The large purple gargoyle smiled as his second came in for a landing at the castle, his clan was thriving. A few more of the children from Avalon had joined the clan in New York and within a year there might be a fresh crop of eggs. His old friend Hudson sat on a bench petting the guard dog Bronx, the oldest gargoyle had stopped fighting only a few years ago but his council was very important to the clan. "Goliath," Brooklyn said breaking him from the trance. "I need to speak with you, alone."
"Another attack?" Goliath asked as they went into a back room.
"No I have a message for you," Brooklyn said closing the door to the room. "From a woman named Arianna. She was at Elisa's apartment; do you know her? She said you had a mutual friend."
"Yes I know her," he stated as calmly as he could; "what was the message?"
"She said she was ready now. And if you would like she will be at Elisa's apartment tomorrow night ready to talk. Goliath who is she?" Brooklyn asked crossing his arms.
"Go get Hudson and then I'll tell you," Goliath said sitting down deep in thought.
Arianna hadn't slept again and you could start to tell that she was not sleeping at night, her color was starting to go. She had seen the Mazas and they had even commented that she looked like she needed some rest. Maybe he won't notice, she thought to herself besides it would be dark out. A now familiar swooping sound was heard and Arianna turned to the sliding glass door.
She could see an outline of the gargoyle, slowly she went out onto the patio to join him. "Goliath?" She asked carefully. He turned and caught her breath with his dark eyes but she quickly regained herself; "did you love her?"
"She was my mate," he told Arianna as she leaned against the railing three feet away.
"But did you love her?"
"I will love her until I am ripped from this world and into the next," he told her standing still as a post. "Why do you ask?"
Arianna sighed looking out over the city; "she was true to the end. Mother never married, never dated and never even kissed a man... Ever."
"It was very hard to get into Elisa's inter circle, and it was even harder to become romantically involved with her."
"Not for my lack of trying. After a while she simply told me no one could measure up to my father," Arianna couldn't look at him, she felt far to weak right now.
"Why are you telling me this?" He asked.
Finally she turned to face him; "you were the most important person in the world to her though we never talked of you. Mother always hid the things that were closest to her. I wasn't ready to speak with someone my mother regarded so highly. It had nothing to do with," Arianna grinned sideways; "our differences."
"So you feared me?" He asked solemnly.
"I respected you," she smiled.
Goliath nodded looking over the city; "when did she die?"
"A week ago," Arianna said which wiped the grin off of her face as she looked out over the city. She didn't want to talk about her mother; she was dead what more was there to discuss? He was watching her, studying her, perhaps he was the cop.
How would he explain everything to her? God Elisa, I need your strength, Goliath thought as he watched Arianna. She was avoiding his eye contact at the moment; for her Elisa has only been dead a week, for him it had been over eighteen years. She looked so much like his Elisa. How would he tell her about his relationship with her mother? How much did she know? How much did she know of the clan? Did she even know about the clan?
"Goliath?" Arianna asked breaking him from his trance concern was all over her voice.
"I need to show you something," he said picking her up.
"Um... all right," she said wrapping her arms around his neck.