Brooklyn well remembered that horrible time, which left a gaping hole of mystery in all the scientific explanations that followed it. Only they, the gargoyles, and a handful of others, knew the truth.

One night descended upon Manhattan in warm velvety blackness. And some hours later, the moon and stars faded away, but the dawn failed to arrive. And it was cold, bitterly, freezingly cold. It was as though a black fist reached out and choke the living light of day. This extraordinary phenomenon only covered the boundaries of the city. People panicked, politicians made declarations, scientists spoke themselves hoarse, but no one could properly explain what was happening, and why.

It lasted a day, and two, and three. The gargoyles were exhausted. Without sunlight, they couldn't take advantage of the supreme rest that stone sleep gave them, and had to settle for the pitiful slumber humans called sleep. They woke up tired, unrested, and sore. Aslaug was the only one who seemed to be coping tolerably well.

"In Norway, where I came from, we have days in the middle of winter when the sun never rises," she explained, "and in the summer, nights when the sun doesn't set."

"But that's natural order," said Goliath, "what we have here looks like the blackest sorcery," he shot a furtive look in the direction of Demona. "My love, do you have any way to... explain what is going on?" he asked carefully.

His voice was mild, but Demona's eyes shot daggers as she glared back. "Are you accusing me?"

"No," Goliath sounded strained now, "merely suggesting that of us all, you are the most knowledgeable when it comes to dark magic."

She looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, as a matter of fact, I... there was a spell I once thought of - a spell that would enable me to delay stone sleep... I never finished working it out, as it called for the most treacherous demon, the Shadowbinder... I'm afraid, however, that the rudiments of this magic could have ended up in the hands of - of certain... unsavory elements."

"Why am I not surprised," Brooklyn lashed out, "to learn it's all your bloody fault?" He never quite trusted Demona, and never would again, even though it has been years since she returned to the clan, and she and Goliath now had another little child, a son to whom they, in the ancient custom of their kind, had not given a name.

"You will watch your tongue when talking to my wife," Goliath growled dangerously.

"I am only guilty of sketching this spell," said Demona, "it is out of my power to control its development and use."

"But who would want to darken an entire city? And why?" wondered Broadway.

"Xanatos?" suggested Lexington.

"Why would you suspect Xanatos?" frowned Angela.

"No particular reason. It looks like his kind of thing, that's all."

"Xanatos is a friend to us now," said Goliath, "he has not given us reason to think ill of him in the past years."

"Do not delude yourself," countered his beloved, "with Xanatos, you can never know for sure whether he is your friend or your enemy. This is what makes him so dangerous."

"And here's the pot calling the kettle black," Brooklyn said acidly, but was rendered silent as Goliath shot him a murderous look.

"It is true for all humans, come to think of it," Demona went on as though she hadn't heard, "I have met very few whom I could trust."

"You are taking this too far, my love," said Goliath, "our clan has fast and loyal human friends. Elisa, Matt and Mary and David have done a lot for us."

"Oh, Elisa is a friend indeed," Demona's eyes flashed, "such a friend that she never shows her face here anymore. Not that I have any wish to see her," she added.

"I have heard from her recently," Brooklyn coughed in sudden embarrassment. "She... well, perhaps this isn't really important right now, but... I thought you'd like to know this. She's marrying Jason Canmore."

"The Hunter," Demona's fists balled. "Such is the value of human friendship."

"Jason Canmore is now no longer an enemy to us," Goliath said sternly, "I wish both him and Elisa very happy."

"Well, one thing is certain," said Korian, "the city's in chaos. All crimes are easier to cover in the dark, and we are too tired to deal with as much as we're used to."

They did, eventually, find the magical laboratory, and managed to thwart the spell, ward off the Shadowbinder and gather the spell casters (who had nothing to do with Xanatos) into custody. And in the heat of battle the Stonehammers joined, and Demona jumped forward to receive the lethal blow that was meant for Brooklyn, condemning him to a lifetime of guilt.

During that first horrible week after losing her, Brooklyn had not thought he would dare to seek out Goliath. He only did that when pressed by Angela.

"He will want to talk to you," she said in a tremulous voice, "I... I feared to go near him too. He says he wants to be left alone, and no doubt that's how he feels right now, but he needs us to be near. He mustn't be left to himself for too long."

Brooklyn made the ascent to the tower on foot, relishing the hard labor of the climbing the stairway. He found his leader hunch-shouldered, hollow-eyed, with twice as many threads of silver in his raven-black hair than were seen a mere week ago. Upon hearing footsteps, Goliath turned his head to see who had entered, then looked away.

"If you want me to go, just say so," Brooklyn hastened to say.

"No," said Goliath in a flat voice, "you can stay."

"She... it was me they meant to kill," Brooklyn said quietly.

"They meant to kill us all."

"But that - that moment, when she jumped forward... she needn't have done that, but she must have seen no other way..."

"No other way to save you but to shield you with her own body. Do not blame yourself. She would have done the same for any of us. Any of her clan."

"I know that now," Brooklyn's voice was almost broken, "I wish I had realized this earlier."

"You thought I was a fool to bring her back, I know," said Goliath, "a fool to ever love her."

If you were a fool, what does that make of me? "Goliath, I didn't..."

"No. There is no need to lie now. She could not change the past, but she was no longer capable of doing what she once would have done in a blink of an eye. She brought savor back to my life. She had made me feel alive again... I just wish we hadn't been so stubborn for so long."

Brooklyn stared at his leader, and wish a horrible, sinking feeling realized that Goliath, although still powerful, is now a mere shadow of his former self. The flame of his life, his truest essence, was extinguished with her death.

Goliath seemed to guess what he was thinking. "Do not worry," he said with a ghost of a smile, "she must have known that if I had my way, I would have met the last dawn with her. That was why she bade me to go on. From this moment, I am nothing but your leader. I live and die for my clan."

And so he did. And if there was a shred of justice in this universe, Brooklyn thought, his leader and mentor was now at peace, gliding about moonlit meadows hand in hand with the one who blossomed for him like a fragrant flower in the darkness.