"O-kay. Scratch it is."

My tiny new friend seemed satisfied but the exertion must have tuckered him out, because he began to slow down.

"You okay?"

He nodded once, then slowly wiggled over to my pinkie and wrapped himself around it. His skin became hard and it was once again, a tiny gold ring.

I pulled the ring off my pinkie and examined it. I never would have known there was anything special about it; it looked just like a regular old ring. As I replaced it on my finger the two women strolled back out onto the balcony.

I stood politely and Kitaya addressed me first. "I am sorry, Sam, I mean, Jason. I should have introduced you. This is my friend Corel. She has been away for awhile. She likes to travel."

"Good to meet you." I offered my hand. "I'm the new guy on the block." I took note that Corel wore a similar ring, and that Kitaya, did not.

"Good to meet you as well." Corel shook my hand firmly. "Kit has informed me of Gaza's plan. I find it to be very disturbing."

"I would have to agree with you."

"She says you want to try to find Humphrey. I doubt he'll be very helpful. If you do manage to find him, there's a good chance he won't even talk to you. He is very very stubborn." stubborn."

"In light of the alternative, don't you think he would at least give us some information?"

"I doubt it." She looked thoughtful. "I think we need to speak with Armadon. No one knows Rath's movements better than he."

"But isn't he as dangerous as Rath?" I asked.

"He can be but he is a strategist at heart. I'm sure he will at least listen to what we have to say. He understands that information is the strongest weapon."

"Then let us waste no time," I a.s.serted.

Corel looked at Kitaya then to me. "We'll have to join hands."

As she grasped my hand I felt her power bleed into my body and mingle with my own. With a burst of blue energy we rose in a flash, high above our surroundings, until the world was nothing more than a wire globe far beneath us. The sphere turned until our destination was visible, then, as quickly as we had departed we were once again standing firm footed.

Before us stood a magnificent castle, the architecture unique in its design. The outside was encased not in stone, but in a smooth flawless metal which shone in the mid-day sun. It hurt my eyes to look directly at it. Corel stepped up. "Shall we knock and see if he's home?" she said smartly.

A deep wide chasm filled with thick mist surrounded the castle. I stared down into the darkness but could not see the bottom. Corel touched something near the edge of the pit and the ground shook as a bridge of land pushed its way across. In no time the way was pa.s.sable.

We continued on toward the towering entrance and as we approached, there came a voice from the battlement. "Open the gate!" The ma.s.sive barrier made a tremendous noise as its iron structure slowly lifted to allow us pa.s.sage. A man scurried out to greet us. I guessed he was from the royal court as he was wearing an outfit of ruby red with bands of gold metal. His head was c.o.c.ked to the side and he appeared to be talking into his wrist. "Corel, Kitaya, and an unknown sir."

Corel spoke with authority. "We wish a meeting with your lord."

The man bowed slightly. "It is my esteemed honor to welcome you, Lady Corel. The Holy One awaits you in his throne room."

"Thank you. Lead the way please."

He turned and we followed him through the ma.s.sive gates. Several soldiers moved about performing various tasks, but I saw no civilians. We traveled up an immense set of black slate stairs and through an enormous set of doors. Cracks between the large stone floor tiles let off a yellow glow, filling the room with a mystical ambiance. To the rear was a magnificent throne like nothing I'd ever seen or imagined. Exotic jewels embedded in its design glimmered brightly in the soft lighting. --I was impressed. was impressed.

The figure upon the throne was no less impressive, an intimidating hulk of a man, at least nine feet of solid iron muscle. His face was like chiseled stone. Deep dark sockets encased burning blue eyes. Now this this guy looked like a G.o.d! guy looked like a G.o.d!

As our party approached, Armadon's voice boomed out. "WHY do you disturb me?"

Displaying cool confidence, Corel explained. "There is a matter of great importance developing. We wish to trade information."

"Are you in league with children?" he asked deeply.

"We are not."

"Then continue."

"We have news of a great darkness which is about to befall Vrin. Gaza is not the angel of peace described in the Marathil. He plans to destroy Vrin."

"WHAT!" bellowed Armadon, his voice filling the room.

"He is looking for something and has chosen Rath to help him. He told Rath he would send us back to the void if he does not find what he seeks. We have come to you because you know Rath better than any."

"Yes. I do. And your words explain much." Armadon brooded. "I thought Rath was a fool for dividing his resources, but it seems he had no choice. My informants tell me he is looking for a woman and a girl child."

"An exact match?" I blurted.

Corel shot me a warning glance as if to say I should not speak out of turn.

"Yes," said Armadon.

"Can you guess why he would go to Rath only, excluding the rest of us from the search?" Corel asked.

Armadon shifted in his throne. "He might not want us to know, should we decide to resist his efforts-- but that would mean his efforts are worthy of resistance." He brought his ma.s.sive hand to his chin. "I do not see what harm a woman or girl child could do."

"Will you join with us against him," Corel asked boldly, "should we be forced to act?"

"Yes. But first we must find out what he is planning. It isn't wise to go against an opponent unprepared. We need to be careful and move without his knowing."

"He already knows." Kitaya stepped forward.

Armadon leveled his gaze at her. "And how how do you know this?" do you know this?"

"I witnessed his conversation with Rath in an event cell-- and he saw me."

"What?" Armadon stood up. "That's not possible!" Armadon stood up. "That's not possible!"

"He saw me. I am sure of it. The question is, did he see me six months ago when the event took place, or twelve hours ago when I was in the event cell?"

Before anyone could comment, a loud siren filled the air. Armadon's head c.o.c.ked to the side. He jumped up and he bolted past us. "We are under attack!"

"May we join you?" Corel called after him.

Armadon was almost to the door. "If you wish!"

We had to race to keep up with him, through broad corridors, across enormous chambers, up immense stone stairways. Eventually we emerged onto the battlement overlooking the castle grounds. We joined Armadon at the edge of the wall. Far below several ghost-like beings were ramming one by one into the ma.s.sive gate of the castle. Their actions were systematic, void of thought or reason.

"What are those?" I found myself saying.

Looking down on the eerie scene Armadon seemed genuinely puzzled. "I've never seen anything like them. I doubt they are agents of Rath. He has never come against me with anything but mundane troops."

The dark figures tore at the metal gate with phantom teeth. Sparks ignited around them at each impact. In the flurry, I tried to make a count. It looked like six, maybe seven. With a hideous sc.r.a.ping noise one of the creatures broke through.

I bolted to the other side of the battlement and peered down into the courtyard. Like a snake the ghastly specter weaved in and out of men and architecture. Its eyes glaring back and forth. Seeking its prey. Its tail trailing behind like a gossamer cloth.

It chewed into its first victim and my stomach wretched as the man let out an awful scream. I brought up the web and attempted to pull at the demon's threads. --But they wouldn't move! In desperation I created a hole beneath the man. He fell and I sealed the hole with a flat piece of metal. The creature bit wildly at the barrier. I had prevailed for the moment but this was a small victory. More demons had broken through.

Kitaya reinforced the front gate while Armadon, Corel, and I fought hard to isolate the specters from the soldiers. After much effort they were finally contained. Three were trapped in the center of the courtyard, four outside the gate. They wailed and bit but the barriers stood.

"Why don't they just fly over?" I wondered aloud.

Armadon answered. "They seem to be hovering by air propulsion. See the sand below them pushing away? It must not be strong enough to lift them any higher."

Troops moved into position above the courtyard with crossbows at the ready. The tips were set on fire and they waited. I looked at Armadon.

His face tightened. "Fire!"

A volley of burning wood descended into the trap. The demons' wailing pierced my eardrums and increased in pitch until I found myself covering my ears-- yet the others seemed unaffected. Then it dawned on me, earplugs! I made some and quickly and stuffed them in. Unfortunately the humans did not have the same luxury. Screaming in pain, delirious from the excruciating noise, two soldiers fell to the ground from the battlements.

The wailing ceased and I looked down into the courtyard trap. Nothing remained of the creatures; the fire had consumed them utterly.

Corel made her way back over to the group. "Could these be Gaza's?"

Armadon nodded. "That would be my guess."

Kitaya cried out, "They are gone! I only turned away for a second!" Her voice was shrill and panicked.

We gathered on the outside edge of the battlement and looked down. The trap outside the gate was empty.

Kitaya looked nervous.

Corel looked concerned. "Before this gets any better," she said in a low voice, "it will probably get a lot worse."

"Much worse," said Armadon. "We need to formulate a plan."

CHAPTER 5.

AN UNLIKELY ALLY.

001001011001110.

After much deliberation it was decided that I I should be the one to go and look for Humphrey. I knew little about Rath or Tiko and I felt confident that I could get Humphrey to talk. No one else, however, shared my optimism. should be the one to go and look for Humphrey. I knew little about Rath or Tiko and I felt confident that I could get Humphrey to talk. No one else, however, shared my optimism.

Corel and Armadon made preparations to infiltrate Rath's camp to find out more about the woman and child. According to Armadon's sources this information could be found inside a small black box. If they found the box, they were to contact us through the web.

Kitaya and I shared a private moment on the battlement of Armadon's castle. I wanted her to come with me to find Humphrey but everyone else thought it would be better if she went to find Tiko. He was known to be a womanizer, and Kitaya would undoubtedly have the best chance of persuading him to join us. Not only was she beautiful but Tiko had never seen her before-- and he was always looking for a new plaything.

The thought of Kitaya using her beauty to entice Tiko into cooperating with us bothered me to no end. Though we'd met only yesterday, somehow I felt I'd known her forever. And secretly I hoped that one day our relationship would grow into something more. Perhaps when this whole thing was over I would tell her this. But not now. So we parted ways. And my heart felt heavy.

Armadon advised me to seek the aid of Sajin Barrows. As it turned out he was the second most prominent figure on the planet.

The architecture of the capital city of Oonaj, like forms in a distant dream, towered in magnificent splendor. Their phantom shapes were familiar but their origins could not be attained. I knew them from another time and yet somehow the structures did not seem to go together; pyramids and battlements, marble temples and stone monoliths? In the midst of these a mighty skysc.r.a.per reached up into the clouds. It was breathtaking to behold, yet it left me with a sense of foreboding.

In the center of the city, rising up with majestic grace, stood the royal castle. Inside this ma.s.sive stone structure stood a smaller building. I studied the capital building from a distance. I didn't want to just walk in through the front gate. That That would catch Gaza's attention. After all, it wasn't every day that Sam' Dejal, the G.o.d of reason, popped in for a visit. would catch Gaza's attention. After all, it wasn't every day that Sam' Dejal, the G.o.d of reason, popped in for a visit.

I circled the building and decided to go in through a barred window of what looked like a large empty storage room. I melted the bars quickly, climbed in, and silently moved across the room to the door. The door gave a faint creak as I carefully opened it and peeked out. A man pa.s.sed by and I made a quick mental note of what he was wearing. Energy leaked from my hands as the threads twisted and bent to form the image of the man's clothing. Piece by piece the shapes formed in wire frames and then material was added. When I was finished I ran my fingers across the odd fabrics. Each item had its own distinctly different texture, weight, and smell. They couldn't have been any more real.

I was still a little slow at making things from the blue threads, but given time I was sure I could make anything no matter how complex. All I needed was a vague idea of shape and material and the web did the rest. I closely examined the cotton shirt. I had simply thought: cotton cotton and it had appeared out of nothing. Every pore was present, every st.i.tch in place. and it had appeared out of nothing. Every pore was present, every st.i.tch in place. Fascinating. Fascinating.

Now all I needed was a way to hide my eyes. It took a moment but then an idea came to me. I created a handkerchief and a white cane. I would be a blind man. Using a trick I'd learned from Kitaya I made the cloth visible from only one side. To everyone else it was a thick covering, but to me it was as transparent as plastic wrap.

I stepped through the door and started walking down the hall casually tapping the cane for effect. A woman pa.s.sed by giving plenty of room, but she took little notice of me. It was the same with the two soldiers standing guard at the next intersection. I continued following the hallway around in a large arc and pa.s.sed by several more intersections. Each had two men standing guard, but no one paid any attention to me.

For several minutes I searched up and down the long corridors. I couldn't put my finger on it-- but something was wrong. Like the architecture of the city the objects and people here didn't seem to fit together. Paintings of all sizes littered the walls, some ornately framed in precious metals, others surrounded by brightly painted wood. In some areas images were carved directly into the finely sanded surfaces and in other spots crude cave drawings could be seen. Soldiers, statesmen, and an a.s.sortment of employees rushed about their daily tasks wearing suits and swords. Some carried briefcases, others held rolled up scrolls.

After awhile the corridors began to blend into one another, but then I saw a man who looked like he might be able to help me. He wore a security badge. I waited until he finished speaking with two guards then followed him down to the next corridor. I checked in front and behind. All was clear.

"You, sir, could you help me please?" I stated loudly.

He stopped and coolly replied, "What do you need? I am very busy."

I moved closer and revealed my face.

His eyes widened. "I am sorry, your holiness. I- I did not recognize..."

"I do not wish to be recognized. Will you help me?" I asked gruffly.

"Y- Yes. Yes of course."

"I am looking for Sajin Barrows."

"H- he is in the council chambers. I am not authorized to go in-- b- but I know someone who is."

"Can we trust this person?"

"Yes."

"I will emphasize I do not not want it known I am here. I am trusting you will keep this in confidence." want it known I am here. I am trusting you will keep this in confidence."

"You can count on me, lord."