42 - “Private Lives And A Warrior’s Seduction”

Originally Written: February 2nd, 2001

June 1st, 2001

The month of June had arrived quickly, and unofficially, in all hearts of those who enjoyed the warm weather, Summer was here.  And with a vengeance.  The temperatures were rising steadily, and in the burning heat of the daytime hours, even the paved roads and sidewalks were giving off drifts of steam at mid-afternoon, where the sun lay perched directly above the city.

As the skies grew darker, the twilight gave birth to the citizenry of Manhattan to revel in perhaps the perfect level of temperance and warmth.  And so the gargoyles awakened into the evening, and found the sweet Summer breeze gracefully climbing it’s way to even their level, and flowing beyond into the light drifts of clouds.

They dispersed for the evening, and Goliath found himself led to his bedroom, following a faint trail of perfume, and a scent that lingered within his very heart.  He slipped into his quarters, where the aroma grew strongest, and dashed his gaze to every corner of the room.  He knew his prey had been here, he knew where his quarry had chosen to hide from his powerful senses.  Closer and closer did he come to discovering the clandestine place, where his skills as a hunter screamed to him that which he had sought, was very near.

His massive form belied a brisk speed to hide himself from the opening bathroom door, and the figure stepping out from the checkered tile.  A rush of wind and a rustle of leather, was the only warning to the slender woman before the violet talons of a gargoyle leader swept upon her.

“Whoa!” Elisa screamed, as her body was lifted into her husband’s arms, and she brought her face up to features that of regal nobility and a charming elegance.  “It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for an hour.”

“Blame the change of seasons,” Goliath replied coyly, as he roamed his longing gaze about every nuance of Elisa’s lithe body, “but at least I am the one being awaited for.”

“Oh?”  Elisa’s supple features twisted into a playful smile.  “So you don’t like the results of over half an hour of primping and preparing for our night out?”  She grazed a hand over her attire, a silken black dress, one size too tight and left intentionally too short at the upper thigh.

“Very nice.” he cooed, moving his face to hers, and teasing his lips across her open mouth, painted a bright red with flavored lipstick.

Unwilling to be the victim of his dominant aggressions, she snatched an arm around his neck and pulled him to her infectious bite, and the two lovers locked together in a passionate kiss, unaware of an azure bystander becoming sick to her stomach at the sight.

“Disgusting.” chuffed Demona quietly, standing at the open door to the bedroom.

The Maza couple broke away from each other and stared angrily at the now-mortal gargoyle.  “It’s about time you got here.” said Elisa, as she was placed to the ground on her black high heels.

“I was at work late, then I needed to get home and...‘change’.”  She emphasized the last word spoken and subtly flared her wings, ensuring her point was made.

“All right, you’re forgiven this time.” Elisa replied dryly, sauntering into the nursery, and leaving the former mates to themselves.

“How are you feeling?” asked Goliath, concerned of her state of health after losing her immortality, a part of her she has lived with for over a millennium.

“Fine.”  Demona let only one word speak her heart and mind, and discovered Goliath’s grimace directed her way.

Goliath leaned in, offering a hand to her.  “I was only worried about your...”

“I said I am fine!” she snapped, and hid herself away from him, allowing the shocking red strands of hair to conceal his burning onyx gaze.  “I am...sorry, Goliath, but I don’t wish to speak about this right now...”

Goliath eased off, knowing she would deal with this upheaval in her life in her own stubborn fashion.  “I understand.”

“So,” she started, drawing into a more comfortable stance, “where is...Todd, tonight?”

“Mr. Hawkins is attending a...‘wild kegger’, in a so eloquent expression from his very mouth.” Goliath replied, slowly shaking his head.  “Why do you ask?”

“Ah...I just wanted to speak to him about...a business opportunity.  I wish to enlist his services.”

“He is a talented artist, I’ll give him that at least.”

“Yes,” Demona whispered, “very talented...”

****************************************

Upon entering the smaller, adjoining room, Elisa had unearthed with a smirk, her once sleeping daughter sitting up in her crib, and her blankets and stuffed toys tossed aside. As Trinity locked eyes with her mother, she instantly pawed at the open air, a futile attempt to grasp for the woman standing just beyond the wooden mahogany spirals of her cage.  Elisa grabbed the child from her bed, and hefted the ever growing baby to her chest, coming back into the bedroom, where Goliath and Demona were engaged in conversation.

A rare sight she was still getting used to, as Elisa took a moment to fill her eyes with the former mates and former enemies actually getting along as if nothing had happened between them.

Demona heard the cheerful cries of the child being carried her way, and left Goliath’s side to grasp the winged girl and hold her high in the air.  “Hello, my dear Trinity.” she greeted the tiny hybrid, and received a flitter of chocolate wings and a garbled, adolescent utterance in response.

“Be careful,” Elisa warned, “she’s just started teething, and among the other ‘normal’ human teeth, has four tiny, yet still very sharp, fangs coming in too.  If she gets mad...” She formed an injured expression, as if reliving a previous experience with Trinity’s roving fangs, and her newfound gesture to indicate an oncoming tantrum.

“I get the picture.” Demona replied, peering into the child’s mouth, and seeing the four evident protrusions of her gargoyle canines, and the source of many recent sleepless nights for both mother and daughter.

“Well, we’re leaving now,” Elisa cut through, “so play nice.”  Trinity cooed and laughed as Demona tickled her talons to the child’s side.  “I was talking to you, Demona.” Elisa drawled.

“You allowed me to act as her baby-sitter tonight, so do not worry.” Demona replied, her dark onyx eyes flicking to the raven haired detective, noticing possibly a reluctance in their decision to allow Demona to care for their child this night.  “Don’t you two have plans?” she droned, a tone to elicit a quick response, and give her the much desired solitude with this child.

“Yes,” Goliath rumbled, “we should go, Elisa.”  Goliath followed his wife from the room, and then suddenly stopped at the doors.  He slowly turned his head to Demona and growled, baring his teeth in a not too subtle warning.  “And Demona, if anything should happen to my daughter...”  He dragged his taloned thumb across his neck, pulling it from ear to ear, a silent and somewhat playful gesture of her impending death if even a scratch appeared on Trinity.

“I get your point.” she answered, forming a half smile.

“Goodnight.”  With that, Goliath left the onetime adversary alone with his baby daughter, a night to prove her trust to the clan.  Perhaps an extremely risky venture, but perhaps not to the lavender giant, and the convincing words of Angela.

Demona turned her attention back to Trinity, who had discovered the flowing lengths of bright vermilion hair, and played within the vast breadth of the colored strands. “Hmmm.  I have fought countless battles for a thousand years, yet can I survive over four hours with a tiny halfling child?  I do hope Angela was right about this...”

****************************************

A streak of dark red hair slipped past the security guard’s field of vision, and a figure dressed in black concealed her thin form in what shadows eluded the massive chandeliers above.  The main foyer of the Eyrie building was a blur of activity, even in the late hours of the night, and with the several deliveries of supplies for all departments of Xanatos Enterprises, came an ample chance for this enforcer of the law to go unnoticed to the elevators beyond, and disappear behind the concealment of the titanium doors sliding closed.  Yet not before a large grin flashed at her success in ‘phase one’ of her devilish plan.

Her ride to her destination was stopped short when she found the third highest floor of the Eyrie revealed as the elevator doors hissed open.  She had expected to find a hall of doorways leading into the supposedly rented apartments, yet discovered only an office space, with cubicles and cluttered desks.  She angrily punched the button to re-seal the doors and held the elevator in place.  She had encountered the first hurdle to be jumped in her quest, as she fidgeted incessantly within the metal confines of the lift.  Perhaps her target’s living quarters were higher, where the elevator would not allow access, possibly even in the collection of ancient stones perched high above the clouds.

As she pondered where to go next, her eyes scanned every little detail, though she would miss the hidden panel often used by the humans who wanted private access to the home of their winged friends.  Yet, she found something even better, the hatch in the ceiling, and in an impressive display of athletic skill, she bounced of the wall and attached herself to the roof, tearing into the small access panel used by the technicians to inspect the steel cables.

Soon she was standing on top of the elevator car, and facing a shaft growing higher than the elevator would travel.  Her lips curled into a grin, having found there was indeed access to the hidden domain above this building.  The recessed ladder in the wall beckoned to her, and she continued her ascent on foot, climbing steel rung after steel rung, and darting her eyes quickly around for any security devices.

She would not discover the camouflaged camera near the top, quietly zooming in to her position, and sending the image of the intruder to the private office of Owen Burnett.

***************************************

He watched silently, as this woman grew increasingly closer to the castle’s main floor, where the gargoyles’ main suites were located.  He wondered why he resisted calling security instantly upon her discovery, and continued with his fascination, of this young woman’s determination to unlock the secrets of Wyvern.

Yet his companion, who remained standing behind his chair, looked on with an enigmatic smirk.  She found this human to be of courage and generosity, and a cream colored brow rose when the young woman in the viewscreen started to approach the highest opening into the castle.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Owen, as his associate rustled her wings.

“Yes, friend Puck.  She is of a good heart, and will become yet another ally of the clan.” the female answered, grasping upon her long, wooden staff.  “Another human to help guard my child of destiny.”

“I shall take your word for it, and hold off on the appropriate security response.  But,” a slight fear crept into his monotone, “Elisa will be...extremely angry that we allowed this woman access to her home, and to her family.”

“Elisa will understand.” she answered.  “This young lady is not an enemy, and stopping her now will only cause her curiosity to expand, and she will be forced to try again, perhaps dragging others into her search for the truth.  Better to let her discover on her own, the true inhabitants of this ancient place.”

****************************************

She reached the last rung, and appearing before her came the last set of doors on her journey.  She had passed by a few other openings, yet decided to go all the way to ensure she would enter into the highest floor possible.  She slumped against the cold steel surface, and allowed herself the chance to rest before tackling her next barrier.  Reaching into the slim satchel strapped to her back, she pulled a crowbar and jammed it into the slot between the doors.  Using all her strength, she forced them open slightly, and inserted the small hydraulic press stolen from the precinct’s supply room into the thin space.  A hiss of compressed air, and she found herself staring into the main foyer...of castle Wyvern.

She slid through the doors, pulled all her equipment back into the knapsack, and scrambled for a place to hide.  Her eyes were fit to burst with the feast of splashed color and ancient Scottish armaments roused before her eyes.  She hesitantly rose up from behind the potted plant, left behind the satchel, and let her curiosity take complete control, languidly dragging her around the room.  She found the hallway leading away, and her legs would take her there of their own accord.

“Does Elisa live here?” she muttered to herself, as she dragged her long fingernails across the rough surface of the battlements.  “There’s no way in hell she would live in a tenth century castle...is there?  Maybe I should go down a level...nah.”

She continued on, her eyes open wide as she traveled the hall away from the first room, and dissected each brilliant tapestry and medieval weapon cast upon the walls.  She found a fork in the road, and paused, deciding on a direction to take.  She made her choice, and detective Iliana Starr disappeared into the deepest regions of the home of the gargoyles.

****************************************

A few corridors away, a massive hulking shape tromped his way towards a room now belonging to his other.  He had been the only one to be left off the patrol roster this night, and found the reason had eluded him.  And now, he had been called to the bedroom of his blossom, and his own echoing footsteps unnerved him slightly, for he had never heard the castle this quiet.

The thoughts quickly ceased when the door leading to Delilah’s new room appeared before him, and a strange scent wafted through the cracks.  Vanilla, if he guessed correctly.  He slowly raised his taloned hand and rapped softly, and as if the wind called to him, a melodious voice came forth, urging him to enter.

“Come in, Shadow...”

He opened the door into the glare of several burning lamps, covered with thin pieces of scarlet fabric, and his thin mahogany eyes seared through the darkened room.  A motionless form lay upon the bed, and as the dark warrior moved closer, he found this winged figure to be very familiar.  “Delilah?”

The young clone sat up, crawled increasingly closer, and drifted into the light, eliciting a gasp from her love.  Her copper skin glistened with a moist sheen, and she wore nothing but a skimpy, translucent chemise, that barely did anything to cover her curvy frame.  She perched herself on the very edge of the down comforter, and shot to the massive gargoyle standing silent before her, chocolate eyes filled with lustful intentions. “Hello...Shadow.”

He stared back at her, and found what voice that had once reigned, had been swallowed along with his tongue.  He thought the sight of his blossom in her silver dress on their first date, was enough to inflame his blood, but now, he felt a strange sensation flooding from his pores.  He was sweating.  He had not sweat since but a young hatchling during his years of intense training.  “W-What...are you...doing?” he finally managed to squeak out.

She slowly poured off from the bed and sauntered to the dark warrior, her tail swishing back and forth behind her swaying hips.  She tenderly ran her hands down the muscular expanse of his chest, her talons tracing a line upon even the smallest of muscle striations, and she grabbed his hand, silently pulling him to the bed.

As Shadow was forced to the mattress, Delilah stood seductively in front of him.  She leaned over and brushed her lips to his ear, releasing a fiery breath over his dark skin.  “I got Goliath to send everyone out on patrol tonight, except for you...my warrior.  I wanted this night to be a surprise.”

“And this...surprise would include?” Shadow asked, his voice still failing him.

“I thought we could continue from where we left off on our first date.” she answered back, gently sweeping her lips past his own, and as he attempted to kiss back, she pulled away.  “Not yet...”  She reached for the leather wrappings on his forearms, and released the tied rawhide strips, pulling them from his body.  She did the same to the leggings, and soon, all that Shadow had on was his loincloth, which was growing increasingly tighter.

“I thought...you were not ready...” he whispered.

“That was then,” she pushed him back, and she crawled over him, “and this is now.”  She planted her lips on his mouth and explored her love with her warm tongue.  Her hands slowly slid to the belt around his loincloth, and unfastened the clasp.

Shadow found his body trembling at this sudden turn, yet yielded to the soft hands and moist skin of his blossom.

Delilah loosened the belt, and then with a quick snap, liberated Shadow of his loincloth, throwing it away over her shoulder.  She guided both hands up his muscled thighs, and pressed the satiny cloth of her lingerie to his hardness, twisting her body to further arouse the warrior beneath her.  She looked up to see Shadow’s goofish grin and smiled maliciously, yet when they crossed eyes, and the sudden realization of her impetuous actions sunk in, she stopped abruptly, the pleasurable smile falling from her lips.  “Oh god...what am I doing?”

“Delilah?” Shadow asked out of a growing concern in a sudden shift of her expression and body language.  “Delilah, what is it?”

“Shadow, I’m sorry...I’m so sorry...”  She rolled off the dark warrior and quickly tore out of the room, without any a word to her escape from her plans this night.

Shadow fought through his arousal to grasp upon what intellect was left, having been forced down to the bottom of his skull by his blossom’s advances, and he jumped from the bed towards the door.  “Delilah!  Wait!!”  He crashed through the door, and scanned the hallway, but Delilah had fled from his sight.

“OH MY GOD!!!!”

A high pitched voice screamed behind him, and the dark warrior turned around to set his sights on a small, red-haired woman, trembling in sheer terror merely a couple of feet away from him.  Her ice blue eyes shot directly to his, and her mouth dropped open.

“Who are you?!!” he snarled.

“OH MY GOD!!!” Iliana cried again, her very cerebrum fusing together with the proverbial explosion of brain cells and all cognitive reason.  “W-What are you?!!”  Her eyes slowly roamed the entire extent of his body, bone spurs, wings, fiery orange tattoos, and a glare of death, and then her gaze fell...on his bare crotch.  “And w-why are you naked?!!”

“What?!”  Shadow suddenly realized he had forgotten to replace his loincloth when leaving the room.  “Oh...jalapena...”  To save what dignity remained, he tore back into the room to grab his attire.

Iliana whirled around and in her haste to flee for her life, her legs curled around each other and she fell to the floor with a thud.  Her fear guided her body now, and she scrambled to her feet, tearing off down the hallway.

Shadow returned to the hallway where the intruder had been, hoisting his loincloth into place.  But the woman was gone, and he debated whether to follow her or attempt a search for his blossom.  His heart won out, and he directed himself to where Delilah’s scent was strongest.

****************************************

She slammed into the nearest wall, and fell to the ground.  Iliana frantically searched around her for any sign of the massive beast who she had encountered.  The massive, and very naked beast.  She found herself still centering her thoughts on what perhaps she should not have seen, and her cheeks quickly flushed as dark crimson as her shoulder length locks.

She crawled to her feet and caught her breath, having sprinted with all her life into another section of the castle.  She sluggishly continued her way, now trying to locate the nearest exit, having seen enough this night to satiate her curiosity, as the trivial fact of where Elisa now resided had swiftly faded from her foremost thoughts.

She heard a low giggling erupting from another doorway close to her, and she hoped it would be of the human persuasion.  She crept along the wall and peered in, and the softened, serene laughter that echoed once more could only belong to that of a human woman.  Iliana breathed a sigh of relief, and directed herself through the doorway.

****************************************

“Where did you go, angel?” she asked, embracing a massive, blue blanket in her lap.  The blanket squirmed with movement, and a tiny copper hand unexpectedly shot out, attempting to untangle the comforter from her body.  Demona watched with unadulterated joy as Trinity’s cherub face poked out from the cerulean folds of cotton, and connected with the gargoyle’s beaming smile.

The gargess had brought Trinity into the media room, and placed herself on the thick carpeting in front of the largest couch, to amuse the diminutive halfling with one of her favorite television programs.  After the inane laughter and adolescent chatter was finished with, and Demona was ready to put her fist through the screen if only to destroy those four colorful abnormalities of nature and dreadful writing, she quickly snapped off the T.V., and instead amused her charge with a simple blanket turned toy.

It had paid off wondrously, as Trinity found a new world within her plaything, delving deeper into the blanket, and only popping out to see the smile on her baby-sitter’s face, a clear sign of Demona at last discovering at least a few moments of well-being, if only for this night.

“Where are you?” she called to the child, and Trinity knew this game well.  She dived back into the blanket, effectively disappearing from view.  “Trinity?  Where are yooou?”

****************************************

“Oh god, another one.” Iliana whispered to herself, having entered the room only to find an azure-skinned, red-haired monster, who almost resembled a human woman.  Iliana stared to the gargoyle, and found she was held in place by a sickening intrigue that her mind would not let go of that easily.  As she leaned in closer, she discovered the gargoyle was wrapping the blanket placed over her into a ball, and slight movement erupted from the sheet.  She discovered a small arm poke out, a muffled giggling carrying on the still air, and Iliana realized a child had been caught in the monster’s grip.

The power of the shield overwhelmed her, and her duty to protect destroyed the fear she once had.  She slipped her gun from her holster and powered into the room.  She hopped over the couch, and with lightning fast speed, Iliana wrested the blanket from the gargess’ relaxed grip, delivering a quick elbow to the side of her face to stun her.

Demona was unused to the fusion of innumerable, diverse scents within this castle, which had concealed Iliana’s own aroma until it was too late.  And her deep involvement in her game with Trinity had caused Demona to lose her infantile charge to this young officer.  Shaking her head to ward off the sharp blow’s effects, she now came face to face with a magnum .45 and a slender woman attached to the handle.  Having been angered by the fact this human had dared to intrude upon the castle and her privacy, crept up behind her without her noticing, and now held baby Trinity in her arms, she bared her fanged teeth and growled.  “Who the hell are you?!” she snapped, her wings releasing from her shoulders and flaring out to their utmost span, a defensive stance of an angered gargoyle.

“What the hell are you?!” Iliana countered, her gun still trained on Demona.

“That is none of your concern, human, now give back the child before I pull your beating heart through your mouth!!”

“Fat chance, lady, or whatever you are.  I’m not letting you take this kid, or do whatever you were going to do to her!”  The blanket writhed in her grasp, and a pair of large brown eyes peered out.  Trinity had wrestled her way to the edges of the blanket, yet only a small portion of her face was visible, and her gargoyle traits had been effectively disguised.  “It’s okay, kid, I’m getting you out of here.”

“You will not be going anywhere with her!”  Demona barely stepped closer, and soon the laser guided beam from the weapon was moved from her chest in a straight line to her forehead.  She hesitated, for less than a few months ago, she would rush ahead without any worry of injury, but now she was as mortal as this intruder, and feared the chance of a hole being blown through her head.

“And what makes you so damn sure?” Iliana hissed.

“You would dare risking my wrath to kidnap...” Demona thought fast, and her threat swelled into a lie, “my daughter?”

Iliana sneered.  “Nice try.  This ain’t your kid.  I don’t see any ‘family resemblance’.”

“Perhaps you should look again...”

Iliana clicked her eyes to the child, trying to force her way from the entrapment of cottony fabric, and soon the last cover was thrown loose, and two copper wings fell into the open air, unraveling the chocolate membranes.  Iliana’s heart stopped, and her breath fell away, as the now uncovered hybrid child laughed and reached out to her.

Demona relented her anger for a closer examination of this intruder.  Her attention had been totally focused on the child now, and Demona found she no longer perceived any threat from this slender woman, instead a laughable impression of an impetuous youth biting off more than she could ever chew.  She crafted her lips into a smile, and noticed the sterling-glinted weapon drop to the ground with a clatter.

The young detective laid her eyes to this child, a virtuous infant with sharp brow spikes, spurs on her elbows, and possessing the leathery wings of perhaps a demon, yet the innocence of an angel.  “Oh my god...you’re one of them...you’re a monster too, aren’t you?” Iliana whispered to the child in her arms.

“We are not monsters, girl,” came Demona’s feral snarl, and the intense dislike to the term often used to describe her race, “we are gargoyles!”

Trinity laughed even harder and snatched Iliana’s free hand, curling her tiny taloned paws around Iliana’s fingers.  She examined the softened human skin, and reveled in the splash of bright color of her purple painted nails.

“So gargoyles do exist...” she sighed wistfully.  And as she watched the small child play in her grasp, she noticed a peculiar action take place before her eyes.  The small girl flipped away her growing raven hair to one side, and instantly, a flash of memory streaked through Iliana’s mind.  A singular gesture associated with a close friend and co-worker.  Golden copper skin, deep cinnamon eyes, and that lustrous ebon tress.  “Oh god...Elisa...” Iliana whispered, her mind at last placing every clue together.  “You’re Elisa’s daughter.  Elisa...m-married a...gargoyle.  Elisa made it...with a gargoyle...oh...my...god...OH MY GOD!!!”

Demona was almost ready to erupt with laughter, as the woman before her finally made the important connection.

Suddenly, the door to the media room, which had quietly creaked shut on it’s own, was blown open and a massive lavender shape came through.  It was Goliath, returned from his date with Elisa, and having responded to Iliana’s scream of fright.  He found his daughter in the hands of an unknown, and his entire muscular body tensed, almost appearing to grow an extra foot in height.  His heavy stance became rigid, and fangs that have ripped through meat and bone, bared themselves as his lips curled back.  “Who are you?!!” he bellowed, the third time this particular question had been asked, and Iliana was draped in his shadow, as he gradually stalked closer.  “And why are you holding my daughter?!!”

“Your daughter?!!” Iliana screamed frantically, as she was bathed in the platinum rage of Goliath’s glowing eyes, offsetting his shadow draped upon her. “Y-You’re...E-Elisa’s...h-h-husband??!!”  Then it happened, as the toll of tonight’s activities finally sunk in.  Iliana’s mind simply clicked off, and with nothing but a release of a small chuckle, she fell to the floor with a...THUD!!!

Both Goliath and Demona looked down, to see the young, and quite unconscious detective sprawled across the floor, with Trinity sitting on her stomach.  The small girl reached forward and pawed at Iliana’s face for any response, yet the human had been literally shut off like a light.  Trinity then looked to her father towering above, and burst out laughing.

“What’s going on?!”  Elisa came through the door, and hurried up to her husband’s side. “Who the...oh ssssshhhhit.”  Perhaps the last person she had expected to find in her home, was now being used as a chair for her baby daughter.

“Elisa, who is this?” growled Goliath, a violet talon pointing directly to Iliana’s gaping mouth.

Elisa did not answer, and instead picked Trinity from the detective’s limp body. “Goliath, Demona, meet Iliana Starr.  She’s a rookie detective from the twenty third precinct, who pestered me once to see pictures of Trinity.”  Elisa shook her head, running through her mind the entirety of questions of her past and skeptical glares Iliana had thrown to her over the short time they had known each other.  “And it seems she finally got her wish.”

“Is she dangerous?” Goliath quickly asked of her.  “Can she be trusted...now that she knows gargoyles dwell here?”

“She had better be,” answered Demona, hovering over the limp police officer, slightly nudging Iliana’s head with her taloned foot, “for she quickly made the association that Trinity is your daughter, Elisa.”

“What?” Elisa choked, hearing this somewhat frightening revelation.  “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Of course.  Trinity looks just like you, it was not hard for her to deduce.  I believe that is what she gets paid for.”

Elisa just sighed heavily, and pressed Trinity closer to her chest, burying her face in her daughter’s lush mane.

Goliath sensed her fear and pulled her closer to him.  “She knows too much now.  It seems we owe her the truth.” he said silently, in both a jestful, and regretful tone.  “I just hope she is able to keep what she has seen here tonight to herself.”

“Your fears are unfounded, Goliath,” a cold wind passed around them, as a gentle tone fell on all ears, “she can be trusted.”  The owner of the voice stepped through the door, and let all those there lay their eyes on a goddess of the winged race.

“Infiniti.” Elisa huffed, instantly perceiving how this young woman could gain access to the castle.  “You let her in here, didn’t you?”

The cream-colored gargess smiled sweetly, and approached the detective in the revealing black dress, grazing a hand over Trinity’s forehead, the very reason for her freedom. “She came on her own, I simply stopped Mr. Burnett from sounding the alarms.”

“Why?”

“Another ally, in your quest for peace.”

Demona sneered with contempt, and looked back to this so-called guardian spirit of her race, having met her once before, in a cloud of smoke and an infringement into her private mansion.  “This...girl?  An ally?  The one who broke into the castle and pointed a gun at me?”

“Yes, friend Demona.  She only wanted to protect the innocent, and did so at risk of her own life.” Infiniti defended the still unconscious rookie detective.  “My task is to ensure the safety of the child of destiny, and Iliana Katrine Starr will help do so.  Yet another human to see the light.”

“Well, I can’t argue with a goddess.” Elisa drawled, catching Infiniti’s smirk.  “Goliath, maybe you should get her off the floor.”

Goliath stalled for a moment, and then heeded his wife’s wish, scooping the small woman from the carpeting, and his dark onyx eyes roamed the features of this youthful intruder, who let her curiosity lead her impulsive actions.

“This actually reminds me of when Andrea found out I was a gargoyle,” Demona commented, staring at the limp body in Goliath’s arms, “she dropped by unexpectedly at the mansion, and since I had...forgotten to secure the front doors when rushing in to the manor at sunset, she decided to enter in after me.”

“And then...” Elisa urged her on, never actually hearing how Andrea Calhoun discovered Demona’s true identity.

“She found me in mid-transformation, and almost fainted as well.  I still remember the look on her face, it was the exact same as this girl’s expression.  It wasn’t long before I had told her the entire story.  Actually, the timing was quite perfect, as I was able to introduce her properly to Angela, and bring her to your wedding.  I know I am able to trust Andrea, I hope you, Elisa, can say the same about her.”  Demona finished her story, then found her eyes connecting to the gun resting upon the floor, and she pulled the large weapon into her talons.  She tested the magnum for weight, and whirled around to point the guiding laser to the television screen.  She liked this weapon, and found a new respect growing for a human who would pack this much destructive power around underneath their arm.  “Hmmmmm...”

“Well, it’s too late now.  C’mon, Big Guy, let’s take her to our bedroom,” Elisa said, as she and Demona followed the lavender giant out into the hall, with Infiniti trailing behind, “might as well get her comfortable to hear the entire story.”

****************************************

He had combed the corridors now for almost an hour, but it seemed his blossom knew this castle as well as he did, and had effectively disappeared.  But her scent was strong, and the mixture of her natural fragrance and the sweet vanilla aroma she had used earlier, clung to the very molecules suspended in the air, driving his primal senses crazy with desire, and a desperate need to find her.

She had come on so strong, and abruptly stopped, and fearing he may have done something wrong, he wanted to locate his blossom and apologize with every fiber of his being.  He even went so far as to allow a young girl he had never seen before to slip away into his home.  He thought this woman was perhaps a friend of Elisa’s or the Xanatoses, and his astute senses and warrior instinct told him she posed no threat.  Delilah had become one with his heart now, and she took precedence over anything and everything. ‘A weakness?’ he thought.  ‘No.  One of my greatest strengths...’

Her scent had lead him outside, and he darted his way to the rear of the battlements, and stopped short when he realized where Delilah had decided to hide herself from his presence.  Shadow slowly climbed the steps and appeared in front of the thick wooden door, leading into his private chambers.  He laughed to himself, as he clamped onto the black steel handle.  He should have checked here first.

The door swung open, and there in front of his eyes, was Delilah.  She had perched herself on the floor to the side, her form lost in a thick blanket of Japanese embroidery, presumably grabbed from somewhere in his chambers.  She barely noticed Shadow’s presence as he entered and closed the door behind him, the starlight fading away, and leaving the room bathed in the softened luminescence of a lit fireplace.  “Delilah?” he called to her in a light voice unlike his usual rasp, and she stirred slightly.  “I am sorry if I have done anything to upset you.”

“And once again, it’s not you.” she whispered, echoing the words spoken months ago on their first date.

“Then, my blossom,” he moved in behind her, and kneeled over to wrap his arms around her, “what is wrong?”

“I wanted to prove to you just how much I love you.  I didn’t want you to think I was scared anymore.  I thought you would want a strong woman, one who doesn’t shy away from fighting, or becomes afraid from a single kiss, but I guess...I’m still afraid...”

“You are stronger than you could ever imagine.” Shadow answered back, in a hushed tone by her ear.  “Your soul, your spirit, your very essence is more powerful than anything I have ever encountered.  Strength is not measured in fighting ability, or how much you can lift, it is how you stand up for your friends, protect your loved ones when they are in danger, and always stay true to your convictions.”

Delilah slowly turned to see Shadow’s enticing glare baring down on her, and she became glued to the dark mahogany of her warrior’s hardened eyes.

“In your short time in this world, you have done your best to keep the peace in your life, and played the guide for your brothers.” he continued, as Delilah gazed on in wide, glistening eyes.  “You taught them, and helped them learn about the world around you. Gave them a purpose.  And now even after their death, carry their memories with you, and allow them to still live on.  You have cared for your baby sister ever since her birth and still do to this very day.  You even risked your very life to help save Goliath’s life months ago.  You, my beautiful rose, are perhaps stronger than I ever could be.”

Delilah was spilling tears down her copper cheeks, and a grayish-purple talon quickly swept them away.  “I’m sorry I forced my way onto you.  I just thought...you...would have liked it.”

Shadow sucked in a sudden breath, and widened his gaze.  “I was barely able to stand, after seeing you in that...that,” he guided a hand to slightly uncover the blanket, and once again stared intensely at the ivory lingerie clinging to her form, “what is this called anyway?”

“It’s a chemise.  Do you really like it?”

“Very much.” he answered, tenderly roaming his hands about the satiny material, and Delilah flinched when his talons grazed a sensitive spot on her side.  “I’m sorry...I didn’t mean...”

“It’s okay, Shadow.” she whispered to him, sitting up on her knees, and draping her arms around his neck.  “I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”

“You don’t have to be.  I am here to keep you safe, and you know I will never do anything to hurt you.”

“I know.”  She pressed her lips to his, lustfully chewing on his mouth with her fangs.

He pulled away, noticing a growing feral madness within Delilah, and he cocked a brow ridge to her newfound boldness.  “Does this mean you wish to pick up where we left off?”

Delilah pulled the blanket from around her body and spread it on the floor.  She then pushed Shadow down, and climbed on top of him, her face just inches from his own. “You tell me.”  She bit into him with a ferocity belying her demure demeanor, answering without words, and displaying the power of her love for him in a lascivious kiss.

****************************************

“I don’t know if I can handle this...”

“Tough shit, ‘Ana.  You broke in here, you discovered my...‘secret’, and you’ll keep that secret until the day you die.  Got it?”

Iliana Starr looked helplessly to Elisa, who in turn was staring at her with burning eyes. The rookie detective lay reclined on Elisa’s grand canopied bed, and after hearing a detailed account of the clan’s history by Goliath, the very confines of her mind were ready to erupt with images of gargoyles, Fay, clones, and adventures spanning thousands of years.  “I guess...” she muttered, taking another drink of her water, and amending her parched throat.

“Well, let’s put it this way,” Elisa started, her features swelling into a forceful smirk Iliana was beginning to fear, “if you even think about telling anybody, then you have to face...my husband.”

Iliana clicked her eyes to Goliath, standing mere feet away, and in a roguish warning, flared his wings, bared his teeth, and let loose a growl that would scare off any wild animal.  She almost dropped the glass of water to the comforter, and recomposed herself quickly.

“Or you can face Demona, who has become quite attached to my daughter.”

Iliana then turned to the other side of the bed, only to bare witness to the azure-skinned gargess bearing down on her with eyes of death, and a baneful smile.

“Or even the goddess of my husband’s race, who has the power to turn you inside out.”

Iliana found Infiniti standing not too far away, with a small crackle of energy centered near her hands to present her power forth.  “I think I get the point.”  She turned back to Elisa.  “Elisa, you know I won’t tell anyone, we’re friends.  At least I thought so...”

“And what does that mean?”

“You could have told me.  I wouldn’t have said anything to anyone.  You know that!”

Elisa sighed and flicked the stray hairs from her face.  “It’s not that I don’t trust you.  But my life has become too important to let anyone know about who I fell in love with.  For it’s not just my life on the line, or Goliath’s, or any of the clan’s,” Elisa’s chocolate eyes hardened over, “it’s now my baby daughter’s.  I can’t risk anyone knowing about her, even if it means lying to my closest friends.  If anything happens to her...”

Iliana looked sheepishly to the ground.  “I’m sorry, Elisa, I didn’t mean to...if I thought your life was this important to keep concealed...I never would have come here.”

“Well, it’s a bit more weight off my shoulders,” Elisa sighed blissfully, “knowing it’s one less person who I have to keep lying to.”

“Very true.” replied Infiniti.  “You are now a part of the grand design, Iliana Starr.  A chosen group of humans who have come to embrace the gargoyle race as equals and friends, and hopefully will grow larger with the flow of time.  Can I rely on you to help protect my race, and my child of destiny?”  She waved her hand to the playpen, erected in the corner of the room, where Trinity was busy amusing herself with her toys.

Iliana smirked.  “On one condition...if Demona here gives me back my gun.”  She held out her open hand to the cerulean she-goyle, and Demona hesitantly placed the magnum back in the rookie detective’s awaiting palm.  “Thank you.”

“A rather large gun, for someone who is entrusted to keep the peace.” Goliath said slyly.

“That’s the point.  Usually the sight of this sucker scares them into surrendering, so I don’t have to shoot them.  But if I ever get in a jam...BANG!!!  This sucker can put a hole through solid steel.”

“Just keep it out of Trinity’s sight, please.  She is in the...‘grabby’ stage, as of now.”

“Tell me about it.” joked Elisa, eyeing the long strands of hair that have been rescued from Trinity’s strong grasp on many an occasion.  “Anyway,” she continued, looking back to Iliana, “welcome to my life.”

“Glad to be here...I guess” she suspired, still staring at the giant lavender gargoyle.  The sheer mechanics of his mating with Elisa were still mind-boggling to her, yet she discovered an aristocratic grace in his features that was refreshingly handsome.  She soon found herself wondering just what his wings felt like to the touch, and even the slowly swaying tail suspended behind.

“Well,” Elisa started, scaring Iliana from her reverie, “Goliath and I skipped dinner, for...well, more obvious reasons...”  She blushed slightly as Iliana once again skipped her gaze to a smiling gargoyle leader, and then trailed her eyes down the extent of his massively muscular body, and quickly tore them away when reaching the area below his thick belt.  “You want to join us?” Elisa’s question broke her friend’s examination of her husband.  “One good thing when living with gargoyles, there’s always plenty of food in the castle.”

“Hell yes,” Iliana almost yelled back, “my fridge is totally empty.  Damn cop salary...”

“Only for the rookies...” she joked.  “You’re welcome to join us, Demona, and you too, Infiniti, or don’t goddesses eat?”

Infiniti smiled craftily.  “It has been a long time since I have actually eaten, it would be a welcome treat.  I would be honored to share this experience with you, if only to spend some time with the child of destiny.”

“Good, grab the squirt and let’s go.”  She headed off as the others followed her, with Infiniti releasing her staff in a billowing of energy, and tenderly snatching the hybrid child away from her playpen in the corner of the room.

As Iliana followed Elisa down the corridor, heading for the castle’s kitchen, she quickened her pace and whispered hushed questions into her companion’s ear.  “Uh Elisa, about that gargoyle I met earlier...”

“You mean Shadow.”

“Shadow...” she breathed wistfully, forming a coy grin.  “Yeah, Shadow.  Uh, are all gargoyle males...uhm,” she turned a faded shade of pink upon the inquiry about to be asked, “as...well-endowed as he is?”

Elisa stopped in mid-stride and laughed out loud, her joyous cries echoing along the entire length of the hallway.  She wiped the tears from her eyes, and then shot a mammoth smile Iliana’s way.  “You really want to know?”  She looked back at Goliath who had been following them the entire journey, and then placed a cupped hand to her friend’s ear.

Iliana’s eyes almost popped from her skull when Elisa pulled away.  “HOW BIG??!!!” She twisted back to Goliath, who lurched to a stop, and stared back at her with a contorted expression.  “Oh...wow...” she sighed, feeling light-headed.  The rest of the group continued on, with Elisa wearing a contented smile, leaving Iliana to collect herself after this shocking divulgence from Elisa.  “Wow...Shadow Minamoto...wow...”

****************************************

She roamed her hands across the vast extent of bulging muscle, contained only by his soft hide.  Her intensity was growing with her arousal, and what fear had reigned soon disappeared when held within the hands of her warrior.

Shadow loomed over her, nibbling away at the warm, moist skin of Delilah’s neck, his senses only filled with the aroma released from her pores.  It was all he could do to stop himself from ripping her thin chemise to threads and exposing her nude body to his savage sexual attack.

She was pinned beneath him, her heated breath coursing past his neck, increasing in power and rapidity.  Her own talons tore through the flesh on his back, and she pulled against him, trying to press herself as close to his body as possible.  Only her lingerie and his loincloth separated them, keeping them still as two, until the young clone slipped the straps of her chemise from her shoulders.

Shadow minded her wish, and suddenly flipped her over to lay her on his stomach, and used two talons to strip her of her silken attire.  In one quick move, it slid off and the dark warrior threw it beside him, leaving Delilah completely nude, her bronze skin glistening with her sweat.

She fumbled with his loincloth, her passion clouding her judgment, and she finally managed to pull off the only barrier between them.  In a surprising move, she reached back to the discarded chemise and pulled a small package left inside the stitching.

“Where did you get that?” he asked, as he discovered the condom in her talons.

“I stole it from Elisa’s room.  Goliath uses these, and I’m guessing you guys are...about the same size?”

He smiled, and snatched away the package, quickly reading the printed instructions of the plastic wrapper and preparing himself in front of Delilah’s astonished waiting gaze. Shadow sat up, and pulled Delilah into his embrace, and she wrapped her legs around his waist once more to hold herself steady, and willingly bared herself to him.  He gingerly grasped her face and pressed their brows together.  He held himself directly on the tip of her warm opening, teasing the sensitive skin between her legs, and she shivered with excitement and a slight apprehension.  “This...may hurt.” he whispered.

“I know.”

He urged into to her slowly, and the young clone grew rigid with the sudden surge of pleasure.  Shadow grasped her buttocks and tail, and pushed himself deeper into her slender body, until he met resistance.  He heard Delilah gasp with a sharp blending of pain and ecstasy, and stole an arm around her waist.  After a moment to allow the gargess to prepare, he thrust quickly, and tore through her virginal wall.

Delilah screamed in euphoric rapture, as the pain died away, leaving only the feeling of her warrior filling her very body to the limits her muscles would stretch.

“Are you...all right?”

“...yes...oh god, yes...” she whispered back to him in a husky tone, her throat raw and her voice lost to the waves of erotic gratification.

He moved with her slowly at first, allowing his blossom the time to relax her body and relent to what pleasure he could give to her.  Yet it seemed his pace was too slow for his copper-skinned lover, and she fought against him, clawing at his skin, and rippling the muscles in her thighs to increase the glorious passion.  Her chest heaved with every full breath, and she remained trapped as if a young fawn in the woods, caught in the strong embrace of her hunter.

He suckled on her honeyed skin and tasted her sweat, the sweet liquid released from her body with the flavor of a Summer bouquet and dark chocolate.  What reason he once possessed had abandoned him, his intellect lost to the waltz of intoxicating depravity and wicked sin, and he wanted nothing more than to swallow his love into his essence, to become part of her until the end of time.  He continued pumping, Delilah’s smaller body bobbing up and down in a steady rhythm.  His sexual howling exploded in loud growls, forced through clenched teeth, and he could barely hear Delilah’s squeals of pleasure over the rush of blood pounding in his ears.

Their pace grew stronger, and even the weapons hanging on the wall, shook violently with their love-making.  They had been reduced to animals in heat, forsaking their sanity for nothing but their own untamed enjoyment, reveling in the gargoyle mating of their bodies and souls.  Delilah’s head fell back, yet her open eyes saw nothing, blinded by a feeling she had only dreamed about.  Shadow increased the pressure on her body, nearly crushing her in his powerful arms.  But she did not care right now, and lost herself completely, allowing her body to be ravaged by the dark, winged beast, as if he was a god, and she was his willing goddess, receiving everything he had to give and more.

Stronger, empowered by their sweat and lust.  Faster, wanting nothing more than the highest level of delectation possible.  Harder, each screaming to the stars above them, their love for the other.  His tail snaked up and traveled the length of her spine, kneading the tensed muscles between her trembling wings, and stimulating every nerve ending in her back.  Delilah’s piercing outcries grew louder, yelling out Shadow’s name, and begging him for more in breathless pleas, with every single thrust into her moistness. They moved closer to release, and then, Delilah’s every muscle grew taught, and she froze in place, quivering through a shockwave of the purest carnal energy.  Shadow held her tight, and they both tore into the still air with their grated shrieking.

The rush of their climax died away, and the young clone slumped against Shadow’s chest, her slick skin soaked in perspiration.  Shadow barely found the strength to keep himself upright, and the added weight of Delilah’s limp form caused him to pitch backwards, falling onto the blanket.  They lay silent, each attempting to regain their breath.

Delilah moved the moist strands of hair from her face, and moved herself into a higher position, placing her face to Shadow’s cheek.  She gently kissed him, and he barely stirred, as the dark warrior discovered that even an hour’s worth of sparring with Goliath had no comparison to what he had just experienced.

He curled Delilah closer to him, and the dark coverings of his wings closed in, catching them both in his caliginous, leathery embrace.  “Well...that was a...superb work-out...I can enjoy...” his hushed tone leaked through tired lips.  “I love you, my blossom.”

“I love you, my warrior...” she whispered back, and upon seeing her chemise cast aside, serving as a reminder to thank Elisa later, she smiled, and wondered if her mother could get her one in black.  She tightened her grip on his arms and neck, and drifted off to a glorious slumber, inside this small tower where her heart had been snared by a gladiator with the soul of a poet.  Before her eyes fluttered closed to sleep, she gazed upon the field of glistening celestial bodies beyond the tiny porthole, and found two stars which lay close together, and on this evening alone, seemed to burn even brighter than anything else in the sky.

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