Moonlit Fur Chronicles: Lucid Fur
Chapter 9 A Lecture on Gargoyles

I finished the pizzas and put the first batch into the oven. Cordelia stretched, sniffed deeply and sauntered over to me, “Something smells lovely.” I thanked her and replied, “Can gargoyles eat human food?” She bobbed her head, “Historically we have shared feasts. There hasn’t been an issue with it before.” “Have you had pizza before,” I queried. Cordelia shook her head. “You are welcome to have a slice or two when it is finished baking. It’s one of my favorites.” She licked her lips hungrily. “Cordelia, I have a question for you. When we were out looking for those ingredients, I found a book about gargoyles. Would you be willing to go through it and make sure it’s accurate?”

A frown appeared on her face. “I can not read human words. I only know our glyphs.” My eyes widened, “You have your own form of writing? That’s fantastic! Would you show me?” She smiled, “Indeed. After the meal, we shall return to the cave and I shall regale you.” I was excited. It had been a while since I found something to spark my curiosity. The first batch of pizzas were finished soon after. Kai agreed to pull the second batch from the oven. I watched Cordelia take her first bite of pizza. Her eyes lit up, a wide smile appeared on her lips. “Good stuff huh,” I asked. She nodded briskly and sank her teeth into the slice again. I put a second slice on her plate and took two slices for myself. We finished the delicious meal and trekked outside.

I made a point to grab my backpack from my room beforehand. I let my hoodie and shorts slide off my body, quickly packed them in my backpack and phased into my wolf form. Cordelia leaped into the sky and took wing. I gripped my backpack in my jaws and charged after her. My wolf was exhilarated to be out in the forest again. The air smelled clean and woodsy. Cordelia flew above me happily. She too was glad to get into the fresh air. It was fantastic to be able to run again. We made our way to the cave, I was able to remember the way now. I bounded into the dark hole in the earth. The floor sloped downward and we began our descent. I stopped short just before the final turn to the gargoyles cavern. I forced myself through the painful shift back to human shape and pulled my hoodie and shorts on..

I ambled into the cavern and greeted Goliath and Simeon. Cordelia began her tale and informed Goliath of all the events that had transpired since she and I left on our grand journey. Goliath, once he heard I saved Cordelia, spoke in a haunted voice, “This shadow you describe, reminds me of a similar shadow that stole my and Lilith’s eggs. I was too late to save them.” Goliath looked forlorn. “Whether it is the same shadow or another, we are in danger. We must stay vigilant and cautious. I know not what evil this shadow has in store for us, yet I say they will not prevail!” Cordelia and Simeon cheered at his words. “It is unfortunate that we do not have the means to translate the final two ingredients.” Goliath continued. “Reese, do you have any ideas on how we can determine these symbols?” I shook my head.

“Goliath, Reese is interested in gargoyle lore,” Cordelia volunteered. “I wanted to show her the sanctum.” Goliath gestured with his hand toward the temple-like structure. Cordelia lit a torch, moved forward, and I eagerly followed. “Gargoyles are guardians. We protect the ones under our care and keep them safe from harm. We watch over them during the night and in turn they look out for us during the day when we are weakest. This mutually beneficial agreement has served us and mankind for centuries,” Cordelia began. “At one time in history, many gargoyle tribes spread all across the world. Eventually the clans disappeared, some were killed off, some simply vanished never to be heard from again.”

“Such was my and Simeons tribe. Goliath and Lilith found us when we were but hatchlings. I do not remember exactly what happened. All I remember was fire and pain.” Cordelia was quiet for a moment, trapped in a painful memory. She mastered herself and began again. “We developed a form of glyphs to record stories of magnificent battles or epic loves. As you can see the walls of our sanctum are covered with glyphs, detailed stories from days long gone. The glyphs on the walls seemed to dance in the fire light. They grew brighter and brighter. It felt like they were burning into my eyes. Everything turned black.

The massive cathedral was aflame. Screams pierced and echoed in the night sky. Shadows danced and hinted of untold dangers. Two small infant gargoyles were huddled in a nest. The moon was eclipsed by enormous wings, Goliath and I slowed down in midair and gently dropped to the ground. “Lilith my love, we are too late!” Goliath called to me mournfully. “Not so, behold! Two hatchlings remain alive,” I replied. “Hurry, we must collect them and leave before we are spotted!” Goliath scooped the small hatchlings up in his powerful arms. He handed one to me, she had blue gray skin. “Post haste My Love. We fly!” Goliath commanded, we spread our wings and took off. We soared into the air, the rancid scent of charred flesh and death all around us. We saw human and gargoyle corpses on the blood soaked field.

My heart sank. So much needless death and destruction. I cradled the hatchling close to my chest. I would raise it as my own among my own brood. They were due to hatch any night now. I glanced at the little grayish blue bundle in my arms. Her eyes had fear in them but curiosity as well. I decided to call her Cordelia. The grayish red hatchling in Goliath’s arms would be known as Simeon. We flew back to the safety of our cave high in the cliffs. Goliath and I set our new hatchlings down with our eggs in the nest. He put his arm around me, “We have a beautiful family,” He cooed in my ear. I nodded and rested my head on his chest. It would be time very soon for our eggs to hatch and little gargoyles to crawl all over the cave. His heart beat helped soothe me after such a stressful night.

Dawn arrived too soon. Goliath spread his wings protectively around me just before the sun glared into the cave and turned us all to stone. The sun rose high in the sky and fell low past the horizon. Goliath and I awoke and glazed into each other’s eyes. We were happy. Goliath volunteered to go out and search for food, he would need to be gone a little longer on account of the two extra mouths to feed. I watched them squeak and squeal at each other. They were definitely siblings. They poked and rolled each other deeper into the cave. I picked a flower from the clay vase. They were a gift from the humans Goliath and I protected. I held it to my nose to smell. I heard quiet whispers. Before I could move, the stone slumber was upon me. Something was wrong, the night had just begun. My vision faded into blackness.

“Reese, wake up! Reese, can you hear me?!” Cordelia’s panicked voice brought me out of my stupor. I opened my eyes and saw all three gargoyles hovered over me. “Goliath, I…” my words refused to form properly, “Goliath I saw Lilith. I saw her last moments before the stone slumber took her.” Goliath’s big eyes softened. “She was happy,” I whispered. “How did that happen? How did you see her,” Simeon asked, practically bouncing off the walls. “Gargoyle magic,” I muttered humorlessly. Goliath gazed at Cordelia with raised eyebrows. She grinned and recounted how she had tapped into my Alpha power even though she wasn’t technically part of my pack. “Reese had told me it was werewolf magic.” Simeon rolled his eyes.