VVVVV
Consequences Part Four: Fire and the Night (3/3)
a Gargoyles story
by Merlin Missy
Copyright 2001, 2005
PG
VVVVV

Brooklyn passed through the kitchen on his way back from the
lavatory. Katana had finished giving Tachi and Alex their snack, and was
wiping the little faces and hands clean of whatever sticky mess they'd
consumed.

"An' then," his daughter said to the little boy, "we can go get the toys
an' the blankets, an' I'll be the mommy an' you can be the little kid, and
I'll read bedtime to you an' you can pretend to sleep."

"'Kay."

"An' then you can pretend to wake up, and I'll make breakfast, an'
you'll go to school an' I'll go hunt evil an' you can skip school and try an'
help me."

"'Kay." So decided, the pair joined hands and Tachi dragged Alex
past Brooklyn and off towards the playroom.

Brooklyn smiled despite his waning headache. "At least she's
adjusting well."

"She always does." Katana wiped down the table with a cloth, then
went to one of the industrial-sized steel sinks to rinse it.

He came up behind her, placed his hands against her back between her
wings. "How about you?"

"I am adjusting." He hadn't been her mate for this long without
knowing the many climates in her voice.

"But not well."

"No."

He nudged her with his talon-tips until she turned around, and he took
her hands in his. "Tell me."

"This is not my home. This is not truly your home."

"I was hatched beneath this castle."

"Across an ocean, a thousand years before this time! You spent only
four years of your life in this era. You are as much a stranger to this place
as we. Yet this is where you have spoken of every night since the hour we
met."

"I know. But this is my home, my love. This is my clan."

"And we are your family." She looked away; Brooklyn did not have
to ask what she was thinking. He remembered too well the volcanic
eruption which had wiped out her own family and almost killed the two of
them as well.

"Give me the word, 'Tana. If you want to go, we'll grab the kids and
dance the next Flame outta here. Just tell me so."

She paused, for such a long time that he was certain that she would say
go, that she would ask him to give up his home again, for her, and that he
would do it for her sake.

"No."

"'No' what?"

"No, we are not going. Wherever you go, I am already there. Your
heart is mine, but your soul lives here. I knew that years ago. Even if we
left, part of you would remain here always, and I could not bear to be away
from that piece of you. So we will stay, here in this time."

He drew her into an embrace. "You know how much I love you at this
moment, right?"

He felt her smile against his neck. "Yes."

VVVVV

Light spilled golden from her apartment to the balcony, and his heart
warmed as he approached. The light dimmed momentarily, and Talon
emerged from the window, a small bundle snug in his arms. That was odd;
Talon rarely came to see Elisa, and certainly not with Daniel. Although
the weather had been mild, even the threat of chill kept the baby inside and
safe.

"Talon," he said neutrally as he came to a soft landing.

"Goliath." The Mutate's tone was distant. " I didn't know I'd been
here so long." Goliath chose not to inquire why he had been there at all.

Elisa poked her head out, "Shouldn't you be ... Oh, hi Goliath." If
Talon's voice had been distant, Elisa's was in a far region of space where
even Nokkar's people did not go.

"I could return later," he said, looking from sister to brother and back.

"No, come on in," she said. "Derek, I'll ... I'll see you around."

"Yeah," said Talon. "Bye, sis. Bye, Goliath." He knelt, then thrust
from the building with both legs, and glided off into the night.

"Elisa," said Goliath, following her back inside, "Is everything all
right?" Here in the light, he could see her face more clearly, could tell she
had been crying, and he hurt for her. He led her to the couch, sat down
with less than total comfort beside her.

"How can I help?"

She brushed at her eyes. "You can't." She flinched as she added,
"Nobody can."

She had to be speaking of the child. "You are certain?"

"I am now." Something in her changed, readjusted. She put on a
smile and asked, "So how is everyone back at the castle? You got here
awful quick after sunset."

"I chose to let Brooklyn handle the situation. I am not sure where his
new family fits into our clan, and I believe Nashville is more likely to
listen to his father than to the rest of us."

She blinked at him. "Have you ever been around a teenager before?"

"Teenager?" He had heard the word before, but remained baffled.
"Nashville is twenty-six."

"And right at the age where girls start being interesting and parents
start being stupid. The last person he's going to listen to right now is
Brooklyn."

VVVVV

"Nashville?" Lexington's voice wavered in the thin air. Nash
shrugged his wings closer around himself, staring out from the ledge
towards the clouds below him. He could just make out the orange glow of
the city lights beneath their fluffy covering.

"What? Time to churn our own butter now? Oooo. Fun."

"I just wanted to let you know, I found that band you mentioned.
Took a while; they changed their name."

"Whatever. Thanks." He flicked a pebble off into space.

"You shouldn't do that. You could hurt someone."

"I know."

Lex was right behind him now. He could see puffs of breath in the air,
but he kept his back turned.

"Sucks, huh?" asked Lex.

"What?"

"Getting picked up from a place you like, winding up in another time
that you don't know and could care less about."

He said nothing.

"I've been there, done that. When we woke up here ... " He broke off.
"Your father was the first to really adapt. Some days, I don't think I ever
will."

"But everyone expects me to."

"No. We expect you to try."

Nash flicked another pebble. "Whatever."

"Not whatever. You're gonna have to choose. Do you want to be a
part of the clan, or do you want to sulk up here by yourself the rest of your
life?"

"I could find the Gate," he said. He had touched it, once, as they were
about to dance. He could still recall the tingle, like cold fire skittering
down his arm, and the power of being anyone, going anywhere. For an
instant, he had tasted what it was to be one of Oberon's unholy little
bastards, and he'd wanted it. In the next moment, it had slipped away, to
remain forever beyond his grasp.

"You'd leave your family?"

"Sure."

Lex snorted. "Must be nice." He rested his arms on the battlement,
and looked into the clouds below.

"What?"

"To not have to give a damn. I'd give anything for that."

Nash said, "I hate this place. The music sucks. Humans hate us. And
there are no girls."

"There are girls."

"Angela's on Avalon. Demona's psycho. Tachi's my sister. And
Delilah's ... "

" ... a kid," finished Lex. "Yeah. I know." He sighed, and started
fidgeting with another pebble.

"This time sucks," said Nash.

Lex paused. "Yeah."

"So," Nash said after a long time. "The Warlocks changed their
name?"

Lex nodded. "Yeah. About that. I've got some good news and some
bad news."

VVVVV

Harvey smiled and waved welcome at Fox when he saw her at the end
of the hospital corridor. This had to be the third or fourth time she'd been
by to visit her old man since Harvey'd started working guard duty here.

For a boss, she wasn't half bad. She'd hired him for the show, dressed
as an Evil Ninja, but hey, it was more exposure than he'd ever seen in the
local theatre scene. After production went down, she'd tossed him a few
jobs, even though she'd been in stir. When the rest of the cast broke out,
she'd stayed, which Harvey thought was pretty classy.

After she moved in with Mr. Moneybags, Fox had asked him to be an
occasional bodyguard and odd-job man for a lot more than he was getting
as an actor. Nothing illegal Harvey's little boy lived with his ex, but he
was young enough to think Harvey was a hero. Harvey never wanted that
to change.

He stood as she got there.

"Hey, Harvey."

"Ma'am," he said. He still thought of her as the same chick in
spandex he'd always known, but he'd been raised knowing that there were
two kinds of people in this world: those who got paychecks, and those who
signed them.

"How's he doing?"

Harvey scratched the back of his neck. "Doc says he's doing fine." A
hearty chuckle gushed from Mr. Renard's room.

"He sounds like it."

Harvey debated telling her what he'd seen, that Mr. R. was always in a
better mood when Mrs. R. was around, and for that matter, so was Harvey.
Seemed that every time she came by, and it had been a lot in the past
couple days, Harvey felt like the sunshine man. When she smiled his way,
it was the best damned feeling, like when his boy smiled at him.

The first time Mrs. R. had been there, he'd felt so good she'd told him
to go off and make someone's day brighter. Harvey'd marched right down
to the gift shop, bought all the balloons, and taken 'em to the kids' ward.

The nurses wouldn't let him on the kids' ward anymore, which was a
real shame.

When Fox opened the door, she scowled, and Harvey's good mood
started crumbling. He remembered that look, and how it usually meant
someone was in for a real ass-kicking instead of the play fighting they'd
done on the show. One time during practice, Wolf had said something,
Harvey didn't know what, and the next thing he knew, Dingo and Jackal
had been dragging Fox off him. Wolf had walked funny for days after, and
none of them dared laugh, 'cause it could have been them.

"I didn't know you were here," said Fox to her mom.

"Your father and I were just talking," said Mrs. R.

Mr. R. said, "Come in, Janine." The door shut behind her.

Harvey scooted his chair closer. He wasn't going to eavesdrop, just
make sure everything was okay. As it was, he heard nothing but pleasant
murmurs through the door for the next few minutes.

After a bit, he heard Fox, closer, ask, "Can I speak with you outside
for a minute?" Harvey moved his chair away from the door just before it
opened.

As soon as it closed, and ignoring him completely, Fox turned to her
mom. "Why are you doing this to him?" she asked in a whisper.

"Doing what?" Harvey nodded in happy agreement with Mrs. R.

"You know what I mean. You promised no more spells."

Spells? Oh yeah, Mr. R. got fainting spells.

"I did no such thing. I promised to tell the truth."

Fox sighed and asked, "Are you using any spells on him?"

"No."

"Then what the hell are you doing? He looks different, he talks
different. You're changing him. Why?"

Harvey kept his eyes off-focus on the nurses' station across the way
and did his best impression of a potted plant.

"I'm not changing him. He's changing himself. He looks different
because he's combed his hair and made Preston bring him in nicer
pyjamas."

Fox stared at her mom. "You're kidding."

"Look at him, Fox. Really look at him. Do you remember what he
was like when he was happy? He's happy now. Why are you angry with
me?"

Mrs. R. was right, perfectly right. Of course she was a good influence
on Mr. R., and Fox should see that.

"I want to know why you're doing it!" Her whisper was strained.
"You have never done anything for either of us that didn't benefit you in
some way."

Mrs. R. went serious. "Girl, you will never know all I have done for
you both which has acted very much against my best interests."

"I don't believe you."

"That is your prerogative."

"Are you going to stay here?"

"I had planned that, yes."

"Fine," said Fox. " I'll be back later."

"You don't have to leave because I'm here."

"I'd like to talk to my father when I'm sure it's him." Fox turned and
walked away, arms folded against her stomach.

Harvey felt bad for her. He hadn't talked with his old man in five
years, ever since ...

"Harvey?" said Mrs. R.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Take a nap."

"Yes, ma'am." His eyes were closed before her hand touched the
doorknob.

VVVVV

The city was always more peaceful from the viewpoint of just below
the clouds. Lex loved gliding on the currents, keeping watch from a
vantage point unmatched by any creature without wings. He did a spin,
just to feel the wind caress his entire body. Night after night for too long a
time, he'd been cooped up in the lower levels of the Eyrie Building,
working with the group.

Part of him poked him and mentioned he should be down there now,
since he did have a job to do. He shoved that part away, and glanced over
to his companion.

Nash flew silently close by, and Lex was struck by his resemblance to
his father. He lacked Brooklyn's long beak, having his mother's more
muted features, but for that he could be Brooklyn at his side again as they
had been fifteen years ago.

"Damn," he said aloud.

"What?"

"It just really hit me. Your dad isn't the guy I knew. He's had a
lifetime where I haven't been."

Nash shrugged, dipping his wings as he did. "I guess. He seems like
the same person to me."

"Did you guys always travel together?"

"Yeah. Before Tachi was hatched, I got lost once. Um. Madagascar,
early 1600's I think. Mom and Dad danced out with the Gate."

"On purpose?" Lex couldn't believe for a second Brooklyn would
willingly leave his child behind.

"Naw, they got caught. It's never exactly predictable."

"But you found each other again."

"Yeah. Like, three jumps later, they ended up on the continent a few
days before they danced out the first time. By the time they found me, it
was maybe a day later."

Lex wrapped his head around the story. Time travel tenses and clone
pronouns always made him uneasy.

"Weird," he said finally.

"Yeah. So is there anything else to do but glide around?"

"Sure. But we don't do them. We might get seen."

"You know, in the future, gargoyles walk the streets the same as
humans, and nobody cares."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't tell me that. You're not supposed to
tell us what happens, remember?"

"Right, right. So, you wanna know your mate's name?"

Lexington fell two storeys before catching another gust. His heart
pattered in his chest as he reached altitude with Nashville again.

Nash grinned back at him. "Had you."

Lex growled. "I'm gonna ... " Nash dropped, on purpose, and Lex
chased him through the air. They skimmed low over the bay, and slid
neatly up the side of a bridge cable. A late model Buick, its driver
watching them slack-jawed, smacked into the back of a BMW. Lex
shouted "Sorry!" to the dark-haired man and blonde woman inside the
Beamer, and was back on the chase.

They glided into Queens, past Flushing Meadows, and finally, Nash
perched atop an office building. Lex landed beside him, panting and
deliriously happy.

"That was fun," Nash admitted. "For a start." Then he jumped, and
the game continued.

VVVVV

This time, Anastasia had brought a stereo, and a few cd's. The black
plastic stereo was cheap, probably bought at a dimestore along the way.
The speakers had a tinny sound when they played, but compared to the
music piping in from the hospital's overhead speakers, he could have been
in a concert hall. They'd listened to Strauss, and then Chopin, and then
she'd played a selection by Vaughan Williams he'd never heard before, but
echoed inside him like a song long forgotten. Now they had returned to
Strauss, who made a spritely background to their conversation.

"I heard from George a few months ago," Halcyon said. "He finally
retired from that college."

"Good for him. Does he know what he's going to do with his
retirement?"

"Horticulture. Man's been a closet plant freak for forty years. Now he
can putter in his garden all day long."

Anastasia smiled. "Have you spoken with Diana at all?"

"Mathers? Not in an age. Preston's been handling the executive
hiring, and everything else goes through HR."

"I remember a time when you interviewed every prospective new
employee yourself, from the janitors up."

He snorted. "Hated that. You were always better at meeting people."

"True, but I always wanted to be back at the bench doing real work."

He watched her as she leaned in the chair beside him, eyes closed,
hand drifting lazily with the music. "Tell me," he said.

"What?"

"You hired Burnett. You hired David. Did you know?"

She paused. Soft violins played in the silence. "I knew who Owen
was, yes. We've known each other too long to disguise ourselves
effectively. All I knew about David was what his resume told me."

"Puck ... He said it was a game."

Her mouth quirked. "For him, most things are."

"Was I?"

"At first. But not always." She took his hand. "And it was a merry
chase, was it not?"

He rested his hand over hers. "It was."

She stiffened.

"Ana?"

She removed her hand and stood. "I have to go."

"Go where?"

"Back. I've just been summoned."

"And you're just going?" He frowned. "I could never even get you to
come into the living room without saying 'Please.'"

"I'll be back," she said, distracted. "I promise. I'll be back. Will you
tell Fox?" He nodded.

And she shivered into her other form, the strange, alien form he had
known long ago in his dreams, and later on the few video images David's
security cameras had been able to show him.

She bent over him, placed a cool kiss on his cheek, and she was gone.

VVVVV

They were in the living room, Fox on the floor with Alex and Tachi,
when the phone rang. Broadway was closest and answered it.

"Hello?" He paused. "Hi! Yeah, she's here. Hold on." He handed
the phone to Fox. "It's your father."

"Thanks," she said, taking the phone and walking it into the hallway.
From outside, Elisa heard her say, "Hi Dad. How're you feeling?" A
pause. "I see."

Elisa tuned the conversation out, giving the mistress of the house her
privacy. Katana bent down to where Fox had sat, and took over the role of
Holder of Things. Elisa looked around, wondering where Lex and Nash
had gotten to this time. Lexington had been spending time with the boy,
trying to coax him into the clan. Last night, Lex had downloaded some
music and played it for him, while Nashville listened, thinking about
whatever place it had been where he'd been happy.

Owen appeared in the doorway. Elisa's shoulders hunched. She'd
been avoiding him since he'd taken away her last hope for Daniel.

"Detective? May I have a moment?"

Brooklyn stood up from the couch. "Is he bothering you, Elisa?"

"No. We'll be right outside."

She joined him in the outer corridor. "Yes?" she asked, more sharply
than she'd intended.

"I have been in discussion with one of my cousins," he said quietly,
ignoring her tone. Her heart jumped, as he told her, "There may be another
option."

"Tell me what I have to do."

VVVVV
Interlude
VVVVV

The Guardian had asked Michael and Aeneas to dig her grave. It was
a nice patch of ground, which he said was sunny but not too sunny during
the day.

None of Oberon's came with them to bury her. The Queen was not on
the Island, and she would have been the only one. So it was just their
family, the thirty-five of them, and Boudicca, and the Guardian, who
insisted on carrying her from the palace.

Ophelia walked beside her, holding her hand. "I wish," she said, tears
running down her green face. "I wish."

"Me, too."

"Why did she send me away?" asked her sister. "What did she say to
you?"

"I'm not sure," said Angela, not truthfully. She had heard, although
she could not claim to have understood. Katharine had gone on about her
father, about the egg in Angela's belly, and then she'd had another
conversation with someone Angela could not see.

Almost.

Angela had met a ghost, once, of the Norseman who'd ordered the
destruction of their clan, and the Captain who'd betrayed them. She had
seen no ghosts in the room. But she'd felt something, under her wings, in
her spine, something strange and unexpected and familiar, and she'd heard
inside her mind the notes of a half-remembered lullaby.

"I'm not sure what I saw," she whispered to herself, and they had
reached the clearing, where Julius and Michael were just putting the
shovels out of view. The grass had still not grown back over the older
mound, and Angela winced for her siblings, who had lost two parents in
the course of a month.

The Guardian, with some difficulty, placed Katharine into her grave.
None of them moved forward to help; he would never have accepted it.
He whispered something to her, something only he knew, and kissed her
hand.

He stood like the statues they became, as one by one, the Eggs stood
by Katharine's side and said their farewells, leaving her flowers, bits of
seashell, other tiny things.

Angela took her turn. "I will never forget you," she whispered, and
placed a sprig of hyacinth beside her.

Beside her, Ophelia continued to sob, as did so many of her siblings.
Angela pulled her wings closer around her body. She had not cried, not
yet. She was too numb for tears.

When the last had spoken, Ariadne and Dido pulled a thin sheet over
her, so she would not get dirty. Gabriel tossed a spadeful of dirt into the
grave, that spattered like rain against the cloth. The Guardian trembled as
it hit, but he stayed, they all stayed, until she was covered up, warm and
snug.

There were stones, and the Guardian built a small cairn. Avalon had
no predators but them, and there would be no wolves.

The Eggs slipped away, in twos and threes, back to the palace or to
secret places. At last, she stood with Gabriel and Ophelia behind the
Guardian. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his
strong shoulders.

"When you need us," Angela said, "we'll be home."

"Aye," he breathed. As they turned away, Angela saw him limned in
strands of moonlight standing by Katharine's grave, unmoving and alone.

VVVVV
December 21, 1997
VVVVV

Maggie and Claw brought the last presents into the chamber. Names
had been carefully printed on each package, and an eye had been kept to
make sure none of the various children of the Labyrinth had been favored
overmuch above the rest. Around them, other residents of the Labyrinth
moved makeshift tables, and brought in food that had been cooking all
day: savory hams and pies and bread baked in the two ovens they'd fitted
up on borrowed electricity.

Maggie looked over to where Derek held Daniel, talking with his
sister in a low voice. They would be absent from the party tonight. Derek
hadn't explained how or why, had only told her that they may have found a
way to help her son. She had to believe in him, and she tried.

"Kids'll be awake soon," she said to Claw, to say something. He
nodded. "I think they'll like their presents." He nodded again.

Derek and Elisa went out of the chamber, possibly to retrieve
something, possibly just to talk without being overheard. Maggie began to
tremble. Claw hugged her from behind. "I'm so scared," she whispered to
him, oblivious to the others nearby. He squeezed, and she knew he
understood. "I'm his mother. I should be there with him when they do
this, whatever it is."

He turned her around and shook his head. In a few quick signs, he
indicated to her what they both already knew, that this was where she
needed to be, that this was who she was, and that she needed to trust her
love and his sister, because this might be Daniel's only chance.

"I know," she said. "I know." Claw placed a rare kiss on her
forehead, then patted her hair. Maggie smiled. "You're a good friend."

He shrugged.

"Where should we put these?" asked Diane, carrying an armload of fir
boughs, followed by Peter with another load.

"Around. Everywhere," said Maggie. "Let's be festive, dammit."

VVVVV

Delilah woke with a roar, matched by her brothers. Tonight was the
party, and she was very excited. She had drawn pictures for her brothers as
presents, and she couldn't wait to see them be so surprised.

There was another note, under her foot, and she shivered. Someone
had come while she'd been sleeping, had left this. Not Thailog. Someone
helping him. It could be anybody.

She bent down to wipe at some stone bits still on her legs, and grabbed
the note. She pressed it into her hand, hoping the boys didn't see.

"Gonna go check on the egg," she said.

"Want help?" asked Boo.

"Nope," she said and signed at the same time. Scared, she scampered
quickly to the room where she kept her egg. Like a good mommy, she
patted the shell, looked at the spots, and then turned it over like Hudson
had shown her, as she did every night.

"Hi, baby," she said to it. "Hatch soon."

She unfolded the note.

"Delilah,

Come meet me tonight. The usual place."

Tonight? Tonight was the party. There would be presents and food,
and the real gargoyles would be there, and she really really wanted to go.
Disappointment welled up in her. She liked this party.

Carefully, Delilah ripped the note into little itty bitty pieces, and
stuffed it in the nest among the shredded papers she used as her egg's bed.

Maybe she could go to the party, and go away for just a few minutes.
She could get up top pretty fast, and be back before anyone saw she was
gone. And if he was there, she would tell him that she didn't want to go
away with him, that she didn't want to play the Game with him, that she
liked Maggie and Talon and Claw and Ruth and that she wanted to stay
with her brothers.

What if he told her to go away with him anyway? What if he said he
would hurt them if she didn't go?

'Lilah wrapped her wings around herself, then bent over to kiss the
egg's shell as she folded her arms in front of her heart. "Love you, baby.
Won't let anything happen to you."

Then she skipped off to the party.

VVVVV

Talon wrapped the blanket a little tighter around Daniel, as they
passed through another cavernous opening. Deeper and darker they had
gone than even he'd known these passages extended. There had to be
miles of tunnels running beneath the city, and here, he had naively
assumed the Labyrinth to be unique. The top of the cavern was lost in the
darkness over his head. He craned his neck back to get a better view, and
tripped over fallen stone.

"Careful!" said Elisa, stepping over the rocks as gracefully as she
could. Owen continued to lead, unaware or uncaring of their struggles
behind him, his thin beam of light all that separated them from utter
blackness.

"Is there a reason we couldn't have done this back in the Labyrinth?"
Talon asked, as something skittered over his feet.

"Yes," replied Owen.

The darkness was already beginning to spook him. Owen, or whoever
he really was, wasn't going to help them. He was leading them into some
abandoned and forgotten place where they'd never be found and he would
kill them and leave the bones.

"We're here," said Owen, and snapped off his light. There passed a
blood-curdling moment of pure night, and then ...

"Welcome," said a kind voice, as a doorway (stone? steel?) slid
smoothly open before them, spilling blessed amber candlelight into the
dimness. "I am called Narcissa," said the voice from within the room.

Owen led the way in, Elisa and Talon close behind him. Talon
blinked in the sudden brightness. Every horizontal surface in the small
chamber was covered in candles: birthday candles, long white tapered
beauties, handmade and smoky red and green dribblers, squat scented
lavender bricks. The air shimmered from the heat and smoke, and in a
chair near the center of the room sat an old dark-skinned woman, smoking
a pipe, and rocking slowly. Her clothes were gayly colored rags, and her
eyes were matched pearls. They opened wider when Talon came into the
room.

"So it is true. Let me see this little boy with wings."

Talon found himself bringing his son to her without any conscious
thought of his own. He placed Daniel into her arms, and she stared for a
long time at him, memorizing his leonine features. "He's a beautiful boy."
She turned her strange eyes to Owen. "You were right."

"Will you help him?" Talon asked.

"I don't know if I can. But we shall see."

"It's half past eleven," said Owen. "Now that you see he will be safe,
you should wait outside."

"What?" asked Talon, and he heard his sister ask the same a moment
behind. He continued, "I'm staying with him."

The old woman shot a look to Owen, who said, "That might not be
advisable."

"I'm staying," he said, and took his child from the woman.

Owen sighed. "Detective, I would ask you at least to go. But you will
have to go back all the way."

"Why can't I just wait outside like you said?"

"There are reasons. Here." He handed her the flashlight, and turned it
at the tip, just so. "When you shine this, you will see the path leading you
back to where you belong. As long as you follow it, no harm will come to
you." Elisa stared at him, and then the flashlight, until Owen offered a
very small smile. "Alexander is learning charms. He's quite good."

"Derek, are you sure you want to stay here?"

"He's my son."

"All right." She embraced him quickly, then kissed the baby on the
forehead. "I'll go back to the party, tell everybody not to worry."

"Do that. I'll see you soon." I hope.

After she was gone, the door in place behind her, Owen turned to his
companion, and spoke to her in tones too low for Talon to hear, even with
his extra-keen senses. He busied himself with the baby, checking for
leaks, fussing with the blankets, trying not to think about what was about
to happen.

He wondered how the party was going. Maggie would be desperately
worried, but she'd be trying to hide it by playing with the kids and keeping
their spirits up. In his mind's eye, he could see Boo and Brent trying to
coax Nashville into playing a game, while Tachi and 'Lilah opened their
new dolls: a blue winged gargoyle for Tachi, a purple one for 'Lilah.
Banky and Holly would meanwhile be checking out the food. Broadway
would be right beside them. Lex and Brooklyn would be trying to look
cool, although Brooklyn would probably spend more time showing off his
wife. Goliath would be making small talk, however painful, with Mom
and Dad, but all three would be watching the doorways, praying.

"It's time," said Narcissa. Her voice changed. Before, she'd had a
light accent, Jamaican by the sound. Now, the tones were accented
differently, not unlike Owen's had been when he'd changed to the funny
short guy. Talon raised his head, and tried not to be surprised to see that
she'd changed. Instead of an old woman, she was now hardly more than a
girl, perhaps eighteen, curved in all the right places, and her rags were like
a gypsy's costume. She twirled, and she burned in the light like a phoenix.

The woman said, "Place him on the chair, child."

Talon kissed him, and then did as he was told.

"Now stand back," said Owen, who had not changed to the funny
short guy. He stood in his shirt and tie, which were blowing in the wind,
which was odd, because there was no wind, and Talon drew back from the
chair, from his son, and watched in fear.

The intense light in the room dimmed abruptly, although the candles
continued to burn; it seemed a filter had been drawn over his eyes,
shadowing them from something he did not dare see, and yet could not live
but try.

"Come to us, O Dark One!" said Owen.

"Come to us, O Guide Between Worlds!" said the woman.

"Come to us, O Dread Saviour!"

"Come to us, Anubis!"

A crack split through the room, louder than thunder, and Talon
covered his ears, only to realize that the noise was inside his head, and
filled him. He wanted to scream from pain, only with the strongest of
efforts did he stop himself.

The haze in the room coalesced into a green, glowing form, which
formed a face like a dog's on the body of a man. He, or it, wore clothing
that could possibly be described as Egyptian, but probably could not be
described as especially warm. The being asked in a voice like lead dipped
in honey: "Who has called me forth?" It tilted its head, took in the
candles, and Owen standing beside the woman.

"Oh. You two."

They both kneeled momentarily, and rose again.

"My Lord Anubis," said the woman, "You have come tonight for this
child?"

"Yes." It stretched forth a hand towards Daniel.

Instinct screamed inside Talon, telling him to rush forth, protect his
child. A warning look from Owen told him that would possibly be the last
mistake he could ever make.

"We wish to strike a bargain," said Owen.

"I do not bargain. I do not make deals. I am the ultimate justice. I am
the final mercy."

"You struck a bargain with me once," said the woman.

"Yes," Anubis said, the voice faltering for a microsecond. "That was
long ago."

"And yet you still honor it."

"I honor that which I swear," he said.

"The child is special," said Owen. He glanced at Talon furtively. "He
has a destiny, or could. See for yourself." Destiny?

The being leaned over the baby for a long moment. "I have taken
those with destiny before this. Many a would-be king has come to me
before taking his throne."

"This is different," said Owen.

"I fail to see how," said the being, and there was a touch of impatience
in the voice.

"We make the standard offer. Life for life," Owen said.

"I do not have to accept the offer," it replied. "A mother offers her life
every day for her children. I do not accept trades."

"Yes you do," said Narcissa, and there was an age in her voice beyond
what Talon had previously suspected, age and grief.

The being considered her for a moment. "Why do you make this
offer, Narcissa? What is this child to you?"

"I can read his life as well as you. There is a future where he may
help restore my family to Avalon. I should like to see that occur."

Anubis nodded. "And you, Puck?"

Owen said, "I owe a favor. This is the payment."

"You pay your debts in blood?"

"When necessary."

Anubis turned to Talon. Fear slipped through him like a blade, but he
held firm before the jackal god. "You are the boy's father."

"Yes."

"You are willing to make the trade? A life for a life?"

He swallowed. "I am."

"It is done."

The thunder crack echoed through the tiny room again, and Talon held
his head, hoping that his death would be quick.

And then came silence.

Talon opened his eyes.

The candles were blinding in their brilliance, and he held his hand
over his face. His hand was still covered in fine dark fur, tipped with the
sharp talons which had given him his new name. So, he was going
through the afterlife as a mutant. At least his son would live.

He looked at Owen and Narcissa, wanted to thank them for allowing
this, wanting to ask Owen to see Daniel back to the Labyrinth for him. He
wondered if they could hear him.

"Hello?" he tried.

"Yes?" asked Owen, straightening his tie.

"You can hear me?"

"Of course I can hear you."

Narcissa, in her old woman form once more, went to her chair, and
picked up Daniel, chucking him under the chin. He opened his eyes, then
giggled. It was the most magical sound Talon had ever heard.

"Oh," he breathed. "I'm glad I got to hear that." He paused. "So, um,
I don't know how this works. Do I haunt people now? I was kind of
expecting a little more ... " He flailed, and then stopped as both Owen and
Narcissa stared at him.

"What on earth are you going on about?" asked Owen.

"Well, I'm dead now."

"No you're not," said Narcissa.

"I'm not?"

"No," said Owen.

"Okay, now I'm confused." He went to his son, and still afraid Daniel
would drop through his arms, took his from Narcissa. He was blessedly
solid, and not going anywhere. "So I'm not dead. What did he mean by
'A life for a life?' I thought I was about to die."

"That is not how it works," said Narcissa, and she looked at Owen,
then shuffled around the room blowing out candles as she went.

"The trade was a life for a life. All three of us made the bargain, and
Anubis accepted. The standard practice is that the first person you see
when you go home will be the one to die."

"WHAT! I didn't agree to that! I agreed to my own death!"

"That wasn't the bargain."

"I don't care! I'm not about to go back and kill off someone I know!"

"You're going to have to eventually," said Narcissa. "It will be
someone from your protectorate, someone you love. If you go out and
look at a random passer-by on the street, nothing will happen to that
person. Only someone who means something to you will suit. That is the
price." She blew out the penultimate candle.

"But I can't ... " Who? One of the others from the Labyrinth? One of
his family? Maggie? The thought of killing her by merely looking at her
drove a cold stake into his stomach, and he sank to the chair. "Oh god."

"It may not be immediate," said Owen, not unkindly. "Death will
come soon, without question, but not necessarily tonight."

"That's why you told Elisa to go back. If she'd been waiting outside
... "

"She still may be," Owen reminded him.

"I can't go back. Ever."

"That is something you must decide for yourself," said Narcissa.
"You can't stay here. I will lead you both out of my territory. Where you
go after that is your own business."

"Thank you," he said, numbly, clutching his child. Daniel squirmed,
trying to get a look around him. "Thank you, for what you did tonight."

She cocked her head. "If that one destiny of his is the one he follows,
that will be repayment for me. I should like to return to Avalon, just once.
But in the meantime, there is one thing you must promise me."

"Name it."

"You live in other tunnels, away from these."

"Yes."

"There are others, not here, but close. My protectorate. Our territory
extends to the Spiral Stairs. Keep your people well away from mine. If
they meet too soon, there will only be sorrow."

"I promise I will do my best to keep our people away." Assuming I
ever see any of them again.

She blew out the last candle.

VVVVV

They parted ways at the top of a long, spiral stairway hacked out of the
stone. Narcissa was spry for a woman of her obvious years, but there was
a weariness about her which Talon suspected was not part of her human
disguise.

"Be well, child," she said to him, and touched Daniel's head softly.
"Raise that boy right. As for you, cousin, I hope to see you again soon."

"Our usual time," he said, and raised a hand. She raised her own,
clasped his, then melted into the darkness.

"I don't know how to thank you," said Talon, as Owen directed him
towards the Labyrinth.

"Tell your sister that my debt to her is repaid. If you choose to go
back." With a nod, he also made his way from Talon and Daniel.

Talon looked down the passageway, the one leading home. Then he
sank down to the cold stone floor with his back against an equally cold
wall, held his child in his arms, and wondered what he was going to do.

Did he dare go home? Could he possibly bear the thought of leaving
right now, taking Daniel, or else leaving him where Maggie was sure to
find him? Could she ever possibly understand that he'd left because he
couldn't bear any other thought?

What if he did? What if he welched on his payment? Would Anubis
come for Daniel anyway?

"Damn damn damn damn," said Talon. Daniel settled in his father's
arms to sleep.

Talon closed his eyes, and tried to decide what to do.

VVVVV

Winterfest was already slowing down by the time Narcissa stumbled
towards the Great Chamber, where it was being held. She held her eyes
closed, guiding her way by feel and smell and sound. She would wait in
the antechamber, where the coats were stored. When one of the older folk
came in to gather his or her things, she would simply open her eyes, and it
would be done. She wondered who it might be: Sebastian, perhaps, or old
Lucy.

The room was warm, even here away from the press of bodies and
firelight inside, and she found a comfortable seat among the coats and furs
and cloaks. From within, she heard children laughing, the squeal of a baby
or two, beneath it all the hum of dozens of conversations, old friends who
saw one another too little. The noise was very soothing.

She woke with a start. Light footsteps moved away from her, and she
cursed herself for being a stupid, sleepy old woman.

The she heard the sound, like a small yawn. Part of her knew what she
would see, but she could not help herself, as she turned her head, and saw
the baby, curled up to sleep beside her in the warm pile of coats.

She stroked his face, as perfect and mysterious as his father's, wisps of
copper hair on his head, and allowed herself a tiny sigh of despair.

"I'm sorry, Micah," she said. Having no other recourse, she picked
him up, and held him on her lap. After a while, she began to sing a lullaby
she'd heard long, long ago. The baby slept on.

VVVVV

The elevator slid open before him, and Owen stepped into the acrid-
smelling corridor. Two woman in blue scrubs walked past him chatting in
low voices, but Owen was not seen when he did not choose to be seen, and
they ignored him entirely. The one sleepy guard on duty recognized him as
someone who could be allowed in the room without question.

Renard stirred as the door opened, stared at him through the dimness,
and perhaps a drugged confusion. His lips moved, forming a name they
both knew.

Then he blinked, fully awake. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"I apologize about the late hour, Dr. Renard," said Owen. "I needed to
see you."

VVVVV

"Talon?" Elisa's voice called him from his sleep. Something in the
back of his mind told him to push her away, keep her safe, and then he
blinked his eyes open. Delilah stood before him, concerned, shaking his
shoulder gently.

"Talon, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Daniel ... " Daniel looked up at him, blue eyes clear
and watchful, more full of life than ever before, and everything flooded
back to him. "Oh god, 'Lilah, get back!" But it was too late, far too late,
even as she backed away in confusion.

"'Lilah, what are you doing out here?"

She looked down and away. "Wanted to get away for awhile. Wanted
to find you." She wasn't being entirely truthful, but there was no time for
that now.

"'Lilah, how do you feel?"

She shrugged. "Okay."

He stood. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep." He watched her. Uncomfortable in his gaze, she wrapped her
wings around herself. "You're weird," she said.

He smiled. "A little, yeah. Come on. Let's go home."

"Okay!" They walked together back towards the Labyrinth. He
couldn't help but continue to sneak glances at her, even as they reached the
party, and Maggie took Daniel from his arms, even as the others gathered
'round to see the miracle, the boy who was going to live. He watched her
all night, only listening with half an ear as he received congratulations
from the clan, whoops of joy and hugs from the other clones. When his
father embraced him with pride, he watched 'Lilah on the other side of the
room, playing with Boo, and part of him desperately wanted to believe that
as long as he kept watch over her, she would be all right.

It would all be all right.

VVVVV
Interlude
VVVVV

"You're certain this is what you want?"

The Queen surveyed them: a scattering of female gargoyles, half of
what they called a clan and still barely more than a handful. She could
recall nights when the sky had been black with wings, and the air filled
with cries. Mortals, not unlike the mortals she knew and loved in the
World, had devastated and destroyed much of the once-noble race. It had
been her observation of this, her contempt for the lack of forethought and
compassion, which had been the final straw long, long ago. Oberon had
called her arrogant, but then, had he not shown his own arrogance in
daring to bring before her another half-mortal bastard?

She shook her head, clearing away the old arguments. They had
reconciled, and here she stood by his side, listening to the petition of these
gargoyles.

"We are certain, Your Majesty," said Angela, and the rest nodded,
some in surer agreement than others. Grief tinged many faces, and fear of
the unknown.

"Then say your good-byes and come forth."

The females broke away from their small grouping, went to the males,
embraced some, touched hands with others. The Guardian touched each of
his foster sons on an arm, a shoulder, a wing. Sorrow lived on every face,
and lined his deeply.

"Guardian," said one of the boys, a tall bald grey, "Dido and I want to
go with you." Beside him stood one of the few females who was not
expecting, a lemon-yellow with matching curls.

"It willna be easy," said Tom. "I don't know even where I'm goin'
just now."

"All the more reason to have friends with you," replied the female.
"Aeneas and I are both tired of just hearing about the World. We want to
see it for ourselves."

"Then ye'll be welcome company." The pair clasped hands in delight,
and then whispered their own good-byes to the clan.

Tom approached a golden-haired male and clasped his arms. "You're
in charge now, Gabriel. I dunna know when I'll return."

"Just promise that you will," he replied.

"Aye."

Familiarity trickled down the Queen's spine, for had she not just made
the same promise to someone as human as Tom? A pattern came complete
to her mind, and sorrow. Tom would keep his promise. With a heavy
heart, she knew that she would not, that she would never again see the face
of her last lover, and so she turned her head away, that Oberon should see
no tears.

VVVVV

Angela readied herself to step through Oberon's mirror, when there
was a hand at her arm. "Not yet," he pleaded.

She stepped back, and allowed him to move her a few paces aside.
"I'm sorry," Gabriel said. "And I love you. I always will."

"I know," she said, and held him. "I can't even promise you that
maybe I'll come back. But you are forever in my heart." She kissed him,
pressing her lips against his, as a sister might. "I do love you. Be happy
for me."

"I am. My sorrow is my own."

She swallowed, then moved back towards the mirror. "Time to do
this."

She stepped into the quicksilver surface, allowed the colors to
surround her, took one glance behind, and saw what she could not before:
Coldstone's face. The part of her that had once been Coldfire trembled
with a mother's love for him, and he passed from her sight.

VVVVV

All was dark, and she did not know where she was, and then the smell
came to her, of humans in close quarters and the ground-in stench of
kerosene, and she knew the Labyrinth.

Angela stumbled against a table, almost spilling food everywhere
before she could stand. Then her eyes focused, and in fear she looked
about her until at last she espied him, amazed and mute at her unexpected
arrival.

"My love," she breathed, and she was in his arms, and she wept for a
thousand years as her sisters arrived, one by one, behind her.

VVVVV

"I don't like this," said Elisa, as Goliath swooped towards the Eyrie
Building.

"You do not have to enjoy it."

"They should be at the castle."

"They are safer in the Labyrinth."

"Look, I don't trust Xanatos any more than you do, but come on."

"Elisa," he said, setting them down on a convenient roof. "Believe
me, I would much rather the eggs hatch in their ancestral home." He
paused; she suspected he was still in a little shock over the news he was
going to be a grandfather. At least he'd stayed conscious. Poor Broadway.

"But we cannot trust our clan's future to him. I will not allow him that
control."

"So they lay their eggs in the Labyrinth, and we care for the eggs there,
and then what? What happens when we have a dozen hatchlings running
around who deserve to be with their clan?"

He bowed his head. "We will consider that when the time comes.
Please, Elisa. Support me in this."

She looked out onto the city. "For now," she said. "But you know
that it means Angela stays away, too."

"I know. But we can visit her often."

There was sorrow in his face at her continued absence, yes, but far
more joy at her safe return.

"Let's go home."

They said nothing else along the way. Elisa's thoughts turned to
Katharine, and Tom. They'd known she'd been at death's door. It was the
very reason Angela had returned to Avalon. Still, the news saddened her,
not for her own loss although she had come to care deeply for the Princess.
She knew Angela would grieve for the mother she'd lost. And Tom ...

Leaving Avalon couldn't be a good idea for him. What she knew of
grief told her the safest place would be among friends, in familiar places,
not wandering the World alone. The Avalon gargoyles had coaxed him
into staying for a little while, and when he did go, apparently two of them
were tagging along to keep watch.

But Elisa worried nonetheless. She could only imagine the pain of
losing her true love forever.

Safe in her lover's arms above the sleeping city, she squeezed his neck
a little tighter. In response, she felt the tightening of his embrace, and
knew peace.

Shortly before dawn, they touched down alone at the top tower. The
others would stay in the Labyrinth for the short day. Goliath kissed her
softly, was interrupted by the buzzing of the telephone over the speaker.

"Somebody will get that," she said, but it continued buzzing, and it
was the house line.

Goliath went downstairs and answered the phone. Elisa felt a warm
sensation as he said, "Hello," in his rich, deep voice.

"I see," he said. "I will tell her." He set the phone into its cradle.

Owen appeared as he set it down, still dressed, Elisa couldn't help but
notice, in what he had worn down to the cave. Moments later, Fox
appeared, with Xanatos behind her, covering a yawn with the back of his
hand. The baby monitor's silence suggested Alex still slept.

"Who was that?" asked Xanatos.

Goliath said nothing, for a long moment.

"Vogel." He looked at Fox. "I am sorry."

As comprehension moved over her face like the tide, Elisa's eyes were
drawn to Owen. He made no movement, only stood there as his employer
wrapped his arms around Fox, who had begun to weep.

VVVVV
Postlude
VVVVV

They knew of beginnings and endings. Their time with the one, the
dancer, was no longer to be a part of their experience, had ended. They
had seen the end of the dancer, of his children, of his children's children,
but before he had become an intimate part of their being. In the now-time,
the promise of his eternal absence from them gave them pause. They had
no use for emotion, but if such a thing could have existed for them, they
would have known a sluggish sorrow rather than this mere quietude of
purpose.

They waited.

As a beacon from a long-dark and distant harbor, they sensed something
new, something real. Another right one stirred above the waters in the vast
rush that was the timestream, and had they known joy, they would have
shouted in delight.

They waited, and floated, knowing without doubt that they would approach
this new right one at the exact right time.

And their long journey would find an ending.

VVVVV

A/N: For clarity's sake, please note that the interludes took place for the most
part before this story, chronologically speaking, but were added for the
sake of the story.