Gargoyles: Bonds that bind.

Vikki couldn’t believe it. She knew Phoebe had been telling the truth when she said that Vikki had been careless when it came to their magic usage. Mixing certain potion ingredients together even though she knew the outcome wouldn’t be good was downright cocky. Chasing after demons when they had no idea what they were up against and not to mention using magic when she knew they shouldn’t have been. And the fact that she was now falling through the air….well, it was that kind of recklessness that got her turned into a white lighter in the first place. All of that recklessness and all of that stupidity had changed when Henry died and she found herself to be a single mother.

                Vikki tried to orb, but then remembered she was no longer a white lighter, which was something she was starting to regret, but she wasn’t about  to ask the elders for her wings back. She was many things… witch, mother, sister, cousin…the list went on, but Victoria Halliwell Potter was no beggar. She tried to apperate, but her fear kept her from doing so. From the very beginning, Vikki had told her cousins that their powers were tied to their emotions which meant that Vikki had to teach them the power of self-control. People said that that when you were on the brink of death, your life flashed before your eyes. And just like that, it happened to Vikki. She saw it all. Entering Hogwarts for the first time, getting her job at the Ministry, meeting Henry for the first time, marring him, the birth of her daughter, Zoe…and on and on it went.

                A scream pierced the air and Vikki realized that it was it was her screaming. She screamed again when she saw a dark shape flying towards her. More out of instinct than anything else, she reached out a hand and felt the creatures claw wrap around her slender wrist and felt herself being lifted into its huge arms. All too soon she felt him land more than half way down the building on a kind of ledge. Once on her own two feet again, Vikki put as much distance between herself and the creature as she dared and pressed her back against the brick wall.

                From where she stood, Vikki could see the creature’s full form. She had no way of knowing if it was a man or a woman, nor did she have any idea if it spoke English at all, but from what Phoebe described, it seemed to be the same creature she saw in her vision. It was more lavender than purple in color with wings of the same color. It had long black hair and dark eyes and the only piece of clothing it wore was a loincloth around the waist which told Vikki that it was indeed a male and had to be, at the very least, eight feet tall.

Vikki gulped. “What….? Who….?” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Who are you and what are you?”

The creature didn’t say anything for a while, finally, he said, “I am a gargoyle.” He pointed to himself. “I am Goliath.”

He spoke perfect English and the fact that it didn’t surprise her in the least, must’ve meant she was in shock. She certainly felt that way. “My name is Victoria.” She shrugged. “Vikki for short.”

Goliath nodded and then turned to leave, raising a claw and smashing it into the building. Vikki reached out a hand. If she was anyone else, her cousins for instance, she would have no trouble in using her magic to get out of the situation, but since she didn’t how Goliath would react, Vikki decided to play the helpless muggle. “Wait…since I have no way of getting down and you have wings and can fly…”

“I cannot fly.” He said abruptly. “I can only glide on currents of wind.” Vikki tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and watched as Goliath turned to face the street as if looking for something. “But there are none strong enough to carry us both.”

Vikki closed her eyes, sighed and leaned back against the brick wall. “Are you saying that we’re stuck here?”

Vikki heard a great rumbling noise from beside her, which she guessed was Goliath sighing and the next thing she knew she was being lifted up by the wrist and thrown onto his back. “What in the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” She demanded.

Goliath sighed again. “Do you want to get off this ledge or not?”

Vikki hesitate only very briefly. “Yes.”

“Then hang on. “ He said and began to climb up the side of the building.

                Vikki didn’t consider herself to be the type of person to scare easily. She faced death every day and had lost her parents and her husband to evil…yet when it came to climbing up the side of a building and putting her life in the hands of a stranger, she was scared to death.

Goliath felt her stiffen and her arms tighten around his neck. He felt, more than saw, that her eyes were closed tightly. “Trust me.”

Eyes still closed, she snorted. “Easier said than done.”

Goliath didn’t know what the saying meant so he let it go. To Vikki, the climb up the Eyre Building seemed to take longer than it actually did and she came to the conclusion while Goliath was climbing that her powers were deemed useless due to her fear. Before she knew it, they had reached the top and Vikki jumped off his back only to be engulfed in a hug by her cousins.

“You have no idea how close I came to calling Leo to come and get you." Piper whispered into her ear.

For the first time since returning, Vikki noticed that they weren’t alone. “It’s good that you didn’t.” She patted Piper on both her arms and stepped away.

“We heard the screaming.” Another gargoyle explained.

Vikki guessed that his one was much older than Goliath by the looks of him. He wore a strange looking outfit that neither of the Charmed Ones had ever seen before. He had long white hair and a beard to match. He had one normal looking eye and one that was slightly discolored with a long scar running down the length of it. He was a different color than Goliath and while he was lavender, this gargoyle was a light shade of brown, but the one thing that really caught Vikki’s attention was the sword that hung at his side.

Besides the older gargoyle, there were three others and what Vikki supposed was the gargoyle version of a dog, all of them a different color. There was a skinny maroon colored one with a beak and whitish hair. A large blue one with big ears and an even bigger stomach with a bald head. A small green one, also bald, with webbed wings, and the dog like gargoyle was blue/grey, chubby with big ears and glowing white eyes. Vikki guessed that this was the gargoyle that must’ve scared Prue into screaming at the top of her lungs.

Vikki looked back at Goliath. “There’s more than one of you?”

“Yes.” He gestured to the rest of them. “This is my clan.”

“Are there anymore of you?” She asked and saw Piper shake her head.

Vikki arched a brow. “Do you have something to say?”

Piper gestured to all of the gargoyles. “They’re it.”

Vikki was a little bit confused by her cousin’s sad expression. “In the whole castle?” She asked slowly.

“Most likely in the whole world.” Prue said and told her all about their existence at Castle Wyvern.

“God, that’s so sad. It’s no wonder you don’t trust humans.” Vikki said to Goliath.

“We know who they are.” The small green one said, pointing to Piper, Phoebe, and Prue. “But who are you?”

Vikki chuckled softly to herself, and before she could tell them who she was, Goliath beat her to it. “This is Victoria Potter.”

“Detective Potter, second class.” She said and showed them her badge.

“What exactly does a detective do?” The older gargoyle asked.

Vikki opened and closed her mouth, trying to figure out the best and simplest way to tell them about her job.  “Well…just like you used to protect this castle…” She gestured to the stone structure surrounding them. “…I work to protect this city.”

“You protect this city all by yourselves?” The red beaked gargoyle asked.

“Well…no. Just like all of you are part of a clan, I work with a group of people, and together, we protect this city

The entire time she spoke, Vikki couldn’t help but notice that Goliath had his back to them and she was about to say something to him, when he turned around. “Sunrise is coming and the four of you need to go.”

The four witches were taken aback by his abruptness, but neither of them called him out on it. Vikki started walking, but stopped. “Aren’t you coming?” Piper asked.

Vikki placed a hand on her shoulder. “You go on. I’ll be home in a few minutes.”

“And how will you get there? If you want, I can tell Leo to come and get you."

“No, don’t bother. I can just apperate when I ‘m done here.”

“Alright, but I’ll tell Leo to be on her guard.”

Vikki waited until she was sure that Piper was gone and then faced Goliath. “I told you to leave.” He said.

“I know and I am, but I do want to keep talking to you. I…I want to know more about you. About your kind.”

Goliath sighed. “Fine, but not here.” He pointed to another building’s rooftop. “Over there.”

“Tomorrow night, then?”

He nodded.

After everything was settled, Vikki considered calling for Paige to come and get her, but decided against it. She walked around a corner, waited to make sure she was alone, and with a loud pop, she was gone.

                                                        THE END.