Dark Prophesy Saga

 

Written by : Breee  

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Disclaimer : Gargoyles belongs to Disney, no copyright infringement intended, yadda yadda yadda.... =) This story takes place after the end of TGC (Season 3).

 

Author's Note : Whenever I do something like this (i.e. write several parts to a story) I always try and put them all together into one large file at the end. Sort of a courtesy thing, if you wanted to re-read the whole thing and didn’t want to flip through several links to do so. But I’m rambling. :Þ Sorry !

 

Onward ! Tally -- ho !!!

 

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

 

            He was bored. Lord Oberon, Lord and Master of Avalon, ruler of the Third Race, was bored. The Gathering was going well, the mortals had returned to their quiet life around Avalon, and his lady wife was once more at his side.

            Everything was fine. Everything was in order. Everything was.... perfect. Too perfect.

 

            For the first time in nearly a millennium, he began to get an inkling of what life must be like for the Children on Avalon. Everything was peaceful and quiet. But there was no risk, no adventure. For the briefest of moments, he questioned the Puck's logic to stay in the mortal world once more. It was... Then, angry with himself, he banished the thought.

            He frowned, then materialized himself into the castle's library. It wasn't that impressive, in all honesty, since few of the Third Race had the patience for reading. They preferred to attempt the more daring adventures, not read about them.

            Oberon ran his hand along a neatly lined row of books. Everyone of them had some sort of enchantment on them to keep them in good condition, or to keep the pages or binding from becoming brittle.

            Bored, bored, bored... he turned to leave the library. ~Perhaps Titania has returned...~ he wondered to himself. He was almost out the door when a soft thump stopped him.

            He turned back to discover that a book had fallen from the shelves to the floor. He went back and picked up the book. It was slim, and leather bound. Oddly, there was no title. But what was stranger was that he couldn't remember ever seeing that book before. Perhaps it was curiosity, or sheer boredom, but Lord Oberon opened the cover and flipped to the first page of longhand script.

 

            Long after the war of civility, where one will best another.

 

            Oberon frowned. War of civility ? What kind of book was this, anyway ? He read on.

           

            Long after another takes the throne, when rule is twice established.

            Long after the land trembles, where a king’s anger roars.

            Long after they are scattered, when they will learn to be humble.

 

            Oberon stopped reading. "This is a prophecy, not a book." he mused, frowning again. He hadn't thought there were any prophesy books left in the library. Then again, he'd never seen this book before. It was like... "Like it appeared from thin air." he finished aloud. But as he read the next line, he felt the temperature in the room drop.

 

            An old foe will come.

 

            The Lord of Avalon sat down hard in a chair, never lifting his eyes from the book. This was no ordinary prophecy, most of which predicted the birth of some person or other such nonsense. This writing, the very wording, had a darker tone to it.

 

            When twice the half of a millennia has passed.

            When a queen assumes a form not her own.

            When a magic not that of the fey is conquered.

            When a tolling bell vanquishes a king.

            When the children return to a home once lost and twice regained.

            When the call is thrice disobeyed.

           

            Oberon shut the book with a sharp sound. Everything in the prophecy had already happened. Even the war of civility, which was eventually what the Children had called the Great War between Queen Mab and himself. And everything else...

            The land trembling, when he'd banished the Children. When a thousand years had passed, twice the half of a millennia. Queen Titania had taken the human form of Anastasia Renard, to learn the 'magic' of science. The mortal intruders to Avalon had defeated him with an iron bell.

            And now the Gathering, where the Children returned to a home once lost and twice regained. And the call thrice disobeyed, once by Banshee, once by Puck, and once by Titania.

            Oberon opened the book again, hesitantly. He found the place where he had left off and continued reading, a tiny pit of fear forming in his stomach.

 

            When a child wins exemption from the island.

 

            The young quarter-child, Alexander. Puck's interference in the matter had won the child's exemption from the Gathering.

 

            An old foe will come.

 

            There will be a darkness to cover the land.

            Thrice the sun will shine and be vanquished.

            On the third time a portal will open.

           

            The book fell from his hands as he lifted his eyes to the high arched window. Steadily, a shadow covered the room until there was not enough light to read. From outside, he could hear the cries of confusion from the Children.

            He grabbed the book and materialized in front of the castle. Titania was already there, and behind her, the three Weird Sisters. Titania was calling out reassurance, thought it did little good. The Sisters huddled together, heads bent as conferred amongst themselves.

            Oberon forgot about the book in his hands as he reached his wife. Her liquid green eyes bespoke her confusion

            The Sisters turned as one, and in unison declared, "We will rid the land of this shadow, Lord and Lady." And before Oberon could stop them, each launched a glowing orb towards the sky.

            The orbs penetrated the shadow and disappeared. For a moment, nothing happened, then light exploded in the sky. For a moment, it looked as if the shadow would vanish, but then the orb light was abruptly extinguished. The sky went black again. The Sisters looked baffled, but Oberon wasn't paying them any attention.

            "Thrice the sun will shine and be vanquished. And on the third time, a portal will open." he murmured. A whirlwind appeared in the center of the courtyard, swirling dust and dirt into everyone's eyes and making them step back.

           

            Oberon hurled the book into the cyclone, furiously. ~It's only words on paper ! It’s not real !~ he thought, but the fear in him didn't disperse. Then, just as suddenly, the whirlwind flung the book out of the funnel back at him. It landed open and facing Oberon. The last line presented itself mockingly.

 

            When the king vents his rage and disbelief, she will be released.

 

            The cyclone shrieked and grew until it encompassed the entire courtyard. "My god," was Oberon's last thought, "What have I done ?"

           

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

 

"Furthermore, I believe that Cyrex Technologies holds the key to advanced military weaponry and communications for the future. Thank you." said the speaker, stepping down from the podium. There was polite applause from the audience. David Xanatos stifled a yawn. He really didn't care much for Cyrex Technologies, who was supposedly a competitor but was more of an underdog. He also didn't care much for these bid meetings, where the main purpose seemed to be putting down other companies rather than marketing their products. This particular meeting was over the latest military contract. Profitable, but nothing out of the ordinary. He was, however, very interested in the next speaker.

 

            "And finally, ladies and gentlemen, we will hear from the Nightstone Unlimited representative." announced the head speaker.

 

            "This should be interesting." Xanatos murmured to Owen, who was sitting next to him.

 

            "Indeed, sir." was Owen's monotone response. Xanatos glanced sidelong at Dominique Destine, formally known as Demona. She was either oblivious or ignoring his gaze. Xanatos smirked and re-directed his attention to the podium, where the Nightstone rep had begun his presentation.

            It was the usual stuff, new developments in various areas. Fairly evenly matched with Xanatos Enterprises. Everyone in the room knew the bids were either going to be for XE or Nightstone.

 

            "... Today we reveal Nightstone's latest development in AI weaponry, the Nightstone 3000XS Artificial Intelligence Cyborg."

 

            There was a surprised pause in the room, then a more energetic sprinkling of applause. An overhead lit up, showing several 3D models of a powerful looking robot, equipped with a variety of laser cannons in each arm. Xanatos frowned in surprise and anger.

 

"Well, Owen, I guess we know where the design specs that were stolen ended up." he said in an undertone to his assistant. Owen pushed his glasses up with one finger.

 

"Indeed, sir." he repeated.

 

            Dominique turned her green eyes to Xanatos and gave him an absolutely smug smile. Xanatos just fumed silently. He’d lost the bidder’s favour in the contract, he could see that now, as the buyers bent their heads together and spoke quietly.

           

            The meeting concluded as the buyers went to shake hands with Dominique. ~And discuss the payment.~ Xanatos added to himself.

 

            “Owen, make a note to upgrade the security in the R&D labs, please. We don’t need to lose anymore ‘business’ to Ms. Destine.” Xanatos said.

           

            Owen glanced at Dominique. “Understood, Mr. Xanatos.” he replied.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

 

            Owen Burnett was sitting in his office when a strange, unsettling feeling washed through him. It was cold, disturbing. Almost as if the temperature of the room had dropped several degrees. He paused in his paperwork, frowning. He wasn’t sure what it was, he wasn’t sure if it was even real. The feeling was gone as fast as it came. He was about to go back to his work when another feeling washed over him. This one, however, caused him to smile. It was the curious mind-probing of young Alexander.

 

            ~Alexander. You are supposed to be asleep.~  he thought sternly.

 

            ~I’m not sleepy. I wanna snack.~  came the petulant reply. Owen suppressed a soft chuckle. Avalon’s heir or not, this young prince was going to be positively spoiled by the age of 10. Owen sighed mentally, then answered,

 

            ~Very well. I shall be there in a minute.~ 

 

‘Spoiled indeed,’ Owen thought wryly, as he down the carpeted halls to Alex’s nursery/playroom, ‘and I’m part the cause.’ And then, with an un-Owenish smile, he added to himself, ~And why shouldn’t I spoil my nephew ?~

 

            Curiously, Alex had identified Puck as an ‘Uncle’, but never Owen. Yet just how the young boy had managed to tack ‘uncle’ to the trickster, he wasn’t sure. They weren’t family, other than being tied by race, and for the most part, family ties amongst the Fey were irrelevant. But in any case, he enjoyed being the boy’s uncle. It also meant he had an excuse to spoil him.

 

            Owen entered the nursery to see Alex making his toys levitate. Up, down, up down went all the stuffed animals in a row. Alex was standing on his bed, clapping delightedly. Inwardly, Owen sighed. Outwardly, he remained emotionless. And secretly, he was inordinately proud of his pupil.

 

            “I thought you wanted a snack, young man.” He said, as sternly as he could muster at the sight of a stuffed elephant and a stuffed kangaroo waltzing around the room in midair.

 

            “I wanna do magic.” Alex proclaimed, having seemingly forgotten his earlier request. He looked at Owen solemnly. “Pwease ?”

 

            “I believe you already are, Alexander.” Was Owen’s dry response.

 

            “Unca teach me magic ?” the toddler wheedled. His blue green eyes pleaded at him in a way he could not deny. ~I can’t wait ‘til he hits the Terrible Two’s…~ he thought as he removed his glasses. Then he whirled around, faster and faster, until Owen was there no longer and it was the mischievous Puck in his place.

 

            “Well now, Alex, it seems you already learning how to get what you want !” Puck said, laughing. Alex just giggled.

 

“Yes, you are definitely Titania’s grandson.” He mused. Just then he noticed that the toys were floating not quite so high, dancing not quite so energetically. He tied his mind into to Alex’s spell and poked around, then smiled, pleased. The boy had already been holding the spell for quite some time.

           

Deftly, he released Alex’s energy and replaced it with his own. Now the magic was, in effect, using his energy while doing Alex’s bidding.

 

            “Thank you, Unca.” yawned Alex sleepily, and Puck smiled.

           

“No problem, kiddo.” The fey answered with a light chuckle. He was so proud of the boy… Already he was able to manipulate magic to perform minor feats, like altering shape or colour, and minor levitation, and --         

 

Another strange, icy feeling swept through him, stronger than when he had felt it as Owen. This time, however, it didn’t fade. Instead it got stronger. Cold, cold, cold… like ice in his veins. ~What the -- ?! What’s happening to me ?!~ he thought.

 

            And then the ice turned to fire, strong and sharp and burning.

           

            Puck doubled over in surprise and pain. He lost his concentration on the floating toys. With no force to support them, they fell, bouncing as they hit the floor.

 

            “Unca Puck ?” Alex asked, surprised and worried.

 

            “Ohhh…” groaned Puck. He was absolutely baffled. Whatever this was, he reflected, Alex thankfully wasn’t affected. But whatever it was, if was affecting him… and it hurt. Magical in origin, yes, that was easy to see, but unlike any magic he had ever encountered before. Foreign, strange…. dark.

 

            “Unca Puck ?” repeated Alex insistently. The toddler stretched his hand towards his teacher cautiously.

 

            ~No…~  thought Puck, and with absolute certainty, knew that the instant Alex touched him, whatever this was, it would be afflicted onto the boy. The trickster twisted away before the boy’s fingers could make contact.

 

            “No, Alex, don’t.” he said, trying to keep his voice even through the haze of pain that begun to blur his senses. The room around him dimmed and spun.

 

            And then it was gone.

 

            Puck gasped in relief as the pain disappeared without a trace. The fire-like feeling was gone, vanished. He straightened, stretching his senses to their limits to determine what had caused the feeling. His magic encountered nothing, as if nothing had happened but moments before.

 

            He became aware that Alex was watching him, looking scared. Puck sighed and scooped the boy up. “Unca Puck ok ?” the boy whimpered, his lower lip trembling. Puck tickled him.

           

            “Sure I am.” He replied, with a lightness he didn’t feel. “But that’s enough magic for one night, hmm ?” he said, and Alex nodded, looking sleepy, once more just a little boy who was up too late.

 

            Puck deposited him in his bed, tucking the blankets around the boy. “Goodnight, Alex.” He said softly, and half asleep, the boy mumbled, “’Night, Unca…”

 

            Puck transformed back into Owen with a little flash of light and left the nursery.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

The next morning, 8:30 am

 

            “Brrr… it’s cold in here.” Fox said as she descended the stairs and made a beeline for the table. David looked up from the newspaper. “Fox, dear, it is November. The weather did have to get cold sometime..”

 

            Fox narrowed her eyes at the newspaper. The red tattoo over her eye was altered as she read the back half of the page David was reading.

 

            “David, darling…” she purred. Xanatos looked up, startled. He knew that when Fox sounded like that, he was usually in trouble.

                       

            “Yes, Fox ?” he asked. Fox tapped the back half of the newspaper.

 

            “You didn’t tell me you sat with the mayor’s daughter at the last charity banquet that I missed.” Her voice was dangerously low.

 

            Xanatos dropped the paper like a hot stone. “What ?!” he exclaimed, then turned the paper over. There, emboldened on the back were the words, Billionaire Shows Mayor’s Daughter ‘Exotic Food’. The picture was blurred, but showed David sitting extremely close to a blond, scantily dressed woman and looking very pleased.

 

            “Fox, I didn’t…” he started, then changed his mind. “That is not me !” he defended, looking at the picture. Fox didn’t say a thing. Xanatos was rescued as Owen, who had appeared from nowhere as usual, peered at the photograph and nodded.

 

“Indeed. This image is fake.” He said, then just as calmly, poured them both cups of coffee.

 

            Fox relented. “Alright.” She said, “I believe you. Those tabloids will do anything for a story.” David just nodded and shot Owen a thankful look when Fox wasn’t looking.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

Later that afternoon, 3:45pm

 

            Fox ran up the stairs to the top parapet, her hair tied back into a low ponytail as she bent over, putting her hands on her knees.

 

            “This is the only way to exercise.” She puffed to herself, pleased. She decided against another round through the castle and headed back into the Eyrie part of the building. She descended the stairway, walking nimbly down the stone steps.

 

            She didn’t see the patch of ice until it was too late. Her running shoes lost traction, and she flung out a hand out to catch herself. But there was no railing, nothing for her to grab onto. Her feet slipped out from under her and she fell down the cold, cold, cold stone steps…

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

 

            “Fox ?” David’s voice broke through the haze in Fox’s mind. She cracked her eyes open, then winced as light scalded them. “Uhh…” she mumbled, as her mind cleared. She was on a bed, in… the infirmary ??

 

            Her husband sat in the chair next to her. “You’re awake, good.” He smiled.

           

            “What happened ?” asked Fox, utterly baffled.

 

            “You fell down the flight of steps from the castle… don’t you remember ?” he asked worriedly. “You got a few nasty bruises, but you didn’t break anything. Do you remember what happened, Fox ? Did you trip ?” he inquired.

 

            Fox winced. “No, I slipped… on a patch of ice.”

 

            David gave her a long, measured look. There was a silence between them for a few minutes. Finally he replied,

 

 “There isn’t any ice outside yet, Fox. It’s not cold enough. And there’s certainly no ice inside, even in Castle Wyvern.”

 

            Fox shook her head vehemently. “No, there was ice and I slipped on it. On the fourth step down…” she trailed off.

 

            David smiled a little and pulled the blankets around her. “Now, now… there was no ice… no ice… no ice… no ice…” he murmured, comfortingly… and Fox found herself agreeing. ~No ice…~ she thought to herself. She drifted off to sleep. David Xanatos watched her for a moment, then dissolved into another form.

 

“That’s right, little mortal… there wasn’t any ice. Just you and your meaningless lives in the castle. I’ll take care of that soon…” the figure said, and the temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

 

            The figure turned, leaving a tiny pattern of ice crystal extending from each of her footsteps. “Now to take care of the others…” she mused, and disappeared.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Eyrie, 3:55pm

 

            David Xanatos noticed the dramatic change in temperature immediately. “Owen ? Is the heating off ?” he asked, feeling unsettled.

           

            Owen raised his head, detecting the change as well. “I do not believe so, sir.” He answered, as calm as ever. Inwardly, he frowned. This was not natural. There was something wrong.

 

            Xanatos stood, the papers in front of him momentarily forgotten. “Owen, what is that ?!” he asked, his words strong but his voice surprisingly quiet. Owen followed his gaze.

 

            In the middle of the office, a tiny whirlwind formed. It spun lazily, slowly at first, and then gained speed and size. Frost began to form on the huge paneled windows. Owen took a step towards it, but David snapped, “To Alex’s nursery, now !”

           

            Owen needed no further urging. Had Xanatos been watching him, he would have noticed as Owen’s face tightened. The same feeling, like ice in his body, swept over him.

 

Xanatos was out the door and halfway down the hall when the world around him dissolved and went cold and dark.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

 

            Puck arrived in the nursery an instant later. Alex was sound asleep in his bed, it was afternoon nap time. ~There is nothing out of the ordinary…~ came a soft voice in his mind. Puck almost agreed before he realized what he was doing.

 

            “Who’s there ?” he called suspiciously, moving towards the crib. He felt the reassuring rush of power that was returned to him when he was either teaching or protecting Alex. There was something very, very wrong.

 

            “David ?” he called. The man should have made it to the nursery by now. Puck didn’t get any answer. The trickster looked at Alex, but the boy slept on, unaware. Puck turned, uneasy.

           

            “Reveal what’s hidden and not seen,

show me who in this room has been.”

 

Puck murmured, and a light mist filled the room. It solidified around a female figure standing in the corner. Puck had not sensed a presence, whoever this was, they were very clever with magic.

 

            “Who are you ?” Puck demanded. Alex was still asleep in his bed. He took a step towards the figure. “What do you want ?”

 

            The figure stalked towards him, tendrils of ice creeping around her feet. Silence was the answer he got, and the temperature in the room dropped again. Alex’s breath froze as it hit the air. Puck concentrated and raised the temperature of the room, still keeping an eye on the figure. The windows stopped gathering frost and returned to their normal state.

 

            “You…” the figure hissed angrily, and Puck faced her, ready.

 

            “You… why were you not on Avalon, boy ?” the female figure hissed. Puck couldn’t conceal his shock and surprise. That was all it took. The figure darted forward and froze a band of ice around the fey’s mouth. The ice then expanded and spread around him, freezing in place until he couldn’t move.

 

            The figure then dispelled the mist that Puck’s magic had gathered. He saw her clearly. She had a slim figure and grey toned skin. Her eyes were cold and silver.

           

            “I don’t know why you weren’t on Avalon, boy.” She murmured in his ear. He shivered, watching her angrily, but unable to move or say anything.

 

            “But I’m going to make you wish you had been.”

 

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

 

Puck could only watch helplessly as the female figure took Alex from his crib and ran a hand through his light red-gold hair. He strained, his magic twisting inside him as he tried to break free of the ice that surrounded him, but with no results. The female figure, looking quite pleased with herself, took a seat in the oversized wooden rocker that occupied the corner of Alex’s nursery. She beckoned, looking smug, and the ice around Puck responded immediately. It lifted him and brought him closer. He fumed, not only was his magic temporarily nulled, but he couldn’t move or speak. How frustrating !

 

            ~An ice fey ?~ Puck wondered, puzzling over her form. She had grey toned skin and the coldest looking eyes he’d ever seen. She wore a white dress, like the Banshee’s, which left little hidden and less to the imagination. She moved with a cat-like, arrogant grace, and held Alex securely in her lap. The boy was shivering and Puck felt a surge of anger.

 

            “You are fey, aren’t you, boy ?” she asked rhetorically. That was the other thing. She didn’t look any older than he did, but her calling him ‘boy’ at every opportunity was really grating on his nerves.

 

            Puck eyed her with curiosity. Of course he was fey, but what was she ? ~Beautiful…~ he thought, then mentally kicked himself. She stood, set Alex down in the rocker, and walked over to him. She laid her hand along the band of ice covering his mouth. It melted obligingly. The rest of the ice stayed firm.

           

            “Now you can answer me, can’t you ?” she asked, sounding bored. He nodded, warily. “Let’s start with introductions. That’s how it works now, isn’t it ? My name is Lithivana, the daughter of the ice-demon King Talseir.”

 

            ~Not an ice fey, but an ice demoness.~ thought Puck, surprised. He looked over her suspiciously. The magic she used was almost like a tainted version of the Third Race, not the simple magic of the demons that Oberon had banished to the nether realms long ago. Either she was lying, or she had learned Fey magic well enough to pass it off as her own.

 

            “Are you going to give me your name, boy, or I am supposed to guess it ?” she asked, tapping the ice. Her cold eyes, like frozen quicksilver, danced eerily.

 

            “Puck.” He answered, carefully testing the ice around him. It was still hard and solid. ~Damn…~

 

            “Good. Now the pleasantries have been established. I need some information.” She said. “I’m going to ask you questions, and you’re going to give me answers. Yes or no. If you say anything else, I’ll tighten the ice. If you lie, I’ll tighten. Understand ?” she asked sweetly. Puck glared.

 

            Lithivana ignored the glare. “First question. Are there other humans here in the building which may pose a threat to me ?” she asked, clearly not in the mood to play around with words or trickery.

 

            “No.” Puck answered honestly. If she’d taken Fox and Xanatos, there weren’t anymore humans ! Elisa, maybe, but she wasn’t in the castle right now… Two could play at word games !

 

            She eyed him. “Very well. Are there anymore more of Oberon’s Children here ?”

 

            Again, Puck answered honestly. “No.” Fox and Alex weren’t Oberon’s Children… descendants only. He hoped all her questions were this easy to evade.

 

            Her next question was more direct, however. “You were protecting the boy. Does he have some magical ability ?” Puck took a risk, for Alex’s safety…

 

            “No.” he answered, but immediately, the ice tightened. Lithivana frowned. “I’m not in the mood for games. I told you not to lie, did I not ?” The ice continued to tighten, making Puck wince, but he wouldn’t voluntarily give Alex’s magical abilities away. Lithivana tightened the ice for a few more minutes, then stopped.

 

            “Next time you lie, I’ll not stop. I’ve already sensed the inherent power in the boy. Don’t press your luck again.” She snapped. The ice relaxed its solid grip just a little.

 

            “Now…” she continued, with that same, smug smile, “Where were we ?”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

Later that afternoon,

5:03pm, 1 hour until sunset

 

            Elisa Maza stretched, rotating the kinks out of her neck. “Ugh, I hate paperwork.” She sighed. Her partner looked up at her from the next desk over.

 

“You got it, Elisa. This is definitely the low point of the job.” Matt Bluestone answered, his green eyes twinkling as he finished the stack and cleared the rack called Inbox and promptly dumped everything into the Outgoing side.

 

“But, cheer up. It’s all done for tonight.” He encouraged, and Elisa nodded in agreement.

 

“It sure is, partner.” She laughed. She stood, gave another stretch, and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair where she had thrown it. “I’m going home, feeding Cagney, and then I’m off to… visit friends.” She said pointedly. Matt didn’t even look up.

 

“No problem. Tell them I said hi.”

 

“Will do, Matt. See you tomorrow.”

 

“See you tomorrow, Elisa.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

5:18pm, 45 minutes until sunset

 

            Elisa entered the Eyrie building and made her way past the guard desk, barely giving it a glance. They knew her well enough not to question her frequent comings and goings, and Xanatos promised her she’d always be welcome. So far, the billionaire had kept his promise.

 

            Had she glanced at the guard desk more carefully, she would have noticed the guard was no longer standing, but sitting down in his chair.

 

            And had she looked even closer, she would have seen that the guard was a really an ice statue, mouth still open in frozen shock.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            Elisa watched as the floors ticked their way up to Castle Wyvern. The elevator was unusually cold, but Elisa didn’t think on the matter, other than to comment to herself it was about time Xanatos turned on the heat in the castle. It was early December, after all. So it was to her complete shock when the elevator jerked to a halt, and the numbers ceased counting. For a long moment, nothing happened, then the insides of the elevator began to freeze and get covered with ice.

 

“What the --?!” she started. Frost began to creep along the carpeted floor of the elevator. Elisa drew her gun.

 

            ~’Lisa ?~ whispered a voice from behind her. She spun around, but there wasn’t anyone there.

 

            “Who’s there ?” Elisa asked warily.

 

            ~’Lisa… it’s me, Alex.~ whispered the voice again, and Elisa realized that there really wasn’t any sound, the voice was in her mind. The boy’s voice sounded tired and scared.

 

            “Alex… what’s going on ?” Elisa asked, feeling a little strange talking to an empty elevator. “Is this one of Puck’s lessons ?” she added, frowning. The trickster did have a strange sense of humour…

 

            ~Uh-uh… it’s the ice lady.~ explained Alex, sounding faint, and Elisa was puzzled. Maybe the boy was having a bad dream.

 

            “Alex, are you alright ? What’s going on up there ? Why did the elevator stop ?” she asked.

           

            ~I stopped the elevator, ‘Lisa… I don’t want the ice lady to find you… Will you hide ?~ The last part was spoken with a childish hopefulness.

 

            “Hide ? Hide where ? And who’s the ice lady ?” Elisa demanded. She was getting frustrated, even though she knew it wasn’t the boy’s fault, and deep down she felt that something was wrong, and she didn’t know what it was…

 

            ~I can’t talk no more, ‘Lisa… the ice lady’s coming back.~ Alex said quickly, in her mind, and then the whispering voice was gone from her head. The elevator doors slid smoothly open. Elisa gasped in wonder.

 

            Walkin’ in a winter wonderland…

 

            The elevator had stopped at the Great Hall. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but ice. Every tapestry, every stone, every wall hanging and decoration was pure ice. Not merely an ice coating over everything, but the items had been replaced by ice themselves. Elisa glanced at the floor. The stone and mortar castle floor had been inlaid with ice and snow.

 

            And then the cold hit her.

 

            Elisa suddenly shivered, as a breeze of Arctic temperatures blew out of no where. She quickly zipped up her jacket and stuffed her hands into her pockets. There was something deeply, profoundly frightening about the whole scene. Her breath frosted in the air in front of her. Alex had said an ice lady was here, and the ice-like castle certainly attributed to that fact, whatever an ice lady was. Maybe one of Oberon’s Children…?

 

            Elisa re-holstered her gun, and zipped her jacket up as far as it would go. She was eerily reminded of her trip to Norway, when she met Odin. She frowned, not wanting to dwell on the memories from her extended tour around the world, courtesy of Avalon.

 

            She took a hesitant step forward, wary of the ice floor. Surprisingly, there was just as much traction to the ice as there always had been to the stone floor. Elisa chalked that up on the weird factor and shuffled her way to the stairs that would take her to the top towers of Castle Wyvern. She had to find the clan. She had to find Goliath.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

6:15pm, sunset

 

            Goliath felt the familiar tingle run over his body at the same time he felt the confines of his daily stone skin crack and chip away. He roared to the new night. On the lower parapet, the rest of the clan did the same. He turned and leapt gracefully from his perch.

 

            And slipped.

 

            Goliath let out a surprised sound as his talons skidded on the stone ground. No, not stone, but… ice ?!

 

            “What sorcery --” he started, but was interrupted as several similar cries from the rest of the clan. Lexington poked his head over the edge of the battlement and clambered his way up, his claws loosing traction and hold on the ice-bricks.

 

            “Goliath, what’s happened ? It’s like the whole castle is made of ice !” he exclaimed. Goliath rumbled softly.

 

            “I don’t know.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            Lithivana watched the gargoyles awaken through a spherical bubble of light she had conjured. After examining them for a few minutes, she turned to face Puck, who was shivering in his ice prison.

 

            “You LIED to me again, boy ! You said there weren’t any mortals in the building that would pose a threat to me !” she fumed, and the ice tightened around him.

 

            “I said there weren’t any humans in the building.” Puck corrected, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. He was getting cold… her magic ice had, for the time, completely nulled his own magic and that left him not only trapped but vulnerable as well.

 

            Lithivana hissed angrily. “Yes, you did. I should have known I was dealing with a trickster.” She finally answered. Puck didn’t give a reply. She extinguished the light sphere and made her way over to Alex’s crib, where the boy was sitting and playing with a snowball. The demoness had, at Alex’s whimpers of cold, placed a spell on the boy to ward off any chill that now accompanied the castle. Puck was relieved. It was bad enough he couldn’t protect Alex in the state was in…

 

            “You listen up, trickster.” Lithivana said, very calmly, “Next time you neglect to tell me something like this, I’ll remove every warming spell I’ve placed on the boy and freeze him solid. Understand ?”

 

            Puck nodded his head. Whether she knew it or not, Alex was her only bargaining chip. He wouldn’t attempt anything while he couldn’t protect the boy.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            Elisa vaguely noticed that the closer that she got to the castle battlements, the less traction the ice seemed to have. So, as she rounded the last curve of the stairs, she was practically slipping on each one.

 

            “Goliath ? Guys ?” she called. No answer. She emerged from the castle onto the parapet. There was no one there, and Elisa frowned. They must have gone back inside to see what was happening. She turned to go, when something caught her eye. Several deep, elongated claw marks were marked across the ice-ground. So they had been up here before going elsewhere.

 

            “I’m coming, guys.” She said quietly, then headed back inside the castle.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            “We’ll split up.” Goliath said quietly, glancing up and down the corridor. Even inside the castle had been transformed into ice. In fact, it reminded Goliath disturbingly of the time the Matrix had broken free and covered everything. ~Frozen perfection.~ he’d called it. How accurate that seemed now…

 

            “Hudson, Broadway, you take the library. Brooklyn and Lexington, you take Bronx and get to Xanatos’ control room. Angela and I will go and find Xanatos and Fox.” The lavender gargoyle ordered, and the rest of the clan divided and went their own ways.

 

            Goliath tipped his head towards the direction of Xanatos’ office. “Let’s go.” He rumbled softly. Together, father and daughter made their way down the frozen hallway.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            Brooklyn reached for the light switch inside the control room door. His talon encountered nothing. Lexington looked puzzled, then said clearly, “Lights on ?” The lights blinked on. Lex looked enthused.

 

            “Xanatos said he was going to install voice activated lights, but he never said he got around to doing it !” the younger gargoyle exclaimed, looking impressed. Bronx whined at their feet, and Brooklyn rolled his eyes.

           

            “Yeah, very Star Trek, Lex. Beam me up. Now can we find out what’s going on in the castle ?” he asked, eyeing the darkened computer monitors. Lex vaulted into one of the padded chair and ran his fingers over the keyboard.

 

            “Sure, as soon as I figure out how to pass Xanatos’ password. He wouldn’t give me my own.” Lex said, looking disappointed.

 

            “He probably didn’t want you sneaking into his personal files or something, Lex.” Brooklyn quipped, only half joking. Lex pretended to be offended, all the while tapping various keys and mumbling to himself.

 

            “Let’s see… says here the password’s changed bi-weekly… every two weeks…... If I can pull up an old password, I can cross that with the computer files…… maybe get a more recent one and then  work from there…..” he muttered to himself.

 

            Brooklyn sighed and checked the door again. The shining lights glared off the ice and hurt his eyes. He blinked, and for a moment, thought he saw someone standing there on the ice, all dressed in white and looking for all the world like they belonged on the cold, cold, cold ice and snow…

 

            He blinked again, but there was nothing there. “Uh, Lex ?” he asked uneasily.

 

            “Yeah ?” questioned Lex, not even looking up.

 

            “Get those monitors up and running. I think we’ve got company.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            “It’s beautiful.” Breathed Broadway, as he turned slowly to take it all in. His breath frosted in the air, sending a plume of mist outward every few seconds.

 

            Hudson drew his sword, making a sharp Zzzing ! in the crisp, frozen air. “Aye, lad, but it’s not natural. This is sorcery. If I find out that imp Puck is behind this…” he started, but Broadway frowned.

 

            “I don’t think Xanatos would have let him freeze the whole castle.” He argued.

 

            Hudson shrugged. “I dinnae know what it is, lad, but it be dangerous. We’d best be careful.” He warned, as he went one direction through the library, and Broadway went in the other.

 

            The older gargoyle picked up a book that was lying on the desk. It was not a book, really, but a magnificent ice-carving, each page the thinnest eggshell of ice. He very delicately opened the cover and peered vainly to see the writing, all carved ice, on the page. For a moment, he thought he saw,

 

            Long after the war of civility…

 

            Hudson blinked and looked closer at the book, but the ice words were gone and the page was blank.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            Goliath and Angela crept up to the office doors that led to Xanatos’ office. From inside, they could hear someone shuffling around, trying to keep their balance on the ice floor. With a quick glance at Angela, Goliath nodded his head. Together, they burst through the door, knocking it off its hinges.

 

            Elisa jumped, her heart in her throat, and ended up slipping on the ice. The floor had lost almost all traction by now, and she fell, putting out her hands to catch her.

 

            “Elisa ?” Goliath asked shocked. Elisa stood shakily and gave him a smile. “Hi Goliath, hi Angela.”

 

            “Elisa ! How’d you get in here ?” Angela asked. Elisa shrugged wryly.

 

            “I was looking for you guys. I went up to the tower but you had already left. Where are the others ?” she asked.

 

            “All searching for the cause of this.” Goliath answered, gently holding Elisa’s arm so she wouldn’t slip again.

 

            “Alex told me it was an ice lady.” Elisa offered, then realized how strange that sounded. “I mean, he talked to me in the elevator on the way up and said that there was an ice lady here in the castle, and that he didn’t want her to find me, and that I should hide.”

 

            Goliath’s brow furrowed. “An ice lady ?” he repeated disbelievingly. Elisa nodded.

 

            “I know it sounds strange, but that’s what he said.”

 

            And from behind the three, spoke a voice, confident and proud.

 

            “He was right.”

 

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

 

Lithivana regarded the trio with an unreadable expression in her cold, silver eyes. Goliath turned, slowly, staying between Elisa and the ice demoness.

 

            “I have not seen gargoyles in a long time.” Her voice, as cold as the ice and snow around them, echoed hollowly. There was no curiosity in that voice, no surprise, no… emotion. She was just stating a fact, as calmly as though she had just commented on the weather or something as insignificant as the price of a postage stamp. Angela shivered unconsciously. The temperature in the room continued to drop.

 

            "Who are you ? What do you want ?" Goliath asked warily, his eyes beginning to glow. Elisa recovered from her shock and drew her gun.

           

            "From you ? Nothing, right now. Perhaps later I shall remove from you the information I seek, but for now, you are merely annoyances to be dealt with."

 

            "We'll not be dealt with so easy." Angela challenged, and for the first time, the ice demoness showed emotion. She smiled coldly.

           

            "Come on, then."

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

 

            Hudson and Broadway emerged from the library into a silent hallway. Their talons made dull sounds as they walked down the corridor. Each breath was a plume of frost in the air. Hudson drew his sword, making it sing in the icy air. "Come on." he said.

 

            "It is kind of pretty." Broadway offered. Hudson looked at him in askance.

 

            "Lad, it's beautiful the way a poison flower or a coiled snake is. It's magic, pure and simple, and I dinna trust any magic." the older gargoyle stated. He pointed his sword in the direction of the nursery.

 

            "Wonder where the Xanatos' are." Broadway mused. "It isn't like them to disappear like this. Usually they're running around carrying lasers or something." Hudson held out his arm to silence Broadway. Without a word, he directed the aqua gargoyle's attention to the nursery door. It was wood, the only thing that had not been replaced by an ice replica. It stood in stark contrast to the ice block walls on either side of it. The only thing that kept the door solidly closed was a thin band of ice where the door met the walls.

            Hudson carefully prodded the ice band with the tip of his sword. The ice hissed and contracted like a living thing, then disappeared. It didn't melt; just vanished.

 

            "Weird..." was Broadway's comment. Hudson opened the door and stepped into the nursery, his sword held at ready. Broadway was right behind him.

           

            What had once been graceful draperies were now enormous ice pillars, standing silent guard on either side of the frosted windows. The plush carpet was gone, replaced by a layer of soft snow so cold it sent shivers through the two gargoyles, despite their natural tolerance of cold. Every painting that decorated the windows, every toy that was strewn carelessly over the floor... all ice.

           

            A surprised sound emminated from the bed, and Alex poked his head out of the blankets under which he had burrowed himself. "Bro-way, Hudon !" the young boy cheered.

 

            "Well, it's about time someone showed up." Puck groused, startling the pair of gargoyles. Hudson turned and saw why they hadn't noticed the fey before.

            The ice was wrapped around him like an ocean wave that had solidified. It wasn't translucent clear, but a solid frost cover. Given his white hair and pale features, Hudson realized that they might have ignored him until he had spoken. In fact, the only thing that wasn't white were his lips, which were beginning to turn an alarming shade of blue.

 

            "Get the kid out of there, would you ?" Puck said, shivering. Broadway took the ice in his talons and pulled. The ice resisted until Hudson swung at it with his sword. It made a screech before dissolving.

 

            "It does'na like my sword, does it ?" Hudson asked in grim satisfaction.

 

            " 'Cause it's got iron in it. Remind me not to make you mad." Puck offered helpfully.

 

            "Then it's your kind o' magic doing this, is it ?" Hudson threatened, pointing the tip of his sword at the trickster. Puck was about to answer when his eyes widened slightly. From behind the pair of gargoyles, Lithivana appeared, narrowed her eyes, and spoke.

           

            "No. It's mine."

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

 

            "Come on, Lex, aren't you finished yet ?!" Brooklyn snapped impatiently. The beaked gargoyle was pacing around the tiny control room, and kept darting nervous glances out the ajar door.

 

            "I don't see you helping." was Lex's response. Brooklyn shrugged and was about to reply when the monitors flickered, blinked, and turned on. Lexington looked proud.

 

            "There, see, I told you --" he started but Brooklyn cut him off.

           

            "The nursery." he said, pointing to a monitor on Lex's right. The web winged gargoyle's eyes widened as he looked at the screen.

           

            "Alex, is Alex there ? Is he alright ?!" Lex jumped up and was heading for the door, when Brooklyn stopped him.

 

            "Goliath, Angela, Hudson, Broadway... Elisa." Brooklyn was naming off the faces he saw with a growing sense of dread. Ice bars were formed around each of them, effectively trapping each person in an ice-cage about 4 feet in diameter.

 

            "But where's Alex ?" Lex repeated insistently. Brooklyn scanned the screen again. He saw Puck caught in some weird ice chunk, but he didn't see the boy.

 

            "I don't see him. Maybe he's out of the camera's view." he suggested. Lex looked dispirited.

 

            "The cameras cover the whole room, though, don't they ?" he asked. Something felt hollow inside him. He was supposed to protect, gargoyles protect, and he wasn't there...

 

            "Lex.... look..." Brooklyn's voice was hushed. On the screen, someone had appeared. It was the person he had seen out the door, looking for all the world like they belonged in the cold, cold, cold ice and snow....

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

 

            Lithivana regarded her handiwork in amusement. The human and the gargoyles had been rather effectively dealt with, leaving her in complete control. The ice she had placed around Puck was still working, nulling his powers. She could feel his discomfort from here, and it made her smile.

 

            ~You must be ruthless, even to my own kind.~ Her mother's voice echoed in her mind. Lithivana nodded to herself, she would be ruthless to avenge the cruelty inflicted upon her mother...

            She shook her head, lost in memories. How embarrassing, to lose herself in front of these... these inferior beings ! Instead, she turned her embarrassment into taunting and aimed it at the nearest available target.

 

            "Not getting too cold, are we, boy ?" she teased Puck, who didn't dignify that with an answer but instead gave her a smoldering glare that probably could have melted the ice.

 

            "I bet you're wondering just why your magic isn't working, hmm ?" she taunted. Puck had been wondering that for the last little while, especially since her magic seemed too much like a dark version of his own to be completely that of a demoness...

 

            "I'll let you in on my little secret, then." she leaned playfully close. "It's not working because I'm far more powerful than you. And that's because, boy, I'm the daughter of the ice-demon King Talseir, and the Fey Queen Mab."

 

            "Queen Mab ?" Puck balked. "But she's dead !"

 

            Lithivana smiled coldly, rising and striding proudly around the room. "That's what your weakling Lord Oberon told you all, isn't it ? That's what Mother said he’d say. Oh, but it's not true. A hundred Oberon's could not destroy my mother !"

 

            She settled into the rocking chair, looking quite comfortable as she did so, and continued, her voice, her every word, a mockery of what would be a child's fairy tale. "I'll tell you all a little story... but this story is true, every word. How do you begin these tales, in this millennia ? Oh, yes... Once upon a time..."

 

            "For many eons, while the earth was still forming, the Wee Folk, the Sidhe, the Fey wandered the lands. There were no humans, no gargoyles, only fey. And there were more of them then, many more than there are today.

            When humans and gargoyles first appeared on the earth, the foolish fey shared everything with them. Helped them. Cared for them. But, with natural fey pride, they considered themselves above them, superior.

            And it wasn't until they discovered the metal they called iron did that foolish fey race realize that they were no longer as superior as they had once thought. Iron changed everything that they knew. For the first time, mortals had something that the fey did not. And it was dangerous.

            So the fey left the humans and gargoyles generally to themselves. But in time, that wasn't enough."

           

            Lithivana gave Puck another glance. "How am I doing on the history lesson, boy ?" Again, she got no answer, just a glare. The clan was listening with as much interest as they could, despite the ever-growing cold that was developing as the story continued.

 

            "Though the gargoyle race had mostly withdrawn into clans and scattered, the humans spread outward at a rate the foolish fey could barely comprehend. Gargoyles eggs take ten years to hatch, and fey, birthed of magic, take much longer. But humans multiply like rabbits, and soon, they were everywhere.

            Humans began asserting themselves, using iron against any fey who stood against them. Finally, one fey grew tired of it. This was Queen Mab, my mother, also Oberon's."

 

            Lithivana held up a hand to forestall Puck's rising question. "No, boy, we're NOT siblings. It would be a disgrace to be counted as a relation to the weakling. Or," she glanced sideways at him, "Among those who serve him."

           

            Puck fumed silently as the demoness continued.

 

            "In that early time, all the fey were of nearly equal power. So they pooled their magic, in an attempt to remove a piece of the earth from the reach of the humans. That became Avalon, home to the Fey race.

            But there was a problem with the use of magic at that magnitude. So great was the power they shared together, when they placed Avalon just outside the mortal reach, they created a rift. An exact mirror image of Avalon, reversed.

            It became known as Dark Avalon, where no light ever shines, where it is never warm, and where snow and ice cover every living thing until it withers and dies."

 

Angela and Puck, who were both born on Avalon, gave shivers. Avalon was always warm, always growing. To imagine some like Dark Avalon was profoundly disturbing.

 

            “That weakling Oberon banished my mother to Dark Avalon, a curse of her majestic work. He thought she’d perish, whether from the lack of magic or simply despair. And she might have… if not for my father. The ice demons that already inhabited the world took pity on my mother; gave her sanctuary. In turn, she gave them their heir to both Avalons. I am that heir.”

            Lithivana looked around again.

 

            "I did mean to ask, earlier... the human boy, the powerful one... Is he of Avalon's brood ? A halfling, perhaps ? He's not full blooded, that much I can tell..." Even as she looked around, her eyes narrowed and she sprang to her feet.

 

            "Where is he !?" she cried angrily. She aimed both hands at the boy's ice bed and blasted it into shards. No one was there. Alex was gone.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

 

            ~Lex... Brookin ?~ whispered Alex's voice, timid and frightened amid the silence. Lex jumped, his heart in his throat.

 

            "Alex ? Where are you ?" he looked around the room. Brooklyn was more interested in the screen, where Lithivana had given up searching through the shattered remains of Alex's bed and was starting to get really angry.

           

            ~I hiding...~ was the boy's answer in Lex's mind.

 

            "Where are you hiding ?"

 

            ~In Unca's magic box.~

 

            "What magic box ?" Lex asked warily. Just what was the boy talking about, anyway ? A magic box ?!

 

            ~Unca's magic box. He told me to hide.~ came the answer, and Lex could detect the frightened note in the boy's voice.

 

            "Ok, Alex. It'll be ok. We're on the way. Brooklyn, come on, we've gotta --" he started, but Brooklyn was peering at a different monitor.

 

            "Lex, look at this." he said, touching the screen with a talon tip. Lex impatiently glanced at the monitor and did a double take.

 

            "Xanatos and Fox !" he exclaimed. The two humans lay side by side, frozen statues.

 

            "We've gotta help them, Lex." Brooklyn said. "That's the infirmary, it's not far from here, right ?"

 

            "But Alex..." Lexington protested. Brooklyn paused, thinking it over.

 

            "We'll split up." he said finally. "You go and get Alex, and meet back here. I'll go help the Xanatos', ok ?" he said. Lex nodded.

 

            "Be careful."

 

            "You too."

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

 

            Lithivana scowled, the expression marring her features. She cast her senses outward, hoping to detect the boy's presence through his inherent power. She encountered nothing, giving her a strong surprise. He was just a boy; he couldn't have moved beyond her magic's reach already. Something was shielding his presence from her... something, or someone.

 

            "You !!" she shrieked as she whirled. "Where is he ?!" She pushed her hands outward, and the ice confining Puck swelled and then contracted. "Umph !” was Puck’s witty remark as his breath was knocked out of him.

 

            “Perhaps Titania has rescued her grandson.” Goliath offered, hoping to distract Lithivana and buy them some time. The demoness turned slowly.

“Of that, I know you are wrong. I know this because I have control of Avalon and it’s inhabitants. Including the pitiful excuses for royalty that rule there.” She proclaimed. Her cold eyes gleamed cruelly.

“But don’t take my word for it…”

 

There was a harsh flash of light. When it cleared, everyone in the room had disappeared. The only thing left in their wake was a blast of cold, cold, cold wind that howled through the room in triumph.

 

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

                       

            Brooklyn opened the door to the infirmary cautiously, not sure what to expect. The video monitors had revealed that this was where the Xanatos’ were -- but Brooklyn wasn’t sure whether he could trust even his own sight anymore.

            The infirmary, like everything else, was ice. Walls, floor, everything. He was seriously starting to dislike winter, and it was only December.

            He made his way to the far side of the room, where David and Fox, ice statues, were lying on two of the beds.

 

            David Xanatos had a slightly panicked look on his face. Fox looked confused. Brooklyn wondered what they had been thinking. “How do I get you out of there ?” he mused aloud. The two statues, naturally, provided no answer.

            Brooklyn’s gaze fell on a gleaming set of medical instruments… made of metal, not ice. “Stainless steel… steel has iron in it.” Brooklyn said slowly, and idea forming in his mind. He grabbed on of the sharper selections and approached the ice statues.

           

“I hope this works…” he muttered.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            “Alex ?” Lex whispered. “Alex, can you hear me ?”

 

            The olive green gargoyle paused in the doorway. The room was dark, and he couldn’t find a light switch; yet when Lex asked aloud for lights, nothing happened.

           

            ~I hear you…~ came Alex’s voice, sounding sleepy.

 

The boy’s thoughts had guided Lex on a slippery journey up to the far western end of Castle Wyvern. He vaguely recalled that this part of the castle had been all but crumbling down, back in Scotland 1000 years ago. Xanatos had obviously taken it upon himself to rebuild it all.     

            He stepped further into the room, waiting for his eyes to completely adjust. The dark in this room seemed… heavy and unnatural, more so than his gargoyle eyesight could compensate for.

 

            “Alex… where are you ?” Lex asked again. The lid of an old, wooden chest creaked open, and the boy stuck his head out.

 

“Lex !” he cried, and practically threw himself at the gargoyle.

           

“Aw, there, there, Alex.” Lex said awkwardly. He glanced at the wooden chest again. It looked like a regular box, until he tried to touch it. The thing emitted a flash of green light, and the air around him felt charged with static.

           

“Magic box, huh ? I believe it. C’mon, Alex… we gotta get back to where Brooklyn is.” He said, and together, they headed back towards the control room.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            The winds howled mournfully, swirling up loose snow and whirling it about in vicious cyclones. Trees bent under the heavy weight of ice, and a few straggling flowers poked despairingly through the icy blanket with hopeless determination. The temperature was alike to that of an Arctic tundra. There was nothing left alive to be seen. Avalon had been subjected to the harshest of punishments; winter.

           

A flash of light cleared to reveal Lithivana and her captives. The first thing they felt was a searing blast of cold, which was almost immediately replaced by a numbness unlike anything they had felt before. Elisa’s teeth chattered uncontrollably. Goliath wrapped his wings around her.

 

“Now do you see your foolish mortal pride ? I control Avalon, no one else. I do ! Not that weakling Oberon or his child-bride !” the demoness spat. She strode confidently forward, bringing her hands above her head. The wind howled eagerly, obeying her command.

“I will release Avalon’s control to my mother, and I myself will rule the mortal world. No one will stop me. No one can stop me.” She purred dangerously, raising the hair on the backs of several necks. She turned to the clan and said, “Now do any of you challenge my claims ? Dare you defy me now ?”

 

Yet underlying her confidence and hatred was an almost inaudible note of worry; as if she felt she needed them to acknowledge her superior status...

To emphasize her point further, the wind howled bitterly.

 

A sullen, hateful silence was her answer, and Lithivana smiled triumphantly.

           

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            “Ugh..” David Xanatos groaned, blinking slowly as he came awake. Brooklyn stood over him, holding something sharp and pointed and…

            “Welcome back.” The beaked gargoyle said dryly. Memories came flooding back to the billionaire. The last thing he remembered was running for Alex’s nursery after the cyclone-thing had appeared in his office…

           

            “What happened ? Where’s Alex ?” he said desperately. Brooklyn helped him sit up on the narrow cot.

“Lex has gone to get him. He was hiding. You’ve missed quite a lot.” He said as he turned and finished cutting the ice away from Fox. She, too, blinked as she sat up.

           

            Xanatos slid off the bed and helped her up. “It’s ok, Fox.”  He said, as she put a hand to her head as though she had a headache. Brooklyn didn’t doubt it. Being trapped as an ice statue would give him a headache too.

 

            “Alex ?” was Fox’s first, if somewhat groggy, statement. Brooklyn sighed internally. After being enemies for so long, it was hard to imagine the pair as concerned parents.

           

            “Come on; he’ll be in the control room with Lex.” He reassured them. Under his breath, he added,

 

            “I hope.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            “Come on, Brooklyn, where are you ?” Lexington muttered as he scanned the security monitors in front of him. He had changed to a couple of views, all surrounding the infirmary, but he couldn’t spot the beaked gargoyle anywhere. The Xanatos ice statues, however, were gone, and Lex dearly hoped it had been Brooklyn, not Lithivana, that had freed them.

 

            Alex burbled happily in Lex’s lap, thoroughly content to play peek-a-boo with the gargoyle’s kite shaped wing. The child suddenly lifted his head and looked around alertly.

 

            “What is it, Alex ?” Lex asked, suddenly wary. He hadn’t heard anything.

 

            “Mama ?” the toddler asked, looking around. Lex glanced around too, stealing a quick peek out the ajar control room door. No one was in sight, and nothing, he saw, was on the video monitors either.

 

            The young boy’s brow furrowed minutely, and Lex felt a cold shiver go down his spine.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            ~Mama ?~

 

            Fox jerked as her son’s voice echoed through her mind. “Alex ?” she said, hesitantly. Xanatos and Brooklyn exchanged a confused glance.

 

            “David -- I can hear him !” Fox said, feeling relieved. She trod carefully on the ice floor and took his hand.

 

            ~I’m coming, Alex sweetie. Mama’s on her way.~ She thought, and they continued through the frozen halls of the Eyrie.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

 

            Lithivana released the last of the ice bonds from the clan once they were on the steps of the palace. Their expressions gradually ranged from shock… to anger… to fear… and finally to despair. There indeed seemed little they could do.

 

“Go, mortals… explore the island. This will be your new home, after all, and you should familiarize yourselves with it.”

 

            The demoness raised a hand and the clan and Elisa vanished, leaving Puck alone with Lithivana.

 

Oberon and Titania stood, frozen, on the palace steps. Titania looked as though she were trying to reassure the assortment of gathered fey in the courtyard. Oberon held a book in his hand, and wore an odd expression of… hopelessness.

           

Puck peered the royal couple, shocked yet wary, as Lithivana watched and gloated. A part of the trickster, the part still deeply hurt and feeling betrayed from his banishment, almost enjoyed Lord Oberon’s predicament. But it was a hollow satisfaction -- and he knew it.

 

“Well, boy ?” Lithivana asked imperiously. He just looked at her. “Do you delight in seeing the royals of Avalon so helpless ? Doesn’t it make you feel powerful ?”

 

~She’s practically intoxicated on power,~ he thought bitterly, ~and I can’t do a thing. At least Alex is safe…~

 

A small consolation, but one nonetheless. He made a quick headcount in his mind. Goliath, Hudson, Broadway, Bronx and Elisa… That left Brooklyn and Lex in the real world to guard the boy. He had no clue where Lithivana had hidden the Xanatos’, though.

If only --

 

“What are you thinking about, boy ?” Lithivana purred in his ear. Puck nearly -- very nearly -- jumped in surprise. But with Owen-esque grace, he refrained and instead shot her a smouldering look.

 

“What do you care ?” he snapped. The demoness trailed a sensual finger up the tapered rim of his ear. He jerked away, nauseated.

“What are you doing ?” he said, disgusted. She pretended to be hurt.

 

“I like you, boy. You’ve got spirit, a trickster’s spirit. I admire that. And I’m willing to let you go free, on one condition.”

 

Almost afraid to ask, Puck replied, “And what condition is that ?”

 

“You serve me. Obediently, completely.” She proclaimed. He shuddered.

 

“No thanks.”

 

Lithivana glanced sidelong at him. “You might live to regret your decision, boy.” She taunted. Puck briefly thought about what her proposal meant and shuddered again.

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“We’ll see.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -

 

            “Goliath, what are we going to do ? Everything and everyone’s frozen !” Elisa puffed, rubbing her hand vigorously together to keep them warm. Already they were beginning to feel stiff. Even the gargoyles showed discomfort in the icy temperatures.

 

            “I do not know, Elisa.” The lavender gargoyle answered. Then he brightened momentarily. “Perhaps… The iron bell that defeated Oberon ! It should still be here. Perhaps if we found that, we would stand a chance.”

 

            “Do you know where Tom and the Princess put it ?” Angela, who had been silent up until now, pounced on the opportunity with enthusiasm.

 

            “It should not be too hard to find. Hudson, Broadway, Angela. Take the lower part of the castle. Elisa and I will take Bronx and search the top parts.” Goliath commanded, once again taking charge of the situation confidently.

            Bronx barked once in agreement as the group split up and headed to search the palace.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            “Alex !” was the first thing Fox cried as she entered the control room. David Xanatos followed suit a moment later, having been delayed by a particularly slick patch of ice. Lexington relinquished his hold on the boy and the flame-haired woman scooped her son up.

 

            “Thank you.” Xanatos said sincerely. Lex just nodded and shot Brooklyn a grin. The beaked gargoyle, however, wasn’t paying attention. Instead, he was looking over the wall of video monitors.

            David Xanatos looked suspicious. “Lexington, how did you get into my security files ?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

            “Hey,” Lex said defensively, “It was an emergency !”

 

            “I’ll have Owen tighten security on that.” The man mused to himself, and at Lex’s crestfallen look, added, “And issue you your own password. That’s all I need, you hacking into my files…” But he had a wry grin on his face, as Lex took to mean he wasn’t too upset.

            Brooklyn startled them all when he gave a frustrated growl.

 

            “Great. They’re still not here. They’re not in Castle Wyvern, and I don’t see them anywhere in the Eyrie building either. Where could they be ?” Brooklyn snapped, sounding harsh but not meaning to. He tapped one of the glass screens in annoyance. Lex turned to Xanatos.

 

            “How do you access the tapes from the security cameras ? I was trying to, before you guys got here, but I couldn’t figure out how.”

 

            Fox leaned over and tapped a couple of keys. A screen on their right blinked, then began replaying the footage of the last few minutes. “Here you go, Lexington.” She replied. “The further you want it to go back, the more you press this key here.” She demonstrated, sending the tape rewinding back another few minutes.

            Lex hopped into the swivel chair and began reviewing the tapes, hoping to find the rest of the clan.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            “Hudson, I think I found it !”

 

The voice echoed through and down the hallway, and the elder gargoyle smiled in satisfaction. “Aye, lad, I’m coming.” He called, exiting one room and following the sound of the Broadway’s voice into what he assumed to be an armor/weapon room. He saw Angela approaching the same room from the other direction. Inside, there were a few hand-struck swords, a wall full of shields, and a forge, all in various stages of ice. Judging from what Puck had said, all the things in this room contained enough iron to keep them from becoming fully encased by Lithivana’s magic.

Proudly hanging against the back wall on a pedestal sat a medium sized bell, untouched by ice, snow, or any other effects of the demoness’s magic.

 

“Well done, lad.” Hudson congratulated the younger gargoyle, and he grinned triumphantly as he lifted the bell from it’s place and started for the door, Hudson and Angela trailing behind him.

           

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            Lithivana reclined lazily in Oberon’s throne, idly creating ice statues from thin air and using them for target practice as she blasted them into tiny shards. She was smiling, as though this was a game to her. At least she wasn’t using the ice-statues of several of Oberon’s Children, which must have been caught in the room when the spell took place.

 

            “Are you sure you don’t want to play too, boy ?” she called, chuckling. Puck rolled his eyes and didn’t answer. He was levitating cross-legged in the air; apparently, Lithivana had returned some small measure of his magic, although he hadn’t noticed it until he had unconsciously attempted to hover in the air and been successful.

            That could mean one of two things; either she trusted him enough not to use his magic against her, or she had let slip the spell that suppressed his powers. Either way, he wasn’t about to press his luck -- yet. Instead, he made a show of nonchalance and tried to appear uninterested.

 

            Lithivana sat up in the throne suddenly. “Do you remember my mother, trickster ?” she asked, sounding curious and almost childishly eager.

 

Puck blinked. ~Did he remember ?~ The span of time since Mab’s rule was large indeed. He thought back, those same thoughts spanning millennia of time. ~Yes. Vaguely, in a blurry sort of way, but he did remember her, tall and imposing -- very little like Lithivana, but rather like Oberon.~  That thought sent shivers down his spine.

 

He became aware that the demoness was still watching him and waiting for an answer. “Sort of.” He admitted. Her face lit up like a light.

 

“Then what she thought was not true. Oberon did not wipe the last memories of Mother from the fey. She will be so happy when I tell her…” she trailed off, and then her voice took on a commanding tone.

 

“Tell me everything you know.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            “I’m really beginning to hate this whole ice and snow thing.” Elisa grumbled. So far, they had no luck in finding the iron bell, or anything else that would have been of some use for them. “Just our luck. She couldn’t be one of Oberon’s summer Children, she had to be a winter one like Odin or --”

 

            Goliath interrupted her with a deep chuckle as he wrapped his wing around her. “If what she told us is true, she is not a true fey at all, which might account for your… dislike of her.”

 

            Elisa grinned. “You make it sound like I enjoyed meeting all those fey on our ‘world tour’.” She teased, and Goliath looked at her seriously.

 

“Although they can be persistently annoying, Elisa, not one of them we have met has ever directly attacked us.”

 

            Elisa’s jaw dropped. “I seem to remember a few incidents where they did.” She retorted. “A giant worm with teeth ? A polar bear ? A several hundred foot angry king ?”

 

            Goliath paused to push against one of the doors in the hallway. It gave a creak as it swung inwards on icy hinges. “Elisa, I do not think --”

            He broke off, startled at the sight that greeted him in the room. Elisa followed and did a double take. Bronx whimpered, then moved into the room.

 

            Tom, Guardian of the Eggs, stood in the center of the room, feet frozen to the floor, but free from the waist up. It only took the pair a minute to ascertain why. Tom was wearing armor. And the armor was part iron.  His eyes lit up at the sight of them, but his voice betrayed his worry and a trace of fear.

            “Goliath, Elisa ! You’ve returned to Avalon at a dangerous time. I dinae know what sorcery has happened here, only that it has turned Katherine to ice and tried tae do the same tae me !”

            Elisa noted with her trained cop skills, (in some distant part of her mind) that his accent grew more pronounced under stress.

 

Bronx growled and scratched at the ice holding him to the floor. It rolled like hot wax and formed a similar claw, and tried to grab the dog-goyle’s leg. Bronx barked and moved quickly out of range. The claw melted back into the ice and once more became unmoving.

 

“Has Lord Oberon turned against us again ?” Tom asked angrily. “And decided we’re only fit for decoration ?”

 

Elisa shook her head. “This isn’t Oberon’s fault. All the fey on the island have been turned to ice. It’s another fey, who’s half ice-demon, named Lithivana. She’s taken over Avalon and Castle Wyvern, turned everything to ice.”

 

Goliath, who had been silent up until now, reached around and withdrew Tom’s sword from the scabbard at his waist. Tom fell silent and watched as the lavender gargoyle prodded the ice with the tip. The ice contracted as it had with Hudson’s sword, and Tom winced as the ice tightened around his legs. Goliath continued his poking, until the ice vanished suddenly, and Tom stumbled.

 

“Like all fey magic, even Lithivana’s is vulnerable to the touch of iron.” Goliath commented, handing the sword back to the guardian, who sheathed it again at his waist.

 

“The bell.” Tom said, reaching for but not quite touching Princess Katherine. “The bell weakened Lord Oberon before. Will it work on this… Lithivana ?”

 

“We think so.” Elisa answered. “That’s what we were looking for when we found you. Broadway, Angela and Hudson are looking for it right now.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            “Ha !” Lex shouted jubilantly, hitting the ‘Play’ button and watching in triumph as a black and white, slightly grainy image of Alex’s nursery popped up on the screen. Lithivana was speaking, and though there was no sound, her words must have been clearly mocking for the expression on her face.

 

            Then they vanished in a flash of light, and the nursery remained empty.

 

            “Where did they go ?” Brooklyn wondered aloud. Fox hugged Alex tighter to her and wondered the same thing, silently. Alex had been in grave danger, and no one had been able to protect him. That feeling of helplessness stirred something inside her, a deep parental instinct, and she had the sinking feeling that it wasn’t a fully human sense…

 

            “Avalon.” She said slowly, not realizing she had spoken until she saw the confused and worried looks she received.

            “They went to Avalon.”

 

            “Fox ?” David’s tone was gentle, almost conversational.

 

            “Don’t start, don’t look at me like that. I’m not crazy.” She snapped, suddenly angry for reasons she didn’t understand. “All I know is that they’ve gone to Avalon. I don’t know how I know, I just know !”

 

            Xanatos held up his hands in a surrender-like gesture. “All right, it’s ok. So our next question is,” he looked around at the others as he spoke, “How do we get there ?”

 

            And the next thing they realized, without quite realizing it in that instant, in fact it took them a few moments to understand what they were seeing, and another few minutes to realize that what they were seeing was real, they were on Avalon.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

           

            Puck sensed something amiss without knowing it. And, instinctively, he stretched his senses to find out what it was. What he discovered shocked him and very nearly made him say something aloud, but he restrained himself. Lithivana did not appear to notice (or care); she was deep in thought and no longer paying attention to her surroundings, or more importantly, to him.

           

            ~Iron ? On Avalon ? Why ?~

 

            He could feel it, strong and sharp and utterly out of place on the mystical isle. Oddly enough, he thought it was getting closer, but he couldn’t tell.

He just might have a chance…

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            Goliath held out his hand to Elisa, warning her to stay silent. Footsteps could be heard echoing down the hallway and around the corner in front of them. Unconsciously, Goliath’s eyes started to glow. Tom drew his sword, Elisa reached for her gun. Bronx growled low in the back of his throat.

            The footfalls rounded the corner, and Goliath crouched into an attack position, facing…

 

… Hudson. The older gargoyle, startled, swung his sword, which Goliath narrowly missed. Hudson jumped back and accidentally landed on Broadway’s foot, causing the aqua gargoyle to lose his grip on the iron bell. Angela made a grab for it, but the bell slipped and fell to the ground, where it clanged loudly on the ice-blocks.

 

            The ice, in turn, gave a screech and fled, disappearing into thin air and leaving the stone and mortar floor that the palace was actually built of. The two groups, now combined into one, (and about to be joined by a third, though no one knew it) just looked at each other, surprise clearly written on each of their faces.

 

            “Well,” said Elisa, breaking the tense and slightly embarrassed silence, “I guess that means you guys found the bell.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            Lithivana detected something wrong an instant before the iron-sound reverberated into the throne room. All around her, her magic ice shuddered like some frozen beast waking from hibernation too early. The newly revealed stone echoed the sound much better, and Puck was forced to clap his hands over his ears to help block the sound.

 

            “Iron ! On Avalon ?!” Lithivana gasped, echoing Puck’s earlier thought. She whirled on him, angrily. “You knew, didn’t you, boy ? How dare you betray me like that, after I trusted you ! Is this how you repay me for my gift ?!”

 

            Puck, for once, was at a loss for words. Bewildered, he asked, “What are you talking about ?”

 

Lithivana didn’t answer, instead, she turned and stared in mute disbelief at the entrance to the throne room.

 

The entire clan, including Lex and Brooklyn, (who were looking shocked) as well as Elisa, Tom, Fox and Xanatos, (the last two looking stunned) and Alex (who just looked pleased with himself) stared back.

 

The shock lasted almost a full minute, while Lithivana quickly contemplated her options. Most of them became useless, however, when Tom, who had been unable to help his beloved Katherine, took out his fury by swinging his sword against the iron bell.

 

The result was immediate.

 

The demoness howled, partly in pain, partly in anger, and lunged forward at the group, bringing her hands above her head and sending an Arctic blast of wind through the room. Puck, who had time to shoot Tom a dirty look before the sword actually struck the bell, winced and backpedaled, as though the slight increase in distance would help relieve the intense ringing in his ears.

           

            Goliath had already scaled one of the stone pillars that supported the room’s high stone arches, and was using Lithivana’s strong winds to his advantage. The rest of the clan quickly followed suit, with the exception of Lexington, who bounded over to Fox and Alex.

 

            Tom raised his sword to strike the bell again, only to be stopped as Xanatos grabbed his arm before the blade could make contact. The billionaire scowled and said, “Not while Puck’s there too.”

            Tom just nodded and left the bell in Xanatos’ possession, advancing with his sword drawn to join the battle, intending in any way he could to take his revenge.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            Lithivana swore in her father’s language, and though no one understood, (with the exception of Puck, who chuckled) the expression on her face clearly showed she was losing.

 

            ~At least the bell has stopped ringing.~

 

            She whirled in midair, forming an icicle with a sharpened point between her hands and hurling it at the fat gargoyle, laughing cruelly as he tried to dodge. Instead of hitting him directly, it ripped through his wing with a sound akin to tearing sailcloth, and he plummeted. The lavender female dove after him, shouting, “Broadway, no !” and the fat one…

 

Was ultimately caught by the female and the old gargoyle, who returned him to the ground safely.

 

            ~Damn.~

 

            So intent was she on that particular trio, that she didn’t see Goliath until it was too late. The gargoyle tackled her, midair, and abruptly she could not see as he wrapped his wings around her, effectively blinding her. They fell.

 

            “Give up, demon, you will not win !” Goliath growled at her, and although that term had been used by hunters and hated by gargoyles, it was not only fitting but true for Lithivana.

 

            She hissed at him like some wild, feral animal, and sank her teeth into his arm nearest her. He roared in pain and let her go, his wings furling back as he caught a gust of wind and soared off to the side.

 

            She didn’t see the stone floor rushing up on her until she landed on it.

 

            She lay, momentarily stunned on the now stone floor. The rest of the clan advanced, determined yet wary, as she stirred. Tom raised his sword, then brought it whistling down even as Puck noticed and shouted, “No, don’t -- !!”

 

            A flash of light blinded them all, and when they could see, Lithivana was gone. Tom blinked, surprised.

 

            “Where did she go ?”

 

            The clan turned as one to face him, looking at him as though he was crazy. Tom defended himself, “I dinnae hit her. My sword touched her naught, yet she vanished. Where did she go ?”

 

            Xanatos glanced to where Puck stood, and silently asked the trickster the same question the rest of them were thinking. The white haired trickster only raised his shoulders in a bewildered shrug.

 

            Lithivana was gone, and no one knew where.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            A warm wind, the first since Lithivana had come to Avalon, blew over the snow with gentle ease. It softened the remaining snow and ice, which, without Lithivana’s magic, was just that -- snow and ice.

 

            The trees and flowers, once bent under the unforgiving weight of winter, straightened and reached for the sun that began to peek from behind the snow clouds that had cast the island into perpetual shadow.

 

            And all over the island, the ice coverings of the fey turned smoke-like and drifted off them, leaving them all, every one of them, lying on the ground where ever they had happened to be when the spell took place.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            Tom, having bid a fond and very rushed goodbye to Goliath’s clan, hurried back to the room where Princess Katherine lay. Upon entering the room, he saw her sitting up on the bed where she had been, and asked,

 

            “Tom ? What has happened ?”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

            The clan gathered around the forms of Titania and Oberon, both of whom were lying unmoving on the palace steps.

 

            “What’s wrong with them ? Why are they just lying there ?” Angela asked, resisting the urge to lean over and poke one of them to make sure they were real.

 

            “They’re… asleep.” Puck answered, sighing. “Part of Lithivana’s spell must have put them to sleep.” He looked at the royal couple, looked almost through them as though seeing something else, and shook his head worriedly. “They’ll wake up soon, though.”

 

            No one bothered to question that statement.

 

            “Should we wake them up ?” Elisa asked hesitantly, having moved to Goliath’s reach, who obligingly pulled her close and wrapped his one wing around her, even though it wasn’t cold anymore.

 

            Puck looked alarmed. “I rather be off the island if you’re going to do that, Detective.” He said, though only Xanatos understood immediately. It took the others a minute or two to figure out why.

 

            “Besides…” the trickster continued, “They’re not going to be very happy when they wake up.”

 

            An image of a very unhappy Lord Oberon graced their minds, and in general consensus, they left Avalon in a burst of light.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Epilogue

 

One week later - Christmas Eve

 

            “Unca Puck ?” Alex asked sleepily, having sensed another presence in the room while asleep and woke to find the trickster.

 

Puck turned, surprised, and said, “You’re supposed to be asleep, Alex.” He hadn’t meant to wake the child.

 

            “Were you gonna teach me magic ?” Alex inquired, looking not entirely displeased with the idea. Puck shook his head.

 

            “No, I just… needed somewhere to think, and your room is the only quiet one in the entire castle. I’m sorry if I woke you up.” He moved as though to leave, but Alex’s next words stopped him cold in his tracks.

 

            “Why are you sad ?”

 

            Puck turned, and found himself under the scrutiny of the young boy who seemed to know more than his young years would lead everyone to believe.

 

            “Who said I’m sad ?” he tried to dodge the question, but when Alex looked unblinkingly at him, he threw up his hands and gave in.

 

            “Alright !” He never could deny the boy anything. Instead, he leaned on the wooden headboard and sighed. “I don’t know what to do, Alex. When Lithivana said she gave me a gift she wasn’t kidding. But it’s like dealing with an armed bomb.”

 

            Puck stopped himself when he realized he was on the verge of rambling. He had discovered the true nature of her ‘gift’ when he had teleported them all back to the Eyrie -- without including Alex.

 

            No one had noticed, or even possibly known but him, of course, but the realization had struck him and left him both excited and frightened. Whatever Lithivana had done, Oberon’s spell no longer hindered his magic. He had his powers back, and if he didn’t use them, they would stay undiscovered.

 

            That, however, posed 2 problems.

 

            The first was Alex; to not use his powers at all would mean never teaching another lesson to the boy, and he couldn’t bear that. Especially not since that would mean Oberon, (most likely at Titania’s interference) would come to claim Alex again. Alex’s fey sense still dimly remembered the night of his birth when Oberon had come to steal him, and of all the nightmares the young boy still had, that was the one that occurred most often. Puck wouldn’t put the boy through that again, no matter what.

 

            The second, though he was reluctant to admit it, was the clan. They had defeated Lithivana, and though Puck could blame their aid on an over-developed sense of moral, he still felt like he owed them something.

 

And it was not a pleasant feeling, to know one had unpaid debts.

           

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

7:54am - 10 minutes until sunrise

 

            “We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year !”

 

            The trio, and Angela, happily plunged headlong into the next verse, thoroughly enjoying the human custom of caroling. And though only the inhabitants of Castle Wyvern and the Eyrie could hear them, it did not daunt their spirits -- or their voices.

 

            Having returned to a completely (magic) ice free castle, but a snow-covered city, the Xanatos’ had graciously offered to host a Christmas/Winter Solstice/New Year party. The clan had agreed, some more excitedly than others, (as Hudson had jokingly complained), and in general, the celebration had been a grand success.

 

            When the last carols had died down, and Goliath pointed out the coming dawn, the clan tramped out into the snow, Elisa following Goliath to the top parapet.

 

            The wind tugged briefly at their hair, making two waving banners against the lightening backdrop of the sky. Sunrise was less than a minute away.

 

            “Goliath, I just wanted to tell you how wonderful this Christmas party has been, and I --” she started, but Goliath interrupted her, disappointment colouring every word as he said,

 

            “This must wait until sunset, Elisa.” He rumbled reluctantly. She paused, understanding but just as disappointed, and Goliath took stance mere seconds before the sun rose.

 

            And blinked, wincing, as he caught the sun’s glare full in the face as it peeked over the horizon.

 

            Below him, 6 very surprised voices and one startled bark alerted him to the fact that none of his clan had turned to stone.

 

            “What -- what ?!” he gasped, turning back to face a very shocked Elisa, and noticing for the first time that they were not the only ones on the battlement. Puck stood there, feet on the ground for once, (although they would both notice later there were no footprints) seemingly unbothered by the cold or snow, arms crossed and looking decidedly pleased.

 

            “Merry Christmas.” He said simply, and disappeared.

 

The End