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"Here come the boys," said Hudson as they came in sight. "And it looks like they have some company." Goliath’s attention was quickly directed to the direction that Hudson was looking. He, too, noticed the strangers flying with the two. They made room as Brooklyn, then Banshea, Lexington, Mikaia, and lastly Shaunsha land just inside the battlements.
"Who is this that you’ve brought now, lads?" inquired Hudson.
"We found them while on patrol; this is Banshea, Mikaia, and Shaunsha."
"I am Goliath, the leader of this clan. This is Hudson. Where are you from?"
"Oakland, California."
"Whoa! That’s a long way to glide."
"You’re telling us!"
"Who’s this?"
Banshea and her sisters were introduced to Elisa, and then to Angela, Broadway, and Bronx as they came to investigate the strangers. For a moment, Elisa was quiet; her eye was transfixed on Banshea’s amulet.
"What is it, Elisa?"
"Your amulet looks familiar. I think I’ve seen that inscription before," said Elisa.
"Yes. Banshea, your amulet looks like the Phoenix Gate," said Goliath.
"It is the Phoenix Gate," Banshea said with slight amusement.
"But I thought that Goliath threw it into the vortex. Without a mind to guide it, it would be lost forever," said Angela.
"Nothing is ever lost for all eternity. It always comes back in some form or another."
"I threw it into the vortex to put it beyond the reach of those who would want it for evil purposes. I wanted it to be beyond the reach of all,’ said Goliath. "I thought it would be safe, but I suppose that my plan did not work."
"Oh," said Banshea, "but it is safe. You see, indeed, the magic of the Phoenix Gate may have been lost without a mind, but the Phoenix Gate has a mind of its own, although it is usually dormant. It came back because it is important." They chatted for a time, quizzing each other and both sides learning much. Banshea and her sisters were from a dying clan. Each new brood was smaller than the last, and much of the clan was depressed for reasons that the hatchlings did not fully understand. Banshea and her sisters had grown tired of their doomed clan. They had set off on their on to seek adventure, and perhaps help others that they would inevitably meet during their wandering. However, their conversation was quite suddenly cut short.
The earth began to shake, and the skyscrapers swayed violently. A billowing cloud of steam rose from just offshore of the island. A mountainous shape took form within the cloud, its sides still glowing red. Banshea, Shaunsha, and Mikaia were agog. They stood, petrified with the horror of the events that they could see from vantage point.
Shaunsha spoke the three’s fear. "They’ve followed us."
"Come on!" Goliath led his clan over the side of the building. At first, the three strangers did not realize what just happened. Banshea was the first to come out of the trance-like state.
"Wait!!!" she cried, but it was too late, the clan had flown from the rooftop into almost certain death and were now too far away to hear their warnings. They now dove off the parapets and raced after Goliath.
By the time they caught up it was too late. They had already met the enemy at the harbor, and the enemy was about to claim victory. Brooklyn and Lexington were half drowned and barely keeping afloat on the turbulent waters. Hudson was badly burned, and Broadway was helping him. Angela and Goliath were in mid-air. Goliath had a tear in his wing, and Angela was soaked through and had some burns on her arms and legs. Two gargoyles, Lucifess and Demonita, were gliding above the scene, and seemed not to be retreating, but regrouping to plan their next strategy.
"Look out!!!" Mikaia cried as a huge ball of lava came towards the clan. Mikaia swooped, and fished Brooklyn and Lexington out of the ocean. Banshea pulled Angela and Goliath out of harm’s way, and Shaunsha quickly landed next to Hudson and Broadway to protect them. The flaming ball bounced harmlessly off of her shield, and landed in the water.
"Where are Bronx and Elisa?" asked Shaunsha.
"Goliath told Bronx to get Elisa to safety," replied Hudson.
"I tried to warn you, but when I managed to get the words out, it was too late," Banshea apologized.
"Do you know these, these barbarians?" Goliath asked.
"Regrettably, yes. They were part of our clan in California, but they were banished for their evil. You and your clan are in danger now. As the saying is ‘You must fight fire with fire,’ so you must fight sorcery with sorcery. Now, go!!!"
Reluctantly, Goliath led his clan away from the harbor, and left the sisters to battle Lucifess and Demonita alone.
"So, we have our big cousins here. Isn’t this a nice little reunion?" Lucifess taunted.
"You knew that we’d show when you started to cause trouble. You followed us all the way from the West Coast!" Mikaia shouted.
"We always could beat you!"
"We just let you beat us because you were our younger cousins!"
Now it broke down into simple name calling. "Sissy!"
"Snake!"
"Frog!"
"Bat!"
"Guppy!"
"Beast!!!"
That made Lucifess and Demonita mad. Demonita dove on Banshea, and Lucifess tackled Shaunsha. Angry that Lucifess had chosen to pick on the smallest of the three, Mikaia hurried to Shaunsha’s aid.
The battle seemed to rage on and on. Those who were part of it couldn’t tell if it went on for minutes, hours, or eons. It was a tiring battle. Both sides were evenly matched. As soon as one seemed to gain an edge, the other managed to fight all the more harder.
A sudden explosion shook the ground as Lucifess opened a sulfur vent. The force of the blast threw Mikaia against a wall, seriously damaging the wall, and knocking Mikaia unconscious.
Banshea had been fighting Demonita. She was about to close in, but Demonita suddenly delivered a kick to Banshea’s arm, breaking the bone and slashing a deep cut with her talon. Banshea could no longer fight. All the efforts of the battle had suddenly caught up with her, and, exhausted, she slumped against the same wall that her sister had hit, and now where Mikaia’s inert figure lay.
Shaunsha was now outnumbered. She retreated to the wall and used the last of her strength to shield herself and her sisters from the forces that were trying to destroy them. She now was feeling nothing but the soul purpose of gargoyle life: to protect.
Shaunsha hardly noticed when a tall figure stepped out of the shadows. She didn’t see Casha attack Lucifess and Demonita. She didn’t realize that her enemies had fled into the night. Shaunsha and her sisters would have been destroyed when she no longer had the energy to maintain the force field, but Casha had saved them. By the time Shaunsha finally collapsed, the sun was rising. The three slept as stone to recover from their efforts. They would not know until dusk that the night had been won. Their lives had been saved, once again, by the mysterious Ice Queen.
The evening after the battle, the three sisters returned to the tower that was the home of Goliath’s clan. They found that the clan, although still a bit sore, was healed from its fight last night as well. When Goliath saw them, he called them over.
"You probably saved our lives last night. We owe you a debt of gratitude, and would be honored if you were to join us as part of our clan."
It was an adventure that brought the three to Manhattan. It was an adventure that found them a new clan.
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