Page 12 of Gargoyle Reaper

"Not here," he whispered. "We need to get back to the lair first."

As they turned to leave, a commotion erupted near the entrance. Two men in dark suits burst through the doors, their movements unnaturally fluid. Archer’s newfound senses tingled with danger.

"Ezekiel," he hissed, clutching the box tighter. "Those aren't normal guys, are they?"

Ezekiel's jaw clenched. "No. Gargoyles who haven’t completely fallen into shadow yet. We need to move. Now.”

They made for the side exit, but one of the security guards stepped in their path, his eyes flickering with an otherworldly glow. Archer’s heart pounded as he realized the guard was one of them too.

"Hand over the relic," the guard growled, his voice distorted and inhuman.

Ezekiel pushed Archer behind him. “You’ll have to go through me first.”

“And us.”

Archer startled at the female voice behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, meeting the eyes of a tall, blue-eyed beauty with short, dark hair in skin-tight leather pants and a black turtleneck sweater. Next to her stood a shorter, younger man with long, brunet hair that cascaded past his shoulders. His intense gaze was directed at the beefy guard, his top lip curled in clear disgust.

The guard laughed, a guttural sound akin to a raging hornet nest. “Ah, the cavalry arrives. Cassiel and Darius, I presume? How touching. I hate to inform you, but you're outnumbered.”

Archer clutched the box tighter to his chest, his eyes darting between the newcomers and the menacing guard. The pull from the relic inside was almost overwhelming now, thrumming through his body.

“Outnumbered doesn't mean outmatched, Raziel,” Cassiel replied coolly, her stance shifting subtly into a fighting position.

Darius smirked, cracking his knuckles. “Besides, we brought friends.”

As if on cue, a cacophony of car alarms and sirens erupted outside the bank. The dark-suited men at the entrance whirled around, momentarily distracted.

In a blur of motion, Darius launched himself at Raziel, his lithe form belying incredible strength. Raziel lunged forward, meeting Darius halfway, his body morphing mid-leap into a grotesque twisted version of his human form. Leathery wings erupted from his back, his face contorting into a snarling visage of stone-like skin. The two crashed into a nearby desk, sending papers flying. Customers and staff screamed or or stood frozen in shock, with others silently rushing to the exits.

Archer stumbled backward, his grip on the box tightening. "Holy shit.” He gaped in shock as Darius shifted into a similar form, his gargoyle unlike Raziel’s. Instead of appearing mutilated, he appeared like a traditional mythical creature.

The transformed pair clashed in a fury of fists and claws, the bank now quickly clearing of everyone. Archer stared, open-mouthed, as he realized tht some of the humans appeared confused, as if they couldn’t see the monsters battling it out amidst them.

Cassiel positioned herself between Archer and the approaching dark-suited men.

“Get him out of here,” she yelled at Ezekiel. “Others have arrived. We'll handle this.”

Ezekiel grabbed Archer’s arm. "Come on," he urged, tugging him toward the exit.

As they ran, Archer clutched the ornate box to his chest, his mind reeling. The sounds of chaos echoed behind them, the streets alive with police presence and, Archer imagined, whoever the other Slayers were. They rounded into an alley, and Ezekiel paused, his breathing ragged.

“Are you all right?” Ezekiel framed Archer’s face with his palms. “You saw them, didn’t you? I knew you were Nephilim, but now there’s no doubt.”

Archer could barely breathe. “Those others, the people in the bank. Why couldn’t they see them? I don’t understand.”

“I’ll explain later.” Ezekiel pressed their lips together in an abrupt kiss. “We need to get to the lair.”

Startled by the unexpected kiss, Archer could only nod shakily. “S-sure. Please tell me it’s nearby. I don’t feel safe out here on the streets like this.”

“It’s covered, dearest. Cassiel left a motorcycle nearby. We can escape on that.”

Ezekiel grabbed his hand, and they took off down the alley at a fast clip. Archer thought raced as he tried to process the bizzare turn of events. Escaping hand’thideous monsters bent on tearing him from limb to limb to steal a holy relic been on his bingo card when he got home that morning.

Not even close.

Chapter Five

Ezekiel helped Archer off the motorcycle in the lot behind the cathedral. He held on tightly to Archer’s arm as he did a brief visual check of their surroundings. While he would sense if danger were near, nothing could be left to chance. They were at a critical juncture where the relic was out in the open, and they were tasked with its protection without reinforcements. If a shadow gargoyle were to swoop in, they could be annihilated and the relic stolen before he had a chance to send for backup telepathically.

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