Birthdays
by Anne Jensen 
(ajensen@west.net)

First posted:  Dec. 25, 1996
Last updated:  Sept. 2, 1997

This is the first two parts of the "prequel" to my 
story "Of Enemies and Allies".  It takes place 
about two and a half years after the end of 
Hunters Moon.  Since I've posted the first part 
it's gone through something of an update, so 
those who have read the earlier part might want 
to read through it again to pick up on the 
changes. 

Disclaimer:  Gargoyles and its characters are the 
property of Buena Vista and are used without 
permission.  The rest of the characters in this 
story (with few exceptions) are from traditional 
literature or my own imagination.  This story is 
not written for profit, but purely for my own and 
others' enjoyment.  (Having said this, I hope you 
enjoy it.)

Citation (for those interested):  The Latin Elisa 
reads (or attempts to read) in the library is 
transcribed from The History and Topography of 
Ireland written by Gerald of Wales (because it 
was the only fairly obscure manuscript I could 
find a picture to quote from).  Don't ask me what 
it means.  I know *slightly* more Latin than she 
does, but not much.

Prologue

	"It's called 'Avalon'," Dennis said, "and 
it can only be reached by means of *this* magic 
spell."  He held up a photo of a manuscript page.
	Morris took the photo and looked at it.  It 
was a good picture, but still hard to read.  
Squinting at the letters, he was able to decipher 
them enough to realize that the writing was in 
Latin.  "A magic spell."
	"A place like this couldn't exist without 
magic."
	"If you say so."  Morris decided he didn't 
care how one got there, just so long as he 
*could*.  He looked at the photo again.  "How 
did *you* hear about it?  And why are you 
coming to me?"
	"That spell is from a book called the 
Grimorum Arcanorum.  It was in the family at 
one time."
	"At one time?"
	"It has since been sold," Dennis said in a 
tone that brooked no further questions on the 
subject.  "As for why you, my family thought 
you might be interested."
	"Interested?  Oh yes.  Owning a place like 
that could be *very* profitable.  The possibilities 
are endless."
	"Indeed," Dennis reached for the photo.  
"You could put money in a bank account, spend 
a year in Avalon, and come out a *very* rich 
man--legally.  You could turn it into a resort for 
the rich and famous.  And the endless somewhat 
*less* legal possibilities, of course:  using it as a 
haven from the authorities after your own 
activities, or letting criminals come there--for a 
price."
	Morris nodded, thinking.  "And what do 
you get out of this?"
	"A small share in the profits.  Not too 
much to ask, considering the vast possibilities of 
the place.  There are other things as well, of 
course, but I assure you, nothing you'd miss 
much.  So, are you in?"
	"Of course."  Morris shook Dennis' 
proffered hand.
	"Good."  Dennis flashed a calculating 
smile.  "Now, all you have to do is kick out the 
people living there..."


Part 1


	She stepped up to the doorway and 
watched the group sitting around the table on the 
terrace finishing breakfast.  The two men--one 
dark haired and the other blond--were deep in 
discussion.  The woman, obviously expecting, 
was flipping through a magazine idly, but 
occasionally added a remark to the discussion.  
She watched the group unobserved, or so she 
thought.
	Just as she was about to step forward to 
announce herself, the woman said coldly, not 
even looking up, "Hello, mother."
	The dark haired man jumped up and spun 
around, his face a mask of fury.  "What are you 
doing here?" he demanded, hefting his chair as a 
weapon.  "Not that it matters.  You'll be leaving 
soon anyway."
	"Hello Fox." Titania greeted.  "David, is 
that really necessary?"
	David didn't say anything, but his eyes 
narrowed and he stepped in front of his wife, still 
keeping a tight grip on the chair.
	Titania turned to greet the third member 
of the party.  "Puck."
	The trickster--in his human guise as 
Owen Burnett, as always--bowed gravely and 
responded, "Your majesty."
	Fox levered herself out of her chair.  
"What do you want this time, mother?"
	"Fox, I'm disappointed.  Can't I even 
drop by for a visit without your attacking me?"
	"We haven't thrown anything at you," 
Fox pointed out.
	"Yet," David added.  "And you didn't 
answer the question."
	"How are all of you doing?"
	"Fine until you showed up," Fox said 
shortly.  "Now get to the point mother."
	Titania sighed.  "Very well.  I think it's 
time that Alexander came to Avalon--"
	Fox grabbed a knife from the table, 
hissing, "You aren't taking him."  She placed her 
other hand protectively over her middle.  "Or this 
one either."  David swung the chair 
experimentally.  
	"--for a visit," Titania said firmly.  "Let 
me finish, Fox."
	"Just how long a visit?" Fox asked.
	"Two weeks."
	"Avalon time or our time?"
	Avalon time," Titania said reluctantly.
	"That's almost a year!" Fox exclaimed.  
"There is no way I'm giving up my son to you 
for a year."  She raised the knife about to throw 
it.
	David hooked another chair closer with 
his ankle, and said, "Owen, make sure Alexander 
is all right and right where he should be."  His 
majordomo nodded and left.  A wise plan, 
Titania reflected.  The Puck had a free hand to 
protect Alexander, where here he was bound as 
Owen.
	Titania held up her hands.  "Of course 
you wouldn't.  That's why I want you and David 
to come as well."
	David didn't lower the chair he was 
holding.  "No.  And if that's all you have to say, 
I think you'd better leave."
	Titania sighed again and raised her hand.  
Green light shot out of her hands and surrounded 
her daughter and son-in-law.  They both froze.  
"I apologize, but you *are* coming, if I have to 
bring you by force.  I'd rather I didn't have to.  
Isn't there anything I can do to convince you?"
	"No," David said shortly, "so don't 
bother trying."
	"It would make me--and Oberon--very 
happy."
	"I have no desire to make either of you 
happy.  You can both be miserable for all I care."
	"Making Oberon angry won't convince 
him to alter his decree about Puck, and reinstate 
him as his servant,"  Titania informed him.
	"Owen already has a job."
	"Perhaps for now, he *does* have a job, 
but what about when you and Fox are gone?"
	David smiled.  "We're reinterpreting the 
term "lifetime of service" so that it means *his* 
lifetime--however long that is now."
	"Oh come now, David.  He's one of 
Oberon's Children.  Would you trap him in this 
mortal world--and that mortal body--for the rest 
of his life?"
	"*I* wasn't the one who trapped him in it 
to begin with," David pointed out.  "And he's 
happy here.  Ask him yourself."
	"I imagine your new baby will increase 
his work load considerably."
	"We've given him a raise," Fox said.
	"That was clever of you," Titania 
remarked.
	"Giving him a raise?" David asked, 
puzzled.
	"No, having another child to get around 
Oberon's decree."  Titania instantly regretted her 
comment from the way her daughter and son-in-
law's faces closed up.
	Fox glared as if the only thing preventing 
her from strangling her mother was the force 
shell around them.  "We aren't having another 
child for you, or Oberon, or anyone else."
	"Of course not," she soothed,  
backtracking.  "But I'm sure you thought about 
how another child would offer him more 
opportunities to be the Puck even without 
recourse to Oberon.  After all, Oberon's decree 
forbids him his powers save when "training or 
protecting the *boy*," not Alexander by name.  
Had this new child been a boy, it might have 
worked, but she is not.  So Oberon's decree 
must be altered in any case, now, because as it 
stands, Puck cannot teach your daughter to use 
her skills."
	"Ask him to alter it to include our 
daughter, then," David said.  "I don't see what 
the problem is."
	"He will be more inclined to alter his 
decree if you come to Avalon as I ask.  Then he 
can see the marvelous progress Alexander has 
been making.  It would be a step towards his 
reinstating Puck to his full position.  And it 
would only be for a short visit.  A year in the 
mortal world, true, but only two weeks Avalon 
time.  Is two weeks too much to ask if it would 
help return the Puck's birthright to him?"  She 
knew she had them with that one.  David was too 
devoted to his friend and servant not to want to 
help him.
	David refused to give in that easily.  
"We'll think about it.  Come back in a few weeks 
and we'll let you know."
	"I had planned for you to come this 
evening."
	"Impossible!"  David exploded.  "Even if 
we'd decided we were going we couldn't get 
everything ready by then!"
	"I'll be happy to provide you with 
clothes, and anything else you might need."  
	"In case you haven't noticed, your 
daughter is expecting, and the baby's due any 
day.  This isn't exactly a good time for Fox to be 
traveling, especially to a place where there isn't a 
doctor."
	"We have plenty of competent midwives 
on Avalon, and if none of them are to your 
liking, I could bring in Fox's own doctor."  
Titania hastened to reassure him.
	Fox gasped, eyes going wide in sudden 
realization.  "David, don't you see?  That's why 
she wants us to come right now!  She wants the 
baby to be born on Avalon!"
	David cocked an eyebrow, "Well?"
	Found out.  But they would have figured 
it out sooner or later.  Fox and David were both 
intelligent people.  Titania shrugged.  "Very well, 
I admit that I want the child to be born on 
Avalon.  But where is the harm in that?  The 
child must be born *somewhere* after all."
	"And if I don't want my baby born on 
Avalon?"  Fox asked, a threatening tone in her 
voice.
	Her mother sighed.  "Fox," she said in 
her most "be reasonable" tone, "I've already said 
you can bring whatever doctors you want.  Why 
*not* have the baby in Avalon?"
	Fox's mouth opened and closed.  David 
stepped into the breach.  "After what you did 
shortly after Alexander's birth, I don't want you 
anywhere near the birth of our next child."
	"This time we'd be on Avalon already, so 
there would be no question of taking her from 
you to bring her there."
	"How do we know we could take her 
home again--and Alex-at the end of this little 
'visit'?  You've already said that Owen currently 
can't train our daughter in the use of her powers, 
which means that she's in the same position Alex 
was."  David's eyes narrowed suspiciously.  "By 
visiting Avalon, we abandon all of our defenses 
and place ourselves right on your home turf.  
What's to stop you from trying to keep them 
both?"
	"I promise you, you will be able to bring 
your children home again."
	He shook his head.  "Not good enough.  
we want something a bit more solid than your 
word.  Something that can stand up to Oberon."
	"How about the honor guard of Avalon?  
The gargoyles came to your aid when you fought 
to keep Alexander, and helped turn the tide for 
you.  Will they do?"
	Fox looked pensive.  David shook his 
head again.  "Gargoyles turn to stone by day, 
which would leave us defenseless while the sun 
was up."
	Titania thought she knew where this was 
leading.  But Puck had been exiled from Avalon, 
and although Oberon's mood had improved, it 
hadn't improved enough for him to revoke *that* 
decree.  That would take more time.  Perhaps 
there was another way, however.  "What about 
Detective Maza?"
	"What about her?"  Fox demanded.
	"She, Princess Katherine, and Tom--the 
Guardian, were instrumental in defeating Oberon 
and convincing him to permit the Gargoyles to 
remain on Avalon.   I believe that counts as 
'standing up to Oberon'.  If she came to Avalon, 
would you?"
	She could see the two of them thinking it 
over and released the force shell around them as a 
gesture of good faith.  If this didn't work, she'd 
have to bring them by force.  
	Their reaction wasn't quite what she had 
expected.  David laughed, and Fox smiled and 
said, "I don't think you'll have much luck 
convincing her to go to Avalon.  She still 
complains about the long boat ride home."
	"You haven't answered my question.  If 
she went as a safeguard against our stealing your 
children, would you go?"
	David thought about it a minute, and 
looked at Fox, who cocked an eyebrow back at 
him in response.  "Okay.  If you can convince 
her to go back to Avalon, we'll go for this 'two 
week' visit of yours."  His smile indicated that he 
thought there was a better chance of Puck 
returning to Avalon than Elisa Maza.
	"How will you convince her to come?" 
Fox inquired.
	"Leave that to me."

	Detective Elisa Maza didn't notice the 
people standing in front of her desk until the 
shadows covered the report she was filling out.  
She raised her eyes to see three men dressed in 
business suits.  One of them *looked* familiar, 
but she couldn't quite place him.  
	The one who looked familiar smiled at 
her, "Elisa, so good to see you again."
	Elisa gave him a puzzled smile.  "Excuse 
me, but, do we know each other?"
	The man in the business suit laughed.  "I 
should hope so, my lady.  You woke me from 
my centuries long sleep."
	"Your majesty!"  Elisa stood up so 
quickly that her chair fell over behind her.  Now 
that he'd said it, she recognized him.  "I 
apologize, but you look so different in a suit."  
She bowed quickly, and turned to pick up the 
chair.
	"No apology necessary, my lady.  I 
understand."  He inclined his head towards her.  
"Allow me to introduce my companions.  This is 
Sir Gawain."  
	The man on Arthur's left shook her hand.  
His hair was almost the same color as King 
Arthur's, although it was cut more 
conventionally.  "Good to meet you, Detective 
Maza."
	"It's good to meet you too, Sir Gawain."
	"Please, just call me Gawain.  My uncle 
has told me a lot about you and your friends."
	"Uncle?" she asked Arthur.
	"Gawain is the direct descendant of my 
nephew Gawain, so we simplify the form of 
address."  He gestured at the man on his right.  
"And this is Sir Lancelot."
	"Ah, my lady," Sir Lancelot reached for 
her hand and kissed it.  "Your beauty outshines 
the sun.  Your hair is like a raven's wing, and 
your eyes like bright topazes."
	"Uhh, thanks."  Elisa pulled back her 
hand.
	"Don't mind Lance," Gawain informed 
her, with a tolerant smile at his fellow knight.  
"He's always like that."
	"I see."  Elisa also saw the curious eyes 
of the other police officers watching the 
exchange.  "Would you like some coffee?"
	Arthur had also seen the curious stares of 
the others in the room.  "A wonderful idea."  
	"Good.  I know this great place down the 
street."  Elisa quickly straightened her desk.  The 
report had waited this long, it could wait a little 
longer.  Besides, she could really use the coffee.  
It had been a long night, and she still had more to 
do before she could crawl into bed.  
	"Elisa, what's going on?"  She glanced 
up to see Matt walking over, with Jason 
Canmore wheeling along beside him.
	"These people aren't bothering you, are 
they?" Jason asked, fixing a menacing stare at 
Lancelot that said wheelchair or no wheelchair, 
he was still more than capable of ripping him 
apart with his bare hands.
	"Matt, Jason."  Elisa tried to head off 
conflict.  "You're just in time to join us for 
coffee."  She added in a low voice.  "This isn't 
the place to get into involved explanations."
	Matt and Jason nodded, and the six of 
them headed for the door, only pausing for Matt 
to grab his coat off of his chair as they passed.

	After they were all seated at a comfortable 
table in the cafe down the street, Elisa made 
introductions.  "Your majesty, I'd like you to 
meet my partner, Detective Matt Bluestone, and 
my friend Jason Canmore.  Jason helps out at the 
station.  Matt, Jason, this is King Arthur."
	Matt and Jason looked at each other and 
back at her.  "You're serious?" Jason asked, 
sounding as if he wasn't quite sure what he'd 
just heard.  
	"Perfectly."  
	Jason turned to Matt again, still looking 
as if he couldn't believe his ears.  "She's 
serious?"  Matt just shrugged.
	Elisa sighed, somewhat disgusted.  
"Your family hunted gargoyles for centuries, and 
you have trouble believing that this is King 
Arthur?"
	"Elisa, that was different.  Gargoyles I 
could see.  But King Arthur?  Matt, what do you 
think?"
	Matt laughed.  "I've spent years chasing 
the Illuminati.  If I can believe in them, believing 
in King Arthur is nothing.  Besides, she's 
already told me about him and her adventures."
	Jason gave in.  "If Elisa says you're King 
Arthur, I believe you're King Arthur.  I suppose 
these two are your knights?"
	Arthur nodded.  "Sir Gawain, and Sir 
Lancelot."
	Elisa sat back and sipped at her cup of 
coffee.  "So, your majesty, what brings you back 
to New York?  Hudson and Brooklyn said that 
you and Griff were on a quest for Merlin."
	"And still are, I'm afraid.  It has been 
during this quest for my old mentor that I 
discovered Gawain and Lancelot.  But when I 
visited the ruins of my castle, I discovered my 
old treasure cache, and realized that even without 
my mentor, I need to be prepared to live in this 
world.  So I used some of my old treasure to 
start my own company."
	"How did I know that was coming?" Matt 
wondered.  "Xanatos Enterprises.  Nightstone 
Unlimited.  Families who have been storing up 
money for centuries.  Am I the only person 
around here who doesn't have a fortune hidden 
away somewhere?"
	Elisa stepped on her partner's foot.  "You 
have your own company now?"
	"Something of a conglomerate.  It's 
called the Pendragon Corporation.  I'm starting 
up an office in New York, which is why we're 
here."
	Jason nodded now.  "I've heard of the 
Pendragon Corporation.  People joke about how 
its founder came out of nowhere with the name 
of Britain's most famous king.  I wonder what 
they'd think if they knew the truth."
	"I try to keep a low profile.  But most 
people aren't inclined to believe that I'm the same 
king who lived 1500 years ago, so as long as I 
don't *claim* to be the same Arthur, no one 
suspects."  Arthur smiled at Jason.
	"How's Griff?" Elisa asked.
	"Griff is fine, and asleep at the building I 
now own here.  I'm hoping that you and your 
friends can join us there tomorrow night.  And 
perhaps on a regular basis, if they need a place to 
stay.  I noticed the state of your clock tower.  
Your friends *are* well, are they not?"

	Jason stared down at his coffee cup as 
Elisa assured Arthur that the clan was fine.  "And 
actually, they have a place to sleep now."
	"Good.  Perhaps you can tell me what 
happened."
	Elisa took one look at Jason and started to 
explain, but Jason cut her off.  "My family 
hunted gargoyles for centuries.  Or rather, we 
hunted *one* gargoyle, the one called Demona, 
and simply killed every gargoyle we came 
across.  We blew up the clock tower three years 
ago in an attempt to kill Goliath's clan.  
Thankfully for all humanity, they survived and 
were able to stop Demona's attempt to destroy all 
the humans on earth.  And my sister and I 
realized that the gargoyles are not our enemies.  
At a terrible cost, but we learned."  He saw 
Arthur glancing at his wheelchair and answered 
the unspoken question.  "Yes, I lost the use of 
my legs in that fight, but the real price was my 
brother."
	"I too, have lost loved ones in battle."  
Arthur's face took on a distant look as if 
remembering those lost all of those centuries ago.
	Jason hastened to correct him.  "No, it 
isn't like that.  Or not quite.  My brother was the 
only one of us who thought that hunting 
gargoyles was wrong.  But when he thought I'd 
died, he changed.  He refused to believe any 
good of the gargoyles, and took off during the 
fight, swearing vengeance on the demon.  My 
sister and I haven't heard from him since."
	The table was silent for a minute.  Elisa 
laid her hand on Jason's.  Bluestone was the first 
one to break the silence, yawning, despite the 
coffee.  "We should get back," he said, checking 
his watch.
	"Of course."  Arthur rose and offered his 
hand to help Elisa up.  "Shall we see you 
tomorrow night, my lady?"
	"I need to check with Goliath, but I think 
they can make it.  I'll have to talk with my 
Captain before I can go."
	Arthur handed Elisa a business card.  
"Call us if you can.  And, of course, your partner 
and Mr. Canmore are both welcome to come as 
well."
	"You certainly seem to have adapted to 
this world quickly," Elisa commented dryly.
	"Difficult times, detective."  But he 
smiled as he said it.
	Jason was the first one out the door, and 
he gazed broodingly down the street at the clock 
tower as he waited for Elisa and Bluestone to 
exit.  The outside was covered in scaffolding--no 
wonder Arthur had noticed it.  The repair work 
was being financed by the Canmore family bank 
accounts, which were more than able to handle it.  
Paying for the repair of the building hadn't been 
a part of his or Robyn's sentence, but it was 
something they had felt they owed the Police 
Department and those who'd been in the 
building.  But even that wasn't making some 
members of the force look at him without 
animosity.  
	It was no more than he deserved.  Thanks 
to his injury, the fact that he'd saved Elisa, and 
his plea of guilty, he'd gotten off with only 
probation and some community service working 
with delinquents and gang members.  That 
miraculously light sentence wasn't punishment 
enough to satisfy many of the officers.  As far as 
he was concerned, though, the only opinion that 
mattered was Elisa's, and she supported him 
completely.  
	But the almost palpable sense of anger 
surrounding him whenever he entered the 
building was starting to wear on him.  It had 
been three years since they'd blown up the 
station--well, two and a half.  He'd hoped that 
some of the anger would have dissipated in that 
time.  He was slowly coming to accept the idea 
that it never would.
	He was beginning to understand what it 
must be like to be a gargoyle.  Never universally 
accepted, always having to face fear and hatred, 
even from those he was trying to help.  
	The press conference he and Robyn had 
set up had been designed to help stem the city's 
anger about the gargoyles.  Their confession that 
*they* had been the ones responsible, in an 
attempt to destroy the gargoyles (a mistake the 
city could learn from, they'd pointed out), 
combined with Captain Chavez's firm insistence 
that she'd never seen a gargoyle (and wasn't 
quite sure they existed), but that most of her 
reports about them showed that they were 
helping put an end to crime in the city, had turned 
the tide enough so that the whole city was no 
longer out to destroy them.  Besides, gargoyles 
were yesterday's news.  To be sure, there were 
still a few pockets of people who wanted to 
destroy the gargoyles, but there were also a 
number of people who took a certain amount of 
pride in them.
	Looking at the clock tower reminded him 
of something, however.  He checked his watch.  
	"Coming, Jason?" Elisa asked.  
	"No.  I'm visiting my sister this morning, 
and I'm late.  Or I will be if public transportation 
is as slow as it always is."  Robyn, whose 
sentence hadn¹t been as light as his own, counted 
on his visits to brighten up her days in prison, so 
he tried to be prompt.  He started wheeling down 
the street in search of a taxi, or even a bus to get 
him closer to the prison than he was now.
	"I'll tell Captain Chavez where you 
went," Elisa said.  
	"Thanks," he called back over his 
shoulder.
	Arthur stepped forward.  "Excuse me, 
Mr. Canmore, but can I offer you a ride?"
	That stopped him.  Elisa was too busy 
with reports to be able to give him a ride there, 
which was why he'd been about to find 
alternative transportation.  But if Arthur took 
him, he might be able to make it there on time.  
"Uhh.  Sure."
	"Excellent.  My car is this way."  

	They parted company in front of the 
police station.  Elisa stood on the steps and 
watched Arthur and Jason go off together, with 
Gawain and Lancelot behind them, a small smile 
on her lips.  She knew very well about the air of 
anger surrounding the station whenever Jason 
was around which was often because of his 
community service.  He said that it didn't bother 
him, but Elisa was almost certain that 
somewhere, deep down, it did.  He needed more 
friends.  And from the looks of things, he'd just 
made another one.
	She headed into the building to see Matt 
coming back out of it.  "Where are you going?  
We still have reports to finish."
	"Nope.  *You* have reports to finish.  
*I* finished before we left for coffee, and just 
had to drop them off.  And now, I'm heading 
home for some well earned sleep."  He yawned 
theatrically.
	Elisa glared at her partner, who waved 
and said, "See you tonight," as he sauntered off 
down the street.
	Elisa rolled her eyes at his retreating 
back, but she couldn't blame him for the fact that 
she still had reports to finish.  And getting angry 
at him was a waste of time she could be using to 
finish up, so *she* could go home and get some 
sleep.

	An hour later, she was ready to give up 
on the idea of going home, and just sleep at her 
desk.  *Except that it's too noisy here with the 
construction,* she reminded herself.  At least the 
reports were done, though.  She stood up and 
stretched.  Now all she had to do was turn them 
in, and...
	"Ah, Detective Maza," someone said 
from behind her.
	*Is the whole world dropping by my 
desk this morning?* she wondered, concealing a 
grimace at this new interruption.  She slowly 
turned around--
	--and quickly reached for her gun.  Her 
fingers had just closed around it when she 
remembered that she was inside the station and 
drawing her gun on an apparently unarmed 
woman was probably not a good idea there.  No 
matter how dangerous she knew the woman was.  
	She kept her hand on it, though, just in 
case her visitor tried something.
	"Can I help you with anything?" she 
asked, adding, "Your majesty," as an 
afterthought.  *No point in getting off on the 
wrong foot with her right away.  Not if she's as 
powerful as I remember.*
	The woman who had called herself 
"Anastasia Reynard" in the form she now wore, 
smiled and said, "As a matter of fact, you can, 
Detective.  My lord Oberon is holding a 
celebration."
	"How nice." Elisa said sarcastically.  
"Have a good time."
	"It's a rather important celebration.  One 
which requires the presence of the honor guard 
of Avalon.  All of them."
	"All of them?" Elisa asked, genuinely 
puzzled for a moment before it registered that "all 
of them" included the clan here in Manhattan.  
"And I suppose you want me to pass along the 
message to Goliath?"
	"I want *you* to come as well."  Titania 
said.
	"Me? Why me?"
	"Are you not a member of Goliath's 
clan?"
	Elisa spluttered, "Well, I suppose, from a 
certain point of view--"
	"And were you not present when my lord 
decreed that Goliath's clan would be the honor 
guard of Avalon?" Titania continued.
	"Yes, but--"
	"So of course you will be joining us," the 
form of Anastasia Reynard said firmly, as if it 
had all been decided.
	Elisa tightened her grip on her gun.  "I 
don't think so.  I don't want to go, and you can't 
bring me.  Oberon doesn't permit you to interfere 
in human affairs."
	Anastasia smiled.  "That would be true if 
you were just any human.  But you are part of 
Goliath's clan and Avalon's honor guard, so 
different rules apply."
	Elisa's eyes narrowed.
	"Did you so detest your sojourn on 
Avalon, then?" Titania asked.
	"Oh Avalon itself is nice enough.  It's 
just the other things I didn't enjoy as much, like 
the fight with the Archmage, and then the fight 
with Oberon, not to mention the months it took 
us to get home."
	"And did you not enjoy the places you 
visited?"
	Elisa privately had to admit that she'd had 
fun.  She'd been to six of the seven continents, 
some of the biggest tourist spots in the world, 
and had even managed a quick visit with her 
sister at school.  All in all, not a bad trip, just a 
long and dangerous one.  But no matter how 
much fun it had been, she was *not* going to put 
herself through it again.  They could have been 
killed at any one of those places they'd visited, 
and never made it home.  "Thanks, but if I want 
another world tour, I'll take a plane and figure 
out my itinerary *before* I go, not a skiff 
directed by an island.  And I *won't* be gone 
from my home for months."
	"If you come to Avalon willingly, I'll 
send you home directly.  I'll even let you come 
home for visits."
	"And if I'm not willing to go to Avalon?"  
Elisa pulled the gun out of its holster, still 
keeping it under her jacket.  She didn't really 
want to hurt the woman standing before her, but 
she wanted to be ready in case Titania threatened 
her.
	"You *will* come, if I have to have you 
brought there by force."  
	That was threat enough for Elisa.  She 
pulled the gun out.  "Not if I can help it.  I know 
your weaknesses, remember.  So you can plan 
your party without us."
	"True, you do know our weaknesses.  
But can you defend against us constantly, day 
and night?"  Anastasia/Titania shrugged.  "I'd 
rather not have to force you.  
	Elisa tried reasoning with her.  "You 
already have an honor guard on Avalon.  Why do 
you need more--and me?"
	"The celebration is in honor of Fox and 
her family coming to visit Avalon.  They won't 
come unless they have some assurance that she 
and David can come home with their children.  
Gargoyles turn to stone during the day."
	"So you want me along because I can 
make sure that no one steals their children while 
the sun is up."  
	"Precisely.  As you said, you know our 
weaknesses."
	*And a lot of good that's doing me right 
now.*  Elisa scowled.  "Just how long is this 
visit?"
	"Two weeks."
	Elisa did some quick figuring.  336 days-
-almost a year.  "You want me to go to Avalon 
for a year."  It was more a statement than a 
question.
	"I did say I'll let you come home for 
visits if you come willingly."
	"Goliath won't be happy about leaving 
New York unprotected for a year."  The clan had 
fewer defenses right now in the daylight than she 
did.  Which meant that if she wanted, Titania 
could use them to force Elisa to come to Avalon.
	"We can work something out," Titania 
assured her.  "So, are you coming?"
	"I don't have much of a choice, do I?"  
Elisa said sullenly.  Titania had her outnumbered, 
outgunned, and outmaneuvered.  With the clan in 
the middle.
	"Excellent.  We'll leave from the top of 
the castle, at midnight tonight."  
	Elisa nodded--more a gesture of defeat 
than agreement--and the form of Anastasia in 
front of her faded in a green flash of light.  Elisa 
tucked her gun away and collapsed back in her 
chair.  No one around them seemed to have 
noticed the little altercation.  Which was 
unsurprising, and something of a relief.  She had 
enough problems to deal with now, she didn't 
need any more.  Her eyes fell on the reports 
she'd just finished.  *And to think, I'd hoped I 
could get some sleep after I finished them.*  
With the number of things she now had to do 
before midnight, the possibility of her getting any 
sleep today had almost completely vanished.  She 
gathered up the reports and went to talk to 
Captain Chavez.  She might as well get started.  

	"You need what?"  Captain Chavez 
asked.
	"Actually, it would be more like the next 
336 days," Elisa said.
	"This wouldn't have anything to do with 
the time you disappeared after that guy in armor 
came to visit?"  Captain Chavez asked 
suspiciously.
	Elisa sighed.  They'd been through this 
before.  "I'm good friends with Tom and 
Katherine's family, and they needed my help.  
Some people were trying to evict them from their 
home."  Yeah, like a powerful mage who'd been 
born over a thousand years ago, and the lord of 
Avalon, who was even older.  
	Maria Chavez shook her head.  She 
hadn't entirely bought the story three years ago, 
and didn't really buy it now, but she didn't press 
the matter.  "I don't know, Detective.  In order to 
give you a year--or 336 days--off, I'd need more 
of a reason than your asking me."
	Elisa had a new idea.  "What would you 
say if I told you that Titania, the queen of 
Avalon, ordered me to go?"
	"I'd say you've been working too hard, 
and needed a vacation."
	Elisa stood up.  "Great.  I'll try to come 
back for visits, but I'm not sure how that will 
work, yet.  I'll call you when I'm in town."  She 
headed for the door.
	"Detective," Captain Chavez called, 
"Where *are* you going, really?"
	"Avalon." Elisa said shortly.

	Elisa turned her key in the lock, and 
pushed open the door.  The security guard at the 
desk looked up at her approach.  She waved at 
him.  "Hi Harve."
	"Evening, Detective."  The guard went 
back to whatever he'd been doing.  
	Elisa put down her bag long enough to 
tuck her key back into her pocket.  The key had 
been a gift from Xanatos two Christmases ago.  
Not that she needed one to get into the Eyrie 
Building.  The security guards all had orders to 
let her in at any time, day or night, whether the 
door was locked or not.  But the key made it 
official.  She wasn't at Xanatos' mercy as to 
whether or  not she could visit her friends.  
	As she tugged the strap on her duffel bag 
higher on her shoulder she noted that Harvey 
hadn't commented on that.  Probably because he, 
like Captain Chavez, felt there were things he 
was better off not knowing.  Elisa was grateful 
for her captain's studied blindness.  It meant that 
she hadn't questioned her too closely about the 
whole Avalon thing today.
	And she'd faced too many questions as it 
was.  She hadn't been about to make the same 
mistake as last time.  She'd made certain that her 
family knew where she'd be going.  When she'd 
first told her parents, her mother had insisted on 
going along--just in case there were any 
unforeseen difficulties.  It had taken all her 
powers of persuasion to convince her mom that 
there wasn't going to *be* any trouble.  What 
could happen on Avalon now that Oberon was 
back?  And she wouldn't be taking a boat home, 
this time, so she wouldn't be ending up chasing 
were-panthers through the Nigerian jungle again.  
Her father's response had been even simpler--
he'd told her that it was a bad idea to go in the 
first place, but that she was too stubborn for him 
to argue with her.  They hadn't let up until they'd 
had every detail she could give them, but they'd 
ended by wishing her a good trip.  *They're 
getting better about accepting the weirdness,* she 
thought to herself.  
	Her visit to her brother had also been 
somewhat less than ideal.  He hadn't been 
satisfied until he'd had the whole story either, 
and then had offered to help her fight off Titania 
and any of Oberon's children who wanted to 
drag Elisa back to Avalon.  She'd had to call on 
her powers of persuasion again to convince 
*him* that Oberon was a bit more than he and the 
other Mutates could handle.  But he had 
promised to take over patrols for Goliath while 
they were all away.  
	Matt hadn't been quite as demanding--but 
then, Matt had been asleep when she'd called.  
She hadn't even been sure that he'd remember 
the conversation later.  He'd closed with,"Right, 
Elisa.  You're going to Avalon for a year.  See 
you when you get back," and then he'd yawned 
and hung up. Oh well, if he didn't remember, 
Jason or Derek could fill him in.
	By the time she'd called Jason, she'd 
been barely able to keep her eyes open.  
Thankfully he'd sensed that and kept the 
conversation brief.  After she'd sketched an 
outline of what she'd be doing for the next few 
months, he'd let her go, extracting a promise to 
tell him the whole story when she got back.  
	Even with packing, she'd managed to 
catch a brief nap before coming over.  All things 
considered, this wasn't such a bad start for the 
trip.  The way things had been going, she could 
probably use a vacation .  And Avalon *was* 
one of the most beautiful places she'd ever seen 
on all of her journeys--other than the Manhattan 
skyline, that is.
	Fox was waiting for her when the 
elevator doors opened on the castle level.  
"Detective," she said.  "We didn't think you'd 
come."
	Elisa shrugged.  "Yeah, well, I didn't 
have anything better to do.  Besides, it'll be nice 
to see Tom, Princess Katherine, and the rest of 
the clan again."
	"How did she convince you?" Fox asked.  
"You've defeated her--or Oberon, at least--
before.  You know where she's vulnerable."
	"And she knows where I'm vulnerable.  
It was a draw.  In any case, she promised to send 
me home for visits, and then again at the end of 
this trip.  If I'm going to go to Avalon anyway, I 
might as well get home directly instead of taking 
a boat all over the planet."
	"She told us that it would help get Owen 
back into Oberon's good graces."
	Elisa cocked an eyebrow.  Fox noticed 
and added, "You realize that she wants the baby 
to be born there?"
	"I'd guessed."
	"I still have nightmares about Oberon 
trying to take Alex out of his cradle.  All we 
could do was slow him down.  And if Goliath 
hadn't spoken up when he did, we would have 
lost him.  If I have to go to Avalon to make 
certain he and my mother won't try that again, 
then I'll go."
	Elisa nodded.  
	Fox glanced out the window.  "I have a 
few more things to do, and it's nearly sunset, so 
I won't keep you."
	Elisa climbed the stairs to the tower 
warily.  The clan had been living here for almost 
three years now, and she still wasn't sure that 
she wouldn't one day come up these stairs to find 
them smashed into rubble.  Xanatos *seemed* 
sincere enough, and no harm had come to them, 
*yet*, but Elisa still didn't trust him, and 
probably never would completely.
	As always, her fears proved groundless.  
Seven proud statues stood in the fading light of 
sunset.  Breathing a sigh of relief, she leaned 
against a crenelation and waited for them to 
awake.  A soft sound on the stairs made her turn 
back quickly, hand reaching for her gun.  
	"Alex," she said, relaxing.  "You startled 
me."
	"Sorry Elisa."  The little boy padded out 
to where she stood.  
	Elisa smiled.  It wasn't Alex's fault that 
she didn't entirely trust his parents, and she was 
genuinely fond of the boy.  Ruffling his hair, she 
asked, "Isn't it your bedtime?"
	Alex wrinkled up his nose.  "I just 
wanted to see them wake up," he said, 
completing the ritual conversation they 
exchanged almost every night from the very first 
time Alex had escaped his nursery to "watch the 
gar'gles wake up".  Elisa smiled even wider and 
scooped him up so he could see the gargoyles on 
the lower level better, without risking falling over 
the edge.  As they waited, Elisa asked, "So, are 
you ready for your big trip?"
	Alex nodded, excited.  "I've been 
packing."
	"Did you remember everything?"
	The little boy nodded solemnly.  "I 
brought my gargie-bear, and Doggie."  He 
continued with his list, which mostly included 
favorite toys.
	"Any clothes?" Elisa wondered.
	Alex looked pensive for a moment.  
"Mommy wanted me to bring along a jacket in 
case it gets cold, but Grandmother said that it 
never gets cold on Avalon.  Does it get cold on 
Avalon?"
	"No, not cold, but it sometimes *does* 
get a little chilly at night.  Like it does up here."  
Keeping a firm grip on him, she waved one hand 
around at the tower.  
	"Then I should probably pack a jacket, in 
case it does."  Alex said seriously.
	"Probably," Elisa agreed.  "What else did 
your grandmother tell you?"
	Alex started to answer, but a loud noise 
interrupted him.  Both of them turned their 
attention to their friends.  The surfaces of the 
seven seamed with cracks, and the gargoyles 
sprang up roaring, their stone skins falling away.
	"Hi guys," Elisa said, holding tighter to 
Alex as he waved enthusiastically down at Lex, 
Brooklyn, Hudson, Angela, Broadway and 
Bronx.
	"Good evening Elisa."  Goliath stepped 
down from his perch.
	"Hi Elisa.  Hi Alex."  The other six 
gargoyles climbed up to the top of the tower.  
She stepped back to give them some room and let 
go of Alex.
	"Hey Elisa, what's with the suitcase?"  
Broadway asked as he climbed over the top.
	"Where're you going?" Brooklyn wanted 
to know.
	"Avalon, and it's not where *I'm* going, 
it's where *we're* going."  
	"*We*?" Broadway wondered.
	"You seven, me, Xanatos, Fox, and 
Alex," Elisa clarified.  "Titania wants Xanatos, 
Fox, and Alex to visit, and the rest of us are 
going along to make certain that they can bring 
their children home at the end of the trip.  She 
dropped by today to tell me that Oberon wants 
the entire honor guard on Avalon for the 
'celebration' in honor of their visit."  She 
scowled slightly.
	Goliath's brow furrowed.  
	"I told her you weren't going to like 
this."
	He sighed.  "I can hardly allow Oberon 
and Titania to steal away Xanatos and Fox's 
children, but I cannot leave this city 
unprotected."
	"I talked with Derek, and he said that he, 
Maggie, and Claw could take over some of it.  
And Titania said that she could work something 
out."  She looked at Alex.  "Perhaps you'd better 
get your grandmother up here to talk about it."
	Alex shook his head.  "She's not *my* 
grandmother, she's Grandmother.  Grandma sent 
her to make sure we got off okay.  Daddy and 
Mommy weren't happy when she came, but she 
seems nice."
	Elisa didn't doubt it, remembering her.  
Actually, if it were Grandmother she was going 
to be dealing with, things wouldn't be so bad.  
*Better her than Titania.*  "Could you get her?  I 
think that we'll need to talk with her."
	"That will not be necessary, child." 
Grandmother stepped up the last stairs and onto 
the tower.  She nodded to Goliath.  "Her majesty 
wished me to convey her invitation to Avalon to 
you personally."
	Goliath bowed gravely.  "I have heard 
her request, and I realize the importance of it, but 
I cannot leave Manhattan."
	"Queen Titania understands this, and 
while, as the honor guard of Avalon, you *must* 
come as her lord has ordered, she would be 
willing to let a few of you return each night to 
watch over the city."
	Elisa could see Goliath thinking about it.  
His decision, whatever it was, would solidify 
hers as well.  If he decided that the clan wouldn't 
go, then Elisa wasn't going either.  Surprisingly, 
he looked at her.  "What do you think, Elisa?"
	"I suppose we can't let them try for Alex 
and the baby," she admitted grudgingly.  "And as 
long as Titania and the others keep their word, 
we don't have to worry as much about 
Manhattan."  Her eyes narrowed and she pointed 
a finger at Grandmother.  Nice old lady or not, 
she wanted this point clear.  "*But* if you folks 
don't keep your end, the whole deal's off."  
*Not that there's much we can do to stop them if 
they're really determined to fight.*  Elisa made a 
mental note to keep an iron bell on hand at all 
times as soon as she got back.
	Grandmother nodded.  "Agreed."  She 
held out her hand to Goliath, who gently shook it 
in the human style.  
	"Do we have to leave right away?"  Lex 
wondered.  "What I mean is, do we have time to 
take care of some stuff first?"
	"We'll leave from this tower at 
midnight," Grandmother informed them.
	"Good.  That gives us time for one quick 
patrol."   Goliath began giving out assignments.  
Elisa smiled as she watched, and tucked her 
hands into her pockets.  "Coming, Elisa?" 
Goliath asked.
	She started to agree--but her hand 
encountered something in her pocket--something 
she'd forgotten about in the rush of things.  She 
pulled out Arthur's business card.  The meeting 
tomorrow night.  She sighed.  "No, I have to 
make a phone call."
	"Who're you calling?" Broadway wanted 
to know.
	"King Arthur's back in town, and now 
heads his own company.  He invited all of us 
over there for a meeting tomorrow night, but I 
don't think we'll be making it now."
	"Not unless he doesn't mind us being a 
year late," Brooklyn commented.

	Elisa put down the phone, and collapsed 
into the chair at the desk.  Xanatos had turned 
over one of the rooms of the castle to the original 
inhabitants, and given them what was effectively 
their own office.  He'd said that it was to keep 
things at the castle running smoothly.  Whatever 
the reason for it, Elisa was grateful at times like 
this.  
	Lex, at the computer, looked over at her.  
"What was that all about?"
	"Since we can't make it to His Majesty's 
party, I thought I'd make sure Jason and Matt 
could go in our place."
	"Can they?"
	"Jason's going.  Matt had already left, so 
I left a message on his machine.  Jason'll call him 
later to pass it along, just in case the message 
doesn't get through."
	"Sounds good."  Lex turned back to his 
computer screen and typed some more.
	"What are *you* doing, Lex?"  Lex had 
returned early from patrols and had been typing 
at the computer screen every since.  
	"Answering my e-mail," Lex answered.  
"I thought I should do that before I left."  An e-
mail account had been part of the office, but Lex 
was the only one who made much use of it.
	Elisa stood behind him, reading over his 
shoulder:  "Nightwing, sorry, but my family and 
I have been called away on urgent business.  I'll 
try to keep in touch, but don't be surprised if you 
don't hear from me for long periods of time."  
"Who's Nightwing?" she asked.
	"Someone I met on the internet.  We're 
both into computers, and we like playing RPGs.  
She lives in Colorado."
	"She?"  Elisa smiled.  
	"She can't get out much.  A birth defect 
makes it hard for her to walk, so she spends a lot 
of time online," Lex said, a touch defensively.
	"I can see why the name Nightwing 
might sound appealing."  Elisa had to ask, 
though.  "Does she know about you?"
	Lex immediately understood what about 
him Elisa meant.  "No.  It isn't important 
anyway.  She lives in Colorado, I live in New 
York.  She doesn't have to know that I'm a 
gargoyle.  That's the beauty of e-mail, Elisa.  
People can talk without ever having to meet face 
to face.  I write mail to people every day who 
may have never even *heard* of gargoyles and 
couldn't care less whether I was one or not.  It's 
my words that count, not my looks."
	*E-mail, the great leveler,* Elisa thought 
to herself, and wondered what it must be like 
carrying on relationships and conversations with 
people she never saw.  For the gargoyles, it 
made a certain amount of sense.  The internet 
was the one place where they could be sure of 
being judged for themselves alone.  She smiled 
again.  "You'd better wrap this up quickly.  
We'll be leaving soon."  She headed out the door 
to be met by Xanatos' majordomo in the hallway.  
	"Miss Maza," Owen greeted, his face 
impassive as always.  There were times when 
Elisa found it hard to believe that this man was 
the human form of Puck, the trickster.  "Mr. 
Xanatos and Fox wanted you to have 
something."
	*If this is them offering to let me move 
in...*  Xanatos had offered to let her move into 
the castle, to be permanently near her friends, but 
Elisa had turned it down.  It was all part of the 
trust thing--she might have a bit more faith in 
Xanatos and Fox than she did four years ago, but 
she still wasn't about to start living in their 
house.  It was enough that she had the key to the 
place.  
	To her surprise however, Owen pulled 
out a cellular phone and handed it to her.  
"What's this for?"
	"Mr. Xanatos wanted to prepare for all 
possibilities.  The phone is so that you can 
remain in contact with people, no matter where 
you are."
	*Or where Avalon takes me.* Elisa 
thought.  But it was a good idea, so she accepted 
it.  If she'd had one of these the last time she'd 
visited Avalon, she could have saved her family a 
lot of worry.
	She met Goliath halfway up to the tower.  
"How was the patrol?"
	He turned back and walked up with her.  
"Quiet.  What did King Arthur have to say?"
	"He understands that we can't make it, 
but he hopes to hear from us when we're in 
town, and he'll reschedule the meeting for when 
we're back to stay."  Elisa shrugged.  
	"That's good news."
	"One of the few bits I've had today," she 
grumbled.  "Going to Avalon wasn't on my list 
of things to do."
	"Nor mine.  But as long as they keep 
their part of it, I'm not too concerned.  Besides, 
we could use the vacation."  He looked at her.  
"As could you.  You've been working too hard 
of late."
	"Captain Chavez said the same thing 
when I asked her for the time off,"  Elisa 
commented, not really arguing, since she'd 
arrived at the same decision herself.  "Do you 
honestly think we can trust her?" 
	Goliath immediately understood which 
*she* Elisa meant.  "I'm not sure that we have a 
choice.  When we fought Oberon here, he would 
have won if we had not been able to convince 
him that leaving Alexander here would be best 
for all concerned.  On Avalon, Angela, Gabriel 
and I were only able to hold him off long enough 
for you, Tom and the Princess to make that iron 
bell."
	"It's a shame we don't have one here."  
Elisa looked around with something akin to 
disgust.
	"Yes.  But even so, there's no telling the 
damage it might do to Puck or Alexander.  And 
we would have to kill him in order for it to be 
effective.  Oberon may be difficult, but without 
him who could keep his children in check?"
	Elisa thought of Raven, Anansi, and the 
Banshee let loose on the world without Oberon's 
laws to keep them from causing too much 
damage and shuddered.  They'd done enough 
damage even *with* his laws.  And now they 
were going to visit the place where they lived.  
Goliath was right, though.  If it came down to a 
fight, Oberon would win--which Elisa knew very 
well.  At least this way, they got to set their own 
terms.  But she didn't have to like it.  "Maybe we 
could talk to Grandmother some more about this.  
I don't think *she'd* lie to us."
	"A good idea," Goliath agreed.  She 
slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and 
the two of them set off to find Grandmother.

	They gathered on the top of the tower as 
it neared midnight.  Elisa was feeling like 
Cinderella.  *Except this isn't a Disney movie,* 
she reminded herself.  *And Titania isn't my 
fairy godmother.*  She was feeling better about 
the whole business, though.  Grandmother had 
told them that Titania was sincere, which was 
probably the best assurance they could have 
under the circumstances.  
	"One minute to midnight," Xanatos 
announced.  
	"Is everyone ready?" Hudson asked.
	Elisa looked around at the others.  Fox 
was holding Alex, who was clutching his gargie-
bear.  Xanatos was conferring with Owen about 
running things in his absence.  Angela was 
describing Avalon to the wide-eyed Brooklyn, 
Broadway, and Lex, with Grandmother adding 
in the occasional comment.  Hudson, who'd 
stopped pacing to ask his question, was looking 
at them expectantly.  Goliath was staring out over 
the city, Bronx at his side.  
	She nodded at Hudson and went to join 
Goliath, patting Bronx absently on the head 
before slipping her hand in the crook of Goliath's 
elbow.  They didn't say anything, both taking 
one last look over the city they protected for what 
might a long time, if Titania didn't keep her 
promise.
	In the distance a clock struck midnight.  
On the last stroke green light flashed.  Elisa 
sighed and turned around, and tried to convince 
herself to have a positive attitude about the whole 
thing.  
	"Good.  I see you're all here." Titania 
said.  "Is everyone ready?" she asked, 
unconsciously echoing Hudson.
	"Before we agree to go, my lady, we 
must settle one thing.  You said that you could 
send a few of us home every night to patrol the 
city," Goliath interposed.
	"Yes, though I think it would be best if 
all of you remained on Avalon until tonight's 
meeting is over.  Starting tomorrow at dawn, I 
will send two of you back here every hour to 
patrol your city."
	"At dawn?"  Hudson asked.  "We'll be 
asleep, then."
	"But here in New York, it will be night," 
Titania pointed out.
	"I see," Hudson nodded.
	"While we're on the subject of going 
back to New York," Elisa stepped in, "You also 
said you'd send me back for visits."
	"And I will," Titania answered.  "You 
need to sleep sometime, and you can do that just 
as easily in New York as Avalon.  I'll send you 
back for the eight hours you'd be sleeping.  That 
way you'll have over a week in New York out of 
every month.  However, I won't start until 
tomorrow night.  I want to give Fox and David a 
chance to see for themselves that I do not intend 
to take their children.  Since your presence on 
Avalon is an assurance of that, I can hardly send 
you home for a visit immediately."
	"Of course."  Elisa wasn't happy about 
having to wait while 24 days passed in the 
outside world, but this definite promise was 
better than nothing.  
	"Now that we've settled those questions, 
shall we go?"  Titania asked.  The rest of the little 
group on the tower glanced at each other.
	"We may as well get this over with," 
Xanatos grunted.
	"Good."  Titania raised her hands, and 
the tower around them dissolved in green light 
which cleared to reveal the throne room of the 
castle on Avalon.
	
	"Welcome to Avalon," Oberon's voice 
boomed.
	"I guess that takes care of whether or not 
he's still mad at us," Elisa heard Brooklyn 
comment.
	On his throne, Oberon extended his hand.  
"We especially welcome the daughter and 
grandson of our queen Titania."
	"That didn't seem to matter much three 
years ago," Fox said dryly but low enough so 
that he wouldn't hear.  
	Xanatos stepped in front of her and Alex.  
"Lord Oberon," he said, granting that much of a 
concession.  "Queen Titania promised that my 
wife, our children and I could leave at the end of 
this little visit.  But I want your word as well.  
Will you let all of us go home at the end of this 
trip?"
	*Don't hold your breath about his not 
being mad at us, Brooklyn,* Elisa thought, 
tensing up in case a fight ensued, and noticing 
the others doing the same.  This might turn out to 
be a very short trip after all.
	"Our queen has promised that you may 
return at the end of two weeks, and as she has 
promised, so will we do.  We will not prevent 
you, your wife, or your children from leaving 
when this visit is over.  So speaks Oberon."
	Everyone--including the Children of 
Oberon--relaxed.  	
	"Tonight we welcome our queen's 
daughter and her family," Oberon's voice 
boomed.  "But we have another reason to 
celebrate.  With the arrival of young Alexander, 
the Gathering is finally complete!"  Appropriate 
forms of cheering arose from Oberon's Children 
as if someone had switched on an "Applause" 
sign.  Oberon waited for the noise to die down 
before continuing.  "We have allowed Alexander 
to remain in the mortal world with his parents on 
the condition that he be trained in our arts, and 
we would see his progress.  Come forward, 
Alexander!"

	Mommy was nervous.  Alex could tell 
from the way she held his hand.  She let go and 
she smiled at him, pretending she wasn't, but 
Alex knew better.  He knew why, too.  If he 
didn't prove to Oberon that he'd learned how to 
use magic, Oberon would keep him and his baby 
sister on Avalon forever.  He wouldn't see 
Mommy, or Daddy, or Owen, or Lex, or 
*anyone* again.  
	He looked around the room at all of the 
strange people.  One of them had a tail like a 
snake and one of them was a big spider, and all 
of these people were waiting for *him*.  
	"Don't worry, Mommy."  He patted 
Mommy's hand the way she sometimes patted 
his back when he got scared about something.  
From the other side of the room, Lex gave him a 
thumb's up sign.  Alex knew what to do.  Owen 
had shown him, and Owen was the best magic 
teacher in the whole world.  
	Alex scrunched up his eyes in 
concentration and disappeared, reappearing in 
front of Oberon and Grandma.  He bowed.  
"Here I am, my lord."  Owen had said to say 
that.  
	"A fair beginning," Oberon allowed.  
"But we would see what else you can do."
	Alex nodded.  Owen'd said to start with 
the small stuff, so he did.  He conjured up 
flowers for Grandma, and he transported Panda 
here, because he'd forgotten to bring him.
	"Parlor tricks," Oberon said.
	Owen'd said he'd say that in the 
beginning, and told him that he should go on to 
the harder stuff.  "I can change my shape," Alex 
offered, and turned himself into a fox.  Oberon 
was a lot bigger when he was a fox, he noticed 
and he turned himself back again.  "See?"
	"Changing our shape is the most basic of 
our skills," Oberon said.  
	"I can change other people's shapes, 
too."  Alex said confidently.  He turned around, 
looking through the crowd.  She was standing by 
Mommy and Daddy, watching him.  Owen had 
told him what to say, but it took a minute to 
remember the exact words.  Pointing his finger at 
her, he said, "Begone Elisa, human born, and be 
no more as you were formed!"  Green light 
flashed around Elisa and when it went away, she 
was a gargoyle.  Elisa looked down at herself 
and shook her head.  Goliath had a little smile on 
his face.  Daddy's smile was bigger, and 
Mommy was laughing.  
	He turned back to Oberon and Grandma.  
"*And* I can do soul transference," he declared.  
	"I think we've seen enough," Grandma 
said.  She was laughing too.  "That was most 
impressive, was it not, my lord?"
	"Child's play," Oberon said.  "Perhaps 
we should keep him here after all, to make certain 
that he learns our arts."
	"But he *is* a child," Grandma pointed 
out.  
	"True," Oberon said.  
	"I think Puck has done a fine job training 
the boy."
	"He still has much to learn." Oberon said 
firmly.
	"But he *has* learned, and will continue 
to do so.  As will his sister in her turn.  There is 
no reason they cannot stay with their parents in 
the mortal world."
	Oberon nodded.  "All true.  Very well.  
Puck will remain the tutor and protector of Fox's 
children, and they may remain with their parents.  
So speaks Oberon."
	"Thank you, Alexander," Grandma said, 
smiling at him.  "You can go back, now."
	He wouldn't have to stay on Avalon!  
Alex jumped into the air, excited, and floated all 
the way back to where Mommy and Daddy were 
waiting.  Daddy caught him out of the air and 
hugged him, and passed him to Mommy.  
Mommy had to put him down, but then she 
hugged him so hard, it hurt.  Alex didn't care, 
though.  He hugged her as hard as he could.

	Fox pressed her lips to her son's head.  
For a minute there, when she'd thought she'd 
lost him forever, her heart had almost stopped.  
But she had him safe again.  She had both of her 
children safe--her daughter, not to be outdone by 
the attention her brother was receiving, was 
giving several kicks as reminders of her 
presence.  Fox didn't mind in the least.  
	Alex wiggled in her arms and she 
loosened her hold on him a bit.  He smiled up at 
her.  "See, Mommy, it's all right."
	David reached over and ruffled their 
son's hair.  "Yes, son, it's all right."
	Fox looked over her son's head at the--
allies? friends?--around them, who would have 
been willing to fight Oberon to bring her son 
back.  Lex had come over and was thumping 
Alex's shoulder, saying, "Hey, way to go, 
Alex!"  Goliath was smiling.  Elisa's grin 
showed fangs, which, with the wings and tail, 
surprisingly didn't look all that strange on her.  
There was one other standing close by, smiling, 
and to her, Fox said three words she never 
thought she'd say:  "Thank you, mother."
	Titania gave her an enigmatic smile, and 
touched her hand to Fox's cheek.  "I'm a mother 
too, Fox."  She turned and headed back to 
Oberon's side.  
	Fox stared after her, just as she had that 
awful night so long ago when her mother and 
Oberon had tried to take Alex.  Alex yawning 
recalled her to things at hand.  
	David leaned down to take him.  "I think 
it's time a certain young man went to bed."
	Alex yawned again.  "Okay, Daddy."  
*Too tired to protest,* Fox thought to herself, 
wishing his sister would settle down a bit.  At 
this rate she'd break a rib.
	"Just a minute," Elisa said.  David and 
Fox looked at her in surprise.  She continued, 
pointing clawed fingers at her wings, "Before 
you go, would you mind taking care of this?"  

	Titania drew her daughter and son-in-law 
off to the side to show them to their rooms.  Elisa 
adjusted her bag on her shoulder for what felt 
like the millionth time, unsure of what to do next.  
Xanatos, Fox, and Alex might have been covered 
by Oberon's greeting, but no one had said 
anything about the visiting honor guard.  
Luckily, salvation came in the form of Princess 
Katherine and Tom, who emerged from the 
dispersing crowd of Oberon's children.
	"Guardian, Princess," Goliath greeted, as 
Angela rushed forward to give her foster parents 
a hug.  "It's good to see you."
	"Under happier circumstances for once."  
Tom said with a smile.  
	Hudson, Brooklyn, Lexington, and 
Broadway were staring, stunned.  They'd known 
of course, but being faced with Princess and 
Tom, alive after all these years, and trying to 
reconcile their memories of these figures with the 
living people in front of them was taking a bit of 
time.  
	Hudson was the first to recover, bowing.  
"Your Highness, 'tis good to see ye after all 
these years.  And Tom--ye've grown well, lad."  
	"Tom?" Brooklyn asked, wonderingly.  
	"It's been a long time."
	"You look so--different!" Lex exclaimed, 
not meaning an insult.
	"But ye look just the same as I remember 
ye."
	"Goliath told us you had names, now, 
but I'm afraid I've forgotten them," Princess 
Katherine said.
	"I'm Brooklyn, now," Brooklyn 
declared.
	"I'm Lexington."
	"I'm Broadway."  Broadway thumped 
his chest proudly.  
	"And my name is Hudson."
	Tom smiled.  "I told ye that names were 
useful things."  
	Elisa smiled as well, watching them all 
laugh together, old friends--no, family, she 
corrected herself--finally reunited.  This reunion 
was a bit more relaxed than the one when Tom 
had come seeking Goliath's help against the 
Archmage.  Perhaps this trip wouldn't be so bad 
after all, for all that it was taking her away from 
the New York streets.  It was at least getting off 
to a good start.
	"Angela!" A red-headed gargoyle glided 
down to join them.  "You're here!"
	"Ophelia!" Angela exclaimed, and quickly 
introduced Hudson, and the Trio to her rookery 
sister.
	It's a pleasure to meet you at last.  And 
it's wonderful to see you again Goliath, Elisa."  
Ophelia turned back to Angela.  "The rest of us 
are outside, waiting for you.  Come on!"
	The two of them went off to see Angela's 
other rookery brothers and sisters, taking the trio 
with them.  Elisa stared after them, her smile 
widening.  *Yup.  A family reunion*    
	Tom laughed.  "They've been planning 
something since Queen Titania first decided she 
wanted her daughter to come here."  
	"You'll be wanting a place to set your 
things," Katherine commented to Elisa, leading 
the way out of the Great Hall as well.
	"How have things been on Avalon since 
we left?" Goliath asked.  
	"Quiet for the most part," Tom answered.  
"I must say, though, that ye certainly stepped on 
his lordship's toes when ye fought him.  He was 
in a temper for days."
	"Tom," Katherine scolded, looking over 
at the Lord of Avalon, on the other side of the 
room, but obviously still a little too close for 
comfort.
	"Nothing serious, mind," Tom amended.  
"But it stormed over Avalon for two days."
	"He doesn't seem to mind so much 
now," Elisa noted.
	"Oh, after the first week, it was as if 
nothing happened," Tom dismissed.  "But no 
one dares mention the name of Puck around him, 
or at least until today.  Lord Oberon does not like 
to be defied by his own servants."
	"I'll keep that in mind," Elisa said.

	For Angela, the corridors were familiar.  
After all, Avalon had been her home for years 
before she'd gone to Manhattan.  And here on 
Avalon, it had been only a month or two since 
she'd left.  They hadn't changed in that time, and 
she made her way through them with ease.  For 
Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington, however, 
this was unfamiliar territory.  She'd have to take 
them on a tour of the castle here, just as they'd 
done for her at Castle Wyvern.  
	This was so exciting.  Finally, the clan 
was together again.  It had taken over a thousand 
years, but here they all were.  Not only was she 
seeing her brothers and sisters again, but she'd 
be able to introduce them to her friends.  What a 
wonderful day this was.  If only her mother...but 
no, her mother would probably try to subvert or 
destroy the clan.  Besides, her mother had been 
out of New York for the past year.  
	"Things are really different here, now," 
Ophelia was saying.  "It isn't that it's hard, being 
the honor guard, but it seems so strange now, to 
have other people living here--not to mention the 
Overlord of Avalon.  And since the people are 
Oberon's Children, it gets even more strange.  
You never know where they'll be or what they'll 
become."
	"If you think it's strange living on 
Avalon, you should try New York," Angela told 
her.  "It's exactly as Goliath and Elisa described 
it to us, big, and full of life.  It's been three years 
in the outside world, I'm still surprised by the 
things I find."
	"It sounds fascinating," Ophelia 
commented.  
	"Oh, New York is great," Brooklyn said, 
finally finding his tongue.  Angela hid a smile.  
Ophelia was the second attractive female gargoyle 
the guys had seen in 1000 years.  But that 
number was about to go up dramatically, very 
soon.
	Judging from the nearness of the door 
leading out to the courtyard, very soon indeed.
	Angela watched their faces as the five of 
them walked into the courtyard to be greeted by 
the collected "eggs", and was pleased to see them 
light up in surprise.  
	"Angela!"  She turned to get her first look 
at her rookery brothers and sisters in what had 
been, for her, if not for them, three years, and 
was a bit surprised herself.
	The castle walls were hung with 
streamers, and someone had set out tables with 
flowers, just as they did when they celebrated a 
Hatching Day--like a human birthday.  Her 
rookery brothers and sisters were gathered 
around those tables.  The sight warmed her heart.  
She loved Manhattan, and she had never 
regretted joining Goliath and Elisa on the skiff.  
If she hadn't, she would never have learned 
about her parents, or met the guys.  But these 
were her oldest friends, and the only flaw to her 
happiness had been that they hadn't been with 
her to share it.  
	And her rookery brothers and sisters 
were obviously just as glad to see her.  She 
barely had time to introduce Broadway, 
Brooklyn and Lexington before she was caught 
up in any number of hugs and greetings.  There 
was one person she didn't see though, and as she 
answered her rookery brothers and sisters, she 
scanned the crowd for him.  Could something 
have happened to him?  But things were so safe 
here on Avalon.  
	"So you like this Manhattan?" asked 
Cordelia.
	"Yes," Angela said, looking behind her 
sister to see if Gabriel was there.  "It's 
wonderful.  There are so many interesting places, 
and so much to do.  We protect a whole city."
	"So wonderful that you regret coming 
home?" a voice behind her asked.
	"Gabriel!" she exclaimed, turning to give 
him a hug, and backed up to see his face better.  
"I could never regret coming home.  I've missed 
you."
	He touched her cheek.  "And I've missed 
*you*, rookery sister."
	"Well, I'm here now, and that's what 
matters."  
	"Who's this, Angela?" Broadway asked.  
	Angela laughed, "So silly of me.  Guys, 
I'd like you to meet Gabriel.  Gabriel, these are 
the Guardian's old friends: Brooklyn, 
Broadway, and Lexington."
	"Pleased to meet you." Gabriel held out 
his hand.  Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington 
each shook it in turn, as Angela looked on, 
smiling.  It looked like the beginning of a 
beautiful friendship.  

	The dawn washed the parapets of the 
castle with light to the accompaniment of the soft 
sound--not unlike that of snow being packed into 
a snowball--of gargoyles turning to stone.  
	"Are they asleep?" Alex whispered to her.  
His face was crunched up in a grin as he said it.  
It was part of their morning ritual, as they 
watched their friends turn to stone, and somehow 
the night never felt over to Elisa unless she heard 
it.  "I think so," she whispered back, tousling the 
boy's hair.  
	Alex giggled and ran to examine the 
sleeping gargoyles, wanting to see the expression 
on each face.
	"Such a sweet child," Princess Katherine 
commented as she, Tom, and Elisa watched him 
run around the statues.  "He puts me in mind of 
the days when the eggs were newly hatched."
	"Yeah," Elisa said, "I'm not fans of his 
parents, but *he's* a great kid."
	"He has the right idea.  It's time for bed."  
Tom declared, covering his mouth as he yawned.  
"Good day, ladies."  He bowed to them both, 
armor clanking slightly, and headed for the door 
back into the castle, to be stopped as Xanatos, 
Fox, and--surprisingly--Coyote, still looking 
unnervingly like a younger version of her father, 
walked through it.
	"Tucking them in?" Xanatos asked, 
turning an eye towards his son who was 
crawling around the sleeping gargoyles as if they 
were playground equipment.
	"Checking to see what expressions froze 
on their faces," Elisa explained.  "It can 
sometimes be really amusing if dawn caught 
them off guard."  
	"I've seen one or two," Xanatos smiled.  
"In fact, I recall seeing one on Goliath's face the 
morning after the Canmores blew up the clock 
tower."  
	Elisa felt her own face turn redden, half-
expecting Katherine or Tom to comment, but, 
mercifully, Katherine only nodded and said, "I'd 
thought we might have a few of them today.  The 
eggs were so busy with their celebration, I 
wondered if they'd even notice the approach of 
the sun.  But they ended it just in time."  She and 
Tom stared proudly around at the collection of 
statuary on the top of the castle, larger than usual 
with the additions of the remaining members of 
the Wyvern clan.  
	"So, what brings you to the castle turrets 
at dawn?" Elisa asked.  "Obviously not to watch 
the morning show."
	"Alex," Fox answered.  "Mother wants to 
show us a few of the 'wonders of Avalon'--
nothing strenuous because of the baby, of 
course--but she wanted us to get an early start."
Alex, finished with his search for odd 
expressions, chose that moment to return.  
	"'Morning Mommy, 'morning Daddy."  
He gave each of his parents a hug in turn.  
	"See anything interesting?" his mother 
asked.
	His head bounced as he said excitedly, 
"There are a *whole* bunch of gargoyles here, 
and Lex and Angela said I could meet *all* of 
them tonight when they woke up."  
	Xanatos hid a smile at his son's 
enthusiasm and picked him up.  "In the 
meantime, your grandmother wants to show us 
the island.  How does a picnic sound?"
	Alex squealed in delight and began 
chattering about the places he wanted to see.  It 
was amazing, Elisa reflected.  All of the fear, 
concern, and outright anger the adults around 
him had been feeling about this trip, meant 
almost nothing to the little boy.  To him, it was 
all an adventure.  
	Suddenly feeling old, she left the happy 
family alone to discuss their day and walked over 
to the low wall around the top of the tower, 
leaning against it as she stared towards the now-
risen sun.
	Someone came up behind her.  "What 
about you?"  Coyote leaned against the wall 
beside her.  "What are you planning for today?"
	She didn't look at him.  "Oh, I don't 
know.  Probably sleep, like Tom and Katherine.  
I don't want to intrude on the family event that 
Lady Titania's set up, and there really isn't much 
else to do here."
	"Why not come for a walk with me?" he 
offered.  
	She looked up at him, startled.  "I don't 
know," she hedged.
	"You said it yourself, it's not like you 
have anything better to do.  Come on, it'll be 
fun."
	Elisa didn't like the raffish grin on his 
face as he said that last bit, but he was right--she 
didn't have anything else to do with the 
Xanatoses off with Titania and Tom and 
Katherine going to sleep.  All in all it was 
shaping up to be an incredibly boring day, and 
she wasn't looking forward to watching the 
hours crawl by here, only being able to think 
about how days were passing back home.  A 
walk with Coyote would be a distraction from 
that, at least.  Besides, it might not be a good 
idea to stick around the castle by herself.  She 
hadn't exactly endeared herself to most of the 
Children of Oberon she'd encountered in her trip. 
While she didn't *think* they'd bother her--
much--with most of her friends and potential 
allies asleep or otherwise occupied, she didn't 
want to take any chances.   Oberon had promised 
that no harm would come to Fox and her family, 
but no one had made any such promise to Elisa.  
So, for the second time in 24 hours she gave in 
against her better judgment.  *I just hope it's not 
becoming a habit.*  "All right.  I'll go."

	Morris frowned up at the sun overhead 
and sat down under the trees to rest, pulling out 
his canteen.  Exploring this island by himself 
was hot work, and he hadn't wanted to bring 
anyone along to help him because he hadn't 
wanted to trust them with the secret.  That would 
come later, when he had an army with him.  
There was no way he'd share this with anyone 
before he was ready.  He wasn't about to let 
someone else take this place and all its potential 
out from under him.  Dennis was a fool for not 
keeping it to himself and his family, and Morris 
was not about to make the same mistake.  Of 
course, Dennis didn't have the resources he did 
either.
	Dennis had been right about this place, 
though.  It had a lot of potential.  Morris held up 
his hands, framing the forest around him.  Yes, a 
few bungalows here and maybe a few more on 
the ridgeline.   A lot of these trees would have to 
go, of course, to make way for the houses, but 
he could keep a few of them for the aesthetic 
value--and the shade, he reflected, looking up at 
the sun.  The beaches were small, but fairly 
picturesque.  He made a mental note to see 
whether or not it was real steam coming from that 
mountain in the distance.  A working volcano 
could cause some problems.  But all of these 
problems were nothing.  He'd make back in a 
month what he'd spend to take and improve this 
place.  He wouldn't even miss that small 
percentage going to Dennis.
	His contemplation of this happy future 
was broken by the sound of voices.  He dove 
into a nearby bush, peering through the leaves.  
A man and a woman were walking down the 
pathway.  Natives, no doubt, and from the 
degree of similarity of their features, probably 
brother and sister.  They appeared to have the 
same taste in clothes, too.  The man wore jeans, 
a white T-shirt, and a black jacket, while the 
woman wore jeans, a black T-shirt and a red 
jacket.  Intent on their conversation, neither of 
them seemed to have noticed him.  Just as well.  
Dennis had warned him about these creatures--
and their weaknesses--and Morris had something 
in his pocket to make certain that no one on the 
island suspected anything until it was too late.  
But as long as they appeared not to notice him, 
he was content just to watch, wait, and listen.  
These were the first natives he'd encountered and 
he might learn something from eavesdropping on 
their conversation.
	"So, Elisa, how are things between you 
and Goliath?" the guy in the black jacket asked.
	"Isn't that question awfully personal?" 
the woman--Elisa?--gave her brother a tight look.
	"Hey, I'm practically a member of the 
family, so you can tell me."
	"A member of the family?" Elisa scoffed.  
So they weren't related after all.  Interesting.
	"Sure.  Think of me as a--"  Elisa glared 
at him.  "--an uncle."  He smiled at her 
cheerfully.
	Elisa looked as if she were trying to be 
angry, but sighed, shrugged and capitulated.  
"Why not?"
	"That wasn't so bad, was it?"  Black-
jacket asked, his smile widening.  "And since 
we've agreed I'm family, tell me about you and 
Goliath."
	"Is that the only thing anyone thinks 
about?" Elisa asked, raising her hands in 
exasperation.
	"No, but politics gets boring after a 
while.  From your answer I take it things aren't 
going well."
	"Things are going just fine," she said 
shortly.  
	"That's great news!  When should I plan 
on sending the baby present?"
	"Never."  She turned her head to stare 
blankly in the direction of the bush Morris was 
hiding in.
	"What?  Afraid I'll send something 
tacky?"  Black-jacket grinned.
	"No, the other part."
	"The kid?  Hey, don't tell me you're not 
the 'motherly' type.  I've seen you with Alex.  
I'm sure you'll be a great mom.  Look at what 
you've done for Brooklyn, Broadway, Angela, 
and Lexington.  You're practically the clan 
mother already."
	"But we're not--that is--"  She shoved her 
hands in her pockets.  "I don't think we could 
*have* children."
	In his bush, Morris rolled his eyes.  
Great.  He seemed to have wandered into a soap 
opera.
	"Is that what you're worried about?  I can 
fix that, no problem."  He started to wave his 
hand.
	"No!"  Elisa caught his hand.  "I'd never 
ask him to make that kind of a sacrifice for me.  
Not after I've seen what happened with Derek.  
We've accepted ourselves as we are, and if it 
means that we can't ever--have children--then 
that's the way it is."
	Black-jacket shook his head.  "There are 
times when I don't understand you humans, 
Elisa.  But whatever you want.  Shall we go on?"  
He gestured at the pathway, and the two of them 
continued their walk.
	Once he was certain they were gone, 
Morris crawled out from behind his bush.  Well, 
that little bit of reconnaissance had been 
singularly unhelpful.  He brushed at a few 
scratches.  Not to mention painful.  He had 
picked up one thing, though, there at the end.  
This Elisa woman was human.  It was entirely 
possible that there were other humans here.  
Interesting.  It wouldn't change his plans much, 
of course, but it might be useful to know.  He 
didn't want any surprises when he attacked.	

	Coyote let his whirlwind die, although 
Elisa's hair continued to blow in the ever-present 
wind on the top of Castle Wyvern.  She blinked, 
glancing at the skyline as if reassuring herself it 
was still there and absently brushed her hair out 
of her face in what was obviously a habitual 
gesture.
	He joined her in glancing around, looking 
at the tower and the castle, as well as the view of 
the sun rising over the city.  He'd heard of the 
Eyrie Building, of course, even before Xanatos' 
search for immortality had taken him to Coyote's 
carving in Arizona, but he'd never had the chance 
to see it.  Putting a castle on a skyscraper was 
ostentatious, but then, so was Xanatos in his 
way.  It seemed to fit.  
	"Welcome back, Detective Maza," a voice 
said behind them.  They both turned, startled, to 
see the face and form of Owen Burnett standing 
in the doorway.
	"How did you know we'd be here?" Elisa 
demanded.
	"It stood to reason.  Titania is letting you 
spend eight hours here during Avalon's night.  
This is the first "night" Avalon has had since you 
left," Xanatos' right-hand man said, as if it were 
self-evident.
	Coyote stared at him.  *This* was the 
Puck?  This dry, serious, businesslike figure was 
the greatest trickster in the world?  He found it 
hard to reconcile the Puck he'd known with the 
man currently standing before him.   
	Noticing the stare, Owen Burnett nodded 
at him.  "Coyote."
	The face didn't even crack a smile.  As a 
connaisseur, Coyote found himself admiring the 
guise--it was perfect.  Breaking into a grin wide 
enough for the two of them, Coyote said, "Puck!  
How's it going here in the mortal world?"
	"Very well, thank you.  It appears that the 
centuries have been kind to you also," the mortal 
form of Puck responded in an almost 
disinterested tone.
	"You know me, give me a stretch of open 
desert and I'm happy," Coyote shrugged.  
"Although I don't think I'm attached to it enough 
to defy a command of Lord Oberon.  *That* took 
guts on your part.  We were all a little envious 
when we heard."
"Forgive me a moment," Owen Burnett--he really 
had trouble thinking of him as Puck like this--
held up his hand.  "Detective Maza, your parents 
and partner left messages for you to call them as 
soon as you got back."
	"Thanks." Elisa headed towards the 
stairs.  "I should probably check in with the 
station as well."  
	"Meet you up here eight days from now, 
Elisa," Coyote called after her.  	
	"Right," she answered, unenthusiastic.  
"See you then."  She waved tiredly and 
disappeared into the dark stairwell.
	"Do you have to hurry back?"  The 
trickster-turned superbutler asked.
	Coyote shrugged.  "I'm in no rush.  A 
few minutes in the mortal world won't make any 
difference on Avalon, and I haven't been back 
since the Gathering."
	"Yes, Avalon and the Gathering.  How 
are things there?"
	"Oh, basically the same as always, 
although without you, a lot duller.  The only 
entertainment is Odin and Banshee's constant 
bickering, and we figure it won't be too long 
until Oberon tires of that and finds some pretext 
to order us all out of Avalon again for a 
millennium."  Coyote thought he detected a faint 
gleam of what might be pride in his former 
compatriot's eye.  Perhaps the Puck wasn't as 
gone as he'd thought.

	Elisa sat up and stretched.  A good day's 
sleep at home in New York--in her own bed--had 
gone a long way towards restoring her energy.  
The prospect of a week here at home before she 
had to return to Avalon for another "day" went 
the rest of the way.  A good thing too--she had to 
get to work this evening.  Her walk with Coyote 
yesterday had been exhausting in more ways than 
one, especially when added to the lack of sleep 
she'd had the day she'd left,  but now she was 
starting to feel like herself again.  
	The biggest stress on her during that walk 
had been the sense that someone had been spying 
on them.  When Coyote had brought up her 
relationship with Goliath, she had looked into the 
nearby bushes and seen someone--a man--hiding 
there.  All of her cop instincts had gone off and it 
had run through her brain that if someone felt a 
need to spy on others in Avalon, it was 
*definitely* not good news.  
	She hadn't said anything then, wanting to 
get a better idea of who this person was--and 
what he wanted--before confronting him or 
bringing him to others' attention.  She'd caught a 
brief glimpse of his face, and she was planning 
on having a session with one of the force's 
sketch artists tonight to get a hard copy of the 
face to show around on Avalon and use to ask 
questions.  True, the children of Oberon were 
shapeshifters, so the mysterious lurker in the 
bushes could be anyone on the island, but 
perhaps someone had seen this face and this form 
before.  It would at least give her something to 
do during the day while the guys slept, and keep 
her from any more walks with her "Uncle 
Coyote" as he pumped her for information she'd 
rather not talk about.
	She tripped over Cagney's dish on her 
way out of her room.  That was another thing she 
had to do as soon as her shift was over--go to her 
parents' house and pick up her cat.    It felt 
strange, being home again after what felt like a 
day on Avalon, but was actually closer to a 
month here.  She¹d known to expect it, of 
course, but that hadn¹t prepared her enough.  
	*Great, I'm going through Avalon's 
version of jet lag.*  Well, a good dose of the 
news should help her readjust, as well as 
catching her up on local events.  Her shift 
technically didn't start for two hours, and she'd 
left messages with her folks, Matt, and Jason, 
and spoken with Captain Chavez (who, 
thankfully, hadn't asked too many questions), 
letting them all know she was back for the week, 
as soon as she'd come home this morning, which 
gave her a little time before she had to be in at 
work.  She'd watch the news for a half hour or 
so, and then get ready and head off to work early 
so she could collar one of the sketch artists and 
get them to draw that face for her.  Maybe she'd 
even run it through the computer while she was 
here, on the off chance that whoever it was had a 
criminal record.  Snapping on the television, she 
settled herself on the couch.
	And all thoughts of the face in the bushes 
flew out of her head.  
	"We're sitting in the office of Dominique 
Destine, President and CEO of Nightstone 
Unlimited," said the reporter, coming back from 
a commercial break.  "Miss Destine, thank you 
for taking the time to talk to us.  I know you 
must have a busy schedule."
	"It's my pleasure, Julie," the president 
and CEO said, with a smile that was all Demona.  
	"As part of our series on women and the 
business world, tell us what it's been like for 
you, as a woman in an area some say is still 
dominated by men."
	"It hasn't been easy," Demona 
commented.  "But I've managed to hold my 
own.  We're continuing to grow.  In a few years 
we expect to be larger than Xanatos Enterprises."
	"And yet, from your exchange with 
Lennox Macduff last weekend, it seems that 
despite your busy schedule you've even found 
time to have a family."
	"Yes, I do have a daughter."  With a look 
that on anyone else would have been wistful, 
Demona traced her fingers along a statue sitting 
on her desk.  "She lives with her father."
	"Would that be your ex-husband, Lennox 
Macduff himself?"  Julie asked.
	"No.  Lennox and I realized very quickly 
that we weren't--meant to spend eternity 
together."
	"Then your business partner Alexander 
Thailog?"  Julie was fishing now.
	"No, not Thailog, either.  My daughter is 
the child of my first--husband."  Demona's 
fingers paused on the chin of the small statue 
Elisa realized suddenly was a perfect scaled 
replica of Angela.  "It was a long time ago, when 
we were both much younger."  Her voice 
hardened a touch.  "And more foolish."
	"Do you see your daughter much?  That 
is, do you feel you have time to be a mother and 
a CEO?"
	"My relationship with my daughter, like 
many of the details of my private life is 
something I prefer to keep private."  The smile 
was back.  "I'm sure you understand.  So many 
children of the rich and famous end up as fodder 
for the tabloids.  I don't want to do that to my 
own child."  *No,* Elisa thought, *but you'd 
kill her father in a heartbeat.*  "I'm doing my 
best to ensure that she will have the opportunities 
she so richly deserves, to make the world a better 
place, for all our kind."  
	Somehow, when she said "all our kind", 
Elisa knew that she wasn't talking about 
humanity.  Demona was up to something, and 
whatever it was, Elisa could be sure it wasn¹t 
good.  


Part 2


	Elisa charged into the station as quickly 
as she could.  It had been over a month since 
she'd left, though, so her co-workers all felt a 
need to talk with her.  She answered their 
greetings hastily, chafing all the while.  She had 
to find out what had been going on here while 
she'd been gone, and Matt was the only person 
she could ask about certain things.
	"Hi, Detective, you're back!"  Elisa 
turned to face yet another greeting.  This was 
getting as bad as when she'd returned from 
Avalon the first time three years ago.  
	"Just for a week," she said, trying not to 
sound impatient.  "Hello Morgan.  How have 
things been going?"
	"About the same as usual.  The current 
big case is the library break-in last week."
	Any other time Elisa would have been 
happy to listen to Morgan describe the details of 
the case, but eight days didn't give her much time 
to stop Demona.  "I need to talk to Matt.  Have 
you seen him?"
	"I think he's at his desk."
	"Great.  Talk to you later, Morgan."  She 
waved and headed off to find her partner.
	Morgan had been right, Matt was indeed 
at his desk, deep in conversation with Jason.  
Jason was, in fact, in fact the first of the two to 
catch sight of her, greeting her with yet another:  
"Elisa, you're back!"
	Heartily sick of saying it again, she 
corrected him, "Yes, but just for a week.  
Technically, I'm sleeping." 
	"That time thing again?" Matt asked. 
	She nodded, "Eight hours on Avalon 
means eight days here.  I'd rather be home than 
sleeping a week away on Avalon."  She 
grimaced, "I'd rather be home, period, but eight 
days out of twenty four is better than nothing."  
She had other things to do than air her pet 
peeves, though, so she got down to business.  "I 
just caught the evening news.  Did you know 
Demona's back in town?  She was giving an 
interview of all things!  What's been going on in 
the past month?"
	Matt shrugged.  "Of course we know 
about her being back in town.  She was at the 
library gala last weekend."
	"What library gala?"  Elisa demanded, 
trying to resist strangling her partner in 
frustration.  
	Jason frowned at Matt before answering, 
"The library had a luncheon to celebrate the 
opening of a manuscript display which is going 
to be there for the next six months.  'Dominique 
Destine' is one of the major backers of the 
exhibit, so she was one of the guests."
	"Why would Demona contribute to an 
exhibit at the library?" Elisa mused.  
	"Tax write-off?" Matt offered.  "That's 
why a lot of the other backers contributed.  They 
call it 'philanthropy', but they get a lot of benefit 
themselves when it comes to tax time."
	"Maybe, but I doubt it.  Can you see 
Demona even pretending to be a philanthropist 
for the sake of a tax break?    She's up to 
something, and I think this library contribution is 
part of it.
	"I wouldn't be at all surprised if she was 
responsible for last week's attempted break-in," 
Jason commented sourly.
	"Break-in?"  She was lost again.
	"Someone tried to steal some of the 
manuscripts from the library before the exhibit 
opened," Matt told her.  "Didn't you see it?  It's 
all over the news."
	Elisa silently cursed Titania and her 
decision to have Fox and family go for a "visit to 
Avalon".  It kept her out of the loop on the events 
back home.  But now that Matt had mentioned it, 
she recalled Morgan saying something about a 
break-in at the library.  "I only caught part of the 
interview with Demona--where the anchor was 
asking her about her daughter.  Which reminds 
me, when did Macbeth talk to the media about 
Angela--and what *exactly* did he tell them."
	"They probably overheard his comment 
to her at the library's party.  Macbeth was one of 
the exhibit's backers as well,"  Matt said 
nonchalantly.  "The director of the exhibit must 
not have known Macbeth and Demona already 
knew each other and tried to introduce them, with 
some rather *un*pleasant results.  If I recall 
correctly, Macbeth's exact words to Demona 
were:  'I've had the pleasure of meeting your 
daughter, madam.  She's quite charming.  
Obviously she takes after her father.'"  Matt's 
intonation even attempted to match Macbeth's.
	Elisa blinked.  "And she didn't try to kill 
him there?"
	"Oh she looked pretty angry, but she 
didn't try to kill him as far as I could tell."
	"Wait a minute.  As far as *you* could 
tell?  And just why were *you* at this gala 
event?"
	Matt polished his nails on his trenchcoat 
with a superior smile.  "I've been assigned to the 
case.  I was there to help protect the exhibit and 
assure the backers that no one else is going to 
steal anything."
	Strangling, Elisa decided, would be too 
good for him.  On the other hand, if Matt were 
working the case, it would save her a lot of time 
and trouble in the long run.  "In that case, I'll tell 
the Captain I'm back and then we can head over 
to take a look around."
	"Not so fast.  We have to clear this with 
my partner first."
	"Partner?"  She supposed she should 
have expected it, though.  After all, she was 
going to be spending most of her time on Avalon 
for the next year.  
	"Just a temporary one until you get 
back," Matt assured her.  The twinkle was back 
in his eye.  
	Elisa regarded him suspiciously, but said, 
"Well, then, let's go ask.  I've only got a week 
before I'm back in Avalon for another month."
	Matt turned to Jason.  "What do you say, 
partner?  Can she come?"
	"Jason?!" Elisa exclaimed.  "What--?  
When--?"
	Jason's eyes were twinkling somewhat 
mischievously as well as he explained, "With 
you out of town, Matt needed a partner, and 
Captain Chavez was impressed with my work 
with the kids, as well as when I was--pretending 
to be a police officer, so she asked me if I wanted 
to become an official part of the force.  I agreed, 
and she put in the recommendation.  I'm still on 
probation, of course, so I can't carry a gun, but I 
don't need a gun to investigate crime scenes."
	"Jason, that's--that's wonderful!" Elisa 
exclaimed.
	"I have to admit, it isn't the career I'd 
planned on when I was growing up, but...things 
change."  His smiled that pleasant and open smile 
which might have made Elisa's heart skip a beat, 
if she didn't have someone else already 
occupying it.
	She smiled briefly in response.  "Yes, 
well, back to business.  You may change, but 
Demona doesn't.  The sooner we find out what 
she's up to, the better."
	Jason shook his head.  "Doesn't she ever 
get tired of trying to destroy humanity?"
	Elisa scowled.  "Your family chased her 
for a thousand years.  You tell me."
	"Right."  Jason said emphatically.  "You 
check in, Matt and I will be waiting in the car.  
Come on partner."  He headed towards the door.
	"You might have said something," Elisa 
hissed to Matt as he put on his trench coat.
	"Hey, Elisa.  You're not the only one 
who can keep secrets, you know."  He grinned at 
her.  "You'd better check in."
	Grumbling, Elisa headed to Captain 
Chavez' office.

	The library was quiet, except for the 
sounds they made moving across the floor--only 
logical since it was after hours.  Their badges had 
gotten them past the guards, increased since the 
break-in.  Medieval manuscripts might not have 
been as attractive to thieves as gold or jewels, but 
recent events had reminded everyone once again 
how much they were worth in both real and 
historical value.
	Elisa looked around the cases of books, 
some opened to show the illuminations on the 
insides, reminded of the Scrolls of Merlin and the 
Grimorum Arcanorum.  Those two books had 
caused a great deal of trouble, and now it looked 
like another old book was causing more.  
	"Do we know the area the thieves were 
targeting?" she asked.
	"The next room over," Jason explained.  
"One guard on a break saw them, reported it, and 
gave chase, but they managed to escape, so we 
have no idea *exactly* what they were after."
	Elisa nodded absently.  "What's in 
there?"
	"More old books," Matt said, shrugging.  
"It's odd, though.  There are a lot more valuable 
and rarer manuscripts in here than in there.  They 
must have been lost, or not have known much 
about manuscripts, or--."
	"Or else they knew exactly what they 
were looking for," Elisa finished.  
	Matt nodded.  "Whoever they were, they 
certainly were pros.  If it hadn't been for that 
guard on his break, they could have stolen 
whatever they were after without anyone being 
the wiser until they were long gone."
	"If a pro were going to the trouble of 
breaking into a library in search of  some pieces 
of parchment, he'd know exactly what he was 
looking for," Jason agreed,  nodding at the 
security guard standing outside of the entrance as 
he led the way into the next room.
	"And if someone was going to be stealing 
a manuscript which they *knew* was going to be 
less valuable in terms of money, they must be 
expecting a much greater reward in some other 
form," Elisa said.  "But the question is, 
*what*?"
	"That's what they pay us to figure out," 
Matt said.
	The three of them looked around, Matt 
and Jason rather cursorily, already familiar with 
the room and its contents, Elisa more thoroughly.  
Matt and Jason had been right.  The books in 
here didn't seem to have illuminations decorated 
in gold leaf or jeweled covers the way that some 
of the books in the neighboring room did.  
	"See what I mean," Matt said, gesturing 
around.  "There's nothing in here which is 
*really* rare or valuable.  These things would 
fetch a nice price on the black market, of course, 
but there are plenty of things in the next room 
which are a *lot* older, and rarer, and would 
turn an even higher price.  If they were going to 
all of this trouble, why didn't they take the real 
prizes?"
	Elisa stepped closer to look at the writing 
in one of the books.  The odd shapes of the 
letters made the similarity to the Scrolls or the 
Grimorum even stronger.  The Scrolls and the 
Grimorum...  She frowned at the letters trying to 
decipher them.  "in hodiernii--or is it hodiernu?--
die ra?--ca?--falix illa q alie ex..."
	"What are you doing?"  Matt asked.
	"Trying to read it.  It's in Latin."  Her 
eyes narrowed.
	"So?  It's in Latin.  How does that help 
us?"
	"The Grimorum Arcanorum was written 
in Latin, too," she told him.
	"I still don't see how that's going to help 
us find the attempted thieves."  Matt said.  
"Besides, didn't you say the Grimorum was 
destroyed?"
	"The Weird Sisters said that the 
Archmage ate it in order to get it onto Avalon," 
Elisa agreed, "although we didn't actually see it."
	"So you think that the thieves were here 
after the Grimorum?"  Matt asked, puzzled.
	"Maybe not the Grimorum, specifically, 
but just a book of spells," Jason broke in, 
suddenly seeing where Elisa was going with this. 
	  "A book of spells?"  Matt shook his 
head.  "And people think *I'm* the crazy one."
	"Do you have a better idea?"  Elisa asked.  
"We've established that they weren't after the 
books for their covers.  The next step is to find 
out what's inside these things which would make 
someone want to steal them."
	Matt sighed.  "True.  How do you 
propose to do that?  Somehow, I don't think 
they'll just let us check these out like any other 
library book."
	"No," Jason said.  "But most museums 
and libraries make microfilm copies of their 
manuscripts so that people can do research 
without handling--and possibly destroying--the 
actual artifacts.  Not to mention the fact that it 
helps preserve the information if the manuscripts 
themselves *are* destroyed."
	Matt and Elisa were both staring at him.  
"Where did you find out so much about old 
manuscripts?" Elisa asked the question for both 
of them.
	Jason's face took on a defensive look, 
mixed with a not a little embarrassment.  "My 
father did a lot of research into gargoyles legends 
when we were younger.  Anything to help us 
defeat them.  That research took him--and us--
into a lot of libraries and museums."  His face 
grew distant, and he tapped his fingers on the 
arm of his wheelchair, lost in thought for a 
moment.
	"What is it?" Elisa asked.
	"A lot of our family records qualify as 
'old books and manuscripts' too.  There's one--
from about 500 years ago in Italy.  One of my 
ancestors had found her--the de--Demona--in 
Florence, just outside a villa.  She'd just broken 
in and stolen something from it."  He looked up 
at them.  "Florence, Italy, about 500 years ago, 
was the last known location of the diMedici 
tablet.  That is, until Demona used it to try and 
'disinfect' the world.  Robyn and John did some 
research on the tablet after they'd broken the 
encryption on that disk of Demona's."
	"You think that Demona engineered the 
theft to get a spell?"  Matt wasn't really asking, 
just looking for confirmation.
	"It wouldn't be the first time," Elisa said, 
recalling an antique mirror and a certain trickster 
of her acquaintance.  "She's definitely up to 
something, and being a sorceress, magic will 
probably figure into it.  We won't know for 
certain if she's behind the thefts until we find out 
whether these books contain any spells or not."  
She pointed at the books.  "Jason, I don't 
suppose you can...?"
	Jason shook his head.  "Sorry.  I never 
bothered to learn Latin."
	Elisa sighed.  "I know Goliath and 
Brooklyn know it.  They might not know 
sorcery, but they should be able to read it.  I'll 
bring photocopies of the manuscripts here and 
ask them to take a look when I go back to 
Avalon.  It'll just take time--weeks of it--for them 
to look at them, get back to me, and then for me 
to get back to you.  And with Demona up to her 
old tricks again, we don't have any time to 
spare."

	A week just wasn't long enough, Elisa 
decided as she climbed the stairs to the top of 
Castle Wyvern where she'd be meeting Coyote 
and going back to Avalon.  Trying to pack a 
month's activities into seven days left her so 
busy, she almost didn't have time to sleep--
which was supposedly the reason she was here.  
Cagney had ended up staying with her parents.  
She hadn't been able to make it over there until 
the third day of her visit home with her 
investigation of the library and the four *other* 
cases which had happened in the intervening 
time.  By then, it hadn't been worth bringing him 
home, when she'd have to bring him back again, 
eating up even *more* of her time.  She had a 
feeling that this constant bouncing back and forth 
to Avalon was going to be a major headache by 
the time the year was up.
	But now, at least, she'd be making better 
use of her time there.  As she had been when 
she'd started this trip a month ago, she was 
carrying a well stuffed bag.  However, instead of 
holding clothes, this bag held copies of 
manuscript pages, and the huge pile it contained 
was just the beginning.  There were 20 or so 
books in the room, and the pages in her bag were 
a general sampling from all of them.  Hopefully, 
Goliath, Brooklyn, and Lex would be able to 
pinpoint which manuscript was the one thieves 
had been after from the few pages, or she'd be 
carting copied versions of all 20 books on her 
next trip to Avalon.
	*If* they could get the copies.  All of the 
books were fairly long (which meant a *lot* of 
pages to run off). And while *most* of the 
books in question had microfilm copies, a few 
didn't, and that made the task of finding out what 
was in them that much harder.  For those books, 
they'd ended up taking pictures of a few pages, 
so she'd be able to show them to the guys.  
"With my luck the magic book will the one of the 
uncopied ones," Elisa muttered to herself as she 
made her way up the steps to the tower.  
	Still, she was glad to have the work.  It 
was part of her job, after all.  She was a cop, and 
even if Demona wasn't the one behind the 
attempted theft, *someone* was, someone who 
needed to be stopped, and it was *her* business 
to make certain that they were.  Not to mention 
the fact that it would keep her too busy during the 
day to go on any long walks with her "uncle".  
	She stopped suddenly.  Walks with 
Coyote.  With all of her concern about Demona 
and the break-in at the library, she'd completely 
forgotten about the man she'd seen hiding in the 
bushes.  She pressed her hand over her eyes.  
Some cop she was, letting a suspicious act slip 
her mind.  In her defense, though, the library and 
Demona were far more immediate concerns.  
Time passed more slowly on Avalon than it did 
here.  *There,* whoever it was, if they *were* 
up to something, was on the same clock and in 
the same place she was.  Demona, on the other 
hand, could break into the library tonight and 
make off with as many books of magic as she 
wanted in the amount of time it would take Elisa 
to pull the copied pages out of her bag on 
Avalon, and Elisa wouldn't even hear about it for 
another two weeks.  She sighed, pulling  her 
notebook out of her pocket and writing a note to 
herself to sit down with a sketch artist the next 
time she was in Manhattan.  At least she'd only 
experience one day between now and when she'd 
be back, so the image wouldn't grow that much 
fainter in her mind.  Tucking her notebook away, 
she continued climbing the stairs.  In any case, 
there wasn't much else she could do right now--
she had a ride to catch.
	And judging from the voices she could 
hear echoing from the door at the top, her ride 
was already waiting for her.
	"Hey Elisa," Coyote called as she stepped 
out onto the tower, breaking off his conversation 
with Burnett.  He paused and sniffed the air 
lightly.  "You wearing a new perfume?"
	Burnett's greeting was more sedate.  
"Detective Maza."  He held out a briefcase.  
"This contains updates about the corporation for 
Mr. Xanatos.  I'd be obliged if you would give it 
to him."
	She took it, frowning suspiciously.  As if 
in answer to her her thoughts, Xanatos' chief 
aide said, "I assure you, there is nothing illegal in 
there."
	She wasn't sure she believed him, but 
she let it slide.  Any evidence of illegal schemes 
she found there wouldn't be admissible in court, 
anyway, and, like any of Demona's plans, would 
fall on the list of things she couldn't do anything 
about right now.  She turned back to Coyote, "I 
guess I'm ready to go now."
	He was still sniffing at the air, eyes 
closed.
	"Coyote?" He had the name of a canine, 
but she'd never really thought of him as a dog 
before.  Was there more to this shape-changing 
thing than she'd thought?  Sure, Burnett had a 
stone hand, but she'd always thought that it was 
because he'd never bothered to change it back.  
"You all right?"
	He opened his eyes.  "Magic," he 
announced.
	"What?" she said, puzzled.
	"Mortal magic.  I can smell it around you.  
You aren't carrying a magic talisman or 
something, are you?"
	Elisa realized what he was saying.  "You 
can sense mortal magic?  And I'm carrying 
some?"  The spell book had been a theory.  A 
good theory, but she hadn't been entirely sure 
whether or not it had come from hanging out 
with the guys, and their habit of attributing what 
they didn't understand to sorcery.  To have 
someone else confirm it...  She set down the 
briefcase and pulled her arms out of the straps of 
the backpack.  Yanking it open, she began 
pulling out copies and photographs.  "Can you 
tell me which of these comes from a book of 
spells?"
	Coyote and Burnett both wore somewhat 
surprised expressions.  
	"I guess so," Coyote said, bending over 
the pile of papers and pictures.  He pushed a few 
aside, and picked one or two up for a closer look 
before he finally held one paper clipped packet 
out to her and said.  "This one."
	It *would* be one of the sets of 
photographs, Elisa reflected sourly.  But at least 
she knew now what one it was.  
	"Taking up sorcery as a hobby?"  Coyote 
asked, laughing a little.
	"Not hardly.  It's for a case I'm working 
on.  Someone tried to steal a Medieval 
manuscript from the local library, and I'm trying 
to figure out which one and why."
	"And you thought magic might have 
something to do with it?"  Coyote commented.
	"It's had something to do with every case 
involving an old book or manuscript I've 
investigated so far.  And given the company I 
keep, I didn't want to rule it out."  She flipped 
the pictures over, reading the name of the book 
they'd been taken of:  The Red Book of Namur.  
Not as impressive a name as the Grimorum 
Arcanorum, but whatever.  "Now all I have to do 
is get these pictures to Goliath, Brooklyn, and 
Lex and see if they can translate them, and we'll 
be able to find out what's in this book that would 
make someone go to the trouble of stealing it."  
For the first time since seeing Demona on 
television, things were looking up.
	To be promptly dashed down again.  
"There's one problem with that Elisa.  No human 
magics may enter Avalon."
	She'd forgotten that.  Massaging her 
temples, she tried to argue her way out of it, 
knowing that it wouldn't do any good.  "But I'm 
not a sorceress, and this isn't the entire book."
	Coyote sighed in sympathy.  "I know, 
but it's still considered human magic, even if it 
*is* several times removed.  Phoebe, Luna, and 
Selene would be sure to notice it the moment you 
arrived on the island, and trust me, you don't 
want to get on their bad list."
	"I know."  To come so close...  "I don't 
suppose *you* read Latin and can translate for 
me?"
	"Sorry, Elisa.  I spent my millennium in 
what's now called North America.  I never 
needed to know it."
	Oh well.  They were *still* better off than 
they had been.  Maybe the guys could work on 
translating the Latin when they came back on 
patrol.  And in the meantime, Matt and Jason 
could use the knowledge.  This still wasn't proof 
positive that the thieves had worked for Demona, 
or that they'd been after a book of spells, but 
every little bit of information helped.  She 
whipped out the cell phone Xanatos had given 
her, still sitting in her jacket pocket.  After all, it 
was because of his family that the investigation 
was going to be held up, the least he could do 
was help contribute to the passing along of the 
information they *did* have.  "Hi Matt, it's 
Elisa," she said when her partner picked up.  
	"Elisa?  Can't you call when I'm *not* 
trying to sleep?"  Matt asked irritably, and then, 
as he woke up more and realization hit, "Wait a 
minute.  Aren't you supposed to be going back to 
Avalon this morning?"
	"I'm about to leave.  But I have some 
news before I go.  Coyote was able to tell me 
which of the library manuscripts was the book of 
spells.  Got a pen and paper handy?  It's the Red 
Book of Namur.  I don't know what's in it, and I 
can't take it with me because it's classified as 
human magic and can't be brought Avalon.  I'll 
see if Goliath, Brooklyn, and Lex can take a look 
at it on their patrols, but you might want to find a 
good Latin dictionary in the meantime."
	Matt now sounded fully awake.  "The 
Red Book of Namur," he repeated slowly, 
writing it down.  "Got it.  Anything else?"
	Elisa suddenly had an idea worthy of the 
two tricksters standing on the windy tower with 
her.  "Yes.  Keep me posted on how things are 
going.  Coyote will help pass the information 
along."
	"No problem, Elisa.  I'll call Jason and 
we'll get right on it.  Have a good time on 
Avalon and see you in a couple of weeks."  He 
hung up hastily, probably already dialing Jason's 
number and giving their other partner the latest 
news by the time Elisa had hung up her own 
phone.
	"I'll pass the news along?" Coyote asked.
	"Why not, 'uncle'?" Elisa grinned at him.  
"Isn't that what family's for?  Helping each other 
out when needed?"  
	Coyote started laughing.  Even Owen 
Burnett's normally somber face had cracked a 
small admiring smile.  "Not bad, Detective Maza.  
That was almost worthy of the Puck."  
	Elisa's grin widened.  "Must be the 
company I'm keeping."

	A few days of Avalon time, with a week 
spent in the mortal world every night, later 
Elisa's mood was far from cheerful.  The library 
investigation was going slowly.  Goliath, 
Brooklyn, and Lex could only work on the 
translation for an hour or so every time they went 
back on patrol, so they had only the vaguest idea 
of what the manuscript said.  She barely even 
had a chance to talk to them anymore.  The only 
communication she had with them were a few 
hours just after sunset and just before sunrise, 
and the notes that Coyote brought from Matt.  
Then there was her caseload.  Even with the guys 
going out to patrol the city in pairs during 
Avalon's day *and* with her brother and the 
other Mutates helping take up the slack,  it wasn't 
enough and the city was undergoing the worst 
crime wave in years.  She, Matt and Jason were 
having trouble keeping up with the cases piling 
up, and they were better off than their fellow 
detectives, having a three-member partnership.  
She hadn't had time to sit down with a sketch 
artist at work during her visits home:  she and the 
sketch artists were far too busy.  Not that she had 
time to ask around here on Avalon and find out if 
it was a face someone had used before, anyway, 
now that she was bringing so much work back 
with her.  Vacation was not a word she used to 
describe her time here anymore.  Over a hundred 
crimes were happening in New York in the time 
she spent opening the file folder for the next one.  
Tom and the Princess had to practically force her 
out of her room for a break from the constant 
work every evening.
	"Ready for the next set of dispatches?" 
Coyote called, knocking on the half open door to 
her room in Avalon's palace.  He brought in the 
"dispatches," as he called them, every seven 
hours of Avalon time during the day, 
materializing a pile of them from Elisa's box in 
the precinct and replacing them with Elisa's 
responses, which Matt then picked up.  Coyote 
was somehow managing to keep his sense of 
humor in all of this, but that was to be expected.  
Elisa was glad *someone* was finding it 
amusing.
	"Sure," she said, closing the file folder 
she was looking at.  This one they were fairly 
sure about.  No one was willing to step forward 
and talk, but the word on the street was that 
Dracon's people were making moves again.  
Elisa made a mental note to discuss the situation 
with Goliath and Broadway at sunset before she 
left, and then to go in and have a little "talk" with 
Tony in prison after she got back to New York 
tonight.
	Coyote handed her a sheaf of papers, 
most of them covered in Matt's and Jason's 
writing, and a few in the guys'.  She began 
sorting through them, putting the ones from each 
date into its own little pile.  "This is ridiculous," 
she muttered.  "There has to be a faster way to 
communicate between Avalon and the rest of the 
world than this."
	"There was never a need to before," 
Coyote pointed out.  "Mortals lived their lives out 
there and we lived ours here.  We'd go out there 
from time to time and observe, but we didn't 
have quite the same restrictions on traveling that 
we do now.  On the few occasions we wanted to 
keep in contact with mortals, we stayed in the 
mortal world for a while, or we came back for 
occasional visits.  And when Lord Oberon 
banished us to the mortal world for a millennium, 
we couldn't return home anyway and there was 
no one here to talk with, so it didn't make a 
difference."
	"That's still no excuse," Elisa said 
darkly, setting asides the notes with the guys' 
handwriting labeled *Red Book Translation*.  
	"Thinking about putting in a phone?  I 
don't think that would work well.  The time 
differences would do nasty things to the 
connection.  Can't you just imagine it?  From this 
end everything would sound too fast, and from 
the mortal world end, everything would sound 
too slow."  Coyote's voice was serious and his 
face had a look of perfect sincerity.  
	Too perfect.  It was too much.  Elisa 
burst out laughing.  "See?" Coyote said.  "The 
whole idea of putting in a phone line is 
laughable."
	"A fax machine or e-mail would clear up 
that problem.  In fact, Lex would only be too 
happy to set them up for you," she retorted, 
delving deeper into the pile.  There was a 
message from her mother, dated two days ago, if 
she were remembering the date correctly.  She 
glanced at it quickly--her mother wanted to know 
if Elisa could make it for dinner on her next visit.  
She scribbled a note back on the other side 
saying she'd have to see what her schedule was 
like, but promising to call when she was home, 
and set the paper in what would become her 
"outgoing" pile.  
	"Lex is the short one, right?" Coyote 
asked.  She nodded.  "He probably would, and I 
wouldn't be surprised if her Majesty helped from 
the way she occasionally talks about science.  
The key, however, is suggesting it to Lord 
Oberon.  I don't suppose you're volunteering?"
	Elisa rolled her eyes and shook her head, 
still laughing and turned back to her messages.  
Matt had written the next one, from last night, 
and from the way he'd scribbled, he was 
obviously worried about something.  She 
scanned the note quickly, her mood growing 
dark again.  
	"What is it?" Coyote asked.
	"That manuscript--the one we'd thought 
the thieves were after--was stolen from the 
library last night."

	Demona straightened, took a deep breath, 
and brushed hair out of her eyes with hands that 
had five fingers.  Another day had begun, as so 
many had, with her change from gargoyle to 
human.  It was always a poor start to her day--
trading her true, glorious, form for this paltry 
puny body.  Today, however, even the change 
couldn't dim her spirits.  Finally the destruction 
of the human race was within her grasp.  Her 
plans had been thwarted in the past, but not this 
time.  This time she *would* succeed.  She had 
put the last pieces of her plan in place, and now 
there was no way to stop her.  All she had to do 
was wait, and soon, very soon, gargoyles would 
take their rightful place in a world free of 
humans.  She stretched in the sunlight and began 
to laugh.  

	"We're sorry to hear about your great-
uncle, Ms. Howards, but we were hoping that 
you could tell us a little about the manuscript he 
lent to the library for their recent exhibit:  what 
was in it, why anyone might want to steal it.  
Any information you have would be helpful," 
Matt held his pen over his notebook and looked 
at the young woman expectantly.  A little 
research had turned up the information that the 
Red Book of Namur had been owned by one 
Andrew Howards in England, who had died (of 
entirely natural causes--Matt had checked) a 
month or so before the library exhibit was 
scheduled to open.  When the manuscript had 
been stolen, Veronica Howards had flown to 
New York to discuss the situation with the 
library, its insurance company, and the police.  It 
seemed like the perfect opportunity for him and 
Jason to ask about the manuscript, not to mention 
how the visit would reassure the Howards family 
that everything that could be done *was* being 
done to find the thieves.  
	Ms. Howards shrugged and said in her 
cultured British accent, "I'm afraid I can't be 
much help, detectives.  I--all of my family--know 
very little about my great-uncle's collection.  His 
work was his life, but none of the rest of us 
shared his interests.  We're still only beginning 
to go through his collection simply to determine 
what he actually *had*.  We have no idea why 
anyone would want to steal this particular 
volume, except for the value."
	"And there's no one who worked with 
him?"  Jason leaned forward in his wheelchair.  
"No assistants?"
	"There were the servants, of course--" 
Matt marveled at how she said it without a trace 
of either arrogance or ostentation, "--but Great-
uncle Andrew never let them near his collection 
without watching them closely.  He was quite 
protective of it.  To be honest, I was rather 
surprised to hear that he'd permitted one of his 
precious volumes to be part of the exhibit."
	"Was he afraid someone would steal 
them?" Matt asked.
	"Possibly," she said, "Or possibly not.  
My great-uncle was--a trifle eccentric."
	"Eccentric?" Matt repeated.
	She sighed.  "He was intrigued by what 
he called 'magic'.  He devoted most of his time 
and not a small part of his funds to acquiring 
various 'magic' books and artifacts.  He 
considered himself to be quite a scholar of called 
'the arcane arts'."
	This was interesting.  Jason and Matt 
exchanged a look.  "He thought he was a 
sorcerer?" Matt asked.
	"Nothing so extreme, thank goodness.  
No, he claimed only to study the books and 
such, not that he actually practiced what he read.  
But he did believe in the existence of 'magic'."  
Veronica Howards shook her head.  "As I said, 
he was a trifle eccentric."
	"I see what you mean."  Matt kept his 
tone serious, all the while wondering what Ms. 
Howards' reaction would be if she ever came 
face to face with a gargoyle--or even better:  one 
of Oberon's children.
	After the interview, as he and Jason were 
getting into the car, Matt summarized, "So 
Andrew Howards was a crackpot who collected 
books of spells."
	Jason finished levering himself in the seat 
befor