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Puppet Strings - Chapter 9
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, and is not authorized by the copyright
holder. All original characters are the property of the author.
Warning: none
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: 02/19/08
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Kendra shook herself as the castle in
Avalon faded from around her, she hadn’t been privy to Demona’s
thoughts, but watching what had happened and what those present
had said had been both chilling and eye opening. Hearing the
Archmage’s instructions to the three fey had prompted an
unwelcome thought to surface, had the Weird Sisters had anything
to do with the Canmore families’ pursuit of Demona? Was the
vendetta entirely her ancestors’ decision, or had they too
become one of the playing pieces in the Weird Sisters intrigues?
Demona sunk to the ground with a groan,
pulling Kendra abruptly from her thoughts. The black-haired
woman pushed her own concerns away, if it had been hard for her
to watch as a third party observer she could guess at how much
harder it had been for the gargoyle to relive. “Demona?” she
knelt by the blue-skinned gargoyle, her heart aching for her,
and gently placed her hand on the gargoyle’s shoulder.
The flame-haired gargoyle looked up at her;
the green eyes were hollow, lost. “My life, all these centuries
I have fought and survived, have been nothing but the Archmage’s
revenge,” she whispered.
“Not true,” the stag spoke authoritatively,
“You never stopped fighting against the enchantments they placed
upon you. It was your determination to resist the compulsion
the Sisters placed upon you that helped lead to the Archmage’s
defeat upon Avalon.”
Demona looked up at him, “You were with
me,” she stated as if realizing something.
“I broke the enchantment upon your memory,”
the great stag responded gently, “it was necessary for me to
mediate their return.” He lowered his head and gently brushed
her forehead ridge with his muzzle, then blew out a warm breath
ruffling her wild mane of hair. “You have a strong soul and a
strong will; otherwise you would have never continued to fight
against their compulsions for so long. Do not begin questioning
your own strength because of what you have remembered; it was
that strength that allowed you to resist killing your clan’s
children.”
Demona looked stunned, and Kendra wasn’t
certain whether it was due to the giant stag comforting her or
the words the stag had said, probably both she decided.
“Please tell me that man is dead,” Kendra
did not want to interrupt, but she needed to know whether or not
he was still a threat.
Demona responded, “Angela said when Goliath
tore the Eye of Odin from his head he lost control of the
Grimorum Arcanorum’s magic and it consumed him.”
The stag lifted his head, “That is what
occurred, the magic burned through his mortal body when he lost
the power of the Eye.”
“Good,” Kendra responded, pleased. That
concern out of the way, she regarded Demona thoughtfully, her
mind meandering through the memories of what she had seen and
heard. “There is at least one thing in your life that I don’t
think they planned, or even anticipated.”
Demona turned her green eyes toward Kendra,
and the black-haired woman was relieved to see a spark of
curiosity in them. “Nightstone,” she answered, “I don’t see how
it furthers their goals at all.” She paused, “At least I don’t
think it does, it doesn’t make you bitter or angry does it?”
The immortal gargoyle shook her head, “No,
most days I look forward to going into work, it gives me
something useful to do, and I often spend most of my nights and
weekends working on Nightstone business as well.”
Kendra nodded, she had suspected as much,
“And I suspect it doesn’t make you alone either, you are talking
with or interacting with someone for most of the day, even if
they are humans.”
“Your right,” Demona straightened, “Thailog
and I pooled our resources together to incorporate Nightstone
Unlimited after what happened on Avalon. It’s possible the
Weird Sisters don’t even realize it exists,” she theorized.
“Nightstone is yours then,” Kendra said
emphatically, “Something that you created, something that gives
your life meaning. It makes you less angry, less bitter and
less alone; you’ve already started to unravel the Archmage’s
revenge.”
Demona looked hopeful for a moment, and
then with startling abruptness she slid into anger. Her eyes
glowing red she rose and snarled, “And that will last how long?
Only until those three fey decide they have need of me again,
and then they will destroy everything.”
“That is what that does,” the owl spirit’s
satisfied voice interrupted the flame-haired gargoyle before she
could rant further.
The red eyes faded slightly as Demona
stared at the owl, “That is what, what does?” she asked
aggravated.
“One of the enchantments I did not
recognize. One of the ones more subtle in nature than I’m used
to associating with the Fey, it amplifies your anger,
specifically it seems to double it.” The owl spirit answered.
Demona stared at him for a moment before
her eyes flashed bright red and she screamed, “Are not even my
emotions my own?”
The great stag snorted and took a step back
at this display, the unexpected movement setting the owl upon
its antlers flapping. “Perhaps this is one of the first spells
we should teach her how to dispel.”
“That would seem wise,” agreed the owl
mildly after she had her balance again.
“Not that I do not want your help, but that
will last how long?” Demona protested, her eyes glowing
slightly with her anger, “I could not stop them from placing
these enchantments on me before, what is to stop them from
simply replacing these once they have need of me again. You
heard what the Sisters said; they let me go only because they
thought I might prove a useful tool in the future,” she spat the
last bitterly.
“I promised that you would not stand alone
against them.” The great stag spirit reminded Demona regally,
“There are things that can be done to protect you from being
enchanted once again.”
“You can teach me ways of protecting
myself?” Demona asked, the red in her eyes fading.
“There are multiple ways of achieving that
end,” the great stag said, “I have not yet decided which method
is most suitable for you, nor do I know which you will find
agreeable.”
At these words, the owl hunched over and
stared at the giant deer, apparently finding what he had said
startling. The great stag shook its head slightly, setting the
owl bobbing briefly. The owl straightened, blinked once, “Yes,
there are various ways to be considered I see, we will have to
consult on what is best for you. And of course what you think
is best for yourself.”
“I will need one day to decide,” The great
stag spoke. “Tomorrow we will discuss this matter further and
what choices you have to make,” the great stag directed to
Demona. His next statement seemed directed toward the owl
spirit, “Tonight we need to teach her how to see the
enchantments upon herself and guide her in dispelling the two we
have identified completely. Then they must leave, their bodies
are growing tired, they risk damage to themselves if they stay
much longer.”
“Two?” the owl spirit questioned, “Oh yes
the anger amplification enchantment and the enchantments they
placed on her to persuade her that the only way to protect other
gargoyles was by driving them away. Simple enough,” she
finished.
The great stag cautioned Demona, “Do not
touch any of the enchantments no matter how angered you may
feel. It is quite possible for you to injure yourself beyond
all hope of aid if you dispel the wrong enchantment.” He paused
and stared at the gargoyle sternly, “If you cannot do this, it
would be better for me to dispel the enchantments for you, but I
would rather teach you how to do so. Can you promise not to act
on your anger; will you wait for our directions?”
Demona clenched her talons in
determination, “I promise, I will not act until you direct me
where and how.” It was easier to accept such restrictions on
her actions now that she understood the Weird Sisters had
meddled with her emotions as well as her actions.
The great stag’s brown eyes caught and held
her own gaze, “Then learn how to look deeply into the world and
see the fey’s work where it is present.”
Green, sickly green strands of magical
energies weaving around each other, and there were so many of
them. No wonder Kendra had recoiled when she first sighted
them, Demona wanted to recoil from herself. “What have they
done to me,” she raged quietly, keeping the stag’s admonition
foremost in her mind.
The great stag and owl didn’t respond.
They didn’t need to; the answer was rather obvious, quite a lot.
A hand wrapped around her clenched fist,
Demona glanced over and met Kendra’s compassionate sapphire blue
eyes, “You’ll be free of all of it, it will just take some time,
patience, and deliberately considered action. It’s nothing I
haven’t seen you do already in your business decisions.” The
black-haired woman said, deliberately reminding the gargoyle of
how she acted when it came to her company. That was where the
immortal gargoyle exhibited calm, well thought out planning.
It was a timely comment. “The Weird
Sisters don’t have any enchantments on me that affect how I run
my company,” Demona realized. The realization calmed her; she
did run her company well. Otherwise, Nightstone Unlimited
wouldn’t have become the third largest company in Manhattan
within less than two years.
“Let’s work on reducing some of these
enchantments,” said the owl spirit. “First think of holding an
iron knife in your hand, feel the weight of it, the handle in
your hand and the short length of iron blade. It doesn’t need
to be very sharp; it’s the iron that does the dispelling.”
Demona closed her eyes and concentrated
upon creating a knife to destroy the enchantments the Weird
Sisters had placed upon her. She felt her talons close around
its handle, the solid weight and heft of it. She opened her
eyes and looked down; the knife was heavy, the handle solid and
thick as she gripped it, the thick blade almost twelve inches in
length.
The flame-haired gargoyle heard an amused
snort from beside her, “Kill it, kill it dead?” Kendra
commented.
A grin formed on Demona’s lips as she
looked at the knife she had willed into being, it did seem like
it could get the job done.
“Well that’s a bit larger than what I was
thinking of, but it will do,” the owl spirit commented dryly.
The great stag spirit spoke, “I will
highlight and draw out the enchantments this time. In the
future we will teach you how to do this yourself, but you have
neither the time nor the energy to learn tonight.” One of the
pulsing strands of green energy wrapped around Demona’s chest
began burning more brightly.
“Let’s pull that out a little more so you
can get at it better,” the owl spirit murmured, she made a
motion with her wing and the energy thread pulled slightly away
from the others.
“Take your iron knife and slide it under
the fey enchantment and continue pulling it away from the
others,” instructed the giant stag.
Demona carefully maneuvered the length of
the blade as the stag instructed, realizing belatedly that
perhaps a smaller knife would have been easier to use.
“Wrap the enchantment around the blade
three times,” the stag continued his instructions.
The immortal gargoyle carefully maneuvered
the knife until the green strand was coiled around the blade
three times.
“Now pull it free from you,” the noble stag
ordered.
Pulling sharply Demona ripped the
enchantment from her, grimacing at the brief moment of
disorientation that accompanied the action. The green strand
hung briefly free around the blade then seemed to lose cohesion,
dimming rapidly and then disappearing as if it had never been.
“That’s it?” the flame-haired gargoyle
asked disbelievingly.
The great stag and owl stared at her
quizzically for a moment before the owl spirit offered, “You can
chant a few words in Latin if you want, but it’s not really
needed. While nature can be loud and noticeable, it is more
often quiet and unobtrusive.”
Before Demona could formulate a reply to
this, the great stag spoke, “Wise One, look at where that
enchantment was attached, what do you see?”
“Hmm,” murmured the owl before craning her
head forward, “Well what is this?” she asked, and a moment later
she answered herself, “Very old sorcery…very old. The
amplification spell was originally layered on top of it I guess
and the Fey obviously kept renewing their enchantment, but the
original sorcery was left to decay.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Demona
looking down and trying to see what they were seeing. Out of
the corner of her eye, she saw Kendra coming closer to look as
well, a concerned frown upon her face.
“We will have to teach you how to see
sorcery, before you can see what we are looking at,” the great
stag stated. It took only a few moments for Demona and Kendra
to learn the variation it was not complicated, just slightly
different.
“It looks wispy, like a thin black cloth
that’s been frayed and torn,” observed Kendra.
To Demona it looked more like the barest
wisps of black cloud, but she could see the resemblance to what
Kendra was describing. More important to her was when it had
been placed and what it had done, “Did the Archmage cast this
when I was his apprentice?” she wondered aloud.
“No way of knowing without some research,”
the Eagle Owl spirit answered, “Given where it is and what was
cast on top of it I would guess that it did the same thing, but
I might be wrong. It’s not doing anything now it’s too old. We
can use the remains however, to discover who cast it and what it
did.”
Demona nodded, her mind was now whirling
with more questions. She didn’t like the idea of leaving it
there, but she could see the owl spirit’s point. If the remains
were harmless and could lead them to the caster, it was best to
leave it alone for now.
“We will address that later, for now we
need to dispel the other enchantments and then they must leave,”
the great stag spoke with some urgency.
“Of course,” the Eagle Owl responded, “let
us move on then, now these are the enchantments that make up the
compulsion they placed upon you to drive away other gargoyles.
They tied them into your natural instinct to protect and then
warped that instinct by persuading you that you were the
danger. There are multiple enchantments, but we will deal with
them in the same way, just choose one strand and begin there.”
A multi-stranded enchantment lit up and pulled away from the
others.
The immortal gargoyle didn’t need any
further instructions, starting on the easiest strand to get to
and dealing with it as before. As each enchantment was uprooted
and dispersed, she promptly began on another. She understood
the great stags hurry; she could feel herself tiring rapidly.
As the last strand faded the Eagle Owl
spoke, “I believe it will be best if you remain in the
wilderness for another few days while we deal with the
enchantments the Weird Sisters placed upon you. You will likely
have several distractions present themselves immediately upon
your return. Those charged with enforcing the law will need to
speak with you about what happened and you Demona will have
responsibilities toward your company. One of my chosen has her
home on the shore of the lake southwest of your current
location. If you remain here she can bring supplies to make the
stay easier.”
“That might be a good idea anyway, if they
ever find the plane they will know what distance we had to cover
to make it back. It might be a good idea if we stayed away
enough days to make it seem like we traveled a reasonable amount
each day instead of the fifty to sixty miles we did travel.”
Kendra pointed out, giving voice to a concern of hers.
Demona looked back and forth between Kendra
and the two spirits, “You believe we can dispel most of these
within the next few days?” she asked indicating the tangled web
of fey magic within her that was only slightly decreased by the
removal of the two enchantments.
“Most of what remains appears to be the
enchantments that bind you and the human male called Macbeth
together and grant each of you immortality, and the more recent
enchantments that allow you to become human during the day. I
believe we can determine what of the remaining fey magic are
manipulation or compulsion enchantments and remove them within
the next few days,” stated the great stag confidently.
Demon nodded reluctantly, “Very well, I
just hope those idiot managers of mine don’t believe I’ve died.”
“No, they are looking for you even now,”
the Eagle Owl stated, “The chosen I spoke of has heard about the
search for you.”
The immortal gargoyle glanced at Kendra,
“The chances of them finding the plane are high then,” she
turned back to the owl spirit, “When did you want us to come
back?”
The great stag spoke, “Come at the
beginning of each night after the sun has set. Farewell”
“Farewell,” echoed the owl, the spirit
realm began disappearing into mist.
“Wait what are you?” Asked Demona staring
into the great stag’s eyes
“My kind never had a name when my children
were living, but the humans now call us Irish Elk or simply
Giant Deer,” answered the great stag’s voice even as he
disappeared.
The gargoyle found herself drawing in a
deep breath of steam-filled air, as she heard Kendra’s drumming
come to a stop. She realized they had left the spirit realm and
were once again in the living world as she opened her eyes and
saw the interior of the lodge.
Kendra pulled further open blanket lodge
door and crawled out, only pausing to look around and verify
that they were still completely alone. Then with a gasp, the
black-haired woman plunged into the cold water for a quick
moment and then grabbed a blanket and went to sit by the coals
where she began to build up the fire again.
Demona stared at Kendra in astonishment for
a moment then followed her example, to her surprise after being
over heated in the lodge the water was a brisk shock that was
not unpleasant. Demona shook the water from herself and then
went to join Kendra in letting the warmth of the fire dry them
off while the survival blanket kept them from getting too
chilled.
Kendra handed Demona a food bar, the
black-haired woman was already eating her one of own, “Eat this,
in a bit I will go and start something warm for us to eat.”
Demona accepted the bar gratefully she was
rather hungry. Kendra got up after finishing hers, dressed and
went back to the shelter to begin cooking. After awhile Demona
covered the lodge fire, reclaimed the blanket covering the lodge
opening, and started back toward the shelter. It was warmer in
the forest than it was near the river, the gargoyle noticed as
she wound her way through the pines. As she approached the
roughly made shelter, Demona eyed it critically; perhaps they
should considered building something more permanent since they
were to be staying here a few days.
Kendra had finished preparing the stew and
had placed it among the coals to cook, she then came over to
Demona and asked, “Mind if I sit with you?” Demona opened her
blanket and Kendra layered her blanket with it then snuggled
against Demona while they waited for the stew.
Demona had been silent since Kendra had
asked to sit next to her, enmeshed in her own thoughts, but she
finally commented quietly, “You didn’t need to ask Kendra, I
like having you near me. I would think you would know that
after what we experienced in the spirit realm.”
Kendra smiled gently, “I know we felt each
other’s emotions, but you said you wanted to keep this casual
and I didn’t want to take things for granted.”
Demona shook her head, “You know I feel…”
the gargoyle paused, she couldn’t continue, how could she when
she didn’t know how she felt. Finally she admitted, “I want
more than just a mutual satisfaction of our physical needs. I
never mean to imply that it was just for one night Kendra. I
just don’t know…”
Kendra filled in, “Don’t know how not
casual you’re feeling exactly? It’s nice to know I have company
in my confusion if that’s the case.”
Demona smiled wryly, “You have company. My
emotions are a jumbled mess at the moment.”
“Not really surprising considering
everything,” Kendra commented and leaned her head on Demona’s
shoulder. The two sat in companionable silence. “By the way,”
Kendra said after a few minutes, “I thought those enchantments
would be more difficult to get rid of too. I don’t know what I
was expecting, but something more than…weeding.”
Demona snorted in amused surprise and then
chuckled aloud at the word choice. “But that’s what it was,
wasn’t it,” she realized.
“Pretty much,” responded Kendra. The
black-haired woman was silent for a moment, before turning to
the redhead next to her and asking seriously, “How are you
doing?”
The immortal gargoyle drew in a deep
breath, and then slowly exhaled it. She didn’t answer
immediately, “I don’t know,” she finally answered softly. “I
should be angry, but I’m starting to think maybe something was
damaged when I removed that amplification enchantment. I can
feel some anger, but it’s so much less than what I would expect
given the circumstances.”
Kendra frowned thoughtfully, “I wonder,”
she mused, and the redheaded gargoyle turned a curious gaze her
way. The black-haired woman continued, “I wonder if it’s just
the fact that you’re used to feeling a much greater amount of
anger. You probably got used to it over the centuries, feeling
that much anger each time I mean. So now that you’re feeling a
normal amount, well it just probably seems like too little
because it’s not what you got used to anymore,” she offered.
Demona frowned thoughtfully, “That could be
I guess, it certainly sounds reasonable.” She looked relieved.
She gazed into the flickering flames, her face marked by
sadness, “Otherwise I feel lost, confused, its…” she sighed,
“It’s very hard to accept that for almost all of the past
thousand years they’ve controlled almost everything I’ve done,
the things I’ve felt, and all for their and the Archmage’s
revenge. So many deaths, so much pain, so many, many bitter
lonely years,” her voice became bitterly self-mocking, “And for
most of it I thought I was pursuing my vengeance against the
humans…how completely wrong I was.”
Kendra shifted to face the redhead, she
stroked through the silken wild hair, and cupped the beautiful
face, “And yet there is the promise of better times ahead for
you, a chance to undo all their revenge.”
Demona leaned into the caress, her eye
fixed on Kendra’s face, “How do you undo a thousand years of
revenge?” she asked, her voice was bitter, but she also looked
as if she hoped Kendra possessed the answer to her question.
“They wanted you to be angry, bitter and
alone. If you are none of those things, then they have none of
their revenge.” Kendra answered simply.
“That simple?” Demona asked her voice
doubtful.
“No,” Kendra replied gently, “I know it’s
not that simple, but it’s the only place you can start. The
past is the past, it’s only the present and the future that we
have to work with, and is there anything that wrong about being
happy, fulfilled, building friendships and perhaps even more?”
Her eyes are so blue, thought
Demona, as she stared into the black haired woman’s face and
considered her words. “No I guess there isn’t,” she whispered
in reply as she leaned closer. She hadn’t expected to feel any
desire after what happened tonight, but here it was rising swift
and hot within her. Their lips met briefly before Kendra pulled
away, Demona retreated immediately confused.
Kendra’s hand upon her shoulder stopped
her, the black-haired woman said, “I want to, but honestly I
don’t want to subject you to being that close to me until I’ve
bathed and had a chance to rinse out the various micro flora and
fauna setting up housekeeping in my mouth.”
Demona blinked, and then began laughing.
“Too true,” she admitted thinking of her own state. She
frowned, they were using the only container they had to cook the
stew, “I guess after we eat we can warm some water for you, I
can stand the cold of the stream to wash, but you can’t.”
“Mmm, before tonight no, but I can now,”
Kendra said, “Most of the lessons the priestess taught me last
night were about how to control my body. I can deal with the
cold for long enough to bathe providing we eat afterward.” She
leaned forward and peered at the stew, “Why don’t we go now,
this should be done by the time we get back.”
They hadn’t discussed what Kendra had been
taught, so this information caught Demona by surprise.
“Alright,” she agreed belatedly, they rose and started toward
the river. The gargoyle glanced at the woman walking beside her
and wondered what exactly she had learned from the priestess.
The clear, swiftly moving water of the
stream was cold. No matter one was a gargoyle and the other a
shamaness with the ability to increase their body heat, both
hurried about their business rinsing their mouths, and using
their fingers to roughly clean their teeth, then rubbing briskly
at their bodies cleaning as best they could without soap.
Demona chuckled as she followed Kendra’s
swiftly moving bare figure through the forest. The woman hadn’t
wanted to put her clothes on her wet body so she was streaking
through the trees, and the gargoyle was quite shamelessly
enjoying the view though she was having trouble keeping up
Kendra was moving so quickly.
Kendra was wrapping the survival blankets
around herself when the immortal gargoyle stepped into the small
area lit by their fire. “I’ve got a better idea,” Demona said
huskily, extending her wings forward and holding out her arms
invitingly. Kendra rose, letting the silvery blankets fall to
the ground and stepped into her arms. The sapphire blue eyes
closed and a sigh of pleasure escaped from the rose-colored lips
as Demona pulled the black-haired woman against her and wrapped
her wings about them both.
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