Belenaris puffed up his chest and yelled, aIam going to call the guards and have you removed.a Odif cracked a twisted grin. aHave at it--they wonat answer. Neither will your servants. Iam afraid they are...indisposed.a The footman had left the bottle of wine. He snapped it up by the neck and broke it against the edge of the table. Brandishing it at her, he sneered, aI am not afraid of you!a Odif snorted. aItas not me you have to worry about.a She got down off the sill and moved to lean against the wall, arms folded over her chest. aAll I had to do was find Jeni.a He tipped his head to the side slightly. aThere are more of you here?a aThe whole family,a she stated.

The first hint of fear came to him. He grabbed Jeni and hauled her up, holding the bottle against one of those disgusting mounds. aGet out of my house! You have no right to be here!a Odifas face turned to stone. aI think we do. Donat you agree, Dad?a Jeni gasped. She grabbed the wrist holding the bottle then kicked backwards into his groin. He bent over in pain as she ran away, crying. He turned to chase her then stopped as she ran into the arms of the roughest-looking human he had ever seen.

Eric held one arm around Jeni as she cried wracking sobs of relief against his chest. He gently kissed the top of her head then looked up at Belenaris with murder in his eyes. His voice was a heavy growl.

aOdif, take Jeni and go get your sister.a Odif bounced off the wall and walked right past Belenaris. She paused to look at him for a second. aI am so glad Iam not you,a she sighed. She went over and gently pried Jeni free. aLetas go,a she said, putting an arm around her. Jeni cast a mournful look at him, as one might a condemned man.

He noticed the wicked-looking battleaxe the Red Man had. Every story he had ever heard, every tale he had scoffed at, came back in a rush. His bottle dropped to the floor and his bladder emptied. There would be no mercy.

Eric started towards him; and somewhere in his brain, he found the presence of mind to run. He fled to the other door, pawing at the handle. He got a grip on it and jerked it open then fled down the hall for his life. He heard the door crash back open as Eric chased him. Not wanting to see how close death was, he fled to the anteroom at the end of the hall. There, guards congregated for their rest breaks by the top of the stairs. If he could make it that far then he could put some men between him and the Red Man. He had to get to the stables and find a horse.

He charged into the anteroom, barely missing the wall as he turned for the stairs then stopped short. His guards were sitting placidly on a wooden bench. The woman who stood on the landing eyed him. She had hornlike stubs on her forehead, and bat wings rose from between her shoulder blades. She raised her arm towards him, and he felt something start to crawl around in his mind. In a flash, he remembered the fake Tayanas warning.

If the Red Man gets free, it is best he finds you before we do.

Blind terror filled him. He turned and bolted the only remaining way to go. Running for the windows, he leapt up and launched himself out with a shriek. It was only after he was diving through the air that he noticed the hard courtyard was far below him. Another shriek pealed out until he slammed into the stone-covered ground.

aI swear I didnat kill him,a Eric told Tayan as they descended the stairs. He held Erica. Jeni was beside him, with Samantha beyond her. Tayan walked on his other side with Odif.

aHe jumped out the window,a Samantha explained. aI tried to stop him, but head lost his mind. There was nothing left to grasp.a Jeni walked close to Eric, her arm hooked in his as she gave Samantha nervous glances. She had never seen anyone who looked like her before. She looked scary, at best.

aYou are one of my husbandas children?a she asked again, not quite believing it.

Samantha looked over at Eric and smiled. aYes, we saved each other.a aThatas a very good way to put it,a Odif told her. aThink positive, weave had enough negative to last the rest of our lives.a Tayan gave Odif a nudge. aMaybe even we can stop fighting for a while.a Odif nudged him back. aIall try.a Seeing Eric again was a godsend, but Jeni hadnat been prepared to find out he had yet another child. Tentatively, she asked, aShould I expect any more surprises? This is...everyone, correct?a aI guess,a Eric said. He tickled Erica under the chin. She giggled and slapped at his hand as her arm waved up and down.

aNot exactly,a Odif offered. Everyone stopped and looked at her.

aWhat do you mean, not exactly?a Eric asked.

aI--or rather, we--have another brother. My motheras son, Rogan. Heall be two this fall.a Jeni, looked up at Eric, not at all pleased by this news. aWhen did this happen?a Eric didnat quite look at her. aWhen I was, umm, looking for those hoarcs in the Jude,a he explained quietly.

aCheer up! The more, the merrier,a Odif said brightly. aI canat wait until he grows up. I want to teach him everything I can.a Eric gave her a stern look. aYeah, but leave him alone, know what I mean?a aReally,a Tayan snorted.

Odif planted her hands on her hips. aYou needed that. Besides, how were we to know--a aStop!a Jeni snapped. Holding a hand to her head to block out a most disgusting vision, she said, aI really do not want to know anything about it.a Eric cleared his throat. aYeah, drop it.a aPlease,a Samantha added. Changing the subject, she asked, aSo, is everyone going back to the city?a aWell, yeah, but I want to spend some time with Jeni and Erica first,a Eric told her. aIall come back to help rebuild.a aGeneral Cooper will be repairing his wagons for weeks, and there are hundreds of wounded,a Tayan told him. aIt will be a while before we can move towards Elrad. Donat feel rushed about returning right away.a Giving Eric a nudge, he added, aYou did good. You deserve some time alone.a aWhy donat we all go?a Jeni asked. Giving Ericas arm a squeeze, she said, aIam not letting you out of my sight again.a Eric loved the idea of Jenias staying by him, but he also knew she was used to finer things in life. As far as he was concerned, she deserved them. aIt will be rough. The place is wrecked, and just finding food will be tough for a while.a aAnd who knows what kinds of things are still wandering about,a Tayan added. aItas not the safest place to be. You have to think of Erica.a Jeni surveyed their faces. aI think Erica needs to be with her father. I can help out, and it sounds like youall need all the help you can get. Everything here, Mom and Dad can tend to.a aYou sure?a Eric asked hopefully.

She beamed him a smile. aAbsolutely.a Samantha smiled at Erica as she chortled. Watching the child, she began to realize that Eric hadnat been held as long as she thought. Odifas brother was born only a couple years ago. Her heart sank as she realized that meant Eric couldnat be her father. She let her eyes drift over to Odif, who looked back at her.

aIt doesnat matter,a Odif said. aYou are one of us now.a Everyone looked at the druid.

aWhat doesnat matter?a Eric asked.

Odif motioned to Samantha. aSam is having doubts whether or not youare her real father. It doesnat matter, Iall always consider her my sister.a Tayan eyed Samantha and gave a slight shrug. aSeems to me she needs a family pretty bad. Iam not going to let her down.a aBut what about me being half-demon?a Samantha asked. aThat could cause trouble for all of you.a Eric frowned at her. aAnyone wants to hurt you, they gotta get by me first. Odifas right, youare one of us.a Jeni reached over and clasped Samanthaas hand. aI have learned to deal with some very strange things. I think we will do just fine as long as we keep a good outlook and work together.a In that touch Samantha felt acceptance. The years of loneliness were over for her. The sadness was being replaced by love, the yearning for a single friend filled by an entire family. She swelled with joy as she looked at the impossible collection of people she knew would always stand by her. It was from the bottom of her heart when she said, aThank you.a

The End