the Forest of Emmitaenu

Gargoyle Infestation

Inside the wooden walls Lara found herself wrapped in Zeftx arms. Jade was beside them with her eyes squeezed shut. They all appeared translucent. It was an odd hazy feeling, almost like being in a dream and Lara could have smiled if she hadn't been so afraid. Breathing felt like sucking on a straw as the air traveled in and out of the hut siphoning its way between wood grains and it made her a little dizzy. Walls really can breathe, she thought in astonishment.

Just as Lara let her eyes slide closed to give in to the urge to sleep a loud bang vibrated all around them. Her eyes popped back open and she could feel Zeftx arms tighten around her shoulders and his posture stiffen at her back. Shuffling her feet in a tight circle, Lara turned to face him.

Zeftx eyes stared straight over her head through the wall to the room within. She hadn't been able to see anything on the inside but the intensity of his gaze suggested he could. At first she didn't understand, but then another bang rang out loud and clear, sending shock waves through their hiding place, and it hit her. The gargoyles were beating against the walls.

When she tried to listen more intently, Lara could make out other sounds throughout the dwelling. The noises made her translucent skin crawl as the gargoyle infestation became clear to her ears. Behind the grunts and growls Lara heard a clamor of shattered pottery resounding from the kitchen.

She listened harder to pick apart the individual sounds. A thwack slammed against the wall, making Lara jerk. They threw something! She heard it again. Dozens of times the sound repeated until all the herbs had been torn down from the rafters. Something else from far in the back corner of the hut where Jades room was located gave a terrible rip, and with it tore apart the last piece of Jades reserve.

The poor woman couldn't hold it in any longer. She pressed both fists against her mouth as the long and painful wail lurched up from her throat and escaped through her quivering lips. Jades cry was followed by a series of tears and sobs, too broken to pair with words. Zeftx wrapped an arm around Jades shoulders and pulled her against his side. Lara tried to move out of the way but his other arm held her in place.

The three of them stayed like that listening to the racket coming from within while Zeftx held her and Jade to each of his sides. Lara couldn't imagine the pain Jade was in hearing the destruction of every home made thing she'd created. What about Zeftx? She wondered. How could he bear it too? Lara looked up to see his face. His eyes were closed and thin ribbons of tears streaked down his cheeks.

Seeing both of them cry made Lara feel like crying too. The heartbreak surrounding them was as thick as smoke and she nearly choked on it. Carefully she snuggled against Zeftx side and wrapped her arms around his waist. His eyes opened in surprise and were red rimmed and glossy but that wasn't the only reason for the rawness Lara glimpsed in them. Jade distracted Lara by patting her hands comfortingly, even though Lara could tell that Jades eyes were still wet with tears.

From the opposite corner of the hut where Zeftx room should be, another shredding sound echoed the first, this one followed by a loud crack that turned in an instant to a deathly screech. Everything after that was hard to pick apart. Lara's pulse raced as the gargoyles began their monstrous roar brand new. The frenzy of movement inside frightened her as the crowded beasts suddenly struggled to evacuate. They're leaving, she realized.

After the last stone creature departed, they remained within the walls stunned silent and utterly immobile. Lara didn't know how long they lingered, but at last the three of them rematerialized into the room. At first she couldn't see anything. The candles had long since expired and the room was pitched into complete darkness. Even the gaping hole in the wall offered zero light where the window had been.

Zeftx found the discarded flints and lit the only two candles that hadn't been trampled and crushed beyond functional. All the rest were infused into the rug as crumbs. Glass covered most of the room on the left side and they had to be careful where they stepped. The walls were splintered in varying places around the room but no holes were left besides the window. The thick logs that made the hut from the ground up had held strong.

When they walked into the kitchen Jade let out a sharp gasp and hid her face in her hands. Zeftx kept close to her and rubbed her shoulders. His concern for her was riddled with heart ache and he steered her with familial love away from the scene of destruction toward her room, taking one candle with them and leaving the other with Lara who was still staring at the unbelievable mess.

The chairs were broken into fractions and the table turned on its side with the legs snapped off. The window to this room had also been shattered and glass reflected the dancing flame of her candle from as deep into the room as the center island counter. That too was broken, as if two WWF wrestlers had dove on it.

As pitiable as the room looked, it smelled that much better. The fragrance around the kitchen was a hundred times stronger than her tea had been that morning. Lara inhaled deeply, then realized why. A parameter of herbs and spices outlined the room in smashed lumps and powdery piles from where the gargoyles had torn them from the rafters and crushed them to the ground. Some of them were so ground up that they had to have stomped on them after throwing to get them into such a fine powdery consistency.

The copper spout on the sink was bent into a crooked posture but looked like it might still work. What once were dishes littered the floor in fragments next to the window glass. From this side of the house, the shapely moon could be seen arching its way through the sky to lend some light to the catastrophe. It would be useful now, but by tomorrow night, the window spaces would have to be boarded up to avoid a repeat.

Lara heard a loud cry cut into the silence coming from Jades bedroom and her eyes darted toward the door. She heard Zeftx reassuring voice trying to soothe Jade. Lara sighed, this was horrible.

It was another twenty minutes before Zeftx returned alone. He walked over to Lara who hadn't moved an inch and whispered, "They thrashed the bed and pillows. The quilt is shredded but the frame still stands. The dresser was cracked down the middle but the extra bedding inside went unscathed. There's enough to sleep on, you can join Jade now if you like." The thought of barging in on the heartbroken woman and forcing her to share her bed wasn't at all appealing.

"I'll stay up and help clean this," she whispered, glancing around at the product of the gargoyles rampage. Zeftx followed her eyes, taking in the scene for himself. He nodded and stooped to pick up broken clay and shards of glass.

Lara watched him, awed by his diligence. Although his home was attacked, destroyed, and they were left alone in the world he didn't fall to pieces. He was being strong. She doubted she could be so strong if this was her home and her family. The muscle in his jaw twitched because he was holding himself together so tightly.

She wanted to help him more than she could explain. She wanted to drop to her knees, throw her arms around his neck and hug him but she was afraid that would make one or both of them break and then they would be crying and getting nothing done.

Instead she looked around for a broom, knowing they were going to need one indefinitely for the grounded herbs. Behind the door to the entry she spotted one and proceeded to use it around the kitchen. It was going to be a long night and there was a lot to do.