Chapter Two Mirror, Mirror Jordanis stood next to the empty arch. Early morning sunlight streamed down into the castle courtyard. The seven members of the Queen's Own had rested and prepared that night, but time was ticking past and they couldn't delay any more than that. "We were very lucky in the time flow on that last world," said Jordanis. "But this next one won't be so kind. I've checked, and it runs at a straight one to one ratio, so we'll get no such gifts this time." Aidan nodded. They'd all been surprised to find that they had returned the day after they left, though they had spent ten days to find the first shard. "You have more time than we'd feared, but... if you don't return within two months, things are going to be bad, very, very bad here. So don't delay. The sooner you come back, the less damage the chaos will do." There were solemn nods all around. "I've set the spell exactly the same as before, you need only touch the crystal to be returned here with it. Good luck." One by one they went through the portal. When the by-now familiar queasy feeling faded, Aidan looked around. He blinked. They seemed to have merely been moved from inside the courtyard to outside the castle gates. They stood on the cropped grass next to the familiar road, the Tower looming above them. "What the heck?" Aidan said out loud what the whole group was obviously thinking. Had the portal gone wrong? "Why are we still on Aretha?" "I'm not sure we are," said Brianna. "Look!" She pointed down the road. There was a group of soldiers moving along it. They marched with an easy confidence that suggested they belonged there, but their uniforms were unfamiliar. The few soldiers that Tara maintained wore blue and silver, but these soldiers wore red and black, with a golden dragon emblem on their shields. As the marching men drew nearer, Aidan could see that they were encircling a small group of people who didn't wear uniforms, probably prisoners. He couldn't make out the rest of them, but one was a head taller than any of the soldiers. He was dark skinned, with short-cropped curly black hair, and despite the fact that he was obviously a prisoner, he carried himself like a king, proud and unbowed by his circumstances. Suddenly Seymore let out a blood-curdling yell like Aidan had never heard, and charged at the soldiers, spear drawn. Belak swore, and the rest of the group looked at him with stunned incomprehension. What was he doing? The soldiers' neat formation fell apart, for one of the prisoners apparently took the little goblin's attack as a chance, and made a break for it. And then everything erupted into chaos. Seymore went down, how exactly Aidan didn't see, and some of the soldiers attacked Aidan and the others, while some were busy trying to keep the suddenly fighting prisoners in line. There were three, and they all had their hands tied before them, but that wasn't keeping one of them, a fair-skinned human man, from fighting. He was kicking and swinging his bound fists with startling ferocity. Aidan had to duck a soldier's sword, but not before recognizing the fighting human, with a kind of stunned shock. It was Lon. Except that Lon was anything but a fighter, and he was still standing next to Aidan! He lost sight of the three for a moment in the chaos of the battle. There were a dozen or so soldiers attacking, but Flame, Brianna and Lavasida were all giving good account of themselves. Aidan wanted to take to the sky, but there wasn't room to get his wings open, there were people all around him. He caught another glimpse of the prisoners. The tall, dark man had gotten his hands free somehow, and had picked up the sword of a fallen soldier, and he was fighting with a skill that equaled anything Aidan had ever seen. Then he saw the third prisoner, and had another shock of recognition. It was Brianna. But she wasn't fighting. She untied Lon's hands, and then retreated, trying to get away from the fighting. Meanwhile Lon dived in with enthusiasm. And behind Aidan the Lon he knew was trying to keep clear of the fight, his healing skills were far better than his fighting skills. But Aidan didn't have time to think about what he'd seen, he had all he could do to fend off the soldier attacking him. The man's sword gave him a much longer reach, but Aidan was fast, and managed to dodge or block his blows. When he saw an opening he threw one of his belt daggers, but he didn't manage to do any damage, it glanced off of the soldier's leather armor. Aidan dodged again, and then tripped over the body of a fallen soldier. He wasn't quite quick enough to get up, and the soldier he was fighting simply kicked him in the head. He felt the impact, and a flare of pain, but he felt nothing else, for the world went dark around him. ----- "We need to get out of here!" The tall, dark-skinned man shouted. The soldiers were regrouping, there were several people down, not all of them in soldiers' uniforms, and... Flame glanced towards the castle. More soldiers were now spilling out the gates and very soon they would be surrounded. Brianna yelled "Run for it!" Flame couldn't see Aidan anywhere, but there was no time to make sure he was all right. She spun and dashed away, the others running beside her. There was a large patch of forest, the Queen's preserve, not far from the castle, and in among the trees they had a better chance of losing their pursuit. The little group stayed together as they fled, with Lavasida taking the lead. He changed directions several times, and when at last they all stopped in the center of a thick grove of saplings, there was no sound of pursuit nearby, though they could hear distant shouts. "We should stay put for a bit, see if the search goes elsewhere," said Brianna, speaking softly. "Indeed," said the tall man, who seemed to be the leader of the other group. "And while we wait, I think we must talk. You... Well, you look like Brianna, but you are not." "No. My name is Brianna, but I'm not the person you know. We came here from another world," said Brianna. "Hey. Talking is all well and good, but our Brianna is missing. We need to find her." Lon, the one from this world, broke into the conversation, his voice quiet, but very intense. Flame took a moment to look around. Brianna, Belak, Lavasida, Lon, herself... Her heart sank. "Seymore and Aidan are missing too," she said. Brianna shook her head. "If they were killed they're past our help, and if they were captured we can't storm the castle by ourselves. We need to regroup and plan. And..." she put a hand on Flame's furred shoulder, "I hate to say it, but the quest is more important than they are. We can come back for them later, but Aretha doesn't have that much time left. We can't waste it." The tall man broke in. "You mention a Seymore. I'm Seymore, but I saw no double of me there." Brianna looked at him, then shrugged. "He was with us. But the Seymore we know is a goblin." His face twisted in something that might have been disgust. "A goblin? Then he's no twin to me." Brianna shrugged again. "Well, that doesn't really matter. What matters to us is our quest. We're looking for a piece of silver-blue crystal, perhaps half the size of a man, which would have appeared or fallen somewhere near here about four days past." "Then your quest may have failed already. Such a thing fell very near here, but the Tyrant has it, and getting anything out of her castle once it goes in is not an easy matter." "The Tyrant?" "Does your world not have her? The Tyrant Tara, who unjustly rules this kingdom." Brianna blinked. "There is a Tara in our world, but she is not a tyrant. Anything but, really. But tell me about this tyrant, and the crystal. What do you know?" "About the Tyrant, I know much," he said. "I have led the battle against her for many years now. About the crystal, less. It fell from the sky four days past, as you said. It landed in the farm country only few miles from here. The Tyrant ordered it taken into her castle that same day. I heard of it because we have those who seek information for us, to help us in our fight. The Tyrant deemed it important, so I thought it worth remembering. But I know nothing more of it. If you seek it, your best hope may be to come and join my fight. Looking as you do you will never get into her castle. She knows the faces of my fighters, and save for the dwarf and the cat you all bear faces that I know well." Brianna considered. "We might be able to sneak Flame in in some other form... But no, if this Tara is anywhere near as skilled as our own she will have wards against that sort of thing. And will no doubt have the crystal well guarded. But..." she looked at Syemore. "You've been fighting her for years. We don't have years. We don't even have months. We [i]must[/i] get the crystal within two months' time, not a day longer, else our world may be too far gone to save." "I have been fighting for years, yes, but something has changed. Not a week past we met a man who supports our cause and who has the power to fight against the Tyrant Dragon directly. Our cause is supported by most in this kingdom, we can raise the forces to defeat her troops, her army is not large. But it has never needed to be large, the Tyrant Dragon could decimate armies without needing soldiers. But no more. He was at our camp, discussing what we might do, when Tara's soldiers raided it, but I am certain he escaped. We are within months, perhaps even within weeks, of winning our freedom, and gaining access to that which you seek." Brianna looked at the rest of the Queen's Own. She was the leader, but she valued their opinions greatly. Lavasida said, "I think our chances are equally good with joining this frontal assault and with stealth on our own. Choose as you wish." Lon shook his head. "You know how I feel about war, but... theirs is a good cause too. If we can gain the shard and help them, then all the better. I'm for going with them." "Aye. I'm for fighting with these as well," said Belak. Flame hesitated. "I wish we could just charge in right now. I... I don't even know if Aidan is alive! But that will get us nowhere." She sighed. "I am more than willing to try and break into the castle, but I suspect you're right. There are too many shape-shifters in the world for her to have left herself open to such. So yes, I say join them." "Well, it seems that we will be joining you," said Brianna. "Very good. Though..." he glanced from Lon to Lon. "I must admit it may get slightly confusing if you do. Brianna I assume is captured or killed, but we have Lon, and Lavasida as well with us." The two twin Lons eyed each other. There was a certain amount of curiosity in their glances. They looked very similar, but they were obviously very different in temperament and inclinations. "In any case," said Seymore, "We need to get moving. Quietly and carefully, but there are not enough soldiers to guard all paths. There is a place arranged where I can find where my followers have gone, they will not be at the site where I was captured, now that it is known to our enemies. But it is more than a day's travel away, so we must move with all possible speed." Brianna nodded. "Then let's get going." With ears open for any sound of soldiers they set off slowly and cautiously through the forest. But though they heard faint voices in the distance once, they encountered no one. Eventually they emerged, coming out in a plowed field. Seymore scanned the open land in front of them. "I see no sign of her soldiers. Perhaps they as yet search the forest. Let us reach the road. We will go more swiftly on it. And perhaps your friend the shape-shifter can take a form less noticeable and go on ahead? Then if there are any soldiers on the road we can be warned." Flame nodded. She considered possible forms, and finally, somewhat to her reluctance, settled on the shape of a large dog. She couldn't do anything much smaller than human size, and the only other large things she could think of that might be in farm country were animals that a farmer would try to catch if he saw them running loose. But dogs were not as valuable as horses or cattle or sheep. She did have to warn the group once, and they scrambled off the road and hid behind a farmhouse, whose occupants thankfully seemed to be out in the field somewhere fairly distant. They stayed there, with Flame still in canine form on watch, as a platoon of soldiers passed down the road. They eventually marched out of sight, and the seven of them continued on their way. They encountered no other soldiers, to everyone's relief. An hour or so after dark Seymore halted them at a crossroads. A rough sign indicated the way to several different towns, but Seymore wasn't interested in the battered wooden pointers. He lifted a large rock that sat at the base of the sign, and retrieved a scrap of parchment from beneath it. He nodded, and replaced the scrap under the stone. "I had hoped this would be the case. They have gathered at Radu's monastery." Brianna blinked. "Did you say Radu?" "Yes. Radu is the one I mentioned, the one who can counter the Tyrant and allow us to fight. He is a clerical mage, a war cleric, and I have never known such power as his. He said he has the wild magic, and it gives him strength beyond that of any other mage." "I see." "You know a Radu who is different?" he asked. Brianna shrugged. "I don't know him, exactly, but the calamity he caused is the reason for our quest. And," her expression turned sober and worried, "If the quest fails, our whole world may die." Seymore looked at her for a long moment, then shook his head. "The death of a whole world is not a light thing. But I cannot do aught but care for my own people more than for strangers. I will do what I can to help you, but our fight comes first." Brianna nodded. "I can say the same. We'll help your fight as much as we can, but our goal is not to defeat the Tyrant, it's simply to reach the crystal. That comes first, before even saving our own." He nodded. "Enough talk," said Lon impatiently. By his brusqueness, Flame knew that it was the Lon from this world. "Let's go." "Indeed," said Seymore. He chose a branch of the road, and set off down it briskly. They went on for several more miles, before stopping to camp. "The monastery is almost a full day's journey more. We should rest now, and continue tomorrow." They set up a simple camp. The Queen's Own had brought some supplies with them, though only the bare basics. But with a fire and a little food, they all felt better. They agreed on a watch rotation, and then all but Flame, who had taken the first watch, laid down to rest. She had reverted to her firecat form, and she sat now at the edge of the firelight and looked out into the forest. She sighed softly, sadly. Aidan's life was nothing when balanced against the whole of Aretha, she knew she would choose the same path if she had to choose it over again, and Aidan would do the same as well, but... she wished she at least knew if he was alive. If he had died... She felt tears welling up in her eyes. They had not even had three years together yet. They had no children. They'd done so few of the things they had planned and dreamed of. [i]Let him be alive,[/i] she prayed, not even quite sure who she was addressing the prayer to. [i]Just... just let him be alive.[/i] ----- Aidan woke with a horrible headache. With a groan he sat up and put a hand to the side of his head where he'd been kicked. His fingers encountered a cloth bandage. He looked around, assessing his surroundings. He was in a prison cell. Of the dank, dark, dungeon variety. He shared the cell with two others. One was the goblin Seymore. The other was Brianna. But not the Brianna he knew. This woman shared her features, and her long dark hair, but she was wearing a dress, and though her build wasn't that different, she lacked the fighter's muscles of the Brianna Aidan knew. He blinked at her for a while, trying to sort out what was going on. "Brianna?" She looked over at him. "You're awake! I was afraid you might not wake up. Some people with head injuries don't. But... do I know you?" Aidan shook his head. Then he wished he hadn't. "Ugh. No, you don't know me. But I know... well... er... I know somebody named Brianna who looks exactly like you. We came here from a different world, and I think that you and your people are alternate reality versions of my friends." "That explains it then," said Brianna. "I thought I saw Lavasida with you, and Lon, but Lon was with me, and Lavasida escaped capture back at the monastery. It was very confusing!" "Yeah." Aidan looked over at the goblin. "Seymore? You okay?" "Me is fine," said Seymore. "Only hurt a little." "Seymore?" Brianna looked confused all over again. "But Seymore isn't a goblin. He hates goblins." "Me not always goblin either. Me thinks this place is not like our home. This place is very much different. Me see Lon fight, but me know Lon not fight. Me see Brianna not fight, and me know Brianna very much fighter. And me see me..." He trailed off. "It not like our home at all." "I guess not," said Aidan. He rearranged his wings and leaned back against one stone wall. "I'm confused now..." Aidan looked over at Brianna. This other Brianna was nothing at all like the decisive leader he knew. She seemed much... softer, more timid. He smiled at her. "I'll try to explain," he said. He told her about the quest, and about the shards, and about their world. When he was done, she looked a little wide-eyed. "Your world is [i]very[/i] different. You talk about Tara as a friend, and a good person, but here..." she shivered. "They call her the Tyrant Tara. She has oppressed this country for centuries. And there are a great many of us who want to be free of her. There is a war of sorts going on. It's quiet, and mostly we work in ways that her soldiers can't counter, but we have been preparing for a real attack. We finally have an ally who will allow us to fight her directly, a clerical mage whose powers are great enough to stand against the Tyrant Dragon. We were planning our attack when her soldiers raided our camp. He and the others drove them off, but not before they'd captured Seymore, and Lon, and myself. I was worried. Seymore is our leader. Radu may be our greatest power, but without Seymore..." "Wait. You said... Radu?" "Yes." "He's a clerical mage?" "Yes." "Wow. The Radu in our world is the one who caused the whole mess we're in right now. He's a vampire, and a totally evil man. And a mage of great power, yes, but... wow. Very different." "And what about me from your world? I saw someone with you who might have been... well, I'm not sure, and I didn't expect to see myself there. But is there another version of me in your world?" "Yes," said Aidan. "She's our leader, and one of our greatest fighters as well. She's led the Queen's Own for many years." "I don't think I could do that. I hate fighting. I really do. Every time my husband goes out to battle, I always worry that he won't come back, and being in the middle of a fight myself... it's very frightening." "Heh. Yeah, it can be. I'm not really fond of it myself," said Aidan. He looked out through the bars and sighed. "Did anybody else get caught?" "I don't think so," said Brianna. "Me hear soldiers say they upset everyone else get away," said Seymore. "So we only ones." Aidan touched his bandaged head again. It hurt, but it was nothing like the pain and disorientation he'd felt when he'd been concussed before, so he assumed it wasn't that serious. "Well, if it's just us..." He looked himself over. His obvious daggers were gone, and the boot dagger too. [i]And they found the one down the back of my shirt, dang. But they missed both sets of picks, the other boot knife, and the knife in my belt.[/i] "Would you two like to get out of here?" Seymore grinned. Brianna said "Yes, of course. But how?" Aidan pulled a hidden lock pick out from the special pocket at the back of his belt. "Like this." The lock was very sturdy, but it wasn't very complex, and Aidan had it open in only a few minutes. He swung the door carefully open and peered down the hall. This part of the dungeon seemed to be empty. [i]Good. No doubt there will be guards somewhere, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.[/i] He motioned for the other two to follow, and silently crept down the hall. He was almost to the end when he heard the sounds of a door opening, voices, and footsteps. [i]Ah crap![/i] His eyes darted around, but back the way he'd come there was nothing but a dead end, and ahead the footsteps were very close. There were lots of them, three or four people at least. With nowhere else to go, he shrugged and stepped openly around the corner. He found himself face to face with Queen Tara. The features were those he knew, the expression was not. It was haughty, and hard, but almost petulant as well. The expression of somebody who is utterly self-absorbed. She was wearing flowing, fur-trimmed robes, stiff with gold thread. Three soldiers stood behind her. "Tisk. It seems somebody didn't search him well enough," she said. Then she reached out a hand and touched Aidan's chest. He flinched back from the touch, but it was too late. He felt blackness coming over him again, and he fell to the floor. ----- He awoke in the same cell, with Seymore and Brianna still with him. But this time there would be no picking the locks. He'd been stripped down to his underthings. And he had a fresh collection of aching bruises along his side. Whoever had done the stripping had apparently felt the need to kick him while he was down. Aidan sighed. "I guess we're not going anywhere now. We'll just have to hope we get rescued. Again. Some hero I am. All I ever do is end up needing to be saved." Seymore came over and put his small green hand on Aidan's knee. "It okay. Not everyone be big hero. Some people need to be little heroes, do small good things, not big." "Yeah, but I don't even manage that most of the time." "Seymore know what you say. Seymore not exactly hero either. But friends come save us, everything be all good." "I know. Flame and the others would never leave us here, they'll come for us eventually. But they're going to find the shard without us first. It's more important than we are, after all. And it's not like being without us is going to interfere, they'll probably do better without me, at least." He put his head in his hands. "I am sick of being so useless." "Aidan, Seymore have thing to tell you. Me know me sound stupid, but me no stupid. Me think smart thoughts, they just come out not smart. Is good sometimes, people not know me smart, me get underestimated. But is sometimes not good, friends forget me not stupid. But me tell you. Long time ago me no goblin, me no talk stupid. Me great warrior. You see other Lon fight? You see tall man fight? Brianna say other Seymore is leader. Me know, me see, me remember what me used to look like. Tall man is me, is other Seymore." "I don't understand," said Aidan. "You used to be human?" "Yes. Long time ago, me human. Like you human long time ago, yes?" "Yeah, I used to be human." "Me was human, was from long way away. Leave me home to see and learn. Me come to Tara and me see Prudy. You remember me Prudy? She so wonderful. Maybe not pretty like humans pretty, but she pretty to me. She pretty inside. But goblins no marry humans. And Prudy no want to lose all friends, all family. She say she no can be with me, she very sad. So me make big choice. Me say 'make me goblin so I be with Prudy.' So there big spell, make me into goblin. I give up being hero. Goblins no are heroes. But you see other me fighting? He hero. Brianna say, he leader of fight, free whole country. That kind of hero me give up being, and me lose Prudy too. She get sick, die two years ago. So now me nothing. But is okay. Me choose, me live with choice. You no hero either, but you have Flame, she pretty, love you very much, all is good. She need to save you, is okay too. Prudy do lots for me that me no do myself." He stopped and shook his head. "Me no say it very good. Me just try to say that you no need be sad for needing Flame come rescue you. You still have Flame come rescue you, so you still better off than lots." Aidan looked at the little goblin. He'd never really paid Seymore much attention. Nobody really did, except Tara. He'd assumed that the goblin was only in the Queen's Own for the same reason he'd been sent on this quest, so that they would be able to deal with goblins and gnolls and the other uncivilized races, who were seldom willing to talk to humans. He suddenly felt ashamed. Seymore was as much of a hero as any of the others. "I'm sorry, Seymore. And I'm sorry for throwing such a pity party. You're right. I've got more than a lot of people. I just wonder what I'm doing in the Queen's Own. I never seem to accomplish much." "Me know. Me not do much big good either. But me still want to help friends when me can." Aidan leaned back against the wall. "So I guess we just sit here and wait." "Maybe. Maybe we find something to do. Maybe someone come talk to us, maybe we get chance rescue selves, yes?" "Maybe." ----- Belak, who'd had the last watch, woke Flame just after sunrise. She rose and stretched. In the morning things seemed a little more hopeful. There was a good chance that Aidan had merely been captured and not killed. And this Seymore... he seemed supremely confident of the success of his cause. She just hoped that his confidence wasn't misplaced. They continued on as the road dwindled from a proper road, to a pair of wheel ruts, to a narrow track. It began to climb and Flame realized that they were moving into the lowest foothills of the Aerie Mountains. The sun had begun to descend when they reached their destination. It was a large building, but low and partially dug into the hill it sat on, so it blended in well with the forest around. There was a large open field in front of the building, and a couple of tents were pitched there. As they approached, people began spilling out of the building and tents both. Seymore strode ahead, and greeted everyone with obvious familiarity and an easy air of command. Most of the faces were those of strangers, but Flame recognized Lavasida among them. He went straight to Seymore. "Brianna?" Seymore shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't see if she was merely captured, or if she was killed. I wish I could bear better news." The look in Lavasida's eyes was one that Flame Song knew very well, because it expressed exactly what she felt when she thought of Aidan, captured or possibly killed, and beyond her rescuing. She flicked her eyes to their own Lavasida. His expression was strangely wistful, something she had never expected to see from the Dark Lord. Seymore quickly took charge of things, and in just a few minutes Flame found herself and the rest of the Queen's Own sitting down in a conference room inside the monastery, with a half dozen of Seymore's people. At the head of the table was a tall, thin, dark-haired man, with a neatly trimmed beard and mustache, wearing white cleric's robes, who introduced himself as Radu cel Stranic. Lavasida from this world stared curiously across the table at the Lavasida Flame knew, and even more curiously at Brianna. "A few explanations first," said Seymore. "Brianna? Perhaps you could explain your cause in brief?" Brianna stood. "We are strangers to this world. We come from another world that seems to be a mirror of this. A great many things are reversed here, while a great many other things seem much the same. But one thing is very different. Our world is dying. A mage of great power, the mirror of Radu," she nodded at the cleric, "But utterly evil, has cracked the world sphere. We are trying to repair it before chaos destroys everything. We lack but one piece to complete the repairs. That piece is here, in the hands of the Tyrant. So we are your allies, we need you in order to reach the crystal shard and save our world. We will fight with you, and give all we have to the breaching of the castle, but once within it the crystal will be our only concern." Radu nodded. "I came here from another world myself, so I know such exist. When I arrived, I found the people here to be very much in need of help, and so I founded my order to try and help them. I had considered trying to do more, trying to bring down the Tyrant, but while I might match her alone, I cannot fight her and her army at once." "While I have long known," said Seymore, "That if I called all those who support me in, I could more than match her army, but she herself would easily defeat us. We two had only just met, and begun to plan how together we might end the Tyrant's reign, when our camp was raided and I was captured. The plans we began then must be put into action now. For our own sakes, and for the sakes of these outworlders. I will send out word to gather all who can fight here. We can arm those who haven't arms of their own. We must take some brief time to train them, and for my lieutenants to be certain they can command those who will fight under them, but then we can march on the tower, beneath the cover of Radu's magic, and take it." Flame let her mind wander as they began to discuss the details of numbers and spells and strategies. She would do what she could in this fight, but the movement of armies was something she knew nothing about. Her own fighting skills were not particularly suited to soldiering. She would fight better alone, she felt, than with an army. She had never really fought with others at her side. Only the Queen's Own on occasion, and Aidan. Her head bowed, and she had to blink back tears Aidan... Please let him be alive, she prayed once more. When she lifted her head and looked around again she saw the mirror Lavasida looking back. She wondered what the expression on his face meant, she couldn't interpret it. Human expressions were still sometimes a mystery to her. They were so much more subtle than the language of ears and tail. When at last the meeting was finished Lavasida approached Flame. She glanced between him and the Dark Lord she had always known. They were very much alike. You might mistake one for the other at first glance, but this man's face didn't have so many hard lines. He looked like someone who smiled as often as frowned. And he smiled at her then, warmly. With a bit of curiosity and surprise Flame noted a pair of fangs and realized that he was also a vampire. [i]Although I suppose it makes sense. If he wasn't, he'd have died a long, long time ago.[/i] "You seemed sad," he said to her as they walked outside. She sighed. "I am. I'm in the same place that you're in. My Aidan... he was left behind in the confusion and I don't know if he's alive or dead. And... our quest is more important than his life. Even when we break into the castle, it won't be to rescue him, it will be to find the crystal. Only after we have it can I save him, if he yet lives." "You love him very much," said Lavasida softly. "Yes. More than anything." She looked up at him. "You love your Brianna too, don't you?" "Yes. It was... strange, and a little bit painful to see your friend who looks so much like her here. But they are nothing alike. My Brianna... she is sweet, and gentle. She supports our cause, but she could never fight. She helps in every way she can, though. She has even braved battles to pull the injured clear so the healers could care for them. She is brave, but your friend, well..." He shrugged. "I suppose it's just as well that they're different. And I would guess I'm quite different from the man with you who shares my name." "Oh yes. I don't think he's said this much to me in all the years I've known him, for one thing." They had reached the grassy field in front of the monastery. Flame sat down on the grass, and Lavasida seated himself next to her. "Though... I think he does love our Brianna, but she is married to Lon, and would never leave him. He doesn't like Lon at all, and I suspect that's why! He is a good man in his own way, but very hard. He fought against our queen, who is a good, and kind ruler, for many years. Had he won he might well have become much like your Tyrant. But he didn't. I don't know the story, they never speak of it, but they are friends now. I suspect he has changed much since those days. But I don't think you were ever like that." Lavaisda shook his head. "No. Anything but. I fought, but I fought to save and protect, not to rule." He smiled. "They started calling me the Dark Paladin. I would have made it truth, and taken clerical orders and learned the healing magics if I could have, but..." He shrugged. "I am what I am, and I can't change it. Vampires and clerics don't mix." "How did you become a vampire?" She paused for a moment and when he didn't answer right away she flicked one ear in embarrassment. "Sorry if that's too personal. I feel like talking, like finding something to keep my mind off of my husband." "No, it's not too personal," he said. "Just a long story. But we have time enough, and I need the distraction of conversation as much as you do, I think." They spoke for much of that day, and much more in the days to come. Around them men were gathering, being armed and organized and trained, but Flame was no soldier, and Lavasida wasn't one either. "I never was much for sword work. I'm fairly good with the lance, and I'll probably fight on horseback in this battle, but we have no cavalry, so there's no one for me to train. I can do more damage by myself than as just one more soldier in the ranks, so I'll be fighting on the flank of the army. There are several of us who will, who are trained but not in group combat." Flame nodded. "I'll be there too, I suspect. I could become human and take up a sword, but as you said, I'll do more damage by myself, fighting how I know best." ----- "My people are quite likely dying right now! Maybe you care nothing for them, but I do!" Flame looked up, to see Brianna storming out of the monastery. Seymore strode behind her, looking nearly as angry. "If we go now, we fail, and you will fail too! Your people will [i]all[/i] die then." Brianna spun around, and she looked like she wanted to hit him, but then she turned again and stalked off without a word. Radu came out, somewhat more sedately, and spoke soothingly to Seymore. Flame and Lavasida exchanged glances. Flame fretted and worried and wished that she could skip ahead to the day when the army would be ready to march, but she knew that the two weeks that had passed since they had finished gathering was too short of a time to train them. Even the month that Seymore had insisted on was not really enough time, but by the time a month had passed, she and her friends would have been here six weeks, and that was pushing very close to the limit that Jordanis had given them. Brianna knew that as well as she, and the frustration was obviously taking its toll on her. "I wish we could go charging in right now too," Lavasida said. "I fully intend, once the castle gate is breached, to ignore all else and find my Brianna." He looked at Flame. "Will you do the same?" She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "I can't. Brianna is right, our people may well be dying. I can't risk missing a chance to find the crystal. So I will be searching for it, not for Aidan. Though I can hope... when we find it, there is a spell to pull us all home again. I think it will work even if we're not together. If he yet lives, it may rescue him. I hope. If not... If not I will have Jordanis send me back immediately, and I will search for him myself." "If they're both prisoners, they're likely to be together," said Lavasida, with a smile. "Mayhap I will rescue him for you." Flame smiled back at him. "I couldn't help but overhear a bit." Flame looked up to see Radu standing nearby "If the spell your mage used is the type of spell I think it is, and any competent mage would use that type, then it will pull you all home. Even if he has died, it will return his body to your world." "I'm glad of that then," said Flame. "Very glad." Radu smiled, and put his hand on her furry shoulder. "Take heart. Though oft times we have wished it otherwise, Tara's soldiers are ordered to take prisoners rather than to kill if they can. She enjoys having prisoners available for her magics and for her amusement. But as frightening as those things are, they mean that there is a very good chance that both of your loves are yet alive. And we are keeping her busy enough trying to find us," he added, "That I doubt she has time for such amusements just now." "Thank you," said Flame. Radu lifted his hand and smiled down at her. "I have something else for you to take heart in as well. I think it is probably too early yet for you to have guessed, so I will share the good news with you. You're pregnant." Flame blinked. "...what?" Lavasida chuckled at her shocked expression. "I suspected it when I first saw you, but it was only a few days grown then. Now it is much further along, and having touched you I am quite sure. Clerics know these things." Flame just gaped at him. "I... I..." Then suddenly tears gathered in her eyes. "We wanted children so much... We've tried for so long. I can hardly believe this. He... I... oh gods, I wish he were here." Lavasida put his arm around Flame. She turned to him with tears dampening the fur on her cheeks. "It doesn't seem possible. After this long..." Radu sensed his presence would only be awkward, so he withdrew. "I suppose I should say congratulations," said Lavasida softly, with a smile. Flame laughed, then sniffled. "Yes, I guess so." She leaned her head against him, though she was careful not to lean too much, she was four times his weight. "I... First Fire, this sounds so awful. But... if I lose him, now I have something of him, at least." She started crying again, and Lavasida stroked her fur and comforted her, though his own heart was near breaking. He and his Brianna had no children, and they had wanted them for many years. But his nature was always to give rather than to take, and so he gave the firecat what comfort he could, and put his own troubles out of his mind. ----- At long last Syemore's people were ready. Radu kept the spell that had hidden them over the whole group as they formed up and began to march. He had said it would simply cause confusion. Anyone who saw them would be unable to tell what they were seeing, and like a dream, after a few moments they would have forgotten that they had seen anything at all. Radu rode at the front of the long column, on a blood bay mare. Next to him rode Seymore and Brianna and a handful of Seymore's people. Behind marched the newly-trained soldiers. They didn't march in step, but they did keep their formations relatively squared up. There were companies of swordsmen, companies of spearmen, and a company of archers. Behind them a small group of dwarves marched along, needing to take almost two steps to the humans' one, but not seeming to be bothered by the pace. Then another group of humans, walking in a loose cluster. These were shape-shifters and were-folk who had no weapons skills, but were willing to fight in their animal forms. Bringing up the rear were a few dozen horsemen. Human nobles and elven knights, they were not quite enough to call cavalry, but still enough that it would be felt when they charged. Flame Song probably should have walked with the shifters, but instead she walked with the horsemen, pacing by Lavasida's side in firecat form. Horses were sometimes spooked by her, but the war-trained animals that Lavasida and his fellows rode didn't flinch. It had taken only two days to reach the monastery from the castle, but at the slower pace the army kept the return trip would take nearly four. It was late autumn, so many of the fields they passed were empty and barren, the harvest already past. They camped each night in such fields, and in the morning the puzzled farmers couldn't quite recall how things had gotten so trampled down. On the second day they encountered a patrol of the Tyrant's soldiers. There was a brief skirmish, but they were hopelessly outnumbered, and none of them escaped. On the fourth day they reached the great road that ran north to south, largely following the course of the Halcon River. A few miles further on they left farmlands and entered the forest around the castle. They were almost there, and Radu rode now with his eyes closed, all his effort going to keeping up the spell that hid them. The Tyrant Dragon had cast spells on these woods meant to counter any approach by stealth, and Radu was having to fight against them now. They reached a junction, where a narrower road turned towards the river. They turned onto it, and a few hundred yards later they came out of the forest and into the broad cleared meadow that surrounded the castle. As they left the trees Radu's spell broke at last, and there were shouts of alarm from the castle walls. The marching soldiers spread out into their battle order, spearmen in the center, swordsmen to both sides, with the mounted fighters on the far right flank and the shape-shifters on the far left. Flame stayed still with Lavasida and the horsemen. The archers formed up behind the other fighters, bows at ready. The aerians stayed in ranks with the foot soldiers for now, not willing to take to the sky yet when the Tyrant Dragon might appear at any moment. Soldiers spilled out of the castle and formed up facing the attackers. Flame grinned. When the last of them emerged, the block of red uniforms was perhaps a third the size of the army that faced them. They might be better trained, but they served the Tyrant largely because she paid them to. Their courage went only as far as the size of their salaries, and though far less practiced, Seymore's soldiers were utterly dedicated to their cause. Then there was a roaring, shrieking cry, and her grin faded. From the castle courtyard a long neck rose up, and a broad golden head crowed with a pair of twisted horns regarded the attackers over the wall. With a sound like thunder the Tyrant Dragon took to the sky, circling above the gathered armies. All the horses started dancing nervously, except for Radu's mare, who stood rock steady. The dragon wheeled over them, and then stooped, diving down on the attackers. As she swooped over them she breathed out a long stream of fire. Quite a few of the soldiers ducked, but they didn't need to. As the dragon dove, Radu simply raised one hand. The fire stopped as if it had hit a wall that arched over the army. With a shriek the dragon dived again, this time aiming to hit the troops with her massive claws as she passed, but she suddenly faltered and nearly fell from the sky as a beam of pure white light lanced out from Radu's hands, piercing one of her wings. "Forget the dragon," shouted Syemore. He spurred his horse to the front of the lines and waved to his lieutenants. One of them sounded a horn and the soldiers began to move forward. The Tyrant's troops stayed where they were. The land sloped upwards from the field to the castle, which sat on a low rise. At the base of the rise the road forked, and one branch curved around the hill to vanish behind the castle. It led another mile on, to where a small town sat on the banks of the river. Seymore's soldiers advanced across the field, ignoring the road, and began to climb up the hill. The archers fired off a volley of arrows that buzzed through the air, and the first of the red-clad soldiers fell. There was a return volley, but it was much smaller. The Tyrant did not field many archers. Lavasida and the other horsemen fell back, letting the foot soldiers get ahead of them, then with a cry he spurred his horse forward into a full charge, and the rest followed. They arced around and hit the flank of the defending army only seconds after the front ranks of the foot soldiers closed with their opponents. Flame was immediately engulfed in chaos. While the main troops were in an orderly line of battle, here on the fringes the fighters intermingled, and she quickly found herself nearly surrounded. She stuck close to Lavasida's horse, and the pair of them watched each other's backs as they fought. He had lost his lance in the first charge and was now hacking at the attackers with a long sword. His horse was doing as much damage as he, the trained animal rearing and kicking. Flame's claws flew and her muzzle was soon stained red. She was dimly aware of the ongoing battle overhead, the wheeling dragon trying to get at her tiny attacker as Radu fending her off again and again. The battle seemed to go on and on, a whirl of shouting and dust and blood, but suddenly there was a deafening shriek from overhead. The dragon, her wings tattered and torn, broke off and vanished down into the castle courtyard. There was a shout of triumph from the attackers. With their queen defeated and their numbers dwindling, only minutes later the defenders broke. Some retreated into the castle, but the gates closed swiftly, and most streamed around the castle walls, heading for the forest or for the town beyond. Another cheer went up from Seymore's army and they surged forward to the castle gates. Radu's horse raced through the ranks, somehow managing to nimbly pick her way amid the soldiers, and he reached the gate first. With a word and a gesture he shattered the heavy wooden doors and tore the portcullis loose to lie on the courtyard stones. Fighting started up again as the soldiers still within the castle tried to fend off the attackers who streamed in. But Flame had no care for that, her goal was not to kill soldiers. She needed to find the shard. She glanced at Lavasida. He gave her a nod and turned his horse toward where she knew the prison cells lay. The castle was familiar to her, the layout very nearly identical to the castle she knew. So she raced to where the treasury should be. The Dark Lord was there just ahead of her. He was no equal to Radu, but he had some small skill with magic, and with a few words he had the door to the treasury open. But inside there was no sign of the crystal. "Where else would she keep it?" "If she really values it, it may be in the throne room, or in her personal chambers," said Lavasida. Flame nodded and they threaded their way through deserted corridors. All the castle's inhabitants were either hiding, or had run out to join the fighting in the courtyard. The throne room was likewise deserted, and there was no sign of the crystal there either. Flame led the way across the room to where a narrow staircase, hidden behind the dais, climbed up to the queen's personal chambers. The large, high-ceilinged room with its opulent furnishings was empty also, but sitting against the far wall was the crystal. Flame ran forward, with Lavasida close on her heels. And suddenly she was brought to an abrupt halt, frozen in mid-leap and utterly unable to move. She blinked, the only motion she could manage, and suddenly could see that the room was not empty after all. Brianna stood only a few feet away, likewise frozen in place, with Belak at her side. And in the center of the room stood Tara, watching her trapped prisoners with an amused smile. ----- Aidan couldn't scratch the days into the wall of the cell, it was solid stone and he didn't have any tools to mark it with. But he knew a great many of them had passed. It had been more than a week. More than a month even. He knew that his friends wouldn't forget him, Flame Song certainly wouldn't! But he started to worry. He hadn't seen how the fight had ended. What if the others were dead? And even if they lived, what if something else had happened to them? Jordanis's two month deadline couldn't be far away. Why hadn't they completed their quest, found the crystal? Jordanis had said that touching the crystal would pull them all home. Surely that meant that he and Seymore would be pulled home as well? But they were still here, which meant the crystal remained undiscovered. Something had gone wrong, but he didn't know what. And he was frustratingly unable to do anything about it. The three of them were given food and water, but that was the only contact they had with anyone else. Nobody came for them. They were just left in their cell. Sometimes the three of them passed the time with conversation, but mostly they were silent. Brianna fretted over her husband and her friends, Syemore kept his thoughts to himself as he almost always did, and Aidan brooded. He turned the past over and over in his mind. In his current state of depression it seemed that everything he'd ever done had been futile, useless. If he died or simply ceased to exist, the kingdom and the Queen's Own wouldn't even notice. Only Flame Song would miss him. The more time passed the more his depression and his fear grew. Brianna tried to reassure him, but her assurances that Seymore would soon take the castle fell flat. "Soon" might well be months away, and by then it would be too late for his world. But one day, after it seemed like he had been in the cell for an eternity, he heard faint distant shouts, and what sounded like the clash of weapons. Then there was shouting from much closer, and the sound of the dungeon door being thrown open. A brief flurry of steel on steel was followed by a cry and a thud, and then Lavasida came around the corner into the hallway. He had a bloodstained sword in one hand, and the keys to the cells in the other. "Lavasida!" Brianna reached out through the bars. "Brianna, love! You're alive! One moment, I'll have you out." He fitted a key to the lock, and door swung open. Brianna darted out and flung her arms around Lavasida. He hugged her back, hard, and Aidan was quite certain that this was Brianna's husband, and not the Dark Lord that he knew. He got to his feet and left the cell, with Syemore close on his heels. "You must be Aidan," Lavasida said. "Your wife is going to be very happy to find that you're alive!" "Where is she?" "Looking for your crystal. She said were it not for that she would have come after you first, but that it was more important than anything else." "She's right," said Aidan with a nod. "And I should start looking too." The four of them exited the dungeon. Aidan stopped to take the sword that belonged to the dead guard. It felt long and awkward in his hand, but it was better than nothing. The dungeon stairs let out in a corridor near the center of the main hall. "I'll leave you here," said Lavasida. "If I don't see Flame again before you all return to your world, tell her goodbye for me." He took Brianna's hand and headed for the door that would lead out into the courtyard. With no better idea of where to look, Aidan turned to go to the throne room. A few roughly dressed soldiers came the other way, and gave him some curious glances. He probably looked a sight, still in his underthings, running through the castle with sword in hand, and with a goblin following behind him. But he didn't look like one of Tara's soldiers, so they moved on, leaving him to search the throne room unharmed. There was no sign of the crystal there, and no sign of any of the Queen's Own either. So he took the stairs up to Tara's room, though he thought it quite possible that one of the others had been and gone already, and the crystal was hidden in some less likely place. But when he topped the stairs he saw it there, simply sitting at the far end of the room. He paused, then moved forward slowly. Something wasn't right... And then he was frozen in place, held by Tara's spell. She laughed, appearing suddenly in the center of the room, and he saw the others of the Queen's Own around him. He tried to fight, but he couldn't move, couldn't even turn his head. "How interesting." Tara walked around the frozen group, her face set in a smirking smile. "I knew the crystal I found came from another world, but I had not expected that it would be a world much like my own. And yet here you are. I can tell that you are outworlders, but you look much like the people of Seymore's little rebellion. Our worlds must be very, very close. I wonder..." She circled them again. "It seems I am at last to be ousted here. I had thought to go elsewhere in this world, but perhaps I might have better luck in your world. I sense the magic hanging around you all. I think I can use it to take myself to your world, and leave you here. Wouldn't that be amusing?" Brianna spoke. "If you go to our world without the crystal, you'll die. It's being destroyed by chaos. If the crystal isn't returned soon so that the breach can be repaired, then everything there will die." Tara stopped in front of Brianna and smiled darkly at her. "How sad. But you would let me go, if I took your crystal with? You wouldn't oppose me?" "Yes." "Amazing. But no, I don't think I will. I think I'll just kill you all now and go south as I had originally planned. The idea of causing the destruction of an entire world amuses me." As Brianna and Tara spoke, Aidan noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Flame Song was only a few yards away from him, suspended in mid leap by Tara's spell. She was slightly to the side of the Tyrant Dragon and not in her direct line of sight. And she wasn't simply hanging there. The faint blur of shape-shifting was moving over her. It grew and faded, grew and faded, and Aidan could sense the effort Flame was making, struggling to shift shape in spite of her enforced immobility. Suddenly the blurring grew stronger and then Flame was human and in motion. She tumbled forward and rolled nimbly, coming to her feet with her belt dagger drawn and keeping her momentum as she dived at Tara. It nearly worked, but the dagger was a small weapon, and Flame wasn't an expert knife fighter. She hit the Tyrant, and the knife dug into her, but only a glancing blow, drawing a long red line along her side. Tara snarled, her superior smirk vanishing behind a mask of pure rage. With a lightning-quick motion she grabbed Flame by the throat. And as she did so, her own form shimmered and twisted, and now she was holding Flame Song with a golden-scaled, clawed hand. She had not taken the form of a full dragon, she wouldn't have fit in the room as such, but in half dragon shape she was perhaps twice the size of a human. "Clever little cat," she hissed. "But not clever enough. And since I am going to kill you all, you've won the privilege of going first." Aidan had fought to move before, but not he struggled with every ounce of strength he had. But it was in vain, the spell held him in a grip stronger than steel. He couldn't even turn his head away as Tara dug her long claws into Flame's neck and then tore them out in a spray of blood. Flame dropped to the floor, and Aidan stopped his futile battle. It was too late. In that instant the room suddenly flashed into pure white light, blinding Aidan and the others. The spell holding him dissolved and he stumbled forward from the momentum he'd had before being frozen. He blinked bright sparkles from his eyes for a second, then dropped his borrowed sword and dashed to his wife's side, heedless of all else. She lay sprawled in a growing pool of blood, but her heart was still beating. Aidan pressed his hand against the deep gash in her neck, trying to slow the blood flow. He heard a shout, and a series of shrieks behind him, and then an explosion rocked the room. Before the ringing in his ears had even cleared somebody dropped down to his knees next to Aidan. He didn't recognize the thin, dark-haired man, but he recognized the white robes the man wore, and he felt hope suddenly springing up again in his heart. The cleric put his hand over Aidan's, and Aidan felt a strange sort of warmth there. The blood flow from Flame stopped, the gash under Aidan's hand closed, and a moment later Flame opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Aidan. You're alive." He voice was a little bit shaky. "Flame Song." Aidan was almost in tears. "I thought you were going to die!" She moved to sit up, and he helped her. She looked up at the cleric with a smile. "Thank you Radu." He smiled back. "I couldn't have done anything else. Though I'd best make sure..." He knelt again by her side and placed his hand over her stomach. "Ah, good." His smile was a little broader now. "The baby is fine." Aidan gaped. "Baby?" "Yes. I'm pregnant." Flame suddenly laughed and hugged him. He hugged her back hard, hardly daring to believe that it could be true. When they both pulled back a moment later, Aidan looked over to see Brianna standing next to the crystal. In front of her a limp, golden-scaled form sprawled in the center of the room. "We shouldn't delay any longer," said Brianna. "Thank you, Radu, for all your help. Our world owes its existence to you." "And I owe you my life," said Flame softly. "If I can ever repay you..." Radu shook his head. "I need no repayment." "Maybe not, but we owe you all the same," said Aidan. "Let's go," said Brianna. She took a step closer and put her hand on the crystal. Aidan and Flame clung to each other as the disorientation of portal travel swept over them. When reality felt stable again they found themselves no longer on the floor of the castle room, but in the courtyard, sitting on the grass. There was no sign here of the battle that had raged in that other world, but the courtyard no longer looked quite as it had. There were patches of grass that seemed to be oddly shaped and colored, and in a few places the castle walls seemed to have been breached, where the stones had, no doubt, turned into some less durable substance. Aidan helped Flame to her feet. Jordanis came running out of the Tower, and directed a small horde of servants in taking the crystal in. Aidan heard him saying that the spell to repair the sphere would be cast within the hour. Aidan simply stood, with Flame leaning on him. They had done it. They had done it, but... He looked over at his wife, at the drying blood that still streaked her shirt. But the cost had nearly been more than he could bear paying. ----- "You wanted to speak with me?" Tara sat in her library, a book in her hand. Aidan came in, closing the door behind him. "Yes your Majesty." "Please, just call me Tara," she said. "Surely you know me well enough by now to leave off the 'majesties.'" Aidan smiled, and took a chair next to her. Though her face bore the same features as the woman who had come so close to murdering his wife, she couldn't have been more different. She was gentle, and unassuming, and seemed much more at home here in her library than she ever did seated on her throne. "Tara, then." "What did you want to discuss, Aidan?" He rearranged his wings, feeling a little bit nervous. He hoped that she wouldn't take what he had to say the wrong way. "I... We, that is Flame and I, we want to leave the Queen's Own." "I see." She looked at him. "Why?" "Because... well, because of a lot of things. For me, because I haven't been much use. I've been rescued more often than I've actually contributed. I don't really feel like I belong in the Queen's Own. I'm just a thief, I'm not a hero." "Aidan," she put her hand over his, "You don't have to be a hero to be in my Queen's Own. You just have to be wiling to help." He sighed. "I guess. And if that were all, I might stay, but..." His eyes looked haunted as he remembered seeing Flame fall, remembered being certain she was dead. "Flame came very close to dying. Too close. And you've probably heard... she's pregnant, and we've wanted a child so much, for so long. What if she had lost the baby because of that? And what if she'd died and I'd lost them both? I can't face that any more. And I can't risk my own life, and leave my child fatherless and Flame alone. I just... can't." "Oh Aidan...." She squeezed his hand warmly. "You know it pains me to ask you all to risk yourselves, but somebody has to, for the good of all my people. But I understand. You've served me for nearly three years, and Flame for many years before that. You've given very generously of yourselves to my people. You have done more than most people ever do, and I can't possibly begrudge you the chance to raise a family in peace. If that's what you want, then go with my blessing." Aidan relaxed. He had worried that she might be offended, or might try to convince him to stay. "Thank you." "And Aidan?" He looked up and she was smiling at him, her brown eyes warm and caring. "Once you're part of the Queen's Own, you are always part of it. I am happy to let you retire, but I still consider you one of my special friends. If you ever have need of me, or of the others, you have only to ask. We take care of each other, always." "Thank you Tara," he said softly, and smiled back.