Elisa hurries through the castle knowing that it's near sunset and she doesn't want to miss it. Watching the gargoyles wake always gives her a thrill, especially seeing Goliath in all of his primal glory. The thought of him sends a shiver down her spine right down to that special place between her legs, but she can think of that later, now it's time to hurry.
She steps through the final door just as the last rays of the sun disappear over the horizon. She stares up at the gargoyle she loves as cracks appear in his stone skin. He suddenly busts out of his shell with a roar and a certain spot below her belt heats up.
"Hi, guys," she calls out.
Instead of the usual greeting she gets, she's answered with a shriek of anger. She looks towards the sound is shocked to see a thoroughly ticked off Angela bearing down on her with red eyes glowing and talons reaching out to grab. Startled by the sudden attack from a friend, she stands there immobile.
Elisa barely manages to dodge out of the way and Angela goes careening past her. The gargoyle leaves gouges in the stone as she scrambles to correct her course. As she gets herself situated to take another pass at Elisa, Broadway tackles her to the ground. They roll around on the ground growling, teeth and talons biting and slashing. Before Elisa can gather her wits to ask what's going on, Goliath grabs her. She doesn't even get a squeak out before they're over the castle wall and headed south towards the Bronx.
"Wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my middle," Goliath instructs as he catches an updraft.
"You care to explain what's going on?" Elisa demands as she does as instructed, her heart pounding and adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Why did Angela attack me? And why do I have to hold on to you like this?"
"Angela has risen," he answers in a mater of fact tone. "It's best if you're far away from her right now."
"Risen to what?" she asks testily, trying to get comfortable in this strange position. "And why do I need to be far away?"
"She's risen to mate," he explains as he holds her close and keeps an eye on the clouds above them.
"And I'm guessing that other females aren't welcome at that little party," she says as she starts to relax a bit.
"That's right," he confirms, continuing to watch the sky.
"There's more to it, though, isn't there?" she inquires, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Females rise to mate for three nights," he tells her.
"Aaaaand…," she prompts.
"Demona rose to mate last night," he grudgingly replies.
"Which means…?" she urges.
"That she's looking for a mate and she'll stop at nothing to get one," he answers.
"So the reason I'm holding on to you like this is in case she comes looking for love," she states.
"She attacked me last night," he responds as he adjusts his course slightly. "I believe that she had intended to trap me the night before last but instead she got Brooklyn."
"Is that how he got his wing broken?" she asks.
"Yes," he replies as he suddenly closes his wings and they drop like the proverbial rock.
Before she can even draw a breath, a red haired gargoyle goes streaking by them letting out an ear piercing scream of frustration. Goliath quickly reopens his wings and tries to gain altitude but can't find a strong enough updraft to serve his purpose. Seconds later, Demona is upon them again.
This time her attack comes from below and Elisa looks over her shoulder to see Demona reaching for the human. Before Demona can grab Elisa, Goliath flips over, protecting her with his body. Taking advantage of his defenseless side, she grabs a hold of him, digging her talons into his flesh as she tries to bite his neck. Instead of finding the body part she wants, she ends up with a mouth full of leather as she sinks her teeth into Elisa's left arm.
Elisa screams as Demona gleefully causes the detective pain as her sharp canines cut through the sleeve of Elisa's jacket. Goliath lets go of Elisa with one hand and punches Demona in the face as best he can. While the blow isn't hard enough to dislodge Demona, there is the satisfying crunch as Demona's nose gets broken.
Demona releases Elisa's arm as she cries out in pain and grabs her face with her hands. Goliath takes advantage of this and shakes his former mate off of his back. A second later the updraft he had been hoping to find makes its appearance and they're soon soaring towards the clouds again.
"Hold me, but loosely," Elisa instructs, her body and voice shaking with pain.
Goliath does as he's instructed and Elisa reaches inside her jacket for her gun with her good arm. Once she's secured the weapon, she puts her arm back around his neck. As she's doing this, he's watching Demona as she shakes off the effect of his punch and starts following them.
"Let her get above us," Elisa tells him quietly.
"That won't be a problem," he replies as Demona catches the same updraft and soars above them in a matter of seconds. "Why?"
"Clearer shot," she growls back.
"It won't stop her," he reminds her.
"No, but it will slow her down enough for us to find shelter," she replies.
A moment later Demona is diving out of the sky at them and Elisa takes aim. There's a loud crack as the gun discharges and Demona's scream can be heard a second later. They watch in fascinated horror as she falls from the sky and lands on top of a building with a sickening crunch.
"I'm glad she didn't land on the street," Elisa grumbles as she puts her gun back in its holster.
"Why the sudden concern for her?" Goliath asks in surprise.
"I'm not," Elisa answers as she slips her arm around his neck again. "I just don't want her falling on anybody."
"Good point," he agrees as he gladly holds her closer.
"Where are we going anyways?" she asks, trying to ignore the fire burning through her arm.
"Gwen's apartment," he answers as they start to descend. "I told her I would come and see Brooklyn. I think it's best that you stay there for now."
"Good, I could use a doctor," she states as her body begins to shake from a combination of the adrenaline wearing off and her arm hurting.
All he can do is hold her tighter as they continue their journey. She doesn't complain about being squeezed, but instead she just rests her forehead against the side of his neck, breathing in the scent of him and finding comfort in it. The combination of Demona's pheromones and Elisa leaning against an erogenous zone sends a bolt of electricity straight down to his loin cloth and he barely contains his growl of need.
Fortunately, they're landing on the roof of Gwen's apartment building a few minutes later. Not even bothering to pause to set Elisa on her feet, he marches over to the door and quickly heads down three flights of stairs. The fact that she's not protesting being carried has him worried and when he gets to Gwen's door, he bangs on it with a bit more force than necessary.
Not a sound is made for several seconds and Gwen is fairly certain her heart is going to burst right out of her rib cage.
"Who is it?" Matt shouts and Gwen, for the second time tonight, is glad he came up.
"Matt?" Goliath's voice can clearly be heard from the other side of the door.
There's a collective sigh of relief as Gwen goes to open the door. The relief is instantly gone when she sees Elisa in the gargoyle's arms. The detective's face is flush and sweating, her lips are more swollen than usual and she's trembling.
"Put her on my bed," Gwen instructs as she heads for her bedroom with Goliath behind her. "What happened?"
"We were attacked," Goliath answers as he lies Elisa down on the small bed and Gwen goes into her closet and starts opening a small safe.
"What in the world could possibly attack you?" Lars asks as he slips into the room, the others trying to follow.
"Not what, who," Goliath nearly growls as he turns to look at his clan mates. "Demona has risen and she attacked us on the way over here."
Gwen lucks out again as everyone's attention is on Goliath and they don't notice her mess up the combination on the safe. She can feel the blood leave her face and she tries to concentrate on what she's doing and not on a memory. Brooklyn's snarl of anger snaps her out of her shock and she turns to look at him as Lars tries to slip behind Goliath for protection.
"So what happened to Elisa?" Matt asks as Lex squeezes past his legs filling up the tiny room even more.
"Demona bit her on the arm," Goliath explains, hovering over the woman he loves.
"Goliath, get her out of that jacket," Gwen instructs as she goes back to unlocking the safe. "Once that's done, I want everyone out of this room. Lars, take dinner and the gargoyles down to your apartment. Matt, I need you to call 911 and then wait downstairs for the ambulance to arrive."
"You think she's that bad?" Lex asks as he stands up straight to get a better look at his friend while Goliath removes her jacket.
"Look at her," Gwen instructs as she finally gets her bag out and stands up. "She's going into shock. Now please, do as I've instructed and she should be ok."
"I won't leave her," Goliath warns, not budging from his spot beside the bed.
"Fine, but you'll have to wait in the living room," she replies as she wedges herself between him and Elisa.
Goliath is so startled by her audacity that he actually steps back and gives her some room. He stands and watches until Lex pulls on his hand to get his attention. The small gargoyle nods his head towards the door and then turns to go out it.
Goliath hesitates for a moment and watches as Gwen carefully examines the injured limb. The area above the elbow is badly inflamed and swollen and Elisa groans as beads of sweat cover her brow. Gwen starts muttering in another language as she quickly starts cleaning the wound and he can hear Elisa starting to have trouble breathing.
"Goliath, you aren't helping," Gwen snarls, not even bothering to look up at the being that could crush her like a twig. "Now please leave."
"Gwen, the emergency dispatcher wants to know what's wrong with her," Matt calls from the kitchen.
"Tell them she's going into anaphylactic shock," Gwen yells back as she pulls a strange cylinder and a pair of medical scissors out of her bag. "Scheisse, Goliath, get the hell out of my room!"A second later, Brooklyn and Lex return and gently pull Goliath out of the room just as Gwen starts to pull Elisa's shoes off. He lets them lead him out of the room, but he refuses to go past the hallway and watches through the open door as Gwen begins to cut open Elisa's pant leg. Before he can go charging back into the room, a hand on his arm catches his attention. He looks down and is startled to see that it's Lars looking up at him with sad eyes.
"Don't," Lars pleads. "Anaphylactic shock is very serious. Left untreated, it can kill her. Gwen and I both know what it's like, so please trust her to take good care of your friend. Would you please help me bring dinner down to my place?"
"I can't just leave her," Goliath rumbles, torn between wanting to protect the woman he loves and letting someone else do it for him.
"Going in there will only endanger her life," Lars warns him. "Let Gwen do her job."
Reluctantly, the gargoyle lets the man pull him away from the bedroom so he never sees Gwen slam the strange cylinder into Elisa's thigh. His arms are loaded down with something, he's not sure what he's carrying and then he's lead out of the apartment. A few minutes later, he's sitting in Lars much larger apartment's living room feeling completely helpless. A plate of food is thrust into his talons, but he just ignores it as he stares unseeing into space.
Author's Notes: Thanks, Koala, for the quick lesson in swearing in German.