Starlight, Star Bright Simpatica

Denigoddess2001@aol.com

09/02/01

Desperation

Truly, Madly, Deeply

You Had Me From Hello

Disclaimer: Gargoyles do not belong to me. They belong to Disney. The Lyrics

of Silent Lucidity do not belong to me. They belong to Chris DeGarmo. I love

this song so much that inspired me to write a sequel to "Desperation." This

is set shortly after Hunter's Moon Part Three (animated) and right after "You

Had Me From Hello." Many thanks to Stonelight aka Demelza Watt for her input and

inspiration.

Silent Lucidity

Queensrche ~ Music and Lyrics by Chris DeGarmo

Hush now, don't you cry

Wipe away the teardrop from your eye

You're lying safe in bed

It was all a bad dream

Spinning in your head

Your mind tricked you to feel the pain

Of someone close to you leaving the game of life

So here it is, another chance

Wide awake you face the day

Your dream is over... or has it just begun?

There's a place I like to hide

A doorway that I run through in the night

Relax child, you were there

But only didn't realize it and you were scared

It's a place where you will learn

To face your fears, retrace the years

And ride the whims of your mind

Commanding in another world

Suddenly you hear and see

This magic new dimension

I- will be watching over you

I- am gonna help you see it through

I- will protect you in the night

I- am smiling next to you, in Silent Lucidity

[Visualize your dream]

[Record it in the present tense]

[Put it into a permanent form]

[If you persist in your efforts]

[You can achieve dream control]

[Dream control]

[How's that then, better?]

[Hug me]

If you open your mind for me

You won't rely on open eyes to see

The walls you built within

Come tumbling down, and a new world will begin

Living twice at once you learn

You're safe from the pain in the dream domain

A soul set free to fly

A round trip journey in your head

Master of illusion, can you realize

Your dream's alive, you can be the guide but...

I- will be watching over you

I- am gonna help to see it through

I- will protect you in the night

I- am smiling next to you....

Skylaris watched as Goliath wept alone in the night. Gargoyle rarely shed

tears, but this lavender leviathan was an extraordinarily responsive soul. She

found it hard to turn away from the bellowing howls of anguish being torn from

the clan leader's heart. The goddess watched his bereaved image weeping for his

lost love, Elisa Maza. The Dragon's heart shattered as each tear fell from onyx

eyes onto bronze skin.

"You more so than most, brave clan leader, know the loss of love." She longed

to reach out to the young protector and give him comfort. Yet such was not the

way to cure the pain that ailed him. "You have lost your beloved Gargoyle mate

leaving you alone in this world. You have longed to complete the bond with one

who touches your heart. So much has been the desperation that you have reached

beyond your kin into the world of humans."

The emerald head of the great Dragon goddess leaned closer to the scrying pool

in the midst of the marble floor of the lair. A shimmer of light and a movement

of wave in air like a mirage surrounded the serpentine form of the Gargoyle

deity. Skylaris now appeared in the form of the Nubian beauty she so favored.

With haired braided with emerald and amethyst beads and eyes of tanzanite, she

was every inch a true goddess.

She brought her legs under her and sat down by the pool. She waved her hand

gracefully over the silvery, still waters of the scrying pool. As Goliath

roared his release and his anguish, Elisa Maza simultaneously stirred in her

sleep. Two souls knowing a love eons old. Neither soul was complete. Both

souls searched in the eyes of all they met for completion. Skylaris knew that

her time of passive observation was long past.

She saw Elisa Maza sleeping in her bed alone. Skylaris stillfully watched the

young detective stirring fretfully in her troubled slumber. Skylaris waved her

tapered hand over the pool to invade the realm of Elisa's deepest, darkest

dreams. She dared cross the boundary of will and agency to dwell in the young

woman's innermost thoughts. "Now, child, let us see what you need."

Elisa stood alone in the dream realm staring into an antique cheval. The tall

Nubian amazon walked behind her. The young detective startled at seeing the

strange figure standing regally behind her. "Who are you?"

"I am Skylaris."

"I've heard the name." Elisa's eyes of midnight locked in a stare-down with

tanzanite orbs. A picture of Wren Summers entered Elisa's unhidden thoughts.

" A friend mentioned it recently."

"Then you know who I am." Skylaris laid her hands on her shoulders.

"The Matron goddess of the Gargoyles." Elisa felt like a frightened rabbit in

the presence of a hungry wolf.

"Amongst other things." The Nubian goddess raised delicately arched brows and

met Elisa's gaze in the mirror. "And a few humans."

"Really? I never knew that."

"You have been touched by Puck's magick and have known what it is to feel the

wind beneath your wings. You have had a Gargoyle's heart."

"For all of one night." Regret laced Elisa's response.

"And when you were returned to your true form it left you with an inexplicable

emptiness."

"Yeah, it did."

"When Goliath was human, your heart soared." She gave Elisa a deliberate smile.

"He stole your breath with his arresting charisma and dashing appearance."

"Hey, it's all true." Elisa sighed sadly and turned from the mirror. "There's

no point in rehashing the past. It's not going to change. I'm human and he's a

gargoyle. We both know it. It just wasn't meant to be."

"Says who, child?"

"Says Fate." Elisa stuck her hands in her pockets. Her shoulders gave a

helpless shrug. "Unless I'm willing to take a stone nap by day or Goliath loses

his wings, it isn't going to happen."

"Bah! I've never been a believer in Fate. I ascribe to Destiny. Not all is

written in the stars, Elisa. Most is merely declared in the stars."

"Well, I know that things are just the way they are and I can't change them."

Elisa's distant gaze found a point in the darkness and focused upon it. Her

voice grew soft and quiet. "No matter how much I want to."

"Goliath is dying slowly each night for want of you. Your mother is a

descendant from a long line of great Ethiopian queens. With noble lines comes

greatness of heart. Let's say that you fall under my care as any child of mine

does. I have ....how shall I put this? I have walked amongst your kind once or

twice. I've known human love and it has begotten me an understanding and

appreciation for your species. I also know that you have sacrificed much for

the sake of my children. All that has not escaped my notice, Elisa."

"What are you saying, Skylaris?" Elisa turned to face the great lady dressed in

vibrant green tradition African print.

"Look to the stars, Elisa. Don't consider yourself and Goliath star-crossed

quite yet." Skylaris nodded in the direction of the mirror. "Tell me, Elisa.

Look at the reflection, do you like what you see?"

Elisa returned her attention to the antique cheval before her in the darkness.

She expected to see herself in the reflection. "Oh my God."

The reflection that met her eyes wasn't Elisa Maza. Dark eyes and long sable

tresses belonged to the form in the mirror. A bronze complexion complimented

the dark features of the person before her. Instead of firm, full breasts, the

form possessed broad shoulders and a powerful chest. Tall as Elisa was, the

form in front of her towered head and shoulders above her: she surmised six

foot four or five. She watched the powerful form stare through rather than at

her. The sculpted physique finally spoke. "My Elisa...."

The low baritone resonated through her entire being. Her heart hammered in her

chest as she heard the seductive bass rumbling in his voice. She reached out

quickly to touch the mirror. Her fingers sank through it as if the glass were

cool, still water and she felt warm flesh beneath her fingers. For a moment,

the veil between realms allowed this handsome human to see the woman on the dark

side of the glass. His eyes went wide with astonishment; his jaw fell agape

with joyful bewilderment. "Elisa....."

"Goliath?" She dared to whisper. "Is it really you?"

The man's face saddened. His dark eyes closed as if to block pain or to stop

falling tears. He turned away as the veil fell between them. The glassed

darkened to black. Elisa rushed forward and grabbed the metal frame of the aged

antique. A tight fist banged against the cold glass and shivered with the hint

of breaking.

"Skylaris, you have a really cruel sense of humor."

"No, I am offering you a glimpse of what you want."

"Goliath isn't meant to be a human."

"Were you meant to be a Gargoyle?" She countered.

"No. It just happened."

"Don't resign yourself to fate, Elisa. It limits your options."

"What are you saying?"

"You could have your wish." Skylaris turned the young woman to face her. "I

can give you what you long for: you need only ask."

Elisa's eyes fell to the floor. [Goliath as a human. We could be together.

But, it wouldn't be right. He's a Gargoyle. He wouldn't have his clan. The

city needs him. All the lives he's touched. If there were no Goliath, so many

would suffer. It's his choice.]

"Mere details, Elisa." The Nubian goddess gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"This is what I offer you: thirty days where the Love of your life is Human.

At the end of thirty days, you may choose: stay in the realm where you have

known him as a human lover or return to the realm you know with him as a

Gargoyle."

"What's the catch?" Elisa eyed the goddess warily. "You aren't a Child of

Oberon, are you?"

"All-Father love you, Daughter of Gaia." Her laughter rang like pristine

chimes. "Me? A child of Oberon? I should say not. Oberon is MY nephew. His

mother, Queen Mab is my sister. Don't let his hoity-toity song-and-dance muddle

your sound mind. I was watching your ancestors learning to walk upright while

he still wore diapers."

The vision of Oberon in diapers brought a ghost of a smirk to Elisa's lips.

"You're what?"

"I am Kiari." Skylaris saw the look of Elisa's confusion. "I am the goddess of

many realms. My children are dispersed through many dimensions. That is

another tale, Elisa. Suffice it to say, that I am older than Oberon and twice

as crafty. The difference between he and I is that I know wisdom and he spouts

arrogance. Don't worry, Child. I've no desire to play you for my own whims.

That is not my way."

"So, there's no catch to your offer?"

"There is no catch, but there are costs." Skylaris said gravely. She watched

Elisa's brow narrow in suspicion. "Never before have I witnessed such a cynical

heart. I thought Brooklyn was bad."

"And what are those costs?" Elisa pressed.

"The world will be drastically different than you know it. You will be lost

unless you keep your wits about you. What you know as familiar will be

frightfully bizarre in some aspects. Goliath will not know the ways of the

world as you do, Child."

Elisa nodded in understand of the goddess' words. "What about my job here?"

"No one will know of your absence save you." Skylaris' warmth was infectious.

Elisa's barely contained the excitement growing within her.

"What about Goliath?"

"Watch in the glass, Elisa and know his heart that remains buried beneath a

mountain of stoicism." The goddess pointed to the mirror. It seemed as though

she were watching a motion picture play before her eyes. The reflection cast by

the mirror showed Goliath in her apartment. He stood over her in the shadows

watching her like an archangel of twilight. She lie on the sofa sound asleep

with her holster and gun still on beneath her jacket. Elisa saw the half-

finished can of soda and the open magazine lying on the coffee table.

She looked questioningly at Skylaris.

"It happens now as we speak, Daughter of Gaia." Skylaris, dragon goddess of

Gargoyles, nodded in the direction of the reflection. "A Gargoyle's love knows

not pride nor arrogance. Goliath's love for you is continuing as granite and

affluent in tenderness. His heart is absent of cupidity. His way is to remain

reticent and modest. His love is dauntless and selfless. You bring him

elation and joy. His fortitude champions against Serendipity's injustice. His

heart seeks to find union with it's truest, best destiny. You are his blessing

to know. His love abides everything in serenity, possesses unquestioning

devotion, embraces an aspiration of joy, and endures longer than the mountain

stone. A Gargoyle's heart love's you fiercely and well, Elisa Maza. Watch and

learn."

In the reflection, Goliath cloaked his wings about him and made his way to her.

A large lavender talon brushed away a stray tendril. Growing concern prompted

the leader to lovingly act as servant as he carefully untied the laces of her

boots. He removed each boot slowly and carefully as not to rouse her from

slumber. Goliath set them neatly underneath her coffee table.

She murmured some inaudible reply and shifted slightly in her sleep. The

lavender leviathan took the comforter from the back of her sofa and draped it

over Elisa. She instinctively drew her knees to her chest and rolled on to her

side. Goliath drew back as if burnt when she mumbled his name in her sleep. He

drew back in astonishment as his name was whispered on her lips. It filled the

hollow ache in his heart just a little to know that he was a part of her dreams.

He paused to watch her next reaction. He cast a gaze toward the fuzzy picture

of late night television. He took the remote in hand and pushed a button that

made the screen go black. He turned to leave when a tangy aroma caught his

attention. It consisted of cinnamon and musk. He leaned closer to Elisa and

inhaled deeply of her scent.

His eyes glared with unholy white fire as he recognized the fragrance. It was a

combination of menses, musk, pheromones, and her favorite perfume that he had

given her at Christmas. He knew that scent well and did his best to ignore it

one week out of every month. Goliath knew that Elisa's scent intimated her time

of fertility. The pheromones had been faint at the beginning of Avalon's quest.

By the end of the expedition, the scent had been almost unbearable for Goliath.

The scent mingled with the cinnamon and wafted in an elixir that befuddled his

senses. The fragrance nearly drove him into an insatiable mating frenzy that

was purely primal, passionate and Gargoyle.

[By the Dragon, Elisa! You incite me beyond good sense.] He inwardly groaned.

He felt the leather of his loincloth tighten and become considerably

uncomfortable. He fought the maddening urge to lock her away for six nights of

each month with him and mate her fiercely and well. Each night that her mating

scent wafted about him, Goliath combated the need of mounting Elisa by indulging

in a human custom.

[I will be one of honor. I will leave.] He turned to go but cast one last

longing glance at the sleeping splendor contentedly somnolent on the divan. He

vowed to wait until she approached him. He knew that she trembled when he

touched her. She quivered when he brushed against her. Her heartbeat galloped

when he held her to him. [A good Gargoyle waits.]

Goliath made his way to the window and stepped on to the roof. He forced

himself into the air and made his way to the clock tower. He refused to give

into the persistent need to sheathe him within Elisa Maza. Goliath forced away

any thought that didn't include her willingness.

"I never knew he felt like that." Elisa whispered in awe. She wrapped her arms

around her as she heard his thoughts aloud as if they belonged to her. She held

her hand outwards to ward away the bittersweet visions appearing in the glass.

She turned her head from the mirror and shut her eyes. "Stop it! It's not

right to bear his soul like this without his knowledge or consent."

"Trust me, Elisa. He wants to tell you, but you won't let him." Skylaris said

tersely. "Now, when you awake, I want you to remember this dream. Think about

it. Tomorrow night, go to Goliath. Look at the stars. You'll see me in the

skies above your Big Apple. Just remember that because fruit hangs high from

the tree doesn't make it forbidden: only harder to reach. Just how badly do you

want it?"

Elisa bolted upright. She felt droplets of perspiration tracing a path down the

side of her brow. She looked underneath the coffee table and found her boots

neatly placed next to each other. She found the remote sitting on the table

rather than in her hand. She rose and walked to the unlatched window. She saw

the sun peaking just above the Manhattan skyline. Elisa knew that it was going

to be a long, stressful day.

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

The sun didn't set quickly enough for the Young Detective. She hurriedly made

her way to the clock tower as speedily as her feet allowed her. Each step

seemed like ten as she sprinted into the police station.

"Maza, what are you doing here?" Chavez eyed her with surprise. "I know

you're dedicated to your job, but I told you to take two nights off."

"I know, Captain." Elisa looked hastily at her watch. She hated lying to her

superior. "I just dropped by to ...pick up my wallet. I left here a couple of

nights ago."

"Go home and relax." Captain Chavez turned her attention to another officer in

need of authorization for an interrogation.

Elisa hastily made her way to the broom closet. Her boots flew as if wearing

the talaria of Hermes. (LOOK IT UP, FOLKS IN THE DICTIONARY). She ran through

the interior of the tower. She shoved open the door of the clock tower and came

to the roof to see seven proud figurines standing guard over a harsh and

unforgiving city.

"Show time, Guys." She murmured and stepped back a good distance. More than

once, chinks had been taken from her leather by sharp shards of flying granite

as the Gargoyles came to life. She never grew tired of watching their marvelous

transformation of stone becoming flesh. Elisa felt the air become electrified

with anticipation as she watched the fissures deepen with Goliath's stone skin.

His eyes came alive with a fierce bright fire she knew well. The stone skin

exploded around him as his roar burst from his chest. The resounding sound

thundered and echoed off the castle walls. His wings unfurled in their

expansive glory. He turned to face the courtyard of the castle and saw Elisa

standing there with hands in pockets and feet shuffling. He leapt eagerly from

the parapet and cloaked his wings about him a cloak of gabardine elegance.

"Elisa, you are a welcome sight to greet me." His voice rumbled low. He strode

forward so that he stood only a few inches from her. "I dreamt of you, My

Love."

"Hi yourself, Big Guy." Her voice sounded casual but her eyes betrayed her. He

knew she kept her heart well hidden from the others. "I missed you."

"And I, you." He drew her protectively into his arms. His agile tail snaked

affectionately around her waist. His wings draped about her blocking out the

world. "Much more than my heart should be allowed."

"Good evenin', Lass." A thick Scottish lilt found her ears. She saw Hudson

wink at her. "It's good seein' ye. I thought yer night off 'twas last night."

"No, Chavez called me earlier today and gave me another day because of that

recent sting on Nightstone Enterprises."

"Goliath, don't be squeezin' the lass too hard." Hudson gave him a sly wink.

"She needs to be able to breathe."

"I will be careful, old friend." The solemn vow contained more than a hint of

mirth from the clan leader.

"Hi, Elisa! Bye Elisa!" Brooklyn led Angela by the hand past them.

"Where are you two going in such a hurry?" Goliath turned his head to his

daughter and her mate.

"Westfest!" Broadway grinned. "A twenty-four hour marathon of John Wayne,

Clint Eastwood, and other Old West Cowboy movies is showing at Central Park. We

have to hurry or we'll be late."

"I see." Goliath chuckled. "Angela, Brooklin, have a good evening."

"We will, Father." Angela called back as the two Gargoyles unfurled their wings

and caught the updrafts of the New York sky.

Lex and Brooklyn looked at Human and Gargoyle. The crimson warrior laid a

caring hand on his lover's shoulder. "Lex, what do ya say we do a patrol and

then join Angela and Brooklyn at Westfest?"

"Cool." The diminutive Gargoyle answered eagerly. "Hey, we'd better check out

that jewelry store on the upper West side. A couple of robberies took place in

that neighborhood this week.

The two strapping warriors looked tentatively at their clan leader. "Go on

patrol and enjoy your evening."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Brooklyn turned to Lexington and offered him

an extended hand. "Hungry?"

"Famished."

"I worry about you." Brooklyn chided his mate as he unfurled his wings. He

pulled the green Gargoyle beside him. "You don't eat enough."

"I eat like a horse..." Lexington's voice faded as they two lovebirds began

their evening patrol.

"They sound like an old married couple." Elisa covered her mouth to stifle the

smirk threatening to burst loose.

"They are good for one another. Love takes strange forms and comes to us in

many ways." He lowered his brow to hers and inhaled deeply of her scent. She

smelled of sweet jasmine, cinnamon, and that feminine musk that drove Goliath to

the brink of madness a week each a month. His eyes smoldered with brilliant

desire. He growled and his tail lashed furiously with unspoken agitation.

"Are we alone?" She whispered against the lavender shell of Goliath's elegantly

pointed ear.

"Yes." That one word gave him the freedom to unleash the Gargoyle lurking

beneath the guise of clan leader. "Jalapena, Elisa. Now, I want to properly

greet you."

He brought his lips to hers in an affirmation of his abiding devotion. Goliath

cautiously sought her taste with his pointed smooth tongue. Elisa felt her

hunger rise to critical levels as he seduced her with his hesitant kiss. She

readily deepened their kiss. He rumbled with pure Gargoyle gratification as

Elisa silently pleaded for more. She pressed herself tightly against every

sculpted contour of his powerful form.

Goliath dared to take the role of clan leader and alpha male. He remembered a

display of affection that he had seen not so long ago in a movie. He let his

taloned hands slowly trail a path of heated caresses and tender touches from

Elisa's shoulders to the small of her back. His hands found her tight derriere

beneath blue denim. He gently cuddled each globe in his grasp.

"Goliath-" Elisa felt warmth and delight permeate her being. The lavender

leviathan decided to lay his mark upon her as kissed her fiercely and well. He

suddenly lifted her so that her denim-clad bottom settled over his growing

desire for her. Her luscious curves cradled him. There was no mistaking the

deep groan that escaped from his throat. He turned her around and sat her upon

the edge of the parapet. Hard chest against feminine bosom, granite abdomen

against svelte athletic curves, masculine virility nestled adjacent to feminine

essence.

"Shhh....Love." He brought his fangs to a delicate pulse point on her neck and

carefully nipped the pulsating point. Elisa's forgot all restraint as her

fingers nestled within the long, thick sable mane. Her cries of delight excited

him to the point of frenzy. "Elisa....I need you."

"I know." She mewled.

She almost knew at the precise moment when the civilized veneer gave way to the

primal mating urge that he worked so diligently to control during this time of

the month. She felt his talons dig sharply into the tender flesh of he bottom.

His sharp canines bit harder and broke skin. She yelped in pain when she felt

his teeth sink into her skin.

It broke through the passionate haze that addled his mind. Goliath set her on

her feet and tore himself away from their embrace. His closed fist came

crashing down upon the granite of the stone parapet. A loud bellow of

frustration shattered the urban hustle and bust of a Manhattan night. For a

minute, the Big Apple seemed utterly silent.

"Goliath...." Elisa laid a hand on his muscular lavender arm. "It's okay."

"Okay is never enough...for either of us." He turned to face the woman before

him. His eyes were hooded as he looked down at her. One large talon crooked

under her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his. "You and I love one another.

We agreed that species matters little, yet I could have injured just now had we

continued. That isn't right, Elisa."

"I'm a tough lady." She quipped with more bravado than she felt. "We've came

this far, we'll figure away around this too."

"I ...am not myself." He managed to say through gritted teeth. His eyes

gleamed with the fires of raging desire. "While you are in the midst of your

menses, I can not guarantee that I can contain the desires stirring within me.

I'd rather die than hurt you, Elisa."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Goliath." Elisa refused to back

away.

"What do you mean?" He said warily. "Has the beast within me frightened you

too much?"

"There is no 'beast' inside you anymore than there's a 'monkey' running inside

of me. We are what we are and we aren't either of those things." Elisa's

frustration prompted her to wrap her arms around his waist. She lovingly rested

her cheek against the broad width of his back. "Have you ever heard of

Skylaris?"

"Skylaris?" His voice shot up an octave and his brow ridge almost flew off his

face. "Where did you hear that name?"

"You know who she is?" She pressed on with her questions.

"Aye, though I haven't heard the name since I was a hatchling." Goliath

admitted. "She was a fading legend by the time I was hatched into the clan. It

is the ancient name of the deity that created Gargoyles."

"Does she exist?"

"I only know her to be legend." Goliath found the strength to again face his

ladylove. "Why do you ask?"

"I had a dream last night, Big Guy. She was in it and she offered me a chance

to be with you ... with you as a human."

"How do you know that it isn't Puck playing one of his tricks?"

"Puck can't do anything unless he's instructing Alexander." Elisa reminded her

lavender lover. "She was pretty convincing."

"I am not so certain." His eyes narrowed with wariness. "Did she give you

proof?"

"What constitutes proof?" Elisa asked.

"What did she say?"

"I don't remember everything, Goliath. But, she showed me a vision of you

taking off my shoes and turning off my television. You covered me with a

blanket. I heard your thoughts as if they were my own. Goliath, I thought I

was the only one with a raging case of the uncontrollable hormones." Elisa's

hid her face in his chest.

"No, Love." She looked up to see two plum stains adorning Goliath's cheeks.

"You and I both. What was her offer?"

"Thirty days with you as a human." She told him truthfully. "It would be a

different world."

Silence fell between them as the shadows silhouetted the Gargoyle's face from

her view.

"Is that something you want?" He finally spoke. "Would you like it if I were

Human?"

"I love you just as you are." Elisa rushed to reassure him. "But, the

thought...well, I hate to say it! It sounded tempting."

"What would we have to do to make this wish come true?"

"Goliath, c'mon!" Elisa cried in shock. "You can't seriously be considering-"

"It is something that I am very much considering." He pressed a loving kiss to

her brow. He closed his eyes to block out the visions of loving Elisa in full

Gargoyle fashion. "I will not risk hurting you."

"You've never hurt me yet, Big Guy and you wouldn't if we made love." Elisa

dared to say what remained unspoken. "It's not like we couldn't figure out ways

around....obstacles."

"If I were human, would you still want me?" He asked in a whisper. "If you

did, would you prefer that form?"

"No! I fell for you, Goliath the Gargoyle."

"Would it be so bad to try it for a time?" Onyx eyes searched her soul. "Can

we continue on like this....always together yet forever apart."

"It's a sacrifice I'm not sure I can make anymore." Elisa admitted to the

lavender giant before you. She rested her head again against his chest.

"Goliath, I want you as much as I love you."

"It burns me alive with it's fervor." He whispered. "I become lost when I with

you."

"Ditto, Big Guy."

"What must we do?" He brushed a stray tendril from her face.

"She said look for her in the stars." Elisa's gaze moved to the skies above

them. "I can't see the stars from here."

Goliath deftly swept his Cherished love into his powerful arms. "Then, we shall

go to a place where we can see each star in all its glory."

His wings unfurled to their sixteen-foot span. He looked down with love shining

brightly in his eyes. "I know just the place."

The large Gargoyle dove from the parapets over the sea of neon. He let the warm

currents of wind catch his wings as they rode breeze. Elisa's head rested

against his powerful chest. She heard the solid rhythm beat hard and faster

inside his chest. His eyes kept their focus straight ahead as they made their

way past the skyline. For the next hour, they flew past the glowing lights of

the City. They spoke in hushed tones of their hopes and dreams.

Elisa felt a flood rage in her nether regions. Goliath caught her wild scent

and recited passages from Othello to keep his mind sane. He finally landed in a

small clearing several miles upstate in a small town known as Salem Center, New

York. In the secluded glen of the city park, they stared at the stars in their

entire brilliant splendor.

"It is said that Skylaris once resided on Avalon and guarded the great Rowan

tree. When Oberon stole the throne from his mother, all the Kiari fae were cast

out from their home. Mab found new power amongst the humans. Skylaris chose

the Gargoyles to be the foundation of her faith. Their youngest sister is

legend. She became the lady of the lake." Goliath pointed to the darkened

tapestry of the heavens. "There She is."

Elisa followed the direction of Goliath's pointed talon. Elisa languidly traced

the pattern of the sky. "We always called it Draco."

"An apt, if not bland, description of the Goddess' splendor." He mused. "It is

said that she made her home in the heavens. It is a part of our tradition that

we are not of this world but that one star."

Goliath singled out a bright star within the center of the constellation.

"There, that star is called Thubin. It is said that is our home and not this

place. Legend says that when a wish is made upon the tears of Skylaris, she

grants them without reserve."

"Tears of Skylaris?" Elisa truly was perplexed.

"Falling stars, Love." Goliath nuzzled the side of her neck. His arms drew her

to him so that her back rested against his broad chest. His wings protected her

from the cooling breezes of late night. "They're actually meteor showers called

Omicron Draconids."

"When did you become such an expert in astronomy?" Elisa marveled at Goliath's

depth of knowledge.

"Xanatos have an extensive library." His scent hinted of leather, musk, and

fresh Scottish Heather. Somehow, it the floral scent Elisa detected only added

to his perfect masculine carriage. She knew that he was an avid reader.

"Figures."

A stream of crimson tail with bright points streaked across the late night sky.

They glanced anxiously at each other. His tail found her waist and he held her

tightly too him. She heard his breath quicken. "Now, Elisa! Make your wish.

Let it come true."

She met his eyes and knew that this was what she wanted. She loved him as a

Gargoyle but her fears and his reservations needed circumvention. Perhaps, this

was the opportunity they needed. Elisa whispered three words that Goliath

strained to hear. "Let's do it."

She cast her eyes toward the heavens on the glorious display of starlight and

fire. She drew strength from Goliath's reassuring presence. She focused her

eyes on the most brilliant luminosity of the meteor swarm. The words of the old

childhood rhyme echoed inside her mind. Then, the came in a hushed tone from

her lips.

"Starlight, star bright

First Star I see tonight.

I wish I may, I wish I might

I wish upon this star tonight.

I wish.....

I wish that Skylaris would grant me what she promised...thirty days of love

with Goliath as a human."

The breeze stilled. The world became silent. Each comet of Omicron Draconids

rained to earth as the lost halos of fallen angels. Light extinguished and

darkness overran the duo standing in the city park. Elisa felt no fear, no

anxiety in the endless darkness. She felt only the strong presence of Goliath

behind her, above her and through her being.

The breeze became warm. The chirping of crickets filled her ears. The darkness

ebbed and the lampposts bathed her and her lover in dim golden light. The

autumn breeze chilled he through her jacket. She knew that it had been a wild

daydream to think a dream could bring a wish come true. She turned to look at

Goliath.

Goliath wasn't there. Elisa found herself in the arms of a strapping man with

sable hair to his waist and handsomely chiseled features. There were no wings.

There was no tail. No talons caressed her soft skin. Lavender no longer

existed. Deep bronze greeted her eyes.

"Goliath?"

"No, Love." Came the same sweet, sensual baritone that always seduced Elisa

into compliance. "Gregory."

"WHO???"

"Goliath is ...elsewhere. I'm Gregory."

"Jalepenia!" The air rushed from her lungs at the drastic change of the person

before her.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WHAT DO YOU THINK? DO I CONTINUE THIS SAGA? PLEASE WRITE AND LET ME KNOW.....