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Chapter 3 - The Craft
The hungry wave sucked him into it's gaping maw. Brooklyn groped for purchase, but his talons sliced erratically through empty water. The wave swallowed the paniced gargoyle deeper into the ocean, away from the shimmering mountains on the water's surface. Brooklyn's instincts screamed at him to inhale, to gasp in the life-giving air he was denying his body.
Brooklyn kept his beak clamped shut, fighting off instinct. Closer to the darkness of the sea the gargoyle was dragged; closer to death. He tried to swim towards the surface, but his arms were like lead, barely moving him at all through the pressurized water. Brooklyn could not win against the riptide. The ocean was hungry; it wanted him.
Brooklyn could feel the water pressing against his sides, pressing the air out of his lungs. One by one, Brooklyn's ribs buckled and cracked with the pressure. An agonized scream released the rest of the air from Brooklyn's lungs, forcing him to inhale. Water rushed into his chest, expanding his punished ribcage. Brooklyn began to choke and gasp, bringing more water in. The pressure of the water was increasing rapidly, and as Brooklyn's mind began to pull away, his last conscious sensation was of every bone in his body breaking simultaneously.
***
"BROOKLYN!! WAKE UP!!!"
Brooklyn's body gave a convulsive shudder and his eyes flew open.
"I can't breathe! Help me!!!!"
"Brooklyn, it's ok. You're safe."
Brooklyn looked up and saw Leah sitting next to him on the floor of the library.
"You were just having a bad dream," Leah said.
"What? How...? The water...it...it was crushing my chest.."
Frowning, Leah touched Brooklyn's face and turned it toward her own.
"You have to calm down. They're all watching." Her final statement was whispered into his ear. Horrified, Brooklyn looked around the room at his clan. Goliath was frowning.
"Brooklyn, what are you doing in here?" Goliath stepped forward and stood over Brooklyn.
"Goliath...I can explain.."
"Yes, you will explain. This gargoyle is unknown to us," Goliath glared at Leah, "And we still do not know if she is to be trusted. You were forbidden to enter the library, and now I find that you've spent the day sleeping in here! She could have smashed you! She could have smashed everyone!" Golaith's voice grew louder with each word.
Brooklyn sighed and climbed to his feet. Then, slowly, carefully, Brooklyn drew himself up to his full height and looked Goliath in the eyes.
"There's way more to this than you know, Goliath."
Brooklyn could feel the shaky foundation under his emotions starting to give way, but he tightened his jaw and concentrated on staring at Goliath.
"I know enough! You went against my orders!"
Goliath's eyes were white hot with anger. Growling, he grabbed Brooklyn's arm and began to lead him from the room. He turned to back to the clan.
"Brooklyn and I are going to Xanatos' office." Goliath looked down at Brooklyn "I need to have a few words with him. The rest of you meet us up there in a few minutes. And bring her with you." Goliath shot a fierce glance at Leah and led Brooklyn from the room.
***
Gnarl's ratlike face followed Goliath and Brooklyn as they left the room. Frowning, he cursed the large gargoyle; Xanatos' office had a good security system.
'But not good enough,' Gnarl thought, parting his thin lips in a toothy grin. Gnarl watched the clan from the dusty rafters. Below him, the gargoyles were whispering and pacing, but the black female on the cot was silent. He remembered her; Leah had been hellfire when he first began his training. Her skill in The Craft was astounding. She could kill anyone...
'But she won't kill me,' Gnarl thought, 'I'm better than her now.'
The gargoyles in the room were still milling about. Bored, Gnarl slid his crooked talons along the black metallic guards on his wrists. Each contained a wicked set of claws, silent and deadly as Gnarl himself.
Finally Hudson walked over to Leah and motioned for her to follow him. The rest of the clan brought up the rear. Gnarl jumped silently from the rafters and followed the group down the hallway.
***
"Leave me out of this." Xanatos frowned at Goliath.
"Do you agree with me or not, Xanatos?"
"Goliath, leave him alone!" Brooklyn, despite Goliath's earlier verbal punisment, defiantly placed his body between the two.
"I am speaking with Xanatos. Please move." Goliath's voice was dangerously quiet.
"Xanatos knows more about this than you do, Goliath. If you would give me a chance to tell you about..."
"I don't want to hear your opinion on that girl." Goliath returned his attention to Xanatos.
"I want you to provide a more secure cell. She will be able to escape that library once her injuries have completely healed."
"I never said I agreed with you." Xanatos said.
Suddenly, the door swung open and the rest of the clan entered the office. Brooklyn started towards Leah, but Goliath grabbed his shoulder.
"I'm going to have a word with her. Stay here." Goliath's voice was firm.
Sighing, Brooklyn walked over to Xanatos and settled himself on the floor.
***
Gnarl had little trouble entering the room unnoticed. The special design of his body gave him the ability to avoid wandering eyes not looking specifically for him. His mission was difficult; he was not required to kill anyone for a change. To Gnarl, this was an unfortunate complication.
Gnarl flitted silently about the room, jumping from shadow to shadow to avoid detection. Each time someone came close to looking his way, he would jump once again. His only true concern was Leah. He knew her huge ears could detect the tiniest sound in the room. He could only pray she be too distracted to count the number of different heartbeats she heard.
***
"Why did Brooklyn bring you here?" Goliath towered over the black gargoyle. "And why should we trust you?"
Leah cringed under Goliath's shadow.
"He...he saved me..." she whispered. Goliath brought his face close to hers.
"And what did he save you from?"
"I'd...rather not say..."
Goliath stood up tall and growled. Turning to Brooklyn, he said,
"You expect me to trust her, Brooklyn? She is keeping secrets!"
"Some things are my own business!" Leah drew herself up. Her eyes began to flash red, "And I WILL NOT announce my personal problems to a room full of strangers!"
"You WILL answer my questions..."
Leah interrupted him with a snarl.
Brooklyn and Xanatos exchanged glances. Xanatos knelt down and whispered,
"She's not getting off to a very good start."
"I know, " Brooklyn murmured, "But Goliath is goading her. He's not even giving her a chance. I just hope she can control her temper..."
Brooklyn was cut short as Leah leapt for Goliath, shreiking. Brooklyn jumped to grab her, but Angela beat him there.
***
'This is it!' Gnarl lunged at Leah, grabbed her arms, and with a practiced twist, caused the claws of Leah's hidden wrist guards to snick out. Angela was directly in front of Leah, and before Leah could stop herself, the claws sank deep into the female gargoyle's stomach. Brooklyn was grabbing onto Leah an instant later, and Gnarl, still flitting about undetected, grabbed Brooklyn's wrist and swiped the gargoyle's talons across Angela's face several times.
Angela fell to her knees, holding her bloody stomach. The clan rushed to her, but Brooklyn and Leah stepped back. Horrified, Leah lifted the bloody metal claws to her face.
"Jesus..." She whispered, retracting the claws with disgust.
Looking up, she noticed that Goliath was walking toward her, his eyes like white fire.
Suddenly a strong force was pushing on Leah, and she felt herself crash into the huge wall-window of the office. Instict caused her to open her wings, and as she looked back, she was astonished to see Brooklyn close behind.
"What happened??!" She yelled to him.
"I don't know! Something pushed me through the window! We'd better get back there!"
But before Brooklyn and Leah could reach the window, Goliath, Lexington, and Broadway came crashing through it.
"Goliath! Is Angela ok?" Brooklyn shouted. His only answer was an angry growl. Brooklyn looked around and saw that his clan was trying to surround him.
'Great,' he thought, 'they'll probably kill me before I can explain anything.'
Knowing he was outmatched and in deep trouble, Brooklyn headed toward Leah.
"What now?" He asked her, as they fled the angry clan, "I can't glide faster than Lex, and if they catch me, I may not get a chance to defend myself."
"Don't worry," Leah said grimly. Then, to Brooklyn's astonishment, she grabbed his wings, folded them to his back, and lifted him in her arms.
"I can FLY faster than any of them can glide, even if I'm carrying you." She said.
***
"The clan won't catch them." Xanatos was kneeling beside Angela, wrapping bandages around her stomach. Hudson frowned.
"An' why not?"
"Leah can fly, and I have a feeling she is really fast."
"I dinna unnerstand why Brooklyn would hurt Angela..."
"I'm not sure he meant to...Leah either."
"How is that possible?"
"I really wish I knew, Hudson."
***
"You have done well, rat."
"Thank you, master." Gnarl fell to his knees and bowed his head. He so seldom received praise.
"Leah now has more enemies than she can handle...though I question your decision to involve Brooklyn."
Gnarl swallowed. That had been a split second decision.
"Brooklyn was holding onto her, master. She might not have gotten away if I hadn't removed his hand. He HAD to be an enemy of the clan after I touched him."
"Very good, Gnarl. You didn't want him to tell the others. I am pleased with your work, and I believe you deserve a reward. Snipe has outlived his usefullness. He is growing soft. How would you like a promotion?"
Gnarl's eyes opened wide. Snipe was Demona's personal assassin; he was the highest ranking member of The Craft.
"Of course, master."
"Very good, Gnarl. You know what must be done." Demona smiled and pulled a dagger from her shirt. Gnarl accepted it from her hand and licked the shining blade. Bowing again to his master, Gnarl tucked the dagger into his belt and left the room.
***
"Yes, my dear," Demona hissed under her breath, "You are better than the rest of them. I was a fool when I created Leah. You were a killer before I made you, Gnarl..." Demona sighed and sat down at her desk.
'And you are the only one who can stop Leah,' she thought, 'I made her too strong, too fast. She is undeserving of the power I gave her, but you...you will not fail me...'
Chapter 3 - The Craft
The hungry wave sucked him into it's gaping maw. Brooklyn groped for purchase, but his talons sliced erratically through empty water. The wave swallowed the paniced gargoyle deeper into the ocean, away from the shimmering mountains on the water's surface. Brooklyn's instincts screamed at him to inhale, to gasp in the life-giving air he was denying his body.
Brooklyn kept his beak clamped shut, fighting off instinct. Closer to the darkness of the sea the gargoyle was dragged; closer to death. He tried to swim towards the surface, but his arms were like lead, barely moving him at all through the pressurized water. Brooklyn could not win against the riptide. The ocean was hungry; it wanted him.
Brooklyn could feel the water pressing against his sides, pressing the air out of his lungs. One by one, Brooklyn's ribs buckled and cracked with the pressure. An agonized scream released the rest of the air from Brooklyn's lungs, forcing him to inhale. Water rushed into his chest, expanding his punished ribcage. Brooklyn began to choke and gasp, bringing more water in. The pressure of the water was increasing rapidly, and as Brooklyn's mind began to pull away, his last conscious sensation was of every bone in his body breaking simultaneously.
***
"BROOKLYN!! WAKE UP!!!"
Brooklyn's body gave a convulsive shudder and his eyes flew open.
"I can't breathe! Help me!!!!"
"Brooklyn, it's ok. You're safe."
Brooklyn looked up and saw Leah sitting next to him on the floor of the library.
"You were just having a bad dream," Leah said.
"What? How...? The water...it...it was crushing my chest.."
Frowning, Leah touched Brooklyn's face and turned it toward her own.
"You have to calm down. They're all watching." Her final statement was whispered into his ear. Horrified, Brooklyn looked around the room at his clan. Goliath was frowning.
"Brooklyn, what are you doing in here?" Goliath stepped forward and stood over Brooklyn.
"Goliath...I can explain.."
"Yes, you will explain. This gargoyle is unknown to us," Goliath glared at Leah, "And we still do not know if she is to be trusted. You were forbidden to enter the library, and now I find that you've spent the day sleeping in here! She could have smashed you! She could have smashed everyone!" Golaith's voice grew louder with each word.
Brooklyn sighed and climbed to his feet. Then, slowly, carefully, Brooklyn drew himself up to his full height and looked Goliath in the eyes.
"There's way more to this than you know, Goliath."
Brooklyn could feel the shaky foundation under his emotions starting to give way, but he tightened his jaw and concentrated on staring at Goliath.
"I know enough! You went against my orders!"
Goliath's eyes were white hot with anger. Growling, he grabbed Brooklyn's arm and began to lead him from the room. He turned to back to the clan.
"Brooklyn and I are going to Xanatos' office." Goliath looked down at Brooklyn "I need to have a few words with him. The rest of you meet us up there in a few minutes. And bring her with you." Goliath shot a fierce glance at Leah and led Brooklyn from the room.
***
Gnarl's ratlike face followed Goliath and Brooklyn as they left the room. Frowning, he cursed the large gargoyle; Xanatos' office had a good security system.
'But not good enough,' Gnarl thought, parting his thin lips in a toothy grin. Gnarl watched the clan from the dusty rafters. Below him, the gargoyles were whispering and pacing, but the black female on the cot was silent. He remembered her; Leah had been hellfire when he first began his training. Her skill in The Craft was astounding. She could kill anyone...
'But she won't kill me,' Gnarl thought, 'I'm better than her now.'
The gargoyles in the room were still milling about. Bored, Gnarl slid his crooked talons along the black metallic guards on his wrists. Each contained a wicked set of claws, silent and deadly as Gnarl himself.
Finally Hudson walked over to Leah and motioned for her to follow him. The rest of the clan brought up the rear. Gnarl jumped silently from the rafters and followed the group down the hallway.
***
"Leave me out of this." Xanatos frowned at Goliath.
"Do you agree with me or not, Xanatos?"
"Goliath, leave him alone!" Brooklyn, despite Goliath's earlier verbal punisment, defiantly placed his body between the two.
"I am speaking with Xanatos. Please move." Goliath's voice was dangerously quiet.
"Xanatos knows more about this than you do, Goliath. If you would give me a chance to tell you about..."
"I don't want to hear your opinion on that girl." Goliath returned his attention to Xanatos.
"I want you to provide a more secure cell. She will be able to escape that library once her injuries have completely healed."
"I never said I agreed with you." Xanatos said.
Suddenly, the door swung open and the rest of the clan entered the office. Brooklyn started towards Leah, but Goliath grabbed his shoulder.
"I'm going to have a word with her. Stay here." Goliath's voice was firm.
Sighing, Brooklyn walked over to Xanatos and settled himself on the floor.
***
Gnarl had little trouble entering the room unnoticed. The special design of his body gave him the ability to avoid wandering eyes not looking specifically for him. His mission was difficult; he was not required to kill anyone for a change. To Gnarl, this was an unfortunate complication.
Gnarl flitted silently about the room, jumping from shadow to shadow to avoid detection. Each time someone came close to looking his way, he would jump once again. His only true concern was Leah. He knew her huge ears could detect the tiniest sound in the room. He could only pray she be too distracted to count the number of different heartbeats she heard.
***
"Why did Brooklyn bring you here?" Goliath towered over the black gargoyle. "And why should we trust you?"
Leah cringed under Goliath's shadow.
"He...he saved me..." she whispered. Goliath brought his face close to hers.
"And what did he save you from?"
"I'd...rather not say..."
Goliath stood up tall and growled. Turning to Brooklyn, he said,
"You expect me to trust her, Brooklyn? She is keeping secrets!"
"Some things are my own business!" Leah drew herself up. Her eyes began to flash red, "And I WILL NOT announce my personal problems to a room full of strangers!"
"You WILL answer my questions..."
Leah interrupted him with a snarl.
Brooklyn and Xanatos exchanged glances. Xanatos knelt down and whispered,
"She's not getting off to a very good start."
"I know, " Brooklyn murmured, "But Goliath is goading her. He's not even giving her a chance. I just hope she can control her temper..."
Brooklyn was cut short as Leah leapt for Goliath, shreiking. Brooklyn jumped to grab her, but Angela beat him there.
***
'This is it!' Gnarl lunged at Leah, grabbed her arms, and with a practiced twist, caused the claws of Leah's hidden wrist guards to snick out. Angela was directly in front of Leah, and before Leah could stop herself, the claws sank deep into the female gargoyle's stomach. Brooklyn was grabbing onto Leah an instant later, and Gnarl, still flitting about undetected, grabbed Brooklyn's wrist and swiped the gargoyle's talons across Angela's face several times.
Angela fell to her knees, holding her bloody stomach. The clan rushed to her, but Brooklyn and Leah stepped back. Horrified, Leah lifted the bloody metal claws to her face.
"Jesus..." She whispered, retracting the claws with disgust.
Looking up, she noticed that Goliath was walking toward her, his eyes like white fire.
Suddenly a strong force was pushing on Leah, and she felt herself crash into the huge wall-window of the office. Instict caused her to open her wings, and as she looked back, she was astonished to see Brooklyn close behind.
"What happened??!" She yelled to him.
"I don't know! Something pushed me through the window! We'd better get back there!"
But before Brooklyn and Leah could reach the window, Goliath, Lexington, and Broadway came crashing through it.
"Goliath! Is Angela ok?" Brooklyn shouted. His only answer was an angry growl. Brooklyn looked around and saw that his clan was trying to surround him.
'Great,' he thought, 'they'll probably kill me before I can explain anything.'
Knowing he was outmatched and in deep trouble, Brooklyn headed toward Leah.
"What now?" He asked her, as they fled the angry clan, "I can't glide faster than Lex, and if they catch me, I may not get a chance to defend myself."
"Don't worry," Leah said grimly. Then, to Brooklyn's astonishment, she grabbed his wings, folded them to his back, and lifted him in her arms.
"I can FLY faster than any of them can glide, even if I'm carrying you." She said.
***
"The clan won't catch them." Xanatos was kneeling beside Angela, wrapping bandages around her stomach. Hudson frowned.
"An' why not?"
"Leah can fly, and I have a feeling she is really fast."
"I dinna unnerstand why Brooklyn would hurt Angela..."
"I'm not sure he meant to...Leah either."
"How is that possible?"
"I really wish I knew, Hudson."
***
"You have done well, rat."
"Thank you, master." Gnarl fell to his knees and bowed his head. He so seldom received praise.
"Leah now has more enemies than she can handle...though I question your decision to involve Brooklyn."
Gnarl swallowed. That had been a split second decision.
"Brooklyn was holding onto her, master. She might not have gotten away if I hadn't removed his hand. He HAD to be an enemy of the clan after I touched him."
"Very good, Gnarl. You didn't want him to tell the others. I am pleased with your work, and I believe you deserve a reward. Snipe has outlived his usefullness. He is growing soft. How would you like a promotion?"
Gnarl's eyes opened wide. Snipe was Demona's personal assassin; he was the highest ranking member of The Craft.
"Of course, master."
"Very good, Gnarl. You know what must be done." Demona smiled and pulled a dagger from her shirt. Gnarl accepted it from her hand and licked the shining blade. Bowing again to his master, Gnarl tucked the dagger into his belt and left the room.
***
"Yes, my dear," Demona hissed under her breath, "You are better than the rest of them. I was a fool when I created Leah. You were a killer before I made you, Gnarl..." Demona sighed and sat down at her desk.
'And you are the only one who can stop Leah,' she thought, 'I made her too strong, too fast. She is undeserving of the power I gave her, but you...you will not fail me...'
