Two days after the death of Constantine, Demona and Xena stood on top of the castle battlements. Xena changed into her gargoyle form.

"Are you sure about this?" Xena asked hesitantly as she looked over the edge. "What if I can't do this?"

"I'll be right beside you. Trust me you're going to love this." With that Demona pushed her sister over the edge. Xena started to panic as she fell, but her gargoyle instincts began to take over and her wings extended allowing her to glide over the courtyard. She began to tilt to the left and then the right she was worried that she would lose control until she felt Demona grab her hand.

"I thought I was going to fall but this is amazing." Xena said after a few moments. Demona looked over at Xena and the memory of teaching her other sister Cold Fire played out in her mind vividly for a moment.

"Why can't we go to the moon? It's right there." Demona remembered Cold Fire asking clearly. Demona remembered wanting to laugh but didn't want to hurt the young hatchling's feelings.

"We can't go there because its magic is too strong. Only our ancestors who have passed beyond this world are granted access to the moon. They watch over us every night and protect us." She remembered clearly seeing the awe in the hatchling's eyes as they glided all around the castle grounds.

"This is the most amazing thing I have ever done." Xena's voice brought Demona back to the present and she smiled at her sister and then it changed to a wicked grin.

"Do you think you're ready to have some real fun?" Demona asked. Xena gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean by fun?" Xena asked nervously. Demona's grin widened and she tightened her grip on Xena's hand. She dove dragging the panicking Xena along behind her and stopped her dive a few feet above the ground, and then climbed back up to higher than when they started the dive.

"That was incredible." Xena said breathlessly. Demona looked at her for a moment and then let go of her hand.

"I'm glad you think so, because now I want to see you try it by yourself." Xena's eyes went wide but she slowly nodded. She dove and Demona was impressed by her form as she dove. "Climb…climb," Demona called out. Xena began to climb too late and her foot dragged the ground causing her to tumble on the ground for a few feet before coming to a stop and lying still on the ground. Demona quickly landed next to her and rolled her over onto her back to make sure that she was alright.

"That wasn't what I intended to do." Xena said after taking a moment to catch her breath.

"I would hope not." Demona chuckled. "Are you alright?" She asked while she helped Xena to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Should I try again?" Xena asked and Demona looked at her in surprise for a moment.

"I admire your attitude but no, there is still much that I need to teach you." Demona led Xena into the castle and they walked into a storage room lit only by candles.

"What are we doing in here?" Xena asked curiously.

"I'm going to teach you to hone your senses. "Demona said as she started to blow out the candles. Soon, the room became completely dark. "Now, attack me."

"I can't even see you." Xena pointed out. Demona snuck up behind her.

"So, use your other senses." She whispered in her ear. Xena turned and swung her fist and found nothing but air as Demona nimbly dodged the blow.

"Your sense of smell is much more sensitive than a human's. Try to find my scent." Demona began to move to the other side of the room. "If you take a moment and listen you'll find that your ears are sharper. In a silent room you should be able to hear the heartbeat of your prey." Xena began to listen and she thought she could hear a rhythmic beating sound and besides the smoke she thought she could smell something different. When she realized the smell became stronger and weaker she realized it was Demona. Demona came up to whisper again and Xena back flipped behind the stunned gargoyle and delivered a kick to the square of Demona's back causing her to fall to the ground.

"I'm a quick study." Xena informed her. Demona quickly got back to her feet.

"I can see that. Well done, now I suppose the only thing left to do is teach you how to hunt."

"Halcyon, I have to ask a favor of you." Titania said nervously. She was worried about asking now because her new husband was in the middle of a stressful point in his career, but she knew that she couldn't put it off any longer.

"You only have to ask darling you know that." Renard sat next to her and put his arm around her. She sighed and nodded before she spoke again.

"You remember that I told you that I can sometimes foresee events that will happen?" She asked tentatively. Renard nodded. He wasn't comfortable with his wife's talent, but he had seen first-hand that her ability was more accurate than not.

"Yes, I remember. What did you see?" Renard asked concerned about what it was that had his wife so upset.

"In twenty years, these creatures called gargoyles will come to take our children. We must stop them." Titania's eyes began to tear up as she spoke.

"Twenty years is a long time. Perhaps, things will be different then or someone will have dealt with them before that. Besides, the gargoyles that we have here help the cops protect the city and have never been a problem." Renard pointed out.

That helps to protect the city. Shit, time must already be changing. "Please listen to me. We need to create an army before they begin to flood our streets and destroy our lives. They are monsters and we must stop them. Please promise me." Titania began to cry.

"Alright, I will see what I can do." Renard stood up and looked at his watch. "I'm sorry honey, I'm running late but I will see what I can do about this after the meeting." Titania nodded. Renard left vowing that no gargoyle would ever harm his family. Titania grinned and wiped her eyes.

"I deserve an award for that performance. Who says Puck is the only one with the gift of deception." Titania laughed silently as she walked into the bathroom and turned on the water to the shower. Since becoming human showers had become her favorite part of the morning routine. She began to undress and when she got down to just her panties Puck appeared in the room with her. "Geez Puck, you scared the hell out of me." Titania quickly covered herself with a towel.

"I heard you talk to the old man. You did well." Puck said in a matter of fact tone.

"I don't like having to lie to him." Titania said irritably.

"Would you prefer to lose your child?" Puck asked impatiently.

"You know I wouldn't and that's why I'm doing this." Titania snapped.

"I also heard about Lucifer's offer. Are you thinking of accepting it?" Puck asked curiously. Titania's face went red with anger and her eyes flashed.

"Not that it is any of your business but yes, I am going to take the deal." Titania stated in a menacing tone as if daring Puck to argue with her.

"True, it is none of my business but if I were you I would stop making these deals. Giving Lucifer a child could equate to something disastrous." Puck advised.

"Get out of here so I can shower. We'll talk later." Titania demanded. Puck sighed and nodded.

"Very well, nice work getting the old man on board." Puck grinned and then vanished from the room.

Duncan walked into the large dining area and sat next to a little girl that appeared to be no older than ten years old with silver hair. Her skin was pale, and she had bright green eyes. She wore what appeared to be a black nightgown. She was finishing her fifth plate of food when Duncan walked into the room.

"How is my little girl doing today? Got enough to eat I hope." Duncan asked in a cheerful tone. The little girl gave him an irritated glance and pushed away the plate before taking some more meat from the center of the table. He noticed when she went to bite into it that she had begun to grow fangs.

"I'm fine, when do I get to go play with the other children?" She asked irritably.

"Drexia, we discussed this. You're too strong to play with them. You could hurt them." Duncan reminded her.

"I want to play NOW!" She shouted as she threw down the half-eaten venison chop. She threw it down so hard that the bone from the chop went through the metal plate. Duncan stared at her unmoved by her anger.

"Do you see what I am referring too?" He asked and pointed to the cracked plate to emphasize what he meant.

"I'm bored," Drexia complained again.

"Then you need to focus on your training dear one. When you can control your amazing gifts then it'll be safe to be around the others." Duncan reminded her.

"You don't seem to fear me." Drexia pointed out. She grinned wickedly at him. "Maybe you should."

"How's her training going?" Brooklyn asked when Demona and Xena came back with two dead deer. Demona grinned.

"It's going very well. She appears to be a very quick study." Demona said proudly. "Go ahead and take these to the cold room." She instructed Xena as she walked to a water barrel and began to wash the blood from her hands.

"I was thinking that since we have a few hours until dawn that we could spend some time together and talk about old times." Brooklyn walked up beside her and began wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Suddenly, the images from the other night began to play in her mind and she could still clearly see the Wyvern Clan berating her and all the images of what she had done.

"No, I'm busy tonight." Demona stated in a harsher tone than she intended.

"Is something wrong?" Brooklyn asked curious about the change in Demona's tone. Demona sighed irritably and turned towards him.

"Nothing is wrong. Can't I just take one damn night and have it to myself?" Demona asked. Her eyes began to glow bright red as she spoke. "I didn't realize that you would follow me around like a puppy and expect me to be chatty, whenever you feel like talking, but if that's how it is…" Demona sat down and waited for him. "…well get to it then. Tell me what's going on now." Demona said hatefully. Brooklyn backed away.

"I don't know what's going on, but I'll go check on our supplies." Brooklyn said quietly. Demona shrugged and went back to washing the blood off of her hands and arms.

Why did I do that? What is happening to me? Demona asked over and over again until she heard Sora clear her throat next to her.

"That was quite the display you just put on." Sora chuckled. Demona glared at her and she turned to walk away.

"Tonight, isn't the night to anger me." Demona said irritably.

"I can see that, and I don't intend to cause any trouble. If you want to talk you know where to find me, and just so you know the guilt will pass." Sora stated and then turned to leave.

"What guilt? I don't feel any guilt." Demona replied. Even as she said the words she knew they were a lie. Sora studied her for a moment.

"It's the bond. Even after my mate died my bond kept trying to pull me away from any chance at being happy. Yours is doing the same to you. I know because I was doing just what you are now." Sora informed her.

"You don't know anything about it." Demona snapped irritably.

"No, so you're not having visions of your former mate and your clan? You haven't heard the constant voice in your mind telling you that you're a traitor for even considering testing your bond's strength?" Demona didn't reply and Sora nodded. "Okay, then maybe I was mistaken. You need to deal with what is bothering you soon otherwise you'll chase everyone away like I did." Sora stood up to leave and Demona watched her go. Xena came back from putting the deer in the cold room in time to hear the last words from Sora.

"What was that all about?" Xena asked. Demona shook her head.

"I just have some things that I need to think about." Demona advised. Tiger came running up to them and they stood to see what he wanted.

"Xena…all your human friends are leaving except one." Xena changed back into human form and ran back down the hill to see what was happening with Demona and Tiger following close behind her.

"What's going on?" Xena asked Gabrielle. Her old friend sighed and took a moment before responding.

"The battle is over, and we won. The women want to go home to their families, Gil and Jason left a while ago, and I will be going with the women to start working on my new task." Gabrielle informed her. She didn't need to tell Xena that the reason most of the women wanted to leave is that they now feared her because of the transformation. Gabrielle gave her a quick hug and then quickly ran after the others. Xena was in shock she sat down on a near boulder and just watched her friend and her army walk out of her life. Demona called for a meeting with the other gargoyles.

"I think that we should invite my sister as an honorary member of the clan. What do you all think of that?" Demona looked around at the group one at a time.

"What does it matter what I think?" Brooklyn asked irritably. The other gargoyles looked at him in surprise. Brooklyn shook his head and walked away. Demona was torn between chasing after him and wanting to appear strong in front of the rest of the clan. For her sister's sake she stayed and watched him walk away before she continued. Sora was the first to break the silence.

"I can stand behind you on this. She has proven herself in battle many times and I for one would accept her admission." Sora stated.

"I don't know about this." Tiger said after a moment. "She's half-human and we have certain rules and traditions that do not approve of this."

"I am half-human as well remember?" Demona growled. He met her gaze unwavering.

"That is the other thing I've been meaning to discuss with you." Tiger waited a moment before he continued. "Because you are not a pure gargoyle I feel that you should step down as Queen, and perhaps find another clan." Demona's eyes went wide at the suggestion.

"I saved your life. I started this clan and together we finally defeated the warlord that had attempted to destroy us all." Demona snarled.

"Yes, you did, but we can no longer follow a half-breed. You know as well as we do that inter-breeding was prohibited and we cannot condone the presence of you or your sister any longer." Tiger advised her.

"You can't be serious." Sora said in shock. "You would destroy our clan over old rules that no longer have any relevance."

"If we forget where we came from then we will cease to be relevant. Demona, you and your sister were necessary but now we must walk our own path." Tiger said in a regretful tone. "Sora, I won't try to convince you that I'm right, but I would prefer it if you came with me." Tiger turned and started to walk away. Sora shook her head sadly.

"I can't let him go alone. I'm sorry Demona." Sora hurried to catch up to him and together they walked away. Xena stood up quickly and marched off in the direction that Brooklyn had walked off to changing into a gargoyle as she walked. She found Brooklyn by the water barrel. He looked up in time to see her fist coming at him. He didn't have time to dodge and felt the blow as she struck the right side of his jaw and knocked him to the ground.

"Your best friend is suffering and here you sit pouting like a child." Xena nearly shouted. Brooklyn looked up at her in shock then his eyes flared white as he got back to his feet.

"She wanted the night to herself, remem…" Brooklyn began but Xena didn't give him the chance to finish as she kicked him in his midsection and delivered an uppercut that knocked him flat on his back.

"Get over yourself. You don't deserve a loyal friend like my sister you sniveling fool." Xena's hate-filled remark sparked something in Brooklyn and he growled menacingly as he sprang to his feet and tackled her to the ground. He grabbed her wrists as she tried to fight him off and slammed them into the ground.

"Stop this," Demona shouted from behind them. "We've just lost everyone we care about tonight I will not sit by and watch you to tear each other apart." Brooklyn and Xena quickly scrambled to their feet.

"I'm sorry sister. You're right we shouldn't have fought like that. I just…felt that I had to…" Xena began.

"You thought you needed to defend me." Demona finished for her. She was thrilled that her relationship with Xena was growing closer, but she couldn't stand by and condone fighting with the last members of her clan. "I don't need protection." Demona's eyes flared red as she eyed both Xena and Brooklyn. She stared at Brooklyn for a moment. "I need you to understand that sometimes I may need to be alone and I need you not to behave like a hatchling about it." She turned her gaze then onto Xena. "I need you to realize that I can fight my own battles." Xena and Brooklyn both nodded. Demona sighed in relief.

"I understand." Brooklyn and Xena said nearly simultaneously feeling ashamed by their behavior.

"We're all that we have left. We need to look after each other and have no more room for petty squabbles." Demona pointed out. It's nearly sunrise. I suggest that we sleep and then tomorrow night we'll begin the journey to this Alcmene's house."

"I'll keep watch over you two during the day." Xena said turning human. Demona shook her head.

"You need your sleep too." Demona pointed out.

"Don't worry I'm a light-sleeper. If anything happens I will take care of it. For now, you two head inside and get into the storage room." Xena suggested. When Demona and Brooklyn entered the small room, Demona put her hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"Listen to me. There are times I'm going to want to be alone. I need you to be okay with that." Demona said. Brooklyn sighed and tried to think of what to say.

"What if I can't?" Brooklyn asked hesitantly.

"Then perhaps this should end this clan now." Brooklyn stepped back in shock.

"I understand, I will try my best." Brooklyn replied. Demona nodded.

"As will I, but I will not become your possession." She studied his reaction for a moment, but he simply nodded in agreement just before the stone sleep overtook them.

"You promised that if I made sure the egg went to you and Constantine was defeated that Gruoch would be mine and instead I find that she is spending more and more time with this Macbeth kid." Gil said angrily. Duncan grinned at his old friend.

"Not too worry my friend. I have just one more job for you and then I promise I will keep my end of our bargain." Duncan said trying to sound reassuring.

"What job? You said the last job was my last job." Gil snapped irritably.

"I think you'll like this one. I need you to take care of the father of Macbeth. You see Findlaech has been causing us trouble as of late." Duncan poured them each a goblet full of wine. "Kill him and take his badge of office. Then not only will I give Gruoch to you, I will also give you Findlaech's kingdom." He took a drink and studied his friend's reaction. "What do you say?"

"I say should it appear accidental or does it matter." Gil grinned and drank his wine in one swallow.

"I don't care how you get rid of him. Just make sure no one can find out that I'm involved." Duncan replied. Gil nodded and set his goblet down on the table.

"Very well, give me a week and you shall have the symbol." Gil said and left the room and began to prepare for his trip to Castle Moray.

"Why don't you two play together?" Bodhe suggested as he rose from the chess table. He had just lost to his daughter Gruoch when he noticed how she and Macbeth kept glancing at each other when they thought that no one would notice.

"I would be happy to play again. Should I setup the game again?" Gruoch asked and grinned when she looked up in time to see Macbeth staring at her.

"Yes, that would be fun." Macbeth's cheeks reddened slightly when he noticed that he had been caught staring at her. She grinned and quickly setup the board. He came over to help and their hands touched briefly. Gruoch's grin widened and they stopped for a moment until their eyes met briefly and then they rushed to finish setting up the board.

"Your daughter is becoming quite the strategist my friend." Findlaech grinned at his old friend. Bodhe grabbed a glass and filled it with wine.

"I know, I haven't beaten her at chess for the last two years." Bodhe gave his friend a grave look at that moment. "We need to talk my friend." Findlaech opened the door that led to the balcony outside. They walked out and carefully closed the door. "It's Duncan, he needs to be stopped."

"I agree, but how can we accomplish that?" Findlaech asked.

"Perhaps if we combined our houses we would have the numbers to equal Duncan's army." Bodhe replied.

"How do you suggest we do that?" Findlaech grinned at the surprised look on his old friend's face.

"I thought that would be obvious. Your son certainly seems to like spending time with my daughter, and they are the proper age. We could marry them, and our families will be unified forever." Bodhe advised.

"that's not a bad idea." Findlaech said after a moment.

"I'm going to head home. I'm will talk with Gruoch about this more in the morning when I sober up." Bodhe chuckled and stumbled back inside. "Say goodnight Gruoch, we're going home."

"It was fun milord, perhaps we can play together again soon." Gruoch stood to join her father and Macbeth quickly took her slender hand in his own. He placed a light kiss on her knuckles, and she blushed. What Bodhe didn't know was that within the next few days Macbeth was going to seek his permission to court his daughter. Macbeth and Gruoch held hands to the front entrance of the castle. Findlaech sat in his favorite chair and heard a sound from behind him.

"Get me another drink. I think I'm in the mood to celebrate tonight." The person handed him a plate with a glass of champagne on it. He took both and started to take a sip of the champagne when he saw a reflection of the man who handed it to him drawing a sword. He used the metal plate to block the swing that was intended to sever his neck. He rolled forward as the Hunter swung again and chopped the chair in half. Findlaech swung the plate catching the Hunter off guard and they backed up onto the balcony. It began to pour down rain as they fought.

"Father," Macbeth shouted. He had walked back into the room when he heard the sounds of battle. He drew the two swords off the wall and ran onto the balcony. "Father catch," Macbeth threw the sword to him but the Hunter was quicker, and he used his own sword to bat the thrown blade over the edge of the balcony.

"This has nothing to do with you boy, walk away." The Hunter ordered. Macbeth charged forward and surprised Gil with a swing that knocked the sword from his hands. Findlaech rushed to grab it and Gil kicked him. He didn't intend to kick as hard as he did but as soon as he realized that Findlaech's momentum would carry him over the edge of the balcony he reached out and grabbed the medallion used as the badge of office and pulled hard ripping it from the falling man.

"Father," Macbeth rushed to the edge but he was too late to catch him. When he turned he saw Gil had disappeared. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees as he began to sob. The servants saw him kneeling outside and rushed to help him get back inside. "I'll kill him." Macbeth said. "My father, find my father." Macbeth said over and over again in a nearly hysterical voice.

"Let's see what you can do." Drexia said to a group of four soldiers. Duncan had run several tests and Drexia impressed him with each test. This time he wanted to see if she could win a fight against multiple opponents. One soldier ran forward and she drove her new talons through his armor and crushed his heart inside of his chest. She flipped forward and flipped the body forward and smashed it into the second charging soldier. She opened her mouth and breathed fire into the face of the third man before he could react. She grinned as his face began to melt off and was taken by surprise by the fourth soldier who intended to drive his sword through her heart, but she dodged nimbly, and the blade went into her shoulder causing her to growl. She reached down and tore the head off the second soldier and leapt on top of the fourth man. She used the head and began to bash in the head of the last remaining soldier until he quit squirming. She took a moment to catch her breath and stood up before dropping the caved in head back onto the ground.

"You're getting careless my child." Duncan said in a disappointed tone as he walked into the room.

"I apologize, I didn't know that I could breathe fire. I found it…fascinating." Drexia informed him.

"That's no excuse, but I will forgive it this time." She nodded and started to leave the room. Her shoulders started to itch again, and she started to scratch at them again.

"I think my wings will grow out soon." She said excitedly.

"We shall see." Duncan replied. She glared at him irritably.

"If you continue to annoy me I can let you share their fate." Drexia's eyes began to glow bright gold as she spoke.

"Don't forget who cares for you and took you in. You need me." Duncan reminded her.

"For now," Drexia showed her fangs and walked out the door.

I have to find a way to keep her under control. Duncan thought when the door closed behind her. Together, we will destroy my enemies. Just then he remembered that the Hunter should be returning soon. He walked back to his study and found a man sitting in the chair facing his desk.

"Who the hell are you and why are your feet on my desk?" Duncan asked angrily. The man didn't respond but held his left hand out and Duncan grinned wickedly when he saw Findlaech's medallion. Gil rose from the chair and faced the Prince.

"I believe you said that you would reward me for retrieving this." Gil grinned at him.

"Indeed, I shall my friend." Duncan said as he accepted the medallion. "Indeed, I shall."