Chapter 6: Discovery

Oh. Feck. He'd been discovered. He looked down at the man the first rays from the sun illuminating his face. He was dirty with unkempt hair.

"Uh," Donal said.

The man squinted at him then shook his head. "I must have had some bad hooch last night. Sorry." He thrust out his dirty hand. "Name's Tex."

Donal looked down at the hand coming his way. He had to make a quick decision. Tex could be his friend or his enemy. Donal grasped the hand. "Donal."

Tex let go. He spread his arms out wide. "My home is your home."

Donal looked around. "What?"

Of course, he would prefer to be on the roof. He was a gargoyle. Frankly, he didn't have much choice either. With no identity and no money, he couldn't exactly rent a flat.

"You live up here?" Donal said.

"Yes. It's the only place that I can find shelter, food, and no cops bothering me."

"Food?"

"Yeah, the building has a garden. I try not to pick vegetables from the same plot every day. That way no one notices."

Tex was right. Donal hadn't seen it in the dark, but now he did. There were raised beds on top of the roof. His stomach growled. He hadn't eaten in several millennia.

"You had breakfast?" Tex said.

"No."

Tex led the way to one of the plots. "I haven't touched this one in a while, but the woman said I could have some."

"The woman?"

"Yeah, she was in Ireland on business and didn't want the food to go to waste."

Donal nodded. That was probably his Meg. "Does she come up here often?"

"In the evening unless she is out with her girlfriends. She's a nice young lady."

What a big heart his Meg had. Donal had an idea. He could pretend to live up here and then he'd be able to keep an eye on her. If he learned her habits, he could follow her to work by flying. No one would look up in this city.

Tex handed him some tomatoes. He gobbled them down. "Thank you."

"You aren't from around here?" Tex said.

"No. Ireland."

"Come and sit. I rarely have company," Tex said.

He pointed to a blanket under a small makeshift shelter. Was that the man's home? Tex settled himself under a metal awning that he must have constructed himself. Donal sat on the edge of the tattered blanket, his mind searching for a way to help this person.

"The dumpster outside the McDonald's on fourth is a gold mine for food, too. I'll head over there later."

"Do you know what time Meg goes to work?"

"Meg?"

"Yes."

The man cocked his head to one side. "You aren't a stalker, are you? Or a burglar?"

Donal put up his hands. "No sir. I'm just looking out for her welfare. I feel she is in danger and I must protect her."

The quizzical look on Tex's face told Donal the man didn't understand.

"I don't keep track of her, but I think she works at the plant at the Navy Yard. I've seen her get on that bus."

When in Ireland, she'd told him that she worked for a wool processing plant. That must be what Tex was talking about. He would have to plan on being on her route at some point so he could make contact.

"You asked if I was a stalker. This is a bad thing?" Donal said.

"Yes. Some men think they are dating a woman and aren't."

"I have no interest in dating Meg."

He wasn't allowed to. It went against the gargoyle code and why he and his brothers had been encased in stone. His next problem would be how to arrive and leave this roof without Tex seeing him fly. He couldn't follow Meg on foot without her seeing him.

The first trip would mean going from building to building in the air. He'd have to distract Tex somehow and make sure the man wasn't here when he returned. He'd never think he'd had bad hooch two nights in a row. Hooch? Some things didn't change no matter how many millennia went by.

If only someone could guide him in the more subtle ways of the present that he couldn't glean from Meg. She'd been their only visitor for years. No one could see the church unless they were a fairy and Donal was getting the impression that they were hard to come by these days.

Did no one believe in magic anymore? How sad that the world had moved on from that. It wasn't a perfect time, but everyone knew their roles then.

Tex stood up abruptly. "It's almost time for the food delivery at the deli on the corner. I can't bring you with me, but I'll bring some food back. You stay here."

Tex left him. Perfect. Donal walked over to the side of the building where the entrance was. He'd watch for Meg then fly until she was safely at work. He didn't know where the threat came from, but he knew in his soul that she was in danger.

***

Meg had rushed out that morning to get to work, still feeling jetlagged. She hadn't been able to get away for lunch so she invited her friends over for snacks and drinks that night.

She wasn't going to cook and they didn't expect her to so while she waited for her friends to arrive, she put the food out onto platters. She'd shopped on her way home. They didn't need fancy, but they weren't complete barbarians. Or maybe she wasn't.

The doorbell wasn't through buzzing when Colleen marched into the apartment. "Hey."

They hugged. Colleen looked over the plates of food. "You having an army? You get enough food to satisfy an Italian grandma. I know. I have an Italian Grandma."

Meg smiled. Colleen, She was a defense attorney who had defended some high profile clients for her young age. She grabbed life with both hands but was the least serious of the three.

"Wine?"