04:00

The remains of the gang were in custody. Todd and Brenda had been
pried out of their suits and been transported to the nearest medical center
under guard. The evidence which they had gathered from the vault was in
police custody, except for Thailog's holdings. Conners was holding them for
Stoneman, since they were technically his brother's property and there was
no crime in keeping your assets in your own company's vault. The last thing
which he wanted, was to let Destine's lawyers get a hold of them.

All they needed now was Dominique Destine. Elisa sat next to an
ambulance with Conners and Maddox. She had refused to go to the emergency
room and insisted that she would not until Stoneman was back and Destine was
in custody. The detectives had talked her into allowing the EMT's to treat
some of her wounds. At the moment she had an ice pack on top of the bandages
which covered a nasty looking laceration in her scalp.

"Elisa, lets go ahead and take your statement about what went on here
tonight," Maddox suggested. "I've a feeling that you may not be up to it later
on."

"Good idea. Get your tape recorder and let's get it over with." As
Maddox returned to his car, Elisa checked her watch. They still had a while
before sunrise and she was fairly certain that she wouldn't be hearing from
Goliath until then.

05:00

Goliath was growing weary of the cat and mouse game he played with
Demona. For the last hour they had looped around buildings, between houses,
under bridges and even buzzed some cars on the beltline. He had the speed and
stamina to keep up with his ex, but she had the maneuverability which he
lacked. When it came to twisting and turning in the air, she eluded him every
time.

They were currently flitting through a quiet residential area and
Goliath sensed that his quarry had grown tired of the chase as well. She was
definitely about to do something unexpected.

Demona veered right down a side street and swerved to the left
between two houses before he had even completed the first turn. Goliath
swore under his breath. He knew he should have stayed higher and kept her in
sight.

He climbed higher, but could not see her anywhere. She had lost him
between the two houses. He doubled back and landed in that area.

The tall hedges and trees combined with the old, but still elegant
three story houses, left plenty of shadows to hide in. Goliath moved silently
around the houses and into the backyard. Now and then he paused to listen
and sniff the air, but after twenty minutes he still could find no sign of
Demona.

Realizing that he would never find her this way, he scaled the nearest
house and perched on the roof near the chimney. He remained utterly still and
waited.

Just before dawn, he picked up the faint rustling of some bushes
several houses down the street on his right. He took to the air and
abandoning subtlety, landed right behind Demona as she was making for another
clump of shrubbery. The coming dawn had lit the area well enough that she had
little hope of disappearing on him again. Her eyes flashed scarlet as she
turned to face him.

"Goliath, you ARE a fool!" she snarled as she took up a defensive
stance. "It is you who are now the prey! When the sun rises, I will destroy
you for what you have done to me! Go ahead, try to flee. You won't get far."

Goliath snarled and looked toward the east before suddenly bolting.
He quickly scaled a light post next to the street and took to the air. Behind
him he could hear Demona laughing as she followed. He smiled - this was just
too good to pass up.

Demona trailed behind Goliath, making sure that he didn't get too
far ahead of her. She was surprised that he had made so lethal a mistake as
to pursue her this close to the coming dawn. His association with the human
detective had left him weak and foolish to boot. He would have to land soon,
and then the fun would begin.

05:45

"Elisa, do you copy?"

"Stoneman, where are you? It's almost dawn!"

"I know. We're in Alexandria. We're heading for the main drive to
Episcopal High School. Meet me there. Oh, and bring me a change of clothes!"

"I'm on my way."

Goliath landed outside the gates to the private school and ran down
the drive with Demona on his heels. He ran under the canopy of the old trees
lining the drive and turned to face her as the sun's first rays crested the
horizon.

Goliath knelt down in apparent defeat as Demona doubled over, caught
up in the agony of her transformation. When she straightened up and looked
at Goliath, she got the shock of her long life. He was standing right in
front of her...and he was human!

"This cannot be! What have you done?" she screamed as she threw
herself at him in a fury. She managed to sink her nails into his face and was
rewarded with a howl before he landed a glancing blow to her head.

When the world stopped spinning, she found herself on the ground
with him astride her. He had her hands pinned over her head and was giving
her that superior look that she had always despised. Blood was dripping from
the two deep scratches on his face and landing on her cheek.

Demona wiggled her hips suggestively. "Hmmm, I don't think we've
ever done 'it' while we were human..."

She had the satisfaction of seeing the superior look vanish from his
face. It was replaced with a look of such loathing that she wished she could
rip his heart out. Well, the seduction bit was not going to get her out of
this predicament, but she might be able to get him mad enough to do something
foolish. She pretended that she didn't see the disgust on his face.

"So tell me...are you as good in this form as you are when you're a
gargoyle?" His face turned red and his lips formed the thin line which had
always signaled that he was attempting to control his temper. "Don't tell me
that you've never tried to make love while you were human? Perhaps the
Detective prefers females? You know how some of those butch human women
are..."

"Have a care, Demona! You dare too much!" Goliath hissed at her.

"It's still not too late for us, love. You could take Thailog's
identity and seize control of the company. I could create a new identity for
myself. We could buy a house almost anywhere and start over. Angela could
visit us and our new hatchling. I wouldn't mind having another child with
you...on our first try we produced a beautiful, intelligent daughter. Wouldn't
it be fun to do it again?" She wiggled her hips again and gave him a sultry
look.

"You're insane!" Goliath whispered. On his face was a look of utter
disbelief. "Just five minutes ago you were ready to kill me!"

"Yes, but whenever I'm this close to you, I remember how it once was
between us. There has never been another who loved me as you did. I know that
I'm being a fool even making this offer, but heart still cries out for you."

"You would never abandon your plan to destroy humanity!"

"You're right, but I am immortal. I could put those plans on hold
until after you've died." Goliath was gaping at her now. "You know that you
still love me. That human you've been pining for could never please you the
way I can, and you know it."

Goliath smiled bitterly at her. "You are wrong again, Demona. The
love I felt for you died its final death the night of Xanatos' wedding. That
night you dealt the final wound to my heart and I was able to break the
tattered bond that bound me to you." He had the satisfaction of seeing some
hurt show in her eyes. "As for the rest...Elisa is my mate now. She has
accepted me as I am - a gargoyle - and the joy she brings me is more intense
than anything you and I shared."

"Arghhhh! You unclean animal! Get off of me!" she screamed.

Goliath stood and hauled her to her feet. Twisting her arms behind
her back, he stood silently as she cursed him and hoped that the others would
soon arrive.

coming soon... the conclusion