Seeking a Path

Demona eyed the storm to the south with a small thrill down her spine. Spend enough centuries hunting a new way to obliterate an entire race of beings makes one atuned to possibilities. This storm stank of magic, of some new opportunity. Even if no other could smell it, the maliciousness in it made her mouth water.

She returned inside. Spared the screen of her laptop a moment of her attention. The dropping stocks made her smile. Some idiot broker had shared a little tidbit with her other half on how to make money when all the others failed, literally making profits from their losses. The more the humans failed, the more she won. A small victory, but one none-the-less.

Time to prepare.

...

Goliath also noticed the storm. He looked directly above. Stars as bright as they ever shone around the Big Apple. Those angry clouds roiling in looked menacing.

"Elisa, do you see that?" Goliath asked over the little earbud radio that Lexington had devised.

"See what, Big Guy?"

"There's a storm coming."

"Need to land somewhere?"

"No, I want to check it out." Goliath spread his wings and caught an updraft. He used it to wheel around.

"Quiet night, mind if I come along?"

Goliath smiled. He never minded.

"I'll direct you," he said more practically.

He flew overhead, pausing by catching a spot on a ledge or two along the way so Elisa could catch up. Traveling along the whims of the traffic lights agonized him.

A small bit craved for Puck's antics, those years ago. If Elisa still had gargoyle wings, they wouldn't be traveling at a snail's pace because a tourist got stuck in the middle of the intersection.

He shook his head and sprang off of the wall as Elisa finally pulled around. No, wishing and hoping wouldn't change anything. They would simply have to enjoy the life they had.

Traffic lightening. Elisa sped ahead while she could. Goliath picked up the wind and headed above the building line so he could fly without dodging. The light passing of clouds had turned to a nasty thunderstorm that looked stuck. Normally a storm would stretch out, thinning along its edges. Here, the edges curled back in on itself.

He gave a rough address to the police officer below. By now she could see it as well.

He glided as quickly as the winds allowed, diving down to speed through the rough patches, opening his wings wide again to gain more loft.

He landed outside of the perimeter of the strange storm and waited for Elisa. She caught up surprisingly quickly.

Goliath smiled wistfully as she bent to get out of her old car. When she turned her business face to him he let his face fall as well. She pulled out a rain jacket and pulled the hood up. Goliath shrugged his wings up a little higher and offered her a dry spot to walk under as they walked into the storm.

They continued deeper and deeper into the park. No joggers or dog walkers braved the whirlpool winds. Goliath leaned a little closer to Elisa as they ducked under a branch heavy with dripping water. He felt tense, yet oddly at home in the storm. He didn't have to hide here, with no one else to see them. The mist that rolled up had much the same quality as back in Scotland, where the hills rose high enough to rest in the clouds.

"This feels really familiar," Elisa whispered, mindful of the earbuds they both still wore.

"I was thinking much the same."

The storm whipped them around as they traveled to the heart of it, then, suddenly nothing. Like the eye of a hurricane, the center remained calm and empty. The storm didn't spin around this empty space, just avoided it.

Goliath lifted his wings, testing the winds. He could take off, if he needed too, but the wind here wouldn't be strong enough to keep his big frame aloft for long.

They strode slowly to the center of the center, perhaps only fifteen paces to a crude wooden raft. It looked more like a large, upturned wooden bowl than anything else.

He pushed it with the tip of his tail first, sliding it along its uneven edge. It jerked. Goliath grabbed it suddenly and foisted it up, preferring to surprise whatever lived underneath than being surprised.

Elisa broke into laughter first. Goliath blinked, uncomprehending. Angela blushed. Broadway sat back, wrapped his tail around himself.

"Come on, Big Guy, lets leave the love birds back to the necking."

She took him by the wrist and lead him away.

"Necking?" He asked, quietly.

"Kissing. A lot."

"...they're not causing the storm."

Elisa looked up. "No, they're not."

"It's the boat, we think," Angela said. The blush still colored her cheek. "Its been storming ever since it arrived."

"Arrived?" Goliath asked, feeling like he walked twenty paces behind them.

"Yeah. With the other gargoyle." Broadway looked at Elisa, not purposefully avoiding Goliath's gaze, but effectively doing so. "He, or she, arrived with the storm."

"Ah, so this is one of Avalon's ships?" Elisa walked back up to it, put her hand over a oddly shaped patch. "It doesn't look like the other ones."

"The others were viking ships," Goliath mused. "Taken to hold the eggs then used for ferry boats. This looks hand made."

"Talon made," Elisa corrected. She spread her hands over a few sections that were obviously carved with hands more like Goliath's than hers. He spread his talons over a few of the score marks. Smaller than his. "Do you think one of the others is trying to find you, Angela?"

"No, I don't think so. As soon as he came to he bolted."

"Bolted?" Angela asked.

"Well, he ran as soon as he saw you."

She scoffed. "He didn't run when he saw me. He ran when he woke up. I hadn't caught up to you."

Broadway rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I suppose that make sense. Wonder why he ran."

"Are you sure it was a gargoyle?" Elisa asked. She kept scanning the edge of the weird storm, as though some part might jump out at her.

"Its been dying down," Angela said, noticing her gaze.

"What?"

"The storm. It was making lightening earlier, when we first found it, but its quieting down."

"Slowly."

Goliath didn't like how they weren't answering the question. "Was it a gargoyle or something else that ran from you?"

"Definitely a gargoyle," Broadway said, his gaze now too scanning the edge of the clouds. Goliath couldn't help following. "He took off, and I think I felt his tail brush me."

"Was it someone from Avalon?" he asked his daughter.

"I..." Her tail lashed back and forth. "I don't know. I don't think so, but, its dark."

"Could someone other than one of the Avalon clan use Avalon magic?" Broadway asked.

"I don't know," Goliath said honestly. "I'd have to consult the books."

"How about we get this... thing back to the clock tower, for the time being. Leaving it out here isn't a good idea. If its the gargoyle's only way home, we don't want it stolen in the mean time."

"Good idea, Elisa."

The three gargoyles wrestled the hunk of wood back to Elisa's car. She strapped it to the top, covering it with a tarp she left in the trunk in case she needed to cover one of her winged friends. They would have to drag it up the side of the clock tower once they got there; there was no way she could explain this to the other officers. They'd have to hurry if they wanted to get it up before sunrise.