"Dude, that's it?" Brooklyn protests.
"Yep," I reply. "Had to be that way. Don't worry – she's not happy about it either."
"Man… that's just wrong. It was sweet lookin' too." He rubs his hand over his eye in exasperation.
"Want me to quit?" I ask my red friend.
Brooklyn shakes his head.
"Nope. I want to see it all the way."
Me too – even if it takes awhile to complete.
**********************************************************************************************
Duel Intent
Chapter 3 – The Meeting
Two weeks had gone by faster than any of them could have anticipated. Hudson leaned against the wall, absently patting Bronx on the head while he reflected the events that had led up to Brooklyn's departure.
Repeated meetings with Sabine had been necessary to fill them all in on what Brooklyn was exposing himself to. Maps were drawn with the requirement that Brooklyn study and memorize the area before she burned them in Xanatos' fireplace. The first time she did it they were all startled, but subsequent maps were memorized not just by Brooklyn, but by Goliath as well.
Hudson shifted. Sabine and Sadie bothered him. It wasn't so much the secrecy, but the quiet meetings with Xanatos that they thought the gargoyles were not privy to. Then there was the silent rift between Goliath and Elisa. Brooklyn had walked in on a heated argument between the two, disturbing the red gargoyle. Hudson and listened as Brooklyn ranted about the situation, unnerved that his decision to help another clan could cause ore strife than there already was.
Hudson grinned. He knew his young friend was in earnest, and yet, he suspected that his eagerness to jump in wasn't just about the common good. He was pretty sure the photo of the white gargoyle he had caught Brooklyn staring at a time or two had a great deal to do with his decision. Well, he mused, it's about time he found someone.
Bronx quickly jumped to the edge of the tower, eagerly grunting. The old gargoyle moved next to his beast, finding the returning clan coming into focus. Goliath's framed loomed ahead of Broadway, Angela, and Lexington. Hudson studied the group gliding back to the old castle they called home, watching for signs of discontentment with Brooklyn's absence. It was obvious; peace was still not with them.
Goliath touched down beside his old mentor, without saying a word. Broadway and Angela likewise met the ground, grim looks on their faces. Only Lexington had a light air about him, seemingly careless of the change that had taken place in the clan.
"Well?" Hudson asked Goliath.
"He's gone. Xanatos sent him on a private jet. He'll be with the other clan by morning."
Hudson watched the young couple quickly turn in an effort to avoid eye contact. Lexington yawned and left the group to perch on a merlon.
"Hmmm. All went according to plan, did it?"
"Yes. No one saw anything."
"Well that's good. The last thing the lad needed was quarrymen stirrin' things up a bit."
"I agree."
Goliath left his friend's side and walked to the edge of the battlement. His lavender talons clicked against the stone, lost in thought.
"What ails ya, lad?" Hudson asked, wishing his friend would speak his mind.
Goliath shook his head in frustration.
"I wish I knew."
************************************************
The steady hum of the helicopter blades had a hypnotic effect on Brooklyn as he and the pilot sped across the dark Nevada sky. The pilot had surprised him by not showing any awkwardness at their meeting. Indeed, Brooklyn found him to be quite friendly - for a human. Conversation had enveloped the two long enough for Brooklyn to learn the pilot's name was Charlie and a local, but as the flight wore on, conversation ceased.
The airport in Reno had been left behind for some time, with the black silhouettes of the mountains looming closer. Vacant terrain sped underneath them, leaving Brooklyn with nothing of interest to watch. He yawned in laziness; desire to glide over the area instead of staying cooped up inside the cockpit lingered inside his mind, even though it meant he'd be in danger of not reaching his destination by sunrise. Brooklyn found himself wishing, not for the first time, that stone sleep wasn't so limiting.
Finally the last of the desert floor disappeared under them, giving way to chunky ruggedness of rock. Speeding over the first peak, Brooklyn leaned forward in anticipation. Excitement permeated throughout his entire being, where before he had managed to maintain certain aloofness. Now, with the weeks of anticipation behind him, he could no longer deny the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
"Huh," muttered the pilot, bring Brooklyn out of his reverie.
"What's that?" Brooklyn asked him, glancing at the controls with worry playing across his features.
"Some one's driving up the canyon roads. Pretty late for that," Charlie informed him, "and they're going pretty fast."
"Maybe we ought to take a look," Brooklyn suggested, moving to open his door.
"It's not that long until daylight," Charlie disagreed. "I'm supposed to have you at the lifting point before then."
"I'm not talking about having a pizza," Brooklyn argued, slightly annoyed. "Let's just fly a little closer so when I meet this Maia I can tell her what I saw. If it's anything to report," he added.
Misgivings aside, the pilot followed Brooklyn's request to fly closer to the light speeding up the road. They both took note there was only one headlight lighting the way. Motorcycle, Brooklyn mused.
The helicopter pulled even closer so Brooklyn, with a pair of binoculars put to his black eyes, could see details of the rider below. A black helmet hid the rider's head, with a black leather jacket billowing around the rider masking details even more. Brooklyn sighed in frustration at the rider – the motorcycle seemed to accelerate, making it even harder to discern anything else, until a glint behind the motorcycle startled him to the point of almost dropping the binoculars.
"That's not a human," he declared. "That's a…."
The helicopter suddenly jerked upward, leaving Brooklyn to fall back into his seat, almost bumping into the operator of the flying machine.
"HEY!"
"Sorry," was the gasped reply. "I almost hit one of them."
"You want to say that again?" Brooklyn asked.
"There's several other of your kind just above the rider. I can't be sure, but I have a feeling I know who it is. You'd best forget what you saw and just make haste to your destination."
The helicopter leapt forward leaving the area behind.
"And why is that?" Brooklyn demanded, not liking to have his will usurped by another.
"Because if it's who I think it is, Maia doesn't want to know."
"Huh? Any good leader would want to know what they're clan members are up to."
"Maybe. Sometimes though, a good leader knows when to look the other way."
"True," Brooklyn conceded. He stayed silent, for the first time realizing that although his clan did things certain ways, another clan might not.
The helicopter moved forward with moderate speed, climbing in altitude. They flew over what looked like a shed, the area peppered with dark shadows.
"Man, your terrain is weird here," Brooklyn stated.
"How do you mean?"
Brooklyn pointed.
"The shadows down there look like they're moving."
The pilot pulled the helicopter around sharply, Brooklyn's face becoming planted against the window. Seriously where did you get your pilot's license? Brooklyn wanted to yell at him. Instead, he managed to keep his voice calm as they neared the moving shadows once again.
"Problem?"
"Shadows don't move, unless there's a body of some sort attached," was the dry reply, "and in this area, there shouldn't be any bodies."
"What about that bunch further down," Brooklyn reminded him, "or how about wildlife?"
"Maybe."
"You don't sound convin…." Brooklyn's statement died in his throat as the pilot threw a light on the shadows below.
Malicious red eyes stared at the light, framed by half wolf, half human features. Brooklyn saw around twenty of them swarmed in the vicinity of the shed. He noted the veins sticking out around the necks, patches of fur clumped on faces and arms, and the remains of human clothing still worn around their waists. The muzzle-like mouths were screwed up in unsightly grimaces, saliva dripping from snarling mouths.
Charlie swore loudly, moving out of the way when the popping noise of gunfire sounded. Quickly he flew the helicopter back towards where they came from, haunting wailing howls sounding behind them.
"What was THAT?" Brooklyn yelled at him, finding his voice.
"Several Lycanthrope. They're waiting for her," he answered through gritted teeth.
"A WHAT? Hey, where are we going? We gotta tell Maia..."
"That gargoyle you saw on the bike? I'd bet anything it's Aine, one of the only two surviving gargoyles from Maia's original clan. The lycanthrope have been trying to kill her for years - you've got to stop her."
Brooklyn's jaw set in the same determination of the airman's, realizing there wasn't time to be completely filled in. Quickly his mind calculated roughly what needed to be done.
"She the one on the bike, huh?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"Then you better go ahead and land, because at the speed she was going, she'll be on us in no time."
The pilot shook his head.
"Not far enough away. Those things are incredibly fast...."
"Fine. I'm getting out - see how fast I can glide to her. You move on and get her entourage's attention. We'll stop her."
He opened the door, feeling gushing wind from the blades plaster his long white mane of hair to his head. He squinted to get his bearings before lunging into the night air. Focused already on the task, he didn't hear the pilot yell good luck behind him. He plummeted towards the ground, waiting until the helicopter's forced wind no longer pushed him down. He threw his wings out to catch the air, swooping back up to glide at a quickened pace.
A short distance revealed light displayed on the walls of rock around him. Brooklyn aimed himself towards the ground, pulling himself short. His wings barely tucked under to hold him in his new position above the road, waiting with his heart pounding in his throat. The motor of the motorcycle grew louder for an instant, then appeared as if by magic from behind the rustic landscape. Brooklyn held his breath, waiting until the last possible second as the motorcycle careened just below him. He dove for her, landing with a thwump on the back of the bike, grabbing her waist to pull himself more securely behind her, causing her to swerve on impact.
"WHAT THE...." she yelled, glancing behind her.
"TURN AROUND!" he yelled in her ear.
"WHAT??" she yelled back, resisting the urge to kick him in the shin. She could tell he was her kind, giving her some comfort even if she didn't know him. Gargoyles as a general rule didn't harm gargoyles.
"TURN YOUR BIKE AROUND!"
"WHY?"
Brooklyn looked ahead and gulped. Three of the lycanthrope were barreling down the road.
"'CAUSE OF THOSE!" he yelled back, pointing.
It was too late. With only seconds to spare she screamed "HANG ON!" and pushed the machine harder. They plowed into the beasts full throttle, barely missing ramming into one of them. One nipped at Brooklyn's leg, missing it by inches. The third used it's twisted body as a battering ram, smashing into their side, trying to tip them. Brooklyn admired her skill at holding their balance, but both knew she wouldn't be able to handle a steady onslaught. A howl was heard over the motor behind them.
"THERE'S MORE AHEAD!" he attempted again.
"MORE?"
"LOT'S MORE!"
He heard her swear in frustration, the motorcycle not slowing down.
"THINK YOU CAN HOLD ME?" she yelled back to him.
"NO PROBLEM!" he shouted back in her ear.
"THEN GET READY!"
The motorcycle continued forward. Brooklyn took a backwards glance to see the three lycanthrope giving chase. Turning back to the front, he saw more headed towards them. He tightened his grip around her waist.
"NO! GRAB ME ABOVE... HERE WE GO!" she screamed.
Brooklyn quickly complied with her instructions, griping his hands across her chest so his arms linked under her own, noticing while he did so that she had shifted the bike slightly so they headed straight for the edge. As soon as the bike was clear of the cliff, Brooklyn quickly threw open his wings, his arms straining from the act of pulling her to him. Together they watched the bike explode on the rocks below, an impassioned roar of her own overcoming the howls from the cliff.
Brooklyn's wings flapped twice to give them higher altitude, watching in amazement as the lycanthrope group swarmed the area, jumping and howling at them in a frenzy. He had been threatened, beaten, hunted, and had even fought for his life a few times, but never before had he seen such intense hatred for another living soul. Not even in Demona's most insane moments had he seen such intensity. He heard Aine gasp before tugging at her jacket, the sound of a zip quickly following her movement.
"What now?" he asked her.
"No time!" she exclaimed.
Her back arched while her arms were thrown up allowing her to slip out of the jacket and his arms at the same time. Startled, Brooklyn dived after her, saving his life. A second later a missile pierced the air they had just vacated, slamming into the rocks above them, followed by a bouquet of bullets.
Brooklyn didn't glance up at the sounds, keeping his eyes on the quick paced white female in front of him. His pterodactyl-like wings worked into a sweat. Opening to catch wind, closing to increase speed, darting in and around trees and rocks while keeping close to the ground, they flew at break neck speed. He mimicked every movement she made, keeping in perfect time with her.
At last they came to a stop near a large cave at the end of the mountainous terrain. Already the sky was brighter with daylight closing in. The two scrambled into the cave, climbing to a hidden shelf of rock just inside. Finally safe from prying eyes, they both surveyed each other in haste, Brooklyn astonished to see he was face to face with the female whose picture was safely nestled inside his belt. He hesitated, then handed her the leather jacket he had forgotten he was still holding in the chase.
"So you're the one Maia said was coming?" she breathed out, still catching her breath. She accepted the jacket with a smile.
Brooklyn nodded. "Yeah." He waved his hand around. "Nice place."
Aine grinned. "Thanks. I bring all the males that hop on the back of my bike here."
He was surprised at her ease with the situation, but always quick to catch a hint, he followed her lead and gave her a feigned hurt look.
"You mean I'm not the first?"
Aine laughed, enjoying the newcomer's sense of humor. She eyed him carefully, thinking him not much older than herself. Maia had told her he was the second in command of the New York clan, but he was much too young for that.
"So why are you here?" she asked him, suddenly curious.
Just then both turned to stone, announcing the arrival of the new day. Brooklyn's last thought died on his lips as sleep overtook them.
"Because of you."