A universal truth regarding the nature of near-adolescent juveniles, is that their desperate and deep thirst for independence, however misguided, instinctively leads them to nurture a talent of getting around the various adult protectors in their lives. Well aware of this law of nature, Adelpha knew precisely where to go to get the clearance she and Brooklyn would require for their mission. Alexander would have most likely provided the service for free, due to his affection for Adelpha and the sheer rush of being involved in an adult conspiracy, but wishing to follow all the appropriate protocol, Brooklyn provided a family-sized bag of hot Takis to seal the deal.
With a sticky layer of unnaturally red dust on his fingertips, Alexander expertly snuck into Owen's apartment as he took a shower, and obtained access to his cellphone. It was the same standard mischief of any tech-savvy thirteen year old boy that allowed him to bypass the code and rummage through the man's digital directory. But it required the use of his magical gifts to so perfectly imitate the sound of his teacher's voice as he called in a favor from the head of the New York Botanical Society on the behalf of David Xanatos.
Despite Xanatos' many unique interests, he had never managed to get especially excited about gardening. When Daniel Whitman-Francis had excitedly approached him a recent corporate gala to laude him for another generous donation and present him with a litany of all the fascinating and life-altering botanical projects he had financed, Xanatos had quickly interrupted his rambling with an awkward smile, saying,
"On behalf of Xanatos Enterprises, we are proud to support your research! But Dan… They're plants."
That being said, his unprecedented and consistent support toward the Botanical Society had resulted in an extremely useful perk for Xanatos. Namely, the ability to call in for exclusive use of the facility outside of normal operational hours. And in the case of Xanatos, that really meant 'exclusive'. Even the garden's normal nighttime security was dismissed when he made arrangements to be there with his "associates". No doubt, the president of the society suspected any number of arcane or nefarious interactions took place during these secret garden parties hosted by his eccentric benefactor. But whoever Whotman-Francis imagined Xanatos' associates to be, he had probably never considered winged lovers on a date night.
But due to this privilege, the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx was one of very few places Adelpha had seen outside of the castle in over a decade. Acres and acres of human-free forests and gardens provided the clan with a sanctuary. The peaceful quiet and fresh fragrant breezes were the pleasant reminder that nature still existed beyond the stone, steel, and glass prison that typically contained Adelpha. She was most grateful whenever Goliath felt she required a brief break from her incarceration to enjoy them with him. Brooklyn was aware of Adelpha's familiarity with the gardens, but was still surprised and rather hesitant that she requested it as a location from which to summon Striker back into their midst.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked once again as he flew her across the river in a small, stealthy aircraft of Lexington's design.
"No," she replied honestly, for the third time, "But I do wish you would stop squirming and focus on piloting this thing.
"It's a bit snug with the two of us in here," he complained as he tried to relieve the tightness of sitting unnaturally on his tail, without squashing Adelpha into the back of the seat.
Adelpha shrugged as she tried to find a bit more space.
"I'm usually riding in here with Goliath," she pointed out with a naughty chuckle, "He's nearly twice your size and we're always quite comfortable!"
"What can I say?" Brooklyn replied snarkily, "It's just not gonna be the same with me."
On the occasions Goliath took Adelpha outside of the castle, security protocol required her view of the city to be as restricted as possible. He typically transported her in one of Lexington's flightpods because only what was right in front of the windshield was visible when navigating while the horizontal and vertical peripheries were monitored by computer. The flightpod's GPS capabilities and multiple systems of sensors made it so simple, a child could operate it. In fact, Lexington had taken Alexander on many rides, always allowing him a turn to navigate.
But ease and protocol weren't the only benefits of Lexington's genius brilliant that Adelpha desired for this particular mission . The body of the machine was virtually indestructible by bullet or blast, and the entire vehicle could be submerged up to two hundred feet, for as long as three hours, and still rise to the surface and take off in a matter of minutes. If things went south with Striker and his party, the flightpod was a strong escape option.
Brooklyn and Adelpha parked the flightpod against the bank of the Bronx river, making sure to cover it with a shrub of hanging branches that wept into the water. Then they hurried to a point where they could get a good look at the security office. Four officers were standing in a circle, arguing.
"Are those fools going to leave or are we going to have to help them?" Adelpha snarled menacingly.
"They're probably confused," Brooklyn pointed out, "I guess you and Alex forgot that whenever Xanatos makes these arrangements, he's supposed to send his own security team to relieve them."
Adelpha turned to him with narrowed eyes.
"Security team?" she asked incredulously and Brooklyn nodded.
"And what are you?" she replied, crossing her arms.
Brooklyn sighed.
The four security guards were still arguing about whether they should go home for the night like they were told, or stay until someone from Xanatos Enterprises showed up, when Brooklyn approached them from the shadows.
"Hey, guys," he tried to address them nonchalantly.
"What the hell!" one of the guards screamed, and the other three all turned and pulled their weapons menacingly.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Brooklyn cried, putting up his arms defensively, "Don't shoot! I'm not a gargoyle!"
"Huh?" one of the guards replied in confusion.
"You're not?" another asked skeptically.
"No, man!" Brooklyn replied, "This is a costume!"
"A costume?" replied the first guard fearfully, not yet lowering his gun, "Why the hell would anyone go around in the middle of the night wearing a gargoyle costume?"
"I'm not 'going around'! I'm here for the publicity shoot!" Brooklyn explained in his best imitation of a frustrated human stuntman.
The guards all glanced at each other uncertainly.
"Publicity shoot?"
"That's what we're here for!" Brooklyn exclaimed, his voice rising in timber, like he thought he was talking to complete idiots, "We're shooting a publicity video for Xanatos Enterprises! Get it? Gargoyles? Like the ones on top of the tower? You actually thought I was a real gargoyle? How dumb are you guys?"
"Well, that's a pretty realistic costume, Man," one of them criticized in a defensive voice, "I damn near pissed myself!"
"Well, you were told not to be here, weren't you?" Brooklyn countered, "No one was supposed to see it yet! The garden was supposed to keep the whole production top secret! Now I'm going to have to tell the director. He's going to have to go all the way back to his car to get the non-disclosure forms. This whole contract with the garden is going to blow up and our psycho boss is going to fire all our asses. I hope your boss is easier than mine, because they aren't going to be happy either!"
"Well, uh..Wait a minute, Bro. Don't do all that," one guard replied sheepishly.
"Yeah, man," the other guard agreed, "We were all on our way home and we didn't see nothin'! Right, guys?"
One guard shrugged.
"I didn't see nothin'!" he confirmed.
"Shoot. I didn't see no gargoyle costume and I was watchin' with both my eyes!" the last guard agreed overly-enthusiastically and got a side-eye from the oldest of the four, who Brooklyn guessed was the supervisor.
"There you go," the older guard concluded, "Why don't we all just go about our business, and you all go back to your project and have a nice night?"
"Well…" Brooklyn considered carefully, "All right."
Brooklyn climbed a wall and watched the guards as they headed across the street to the train platform, then hopped down to find Adelpha leaning casually across a park bench.
"Well, that was entertaining," she commented with a slight smile, "You were born for deception, my friend!"
"I learned from the best," he replied, stretching his arms and wings into a dramatic bow. Adelpha rose from the bench abruptly and strode past him toward the center of the garden, where they'd hidden their flightpod.
"If you'd learned anything at all, you would have just snapped their necks and been done with it," she criticized him arrogantly, but he caught up with her and grabbed her arm, bringing her wrist to the end of his beak in an affectionate gesture.
"Don't make me regret this!" he warned dangerously.
Adelpha led him past the elaborate greenhouses and lily pools to the forest, where they immediately hopped the fence, leaving the trail and heading into the protection of the canopy.
"What are we looking for?" Brooklyn asked after several minutes of wandering.
"I'm not sure," she admitted, "Some place that will give us a tactical advantage?"
"Why would they want to fight us?" Brooklyn asked in exasperation, "We are not enemies!"
"Sometimes, not being friends, means the same as being enemies," she told him, "Sometimes the situation makes you enemies, even when you don't wish it."
"That's ridiculous," Brooklyn grumbled.
Finally, Adelpha stopped again and sighed. They had found the river again. The place where they had hidden the flightpod was a short distance downstream and an elegant, thin footbridge rose high above them, across the river.
"I suppose this is as good a place as any," she decided out loud and she crouched upon a fallen log that leaned across the river bank, and slid down into the bed itself, where a ledge of dry gravel rose above the water. Brooklyn followed her down the tree trunk and crouched beside her, noticing a small protective pouch that she had brought along. From it, she pulled the small book she had been reading earlier and handed it to him.
Brooklyn opened it. It was clearly a children's book, full of images to help young ones understand the words and concepts within. Slowly, he turned through the pages and recognition came to his face as he read descriptions of various gargoyle traditions and celebrations.
"Did you write this, Adelpha?" he asked curiously, "For Little Brother and Little Sister?"
"I took this from the island of Bain Felix," she said in a voice that was nonsensically loud, "I was sent there by Alexander, seven years ago, and Goliath and Lexignton followed me through the portal. I went there, searching for Felix the Healer, but he was no longer there, as Lord Oberon had already summoned him to the Gathering. Instead, we found an enormous clan of our kind, who have built a city there, free and safe from humanity for the last three centuries. We were taken prisoner for our trespassing, and brought before a council of elders. Cato, the head elder, heard our case and chose to release us on the condition that we never told another soul about the island. Later, while still on our mission, we encountered Cato and his band again, and it was made clear that the price of their safety was the immediate execution of any human who encountered them, even by accident."
Brooklyn's already surprised eyes widened at this detail.
"That shouldn't have been problematic for you," he commented with open disdain for her ruthless ways.
"It should not have been," she agreed bitterly, "And it would not have been. But unfortunately, the human who unwittingly stumbled upon them was Luach."
"Luach?" he repeated, his mouth hanging open with surprise.
"Yes, Luach," she replied, "And as a result of his unintentional trespass, Cato demanded his immediate death. I could not tolerate this."
Brooklyn studied her, clearly dumbfounded.
"Do you mean to tell me that you…YOU!… with your insatiable vendetta toward humans… somehow managed to make enemies of a human-hating clan of gargoyles, by actually protecting a human yourself?"
"The irony of the situation has not escaped me," she replied irritably.
"And Goliath never told us?!" Brooklyn exclaimed, practically squealing.
"How could he? Cato assured us that they were always watching and that if we broke our vow, they would know! They could come after us or any of our human allies for retribution. He wouldn't risk that!"
Brooklyn considered this explanation anxiously. A whole city of gargoyles? What were they capable of? Had they come to New York to watch them? Possibly to threaten or attack them? Even to do harm to the humans they served?
"Okay. What do we do now?" Brooklyn asked.
"Now, we wait," she replied, placing the book back inside the protective cover, "And see if Cato was telling the truth about their ability to track us."
Quietly, Adelpha leaned back against the tree trunk, looking up at the sky. There were no stars visible against the constant, eerie glow of the city. Brooklyn had grown used to it, but the sight always made Adelpha uneasy.
"Do you regret it?" Brooklyn asked suddenly, "Saving Luach, I mean."
"I knew what you meant," she replied softly, "And no. I do not regret it."
Brooklyn took a place beside her. His body was at rest, but his mind was racing, pacing back and forth through all his memories since Adelpha, Goliath, and Lexington had returned from their voyage together. He realized how hard it must have been for Goliath not to tell him what had happened. So many of Goliath's subsequent choices had made no sense to Brooklyn at the time, but now fell perfectly into place.
"I was livid," Brooklyn told her, "When you returned from West Virginia after having killed that woman. I was shocked when Goliath brought you home and ordered no additional punishment or even security measures. I was scandalized when he announced to us that he had taken you as his mate again."
"It must have been difficult for you to understand," Adelpha acknowledged, while graciously stepping around the fact that it was also none of his business.
"But I am so grateful that you are home with us, where you belong," he continued, "And I want you to know that when I become leader, no matter what the circumstances, I will always see that you are protected and kept with the clan."
Adelpha smiled genuinely.
"Then I gather you've stopped work on that Antarctic prison you were going to build for me?"
After a few more minutes of waiting, they heard a crack of a twig nearby and Brooklyn's ears raised. A few more soft rustlings reached their ears and Brooklyn instinctively sniffed the air, wondering if it was an animal he heard.
"They have come," Adelpha whispered warningly, and Brooklyn rose to his feet defensively.
"Striker!" he yelled in a firm voice that echoed impressively off the stoney banks of the river, "If you are there, show yourself!"
Adelpha rose to stand beside him. No one answered, but as they waited, they began to hear a strange, low humming, like a distant motor. A ominous feeling of dread rose in Brooklyn. He had prepared himself mentally for every response from Striker that he could imagine, but he hadn't prepared himself for silence.
Suddenly, at the top of the bridge's arch, they saw a violent flash of green flame that shot out from that point with a roar of thunder. They were forced to glance away from this blinding explosion of energy, and when they looked back, Striker and four other warriors swooped down at them from the bridge. The warriors attacked without warning, separating them both, despite their struggling and forcing them to the ground. Brooklyn felt some sort of burning fibers encircle his throat, and he grabbed at it angrily. One of the warriors took this opportunity to seize his wrists and bind them as well.
"What is this?!" Brooklyn roared angrily. His every attempt to break the strange cords only caused them to sear deeper wounds into his flesh.
"Had I the opportunity to read up on your clan's last encounter with us," Striker began arrogantly, "I would not have been so forgiving last night."
"We've done nothing to you!" Brooklyn hissed defiantly.
"Silence!" Striker commanded, then he turned to Adelpha, who Brooklyn could see was also bound and held to the ground.
"And this, I assume, is Adelpha?" he asked in a disdainful tone as she glared back at him contemptuously, "Yes, of course! You are the one who thwarted Cato, by taking one of our warriors hostage and attempting to tear his throat out."
"Cato was the aggressor in that situation," Adelpha declared righteously, "I was merely protecting an ally, who had caused your clan no harm."
"A human!" Striker spat, "An innocent gargoyle's life for a human!"
"It was not I who required this sacrifice," she retorted coldly, "Fortunately, Cato chose to see reason…eventually."
Striker knelt beside her, his glaring eyes fixed on hers.
"Cato was a just and compassionate soul," he praised in a voice that held not one drop of genuinity, "But tragically, it is me you must deal with tonight!"
Striker rose from his position and strode over to Brooklyn.
"And you!" he bellowed, "You have not done as we agreed!"
"I don't know what you are talking about!" Brooklyn replied, "You spoke to my brother, remember? And he was not allowed to tell me anything!'
Striker sneered at this argument, but could not dispute its truth.
"And you did not require a vow of secrecy from him, before you released him," pointed out one of the guards, a female whose impressive strength held Adelpha in place, "As is proper protocol. He has committed no crime, according to our laws."
Striker growled, but acquiesced without arguing.
"Very well," he replied, "If he takes the vow of secrecy now, he may be released, after we have dealt with this one."
Striker returned his attention to Adelpha.
"You have broken the vow of secrecy you made before Cato and the council of elders," he declared, "I charge you with treason. This is a serious offense. Protocol requires that we return you to the council to stand trial."
"No!" Brooklyn raged, though his voice squeaked with the pain of his bonds, "You're not taking her!"
Brooklyn grabbed the arm of the warrior that held him by the cord around his neck, taking him by surprise and bringing him to the ground. Free to move at last, he then lunged toward Striker, who stepped back and drew a curved blade that pulsed with a strange, greenish hue as if it was made from some alien, almost-living material.
"Hold that fool!" Striker commanded and the two warriors wrestled him to the ground. Striker spoke again, his voice dripping with the lust for authority.
"At the present time, the council is in the middle of a crisis. They are in no position to proceed with any hearings until order is restored."
"We can keep her in prison until the council reassembles and elects a new chief elder," the female guard said urgently, and Adelpha's other guard snorted.
"So, a lifetime sentence, then?" he grumbled mockingly, then balked a little as Striker turned his attention to him. Striker did not seem angry at the quip though. Rather, he grinned almost gleefully, patting his comrade on the shoulder.
"The council's current state of chaos leaves me as next-in-command," Striker declared, "And the law allows that in a state of emergency or warfare, such charges may be adjudicated in the field."
"Adjudicated," Adelpha repeated, "Does that mean I may speak in my own defense?"
"You may," Striker agreed reluctantly, "Briefly."
"Very well," she replied, and the two warriors allowed her to stand, "I confess that I knowingly and intentionally broke the vow I made to Cato. I did so in the least harmful way possible, revealing what I knew only to Brooklyn, who has already encountered you for himself. I did this because I believed that I could use the spell your clan had placed on me to summon you here."
Several of the warriors murmured at this.
"Manipulative wench!" grumbled the male guard at her side.
"I did so for a good reason!" she assured them, "As we speak, Sorrow, the young female rogue we've held in our prison for several nights, stands convicted of murdering her own two hatchlings. She confessed to the crime, but Brooklyn and I believe she may be innocent. I know that if she spent any time among your clan, you must have required the same vow of secrecy you required of me, before you allowed her to leave. She would not be able to tell us where her children were. So, I used the spell placed against me to summon you here, so that we might know for certain if her children are alive and safe among you."
"A most persuasive story," Striker replied, turning away from her, to reach into a leather bag, "You brazenly manipulate our magical protections for your own gain?"
"To save an innocent gargoyle from serving an unjust prison sentence, Striker!" the female guard reminded him and the two warriors guarding Brooklyn voiced their support.
"Surely, most noble intentions," Striker replied in a sarcastic tone, "Now will you be good enough to explain your intentions for these charges as well?"
Striker unrolled a scroll and, one by one, read the extensive list of her crimes that Goliath had reported to Cato and council when he was trying to convince them to release her to his custody. Her eyes were cold and emotionless as she listened silently.
"Sorcery!...Murder!...Treason!...By the testimony of your own leader, you are a walking nightmare!," Striker declared in his best imitation of scandal, "Why ever did Cato allow you to leave?"
"She's repented for those crimes," Brooklyn cried angrily, "And they have nothing to do with what happened tonight. What does this prove?"
"It proves that this dangerous traitor should have never been released," Striker snarled, no longer able to hide his contempt, "Brothers and Sister! We all loved Cato! His ideals gave us hope and years of just ruling. But clearly, his reason and judgment deteriorated with age. This criminal should have been dealt with according to her crimes."
"She should be slain for her crimes!" the male guard demanded eagerly and the three others gasped.
"Kill one of our own kind?" cried one of Brooklyn's guards in outrage.
"Striker, that's unthinkable!" accused the other, "You know our laws!"
"You do indeed!" the female guard argued, "And the council has already heard those accusations and made their decision years ago! Who is to say that her leader was being truthful? I read the report as well. In addition to these accusations, he made ridiculous claims! He insisted she was immortal, nearly invincible! That's hardly a credible account. How can you judge her for any of those accusations without even being able to question this testimony?" The female guard concluded and Striker glared at her hatefully.
"Besides," another warrior insisted, "Even if she was guilty, it would not justify what you propose. No gargoyle may slay his own sister!"
"Sister!" Striker exclaimed with a cruel laugh, "Is she? Raised among humans? Filled to the brim with their evil, avarice, indifference, and cruelty? Clearly, she doesn't feel the same loyalty as you do, even toward her own brethren? How could we expect her to treat us any differently? No, this corrupted shell of a gargoyle is not one of us and she is as great a danger to us as any human. No, even greater! She must die."
Three of the warriors protested loudly as Striker drew his sword again.
"No!" Brooklyn roared while the two guards used all their strength to subdue him, "NO! She's changed! You don't know her! And now she's carrying a child!"
The smugness fell from Striker's face at Brooklyn's frantic claim.
"Check her!" he ordered the female guard, who pressed her claw flat against Adelpha's abdomen.
"It's small yet," she confirmed, "But there's an egg forming."
"It's a rookery summer," Striker reasoned dismissively, "Females ovulate and produce eggs. The records show that she was estranged from her mate. There's no reason to believe she is pregnant."
"You're insane, Striker!" the female accused, "We won't stand for this!"
"You have no choice, dear Sister," replied Striker's main ally haughtily.
"We all have a choice!" she snarled in return, "We have the choice to act as we've always believed was right. The way our elder's taught us! The way Cato taught us! Or we can follow this power-hungry maniac to certain devastation!"
"Enough of this!" Striker snarled, raising his sword and shoving the female guard aside. But the others would not have it and soon the five of them were engulfed in a firestorm of green, flaming blades and angry growls. Adelpha and Brooklyn, both still bound by claw and throat, fell to the ground in unison and crawled awkwardly under the tree trunk to get out of the way. Striker's comrade was knocked unconscious and fell not far away, his blade going dim as it landed in the wet gravel of the riverbed.
"Quickly!" Adelpha whispered, and she took hold of the hilt, and anchoring it with her foot against a crook of a gnarled tree branch, she sliced it through Brooklyn's bonds. Seconds later they were completely free and Adelpha seized the sword to join the battle.
"No!" cried a voice behind them and they turned in time to find the female, who whisked a strange, silvery blanket around them.
"Come!" she urged, "This is not your battle! It is ours!"
She led them away downstream under the cloak, while Striker raged against two of his own warriors.
They hurried into the flightpod.
"Thank you," Adelpha said genuinely.
"He's gone completely insane!" she exclaimed bitterly, "But know this. The rogue's hatchlings are on Bain Felix, living among one of our rookeries."
"They're alive?" Brooklyn exclaimed joyfully, "They're safe?!"
She shrugged.
"If you call this 'safe'," she replied, gesturing toward the battle raging behind them, which had moved up onto the bridge.
"Look," she said, "The vow of secrecy remains on you. You must never try to summon us again. Don't speak of us again. Don't think of us again. Go back to your castle and live in courage and good fortune! Forget us!"
Adelpha took their defender's claws in her own and drew them to her brow.
"We will not forget you, Sister," she promised, "May we have the chance to repay you someday!" They parted quickly, as the courageous female when to assist her brothers.
"Don't bring weapons," Adelpha chanted in a mocking tone as their flightpod ascended, "We don't need weapons…You're too dangerous with weapons…"
"Jalapena! That clan needs a shrink or something!" Brooklyn exclaimed.
"Well, every family has their…issues."
"But at least we got out alive!" he replied exhaustedly, "And we know that Sorrow is innocent!"
"She'll be happy to know she's free at last," she agreed and Brooklyn smiled and settled as comfortably as possible in his seat. It wasn't long before his face had fallen again.
"Do you think she'll stay?" he asked.
"I would think she would want to return to her hatchlings," Adelpha replied.
"Yeah," Brooklyn agreed, "That's probably right."
"She would be wise to stay though," Adelpha continued, "She has found a true friend in you, whether she is able to realize it or not."
A true friend, he thought to himself. And he smiled again.