Chapter 2: Somewhere to Belong
1988
Corrine stared at the resume she'd just finished typing and held it closer
to verify that she'd done this one without typos, like the last one. She'd just
graduated with her Bachelor's in History that Spring
and her celebratory vacation with Thomas in
Her heart hammered in her chest as she carefully folded it and put it in an envelope to keep it safe. She had job offers she hadn't responded to yet, because she wanted this one. This job was exactly what she needed. Her eyes glittered dangerously as she grabbed her jacket and purse. They hadn't listed an opening, there was no job listing. Corrine was just going to march in there and do her best to get it anyhow, hoping that they didn't freak out when they saw this resume.
It was starting to get dark as she made her way across town to
The only friend she still had from her old life was Thomas and he had to go
home after the month long visit in
The bell rang as she walked into the store and the unicorn female glanced up from her place behind the register. It looked like the female was doing their books. It had to be Una, the name was so ridiculously appropriate for her. Corrine's heart beat quickened as she walked up to the female she was sure was the manager of this place. This was a huge risk she was taking, but maybe, just maybe she'd be able to make up for some of what her family had done. It was all she could do, try to make amends. Try to gain forgiveness for the blood her ancestors had spilled.
"Hi, can I help you?" the female's voice was a bit older sounding than Corrine had estimated her age, but then she looked nothing like the Demon. It was strange how very different they did look.
"Are you Una?" Corrine asked politely. She was positive she was right, but it seemed the thing to say. When she got a nod to that she stood a little straighter. "I'd like to apply for a job." Corrine kept her head high and looked into slightly surprised eyes. There were no other customers here now. Wednesdays were probably a slow night.
"Do you know anything about magic?" Una started, but Corrine could already see that she was thinking of a way to send her away.
"No, not a thing." Corrine pulled out her envelope and handed her resume to the female. Her expression didn't show the nervousness she felt at doing this. She could easily be killed for her family's crimes as well tonight.
The female was just giving the resume a cursory glance, and Corrine could tell the moment she got to the new section. The part that outlined her training as a Canmore, her weapons training, and her heritage. The red glow in her eyes clearly marked the female as a gargoyle and not a human in a very elaborate costume, like they tried to claim they were.
"I come from a long line of monsters." Corrine's voice shook a little as she prayed for a chance. "but I refuse to be one." She swallowed as the tense silence was getting to her. "Please, I could get better paying jobs. I could get jobs with more prestige." She looked into the disbelieving eyes of the female before her. "but I want to work for a gargoyle. I'll take any little job you have."
She didn't resist as Una grabbed her and dragged her out of the shop when another customer came in. She made no attempt to pull free of the iron grip as she was dragged down into the cellar. A lion like gargoyle was left in charge of the store as this female took her away. Corrine hadn't expected this to be easy, and hadn't armed herself before coming here so that when she was searched she would appear harmless. "Canmore. I can't believe a Canmore just came into our store and announced herself like this." The female tossed Corrine a bit roughly towards the wall. "What are you up to?"
Corrine looked down, away from the angry red eyes and the cold voice. She could hear the robe being tossed off of Una and glanced back up. The pick flowing dress and womanly form that none of the customers ever saw was framed by feathered wings. That was different. Corrine looked at the dress and the stance and had the impression of a Lady, someone of stature. "Redemption… to make up for some of it." She gritted her teeth. "Please Ma'am, I just want to make a difference." Corrine kept her tone overly formal and polite. She was the beggar here and she knew it.
Una's eyeridge arched and she gave Corrine an odd look when Corrine called her Ma'am. The stare after that made Corrine feel like she should say more.
"I don't want to be like them and I'm hunter trained. I can help keep them away. I can tell you all the secrets we use to find you."
"Secrets that you used to find us this time?" The female wasn't sounding very convinced of Corrine's honesty.
"I stumbled across this store last week. I wanted to see what a magic store was like. That's how I found you. Nothing more." Corrine took a deep breath. "Someone once told me magic was real, I had to see." She hadn't talked about the Demon ever, with anyone, but she'd thought about her every day since that night on the rooftop. The Demon was right. She was a Canmore and it was a huge strike against her, but Corrine could overcome that. She'd spend her life overcoming that if she had to and if she had to pay for crimes she never committed to get there she'd do it. It would serve to relieve her guilt and her father would have been horrified by what she was doing if he were still alive. Both were reason enough in her mind to betray her family heritage to these gargoyles.
The other reason she was here was because she'd realized something while she was away at college. If the Demon wanted information about her family she had it years before she stopped seeing Corrine. She had all that she needed before she went out and avenged Corrine's rape. So the Demon had lied to her, but maybe it wasn't about what the Demon said she lied about. Maybe, just maybe it was that the Demon wanted to discourage her affections. But even if she had used Corrine, she'd saved her as well.
The Demon had claimed she wanted to kill off the Canmore line, but it had been four and a half years and no move had been made against her family. It looked like that was empty threats, so the hunt still went on without Corrine as Robyn and Jon followed Jason in his bloodthirsty quest for revenge; a revenge that served no purpose and in all truth was undeserved. They didn't know that the Demon had killed their father to protect someone else that night and Corrine never told them. They'd claim she was a liar anyhow.
The Demon must not have realized that in order for Corrine to not become a hunter she'd have to reject her family. She was as clanless as the Demon now. She never called them. Never told them where she was. She'd done her best to just disappear off the radar. Thomas was the only person she had contact with from her old life. It was the only way. She loved Robyn and Jon, and really even though she hated Jason, she loved him too, but she couldn't be around them. They tried so hard to get her to accept the ancient feud and she couldn't.
They'd also want the journals she'd taken with her when she left and she had no intention of giving them back. She had over three hundred years of history hidden in the closet of her apartment. Three hundred years of Canmores' hunts and notes on the Demon. She'd read them all a few times over. She'd even spent a good deal of her free time in college translating the ancient wording and inputting it into a computer so that when these fragile journals finally turned to dust she'd have a more permanent record of the crimes her family committed. Some things should never be forgotten. She wished the older journals hadn't been destroyed in a fire in 1675.
Reading about the Demon, even in such a slanted and negative way, made her
feel like she understood more about where the Demon had been and why she was
the way she was. Corrine could also see how the journals could help in the hunt
if looked at all together. She didn't want the Canmores to have that
information about the apparent migration habits of Demona. Looking at those
journals it was clear that she could have predicted the Demon's leaving
When the female moved towards Corrine with rope Corrine just held her hands out for the gargoyle. It seemed to startle the unicornlike gargoyle that Corrine was submitting but really this was the only way. Gargoyles feared her family so she was going to have to prove they had nothing to fear from her. "I need to talk to the others." The female told her as she tied her up. She wasn't sounding quite as hostile. "If this is a trick you won't ever leave this cellar."
"I know." Corrine spoke softly. She could go her whole life and never find other gargoyles. These were her only chance. She needed them. When she was left alone Corrine leaned against the wall behind her a sighed. She was gambling an awful lot on their honor.
The cellar was cold, damp, most likely rat infested. Corrine was grateful when the door opened again and two gargoyles came down to her.
"So Canmore." Corrine felt like cringing at being called that. "You really came here for a job?" The female still sounded a bit disbelieving, but less so than before.
"Yes Ma'am." She stood as tall as she could as the two gargoyles watched her. "I am good with computers, am willing to start anywhere," She started to treat this like an interview. She'd had a few of those. The female cut her off.
"I checked your address. You really do live there." Corrine was glad she'd opted to rent an apartment for the summer even though she had to use her father's blood money to do. It gave her a legitimacy she apparently needed. "You know I'm Una and this is Leo." The introductions were tense.
"I'm Corrine." She nodded at the male politely. This was surreal to conduct an interview while tied up in the cellar, but whatever it took.
"We don't hire humans here. We run this place ourselves." Una spoke with a bit of a clip.
"But I know what ye are." Corrine heard some of her own accent leaking through and tried to calm herself down. "It wouldn't be a matter of keeping me in the dark on that."
"This shop has been in our clan for generations." Una glared at her. "It survived the war and kept our clan feed. I am not pleased that you've found it. I surely won't give a Canmore access to it and our clan."
Corrine felt her hopes crashing. "But I'm not like them. I'll never be like them." She needed this clan to prove herself. "I've even cut off my ties to them. I've rejected them."
"And I'm supposed to believe that. I'm supposed to believe it is just a coincidence that you came to me on a Breeding year?"
"Breeding year?" Corrine was puzzled about that. She'd never heard that they had years for such things. She'd always assumed that they could breed whenever like most humans. The records she had never mentioned this. The Demon sure hadn't.
Una leaned against a crate in the crowded cellar and crossed her arms in front of her. Leo leaned against the wall. Corrine sighed as she noticed the poses. This was going to be an interrogation. "Your resume is really more impressive than we'd need for a stock girl and you know nothing of magic so you couldn't be a sales clerk." Una was clearly the leader of this group. Her sarcasm was thick as she talked about Corrine's qualifications.
"I'm fine with a lower status position." Corrine stared into Una's eyes. "My working for you would torment a lot of my family's ghosts, and I find that high on my list of things to do. I'd take any menial job you offered if I could work here with you." Her voice was steady and calm. She wasn't as frightened as she'd been sitting alone in the dank cellar. She also realized that the hostility of the female actually comforted her a bit. She was used to that and she could work with it. Demona had her well trained. A slight smirk came to her lips at that thought.
"What did your father tell you that you couldn't stay out late on a school night and now you want to rebel? I can't trust my clan to a child that is only doing this to piss off daddy."
Corrine didn't like the turn of the conversation and her face paled a little. "He was a monster and he wouldn't have cared…" She started and then went quiet. Her jaw clenched and she looked away. It wasn't right that she'd have to expose her past that much to gain their trust. She didn't need pity to get her in the door. "the Demon's killing him was a good thing." Was all she allowed of her real feelings. She could see she'd made both gargoyles uncomfortable with that comment and the moment of silence was awkward. Corrine hoped that they'd just drop it. "Look, I have my own money. My inheritance. You wouldn't need to pay me much and I'd feel like I was…" Corrine looked up at them. "There are some debts you can't ever repay, but not trying is a betrayal. I could go my entire life and never see another gargoyle, and if that happens I'll never get a chance to try."
"Your guilt isn't my responsibility hunter."
Corrine felt humiliated and desperate. "I know it's because of my family that I won't be able to find…" Her words trailed off as she took a deep breath. "I know that. I'm just asking you to please at least seriously consider me. I can work days doing errands, I'm…" Corrine's eyes pleaded with her and the gargoyle looked a bit surprised at that. "I'm not like the others." She managed to stop the rest of her words from coming out. The ones that said that even the Demon knows this. Her body tensed up for a moment as she thought it. She never talked about the Demon. Never. It was something she learned very young.
They kicked her out. It could have been worse. They could have kept her locked up. Corrine stared at the door to the store and the gargoyle watching her clearly wanting her to walk away. It was late. She'd tried to talk them into letting her stay, but they tired of her quickly. Corrine just stood there for a while staring at the sign that Una turned to say closed, knowing the door was locked. She felt rejected and it hurt, but they couldn't know how badly she needed this. Corrine stood taller and turned to walk away. She'd just have to make them understand. They had this shop a long time. She knew where they were now. She'd keep trying.
A few days later she stood outside that shop again. Friday night had to be a busy night for a magic shop. With customers around she wasn't likely to get thrown out if she didn't appear to be a bother. She had to take a deep breath before opening the door. The first person she saw was a woman shopping there. Her eyes traveled over the shop to find three customers. Perfect. Leo looked up from the register and his eyes widened. Corrine gave him a tense smile and walked up to him. "Hi."
"What are you doing here?" He asked under his breath, clearly worried about the other humans hearing them.
"I wanted to know what I should read if I wanted to learn enough to work at a magic shop." Corrine glanced at the shop and the bookshelf. "Do you know which books I should get?" She asked a bit more loudly when one woman got closer to them. Leo just stared at her a bit irritated but them walked her to the bookshelf. His selection seemed rather random. He was just trying to get her out of there. Corrine could tell that much. She felt a bit evil as she took the books and started to look through them first before deciding whether to buy them or not. He had to leave to help another customer and Corrine put one book back that clearly wouldn't help her know more so she could work there. It was probably an insult that he'd disguised. One didn't need to know about the Salem Witch Trials to work here.
She had a decent pile of books set aside to buy when she heard a familiar voice behind her and looked up to see the other customers were gone. "I told you to leave."
"I'm a customer today." Corrine turned to see the disapproval in Una's eyes. Her voice got softer. "I need to learn about magic. Are these books a good choice?"
"Why are you doing this?" Una stared at her.
"I told you why." Corrine glanced at her books. "I need to learn more about magic. Am I on the right track?" Una glanced at her books and took one off the pile, only to replace it with a different book.
"I still won't hire you. Studying up won't make a difference."
Corrine gave a confident smile to the gargoyle. "We'll see." She wished she was as confident as she tried to sound, but it clearly startled Una, so that was good. She didn't push it then, she just purchased her items and left. If she could only become a regular customer for a while, she'd do that until they finally hired her.
A week later Corrine brought one of the books back. It had several bookmarks in it where she had questions. Not really important questions, just excuses to come back. Una noticed her as soon as she came in the door and her eyes narrowed. At least they didn't glow or that might have alarmed the woman she was currently helping.
She was studying these books like they were for a class in college. She worked very hard to understand the basic principles but it was harder than History had been. She also accepted a small position to help her pay for food. While she was rusty, she still had her skills as a hunter and knew self defense well enough to teach it. She taught three afternoons a week. It was a position she could quit easily since a new class started up every six weeks and it would help to get her back into fighting shape. She'd neglected that in college. One of the bigger perks of her new job was a key to the workout room and she could use it to practice again. If she were advertising herself as hunter trained to the gargoyles she needed to keep up that training.
She had money, lots of money, but she didn't like to spend that money if she
didn't need to. She did however, make sure it was her
father's money she spent in this store. Vengeance was hard to get when the man
was dead, but she did what she could. She also felt better about using his money
to pay for the apartment, because she was staying in
Now that she knew these gargoyles didn't plan to kill her Corrine felt some of her family arrogance re-enter her walk as she moved towards Una. This may not be a hunt, but some of the same principles applied and she knew those. She would win this eventually. Either that or this shop would see lots of Canmore money. Both were good moves in the right direction.
"I could have you banned from this store." Una hissed a bit once they were alone and that made Corrine's step falter.
"I'm sure you could." Corrine glanced at the older human woman looking at the candles and then back at Una, "But why would you? I'm not doing anything more than shopping."
"To me it looks more like stalking."
Corrine hadn't thought of that. "You said I didn't know enough about magic to be a salesperson." Corrine glanced around at the store meaningfully. "Well I don’t know of a better place to learn."
"I won't hire you. You're the child of our killers. Your family is responsible for hundreds of my clansmen dying over the past thousand years. I've heard the stories. All of our hatchlings here the stories. We were hit hardest by your vengeance."
"No, others were hit harder." Corrine looked away, "The
French clan is completely gone. You probably don’t remember them." This
had happened long before her three hundred year journal records, but one of
those hunters had written down the victories he remembered reading in the older
journals after they were destroyed. "There was also a larger clan in the
Corrine felt any joy she'd felt at being able to walk into the store evaporate, but she pulled the book she'd brought with her up and opened it anyhow. She had a reason for being here. "I wanted to know more about this." She held out the book and Una's penetrating eyes finally fell from Corrine to look at the book. It was opened to the Three Fold law: All good that a person does to another returns three fold in this life; harm is also returned three fold. "Is it generational? Will I have to make up for a thousand years? Or is it only my own actions that I have to pay for?" She could see Una was startled by the question. It was more of a statement really. If this clan expected her to pay for a thousand years of pain she could never manage to it. They needed to see her as an individual.
Una's lips pursed and she looked less than pleased. "If you plan to shop do so, but you are not my apprentice and I don't have time to explain these things. I have a store to run."
Not quite the eye opening that Corrine had been hoping for, but she was still allowed to be a customer. Una walked away to see to the other customer there so Corrine just walked back towards the books again. She actually did want to know if a family vendetta like the one she'd been born into would stain her even though she'd paid so dearly to stay out of it. Her hand moved to caress her nose without her really noticing. It was no longer crooked. The doctor's had done a good job of fixing it.
She left with a new book on Wiccan beliefs and several bookmarks. They overpriced for them here, but that didn't matter. Leo rang her up silently and didn't respond to her nod of thanks. Apparently a Canmore shouldn't expect good customer service.
In spite of the chilly welcome she knew she'd get Corrine stepped up to that store the next Friday. She opened the door and took a step inside, only to find Una staring at her with a book in her hand. The look was far from friendly. Corrine didn't understand the words, but the green glow alarmed her as the magic pushed her back out the door. "You've been banished. You cannot enter our store again." Una stepped up to the door and closed it in Corrine's stunned face.
She reached out for the door with a sinking feeling and found she couldn't reach it. It was like there was a barrier and it was warm and swirling under her fingers but she couldn't see it. Her fingers never got closer to three inches from the door. Magic. Una had used magic to keep her out.
Una stared at her through the window. Corrine stared back for a moment and let her hurt show through her eyes. After a shuddering breath she turned and walked away. Magic, well now she knew it really was real. She had no idea what she was going to do now. She didn't pay much attention as she hailed a cab and got in to head for home. She was still too stunned by the gargoyle's response to Corrine's just wanting to be near them. To be able to...
Her fist clenched and she glared out the window as they passed the strange statue with two gargoyles and a plane. One of the statues looked… "Stop the cab." She spoke quickly before he turned down another street. He did it a bit too quickly but Corrine didn't pay much attention to that. She tossed him some money and got out, expecting him to drive away.
"They say Gargoyles helped in the war." His voice startled her as she stood in front of the statue to stare at the familiar forms of two types of gargoyles. "World War II" He clarified, but Corrine knew which war he talked about.
"I think I can walk from here." She turned to glance at him. "Thank you." She didn't want to hear the popular mythology. She wanted to get a good look at these statues and she couldn't do that with him watching. She hadn't seen this particular statue before. The Cabbie was probably trying to take the long way home to milk her for more fare, but this one time she wasn't complaining.
Once she heard him drive away she moved to effortlessly climb onto the wing of the airplane statue. One each wing stood another statue, each of a gargoyle. Corrine might have thought the story about the war was merely hallucinations of soldiers awake far too long, if she didn't know gargoyles were real and if she didn't recognize this face. Her hand moved out to touch the stone, fully aware of it being night. He was just a statue, but seeing gargoyle statues always brought back the memory of that trick her father played on her and the Demon's telling her about it. The other kids thought they'd really killed a gargoyle on their birthdays and that was something else Corrine could never tell them. It was all a trick to make them believe they were killers early on.
"Griff… that's what the plaque said wasn't it?" She asked the statue and ignored the eyes she could feel on her for the moment. She'd seen a picture of this male in the magic store, around real gargoyles. She stepped away from him and moved to walk across the plane to the other statue. Her eye caught the disapproving look of an older gentleman walking past, but ignored it. Sure she wasn't supposed to walk on the artwork, but this was important.
The other gargoyle reminded her of the Demon and she just stared. He had the same type of wings, without feathers. He had no animal features. He dressed in a loincloth, just like the Demon. They were the same type. Corrine felt a small smile cross her lips for just a moment as she stared, more tied to her fond memories of the female than to what she was seeing, but some of it was about these statues and what they reminded her of. Una had said she wanted to talk to the others, had hinted that she didn't want to give Corrine access to the clan… but it sure sounded like that clan was more than just Una and Leo if you thought about it didn't it.
She climbed back down the statue as effortlessly as she'd climbed onto it
and glanced at the rooftops around it. She'd stay in
It was really late when she finally got home. She'd walked quite a ways instead of getting another cab. She needed the night air and time to think.
Her apartment was dark but she had no trouble walking around her furniture to toss her purse on the dining room table. She knew her environment, it was a hunter thing. She then moved to sit in the chair by the patio doors and stare out the window at the rooftop across from her. Her apartment had a balcony and was near the top of the building. It was gargoyle friendly, that's how Corrine thought of it. For a while her and her mother had lived in a basement apartment, it wasn't long, but the one time Demona tried to visit her there made it clear that the gargoyle didn't care for being that close to the ground and where more people could see her sneaking in. The Demon preferred apartments that were far enough from the ground for her to leap out and start gliding immediately. She also liked large windows, and balconies were even better. It was kinda strange that Corrine knew what type of apartments the Demon preferred. It still influenced what Corrine chose even though she knew Demona wasn't going to be visiting her. Corrine sighed heavily and leaned back in her chair.
After a few minutes she stood up and moved to turn on a small light. She pulled a large 11x17 sheet of paper out of her desk and used a marker to write neatly on it. She taped it to cool glass and moved to get a drink out of the kitchen while admiring the placement of it. Corrine read over her note, able to make out the words even though it was facing out because of the ink that bled through the back. "This is not over." She could have written more, but she wanted the words to be large enough for that spy on the opposite rooftop to read. She could see the red glowing eyes and wondered if it were Una or someone else. She moved out of sight from the window and positioned herself so that she could see the female that would have to come out of hiding just a bit more to read this note. She could see a silhouette and it didn't look like the unicornlike gargoyle. A small smile crossed her lips. There were others.
Corrine felt completely drained. She rarely woke up this early. She'd been breed
and trained to be a night person, so wandering the streets of
She was dressed as an inspector and carried a clipboard and fake paperwork to justify her presence if anyone thought to question her as she walked around the taller buildings she found and looked for the telltale damage that indicated a gargoyle had climbed the building. She'd found a few damaged walls and marked them on the map she carried, along with notes about how much damage was there and how many times she thought it had been climbed. She was looking at the marks she could find to try and tell how old they were as well.
"Ms. Robbins?" The voice behind her made Corrine pull her head back in the window of the building. To get a good look at the age of the marks she'd had to trick the residence into believing her cover story so that she could look out this third story window. The marks didn't extend to the ground, but some suspicious rocks that looked like they'd come from the wall had. Corrine had found her first very fresh marks.
"Yes?" She smiled and noticed how the young payroll clerk seemed to blush. The boy was clearly a bit of a nerd and Corrine used his nervousness around her to get access without having him check with the manager. A higher up would know she hadn't been called to inspect the walls.
"Would you like any coffee or tea?" He was rather flustered. Corrine glanced back out the window. She had what she needed. It was time to leave.
"No thank you. I have several more inspections to do today." She slid off the ledge and back into the building. He seemed to sigh with relief once she was no longer dangling out the window. How sweet, the boy was worried about her. "I'll make my recommendations to the city, but who knows how long it will be before they actually do the work." She sighed as if exasperated with the system and moved to grab her clipboard and jacket.
It was easy to walk past the security guards at the front of the lobby on her way out, no one thought to question her.
She spent the better part of three weeks doing pretty much the same thing. Tricking people into letting her in so that she could inspect damaged walls. Her sister's name helped to keep her aware of her cover. She was used to listening for it, so she answered to it naturally enough. Her cover of Corrine Robbins even had a fake id for the city. Her computer skills along with some of the other skills her family taught her helped her acquire the persona. She still remembered her father's lecture to them all about how they had to protect regular humans from the beasts and sometimes that meant tricking them. They wouldn't believe the monsters existed and if the Canmore's wanted to catch the beasts they needed to be able to blend in to gain access to information. They'd even practiced that skill by sending the kids into various places they'd never been and had them try to blend in. It was a lesson that was just starting when he was killed, because they were old enough for it.
Her fists clenched at the memory of that man's cold eyes. He belittled her because he didn't think she was any good at that, just like she wasn't a good fighter and didn't have the heart of a Canmore. She always made sure to not show how good she was at certain things, hoping that by being the worst she'd be excused from active battle. It just made him think of another use for her. Corrine pulled the clipboard closer to her and watched the mother walking with a two year old into the building she'd just left. Well she'd ruined that plan, ruined it forever.
Now that she'd completed her mapping out of the areas of interest, Corrine was set for the next stage in her reconnaissance. She had suspicions about the Museum first. The rooftop looked perfect for a gargoyle hideaway and the damaged buildings seemed to be in a circle around it.
Her supplies came via mail and now Corrine was ready. She filled a backpack with her new telescopic lens camera and the sensitive listening equipment. The dish folded down so that it would fit in the bag. She'd cased all the buildings surrounding the target building and came up with the most appropriate one for this mission.
She moved to the mirror to double check the security guard uniform she'd been given when they hired Corrine Robbins as their new security guard. It looked perfect. She grabbed her bag and left. She needed to be in place before nightfall if she wanted to catch the roars on tape. All gargoyles roared when they woke, even if they knew they were in a dangerous area. It was involuntary and had been the downfall of a few gargoyles in the past. The Canmore journals taught her that.
Her position in an office on the top floor was perfect. It overlooked the museum, had a lock, and was clearly for a well to do executive. She sat on the comfortable chair she'd pulled near the window and set the antennae up. Weekends were a good time for this. She didn't have any employees still wandering the halls and she'd told the real security guard she'd check this floor. Being the rookie he was, he'd let her after a flirtatious smile and batting eyelashes.
The roar made her smile as she heard it through the headphones. She had them. Corrine watched as figures moved to the walls of the building and she took several pictures of three adult gargoyles. Two females and a male. She'd have to keep this security guard position for a little while until she had more evidence. At least it was part time weekends only. She'd have plenty of freedom to come back into this office and get her pictures. She wanted to know exactly how many gargoyles lived there and the wanted very clear pictures, the kind that made it obvious to anyone looking at them that she really had been close to their nest.
"Corrine." The voice sounded a bit surprised. Corrine put her foot back on the ground as the squeak of the swinging punching bag filled the quiet room.
"What you doing here so late
"Do you always work out at…"
"I'm a bit of a night person." Corrine grinned flirtatiously at
the woman. One thing she'd learned in college that she'd used a bit since then
was that she was attractive. With her other siblings being so very beautiful
she'd never really noticed it before, but the amount of attention she got in
college drove the point home.
"Hey, I did pay to replace that." Corrine grabbed a towel to wipe some of the sweat away from her eyes. She kicked the bag half heartedly. "This ones much stronger." After two months of religiously working out Corrine felt a bit more predatory, like she was prepared for a battle. Not that she was preparing for one, but she decided that she should always be ready. Neglecting her training hadn't changed the fact she was a Canmore and it was ridiculous of her to think it would make any difference. Una didn't seem to care what she did or didn't do, she just looked at the last name and judged her.
Corrine's grin became wicked. "Afraid?"
Corrine grimaced just a little at that. In her family they never pulled
their punches. They claimed it wasn't learning unless you came away bleeding.
She'd known better to do that here, but apparently she was still a bit hard on
her sparring partner. She covered up her discomfort with a smirk. "Poor delicate flower. It must be so hard on you,
bruising so easily."
"Well, I better get going. I just dropped by because I forgot my purse
and Sam is taking me out tonight."
With her package in her arms she walked down a familiar street after having the cab drop her off a block away and wait. Her workout was to deal with her tension about this night. Her work over the past two months came to a head tonight. The store was still opened and Corrine waited until the man walking past her left before she reached out to see if that barrier was still there. She hadn't come back since that night, but it looked like the swirling energy was still there. She then pulled out her package and checked to see if it went through the forcefield. It did. Good, she could get it in there.
A customer was inside and Leo was ringing her items up. Good she'd be leaving soon. Corrine was going to have these gargoyles come after her if they wouldn't let her come see them. Once the woman opened the door she looked startled as Corrine tossed the package into the store like a bomb and ran. She needed this confrontation to be on her home ground. The customer moved very quickly out of the store, clearly thinking it was an attack. Corrine imagined that Leo must be pretty damned nervous right now staring at the box that landed in the middle of the floor. Of course they could always return it, she'd put her address on it as well just in case they forgot.
The cabbie was waiting for her just as requested and she had him take her home. She had guests coming, she didn't want to be late.
She sat quietly and ignored the few attempts at conversation in favor of watching the stars to make sure the gargoyles let her get home first. It didn't look like she was being followed. If they didn't feel threatened now, they must think they're invincible. Corrine sighed heavily and leaned against the cool window. She could feel the hum of the engine through her contact with the door. She'd just let Una know she had pictures and proof for three of their clan's homes. She'd shown clear pictures of seven gargoyles other than the ones that ran that store and she'd shown that she did in fact have the skills to hunt them. She had the three from the museum and two from each of the other locations. It wasn't going to make the gargoyles of this city feel very comfortable. The pictures she had were from a closer range than they'd prefer. If she'd had a gun she could have killed anyone of the gargoyles she'd taken pictures of easily.
Now she had to prove that she never would have taken that shot. It was the
hard part. She didn't know how else to get their attention, but this was
dangerous. Part of her thought is was insane to wave a red flag like this in
their face, but she wanted them to realize they were vulnerable. What better
way to do that than to show them they weren't as hidden as they thought. If her
family had any suspicions about
She didn't say a word to the driver, just handed over her money and got out of the car. She moved into the building and took a deep breath as she waited for the elevator. There were still several hours until dawn. There was a very good chance a gargoyle by air could beat her home. The Demon used to cover quite a bit of distance rather quickly even with young Corrine in her arms. They hadn't gone out often, just to the Doctor and that one horrible Valentine's day mess. Corrine didn't remember much about the first time when Demona carried her, but then she'd been too scared to breath around the female at that time.
The elevator door opened and the wide hallway greeted her. When she unlocked her apartment door she didn't bother with the light. Instead she acted like she normally did, but her ears could hear the wind outside more clearly. A window was opened. She could feel she wasn't alone, but no one was attacking and the entire clan wasn't here. She set her purse down and moved to the wall switch. Time to pay the piper.
Una sat in her chair, the one Corrine normally used to star out at the stars. She didn't look pleased and she actually looked rather regal there. Standing by her side was a female that Corrine had only seen through a camera lens, but the tense stance and hard glare told her that this one was the warrior. She looked very feline, with black feathers and fur. "Would you like something to drink?" Corrine offered without a smile.
"If I were my brother all those gargoyles would be dead." Corrine
leaned against her kitchen peninsula and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I used the techniques my family taught me years ago, we all know
them." Una's eyes were still glowing, but Corrine didn't shy away from
staring her in them. "Consider this a security test, and you failed. Do
you want to know how I found them? My family just lives a little ways away, in
Una took the map Corrine handed her and opened it to look at the marks and notes that Corrine had made. "What do you want?" the gargoyle was talking through her teeth, with a hint of a growl.
"I want them to move. They aren't safe." Corrine caught the sharp look the other female gave her out of the corner of her eye, but she only had eyes for Una. That female was obviously the leader, so she was the one that Corrine had to convince. "My brother is twice the hunter I am. He was older and had more lessons before our father died. If I could find these gargoyle in two months working alone, my family wouldn't even take two weeks working together, and they always work together." Corrine watched Una sitting rigidly looking over the notes of Corrine's suspicions of where the other nests may be. "I need you to take me seriously. I didn't want to scare you, but you weren't giving me a chance."
"You come into my city." Una pulled her eyes up to stare at Corrine and Corrine held her ground even though the gargoyle looked mad enough to hit her. "And you think that…" Una's words trailed off.
"Even the Demon thought it was important to know my family's secrets." Corrine had debated about this for two months. There was no reason to hide this here. "She came to me to learn them." Talking to these gargoyles wouldn't put her and the Demon at risk like it would have if her family heard about it.
"What!" Una stared at her like she was insane. A crooked smile crossed Corrine's lips at the response. They obviously had met Demona if they were stunned that the Demon talked to a Canmore.
"Demona… I know her." Corrine sank into the couch behind her, allowing herself to relax just a little. "Well, I haven't seen her in years, but I did know her." Her hands clenched in lap as she leaned forward to and rested her elbows on her thighs. She had to look less fearsome now, she felt a bit exposed. "She used to visit me and ask about my training. I didn't live at my father's house, only his legitimate children did, not that I minded. I didn't want anything to do with him and it made it easier for her to visit me."
The silence in the room made Corrine more nervous. She'd just let go of a secret she'd carried almost all her life and no one was saying anything. "That is a rather far fetched story." Una's tone made it clear that she didn't believe her. Corrine should have anticipated that.
"I don't know what else I can do to try and get through to you." Corrine sighed wearily, before reaching under her coffee table slowly. She had started at the normal pace but the other female's step in her direction made her slow down so that they could see she was grabbing a box and putting it on the table. "These are all the negatives for the pictures I took. I also have the tapes I didn't put in the box I gave you in here. Once you take this and the map I have nothing, no proof. Just do something about those three nests."
They didn't speak, didn't acknowledge her warning as Una stood up and took the box. Corrine finally looked up from her hands once she could hear they'd gotten near the window to leave. She watched them walk out to her balcony and leave. The tear starting down her cheek was born of frustration and lost hope. So close, she was so close, but the look in Una's eyes told her all she needed to know. She'd seen that look in Demona's before as well, right before the Demon left her forever. She hadn't gained any ground, just managed to scare them.
She knew she needed another plan, but right now she just wasn't up to thinking about it. She got up and moved to get ready for bed. It was late after all.
The next day she had to drag herself out of bed. It felt like she'd lost the Demon all over again. She remembered the way she'd gone through the rest of her senior year like a zombie after the Valentine's Day disaster and it felt a lot like this. She called in to work sick and moved to sit in her favorite chair and just stare out the window over the city. It was still daylight. She hadn't taken a full day off in two months. Too bad she didn't feel up to having any fun.
Well, she could check back and see if the clan did anything about the nests she warned them about. Corrine sat up straighter in her chair. If not maybe she could spray paint a few of the gargoyles to make them wake up to the danger. It would make her feel better. A small smile came to her lips. Maybe she should go see if that dark gargoyle was still at home. She'd look good with a red stripe on her head and maybe some yellow polka dots.
She didn't need their acceptance to be able to help. Eventually they'd probably be able to get in touch with Demona and Demona would tell them about Corrine, wouldn't she? Corrine's amusement at teasing the dark gargoyle faded a bit with her doubt, but she got up anyhow. It was time to get dressed, way past time. As long as there were gargoyles around here there was hope. She couldn't give up now.
She gave the gargoyles a week before checking out the nests she'd found. She even brought the spray paint and an instant camera in case she needed to humiliate them. Still she wasn't disappointed to find no gargoyles on her trip that day. She felt far better to see they'd taken her seriously than she would have by teasing them. Those seven gargoyles were safer today because of Corrine.
Corrine was glad to be able to quit the security job and her other
activities for a little while. She still didn't have a plan, and now that she
only taught at the gym she had a lot of free time. That was why she finally
started her own hunter's journal. She spent several nights sitting near the
balcony doors writing. Her memories of her childhood meeting with the Demon
were fuzzy, but she was starting there. She was going to write her own
autobiography. If the Canmore journals helped them hunt gargoyles, this journal
would help gargoyles know enough about Canmore's to avoid the hunt. She'd found
her life's mission and this clan, willing or not the
She sometimes wondered if her siblings had any idea what a monster their father was, or if they just thought it was normal what he did to them. Just the normal things he did were cruel, never mind the special tortures he saved just for Corrine. Of course Jason and the others were twice the Canmore Corrine was. Corrine sighed and put her pen down. She'd had to do a family tree in one of her history classes so that they could learn about research. Turned out that their mother was a third cousin. It explained why she knew about the hunt enough to take over training when their father was killed. Canmore's were inbred. Why didn't that surprise her? Corrine kept that part out of her paper, not wanting the teacher to know she was from such a screwed up family line. She had to fudge with the results to cover up her illegitimacy as well, because she wasn't proud of it and didn't want to advertise it in class.
A screech came through the opened window and Corrine looked up suddenly. She'd heard a screech like that before from the Demon when she was angry, and went out hunting Corrine's father. She got up quickly and moved out onto her balcony to try and see where it was coming from.
A female form was coming up onto the building fast. She was being chased by a larger male form. Corrine didn't turn away but the way the female looked like she was really trying to get away worried her. She could tell it wasn't the Demon, even though she couldn't tell who it was. When he grabbed the female and they started to wrestle in the air Corrine decided she'd seen enough. Her eyes grew cold as she watched them both fall to the building across from her and watched him get on top.
It took less than two minutes for Corrine to rip her closet apart, load her gun, and rush out her door. The elevator was closing as she ran for it and she shoved her arm into the nearly closed door violently, ignoring her neighbors stare as they decided to just continue to their apartment. It took five minutes, which seemed like forever to get across to the other building. Every second that went by that poor female was suffering. Corrine had to really focus on her ability to blend it to get past the front desk at the other building, had to calm her anger as she rode the elevator up, hoping that the female got away but ready to deal with it if she hadn't.
Corrine Canmore was ready to kill a gargoyle. It was not a day she ever thought she'd see. If they turned on their own like this. Her fists clenched as she thought about any female being raped. No, she may have said never, that she'd never, but she wouldn't walk away from this.
The roof access door was locked, and rather than take the time to pick it she kicked it hard three times in a row until it gave. Her arm was held straight in front of her and she approached the screeching and grunts. "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" She yelled as soon as she had a visual and her fears were confirmed. The female's clothes were torn off of her and she was pinned under his greater mass.
He paid no attention to her, he was too busy raping that female. Corrine's eyes got colder when she noticed the female was all black. She knew that one. That one had been in her home.
She started to squeeze the trigger, aiming for a quickly fatal shot, because she wasn't armed well enough to take out a gargoyle if he started to fight back. The shadow that slammed into her side ruined her aim and shoved her to the ground.
"I knew you were just waiting to get us at our most vulnerable!" Una's words hissed at her and Corrine scrambled for the gun, trying to ignore her.
She gasped out when the talons around her ankle wouldn't let her move. "Let me go." Her voice was wild, all her training fell apart in that one moment. She felt like the twelve year old she'd been that had to suffer this pain, felt the helplessness. She tried to kick the gargoyle with her other foot so that she could reach the gun it was an arm length away.
Una pulled Corrine away from the gun she was reaching for and climbed over her, pinning her to the ground. Corrine's heart started to pound at the helplessness. The gargoyle was so much stronger, she couldn't kick her and her hands were being held still.
"Let me go!" Corrine struggled against the grip. "He's hurting her!"
"What?" Una's voice rose in shock. "No… you don't know…"
"Oh God… He's hurting her." Corrine's eyes were wide, her skin pale. "Why aren't you helping her?" Corrine's voice rose desperately as she turned her head to the side and saw him on top of the female. There was blood, and he was so rough. "God Dammit, help her!"
"They're breeding." Una's change in tone, the softer gentler voice, didn't register in Corrine's mind and couldn't pull her eyes away from the horrifying sight. "He's not hurting her." Corrine started to hyperventilate as her efforts to squirm out of her captors hold wasn't working. "Canmore!" Una started to speak to her louder, but Corrine's eyes were glued to that poor female. A strong hand took a hold of her chin and forced her to stare up into Una's eyes. "Canmore, he's not hurting her."
"She's bleeding." Corrine's voice cracked just a little.
"She's in heat." Una's firm grasp softened to caress Corrine's cheek. "It's really okay. It's just the Breeders moon. They're mating."
"But… but… She was trying to get away." Corrine glanced back at the couple and noticed what she hadn't noticed before. She was clutching him to her, not pushing him away.
"Child, it's the breeding moon." Una repeated softly and Corrine turned to stare at her, feeling a bit stunned. It took a moment for that to turn to painful embarrassment and horror as she realized what she'd been about to do.
"I thought he was hurting her." Her eyes started to tear up with guilt.
"No." The gentleness in Una's expression was a shock as well. "Go home. Everything is fine here."
Una moved off of her and Corrine just laid there on the rough rooftop for a moment staring at Una before she slowly moved to grab the gun that had been out of reach and put it back in her holster. She slunk out of there as quietly as she could, her face blazing with embarrassment. Una leapt off the building before Corrine even made it to the door.
Corrine didn't notice the dark female's eyes trail to her back as she stepped back into the building. She just assumed that the couple never realized she was there.
It was three nights later that Corrine came home and sensed she wasn't alone. Her heart started to beat a bit faster as she tried to pretend she didn't sense someone was there and moved like she normally did.
"You were wrong." An unfamiliar voice spoke, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It wasn't Una. "You could have killed my mate and left me without egg." The voice held a ragged angry edge at that thought and Corrine stopped moving as she realized who it was that was there. The dark female. "But you came rushing over there to save me didn't you?"
"I thought he was hurting you." Corrine's voice was soft with her shame. A misunderstanding almost made her a killer.
"And that is the only reason you are still alive." The shadow that Corrine could now make out in the darkness of her room seemed to slump just a little. "Thank you for what you thought you were doing." There was less anger in that voice then. "But if you ever hurt me or one of my clan…"
"I won't."
"Una sent me." The female blended so well into darkness Corrine wasn't sure what were shadows and what was her. "She'd like you to come to the shop tomorrow to talk."
"Really?" Corrine asked before stopping herself.
The hint of humor in the female's voice made Corrine smile. "Yes, really. Be there shortly after nightfall. I think you have a job interview."
"I will be." Corrine watched the female move to the window and with the light coming in from the city she could finally see details.
"I'm Katara." The female spoke just before stepping outside and gliding away. It had sounded almost friendly.