Brayson focused his attention on his new Mystic Learner. "George, I hope you understand the responsibility that comes with power."

"I do, Master Id." George hated the way the word 'Master' sounded as it left his tongue. He thought to himself, It won't be long before you're calling me Master, you piece of garesh. He filed the thought in the back of his mind.

Map of the Area Around the City of Inspiration After a moment, George queried, "So what else can you show us?"

Once again, Brayson adjusted the window to redirect the group's attention. "Allow me to show you the finest city on Western Luvelles."

Brayson moved his hand, and the window on the east side of the room zoomed in across the world. "Now, you can see the city of my youngest brother." The window zoomed in further with another roll of his hand. "Gregory calls his city Inspiration. It's entirely made of gla.s.s. The gla.s.s has been magically altered and protected from damage. It has also been fashioned with an array of color to offer the people privacy, but more importantly, the colors give depth to the structures. We wouldn't want the inhabitants running into clear walls, now would we?"

Athena giggled, "I suppose not. That would be terrible." She put her hand to her chin. "Your brother's city doesn't look like gla.s.s. It looks normal. But it is beautiful ... very beautiful." She hesitated. "Would I be allowed to visit there?"

"Of course. Your whole family can, if you'd like. And I a.s.sure you, it is made of gla.s.s."

Nodding, Athena changed the subject. "Speaking of my family, and I hate to be rude, but where are we to live?"

Brayson smiled. "You're a woman who gets to the point. Come." The Head Master walked to one of the other windows and waved his hand. "Do you see the island north of the one the Merchant Angels left you on?"

"I do," Athena replied, with George looking over her shoulder.

"This is my island." Again, he waved his hand and the window zoomed in on its northern sh.o.r.e. "If you look closely, you'll see that I've prepared a number of homes for your family's needs."

Athena gave Brayson a hug. "Thank you, Master Id. My family will be very happy there, I'm sure."

"I'm glad you like them. Please, call me Brayson."

George rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window.

Kepler hid his smile, but he enjoyed every moment of George's irritation.

Brayson moved to the center of the room. "In the morning, I'll take your family there. This is where you'll stay until your husband's training is complete.

The Head Master turned to George. "Few have had the privilege of training under my tutelage. If you hadn't come so highly recommended, you would not have been given this privilege. I'll see you bright and early, before Early Bailem." He turned to Athena. "Make sure George has a full belly and a pack full of food. These rations will need to last for a number of Peaks. You won't be seeing much of your husband for the near future. Let's hope he won't miss anything important."

Athena responded. "I'm fine with that ... as long as he's there when I need him for the baby."

"I wouldn't worry. I'll keep an eye on you and help if anything unexpected happens."

George tried to interject. "Why can't-"

Before the mage could finish, Brayson waved his hand. The next thing the group knew, they were standing on the ground outside the school, without Brayson.

"d.a.m.n it!" George snapped. "This guy is going to drive me nuts."

Athena slapped George on the arm. "Stop being so foul, honey." She turned, winked at Kepler and then started walking. "Let's go, boys."

The giant cat was forced to hobble because of his wounds. "At least the bleeding has stopped. He could have given me something to ease the pain."

"Are you alright?" George queried.

"Yes." The demon grinned. "I'm just glad I left blood on his floor. I hope the stain is a constant reminder of the moments he spent in the presence of the Master of the Hunt."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah," George mocked. "You're a stud. You sure taught him a lesson. The stain on his d.a.m.n floor serves the chump right. I hope that's just the beginning of the damage."

Athena slapped George on the arm again. "George Nailer, I said stop acting foul."

"Yes, dear."

After walking a bit, Kepler thoughts drifted back to the book the Head Master had opened. "George ... I know I knew that elf inside that book. He was familiar to me."

George shook his head. "You sound just like Sam did when I arrived on Grayham. I'll tell you what I wanted to tell him. Just forget about it."

Kepler growled. Since the topic of conversation was going to go nowhere, he changed it. "Why does Brayson think Amar visited him? How could he have done this when you-"

George cut the jaguar off. "Kep, buddy ... perhaps we could save this conversation for later. I'm sure you'll agree that it's something we could chat about on some other Peak."

The demon understood and dropped the subject.

"You boys sure know how to keep a secret," Athena said, poking George playfully as she walked beside him. "Perhaps you should allow me in on some of your boy talk."

George looked at Kepler and then back at Athena. "Nope! I think we'll just leave it as guy stuff."

Athena's brow furrowed.

Meanwhile, Western Luvelles Shade Hollow "Payne! ... Payne! The moments have come," the Mischievous One announced after appearing inside a large cave filled with bats. Icy-blue stalact.i.tes hung from the ceiling above a deep pool of fresh water. Despite this particular spot being hidden deep within the ground, light had managed to find its way to the pool. It reflected off its surface and shimmered against the walls of the cave.

Payne, on the other hand, was not a bat. He was a fairy-demon-the only fairy-demon in existence. Each moment a bat approached his meal, the demon s.n.a.t.c.hed it up, bit its head off, and then he spit it to the ground.

"Go away! Eating," Payne growled, not knowing the being standing in front of him was a "so-called" G.o.d.

The Mischievous One ignored the fairy-demon's dismissal. "Payne, the human I told you about is on Luvelles. Are you ready to find new friends? I know how important this is to you. You do want to have friends, right?"

Payne's red face lifted with his mouth full of shredded throat that had been ripped from a female elf he had found lying face down in the woods and brought to his cave. "You want Payne go now?" The fairy-demon's bottom lip curled. "I want eat ... because ... because ... um ... it took forever."

"What took forever, Payne?"

"For her to be ... uh ... uh, the right heat. Yeah, the right heat. Payne eat now. She gooder now. Won't taste gooder again. Gotta eat."

"Are you saying that her temperature is just right, and she won't taste as good if you eat her later?"

"Yeah. You leave. Payne eat."

Lasidious smiled inside and took a deep breath. Payne was important, and he was too young to argue with. He needed to be patient with the fairy-demon. "By all means, continue. I would hate to ruin your meal. I can wait a while longer."

"Don't watch. Payne don't like that."

Lasidious moved to stand next to the pool. "I'll just wait over here."

Now, fellow soul ... let me tell you a little about Payne. The birth of Payne was a successful manipulation, or better yet, a suggestion planted by Lasidious into the mind of Payne's father just over four seasons ago.

The fairy-demon was solid red from head to toe. His mother, Sharvesa, a carver demon, was the Queen of Demons on the world of Dragonia. For the most part, Payne took after his mother when it came to his looks. Tiny horns rested on his forehead. Claw-like hands, both razor-sharp, served him well when hunting, and he had a whip-like tail that ended in a fine point.

The fairy-demon also had many of Sharvesa's natural abilities, yet Payne was an outcast. He was unable to live amongst the other demons of pure blood-thanks to his father. Payne's white wings served as a constant reminder to Sharvesa's subjects that he was an abomination.

To satisfy a desire placed in his mind by Lasidious, Defondel, the Fairy King of Western Luvelles, set out on a quest to create a new race of fairies. After arriving on the demon queen's world, Defondel sought out Sharvesa. He used his magic to cast a powerful spell on the Demon Queen, and while Payne's mother lay in slumber, Defondel took advantage of her. The fairy's four-inch frame disappeared as he crawled inside her. It did not take long, but when the fairy king slid out into the open and landed on the cave floor, Payne's mother was pregnant.

The demon world would have killed Payne if it had not been for his mother's decision to send him to Western Luvelles to be raised by his father-a decision she made only after the queen's request to visit Luvelles was denied. Sharvesa's anger toward Defondel was evident when she spoke with the Head Master. Brayson had turned her down because he believed vengeance was her sole reason for her presence on his world.

In order to cause the fairy king discomfort and spare herself the agony of ending a shunned child, Sharvesa sent Payne with the Merchant Angels to live with his father. This decision-one also manipulated by Lasidious-was a welcomed suggestion, and it was acted upon immediately by the Head Master. The choice avoided Payne's sure destruction, but Sharvesa never stopped wishing that her subjects would one Peak allow her to bring him home. Though Sharvesa's subjects were loyal, they could not handle the constant reminder of the rape that sp.a.w.ned Payne's existence.

The fairy-demon's small body, compliments of his father, functioned without imperfection. Although only a pace tall, Payne looked like a miniature bodybuilder with wings, and he possessed the agility of a gazelle. He kept his budding horns sharp. The youthfulness of his face reminded Defondel of a red demon-cherub.

At first, Payne was accepted by the fairy king's people. But because of his differences, he was misunderstood. His demon half loved mischief. Before being separated from his father's kind, there were many occasions when Payne flew around the fairy kingdom dusting the army with their own magical powders that he stole from the fairy armory. He would sit back and laugh at the intoxicating effects the dust had. The sight of male fairies kissing one another in a drunken state never seemed to get old.

Payne was warned by the council that such acts were not welcomed. The fairy council explained that the safety of all fairies was in jeopardy when the army was unable to perform its duties. Finally, at two and one half seasons old, Payne was asked to leave the Fairy King's island and live in a cave that sat at the center of Shade Hollow. He lived one full season of his life alone and learned to fend for himself.

Since Payne's natural immunities were many, the magic of the fairy army was not strong enough to force him out. King Defondel was left with no choice but to uphold the council's wishes and begged his son to accept a life of solitude. Payne's heart was crushed, but he obeyed his father and left the Fairy Kingdom without incident. This solitary existence was something Lasidious had hoped would happen when he began plotting the fairy-demon's creation.

Fellow soul ... there's much for you to learn about Payne, but I have done enough telling. Allow me to show you the rest of who he is.

"Have you considered my proposal?" Lasidious inquired after giving the fairy-demon the moments to eat.

"Yep."

"Then, what have you decided?"

"Payne don't know. Seems okay. Payne don't know."

The G.o.d rolled his eyes. "Why are you hesitating?"

Payne ripped into the belly of the female elf. After a moment, he pulled out a handful of her intestines-his favorite part. He cleared away the fat and began to eat. Lasidious turned up his nose in disgust. He never imagined the manipulation of Payne's birth would turn out to be so repulsive.

"Listen to me, Payne. If you want to get out of this cave, it would be wise for you to befriend this human."

"'Befriend?' What that mean?"

Lasidious took a deep breath. He had to remind himself who he was dealing with. "It means to become his friend."

"So say that, that ... um ... that way then."

"Payne, focus. You're getting sidetracked."

"Fine! Ebbish nay! You say them big words ... not Payne."

"Payne, listen to me. Try to focus. This human will be seeking power. If you're at his side, those who hurt you will have no choice but to bow down to you."

The fairy-demon growled as if confused. "Don't need bowing. Payne like fun. Payne want friends." He fumbled to keep the last of the intestinal delicacy from running down his chin as he continued. "Ummmm ... the human, the human get Payne?"

"No. If you want to travel with him, you'll need to seek him out in Floren. You can find this man at Kebble's Kettle. It's the only inn in that village."

"What 'inn' mean?"

Lasidious rolled his eyes again. "It's a place where people pay to sleep. Many people stay there, and they can eat there, too."

"Eat! Payne like to eat. Why not sleep on ground? What 'pay' mean?"

"They pay coin to sleep because most humans don't like to sleep on the ground!"

"What 'coin' mean?"

"You'll see what many things are, including coin, as you travel with this human. You can ask this human questions."

"The human feed Payne?"

"Yes, he'll feed you ... but not elves. This has to be your decision. Only you can decide if you want to go. But if you want friends, I would find this man. His name is George, and he travels with a large, black cat named Kepler. I would imagine you'll find Kepler to be helpful in learning the ways of your mother. Kepler is also demon. Perhaps, with training, you can become powerful ... strong enough to go back to your mother's world and punish those who forced her to send you away."

"Payne no angry. Payne make them like Payne. Do you think ... um ... they like Payne a bunch?"

"Of course they would, but you need to travel with this human first."

"The human sound gooder for Payne, so Payne do this? How ... um ... how Payne to make friends with human?"

"He will befriend you if you listen. Have I ever lied to you? I've been your friend for over a season. Don't you trust me?"

"Ummm ... yes."

"Good. Then I want you to tell this human that you've been sent to be his goswig."

"What a 'goswig?'"

Lasidious took another deep breath. "A goswig is a creature who a.s.sists his master and does whatever its master asks. Goswigs come in all shapes and sizes. Some have natural and magical abilities, much like you. It's an honor to be a goswig. Few beings are chosen to be one."

"Honor? What 'honor?'"

"It's a good thing. It means you're special."

"But Payne want friend. Does Payne gots to be goswig? Does Payne gots to do stuff he says for Payne to be friend to human?"

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. But this is the only way for you to meet friends. This human will accept you no matter what happens, no matter what you do."

"All Payne do ... is um ... what do Payne say again?"

"Pay attention, or you'll mess this up. And stop talking about yourself in third person. You sound ridiculous."

"What 'third person' mean?"

"Never mind that. Just tell this human that you've been sent to be his goswig. Okay?"

"Okay ... goswig ... got it. And Payne gotta do what he say. Got it. You promise him be Payne's friend?"