Pausing only long enough to catch her breath, Yssa attempted another leap. She was certain that the Gryphon would be behind her at any moment. At the very least, he would not be pleased with her destination. The Dagora Forest was no place for anyone now.

No one except her.

Her second leap took her to a place where she could glimpse the ruins of the kingdom of Mito Pica. Ravaged more than two decades ago by the forces of the previous Dragon Emperor, it was a ghost that refused to be forgotten. Yssa had leaped to its vicinity only because she knew that the Gryphon would not think to immediately look here. His hesitation was all she needed. One more leap and she would be too far away for him to follow after. The king had far more pressing matters than hunting a recalcitrant young woman down simply so that he could turn her over to the safekeeping of his queen.

Her next jump took her near the Manor. As she rested briefly against a tree, the enchantress saw that Yureel's spell still held. The opaque sh.e.l.l still loomed over the Manor grounds. Yssa thought about trying to contact Cabe Bedlam, but realized there was nothing she could do except tell him that she had informed the Gryphon of their plight. The stress of making contact, however, would force her to rest even longer before attempting yet another leap toward her father's domain and she desperately wanted to reach the caverns as soon as possible. More and more Yssa began fearing for her sire. With Yureel to guide him, Lanith had to be making terrible inroads through the forest. Her father needed her help.

After several minutes, the enchantress decided that she was ready for the next jump. Fully rested, Yssa would have been able to make the remainder of the journey on this attempt, but she knew that it would now take her at least one more afterward. At least after this one, she would be well into the familiar forest.

Once again, Yssa summoned power. It was still somewhat of a strain, but not enough to make her think of pausing. Yssa materialized exactly where she intended, a small clearing many miles southeast of her father's caverns. It had been a favorite spot of hers when she had been growing up and one she had now and then returned to even when at odds with him.

Standing in the very center of the clearing, a weary Yssa spread her arms and looked up into the sky. It was very tempting to remain here for a time, absorbing the tranquillity of the place, but she could not. She could only relax long enough to build up her strength. The power might be drawn mostly from the world around her, but her own will and power were required as well. Yssa did not have the capacity that Aurim Bedlam did. He had leaped from one end of the continent to the other . . . such ability was astonishing.

Just a few minutes . . . that's all . . . just a few minutes . . . "Well, it took some time, but I knew eventually you'd return to your special place, darling,"

Yssa whirled, unable to believe she had heard the voice. She had been careless, not thinking that another knew this place.

Exhaustion overwhelmed her. Yssa tried to remain on her feet, but the gra.s.s looked so inviting and her head felt so heavy. A part of the enchantress's mind screamed at her to defy the exhaustion, see it for the spell it was, but the rest of her was all too eager to rest. She fell to her knees.

Saress's voice floated above her. "That's right, Yssa, dear. Just relax. About time you got here; I'm supposed to be watching Lanith's kingdom for him, not .hunting you down, but he seemed suddenly interested in you. Something to do with the shadow horse, I think."

Fight . . . it . . . Yssa slumped to the ground, barely able to concentrate, much less fight the spell. Had she not been so weary from jumping from location to location, Yssa was certain that she would have sensed the other woman's presence here, no matter how well shielded Saress might have been.

That did not matter now, though. Nothing mattered. Nothing but . . . sleep.

"Rest easy, Yssa. The long chase is finally over, but there's more to come for you. Much more."

"I cannot permit you to harm him, Your Majesty! There has to be another way!"

"If one would presssent itself, demon sssteed, then I would welcome it! Failing that, however, I mussst turn to the few options I have. There isss more at stake here. My so-called brethren have left me to my own devices. My young emperor will sssupply me with sssome aid, but it will be too little too late, as is whatever Blue might provide me! Now you've alssso come to tell me that the Bedlamsss are prisssoners, which leavesss me no other road upon which to travel-"

"Then help me free the Bedlams! You have all of this acc.u.mulated knowledge and power-"

"None of which I can ssspecifically make use of for your dilemma. I do not have the time to research the ssspell that Aurim and the shadow creature used to imprison them. Ssspeak to the Gryphon, if you will. I've heard preciousss little from him, demon sssteed, ssso I daresay he might have the time I do not!" The Green Dragon turned from him. "We have nothing further to discuss."

Darkhorse grew furious. "I will not be so easily dismissed, Your Majesty!"

"I think you will have to be. I have my kingdom to sssave and thisss will require doing sssomething I'd rather you did not sssee."

Darkhorse moved toward him, but before he could reach the Dragon King, the shadow steed suddenly found himself outside the caverns. Angry at the drake's disregard, Darkhorse started for the entrance, then recalled the trap. He did not want to get caught in the drake's web again.

I have to do something, though! The eternal regretted his coming here; the Dragon King's decision had only made the situation more volatile. By revealing the truth about Yureel to the drake, Darkhorse had actually endangered the younger Bedlam's life further. Aurim was possessed. He was not responsible for what he was doing and yet it appeared he would have to pay regardless.

The eternal was still contemplating his next move when he thought he sensed Yssa. It hardly seemed likely considering that she had to be in Penacles, but Darkhorse had already learned the hard way that it was best not to ignore such things. He turned around, trying to locate her. Perhaps Yssa had decided to return to her father the moment she had finished relaying the Bedlams' fates to the Gryphon.

He did not sense the young enchantress, but he did sense something else, something not at all welcome in the forest. They were fairly well veiled from sorcerer's sight, but Darkhorse still succeeded in sensing brief flashes of their presence. Soldiers . . . and not those loyal to the Green Dragon.

Focusing on their locations, Darkhorse transported himself. It was too coincidental that he would sense both Yssa and the enemy in the same area.

He arrived at the edge of a small clearing and had no trouble spotting those he sought. There were three of them, three tall, blond, armored warriors. One had her sword out and her attention on the forest around them while the two males prepared to lift up a still form on the gra.s.s. Even with the warriors' bodies blocking much of his view, he could tell that the form was Yssa's.

"What have we here? Trespa.s.sing?"

The warriors turned together, the two males pulling free their weapons. They were well trained and would have been a formidable sight to anyone other than him. One of the males joined the female in an advance toward the shadow steed. The third remained with their prey.

"I give you one warning, mortals! I am Darkhorse! Your blades will not do me any harm. You only condemn yourselves if you choose to attack rather than surrender."

They paid him no mind. Either they were fiercely loyal to the will of Lanith or they were also puppets of Yureel. Whichever was the case, they left Darkhorse no option but to battle them. He could neither allow them to kidnap the woman nor remain unhindered in the Green Dragon's domain. If they had made it this far, it was possible that there were others.

Without warning, the two warriors advancing vanished from both his sight and his magical senses.

"Now this is an interesting trick!" Darkhorse held his ground. "My compliments to the creator of your protective spells! Nonetheless, my demand still stands. Surrender or suffer the consequences!"

He heard the swish of the blade just before it struck him. Despite his bravado, the eternal could not help tensing when the invisible weapon cut into him. Fortunately, while the warriors' defensive spell was an effective ploy, their swords were still very mundane. The blade pa.s.sed through his chest and out again with barely a ripple to mark its pa.s.sing.

Laughing, Darkhorse took one long step toward the invisible pair. The shadow steed was not certain of their exact locations, but he was fairly certain that both of them jumped back when he moved forward. The third warrior remained visible, his expression anything but happy. He did not flee, however.

Darkhorse took another step forward. This resulted in another attack from one of the invisible warriors. The sword thrust was aimed for the eternal's throat. Darkhorse felt the blade penetrate, then sink deep. However, this time he did not allow the warrior to free his or her weapon. Instead, the shadow steed pulled the weapon in, trying to move quickly enough that its wielder would have no opportunity to let go. The ploy failed, though, his attacker too frightened to try to hold on. It was probably the only thing that saved the warrior from a terrible fate.

However, the second of the invisible warriors chose that moment to try to leap on the shadow steed. Darkhorse felt the weight of the man-at least he thought it was the man-as the latter landed on his back. Darkhorse snorted. Without the bridle and saddle, he now had full control of his form.

He never saw the hapless warrior, only heard his scream as his seating grew nonexistent and he fell into the shadow steed. The scream continued on for several seconds, sounding fainter and fainter, as if the man continued to fall. The one visible soldier paled and started to back away from Yssa. The other, once more visible, quickly joined her companion.

Laughing, Darkhorse trotted toward them. The two moved a few paces behind the still woman, then held their ground. He hardly cared what they did now, his first concern being for the enchantress. If they had severely injured her, then they would have good reason to fear him.

Still she did not move. Darkhorse sought out her mind, but met resistance. He tried to check her condition, but ran against the same wall. Someone had bespelled her; that was the only answer.

The warriors watched but did not interfere as he moved close enough to touch her. With one last condescending glance at the pair, Darkhorse used a hoof to gently nudge Yssa's side.

Yssa shattered, the fragments flying into the shadow steed's face. Each fragment exploded as it struck him, not only disorienting the eternal, but momentarily blinding him. It did no good to back away from the shower; the pieces of the false image followed Darkhorse wherever he went.

"Quickly now!" called a voice he recognized as that of Saress. "Take her before he can recover! The Lords of the Dead take him! He wasn't supposed to be here!"

"Yet here I am, Saress!" Darkhorse roared, shaking his head back and forth in a futile attempt to disperse the determined pieces. "And in another moment you will learn to regret that circ.u.mstance has led me here!"

"In another moment, demon, we'll be far from here!"

Even as she finished, Darkhorse sensed her cast a spell. He tried one of his own and managed to slow if not stop the distracting shower. The fragments continued to pelt the eternal, but now at least he could see some of what was happening around him.

What Darkhorse saw was Saress, clad in her twisted version of the traditional garb of a warrior of Zuu, opening a blink hole wide enough for her two remaining underlings and their prize, the true Yssa. The sinister enchantress noticed him focus on her and nearly lost control of her spell. She recalled herself at the last moment and smiled at her adversary.

"Good-bye, demon!" She waited until the others had gone through, then, with a last wave, stepped inside.

A second later another hole opened up only a few feet from where the first had been. From it emerged the warriors, their captive, and Saress, still smiling. Her smile vanished when she saw where the hole had brought her.

"What in the-"

"Welcome back, Saress!" Darkhorse chuckled, dispersing the last of the fragments. "Did you think I would let yet another escape me so? I am not disoriented now, female! Release your captive and I may allow you to live."

Her expression turned to one of dismay. Darkhorse did not add that he had been fortunate to turn her spell around. Had he been forced to try a second time, it would have been just as likely that he would have failed. Luck was at last on his side.

"You think I am to be caught unaware this time, witch? Release Yssa and surrender!"

Saress made the warriors stand aside. Her eyes narrowed as she walked slowly but defiantly toward the eternal. "You think you've won, do you? You think I'm defenssseless, do you?"

The enchantress opened her mouth . . . and roared. Suddenly she began to grow, swelling larger than a bull, then larger still. Her skin changed, becoming dusky brown, and her limbs twisted. Wings burst from her back, wings that soon spread the length of the clearing and beyond. The hulking form nearly filled the clearing.

There were few of the drake clan Brown still remaining and at first Darkhorse thought that he was seeing one of them. It slowly registered, however, that had she been a female drake, he would have recognized her as such even in human form. No, Saress was much more. Small wonder that at one time she had reminded him of Yssa. Saress, too, was a half-breed, albeit of a different clan.

The revelation was so unexpected that he was not quite certain what to make of it. Saress used his surprise to her advantage, seizing Yssa from her stunned companions, who fled immediately after. This was not a secret the enchantress would have shared with many, especially her beloved monarch. Lanith tolerated her sorcery because it served his purposes well, but from what Darkhorse knew of him, the king would probably have been less than delighted to discover that he had been bedding a being half draconian. Like most of the horse people, he believed in the purity of the human race. To him, drakes, although they had once been masters of Zuu, were little more than animals.

Wings flapping, the dragon rose into the air. Near the earth, Darkhorse was swifter and stronger, but in the air dragons still held sway. Darkhorse could follow, but so high in the sky catching a dragon was difficult, if not impossible. Despite that, the shadow steed immediately leaped after her, the abandoned warriors no longer a concern. Without Saress, they would soon fall into the hands of the Green Dragon's servants. The only thing that concerned him was rescuing Saress's captive.

Darkhorse raced higher and higher, his hooves already touching the treetops. Unfortunately, Saress was already a distant form ahead of him. Whether her transformation had been planned or an act of desperation, she stood a good chance of escaping him. Even for a dragon, the half-breed sorceress was swift.

He found himself wondering how well the two women knew one another. Perhaps their similar backgrounds had drawn them to one another at one time. While rarely on excellent terms with their counterparts, the Dragon Kings did meet with one another. Perhaps that was when the two half- breeds had first met. Judging by her strength, Saress was very likely one of the Brown Dragon's offspring or at least the offspring of one of the royal line.

This may be why Yssa spent so much time in the Barren Lands! To Saress, the re-formed domain would be death. The gra.s.s would take her.

Saress continued to climb higher and higher, which made Darkhorse's journey more difficult. He had limits as to how high he could fly and those limits were far less than that of a dragon. If she rose much higher, he might lose sight of her.

The speed with which she fled westward continued to impress him. Darkhorse soared over acre after acre of forest and yet gained little ground on his adversary. Saress was a huge but slim beast, perfectly designed to sweep across the heavens. Seldom had he seen a swifter drake.

Then . . . the landscape ahead altered in an alarming manner. Gone in many areas was the proud forest. Broken and burnt, the trees lay scattered in all directions. Smoke still drifted upward. Darkhorse could vaguely make out many tiny forms moving eastward, obviously the hors.e.m.e.n of Zuu and their counterparts on foot. There seemed to be a large area where the movement paused, which the shadow steed suspected had to be where the Green Dragon's warriors had finally met the invaders. The battle line resembled a madly twisted serpent, one that was unfortunately being forced east in most places.

Sorcery was also in use below, although Darkhorse could not say in what manner. Judging by how strong the trace was even at this height, some tremendous spells had been cast in the past few hours. Lanith, or perhaps Yureel, was pushing the Magical Order to its utmost. At this rate, it was very likely some of the weaker sorcerers might perish from exhaustion before the forest realm was taken, but if that meant a swift victory over the Green Dragon, the risk was no doubt worth it to the horse king and his secret ally.

So much devastation, so much chaos just for your personal entertainment, Yureel! Darkhorse turned his eyes from the earth, realizing that the distraction had enabled Saress to increase the distance between them. She seemed to be heading beyond the battlefield, most likely to Zuu. If she thought returning to Lanith's kingdom would save her from him, then she was sorely remiss.

A hole in the sky opened up ahead of the fleeing dragon.

Darkhorse cursed, picking up his pace as best he could. He had not thought that Saress would have had enough strength left to perform this feat of sorcery. If he pushed hard, though, the eternal was certain that he could reach her before she made it through.

A second hole opened directly before him. Darkhorse could neither turn nor stop in time to avoid it.

The other end opened up in a room, although what the eternal saw of it was only a flash of stone and what was possibly fire. He flew across the chamber, no more able to halt himself than he had over the Serkadian, and struck a wall reinforced by strong sorcery. Unable to shatter it or pa.s.s through, Darkhorse ricocheted off and rebounded across the chamber, crashing against the opposite side, which proved also to be reinforced. Each collision was also accompanied by a sharp jolt through his body, yet one more treat no doubt prepared for him by Yureel. Again and again, he careened against the walls, too stunned already to halt his mad flight.

By the time Darkhorse struck the floor several seconds later, he barely had the strength to even suffer the agony caused by the final jolt.

Unconsciousness prevailed. Darkhorse vaguely noted a pa.s.sage of time, but how much was beyond his limited senses. He tried to gather his wits, yet every time something pushed him back toward the darkness.

What stirred him at last was a sound so terrible, the shadow steed wanted to return to his oblivion. It was a giggle. Yureel's giggle.

"A little late and a little sloppy, but all things have worked out for the best, don't you think, my dear boy?"

"Yes, Yureel," responded Aurim from nearby.

Darkhorse slowly recovered. His gaze, when he could at last focus, fixed on the source of the giggle. The shadow steed's malicious counterpart floated about four feet above the floor. Darkhorse tried to leap at him, but something held him fast. He could neither reshape himself nor cast a successful spell. Once again he sensed Aurim Bedlam's work in this.

"I hope you'll forgive the long wait, my brother, my self! It was hard to draw myself away from the delicious tableau I've been so busily concocting. I think dear Lanith can make do for now, though, even without his prize sorcerer or his oh-somajestic steed. The drake's warriors are admirable fighters, but their defeat is inevitable, isn't it, my brother, my self? Their first lines have already been routed."

The shadow steed was startled. Routed? How long was I unconscious?

Yureel must have noticed something, for he added, "Didn't you know? Of course not! How could you, having been trapped here for more than half a day!"

Half a day? It seemed impossible, another of the shadow puppet's grand lies, but. . . Darkhorse believed him this time. Half a day . . . How much destruction and death had occurred? What had happened with the Bedlams? He doubted that they had escaped yet. Yureel would not have been nearly so gleeful if they had.

The tiny figure clapped his hands. "Aaah, there is so much I could tell you about present and future events, Darkhorse, but it would be rather pointless now, wouldn't it? Poor, poor Lanith will be so disappointed, but I think the crushing of his former liege will a.s.suage him! Besides, you made for a most unruly steed, you know!" Yureel giggled. "And a very sloppy one at the moment. You really should learn to hold up better."

Darkhorse glanced quickly around the chamber. The three of them were the only ones in the place.

"This is a private discussion." Yureel's tone was no longer merry and the change chilled Darkhorse. "My grand majesty has his little war to keep him occupied. As for the female creature who has accompanied you of late, she is for the moment enjoying a reunion with the king's Saress. They are two very intriguing beings I have yet to incorporate properly into my wonderful epic, but be sure that I will soon! They both seem fond of the lad here; I think there might be something in that. Poor Saress, though, will be so disappointed when she finds that she can't keep this Yssa. They've played quite the game of cat and mouse for years, I understand."

"Saress does not know of you, does she, Yureel?"

"She will in good time. That time is not yet now. She was useful, however, although I'm sure that she's still wondering what became of you. It was very fortuitous that she chose this time to bring you to me." By his tone, it had been more than fortuitous. The malevolent figurine drifted even nearer. "You've no idea how I missed you, my brother, my self. It was as if a piece of me had gone away . . . but that is the case, isn't it? Well, I've decided that the time's come for us to be together. No more games, no more epics, just the two of us together."

The two of us together. He could not mean what Darkhorse thought he meant. It had to be the shadow steed's overwrought imagination.

Yureel shifted closer until he was only a foot from his captive. "I should correct myself, of course. The two of us together . . . making only one."

It was true, then. He meant to reabsorb Darkhorse. Yureel intended to swallow him, make everything that the ebony stallion had been his own-and Darkhorse could think of no way to stop him. The old fear reared its horrific head, making it nearly impossible for the shadow steed to think, yet he had to or he would perish. If Yureel absorbed him, there would be nothing left.

"I so look forward to this, Darkhorse! You've lived an epic yourself, a story I could only dream of during my so lonely, so lengthy internment-"

"A sentence of your own making, Yureel! A kind punishment, considering your atrocities!"

"Kind? Kind?" For the first time, the shadow puppet nearly lost complete control. "Better would it have been if they had destroyed me! Do you understand at all my isolation, my loss? I'd intended to let you learn about helplessness a little at the erstwhile hands of Lanith, but the mortal was clumsy. Well, my brother, my self, a lesson lost is one best not remembered at all. I will just have to satisfy myself with living off of your memories." He glanced back at Aurim. "I shall begin. Be ready."

Aurim nodded, his expression blank. "Yes, Yureel."

"You're a grand, good boy." Yureel faced his prisoner again, but now his form shifted, seeming to melt. At the same time he expanded, growing more and more to encompa.s.s an area as great as that which Darkhorse filled. With each pa.s.sing second, the differences between the pair lessened until even Darkhorse would have been hard-pressed to find them.

"Perhaps I'll create another self at some point when I become bored. Perhaps that one will be more manageable than you were, Darkhorse."

The shadow steed struggled, but Aurim held him fast. There was no sign of recognition in his steady gaze. Darkhorse could expect no help from that quarter.

The black, floating ma.s.s that was Yureel reached out-and touched Darkhorse.

The eternal felt as if needles had pierced every part of him. Darkhorse roared as Yureel began to flow over him, then quivered as his foul twin intruded into his mind. Darkhorse tried to pull away, but could not. Slowly but surely, the monster began to absorb his essence.

No! I am Darkhorse! I am my own creature! I am distinct from Yureel!

We are one that has been separated far too long, brother, returned the intruder. The separation is now at an end. Struggle if you will, but it will not even delay what is inevitable . . .

He was right. Darkhorse could see that. Despite his defiance, despite his strong will, he was nothing to Yureel so long as Aurim held him in place.

"Aurim! Hear me! Break his hold! Your will is powerful! He cannot hold you and still do this!"