Guardian of the Abyss

by Shannon Phoenix

  Eventually, little Darius fell to sleep on his lap, his fist clenched around his latest book. Alexis came to take him, but Abaddon felt his arms tighten in reflex. Silly, of course, the boy wasn't his own child. But Alexis' face lit with empathy, and she squeezed his shoulder before going back into the kitchen, from which wafted enticing odors that Abaddon couldn't identify.

  After a while, as he sat cradling the miracle in his lap, Alexis came over and sat in one of the strange chairs beside him. She held out a plate of something that smelled sweet.

  "Cookies," Thanatos told him, sitting across from him after retracting his wings. "She'll be offended if you don't at least try one."

  "I am not certain what to do with it," Abaddon admitted.

  "Put it into your mouth and masticate it," Thanatos answered. "Your body will remember the rest on its own."

  Abaddon took one and shoved it into his mouth. Obediently, he began to work his jaws around it. To his surprise, it was delightful. It took a few minutes, but finally it was all gone. He accepted another and prepared to stuff it into his mouth. Alexis' hand on his arm stopped him on its way to his mouth.

  He looked up at her and she deliberately picked up a cookie with her other hand. Rather than stuffing it into her mouth, she put her lips around it and pulled it away to reveal part of it missing. He attempted the same maneuver, but the cookie came away whole.

  She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned again to watch. This time, she peeled her lips away and he watched as her teeth sank into the cookie. Getting the general idea, he managed to take a bite out of the cookie.

  It was a very pleasant experience. And as all such things do, it was bound to end.

  "Sarah showed me what happened to you. How hard you tried to stop them."

  Abaddon sat his latest cookie back on the plate unfinished. "I do not wish to speak of this," he replied, running his hand over the bald head of his sleeping grandson.

  "I have to say this, Father." Thanatos' voice betrayed his powerful emotions. "I didn't realize how much I had wronged you, and now I do. I fear I may never regain your trust, but I have to try. The first thing that I have to do is warn you that you have to stay here."

  Abaddon felt that statement to the very core of his heart. From one prison to another.

  "Wait, hear me out, please," Thanatos cried as Abaddon's fury began to rise. "It's not a prison. You will be capable of leaving any time. And we can make sure that you get excursions if you want them. But we must make the Supernatural community believe that you're trapped here like we are. Otherwise they will hunt you."

  Unsaid between them were the words 'as they once hunted me'. Abaddon knew his son had been the target of many large scale hunting operations by humans and Supernaturals both. He stared at him.

  "Times have changed. They no longer tolerate those whom they consider to be too powerful. They now hunt them down and slaughter them." The blunt statement spoke of truth. Afraid to do so before, he let his senses hone in on his son. He was surprised to find no ill intent, only honesty and a surprising sorrow. "There are no places left to hide, the humans have overtaken the Earth."

  "This is your home," he answered. "I won't invade your home."

  Thanatos looked at his wife. "We'd like for it to be our home. Yours and Sarah's as well as ours. If people believe that you're trapped here like we are, it will give you some degree of freedom. And... I have much to make up for." Alexis stood up and went to him, wrapping her arms around him as she sat in his lap. While she no doubt didn't understand their words, she understood her husband's distress.

  "I cannot make this decision alone," Abaddon confessed. Sarah's feelings were too important to him. "She must be free, even if I can't be."

  "I know," Thanatos replied. "But we've talked about this, and we both feel it's the only way to keep you safe. Our children need their grandfather. We all need you."

  "I never felt right about the way I treated you," he conceded unexpectedly, making Abaddon's head snap up in surprise. "I know that 'I'm sorry' doesn't begin to cover it, but I am."

  A commotion at the door surprised him. "She's awake," Nasargiel yelled, "and she's furious!"

  They charged towards the door in unison, Abaddon turning around to carefully hand Darius to his mother. She smiled, clearly relieved, and he felt gratitude that she had allowed him to hold her beloved son for as long as she had.

  Then he raced to the doorway, where he saw Thanatos peering out the doorway. "Wait," he said. "She's fine, she just doesn't know where you are. Now is the perfect time to make it look like you're trapped in here. Pretend to bounce off of a barrier there."

  "Sarah's out there--"

  "She's fine, I swear. You have an opportunity to save her from watching you be murdered right in front of her. You have witnesses here. Once she hears your voice, she'll come."

  Abaddon peered around the corner of the door. Sarah stood outside, where darkness had fallen. Her wings were fully extended in her agitation, and they were unbelievable. A good forty feet across, her wingspan was as large as his, surprising since usually gargoyle wings fully extended were exactly proportionate to their height. She was much shorter than he, but with an immense wingspan.

  The wings themselves were breathtaking. They whirled with opalescent beauty. Shimmering with colors that swirled as she moved, they were beyond belief. In the dream, she'd wrapped them around him, but he hadn't noticed them beyond that. Now, even as she stood in near-darkness, he could see that they were magnificent. In her fury, they were spread wide, with her hair falling between them.

  As the other gargoyle charged out the door towards her, she turned, her huge wings whipping around with her. Abaddon moved forward, only to find Thanatos gripping his arm.

  "Please," he said. "You must make a good pretense of being trapped here. It will be easy enough to claim that you're trapped here because you are my father and the barrier can't distinguish between us." He looked out the door. "Think of her well-being, and my brother's. She already almost lost you. Don't make her watch while they kill you because they fear you."

  Abaddon gazed into his son's eyes. It was almost impossible to accept that, instead of the hate he'd felt, there was now concern and even fear--for him, not of him.

  He lowered his head. It would be hard to lie to her, even for a few moments. It would be even harder to keep himself from running to her. He could only hope that the sun had done a significant amount of repair, otherwise her fit of anger and the winged results of it would tire her all over again. Expanding one's wings took a great deal of energy.

  "Sarah!" he bellowed, turning to do his best to pretend to run into a barrier at the door. Thanatos was right, he couldn't endanger his son and daughter. He lifted his fists to fake hitting at an invisible obstacle.

  "Don't overdo it," Thanatos said wryly from behind him.

  He turned on him. "You! This is your fault! You pretended to forgive me while you set me up to be trapped here!"

  He was keenly aware that the other gargoyles and several other races were staring into the room now.

  "I couldn't possibly know you would be stuck here. Besides, I didn't tell them to bring you here," Thanatos objected.

  "Sure you didn't," he snapped. "You've been out to get me for centuries--"

  "Abaddon!" Sarah's voice from the doorway stopped him as he'd hoped it would sooner.

  "Sarah!" he cried, whirling and almost forgetting the pretense he had to maintain at almost any cost. He blinked, stepping near the door. "What's wrong?"

  "I have wings," she complained.

  His lips quirked. "Yes, my love. You're a gargoyle."

  "Well, have you seen these things? They're huge! I can't fit into the cave entrance." Now she sounded downright peevish through their link as she reached in as far as she could to talk to him by touching their fingers through the barrier Abaddon pretended was there.

  "You have to calm down," he told her. "Calm yourself and imagine them sliding back in."

  H
e was thrilled to note that her color and her light were both much stronger... though her light was still far too weak. Much weaker than when he'd first changed her, though much better than the last few days and weeks.

  "Here," he thought to her. "Look into my mind for how to do it."

  A few moments ticked by and then there was a sudden 'whoosh' and a 'pop'. She fell forward into his arms as if pushed. With a relief that he didn't need to feign, he wrapped himself around her, needing to reassure himself that all was well. He once again forgot to wonder that his wings were back as they held her against him as he pushed her hair away from her face as he kissed her and looked at her and kissed her again. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth, her eyelids.

  "I thought you were dead," she said through their shared bond. Her hands clung to his forearms. "I was so angry when I woke and you weren't there--"

  "I was--"

  "You know that you're talking pretty publicly, right?" intruded Thanatos' voice. "I imagine being cut off for so long makes it hard to keep it private, but you might want to start practicing. We can all hear you."

  Abaddon recognized it for the warning it was. "No," he admitted, "I didn't. It will take time before we learn."

  "I don't care," Sarah announced. "I love you, and I don't care if the entire world hears it. I thought you were gone, so for all I care, they can make a movie out of it." She leaned forward, sobbing against his chest. "I was so afraid. I couldn't hold us on the beach and I thought we were going to die."

  They clung to each other and ignored the world until he felt her begin to tremble. Lifting his head, he saw that they were alone. He picked her up in his arms as she curled up against him. His wings snapped away easily, and he went back into the main part of the underground house.

  "She must rest," he informed Thanatos.

  Thanatos nodded, saying something to Alexis. She replied and he led them down a corridor. Opening a door, he explained, "The vampire who trapped us here made a lot of bedrooms. Alexis wants a large brood, so he ensured there'd be room for them all. Fortunate, except that there are only twin beds, I'm sorry to say."

  Abaddon didn't know what that meant. "It doesn't matter. We have been resting on the floor for... I'm not sure how long now. A long time." He slipped past the other man into the room. "She'll be in statue form anyway."

  When Thanatos left, he encouraged Sarah to turn into a statue.

  "I still can't," she admitted.

  "You spent the day in human form?" he demanded.

  "Yes," she admitted, her head ducking. "And I'm starving. I had those cookies, but that's it, and I'm really, really hungry."

  "But you're a gargoyle," he argued, confused.

  "What if I'm different? You made me, right? Have you made others?"

  No," he agreed. "There was another female gargoyle, but she was made by the sorcerers and with a very different method." Then, clearly reluctant to leave her, he nonetheless got up and went into the other room. Thanatos was sitting sprawled in one of the odd chairs sitting in the kitchen, while Alexis bustled about the kitchen. Smells rose again, different from before.

  When he saw Abaddon, Thanatos sat up immediately, every line of his body alert as if expecting danger.

  "Be well, my son," Abaddon raised his hand to forestall him. "I do not blame you, that was pretense for others."

  Thanatos relaxed and sat back. "What can we do for you?" he asked.

  "Sarah is hungry." Abaddon was uncomfortable admitting it to another gargoyle.

  "Some of the werewolves are visiting for dinner," Thanatos replied, "perhaps she could join us."

  "You eat?" Abaddon was surprised at the revelation.

  "I would offend my wife if I didn't," the other gargoyle grinned back at him. "And one does not offend one's wife." He turned to speak to Alexis, and the woman brightened and smiled at Abaddon. Thanatos turned back to him, "You don't get to offend her, either."

  "Of course not," Abaddon agreed. He hesitated for a moment.

  "What is it?" Thanatos asked when he didn't immediately air his concern.

  Abaddon rubbed his head. "Sarah cannot form clothing yet. Nor can I form any but what I have currently done." He had the feeling that a loincloth wasn't the appropriate thing for a dinner.

  Chapter 19

  Sarah paced the room. It was beautiful, decorated in browns and golds, with touches of bright blue that brought the room to life. Peaceful as it was, though, it did nothing to alleviate the anxiety that twisted in her stomach. She felt better, but sitting all day in the sun had done little but made her ache for Abaddon.

  Before she could get lost in the thought, however, the man himself opened the door and stepped inside. He carried an assortment of clothing.

  "Alexis said that some of this might fit you. I hope so. I'm sorry that I cannot find something specifically for you." His regret was written on his face.

  "This is perfect." It was more than she had expected, and it was one thing to be naked when you were rescued, but walking around that way had been old before it even began. She sorted through the clothes, pleased, though slightly embarrassed, to find that they were maternity clothes. Of course, the poor woman probably didn't have much else, since she'd had one child recently and was already pregnant again.

  Not that anything else would have fit. Since getting sick, Sarah had put on an uncomfortable amount of weight in some places, and lost a bunch in all the wrong places. She sighed and slipped on the clothes before following Abaddon out to the meal that she could smell wafting through the air.

  It was lasagna, and she could feel her stomach cramp with hunger just from the scent. She had stopped eating after she'd been changed, not wanting to make Abaddon kill fish for no reason. She knew it bothered him, so she had tried to consider his feelings.

  Walking into the room, she was a little surprised to find that the table Abaddon had laid on the day before was now surrounded by werewolves, humans, and gargoyles, and covered with food. Conversation halted as they walked in. One of the men stood up and handed Abaddon a pair of jeans, which he pulled on in the other room, quickly stepping back in when it was done, the jeans still hanging open.

  She dragged him back out and buttoned and zipped them, trying to ignore the erection that immediately arose from her touching him... with limited success at best. She always wanted him, and knowing he felt the same made it hard to go back into the other room. Finishing, she smiled and they tried their entrance again. This time, there were seats for them beside the head of the table where Alexis and Thanatos sat.

  Food was passed around, and she watched in surprise as Abaddon clumsily put food on his plate and on hers. She didn't object, knowing it would hurt his pride. "Thank you," she said, verbally and through the link created by their brushing arms.

  "You welcome," he replied out loud, in English.

  Unable to resist a moment longer, she took a bite of the lasagna. It was so delicious that she desperately wanted to savor it, but hunger rose in her with a ferocity that made her fight the need to extend her wings.

  She was only distantly aware of people near her pushing away as lights sparkled under the back of her shirt. She won the fight against her wings, but her hunger pulsed like a living thing. As fast as she could eat it, she devoured the lasagna, then some green beans, and some squash. No sooner did she run out of any kind of food, than more took its place.

  She ate with single-minded focus, unaware of the passage of time or of how much she was eating. At last, she felt the worst edge of her hunger abate, and looked up to find people staring at her out of the corners of their eyes while they tried in vain to carry on conversations.

  Deeply ashamed, she sat her fork down. "I'm so sorry," she muttered to Alexis. "I... I didn't mean to be a pig. I was just so hungry."

  Alexis smiled and leaned towards her. "I take it as a compliment. Not even the werewolves like my food that much."

  "Hey!" one of them objected. A chorus of disagreement and discussion of Alexis' cooki
ng filled the room. Alexis winked at her, and Sarah found she adored the other woman. They were probably as different as two women could possibly be, but Alexis was endearing and genuinely kind.

  "So any idea how far along you are?" Alexis asked. The room once again fell silent, and Sarah felt all eyes on her.

  She blinked. "I'm sorry?"

  Alexis reached over and patted Sarah's stomach. "I'm sure you'll feel him moving around soon."

  "Oh," Sarah shook her head. "I'm not pregnant. I got sick and I put on..."

  Everyone was staring at her with patent disbelief. She turned her head to look at Abaddon, who was staring at her as if she'd grown two heads.

  "Can't you feel him?" Thanatos asked. "We can all see him." By 'we', she understood that he meant all of the gargoyles.

  "But I..." she looked at Abaddon. "How long have you known?"

  "Not long. He only quickened before we left our grotto."

  Sarah was grateful for their link, because she wasn't sure she'd have had the patience to explain what Alexis had said.

  "You didn't realize?" Alexis asked. Her eyes were filled with sympathy. "Are you unhappy?"

  "I... I'm stunned," Sarah admitted. Her eyes skittered to Abaddon. He was gazing at her with a hooded expression.

  "I think we need to talk privately," she finally said, taking his hand and dragging him out of the room after begging Alexis and Thanatos' pardon.

  Once back in the room they'd been given, she turned to face him. He stood staring at her. She stared back. For a long moment, they had a face-off, until she finally walked over to lay her hand on his chest. "How do you feel about this?" she asked.

  His inklike eyes gave nothing away as he looked down at her. His hands rose and ran up and down her arms. "I fear you may see this as an unwanted snare. I know how free-spirited you are--"

  "Is that how you see it? An unwanted snare?" she demanded.

  "No," he replied, stopping her as she would have pulled away. "I see it as something so indescribable that 'miracle' barely scratches the surface. I know it's not the modern way to feel, but I... I already love him. Our child, made in love... there aren't words for how I feel. But I know that you have choices and ways to rid your body of him if you..." He broke off and she felt him try to curb the tide of misery the thought evoked in him. "If you don't want him." She felt rather than saw him look away. "I feared that knowing how I felt would sway your decision, when you feel like it should be yours and yours alone. The ability to destroy a child in the womb is not new, no matter what they want you to think in your culture."