aFollow me, one at a time,a Scorpio told them then led the way through.

On the other side, a pair of guardsmen watched as people began coming out of the tree. Scorpio sent one after Valeri and Kimmy and had the other start directing people to the main hall. He knew the whole town wasnat going to fit in the castle, but he had to start somewhere.

It wasnat long before two greenish-skinned women arrived to see where all the people were coming from. The taller one, Kimmy, had a fuller figure than Valeri, who wore her hair in long braids. Both had hair so black it looked bluish in the sunlight. Whether they were in everyday blouses and pants, as they were now, or dressed in flowing gowns with sparkling jewels, the color was always light gray. Scorpio knew they had been slaves at one time, and it never failed to amaze him that gray was the only color they would wear. He thought that after a life of slavery they would never want to wear anything gray again.

They strode up to him with a wave and a smile. Kimmy said, aWelcome back. Please explain all these people.a That was Kimmy, always to the point.

aWe are evacuating a town to the north. Zodiac wants you to get the messengers ready to ride, probably to Elrad, and open the emergency storerooms. Valeri, he wants you to get every bed and cot ready; weall be bringing in a few thousand. I have no idea where youare going to put them all.a aIf Lord Zodiac wishes it, we shall do it,a Kimmy said, stressing alord.a Turning to the man behind her she sent him briskly after the messengers. Valeri strode away to the kitchens to inform the cooks.

aIt is being done,a Kimmy announced. aI want you to stay here and direct people as they come out. If anyone can cook or knows how to build, get them started on fire pits and shelters. Let me know when everyone is through.a aYes, maaam,a Scorpio snorted.

Frowning, Kimmy raised a finger at him. aWhen Lord Zodiac is not here, he counts on me to make sure everything is done. You do your job; I will do mine.a If there was any woman who was a perfect match for Zodiac, it was Kimmy, Scorpio thought. At times she was a gold-plated bitch.

The flow of people into the courtyard started with a trickle of five then ten, and quickly increased to a long, endless stream. Scorpio had his hands full grouping families back together and sending guards and servants to find places for everyone. In two short hours, every room in the castle was filled, and the stream didnat slow. The guard barracks were filled, and a large group was sent to the nearby village to be taken in by families there. The courtyard became a tent city as even more arrived. Besides the cooks Kimmy wanted, he picked out anyone who could do carpentry to start on huts outside the walls. He was faced with problems he had never thought of, like where to dig latrines for so many and how to get everyone fed. Not only was the kitchen too small to serve such massive amounts of food but the garbage was going to be piled high unless they could work something out. Men started to come through, and he began directing them to various tasks of digging or building.

In Newburg, Fabarian strode to the east side, where a prisoner had been taken as he came towards town holding a white flag on a pole. Six elven soldiers and four townsmen surrounded the man in gray armor as he stood holding his flag.

Fabarian walked up to the stone-faced human. aYou are surrendering?a aI have come with a message,a the man replied, not looking at him. aSir Lash wishes to inform everyone in this town that we mean no harm to humans. Any human may leave in safety, but they must do so with haste. After we begin our attack, any human who does not fight us will be free to join us or go his own way. Sir Lash also wishes to speak with Lord Zodiac before we begin.a aYou intend to kill every elf then, correct?a Fabarian sneered.

The man glanced briefly at him then snapped his eyes straight ahead. aThose who surrender will be taken unharmed. Those who resist will be dealt with harshly. May I give Lord Zodiac his message?aa aIf he comes to your cell,a Fabarian grated. aTake the prisoner to the jail.a One of the elves wearing sergeant's stripes said, aCaptain, he carries a white flag.a Fabarian glared at him. aThey are going to attack us, and he has seen our defenses. Take him to jail!a aI should know better than expect honor from an elf,a the man said flatly.

aTake him away!a Fabarian barked.

Reluctantly, his soldiers followed his order. The townsmen didnat protest, though they went back to their posts with downcast eyes.

Fabarian watched them go then thought about the request. Was this Lash going to try and coax Zodiac into surrendering? Fabarian had heard much about Zodiac, but he didnat trust him not to hand over the whole town.

Watching down a side street, he saw another group of women and children heading for the druidas gateway. Finding enemy forces were, indeed, massing all around the town, Commander Eldarin had coaxed Zodiac into taking the elven civilians with him as well. They would have to put up with humans, but at least theyad be alive.

He needed to stall for time to get them through safely. If this Lash thought he was talking to Zodiac then that would make him hold off. He needed a human he could trust to pose as Zodiac. The only one he could think of was the mayor. He didnat look much like Zodiac, but he doubted Lash would know the difference. Quickly, he set out to find the mayor.

The mayor wasnat thrilled with Fabarianas plan but saw the need to keep the enemy from attacking for as long as possible. He thought about bringing it up to Zodiac himself but decided that now was not the time to have an argument between the two. Dragging out his old mail and breastplate, he borrowed a sword and went to the bridge as Fabarian asked. He took two men with him, the one on the right holding the white flag.

Rehearsing the conversation he had planned, the mayor went to the middle of the bridge and stopped. It wasnat long before a man appeared from the side of the road and walked up to the bridge.

aWho are you?a aI am Lord Zodiac, I wish to speak with your leader, Sir Lash.a he called back.

The man waved. aIall get him, wait there.a As he watched the man jog back up the road, the mayor again ran through his head how he was going to tell Sir Lash he needed time to get all the humans out. After all, there were wagons to fill, supplies to gather--surely he could hold off for a day while his fellow humansa safety was seen to. Lash had the town surrounded, what was one day?

The far-off snap of strings got his attention. From the edge of the fields by the woods, four long shafts rose high in the air. He watched them climb, wondering why they would be shooting into the field. The longer he watched, the more he realized they were going to clear the field--and they were headed for the bridge. Spreading his arms to push the men beside him he shouted, aBack, go back!a They ran as the spears descended on them. The first one landed just outside the rail ahead of them, blasting a quarter of the bridge away and sending rock flying in a high-speed spray. The second landed where they had been standing, shattering the bridge to send the center third crumbling into the river. The third landed next to the guardhouse, blasting it and the barn beside it into burning splinters. The fourth landed in the river, sending up a dome of white water. The mayor was no longer alive to see the destruction, nor the other spears that were heading for the river edge of town.

Zodiac heard the blasts from where he was giving instructions to the large band of residents. They were the only ones left in this part of town. As he watched the fireballs rise, he saw other shafts coming down. They had no time to run.

aGet down, faces on the ground!a he yelled.

A few buildings down, the blacksmithas shop was torn apart by an explosion. Farther up the street a spear landed in front of the church, shredding the entranceway and setting fire to the building. Two more explosions sounded then there was the quiet crackling of burning.

Zodiac checked the sky for more spears. Not seeing any, he told the men, aGo back to Pine Street and set your defenses there.a On their way to the street he hoped was safe from the spear attack, he heard the rumble of explosions from other parts of the town. Fearing for the gateway, he ran to find it was still intact. The mass of people waiting to go through were screaming and crying. From what he could see, their escape route was safe for now.

Spears fell until shattered and burning buildings ringed the town. On the north side a long line of attackers edged towards the ruined structures, setting themselves to shoot their bows as others behind them bore the burden of carrying the large ballistas.

Fabarian tried to counterattack. Leading the largest force he could get together, five hundred townsmen interspersed with soldiers, he rushed the thin wall of bowmen, hoping to break through and destroy those damn spear-throwing machines. The open space was only eighty yards wide.

As soon as they were seen, the bowmen let loose with a volley that dropped the ones in front. Yelling as they ran, some returned fire, stopping just long enough to shoot before running on. The attackers held fast, firing into the oncoming hoard. The gap had closed to fifty yards when a few attackers stood to throw what looked like purplish glass globes into the massed townsmen.

The globes hit, blasting holes in the cluster of men. Bodies and pieces of bodies rained down amid the survivors. The screams of battle became screams of pain. Fabarian was ripped apart from behind. Those lucky enough to escape being blown up met another hail of arrows. Few made it to the line of bowmen. Those who did met bow on bow in close combat.

More attackers raced towards the battle with swords. The townsmen, who had managed to make a small hole in the line of attackers, held their ground in a desperate hope that their comrades would soon be beside them. They never made it.

The few men in the back who had escaped death saw what was happening and fled. Wounded lay everywhere, crying for help. The small group that had broken through were cut down then each man crying for help was slaughtered. Three more spears were launched into the ruins where the remaining men had taken cover. The attackers then firmed up their own lines and got the ballistas ready for the word to begin the attack.

Zodiac got news of what had happened from one of the terrified survivors. He had expected Fabarian to be smarter than to rush out against those weapons. From what the blubbering man told him, Fabarian had used the entire northern defense to make his suicide attack. Any hope of actively keeping the enemy out was gone--as soon as they figured out there was no one left they would pour in from the north.

Zodiac decided to collapse the remaining defenses. He sent runners to every part of town with a simple message: get to the gateway as fast as you can.

To his surprise, he found JoJo on this side of the gateway. The wizard was watching the line of men move through, occasionally glancing up at the sky.

Walking up beside him, Zodiac asked, aWhat are you doing here? I thought you went through with Duncan.a JoJo shook his head. aDuncan and Entaurus are laying surprises for our guests. The druids have all left, except for Barkum here. Someone has to protect the gateway.a aWell, donat stay too long. Iam going to need you on the plains.a aIall be fine. Why donat you go ahead and make sure no one is in my lab? Iall be real upset if my spell doesnat work,a JoJo said firmly.

Zodiac glanced at the line at the gate. Men were now moving through, and another group was running up the street to take their turn. He estimated there were over a thousand men still waiting.

Somewhere in the town, Commander Eldarin was rallying what was left of his troops.

The sound of cawing got his attention. He looked up as JoJo sent a shaft of pale blue magic at the crow. Feathers flew as the magic hit and the bird fell.

aThey know what weare up to,a JoJo warned him.

aDamn!a he spat. aKeep the gate open as long as you can. When things turn bad, get out of here.a JoJo jerked his thumb at the gateway. aYou go now. The Company needs a leader, and weave no time to haggle over a new one.a Zodiac shook his head. aIn a few minutes.a Turning to the line of men, he called out, aI need a few volunteers!a JoJoas voice was stern. aZodiac, youave done all you can--leave!a aJust one minute!a he snapped back. Two townsmen, a human and a half-elf, came forward. Quickly he told them, aPass the word--whoever canat get to the gate should try to slip out of town any way you can. The best bet is the river or through a drainage ditch.a aZodiac, now!a JoJo yelled.

Holding a finger up behind him, Zodiac told them, aIf you canat get away, surrender. Donat get killed for no reason.a An explosion sounded above them. Ducking, they looked up to see the fireball rising, and other spears dropping down all over the town. JoJo shot his magic at another one close by, detonating it before it hit. Quickly turning his head to Zodiac, he barked, aGo before I make you go!a Multiple explosions rocked the town. The ground rumbled as deafening blasts shook the air. The line for the gate became a mob, all trying to get through at once. Barkumas cries for them to get back went unheard. JoJo got two more spears before they could descend on them. A third struck down the street into the tail end of the line. The blast engulfed the line, pitching bodies about.

The mass of men trying to force their way through the gate stressed the magic holding it open. They screamed as it shrank, fusing parts of their bodies into solid wood. The spears had stopped falling, but in the distance Zodiac saw another wave rise into the air. The gate was failing; no more were going through.

Anger written on his face, JoJo strode up to Zodiac and grabbed him by the top edge of his armor. Holding a glass cube, he spoke a few strong words and the two of them disappeared. The ones who saw this cried for them to return. The gate now being useless, Barkum ran for another nearby tree to make his own escape. It was then a pair of spears came down, one just in front of him and the other directly on the tree.

Lash sat on his horse on a hill overlooking the destruction of Newburg. From his vantage point, he could see the smoke trails that led up to the growing black cloud overhead. The third set of spears hit, shattering more buildings. Over half the town was in flames now--whoever was left would not be putting up much resistance.

One of his lieutenants rode up beside him. aSir Lash, Lantharum reports that the gate they were using to escape has been destroyed.a Lash nodded. aVery good. Does he know how many are left?a aHe calculates less than a few hundred who are capable of fighting.a aStop the spear attack then send in the scouts. Any who resist become hoarc food.a aYes, sir.a The man kicked his horse and rode off.

Lash watched the town burn. He had killed Zodiac as Hans wanted, and the dead would make plentiful hoarc food. He just wished they had destroyed that damn gate sooner--all of the women had escaped. Some days, things just didnat go as planned.

Chapter 5.

Dressed in her black silk robe, Lura materialized in the underground temple of her Master. The walls, floor and ceiling of the pentagram-shaped temple were made from a dull black rock that seemed to absorb the weak torchlight. Had any human eyes been present, all they would have seen of her were her face and hands as she walked towards the center, where the altar stood between two inside points of the star-shaped room.

The Master stood there, facing her. Her shape was that of a voluptuous human woman, but with large, bat-like wings and sharply pointed, hand-length horns on her forehead. Like Lura, she was clad in black Lura took the bag fromunder her robe and pulled out two bloody hearts. Placing them side-by-side on the altar, she bowed and said, "Hail to thee, Master. I bring you the hearts of two of your enemies, the dragon handler Devernon and Commander Edarin of Elsanor. I learned what I could before I tore these from their chests."

The demon Aliana regarded her servant. The elfmaid was one of her favorites, talented in magic and very loyal. "What did you learn?"

Lura smiled. "Newburg is destroyed, andLash reported that Zodiac is dead. According to what I learned from Commander Eldarin before I tore his heart out, the elves know nothing of our plans.a Her smile dimmed. aMany druids did evade our trap, however; and Tayan has escaped from his prison cell.a Aliana nodded slowly. "Do not be too concerned. Without Zodiac, the druids will not venture from their woods--we will destroy them in time. I want you to make sure Hans takes Elsanor quickly. Once he has it, move ahead of him, eliminate any survivors and keep resistance from being organized.a Leaning over, she crooked a finger to beckon the elf closer. Their lips met. Aliana kissed her deeply, first drawing out some life then breathing it back into her. Lura moaned with delight, her hand on her Master's face.

When the kiss was broken, Lura gazed lovingly at Aliana. "My life is yours, my Master."

Aliana caressed her hair softly. "You are a good servant. Once I have Elrad enslaved, we will cast away that flesh you wear now. You will become Lura the demon, andwe will conquer this world together.a "For your glory," Lura breathed.

Giving her a smile, Aliana touched her forehead. "Return.a Lura faded from sight. The taste of her life force made Aliana feel hungry. Picturing her food slave in her mind, she faded out of the temple and appeared in a small rock chamber. A meager, ever-burning torch revealed a large shaggy man with red hair hanging by his arms on the opposite wall. Shackled so he could not sit, his arms were spread just wide enough to keep him from reaching the shiny battleaxe that still hung on his belt. The remains of a mail shirt hung on him in pieces. His head was bowed on his chest, not from sleep but weakness.

"Rise, slave!" she growled as she walked up to him.

The man groaned and shook his head. "No...no more...not again."

"Yes, again," she snapped. Reaching down, she grabbed him and pulled him upright. As she lifted his head, she could not help but grin at the hopelessness in his eyes. He twisted away as she tried to kiss him. Grabbing his chin roughly, she turned his head back and locked her lips on his. He kicked out weakly as she began to feed on his life force.

The warmth of his essence filled her as she drew it out of him. The real charge of energy was at the end. As he started to die, the magic that kept him from doing so flowed into her. She became lightheaded as sparkles dotted her vision and power sizzled into every part of her body. It was her turn to moan as her knees went weak.

She had to brace herself against the wall until the surges of power settled inside her. This was the energy that sustained her. Before she captured this source of power, one day of becoming solid in this world and using her magic would drain her for the next ten. She would be no more than a ghost until she regained her strength.

Although he looked dead now, in a few hours he would be restored. Whatever kept bringing him back to life also supplied her with an unlimited source of energy. She now stayed in solid form no matter how much energy she expended. Whenever she started to feel the slightest bit of weakness, she came down here for a recharge. Her magic and his everlasting life made her invincible.

She knew her food slave didn't remember much, if anything. Knowledge of their pact was burned from his memory by his repeated deaths. She could probably kill Tayan, and her slave would never know. Even if some small part of him did realize she had broken the pact they made, there was nothing he could do about it chained to a wall. The only danger was that Lucifer would know, and he took great offence when a pact made in his name was dishonored. Being in the land of the living did not insulate her from his wrath.

Tayan had somehow escaped from Elsanor. Knowing him, he was probably going for help. She had to do something--the last thing she wanted was humans pouring into Elrad. All the work she had done making Alderlan hate them would be undone if she let Tayan rally support.

If she hadn't made the pact, she'd simply have him killed. As it was, she'd spent a considerable amount of energy protecting him. In a way, it was amusing. Here she was making sure that one of her enemy's own people was being kept from harm. Wouldn't they be surprised if they knew!

Thinking about that, a grin crossed her face. Maybe it was time to protect him from more than her own minions. She didn't have to destroy him. She could do more damage by protecting him more obviously. It was time Tayan of Elrad had an escort.

Returning to the temple, Aliana went to the altar and picked up the two hearts. Both were fresh and moist; they would be perfect. Raising her arms high, she started her incantation, her voice booming through the murk.

"Master of Evil, King of Death, your servant calls upon your greatness to bring me a guardian!a Reaching out with her soul, she touched the abyss. Power surged through her as she brought the hearts together over her head.

"Grant me my wish, open the portal!"

Squeezing the hearts, she slowly brought her arms down to the sides. In the air, a bloody arch formed in their wake. Continuing down to the floor, she drew them back together. Leaving them there, she stood up and stepped back.

"I command the portal to open!a The area within the bloody arch turned opaque with the blackness of the abyss. Extending one hand towards the portal, she commanded, "Guardian, come forth!"

The darkness seemed to bulge into the room. As it expanded, it took the form of an extremely large dog. Its head was level with hers as it stepped through. Sitting on its haunches, it folded its wings. The Guardian's eyes opened, glowing red as it waited for her commands. The dim light of the room penetrated the portal; then the arch of blood fell to the floor.

The gargoyle was here, but for it to be useful she needed to give it substance as well as spirit. Placing her hands on the sides of its head, she willed it to open its mouth then pursed her lips and blew. Luminescent tendrils of life force flowed into the beast. With the life, she breathed magic into it as well. Slowly, the dull black creature turned lighter until it solidified into the color of mottled granite.

Looking into the red eyes, she said, "Go to Tayan of Elrad, protect his person, let no violence touch him. You now carry my wishes towards him and have my power to travel at will. Go.a The gargoyle rumbled out a low roar. Spreading its wings, it flapped them once and disappeared. The only proof it had been there were bloody splotches on the floor.

Aliana left the temple through the double doors at the base of the star this time. She passed between the vlaks that guarded her sanctuary. She looked much smaller than her six-foot height as she moved past them. Reaching up, she caressed the hard foreleg of one of her pets.

Although they were not intelligent, the lizard-like vlaks were very strong and well-armored with their thick, bony exoskeletons. The triangular spike at the end of their segmented tail was even more deadly than the long snout full of sharp teeth. Standing on their back legs, vlaks outran horses, even terrified ones trying to escape. Vlaks were fast, deadly and hard to kill--the perfect fighting machines.

Lit with glowing orbs that hung from the ceiling, the underground passages were much brighter than either her temple or her private chambers. Being a creature of darkness, Aliana didn't need light to see. Her eyes detected the slightest variations of heat and cold. Coupled with her ability to sense the presence of entities near her, it meant she had no need for light. Unfortunately, many of her servants did not share her ability, including vlaks.

Turning into a dark alcove, she opened the doors to her private chambers with her mind. There was no light save the bright glow of heat her slaves gave off. As she entered, the three slaves rose and awaited her commands. Once human men, she had destroyed their minds, leaving them without wills of their own. It did not matter that they could not see--they had been imprinted to be able to move about in her chambers without sight.

Looking at the shorter one, she told him wordlessly to fetch her blood wine. She sent a second for her crystal then had the third kneel down in front of her chair as a footrest. Sitting down, she propped her feet on his bare back.

Rubbing one foot along his ribs, she savored the feel of flesh. As her time in this world wore on, she began to develop an appreciation for things she had never considered before. The taking of life was a thing she needed to sustain her own. To take that life was exhilarating, both the deed and the terror it caused in her victim. This had been a pleasant surprise--she had never enjoyed eating souls in the abyss.

Lesser things also caused her pleasure. She exchanged life force with Lura to give the elf power and to bring her closer to darkness. In doing so, she enjoyed the actual meeting of lips. She had even toyed with the thought of kissing just for the sake of kissing. It had been the same with that knight she had seduced. She could have killed him outright; but to humiliate him, to feel him couple with her before she took his life, had been wonderful. The child from that union had been another surprise. It amused her to have the girl, a small version of herself to train. As she had gotten older, though, the girl took on more human characteristics. No amount of whipping could change her; she became more defiant. Eventually she ran away. Since it was her own child, she had decided not to hunt it down and kill it.

She had become even more sensitive in the last few years as she fed off her food slave. Once, she had tried to seduce him. He had resisted with a strength she hadn't thought possible in humans. No matter how hard she probed his mind and tried to arouse him, he blocked her out. In frustration, she broke his legs before she drained his life. His screams were some comfort; but in a small way, he had won. She was still thinking about how to make him suffer for that.

The slave returned to stand beside her with the crystal. He held the multifaceted gem in his open palm, staring sightlessly ahead. Aliana took the crystal and gripped it tightly in one hand. Putting her energy into it, she conjured a mental picture of Hans. She held it no more than a moment before his voice came into her head.

"My beautiful and powerful Master, what do you wish of me?"

She could now see him in a camp, holding his own crystal that connected them. "How are your new toys working?a aWonderfully, Master.a he grinned. aThe spears create total chaos when we drop them. By mixing them with plain spears, we can make the enemy wizards expel their energy on fakes. The zombie women also worked quite well--the elves took them in without a second thought. When I attack Elsanor, I will use them on a larger scale.a aVery good, Hans. The land you take will be yours to rule, once you give me the elven kingas head.a aThank you, Master.a Aliana slapped the crystal back into her slave's palm. "Put it away.a She knew she would have to make more hoarcs and breed more pilgyns. The bulk of her army was in Elrad; even if Hans didn't take large losses, she had to be prepared in case Tayan managed to rally support. It was such a shame she couldnat kill him.

Sliding a calf over her slave's lower back, she decided to leave serious thought for later. "Come, slave, it's time to service me."

Amber sat on the front seat of the coach, fingering her braided ponytail as she watched the countryside go by. When Tayan groaned and sat up to get his bearings, she turned to him and smiled.

"Good afternoon, sleep well?"

Stretching the kinks out of his arms and back, he frowned at the shrub and pines going by. "Where are we?" he asked.

"On the road to Paladnia. We should be there in a few hours." Digging into the bag by her side, she asked, "Hungry? I picked up some fresh fruit in Capetown, and there is some freshly cooked fish and some jerked venison."

He stared at her for a few seconds. "Oh, no." he breathed, flopping back to stare at the coach roof.

"Something wrong?" she asked innocently.

Tayan snorted a sarcastic laugh as he looked at her. "Wrong? Just because Zodiac kidnapped me and may have started a war with Elrad, why should anything be wrong?"

Folding the bag back over, Amber gave a huff. "He needs you to gather support for an attack on the plains. You cannot do that if youare in prison."

"While people I care about on both sides die in a useless battle?" he asked heavily.

Giving him a soft look, she said, "Tayan, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Give him a chance."