Chapter 7
Elisa leaned exhausted against the wall of the elevator watching the floor numbers increase as it rose from the ground floor of the Eyrie building to the upper floors where the castle entrance was located. When the doors opened, she took the hallway and then the steps leading out to the upper battlements. Goliath and the others should be returning from their nightly patrol soon and she had new information on the investigation into Demona's disappearance two days ago.
She leaned against the stone parapet and looked out over the city, it was a clear cold night and she could see the twinkling of the city lights for miles around. She scanned the skyline impatiently and was finally rewarded when she saw the outlines of five gargoyles against the dark sky. Undoubtedly, Hudson was sitting in his armchair watching TV while the younger gargoyles patrolled.
"Elisa," Goliath greeted her as he landed, the other four gargoyles adding in their greetings as they landed in a loose half circle behind him. "You have more news of Demona?" he asked somberly. Elisa had told them of Demona's suspected kidnapping the previous night, and that police suspected that Kendra Canmore had been taken as well.
"Yes," she hunched into her coat, trying to escape the cold, "The night guard confirmed that Kendra Canmore entered the building fifteen minutes prior to the attack on the building. This morning detectives on the case got confirmation that a helicopter was sighted very near the Nightstone building at that time. Witness said they thought it was about to crash into the building, but it just hovered there for several minutes then moved off."
"Do you believe it actually was real Quarrymen that took them?" asked Angela suspicious, but also looking worried.
Elisa grimaced, Demona had hurt Angela terribly with the Quarrymen deception she had carried out last week. She had used actors playing Quarrymen to attack the clan for the purpose of gaining Angela's trust, only to abuse that trust in the worst possible way as she used it to get Angela to lure Goliath into a trap. Only Demona's hired killer attempting to kill Angela along with Goliath had revealed the entire sordid plan. As far as Elisa was concerned, the only good thing about the entire mess was the fact that Angela's eyes were now open about the type of person her mother had turned into over the centuries.
"She probably set this up too," growled Brooklyn.
Elisa shifted uncomfortably, "I don't know," she said reluctantly. She had wanted to believe this was another ploy by the immortal gargoyle, but the evidence simply wasn't pointing in that direction. "We got a crime stopper tip today on the helicopter. An aircraft mechanic at Teterboro Airport saw a helicopter matching the description of the one seen hovering by the Nightstone building land there. He saw five men get out of the helicopter and carry two long bags from it and load them onto a waiting airplane." She had everyone's attention at this point, "He noticed them because he thought at the time it looked like the scene from a move where they were gangsters were moving bodies, it wasn't until he saw the news that he realized he might have actually seen Dominique Destine and Kendra Canmore's kidnappers moving them from the helicopter."
"Where was the plane headed to?" asked Lexington, "Don't they have to file flight plans?"
Broadway broke in, "Yea, but if their kidnappers they would have filed false ones so the police couldn't figure out where they were actually going," he asserted knowledgeably.
"This isn't a movie though," snapped Angela, sounding upset.
Broadway stared at her wide eyed for a moment, before understanding sympathy filled his eyes and he took a step to stand supportively beside her.
"They didn't file a false flight plan," Elisa jumped in before anyone could say anything else, "The plane flew to Alma, Quebec in Canada. The Canadian police confirmed that it landed there and met another plane and then returned to Teterboro the same night this afternoon."
"So the kidnappers, if that is what they actually were, took them to this town in Canada?" asked Goliath.
Elisa shook her head, "Yes, but they didn't stop there, the plane from Teterboro landed in Alma. The Canadian police are certain that the crew split there with some of them taking a smaller plane further north and some of them returning to New Jersey in the original plane."
"Further north where?" asked Lexington, his agile mind as usual focusing immediately upon the significant piece of information.
"Sanikiluaq, Nunavut," she stumbled over the second word still uncertain as to how it was pronounced, "It's on an island in the Hudson Bay, there is an airport there were they were supposed to refuel."
"Supposed to?" Angela asked first.
The dark haired woman sighed, "They never arrived there, the Canadian police aren't certain if they ever mean to or whether…" she hesitated, then continued, "or whether the storm that swept in from the Bay that night forced them to land somewhere between Alma and there."
"That is troubling news," rumbled Goliath, "If they were forced down by this storm Demona will be able to survive due to her immortality. Kendra Canmore's life is the one that is in danger, she is human and while Demona may have found her interesting enough to not kill her immediately, I doubt Demona will help her make it to safety. Demona will leave her behind rather than be slowed down by her," he predicted. "The police there are looking for this plane?" he asked.
Elisa nodded, "They will be sending out search planes tomorrow to fly along the flight path the plane turned into the control tower in Alma."
"Good," he said pleased.
"We still don't know if this isn't some elaborate plot by Demona," pointed out Brooklyn.
"No we don't," agreed Elisa, "But whether it is or not if the plane was forced down its best they start looking for the plane as soon as possible. It's nothing but frozen tundra up there, neither the crew nor Kendra Canmore can survive in that cold for long."
Brooklyn's eyes flared white for a moment, "Your right, Demona wouldn't care that her scheming put others in danger, she only cares about herself. I hope they find them soon and that their alright."
Elise felt a spurt of anger toward Demona as she watched Angela's shoulders slump as she turned and went down the stairs without saying anything to either condemn or defend her mother. Broadway was right behind her hovering anxiously. There was nothing Demona could say to excuse how she had used her daughter, and this situation was just hurting the young gargoyle even more.
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They reached the location Demona had chosen for their next stopping point a few hours before daybreak, just as the redheaded gargoyle had estimated they would. They had left the river they had been traveling beside the day before to follow a smaller branching stream southward. Currently they were approximately seventy-five miles directly northeast of a lake called Lac Misassini on the map.
Demona landed next to Kendra and pointed at the herd of sleeping caribou just visible in the distance, "I'll scatter the herd and drive one of them towards this location, we can bring it down if we work together," she whispered.
Kendra had already scented the herd. She would have been very cautious about trying to split out one of the five hundred pound animals by herself, but with Demona helping, she was more than willing to make the attempt. She dipped her muzzle indicating her agreement with the gargoyle's plan.
Demona circled above the herd a few times scanning through the animals for one that looked weak or injured; on the second circle she found her target, an adult male with fresh blood visible on its hindquarters. The flame-haired gargoyle dove, screaming fiercely. The sleeping caribou herd responded to the sudden attack from above with utter panic, lurching to their feet with alarmed snorts and scattering immediately in all directions. Skillfully Demona separated the injured animal and set it running toward where she had left Kendra. Scanning the ground the gargoyle saw the great cat crouched ready to spring.
As the animal passed her, Kendra sprinted and leapt onto the caribou's back digging her claws into it and lunging forward to bite through the animal's skull. Even as she killed it, the animal stumbled from the unexpected weight upon its back, crashing headfirst into the ground. Kendra released her prey and sprang forward gracefully, taking a few running paces while her prey's momentum caused its body to somersault once hindquarter over antlered head before coming to rest behind her.
The animal was still thrashing dangerously when Demona landed. She stopped beyond the reach of its flailing hooves and grinned at Kendra. "I thought you were going to end up underneath it for a moment there, but I should have known you would be agile enough to avoid that." Demona had expected Kendra to need help bringing down such a large animal. The fact that she had been able to pierce the animal's skull and bring it down alone emphasized to Demona exactly how powerful her companion was in jaguar form. The gargoyle paused, and then continued, "You are an amazing warrior, this should have been a difficult journey, but it's starting to feel more like a vacation with you along," she admitted.
Kendra was both surprised and pleased by Demona's praise. She rumbled her pleasure and swung close enough to the gargoyle to brush affectionately against her legs before proceeding onto the body of their kill.
Demona begin skillfully dressing the animal once its death throes had finished, and to Kendra's surprise took some of the fatty organ meat to eat raw. Correctly identifying Kendra's puzzled glance even while she was in cat form, Demona commented, "I need the extra energy as well, and I can digest it in my true form." They dragged the carcass to the tree line before stopping. Demona, after glancing at the lightening skyline, started preparing a shelter similar to the one they had made the day before.
Demona told Kendra, "Go ahead and start eating, I will take care of the shelter. I can tell you need more food than I do to maintain yourself in that form, especially at the pace we're keeping." Kendra nodded and began tearing into the caribou's flank. Demona was just able to bind together several saplings to form the supports for the shelter and dig a fire pit before her transformation. As soon as she recovered, Dominique pulled on her winter gear and grabbed the survival knife to cut pine boughs to weave through the support poles. Ten minutes later Kendra finished eating and promptly shifted into human form to help the redhead finish completing the shelter.
Once the shelter was finished, they spread out the blankets and lay down. Kendra was pleased when Dominique promptly snuggled up against her. She gently pulled the redhead into her arms, and smiled when Dominique covered the arms resting about her midriff with her own. They fell asleep quickly in the cocoon of their combined warmth.
Kendra dreamed as she slept, she was standing in the Mayan ruins where she found and tried to aid the jaguar. A dark haired, dark eyed woman stepped into the room and greeted her, "Kendra, I see you have done well with my gift. I knew you were the right choice for my successor. Now it is time for you to begin learning more about your abilities, you are capable of much more as a Jaguar warrior priestess than merely changing into your jaguar form. Would you like to learn all that I can teach you young jaguar?"
"Gift?" Kendra repeated, surprised. She examined the woman curiously, and saw the jaguar that she had freed within the human form of the woman. With growing excitement she asked, "How did I become like you are? I remember looking into your eyes, and then nothing until I woke covered in blood."
The woman nodded, "That was my blood on you; I gave up my physical body so I could pass my abilities on to you. I have been waiting for you to be ready to learn more for years. Only recently have you integrated your jaguar and human self enough for you to be able to learn what I have to teach you." She asked again, "Would you like to learn all that I can teach you young jaguar?"
"Yes," agreed Kendra immediately.
The woman smiled, she looked into Kendra's eyes and the lessons began. She did not say anything she did not need to, Kendra's head spun with images, feelings and words as the jaguar woman explained what she was to her.
Finally, the images ceased and the jaguar woman said, "I see the foul greenish tinge of fey magic upon your companion, it is wrapped so tightly about her that it strangles her very soul." She shook her head sadly, "She is enslaved by their magic though she does not realize it." The priestess stared into her eyes, "You must tell her, I will show you and you must tell her what you see."
"I will," promised Kendra taken aback by the forceful tone. "But," she asked, confused, "What are the Fey? And what do you mean by they have enslaved her?" she grew more concerned and angered as she considered what the priestess was saying. Who were these Fey and how were they enslaving Demona?
"Look," the dark haired priestess waved her hand. The temple wall behind her became misty and Kendra could see herself and Dominique sleeping in the shelter. "Look at her and look into her," directed the priestess.
Kendra looked, and then shuddered, sickly green pulsing strands wrapped around and through the gargoyles human form binding it like prey wrapped in a spider's silk, helpless and awaiting the spider. "What is that!" she snarled.
"Fey magic," spat the priestess, her voice pure distaste. "The sorcery she spoke of that grants her immortality is actually fey magic. Look closely, these are those spells." She made a motion toward the slumbering figure and certain of the green lines highlighted brightly for a brief moment. "It is also fey magic that allows her to take on a human form instead of going into stone sleep as well," she motioned again and different lines lit up. "The remainders are various manipulation and binding spells. Unfortunately I lack the knowledge of how to free her from them without disrupting the immortality spell that keeps her alive."
Kendra protested, "But there must be some way to free her!" she couldn't believe that there was nothing that could be done to help Demona. She couldn't go to the gargoyle and tell her this and then be able to offer no hope of freeing herself from these enchantments.
The priestess was silent for a long moment; the she said thoughtfully, "Perhaps there is a spirit that will help us. He hates the Fey for hunting his children until there were no more, and knowledge of the gargoyles enslavement may move him to lend his aid to her. I will seek him out and ask. As for your second question, the Fey are the youngest of the three races, they are powerful and immortal, and too many of their kind believe humans and gargoyles are nothing more than their toys to be pampered or destroyed at their whim. Even the best of them do not believe that our mortal lives have as much worth and value as their own immortal ones, they simply do not make a sport of toying with us."
Kendra stared at her appalled, and then memory kicked in, "The Sidhe?" she questioned, "They're actually real?" Her gaze, sharpened, "Though it sounds more like your describing the Seelie and Unseelie." She shuddered at the thought, though she did not remember much about the tales but she seemed to remember a tale of the Unseelie Hunt turning men into deer and then setting their hounds after them. Then they laughed, drank and made merry as the helpless men were hunted until they could run no more whereupon they were mercilessly torn apart.
"My people did not call them by those names, but from your memories I can tell those are your people's names for them," the jaguar priestess affirmed. "And yes the worst of them did those things, they can be very cruel."
Kendra felt a chill run through her, "But I don't understand," she protested. "Those tales are from centuries ago. How can they still exist and we haven't heard anything about them?" she asked.
"Do not doubt that youngest race still exists, they can take any shape or form and walk freely among the mortal races," the priestess assured Kendra sternly. "As for why there are no tales of them in the recent centuries, their leader, Oberon, forbid them from interfering in mortal lives once humans became numerous enough that it was a possibility we might rise up against their tyranny and destroy them. Though the Fey are immortal the tales you have heard are correct, they can be wounded or killed by cold iron."
Kendra looked through the misty wall at Dominique, "But if they are forbidden from interfering how?" she indicated the redhead's green wrapped form.
"Most Fey obey the spirit of Oberon's wishes, but some resent being forbidden their sport and seek ways of bending his rule so that they could still play their old games. It seems obvious that she was found by one of those willing to bend or ignore Oberon's law." The priestess answered.
Kendra stared at her newfound mentor, "How do you know all of this?" she wondered.
The dark haired priestess smiled grimly, "We have always been immune to fey magic, and unless we make ourselves known they cannot tell what we actually are, also if we are in the form of our animal spirit we can kill them with our natural weapons be those talon, tooth, claw, hoof or horn. They hate and fear us because of these three reasons. In the past, there have been battles between Fey and shaman that have ended in the death of one or the other. Mostly we avoid each other, unless the Fey in question is playing their games with someone, then we usually come into conflict with them. It is not required for you to oppose their meddling, but most shamans will choose to because such meddling is directly opposed to our beliefs."
"Never take life to sustain yourself without respecting the life it gave for you to live. Revere Mother Earth for giving and sustaining all life, in all things seek to protect her and live in harmony with her. Know that each life has inherent worth and never harm a life for harm's sake. Avoid practicing magic on another without their full consent and if possible teach them how instead of doing yourself." Kendra repeated the central values she had learned from the priestess earlier.
The jaguar woman smiled at her in approval. Then with a more serious manner she commanded, "Build a sweat lodge by the river, and bring your companion with you into the spirit realm tonight. Hopefully I will return with assistance, if not I will help her as I am able, and I will continue to seek those more knowledgeable about fey magic than myself."
The jaguar priestess transformed, in her place there was a truly majestic jaguar that dwarfed Kendra's own jaguar shape. The jaguar's green eyes stared at her appraisingly for what seemed like hours before it rumbled its approval and it and the temple disappeared into mist.
Kendra woke, and jerked upright looking around wildly for a moment, confused at the change in her surroundings. Dominique woke as well and looked around ready to fight then seeing nothing asked, "What is it?"
Kendra looked around their shelter once again still not feeling quite awake. "I've been getting lessons from the priestess that gave me my jaguar spirit," she answered.
Dominique gave her a sharp, questioning look, "What do you mean?"
Kendra was feeling more awake by the second, "I was back at the temple, the temple where I found the jaguar. There was a Spanish woman there she told me that she gave up her physical body to give me my jaguar self. She called herself a jaguar warrior priestess."
The redhead was silent for a long moment, considering both Kendra and what she had just said. "Shamanism," Dominique concluded in a satisfied tone.
Kendra smiled remembering their conversation, "Yes, shamanistic transformation magic, she turned into what I guess was my jaguar spirit guide just before the dream ended. Before that though, she taught me about what I am now, about what being a shaman means and how I'm supposed to conduct myself as a jaguar priestess." She finished more seriously thinking about the Fey and the enchantments that bound Dominique.
"Such as?" asked the redhead curiously.
Well, in addition to the strength, quickness and fast healing, I will only age for a few more years and then I will stop getting physically older. I won't die until I chose a successor to pass my gift to just as she passed hers to me." Kendra answered.
Dominique stared at Kendra, "You're immortal?"
Kendra shrugged, "I am until I find a successor, but that will probably not be for quite awhile since I'm just learning what I am. I got the feeling from her that each jaguar priestess usually lives several hundred years before they decide to move on."
Dominique looked thoughtful, "I had wondered if you were immortal after you died and then came back to life on the plane… I guess Macbeth and I haven't been the only immortal's around for the past thousand years." Dominique looked at Kendra and smiled saying, "Welcome to the club, it will be nice to have another immortal around besides Macbeth." The redhead gave Kendra a thoughtful look after saying that but didn't say anything further. Kendra could guess that Dominique was thinking of how this new revelation affected their newly begun intimacy, and she wondered if it would be a mark in her favor or against.
She really couldn't put this off for much longer, Kendra decided, there was just the question of how to bring the subject up. "We also spoke of the Fey; I didn't even know the Sidhe were anything more than tales until she confirmed that they actually exist."
"The Fey," Dominique repeated confused, "Why did she mention them?"
"Because we seem to be something of natural enemies, she told me I can injure or kill one while in jaguar form, no cold iron needed. We are also immune to fey magic, it doesn't affect shamans. She really didn't have anything nice to say about them; the most she would allow is that some of them at least don't see us as play toys to be treated as their whim leads them." By the end of her statement Kendra's voice had gained a hint of a growl as she remembered their conversation. She looked up to see the redhead staring at her surprised. "Mostly though what brought up the conversation about the Fey and their ways was you," Kendra's voice softened.
"Me?" Dominique frowned. "Ah the shape change spell and the immortality spell that binds Macbeth and I together," she realized.
Kendra shook her head, "No not just those, she taught me how to see fey magic." Kendra concentrated as the priestess had taught her and looked into Dominique. "I wish I could show you what I am seeing, how much of the strands bind around and thru you, there is scarcely any space I can see within you that does not have a strand of green crawling through it."
Dominique recoiled from Kendra's suddenly all too piercing gaze, "What do you mean!" she snapped hiding her sudden unease with anger.
Kendra's eyes focused upon Dominique's green ones, "The priestess told me that she saw manipulation and binding spells upon you, not just the shape-change and immortality ones. The Fey you and Macbeth dealt with did far more than they told you when they bound you together."
"You can't know that," the redhead protested, refusing to listen to what she did not want to hear or even consider.
"I believe I can," Kendra said softly, "She even showed me which particular ones they were," Kendra's gaze unfocused once again as she made a motion with her hand in the air.
Dominique gasped, feeling something twitch briefly inside her in response to Kendra's gesture.
The newly minted shaman froze, "Did you feel that?" she asked uncertainly.
"I felt something," Dominique admitted, feeling both reassured by Kendra's obvious dismay that the woman hadn't meant to do anything to her, and a dawning fear that what Kendra was saying might be just be real. The three witches might have done much more to her than just binding her and Macbeth's lives together.
"I'm sorry," Kendra immediately apologized. "I didn't realize that you would feel anything, you didn't seem to when she did it in my dream."
The redhead pushed aside her fears and smirked at this, "You need to ask her to demonstrate the spell again then. What were you trying to do?"
"Well I did do it, they did light up, I'm just not sure why you felt it," Kendra answered. "I was causing the fey enchantments that allow you to be human during the day to brighten, so I could see which ones they were separate from all the others," she explained.
Her attention brought back to the reason for this conversation, Dominique's fears returned in full measure. This time though she didn't get angry with Kendra, "Tell me exactly what you remember of what she said to you," the redhead insisted.
Kendra cast her mind back to when the priestess had begun talking about fey magic, she couldn't remember the conversation verbatim, but she repeated to Dominique everything that she could remember.
"What ancient animal spirit? And how am I supposed to get into the spirit realm to meet him providing that he agrees?" asked Dominique when Kendra finished speaking.
The black haired woman shrugged, "I don't know, she didn't say, only what I told you, that his children were killed off by the Fey. As to how you accompany me into the spirit realm that's easy, it will take some work to build a sweat lodge and find a drum for me to use, but after that it won't be difficult at all."
Dominique stared at Kendra nonplused, a sweat lodge?
Kendra glanced outside, gauging the remaining daylight, "I would like to see if we can manage it today, let's see if we can't get everything ready by sundown. I think we have four or five hours until then. I can use saplings and sod blocks for the lodge, it doesn't have to be big for this. The next problem is to build a large fire and start the rocks heating. And I need to find a hollow log or something suitable for drumming."
Dominique paused startled, both at the list and Kendra's enthusiasm for the project, "I don't know if it can be done by today, but why not give it a try." She said feeling a slowly building interest of her own.
She didn't know what to think about Kendra's claim that there were numerous manipulation and binding spells upon her. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew the Weird Sisters had enchanted her and Macbeth and used them to attack Angela and her rookery brothers and sisters upon Avalon. Angela had told her about her actions on Avalon during Demona's imprisonment in the Labyrinth, though personally she remembered nothing of that time. Though she didn't want to, she had to entertain the idea that the priestess that Kendra had met might be right, and if she was then Demona wanted to meet this spirit who could help her break those enchantments. She didn't want to think of the Weird Sisters being able to enchant her to do whatever they wished again, it was outrageous enough they had done it the one time.
Kendra nodded, "First let's choose a spot for the lodge." They were not far from the stream they had been following southward. Kendra marked out a spot by the stream bank and began carving the soil into blocks using the survival knife and laying them aside. She cleared out a foot deep five-foot radius circle then went to gather poles to use to support the sides of the building.
Dominique worked at building the fire pit and gathering wood to supply it. As the redhead worked on the fire pit Kendra started placing the poles firmly into the ground at the edge of where she had dug out a circle for the lodge, once the poles were in place Kendra bent them in together at the top and tied them together. By this time, Dominique had build up a large bonfire and set it afire to burn down into coals.
"It seems like what we are lacking now is a drum," Dominique observed. "Anything you can pound and get a sound from will do, such as a hollow tree? We don't have time to cure a hide to use as a drumhead."
Glancing up from where she was weaving branches around the poles to form a barrier against the sod, Kendra answered, "Anything that makes a drum like noise will do."
They had two more hours of daylight left when Dominique came back with a bit of hollowed out log and two thick sticks; she pounded on the log and looked at Kendra for her approval. Kendra listened to the sound and nodded in satisfaction, "That will do."
Kendra was half way done with the lodge and the bonfire was burning into coals at this point. Dominique took the rocks she had collected and rolled them into the coals to heat and then helped Kendra complete the lodge. Peering inside Dominique saw the depression the hot rocks would rest in and noticed that Kendra had covered the dirt floor with pine needles for them to sit on. In the meantime, Kendra returned from the shelter with one of the blankets and a pot for them to use to hold water for the heated rocks. The two of them stared with satisfaction for a few minutes at the completed lodge before going down to the stream to wash their hands and faces.
Continued...