Chapter 4 : Dead Voices
"Dammit..." Brooklyn hissed as he located the nail jabbing him in the back.
"You know," he said, looking at Leah, "You could have picked a better place than this
for us to hide." He gestured at the scrap metal surrounding them.
"This place isn't so bad. I mean, it's pretty safe from prying eyes."
Brooklyn snorted. His idea of hiding involved alleys and rooftops, not the remains
of and old bridge.
"This place creeps me out." Brooklyn shook his head.
"Well, you can always go back to the castle, Brooklyn. I'm sure your clan would be
thrilled to see you."
Brooklyn's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah, right, and be torn limb from limb? Why the hell did you jump at Goliath,
anyway?"
Leah blinked.
"He made me mad...I...I wasn't going to scratch him or anything... just knock him
over."
"Well, that was stupid."
"I can't help it, Brooklyn...you don't understand."
"Oh, I understand," Brooklyn growled, his anger inflating, "You've been through so
much you just can't control yourself. Give me a break!"
Leah's eyes began to flash red. Brooklyn had hit home.
"And what about your control?" she hissed, "I saw your jaw shaking when you
confronted Goliath!"
"That has nothing to do with this! The point is, YOU stabbed Angela, and now we're
cowering in a scrap heap! This is all your..."
In an instant, Leah was on him, metallic claws flashing.
"Take it back!"
Brooklyn froze. Staring at the claws, he began to wonder if maybe she had stabbed
Angela on purpose...
Leah immediately saw the fear in his eyes and stepped back. Slowly she pulled the
claws away from Brooklyn's face. Shaking, she fell to her knees, never removing her
eyes from the blades.
"I'm a monster..." She whispered.
Tears began to trail down her cheeks, and in moments she was sobbing. Slowly,
Brooklyn knelt down and touched her shoulder. She continued to stare at the blades,
but Brooklyn could feel her muscles tense under his touch. He moved closer and
brought his arm around her. He feared she might pull away, but to his surprise, she
buried her face in his chest.
Hugging her close, Brooklyn wondered when she had last been comforted; when she had
last felt a loving touch. At that moment he knew Leah could never have harmed Angela
willingly. She was haunted constantly by the dead. Whispering that he was sorry,
Brooklyn wrapped his wings around Leah and closed his eyes.
***
The soft hiss of burning flesh echoed through the white room. Jesse would have
screamed, but his vocal cords had been ripped out hours earlier. Jesse opened his
mouth and thrashed his body about as the hot iron was jutted further into his
bicep.
Jesse still had eyes. He had hoped his torturer would burn them out so he would not
have to see what was happening to him. Instead, he was shown every sword, probe and
poker before they were inserted into his body, and he was forced to listen as his
torturer explained exactly how he was going to do it.
The torturer was truly the most frightening creature Jesse had ever laid eyes on.
It's body was bright red, with a long whiplike tail and huge yellow wings extending
from it's shoulders. A row of spikes ran from the tip of it's serpentine nose all
the way down it's back. Each forearm had a set of spikes as well, and Jesse had felt
their slash several times. On each hand it wore thick black gloves, outfitted with
sharp blades on each finger. The blades were fed an electrical charge every time
they were inserted into Jesse; he dreaded their horrible fire.
The hot iron had burned all the way through the bicep and was beginning to poke
through the flesh on the other side of Jesse's arm. Thrashing about made the pain
worse, but Jesse could no longer control his spasms. Each thrust of the poker sent
waves of pain screaming through his body.
Suddenly, the torturer pulled the iron from Jesse's arm and turned around.
"What do you want?" He barked at a small silvery gargoyle standing in the doorway,
"I'm working."
"You should just kill the guy, Rath. He doesn't deserve this." The small gargoyle
gestured to the hot iron.
"You question my work, runt?"
"Always. You know, you get uglier every time I see you."
Rath growled and turned back to Jesse.
"I would smash you, runt, but I'm busy." He smirked at Jesse and flicked his forked
tongue.
"Just kill him, or I'll pull rank on you."
"You're a Hawk just like me, you little bastard!" Rath whirled around.
"Ah, but you forget, Rath, I'm a test ahead of you."
"That don't mean shit!"
"It does, and you know it. Kill him. You know there's a three day limit when
they're under 18."
Rath growled deep in his throat. The small gargoyle smiled at him and left. Moments
later, an energy blast shook the room. Jesse was dead. Shaking his head, the
diminuitive gargoyle started down the hallway.
"Scragg!" Sighing, the silver gargoyle turned toward the voice. He had hoped to
avoid Gnarl today. His frown deepened when he saw Gnarl's mate, Brek, following
him.
'That piss bitch better keep her mouth shut..' he thought. Clearing his throat,
Scragg pretended to have just noticed the pair.
"Good evening, Shadowblade, sir."
"AND, Dragonblade." Brek inserted sharply.
"...and Dragon." He mumbled, deliberately leaving off the honorary 'blade.' Brek
started to growl.
"Brek," Gnarl said gently, "Would you please go pick up that message from Demona? I
need to speak with Scragg."
Brek knew he was trying to get rid of her because she hated Scragg. Smiling
dangerously, Brek swept past the two males.
'He's gonna pay for that one later...' Scragg mused silently.
"I've noticed," Gnarl said, interrupting Scragg's thoughts, "That you are not
getting along with all the members of this guild."
"Nope, can't say that I am."
Gnarl frowned. He never had liked the way Scragg chose to speak to him, but he was
an important asset...
"I normally don't care about personal differnces, but you've been bothering a lot of
people lately. For one thing, you need to stay away from Rath. He hates you, and
you're just gonna get your head bashed in if you keep it up."
Scragg frowned. He knew Gnarl was not really mad at him for that. Rath had been
breaking the rules, and Gnarl was a maniac about those rules. It was all because
Rath could be a royal pain when angry about something.
"Also," he punctuated the word to make sure Scragg was paying attention, "I don't
want to hear you using your rank against anyone again. I didn't create the ranks to
promote bullying. Understand?"
Scragg nodded, clenching his fists.
"Good." Gnarl then turned his back to the small gargoyle and walked away.
Scragg held in a low growl and stared at his leader's back. The black gargoyle
walked with a cocky confidence that grated on Scragg's nerves. Cursing, he set off
in the opposite direction.
He stopped when he came to the training room. The smell of blood wafted through the
door, but Scragg did not mind. It was not tainted with fear, merely hard work and
youth.
He stepped inside to watch a training match that had just begun. Justin, the tall,
wiry teacher was taking on a small brown female that Scragg did not know. He noticed
that she had fur, just like he did. Before, Gnarl had been the only other gargoyle
in The Craft besides Scragg that boasted a fur coat, and he was slightly surprised.
Scragg figured the match would not last long. Justin had worked hard to attain the
rank of Dragonblade, the highest he could get without challenging Gnarl, and he
always struck first blood against the Greenblades. It was just a way to toughen them
up for their tests.
The young gargress was very light on her feet, and Scragg regarded her with
increasing respect, especially when she managed to avoid Justin's swipe kick. He'd
broken many ribs with that move, but the female simply danced away from it.
'Well, she's lasted longer than most,' Scragg thought, 'But Justin doesn't get beat
very often.'
Scragg's mouth dropped open a moment later as the female advanced on Justin and raked
her claws across his chest.
"Very good, Aja. First blood is yours. It's been at least a year since a Green has
bested me." Justin smiled at Aja.
"Scragg," Justin called, "Have you met Aja?" Scragg shook his head and walked over
to the two. He shook Aja's hand but kept his eyes on the floor.
Justin clapped Scragg on the shoulder and laughed.
"Perhaps you two would care to spar? I haven't seen you on the mat in a while,
Scragg."
Grumbling, he glared at Justin. Aja laughed.
"Justin, surely you can do better," She said cheerfully, "This scrawny gargoyle is no
match for me."
Scragg's eyes met hers and began to glow white.
"Perhaps, my dear," he said angrily, "You would like to prove that statement out in
the ring."
He made his way onto the mat. Aja, still laughing, took her place opposite him.
"I should warn you, Scragg. I was bred to fight well."
He responded by growling and flexing his talons.
"First blood wins," chimed Justin, "Begin!"
Aja immediately leapt for Scragg, meaning to throw him off balance.
Scragg anticipated this move and shot underneath her while she was in mid-air.
Surprised, Aja whirled around to face Scragg, but he was not there. She looked just
in time to see him bearing down on her from above with his talons extended. Aja's
managed to grab his hands before he hit her, but when he landed he was still holding
on to her. They grappled for a few moments, but, to Aja's horror, Scragg was much
stronger than he looked, and he was stronger than her! Aja felt her muscles begin to
weaken, and before she could release herself from his grasp, Scragg had both her arms
pinned behind her back.
Shrieking, Aja tried to squirm free, but it was no use, her opponent was too strong.
She felt a scratch on her shoulder, and she knew she was finished.
Scragg released her, and Aja examined her wound. It was very small, obviously
inflicted to officially end the match. She had lost the moment she laughed at him.
Panting, she extended her hand to the smaller gargoyle.
He shook it, mumbled about it being a good fight, and stalked from the room.
"Don't mind him, Aja," Justin said when she frowned, "He's a very unhappy
creature."
"He fights like a demon..."
"Yes, I've never bested him in a match."
"Never?"
"Nope, never. He's a Hawkblade for good reason."
Aja was impressed. Today was the first time she had ever beat Justin, and a month
ago, when she first began her training, she was lucky to last ten seconds. To think
that this Scragg ALWAYS beat him...
"I suppose I've learned my lesson about underestimating an opponent, havent' I?"
She said.
Justin smiled.
***
"Thank you." Brooklyn barely heard Leah's whisper.
"Are you okay?" He whispered back.
"I'll never be okay..." She choked off the words with another sob, and Brooklyn
pulled her closer as she wept.
Finally her body stopped shaking, and Brooklyn felt her sigh. Then she gently lifted
his arms from her shoulders and pulled away.
Curious, Brooklyn watched as she sat down a few feet in front of him.
"I need to tell you something...something I've never told anyone before..."
She broke off her sentence. Brooklyn waited.
"What you just did for me...it was...something I didn't even know I needed. I
haven't trusted anyone in a long time, but I trust you, Brooklyn. This is something
I need to talk about, and you've helped me see that."
***
"Two years ago I had a normal family, I was living in a normal Florida subdivision,
and I was pretty normal myself. High school was boring, my friends were losers, and
I thought I was going to grow up to be a professional musician. I was happy, I just
didn't know it at the time.
My mindset was that of many sixteen-year-olds: my house is too small, my hair is
ugly, nobody likes me, I can't get a date, I'm fat, I hate my family, I don't have
any money, who the hell does Monica think she is, and so on. I really thought I
hated my life...that is, until it came crashing down on me two weeks before school
let out. Frantic to implement one more hands-on learning experience, my American
History teacher thought it would be a good idea to take the class to Washington D.C.
for a few days.
I didn't want to go, but my parents insisted on paying for it. They thought it would
be a great experience for me. The adults in my life were very big on
experiences...
So, I went, and I hated it. It rained the whole time, none of my friends came, and I
just knew I was catching a cold from the snot-nosed dork that sat by me on the bus.
On the last day our guide decided to take us to the National Cathedral. It was the
most beautiful place I had ever set foot in. The tour guide led us through quickly,
and then our teacher gave us an hour to explore. I went off on my own; I hated
everyone on the trip.
I let myself get lost in the place...I didn't really care where I went. I didn't
know I was being followed; I had none of the tracking abilities I have now. Demona
informed me later that she had been trailing me for weeks. I'm not sure how she
found out about me, but apparently I matched whatever specifications she had set for
her assassin. When I'd made it to a peticularly dark area of the cathedral, she
grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth with a wet cloth. I was out like a light
moments later.
I woke up in a strange place, but I couldn't see. Naturally I panicked and ran
around like an idiot, buying myself another ticket to dreamland.
When I woke up again, I was in another room, and I could see. Unfortunately, what I
saw was myself turning into a monster.
Then came the first time I actually met Demona. She was a human at the time, but I
soon came to know her as a gargoyle as well. I was scared of her at first, but when
she put that damn chip in my brain, I began to hate her with everything I had..."
***
Leah paused and Brooklyn looked at her.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
She nodded,
"This is where it gets tough," she said.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"Yes I do..."
Leah took a deep breath.
***
"She gave me my first assignment that very day. I was still in shock over my lack of
control. I knew I would do whatever she wanted, and it horrified me.
Before I knew what was happening, my body, which was barely my own anymore, jumped
out of a window. I wanted to shriek, but somehow I knew how to fly, and I knew where
I was going. That night ended up being the most horrendous night of my life.
When I got there, I knew they were home. My victims were watching TV in the family
room. It was easy to catch them...they didn't know what hit them until it was too
late. It was so easy for me to swoop in and duct tape the parents and the little boy
to the couch.
They were all so frightened of me, and I was shrieking and howling at them like a
demon...they...they didn't know who I was...I...killed my father first."
Brooklyn gasped.
Leah extracted her claws.
"I just took these and stuck them into his face...he didn't even scream...he just
gurgled and...that was it. Mom panicked when I did that, and I snarled at her. Then
I walked over to Jim..my brother..and bit off all his fingers, one by one..."
Tears were streaming down Leah's face now, but she continued.
"He and mom were both screaming, and I was laughing. I couldn't stop myself. I
walked over to mom, spit in her face, and plunged my claws into her chest. Jim was
the last to go. I made him watch our parents die; I smeared mom's blood on his face;
I made him ...I made him lick my claw before I shoved it into his eye...I...I'll
never forgive myself."
Leah took another deep breath and wiped the tears from her face. Brooklyn was
staring at her in complete shock.
"I..I can't believe she made you kill your own family...Leah, I'm so sorry I said
those things earlier..."
"Don't be." she interrupted, "It brought it upon myself, I deserved it..."
Brooklyn put his hand on her face and she stopped.
"You don't deserve any of this," he said quietly, "It's not your fault, and I'm gonna
help you see that. I don't care if it's the last goddamn thing I ever do."
***
Gnarl rubbed his temples in frustration. Demona was asking too much this time, but
there was nothing he could do about it. He picked up the phone on his desk and
pressed the page button.
"Raven, report here immediately." He did not have to identify himself. She knew who
it was.
A few moments later a grey gargress slid into the room and stood at solid attention
in front of Gnarl.
"Sit down Raven, I have an assignment for you." Nodding, the young Hawkblade settled
herself stiffly in a chair across from Gnarl.
"You are a very good assassin, Raven, one of my best. This assignment requires the
utmost stealth and secrecy, which is why I have chosen you."
Raven nodded again. Gnarl stared at her and unsheathed his metallic claws.
"I want you to catch me, Raven."
He was gone before she could blink. Realizing the nature of the test, Raven leapt
from her chair and concentrated on the shift. In moments she was the same color as
the carpeting. She could smell Gnarl; he was clinging to the ceiling above her.
Raven darted from where she first shifted and headed for the wall. The moment she
leapt on the wall, her skin changed to match. She closed her eyes. She could still
smell Gnarl, and his heart beat was quickening. She could tell from minute
vibrations in the wall that he was jumping about erratically. He did not know where
to go if her eyes were shut.
Finally he leapt close enough for her to feel the change in air pressure. Lunging,
she grabbed Gnarl and pinned him to the floor.
"Very good, Raven. You are worthy of my assignment."
Raven allowed Gnarl to stand up, and they both reclaimed their chairs.
"You have two targets, both gargoyles. One is a black female. She is very
formidable and posseses all of the skills and breeding that I was given. Your other
target is a red male. He does not have the benefits of specialized breeding, but do
not underestimate him. He is a seasoned warrior."
He showed her pictures of the two.
"I cannot tell you where to find them, but I must stress that this is a high priority
assignment. You fail, you die."
Raven gave only the slighest twitch at Gnarl's final sentence.
"You begin tonight. You have three days and nights to complete this assignment.
Report back then."
Raven stood and left the room. Gnarl shook his head and began to massage his temples
again.
'I'm not going to have anyone left in my guild when this is all over,' he thought
solemnly.
'Maybe Raven can do the job...'
He sighed and laid his head down on the desk.
'Good God...save me from this demon...'
"Dammit..." Brooklyn hissed as he located the nail jabbing him in the back.
"You know," he said, looking at Leah, "You could have picked a better place than this
for us to hide." He gestured at the scrap metal surrounding them.
"This place isn't so bad. I mean, it's pretty safe from prying eyes."
Brooklyn snorted. His idea of hiding involved alleys and rooftops, not the remains
of and old bridge.
"This place creeps me out." Brooklyn shook his head.
"Well, you can always go back to the castle, Brooklyn. I'm sure your clan would be
thrilled to see you."
Brooklyn's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah, right, and be torn limb from limb? Why the hell did you jump at Goliath,
anyway?"
Leah blinked.
"He made me mad...I...I wasn't going to scratch him or anything... just knock him
over."
"Well, that was stupid."
"I can't help it, Brooklyn...you don't understand."
"Oh, I understand," Brooklyn growled, his anger inflating, "You've been through so
much you just can't control yourself. Give me a break!"
Leah's eyes began to flash red. Brooklyn had hit home.
"And what about your control?" she hissed, "I saw your jaw shaking when you
confronted Goliath!"
"That has nothing to do with this! The point is, YOU stabbed Angela, and now we're
cowering in a scrap heap! This is all your..."
In an instant, Leah was on him, metallic claws flashing.
"Take it back!"
Brooklyn froze. Staring at the claws, he began to wonder if maybe she had stabbed
Angela on purpose...
Leah immediately saw the fear in his eyes and stepped back. Slowly she pulled the
claws away from Brooklyn's face. Shaking, she fell to her knees, never removing her
eyes from the blades.
"I'm a monster..." She whispered.
Tears began to trail down her cheeks, and in moments she was sobbing. Slowly,
Brooklyn knelt down and touched her shoulder. She continued to stare at the blades,
but Brooklyn could feel her muscles tense under his touch. He moved closer and
brought his arm around her. He feared she might pull away, but to his surprise, she
buried her face in his chest.
Hugging her close, Brooklyn wondered when she had last been comforted; when she had
last felt a loving touch. At that moment he knew Leah could never have harmed Angela
willingly. She was haunted constantly by the dead. Whispering that he was sorry,
Brooklyn wrapped his wings around Leah and closed his eyes.
***
The soft hiss of burning flesh echoed through the white room. Jesse would have
screamed, but his vocal cords had been ripped out hours earlier. Jesse opened his
mouth and thrashed his body about as the hot iron was jutted further into his
bicep.
Jesse still had eyes. He had hoped his torturer would burn them out so he would not
have to see what was happening to him. Instead, he was shown every sword, probe and
poker before they were inserted into his body, and he was forced to listen as his
torturer explained exactly how he was going to do it.
The torturer was truly the most frightening creature Jesse had ever laid eyes on.
It's body was bright red, with a long whiplike tail and huge yellow wings extending
from it's shoulders. A row of spikes ran from the tip of it's serpentine nose all
the way down it's back. Each forearm had a set of spikes as well, and Jesse had felt
their slash several times. On each hand it wore thick black gloves, outfitted with
sharp blades on each finger. The blades were fed an electrical charge every time
they were inserted into Jesse; he dreaded their horrible fire.
The hot iron had burned all the way through the bicep and was beginning to poke
through the flesh on the other side of Jesse's arm. Thrashing about made the pain
worse, but Jesse could no longer control his spasms. Each thrust of the poker sent
waves of pain screaming through his body.
Suddenly, the torturer pulled the iron from Jesse's arm and turned around.
"What do you want?" He barked at a small silvery gargoyle standing in the doorway,
"I'm working."
"You should just kill the guy, Rath. He doesn't deserve this." The small gargoyle
gestured to the hot iron.
"You question my work, runt?"
"Always. You know, you get uglier every time I see you."
Rath growled and turned back to Jesse.
"I would smash you, runt, but I'm busy." He smirked at Jesse and flicked his forked
tongue.
"Just kill him, or I'll pull rank on you."
"You're a Hawk just like me, you little bastard!" Rath whirled around.
"Ah, but you forget, Rath, I'm a test ahead of you."
"That don't mean shit!"
"It does, and you know it. Kill him. You know there's a three day limit when
they're under 18."
Rath growled deep in his throat. The small gargoyle smiled at him and left. Moments
later, an energy blast shook the room. Jesse was dead. Shaking his head, the
diminuitive gargoyle started down the hallway.
"Scragg!" Sighing, the silver gargoyle turned toward the voice. He had hoped to
avoid Gnarl today. His frown deepened when he saw Gnarl's mate, Brek, following
him.
'That piss bitch better keep her mouth shut..' he thought. Clearing his throat,
Scragg pretended to have just noticed the pair.
"Good evening, Shadowblade, sir."
"AND, Dragonblade." Brek inserted sharply.
"...and Dragon." He mumbled, deliberately leaving off the honorary 'blade.' Brek
started to growl.
"Brek," Gnarl said gently, "Would you please go pick up that message from Demona? I
need to speak with Scragg."
Brek knew he was trying to get rid of her because she hated Scragg. Smiling
dangerously, Brek swept past the two males.
'He's gonna pay for that one later...' Scragg mused silently.
"I've noticed," Gnarl said, interrupting Scragg's thoughts, "That you are not
getting along with all the members of this guild."
"Nope, can't say that I am."
Gnarl frowned. He never had liked the way Scragg chose to speak to him, but he was
an important asset...
"I normally don't care about personal differnces, but you've been bothering a lot of
people lately. For one thing, you need to stay away from Rath. He hates you, and
you're just gonna get your head bashed in if you keep it up."
Scragg frowned. He knew Gnarl was not really mad at him for that. Rath had been
breaking the rules, and Gnarl was a maniac about those rules. It was all because
Rath could be a royal pain when angry about something.
"Also," he punctuated the word to make sure Scragg was paying attention, "I don't
want to hear you using your rank against anyone again. I didn't create the ranks to
promote bullying. Understand?"
Scragg nodded, clenching his fists.
"Good." Gnarl then turned his back to the small gargoyle and walked away.
Scragg held in a low growl and stared at his leader's back. The black gargoyle
walked with a cocky confidence that grated on Scragg's nerves. Cursing, he set off
in the opposite direction.
He stopped when he came to the training room. The smell of blood wafted through the
door, but Scragg did not mind. It was not tainted with fear, merely hard work and
youth.
He stepped inside to watch a training match that had just begun. Justin, the tall,
wiry teacher was taking on a small brown female that Scragg did not know. He noticed
that she had fur, just like he did. Before, Gnarl had been the only other gargoyle
in The Craft besides Scragg that boasted a fur coat, and he was slightly surprised.
Scragg figured the match would not last long. Justin had worked hard to attain the
rank of Dragonblade, the highest he could get without challenging Gnarl, and he
always struck first blood against the Greenblades. It was just a way to toughen them
up for their tests.
The young gargress was very light on her feet, and Scragg regarded her with
increasing respect, especially when she managed to avoid Justin's swipe kick. He'd
broken many ribs with that move, but the female simply danced away from it.
'Well, she's lasted longer than most,' Scragg thought, 'But Justin doesn't get beat
very often.'
Scragg's mouth dropped open a moment later as the female advanced on Justin and raked
her claws across his chest.
"Very good, Aja. First blood is yours. It's been at least a year since a Green has
bested me." Justin smiled at Aja.
"Scragg," Justin called, "Have you met Aja?" Scragg shook his head and walked over
to the two. He shook Aja's hand but kept his eyes on the floor.
Justin clapped Scragg on the shoulder and laughed.
"Perhaps you two would care to spar? I haven't seen you on the mat in a while,
Scragg."
Grumbling, he glared at Justin. Aja laughed.
"Justin, surely you can do better," She said cheerfully, "This scrawny gargoyle is no
match for me."
Scragg's eyes met hers and began to glow white.
"Perhaps, my dear," he said angrily, "You would like to prove that statement out in
the ring."
He made his way onto the mat. Aja, still laughing, took her place opposite him.
"I should warn you, Scragg. I was bred to fight well."
He responded by growling and flexing his talons.
"First blood wins," chimed Justin, "Begin!"
Aja immediately leapt for Scragg, meaning to throw him off balance.
Scragg anticipated this move and shot underneath her while she was in mid-air.
Surprised, Aja whirled around to face Scragg, but he was not there. She looked just
in time to see him bearing down on her from above with his talons extended. Aja's
managed to grab his hands before he hit her, but when he landed he was still holding
on to her. They grappled for a few moments, but, to Aja's horror, Scragg was much
stronger than he looked, and he was stronger than her! Aja felt her muscles begin to
weaken, and before she could release herself from his grasp, Scragg had both her arms
pinned behind her back.
Shrieking, Aja tried to squirm free, but it was no use, her opponent was too strong.
She felt a scratch on her shoulder, and she knew she was finished.
Scragg released her, and Aja examined her wound. It was very small, obviously
inflicted to officially end the match. She had lost the moment she laughed at him.
Panting, she extended her hand to the smaller gargoyle.
He shook it, mumbled about it being a good fight, and stalked from the room.
"Don't mind him, Aja," Justin said when she frowned, "He's a very unhappy
creature."
"He fights like a demon..."
"Yes, I've never bested him in a match."
"Never?"
"Nope, never. He's a Hawkblade for good reason."
Aja was impressed. Today was the first time she had ever beat Justin, and a month
ago, when she first began her training, she was lucky to last ten seconds. To think
that this Scragg ALWAYS beat him...
"I suppose I've learned my lesson about underestimating an opponent, havent' I?"
She said.
Justin smiled.
***
"Thank you." Brooklyn barely heard Leah's whisper.
"Are you okay?" He whispered back.
"I'll never be okay..." She choked off the words with another sob, and Brooklyn
pulled her closer as she wept.
Finally her body stopped shaking, and Brooklyn felt her sigh. Then she gently lifted
his arms from her shoulders and pulled away.
Curious, Brooklyn watched as she sat down a few feet in front of him.
"I need to tell you something...something I've never told anyone before..."
She broke off her sentence. Brooklyn waited.
"What you just did for me...it was...something I didn't even know I needed. I
haven't trusted anyone in a long time, but I trust you, Brooklyn. This is something
I need to talk about, and you've helped me see that."
***
"Two years ago I had a normal family, I was living in a normal Florida subdivision,
and I was pretty normal myself. High school was boring, my friends were losers, and
I thought I was going to grow up to be a professional musician. I was happy, I just
didn't know it at the time.
My mindset was that of many sixteen-year-olds: my house is too small, my hair is
ugly, nobody likes me, I can't get a date, I'm fat, I hate my family, I don't have
any money, who the hell does Monica think she is, and so on. I really thought I
hated my life...that is, until it came crashing down on me two weeks before school
let out. Frantic to implement one more hands-on learning experience, my American
History teacher thought it would be a good idea to take the class to Washington D.C.
for a few days.
I didn't want to go, but my parents insisted on paying for it. They thought it would
be a great experience for me. The adults in my life were very big on
experiences...
So, I went, and I hated it. It rained the whole time, none of my friends came, and I
just knew I was catching a cold from the snot-nosed dork that sat by me on the bus.
On the last day our guide decided to take us to the National Cathedral. It was the
most beautiful place I had ever set foot in. The tour guide led us through quickly,
and then our teacher gave us an hour to explore. I went off on my own; I hated
everyone on the trip.
I let myself get lost in the place...I didn't really care where I went. I didn't
know I was being followed; I had none of the tracking abilities I have now. Demona
informed me later that she had been trailing me for weeks. I'm not sure how she
found out about me, but apparently I matched whatever specifications she had set for
her assassin. When I'd made it to a peticularly dark area of the cathedral, she
grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth with a wet cloth. I was out like a light
moments later.
I woke up in a strange place, but I couldn't see. Naturally I panicked and ran
around like an idiot, buying myself another ticket to dreamland.
When I woke up again, I was in another room, and I could see. Unfortunately, what I
saw was myself turning into a monster.
Then came the first time I actually met Demona. She was a human at the time, but I
soon came to know her as a gargoyle as well. I was scared of her at first, but when
she put that damn chip in my brain, I began to hate her with everything I had..."
***
Leah paused and Brooklyn looked at her.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
She nodded,
"This is where it gets tough," she said.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"Yes I do..."
Leah took a deep breath.
***
"She gave me my first assignment that very day. I was still in shock over my lack of
control. I knew I would do whatever she wanted, and it horrified me.
Before I knew what was happening, my body, which was barely my own anymore, jumped
out of a window. I wanted to shriek, but somehow I knew how to fly, and I knew where
I was going. That night ended up being the most horrendous night of my life.
When I got there, I knew they were home. My victims were watching TV in the family
room. It was easy to catch them...they didn't know what hit them until it was too
late. It was so easy for me to swoop in and duct tape the parents and the little boy
to the couch.
They were all so frightened of me, and I was shrieking and howling at them like a
demon...they...they didn't know who I was...I...killed my father first."
Brooklyn gasped.
Leah extracted her claws.
"I just took these and stuck them into his face...he didn't even scream...he just
gurgled and...that was it. Mom panicked when I did that, and I snarled at her. Then
I walked over to Jim..my brother..and bit off all his fingers, one by one..."
Tears were streaming down Leah's face now, but she continued.
"He and mom were both screaming, and I was laughing. I couldn't stop myself. I
walked over to mom, spit in her face, and plunged my claws into her chest. Jim was
the last to go. I made him watch our parents die; I smeared mom's blood on his face;
I made him ...I made him lick my claw before I shoved it into his eye...I...I'll
never forgive myself."
Leah took another deep breath and wiped the tears from her face. Brooklyn was
staring at her in complete shock.
"I..I can't believe she made you kill your own family...Leah, I'm so sorry I said
those things earlier..."
"Don't be." she interrupted, "It brought it upon myself, I deserved it..."
Brooklyn put his hand on her face and she stopped.
"You don't deserve any of this," he said quietly, "It's not your fault, and I'm gonna
help you see that. I don't care if it's the last goddamn thing I ever do."
***
Gnarl rubbed his temples in frustration. Demona was asking too much this time, but
there was nothing he could do about it. He picked up the phone on his desk and
pressed the page button.
"Raven, report here immediately." He did not have to identify himself. She knew who
it was.
A few moments later a grey gargress slid into the room and stood at solid attention
in front of Gnarl.
"Sit down Raven, I have an assignment for you." Nodding, the young Hawkblade settled
herself stiffly in a chair across from Gnarl.
"You are a very good assassin, Raven, one of my best. This assignment requires the
utmost stealth and secrecy, which is why I have chosen you."
Raven nodded again. Gnarl stared at her and unsheathed his metallic claws.
"I want you to catch me, Raven."
He was gone before she could blink. Realizing the nature of the test, Raven leapt
from her chair and concentrated on the shift. In moments she was the same color as
the carpeting. She could smell Gnarl; he was clinging to the ceiling above her.
Raven darted from where she first shifted and headed for the wall. The moment she
leapt on the wall, her skin changed to match. She closed her eyes. She could still
smell Gnarl, and his heart beat was quickening. She could tell from minute
vibrations in the wall that he was jumping about erratically. He did not know where
to go if her eyes were shut.
Finally he leapt close enough for her to feel the change in air pressure. Lunging,
she grabbed Gnarl and pinned him to the floor.
"Very good, Raven. You are worthy of my assignment."
Raven allowed Gnarl to stand up, and they both reclaimed their chairs.
"You have two targets, both gargoyles. One is a black female. She is very
formidable and posseses all of the skills and breeding that I was given. Your other
target is a red male. He does not have the benefits of specialized breeding, but do
not underestimate him. He is a seasoned warrior."
He showed her pictures of the two.
"I cannot tell you where to find them, but I must stress that this is a high priority
assignment. You fail, you die."
Raven gave only the slighest twitch at Gnarl's final sentence.
"You begin tonight. You have three days and nights to complete this assignment.
Report back then."
Raven stood and left the room. Gnarl shook his head and began to massage his temples
again.
'I'm not going to have anyone left in my guild when this is all over,' he thought
solemnly.
'Maybe Raven can do the job...'
He sighed and laid his head down on the desk.
'Good God...save me from this demon...'
