1000 years ago
Superstition and the sword ruled
It was a time of darkness
It was a world of fear
It was the age of Gargoyles!
Stone by day, warriors by night
We were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect
Frozen in stone by a magic spell
For 1000 years
Now here in Manhattan
The spell is broken,
And we live again!
"I certainly would appreciate you telling my comrades that I am fine. But, please, don't speak of Angela. I want it to be her choice to either stay with me or return to Avalon. And if you wouldn't mind, please help my second-in-command realize that in my absence, he should step up." Goliath said to Sauda.
"I belive I can do that." The half-gargoyle nodded before walking through the portal.
"Who are you?" Broadway asked.
"My name is Sauda Atiena. I hale from Brazil. Goliath found me before my home was destroyed. He invited me to live here with all of you."
"If Goliath invited you, lass, then yer more than welcome." Hudson said with a warm smile. "I am Hudson. And these three are Brooklyn, Broadway and Lexington."
"You said you had a message from Goliath?" Lexington asked.
"Yes. Bronx, Elisa and himself are fine. They are on a mission from Oberon." Sauda answered.
"The King of the Fairies?" Brooklyn asked.
"Yes. But he does not know when he will return." Suddenly, the late traffic came to life with honking horns. It gave Sauda a jump. She assumed a defensive position, which caused the younger trio to laugh. But the new-comer was not amused. "You did not hear those battle horns?!"
"They're not battle horns." Lexington said.
"Yeah. They're car horns." Broadway added.
Sauda stood straight and looked confused. "Car horns?" The trio led her outside while Hudson reclined in his chair to watch television. Outside, Sauda gasped. Manhatten was huge! Lights were so bright that they hid the stars. Looking down from the tower, she saw humans. "I've never seen so many humans all at once."
"You get used to it after a while." Lexington said. Would you like to go on a tour?"
She beamed at that idea. "Yes, I would!"
"How about the Gardens as our first stop?" Brooklyn suggested. All agreed and took off.
Along the way, Sauda asked, "These humans enjoy riding those in those machines?" She pointed to the cars on the ground.
"Most do. The rest prefer to walk." Brooklyn answered. He then looked ahead and smiled. "There's the Gardens."
They flew up to Madison Square Garden. "That's not a garden, it's a temple of some type." Sauda complained.
"No, it called' Madison Square Garden. But some just call it the Gardens." Broadway explained.
"Oh, well, if you say so." She replied. "What do people do in it?"
"Anything. From games to concerts." He answered.
They kept going and wound up on the roof. "Doesn't sound like they're doing anything tonight." Lexington said.
"We could try Central Park." Brooklyn suggested.
Once in Central Park, they landed. Sauda took in the scenery and smiled. "Now this is perfect." She said as she fell back onto the grass. She prefered a more natural setting.
"What was it like in Brazil?" Lexington asked.
"Nothing like this jungle. Thick forest, a stone temple. My home." She paused for moment. "Was my home."
"What happened?" Broadway asked.
"Humans. They destroyed my temple." She answered. The trio was a little worried. Would she be like Demona, bent on revenge against the humans? "But I know that not all humans are like this. Elisa was very kind to me." She smiled as she rolled around on the grass. She then started to giggle. She saw the look Brooklyn gave her before explaining. "The grass tickles."
After about fifteen minutes of rolling on the grass, all four decided to patrol the city. Lexington and Sauda went downtown while Brooklyn and Broadway went uptown.
"So, how many gargoyles were in your clan?" Lex asked.
"Including myself, eight. Our leader, Alexandre, and his mate, Raquel. The second-in-command and a mother to the rest of us was Catina. All my Rookery brothers were older than me. In order, it was Luiz, Gaspar, Eduardo and myself." She explained. "We also had a guard dog much like Bronx. Her name was Débora."
"Wow. So you were the youngest of your clan?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Well, I'm the youngest of mine." Lex said.
Sauda smiled. "Then we will be the closest, like siblings. We both understand the hardships of being the youngest."
Lexington laughd at that. "I never tnought of it like that. Sure, why not?"
Sauda laughed in what felt like decades. She felt as if she were with her brothers again.
Brooklyn and Broadway went north, the entire time, they thought of the newest member of the clan.
"She's actually kind of cute." Broadway said.
"Cute? She's gorgeous." Brooklyn countered. "The way her hair flows as she glides. The colors of her wings. And her smile." He suddenly stopped and saw the smirk on his brother's face. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"
"Very loud." Broadway laughed. "For being the adventurous one, you sure look embarrassed right now."
Brooklyn growled at himself. He certainly felt foolish. But he shouldn't. Broadway was right. He was the adventurous one. He'd even rode a horse once. So why should he be embarrassed about liking Sauda?
Suddenly, sirens went off. Thet landed on a building and overheard the police. "He headed southbound before we lost him. Suspect is considered armed and very dangerous."
"Just how we like them." Broadway said. He and Brooklyn took off south to search for the suspect.
"So, what does your last name mean?" Lex asked after they landed on a building next to some stone gargoyles.
"Atiena means 'guardian of the night'. The natives respected us. Even enough to bring food as an offering."
"Broadway would have loved that." Lex laughed. Suddenly, a man ran through the street and knocked several people down. "He looks suspicious. Let's follow him."
Sauda followed after, readying herself for a fight. Thet were silently following the guy until he turned into an alley being occupied by street kids. "Get outta here!" He yelled at them.
The eldest of the group scowled at him. "You're not our boss! You can't tell us what to do!"
"Wanna bet, kid?" He said as he pulled out a switch blade.
Sauda was quick to jump on the guy. Facing the children, she shouted one word. "RUN!" They were smart enough to listen to her. The guy managed one good slash at Sauda's left shoulder, making her roar. She then grabbed the man by the collar of his jacket and held him against the wall. Her eyes the glowed as she growled, baring her fangs. "You like playing with blades? They're nothing compared to these." She held up her left hand to show her claws. "I sharpen them every night. Wanna feel?" She then tossed him out of the alley, right toward some cops who were accompanied by the kids from before.
"And he had a knife he was gonna use on us." The youngest said as they approached the alley.
When they saw the guy being tossed, the cop grabbed and cuffed him. "This the guy?" He asked.
"Yep. That's him." The youngest answered.
"And who did you say stopped him from hurting you?" The cop asked.
"An angel." She answered with a small smile.
From the roof, Lex gave Sauda a pat on the back. "Nicely done."
"Thanks." Sauda smiled. That was when Brooklyn and Broadway landed.
"Did you guys see where a Creep went?" Broadway asked.
"Was it that Creep?" The new gargoyle asked as she pointed to the ground. Brooklyn and Broadway looked over the edge, shocked to see that it was the guy they were chasing that was now being put into a police car.
"Sauda, your shoulder!" Lexington suddenly gasped. This caused the other two to come over quickly.
Sauda saw the blood trickle down her arm. "Nothing a little sleep won't cure." She said. "Let's head back." She suggested.
Hudson stood from his chair, deciding to get on his perch. Once outside, he saw the others gliding back, just in time before sunrise. He was smiling until he saw Sauda's injury. "Lass, are ye alright?"
"I'll be fine after sunrise." She said. She looked out to the city and sighed. "This new jungle will take some getting use to." She said.
"You'll grow to like it soon enough." Broadway said. "We love it here.'m
"I'm sure I'll feel the same soon." She said with a smile. "After all, it may be different, but in some ways, it's the same. The best part being that I'm not alone."
Once the others got in place, Broadway made sure to leave extra space next to Brooklyn. When Sauda saw this space, she jumped up onto it. When she saw Brooklyn look at her, she smiled and slightly blushed. 'Maybe this place won't be bad after all.' She thought before the sun rose and froze the smile on her face.
To Be Continued...