It was not long before television news crews, even the new WVRN news station, arrived and began reporting on the disaster. An executive looking man stepped out to the crowd of reporters to give his statement about an electrical generator being the cause of the explosion. Elisa used the distraction to make her way into the lobby of the Eerie Building, a place she was sure was a metaphorical lion's den.
The Eerie Building may have looked like just another tall skyscraper that dotted the world famous skyline of New York City and attracted tourists from around the world, like the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building or the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, but Elisa knew better. It was a financial and business hub that acted as a near literal home office of dozens of executive offices of business and banking for many branches of the city's life blood in political and industrial economics, all of which was owned by the multi-billion dollar corporation of Xanatos Enterprises, whose primary stock holder was none other than David Xanatos himself.
Elisa only knew this David Xanatos primarily through rumor and reputation. He was said to be more than twice as rich as Bill Gates, Hugh Hefner Donald Trump, and John D. Rockefeller combined with more than enough money to spare for several small countries. The Wall Street Journal called him a break through industrialist and philanthropist in the creation of new jobs and business leadership. People Magazine ranked him as being in the Top Ten riches people alive, the Most Eligible Bachelor in America, and the Sexiest Man Alive for almost three years running.
He was also reputed to be a collector of rare and exotic oddities. His latest acquisition was said to be a medieval castle from Ireland, or some such place, he had literally moved stone by stone to the top of this very building, complete with all of its original stonemasonry and its chiseled Gothic stone gargoyles.
But none of that mattered to Elisa, for she always believed that no matter how rich or powerful, or how many politicians and businessmen someone can claim in their pocket, no one is above the law.
Walking into the large and immaculately decorated lobby she showed her badge to the security guard and politely yet authoritively asked to speak with Mr. Xanatos. The guard, a pudgy looking man, did as asked with slight reluctance. Elisa did not have long to wait, for she was soon approached by a stiff faced man with a pasty yet flawless complexion, well kept pale blond hair, a well pressed business suit, and a wooden expression behind a pair of spotless round glasses. Everything about the man spoke of order and properness, that behind his stiffness he commanded a lot of respect with just a look.
"Good evening, Detective," he said with a nasally voice that sounded just as wooden as his face, yet he did not extend his hand in greeting, "I am Owen Burnett, personal assistant to Mr. Xanatos. What can I do for you?"
Elisa held up her badge for him to see, which he regarded with his ever stiff demeanor, as she said, "Thank you for seeing me on short notice, Mr. Burnett, I have a few questions about the explosions earlier for your boss, Mr. Xanatos."
"A most unfortunate accident," Owen began, he then blatantly confirmed about an exploding generator causing all of the destruction in the castle from above, but Elisa was not buying it not just because of the mysterious 'claw marks' on the stone she saw, but she also heard what she was sure had been weapons fire which she confidently told to the executive assistant. She partially bluffed him with the threat of getting a warrant and more cops unless he allowed her to look the place over herself. For a moment it seemed as though a slight smile curved at the corners of Mr. Burnett's lips, giving a bit more life to his stiff demeanor. Whether or not he believed her, Elisa was sure she had made her point of not being one to be messed with.
They entered a large grey room which Elisa was sure was part of the medieval castle Xanatos had recently purchased. She made a comment about the heating bill when a man's deep tenor voice greeted her from behind.
"Detective Maza," said the man Elisa was sure had to be the big man himself. She had only seen pictures of David Xanatos, yet she could see that they did not do him justice. He was indeed a handsome man with a charismatic charm and confidence to himself, had to be about 6'4'' with a strong youthful build beneath the expensive Italian suit he wore, his long dark brown hair was cut into a mullet and pulled back into a ponytail, which matched his well trimmed goatee.
He told her that he just called the mayor to apologize for the incident, yet Elisa could tell that although he was being civilized, she was sure he did not do it with real sincerity.
She asked him what really happened, not wanting to hear the excuse of an 'exploding generator.'
"That's for the press," Xanatos seemed to smirk, "The truth is that my men repealed an invasion from a rival corporation trying to steal some of our new technology."
Elisa gasped at him, she had just met this man and already she could tell that there was something about him she did not like, for that explanation sounded too quick and too rehearsed. She told him he was a private citizen not a country, which he just arrogantly responded to about being head of a multi-national corporation bigger than many countries. Elisa was sure now that she was not going to like this man because he was just like the rest of his kind; arrogant and prideful because he feels secure in his wealth, which he believed put him above the law of the 'common man.'
Unfortunately, just like everyone else she had to treat him with respect and dignity, and give him the benefit of the doubt as she continued to question him. It was not a perfect system, but it was a system that she knew could work and strongly believed in.
Xanatos cooperated with her enough as he answered her questions with what she was sure were only half truths until his assistant said something about trouble in the kitchen with some 'new guests.' Obviously he was trying to hide something.
The businessman then excused himself politely as Owen was about to escort her to the elevators, when a small movement seemed to catch her eye. On a turret just above them, Elisa saw a winged figure hold perfectly still as though a chiseled statue. Although she told the major domo about it, they dismissed it as a trick of the eye in the darkness.
Elisa only went down a floor or two before she stopped the elevator and stepped out to a darker part of the castle, determining that her investigation was not yet over. Xanatos may have given his full cooperation, but she will not be satisfied until she found the answer to what really made those claw marks on stone and what really caused the disturbance earlier.
Taking out her police flashlight, Elisa came to a dark corner of the castle that may not have had electricity installed yet, giving the ancient stone fortress the essence of a dark foreboding place that inspired the ancient primal human fear of the unknown. It was made ever more ominous seeming as her torch shined on medieval tapestries and suits of armor that deeper defined its ambiance and the real heritage of the castle.
Steeling herself against such fears, Elisa continued inside the castle, making a joke about Dracula. She then came to a staircase that led up to another part of the dark castle, its dark presence foreboding yet strangely inviting. She had only taken two steps up when a sound rumbled from somewhere behind her. Turning quickly from instinct, her torch revealed nothing there. Laughing at herself for reacting to nothing, she continued up the stairs. Clearly it was just the wind blowing through the old cracks of the ancient castle, because for an instant it sounded like an animal growling.
She soon came outside to another castle rampart, even taking a moment to admire the amazing view of the shining city below, the thick rainy cloud cover having now thinned to but a few wispy cloudlets.
There came that growling again, this time she was sure she heard something. Dousing her flashlight, she leaned against the wall near the doorway, drew her revolver and cocked it ready. Someone seemed to be going to a lot of trouble to scare her with a Scooby Doo style joke. No one got the drop on Detective Elisa Maza.
She heard footsteps quickly approach up the stairs, she pointed her gun at the would-be stalker through the doorway, telling him to come out nice and easy.
A huge blue monster as though from her darkest nightmares stepped out from the shadows and snarled in hunger at her. Ancient primal fears took over Elisa's rational mind, her first instinct to shoot and kill the creature that would make her its next kill for its meat.
She aimed her weapon at the monster, time seeming to slow down for but a second in her mind, when a huge clawed hand grabbed her weapon from behind and pulled it from her grip, making her turn to suddenly see another and even larger monster standing behind her and easily crush her weapon. It looked at her with angry dark eyes, making her back away in fear.
If this was Xanatos' idea of a joke to frighten her off, it was working, for Elisa now felt as though she was the first weak female victim to be killed by a psycho monster in some cheesy horror movie. She hated herself for feeling this way as she tried to back away from the monster against the hard stone wall.
When suddenly there was no more wall!
Elisa tried to stop herself from slipping over the edge, but gravity had already taken hold of her in its grip. The next thing she knew she was falling from the world's tallest building, and had it not been for the very real fear that gripped her stomach and clenched her heart she would have thought it all nothing but a bad dream, the falling a signal to her sleeping mind to now wake up.
The world rose above her with unthinkable speed, becoming massive unending mountainous canyons that threatened to swallow her up, the castle in the clouds fading from sight quickly to once again disappear in the heavens beyond human reach. Yet where some micro part of her logical mind expected to see her life flash before her eyes, instead they locked onto a winged being diving after her at an incredible velocity as though a living missile.
Or perhaps an avenging angel of the night.
It was the monster that had frightened her from before, and given its great size it had caught up to her fall with incredible speed. With remarkable gentleness, it grasped Elisa in its talons and pulled her close to its massive figure, instinct telling her to grasp its muscular neck, as it then unfurled like living sails enormous bat like wings the color of midnight stormy clouds. Their descent quickly slowed as the wings gathered updrafts into themselves and gently carried them upwards, the huge creature soaring for but a second over the gathered crowd, and then they soon landed safely on a low nearby ledge of the Eerie Building.
The creature released her, panic threatened to overtake her as Elisa leaned hard up against the solid wall and subconsciously felt its reassuring presence. Elisa concentrated on trying to control her breathing as she gasped hard from the adrenaline coursing through her body from the fall. She focused intensely on the monster that had just saved her life, taking in all its detail with her observant eyes while also coming to the conclusion that perhaps it does not mean her any harm.
Light from the streets below helped Elisa to better see her unusual rescuer, for though the creature was ever fearsome to behold, it, or rather he, held himself with a sort of quiet dignity. Looking at him from toe to head, the monster had to be around seven feet tall, maybe more, and was more or less humanoid in shape with the additional dark bat wings and long powerful looking tail. The feet however were large and arched up with a spike on each heel and three talon toes upon which he stood, almost avian like. The face was square shaped with a strong jaw line and was also more or less human like, yet there was something alien about it with the small horns over his brows, the large pointed ears, long night dark sable hair, and the stern stoic expression on his face. Every muscle of his figure was sculpted to absolute perfection; rippling with sinewy detail and carrying power to lift a tank and be respected with fear and admiration, especially with the broad shoulders and huge barreled chest, the large wings upon his back strangely delicate in comparison, but she knew they too were incredibly stronger than they looked. Either the light had played tricks on her eyes or the shadowy lavender shade of his skin was his real skin color, as though he could easily blend with an early dusk sky or night shadows. All he seemed to wear for clothing was a dark brown loincloth made of some sort of animal leather and a thick black belt was all that held it on.
For a moment, Elisa thought the creature was smiling a bit at her.
Elisa soon calmed down enough as she observed the creature staring at her, that she had to try and determine its real intension.
"Okay," she said patiently in reassurance, for clearly this could still be a dangerous and unpredictable wild animal, "Just take it easy."
"What were you doing in my castle?" the creature suddenly demanded with the most amazingly deep booming voice Elisa had ever heard.
He can talk!
Who or what exactly was this creature?!
"My kind have no names," he told her, "But you humans call me Goliath."
The name seemed to fit him extremely well, given his size and stature, yet there is more than one of these monsters?
"Barely," he growled low in his throat as he breathed from seeming frustration.
Goliath began to turn away from her as though to leave, but she stopped him from going for the last thing she needed was to be stuck on this ledge for the rest of the night, it was either to the street below or the castle above. He had wings; surely he could fly them both to either one.
"I can only glide on currents of wind," he bluntly corrected to her, "There are none strong enough here to lift us back up."
Great, they were going to be stuck here forever.
A huge hand suddenly grabbed her slender arm, startling Elisa as the creature named Goliath then gently placed her on his muscular back between his leathery wings.
"Hold on," he breathed with a tone of inconvenienced annoyance in his voice, his claws then biting into the hard concrete wall of the building with incredible strength as though it were made of soft pumice instead of concrete.
Elisa held on tightly to Goliath's neck, her life literally depending on it, though she tried not to look down at the fading streets below out of morbid curiosity. She heaved a sudden breath, her eyes widening to near perfect circles.
"Trust me," Goliath rumbled as she held tighter to him, shutting her eyes for a moment to close out the fearful image of her falling again. Part of her wondered if she was going to have acrophobia from now on.
"I don't believe this," she gasped, knowing that she had no choice but to trust this giant creature with her life.
It took forever to finally reach the top, but finally she slipped from the gentle giant's back and began to breath heavily to steady her rapid heartbeat, and be mentally overjoyed to be back on 'solid ground' only to find the big blue beast from earlier snarling at her again.
Elisa backed away from the beast in fright, admitting to have forgotten about it, though Goliath assured her that the beast will not hurt her as he patted its head like a loyal pet.
Again he asked why she was here in his castle.
"And please, don't fall off the building this time," he said with a bit of lightness in his deep voice.
Elisa could not help but smile at his attempt at humor, her fear of him quickly waning. He did just save her life, so obviously if he wanted to harm her, he already would have.
She took out her badge, which Goliath regarded with a bit of a raise brow, the blue beast sniffing her like a curious dog checking out a new unknown visitor to its home.
"My name is Detective Elisa Maza; I'm a 2nd class police detective with the NYPD. I was investigating reported explosions from this place and I had reason to believe that the building's owner knew something about it. If he knew about dangerous weapons being fired off in a building full of people it would mean serious consequences, and it's up to me to find out."
Goliath scowled as he said, "There was indeed an attack upon this castle, and just as before a thousand years ago my clan defends our home with their lives. Now if that is all you wish to know I suggest you leave, now."
Elisa raised an eyebrow, knowing that clearly there was more to this than meets the eye. She politely yet confidently requested to ask him a few more questions if he was a witness to this alleged attack.
"And what concern is it of yours? You are a human," he scowled.
It was her job to know about such things for it allowed Elisa to better defend against such dangers should it happen to other innocent people.
"You are a knight of this realm," he said with intrigue, "And the shield you carry is a mark of honor."
"Yes, something like that."
"Much truly has changed, for I have never heard of a human female baring the title of warrior in my time."
Elisa became more confused and intrigued by what this 'man' had to say. She decided that if she is going to have his full cooperation, they will answer each other's questions in good faith. Besides, for some reason she just could not take her eyes off of him because he was just so impressive looking and she could tell that there was a nobleness to him that radiated off of him.
"My story," he said as he looked away from her with a far off thoughtful gaze, "is a long and painful one. I do not wish to speak of it."
Elisa did not think that this creature would be one to want her pity, yet beneath his mighty and fearsome appearance she could see there was a grief stricken and broken soul. With some kindness and patience, she told him that it may help for him to talk about it.
Goliath began his story with some reluctance, and it was definitely too fantastic to believe despite him standing in front of her as proof. One thousand years ago, humans and gargoyles coexisted within the walls of this very castle, though the humans treated his clan with contempt and very little tolerance. Goliath's clan even numbered to more than one hundred members where now there were only a few, for the others were slaughtered by a large band of raiding Vikings in their sleep. The one human Goliath had trusted and counted as a friend, the captain of the guard, had then betrayed his clan and in turn greatly angering Goliath and forever making him distrustful of humans. There was another misunderstanding and the last of his clan were put into a seeming forever sleep by a magic spell until the 'castle rose above the clouds.' Now the remaining survivors were the last of their kind in the whole world.
Magic. Elisa never would have believed that such a thing could even exist, being something only heard of in fairy tales, yet even in a stressful career as a police officer she had always tried to keep an open mind and always believed that the world can be filled with wonders. The stories her mother and fraternal grandparents had told always taught her that.
She developed a deeper understanding of him, a strange need to heal this broken soul beckoned her and hopefully to help him understand that not all humans are like that.
Who else knew about him?
"Only the man called Xanatos," Goliath answered just as several more creatures walked up around them, "He brought us here."
The situation was becoming a bit overwhelming now, even though she had been told there were more, dealing with the thought of just one had been enough for her mind to rationalize on. A red one with an elongated snout took a sniff at her, making her flinch and take a step back, wondering if she was a new friend which she certainly hoped she is. It was understandable that the others were weary of her. Goliath introduced her to these others, carefully pronouncing her rank to them then she showed them her badge. An old brownish one with a beard and a thick accent, Scottish maybe, asked her what exactly she did. As she attempted to explain her job and how the justice system worked, that it was how the people decided, Goliath spat out,
"You mean the humans decide."
He turned away from her, took a few steps away in frustrated anger. He suddenly demanded loudly for her to leave, now, as though something had him suddenly on edge. Patiently she asked if she could see him again tomorrow; only because she wanted to know him better and help him understand the city, she owed him that much for saving her life. He finally agreed and they arranged to meet on another rooftop in view across from the castle after dark, though for reasons she did not understand why.
"Why were you sneaking into the castle?" Goliath pointed out.
"A good detective trusts no one," she stated with seriousness.
"That's one thing we have in common," Goliath said with quiet anger.
It will take time to completely earn his trust, Elisa could understand that, so she gave him a small smile and a respectful nod goodbye then left down another flight of stairs.
The crowd had mostly dispersed when she returned to the damaged streets below, and her mind was still reeling from her extreme experience this night. She gave a quick glance back up to the castle, straining her neck to really see it. She knew that her life had just changed, possibly forever, in just one night and the worst of it that she could think of was how she was going to write it all up in her report.
Creatures of myth, magic, enchanted castles; it all sounded like something from a darkened Disney movie and yet it was all real. Could the stress of her job have finally gotten to her and started to make her go insane and see things that were not really there? No, she was sure it was all real and she just needed a little time to absorb it all, and if there was another explanation she was sure she will find out soon enough.
On the way back to the precinct, Elisa decided that the best thing to do was to write it up as being an attack upon Xanatos by some unknown terrorist group supposedly working for a rival corporation. In a sense it was true and she knew that her captain and the higher ups will believe it. Who would ever believe it was actually Gargoyles doing battle in an old Scottish stone castle?
