Gargoyles: When Two Worlds Colide.

Book two in my own gargoyles series.

Earlier that week

Castle Wyvern stood tall and proud against the darkening night sky. One thousand years later, the castle still remained the same. The only difference was that the castle no longer took up residence over a cliff in the hillside of Scotland. Months of planning and preparations had led to this one single moment. A few weeks prior, David Xanatos had acquired a great book. A book of magic called The Grmorum Arcanorum. Inside the book, was the whole story about the gargoyles and their existence at Castle Wyvern . After reading the book from cover to cover and learning about the spell that had imprisoned the gargoyles, Xanatos had decided that a trip to Scotland  was in order and after seeing the castle and all its wonders for himself, he bought the castle with the sole intentions of breaking the curse.

Mr. Burnett, Xanatos personal assistant had tried to warn him that transporting the castle from Scotland to the Manhattan would be tricky, if not impossible, saying that the locals considered the place to be haunted and that none of the locals would go near the place.  Upon hearing that news, Xanatos turned around with a mischievous smile on his face and said, “You know what they say, Owen. Pay a man enough, and he’ll walk barefoot into hell.”

Later on, a crew was hired and they began taking the castle apart, brick by brick. Gargoyle by gargoyle. Soon, the entire castle was taken apart and shipped to Manhattan, where the castle was put back together and placed at the very top of the Eyrie Building, which had its many uses for David Xanatos. The building served as the headquarters for his large business and his home quarters as well and was just tall enough that if someone were to place a large stone castle at the very top of it, the castle would reach above the clouds and, hopefully, break a thousand year old curse. This was why Xanatos stood on the tallest tower next to the tallest gargoyle. Ever so slowly, the sun began to set and he watched it as dipped lower and lower into the clouds. “Don’t disappoint me.” He whispered to the statue. As if on cue, cracks began to appear in the stone figure. The cracks began to get bigger and bigger. Xanatos stood frozen in shock as the stone exploded and the sound of gargoyles coming to life filled the night sky.

 

Present Day (or rather night)

"Did you hear about David Xanatoes bringing over some castle from Scottland?" Prue asked.

"Where did you hear that from?" Vikki asked

"The newspaper."

"Why would anyone go through the trouble of doing something like that?" Piper wanted to know.

Pheobe shrugged "why not? He's the richest bachelor in the city."

"The paper said that the castle was complete with stone gargoyles." Prue went on to say.

"He's nothing but a show off. he's got all that money and nothing to do with it, so he goes out a buys a castle." Vikki said.

"What's eating you?' Prue asked.

Vikki shrugged. "I just don't trust the guy, that's all."

"Has he done something to make you think he's dirty?' Piper wanted to know.

"No, of course not. It's just a feeling that I have. "That's all."

A week after the death of Henry, Vikki managed to find an appartment a couple blocks from the manor. Along with the new apartment, came a new career. Or an old one. After the death of her husband, she went back to working for the Ministry Of Magic. A couple of days after starting her job there, she was signed to an undercover job at the police department. Vikki agreed, but only if she could keep her English accent. 

"He's cocky." Vikki went on to say. "The only people who are cocky are criminals.'

Her three cousins shook their heads as they made their way down the sidewalk towards the movie theater. Since it was her night off, she thought it was a good idea if the five of them went to a late night movie.

Prue was about to say something when Zoe spoke up. "Mommy, look!"

She  pointed up ahead to a sky scraper where she could see bits of rock raining down onto the street below. “What the bloody hell is that?” Vikki asked half to herself as she ran towards her daughter with her cousins following after her. 

  “I don’t understand why you have to work around muggles.”  Zoe said to her mother. “Why can’t you go back to working for the Aurror Department?”

Several people who passed them gave them some curious looks as they passed. Vikki smiled at those that passed and then turned a more serious look on her daughter. “You need to be more careful, otherwise people are going to get suspicious of us.” Vikki leaned in closer to her daughter. “We can’t risk anyone finding out about our secrete.”

Zoe lowered her head to look at her shoes and muttered a soft apology. Vikki nodded and turned to her cousin’s standing just behind her.  “Piper, you’re in charge of Zoe.”

“What do you want us to do?” Phoebe asked.

“Stay here until I need you.” Vikki said and took off in a jog into the middle of chaos. She ran right up to an uniform officer that she only knew as Morgan. “What’s going on up there?” She asked him.

“You got me, Detective, but whatever it is must be one hell of a party.”

Another blast sounded, followed by the screams of people. All around her, people screamed, shouted and pointed upwards as more rocks rained down all around them. A particularly large piece of rock hit a nearby fire hydrant, causing it to break and water to pour out in all different directions.  Vikki jumped out of the way just as a boulder hit the exact spot where she had been standing just minutes before. Vikki ducked behind a large piece of rock and was surprised at what she saw.

“Claw marks in solid stone?” She muttered to herself. She pondered over this for several minutes, softly muttering to herself and gently running her fingers over the marks that were etched into the rock.

   She was the oldest in her coven and had, therefore, been gifted with all the same powers as her cousin’s. All of them she exercised daily, except for the power of premonition. She never liked the way it made her feel and because of that, she began to suppress it. Now, if they need a premonition for any reason, they had to rely on Phoebe.

    Vikki looked around and spotted her family. Piper stood with her arm around Zoe while Phoebe ad Prue flanked either side of them. She needed to get Phoebe over here, but how? Vikki looked around at the crowded street. There was absolutely no way she could freeze all of those people on her own, but how on earth was she supposed to signal to Piper that they needed to do it together without looking like a complete idiot? Vikki jerked in surprise as a sudden idea came to her. Idiot, she berated herself.  Piper could just freeze the neighborhood. That way, they could join her without anyone bothering them.

Keeping her eyes on her cousins, She motioned for Piper to freeze the area. When she had done that, she called Phoebe over to her. Everyone froze in the act of what they were doing. The only ones who didn't freeze, where the Charmed Ones, and Zoe. 

“I only need Phoebe so that she might be able to get a premonition off of these claw marks.” Vikki said when everyone had joined her.

“But what if it’s a swarm of demons?” Zoe asked. “You might need all of us.”

Vikki was about to say something to her daughter, when Prue beat her to it. “If it’s demons, they’re not being very subtle.”

“When have demons ever been subtle?” Piper demanded.

“We don’t have time for this right now.” Vikki snapped. “Piper, call Leoo s so he can orb Zoe back home.

“But, Mom…” Zoe protested.

“That’s an order.” Vikki said louder than she attended to.

Piper nodded and when Leo showed up, he took Zoe by the hand and together, orbed back home. Vikki stepped aside to let Phoebe get to work while Piper kept watch just in case anyone happened across the bizarre scene. Phoebe rubbed her hands together as if to warm them and then held them right above the claw marks.

“Well…” Vikki asked rather impatiently. “Did you get anything yet?”

Phoebe threw her cousin a dirty look over her shoulder. “My powers are not like a light switch. I can’t just turn them on and off at will.”

“So…..no?”

Phoebe rolled her eyes and continued on with the task at hand. Finally, she sucked in a deep breath, closed her eyes and let the vision come to her. Just as she was coming to, Paige orbed back in. “What’d I miss?”

“Only that I had one very strange premonition.”

“Strange is good.” Piper said from her lookout. “Strange is right up our alley.”

“What did you see?”  Vikki demanded.

“Impatient are we?” Prue asked.

Vikki ignored her. “Well?”

“You’re not going to like it.” Phoebe warned.

“When have I ever?”

“For god’s sake, Phoebe, just spit it out already. There’s a taxi heading this way.” Piper snapped at her.

Prue looked around at all the frozen people. “And this is going to be pretty hard to explain.”

“Should we unfreeze everybody?” Piper asked.

Vikki stood and when she counted to three, she and Piper unfroze the entire street.  Phoebe waited to tell them about the vision until they had ducked back down. “Bats.”

“Bats? You’re telling me that bats made these claw marks?”

“They were bat like.”

Vikki took a deep breath and then let it out again. “Phoebe, Honey, while bats do have claws, they’re not strong enough or big enough to leave claw marks in solid stone.”

“I know what I saw.” Phoebe said crossly. “The things that made those marks were very large and very angry.”

“What else did you see?” Prue asked. “What exactly did they look like?”

Phoebe sighed, trying to remember. “The one that I saw was very large and kind of purple in color. It had long black hair and large wings.”

“Have you ever heard of anything like that before?” Piper asked her older cousin.

“What makes you think that I have?”

“Come on. You’ve been a witch for your entire life. You’ve had to have seen some pretty bizarre things in your life.”

“Yes, but I’ve never come across large bat like…things.” Vikki finished lamely and looked up.

“You’re thinking we should go check it out.” Prue said.

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Vikki turned to Piper. “We’re going to have to freeze the block again.”

Piper sighed. “Just say when.” Once again, the two of them froze the street and then the four of them made a mad dash across the street.  As soon as they were safely inside, the street unfroze and the people continued on their as if nothing had happened. The four witches were half way across the lobby when a strait backed man with glasses and short blonde hair walked up to them.

I’m sorry, Ladies, but I cannot let you go any further.”

Vikki fished out her badge from her jacket. “Detective Potter and these are my associates. We need to see what all that commission was all about.”

The man fixed his glasses more securely on his nose. “I’m sorry, Detective. But unless you have a warrant, I cannot let you go any further.”

Vikki resisted the urge to grit her teeth.  “I could very well do that, Mr.….”

“Burnett. Owen Burnett.”

“Aww. If I do get that warrant, Mr. Burnett, I will be sure to bring along as many cops as possible, which will include the SWAT Team.”

Owen stood stock still for so long that Vikki started to wonder if Piper had frozen him. She was about to ask her when Owen spoke up. “I really am sorry, Detective, but I simply cannot…” Owen stopped mid-sentence as Piper froze him.

Everyone turned to look at her. “What?” Piper gestured to the now frozen man standing before them. “He was starting to get on my nerves.”

“Piper, you can’t go around freezing people just because they were annoying you.” Phoebe explained.

“Yea, but if it works…”

“Guys.” Vikki said trying to get their attention.

Her three cousins ignored her. “What about personal gain?” Prue demanded.

Phoebe nodded. “Good point.”

Vikki tried again. “Guys.”

Piper cocked her head to one side, thinking. “I don’t think this really counts.”

 “Well if that isn’t a load of bull s**t….”

“OY!” Vikki yelled, making the three of them jump.

“Yes, Cousin? Did you have something to say?” Prue asked.

“We don’t have time to argue about all of this right now.” Vikki explained. “If freezing him…” She pointed to the man behind her. “…has personal gain attached to it, then we will deal with the consequences if and when they come.”

“Do you want me to unfreeze him?” Piper asked.

A quick grin flashed across Vikki’s face. “After we make it to the elevators.” The four of them  ran across the lobby to the bank of elevators. Once Paige pushed the up button, Vikki gave Piper the go ahead and Owen came to life once again and by the time he spun around, Prue was waving at him just as the doors slid close.

“Do you think he’ll figure it out?” Phoebe wondered.

“That we’re witches?” Piper  asked as the elevator continued to rise.

Phoebe nodded.

“How could he?” Prue demanded.

“We will deal with it if and when it happens.” Vikki said through gritted teeth.

“Besides,” Piper said. “Mr. Burnett doesn’t have any evidence of what I’ve done or of what we are.”

At long last, the elevator doors slid open into what had to be the dining hall. “Nice pad.” Paige commented as she stepped into the room. “We’re not here to admire the interior decorating.” Piper hissed at her.

“What do you suppose we should do?” Phoebe asked Vikki.

She sighed. “We’ll split up. Phoebe you’re with me. Prue, you go with Piper.” She paused. “And please try not to use any magic.” Vikki added as an afterthought. “We don’t want to scare anyone….or anything.” Ten minutes later, Vikki and Phoebe found themselves outside with Vikki’s flashlight leading the way. “It’s a castle.” She breathed. “And on top of a building?” She turned to see what her cousin thought about that, but found Phoebe staring at her.

Vikki sighed. “What is it?”

“You really don’t want us using magic do you?”

“Do you really think now is the best time to discuss the matter?” Vikki countered.

“You just used to be so free with our magic. So free with whom we were as witches.”

“You know, I don’t remember asking Ask Phoebe for advice.”

“Well too bad because you’re going to get it anyways.”

Vikki scowled as they continued their tour throughout the castle.

“I understand that Henry’s dead, but…”

Vikki rolled her eyes. “Here we go.” She muttered to herself.

Phoebe ignored her. “I know he’s dead and all…we all miss him, but there’s no use in making yourself miserable.”  She paused. “It won’t bring him back.”

“He didn’t die, Phoebe. He was disintegrated.” Vikki stopped to wipe away her tears. “My wonderful husband and the father of my daughter was whittled down to nothing more than a pile of ashes on the carpet.” She let the tears flow freely down her face. “And the worst part is I felt it. I felt him die.”

Alarmed, Phoebe turned to her cousin. “When?”

“Up in the attic when you and Piper were looking for the vanquishing spell. I felt that energy ball hit him right in the chest.” Vikki whispered. “The pain he felt….”

Phoebe started to say something, but stopped short, gasped, and grabbed hold of her cousin’s arm in a vice like grip.

“Ouch. For God’s sake, Phoebe. Don’t tell me you’re still afraid of the dark.”

“I could’ve sworn I saw that stone gargoyle up there move.”

Vikki snorted. “Gargoyles are nothing more than ugly stone statues that muggles put in their yards.”

“I don’t know how you could say something like that.” Phoebe protested. “Especially with everything we’ve seen and done since the Charmed Ones were constituted and then re-constituted.”

“Never have I heard of any gargoyle sighting nor are they mentioned anywhere in the Book of Shadows.”

“You know why that it is. It’s because none of our ancestors have ever come across any before.”

The continued to walk, with Vikki leading the way and Phoebe keeping a firm hold on her jacket sleeve. Smiling, Vikki came to a dead stop, causing Phoebe to collide with her. “What was that?” Vikki whispered.

“What was what?”  Phoebe demanded as she cowered behind Vikki.

“I could’ve sworn I saw someone.”

“Someone? Like who?”

“I don’t know, but it looked exactly like Dracula.” Vikki rolled her eyes. “Grow up, Phoebe. And get off of me.” She added.

Phoebe scowled. “That wasn’t funny.”

“I’m just trying to make my point.”

“Which I’m failing to see.”

“My point is that Dracula no more exists than gargoyles do.”

Phoebe was about to say something when a loud scream pierced the air. “Now do you believe in gargoyles?”

“That was no gargoyle that was Prue.” Vikki held out a hand. “Grab on.”

“What for? You can’t orb anymore.”

“Maybe not, but I’m going to attempt to apperate.”

“Attempt? Haven’t you done this before?”

“It’s been a while.”

“How long is a while?”

Vikki didn’t answer her. She grabbed her cousin’s hand and with a loud pop, vanished, only to re-appear on the other side of the castle. “What the bloody hell is with all the screaming?” Vikki hissed.

“We saw someone looking at us.” Prue explained.

“We vanquish daemons all the time, and the two of you are afraid of a pair of eyes?"  Phoebe asked while she tried to hide a smile.

“They were white and glowing.” Piper snapped at her sister.

Phoebe opened her mouth to retort when Vikki held up a hand. “Enough.” She sighed. “Where did you see these eyes?”

Both Piper and Prue pointed to the stairwell in front of them. Just as she was about to flashlight down the stairwell, there was a loud growl. Letting out a gasp, she shoved her flashlight into the nearest person and drew out her gun. “Okay, I need you to come out with your hands up.”

Vikki dimly heard someone let out a squeak of fear just seconds before her gun was wrenched from her grasp and smashed into bits. Vikki caught a glance of something purple and claw like as it grabbed her gun. Vikki swallowed and tried to even her breathing. She saw her cousins cower into a corner and wished that Prue would move the other two as far away as possible, but on the other hand, she glad that she didn’t because she didn’t want to anger the beast standing just feet away from her. Very slowly, Vikki turned around to get a better look at the creature when her foot missed the stone flooring. She had a fleeting glance of more purple and a great span of wings before she started free falling through the air.

 

The End.