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Discussions - Chapter 20
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: None
Notes: This is now definitely an AU story if it was not before
since I have altered the events of an episode. Dominique
Destine’s home, and the character’s Candice and Gregory are from
‘The Gargoyles Saga’ world and adapted for use in this story.
Michael or Nostradamus is a character from the TimeDancer Saga:
The Devil's Deal by Kathy Pogge and The Gargoyles Saga: Prophets
and Angels by Patrick Toman with Alison Wilgus.
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: 11/23/08
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Tuesday, December 30th 1997
Morning –
Nightstone Unlimited HQ, Lower East Side Manhattan
“I can’t believe they won’t tell her if her husband donated
sperm there when he was younger or not.” What an odd
conversation to overhear, Dominique thought with a bemused frown
as she poured herself some coffee.
“It’s so unfair, all she wants is a chance to have the child
they were trying for before Donald disappeared during the Lost
Night,” a second feminine voice responded.
Child…Lost Night…unbidden the memory of her determined glee as
she smashed the stone humans with her mace reducing them to
rubble flashed in Dominique’s mind…the coffee cup slipped from
the redhead’s hand shattering spectacularly on the linoleum
floor of the break room and splashing hot coffee over her pumps
and stocking covered legs. Forcefully pulled from her memories
by the pain, Dominique hissed, biting back the very
unprofessional curse she wanted to make.
“Ms. Destine! Are you alright, are you burnt?” it was the first
woman’s voice she had overheard.
“I’m fine,” she answered tersely, staring down at the broken cup
and coffee splattered all over the floor. Looking up she caught
the uncertain, wary expression on the woman’s face. Dominique
recognized that the woman was one of the head accountants in Mr.
William’s department, but she didn’t know the woman’s name. She
exhaled silently, regaining some control over her emotions,
enough to explain in a calmer tone, “It wasn’t hot enough to
burn me.”
“Oh, Ms. Destine,” the dismayed voice behind her belonged to her
secretary, “I’ll get something to clean that up, your meeting is
in only five minutes.”
Dominique grimaced, that had been why she was getting coffee,
“Yes I know it is, and thank you Candice,” she answered, pushing
the conversation that she had overheard out of her mind. She
couldn’t afford to think about it, or the surge of memories and
guilt that had overwhelmed her right now. She was expected at a
meeting between her R&D Division and Xanatos Enterprises R&D
Division during which they would determine what each company
would contribute to their proposed joint subsidiary, Aegis Armor
Manufacturing.
The redhead accepted the stack of paper towels handed to her by
her secretary, and bent to pat dry her stockings and shoes. As
she straightened, Dominique noticed that the two women who had
been talking had already left.
“I’ll get you another cup and bring it into the meeting,”
Candice offered.
“Thank you Candice, I’d appreciate that,” Dominique said as she
tossed the towels into the trash and glanced at her watch. She
had just enough time now to make it to the conference room.
An hour later Dominique watched as the men and women around the
table gathered up their papers, “Is there anything else you
needed Ms. Destine?” Candice inquired.
“No,” the redhead responded quietly, “you can go.”
The dark skinned woman stared at her employer, a slight frown of
puzzlement crossing her features. “I’ll have my notes typed up
for you in an hour or so Ms. Destine.”
The redhead nodded, not really looking at her, and after a few
seconds Candice gathered up her notes and left the conference
room. She paused at the door to look back; Ms. Destine was
still sitting at the conference table looking out the large
window at the city. The redheaded woman hadn’t seemed quite
right since she dropped her cup of coffee earlier. Candice
shook her head uneasily and headed back to her desk, her
expression brightened as she saw who was standing beside it
looking through a folder. “Ms. Canmore, Ms. Destine is in the
conference room,” she said to the woman in the tailored black
business suit as she walked up.
Puzzled blue eyes stared at her, “The meeting’s not over yet?”
the black haired woman glanced at the watch on her wrist.
Candice lowered her voice, “It is, but Ms. Destine hasn’t left
the room yet, I think she’s the last one in there now.”
Kendra’s gaze sharpened on her briefly before the woman nodded
abruptly, turned on her heel and headed toward the conference
room. The African American woman watched the black haired woman
step into the conference room with a feeling of relief. If
anyone could help Ms. Destine with whatever was troubling her it
would be Ms. Canmore.
She would have never guessed that Ms. Destine was gay, but after
the Christmas Party, only the most blind and obtuse person would
have missed the fact that the two women were a couple. Candice
shook her head, and to think she had thought it was the
distinguished looking Mr. McDuff that had caused such a change
in Ms. Destine instead of the woman who had been kidnapped and
spent ten days in the Canadian wilderness with her. She smirked
as she sat down at her desk, at least everyone in the building
now knew why Ms. Destine had been in such a good mood once she
got back instead of on a wrathful rampage as people had
expected.
Kendra stared at the redhead staring out the window; she could
tell by the slump in Dominique’s shoulders that her mate was
upset about something. She turned and closed the door behind
her; the sound was enough to alert the redhead that there was
someone else in the room with her. Dominique turned an
irritated expression on her face that faded as soon as she
realized who was in the room with her.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Kendra asked softly as she walked over to
the redhead.
Dominique sighed, “Sometimes I wish I could go back and change
the past, stop myself from doing some of the things I did.”
Kendra took the chair next to the redhead, staring at her
searchingly for a moment before asking, “Something in
particular?”
Dominique exhaled another long sigh before nodding, she looked
toward the closed door, “This isn’t the best place to discuss
this,” she commented quietly.
The black haired woman’s blue-eyed gaze sharpened upon her
briefly before Kendra commented quietly, “Your office?”
Dominique nodded, “That would be best for this conversation.”
Kendra rose, held out her hand and with a brief smile that
lightened her expression the redhead accepted it. Dominique
didn’t notice the relieved look on Candice’s face as they passed
by the secretaries desk, but Kendra did and filed it away to
consider at another time. Dominique walked immediately over to
her desk and pressed the button underneath it to lock the outer
office before opening the door into the control room behind her
office. Kendra’s eyebrow raised at the indication that her mate
wanted complete privacy before discussing what was bothering
her.
Dominique turned around and met the black haired woman’s gaze, a
haunted, sad expression in her green eyes. “I was getting a cup
of coffee before the meeting this morning and I overheard two
women talking,” she began as soon as the hidden door closed
behind them and went on to repeat exactly what she had heard the
two women say. “I cannot give her back her mate,” Dominique
said quietly, her voice pained. “I took him from her and along
with him their future children.” Kendra’s eyes widened as she
realized why this was hitting Dominique so hard, it had only
been a few days ago that the Ancient One had informed them that
they would be able to have a child together. “I wish I had
never cast that spell,” the redhead said bitterly, her tone full
of self-loathing. “I wish I had never killed those humans.”
Kendra didn’t know quite what to say, she had hoped that Demona
at some point would feel some empathy with those she had
destroyed that night and the families they had left behind
wondering what had happened to their loved ones. Understanding
at an emotional level why what she had done was so wrong, was
the best guarantee that the scarlet haired gargoyle would never
be tempted to repeat her actions. However, the black haired
woman hadn’t considered that along with the empathy and
emotional understanding there would be this poisonous
self-hatred. Kendra crossed the distance between them and drew
her hurting mate into her arms. She pulled Dominique closer
against her body and pressed her lips against the redhead’s
temple. “I wish you hadn’t either,” Kendra finally said, “both
for their sake and your own. I don’t like to see you hurting
like this and I don’t want you to hate yourself over what
happened that night.” The redhead struggled and pushed away
from her, and reluctantly Kendra let her go with a concerned
frown.
“I killed them,” Dominique stated harshly, her green eyes
blazing. She looked like she was about to go into a full-blown
rant against herself.
Kendra interrupted before the redhead could say anything else,
“And the Weird Sisters were behind it, doing what they do best,
tormenting and manipulating you and Macbeth until you did
exactly what they wanted,” she stated flatly. The redhead
stared at her, what she had been about to say obviously derailed
by the reminder. “Have you forgotten exactly why that night
happened?” Kendra asked in a softer tone.
Dominique’s green eyes dropped, “No,” she reluctantly admitted.
“I know you don’t want to remember what they did to you.” The
black haired woman paused, her next words, no matter how true
they were, were certain to anger Dominique, she just didn’t know
how much. “How they treated you like an animal in a cage,
goading you with sticks until you were maddened enough with pain
that they were certain you would lash out just like they wanted
and then they handed that spell to you and set you lose.”
The redhead glared at her, her slender hands clenched into fists
and her jaw set. Hurt and anger mingling in her green eyes, “I
am not an animal in a cage,” she hissed.
“No, you’re not,” Kendra agreed forcefully and Dominique’s eyes
widened slightly in surprise, “Treating any living thing like
they treated you is wrong and cruel.” The black haired woman
took in a breath before continuing in a calmer tone, “It’s why
we stand against those fey who treat mortals the way the Weird
Sisters treated you, and why I and the Ancient One have already
forgiven you for what you did that night,” she finished gently.
“Don’t you remember that I’ve already forgiven you?” Kendra
asked softly.
The hurt and anger in Dominique’s green eyes faded, her clenched
hands relaxed, “No, I haven’t forgotten.”
This time the redhead didn’t pull away when Kendra drew her back
into her arms. The black haired woman took one pale hand in
hers and placed it on her chest over her heart. Staring into
Dominique’s green eyes, Kendra said, “I love you. I don’t like
seeing you attack yourself, it hurts me.” Dominique stared up
at her, the redhead’s eyes becoming suspiciously bright before
she tucked her head into Kendra’s shoulder. Kendra heard
Dominique draw in a deep breath and release it and then
Dominique’s arms wrapped around her waist as the redhead finally
returned her embrace. “Is there some way to help her?” Kendra
asked hesitantly. “I know it won’t be legal, but I agree with
those two women, it’s wrong for them to keep that information
from her.”
Kendra felt Dominique shift in her arms; the redhead was still
for a moment and then lifted her head from Kendra’s shoulder.
Dominique looked up into the blue eyes of her mate, “There
should be,” she said determinedly.
Night – Wyvern Castle atop the Eyrie Building, Upper Manhattan
“Goliath, you wanted to talk to me?” David Xanatos got up from
his seat, came around his desk and then leaned against it as he
gave the clan leader a curious look. The lavender male caped
his wings around himself looking uneasy, and Xanatos’ eyebrow
raised at the gargoyle’s behavior. Goliath didn’t generally
allow himself to show any uncertainty around him.
“I need to speak to Demona,” Goliath finally stated, his dark
eyes meeting Xanatos’ brown ones.
David’s eyebrows rose even more, “You want her telephone
number?”
“Yes,” rumbled the lavender male, his eyes narrowed slightly as
he frowned at the human male’s surprise.
Xanatos stared at Goliath for a few seconds before responding,
“Give me a moment to look it up for you,” he straightened from
where he had been leaning against the edge of the desktop and
going back around the desk to sit in his chair. After a minute
or so at the keyboard of his computer, Xanatos grabbed a pad of
paper and a pen and wrote down the number. “That’s her home
number,” he tore off the sheet and handed it to lavender male.
Goliath accepted it, looking at the number for a moment before
returning his attention to Xanatos, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” David replied, “what did you want to speak to
her about?” he asked before the lavender male could turn and
leave.
The Manhattan clan leader paused, his fingers tightened on the
piece of paper bending it. “What steps she must take to be
accepted back into the clan once again,” Goliath said and
Xanatos’ dark eyes widened in surprise at the answer.
Evening – Roof of
Nightstone Unlimited HQ, Lower East Side Manhattan
“Goliath,” Demona politely, but coolly greeted her ex mate as
she landed on the roof of Nightstone. He had refused to tell
her exactly why he wanted to talk to her and she was feeling
rather annoyed at him for disrupting her plans for the evening
by insisting that they meet tonight.
“Demona,” his eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the signs of
her obvious impatience, the tenseness of her wings and the rapid
twitch of her tail.
She waited for a few seconds for him to speak, but as he just
continued staring at her she demanded, “Well what couldn’t
wait? I’ve got other things I wanted to do tonight other than
stand here and stare at each other.”
“Such as?” He asked sounding suspicious.
Her brow ridge rose at his tone, “Spending time with Robert and
Rachael, practicing with Kendra. I’ve got at least another hour
of reading reports I need to get done, and I’d like to be in bed
by eleven tonight so I can get enough sleep before I have to
wake up at six o’clock to get ready to go to work.” She rattled
off the list quickly, her tone terse. She decided not to
mention that she was practicing dancing with Kendra, after all
it was none of his business and she was annoyed that he seemed
to think she was spending her time planning something nefarious
instead of living her life.
“Sleep?” the lavender male looked slightly dumbfounded, during
her two months of captivity Demona had mostly slept during the
day and was active at night. He hadn’t considered that might
have changed over the months since then.
She sighed, “Goliath I work from eight in the morning until five
or six in the evening Monday through Friday. I have to sleep at
night; I have a company and over a thousand workers depending
upon my being awake and functioning during the day.”
The lavender male stared at her, looking troubled, “I wanted to
speak with you about patrolling with the clan for a few nights
every week. It would allow the clan to get used to you being
around them once again and allow you to show them that you have
truly changed now that the Weird Sisters spells are no longer
influencing you.”
Demona’s eyes were wide with surprise by the time Goliath
finished, and she stared at him for several silent seconds after
he finished speaking. Finally, she responded, “You want me to
rejoin the clan?” she asked, sounding disbelieving.
He shifted uncomfortably, “If all goes well that is a
possibility.”
Demona took a breath, looked ready to speak and then exhaled
without saying anything. She turned and looked away from him
out over the city, her expression thoughtful. After few
seconds, she glanced back over at him, “I cannot, Goliath, I
have too many responsibilities, too many demands on my time to
join the clan,” she said quietly. Before he could recover from
his shock at her turning down his offer she continued, “And
quite honestly I could never accept you as my clan leader.” The
scarlet haired gargoyle stared at him regretfully, “The last few
years we were together I chafed at having to follow your orders
as your mate and second in command.” She shook her head, “That
was over nine hundred years ago, there’s certainly no chance of
me managing it now,” she said her tone becoming sardonic.
“You do not want to rejoin the clan?” he asked disbelievingly,
it had never occurred to him that she would not want to once
given the opportunity.
“No Goliath I don’t,” she stated, meeting his gaze frankly. “I
have my own life and responsibilities that fill my days and
nights. Besides,” she commented in a lighter tone, “I’m certain
that Brooklyn and your mate would prefer not to have me around.”
Goliath frowned, not really understanding why she seemed so
insistent on believing this, “Elisa is not my mate,” he stated
forcefully, crossing his arms over his chest.
She stared at him disbelievingly. “Don’t lie to me Goliath.
I’ve seen the way you are around her and I’ve certainly noticed
how she looked at you from the very beginning right after the
clan was awakened,” she sounded annoyed.
“I am attracted to her and she is clan,” he admitted, “but she
is not my mate,” the lavender male stated, knowing that he
sounded defensive.
She stared at him, disbelief still evident, finally though,
after staring at his crossed arms and defensive expression
intently for several seconds, she began to look as if she
believed him. Oddly, she snorted, turned around with a
strangled sounding laugh and walked a few feet away shaking her
head. He stared at her back confused by her behavior as she
stared out at the city, after a few seconds she declared, “The
universe has a sense of humor.” The way she said it, it sounded
like a statement of fact. Goliath frowned puzzled by her
comment and manner. Several seconds passed in silence before
she turned sharply back around to face him, “Why isn’t she your
mate?” she demanded. He stared at her dumbfounded, Angela had
told him that Demona had said she wasn’t interested in him
anymore and didn’t care if he and Elisa were mates, but he
hadn’t really believed it.
She looked him up and down, “It would take some care and control
on your part not to hurt her during sex, but it’s not as if you
can’t physically be her mate. Humans and gargoyles aren’t
incompatible that way,” she waved her hand towards his groin,
“You’re rather well endowed, but you’re not that large,” she
commented with a knowing smirk.
“Demona,” he strangled out his ex-mates name in protest, as she
looked ready to say more. He could hardly believe they were
having this conversation, especially given how furious she had
been in the past about the idea of him being with a human. “The
reason Elisa and I are not mates is none of your concern.”
His ex mate stared at him with narrowed eyes, “I hope it’s not
because she cannot give you an egg. If that matters more to you
than your feelings for her, then they’re obviously not as strong
as I had thought and you need to let her know there’s no chance
for you to be together so she can find a human mate.”
“I will not discuss this with you,” he growled, stung by her
words. It was not only because Elisa could not give him an egg,
he could also not give her the child she deserved.
If anything, his response only caused her to look at him even
more searchingly, “Very well, but keep in mind that human women
don’t have as long as gargoyle females to find a mate and have
their young. If you’re not going to take her as your mate, you
shouldn’t hold onto her. Human women only have twenty to twenty
five years of fertility not forty to sixty.”
“I know,” growled, his voice rising, betraying his emotion.
Demona’s eyes widened slightly and her expression softened
becoming less analytical, more sympathetic. “You do not want to
deny her children,” she stated. She looked away over the city,
he heard her sigh as she caped her wings around herself, “The
topic of children seems to be coming up frequently these days,”
she murmured quietly, sounding more as if she were talking to
herself than him. Her tail twitched forcefully this way and
that as she stared out over the city a deep frown etched on her
face.
He stared at her; this conversation had gone nothing like what
he had expected. He had certainly not expected her to turn down
his offer, nor had he ever thought she and he would be
discussing his relationship with Elisa, at least not without
such a discussion involving her screaming at him and threatening
the human woman. She turned her head and met his gaze, “You
never know what is possible in the future Goliath, human science
is progressing at a rapid rate and it might be possible in a few
years for a human and gargoyle to have a child with some
assistance.” Goliath’s jaw dropped slightly in his astonishment
as the conversation with his ex-mate became even more unreal to
him, Demona actually seemed to be encouraging him to take Elisa
as his mate. “Besides, have you even asked her whether she
wants to have children?” she questioned. Goliath gave her an
incredulous look, what female didn’t want to have children?
Demona sighed, “Goliath it’s not unusual for human couples to
decide to remain childless for various reasons. You should ask
her how she feels about it instead of assuming that she feels
the same way you do. That was one of the problems in our
relationship, you assumed that I felt the same way as you, but
that was hardly ever the case.” Her tone wasn’t angry nor had
her voice risen, if anything, she looked slightly introspective
as she made the statement.
An odd feeling came over Goliath as he stared into Demona’s eyes
and realized that she truly no longer wanted him. It had taken
him months after the clan had reawakened to come to terms with
the fact that even though she still wanted him, she was also
willing to kill him unless he joined her war on humanity. Any
remaining love he had had for her had died the night she turned
the cities humans to stone and smashed them, and now it seemed
that the reverse was true as well.
He exhaled a deep breath, relief rising strongly within him, a
concern he hadn’t allowed himself to realize he had now
answered. For several months after they had awakened from the
Magus’s spell, he had hoped she would forsake her hatred to
rejoin the clan, to rejoin him as his mate. It was only after
she had attacked him and the clan again and again, had tricked
and betrayed him several times that he had given up on their
relationship. He knew that Brooklyn and the others had not
understood why he had tried so hard to reach Demona, but one did
not just stop being mates. Gargoyles did not divorce, only
death separated a couple once they were mated. The separation
between Demona and he was unique and unprecedented as far as he
knew, but he had eventually come to terms with it. Then they
had learned that her behavior toward the clan had been the
result of the Weird Sisters spells upon her and suddenly all his
certainty had disappeared. If the spells on her had been
responsible for her attacking him, if they had made her driving
him and the clan away so that she would be alone as the Archmage
wanted…then what right did he have to decide that they were no
longer mates when she had not been responsible for her actions?
“You do not wish us to be mates,” Goliath stated, his relief
apparent in his tone.
Her eyes widened and she stared at him incredulously, “What?”
He shifted uneasily under her disbelieving stare, “You drove me
and the clan away because of the spells the Weird sisters placed
upon you. All of the things that you did that…”
“Goliath,” she interrupted him firmly, “I don’t love you
anymore.” His jaw tightened at the bluntness of her statement.
Demona stared at him for a moment before sighing and turning
away from him to stare out over the city looking lost in
thought. “Honestly I’m not certain now that I loved you three
years ago when you reawakened or if it were the fact that I had
waited so very long to see you once again that I didn’t allow
myself to consider that I didn’t anymore. Five hundred years of
telling myself things would be perfect once the spell on the
clan was broken, that I just had to hold on until then and not
let Macbeth find me…” her voice trailed off. “Habit, even habit
of thought, dies very slowly,” she commented pensively.
He stared at her profile, lit by the lights of the city behind
her, thinking about what she had said. “How did you know when
we would reawaken?” The question had been bothering him ever
since Angela had mentioned that Demona had known when the spell
would be broken.
“Michael told me,” she replied, her face turning toward him, “he
was a friend of mine in the early 1500’s. I was in France and
he found me dying from the Black Death for the…fifth or sixth
time I think, and nursed me back to health. He had the gift of
foresight and was able to tell me of Xanatos and to look for him
in the New World on an island of glass and steel in the year
1993.”
The lavender male blinked once, his eye ridge lowering in
puzzled disbelief, “A human friend?”
“Yes, a human friend,” Demona repeated his words with an amused
smile as she saw his expression. She sighed her smile fading,
“It was unusual that I took the time to make a friend over the
centuries, the Weird Sisters made sure of that, Michael was a
rare exception.” She fell silent for several seconds, her
expression melancholy as she looked past him, “I still miss
him,” she admitted, “even though he’s been dead for almost five
hundred years now.” She drew in a deep breath visibly pulling
herself out of her memories, “Now that I know what was actually
going on, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the Weird Sisters
had a hand in our meeting. I suspect they were tired of keeping
Macbeth and I apart so that we didn’t kill each other before
they needed us. After Michael’s prophecy, I had something to
live for again. I stopped searching for Macbeth and started
evading him instead. I’ve no doubt it made things much easier
for them,” she remarked evenly.
Goliath stared at his ex-mate, taking in her calm thoughtfulness
despite the grim topic of their conversation. Elisa had
mentioned how much calmer she seemed now. He hadn’t really had
the opportunity to notice it the night she and Kendra had helped
free him from the Illuminati, but he was certainly noticing it
tonight. Calm, thoughtful, composed, in control: it had
occurred to him before now how very long she had lived, tonight
though he was acutely aware of it. Demona was far older than
the eldest elder the clan had ever had, and tonight, despite the
youthfulness of her features he was seeing the wisdom of those
years in her eyes instead of the anger he had become so used to
seeing.
He realized with a sense of shock that as familiar as the shape
and face was, he did not know the scarlet haired female in front
of him. Macbeth’s words that Demona could not be the gargoyle
he remembered as his Angel of the Night, not after over nine
centuries of existence, rose in his mind and he could now see
the truth of them. The Weird Sister’s spells, spells which Puck
had indicated had controlled Demona’s thoughts and emotions, had
locked his ex-mate into a cycle of anger and revenge, now that
they were gone it seemed that the angry vengeful Demona he had
awoken to was gone as well.
He finally noticed that his ex-mate was giving him an intently
curious look, “Why are you staring at me so strangely Goliath?”
“You are not as I remember you,” he answered, profoundly
disconcerted by that fact.
She tilted her head slightly to the side as she regarded him
intently for a long moment, “No,” she finally responded, “I am
no longer the gargoyle you knew when we were mates,” her lips
curved in a slight smile and her eyes lightened, “nor am I the
same as I was even two months ago.”
She did not seem the slightest bit bothered by the fact and
somehow that too was disturbing to him. “Let someone else take
over your duties during the day and patrol with us, it will not
take the others very long to realize that you are not the same
as you were.” The words were out of his mouth before he had
even fully considered them, but he would not take them back.
The clan needed to grow, and now that she was no longer trying
to find a way to destroy the humans, surely she didn’t need the
company she and Thailog had started.
He could see that his insistence surprised her by the way her
eyes widened, and then she frowned. “No Goliath, I can’t do
that. Not only do I not want to, but I vowed to fulfill the
tasks given to me by the spirit who helped me, and turning over
management of Nightstone to another would mean breaking one of
those vows.” Now it was his turn to be surprised, she hadn’t
mentioned anything before about the spirit requiring something
from her in exchange for its help.
Her expression and tone softened, “I owe him far too much to
disappoint him by failing at the tasks he asked me to accept.
He’s been there for me through all of this,” her tone became
more emotion filled, “supporting and encouraging me…” Her voice
faltered, she turned abruptly away from him and Goliath had the
feeling that she was hiding her distress from him. The lavender
male hesitantly held out his hand toward her turned back,
wondering if he should go to her, but before he could decide
what to do she started speaking once again, “I know I wouldn’t
be doing anywhere near as well as I am without his and Kendra’s
unfaltering support,” Demona sounded quite serious. She lowered
her head, “Honestly, I don’t know if I would have chosen to
continue living after learning everything the Weird Sisters did
to me if it weren’t for the spirit and Kendra,” she admitted
quietly.
Goliath drew in a shocked breath. He had been more concerned
with how Brooklyn and Angela were acting and trying to figure
out if Demona was plotting an exceptionally elaborate scheme to
manipulate the clan into trusting her, than wondering how his
ex-mate was managing if what Macbeth had told them was actually
the truth. Certainly, the thought that she might be depressed
enough to willingly end her life had never crossed his mind. “I
did not realize,” he said uneasily, thinking of how Angela had
kept pressing him to let her contact her mother.
A few more seconds passed before Demona turned back towards him,
“It’s all right,” she said a crooked, wry smile on her lips.
“You could hardly trust that I was telling the truth, not after
all the lies I’ve told the clan over the past few years.”
Goliath could see the regret in her eyes, he finally took a step
towards her meaning to offer comfort, but she shook her head and
held up a warding hand, “I’m fine,” her voice held a hint of
command that stopped him. She let out a light sigh, the hand
that she had raised to stop him from getting any closer fell
back to her side and her expression softened, “Though I do
appreciate the gesture given how many times I’ve attacked you
over the past three years,” she said ruefully.
Goliath stared at her; he didn’t know quite what to say. He
still thought that she should try to become a part of the clan
once again despite her doubts about being able to accept him as
clan leader, but the situation between Demona and the spirit
that had helped her was obviously more complicated than even
Macbeth suspected. “What are these tasks he asked of you and
what would happen to you if you failed?” he asked frowning.
She raised her brow at him, “Nothing bad,” she replied, “He
asked me to accept them, he didn’t demand it. I simply don’t
want to fail.” Her gaze shifted from him to the building
underneath them briefly and then rose to meet his again,
“Fulfilling my vows to him means a lot to me,” she said quietly
but emphatically. “At first I believed the tasks he asked of me
were meant to allow me to atone for some of the things I had
done in the past. They do allow me to do that, but I’ve come to
see that is only a small part of the reason he asked me to do
them,” she remarked looking introspective. The lavender male
frowned, uncertain what his ex-mate meant. Demona pointed
downward at the building they were standing upon, “Do you know
how many humans work for me in this building?”
Confused, Goliath glanced down at where she was pointing; he
frowned what did this have to do with the tasks the spirit had
required of her, “No,” he answered impatiently.
“One thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven, 1437 humans that I
pay a salary to, 1437 humans and their families that I provide
health insurance and other benefits for, that I pay life and
disability insurance premiums for in case they die or become
permanently disabled. 1437 humans that depend on me to keep
Nightstone Unlimited running and showing a profit so that they
can remain employed and pay their mortgages or rent, their car
payments, buy food, buy gas, pay their heating and cooling
bills, pay for daycare for their children.” She paused to take
a breath, “1437 humans that the spirit asked me to treat fairly
and justly, and to make sure that they are well cared for when
they are injured or ill.”
Goliath was dumbfounded, even when she was younger and didn’t
dislike humans she hadn’t made any particular attempt to be
friendly with them either. The idea of her willingly accepting
responsibility for the welfare of over a thousand humans was
unbelievable; except for one thing, she had just stated that she
had.
“Surprised speechless Goliath?” Demona asked with a wry smile
as he continued staring at her as if she had sprouted a second
head.
The lavender male’s brow lowered in a frown, “The spirit asked
you to care for these humans?” his tone was doubtful and it was
obvious that he was having difficulty accepting the idea.
“The spirit asked me to become a wise steward and protector of
my domain and my domain includes my employees,” Demona stated,
the smile on her lips growing. “So yes, the spirit asked me to
care for the humans that work for me.” Her brow rose, “I’ll
even go as far as to say I’ve made a rather good start of it in
the past month. My employees no longer cringe in terror and try
to find something to do elsewhere when I visit the different
departments.”
Goliath stared at her, taken aback by her levity. “Nightstone
is your protectorate?” he asked his voice rising on the last
word, which was spoken in disbelief.
The flame haired female’s eyes narrowed in irritation, “Yes
Nightstone is my protectorate,” she snapped back at him with a
lash of her tail, “and more. So you see why I will not turn its
management over to someone else to do a neighborhood watch
patrol with the clan, especially since, as I said before, I’m
not interested in rejoining the clan.”
“Gargoyles need to belong to a clan,” the Manhattan clan leader
growled. Despite the fact that she had told him multiple times
tonight that she didn’t want to rejoin the clan, he couldn’t
believe she actually meant it. Gargoyles were not supposed to
be alone, that was why banishment from the clan was considered
the harshest punishment. It was inconceivable to him that she
wouldn’t want to rejoin a clan when she had the opportunity.
“Goliath I’ve been clanless for almost nine hundred years,”
Demona said dryly, “I suspect I can survive a while longer
without one. Besides it’s not as if I’m alone anymore, I’ve got
Kendra, Rachael, Robert, Macbeth for human friends and of course
the spirit is also always there for me if I need him. It may
not be a clan like what you’re used to, but I’m finding that it
suits me very well.”
This was beginning to make more sense to him, “With you as the
clan leader,” he said, his eyes narrowing in disapproval.
Demona met his eyes serenely, “No, I’m not the clan leader of
anyone, not even Robert.”
Goliath stared at her, searching for any sign of duplicity, but
he could see none. Of course, she had successfully hidden her
lies from him before so he didn’t quite trust himself to know if
she were lying to him or not. Little of what she had said to
him tonight made sense to him. She didn’t want to be in a clan
and she didn’t want to be clan leader. She didn’t hate humans
anymore and the spirit had asked her to take care of and watch
over the humans who worked for her. Most astonishing, after
getting over her disbelief that they weren’t already mates had
asked him why not and had pushed for him to make up his mind or
let Elisa find a human mate.
Demona’s head tilted to the side as a thoughtful expression
crossed her face, “Perhaps I do have a clan leader though.”
“Who?” He searched his mind for any possibilities, “Kendra?” he
asked, thinking of how ardently she had defended Demona when
talking to the clan.
Demona smiled, “No, away from work Kendra and I are equals. We
seek out the other’s opinion and listen to one another, but
neither of us dictates to each other in our personal
relationship. I was speaking of the spirit.”
Night – on the way back to Destine Manor, Forest Hills Gardens,
Long Island
“Hey,” Kendra said her tone soft and concerned as she matched
her speed and altitude to Demona’s so that they were gliding
beside one another, “are you alright? You looked upset a few
times.” The concern in the winged were-jaguar’s voice was
matched by the expression on her face and in her blue eyes as
she looked over at Demona.
The flame haired gargoyle smiled at her reassuringly, “I’m
fine. The conversation got a little emotional for me at a few
points is all.” Goliath had insisted that only the two of them
meet and Kendra had insisted that she go along to keep an eye
out for any unwanted visitors from a few rooftops away. Demona
hadn’t argued with her mate, it had made her feel better to know
that Kendra was close and watching over her.
Kendra looked at her searchingly for a few seconds as Demona met
the were-jaguar’s gaze calmly, feeling warmed by the woman’s
concern. “So what did Goliath urgently need to talk about
tonight?” Kendra finally asked.
“He wanted me to patrol with them,” Demona responded, and then
she waited for Kendra’s reaction suspecting that Goliath’s
request would be as much a surprise to the were-jaguar as it had
been to her.
Her mate didn’t disappoint her; blue eyes stared at her
incredulously, “In what time?”
Demona grinned, amused, “Ah well, when I brought that up he
suggested that I hand over Nightstone to someone else so that I
had the time to patrol,” she answered dryly.
“He actually suggested that?” Kendra stared at the scarlet
haired gargoyle in disbelief, “Does he not realize how important
Nightstone is to you?”
The smile on Demona’s face grew, “I’m fairly certain he’s aware
of that now,” she commented dryly. A few seconds later, her
smile faded and she looked over at her mate more seriously, “I
told him about the Ancient One tasking me with caring for
Nightstone and my employees. I’m not sure I should have, but I
wanted him to understand why Nightstone means so much to me
now.”
“Ah,” Kendra drew out the sound, “so how did he react to that?”
“With disbelief,” the flame haired gargoyle remarked dryly.
The winged were-jaguar smirked, “Did the idea of you protecting
humans short circuit his brain?”
Demona started laughing hard enough to make her wobble slightly
in the air as Kendra grinned at her. “I believe it may have
from the way he reacted,” the scarlet haired gargoyle finally
calmed enough to respond. “I gather you managed to get close
enough to tell?”
“I was close enough to notice that he stared at you pretty
strangely a few times,” Kendra admitted, still smiling, “but not
close enough to know what it was about. That was just a guess.”
The flame haired gargoyle chuckled, “A good guess,” Demona
confirmed, “He did stare at me very strangely when I mentioned
it.” They glided on over the city in silence, and from the
occasional concerned but patient looks she was getting from her
mate, Demona knew that Kendra was just waiting for her to
continue in her own time. “Goliath called Nightstone my
protectorate,” she finally said, “I hadn’t really thought about
it that way before.”
Kendra looked at her curiously, “Is it?”
Demona frowned thoughtfully, “I told Goliath it was, and I did
not lie to him, but it was not exactly the truth either.”
The blue-eyed were-jaguar studied her for a moment before
commenting, “Being the CEO and owner isn’t quite the same as
being the cop on the street making sure no one breaks in at
night. You’re a bit more involved in Nightstone than the cop
cruising up and down the street outside the building.” She
pointed down to where a police cruiser just happened to turn
onto the street below them.
The flame haired gargoyle looked down to where Kendra was
pointing, “Slightly different,” she agreed with a crooked smile.
Demona looked over at her mate, thinking of what she had learned
tonight. She had been so sure that Goliath and Elisa were
mates; it had been a shock to learn that they were not. As she
had commented to Goliath, the universe did have a sense of humor
for her, of all gargoyles, to be the first one she knew of to
take a human as her mate. “I was surprised to find out that
Goliath and Elisa aren’t mates yet,” Demona finally commented on
what had been weighing on her mind most out of everything she
and Goliath had discussed.
Kendra stared at her, her brow creasing, “So… that means we’re
the first?” her voice held a hint of concern.
“That I know of,” Demona commented, giving her mate a reassuring
look. She remembered her thoughts the first day they had made
love in the shelter they had made of saplings and woven pine
branches. Her shock that she was actually considering having
sex with a human had been far greater than the fact that she was
considering having sex with a female. Demona was very pleased
that her desire to touch Kendra, to make the woman call out her
name in passion for real instead of in a dream, had won out over
her reservations. She felt a powerful rush of warmth in her
chest that caused her breath to catch, she was so thankful that
she hadn’t let the fact that Kendra was human stop her from
falling in love with the woman.
The worried look on Kendra’s face eased, “Does that make a
difference to you?” she asked carefully.
Demona smiled at her mate, “It simply means that I’m smart
enough to recognize a good thing when I see it, unlike
Goliath.” She dipped her right wing to fly closer to the winged
were-jaguar before straightening out once again, “I love you,
more than I thought I could love anyone,” she said staring into
Kendra’s blue eyes, “and I don’t care if we are the first
gargoyle human pairing or not,” she said softly.
Gliding above the traffic it was a much shorter trip from
Nightstone to her home than driving, they were already almost
there. Smoothly they passed over the house and then dipped
their wings in unison to make a tight turn and approach the
house from the back to land on the second floor balcony. Kendra
landed first, flaring her wide wings to bring herself to a stop
and then hopping quickly off the railing to the floor to make
room for Demona who was right behind her. The were-jaguar held
up her hands to the gargoyle and helped her down from the
railing. As soon as Demona was firmly upon the floor and had
caped her wings cloak-style behind her, Kendra’s hands went to
the gargoyle’s waist; pulling Demona to her while her glossy
black feathered wings wrapped around and enfolded the redhead.
Demona drew in a surprised breath. Her green eyes rose to meet
her mate’s blue ones questioningly, widening as Kendra lips
descended to press against her own in an ardent kiss that
silenced any verbal questions. The gargoyle’s hands slid up the
fur covered muscular arms to rest on Kendra’s shoulders,
gripping them for balance as all of her senses swam at the
unexpected passion from her mate. She had resigned herself to
the fact that Kendra’s were-jaguar form couldn’t feel very
aroused except for a short week in the summer while the jaguar
spirit in her went into season, but right now it certainly
didn’t feel that way.
The flame haired gargoyle surrendered to the kiss with a moan of
desire as she pressed herself against Kendra’s warm body and
reveled in the feel of her mate’s wings tightening around her,
pulling her closer. The feathers on the were-jaguar’s wings
were smooth, and slid with satin like feel across Demona’s back
and wings, sending bolts of arousal through the gargoyle. Lips
parted against her own as Kendra’s tongue sought entry and
Demona surrendered herself to the deepening of the kiss.
A long moment later Kendra pulled back, “I want,” she whispered,
ignoring the protesting moan from Demona at the ending of the
kiss. “To take you inside,” she gently nipped along the
gargoyle’s jaw line, “into our bedroom,” the same teeth now
nipped at a blue earlobe. “Lay you down on our bed,” she
whispered in a soft purr and then trailed her lips delicately
along the edge of Demona’s ear, “and make passionate love to you
with my wings wrapped around you.”
Her mate’s body pressed so tightly against her own, the silky
smoothness of the feathered wings surrounding her, the words and
teasing nips along her jaw and delicate teasing of her ear, had
roused Demona’s body very quickly to an acute state of
awareness. She ached for Kendra’s touch, some parts of her more
than others, still she could tell from the were-jaguar’s eyes
that Kendra wasn’t feeling as aroused as she. “But you?” she
asked uncertainly, her voice betraying her need with its
huskiness.
“Later,” Kendra assured her softly, “I’ll change and then it
will be your turn.”
Just before Midnight – Wyvern Castle atop the Eyrie Building,
Upper Manhattan
“So what did Demona say?” Elisa asked. She had come over
immediately after her shift ended, both curious and dreading to
know the outcome of the meeting between Goliath and Demona.
“She will not be joining the patrols, nor is she interested in
rejoining the clan,” the detective fought to hide her relief at
his words knowing that Goliath had to be dismayed at this
outcome. She understood why he had felt he had to ask, but she
had foreseen a lot of upset and disagreements if the strong
willed female rejoined the clan. Demona had been her own clan
leader for far too long to meekly accept Goliath’s leadership
over her. Not to mention the fact that no matter what the
relationship was between the two females, Kendra would come with
Demona and the detective didn’t see the black haired woman
accepting Goliath as clan leader any more readily than the
thousand-year-old gargoyle. “Elisa,” the lavender male looked
very troubled, “I do not know her, the gargoyle I spoke to
tonight is a stranger to me.”
The detective looked up into his confused eyes, a frown forming
on her face, “What do you mean?”
“She is neither the gargoyle I remember from before, nor the
gargoyle that she was when we awakened,” he said looking lost,
“When I spoke to her tonight I realized that Macbeth had been
right, I could see the centuries she has lived in her eyes. I
do not recall noticing that before.”
Elisa looked up at him thoughtfully. Ever since she had first
met the immortal gargoyle until Demona had returned from Canada,
the detective hadn’t seen anything other than the worst behavior
from the scarlet haired female. Then came the day she and Matt
had gone to Nightstone to ask Demona questions about the
kidnapping. Demona had sent them away with their metaphorical
tails tucked between their legs, and her calm composure as she
coolly dealt with them had been their first indication that
something had radically changed about the immortal gargoyle.
“It is odd to have her acting so differently than what we’re
used too, this past month has been…” she shook her head, “a
rollercoaster ride of revelations and change. I wasn’t even
worried that she would try and hurt you when you went to meet
her tonight, and a month ago that’s something that I would have
thought you would be crazy to do.”
“Before she met the spirit in Canada it would have been,”
Goliath noted. “She was,” he paused a moment to cape his wings,
looking bemused, “rather calm while we talked tonight.”
Elisa smirked, “And isn’t that strange as well, that disturbed
me almost as much as seeing her greet Macbeth like an old friend
the day Matt and I went to talk with her.”
“It is strange,” Goliath agreed. He took in a deep breath,
“Elisa do you wish to have children?”
The detective stared at him in astonishment, completely
bewildered by the abrupt change of topic. Her brow creased, she
could really only come up with one reason why he would have
asked the question right now, “You talked with Demona about our
relationship?”
“It was one of the things we discussed,” he confirmed uneasily,
seeing the narrowing of her brown eyes, “Demona said I should
ask, instead of assuming that you wanted children.”
This was just too bizarre, “Wait,” she stopped him with an
upraised hand, “let’s go back to the beginning, how did you wind
up discussing us with her?” she asked with a confused and
unhappy frown.
Goliath eyed her for a moment before saying, “Demona commented
that you and Brooklyn would prefer if she didn’t rejoin the
clan, only she referred to you as my mate.”
“And you told her I wasn’t,” Elisa commented, her voice slightly
terse, knowing what his response would have been.
“I told her that though I am attracted to you we were not yet
mates,” he corrected her gently.
Elisa’s lips curved in a relieved smile at this proof that he
cared for her and then her puzzlement returned, “So what
happened then?”
Goliath frowned, “Once she accepted that I was telling her the
truth, she reacted very strangely.” He went on to describe how
Demona had laughed and turned away from him, “Then a few seconds
later she remarked that the universe had a sense of humor.
After that she turned and demanded to know why we were not yet
mates.”
Elisa’s eyes widened in surprise, she had suspected, she had
been almost convinced, but this… It really was true; Demona and
Kendra were romantically involved, the scarlet haired gargoyle’s
behavior and what she had said only made sense if they were.
Her mind caught up with Goliath’s last words and she couldn’t
help the strangled snort of amusement that escaped.
The lavender male frowned at her, “Elisa?”
“Ah…” she stared at him remembering his prior response to her
suggesting that Demona and Kendra were together, “Just finding
it funny that Demona’s switched from trying to kill me to…” she
made a motion with her hand between them, “Well, from what you
said, thinking it’s fine for us to be together.” She wasn’t
going to mention that it seemed obvious to her that Demona was
determined that she wasn’t going to be the only gargoyle with a
human mate, she didn’t want to get into another argument with
him about how the two were acting like clan sisters and not
lovers.
“Indeed,” Goliath rumbled ruefully, “she made a point of
reminding me that humans have only twenty years of fertility
instead of forty to sixty.”
Elisa grimaced at the reminder, she knew she didn’t have
forever, “I guess that she pointed out that we can’t have
children together,” she commented quietly.
“No,” he replied, drawing out the word slowly and the detective
stared at him in surprise, taking in his strange expression,
“She mentioned that it might be possible in the future for
humans and gargoyles to have children.”
Stunned, she asked “What?” Goliath only too well understood her
astonishment; he had been just as surprised.
After the lavender male had repeated himself, Elisa stared
blankly at a shelf of books for a long moment, what had Demona
meant by that comment? Maybe she knew something about how
Delilah had been created that caused her to think it was
possible for gargoyles and humans to interbreed together?
Finally, she looked up into Goliath’s dark eyes, seeing the
worry there. “Even if we could have children… what would they
be?” She asked him, “Would they be more human or more
gargoyle? Would I have a child that needed me to take care of
it or an egg that wouldn’t hatch for ten years? Would I need to
find a desk job for a few years to take care of a child or would
I need to take a sabbatical for a year to hide the fact that I’d
been pregnant, but there was no baby?”
Goliath’s expression had become more thoughtful and troubled
with every question, and it was obvious to Elisa that he hadn’t
considered any of this before. “Yes, if it were possible and
safe, I’d want us to have a child together, but if it’s not then
that’s all right too. I don’t have to have a child to be happy,
Goliath,” she said, staring into his dark eyes seriously. “If
that’s what’s been holding you back and the reason why we
haven’t gone any further than acknowledging we’re attracted to
one another then don’t let it.” He didn’t immediately reply and
she let out a deep breath, “Unless you don’t feel like pursuing
these feelings further because we can’t have children together.”
That got a response, “No,” he replied immediately in a forceful
tone. He stared at her for a long moment, his searching gaze
unwavering and then he carefully leaned down and gently pressed
his lips against hers in a brief kiss that was over too soon.
“No,” he repeated softly, “I also find that it is not necessary
for us to have a child together for me to be with you.” A
slight frown marred his expression at the end of his words,
calling his statement into question in Elisa’s mind.
“It’s harder for you isn’t it?” Elisa commented, trying to feel
her way toward an understanding that she hadn’t put in words
before now.
Goliath sighed, “Everyone chooses a mate before the Breeders
Moon, the desire to have a mate to fly with that night and
produce an egg for the rookery is very strong in us.”
“Is that need going to be so strong that you have to choose a
gargoyle as your mate?” Elisa asked him quietly.
His brow lowered as he frowned thoughtfully, his expression
completely serious as he considered her question. The seconds
seemed to drag out endlessly as Elisa waited for his response,
finally he shook his head slowly, “Once we are mates, it will be
you that I wish to fly with that night and no other.”
Elisa’s dark eyes widened slightly, that might present its own
complications, “Just remember I don’t have wings.”
He smiled and raised his hand to run it through her hair, “I
would not,” he assured her, “and I would not let you fall.”
Elisa took a step forward, closing the short distance between
them to wrap her arms around Goliath’s waist, “I know,” she said
softly staring up into his square jawed face as his wings swept
forward to wrap around her.
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