
asked that before.
"And all the gargoyles that everyone is seeing flying
around live there?" she asked childishly.
"No, there are no gargoyles there," Owen said sharply.
"Pity," she said mockingly, and for an instant Owen
thought he saw a flicker of light come from behind the
sunglasses she was wearing.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened, it was like
they walked into another time. A man in a black suit walked
towards them.
"Hello I'm David Xanatos," he said, and they shook
hands at which time he noticed the strange metal ring she
wore in her thumb. It covered the middle joint of the thumb
and had what looked like a switch on it.
"Won't you step into my office?" He led her into a
large room with windows and a desk along the wall. Xanatos
sat behind the desk and Owen got the chair for her.
"Well I must admit I was intrigued by what you said on
the phone about a fairly
interesting agreement." He said, sitting back in the chair.
"Well, first of all I'd like to say what an interesting
place you have. But I would like to ask you about the
gargoyle sittings around the city ‘cause I heard this rumor
that they lived here and I was wondering if that was true."
She finished and looked him right in the eye.
"I think I can tell why you are really here, and Owen
can show you out," He began to get up to leave.
"Tell your fey to back away from the security and
listen to what I have to say," she said this so fast, so
ordered, that both men just sat there with a look of shook
on there faces. Xanatos sat there wondering how she knew,
and Owen had his finger on the security button considering
that she had her back to him. Owen stood there wondering
how she, in the few seconds they had been in each other's
presence, figured out what he was.
"Owen is there a problem?" Xanatos asked his assistant.
"No sir," Owen said even though he looked like had just
seen a ghost.
"Now, what I have to say isn't easy for me," she
sighed, "I'm a gargoyle" She took off her sunglasses. Her
eyes glowed a pale green, like the other gargoyles.
Xanatos's eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. She
quickly put the glasses back on and looked at him with a
blank but almost pleading look.
"I see," Xanatos said. "May I ask why you aren't
asleep or in stone?"
"I," she sighed again and looked away, "I know a bit of
magic and it is the only reason I'm still alive is that I
can change form,"
"What clan are you from?"
"No clan"
"Then how did you come to live in the twentieth
century?"
"I would prefer to keep my past private. Look I have
nowhere else to go,"
"And you wanted to come here and join this clan?"
"Yes"
"Excellent." Xanatos smiled and put his hand out.
"I'm David."
She shook his hand, "I'm Krissie"
In the five hours before sunrise Krissie literally
performed a miracle. She explained to Xanatos that she had
some stuff to get if she was going to ‘move in’. She also
explained that she wanted to keep the whole magic thing
private. When Xanatos asked her why she didn't answer him.
The old storage room that was just taking up space was
transformed into a small, "haven," as Krissie called it.
Krissie went to get her stuff and Xanatos decided that
that would be the perfect time to tell his wife about the
whole thing. Needless to say Fox was less then thrilled by
the whole thing.
"David, how could you invite someone into our home? I
mean what do we really now about this person," Fox said with
her hands on her hips.
"Gargoyle, and she must have her reasons for not
telling us; probably she doesn't want to pour her heart out
to a perfect stranger," Xanatos answered.
"And how do you know she is what she says she is. And
where is Owen? I haven't seen him all day," Fox said,
agitated.
"He went with Krissie, I think they should be back
soon." Xanatos put his hands in his pockets.
"I don't like this," Fox said as she crossed her arms
across her chest and gave Xanatos ‘the look’. Obviously
Xanatos had learned not to look at his wife, because men are
powerless against ‘the look’. They heard the elevator door
ping.
"Well speak of the devil," Xanatos said.
Krissie staggered out of the elevator with a heavy
looking box in her arms and an equally heavy looking back
pack on her back. Owen followed with another box in his
arms.
"Hello, we're baaack," Krissie said and walked to the
door of the storage room. She took off one of her loose
sneakers and opened the door with her foot. She walked into
the room and set the box down, Fox followed her in.
"What's all this?" Fox asked.
"Um, computer, stereo, and some other basic junk,"
Krissie took off her back pack. "I'm Krissie," she said
smiling.
"I'm Fox," they shook hands.
"I hope your getting to feel at home," Xanatos said
walking into the room.
"Thanks, I really appreciate this. Oh, I wanted to
show you guys something now so you won't freak if you see it
later." Krissie opened her mouth and her canine teeth grew
about an inch in front of them. When they stopped they were
long curved fangs that were a good inch longer then her
already large canines.
"Pretty neat, huh?" Krissie said, Xanatos and Fox both
stood there with their mouths open. "How did you do
that?" Fox asked slowly.
"I don't know, whenever I yawn or stretch they grow.
Freaky isn't it? Hey how long is it ‘til sunset?" Krissie
asked, beginning to unpack.
"About two hours ," Xanatos said. Then they all heard
a baby’s cry.
"Your son is up from his nap," Fox glanced at Xanatos.
The two parents left Krissie to unpack.
The sun set and the clan broke out of there stone sleep
and shook off there stone skin. Xanatos walked up the steps
to the tower where Goliath slept.
"Hello," Xanatos said. Goliath stood over looking the
city.
"Good evening," Goliath said without looking at him.
"Can we talk in private," Xanatos asked gesturing to
the stairs that lead back inside.
"I met someone who I think you should meet." Xanatos
started to walk with Goliath down the stairs, into the hall,
and towards the old storage room.
"Who?" Goliath asked.
"Well she certainly knows a lot about gargoyles,"
Xanatos stopped at the storage room door and knocked.
Goliath looked perplexed.
"Come in," a voice said from behind the door.
Goliath's face turn surprised, then Xanatos opened the door.
The storage room looked completely different. The old
dresser that was missing a leg was pushed up again the wall,
a cinder block took the place of the missing leg. A small
stereo sat on top of it. The rickety old table was pushed
against the opposite wall, a computer and monitor sat on top
of that. An old cloth hammock hung between two supports in
front of them. The lazy boy that Bronx had shredded the arm
of was pushed against the wall next to the dresser. Krissie
sat in an old chair at the computer, she hit the shut down
button and turned around to face them.
Xanatos had not seen Krissie in gargoyle form before
and his first thought was how much she looked like Demona.
Her skin was a light grayish-blue. Her wings were huge and
ribbed, but they ran out like fingers on a bat’s wing.
Other than the usual elbow and knee spurs he had seen on all
the gargoyles she looked much like her human form.
"Krissie, this is Goliath, leader of the Manhattan
clan," Xanatos said as he started the introductions. He
noticed that Goliath must have had the same thought about
who she looked like, because he just stood there in shock.
"Hi, I'm Krissie," she said smiling.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Goliath said politely.
"Where did you come from?"
"San Francisco," Krissie said.
"Are there more gargoyles there?" Goliath said
excitedly.
"No," Krissie said sort of sadly.
"You must meet the rest of the clan," Goliath said
grinning like some one had given him a million bucks.
"So how many are there," Krissie said eagerly.
"Six others, I can't believe that there are still
gargoyles out there still," Goliath said happily.
"Well you’re the first gargoyle I've met since I've
woken up," Krissie said. Goliath led Krissie to the room
where Hudson sat channel surfing with Bronx at his feet.
Brooklyn, Broadway, and Angela sat on the floor playing
cards. Lex sat at his computer in a chat room. Goliath
stepped into the room. Krissie stayed behind him and a
little out of sight.
"Everyone, I have joyous news." He had a grin from ear
to ear. "I would like to introduce, Krissie," Krissie
stepped out from behind him and into the light of the room.
"Hi," she said shyly. The room was silent for a
moment. Hudson spoke first.
"Welcome lass, I'm Hudson," Angela spoke next.
"It's so good to meet you," Angela said, face glowing.
"I'm Broadway," Broadway said boldly.
"I'm Lex," Lex said making sure his voice didn't crack.
Brooklyn just sat there like a bump on a log. His
palms were sweating a mile a minute.
"And this is Brooklyn," Lex said with a smirk on his
face.
"Hi," Brooklyn said quickly. It was a good thing that
his color was red because his face would have turned that
very quickly.
"Come we must talk," Angela said, "I have to warn you
about these guy" With this Angela and Krissie walked out of
the room. Once they were gone Lex started to laugh.
"Smooth Brooklyn, real smooth," Lex said between
laughs.
"What?!" Brooklyn said defensively.
"Oh come on, you know what," Broadway said.
"Thanks for being so understanding," Brooklyn shot
back.
"Pipe down lads," Hudson said from his chair.
Krissie and Angela walked through the castle wall and
out to the parapets, where they sat overlooking the city.
"It's so good not to be alone anymore, I mean the only
girl," Angela said. Krissie was looking over the city.
"I know, I was alone for a long time,"
"Where did you come from? I thought there were no
other gargoyles,"
"San Francisco," Krissie said finally turning away from
the city to face Angela.
"Are there-"
"No," Krissie cut her off. Goliath just asked me that
about five minutes ago,"
"Oh. I have to warn you, the guys will make total
fools out of themselves to get you to notice them,"
"Like what Brooklyn did?" Krissie asked.
"Yep, and worse," Angela said, "it's pathetic."
"Oh well," Krissie sighed. She looked over the wall
and jumped off disappearing into a cloud. Angela looked
puzzled for a moment. Then she saw Krissie's form rising
from the cloud. Angela noticed that Krissie was gliding on
a shaft of warm air. Slowly she climbed so she was level
with Angela. She climbed with such grace and ease, Angela
could hardly believe it. Krissie's wings barely moved,
Angela sat there, mouth open.
"How do you do that," Angela said in awe.
"I don't know, just something I could always do,"
Krissie answered.
"Jalapena," Angela said astonished.
Krissie sat back down on the wall next to Angela.
"You got some good wind up here, and a great view,"
Krissie said. They heard an 'arf arf' as Bronx trotted up
to them. He immediately put his front feet up on the wall
next to Krissie and started to whine."
"And who is this lug?" Krissie started to scratch
Bronx's head.
"That's Bronx," Angela said laughing. Bronx fell to
the floor and went belly up. Krissie took the hint and
began to rub Bronx's belly.
"I see ya met our watch dog," a voice said from behind
them. It was Hudson. "What do ya think of our home lass,"
"It's wonderful. This beats the pants off my old
place," Krissie said still rubbing Bronx's belly. Then Lex
stepped out of the shadows, followed by Brooklyn and
Broadway.
"Um Krissie we um were if we could um show you around
the city," he said while looking from the ground to her and
back to the ground.
"I'd love to," Krissie said smiling.
Lex and Brooklyn perked up and tried to look there
brightest.
"It has begun," Angela said shaking her head.
"Do you want to come too?" Broadway asked her
"Sure," Angela replied.
"You be careful now lads, and lassies," Hudson added.
"Okydoocky," Krissie said and jumped off the building
and into a cloud. The trio and Angela followed into the
cloud. Hudson looked up to see Goliath on the tower
watching them go. Bronx put his feet back up on the parapet
and whined. Then he looked at Hudson. Hudson petted
Bronx's head. Goliath glided down and stood next to the old
gargoyle.
"So what do you think lad?" Hudson asked.
"She is so human," Goliath said after a moment.
"And she looks so much like Demona,"
"Aye, I noticed that to. I wonder if that is what had
Brooklyn's tongue," Hudson said, looking at Goliath with a
strange smile on his face. Goliath chuckled to himself and
shook his head.
"I have never seen him choke up think that before."
"Ye know lad, this could lighten the tension between
him and Broadway."
"Or create new ones between him and Lexington," Goliath
sighed and crossed his arms across his chest.
"What did Angela tell her?" Hudson asked trying to hide
the fact that he was changing the subject.
"I don't know, I couldn't hear they were saying,"
Goliath said, "but halfway through she did the strangest
thing. She jumped off the castle into a cloud, and was
hovering there a hawk." He paused for a moment. "Oh well.
Anyway her wingspan was very large," Goliath finished.
"How any gargoyle can survive in this world without
sorcery or a clan is beyond me," Hudson said and looked out
into the night. Goliath sighed and joined his friend in
watching the night.
The trio, along with Angela and Krissie jumped off the
castle and into the night. Broadway and Angela flew
together side by side. while Krissie flew ahead of them with
Brooklyn on one side and Lex on the other. Angela noticed
that she flew very differently than the rest of them.
Instead of having her arms out she folded them across her
chest and instead of having her legs and tail limp, she kept
them stiff and there was a slight arch in her back. She
also flew very fast, Angela noticed Brooklyn and Lex
flapping to keep up.
"City sure is pretty at night," Krissie commented.
"You want to see central park?" Lex offered.
"Sure," she turned gracefully to one side, banking
slightly, not losing any speed. Then playfully she rolled in
midair, a perfect hundred-eighty degree turn. Now she was
gliding on her back.
"Wow," Brooklyn said when he glanced over. Lex looked
over to see what was so cool.
"Your a pretty good flyer," Brooklyn said.
"I'm the best," Krissie said rather arrogantly, it
electrified him.
"Is that a challenge?" Brooklyn asked coolly.
"Sure, race ya to central park," She said and before
Brooklyn could respond Krissie rolled back over. "Catch me
if you can!" Krissie dove into the city, with Brooklyn
right behind. Lex glided up next to Broadway.
"They’re made for each other," Lex said
"Maybe we should catch up." Angela sensed a mode off
sadness about Lex. She wanted to say something, anything
really but she couldn't find the words. So she watched as
Krissie dove into the city with Brooklyn behind her.
As Krissie dove she folded her wings in. Then she made
a sharp ninety-degree turn. Brooklyn on the other hand did
not dive as fast and really had to pull on his wings to
turn. Then Krissie shot straight up, while doing a
corkscrew type turn. Once above the city Krissie leveled
out at tremendous speed. She looked behind her to she where
Brooklyn was. He had just gotten up to altitude but without
the speed. Krissie grinned at him and dove to one side.
Brooklyn followed. This time Krissie went down to street
level and played slalom with the street lamps, and people.
Brooklyn knew Goliath would have his head if he did
that so he just looked on in as Krissie weaved her way in
and out of the people on the street. Then she shot up again
and flew in graceful barrel rolls over the Plaza Hotel and
into central park. Brooklyn flew over the Plaza and into
central park but he could not see Krissie anywhere. Then
from above he saw a bluish-gray streak pass him and do a
loop around him.
"Giving up?" Krissie's voice said tauntingly.
"No," Brooklyn said determinedly and he flapped hard to
gain speed. Krissie flapped for a second and went into low
level mode. She skinned the ground while dodging trees and
lamp posts. It was then that Brooklyn noticed that she and
bigger wings then him. It was when he was making a mental
note to himself about that when he forgot about that bump
in the landscape. So when Krissie banked around it he
banked into it. His wing hi the raise and Brooklyn went
spinning to the ground.
Krissie heard an ‘omf’ and looked back to see Brooklyn
rolling to a stop on the hill. She looped back and landed
beside him.
"That looked like it hurt," Krissie said standing over
him.
"I am definitely going to feel that tomorrow," Brooklyn
sat up and stretched his back.
"Ya know the trick is to turn around the hills, not
into them."
"I'll keep that in mind." Brooklyn got to his feet.
"How did you do all that stuff?"
"I can change the shape of my wings," Krissie said and
turned around. Without moving the part of her wing that
connected to her shoulder she spread the ribs of her wings
in and out, stretching the skin in between.
"Now that is a great trick." Brooklyn thought, "great,
make a fool out of yourself twice in one night."
"Hey!"
They looked up to see Broadway glide down and stand
beside them.
"Who won?" He asked, not noticing that Brooklyn was
standing funny.
"I did," Krissie said smirking to herself," crash
landings don't count,"
"You crashed?" Angela asked landing beside Broadway,
Lex landed beside Krissie.
"Well um, yes," He said trying to cover it up.
"How?" Lex asked.
"He tried to fly through the hill," Krissie said still
smirking.
"Are we done bashing Brooklyn ?" Brooklyn asked.
"Yes," Angela cut in, "We have to get back to the
castle, Elisa is dropping by."
"Oh ya, you have to meet Elisa," Broadway said.
"Who is Elisa?"
"She is our human friend," Lex explained, "She is
really nice,"
"Java," Krissie said and jumped into a nearby tree,
climbed to the top and took of off. Brooklyn, Angela and
Broadway followed.
Lex sat there for a moment and thought. "Java, java,
where have I heard that before? Oh well." He climbed the
tree and followed his brothers. Once in the air Angela flew
beside Krissie.
"You beat Brooklyn?" She asked again.
"Yep, is that unusual?"
"I guess not, it's just that Brooklyn is the best
flyer." Angela sounded confused.
"Not any more," Krissie said and then in Latin she
said, "Nothing lasts forever,"
"You speak Latin?" Angela sounded surprised.
"Sure do."
Elisa walked out of the elevator visibly pissed. Owen
walked up to her.
"Good evening Detective Maza," Owen said, very butler
like.
"Look is Goliath here?" Elisa said cutting him off.
"Yes-" Owen began to say something but stopped himself.
He would let Goliath break the new about Krissie. Elisa
walked away towards the court yard. Goliath was on the
tower with Hudson.
"Goliath!" Elisa shouted angrily.
"Ah oh," Goliath slapped his forehead. "I was suppose
to meet Elisa after sunset. She sounds mad."
"That she does," Hudson remarked. "Good luck lad,
you'll need it."
With that Goliath jumped off the tower and glided down
to stand in front of Elisa.
"Where have you been, I was going out of my mind when
you didn't show up,"
Halfway through Elisa's lecture Goliath cut in.
"I have wonderful news, there is a new gargoyle here."
Elisa stopped her lecture. "What?"
"Xanatos introduced her tonight," Goliath was beaming.
"What, her, a where," Elisa stuttered.
"The trio and Angela are showing her around the city,"
"When are they coming back?" Elisa asked.
"Here they come lass," Hudson shouted from the tower.
"Well," Goliath said, "you can ask her all of that in a
few minutes. She is so...human,"
"What do you mean human?" Elisa said.
"You'll see."
Angela and Krissie flew fast towards the tower, with
the trio close behind.
Krissie landed first, right in front of Elisa and
Goliath. Then Angela landed with the trio. Elisa stood in
shock for a moment.
"Krissie this is Elisa," Goliath said.
"Hello," Krissie smiled and waved.
"It's wonderful to meet you," Elisa said politely.
"Krissie, we're going to go get something to eat, do
you want anything?" asked Broadway.
"Sure," Krissie and the trio walked out of the court
yard. Angela stayed behind.
"Your right Goliath, she is human," Elisa agreed. "She
also looks like you know who."
"Its spooky," said Angela, "and she speaks Latin."
Goliath sighed," She does look a lot like Demona. I'm
afraid that her coming will create a rivalry between
Brooklyn and Lexington."
"Krissie challenged Brooklyn to a flying race, and
won," Angela said trying to change the subject.
"What?" Goliath sounded surprised.
"I didn't see most of it but apparently Krissie went
into low level mode in central park and flew around a hill,
Brooklyn turned into it. By the way he acted I would say
she won,"
Goliath laughed. "I would like to have seen that."
It was moments before sunrise and Krissie watched the
clan hop up on the parapets. Krissie reluctantly hopped up
beside Angela. She looked worried.
"What is wrong?" Angela asked.
"Nothing, its just I haven't slept in stone in a long
time." Krissie said as the sun came up and froze them all in
stone. Xanatos came out of the castle and stood behind
Krissie's statue. The statue cracked in spider web fashion
like it was sunset, and Krissie in human form popped out.
"I have to admit I never thought I would see that,"
Xanatos said as Krissie was brushing herself off.
"Why don't you sleep in stone?"
"I had to be human for so long, it made me fell weird
to sleep in stone because I knew I couldn't wake up."
"What do you think?" Xanatos gestured to the stone
statues.
"There nice, but I think Hudson had seen 'Braveheart'
one to many times,"
Xanatos had to chuckle. Krissie began to walk around
and look at the statues. Xanatos followed. Krissie stopped
at Brooklyn's statue and hopped up next to him and looked
into his stone eyes.
"You like him."
"Ya," Krissie ran her hand down the side of his stone
face," I do."
"To bad he isn't awake to hear you say that.
"Krissie smiled, "Ya." She cocked her head to one side
and looked into his stone eyes and hopped down. Krissie
stretched and yawned, and when she opened her mouth her
fangs grew about an inch.
"Jesume!" Xanatos jumped a foot.
"I warned you, when is sunset," Krissie asked through a
yawn.
"Around five-thirty,"
"Thanks, for everything," Krissie gave him a peck on
the cheek and walked into the castle. Krissie went
into her new place. She sat down at the table. Then she
got up and walked to her bureau, there she took out a piece
of tag board, a black marker, a thumbtack, a piece of
string, and tape. On one side of the tag board she wrote
'Krissie's haven. Knock first ' on the other side she
wrote 'I'm in la-la land, go away'. She taped the string to
two different places on the tag board so it made a sign.
Krissie tacked the sign to her door. Krissie yawned and
scratched her ribs. She jumped into her hammock and went to
sleep.
But she didn't sleep. She left her body and went to a
different place. A place of mind and spirit. A place
without the boundaries of the physical world. Krissie went
to Gia's plane. She once read a book how the people in
Australia called it the dream time or something. She used
her magic to get there.
Krissie remembered the her first time on the plain, her
brother Archon showed her the way. But that was nine
hundred years ago, when she was still a hatchling and he was
still alive.
Krissie and her brother had been given the gift of
elemental magic same as the Atlandtians. One night a
strange gargoyle with red hair had killed Archon in the
Antinoge church at the Antinoge Crossroads. With the last
pit of his strength he sealed all his power into a pendent
and gave it to Krissie. Then next night the stranger
returned and found that such a power had been given to such
a young gargoyle, locked Krissie in stone.
Krissie tried not to think about that, being around
gargoyles for really the first time in her life was making
her think of Archon, and how much she missed him still.
Krissie looked out over the city and at the sun. Gia's
plain is a mirror of the real world but it shows spirit and
mind, not physical beings. She had spent nine hundred years
on the plain practicing her magic, now she was a master of
two elements. Krissie sighed and started practicing. She
practiced for most of the day.
Krissie returned to her body about half an hour before
sunset and woke up. She left her room and went to the
parapet and left hopped up beside Angela. Krissie turned to
gargoyle form and to stone. At sunset she woke up at sunset
with the rest of the clan as if she had been there all day.
Three days passed and the trio showed her all the in
and outs of the city. Krissie liked it with the gargoyles
and didn't want anything to change that. She also noticed
that Angela and Broadway were close and the pain in
Brooklyn's eyes when he saw them. It was a nice night,
Krissie had turned to stone in her room so it was no
surprise to the clan that she wore up there. Brooklyn
strolled downed the hall and knocked on the door. He
knocked again, but a little louder. Still no answer. So he
cracked the door and looked in. Krissie was at her computer
with her head phones on, bobbing her head to the music and
mouthing the words.
"Hey Krissie," He said in a medium high voice.
Krissie turned around and saw him waiting.
"Sorry," She slid her head phones around her neck.
"I was wondering if you wanted to get some breakfast,"
he said looking around the room then at her.
"I'd love to but, I got a couple more mail to write
before and I wanted to get them done before I forget,"
"Oh, I see,"
"So, in about half an hour?" Krissie watched the hope
come back to Brooklyn's eyes.
"Half an hour sounds great!" he said all smiles.
Krissie smiled at him and he left the room.
"He is so sweet," she thought and you got to love that
hair. She went to put her head phones back on but she
stopped herself. Krissie slowly took the head phones off.
Something was wrong, she could feel it all over, it was
making her skin crawl. She felt a presence that she hadn't
felt in nine hundred years.
Krissie got up and left her room. She walked
cautiously to the great hall where the Grimorem was keep.
There standing over the Grimorem, was a blue gargoyle, with
red hair. Slowly Krissie walked up behind her. She could
see her reflection in the glass case of the book. So could
the other gargoyle. The stranger gasped and jumped around
to face her. Krissie starred back.
"Who, who are you?" The red haired one stuttered.
"God, nine hundred years," Krissie hissed.
"I know every living gargoyle, who are you?"
Then in perfect Latin Krissie spoke, "You killed my
brother, you took my entire life away," Her eyes flared
green and her fangs grew. The strange gargoyle screamed.
The stranger ran as fast as she could, on two legs. Krissie
ran on four and was closing quickly. The stranger ran to
the hallway that she knew led out so she would be able to
fly. But as she turned up the spiral stair case she saw
Goliath and Xanatos talking in the archway.
"Out of my way!" The stranger yelled as she burst
between them. They looked at each other with a look of
shock.
"Move it or lose it!" said a voice, and Krissie came
hurling out of the shadows. They jumped aside as she ran
past them. Once out Krissie took to the air with one flap
of her wings. She saw the stranger jump off a parapet and
glide over the courtyard. A bluish gray streak hit the
stranger from above and sent her spinning to the ground.
Krissie landed and snarled, her fangs shown brightly in the
moonlight. The stranger picked herself and ran back into the
castle, she just ran. She remembered the secret passage, it
was just ahead she thought. She veered right, right into
the tapestry that covered the secret passage. Krissie
didn't miss a beat. The stranger ran through the darkness
and through another tapestry, into the light and into
Goliath. She fell back on her tail and looked around. The
clan had formed a circle around her, but open to the
passage.
"Mother, what are you running from?" Angela asked. The
stranger got to her feet, still looking around. Angela had
her answer, Krissie walked from the darkness, eyes glowing,
teeth out. Krissie's pendent was glowing slightly, but no
one noticed but Brooklyn and the stranger. She gasped.
"Remember me now," Krissie said in Latin.
"It can't be," the stranger said, shaking her head,
"Krishana?" she whispered.
"You killed my brother," she continued in Latin, "you
condemned me to walk this plane alone." Krissie now stood
in front of Hudson.
"Fuck you, Bitch!" She grabbed Hudson's sword form his
belt and slashed the red haired one from shoulder to hip.
She was dead before she hit the ground. Everyone stood
there not really knowing what to do or say. Hudson tried to
take his sword out of Krissie's hand.
"I don't think," Krissie said and switched hands.
"Good riddance."
Krissie spat on the body.
"How could you do such a thing?" Angela sounded
disgusted. Krissie snarled showing her now inch long fangs.
Demona stared to come to. Krissie stepped hard on the back
of her neck forcing her face to the floor.
"Listen bitch, if you ever show your face here again I
will kill you, you understand me" Demona nodded her head the
best she could.
"Let Demona up so she can explain herself," Goliath
said in a commanding voice.
"Demona is it? Fitting." Krissie stepped off Demona's
neck. Demona quickly got to her feet and faced Krissie.
"What about the balance?" Demona asked in Latin.
"Fuck the Balance," Krissie threw down Hudson's sword
and walked out of the hall.
"What was that all about?" Lex remarked.
"Ask, Krissie," Demona retorted.
Krissie sat on one of the towers of castle Wyvern. She
had never really cried for her brother. She had nine
hundred on Gia's plain and she never cried for him when she
woke up. Seeing his killer again made her remember. She
finally cried for her Archon. Brooklyn walked up the stairs
to the tower and out to where Krissie was sitting. He could
see she was crying. He sat down next to her. She turned
away.
"So, what's your reason for hating Demona?"
"She killed my brother, right in front of me when I was
very young, and locked me in stone." A tear rolled down
Krissie check and sparkled in the moonlight.
"I know how you feel, Demona betrayed my clan one
thousand years ago and all but us were killed. Then when we
woke up she tried to kill Goliath. After that she used me
to cast a spell on Goliath."
He saw the tear on Krissie's cheek. "Oh, don't cry,
tears don't become you." Brooklyn gently wiped the tear
from Krissie's cheek with the back of his talon. Krissie
gave a little smile and looked into his big, gentle, brown
eyes.
"Ahem," Demona said from the top of he stairs. "I must
speak with Krissie."
"Brooklyn, please," Krissie looked away.
"OK," Brooklyn jumped off the parapet.
"Well Krishana, I must say you come along way from that
little hatchling I found in that church all those years
ago."
"Leave, and never come back, I broke the sleep spell
and that means I am more powerful than you," Krissie said
without looking at Demona.
"All right," Demona turned and glided off the tower.
Krissie got up and walked to her room. There she
jumped on her hammock, curled up in a ball and started to
cry.
There was a light tapping on the door.
"Come in," Krissie wiped the tears from her eyes and
rolled over to see Goliath standing in the doorway.
"Sit down. I know, you want to know what that was all
about,"
"Yes," Goliath took a seat at the table. "If you don't
mind."
"Ok," she sighed, heavily, " She killed my brother,
right in front of me when I was very young. Then she locked
me in stone."
"I'm sorry." He thought for a moment. "But that means
that you woke up four years ago," Krissie looked at
him as if he had five heads.
"I woke up ten years ago, I don't know how or why, I
was just happy to be up."
"But there were no gargoyle sittings in San Francisco."
"I know,"
"What of your clan before?"
"I had no clan. I don't know where I came from. It was
just me and my brother."
"How old would your brother be?'
"Couple years older then Broadway." Krissie sighed.
"How long did you sleep?"
"Nine hundred years," Krissie sighed again.
"That all?"
"One more thing, Demona called you somethi-"
"Oaaanhhh," Krissie groaned and folded her wings around
her so she looked like a giant pea pod.
"What?"
"Oooooaaaannnnah," Krissie replied.
"What is it?"
"You heard that?" Krissie wined.
"What does it mean?"
"Ahhho, Krishana's my name,"
"Krishana?" Goliath repeated.
"Don't ever call me that, don't ever repeat it, and
don't ever tell anyone." Krissie emphasized 'anyone'.
"All right," he reassured her.
"Now can I get back to mooping?"
"Ok, but if you need to talk we are here," Goliath said
as he got up and walked from her room. Hudson was waiting
in the hall.
"Did ye find out what that was about?"
"Yes," Goliath told his mentor the story that Krissie
told him.
"Interesting, but if she was under the stone sleep
spell she would have only aged two years, how could she be
as young as she says she was?" Hudson stroked his beard.
Suddenly the door to Krissie's heaven swung open and
Krissie stood in the door way, her eyes were red and puffy
from crying.
"Look couch commando, I have not had a good night and I
can hear everything you say so if you’re going to talk
behind my back do it some place where I can't hear you!"
She immediately slammed the door.
"Am I really a couch commando?" Hudson asked Goliath.
Goliath didn't answer, instead he led the older gargoyle to
the great hall of the castle.
"She didn't wake up four years ago," Goliath whispered,
"she woke up ten years ago, in San Francisco."
"How?" Hudson looked puzzled, "and how come she was
never seen by anyone in ten years?"
"She says she doesn't know how she woke up, but she
know more then she lets on." Goliath sighed.
"I wonder why she doesn't tell us, I mean she's clan
now," Hudson said.
"Probably because she has never lived in a clan
before," He said under his breath.
"I can't believe it," Angela said pacing back and
forth. She didn't want to admit it, but she still had a
soft spot for her mother after all that has passed between
them. Her, Broadway, and Lex were in the library. "How
could she do that."
"I sure she has her reasons, I mean your mother does
tend to piss everybody off," Broadway said, putting his
wing around her.
"But what did Demona do in the first place," Lex said
from his perch on the back of the sofa. The door creaked
open and Brooklyn walked in.
"You ok?" he asked Angela, she nodded.
"Where have you been?" Broadway asked
"I was talking with Kris-"
"What'd you find out?" Lex cut him off.
"Spill it," Angela added.
"Jeez!" Brooklyn took a step back.
"Well, what did you find out," Broadway said folding
his arms across his chest, looking very much like Goliath
for a moment.
"She said that Demona killed her brother and cast the
sleep spell on her."
"How awful," Broadway said after a moment of silence
that seemed like an infinity.
"But still, Mother betrayed your clan a thousand years
ago and you guys don't attack her every time you see her,"
Angela said in a quite voice.
"Well um," Lex cleared his throat, "Most of the time,"
Brooklyn was looking around the room because he knew Lex was
talking about him.
"But still, how could Krissie do that," Angela said
beginning to cry.
"It'll be all right," said Broadway softly with Angela in
his wing.
"Your not going to get mushy now are you?" Lex said
smirking, Broadway shot him a dirty look.
"I wonder," Broadway scratched his chin, "if her clan
is still rattling around somewhere. Brooklyn, did she tell
you where she is from originally? Brooklyn?"
Brooklyn had tuned his brother out and was now staring
out the window with a strange smile on his face.
"Hey space cadet." Lex hoped of his perch.
"Did she tell you where she is from originally,"
Broadway emphasized very syllable.
"What huh," a spaced out Brooklyn said. "Um no, but,
Angela you told me that she was from San Francisco."
"But there isn't a clan in San Francisco," Broadway
paused, "How did she survive?"
"Lets not be starting rumors now lads," Hudson said
from the doorway.
"We still have patrol tonight."
"Oh yeah," the four younger gargoyles said in unison.
Krissie slept in stone for the first time in a long
time. At sunset the trio and Angela went to get breakfast.
Hudson took his place at the TV and Goliath went to make
sure Krissie was still breathing. To his surprise he fond
that she was still asleep. He thought that if she wasn't up
by the time he got back from his meeting with Elisa he would
get worried.
Krissie woke up in a cold sweat. She had the same
nightmare again. Watching her younger self hold her brother,
Archon and watching him die in her arms. She had that
nightmare for nine hundred years. A tear rolled down
Krissie's cheek and her stomach churned. She was hungry.
Krissie got out of her hammock and put her sunglasses on,
she didn't need a mirror to tell her eyes were still red and
blood shot.
Angela, Lex, and Brooklyn sat at the table in the
kitchen. Broadway was doing some dishes when Krissie walked
in. Her hair was over her face so she looked liked cosine
it wearing sunglasses.
"Good morning," Lex said. Krissie mumbled something
along the line of hello. Krissie went for the pantry and
started to look for something.
"Do you want some pancakes?" said Broadway looking up
from the dishes.
"No," Krissie mumbled, "but thanks anyway." She was
reaching for something on the top self when her shirt rode
up enough to show her ribs sticking out a mile. Broadway
glanced over and noticed.
"Hey Krissie, when was the last time you ate
something?" Broadway asked putting the last of the dishes in
the dish washer.
"Um, two nights ago, why?" said Krissie from the
pantry.
"Your ribs are sticking out about an inch."
Krissie looked down and saw that her shirt had rode and
her ribs were sticking.
"They do that a lot." Broadway gave her a worried
look. Angela got up from the table and stood behind Krissie.
When she came out of the pantry with a box of Lucky Charms,
she almost ran into Angela. For a moment they stood there
looking at each other. Slowly Angela took off Krissie's
sunglasses. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, with bags
underneath them.
"What's wrong?" Angela said softly.
"Nothing is wrong," Krissie said angrily and snatched
the glasses from Angela and put them back on, "I, I just
didn't sleep well."
"Why?" Lex said standing next to Angela.
"Every time I close my eyes I see my Archon, slipping
away and knowing that there was nothing I could do to save
him," a long tear rolled out from underneath her sunglasses.
"Shhhh, it's going to be all right," Brooklyn said
putting a red hand on her shoulder, "Lets sit down." The
group moved over to the table. Brooklyn sat on one side of
Krissie and Lex sat on the other.
"I was born in the late 11th century, in a place called
the Antinoge crossroads. It was just me and my brother,
Archon. One night Demona came into the church were Archon
and I lived. They got into an argument and she killed him,
I attacked her and she turned me to stone. I woke up in a
Berkeley storage room nine hundred years later."
"Jalaepena," Lex commented after her story.
"What?" Krissie looked around the table.
"It's a saying we use," Angela explained.
"I've heard that somewhere before,"
"Why did you leave San Francisco," Broadway asked.
Krissie sighed and hung her head.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Sorry," Broadway said, " I didn't mean to-"
"It's all right," Krissie said.
"So here is where you have been hiding," the group
turned around to see Goliath standing at the door. "Are you
feeling better?" Goliath asked Krissie, she nodded.
"Well lad, you have patrol in ten minutes," said Hudson
coming into the room.
"Uhhhhhhh," The terrible trio let their heads fall and
there was a clunk as their heads hit the table at the same
time. Angela and Krissie suppressed giggles. The trio got
up and followed Hudson out.
"Well, I'm going to go forage in the library," Krissie
got up and left the kitchen.
Goliath and Elisa were on the tower of castle Wyvern,
immersed in a deep, passionate kiss, when Hudson and Angela
interrupted.
"Good evening lass," Hudson said trying to not laugh
out loud. The two lovers opened their eyes to see they
weren't alone. Goliath blushed.
"We're ready to go on patrol when you are," Hudson
said.
"Father," Angela said shyly, "I was wondering why your not
taking me with you tonight?"
Goliath sighed, "I thought it would be better if you
stayed with Krissie."
"But why? She hates my mother and for all I know she
hates me too."
"Why do you say that?" asked Elisa.
"It just seems that whenever I'm in the room she seems
uncomfortable, I don't know."
"From what we have heard the lass has been through a
lot, "Hudson put a hand on her shoulder.
"And if I saw Derek killed, I don't know what I would
do, "Elisa added.
"Give her time," said Goliath reassuringly, "Plus Elisa
said that she would stay here tonight."
"On your night off?" Angela sounded surprised, usually
Elisa spent her nights off with Goliath.
"Ya well, since Krissie had lived around humans for
most of her life maybe she would fell better talking to
one," Elisa explained.
The trio came in for a landing. Lex was finishing a
Coke and Brooklyn was tying his hair back into a ponytail.
Broadway landed next to Angela and gave her a kiss on the
cheek.
"OK," Goliath said, "Brooklyn and Lex, you go with
Hudson. Broadway you come with me."
Angela and Elisa watched the five gargoyles fly off
into the night.
Krissie was strolling down the isle of ancient books on
the second level of the library. She heard the door squeak
open.
"Hello?" a voice said softly.
"Up here Elisa," Krissie said and leaned over the edge
of the railing.
Elisa walked to the small stair chase and climbed to
the second floor.
"Why are you wearing sunglasses?" said Elisa when she
caught up to Krissie.
Krissie pushed the glasses down on her nose and turned
so Elisa could see.
"Oh," Elisa said, "Goliath told me about what happened
and what you told him, and if you need to talk I'm here."
"I know, Elisa I know," Krissie ran her talon along the
books in the shelves.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Krissie stopped and took a
step backwards. Slowly she took a
book out of it's place in the shelf. She opened the ancient
book to the first page and started grinning like a manic.
"Holy shit," she said smiling.
"What is it?" Elisa asked.
"I know this book. It was written by Jamaul, the
priest person at the Antinoge church. The lord of Antinoge
was going deaf, so he asked Jamual to write down the stories
of the travelers so he would know what was going on in the
world, I don't believe it's still here," Krissie was
glowing.
"You knew this person?"
"Ya, he taught me and Archon to read English, he also
let us hang out at the church, and, its still here," Krissie
turned to a page with a poem or something written on it.
Krissie put her hand on the page. "Archon wrote this"
"What is it?" Elisa asked.
"A lullaby," She answered and leapt over the railing
landing on the couch below. She laid back, put her feet up
and started to read. Elisa smiled and left Krissie to her
reading.
Angela was channel surfing, and getting a little tired
of castle duty. Nothing was going on in the castle. The
clan got back around midnight and the trio went channel
surfing with Angela. Goliath said his good night to a very
tired Elisa and Hudson took her home. Goliath walked into
the 'lounge' where the younger generation sat vegetating.
All the lights were out and even Lex was glued to an old
black and white movie.
"What's the movie?" Goliath's asked the Vegas.
"Ahhhh, some Dracula movie," Broadway said from the
couch. Angela hugged Broadway's arm.
"Its a classic," Lex added.
"Must be you left your computer on," said Goliath
eyeing the glowing screen.
"I'll turn it off next commercial," Lex started to chew
his tongue.
"Where's Krissie?" Goliath asked from his brain dead
charges.
"Library," Angela said. Goliath watched the screen for
a moment. It was the part when the vampire's fangs grew as
it was about to drink for it's victim. Angela cringed and
dug her face in to Broadway's arm.
"Cool!" Lex and Brooklyn said from the floor. Goliath
shook his head and left the room before he got hooked on
that movie too.
The Library was quiet when he opened the door. Krissie
had fallen asleep on the couch with a book open on her
quest. He kneeled beside the couch and slowly lifted the
book. It was in Latin so he couldn't tell what it was.
Krissie stretched and yawned, opening her mouth and her
fangs grew about half an inch. Goliath was paralyzed at
the site.
"Hello," Krissie said still half asleep.
"Do they do that often, your teeth I mean," he stumbled
over the words.
"Yep, neat trick huh?" She sat up, "What time is it?"
"Around midnight."
"That's nice," she yawned and took the book from
Goliath.
"May I ask a question?"
"Shoot."
"Why do you sleep so much?"
Krissie heisted then said, "I'm tired a lot."
"How come?"
"I don't sleep well, I keep having the same
nightmares."
"Oh," Goliath said, he knew what it is like to be
tormented by nightmares.
"I got to meet somebody in five minutes, seeya later,"
she turned for the door.
"Where? Who?" Goliath sounded jumpy.
"On the internet," Krissie and walked from the room.
It was two AM when the movie ended and the trio and
Angela came up for air. Lex went and attacked himself to
the computer and Broadway and Angela went for a walk in the
moonlight. That left Brooklyn to vegetate further.
"Ah uoooooo," Lex said clenching his fists.
"What's up Lex," Brooklyn turned the TV off.
"Oh, nothing really," Lex sounded disappointed, "I just
missed somebody."
"Who?" Brooklyn sat down beside Lex.
"Sharocko," Lex said, "He disappeared right after
Halloween and he hasn't been back since. Weird isn't it?"
Lex said with a straight face.
"So who is he in real life?"
"I don't know," Lex started to type.
"Well, I'm going to get a coke, you want one?"
"Na," Lex was hooked on and he wouldn't be off until
sunrise, "Ah cool, Nevil said that Sharocko will be back
tomorrow."
Brooklyn shook his head and left the room. He was
strolling down the hall and saw Krissie come out of her
room.
"Hi, what's the book?" he saw the ancient book under
Krissie's arm.
"This? It's the journal that the priest of the
Antinoge church keep. David has an amazing collection of
ancient books in there."
"Really, makes sense I guess," Brooklyn cleared his
throat, "I'm going to get a coke and some popcorn and find
some old B-rate horror movie to watch, want to come?"
"I live for popcorn and B movies," She put her arm
around his shoulder, "Lead on."
Brooklyn smiled all the way to the kitchen. He went to
the fridge, and Krissie went for the popcorn. Krissie came
out of the pantry with a bag of microwave popcorn, set the
book on the table, and stuck the packet in the microwave.
"Catch." Brooklyn tossed her a coke.
"Thanks," she replied.
The door opened behind them and Owen walked in.
"Hey hockey," she used her pet name for Owen, "You look
like you haven't slept in a couple."
Owen looked at her, then to the book on the table, "I
see you're catching up on your reading."
"How come David hasn't had all those books translated?"
Krissie popped open her coke and took a sip.
"Simple, he never found anyone with the time, or
patients for the job. And I would prefer if you didn't call
me hockey."
"Hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey," Krissie chanted.
Brooklyn snoffed his coke.
"So what brings you to the galley at this time of
night?" asked Brooklyn.
"The rug rat," Owen said with a sigh.
"Cholicky again?" Brooklyn asked.
"Like no body's business," he said putting water in the
Mr. Coffee.
"Poor baby," Krissie said sarcastically.
"Thank you," Owen said very puckishly.
"Not you, you goober," Krissie ruffed Owen's hair
playfully. There was a beep from the microwave and Brooklyn
took out the popcorn, only burning himself slightly on the
stem.
"Aw, get outa here," Owen said blushing.
Krissie tapped the book, "Try page 109, always got me
to sleep."
"I'll do that," Owen said as the two gargoyle walked
from the kitchen.
As luck would have it TNT was having a Jaws marathon.
Now mind you that the first one is a classic, but you can't
say the same about the third one which happened to be on.
Brooklyn quickly found out why Krissie loved cheap B-rate
movies, she ripped it to shreds. Brooklyn was in stitches
the entire movie.
"Have you ever seen Mystery Science Theater 3000?" He
asked when the movie was over and the running commentary had
stopped.
"That show is so java," Krissie answered and glanced
over at Lex who was at that moment a computer zombie.
"Is he alive?" she whispered to Brooklyn.
"Ya, watch," he pitched up an un popped kernel of
pop corn and threw it at Lex. It hit him on the back of the
neck. Lex didn't jump, or flinch, he just brushed it away
as if it were a fly. Krissie began to laugh quietly.
"I have an idea," she said to Brooklyn.
It was ten minutes before sunrise and the clan was
gathering on the parapets out side, all but Lex. That
wasn't that surprising he was a zombie to that computer.
Fox hated to have gravel on the floor so she made them sleep
outside most of the time. Goliath walked into the lounge
and found Lex still plugged in. He also had an 'unplug me'
sign on his back. Goliath clapped both hands over his mouth
trying not to laugh out load.
Hudson came up behind Goliath to make sure everything
was all right. He took one look at Lex and was in
hysterics.
"Good God lad what have they done to ye?" Hudson
managed to say between laughs.
"What?" Lex turned around to see the elders of his clan
laughing at him. He glanced down his back and saw the sign.
"For Pete's sake," he pulled the sign off.
"Come on it's all most sunrise," Goliath said.
The sun set over the city and seven gargoyle woke upon
the top of the Eire building. Elisa was there to greet her
friends.
"Hi Elisa," Angela said.
"Good evening," Broadway said, "Goliath's up on the
tower."
"Thanks Broadway, you read my mind," Elisa said.
"So, you want to take a little flight around the city?"
Angela said with a wicked looked on her face.
"I love you," Broadway said as they fell off the tower.
"Looks like we're cooking for ourselves," Brooklyn said
to Lex.
"I'm scared," the green gargoyle said, "Last time I
tried to cook, I almost blew up the microwave."
"That was you?" Brooklyn looked at his little brother.
Lex nodded, "Heaven help us."
The two walked through the great hall on their to the
kitchen, and noticed a strange smell.
"Ewwwwww, this reeks," Brooklyn said holding his nose,
"It smells like bleach."
"No, it smells like floor cleaner," Lex said clapping a
hand over his face.
"Alex," they said in unison.
"He must have thrown up again," said Lex. They
continued to the kitchen.
It was a half hour after sunset and Goliath and Elisa
were on the tower of castle Wyvern. Elisa was wrapped up in
Goliath's wings, enjoying a deep kiss when a strange smell
caught their attention.
"Ewww," said Goliath wrinkling his nose.
"What is that?" Elisa said turning her head. A deep
growl resounded in Goliath's chest, he started to kiss
Elisa's neck. They never even heard the voices in the stair
chase.
"...And your going to stay up here till it's time to
take that stuff out!" Fox said angrily pushing Krissie by
the shoulders.
"But it's only," Krissie shuddered, her hair looked wet
and greasy. It was piled up on the top of her head and held
in place by a butterfly clip.
"I said your going to stay up here until it's time to
take that stuff out," repeated Fox in a strong voice, her
eyes began to glow around the edges, "Is that clear?"
"Perfectly," Krissie said quickly.
"Good," Fox took out a timer and set it to fifteen
minutes. She handed it to Krissie.
"But it's boring up," Krissie whined.
"See you in fifteen minutes," Fox said and walked down
the stairs. Krissie sighed and sat on a parapet. Goliath
and Elisa looked at each other then at Krissie.
"What, I'm dying my hair, is that a crime or
something?" Krissie sounded annoyed.
"Well I'm going to go see what the trio is up to,"
Goliath said holding his nose.
"Ya, me too," Elisa said and they left the tower.
"Hummmmmmm.....I'm alone.........again," Krissie said
out loud to the air. She looked at the timer, fourteen
minutes. She was bored. She absently looked over the edge
and saw Brooklyn and Lex along the battlement wall. Hummmm,
she thought.
Brooklyn looked at his younger brother worriedly, "What
if they try to use it?"
"Well, they can't pin it on us," Lex said, then his
face dropped, "Can they?"
"If Alex is cholicy tonight they're going to find out
that the coffee machine doesn't work," Brooklyn said,
beginning to pace, "Goliath is going to be pissed when he
finds out."
"Maybe I can fix it," Lex said unconfidently.
"What is with us and kitchen appliances?" Brooklyn
asked sarcastically. Lex stared to say something but
Brooklyn shushed him.
"Do you hear that?" he asked.
"No, must be the wind," Lex shrugged.
Meanwhile Krissie was screaming at the tippity-top of
her lungs from the tower with no success. She stopped
yelling because her voice ached.
"Hey flying squirrel!" she barked, pretty sure they
couldn't hear her. Krissie started to tap her fingers, then
she noticed what she was tapping on. The timer, it still
had thirteen minutes on it and she did not want to spend it
all by her lonesome.
She turned it in her hand like it was the first time
she had ever seen it. Krissie stared to giggle evilly. She
cupped a hand around her mouth and yelled as load as she
could, "In-coming!"
Out of the corner of his eye Brooklyn could see
something streak down from above and hit Lex on the
shoulder.
"Owwww, what'd you do that for?" Lex said crossly,
rubbing his shoulder.
"I didn't," Brooklyn said, and bent over and picked up
whatever bombed his brother, "this did."
"What is that?" Lex took it from his brother hand
"Looks like a timer to me," he answered starting to
look around.
"Thirteen minutes, what does that mean?" Lex was
thinking out load. Brooklyn was still looking around, then
he looked up. Lex watched as a grin came across his
brother's face.
"What's so funny?" Lex demanded. Brooklyn pointed up.
Cautiously he looked
up. Krissie was looking down from the tower, waving at
them, and grinning like the devil.
"Let's see what she wants," Brooklyn grabbed the timer
from Lex and dashed to the stair case. Lex followed.
Krissie was perched on the parapets when Brooklyn and
Lex came up the staircase and out onto the tower, holding
their noses.
"You dropped this," Brooklyn said smirking, he handed
the timer to Krissie.
"Thanks, how's the shoulder Lex?" Krissie said. Lex
sat down next to Krissie and Brooklyn sat down on the other
side.
"It's going to have a wonderful welt in a few hours,
but no harm done. What's with your hair?" Lex pointed to
the greasy looking pile of hair on top of Krissie's head.
"I'm dying it," Krissie answered.
"Why are you up here?" Brooklyn said looking around at
the boring surroundings.
"I was banished to the tower," Krissie said
melodramatically.
"I can smell why," Lex said in a nasal voice, he was
holding his nose. Brooklyn snorted and began to laugh.
Krissie and Lex looked at him and broke down in laughter.
By the time they had stopped laughing, Lex was rolling
around on the floor, Krissie's sides hurt and Brooklyn's
eyes had watered up.
"What were we laughing about?" Lex asked lying on his
back.
"I forget," Brooklyn said wiping his eyes.
"It's the fumes," Krissie explained.
"Oh, that's what I was wondering about," Lex said
reclaiming his perch on the wall, "Where in San Francisco
did you live?"
"Little Bohemia," she said proudly, "How's the
shoulder?"
"It hurts," Lex rubbed his shoulder some more.
"Well, plop yourself down over here and I'll see what I
can do. Why do you care where I used to live?" Krissie
moved over to make room for Lex, who quit willingly sat down
beside her. Krissie began to rub around the welt that had
formed on his shoulder.
"There was another earthquake, not in San Francisco,
some place south. The news showed pictures of buildings
that just fell over," Brooklyn said seriously.
Krissie stopped rubbing Lex's shoulder.
"Have you ever been in an earthquake?" Lex wondered.
Krissie was spacing out.
"Hello? anybody home?" Brooklyn laid a hand on her
shoulder.
"Huh," Krissie shook her head," Ya, I was in the all
hallows eve one."
"Is that why you had to leave San Francisco?" Brooklyn
asked softly.
"Yes and no," Krissie sighed, "Little Bohemia was built
in the late 1800's so needless to say when the earthquake
hit everything kind of fell over. Bookshelves, cabinet,
buildings, you get the idea. I was living in this old
church attic, and when the cops went to turn off the power
lines they found an illegal hook up. They followed it, and
found me."
"That's too bad," Lex said.
"Is it? I mean I ended up here, didn't I?" she looked
at Lex, then Brooklyn and smiled, "How the shoulder?"
"Fells great, how'd you do that?" he asked flexing his
arm.
"Magic fingers," Krissie answered. There was a high
pitched beep, beep, beep. Krissie jumped and grabbed the
timer.
"Yahoo, times up!" Krissie jumped off the tower and
glided down to the door and went in side the castle.
Xanatos was walking leisurely to the bath room in his
robe. It was a long and busy day and he was looking forward
to a nice, warm shower He had just opened the bathroom door
when Krissie ran up to him panting.
"Hello Krissie, what's with your hair?" he said with a
smile. Krissie looked around still panting.
"What the hell is that!" she shrieked and pointed
behind him.
"What, what, what?" Xanatos spun around ready for the
fight.
"Ha, ha, made you look," she laughed and ran into the
bathroom and locked the door behind her.
"Oh! Why you little," Xanatos stuttered. Then he saw
Brooklyn and Lex walking down the hall towards him.
"Hi Xanatos," Brooklyn said.
"Have you seen Krissie," Lex finished his brother's
sentence. Xanatos had a defeated look on his face, so all
he did was point to the door. They heard the shower come
on. Then they heard singing through the sound of running
water.
"I'm a bitch, I'm a tease, I'm a goddess on my knees,"
Brooklyn and Lex pressed their ears to the door so they
could hear better, "When you hurt when you suffer, I'm you
angel undercover, I've been numb, I'm revived, can't say I'm
not alive," the two brothers laughed a little because she
had a crack in her voice the size of the grand canyon.
"Hi boys," a soft voice said from behind them, and Fox
came walking up to the small group, "David I thought that
you were going to take a shower?"
"I was, but I beaten to it. Krissie is in there,"
Xanatos said with a sigh and looked longingly at the door.
Fox glanced over at the door and saw the two with their ears
glued to the door.
"And just what do you two think your doing?" Fox said
in a commanding tone of voice that would make Goliath take a
step back.
"Um, we were, um," Brooklyn rubbed the back of his neck
and started to look around the hall.
"Listening to Krissie's singing," Lex said nodding his
head.
"Both of you get out of here and give Krissie some
privacy," Fox shooed them out the hall.
The quarrymen were out on the town tonight, so it was
unanimously decided to go on patrol after the raving had
gone to bed. That meant more computer time to Lex. He
might actually get to see Sharocko tonight, he was looking
forward to it, it had been months since they last talked.
It was 11:47 when Lex logged on for another fun filled
session in the chat room.
"Hey, zombie," Brooklyn called from the couch, "You
going to spend all night on that thing again?"
"That's what I was planning to do," he answered without
turning around. Brooklyn slouched back to the couch and
started channel surfing, this was becoming a pattern. Lex
was in the chat room and didn't hear his brother's sigh.
Lex typed his usually hellos and joined in on the evening's
discussion. Tonight's topic, ironically enough, was
gargoyles and quarrymen. To his horror his good on-line
friend, Nevil supported the quarrymen and said that those
flying monsters are evil and should be destroyed. Lex was
about to type his response when somebody beat him to it.
"And I suppose you feel the same way about gays," was
the response. He had to laugh to himself it was as if
someone on the other end was reading his mind.
Welcome back Sharocko, he typed.
"Hey Alien, long time no chat. Invade any good planets
lately?" Sharocko said.
"No, still stuck on this rock," he typed back.
"So Sharocko, you're a gargoyle lover," Nevil said.
"You make it sound like such a bad thing. Let me
guess, you're southern Baptist, right?" Sharocko shot back.
This last remark had Lex belly laughing.
"I don't really have an opinion on this," Primus,
another chat room dweller posted, "I mean ya, they scare me,
but people rooming the streets smashing stuff sorta scares
me more."
"I know," Sharocko agreed, "I just moved to New York
and those people have way to much time on their hands."
"I can't believe this," Nevil finally spoke up, "You
guys are defending them. Alien, I have know you for a long
time, so tell me the truth. Who's side are you on?"
Lex had stayed quit through most of this conversation,
but now he was in a corner, "Sorry Nevil, I have seen what q-
men will do, and I have to say, the gargoyles."
"I don't believe that you people just stand by while
monsters are taking over. Don't come crying to me when you
get mauled in the street." Nevil, as it was turning out was
less and less of a friend.
"Hey, if you are going to take that attitude then leave
all ready," Wildman said.
"Fine, I will," Nevil posted and was gone.
"Jalapena, he blow that out of proportion," Lex said.
"Java, we don't need his hate in here," Sharocko posted
at almost the same time.
A duet of oh my gods came from castle Wyvern. Lex
yelled and ran from the computer. Brooklyn was so startled
by this he levitated himself a foot off the couch only to
miss it on the way back down and land on Bronx. Meanwhile
Lex had ran into the hall way only to find that Krissie was
already there.
"You're Alien?" she asked out of breath.
"You're Sharocko?" he asked at the same time. They
stood there in a quiet moment of realization. The they both
smiled at each other.
"Oh my god!" they exclaimed and hugged each other.
"This is so cool," Lex said hugging her.
"I still have a friend," Krissie was trying not to cry.
"You always had a friend," he said softly. Brooklyn
sighed. He had seen the whole seen play out. Watching from
the doorway of the lounge, he backed into the shadows. It
felt like someone had stuck a knife into his gut and
twisted.
"What's all this commotion about?" Goliath said coming
into the hall and seeing them in a tight embrace.
"You'll never believe this," Lex started.
"But we have meet before," Krissie continued.
"On the internet, we've been friends for almost a
year," Lex finished.
"That's wonderful," Goliath said, "The quarrymen when
to bed so it's safe for use to go out on patrol now."
Lex's face dropped to the floor, "Oh come on, can't I
stay here for one night?"
"Please," said Krissie cocking her head to one side,
smiling, and giving Goliath the biggest sad puppy dog eyes
she could.
That got Goliath, "All right,"
Brooklyn slipped away from the soap opera that was
unfolding in the hall. He meet up with Hudson, Broadway and
Angela on the wall.
"Hudson, I'll take the village tonight," he said
hanging head and he jumped off the castle and was gone.
The two long lost friends were hanging out in Krissie's
haven. Lex got one glimpse of Krissie's computer and
immediately started to interrogated Krissie about all of
it's features. To his surprise she had Netscape 3.0, but
not windows 95.
"Well, I had to chose between upgrading Netscape or
Windows, I chose Netscape," Krissie explained.
"Good choice," he commented, "If you didn't have a job
in San Francisco how did you get a computer?"
"I did odd jobs to get money for food and things."
"Really must have been a lot of odd jobs to get a
computer of any kind."
"Well," she scratched her chin, "And I kick boxed."
"You what?" Lex turned a round in the chair.
"You heard me, it pays great," she said with a shrug.
"But didn't the fact that you have wings and a tail
bother some people?"
"No, I made a lot of money for my employer, he didn't
care if I was from mars and had a three heads."
"That must have been great," Lex seemed envious, "Here
we can't even land on the streets without getting attacked."
"You want a pizza?" Krissie asked out of the blue, "I
haven't eaten all night."
"One, how we going to pay, and two, how are we going to
get it?"
"Watch and learn my dear Lex, watch and learn," she
said with an evil grin.
Xanatos was reading the stock report in the library.
Krissie told Lex to wait by the door. Xanatos took a sip of
his nightcap. Slowly, like a hunter approaching it's prey,
Krissie walked up behind him. Then threw her arms around
his neck.
"Hi, whatcha doing?" she asked smiling.
"Reading, why are you choking me?" he said with a
straight face.
"I'm just being affectionate," she said innocently.
"Uh huh," he said.
"David," she said, "Can I borrow a couple of bucks?"
"Sure," he reached into his pocket and gave her a
twenty.
"Thanks," she kissed him on the check and let go of his
neck. She skipped happily back to the door where Lex's jaw
was lying on the floor.
"How did you do that?" Lex said in awe.
"Never underestimate the power of cute puppy-dog eyes,"
she said proudly. She walked to the nearest phone and
called up Little Caesar's. They ordered two pizza's and
some crazy bread.
"Now what?" Lex asked happily.
"We wait twenty minutes and then we go get our food,
haven't you ever done this before?"
"No."
"Oh, well it'll be a learning experience then."
Krissie said and skipped off to the lounge.
Twenty minutes later Krissie was about to push the down
button to the elevator when Lex grabbed her wrist.
"Are you nut?" he said sharply, "You can't go down to
the lobby, people will she you."
"So, everybody in New York knows where we live,"
another evil grin came across her face, "Your afraid to be
seen."
"I am not."
"Good, then you'll come with me," Krissie pushed the
down button, the doors opened and Krissie pulled Lex into
the elevator with her. On the way down Lex turned from a
healthy green, to a mold color. They came to a stop and
the doors opened. Lex dove for cover, hiding out of view.
He stuck his head around the corner to see out. There was a
guy in a pizza pizza hat holding two boxes, and arguing with
the security guard.
"I have two pizzas for a Krissie at the Erie Building,"
the pizza delivery guy said.
"I don't care if you have two pizzas for the pope, its
not on the list so I can't let you go any further," the
security guard replied.
"Hey Lex," Krissie said, "If your going to stay here
hold the door," with this Krissie walked out of the elevator
in gargoyle form.
"Hey pizza dude!" she said loudly, walking toward the
two men. The pizza guy froze, with his mouth open as
Krissie jogged towards them, "How much do I owe you?"
"Un, 17.50," he said looking like he was stoned.
Krissie handed him the twenty and took the pizza. She
started back to the elevator, when the pizza guy piped up.
"Hey, your one of those gargoyles, right?" he took off
his hat, he had bleached greasy hair.
"Yes I am," Krissie said smiling.
"So, can I call you sometime?"
"Sure," Krissie said trying her hardest not to laugh.
"Cool," he said, then the security guard escorted him
out.
"How do you do that?" Lex said when Krissie got back to
the elevator.
"Simple, just act like you don't have a tail or wings."
They talked almost all night. Krissie gave him lessons
about how to act like a human. Lex learned fast but he
couldn't make himself forget that he had a tail. Lex came
up with the idea that they should make a gargoyle website.
He said that humans fear what they don't understand but if
they understood us maybe they wouldn't fear us. Krissie
said it sounded like a good idea, she just had no idea how
to make a webpage. Even though neither of them knew how to
make a webpage but the time Broadway and Angela were back
from patrol they all ready had most of it planed out.
Broadway and Angela got back about half an hour before
sunrise and were surprised to see left over pizza on the
coffee table of the lounge.
"Hey where did you get pizza?" was the first thing out
of Broadway's mouth when he walked in the door.
"Little Caesar's," Krissie said.
"You got pizza delivered up here?" Angela asked helping
herself to a slice of leftover.
"Actually we had to pick it up down in the lobby,"
Krissie explained.
"You went down to the lobby?" Broadway asked with his
mouth full of pizza.
"Yes, and I went outside the elevator too," she said
sarcastically.
"And the pizza guy tried to hit on her," Lex said
laughing.
"Who tried to hit on who," a deep voice said from
behind them.
"Hi Goliath," Krissie said, "We ordered pizza and the
pizza boy asked if he could call me sometime, you want a
slice?" Goliath took a slice, and left things at that.
Hudson came in next and got up to on the night's excitement.
Brooklyn came back last, he arrived five minutes before
sunrise.
The next night Goliath when to over to Elisa's
apartment before she had to go to work. Elisa seemed
preoccupied with something, and it was driving Goliath
insane.
"Elisa, you seem to have something on your mind,"
Goliath started out.
"I do, " she said, "Have you noticed things about
Krissie that just don't add up?"
"I've noticed some strange things, but I don't know
what you getting at," he rubbed his chin.
"Like how Krissie sleeps a lot," Elisa started pacing
and taking with her hands, "And how thin she is, I mean
Angela is thin but she still looks healthy. Have seen her
eyes?"
"Yes they glow green," he sat down on the couch, "I
don't see anything wrong with that."
"No, I mean how unkept they are," she sat down next to
Goliath and took his hands in hers, "Do you have any idea
what I'm getting at?"
"No, I don't," he shook his head, Elisa sighed heavily.
"Goliath, I think she's a Heroin addict."
Goliath held his head in his hands, "I've been blind."
"No, you haven't," Elisa laid a hand on his shoulder.
"No what do we do?"
"We confront her, so if she is we can get her help."
Goliath nodded numbly. How could she do this, he
thought. How could she bring drugs into the castle. How
could I let it happen. He sighed and Elisa could here the
slight growl in his voice.
"Look, I'm off at midnight," Elisa said getting up,
"Stay here till then, please."
"Why?" Goliath said through clinched teeth.
"I've taken classes on how to confront drug addicts,
and if you don't do it right it can be very damaging."
Elisa took her jacket off the hanger and got her gun out of
the locked draw.
"I'm coming with you," Goliath said in a determined
voice.
"Can I stop you?"
Matt Bluestone could tell something was up. His
partner never let him drive her car. And the way she kept
looking in the side mirror.
He following us?" he said trying to sound casual.
Yes," Elisa adjusted the mirror so she could see up.
What's up?" he said.
You know that new gargoyle that I was telling you
about?" she said with a sigh.
Ya, the one from California."
I think she's a Heroin addict."
Wow," he said, "I think that's the last thing I
expected you to say.
know," Elisa glanced into the mirror again, Goliath was
still following them. hey spent the rest of their shift in
silence.
Goliath picked up Elisa after her shift was done, he
had tagged along because he wanted to get his mind off what
was about to happen. The anger had built up inside him, and
he was ready to pop. He landed in the courtyard and set
Elisa down. Quietly they walked to the door of the lounge
where Krissie and Lex were reading something on HTML.
Brooklyn wasn't in the room.
"Krissie," Goliath said through a clinched jaw, "May we
have a word with you in private?"
"Sure," she sat down her book and followed Goliath and
Elisa to the library, "Is this about the pizza?"
"Sit down," Goliath said sounding pissed. Krissie sat
down slowly and looked at Elisa.
"Krissie, you know you can tell us about any problems
you might have," her patronizing tone made Krissie
suspicious.
"OK, I know Goliath is pissed, but you mind telling
what this is all about?" Krissie could feel the hair on the
back of her neck go up.
"You know that we can help you with any problems you
might have, you don't have to be ashamed," Elisa contended
in her patronizing voice.
"What would I have to be ashamed about?" Krissie looked
at Goliath who was clinching his fits in balls.
"Krissie," Elisa said smoothly, "Do you have a drug
problem?"
"I don't fucking believe this," Krissie got up.
"Sit down," Goliath said almost roaring, "Are you a
Heroin addict?"
"Fuck this," Krissie walked to the door, opened it
walked out and slammed the door. Goliath roared and ran
after her. She was almost to the lounge when Goliath caught
up with her. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around.
"How dare you bring drugs in here?" Goliath bellowed
shaking her.
"Let the hell go of me," she said fangs growing.
"Answer me you little punk!" he yelled taking hold of
her other wrist. Krissie snarled a full gargoyle snarl.
Her eyes glowed green and her fangs grew.
"What the fuck did you just call me?" by now all this
commotion had drawn Lex from the lounge, and Brooklyn from
his hiding spot. They were both watching wide eyed at what
was going on.
"Uh oh," Lex whisper to his brother, "Krissie told me
that she got her money kick boxing,"
"Not good," Brooklyn whispered back, "Not good."
"I called you a punk, and an addict," Goliath said to
her face. Krissie roared, but it came out sounding like
somebody stepped on a jungle cat's tail. She broke free of
Goliath's grasp and with a flap of her wings she jumped a
good four feet straight up to head level with Goliath.
Krissie's foot went flying in a roundhouse kick. It hit
Goliath square in the jaw, there was a sickening cracking
sound. Goliath felt a sharp pain in his jaw and fell to his
knees, the world spinning around him.
"I have been clean for ten years, and I'm not about to
go spoiling my record," was the last thing Goliath heard
before everything went black.
A blinding white light awoke him. He was on the couch
in the lounge. Goliath's jaw ached when he tried to move
it. He looked away from the bright light.
"Good, he's awake," an unfamiliar female voice said,
and the light was gone.
"Oh, Goliath," He heard Elisa say. He tried to talk
but a bandage stopped him.
"Goliath, don't try to talk. Krissie broke your jaw
with that kick," the voice said again, "I'm Dr. Emerson,
from the PIT movement."
"Krissie's gone lad," Hudson said, "She ran off
afterwards."
"Brooklyn went out to find her," Lex added.
"Well, keep him awake, he has a slight concussion, but
nothing that won't heal in three hours," Dr. Emerson said,
"And next time wait till you find a joint or some crack to
confront someone."
"Thank you for coming Doctor," Xanatos said from the
back of the room.
"No problem, call anytime," she said and Owen escorted
her out of the room.
"Father," Angela said softly, "I saw the security
tapes, and I don't think that she liked being called a
punk."
"Goliath, you and I both owe Krissie a big apology,"
Elisa said kneeling beside him. Goliath stroked her hair
and nodded.
It was a few minutes before sunrise that Brooklyn
returned along.
"Hello lad, did ye have any luck finding the lass?"
Hudson said.
"Uh no, sorry couldn't find her," Brooklyn said coming
in the door.
"Did you even look," Broadway commented. Brooklyn eyes
flared white at his older brother.
"There be none of that, now lads," Hudson said. the sun
came up and froze them all in stone.
The day passed and, and the sun sank into the west.
The seven gargoyles awoke. Goliath took off his bandage and
rubbed his jaw. Elisa yawned in one of the chairs, she had
spent the day there.
"I feel like a fool," Goliath said to Hudson.
"Oh, come now lad," Hudson placed a hand on his
shoulder, "We should go out in search of the lass, now
shouldn't we?"
"Yes, I hope she found a safe place to spend the day,"
he looked at the four young faces looking at him, "We'll go
together, that way if we run into the quarrymen it we will
have better chances," with that they left the lounge and
went off in search as a clan.
They searched the village, to the park and couldn't
find hide nor hair of Krissie. Then at ten o'clock they
found her. She was standing on the top of the Brooklyn
Bridge steps away from the edge, looking down into the black
water below. The clan landed on the top in a semicircle,
Krissie didn't even turn around. She just stood there with
her wings capped around her, and her hair waving back and
forth in the breeze.
"Krissie?" Goliath said in a gentle voice, "I know your
very angry at me, and you have every reason to. I was wrong
to make accusations without proof. I'm sorry. I just
wanted what was best for you. I want you to come with us,
you are clan, family. We take care of each other and I want
you to be a part of ours. Please, I'm sorry."
Krissie turned around slowly, and looked at Goliath
with no expression on her face. Then a smile came across
her face and she jumped, doing a somersault into a graceful
swan dive. Goliath and clan rushed to the edge, and watched
her fall, praying that at the last moment her wings would
unfurl and snap her upwards. But that never happened. She
dived into the black water and didn't come up.
Goliath flew back to Elisa's apartment numbly, they all
did. No one thought that she would do that. They all
stayed will Elisa till she had cried herself to sleep. Then
they went back to the castle, no one spoke. The clan went
to the lounge to morn for their friend. As the enter they
saw Krissie. Krissie sitting in Hudson's chair, in Xanatos'
s robe, with wet hair.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Angela screamed, "A ghost!"
"Oh get real," the ghost said, "If I were dead, I
wouldn't be here haunting you of all people."
"You're alive!" Brooklyn and Lex shouted and ran over
to her. They hugged her tightly.
"Oh, my boys," she did hug them back, "I'm not that
easy to get rid of."
"I watched," Goliath sat down holding his head, "You
didn't come up."
"Goliath, do you have any idea how many times I've
jumped off bridges?"
He shook his head, "Well, it's a hobby of mine,"
Krissie said.
"Why?" Goliath said, "Why make us think you were dead?"
"Now we're even," said Krissie.
"Huh?" Broadway said adding his two cents.
"He called me an addict, I broke his jaw," Krissie
explained, "He called me a punk, I scared the living crap
out of him by making him think that he caused the death of a
clan member."
It had been a week since Goliath and Krissie's little
tiff. Krissie and Lex got back to reading anything and
everything about java script and HTML. Krissie also took an
interest in Xanatos's ancient books. Angela and Broadway
had spring fever and were acting like love birds at every
chance. Brooklyn had become a phantom around the castle,
being there only to sleep and eat. One night Goliath had to
order him to stay at the castle because the weather man had
predicted dangerous thunderstorm.
It was a warm night in mid may when roadway and Angela
sneaked into the library. They wrapped their wings around
each other and were lost in a deep kiss of passion. When
they came up for air they saw Brooklyn sitting in a chair
right in front of them. He put down his paper and walked
towards the door.
"Brooklyn," Angela pleaded, "We didn't know anybody was
in here."
Brooklyn kept walking, but when he pasted his brother
he intentionally knocked his shoulder into his brother's.
"What's your problem?" Broadway sneered taking Angela
in his arms.
"Nothing is my problem," he hissed back eyes glowing.
He walked out of the library and was gone.
"Why does he act that way?" Angela said sounded guilty.
"I know why," said a familiar voice, "I know what stuck
up his tail."
"Krissie? That you?" Broadway said looking around.
Krissie glided to the middle of the room with an old book
under her arm and a hand held tape recorder in her hand.
"What were you doing up there?" Angela asked.
"Xanatos and I have a deal, I translate all these books
and he gives me a credit card."
"Good deal," Broadway said.
"You said you knew what was bothering Brooklyn," Angela
said getting back on track.
"He thinks that he is always going to be alone, and
seeing you two together isn't helping," she said.
"Why do you think that?" Broadway asked.
"Probably because Lex and I have been working on this
web thing together so much, he feels like he is the odd man
out."
Angela slapped her forehead, "Why didn't we see that?"
"I don't know," Broadway took her hand.
"Now if you'll excuse me," Krissie said walking out of
the room.
She walked out to the wall and looked over at the
clouds and the stars. Krissie opened her huge wings and
took a step towards the edge.
"Your going after him, aren't you?" Krissie whirled
around and saw Lex standing in the doorway.
"Yes," Krissie said looking at him. He looked sad in a
way.
"I always knew you two would make a good couple," he
said and smiled at her.
"Oh Lex," she hugged him, "I didn't say anything
because I didn't want to hurt one of you."
"Hey," Lex said, "I knew from the first second I saw
you that you two were meant for each other. Bring him back
to us will you?"
"I will, " Krissie nodded and run off the side of the
castle.
Moonlight streamed in the broken stain glass windows
creating colored rays of light that in turn made shadows in
the hall of St. Damion's Cathedral. The place was broken
down and dust covered, it made Krissie home sick. She could
hear someone with a soft baritone voice singing. She
followed the sound through the hall to a back room. There
Brooklyn sat on a small alter looking at through a gapping
hole in the window. It was the place where he had fought
Demona on the night of hunter's moon. Krissie could feel
the power flowing through this place like the moon light
through the windows. It made her wonder why he came here.
"This place is old, it feels just like a beat up truck.
I turn the engine but the engine doesn't turn," he sang in
his soft barry voice.
"With smells of cheap wine, cigarettes. This place is
always such a mess sometimes I think I'd like to watch it
burn," Krissie sang, stepping out of the shadow and into a
ray of light. Brooklyn jumped when he turned around and saw
he wasn't alone.
"What, how did you find me?" he stuttered and jumped to
his feet, standing up to his full height instead of
slouching like he always did at the castle.
"Do you always come here when your feel bad?" Krissie
said looking at what was left of the stain glass window.
"Yes," Brooklyn answered.
"Why?" she turned her head to look at him.
"I don't know, I guess I like the way this place makes
me feel."
"How so?" she was very interested.
"I don't know, it just makes me feel," he looked for
the right word, "Refreshed."
"I was in the library," she said taking a step towards
him.
"If you've come here to make me go back to the castle
and make up with Broadway you can just turn back around and
go back to Lex," He turned his back to her and sat back down
on the alter with a sigh.
"You think I like Lex?" she crossed her arms.
"You spend all your time together," he sounded like he
was going to start to cry.
"Lex is nice and he is easy to talk to, but," that last
word made Brooklyn's ears perk up. Krissie walked up behind
him, "He's bald, and I sort of have this thing for guys with
long white hair."
Brooklyn's eyes popped out of his head and he spun
around to where he thought Krissie was. To his surprise she
was standing by the hole in the stain glass window.
Brooklyn had a hopeful grin on his face.
"Seeya around," she said and took the step toward the
edge.
"Hey wait," he said getting off his tail, "I'll fly you
home."
Krissie was flying her usual speed, like a bat out of
hell. But this time Brooklyn kept up, and was with her on
every sudden turn, every dive, and every loop. He felt as
if the wind was bowing to his will.
"I've flown like this for a long time," Krissie said
zooming through the air.
"I've never flow like this," Brooklyn said. Krissie
smiled at him and held out her hand. Her took it and they
flew almost as one above the city and up doing spirals as
the ascended towards the top of the Erie building. They
flew in fast buzzing the tower and landed on the wall above
the court yard, beside Angela and Broadway.
"Brooklyn, we want to apologize," Broadway said.
"No, I should be the one apologizing, I ways being
jerk," Brooklyn said.
"Will you forgive me?" Brooklyn and Broadway said at
the same time. Angela and Krissie laughed.
At sunrise Krissie stood next to Brooklyn on the
parapets. Goliath looked over at his second in command. He
smiled at him and turned to face the sunrise. The sun came
up and Krissie struck a pose, next to her Brooklyn.
It was the end of may and a humid night when the world
changed forever. Krissie and Brooklyn had been going out
for two weeks and it seemed like it was going to work. The
clan accepted the fact that she slept more than they did.
Krissie was part of the clan now. She still liked to sleep
in her haven during the day though.
Spider web cracks appeared on the gargoyles on top of
the Erie building. Seven gargoyles broke free of their
stone shells and yawned. Brooklyn shook the stone pieces
out of his hair, and smiled.
"It's warm," Angela said looking devilishly at
Broadway. Goliath cleared his throat and the two jumped
three feet.
"Lad, don't you think that that was mean of you?"
Hudson said to his friend.
"I know it was," Goliath said through his chuckles, "I
just can't help myself."
"I'm going to go see how many people are in my
chartroom," Lex said proudly. His webpage had been up and
running for only a week and he had already been swamped with
Email, and five hundred people had found their way to his
website. He had put in a chat room two nights ago and
already it was filling up.
"I'm going to go see if Kris is awake," Brooklyn was
the only one of them that was allowed to call Krissie Kris.
He hopped down off the wall and strolled into the castle.
Lex went to the lounge to plug himself in, and Broadway and
Angela took a walk along the wall to watch the stars.
Hudson stood by Goliath and crossed hid arms proudly.
"Tis a grand time."
"Ay," Goliath said putting a hand on his mentor's
shoulder.
Brooklyn knocked on Krissie's door, no answer. So he
cracked the door and peeked in. He neglected to notice that
the go away side of the sigh had been turned over.
There was an eerie blue light illuminating the room.
It pulsating in short flashes. Brooklyn walked in and shut
the door behind him. The light mesmerized him drawing him
deeper into the room. Then he saw where the strange light
was coming from. It came from Krissie's pendent, that
strange rock that she guarded with her life. He stumbled
closer, Krissie was fast asleep. It's so beautiful he
thought, now he was standing over her.
Krissie was awakened by a blood curdling scream and a
thump. She was jumped out of sleep by it. The room was
dark, then Krissie nodded her head and the light switch on
the other side of the room switched on under it's own power.
The lights turned on and she saw him. Lying on the floor
his eyes half open, and what looked like a burn on his left
hand. Krissie gasped and jumped out of her hammock. She
gently picked up Brooklyn's left hand, it had a burn mark on
the palm. It was a coat of arms, she recognized it. It was
the coat of arms that was on her pendent. She dropped his
hand.
"Oh please good god no," Krissie gasped. The Krissie
did the first thing that came to mind, "PUCK!" she screamed
as loud as she could.
"Puck! Goliath!," a shrill voice echo through out the
castle. It startled Goliath out of the library where he
was reading. He jogged to the source of the scream,
Krissie's room. When he walked in he found Brooklyn lying
on the floor, his left arm swollen to the elbow. Puck was
floating eye level with Krissie. She was talking a mile a
minute, and Puck was telling her to slow down.
Krissie started to say something, in Latin so she
stopped and started again, "I didn't do anything," she
sounded scared and desperate.
"What's all the screaming about?" Hudson said coming
into the room. He took one look at Brooklyn, and glared at
Krissie. Goliath crossed his arms across his chest.
Krissie looked at Puck. He only shrugged and shook his
head.
"I suppose this is the part where I spill my guts all
over the floor."
"You better start making sense lass," Hudson said
trying hard no to let his eyes flare.
"I will, I'll tell you everything," Krissie glanced
back at Brooklyn. Puck poked him but he didn't move. By
this time the entire clan and the Xanatos' had formed a mob
by the door, "I just need to see how bad it is," Krissie
held her hand limply over Brooklyn's body. Then she lifted
the straight up, slowly. Brooklyn levitated a foot and a
half off the floor and over to the chair. Krissie set him
down carefully. He
was so out of it.
"You don't have to be scared Goliath," she said out of
nowhere.
"How did you know what I was felling?" Goliath said
crossly.
"The same way I knew your greatest fear," Krissie said.
She lifted up Brooklyn's arm. It wasn't good, the burns
were spreading, and now his inter arm had swollen up.
"Puck, revert," she commanded, he did. Now Owen stood
in the middle of the room, "I need ice pack, bandages, and
lots of Tylenol, he's already running a fever."
Owen hurried out of the room and came back a few
minutes later with what Krissie had requested.
"What are you doing?" Goliath said taking a step closer.
"Trying to stop the swelling, and stop the burns." She
was bandaging his hand and arm up to the elbow. Then put
the ice packs on his shoulder and upper arm. Next she
sighed.
"That's just about all I can do," she said remorseful.
She looked at the faces of the clan, all scared and
wondering.
"Now will you tell us what you are?" Goliath said, the
words cut through Krissie's mask of a face and into her.
The clan and Xanatos's gathered in the lounge, all
eager for Krissie's explanation.
"There are three types of magic in this world," Krissie
stared out, "Grimourem, which uses words to make an
inanimate object become the channel for energy. Gian is
when you use your own body to channel energy from the earth.
Then there is elemental, where you use your body to channel
energy from the elements. That's what I am, an elemental.
There are four elements that we use to draw power from,
wind, water, fire, and darkness."
"How come you keep saying where you get your energy
from?" Broadway asked.
"Because all magic is, is channeling energy to do your
will," she continued, "Now grimourem is the opposite of
elemental so I can't cast anything grimourem without getting
my tail into a heep of trouble."
"What happens if you cast a grimouem spell?" Angela
wanted to know.
"Same thing that happened to Brooklyn, but a hundred
times worse."
"Where did you learn all this lass?" Hudson said from
his chair.
"My sire, he gave me and my brother this gift. He also
taught us about the way magic works. I suppose I should
tell a family history."
"That would help," Goliath said.
"I was hatched in Antinoge, sometime in the late 11th
century. My brother told me about our clan a little bit.
He said that they were in charge of protecting some castle,
he didn't really know because when he was four, some humans
attacked him and blinded him. He couldn't become a warrior
so he listened on to the mage's teachings. One night when
he was ten he was down in the rookery and our sire
approached him. He said that our clan had been killed in an
attack, and that he was all alone. Now Archon wasn't that
dumb and he said that he could hear the clan outside. So
sire told him that if he came
with him he would heal his eyes, he agreed. Sire took ten
eggs and brought them to Antinoge.
He brought my brother across when he healed him.
Archon was an elementalist from that day on. Sire also
tried to bring across the eggs when they hatched, but I was
the only one to survive the process. I lived and learned
with my brother and sire for twelve years. One night sire
said that he was going away for a few days. The next night
Demona came to Antinoge. She wanted Archon to come with
her, he was a master of shadow and very powerful. She said
that together they could destroy the humans and rule this
world. He refused. The next night she returned with a
poison dart just for him. There was
nothing I could do, I hadn't learned enough healing spells
to counteract the poison.
He died in the hall of the church, but before he died
he sealed all of his power in this pendent and gave it to
me, he said that it was from our clan, and one day when I
was ready I would receive his power. He never woke up that
night. Demona returned and saw what had happened. The
pendent has a burglar alarm on it and if anyone tries to
take it, they get a shock they won't soon forget. I wouldn't
give her the pendent, but she knew that if she killed me
that the magic would be lost. She locked me in stone
instead."
There was an uneasy silence in the room.
"I spent nine hundred years on Gia's plane, Goliath
you've been there. When you battled the matrix in
Australia."
"How did you know all these thing?" he asked, now he
was scared.
"I practiced on the plain for nine hundred years, now
I'm a master of wind and water. I woke up one night in
Berkeley. I crossed the bay into San Francisco and began to
study with Gians there. They taught me how to tell what
people are thinking and how to dominate their thoughts to
make them do what you want. I stayed there for ten years
and I was happy there."
"Then why did you leave?" Lex asked.
"I was found by an another mage, and he thought that if
you kill a shadow mage in some sort of ceremony you can
cheat death. Which is not true. I had to leave."
"Why didn't you tell us when you first got here?" Lex
said angrily.
"Because of my belief in the cycles. It is commonly
believed that everyone goes through three cycles in life.
It's the same with the earth and magic. I had already gone
through two cycles, and I had to leave each one because of
my magic. I didn't want to have to leave again."
"So everything is explained," Angela said.
"Not exactly," Krissie said, "There one more thing,"
She got up off the chair and stood so everybody could see
her. She closed her eyes and her wings began to shrink into
her back, her tail got smaller and smaller, and her skin
turned flesh colored. Krissie had changed to human form
right in front of them, "Now that's everything."
Goliath's eyes rolled back in his head and once again
he hit the floor.
Goliath had not left Brooklyn's side since he woke up
from his nap. It's not everyday you find out that a member
of your clan can change her form at will. Krissie sat in
her hammock she was lost in thought.
"What will happen to him, in the worse case?" he said
grimly.
"He dies before sunrise," she said without emotion.
"You must make it to sunrise, my friend," Goliath put a
hand on Brooklyn's unburned shoulder.
"Even if he does, that doesn't mean he'll live," she
said starring out into space.
"What, I thought sunrise healed all," he sat back down
in the chair that was usually at the computer.
"Nope. One time I picked up Sire's book. Had burns
for three weeks," Krissie continued in her monotone.
A shrill scream of absolute terror awoke them from
their daze. Lex came tearing in on four legs and wrapped
himself around Goliath's lower leg. Numbly Goliath got up
with Lex on his leg. Goliath shook his leg a couple of
times, but Lex didn't budge. Fox came to the door with one
hand on her forehead, in the other hand she had the
thermometer.
"Now what?" Goliath said.
"She wants to stick a thermometer up my tail!" Lex said
with terror in his voice.
"Would it make you feel better if I stick a thermometer
up you tail?" said Krissie with an evil grin on her face.
"Krissie, was that necessary?" Goliath said over his
shoulder.
"Lex," Fox said in a mothering tone, "This doesn't go
up your tail, it goes in your mouth."
"Oh," Lex let go of Goliath's leg and perched himself
on the computer table. He opened his mouth and Fox stuck
the thermometer in his.
"Why are you taking his temp?" Goliath said sitting
back down.
"Because she wants to find out what the normal gargoyle
body temperature is," Krissie answered before Fox.
"You're going to have to stop doing that it-"
"Scares you I know," Krissie finished Goliath's
sentence, "Don't worry you'll get use to it."
The thermometer started to beep and Fox took it out of
Lex's mouth, "One hundred degrees."
"I'm guessing that Brooklyn's temp is going to be
around hundred and three," Krissie said looking at him.
"No, hundred and two tops," Lex said.
Fox opened Brooklyn's beak and stuck the thermometer
in. They all waited a moment till the tiny piece of mettle
beeped. Fox took it out.
"Hundred and four," she said grimly.
"Shit," Krissie said under her breath, "I didn't think
it would get up there that fast."
Goliath stroked Brooklyn's hair. He knew that this was
not good.
"I need some air," Krissie said and left the room.
Lex thought that he should get something to eat, but he
just could keep anything down. He left the bathroom and
wondered what everyone was up to. He didn't feel like going
on the computer. He started to walk aimlessly around the
castle. He pasted by the library and heard someone singing.
"When I was young I knew everything, and she a punk
that rarely ever took advice. Now I'm guilt stricken
sobbing with my head on the floor."
Lex slowly opened the door and but he couldn't hear
where the singing was coming from.
"For the life of me I cannot remember what made us
think that we were wise and we'd never compromise. For the
life of me I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins, we
were merely freshmen."
Lex walked into the library and up the stairs to the
second level and started to sing, "My best friend took a
weeks vacation to forget her. His girl took a week's worth
of valium and slept. Now he's guilt stricken sobbing with
his head on the floor. Thinks about it now and how he never
really wept and he says."
Krissie turned around and smiled, "We've tried to wash
our hands of all of this, we never talk of lacking in
relationships and how we're guilt stricken sobbing with our
heads on the floor. We fell through the ice when we tried
to slip, we say."
"He's going to die isn't he?" Lex said hopping up on
the railing.
"I," she sighed and looked away. She couldn't look him
in the eye, "Yes, at this rate he won't make it to sunrise
tomorrow."
Krissie started to sing again, Lex joined her.
Fox was standing in the doorway to the library, Puck
stood beside her with Alex in his arms. They had heard the
conversation above them.
"Why is she singing?" Fox asked Puck.
"It's her way of praying, that's what she's learned to
do," Puck said burping Alex.
"Who taught her that?" Fox said taking a drooling Alex
from Puck.
"That's not my story to tell," Puck said, "All I can do
is hope she finds help."
"He's really going to die?" Fox said, she never really
thought about how much the gargoyle had become part of her
family.
"At this rate, yes," Puck said taking Alex from his
mother, "Go get some sleep."
It was almost sunrise, and the clan had gathered in the
haven. Brooklyn's fever had stopped at a hundred and four
only because Krissie had gave him four Tylenol. She kissed
him on the side of his beak and said, "I'm sorry." the sun
came up and Krissie turned to human form. She lied down in
her hammock, and when onto Gia's plane. Once she was there,
she turned into a crow and flew away from the castle. Away
from Manhattan, into the mist. She found her way to an
island, this was always a favorite to go. She ran into the
hall of the castle and looked around. She was looking for
her friend. The friend that was always there to lend some
guidance or just to talk. But she wasn't here now. Krissie
turned into her gargoyle form and looked around. The place
was empty.
"Hello?" she ventured out on the chance that somebody
would answer, "Please somebody, anybody."
She gave it up, sat down on the floor and cried,
"Please I need help."
Nobody answered, nobody was there. Krissie got up of
the floor and left. She returned to her body and cried
herself to sleep.
The sunset as it did always, waking up the clan. If
Krissie had learned one thing over the years, it was to keep
your composer until you popped. Now she looked at the faces
of her new family and new that she was about to pop. She
stroked Brooklyn's long white hair, the same hair that made
her notice him. The burns were still spreading and his
fever was going up, there was nothing she knew to do.
"He'll be dead by sunrise," she couldn't hold the tears
back any longer. Krissie left the room. Now in the hall,
reality set in, in her attempt to stop the third cycle from
ending, she actually caused it to happen sooner. A tear
rolled down the side of her face. Hopelessly she leaned
against the wall. Her knees gave way and she sunk to the
floor.
She put her head to her knees and wrapped her wings
around her, crying.
"Cry not, my child," a soft feminine voice said.
Krissie looked up with tears in her eyes and saw a aging
women, with brown hair standing before her.
"Tatania!" Krissie jumped off the floor and threw her
arms and wings around her.
"Oh child, what is so many tears?" Tatania asked
stroking Krissie hair.
"I'm in deep shit," Krissie's voice waved a bit.
"I'm here," Tatania said and held Krissie out at arms
length, "Now let me look at you."
Krissie had met Tatania years before, when she was
banished to stone. She found a castle in the mist and found
Tatania there. Over the centuries they had become good
friends. Tatania was always there for Krissie. This was
the first time that they had meet off Gia's plain. When
Krissie woke up from her nine hundred year cat nap, she
stopped going to meet her. Now Krissie was grown up.
"My, you've grown from that little thing you were,"
Tatania said admiringly, "Now, why did you call for my help
child, you look all right."
"It's not for me. One of the other gargoyles touched
my pendent and got a nasty shook and," Krissie hesitated,
"He's dying."
"Child, I know these gargoyles well. Which one was
it?"
"Brooklyn," Krissie answered.
"I always knew one of these days you two would hook
up," Tatania said proudly.
"Here's dying, and there is nothing I can do, please
help him," Krissie pleaded.
"I'm not sure what I can do," Tatania smiled her all
knowing smile, "There may still be something you can do."
The clan was in the haven say their good byes to a
Brooklyn. He was getting worse by the minute. That was
when Tatania entered with Krissie behind her.
"Everybody out," she announced, "Krishana and I need a
few minutes."
Krissie cringed, Tatania always called her by her full
name.
"Krishana?" Angela said.
"It's my full name are you happy now?" Krissie
answered.
"Krishana, I think it's a nice name," Broadway said.
"Out all of you," Tatania said. The clan reluctantly
got up and left the room, all but Goliath.
"I want to be here," He said still standing by
Brooklyn's side.
"Krishana would you do the honors?" Tatania asked out
of the blue.
"It'll be my pleasure," Krissie said and held her hand
up in the air limply. Goliath was lifted a foot off the
ground by strong currents of air and carried out the door.
"Now let me see what we have here," Tatania said
looking Brooklyn over. Krissie waited a moment and started
to get antsy.
"Well?" she started to pace.
"I'm surprised at you Krishana, all he need is a simple
healing spell which I had the impression you could to well."
"But that'll kill him for sure," Krissie didn't
understand at first, then a look of shear realization came
onto her face, "Or bring him across."
"Yes child," Tatania smiled and nodded.
"You can't be serious?"
"Child, it's up to you but he will die if you don't."
"You don't know what you say," Krissie was shocked at
what her long time friend wanted her to do, "I don't want to
banish him to a life where he is forever alone."
"He'll have you, his sire," Tatania said calmly, "You
are a master of two elements and a wonderful teacher."
"I," Krissie stuttered and looked at Brooklyn.
"Krishana I know you have feelings for him but if you
don't want him to die," Tatania stopped mid sentence, "There
something else isn't there?"
"No, yes. I don't know. I've just been dreaming a
lot about Archon," Krissie turned her back to her friend and
Brooklyn and sighed.
"He's telling you not to let it happen again."
Krissie turned around and looked at Brooklyn.
"He stands at the crossroads, child. Show him the way
across," Tatania said in her elegant voice.
Krissie stood over Brooklyn holding her hands out
over him. Slowly she levitated up off the ground and a
white light surrounded Brooklyn. It was like a ray of
sunshine with little sparkles in it. The sparkles landed on
Brooklyn and disappeared.
The burns started to disappear from his chest and neck.
The white light faded and Krissie came back down.
"Stay with us till it's done," Krissie said and jumped
in her hammock.
"I will," Tatania said softly.
"How do I find the crossroads?" Krissie said lying
back.
Brooklyn was having the strangest dream. He was in a
field and it was night. A beautiful night with stars, he
hadn't seen stars since he was in Scotland. The moon was a
thin crescent but it still gave off lots of light. One road
came out of a forest that was dark and didn't look pleasant.
That one ran horizontal in front of him. The other that lay
in front of him, and continued on into the field. He didn't
know which road to take, or even where he was. Then a
shadow passed on the ground and it made him jump. He looked
around and saw Krissie riding a wind current. She landed
gracefully beside him. Krissie hugged him as tight as she
could. Brooklyn staggered back a little, but then hugged
her back.
"Krissie what are you doing in my dream?" he asked.
"I've come to show you the way across," she took his
hand and led him towards the path that went forward.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Home, my child, home."
Tatania watched as Brooklyn's body seemed to relax.
His breathing slowed but stayed steady and deep. Krissie's
head shook back and forth lightly and her eyes popped open.
"Did it work?" she said getting up.
"Yes, child he'll live," she rubbed Krissie's back, "It
was the right thing to do."
"If it was the right thing how come I feel like crap?"
Krissie got up and walked to the door. On the other side
was the clan who waited anxiously for news.
"He'll live," she said with a dull voice. There was a
sigh of relief from the clan.
"Can we see him?" Lex asked.
"Yes," Tataina said coming out of the door. The clan
went in but the two stayed in the hall. Krissie hung her
head.
"Hello mother," Xanatos said cheerfully.
"Mother what are you here for?" Fox said angrily. They
had been waiting in the back of the group.
"I came to help my child," Tataina said. Even though
Krissie's sire was long dead and gone Tatania often called
Krissie her child.
"So you did come back for him," Fox spat, she thought
that her mother was talking about Alex. Fox's eyes glowed
and a ball of energy formed around her hands. Krissie
picked her head up. Fox yelled something then shot the
balls of energy at Tatania. At the same time Krissie leapt
at Fox, snarling. the blast hit Krissie mid torso and she
fell to the ground.
"Child!" Tatania ran to Krissie.
"I'm fine," Krissie said taking short breaths. She got
up on shaky leg.
"Wow," a voice said from the door way, "That blast was
strong enough to take down Oberon," It was Broadway. Him
Angela and Lex had watched the whole seen.
"Yes child how did you do that?" Tataina said starting
to walking down the hall with Krissie.
"My third eye blind."
Through the rest of the night Brooklyn's fever went
down and his burns got better so all that was left of them
was the burns below his elbow. That would take a couple of
days to heal. The clan was going to sleep in the haven but
a few moments before sunrise Fox shooed them all outside
because she didn't want them to track gravel into the
castle. Krissie turned to human form so she got to stay in
her haven. There she slept till sunset.
The day past, and the sun sank into the horizon.
Krissie turned to gargoyle form and watched as Brooklyn
awoke. Tatania appeared in the middle of the room.
"All right child, the clan will wait outside till we're
done," she looked at Brooklyn shaking the stone skin off
him.
"Wow do I have a headache," he said looking around.
Then he looked at his hand, still bandaged, "What's going
on?"
"Brooklyn what was the last thing you remember before
waking up?" Krissie said pulling the chair from the computer
table out to sit on.
"I remember your pendent was glowing it was the most
beautiful thing I ever saw," he said looking Krissie in the
eye. Krissie's had her head in the usually eyes down
position." She finally looked into Brooklyn's eyes. His
beautiful, gentle, blue eyes. Krissie managed a smile when
she saw that his eyes had changed color.
"Did you dream?" she asked.
"Ya, it was the strangest thing. I was in this field
by a crossroads, and then you came," he tried to flex his
hand, but it still hurt too much. Everything was fuzzy to
him, nothing seemed the same. Even him.
"Brooklyn I want you to listen to me very carefully and
at the end tell me if you understand what I am saying,"
Krissie said. It made Brooklyn suspicious, he looked at
Tatania standing behind Krissie. He nodded slowly. Krissie
told him about magic, about what she is, and about what he
did. She didn't tell him about her family history. She
didn't feel like resurrecting ghosts right then. A
sickening feeling came to his stomach when she go to the
part about her pendent and the crossroads. When she
finished a new feeling came over him, rage.
"You did that without asking me first," He could hardly
keep his rage out of his eyes, "What gave you the right?"
Krissie got up and stood with her back to him. Tataina
laid a hand on her shoulder. He could hear Krissie
breathing deeply. He felt a little churn in his stomach.
"It was the only way, I know that you feel confused,"
Krissie said trying not to break down and cry.
"How would you know what I'm feeling. You never went
through this," Brooklyn asked angrily, he felt like one of
those people that said they were abducted by aliens and
probed. Krissie just hung her head because she knew he was
right, she didn't know.
"Krishana did go through this," Tatania finally spoke
up, "But she was too young to remember."
Brooklyn felt a sting of guilt in his gut.
"She brought you across because she would not watch
you die," Tatania continued.
"Kris, I'm sorry," Brooklyn said, "Shouldn't have been
in here while you were asleep."
"Brooklyn, I'm not mad at you," Krissie said turning
around, "I didn't know how I wanted you to react."
"So I'm an elementalist now?" he said looking at his
hands.
"Ya," Krissie said, "You are."
Outside the haven door the clan had been waiting for
some news. There was a note on the door saying not to come
in. Tatania appeared suddenly in front of them.
"Congratulation Goliath, you now have the only two
living here, make sure they both eat enough and get sleep.
Let them have some time together," she said and was gone.
Goliath smiled, and knew that everything was going to be OK.
At midnight Lex brought some food up to the haven.
When he got closer to the door hear singing.
"Oh I watch you there through the window and I stare at
you. You wear nothing but you wear it so well. Tied up and
twisted the way I like to be. For you for me come crash
into me," It was Brooklyn and Krissie's voice in the sweet
duet.
He knocked on the door, "I come with food," The door
open and he walked in.
"Hey Lex," Brooklyn said happily, "You brought food!"
"Your looking better," Lex said putting the tray of two
bowls of mac and cheese on the table. He handed one to
Brooklyn. Brooklyn inhaled it.
"Hungry?" Krissie asked. He nodded and the other bowl
floated over to him.
"I don't ever think I will be able to get use to that,"
Lex said to Krissie.
"Oh sure you will," Krissie said. Brooklyn had
finished the second bowl of mac and cheese and lay back in
chair that had become his.
"Get some sleep," Krissie patted him on the arm and
soon had she said that, Brooklyn was fast asleep.
"He going to be all right?" Lex asked.
"Ya," Krissie said and her and Lex left Brooklyn to
sleep.
Later in the lounge Krissie was surfing the net with
Lex. Broadway and Angela were sitting on the couch channel
surfing.
"Krissie?" Broadway said.
"Ya," she answered turning away from the other idiot
box in the room.
"Have you ever had a sunburn?"
It was a week after Brooklyn was brought across. Now
it was time for his first magic lesson. Krissie landed next
to him on the tower.
"So what do we start on, some little fire balls, or
some levitation," he was very excited.
Krissie chuckled and laid a hand on his shoulder,
"Brooklyn, what you are about to embark on will have a great
impact on your life."
The End
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