Kepler lifted his nose in the air and sniffed. "What are we here for?"

George pointed to one of the trees. "Take us under that branch."

The cat did as he was instructed.

George reached up and plucked a single piece of fruit. It was shaped like a pear. He placed it inside his tunic and then reached up to pluck another one. "These should come in handy. Let's get out of here."

"What are they?" the jaguar queried.

George smiled. "They're life." Before another word could be said, the trio vanished and after a fair series of moments, they reappeared outside the gates of Brandor and entered following a brief conversation with the guards.

Kepler held his head high as he walked through the city toward the castle. The people who were unfamiliar with the demon and the prophet moved to the far side of the street as they approached. It did not take long before someone recognized George. The man's belly was round, he was hunched over and looked weathered for his seasons. His hair was long, and it was pulled back into a ponytail. The rancher called out as he hobbled toward them, "Wait! Prophet! Prophet! Please stop!"

George commanded Kepler to stop. The warlock smiled as he leaned over to converse with the old man. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you come to bless us? My herds have become too fat after the bounteous harvest, and I no longer have the strength to move them from field to field."

George reminded himself that he needed to play the part of a giving being. "What's your name, sir?"

"My name is Modain, Prophet. What must I do to solicit our lord's a.s.sistance?"

George lifted his staff. "All you need do is ask. You are a child of Lasidious. Stand still, Modain, and receive your blessing." The warlock placed the gem at the top of his staff against the rancher's forehead and whispered, "Psolema ente ne wano, orsay." The gem began to glow, and after a short series of moments, its light enveloped Modain.

Kepler was forced to close his eyes and look away. When the light finally dissipated, the jaguar found that he was standing amidst a crowd.

George's magic had produced a dramatic effect on Modain. The rancher's appearance was significantly altered. His seasons had melted away, and he no longer looked old. Further, the way Modain was now standing suggested that his youthful vigor had also returned.

The prophet spoke. "When you return to your pastures, you will have the strength to tend to your herds properly. I caution you, Modain, do not waste this gift. You must also share the words of your lord: peace, love and unity."

The crowd shouted praises as they closed in. Sensing the need for more generosity, the prophet showered them with Yaloom coins and proclaimed that they were loved.

Kepler was enjoying the attention, right up to the moment when the children began to touch him, pulling at his fur, and shouting out their calls of "Kitty! Kitty! Mommy, look, it's a pretty kitty!" Despite his hatred for this kind of attention, the demon-cat allowed the children their enjoyment. For vengeance, the jaguar lowered his head and licked their faces with a ma.s.sive, extra-s...o...b..ry tongue, pushing them to the ground.

With some children giggling and others crying, the prophet led the crowd toward the castle. As they approached, the gate opened. Sam and Shalee were waiting on the other side.

George waved. "Hey guys! I've got something I want to share with you." With the gate shutting behind them, George showered the crowd again with more Yaloom coins.

Sam could only stare as he watched Kepler approach. Shalee had told the king of Kepler's new appearance, but he had not been able to imagine how distinguished the demon would look until now.

The king shook off his surprise. "I'm glad you're here, George. I have a million questions." Sam took note that George was carrying a baby. "Who do you have with you?"

Kepler stopped and lowered to the ground so the warlock to dismount. Once his feet were planted on the cobblestones of the courtyard, George pulled the baby's blanket clear of Joshua's face. "I wasn't sure if I should bring him or not, considering everything you guys have gone through. I wanted you to meet my son, Joshua. He's the main reason I decided to make a fresh start. If you want me to take him home, I can come back without him."

Shalee was quick to respond. "Don't be silly. Life has to move on, right? Besides, Sam and I would love to share this moment with you." The queen reached out and took the baby into her arms. "Goodness-gracious, Sam, look at him. His hair is so soft, and he's cute as a b.u.t.ton."

George stood next to Sam. "I know you're wary, but I wanted to share my happiness. I hate the fact I acted like a jack-a.s.s."

Sam frowned. "It's what you do best, George. I expect nothing less from you."

George grinned. "I kind of figured you'd say something like that. So ... to show you that I'm sincere about patching things up, I brought you guys a gift. I'd be willing to wager my life on it that this will fix things between us for the long haul."

Sam looked George in the eyes. He was unsure where to go with the conversation. His contempt for George, and Kepler for that matter, was still at the forefront of his mind. Eventually, the king responded. "I doubt there's anything you could do or say to ever ease my mind. You're always up to something, so get to the point of why you're here."

Rather than respond, George patted Sam on the back and moved to stand beside Shalee. "He's adorable, isn't he?"

Sam spoke over Shalee's response. "You're stalling. Do you have something to say, or did you come here to rub your kid in our faces?"

George sighed, and then he reached inside his tunic. He removed a piece of the fruit he had plucked from the tree on Ancients Sovereign and tossed it to Sam.

The king caught the fruit and looked it over. "You brought me a pear? What do you want me to do with this?"

George looked up and found Sam's eyes. "I think the best name for what your holding would be...," The warlock threw up his hands as he sang the name of the fruit, "NASHA!"

The looks on Sam and Shalee's faces were priceless as George enjoyed their surprise. The warlock took Joshua away from Shalee, and he moved next to Kepler. He placed the baby in a cloth and then reached up to tie its ends to Kepler's saddle. To ensure the knots would not come loose, George used his magic to bind the cloth. He made sure the baby was cradled comfortably before he eased Joshua into a hanging position and then propped a bottle up in his mouth.

George circled to the front of the demon. "Keep an eye on him for me, Kep. I'll be back."

The jaguar grunted. "Great ... babysitting again. I refuse to lick the garesh from his backside though."

George chuckled. "I'll have one of the guards change him."

A moment later, the gate lifted and Michael, Sam's General Absolute, entered the courtyard riding his mist mare.

Recognizing his king's visitor, the general dismounted and rushed to the prophet's side. "My daughter's health has returned, Prophet. Thank you. Lasidious be praised."

With the king still studying the nasha, George responded. "You're welcome, Michael. Know that Lasidious will always want the best for your family. Please have your men stand guard, and come with me. I've brought something for your king and queen that I think you should see for yourself. This will be the happiest Peak this kingdom has seen in many seasons, and the celebration we're going to have will be one to remember."

After the warlock ensured one of the general's men was on diaper patrol, George patted Kepler on the neck and then led the group into the kitchen of the castle. As requested, Chef Thomas produced a ceramic mug and placed it on the counter. The warlock used his magic to squeeze the juice out of the nasha and allowed it to flow into the mug until the last drop had fallen.

The warlock lifted the mug and announced, "This juice will be what allows us to party tonight."

Michael looked at George. "How will fruit juice bring any joy to this kingdom?"

Shalee lifted her hand. "Just shush, Michael. What are we supposed to do next, George?"

The warlock looked up at the king. "Where's your son's body?"

The king motioned for the group to follow him. He was so nervous that his legs felt weak as he guided the group to the crypt. A mausoleum had been made out of one of the guest chambers, and it was not far from the king's personal quarters. A constant watch had been posted on either side of the door, and two sentries were to remain on guard during every moment of each Peak.

The king's hands trembled as he fought with the heavy, iron lock that secured the door. Sam struggled to breathe while tears ran down Shalee's cheeks. Both the king and queen's hearts were beating against their chests as the door of the crypt finally swung open and revealed the tiny casket at the far end of the room.

George tried to hand Sam the mug, but the warlock could see the king's hands were unsteady. "Perhaps I should hold onto this. You don't want to drop it. This juice is our only shot at this."

With the king nodding, the warlock moved ahead of the group to the far end of the room and stopped next to the casket. He pa.s.sed his hand across the mechanical lock that Sam had crafted and used his magic to pop it open.

Lifting the lid, George leaned forward, and a strong smell of fresh rosemary escaped to fill his nostrils. The king had established a continual rotation for a group of his finest morticians to replace the herb once every seven Peaks to keep the casket fresh.

As George pulled back the cloth Sam had used to wrap the infant's corpse, the warlock realized the baby had been mummified. Its body was bound with strips of vibrant-purple linen, and a number of small containers, each constructed of different materials, had all been placed around the remains. Each container held a vital organ, and they had been designed to symbolize how the king felt the organ should be represented.

Near the child's head, a square piece of pottery contained Sam Jr.'s brain. The jar was glazed to a high sheen, and the picture on it had been painted by the kingdom's most famous and skilled artist. The glyph depicted on its face was a tree that possessed a network of strong branches, and amidst the oak leaves, a number of books hung open with their pages exposed. A small boy was leaning against the base of the trunk, and he was reading the book that had been hanging from the lowest branch.

Of the remaining containers present, George only focused on one. It was a heavy, square, black, iron box that sat to the right of the infant's left shoulder. The container had been polished to a high sheen to match the gloss of the piece of pottery that was holding the infant's brain. Four hasps had been attached to each side of the lid. All four were lowered across eyelets, and gold-plated locks had been used to secure the lid.

"This is amazing craftsmanship, Sam," George commented.

Before the king could respond, Shalee cut in, "Let's talk about that later, George. Please, hurry."

George nodded. The warlock bent over, lifted his pant leg and then removed his knife. He used the blade to carefully cut away the infant's bandages and then took a long, deep breath before he poured the juice from the nasha over the length of the tiny corpse.

After a moment or two of excruciating silence, Sam shoved George aside and peered into the casket. "Why isn't anything happening? I thought you said it would work."

Shalee moved to the head of the casket, but she could not make herself look into it. "George, did you bring the wrong fruit? Are you sure it was nasha?"

The general joined in. "Prophet, perhaps you should summon Lasidious."

George shook his head. "No. That won't be necessary. This is definitely the right fruit. Lasidious told me where to get it and exactly how to use it."

"Then why isn't it working?" Sam barked.

George held up his hands. "I don't know! I've got no idea what's supposed to happen next. I've never messed with kind of c.r.a.p before."

"c.r.a.p?" Shalee snapped. "This is my baby you're talking about!"

"I wasn't talking about your baby, Shalee. I meant the process of using the fruit," George defended.

Sam reached out and grabbed George by the collar. "You once told me that you knew how to get your daughter back. From the way I see it, you don't know s.h.i.t! If you can't even bring my son back when a G.o.d is supposed to be helping you, how do you ever expect to see your daughter again? I knew I was right. It was wrong to trust you!" The king retrieved Kael from his hip as he shoved George across the room and slammed the warlock into the wall to the right of the casket.

As the king lifted his blade, Shalee called out. "Sam, wait! What if the magic takes a while? We can't give up hope so soon."

Sam's eyes were hard as he whirled around to respond. "How long are you going to stick up for this a.s.shole? Don't you get it, Shalee? This whole thing is a sham. It's just another one of his schemes that he brewed up to screw with us."

The king whirled back around and placed the tip of his blade against the confused warlock's chest. "What do you have to say to that?"

George's mind was racing. He was completely unsure how to respond. With the nasha not working, he was now questioning everything Lasidious had told him. "I don't know what to say, Sam."

"Just like I figured," Sam retorted. "The moment has come for you to be ended."

The king pressed the tip of his sword a little harder against the warlock's chest, but when George did not make an attempt to fight back, Sam pulled it back and shouted, "Aren't you going to use your magic to stop me?"

George shook his head. "No, Sam. You're right. If the fruit doesn't work, then who knows what other lies Lasidious has told me? Without my Abbie, what am I fighting for? I've got nothing. Just go ahead. Do me, and get it over with."

Shalee groaned. "Are you insane? What do you mean you've got nothing? What about your wife? What about your baby that's right outside the castle? Don't they mean anything to you, for heaven's sake?"

Sam dropped his sword and turned around. "Whose side are you on, Shalee?" the king demanded. "Why do you care if he loses heart? We don't need him."

Before the queen could explain, the walls of the crypt started to shake. The coffin began to vibrate and shift toward the edge of the dais it was sitting on.

Sam reacted to steady the container. Several moments pa.s.sed before the quaking stopped. When it did, a small sphere of light emerged from the ceiling and dropped into a position just above the baby's body.

As the king watched the sphere hover above his son's corpse, Shalee gasped. The containers surrounding the child's body broke open. The organs filling them lifted into the air and floated toward the light. The closer they got to the sphere, the more the flesh they were made of began to change. Their color turned from a lifeless grey to a soft pink, and then finally, they each a.s.sumed the color of a newborn's healthy organ. As soon as the final organ touched the sphere, an even brighter burst of light filled the room while the infant's organs were sucked into his corpse.

Everyone in the room was forced to shield their eyes. A long series of moments pa.s.sed as streams of energy emerged from the sphere and penetrated the infant's being to make the child whole. When the last cell of the baby's body had been regenerated, the sphere released Sam Jr.'s soul and allowed it to enter his corpse. A charge of energy arced through one of the streams and shocked Sam Jr.'s heart into rhythm, and then the sphere breathed the infant's first breath into him.

When the brilliance of the light finally faded, the moment had come for the sphere to depart and return to the Book of Immortality. It ascended toward the ceiling and disappeared through it. All that it left behind was a healthy newborn. Sam Jr. was flailing his arms and legs about while he was lying inside his casket and crying for his parents.

Michael stood in silence as he watched his king remove the baby from the coffin to cradle him in his ma.s.sive arms.

Shalee summoned a blanket with a wave of her hand and handed it to Sam to wrap Sam Jr. in it.

George was cautious when he spoke. "I should leave you guys alone so that you can get to know each other."

When neither the king nor the queen responded, George placed a hand on Michael's arm to get his attention. "Tell them not to worry about the threat to Brandor that we spoke about the other Peak. Lasidious has asked me to keep the city safe."

The general nodded. "I'll do that, Prophet. Thank you."

George was about to teleport when Shalee stopped him from leaving. She had taken the baby away from Sam and had the child in her arms. "Please come back for dinner tonight." The queen smiled. "And bring your family with you. You were right, George. This kingdom will celebrate tonight. I think the moment has finally come for some hoopin' and hollerin'. We're gonna party Texas style. Every hand in the streets of Brandor will be filled with mugs of ale."

The World of Dragonia The Home of the Demon Queen, Sharvesa Now, fellow soul ... allow me to share something with you. When the nasha fruit was used, the Book of Immortality was completely caught off-guard. Gabriel's binding was pried apart against his will, and despite the Book's best effort to keep his cover closed, he failed. His pages quickly fanned open and stopped on the section that held Sam Junior's full name.

Without the Book's consent, the infant's spirit emerged from the script in which it had been stored. A moment later, the name on the page, Samuel Howard Goodrich Junior, dissolved and vanished. The names that followed on the rest of the page shifted and justified to compensate for the vacancy that had been left behind.

The baby's soul patiently floated above the Book and waited for its transport to Grayham. A moment later, a sphere of light also emerged from the top of the same page and absorbed the infant's spirit.

I know this may seem confusing, but this...o...b..was one of the countless beings the Book of Immortality had created to deliver the souls of those who were waiting to live their first life on the new worlds to their fetuses. The orbs could be called miniature angels of life, if you will, and their abilities were many.

In some cases, these bright, spirited spheres were required to perform resurrections. On rare occasions, they were used to reunite the souls of those who were to be rejoined with their expired hosts-as was the case with Sam Junior and how his spirit was reunited with his body after the nasha fruit was used. These spheres of life were the beings who were also responsible for reanimating Kepler after Marcus Id slew the jaguar. But since undead demon-jaguar did not have a soul at the moment of his resurrection, the sphere of life simply repaired the damage inside Kepler's body and then breathed breath back into the cat.

Fellow soul ... before I continue with the story, let me tell you about the demon queen of Dragonia. Sharvesa was a tall, slender and a remarkably beautiful being. At just over three and one half paces tall, the queen was average height for a female of her kind. Her skin was a red with an orange tint, and her wings that protruded from her back spanned a width that equaled five and one half paces. Her ridged horns protruded from the front of her forehead and then rolled up and over the top of her head. Sharvesa was an extremely powerful demon, despite her average build. She was well-respected amongst all races of demon, red, green, white and any being on any world who possessed the t.i.tle, demon. Over Sharvesa's seasons, she had become the undisputed sovereign of all demonkind, but there was contention.

The queen had a daughter. Charansay sat on a smaller throne to the right of her mother. She was also a beautiful demon whose father, Shadrowayne, was a powerful white demon who sat on the council. Because Charansay's parents' skin contrasted in color, the queen's daughter possessed a unique appearance. Charansay's skin was a glorious pink that all demonkind on Dragonia revered, and soon after her birth, the queen created a law with the council's a.s.sistance that forbade demons of opposing pigments to breed outside their race from that Peak forward.

A union between races had never happened before, and to ensure that Sharvesa's daughter would remain unique, the queen gave every member who sat on the council additional lands and t.i.tles to compensate them for their vote. Because of Shadrowayne's influence, his vote swayed the other white demons on the council, and they followed his lead.

The new law commanded that any mixed-blood, newborn demon would be sacrificed-however, since Payne's father was not of demon blood, the council had not addressed that specific condition, and therefore, they were unable to force the queen to sacrifice the fairy-demon after he was born. But the threat of an uprising over Sharvesa's refusal to end Payne was the final straw that forced the queen to banish her b.a.s.t.a.r.d son to Luvelles to live out his Peaks with the Fairy King.

Because the demon queen's relationship with Shadrowayne was considered illegal due to the new law, the queen was unable to wed her lover and make the white demon her king. To keep the peace on Dragonia, and to avoid a revolt by the green demons whose ranks were substantially greater than the red and white demons' forces combined, Sharvesa's favor for Shadrowayne ended after she promoted her heart's desire to the position of Head Councilman.

Fellow soul ... I believe that's enough explaining for now. Allow me to get back to the story.

As the orb of life emerged from the Book's pages, the sphere was invisible to Sharvesa and all her subjects who were present in the throne room. Seeing that the Book of Immortality was distracted, Sharvesa leaned forward on her throne that was made from tusks of beragamore beasts. "Lord Gabriel, why do you fan your pages? Is my palace uncomfortable for you?"

The Book did not respond. Instead, his heavy brows lifted as he watched Sam Junior's soul unite with the orb of life, and then the sphere disappeared through the roof of the palace as it began its journey to Brandor.

As soon as Gabriel could close his binding, he slapped it shut and then responded, "Your Highness, please excuse me." The Book's gaze shifted to the queen's daughter. "There are matters that I must attend to, and I shall return in a short series of moments."

Before either the queen or the princess could object, the Book turned to look at the demon council who had gathered for the occasion. They were seated on rows of benches that lined the length of the walls to the left and the right of the queen's throne. "I ask that you be patient, gentlemen." Gabriel vanished.

The Book followed Sam Junior's spirit to the crypt inside the King of Brandor's castle on Southern Grayham. When Gabriel arrived, he remained invisible to the mortals while he watched the orb of life deliver the infant's spirit to his body.