PHANTOM ENCOUNTERS	
by Skydancer
(Skydance8@aol.com)

Skydance Note: Gargoyles and everything pretaining to them belong to Disney,
Buena Vista, and any other holder of the copyrights.  They are not mine and
I make no claims to them.  The characters of Heartfyre and Destyni are mine.
A "hello" goes out to all my Clan sisters!  This is the Halloween fic that
I didn't write last year.  Feedback is welcomed, just be constructive please.
Enjoy the read! :)

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This is Halloween...
This is Halloween...
Halloween...
Halloween...
This is Halloween...

    ~Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas~

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    A cemetery at night.  It was a nervous thought, filled with childhood
fears and lurid imaginings.  Unbidden, the images of a hundred ghostly tales
can fill one's mind.  Only the dead lived there, undisturbed beneath their
solemn, granite repose; unable to reveal secrets from their cold, marble
lips.  Surely they would not stir to haunt or hound from their place of rest.

    The night was soft, the Autumn air a silken breeze.  The determined rush
of the day ebbed and the night flowed.  The remorseless beat of the city's
massive heart had softened to a hum.  Beyond it, the gates of St. Cleo's
cemetery were closed, their wrought iron grillwork gleaming dully in the
moonlight, casting an intricate tracing of shadow on the pavement behind
them.  The ornate handles giving no resistance to anyone who would want to
move beyond the postern gate.

    Gravestones, impassive, silent, still as the rest they marked, formed an
aisle for passage.  Shadows covered the inscriptions of the granite
markers, respecting the privacy of those who lay beneath their shadows.  The
smooth white shapes of the monuments rose slowly, gleaming softly in the
faint moonlight.  The timeless quiet of the graveyard sounded as a hoarse
whisper and sent it echoing down the cold marble rows of silence and
dreamless sleep, of death and forgetfulness.  At the end of the row sat two
simple markers, grey in the moonlight.

    Suddenly, between the two graves, the earth cracked and out of the ground
climbed a charred figure.  It climbed out of the deep and narrow grave with
the grace of a cat.  The figure-- or rather IT-- a shrunken, blackened,
brittle shape, tottered around the thick grasses that surrounded the markers
under the light of the full moon.  It fed on the moonlight, basking in it as
humans do the sunshine.  It lifted its decaying face into the blue-green rays
and grew steady and strong again.  Soon it was moving with the steady power
and speed it had in life.

    Then, stepping back away from the two gravestones, it kneeled down and
began to pull up sod, digging madly, pulling up great chunks of earth with
its charred hands, filling in its make-shift grave.  With delicate stealth,
it gathered handfuls of the tall, dead grasses around the gravestones.  The
grasses disappeared between its fingers and became a long black hooded cape.
Then it lifted its featureless face to the moon and began a whining, howling
incantation.  As it chanted, its body took on the shape of a woman, with
hands and face that were white and smooth, as if covered with real skin.
Blond hair grew from its head.  Then it began a slow, wild, stampind dance,
pressing the broken earth down over the place where its grave had been.

    The moon grazed the treetops at the edge of St. Cleo's graveyard.  In its
light, the ghastly corpse that had emerged from the ground an hour before
had now become a perfectly ordinary-looking, quite lovely human form.  No one
would have hesitated to befriend her, to love her.  Except for the unnatural
strength of her movements and a dreadful power and quickness like that of a
starving animal, she looked completely normal.

    As the moon was crossed by the bare treetops, she stalked swiftly between
the graves, down the long corridor of granite headstones.  By dawn she was
well on her way to the Aerie Building.

                       *****************************

    It was so very quiet.  Everyone had gone home, the phones no longer rang
off the hook as they did during the day, the background murmur of office
machines and voices had faded until there was only the nearly inaudible hum
of the building's ventilation system.  The night shift had not yet arrived.

    Elisa moved away from the window and glanced back around at the precinct.
'One more week and I'm back on my regular shift,' she thought, smiling.  She
longed to go back on her regular nightshift and had grown tired of working
during the day.  It would also allow her to spend more time with her Goliath
and her daughters.  She hardly had been able to spend time with the twins in
the last month since she had been assigned to the day shift.  Her daughters
were nocturnal, like their father, and often when they would wake up, she
would be heading for bed.  Elisa would be glad when the day came that she
would no longer be commanded by the day's activities to stay on through the
early evening hours.

    Today had been no different.  The night before a squad car had reported
two shots fired in a warehouse on the lower East Side.  The officers' reports
had raised more questions than it had answered.

    Two bodies had been found and the check for identities had drawn a blank
until, as was routine procedure in non-identification cases, the information
was fed into the special crimes unit computer in Washington.  All hell had
broken loose then, and two seperate teams of federal agents had descended
upon the coroner's office clamping a lid on all information, denying access
to the homicide detectives assigned to the case.  Crossing back over to her
desk, Elisa thumbed through the report she managed to have smuggled out.  She
had called in some heavy favors to get it and she wondered how much longer
she would be in a position where she had to do such underhanded things.  She
was so used to being able to be right there on top of the crime, and not
having to resort to such tactics just to find out what was going on.

    The identities of the bodies had been established and the results were
both shocking and elating at the same time.  One of the bodies found had been
that of a notorious crime lord known only as Jonah.  His death led to more
questions to be answered, but Elisa hardly felt any pity in his violent
demise.  The streets were safer without his presence on them.  The other
corpse  belonged to a character well known to the feds.  He was described in
the rather extensive report as being a professional hitman, known only as
Uriel, with numerous unproven asassinations to his credit.  Elisa could only
wonder what had gone down between the two crime lords.  The guys in forensics
were going crazy trying to figure it out.

    Snapping the file shut and dumping it into her filing cabinet, Elisa
switched off the light on her desk.  Dusk had fallen and the gargoyles and
her twins would be awakening soon.  What was here could be left for tomorrow.
Tonight, she wanted to spend some time with her family before going to bed.
Turning, Elisa headed down the aisle of desks and made her way to the front
of the precinct where the night shift was just beginning to waltz in. Officer
Morgan came in through the door just before Elisa was about to head out.

    "Hey, Maza!" Morgan called to his friend.  "When are you going to leave
the rookies to the easy stuff during the day and come back on at night where
the real action is?"

    Elisa flashed him on of her famous half-smirks of a grin.  "Soon, Morgan.
Real soon!" she yelled back as she headed out the door and into the crisp
Autumn sunshine.

                          **********************

    The last, feeble rays of sunlight had long retreated from the pages of
the book he held now in his hands as the gathering dusk overtook the fading
day.  His eyes were drawn to the tall french windows opening onto the library
terrace and his pulse quickened at the prospect of becoming one with the
night-- but first he had to wait for the one who would make that night
complete.

    Closing the book with an affectionate caress for its worn leather binding,
he placed it on the table beside him and glanced around the darkened room.
The muted quality of the early evening echoed in the forest greens and browns
of the draperies and the intricate patterns of the faded antique carpet.  The
mellowed patina of the library walls gleamed darkly; their bookcases were
shadowed recesses where the tooled leather spines of their contents glowed
softly.  Xanatos had decorated this room well.

    This room-- it was his favorite of the many rooms that graced the Castle.
It reminded him of a country manor; a Tudor gem set amidst heavy wooded
grounds....if only in his mind.  He and Elisa had spent many wonderful hours
in this library that they had claimed for their own.  For despite its charm,
the room had a tangible atmosphere of deliberate isolation, personified by
its only occupants, Goliath and Elisa.  The reveled in the privacy they often
shared in the room which was respectfully left mainly to them by the rest of
the Clan and the Xanatoses.

    Unbeknownst to him, the night had fallen and the shadows in the room
were deep and unbroken.  Into the stillness stole the faint sound of music.
He recognized the poignant melody of Crieg's Piano Concerto; it was the
second movement, the haunting and beautiful Adagio.  He knew that Elisa was
not far behind.

    She must be feeling romantic tonight.  The though of romance, when applied
to Elisa's stern person, often brought a tiny smile of wicked glee to his
lips.  One would never suspect that belief that tough-guy attitude she so
often displayed was the heart of a true romantic.  And yet, how could one not
be moved when listening to this particular piece?  It was so lovely, as if
the composer had found voice for the very night itself in his music.  That
voice was speaking to him, compelling him to move from his chair and across
the room to the fireplace.  On the carved mantelpiece two candelabra stood,
their slim white tapers begging for the touch of a flame.  Unable to resist
the silent petition, he took a match from the tinder box.  His face became a
study of fascinated concentration as he crowned each one with a dancing
light.  It was then that he saw her, her reflection refracted in the gilt
mirror above the cold hearth.  The reflected glow of the twin candles
enveloped her in a nimbus of shimmering, translucent light as she drifted
across the floor, captured his hand, and pulled him out through the french
windows and onto the terrace.

    The soft night breezes were scented with the heady fragrance of jasmine,
freshened with the cool, clean tang of pine from the courtyard below.  The
manicured carpet of lawn sloped steeply away from the illusion of standing
suspended at a great height; the darkness below them absolute, their gazes
were drawn skyward.  Against a velvet backdrop, eclipsed by the radiance of a
full moon, pale argent stars flickered.  The treetops below were a tapestry
of silver-grey light, their bright Autumn colors hidden in the darkness. 
Goliath drew Elisa close, capturing her deeply within his wings as they were
woven, spellbound, into the magical design of the night.

                        **************************

    Asleep in his arms, Elisa stirred restlessly.  Goliath tightened them
around her and tenderly cradled her head to his shoulder.  Even in sleep, she
instinctively burrowed closer.  Nestling beneath his chin, her breath, warm
against his throat, she murmured softly and slept on.  Dawn would be here
soon.

    Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the intoxicating scent of her.  She
always had a fresh, clean fragrance but now it held a haunting, mysterious
undertone he could not identify.  Burying his face in those soft tresses
spilling over the pillows beneath them, his senses reeled.

    His nostrils flaring, Goliath recognized his own scent, blending with
hers, clinging to the dark radiance caressing his cheek.  His scent and Elisa's
were one indefinable, inextricably combined essence, like her hearts, their
souls and their lives.

    Elisa's life.

    So much of her life recently had been taken up with her job lately.  Her
having to work opposite the schedule she usually did had thrown her life
totally out of wack and had taken its toll on their time together and their
time with their daughters.  Elisa ran herself ragged trying to care for the
twins when she came home when in reality she should really be sleeping.  The
strain was beginning to effect her.  Something had to be done.

    Pondering what he should do, Goliath knew there would be no sleep for
him until the break of day and drew Elisa's warm body closer still.

    "I will speak to Xanatos this evening." Goliath's lips sought the comforting
softness of her hair as he whispered the promise into the air.

                          ***************************

    Driven by the wind, raindrops slanted through the open window splattering
the worn vinyl seat where Xanatos knelt.  Struggling against the Autumn gale's
determined efforts to wrest it from him, he drew the window inward.  Suddenly,
the wind changed direction, slamming the window shut and nearly catching his
fingers between the sash and the sill.  Gasping, he snatched his hand away
for an instant before he reached for the latch again and with a deft twist
of his wrist, locked it.  With a tired sigh, he pressed his forehead against
the cold, clammy pane and peered intently into the stormy night.

    The streaming darkness beyond blurred the lights in the street far below.
The damp mist condensing and shaping their pale yellow incandescence, they
reminded him of a silent, sentinel row of candles.  He turned his back on
sight.  He glanced around the empty room.  Its fluorescent lighting, reflected
by the waxed, worn linoleum flooring, had an artificial, even vulgar, glare.
A long, narrow conference table measured half the length of the room.  Its
simulated wood-grain surface was littered with overflowing ashtrays, half-
empty coffee containers and soda cans, the remnants and refuse of the nervous
hands and wounded hearts that had occupied the seats around it.  Bright orange
and yellow molded plasti-form, those seats had everything to do with function
and nothing to do with comfort.

    The echo of those voices, the phantom images of his boardroom's faces, the
residue of their arguing and emotions were everywhere in Xanatos's mind.  The
walls, having contained and buffered the sounds, the shockwaves of countless
outbursts, were permeated with the very essence of them.  Shaking his head to
clear it, Xanatos got up and walked into his private office.

    There, in the growing darkness, under the chandelier, stood a small but
regal figure, cloaked and hooded by a heavy garment.  Rain dripped from the
deep folds of the heavy cloak.  Hidden in the hood was a startingly beautiful
sphinx-like face, whose beautiful dark eyes looked across the room at him and
found his.  Holding Xanatos's gaze with her own, she lifted her long, delicate
hands and pushed the hood backk, uncovering a mass of very pale, slightly
disleveled blond hair.

    Dumbfounded for a moment, Xanatos looked at her long and boldly that it
almost seemed like she was purposely trying to disconcert him.  Suddenly, a
light flipped on and Owen walked into the room.  Xanatos broke the spell and
glanced over at his majordomo.  Strangely, Owen seemed to keep his distance
from the woman as he walked over towards his employer.

    "Mr. Xanatos, this is Mirella McNulty.  She has been inquiring about some
work we might possibly have for her....she works with children."   Owen took
a stance behind Xanatos as the billionaire turned back to the woman before him.

    "With children, you say?"  Xanatos asked, sitting on the top of his desk as
he turned towards the young woman before him.  "Well, I am afraid that my son
already has a nanny.....is there anything else that you do?"

    "No Mr. Xanatos, there isn't.  Aren't there any other 'children' here in
the Aerie?" Mirella asked in a throaty voice.

    At that, Xanatos's intercom buzzed.  Someone up in the Castle was paging
him.  Picking up the receiver, Xanatos spoke into the phone.  "Yes?" he asked.

    "Xanatos, I know this may be an inconvenient time for you, but I want to
speak to you before Elisa get's home."  Goliath's voice boomed over the receiver.

    "Is something wrong with the Detective?" Xanatos asked, puzzled at the
Gargoyle leader's request.  Goliath RARELY asked him for anything.

    "Yes and no...." Goliath paused, not quite sure how to go on.  "Elisa has
been extremely tired lately because of the shifts she has been working and then
coming home to take care of the twins most of the night.  I want to have someone
hired to help her, so that she can spend some time with our children but then
be able to get some rest without worrying about taking care of them the rest of
the night.  This would only be needed for the next couple of weeks, of course.
When Elisa returns to night shift, then the need for a nanny would not be
necessary."

    Xanatos sighed, thinking.  "I can't think of anyone....."  His eyes drifted
over to the woman standing in the center of his officee.  "Wait, Goliath, I may
have someone who can help you.  I'll call you back shortly."  Xanatos hung up the
phone and turned to the pale-haired Mirella standing before him.  "Ms. McNulty,
how would you feel about playing 'nanny' to a couple of gargoyle babies for a
few weeks?"  the billionaire asked, smiling.

                           **************************

    Elisa walked into the spacious quarters that she and Goliath shared in the
Castle with their twins.  When she arrived she half hoped to catch him tending to
the girls, but the lights were turned off in their rooms and Goliath and the
twins were no where to be found.  Maybe he just went downstairs to join the
others, Elisa thought.  Dropping some files she had brought home with her on her
desk, Elisa made her way out into the hallway and down the ancient stairs that
led to the Castle's lower chambers.  Upon reaching the bottom of the stairwell,
she heard voices coming out of the Library.  Glancing in, she found Goliath and
Xanatos there with a young, breathtakenly beautiful woman.  A woman who was
peeking over the bassinet that held the twins.  Elisa suddenly felt a hot flash
of anger surge through her when she glanced at the young woman.  At once, she
rushed into the room.  Startled, Goliath looked up.

    "Elisa!" he said, rushing over to her.  Giving her a swift kiss on the lips,
he guided her over to where the others were standing next to the twins' crib.

    Elisa glanced at the strange young woman.  An eerie feeling went down her
spine, and she encountered one of the strangest moments she had ever experienced.
As the two women looked at each other, Mirella looked at Elisa with the oddest
expression-- actually it was no expression.  Her face was a stark mask.  Almost
immediately Elisa became tense.  There was something strange about this young
woman...something that Elisa did not like.

    "Elisa, this is Mirella McNaulty.  Xanatos has just hired her to help you
with the twins at night for the next couple of weeks until you are back on your
normal shift." Goliath looked down at his mate expectantly.

    Elisa looked up at Goliath, startled.  "To help me with the twins??"

    "Goliath has been worried about you of late, Detective," Xanatos went on
to explain.  "You have been looking a bit run down since you've been assigned
to the day shift."

    Elisa glared at Xanatos.  "That shift ends after next week, Xanatos."

    "Elisa..." Goliath chided her gently.  "You have been tired lately, my love.
I don't want you warn out."  He turned and pulled her towards him and gently
turned her chin up towards his face.  "I know you take great care of our
daughters, but you must take care of yourself as well.  Let Mirella help you
the next couple of weeks.  Just until you back onto your regular shift."

    Elisa smiled weakly at Goliath.  She could never turn down a request from
her Big Guy.  "Alright.  But ONLY until I go back on nightshift."  Turning, she
gave Mirella a weak smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.  "We'd me glad to
have your help for a while....Mirella."

    Mirella returned the smile with a cool one of her own.  "It'd be my
pleasure, Ms. Maza." she said in her husky voice.

    Elisa left Goliath's side and walked over to the crib that held her twins.
Heartfyre and Destyni laid there, cooing away, intent on making a meal out of
their tiny fists.  Smiling, Elisa reached in to touch them when suddenly a
terrible pounding erupted inside her head.  Putting her hand to her forehead, she
shut her eyes and wavered a bit just as Goliath rushed up behind her.

    "Elisa??" he asked, worried.

    "I need to sit down."  Goliath led her over to a nearby chair.  Putting her
elbow upon the arm of the chair, she leaned her head into her hand.  "I don't
know what just came over me.  But suddenly, now, I have this terrible pain in my
head."

    "Which is precisely why Goliath has been worried about you, Detective.  You've
been working to hard lately.  Goliath, why don't you take Detective Maza to your
room.  I'm sure she could use a good night's sleep."  Xanatos turned to his newly
hired employee.  "Mirella, it looks like you're about to start you job tonight."

    Mirella smiled as Goliath gathered Elisa up into his arms.  "It'd be my
pleasure, Mr. Xanatos."

                          *************************

    As soon as her head touched the pillow, the pain in Elisa's head banged against
her temples.  She couldn't keep her eyes open under its weight.  When she let them
close, her mind became a pond.  The thin scum of nightmare, just partially seen,
just partially heard, and partially tasted, began to spread across her head.  As
it did, it spawned nasty apparitions that multiplied and fattened and swam toward
her, sneering as they moved.  She backed away, but they pressed closer and closer,
until they were about to crush her against the back wall of her skull.  "STOP!" she
screamed to herself.

    But when Elisa opened her eyes, the bright light of the lamp lanced them and
struck that double target of pain buried in her brow.  Elisa moaned.  There seemed
to be no comfort, no escape.  She folded a corner of the white bedspread that
covered the bed she shared with Goliath like a bandage, and laid it across her eyes.
It filtered the light so that she was able to rest her eyes half open, keeping both
the pain and the stinking demons at bay.  Before she realized it, she slid into a
trance.

    Elisa saw herself on her back in the bottom of a small white boat which was tied
to a wooden dock at the edge of a lake.  The lake water was blackish-green, viscous,
with a sickening swell to it-- unnatural for such a small body of water.  The lurch
of the boat rolled the pain back and forth behind her eyes.  She tried to believe
that she was safe as long as the boat stayed tied to the dock and did not drift
into the middle of the lake.

    Through the trance she heard someone out in the outer room, heard the gurgle of
her children.  Goliath's baritone voice was also heard in the background along with
the husky whisper of the woman,  Mirella.  All the while, the white paint of
the boat was smooth under her fingers, the slow waves rolled her back and
forth, the smell of the stagnant water coated the back of her tongue. Upon
hearing the voice of Mirella again, Elisa snapped out of her trance.  She
could tell that dawn was near, from the faint light gathering in her room.
Sitting up carefully, she shielded her eyes with one hand, and with the other
turned the intensity of the lamp down to low.  Its softer light didn't hurt
as much.  She got up and entered the other room.

    There standing next to the crib holding the babies stood Goliath with
Mirella, looking awesomely beautiful.  Her clothes-- a pale yellow oxford
cloth shirt and gray flannel skirt, dark blue cardigan draped around her
shoulders, charcoal stockings and penny loafers-- looked incongruous on her
volumptuous body, which was as perfectly proportioned as a Greek vase.  It
was statueque, ripe, at ease with itself.  Her thick blond hair was brushed
back in a wavy mane from her sphinx-like face.  Her enormous, slightly
slanting dark eyes were a smoky, purplish-brown color and looked across wide,
luscious cheekbones.  Her skin was absolutely flawless, velvety, almost
iridescent.  A slight smile parted her full, raspberry-pink lips and sculpted
her cheeks into a delicately sexy suggestion of a sneer.  The tip of her
tongue was just visable, and rested lightly on her lower teeth.  She was
gazing at Goliath and there was no mistaking that lethal, triumphant hunger
in her eyes.

    Elisa's eyes narrowed.  From the look on Goliath's face, he wasn't enjoying
the attention that Mirella was paying to him, but knowing him like she did, Elisa
also figured that he was too polite to say anything nasty to her.  Especially if
he was as worried about her as she thought he was.  Why is this happening? she
wondered.  Nobody should be that beautiful.  She walked up to stand beside Goliath,
a challange in her eyes.

    "I don't think you'll be needed anymore tonight, Mirella.  Why don't you go
ask Owen where you'll sleep?" Elisa said to her, daring her to contridict.

    But Mirella just flashed Elisa a tight smile and nodded her head.  "Goodnight
then, Ms. Maza....Goliath."

    Elisa watched as she walked out of the room.  Turning, she then laid her
head on Goliath's chest, the pounding in her head returning full force.  "I
don't like that girl.  Where on earth did Xanatos find her?" she asked him
as he brought his hand up to caress her hair.

    "I don't know, Elisa-mine.  But I intend to find out."

                          ***************************

    Still, black, ageless.  Atop a pedestal of raw, uncarved stone, the onyx
eyes of the sculpture met the eyes which regarded it with the wide, unblinking,
stare of the cat from which they took their shape.  Through the pagan art of
some long, forgotten master, those eyes captured light, devouring it in an abyss
of darkness denying even the possibility of escape in the reflection that is
sight.

    The soft lighting of the circular niche found hidden fires in the sleek curve
of its neck and the supple arch of its back as two ears, eternally erect, defied
the existence of sound with the silence of their unmoving stone.

    Flawless in its mimicry of the timeless moment before thought becomes motion,
it dared its companion to watch and wait, forever, if necessary, for an
acknowledgement of any existence other than its own.  Suddenly, the standoff was
interrupted as the door to the office was opened and Goliath entered the quiet
darkness.  "Xanatos?" he called softly into the dark.

    It seemed-- as the moments slowly massed for their dismissal at the sound of
the gargoyle's call-- the statue had found an opponent worthy of the game.  Then,
without any concessions made-- or granted-- one pair of eyes flickered and fell
away.  As if a ghostly, lifeless white in the ambient glow, the two hands of the
billionaire rose from the shadows cloaking the arms of the chair where they had
rested, motionless, in the unnatural challange just deferred.  The fingers of the
left flexed, extended and flipped on the light switch of the small desklamp
sitting atop the desk.  Light flooded the room.

    "What is it, Goliath?" Xanatos smiled, finding amusement as the Gargoyle
leader's eyes kept blinking, trying to adjust to the sudden light.

    Goliath shook his head and focused on the billionaire.  "I wanted to ask
you about Mirella.  Elisa and I find something...rather strange about her."

    Xanatos raised an eyebrow.  "Strange?  In what way?  She's very beautiful,
admittedly.  But she seems capable enough."

    Goliath nodded.  "I can find no fault in her in her care of the twins, but
there is something....unearthly...about her beauty..." Goliath's voice drifted
off.  "I am not explaining this right..."

    "Do you find her attractive?" Xanatos asked, smirking suddenly.

    Goliath looked at the billionaire, flabbergasped.  "How can you say such a
thing???  You know that it is Elisa that I love!!!"

    Xanatos gave Goliath a humoring look.  "Goliath!!  Finding Mirella attractive
is not something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about.  Considering you have
chosen a human woman for your mate, its not surprising that you have found another
human woman also attractive.  I find her rather charming myself...  And I am not
trying to imply that you are betraying Elisa in any way by looking at her.  Rather,
we humans...have a saying that may define your problem: its alright to look, just
don't touch."

    Goliath took a moment to digest what Xanatos was saying.  "Yes, but Elisa also
feels a danger from her...."

    "Of course she does, Goliath!  She just had two babies in few months ago, she
isn't spending that much time with you or your children....its not uncommon for a
woman who has just had children to feel ugly or unattractive for a while."

    Goliath shook his head.  "Elisa is not like that, Xanatos.  It is something
more than that....where did Mirella come from?"

    Xanatos paused, startled for a moment.  "Why I assume from my employment agency
downstairs.  They must have cleared the way for her to come up here...how else
could she have made it past security and make it up to my office?  She entered
asking about a job for a nanny.  I told her that Alex already had a nanny and asked
if she did anything else.....then you called about getting help for Elisa..." the
billionaire's voice trailed off.  Now it was HIS turn to feel uncertain.

    Goliath gave Xanatos an admonishing look.  "Xanatos, I suggest that you check
into Mirella's background immediately.  I have a strange feeling about her....a
danger.  I do not want her around my children or Elisa if she is not all what she
seems."

    Xanatos nodded his head in agreement.  "I'll do that immediately."  Goliath
turned to leave.  "Oh, Goliath, before I forget..."  The Gargoyle leader turned
back at him expectantly.  "Fox asked me to ask you and your clan if you'd like to
join us in a small Halloween party tomorrow night?  Halloween is the next day, and
it is our way of extending the celebration to all of you for your protection over
the last year...especially over Alexander."

    Goliath gave the billionaire a small smile.  "Xanatos, there is no need for
that.  Protecting is what gargoyles...."

    "Do....yes I know," Xanatos finished for him.  "However, that does not erase
the gratitude that I will never be able to repay for your help against Oberon when
he tried to take Alexander.  I will forever be in your debt for that.  Now, will
you come?  It'll only be the office staff, of course.  No one else, no strangers."

    Goliath nodded graciously.  "Then in behalf of my entire clan, Elisa and myself,
I accept."

                         *************************

    The next morning, Elisa woke up still not feeling well.  The headache had
lifted the night before briefly before she had gone to sleep, but it had left a
residue of heaviness in her limbs, as if to warn her that the pain was only
suspended until morning and would strike again if she moved too fast.  Goliath had
urged her to go to bed despite the fact that it would mean another night without
spending time with her or the twins.  Much to her relief, however, he had dismissed
Mirella for the rest of the night and had enlisted Angela's help in watching her
younger sisters.

    Elisa slept until ten o'clock the next morning.  Her sleep was infested by
poisonous dreams.  All through her dream she repeated, "This is no dream."  In the
dream she was so sleepy that it took all her strength to open her eyes.  She longed
to keep them closed, to surrender to the total blackout, but if she did that she
was afraid she would die.  She kept forcing herself to keep lifting her tombstone
eyelids, giving herself a scum-lined sliver of space to see through.

    All around her was a clammy fog, stained with dark brown twilight.  An ugly
smell emanated from the ground and mingled with the fog; the thick moistness
congealed into sickly shadows, vaguely human in form.  They drifted close to her
and whispered nonsense in her ears.

    The place was maddeningly familiar, but something was missing.  Some important
landmark was not there and she couldn't remember what it had been.  It was
important that she remember, so she threw all her strength into keeping her eyes
open.  But she loathed where she was and wanted only to slip into the comfort of
dreamless death.

    Forcing herself to gaze into the clearing where the missing thing was supposed
to be, she saw the earth begin to shift and swell, like infected skin erupting
into a boil.  The hump of the earth cracked open.  The stink suddenly became so
strong that Elisa retched.  She backed into the rough, wet arms of a big tree.  The
tree held her up solidly.  She was grateful, because her legs were worthless and
her head a cauldron of agony.  Without the tree, she would have collapsed altogether
at the horror of what happened next.

    Something was struggling to climb out of the sick earth, trying to free itself,
staggering to its feet.  It was a decaying corpse, glowing green with the
phosphorescence of bacteria that were decomposing it.  Its rough exit from the
earth had ripped chuncks and strips of softened flesh off its frame.  Guts spilled
out through gaps.  Driven by some terrible need, it came towards Elisa.  As it
moved, it tried to repair itself by gathering up its rotten guts and pouring them
back into its cavity.  It plastered handfuls of flesh back into its bones.  Its
face came closer and closer.  Its eye sockets were nests of white worms.

    When it came within a hand's breadth, it stopped.  Elisa heard the brown air
wheeze and gurgle through the crevices of its broken body.  Then it breathed its
heavy stench directly into her nostrils.  She wanted to fall down and die, but the
tree supported her.  Then she noticed some green plants starting to grow around
the corpse's feet.  They shot up out of the ground, taller and taller, and wrapped
themselves around the body, pulling it down and away from her.  Snarling, the corpse
fought with them, using its bony hands for a sickle to chop them down.

    The plants fell and turned to fire and sprang up hot red and yellow.  The wet
ground hissed.  Steam rose and mingled with the cold fog.  The flames climbed higher
and spread wider and expanded into an enormous blaze.  Elisa was not burned but
the corpse vanished into the flames.  When the steam cleared, it was gone.  The
flames died and the brown fog moved in again.  The earth heaved and the corpse
erupted from it and came towards her again.  Once more she smelled its rottenness
and felt the piercing malice of its intent.  Again the plants grew up and seized
it, were beaten down, and became flames.

    The dream repeated itself over and over.  Each time, the corpse came a little
closer to her and blew a stronger storm of stench.  The pain sank deeper into Elisa's
brain.  Her yearning for sleep was becoming impossible to achieve.  Elisa woke up
feeling tired and dissatisfied, wanting to sleep some more, but knowing she would
get none with these haunting dreams.

    She went into the twins' adjoining nursery to check on them.  They were sleeping
soundly, just as they always did during the day.  Though they did not turn to stone,
they were nocturnal like their father....and usually their mother.  Sighing, Elisa
left her and Goliath's chambers and headed down into the lower levels of the Castle.
All was silent.  No one was around.  Heading from the stairwell, she entered the
library, hoping a good book might lull her to a more peaceful sleep.

    Picking one up that one of the others must have been looking at the night
before, Elisa laid down on one of the many sofas that graced the spacious room but
did not open the book.  Rather she stared out into space.  She couldn't continue
to lie to herself.  Something was wrong, and it was getting worse.  Nothing in the
waking world seemed worth doing any more.  This lethargy frightened her.  It was
like a formless sogginess taking over, destoying her will.  "What's happening to
me?" she asked herself.

    Her head throbbed.  Every hammerstroke of its pounding drove blackness deeper
into her consciousness.  She barely had enough strength to pick up the book she held.
Finally giving into the pain, Elisa warily closed her eyes.  And the dreams began
again.

                         ***************************

    Toward late afternoon, Elisa finally awakened.  Dragging herself out of her
sleepiness, she slipped on her shoes and walked out of the library and into the
hallway.  All was silent.  Walking down the hall to the kitchen, Elisa noticed
that not even the staff that was usually on hand could be found.  Sighing, she
decided to head upstairs to check on the twins and wait for Goliath and the others
to awaken.  It was only about an hour till dusk now.

    Outside, the sunshine stained everything with its late afternoon orange tint.
Inside, Elisa felt the hulking presence of the empty castle well hidden within its
many shadows.  It loomed all around her, escorting her amid a darkness.  The orange
autumn sun was sliding down the tower and peeping in through the windows of the
stone staircase as she climbed back up to the upper levels to the rooms she shared
with Goliath.

    Entering their bedroom, she looked at the windows where the white curtains hung
motionless.  All the doors and windows were closed.  There was no sound or movement
anywhere.  The room looked opaque.  It seemed to be holding itself still on purpose.

    "I'm being silly," Elisa whispered to herself.  "What would the Captain say if
she saw her top detective now, afraid of her own shadow?"

    Mentally shaking herself, Elisa moved across the room to the adjoining door that
led into the twins nursery.  Stopping just inside the doorway, she paused for a
moment.  Did she imagine it or was there a bad smell in the air?  Suddenly, while she
stood there, she heard a door creak behind her.  Just in time, Elisa turned and saw
the door to the spare closet in her bedroom click shut.  Shivers ran up Elisa's
spine.  She stood there for a moment, debating whether or not to check and see if
there was anything inside the closet.  Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and let
out a huge sigh.  Her imagination was really getting the better of her.  She turned
and entered the twins' room.

    The shuttered nightlight burning over the crib threw her elongated shadow onto
the far wall where carved and gaily painted figures of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys
flew among silver stars.  The twins laid under the glow of the light, sleeping
peacefully.  Desi stirred briefly, murmuring in her sleep as Elisa drew the quilt
closer about her daughters' tiny figures.  The tawny gold of Elisa's hand lingered
for a moment, first on Desi's head and then on Heartfyre's.  Long feathery lashes
lay against Heart's flushed cheeks and one tiny hand cradled a small stuffed bear.
Elisa smiled.  Her daughters were fine.

    A board creaked out in the outer bedroom.

    Elisa stopped dead in her tracks and froze.  Someone was walking around out
there.  She stood perfectly still, but heard no more.  Wondering if she had imagined
it.  She glanced down at the twins.  The babies continued to sleep.  There it was
again!  The creaking, and another sound.....some kind of low-pitched, sobbing hiss.
Elisa froze again, her hand reaching automatically for her gun inside her jacket.
Clutching it, she drew it out, terror cruising through her body.  From out in her
bedroom there was silence again, and then faintly, the sound of a drawer being
closed.

    'What the hell is it?' Elisa thought wildly to herself.  She glanced out the
window of the twins' nursery.  The sun was about to set.  Soon it would be dark and
Goliath would awaken.  She had to keep whatever was out there at bay until he did.

    Silence.  For a few moments, all was quiet.  Then she felt a tide of surly,
frustrated malevolence flowing in towards her from the other room.  Cocking her
gun, Elisa made her way to the doorway of her bedroom.  As she neared the door,
she heard it again-- the creaking and the voice-- louder, this time.  A low-pitched
rasping whine, like the noise a dog makes wheen it wrestles with a bone.  And now
the unmistakable smell of decay.  Elisa reached the doorway.  The light went out.

    Elisa glanced into the darkened room.  Something moving out of the closet caught
her eye.  There, in the twilight, a black-robed, hooded figure was stepping out of
the extra bedroom closet.  As it began to rush towards the doorway of the twins'
nursery, it made an angry whining noisee and ground its teeth.  Ahead of it, aimed
at her alone, flowed a sharp, stinging malice.

    In the next split second, her thoughts going 90 miles a second, Elisa's first
reaction was to defend her children.  Turning, she ran back across the room and
stood starkly in front of the twins' crib, pointing her gun at the thing that
stood in the doorway.

    The foul smell that flowed in was almost unbearable.  Then Elisa's eyes adjusted
 to the dying light, and she saw the darkly wrapped figure pressed against the
empty space of the doorway.  Claw-like hands reached for her and then withdrew
into the darkness of the cloak.  Within the folds of the hood glowed a pale, half-
decayed face.  Its mottled green flesh hung in softening strips from the bone.  Its
eyes were black holes.  Something phosphorescent squirmed in their depths.

    It reached out towards her but didn't come any closer.  Then it spoke, its
voice a dry, toneless his.  The words flew at her on gusts of sickening stench.
"Think you're pretty smart, don't you!  But not for long!  You'll be out of the
way soon!"

    Without realizing what she was doing, Elisa screached in anger at the thing
and began firing at it in rapid succession until her round was spent.  The corpse
just stood there, laughing at her.  With terrifying frustration threatening to
engulf her, Elisa threw the gun on the floor and grabbed for the nearest thing
to her.  A small potted spider plant that sat on the table next to the twins'
changing station.  With three times the strength she thought she possessed, Elisa
hurled the plant across the room at the thing in the doorway.  It screamed and
jumped backwards into the air.  At the same time, the sun dipped below the horizon
and the sound of seven waking gargoyles could be heard coming from out on the
terraces of the Castle.

    "GOLIATH!!!!!!" Elisa screamed at the top of her lungs.  At the sound, the twins
awakened, crying for fear at the unusual sound their calm mother made.  At the same
time, the corpse leaped to its feet and headed out of the bedroom and into the
darkness of the hallway, down towards Mirella's room, leaving a trail of stench
behind it.

    At her call, Goliath burst through the nursery window only to find two crying
babies and Elisa bending down to retrieve her gun.  "Elisa!!" he cried, flipping
on a nearby light.  Ignoring the crying twins, Elisa rushed into their bedroom
and over to the drawer where she kept extra cartridges for her gun.  Quickly she
began reloading it.

    Close behind Goliath, Angela and Broadway entered the nursery.  Looking back
over his shoulder at his eldest daughter, Goliath motioned her towards the twins.
Immediately, Angela and Broadway each picked up one of the twins and started to
soothe them.  Goliath headed towards the doorway to his and Elisa's bedroom.
Stunned, he swiftly noticed the spent rounds embedded into the wall along side the
panelling of the doorway.  He entered the room.  Immediatley he was blasted by a
smell of decay.

    Snorting through his nostrils, he went directly over to Elisa and grasped her
by the arms.  Startled, she looked up at him as if noticing him for the first time.
"Elisa, are you alright???  What's been happening here??" he asked her, almost
shouting.  He sniffed deeply through his nose again.  "And what is that god-awful
smell??!!" the gargoyle leader demanded.

    Elisa's head throbbed.  Every hammerstroke of its pounding drove blackness
deeper into her consciousness.  Shaking her head, trying to clear it, Elisa looked
up at her love.  "A corpse, Big Guy.  Rotten, stinking....it was in my closet..it
wanted to kill me.  My bullets had no effect on it.  I threw a plant at it...and
it ran into the hallway.  I'm going after it."

    Pulling herself out of his grasping arms, Elisa turned and headed directly for
the darkened hallway.  The rotten smell continued on down the hallway, towards
Mirella's room.  Dumbly, Goliath followed Elisa.  Whatever she was rambling about,
he had no intentions of letting her face it alone.  Silently they made their way
down the hallway.  Until they got to Mirella's closed door.  Faint noises came from
underneath the door.  Elisa was about to burst in, but Goliath's firm hand prevented
her from doing so.  Shaking his head, he knocked on the door.

    Immediately the noises stopped.  The sound of footsteps could be heard crossing
the room.  The door opened and there stood Mirella in the flesh.  Weakly she smiled
at Elisa and Goliath.  "Is something wrong?" she asked upon noticing Elisa's gun in
her hand.  Wrinkling her nose, she made a face.  "What's that smell?  Did something
die....a rat or something in the wall maybe?"

                        **************************

    "I'm telling you, it was her!" Elisa said as she paced back and forth in front
of Xanatos and Goliath.

    It was well after midnight and the three had converged in Xanatos's office after
the incident earlier with the-- THING-- that had attacked Elisa.  A thorough search
or the hallway and the entire Castle had dug up nothing other than the horrid smell
that continued to lurk in the hallway and inside Goliath and Elisa's bedroom.  Elisa
had described in great detail to Goliath and the billionaire, exactly WHAT had
occurred right before Goliath and the other gargoyles had awakened.  Elisa was almost
positive that the corpse was linked in some way to Mirella.  Xanatos scoffed it off
as Elisa's overreactive imagination and thought as much of the staff did-- that Elisa
was imagining things and a rat or something had died in the walls somewhere around
the bedroom.  So far, though, Goliath had said nothing.

    "There is something...I don't know.....EVIL about that woman.  I don't like her
and I don't want her anywhere near my daughters."  Elisa stopped and looked at the
billionaire as he continued to shake his head at her.  "I was NOT imagining things,
Xanatos!  That THING was in my room-- in my closet-- and it tried to attack me.  I
don't know what it was...I don't care what it wants...but I want it..HER..out of here.
Now, tonight."

    "Don't you think you are being a little unreasonable, Detective?  You haven't been
sleeping well lately and Goliath said you weren't feeling well.  Isn't that the reason
you asked me to hire Mirella for in the first place??  To help you so you could get
some rest?" Xanatos countered.  "I hardly think it fair to blame what you think
happened on an innocent young woman who's only crime is to have tried helping you."

    "Innocent, my butt.  I've encountered more innocent punks out on the street.  There
is something strange about that girl, and I want her gone.  I was not imagining things
this afternoon."  Elisa shook her head at the billionaire.  "It's not like you to hire
people right off the street, Xanatos.  Where's she from?  Where's her records?  What's
her work experience?  Do you know any of this stuff?"  Elisa asked Xanatos is rapid
succession.

    Xanatos sighed.  "No, Elisa.  I don't know the answers right off the top of my head.
However, my staff would only hire the best.  You know that, Detective.  They wouldn't
have left her up here if they didn't think she was qualified enough to do the job that
she is trained for.  Perhaps someone down in personel thought we could do something for
her.  As it turned out, she came at just the right moment since you and Goliath needed
help."

    "And you don't find that odd?"  Elisa asked Xanatos, raising an eyebrow.

    "Perhaps just a coincidence?" the billionaire offered.

    "Perhaps just a little TOO coincidental."  Goliath's deep voice sounded out into the
room for the first time since the three had entered the office.  "I find this whole
situation very disturbing, Xanatos.  And I believe Elisa.  If she says that a corpse
tried to kill her this afternoon in our bedroom, then I believe her.  One thing Elisa
does not have is an overreactive imagination...no matter how tired she is."  Elisa smiled
at Goliath for his show of support of her.  "And I also trust her instincts-- if she
feels there is something odd about this Mirella woman, then I want her checked out. Now."

    Sighing, Xanatos nodded.  "I'll have Owen bring in her personnel report at once."

    "I'm afraid sir, that that will be impossible as she does not have one."  Owen's
voice said as he himself emerged from the shadows of the outer office.

    "Owen," Xanatos said.  "I didn't hear you come in."

    "I'm sorry, sir.  I didn't mean to startle anyone."  The majordomo straightened his
glasses.  "I took the liberty, sir, of bringing up Ms. McNaulty's personel file when I
heard the reports earlier this evening of the creature that tried to attack Detective
Maza.  Something...told me that this was no....ordinary happening or circumstance.  My
suspicions were futher proven correct when I discovered that no one had seen or heard
of Ms. McNaulty before her having entered your office....in fact, there is no recording
of her having even entered the building."

     "How is that possible?" Elisa countered.  She turned to Xanatos.  "You have some of
the best state-of-the-art equipment this side of the Atlantic.  How could she get away
with that.  Who is she?"

    "The question, Ms. Maza, is not who is she, but WHAT is she," Owen corrected.

    Goliath rose up from where he was sitting on the desk and went over to put an arm
around Elisa.  "Suppose you tell us, Twixster?"

    Owen didn't bat an eye at Goliath's jab at his alter-ego.  He knew the Gargoyle
leader didn't care much for the Puck.  "Mirella is a creature that is not human.  She's a
fiend.  Her kind can not be trusted."  Owen crossed the room to step nearer to Xanatos,
Goliath and Elisa.  "Mirella is neither alive nor dead.  She belongs to a species of
creature related to the vampire, a spectre who refuses to die a natural death.  By means
of magical deceptions, it preserves its flesh through countless lifetimes.  It appears to
die many deaths, but each time it rises and dresses itself in the semblance of a new
body, which is actually the same body that was born two hundred, five
hundred, or a thousand years ago.  Such a creature begins its existence as a
normal human infant.  But at some point in its life it gives into the belief
that its soul is bound to die along with its body.  It has no understanding
that life goes on, even after you die.  Thus, it falls prey to the deepest
despair there is."

    "And this is what this Mirella is??  A living vampire?" Goliath asked, drawing Elisa
closer to him.

    "Of a sorts," Owen confirmed.  "Mirella and those like her are unable to trust in the
power of life to conduct its individuality beyond the grave.  Thus, they call upon evil
powers to help them preserve their flesh forever.  But like a tree that refuses to shed
its leaves, a soul that tries to reverse the laws of nature and live such an
abominably maintained body becomes an abomination itself-- desperate, insatiably hungry,
inconsolably envious.  It is like a rose without water; all its powers of love and humor
dry up.  It loses the very thing it really wanted to save-- its humanity, its love of
life-- and changes from a human being into an IT, a walking corpse.  The horror of it
is that such a creature may physically look breathtakenly beautiful.  You'd never know,
to look at it, what hideousness its beauty disguises."

    Elisa nodded.  "That explains why she looks so damn beautiful.  But what's with her
fascination with Goliath?  Why was she attacking me?"

    Owen turned to Elisa.  "Because, Detective Maza, in order to maintain the illusion
that it is a living human being, this creature must be able to assure itself that it is
real, that it is loved.  It dreads being alone, for then it would no longer be able to
fool itself.  Having no life of its own, it feeds on the lives of others.  That is why
Mirella is after Goliath.  That is why Mirella attacked you.  She has convinced herself
that she needs Goliath to prove she is alive.  She'll destoy you, Elisa, and your
children and anyone else who stands in her way."

    Elisa pushed deeper back into Goliath's embrace at the mention that
Mirella might go after the twins.  Goliath put a comforting hand on her
shoulder.  "How do we stop her?" he asked.

    For the first time ever, Owen smiled.  "I was getting to that, Goliath.  There's
only one way to stop a thing like that and put an end to its unnaturl destructive
force.  Plants."

    "Plants??" Elisa repeated incredulously.

    Owen nodded.  "Green plants are toxic to Mirella.  The power of life to regenerate
itself, which she denies,is so strong that she can't bear to be near it.  She is a very
powerful witch, but the herbs that protect against witchcraft are fatal to her.  Not
only will they destory her, but they will heal most of the harm she has done."  Owen
paused for a moment, thinking.  "Its been centuries since I've had a need to recall such
things, but I believe vervain, saint johnswort, and bay laurel ought to do the trick."

    "What do we do with them?" Xanatos asked, speaking for the first time since Owen
began his narrative.

    "Brew them into a strong tea....and then dump it on her."

    Elisa raised an eyebrow at the majordomo.  "Dump it on her?" she echoed.

    Again, Owen nodded.  "Yes, Detective.  She should disintegrate into a corpse before
your very eyes."

    "When do we do this?" Xanatos asked, standing up.

    "Tonight," Goliath said.  "It's the Halloween party.  Hopefully she won't suspect a
thing."

                              **********************


    A cloud of fireflies hovered over the expanse of the courtyard.  They danced
and glimmered in the lengthening shadows, their luminescence visible from the
towering perches of the Castle.  Melodious voices of woodwinds and violins came
in waves, carried on the mellow October breeze.  Threads of voices and laughter
wove themselves into the rich tapestry of the dusky velvet night.  A veil of
mystery shrouded the Castle on this Halloween night, transforming, bewitching
every moment, every object, into something magical and talismanic.  Something
earthshattering was going to happen.

    The clinking off crystal glasses broke upon the air as the waiters in their
crisp black tuxedos conveyed tray after tray of glasses to the linen draped
tables.  Bouquets of white and broze mums mixed with fall leaves decorated them.
Jack-o-lanterns and sheaves of intertwined, ripened wheat graced the doorways and
the dance floor.  The glass doors to the terrace outside the ballroom were thrown
open to the dark night, creating a long vista skirted by the white circular
tables.  The shedding trees of the surrounding courtyard twinkled with halos of
diffused white.

    The staff that ran the castle began arriving in droves-- pirates, princesses,
and demons disembarking.  Xanatos, dressed as Red Beard, lingered near the
doorway, greeting his arriving guests, marveling at their costumes, guessing as to
who was concealed beneath.  His eyes followed the waiters circulating among the
masked revelers, offering goblets of champagne, or tidbits of shrimp and crab.  A
dracula swathed in a black cape floated by, clinging to the soft, white arm of a
Grecian maiden.  Groucho puffed at his cigar, and Snow White nibbled on canapes
while King Kong leered at a veiled harem girl.  Xanatos watched closely at the
changing panorama of his guests.  He glanced over to the far side of the room and
looked at Goliath from where he stood next to Elisa who was dressed as a fairy
princess.  Silently, he nodded to his former enemy, now turned friend.  He leaned
against a white pillar, sipping champagne, waiting for the guest of honor to
arrive.

    Speak of the devil.

    Mirella stepped through the shaft of half-darkness and into the white light of
the gaily lit ballroom.  Standing at the threshold, she wore the costume of a belly
dancer, regal and alluring.  She headed into the room.  The soft glow of the room
lit her with hues of gold.  The festivities of Halloween were in full swing around
her.  When she appeared, the crowd parted and she began to dance.  Xanatos moved
over to where Goliath and Elisa were standing.  Spellbound, they watched.

    Mirella was dancing a solo.  Slowly, sinuously, rippling and quivering, she
twisted her limbs around in the air, possessing it.  There were wolf whistles.  She
silenced them with a flash of her eyes and then began to move faster, more wildly,
stamping her feet as if to impress her own heavy rhythm into the shapeless swamp of
the music.  She whirled and undulated, shaking her pale blond mane.  Her enormous
dark eyes glowed, her nostrils flared, and her raspberry mouth was wide open.  She
flung her body into shapes which, on anyone else, would have been mere contortions.
On her, they were ciphers that were full of hidden meanings.

    Mesmerized, Elisa watched her, realizing that it was as if Mirella were
presenting them with a message, a warning.  A declaration of ancient power, dark
and  irresistable.  She looked up at Goliath.  "It's showtime," she said.

    Goliath approached Mirella as a small applause broke out after her dance.  He
reached out to her, bringing her in under his arm as she walked along close to him,
never losing an opportunity to slink into the circle of his arm.  Goliath smiled,
all along wanted to belch, but remembering that he had to get her out towards the
stairwell where Elisa and Xanatos waited with a little "surprise" of their own.  He
forced his hands to touch her as his heart hammered like a drum, steadily beating
a march of doom.

    Disapproving looks came from the staff of the Castle, but Goliath paid them no
mind.  Trying to make his voice and manner seem casual and spontaneous, he slowly
led Mirella across the ballroom floor and out into the outer foyer near the
stairwell.  "That was an..interesting dance you just did in there," he said, trying
to make conversation, get her away from the party.

    "It's so nice to be with you, Goliath," Mirella said, taking his hand.  "I have
trouble getting close to people.  Nobody seems to like me.  No one wants me.  You
are all that I have."

    Goliath looked down at her.  "My being a gargoyle does not bother you?"

    "Oh no!" she exclaimed.  "I've loved gargoyles for years and years!  They are
such strong and magnificent creatures!  They would protect and cherish me forever..."

    Goliath stopped, startled by her revelation.  "It is in our nature to protect,
but cherishing someone, Mirella, comes with love....the kind of love I share with
Elisa."

    Mirella suddenly seemed emanciated, as if the sound of Elisa's name had worn her
flesh away.  Her face took on a greenish pallor.  She left her place at Goliath's
side and walked away from him, backing into the staircase.  She spoke in a slow,
guttural rasp.  "Love??  What know she of love??  You are mine!!  You belong to me--
and someday, sooner or later, everyone will know it!!"

    "That's what you think!!!" exclaimed Elisa's voice from somewhere up above them.

    A heavy splash, tepid and aromatic, fell around her.  A gargled roar of outrage
and anguish came from Mirella.  Another splash, and another and another.  Mirella's
face contorted.  It was collapsing.  She wailed and writhed and broke into pieces
around her.  An eye-stinging stench arose, as if a capsule of filth had burst.  Goliath
jumped quickly free of the collapsing body as arms broke off and fell to the ground,
slithering out of the belly-dancer costume.  He felt a hand upon his arm and looked
down.  Elisa had come down the stairs followed quickly by Xanatos.  He followed her
stare back out to the horrid scene before him.

    Mirella's face was tipped back at a grotesque angle.  Her head was sinking between
her shoulders.  The roar had split her throat wide open.  The flesh of her face and
neck was gone-- dissolved into slimy grayish strands and patches which loosely clung
to her bones.  Her skeleton refused to hold her up.  Within its costume, now as a
scarecrow's, it buckled and the joints came apart.  A thin gray soup drained out through
the holes and crevices in the skull and sank into the ground with a faint bubbling
noise.  Pale wisps of her hair lay wet around the skull.

    Xanatos immediately called for security as Goliath pulled Elisa into a fierce
embrace.  Enclosing her within his wings, he buried his face into her soft dark hair.
Elisa turned her face into his chest, breathing in his fresh, masculine scent, clear of
the headache that had been haunting her for the first time in days.

    "Happy Halloween," she said.

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