04.08.98; 00:03; Building before Destine Manson:
The gargoyle landed on the building before the Destine Manson and quickly hid in the shadows of the roof. He waited, something he could do rather well since he had done so in the last six months.
After some minutes, he got what he had waited for. Three shapes of gargoyles, an adult, a young one and a hatchling soared through the sky. The adult had an even younger hatchling, an infant in human terms, in her arms. This was something the spectator didn't see, but knew.
He waited some seconds until the shapes of gargoyles had vanished into the night, just before the hatchling made a not perfect, but brave salto in the air, before he jumped from the roof, slowly gliding to the mansion before him.
Landing perfectly at the glass door to the living room, he slowly opened the door and went in, trying not to make a sound while he closed it. When he paid full attention to the room, he noticed a scarred gargbeast, Shade, coming from the floor and looking at him.
He extended a claw, low to the ground, to let her come and touch him and greet him, but Shade wasn't interested in greetings and just sat down beside the couch, watching him carefully.
From the stairs he could hear the footsteps of the beast's master and friend.
"So many years," he noticed, "so many years and she still doesn't trust me."
Demona had come down the steps, as she had seen her guest's arrival through the monitor of the security system she had activated, knowing that her nightly gliding through the city with Shade would be delayed this night.
The immortal looked at her former second thoughtfully, as games weren't his style, but she decided to join him.
"It's her nature," she explained.
Both starred in each other's eyes for some seconds.
"I knew you would come." Demona said finally. "It was just a matter of time."
Her former second nodded, a matter of time indeed.
"Come sit down..." Demona told the gargoyle in front of her coldly. "There is much to talk about."
Nameless nodded, and sat down on the couch before her.
24.08.1057; 20:12; Scotland, battlefields of Moray:
The battle, which had taken place there a night before, was over. The armies had abandoned it, leaving a landscape full of dead soldiers from both sides, having found their last resting place near from dead horses and abandoned weapons.
Just some ravens watched over this field of death, having a meal on the dead bodies as if to show whom truly was the winner of this battle, while seemingly revealing the lowering sun.
Suddenly their meal was disturbed when a ball of fire appeared in the middle of the battlefield and they showed their indignation over the disturbance through flying up and croaking loudly.
Demona, appearing out of the flames, quickly looked around, sensing neither human nor gargoyles around her, just the smell of death as she had expected.
The most humans had fled weeks ago and most of who had stayed had surely chosen to go with Luach's army after the fall of Moray and the gargoyles... Well her clan and most likely the last gargoyle clan of Scotland were dead and she, her former self, was heading south.
The immortal looked to the statue she had taken with herself and studied it. It was her second... her former second of Moray. He, like her, had lost all his clan from a massacre by the humans and he was the one who was the first to be with her... the first of her new clan.
Cracks showed in his skin while Demona felt the sun going under, from behind her back and with the arrival of darkness he freed himself of his stone skin, greeting the night with a roar.
Surprised, he looked around, sensing that he definitely was in another place than he had been before the last sunrise, it was a battlefield and before him stood his leader.
"Leader, where are we?" he asked and seeing into her eyes he added quickly, even though calm. "Where is the rest of the clan?"
"Dead." Demona simply said and saw how her second's eyes grew wide, how he stumbled a bit. "At least, this is what I thought at this time."
"What do you mean?" he wanted to know.
"We are two days after the fall of Moray. Canmore betrayed us and smashed you and the others while you slept." she saw in his serious face and smiled satisfied. "Or at least this is what he thought so..." Demona explained, showing the Phoenix Gate on her belt. "This talisman, which brought us here, enabled me to save the clan."
Silence.
"Now there is something I ask of you... order you to do, for I will no longer be leader of this clan so or so." she stared at him, searching for any reaction, but there was none. "You will wake up next time at another place and another time. There will be the clan I had before, the Wyvern clan that the Vikings destroyed years ago... You have to merge your clan with theirs, for the safety of all its members... including the eggs."
Still her second looked at her, serious but not speaking and like so many times before, Demona wished just once to have a spell to be able to read his mind. He had always been loyal, even when they had different ideas sometimes, especially about the humans, but if he wouldn't follow her in this...
"The clan will wish an explanation," he said, "as do I."
"You can't tell the clan about this now," Demona insisted forcefully, "not without risking its safety." she bit her lips. "There is a danger far greater than the English or Canmore, but this can at least give you a chance. Trust me."
By these words, her second slowly looked around, staring at the corpses of dead soldiers slowly decaying... soldiers he once fought with.
"These men trusted you too," he noticed, looking back on her "As did the clan when you said that we would be safe."
Demona's eyes stayed cold, even when these words hit her.
"Macbeth wanted to betray us to the English." she nearly snarled. "There was no other way."
Her second studied her for some more seconds, until he nodded.
"I will do as you wish," he told her. "But someday, I will want an explanation."
Demona nodded, stepping closer to him and grabbing the Phoenix Gate at her belt.
"You will get it..." she told him "...in time."
"Deflegrate muri tempi et intervallia."
With this the two gargoyles left, only seen by some creature of the night and the ravens that quickly returned to their meal.
04.08.98; 01:19; Destine Manson, Living Room:
"...and that was it." Demona ended her story. "Lucifia is dead, the threat gone and I will leave the city soon."
Nameless looked at her, thinking about it.
"Will you tell this to the others?" the immortal wanted to know, stroking Shade who had sat down beside her.
"It would be betrayal to my new leader if I wouldn't tell him at least." he noticed.
"Not for me." Demona told him, slowly shaking her head, but never taking his eyes from his.
"I know." Nameless replied while he rose from the couch, without accusation or any malice in his eyes.
Yet, the eyes of his former leader turned red for a short time, while Shade decided to rise.
Nameless didn't react on this, but went to the glass door and opened it, and then he decided to turn around to Demona again.
"You held your word, Demona." He explained. "But about Wyvern..."
"It was betrayal." she told him icily "My betrayal and you know why I couldn't tell you."
Nameless nodded, wordlessly turning around, closing the door from behind and climbing up the wall of the mansion, starting from it into the sky of this ever bright city.
He didn't feel the weight of his breastplate tonight; neither did he feel much of the wind tearing at his old bones. All he did was think... searching for the right decision between the loyalty to his old clan leader and his new one.
04.08.98; 3:58; Near Castle Wyvern:
Nameless first discovered where he was heading when he could see the gargoyles standing on the battlements and saw various others gliding around it.
Coming nearer, he made a decision.
"Brother." a gargoyle who resembled Connor in a way too much noticed. "Where were you?"
Demona's former second looked up to the highest tower, seeing his leader talking with one of his rookery sisters who had long orange hair with two long horns.
He has never betrayed us, lied to us he thought, he deserves our loyalty much more than she ever has.
"Just gliding around," he lied, looking his brother straight in his eyes and then to the other gargoyles standing around, "exploring the city."
A decision had been made.