The Mirror Cracked
Copyright© 2007 by RussellG
Chapter 2
Castle Wyvern.
Inside the enormous castle library, Tammy had several books open while writing notes on a large legal pad. Her blonde head came up from being bent over while reading, and she rubbed her eyes. "That's it, I think my brain is beginning to overheat from all this studying."
Seated not for away, Delilah looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at the young girl. She looked at the clock on the wall. "I suppose you can take a break for a while. You've been at it for two hours."
The teenage girl got up from her seat and stretched. "Thank you O queen of the castle, for allowing me to rest my brain." She then performed a very deep bow towards Delilah, then broke out in a fit of giggles.
Delilah couldn't help but join in with her. Tammy had changed greatly over the past few months from when she and Argent had first encountered her being assaulted in an alley by her pimp. They had rescued her, and Tammy had gone to live down in the Labyrinth to get off the streets. She had become very attached to Delilah, and although she complained sometimes when she had to study or do chores, they formed a very special bond... almost like family.
"And here I thought there was some serious studying going on in here," Argent said as he walked thru the doorway. "Maybe I should take my bag of doughnuts, courtesy of the Perez's Doughnut King franchise, and find someone else to share them with?"
The Perez family's Doughnut shop was one of his late night stops and they always welcomed him with open arms, bright smiles, as well as a bag of doughnuts to take with him. He had once saved Rosa Perez from being attacked in the park, and in return they had helped him realize that it wasn't the outer person that counted, but the inner one... after he learned just how Sevarius had created his unique body from spliced genetic materials, then put in a human brain. They had helped bring him from the depths of despair, and given him new hope for the future. Ever since then he had watched out after them, and their little shop. The local gangs had once bothered them, after their leader declared Rosa was his new girlfriend, but a late night visit from him at their hang-out convinced them, and anyone else to leave the Perez family and their employees alone. The word was now on the street, and everyone knew that the Perez's were watched after by someone called El Lobo Blanco... The Silver Wolf.
Tammy stuck out her tongue at him. "Try it fur face, and I'll break your knee caps."
Argent gave a look of mock-terror. "Oh no, please save me from the tiny terror of the tunnels!"
Tammy giggled again, and Delilah watched as she ran over and hugged him. Tammy had also bonded well with Argent, and treated him more like and older brother or a favorite Uncle. He was always there making her laugh, and trading jibes with her when she needed cheering up. He held the a chocolate swirl doughnut just out of her reach.
"Have you finished History yet?" he asked while dangling it in front of her.
"Yes, and I'm halfway finished with Geography too!" she said proudly.
"Well I guess that deserves... extra chocolate!" He produced another of her favorite doughnuts from the bag he carried.
"All right!" Tammy pounced, and grabbed the offered treats from him. "Thank you," she said in-between mouthfulls of chocolate.
"You're welcome," he replied. "And don't talk with your mouth full, it's rude." He grinned at her, then turned to Delilah. "I didn't forget this time." He produced two large jelly filled doughnuts, and placed them on the table near her.
Delilah got up from her chair and hugged Argent, drawing him close to her. She rested her head on his shoulder.
Argent stroked her hair while returning the warm embrace. "If I had know that jelly-filled doughnuts were going to get me this kind of attention, I would have brought back dozens of them."
Delilah laughed softly while holding him, but gave him a worried expression when she looked into his eyes. "I heard about what happened tonight with the Quarrymen." She sat back down in her chair, and Argent kneeled beside her. "Goliath was here in the library when Angela and Broadway told him what happened."
"All of it?" he asked.
She nodded. "The whole story."
"How did he take it?"
Delilah inclined her head over to an adjoining wall, which now had a very large gargoyle-fist-sized hole punched in it.
Argent let out a low whistle. "That well eh? Where is he now?"
"Everyone's in The Great Hall," she said. "They are talking about what to do about tonight's attack.
"Come on." He reached out and took hold of her hand. "We had best join th others." He looked over at Tammy, who was finishing her second chocolate swirl. "A few more minutes, them you hit the books again short stuff."
Tammy wiped her face and snapped him a salute. "Yes sir!"
"Very funny, but just remember once you get your diploma you can start a better life. Find a job, and get earn a living."
"Even if it means flipping burgers for a while?"
He smiled. "Even if it means flipping burgers, but that'll be just a start. You'll find that a lot more doors will open to you if you have the know how. Besides, you might even want to go on to college someday."
"Yea right," she said sitting back down at the pile of books.
"Stranger things have happened," Argent said as he and Delilah walked out to join the others in The Great hall.
Tammy thought about it for a moment. If someone had told her six months ago that she would be living underground with a gargoyle, have a flying wolf-man for a friend, and get to visit a castle perched high in the air on top of the worlds tallest building, she would have thought they were on crack. "I guess he's right," she said to herself. "Stranger things have happened."
As Argent and Delilah neared the door to the Great Hall, they could hear Goliath's bass voice as he spoke to those that were gathered there.
"We must be even more cautious when we venture out each night to patrol the city," Goliath instructed. "Tonight's assault on Broadway and Angela has shown that Castaway and his Quarrymen are not above deception to try and destroy us. They may try it in the future as well."
"Aye lad, but according to what the lass has told us, this time it was a wee bit different," Hudson said.
Goliath's eyes lit up, and he put forth a deep growl. "Yes. Castaway's Quarryman do not consider us human, and therefore beneath them. What happened tonight was different in that some of them tried to assault Angela while she was bound."
"What it shows is that Castaway's scraping the bottom of the barrel for member in his little club," Elisa voiced. "I heard on my car-radio that a few of the ones that attacked Angela and Broadway were picked up at a local hospital when they came in for treatment. The doctor on duty called it in because of the type of injuries they had. When I.D's were run on them quite a few had previous criminal records, some for violent crimes like assualt and even rape."
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