Previously:
Return to Avalon
Kyra had defeated a gang, fought two of the strongest gargoyles left in the world, and she had gotten over the effect of two vampire bites (The third didn't count). There was hardly anything else she could do here that would interest her.
Brooklyn didn't want to see Angela and Kyra go, he would miss them terribly, and they would miss him and the others, so the trio asked Goliath if they could leave too.
"Are you sure it's wise that Brooklyn goes, lad?" Hudson asked. "What if he's needed?"
"I don't see why not. Being second shouldn't keep him from being with his friends. I doubt much will happen while they're gone." Goliath told him and the five younger gargoyles cheered as Kyra and Brooklyn 'high-fived' each other.
As Kyra packed to go, Elisa came up. "Hey, where are you going?" she asked. "Sick of Brooklyn's jokes already?"
"The trio and Angela are going to Avalon, and I'm coming too." Kyra answered simply as if they were going out to a picnic.
"You aren't leaving without saying good-bye are you?" Elisa asked.
"Of course not, we're leaving tomorrow night, you can come, if you'd like to." Angela told her. "Father's not going, though."
"Are you kidding, remember how long it took to get home last time? I'm not spending that much time away from Goliath." Elisa replied, "I'll go tell my brother and Matt where you're going, so they don't worry when there's no action. And don't worry, Kyra, I'll make sure Micheal doesn't find out. See you tomorrow night." Elisa went down to go home.
The next night, Kyra had her satchel packed with the few things she would need. Her jewel (for obvious reasons), rope (just in case), Fang's leash (no explanation needed), and food (in case they weren't taken back to Manhattan immediately). She also packed some meat for Fang, he was like his wild dog components, able to survive at least a week or two without food, but Kyra didn't want to take chances.
She pulled Fang's leash out and he promptly sat down and allowed her to attach it to the metal ring on his leather collar. It sounded with a click and he jumped up, happily wagging his tail, he knew he was going for a walk.
Elisa came up soon after, "My mom says to be careful if you get sent to Africa, there are poachers on the Serengeti and they might get one of you or Fang for the heck of it."
"Time to go, remember what I told you, Kyra." Goliath said.
"Yeah, for every hour of Avalon time, a day passes here." Kyra told him.
"Yes, so you can't spend more than a night there at first, I don't want Demona getting the city." Goliath replied. "Brooklyn, you're in charge of them, but let them have say."
"Yeah yeah, I know. Kyra won't let me go dictator or anything." Brooklyn grumbled and loaded his own pack.
"Goliath, relax, we were gone for months last time and Xanatos didn't even get one of the clan, neither did Demona. Of course she wasn't in Manhattan until we came back. Besides, the Steel Clan can take over for them." Elisa said calmly, "Now let them go. I just hope one of the Avalon clan doesn't find Kyra before Angela can explain her."
"Don't worry, I know not to fight any Gargoyles there, if I meet one I'll tell them I'm with you." Kyra said, heading off with Fang in her arms. He was only half a foot taller than a wild fox, so he was easy to carry, another reason why she chose to take him.
"How do you think Alex is going to take his babysitters being gone?" Elisa asked as Puck came out, holding Alex. The baby's cry answered her.
"Terrific." Puck frowned.
"I hope Oberon won't mind more visitors..." Elisa told him.
"He won't mind the Gargoyles, they have safe passage, that mutt could get zapped though."
"Over Kyra's dead body..." Elisa said and smiled. "Won't he mind her too? No sorceries save those of his hand, remember?"
"He won't mind her." Owen said then walked off.
"Why not?" Elisa asked but the human guised Child was gone. She huffed and glared. "...worse than Kyra about secrets."
The younger gargoyles all landed in Central Park and found the skiff Goliath had hidden when they finally returned home from the last trip. It looked like a miniature Viking's vessel.
"That won't hold everyone during the day..." Kyra frowned. "Better get another boat."
"There's one..." Lexington pointed to a small rowboat.
"That should hold you and Brook." Kyra said. "The skiff held Angie, Goliath and Bronx, I think Broadway and Angie should be fine in here with me and Fang."
"Sure... let Broadway sit with Angela." Brooklyn grumbled.
"Hush, jealous." Kyra said and punched his arm. "I'll sit with you sometimes if you want."
"Gee thanks." Brooklyn said and smirked.
"Do you still remember the spell to Avalon?" Kyra asked Angela while tying the boat to the skiff.
"As well as if we were still on our quest." Angela answered and they got into the boats. She recited what sounded like very archaic Latin and swirls of mist surrounded the boats.
"Whoa, that was weird!" Kyra exclaimed.
"You'll get used to it." Angela promised.
They were surrounded by mist for a few minutes, when the fog cleared it revealed a beautiful island. The gates were tall and wooden, beyond them lay pastures and forests, it was the most beautiful place she'd ever seen.
The weird sisters were guarding the island. "Welcome warriors, what is your business here?" Phoebe asked.
"We have come to see the clan, and you know very well that we are still welcome here." Angela answered.
"You four are, but that girl and the dog are strangers to this land." Phoebe pointed to Kyra as Fang growled. "The law of Oberon states no magics may enter here save those created by his hand." she added.
"My magic is natural, I can't leave it." Kyra told them. "You fully know that."
"We do not mean that, leave your talisman." Selene replied.
"How did they know Kyra has a talisman?" Lexington whispered.
"They are strong sorceresses, they sense magic." Angela answered.
"It has no magic powers except for strengthening those I have." Kyra told the sisters.
"Unless you have proof it belongs, you may not bring it past these gates." Luna replied.
"Then check it out." Kyra said, throwing the jewel to her.
"Are you crazy? They aren't exactly on our side!" Brooklyn exclaimed.
"Brooklyn, they're immortal sorceresses, they don't have any need for a girl's jewel." Angela told her.
The sisters examined the jewel, it caught the moonlight and gave a faint green glimmer. "Lord Oberon accepts this into his land, you may pass with it." Selene said and threw it back to Kyra, the sisters vanished as she caught it.
"Well, that wasn't too difficult." Broadway said as Angela steered through the now open gates.
"It could have been worse." she replied, "Much worse."
As the skiff touched the shore of the small lagoon on the other side of the gates, Fang darted off and his leash slipped through Kyra's hands. "Fang!" she called, "If I teach that dog anything, it's going to be staying in one place for more than a minute. I should go get him."
"Yeah, I don't think Oberon wants a stray dog running around Avalon." Brooklyn answered and Kyra jumped out of the boat, calling the hybrid wild dog as he ran farther from view.
When Kyra finally realized she would never catch him, she pulled out a whistle and blew it hard. That brought Fang to a stand still and he ran over to her.
"You dumb mutt, you don't leave the boat until I tell you to, and you don't run off in a strange land." Kyra reprimanded. He whined and she play-scratched his head. He chased after her back to the boat, but the gargoyles had already gone up to the palace.
Kyra decided to let Fang swim in the lagoon, he had gotten dirty during the chase. She ran halfway and encouraged him to jump in the water, once he had, he splashed around like a child in the bathtub. He looked ridiculous all wet, his thick fur was soaked and lay on him like the limp weeds from the shallow water, he really looked like a mongrel. Kyra laughed as he jumped and pounced on the weeds that drifted on the currents. She didn't know she was being watched, and that to the one watching, she wasn't welcome.
A young male gargoyle watched Kyra from the top of the cliffs that kept non-Gargoyles from getting to the palace. She's very pretty, can't be more than sixteen, but she's intruding, and I can't allow it. he thought. He kept his eyes on her as she called Fang from the water and he trotted reluctantly over. He shook the water off him, and on to Kyra!
"Hey, stop it, you're soaking me!" she cried laughingly. She flapped her wings once to get the water off.
"You've got to be kidding, Gabriel, that kid's no threat, she's obviously one of us." a female Gargoyle said, looking over the cliffs, "By the way, Angela's here, with three others."
"You're joking, why did she come back after all this time?" the boy asked.
"I don't know, but she wants to see you." the girl answered.
"Well, tell her I'll be right there after I take care of the intruder." the boy replied and the girl left.
"Fang, come on, we have to get to the palace." Kyra called as Fang sniffed at a rabbit hole, "That's probably abandoned." she told him nonchalantly as she started walking. He snuffed at the hole and ran over, his short thin legs moving in a blur. He jumped up into her arms and licked her face. "Eww, stop it, you already gave me a shower!" she laughed and put him down.
Fang ran over to the cliff's base and scratched at the side, he wanted up.
"All right, yeesh, you need to learn some patience." Kyra said, shaking her head and started to pick him up. Fang began to growl as a shadow passed. The owner of the shadow, the boy who had been watching, landed behind Kyra.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded.
"I'm Kyra, I'm here with friends. Now, who are you, and why are you asking me?" she told him with her usual attitude around strangers. He was impressed with her fast reaction, he could tell a warrior when he saw one.
"My name is Gabriel, and I live here." he replied, "Now why are you here?" he asked roughly.
"She's with us." Angela answered, gliding down.
"Angie! Where's Brook?" Kyra asked.
"He left right after me." Angela answered.
"She's a friend of yours?" Gabriel asked.
"Yes, we're very good friends. Why didn't you head to the palace when you heard I was back?" Angela asked.
"Well, you know I'm supposed to guard the lagoon." Gabriel answered.
"That is no excuse." Angela said coldly as Brooklyn landed. Obviously, she didn't like him ignoring her, they were probably good friends, after all, they'd been raised together.
"Gabriel, if the weird sisters let her in, she's not a threat." Brooklyn said and came over.
"Sorry, Kyra, instinct." Gabriel apologized. "Besides, you can't always trust the judgement of those three sorceresses."
"It's all right, I know how hard it is to trust people." Kyra told him. "Or whatever they are."
"Now let's get up to the palace and introduce everyone to you." Angela said and Kyra picked up Fang and took him up the cliff.
Little did they know that Gabriel wasn't the only one who had been watching. From the gates, Demona was spying, she had followed in a small dinghy and stayed close enough so that when Angela cast the spell, it hit her boat as well as theirs. She had plans, evil ones of course, for Kyra. She was going to make sure Avalon was the last place the girl ever went.
When the Gargoyles got back to the palace, Kyra was introduced to Princess Katharine and Tom. A young gargoyle dog ran up to Bronx and they played in a corner. Kyra told Gabriel all about how she met the gargoyles and why she was wearing a sorceress' jewel, the main reason he had almost attacked her.
"That's amazing, who could believe a young girl could have so many adventures in only a year." Gabriel exclaimed.
Brooklyn added, "And if Kyra wasn't so smart and quick she'd be gone long before we met her."
"Yeah, being in a gang does not have many perks." Kyra replied. "The guys don't learn their lessons very fast. One day they nearly get killed in a fight, and the next day they're after the same person again, which is usually me now." Fang started growling at the door, scratching and whining, he wanted out, something was there he didn't like. Either that, or Kyra shouldn't have fed him before they'd left. "I'd better take him out." Kyra started to get up.
"It's ok, I'll take him." Lexington went over to Fang and put the leash on with an echoing click. He wagged his tail as the little gargoyle led him out.
"I hope he'll be ok." Brooklyn said worriedly.
"Relax, the weird sisters wouldn't let anyone in that would harm us." Tom assured him.
"I don't know, like Gabriel said, you can't trust their judgement." Kyra said, looking at the door. She had a bad feeling...
An hour later, Fang came scratching furiously at the door, Kyra opened it and he ran in. Lexington was not with him. Kyra was worried, and so was Brooklyn.
"He must've run away again." Angela replied.
"No, Lex knows to hold the leash tight no matter what. Something happened." Kyra told her.
"How do you know?" Angela asked, "Lex could have forgotten to hold the leash this one time."
"I know because the leash isn't whole, some of it was cut off, actually, shot off." Kyra answered sadly.
"Shot off? By what?" Gabriel asked.
"Lazer beams, it couldn't have happened very long ago, the shot edge is still warm." Kyra told him, examining the clean cut, "Bullets would have frayed the leather of the leash."
"Demona, she's here." Brooklyn realized.
"How did she get in?" Gabriel asked.
"Who knows, let's just get her out." Kyra answered and had Fang lead Angela and her off.
"You sure it was here that Demona attacked?" Kyra asked Fang, he sounded a confident bark. Angela and Kyra searched for clues to tell them where Demona had taken Lex.
Suddenly, Fang started to sniff in a patch of grass, he moved around, his nose still to the ground, he had caught a scent. It led to a cliff and moved to the air, he raised his muzzle and growled a familiar growl, snapping as he jumped straight up. He "pointed" to a rocky mountain in the distance, it was dark and jagged, just the kind of place Demona would hide a victim until she could think of a way to destroy them.
"Good boy, Fang!" Kyra cheered, "Come on, let's go tell Brook, we'll need all the help we can get." Suddenly, Fang saw something and ran over to some groups of rocks in the meadow. He whined and pawed at the rocks. A faint blue glow came from a crack in the stones.
"I wonder what he found." Angela said and went over to check it out. She gasped as she looked down at the glow. "Kyra, you'd better come look at this thing!"
"What'd Fang find?" Kyra asked coming over, Angela put her hand in the crack and pulled out a glowing blue jewel surrounded by a triangle of olive green metal, it hung on a silver cord.
"It looks a little like your jewel!" Angela exclaimed. She gave it to Kyra.
"Yeah, the Grimorum page said my jewel's part of a set of three." Kyra remembered, "This must be the second jewel!" No wonder the weird sisters let mine in. she thought. "I wonder what it does." As Kyra held it, that jewel and The Jewel of Strength glowed at the same time. Kyra gasped, "Angela, check this out!"
Angela was starting to leave, then turned and saw the glowing. "Oh my gosh, why do you think they're doing that?"
"I don't know." Kyra answered cautiously, "Maybe if I put them together..." As she did that, the jewels glowed and started to shine with a pure white light. Angela shielded her eyes, Kyra did the same and dropped the gems. Strangely, two jewels did not drop, one did, a pure white jewel, it was blindingly bright, like a diamond or a zircon crystal.
"Wow!" Angela exclaimed, "That was weird."
"Yeah, but I bet this jewel has more power than both jewels did separately!" Kyra replied, "We don't have time to get the others, we don't even know if we're too late as it is.... Come on, let's go save Lex!" she grabbed Fang and they glided over to the mountain.
"I hope this idea of yours works." Angela said as they peered over a jagged rock.
"Shh, it will if you keep quiet. Do you want Demona to know we're here?" Kyra asked.
Kyra's plan wasn't really a plan, it was what anyone would do in that situation, one of them (Fang) distracts the captor (Demona), while the others find and free the captive (Lex).
Fang ran out into the open and started to howl and bark. He jumped up and scratched at rocks, knocking them down to the seeming to be bottomless pit. Demona heard him and came out and went after him as he ran down the path, she went right past Kyra and Angela and didn't even see them. Angela saw a small opening and went over, there was no light to see, and
there could be a crevice down there. Kyra used her new jewel to create a glow of light, it burst into the cave and showed solid ground all the way through, so they went in. Lexington was at the end of the cave, he was conscious and unharmed, it had to be a trap. Kyra ran over and untied him.
"Kyra! I was afraid no one would find me!" Lex exclaimed.
"Is there any trap?" Angela asked.
"None that I know of." he answered.
"That just shows how stupid you are." Demona replied from the cave entrance. Kyra whirled around quickly, her eyes glowed a deadly lavendar. "I was hoping Goliath had gone with you, but you and Brooklyn will do. Angela, get out of there, I won't have you die for this."
"I'm staying with my friends." Angela said bravely.
"No you're not." Demona grabbed Angela and pulled her out. "I'll get Brooklyn when he comes to rescue you, of course by then it will be too late." she blasted the top of the cave entrance just after Fang ran around her and jumped into Kyra's arms, growling. The entrance caved-in and they were trapped. Kyra tried digging out, but her claws weren't big enough and they weren't strong enough. Fang helped, but he was way too small to even move the smallest rock.
"Now what do we do?" Kyra asked.
"Hold our breaths, there can't be much air in this small cave." Lexington answered.
"I guess we wait and hope Brooklyn gets here and chases Demona off before we run out of oxygen." Kyra sighed.
Suddenly, Fang started barking and wagging his tail, either Demona had left, or Brooklyn was out there. Fang barked loudly and the rocks moved, but there was huge rock that try as he did, Brooklyn just couldn't move. Gabriel and Angela were there too, but even with their help, the stone was immovable. Kyra couldn't move it herself and neither could they, but maybe if they worked together...
Kyra had to act fast, they were beginning to run out of air! She made a beam of magic and made it go under the rock and wrap around it, it made the rock lighter, and they moved it with ease.
"Good idea Kyra, if you didn't do that we would have been trapped in here forever." Lexington said as they got out of the cave.
"Let's get going, Princess Katharine is worried about you guys." Gabriel replied. Fang barked and looked up at Kyra. "Sorry, she's worried about you guys and girl." Gabriel corrected himself.
"Let's go!" Kyra agreed, "I want off this cliff!"
"What's the matter, afraid of heights?" Gabriel asked.
"No, falling from them!" Kyra joked. Fang jumped up into her arms and she glided towards the palace.
When they got to the palace, Fang laid down and rested in a corner by Bronx. He was tired and deserved the rest. Kyra smiled as he yawned and opened his mouth as far as it could go. His muzzle was thin and long, like a wild fox, he had more fox in him than anything else. Kyra was kind of tired too, she rubbed her eyes and yawned, almost imitating her dog.
"Looks like Fang isn't the only one who needs to curl up." Lexington said, thumbing casually to Kyra.
"Kyra, you'd better get some sleep." Brooklyn told Kyra, "You haven't rested since last night."
"I'm not tired." she said sleepily.
"Yes you are, come on, we'll leave when you wake up." Angela said and led her to another room to sleep.
"Why does Kyra need sleep, doesn't she rest either side when the other takes over?" A young female, Ophelia, asked.
"Yes, but she needs to get sleep the human way or she gets cranky." Angela answered, coming back out.
"More so than usual anyway." Broadway joked.
"What?" Gabriel was visibly confused.
"Kyra has a short temper." Brooklyn explained.
"Even shorter than Goliath's some days." Angela added and smiled.
"Kyra told me about the vampire encounter." Gabriel said, changing the subject, "That must have really scared you."
"Scared her more." Angela answered. "She loves being mortal, it puts risk and challenge in her life. I think she's got a good idea, being immortal would be boring." Angela paused as Fang whined, he had woken up a little bit after Kyra went to sleep and wondered where she was.
"Kyra still reads vampire novels, but she keeps a silver cross handy and never goes out alone when she has to go near Kenny's lair." Lexington added.
"You mean the Vamp is still in your city?" Princess Katharine asked.
"Well, there's no need to kill him. As long as he doesn't bother Kyra, she can't bother him." Angela answered.
"He's learned his lesson, Kenny's not going to try to get Kyra's blood again." Brooklyn replied.
"Her neck still hurts every once in a while, I keep worrying that Kenny's going to find a way to get her." Angela added.
"Why do you worry so much?" Gabriel asked. "She's fine, her blood's so full of garlic Kenny couldn't get near her even if she let him. And that cure makes people immune, does it not?"
"She's my friend, Gabriel." Angela answered. "I'm sure right now everyone at home's worried about her, she's fragile, easy to kill, even if she won't admit it."
An hour or two later, Kyra had awoken and come in. Fang was wide awake and jumped into her arms, giving her a quick lick and scrambling away. He always acted like a puppy when he woke up.
"That's getting annoying, mutt." Kyra told him in a low voice, wiping her face. She smiled to show she was joking.
"Everyone is safe, but we still have a task to do." Gabriel said, looking at the midnight sky.
"Yeah, but Demona's tricky, I imagine it took quite an effort to get her off Avalon the first time." Kyra agreed.
"It did." Angela told her, "And now we don't have the Magus to help. I don't think I'm up to doing that much again."
"Maybe Kyra's magic can help, she can be stronger than Phalog when she gets angry, so she could be stronger than Demona when she's normal, and her magic is based on her strength." Broadway pointed out.
"That's a lot of maybes and coulds." Brooklyn replied.
"It's our only chance." Angela told him.
"We have to do this fast, if we don't get home within a month, Goliath will stress majorly. And I've already got a plan." Kyra chimed in with a mischevious smirk.
"She's pretty quick." Gabriel said, amazed.
"Sometimes her mind works faster than she does." Angela replied.
"And that's saying a lot." Lexington added, "Kyra's probably set a couple of speed records when there was trouble, too bad there wasn't the chance to time her."
"I'll sign up for track in college... if Demona lets me live long enough to go." Kyra said, "Come on, we've got to get Demona out of here before she causes damage."
"Before?" Lexington asked sarcastically, rubbing his arm where Demona had knocked him into a rock during their short battle. The bone didn't break, but it bruised, and the wound bled. Kyra had somehow known there would be battles and brought a first-aid kit, it fit right in her satchel. She immediately gave Lexington one of the small bandages when they'd gotten to the palace.
"Damage to anyone else." Kyra amended.
"Come on, let's get going." Gabriel said heading out.
"Hold it. You're about as impatient as Brooklyn." Kyra called, "You don't even know the plan!"
"Knew I forgot something." Gabriel replied.
"So what is the plan?" Angela asked.
"Easy, one of us baits Demona with a challenge, then leads her out into open ground with no cliffs so she can't take off. The others attack and the rest takes care of itself, once we get Demona out of here, where ever she gets sent to, she's their problem." Kyra answered.
"The bait would have to be faster, and more agile than Demona, that would mean you, Kyra." Lexington replied.
"Your plan kind of backfired on you." Gabriel told Kyra.
"No it didn't. I'm always the bait, I'm the most agile and the only one Demona will chase that she can't catch." Kyra replied, "Besides, I love running."
"The best part to lead her to would be the south side of the island, it's pure meadow with no cliffs and few rocks." Princess Katharine told Kyra as she went out to find Demona.
When Kyra got outside, she ran as far from the palace as she could. She didn't want Demona attacking before they were ready for her. As Kyra thought she would be, Demona was near the cliffs, keeping the wind at her back, ready to take off at the sign of any attack. Kyra saw her and ducked behind a rock. No sense getting caught before I have a chance to do this. she thought as she looked over the boulder. She ducked down again as Demona looked back.
Better take this slow and carefully. Kyra told herself. Then again, I've only got three hours before sunrise. She stood up slowly, and waited for Demona to sense the "intruder" and turn around, it didn't take long.
"You! Foolish child, do you have any idea what I can do to you?" Demona threatened.
"I think we're pretty evenly matched." Kyra said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Oh, do you." It was not a question, it was a challenge. It was said in a way that made Kyra doubt her chances for a moment, Demona caught the fear in Kyra's eyes. She smiled with satisfaction.
After everything that had made Kyra mature... the child's fear still remained. After all her years on the street defending herself, she still had fears. Kyra was a scared, helpless child, incapable of protecting herself for that one second. She was a frightened girl with second thoughts, a little girl that wanted to run back to Goliath, or at least Brooklyn, for safety. A girl without Chris...
The moment passed, though to Kyra it felt like an eternity. After the yellow streak shot through at the speed of light and left, her courage actually built up, and Demona could tell it. Kyra stood taller than before, as if Goliath had been standing beside her the whole time. Deep inside Kyra, because of everything he and everyone else had taught her, they were all there.
Kyra stared at Demona, challenging her courage. Of course Demona would not be undone by a child, and through the look in her eyes, had accepted the challenge. Kyra bolted off suddenly, like a gazelle that had just realized she was looking right at a lioness. Demona chased after her, but not on the ground, she followed in the air.
Go ahead, Kyra thought, You have to land if you want to fight, then you'll never get back up, at least not tonight.
Demona followed Kyra right to the meadows. She swooped down, to grab the girl and force her into air battle, but Kyra ducked.
"What's the matter, afraid to battle on ground?" she asked sweetly. "Finally realizing you'll never get me?"
"Not on your pathetic life." Demona snarled and dove right into the younger gargoyle. Kyra groaned and kicked her off. Demona landed head first in a patch of bare ground.
About ten or twelve yards away, the Trio, Angela, and Gabriel were gathering special grasses to make into a rope.
"Ouch, that looked like it hurt!" Gabriel exclaimed half-quietly.
"Hurt who, Kyra or Demona?" Brooklyn asked.
"Will you two keep it down? If Demona sees you, she'll know what's going on." Angela warned.
"She can't do anything, she's stuck on the ground." Gabriel reminded her.
"On ground or in air, Demona is a worthy foe, you have to watch your back at all times." Brooklyn told him. A slashing slap and scream of pain coming from the battle proved his point. Kyra was starting to let her guard down while waiting for them to finish.
"Let's get finished quickly, Kyra can't hold Demona off much longer." Lexington said and they continued gathering the grasses.
Kyra was really getting bumped around, but did the same amount of damage to Demona, so she didn't mind it. The slash came from Demona, but so did the scream, Kyra had hit her right back. She tried to keep Demona from escaping, she had her back turned and seemed as if she was starting to leave, while she still could. Kyra jumped at her, but she suddenly turned around, slapping Kyra with her tail. Angela cried out in fear and surprise, wide eyed and jaw locked. Brooklyn shouted in anger.
Kyra was thrown against the one patch of rocks in the whole meadow, her head hit with a sickening crack, and she fell unconscious. A little blood trickled from a wound on her forehead at the hairline (where her hair met her face), just an inch above her ear.
"Now! Before Demona does something else!" Gabriel yelled. They attacked Demona immediately. Angela had tied the rope into a lasso and caught Demona before she could escape.
"Not this time Demona." Broadway said angrily. He helped Angela hold tight to the rope, the grasses were so strong that Demona couldn't break loose.
Brooklyn went over to Kyra and picked her up. She was limp, but breathing.
"Is she..?" Lexington asked, tying Demona's arms.
"She's alive, barely, she needs urgent help." Brooklyn answered.
"Let's get her to the palace, we can take care of Demona later." Gabriel said and Angela finished tying Demona's arms down, so she couldn't try anything. They left Demona tied to a tree outside the palace, they didn't dare bring her in.
"This wound is bad, I'm surprised she's still alive." Princess Katharine said, examining Kyra's head. Half an hour had passed and she was still unconscious.
"Can she be saved?" Brooklyn asked.
"I'm not sure, she's lost blood." Katharine answered, "But I'll try." Brooklyn looked down, he noticed his hand was covered in blood from brushing back a stray hair.
Luckily, Kyra's skull was not really cracked from the impact, the sound was from a branch by the boulders that her shoulder snapped in two. All that she lost was an ounce or two of blood, it would take about one day, and maybe a night, to get that back.
Princess Katharine bandaged Kyra's head to keep the girl from bleeding more and she was left to regain consciousness. An hour later, she was awake and quite dizzy. Her body wasn't used to being in such pain and it hurt more than it would if that sort of injury was regular. The room was darkened slightly, to protect her eyes from the sunlight that now shone on the island. After being unconscious, eyes wouldn't like being put right in immediate sunlight.
That night, Kyra felt like herself and they left, sending Demona off in another boat in the opposite direction. Kyra had no idea where they would go first, but she knew Avalon would not send them right home, that wasn't its way. What she didn't know was that everywhere they were sent, she would have a major involvement in the trouble there. A mist covered the skiff, to keep their presence a secret from anyone on the water they were dropped on.
When the mist parted, they were caught in a violent storm, Fang fell overboard, but Kyra grabbed his leather collar just in time. Unfortunately, the collar broke and he fell in, yelping. Kyra looked into the disappearing mist, but could see nothing.
"What happened?"Angela asked over the roar of the storm.
"Fang fell overboard, I grabbed his collar, but it broke!" Kyra answered, her voice was drained a little by the crashing waves.
"Nothing could survive these waters, even Fang." Angela said sadly.
"I know, I should have put a new collar on him before we left New York, this one was falling apart." Kyra replied.
"Don't worry, I'll try to hold the boat here and you look if he's still swimming." Brooklyn told her.
"I doubt it, this current's so strong and there has to be a big undertow in this weather." Kyra said, but looked anyway.
The salt water sprayed her in the face once. At least she thought it was the spray, then realized it was too heavy. Hope started to flood as a dolphin's head poked up from the waves and squeaked a sonar call.
"It's Dulci! She must have been under the boat when Angela cast the spell that sent us to Avalon and followed us out!" Kyra yelled over the wind. Dulci had Fang on her back, Kyra quickly pulled him out of the frigid water and checked him. "He's alive. His fur's soaked to his skin, but he's alive."
"Keep a good hold on him." Broadway told her.
"No problem." Kyra said, ruffling Fang's wet fur, he wagged his tail and licked her hand. "Thanks Dulci, you'd better get under the currents before you wear yourself out. Don't come up until you need to breathe." Dulci dove under the waves and wasn't seen for the rest of the voyage, she was way ahead of them, checking for land.
The water started to calm.
If Dulci was under us and Demona was behind us when we left, what else came with us? Kyra thought. She could tell Brooklyn was starting to worry about that too. Perige flew around the whole city and was always near Kyra. Kyra had instinctively looked up at the sound of a bird cry, but it was only a tern, maybe a gull, it was too high up to tell. Dulci was the only tag-along this time, but now they knew that things could follow that they didn't want.
Kyra hoped they wouldn't, but knew they would be somewhere other than New York. It wouldn't be much of an adventure if they just went straight home. She had a feeling they were in for quite an adventure, maybe not as long as the others had before, but it would still have its exciting points, and its dangerous ones.
You know the drill, send comments and suggestions!
"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 look just like... like..." Kyra couldn't finish,
her sensibility couldn't take this heavy a load of weirdness.
"Like Goliath, your leader?" Phalog finished for
her.
Suddenly, Fang let out a deep throaty growl, it
almost scared Kyra to death. Fang hadn't even growled like that during
the first time she saw him fighting with Nip under Mikey's orders, something
big was out there, something big that he didn't like.
The new resident of the city, Kenny Dagger, was
walking on the other side of the street, he spotted Fang, then the chain
leash... and Kyra on the other end of it. My, isn't she a cute little
thing? Kenny thought, Just the sort of girl I've been looking for.
A gnawing thirst began to form within him, it cut off and his eyes narrowed
as the silver cross caught his eye. The glimmer it set off set him off
and walking, he didn't want to get too close to her now. He couldn't anyway,
not with the pure silver holy talisman hanging around her neck.
Return to Avalon
Kyra had defeated a gang, fought two of the strongest gargoyles left in the world, and she had gotten over the effect of two vampire bites (The third didn't count). There was hardly anything else she could do here that would interest her.
Brooklyn didn't want to see Angela and Kyra go, he would miss them terribly, and they would miss him and the others, so the trio asked Goliath if they could leave too.
"Are you sure it's wise that Brooklyn goes, lad?" Hudson asked. "What if he's needed?"
"I don't see why not. Being second shouldn't keep him from being with his friends. I doubt much will happen while they're gone." Goliath told him and the five younger gargoyles cheered as Kyra and Brooklyn 'high-fived' each other.
As Kyra packed to go, Elisa came up. "Hey, where are you going?" she asked. "Sick of Brooklyn's jokes already?"
"The trio and Angela are going to Avalon, and I'm coming too." Kyra answered simply as if they were going out to a picnic.
"You aren't leaving without saying good-bye are you?" Elisa asked.
"Of course not, we're leaving tomorrow night, you can come, if you'd like to." Angela told her. "Father's not going, though."
"Are you kidding, remember how long it took to get home last time? I'm not spending that much time away from Goliath." Elisa replied, "I'll go tell my brother and Matt where you're going, so they don't worry when there's no action. And don't worry, Kyra, I'll make sure Micheal doesn't find out. See you tomorrow night." Elisa went down to go home.
The next night, Kyra had her satchel packed with the few things she would need. Her jewel (for obvious reasons), rope (just in case), Fang's leash (no explanation needed), and food (in case they weren't taken back to Manhattan immediately). She also packed some meat for Fang, he was like his wild dog components, able to survive at least a week or two without food, but Kyra didn't want to take chances.
She pulled Fang's leash out and he promptly sat down and allowed her to attach it to the metal ring on his leather collar. It sounded with a click and he jumped up, happily wagging his tail, he knew he was going for a walk.
Elisa came up soon after, "My mom says to be careful if you get sent to Africa, there are poachers on the Serengeti and they might get one of you or Fang for the heck of it."
"Time to go, remember what I told you, Kyra." Goliath said.
"Yeah, for every hour of Avalon time, a day passes here." Kyra told him.
"Yes, so you can't spend more than a night there at first, I don't want Demona getting the city." Goliath replied. "Brooklyn, you're in charge of them, but let them have say."
"Yeah yeah, I know. Kyra won't let me go dictator or anything." Brooklyn grumbled and loaded his own pack.
"Goliath, relax, we were gone for months last time and Xanatos didn't even get one of the clan, neither did Demona. Of course she wasn't in Manhattan until we came back. Besides, the Steel Clan can take over for them." Elisa said calmly, "Now let them go. I just hope one of the Avalon clan doesn't find Kyra before Angela can explain her."
"Don't worry, I know not to fight any Gargoyles there, if I meet one I'll tell them I'm with you." Kyra said, heading off with Fang in her arms. He was only half a foot taller than a wild fox, so he was easy to carry, another reason why she chose to take him.
"How do you think Alex is going to take his babysitters being gone?" Elisa asked as Puck came out, holding Alex. The baby's cry answered her.
"Terrific." Puck frowned.
"I hope Oberon won't mind more visitors..." Elisa told him.
"He won't mind the Gargoyles, they have safe passage, that mutt could get zapped though."
"Over Kyra's dead body..." Elisa said and smiled. "Won't he mind her too? No sorceries save those of his hand, remember?"
"He won't mind her." Owen said then walked off.
"Why not?" Elisa asked but the human guised Child was gone. She huffed and glared. "...worse than Kyra about secrets."
The younger gargoyles all landed in Central Park and found the skiff Goliath had hidden when they finally returned home from the last trip. It looked like a miniature Viking's vessel.
"That won't hold everyone during the day..." Kyra frowned. "Better get another boat."
"There's one..." Lexington pointed to a small rowboat.
"That should hold you and Brook." Kyra said. "The skiff held Angie, Goliath and Bronx, I think Broadway and Angie should be fine in here with me and Fang."
"Sure... let Broadway sit with Angela." Brooklyn grumbled.
"Hush, jealous." Kyra said and punched his arm. "I'll sit with you sometimes if you want."
"Gee thanks." Brooklyn said and smirked.
"Do you still remember the spell to Avalon?" Kyra asked Angela while tying the boat to the skiff.
"As well as if we were still on our quest." Angela answered and they got into the boats. She recited what sounded like very archaic Latin and swirls of mist surrounded the boats.
"Whoa, that was weird!" Kyra exclaimed.
"You'll get used to it." Angela promised.
They were surrounded by mist for a few minutes, when the fog cleared it revealed a beautiful island. The gates were tall and wooden, beyond them lay pastures and forests, it was the most beautiful place she'd ever seen.
The weird sisters were guarding the island. "Welcome warriors, what is your business here?" Phoebe asked.
"We have come to see the clan, and you know very well that we are still welcome here." Angela answered.
"You four are, but that girl and the dog are strangers to this land." Phoebe pointed to Kyra as Fang growled. "The law of Oberon states no magics may enter here save those created by his hand." she added.
"My magic is natural, I can't leave it." Kyra told them. "You fully know that."
"We do not mean that, leave your talisman." Selene replied.
"How did they know Kyra has a talisman?" Lexington whispered.
"They are strong sorceresses, they sense magic." Angela answered.
"It has no magic powers except for strengthening those I have." Kyra told the sisters.
"Unless you have proof it belongs, you may not bring it past these gates." Luna replied.
"Then check it out." Kyra said, throwing the jewel to her.
"Are you crazy? They aren't exactly on our side!" Brooklyn exclaimed.
"Brooklyn, they're immortal sorceresses, they don't have any need for a girl's jewel." Angela told her.
The sisters examined the jewel, it caught the moonlight and gave a faint green glimmer. "Lord Oberon accepts this into his land, you may pass with it." Selene said and threw it back to Kyra, the sisters vanished as she caught it.
"Well, that wasn't too difficult." Broadway said as Angela steered through the now open gates.
"It could have been worse." she replied, "Much worse."
As the skiff touched the shore of the small lagoon on the other side of the gates, Fang darted off and his leash slipped through Kyra's hands. "Fang!" she called, "If I teach that dog anything, it's going to be staying in one place for more than a minute. I should go get him."
"Yeah, I don't think Oberon wants a stray dog running around Avalon." Brooklyn answered and Kyra jumped out of the boat, calling the hybrid wild dog as he ran farther from view.
When Kyra finally realized she would never catch him, she pulled out a whistle and blew it hard. That brought Fang to a stand still and he ran over to her.
"You dumb mutt, you don't leave the boat until I tell you to, and you don't run off in a strange land." Kyra reprimanded. He whined and she play-scratched his head. He chased after her back to the boat, but the gargoyles had already gone up to the palace.
Kyra decided to let Fang swim in the lagoon, he had gotten dirty during the chase. She ran halfway and encouraged him to jump in the water, once he had, he splashed around like a child in the bathtub. He looked ridiculous all wet, his thick fur was soaked and lay on him like the limp weeds from the shallow water, he really looked like a mongrel. Kyra laughed as he jumped and pounced on the weeds that drifted on the currents. She didn't know she was being watched, and that to the one watching, she wasn't welcome.
A young male gargoyle watched Kyra from the top of the cliffs that kept non-Gargoyles from getting to the palace. She's very pretty, can't be more than sixteen, but she's intruding, and I can't allow it. he thought. He kept his eyes on her as she called Fang from the water and he trotted reluctantly over. He shook the water off him, and on to Kyra!
"Hey, stop it, you're soaking me!" she cried laughingly. She flapped her wings once to get the water off.
"You've got to be kidding, Gabriel, that kid's no threat, she's obviously one of us." a female Gargoyle said, looking over the cliffs, "By the way, Angela's here, with three others."
"You're joking, why did she come back after all this time?" the boy asked.
"I don't know, but she wants to see you." the girl answered.
"Well, tell her I'll be right there after I take care of the intruder." the boy replied and the girl left.
"Fang, come on, we have to get to the palace." Kyra called as Fang sniffed at a rabbit hole, "That's probably abandoned." she told him nonchalantly as she started walking. He snuffed at the hole and ran over, his short thin legs moving in a blur. He jumped up into her arms and licked her face. "Eww, stop it, you already gave me a shower!" she laughed and put him down.
Fang ran over to the cliff's base and scratched at the side, he wanted up.
"All right, yeesh, you need to learn some patience." Kyra said, shaking her head and started to pick him up. Fang began to growl as a shadow passed. The owner of the shadow, the boy who had been watching, landed behind Kyra.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded.
"I'm Kyra, I'm here with friends. Now, who are you, and why are you asking me?" she told him with her usual attitude around strangers. He was impressed with her fast reaction, he could tell a warrior when he saw one.
"My name is Gabriel, and I live here." he replied, "Now why are you here?" he asked roughly.
"She's with us." Angela answered, gliding down.
"Angie! Where's Brook?" Kyra asked.
"He left right after me." Angela answered.
"She's a friend of yours?" Gabriel asked.
"Yes, we're very good friends. Why didn't you head to the palace when you heard I was back?" Angela asked.
"Well, you know I'm supposed to guard the lagoon." Gabriel answered.
"That is no excuse." Angela said coldly as Brooklyn landed. Obviously, she didn't like him ignoring her, they were probably good friends, after all, they'd been raised together.
"Gabriel, if the weird sisters let her in, she's not a threat." Brooklyn said and came over.
"Sorry, Kyra, instinct." Gabriel apologized. "Besides, you can't always trust the judgement of those three sorceresses."
"It's all right, I know how hard it is to trust people." Kyra told him. "Or whatever they are."
"Now let's get up to the palace and introduce everyone to you." Angela said and Kyra picked up Fang and took him up the cliff.
Little did they know that Gabriel wasn't the only one who had been watching. From the gates, Demona was spying, she had followed in a small dinghy and stayed close enough so that when Angela cast the spell, it hit her boat as well as theirs. She had plans, evil ones of course, for Kyra. She was going to make sure Avalon was the last place the girl ever went.
When the Gargoyles got back to the palace, Kyra was introduced to Princess Katharine and Tom. A young gargoyle dog ran up to Bronx and they played in a corner. Kyra told Gabriel all about how she met the gargoyles and why she was wearing a sorceress' jewel, the main reason he had almost attacked her.
"That's amazing, who could believe a young girl could have so many adventures in only a year." Gabriel exclaimed.
Brooklyn added, "And if Kyra wasn't so smart and quick she'd be gone long before we met her."
"Yeah, being in a gang does not have many perks." Kyra replied. "The guys don't learn their lessons very fast. One day they nearly get killed in a fight, and the next day they're after the same person again, which is usually me now." Fang started growling at the door, scratching and whining, he wanted out, something was there he didn't like. Either that, or Kyra shouldn't have fed him before they'd left. "I'd better take him out." Kyra started to get up.
"It's ok, I'll take him." Lexington went over to Fang and put the leash on with an echoing click. He wagged his tail as the little gargoyle led him out.
"I hope he'll be ok." Brooklyn said worriedly.
"Relax, the weird sisters wouldn't let anyone in that would harm us." Tom assured him.
"I don't know, like Gabriel said, you can't trust their judgement." Kyra said, looking at the door. She had a bad feeling...
An hour later, Fang came scratching furiously at the door, Kyra opened it and he ran in. Lexington was not with him. Kyra was worried, and so was Brooklyn.
"He must've run away again." Angela replied.
"No, Lex knows to hold the leash tight no matter what. Something happened." Kyra told her.
"How do you know?" Angela asked, "Lex could have forgotten to hold the leash this one time."
"I know because the leash isn't whole, some of it was cut off, actually, shot off." Kyra answered sadly.
"Shot off? By what?" Gabriel asked.
"Lazer beams, it couldn't have happened very long ago, the shot edge is still warm." Kyra told him, examining the clean cut, "Bullets would have frayed the leather of the leash."
"Demona, she's here." Brooklyn realized.
"How did she get in?" Gabriel asked.
"Who knows, let's just get her out." Kyra answered and had Fang lead Angela and her off.
"You sure it was here that Demona attacked?" Kyra asked Fang, he sounded a confident bark. Angela and Kyra searched for clues to tell them where Demona had taken Lex.
Suddenly, Fang started to sniff in a patch of grass, he moved around, his nose still to the ground, he had caught a scent. It led to a cliff and moved to the air, he raised his muzzle and growled a familiar growl, snapping as he jumped straight up. He "pointed" to a rocky mountain in the distance, it was dark and jagged, just the kind of place Demona would hide a victim until she could think of a way to destroy them.
"Good boy, Fang!" Kyra cheered, "Come on, let's go tell Brook, we'll need all the help we can get." Suddenly, Fang saw something and ran over to some groups of rocks in the meadow. He whined and pawed at the rocks. A faint blue glow came from a crack in the stones.
"I wonder what he found." Angela said and went over to check it out. She gasped as she looked down at the glow. "Kyra, you'd better come look at this thing!"
"What'd Fang find?" Kyra asked coming over, Angela put her hand in the crack and pulled out a glowing blue jewel surrounded by a triangle of olive green metal, it hung on a silver cord.
"It looks a little like your jewel!" Angela exclaimed. She gave it to Kyra.
"Yeah, the Grimorum page said my jewel's part of a set of three." Kyra remembered, "This must be the second jewel!" No wonder the weird sisters let mine in. she thought. "I wonder what it does." As Kyra held it, that jewel and The Jewel of Strength glowed at the same time. Kyra gasped, "Angela, check this out!"
Angela was starting to leave, then turned and saw the glowing. "Oh my gosh, why do you think they're doing that?"
"I don't know." Kyra answered cautiously, "Maybe if I put them together..." As she did that, the jewels glowed and started to shine with a pure white light. Angela shielded her eyes, Kyra did the same and dropped the gems. Strangely, two jewels did not drop, one did, a pure white jewel, it was blindingly bright, like a diamond or a zircon crystal.
"Wow!" Angela exclaimed, "That was weird."
"Yeah, but I bet this jewel has more power than both jewels did separately!" Kyra replied, "We don't have time to get the others, we don't even know if we're too late as it is.... Come on, let's go save Lex!" she grabbed Fang and they glided over to the mountain.
"I hope this idea of yours works." Angela said as they peered over a jagged rock.
"Shh, it will if you keep quiet. Do you want Demona to know we're here?" Kyra asked.
Kyra's plan wasn't really a plan, it was what anyone would do in that situation, one of them (Fang) distracts the captor (Demona), while the others find and free the captive (Lex).
Fang ran out into the open and started to howl and bark. He jumped up and scratched at rocks, knocking them down to the seeming to be bottomless pit. Demona heard him and came out and went after him as he ran down the path, she went right past Kyra and Angela and didn't even see them. Angela saw a small opening and went over, there was no light to see, and
there could be a crevice down there. Kyra used her new jewel to create a glow of light, it burst into the cave and showed solid ground all the way through, so they went in. Lexington was at the end of the cave, he was conscious and unharmed, it had to be a trap. Kyra ran over and untied him.
"Kyra! I was afraid no one would find me!" Lex exclaimed.
"Is there any trap?" Angela asked.
"None that I know of." he answered.
"That just shows how stupid you are." Demona replied from the cave entrance. Kyra whirled around quickly, her eyes glowed a deadly lavendar. "I was hoping Goliath had gone with you, but you and Brooklyn will do. Angela, get out of there, I won't have you die for this."
"I'm staying with my friends." Angela said bravely.
"No you're not." Demona grabbed Angela and pulled her out. "I'll get Brooklyn when he comes to rescue you, of course by then it will be too late." she blasted the top of the cave entrance just after Fang ran around her and jumped into Kyra's arms, growling. The entrance caved-in and they were trapped. Kyra tried digging out, but her claws weren't big enough and they weren't strong enough. Fang helped, but he was way too small to even move the smallest rock.
"Now what do we do?" Kyra asked.
"Hold our breaths, there can't be much air in this small cave." Lexington answered.
"I guess we wait and hope Brooklyn gets here and chases Demona off before we run out of oxygen." Kyra sighed.
Suddenly, Fang started barking and wagging his tail, either Demona had left, or Brooklyn was out there. Fang barked loudly and the rocks moved, but there was huge rock that try as he did, Brooklyn just couldn't move. Gabriel and Angela were there too, but even with their help, the stone was immovable. Kyra couldn't move it herself and neither could they, but maybe if they worked together...
Kyra had to act fast, they were beginning to run out of air! She made a beam of magic and made it go under the rock and wrap around it, it made the rock lighter, and they moved it with ease.
"Good idea Kyra, if you didn't do that we would have been trapped in here forever." Lexington said as they got out of the cave.
"Let's get going, Princess Katharine is worried about you guys." Gabriel replied. Fang barked and looked up at Kyra. "Sorry, she's worried about you guys and girl." Gabriel corrected himself.
"Let's go!" Kyra agreed, "I want off this cliff!"
"What's the matter, afraid of heights?" Gabriel asked.
"No, falling from them!" Kyra joked. Fang jumped up into her arms and she glided towards the palace.
When they got to the palace, Fang laid down and rested in a corner by Bronx. He was tired and deserved the rest. Kyra smiled as he yawned and opened his mouth as far as it could go. His muzzle was thin and long, like a wild fox, he had more fox in him than anything else. Kyra was kind of tired too, she rubbed her eyes and yawned, almost imitating her dog.
"Looks like Fang isn't the only one who needs to curl up." Lexington said, thumbing casually to Kyra.
"Kyra, you'd better get some sleep." Brooklyn told Kyra, "You haven't rested since last night."
"I'm not tired." she said sleepily.
"Yes you are, come on, we'll leave when you wake up." Angela said and led her to another room to sleep.
"Why does Kyra need sleep, doesn't she rest either side when the other takes over?" A young female, Ophelia, asked.
"Yes, but she needs to get sleep the human way or she gets cranky." Angela answered, coming back out.
"More so than usual anyway." Broadway joked.
"What?" Gabriel was visibly confused.
"Kyra has a short temper." Brooklyn explained.
"Even shorter than Goliath's some days." Angela added and smiled.
"Kyra told me about the vampire encounter." Gabriel said, changing the subject, "That must have really scared you."
"Scared her more." Angela answered. "She loves being mortal, it puts risk and challenge in her life. I think she's got a good idea, being immortal would be boring." Angela paused as Fang whined, he had woken up a little bit after Kyra went to sleep and wondered where she was.
"Kyra still reads vampire novels, but she keeps a silver cross handy and never goes out alone when she has to go near Kenny's lair." Lexington added.
"You mean the Vamp is still in your city?" Princess Katharine asked.
"Well, there's no need to kill him. As long as he doesn't bother Kyra, she can't bother him." Angela answered.
"He's learned his lesson, Kenny's not going to try to get Kyra's blood again." Brooklyn replied.
"Her neck still hurts every once in a while, I keep worrying that Kenny's going to find a way to get her." Angela added.
"Why do you worry so much?" Gabriel asked. "She's fine, her blood's so full of garlic Kenny couldn't get near her even if she let him. And that cure makes people immune, does it not?"
"She's my friend, Gabriel." Angela answered. "I'm sure right now everyone at home's worried about her, she's fragile, easy to kill, even if she won't admit it."
An hour or two later, Kyra had awoken and come in. Fang was wide awake and jumped into her arms, giving her a quick lick and scrambling away. He always acted like a puppy when he woke up.
"That's getting annoying, mutt." Kyra told him in a low voice, wiping her face. She smiled to show she was joking.
"Everyone is safe, but we still have a task to do." Gabriel said, looking at the midnight sky.
"Yeah, but Demona's tricky, I imagine it took quite an effort to get her off Avalon the first time." Kyra agreed.
"It did." Angela told her, "And now we don't have the Magus to help. I don't think I'm up to doing that much again."
"Maybe Kyra's magic can help, she can be stronger than Phalog when she gets angry, so she could be stronger than Demona when she's normal, and her magic is based on her strength." Broadway pointed out.
"That's a lot of maybes and coulds." Brooklyn replied.
"It's our only chance." Angela told him.
"We have to do this fast, if we don't get home within a month, Goliath will stress majorly. And I've already got a plan." Kyra chimed in with a mischevious smirk.
"She's pretty quick." Gabriel said, amazed.
"Sometimes her mind works faster than she does." Angela replied.
"And that's saying a lot." Lexington added, "Kyra's probably set a couple of speed records when there was trouble, too bad there wasn't the chance to time her."
"I'll sign up for track in college... if Demona lets me live long enough to go." Kyra said, "Come on, we've got to get Demona out of here before she causes damage."
"Before?" Lexington asked sarcastically, rubbing his arm where Demona had knocked him into a rock during their short battle. The bone didn't break, but it bruised, and the wound bled. Kyra had somehow known there would be battles and brought a first-aid kit, it fit right in her satchel. She immediately gave Lexington one of the small bandages when they'd gotten to the palace.
"Damage to anyone else." Kyra amended.
"Come on, let's get going." Gabriel said heading out.
"Hold it. You're about as impatient as Brooklyn." Kyra called, "You don't even know the plan!"
"Knew I forgot something." Gabriel replied.
"So what is the plan?" Angela asked.
"Easy, one of us baits Demona with a challenge, then leads her out into open ground with no cliffs so she can't take off. The others attack and the rest takes care of itself, once we get Demona out of here, where ever she gets sent to, she's their problem." Kyra answered.
"The bait would have to be faster, and more agile than Demona, that would mean you, Kyra." Lexington replied.
"Your plan kind of backfired on you." Gabriel told Kyra.
"No it didn't. I'm always the bait, I'm the most agile and the only one Demona will chase that she can't catch." Kyra replied, "Besides, I love running."
"The best part to lead her to would be the south side of the island, it's pure meadow with no cliffs and few rocks." Princess Katharine told Kyra as she went out to find Demona.
When Kyra got outside, she ran as far from the palace as she could. She didn't want Demona attacking before they were ready for her. As Kyra thought she would be, Demona was near the cliffs, keeping the wind at her back, ready to take off at the sign of any attack. Kyra saw her and ducked behind a rock. No sense getting caught before I have a chance to do this. she thought as she looked over the boulder. She ducked down again as Demona looked back.
Better take this slow and carefully. Kyra told herself. Then again, I've only got three hours before sunrise. She stood up slowly, and waited for Demona to sense the "intruder" and turn around, it didn't take long.
"You! Foolish child, do you have any idea what I can do to you?" Demona threatened.
"I think we're pretty evenly matched." Kyra said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Oh, do you." It was not a question, it was a challenge. It was said in a way that made Kyra doubt her chances for a moment, Demona caught the fear in Kyra's eyes. She smiled with satisfaction.
After everything that had made Kyra mature... the child's fear still remained. After all her years on the street defending herself, she still had fears. Kyra was a scared, helpless child, incapable of protecting herself for that one second. She was a frightened girl with second thoughts, a little girl that wanted to run back to Goliath, or at least Brooklyn, for safety. A girl without Chris...
The moment passed, though to Kyra it felt like an eternity. After the yellow streak shot through at the speed of light and left, her courage actually built up, and Demona could tell it. Kyra stood taller than before, as if Goliath had been standing beside her the whole time. Deep inside Kyra, because of everything he and everyone else had taught her, they were all there.
Kyra stared at Demona, challenging her courage. Of course Demona would not be undone by a child, and through the look in her eyes, had accepted the challenge. Kyra bolted off suddenly, like a gazelle that had just realized she was looking right at a lioness. Demona chased after her, but not on the ground, she followed in the air.
Go ahead, Kyra thought, You have to land if you want to fight, then you'll never get back up, at least not tonight.
Demona followed Kyra right to the meadows. She swooped down, to grab the girl and force her into air battle, but Kyra ducked.
"What's the matter, afraid to battle on ground?" she asked sweetly. "Finally realizing you'll never get me?"
"Not on your pathetic life." Demona snarled and dove right into the younger gargoyle. Kyra groaned and kicked her off. Demona landed head first in a patch of bare ground.
About ten or twelve yards away, the Trio, Angela, and Gabriel were gathering special grasses to make into a rope.
"Ouch, that looked like it hurt!" Gabriel exclaimed half-quietly.
"Hurt who, Kyra or Demona?" Brooklyn asked.
"Will you two keep it down? If Demona sees you, she'll know what's going on." Angela warned.
"She can't do anything, she's stuck on the ground." Gabriel reminded her.
"On ground or in air, Demona is a worthy foe, you have to watch your back at all times." Brooklyn told him. A slashing slap and scream of pain coming from the battle proved his point. Kyra was starting to let her guard down while waiting for them to finish.
"Let's get finished quickly, Kyra can't hold Demona off much longer." Lexington said and they continued gathering the grasses.
Kyra was really getting bumped around, but did the same amount of damage to Demona, so she didn't mind it. The slash came from Demona, but so did the scream, Kyra had hit her right back. She tried to keep Demona from escaping, she had her back turned and seemed as if she was starting to leave, while she still could. Kyra jumped at her, but she suddenly turned around, slapping Kyra with her tail. Angela cried out in fear and surprise, wide eyed and jaw locked. Brooklyn shouted in anger.
Kyra was thrown against the one patch of rocks in the whole meadow, her head hit with a sickening crack, and she fell unconscious. A little blood trickled from a wound on her forehead at the hairline (where her hair met her face), just an inch above her ear.
"Now! Before Demona does something else!" Gabriel yelled. They attacked Demona immediately. Angela had tied the rope into a lasso and caught Demona before she could escape.
"Not this time Demona." Broadway said angrily. He helped Angela hold tight to the rope, the grasses were so strong that Demona couldn't break loose.
Brooklyn went over to Kyra and picked her up. She was limp, but breathing.
"Is she..?" Lexington asked, tying Demona's arms.
"She's alive, barely, she needs urgent help." Brooklyn answered.
"Let's get her to the palace, we can take care of Demona later." Gabriel said and Angela finished tying Demona's arms down, so she couldn't try anything. They left Demona tied to a tree outside the palace, they didn't dare bring her in.
"This wound is bad, I'm surprised she's still alive." Princess Katharine said, examining Kyra's head. Half an hour had passed and she was still unconscious.
"Can she be saved?" Brooklyn asked.
"I'm not sure, she's lost blood." Katharine answered, "But I'll try." Brooklyn looked down, he noticed his hand was covered in blood from brushing back a stray hair.
Luckily, Kyra's skull was not really cracked from the impact, the sound was from a branch by the boulders that her shoulder snapped in two. All that she lost was an ounce or two of blood, it would take about one day, and maybe a night, to get that back.
Princess Katharine bandaged Kyra's head to keep the girl from bleeding more and she was left to regain consciousness. An hour later, she was awake and quite dizzy. Her body wasn't used to being in such pain and it hurt more than it would if that sort of injury was regular. The room was darkened slightly, to protect her eyes from the sunlight that now shone on the island. After being unconscious, eyes wouldn't like being put right in immediate sunlight.
That night, Kyra felt like herself and they left, sending Demona off in another boat in the opposite direction. Kyra had no idea where they would go first, but she knew Avalon would not send them right home, that wasn't its way. What she didn't know was that everywhere they were sent, she would have a major involvement in the trouble there. A mist covered the skiff, to keep their presence a secret from anyone on the water they were dropped on.
When the mist parted, they were caught in a violent storm, Fang fell overboard, but Kyra grabbed his leather collar just in time. Unfortunately, the collar broke and he fell in, yelping. Kyra looked into the disappearing mist, but could see nothing.
"What happened?"Angela asked over the roar of the storm.
"Fang fell overboard, I grabbed his collar, but it broke!" Kyra answered, her voice was drained a little by the crashing waves.
"Nothing could survive these waters, even Fang." Angela said sadly.
"I know, I should have put a new collar on him before we left New York, this one was falling apart." Kyra replied.
"Don't worry, I'll try to hold the boat here and you look if he's still swimming." Brooklyn told her.
"I doubt it, this current's so strong and there has to be a big undertow in this weather." Kyra said, but looked anyway.
The salt water sprayed her in the face once. At least she thought it was the spray, then realized it was too heavy. Hope started to flood as a dolphin's head poked up from the waves and squeaked a sonar call.
"It's Dulci! She must have been under the boat when Angela cast the spell that sent us to Avalon and followed us out!" Kyra yelled over the wind. Dulci had Fang on her back, Kyra quickly pulled him out of the frigid water and checked him. "He's alive. His fur's soaked to his skin, but he's alive."
"Keep a good hold on him." Broadway told her.
"No problem." Kyra said, ruffling Fang's wet fur, he wagged his tail and licked her hand. "Thanks Dulci, you'd better get under the currents before you wear yourself out. Don't come up until you need to breathe." Dulci dove under the waves and wasn't seen for the rest of the voyage, she was way ahead of them, checking for land.
The water started to calm.
If Dulci was under us and Demona was behind us when we left, what else came with us? Kyra thought. She could tell Brooklyn was starting to worry about that too. Perige flew around the whole city and was always near Kyra. Kyra had instinctively looked up at the sound of a bird cry, but it was only a tern, maybe a gull, it was too high up to tell. Dulci was the only tag-along this time, but now they knew that things could follow that they didn't want.
Kyra hoped they wouldn't, but knew they would be somewhere other than New York. It wouldn't be much of an adventure if they just went straight home. She had a feeling they were in for quite an adventure, maybe not as long as the others had before, but it would still have its exciting points, and its dangerous ones.
You know the drill, send comments and suggestions!