Elisa's loft, Manhattan. May 4th
As the sun set beyond the horizon, the stone encasing Goliath cracked and he awoke, eyes glowing. His roar-like yawn echoed through the sky. He covered his forehead with his palm, and breathed a sigh of relief. "It was just a dream," he said to himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of paper taped to the skylight behind him. He reached out and took it, finding a note.
Hey, Big Guy,
I had to go into the station early. I'll catch you later tonight.
Love you,
Elisa
"I love..." but he couldn't finish the sentence. It was as if something inside him was compelling him not to. He re-read the note and even the love he was feeling was quickly replaced by annoyance bordering on anger.
He growled slightly, then took to the air, heading north towards the Eyrie Building. After several minutes he arrived, coming to a landing in the courtyard where the clan had all gathered.
"So, you and Elisa had a good time?" asked Brooklyn, clasping a warm hand on his leader's shoulder. But Goliath brushed it aside.
"Never mind Elisa," he muttered, angrily.
"You two didn't have a fight, did you?" Angela asked.
"No," Goliath sharply replied, before sighing and calming down at the sight of his daughter taking a step backwards. "I apologize, Angela."
"So I assume you haven't been following current events," said Lexington.
"What do you mean?" asked Goliath.
"Demona raided the Louvre last night!" Broadway said,. He handed Goliath a copy of The New York Times. The photo on the front page was blurry, but the silhouette in it was unmistakable.
"The lass shot down a police helicopter," Hudson added. "Nobody was hurt, but I cannae imagine the city won't be a tinder box tonight."
Brooklyn grabbed the paper from Broadway and thumbed through the article before growling. "It says she stole the Whip of Mab."
"What's that?" Angela asked, bracing herself for an answer.
"Very bad news if she can figure out how to use it," Brooklyn replied. Katana approached her mate's side, detecting the fear in his voice and wrapped her arm around his waist. "And I think we need to operate under the assumption that she knows how to use it. We should also assume she's on her way back to Manhattan with it at this very moment, if she's not in town already."
"Then we will patrol the city tonight!" Goliath declared, eyes blazing. "Hudson, Angela, you're with me! Brooklyn, you take Katana and Broadway. Lexington and Staghart will patrol with Coldstone and Coldfire!"
"But who will watch Tachi?" Lexington asked.
Goliath sighed, exasperated by the question. "Lexington, you and Staghart can take her to your laboratory," he said.
"Great!" Lex replied.
"I think we've got some toys down there to entertain the hatchling," Amp added.
Brooklyn approached Goliath cautiously. "Are you all right?" he asked. "You've been in a bad mood ever since you got back. Maybe you should just stay in tonight."
"No!" Goliath growled. "At this moment, there is nothing I would rather do than patrol the city."
Before any more words could be said, Goliath took to the air, gliding south. Angela and Hudson exchanged a worried glance before following.
"You heard him," said Brooklyn.
"Can I patrol with you tonight?" Nashville asked. Brooklyn nodded and the rest of the gargoyles leapt from the castle and spread their wings, to soar out over Manhattan.
Nashville cautiously approached Brooklyn and sighed before asking, "So what can Moany do with Mab's old whip?"
Katana glared at Gnash, as she had done many times in the past when the young gargoyle would broach this subject. Brooklyn seldom discussed it with anybody. She found the memory just as bitter.
"The better question, Gnash," said Brooklyn, "is what can't she do with it?
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
Chambly, France. May 5th
Yama sat on a large sofa in front of a marble coffee table, taking in the atmosphere of the chateau. It was dark, save the for candles that illuminated the room and the moonlight coming in through the skylight.
The decor of the room was very baroque; shelves filled with old books and art depicting gargoyles lined the walls. The flame-furred beast, Hellhound, sat in the corner of the large sitting-room not taking his glowing white eyes off of the tengu.
Yama quietly sipped the tea Demona had poured him minutes ago, and nodded. "I must thank you. The tea is refreshing."
"You said you had come from the East," Demona called from the kitchen. "I found some Jasmine and hoped you would like it."
"It is not the tea of my homeland," he answered. "But it is still lovely."
Demona emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray with three plates. She set one down in front of her guest, then one on her end of the table, before her chair. Finally, she set a large plate with a full leg of lamb in front of Hellhound. The beast got up, ran over, and started chewing into his dinner.
"I seldom cook," she said, as she took her seat in a tall arm-chair before picking up her utensils and cutting into the lambchops.
Yama took in the scent of the food, before partaking. "Your culinary skills match those of my clan's chef," he said. "I find it hard to believe that you seldom cook."
"Oh, I do spend much of my time mixing ingredients," she said, a sly smile crossing her face. "So tell me, why did your clan exile you?"
"I wanted to protect them from the humans that we... that they live with," he said. "I made the mistake of trusting a wealthy human with their safety. But he sought only to exploit us."
"You tried to do right by your clan," she said. "If they cannot see that, then the fault is theirs. But the only mistake that you did make was trusting a human." Her eyes took on their red glow. "I made that mistake once. Never again."
"I miss them," he said. He cast his gaze to the floor. "I cannot return home until I have regained my lost honor."
"And who judges that?" Demona asked, the glow fading.
"I do," he replied. The memory was bitter. "It was believed that I would be an unforgiving judge."
"I see," Demona said, her tone becoming very sympathetic. "But if you want my opinion, your honor was never lost. You should return home."
"I cannot," he said.
"You have a mate, do you not?" she asked. "Don't you want to see her again?"
"Yes," he answered. "Not a night goes by where I don't gaze at the stars and miss her."
"Then go home," she said, insistingly. "Perhaps I'll join you on the trip."
The tengu looked up from the floor and over at Demona. This was Hunter's demon. The monster she would often bring up. And here she was, trying to be one of the few true friends he had met since his banishment. But what did he know of her? Only what Hunter had told him. A gargoyle slayer. A gargoyle slayer that he had sworn fealty to.
"Do you hate humans?" he asked.
"I have seen them commit atrocity after atrocity to our kind, let alone to each other."
"And what is your solution?" he asked, fearing her answer.
"My greatest desire is to help our kind survive," she said. "And I will do whatever is necessary to achieve that survival."
"I have never been too fond of the villagers," he confessed. "Sitting here with you has been enlightening. I thank you for your hospitality."
Demona smiled warmly and nodded, before taking another bite of her lambchop. "The pleasure was all mine," she said.
"Why were you running from the Louvre?" Yama asked, trying not to glance at the whip hanging from her belt.
"To protect our kind, sometimes I need to acquire unlikely tools," she answered, then said nothing further.
Not wanting to press the issue, Yama changed the subject. "Tell me about your clan. Where are they? Do you have a mate?"
Demona sighed bitterly and didn't so much as stick her fork into her lamb as stab it.
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
Manhattan
Mr. Jaffe donned his hood just before the doors to the van opened and he, along with five other Quarrymen, piled out in front of Columbus Circle. Castaway was the last to exit the van, dressed in his full Quarryman uniform, hood, and three red scars emblazoned behind the Q-logo on his chest.
A second van pulled up, and Banquo and Fleance piled out of the back of it, then removed a large life-sized statue of a demonic gargoyle representing a more horrific version of Goliath. Beneath his hood Castaway smiled as his followers began to block off traffic.
"These people are just trying to get home," said Jaffe. "Is cutting off traffic really necessary?"
"If the Gargoyle Taskforce won't protect the decent and law-abiding, then we must take matters into our own hands!" Castaway shouted before he activated his hammer and swung it at the gargoyle statue, shattering it.
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
Over the city streets, Goliath soared, leading Angela and Hudson on their patrol of the city. As they glided west of the Eyrie Building, Angela pointed towards Columbus Circle.
"Uh oh," she said as the Quarrymen continued to block off traffic and wave their hammers in the air. "This could be trouble."
"I would like nothing more than to teach those hooded fools a lesson," Hudson growled.
"But that's what Castaway wants," said Angela. "To provoke us into..."
Before Angela could finish her sentence, Goliath's eyes glowed white and he dove down towards the Circle, his roar echoing in the night. "What are you doing?" Angela cried before she and Hudson followed.
Goliath landed atop the statue of Christopher Columbus before leaping to the ground, amidst all the Quarrymen. Two of them dropped their hammers at the very sight of the gargoyle and ran off.
"Well, well, monster," Castaway said from beneath his hood. "I have been waiting to meet you face to face again."
"And I have been waiting to whet my talons with your blood, coward!" Goliath growled. He leapt aside as Castaway charged at him with reflexes betraying his many years of training as a Hunter.
Banquo and Fleance charged up their hammers as they prepared to rush Goliath from his flanks, only to be confronted by Angela and Hudson who landed at their leader's side.
Hudson raised his sword and deflected Fleance's hammer while Angela whipped her tail around Banquo's right arm and constricted it like a snake, cutting off his circulation and forcing his grip on his hammer to weaken.
Goliath grabbed the head of Castaway's hammer in his right hand, and growled in pain as the electical energy coursed through his body. But the gargoyle leader was relentless as he tore the hammer from Castaway's hand and tossed it aside, while his tail whipped the Quarryman in the side, knocking him to the ground.
Jaffe quickly forced himself between Castaway and the gargoyle leader, holding his hammer in a defensive position. "Get out of here, creature!" he said. "Now."
But Goliath growled and bounded forward, slashing the older man across the gut. He then picked the Quarryman up off of the ground and threw him thirty feet, where he came to a rough landing on the stairs before the statue of Columbus.
As this took place, two other Quarrymen helped Castaway to his feet and hustled him back towards one of the vans. "Come on," said one of them as the doors to the back of the van closed behind them.
"Looks like the boss is making a tactical retreat," Fleance said as she helped Banquo back to his feet, and faced down the two growling gargoyles.
The Quarrymen's helicopter then flew overhead, its rope lader hanging out over the side. The two mercenaries quickly grabbed onto it before the helicopter took off.
The sounds of police sirens were rapidly getting closer. "Come," said Goliath. "Let's get out of here."
"We should stay and help him!" Angela said, pointing at the twitching form of the still hooded Jaffe lying face down on the stone steps.
"Do you wish to spend the rest of your life in a cage?" Goliath shouted. "We are leaving. That's an order!"
Hudson and Angela exchanged uncomfortable glances, then followed Goliath to the statue. Each scaled it in turn and took to the air as police and emergency vehicles finally arrived.
"Lad, when I said I wanted to teach the Quarrymen a lesson, that was not a suggestion to take their bait," Hudson said.
"Enough!" Goliath growled. "We have a city to patrol."
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
Across the street, perched on a rooftop yet still concealed in the shadows, Coldsteel watched the proceedings and smirked. "This should please sister."
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
Chambly, France
"I can't go home," said Yama. "Your words have given me much to consider, but my honor is still lost to me."
"Then perhaps there is a place for you at my side," Demona said. She tapped her chin, considering her next words. "Help me protect our kind and once you feel you've accomplished this, I will take you home where I am certain you will receive a hero's welcome."
"The sun will be rising soon," said Yama. "Do you mind if I consider your offer while I sleep?"
"Take your time," said Demona. She was about to speak further when her cell phone started ringing. She picked it up from the table, and recognized the number. "I apologize for my manners, but I need to take this call."
She stood up and proceeded out of the living room, but stopped short and looked back at Yama over her shoulder. "Make yourself comfortable, if I do not return by sunrise, sleep wherever you wish." She then exited into the hallway.
Yama stood up, and paused as Hellhound continued watching him. He ignored the beast and made his way to the patio doors and out into the backyard. As soon as he was a safe distance from the house, he leaned against a tree and activated his comm-link. "Hunter?"
"Your homing beacon is off, Yama," she said. "Why?"
"She hasn't told me much of anything," said Yama, completely ignoring her question. But, even if she had, would he want to tell Hunter?
"Where are you?" Hunter didn't so much ask as order an answer.
"North of Paris." Yama replied. "Beyond that, I do not know."
"The sun is about to rise," said Hunter. "Turn on your homing beacon and I can be there during the day, when she is vulnerable and..."
But Yama just disconnected the call. Had he stayed on much longer, Hunter would have been able to triangulate his position anyway. He made his way back to the chateau, through the patio doors and into the living room. Demona's beast continued to glare daggers at him.
He placed his weapons down on the table in an orderly fashion. Then he removed his black uniform, neatly folded it, and set it down next to the weapons. The uniform didn't truly belong to him; it would not turn to stone, and would not survive sunset. Clad only in his Fundoshi, he was about to turn to the window to receive the rising sun, but stopped.
The homing beacon was still in his uniform. Hunter had mentioned before that his host didn't turn to stone. If this was true, no doubt Demona would go through his things and find it. He closed his fist around it, and hid his comm-link in his other fist before turning towards the patio doors and greeting the first rays of dawn.
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
Dominique strode into the living room, holding her cellphone at her ear. "My plan is proceeding even better than expected. Dreams are the realm of the subconsious," she said as she caressed the coiled whip hanging from her belt. "I intend to end this game very soon."
"With a weapon like that at your disposal, I am just brimming with ideas," said Coldsteel.
"Likewise, brother." Dominque grinned and then paused at the sight of Yama's nearly nude stone form. "My guest removed his outfit before turning to stone."
"He's getting a little presumptuous, I see." Coldsteel's grin was clearly audible.
"No, he has a mate that he's very devoted to," she retorted. "Besides, Yama is not my type."
"Yes, sister, we both know what your type is," he said. Her silent treatment response to that was deafening. "Perhaps gargoyles from the East's clothes don't turn to stone with them?"
"He is still wearing underwear," Dominique replied. "The Modesty Spell affects all of us."
"Save for you and I," Coldsteel sneered. Then his tone turned deadly. "He is a danger, take one of your maces to him now."
"I would rather test his loyalty." Dominique smiled with sinister intent before ending the call.
She made her way to the table and quickly examined his sword and other weapons. She pat down his folded uniform and found nothing. Satisfied, she left the living room and strode down the hallway, then up a flight of stairs towards her master bedroom.
For the last few weeks, she had been sleeping very well, and dreamt dreams that were more than satisfying. She looked forward to continuing that streak.
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
The Eyrie Building. May 5th
With dawn minutes away, Goliath led Angela and Hudson towards the Eyrie Building. They came to a graceful landing atop the main tower where Elisa and Brooklyn were waiting for them. His second-in-command held a worried look on his face while Elisa's face seethed in an angry scowl.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?!" Elisa yelled before anyone else could open their mouths.
"I was showing the Quarrymen that we will no longer stand for their threats," Goliath growled. "Perhaps if the police would do something about them, my actions would not have been necessary."
"Goliath, the police were on their way the moment the Quarrymen cut off traffic," she said.
"And what then? The city would charge them a fine and they would continue," said Goliath as he loomed closer to her, his shadow cast across her face.
But Elisa did not back off. "I know it's frustrating, believe me, I get it," she said. "But don't think for one moment that my mom didn't want to knock the sheet off a hood-wearing coward's face more than a few times when she marched for equality. But she didn't, because it would have hurt her and helped them. I thought you realized that."
Goliath turned his back on her and stared out over the city. "In any event, there is one less Quarryman on the streets tonight."
"Mr. Jaffe," said Elisa. "We had to take him out on a stretcher, and right now they're not sure he's going to live. Which puts Matt in an even more precarious position. He knows Mr. Jaffe, he's a friend of his. Matt and I have been using the Taskforce to run cover for you guys for years. How much longer can that go on?"
"That is not my concern," Goliath said, keeping his back to her.
Angela reached out towards Goliath, but pulled back. Hudson shook his head before strolling down the stairs towards his perch.
"Goliath, are you all right?" Brooklyn asked, trying to hide the anxiety in his voice. "Are you sleeping well?" But his question fell on deaf ears as Goliath mounted his perch and struck a combative post.
"What's gotten into you?" Elisa asked. Her anger had vanished and was replaced by fear. "Are you trying to write Castaway's speeches for him?"
Goliath merely snarled as the sun rose and turned him to stone.
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
His eyes snapped open. It was dark. The only illumination in the room was the glowing, red clock numbers on the nightstand. 3:39, they read. Goliath sat up in the large, king-sized bed and hugged the blankets to himself. He looked at his hands and saw the same human hands he had seen the previous day.
For some reason, rather than feeling alarmed about all this, he felt comfortable, too comfortable. He got out of bed, found a pair of lavender sweatpants and quickly donned them. He stepped out of the master bedroom and into the hallway. He passed by Angela's room where he just knew that she and Broadway were fast asleep.
He didn't quite get the chance to take in the massive penthouse they lived in the previous day. Artwork and gargoyle statues adorned the wall of the living room, and yet he knew it all. But he had to; this was his home.
He made his way into the kitchen where he found Dominique sitting in the dark, wearing nothing but a loose, green silk bathrobe. The silhouette of her wild hair was unmistakeable.
"Do you mind if I turn on the light?" he asked. Dominique slowly nodded. He flicked the switch and then sat down in the chair next to hers. "I am truly sorry," he said.
"Who is this Elisa?" she asked, not looking him in the eye.
"Another life," he replied.
"What other life?" she bitterly asked. "Does our life not satisfy you?"
Images flashed through his head of Dominique, or rather Demona, attempting mass murder and destruction. But it felt like those images were being locked away, beyond his reach.
"Of course it does," he said as he took her hand in his. She did not stop him. "I want to make this work."
"I do, too," she replied, finally looking him in the eye. The sharp emerald of her eyes matched the loose robe she wore.
He stood up from the chair, her hand still in his and then she stood up with him. He took the redhead into his arms and held her tight. Her arms went around his back and he took in the scent of her hair. It was exactly as he remembered it.
"I miss you, my angel of the night." The words were out of his mouth before he could even contemplate them. His hand brushed under her chin, tilted her head up, and then he leaned in and they both shared a long, passionate French kiss.
Finally, they both came up for air. She cupped his cheek in her hand. "It's late," she said. "We need our rest. But you and I are making up for lost time this evening."
There was no resistance on his part as she kissed him again.
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
"I am not going to Macedonia now!" Angela declared as she slammed the kitchen table with the palm of her hand, ignoring her breakfast.
"Perhaps you should," said Dominique. "It might be safer."
"I'm not going to run off while these fiends take control of our home!" Angela cried.
"Angela, maybe your mom is right," the human version of Broadway said, as he pulled her into a hug.
"Angela, I raised you to follow your beliefs," said Goliath. The unease and hesitance from the previous day was all but gone. "But Dominique is right. Without survival, what else is there?"
"I've already booked tickets to Paris," said Dominique. "Pack a suitcase, we are traveling light."
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
The journey to the airport had been frightening but uneventful, save for the lack of American flags, or flags of any kind except the banner of the new ruling party: a stylized Q in the shape of a hammer with a blue, gold-rimmed eye looming over it, surrounded by flames.
As Dominique parked her Jaguar, Goliath gasped at the sign welcoming them to the airport. No longer did it read "John F. Kennedy"; instead the name and image of that Viking, Hakon, adorned the terminals.
As they stood in line to present their passports, a security guard in a Quarryman uniform inspected them. Goliath suddenly recognized the man as Morgan, a police officer. "You four step into the other room," he said.
Two more Quarrymen, whom Goliath recognized as Jackal and Hyena prior to their upgrades, violently ushered him, Dominique, Angela, and Broadway into an interrogation room and handcuffed them to chairs.
"Wait here, and behave yourselves," Jackal sneered. "If you know what's good for you."
"Although I prefer criminals who don't know what's good for them," Hyena cackled.
After about forty minutes of an uncomfortable silence, Goliath gasped as Elisa Maza entered the room, wearing her black Quarryman uniform. "All right, what have we got here?"
Elisa quickly inspected each of them, feeling their facial construction, looking them in the eyes; then her lips curled into a menacing grin as she got hands on with Goliath. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Dominique's own sneer of contempt for the woman.
"I think we've hit the motherload," Elisa said. "Take them out back and load them up!"
Broadway shook with fear as their hands were cuffed behind their backs and they were pushed out to the back of the terminal where a prison bus was waiting for them.
Ahead of them were other prisoners who Goliath recognized on sight. The marriage therapist from the previous day as well as her one-eyed biker husband were pushed onto the bus as she clutched an infant to her chest. A young child, not even a teenager yet, in a United States Navy t-shirt was behind them. As Hyena shoved him, the child dropped the two action figures he was carrying, one of a golden robot and the other of a man with cybernetic limbs.
Elisa held out her clipboard and made a note of each of her prisoners. A tall English man, and his shorter American companion. A grizzled, scarred, bearded old soldier.
"All right, last ones!" said Jackal as Goliath and his family were ushered aboard. First Angela, then Broadway, then Dominique. When it was Goliath's turn he struggled. Jackal and Hyena tackled him, but even with his hands in chains, he still managed to shake them off.
He glared up at Elisa and shuddered at the look of pure malice she directed back at him. "Okay, if you want to make this difficult." She activated her hammer, raised it, and the sneer on her face was the last thing Goliath saw before everything went black.
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
The world stopped spinning as Goliath slowly came to. He was still shackled. His wife, Dominique, was leaning against him. "You're awake," she whispered.
"Where are we?" he asked as he opened his eyes. But he did not need to ask, for once he took in his surroundings, he recognized the General Assembly of the United Nations.
A tear streamed down Angela's face as the symbol of the United Nations was removed and a banner depicting an eye atop a hammer, wreathed in flame, was unveiled.
Goliath looked around them. The other victims of the Quarrymen's kidnapping were all in chains around them. Something about them seemed familiar, but he couldn't place them. Wait, he could... they were family, somehow. But not related to him by blood. Or were they?
Hundreds of Quarrymen chanted slogans and cheers, while others hurled curses in Goliath's general direction. Broadway... was that his name? What was his name?
Goliath snarled as he recognized members of their unmasked tormenters. Elisa's partner, Matt Bluestone; her boss, Maria Chavez; the Hero of Ulster; Natsilane; even Max Loew of Prague, and Erik and Gunther Sturluson, among many others.
The cheers abated when Castaway finally took the podium, with Elisa at his right hand. "My friends," he said as he addressed the gathered Quarrymen. "Welcome to our long awaited day of triumph. Even as we speak, the reigns of power have been seized by our dear leader. Our Quarrymen march through the streets of every city in the country, and our master will soon seize the planet!"
The assembled Quarrymen cheered in sheer pandemonium. The sound did not die down for at least a couple of minutes, when Castaway grinned and continued. "But you've heard my voice for long enough. Our leader shall finally address us directly."
Castaway and Elisa stepped away from the podium as a ball of flame erupted atop the dais. After a few seconds, the flames receded, revealing a regal-looking bearded old man, wearing black robes, a jeweled-eye atop a skullcap, and phoenix-shaped emblem on his chest.
"Archmage!" Goliath cried.
With a nod of the Archmage's head, the podium vanished. He stepped forward. "After all these many centuries, our time has come!" he cried out, his voice echoing throughout the chambers. "Those of you that willingly joined my cause shall live like kings in the new order. Those that didn't will have time to think and then thank us for purging humanity of the toxin that has walked among us!"
The crowd erupted in applause and the Archmage smiled and continued. "One thousand years ago, I led our people to war against an insidious species. A species that plagued our nights. A species that prevented me from bringing order to this world gone mad!"
"What does he mean?" asked Angela.
"I think I...", Goliath paused and stuttered. "I don't know."
"But these demons used the very sorcery that I now use as your lord-protector to become human and hide among us!" the Archmage shouted. "I suppose that I should not fault them for casting aside their worthless existence to live among their betters. But since then, they have plagued us from within bringing pestilence, war, death, and dividing us from each other.
"I entrusted you, my sacred knights, my Quarrymen, with hunting these beasts down and paving the way for my return! And you did not disappoint me!" He gestured towards the jewel on his forehead. "And with the Eye of Odin at my command, I have the insight to see through their insidious disguises."
With a wave of his hand each of the shackled captives fell to the floor, writhing in agony as they painfully transformed from human to gargoyle. Tails and wings shredding through their clothing. The pain was brief, but it felt as if it lasted an eternity.
"We did not know!" Goliath cried out. "We have lived each day as humans, our lives were your lives. This history you have revealed to us was unknown!"
"I suppose it is true that they lived in a blissful ignorance," the Archmage pondered. "Perhaps we should be merciful?"
"I don't think so." Elisa approached the Archmage, and powered up her hammer. "You know what they say about the sins of the father."
"Well said, my dear," the Archmage smiled, as Castaway pulled Elisa in for a passionate kiss.
Dominique, now blue with purple wings, threw herself against Goliath. "We have to do something," she cried. "Do you want our daughter to perish at the hands of this evil?"
Goliath stared at Elisa in Castaway's arms, then looked Dominique in the eye with indecisive fear.
~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~ : ~
Paris
It was well past sunset when Demona came to a landing on the Eiffel Tower. Releasing Hellhound, who dug into the sides of the tower with his claws, she flexed her talons and tore off part of the fencing. Yama came to a landing, entering the hole she left, then assisted her in quickly tearing apart the rest of the fencing.
Satsified with the space, Demona flared her wings as Hellhound climbed in, growling at Yama. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a small, steel box underneath a bench. Satisfied by its presense, she unhooked the whip from her belt.
"I don't understand," said Yama. "Why have we come here?"
"To save our kind, my friend," she replied.
"But how can we do that from here?" Yama asked, trying not to let his anxiety about the location escape him.
"The Eiffel Tower is, for all intents and purposes, a giant conductor," she replied. "If I properly focus my powers through it..."
"Powers," Yama muttered under his breath.
She was cut off by the sound of her cellphone ringing. "Yes, brother?" she answered.
"I'm just calling to wish you luck, dear sister," he said. "I am looking forward to what our dearest brother does in his madness tonight."
"I have no doubt he'll be gutting his precious detective the moment he sees her," she grinned.
This grabbed Yama's attention, and he stepped closer, desperate to hear the voice on the other end of the phone.
"What a delightful thought," said Coldsteel. "When this is over, I do humbly suggest you set your sights on the President. Just imagine how much human life he could snuff out while under your thrall."
Demona grinned wickedly at the very thought. "You think too small, brother. I have much bigger plans."
"What plans? Yama said. "I do not mean to overstep my bounds, but please help me to help you."
"No less than the complete destruction of the human race!" she declared as her eyes glowed red. She held the whip over her head as magical energy coursed through its lash.
To Be Continued...