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Souls of the Night
120.
After now also the last robot transmitted neither signals nor pictures this plan also failed. I had no more strength to get upset about it, although I was really angry and would have liked to tear apart my whole room. The fact that I hadn't completely collapsed was of course mainly due to the UV lamps that had been set up in the dungeon for a few days, and the bulbs in my and Nathaniel's room had been replaced accordingly. This was okay for me. What had worked for the clones for years was also acceptable for me and Nate. I opened the interlink with the in-house monitoring system and searched for the transmitter that had been incorporated into his new deception bracelet. Even now it was still working - proof that he hadn't fried it. And it indicated a different location than the dungeon where he put it every morning out of reach of his flames. So he must have dutifully and obediently put it on, even though he never left the castle and was not in danger of being photographed.
His position inside the Eyrie Building was indicated to me as a small red dot at the height of our training hall- just like the last nights. That was good, that was predictable. Briefly I had the urge to open the cameras in the gym. How I wanted to see him, even if only through a screen. For days I still slept and worked in the dungeon, sometimes even next to his statue illuminated by the spotlights - but as soon as the first crackling sound came from his direction, I gathered my things and crawled away to my room. I didn't really avoid him ... but I didn't want it to come to another dispute either. We had agreed on "a little distance" and I would not break that first. The reunion joy and relief would be all the more intense after I presented my solution to him and the clan. But now I could not let myself be distracted. I had to stay strong. And probably he would not want to see me right now - he was so convinced that I was wrong with my assumptions. It really hadn't been smart to throw these facts at him. But my patience was really short right now. My tantrum at the beginning of the week had been bad enough - our dispute afterwards even more. Those broken pieces had to be glued back together once I rescued Nate. I knew why he acted the way he did. He certainly saw the danger that came from his increasingly long stone sleep - just as I saw it. But we dealt with it completely differently because I desperately wanted him to live. And he ... maybe didn't want it so much.
But I would keep my promise, no matter if the others gave up, no matter if they called me unstable or otherwise! I was not yet at the end of my wisdom! I had intended to resort to these methods only when no robot was usable anymore, and in my opinion I deserved a damn medal for really sticking to it. But now it was time to bring out the big guns.
I flipped the channel and searched for every member of the clan. The kids' transmitters indicated they were in their rooms. Broadway and Angela in the kitchen, Katana in her own little dojo, Brooklyn and Goliath out of the castle, presumably on patrol to take their minds off the misery at home. So it was perfect.
I got up from my couch - and collapsed. With an oof, I fell onto my carpet and lay dumbfounded with a racing heart and vertigo. My head was pounding, the room was spinning and every muscle in my body seemed to be made of butter. This on top of everything else! Two weeks! Just two weeks with no flying or running, no real sunlight or stomach-turning big meals, and my flesh-shell began to play these kind of games. Now!
Grumbling, I sat up rubbing my aching neck, stretching my arms and legs, moving my joints as the dizziness subsided. It was probably one of those drops in blood pressure that old humans sometimes complain about. But I was not an old person. I was a gargoyle. A warrior.
"Don't let me down now or I swear I'll exchange you for cyborg parts," I growled, massaging my calves. When I had confidence in my body again I stood up shakily, grabbing my cell phone, wallet, and one of my energy drinks, which I downed on my way to my destination. Just before I turned the corner there, I listened again for sounds and lulled by the silence in this part of the castle, I crept into Goliath's room. Pictures of him and Elisa were emblazoned on the walls, of him and the clan, of him and his human relatives, of him, Elisa and their children. The framed cover of a literary magazine with him on the cover- clearly put up there by Elisa. Goliath wasn't proud of something but Elisa was for him.
A impressive wall of books- why he needed all those in his room even though we had the Xanatos Library and even an official night access into the New York Public Library since 2009 - was a mystery to me. I went to his desk and rummaged around there a bit. Then - because I remembered that he certainly didn't keep notes that were more than twenty years old within arms reach - I set to work on his drawers in the walk-in closet. His room was much more spacious than mine or Nathaniel's, just because of his stature, but right now that didn't make it any easier. But my cell phone, which would have given a silent alarm if one of my clan members had approached, did not turn on either. Then - when I pulled a large shoebox (clearly a donation from Elisa since we weren't wearing a lot of shoes) out of one of the bottom drawers and opened it, I finally found what I was looking for.
I skimmed the notes - hundreds of pages, thousands of sentences. Fragments, paragraphs, which he had written down to organize his thoughts - and which had never made it into the book. He had never intended to write anything about Fey and Avalon - that would have turned millions of people into magical gold diggers. A threat to the Avalon clan, which consisted of our relatives, the rescued eggs from the brood cave of Castle Wywern. There was too much to read- even skimming would take too long. But someone who could type and read almost as fast as Helena Matouskova had other options. I was looking for only one word. Avalon.
Page after page after page I moved to the left where I didn't see the word - and only a few sheets to the right. After not even five minutes I had gone through the pile and skimmed the small stack of papers on the right.
If Alex didn't come to me, I would come to him. And if I had to face Oberon personally- I would save Nate.
Thanks for reading, Q.T.