A/N: I don't know where to start with an apology on this one. I never meant for this fic, the one that started my foray into Fanfiction, to fall so horribly to the wayside. I have no intention of leaving it. I want to see it through. I've come so much further in my writing that revamping this piece has been high in my mind of things to do. Things that have to be done. So to those of you who stuck with this, who haven't given up, not only to I admire you…but I owe you. Thank you all so much. Hopefully my desire to continue on this journey will help me see this through and no longer leave it neglected.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Gargoyles and make no profit from the writing of this fic.

Chapter Fifteen

"There are some things in this world, daughter, that were never meant to be created. Some things that are best left unwritten."

Audri walked beside her father, keeping a respectful silence. He'd called her earlier on that evening to meet with her. For what reason, she hadn't the slightest. And the obscurity of his words did little to ease her growing curiosity.

"That does not mean that because they are best left unwritten that they remain so. People…humans…they see the power in words. In turn, they feel the need to control that power. Very few humans will see the selfishness in their desires. But there are few that will - few that recognize the darkness and know that they must turn to someone far less driven by their own nature to protect those words."

Frowning, Audri shook her head. "Father, I do not understand what you are talking about at all," she muttered.

He looked down at her, his dark eyes alight with traces of humor.

"For years now, we have remained allies with this particular clan. We have guarded their home, protected their lives. There is a kinship that resembles family but does not quite attain the closeness. McGregor…he is one of those humans that, at one point, was ruled by his selfish nature. He found something, Audri…a book. The magic contained within the pages was unlike any that existed. It was a danger to anyone wishing to possess that power and use it for their own personal gain. He recognized this…but not before he had dabbled into the darkness that lay in its pages. Once he had a taste of its darkness, he understood his mistake. He came to me - gave me the book. He asked me to hide it. To keep it from him or any other that should want its power."

The reached the end of the darkened hallway and her father pushed open the thick doors, allowing them entrance into a small, ill lit room. A podium protruded from the far wall. On it was a thick tomb with pitch black binding. The pages were yellow with age. The minute Audri's eyes fell to it, her stomach turned unpleasantly. "That-."

"That…is it."

Audri moved cautiously forward. She was still extremely confused as to why her father brought her here, but the fear tinged curiosity was making it a secondary emotion. Her father did not stop her. He uttered no words of caution as she reached for the cover and slowly opened the book. A whisper of words echoed softly off the stone walls. Like the words that stared up at her from the worn pages, she did not recognize them. It was some ancient language, most certainly. But, she knew most ancient languages.

She reached forward and traced her fingertip over the letters, gasping softly when they shimmered and shifted into a more recognizable script.

"What do you see?" Her father asked.

He stood beside her now, towering over her. His dark braided hair hung over his shoulders and his narrowed eyes looked down at the pages.

"Words…they were not - ." She paused and her brows furrowed. Could he not see the same thing? "What do you see?"

He waved a large hand dismissively. "Utter nonsense."

She pressed her fingertip over the letters again. "And now?"

"The same. What do you see, daughter?"

"Sumerian. You do not see that?"

He turned a fond smile on her, though his eyes were far from kind. There was trepidation in their depths. Her father was afraid.

"Why have you brought me here?"

Behind them, the doors groaned as they were pulled shut. Audri turned and watched her mother approach them. Her beautiful features were pulled into a tight smile that caused even more anxiety to turn in the pit of Audri's stomach.

"Mother-," she greeted uncertainly.

Aldonia moved forward and took her daughters hands, gripping them tightly in hers. "My daughter." She lifted her pale green eyes to her mate. "We do not have much time. The air is shifting."

Taking a deep breath, Trecian turned to his daughter. "We must hide the book, Audri. Hide it so carefully that no being – gargoyle, human or otherwise will ever find it."

Aldonia slid an arm around Audri's shoulders and turned her back to the spell book. "Tell me - what do you see on the pages?"

"What I see changes. I cannot understand the words written there now. However." A touch of her finger and they changed once more. This time Latin. "Now it is Latin. Before, it was Sumerian."

Aldonia shared a look with her mate, one that went beyond fear. "She is able to see what others can only see with a spell," she murmured. "She must be the vessel."

Audri frowned. "The ve-." She whirled, her eyes wide. "You mean to put that thing inside of me?!"

"Audri, please. You must understand-."

"Mother, you are far more powerful than I am!" she argued. "I have never conjured magic beyond the simple lighting of a candle!"

"You have more inner magic than you can even begin to understand, darling." Her mother reached for her, smiling sadly. "Your power far exceeds my own. You have never known it, but it is there. And because it is there, because you unknowingly harness that power, you are the safest place to hide this."

"But…but what will it do to me?"

"Nothing. It can do you no harm. It will be like we are during the day – dormant…waiting. Where it is safe and where no one can get to it, it will be ineffective."

Audri looked back at the book, the fear once again snaking over her spine and slipping icily into her veins. "How do you know?" she asked, her voice small.

"Audri-." Trecian stepped forward, gathering the young gargress in his arms. "We would never seek to harm you, daughter. You must have faith. You must trust that this is the way it should be."

She looked up into her father's eyes. He stared back, cradling her face in his large hand. Their relationship was not the normal relationship of a father and child in the gargoyle world. It was more human – more tangible. Gargoyles, by nature, were not often openly affectionate to their children. They raised them to be heirs, to be protectors. Love was a weakness. Audri had been raised to know otherwise. Love…was the strongest bond in both the human and gargoyle world.

"I trust you," she whispered.

He smiled gently, breathing a deep sigh. "It is what we must do to keep our world safe. Do you understand that?"

She lowered her eyes, the nearly inaudible "yes" slipping past her lips.

"Audri." Her mother moved closer, taking Audri's face between her hands and coaxing her gaze upward. "You will be safe. We would never put you in danger."

She held her mother's stare for several moments. She did not question them. They were her parents. They loved her. They were protecting her and the rest of their clan – the McGregor clan. They were protecting more lives than she knew.

A loud knock interrupted the silence, reverberating off the walls. A low, muffled voice followed shortly after.

"Trecian…someone approaches the castle. A gargoyle."

Trecian frowned, looking quickly to his wife. "I will welcome our guest. Do what you must. Do it quickly."

"Yes, my love."

As he left, Aldonia took Audri's hand and pulled her towards the book. She maintained a hold on one. The other, she placed on the cover of the book after closing it. Audri couldn't help but notice, with a repulsed shudder, that the leather felt like skin. Laying her own hand next to Audri's, Aldonia gave her an encouraging smile.

"Relax, close your eyes and allow it in."

Audri did what she was told, lowering her head as her mother's soft chanting filled the room.

"So…what Demona's looking for…is…inside of you?"

Audri ran trembling hands through her hair, watching her mate mull over the information she'd given him. Scattered about the living room, the remaining clan members remained silent.

"Aye."

"And there's a spell in there…that can make her mortal?"

"Aye." She looked down at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap. "It is one of the few that involves some form of torture. This book...is not just a spell book. It is not composed of mortal magic."

"Third Race magic then?" Goliath spoke up.

Audri looked to him and shook her head. "Something far more powerful. Far more dangerous."

"How is it that you are not…that you haven't…," Angela tried, her brow furrowed in concentration as she attempted to make sense of her words.

"How is it that I have not become a victim to its power?" Audri asked. "It is quite simple. In its current form, it cannot be translated. With no voice, the words hold no power. And even if it was not within me, the words would still require a spell to be understood. The language…it is beyond ancient. I have seen none like it."

"A spell…or you," Hudson pointed out.

Audri nodded. "Or me."

"Why is that, lass?"

She had no answer for him. She did not know why she was able to turn the words into ones she could understand. "My mother was part witch. The only answer that I can think of…is what I inherited from her. What natural magic I possess, though I've never learned how to use it, must give me the ability to transform the words."

Lex hopped off the couch and started to pace. "Couldn't you just…tap into whatever powers you have, soak up what that book has to offer and put it to use?"

Audri's eyes turned hard. She shook her head vehemently. "I have no desire to know the extent of my power. I have lived fine without it. I have not seen the possession and use of power work in anyone's favor."

"But Audri-."

"My mother was a witch. It did not save her. It will not save me."

A hand slipped through hers and she looked down, the tension sliding from her shoulders when she saw Brooklyn's hand tightly claps her fingers. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, then faced the clan once more. "There has to be a way to remove it. My mother used a spell to hide it within me. We will need a spell to remove it. Though…we have no witch learned in their abilities."

"Sure we do," Lex spoke up with a grin.

"Lexington-," Goliath warned.

"What?" The small gargoyle threw up his hands. "She can't do it. You heard her. She doesn't want to know her own strength. And it would be…what, a pretty simple removal spell? There's no way he doesn't know how to perform one of those."

"He?" Audri turned her questioning gaze to Brooklyn, surprised to see his jaw set in firm disapproval.

"Nobody," he muttered. "We'll find a different way. Demona's still got those pages from the Grimorum. We could set up a decoy…get our hands on them-."

Lex was quick to shoot him down. "There's no guarantee that any of those pages will actually have what we need."

Goliath spoke up again, his voice hard. "Lexington…we are not inviting that trouble into our home."

Lex rolled his eyes. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

No one spoke up. In fact, all remained silent for such a long time that Lex started to chuckle. "You've got nothing. Let's talk to Owen. See if he can get him for us."

"Him who?" Audri asked, slightly exasperated.

Lex's grin was triumphant with an edge of wickedness. Audri wasn't entirely sure she should trust a smile like that. She wasn't entirely sure, however, that she had a choice.

"Puck."