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Discussions - Chapter 13
By Kudara
Disclaimer:
All the characters appearing in Gargoyles are copyright Buena
Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of
these copyrights is intended as this is a not for profit fan
fiction work. All original characters are the property of the
author.
Warning: mild violence and language
Notes: Dominique
Destine’s home,
and the character’s
Candice and Gregory are from ‘The Gargoyles Saga’ world and
adapted for use in this story.
Rating: Teen
Feedback: Always welcome, feedback is what encourages me to keep
writing. Please let me know what you like and what you dislike
about the story.
Revision History: 07/29/08
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Saturday, December 20th 1997
Night – Majestic Theater, Manhattan
Dominique exhaled a quiet breath of relief once she saw Robert
and the others settle safely inside the limousine, there seemed
to be fewer reporters and more onlookers watching as they left
the theater. That, combined with the fact that the Quarrymen
undoubtedly knew where she currently was, increased the possible
danger to her party.
Kendra, standing on the other side of the glass door, turned and
nodded to her, indicating that it was time for her to exit.
Dominique waited for the black haired woman to open the door and
then stepped outside, being careful to not focus on the flashing
lights of the mercifully fewer cameras. Despite her best
efforts, it had been hard to see anything when she stepped
outside the restaurant earlier in the night due to the number of
cameras on either side.
A red blur in the air from Dominique’s right and the shout of
“Kill the Demon!” was her only warning that they were being
attacked. She reached up to catch what appeared to be a brick
only to see Kendra’s hand in front of her own, the Jaguar’s
chosen had shifted sides and moved to protect her from the
attack. The brick slapped into the black haired woman’s open
hand, their eyes met, and Dominique’s brow rose, “I would have
caught that,” she protested.
In the next instant the reporters and onlookers, realizing what
was happening, started shouting in fear and scattering around
them, while the security team leader started bellowing orders to
his men. The slight shifting of Kendra’s eyes was all Dominique
needed to spot the next incoming object, “Yours then,” the black
haired woman said just as the brick slammed into the redhead’s
hand.
“Even,” the redhead noted as she shook her hand after dropping
the brick, that had stung slightly. Kendra grinned merrily and
Dominique smirked right back at her. The redhead knew she
should be more serious about the situation, especially since
Robert, Sharon and the others were still nearby, but she had
been so good since they had gotten back from Canada. A battle
would be rather welcome right now, especially since she was not
the one instigating it. Well…her sense of fairness had her
acknowledging that she had started this in a way by donating to
PIT, but really, this was rather an overreaction on the
Quarrymen’s part.
The security team leader trying to grab her interrupted her
thoughts, she easily evaded him and gave him a narrow eyed look,
“Ms. Destine,” he protested, “we need to get you out of here!”
She evaded him once again, while at the same time snatching
another incoming brick out of the air and dropping it on the
ground. It earned her a startled glance from the brawny man,
and seemed to be the signal to her attackers that it was time to
try something different, more men came running up carrying
hammers. Kendra took a few steps forward to intercept them.
Dominique grabbed the man, “Get Robert and the others out of
here,” she ordered him, “otherwise they’ll follow us and attack
the vehicle. Kendra and I can handle this and the police should
be here very soon. Now!” she yelled, as he looked ready to
argue with her.
Another closer yell of, “Kill the Demon!” had her turning away
from the security team leader, two Quarrymen, hoods on and
charged hammers raised over their heads were rushing towards
her. She altered her stance, her weight mostly on her rear foot
as she waited a half second for the right moment. Just as the
Quarryman in the lead raised his hammer slightly in preparation
to bring it swinging down, she shifted her weight to her front
foot, bringing her left leg forward in a powerful high kick.
The ripping sound of the seam of her dress giving way reminded
her too late that it wasn’t really cut for this type of
activity, as her extended foot caught the hooded man perfectly
underneath his chin, snapping his head back and lifting him
slightly into the air. His feet slid out from under him as he
fell backward unconscious, the hammer falling from his hands
with a loud clatter onto the walkway.
She ducked underneath the wild swing of the second man, stepping
just slightly to the side and then bringing her left knee up
hard into his groin. His strangled sounding scream coincided
with the sound of his hammer dropping on the ground. She took a
step backward away from her attacker; the Quarryman was bent
over clutching the sorely abused flesh between his legs. The
hooded man lifted his head to brokenly snarl, “You bitch. I’m
going to make you regret that.” A swift hard right cross to his
chin ended his chances of following up on the threat.
She turned slightly, the security leader was staring at her wide
eyed, “Now!” she repeated her order, this time he obeyed turning
toward the vehicle and grabbing a few of his men.
“You four with me,” she heard him shout, “We’re getting the boy
and the others out of here to safety. The rest of you stay with
Ms. Destine.” The last thing she heard from him was him
muttering, “Not that she looks like she needs the help.”
Dominique chuckled to herself and glanced around to check on
Kendra. The black haired woman was snatching a hammer from a
large Quarryman as if he had barely been gripping it, the
redhead grinned as she imagined the surprise the human was
probably feeling right now. In the next instant, Kendra’s fist
met his chin and Dominique doubted he was thinking of anything
as the redhead watched the hooded man fall to the ground a few
yards away from her.
Movement drew her eye and she turned to watch the limousine
carrying Robert, Rachael, Sharon and Margaret pull away from the
curb with two of the security vehicles, one before and one
behind it, acting as escorts. She nodded in satisfaction.
A warning, “Ms. Destine,” along with the sense that something
was behind her, had the redhead instinctively ducking the swing
of a hammer and whirling around to face her attacker. A fast
fist to the Quarryman’s stomach bent her attacker over; she
grabbed his head in both hands and raised it slightly before
bringing it down hard onto her swiftly rising knee. As that
attacker slumped to the ground, a kick of her foot to the handle
of the hammer the man had dropped switched it off before someone
stepped onto it and got a nasty shock from it. Another
Quarryman had been with him, but the three security men who had
been left behind were taking care of him.
The sound of sirens rapidly approaching heralded the arrival of
the police, and Dominique watched as the remaining Quarrymen
scattered to escape them.
“Race traitor!” the nearby yell had her whirling toward the
sound, anxiety clenching her stomach. There was a Quarryman
standing perhaps twenty feet away and her eyes widened in fear
as she saw the gun in his hand aimed right at Kendra. “No!”
Knowing that he was too far away even as close as he was,
Dominique started running towards him even as she heard the
gunfire. Kendra leaned, almost in a casual movement to the
side, evading the bullet as she scooped a brick from the ground
and threw it with unerring accuracy at the Quarryman. He
screamed a high-pitched sound of pain and dropped the gun to
sink to the ground and hold his hand.
Dominique stopped in front of him, “How dare you,” she growled
at the kneeling human, furious that he had threatened her mate.
She wanted badly to lash out at him, to hurt him, but he was
unarmed and obviously out of the fight. He looked up at her and
she could see the fear in his brown eyes though the holes in his
hood, she reached out and yanked it from his head and then
stared at the teenaged young male revealed by her action. He
couldn’t be any older than Robert she realized with some
surprise. Her anger, if not cooled, was now at least more
controlled, and instead of striking him, she kicked the weapon
he had dropped further away from him.
“We’ve got him Ms. Destine,” the three security men who had been
left behind came up, one of them using a handkerchief to grab up
the pistol and the other two standing over the young man, their
looks warning him not to move.
“I’m alright,” Kendra’s warmly reassuring voice had her whirling
around, grabbing the black haired woman’s coat and holding it
open while her eyes worriedly examined the black haired woman
for any sign of injury. She could see no sign of a wound and a
quick altering of her vision allowed her to verify that by
checking her life energy. “I’m alright,” Kendra repeated
softly.
Dominique didn’t care who was watching, she stepped closer and
pulled the black haired woman into a tight hug, “You need to
stop scaring me like that,” she scolded, remembering their first
flight together when Kendra had almost taken a dive into the
ground.
Kendra’s arms wrapped around her and squeezed briefly, “I’m
sorry; I’ll try not to have anyone shoot at me again,” she
promised and the redhead could hear the thread of humor in her
tone.
The redhead indulged herself by staying within her lover’s arms
a few seconds longer before releasing the black haired woman and
taking a step away when Kendra released her. She looked into
the blue eyes seeing the expected warmth and amusement there;
she shook her head and smiled crookedly back, “You do that.”
A sudden increase in the volume of the approaching sirens and
flashing blue lights interrupted anything Kendra might have said
as the first police car screeched to a stop in front of the
theater. Detective Bluestone, how amusing, Dominique thought
sardonically as she noticed who was getting out of the vehicle.
The redhead leaned over, “So, I got three,” she said in a low
tone, glancing around at the unconscious Quarrymen littering the
area.
Kendra smirked, “Five.”
Dominique frowned and started counting, “My heels slowed me
down,” she defended herself after a few seconds.
Kendra let out a bark of laughter, staring briefly down at the
heels in question. “I believe you; don’t feel bad though, I
think the three security guys only got the one, which might be
why they’re giving us such wary looks.”
Dominique glanced over at the three men standing in a huddle
together; she turned away and smirked after seeing the same
expression Kendra was referring to on their faces.
“Ms Destine,” a timid voice had her turning around to see who
was talking to her. It was one of the reporters who had been
there and scattered for cover when the Quarrymen had attacked.
The man turned and impatiently motioned the cameraman following
well behind him closer.
“Do you have any comment about what’s happened tonight,” he
asked holding his microphone out toward her.
Dominique stared at him consideringly, “Perhaps, if you will
give me a moment alone I’ll think about it,” she finally said.
She turned to Kendra, motioned for her to lean closer, “If I say
anything it will make this situation with the Quarrymen worse
than it already is,” she whispered quietly, staring into her
mate’s face. “I don’t mind for myself, it may even keep them
away from the clan, but I want to know how you feel about it
before I say anything.”
“We need to be able to protect the others from them,” Kendra
whispered back.
“I can hire security to guard the house at least until Rachael
and Sharon leave, and we will have to stay away from Robert
until this dies down. I can use the security team we had
tonight to escort Margaret around town until she leaves,”
Dominique offered.
The redhead watched Kendra’s face as the black haired woman
considered what she had said, finally the blue eyes re-focused
upon her and her mate nodded, “Go for it, my cousin will find
out that he really didn’t want us as his enemies,” the blue eyes
turned chill.
Dominique reached up and gripped her forearms, “We don’t have to
do this, I don’t want you to go against your clan.”
Kendra shook her head in disagreement, “Except for my father
I’ve always been against my clan, I just gave them a chance to
mend their murderous ways. Jon’s refused his chance, and it
looks like he’s not going to leave you alone on his own, so we
would have to do this anyway. Our choice is simply when, I’d
rather go ahead and deal with him now than later.”
Dominique stared into her eyes for a few seconds more before
nodding sharply; she turned around to the reporter and motioned
for him to come closer.
“I think we can all see tonight what the Quarrymen are really
doing” Dominique turned and indicated the young man the police
were taking away. “Turning young people into obedient followers
ready to kill anyone Castaway thinks is a threat to his
organization.” She turned back to the reporter, “The Quarrymen
tried to kill me tonight simply because I chose to support PIT,
a group that stands opposed to their goals. I think that says
quite a bit about the true nature of their organization and its
supposed protection of this city’s citizens.”
She shook her head, her expression solemn, “Who exactly should
we fear the most?” she asked him. “The gargoyles who are trying
to stop the criminals of this city, or these Quarrymen who fire
anti-aircraft guns in the middle of Manhattan injuring dozens of
people, and then tonight made a blatant attempt to murder Kendra
Canmore and I because we don’t agree with their views or their
goals?”
As soon as the reporter backed away, she stepped closer to
Kendra, “I’ll try and make arrangements for security around the
house tonight.” She sighed unhappily, “I guess I’ll have to do
without a personal assistant for awhile longer,” she said in a
low tone to keep others from overhearing her. She wasn’t
pleased with the way things were working out, she hadn’t
anticipated her donation starting an all out war with the
Quarrymen, but if that was what they wanted then she wouldn’t
disappoint them. What she wouldn’t do was endanger others by
getting them caught in the crossfire.
Kendra nodded in a particular direction, “Don’t you think you
should let her make up her mind about that, especially since
she’s here now.” Dominique turned around following Kendra’s
gaze, the limousine and the two escorting security vehicles were
parked at the curb, apparently they hadn’t gone very far. Of
course the entire fight hadn’t taken that long either, perhaps
five minutes at the most.
Sharon had already gotten out of the limo and was headed rapidly
in their direction. “Are you two alright?” the short haired
brunette asked in a worried voice as she came up to them.
“Gregory turned on the satellite TV in the limousine and we
watched the entire thing.” She nodded toward the single
reporter and his crew, “The camera crew over there was filming
the entire time; they weren’t that close, but he has a pretty
good zoom lens on his camera so we saw everything.”
The redhead looked over towards the vehicle; she could see
Robert and Rachael sitting within it. Margaret was standing on
the sidewalk looking toward them. “We’re not hurt,” she turned
back to Sharon, reassuring her.
“I thought not, but I wasn’t sure,” she looked back and forth
between them, “You two were amazing,” she said her tone awed.
“I didn’t realize you could fight like that.”
Dominique smiled, but Sharon’s statement only reminded her of
how vulnerable the young woman was, “Let’s go to the limo, the
windows of this one are dark enough to give us privacy and I
need to talk with everyone.”
The redhead waited until the doors were shut behind them before
starting to speak, “The Quarrymen won’t stop with just one
attack tonight, they’ll keep coming after me and I probably just
made myself more of a target with what I said to the reporter.”
“I suspect you’re right,” Rachael agreed pointing up at the
monitor which was still showing the scene around the theater
with the police arresting the unconscious Quarrymen and
occasionally panning over to the limousine in which they were
sitting. “But given what they did tonight, I suspect you really
didn’t make yourself much more of a target than you already were
just from making that donation.”
Wonderful, Dominique thought, live coverage, everyone had
already heard what she had said to the reporter. She turned
back to Rachael and smiled wryly, “Undoubtedly,” she agreed.
“I’ll make arrangements with a security firm to have the house
watched while you and Sharon are there.” She turned toward
Robert, “Robert, it’s probably best if I don’t see you for
awhile, I don’t want them to target you or your Aunt and Uncle.”
“No,” he protested, looking rebellious.
“It doesn’t mean that Kendra and I won’t call you,” Dominique
leaned forward, her face and tone earnest, “just that we
shouldn’t visit you in person until this calms down.” Robert
looked only slightly mollified, “Besides, I suspect after
tonight you’re Aunt and Uncle won’t be too pleased with the idea
of letting you go out with me anymore anyway,” Dominique
commented as she leaned back into her seat with a resigned
sigh. “Not that I blame them, I’m hoping I can get them to
agree in a month or so to let you come to Nightstone so you can
tour the building.”
“And if all else fails,” Kendra added, “you’ll be eighteen in a
few months and they won’t be able to prevent you from seeing us
anyway.”
Robert looked back and forth between them, “Do you think this
will be over in a few months?”
“One way or another this will be settled in a few months,”
Kendra finally spoke, her voice flatly resolute.
Dominique stared at the black haired woman troubled; sapphire
blue eyes met her green ones. “I know you want me to give him
chances, but how many chances have you needed since the Ancient
One freed you of the Weird Sister’s enchantments?” Kendra asked
her gently.
The redhead frowned, there were more than a few differences in
what had happened to her and what had happened to Jon Canmore,
“He doesn’t know what was done to him, or who did it and why,”
she pointed out.
“You’re right, he doesn’t,” Kendra agreed, “but I can’t permit
him to harm you, or our friends, or the clan.”
“Then maybe he needs to know,” Rachael stated, staring at
Kendra, “before any…permanent and irreversible decisions are
made.”
Both Dominique and Kendra turned to look at her, “How?” Kendra
asked. “I want to give him as little information as possible,
because if he doesn’t change after he knows the truth, then it
might put everyone at risk.”
“In the same way Macbeth learned the truth,” the Cree woman
answered.
The redhead frowned, recalling what she and Macbeth had been
shown, “Do the spirits know enough about the Canmore’s past? I
never actually saw the Weird Sister’s enchanting any of them,
though I did see the enchantments on them.”
“There’s no harm in asking,” Margaret responded before Rachael
could, “The Ancient One wouldn’t have shown you anything that
didn’t relate directly to your own history, so he could know
much more about the Canmores than you think. And even if he
doesn’t, the other spirits might, between them all…” she
shrugged.
Kendra stared at her for a second, “Alright,” she agreed, “I’ll
ask, I do want to give Jon every chance I can to decide to stop
what he’s doing.” She took in a deep breath, staring at the
carpet between her feet before looking up again, “Because I
really don’t want to have to kill him.”
Dominique stared at the black haired woman, at the grim but
resolute look on her face; the redhead had no doubt that Kendra
would kill Jon to protect her or others from him. Dominique
also had no doubt that doing so would forever scar her mate,
“Then let’s do everything we can to make sure that it doesn’t
come to that,” she said, shifting her eyes from Kendra to
Rachael and Margaret.
Loud knocking on the darkened window of the vehicle, along with
a faint, “Ms. Destine, I need to speak with you,” interrupted
them.
Dominique looked out, she could see the silhouette of a man
through the dark window, but that was all. She rolled down the
window nearest her a few inches and recognized the man standing
there immediately, “Detective Bluestone what do you need?” she
asked impatiently.
“I need you and Ms. Canmore to come to the precinct office to
make your statement, Ms. Destine, Ms. Canmore,” the detective
stated firmly, his eyes shifting between the two of them.
One eyebrow arched, “In a few minutes detective, I’m not
finished speaking to my friends yet.” She raised the window
again without giving him a chance to argue. It didn’t however
stop him from knocking on the window once again.
“Impatient, isn’t he,” noted Margaret with a frown.
“Detective Bluestone,” she said once again, her displeasure with
him clear as she lowered the window.
“Do you and Ms. Canmore intend to give statements on tonight’s
events, Ms. Destine?” he asked, this time he only directed his
comment to the redhead.
“Yes detective, we intend to give our statements, we even intend
on letting you drive us there while my driver takes Mr. McKenzie
home,” she had startled him with that she saw, “but how soon
that occurs is dependent on you letting me finish my
conversation here,” she snapped.
This time she waited, staring at him impatiently, he flushed,
“Let me know when you’re ready then Ms. Destine.”
“I’ll do that detective,” she assured him before raising the
window once again. She took in a calming breath before turning
towards the young woman sitting at the back of the limousine.
“Sharon,” Dominique said, “I think it best that we delay your
start date for awhile longer to let things settle down here.
The Quarrymen might target you once it’s known you’re my
personal assistant.
Sharon immediately shook her head, “I don’t want to do that. I
understood when I accepted your offer that I was agreeing to
help you with everything you agreed to do for the Ancient One,
not just helping you with Nightstone.” The brunette lifted her
chin, “I know I’m your employee, but I’m also another chosen and
I want to be involved in this.”
“This could get very dangerous, Sharon,” Dominique frowned at
her, “It’s not a game, and as far as I know you’re not
immortal,” she gave the young Horse’s chosen an inquiring look.
She could be wrong about this, she didn’t remember ever asking.
“No I’m not immortal, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t make
this choice.” The younger woman’s hazel eyes met hers
determinedly, “Standing up the Quarrymen is the right thing to
do, and it’s what the Stallion would expect me to do. Not flee
at the first sign of danger leaving you two to face it alone,”
her voice held a hint of outrage as she finished speaking.
Dominique stared at Sharon, taken aback by what the younger
woman had just said, she understood wanting to please your
patron spirit only too well. Did she have the right to deny
that to Sharon just because of her own fears? But the thought
of failing, of losing the young woman to a Canmore Hunter’s
hatred just as she had lost her own clan so long ago… Sharon
had only spent two days in her home, but she had watched how she
and Kendra interacted, had seen how much the younger woman
already looked up to the Jaguar’s chosen even though Kendra
seemed unaware of it. Watched the black haired woman patiently
teach Sharon dance steps late last night when they returned from
taking Robert home and even danced with the younger woman while
Kendra gave Sharon tips on how to be a better lead. If Robert
reminded her in so many ways of Macbeth’s son Luach, then Sharon
reminded her of Angela, the two shared the same type of idealism
and determination to do what they thought was right.
“You have almost two weeks until you’re due to start, we’ll see
what happens to the situation here during that time,” it was all
she was prepared to give Sharon, more time to consider her
decision whether or not the young woman should come at the
original time or wait longer. “No, there will be no more
argument over this matter right now,” she held up a forbidding
hand, giving the younger woman a stern look when she saw the
rebellious look in the hazel eyes and the opening of her lips to
continue the discussion. Sharon gave her an angry, frustrated
look and the redhead was very aware of everyone else inside
staring at the two of them.
She looked over towards Kendra for help, saw the understanding
and compassion in her mate’s blue eyes. Dominique took in a
deep breath, turned back toward Sharon, her expression softer,
“Don’t you understand that I’m worried about losing you to their
hatred, and of how much it would hurt to have a Hunter take
another person I cared about from me just as they’ve taken so
many already over the centuries.”
That seemed to take the fight out of the younger woman as she
stared the redhead in open surprise, the two of them continued
staring at one another for a few more seconds before Sharon
dropped her eyes in silent acquiescence. Dominique regarded the
younger woman for a moment more before saying, “Do what you can
to smooth things over with Robert’s Aunt and Uncle, let them
know he has the internship and the only other thing is for him
to visit the company to sign his paperwork and get a tour
sometime between now and the summer.”
Robert protested, “But what about the visits to Nightstone?”
Dominique looked over at him, “I’ll try and work in the extra
visits after they calm down, for now let’s let them think the
excitement is over.”
“I’ll go with her,” Margaret offered, “I’m usually pretty good
at calming down excited people.”
“Thank you,” Sharon said to her, looking grateful for the
backup.
“It’s not a problem,” the tall woman assured her with a smile.
“I’d offer to help as well, but I don’t think my presence would
help much,” Rachael commented dryly.
“Bigots,” Sharon said disapprovingly. Robert flushed, looking
uncomfortable and Sharon, noticing it, had the grace to be
embarrassed, “I’m sorry,” she apologized to him.
“It’s ok, they are,” he admitted, giving Rachael an apologetic
look.
The Cree woman smiled at him and reached out to pat him on the
arm, “Don’t worry about it, their opinions don’t bother me.”
Dominique debated whether or not to add anything to the
conversation, but decided that it was probably best to not.
“Alright, now for just one more thing,” she said instead as she
pushed the button to open the intercom to her driver. “Gregory,
I was hoping that either you or Kendra could help me once again
this evening.”
He responded promptly, “What did you need Ms. Destine?” and
Kendra looked at her questioningly.
“I’m going to need to arrange for around the clock security of
my home for at least the next few nights and perhaps even
longer. I’d prefer a security company that knows how to be
discrete about their employer,” she said meaningfully. “I was
hoping that you might have some suggestions.”
Kendra shrugged, “I don’t know of any gay friendly security
companies, I might be able to find something in a few days
though if Gregory doesn’t know of anyone.”
“Actually,” Gregory responded, “I might know of someone, but I
don’t know if their company is too busy right now to take on
another client,”
“Understandable,” Dominique replied to him, “Which security
company were you thinking of?”
“Masada Security,” Dominique was impressed, she had heard of the
company, no wonder Gregory wasn’t certain they could take on
another client. “The owner is Michael’s ex,” her driver
finished.
Her brow rose, out of the corner of her eye she saw Kendra
grinning and then Sharon said under her breath, “It’s a small
gay world.”
She looked over at the younger woman, bemused by the comment,
“I’d appreciate if you checked on that as soon as possible, I’d
like to get security in place tonight if possible.”
“I’ll make the call immediately Ms. Destine,” he assured her.
“Thank you Gregory,” she replied and cut off the intercom.
“We need to get going,” she said looking over at Kendra, the
black haired woman nodded. Dominique turned to Robert, his grey
eyes met hers unhappily, she didn’t feel any better about how
things were working out but this was the safest thing for her to
do for him. This was one young man that she could, and would,
save, “Keep yourself safe,” she said reaching out and gripping
his arm. “Keep an eye out for anyone following you or watching
your house that shouldn’t be there. If you see anything
suspicious let whomever you can reach first know about it.”
“Here,” interrupted Kendra, holding out a slender cell phone to
him, “take this; I’ll get a second line tomorrow and a
replacement phone.”
“Good idea,” Margaret commented, “I’d keep the fact that you
have that from your Aunt and Uncle as well just in case their
reaction to tonight is extreme.”
Robert looked at her wide eyed for a moment and then nodded, “I
will.” He knew she meant that if his Aunt and Uncle reacted to
tonight by ordering him to not speak to Ms. Destine again, he
honestly didn’t know how likely that was, but it wasn’t entirely
unlikely either especially since his uncle thought the Quarrymen
were right and the gargoyles were a menace.
Dominique nodded to the Bison’s chosen, that had been a wise
suggestion. No matter how Robert’s Aunt and Uncle responded
tonight, he would have a way of contacting them so long as they
remained unaware that he had a cell phone.
She rose and hugged Robert her arms going around his shoulders,
“Never doubt that I care about you,” she whispered to him as his
arms wrapped around her in return. She heard his surprised
breath and then the strong young arms around her tightened to
almost the point of being painful before relaxing once again.
She had made the mistake of never actually telling Luach what
she felt for him, and then she had forever lost the chance
because of the Weird Sisters. She wasn’t going to make that
mistake with this young man.
A few minutes later Kendra and she watched as the limousine
pulled away, escorted by the two security vehicles. She turned
to the waiting detective, “I trust that your vehicle at least
has comfortable seats.”
“Umm,” he glanced uncertainly toward a late model dark sedan, he
was pretty sure his seats didn’t compare to the one’s he had
seen inside the limousine.
Night - Quarryman Headquarters in Lower Manhattan
“Who ordered this attack?!” Jon Canmore stared at the
television screen, appalled, this was just the type of publicity
that the Quarrymen did not need at this time.
“Not any one of us,” one of the men assured him, “we think they
just got together and decided to do this after her earlier
appearance.”
Jon grimaced, he didn’t know how the Demon managed it, but
tonight had made it clear that she could appear human at night
as well as during the day. Her appearance at the restaurant had
neatly diffused his earlier announcement and made him look like
a fool in the process, the Demon had even referred to it as a
patently ridiculous statement. That had been humiliating
enough, but this…it would have been one thing if she had been in
her true form instead of this sorcerous illusion, but for them
to make the attempt when she appeared to be human was disastrous
for the organization. In addition, the Demon had immediately
capitalized upon it, accusing the Quarrymen of purposefully
targeting youth to turn them into murderers. The only thing
more disastrous she could have done was openly compare them to
the Nazis or KKK.
“We have to distance ourselves from them, make an announcement
that we do not condone in any way their actions tonight,” his
second in command said reluctantly. “This was too public, and
they made it too obvious they were trying to kill her, this will
be much worse than the flack we got for breaking up that PIT
meeting.”
His second was right, that night had been a public relations
fiasco and because of it, they had ordered their members to
leave any more PIT meetings strictly alone because the press was
beginning to draw parallels between them and the KKK for
employing similar violent tactics against those who disagreed
with them. Tonight was guaranteed to stir those accusations up
once again, only they would be much worse and it would take much
longer for them to fade away.
Jon nodded, “I’ll do it tonight.” The other men left him
staring at the television screen his mind frantically working;
he had to do something to turn this around, to show everyone
that Dominique Destine was not the outraged innocent victim that
she was pretending to be. His eyes widened, he had it, there
was no way she could disprove his allegations this time, the
mere fact that her company had developed something like the
carrier virus would damn her in and of itself, whether or not
people believed she had tried to wipe out the entire human race.
And his cousin, Jon felt a wave of disgust at the suspicion that
was rising in his mind after witnessing how concerned the Demon
had been that Kendra was injured and their embrace. Surely, his
cousin hadn’t sunk so far as to actually sleep with the Demon?
Late Night - Wyvern Castle atop the Eyrie Building, Upper
Manhattan
“Elisa,” Goliath rumbled as she entered Xanatos’ office joining
the gargoyles gathered there.
“Hey Goliath,” she greeted him tiredly, “I’ve spoke to Matt,
Demona and Kendra Canmore are at the precinct station making
their statements now.”
“We have yet to watch what occurred,” the big male admitted, “we
were patrolling when Xanatos informed us of what happened. We
decided to wait for you since you said you had not seen it
either.”
“Is mother alright?” Angela asked her, she wasn’t certain what
was going on, only that the Quarrymen had attempted to kill her
mother and failed.
The expression on Elisa’s face was an odd mix of a grimace and a
wry smile, “Oh she’s fine, and apparently the press is currently
busy painting her and Kendra Canmore as crosses between Lara
Croft and Wonder Woman.”
“Really?” Lexington remarked looking surprised and impressed.
Angela looked over at the web-winged gargoyle with a confused
frown; she had no idea who the two women Elisa had mentioned
were or why the press would compare her mother to them, but it
was obvious that Lexington did, and considered it a complement.
“I would say so,” Fox agreed, “Quite frankly I’m jealous, I had
no idea Demona could fight that well, especially in three inch
heels.”
“Personally, I liked the garters,” David Xanatos commented with
a grin.
“You would,” Fox’s tone had enough of a bite to it that the grin
on his face faded noticeably, replaced by a startled look at his
wife’s show of jealousy.
“Maybe we ought to watch the tape,” Elisa interrupted, staring
at the two of them. This was the second time she had heard
garters mentioned and she was really beginning to wonder why.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Hudson added, confused himself
as to what was going on with the married couple.
The flickering of the flat screen on the wall drew their
attention as David started the replay of the earlier live
broadcast.
The clan watched as the group left the theater just as they had
before with the three women and the young man in the wheelchair
leaving first. “We know his full name now, it’s Robert
McKenzie,” Elisa mentioned quietly. Brooklyn glanced over at
her sharply, making a note of the name, now all he needed was a
number and he could warn the kid about Demona’s true nature.
“Unfortunately, that’s not an uncommon name; it might take
awhile to track him down,” David responded and Elisa nodded, she
had thought of that already.
The clearly shouted yell of ‘kill the demon’ drew everyone’s
attention back to the monitor. Angela watched, first in concern
as the Quarrymen threw bricks at her mother and then in
amazement as her mother knocked out a Quarryman with a
well-timed and placed kick to his chin. Looking at the shoes on
her mother’s human feet Angela understood Fox’s earlier comment
about her mother’s heels and being impressed that she was
fighting in them.
The manner in which her mother dealt with the second attacking
Quarryman had all the males in the room wincing upon hearing the
human male’s scream of pain. “Garters,” murmured David Xanatos,
pausing the picture as Demona brought her knee up into the
Quarryman’s chin. Angela stared at the screen not certain to
what he was referring.
“What are these garters you keep mentioning?” Hudson asked
looking over at the dark haired man.
“They’re used to hold up stocking hoses,” Elisa explained
briefly, understanding now why garters had been mentioned a few
times. The dress Demona was wearing had ripped up the side far
enough for the black garters she was wearing to be just barely
seen along with a flash of pale flesh above her black stocking
hose. Men...
“So?” Hudson inquired, confused, that didn’t really explain why
it seemed to be important.
“Never mind,” David grumbled, as his wife smirked at him.
Angela was confused, she understood now what garters were and
that her mother was wearing them to hold up her stocking hose,
but she didn’t understand why that fact would be significant
enough for Xanatos to make a point of mentioning it.
They heard her mother order the security team to escort the
limousine out of the area, leaving Kendra and she behind to keep
the Quarrymen’s attention. Angela frowned; this was starting to
look a lot like what mother had done when she helped them escape
from the staged Quarrymen attack. “They’re actors,” Brooklyn
announced his opinion, “and it’s a trick just like what she
tried to pull a month ago,” his tone clearly indicated that he
felt his suspicions had finally been vindicated. Angela
clenched her hands, but she couldn’t disagree, the same thought
was on her mind as well.
“Except for one thing,” Fox replied freezing the monitor on the
wall, “John Castaway’s already issued a statement repudiating
their members’ actions tonight and denying that the Quarrymen
leadership had any involvement in the planning of their attack.”
“What?” the brick red gargoyle said confused.
“She’s right,” Elisa confirmed, “Matt’s already looked into it,
those were real Quarrymen and they were definitely trying to
kill Demona. The first thing they did when they regained
consciousness was to try and defend their actions by claiming
that what we’re seeing is an illusion and underneath she’s
really a demon.” She had initially thought the same thing as
Brooklyn, but this had all been very real.
Angela let out an inaudible breath, relieved, and then she felt
ashamed that she had been so willing to believe the worst of her
mother. As incredible as it seemed, Demona really had been
protecting the humans in the limousine. She drew in a sharp
breath as she realized the significance of that, her mother
never protected humans, she hated the entire race, and yet she
had done just that rather consistently tonight. What was so
special about those humans and especially about the younger
human in the wheelchair that Demona would protect them?
“That should go over well as a defense,” Fox commented dryly,
interrupting Angela’s thoughts, “I wonder if they’ve noticed
this is 1997 and not 1597.”
“If it’s a real attack then why does she look like she’s having
fun?” Broadway asked staring at the monitor, which had stopped
with the redhead mid-screen caught with a clear look of
amusement on her face as she turned away from the human male who
seemed to be in charge of the security team.
“Because she likes to fight? And she’s been being very good
lately?” David said with a grin that said he understood Demona’s
motivations entirely.
“Or maybe because he just said something funny,” Fox added.
Angela glanced at the two humans dubiously and then back at the
monitor, she frowned, Broadway was right Demona did appear to be
having fun.
“He ordered some of his men to stay behind to guard her,” Owen
spoke up, “and then he added, ‘not that she looks like she needs
the help’.”
Everyone turned to stare at the blonde man, “Good eyes Owen,”
David complemented him after a surprised second. “I guess that
answers it then, she was amused at what he said.”
Angela’s lips curved upward as she looked at the amused
expression on her mother’s face again, it did make sense now.
When the taped broadcast began playing once more, Angela began
paying attention to more than just her mother, that was when she
realized just how well Kendra Canmore fought. Her mother was an
excellent warrior, but the black haired woman looked like she
was playing with the Quarrymen she was fighting, disarming them
with noticeable ease and in one case grabbing one of the hooded
men that attempted to run away and yanking him back so she could
knock him unconscious.
Then one of the few remaining Quarrymen drew a handgun, Demona
shouted ‘No’ and started running toward him. Angela had heard
that truly frightened tone in her mother’s voice only twice
before, once when Thailog was about to kill her and then a
little over a month ago when the human her mother had hired to
kill Goliath had tried to kill all of them.
Kendra, all in one smooth motion, leaned to the side, scooped up
a brick and threw it. “Every time I see that I’m more
impressed,” Fox noted as the Quarryman screamed, dropped the
weapon and fell to his knees, “amazing reflexes to dodge that
correctly, and she barely looks before throwing the brick.”
Her mother ran up to the kneeling Quarryman, Angela heard the
fury in her mother’s tone and she watched anxiously as Demona
snatched the hood from the man’s head. Only the Quarryman was
barely a man and they could see that fact register as Demona
kicked his weapon away instead of attacking him, leaving him to
the two humans that came up as she turned to Kendra Canmore.
Angela’s jaw dropped in numb amazement as she watched her mother
grab Kendra Canmore’s coat, opening it and looking the other
woman over closely before pulling the black haired woman into a
tight hug. Weeks ago when they had both come back from Canada,
Angela had thought that Demona kept Kendra Canmore alive because
she had some use for the human woman. The young gargoyle hadn’t
revisited the question of what Kendra Canmore was to her mother
since the clan started learning about what the Weird Sisters had
done to Demona. She had been too busy worrying about her
mother’s temper and the possibility of her deciding to attack
Goliath and Elisa, while at the same time worrying about Elisa
being undercover with the Quarrymen to wonder about Kendra
Canmore. It had never occurred her that her mother would help
Kendra simply because she cared about the human, yet here was
the clear evidence that she did care.
One didn’t need to be a lip reader to decipher the discussion
between the two when Demona released Kendra. Her mother looked
around and counted the Quarrymen, made some comment, and then
the black haired woman glanced down at the heels on her mother’s
feet laughed and nodded in response. It was easy to guess that
they were comparing numbers of Quarrymen defeated and that
Demona had blamed her footwear for having less than Kendra.
What was different was the humor with which the comparison took
place; Angela would have expected her mother to be more annoyed
that she hadn’t defeated as many Quarrymen as Kendra, not
smiling about it a moment later.
The young lavender female continued watching the monitor
intently, not paying any attention to the reactions of the
other’s in the room. That was somewhat unfortunate, for if she
had she would have seen the Xanatos’ sharing knowing, satisfied
looks, and Brooklyn’s expression of continued suspicious
disbelief. She would have seen Elisa’s narrow eyed intentness
and the slight frown on her face as she watched the interaction
between the ancient gargoyle and the human woman, and Goliath
and Hudson’s puzzlement at Demona’s friendliness toward the
human woman. Lastly, at the back of the room behind everyone,
she might have noticed the pleased and somewhat incredulous
smile on Lexington’s face as he watched Demona and Kendra and
saw for himself what Greywolf had talked about in the chat room.
Then the reporter came up and asked Demona if she had a comment
to make about the attack, her mother told him she would consider
it and then she turned to Kendra. Angela watched the intense
quiet conversation between the two, the attention Demona was
paying to Kendra’s words, how closely they were standing to each
other and how at ease they seemed with one another, and suddenly
the lavender female could see how the Xanatos’ could
misinterpret her mother’s relationship with the human woman. At
the moment, they did look very much like mates.
Elisa stared at what she was seeing on the monitor, she had been
so sure weeks ago that the only reason the ancient gargoyle was
keeping Kendra around was to help her persuade the clan she was
right to war against humanity. Then Demona had hired the black
haired woman when they returned from Canada, and the clan had
heard the tale from Macbeth, and then things had gotten so
confusing with trying to figure out if what Macbeth had told
them was the truth or another scheme and if Kendra was involved
in it for some unknown reason of her own… If she had been asked
why the two were cooperating before seeing this, she would have
suggested that both of them had their grudges against the Weird
Sisters and that was why Demona was willing to put her hatred of
humanity aside long enough to work with a Canmore. Demona
wasn’t looking as if she had any problems with Kendra being a
human or a Canmore right now. As a matter of fact, it looked
very much like Demona was consulting with Kendra before deciding
whether or not to make a statement to the reporter. The idea
that the ancient gargoyle would seek a human’s opinion before
making such a decision was startling to say the least.
Angela watched as her mother turned around and summoned the
human reporter over with a gesture, she motioned toward the
young man who had tried to shoot Kendra and then essentially
accused the Quarrymen of purposefully turning him into a
murderer. Angela’s eyes widened in alarm as her mother asked
the reporter who the people had to fear the most from, the
gargoyles or the Quarrymen, and in the process, Angela feared,
making herself even more of a target for the Quarrymen than she
had been before.
Goliath had thought that the gargoyle he had known so long ago
had died, that there was nothing left of his Angel of the Night
in Demona. Yet tonight he had seen glimpses of her once again,
she had protected the humans with her by sending them away to
safety while she fought the Quarrymen. She had even tried to
protect Kendra Canmore from the Quarryman who had attempted to
shoot the human woman, and then she had controlled her temper
and hadn’t harmed the injured young Quarryman even thought it
was clear she had wanted too. A few days ago, she had ordered
the clan to stay away from her so that they would not become
targets of the Weird Sister’s vengeance, and now she was making
herself a target for the Quarrymen. Was it possible that she
was doing these things because she regretted her past actions
against the clan and wished to atone for them?
“Elisa I have to say I’m impressed that you managed to defeat
her that day you met her in the park,” David Xanatos’ voice drew
Goliath out of his thoughts, the lavender gargoyle looked over
at his human clan member remembering the day she had protected
them from Demona.
The dark haired woman stared at Xanatos suspiciously wondering
just how he had heard about that incident. “That’s because she
didn’t fight anything like what I just saw,” she finally
replied, “not at all.” She didn’t like to admit it, but she
wasn’t sure she could have beat Demona that day if she had
fought anything like how Elisa had just seen the gargoyle fight.
The other night the question of whether or not the Weird Sisters
enchantments upon Demona had something to do with her attacks on
the clan had given Elisa a pounding headache. Tonight she was
forced to once again consider the same question, before the
kidnapping Kendra Canmore had told her that Demona was an
accomplished fighter. The comment had puzzled her then because
she didn’t really think that the ancient gargoyle fought all
that well considering how long Demona had to learn how.
Watching the gargoyle tonight, even if she had been in her human
guise as Dominique Destine, had made it clear to Elisa that
Demona had never fought them to the extent of her true
abilities, she had held herself back and that brought up the
question of why.
“What are you saying lass?” asked Hudson.
Elisa stared at the monitor; the picture was paused on the
limousine that Demona had gotten into after the fight with the
Quarrymen, “That the Demona I fought didn’t fight nearly as well
as the Demona we saw fighting the Quarrymen tonight.”
“Are you saying that’s not Demona?” Broadway asked wide-eyed.
“No,” Elisa said turning to him, “that’s not what I meant at
all. I just mean that when I fought her she obviously didn’t
fight as well as she could have, she held herself back.”
“Interesting,” David Xanatos commented thoughtfully.
Almost Midnight – Library, Wyvern Castle atop the Eyrie
Building, Upper Manhattan
Elisa followed Goliath into the castle library wondering what it
was her friend wanted to talk to her about, he had been rather
quiet ever since they watched the tape of Demona’s altercation
with the Quarrymen.
“Elisa, I do not believe that Demona has told us the entire
truth,” the big lavender male spoke as soon as the door shut
behind them.
The detective smiled wryly, “No, I don’t think she’s told us
about everything either,” she agreed.
“Before Demona was kidnapped we agreed that we should speak to
Kendra Canmore,” Goliath said, “perhaps she can tell us
something Demona has not.”
“Maybe,” the detective commented, somehow she didn’t doubt that
Kendra might know, but whether or not the black haired woman
would share that information was another matter. “Kendra and
Demona appear to be a lot closer than I would have thought given
who Kendra is,” she finally broached the subject that had been
on her thoughts since seeing the ancient gargoyle hug the human
woman.
“Mmm,” Goliath rumbled thoughtfully, “Demona was treating her…”
He paused a puzzled frown on his face that slowly shifted to
more of a bemused expression, as if he couldn’t believe his own
thoughts, “As if she were clan,” he finally finished softly.
Elisa stared at him, she hadn’t quite known what to think of the
obvious concern Demona had shown for Kendra Canmore. At least
Goliath’s interpretation of it was much more believable than the
Xanatos’. “They did seem rather close; I can even understand
why David and Fox thought they might be lovers.”
The big male was already shaking his head, “They are not,” he
said with certainty. Goliath stared at Elisa for a moment, he
took a step towards her and reached down and took one of her
hands in his own. He met her dark eyed gaze earnestly,
“Understand that I do not believe there is anything wrong with
accepting a human as clan when they have proven they are a true
friend to us as you have proven yourself to be since you first
met us.”
The detective smiled up at him, she could guess what he was
about to say, “But Demona has never thought that way.”
He smiled back at her, “No, Demona has never thought that way,”
he agreed. The smile on his face faded. “Until tonight I would
have never believed that she would accept a human as clan,” he
said quietly, almost as if he were speaking his thoughts aloud,
“even though Macbeth did tell us that she was very close to his
son and that the Weird Sisters had to take her memories of him
away before she would betray them.”
“Shared adversity does bring people closer,” Elisa pointed out,
“and they both have reason to hate the Weird Sisters. It does
give them a lot of common ground.” She took in a deep breath,
she had to know if what she suspected he was considering was
true, “You’re thinking of allowing her back into the clan.”
He didn’t immediately deny it, instead he looked thoughtful,
“No…” he finally responded, “at least not yet. I do not
understand why she appears to have changed so suddenly and
completely.” He stared down at her, his expression troubled and
confused, “Elisa, she was acting like a true gargoyle tonight.”
She could see the renewed hope in his eyes; he had given up on
Demona only after it became painfully clear that his ex-mate
would not and did not want to change. Even then, it had pained
him that he had failed to persuade her to give up her hatred and
bitterness. “You’re hoping that Kendra Canmore can tell us
why.”
“Yes,” he agreed simply.
“I’ll find a way to ask her to come to the castle and speak with
us,” Elisa promised quietly.
“Thank you,” he said on a deep exhale, the troubled expression
on his face never easing.
Elisa nodded hiding her anxiety, what would this mean for the
unspoken relationship between them if he allowed Demona back
into the clan? She knew Goliath had feelings for her, but they
had never openly spoken about it because she was human and he
was a gargoyle and that seemed like an insurmountable barrier
between them. If Demona had been behaving the way she had
because the Weird Sisters' enchantments had somehow altered her
personality and forced her to attack the clan…her thoughts
trailed off troubled. The detective wouldn’t have willingly
considered it before, but after seeing how Jon was acting and
what he had said, she simply didn’t know anymore. If the Weird
Sisters were capable of addicting the Canmores to killing
gargoyles just to make sure they kept hunting Demona, what had
they done to the ancient gargoyle herself to make sure she
stayed alone, bitter and angry as the Archmage wanted?
If what she was starting to suspect was true, would Demona want
Goliath back now that she was free of the Weird Sisters'
enchantments, and what would Goliath do if she did, now that she
was acting like the gargoyle he had fallen in love with so long
ago, his Angel of the Night?
Almost Midnight – Battlements, Wyvern Castle atop the Eyrie
Building, Upper Manhattan
“Angela?” Broadway followed the lavender female outside
hesitantly, not certain if she wanted company right now or not.
She turned and held out her hand to him, and with a sigh of
relief, he quickened his pace. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he
took her smaller hand in his. She ducked her head away from his
gaze, looking shame-faced, “Angela?” he repeated her name
softly.
“We should be with mother,” she finally responded, looking up at
him, her tone conveying her anger, disappointment, and
resentment.
He glanced down at her intently, not missing the fact that she
had probably really wanted to say I instead of we. “Are you mad
with Goliath for not letting you go see her?”
“I’m mad at both Father and Mother,” she admitted, turning away
from him to look out over the city. “She’s changed Broadway,
really changed,” she turned back toward him. “You saw what she
did tonight; she’s taking on the Quarrymen for us. How many
more battles can she fight by herself?” she asked him
passionately.
“She has Kendra Canmore,” he said, and then shook his head.
That sounded so very odd, but no odder than realizing that it
seemed to be the truth after seeing how Demona acted toward the
human woman.
“Isn’t that just more proof of how much she’s changed,” Angela
responded quietly, “that she has a human friend?”
“She’s changed,” he agreed wholeheartedly. “It’s just that it’s
been so sudden, it’s hard to trust that it’s real this time,” he
glanced at her apologetically. “It’s been less than two weeks
since she came back from Canada, and we started learning about
what those three fey did to her. I think everyone just needs
more time to let everything we’ve learned sink in.” Under his
breath, he added, “I know I need it.”
Angela slumped, she knew he had a point, everything had been
happening very rapidly. “Is she more like how she used to be?”
she asked.
Broadway thought back, dredging up his memories of the scarlet
haired gargoyle before she became Demona, when she had been
Goliath’s mate. He remembered her being stern, watchful, but
kind and in rare moments playful and fond of the occasional
joke. Even then though, she had been angry and resentful of the
humans in the castle, and he had overheard enough talk from the
clan elders to know that the clan’s second in command hated
Princess Katherine and the Magus for the way the two humans
treated and spoke of them.
“Maybe,” he said thoughtfully, “but even then she didn’t like
how the humans in the castle were treating us. She did have a
sense of humor though, and she was never unkind to any of us
back then.” He was unaware of how wistful his voice had gotten
as he remembered.
Angela frowned, Princess Katherine hadn’t talked much about
those days, but she had readily admitted that she bore a share
of the blame for what had happened because of the shameful way
she had broken her vow to her father to honor his word to the
gargoyles that their family would protect them.
“She didn’t look that unhappy tonight, even with everything that
happened,” Broadway offered quickly seeing the frown on the
lavender female’s face.
Angela focused upon him, “No she didn’t,” she agreed, her
emotions ambivalent.
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