"What do you mean by 'sometimes?'"

"Goodness-gracious, I did it again. I just keep doing it, don't I?"

Kiayasis shrugged. "Apparently. Please explain."

"I know you burn the dead to celebrate their pa.s.sing, but where I'm from, a cemetery is a place where we bury the bodies of the people who have pa.s.sed. We put them in the ground and then cover them with dirt."

"Why would you do that? Doesn't this dishonor the deceased? I did not know Grayham's customs were so different from our own."

"I'm not from Grayham. The place I'm from was called Earth. Many of us had a belief that a person's body would rise again when our G.o.d returned to collect his faithful. We laid the expired facing east so that when they rose, the first thing they would see was our Lord's face as he came for us. Now, I can only imagine what that would've been like."

Kiayasis lowered his dagger to the ground. "I'm not familiar with your Earth. Do you still possess your beliefs?"

"No. My beliefs have been lost to me. I had faith once ... a strong faith ... or at least as strong as it could be, considering my upbringing."

"What do you mean by 'upbringing?'"

"I mean how I was raised. The problem is, after coming to these worlds and seeing the things I've seen, I'm not so sure that I believe in much of anything any longer. I find it impossible to believe in G.o.ds who are so flawed, so imperfect, so opposite of the concept of the G.o.d I once believed in. A G.o.d is supposed to be perfect. In my mind, they should be all-knowing, a figurehead worth praising. I suppose I think that it's all a big crock of garesh now."

Kiayasis shook his head in disappointment. "Then you haven't served the one true G.o.d. Hosseff is powerful and all-knowing ... just as you said a G.o.d should be. He possesses power beyond our comprehension, and you'd be wise to serve him."

Shalee laughed.

Kiayasis lifted his eyes to the sky, worried that Hosseff would strike her down. The dark paladin questioned, "Why do you find my statements humorous?"

After a moment, Shalee calmed herself. "I'm sorry... Perhaps it's a good idea that we change the subject. I don't want to offend you."

"Fair enough," the dark paladin responded. "I feel the same. Why don't you tell me why you left this Earth of yours?"

Shalee looked at the entrance to the swamp, and again, her mind began to wander.

"Shalee, I asked you a question. Shalee ... Shalee. Where's your mind?" Kiayasis waved his hand in front of the queen's face. "I'm over here."

Shalee struggled to pull her eyes away from the fog. "It just hangs there ... threatening to suck me in." A chill ran down the queen's spine before she forced herself to find Kiayasis' gaze. "I'm sorry. It just looks so evil."

Kiayasis tossed another log onto the fire. "I wouldn't worry about it. The swamp always looks angry. I would be more worried about what's inside it if I was you. I would go in with you, but my orders are to allow you to go in alone. I can't go any farther."

Shalee scowled. "Was that your way of trying to cheer me up? How could someone be so cute and so ignorant all during the same moments?"

Kiayasis smiled. "You're right. I wasn't thinking. Let's talk of other things. Tell me why you left your Earth."

"I left because I had no choice. I was-"

Kiayasis interrupted. "We always have a choice. Choices are what make us who we are. Choices give us character."

"Yeah, right! If only that were the case. You think that you know, but you don't. We don't always have a choice."

Again, Kiayasis stopped her. "I disagree. I recently had a choice to make ... one of the most difficult in my life. I think you'll like what I have to tell you."

Kiayasis was about to tell Shalee that he was going to leave his father's army for her, but the queen cut him off. "You don't even know what a hard choice is," Shalee exclaimed. "Everything was taken from me. Everything! And no ... we don't always have a choice in what happens to us. Things get forced down our doggone throats. Don't go playing all self-righteous on me like you have all the answers."

Kiayasis tilted his head, confused. "I'm not playing anything."

"Hmph! Men! Just forget about it. Like I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me ... I had no choice." She c.o.c.ked her head. "I was taken from my home by the G.o.ds. Did you hear that, Mr. Smarty Pants? I said ... the G.o.ds. They gave me no choice in the matter."

Kiayasis crossed his arms. "I'm sorry. Please continue. I'd like to hear how the G.o.ds did this."

"Ohhhh ... so you would like that, would you? I bet you'd love to hear about my pain. Do you enjoy other peoples' misery, Kiayasis?"

"That's not what I meant. I'll just be quiet."

"Good! That would be the best thing for you to do right now."

After a long, awkward moment of silence, Shalee continued. "Talking about this just makes me mad. I was stolen from my home. h.e.l.l ... all of us were stolen from our homes. I was put on Grayham with Sam ... and a jerk named George. Sam and I were asked to do so many horrible things. I still have nightmares because of them. I've killed so much ... and so has Sam. Life here has been stressful for us. I would've never chosen to leave my family and neither would Sam ... no matter what we were offered. I never wanted to be put in a position where I had to kill anyone. I can only imagine how Sam must have felt."

Shalee lifted her hands to cover her mouth. "Oh, my goodness-gracious! How Sam must feel." Shalee lowered her eyes and stared at the hot coals feeding the fire. A tear rolled down her cheek.

Seeing Shalee's distress, Kiayasis moved to sit beside her. He lifted his arm to put it around her. "It'll be okay."

Shalee pulled away and stood to escape Kiayasis' embrace. "What am I doing? How could I be so selfish ... so foolish?"

"What are you talking about? You're not being selfish or foolish."

Shalee looked toward the mountains. "I haven't been fair to Sam."

Kiayasis' heart sunk. He could feel Shalee's love pulling away. "Stop this. You said it yourself. Your king treats you poorly. You have only done what was right for-"

"Right for who?" Shalee argued. "Is this truly what's right for me?"

"Of course, this is what's right for you. It's what's right for us. I've decided to leave my father's army for you. My father's army isn't the best way to begin a life together. I can build us a home. I love you."

Shalee shook her head and moved further away. "No, Kiayasis! Don't say that." Tears ran freely down her face. Her voice trembled. "Sam ... oh my heavens, Sam has done nothing wrong. I've betrayed him. How could I be so awful ... so selfish? This isn't how a queen should act ... or a wife for that matter. How can I lead others if I can't even lead myself? How can I expect Sam to love me if I don't love him the way I promised?"

Kiayasis moved to Shalee, grabbed her by the arms and then turned her to face him. "You won't need to lead others. This is about you and me. We can build a life together. Besides, you said your king loathes you. You said he doesn't love you. You even said he looks at you as a failure."

"I know what I said!" Shalee snapped, pulling free of the dark paladin's grip. "He never actually said any of that. I was insecure. I went crazy for a bit. This is all my fault."

Shalee shoved past Kiayasis and walked to her bag. She put on a pair of pants, hiked them up beneath her dress and then retrieved her sweater. She began walking in the direction opposite of the swamp.

Kiayasis pursued and grabbed her by the arm. With a yank, he forced her to face him. "What about me?"

Shalee's eyes filled with a fire that Kiayasis had never seen. She looked down at her arm. "If you know what's best for you, you'll remove that hand."

Kiayasis quickly released his grip.

Shalee continued to speak as she rubbed away the pain. "Weren't you listening? How can there be an us? I need to think! I need to be left alone so that I can collect my thoughts!"

The dark warrior exploded. "Leave you alone? You have said things that you can't take back! You've allowed me to hold you in my arms! I respected your boundaries! You can't tell a man you love him and then just walk away! What kind of a woman does that?"

Shalee lifted a finger and held it in front of Kiayasis' face and then rocked it back and forth. "Why don't you tell me what kind of a woman does that? I've already done it once. I left Sam, and I told him I loved him during many moments. But you were okay with that, weren't you?"

Shalee extended her hand toward the campsite. Precious lifted from the side of her bag and flew across the distance into her palm. She tapped the head of the staff on Kiayasis' chest as it started to rain. "Let me tell you something. Do you want to know what Sam said to me before I left? His final words were: 'I'll always love you, no matter what, no matter how hard it is to do.'"

Shalee wiped a raindrop off the end of her nose. So tell me, Kiayasis, do you think Sam could've been anymore loving? I'm wrong for doing what I've done."

Kiayasis stood in silence. Shalee could see that he was at a loss for words. She continued. "This problem you and I are having is self-created. I was too self-absorbed. I felt guilty for losing the child Sam gave me, and now ... I've thrown everything away ... and for what? I-"

Kiayasis shouted. "Go ahead! Say it! You'd be throwing away your life for someone like me! You don't think I'm good enough!"

Shalee took a step back and matched the strength of Kiayasis' voice. "It's not that you're not good enough, Kiayasis ... you're just not Sam!"

Seeing the look on Kiayasis' face, Shalee realized how harsh her words had sounded. The queen sighed, "Look ... this is all my fault. If I wouldn't have been so lost in self pity, I would've never-"

"You would've never what, Shalee? You would've never cared for me? You would've never said the things you did? How should I react to your betrayal?"

"I don't know! But what I do know is this ... we can't continue this ... this ... this whatever it is. It's wrong. It betrays both of us, and we both know it."

Kiayasis fell to his knees and grabbed the top of his head. He squeezed his hair inside his fists.

Seeing his pain, Shalee moved to stand over the dark paladin. She put her left hand on his right shoulder and tried to speak in her softest voice. "Listen to me, Kiayasis. If things were different, I believe we could've been a wonderful couple. I do love you ... tremendously, in fact ... but I need to go home once I'm finished here. I need to beg Sam for forgiveness."

Kiayasis mumbled something under his breath.

"What? I didn't understand you," Shalee responded. "Kiayasis, please don't make this any harder than it has to be. What did you say? Come on ... let's not be like this with one another."

With a swift motion, the dark paladin grasped the Knife of Spirits from his hip and slashed-opening a severe gash across the queen's stomach. He then jumped to his feet, grabbed Shalee by the back of her head and head-b.u.t.ted the queen across her nose. With his left hand full of Shalee's blonde hair, Kiayasis slugged Shalee in the gut and then released her.

Bleeding profusely, Shalee doubled over and left herself vulnerable.

Kiayasis reared back and kicked. The top of his boot landed flush against Shalee's bosom. The force of the impact lifted the Queen of Brandor off the ground and threw her to her back.

After watching his new enemy slide to a stop, Kiayasis rushed to stand over the queen and waited for her to regain consciousness. The dark warrior smirked as Shalee opened her eyes and then struggled to raise her b.l.o.o.d.y hand to evoke the power to stop her a.s.sailant. But her magic failed.

The dark paladin shouted, "You made this decision easy for me! You're a fool! You should've never refused me!"

The sorceress tried to scoot away, but the pain stopped her. The agony was unbearable. Again, the queen extended her arm, and again, her magic would not respond.

Kiayasis taunted his prey. "Oh ... your magic has abandoned you!" The dark paladin looked toward the forest and nodded his head in its direction. "Run. There's no fun in ending you without sport."

Shalee pushed against the wound to ease the pain. "Why?" she cried. "Why would you do this?"

"You're a temptress. I would've expected the game you've played from a wench, not a queen. You've hurt me deeper than any other. There are consequences for toying with my heart. I'm going to string your bowels through the trees and leave you hanging by your ankles. I'll sit in satisfaction as the animals feast on your flesh." Kiayasis stepped forward, leaned over and hissed, "I suggest you RUN!"

Kiayasis turned and walked toward the campfire. He wiped Shalee's blood from the Knife of Spirits onto his golden shirt, sheathed the blade and then sat on the boulder. He s.n.a.t.c.hed his bone-handled dagger off the ground, took a deep breath and then resumed sharpening it with methodical strokes.

Shalee struggled to stand. Not only did her face throb because of her broken nose, but she had to hunch over to keep the wound across her abdomen from ripping further. Her white pants were absorbing much of the blood as it ran down her legs, but soon her pants would be saturated and useless.

The queen tried to use her magic to cauterize the wound, but the power failed to flow through her being. She had no choice. Somehow, she had to run.

Kiayasis' eyes followed Shalee as she hobbled toward the forest. He threw his dagger across the fire and watched it penetrate one of the logs he had collected the night before. He reached into his bag and removed the mirror Boyafed had given him. He placed the mirror flat on his knee and then bashed his fist against its surface. Lifting the mirror in front of his face, he spoke to his shattered image. "You'll have your way, Father. Praise Hosseff."

CHAPTER 17.

Traitor The Void Maze The Source's Temple KEPLER WAS SOUND ASLEEP when George woke in the field just outside the Source's temple, and Payne was the first to see the color of George's eyes. The fairy-demon quickly flew over and held up a piece of werebear that George had killed more than a Peak and a half earlier.

"Master hungry? Payne cook it like Kitty say. It meat."

Kepler opened his eyes and rolled his head over the top of his shoulder. "Well look at who's awake? How are you feeling?"

George took a moment to gather his thoughts. He pushed back against Kepler and stretched. "I feel like I've been hit by a train."

"What 'train' mean?" Payne questioned as he plopped down on George's lap.

"Don't start, Freak," Kepler growled. "Get off him."

"Fine ... ebbish nay." The fairy-demon pouted.

George rolled to his feet. He reached down and took the piece of meat out of Payne's claw and then took a bite. "I'm starving. I could eat a horse. Thanks for the pillow, Kep."

Kepler rose and stretched. As he did, Payne's eyes followed the tip of the cat's tail, and then he licked his lips.

Kepler snarled, "Don't get any ideas, Freak." The cat pulled his focus off of Payne and turned it toward George. "We should get going."

George nodded. "Okay, but how long was I asleep?"

Kepler yawned. "Not nearly long enough."

The mage laughed. "Always the jokester, but I do feel rested."

"Good. I'm tired of lying around, so let's go."

Meanwhile, the Village of Gogswayne Gage removed the harness that Strongbear had provided all the goswigs to tie off for safety. The lake was quickly taking shape, and in certain spots, it was deep enough that a fall would be catastrophic. As it turned out, the harnesses proved to be useful. One of them saved a boar from falling to his end since he did not possess magic strong enough to teleport.

As Gage dropped his harness to the ground, he grimaced. The badger was covered with dirt. The removal of earth necessary to create the lake was a monumental task, and it was wearing on the patience of every goswig. Not only that, but Gage was tired of hearing the brown bear shout his favorite phrase, "So are you with me ... or are you against me?" The badger was now against Strongbear.

Gage had been working with Gallrum at his side, along with many of the other goswigs, and the moment had come for a break. Gage climbed to the top of a large boulder and plopped down beside a bucket filled with food. He brushed aside the colorful cloth that Strongbear had placed over the top of it and then reached inside. The bear had provided every goswig with a lunch pail that was filled with their favorite flavors. After a few bites of cooked corgan, Gage lifted his head and motioned for Gallrum to join him.

The serwin's wings flapped rapidly as he made his way over to the rock. Once he had lowered into a coiled position, Gallrum spoke as he reached into his bucket to retrieve a bowl of fresh quaggle. "I can't be sure, but I think every scale on my body hurts." He lifted the bowl to his mouth. A long, thin, snake-like tongue shot out and scooped up one of the eyes to pull it in. "Would you like some?" he mumbled while he chewed.

The badger turned up his nose. "I'd rather not."

"Okay, but you don't know what you're missing."