Myn planted herself in front of Myranda, claws dug deep into the frozen earth, teeth bared and wings spread. Whatever was near was a significant threat. Ether sampled the air with her human nose, and when it proved insufficient, plucked a hair from Ivy's head. After a few moments, she stood as a perfect duplicate of Ivy, complete with the sense of smell she desired. Myranda looked desperately about. There was nothing to see. Then . . . he appeared. Perhaps fifty paces ahead of them, near the bank of the lake, the spell he had used to conceal himself slipped away like a dropping curtain and there stood Arden, or more accurately, Epidime.

"You disappoint me. I have been waiting. The party has grown, I see," he said.

He held his weapon, identical to that held by the wizards he had sent after them in recent days. Lain burst forward, sword drawn, ready to make short work of this foe once and for all. At the same instant there was a flicker in the gem of Epidime's halberd. Lain stopped suddenly and retreated slightly. Ivy gasped and hid behind Myranda. Myn dug her claws deeper, and Ether abandoned the malthrope form for her fiery one.

"What is wrong?" Myranda asked.

"So m-many . . . too many," Ivy stuttered, terror in her voice.

"Dragoyles. Dozens of them. I couldn't smell them until now," Lain said.

A second flicker and the landscape darkened with no less than fifty of the crude, horrid beasts. They stood as if posed, perfectly at attention and perfectly still.

"Attack now and I shall have them kill you. Try to run and I shall have them kill you. Behave and we shall have a calm, intelligent discourse. Then I shall have them kill you. I think that the choice is clear. Consider it for a moment. Consider for a moment the possibilities and opportunities that these precious few minutes will provide you. Perhaps you will work out some miraculous battle plan that will afford you a victory. Perhaps you will outwit me. It really doesn't concern me," he said with an alarming level of calm.

Lain stood, sword readied. Ivy cowered. Slowly her fear crept outward. Myranda could feel it tingling in her spine. Her hands shook as she held her staff defensively. Eyes turned nervously to Ether. She floated just over the ground. She alone might begin this battle prematurely. Fortunately, she lowered herself to the ground and shifted to stone. From her expression, her decision was motivated by the sheer size of the task ahead.

"Well done. Now, I must congratulate you. Bagu made a rather sudden and very angry appearance in the capital. I have never seen him so badly injured, nor have I ever seen him so furious. He immediately sent me out to find and destroy the lot of you, with special emphasis on the shape shifter. That is rather out of character, and quite at odds with the standard course of action. Demont is the beast wrangler, he would be best left to leading these creatures, and the precision strikes are usually led by Trigorah. Worst of all, killing even one of you before all of the others have revealed themselves is a terrible waste of time. Frankly, I consider this an act of folly," he said.

"Use the bow. Aim for the mouth," Lain instructed.

Myranda nodded, slowly sliding the weapon from her shoulder. Epidime continued as though oblivious to the action.

"Now, I am quite satisfied with my knowledge of the shape shifter. I do not object to her demise. I would like a look through Lain's head before he dies, and a second try at Myranda would be satisfying, but my real fascination at the moment is with that cowering bit of fluff behind her," he said.

Ivy shrieked and crouched down, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth. The spike in fear sent a visible shudder through her, and a similar one through Myranda and Myn. The event did not go unnoticed by Epidime.

"We put a great deal of work into that little project. I was beginning to wonder if any of it would bear fruit. Forced empathy is intriguing. What else do you have to offer, I wonder?" he asked.

The intimidating man took a step forward, Myranda drew an arrow and made ready to let it fly. Lain shifted his stance.

"Yes, I suppose the time for battle has . . . " Epidime began.

Before he could finish, Ether had shifted to her fiery form and burst toward him. He deflected the attack with his halberd and willed the dragoyles into action. The earth shook and the sky blackened as dozens of ma.s.sive beasts leapt into the air and thundered across the ground. Lain released a trio of dagger-like weapons he'd pulled from his cloak. Two met their mark, both beasts reeled back in pain. The less fortunate of the two let out a pained roar as orange light flashed brilliantly from its mouth. A moment later the unearthly orange glow emanating from the hollows that served as the creature's eyes faded and the beast literally crumbled to the ground. The second recovered and tried to locate its target once more, but Lain swept in and drove his sword nearly to the hilt into the creature's mouth. With equal speed he withdrew the blade and evaded the spray of the horrid black acid that came spewing forth from the beast as it flailed about before crumbling way.

Myranda took aim and launched arrows as best she could. It took all of her strength to fully draw back the bow, her hands shaking from fear and effort. She made up for her poor aim by guiding the arrows in flight. Despite the fact she did not hold her staff, and her focus was severely impaired, she still managed to knock a few from the sky. Myn heaved great bursts of flame that did little more than draw the attentions of the beasts. As they approached she took to the air, expertly avoiding their leaping attacks and puffing away clouds of black breath with the wind from her wings. She managed to distract a handful, but with so many, it was clear that Myranda could not afford to stand her ground for long.

"Ivy, I need you to try to make it to the trees," Myranda said.

"N-no! I c-c-can't!" she stammered. She had her eyes tightly shut and was fairly whimpering with every breath. Around her, somehow, there was a faint blue glow.

Ether was mercilessly a.s.saulting the halberd wielding wizard. He wore the same unconcerned, superior look he always did, not a bead of sweat betraying the unimaginable speed and precision of his reactions. Ether's fiery glow faded ever so slightly with every clash with the gem. Finally she managed to land a single flaming swipe down the side of his face. Anger rather than pain finally found its way into Epidime's expression. He shifted and drove his halberd deep into her form. She cried out as the gem began to ravenously tear at the very core of her strength. She desperately tried to pull herself away, but the gem seemed to have a grip on her.

Myn was causing chaos. The dragoyles, mindlessly attempting to annihilate her, trampled, sprayed and rammed each other. One or two had succ.u.mbed to accidental crashes and lay in broken heaps on the ground. Her nimble maneuvers kept her just beyond their reach, but as more and more of the beasts joined in the task of removing her from battle, the escapes became ever narrower. Lain had his hands full evading the attacks of those beasts focused on him. The air was thick with the caustic breath, and even one as skillful as he could not avoid a whiff of the evil fumes occasionally, sizzling against his clothes and fur. Quickly slipping through an opening, he charged toward Epidime and the ailing Ether.

Epidime pulled his halberd free to block Lain's blow, allowing the shape shifter to shift to air and launch skyward. As she rose up, she began to stir the air around her, drawing up the black mist, clearing the battlefield and concentrating the vile stuff. As dozens of the dragoyles spiraled after her, she rose higher and higher. Finally, she released the acc.u.mulated ball of acid at the trail of beasts. They had been immune until now, but even their tough and stony hide was not enough to withstand so concentrated a dose. A half dozen of them dropped to the ground, writhing briefly before collapsing outright. Lain hoped that the beasts would stay at bay for fear of injuring their master as they had in the past, but such was not the case, and he found himself dodging powerful blows from behind and lightning fast strikes from in front.

Suddenly Ether swept down, clutching the shaft of the halberd and pulling steeply upward again. Rather than release it, Epidime was lifted into the air. Ether launched skyward, dragging the foe behind her. Despite the rapidly receding ground behind him, Epidime seemed unconcerned. He willed the unholy light into his gem and began to a.s.sault her with pulses of energy. She continued to climb. A string of the beasts followed. Finally, wave after wave of dark energy took its toll and Ether released the weapon. Epidime plummeted only a short distance before one of the creatures plucked him out of the air. He moved to the dragoyle's back and turned to the ground. Ether soared upward, far enough out of reach that their attentions were turned elsewhere. Her strength was already beginning to fail, and if she hoped to see this battle through to its end, she would need to choose her attacks wisely.

More than half of the arrows in Myranda's quiver were gone. Not nearly enough remained to fell the beasts that were focused on her. Despite Myn's best efforts, at least five had turned to her. Myranda searched her mind for something in her mystic a.r.s.enal that might be of use. Her eyes turned to the lake. She grabbed her staff, conjuring a blast of flame to melt away some ice and drew out a long stream of water. Compared to her test in Entwell, this was effortless. She shaped a dozen or so spikes and froze them instantly. Maneuvering the ice was easier, and Myranda was able to direct most of the impromptu projectiles to their target. Unfortunately, the ice was not as effective as the arrows, and only two of the beasts fell. The three that remained were joined by four more and the creatures were moving in fast. She and Ivy desperately needed cover.

"Ivy, quickly, we need to head for the trees!" she said, taking the shivering creature by the arm.

"I can't. I can't," she whimpered.

Myranda knelt to attempt to hoist the malthrope onto her back. Suddenly she felt a piercing, crushing pain in her shoulder. She was torn from the ground. One of the creatures had s.n.a.t.c.hed her up in its jaws. Her shoulder was shattered. She drew together her tortured mind and made ready to unleash all that she had on the beast that carried her, but a voice stopped her.

"If you even attempt to escape, this creature will dissolve the flesh from your bones," said the voice.

On the back of the creature that held her was Epidime. The pain was unimaginable, and grew with each jarring thrust of the creature's wings. A long, fatal fall already stood between Myranda and the ground. Tears streamed down her face and she screamed out in pain. Suddenly there was a flash of heat. Myn was rushing at Epidime, spewing flame. He leveled his weapon at the dragon and released a powerful wave of darkness. Myn dodged with a nimbleness that the dragoyles still on her tail lacked. The first of the pursuers was destroyed by the blast. The next collided with Epidime's mount. The collision jarred Myranda loose. Ether shifted to flame again and took full advantage of the confusion caused by the creature's collision, unleashing a flurry of attacks on Epidime. Warding her off and remaining atop the creature proved difficult. She scored slash after slash.

Myranda dropped like a stone. A moment later small, deft claws gripped desperately under her arms. The little dragon had caught her and was putting forth a heroic effort to bring Myranda safely to the ground. Barely half of the woman's size, Myn could only hope to slow the decent. Worse, doing so robbed her of the agility that had kept her safe. The ground was rapidly approaching and Myn was beginning to lose her grip. Suddenly the n.o.ble creature's grasp was torn free. One of the dragoyles had grabbed hold of her left wing and whipped her like a rag doll. Myranda fell to a painful impact on the ground. The pain in her shoulder didn't matter, the fact that the air had been knocked from her didn't matter. As she struggled to pull her unwilling body to its feet, her eyes locked on the little creature.

Lain had managed to dispatch three more of the beasts when he, too, saw the dragon. He had no more daggers to throw, and the creature was well out of the reach of his sword. Myranda reached for an arrow, but they had been thrown from the quiver. Scrambling for the one that had fallen nearest to her, she realized that the bow had been broken by the fall as well. Without an open mouth to target, the arrow would do no good anyway. Hastily she drew her limited knowledge of black magic to mind. She'd never truly believed that she would have any use for it. The thought that she would ever want to utterly destroy something was detestable, but in this moment the only thing that mattered was freeing her friend, and punishing the beast that had her. Raising her staff, she cast a burst of raw, destructive magic. Myranda was staggered by the effort of the unfamiliar technique. The crude, poorly formed spell crackled viciously through the air, seemingly pa.s.sing though the dragoyle. As it did, the monstrosity convulsed wildly, and one of the wings fell lifeless. Its jaws released a motionless Myn and both creatures fell to the surface of the frozen lake. Myn bounced horridly off of the surface before the dragoyle came crashing through. The whole of the lake surface broke into shifting sheets of ice, and Myn slipped through a crack into the frigid water.

"No!" Myranda screamed. She looked to the cowering, defenseless form of Ivy, then to Lain. With a glance, each knew what had to be done.

Myranda ran to the sh.o.r.e of the lake, shedding the bags and packs she had been carrying, and making her way onto the shifting ice. She had to make it to Myn. Lain took her place defending Ivy. He knew better than to try to carry her. It would rob him of the speed he would need to evade their attacks. For now, he would have to attack and distract those beasts that had remained focused on the ground. The rest were overhead, where Ether's clash with Epidime continued. In her insubstantial flame form, the beasts could do nothing to harm her, while she was quite capable of harming Epidime. Finally she knocked the halberd from his hand. He suddenly gripped desperately to the back of the beast. A second creature s.n.a.t.c.hed up the halberd and both turned sharply to the north.

Ether made ready to pursue, but as the swarm of beasts that had been interested in her turned their attentions to the ground, she became aware of what had been transpiring there. Lain was swiftly becoming surrounded. Ivy was curled up on the ground, paralyzed with fear. Myranda was sliding precariously across one of the pieces of ice on the lake. She turned again to the retreating Epidime. Her strength was waning. If he regained the weapon, she could not be sure of defeating him. Memories of the dire state she found herself in after their last encounter crept to her mind, sealing the decision. She returned to the battlefield.

Ether's arrival was not a moment too soon. Lain was having trouble keeping the creatures from Ivy. More than one deep gash betrayed the losing battle he was fighting. Ether shifted to stone, taking her place beside him. As the creatures approached, she delivered blow after earthshaking blow. Most of the dragoyles had already felt the bite of Lain's sword, bearing long scores across faces and along necks. The heavy stone hands opened these wounds, letting a weak orange light leak through before each creature fell.

Myranda reached the point on the ice where Myn had fallen through. Without a moment's hesitation she plunged in. The cold of the water cut like a knife. She felt as though her chest had caved in. Her tightly closed eyes opened slightly. The pain seemed to surge through to the back of her head. In the pale blue light filtering though the ice, the motionless form of Myn drifted just ahead of her. She worked her frozen limbs, moving toward her friend. The shattered shoulder was nearly useless, her hand clutching loosely at her staff, but still she struggled. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, she drew nearer. Her lungs screamed for air, her shoulder screamed for relief, her body screamed for warmth, but she pressed on. Finally she reached out with her good arm, grasped the dragon, and fought to the surface. Her heart dropped. The ice had shifted. Three great sheets had b.u.t.ted together above her. Her air wouldn't hold out much longer. The pain and cold had left her mind in a shambles. With supreme effort, she conjured up a current that would carry her to the sh.o.r.e. She closed her eyes and gathered as much focus as she could.

A dragoyle heaved a great black breath at Ivy. Lain, left with no options, scooped her from the ground. The acid missed Ivy by a hair, but Lain was not so lucky. His leg was coated with the stuff. In moments it had seeped and sizzled through the cloth and begun to eat away at the fur and flesh beneath. His teeth clenched in pain, but he remained silent and moved as quickly as the worsening leg would allow. With a very large, very slow target available, the dragoyles lost interest in Ether and focused entirely on Lain. He was swiftly surrounded. One hand tightened around the grip of his sword. The other slowly lowered Ivy to the ground.

"Ivy. You need to fight," he said.

She rose shakily to her feet. The club she carried had never left her hand. She raised it.

"I can't do this . . . I can't do this," she whispered, looking in terror at the beasts before her.

Suddenly the creatures were distracted. There was a growing roar coming from the lake. As they turned to survey this new threat, they were met with the sight of the lake seemingly leaping its sh.o.r.es and attacking them. Vast chunks of ice and torrents of water flooded over the battleground. Ivy closed her eyes and turned away, stifling a scream. Ether shifted to water and slipped into the ring of dragoyles. She merely raised her hand and the water parted around them. Some of the beasts were caught in the torrent, washed aside or smashed with ice. The rest had sprung into the air. As the water receded, the forms of Myranda and Myn were left behind.

Myranda drew in a long, painful breath and crawled to Myn. The dragon's wing was barely more than a few shreds of tattered skin, and she wasn't breathing. Myranda turned her mind to healing and searched the creature's body for injury besides the wing. As swiftly as she found them, she eliminated them. Soon, all that was left was the ruined wing. Myn had not taken a breath in minutes, there simply was not time to heal the wing completely. She stopped the bleeding, satisfied that it would be enough to take her out of danger. Heat was conjured to warm her, the water mystically drawn from her lungs, and still the dragon did not breathe. Calling to mind her wind magic, Myranda forced air into her lungs and out again. Finally, Myranda had exhausted all of her knowledge and most of her strength, and the dragon remained still. She was faced with an undeniable fact. Myn was dead. The soul had left the body. No amount of healing could bring it back.

For a moment the world seemed to vanish. The life threatening cold, the shattered shoulder that trickled blood down her blue tinged skin, even the shadows and shrieks of the creatures closing in. All were gone as sorrow seized the very core of her being. Tears streamed down her face. She cried the dragon's name, shaking the lifeless body with her good arm until the pendant that Myn had worn about her neck came free in her hand. Myranda closed her eyes. Slowly she shook her head. No. This was not how it would end. Not this way. Not now. She sat on the icy ground beside the dragon and pulled the staff from her useless left hand. Distantly she heard Lain and Ivy call after her. She pushed the sound out of her mind.

Just as she had a few nights before, she twisted and turned the entirety of her spirit. She could feel the bonds that held her to her physical form begin to loosen their grip. The spiritual plane began to replace the physical one. Finally her spirit tore itself free. Once again she was afloat in a sea of lights. In the distance, there was the weak and fading glow that she knew was Myn. She willed herself toward it.

"Myranda, Myn! Get up! We need to run!" Ivy cried, her eyes darting wildly from dragoyle to dragoyle as they drew closer.

Ether looked over the scene.

"The fool," she hissed, turning to Lain. "I suppose that you will not leave this place without the human."

Lain's only response came as an angry glance before scooping water from the ground to wash away the black mist from his leg.

Ether raised her hand and the water swept up around them, freezing together into a sh.e.l.l.

"The ice will keep them from us, but not for long. The foolish human has left her body," Ether deduced.

"She what? But why?" Ivy asked, jumping as the first attacks began to rain down upon the protective sh.e.l.l.

"The poison of emotion, and because of you," Ether said. "The lizard has died, the human will likely follow, and all because you were too much of a coward to be of any use to anyone."

"No . . . I couldn't . . . " Ivy said, fear giving way to dispair.

"What did you expect? Your emotion crippled you, and the same wretched weakness has caused all that followed. You are worthless!" Ether ranted.

"No, I'm not worthless! I'm not!" Ivy cried, dropping her club, covering her ears, and shutting her eyes.

Ether continued, amid increasingly angry refusals from Ivy. "You are a horrid, malformed, ignorant monstrosity. The best thing you could do is die swiftly to allow a more able being to replace you. As it is, it couldn't be more clear that you are an agent of the enemy. A plaything of the D'karon."

Ivy slowly removed her hands and locked Ether in an infuriated scowl.

"I am NOT one of them," she said. Gone was the childish tone. Her voice was serious, and carried the hint of threat.

The astral plain is no place for an unprepared mind. Myranda fought to comprehend it. Time and distance were different than in the physical realm. She chased after Myn's spirit, but it was drawn ever further from her, as if by a current. Here Myranda's urgency was a boon to her focus, not a detriment. The faster she wanted to move, the faster she did move. Her will didn't just mean something here, it meant everything. It was everything. She focused entirely upon the vague form that seemed to retreat as quickly as she could follow. A galaxy of flickering lights rushed by her. The souls of untold millions of living things. None of them mattered right now. She reached out with her left hand. Here, at least, it was healthy. A few moments more . . . A few inches further . . . contact. Myranda could suddenly feel the life force of her friend. She grasped it, drew it near, and turned back. If her last journey into this other plane was any indication, her strength would not last long.

All that lie ahead was the same sea of glowing currents and points of light. There was no hint of where she had been. Nothing that distinguished anything from anything else. For the second time she had taken a treacherous journey to rescue her friend, and once again her return seemed impossible. She searched desperately about. Already her 'vision' was dimming. The more distant of the lights were fading from view.

Back in the battleground that Myranda so eagerly sought, the argument was continuing. Ether found the strongest objections came when she implied a connection to the D'karon, and had thus ceased to do anything else. Ivy's anger became sharper, more focused. Lain stood with his back to them. Before him was the weakest point in the icy shield, and his sword was ready to destroy the creature unlucky enough to be the first through.

"Do not imagine that you can hide it. I have taken your shape. I know that there is not an aspect of your physical being that has not been affected by their machinations," Ether taunted.

Suddenly the sharp anger in Ivy's eyes became brittle, a whisper of fear showing through.

"No . . . can you feel that? It's coming. The monster . . . " she said. Her tone lacked the edge of her previous comments, as though the frightened child was trying to fight her way to the surface.

"I suppose I am to be intimidated. This imagined monster that destroyed the fort and left only you alive. Do you think me a fool? The only monster here is you," Ether said with a smug sneer.

For the whole of the argument, Ether had been pushing Ivy closer and closer to a line. That line had been crossed. Her eyes clouded over, eyelids fluttering slightly. A deep, reverberating growl shook like a tremor. The air began to grow warmer, until water was running down the icy shield despite Ether's best efforts to keep it frozen.

"Your parlor tricks do not frighten me," Ether said.

Ivy dropped to one knee. Her fingers wrapped around the handle of the club, clutching the wood so tightly it creaked. The growl grew into a roar. Finally, there was a burst of energy. It erupted with a force that shattered the sh.e.l.l of ice, sending pieces flying dozens of paces. Lain, along with the bodies of Myranda and Myn, was sent hurtling though the air, sliding to a stop a fair distance away. Ether's watery form was scattered. She swiftly gathered herself together, shifting to flame in the process. When her senses returned to her, they beheld an awesome sight. Ivy was floating above the ground. A viciously red aura enveloped her, shifting continuously with the crackle of raw energy. An unnatural wind stirred her cloak and rippled her long hair. The club burned where her fingers touched it, the iron barbs glowing white hot. Her eyes, now featureless...o...b.. of light that trailed tangible streams of energy, locked onto Ether. The shape shifter felt the power this creature was spilling off. It was at least equal to her own at her peak, and she most certainly was well short of that at the moment. Best to keep her distance.

Ivy suddenly burst forward. Her speed was astounding. Ether darted directly upward. Ivy followed. The gap closed quickly, and a monumental swipe of the raging Ivy's cudgel virtually scattered Ether again. The attack was devastating. She was forced to shift to air, lest she give out entirely. Ivy halted, bowing her head and clutching at her chest. A deafening roar of combined anger and pain left her lips as, through her fingers, the burning of the mark could be seen. It only lasted for a moment, and seemed to further fuel the creature's rage. She surged forward again with renewed force. Like a sparrow pursued by an eagle, Ether made sudden turns and drops, but to no avail. As all of the remaining dragoyles took to the air in pursuit of this latest target, Ether flew toward them, weaving between. Ivy tore through them with little resistance. One by one, the great black beasts were reduced to fragments of broken rubble. It was not until no less than four such collisions had occurred that Ivy's momentum began to flag. When she slowed, the beasts swarmed. Soon all that could be seen was a writhing ma.s.s of black creatures cl.u.s.tered about a red glow. Ether hung in the air at a cautious distance, slowly weighing the risks of remaining until the end of the battle.

Something had caught Myranda's attention. Far away, and far below, there was a bright red flash, and now it burned like a brilliant crimson ember amid pale white glimmers. It was the only unique point she could determine, and thus the only target that made sense. Pulling the essence of her departed friend behind, she rushed to it. Everything around her was fading. So focused was she on the red beacon ahead, she failed to notice a golden light following her. She rushed forward faster and faster, and the glow easily kept pace. Only when it began to overtake her did she realize it was there. It moved with the force of an avalanche, and before long it was pushing her along faster than even her desperation had managed to propel her. It did not do the same for Myn. As Myranda was accelerated, she could feel her grip failing. Ahead, the spirits of Lain and Ether, almost drowned out by the powerful red glow, emerged. Just a few moments more and she would reach her own body and that of her dear friend. She could restore her. At the very instant she made contact with her physical body, she felt her grasp torn from Myn. Her eyes shot open, and the cold and pain she had been spared while her spirit was absent overwhelmed her. She cried out, attracting the attention of Lain, who had dispatched the handful of creatures that had turned back to the ground.

"Lain . . . please . . . Myn . . . is she alive?" Myranda managed.

Lain moved quickly to the dragon's side. It was cold to the touch. He put his sensitive ear to the n.o.ble beast's chest. Not a whisper of a heartbeat. He turned to Myranda. The look in his eyes told her all she needed to know. With the pain of loss surpa.s.sing by far every ounce of physical pain and more, she let herself slip into unconsciousness, the fingers of one hand clamped about the staff, and the other about the pendant. Lain trained his eyes on the spectacle above just in time for a second epic burst of energy to scatter the beasts. Ivy, her aura significantly dimmer, plummeted to the ground, landing with an earthshaking impact. When the dust settled, she was still standing. There were thirteen of the creatures left. Ivy's eyes were still locked on Ether, and she thundered toward her. She was limited to the ground now, but clearly remained a force to be reckoned with. Her footfalls left deep, jagged craters. She remained the primary interest of the remaining beasts, and as each swept in it was met with a powerful backhand or swipe with the club. Lain s.n.a.t.c.hed up Myranda's bag from where the surge of water had washed it and threw her over his shoulder. His leg was unsteady, but he had little choice. One of the creatures had turned to him. If he was to have a chance at protecting Myranda and himself, he would need the cover of the trees. He moved as quickly as he could manage, the beast s.n.a.t.c.hing up the lifeless body of Myn and taking to the sky with it. He had only just made it past the first of the trees when Ether's windy form joined him.

"Leave the human behind. We have more pressing battles ahead. She will only slow us," she urged.

In a moment, the rhythmic thunder of Ivy's footsteps had grown near enough to shake the snow from the trees around them. Ether turned to the approaching threat. Her aura had nearly faded to nothing. The beasts were at her heels, but she seemed to care only about Ether. As she drew nearer, her strength finally gave out. She dropped to her knees, and finally collapsed forward. Lain laid Myranda at the base of a large oak that still had some of its leaves. He then rushed out to the motionless Ivy.

"Do NOT risk your life for that WRETCH. If she'd had her way she would have killed me!" Ether ordered.

The command fell on deaf ears. Lain dodged the diving attack of one creature, and s.n.a.t.c.hed up Ivy. The unconscious creature's fingers were locked about the grip of the club, the studs that lined it still sizzling in the snow. He delivered her to the base of the tree and faced the dragoyles.

"I lack the strength to damage these creatures," Ether warned.

"Then keep their breath from me," he replied.

The oak prevented the creatures from attacking from behind. The attacks came from all other sides. To simply block them would not be enough. He lacked the strength to absorb such a blow, and he could not afford to give an inch of ground. His blade moved with a speed and precision that could scarcely be followed by even the sharpest eye. Quick slashes found their way to every joint, every gash, every fracture the others had caused. Ether's talents swirled the caustic breath away. One fell, and another. Gashes deepened. Here and there a swiping claw caught Lain, but he could not allow it to slow him. The black creatures succ.u.mbed, one after the other, until only two remained. They attacked simultaneously. The first was ended with a slash to the throat. The second clamped its stony beak down on his upper arm.

The creature did not shake its prey as the one that snared Myn did. There was only a twitch, then another, before finally it dropped to the ground. Lain had delivered the killing blow through the side of the creature's head with his free hand. Slowly he pulled the blade from the creature's skull and surveyed his own wounds. Most were minor. The last was dire. Blood flowed freely from his arm. The creature's bite had reached the bone. With his good arm he tore away the shreds of the ruined sleeve and began to bind the wound, pulling the knots tight with his teeth. As he did so, Ether shifted to her human form and looked coldly over the battleground.

The icy ground was littered with the stony remnants of dragoyles. There were sizzling black pools of their breath, and everything was smudged with their thick, black blood. Ether kicked open the ruined skull of the nearest beast, interested to see what it was within their mouths that was so vulnerable. Inside was a shattered gem, the very same type that Epidime had been using to draw away her strength. She stepped quickly away from the thing, the memory of its searing effect still fresh in her mind. She then turned to Lain. His white cloak and tunic was soiled from head to toe. Dark smears of black blended with bright stains of red. In a dozen places, torn fabric revealed torn flesh. The leg that had been exposed to the acid was still faintly sizzling in places. The fur was blackened, and where it had been eaten away, the skin was blistered. Most dire was the injury to his arm. He had reached over with his left hand to apply extra pressure. Despite his efforts, an appalling volume of blood rolled from the wound in thin streams.

"The wound on your arm . . . is it mortal?" Ether asked.

"I am losing too much blood," he said.

"I cannot heal you. I had never antic.i.p.ated the need to," Ether said. "However, I can seal the wound,"

She shifted one of her hands to flame. He nodded and removed the bandage. She ran a fiery finger along the gash, instantly cauterizing it. The pain must have been agonizing, but Lain merely shut his eyes and weathered it as he did everything else, silently. The ordeal had left the survivors completely sapped of strength. The sun was setting again, and soon after the darkness had become complete, Lain entered the warrior's sleep. Ether gathered together a moderate pile of wood and lit a fire, shifting to flame and stepping into it when it reached respectable size. Ivy was deep in a dreamless sleep. Not so for Myranda.

She lay, propped up against the tree, her mind anything but at rest. The events of her life rushed by again and again, accompanied by whispered thoughts and regrets. The flood of images and voices was disorienting and indistinct. All of the voices were distant, slurred, mumbled. All of the images were vague and fleeting. There was a feeling of tumbling, of falling, as though her mind's breaking point had been reached, the dam had given way, and all that she was had begun rushing out. Suddenly, a single, sharp, clear voice cut through the rest.

"Open your eyes, Myranda," the voice said.

In an instant, the other voices were silent, the images were gone, dispelled by the man's voice. She did as she was asked. The pain in her shoulder was gone, the cold was gone, the fatigue was gone. The grove of trees seemed subdued, bathed in a weak, pale blue light. Everything was still, not the slightest flutter of wind stirred the leaves of the one tree that still bore them. Around her she saw her friends, Ivy beside her, Lain in front of her, and Ether's fiery form in front of him. All were unmoving, even the tendrils of flame were motionless, frozen. She stood. There was a man before her. She knew him. He had spa.r.s.e white hair, plain black clothes, and his eyes were closed.

"You . . . you are the priest," she said.

"That is how you knew me, yes," he said.

"Am I . . . dead?" she asked.

"You aren't alive, but neither are you dead. In a sense, you have been pulled aside," he said.

"Why? How? Why are you here?" she asked.

"All valid questions. Part of why I am here is to answer them," he said. "There are important things happening, Myranda. A crossroads has been reached, and the next few steps are of the most dire of importance. I cannot tell you which steps to make, or what is to come, but I can tell you what you need to know to make these next steps wisely."

"I don't understand. Why now? Why me? Why you?" she asked.