Angel's Breath:
Part 2
Rina, 2001
Note: Gargoyles are owned by Disney, and all of the characters, except for the original ones, were created by Rina.
Elisa's voice: "Last time, on Gargoyles:"
From "Angel's Breath, Part I":
"Yeah. Thanks," she gasped, her face flushed from the effort and the fact that he was handsome. After the bags had been pushed beside the nearest chair, Beth plopped down.
"Thanks. I really appreciated that-what's your name?"
"Christian. Christian d'Armore."
"Nice to meet you, Christian. I'm Elizabeth Maza."
"Chaos birthed two races. One was just like her, malicious and twisted. They were her Children, but you humans call them demons," Christian, no, Saar, explained, his voice low.
Although Elisa knew that she shouldn't listen, she couldn't tear herself away, a helpless Pandora awaiting her fate.
"The other race was the fae, Oberon's Children. They were opposed to Chaos, and a schism formed between them and the demons."
The detective sat down across from Saar, mouth agape but gun steady. The ebony eyed man paused.
"I was brought up to despise the fae, brainwashed by my father Ze'aih," the demon told her.
"But I fell in love with one of Oberon's Children. She was a beautiful, golden-haired fae named Eve."
Eve. The name made Elisa clench her teeth and reluctantly she lowered the gun.
"My God. Not-,"
"Yes. And when Oberon found out, he robbed her of her magic and turned her into a mortal. But we still had children together. They later called themselves humans," Saar said, and the detective struggled to breathe.
She helped Goliath up the best that she could, even as she saw Saar pull himself up, eyes glowing with hatred.
"I saved you, and this is the thanks that I get?" He hissed, eyes narrowed. Elisa held her silver weapon up defiantly, meeting the demon's cold stare.
"Why are you here?" she repeated, Goliath's drooping head against her shoulder.
"I've already told you, you ungrateful wench. And there's little that you can do to stop me," he whispered fiercely, disappearing in a thin cloud of smoke.
Humming to herself, Beth added some tomatoes to her huge bowl of salad. This was going to be a great night! When the doorbell rang, she smiled happily and wiped her hands on a dishtowel. Scurrying over to the door, she greeted Christian. He returned the grin, his eyes glittering darkly.
"So nice to see you again, Beth…"
Present
It was not her true form, of course; her real body (if one could call it that) was that of a golden Dragon. But to fit in, she chose a shape that resembled her old one, hurrying to try to catch her love before he made a horrible mistake.
She did not know who had mysteriously tipped her off about his whereabouts, save for the strange dream that she had been sent, while in her mountain enclave…
***
Elisa Maza unlocked her front door as quickly as she could, despite her quivering fingers. She pushed open the door to her apartment and warily looking in, mouth dry. Nothing moved in her living room except for her cat, which was stretching on her couch, the orange light of dawn washing over his fur.
Though relieved that the demon wasn't here, she didn't have time to appreciate it. Instead, Elisa ram for the phone, desperately calling her sister's number, the phone shaking in her hand.
"Please be there," she whispered, voice strained.
To her horror, the phone rang and no one picked up. Maybe, Elisa thought hopefully, maybe Beth's out shopping. She could only pray that Saar hadn't gotten her first. Her mind was numb as she sprinted to her bedroom, ripping apart her closet in search of something silver, the only metal that could harm demons.
Elisa was surprised when she found the small, wrapped box of silverware; she had forgotten that she had bought it for her parents' anniversary, seven months from now. Frantically she ripped it open, tossing the glittering utensils on the floor. She dug through them, eventually finding a sharp cutting knife in the pile. Elisa gripped it tightly and raced to the door, hoping beyond hope that she could get to her sister before that demon, Saar, could.
***
Outside, in the alleyway behind Elisa's apartment, another person also had her attention focused on the ancient demon. Alecto struggled up from where she had fallen, eyes furiously glowing green as she brushed the grime from her golden armor. Her thick black hair was disheveled, strands of it falling onto her face as she used a trash can for support.
The fae was angry, to say the least. Her quarry had escaped; never had that happened before. Frustration filled her and she wrathfully lashed out at a nearby card board box, sending it flying out into the street.
"Calm down, Alecto," someone said from behind her, and she turned, curved sword already drawn. It was no other than Hermes, Oberon's main messenger. He was short, nearly half of the raven-haired assassin's height, with a shock of white hair and large blue eyes. The small fae was lounging on a windowsill, his silver bird wings folded around his body.
"Have you a message from Lord Oberon?" Alecto asked, sheathing her sword.
"Yes," Hermes answered quickly, nimbly hopping down beside her with fluid grace.
"Tell me it."
"He is not disappointed at your progress. But he thinks that you need some help."
Alecto clenched her fist and snarled, her pointed ears and the red streaks painted on her high cheeks giving her a beastly quality.
"I need no help."
"Lord Oberon thinks that you do," Hermes retorted, crossing his arms and daring Alecto to defy the king of their race.
She sighed.
"Fine. And who, may I ask, does he feel could help me?"
"It's a human," Hermes said.
Alecto raised one eyebrow, her pale eyes burning into the messenger's.
"A mortal?" the assassin seemed furious about this, but continued, "Who?"
Hermes smiled.
"Elisa Maza. I believe you know her?"
"That mortal? She is the reason I lost Saar!" Alecto erupted, face contorted in rage. The silver winged messenger remained calm, despite her seething fury; his expression was placid as he went on.
"Even so, Oberon firmly believes she can assist you."
Alecto's dark lips were trembling with anger, but she willed herself to be as calm as Hermes. But oh, how she longed to tear that meddlesome human's heart out!
Without another word, she stalked out of the alleyway, leaving Hermes by himself.
***
Not surprisingly, Beth's door was locked. Luckily, Elisa was quite good at picking locks, probably from her years of breaking into places while with the clan. After a few minutes of fiddling with the lock, she was able to open the door. She stepped into the apartment, noticing the vegetables and plates scattered around the tiny kitchen. It was dark, so she flipped on a light, calling out to her sister.
There was no response; Elisa felt her stomach sink. She felt sick and worried, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she ran from room to room. Then she heard the front door open when she was in the guest room.
"Sis?"
There was no answer when Elisa shouted this. Heart pounding, she gripped the silver knife in her right hand, peeking out into the hallway. There was no movement; the front door was wide open. As she cautiously moved forward, something hit her in the back, knocking her to the floor. Gasping, she rolled over, weapon in hand.
Looming over her was the armor clad fae, smirking coolly. Elisa backed up, holding the gleaming knife threateningly, but the warrior held out hand.
"I'm not here to hurt you, human." The voice was raspy.
"Sure you're not. I expect to trust you when you tried to kill me last night?"
The fae, Alecto, grinned, showing her white teeth.
"Believe me or not, you can't hurt me with that knife. It's silver, not iron."
Elisa slowly, reluctantly, lowered her weapon.
"What do you want?" She warily questioned, getting up quickly.
"Lord Oberon wants your help in finding Saar," Alecto said, pale eyes studying Elisa's face.
"Why should I help you?"
"Do not give me that, human. You also want him because he's after your sister."
Elisa nodded.
"Got me on that."
"So you will help us?" The golden armored fae seemed to struggle with this sentence.
Elisa sighed, her eyes reflecting her deep distrust of the other woman.
"On one condition." She knew that this enraged the fae, who could easily kill her, but she was taking a risky chance that Oberon was protecting her from Alecto's wrath.
"Name it."
"You'll promise me that Beth won't get hurt."
Alecto's painted face twitched, but she uttered a strangled "yes."
Elisa put away her silver knife, watching the black-haired fae, who glared at her with disdain. The detective moved toward the door, looking over her shoulder.
"Does he have my sister?" She asked softly, and Alecto's head moved up and down.
***
"Where are we going, Christian?" Beth inquired, smiling broadly, the warm afternoon sun lighting up her face. The tall man beside her also grinned, gently squeezing her hand. They were in the park, sitting by the pond, where ducks were gracefully swimming by on the blue water.
"It's a surprise, honey," he said, stroking her cheek with one finger.
" I can't wait."
"Neither can I, my dear. I want us to be together forever."
"So do I," Beth said, reaching up and holding his head as she kissed him.
He smiled.
***
They had searched all day, but had found no sign of the demon. Elisa, much to her surprise, found that Alecto had opted not to change her shape into something more…normal. Instead, she found herself walking next to an armored woman that looked as though she had just stepped off the page of a comic book.
Though they got a lot of strange looks from others, they could not locate the demon or Elisa's sister. The detective was so jittery that she found herself shaking. She couldn't let anything happen to Beth! Night had fallen over New York by the time they reached Xanatos's building, the sky taking on a deep purple-black.
Elisa entered the building, Alecto following her. Owen was there and stood up when he saw the fae.
"You!"
"Yes, Puck. I am here on official business."
Owen raised one eyebrow, his distrust as intense as Elisa's.
"Did Lord Oberon send you?"
" I am afraid so," she replied, watching as the elevator near them slid open, revealing David Xanatos. He was nonchalant as he walked right up to Alecto, hand outstretched.
"And who might this be, Owen?" He asked, rather politely.
"Mr. Xanatos, this is…Alecto."
"It is a pleasure to meet you," he said, though the fae shrugged off his welcoming.
"We need to see Goliath," Elisa insisted, and Xanatos, his eyes still on the shapely fae, motioned toward the elevator.
"Of course."
***
The building that rose up ominously before they was obviously old; most of the grotesque stone statues were chipped, the windows that they perched near broken. Long grass and thick weeds grew up from the ill kept lawn, the tangled plants snaking their way along the cracked sidewalk.
"What is this place?" Beth wanted to know, standing before the wrought iron fence that circled the decrepit building. They had traveled for an hour or two in Christian's car, out into some deserted stretch of land. He did reply to her question at first; in the darkness, she could not see his face, save for the moonlight glinting off of his sunglasses. How he could see in this blackness, with those sunglasses on, was beyond her.
"It's a place I used to go to. My father built it."
"That's amazing! It looks like it's a hundred years old!"
"It is."
Beth looked at him, perplexed. She didn't know whether or not he was kidding around, especially when she couldn't read his facial features.
"What did he build it for?" She asked, running her fingertips over the smooth stones.
"It was a way to get home."
Again, she glanced over at him, eyebrow arched.
"What do you mean-,"
He brushed her short hair from her face, smiling. She smiled, the scent of his cologne filling her senses.
"I want us to be together, forever, Elizabeth."
"Isn't it quick to be proposing marriage?" She whispered, wanting to be with him.
He took off his sunglasses, his dark eyes filled with something other than love. Lust, perhaps. Suddenly, his hand took hers, and they were moving into the building.
Beth was led into a cavernous room, the air stale and reeking of mold. She couldn't see anything, except for Christian's towering silhouette. He let her go, and then she was by herself until he let a dusty candle, lighting up the huge room. In the deep yellow candle light, she could see that the room was bare, except for a gigantic thing that resembled a stone altar, covered thickly with weeds.
"My love, tonight you and I will be together forever," he said softly, the light illuminating his face in horrible ways.
"Are- are we going to get married in here or something?" Beth asked nervously, uneasiness flooding her system.
"You could say that. But before we do, I must confess to you what I really am."
She backed up, wondering if this was a sick joke. He slid toward her, his eyes hidden within their deep sockets.
"I am not what you think I am," he told her, taking her shaking hands in his own.
Beth tried to grin, tried to pretend that she knew that this was all a prank, but her heart was racing.
"What are you, then?"
"I am a demon, my love. And tonight we shall go back to the other realm."
His eyes were studying hers, and they widened when she burst out laughing.
"You have a strange sense of humor, Christian."
"I am not joking."
It was at that point that raw terror filled her; the look in his eyes told her that he was deathly serious.
"I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I want to go home," Beth protested weakly.
"You are coming with me."
"I think not," she said, sprinting for the door. But he was already on top of her, pinning her to the stone floor.
"Get off of me, creep!"
She was rolled over onto her back, where Christian leered at her, eyes gleaming with insanity.
"I will prove to you what I am. Then you will believe me," he announced, and she gasped in fright as his features twisted, becoming something quite inhuman. His skin, which tightened around his skull, became a ghastly black, his eyes losing their pupils and becoming a demonic crimson. Twin horns grew out from his head as his claws dug deep into her soft skin, cloven feet pinning her legs. The wings that grew out from his back were spiked, the leathery skin shining wetly.
Beth screamed again.
***
"If the demon has your sister, it is quite possible that he will try to bring your sister back to the netherworld with him," Owen said. The Gargoyles were gathered around, watching with mixed expressions of horror and anger.
"Ooc, this be very bad indeed," Hudson commented, "I have heard of demons kidnapping lasses, bringing them to the forest an',"
"Will do you think he's bringing her?" Elisa interrupted.
"It could be a number of spots that are unholy enough to give him passage," Owen explained, adjusting his wire glasses.
"Which is the closest one?" Goliath questioned, folding his dark purple wings over his shoulders.
"It's a site a few hours from here, where the witch Mary Baker was killed. That's where Ze'aih supposedly built his site."
"Then let's go there," Alecto said, clear eyes wide at the prospect of battle. Elisa nodded and stepped forward, as did the others.
"We will go alone," the armored fae woman told them, her pride showing again.
"It would be best to take them with you. After all, Saar has the edge when he's on unholy ground," Puck replied, crossing his arms. Alecto looked as though she was trying hard to swallow a baseball; her face was contorted with bottled-up rage.
"Fine," she hissed sourly, and everyone but Owen, Bronx, and Hudson disappeared in a grayish cloud of smoke.
***
"Let me go!" Beth shrieked, pounding her fists uselessly against Christian's thick hide. He did not seem to hear her as he lifted one taloned hand, rusted chains slinking down from the wall and tying around his captive's wrists.
"It's all for the best, my dear," Christian growled, as he drew some bizarre star-shaped thing on the altar with dull, gray chalk. When it began glow a hellish red, she stopped writhing and stared in sheer terror as a vortex opened.
***
They arrived quickly, due to Alecto's magic, at a deserted area. It was dark outside, and the only thing nearby was a hideous building, its design Gothic. There was something about the spired building that gave the group goosebumps, except for Alecto, who seemed intent on her mission.
"That has to be it!" Lex shouted, pointing to the structure, where bright scarlet light poured out from the doorway. Alecto did not wait for the others; she was already running for the door, her sword drawn. Goliath and Brooklyn raced in shortly after.
***
Only a few more minutes, and then Saar could return back to the demonic realm with his new love. The thought of no longer being alone was wonderful, despite Beth's screams and her thrashing. He summoned a portal, watching as it slowly grew.
Then he heard someone behind him, someone other than Beth, and he whirled. It was that damned Alecto, her curved sword catching the light of the swirling vortex.
"Now you shall die, demon!" She screeched, lunging at him. The razor blade narrowly missed him, and he hopped aside the stone altar, eyes aglow. Snarling, he dove at her, his pointed tail catching her unprotected forearm and slicing deep into it. Normally, it would not have been so bad for the assassin, but the building's evilness gave extra strength to Saar. Crying out in pain, she fell to the floor, her sword arm useless as he hit her again, making sure that she stayed down.
Gargoyles, those annoying creations of Oberon, followed Alecto; he managed to strike the first one, a deep red creature with a long beak, with a blast, sending him back outside. The big purple one, however, seemed quicker, and deftly dodged Saar's powerful swipes. They continued to throw blows at each other, until a little green Gargoyle sprang on his back, scratching the vulnerable part of his neck. Bellowing, Saar tossed him off and spun to face his foe once more.
***
Elisa gritted her teeth as she struggled to pick the locks on her sister's chains. She knew that the fight was not going well; Alecto's arm was almost severed, blood pooling around her body, Brooklyn was unconscious, and Lex was gone. Only Broadway and Goliath fought Saar, and when the aqua, rotund Gargoyle and his leader were hit, she knew that they were finished.
The monstrous demon had turned his attention on them, Goliath laying face down on the floor behind him. Though not yet out, the Gargoyle was badly hurt, deep claw marks riddling his body. Saar slowly moved toward him, ready to claim his bride.
"Go back to hell," she heard herself saying as she reached into her pocket and yanked out the silver knife. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as her blade sank into Christian's scaled knee, sending gouts of burning black blood everywhere. He screeched, his horned head tossed back in agony as she backed against the cold wall.
To her horror, she found that she was now defenseless, and there was a murderous look in Christian's red eye. Elisa prepared for the fatal blow, just as a woman's voice rang out.
"No, Saar! Stop!"
A female stood in the doorway, her body outlined by the gold moonlight. As Saar turned his ugly head, she began to change, taking on the shape of a dragon, one with glittering yellow scales the color of the sun. Pale green eyes shifted from Elisa to the horned demon.
"Who are you?" He demanded, eyes burning brighter as his anger rose.
"Don't you recognize me, my love?"
Saar just stared.
"I did not die, Saar. I merely changed my shape, reborn into the form of the Dragon, as Lord Oberon willed it."
"No," the demon gasped.
"Of course, you would not recognize me as the Dragon. Perhaps you would if I told you that my name was once Eve."
"You lie," he snapped, though his voice revealed that he was unsure.
"You know I speak the truth. Come back to me. Leave the child be."
"I-," Saar started, then moved toward the gleaming Dragon.
"We can be together again. There is no more reason to hide from you," she said softly.
"I have missed you," he whispered, then his eyes went blank, dark blood spilling from his slack mouth. He fell bonelessly to the ground, his corpse disintegrating into black ash.
"No!" Eve shrieked as she saw the silver sword that had killed him. Her green eyes glittered with hatred as they moved toward his killer. Alecto only smiled smugly as the portal faded behind her. The Dragon could only gape helplessly at her fellow fae.
"Lord Oberon willed it," was Alecto's only excuse as she faded.
"You shall pay for this," Eve hissed, then gazed over at Elisa, eyes glowing. She watched the huge dragon, as if caught in a half-dream. Everything seemed to move as one, and then there was only darkness, a sharp ringing sound puncturing it.
***
The alarm clock beside Elisa's bed rang, and groggily she turned it off as she awoke, yawning and rubbing her eyes. God, what a odd dream. And it had seemed so real. She stood up, wondering how in the world she could ever have such strange dreams, especially ones that involved demons and dragons and killer fae. The phone rang, and much to her surprise, she found that it was her sister.
"I had the weirdest dream last night. You were going to marry Satan," Elisa told her sister, and Beth laughed.
"Are you going to pick me up at the airport today?"
"Yeah," she said, and after chatting for a short while with Beth, she hung up. Elisa was not sure why, but it felt as though it had been several days, all compressed into a few short hours. A feeling of uneasiness came over her, briefly, then subsided.
Feeling relieved, she headed for the bathroom to take a shower. She never did notice the knife underneath her bed, stained with black blood.
***
In the darkness, it watched the past days events and gleefully laughed, its roiling form twisting into a shape that would have made Saar look like a harmless puppy. When it spoke, its hoarse voice rang with destruction and death.
"And everything goes according to plan."