A New Friend...

The star filled sky glistened above Manhattan, NY. The sun had been down for nearly an hour. Brooklyn, Lexington, and Broadway were just about to leave the castle when Elisa came up. Goliath asked why she looked so worried. Angela, Goliath's daughter, didn't like it when Elisa looked so concerned. Everything had been so quiet in the city. The humans were starting not to mind the shadows above them anymore... the only serious problem was Demona.
"Reports of gargoyles have been flowing in like crazy tonight. I know it's not any of you, it was too early for you to have been out yet when the first report came. I thought it was one of Xanatos' robots, but someone got a picture of it." Elisa showed Goliath the picture. It was a dark silhouette, but he easily recognized the figure.
"Demona." he replied half-angrily, handing the photo back to Elisa.
"Exactly." Elisa said.
"Where were the reports mainly from?" Brooklyn asked. "Demona couldn't cover the whole city in less than an hour."
"Actually, they're all from the Harlem river front, in a gang's territory. It's the gang that has me worried, not about Demona, but what she might find there." Elisa stated.
"Why? What's down there?" Angela asked.
"Not what, who." Elisa corrected, "A young girl, and not just any ordinary girl. She's the only one in the gang besides the leader that goes to the local high school. Not only that, but she'll be a junior this fall and she's just sixteen. Demona could use someone with her smarts against you guys since Xanatos isn't helping her anymore and Savarrius is nowhere to be found. This is really serious guys, this girl's not just streetsmart, she's also very strong, she's never lost any reported street fight she's been in, even if she fights a whole gang by herself..."
"I think it's safe to say we're in trouble." Broadway replied.
"We were just going out, maybe we can talk to the girl if we see her." Brooklyn asked.
Elisa pointed to a river in the east. "She lives with the gang called the 'Wolf Pack' in a warehouse base. The place has had a condemned sign on it for over three years, the demolition crew just forgot about it. That and they can't get the kids to leave. They actually fixed the place up according to patrol reports."
"Let's go." Brooklyn called as he went out the door. Broadway and Lexington followed.
"They'd better be careful, if Demona's been searching around that spot, it's likely she'll return." Goliath replied.
"You worry about them too much, I'm sure they know to be cautious when it concerns Demona." Elisa smiled. "If it makes you feel better, I'll check on them later." She went out to start her shift.

The trio glided down to the waterfront and looked around for the girl Elisa told them about. Brooklyn heard a noise and turned around quickly. He cautiously went over to a building and checked it out. Before he could peer around the corner, a girl jumped in front of him. She looked young, no more than 16, but she acted more like she was Elisa's age. Her silvery violet and black eyes seemed to flash lightning and her abnormally pale skin contrasted with the dark clothes she wore and her long, bone straight, except for her bangs, black hair. She held a bo defensively.
"Who are you?" she asked roughly, "Or should I say what?"
"I'm a friend... I won't hurt you." Brooklyn told her, holding his hands up in an "I mean you no harm" posture.
"You'd better not." she said and cautiously put the stick down. A howl came from behind the building. The girl called over, of all creatures, two wolves: a young, mottled female, not more than four years old, and a pure black male with a huge ruff, who was nearly a year older. Brooklyn backed up when the male started growling at him.
"Down, boy, easy. He's ok." the girl grabbed the wolf's collar and calmed him.
"Wolves in New York!" Lexington exclaimed.
"That explains the gang's name..." Brooklyn reasoned.
"How did you get them?" Lex asked.
"I didn't always live in Manhattan, I used to live in the Northwest part of Montana. I adopted the pups, they were orphaned by a hunter." she explained. "All he needs is to know you won't hurt me and he's as gentle as a puppy."
"Thank goodness for that." Brooklyn sighed. The big wolf came over to him and wagged its tail. "Hi, boy. What's his name?"
"He really doesn't need a name, he's partially deaf; the sound waves from the bullet that killed his mother shattered most of his eardrums, but my mother told me he should be named, so I called him Lupus." she told him. "It's part of his species' scientific name. The girl is Cana, it's kind of from the other part." the boys were amazed she knew so much. Elisa only said the kid knew how to survive, not that she could ace Taxonomy at sixteen years old.
"What's your name?" Lexington asked.
"Kyrana Kirri, but I'm usually called Kyra by my friends, unless someone's mad at me." she answered, muttering the last part.
"Kyra, I'm Brooklyn, that's Lexington and this is Broadway." Brooklyn introduced himself and the others.
"Those are pretty different names. What are you anyway?" Kyra asked, trying to sound as nice as possible. "I've never seen anything like your kind before. I've heard of them from people on the streets though..."
"We're gargoyles." Lexington answered. Something about that seemed to remind her of something, probably what she'd heard the people saying, but she didn't bring it up.
"A serious enemy is lurking around this area, Kyra, you may be in danger." Brooklyn added.
"Who?" Kyra asked curiously.
Brooklyn was just about to answer, when a loud voice called from the base. "Kyra, get over here right now or I'll come and get you myself!"
"That's Micheal, he's a real jerk lately. Even Cana hates him now and she loved him before. I guess I better go before he gets even madder." she said rolling her eyes and ran in the base. The gargoyles went back to the castle and told Goliath about the young girl they met.
"It must have been the girl Elisa was talking about, she could probably take me out right there if I hadn't let her know I was friendly. But she was smart like Lex too, she used sign language and knew the scientific name for wolf. She was brave, too, and extremely strong and agile." Brooklyn replied.
"How did wolves come into the conversation?" Angela asked as Elisa came up the stairs.
"She has two pet wolves, they're pretty tame once they know you won't hurt her." Broadway answered.
"Why did she need to sign?" Goliath asked.
"The older wolf is nearly deaf." Brooklyn told him.
"Then it's a good thing you reached her before Demona did." Elisa replied as she came over, "Wolves are harder to fight than people or other gargoyles. They have teeth sharper than knives and their jaws bite down pretty hard, and they're even worse if they can't hear what's going on, because they panic. He'd be a major weapon if Demona got her hands on him."
"Yeah, I almost discovered that the hard way, if Kyra hadn't stopped him, Lupus would have attacked me." Brooklyn told her, "And he looked pretty mean."
"Dogs protect the dominant member of their group, like how Bronx protects you guys. The equivalent goes for wolves, Kyra and the younger wolf are probably the only pack that big wolf has." Elisa replied. "He's just making sure he doesn't lose them to another pack, or to someone else."
Meanwhile, in the old warehouse base. Kyra was sitting in her room doing homework while Cana slept by her side. Lupus guarded the door. Suddenly, he started growling angrily as the door opened.
"What do you want Micheal?" Kyra asked impatiently, grasping her pencil in a way that would break it under more pressure, "I've got a history report due tomorrow and two pages left to write!"
An eighteen year old boy walked in. He had short, dark brown hair and dark eyes, he was very athletic and tall. He was handsome, but there were two things about him Kyra really hated, he was pure hormones, and usually cruel-hearted.
"You're always at school all day then you do homework and you always disappear at night. I wanted to see you." he complained, though it didn't sound like a complaint, he was rough and spoke harshly.
"You see me at school." Kyra said seriously, her eyes on the book.
"Yeah, but I'd rather see you now." Micheal said seductively.
"Not this late at night, bro. I know your tricks, I'm not leaving my room until tomorrow morning." she replied coldly, "Now leave me alone, I've still got a lot to write."
Micheal looked at Lupus, who was still growling at him. "Where have you been going, anyway?" he asked curiously. "To see Chris?"
"I don't think that's your business. Now go." Kyra told him. Micheal left and stormed out of the base. He was the head of the gang, but she had the real power, mainly from her strength. She’d always been a strong girl, even when she first came into the gang as a twelve year old. She could beat him easily, but preferred not to. She was respected for that.
"Lupus, come here." she called after Micheal left. Lupus could hear a little, but it was easier to sign.
The wolf glanced over and trotted up, wagging his tail. Kyra tied the piece of paper she was writing on to his chain collar and signed "Take to gargoyles, hurry." Lupus ran through the open door and out of the building. "At least now they'll be warned." Kyra sighed heavily.
Lupus searched through the city for Brooklyn and sniffed the air. Suddenly, he caught a scent and ran for the Eyrie Tower. Luckily, Elisa was visiting so when a guard aimed at him, he was immediately stopped.
"Hold it." Elisa stopped him, "I only know of one black wolf that would be in the city, and he's definitely not dangerous." She kneeled down to look at the wolf at near eye level, so not to intimidate. "Come here, Lupus."
"Friend of yours, Detective?" Xanatos asked.
"Not really. I think he's here to see Brooklyn." Elisa answered as Lupus came over to her. She led the wolf up to the castle.
"Hi, Elisa, what's wrong?" Lexington asked.
"Nothing, at least I don't think so. Someone came to visit you guys." Elisa told him.
"Who?" Brooklyn asked.
"You'll see." Elisa answered. She waved and Lupus came outside.
"Wow!" Angela exclaimed.
"Hey, it's Lupus!" Brooklyn exclaimed. "How did he find us?"
"I guess he followed the scent trail you left in the air when you came back." Elisa guessed.
"Hey, what's this?" Brooklyn asked as he took the note off Lupus' collar.
"Oh, the note, it must be from Kyra." Elisa answered.
Brooklyn read the note:

I'm getting suspicious of Micheal, he should've seen you with me, but so far he
hasn't said a thing. I disappeared every night before I met you to see my boyfriend. If
Micheal wanted to let me know he saw you he would have asked if I had gone to see you
all those times. I think he may be an unknown enemy of yours.
Kyra

Brooklyn wrote on the back of the note and tied it to Lupus' collar. "Make sure Kyra gets this, Elisa." he said. Elisa led Lupus out and he ran back to the gang's warehouse to give Kyra the letter.

When Lupus got back to Kyra’s room, she read the note Brooklyn wrote her. It said that he would meet her on a rooftop tomorrow night, and the address of the rooftop. She hid the note, then put Lupus and Cana on leashes and took them to Central Park. Kyra could easily take them outside for walks, people thought Lupus was a black German Shepherd and they thought Cana was a Malamute. Goes to show you how easy it is to fool humans.
Kyra was very cautious as she walked through the park. There was still a few hours of dark left and Brooklyn's note also warned her of Demona. As long as it was dark, she knew she was in danger. Lupus stopped right in his tracks, growling.
"What's wrong boy?" Kyra asked. Lupus looked up at the sky. "Something up there you don't like?"
Just then, Cana started whining and pulling back. There must be something really bad up there. Kyra thought. She stared hard at the sky and finally saw what was bothering Lupus. An object was gliding across the sky. She knew it couldn't be Brooklyn or the one of the other two she'd met, they weren't as big as this one.
"It's heading for the base." Kyra gasped and ran back to the base with Lupus and Cana very far in front of her.
Kyra got there just a few moments before the strange creature in the sky did. She hid behind some crates and carefully studied every movement it made. When it landed, she saw that it was a gargoyle, like Brooklyn and the others. Kyra figured from Lupus' growling that she was Demona. Kyra used her secret entrance in the back to get in without Micheal knowing and listened in on the conversation to find out why Demona was there.
“The clan was here? I thought I told you to have your gang shoot them on sight!” Demona growled. "The plan won't work if they're around here too much!"
Kyra decided to sneak back out right then and there. She snuck out and ran from the hideout. She called Lupus and Cana over to her quietly.
"Lupus, where did you go when you found the gargoyles?" she signed and said. Lupus seemed to think for a while. Then he started wandering back and looked around for landmarks. He recognized a building and ran to the west, so quickly she could barely keep up.
"That's it, keep going, I've got to get there before sunrise." she called to him. Lupus was tired, but he knew from the urgency in what tone in her voice that her could hear and kept going. Cana ran behind him. Suddenly, he stopped and stared at the Eyrie Building.
"They're in there? That place has better security than Fort Knox! I hope the friend Brooklyn told me about in the note is visiting." Kyra went in with Cana and Lupus close at her side. Elisa was just about to leave when the girl came up to her, Elisa recognized her from Brooklyn's description.
"You're Kyra aren't you? Why are you here?" Elisa asked.
"I have to see the you-know-whats, it's very important." Kyra whispered. Xanatos was right behind her.
"You have to ask him." Elisa told her, thumbing over to Xanatos, and she turned around.
"All right, but promise not to tell anyone where they are." Xanatos replied. "The entire city's hunting them because of someone's mistake, anyone finds out I'm helping them hide and my reputation's shattered."
"Believe me, I'm not telling anyone." Kyra promised.
Elisa led Kyra and the wolves up to the castle. Elisa went in first. She told Goliath that Kyra wanted to talk to Brooklyn about something important. Goliath was skeptical about letting her up, but Elisa promised that she wouldn't tell anyone where they were. Goliath agreed to let her come up.
"So, this is Kyra, you're right, Brooklyn, she does look like a strong girl." Angela said.
"You didn't tell me about her." Kyra said in a friendly way. "Or the others." she glanced at Hudson, Bronx and Goliath, making an almost comical effort to look up at Goliath.
"That's Angela, she's Goliath's daughter, Goliath's the big one. I'll tell you about the others later. What's wrong Kyra?" Brooklyn asked.
"It's Demona." Kyra said angrily.
"What did she do?" Lexington asked.
"It's not what she did, it's who she talked to and what she said." Kyra answered.
"What's wrong with talking to someone?" Elisa asked.
"Plenty if you're talking to Micheal and say to shoot gargoyles on sight. That's what Demona did." Kyra told her. "There are rules to life. One of them is, if you mix with one kind of people, then you're probably like them. I have a lot in common with the girls I hang with at my school."
"Kyra, you're jumping to conclusions about Micheal." Elisa told her.
"No, I'm not, Micheal has always been an arrogant, egotistical, selfish jerk who only cares about getting his way and not caring who he hurts on the way there." Kyra protested.
"Well, it certainly sounds like Demona." Brooklyn replied.
"That's not funny, Brooklyn." Angela scolded, glaring at him viciously. He looked away quickly.
"What if Micheal is like Demona." Lexington was worried.
"Then we'll handle anything he does like we handle her." Goliath replied.
"This could get serious, Micheal's two years older than I am." Kyra told them, "He's stronger and faster than me, at least as far as I know. And he's an adult by law."
"I think we can panic now." Angela said worriedly. An adult could get permits for weapons...
The sun started to rise over the skyline.
"Tomorrow night we'll worry about how to handle Micheal. If he is a threat, then it may be safer for you to leave before he finds out you know where we are." Goliath said to Kyra and went up with the others.
"You have no idea..." Kyra said almost regretfully and went back home.
Kyra went back to the base with Lupus and Cana. Micheal was standing by the door.
"I know you were here earlier, Kyra. No matter what you do, you can't keep their whereabouts a secret forever. You're not allowed to." Micheal threatened and went in.
So that's what they were talking about after I left, Kyra thought. Oh well, I'll sneak past Micheal tomorrow night. She couldn't believe Micheal had tried to threaten her, Kyra was a little inward with some people, but she wasn't timid enough to control! Especially by a guy.
Kyra went up to her room and took out the note Brooklyn wrote her. "Micheal, you forgot what I'm capable of." she said with anger, her hand closed into a fist, crushing the note.
She went over to an old looking carved wooden box in her room, all her most precious things were in that box, the things she'd been given as a child. she pulled out a shiny black amulet on a gold necklace chain. Her father's mother had given it to her with no explanation and told her to keep it safe and to never let anyone have it. It was for the first born descendants of the family only.
Kyra didn't miss her father very much. He and Kyra’s mother divorced when Kyra was a small girl, only 7 years old, and he took Kyra and her sister to New York after that, but when Kyra was 12, he died.
She went to a 'holding home' with her sister and they were fostered by separate parents while the government searched for her mother. Kyra was the first to be taken, and they didn't want two kids, "Too much trouble," they'd said. Kyra’s foster parents made her do every chore in the house, even though they had other children, and on top of that, sent Lupus and Cana to the shelter, saying wolves had no place in a home.
Kyra ran away, refusing to wait there to find anything out about her mother. She'd had the wolves rescued, and joined her friends for protection. Whenever she was alone, Kyra remembered the life she’d had when she had a real family out on the reservation. She missed that more than anything.
She'd joined the gang a scared child, now she was a capable teenager. She didn't need anyone, at least not the gang. Kyra had no friends in it except for the girls. The only other friends she had in the world were the gargoyles, her wolves, and, now, Elisa. Kyra knew she had to keep Micheal from exposing the gargoyles' hideaway place, but how?
"Kyra!" Micheal called.
"What?" she called back, irritated.
"Get down here!" It was an hour to dusk, there was only one thing he would want right now, and he wasn't getting it.
Kyra put her grandmother's pendant on for courage and felt something strengthen in her. She went down bravely and looked right at Micheal.
"What is it this time?" she asked impatiently.
"If you think you're going anywhere tonight you'd better think again, unless it's in my room." Micheal smiled in a way that sent weird shivers down her arms, but she ignored it. Kyra was used to his come-on lines, they'd been coming for a couple of years now.
"Not in this lifetime." she replied and turned her back.
"I've ordered everyone to keep you in." Micheal sneered.
"You belong with Demona..." Kyra said coldly. "I don't understand anymore why I ever joined you..."
"So you heard us?" Micheal paused, then shrugged it off. "Doesn't matter. Look, I've got to go somewhere. Don't try to follow me, because you won't like the outcome." he said sharply.
Kyra stared through him harshly. He looked away and walked off. Kyra looked up at the sky through a broken window. She wished she could be with her new friends. Lupus came over and licked her hand. She smiled down at him and continued to stare at the darkening blue sky.
That night, Kyra snuck to her secret way out with Cana. No one knew where it was, no one even knew that part of the base was there. Cana and Kyra ran to the rooftop that Brooklyn told Kyra to go to in his note. She climbed the fire escape up the side of the building. Cana waited patiently at the bottom.
"Hi Kyra." Brooklyn greeted her. She returned the greeting. "Has Micheal been up to anything lately?" he asked.
"Yes, I was right about him. He's on Demona's side about this. He said I couldn't keep your hideaway a secret forever." Kyra answered gruffly, she still hadn't gotten over his bossiness. "He forgot for a minute what I'm capable of. If I don't want something to happen, I don't let it."
"What's that?" Brooklyn asked, looking at the black jewel.
"This is my grandmother's, it's been in my family for thirty generations." Kyra answered.
"That would make it well over a thousand years old. I'm surprised it's still in such good condition." Brooklyn replied.
"There are a few scratches on it, but other than that it's just fine. There's something weird about it though, whenever I wear it, I feel stronger, like it's magic or something." Kyra told him.
"There's a book, called the Grimorum, it has information about all sorts of magic, maybe there's something about that jewel in it." Brooklyn replied.
"Do you know where the book is?" Kyra asked.
"Yeah, we've got a few pages from it, the ones with the most powerful spells and the real important information. The rest of the book was destroyed. Demona had the pages first, but there were so many powerful spells in them we had to get them away from her." Brooklyn answered. "If it's not in there, there are other archaic books in the library..."
"Good idea, there's no telling what someone like her would do with magic." Kyra replied.
"Yes there is." Brooklyn said, remembering all the terrible spells Demona had cast before. "Come on, let's go."
"I'll meet you there. Cana is waiting, I'd better go with her." Kyra said. "Don't worry, I'll make sure no one follows me."
"Ok, I'll see you in a few minutes." Brooklyn replied and glided to the castle.
Kyra went down and took Cana's leash. They walked cautiously to the Eyrie Building, Kyra went to the back entrance with the code Brooklyn gave her and climbed up the stairs. She snuck to the castle entrance and was nearly caught, fortunately, it was Elisa and she went with Kyra when she explained why she was going up to see the gargoyles.
Brooklyn brought Elisa the pages. She flipped through them and the trio looked though a collection of books. Lex called out when he found a page with a picture of a jewel that looked like Kyra’s.
"Here it is." he gave Kyra the book.
Kyra looked at the picture. It was her black octagonal jewel, in the same setting and chain... of course the chain wasn't so pitted with age. There were two other jewels with it, a blue triangle stone surrounded in olive-colored metal and a purple orb in a silver setting. There was also a fourth on the bottom of the page, many of the words were smudged with age.
"Yes, that's the jewel." Kyra said.
"Well, what's the story, why was it in the book?" Lexington asked.
Elisa read the description aloud. "The Jewel of Strength is the strongest magical stone in the world. Legend says that a nameless sorcerer mounted the stone into an amulet and gave it to his adopted daughter. The sorcerer told his daughter to keep it in the family by giving it to the eldest female child and that the thirty-first generation of the family was to use it to save the most precious thing the world had. Hmm, thirteen backwards, cute. It also says it joins with two other stones for ultimate power beyond mortal means but what they do isn't readable, it's too smudged, I can't read anything about them. There's also something about a curse."
"The final generation must be Kyra." Broadway guessed.
"Probably, but what would be the most precious thing the world has?" Hudson asked.
"I don't know, but if Kyra has a strong magic with her, Demona will try to get it away from her and use it against us." Goliath replied.
"And I don't like the idea of that curse!" Elisa sighed.
"I hope Demona never gets the other two stones." Angela said worriedly.
"Kyra, you look like Elisa. Are you a Native American?" Brooklyn asked.
"Yes, why?" Kyra answered.
"This book is from Europe." Lex answered, "It has Gaelic myths. France and Ireland."
"I'm only half Native," Kyra explained, "My mother was a Native American from the Kutenai tribe in the Rocky Mountains, my father was a Euro-American, but I never found out what country his ancestors were from. Grandma never told me. But she knew a lot of French and had an Irish accent when she sang to me."
"Kyra, when you get back to the gang's base..." Elisa began.
"I'm way ahead of you." Kyra replied as she hid the amulet in her satchel. "I'll make sure Micheal doesn't know where this is."
Kyra returned to the base and quietly crept into her room. Unfortunately, Micheal saw her. He went up to her room and peered in. Kyra was just about to take the jewel out of her black satchel when Lupus started growling. She took her hand out of the bag, smiled sweetly and kicked the door shut with a light roundhouse. From the other side of the door, Micheal jumped back and left, he got the hint. The door had just missed flattening his nose!
"Micheal's getting too suspicious. I have a bad feeling about where he went tonight." Kyra said. Lupus seemed to agree.
Later that night, Demona came to see Micheal. She asked him about Kyra’s jewel.
"There's something strange about that necklace. Whenever Kyra wears it her eyes show more confidence and strength and she seems braver." Micheal said.
"I have a feeling that she's told Goliath and the others about it already. If they know of its power we could be in trouble." Demona replied.
"What power?" Micheal asked.
"The jewel in that necklace has great power, it protects the wearer from harm and gives them immortal strength, though they supposedly keep their natural life. Nothing can penetrate its protection." Demona answered. "I was hoping she'd never show it to them..."
"Great, now there's no way to get rid of the gargoyles with the protection they'll have from that." Micheal replied.
"There is no such thing as "no" when it comes to destruction." Demona said wickedly. "I have a plan to get that amulet away from Kyra. Besides, it only works on the wearer."
Kyra took out the necklace and put it where Micheal could never get it. Right around her neck. She hid the flat jewel part under her shirt so it would look like a normal necklace, Kyra usually wore something around her neck anyway. She hid the velvet satchel to throw Micheal off the trail.
That night, Kyra went out. To make sure Micheal couldn't follow her, she ran along the riverbank, there was a wall in front and it kept her out of sight. Lupus ran alongside and kept an eye out for Micheal. When she was far enough away, she jumped over the wall and ran to see Brooklyn. In her rush, she failed to notice a figure looming above her.
Her suspicion finally persuaded her to look up at the dark sky, but it was too late, the figure had landed on another rooftop and was out of view. Kyra pulled out the jewel and held it for a minute, then hid it again and went on her way. Unfortunately, the figure in the shadows had seen it all. The figure, ineptly, was Demona. She glided off to the base, immediately going in to talk to Micheal.
"I still haven't found that necklace." Micheal told her, "Kyra must have hidden it somewhere else."
"You'll never find it here unless she's here as well." Demona replied.
"What do you mean?" Micheal asked.
"Kyra is hiding the jewel in the one place she would never let you look." Demona answered.
"Where would that be?" Micheal asked cautiously.
"One question, does she ever let you touch her?" Demona asked.
"Only if I catch her by surprise. She hates being touched by anyone..." Micheal answered.
"Then you may never get that jewel away from her." Demona replied, "It's right around her neck."
"On her neck!" Micheal exclaimed. "That's one part she definitely won't let me near, and neither will Christopher."
"Then I'll have to get it myself." Demona said.
"How? I don't think the other gargoyles will approve of you being within arms reach of Kyra." Micheal told her.
"I know, but they can't stop me if they don't know where I am." Demona replied wickedly.
A few minutes later, Brooklyn and Kyra were walking around the lake in Central Park and talking, with Lupus close behind. Kyra heard a sound and turned sharply towards it.
"Who's there?" she demanded cautiously. Micheal stepped from behind a tree. Kyra was visibly annoyed.
"What do you want?" Brooklyn asked suspiciously.
"I just wanted to make sure Kyra was all right." Micheal said innocently.
"Yeah right, Micheal, the only reason you're here is to get my pendant and don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about." Kyra said quickly.
"I am deeply offended, Kyra. I come to make sure you're safe and you accuse me of having no feelings." Micheal said sarcastically.
"Quit the act, Micheal, I'm perfectly safe with Brooklyn." Kyra retorted.
"Him? You don't need some creature of the night to protect you, what if something happens after sunrise?" Micheal asked. "You need me."
"The only thing that could happen after sunrise is you, and those over-driven hormonal boys in the gang." Kyra said angrily. "Besides, Christopher protects me during the day."
"Watch that attitude, Kyra, one day you'll be all alone and your friends won't be able to get you out of trouble." Micheal warned.
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Micheal, Brooklyn just helps me." Kyra told him. "I could beat you in a fight anytime and you know it." He knew it, Kyra could tell in his eyes.
"Maybe, but I'd like to see you defeat Demona." Micheal replied, smiling cruelly.
"She doesn't have to, if Demona attacked right now I'd help Kyra." Brooklyn told him.
"Besides, why would Demona want to fight me?" Kyra asked.
"She only fights if she wants something from someone else." Brooklyn added.
"Like the jewel?" Micheal hinted. He continued to smile decievingly at Kyra. She gasped in realization.
"You'll never get that! I won't let you near it." she exclaimed. "If you can find it," she added in a quick, angered attitude. "Which I doubt."
"I know exactly where it is, Kyra. Surprised? Next time watch the skies a little more closely." Micheal replied.
"Demona! Wait'll I get my claws on her..." Brooklyn was noticeably upset.
"You can't guard that pretty neck of yours all the time." Micheal threatened, "I will win, there's nothing you or your friends can do to stop me." He walked out of sight.
Kyra sighed, visibly upset, "He's never going to give up, and I don't just mean the jewel."
"What else would he want?" Brooklyn asked.
"Me." Kyra told him, her eyes diverted.
"Why?" Brooklyn sounded confused.
"After I joined the gang, I grew in strength and beauty. Some girls almost left the gang out of pure jealousy, then they learned I wasn't like they thought." Kyra replied.
"No one ever is." Brooklyn sighed.
"I've been trying to keep as far away from Micheal as possible." Kyra said abruptly.
"Why?" Brooklyn asked.
"Micheal wants me to be his girl, but I already have a boyfriend." she told him.
"We'd better get out of here." he replied, "Micheal might come back with Demona."
"I just can't shake the feeling that Micheal's going to find some way to get me." Kyra said worriedly as they walked on.
"Don't worry, as long as you don't fall for him you have nothing to worry about." Brooklyn assured her calmly.
"Me? Fall for Micheal? Please, don't even joke!" Kyra laughed.
"Come on." Brooklyn said and they raced to a safer area.
The next day, Kyra stayed late to practice basketball with her best friends, Kiesha and Kirsten. Kirsten looked exactly like Kyra, except Kirsten had one braid down her back, and Kyra wore a ponytail. Kiesha was an African American, she always had her hair in pigtail braids, one on each side. They had been on the team since they were freshmen. They were so good that every shot they made went in so the game ended in a tie. By the time practice was over, Kyra had just enough time to do her homework before sunset.
When Kyra finished her homework, she headed out to see the gargoyles. Micheal was waiting inside the main door.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"To see my friends." Kyra answered.
"What makes you think I'll let you go?" Micheal asked, grabbing her arm roughly. There was more than anger in eyes, there was knowledge. He was planning something, or already had.
"Because if you don't, I'll go anyway. You know me too well not to believe that." Kyra said defiantly and pulled away from him. "Besides, I'll be back in a few hours." she called as she walked away.
"I think you'll be back before that." Micheal said when she was gone, looking up at the roof and smiling.
Lupus and Cana started to follow Kyra, but she stopped them, signing for Lupus to stay.
"No, you two stay here, keep Micheal from following me." she said and went on.
Soon after, Kyra felt that something was following her. She turned around, but there was nothing there. If she'd only looked above she would have seen Demona and headed right back.
Unfortunately, she didn't and went straight on her way. Kyra realized her mistake too late and Demona glided down and grabbed her. Kyra fought the gargoyle, cursing and kicking the whole way as she was dragged to the base. Micheal came up to her, he took Kyra’s chin in his hand roughly, pulling her face close to his.
"I'm through playing around. Like it or not, you're mine." he said sternly. Kyra pulled her head back and Demona carried her inside. Micheal tied her to a beam in the middle of the main room.
"You won't get away with this, Brooklyn and the others will come for me." Kyra told him.
"I don't think they could do much." Demona said and snapped the jewel off the girl's neck.
"Now you can't do anything either." Micheal told Kyra.
"She's all yours, Micheal." Demona replied and left. Micheal untied Kyra.
"All I want is some information, then you can go up to your room, or mine." he said. "Where are the gargoyles?"
"I'll never tell you." Kyra replied and turned away from him. He grabbed her arm forcefully.
"You don't exactly have a choice here." he said threateningly and took her into his room.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn was getting worried about Kyra. "She must be in trouble!" he exclaimed and went for help.
Elisa was visiting when Brooklyn returned. "What's wrong Brooklyn?" she asked.
"Kyra didn't show up." Brooklyn answered.
"Micheal's up to something." Hudson said.
"But what?" Goliath asked, "Why would Micheal keep Kyra?"
"I know." Brooklyn said timidly.
"You sound concerned, is it serious?" Elisa asked.
"Kyra said that Micheal knows that she knows us." Brooklyn answered. "And Demona doesn't know where we are. Actually, if she knew we were in the castle she'd kick herself for being so naive, but the point is Kyra saw Micheal and Demona together."
"You think he would...?" Elisa started.
"Don't finish that." Brooklyn said. "It's more than that, he wouldn't kill her, but he might try something else."
"Let's go before it gets dangerous." Elisa replied.
"I'm going too." Angela said. She, Elisa, and Brooklyn left and headed for the base.
Kyra kept as far as she could from Micheal, but soon she was cornered. Kyra stood her ground, determined not to let Micheal get her without a long fight. Micheal knew she wouldn't let him come much closer and waited for the right time to
make his move. Lightning flashed outside, it only caught Kyra’s attention for a moment, but it was long enough for Micheal to grab her.
"Let go or I'll scream!" she threatened. "Everyone will know something's going on in here!"
"You aren't exactly in a position to make threats." Micheal told her. "Where are the gargoyles hiding?"
"I don't know." Kyra snapped.
"Don't lie, it will just make this more difficult for you." Micheal said and pulled out a knife. Ever since she was twelve, Kyra had hated that knife. He put the blade against her neck, "Now, where are they hiding? Tell me and I'll be gentle. We had a deal."
"Deal's off. I'll never tell you, no matter what you do." Kyra told him bravely. He knew her, when she talked that way, she meant it.
"Fine, have it your way." he pulled the knife away quickly, causing her to flinch, she held her hand up to her throat to see if she'd been cut. He smiled seductively. Kyra didn't wonder what he was going to do next, he was going to get his way one way or another, if he couldn't get information, he'd get lust.
Suddenly, the door burst open, Angela and Brooklyn came in. "All right Micheal, take your hands off her!" Brooklyn said angrily.
"Not a chance. As long as I have Kyra, you can't do a thing." Micheal told him.
Micheal failed to notice that Lupus had come in the room. Kyra saw him and signed for him to attack Micheal. Lupus immediately attacked and knocked Micheal down. He pinned Micheal to the ground, growling in his face, and did not move. Kyra immediately went over to Brooklyn.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." she said, rubbing her arm, Micheal had a strong grip. "You got here just in time." she sweetly called and signed for Lupus as if nothing happened. Lupus made a quick pit stop to pick up the knife.
Elisa walked in. "Did anything happen?" she asked.
"No, thanks to Lupus." Angela answered.
"You may have won this, but you haven't won everything." Micheal said, standing up. "Demona has the jewel. Now Kyra has no power."
"He's right, Demona knows how to use magic. She'll find some way to turn that jewel into a easy way to destroy us." Brooklyn said.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Kyra replied, "Magic has been in my family for centuries, remember? That's how I got the jewel. It's in my blood so I'm sure if I needed to, I could use it."
"Inner magic can be twice as strong as some talisman mounted a few millenia ago." Elisa said. "Demona can use that jewel as much as she likes, but Kyra has her own power."
"Just to make sure the magic is strong enough..." Kyra started, then concentrated on a rope in the main area. It flew across the room and wrapped around Micheal. He frowned at her, obviously angry.
"That wasn't necessary." Elisa told her and pulled out handcuffs.
"I'm only paying him back for tying me to a wooden beam an hour ago, he knows I hate that." Kyra replied and returned the confident smile he had given her when he'd done that.
"At least we know the magic works." Brooklyn said, giving in to Kyra and returning her smile.
Lupus dropped the knife by Elisa's feet. She untied Micheal and put the cuffs on him. "Let's go, Micheal. Next time, don't kidnap a gargoyle's friend. You'll get more trouble than you want." Elisa took Micheal out of the base and shoved him into the back of her car, still cuffed. Brookyn waited until Elisa drove off to speak.
"What happened?" he asked, "I know Micheal's mean, but what made him so angry at you?"
"It's a long story, you might not like it." Kyra told him.
"After seeing Micheal with that knife, I know I won't like it." Brooklyn replied.
"I'll tell you later." Kyra decided.
"Goliath was pretty worried about you when we left. He'll want to see if you're alright." Brooklyn said to her.
"The sky's starting to lighten, I'd better go tomorrow night." Kyra told him.
"All right, I'll tell him you're safe and that Micheal's not going to hurt you for a while." Angela said and headed back to the castle as the sky lightened.
"Brooklyn, wait." Kyra suddenly had a twinge of her conscience and Brooklyn stayed to listen to what made Micheal attack Kyra like that. It was an embarrassing story, but he swore he wouldn't tell anyone unless she gave permission.
The next night, Goliath was getting worried. "Where is he?" he asked. "How long does it take to stop one person from hurting another?"
"Pretty long, Micheal locked every door between us and him." Elisa answered.
"Well, you and Angela got here before sunrise. He should have been here too." Lexington said.
"He wanted to make sure Kyra was okay before he left her." Angela replied. "It was close to sunrise when we left, he probably got caught somewhere on the way home."
Just then, Brooklyn landed by Elisa. "Kyra's fine, she's looking for Cana, the little wolf just disappeared." he said.
"That's right, Lupus was there, but Cana wasn't." Elisa replied.
"She'll show when she thinks it's safe, she probably saw Demona and hid." Goliath said, "As for you, Brooklyn, you know you should tell someone if you'll stay somewhere else for the day."
"Sorry, I'll try to start home earlier next time." Brooklyn replied.
"At least you're safe, I was worried Demona might have intercepted you." Goliath told him.
"Demona will be a problem now that she..." Elisa started.
"Now that she what?" Goliath asked.
"Well, Demona got the necklace. We couldn't do anything, it was before we got there." Brooklyn answered.
"Don't worry Goliath, Kyra's still safe, she has her own power." Elisa said.
"What?" Goliath asked confusedly.
"Remember how Kyra got the jewel, one of her ancestors was a practiced sorceress." Brooklyn told him, "If one of her ancestors had magic, and it stayed in the family, then Kyra would have magic too."
"She's a natural sorceress." Angela added.
"Thank goodness for that, I hope she knows how to use it." Goliath said.
"Sure, she used it on Micheal, tied him up without even touching the rope." Brooklyn replied.
"I guess Demona's got competition." Lexington said.
"Yeah, she's going to be mad when she finds out." Broadway added.
"Then we'd better keep Kyra's magic a secret until we find out how powerful it is." Goliath replied.
"And it's a secret that will be very hard to keep, especially with Micheal having access to Kyra's room." Elisa added.
"But Micheal's in jail." Brooklyn pointed out.
"Yes, he is. But he didn't do enough to be in jail for more than a few weeks, at the most a month." Elisa told him. "No kidnapping charge because Kyra's homeless and no real witness to the attacks. His word versus hers and a slight bruise that could have come from anyone because she's got an allergic reaction to the fingerprint dusting powder."
"At least Kyra's safe now." Lexington said.
"Yes, but she may never be safe after Micheal gets out." Elisa replied. "If we don't get her out of there, when Micheal comes back he may do something even worse than what got him taken away in the first place."
"This time I'm not disagreeing with you about this." Goliath replied, "Kyra won't be safe if she stays there, we have to get her out before Micheal gets out."
"But where could she go? The only safe place would be an orphanage, and if she goes there, we'll never see her again." Brooklyn asked. "And she won't really be safe from Demona. Or Micheal if she's adopted."
"If she's not adopted, when she's eighteen they'll put her out and Micheal can grab her." Elisa told him. "But there's no other choice, we have to take her there."
"There is another choice." Goliath said.
"What? Where else could Kyra go to be safe?" Elisa asked.
"She could stay here." Goliath replied. "Even if Micheal found her, he couldn't do anything."
"I have to admit, it's a good idea." Elisa said. "You guys need someone to really guard you during the day, Xanatos has to work and Fox has Alex to watch... and Demona might try to attack the castle if she finds out you've returned. But do you guys really trust her that much already?"
"She seems safe. Kyra wouldn't be here all day anyway, she still has to go to school for six and a half hours. But Micheal goes to the same school, he might follow her." Lexington added.
"Kyra told me she almost always stays late for basketball practice or a game, since she's on the girl's team. Micheal wouldn't be able to wait that long, he'd be taken off school property or arrested for loitering." Brooklyn told him. "Besides, what can Micheal do? No one with bad intentions is allowed in the castle, no exceptions."
"Then it's settled, Kyra should come up here to talk." Goliath said.
"Remember, it's her choice where she stays, if she thinks she can handle Micheal, let her stay there." Elisa told him.
"Demona's a big threat too, so she may want to leave." Brooklyn replied, "After all, Demona can't get arrested for hurting anyone. You can't keep her in jail, it won’t hold her. She doesn't care that breaking out is illegal."
"Exactly, she may be safe from Micheal right now, but Demona will always be out there." Goliath added.
"Demona won't always be out there, Goliath, one day, you'll stop her for good." Elisa said and went down as the stars began to brighten.
If you're used to the way episodes run, you should have recognized the layout of this chapter (I hope)... This is the way I'll probably continue to write the stories, so I hope you like it... please send any flames, comments, suggestions for new characters to