THE GOLIATHUS CHRONICLES

Chapter 12- A Ray of Hope

My friend Redplanets has once again inspired me. This story needs more Ami/Goliathus tender moments. Aww.

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I am such...a failure...

The voice came unheeded, permeating his senses, sounding so distant and yet...it echoed through the mountains as if they had speakers buried within them.

A failure...

Goliathus realized he had woken up again, his broken and ruined body still the same...bones angrily protruding from every painful angle. Well, it should have been painful, but mercifully, his broken spine was sparing him that. He sighed, with much effort, through shattered ribs. A break from pain was always nice...even if it often ended entirely too soon. He looked around, but was alone. They had gone off in search of food for him, he knew that. And then he heard a voice...

I am the failure, Goliathus. I am the monster, not you.

The words shocked the heradus, he had to keep blinking his eyes, wondering if this was real or a dream he conjured up. Seemed real enough. The air was fresh, cold...the mountains looming like stalking shadows, cast by the round moon full in the sky. Another peep. He strained his eyes to look down to his very near right...he couldn't move his head a blasted inch. He saw her then, it was Navi. Ami hadn't taken her with her?

Maybe...maybe she can fulfill the purpose. Perhaps she can make up for both our sins.

Goliathus realized then that deep in his soul...if he had one...he knew this voice. Masculine and deep, sounding strong and full of ages of wisdom. It even brought a picture to his mental canvas...glossy dark hair falling to the shoulders...eyes as blue as the midnight sky.

A face much like his, even if human...

I am the failure. Not you. I wanted too much. They expected too little of you.

They didn't understand.

Was it...could it be? He slowed his breathing to practically nothing, as if the mere sound of his small ragged breaths could overpower the voice, as whispery as the wind that blew by his ears.

Father? Maniel?

I am the true killer of those dead...you are not to blame...I told them this...

And then Goliathus sensed it gone. He sighed again, for such miserable lack of answers, so frustrating and nagging, were constantly torturing him...always.

Daddy! Big light.

He had almost closed his eyes again when he heard the next voice, and at the same time felt the little hand grabbing his arm...a mental feeling, surely not physical...how strange. He could feel mentally? Had he just never realized that facet before? Trying to look upwards was futile, but his eye did stretch far enough to take in the huge moon and its soft glowing beauty. Of course his own daughter would love the moon...it was a very part of him, seen in many pieces of his art, even his old and dark ones. He wasn't sure if he could actually manage a smile, but he felt it was there.

Yes. A big light...as big as your heart.

Navius got up on all fours, crawling on top of him, using one chubby hand over the other in her impressive effort, and snuggled into his neck.

Hungry daddy. Hungry. She then writhed as if fighting a terrible cramp in her middle. Hungry.

And then his brief happiness fell, like a rock thrown in a void.

"Oh for cryin' out LOUD!" Dinarius, completely fed up, threw down the deer as it once again was proving to be more effort then it was worth. Why the hell was he doing this anyhow? To feed that stupid moron who went and threw himself off a cliff? Yeah, that had to be fun. He had to remind himself to try that someday...find out what he was missing.

Sighing he swept back down to the earth gracefully...heaving the large animal back onto his shoulder in a far less graceful manner. He got back into the air with a few labored wingstrokes, then noticed Ami down below, holding up a rabbit.

"Huh, your makeshift slingshot worked? I guess you are a good huntress."

"Uh..." Ami's face flustered. "Well I tried...I ended up hitting Puvo." The bat was slumped on her shouder, still rubbing his terribly sore head.

Dinarius tried hard to stifle his chuckles.

"I got the rabbit from a trap I found in the woods. So sue me."

"That's cheating you know." He smirked.

"Yeah well...I'd rather not hit any other innocent flying objects, thank you."

Dinarius thought it best not to comment as he headed back towards the mountain cliffside.

As soon as they arrived, Ami put the rabbit down near Goliathus' head, and gathered up her infant, who immediately started whimpering. "Oh, what's wrong with you?" Mothering seemed to come naturally to Ami, as if she had done this before. In a way, perhaps she had...in a sense she had taken a very child-like and naive Goliathus and made him understand a little more about the human world. Well, even if this child had huge claws, teeth...a bad-ass attitude...

Dinarius made sure that as he landed, he practically threw the deer down on top of Goliathus, who once again failed to feel anything. "So this PUP brought you something. Hmm..seems YOU are the pup here, and I'm playing mother wolf." The other heradus made sure to emphasize the last word before finally sitting down nearby and rubbing his sore shoulders. Ami sighed, unhappy to see the two on more bitter terms. Goliathus hadn't truly meant to insult Dinarius...in fact, what he had said to him earlier in the woods was, admittedly, truth. As far as heradus went, Dinarius was less experienced, and completely unknowing to what the other had gone through. But still, his attitude was starting to baffle Ami, he seemed far more sour then she had known him to be. Turning her attention back to Navi, she attempted to settle down and nurse her while Goliathus struggled to eat (for his jaw was badly broken too), but her child only cried. She tried a second time, then a third, but Navius was clearly refusing.

I had feared this.

Ami turned towards Goliathus, who was already slowly starting to flex his talon and wince from the pain it shot through him, as nerves could once again feel.

Afraid of what?

She is her father's daughter. Too much like me. Already, the changes are happening.

Changes? Ami looked down at Navi, but she didn't seem all that different. Or wait a minute...did she seem a bit bigger? Was it her imagination playing tricks in the soft moonlight?

We heradus are cursed with hunger. Never-ending. Sated at times, but...always will it come back, demanding more. It has already started...I can do nothing to stop it.

Ami wasn't sure how to feel. For some strange reason, it didn't seem like such a terrible thing to her, but that was because she saw things differently then Goliathus. Hunger was definitely a curse to him, he had seen the many dark and terrible forms of it. But in reality, it was mere heradus trait, a nature, something that simply had to be. If Navi was to be what life had made her, Ami would help...just as she had Goliathus.

Then she'll simply have some of what you're having.

Goliathus had finally sat up, popping joints and bones back into place. He stared at Ami with uncertainty, but she merely went over to the deer, used a small knife to cut a very tiny piece, and offered it to her child. Navi struggled for quite a few tiring minutes trying to chew something with nothing more then bumpy gums, but she managed well enough. This was repeated several times until Navi finally stretched her tiny wings and arms, yawned, then fell asleep content.

I should always know to expect the unexpected with you. Goliathus managed a smile, which still didn't suit him very well, and with a few last helpings of venison, his amazing body had completely healed himself. Ami stared at him for a long time as she cradled Navi, wondering why and how he could be so different from one moment to the next. For something that lay in his mind winning over him as if he were a mere infant himself, he seemed to be able to come out of it relatively easy. WAS this something that only thrived because deep inside, Goliathus knew not that he subconsciously still wanted it there? Her head then began to tingle, as it always did, when one certain individual wished to talk.

The old ways are easier, Ami. So much easier. I know this, the demon knows this. It was not seen before...but now...I know I am weak. Dinarius speaks truth...it is I who am the pup ,the one who needs instruction and guidance. I was but a young creature before they came and filled my life with pain, hatred, and suffering. There is a thousand years of such darkness to wipe away, and that is why...I need your help. Who was it, anyhow, who showed me that first ray of hope? It was the one who could care about me despite the ugliness that reigned in me, both physical and mental, with the forbidden human blood that stained my hands and soul. I have only you, my savior. Darry is right, but he is also wrong...this is my battle, but a battle that cannot be won without the aid of another. You are what that demon despises, because you are the very essence of the things it loathes...love and compassion... Despite Goliathus' outpouring of near-poetic communication, he suddenly changed course, as often he did, gathering another thought that suddenly sprang to his mind. Darry...yes...he said I needed to find his sister...and I still have yet to deal with Billy... eh...He stood, looming tall, and sniffed the air, his mixed thoughts drifting and becoming harder to hear. I loathe the thought of dealing once more with those farmers...

Trying to absorb it all, Ami sat for still several minutes, staring at him as he ambled off, looking here and there, sniffing, as if trying to figure out what he should do first, so was the anxious nature of him. Finally, she stood herself, and handed the child off to Dinarius. "Can you do me a favor, Dinari, and take her home? Guard her for me until Goliathus and I return."

"But Ami, how do you know he's safe? And what about-"

"Please, do as I ask." She looked at him, eyes pleading, speaking pages of words that he only had to read. Wordlessly, Dinarius nodded and after making sure Navi was safely tucked in his arms, flew off, leaving the two alone. Ami couldn't help but smile, Dinarius trusted her. It was a grand thing to know that she could gain the trust of others with little effort, even if her ideas were often crazy. Then she turned, following the powerful predator walking off into the distance.

/

Hey, Gollie, will you slow down? Where are you going anyway?

Back to where the Taggarts are, I suppose.

Did Darry really say you had to go and find them? Billy isn't even there, you know that.

He is. I buried what remained of him right under that farmer's nose, just to spite him. He never knew it.

What? Ami's stomach lurched, thinking about it.

Under the porch, which is where the old man sleeps. He slept every night while I did, with his son's remains right underneath him...

Ami wanted to cry, or be sick...she wasn't sure. Goliathus could sometimes make her doubt him, very much. Even make her feel lost, like she was wandering on a dark and lonely road, with him nowhere in her sight.

I thought there was very little of him left though. She regretted it the instant she sent the mental words to him.

He stopped in his tracks, and so did Ami, marveling in some kind of fearful fascination at his intimidating silhouette against the moonlight. Geez, this was being breathless in a whole new meaning. He was, at times, something beyond fear.

A few bones. He left it at that, thankfully, and continued walking.

'Why is he walking?' Ami wondered, then getting a little annoyed, ran to catch up with him. She stood in front, forcing him to stop, and he peered down at her curiously.

I must do these things. It seems spirits simply know, and we must obey. Not that I want to go there-

Goliathus. You can't just go and walk over there, looking for those remains. Jake Taggart's other son is still alive, and the instant he sees you, you're not only going to traumatize the poor man...but his children too. He has kids now, I GREW UP with them, they were my best friends. There are methods to the madness, love, believe me. Let's not deal with it right now. I need to help you, remember?

His eyes widened slightly as he cocked his head, glancing about and still lost in his thoughts. But Darry told me this...

What, is Darry your master now or something? I know you need to do these things, but like I said, we have to find a way, not just go leaping blindly into a situation. That got you into trouble before, didn't it Goliathus? Like those many years ago when the humans first saw you perched atop that tower. Trust me on this.

He huffed then, clenching his fists but staying rooted to his spot. She was right, of course she was right. Gawd dammit, this blasted human was always right, she could see right through him like glass. Knew his ways maybe too well.

Well hopefully not everything...

Why don't we go off somewhere? Just you and me? Like those times we would go and take moonlit flights...

He shifted uncomfortably, gazing at her eyes, then looking away. I am tainted with human death.

Goliathus...I don't care. I don't even care that it was very recent. I know you are struggling, that you are dealing with something far more then even I can truly understand. All that matters to me is that you are NOW, at THIS moment...the real you. And I always...always, will love the real you. Nothing can ever change that. Now please, I want my Gollie. Take me somewhere. She too, was rooted to her spot, like a stubborn child who refused to give in.

Goliathus seemed agitated, as he growled and scuffed the ground, fighting the thought to walk past her and move on, to have his way, but also wanting to oblige, sweep her up into the air, and meld with her very soul. How he loved her. He knew it, and it was something that both elated him and caused his insides to twist.

Just say it, Gollie. Tell me. Tell me, AND that son-of-a-bitch trying to control you, what you really want to say. You know you can.

Shutup! Couldn't she just shut up? No, he really didn't want that. Thoughts kept racing across his mind of her bloody throat as he tore into it, and others of their bodies mingled in pure rapture...just raw, lusty, heated pleasure. Oh gods how he could no longer stand this, like feeling happy and sad at the same time, well and sick, loving and hating, all at once...the confusion was sure to drive him to madness almost as much as his past had. And yet, a mental arm kept reaching out, knowing she was the way and every solution. He HAD to listen to her. Whether he thought he did, or really didn't want to. No matter what the confusion and agonizing torture his mind was going through.

It took great effort, but finally Goliathus stepped towards her and picked her up.

Where to then...love?

She smiled, leaning her head against his chest. Howabout my favorite spot by that rock?

/

The demon sensed it coming, like a wave of lighted filth coming into its dark world, so nauseating. That irritating human female was becoming a far greater threat then it had ever realized Why did he allow himself to be fooled by her?. It had several times tried to tempt Goliathus into killing her, but he kept resisting, and it only enraged the monstrosity further to see his chained form, despite all the hooks painfully wrenching his skin and muscle, smiling and moving about, seeking her warmth. Geh. Humans were so disgusting. What did they see in such useless, fake emotions like lo...lov...ech. To even think the word made the evil want to wretch.

But it could feel the damage coming, and there was no stopping it. Their heated desire was like burning coals in its eyes, more strong and true then it had ever been, and the union a great wave of blinding light that caused it to choke and gasp. The horse head was losing the battle...the symbol of corrupted sexuality being overcome by its opposite.

The head neighed, coughed, sputtered...vomiting great heaves of black fluid, then shriveled...convulsed, opened its maw wide, and fell off, landing to the mental ground in a heap of dust.

The demon shrieked, screamed, and in its fury spewed more of its foul essence on Goliathus, hoping to literally drown him out of his positive trance. The liquid, rather then burn and slither into his being, merely fell off like sloughed skin, useless.

CURSE YOU...DARE YOU TO RESIST ME?

He would pay for this one. Oh how the demon vowed to find a way to make him suffer. It had no limits, no inhibitions. If he wanted to play dirty, if he wanted to DARE challenge him, then he would soon learn that true evil was something he had only seen the very beginnings of.

Oh yes...how it knew the darkest of games that could be played.

End Chapter 12

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I was sick with some kind of bad cold, and a week later, at present, feel as if my throat is getting sore again. I worry this is strep, which I had last year. :sighs: This is why I hate this time of year. Sorry this chappie is so late, but that's mainly why. But gawds how I love this story, so don't you worry, I shall prevail!