“Bitch, you will not escape my wrath this time.” Jared leaped in air toward her, but Rennik blocked his path and shoved him away.
“You will have to get through me before you can get to them,” Rennik said.
“If you say so!” Jared then flew in air and Rennik met him high up above. Shane knew Jared was probably already healed from his wounds and had his full strength back. He watched helplessly and was able to do nothing to help his friend since they were far too high for Shane to shoot Jared with his arrow.
Quickly reaching Samantha, he pulled her back to her feet. “Are you okay?” he asked, checking her for any injuries.
Samantha nodded, wiping the dirt and blood off her body.
“I don’t know if you’re the most courageous person I’ve even ever met or just plain crazy. But either way, you’re pretty damn amazing,” Shane said, helping her wipe the dirt off her face.
“You can tell me how amazing I am later. Right now, we need to make sure everybody stays alive. Who is that huge gargoyle that’s fighting Camille’s father?” Samantha asked, trying to see them as the battle still proceeded above them.
“That would be Master Sebastian, my father.”
Samantha’s mouth fell open, and she shook her head with disbelief. “They’re moving too fast. All I’m seeing are shadows across the sky.”
“Master Gargoyles are very powerful. None of us can see what’s happening up there,” Shane said as he scoped out the rest of the gargoyles.
“Where is Jared? Is he dead yet?” Samantha asked, searching for the gargoyle that had tortured her the most.
“Rennik is battling with him, but they are too far for me to see them.”
“Where’s Damien? Is he okay?” Samantha was scanning the scene.
“He has already finished Luther off, and now, he’s handling Nicholas. Come on, let’s see how we can help.” Shane grabbed her hand, and the two took their place behind a boulder and got their weapons ready. They jumped in to help where they could, using the remainder of their arrows. All the while, Shane’s mind stayed on Rennik and his father.
When Rennik and Jared came crashing down finally, the ground shook from the impact. Shane began to sprint toward them to try to help his friend. To his horror, he saw Jared’s arm squeezing Rennik’s neck. Although he was trying to free himself from Jared’s hold, Rennik’s attempts were futile. His eyes found Shane, and Rennik gave his friend a slight smile, accepting his fate.
“No!” Shane yelled as he continued to race toward them.
“This is for you, Shane,” Jared said, smiling at him. It was an evil smile. A smile that said it was payback time. A smile to remind Shane he had lost this fight.
Within a split of a second, Jared twisted Rennik’s neck. As Rennik tumbled down, Jared jumped on top of him and raised his knife for a fatal strike. Just as Shane dove for Jared to tackle him off his friend, Jared pierced the blade through Rennik’s heart.
Shane’s rage knew no bounds. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He had succeeded at forcing Jared off Rennik, and while on top of him, he swung as hard as he could repeatedly with his other dagger. He had no idea if he was doing any damage at all, but he wanted to kill Jared. Never in his life did he ever hate anybody more. If he had it his way, he’d torture him first and make him beg for mercy. Only when he had Jared down on his knees, Shane would take his life.
As a human, though, he was no match for Jared’s gargoyle strength. In no time, Shane was shoved off him. Before he could react, Jared struck Shane across his body. Shane realized he’d been sliced with Jared’s claws. He glanced down at himself and knew instantly the cuts were deep, as the blood seeped out through his sweatshirt.
He could hear Samantha scream somewhere far away. Having difficulty staying on his feet, Shane’s legs buckled from underneath him, bringing him down to his knees. Soon, everything was becoming blurry, and he was having a hard time focusing. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. Did Rennik just die? Were his brother and his father really here? And what about Samantha? Was she safe? He couldn’t remember anymore. He fought hard to stay awake…to not let the darkness beat him. He still had to make sure that everybody was okay. He still had to protect his Sammy.
Thirty
He was floating in the clouds. He looked around him. He couldn’t be in the clouds, could he? This couldn’t be a good sign. But it felt so good. He finally felt at peace.
There was no more pain. No more pain of losing his mother at such a young age. No more pain of his father walking away from Damien and him. No more pain of almost losing his only brother, Damien. And no more pain of falling in love with the one girl he could never have. Yes, he had finally found peace.
“Shane, my son. You need to listen to me.”
“Father?” He turned toward the voice, and his father walked up to him. “Where are we, Father?”
“I am here to bring you back home.”
“Back home?” He was confused. This place was wonderful. Why would he leave?
“Yes, where you belong. It’s not your time yet, son.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It is not time to give up the fight. Not yet. I need you to search deep inside yourself and fight like you’ve never fought before.”
“Who am I fighting, Father?”
“I have done everything I could to help you. Now, it’s up to you. I can’t stay here with you much longer, son.” His father began to fade away. “I need you to find your way back home. Follow your heart, Shane, and fight for what your heart wants.”
“Father! Don’t leave me here. I don’t know what to do!” He spun around, desperately searching for his father, to no avail.
“Shane, can you hear me? Please come back to me.” The beautiful voice was so familiar.
“I don’t see you. How do I find you?” He reached out toward the voice, but he only felt empty space.
“Don’t you give up on me. Not now. We’ve come too far for you to give up. If anybody can make it, I know it’s you. Don’t you leave me. I won’t be able to survive without you.”
“I’d never leave you. I’ll always protect you. Don’t you know that? But I can’t find you. Tell me where you are. I’m lost here. All I see is this empty, white space, and I’m floating in clouds.”
He felt soft lips touch his forehead. It was a gentle kiss. A kiss that promised she’d wait for him for as long as it took him to find his way back to her.
“Come on, Rennik! We’re sneaking out again tonight.” He was ready to explore the world.
“We’re going to get caught one day, Shane. You know we’re not supposed to go anywhere without adults.” Rennik tried to reason with him.
Shane always had a restless soul and loved to break the rules. “You’re such a worry wart. We’re already ten years old, and we can probably fly better than a lot of the adults. Besides, you know there’s a whole world out there just waiting for us.”
“I just don’t wanna get busted,” Rennik said, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry. I got your back. Don’t I always?” Shane smiled, hitting his friend on his shoulder.
Rennik sighed in defeat. “Okay, almost all the adults are hunting right now except for the two guards watching over the kids. It’s probably a good time to sneak out now.”
Rennik and Shane left the compound easy enough. They purposefully stayed away from the hunting grounds, for fear of running into the adult gargoyles. Flying over the city was always a rush for Shane, especially with his best friend. They both liked to take chances and risks by dipping low during their flight. They liked to mess with the humans and play tricks on them. That night, they sat on top of a building and threw acorns on the humans that passed below them. Most of them were drunk since it was late. Watching them spin around and act like fools was so entertaining that they lost track of time.
Finally realizing how late it was, they raced back to the headquarters. As soon as they arrived, they knew they were busted be
cause their parents were waiting for them. Shane could see the anger in his father’s eyes and disappointment in his mother’s.
“What’s the meaning of this?” demanded Shane’s father.
“Sorry, we were just…” Shane trailed off, not sure how they could possibly get out of this one.
“Sorry is not good enough! Do you understand how dangerous the world is out there? Do you understand that humans cannot find out about us? You guys are just children and not capable of making rational decisions.” Shane’s father was beyond upset.
“Whose idea was this anyway?” Rennik’s father demanded, just as furious.
“Mine,” Rennik said. “I was bored, so I convinced Shane to sneak out.”
Shane looked at him in shock. “No, it wasn’t his idea. He’s lying. I convinced him to go with me.”
“He’s lying to protect me,” Rennik said. “Shane just went along with the plan because he didn’t want me to go out there alone.”
Rennik’s father grabbed his son and stomped off with him. “Get ready for your punishment.”
When he was allowed to see Rennik again, Shane asked him why he took the blame. Rennik said, “Because I love you like my own brother, and I’ll always have your back. Remember that.”
“Why did you do that? You sacrificed yourself for me.” He fought back the tears.
Suddenly, they were sitting on top of the Empire State Building, both of them adults.
“I didn’t want you to do that,” Shane whispered.
Rennik turned his head to him and smiled. “It’s alright, Shane. Trust me, everything is okay.” He placed his hand on Shane’s shoulder.
“No, it’s not okay. It’s not okay…” Shane mumbled, knowing something was terribly wrong.
Thirty-one
Shane’s eyes flung open. He was completely incoherent and could not recollect anything. Staring at the ceiling, he dug deep into his brain for his most recent memory.
“He’s awake, Father.” Shane heard Damien’s voice.
He turned his head toward the source to find his brother staring at him intently. His father was standing next to him, watching closely.
“What happened? Where am I?” Shane’s voice was hoarse, and it took much effort to get the words out.
“You are in my quarters,” Shane’s father answered. “Don’t worry, nobody knows about this place. You will be safe here.”
Shane wondered what his father was talking about. For that matter, he didn’t understand why his father was talking to him at all. He was not allowed to have any type of interactions, most of all with his kids. He was a Master Gargoyle after all.
“I don’t understand. Safe from what? I can’t remember anything,” Shane said, shaking his head in confusion.
Damien and his father exchanged glances. “It’s okay. This is normal when something traumatic happens,” his father explained.
“Traumatic? Did something happen? Where are Kelsey and the kids? What about Sammy? Is she okay?” Shane’s thoughts instantly went to Samantha, the one he was supposed to protect.
“Kelsey, Sammy, and the kids are fine,” Damien answered. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
Shane closed his eyes, thinking hard about his most recent memory. “I remember Sammy graduating, and we went to her graduation party. I gave her the bracelet for a gift. Oh, and then she had another party with her friends that night.”
Damien nodded. “Yes, that bracelet and the fact that she was wearing your ring helped me find you guys.”
“Find us? From where?” Shane glanced at his hand to see his ring was missing. “I don’t remember giving her my ring,” he mumbled, frowning.
“Don’t worry about that. Is the graduation the last thing you remember?” Damien asked.
“Oh, wait, I remember we went to Vegas for the yearly event. I was at a club and err…well, I ran into Sammy there. She was upset…umm, I remember her being upset.” Shane rubbed his forehead. “I can’t remember anything past that. Everything is foggy.”
“I think that’s when you ran into Jared. All hell broke loose afterward,” Damien mumbled.
“Jared? That punk? What happened?” Shane sat up on the bed.
“Son, a lot has happened. I don’t think you’re ready to deal with everything yet,” Master Sebastian spoke up.
“Just tell me what happened, damn it! I want to know!” Shane demanded.
“We will tell you, Shane, but not now. Your body has gone through a lot. Luckily, Father was able to turn you back to your gargoyle form, so your body could heal.”
“What do you mean? I wasn’t a gargoyle?”
“You were turned into a full human by Master Roman…against your will,” Damien tried to explain.
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me. Why would he do that? Where is he?” He barely saw Master Roman. As a matter of fact, Camille, his own daughter, barely saw him.
“Don’t worry, he’s dead. I made sure of it,” his father answered. “Look, this is already too much information right now. Everything will come back to you eventually. For now, you need to understand that everybody’s lives are still at risk. Jared is still out there somewhere, and I fear he may be gathering some more of his clan brothers to help him. This is why I have everyone hiding out here.”
Shane stood up, letting the blood flow to his feet. “I just need to know what the hell is going on. How can Master Roman be dead? I don’t understand why you guys won’t just spit it out. Why the hell can’t I remember anything? Why is everybody’s life at risk? And what’s up with Jared being after us?”
“Let’s just see how much you remember in the next few days,” Damien said. “I need you to understand how dangerous things are right now, Shane. Kelsey and my kids are here, and so are Sammy and her mother. Even Kelsey’s cat, Tom, is here. We felt we needed to protect them all until we got more control of this situation.”
Throwing his arms up, Shane looked at them with disbelief. “What? Sammy and her mom are here?”
“Sammy has not left your side, Shane. She’s been taking care of you twenty-four-seven. I’ve been forcing her to take rest breaks,” Damien explained.
Shane glanced down at himself to see his gargoyle version. “I don’t understand. She saw me as a gargoyle while I was unconscious?”
“She knows everything. You’re just missing a large part of your life that you’ve forgotten,” Damien said.
“How long have I been out?” Shane asked.
“You have been unconscious…well, almost dead really for three weeks now,” his father said.
“Three weeks? I’ve lost three weeks of my life?”
Damien and his father looked at each other, both not quite sure how to answer him. Finally, Damien spoke first. “Well, you’ve been unconscious for three weeks, but if Vegas was the last thing you remember, that was a while ago. I don’t want to lie to you, brother, so yes, you’ve missed quite a bit. If your memories don’t return on their own, I promise to tell you everything—at least what I know. But right now is not the time. Besides, I know Sammy wanted to see you as soon as you woke up. I need to let her know you’re finally awake.”
The thought of seeing Sammy made his heart jump. “I need some clothes. I’m not having her see me like this. I know you said she knows everything about us being gargoyles, but it’s still strange to me.” Shane shifted to his human version and put on the faded jeans and gray, fitted t-shift that Damien tossed toward him. “How did she react anyway when she found out? I mean, I don’t even know what to say to her.” Suddenly, he was anxious. Just thinking of seeing her was emotionally draining, but the fact that she knew he was a gargoyle was just too much.
Damien chuckled, shaking his head. “Never thought I’d see my brother nervous over a girl,” he mumbled.
“What are you talking about?” Shane asked, denying it. “I’m not nervous at all. Why would I be of little Sammy? Just go get her. I wanna see my nephew and niece as well.”
“Why don’t
you catch up with Sammy for now? Then, both of you can join us in the dining hall. We will all eat together before the sunrise, so you will see everybody there,” Damien said, stepping out of the room with his father.
Shane sat back down on the bed, placing his head into his hands. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he remember anything? Never in his life had he felt so lost. Damien said he had almost died. He certainly felt weak, but nothing like he was close to death. Then again, as a gargoyle, he would heal quickly. Yet, he was still out for three weeks. That could only mean his injuries must have been severe. From what? Who would have hurt him like that? And now, all of them were in hiding? His head pounded as one thought after another continued to crash into his mind.
When Samantha opened the door, he jumped up. Hesitantly, she entered the room, watching him cautiously.
“Hey,” she said. Although she was smiling, her eyes held a hint of worry.
“Hey, yourself. I guess Damien filled you in?” Shane approached her.
“Err, yeah he told me you can’t remember anything.” She stepped closer to him, looking into his eyes intently. As if unable to stop herself, she threw her arms around him.
Instinctively, Shane held her in his embrace. He could feel her trembling and soon heard her crying softly.
“What’s wrong, Sammy?” he asked, lifting her face so he could look at her.
She shook her head, unable to speak.
When he really looked at her, his eyes widened in shock. “Are those faint bruises I see on your face? Who did that to you?” Suddenly outraged, Shane’s grabbed her arms, demanding an answer.
“It’s nothing. Shane, I’m just happy you’re alive. For a while there, we thought we were going to lose you.” Her voice shook as she touched his face, making sure he was truly awake.