Authors' Notes: GARGOYLES and everything associated with them belong to Buena Vista and Disney, not Clan LeFemme, Skydancer, or Lisette.  The characters of "Skydancer" and "Lisette" belong to the authors respectively, as well as the character of Storm belongs to Clan LeFemme and all of the above may not be used without their permission.  This is
the next fic in the Clan LeFemme series.  Feedback is welcomed and appreciated, just be constructive please.  Hope you enjoy our story!

Brief Description: Life in Castellum deGens gets complicated as a new foe is introduced.

Rated: PG

Somewhere over Castellum deGens

 Sepia and russet, the autumn shades of the surrounding mountains, blended in with the charcoal shadows of the dark twilight to flow beneath a glittering trace-work of lamp posts.  Chill with the promise of winter could be felt in the air, casting its frosty fingers over the steel gray granite structures of the city.  The cold grip could be felt by the two gargoyle forms that twirled in amongst the buildings, capturing the currents of the upwind that blew them across the sky.

 Skydancer shivered a bit as the cool wind blew against her cheeks.  Tonight was the coldest yet of the season and she was not looking forward to winter.  She would be glad when this patrol was over.  Glancing over at her companion, she wondered if Lisette felt the same as she.  "How are you making out over there?" she called to her mage-friend in gargoyle form.

 Sighing, Lisette drew her eyes away from the empty streets below.  Forcing a smile on her full lips, she nodded at her friend.  "I know that gargoyles are not supposed to feel the cold, but I am certainly looking forward to a warm cup of hot chocolate when we return to our home!" she cried out over the soft moan of the wind, unconsciously rubbing her taloned hands over her blue skin.

 Skydancer laughed at her friend.  "I couldn't agree with you more!  This is one gargoyle that does not like cold air, no matter how long I've lived around here!"  Skydancer was quiet for a moment then, the night air blowing gently against her and the tendrils that had escaped her bound hair.  "I would enjoy a cup of hot chocolate also,  my friend.... though I hardly would call our hotel room a 'home,'" she commented wryly.

 Slightly surprised at her friend's words, Lisette quickly glanced over and watched her friend with a critical eye as the brown-haired beauty scanned the streets below.  Unconsciously, she felt her eyes drift away and stray down to the residential area that they were currently gliding over.  Swallowing a pain that was felt most in her heart, Lisette watched the brightly lit rooms of the houses below--houses that were filled with happy and cheerful families--families that had a home.  "I suppose you are right, mon amie," Lisette said, her voice just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the night.  "I wasn't aware that you were thinking along the same line as I," she murmured as she brushed her pale blond hair out of her face.

 Sky was silent again as she continued to scan the city below them.  The streaming darkness beyond blurred the lights in the streets far below.  The night wind caused tears in her eyes, condensing and shaping their pale yellow incandescence, reminding her of a silent sentinel row of candles, like the ones she used when in her mountain lair.  A pang of longing swept through her as she thought of the cave high on the mountain top that had been her haven for so long.  Despite her aloneness, the cavern had been a *home* for her.  And though she no longer wished to be alone, especially now since she had met Lisette, she did long for the feeling a place of her own had given her.  The security and warmth of it.  Sky glanced back over at her friend and nodded her head towards the houses below them. "I would like a home, a security, such as the humans who own these have," she stated, pointing down at the dwellings on the ground.

 Smiling slightly, Lisette silently wondered at how similar her thought line was to that of Skydancer.  "I was thinking the same thing.  And you know.." she trailed off, her expression turning thoughtful as she followed a wind gust higher up into the night sky, "I do have quite a bit of money.  Perhaps we should look into finding a more permanent residence for us?  A real home?"

 Skydancer followed Lisette's lead, captured an updraft, and floated along side of her.  Quickly she nodded her enthusiasm.  "I think that would be an excellent idea.... but, are you sure you want to spend your money on this?  I have none of my own."  Skydancer looked at Lisette, unsure.  "It might run us a great deal of money.  I have no idea how much a human dwelling costs and it has been my observation the last couple of weeks that things sometimes run quite high in this
world."

 Laughing, Lisette quickly nodded her head.  "Of course I'm sure!  Craigen left me with many coins from our time--coins that I've learned are worth quite a bit in this new world.. and I can think of no better way to spend the money then on a real home for us both," she finished quietly, a tender smile on her face as she risked a glance down to the dwindling homes below.  "Although... I myself am not sure as to what the cost for a dwelling in these times are," she murmured as she
shrugged her dainty shoulders, "but I'm sure that I could look into it tomorrow.. there must be someone out there who can help us."

 The gargess nodded her agreement.  "Yes, unfortunately it will have to be you.  That is one thing I am unable to help you with," Skydancer commented with a mischievous grin.  "Though it might be intriguing to see a human's face if I was to accompany you on our house-hunt."  Laughter danced in her leaf-green eyes.

 Shaking her head, Lisette couldn't help but add to the tinkling laughter that already filled the night sky.  "An interesting sight, indeed!  But it is settled then.  Tomorrow I shall start our hunt for a home..." Lisette trailed off as a puzzled look came over her features.  "I am sure that someone at the hotel can steer me in the right direction."

 Sky looked at her friend and shrugged.  She was at a lost as to where to begin.  "I am sure they can help you find a reputable person to help us in our search.  Though I don't imagine that they will be willing to lose one of their top paying customers....." Sky's voice trailed off for a moment.  "Still, you could always assure them that they will be repaid handsomely for their efforts and cooperation," she finished with a grin.

 Laughing, Lisette quickly shook her head, her blond hair twirling about her shoulders.  "I have no worries, Sky," she replied, using her favorite nick-name for her friend.  "I will find us a home.  Of that, I promise," she finished with a determined nod.

 Smiling at her friend's warm words, Lisette turned away and allowed her eyes to roam over the empty streets.  "I just hope that I can," she murmured silently to herself as the wind slowly carried the pair over the brightly lit city below.

Castellum Realty

 Sighing, Lisette tilted her head back till she could take in the entire building before her.  "Oh là là," she murmured quietly, shaking her head at the enormity of the building before her.  In truth, it had to be at least fifteen stories high, the afternoon sun glinting off of the stainless steel and brightly polished glass.

 Shaking her head once again, Lisette quickly reached down and smoothed away the invisible wrinkles on her soft, burgundy satin skirt that she wore, and then picked a small strand of her blond hair off of the pale cotton top that was all but hidden under her thin spring coat.  Then, she turned her eyes up once more and reveled in the warm sunshine for a few more minutes before stepping towards the two revolving glass doors and into the building, passing by a bright copper plaque that stood beside them which read 'Castellum Realty.'

 Instantly, Lisette found herself thanking the young hotel clerk whom she had encountered earlier that day.  Confused as to where to start her search for her and Skydancer's new home, Lisette had wandered aimlessly around the large and immaculate front hall of her hotel.  Finally, a young woman, one of the hotel's staff, noticed her confusion and approached her hesitantly.

 "Is there anything that I can help you with, miss?" she asked, her voice filled with the easy professional politeness that was found throughout the establishment.

 Startled by the voice, Lisette turned away from her wanderings and met the soft brown eyes of the woman.  "I do hope so," she murmured, her smile brightening.  "I am in hopes of finding a.. home," she continued, her smile growing even wider at the mention of her dream.  "Unfortunately," she continued, her smile faltering, "I am a little unsure as to how to go about this."

 Smiling at the beautiful young woman, the clerk quickly nodded.  "You are Lisette DeBuschelle, right?" the young woman asked, her kind gaze straying over Lisette's comfortable pair of blue jeans and tee-shirt that she wore.  "You're staying in the penthouse suite?"

 Startled once again, Lisette nodded slowly.  "Yes, I am at that," she said, a small frown covering her lips.

 "Oh, do not be upset, Miss DeBuschelle," the woman said quickly as she reached out and touched Lisette's arm gently.  "EVERYONE here at the Hotel Cabrara knows who you are.  We make it a point to keep track of our most prominent guests," she gushed as she took her hand away, her eyes twinkling.

 Groaning inwardly, Lisette finally realized the real reason for the woman's attention.  No doubt, she was hoping that whatever service she would be providing would be rewarded handsomely with a large tip from such a 'prominent' guest.  Suddenly, her thoughts flew back to Skydancer's words from the night before.  "Perhaps I could use this to my advantage," Lisette murmured slyly, her voice no more than a whisper.

 "Excuse me Miss DeBuschelle?  I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," the woman said quickly, her tone annoyingly bright and cheerful.

 Forcing a smile upon her face once again, Lisette quickly shook her head and met the woman's eyes.  "Oh, it was nothing.  But perhaps you could be of some assistance to me, for I am always willing to tip for services rendered," she said, a sly smile appearing on her lips.

 "Anything at all!" the woman quickly affirmed with a nod of her head.  "You were saying that you were in search of a home?"

 Seeing that she was finally getting somewhere, Lisette quickly nodded her head.  "Yes, and since I am from France, I am not accustomed to your way of searching for such an item...." she trailed off as a light appeared in the woman's eyes.

 "Well, first off you'll be needing to find a realtor."

 "A real-a-tor?" Lisette asked, her brow scrunching up in confusion.

 Nodding her head, the woman quickly turned away and walked curtly towards the front desk.  There, she grabbed a slip of paper and scribbled something on it quickly before handing it to Lisette.

 Accepting the paper from the woman, Lisette stared down at the scrawled words in curiosity.  "Castellum Realty, Kathy Higgens?" Lisette read quietly as she glanced up and met the woman's expectant eyes.

 "Yes, she's a personal friend of mine--one of the best in the business!" the woman replied eagerly, her smile growing even more, if possible.  "Just head on over to Castellum Realty and Kathy will help you find whatever you're looking for."

 Nodding her head slowly, Lisette folded up the slip of paper and slid it into her jeans pocket.  Glancing up, she saw the woman now wore a look of expectancy upon her face.  Sighing, Lisette knew what the woman desired and withdrew a crisp $20 bill from her pocket and placed it into the woman's hand.

 "Why Miss DeBuschelle, you shouldn't have!" the woman cried out in a tone that obviously said that she had been expecting such a thing.

 "Oh, it was nothing," Lisette replied, all the while feeling sick at the woman's sugary sweetness.  Murmuring in disgust, Lisette turned away and began heading towards the front doors to the hotel.

 "Oh, and Miss DeBuschelle!" the woman cried out, causing Lisette to turn.  "You might want to wear something a little more dressy!" she called out as Lisette nodded briefly before disappearing out the door.

 Sighing, Lisette now looked down upon her skirt and then around at the bustling lobby of the Castellum Realty building.  Everywhere she glanced she saw men and women rushing about in their own professional dress.  Suddenly, a young man parted from the crowd and stepped before Lisette.

 "May I help you with something, miss?" he asked, his gaze traveling up and down Lisette's fit form.

 Smiling wryly, Lisette waited until she had the man's full attention drawn to her face, before nodding quickly.  "Yes, I need to speak with Kathy Higgens," she replied, her voice firm.  "I am looking for a home."

 The late afternoon sun found its way through the rusted grill-work covering the tall windows.  The latticed patterns of light fell on the bed and dresser that lined the room.  Slowly the sun dipped below the horizon, going to its nightly rest.  A thousand cracks lined the statue sitting in the corner of the room.  A crackling sound could be heard and then stone went flying everywhere as Skydancer stretched and roared her rather loud yawn.  Blinking her eyes and stretching her limbs high above her head, she glanced around sleepily, looking for her companion.  Lisette was not back yet.

 Suddenly, the door flew open, causing Skydancer to jump back in shock.  Noticing this, Lisette forced a small smile on her face as she quickly closed the door behind her and strode into the room.  "Not to fear, mon amie.  It is just me," she called out, her voice showing her fatigue as she brushed an errant strand of blond that had fallen from her French braid back behind her ear.  "And oh là là, what a day!" she moaned as she reached the bed and fell back on it, her soft satin skirt flaring out around her shapely legs as she raised her hand dramatically to her forehead.

 Sky raised a hand to her chest to still her fast beating heart.  Lisette's entry had startled her to say the least.  As she watched her friend's dramatic entrance, she came to an abrupt halt in her yawn.  Walking slowly over to the bed with a raised eyeridge, the gargess sat down quietly along side the young mage, concern shining in her grass green eyes.  "I take it that you did not have a good day?  Were you able to find someone to help us locate a home?" the Skydancer asked.

 Sighing in disgust, Lisette slowly sat up began unwinding her long hair from the band that had restrained it all day.  "Yes, you could say that.  A woman from the hotel sent me to a place called, 'Castellum Realty.'  There I was introduced to a realtor," Lisette explained as she set the band on the night table, her hair now flowing loose around her.

 Skydancer threw Lisette another quizzical look.  "And what, pray tell, is that?" the gargess asked, truly puzzled now.

 Smiling, Lisette reached back and began running her fingers through her long hair, attempting to work out all of the kinks that had formed.  "Well, from what I was able to gather, a real-a-tor is a person whose job it is to help people find homes," Lisette explained, shrugging her shoulders in a manner that suggested that she wasn't quite sure herself.

 Sky brought a hand up to scratch her head.  She was truly wondering if they were doing the correct thing.  The last thing either of them needed was to be doing something out-of-sorts that might draw attention to themselves and cause trouble.  "Well, what did this 'realtor' have to say?" she questioned her friend.

 Sighing, Lisette felt the smile slip from her face as she met her friend's green eyes.  "Well, it is complicated," Lisette said slowly.  "Kathy Higgens, the realtor, first asked what kind of home we were looking for," she said, her face twisted up in puzzlement.

 The young gargess raised her eyeridges again.  This was becoming more complicated  than they had expected.  Sighing, she ran her hand over the quilted coverlet of the bed on which they sat.  Her fingertips traced its soft ridges, the warp and weft of the quilted fabric.  She considered the intricate weave, in complicated threads of the pattern.  This house hunting game was beginning to seem much like that pattern.  Sky looked back up at the mage.  "What kinds?" she repeated in bewilderment.  "What kinds are there?"

 Shaking her head, Lisette looked down at herself and murmured a quick spell.  A second later, she was once more dressed in a pair of comfy blue jeans and a tee-shirt.  "Oh, I don't even know where to begin.  All sorts, it seems," she replied as she once again stretched out on the bed, her eyes trailing the edges of the ceiling above.  "In the end, I just told the woman that we were interested in something large, secluded, and with access to the night sky..." Lisette trailed off as a large grin covered her face.  "And you should have seen her look at that one!" she giggled, turning her head to stare sideways up at her friend.

 Skydancer returned Lisette's smile, enjoying her friend's contagious laughter.  "I'm sure it was funny," Sky commented.  "Did the woman have anything in mind?"

 "Well," Lisette murmured as her giggles subsided, "at first all she did was show me pictures of all these different a-part-ments."  Shaking her head, Lisette quickly wrinkled up her nose.  "But after she realized that I was staying in the penthouse suite of the Hotel Cabrara.. well, she began showing me a different assortment of houses..." Lisette trailed off as her eyes took on a faraway look.  "Oh Sky, you should have seen all of the different homes she was showing me!"

 Sky nodded her head in eagerness, anxious to hear about what Lisette had seen.  "What did they look like?  Were they big enough for a gargoyle to be comfortable in?  And how about a balcony?  That would make it easier for accessibility to the sky?"  The gargess asked her questions in rapid succession, clearly showing her enthusiasm for a home to call their own.

 Sighing, Lisette felt the frown return to her face.  The look of hope and eagerness of her friend's face was just too much--she didn't want to disappoint her.  "I.. I am sorry, Sky, but we did not find anything yet," Lisette said quietly, her eyes downcast.  Quickly, she snapped her head back up and searched her friend's green eyes with her own.  "But do not worry, we will find something!  Kathy said that house hunting is something that takes time and patience--why, we even went and visited a few places, but there was nothing that met up to our needs.. yet!" she finished quickly, her words blending together and showing her anxiety.

 Frustration and dashed anticipation put a stirring of defeat into Skydancer's heart.  A painful sting of remorse flowed threw her, and instinctively she withdrew.  She had been hoping so much..... but then the gargess threw her dashed hopes aside.  They were not defeated yet!  It had only been one day after all!  Sky moved closer to Lisette and laid her hand over her mage friend's.  "It's okay," she responded, casting the young woman's anxiety away.  "We'll find something.  Maybe we'll even spot something on our patrol tonight!" Sky exclaimed with a reassuring smile.

 Shaking her head, Lisette smiled once again at her friend.  Staring into Skydancer's deep green eyes, she wondered once more at the luck that she possessed when she bumped into her friend that night--the night that brought her a friendship that she had never known.  Somehow, deep down inside the optimist that she was sang through.  "You're right," she said firmly, her smile turning bright once more.  "We WILL find our home, no matter how long it takes!"

 Skydancer returned the grin and then stood up.  Pushing a couple tendrils of hair behind her right ear, she gestured towards the balcony doors.  "Shall we be on our way?"

 Smiling, Lisette quickly joined her friend as they neared the balcony doors.  "Good idea.. we cannot allow our hopes of a home deter us from our patrols," Lisette said, her voice solemn.  "At all costs, we must protect our city," she murmured quietly as she cast her spell of transformation.  A few seconds later, she once again stood beside her friend in her lean gargoyle form.  "After you, mon amie," she said, an impish smile pulling at the corner of her lips.

 Skydancer flashed one of her famous smiles and then raced into the night air with a graceful swan-dive off the high balcony of their penthouse suite.  The night was young and the autumn shades of the high mountains blended down with the gray shadows of the city they surrounded.  Chill with the promise of rain, the air crackled with the static electricity of lightning flashing amid the steel gray billows of the coming storm.  Sky grinned as she soared higher into the sky.  This was her kind of night. Briefly she glanced back at her mage friend.  "Come on, Lisette!" she called.  The gargess had every intention of enjoying the night.

 Laughing at the wild antics of her friend, Lisette quickly threw back all abandon as she too raced the open balcony.  As a small laugh of joy escaped her lips, Lisette felt the cool wind build beneath her wings till she was lifted higher and higher into the night sky, till even the tall towers of the Hotel Cabrara dwindled beneath her form.  Oh the woes of never being able to experience such a simple joy such as gliding--the feeling of the wind caressing your every shape and form as
it lifted you in the darkness of the night, shielding you from the eyes of all who walk the land below.

 Skydancer spread her wings wide so she could capture every ounce of wind that glided her up and about the clouds of the night sky.  She watched the swelling, overcast sky take on a sullen sulfurous hue above the city that was spread far below them.  The chill wind swept away the last, tattered remnants of the day and brought with it the fierce onslaught of the night-time storm.  Her spirit echoed the rushing release of rain as it fell down below them, pounding the earth with its
fiercesome power.  This would be a perfect opportunity to replenish her lightning power.  She had been using it quite a bit lately.  "I'm going to go into that cloud over there," Sky called to Lisette, pointing at a gray pillow, flashing lightning rods about its surface.  "I need to regain some energy."

 "You're what?!" Lisette asked in amazement, sure that she had heard her friend wrong.

 "Energy..... for my kind of magic," the gargess called, grinning at her friend's surprised look.  "It's how I gain more," she went on to explain.  "It's okay, really."

 Sighing, Lisette smiled thinly and nodded her head in agreement.  "Just be careful mon amie!  Those look like some fierce clouds you will be flying into!" she yelled out, trying to be heard over the growing noise of the storm.

 Skydancer drew in her wings a bit and dove into the cloud, leaving Lisette behind. Chill with the promise of rain, the air crackled with the static electricity of lightning flashing amongst the clouds in which she flew high in the sky.  Dancing in amongst them, she stretched her hands outwards to catch the bolts and to gain more energy. She did not know why she could do this or what its purpose was for, she just knew that she always had been able to and she did not question the why's and how's.  The lightning came to her naturally, always to her hands.  Afterwards she felt more alive and rejuvenated than she had before.  But the effect would always fade and then she would crave for more.   Lightning streaked across the sky.  Turning, she faced it, welcoming it's charge of energy.  Driven by the wind, raindrops slanted against her and splattered her with their mist.  The streaming darkness beyond blurred the lights of the stars high above.  She felt the power surge and then suddenly, it was over leaving her fresh and full of energy.

 "Mon Dieu," was the only thing that Lisette could think of to say after the event she just witnessed.  For as her friend disappeared into the storm cloud, fear tightened her heart, pulling her into a wealth of despair.  Even though she had only known the Skydancer for such a short amount of time, she had gained a friendship unlike anything that she had ever experienced before.  It was a like an addiction, for now, she doubted that she could very well live without it.  But then, the
despair was transformed into a wonder that was all to new to her as a streak of lightning burst from the cloud and was absorbed into her friend's body.  Instead of being fried on the spot, though, like any normal human or gargoyle, Skydancer seemed to thrive on the charge.  Shaking her head, her now wet hair sopping around her pale blue shoulders, Lisette once more dumbly repeated the single phrase that came to mind after viewing such extraordinary events: "Mon Dieu."

 Lightning flashed again.  Catching an updraft, Skydancer sailed back up into the clouds, doing a dance amongst their swirling wisps.   Sailing above the clouds, she rose above the storm.  High above the soft waves of the clouds, she did a rippling dance against the deep, black sea of the night sky.  The black velvet blanket covered her, filling her with the mysterious murmurs and ageless secrets of the air.  The night wind blew.  The moon had risen, a diaphanous ghost riding the tattered remnants of storm clouds across the sky, creating patterns of shadow and light upon the slanting planes of its numerous white clouds.  Lightning streaked across the sky again.  She swooped down lower out of the sky, closer to Lisette.  Seeing her friend's somewhat surprised expression, she smiled.  "Quite impressive, eh?" Sky asked, merriment
dancing in her eyes.

 Shaking her head, Lisette quickly broke out of her shocked stupor and met Sky's green eyes with an impish grin.  "Yes, you could say that your.. display was impressive," she said, her deep blue eyes twinkling in the darkness.

 The gargess's smile broke into a full fledged laugh.  "I don't know why I am able to do it, but I am glad that I am.  At times I even impress myself!" she exclaimed, thunder booming around her.  "But now I should be good for a while.  I've never used it so much before and I didn't have to recharge that often, but now that I have been using it, it seems I will have to find some thunder storms to amuse myself in."

 Smiling, Lisette shook her head.  "And would you believe that I do not entirely enjoy being out in storms as fierce as this one?" she asked, laughing slightly as she inclined her head and nodded to the city that was spread out below them.  "Come now," she said quickly, without giving Skydancer a chance to respond, "let us patrol our home."

 She ran quickly through the darkness, clutching her egg to her.  The grass cut at her feet like tiny little whips lashing out at her ankles.  Blood trickled from the many cuts on her golden face bringing stings of pain with them, but still she ran on, ignoring them. She had fought him long and hard and she knew she was losing, but still she went on, determined that he would not get her child.  The child had a great destiny to fulfill.  Tears trickled down her bright sapphire
eyes.  Sadly, she would not be there to see it fulfill its destiny.  She had known that as soon as the dreams began to appear.  And with the dreams had come the Storm.  He wanted her egg.  He knew there was something special about the child within.  She would not allow him to steal it from her.  She would give her life to protect her child.  She knew her life was meant to end soon.  The dreams had told her that.  So, she had set out across a great distance, in search of the strange clan that would raise her child.  The dreams had told her that also.  So, her journey had begun, and now it was coming to an end.....

The following evening

 Muttering oaths beneath her breath that would cause all young ladies of her upbringing to cringe in shame, Lisette wearily turned the brass doorknob beneath her hand and pushed open the door to her room.  Sighing, she slammed the door shut behind her, only to remember a moment later about her key that was still stuck in the lock.  Groaning, she quickly backtracked and retrieved the precious object.

 "Ça c'est magnifique!  C'est mon jour!  Zut alors!" Lisette cursed as she moved into the room, turning on lamps as she went, which helped to distill the gloom found in the room.  Shaking her head, Lisette quickly undid the long French braid that held her blond tresses and then changed into a pair of comfortable khaki pants and a long sleeved burgundy shirt.  Then, with nothing left to do but wait for her friend to awaken, Lisette threw herself unceremoniously onto her hard bed and closed her weary eyes.

 Luckily for her, the wait wasn't long, for just a few minutes later a sharp cracking filled the spacious suite.  Feeling her spirits lift slightly, Lisette turned her head and cracked one eye.  As the process of the coming night hurried along, the transformation quickened until a multitude of cracks lined the stone figure that, as always, occupied a large corner of the room.  Soon, Lisette found her frown lift into a full smile as the sun finally made its ending descent over the unseen horizon.

 Only the endless indecision of twilight stood between Skydancer and her freedom. The last lingering rays of sunlight traced the city with sharp outlines that slowly, too slowly, softened to broad strokes of charcoal.  With a quickening tempo of her heart, she broke free of her stone shell.  With a habit that had become a tradition, she unfolded her fourteen foot wingspan and yawned deeply.  Glancing around, the gargess noticed her mage friend lying on the bed, a look of defeat on her face.  Puzzlement crossed her green eyes as she approached the bed cautiously, seeing her friend's smile greeting her.  "Good morning.... or rather, evening," Sky said, returning the smile.  Her long braid swept around over her shoulder as she sat down next to the young woman.  "How was the house-hunting today?"

 Instantly, the large smile turned into a grimace of annoyance.  "Mon amie, I am beginning to think that our hunt would be more fruitful if YOU pursued the endeavor during the day while I slept in stone," she murmured, her eyes flashing green as she thought of the waste of time her day had been.

 The gargess raised an eyebrow at this statement.  "How am I supposed to go house-hunting during the day.....???" she questioned with naive puzzlement.

 Smiling at the tone of her friend's voice, Lisette slowly stretched her arms above her head as she stood up from the bed.  Inherently, she knew that if she remained lying on the bed as she had been, sleep was bound to claim her.  "Well, I'd simply turn you into a human for the day..." Lisette murmured as her eyes turned to the cloudy sky beyond the paned glass.  As soon as the words left her mouth, Lisette puzzled over them silently.  Could she do such a thing?  She knew without a doubt that she could change her own form at will.. but that of another?  Shaking her head, she watched as lightning tracked a silent course across the dark sky.  Surely it was possible, but as for whether or not the task would be as 'simple' as she had claimed... well, that was another story.

 Skydancer vehemently shook her head at that suggestion.  While not unaccustomed to magic herself, she didn't relish the idea of spending the day in another form other than her own.  "No, that's quite alright," she answered her friend, "I prefer the form I am in now."  She was silent for a moment, quietly playing with the braid that hung over her shoulder.  "What kind of houses did she show you anyhow?" Sky asked, deciding that it was best if she changed the subject.

 Sighing, Lisette turned away from the stormy night and smiled softly at her friend.  "Just some more of the same: lavish penthouses, large townhouses, two-story apartments, studio apartments...." she trailed off.  Suddenly, a grin appeared on her face.  "Although, this Kathy, real estate woman, is doing a wonderful job on teaching me some new words in the English language!" she laughed, thinking over on some of the more unusual words the woman had used earlier when driving throughout the heavy traffic found in the city.

 "Adding to your vocabulary is always an enlightenment," Skydancer observed rather seriously, not catching the humor behind her friend's statement.  "But apartments are not exactly what I think either of us had in mind...... I was thinking more along the lines of a giant house.  Maybe even something with a balcony on top...." her voice drifted off in thought.

 Nodding her head quickly, Lisette crossed the distance between them and put her hand companionably on Skydancer's shoulder.  "We both were thinking of something different, Sky," she said quietly, her voice soft.  "But it does not seem that they have such things in this Castle of People."

 "Castle of People...." Skydancer repeated distantly, like phantom echoes dancing from the edges of her mind.  Something was creeping up on her, something from her memories, the shape of something that she was just now remembering.  Suddenly, she realized what it was.  "Lisette!" she cried excitedly, gripping her friend's hand.  "I just
remembered a place!  I saw it several years ago when I made a brief journey off my mountain.... I was always curious about the other side of the city, that night I just decided to go exploring and I stumbled upon this place...." her voice trailed off, remembering.

 "What?" Lisette asked in confusion as her friend nearly squeezed her hand off in her excitement.  "What place?  What are you talking about?"

 "Across the city, just outside Castellum!" Skydancer exclaimed in a rush.  "It's about a mile outside the city limits, not too far, just  about the distance from my own mountain to the city.  It's on this old dirt road, abandoned.  I only saw it from a distance but if I remember correctly, it's HUGE and even has a catwalk or something across it's top..... oh, Lisette!!  It'd be perfect!!" she exclaimed, excitement shining brightly from her eyes.

 Laughing, Lisette quickly realized that Skydancer's excitement was contagious.  "Alright, alright!" Lisette gasped in between fits of laughter.  "We shall go visit this mansion tonight during our patrol... if you will stop strangling my hand, s'il vous plâit?" she finished, a small grimace of pain flashing across her features as she looked down at her mangled hand that was held so tightly in her friend's strong grip.

 Startled, Sky quickly looked down at her friend's hand that was clenched very tightly within her own.   She released it immediately.  Oh,  I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, totally full of remorse.  "I didn't even realize....."

 Laughing, Lisette quickly shook her hand as hot needles slowly poked throughout the delicate skin.  "If I can still feel pain, then all is not lost!" she joked, her eyes shining brightly.  "Now, let us not waste a moment longer!  I am eager to see this house that has you so excited!" Lisette declared as she transformed into her gargoyle form.

 Skydancer stepped back as Lisette transformed, assured that her friend was not angry about her hand.  She was still unsure of some of the customs of this world, even if her friend, herself, was from an earlier time.  Lisette still had more experience in it than she did.  Nodding her head in agreement, Skydancer smiled as she uncaped her own wings and headed towards the balcony of their room.  "Yes, let's.  I am anxious to see if this place is as I remember it."

 Nodding in agreement, Lisette quickly stepped out onto the balcony.  Turning, she watched as her friend securely latched the French doors behind them and then met her dark green eyes.  Grinning, she felt the stormy night push her blond hair out behind her in a wave of gold.  "Last one in the sky is a rotten hatchling!" she yelled out as she quickly scampered onto the balcony edge and dove off into the dark night sky.

 Skydancer chuckled after Lisette as she followed the young mage off the balcony and into the dark velvets of the night.  "I might be a rotten hatchling," she retorted, laughing.  "But you had better wait up.  Only I know where we are going!"

 "Then I suppose that you better get leading!" Lisette called out cheerfully as her friend regained her position at her side.  "The night is young and we have much to discover on this eve!"

 "And so we do," the Skydancer answered with a smile, taking a slight lead ahead of her friend.  "It's actually not that hard to find.  It's directly across the city, in perfect line with my mountain.  If you can find the mountain and align yourself with it, you can find the house."

 Smiling, Lisette watched as her friend gracefully glided ahead, taking each buff of wind as it came.  Deep down, she realized that after years of flying in the storms, gathering her lightning energy, Sky had probably long ago learned to master such strange gusts of wind.  Why, she even made it look easy to glide in such horrid weather.  "Yes, well as easy as it may be, I still feel that I shall allow you to take the point on this little outing!" Lisette yelled, trying to be heard over the wind.

 "As you wish," the gargess called back to the mage, chuckling under her breath.  She knew that Lisette wasn't too fond of the stormy weather that seemed to hover around Castellum deGens at times.    Heading across the city and lifting a slender, moonlit arm, she traced the constellations with a sweep of her hand.  A falling star soared by.  It swirled with her, dancing across the heavens with a sparkling cloud of diamonds before it bowed gracefully to its mortal dancing partner and went arcing along its way.  The silent wind of its passage showered her with sparks of dancing light, bestowing upon her a heavenly kiss.  This was where she loved to be most in the world--amongst the clouds of the night sky, doing her celestial dance, accompanied by her best friend.  And now they were going to find a home.  Silently she smiled as she turned her face to look back at the mage in gargoyle form.  "Come," she called to Lisette, lightning flashing before her green eyes.  "It's this way."

 Nodding her head, Lisette warily eyed the stormy skies above as she trailed behind her friend.  It was time to find their home.

The House

 Crossing the city with its firefly trails of light far below them, the two gargoyles made their way to the other side upon the buffeted winds of the storm.  The lights of the metropolis began to die out behind them as they slowly made their way beyond the city limits and into the surrounding mountain sides of the other side of the valley in which the city sat.  Little specks of light shone through the canopy of autumn leaves that graced the trees as they started up one of the low mountain sides, but soon the two gargesses could make out the brief outlines of a dirt road far below them.  Caping in her wings, Skydancer dove a bit lower in the air followed closely by Lisette.  Recognizing it as the one she had followed a few years earlier, the gargess lead her friend along it's paths until the sight of the house loomed into their mists.  She caped her wings in again then, diving down towards the ground for a landing.

 There, standing in a wood of poplar trees and silver maples, surrounded by a well over-grown hedge and a rusty iron gate, was the house.  It loomed before them in complete darkness as if a specter waiting in the shadows for its prey.  A scudding northwest wind beat clouds over the face of the moon, not yet full, but when it could it shone on the overgrown gardens of the place with an intermittent and threatening light, making them look stunted and strange by night.  Two huge towers graced the flanks of the house with an attic in between.  A graceful widow's walk lined the top of the attic center.  Skydancer drew in a sharp intake of breath.  The house was exactly as she remembered it.  "That's it," she whispered to her friend quietly.

 "Oh là là," Lisette murmured quietly, her eyes growing wide with awe.  "It... it is so very big!" she gasped as she slowly walked through the tangled masses of weeds and grass that filled the front lawn.  "It is very.. strange in this bad lighting, no?" she asked as she finally came to a stop beside her friend.

 Skydancer nodded.  The house looked as if a solitary demon underneath the dark of the moon.  "Yes, it is a bit eerie... but that's the gem of the whole place!  Who would suspect a gargoyle and a mage to make their home here?" she asked with a grin.

 Breaking into her own smile, Lisette turned and regarded her friend with renewed respect.  "You are, as usual, right mon amie," Lisette murmured as she gently squeezed her friend's shoulder.  "Also, it would be very suiting for our needs.. with a little bit of work, that is," she amended as a particularly strong breeze caused one of the dark and rotting shutters to bang loudly against the wooden siding.

 Skydancer jumped at the clattering sound of the shutter banging against the side of the house.  The wind rattled around them, whipping at the gargoyles' long hair.  Lightning flashed behind them from over the city.  The gargess's green eyes flashed white fire as she glanced up into the sky cautiously, not quite sure if the weather was natural or not.  There was something supernatural about this place, Sky could feel it in her bones.  Lightning flashed again and lit up an antique
metal plaque that hung loosely from the old iron gate.  "What's that?" the brown gargess asked, nodding towards the piece of metal.

 Stifling her own yelp of surprise from the noise, Lisette first concentrated on stilling her beating heart.  "I am sure that once we get this place fixed up..." she trailed off as she moved forward and inspected the plaque that her friend had pointed out.  "Janua Caeli," she murmured as she read the words aloud.  "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" she murmured aloud, confusion clouding her features.

 Sky walked up behind Lisette and glanced down at the plate in her friend's hands.  "Janua Caeli," she repeated after her.  "It's Latin... means 'the gates to heaven.....'"

 Laughing, Lisette sent her friend an amused glance.  "Craigen always was getting after me to study my Latin more!  Could it be the name of the house?"

 Skydancer glanced up at the dark visage of Janua Caeli.  Lightning flashed again behind them and the moon cast its eerie glow on the place.  "I think so," she said.

 Pausing, Lisette considered the words quietly as she regarded the mansion before them.  At one point, the place must have been beautiful, back in its prime.  Prompted with that thought, the more Lisette stared at the building, the more the years seemed to lift from the building until the white paint seemed to show proudly through the gloom, the flowers in the garden in a colorful full bloom, the grass and hedges neatly trimmed, and the sun shining brightly through the large stained glass window that occupied the front of the home.  "Janua Caeli," she murmured quietly as her eyes traced the eves of the majestic home.  "I like it," she murmured, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth.

 JANUA CAELI said the gates of the old mansion in a single iron voice.  Skydancer reached out and rattled the iron structure.  They were locked but not with padlock and chain.  Shaking them furtively to find the pattern of their resistance, Sky determined that they were bolted and spoke the name of the house as if it were a magic spell as she wrestled with the gate.  "Janua Caeli," she said as the bolt yielded and she pinched her taloned hand.  "Ouch."  The gargess quickly put her digits in her mouth to ease their suffering.

 "Are you alright?" Lisette asked quickly as she turned to her friend, concern etching her voice.  Yet, even as she turned away, she felt compelled to turn back and face the looming mansion.  "Sky," she whispered, her voice soft.  "I feel that we should look into purchasing this, Janua Caeli, for our home.... even though the mansion is dark and eerie.. I.. I feel as though it needs us as much as we need it," she murmured, her voice showing the puzzlement that she felt.

 The smell of untamed trees immediately surrounded them and with the smell came the conviction that wild beasts might spring out of the shadows at them; that they might have to run for their lives at any moment.  Skydancer shook her head and closed her grass-colored eyes, trying to figure out where the feelings were coming from.  Still, she did not mind them for they had an air of poetry about them that had not been apart of the feeling she had felt in the city itself.  This mansion, despite the savageness of its appearance, once had been a home, and had the potential to be so again.  Sky opened her eyes and smiled at Lisette.  "Yes, let's!" she agreed excitedly.

 Smiling, Lisette nodded quietly to herself.  For some reason, she felt an aura of hurt that surrounded this old mansion.  Together, she knew that Sky and her were just what the mansion needed in order to bring it back up to its previous state of luxury.  "Then it is settled," Lisette said, her voice firm as she tore her eyes away from the mansion and met her friend's eyes.  "Tomorrow I shall visit Kathy and ask her about this property.  Hopefully, with her help we will be
able to purchase our new home."

 The Skydancer nodded.  The old place seemed to be calling to them, and they to it.  "Okay then..... we have found our home.... and it would seem, it us."  The gargess smiled at her mage friend.  "Shall we go exploring, or would you rather wait till the break of day?" she asked, a mischievous smile crossing her face.

 Sighing, Lisette pondered her friend's question.  Turning, she glanced back up at the stormy night sky and the position of the moon.  "Perhaps we should wait for another night?" she asked, her voice betraying her uneasiness as lightning flashed behind them, followed almost immediately by a crash of thunder.  "After all," she continued, her voice strengthening, "for all we know, this house may be owned by another."

 Sky glanced up at the approaching thundercloud as it made its way from over Castellum deGens and towards Janua Caeli.  The weather wasn't getting any better, and as much as she loved the storms, her friend did not.  They still had to fly back in this mess.  Turning back to Lisette, the gargess nodded her head in agreement.  "We'll head back then.  Tomorrow, you find out what you can of this 'Janua Caeli' and then tomorrow night we'll explore the place."

 Grinning, Lisette quickly nodded her head in agreement before making her way to a nearby tree that would serve her purpose for a launching point.  But even as she prepared to launch from a particularly strong branch that spiked off of the large oak, she couldn't help but find her eyes drifting back to the old mansion.  "I will be back tomorrow," she whispered quietly, her voice filled in compassion even as she tried to discern who she was speaking those words for.. or to.  Shaking her head, she once more faced the dark night sky and launched herself up into their stormy depths.

 Skydancer followed her friend's gaze to the dark vintage of the old place.  Its front windows shone eerily in the moonlight, lightning flashing here and there.  It was almost as if the house was watching them, waiting for their return.  "We'll be back!" she exclaimed to no one in particular.  Scaling the old oak after her friend, Sky climbed to the large branch and leaped into the velvet stormy sky after Lisette.  Spreading her wings wide, she captured an updraft and climbed
higher in the sky, leaving the house far below them.

The Storm was drawing closer now.  And soon her journey would end.  She knew the ones that she needed to find were near.  Strangely, the dreams had shown her that they weren't all together yet.  They were still coming together themselves.  The wind blew bloody tears across her golden face.  The lightning flashed behind her.  Desperately she glanced up into the sky far above her.  The Storm was hot on her trail.  He would be upon her shortly.  A chill ran down her spine.  Pain shot
through her broken wings.  Glancing around she looked for a place to hide for the day.  Unlike the others of her kind, she did not turn to stone during the day... one of the alien traits of her ancestry.  Her child would be the same way.  It would be one of its greatest assets.  She would not be there to show it that, however.  It would have to discover it on its own.  Suddenly, the dark shape of an old mansion caught her eye in the distance.  Something told her to go there.  Somehow she knew that house was her child's destiny.  She looked back into the sky.  She knew the Storm would follow, but for now the house would be her refuge.  Turning, she headed straight for it.

Castellum Realty

 Humming softly to herself, Kathy Higgens absently pushed a stray lock of curly auburn hair out of her eyes as she scanned over the documents contained in the stack of folders that filled her large mahogany desk.  Glancing up, she felt her eyes stray to the clock that was mounted above the large double doors that sat opposite of her desk, which led into the reception room.  "Almost two," she murmured as she took in the time and turned back to the reports that she had been
reviewing.

 Sighing, she quickly snapped shut the manila envelope in her hand and turned her swivel chair till she was staring out through the floor length picture windows that occupied the space behind her.  Smiling, she took in the bright sunshine that shown down upon her city.  "Lisette DeBuschelle," she murmured quietly as she glanced down at the people who looked no more than ants from her 16th story window.  The young woman was eccentric, at best.  A peculiar girl from a different land--nice, but with strange tastes.  Then again, she was loaded to the brim, and in Ms. Higgens' world, that was all that mattered.  The fact alone that she had it on good authority that the girl had money to burn was enough for her to make Miss DeBuschelle her star client.  Ever since she had learned of the girl's desire for a home two days ago, her every minute had been devoted to finding such a house--hopefully one of the more expensive homes that she had to offer.

 Suddenly, the intercom on her cluttered desk issued a loud beep before her secretary's voice filtered through the mechanics.  "Ms. Higgens, Miss DeBuschelle has arrived for her two o'clock appointment," the young man's voice said, ringing through the large and spacious room.

 Instantly, Kathy forced on her mask of politeness as she hurriedly straightened up her cluttered desk and quickly fluffed her curly locks before turning to the intercom.  "Of course Derrick, send her in," she said, her voice calm and professional.  Even as she said this she was getting to her feet as the double doors clicked open and the young woman breezed in.  "Miss DeBuschelle," Kathy murmured in greeting as she reached across the desk and took the young woman's hand in hers as she gave the young woman a quick glance over.  Once more, the mysterious Miss DeBuschelle was clothed in a soft satin skirt that billowed around her ankles and a simple spring top, all of which perfectly accentuated her small figure.

 Smiling, Lisette quickly took the offered hand and then took the proffered seat across from the desk, reclining back in the plush chair as she crossed one leg over the other.  "Kathy, s'il vous plâit, call me Lisette," she murmured, her voice light as she met the woman's strong brown eyes.

 "Of course, Lisette," the woman acknowledged as she quickly began flipping through a stack of files that littered her normally neat desk.  "Now, my dear, since our meeting yesterday I had managed to dig up some lovely townhouses..."

 "Oh, that won't be necessary," Lisette interrupted smoothly as she eyed a simple watch that was clasped on her small wrist.  A little after 2pm, which meant that, like was the case the last few days, she had only gotten a little under six hours of sleep before her day began.  The nights were beginning  to kill her, she noted, as she stifled a yawn.

 "What?" Kathy asked quickly as she dropped the folder she was looking through, panic crossing her face.  "You're not going to someone else, are you?  For I can assure you that here at Castellum Realty we will find you the best deal..."

 Laughing softly, Lisette quickly shook her head and held up one slender hand, stopping the woman's tirade.  "I know that your firm will be perfect in order to handle my specific needs, but I actually think that I have found the home that I have been looking for."

 "Oh really?" Kathy asked, her perfectly plucked eyebrow raising in curiosity.  "Did one of the homes we looked at yesterday catch your attention?"

 "Actually, no," Lisette murmured, a wry smile coming to her lips.  "I managed to stumble upon the property by myself.  But, I know nothing about the home besides the manor's name.  I was hoping that you would be able to tell me if it was for sale, and if so, how to go about purchasing the property."

 "Oh, really?" Kathy asked, her surprise growing.  "Well, what is the manor's name?" she asked as she turned to face her computer screen, her perfectly manicured fingers poised and ready over the computer keys.

 "The mansion is called Janua Caeli," Lisette murmured, her accent causing the name to sound like music in the large room.

 "Ja-noo-a Caw-lee?" Kathy asked, trying to sound out the name.  "Is that French?" she questioned, aware of the young woman's heritage.

 Smiling, Lisette quickly shook her head.  "Latin, actually.  It is spelled J.. a.. n.. u.. a.. and then C.. a.. e.. l.. i."

 Hiding her puzzlement, Kathy quickly typed out the letters and waited as the computer brought up the file.  As a picture of a large and dilapidated mansion filled the screen, she felt her chin drop.

 Leaning across the desk, Lisette instantly felt her smile widen.  "Yes, that is the one!" she cried out, instantly filled with excitement.  The house looked rather different in the bright daylight of which the picture had been taken.  In the light, you could see that the siding of the large mansion had once in fact been white, but now the paint was cracked and peeling away from the home in strips.  Also, a large creeping of ivy covered the mansion walls, where the windows and doors, minus the coverings, stood open to the elements like gaping jaws.  Still, despite the house's rugged appearance, Lisette instantly felt a warm feeling spread throughout her body.  There was just something about the home that told her that it was.. well, her home.

 "Ah, yes," Kathy murmured, trying to regain a hold of herself.  Surely, after all of their searching, the biggest client that Castellum Realty has seen in a good many years couldn't be settling for such a wreck!  "The Janua Caeli manor," she quickly continued.  "The house is in fact owned by our firm...."

 "Really?" Lisette asked, surprise filling her face as she tore her bright eyes away from the picture and focused on the woman's kind face.  "It is true that I do not know many things about American customs, but is it not odd that your firm owns the manor?"

 Smiling, Kathy quickly nodded her head.  "Yes, it is a bit different.  We've had the home in our listings for around twenty years now," Kathy murmured as she read the information off of the screen.  "It seems that we acquired the home after the last owner passed away and that we've had difficulties selling it since..."

 "Difficulties?" Lisette asked, obviously intrigued by the woman's words.

 "Yes," Kathy nodded quickly, a small smile on her face as she turned to face Lisette.  "Apparently, the manor is rumored to be haunted!" she laughed, shaking her head at the absurdity of the idea.

 But to her amazement, Lisette merely frowned thoughtfully as her gaze strayed back to the picture on the computer screen.  For some reason, Kathy's words didn't surprise her.  She had sensed that there was something different about the home, and Skydancer had obviously felt it as well.  This explained why.  "Then, the property is for sale?" Lisette asked quickly, returning back to the matter at hand.

 "Why, yes, it is for sale," Kathy murmured as she turned back to the screen.  "But surely this isn't what you had in mind," she continued as she once more looked Lisette squarely in the eyes.  "At one time, the mansion was beautiful, yes, but now it's no more than an old wreck that would take a lot of hard work to fix up..."

 "When can I see it?" Lisette interrupted, shaking away the woman's concerns.

 "Pardon?"

 "When can I view Janua Caeli?" she asked again, her eyes firm.

 "Uh.. well..."

 Getting annoyed with the woman's obvious surprise, Lisette quickly leaned across the table, her eyes flashing the briefest of green.  "Kathy, would it be possible to view the manor this afternoon?" she spoke slowly, as though speaking to a child.

 Feeling as though she was mesmerized by Lisette's bright blue eyes, Kathy slowly nodded her head.  "Yes.. I'll get the keys right now and then we can be off," she murmured quietly as she slowly leaned across the desk and pushed the intercom button.  "Derrick, would you please get me the keys for the Janua Caeli manor?" she murmured as though in a dream...

Janua Caeli

 Smiling softly, strangely relieved to be back at the manor, Lisette slowly stepped through the front gate and into the overgrown and weedy lawn.  Turning, she watched as Kathy slowly picked her way through the mess to stand at her side.  Shaking her head, she once more turned back and admired the building standing before her.

 The mansion was huge, towering a full four stories above them with six long pillars descending down from the bottom of the attic walkway above and ending in the top of a covered front porch.  Smiling, she saw that a large stained glass structure occupied the division between the second and third floor.  At one time, that too must have been a beautiful sight, but now only a few panes of the colored glass remained.  Turning, she saw that the front door was in fact two large
and sturdy doors where at one time, a finely crafted glass must have stood in the center of the massive wood.  Now, only a barren hole remained in each of the doors.  Turning, she saw that was true with most of the house, with the many windows that lined the front of the building being bare of all glass wards.  "Well, come on," she murmured as she slowly stepped forward and delicately stepped on the rotting porch, the wood creaking beneath her.

 "Of course," Kathy murmured quietly as she wrinkled her nose in disdain at the old wreck of a home.  Sighing, she slowly followed the young woman to the front door and then jiggled the keys into the old lock.  With a loud creak, the door slid open as the final deadbolt came undone.

 Smiling softly in expectation, Lisette quickly pushed by Kathy and stepped into the old house.  Instantly, clouds of dust billowed around them as particles that hadn't been disturbed in years were kicked up by their soft footfalls.  Coughing slightly in the storm, Lisette turned and took in her surroundings in amazement.  Bright sunshine filtered down through the large stained glass structure from up above and illuminated the structure before her.  It was beautiful.  Upon entering the door, you immediately found yourself in a large and open enclosure that extended up to the ceiling of the fourth floor.  The foyer was large, probably around twenty to thirty feet long and ten feet wide, in a large rectangle.  To the left and right sat doorways that led off to other mysterious rooms and halls, while immediately in front of her sat a large oak staircase, which was the first thing that drew attention in the room, with two doors hidden on either side.

 The staircase rose grandly to the second floor, with an oak balustrade in between to a landing, at which point it divided up to the right and left and continued curving up and around the foyer up to the third floor landing halfway along the wall to the right and left of the main door, and then up further to the fourth which rested against the front wall directly attached in the corner to the right and left of the entrance.  Overall, the effect was that the stairway was left open to the large foyer, giving off a huge and roomy appearance.  Turning, she looked up and further up till she saw the place where a large chandelier must have hung at one point, casting an array of light that filtered down through glass and diamond ornaments to the room so far below.  Shaking her head, Lisette instantly realized that despite the large accumulations of dust, the water stains, the broken wood fixtures, and the fact that the stairs didn't look sturdy enough to support any weight let alone hers--the house was still a master of perfection.

 "As you can see," Kathy said quietly, causing Lisette to jump as she turned back to her realtor, "the house is in dire need of repairs."

 Shaking her head, Lisette realized that she had completely forgotten that the woman was there.  "And what does all come with the house?" she asked quietly as she surveyed the room once again.

 "Ah... let's see here," Kathy murmured quietly as she flipped through the report that she had snatched from the firm's archives.  "It says here that the property includes the house, ten acres before the house that leads up to the main road, so I'm guessing that it's a private drive.." Kathy murmured as she continued to scan the report.  "Also, it says that you get about fifteen acres more that run around the house in the surrounding woods.  Ooh, that would make for some good hunting land," Kathy continued as she nodded her head quickly, searching for something positive about the home.  After all, even though the house was a wreck, a sale was in fact a sale.

 "Hmm.. and are there any other buildings on the property?" Lisette asked as she finally turned back to the petite woman beside her.

 "Um.. no, it seems that this building is the only one on the property," Kathy quickly confirmed as she turned to stare up at her client.  Instantly, she tried to judge her client's interest in the property.  Easily, she could see the interest sparked in her client's eyes.

 "And what are you asking for the property?" Lisette asked, getting to the matter at hand.

 "Well," Kathy murmured as she turned back to her report.  Instantly, she saw that the asking price for the property was $110,000.  Lifting one eye, she once again discretely eyed her client.  Once more, the desire and interest were obvious in the young woman.  "We are asking $150,000 for the property," she finally stated, judging that to be about what the young woman would pay for it.  Per usual, she expected a period of bargaining to ensue, but in the end, she knew that she would hook the girl for no less than $130,000.  "You see, because of the prime location of the land, that brings the cost up to $135,000, and then the house itself, due to its state of disrepair only adds a value of $10,000 to the property with $5,000 for realtor costs," she explained, a gleam of greed in her eyes.

 Nodding her head, Lisette once more scanned over the room.  "I will take it," she said as she quickly reached into a small bag that she carried and withdrew a large stack of bills from their depths.

 "Oh my," Kathy murmured as she saw that the stack was in fact in stacks of ten thousand dollar bills with smaller bills mixed in between.  NEVER before had she seen a bill that large.

 "One hundred fifty thousand American dollars, you say?" Lisette asked as she quickly set about counting off the bills.

 "Why, yes, but.." Kathy murmured as a stack of bills began growing in her hand.  "This.. this is highly unusual.  Why are you carrying such a large amount of cash on you?  What if you were mugged or robbed?!" she asked quickly, her voice rising in panic.

 "Oh, I do not worry about such things.  I am capable of handling myself," Lisette murmured quietly as she continued counting out the bills.

 "But.. but we have paperwork to fill out.. I mean.. we have to sign the title over to..." Kathy gasped as Lisette reached $110,000.

 Smiling, Lisette continued counting, "One hundred thirty thousand, one hundred forty thousand, one hundred fifty thousand dollars," Lisette finished with a bright smile as she turned and tucked the remaining stack of bills back in her purse.  "Now, do you have the title with you?" she asked quickly, eager to finish up with the business.  From the stained glass window, she could see that the sun was about to set.

 "Well, yes I do.." Kathy murmured as she stared at the money in amazement.

 "Bon," Lisette replied as she reached forward and took the folder from the stunned realtor.  Reaching inside, she paged through the paperwork till she found a paper that read 'Janua Caeli Title'.  "Is this it?" she asked as she flashed the paper.

 Shaking her head, Kathy tore her glance away from the stack of bills and looked at the paper held by the young and now INSANE woman.  "Yes.. yes that's it."

 Nodding her head quickly, Lisette forcibly turned the woman around, placed the paper on the woman's back, and then scrawled her signature across the paper at the place required.  Smiling, she then took the paper back and pressed it into the woman's other hand.  Then, she escorted Kathy to the door and said, "Is there anything else that needs to be completed?"

 "Well, no, not immediately.." Kathy trailed off as Lisette plucked the keys to the home from her hands.

 "Good then," Lisette replied as she began closing the door.  "I shall stay here at my new home and you may head back to your office now.  When you have anything else for me, you may send it to my new address here," she instructed as she closed the door on the stunned woman and once more turned back to her new home.  Smiling happily, she listened as a few minutes later Kathy trudged back to her car and then slowly drove away.  Laughing in delight, Lisette then clapped her hand together as she skipped further into the large foyer and looked up and out the stained glass window at the falling night.  "Oh, Sky will be so pleased!" she laughed to herself as she quickly transported herself back to her sleeping friend.

Hotel Cabrara

 The golden globe of the sun slowly sank from its skyward heavens to its nightly depths below the horizon.  The moon was rising, a diaphanous ghost riding the tattered remnants of clouds across the sky creating patterns in the shadows that touched upon the planes and hollows of the statue's face.  Suddenly cracks formed on the granite structure and Skydancer burst forth from her stone shell, light flashing in her grass green eyes as she smothered a yawn.  Briefly she looked around.  One of the terrace doors stood open as through it, an evening wind blew.  Smiling, Sky walked out onto the balcony that belonged to her and Lisette's room.  The moon continued its skyward path, starfire trailing far behind it.  She watched it for several minutes, waiting for her friend to return from her daily jaunt.  She knew it wouldn't be long now.

 And as usual, Skydancer's assumption was correct as not only a minute later the dark gloom of the bedroom was lit by an eerie flash of green light.  A second later, Lisette stood in its place, a large smile on her face as she tucked a stray strand of pale blond hair behind her ear.  "Oh, Sky, we did it!" she called out happily in the room, searching for her friend.

 Hearing Lisette's voice, the gargess whirled around and skipped back into the room.  She immediately noticed the happy look on the mage's face and knew that she brought good news.  "I take it that you succeeded in purchasing the house?" Skydancer questioned, excitement growing in her eyes.

 "Bien sûr, mon amie!" Lisette cried out with a small laugh as she jumped forward and wrapped her small arms around the taller gargoyle's thin frame.  "We," she cried as she stepped back quickly and withdrew a folded up piece of paper from the purse she had slung over her shoulder, "are now the proud owners of a certain property on the other end of town!"  Smiling brightly, she proudly passed over the title to the home.  "The property which consists of twenty-five acres of land and a certain manor by the name of Janua Caeli!"

 Excitedly, Skydancer grabbed the paper from her friend's hands and briefly scanned it.  Right there in black and white was the deed to the house with Lisette's name printed squarely in the 'ownership' box.  "I cannot believe this!" the gargess exclaimed.  Her eyes, two gray-green oceans of excitement, danced merrily in the moonlight that shone in from the doorway of the balcony.  The unearthly light only seemed to enhance the gargess's happiness.  "Finally!  Finally, we have a home!" Sky crowed to the room.  Happily she reached out and gave the young mage another hug.

 Laughing, Lisette pulled away and glanced mischievously at her friend and comrade in trouble.  "Feel up to a little exploring before our patrol?" she asked, her blue eyes twinkling.

 Skydancer grinned.  She had been thinking along the same lines herself.  "Yes, let's!" she agreed enthusiastically.

 Laughing, Lisette quickly shifted forms and hurried to the balcony.  "Then let's get going!  The night is young!!" she laughed as she turned and dove from the balcony and into the comforting breezes of the night beyond.

 Chuckling after her friend, Skydancer raced after her and leaped into a free-fall dive off the balcony.  She waited until almost the bottom and then quickly expanded her fourteen foot wings to catch the cool, soft waves of the night air.  The ripples of the deep, black sea upon which she drifted carried her high into the air, joining her with Lisette as they glided towards their new home.  The stars sprinkled the velvet sky around them and Sky enjoyed the silken breezes that surrounded them.  It covered them, filling them both with mysterious murmurs of ageless secrets as they continued on towards their new home.

Janua Caeli

 Sighing softly, Lisette felt her eyes widen with amazement as their new home drew into sight.  Shaking her head, she slowly allowed the warm wind currents to carry her lower till she landed on the softly tangled masses of grass and weeds that composed the front lawn within the rusted gates.  As the night wind played with her soft blond tresses, she wondered at the sight of the massive home, backlit by the bright moon beyond.  With the passing storm, the night was filled with the sounds of the night animals, prowling their territories and the soft wind blowing through the lush branches of the trees.  Glancing up, she watched as a shaft of light reflected off of one of the remaining panes in the large, stained glass window that dominated the front face of the manor.  "Honey, we're home," she murmured quietly, her voice light as she surveyed the dark night.

 "Home, indeed," Skydancer commented lightly as she landed beside her friend.  The night air whipped around them, blowing in from the trees and disturbing the long French braid that hung down her back.  Twisting her neck to the side, Sky flung her braid over her left shoulder and began to play with the ends, as had come to be her habit.  The house loomed before them in the brightness of the moon, all manner of possibilities with it.  Skydancer took a step towards it, and then paused.  Unable to contain the fullness of her feelings, she stretched her arms out in sheer happiness and started to laugh.  "I cannot believe that this is all ours!" she exclaimed.  "Just think of the possibilities!  We can mold it to our own creations!"

 Laughing, Lisette quickly turned her head, her blonde tresses whipping over her blue shoulders, and glanced at her friend.  The happiness was evident on her beautiful face, and the knowledge that she had helped to build that happiness caused her heart to swell.  "We can do whatever we wish with this, our new home!" Lisette agreed as she once more turned her eyes back to the old manor.  "Why, we could add a library filled to the brim with spell books..." she trailed off as the moon glinted on her soft blue eyes.

 "I can move my whole library down off the mountain," Sky agreed, smiling.  She turned her green eyes onto the young mage.  "There are many spell books contained within the collections that I think you may find very fascinating..... and it'll allow you to familiarize yourself with what has been going on with magic-users in the last millennium."

 Laughing in delight, Lisette quickly clapped her hands together.  "Oh, it has been so very long since I have had the opportunity to look through a spell book!  Why, not since... Craigen," she trailed off, her smile faltering.  Shaking her head, she turned and once more stared up into the dark visage of her new home.  "He.. he was so obsessed with his spell books," she murmured quietly.  "Oh, how I teased him for it!" she laughed softly as the memories of the past drew at her.  Shaking
her head, Lisette quickly shook off the troubling thoughts and started forward towards the door to the manor, changing form in mid-step back to her mage one, once more dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans and a thin, long-sleeved shirt.  "Well, shall we explore?" she called over her shoulder as she wiped away a single tear and turned her thoughts of the past to her future... to *their* future.

 Skydancer nodded, saying nothing to her friend about her sad past.  She knew the young mage had lived enough sorrows to last a lifetime, unfortunately there was nothing she could really do about it.  What was done, was done.  The best she could do was be there for her friend and make sure that her *future* was not spent alone as her past had been.  Caping her wings, she followed the young woman up the ricked steps and to the huge looming door with its stained-glass fixtures.  "Let's see what we have inside," the gargess commented wryly, a brief grin crossing her features.

 Nodding her head, Lisette quickly pulled a ring of keys from her pocket and passed it over to her friend.  "You, may have the honors, mon amie," she said quickly, her smile growing.

 Skydancer accepted the antique brass keys from the mage's hand.  Sticking a finger through the ring, Sky looked quizzically at Lisette, puzzlement crossing her green eyes.  "Ahhhh..... I know what a door is, my friend, but what are these?  Are they like that piece of plastic you use to open our hotel room door all the time?" she asked, holding the skeleton keys up briefly.

 Laughing, Lisette quickly nodded her head.  How silly of her... of course Sky wouldn't know what the keys were.  "I'm sorry, my friend," Lisette laughed as she gently lay a hand on the gargess's shoulder.  "Those are called keys, and you use them to open the door," Lisette explained.  "All you have to do is stick the small end of the key into that little hole and turn it," she instructed as she pointed to the keyhole in the door.

 "Oh," the Skydancer said, as she pulled free one of the many keys on the ring.  They all looked alike.  Taking it gingerly between two of her talons, she slipped it into the hole that Lisette had pointed to and turned it with a grinding tweak.  The door gave a little groan as Sky pushed it open and peered inside.  Cobwebs hung from everywhere, including the high ceiling as she stepped inside the door followed closely by Lisette.  A staircase that the gargess wouldn't trust her
life on loomed out of the darkness before her.  "*THIS* is going to be interesting....." she breathed to no one in particular.

 Laughing quietly, Lisette quickly followed her friend into the huge foyer and stood by her side.  Because of the positioning of the moon, only a small bit of moonlight filtered into the dark room.  Smiling, Lisette realized that later on in the evening, or rather early the next morning, the moon's rays would finally be able to illuminate the darkness and gloom that filled the room.  "Magnificent, isn't it?" she breathed as she took in the towering roof so far above them.

 "Extremely," Skydancer commented, taking a step forward.  The darkness loomed around them, making it difficult to see.  Glancing up, she saw in the dim moonlight that there was a hole in the ceiling, suggesting that something once must have hung from there.  "What would that have been for?" the curious gargoyle asked, intrigued by the fixture on the high ceiling.

 Glancing up into the dark gloom, Lisette tried to pierce the shadows as she looked at the indicated spot.  "I believe it was a chandelier at one time," Lisette murmured as she thought back to earlier today.  "Here, this should help," she suddenly murmured as a spell came to mind.  "Allumez le chambre," she whispered softly, her eyes glowing the briefest of greens before a glowing orb of light appeared in her outstretched hand.  Immediately the room was bathed in the soft white light, casting the shadows to run and cower in fear in other dark regions of their home.

 Skydancer grinned.  Leave it to her mage friend to light their way!  "Much better," she agreed.  Briefly, she glanced around.  They were standing in a foyer of sorts.  Light falling softly from Lisette's hand lit the way through a huge arch to the right of the entrance of which they stood.  Revealing wonders sat there: a carved chest, a dusty table with slender scrolls of ivory and pearl, a huge vase meant to hold flowers but from which only cobwebs hung graced the top.  A
shallow bowl on a second glass-topped table filled with what may have been the remnants of potpourri sat in amongst the dust.  All these objects spoke of people from a different time, a time long passed.  "Intriguing...." the green-eyed beauty observed, gesturing towards the tables.  "I wonder what sort of people lived here prior to us?"

 Seeing the puzzling contents of the other rooms, Lisette marveled at how she could have missed such a thing upon her previous time in the manor.  "Perhaps that is such a question that I should bring before Ms. Higgens tomorrow?" she asked, arching her eyebrow at the scrolls in particular.  Instantly, her palms beginning itching to thumb through their secret contents.

 "Indeed," Sky said, smiling when she noticed Lisette eye-balling the scrolls.  "Who knows what treasures we may find?"  The gargess turned from the arched entrance and glanced at a door that was off to their left.  Walking up to it, she reached out and jingled its doorknob, but the antique wooden barrier would not budge.  Taking a step back, Sky pointed her index finger at the rusty handle.  "Lightning!" she commanded softly.  Instantaneously, a small zap came flying from her hand and landed on the ancient metal of the stout door.  It gave way with a surrenderous creak.  "That's better," the Dancer of the Sky said with a smile.  Reaching out, she gave the door a small shove, revealing a darkened room beyond.

 Hiding her smile at the display, Lisette quickly shook her head and stepped away from the arched room and followed her friend into the dark interior of the room.  "I do believe, mon amie," she said quietly, her voice full of amusement, "that the keys on that ring that you are holding would have unlocked this door."

 Skydancer stopped dead in her tracks as she pondered what Lisette had just said.  Glancing down at the brass ring in her hands with its jingling appendages, she grinned over sheepishly at her mage friend.  "Oh," she said with a shrug and a grin.  "Didn't even realize....."

 Laughing, Lisette quickly shook her head and turned her attention back on the room.  Like the other one, the room was large, about the same size of the large foyer, with large windows lining the wall to the left, which opened up onto the front lawn.  Smiling, she watched as the glowing orb that she held detailed what must have, at one point and time, been a living room, with the only other door to the room at the opposite end of the room, which must lead up to the one of the large towers that decorated either end of the manor.

 Skydancer took a step into the room as Lisette's glow ball cast away the shadows that seemed to cling to the depths of the room.  "What do you think this was?" she asked her friend.  Going over to one of the tall windows in front, she peered through a couple of the dirty panes that still remained.  "This must have been a splendid view at one time," she commented.

 "I think it was a living room," she murmured as she stepped around the cloth covered furniture, stirring up massive clouds of dust as she went.  Coughing at the congestion, she leaned forward and whipped off one of the sheets, sending up another spray of dust as an antique couch was displayed.  "Yes, definitely a living room," she murmured as she surveyed the other objects in the room.

 Sky started laughing as dust continued to circle Lisette.  It was not long though that the gargess started choking a bit herself as the dirt began to settle again.  "Find something, Lis?" she finally managed to gasp, trying not to laugh and choke at the same time.

 Shaking her head, Lisette instantly knew that her clothing was now caked in a fine layer of dust.  "Besides the dust?" she asked with a wry grin as she threw the sheet to the side.

 Skydancer stood by the window, her hands clasped in front of her as she grinned at her friend.  "You look like a gray-colored snowman," she smirked and then broke into a fit of giggles.  Laughter danced from her grass eyes.

 Smiling, Lisette couldn't stop her next actions.  Moving quickly, she reached forward and snatched yet another dust caked sheet from off of a nearby table and darted towards her friend.  Before Skydancer could react, she then tossed the grimy sheet over her friend, cloaking her in its dusty depths.  "Oh yes?  Well, maintenant you look like a gray ghost!" she laughed.

 Coughing from this newest cloud of dust, Sky broke into hysterical laughter as she glanced down at herself.  A dusty coating covered her leather loin-dress, cobwebs hung from the braid over her shoulder.  She shook her head back and uncaped her wings sending another cloud of filth into the air.  "I do, don't I?" the gargess agreed, laughing.  Suddenly she stopped then, pausing.  "Shhhh....." she whispered, signaling the young mage to be quiet.  "Do you hear that?"

 Instantly pausing in her antics, Lisette quickly trained her sharp hearing to listen to the dark night.  Unfortunately, in her human form, she lacked the sharp hearing of her gargess friend.  "No..." Lisette trailed off slowly as she began patting the thick layer of dust from her skin.  "Why, what do you hear?"

 "Its like a low keening...wailing sound.....shhhh....." the gargess was silent for another moment, her sharp ears listening to the surrounding wind that circled the manor.  "There it is again!" she whispered.  Sky crept over to the far side of the room to where the door to the left tower stood.  "It sounds like it's coming from outside... near the tower!" she exclaimed heading back towards the door that lead to the entrance way.

 Still unable to hear the sound herself, Lisette nonetheless trusted in the hearing of her friend.  If Sky said that she heard a wailing sound, then someone was wailing nearby.  Turning quickly, she hurriedly followed her friend, the glowing orb in Lisette's hand instantly disappearing.

 The night had grown deeper in its magnificent darkness, surrounded by the broken shadows of the massive mansion as Skydancer broke through front wooden doors followed closely by Lisette.  The gargess tore across the grass in the shadow of the moon, lightning danced across the sky further back above the city.  Sky rounded the corner of the old house and then suddenly stopped, scanning the overgrown hedges intimately as if searching for something.  It was then that she saw her--a cloaked silhouette huddled against the side of the house, her body covering something.  Pale yellow wings spread out from her back and from their positions, Sky could tell that they were broken.  The creature's face was hidden in shadow, but a glimmer of gold hair could be seen spilling out about her shoulders.

 Cautiously, Skydancer approached her.  As the gargess drew near the stillness of the night was broken by the labored breathing of the female before her.  Sky reached one slim brown arm out into the moonlight.  Gently she took a hold of the creature's shoulder.  "Can we help you?  Are you hurt?" the brown haired gargess asked softly.

The wild, unblinking sapphire depths of the strange gargoyle flashed back at her as the gargess looked around her desperately as if in search of phantom shadows.  A deep cut ran the length of her delicate jawline, fresh blood dripping from it.  As she moved, Sky saw that she had other cuts all over her yellow skin.

"Do you need help?" the Skydancer asked again.

 "Get back!  Get away from me!" the new gargess called out quickly as she huddled down closer to the ground, clinging to the deep darkness of the night as though trying to hide from the night itself.

 "Shh," Lisette quickly soothed, making her appearance known as she stepped out into the bright moonlight and stepped closer to the gargess.  "It is alright.  We will not hurt you," she murmured as she reached one tanned hand out to gently rest it upon the gargess's golden shoulder.

 The yellow gargess blinked at Lisette, soothed by her voice.  Her breathing was very shallow as she again looked around wildly.  "I must keep him away from my egg..... he wants my child and he must not have it!!" she exclaimed.

 Skydancer hunkered down in front of the new gargess.  Caping in her massive wings, Sky turned her caring green eyes onto the female in front of her.  "No one will harm you here.  You are safe.  This is our home.  Who is after you?  And what is this about an egg?" she asked calmly, trying to get some answers from the gargess.

 Shuddering as though hit by a cold wind, the young gargess quickly shook her head.  "I will never be safe... and neither will my child," she murmured sadly as a single tear dripped down her face, mingling in with the blood that was too present all over her battered body.  Slowly, she drew away from the wall and revealed that which she held so dear and protected so firmly.

 "That is your egg?" Lisette asked slowly, confusion entering her voice as she stared at the object sitting before her.  In truth, it didn't resemble any of the gargoyle eggs she had ever before seen.  While it was of the same shape and size, instead of the mottled and spotted colors of normal gargoyle eggs, this one was a pure gold color, which radiated many things--most of all, a specialness that touched Lisette to the core.  "Who are you?" she murmured quietly, her shocked
gaze raising to rest kindly on the gargess before her.

 "My name is Sunshine....." the gargess started to say as her voice drifted off.  Suddenly, without warning, she pushed her egg further underneath the overgrown bushes that lined the sides of the house.  Struggling to her feet, she raised her head skyward.  "He comes still....." Sunshine breathed, tears falling down her blood-stained cheeks.  "I must draw him away...."

 Concerned and puzzled at the same time, Skydancer reached out and grabbed the wounded gargoyle by the arm.  "Who's coming?" the Dancer of the Sky asked, her green eyes flashing.  "You're in no condition to go anywhere....."

 Showing a strength that surprised the brown gargess, Sunshine clasped Skydancer's hand within her own and gave her a pleading glance.  "There is no time to explain.... the Storm is coming.... I must battle him again.  And I ask you.... BOTH of you.... please protect my egg.  He *MUST* not get my egg... HE MUST NOT!!" she exclaimed desperately, looking at first to Sky and then to Lisette.

 "Wait, wait!" Lisette pleaded quickly as she stepped beside her friend and met the terrified woman's gaze.  "We do not understand!  What storm is coming?  How can we help?" she pleaded, her voice breaking as she took in the gargoyle's desperation.

 "There can be no help for me, just please protect my egg!" she quickly said, another tear tracking down her face as she gazed forlornly at the lonely object.

 Then as if in a deep and numbing darkness, the golden gargoyle started to limp away, all the while gazing forlornly at her egg.  Puzzled beyond belief, Sky stood next to Lisette, not quite sure what exactly was going on.  Suddenly, lightning flashed overhead.  Strong and thundersome, a harsh wind picked up with it, almost like a hurricane.  In horrid fascination, the mage and the gargess watched as Sunshine spread her broken wings and caught an updraft that took her into a dark night sky.  "You won't get my child, Storm!" the yellow gargess cried out.

 "Wait!" Lisette screamed as she began inching away from the egg, her eyes locked on the brewing storm around them, never straying from the golden form that flitted throughout the dark night sky.

 "That's what you think, my dear...." came a booming, hypnotic voice across the air currents.  Lightning flashed very near to Sunshine, almost touching her.

Sky took a step in Sunshine's direction, desperately trying to see who the voice belonged to.  "Sunshine, look out!" she exclaimed.

 "Skydancer, we must help her!" Lisette yelled out above the lashing storm above as she turned to move through the tall grasses, the magic already tingling at her finger tips.

 At that same moment, Sunshine looked down from her heavenly perch and desperately shook her head.  "You must protect my egg!" she cried down to them.  Then without warning a large lightning bolt ripped through the air and hit the golden gargoyle.  Skydancer screamed as the yellow gargess started falling through the air.  Lightning flashed in the sky and wind whipped around her as she ran towards the fallen gargess.  "SUNSHINE!"

 "NO!" Lisette screamed in fury as she slowly backed up to the hedge that had sheltered and protected the small egg.  Instinctively, she knew that her friend would aid the fallen gargoyle if any aid was left to be given, and that in her absence, someone must stay to protect the egg.  But that didn't count her out of the fight.

 With glowing green eyes, Lisette slowly lifted her head and glared up into the dark heavens.  In a burst of lightning above, a single male form finally became clear.  "Storm," Lisette murmured quietly, her soft voice filled with deadly hate.  Gathering her magics towards her, Lisette kept her gaze firmly locked on the male figure, no details yet revealed.  And then, in a blinding flash of emotion, she released her pent up energy and sent it crashing at the distant form. Staggering against the massive energy that the attack drained, she then collapsed against the manor's walls and watched with grim satisfaction as her attack connected with her enemy.  But then, her eyes widened in horror as she saw the figure quickly recover from her attack.  "Oh zut," Lisette murmured as she turned her eyes back to her gargess friend.

 Skydancer rushed across the overgrown lawn as storm winds continued to whip around her.  Dropping to her knees next to the fallen form of the golden gargess, Sky reached out shakingly and turned her over into her arms.  Blood dripped from Sunshine's mouth as her eyes fluttered open.  Sky knew immediately that the gargoyle was dying.  Slowly, Sunshine brought up her hand and clasped Skydancer's own.  "Promise me....." she whispered, "promise me that..... you'll..... protect my... egg...."

 Tears fell down Sky's grass-green eyes as an overwhelming feeling of sadness filled her body.  Silently she nodded her head.  "I promise," she whispered, and then Sunshine died.   Tipping back her head, she roared her anguish to the storming heavens over the loss of one of her own kind.  Laying the body of the golden gargoyle down onto the ground, Skydancer stood up and raised her face to the heavens just in time to see a powerful glow of green energy go shooting up towards a masculine figure in the sky from behind her.  Lisette had struck.  Astonishingly, however, the magical burst of witchlight seemed to have no effect on the creature above them.  "You must be Storm...." the brown gargess whispered.

 Tearing her eyes away from Skydancer's distraught form, Lisette instantly knew that the young mother had not survived the blow to her battered body.  Shaking her head and fighting back her own tears, Lisette slowly straightened and gathered her magical energies around her once again.  This time, though, she went on the defensive as she concentrated firmly and formed a protective shield around her and the small egg.  As sweat began to bead her brow from the exertion, she tilted her head up and watched through squinted eyes as the male figure slowly glided closer to her own location, his eyes locked on her form.  And as he drew closer, the mysterious form finally became clear.  The Storm was a tall man with tannish skin and dark glossy hair hiding his piercing green eyes.  Overall, Lisette wasn't sure WHAT he was.  At first, he seemed like a man, but then she noticed that wings extended out to his side and she felt her confusion growing even more.  But over all of that, she realized that his handsome looks all combined for a deadly mixture.

 "Who are you?" he asked, his voice low and strong as he glared through the transparent shield.

 Biting back her sharp retort, Lisette instead focused harder on her shield as a single thought came to her mind: the monster had yet to realize that Skydancer was involved in his little game, giving them an advantage.

 Sky watched in horrid fascination as the being floated down closer to her mage friend.  Suddenly remembering that Lisette was with Sunshine's egg, she swore under her breath.  If this being's countering of the young mage's powerful magic was any show of his own power, Lisette was going to need help.  Her eyes suddenly flashing a white hot glow, she raised her hand and pointed it up directly at the male figure descending from the sky.  "LIGHTNING!" she commanded, as her powers shot from her arm.  The brilliant light energy that made up Skydancer's powers flashed forth from her arm and went soaring through the sky, hitting the being and knocking him instantly to the ground.  He was clearly unprepared for the attack.

 Out of the corner of her eye, Lisette watched as her friend's lightning bolt flew forth and struck its target.  Smiling grimly, Lisette knew that a celebration would have to wait as she slowly lowered her shield and stepped boldly before the egg.  At the slightest motion of attack, she would raise the shield once more, but until that time, there was no way that should would let her friend stand alone against the monster that they faced.

 Skydancer immediately left the body of Sunshine behind with a slight reluctance and began running back towards Janua Caeli.  The fiend that she had just blasted out of the sky may be momentarily stunned, but he was by no means out.  The gargess ran swiftly, using every ounce of strength her powerful leg muscles possessed in them.  Her brown braid went streaming behind her from the wind current she was starting to create.  Just as she drew near, the being that she had struck with her lightning energy stood up on his feet.  In absolute shock, Sky slowed down as she approached.

 He looked as no creature she had ever seen before.  With his cape billowing behind him, the male narrowed his glance at the surprised gargess.  Slowly he pointed his finger at her.  "You dare!!" he exclaimed at her, a magical charge beginning to form from his hand.

 As fear tightened a cold and clammy hand upon her heart, Lisette sensed a strong magic build within the deadly stranger--a magic that was soon to be directed at Skydancer.  Instantly, she gathered her own magic to her once again, calling upon everything she could manage after such a strong attack so soon before and felt it gather at her fingers.  Just as the Storm was about to attack her gargess friend, Lisette quickly lashed out with her own magic, sending a powerful beam of green energy at the man's unsuspecting back.

 This time, the being was not quite so lucky, with no forewarning of the attack, and as the magic struck home, his feet fell out from beneath him once again.  Growling softly, he slowly stood and turned in such a way so that he could see both the gargess and the young woman, who was slowly staggering back to her feet from after the attack, both who had taken him by unaware.  "This is not over," he hissed, his breath coming in between ragged gasps of pain.

 Skydancer circled around the fiend and over near Lisette.  Lightning flashed across the sky fiercely and she somehow sensed that it was connected to the monster in front of them.  Wind whipped around them as the being clutched his side and continued to gasp through his teeth.  He drew his hand up and seemed to draw power from the storm that surged above them.  "You will learn what it means to battle the Storm!" he exclaimed, turning his face up into the wind.

 Skydancer met Storm's eyes head on, determination and anger searing in the green depths of her own.  Though he seemed to draw his power from the raging magics above them, she too knew the power that could be drawn from swirling tempests of the weather.  Not turning from the face of their enemy, she whispered to Lisette.  "I think this guy needs some 'encouragement' to get the hell out of here," she said quietly, nodding to the monster before them.

 Sighing softly, Lisette knew that her friend was right.  Although, from both of the strong attacks she had just unleashed upon the monster, she knew that she was quickly running out of magical energy.  If the monster didn't leave their home soon, Lisette doubted that she could do much more.   "I think that you are correct, mon amie," Lisette whispered back as her eyes flared the briefest of green.  "And we must make this look good," she murmured, more to herself than her friend.

 Nodding her head slowly, Lisette closed her eyes and slowly began gathering magic from a place far away from her, a place that she had never before visited, but a place that held significance in her heart and contained the life sustaining magic that she drew upon.  Slowly, she felt her power build once more as her hair began to lift in an unfelt wind.  And then, her eyes snapped open and an eerie green light poured forth, masking the dark blue depths usually found there.  And with her magic ready and waiting she turned her expressionless visage to her friend, waiting for her to make the first move.

 Skydancer watched as the green witchlight of her mage friend was called forth and then raised her hand to the  sky, turning her face to the storm clouds above her she called forth the powers that she commanded at will.  The wind of Mother Nature whirled around her and Lisette as lightning, real lightning this time, came charging from out of nowhere and  crashed into the ones that Storm was charging on his own.  Her green eyes took on the white glow of gargoyle fury as she screamed out her charge at the same time that Lisette unleashed her own powers.  "LIGHTNING!" the Skydancer commanded from above as shocks of white energy came charging out of the sky and then went flying forth towards the being called Storm.

 As she felt the magic pour forth from every pore on her body, she felt her friend unleash her own havoc upon the menace that they faced.  Screaming out in agony as the magic left her body, Lisette directed her fury at the Storm as she slipped weakly to her hands and knees, the last of her energy slipping past.  Shaking her head in order to clear the fog that enveloped her mind, only then did the anguished screams of their foe break through.  Gasping, Lisette jerked her head up and watched in astonishment as Storm writhed and slithered within their bands of white electricity and green fire.  "And I thought that hurt me," she murmured quietly as she turned to see how her friend was faring after the strong attack.

 Skydancer had her hands on her knees, breathing heavily, as she watched in stunned silence as green and white bands of energy surrounded their foe and took him higher in the sky.  They surrounded him as he writhed and wiggled, trying to break free from the bonds that they formed around him.

 Screaming in an unholy agony, the monster glared down at them from his pain enshrouded haze.  "You haven't seen the last of me!  One battle does not win a war!  The egg shall be mine yet....." he screamed at them as the magics forced him to retreat.

 Sky watched as the combined forces of her and Lisette's magic carried Storm further and further away until at last, the unnatural storm that had surrounded him began to clear and the velvet of the night sky once more shined down upon them with its tapestry of stars.  Still breathing heavily, the gargess slowly walked over to her friend to see how she was faring.  "Never.... never have I unleashed such electricity before," she commented, holding a hand out to pull the mage to her feet.  Her expression showed her concern as she cast her grass eyes over her friend's body.  "How do you feel?" she asked.

 "Like tomorrow will be spent sleeping the sleep of the dead," Lisette groaned as she flashed a small smile towards her friend--a small smile that quickly turned into a frown as her eyes drifted past Sky and to the still body of Sunshine.  "What do we do now?" she murmured quietly, instantly questioning their fate, the fate of the egg, their new foe, and the body of Sunshine all in one small question.

 The gargess followed the mage's gaze over to the still body of the beautiful golden gargoyle whom they had tried to help.  "Get the egg," Sky whispered with a deep sadness as she remembered the death of the creature who's only crime had been being a protective mother.  Slowly she made her way back across the grassy field to where the yellow gargoyle lay.  Hunkering down beside her, she reached out her hand to brush against the cheek of the first of her kind she had ever seen besides her own reflection.  It was cool to the touch.  Tears trickled down Skydancer's cheeks from her emerald eyes.  "There was no reason for this....."  the gargess whispered to no one in particular.  "What a waste of life."

 Turning, Lisette watched her friend's sorrow from afar as she slowly turned away and gathered the large golden egg into her hands.  "This cannot be the way it was meant to be for this child," she murmured with tear filled eyes as she cradled the warm object to her chest.  Turning away, she slowly stepped across the grass-strewn lawn till she, too, stood beside the fallen gargess.

 Biting back a small sob that was building within her aching chest, Lisette quickly nodded her head as the tears dripped down her blue, sapphire colored eyes.  "How about under that Weeping Willow tree over there?" she asked softly, her voice soft and quiet as she held the egg tighter to her, nodding at a large tree whose soft branches graced the grasses below.

 Skydancer nodded as slowly she bent down and picked up the body of the smaller gargess in her arms.  With difficulty, the gargess headed over to the massive tree with its large branches sweeping the ground.  The Weeping Willow was an appropriate place for the final resting place of the noble mother.  Gently placing the golden gargoyle on the ground, Sky glanced up at Lisette.  "Do you think you have enough energy to create a hole in the ground or shall I dig?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

 Slowly, Lisette bent over and gently placed the golden egg on the ground beside it's fallen mother.  "I believe that I can manage," Lisette whispered as she slowly gathered what little magic remained to her and focused its might on the ground beneath the large tree.  "Cette mère est mort parce que un homme très mauvais, maintenant âidez-moi to build her a grave," Lisette murmured slowly, a mix between French and English leaving her lips as the magic spread forth and did as she commanded.  Gasping softly, Lisette then staggered slightly as a hole to the perfect dimensions of the fallen mother appeared in the soft ground before them.

 Shuddering with inward tears, Skydancer again picked up the body of the golden gargoyle and gently placed her in the ground.  Placing her hands together on top of her chest, Skydancer turned her leaf eyes onto the still face of Sunshine.  "Your death will not be in vain," the gargess vowed to the fallen mother.  "We will keep our promise to you."  With that vow the Skydancer arose and went to the other side of the dirt pile that Lisette had created when she cut out the hole.  Knowing the mage's strength was waning, the gargess decided she had better use some of her own powers.  Raising her hand and pointing it at the dirt pile she again commanded the energies of the sky above her.  "Lightning!" she whispered fiercely as the white energy came searing out of the sky, striking the dirt pile before her.  Dirt and rocks went flying over the body of Sunshine until she was covered completely underneath the masses of Mother Earth.  Glancing at the make-shift
cover she had created, Sky let out a shuddering sigh.  "May you find the peace that you didn't have in life," she whispered, two more tears streaking down her face.

 "We will never let him near your child," Lisette whispered, adding her own words to the memorial of the gargess, "of that we promise."  Sighing, she turned her weary eyes to meet those of her friend.  "Let us go home," she murmured as she swayed slightly, pausing to gather strength.

 Nodding, Skydancer went over and picked up the golden egg.  "I'll carry our little friend here," she said, taking note of the mage's weariness.  Slowly she and Lisette started back towards the mansion that just a short while before they had begun to start exploring in excitement.  "I believe we should start redecorating the place tomorrow night..... after we rest up," she added, taking in how tired her friend, and she, herself, felt.

 Smiling softly, Lisette slowly turned her head and nodded at her gargess friend.  "I agree, mon amie.... after a LONG sleep, I believe we will have most of our strength returned, will we not?" she asked as they approached the back door to the mansion.  Staring up in wonder at the towering wooden mass, she realized wryly to herself that they hadn't even fully explored the mansion, and the whereabouts of what lay beyond were still a mystery.  "If it weren't for our golden friend, there," she stated, nodding at the egg that Sky was carrying, "then I would be joining you in stone hibernation.  But, I fear that leaving our egg unprotected would not be wise."

 Sky glanced down at the golden egg in her arms.  "I agree with you there, Lis," she agreed.  "I think it might be a good idea if we spent the day here.  The furniture underneath our dusty sheets in here doesn't seem to be too bad.  Think you could make yourself comfortable on one of the couches in the living room?" Sky asked, quirking up an eyeridge.

 Laughing softly, Lisette nodded her head.  "By tomorrow evening I will truly be the gray snowman you proclaimed me to be earlier, but it will do for now," she said with a wry smile.  "Although, if I were you, I think that I would stick to the ground floor for now instead of venturing onto the balconies that line the top floor--they may be unable to handle your stone weight!"

 "Agreed," Skydancer answered softly with a grin.  "I think we have finally found our home." The two climbed the steps to the backdoor of the mansion, ready for sleep to claim their weary bodies and for the dawning day to come.