Chapter 4
Midnight Rendez-vous
Taila woke up the next morning. She wasn't as scared as before, but the feeling still lingered. Owen knocked on her bedroom door. She hugged him tightly. He gently patted her back. Then they went to breakfast. Talia picked at her food. She hadn't had dinner the night before, but she wasn't hungry. Was Roxanne's niceness just an act? But she had also saved Talia from the bad-er vampires...
"Is everything alright, Talia?" David asked as he looked through the newspaper.
"I'm fine." She sighed. "Just not thrilled about breakfast."
Talia debated whether or not to tell them. Thinking it over, she decided to go hypothetical instead. "Um, what if someone came after Roxanne? Like we're out and someone approached her."
"She is an experienced fighter. After all, that's why I chose her to be your bodyguard." He answered simply, while sipping his coffee.
"But what if they more like Demona?" She pressed.
Xanatos looked over his newspaper and raised an eyebrow. "Why would Demona or someone like her attack Roxanne?"
"I dunno. I meant more like attacking her to get to me." Talia added softly. "I had a bad dream."
"Don't worry, dear, I'm sure that Roxanne would be able to protect you against any monster." He smiled gently.
"Alright." Talia ate the rest of her breakfast. Then she resigned herself to another day of school work. But instead of going to the classroom, Owen took her to the courtyard. The sky was patchy.
"What're we doing?" Talia asked.
"I decided we're going to do something more hands on today." Owen said. He led her to a vegetable garden. It had broccoli and beans. After being given gloves, she weeded the garden while Owen told her about the plants. Time went by and soon, she was done. They sat at little table, eating.
"It was nice being outside." Talia said.
"Talia?" Owen said. "Do you feel better now? About your dream." He waited.
"A little bit." Talia answered.
"Talia, I made sure that Roxanne was a good fit for you. We didn't just hire her for her experience. "
"Ok." Talia nodded. She was still unsure about Roxanne, but realized that she hadn't hurt her even though she had a lot of chances.
Another sunset ended, another night began. Roxanne slowly opened her eyes and observed the ceiling intensely as memories of the night before flowed into her mind. Now Talia knew what she was and probably was going to be afraid of her. Normally, a vampire who was seen by a human would've killed the mortal without a second thought. Their survival depended from it, they had to stay hidden to the mortal world; for they weren't alive, but not dead either. Her kind lived in between life and death, dancing through the waves of time, fooling mother nature. How long had it been since she was embraced? She could not remember. Someone told her that she had seen her around when the Tea Boston Party happened. There were times when she felt young and almost free of age...and others when she felt much, much older.
Gently, Roxanne sat up in her bed and looked at the time: 8 pm. It was still very early before her rendez-vous at Central Park. Should she tell Xanatos and Owen about what happened? No, Talia would've gotten into trouble and she would've been caught. After washing up, she decided to keep it to her own unless Talia already told them. Improbable, since there was no stake into her chest when she woke up. The woman put on her usual clothes and glasses before heading to the living room.
Talia was laying on the couch. She was bored again. There was no way her adopted father would let do anything fun now. Last night was supposed to be fun. She heard footsteps coming from the hall.
Roxanne entered the room and crossed her arms: she looked severely at Talia. "Are you done putting yourself in stupid, dangerous situations?"
"I guess. I didn't tell them. I'm not sure if that a good move or not. So, I guess so." She shrugged.
Roxanne nodded and looked around before kneeling next to the couch. "I...I imagine you have questions."
"Yeah, but mostly why. Why did those guys attack me? Why did you save me? Why did I give you another chance?" Talia cracked a wobbly smile, but didn't look at her. "Some of the others don't apply to this situation so I won't even bother."
"One thing at the time: those guys wanted to kill you because of me: they didn't like the fact that I said no to their invitation of entering their little group of crazy anti-human bastards. I saved you because, seriously, how could I just leave you there? And the third one, uh...because you can't get bored with me around?" Roxanne grinned.
Talia mulled over Roxanne's answer. "Are there more?"
Roxanne took a deep breath (although unnecessary) and sighed. "Many. Vampires are everywhere in the world."
"Are they all crazy?" Talia sat up.
"No. But you must understand that becoming a vampire is a real trauma: being unable to eat or drink anything but blood...not able to feel the sun on your skin...no having children..." Roxanne pursed her lips. "Kinda does a number on someone's psyche."
"What happens if you try to eat something?" She asked. Then thought of something. "Brooklyn probably told the clan those vampires came after me. Maybe Elisa as well."
"I throw it up almost immediately." Roxie grimaced. "I hope they won't tell anyone else what I am. It's taboo for vampires to reveal their true nature to humans. It's an ancient rule for our own survival. I'll have to meet them all at midnight, in Central Park. I hope it's not a trap."
"I don't think so. But I think Brooklyn would feel better if he knew I was ok." Talia said.
"Are you suggesting that you come with me?" Roxanne raised an eyebrow and lowered her glasses.
"I don't like that." Talia snarked, referring to her glasses. "I mean, maybe?"
"Do I need to remind you that you're still grounded?" Roxanne asked rhetorically.
"Ok, but this is important. And if you're gone, then nobody here will know how to protect me against a vampire attack." Talia argued.
"The Eyrie Building is one of the safest places in the whole country, if not the world. Lasers, cameras, alarms, weapons hidden everywhere..." Roxanne tried to reason, but then she thought that if things got bad, Talia could've been her advocate and defend her. It was better to have her around since the clan liked her. "Well...alright. You may come."
"Yay! Good. I'm going to go see where my jacket went." Talia went to her room.
The woman grumbled and plopped on the couch, arms crossed. "Why do I have the feeling that this isn't going to go well?"
Soon, it was time to leave. Talia was waiting by the elevator. In a dark blue jacket and holding a paper bag. The scent of chocolate filled the air. She hoped it was enough.
Roxanne joined her and buttoned up her trench coat. "Let's go."
"Ok." Talia nodded.
They rode the elevator down and went to Central Park. Elisa flagged them down. She led them to a private clearing. The vampire's senses were keen and ready to intercept any possible attacker; she needed to stay alert, who knew what these gargoyles really wanted to do.
Goliath watched as Elisa, Talia, and the vampire came into view. It was extremely pale and it indeed wore glasses. They were tinted so no one would see its eyes. The clan stood imposingly. A light breeze blew passed. A subtle and unnatural scent made the clan growl.
Roxanne tensed at the sight of the mighty creatures. They seemed quite strong and ready to fight. "Are you sure this is a good idea? 'Cause it kinda looks like they already hate me..."
"Can you blame them?" Elisa snarked.
"It's fine. I'll just go show I'm good." Talia started to walk over.
"They're hypocrites if they judge me before even meeting me." Roxanne said seriously as she took off her glasses.
"They have good reason to be wary of you. Brooklyn said you're a skilled fighter. Let's keep it civil, guys!" Elisa reminded all of them.
"You alright, Talia?" Lexington asked.
"I'm fine. Really." Talia let them look her over.
"Uh, hello everyone. My name is Roxanne, I'm Talia's bodyguard, and my hobbies include singing and playing the piano. Oh, and I'm also a vampire." She smiled, wanting to break the ice with a joke.
Goliath inhaled. "What did Xanatos tell you about us?"
"Are those brownies?" Broadway asked.
"Pay attention!" Brooklyn hissed.
"Here." Talia gave him one.
"He said that you are gargoyles and that he freed you from some kind of spell and asked you to be friends, but you refused. And that you're good friends with Talia." Roxanne patted the girl's shoulder gently. "Sorry if I freaked out a couple of nights ago, big guy. I thought you were kidnapping her."
"He lied to you. He wanted us to be his personal minions and tricked us into stealing some 'disks' from a rival. Cyberbiotic." Goliath explained. "That was not only time he has tried to use us."
"Mh, I see. I would be pissed too." Roxanne sighed. "I can relate. People have been trying to do the same with me for centuries. They failed miserably." She smirked.
"Is why those vampires came after Talia?" Hudson asked.
"Yes. It was a way to hurt me." She said solemnly.
"Hurt you?" Broadway frowned.
"A couple of months ago, one of their leaders asked me to join their sect. I refused, and now they hate my guts." Roxanne explained.
"Ah, I see." Goliath nodded. "They won't stop, will they? Not until they get what want."
"Exactly. I'm sorry that Talia got into this. I'll have to put a stop to it once and for all." Roxanne sighed. "The Sabbat only understands the law of the strongest...maybe if I challenged their leader, Armando Mendes..." The woman narrowed her eyes in thought: Mendes was a powerful enemy, and she would've needed more information.
"This plan seems dangerous. What if they come for Talia while you're gone?" Lexington asked.
"Yeah, these Sabbat guys don't have any qualms with attacking in public." Elisa added.
"You could protect her until I'm done. I'm not sure if I'll win, but if I die, they won't come after Talia anymore, and if I win...I will make them leave New York City. If I kill their strongest member, they will respect me or at least fear me." Roxanne told them.
"I don't like it." Talia said.
"Aww, are you getting attached to me?" Roxanne smirked.
"Pfft!" Talia stuck her tongue out.
"When will this take place?" Goliath allowed himself to eat one of Talia's brownies now.
"I'm not sure. I need to do a few things first...maybe in a couple of weeks? I need to prepare, to train...and some info on my rival." She thought.
"Very well. We may need the time to prepare." Goliath said.
"Do you know anything about the Sabbat?" Elisa asked.
"Did you hear about the massacre of Downtown Brooklyn two months ago? Where the police found the corpses of a dozen of teenagers mauled and put over a table like it was some kind of banquet?" She asked.
"Yeah, our precinct was sent to help out. It was awful." Elisa grimaced. "Oh no, Matt was right..."
"That's the Sabbat. You don't want to have anything to do with those psychos." Roxanne turned towards Goliath. "See why I refused their invitation to join them? Can you really blame me?"
"I suppose not. But it seems like they want you badly. When you get more information, come back and tell us." Goliath looked at Talia. "No more running off, Talia."
"Ok, I won't." She pouted.
Roxanne nodded. "We better get back to the Eyrie building now. I'll need to find a convincing excuse on why we got out so late." She groaned.
"Good luck with that." Talia told her.
"It was nice seeing you again, lass. Hopefully, the next time will be under better circumstances." Hudson said.
Talia said goodbye to everyone, hugging them. Roxanne hung back. They left Central Park and went back to the castle. Talia tried to convince Roxanne to get some caramel corn, but she didn't budge. The lobby was pretty at this time of night. Talia went back to her room. They said good night. Roxanne turned and saw Owen.
"Ms. Roxanne, where did you take Talia? Her curfew is midnight." Owen asked.
"Whaaat? It is midnight!" She said while tinkering with her fist watch. "Look! My watch says- oh no! It's seems it's broken, aww dang." Roxanne sighed dramatically. "I'm so terribly sorry, we thought we were right on time."
Owen looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Do fix that. Mr. Xanatos will not be pleased if it happens again. "
"Yeah, about Mr. Xanatos..." Roxanne placed one arm around Owen, gently pulling him away from Talia's bedroom door. "A little bird told me that he lied to me about the gargoyles clan...that he has a bad habit of exploiting the ones around him, using them like puppets..."
"Ah, you took her to see Goliath. Mr. Xanatos is not a malicious man. He has his own plans for things." Owen said.
"I don't care what he does in his free time. I just want to make sure that he isn't using me. Because, boy, you don't want to see me furious." Roxanne smiled darkly. "Honesty is the best policy. So if he wants something from me, he better just tell me directly."
"Understood." He nodded. "Have a nice night, Ms. Roxanne."
Owen left and went to Xanatos' office. He was sitting at his desk, the overhead light off for the moment. "Sir, apparently, Roxanne took Talia to see Goliath. She says her watch broke and that's why they were late."
David narrowed his eyes, his hands interlaced together on the desk. "I don't like it. I don't want Roxanne to be friendly with the clan; I want her to keep Talia away from them."
He stood up and paced towards the window. "Maybe it was a mistake to hire her..."
"I believe she was lying about her watch being broken. Also, Goliath told her about the Cyberbiotic disks. About exploiting them. She said 'I don't care what he does in his free time. I just want to make sure that he isn't using me.' and that 'if he wants something from me, he better just tell me directly.'"
Xanatos pondered in silence for a few minutes. "Owen?"
"Yes, sir?" He looked at him.
"I noticed that miss Roxanne seems to be...interested in you. Let's take advantage of that: I want you to always be with her from now on. We need to keep a closer look on her." Xanatos told him.
Owen hesitated. "If you say so, Mister Xanatos."
"Be nice to her, flirt a little...I want to see clearly in all of this. Have you noticed that she didn't seem particularly surprised at the fact that gargoyles exist? That's strange." He asked.
"I suppose. Although, I think she was more upset you didn't tell her about them." Owen frowned.
"Understandable, but it's not something to reveal just like that. I didn't know what her reaction could've been." Xanatos said.
"Yes, I see your point. I do hope whatever Roxanne is hiding from us won't put Talia in danger." Owen added. "Perhaps you could ease up on Talia's punishment. It's been a year since she has been out properly."
"Very well. Make sure you find out what is really happening. And don't tell Talia." Xanatos said sternly.
"Of course, sir. Have a good evening." Owen left.
He went back to his apartment. Checked the mail, ironed his suit, ate a light dinner. Then he took a shower. Hot water massaged his tired muscles. He thought about Roxanne's behavior. How he never saw her in the daytime or saw her eat. Owen remembered the night she gave him that toy bunny... Perhaps there was a reasonable explanation for everything.