Here is chapter 6 of my story.
Special thanks to my beta "London Bai" for editing it!
Dawn was only a few hours away as Demona finally returned to her home after leaving Brandon standing on his balcony. She had taken the long, scenic route home as she wanted a little time to think about what had transpired between them. Landing softly on the large veranda leading into her bedroom, she opened the large double glass doors and entered her home. She caped her large wings around herself as she shut the doors, walked through the bedroom into the hallway, and down the stairs that led to the kitchen. As she walked, thoughts of the human... Brandon flooded her mind. She would have very much liked to think that she didn't know why she had the gall to kiss him, but she knew exactly why she had and she was very unsure as to what exactly to do about it.
'I've hated humanity for so long and here I kissed one of them!' She forcefully thought as she entered the kitchen to pour herself a small glass of Merlot.
Demona, clearly warm and flustered at her current predicament, decided to do what she always did when she was perplexed: take a hot bath. This was one of the little pleasures she enjoyed very much. Accumulating her vast wealth over ten centuries, and recently being able to become a human during the day made buying and enjoying such menial luxuries all that much easier. A large elegant house, nice designer clothes, and a wonderful bathtub she had installed which was plenty big enough for wings to lay free behind her. All of which were really the only things she truly enjoyed about this human-filled world. Topping off her glass, she walked back upstairs into her bathroom and started to run the water. As the water rushed out of the faucet, filling the spacious cream-colored tub, she looked at the tiled walls of her immaculate bathroom area around the tub and shower. Demona smiled to herself as it was similar to the dark blue tile and white caulking that Brandon had in his bathroom.
Running her index talon through the water to see if it had reached the right temperature, the red head turned the hot knob a little further to increase the heat. She set her glass on the edge of the tub and stood up to get undressed. As she slid her halter-top off her shoulder and down to her waist, she took notice of herself in the mirror across the room, the steam for the water already coating the mirror in a layer of water. She had never really been one to think of herself as particularly attractive, at least to a human. Unclasping her belt and sliding her loin cloth down to her ankles along with the top, she looked herself over in the mirror and smirked, giving a little seductive pose at herself. 'Why the hell did I just do that..' She immediately thought, berating herself afterwards.
Once her clothing and jewelry were off, she sat down in the hot water and laid her head on the tubs' headrest. The hot water enveloped her body making her feel instantly relaxed. Taking a sip from her glass and closing her eyes she found herself deep in thought. 'Would he still be interested if he knew I had planned to destroy the entire human race? Do I even still want to do that now that I have met him? Could a relationship even work between us? I shouldn't have left him tonight... I wanted him so badly... it's been so long since I've been with someone.'
As Demona's thoughts quickly went south, so did her right hands' talons. The warm embrace on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, if only for a brief pleasurable moment, the deepened wanting kiss on his balcony all led her to think Brandon would be a very passionate mate, and that was something she hadn't had in nearly ten centuries. Pair that with the memory of how his body looked when he had burst into the bedroom thinking she was in trouble and it all fueled her lust for him further. Demona placed her glass back on the edge of the tub as she twirled a few curls of red pubic hair around her index talon before moving it gently over her sex. Her other hand, now free from the glass, was able to caress her left breast as she softly pulled on her dark blue nipple. A soft moan filled the air of the heated bathroom as her deft talons brushed over her aching personal bud.
"No..." Demona lustfully, yet angrily said aloud. "I shouldn't be doing this..." Her talons, despite her claim, wanted to continue. "Let alone over a..." She stopped herself as she didn't want to say it this time. He wasn't just a human; he was Brandon and once again her conflicting thoughts had ruined her little moment of pleasure.
Letting out a great big dissatisfied sigh, Demona stepped out of the her bathtub and grabbed her towel to dry off. "Last month, I hated humans. This month... I just don't know." Throwing the towel over the shower door, Demona trudged down to her bedroom figuring she might be able to get an hour or two worth of sleep before she transformed.
Atop of the Eyrie Building on the walls of Castle Wyvern, Goliath and Elisa looked outward into the soon fading night sky as they saw Broadway returning from his nightly patrol.
"Where is Angela? I thought you two were out patrolling together?" Goliath asked Broadway.
"I'm not sure, Goliath. She went off on her own for a bit and said she would meet me back here at the castle."
"You just let her go off on her own!? When there are all these dangers around! What if she runs into Quarrymen!?" Goliath angrily questioned.
Elisa sensing how badly Broadway felt, moved beside Goliath and wrapped her arm around his flexing arm to calm the leader. "I'm sure she will return soon. She knows how dangerous it is to be out alone, especially after sunrise with the Quarrymen still around."
"Sorry, Goliath... you know how she is. She loves to explore the city. Do you think she will be okay?" Broadway asked, feeling utterly dismayed.
'Hmm, I hope she returns soon. The sunrise is fast approaching.' Goliath thought to himself. "I am sure she is just fine, but her constant exploring of the city is getting very dangerous, so next time you are to go with her, no matter what she says. Understand?" He sternly said to Broadway.
"Yes, Goliath..."
Within just a few short moments, Angela was quickly gliding up the tall building, towards the castle where Elisa, Goliath and Broadway stood waiting.
"See? There she is, Goliath!" Elisa said in a cheery tone.
Angela lightly landed next to Broadway, taking notice of his sullen expression. She could tell he had gotten in trouble and knew why. She caped her wings around herself and put a hand on Broadways' shoulder before turning to Goliath. "Sorry, father. I guess I didn't notice the lighting sky or I would have returned earlier..." She could tell her father was angry that she had been out so late, alone.
"Broadway, leave us. I will discuss this matter further with you later." Goliath watched as Broadway turned the corner before turning to question his daughter. "What were you doing to be out so long?" Goliath asked quickly. "You know it's not safe to be out by yourself and if you didn't return in time, you would be left vulnerable!"
"I know father, I'm sorry... I just wanted to explore the city a bit more and I ended up seeing mother with..."
Goliath quickly became angrier. "You saw Demona!? Did she see you? You didn't talk to her, did you? She has lied to you before and I have told you several times to stay away from her!"
"I didn't talk to her, father. She didn't know that I had seen her, but I saw her with a human..." A slight blush crept over her lavender cheeks, which didn't go unnoticed by Elisa.
Before Goliath could scorn her further, Elisa stood in front of him to ask Angela questions in a more calm demeanor. "So, you saw Demona with a human? What were they doing?"
"Well, after exploring I was heading back towards the castle when out of the corner of my eye I saw mother gliding away from the Brooklyn Bridge. I noticed she had someone in her arms so I thought I would take a look and saw that she had a human with her."
"Where did they go? What were they doing?" Goliath blurted out, wanting to know what happened tonight.
Angela kept her head down while she spoke to avoid her fathers' austere gaze and partly to hide the embarrassment of what she had witnessed. "She took the human to an apartment building. I guess it was were he lived."
"So, what were they doing Angela?" Elisa asked curiously and interested.
"Well, they were standing on the balcony for a moment... and umm... and then mother kissed him before she left."
"WHAT!?" Elisa and Goliath said at the same time. Both of them couldn't believe what Angela had just said. No way would Demona kiss a human; she hated humanity too much for that to even be a possibility.
"Are you sure you saw them kiss? Demona kissed him?" Elisa carefully asked. Angela just nodded, confirming what Elisa just asked. "Not the other way around?" Angela slowly shook her head.
"Hmm, what could Demona be doing with a human? What could she be planning?" Goliath stated quizzically.
"Whatever it is, it's usually never good news." Elisa added.
Angela was always the one to defend her mother, despite the fact that Demona had lied to her several times and led her into a trap wasn't ready to dismiss the possibility that maybe she could change. "Why do you two always assume that she's up to no good!? Maybe she does like a human? It wouldn't be any different then what you and Elisa do, father!" Both Goliath and Elisa gave blank stares at Angela. "Don't try to deny it. I've seen you two together... on accident." Angela said, deeply blushing again.
Elisa had no words to reply out of pure embarrassment and extreme shock that Angela had witnessed them together. Instead, she turned to Goliath and coaxed him with her eyes into saying something.
"What Elisa and I have... is different, and neither one of us have plots to destroy humanity. Whatever Demona is doing must have an ulterior motive." He took a moment to examine the sky. "The sun is coming up soon. We should take our places for the day."
"Before you go, Angela... can you tell me the building where you saw them at? I figure while you guys are sleeping, I will do a little detective work on who this guy is."
Angela told Elisa exactly where she had seen them and she knew the building, but couldn't remember the address. She would have to drive by it on the way back to the police station before she can look this guy up.
"You guys sleep well. I will be here when you wake up and hopefully with some information for you guys."
Angela and Goliath took their usual places on the castle walls as the sun rose and the stone skin began to cover their bodies for the day. Elisa knew this was going to be another long day so before heading out she decided to hit a local vendor for coffee.
After getting her coffee and driving by the building to get the address, Elisa was now finally back at her new police station in the 25th precinct until they could finalize the repairs to the 23th precinct building. The repairs were going slow as the damage from the explosion that the hunters had caused were extensive and fixing anything in New York is slow at best.
As Elisa walked up the steps to the building now Co-Captain Chavez was walking down them to her car as she passed Elisa. "You're off duty, you know."
"I know, just wrapping up a few things before I head home."
"Well, you're off the clock, so don't be too long. Go home, Maza, and get some sleep." Captain Chavez said as she entered her vehicle.
Elisa acknowledged her boss and dashed inside the building and walked towards her desk. Sitting in her chair with a fresh cup of joe, she glanced at the notepad she had written the address on as she opened up the police database to type in the building address and apartment number for the top floor where Angela said she had seen Demona. As the dated computer churned away, Elisa leaned back in her chair a bit carefully watching the screen, but also thinking about what Angela had said she saw. Not about Demona, but between Goliath and herself. If Angela had seen them, who else could have? They would have to be more careful in the future and, of course, a rooftop isn't exactly an ideal place for sex. A smile crossed her lips as that thought graced by her mind.
'What if Angela was right?' Elisa thought. 'Maybe Demona and whoever this guy is actually has something together. If Goliath and I could, then maybe...'
Just then, her computer turned up the results of who lived in the very top floor apartment. "Brandon Brown." With a few short key strokes, she entered the needed information to pull off any record this guy had. A rather large file of information popped up immediately. "Humph, not surprised the guy has a record... wait a minute."
Elisa was expecting the typical bad guy profile, burglary, murder, etc... but that isn't what she got at all. This record was military.
"Let me see here... First Lieutenant Brandon Brown, Army Special Forces, served in the Gulf War, Desert Storm, multiple missions in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Africa, South East Asia, Bosnia, awarded the Purple Heart twice and the Silver Star." Trying to get more information on what exactly he did, Elisa tried clicking on each individual file, but to her disappointment, they all came up classified. The only thing she could get was his basic information and that was enough to lead her to believe that Goliath was right. Demona was up to something, this guy wasn't random at all. Nobody like this, a professional soldier would be a chance encounter of Demona's path.
"This looks like all the information I'm getting on this guy today. Guess I'll call it a day and head home."
Elisa hit a button on her computer to print out what she was allowed and shoved it in a folder to show Goliath later that night. With that done, Elisa was finally on her way home to get some much needed sleep for tonight.
As dusk approached, Elisa, with a manilla folder in hand, was waiting for Goliath to awaken so she could tell him what she had found out. As the sun set over the horizon, Goliath and the others cracked their thick skin and roared out of their stone slumber. Elisa greeted everyone as they briskly walked past her and into the castle to either watch television or eat... or both. Only Angela and Goliath stayed behind to talk with Elisa.
"So, what did you find out?" Goliath questioned.
''Well, the bottom line is this: the guy is ex-military. He was in the Special Forces." Elisa informed the violet gargoyle.
"Special Forces? What is that?" Goliath asked.
"It's pretty much one of the most highly trained groups of soldiers around. They usually do things that regular soldiers can't do. If you need a job done, you call these guys. I hate to say it, Angela, but I think Goliath was right. Guys like this aren't just random."
"But, what if it is just a random coincidence?" Angela said angrily. "You can't always judge people or assume negative things are going on if you aren't fully aware of what could be happening in their lives!" With an exasperated huff, she walked past the two of them and into the castle to join the others.
"Angela, wait!" Goliath shouted, but received no response from his daughter as she quickly disappeared into the vast castle. "I hate to upset her, but she doesn't know Demona like I do. She is up to something, I know it."
"I don't know, Goliath... maybe it isn't what it seems. I will admit that knowing who this guy is it does seem suspicious but what if she actually found someone to be with?"
"I cannot believe that, Elisa."
"What about us, then? We found each other by chance. I'm just saying maybe Angela is right. Maybe it's a possibility. A very, very rare possibility, but just maybe..."
"Maybe, but we are different. We don't plot and scheme to do such evil things..." Goliath was silenced as Elisa came in close for a hug.
"Why don't we go check this guy out tonight, Goliath? At the very least, I can talk to him to try and get some information about Demona. It could be dangerous though, so if you came along I would feel a little safer. Who knows? We might run into Demona there." Elisa smiled at Goliath.
A low rumble resonated deep in his chest. A sign of him thinking. "Very well. If you think it is best to talk to this person, then I will accompany you to make sure you are safe."
With that being said, Goliath picked up Elisa and set out into the starry night sky over the busy island as she guided him towards the apartment building.