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Souls of the Night – Vol.3

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Final song from Souls of the Night Vol. 3 for Nathaniel and Lexington.

Spotify: Lighter (Galantis, David Guetta, 5 Seconds of Summer) - 2:52 min

Youtube: Galantis, David Guetta, & 5 Seconds of Summer - Lighter (Official Lyric Video) - watch?v=iIEC_V-SduM

"Mm." I took a deep breath, wriggled on the soft pad I was lying on and wanted to go back to sleep. Lexington's hand stroking through my hair was so wonderfully lulling. Only his voice reminded me that I was a gargoyle and shouldn't sleep at night.

"It's all right, love. It's all right. Are you back with us?"

I grumbled a little but blinked against the light in the room.

"Lex?" I asked sleepily, rubbing my eyes. My head was in my friend's lap and he smiled gently down at me.

"Everything's fine, Nate. You're at the castle."

I grabbed my head, feeling a little dizzy and pretty worn out.

"Oh... mhm. I... must have flown too high," I mumbled somewhat confused.

Heather poked me with her claws, demanding attention. She was crouching next to the low couch on which I was lying. The rest of the clan was sitting around on the floor or on the furniture. We were back in the library and I could almost have the impression that it was a few nights ago and I hadn't taken any measures against Jussuf yet - but I had. It was over. Jussuf was defeated, his not-so-magical spell over my family broken. That chapter was over. That chapter of my life. And I sensed that I should feel some emotion that was more typical of me – fear of what might come, of a life that would be permanently distant from being human. Or discomfort at the way I had treated Jussuf. Or embarrassment at being the center of attention again. But I felt content. Even more than that, I felt relieved and truly – for the first time since my time with Murshid – light.

"Are you all right, Uncle Nate?" my niece asked worriedly.

"Yes, my darling. Why shouldn't I be all right?" I said smiling, opening my arms. After a quick glance at the others, Heather looked back at me, grinned and crawled into my embrace, where she let herself be cuddled.

"I must have lost consciousness,"

"Obviously," said Brooklyn, who was sitting on the couch closest to me with his arms crossed, eyeing me intensely with his trademark frown. He didn't seem particularly satisfied, more thoughtful and bothered. As if he was trying to solve a riddle which he just couldn't figure out, by studying me.

That's when it hit me again. I gasped for air and my head jerked towards Tachi, who was sitting on one of the poufs with her laptop in her lap.

"Oh damn! I- Tachi! Are- you okay? I was so agitated that I just grabbed Jussuf and took wing. Are you okay?"

The adolescent girl made a snide sound.

"Good is relative! The shot went through the sleeve of my chiffon blouse! If you hadn't grabbed that dirty ass first, I would have strung him up on the next high-rise!"

"Language," Katana grumbled, but with very little heat behind it. No mother took it well when her child almost caught a bullet. Her daughter ignored her in favor of gesticulating in exasperation. "I CAN'T sew a patch on chiffon like a proletarian! Now I have to resew it into a scoop neck top."

"I told you to wear your uniform," Broadway sighed. Our Rhydderch rolled his eyes, where Nash chuckled cheerfully and everyone exchanged warm looks and smiled at Tachi's theatrics. I breathed a sigh of relief. Tachi was a little miffed, but no one was hurt by Jussuf's last misdeed.

"Is he really taken care of now?" I asked, sitting up. Heather slid off me while Angela handed me a bowl of some kind of stew that had cooled down so much that I started eating right away. I was really hungry.

"Yes. You carried him up high enough to make him pass out and I dealt with him. He's locked away and your past with him will never be an issue again. Don't think about him anymore," my friend suggested.

"I'd be happy to," I said between two spoonfuls. I had no idea what the worried looks from Brooklyn and some of the others had triggered earlier, but everyone seemed more relaxed now. Maybe they were still tired from the night. The whole last week had left its mark on all of us.

Brooklyn seemed distracted from me and more focused on Alexander, who looked pretty sleepy between his two mates. I was grateful to him for helping with the whole operation tonight. Not only with the barrier that had prevented Jussuf from drawing attention to himself and us. No one would associate any of the Gargoyles with anything that had happened in the Flatlands or on the U-Store grounds. All night long, clan members had been patrolling all over New York in plain sight of people, and even the cell phone signals reflected that. All of them were illusions of the young Quarter-Fey. Even Angela, who had introduced herself to Jussuf with her uniform and badge, could not be referred to. A fully functional copy of her had been sitting in a Harlem precinct all night long, filling out long overdue paperwork. I had no idea what he was really capable of. All the better that I was apparently on neutral ground with his grandpa Oberon, even though his former enemies dwelt within me. God, alone the synopsis was a mind-breaker.

While I ate, the others talked to each other - about the latest Pixar movie, about patrols, what would be cooked tomorrow. Lexington was discussing with Goliath about rebuilding the company and the security measures there in the future. I was glad that no one paid me much attention anymore, because unlike the impressions of the last few nights, where it was all about my problems and my family's shambles, I was not attention-seeking. I was happy to be in the midst of my clan - not the main person, but just among them. But I noticed Katana's thoughtful look at me as I looked up from the almost empty bowl. Her expression was gentle, she smiled at me, but there was something else beneath it.

With warm cheeks, I gathered my courage.

"Is everything okay? Something... I don't know, something's bothering you guys."

The others turned their attention back to me and for a moment no one said anything, as if they didn't know how or what to answer me. Until Brooklyn put a hand on one of my horns and gently shook my head from left to right in a reassuring gesture that made me smile.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Blue One. We were just all pretty baffled by how you handled Jussuf in the air."

"Oh." I breathed in shakily, my gaze fixed on the bowl, although I felt shame welling up inside me. Fiery and Whisp inside me didn't stir. Maybe they were exhausted themselves. I remembered that I had finally, finally told Jussuf what I thought of him. And that I had dropped him. But I had caught him too. I had felt powerful and didn't regret my behavior towards him, even though I had been pretty disgusting and cruel to him in retrospect. And I had blown the others away, but only because I wanted to deal with my ex-brother-in-law myself. Should I apologize anyway? Had I been too ruthless? But even if I had... he had deserved it.

I gritted my teeth and forced out, "That was... it just felt right."

"It WAS right." Lex assured me and put an arm around me as if he wanted to defend me against the others. I laid my head against his and couldn't help but nuzzle him gratefully. Maybe I had overdone it a little. But Lex understood. He was so good to me. But the others in my clan followed suit.

"As if any of us had never scared the shit out of an opponent," muttered Tachi.

"He was a meanie!" Heather commented as she snatched my last piece of bread.

"Well, making humans pass out is kind of Gargoyle 101," Nashville said, shrugging. Even Elisa nodded. She was wearing a tracksuit, a sign that she had already changed in her apartment, perhaps ready for bed.

"If you're cool now, maybe we can all live in peace," said Brooklyn, exchanging a look with Goliath, who nodded somberly.

"Yeah, let's forget about Jussuf and everything that had to do with him. You're beyond that," said Lex, and I wanted to have that deep faith like him.

"I am. Definitely. Davis and I will work through this and then I will never think of him again," I assured him.

"Man, with everything that's happened in the last week, we're all going to need so many therapy sessions that we can send Davis' kid, which she's about to have, to Harvard," Nashville muttered.

Everyone rose and left the library. I, still somewhat supported by Lex, felt the familiar sense of the approaching sunrise and had never before longed so much for a rejuvenating stone sleep.

Elisa kissed Goliath goodnight, Alexander and his mates said goodbye after Brooklyn had taken him aside to whisper something to him, at which he patted his Rhydderch on the arm and nodded. It took me by surprise to see that Alexander also had the form of a gargoyle – one that reflected his Greek heritage, but also his playfulness instilled by Puck (even the crown of thorns-like horns suggested something regal). And yet, it was not at all strange for a magical child raised by a clan of gargoyles.

The morning clouds in the east already had a golden rim as we stepped out, some said goodbye to petrify on the tower above the great hall. The wind on the battlements of the main tower blew harshly and I enjoyed how it teasingly pulled at my hair and wings as if I had always been winged and prone to it. I didn't want to imagine a life without wind and night and clan. And I wouldn't have to. I left Lexington's grip, smiled mischievously at him and lightly leapt onto MY pinnacle next to his. Then I flashed one of my toothy smiles, crouched down and patted the stone.

"I don't want to be too forward... but... would you like to sleep with me, Mr. Wyvern?"

Lexington's laugh pealed over me and the whole castle as he hopped over to me and embraced me.

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Unnoticed by Lexington and Nathaniel, Goliath was already crouching on his pinnacle, Brooklyn landed with him.

"Alexander will tell us more tomorrow," he said.

"As far as he thinks he can justify it," Goliath replied somberly.

"He's a Fey - they always think they know best - because they assume we can't manage our own affairs... and maybe we really have bitten off more than we can chew this time. Who knows how much of what Nathaniel and Lex saw in the crystal was magically altered by him... who knows if he'll tell us everything now."

"It must be enough for us. Enough to keep the clan and Nathaniel safe."

"What if it's not Nathaniel who needs protection?"

Goliath looked at Brooklyn, who had stepped up beside him with his arms folded. Yes, Brooklyn was his Rhydderch and older than him, but he was also his son and protégé. He hated it when the pressure of leadership and uncertainty seemed to crush him. He knew the feeling – every leader did. That's why he did something he rarely allowed himself to do because it was not his place... and yet it did them both good in their somewhat tricky hierarchy in their special clan. He raised his hand and pressed Brooklyn's worry line between his eyebrows with the pad of his thumb, stroking it in tiny circular movements until the tense posture and the tension in his face melted away and he smiled lopsidedly.

"Thank you, my mentor," he breathed in his deep, sonorous voice.

"We have always fought against forces that wanted to tear us apart. Nathaniel is clan. He is family."

"He is. But... what if we're fighting on the wrong side this time? What if we're not the good guys this time? The children and Elisa didn't see Nathaniel in the air. They didn't see... that damn sphere he created, and even if they did, they wouldn't be 100% aware of what it meant."

"We don't know either. Did we even see it right, hear him properly, what he said to the human? We weren't really close to him."

"Because he... swept us away like annoying insects. And he shook the man and- just let him fall- without diving after him right away."

Goliath and Brooklyn looked down at the lower level of the main tower, where Nathaniel was wrapped in the wings and arms of Lexington. Together they looked out over the awakening city, toward a promising tomorrow. Nathaniel was himself again – gentle, sweet and approachable.

"He knew exactly what he was doing, Goliath. We just can't be sure WHO knew what he was doing at the time and who was just... going along with it."

Goliath stroked his chin thoughtfully. "If Nathaniel had been controlled by the spirits within him, he would have been much more terrified. He is... very sensitive – he would not have been able to hide something like that from us. Nathaniel is good. What he brings to the clan is good. He has finally freed himself from his nemesis. Jussuf Masoud is a malicious person. One of the worst kind. Someone who tortures for the sheer pleasure of it. Someone who can plunge entire families into the abyss and feed on the weakest like a leech. Nathaniel is one of us. He is our apprentice, brother, son, nephew. It was his right to seek justice. Masoud caused one of our own terrible suffering. For decades. And he tried to kill Lexington and Nathaniel. Nathaniel had a right to his anger. It was... intense to watch, but it was a one-time event. If we hold it against him, we'll undo all the progress he's made. We'll drive a wedge into the clan. Whether he or the beings handled Masoud, Nathaniel is the key."

"I don't know you as an advocate for ferocity."

"I am your mentor, your trusted advisor – it is my duty to question your first impulses and to prompt further thoughts," Goliath offered with a smirk. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't be aware of other... acts that could cause concern. Especially since Oberon basically entrusted him (them) to us. You cannot be concerned with Nathaniels callousness, the nature of the retribution. That justice was necessary is beyond question. Masoud had to be stopped. And he will live – for many years to come – which is probably the most prioritized moral trend of this millennium. In the Middle Ages, we killed such people without even thinking about them. Hudson and I have virtually lynched an entire enemy fortress to win back my... kidnapped angel."

Brooklyn put a hand on Goliath's shoulder. He knew his friend was right. They had done so many unlawful things themselves before AND since they had "human rights" - was Brooklyn a hypocrite to be so much stricter with Nathaniel's transgression? He knew himself that that was not the reason.

"I like Nathaniel- I like him very much and I want him in the clan and safe- but he is at the same time infinitely weak AND undeterminedly powerful. That is a combination that offers explosive force. Don't we... have a responsibility to the whole clan, the whole city? Maybe Oberon had-"

"What is it that you really have on your heart, my son?" said Goliath, squinting towards the east. Their time together was measured in seconds, not minutes.

Brooklyn growled. "It's about Nathaniel appropriating the sphere of the damned Phoenix gate! A Phoenix gate that no longer exists!"

"You are worried. Afraid of being torn away from your clan and your family again. These scars run deep in your soul. There is nothing shameful about being anxious, for only fools who have nothing to lose are not afraid of anything. But this is not the same situation."

Brooklyn sighed and ran his fingers through his mane, feeling so young and old at the same time. "It-it-it shouldn't exist anymore, Go- goliath. I can't- I can't fight against something like that."

"You are not alone, Rhydderch. When the Phoenixgate disintegrated, what happened to it?"

"You're testing me- we both know what probably happened to it. It... took its place in history again at its starting point. So that I can touch it to become the Timedancer. It's an endless cycle. Like the snake Ouroboros, which bites its own tail. The gate may not currently exist on our time plane and not in our reality.- But there are thousands of others."

"That's what we assume. But apart from that - above all there is the one all-encompassing truth - energy is energy. What if our assumption is wrong? Then this energy would still be here - in this time, in this world. Maybe it's different for other dimensions. But if it's here - it was never gone. And just sought another form. It doesn't just vanish - it maintains itself. It may transform, seek other shapes, but it always seeks its preservation. And... if Nathaniel is this new form, or the beings within him... then we can't change that. Perhaps he is not the cause of new problems... but the solution to much older ones than those we fear."

"Maybe," murmured Brooklyn, looking down at his brothers. He felt his limbs growing heavy, sleep approaching. He knew all the gargoyles felt it. Lexington pulled Nathaniel close and their kiss- both laughing into each other's mouths- made him smile himself.

"Hopefully," he whispered before they all turned to stone.

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SO, it's extremely difficult to say what the "end" of this book is - I'm being very vague here because it should have ended after the shit show with the fire in Lexington's company/the not really showdown with Thailog/Brentwood - because after that it was almost a story of its own but a LONG overdue one. And now there are basically more final chapters coming - to prepare the fourth volume and leave you fingernail-biting. So... basically, consider Vol. 3 complete and everything that follows is an epilogue.

Ahhhh and where I had a closing song for Brood of the New Age (even two for different characters), I didn't insert one for Souls of the Night Vol 2- but of course I had one in mind! And now I can't insert it anymore because fanfic . net deletes the chapters for revision after 365 days and I would have to repost it and I'm too lazy to do that. So I'm posting it here- the closing song for the end of Souls of the Night Vol 2 for Nathaniel and Lexington (which is included in the normal Souls of the Night) - was this one (warning: gay alert- but I LOVE it- It's a feel-good song and can a song that makes you happy really be too gay?):

Spotify: Glitter (Todrick Hall) - 4:06 min

Youtube: Todrick Hall - Glitter - (Official Lyric Video) www. youtube watch?v=PbgugmUR398

Thanks for reading Q.T.