Chapter four Stone comes to life

After a while after sitting at Erik's organ, Meg actually started crying.

''Momma...''

Shuh, now don't cry...

Meg wiped her tears and with a quievering voice started to sing:

Come little children, I'll take you away

Forget all your worries and sorrows

Come little children, I'll take thee away

In to my garden of magic...

She looked to her trembling fingers as they reached the keys of the organ. She didn't even know why she was doing it. She knew only how to play a couple of songs, but not many. And this...This was an organ! A hard instrument to play. But a force unknown to her dragged her fingers to the keys and she started to sing again as her fingers touched the keys.

Come little children, I'll take you away

Forget all your worries and sorrows

Come little children, I'll take thee away

In to my garden of magic...

Erik suddenly awoke from his slumber. To hear the sound of his organ playing and a sweet voice acompying it was not what he had excpected to wake him from his coma like sleep. He quickly got up from the black coffin which was his bed and hurried to where his music room was. Still, he stopped before he entered it, for he saw young Meg Giry singing softly while trying to press the right keys on the organ. She was quite small and she had to stand up to reach the keys she needed. He was suprised that she still wore the mask on her face. Maybe she was afraid he would wake up and be mad at her if she didn't have it on...Yes, she was afraid of him..Little Meg. He could hear she had a good voice, but he knew that the young Giry's talent was ballet and not song. He slowly approached her and came from behind her. He placed his cold hands on hers. He could feel she flinched in suprise, but she didn't turn to face him.

''Your fingers are far to delicate for the organ, my dear, especially since you have hardly any experience.'' Meg felt shivers go up her spine as Erik rubbed his face against her neck. He came even closer to her and pressed his fingers against hers. As the notes sored, Meg felt as if the music bound them together in some strange way. Erik felt the intesity as much as Meg did. A kiss had even escaped from his lips to Meg's neck...Right where she had the mark of the Punjab lasso. Erik suddenly felt ashamed for he had hurt such a beautiful and delicate creature, but his pride was stronger then his shame and he would not ask for forgivness. He pulled his hands over Meg's arms and wrapped his arms around her waist. Meg shivered, but not because of fear, because it felt good to her to be held in this man's arms.

''A day has passed Megan...I want you to continue the tale of the Gargoyle Dominus...'' Meg let out a sigh and turned around to face Erik. She looked up at his eyes and slightly parted her mouth as if she was going to speak.

''Yes...?'' Erik said expcecting for her to continue. Meg said down at the bench and strangely, Erik sat close beside her.

''Soon, the small greece town of Phelos found out that the creature which called itself Dominus had taken control of the temple. He was now to be worshipped as deity, a great god. The priest of the temple disobeyed him. 'I will not succomb to you!' he screamed. Dominus was ofcourse displeased. He killed the priest and put him on the temple where he used to stand to show to the people of Phelos who they should bow to. Phelos became a darkened city. The gods cursed the city, convinced that would drive Dominus away. The darkness only made him feel stronger. Still, Dominus knew he had held something deep down in the darkness underneath the temple. The power had intoxcicated him, but there was still a thing missing...He remebered the undeground chamber and the fine marble carving of the Aprhodite, the one who used to rule the temple. One day, the path beneath the temple led him again to the statue. His eyes grew wide when he saw what the underground had done to the beauty. The layers of fine carved stone were slowly falling off, the smile was no longer on her lips. Dominus approached her, studied her, told her to open her eyes, to awake. He asked her for forgivness. He told her she would rule the temple with him if she would only awake.

Awake! Awake my beautiful one...Awake, please and end this torment! But Aprhodite did not awake. She seemed to cry stone tears as Dominus stared at her and begged her to come to life. He was then filled with rage, screaming of how she would not awake for she was beautiful and he was a grotesque creature.

So, you are beautiful and you are to rule this temple! No! Why did I even think of sharing my power! You will not trick me! You will not! Dominus fled the Underground of the temple then and in his rage, he destroyed half of the small city Phelos. He returned to the temple, feeling more empty than he ever did. All was destroyed and it was because of him. Phelos was a city in ruins now and no longer a beautiful city which he saw as he sat on the top of the temple. It was now nothing more then stones and blood, fire and destruction. Dominus fell to his knees and wept. He wept tears that did not exist. He would have been able to cry before, but his soul was no empty for it had no one...Except for the beauty in the darkness. He knew the gods would come for him and punish him severly for what he had done, so with haste, he ran to the Underground of the temple. He fell before the statue of Aphrodite...What had been left of it.

Beauty of this temple...You do not deserve to be kept in this place..I will let you go. He looked up at Aphrodite and realised that the statue was now truly dead, it's beauty erased. Dominus approached it and touching her face carefully, he kissed her lips.

Live, for I am dead. The gods saw the Gargoyle and decided to grant his wish. The statue was brought to life...But Dominus had died. As the statue's beauty recovered, so did the one of the small city of Phelos. Aphrodite could speak for the first time and see this strange creature who adored her and hated her so much. But he was dead, his life was given for her. She cried and embraced the creature.

I am alive now and you are not. She left he creature then, in the darkness and returned to the temple, to the daylight.'' Erik said nothing for a couple of moments, looking at her. Meg had to look down, feeling her cheeks becoming red. Erik then lifted her chin so she would look up at him and spoke quietly:

''Do you wish to return to the light, Aphrodite?''

''Erik...'' he placed a finger against his lips, knowing she would say she had no intention with the story. Erik slowly went with his hand down her neck and felt her shiver. He came closer to her and whispered in her ear:

''Why so silent, little Meg?'' she looked at him and this time fiercly and without fear.

''If you excpect me to be afraid of you, I am not!'' Erik chuckled, a cruel lips forming on his lips. He grabbed her chin and went with his hand across the mask she had on her face. He was so close to her face that she could feel his breath on her lips. Meg was tempted to make the fatal move, but to prevent it she quickly spoke:

''There was a visitor to the temple, after all that had happened. He was a painter and his name was Arawin.'' Erik let go off her and realised she had set him another trap.

''He had made a mission for himself – to find the most beautiful thing in the world and paint it.''