The Cypher Wheel

(Custodian Novel #3)

Alison Pensy

Other titles by this author:

The Amulet (Custodian Novel #1)

The Emerald Staff (Custodian Novel #2)

Copyright 2012 by Alison Pensy

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

Published by Laxsaro Publishing / May 2012

ISBN: 978-0-9825438-4-9

CHAPTER ONE

Faedra burped, forcing a short burst of flame from her mouth, followed by a curl of smoke that snaked upwards from her nostril.

Her dad stifled a giggle and Faen bit his lip, desperately trying to hide his smirk.

The three of them were sitting at the dining table, having dinner in the large welcoming kitchen of the Bennett cottage.

“It's not funny.” Faedra snapped as she shot a glare across the dining table at each of the mickey-takers in turn.

“Well, actually, darling.  It really rather is.” Henry said, without the slightest hint of shame in his voice.

“How can you say that?” Faedra questioned.  Her voice started to rise in frustration, as her gaze drifted around the kitchen to note all the scorch marks dotted about on the cabinets and counter tops.  “I've burned nearly every piece of furniture we own.  I'm surprised I haven't actually burned the house down yet.  We couldn't even have a Christmas tree last Christmas.” She shuddered at the thought of what may have happened with all those tinder dry pine needles all over the living room floor.

“Careful, Hun.  You know what happens when your emotions start getting the better of you.”   Henry looked down at his mug of tea and picked it up.  “Speaking of which, my tea's gone cold, would you mind?” Henry held his mug across the table to his now scowling daughter.

Faedra's shoulders slumped. “Well, that's just great,” she said taking the offered mug and cupping her hands around it. “I'm the most powerful being in all of the seven realms and you treat me like a glorified tea pot.”  Within seconds, steam was rising once again from the liquid inside.  She handed it back to him.

“Thanks, darling.”

“You're welcome,” she said with definite lack of enthusiasm.

Since Faedra had defeated Savu, the most powerful creature in the seven realms, and consequently sucked said power into herself -- bearing in mind this was on top of the one she inherited on her eighteenth birthday, which she was struggling to control in the first place -- she had singlehandedly scorched, charred, or otherwise, burned a hole in nearly every surface she'd touched since coming home.  The house was a disaster; Faedra felt awful that she was ruining all of her dad's things, along with her own. Sometimes she wished she could have stayed in that cave in the Arctic Circle, the one Faen had taken her to after consuming Savu's power.  At least she couldn't burn rock.  Well, she didn't think she could, anyway.

She sighed.  “Dad, you are not taking this at all seriously,” Faedra chastised.

“Darling, it's only been a few months.  Give it some time.  You'll get a handle on it, eventually.”

“It's been six months, Dad,” she corrected, “and I have to say I'm starting to have my doubts.”

“Your father is right, Faedra.  Six months is not a lot of time to master a power that has been growing for millennia. You will learn how to control this power, just as you did with your original one,” Faen said sliding a hand over hers in a show of support.

Faedra looked at her Guardian and saw the sincerity shining in his eyes. She gave him a weak smile in response before pulling her hand away, offering Faen a silent apology for her action when his expression fell.

“I hope you're right, Faen.  I'm getting sick and tired of hiding away in the house.  I didn't mind so much over the winter, but now it's spring.” She hung her head back and whispered up at the ceiling, more to herself than her dinner companions. “I'm dying to get out.”

“Your wish is my command, my lady.” A familiar whisper fanned a warm breath across her ear and she sat up with a start.

“For crying out loud, Etyran!  Don't you ever knock?  And don't sneak up on me like that; I could have blown you to smithereens.  Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Etyran unwrapped the light from around him as if peeling the rind from an orange and became visible to the diners around the table.  With his signature roguish grin, he leaned over and gave Faedra a kiss of greeting on her cheek, but quickly withdrew as the heat from her skin seared his lips. “Oops, keep forgetting that,” he said as he rubbed his sore lips.  He turned to Faen.

“Hello, mate,” Etyran greeted his friend across the table, to which he received a smile and an incline of Faen's head in response.  Then he turned to Henry. “Good evening, Mr. Bennett.”

“Hello, Etyran.  And how many times do I have to tell you?  Call me Henry.”

“Yes, Sir.”  He turned his attention back to Faedra. “'Allo, sweetie.  And how is my favorite Custodian this fine evening?”

Faedra propped her chin on her hand, elbow on the table.  “Miserable, thanks for asking.  And seeing as I'm the only Custodian, I have to be your favorite by default.”

“Oh, dear.  Someone's feeling grouchy today,” Etyran said, stating the obvious.

“No change there, then,” Faedra responded with as much sarcasm as she could muster. “I'm grouchy every day, or hadn't you noticed?”

Faen and Henry nodded in agreement when Etyran moved his gaze around the table.

“Anyway, I think I've earned the right to be grouchy when I'm saddled with a power I have no hope of controlling and I'm the laughing stock of the two people who are supposed to love me.” She shot a pointed look at her father and Faen, who both surreptitiously dropped their gazes to their now empty dinner plates.

She admitted to herself she was starting to sound like a whiny baby at this point, but try as she might, she couldn't seem to get herself out of the funk she was in.

“Well, at least you have someone to love you,” Etyran pointed out with a rather deflated tone to his voice.

Faedra felt a wave of shame wash over her.  Etyran had confided in her how lonely he felt, especially being the last of his kind.  The only Lightbender left in the seven realms.

She brought her gaze to meet his.  “I'm sorry, Etyran. That was really thoughtless of me.”

Etyran recovered quickly, his face lighting up again like a kid who'd just been told he was going to Disney World.

“Nah, don't worry about it.  Anyway, I have something that will cheer you right up.”  He brought his hand around from where he'd been hiding it behind his back.  Fanned between his fingers were four tickets, which he waved eagerly in front of everyone.

“What are they?” Faedra asked.

“Falconchase is coming to Norwich and I only scored us some tickets!” he said, waving the tickets back and forth in front of his face for effect.

“No way!” Faedra exclaimed.

Falconchase was a company that organized treasure hunts around the country.  Their treasure hunts were usually amazing and getting tickets to one was incredibly difficult, as they were in such high demand.  This was the first time they had come to Norwich.  The treasure hunts were exclusive events and tickets were much sought after and very expensive.  Usually, you had to book at least a year in advance to be able to take part, but the prize was well worth the wait.  Last year the grand prize had been a new car.

Faedra fleetingly thought of her old banger sitting in the driveway and how nice it would be to trade up.  But since she couldn't work anymore, for fear of burning down the office, there had been no money coming in to save for a newer car.  If she could win one, it would solve that problem.  She wouldn't have to worry about sharing the prize.  Her friends had no need of a car; they either drove with her or flew everywhere.  Except Etyran, but he mostly went invisible and covertly scrounged a lift on whatever bus was passing at the time. He'd even been known to sneak into a taxi with an unsuspecting passenger.

Finding it hard to hide her excitement, Faedra said, “How on earth did you get your hands on four tickets to the treasure hunt?”

“Funny you should ask.” He shot her another of his roguish grins for effect. “They turned up through the letterbox this morning, along with a letter saying I'd won them in a competition.”  Then he mused, more to himself than everyone else.  “Only thing is, I can't remember ever entering any competition.”  Snapping his attention back to those at the table, he continued.  “Anyway, I'm not complaining, I've been wanting to do this for years.  They used to do them in London all the time when I lived there, but I just never got around to going.”  He shot her another grin and she gave him a dubious look.

“What?  I got them fair and square.  I promise.”

The Lightbender had become a permanent fixture since returning with them from the icy cave, and said letterbox belonged to a local flat above one of the shops in the village that Etyran had taken possession of.  Although, how he was paying for it Faedra wasn't entirely sure and hadn't dared ask.  It was more than likely she wouldn't like the answer.

“Are you sure you didn't steal them?” Faedra questioned.

Etyran looked affronted at her accusation, but pulled something from the pocket of his long coat and showed it to her.  “See, they came in this envelope addressed to me.”

Faedra took the envelope and gave it a good going over.  It was deep red in color and the edges were lavishly decorated with gold runes.  True enough, it had the flat's address on it but not Etyran's name.  In fact, there was no name and no postage stamp on the envelope.  It had been hand delivered.

This fact alone sent Faedra's internal warning alarm ringing at the highest level.  She had become a lot more paranoid over the past year, with very good reason, and she would tell anyone who kept reminding her of this fact.

“Oh, I don't think so.” Faedra stated as she handed the envelope for Faen to look at.

“What? Why?” Etyran asked, unable to hide his dismay.  “Oh, come on, Fae, it's only a treasure hunt, what could possibly go wrong?”

Faedra gave him a look that said 'well let's see, shall we... the last two parties I attended someone either wanted me skewered or roasted.  Excuse me for being overly cautious.'

“Yeah, okay, I see where you're coming from,” Etyran conceded. “But there are four tickets.  I thought you, Faen, Jocelyn, and I could go.  Let's face it, Faedra, you're the most powerful being out there.  How on earth is anyone going to be able to harm you, anyway?  I'm sure word has gone around; I can't see anyone being that stupid, to be honest.”

Etyran did have a good point.  Faedra hadn't thought about it like that before.  After the last two attempts at getting out and enjoying herself had resulted in her being the target of a vengeful princess, she'd become a little gun shy.  But that person was locked up now and, as far as she was aware, no one else wanted their revenge on her for being their half-sister.  That's not to say there wasn't anyone out there who wanted their revenge on her for some other reason.  Not that she could think of one at that point in time.  Yes, she admitted to herself that she was being overly paranoid, so she gave it some thought for a few more moments.

Maybe she should do this.  Goodness only knew she needed to get out of the house.

“Give it some thought, love.”  Her dad's voice penetrated her mind.  “You love a good treasure hunt.  Remember when I used to hide your presents around the garden when you were little and gave you clues to go and find them?”

A big smile crept across Faedra's face, probably the first real smile for six months.  She did remember and the happiness from those memories seeped into her heart.  She turned to her Guardian. “What do you think?”

“Honestly?  I think it is a great idea.  You do need to get out, and like Etyran says, who would possibly be able to harm you now?  You will have the three of us with you, too.”

“But that's just the problem.  It's not so much someone coming after me, but me hurting someone else by accident.  I mean, what if I sneeze?  I could set a whole building on fire.”  Faedra looked down at the table. “No, this isn't a good idea,” she whispered.

She heard a chair squeak on the tile floor and sensed Etyran sitting down to one side of her.  Faen took her hand again and squeezed. She raised her gaze to meet his.  This time Faen subtly withdrew his hand before she had a chance to take it.  Her heart felt heavy again.

“You need to get out into the big wide world again someday.”

“He's right, Fae,” Henry said.  “You really can't stay locked away here forever, it's not healthy.  Go out and enjoy yourself.  If anything goes wrong you can always come home early.  You're not going to hurt anyone; you couldn't hurt a fly on purpose.  I know you'll do everything you can to keep control of your power.  And, let's face it, I haven't seen any new scorch marks around for a few days now.”

Faedra gave him a weak smile.  He was right; she hadn't burned anything accidentally for several days.  Maybe she was getting a handle on this new power, after all.  Could she really do this?  Did she have the courage to go out into the general public again?  She could feel herself caving in to the thought of mixing with normal people once more.

Faedra sighed.  “Oh, go on then,” she said to Etyran, who gave her the biggest grin he could muster.  She turned to Faen to see he was smiling at her, too.

Etyran got up from his chair, leaned down and gave Faedra a quick squeeze.

“Excellent, I'll go and tell Jocelyn.  It's this weekend.  You can drive.”

“What?  So soon?” Faedra gulped.

Etyran wasn't going to give her the chance to change her mind.  He made a beeline for the kitchen door and shot a “See you later” over his shoulder before she could say another word.

CHAPTER TWO

Faen sat in silence, cross-legged on Faedra's bed, as he watched her pacing back and forth in front of him.  They had just finished with clearing up the dinner things before making their way up to her bedroom.  She tended to hide away in her room most of the time, something Faen knew her father was saddened by.  But whenever he brought up the subject, she would just tell him the longer she was away from the rest of the house, the less damage she could do.

Faen could see the signs of panic etched into her features as she paced and decided it was best to leave her to her thoughts.   If he butted in, she would probably make excuses not to go out in public, so he just continued to watch as she wore a path in her carpet.  He was becoming concerned about her now; he had been for a while.  He understood it was a lot of power to handle.  He didn't have any doubts that she would, eventually, handle it, but it was the change in her personality that worried him the most.  He'd seen her demeanor shift considerably over the past six months and she wasn't getting any better.  If anything, she was slipping further away from him and he had to think of something to stop her soul from fading, and do it fast.

Faedra had gone from being warm and outgoing, to introverted and distant.  Faen was sure that if she just got out among people again, she would start to feel like her old self.  It had gotten to the point that she would hardly touch him anymore.  On the odd occasion that she did let him touch her, she would withdraw after only a few seconds.  Just a short time ago at the dinner table had brought that back to the forefront of his mind.  He had to admit it left him feeling empty and helpless, even though he knew it was because she'd burned him on several occasions and she couldn't bear to hurt him anymore. The pain in her eyes when she'd done it almost crushed him.  Even though he always healed quickly and the pain was gone in a few moments, Faedra was not willing to keep on doing it, and he missed her.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he realized she'd stopped pacing and was standing in front of him, head lowered.  Her face was harried, showing signs of a soul much older than her years.

“I can't do it, Faen.  I'll just hurt someone, I know I will,” she said, her eyes full of sadness. Everything about her posture screaming defeat.

“Yes, you can, and, no, you will not,” Faen whispered.  His expression emphasizing his determination to get back the girl he loved from where she was hiding behind a carefully erected wall.

Faedra's eyes glistened. “No, I can't.  I can't risk hurting anyone.  Faen, you don't understand… this energy, it's almost consuming me.  Every minute of every day all I hear is a roar inside my head, like the blast of a furnace.  Sometimes I think I'll go crazy.  I just want it to be quiet, I want it to stop.  I don't know how much longer I can take this.”

Faen uncrossed his legs and slid off the bed in one fluid motion.  He stood in front of her and took her hands in his.

“I know you can do it and I know you will not hurt anyone.  I will prove it to you right now.”

She looked up into his eyes, giving him a wordless apology as she extricated herself from his grip and took a step back.

Undeterred, Faen took a step forward, taking hold of her hands again as he did so.

Faedra gave him a puzzled look as she withdrew again and took another step back.  When Faen took another step forward and reached for her hands again, she carefully put them behind her back and matched his forward step with another backwards one.

“What are you doing?” she asked.  The determination on his face sparking concern in her heart; Faedra just couldn't bear to hurt him anymore.

He took another step forward, giving her a reassuring smile as he did,  to which Faedra repeated her backwards step but found herself blocked by her bedroom wall.

She pressed her back into the wall, reveling in the coolness of it for just a second before her heat warmed the entire surface.  Faen moved in so close he was but an inch away from her body.  She closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath and held it.  He could feel the heat she was radiating as her emotions started to rise, but, as yet, it was just pleasantly warm.  He knew she was fighting to control the power that was ever present in her body and hoped his gamble would pay off.

“Breathe,” he whispered, his warm breath fanning over her face.

“Faen,” she warned, as he took both of her arms, peeled them away from behind her back and placed each one of her hands around his neck.  She opened her eyes. “I don't want to hurt you.”

“You won't,” he stated.

“How can you say that?  Have you been walking around this place with your eyes closed?  I burn everything I touch.” She tried to pull her hands away from his neck but he held them in place.

Faen could see her eyes pleading with him, but he also sensed she wanted him to hold her, wanted to feel normal again.

“I have been watching you very closely and in the past few days you have not burned or scorched anything, and I have not kissed you in six months.  My patience just ran out.”  He brushed her cheeks as he tucked errant strands of hair behind each ear and cupped her face in his hands.  Her skin heated under his palms, but not uncomfortably so.

“Concentrate on the glass of water on your bedside table,” he said as he lowered his head until his lips were just millimeters away from hers. “Ready?”

“No,” she whimpered.

“Too bad,” Faen whispered a split second before brushing her lips, gently at first.  Allowing her time to adjust.

He felt her tense for a second under his touch; heat rose to her lips, almost painful, then ebbed away.  She relaxed into him. He deepened their kiss for a few seconds more before pulling back.  He didn't want to push her too far the first time.  He also wanted to keep his lips intact.

Faedra's eyes were locked onto his, full of fear and panic.  He gave her a warm smile.

“See, no harm done.  No blisters.”

A bubbling noise distracted them and Faen turned to see what it was.  Faedra leaned to one side of her Guardian to seek out the cause of noise.  The glass of water on her bedside cabinet was boiling so fiercely that water was splashing over the rim and onto the wood.

“Well, that worked well,” Faen said, feeling proud of himself for the suggestion.

“I can't pull it back, though,” Faedra cried.  “I can't let it go.”

The glass was starting to bounce around on the surface with the force of the boiling water.  Steam was rising and turning to smoke.

Faen turned back to his Custodian, unwilling to let this experiment fail. “Faedra, look at me.”

Faedra returned her anguished gaze back to her Guardian.

“Breathe. In...” Faen took a deep breath in, encouraging Faedra to do the same. The glass kept bouncing about on the wooden surface. “And out...” Faen released a heavy breath.  Faedra did the same.  “And again.  No, look at me,” Faen said when Faedra returned her worried gaze to the glass boiling over on the bedside table, the odd flame dancing about from the splashes.  “Concentrate on me.”  The moment he said it, he realized it was the wrong thing to say.  A wave of heat seared his insides and sweat beaded on his forehead.  The water in the glass reduced to a slow simmer. “Okay, that was the wrong thing to say.  Concentrate on the glass, but look at me, and breathe.”

The heat subsided within him and the glass started to boil over again.

Faedra kept her panicked gaze locked on her Guardian's and followed his breathing.

“I've got you,” he said.  “I've always got you.  We will get through this together.”

A tear slid down Faedra's cheek, evaporating into steam before it reached her chin. Unblinking, she kept her gaze locked, drawing the positive energy she needed from her Guardian.  After a few moments, the water bubbling in the glass started to subside.  When it settled completely, Faedra blew out a weary sigh and allowed her head to fall and rest on Faen’s chest.  He relaxed when she did and wrapped his arms around her.  He would stay right here for as long as she would let him.

***

The weekend came far too quickly as far as Faedra was concerned.  She was still having her doubts about this whole 'going out in public' thing, but knew at this point that none of her friends would let her back down now.  They would probably drag her out of the house kicking and screaming if they had to.  She really didn't want to subject them to that, so, grudgingly, she put on her boots and jacket before exiting through the front door.

“You’ll be fine, darling,” Henry said, as he waited by the door. “Now go and enjoy yourself, you deserve it.  You’ll have Faen with you.” He gave a nod to Faen who was already outside waiting for his charge.

Faedra gave her dad a weak smile and then huffed out a breath.  “Well, let's do this, shall we?” she said to Faen.

“Bye, Dad.  See you later.” She gave him a quick hug before walking towards the car with her Guardian.  She hadn't driven her car for six months.  She was hoping it would still start. Her dad had kept it turning over regularly and took it for the odd spin to keep it going, so it should be okay.  Faen got in the passenger seat and was putting his seat-belt on as Faedra put her keys in the ignition. Before she had a chance to turn them, the car engine turned over and whirred to life.  Faedra pulled her hands away from the steering wheel and held them up as if she had a gun pointed at her.

“What the...?” she turned to Faen and gave him a questioning look. Faen finished clicking the belt into place and gave her a reassuring smile.  “I didn't even turn the key and the engine started.”

“I saw that,” he said.

“That's it?  That's all you have to say?”

“I think you were probably hoping the car would start.”

“I was, but... how did you know?”

“Faedra, you are going to discover all sorts of things that you can do.  For a while, they will probably surprise you.”

Faedra rolled her eyes at her Guardian's stoic response.  At least one of them was staying calm and controlled.  She knew she was unlikely to be that side of the equation for a very long time.

With a sigh of resignation, Faedra put the car in reverse, pulled out of her parking spot and then carefully put it in gear before driving down the driveway and off the property.  She could feel the tingle of the wards as she pulled onto the road.  Something she had never felt before. She sucked in a breath and looked at Faen who was watching her carefully.

“You felt the wards?” he asked.

“Yes.  I've never felt them before.”

“As I assumed,” he stated.  “All your senses will be heightened.  You have been sheltered in the house with just your father and me since getting all this extra power; you became so used to our energy.  You may feel a little bombarded out in public.  Just take it easy, you will get used to it.”

“Oh, and you didn't think to warn me about this before?”

Panic started to rise within Faedra again.  What on earth was she going to have to deal with on top of trying to control the fire?  She wasn't even sure she could keep that under control, but she hadn't considered that she would have to deal with anything other than that.

They drove in silence for the few minutes it took to get to the church where they were going to pick up Jocelyn and Etyran.  The two of them had taken turns to visit her throughout her self-imposed quarantine at the house.  Unfortunately, she had not been able to see her other two friends, Amy and Zoe in all that time.  Her father had used the excuse that she had Glandular Fever and was not to see anyone.  She had kept in contact with them through phone calls and e-mails, but she missed hanging out with her human friends and hoped to be able to do so now.  They were so 'normal' and she ached to feel that way again.

She shifted her thoughts back to driving as she pulled up to the church. Faedra saw Jocelyn and Etyran waiting for them outside the ancient wooden gate that was the entrance to the church grounds.

Jocelyn gave her a big beaming grin as Faedra pulled up.  She was about to lean forward to open the back door, but Etyran beat her to it and opened the door for her.

“Milady,” he said as he gestured for her to get in with a sweep of his arm.

Jocelyn blushed bright red at his gesture and gave him a fidgety curtsey in response, before sliding herself onto the back seat.  Etyran closed the door behind her and ran around the back of the car.

“Hi, Faedra,” Jocelyn sang as she settled in behind Faedra. “This is so exciting isn't it?  I'm so glad you decided to come and do this with us.”

Faedra was about to respond when a wave of energy slammed into her as Etyran settled himself onto the back seat and closed the door.  Her eyebrows shot up and goose bumps flashed up her arms.  She turned her head, giving each of them in turn a considering look.

“What?” Etyran said.  A look of puzzlement washing over his features when he saw the scrutinizing look he was getting.

She turned her look to Jocelyn, who gave her an equally puzzled look.

Faedra gave her head a quick shake to push back the feeling before blustering a quick greeting.

“Something wrong?” Faen asked when Faedra returned her attention to the front of the car.

She gave him a quick sideways glance.  She cautiously evaluated the surge of energy filling her, scared that it may be something bad.  Then she realized just what it was that she was feeling and a huge smile crept across her face.

A crease formed in Faen's brow.  Puzzled at the absolute joy filling the Custodian's features.   It was something he hadn't seen for a long time.

“Nope.  Nothing wrong,” Faedra answered, the smile still plastered on her face.

Faen opened his mouth to say something else, thought better of it, and closed it again.

“Let's go, shall we?” Faedra said as she put the indicator on and pulled out onto the road.

CHAPTER THREE

The journey into the city was filled with chatter about the upcoming treasure hunt.  It was a bright spring day, with not a cloud in the sky.  There was still a nip in the air, requiring the use of a lightweight jacket, but it was the kind of day Faedra loved to be out in. Right now she was feeling good about her decision to go along with her friends.

As they neared the meeting point for the beginning of the hunt, Etyran explained a little bit about what to expect.  Faedra was glad of this because she had no clue.  Apparently, the hunt would be conducted within the city and could be done easily on foot.  The use of a car would not be necessary, which was a good thing because trying to find parking in the city was like pulling teeth.  Painful at best, nigh on impossible at worst.

They pulled into the car park of a pub called Adam and Eve.  It had been welcoming guests for over 750 years, making it the oldest pub in the city and the perfect venue for the start of a treasure hunt.  Faedra could see a small crowd of people milling about outside the pub.  She watched as they ducked their heads to get through the doorway, and one by one filed into the ancient building.  People were a lot shorter centuries ago and historical buildings were prohibited from changing their structure, so it didn't matter that the average person would hit their head on the door frame.  They had to duck or stay outside.

She found a parking space and pulled in.  They made their way towards the entrance to the pub.  Faedra looked up at the cobblestone and brick walls, accented by gables at either end of the diminutive building.  As well as being the oldest pub in the city, it was also the smallest.  She wondered if there would be enough room to fit everyone.  Picnic tables were spread in an orderly fashion outside on a paved patio, and a few people were sitting at one of them, deep in conversation while they smoked their cigarettes.  The smell of cigarette smoke hung in the still air as they passed.  The muffled sounds of talking and laughter emanated from inside the pub. Etyran opened the door and gestured for Jocelyn to enter, then he followed behind leaving Faen holding the door open for Faedra.  She paused for a second and gave him a hesitant look before stepping into the room filled with people.  She froze on the spot and time stopped, as all the different energies circulating around the medieval room slammed into her without warning.

Faedra felt anger from a man sitting at the bar, giving a dirty look to another man, across the room, who had his arm around a lady.  Anticipation and excitement resonated from a majority of the occupants.  And, then pain.  Fear and pain, quite unlike anything she'd ever experienced before, hit her full force in the chest from somewhere in the room.  She followed the energy and it stole the breath right from her lungs.

A man, dressed in 16th century clothing that hung in shreds from his battered body, was standing at the top of the stone steps that led down to the lower bar.  Open wounds covered his torso and face.  He jerked his head up and looked straight at the Custodian.  The fear and desperation ingrained in his eyes turned to realization that she could see him.  He had obviously been murdered and quite gruesomely, too. From the looks of the remains of his clothing, Faedra thought he must have been a Nobleman.

He made a move towards her.  She choked in a lungful of air, trying to fight the heavy weight in her chest that threatened to force all the life out of her.  He took one more step towards her before she came to her senses and backed up sharply, bumping into Faen's chest and standing on his foot as she did.  She turned and looked up into the worried eyes of her Guardian.

“I have to get out of here!” She pushed past him and shoved her way through the people who were waiting to enter the pub.

“Hey, watch where you're going!” a man grouched as she barreled through the growing band of people waiting to get in.

“Sorry,” she threw over her shoulder, but Faedra didn't stop before she got to the furthest corner of the patio and started pacing, weaving in between the picnic tables as she did.

“I can't do this, I can't do this,” she mumbled breathlessly into her palms.

“Faedra?” Faen said, as he caught up with her. “What happened in there?  Are you alright?”

Faedra had her head in her hands; her breathing was sharp and fast.

“Ghost,” she spat out between sharp gasps of breath.

“But, you've seen ghosts before,” Faen reminded her as he reached for her wrists.  He hissed in a breath as the heat from her skin seared his palms and he withdrew them sharply.  Hiding them behind his back so she wouldn't see that she'd hurt him. They would heal in a moment.

She stopped her pacing and looked at him. “Not bloody and beaten ones, I haven't.  And his pain, oh, God, his pain.  I felt it all, Faen, everything they did to him.  I feel sick.”

She sat down on one of the picnic benches and put her head between her knees.  A few seconds later, she felt the closeness of Faen's body as he sat down beside her.

Steam started to rise from the water in a bird bath that was nestled among the flowers bordering the pub walls just a few feet away.  Faen watched as the water started to boil in the sculptured cement dish.  He put his hand on his charge's back and softly rubbed up and down.  Faedra drew from his calming energy and the slow rhythmic motion of his hand.  A moment later her breathing started to return to normal and the water in the bird bath subsided to a slow simmer.

Faedra extracted her face from her hands and turned her head sideways to face her Guardian.  He was also leaning forward to look at her, his hand still rubbing her back.

“Better?” he asked when she gave him a weak smile.

“Yes, thanks.”  At that moment, a mixture of love and worry swept through her and she looked up to see Etyran and Jocelyn standing in front of her, watching her with concerned looks on their faces.

“What's up, Fae?  What happened in there?” Etyran asked.

“Faedra is having a bit more of a problem with energy than we thought she might,” Faen explained.

“And I just happen to live in one of the oldest cities in the country,” Faedra chimed in.  “Oh joy, Norwich is teeming with ghosts.  A lot of bad things have happened here in the past. I think it's the more passionate energies that are going to be harder to block,” she continued, suddenly realizing that she felt the negative energies much stronger than the positive ones.  At least she now knew what to expect and could work on blocking it.

She put a hand either side of her on the bench and pushed herself to stand up.  She was still feeling a little shaky and took in a deep breath.  “Well, I guess I need to try this again.”

“Are you sure?” Faen asked.  “We could just go home, if you want to.”

Faedra looked at the faces of her friends and knew they would take her home in a heartbeat.  But at that moment, a feeling of determination pushed its way to the surface.  It was like someone flicking a switch in her psyche.  For the first time in six months, she felt determined to take her life back.

“Yes, I'm sure.  You're right.  I need to do this.  I need to mix with normal people again; I'll never feel normal if I don't.”

“That's the spirit,” Etyran said with a smile and doffed her on the arm.

They made their way back to the entrance of the pub.  Etyran and Jocelyn entered first.  Faen held the door open for Faedra.  “Ready?”

Faedra took another deep breath to steady her nerves and gave her Guardian a little nod before stepping, once again, into the ancient building.  Again, she was slammed with all the energies in the room, but this time she was ready for them.  She breathed deeply, waiting for the fear and pain to hit her again.  When it didn't come, she cautiously looked around the room.  The 16th century ghost was nowhere to be seen.  Her body relaxed a little.  There were other ghosts, though, but they were benevolent energies.  A couple of monks sat at a table, supping on flagons of ale.  They smiled at her and raised their jugs; she returned a nervous smile.

As her gaze continued around the room, she noticed three cloaked figures.  They were standing in another room off to the side of the top of the steps where she'd seen the tortured soul just moments ago.  Two men and a woman draped in blue robes looked up at her.  The woman smiled and broke away from the others.  She moved towards Faedra and her friends, her robes billowing around her as she moved through the crowd.  As she drew nearer, she lowered her hood to reveal olive skin, almond shaped, pale blue eyes, and jet black, wavy hair that shone in the lights from the ceiling.  Faedra braced herself as the ghost approached.  The woman reached them and held out a hand.

Faedra took a hesitant step back, even though she tried with all her will to stay planted to the spot.  Baby steps, she told herself.  At least she wasn't running for the door this time.

“Welcome to Falconchase,” the woman said. “Do you have your tickets?”

“Right here,” Etyran responded, handing over the red and gold tickets.

Faedra looked at Etyran and let out a nervous giggle.  This wasn't a ghost at all; this was one of the organizers of the treasure hunt.  Etyran's brows creased, to which Faedra responded with a barely discernible shake of her head and a silent 'it's nothing, don't worry about it' look.

The lady took their tickets and led them to a table at the end of the room where they had to sign in for the treasure hunt.  She went to stand behind the table with the two men.

“Simon, can you pass me a cypher wheel?” she asked the man to her left.

Faedra looked at Faen. “A cypher what?”

Faen shrugged.

Etyran leaned over to her and whispered, “It's a cypher wheel.  We use it to decipher the codes we’ll get to find the clues.”

Faedra's eyebrows rose with interest. “Oh, okay.  Well, that sounds...interesting.”

She turned her attention back to the lady standing the other side of the table.

Simon went to hand the lady a fake fur pouch with a long strap.  She gave him an irritated look.  “Not that one,” she snapped.  “I want that one.” She pointed to another fur pouch that was sitting under the table by itself.

Simon looked puzzled.  “What's wrong with this one?” he asked.

The lady looked back at Faedra and blushed a little.  Faedra could sense anxiety coming off her in waves and gave the woman a considering look.

“That one sticks,” she answered, regaining her composure.

Faedra's eyes narrowed as she felt the anxiety being sucked away from her and hidden.  If it was tangible, she would have seen the energy shoved into a box, the lid being slammed and locked up tight.

The lady looked at her and smiled as she held the pouch for Faedra, one hand on top and one underneath, as if she were handling something very precious.

“Here is your cypher wheel,” the lady said, her smile unfaltering.

Faedra took the pouch.  The fur felt soft under her touch and it contained something solid inside.  She undid the toggle on the pouch and opened the flap, revealing a solid circle of wood.  She pulled it out and put the pouch on the table.

“Wow, that's different,” she said.

Faedra ran her fingers over the cypher wheel.  It was made of wood; the solidness of it felt good in her hands.  There were three separate wheels layered on top of each other and held together in the middle with a small fastener.  Each ring of the wheel moved independently from the others and had a couple of different alphabets carved into them, the letters stained black.  Only two of the alphabets she recognized.  One was the modern Latin alphabet, the other, which was carved around the outside edge of the largest wheel, was Runes.  The rest were new to her.

She let her fingers trail over the different symbols. “This is beautiful.”

She thought that with the amount of cypher wheels they were handing out, they would just be plastic rubbish made in China.  But the craftsmanship that went into this was spectacular; it must have taken someone umpteen hours to make.

“So what are these other alphabets?” Faedra asked the cloaked lady.

“This one is Theban; we believe it was used to write the Liber Juratus.” She trailed her finger over the swirly symbols that were carved into the top of the large outer wheel.  “This one is Ogham, alphabet of the Druids.” Her finger moved to the symbols depicting straight lines layered over each other that were carved into the second, smaller wheel. Both of those wheels also hosted the Latin alphabet.  Her fingers then trailed to the middle circle, “and this one is Enochian, it's angel script.”

“What?  As in, real angels?” Faedra asked.

The woman nodded.  “We believe so, yes.”

“Wow.”

“As you are our last participants to sign in, we can go ahead and explain to everyone how to use it,” the woman said as she picked up a cypher wheel from the table and held it up in front of her.

Faedra's group took a couple of steps back and joined the other participants huddled together in small groups around tables in the pub.

“May I have everyone's attention please?” the woman called across the pub as she tapped a glass with a spoon.  She stood at the top of the steps in the center of the pub so that everyone in each of the pub's three small rooms could see her.

The room fell silent and all heads turned to the organizers.

“Shortly, we will be handing all of you your first clue, but I need to explain to those of you who have never used a cypher wheel how it works.  It's very simple really.  The clue will be written in one of the different alphabets on the wheel.  Each clue will also have its own number.  You use this number to align the wheels correctly, allowing you to decipher the clue.  Any questions?”

Several people raised their hands and the organizers answered their questions.  They then started handing out blood-red envelopes, with a golden falcon stamped on them, to each group.  When every group had an envelope, the lady in the blue cloak announced that the treasure hunt had begun.

“Good luck, everyone,” she called over the din that erupted as envelopes around the room were torn open and their contents ripped out.

CHAPTER FOUR

Etyran ripped open their envelope with an enthusiasm that was palpable.  He was like a kid at Christmas.  Faedra could feel everyone's excitement and her smile widened.  He pulled out a piece of gold colored card that was embossed with a paragraph of swirling letters.

The four huddled together around their clue.

“This is written in Theban,” Jocelyn stated, comparing the letters to those on the cypher wheel.

Faedra held out the device, moving the wheel around as Etyran held up the card for her.  She called out the letters, as they were deciphered, to Jocelyn who was writing it all down on the notepad they were given with the cypher wheel.

When Faedra finished with the last letter, all eyes turned to Jocelyn.

“What does it say?” Faen asked.

Jocelyn gave an excited look around at her three cohorts who were eagerly waiting.

“It says,” she looked down at the notepad, “yards of cloth were made here, along with chocolates to delight.

But most famously, a horse held dear, a stallion as black as the night.

Seek the machine where words abound, for that is where the clue will be found.”

The four looked at each other with blank expressions for a moment before a group of giggling girls distracted them as they exited the pub.  Their clue already deciphered.  Faedra could hear them squealing even after they shut the door behind them.

“It can't be too hard if that lot figured it out,” Faedra said, trying hard to hide her disgruntled feelings.

“Now, now,” Faen whispered, “Be nice.”  He gave her a smirk.

“Sorry.  Okay, so what do we have to go on?  It's going to be a landmark so it's got to be historical or famous.  What on earth do cloth, chocolates, words and a horse have in common?”

“Well,” Faen chimed in. “Cloth and chocolates are made; even words are made, especially if they are made into a book.”

Faedra clapped both hands around Faen's cheeks and gave him a kiss.  “You, genius!  Could it be that simple?”

Faen's eye's widened at his charge's exuberance.

“A black stallion. Of course, it has to be Black Beauty, one of my favorite books growing up.  One of Norwich's claims to fame is that it was printed just around the corner at Jarrold's printers.  Jarrold's own St. James Mill which also used to be a cloth factory before it was a printers.  I'm guessing they made chocolates there, too, at some point,”  Faedra stated in an excited whisper so as to not announce it to the whole pub.  She looked around and saw confused looks still on most of the participant’s faces.  “Come on, let's go.”  Faedra grabbed Faen's hand and headed for the door.

“And we're off,” Etyran said as he grabbed Jocelyn's hand and followed after Faen and Faedra.

It only took them a few minutes to get around to St. James Mill. The long oblong building towered over them at least six stories high.  Countless windows were nestled amongst its red brick exterior.  The building stood alongside the river that meandered through the city and was lined with willows that swooshed in the light breeze, their branches kissing the cold flowing water below.

The four ran to the entrance doors only to find them locked.

“What?” Faedra said, dismayed.  “But this has to be the place.”

“Down there,” Jocelyn pointed further down the building to an open door.  The group of giggling girls was exiting the building.  They had found the next clue and were on their way again.

The four friends took off down the path, returning the smiles from the group of girls as they passed.

“Maybe we should just follow them,” Faedra mused, as she watched them run past her.

“Now where would the fun be in that?” Faen responded, bringing Faedra's attention back to the task at hand.

When they reached the door it had a sign above it.  'Printing Museum'.  They filed inside one-by-one.  The large room was filled with printing presses and all kinds of equipment used for printing throughout different eras. A musty smell hit Faedra's nostrils and she subconsciously screwed up her nose.

“Seek the machine where words abound,” Faedra read from the notepad.

They all scanned the room.  “That could be any of these,” Etyran stated.

“Over there,” Faen said, pointing to a wall full of typewriters, from vintage models to more modern day electric models.  They moved towards the typewriters.  Sticking up out of a typewriter that sat in the middle of the display was a golden piece of paper.  All four leaned in.  They had found the next clue which was neatly scribed in the Ogham alphabet this time.

Faedra pulled the cypher wheel out of its pouch. “Who wants to do the honors this time?” she asked.

“You can do it,” Faen replied.  “You seem to know what you're doing with that thing.  Jocelyn is still the note taker?”

Jocelyn held the pad and pencil up in acknowledgment.

“What does this one say?” Etyran asked when Jocelyn had finished scribbling the letters onto her notepad.

“Its title may be deceiving, for it's no longer patients receiving.

But for those with privileged eyes, in the Cathedral's shadow it lies.

Sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, in the ward where eagles fly free,

for the pot used to make the brew, is an excellent place to hide a clue.”

The group looked at each other.

“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Faedra asked, bewildered.

“Darned if I know,” Faen responded.

Faedra turned to Jocelyn. “Anything?”

Jocelyn shook her head.

“How about you?” Faedra asked the Lightbender.

“Not a sausage.  To be honest Fae, we really don't know that much about the city's landmarks.”

“What do you mean?  You've been around a lot longer than I have,” Faedra said.

“That is true.” Faen interjected. “But we had no need to be here in this realm until you were made my charge.  I had not been to The World of Men before that time, so in essence, we know not much about this city.”

“Well, a great lot of help you lot turned out to be,” Faedra snorted and held her hand out for the clue.  Jocelyn passed her the notebook.

“No longer receiving patients.  So it used to be a hospital,” Faedra mumbled to herself.  “The main hospital moved out of the city a few years ago and they made apartments out of the old one, but it can't be that one, it's not in the shadow of the Cathedral. Privileged eyes?  What does that mean?  Hmm...” Faedra looked around the group to see expectant eyes staring back at her, the owners' breath bated in anticipation.

Just then another group of people burst into the museum.

“Come on, let's think about this outside,” Faedra said to her group.  Deep in thought, pencil to her lips, she followed Faen out of the door to the fresh breeze outside.  The willows seemed to whisper to her as the four of them stood under their weeping boughs.  After a moment, Faedra broke the silence. “I have an idea.  I'm not sure if it's right, but it's the only thing I can think of at the moment.  Just around the corner is The Great Hospital.  It's really old but it's not a hospital anymore; it's a care home for the elderly.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Etyran said.

“Well, the only one we have, anyway,” Faen continued with a sly curve to his lips.

“This way, then.” Faedra directed her friends.  They took off at a steady clip out of St. James Mill and back around the corner past the pub they just left a little while ago.

A few moments later, they were standing in front of the open iron gates at the entrance to The Great Hospital.  They stared at the rambling buildings that sprawled out in front of them.  Faedra's shoulders sank.

“Even if this is the place, how the heck are we going to find a teapot in that lot?” She opened her arms wide to encompass the many beautiful buildings that were now home to some very lucky elderly residents.  Faedra turned to look up at the ancient church tower that rose up to the right of her, for inspiration.  The original hospital had been housed in the church itself.  Apparently, it was the only church in the country to have chimneys.  They had to build fireplaces to keep the patients warm.

“This might help,” Jocelyn said a little off to their right, tearing Faedra from her thoughts.

Faedra, Faen and Etyran turned to see the young fairy staring at the wall to the right of the wrought iron fencing.  Intrigued they wandered over to join her.  On the wall was a large information board telling the history of the buildings with pictures to go with it.  Jocelyn was pointing to one picture in particular.

“I think we have found where 'the eagles fly free',” she said.

“Oh, well done, Sister,” Faen said giving his sister a rub on the shoulders.

Jocelyn turned to her friends with a very satisfied grin on her face.

Faedra leaned in to get a better look at the picture Jocelyn had pointed out.  The entire vaulted wooden ceiling was painted with dozens upon dozens of black eagles.

The Eagle Ward was in the oldest part of the buildings and it didn't take much to decipher which one that was.  They ran through a passageway and into a tiny set of cloisters, their footfalls echoing off the walls.  Even through their excitement of getting close to the next clue, the cloisters threw off a tremendous feeling of peace.  Faedra fell instantly in love with the building and its surroundings and thought to herself how lucky the residents were to live in such a place.  There were a couple of doors they had passed but attempts to open them proved fruitless, they were all locked.  A few more strides and they came to a door that was left open.

“This must be it if all the others were locked,” Jocelyn stated.

Just as Faedra was about to follow the others through the door, she sensed an energy that wasn't there a second before.  She turned to look through the cloister arches.  Her eyebrows scrunched.  Was someone there? She leaned to one side, opening up her view across the garden square in the middle of the cloisters.

“Come on, you.”  Etyran grabbed her by the arm.  “We haven't got all day you know.”  He gave her a playful tug though the door.

Maybe it was just a shadow. Faedra thought as she got pulled through the doorway.

A staircase of foot worn wooden steps led upwards as soon as they stepped through the door.  The handrails, worn by centuries of palms, felt as smooth as marble to the touch.  The steps groaned under the weight of the four friends as they made their way up the staircase, making their disapproval known.  When they got through the heavy wooden door at the top, Faedra gasped.  The picture on the board outside was pretty impressive but it did little to compare to the real thing.  The ceiling towered above them, once part of the church.  Black eagles were painted uniformly across the entire expanse.  There must have been at least two hundred, but she didn't have time to count.

The room was partitioned into cubicles along both walls.  A quick peek inside and she could see beds and old furniture set up into makeshift living quarters.  It was left just as it had been many years ago.  A piece of living history frozen in time.

Her friends were busying themselves looking in each of the cubicles down the long room.  Although, she could tell, even in their exuberance, they were taking care not to damage any of the items on display.

“Nothing in this one,” Jocelyn called.

“Nor this one,” Etyran said.

“I'll look further up,” Faen told everyone.

At one end of the long room was a snug, a little room with a couple of chairs and a fireplace.  If they were going to brew tea anywhere, it would be in the snug.

She poked her head in the tiny room.  A kettle and teapot were positioned on the hearth in front of a fireplace.  She lifted the lid off the teapot. Sure enough, a golden card was tucked inside.

“Found it!” Faedra exclaimed as she plucked the clue from its hiding place.

This time the clue was written in what the organizer had told them was Angel script.  Enochian.  The others joined her as Faedra moved the circles of the cypher wheel letter by letter, relaying the Latin equivalent back to Jocelyn who started to studiously scribble them down on her notepad.

“This is so much fun, isn't it?” Jocelyn squealed, excitement getting the better of her.

Faedra gave her friend a big smile as she returned the clue back to its hiding place.  This was turning out to be a lot of fun.  Faedra suddenly realized she had spent so much of her energy trying to figure out the clues and find where they were hidden, she hadn't once had to think about holding her power back, and, as yet, she hadn't blown anything up, either, which was a bonus.  This was turning out to be a very good idea.

Sounds of footsteps echoed up the stairwell.  The next group of treasure hunters had discovered where the clue was.  It was time for Faedra and her friends to make an exit.  She didn't want to discuss the next possible hiding place in front of anyone.  There was a chance that they may just win this thing after all.  They hadn't seen anything of the giggling girls, so she was pretty sure they had gone looking in the wrong place and she knew her group was second out of the pub.

Downstairs, in the cloisters, they took a moment so that Jocelyn could read out the next clue.  Faedra couldn't help but feel the odd sensation coming from across the square again.  She turned to look through the arches.  Did someone just pull back into the shadows?  Just as she was about to lean further over, Etyran commanded her attention.

“Hey, don't flake on us now,” he said.

“Huh?”

“You didn't hear a word Jocelyn said, did you? Focus, Faedra.”

Color rushed to Faedra's cheeks. “Sorry, Jocelyn, could you repeat it?”

CHAPTER FIVE

“Looks like battlements, but it's not a castle.

Has stained glass windows, but it's not a church.

Justice was dealt here, council business, too.

Behind the lion's shield is where you'll find the clue.”

“What other building in Norwich looks like it has battlements?” Faedra mused to herself.  “And stained glass windows?”  She looked around at the other’s blank expressions, waiting expectantly once more.  Great… a lot of good they were.  A moment later a long forgotten memory forced its way to the forefront of her mind.  Almost as if she had asked someone to pull a file out of a filing cabinet and hand it to her.  There it was, as clear as if it only happened yesterday.  A middle school field trip.

“Of course.  The Guildhall!” she exclaimed with excitement.  It was one of her most memorable field trips of that age and not for good reasons.

The others retained their blank expressions.

“Middle school history,” Faedra explained. She inwardly shuddered as she remembered the old jail cells and how they closed the doors on several students at a time to give them an idea of what it would have been like to be imprisoned there centuries ago.  She remembered teetering down the narrow spiral staircase that led down to a large crypt that was used like a dungeon.  What she couldn't remember were any lions down there, thank goodness.  At least she knew where not to bother looking.

“Come on,” she said to her group. “We need to run.  Anyone else who had history in middle school will figure this clue out in a heartbeat.”

Faedra turned and took off through the cloisters and out through the passageway, her boots clunking on the flagstone floor and echoing off the walls and ceiling.  Mid-stride Jocelyn and Faen took to their dog forms and flanked Faedra as she ran through the gates; Etyran followed a stride behind her.

“Hey, that's cheating!” she chastised her two furry friends as they all trotted across the road and into an alleyway that ran behind the cathedral. Jocelyn turned her snout and gave Faedra her signature toothy grin.  A minute more and they were running across the cathedral grounds and through the main gate towards the center of the city.

Shoppers gave Faedra and Etyran odd looks as they legged it through one of the pedestrianized shopping lanes that networked through the ancient city.  Around one more corner and the building Faedra sought came into sight.

The Guildhall stood at the top of a small hill.  Taxi cabs lined up in front of the austere building waiting for their fares. The bustling hub that was the undercover market place stood to its left.  The building stuck out like a sore thumb, such was its shape among the more modern buildings surrounding it.  It was oblong with arched windows and doors.  The walls were lined with flint and what looked like battlements, accented the roof.

Faedra and Etyran ran up the hill still flanked by their furry friends.  A couple of taxi drivers, who were deep in conversation, stopped to look at the four run past, creased their eyebrows, shook their heads and carried on their conversation.

When they got to the entrance, Jocelyn and Faen changed back in a split second upon walking through the door.  They stood in the main lobby while Faedra did a cursory look around.

“We need to split up.  I don't know which of the rooms has a lion that could hide a clue,” Faedra instructed.  “Jocelyn, you and Etyran take this floor and Faen and I will look upstairs.”

Jocelyn nodded and she and Etyran turned to scope out the main courtroom which was now a beautiful backdrop to a swanky cafe.

Faen and Faedra took the stairs two at a time.  When they got to the top, they stood between two more rooms.

“I can look in this room, if you would like to take that one,” Faen suggested with a gesture first to the council chambers and then to another courtroom, much plainer than the one their two friends were scoping out down below.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Faedra said with a smile.  “Good luck.”  They turned back to back and walked towards their respective rooms.

Faedra felt the carpet beneath her feet disappear as soon as she stepped foot into the ancient courtroom.  No longer used in present times, but many a poor soul convicted to horrendous punishment in times gone by.  She stole herself for the onslaught of energy that was bound to plunge itself full force into her psyche.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes for a second, calming the maelstrom of emotions that surrounded her.  She had to find a way to control it and now was as good a time as any to start.

Faedra opened her eyes and looked over to the “holding pen” in front of a large window.  The shadows of several men sat on a bench, heads down, awaiting their fate.

Faedra took another step into the room.  The floorboards creaked under foot making her flinch.

“Focus, Faedra,” she reprimanded herself.  “You'll never find the bloody thing if you keep your eyes closed most of the time.”

She steeled her resolve and shook the spookies from her head.  Another step forward, but this time she was scanning the wooden paneling that covered the walls.  She couldn't immediately see anything that remotely resembled a lion.  The whole room was very dowdy; everywhere she looked was wood.  Wooden walls, wooden floors, wooden benches.  No color or texture at all in this depressing room.

The lion obviously wasn't there.  Maybe Faen was having better luck.  She turned to leave and bumped straight into his chest.

“I think I found it,” Faen said, his excitement making him oblivious to the look of surprise on Faedra's face.

“Don't do that!” Faedra cursed.

“Do what?”

“Sneak up on me.  I could've hurt you.”

Faen gave her a look that said he didn't believe that for a second, then took her by the arm and led her out of the old courtroom.

“In here, I think I found the lions.”

They walked across the hallway to another room.  Stunning by comparison to one they'd just left.  Plush carpet adorned the floor.  Benches with red velvet cushions lined the walls and a beautiful stained glass window took up half of one wall.  This must have been the council chambers.  At the entrance to the chambers were two carved lions, one on either side.  They were both holding a shield.

“Definitely lions,” Faedra agreed.  She ran her fingers over the smooth wooden statues.

“There's something behind the shield on this one,” Faen said.

Faedra turned just in time to see Faen pluck a golden piece of paper from behind the lion's shield.

“Here, you do the honors,” Faedra said, handing her Guardian the pad and pencil.

She pulled out the cypher wheel and started spelling out letters.

A few moments later, Faen and Faedra were dashing down the stairs to give Jocelyn and Etyran the good news.  They walked calmly into the cafe, not wanting to disturb the guests dining there.

While they were huddled to one side of the entrance, Faedra could feel the odd sensation she had at The Great Hospital.  She looked around.  She couldn't see anything untoward in the cafe.  Several tables full of friends or couples chatted over cups of tea and scones.  One person in the corner was holding their menu up, concealing their face.

“Well, Fae, what do you think?  Do you have any idea what this next clue means?”  Etyran said, pulling Faedra's thoughts back to the treasure hunt.  They were doing really well so far, maybe they were in for a good chance of winning after all.  Just as she thought that, a couple of groups burst through the entrance, conferred for a moment, then split up.

“Let's read it outside,” Faedra suggested.

They moved to an alley across from the entrance.  Once outside, Faedra read the clue out loud to her team.

“Find the place where merchants once traded,

A building restored that once was jaded.

Your gains can be found in the treasure chest,

But beware, the dragon doth not protest.”

Faedra looked up from the clue to see three expectant faces peering back at her.

“Really, guys?  You are the most hopeless treasure hunt team in the history of mankind.”

“Yeah, we know, but it's fun watching you try and figure it out,” Etyran chirped. “We're just along for the ride.”

Faedra gave him a mock glare.  Just as she did, a lady came to view in her peripheral vision, accompanied by the unusual sensation she'd felt a couple of times earlier in the hunt.  She didn't get a clear picture of the woman's face, as her long hair hung like a curtain down the side of her face.  Faedra was sure she recognized her from somewhere.  This person was throwing off anxiety and impatience.  Faedra stretched around Etyran to get a better look at the woman, but when she did, there was no one there.  Etyran turned and Faen leaned over to follow Faedra's line of sight.

“Something wrong?” Faen asked.

“What's up?” Etyran said at the same time as his friend.

“Hmm...” Faedra chewed on her lip and brought her attention back to her friends.  “I thought I recognized someone, but, I guess, it wasn't anyone.  Okay, back to this clue.  The only trading hall I know about that has any connection to dragons is Dragon Hall.  It was re-discovered recently after it had been divided up into shops and flats for centuries.  They spent a lot of money restoring it to its original state.  Apparently, there's a beautiful carving of a dragon in one of the roof beams.  I've seen pictures but I've never been there.  Only thing is, it's all the way over the other side of the city.  Faen, can we fly there?”

“No, Faedra, that would be cheating,” Faen answered, waggling his finger in a cheeky way.

“Oh, and you two turning into dogs to run over here, wasn't?” she asked, a sly curve bending her lips.

“What am I?  Chopped Liver?” Etyran grouched.  “It's all right for you lot, but somehow I can't see Jocelyn being able to carry me.”

Jocelyn put hands on hips and gave him a look that said 'I'm not that weak'.

Faedra smiled at the Lightbender's outburst.  “Point taken,” she said.  “Well, I guess we are going to have to leg it across the city again.  This treasure better be worth it.”

Faen moved to one side and made a sweeping gesture with his arm.  “Off you go, then.  We will be right behind you.”

Faedra narrowed her eyes at him which garnered her a wink and a cheeky grin.  Then he looked around, gave her another smirk and blurred into his dog form, followed a second later by Jocelyn.

Faedra looked at Etyran. “Bloody fairies.”

“No argument from me,” he said.

The two left standing, walked out of the alley and took off at a jog, followed by their two furry friends.  Their route would take them past the taxi cabs, along Gentleman's Walk, up past the castle, the mall, and the newspaper.

Strangely enough, even though they were running at a fair clip, Faedra did not fall out of breath, and she hardly classed herself as fit, but now she felt energized.  The blood pumping through her veins was pushing her forward with ease.

Eventually, they arrived at Dragon Hall and burst through the entrance, much to the surprise of the attendant who was sitting behind the counter in the gift shop.

“Do you have a treasure chest here?” Faedra asked, cringing at how corny that sounded.

The attendant scrunched his face a little at her question.  “Uh, yeah.  There's one in the undercroft.”  He pointed to a doorway to his left.

“Thanks,” Faedra said before she and her friends started for the doorway.

“Oi!  You can't just go in there.  That'll be five pounds each for admission, thank you.”

“What?  But, we're with the treasure hunt,” Faedra explained.

The attendant scrunched his face again.

“The cypher wheel treasure hunt?” Faedra continued.

“Never heard of it.  Don't know anything about any treasure hunt.  But if you're wanting to see the treasure chest, it's still five pounds each.”

Faedra turned to Faen.  “Surely they would have mentioned if we needed to pay to get in to these places to find a clue.  Maybe we're in the wrong place, after all.”

“It is a possibility,” Faen agreed.

Faedra took out the clue again and gave it another read.  She sighed.

“Well, if it is the wrong place, it's a very close fit.  I can't think of anywhere else in the city that would fit with those clues.”

“Do you mind?” the attendant said, holding out his hand to see the clue.

Faedra handed it to him. “Any ideas?”

The attendant read it and scratched his head.  “Certainly sounds like this place, all right,” he said, resolute.  “Sorry, Miss, but if you want to go down there, I have to charge you an entrance fee.”

Faedra looked at her team.  Their faces all said the same, 'don't look at us, we don't have need of money.'  She sighed again and wondered how they could get by for so long in the World of Men without any money.  She dug around in her purse, pulled out a couple of ten pound notes and handed them to the attendant.

“Thank you.  You'll find the treasure chest in the undercroft.  Go down the spiral staircase and walk through cellars, down another set of steps and you're there,” the attendant directed.

“Thanks,” the four cohorts said, before leaving the gift shop in the direction given.

“What is it with old buildings and spiral staircases?” Faedra mused as she and her friends made their way carefully down the narrow stone spiral that let into the belly of the building.

A musty smell hit their nostrils the further they descended.  They wandered through a couple of rooms that showed how the building had been excavated.  Then another set of narrow stairs, with a sign saying 'mind your head', led them down into the undercroft.  Faen and Etyran had to crouch to get down the steps without bumping their heads.  The undercroft was set up as a show-piece so people could see the kind of things that would have been stored here when it was a merchant's trading hall.  There were a few wine barrels stacked in one corner, a fake sack of grain in another, and then they saw it.  The object of the team's desires.  Tucked in one of the alcoves sat a real, honest-to-goodness, treasure chest.

“How corny is that?” Faedra said to her friends.

They gave her an odd look.

“Ah, let me guess.  You guys still put your treasures in treasure chests.”

“Of course.  Where else would we put them?” Jocelyn asked, bemused at the statement.

“A bank?” Faedra said with a smile.  Knowing full well they didn't have banks in Azran.

“Well, let's open this puppy up and see what amazing riches we've won, shall we?” Etyran said.

“You do the honors this time,” Faedra offered, gesturing for him to open the chest.

Truth was, her heart was in her mouth.  She was so excited at finally finding the treasure she could hardly stand still.

Etyran looked at his friend.  “Let's do this together, mate.”

Faen took a step forward and leaned over with his friend to open the chest.  It gave a loud disgruntled creak as they lifted the lid.

“Well?” Faedra asked, hardly daring to look.

She didn't like the expression on her Guardian's face or Etyran's for that matter.

“You have to be kidding me.  How many flippin' clues are there?” she exclaimed after peering over Jocelyn's shoulder into the empty chest.  Empty, apart from another golden piece of paper. This time only one line of text was written on it.

Jocelyn leaned in and picked it up.  “We have gotten this far, Faedra.  We have to be close now.”

Faedra pulled the cypher wheel out of its pouch one more time.  After deciphering the text, she waited to hear what the clue said.  She looked up to see Faen and Etyran peering over the young fairy's shoulders.  All of them wore the same confused expression.

“Well, what does it say?” Faedra asked, stepping closer to the group that was huddled around the clue in front of the treasure chest.

“It says,” Jocelyn started, “‘we will see you on the other side’.”

Faedra drew her eyebrows together and held her hand out to see the clue.  Before Jocelyn could give it to her, Faedra's eyes grew wide.  A bright light was coming from the chest behind her friends.  When they saw her expression, the three fae turned to look at what prompted it.  In a flash, all four were sucked into the chest and the lid slammed closed on top of them.

CHAPTER SIX

“What the...?” Etyran exclaimed before turning invisible.

Faen and Faedra just looked at each other, expressions unreadable.

Only a second passed before all four friends were back to back in a small circle; a defensive position Faen had taught Faedra in one of her very first lessons as Custodian.

“Is everyone okay?” Faedra asked.

Faen and Jocelyn had conjured their swords, which they held out in front of them, sure and steady.  Faedra's body responded before she even had a chance to think about it, and two purple balls, a mixture of electricity and fire, were bursting from her palms.  She waved them about in front of her as she scanned the territory in all directions, except directly behind, knowing her back was covered.

“Okay here,” Jocelyn replied.

“And here,” Faen continued.

“Whoa, watch where you're pointing those things,” Etyran shrieked as he unwrapped himself and patted his sleeve where Faedra's fire had singed his coat.

“Sorry,” Faedra said, “but, in all fairness, I couldn't see where you were to avoid you.”

“Good point,” Etyran conceded.

All four looked around, diligently taking in their surroundings.  They were standing under a tree in the middle of a lush grassy meadow.  A huge bough lay on the ground to one side of the tree.  The obvious casualty of a lightning strike.

The field was surrounded by forest-covered hills in all directions and Faedra felt as though she were in a coliseum of sorts.  Just waiting for someone to let loose the lions.

When it looked like they were on their own, Faen and Jocelyn relaxed a little and lowered their swords.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Etyran said, breaking the tense silence.

Faedra turned on him. “What could possibly go wrong, hey, Etyran?” she snarled, her energy balls getting larger by the second.

Etyran gave her a wary look and put his hands up as he took a step back.  “Now, steady on, Faedra.  How was I supposed to know this would happen?” he replied, a nervous tone to his voice.  He looked from Faedra to her energy balls and back again.  “Err, you're not going to do anything hasty with those, are you?”  He moved his gaze to the balls of flame and sparks in her palms.

Faedra could feel the fear flowing from him.  She visibly shook her head and blinked, then looked down at her palms. “Ugh! I hate this!” she cried as she turned away from her friend and flung the balls into the field, as if flinging something slimy and disgusting off her hands.  The balls hit the grass and exploded, sending clumps of sod flying and leaving two good sized craters in the dirt.  She turned back to Etyran. “Sorry.”

“No worries, no harm done.”  He gave her a warm smile, but she could feel the relief coming off him in waves and realized she had scared her friend.  That was unforgivable.  She couldn't bear the thought of her friends being scared of her.  She had to get rid of Savu's power, but how?  She had no idea, but made a vow to herself to find a way.

Faedra looked down and huffed out a breath when she saw the cypher wheel lying on the ground at her feet.  She leaned over and scooped it off the grass before lumping herself down on the fallen tree limb.  Jocelyn joined her.

The Custodian turned the wheel over in her hands and gave it a cursory glance before looking up at her Guardian and the Lightbender, who were now standing before her and Jocelyn.  “This must be some sort of transporting device,” Faedra said. “Anyone want to hazard a guess as to where it brought us?”

Jocelyn shook her head.  Etyran hung his in a mark of admonishment and Faen's expression was blank.

“No, didn't think so.” Faedra sighed.

“We could still be in the World of Men,” Etyran suggested.  It was a fair assumption; the field they were in didn't look any different to any other meadow on Earth.  But the sound of an otherworldly shriek above them at that precise moment, shot the idea in the foot. They all looked up to witness a hideous winged creature, unlike any they'd seen before, flying overhead.  Its body was covered in what look liked snakeskin and its leathery wings beat a foreboding rhythm as it circled around the field, eying them with studious intent, before taking off over the trees.  They looked back at one another.

“Not the World of Men, then.” Etyran said, running a hand through his hair and avoiding eye contact with Faedra.

“Yeah, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas, anymore,” Faedra mumbled.

“But, Faedra, we were not in Kansas to begin with,” Jocelyn remarked, looking perplexed.

“The Wizard of Oz?” Faedra said, but got nothing more than a blank expression from her young friend. “Never mind.”

“Why is it always me that messes up?” Etyran asked.

Faedra turned her attention from Jocelyn back to the Lightbender, only to see the look of dejection on his face.

“Etyran, it's not your fault,” Faedra said, noticing the awkwardness in his posture.  “I'm sorry I snapped at you.  You weren't to know any of this would happen.  I was just frustrated, that's all.  Just for once, it would be nice to go out and enjoy myself without my world being turned upside down.”

“Faedra is right, you know.  None of us blame you.” Jocelyn agreed.  Etyran's face lit up at her words and Faedra gave Etyran a knowing smile.

“So, what do we do now?” Faedra asked.

“Well, out here we are sitting ducks in this meadow,” Faen replied.  “I suggest we take cover in the trees and try and find out where we are.  We have no way of knowing if this place is hostile or not, and until we find out I think it best that we try and stay out of sight.”

Faen held out a hand for Faedra and she took it with a smile as she allowed her Guardian to pull her up from where she was sitting. She tucked the cypher wheel back in the pouch that was still slung across her body.

Etyran offered his hand to Jocelyn.

“Thank you.” Jocelyn almost sang the words as she accepted Etyran's gesture.  A rosy glow permeated Etyran's cheeks.

The four friends only made it a few yards towards the trees before they heard a noise in the distance.  Faen held out his arm, stopping Faedra in her tracks from going another step forward. Etyran scooted Jocelyn behind him so fast she let out a squeak of surprise.

“What is it?” Faedra whispered, heart thudding in her chest.

“I hear something.” Faen explained. “Do you hear that?”

They stood silent for a moment, hardly daring to breathe.  Faedra's ears were straining to hear whatever Faen had picked up.

A moment later, Faedra heard the soft thud of hooves in the distance.  She would recognize that sound anywhere.  A second later, two white horses emerged from the trees on the far side of the meadow.  Their riders cloaked in blue robes that billowed out behind them like ripples on a lake.  The horses cantered across the meadow towards them, prompting the four cohorts to take defensive action, once again.

Faen held his sword in front of him, as the riders closed the gap between them.

“Etyran, I am quite capable of looking after myself,” Jocelyn said, looking a little bemused.  The young fairy extricated herself from his grip and conjured her own sword.  Etyran's cheeks colored up, and despite the danger they could be in, Faedra couldn't help but smile and stifle a chuckle.

As the riders got closer, Faedra looked down at her ring. There was no warning tingle and the horses were nearly upon them now.  The horses slowed to a walk before taking another few strides and came to a halt a few feet in front of the group.

The tension in the air was palpable, but still there was no warning from Faedra's ring.  These riders were not there to hurt her, or her friends.

With almost synchronized precision, both riders pushed down their hoods to reveal their faces.

Faedra's eyes grew wide with recognition. “Hey, I know you!” she exclaimed.  “You're the lady from Falconchase.  I knew there was something strange about you in the pub.”  Then Faedra realized something else as she sensed the woman's emotions. “You were following us around the city, too, weren't you?”

The woman did not respond to Faedra's outburst, but rather looked agitated, as she scanned the sky above them.

“There is no time to explain.” she said, bringing her attention back to the group.  “He knows you are here.  We must get you to safety before they come,”

“Who knows we are here?” Faedra and Faen said together.

“Yeah, and who are they?” Etyran chimed in, following where the woman was looking in the sky.

“And where, exactly, is here?” Jocelyn joined in the interrogation.

“As I said, no time to explain,” the woman repeated.  “Now, follow us before it's too late.”

The two horses turned to go back in the direction they came from.

“Hold on a minute.  We're not going anywhere with you until you tell us who you are and where you brought us.” Faedra snapped.

The lady from Falconchase turned her horse and gave a pleading look towards Faedra. “Please,” she said, desperation visible in her expression.  “I promise I will explain everything when we get you somewhere safe.”

Another hideous shriek echoed from beyond the trees and all six people turned their attention to the direction it came from.

“Too late.  Follow us if you want to live,” the lady threw the words over her shoulder as she kicked her horse and the two women galloped off across the meadow.

“Oh, that did not sound good.” Etyran said, stating the obvious.

A second later, the hideous winged creature that did a fly-by a short while before, came looming over the trees, followed by several more of the same.

Faen scooped Faedra up before she had a chance to protest, something at that point in time she had no intention of doing, and took to the air in the direction of the two horses.

Jocelyn took to the air and turned to Etyran.  Knowing he couldn't fly, she hovered above the ground looking between her brother, the winged creatures, and the Lightbender. Indecision plaguing her features

“Etyran...”

“Don't worry about me, just get out of here,” he shouted, before disappearing. “I'll catch up to you in the woods.”

She gave the space he had just occupied, one last fleeting glance before turning and sped across the field to join her brother.

Faen and Faedra saw the two horses disappear amongst the trees and were getting closer themselves.  Unfortunately, they weren't fast enough.  The winged creatures beat them to it, swooping down and blocking their escape route.

Faedra watched in horror as the lead creature flapped his wings to slow him down before reaching out a taloned claw to swipe at Jocelyn, who had caught up and was now just ahead of them.

Jocelyn was catapulted sideways by the swipe and went swirling out of control until she hit the ground with a bone-breaking thud.

“Faen, Jocelyn is down!  You have to turn around!  We have to help her!”  Faedra screamed as she looked down at her friend, whose body was now slumped on the ground behind them.

“My duty is to you,” Faen said, his voice stoic.

“What?” Faedra asked, averting her gaze to her Guardian, who's expression was on total lock-down.

Faedra's stomach lurched as Faen made evasive maneuvers to dodge another of the hideous creatures who was attempting to take a swipe at them, too.

“Put me down!” Faedra yelled, trying to squirm free from Faen's ever tightening grasp.

“No.”

She looked back to see the creature that hit Jocelyn had landed and was now standing over the young fairy’s body.  Jocelyn struggled to push herself up onto her hands just before the creature swiped at her head, knocking her back to the ground.

“Put me down, NOW!” Faedra screamed again, but this time didn't leave anything to chance.  She sent a crackle of electricity through her body, shocking Faen into dropping her.

It wasn't until he let her go, however, that she realized just how high up they were.  And she couldn't fly.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Faedra went plummeting to the ground, muttering expletives as she did.  She scrunched her eyes shut just as she was about to make impact with the hard earth.

“This is going to hurt,” she groaned.

She felt her body get tugged and came to a sharp stop. Well, now she knew what it must feel like on the end of a bungee rope after flinging oneself off the side of a ludicrously tall bridge.  Even with all her powers, she still couldn't understand why anyone in their right mind would want to do such a thing.

When the ground didn't come up to smack her in the face, she opened her eyes a crack and found herself dangling a couple of inches above it, a blade of grass tickling her nose.  She craned her neck upwards to find her Guardian hovering above her, hanging onto her ankles with a rather pained expression on his face.

“I swear, Faedra Bennett, you will be the death of me,” he said rolling his eyes heavenward.

Faedra gave him a cheeky grin and was about to throw out a witty retort, but her eyes widened as she saw one of the winged creatures fly up behind him, talons extended, ready to strike.

“Maybe, but those things definitely will!”  Without hesitation she brought up her hands and shot a stream of intense fire past Faen's ear, slamming the creature square in the chest.  It went reeling backwards, shrieking in agony before falling to the ground consumed in flames.

“Thank you,” Faen said when he turned back from looking at the smoldering creature behind him.  He cast his gaze down at the Custodian, who was still dangling just above the ground.

“Any time,” Faedra said. “Um, you can put me down now.”

“Oh, yes, of course.”  Faen gently lowered his charge to the ground.

Upon reaching Terra firma, Faedra rolled over and jumped back up.  Faen, who was now on the ground, stood beside her, taking a defensive position.

The creature that Faedra just killed must have been the one that was attacking Jocelyn because when she spun around to attack it, it was gone.  Instead, two more were swooping in from above.

“God, those things are ugly.  It doesn't look like they're dragons, though.  I haven't seen them breathe fire,” Faedra surmised.

Faen pulled out his sword and held it up.

“I'll take care of them, Faen.  You go get Jocelyn.” Faedra said, raising her palms to the sky.

Faen looked uncertain.  He was supposed to be the protector, not the protected.

“Faen, I've got this.  Your sister needs you.”

She could see the look of hesitation in his eyes.  “Go!” she snapped.

He gave her a stern look, but inclined his head before turning towards his sister.

Faedra let the incoming creatures have it with both palms. They met the same fiery end as the first one did, by dropping out of the sky and landing in a heap of smoldering flesh on the ground several feet away. Faedra wrinkled her nose and wafted her hand in front of her face to ward off the stench of burning flesh.

“Maybe this power isn't so bad after all” Faedra mumbled to herself, slapping her hands together gesturing a job well done.

Faen kneeled down to pick up his sister and was met by Etyran who unwrapped himself as he got to them.

“Is she alive?” he asked between pants.

Jocelyn groaned.

“She will be fine,” Faen answered.

Faen scooped up his sister and gave Etyran an odd look as the Lightbender leaned in to place a palm against her bruised cheek.

Jocelyn's eyelids fluttered before they opened wide and she looked around startled.

“Thank Kernunnos, you're okay,” Etyran said with a smile when her eyes flitted around and met his.

“What are those things?” she croaked, as she watched Faedra fire roast another couple from the sky.

“I do not know, and we do not have time to debate the question now.  We need to get out of this field.” Faen beat his wings and took to the sky.  “Etyran, grab Faedra and drag her into the forest, will you?” he called as he flew towards the trees.

“On it!” Etyran called back.  He started to run towards Faedra, wrapping the light around him as he did, and grabbed her by the arm on the way through.

“Flippin' heck!” Faedra shrieked as a vice like grip encircled her upper arm and dragged her forward with determined force.  “You're never going to warn me before you sneak up on me, are you?”

She heard Etyran's cheeky chuckle.  “Now where would the fun be in that?” a bodiless voice answered.  “Come on, we have to get out of this field and under some kind of cover.”

“You've got no argument from me on that one.”  Faedra picked up her pace.  She could hear more shrieks in the distance.  Winged reinforcements were going to be there any minute and she wasn't quite sure how many creatures she would be able to torch in such a short period of time.  Truth was, this was the first time she'd purposefully used any of the power absorbed from Savu.  She had spent the past six months trying to keep it from consuming her, everyone, and everything she loved.  Keeping the power under control was painful.  But now, for the first time in six months, the pain of keeping something that strong under wraps was gone.  She felt freer than she'd felt in a long time.  What else could she do with it?  What if she used too much of it?  Would it drain her like her other power did?  She didn't know the answers to any of those questions, and she didn't have any food.  The last thing she expected to happen on a treasure hunt was being catapulted to the middle of a field in another realm.  Although, she chastised herself, she really should have learned by now.

Faen and Jocelyn disappeared into the forest about a hundred feet ahead of her.  Etyran loosened his grip on her arm and slid his hand down until he caught hold of her hand, propelling her forward with every step he took.

“We're nearly there, only another few yards.”

The edge of the forest was getting closer and closer.  Faedra heard another shriek, nearer this time, and looked up.  The sky was still clear above them.  She looked back to the forest, amazed that her lungs weren't burning with the effort of running.  Etyran made it first and wrenched Faedra out of the field as he did.  She looked up to see the skull-like face of another winged creature fly over the trees just as she was dragged under the cover of limbs and leaves.  They continued running a few more yards into the dense forest before they came to a stop.  Etyran unwrapped himself and Faedra leaned forward, putting one hand on her knee to balance herself.

As her breathing returned to normal, she looked up and scanned the area.  Faen was a few feet ahead and lowering his sister to her feet.  She was recovering from the beating she received in the field, and the bruise on her cheek was fading fast.  Etyran dropped Faedra's hand and ran over to her.  He stopped just inches away, hesitated, then pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her.  Jocelyn's eyes widened with surprise and she let out a little squeak as she got pulled into Etyran's embrace.  She looked tiny in his arms.

Faen gave his friend a considering look as he walked past him over to Faedra.

“Ah, ain't love grand?” Faedra said with a mock northern accent.

Faen chose to ignore the comment and put a hand either side of Faedra's face, studying her with intense worried eyes.  He moved her head slowly from side to side.  “Are you okay?”

Faedra pinched her brows together. “I'm fine.”

“Are you sure?  I mean, you have never used your new powers like that, they may have hurt you.”  He put a hand on each shoulder and spun her around, continuing to examine her back.

“Faen, what are you doing?” Faedra exclaimed as she pulled herself from Faen's grip and turned herself back around to face him.  “I'm fine.”

Faen took hold of her shoulders again and continued to look her up and down.  He moved his head from side to side casting a scrutinizing gaze up and down either side of her body.  She caught his face in her hands and held it steady in front of her.  “Faen, I'm fine!  In fact, I haven't felt this good since...well, you know.”

Faen's expression softened and the worry fell from his gaze.  They looked at each other for another moment.  Faen leaned in and was just a hair's breadth away from Faedra's lips when the crunching of leaves behind them distracted him.

Faen's reflexes were so swift, Faedra was still leaning in while her Guardian already had his sword out and was standing protectively in front of her.

Faedra opened her eyes to see Faen's back.  She materialized two energy balls, a day late and a dollar short, only to let them fizzle out when she saw it was the two women on horseback.

She stepped out from behind Faen to stand by his side and could hear Etyran and Jocelyn move to stand with them.  All four looked up at the two women.  There was silence for a heartbeat before they started asking the questions that each of them wanted the answers to.

“Where are we?”  Faedra demanded.

“Why did you bring us here?” Faen chimed in.

“What do you want with us?” Etyran joined the questioning.

“What were those things?” Jocelyn said, sounding unusually assertive.

“We will answer all of your questions, but first we have to get you to safety.  Those creatures are erchyll.  They are some of Arawn's many spies.  He knows you are here now, and if he knows you are here, he knows why.  He will send more of his spies out to try and capture you.  The forest may be an escape from the erchyll, but it holds its own vast source of danger,” the woman Faedra recognized from Falconchase explained.  “Please, follow us and we will explain everything to you.”

“How do we know you're not leading us into a trap?” Etyran asked.

“Good point, Etyran,” Faedra agreed. “How are we supposed to know you're not leading us into a trap?” she repeated to drive home the point.

“If we had wanted to trap you, that would have been very easy to do.  Please...” The cloaked woman looked around nervously, “we need to get out of this forest and get to safety.”

Faedra looked at her Guardian for guidance.  “What shall we do?”

“Can you use your power to sense if they mean us any harm?” Faen asked.

The Custodian rolled her eyes. “Of course, why didn't I think of that?”

Faedra closed her eyes and concentrated on the two women who stood before them.  First, she could feel the slight unrest in the horses.  Wow, she could sense animals, too? Their sensation was different to that of humans.   They did not like being in the forest but they were loyal to their riders and would go where their riders needed them to go.  She pushed her senses higher until she reached the woman she recognized from the treasure hunt.  Anxiety mixed with fear, which was probably caused by their surroundings.  Also, there was excitement and hope.  A strange combination.  Faedra felt her senses probe deeper and wondered if the woman could feel her poking around in her emotional energy.  After a few more moments Faedra was satisfied.  She could find no trace of malice or evil intent towards her or her friends.  Just an overwhelming feeling of hope.

She opened her eyes again.

“Did you sense anything?” Faen asked.

“Yes, I did.  I don't think they mean us any harm.  I think they are being honest when they say they only want to get us to safety.  I guess it would be a good idea to follow them after all.”

The cloaked woman from Falconchase gave Faedra a warm smile.  “Please allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Carina and this is my sister Anwynn.  If you would care to follow us, we will get you to safety and explain everything.”

Carina pulled on the reins to turn her horse, and Anwynn followed suit.  Faen took hold of Faedra's hand and the four friends followed on behind the white horses.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“What do you think they want from us?” Faedra whispered to Faen as they followed the two white horses down a narrow path in the woods.

“Well, they do not seem to wish us harm, so I would say they need our help,” Faen replied.

Faedra took in a deep contemplative breath.  “Help with what, I wonder?”

“We will find out soon enough, of that I am sure.”

Faedra looked behind her at Etyran and Jocelyn.  “How are you feeling, Jocelyn?”

“Much better, thank you.”

“That cut on your face has nearly healed up.  Crikey, you heal quickly.”

Jocelyn gave Faedra a warm smile.

“Thankfully.” Etyran quipped.

Jocelyn turned to look at him and gave him the same warm smile.  Etyran's cheeks filled with color.  He looked away quickly, only to be confronted with Faedra's knowing grin before she turned her face forward to see where she was going.  She may be the most powerful person in all of the seven realms, but she'd like to hazard a guess that she was also the clumsiest.  Tripping over a tree root and falling flat on her face was not on her ‘to do’ list at this point in time.

After they'd been walking for a while, it suddenly dawned on Faedra how quiet the forest was.  Too quiet for a place that should hold an abundance of life from the smallest tree frog to the largest owl.  But there was no noise except for the crunching of leaves under their feet.  This started to ring alarm bells in Faedra's internal warning system.

“Faen, have you noticed how quiet it is in here?” she whispered, and then started to look above her and to either side.  “I don't like this, it's not...right.”

“You are very observant, Custodian,” the woman introduced as Anwynn responded.

Wow, she must have good hearing.  Faedra thought.

“Not much lives in this part of the forest.  Arawn saw to that.”

Faedra could sense the disgust in the woman's voice.  “One day we hope to return this forest back to the bustling place it used to be.  Full of wildlife.  But, for now, even the animals are too scared to live here.”

“So why are we walking through here if it's such a dangerous place to be?” Faedra asked.

“Because it is the least likely place Arawn will look for us.  He is too arrogant to think that we would be hiding right under his spies' noses.”

Faedra gave Faen a look of uncertainty.  Just exactly where were they being taken, and what kind of dangers lived in this forest?  She was hoping they wouldn't find out any time soon.

At that moment, they heard another noise coming from up ahead.  A long sorrowful howl echoed through the trees. The four friends stopped dead and looked all around them.  Faen and Jocelyn instinctively drew their swords.  The light was dimming now, due mainly to them being brought deeper into the forest.  Faedra only hoped they didn't have much further to go.  The dark still unsettled her, as much as she hated to admit that fact.

The women on horseback did not seem fazed by the sorrowful howl that echoed again through the forest.  The horses kept walking without breaking stride.  Faedra creased her brow.  Something was not quite right, and this time it wasn't the fact that the forest was eerily quiet, except for the odd howl up ahead.

Carina looked back when she noticed their guests had stopped following them.

“It is alright.  Those are our calls.  Our people are just signaling that we are coming back.  We have guards keeping watch over this area to warn us if spies are coming.  We do not have much further now.”

Faedra was relieved.  The longer she was out in the forest, the more she had a sense of foreboding.  There was a strange kind of energy here but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.  It was like when you knew you didn't feel completely well but didn't know quite what was making you feel under the weather.  You just knew you didn't feel right.

Faen and Jocelyn sheathed they swords and the four friends proceeded forward again.  The howls were getting more frequent the deeper they went.  It seemed that they were being sent like a relay further into the forest.

Faedra saw Carina and Anwynn give a barely discernible nod to either side of the path they were traveling.  She realized they were acknowledging someone and let her gaze roam to the side of the road.  She strained to see in the dim light and couldn't make out anything but brush and undergrowth to either side of them, until one of those bushes blinked and moved back behind a tree.  Faedra's heart leapt to her throat at the surprise movement.  The bush put a camouflaged finger up to a dirtied face and pressed it against brown lips. She kept her eye on the 'bush' as she moved forward.  Just how many people were out here?

They walked for a few more yards until the path opened up and they were standing on the edge of a leaf covered, bowl shaped dip in the ground.  The area was surrounded by boulders, and a sheer rock face rose up in front of them.

Faedra looked above her and could see the odd head peeking out above some of the boulders along the ridge ahead of them.  The energy in this area was palpable.  There must be quite a few people out here for her to sense it so strongly.  Again, she could sense anxiety, but the more she tuned into it the more she could feel it shifting to hope.  Hope that was aimed at her.

They followed the two riders down the slope until they came to the wall of rock.  Carina dismounted her horse and walked up to the rock face.  She mumbled a few words and waved her arm across the rock.  It shimmered and then disappeared right in front of Faedra's eyes, leaving a large gaping hole in the side of the hill.  Faedra realized, at that moment, this did not surprise her.  She thought it a little sad that she was now so embroiled in other worlds, she didn't think anything would ever surprise her again.

Carina led her horse into the opening she had just created, and Anwynn followed.  She looked back at the four.

Faedra looked at Faen. “I guess that's our cue to follow.”

Faen gave her hand a squeeze and stepped forward to follow the two women through the opening. Faedra took a deep steadying breath and fell in beside her Guardian.

The Custodian looked up at the ridge above them as she stepped towards the opening.  More curious faces peeked out over the edge; she took another step and froze on the spot, sucking in a sharp breath.  She stood in the opening looking like someone had just poured a bucket of icy water over her head. Faen's face filled with concern.

“What is it, Faedra?  Are you alright?”

Faedra looked around her, then closed her eyes and did an internal examination.

Steadying her breath, she opened her eyes again. “I'm okay...I think.  Wow, there's some pretty hefty magic in here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I've walked through wards before, but usually I'd just feel a tingle.  This doorway felt like I was walking through a freezing cold waterfall.  Didn't you feel anything?”

Faen shook his head.

She turned her question to Etyran and Jocelyn as they stepped through the opening beside her.  “What about you two?  Anything?”

“Nope. Not a sausage,” Etyran answered.

“Jocelyn?”

“I am afraid I did not feel anything either, Faedra.”

“It is because you have Savu's power,” Carina interrupted.  “It is mostly evil power, and we had to do some strong recalibration of the wards for them to allow you entry.”

Faedra did not like that statement one little bit.  She straightened her shoulders and puffed out her chest. “I am NOT evil!” she exclaimed, trying more to convince herself of that fact than the woman in front of her.  It was something that had been nagging at the back of her mind for six months now.  What if consuming Savu's power would turn her evil?  She lost her temper very quickly since absorbing it.  Things that never used to bother her before, would push her into a bad mood in seconds now.

Her three friends took a step back.  Just like flicking a switch, the heat poured off her in waves.

“I never said you were evil,” Carina said.  “But the fact remains that the power you absorbed is.  There is no way of knowing how long the fundamental purity of your soul can fight against something that powerful.  We will probably be able to help you, but we need your help first.”  She gestured with her arm for her new guests to follow her.  “Please, we have much to do.”  She turned to continue walking.  Her horse gave Faedra a wary look and let out an anxious whinny.  Carina ran a hand down its nose and coaxed him forward.

They were now standing in a tunnel; easily the height of two people and wide enough that four could walk comfortably side by side.

“Faen, I can't hold it,” Faedra said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Faen turned his attention from Carina to his charge.  She was panicked, that much was obvious.  The temperature in the tunnel rose sharply and sweat beaded on everyone's foreheads.  The horses started to shuffle anxiously next to their handlers.

“What is happening?” Carina asked, concern creeping across her now flushed face.

“Well, if you had done just a little more research before you dragged us here,” Faen said in a reprimanding tone, “you would know that Faedra's power is linked very closely to her emotions.  You just touched on a very sensitive subject and now she is having trouble keeping said power under control.  I suggest if you do not want for us all to be baked alive, you tell me where the nearest water source is.”

Carina's eyes widened.  “It's just through there at the end of the tunnel.  There is the reservoir that feeds our cave.” She pointed down the tunnel.

Faedra took off at a sprint in the direction Carina had pointed.  The two women pulled their horses back against the tunnel walls as Faedra shot past them.  The heat radiating off her now was almost enough to scold.

Faedra ran.  She ran faster than she'd ever run in her life.  She didn't notice the fact that the tunnel was sloping downwards; too busy thinking about what would happen if her power overtook her in there.  She would kill every living thing in it, that was for sure, and what a horrible death that would be.  She shuddered and picked up the pace even faster.  She wasn't evil, she wasn't.  Her dad was right; she couldn't hurt anything on purpose.  Carina was wrong.  She had to be. All Faedra could hope was that she made it to the water in time.

At last, she burst through the end of the tunnel and saw the reservoir that Carina mentioned straight ahead.  As she got closer to it, she slowed and came to a stop by the water’s edge.

She stared into the mirror-like surface and her reflection stared right back at her.  Worry, fear, and helplessness were all etched on her face.  She slammed her energy into the water, and within seconds her reflection distorted as bubbles started to surface.  A few moments later she could see steam rising from the reservoir just around the time her energy started to ebb.  When she was at a point where she could rein it in, she pulled back from the water and the ripples dissipated to leave a mirror-like pond once again.

She was shocked to see that this time hers was not the only reflection that greeted her.  Several feet away on either side of her were reflections of women and children staring at her.  Startled, she looked up.  She thought she'd been alone.  Faedra didn't realize an audience had watched her lose control.  Faedra turned her head hesitantly to one side.  The women and children sucked in a breath and stepped back.  Mother's had protective arms around their children.  Fear was in everyone's eyes, and the energy in the cavern screamed it.

Faedra swallowed hard and slowly turned her head to the other side.  The same thing happened.  Dozens of frightened women and children backed away from her.  Faedra was mortified.  She'd terrified all these people.  She wasn't a bad person; she didn't want to hurt anyone.  She choked back a sob and slumped to the floor feeling defeated.  Sitting crossed legged in front of the pool of water, she buried her face in her hands.

CHAPTER NINE

“Faedra!” A voice she recognized echoed across the room as Faen exited the tunnel.  She heard his footsteps pound towards her before the soothing calmness of her Guardian's palms rested on her shoulders.

A sob escaped, then another, and another.  “I'm not evil, Faen.  I'm not,” Faedra cried.  Tears squeezed their way out of her eyes but evaporated before they made it down her cheeks.

Faen sat on the floor next to her and gathered her up in his arms.  She was hot, but thankfully, not enough to burn him.  She leaned into his caress and buried her head in his shoulder.

“No one thinks that, Faedra.”

“Carina does.”

The others exited the tunnel, hot on Faen's heels.  They stood a few paces away, faces full of concern.  Faen turned and gave Carina a reproving look; she averted her gaze to the ground.

“I scared all these people.  All these children.  I didn't know anyone was here when I lost control, honestly.  I didn't mean to scare anyone.” Faedra sobbed.

“Eirwen, please take the horses,” Carina said.

A young woman, also in a blue robe, stepped forward and collected the reins that Carina and Anwynn held out for her.  She led them through another tunnel on the opposite side of the cavern.

Carina stepped forward and knelt beside the Custodian.  “Faedra, I am sorry.”  Carina's voice was soft and compassionate.  “Your Guardian is correct; I did not know your power was linked so closely to your emotions.  It was thoughtless of me to say such a thing.  It is true, we do not yet know how such a power will affect you in the long term, but we will do everything within our knowledge to help you.  We may be able to bind it.”

Faedra stopped crying and pulled her head away from Faen's shoulder, her face red with tears. She gave Carina a hopeful look.  “You really think you can bind it?”

“I believe we have the knowledge to do so, yes.  But first we need you to use it to help us.”

Faedra pinched her brows together.

“Let us go somewhere private so we can explain ourselves.”

Faen got up and pulled his Custodian to her feet. Faedra glanced around at the women and children who were looking less scared now that Carina and Anwynn had joined them.  She noticed that the women were wearing blue robes like the one's Carina and Anwynn had on. The children also wore robes, but they were different colors.  Some were blue, but there was white, red, black, and green in the mix, too.

Carina turned to the group who had gathered around them.  “It is alright.  Faedra will not hurt any of you.  I have brought her here to help us.”

The crowd mumbled to each other and a wave of excitement filled the air.

“You really think this slip of a girl can help us, Carina?” an older lady spouted.

“This is not just an ordinary girl, Brina.  This is the Custodian.”

More excited mumbles spread through the crowd.

The lady named Brina gave Faedra a considering look; casting her gaze up and down before turning back to Carina.  “The girl obviously cannot control Savu's power.  How much use do you believe she will be against Arawn?”

Faedra stiffened at Brina's words.  “Hey, I didn't ask to be brought here.  I'd be quite happy for you to send us all back, thank you very much.”

“Brina, hush up, for goodness sakes.  Faedra is our only hope.  We have tried everything else.  I do not see you coming up with any more ideas.” Carina chastised the older woman.

Brina gave Carina a dirty look but made no further comments.

For the first time since entering the cave, Faedra had a good look around.  The cavern was immense.  She must have run downhill for quite a ways, because the ceiling of the cave stretched high above them.  There were holes around the walls of the cave, about one story high with rickety looking ladders leading to each one. Faedra thought they must be natural anomalies in the cave wall that substituted for makeshift rooms, as she could see more people watching what was going on from up there.  The reservoir she had boiled moments before was large and disappeared under a shelf of rock, so there was no telling how big it is actually was.

“Where are we?” Faedra mused, as she cast her gaze around what was obviously an underground hideout.

“Drofoz,” Brina answered, snapping Faedra's attention back to the here and now.

“Hold on a minute.” Faedra looked at Faen, “Isn't that where Todmus is from?”

There was a universal intake of breath from the people surrounding her, and Carina's eyes grew wide with surprise.  “You know Lord Todmus?” she asked.

“Lord Todmus?” Faedra questioned.  “I know of a Todmus, but he never said anything about being a Lord.”  She glanced back to Faen who was looking equally bemused at this new revelation. “Did he ever say anything to you about being a Lord?”

Faen shook his head. “No.  In fact, he never really talked about where he was from.  He just turned up one day looking for a job.  He seemed an honest fellow, so the king put him in charge of watching over one of the portals.  That was several years ago, now.”

Excited whispers spread throughout the group.  The whispers became louder and louder until Faedra could hardly hear herself think over the din.

Carina clapped her hands together, effectively silencing the crowd. “Settle down everyone.  We do not know if the person the Custodian speaks of is our Lord Todmus.”

Faedra gestured with her hand, palm down, just above waist height.  “About so high, rosy cheeks, white hair and beard.”

“Can it be?  Lord Todmus is alive!” a lady cried out.  “Thanks be to the Goddess!”

“Where is he?” another lady called.

“Yes, tell us where he is.” said yet another.

Carina moved in closer.  “I think it best if we go somewhere a little more private.”  She gestured with her hand to another tunnel that led from the cavern.  Faedra did a quick glance around the room, giving the occupants a weak smile before starting towards the tunnel.

The four friends followed Carina and Anwynn down the tunnel until they came to another cave, smaller this time.  It was comfortably furnished with a desk and chairs on one side, an opulent rug covered most of the hard stone floor, and a long table, surrounded by more chairs, took up the other half of the room.  It was obviously some kind of meeting room, a command center of sorts.  There were hand drawn floor-plans stuck to the walls, and a wooden model of a castle sat on another table all by itself.

“Please, sit,” Carina gestured to the chairs surrounding the long table.  “Would you like something to drink?”

All four responded in the positive and Anwynn inclined her head and left the room.

After they were seated around one end of the table, they looked at Carina expectantly, waiting for some answers.

Carina sat at the table and let her arms relax on the beautifully hewn wood, casually linking her fingers together in front of her.  She gave the group, as a whole, a thoughtful look and took a deep breath before she opened her mouth to speak.

“I am sure you have many questions you wish to ask, but please, if you would let me explain myself first, then I will answer any questions you may still have.  As you already know, we are in the realm of Drofoz.  We are a peaceful people; or rather, we were until a few years ago.” Carina's expression darkened and she sighed.  “Now, we are forced to hide in caves, what's left of us, or become Arawn's slaves.”

“Who is this Arawn?” Etyran asked.

“Arawn was Lord Todmus's second in command.”

“You mean Todmus used to rule Drofoz?” Faedra said.  Okay, something did surprise her after all.

“Yes, several years ago.  He was head of the druids until Arawn turned on him and wanted all the power for himself.”

“He was a druid?  You have druids here?” Faedra blurted out.

Carina gave Faedra a slightly exasperated look.

Faen put a hand on the Custodian's forearm.  “Faedra, let Carina talk.”

“Oh, of course.” She turned to Carina.  “Sorry,” Faedra said, a flush coming to her cheeks.

Carina gave her a warm smile.  “I'm sure this is a lot for you to take in.  In answer to your question, yes, on both counts.  Lord Todmus ruled over the druids.  In fact, most of the population of Drofoz is druid...” she paused, “or, was.  There are two orders.  The male order and the female order called ovates.  Anwynn is not my blood sister, but rather, my ovate sister.  All ovates are in a sisterhood, and we are the healers of this realm.

Arawn had been secretly building an army, of sorts, for many years.  He had been sneaking other world creatures here and training them to obey only him.  The erchyll are only one of such creatures.  When he was powerful enough, he overthrew Lord Todmus.  Rather than inflict needless bloodshed across the land, Lord Todmus stepped down and we all tried to live as peacefully as we could under Arawn's rule.  Though it was not easy, and it got steadily worse.  Arawn was so paranoid that we would bring in our own armies and take Drofoz back, he sealed off all the portals.  This effectively ended our way of life and the ability to earn our livelihoods.  You see, we train, or rather I should say trained, the Valkyrie's horses.”

Faedra sucked in a breath. “So that's where Todmus got Aesti,” she said.

“Aesti is with Lord Todmus?” Carina asked.

Faedra nodded and was about to say something when Anwynn returned with a clay pitcher and several goblets on a tray.  She placed them on the table.

“Anwynn, Lord Todmus has Aesti,” Carina said, joy audible in her voice.

“Thank the Goddess,” Anwynn replied.  “All this time we thought Arawn had slaughtered him along with Lord Todmus.  That must have been how he escaped.  But how did he get out of Drofoz when Arawn has all the portals sealed?”

Faedra pondered the question for a moment, and then thought of something. “Hold on a minute, if all the portals are sealed, then how were you able to bring us here?”

“The cypher wheel,” she said, giving the pouch still slung across Faedra's body a poignant glance.  It is something we have been working on for years, using some notes we found in Lord Todmus's things.  At first we had no idea what the notes were until one of the elders started building the device.  Then he stumbled upon an equation to make it work.  It created its own portal through the wheel, but with the notes Lord Todmus left, it would only work one way and we had no way of knowing where it would send you.” Carina explained, then dropped her gaze.  “We lost a few good men in our attempts.  We have no idea where they ended up.  I hope they are still alive and well...somewhere.”  The last sentence was said more to herself than the group at large.

“Well, it is obvious, now, is it not, Carina?” Anwynn said.  “Lord Todmus must have already discovered that his equations worked, but the device only took him one way.  That is why he has not been able to get back here.”

“So, this wheel was like having a one way ticket to...anywhere and nowhere?”  Etyran joined in the conversation.

“Precisely,” Carina answered.  “It took us many more years and several more people until one of the elders stumbled upon the solution quite by accident.  Although I must say, we never expected it could transport four people.  We believed it was only safe for one person at a time.  Over the months, one of us would travel to different realms to see if we could find a way to stop Arawn.  It was on one such trip into Azran that I heard mumblings about the Custodian defeating Savu.  I nearly gave myself away, the excitement was so great.  So I traveled to the World of Men to see if I could find you and ask for your help.  Only, when I got there, I could get nowhere near you because you had not come out of your house since you defeated Savu, and I could not get onto your grounds.”

“They're warded,” Faedra stated.  “The wards must have known you wanted me for some reason and wouldn't let you through.”

“But, we meant you no harm,” Anwynn interrupted.

“Maybe not, but you were not opposed to kidnapping, so that must have been transparent in your energy.” Faen interjected.

The two ovates looked at each other and nodded, conceding the point Faen just made.

“So, you hijacked the treasure hunt just for me?” Faedra gave the ovates an incredulous look.

“As luck would have it, your kind already uses a similar looking device for decoding text.  We just slipped ours in, and the rest is history.”

CHAPTER TEN

Arawn was pacing.  His heavy, determined footfalls were starting to wear a path in the sumptuous rug that lay at the foot of his bed.  His long red robes swept the fine twisted woolen fibers of the rug as he turned on the ball of his foot back and forth in front of his grandiose four-poster bed.  Chin between thumb and forefinger, his gaze was trained on the floor in front of him.  A look of murderous intent shone in his dark green eyes.

“How dare they.  How dare they,” he muttered, as his pacing continued, picking up speed.

Halfway through a lap of the rug, he stopped and looked up.  A wry smile curved one side of his thin lipped mouth.

“Hmm, I wonder...”

He spun on his heel and made for the heavy oak door to his room.  He grabbed the wrought iron knob, twisted, and flung the door open so hard it slammed against the stone wall of his bedroom, making the tapestry that hung there flap in the momentary breeze created.  Arawn marched from the room, ignoring the door and leaving it open behind him.

He quickened his pace as he came to the stairs that spiraled down at one end of the corridor.  The sound of his determined footsteps resounded off the walls as he took the stairs two at a time.  When he got to the bottom, he marched the length of another stone clad corridor, his robes flowing behind him, and traveled down another set of stairs, wider this time.  At the bottom, a guard scrambled to attention, surprise on his face.  It wasn't often the sorcerer graced the dungeons with his presence.

“Milord,” the guard said, not daring to look Arawn in the eye.

“Keys!” Arawn demanded arm outstretched, palm upward.

The guard fumbled with the ring of heavy iron keys that hung from his belt, trying to get it unattached from the leather.

Arawn tapped his foot impatiently.

“Sorry, Milord.  I cannot get the ring open.  I will have them to you in just a moment.”  A flush crept up the guard's neck and onto his face.

Arawn huffed an exasperated sigh. He glared daggers at the guard and drew out a knife from his own belt.  He stepped towards the guard with the stealth of a panther.  The guard's eyes widened in fear when he looked up to see Arawn approaching with the knife trained on him. He swallowed hard.

“My Lord?” he squeaked.

Arawn leaned in, the knife pointing at the guard's stomach.  The guard closed his eyes and whimpered, ready to meet his maker.  A smug smile crept across the sorcerer's lips as he slid the knife under the leather of the guard's belt and pulled up.  He enjoyed the feeling of power he got when people cowered before him.  The leather sliced as easily as if it were a hot knife through butter and the belt fell to the floor.  The buckle hit the stone with a chink.

“I have not got all day,” Arawn said giving the guard an icy glare when the guard, realizing he was still alive, opened his eyes.  He held the ring of keys in one hand and slid the knife back in its sheath with the other.

“Sorry, Milord,” the guard mumbled.

Arawn turned on his heel and headed down to the end of the dungeons.  As he disappeared down the dark, dank corridor, the guard slumped on to his stool, pulled a grubby piece of material out of his pocket, and with a shaky hand, wiped his brow with it.

Arawn strode towards the last cell in the dungeon; the one he reserved for very special guests.  This one, in particular, had some very precious occupants indeed.  When he reached the cell door, he looked through the bars.  The wary eyes of a woman, and those of a frightened child, dared to look back at him.  The little girl inched behind her mother who was sitting on a rough straw-filled mattress that lay on top of a rickety bench, the only furniture in the room.  The floor was covered in more straw and a bucket sat in the corner.  Even the rats scarpered when they caught sight of Arawn standing in front of the bars.  They scurried into little holes where the wall met the floor.

The woman swallowed hard and tried to hide the fear in her eyes by lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders.

“To what pleasure do we owe a visit from the great and powerful Arawn this day?” she asked, a hint of insolence touching her voice.

“Mama, do not provoke him,” the little girl whispered behind her mother's back.

“You would do well to heed your daughter's advice, Allora,” Arawn said, voice devoid of any emotion.  “After all these years, I have finally discovered a use for you.  I knew it would be worth my while keeping you alive.  As for the brat...”

Allora stood up, puffing up her petite four foot frame to its full height, not that it ever did any good.  She was a dwarf, just like her husband.  Dwarfs were rare in Drofoz, and before Arawn besieged the realm, they were revered by the rest of the inhabitants.

“It's Lady Allora to you, and you leave Skylar alone,” Allora warned.  Her motherly instincts taking over.  All fear from her eyes now replaced with fierce protectiveness.

Arawn raised a jet black eyebrow.  “Well, aren't we the fierce little erchyll today?” he mocked.

“Don't dare compare me to one of your disgusting creatures.” Allora said.

“Or you'll do what, exactly?”

Allora glared at him.  He was right, what could she do locked in a cell?  She and her daughter were completely at Arawn's mercy.  She always seemed to know just how far she could push him, though. And she didn't hesitate to try.

Arawn unlocked the cell door and opened it.  “Come.”

“What do you want with me?”

“You'll find out soon enough.”

Allora hesitated.

“Or maybe you wish for me to come in there and drag you out by your hair.  The choice is yours.”  The sorcerer's voice was calm, deadly.

Allora flinched just a fraction but kept her chin up and shoulders back.  She gave him a considering look.  She had no doubt he would act on his words, having done so on more than one occasion since their incarceration.  She recalled the first few times she tried to defy her captor.  It wasn't pretty, and the bruises lasted for weeks.  But over the years, she learned that he was much more forgiving if she cooperated.

Thankfully, after the first year in captivity, he had pretty much left her and Skylar alone, after she managed to convince him that she had no idea where her husband was, or even if he was still alive.  Surely, if he was still alive, he would have tried to rescue her and their daughter by now.  Slowly, over the years, this fact alone was making her lose hope that her beloved may still be out there.  And if that were the case, she and Skylar were totally at the mercy of this tyrant sorcerer.  She had to admit to wondering why he had kept them for so long.  He wasn't the sort of person to be merciful to anyone, least of all to the family of his adversary.  So the fact that he was feeding them and allowing them to live, gave Allora just a sliver of hope that she may, one day, see her husband again.

Allora took a step forward but felt resistance.  She looked behind her.  Skylar had grabbed hold of her wrist and was hanging on tight, her eyes wide with fear.  The poor thing.  For most of her life, all she had known was the inside of this dungeon cell and the fear that came with living there.

“Don't leave me, Mama,” Skylar whispered, eyes pleading.

Allora's heart cracked a little, just as it did every time Arawn had taken her out of the cell.

“I have to, my sweet.  You know what will happen if I do not do as he says.  I will be back soon, I promise.”

“Please, Mama!”

Allora closed her eyes as she pried the little girl’s fingers from around her wrist.  She moved swiftly to the door and gave Arawn a piercing glare.  “Let us get this over with, shall we?”

Arawn returned her glare with a conceited grin. It took every ounce of willpower Allora possessed not to slap it from his face.  Though, there were two problems with that way of thinking.  One, she couldn't reach, he was easily six feet tall, and two, he would beat her black and blue, if he didn't kill her in the process.  Survival instincts kicked in.  She had to stay alive for her daughter.  Skylar would never survive without her.

The door slammed behind her and she couldn't bear to look back.  Skylar ran to the bars and took hold of them.  “Mama, don't leave me here!  Mama!  Please, I'm frightened!”

Allora choked back a tear as she climbed the stairs behind Arawn, the frantic screams of her daughter fading with each step she took.  One day, she would see Arawn pay for this...one day.

***

Vivianna was preening her wings in front of the gilt edged, full length mirror that hung from the wall of her cell.  She may be the most hated person in all of Azran and incarcerated for her crimes against the crown, and most of the seven realms, but she was still the king's daughter.  Because of this fact, the king allowed her to have a few creature comforts to accompany her behind the iron bars.

A plush rug lay on the cold stone floor in front of her sumptuous bed.  A dressing table complete with brushes and combs completed the ensemble.

Vivianna turned and admired her reflection from over her shoulder, humming to herself as she pulled a wing forward and dusted it off.

She smiled. “Hmm, that's better.”

She turned again to look at herself from a different angle.  Her brows furrowed when she noticed a ripple in the mirror's surface.  She leaned in for a closer look when she noticed another, then another.  Just as she was raising her hand to touch the surface, a face appeared.

Vivianna straightened, slightly perturbed, but determined not to let it show.  She placed both hands on her hips.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Arawn, ruler of Drofoz.”

“Never heard of you,” she stated with as much nonchalance as she could muster.

She had, of course, heard of the tyrant sorcerer, but she wasn't about to let him think she considered him of any importance.

Arawn raised an eyebrow.

“What do you want?” Vivianna said, trying to sound as bored as possible.

“Nice place you have there,” Arawn said, moving his head to one side so he could see past her.

Vivianna gave a fleeting glance around the cell before returning her attention to the face in the mirror.  She narrowed her eyes at him, folded her arms across her chest and moved a step closer, cutting off any further view he may have of her less than desirable accommodations.

Arawn gave her an insolent grin.

“You try my patience.  Either tell me what you want or be gone.  I have no time for this,” Vivianna hissed.

“Yes, I can see you must lead a very busy life,” Arawn returned, voice laced with sarcasm.

Vivianna bristled and dragged in a long breath before her temper got the better of her.

“I believe we can be of service to each other,” Arawn continued.

Vivianna raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“I need you to help me dispose of a little problem that has arisen.  In return, I will free you from your dungeon.”

Vivianna gave him a considering look for a moment.  “I'm listening.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“So, what is it exactly that you want me to do?” Faedra asked.

“Kill Arawn, of course,” Carina answered, so matter-of-fact she could have been asking Faedra to nip out and get a bottle of milk.

“What? No!” Faedra snapped. “What do you think I am?  I don't go around killing people.”

“You killed Savu,” Anwynn interjected.

Faen stood up sharply, knocking his chair to the ground as his did.  “This is preposterous.  You dare to bring us here for this.”

“Savu was different,” Faedra started.

“Faedra, you do not have to explain yourselves to these people.  You do not have to explain yourself to anyone.  The ones who matter know what happened,” Faen defended.

“My brother is right, Faedra.  We know what happened, and that is all that matters,” Jocelyn joined in.

Faen held his hand out to his charge. “Come, we are leaving.”

Faedra looked up at her Guardian.  His features were only barely masking his anger, but his energy he couldn't hide from her.  He was furious.

“Now, Faedra!”

Faedra flinched slightly.  Wow, did he just shout?  Faen rarely shouts.  Pure instinct had Faedra putting her hand in his.  He held it tight and pulled her up from her chair.

“Jocelyn, Etyran, we are leaving,” he stated, defying anyone to argue with him.

Faedra gave her two friends a 'What's got into him?' look as he pulled her towards the entrance to the room.  Carina and Anwynn were still seated at the table.  Calm energy still surrounding them.

Faedra heard a couple of chairs scrape the floor and assumed Jocelyn and Etyran were now joining them.

Just as the four were walking out, Carina spoke up. “He has Todmus's wife and daughter.”

Faedra stopped dead, which jerked Faen to a stop, also.  She turned to face Carina, scanning her energy.  She was telling the truth.  Arawn had Todmus's wife and daughter.  He must have held them prisoner for years.  What kind of horror must they have endured at his hand?  She couldn't leave them there if there was anything she could do to help them.

As for killing Arawn, she couldn't do it, that much was for sure.  This was not her fight, and she most definitely was not a mercenary.  When she absorbed Savu's power, she didn't think it would kill him.  Her plan was to make him weak so he could be overpowered and locked away in a dungeon.  The last thing she would ever do would be to purposely kill someone.  She wasn't a murderer, and she certainly wasn't about to become one.  Savu had had her father; she was protecting her family.  It was self-defense.

“Faedra?” Faen asked.

“We can't just leave them there, Faen.  Todmus helped me when Vivianna had me under a spell, remember?  We have to do something.”

Faen eased his grip on Faedra's hand, his features softened. “What do you suggest?”

“I don't know, but between the four of us we should be able to come up with a plan to rescue them, don't you think?”

“Ooh, I am ready for a bit of adventure,” Jocelyn said, unable to hide her excitement.

Faedra gave her friend a knowing smile.  Faen rolled his eyes.  “Why do I get the feeling I am not going to like this?”

“Jocelyn's got a point, mate.  I'm up for a bit of rescuing, if you're game,” Etyran put in his two pennies worth.

“I have a feeling I am outnumbered,” Faen said with a smile.  He could see the determination on his charge's face.  “Okay, I am in, as you would say, my friend.  But, can we please try to not get killed in the process.”

“We'll try,” said Faedra and Jocelyn.

“Can't make any promises, though.” Etyran piped up, flashing his signature roguish grin.

Faedra led Faen back into the room, Jocelyn and Etyran followed.  They seated themselves back around the table again.

“Right, let's get one thing straight,” Faedra said pointedly to Carina.  “I am not killing anyone, understand?  I am not a murderer.  But there may be another way to rid you of Arawn.  First things first, though.  If you help us rescue Todmus's wife and daughter, then I believe we know of someone who can make Arawn less of a problem.”

“Who?” Carina and Anwynn asked together.

Faedra tapped the side of her nose.  “All in good time.  Now, how do we get into Arawn's castle?”

Faen turned to face Faedra and creased his brows, asking a silent 'What are you up to?'. To which he garnered a smug grin from the Custodian.

***

An hour or so later, Carina had given the group an extensive description of the inside of the castle with the help of the model standing on a table by itself in the cave room. She had been one of the residents there when Todmus was ruler of Drofoz.  She was the realm's lead healer and head of the ovates.  Lavish quarters in the castle had accompanied the title.  Her escape from Arawn was made by the skin of her teeth.  She dreaded to think how he would have used her if she hadn't eluded capture and found the caves.  Since that day when Arawn had forcefully taken the realm, Carina had always felt guilty she'd been unable to get Allora and Skylar out, too.  She couldn't bear to think what they may have been through over the years.  She prayed with all her heart that Faedra and her friends would be successful in their plan to rescue Todmus's family.  Carina developed a new appreciation for the Custodian while they were hashing out a plan for the rescue.  It was obvious she cared deeply for Todmus and would do whatever it took to free his family and reunite them.

***

“How much longer before it gets dark?” Faedra asked Carina as they all left the cave room and headed towards the large cave where Faedra had lost control of her power a few hours prior.

“A little while yet.  We have a couple of spare rooms we can give you.  You can freshen up and rest before we set out this evening.”

That was music to Faedra's ears.  She was starting to feel a little grimy, and the thought of splashing some water on her face and neck was a welcome one.

Carina led the four of them though the main chamber and down another tunnel.  This tunnel opened up into another cavern, smaller than the first.  The walls of this one looked like a sponge.  Lots of holes dotted the walls of the cavern creating small rooms.  Faedra could see that many of them were already occupied; the inhabitants peeked out and looked at her and her friends with curious interest.

As they walked further into the cavern, past all those faces, the energy in the room rose with every step.  Whispers echoed around the walls.  Faedra was blanketed in the familiar feeling of hope she was now accustomed to feeling when surrounded by these people.

She looked around and gave a weak smile to those who made eye contact.  Telling them with her eyes that she would do her best to free them from having to live in hiding.  To some of the smaller children she saw, she was sure they knew no other life than being cooped up in a cage.  Too much danger lurked outside for them to play carefree in the sunshine.  She wondered if many of these children had ever been allowed outside at all.  Had they ever had the sun warm their faces on a bright spring morning?  Felt the cool drops of rain from an unexpected shower?

“Here we are,” Carina said, snapping Faedra from her thoughts.  Faedra turned her attention to her host.  Now that she and her friends were going to free the family members of someone she held very dear to her heart, she couldn't view Carina as a kidnapper any more.

Carina pointed to two holes in the cavern wall.  One was above the other.  A ladder made of tree branches and strapped with vines led to the highest one.

“I will come and get you when night falls,” she said before turning and exiting out the way they came in.

“Well, I guess Jocelyn and I will take this one and you two can take that one.” Faedra said, pointing to the lower of the two rooms.  She noticed Etyran's expression fall as she divvied up the rooms, but he quickly recovered when Faen put his arm around Etyran's shoulder.

“Come, my friend.  Let us leave the ladies to get freshened up and rested before we leave.  I want to go over tactics with you,” he said to Etyran as he led him towards the ladder.  When Etyran put a foot on the first rung, Faen beat his wings a few times and ascended to their room.

Faedra pushed the material hanging in the entrance for privacy aside and gestured for Jocelyn to enter.  “After you,” she said.  Jocelyn gave her a warm smile and walked past her into the cave room.

Faedra followed and let the cloth fall behind her, covering the entrance to the room.  For a room carved into rock, it was surprisingly cozy, especially with the curtain draped over the entrance.  There was a little furniture in the room.  A small dresser with a bowl and pitcher of water stood at one end, and a couple of single beds covered with blankets was all there was room for.  It was all they needed, though.

Jocelyn wandered over to one of the beds and sat on the end.  Faedra headed over to the pitcher and poured some of the cool water into the bowl.  She leaned over the bowl, cupped her hands and splashed her face.  She let out a sigh.

“Etyran likes me, doesn't he?” Jocelyn blurted as she fiddled with the corner of the blanket.

Faedra stopped mid splash and turned her head towards her friend.  Water dripped from her wet face into the bowl below.  She gave her friend a big grin.

“Well, I think that would be the understatement of the year,” Faedra replied.

Jocelyn crinkled her eyebrows.

“I think he likes you very much.” Faedra didn't think, she knew.  Etyran's energy was not subtle that was for sure.  “How do you feel about him?”

Jocelyn dropped her gaze and sighed. “I am not sure.  No one has taken an interest in me before.”

Faedra grabbed the cloth on the dresser and wiped her face.  “You're kidding me?”

“No, not kidding.  I am not sure how I am supposed to feel in this situation.”

“Forget about what you're supposed to feel.  How do you actually feel?”  Faedra could quite easily determine how Jocelyn actually felt but thought her friend needed to talk about it.

Jocelyn mulled it over for a moment. “Well, when he is around, I feel like butterflies are fluttering around in my stomach.  It is a very odd feeling; I have never felt anything like it before.  At first, I thought I may be getting sick, but after a few days I could still feel it and I was still well.”

Faedra gave her friend a warm smile.

“Is that normal, do you think?” Jocelyn asked.

Faedra moved to the bed and sat down next to Jocelyn, laying the damp cloth across her lap.  “Yes, it is normal.  I still get that feeling every time your brother looks at me.”

“You do?” Jocelyn seemed surprised.  “How long does it last?”

“Everyone is different.  I'm afraid I can't answer that, sorry.”

“What do I do now?”

“Follow your heart and only do what you are comfortable doing.  If Etyran does anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, you must let him know.  He would be devastated if he did anything to upset or offend you.  You know how clumsy he can be, especially around women.  I don't think he has a lot of experience with our kind.”

“Our kind?  But we are of different kinds,” Jocelyn stated, completely misunderstanding Faedra's statement.

“I mean females.”

“Oh, I see.  He does stumble over his words a lot when he talks to me.  I was unsure why, but now it makes sense.”  Jocelyn gave Faedra a big smile.  “I think I like these butterflies.” She looked down at her stomach.  Faedra returned Jocelyn's smile.

“Well, I guess we should get some rest before darkness falls,” Faedra said as she moved over to the other bed.  She took off the pouch containing the cypher wheel and laid it on the small table next to the bed.  She then leaned over to take off her boots before swinging her legs up to lay down on top of the blankets.  Faedra heard a rustle from the other bed as Jocelyn lay down.  She turned her head to look at her friend.

Jocelyn was lying on her side, hands tucked under her cheek.  She was looking intently at the Custodian.  “Are you nervous about tonight?”

Faedra looked up at the ceiling, thought about it for a moment and turned back to face her friend. “You know, I'm not at the moment.  I know I can do almost anything with this power if I put my mind to it. I just need to figure out how to make it work for me.  Are you?”

“A little, but then, I always am before a quest.  I think it makes me more focused.”

“Really?  You never show it.  I would never have guessed you were nervous about anything.”

Jocelyn smiled and turned until she was lying on her back.  She was looking up at the ceiling when Faedra did the same thing.  A few moments later, her eyes became heavy and she drifted off to sleep.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Faedra was pulled from her sleep by a gentle touch on her arm.  She took in a deep breath as she willed her eyes to open.  Her foggy brain registered her Guardian over her beside the bed.  She blinked several times to focus her eyes.

“Is it time to go?” she asked.

“It is.  Carina has the horses ready for us.”

Faedra turned and leaned over to give Jocelyn a gentle shake.  “Time to get up, Jocelyn.”

“Already?” Jocelyn mumbled.

“Come on, sleepy head.  Up you get,” another voice spoke.

Faedra and Jocelyn propped themselves up on their beds to see Etyran leaning up against the door way, arms crossed over his chest and one foot crossed lazily over the other at the ankle.  He gave Jocelyn a warm smile and Faedra could feel his energy radiate into the room.  Faedra and Jocelyn looked at each other and exchanged knowing smiles.

Faedra sat up and took Faen's offered hand as he pulled her up to stand.

“Thanks.”  Faedra leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.  “Well, let's get this show on the road then, shall we?” She grabbed her pouch and slung it across her body.

Etyran stepped aside and let the two ladies exit first.  They walked into the main cavern to be greeted by Carina and Anwynn, who were waiting with six horses.

“Six horses?” Faedra looked up and asked Faen.

“Carina and Anwynn are going to ride with us to the edge of the forest.  They know the quickest and safest route through,” Faen explained.

Faedra nodded. It made sense to her.

They led their horses through the tunnel in single file until they were at the opening.

Faedra braced herself for the icy sensation she would feel when she walked through the entrance to the caves.  It was a very unpleasant feeling.  She wasn't looking forward to experiencing it a second time.

Once outside, they mounted their horses and followed behind Carina and Anwynn.  The forest was even more eerie at nighttime.  Faedra felt almost smothered by the silence that hung all around them.

The only noise was made by the soft hoof falls of the horses as they walked along the soft dirt trail.  The odd twig snapped under foot, making Faedra flinch and forcing her to push back the power that threatened to come rushing forward.  Faedra took some deep breaths to calm her nerves that were now beginning to surface.  She hadn't felt nervous when they were in the safety of the cave, but now, heading towards the castle, reality was raising its ugly head.  She just hoped they could pull off their plan.  It was pretty adventurous to say the least, and if any part of it didn't work, the whole mission could fail.  Every step had to go as planned, or they probably wouldn't get Allora and Skylar to safety.

Most of the journey to the edge of the forest was made in silence.  Faedra heard Jocelyn and Etyran whisper quietly to each other behind her.  Faen, who was riding beside her, had tried to engage her in conversation several times, but she was concentrating so hard on keeping calm, she'd been too distracted to respond with much more than a yes or no.  Luckily Faen realized what was going on and fell silent after a little while.  Faedra knew this because she could sense his compassionate energy wrap around her like a soft woolen shawl, which helped soothe her, too.

Sensing people's energy may have started out being overwhelming, but she was discovering that it was a very useful tool to have in her arsenal.  Now, if she could only figure out how to control and use the rest of what was bubbling inside of her.  She looked over at her Guardian and gave him a warm smile.

All too quickly they came to the edge of the forest.  Faedra and Faen brought their horses up on one side of the ovates, Jocelyn and Etyran on the other.  The six of them lined up along the opening to a vast meadow.  The moonlight cast a silvery glow across the grass that was swaying in the soft breeze, making the whole meadow resemble a calm ocean.

In the distance, a castle loomed ahead of them, dark and foreboding.  Only a couple of lights shone from a window here and there, breaking up the black silhouette that towered above the mound it was perched on.

“Well, this is where we leave you,” Carina said.  “Good luck on your quest.  We pray you bring Allora and Skylar back safely.”

Faedra gave Carina a weak smile.  That was the plan, to bring the captives back safely, but whether it would work out the way she hoped, was yet to be seen.

“We will await your return here so we can lead you back to the caves.” Anwynn said before turning her horse.  Anwynn and Carina walked their horses back under the cover of the forest.  Within a few feet the blackness enveloped them. Faedra squinted but couldn't see them anymore; it was so dark under the canopy of trees.

“We should head for that tree line and try to stay out of the open as much as possible,” Etyran suggested pointing to a tree line that ran alongside the castle. “We don't know for sure how many creatures Arawn has working for him.  It wouldn't surprise me if his spies can see in the dark, too.”

“Good point, my friend,” Faen said.  “Let us make haste across this opening and ride within the shelter of those trees until we get to the castle.”  Faen looked at the girls to see if they were on board with the idea.  Both Faedra and Jocelyn nodded. “Are we ready, then?” Faen asked.

“Ready as I'll ever be,” Faedra replied.

Faen squeezed his horse's flanks.  Within a few strides, the horse was galloping across the field.  The other three followed close behind.  Faedra tried hard to keep her adrenaline from pumping too hard as her horse thundered over the grass.  It was not easy.  Riding this fast had always gotten her blood pumping, long before she had any powers to worry about controlling.

It didn't take them long before they hit the tree line on the other side.  So far so good.  No spies or nasty creatures in sight.  They would have to keep their wits about them, though; the castle was looming ever closer.  There were bound to be some unsavory creatures lurking around as they got closer to their quarry.

They walked the horses just inside the tree line until they were parallel with the castle wall. After they'd dismounted their horses and tied them to the trees, they looked up at the battlements of the castle.  Two guards were patrolling back and forth across that section of wall.  They watched them for a moment to see what their routine was.  When the guards met in the middle, did an about face and started walking away from each other, the four cohorts ran over to the wall and lay their bodies flat up against the cold stone slabs. They looked up to see if they had been spotted. When no alarm was raised, they were sure they hadn't been seen from above.  They inched their way along the wall until they got to the corner.

Etyran wrapped the shadows around him and poked his head around the corner.  Good.  There were no guards on the outside of the entrance.  He didn't think there would be, but it was always safe to check.  He pulled himself back and unwrapped himself.

“No guards outside.  If Carina is correct, there should be two on the inside of the gates and two on each of the battlements.”  He looked at Jocelyn. “Are you ready to make your acting debut?”

Jocelyn blushed.  Faedra couldn't see it in the darkness, but her senses picked it up as brightly as if she could see her cheeks burning.

Jocelyn squared her shoulders.  “I am ready,” she stated.

“Good girl,” Etyran said, giving her a warm smile.  Then he turned to the Custodian. “Faedra, ready?”

Faen took Faedra's hands in his.  “Promise me you will be careful.”

“I promise.”

“I will be right behind you.  Remember to keep calm,” Faen said.

Faedra swallowed hard and gave a barely discernible nod.  She turned to Etyran and took a deep steadying breath as Etyran opened up his long trench coat.  Faedra stepped forward until she was nestled up against him.  He wrapped the coat around her and she felt the familiar ripple that told her they were now invisible.

“Alright, everyone.  Let us go and rescue Todmus's family, shall we?” Faen said.

All four made their way quietly towards the gates.  The heavy wooden doors towered above them as they stood in front of the entrance to Arawn's castle.  A smaller door was cut into the larger gates.  It had a heavy iron knocker just below a peep hole caged with tiny bars.

“Wish me luck,” Jocelyn whispered as she raised her hand.

“Good luck,” Faedra and Etyran whispered back from right behind her.  Faen took to the air and hovered just out of what would be the guard's line of sight when the door was opened.

Jocelyn's hand hesitated for a second, then she grabbed the knocker and rapped it on the door.

The peep hole opened.  A gruff voice echoed into the darkness. “Who goes there?”

“My name is Jocelyn.”

The guard narrowed his eyes when they fell on the young fairy.  He gave her a scrutinizing look for a few seconds.  “Now, what is a pretty young thing like yourself doing out on your own this late at night?”

“Excuse me, Sir.  But I seem to have lost my way.  I wondered if I could seek shelter here for the night until I can get my bearings again in the daylight tomorrow.”

The guard looked her up and down.  “Wait there,” he ordered, slamming the peep hole closed.

Jocelyn looked up at her brother and held her palms up in silent question.  Faen gave a sharp shake of his head, telling her not to look up at him in case the guard looked out again and saw her.

Another moment passed, and Jocelyn was about to give up and turn to talk to Faedra and Etyran when she heard the heavy iron bolts of the door clank.  Then the door creaked open, and the guard who had spoken to her before, stepped outside.  He looked around, checking to see if she was indeed on her own.  Faedra held her breath, fighting with all her might against the power that was threatening to push forward with every pounding heartbeat and give them all away.

The guard did one more cursory look around before stepping aside. “Very well, young lady.  You may seek shelter here this night.”

Jocelyn stepped forward to make her way through the door, when the guard instantly closed in behind her shutting off Faedra and Etyran's ability to slip past him into the castle.  Jocelyn turned and put her hands on the guard's chest.  He was so shocked he took a couple of steps back in surprise.

“Thank you so much, kind sir.  I was starting to get frightened out here all by myself,” Jocelyn fawned as she took another step forward, pushing the guard back another step, allowing her friends to scoot in behind her.

“Th-that's quite alright, Missy.  You will be quite safe in the castle,” the guard blustered.

Sensing that Faedra and Etyran were through the door, Jocelyn stepped away from the guard and stepped through the entrance behind them.

Once inside, the guard closed the door behind him and slid the bolts home.  Another guard stood to one side of the door and gave Jocelyn a considering glance.

“Bert, I'm just going to escort our guest up to see the master.”

The other guard nodded without saying a word.

While Jocelyn was engaging the first guard in a conversation, Faedra put her hand outside Etyran's coat.

The second guard's eyes opened wide when he saw the disembodied hand floating towards his chest.  He looked down and opened his mouth to say something, but a second later, he sunk to the floor, his swords clattering on the stone slab.

The guard swung around to see his friend lying in a crumpled heap.  He pushed Jocelyn aside and kneeled down beside the unconscious guard. He took Bert by the shoulder and gave him a shake.

“Bert?” he whispered.

A second later, that guard slumped forward, on top of the other.

Etyran unwrapped the light around him, and Faedra slipped from his arms.  She moved to the door and unlocked the bolts.  Faen slid in through the door and bolted it behind him.

“Nice work, Jocelyn,” Faedra whispered, brimming with pride for her young friend.  “That was quick thinking.  I was sure he was going to lock us out and you'd be stuck in here by yourself.”

Jocelyn blushed again.  “It was rather exciting,” she admitted.

“Yes.  Well done, Sister,” Faen praised.

Faen and Etyran each grabbed a guard under the arms and dragged them into the shadows of the archway they were standing in.

Faedra and Jocelyn stood back against the wall where the shadows would hide them until Etyran gave them the all clear.  He went invisible again and looked around.  They had to cross a courtyard to get to the entrance to the keep.  The courtyard was lit by torches.  Four guards patrolled above them on the battlements.  It was going to be tricky getting them all across the courtyard without being seen, but Etyran had an idea.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The only way they could be sure of getting across the courtyard undetected, was for Etyran to take them across one by one.  It would take a lot longer than they planned, but getting caught and thrown in the dungeon next to the very people they were trying to rescue, was not on their ‘to-do’ list.  Etyran was very happy about this change in plans because it meant he got to wrap his arms around Jocelyn once again.

He took Faedra across the courtyard first. When they got to the other side, Etyran moved them to the shadow of a pillar next to the heavy doors before unwrapping them both.  Faedra did a quick scan of the immediate area to see if she could sense anyone's energy getting too close.  She looked up at the battlements.  The only energy she could sense was the boredom floating off the guards trudging back and forth between the turrets.

It was Jocelyn's turn next.  She gave Etyran an uncertain glance before she nestled against his chest.

“Don't worry,” he whispered into the top of her head, allowing him to brush his lips over her hair. “I won't let anything happen to you.”

“I know,” Jocelyn said, looking up at him. She let her gaze linger for a moment before putting her arms around him and leaning her head against his chest again.

Etyran closed his eyes and sighed.

Faedra wondered what was taking so long for Etyran to bring Jocelyn over.  Even though she couldn't see him, she stood in the shadows waving her arm for him to get a move on, all the same.  Little did she know that Etyran would have stood in the middle of that courtyard holding Jocelyn for hours, given the chance.

Etyran noticed Faedra's frantic waving and thought better of it.  He rolled his eyes and picked up his pace. Once he had the two of them across the courtyard, he released Jocelyn to stand in the shadows with Faedra.  Faedra gave her a big hug.

“It feels weird when he does his invisible thing, doesn't it?” Faedra said after Etyran had turned and was walking back to get Faen.

“It really does,” Jocelyn agreed, excited at what she had just done. Then she lowered her eyes and looked at Faedra through her lashes. “I liked being snuggled up against him, though.”

Faedra smiled.

Back across the courtyard, Faen was giving his friend a dubious look.  He couldn't be sure if his glamor could be seen through by people in this realm.  He had to assume it could because Carina and the others had been able to see him.  It wasn't worth the risk of a guard seeing him and raising the alarm half way across the courtyard.  Until he knew for sure, he would have to hitch a ride wrapped around Etyran.

“Not sure if I like the thought of getting this close to you,” Faen said, trying to sound all manly.

“Necessary evil, mate,” Etyran quipped with a smirk curling his lips. He held his coat open.

Faen moved in and put his arms around Etyran, looking to the sky as he did.

“Ooh, come on, squeeze me a bit tighter than that,” Etyran joked when Faen had wrapped his arms around the Lightbender.

Faen let go and stepped back abruptly, dusting off his clothing as though trying to flick off something nasty.

Etyran stifled a chuckle and closed his lips tight in an effort to stop the cheesy grin that was threatening to split his face in two.

“Mate, I was only joking.  Come on, give me a hug, I promise not to kiss you.”  Etyran held his coat open for his best friend again.  “The girls are waiting.  On that side of the courtyard.  All alone.” He emphasized the last word to hopefully spur Faen into action.

It worked.

Faen looked across the courtyard into the shadows.  He couldn't see the girls, but he knew they were there.

“Oh, come on, then,” he said, sounding as disgruntled as possible. “Let's get on with it, but if you ever breathe a word of this to anyone...”

Faen put his arms around Etyran who let out a soft mewl, ever the antagonist.

“If you do not stop that, I will ask Faedra to zap you,” Faen hissed.

“Sorry, couldn't help myself.”

A few minutes later Etyran was depositing Faen on the steps across the courtyard.  All four looked up and gave the guards a cursory glance to make sure they hadn't noticed anything untoward going on in the courtyard.

There was a collective sigh of relief as they watched the guards still trudging back and forth along the battlements, oblivious to what was going on below them.

Faen cracked one of the doors to the keep open and poked his head inside.

“Coast is clear,” he said, extracting his head from the opening.  One by one they slid into the keep and closed the door quietly behind them.

On the other side, a stone clad atrium opened up in front of them. Blazing torches lined the walls highlighting tapestries that hung between them.  Two sets of stairs scaled the walls and curved around the interior of the immense room until they met in the middle at the top.  Underneath the middle of the staircases was an archway.  A long torch-lined corridor could be seen leading away from the atrium.

Faedra's heart was pounding. That corridor would take them to the staircase that would lead down into the belly of the castle to the dungeons.  What would they find down there?  Would Allora and Skylar be okay?  She didn't know how she would handle it if they were hurt.

She turned and put her hands on one of the cold stone slabs in the wall.

“What are you doing?” Faen whispered.

“I think the castle needs some central heating.”

Faen drew his eyebrows together at her odd remark.

“Well, I can't see any water about and my heart is about to pound out of my chest,” Faedra explained.

Faen nodded.  Now he understood.  A moment later, the atrium was several degrees warmer, which actually made the place much more inviting.  After Faedra had her emotions and power back under control, she set her energy sensors to work.

She couldn't sense anyone near, so she gave the go ahead to the others.  They all hurried across the atrium in single file, lining up behind each other along the corridor, making sure that no one heard them.

Faen took the lead, with Faedra and Jocelyn in the middle and Etyran holding up the rear.  They crept down the corridor, passing a closed door here and there.  As they got closer to the stairs, Faen held his hand up signaling everyone to stop.  The next door they came to was ajar, and he could hear noises inside.

He poked his head around the door frame but couldn't see inside.  The door wasn't open wide enough, which meant the occupants couldn't see him either, but there was every possibility that someone could open the door and walk out at any second. Faen turned to the others and held his finger over his mouth.  He signaled them to move past the door as quickly and quietly as they could.  They tiptoed past the open door and got to the other side just as the door hinges squeaked.

All four slammed themselves flat against the wall and held their breath.  A woman dressed in a dowdy brown dress that skimmed her ankles was carrying a large clay pitcher.  She leaned in to pull the door closed behind her.

“I'll bring back some more hot water for your bath,” she said before clicking the door closed.  She looked down the corridor towards the atrium and started walking without looking the other way first.  The four intruders relaxed their shoulders.  The woman stopped.  Faedra could physically feel the tension coiling out of her three friends.  It was as if they were collectively strangling her, it was so strong.

The woman glanced around, but not behind her.

“That's strange,” she mumbled to herself.  “It never gets this warm in the castle.”  She stood still for another heartbeat, then shrugged her shoulders and carried on walking towards the atrium.

When she turned the corner at the end of the corridor, Faedra slumped forward and propped herself up with her hands on her knees.

“Guys, I need you to breathe,” she said, slightly breathless herself. “Your tension is killing me.”

The others gave her a worried look, then glanced at each other, realizing what she meant and puffed out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” Faedra sighed.

“That was a little too close for comfort,” Jocelyn remarked.  “Exciting, though.”

Faedra gave her a look that said ‘you are kidding, right?’.

“Come on, we must keep moving,” Faen said.  “Are you okay to keep going?” he asked Faedra.

She nodded and pushed herself to stand up.  Faen and Jocelyn were already moving, and Faedra was about to join them when she noticed Etyran's energy.  She turned. He was looking down the corridor where the woman had been.

“What is it?” Faedra asked.

He visibly snapped himself from his thoughts and gave Faedra a look as if he hadn't expected her to be standing there.

“Etyran?” She looked at him, then down the corridor, then back to him again.

He changed his expression to an emotionless mask. “Nothing.  It was...nothing.”

He strode past Faedra.  “Come on, we need to follow the others.”

Faedra creased her eyebrows. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't nothing.  Etyran's energy was off the charts.  She wasn't going to get anything out of him right now; she could tell he had shut down.  She followed on behind him, wondering what on earth could have caused a sudden shift in his emotions like that.  She hesitated on the first step that would take them down to the dungeons and looked back down the corridor.  There was nothing visible there, but she could sense something. Fear, anxiety, tension.  After a second, she dismissed it.  Hadn't they all been standing in the corridor, just moments ago, emitting those exact same emotions in bucketfuls?  She put it down to their residual energies still lingering.  It wasn't so unreasonable, especially when no other explanation presented itself.

Faedra turned and headed down the stairs. She joined the group a few steps up from the bottom where they were gathered together.

“Etyran, you go and scout around to see how many guards are down here,” Faen instructed.

Etyran nodded and disappeared.  A moment later he was back.

“I only see two guards; they are both over there playing cards.” He pointed to one side of the opening.

“Faedra, do you feel comfortable shocking them unconscious?” Faen asked.

Faedra's eyes widened and she shook her head.  There was no way she could be sure she wouldn't blow them to smithereens.  She had very little control over her power when it was inside her body, let alone, when she sent it outside of herself.

“Okay.” Faen turned to his friend.  “Etyran?”

“I'm up for it.  A good clomp on the back of the head should do it.”

Etyran gave everyone a smug grin before wrapping the light around him again.  The three left behind poked their heads around the stone clad entrance to the dungeons.  A moment later, one of the guards slumped forwards onto an upturned wooden barrel they were using as a makeshift card table.  The cards on the table scattered, and the ones he was holding, slipped from his grip and fell to the straw-covered floor.

The remaining guard stood up abruptly, pushing his stool over.  He leaned over his friend and gave him a shake.

It was then that Etyran unwrapped himself.  Noticing the sudden appearance of another person the guard stood up, his eyes widening with surprise and shock.

“Time for night-nights,” Etyran said with a cheeky grin.  A second later, he had bonked the guard on the head and was easing him down to the ground.

Etyran looked over to the others waiting at the entrance.  “Okay, coast is clear.  These two will sleep like babies for a while yet.”

Faedra smiled and moved quickly to the first dungeon.  Nothing in there, she went down each dungeon one by one.  There were unsavory looking characters in some.  Forlorn looking prisoners in others, but none contained a woman and child.  Half way down the line of cells, she started to get worried.

“They have to be here somewhere,” she whispered to the others who were keeping pace behind her.  She went past several more cells until she got to the last one.

Putting her hands around the bars, Faedra looked in.

Faedra whispered a silent “thank you” when her eyes fell upon a woman lying on a straw mattress on top of a rickety wooden bench.  The woman stirred, as if sensing their presence.  She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and looked at Faedra.  A frightened girl sat up behind her mother and peeked out around her shoulder.

“Allora?”  Faedra whispered.

The woman nodded.

Faedra's heart swelled with happiness.  She gave the woman a big smile.  “Stay right there.  We're going to get you out of here.”

Faen, Jocelyn and Etyran were all standing around Faedra and peering in to the cell.

Faedra placed her hands on the heavy iron lock on the cell door.

Allora looked in astonishment as the metal slowly turned red and started to glow.  A moment later, the metal was melting and dripping down the cell bars.  Within minutes, the lock was no longer there; it was now a molten pool of metal puddling on the floor.

The heavily barred door opened with a creak.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“How did you...?” Allora asked as she followed Faedra's gesture to follow her out of the cell.

“I'll explain later,” Faedra answered.  “But right now we need to get you out of here.  Be careful of that.” She pointed to the puddle of molten metal that was now hardening on the cold stone floor.

Allora lifted up her dirty skirts and stepped over the puddle, followed by Skylar, who gave Faedra a wary look as she passed the Custodian.

Faedra gave the young girl a warm smile. “Hi, I'm Faedra.  You must be Skylar.”

The young girl, who was holding on tight to her mother's hand, looked up at Faedra through frightened eyes and gave a tentative nod.

“It's alright; we are here to help you.  I'll introduce you to everyone when we've got you to safety.”

Faen and Etyran led the way back to the stairs.  They were almost there when two guards and a tall man in long red robes entered from the stairwell and cut off their path.

Faen and Etyran stopped suddenly, getting jerked forward a step when the rest of the group bumped into them.

“Well, isn't this cozy?” The man in the red robes hissed, eying them with contempt.  “Did you think you could just waltz into my castle without me knowing and steal one of my most prized possessions?”

Faedra could feel the hatred flowing out of the woman standing by her side.  It was almost choking in its intensity.  She swallowed hard to push back the force of it.  Hatred was such a powerful energy and not easy to control.

Knowing the man standing before them was a powerful sorcerer, Faedra pushed between Faen and Etyran to stand in front of her friends and Arawn's prisoners.  She was probably the only real defense they had in there.

Arawn raised a conceited eyebrow at her gesture. “So, the famous Custodian has the audacity to show her face in my realm.” Arawn sneered.  “Little girl, you should have kept your nose out of other people's business.  It will be my personal pleasure to make sure you realize the mistake you have made in coming here.”

Faedra looked the sorcerer right in the eyes, trying to keep her face expressionless.  “You don't scare me,” she stated, lifting her chin.  Hoping against hope that he couldn't see through her bluff.  In actuality, she was quaking in her boots.

“Really?” Arawn replied, a wry smile daring to curve the corner of his mouth.  “Guards.”

The two guards standing either side of him surged forward.  Faedra put up her hands hoping energy balls would be thrust from them.  She never really knew what was going to come out since attaining Savu's power.  She just made the request in her head and hoped for the best.

Just as before, the balls that shot forth were purple; a mix of electrical energy and fire.  Faedra watched in shock as they hit an invisible wall and dispersed before her in a beautiful array of lightning fingers and sparks.

She looked to the men standing either side of her.  Faen and Etyran looked as shocked as she did.

Arawn dropped his head back and laughed.  It was so cold and heartless, it sent shivers down Faedra's spine.

“Is that all you have, little girl?”

Faedra tried again, a little more forceful this time.  Nothing but a pretty light show exploded in front of the group.

Arawn and his guards took a step forward.

Faedra and her group took a step back.  She narrowed her eyes at Arawn.

“I thought Savu was the most powerful being in the seven realms.” Faedra whispered to Faen.

“Savu was the most powerful being in the seven realms,” Arawn interrupted, causing Faedra to return her attention to him.  “But Savu is not the one controlling his power anymore.  You are.  Or rather, you're not, as the case seems to be.” A malevolent smirk twisted Arawn's lips at his statement.

“Oh, buggar,” Faedra mumbled under her breath. “This wasn't part of the plan.”  She looked back at her friends.  They all took another step backwards as Arawn stalked forward, taunting his prey.

Faedra had to think of something, and quick.  These people were depending on her.  If she couldn't match Arawn's power, the rest of her group stood no chance.

“Hmm...I wonder.” An idea was forming.  “Maybe, just maybe.”  She pulled the cypher wheel from its pouch, along with the piece of paper that had the last clue on it.  Why she'd kept that scrap of paper she had no idea, but it might just end up being the one thing that could save all of their lives.

“Hold on to me,” Faedra instructed the group of people crowded behind her.  There was a slight hesitation before she felt several sets of hands grab her clothing.

“What are you doing?” Faen asked, giving her a sideways glance while still keeping his attention on their adversary.

Faedra started moving the dials on the wheel, inputting the last clue.

Arawn narrowed his eyes.

“What is that?” he said, lunging forward.

Faedra looked up just in time and shot another energy ball at him, causing him to erect his shield and take a hasty step back.

“Here, take this and input this clue,” she instructed Faen as she handed him the cypher wheel and the scrap of paper that held the clue.  They needed a few minutes and Faedra knew Arawn would be on them in a flash if she didn't keep him at bay.  She could, at least, do that.

“Everyone hold on to Faen,” she stated, looking up at her Guardian.  His expression was one of confusion but he didn't question his Custodian's instructions and started turning the dials.

“It suddenly dawned on me, that clue must be a set of co-ordinates, right?” Faedra whispered to her Guardian. “If my hunch is right, it should take us back to the meadow where we first arrived.”

“Oh, clever girl,” Etyran muttered on the other side of her.

Faen gave her a proud smile.  “Let us hope you are correct.”

Faedra kept throwing her energy balls at Arawn's invisible wall.  If nothing else, they were keeping him at bay and giving them the precious few moments they needed to see if her plan would work.

“Okay, last one.  Everyone holding on to me?” Faen asked.

Everyone responded in the affirmative.

“Let us pray this works then, shall we?” Faen said as he turned the dial, inputting the last letter of the clue.

Faedra saw a bright flash and heard a furious scream just before she felt cool droplets of water splash on her face.

She opened her eyes.  It was dark.  It was raining.  Hopefully just a shower, she thought. The silvery light from the full moon peeked out from behind one of several scattered dark clouds in the sky.  Faedra looked around her.  They were standing under the same tree they'd found themselves under the day before.

“Are we all here?” she asked, gazing about the group and doing a mental inventory of bodies.  Everyone was there.  They were safe, for now.

Joy flooded into her soul.  They had rescued Todmus's family.  Faedra grabbed her Guardian by the arms and gave him a playful shake.  She laughed.  “We did it, Faen!  It worked!”  She grabbed his raindrop covered face and brought it down to hers, planting a big kiss on his lips.  After a moment, she pushed his face back a few inches.  “God, I just love you!” she exclaimed, getting all raveled up in her own excitement.

Faen's energy exploded, Faedra felt it surround her.  She looked at him, her eyes widening.  Her hands warmed as the heat rose in Faen's cheeks. Faedra did a mental check; it was definitely his heat this time, not hers.  If she could see his energy, she would imagine it being like watching the most amazing fireworks display.

“Marry me.” Faen's breath fanned across her face.

Faedra sucked in a breath. “What?”

There was a collective gasp around the couple.  The others, who had been chattering excitedly about their close escape, fell silent.  The noise of the raindrops hitting the canopy of leaves above them was the only sound Faedra could hear.

Faedra swallowed. She could feel everyone's energy go still.  Without looking at the group around her, she knew they were all watching her and Faen, waiting with bated breath.

Faen's energy did not quiet down.  She could almost hear his heart pounding.  A mixture of love, excitement and apprehension were flowing out of him.  Faedra moved one of her hands from Faen's cheek and placed it on his chest, never moving her eyes from his.  Now she could feel the thunderous beat of his heart.  At that moment, it was beating just for her.  Of that, she was certain.

“Yes.”

Faen's face lit up.  His smile was breathtaking.  He leaned in and gave his Custodian a gentle kiss before wrapping her in his arms.  Faedra laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes.  She could feel him kiss the top of her head before resting his chin there.

A second later, a squeal erupted from somewhere in the group.  Jocelyn lunged forward and threw her arms around the pair.

Faen released his grip on Faedra.  She looked up at him and chuckled before turning to a very excited Jocelyn.

“We are going to be sisters,” Jocelyn squealed before throwing her arms around Faedra.  “Not only are you my best friend, I get you for a sister, too.”

Faedra was speechless.  All she could do was smile and return her friend's hug.

Etyran moved over to Faen and slapped him on the back. “Nice one, mate,” he said with a grin.

Someone cleared their throat.  The four friends stopped their congratulating and turned.

“Thank you,” Allora said softly.  Skylar was peeking out from behind her mother's skirt.  Her lips curved into a small smile.

Allora reached for Faedra's hands. As soon as they touched, Faedra felt a flash of hatred, but before she had time to register it, it was gone.  Faedra pinched her brows together; maybe she just imagined it.  Everyone's emotions were all over the place at that moment.  She shook the feeling away.

Allora's expression was full of appreciation. “You have saved us from the most terrible life.  How can I ever thank you?”

“No thanks necessary,” Faedra replied.  “As soon as I found out you were still alive and being held prisoner, there was no way I was going to leave you there.  Todmus will be over the moon when he finds out.  That is, if we can figure out a way to get back to him and let him know.”

Allora's face lit up. “Todmus is alive?” she cried. “After all these years, I’ve wondered and hoped.”  Allora turned to her daughter and took the little girl's face in her hands.  “Do you hear that, darling?  Daddy is alive!”

Skylar’s bright blue eyes lit up and her smile almost split her face in two.  Her mother pulled her into a loving embrace.  Faedra looked on, her heart almost melting with happiness.  After a moment Skylar broke free from her mother's embrace and wrapped her arms around Faedra's legs.  Faedra was taken aback by the gesture and gave Faen a ‘what do I do now?’ look.  Faen just smiled.  Faedra didn't have much experience with kids, being an only child.  She tentatively put her hand on top of the little girl's head.  When she did, the little girl looked up at Faedra, eyes wide. Skylar squeezed Faedra's legs a little harder and Faedra was overwhelmed with the love and happiness flowing from Todmus's daughter.

“Thank you,” Skylar whispered. “I never thought I would ever see my daddy again.”

Faedra bit back a tear that was threatening to make an appearance and cleared her throat.  She leaned over and took the little girl's hands in hers.

“Your daddy will be so pleased to see you, too.  He didn't think he would ever see you again, either.” Faedra whispered back.

“We better get out of this field,” Faen interrupted.  “We all know what happened last time we were here.”

Skylar stepped back from Faedra and took her mother's hand again.

“Yes.  Good point.  Don't fancy a repeat episode of that.” Faedra agreed, pulling herself back together again.  It was bad enough having to deal with her own emotions, but having to deal with everyone else's was bit too much at times; it was easy to get lost in them.

“How will we get back to the caves?” Jocelyn asked.  “Carina and Anwynn are waiting for us on the other side of the forest.”

“Another good point,” Faedra conceded. “Didn't think about that when I had the idea to bring us here.” She turned and plopped herself down on the fallen tree.

“Fae, don't go beating yourself up,” Etyran said. “What you did back there was genius.  You probably saved all our lives.  We'll figure a way to get back to the caves.”

Faen sat down beside his Custodian and put an arm around her shoulder.  Giving it a little rub, he said, “Etyran is right.  That was very quick thinking on your part.  It could have gotten very nasty.”

Faedra turned to her Guardian.  “Thanks.”  Then she turned her attention to the trees lining the meadow. “Well, we know it's in the forest, so I guess we better start walking and hope that some of the lookouts spot us before Arawn's spies do.  At least the lookouts know who we are now; they should help us find our way back to the caves.”

Faen stood up and took hold of Faedra's hand.  “We better start walking then.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The group started to make their way across the meadow.  Much to everyone's relief, the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped.  Silvery light once again spilled from the heavens, illuminating their way. Faedra couldn't help but keep her eyes to the sky after what they encountered the first time in the meadow.  She was hoping it was too dark for Arawn to send his spies out, but she wasn't taking any chances and she certainly wouldn't put it past him.

The familiar tickle of hatred ran down her spine again prompting Faedra to turn her head.  As soon as she did, the emotion dissipated.  No one was looking at her but she couldn't mistake the emotion, it was too strong.  She wrinkled her brows as she turned back.

“Is something wrong?” Faen asked.

Faedra hesitated before answering him.  Was something wrong?  She wasn't quite sure.  She had felt something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.  Faedra looked up at her Guardian. “I'm not sure.  Whatever it was, it's gone now.”

She cast a fleeting glance behind her once more.  Etyran was in conversation with Jocelyn and Allora was holding her daughter's hand as they trudged through the wet grass.  Allora met Faedra's glance and her lips curved into a smile.

Faedra couldn't understand why she kept sensing such a strong emotion in a group of friends.  It just didn't make sense.

They reached the forest on the other side of the meadow without incident.  There was a collective sigh when they made it under the cover of the trees.  Faedra felt the odd residual raindrop, which had made its way through the canopy of leaves, land on face or head.  She could hear droplets of water land on the undergrowth around them, breaking the otherwise eerie silence within the forest.

“I hope we find a path soon,” Jocelyn uttered to no one in particular. “My feet are soaked.”

Faedra turned and gave the young fairy an incredulous look.  “Well, why don't you fly then, silly,” she chuckled.

Jocelyn smacked her palm to her forehead, something she had learned from living too long amongst humans. “Why did I not think of that?” she said before beating her wings and raising herself from the rain soaked floor of the forest.  “That's better,” Jocelyn sighed.

Faedra raised her eyes to the heavens but kept the grin firmly planted on her face.  Maybe her friend was really a blonde in disguise.  She had to agree, though, the wet from the grass was starting to seep through her boots, she could feel her feet getting cold and damp.  Then Faedra had her own a-ha moment.

“I wonder,” she mumbled to herself.

“You wonder what?” Faen whispered.

Faedra gave him a wry smile before letting out a mewl of pleasure.  Faen gave her an odd look, and then followed her line of sight down to the floor.  Steam was rising from her boots as they trudged through the undergrowth.

“My feet were getting wet,” Faedra stated.

Faen's eyebrows arched and he shook his head, a smile curving his lips.

“What?  I may as well take advantage of what little I can control.”  Her words prompted another thought and her face lit up with realization.

“What now?” Faen asked.

“I've just realized.  I don't have to worry about getting rid of Arawn for Carina.”

“What do you mean?” Jocelyn said, hovering in front of Faedra, flying backwards so she could face her friend.

Faedra looked up at the young fairy. “Well, I can't control Savu's power enough to defeat Arawn.  We saw what happened when I tried.  He just put up some kind of barrier to stop whatever I threw at him.  So, that kind of lets me off the hook, doesn't it?”

Faedra was not happy about being kidnapped in the first place. But being told she had to kill someone was definitely not cutting the mustard.  One good deed did come out of this, though. They found Todmus's family and were getting them back to safety.  For that, she was thankful.  She couldn't wait to see the look on Todmus's face when they took Allora and Skylar home.  Although, this was really their home.  Todmus was living in exile in Azran.  Faedra wondered if he would move back to Drofoz now.  Surely not.  Not while Arawn was still ruling this land.  She hoped they would stay in Azran so she could visit.  She didn't fancy having to come back to this place when they finally got to leave; which would be as soon as they got back to the caves and got the co-ordinates to Azran from Carina.  Faedra had a feeling Carina wouldn't give them up that easily, though.  Carina would probably take some convincing that Faedra couldn't help them defeat Arawn.  If that wasn't the case anymore, what use was she to anyone in this realm?  Surely Carina would let them go home after this.

She felt her hand get squeezed and looked up.

“Penny for them,” Faen said, looking upon the Custodian with a thoughtful expression.

“Oh, I don't think they're worth a penny,” Faedra mused.  She looked up at her Guardian. Fingers of silvery light were pushing their way through the canopy, illuminating the contours of her Guardian's face.  He looked beautiful in this light; ethereal grace oozing from his every pore.  Did this amazing creature really just ask her to marry him or was that a figment of her imagination?  She opened her mouth to ask, but didn't get past the first syllable.

Faen's expression changed. His smile was replaced with astute seriousness as he stopped abruptly, pulling Faedra to a stop, too.  His eyes scanned the area, then he looked at his charge and put his finger to his lips.  Faedra felt her heartbeat quicken.

Jocelyn lowered herself to the ground.  She and Etyran herded Allora and Skylar, caging the rescuees between the four friends.

With her hastening heartbeat, Faedra felt her energy grow, along with the anxious sensation running up her spine.  She could feel it coursing through her veins, searing her from the inside.  Would she ever get used to the feeling?  She doubted it.  Would she ever be able to control it?  She hoped so.

Faen drew his sword.  With that movement, steam started to rise around them.  An eerie mist enveloped the group, cutting down their visibility to near zero.  Faen fanned his hand through the vapor barrier unable to get a good view.

“Is this you?” Faen whispered, pointing at the mist.

“Sorry,” Faedra replied, somewhat sheepishly.  “You do stuff like that,” she waved her hand at his sword, “and my body does stuff like this.”  She waved her hand through the mist.

“Stay here,” Faen whispered the order before taking a step forward.  The newly dried leaves crunched under his foot and Faedra cringed. The heat from her body was drying the leaves all around them.  Faen beat his wings and hovered just above the ground, fanning the mist around as he did.

Faedra nodded.

“What did he mean, 'Are you doing this?'” Allora leaned forward and whispered in Faedra's ear.

Faedra sighed. “I have no control over the power I absorbed from Savu.”

“Interesting,” Allora said.

Faedra gave Allora a sideways glance at her odd response, but said nothing more.

“There you are!” A familiar voice echoed up ahead breaking the unearthly silence.  Faedra moved forward, crunching through the leaves until she pushed through the barrier of mist. She found Faen looking up the leaf-covered embankment at Carina and Anwynn who were sitting on their horses. The horses shone in the tree-filtered moonlight.  Their flawless white coats shined with an iridescent quality that was truly mesmerizing.  It was surprising they didn't have horns; they could pass for unicorns any day.  Faedra could see that the path lay just ahead of where they were standing.  Thank goodness, now they would be able to follow the two ovates back to the caves.

“We were waiting for you on the other side of the forest.  What are you doing in here?” Carina questioned, a hint of irritability in her tone.

“We got in a spot of bother at the castle, so I took a gamble and used the cypher wheel to get us out of there.” Faedra explained.

Carina raised her eyebrows, then her gaze drifted past Faedra and her face lit up.

Faedra heard the crunch of leaves behind her, announcing that the other members of the group were appearing through the mist.

Carina and Anwynn dismounted, leaving their horses standing alone on the path as they made their way down the embankment towards them.

“Lady Allora, you are safe!” Anwynn cried as she rushed past Faedra and threw her arms around her rescued friend.

Carina kneeled down in front of Skylar and took the young girl's hands in hers.  “Are you alright?” She let go of Skylar's hands and took hold of her petite face, moving it gently from side to side. “Did he hurt you?”

Skylar dropped her eyes to the ground and shook her head.  “He did hurt Mama, though.”

Carina stood up and looked down at the frightened girl. “Well, we will not let him hurt either of you again.”  She turned to Allora. “Where did he hurt you?”

Allora waved away their concern.  “It is true; he used to hurt me to see if I knew anything about Todmus.  Of course, I didn't know what happened to my husband, but he wouldn't believe me.  But after he got no answers for months on end, he eventually gave up.  He hasn't laid a finger on me for a long time.”

“Well, it is probably not a good idea to stand around here for long; we should make our way back to the caves.  You and Skylar may take my horse.” Carina offered. “I will send some lookouts to collect the other horses later.”

Allora inclined her head as a gesture of thanks.

Faen and Etyran made their way up the embankment, each finding a branch to hold on to.  They reached out with their arms to assist the ladies up the slippery slope to the path that ran above them.  One by one the ladies made their way up to the path.  Once there, Faen helped Allora onto Carina's horse and then placed Skylar in front of her mother. Carina took the reins and started to lead her horse along with its precious cargo.

A moment later, the rest of the group was following behind the two ovates on their journey back to the caves.  It wouldn't be too much further before they reached their destination.  Faedra was looking forward to plopping herself down on a bed and closing her eyes.  This day had turned out to be much more eventful than she could have imagined.  Was it too much to ask to be able to go out and have some fun without being transported to yet another realm?  Would she ever be able to enjoy an ordinary outing without someone needing her to save their world?  She could only hope.  A yawn escaped and she realized just how exhausted she now felt.  Maybe using Savu's power did have a similar effect on her than when she only had her own to worry about.  It seemed like she was able to use a lot more of it between 'fuel ups' than before, though.

Faedra was pulled from her thoughts by the now familiar howling made by the lookouts, signaling they were nearing the caves.

“I'm looking forward to my bed,” Faedra said to Faen.

“We are nearly there,” Faen said, giving his Custodian's hand a squeeze.

“Thank goodness.”

They came to a stop in front of the sheer rock wall.  Carina stepped forward, handing the reins of her horse to Anwynn.  After a few mumbled words and a wave of her arm, the rock face shimmered and disappeared.

The horses disappeared first, carrying their cargo through the archway that led into the caves.  Etyran and Jocelyn followed.  They were almost out of sight when they stopped and turned.

“You two coming?” Etyran asked.

“We will be right behind you,” Faen answered, sensing Faedra's hesitation.

“Okay, see you in there, then”

Faedra psyched herself up to walk through the wards again.  She wasn't looking forward to the icy cold feeling she would be subjected to as soon as she stepped foot in the tunnel.  If she was completely honest with herself, it had more to do with the fact that Carina had told her she felt that way because there must evil inside her.  It was something Faedra couldn't come to terms with.

Faedra took a deep breath and steeled herself.

“Ready?” Faen asked, clasping her hand, signaling they would do this together.

Faedra gave him a weak nod before following her Guardian into the tunnel.  All the while mumbling, “I'm not evil, I'm not evil,” under her breath as she pushed herself through the wards.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Faedra ran her palms over her face and blinked her eyes a few times, willing herself to stay awake.  It wouldn't be long before she could collapse onto the makeshift bed in her little cave room.  At this point, she didn't care that it was nowhere near as comfy as her own bed; she just wanted to rest her eyes.

Faen and Faedra ambled down the tunnel to the main cave, neither in any great hurry to get there, as both were enjoying the peace in the darkness of the tunnel.  As they neared the end of the tunnel, Jocelyn's distraught voice bounced off the walls and echoed through the darkness.  It was quickly followed by a rabble of other voices joining the foray.

“Ugh.  What now?” Faedra groaned as she and Faen picked up their pace.

Faedra noticed her ring heating up again, too.  She looked down at it to see the symbols glowing in the dark tunnel.  This wasn't the first time either, but she'd expected it to heat up when they were in the castle.  That place had been full of danger, but here, where it was supposed to be safe, this was not a good sign.

Faedra was expecting to hear joyful voices and feel joy and happiness at the return of their Lady Allora.  Instead, confusion and anxiety plowed into Faedra as she and her Guardian burst through the end of the tunnel.  The sight that confronted them made Faedra stop dead in her tracks.

Etyran was rolling around on the ground growling expletives as he got covered in dust from the floor.  He was surrounded by the ovates, Allora, Skylar, and a very anxious looking Jocelyn.  More and more onlookers were emerging from their rooms, climbing down ladders to join the spectators huddled around this bizarre turn of events.

“Etyran, stop it!” Jocelyn cried.  “What are you doing?”

“I knew it!” Etyran growled.  “I just knew it!”

“Knew what?” Faedra asked as she pushed through the crowd, followed closely by Faen.

When she and her Guardian got to the front of the growing throng of people, Faedra's eyebrows shot up into her forehead.  Etyran was covered in dust and struggling on the ground.  He got to his knees and with one hand pushed himself up.  But instead of straightening, he remained bent over.  His other arm was outstretched, his hand nearly touching the ground.

“Get up!” Etyran demanded.

Faedra noticed now that she was closer, that Etyran's hand looked like it was holding onto something.  An invisible something.

“Etyran?  What's going on?” Faedra demanded to know.

Etyran gave her a fleeting look.  However fleeting it may have been, Faedra could see the pain and confusion in his eyes.  His gaze quickly returned to the ground in front of him and turned to a glare.

“I said. Get. Up!” Etyran pulled back, looking like he was pulling something substantial off the floor.

Faedra looked up at her Guardian giving him a quick shake of her head and a shrug of her shoulders, silently asking if he knew what was going on.  Faen returned her look with a bemused one of his own.  They both turned their attention back to the Lightbender who was still acting very strangely in front of the growing crowd of onlookers.

Etyran took his other hand and held them both close together about waist height in front of him.

“Get off me, you great oaf!” a female voice cried out.

Everyone fell silent and all eyes were glued on the dust covered man in the center of the crowd.

He made a move as if he were pulling someone closer to his chest so he could whisper in their ear.

“Do you really think I'm that stupid?” Etyran taunted.   His menacing voice reminded Faedra of when he had first introduced himself to her in the forest.  A chill ran down her spine.

Faedra stepped forward until she was standing just in front of Etyran.  She held her arm out and tentatively opened her hand, then leaned in a little further, fingers outstretched before her.  They touched material a foot before reaching Etyran's chest.  Faedra gasped and her fingers stopped in midair.  She gave Etyran a questioning look before allowing her fingers to move.  She could feel cotton under her skin, then came the feeling of a rapid heartbeat.  A fraction of a second later, she was overwhelmed with emotions.  Fear, anxiety, tension.  The same feelings she had felt at the top of the staircase in Arawn's castle.

“Who are you?” Etyran's menacing whisper resonated around the three of them.

“Let go of me, you're hurting me,” the voice sounded defiant. Faedra saw Etyran's big frame jerk a little and his hands close tighter around invisible wrists.

“Ouch,” the voice squawked in response.

“Tell me who you are,” Etyran repeated.

Faen stepped forward to stand beside his charge.

“I can't.  Arawn will kill me if I do,” the voice was still defiant but Faedra could hear a hint of the person's fear seeping into her voice.

Something distracted Faedra from behind, and she spun her head around.  She could feel the now familiar emotion of hatred coming from within the crowd surrounding her.  It happened when Arawn’s name was mentioned.  She scanned the faces, expecting to see the emotion on Allora’s or Skylar’s faces but they looked passive.  Maybe it was one of the ovates.  She narrowed her eyes in confusion as none of the faces portrayed the feeling she was sensing.  She wondered if her heightened sensitivity to energy would allow her to home in on the person to whom the hatred belonged.  She wasn't sure how she would accomplish it, but decided to close her eyes and let her mind float to see what happened.  A second later, her eyes flew open and she felt winded.  The emotion nearly knocked her backwards.  She put her hands to her knees to steady herself.

“Faedra?  Are you alright?” Faen leaned forward so their faces were level.  She looked at him and gave him a weak smile.

After taking a deep, calming breath, she replied, “I'm fine, thanks.”

That wasn't entirely true, but until she had a chance to figure out what just happened and what she just felt, she didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.  The hatred hadn't been aimed at Arawn, as she had first thought.  No, the all-consuming hatred, that someone in the crowd was feeling, was aimed directly at her.

She gave the crowd one more suspicious glance before returning her attention back to Etyran and his invisible captive.

“Arawn may kill you if you tell me,” he growled, “but I will kill you if you don't.”

Etyran jerked again, as if restraining a struggling body.

“Etyran!” Faedra snapped. “That's quite enough of that.  You will do no such thing.  There will be no more killing, do you hear me?”

Etyran glared at Faedra, obviously not appreciating her giving him orders.

Faedra felt her blood start to boil and sensed Faen taking a step away from her.

“Do I make myself clear?” Faedra enunciated each word with equal menace.

Etyran's glare changed to surprise for a split second before reverting back to his menacing facade.  “As crystal!” he spat. “And there's no need to do the glowy eye thing at me.  You know it freaks me out.”

So, that's why he looked surprised.  Faedra didn't actually realize that's what had happened but her newly acquired powers were constantly manifesting themselves in different ways.

“Okay, then,” Faedra said, blinking her eyes a few times, hoping to push back whatever was glowing there.  She looked at Faen. “Gone?”

“Gone,” he confirmed.

Faedra turned to address the invisible person who was still being restrained by Etyran.

“Well, I guess we will just have to wait for whatever spell Arawn has cast on you to wear off.  I don't think we are going to get very far talking to an invisible person.  Obviously, Arawn sent you to follow us so you could see how to get to the caves.  It seems he knew we would try and rescue Todmus's family.  Makes sense he would send a spy.”

“What are you going to do with me?” the voice asked.

“Find somewhere secure to hold you until the spell wears off and we can keep an eye on you,” Faedra answered.

“You will be waiting a very long time,” the voice contradicted.

“What do you mean?” Faedra asked.

“It's not a spell.”

“What do you mean it's not a spell?  It's the only way you could be invisible,” Etyran stated.

“Is that so, Lightbender?” the voice said with a hint of smugness.

Faedra saw confusion war on her friend's face.  She could feel his heart race and a whole mixture of feelings rushed from him, making her feel dizzy.

“You lie!” Etyran growled.

“No, Lightbender, I do not.  You know it is the truth, you sensed me on the stairs, I saw you.

“Liar. You lie!” Etyran shouted.  He shoved the invisible person at Faen. “Hold her!”

Faen gave Etyran a startled look as an invisible body was thrust at him.  He quickly put his arms around it, watching as Etyran stumbled backwards.  Etyran's expression was full of confusion and sadness.  Faedra drew her eyebrows together, asking her friend a silent question.

Etyran closed his eyes and shook his head.  “No, she lies,” he said before pushing through the equally confused crowd and stumbling out of the main chamber through the tunnel towards their rooms.

“Etyran?” Jocelyn called and took off after him.

Faedra looked up at her Guardian who was now restraining the see-through prisoner by her wrists.  “What is going on?” she asked.

“Well, I cannot be certain, but I would hazard a guess that our friend is no longer alone in the realms.”

Taking a while for the penny to drop, Faedra responded with, “Huh?”

“It would seem that our new friend here,” Faen dipped his head to acknowledge the person he was holding, “is also a Lightbender.”

Faedra's brain caught up and her eyes opened wide “No!”

“Yes,” responded the bodiless voice.

Faedra stared, speechless, at the space in front of her Guardian for a moment before her brain kicked in.  She looked around the crowd of bemused faces, searching out one in particular.   She saw the one she was looking for in the front row, standing in front of Allora and Skylar.  Faedra moved towards her.

“Carina, do you have somewhere secure that we can hold our uninvited guest?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Faen, please could you take our invisible guest and follow Carina.  Stay with her, I'll be back in a little while.”  Faedra made a move to exit, which prompted the gathered crowd to part swiftly to either side of her.

“Wait, where are you going?” Faen asked.

Faedra stopped and turned to face him. “I need to talk to Etyran.”

Faen nodded before moving his captive around to follow Carina in the opposite direction of his charge.

A few minutes later, Faedra was climbing the ladder that led to Etyran's room.  When she got to the top, she saw him sitting on his bed.  He was slumped over, his arms resting on his thighs, head hung low.  Jocelyn was sitting next to him, her hand on his back.  She looked up as Faedra made an appearance in the opening to the room and gave the Custodian a weak smile.

“Knock, knock,” Faedra said, announcing her presence to Etyran.

Etyran breathed a heavy sigh and slowly lifted his head.

“I suppose it would be a stupid question to ask if you know anything about that girl down there?”

“Yep, stupid question,” Etyran replied.  “Until just a few moments ago, I thought I was the only one of us left.”

Faedra felt confusion and then a stronger feeling of hope coming from the Lightbender.  She knew then that Jocelyn would be in for some disappointment and gave a heavyhearted sigh herself.  She never liked to see anyone she loved get hurt, but, in this case, it seemed inevitable. Faedra's thoughts were halted when Etyran suddenly sat bolt upright, his face resolute.

He pushed himself off the bed and made towards the entrance.  “I need to talk to her.”

Faedra stepped in front of him, blocking his path.  “Oh, no you don't.”

“Let me pass, Faedra,” Etyran said, his features hard as rock.

“No.  You need to calm down, and she needs to calm down.  You can talk to her tomorrow.”

“You can't stop me,” Etyran threatened, pulling himself up to his full height as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Faedra raised her eyebrows at him.  A few months ago his stature alone would have intimidated her into backing down, but with the power she now possessed, no one was getting past her if she didn't wish it. No one, she quickly reminded herself, but Arawn.

Etyran glared at Faedra for a moment, indecision warring on his face.  He knew only too well that Faedra could flatten him where he stood, or worse still, not be able to control her power and burn him to a crisp.  Faedra could feel his energy go from one of adrenaline fueled determination to resigned deference.  He took a step back and lowered his arms.

Faedra lowered her voice when she spoke. “You can talk to her tomorrow; it will be better after you've both had time to calm down and had a good night's sleep.  We all need a good sleep; we've had a long day.  I know you, Etyran.  You'd hate it if you went in there tonight and said something you regretted.  Just sleep on it, okay?”

Etyran's face softened.  “Yeah, you're right.  As usual.”  He gave Faedra a wry smirk.  “Where did she come from, though?  How did she get here? And, more's the point, who is she?”

Faedra moved forward and put her hand on Etyran's shoulder.  “We'll find out.  But please promise me you won't try and get any answers out of her tonight.  She's scared, you know.  I could feel it and it wasn't just because you were grappling with her on the floor.  She wasn't scared of us.  No, this was a different type of fear, deep rooted.  She's been afraid for a very long time.  I intend to find out why and who it is that she’s so scared of.”

Etyran inclined his head.  Faedra knew he wouldn't break his promise, she could feel that, too.

“Jocelyn, would you stay here with Etyran for a while?”

Jocelyn stood up and took hold of Etyran's hand.  He looked down at her and smiled.  “Come and sit down,” Jocelyn said as she took a step back to the bed again.  Etyran followed her, looking a little like a lost puppy.

A pang of sadness hit Faedra in the gut at the sight of Etyran.  This revelation had certainly knocked him for six.  “Thanks,” Faedra said, before turning around and descending down the ladder.

Although she had just told her friend not to talk to their uninvited guest that night, she had no intention of following her own instructions.  She had to at least make sure the girl was unharmed and given some food and water before she herself would be able to rest that night.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Faedra met Faen's uneasy smile as she wandered down the carved out corridor that led towards the conference room they had been in earlier that day.  A little way past the entrance to that room Faen was standing outside a heavy door, waiting patiently.

“Has she said anything?” Faedra asked when she reached her Guardian.

“Nothing,” he replied.

“I'd like to speak to her.”

“Would you like me to accompany you?” Faen asked.

Faedra sensed he was trying to hide his apprehension from her but she could still feel it.  She put her hand to his cheek and smiled. “No, thanks.  I'll be fine.  Hopefully, she will talk if it's just me.”

Faen closed his eyes for a second and inclined his head. “I will be here if you need me.”  He took hold of Faedra's hand and lowered it from his face as he stepped aside. “Be careful.”

“Always.”

Faedra's hand slid from her Guardian's as she stepped forward and opened the door.  She pushed the heavy wooden door open just enough for her to squeeze through and gave her Guardian one more poignant look before closing the door behind her.

Faen resumed his position in front of the door.

The tiny room was sparsely furnished.  A long wooden bench that doubled as a bunk ran almost the length of one wall. A chair and small table rested against the other wall.  The glow from a candle cast warming flickers across the walls and the ceiling.  Faedra leaned back against the door.  She couldn't see the girl, who chose to stay invisible, so she decided to try something.  She closed her eyes and let her mind wander.  Her eyes moved about under their lids. Faedra sensed the girl's energy as soon as she stepped in the room but couldn't pinpoint its location.  She let her mind relax a little more until, to her astonishment, she could see the outline of the other occupant through her closed eyes.

The hazy orange glow of a figure sitting down lit up the blackness behind her closed eyelids.  The figure had her hands in her lap and was looking up at Faedra.  A second passed and she looked back down at her hands.

Faedra was starting to enjoy the optimization of her given power.  She was finding that there was no end of ways she could now manipulate the energy within and around her.  She opened her eyes and the outline disappeared, but Faedra knew where the other person was now and moved to sit in the chair opposite to where the girl was sitting on the bench.

“Are you hurt?” Faedra asked.

She heard a shuffle.

“No,” came the reply.

“Would you like something to eat or drink?”

“No.”

“You've caused quite a stir,” Faedra continued.

Another shuffle.

“Who are you?”

After yet another shuffle, Faedra decided she couldn't stand talking to thin air so she closed her eyes again and relaxed her mind.  A moment later the girl's hazy figure came back into view.  She was looking at Faedra, her head cocked slightly to one side.

“Will you at least tell me your name?” Faedra asked.  Trying to get something, anything out of the stranger.

“No.”

Faedra, realizing something was odd, looked down at her ring.  It was not warming up or glowing.  She scrunched her forehead as she gave it a tap. “Huh.  That's odd,” she said to herself.

“What is?” the girl asked.

Faedra looked up. “Hmm? Oh, err, nothing.  Must be on the blink, that's all.”  She gave the ring one last tap, then shook her head.  “Look, are you sure I can't get you something to eat or drink?”

The figure cocked her head to the other side.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked.

“I have a tendency to blow things up if I don't control my mood, so I find it helps to be nice.  That way I don't hurt anyone.”

The figure straightened up and scooted herself back until she was leaning up against the wall, legs crossed in front of her.  Faedra smiled.

The girl drew in a breath of realization.  “Can... can you see me?” she asked.

“I can see your outline,” Faedra told her. “Yet another of my Savu-enhanced powers I've just discovered,” Faedra mumbled to herself.

“It's weird talking to someone with their eyes closed.”

“Well, if you'd show yourself, I wouldn't have to close my eyes.  It's even weirder talking to thin air,” Faedra retorted.

“Fair point,” the girl conceded, then quickly changed the subject.  “What was it like fighting Savu?” the girl asked.

Faedra opened her eyes, saw that the prisoner was still invisible, sighed, and closed her eyes again. “Scary.  Truth be told, I've never been so scared in all my life.”

“I bet you don't have to be scared anymore, though.  That must be nice,” the girl mused.  She dropped her head with her words.

“Me?  You must be joking,” Faedra said. “I'm scared of everything.  I'm scared that I'll hurt someone I care about.  I'm scared that Savu's evil is inside of me and one day I won't be able to control it.  I'm scared this power will consume me.”

“Really?  You hide it well,” the disembodied voice said after a moment of thoughtful contemplation.

“Thanks. So, can you tell me what you're so afraid of?”

The outline stiffened and puffed herself up to sit straight and tall.  “I'm not afraid of anything!” she snapped.

“Hmm.  You forget who you're talking to.  Fear is coming off you in waves, and it's not aimed at me.”

The outline slumped and a moment passed in silence.

“What are you going to do to me?” the voice asked, trying very hard to hide her nervous tone.

“I don't know yet.  I guess that depends.”

“On what?”

“Don't know that either.”

“Are you going to hurt me?  If you are, just get it over with.”  A hard edge returned to the voice.

Faedra got up and opened her eyes.

“I just told you, I don't hurt people I care about.”

“Why would you care about me? You don't even know me.”

“Because of you, one of my best friends is no longer alone in the realms,” Faedra said as she walked towards the door.

“Faedra?”

Faedra turned, she tried to hide her amazement as the Lightbender unwrapped herself, revealing long blonde hair that flowed in sleek waves beyond her waist.  She had pale skin accentuated with a hint of pink in her cheeks.  Her beautiful blue eyes shone under the cover of long lashes and her nervous smile revealed a row of perfect white teeth behind pouty pink lips.  Her slender frame pushed itself off the bench.  She was wearing a long tunic over trousers, belted at the waist with slits up the sides to make maneuvering easier.  Surprisingly, she wasn't carrying a weapon, something nearly everyone in the different realms seemed to do, and, to Faedra's knowledge, one had not been confiscated from her.

Oh, God, Etyran won't stand a chance when he sees her, and, sadly, neither will Jocelyn, Faedra thought as she returned the girl's smile.

“It's Alyssa.  My name that is.” Alyssa lowered her eyes.  “And I really would like something to eat and drink.”

Faedra grabbed the door handle.  “I'll see to it that someone brings you something.  We'll talk more in the morning after we've both had some rest.  Good night, Alyssa.”

Faedra clicked the door closed behind her and was greeted by her Guardian who was waiting outside the door.  She slid the bolt home securely.

“How did it go?” Faen asked.

Faedra looked up at him, drank him in for a moment.  She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse on her bed. For a moment she said nothing, just gazed at her Guardian's expectant face.  Then she took a step forward, and with a heavy sigh, wrapped her arms around him and nestled her cheek against his chest.

“I need a hug.”

After a fleeting moment of hesitation Faen wrapped his arms around his charge and cocooned her in his embrace.  It had been such a long time since she allowed him to hold her like this; her action had taken him quite by surprise.  She felt good there, and now that he had her there, he never wanted her to leave.

“I'm too bloody young for all this stuff, Faen,” Faedra mumbled into Faen's chest, her voice vibrating against his skin.  “I should be out clubbing or partying, or something.  Not saving yet another realm from yet another bad guy.”  She pulled her head away from his chest and looked up at her Guardian.  “It's too much responsibility.”

Faen bent down and scooped the Custodian off her feet.

“What are you doing?”

Faen started down the corridor towards the main chamber. “Taking you to bed.”

Faedra raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“To sleep, Faedra,” Faen verified. “You are exhausted, as am I.”

“Oh.” Faedra could feel some heat warm her cheeks.  She needed to drag her mind out of the gutter for a moment.

On their way through the main chamber, Carina approached giving Faedra the chance to ask if someone could take Alyssa something to eat and drink.  Carina told her she would see to it right away.  After agreeing to meet up in the morning and exchanging their 'good nights', they carried on in opposite directions.

***

Faedra was asleep before Faen reached her room.  He noticed that Jocelyn's bed was empty and came to the conclusion that his sister must have decided to keep Etyran company until he got back.

That is just fine with me, he thought.  She is probably sleeping by now anyway.  No sense in waking her.

He laid Faedra on her bed and squeezed himself on to the bed next to her.  There wasn't much room but he didn't care.  He lay on his back and looked up at the rock ceiling.  A little while later, his sleeping Custodian turned over and flung her arm across his chest and nestled her head in the crook of his arm, letting out a sigh as she did.  He looked down and pushed the hair away from her face allowing himself to gaze at the serenity there, something that had been missing for a long while now.  After a moment, he kissed the top of her head before wrapping his arms around her.  “Good night, Princess,” he whispered before his heavy eyelids closed and he drifted off to sleep himself.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Faedra became aware of her head rising and lowering at a calm steady pace.  The sound of a strong heartbeat thudded under her ear and warmth surrounded her.  She willed her eyes open.  They protested, but she won.  Her arm was wrapped around her Guardian's waist and his hand was resting on her shoulder.

Sensing that he was awake, she took in a deep, wakening breath and angled her head up to look at him. Sure enough, Faen was watching her, his face relaxed.  When their eyes met, his lips curved into a warm smile.

“How long have you been watching me sleep?” she asked on a yawn.

Faen just widened his smile.

“Thought as much,” Faedra said with a smirk.  She may be able to look after herself now, but she still enjoyed the fact that Faen was watching over her.

Faedra lifted her head and glanced around at their surroundings, then dropped her head back onto Faen's chest again.  “Ugh, I was hoping it was all a dream.”

“Unfortunately, not,” Faen responded.  “But, we have the chance to make a family's dreams come true and reunite them.”

Faedra's heart swelled.  Faen couldn't have spoken a truer word.  It gave her a renewed vigor.   Suddenly, energy was coursing through her veins.  The thought of seeing the look on Skylar's face when she saw her daddy again would make all of this worth it.

“I guess we better get this show on the road,” Faedra said, pushing herself up from Faen.  She stretched her arms above her head, then brought them down and scrubbed the sleep from her face with her hands.

“Someone brought in a pitcher of water this morning,” Faen noted.

Faedra looked over at the pitcher on the small table in the corner and wandered over to it.  After pouring water into the bowl, she put her hands in it and let the heat flow through them, warming the cold liquid in seconds, then she proceeded to splash some onto her face.  She heard the bed creak as Faen pushed him up.

Faedra dried her face with the soft cloth that was beside the bowl. “That's better.”

Faen was leaning over the bowl splashing his face when Etyran and Jocelyn appeared in the doorway.

“Good morning,” Jocelyn sang as they entered the room.

Faen angled his head to the side, water dripping from his chin, and gave them a crooked smile.

“Is it?” Etyran mumbled.

Jocelyn gave him a quick dig in the ribs with her elbow. “Oh, stop being so grouchy.  Everything will be just fine, you'll see.”

“Hurmph,” Etyran groaned as he plonked himself on Faedra's bed and folded his arms across his chest.  He gave Faedra an uneasy glance before looking away.

Faedra detected a strange mix of feelings coming from her friend.  They were all connected with the guest who was currently under house arrest on the other side of the cave compound.  She inwardly sighed.  To be honest, she had no idea how to proceed this morning.  She knew one thing was certain, it would be hard to keep Etyran away from the other Lightbender for very long, and it wouldn't really be fair to them, either.  Etyran had every right to talk to possibly the only other of his kind left in the seven realms.

“Etyran, I promised you could speak to her today, and I won't break that promise, but let me talk to her first, okay?  I think she's starting to trust me.  I need to find out why she was following us and if she will tell us what Arawn has planned.”

Faedra could feel Etyran's frosty exterior melt a little at her words, and his shoulders relaxed.

Faen grabbed the soft cloth next to the bowl and dried his face.  He put his arm around Faedra's shoulders.  “First, I believe we should all go and have something to eat, then we can approach what to do with our new guest.”

Faedra looked up at her Guardian. “That sounds like a very good idea.”  She turned to their two friends and nodded her head with a smile, as if to say 'do you agree'.

“I think that sounds like a good idea, too.  Etyran?” Jocelyn asked.

“I'm not hungry.”

“Well, come with us and try to eat something.  I have a feeling this is going to be another long day,” Faedra said.

Faen and Faedra led the way to the main cave.  Rows of tables and benches were set out in the opening.  The room was abuzz with chatter from the inhabitants who were gathered there tucking into their breakfast.

Carina stood when they entered and beckoned them over to where she and Anwynn were sitting.  Four spaces had been saved for them and they joined the two leaders at their table.  Bowls of bread rolls, probably freshly baked that morning, and other food that would have been caught or grown in the surrounding forest, filled the middle of the table. Wooden goblets of milk were also placed next to each plate. One thing was obvious, the cave community had become very self-sufficient over the time they had been hiding there.

Faedra, Faen, and Jocelyn tucked into a bread roll.  Faedra looked at Etyran who was staring off into space.  It wasn't often that he was off his food.  Faedra felt a pang of worry for her friend, something she'd never felt the need to concern herself with before.

Faedra turned to Carina, remembering there was something she had to tell her that would hopefully get her off the hook and released from her kidnapping.  It took some convincing, but eventually, after Faedra described what happened at Arawn's castle the previous night, Carina conceded that Faedra must be telling the truth.  That she didn't, in fact, possess enough control over Savu's power to vanquish Arawn.  Faedra explained that she had another idea and also wanted to take Allora and Skylar to Azran so they could be reunited with Todmus as soon as possible.

Her next plan was to try to talk Alyssa around and get her on their side.  She had a feeling that the fear the Lightbender exuded was because of Arawn, and Faedra had a much better proposition for her.  If she could get her on their side, having two Lightbenders on the team could be very advantageous, indeed.  If she could convince Alyssa that Arawn would never be a threat to her again, then maybe she had a chance.

Faedra released a heavy sigh after putting down her empty goblet.  She had procrastinated long enough and now it was time to face the task at hand.  Hopefully, all the right words would come to her as soon as she stepped into the room where Alyssa was being held.  If she didn't come across as at least sounding like she knew what she was doing and had the ability to keep the Lightbender safe from Arawn, Alyssa wouldn't likely join them.

“Well, thank you for breakfast,” Faedra said to Carina and Anwynn as she pushed herself up from the bench.  “If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to our guest.”

Faen and Etyran stood as well.

“Etyran, I'll let you know when you can talk to her,” Faedra said giving him a pointed look.

Etyran glared back at her, standing his ground. When Faedra didn't falter, he disparagingly crossed his arms over his chest and plonked himself back down on the bench with a grunt.

Faedra wandered down the corridor, Faen at her side.  She was deep in thought, wondering how she was even going to start the conversation let alone ask the girl to come over to their side.  When they got to the door, Faedra stared at it for a long moment.

“Would you like me to come in with you?” Faen asked.

Faedra pulled herself from her thoughts with an intake of breath and turned to face her Guardian. “Truth is, I would love for you to come in with me.  I would love for you to do this for me, but to be honest, I don't think she will talk to anyone else and I'm the only one who can see her if she decides to stay invisible.”

Faen gave her a questioning look.

“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” Faedra said with a smile.  “Last night I discovered yet another interesting thing I can do with Savu's powers.”

“Faedra, they are not Savu's powers anymore.  They are yours.  How you choose to manipulate them has nothing to do with Savu.”

Faedra sighed. “I wish I could believe that.”

“You should. It is the truth.”

She gave him a weak smile before straightening herself up and making a move for the door handle.  “Wish me luck.”

“You do not need luck, but I will wish it for you, all the same.”

Faedra shook her head and gave her Guardian a smile at his turn of phrase.  He always had a way of putting things that only Faen could.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Faedra said as she opened the door.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

When Faedra entered the small room, she could sense the occupant's tension rise.  A second later, it calmed again.  Faedra realized, by that energy alone, that Alyssa already felt at ease with her.  This fact would surely make the whole thing much easier.  Faedra could only hope.

There was a shuffle on the bed and Faedra's eyes followed the noise.  She decided she would give Alyssa a moment to show herself before she looked at her behind closed lids.  It was the right thing to do.  Alyssa unwrapped the light from herself when she saw Faedra.  Her figure came to view.  She gave the Custodian a smile and Faedra felt herself relax, also.  Up until that moment, Faedra hadn't quite realized just how nervous she was.  Good job no one could sense her energy, or she would be discovered as the total fraud she was; trying to act all tough when really she wanted nothing more than to let everyone else make the decisions.

“Hello,” Faedra greeted.  “Did someone bring you something to eat?”

“Yes, thank you.  A nice lady with dark hair.  She was very friendly, too.  I don't understand why everyone is being so nice to me, especially after what I have done.”

“You haven't done anything… yet.”

Alyssa lowered her head, shame evident on her face.  “No, but I would have if I hadn't been caught.”

“You didn't want to, though, did you?”

“No.” Alyssa replied with a slight shake of her head.

“So what kind of hold does Arawn have over you, anyway, and why are you working for him in the first place?  I'm sorry, but you just don't look like the type to be someone’s henchman.”

Fear shot through the air and almost took Faedra in a choke hold.  She took an involuntary step backwards to steady herself. “Okay, so you're terrified of him, but why?”

“You can feel my fear?”

Faedra made a gesture down her body with one hand. “Energy manipulator.  Fear is one of the strongest energies out there.  Hatred is another.  Someone here hates me and I'm not sure who or why yet, but, flippin' heck, if that isn't a powerful energy.”  The last sentence was musing more to herself than the room at large, but she'd said it before she could catch herself.

Alyssa didn't seem to notice her digression so Faedra brushed it off.

“He has a hold over me.  Something he threatens me with all the time.  The only way I know he won't follow through with his threat is if I do what he says.”

“What does he hold over you that could possibly make you stay? You can turn invisible, why haven't you tried to escape?” Faedra asked as she sat down on the rickety wooden chair.  Faedra was intrigued.  As far as she knew, apart from Etyran, Alyssa was the only other Lightbender left. So he wouldn't be holding family members hostage.

“You can see me when I'm invisible.” Alyssa stated.

“Yes, but...”

“You saw with your own eyes how powerful he is.  He cast a tracking spell onto my skin.  I have no way of getting off this realm; he would have found me. Then he'd make me watch him fulfill his threat, slowly and painfully.”

“What threat?”

“He said he would kill the only other Lightbender left in existence.”

“And you believed him?  What made you even think there was another? Etyran was convinced he was the only one.”

“Arawn showed me.”

“He showed you?” Faedra asked, confused.  Etyran had never mentioned that he'd been to Drofoz before.

“Yes, he has this pool in the castle.  It allows him to see anyone he wants...except the people here, of course.  He can't see in here and it drives him crazy.  He's sent scouting party after scouting party to scour these woods but they've never found the caves.  The ovates must have created some very powerful protection wards.  The trees help a lot, too.”

“The trees?”

“Yes, aspens.  They grow all around this cave.  They hold magical shields of protection.  The ovates must draw from the tree's power to hide the cave and protect it from being penetrated, either in person or clairvoyantly.” Alyssa explained.

Faedra was leaning forward now, forearms resting on her thighs, totally engrossed by what Alyssa was divulging. “How do you know all this?”

“Arawn trusts me.  He requires my presence at all of the meetings he holds with his soldiers or scouting parties.”

Faedra sat up straight again, her brow furrowed. “Hold on, if he can see anyone he wants, how come he doesn't know where Todmus is?”

“I don't know.  Todmus was Lord over the ovates, wasn't he?  Maybe he is using the same magic to hide himself as they are.” Alyssa mused.

Faedra remembered coming around in his cottage after he had saved her from Vivianna's mind torture.  He said that she would never be able to get to Faedra again after he'd cast the protective spell around her and her friends.  “Of, course.  That would make sense. Hmm, I have a feeling Todmus is a lot more powerful than anyone in Azran realizes.”

“He's in Azran?” Alyssa asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

Faedra closed her eyes and puffed out a heavy sigh, realizing she had just given the enemy exactly what they wanted.

“Oh, crap!  Subtle as a brick, Faedra. Subtle as a brick,” she cursed herself at her slip up.  Now what? She definitely wouldn't be able to let Alyssa go.  Not now.  There was no way she could risk Arawn finding out where Todmus was.  If she was right, Todmus was this realm's only hope of redemption and she virtually just handed him over.

“I know.”

Faedra brought her attention back to the young Lightbender. “Know what?”

“Who it is who hates you.”

“How would you...?”

“Now that I know where the other Lightbender is and that he is safe, I no longer have to worry about Arawn finding him before I can warn him.  If you help me escape from Arawn, I'll tell you everything.”

Faedra's eyebrows shot up.  She wasn't expecting that coaxing Alyssa over to their side would be that easy.  Could she be trusted, though?  It was a lot of trust to give to someone who had just sneaked in on the proviso of spying on them all and taking their whereabouts back to Arawn.  Faedra closed her eyes for a moment and let her mind relax.  Alyssa's energy had changed from fear to hope.  She was telling the truth.  It was difficult enough to hide your emotions from a normal person, nigh on impossible to hide them from a Manipulator.  Faedra's gut told her to trust the girl; her power was telling her the same thing.

“I have to admit, I didn’t expect my first encounter with another of my kind to be grappling with him on the floor,” Alyssa said, pulling Faedra from her thoughts.

Faedra opened her eyes and smiled.  “That’s our Etyran for you.  Not the most charming of creatures you’re ever likely to meet, but he has his moments.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Alyssa looked into space with a wistful expression.

Faedra raised her eyes heavenward.  She just hoped Jocelyn’s heart wouldn’t be too broken.

“Okay, spill,” Faedra said, snapping the young Lightbender from her daydream.

Alyssa wrinkled her forehead.

“You said you knew who it was who hated me, so spill the beans.”

***

Faen heard an angry shriek from the other side of the door a second before it flew open of its own accord and the Custodian, who looked like she had murder on her mind, stormed out brandishing two purple orbs.  Not a good sign.  He shot a concerned look at Etyran who was waiting outside the room with him hoping to talk to the young girl being held prisoner there. The temperature in the corridor soared and sweat beaded on both their foreheads.

“You two with me,” Faedra commanded with a directional nod of her head, as she stomped down the corridor away from the main cave.

“But...” Etyran started.

“Not now, Etyran.  After what I've just found out, I feel the need to blow something up.”  She saw the concern in the two men's eyes.  “I wonder if the ovates could use another room,” Faedra mused to herself.

Faen and Etyran looked at each other again.  Faen hastily bolted the cell door and they both took off after the angry Custodian.  Her fireballs were lighting up the corridor better than any torches could.

“What's gotten into her?” Etyran whispered to his friend as they stood a safe distance from where Faedra was carving out another room for the cave compound, shouting curses with every ball of mixed energy she threw at the rock face.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but something our prisoner said certainly upset her.” Faen responded as he ducked in time to miss a chunk of rock that came flying past his head.

“Ya think!” Etyran exclaimed, ducking alongside his friend.

“Unfortunately, until she calms down we are not going to find out.  The best thing we can do is keep anyone from coming down here until she gets this out of her system.”

“Good idea,” Etyran said, turning on his heel, thankful for the excuse to go. “I'll leave this for you to sort out then.” He gave his friend a cheeky grin before making his exit.

“Thank you, my friend!” Faen called after him.

Etyran smirked; it wasn't like Faen to be sarcastic.  Maybe he was rubbing off on his friend after all.

“Etyran, wait!” Faen shouted down the corridor a second later.  Etyran stopped and turned. “Talk to the girl, see if she will tell you what she said to make Faedra this angry.”

“Are you sure? We didn't exactly hit it off the first time we met, I was kind of hoping for an introduction.”

Faen gave him a pointed look. “Just try.  What have you got to lose?  If she refuses to talk to you, we are no worse off than we are now.”

“Good point.”  Etyran turned to leave again.

“Oh, and Etyran,” Faen continued.

Etyran stopped and gave him a questioning look.

“Be nice.”

Etyran gave his friend a mock-affronted look. “Me?  I'll be as charming as ever.”

“Hmm...That’s what I am afraid of.”

Etyran gestured a stab to the heart before continuing down the corridor.  Faen raised his eyes heavenward and shook his head before turning back to continue watching his charge excavate the cave.

***

Etyran paused in front of the heavy wooden door that stood between him and the only other Lightbender left in the seven realms.  His heart was pounding.  He looked down at his hands and wiggled his fingers, he couldn't remember the last time his hands felt clammy.  He straightened out his tunic, smoothed down his hair, and scrubbed his palms over his face.  Then he looked at the door some more.  A moment later he leaned forward, took hold of the door handle, paused, and let it go again.  A step back and a walk in a small circle saw him back in the same position; staring at the heavy wooden door.  This is what he'd been waiting for since last night but now that he was actually about to step into the room with her, he couldn't do it.

What was Faen thinking, asking him to go in and talk to her?  She wouldn't show herself to him let alone talk to him after what he did the night before.  She was the only other of his kind and how did he treat her?  He wrestled her to the ground and threatened her.  His shoulders slumped and he looked at the floor.

I was protecting my friends he told himself.  She is a spy for Arawn and she's upset the Custodian.  He straightened up and pushed his shoulders back. A moment more of door-staring and his shoulders slumped again.  Why did she have to be a spy?  Why couldn't we have met under better circumstances?  Where did she come from, anyway, and how did she end up working for Arawn?

“That door will not open itself.”

A female voice startled him from his thoughts.  Was he still staring at the door?  How long had he been staring at the door? He turned towards the voice.

“Jocelyn.  How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know that whatever happens when you open that door, we will always be friends.”

Etyran pinched his brow.

Jocelyn answered his confused expression with a wistful smile.  “Go on, open it.  Your destiny lies behind that door, you shouldn't keep it waiting.”

“But...I...what about us?”

Jocelyn lowered her eyes for a moment, then returned her gaze as she moved towards the Lightbender, her fluid grace matching that of her brother's.  She stopped in front of him and looked up.  His face was wracked with indecision and doubt.

“Us, only happened recently,” she said, reaching up and placing a dainty hand to his cheek.  “Things have changed now; you should be with your own kind.  What is it that humans say?  If you love someone, set them free.”

Etyran puffed out a heavy sigh. “But she hates me, why would she want anything to do with me after what I did last night?” He tore his gaze away from Jocelyn and looked down at his feet, ashamed.

“Just introduce yourself; she will not stay angry with you forever.  Once she has had the time to calm down, she will realize you were doing it to protect those you love.  It is a very noble trait to possess; she will see that, too.”  Jocelyn put her fingers under his chin and encouraged him to look at her.  When he did, she continued.  “Now open up that door, walk through it and meet your destiny.” She rose up on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before turning around to walk away.  She only got a few paces when she turned back to look at him. “Though I would try and get to know her a little before wrestling her to the ground again.”

Etyran raised his eyebrows at Jocelyn's innuendo.  “I'll try and remember that.”

Jocelyn started towards the main cave again, unable to stop the tear that was now sliding down her cheek.

“Jocelyn.”

Jocelyn stopped.  She closed her eyes before taking a deep breath and cast the tear away with a quick graze of her hand.  She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder.

“Thank you.  You are a wonderful friend.”

Jocelyn smiled, but it did little to hide the sorrow she felt for what she'd just given away.

Etyran's eyes saddened as he watched the young fairy walk away.  He took a step towards her, held his arm out and opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again.  He took another step, then stopped, lowered his arm and sucked in a deep breath before turning to look back at the door again.  He turned his head, shot another wistful glance down the corridor, which was now empty.

“Aw, Hell,” Etyran said, as he straightened up and brought his focus back to the door and what lay beyond it.  “Try not to screw this up.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Etyran gave a gentle rap on the door and pushed it open.  He stopped dead and his eyes widened when they fell on the girl inside the room.  She had her back to him and his gaze lingered on the long golden waves of silk that fell down her back.

The girl turned upon hearing the door.  “Faedra, I...”

The instant her eyes fell upon the person who had entered the room, she wrapped the light around herself and disappeared.

Etyran's heart sank.  For the split second he had seen her face, her beautiful warm eyes turned to steel, and hatred lined her features.  He clicked the door shut and leaned against it, giving the girl as much space as possible in the tiny room.  He hung his head.  How on earth was he going to pull this off?  The girl hated him; he could see it in her eyes.  There was no way she'd give him a chance after what he did.  At times like this he wished he had a more eloquent way about him like his good friend Faen.  Instead, he felt more like an awkward teenager than anything else.

Etyran heard a scrape and lifted his head just in time to see a chair lift off the ground and float in midair, legs pointing towards him.

“I warn you, stay back!” a nervous voice demanded.

Etyran put his hands up.  “Look, I'm sorry about last night.” Etyran took a step forward only to have the chair legs thrust at him.  He took a step back and decided it was probably a better idea if he stayed still.  He didn't want to do anything else to scare the girl.  “I'm not here to hurt you.”

“Like I'm supposed to believe that after what you did to me.”

“It's the truth.”

“Why are you here, then?” the voice snapped.

“I wanted to apologize.  I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

His statement garnered him a scoffing laugh.

“Yes, well, anyway,” Etyran blustered, trying to continue his apology.  He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. “I was hoping we could...”

“We could what, Lightbender?” Alyssa cut him off, her voice condescending.

“Um, we could...err...start over, perhaps?” Etyran realized at this point he wasn't very good at this apologizing malarkey; he hadn't found the need to do it very often and was feeling just a tad rusty.  Truth be told, he wasn't very good at communicating with women at all.

Another scoffing laugh came from the vicinity of the floating chair.

“Why would I want to have anything to do with you?” Alyssa asked, her voice still hard and unfeeling.

Etyran looked down at his feet for a second, took in a deep breath and huffed it out before looking up again.  “Because until last night, I thought I was all alone and, well, I don't want to feel that way anymore.  I really am sorry for what I did, but in my defense, I was only protecting the people I love, and I thought you had a spell on you to make you invisible.  I never dreamed you were another Lightbender.”

Etyran focused his eyes just above the floating chair, hoping he was looking into those of the girl holding it.  A silent moment passed, then he heard a soft sigh as the chair was lowered back to the ground.  The chair scraped along the floor until it was placed back against the wall next to the table.

What happened next surprised even him.  Alyssa unwrapped herself.

Etyran tried his hardest not to stare but he lost the battle, she was just too beautiful.

Alyssa looked up at him through her long lashes and offered a shy smile.  Etyran's heart melted.

“I don't want to feel that way anymore, either,” she said.

Etyran, realizing he was still staring, cleared his throat and started speaking. “Well, I guess I should introduce myself.  My name is Etyran.” Etyran copied the graceful head nod that Faen always did in these situations.

“Alyssa.” Alyssa inclined her head in greeting also.

Alyssa sat down on the bed and scooted herself back so she could lean against the wall.  She gestured for Etyran to take the chair opposite her.  He took a tentative step forwards, half afraid that she would disappear again if he made any sudden movements.

Alyssa, sensing his hesitation, let slip a muffled giggle.  “Sit down, you told me you are not here to hurt me, and I believe you.  Actually, I'm glad you came.”

“You are?”

“Yes, I was angry and more than a little scared of you at first, but you made a good point; you were only protecting your friends.  I hope one day we can be friends enough that I would garner that kind of loyalty.”

Etyran's cheeks flushed and he scooted over to take a seat opposite the other Lightbender, concentrating on his hands until he got his emotions under control.  At that moment, he truly sympathized with Faedra.  If he couldn't control a simple blush, he couldn't imagine how unbearable it would be not be able to control feelings that were any stronger.

After taking a moment to compose himself, he looked up at the girl who was watching him with interest from across the tiny room.

“Is Faedra okay?” she asked, breaking the silence.

Etyran's eyes widened with realization.  Of course, that was the reason he was in the room with Alyssa in the first place. He was supposed to be finding out what she had said to the Custodian to make her lose control in such a bad way.  He inwardly cursed himself for allowing a pretty girl to turn his head to mush and forget the reason he was there.  Was he really that easily distracted?  He decided not to answer that.

“She should be, soon.” Then he added, after a pause.  “I hope.”

“I like her.  She's been very nice to me.  I was worried when she got so upset.”

“Yeah, we worry when she gets that upset, too.  Things have a tendency to get blown up, or since absorbing Savu's power, melted.  Neither of which I ever want to be on the receiving end of.”  He gave Alyssa a cheeky grin.  “Which brings me to the reason I'm here.  What exactly did you tell her?”

“I told her how Arawn was planning to lure Lord Todmus back here so he could get rid of him for good.”

“Well, I admit that's pretty crappy, but I can't see Faedra losing it over that.  She'd just get us all together and figure out a way to stop him,” Etyran mused, resting his chin on a fist.  He admired that about the Custodian, she always tried to figure out a way to solve a problem with the least amount of harm, even if her ideas seemed a little hare-brained at times.

“No, that didn't seem to upset her too much.  It was when I told her that he had swapped Lady Allora's essence for some princess's that she lost it.  Her eyes started glowing and these purple balls erupted in her hands.  I have to admit she looked a little scary at that point.”

Etyran sat bolt upright. “You didn't happen to know the name of this princess did you?”

Alyssa nodded. “Vivianna, I think that was the name he used.”

“Oh, for the love of Kernunnos!” Etyran shot out of his chair and bolted for the door.  He turned to Alyssa and held his palm up.  “You stay right here.  I'll be back later.”

“Well, I'm not going anywhere,” Alyssa said, but she was talking to the door.  Etyran had already exited the room and locked it behind him.

When Etyran reached Faen, Faedra was still sending chunks of rock flying into the corridor. Etyran peeked his head around the corner to see that Faedra was making good progress with the room she was carving out.  He dodged back quickly as a chunk of rock narrowly missed his ear.

“You found out something?” Faen asked when he saw the look on Etyran's face.

“Did I ever.  Oh, mate, you're not going to like this.  Arawn somehow switched Vivianna into Allora's body.”

“What?!” Faen's eyes widened. He looked around the corner at his charge, the anger still carving lines across her face.  “No wonder Faedra wants to pummel her power into the rock.”

“Yeah, but what do we do?  It's obviously a trap.  Arawn is getting Allora, or rather Vivianna, to lure Todmus back here.  When she does, he has plans to finish him off once and for all.  We can't let that happen.”

“We will not let it happen, but first we have to get Faedra to calm down enough for us to plan our course of action without raising Vivianna's suspicion that she has been discovered.”

“How are we going to do that?  She's this mad just hearing about Vivianna being here.  How's she possibly going to keep it together when she's face to face with her?  Let alone, pull off an act that she thinks Vivianna is still Lady Allora.”

Faen paused. “Good question. I am sure we'll think of something.”

Etyran held his arm up, gesturing towards where Faedra was still blasting bits of rock out of the cave. “Off you go then, mate,” he said with a wry smile and a small shove.

Faen gave him an uncomfortable look before edging his way towards the Custodian.  As he got closer, he could hear Faedra's angry mumbling.

“When will I ever be free of that woman?” she spat before throwing a purple orb at the wall. “I'll kill her this time, I swear I will!” Another orb blasted the wall.  “Well, she's not going to get to Todmus, not on my watch.”

She was about to throw another orb at the wall just as Faen cleared his throat to get her attention.  She swung around distracted and hit the roof, shattering rock which rained down large chunks over the two of them.

To Faen's amazement, Faedra put her hands up defensively and all the chunks of rock floated harmlessly in midair.  She gave him a look of surprise. Then she gave her shoulders a nonchalant hitch and moved her hands to one side, the rocks followed until they were clear of her and Faen, and then fell to the floor.

“Another manifestation?” Faen asked.

“I guess so,” Faedra said with a smile, before realizing why she was blowing holes in the wall in the first place and her face turned to thunder.  “I bet you're wondering why I'm blowing up the cave,” Faedra said.

Faen opened his mouth to speak but Faedra carried on before he could get a word in.

“She's here, Faen.” Faedra paced back and forth.  “Bloody Vivianna.  She's right here in this compound.” When Faen didn't react, Faedra stopped pacing and turned to her Guardian. “You know.”

Faen nodded.

Faedra closed her eyes and huffed out a breath.  Then losing the wind from her sails, she leaned up against the wall and slid down it, bringing her knees up to her chest. “When will I ever be rid of that woman?”

Faen couldn't think of anything to say, so remained silent.  Instead, he joined his charge on the floor and put his arm around her shoulders.

“How do you know?” Faedra asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“Etyran went to see Alyssa.”

Faedra lifted her head, eyebrows raised. “He did?  How did that go?”

“I do not know, but it must have gone well because she told him what she had divulged to you that made you so angry.”

“Is the coast clear?”

Faedra and Faen both turned towards the entrance of the dug-out to see a sheepish looking Lightbender poking his head around the corner.

Faedra managed a smile, then looked at her Guardian, and, for some reason, couldn't help but giggle.  She wasn't quite sure where she was finding the humor in all of this, but the fact that her two friends cared about her so much warmed her heart.

“Come on in.” She beckoned with her arm.  “I'm done blowing things up for a while.”

Etyran gave her a nervous smile and edged his way into the hole.

“We need to figure out a way for Arawn's plan to backfire on him and send Vivianna away once and for all,” Faedra said.

“Any ideas?” Etyran asked as he joined his two friends and sat cross-legged on the floor.

“Honestly?  Not a sausage.” Faedra sighed.

“Where is Jocelyn?” Faen asked, noticing his sister's absence.

“She knows I went to see Alyssa.”

“Ahh,” Faedra said, sensing the guilt from her friend. “How did she take it?”

“Actually, she was very understanding.”

“Well, if fae girls are anything like human girls, she's probably feeling a bit crappy right now.”

Etyran hung his head. “Yeah, I know.  It's not something I feel good about but she kind of pushed me towards Alyssa.”

“That's my sister for you,” Faen chimed in.  “Always thinking of everyone else before herself.”

“Etyran, can you go and find her?  We need the gang together so we can brainstorm what to do,” Faedra asked. “Oh, and get Carina, too.  She will have to give me reverse coordinates for the cypher wheel so we can get back to the World of Men.

Etyran jumped up. “On it,” he said before heading out of the dug-out towards the main chamber.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Faedra felt better having all three of her friends around her.  They sat in a circle on the floor of the room she had just carved out, hidden away from prying eyes and ears.   Ideas about how to stifle Arawn's plan were flying back and forth.  One thing was certain, they had to warn Todmus before they 'introduced' him to his long lost wife and daughter.  However, they were still a little sketchy on what to do after that.  Maybe Todmus himself would have some ideas of his own.  Faedra knew that he practiced magic and now she was pretty sure he was much more powerful than any of them ever suspected.

Jocelyn had reported, when she joined them, that Allora was busy with the ovates who were holding her in endless conversation about her time in captivity.  So she was not likely to be gatecrashing their little soiree anytime soon.  Faedra found that her newly developing powers were more and more useful as time went on.  She ramped up her senses so she would be able to tell if anyone was coming down the corridor.  Short of a person turning off all emotions, she could 'feel' when anyone was close.  She couldn't necessarily tell who it was unless it was someone she was close to and was used to their particular energy.  Faedra was getting to the point of being able to tell where any of her three close friends were within a hundred foot radius.

Jocelyn's eyes widened in horror as she listened to what Alyssa had divulged to the Custodian earlier that day.  Allora had been so friendly to her, and all the while she was being taken in by none other than Faedra's arch nemesis.

“Okay, so we all agree we have to warn Todmus before we take Allora and Skylar into Azran,” Faedra said, looking round at her three cohorts.  They each nodded.

“My next suggestion is sending Alyssa back to Arawn.”

“What? No!” Etyran spouted. “You can't send her back to that monster.”

Jocelyn put a calming hand on Etyran's forearm.  “Listen to what she has to say first.”

Faedra could feel his protective energy explode proving what she predicted, that it wouldn't take long for him to bond with his own kind.  Not that she was surprised, and she certainly couldn't blame him.  If there was one thing she loved about her friend, it was his fierce protectiveness of those he loved.

“Hear me out, Etyran,” Faedra said, trying to sooth his angst.

“This better be good.” Etyran huffed, throwing a scowl at the Custodian for good measure.

“Well, Arawn doesn't know that Alyssa has been discovered.  He will be expecting a status report on his plan.  He will also expect Alyssa to be going back and forth between him and us with progress reports.  If she doesn't report back to him today, he'll know something is wrong and we'll have lost the element of surprise.”

“Okay, then I'm going with her,” Etyran said.

“No way, it's too risky,” Faedra responded.

“You're expecting her to do it,” Etyran shot back indignantly. “So, don't even think you can try and stop me.” He crossed his arms over his chest to send the message home.

Faedra looked at the Lightbender for a moment, took in a deep breath and admitted he had a valid point.

“Can she be trusted?” Faen asked,

Faedra turned to face her Guardian, thought about his question for a moment, then responded. “I believe she can, yes.  She wants her freedom from Arawn and she sees us as her way of getting that freedom.  He was holding Etyran over her head all these years, that's why she has been doing his bidding. He threatened to kill the only other Lightbender alive.  Now that she knows who that other Lightbender is, and that he's safe, this is her chance to escape and live a normal life.”

“Another good reason I should go, just in case she can't be trusted,” Etyran said.

“Okay, hands up.  I admit you have a good point,” Faedra conceded, garnering her a smug smirk from her friend.

“What about Allora...I mean Vivianna?” Jocelyn asked.  “She knows Alyssa's cover has been blown.”

“That's easy,” Faedra said, a wry smile curving her lips, allowing a slight pause for effect.

Faen, Etyran and Jocelyn looked intently at the Custodian, waiting for her to continue.

“She escapes, of course.”

Jocelyn screwed up her forehead at the reply and looked at Etyran who responded with a shrug.

“We cause a commotion in the main chamber and make sure everyone sees us discussing the fact that Alyssa has escaped.  She will approach Allora and tell her that she has escaped and that she's on her way to Arawn to give him a progress report.  Allora, or rather Vivianna, will not suspect a thing.”

“So who goes to warn Todmus?” Jocelyn continued.

“Faen and I will go.  We can use the guise that I can sense Alyssa and we are going after her to try and cut her off before she gets to Arawn's castle.  Allora will be expecting us to do something; she would be suspicious if we didn't try and find her,” Faedra explained.  “Jocelyn, I need you to stay here and explain what is happening to Vivianna, I mean Allora, urgh, I'm getting all confused now.  Anyway, try and keep her occupied.  We don't want her leaving the cave until everything is in place.”

Jocelyn nodded her agreement.

Faedra had to give Jocelyn her dues.  She could sense the sadness enveloping her friend like a blanket, but the young fairy was doing an excellent job of putting on a brave face.

“Okay, Jocelyn.  You go out into the cave with Etyran.  It will look suspicious if they haven't seen us all for a while.  I'll come and join you in a bit, leaving Faen to...” Faedra motioned some in-the-air quotation marks with her fingers. “...stand guard.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?  Let's get this show on the road,” Etyran said as he pushed himself up from the ground.

“I just hope Alyssa will go for it.  We haven't told her the plan, yet.”

“Oh, she will,” Etyran said with an air of confidence Faedra hoped wasn't premature.

“And you know this from spending five minutes with her after having just wrestled her to the ground the night before?” Faedra said, trying hard to keep the sarcasm at bay but failing miserably.

Etyran scowled; there was no other word for it.  He pulled a face like a five year old and scowled.

“Sorry, that was uncalled for,” Faedra apologized. “I'm finding it harder to keep nasty thoughts out of my head just lately.”  She was relieved when Etyran gave her a smile of forgiveness.

It was becoming a problem for her, though, and she knew it was one of the side effects of having Savu's power.  More and more she would find herself thinking mean things about people, something that was alien to her.  She just hoped it was something she could keep under control.  She would hate to say something that would really upset someone, especially someone she loved.

Faedra brought herself back to the task at hand.  “Faen, let's go and find out if Alyssa will help us.”

Faen nodded and stood up, holding out a hand for his charge, which she accepted with a smile as he helped her up off the ground.

“Thank you.”

“Pleasure.”

Etyran rolled his eyes at the pleasantries.

“Don't knock it, Etyran.  Girls love a bit of chivalry every now and then,” Faedra said with a smirk. “You'd do well to remember that.”

Etyran blushed a little before turning to offer his hand to Jocelyn, only to find she was already standing. “Guess I'm going to have to brush up on those skills.”

Jocelyn gave him a smile.  “It wouldn't hurt.”

As the four wandered down the corridor, they saw Carina heading towards them.

“You wanted to see me?” she asked when they came together outside Alyssa's cell.

“Yes, thank you for coming,” Faedra said.  “We have a...situation.”

Carina's eyebrows rose with interest.

“In here.” Faedra opened the door to Alyssa's cell and motioned for Carina to enter before she and Faen slipped in after her, leaving the others to continue on to the main cave.

***

A little while later Faedra was sitting on the floor teaching Skylar, and Jocelyn for that matter, how to play 'pat-a-cake'.  Both girls were enthralled with the clapping game, which put a big smile on Faedra's face.  Her mum used to play it with her when she was a child.  The warm memories associated with it came flooding back.  After a few more minutes, Faedra noticed that along with the happy memories, the meanness she'd been experiencing dissipated.  She realized she was so relaxed playing with the little girl, whose trust she had now earned, that she almost forgot she was in the middle of a plan to thwart an enemy sitting right next to them on one of the benches in the main cave.  Etyran stood watching the three girls, chin in hand, giving them strange looks at the clapping game they were playing.

Prickles ran down Faedra's back a few minutes later, a shift in the atmosphere that was undeniable.  She could feel a wave of nervousness flow around her just before Allora sat up with a start and stared straight ahead.  Faedra turned her gaze from Allora, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips.  Good, Faedra thought.  Alyssa must have 'escaped' and was now whispering her plan to Allora.

She sent a subtle glance in Jocelyn's direction to let her know the plan was unfolding, garnering a barely discernible nod of acknowledgment from the young fairy.  Etyran's energy and attention also shifted behind her; she knew that Faen must be entering the cave to start the show.

“Faedra,” Faen said with an urgent tone, as he reached them.

Faedra put on her best acting face and feigned concern at her Guardian's worried expression.  She got up off the floor, leaving Jocelyn to play with Skylar.

“What is it?” Faedra asked, as Faen pulled her and Etyran to one side.

They stood in a huddle and pretended to whisper for a moment.

Faedra broke from the huddle and whispered to Jocelyn, who faked a great shocked expression. Fairies, it was turning out, were talented actors.

Skylar's happy expression dropped.  Faedra hadn't expected her to have such good hearing.  Jocelyn's excellent mock-look of worry cemented the act even more.

“That lady got away?” Skylar cried.  “She will tell him where we are.  He will take us back.” Skylar's eyes started to glisten with unshed tears and deep-seeded fear etched itself onto her innocent features.  Faedra took one look at her and felt awful.  She didn't stop to think of the effect their plan would have on the little girl.

Faedra kneeled down in front of Skylar and took hold of her shoulders.  “Now don't you worry.  We won't let that happen.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.” Faedra gave the little girl a reassuring smile that shone all the way up to her eyes.

Skylar nodded and smiled back; trusting what the Custodian was telling her.  Faedra was relieved when she felt the little girl relax.

Faedra stood up and addressed Jocelyn. “You stay here; she couldn't have got very far.  We should be able to find her.”

“But she's invisible, how will you find an invisible person in a forest?” Jocelyn was acting the part to perfection.

Faedra could see Allora in her peripheral vision.  The smirk planted on her face was undeniable but quickly vanished when Faedra turned to talk to her.

“We have to leave for a while.  When we get back, I promise we'll make our way to Azran and reunite you with your husband.  I just have to make sure it is safe first,” Faedra said.

The last thing Faedra heard as she was leaving the hall with Faen and Etyran was Jocelyn explaining what was going on to Allora.  Faedra's smile widened with the knowledge that she was finally one step ahead of her vengeful half-sister.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Faedra and Faen exited the cave along with Etyran and Alyssa.  They traveled down the path far enough that they could be sure they weren't being followed.  Alyssa unwrapped herself while Faedra pulled the cypher wheel from its pouch.

“So you know what to tell Arawn?” Faedra asked Alyssa.

Alyssa nodded, her nervousness quite apparent in her expression.

Faedra put a hand on her shoulder.  “You'll be fine.  Etyran will be with you the whole time.  He's not going to let anything happen to you.”

Alyssa looked up at Etyran and gave him a weak smile.

“She's right,” Etyran reiterated.  “I won't let anything happen to you.”

“We'll meet back here before going to the cave to continue the plan, okay?”

“Okay,” Etyran and Alyssa answered.

“Faedra, we should be going,” Faen said.

Faedra nodded.  “Yes, you're right.”  She turned to Etyran and Alyssa just before they wrapped the light around themselves and disappeared from view.   “Good luck, guys.”

“You, too,” replied a bodiless chorus.

Faedra returned her focus to the cypher wheel and the piece of parchment Carina had given her with the reverse coordinates written on it in Ogham.  She hoped it would work and take them back to the last place they were in the World of Men.

Faen linked his arm with his Custodian's, ready for when she turned the dial for the last letter.

“Ready?” Faedra asked.

“Always,” Faen replied with a smile.

“Here we go, then.  Faedra turned the dial.  The flash of light was blinding, then, complete darkness.

***

“It must be night time, I can't see a thing,” Faedra said, feeling around her.  “Hold on a minute.  Urgh, I don't believe it.  The cypher wheel dumped us in a cupboard?”  Her hands felt the wooden walls surrounding them.  “I can't find a door.  Do you have a door on your side?”

“I do not believe it is a cupboard,” Faen said.

“What else could it be?  It's cramped enough to be a cupboard.”

Faen moved around trying to find a way out.

“Faen, watch where you're putting your elbows,” Faedra grouched when Faen lifted his arms and bumped her on the side of the head.

“I do apologize, Faedra.  Like you said, it is very cramped in here.”

Faedra started rapping on the wall with her knuckle.  “It sounds hollow.  Is it hollow on your side?”

Faen rapped on the wall.  “Yes, it sounds hollow here, too.”

“Well, maybe I should just blast us out, then,” Faedra mused.

“That might not be the best solution.  We have no idea what is on the other side.”

Faedra sighed; she was starting to enjoy blasting things to pieces. “Good point. Much as I want to get out of here, I would hate to hurt anyone standing on the other side.”

Just then, Faedra heard a creak from above and was momentarily blinded by the light that poured in over them.  Faedra blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the sudden brightness.  It was then she noticed the light wasn't the only thing that poured over them.  Several pairs of eyes belonging to some very bewildered owners were looking down at them. One pair, in particular, belonged to someone she recognized.  A tour guide.  He still had hold of the latch on the lid he just lifted up.

“Err, hi.” Faedra gave the onlookers a sheepish smile as Faen quickly jumped out of the treasure chest, forcing the wide-eyed tour guide to take a hasty step back.  He leaned over and held a hand out for his charge.

True to the ovate's word.  They had been transported back to the place from whence they came; the treasure chest in the cellar at Dragon Hall. Only Faedra hadn't expected Carina to be so literal.

“What...? How...?” the tour guide stuttered, pointing first at them, then at the treasure chest.

“Sorry, no time to explain, we've got a bus to catch,” Faedra said, grinning at the bemused tourists.  “Excuse us, coming through,” she continued, as she and Faen pushed their way through the stunned gathering who were taking a tour around the ancient building.  The confused tourists parted to either side, letting them through.

“Faen, we really should remember about the whole glamour thing before dropping in on anyone else, don't you think?” Faedra asked, as they left the cellar and the tourists behind.

Faen couldn't help but notice the wry smile curving her lips. “Yes, Custodian.  It was very remiss of me. Although, considering you made enough noise to wake the dead, glamour would not have done us much good.”

Faedra stopped. “Faen, was that an attempt at sarcasm?”

“I thought I might give it a try.  What do you think?”

Faedra looked thoughtful for a second then shook her head.  “Not really you.”

“No, I thought not.” Faen gave his charge a cheeky grin, which she returned.

A wave of confusion hit Faedra straight between the shoulder blades, followed by some urgent muttering.  She turned.  At the other end of the corridor, some of the tourists were poking their heads around the archway from the cellar, watching her and Faen intently.

She turned back to her Guardian, stifled a giggle, and said. “Come on, we better get out of here.”

Faen and Faedra picked up their pace and carried on down the corridor to the exit, leaving several sets of curious eyes in their wake and a befuddled tour guide standing over the empty treasure chest scratching his head.

Faedra burst out of the door onto the path outside, causing an older lady, who was laden down with shopping bags, to side step around her.

“Oops, sorry,” Faedra apologized, but all it garnered her was a hard glare as the lady continued on her way down the street.

“I said I was sorry,” Faedra shouted after her. “What more do you want? Blood?”

The lady gave her an uneasy sideways glance and picked up her pace.

“Faedra!”

Faen's reproving tone caused the Custodian to turn and wrinkle her eyebrows at him. “What?”

“I have never heard you talk to anyone like that before,” Faen said, concern etched on his face.

“Yeah, well, she gave me a dirty look,” Faedra countered, dismissing his words with a swipe of her hand.

“Because you nearly knocked her into the street.”

Faedra gave him a thoughtful look for a moment.  “Whatever.  Come on, we need to get to the church and find Todmus.”

Faen took his charge by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Faedra, you need to fight it.  Do not let Savu's essence overtake you.  You are stronger than that.”

“Who says I am, Faen?  I have been fighting it with every fiber of my being for months and I'm tired.  I'm so flippin' tired.”  Faedra closed her eyes and let her shoulders sag.  “I don't know how much longer I can keep fighting it.  I have all these mean thoughts, all of the time.  I'm finding it harder and harder to keep them confined to my head.”

Faen leaned down and scooped Faedra into his arms, taking her by surprise and earning him a squeal for his efforts.

“Put me down.  We're in the middle of a busy street.”

Faen gave the Custodian a knowing smile. Faedra narrowed her eyes at him and looked around her.  No one was paying them any heed. People were passing by the couple as though they weren't even there.  Then Faedra realized.  To the passersby they weren't really there.  Faen had hidden them with glamour.

“Well, it's about time,” Faedra snapped.

Faen's eyebrows rose prompting Faedra to drop her gaze.  “Sorry, I'm doing it again, aren't I?”

Faen gave her a little nod.

“Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut from now on, coz it's obvious nothing nice is going to come out.”

Faen turned and started walking down the street, enjoying the feel of his Custodian in his arms.

“Faedra, everything will work out just fine, you will see.  As for right now, we should make our way to the church.”

“Well, what are you waiting...?” Faedra stopped herself and closed her mouth tight, making a sign with her hand like she was zipping her lips closed.

Faen smiled as his wings started to beat and they rose above the path.

They flew over the castle and past the cathedral.

“Faen, my car is down there.”  Faedra pointed at the car park next to the pub they had started the treasure hunt from.  She didn't even want to hazard a guess as to how much the parking ticket was going to be now.

“It is much quicker to fly, Faedra, and time is of the essence.”

Faedra agreed.  The roads around the city were snarled up with traffic.  The way to the church, as the crow flies, certainly was a much quicker option.

They continued on over shops and offices, then apartments and houses.  Eventually concrete and brick gave way to trees and fields. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky with hues of pink and orange.  It wouldn't be long before they reached their destination.   They were almost to the church when Faen felt his charge stiffen in his arms.  He looked down, eyebrows wrinkled.

“We need to make a quick detour,” Faedra said.  “I just realized my dad doesn't know what happened, and he'll start to worry.  We have to let him know we're okay. I'm not sure what kind of time distortion Drofoz has.  We could have been gone for days.”

“But what about Todmus?”

“Todmus can wait a few more minutes.  He has no idea what's going on anyway.  Five minutes is not going to disrupt our plans.”

“As you wish,” Faen said as he changed direction and headed to the Bennett cottage.

Henry Bennett was sitting in his arm chair next to the fireplace in the cozy living room of the quaint country cottage Faedra loved to call home.  He looked up when he heard the latch on the door chink and his daughter and her Guardian walked in.  A smile almost split his face in two.

“There you are, darling.  I was starting to worry,” he said.

Faedra turned to look up at Faen.  “See, I told you.”

Faedra turned back and smiled at her father.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Did you have fun at the treasure hunt?” Henry asked. “Did you win the car?”

Faedra took hold of Faen's hand and led him to the sofa where she plonked herself down and blew a breath upwards that fanned the fringe on her forehead.  Faen took a seat beside her.

“No, Dad.  Didn't win the car, got kidnapped instead.”

“Oh, well, better luck next time,” Henry said.

Faedra counted in her head. One one-thousand, two one-thousand.

Henry's eyes grew wide. “What?  What do you mean kidnapped?”

There was something endearing about the way it always took her dad a couple of seconds for the penny to drop.

“Don't worry, Dad.  It's all good.  I just wanted to let you know we were okay before we go and tell Todmus we rescued his wife, who, it turns out, isn't actually his wife.  It's Vivianna. So we'll be back when we can, and don't worry about us, okay?”

She got up, Faen followed.

Henry's jaw dropped.  “Princess Vivianna is Todmus's wife?”

She knew as soon as she said it, that she shouldn't have.  Until I get this power under control I really must learn to keep my mouth shut. Faedra thought, then said out loud “Well, kinda sorta.”

“Darling, you're not explaining yourself very well.”

She sat down again.  Faen followed, again.

“Well, you see.  It's like this, Dad.  We got transported with the cypher wheel to the realm where Todmus, it turns out, used to rule.  But it got taken over by an evil tyrant sorcerer, called Arawn, who was going to kill Todmus.  Todmus escaped, but Arawn captured his wife and daughter and kept them prisoner.  We rescued Allora and Skylar and were going to take them to Todmus.  But it turns out that Arawn somehow switched Vivianna and Allora.  So now Allora is in the dungeons in Azran, Vivianna is in a cave in Drofoz and we're about to go and warn Todmus that his wife isn't really his wife and that it's all a trap.”

Henry opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, and closed it again.

“Got it?” Faedra asked.

“Not really, darling.  But I'm sure you have it all under control.”

In my dreams, Faedra thought. She gave her dad a reassuring smile, nonetheless. “So, we best be off; got to go save another realm, and all that.”  Faedra got up off the sofa and wandered over to her dad.  She leaned over and gave him a quick hug.  “We'll see you soon.  Don't worry about us, we'll be fine.”

“I know you will, darling.  Thanks for stopping in and letting me know what's going on.”

Faen was holding the living room door open for her when she got there.  She was about to walk through it in front of her Guardian when she had another thought.  She turned to her dad.

“Oh, and Faen asked me to marry him.”

Henry's jaw dropped for the umpteenth time in their five minute visit.  He directed a wide-eyed stare of shock and surprise at the Guardian.

Faen gave him a sheepish grin.

“See you later, Dad,” Faedra called over her shoulder as she exited the room.  Faen followed in haste and closed the door behind him, leaving Henry doing an impression of a fish out of water with his mouth.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“I am not so sure that was a very nice thing to do, Faedra,” Faen said, as he scooped her up in his arms and rose above the driveway.

“Oh, he'll be fine.  It's good to keep him on his toes.”

“Stop right there!” Henry's voice boomed down the driveway.

Faen stopped flying, hovered in midair for a few seconds, before turning around and lowering himself and his charge to the ground.

“Told you,” Faen said with a smirk.  Faedra elbowed him in the ribs for his effort.

Henry hurried up the driveway towards them.

“You, young lady, cannot drop a bombshell like that on me and just leave,” Henry reprimanded, his face a little flushed.

“Mr. Bennett,” Faen interrupted. “I am very sorry.  It was my intention to ask for your blessing, but it just, well, happened rather suddenly.”

“Faen, how many times do I have to tell you?  It's Henry.  Call me Henry.”

“Yes, Sir,” Faen said as he lowered Faedra's legs so she could stand.

“Are you telling me, Faen,” Henry continued, “that you actually did something spontaneous?”

“Um, yes, Sir.”

Henry slapped him on the back, a big smile curving his lips.  “Well, my boy, there's hope for you yet.”

Faen gave Faedra a questioning look.

“That was a compliment, Faen.”

Faen smiled and inclined his head in his usual gracious manner.

“Come here, you two.” Henry stepped forward, opening his arms wide.  He pulled Faen and his daughter into an embrace.  “My little girl getting married,” he said with a wistful air.  “This calls for a hug.  When you've saved this other planet...”

“They're realms, Dad,” Faedra corrected.

“When you have saved this other realm, we will have to celebrate properly.  Invite your Uncle and Nicki, and your friends over for dinner.  But, for now, come here, you two, and give me another hug.”

Henry wrapped an arm around his daughter and future son-in-law and squeezed them within an inch of their lives.

“Thanks, Dad.”

When Henry pulled back, Faedra could see her dad's eyes glisten.  He noticed that she'd noticed and quickly pulled himself together.

“Off you go, then,” he said, shooing them away with his hand.  “Go save a planet...sorry, realm.”

Faedra gave her dad a warm smile and pulled him in for another hug.  “You're the best, Dad.  Love you.”

“Love you, too, darling,” he sniffed.

Faen scooped Faedra up once again and rose above the driveway.

“Be careful,” Henry called out, as he watched them disappear from view.  Faen having cloaked them with glamour.

“We will.” Faedra's voice rang out through the darkness.

***

“Well, that's odd,” Faedra said, as she looked around. “Todmus is usually here to greet us by now.”

“Yes, something is not right here,” Faen agreed.

Faedra took a step forward and heard the familiar scraping of metal on metal.  She loved that noise and knew instinctively that Faen now had his sword held in front of him.

They were almost to the bushes when she heard it.  A disgruntled muttering coming towards them.

“Well, that's just bloody typical; sit down to eat my dinner and someone decides now would be a good time to visit.  When am I ever going to get to eat a meal in peace around here?” The gruff voice grumbled in time with his stunted footsteps that crunched through the leaves.

A second later, a grumpy little man with a pronounced limp plowed his way through the bushes, head down and head on, forcing Faedra to take a step back, lest she be mown down.

“You're not Todmus,” Faedra stated in surprise when the little man came to a stop and leveled her with a hard stare.

“Very perceptive of you,” he said, voice laced with sarcasm.  He turned his heavy stare on Faen. “And, you can put that thing away.  Do I look like I'm dangerous?  Now, what do you want?  My dinner's going cold.”

Faen hesitated a moment before putting his sword safely back in its sheath.  “Where is Todmus?” he asked.

“I dunno, do I?  He just disappeared one day and I got lumbered with the gig.”

“What do you mean he just disappeared one day?” Faedra asked.

The little man rolled his eyes and huffed out a sigh.  “It ain't brain surgery, lady.  One day he was here, the next he wasn't.”

Faedra felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle at his rudeness and held out an arm to stop Faen, who she could sense was growing angry at the way they were being treated.

“Where did he go?” Faedra continued.

“How should I know?  Do I look psychic?”

Faedra closed her eyes and took a deep breath, expelling it as she leaned over the little man.  The amulet freed itself from her clothing and dangled from her neck as she bent over, swinging like a hypnotic pendulum right in front of the grouchy newcomer's eyes.

“No, you look like a rude and nasty little man with whom I am quickly losing my patience,” Faedra said, using a page out of her half-sister's book, although, she hated to admit it.  Her voice was smooth as silk with deadly undertones.

The little man's attention fell from the Custodian's face to the amulet that was still swaying gracefully from its chain. His eyes widened a split second before he bowed his head.

“Please forgive me, my lady,” the man said to the floor, not daring to look up from his low bow.  “I did not know it was you.”

“That's no excuse,” Faedra said, “You shouldn't talk to anyone like that.”

“Yes, my lady.  You are indeed correct, my lady,” the little man said, his face getting pinker by the second.

Faedra rolled her eyes. “Oh, for goodness sake.  Stop with the 'my lady's', will you?”

The little man, still bowing, looked up at her through his eyelashes, uncertain what to say next.

Realizing that she now had the upper hand, Faedra's mouth curled up to one side.  “What's your name?”

The little man brought his head up and swallowed.  “It's Aberthol, my lady.”

“Look, Aberthol. I won't mention your rudeness to my father if you can give us any idea where Todmus may have gone.”

Aberthol stood up, emitting a wave of relief as he did.  “I honestly don't know where he went, my lady.  But he did leave his cottage in a mess.  There were papers and stuff everywhere.  It took me ages to clean it up so I could use the furniture.”

Faedra straightened.  “Is it still there?”

“Yes, my lady.  I just put it all into piles and stacked it in the corner for when he came back.  I'm hoping he will come back.  As you can tell, I'm not really suited as a 'meeter and greeter'.”

Faedra smiled but didn't comment. “Can you show us those papers?”

“Yes, my lady.  Please follow me.” Aberthol turned and headed into the bushes.

“You know, this being famous thing has its perks,” Faedra said to her Guardian as they followed Aberthol through the bushes.  “Shame it doesn't have the same affect in my world.”

Faen raised an eyebrow.

“What?  I'm just saying,” Faedra continued.

Faedra was deep in thought as she followed Faen and Aberthol, who were deep in conversation themselves, to Todmus's cottage.  They were halfway across the glade before Faedra thought of it.  The ear-splitting whistle she let forth from her lips had Faen jerk to a stop and Aberthol covering his ears.  They both turned.

It was obvious from the strained expression on Aberthol's face that he was biting his lip not to say something derogatory.  Faedra had to give him credit; she could only imagine the expletives he would like to throw her way by the look on his face and the energy he was throwing off.  After a few seconds he managed to smooth out his features to an expression that less implied his intent to see nasty things happen to her.  She made a mental note to ask where her father had found such a distasteful creature to be, what was essentially, Azran's version of a Wal-Mart greeter.

“What was that for?” Aberthol asked, in a much less confrontational way than Faedra would have imagined.

Faen raised his eyebrows, waiting for the answer.

“Hold on a minute,” Faedra answered before putting her fingers in her mouth to blow another whistle.  Aberthol covered his ears again.

The two men followed Faedra's line of sight as she scanned the sky above the tree tops ahead of them.

“Well, wherever he went, he must have taken Aesti with him,” Faedra said to Faen a few minutes later when nothing materialized in the sky.  They continued on towards the cottage.

Aberthol looked up at the sky for another moment before scratching his head and scuttling after the Custodian.  “What is an Aesti?” he asked.

“It doesn't matter.  He's obviously not here.”

The latch on the door made its familiar chink as Aberthol pushed down on it.  The door swung open to reveal a halfhearted attempt at clearing up a complete mess.  This wasn't like Todmus, Faedra thought as she and Faen ducked their heads to enter the diminutive building.  Todmus was meticulous with his things.  His cottage was always immaculate.  Not now.  The wall that housed row upon row of herbs and other ingredients was in disarray.  Faedra wandered over and stood in front of the shelves, hands on hips.  Half empty jars lay on their sides, the contents spilling out onto the work surface.  Odd colored concoctions sat in discarded mixing containers.  Faedra picked one up out of curiosity, took a sniff and wrinkled her nose at the stench that wafted from it.  Whatever Todmus was up to, it looked like he was starting to get very obsessive about it.

“It is probably not a good idea to smell anything, Faedra,” Faen said.

“You've got that right,” Faedra agreed, replacing the foul smelling potion back on the counter.  Whatever it was supposed to be, she couldn't imagine it being for anything good.  She turned to scan the rest of the cottage.  “What were you up to, Todmus?” she mumbled under her breath.

“Here they are, my lady.” Aberthol interrupted her thoughts, scuttling towards her with his arms full of papers and rolls of parchments.

“Thanks.” Faedra leaned over and took the pile from him and placed it on the table.  “Well, I guess we should try and figure out what he was up to; it might help us figure out where he went,” she said to Faen, who had already joined her at the table.  She split the pile in two and handed half to Faen.  “Here, you look through these and I'll see if I can find anything in this lot.”

A few minutes later, Faedra puffed out a breath, which lifted her hair from her forehead.  “This is useless,” she said. “I don't understand a word of this.”  She licked a finger and leafed through some more pages, finally shoving them aside in exasperation.  “None of this is written in English.”

“It is not Azranian, either,” Faen noted, as he continued to leaf through his pages.

“Hold on a moment,” Faedra said, pulling the cypher wheel from its pouch and laying it on top of her discarded papers.  She pointed to one of the wheels and then to the page Faen had come to a stop at.  “It's Ogham, that's why.  We're not going to find anything useful in this lot if we can't even read it.”

A wave of excitement hit Faedra.  She turned to see Aberthol, who was staring at the cypher wheel with wide eyed curiosity.

At Faedra's questioning look, the little man said, “I've seen that before, or something very similar.”

“The cypher wheel?  Where?”

Aberthol leaned over the table and rummaged through the pages, throwing the ones he didn't want over his shoulder, scattering papers all around him.  He was almost done carpeting the floor with Todmus's notes when he found the page he was looking for and held it up in triumph.  “Here!” he exclaimed.

Faedra plucked the page from his stubby fingers. She held it so Faen could see, all the while looking from the page to Faen and back to the page again.  “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” she asked her Guardian.

“If you are thinking that Todmus was able to make his portal work, then, yes, I am thinking what you are thinking.”

Faedra grabbed the grumpy dwarf by either side of his face and planted a kiss on his ruddy cheek.

“Thank you, Aberthol.  You've been a great help,” Faedra said before letting him go. The stunned little man reeled back a step, his cheeks flame red.  Faedra turned and winked at her Guardian.  “Come on, Faen.  We need to go see my father.  You're flying,” she said as if she had just given him the keys to the car.

“We do?  Which one?” Faen asked as he turned to follow her out the door.

“The royal one.”

“Why?”

“We need to break Allora out of jail.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“Explain to me again why we need to ask your father to release Allora from the dungeons,” Faen asked as they flew high above the floral valley that led to Azran city.  “I am not so sure that your father will agree to it.  What proof do you have that she is, in fact, Allora?”

“I don't have any proof.  But it stands to reason, doesn't it?  If Vivianna is in Allora's body then surely Allora should be in Vivianna's body.  Don't you think?”

Faen's expression showed Faedra he agreed with her assumption.  “But that still does not explain why you feel the need to release her.”

“Well, for one, she shouldn't be there.  She's spent far too much time in a dungeon already.   I can't bear the thought of an innocent women, even if she is dressed in wolf's clothing right now, being locked up for no good reason.  And secondly, I think having her with us may be to our advantage.  I can't explain why at the moment, it's just a feeling I have.”

“Well, let us hope your father has the same feeling,” Faen said as he lowered his charge to the ground outside the huge wooden doors of the castle.

***

“No!  Absolutely not,” the king boomed, without giving the question his daughter had just asked a second of consideration.  “I cannot believe you would ask me such a thing.”

Faedra was afraid that might be the reaction she received but kept her chin high and proud. “If you'll just let me explain...” she continued.

“I said NO!” the king bellowed before he spun around turning his back on her.

Faedra's expression turned from one of annoyance to one of shock as she took a blow to the stomach and stepped back.  Reeling from the pain that slammed into her, winding her as surely as if she'd just been punched with a fist.  It wasn't physical pain.  It was emotional, and it belonged to her father.  She put her hands on her thighs to steady herself before looking up at him again.  His back was to her now, his head hung low.  She knew that broaching the subject of Vivianna would probably be a bit touchy.  She had no idea, however, the extent of which his other daughter's betrayal had hurt him.

Faen was standing over her now, his hand lightly rubbing her upper back.  Faedra steadied her breathing and turned her attention to her Guardian.  The worry she saw in his eyes saddened her even more.  How could one person cause so much anguish for so many people?  Were you born with that potential or was it a learned trait?

She reassured the man she loved with a smile as she straightened up.  “I'm okay,” she whispered.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

There were two of her own emotions fighting for top spot in her head at that moment.  One of them she knew inherently was wrong and not her.  She forced it back with all her might allowing the other emotion free rein.

The next few steps she took felt like lead shoes adorned her feet.  The overwhelming desire to give comfort was foreshadowed by doubt.  Doubt that the formidable man standing on the other side of the desk would accept any.  She'd never had the chance to get close to her real father; it was only a short while ago that she'd found out about him.  Since then she'd more or less declared herself a recluse until Etyran had convinced her to go on the treasure hunt.  Up until that time, she had not allowed anyone near her, other than her dad and her three close friends, the otherworldly ones.  She couldn't have allowed her human friends near for fear of hurting them.

She suddenly had an intense urge to know more about this man.  Why now?  She couldn't explain it to herself other than for the first time since she had known him; he was acting more like a dad than a king.  She wondered what it would feel like to be held by him.  He'd never even touched her other than their first meeting when he lifted her chin to examine her features, telling her how much like her mother she looked.  His words had confused her at the time but made perfect sense when she found out who she was.  Would her body know he was her father if he did wrap his arms around her? Would she feel like she was betraying her 'dad' if she let him?

Before she had a chance to answer any of her own questions, her hand was resting on the king's shoulder.  She couldn't remember taking the steps to reach him but now she was there, staring up at the back of his dark green velvet robes.  Her stomach did cartwheels.  Was that nerves?  Was she nervous?

She felt the king stiffen under her fingers, his head lifted.  Oh, this was so the wrong thing to do. What made her think a king would want to be comforted?  Wouldn't that be a sign of weakness?  She was just about to pull her hand away and take a step back when the pain he was emanating fell away.  It was the strangest feeling she'd ever had, as though droplets of water had broken free and were splashing to the floor. The pain dissipated all around them.

The king turned.

Faedra's breath caught in her throat. Her hand fell away from his shoulder as he turned to look at her.  His eyes, glistening with unshed tears, stared back at her, his face a mask of sadness.

“I'm sorry,” she found herself saying.  She fleetingly wondered why it was that Brits apologized for things that weren't their fault.

“None of this is your fault, Faedra,” the king said in somber tones.

“Yeah, I know,” Faedra agreed.

The king's brow furrowed at her sarcastic retort.

“That was Savu talking, not me,” Faedra explained.  “I can't always keep him quiet and he's starting to butt in at the worst possible moments.”

The king's brow went from furrowed to raised.

What happened next, surprised not only Faedra but the king himself.  Faedra knew this because she was suddenly wrapped in strong arms and being held against a hard chest covered in soft velvet.  The feeling of surprise from the king swiftly turned to warmth, then love. Overwhelming love.

Faedra's body went limp against her father. Relief making her legs turn to jelly.  The king held her up; he wasn't about to let her go now.

The softness of her father's robes felt comforting against her cheek; she closed her eyes and breathed in deep. He smelled clean and spicy, much as she imagined a man of power to smell.  Then she realized one of her questions was answered.  Her body did know this man was her father.

The king rested his chin on her head.  “My dear child, how could I forget the constant struggle you are now dealing with?”

For one fleeting moment, Faedra wanted to stay right where she was, in the safe and comforting confines of her father's arms, but she knew that was not an option.  She pushed herself away and looked up at a warm face that smiled back at her.  She cherished it for a second; for she knew his face would harden in the next breath.

“I have to take her.  With or without your permission.”

Faedra winced as her father's loving energy was sucked away in a heartbeat, just as she imagined it would be.

“I will not hear of this,” the king growled.

“Just come and see her,” Faedra pleaded.  “You will see she is not Vivianna anymore but an innocent woman called Allora.  Vivianna is running free in Drofoz right now and I need Allora to help me put Vivianna back where she belongs.”

The king scrubbed his face.  He may be formidable when it comes to his enemies, but dealing with his daughter was turning out to be quite a different matter.  He leveled his gaze at Faen.  “What say you, Guardian?  Do you believe that someone else's spirit now resides in my daughter's body?”

“I do, your majesty.  We have been told by a reliable informant that the sorcerer Arawn performed such a spell to lure Todmus into a trap.  It turns out that Todmus was once ruler of Drofoz until Arawn stole it from him.  He escaped here but not before his wife and child were captured and imprisoned.  We do not know exactly Arawn's plan, but it would give us the upper hand to have Allora with us.  She knows the realm and Arawn's castle much better than we.”

“But how is that possible?” the king mused out loud as he paced behind his desk. “I had the most powerful ward casters in the realm seal that cell.” He turned to pace in the opposite direction, took a sharp intake of breath and stopped dead.  The breath he held released slowly through his nose, his lips pursed together in a tight straight line.  He closed his eyes.

“What is it?” Faedra asked.

He opened his eyes to look at his daughter.  “I think I know how he did it.  Urgh, how could I be so incompetent?” He brought his fist down on the desk.

Faedra and Faen exchanged glances.

“The mirror, it must have been the mirror.  I didn't think to have the items inside the cell warded, just the cell itself.”

“You can do that through a mirror?” Faedra asked Faen.

“You can do most anything through a mirror,” Faen answered.

“Really?  Well, you learn something new every day.”

The capricious tone in her voice prompted the king to swap a questioning glance with Faen.

Faedra noticed.  “Look, I can't help what comes out of my mouth right now.  Just ignore the stuff that's inappropriate, okay?”

“Very well,” the king said, grabbing a bunch of heavy iron keys from his desk draw.

Faedra chewed on her lip. “There is one more thing,” she said.

The king looked at her.  When she didn't respond immediately he raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

Faedra thought it best if she just blurted it out.  A bit like ripping off a Band Aid.  “Faen asked me to marry him and I, err, said yes.”

The king looked from his daughter to her Guardian, regarding him with warm approval, much to Faedra's surprise.

“It was only a matter of time, I suppose,” the king said. He returned his gaze to his daughter.  “He is a fine choice, my child.  You have my full blessing.”

Faedra gave her shoulder a nonchalant shrug. “Well, I wasn't asking for it, but thanks, anyway.”  She instantly averted her eyes to look at her boots, heat rising in her cheeks.  “Sorry,” she said to the floor.

The king dismissed her faux pas and addressed the Guardian.  “Faen, you will make my daughter a fine consort.  It will, of course, be up to her if she wishes to give you the title of king.”

Faen inclined his head and followed his gracious acknowledgment with a bow.

The king held up the keys and gave them a little shake.  “Shall we?” he said as he made his way towards the door.

Faedra's brow was creased as she watched her father leaving the room and turned to Faen.  “What does he mean?  It's up to me if I give you the title of king.”  Faen avoided her piercing gaze. “To do that I'd have to be...” Her eyes widened as she sucked in sharp breath.  “No!” she gasped. “Oh, that is so not happening.”  She turned and called after her departing father who had just rounded the doorway and disappeared from view. “Father, hold on a minute.”

She took off after him.  Faen followed close on her heels.

“What did you just say?” Faedra asked, as she caught up to her father.

“I was merely expressing that when you are queen it will be your choice if you wish to name Faen king,” the king explained without breaking stride.

“What? No, uh-uh.  That's so not going to happen,” Faedra blustered.

The king replied with a sideways glance and a rueful smile. “What? That you will become queen or that you will not name Faen king?”

Faedra shook her head in confusion.  “Wait,” she said, striding backwards so she could face the man who had just dropped yet another bombshell on her already crater ridden existence.  “No, you can't do this.”

The king raised a sleek eyebrow.

“Alright then.  I can't do it,” Faedra said, panic written all over her face as she continued walking backwards in front of him.

Sweat beaded on the king's forehead and he tore his eyes away from his daughter's and looked around the corridor. “I have never noticed it be this warm in this part of the castle before,” he pondered.

Faedra couldn't take anymore.

“Stop!” Faedra put a hand out.  Both Faen and the king came to an abrupt halt.

The king's shocked expression turned to Faen, then to his daughter when he tried to push forward but was held back by an invisible barrier.  Faedra was just relieved she hadn't blown them both to smithereens.

She likened using her new found powers to one of those multi-colored biros, the ones that held four different colors in the chamber.  To use a specific color you had to press down the corresponding tab at the top of the pen, and, voila, your biro changed from blue to red ink in one click.  That's how she was teaching herself to master the use of her powers, she just wasn't one hundred percent sure, as yet, which power corresponded to which color in her internal biro.

“Are you freaking kidding me?” she exclaimed, now that she'd had his full attention.

“Savu talking again?” the king asked at her outcry.

“No, uh-uh.  That was all me.”

The king leveled a reproving look at his daughter.

“Oh, don't look at me like that.  What am I supposed to say?  I can barely manage to run my own life.  How do you expect me to run an entire realm?”

“Faedra, I am not asking you to take over tomorrow, but the responsibility of this realm will eventually lie on your shoulders,” the king said. “It is time you started preparing yourself for that fact.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” Faedra could hear the pleading in her voice.

“My dear child.  I am not doing anything.  It is just the way of things.”

“Since when?”

“Since your sister decided she would see the realm destroyed.”

Faedra's subtle nod conceded he had a good point.  Her country had a monarchy; she knew how this stuff worked...sort of.

Eyes still pleading she insisted. “But you're going to live for a long time yet, though, aren't you?”

The king chuckled. “That is my intention.”

“I mean, you guys live for ages, don't you?”

“Yes, my dear.  We do.”

“So I won't have to do any realm ruling for a very, very long time, will I?”

“I hope not.”

Faedra wasn't quite sure how to take that last remark but decided to let it go. She dropped her head and relaxed her shoulders a little, huffing out a sigh of relief as she did.

“Now, if you would like to let us free, I believe you require me to release a prisoner.”

Heat rose in her cheeks and she closed her palm.  “Oh, yes, of course.  Sorry.”

“No need, my dear.  That is quite a useful power to have,” the king patted her on the head as he passed.

Faen fell in step beside her as they carried on down the corridor behind the king.

“When are you guys going to stop dropping bombshells on me?” Faedra asked him.

He gave her a warm smile and laced his fingers through hers, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.  “Do not fear, Faedra.  I will be with you every step of the way.”

“Thanks.” She smiled before resting her head on his shoulder enjoying the feel of it bobbing against his muscles as they continued towards the dungeons.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Faedra could smell the air change as they made their way down the stone stairway to the dungeons.  It was becoming dank and musty.  When they got to the bottom of the narrow stone staircase, the king nodded to the guards who stood on either side of the entrance to the dungeons.  A torch burned on both sides of the archway, but it did little to light up the all-encompassing gloom that devoured this part of the castle.

The guards acknowledged the king and uncrossed their weapons, holding them straight to their sides allowing the king, Faedra, and Faen to pass.

Faedra looked behind her as the king led them deeper into the belly of the castle.  The guards had already crossed their weapons back in front of the archway.  Faedra couldn't imagine that this dungeon had needed to be used much in Azran; the realm seemed such a peaceful place.  The dungeon, however, was no less intimidating than the one in Arawn's castle.  Thankfully, all the cells she passed, thus far, were empty.

As they walked further towards the end of the dungeons, Faedra could feel her father's energy shift.  He was shutting his emotions off as effectively as if he had flicked a switch or turned a knob.  Faedra wondered how much training it had taken to learn that trick and made a mental note to ask her father to teach her.  If she could shut down her emotions at will, her power would be a lot more controllable.

The king stopped abruptly just short of the last cell.

Faedra shivered.  She looked up at her father.  His features were as hard as marble; the energy he expelled was frigid.  It was clear that even if another soul did inhabit Vivianna's body, he had no intention of laying his eyes on her.  The pain was too great.

“This is as far I go,” he said, holding out the keys for Faedra.  “I hope you are right about this.  I doubt I need to remind you how disastrous it could be if you are wrong.”

Faedra held out her hand, accepting the keys.  “Thank you.  I appreciate you having the faith in me to try it.”

The king gave her the subtlest of smiles. “You have saved this realm twice now.  I am proud to call you my daughter.”

Before Faedra could respond, her father had turned and was marching towards the exit, making it quite clear he wanted nothing more to do with her plan.  He stopped and spoke to the guards on the way out.  Faedra thought it was probably to give them permission to let her and Faen walk out with the prisoner.

Faedra turned back to her Guardian who was waiting patiently.  She tempered her emotions, unsure of how she would react upon seeing Vivianna again.  She could tell herself until she was blue in the face that it was only Vivianna's body, a mere shell, that was housing an innocent woman.  She tried to convince herself that the woman standing behind bars just a few feet away was not the person who had wanted her dead since she was a baby.

She closed her eyes and breathed in a deep cleansing breath.  A second later she felt the comforting weight of warm hands on her shoulders.  Faen’s eyes burrowed deep into her soul when Faedra opened her eyes and looked up into their warm fathomless depths.

“You can do this, Faedra,” he whispered, sensing her inner struggle.

Faedra responded with a faltering smile, took another deep breath and nodded.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

***

“I wonder how Faedra and Faen are doing,” Alyssa pondered.

“Better than us, I hope,” Etyran replied.  He scrubbed his face and raked his hands through his dark blonde hair. “How could I have let this happen?” He slammed his open palm against the wrought iron bars that were holding them captive.

Alyssa flinched at his outburst but couldn't tear her eyes away as he started pacing back and forth in front of the iron bars of the cell they'd been thrown into.

“It wasn't your fault,” Alyssa said, after a moment of silence.

“Of course, it was my fault,” Etyran snarled.  “How could I be so bloody arrogant to assume that Arawn wouldn't be able to see me?  It stands to reason he would have figured out a spell to uncover our kind.  He's had you to study long enough, for crying out loud.”

Alyssa averted her gaze.  Looking at the straw-covered stone of their stale smelling cell was preferable to witnessing the rage that burned in Etyran's eyes.  She was no stranger to the dungeons, having been down there on many occasions to keep Allora company.  But she'd never had the misfortune of appreciating the place from the other side of the bars.  Now she was terrified what Arawn had in store for her for betraying him.  She'd heard all too often Allora's cries for mercy.  She visibly shuddered at the thought.

Warm arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders.  She looked up to see Etyran sitting next to her, his eyes now filled with concern.

“I'm sorry,” he said, his voice much softer now.  “I didn't mean to scare you.  I just get a bit...passionate sometimes.”

She gave Etyran a pensive smile.  “It's not you that scares me.” A single tear came loose from her glistening eyes and rolled down her cheek.  She'd always tried to play the tough girl, and, to a certain extent, she was fairly good at it.  But now, wondering what Arawn would do to her, was shaking her resolve to the core.

Alyssa heard a low carnal growl escape from deep in Etyran's throat. He wiped away the tear with his thumb. “I'll not let that monster near you.”

Noble words, she thought, but Alyssa knew the monster much better than Etyran.  She'd managed to stay under his anger radar since the time she woke up in a strange bedchamber in this very castle.  Torn from the life she once knew, to live a life she wanted nothing more than to forget.  That was, until Etyran wrestled her to the floor a couple of nights ago.

She quickly realized that the best way to stay alive in Arawn's captivity was to do what he instructed.  Nothing more, nothing less.  She wasn't proud of herself, but it had kept her alive and, for the most part, unharmed until she could figure out a way to escape his clutches.  One of the things she hated most about herself was how she lulled Allora into trusting her.  Alyssa had been sent down here time and again on the pretense of befriending the Lady and her daughter, Skylar.  When Arawn's harsher tactics didn't work on Todmus's wife, he thought a softer approach might.  That's where Alyssa came in.  It was her job to come down here and try to glean information from Lady Allora by becoming her friend.  But there was a problem… Allora was so kind and sweet to the Lightbender, even after everything she had endured, Alyssa had grown to love the Lady.  It got to the point where she almost couldn't face herself in the mirror.

After every time she had visited, Arawn would demand her presence and make her recite their conversation word for word, over and over again.  It became apparent, after weeks of visits, that Allora didn’t know anything about Todmus's whereabouts.  Either that or Allora had seen through Alyssa's deceit, which made Alyssa feel even worse.

When Arawn came to realize Allora knew nothing of any importance, he forbade Alyssa from any more visits.  He never allowed her anything he thought may give her a fraction of happiness or comfort.  That didn't stop the young Lightbender, though.  She would still sneak down there, risking a severe beating if she ever got caught, and sit on the cold damp floor and talk with her friend for hours.

She wondered now if Arawn had known all the time that she was sneaking down to visit with her friend.  Had he been testing spells out on her without her knowledge, until he found one that enabled him to see her when she thought she was invisible?  Maybe that was his ploy all along, to make sure he would know where she was at all times.

So much for their plan.  Alyssa had entered Arawn's chambers with an air of confidence knowing Etyran was standing right beside her.  She cringed when she thought of the outright lies she had told the sorcerer.  Not because she had lied, but because he was all the while sitting there with a smug grin plastered across his face knowing the full extent of her deception.

Now it made perfect sense when they had first entered.  His expression had shifted and his eyes flicked to her side.  It was just a split second lapse before he resumed his usual indifferent air that, at the time, she had hardly noticed.  He played her well, feigning interest in her lies.  Leaning forward, chin in hand, elbow resting on the table.  Arawn even let her finish her elaborately made-up tale before his face turned an explosive shade of red.  He held her and her companion with an invisible force while he summoned the guards and had them both thrown in the dungeon.

The thing that haunted her the most was his menacing look as he turned the key, locking them in.  “I'll deal with you later,” he'd said before whipping around and stomping up the stone steps.

Alyssa caught herself staring at the spot on the floor just outside the cell door where Arawn's robes had swept a semi-circle in the straw upon his departure.  He would come back to punish her, she had no doubt.  Even with all of Etyran's good intentions, she was as good as dead and so was he.

She could hear someone's voice at the edge of her consciousness.  Alyssa pulled herself back into the here and now, not sure how long she had been deep in thought.   She allowed her gaze to follow the sound back to the handsome face and calming solace of Etyran's eyes.

“Hello?  Is anyone home?” Etyran said, with a quirky smile on his face.

She couldn't help but return his smile.  Even in the dire situation they found themselves in, Etyran made Alyssa smile.  It had been a very long time since anyone, especially a man, had made her smile. Just what was it about this roguish character that made her heart quicken?  She consoled herself with the fact that if these were indeed her last moments, she knew of no one else she would rather spend them with.

“Where did you go?” Etyran asked, referring to her drifting off into space.

“Nowhere worth mentioning,” Alyssa replied.

“I will not let him hurt you,” Etyran reiterated, his expression resolute.

Alyssa smiled again.  If only he knew the futility of his words.  She almost felt sorry for him at that moment.  He had no clue who he was dealing with.  Instead, she cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand.  She noticed his eyes widen in surprise at her gesture.  She also noticed her skin tingled where it touched his.

“Where did you come from?  And why do I only get to meet you now?” she whispered.

They stared at each other for a while, trying to search the others' soul, neither one daring to break the tranquility of the moment.

“Well, isn't this just all kinds of cozy?” a maleficent voice shattered the silence.

Alyssa felt Etyran stiffen under her hand a split second before he rose up from the roughhewn bench they were sitting on and planted himself firmly in front of her.  A wall of muscle and bulk blocked her view from the tyrant who would have to get past Etyran first.  She had to admit, if he was going up against another man, and not the force of evil he was trying to protect her from, she would have no doubt he would win.  But he wasn't, and he would lose.  Alyssa dropped her head in acceptance of her fate.

Arawn raked Etyran up and down with a look of disdain.  “Oh, how very noble of you, Lightbender,” he said with a sneer.

“I will not let you hurt her,” Etyran said, standing firm.

Arawn barked out a humorless laugh before bringing his hand up.

In the next instant Etyran was slammed up against the rough wall of the dungeon cell.  The crack of his skull meeting stone made Alyssa's insides turn on themselves.

“Stop it!” Alyssa cried. “Don't hurt him.”  She ran over to where Etyran was still pinned against the wall, his feet dangling a foot from the floor.  She turned to Arawn. “I'll tell you anything you want to know.”

Arawn turned his sneer onto the female Lightbender's stricken expression.  The pleading in her eyes was the source of more amusement.

“Oh, I know you will,” he said.

Etyran started rasping.  Alyssa turned back to see him grab for his throat, looking like he was trying to loosen something from around his neck.  His face was turning a nasty shade of red as his eyes started to bulge.

She turned and ran to the bars and dropped to her knees.  “Stop it, I beg you,” she pleaded.  “I'll do anything you ask. Just, please, don't hurt him.”

“No.” The strangled one-syllabled word was all Etyran could squeeze out.

The expression on Arawn's face turned from amusement to boredom in the blink of an eye.  He made a motion with his hand as if throwing something away...hard.

Alyssa heard another crack and turned just as Etyran crumpled to a heap on the floor.  She ran over to his unconscious body and threw herself down beside him.  She lifted his head off the ground with care, laying it on her lap.  Blood trickled from his temple onto her tunic.

“Oh, no.  Please, don't be dead,” she whispered as she touched his neck, feeling for a pulse.  She felt a couple of strong beats just before she was grabbed by her hair and lifted from the floor. Etyran's head fell from her lap as she was dragged away, hitting the stone floor with yet another crack.

Pain shot through Alyssa's scalp.  She grabbed at her hair trying to loosen the tyrant's hold on it, but to no avail.  She had been so worried about her new-found friend, she hadn't even noticed the key turn in the clunky iron lock.  Her feet skimmed across the floor as her captor dragged her through the cell door.  He threw her down on the dirty straw-covered ground while he locked the door.  Her hands cupped her scalp like a beanie hat in an attempt to protect herself from being dragged by her hair again.

It worked.  Arawn leaned over and grabbed her by the crook of her raised arm instead.

He looked back at the cell. “I'll have some fun with you later,” he snarled at Etyran who still lay motionless on the floor.  He tugged Alyssa hard and dragged her out of the dungeon.  Alyssa looked back on her way up the steps.  Her heart splintered as her eyes fell upon the man, still lying prostrate on the floor, blood trickling down his face.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“What are you going to do to me?” Alyssa whimpered as she was being dragged up the steps from the dungeon.

“Oh, something suitably fitting for your level of betrayal,” Arawn replied with obvious glee in his voice.

He wrenched Alyssa's arm with a sharp tug, dragging her to keep up with him.  She felt a twinge in her shoulder and bit her lip to stop from crying out in pain.  He was taking the steps two at a time.  She was finding it hard to stay by his side so she could avoid having her arm ripped out of its socket.  What he had in store for her was bound to be much worse than this, and although she was terror stricken at that moment, she was not about to give him any satisfaction earlier than was necessary.

When he reached the top step, he picked up his pace even more, his long strides covering the cold flagstone floor much quicker that Alyssa could hope to accomplish without trotting to keep up.

Without warning, Alyssa came crashing to the floor, having tripped on one of the uneven flagstones, ripping herself from Arawn's grasp, as she did so.

He whirled around and paced the couple of strides it took to get back to where she was laying on the ground.

“You stupid little wench,” he spat as he leaned down and grabbed her wrist in a death-grip ready to haul her up off the floor. “Get up, before I kick you all the way down this...What the...?”

Alyssa looked up just in time to see Arawn's eyes widen in disbelief.  He was looking down the corridor where they had just come from.  In the next second, she could hear the tinkle of glass.  She then saw a bright blue light, and finally, a puff of smoke.

Alyssa turned her head, as best she could in the position she lay.  A small man emerged from the shadows.  She looked back to Arawn, who she noticed was no longer moving.  What she saw made her suck in a sharp breath.

Arawn was stock still, frozen to the spot, his furious eyes still glaring down the corridor towards the dungeons. For a second, Alyssa held her breath, not daring to move, in case she be the one to set him in motion again.  When he was still static a moment later, she hesitantly lifted her other hand and prodded his cheek with her finger.  His skin was still pliable.  For a moment, she wondered if it would be solid as stone.  He certainly looked like a carved statue.

After she'd gotten over the initial shock that her aggressor was frozen to the spot, her brain kicked in and told her to get out of his grasp as fast as possible.  Alyssa tried to pull her wrist free only to find it was stuck fast in Arawn's unyielding grip.  Cringing, she reached up with her free hand and peeled each individual finger back from where they were crushing her skin.  Her eyes didn't leave his face the entire time.  Her heart pounded within her ribcage at the thought he may unfreeze at any second and her fate would be sealed once more.

Arawn's grip left choleric red marks around her wrist; she absentmindedly rubbed her skin as she sat upright and turned to the person who had just saved her.

“Who are you?” Alyssa asked the ruddy faced man.

“No time for that now,” he replied, walking towards her and Arawn.  “That spell is not going to keep him under for long.  We have a few minutes, at best.  Now, I need to free my wife and child.”  He reached the sorcerer and unhooked the ring of keys from his belt.

Alyssa's eyes widened as she comprehended who the little man was. “You're Todmus.”

Todmus looked back at the Lightbender and winked before turning and marching towards the dungeons.

“Wait,” Alyssa called after him. “Allora's not down there.”

Todmus stopped on the top step and turned.  “Do you know where she is?”

Alyssa hesitated for a second, took a deep breath and answered as best she could. “Well, her body is with the ovates in the hidden cave.”

All color drained from Todmus's face and Alyssa realized how that must have sounded.

“Oh! She's not dead,” she said quickly.  “Arawn switched her body with Vivianna's.”

That garnered her a creased brow from the dwarf.

“Vivianna is in Allora's body in the ovate's cave, and Allora is in Vivianna's body in the castle dungeons in Azran.”  She still wasn't entirely sure she was making any sense.  It sounded crazy even to her and she'd seen it with her own eyes.

“And my daughter, Skylar?”

“She was safe last time I saw her.  She is with Allora… I mean Vivianna.”

“Then we must make haste,” Todmus said striding away from the dungeons.

“No, wait,” Alyssa said again.

Todmus stopped and sighed, his expression strained.

“We have to help my friend.  He's still down there,” she looked towards the dungeons. “And he's badly hurt.  Please, you have to help me.”

Alyssa pushed herself up from the floor and dusted herself down. Todmus noticed the blood on her tunic and took a step towards her.  “You are bleeding, miss.  Where are you hurt?”

“It's not mine, it's Etyran's!” Alyssa sped off towards the dungeons, taking the steps two at a time.

“Etyran is here? What is Etyran doing here?” Todmus called after her, his short strides inhibiting him from keeping up with her.

“It's a long story.” Alyssa's voice echoed up the stairwell. “I'll explain everything once we get Etyran and get out of here.”

When they reached the bottom of the steps, Etyran was still sprawled out unconscious on the cell floor. Todmus fumbled with the keys, taking two attempts to find the right one to open the wrought iron door.

Alyssa burst through the door and fell to her knees beside Etyran.  She leaned over and positioned her ear just above his mouth.  Todmus stood watching, concern plastered over his features.

“Thank the Goddess, he's still breathing,” Alyssa said to Todmus.

Etyran let out a weak groan on an exhale of breath.

“Etyran, it's me, Alyssa.  Can you hear me?  Todmus is here and we're going to get you out.”  She looked back at Todmus.  “Can you help me get him to his feet?”

Todmus raised his eyebrows.  He was half the size of the hulking Lightbender laid out on the floor.  Nevertheless, he positioned himself on the other side of Etyran.

“Etyran, if you can hear me, we really need your help right now,” Alyssa pleaded, after her and Todmus's attempts to get him off the floor were proving fruitless.  They had managed to get him into a sitting position, but it became as plain as the nose on one's face, that they were not going to be able to lift him any further.

“Miss, we don't have much time,” Todmus reminded her.

Alyssa nodded at the little man.  “It pains me to do this, but I don't think I have a choice,” she said to Todmus before bringing the flat of her palm to Etyran's cheek.  It connected with a resounding slap.  “Wake up, Etyran!  We need to get you out of here.”

Etyran's head fell back, his eyelids moved and he groaned again.

“That's it,” Alyssa said, gently slapping each cheek in turn.  “Wake up, sleepy head; we need to get out of here.”

Etyran brought his hand up to his head and grimaced.  “In the name of Kernunnos,” he groaned.

“Etyran, can you move?” Alyssa asked.

Etyran blinked a few times until his eyes zoned in on Alyssa.  “Hey, sugar.  How you doin'?”

Alyssa exchanged glances with Todmus.

“He's going to be just fine,” Todmus said with a smile.

“Come here often?” Etyran said, a mischievous grin curving his lips.

“Etyran, focus!” Alyssa snapped.  “I don't want to have to slap you again.”  She put her shoulder under Etyran's armpit while Todmus took hold of Etyran's hands.

“On the count of three,” Alyssa said to Todmus.  “One...two...three.”

Alyssa heaved upwards while Todmus pulled on Etyran's hands.  The motion turned out to be quite successful because after a little bit of wobbling, they had the burly Lightbender up on his feet.

Etyran had his arm draped around Alyssa's shoulders, leaning most of his weight there.  He was much heavier than she'd imagined, but adrenaline must have been giving her the added strength she needed to keep him on his feet.

She looked at him.  “Okay, do you think you can walk?”

He turned his lolling head and latched onto her worried gaze.  “Did anyone ever tell you, you're gorgeous?” he said.

Alyssa rolled her eyes.

“You are, you know.”

She ignored his comment and looked at Todmus.  “Todmus, keep hold of his hand to steady him,” Alyssa instructed.

Todmus gave Etyran's hand a firmer squeeze.

“Etyran, do you have the strength to bend your light?” Alyssa asked.

“Huh?” Etyran wrinkled his brows at the question.

“Oh, that's just great.” Alyssa sighed.  “How are we supposed to get out of this fortress without being seen?  Arawn has guards everywhere.”

“Not everywhere, miss.  You forget, this used to be my home.  It doesn't look like he ever found my secret tunnel because there were no guards watching it when I came in that way.”

Alyssa's face lit up.

It was by no means an easy task, but somehow Alyssa, aided by Todmus, managed to get Etyran up the stairs, past the still immobile Arawn and into the kitchen. They were careful not to talk on their way there.  Todmus explained to her before they left the dungeon that although Arawn couldn't move he could still hear everything that was going on around him.

Alyssa dropped Etyran on to one of the kitchen benches before her legs gave way.  He slumped over and laid his head on the table, releasing another groan with the movement.  He had been in and out of consciousness since she and Todmus had sat him up on the floor of the cell.  She turned around to see where Todmus was, only to find him counting blocks in the wall beside one of the open ranges.

“Three up, two over,” he mumbled, as his fingers whispered over the bister-colored stone.  “This should be the one.” He put his palm flat against the wall and pushed.

Alyssa heard a grating noise first, then part of the wall moved backwards before sliding to the side to reveal an opening just big enough for someone the size of Todmus to pass through. Her astonishment was swiftly quashed when she wondered how on earth she was going to get herself and Etyran through the pint-sized opening.  What if the tunnel was that small all the way through?  There was no way she would be able to walk alongside him to hold him up.  Maybe Todmus's grand idea wasn't so grand after all, not for her and Etyran anyway.

Todmus beckoned with his arm.  “Come along, miss.  We don't have much time.”

“Todmus, I'm never going to be able to get the both of us through there,” Alyssa said, a hint of dismay in her voice.

Todmus smiled and beckoned her again.  “Trust me,” he said.

Alyssa raised her eyebrows.  Well, the little man had gotten them this far.  The fact that he was skillful enough to disable Arawn gave him instant respect in her book. She had to admit to wondering what else he may have up his sleeve.  She gave him the benefit of the doubt and lifted Etyran's head off the table, garnering her another groan from the semi-conscious Lightbender.

“Oh, my head,” Etyran grunted.  “What did I drink last night?”

Alyssa wrinkled her eyebrows at him and shot a questioning look at Todmus, who was waiting by the secret tunnel.

“Sounds like he's getting better,” Todmus remarked.

Alyssa raised her eyes heavenward before tucking her shoulder under Etyran's arm and bolstering him up from the bench; the exertion forcing a grunt from her, too.  When she had dragged Etyran over to the hole in the wall, her heart sank.  They were easily head-and-shoulders taller, and one person-too-many wider than their escape route.  How she managed to keep Etyran upright at that point amazed her, because suddenly all the wind was knocked from her sails and she felt very weak and defeated.

Todmus was standing inside the tunnel waiting for her.

“You go, Todmus,” Alyssa said, leaning over so she could see him. “I'll find another way out.”

“Nonsense,” Todmus replied, not looking the least bit fazed that they were much too large for the opening. “Put your hand in.”

Alyssa looked at the dwarf as if he'd gone mad.

“Trust me,” Todmus repeated.

Alyssa took her free hand and stuck it in the hole in the wall.

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she watched her hand shrink down to half its size.  She drew her hand back sharply and moved it around in front of her face, allowing her to inspect it from all angles.  As soon as it was out from the hole, it was normal size again.

“The tunnel is enchanted.  It will shrink those who wish to use it down to the size they need to be,” Todmus explained, then he added when he saw the look of abject terror on her face, “Don't worry.  You will return to your normal size when you get out the other end.  I wouldn't want you ending up like me, now, would I?” He winked.

“Guards!”

Alyssa spun her head towards the door.  Her heart nearly stopped at hearing the roar of pure fury that traveled down the corridor and into the kitchen.  The spell had worn off.  Arawn was mobile again.

“Now, miss.  You have to move now!”

Alyssa shoved Etyran into the hole first, marveling at the way his body shrunk as he went into the tunnel.  The now miniature Lightbender slumped onto the floor beside Todmus.  Alyssa jumped in next scrunching her eyes closed in anticipation of pain.  Surely, if your body shrinks there must be pain attached to the transformation.  To her surprise there was none.  She opened her eyes, relieved that she was still in one piece; albeit a much smaller piece, of what she once was.

Todmus pushed a stone that was jutting out of the wall and the secret door slid across and sealed them in, not a moment too soon.  A second later, Alyssa saw a spark, and a torch that Todmus had pulled off the wall burst into flame, lighting up their surroundings.

They heard the muffled anger of Arawn's voice as he and some guards charged into the kitchen.

Alyssa and Todmus held their breath.

“Search under every pot if you have to!” Arawn yelled.  “I heard them come this way.  They couldn't have gone far.”

The sound of multiple footsteps faded as the guards went off in different directions.  Alyssa was just about to say something, but Todmus put a finger over his lips, silencing her.

The sharp sound of clattering metal made Alyssa recoil.   Arawn was still in the kitchen.  He must have swiped his arm along the table and knocked all the saucepans that were stacked there onto the floor.  She didn't dare think what would happen if she had spoken and he discovered they were standing behind the wall just a few feet away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The trio inside the tunnel gave themselves several minutes before they moved, or even dared breathe for that matter, just to be sure that Arawn was no longer in the kitchen.

“That was close,” Alyssa whispered, leaning up against the dusty wall and resting her head against the cool stone.  “We owe you our lives, Todmus. How can we ever repay you?”

Todmus smiled. “We are not out of the woods yet, miss.  And I mean that quite literally.  Arawn will have his men scouring the woods, and we have to make our way through them to get to the cave.  I was hoping to make my escape on Aesti but...” he looked down at the unconscious heap that was Etyran. “That will not be possible now.  So, I guess we have to turn to plan B.”

Alyssa followed Todmus's line of sight to the crumpled person on the floor and sighed.  “What is plan B?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something.” Todmus reached up and rubbed Alyssa on the arm when he saw the dismay on her face.  “Come now, miss.  Everything will turn out just fine, you'll see.  Now, we really must be going.”

“Who is Aesti?” Alyssa asked.

“All in good time, miss,” Todmus replied.

Alyssa pulled Etyran into a sitting position, his back leaning up against the wall.  She crouched in front of him and took a moment to look upon his features.  They looked peaceful in sleep.  She knew what she was about to do would bring him pain again.  His face would twist when the agony of his sore head bore down on him.  She leaned forward slightly.  “Forgive me,” she whispered before slapping him across his cheeks with her open palm.

“Wake up, Etyran!” Alyssa barked. “We have to keep going.  I can't do this without your help.”  When the only response she got was a barely discernible moan, she slapped him a bit harder.   “Come on, Etyran, we're nearly there,” she lied.  “Then you can sleep as long as you need to.”

Etyran opened his eyelids slowly.  His bloodshot eyes were unfocused until they landed on Alyssa's worried expression.  He pulled his head away from where it was resting against the wall.  It lolled back and forth a couple of times, but all the while, he tried to keep his gaze fixed on Alyssa.

“Where are we?” he mumbled, after he was able to successfully balance his head on his shoulders.

“No time to explain.  Can you get up?” Alyssa asked.

Etyran looked around, saw Todmus standing to one side lighting their way with his torch, and frowned.  He looked back at Alyssa.  “Is that Todmus?” he asked.

Alyssa looked at Todmus then back again. “Yes.”

“Huh,” he said, closing his eyes again.

“Oh, no, you don't,” Alyssa said, tapping his cheeks lightly to stop him from slipping under again.  She put one of his big arms over her shoulder.  “Come on you big lump.  I need some help here.”

Thankfully, as she pushed herself up off the floor, Etyran managed to take most of his own weight himself.  When he was standing, he used Alyssa to steady himself but tried to walk as best he could under his own steam.

Todmus started down the tunnel in front of them.  The warm glow of his torch dancing off the walls, highlighting the odd cobweb that hung from the ceiling.

“I know I've taken quite a crack to the noggin, but, is it me, or are we the same size as Todmus?” Etyran asked after a few minutes of following the dwarf down the tunnel.

Alyssa chuckled.  She had to admit it was a little odd being the same size as Todmus, and she'd only known him for a short while.  It must seem even odder to Etyran who had known him a lot longer and towered above everyone who was of normal stature, let alone those who weren't.

“It should be just up ahead,” Todmus said as they rounded a corner in the tunnel.

“See, I told you we were nearly there,” Alyssa said to Etyran, the bright smile she shot in his direction looking just a little too bright.

The look he gave her was scrutinizing. “Nice try, Blondie.  I may not have my wits about me at the moment, but even firing on half cylinders I know it's a long way back to the cave.”

Alyssa lowered her gaze.  She watched each labored footstep Etyran made as he scuffed through the red dirt that made up the floor of the tunnel. The heavy weight of him on her shoulder reminded her just how vulnerable he still was.

“Do you think you'll be able to make it?” she asked.

“Well, I've got two choices.”

Alyssa brought her eyes up to meet his, creasing her eyebrows and tilting her head in question.

“Either I will or I won't,” he replied to her unspoken question.

“We'll think of something.  Can you bend the light yet?”

Etyran looked ahead, concentrating on the glow of Todmus's torch. His body flickered like a dysfunctional television set.  He looked down at himself and sighed.

“Doesn't look like it,” he said.

Alyssa didn't say anything, but her heart felt heavy.  What if that knock to the head had destroyed his gift? What if he could no longer bend the light?  She pushed those thoughts to the back of her head and tried to think of a way they could get back to the cave without being discovered by Arawn or any of his guards, or even worse, the erchyll.  Although most of the way back to the cave took them under the cover of the forest, there was a short distance in which they would have to travel across a meadow to get to the forest where the ovate's cave was hidden.  Alyssa had no doubt that Arawn would dispatch the creatures to cover the open areas.  Although Arawn didn't know where the hideout was she was sure he would cover all bases around the castle.

She remembered walking past the hideous creatures most of her days in captivity.  They were kept tied up in the castle grounds when not in use.  She tried not to show them that they scared her and, even though they gave her the creeps, she felt sorry for most of them.  One of them even let her get close enough to run her hand down its scaly skin.  The haunted look in its eyes saddened her even more as she whispered soothing words to it.  It was, after all, just another prisoner like herself, kept on a tight rein to do Arawn's bidding.  She shuddered.

They would, at least, have stood a chance of escape under the cover of trees but there was no better creature for observation and retrieval over open areas.  If Etyran couldn't wrap the light around himself, Alyssa wasn't big enough to hide them both, and certainly not Todmus, as well.  A black cloud of gloom wrapped itself around her.

***

“Where are they?” Faedra said, pacing back and forth along the dirt trail where they had left Etyran and Alyssa before venturing to Azran.

“They will be here soon, I am sure,” Faen said, trying to sooth his charge's ruffled feathers.

She stopped her pacing, contemplating his response for a moment before folding her arms across her chest.  “No, something's wrong.”  She started pacing again.

Allora, who was residing in Vivianna's body, stood on the side of the trail watching the Custodian with wary eyes.

On the next pass-by, Faen put out his hands and rested them on Faedra's shoulders, effectively stopping her in her tracks.  She looked up into his eyes and saw the irrefutable belief he had that Etyran and his new companion were just fine. Faedra closed her eyes for a long second, trying hard to push the uneasy feeling away with the heavy breath she released.  It didn't work.  The foreboding awareness she was trying desperately to disregard as nonsense, was not disappearing without a fight.  As much as she knew Etyran could handle himself, she also knew her senses were becoming more and more indisputable.

Faedra brought her hands up and covered Faen's.  She curled her fingers around both of his hands, brought them down from her shoulders and placed them against her heart.

“I feel it right here, Faen.  I can't explain it, but I know without a doubt, they are in trouble.”  Her eyes pleaded with his to understand.

Faedra could see the contemplation in her Guardian's eyes.  After a long moment, he gave her a warm smile.

“Okay.  If it will make you feel better, I cannot see it will do any harm for us to make a detour towards Arawn's castle.  We will probably meet up with them along the way,” Faen said, his eyes sparkling with compassion.

“Thank you,” Faedra said with a smile, then reached up and placed a tender kiss to his cheek.  “Thanks for believing in me.”

“I will always believe in you.  And besides, your power is manifesting so fast, it would be silly not to listen to it.  I would never forgive myself if anything happened to my friends and I was armed with the knowledge to prevent it,” Faen said.

Faedra nodded in agreement.

Faen put his arm around Faedra's shoulder and they both turned to Allora.  “I hope you do not mind, my lady.  We are going to walk in this direction for a while.  I'm sure we will meet up with our friends in no time,” Faen explained.

“Young Guardian, it is no trouble.  To be honest, I have been locked up for so long now, it will be nice to stretch my legs, long as they now are.” She looked down the length of her taller than usual frame.

Faedra couldn't help giving Allora an up and down glance.  She was fighting hard with having the body of her evil half-sister flaunted in front of her, even though she knew the soul that inhabited it was one of the kindest gentlest souls she'd ever met.  But every time she looked at Allora, she saw Vivianna.  Her brain was having trouble distinguishing between the two.  She was sure she must have given Allora some filthy looks on their journey from Azran, for which she was constantly apologizing.  Allora had been very gracious up to this point, but Faedra knew if someone kept giving her dirty looks, even though she knew they weren't really aimed at her, it would wear very thin very quickly.  She was finding the best thing to do was not look at Allora at all.  She decided it was the lesser of two evils.  Better to be impolite rather than downright rude.

The still night air did little to quell Faedra's anxiety as they traveled further along the dusty path towards Arawn's castle.  If anything, she became more aware of them the closer they got, which only cemented the fact that she knew something was wrong.  They hadn't bumped into their friends along the way as Faen thought they may have, and she could feel his energy shift the further they traveled with no sign of anyone else on the path.

It wasn't until they arrived at the edge of the forest and stood looking across the moonlit meadow to the other side, that Faen admitted his feelings.

“I agree with you, Faedra.  We should have met with them before now.  I fear that something has gone awry,” Faen said, looking down at the Custodian with worried eyes.

“What's that?” Allora asked, pointing across the field.

Faen and Faedra turned their gazes to follow where Allora was pointing.

Three shadowy shapes emerged from the trees across from them and came to a stop at the meadow's edge.  The shape in the middle was a huge black beast, its fiery red eyes lighting up the shadows.  It looked like something was slung across its back.  To one side of the beast stood a slender figure, to the other side someone small and stout.

Faedra squinted, craning her neck forward in an attempt to make out the figures in the silvery light. A second later her eyes widened.  “Aesti?” Faedra whispered.

“Todmus!” Allora cried at the same time. Her voice echoing into the night.

Lady Allora took off across the field without a thought.

“Allora, stop! It could be a trap.” Faedra called out after her.

Allora didn't listen.  She was running across the field.  Vivianna's body was exhibiting none of its usual panther-like grace as Allora did her best to control a frame that was much taller than she was used to maneuvering, especially at speed.  Even through the stumbling gait, she got to such a speed it didn't look like her feet were touching the ground.  Then Faedra realized Allora's feet weren't touching the ground.  She did, after all, have Vivianna's wings, but to Faedra's knowledge, she didn't know how to use them, until now, that was.

“Todmus! It's me, Allora!” Allora called across the field.

Faedra noticed the two figures standing either side of the black beast, turn and look at each other before looking back to the woman running full pelt towards them.

“Well, I guess we found out where Todmus and Aesti disappeared to,” Faedra said, giving her Guardian a wry smile.

“We better go after her before she attracts attention.  She will wake the dead shouting like that,” Faen remarked.

An unholy shriek ripped through the sky.

Faen and Faedra exchanged glances.

“Too late,” they said together as they watched one of the ugly creatures they'd done battle with upon their arrival swoop in from over the trees.

“Allora, watch out!” Faedra yelled, as she and Faen took off after her.

Allora stopped and looked up, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. She froze, unmoving as one of the beasts swooped down towards her.

The two figures on the other side broke ranks and headed into the field, but it was too late.  Neither side was close enough to the Lady,  who was standing in the middle of the opening all by herself.  The erchyll had no barriers to overcome and plucked Allora from the meadow as easily as plucking a cherry from a tree.

Allora's terrified scream filled Faedra's ears as the erchyll took off with her clutched in its talons.

The four friends joined up in the middle of the meadow and looked to the skies.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The creature holding Allora rose in the sky above them.  It hovered for a few beats of its wings taunting them, dangling its prey just out of reach.  Allora struggled against its talons, her legs see-sawing back and forth in mid-air.  It turned its long thick neck and body, its beating wings stirring up the air around them.

“I have an idea,” Faen said to Faedra. His tone was urgent, drawing the attention of Todmus and Alyssa, too.  “Can you stop it?”

“What?” Faedra asked.

“Like you did with the stones, and in the corridor with your father and me.”

Alyssa looked at Faedra expectantly.  Todmus pleaded with his eyes before turning his gaze up to the sky once more.

“I can try,” Faedra said, uncertain of her ability to do what her Guardian asked.  The last two times she had suspended something, it was a knee-jerk reaction to an emotion.  She'd never actually done it under any kind of control.

He put his hand to her cheek. “That is all I ask.”  He pulled his sword from its sheath and turned.

Faedra held up her hands.  The erchyll had turned and was starting to fly away from them, its quarry still held tightly in its grip.  “You can do this, Fae,” Faedra mumbled to herself.

Faen took to the air after the creature, sword extended in front of him.

“Now would be a good time!” Faen called down to his charge as he gained on the creature.

“It's not working!” Faedra cried.  “Why is it not working?”  She brought down her hands and gave them a shake.

“Come on.  You can do this,” she compelled herself, bringing her hands up again.  Emotion, I need emotion, she thought.  She knew she couldn't get the right emotion looking at Vivianna's body being dangled by the erchyll.  No amount of trying to persuade herself it was Allora was helping her at all.

She relived the moment in the castle when she had stopped her father and Faen.  The thought of one day ruling over Azran still terrified her now as much as it had a few hours ago.

“Stop!” she yelled.

The erchyll's wings stopped mid-beat.  Its tail froze mid-swish.  It was suspended above the field about a hundred feet.  A strangled shriek escaped the creature.  It was fighting her with every fiber of its being and it was strong.  Much stronger than restraining a person or a few chunks of stone.

“I can't hold it much longer, Faen!” Faedra called across the meadow.

“Just a few more seconds is all I need,” Faen said. “I'm nearly there.”  He flew higher and higher, gaining on the creature with every beat of his wings.

Alyssa and Todmus stood side-by-side, hands to their mouths, watching the Guardian with wide eyes.

Faen reached the creature.  He stood on its back and with a smooth, calculated move, ran it through with his sword.  The second he did, its claws went limp and Allora slipped from their grasp.  She screamed as she started falling but was able to grab a talon with her hand on the way down and hang on, dangling by one arm.

“Help me, please!” she cried, looking down at the ground.

Faedra's heart jumped to her mouth and she heard Todmus and Alyssa's sharp intakes of breath.  She couldn't freeze Allora.  If she took her concentration off the erchyll for one second they would all come crashing down to the ground.

Faen couldn't see what was happening from his vantage point but heard the scream.  He nose-dived off the creature's back.  Allora's hand lost its grip on the shiny claw and she started falling again.  Her scream ended abruptly as Faen reached her, landing in his outstretched arms.

The three standing in the field let out a collective sigh.

“Thank the Goddess,” Alyssa whispered.

“You can say that again,” Faedra responded, dropping her hands and taking great pleasure in watching the erchyll drop from the sky like a stone.  It landed with a thud. “Well, I guess that means we've lost the element of surprise.  I guess we better move on to plan B.”

“What's your plan B?” Alyssa asked.

“Don't know yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something.”

“Does anyone actually have a plan B?” Alyssa said, palms open in question.

Faedra creased her eyebrows at the unusual question.

“Never mind,” Alyssa said sounding a tad exasperated, as Faen landed gracefully in front of them and lowered Allora to the ground with care.

“Todmus.” A smile lit up Allora's face as she held out her arms to her husband. He cast her a wary look and took a subconscious step backwards.

“Todmus?  It's me, Allora,” Allora said, finding it hard to hide the dismay in her voice.

Faedra knew why Todmus reacted the way he did; she could feel it just as if they were her own emotions she was experiencing.  Todmus's energy was throwing off uncertainty and lack of trust.  His feelings were similar to Faedra's, but not on such a grand scale.  He was being told it was his long lost wife standing before him, but his brain was responding to the vision of a woman who had, very recently, tried to destroy Azran and everyone in it, which included Faen and Faedra, whom he now considered his close friends.

Allora dropped her hands. She didn't need Faedra's power to sense what her husband was feeling.  His face explained it to her plain as day.

A tear welled up and trickled down her cheek.  She turned to Faedra. “I want my body back.”

Faedra reached out to touch Allora on the arm, a gesture that took all her will to hold back the fire she wanted to shoot through her fingers.  She gave Allora a rueful smile and made her a promise she wasn't entirely sure she could keep.  “We'll get your body back.”

“We have to get out of this field first, though,” Faen said, looking to the sky.  “Incoming!”

They all looked up to see two more of the hideous creatures appear over the trees and descend upon them.

“Run!” Faen shouted as he grabbed hold of Faedra and Allora's hands and started running towards the trees where Aesti still stood at the edge of the forest.  Todmus grabbed hold of Alyssa's hand and followed suit.

“Where's Etyran?” Faedra asked Alyssa as they ran towards the trees.

“On top of Aesti,” Alyssa replied.

“Is he okay?” Faen asked, a spike of concern hitting him in the gut.

“He took quite a knock to the head...” Alyssa said, but before she could add anything further, one of the erchyll was swooping down on them. They tried to duck as they ran, which caused Todmus to stumble and roll taking Alyssa with him.  Faedra saw what happened and reached a hand out to the two on the ground as Faen kept running.

Faedra was able to grab Todmus's outstretched hand and, literally, launched him off the ground with the force of Faen's forward momentum.  Alyssa's hand slipped from the dwarf's grip.  Todmus tried to release himself from Faedra to go back for Alyssa, but she wouldn't let him go. A second later, the erchyll was on top of them and scooped Alyssa up just before she had the forethought to turn invisible.  A bodiless scream ripped through the air.

Faedra yanked her hand out of Faen's causing her Guardian to stop running.  She turned to aim her hands at the creature that had the young Lightbender in its grip.  But she didn't get to it before one of the other erchyll let out a hellish shriek, sending the sensation of pure fury coursing through Faedra's body.  Bemused, she glanced down at herself.  She knew it wasn't her emotion.  Could she sense the otherworldly creature's energy now, too?   When she returned her eyes to the sky, she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.  The other erchyll dive-bombed its counterpart that was holding Alyssa, slamming into it with such a force it sent them both tumbling head over tail in the air.  The two creatures were a mass of sinuous muscle and leather wings.  The sounds they omitted were painful to the ear.  Their wings were beating ferociously to keep them in the air during their dog-fight.

Faedra, Faen, Todmus and Allora all stopped in their tracks and watched the surprising event unfold.

Alyssa was still invisible so it was impossible for Faedra to tell which one had hold of her, not that she could have gotten a clear shot at either of them, anyway.  Right now, they looked like a single cruelly deformed creature.

Faedra tried freezing them both, but collectively, they were too strong for a power that was so new to her.  She had struggled a few moments ago to contain just one of the creatures.  Two were proving too much for her to handle.

“I'm not strong enough,” she said to Faen.  “We have to do something.  They'll kill Alyssa if they carry on like that.  They could've done so already.”

The jumble of bodies zigzagged across the sky and four pairs of eyes followed, as both creatures tried to get the upper hand over each other.  It didn't take long to realize which one was winning.  After a few more moments, the injuries on one of the erchyll far outnumbered those on the other.  With one last fatal blow, the winning erchyll raised a taloned claw and swiped it across the neck of the other.  Blood spurted from the lacerated artery and its wings flailed helplessly.  The winning creature snatched something from the other before pushing it away with a disdainful shove.  The injured creature fell backwards and plummeted to the ground where it hit with a crunch of bones, landing awkwardly on one wing.  The other wing beat a couple of times before resting on the grass.

The winning erchyll flew towards the group still standing in the meadow.  Faedra raised her hands.

“No, wait!” Alyssa shouted.

Faedra hesitated and lowered her hands a fraction just as Alyssa unwrapped herself and was seen to be sitting comfortably in the palm of the erchyll's claw.  The winged creature landed a few feet in front of the group and lowered Alyssa to the ground with care.

Faedra's jaw dropped when it then proceeded to nudge the young Lightbender, quite obviously asking to be petted.  Alyssa giggled and ran her hand down its bony head.

“You may want to shut that or you might catch a fly,” Etyran said to Faedra.

All heads turned to see Etyran hobbling towards them with a lopsided grin.

Faedra did as he suggested and shut her mouth, although she wondered how many more times she could be shocked in one day.

“Etyran!” Alyssa cried and ran over to him, almost knocking him over as she threw her arms around him.  “You're alright.”

“Well, half left, and a bit down the middle, but I'll live,” Etyran said.

Alyssa's brow creased.

Faedra raised her eyes heavenward and smiled.  At least she knew her friend was going to be okay if he was already making stupid remarks like that.  In the next heartbeat Faedra's smile fell from her face and she stiffened.

“Faedra?” Faen asked.  “What is it?”

“We need to get out of here,” she said. “I can sense...”

“Arawn,” Todmus continued. “He is closing in on us...” A noise from the trees cut him off.

Everyone's attentions turned to the forest.

“...and fast,” Todmus finished his sentence.

“We've got no chance of getting out of here unless we fly, but that means two of us will have to go on foot,” Faedra said looking at their options.  Aesti could carry two; Faen could also fly and carry one other person.  “Alyssa, you can turn invisible and I can probably find something useful in my mishmash of powers to delay him.  We should go on foot.”

Alyssa nodded.  Faedra didn't know that the young Lightbender could be seen by Arawn.  Alyssa also knew the options they had were not good, and she wanted to see Etyran out of there safely, and Allora, too, so she decided to keep that piece of information to herself.

“Absolutely not!” Faen exclaimed.  “I will not leave you behind.  How could you even think of such a thing?”

Faedra could sense his horror at the thought and placed her palm on his cheek.  “Think about it, Faen.  Etyran is injured; he probably can't even wrap the light at the moment.”

Etyran proved her statement by showing Faen his 'flickering TV' routine.

“There is no way he would have any chance of outrunning Arawn.  Neither would Todmus, and Allora doesn't yet know how to use Vivianna's wings.  Alyssa and I would have the best chance of escaping on foot.  You know we would.”

Faen looked at the others in question, took a deep breath and dropped his head.

“It's agreed then,” Faedra continued, noting his acquiescence.  She turned to her small statured friend. “Todmus, you take Etyran on Aesti.”

Todmus nodded and took hold of Etyran’s shirt sleeve, leading the injured Lightbender towards the huge black horse still standing at attention on the edge of the field. Etyran hobbled along behind him like a lost puppy.

Faedra turned back to her Guardian.  “You take Allora.”

Faen inclined his head but did nothing to hide the fact that he was doing this under duress.  He scooped Allora up into his arms.  Aesti, who was now carrying his precious cargo, maneuvered himself next to the Faen.

Faedra let her hand trail over his velvety fur. “Hey, boy,” she whispered.  The gesture scored her a snort of appreciation.  “Yeah, I missed you, too.”

Noise from the forest was getting louder as their pursuers gained on them.

“Go!” Faedra insisted in a loud whisper. “We'll meet up at the cave.”

Todmus spurred Aesti on.  The magnificent beast took off down the field in a thunder of hooves, kicking up clods of dirt before stretching out his wings and taking off over the trees.

Faen gave Faedra an expression that spoke a thousand words, before he, too rose above the grass.

“I'll be careful, I promise,” Faedra said.

Faen turned and flew off in the same direction as Aesti.

“We better start running,” Faedra said to Alyssa.

Just as they were about to take off at a full run, the erchyll nudged Alyssa in the back pushing her forwards.

“What's his problem?” Faedra asked.

“I don't know,” Alyssa replied, turning to look at the ferocious looking creature.  Although, Faedra thought, it didn't look so ferocious anymore.

It nudged Alyssa again, then turned its neck to look at its back.

Alyssa held her arms open, palms up, asking a silent 'what do you want?'

The erchyll nudged at Faedra this time, and again turned to look at its back.

“I think it wants us to get on its back,” Faedra said.

Alyssa's eyes widened.  “I think it wants to fly us out of here.”

Faedra glanced up at its bony back and hesitated.  The idea of sitting astride that was not appealing.

“There they are!” An angry shout came from the trees.

Faedra decided she'd take her chances on the erchyll's back and grabbed Alyssa by the arm.   “Come on!  I guess we're going to find out if you're right, aren't we?”

They scrambled up the creature's scaly body and seated themselves just behind its neck.  Thankfully, it didn't take exception to having passengers on board.

The erchyll raced down the field and took to the air.  It wasn't the most comfortable mode of transportation.  Faedra envisioned some bruising after their journey ended.  The creature was a lot bonier than Aesti, but right at that moment she wasn't complaining.  She looked down to see Arawn and his guards burst from the trees just a few seconds too late.

Arawn shot several fireballs at them but the erchyll, which had been trained by the very same person, had no trouble dodging the fiery missiles.  It was as if it could sense the tyrant sorcerer's every move.  A few more seconds of hanging on for dear life and they were soaring above the trees on their way to rendezvous with the others.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The erchyll flew them along the tree line.  Faedra, having no idea where the cave was from her vantage point, could only send the creature in the right direction.  She was hoping the others would show themselves as she and Alyssa got closer to the trail that led to the cave.  Although, they didn't know the erchyll had come to their rescue, and she assumed they would hide, thinking it was one of Arawn's spies.  How was she going to see where they were waiting for her if they were hidden in the trees?

“So, when did you become so pally with one of Arawn's pets?” Faedra asked Alyssa, who had her arms wrapped around the Custodian's waist as they flew high above the tree tops.

“I don't really know.  This must be the one that let me pet him once.  All the others just wanted to eat me whenever I walked past them, but there was one of them that would just look at me with a kind of sadness in its eyes.  It mirrored the sadness I felt, so I walked up to it once and petted it on the head.  It must be this one.”

“Well, whatever you did, thanks.  You probably just saved our lives back there.”

“What are you going to do about Allora?” Alyssa asked.

Faedra sighed a big, heavy, weight-of-the-world-on-your-shoulders kind of sigh. “I have absolutely no idea,” she admitted.  “I'm hoping that Todmus might know a thing or two about switching them back.  He's turned out to be a bit of a dark horse, that one.”

“You should have seen him in the castle, he was amazing.  He threw something at Arawn and it froze him on the spot.  Saved my life, he did.”

“By the looks of his cottage, he's been working on getting his family back for quite some time,” Faedra said.  “Now I just need to think of a way for him to get his realm back.”

“We should be fairly close by now,” Alyssa said, pulling Faedra from her thoughts.

Faedra scanned the meadow's edge along the tree line.  It was as she'd thought.  There was no sign of the others; they were probably hiding in the trees thinking the erchyll was a spy.  She had an idea.  There were four people down there; four very strong energies with all kinds of emotions being shared between them.  Could her ‘energy sensor’ pick them out from this high?  She closed her eyes and concentrated, allowing that part of her brain to send out tendrils to touch the area she thought they may be in.  After a moment, she sighed and opened her eyes.  They were either too high up or her friends weren't close by.

“Take us lower,” Faedra commanded the erchyll without thinking for a second that it wouldn't understand her.  It was something she had become quite accustomed to in her adventures.  Unless otherwise informed, she just assumed all otherworldly creatures could understand her.

She was not misguided in this instance, either.  The erchyll went into a graceful dive and flew closer to the ground, flying alongside the forest.  She and Alyssa scanned the wall of trees but could see no one with the naked eye.

“Can you fly us around again?” she asked their ride.  The erchyll responded immediately, banking around before straightening up alongside the forest.

Faedra closed her eyes again, sending her sensor tendrils into the woods.  She felt Faen first.  It was like a zap to her heart.  His anxiety for her safety was overwhelming.

“Stop!” Faedra shouted.

The erchyll adjusted the angle of his wings until they were like a vertical sail, effectively slamming on the brakes.  Faedra and Alyssa lurched with the movement.  The creature hit the ground, talons outstretched in front of him.  Its talons tore up the turf as it used them to slow it down, throwing Faedra and Alyssa forward with such a force that they nearly went shooting over its neck.  Faedra grabbed hold of the scaly skin around its neck and was able to stop them from tumbling off the creature.

“Wow,” Faedra said as she had righted herself on the erchyll's back.  “He's pretty responsive.”

Alyssa gave her an incredulous look.

“Faedra?” The question came from the trees.  It was Faen.

Faedra lifted her leg over the creature's neck and slid down its scaly skin, landing on the ground beside it.  Riding the erchyll had not been conducive to keeping her knickers in place, and she tried to do a subtle adjustment of her underwear but failed miserably.  There would be bruising of that, she was sure.

Alyssa slid off the creature's back.  Faedra noticed she did the same hasty adjustment.

The four friends cautiously stepped out from the cover of the trees.

Faedra's smile lit up her face as Faen raced towards her.  He scooped her up and twirled her around. “Thank Kernunnos, you are safe,” Faen said.  When he had placed her back on the ground again, he looked up at the erchyll. “Do I even want to know?”

“Meet Alyssa's new friend,” Faedra replied.  “Hey, Alyssa.  I guess you're going to have to name him now.  He seems fairly attached to you.”  Faedra chuckled as the erchyll nudged the young Lightbender under the arm, asking to be petted.

Alyssa obliged and put her hands either side of its bony head.  “Hmm, what are we going to call you?” she whispered to it.  The creature took a step forward and rested its head against her chest.

“Aw, I think he likes you,” Faedra said with a giggle.

Etyran walked over to Alyssa, exhibiting only a slight limp now.  His accelerated healing was doing its job.  He put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face him.  “Todmus told me what you did for me back at the castle,” he said, pushing a golden lock of hair back from her face.  “Thank you.”

Alyssa smiled.

“We should get under cover,” Faen directed, looking up at the sky.  “What about that thing?” he asked Alyssa.  “Do you think it will follow us into the forest so it cannot be seen?”

Alyssa contemplated the question. “There's only one way to find out.”  She turned to ask the creature, but something else grabbed her attention, causing her to look down at her hand.

Etyran had laced his fingers through hers.  The feel of him there sent tingles up her arm.  She looked up at the strapping man and smiled.  It felt right, him being beside her.  It felt good.  To the other side of her stood the erchyll.  She placed her other hand on its neck.  “What about you?” she asked. “Are you coming with us?”

The group stepped towards the forest.  Alyssa's new ‘friend’ stayed by her side, squeezing his hulking body between the trees.

“I guess that answers your question,” Etyran said.

The six friends wandered in relative silence along most of the trail that led back to the cave.  Aesti was up at the front of the group.  The erchyll had fallen in at the back behind Alyssa and Etyran.  Every now and then, Aesti would crane his neck around, flatten his ears back and make evil faces at the erchyll.

“Doesn't look like those two are going to get along any time soon,” Faedra commented on the winged horse's behavior.

Faen smiled at her comment. “Looks like we're getting close to the cave,” he said.   “I hope Todmus can figure out a way to swap Allora and Vivianna back.”

“Me, too.”

***

Faedra was relieved to see Skylar and Jocelyn playing on the floor in front of Vivianna when they walked into the cave.  Vivianna looked up as the group entered.  Her face a mask of politeness, until she saw who was walking in behind Faedra and Faen.

A split second look of surprise superseded the one of malice that took over in an instant.

“Skylar.  Come to Mama,” Vivianna spoke softly to the child.

Skylar looked up at her mother.  “But, Mama, Jocelyn and I have nearly finished this game,” the little girl protested.

“Do as I say,” Vivianna's tone was firmer this time.

“Aw, Mama,” Skylar said, as she pushed herself up from the floor reluctantly and walked towards her mother's open arms.

Jocelyn looked up from their game and frowned.  She noticed the other woman's attention was fixed on the entrance to the cave and turned her gaze to follow.  Jocelyn's eyes widened as she saw her friends.  Walking in with them were Todmus, Vivianna, who was actually Allora, and Alyssa.

Several of the other ovates who were mingling in the communal area of their hideout also looked up when noticing the new arrivals to the cave.

Then all hell broke loose.

“Daddy!” Skylar cried out when she noticed her father among the group entering the cave.

Vivianna tightened her grip on the squirming child as she tried to run to her father.

Skylar looked up at her mother's strained expression and wrinkled her brows.  “Mama, it's Daddy!  Look!”  She squirmed even more, trying to get out from Vivianna's grip so she could run to greet her long lost father.

“I'm well aware of who it is, you little brat,” Vivianna spat.  Her demeanor changing by the second.

“Let Skylar go, Vivianna,” Faedra demanded.  “The game’s up.  We know all about your little plan with Arawn.

Vivianna replied with a sleek raise of an eyebrow.

“Mama?” Skylar whimpered.  “You're hurting me.”

“Allora broke from the group, her hand to her mouth.  “Please.  Don't hurt my baby,” she implored.

“Don't come any closer,” Vivianna said, standing up and drawing Skylar nearer to her.

Everyone in the group stopped in their tracks.

“You, too,” Vivianna gestured with her head to Jocelyn.  “You go and join them.  Slowly now.  Don't make any sudden moves.  I wouldn't want my hand to accidentally tighten around such a fragile neck.”

Jocelyn eased herself up off the floor and looked at the now terrified Skylar caught in a vice like grip around the throat.  She stepped backwards towards her group of friends, keeping her eyes on the little girl all the time.  “It will be all right Skylar.  We will not let anyone hurt you.”

“It's no use, Vivianna,” Faedra said.  “You've got nowhere to go.  There's only one way in and out of this place, and we have that covered.”

“You really think Arawn would send me in here without an escape route?” Vivianna's voice was silky smooth as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial.

“I said, let the girl go,” Faedra repeated, summoning two purple sparking orbs.

Vivianna sneered. “You really think you have enough control to use those without hurting the kid?”

Faedra chewed on her bottom lip.  No, she wasn't sure she did have the control.  She wasn't sure of anything anymore, and she couldn't risk hurting Skylar just to get to her half-sister.  She knew full well there would be no point in Vivianna hurting the girl.  At the moment, she was her only bargaining chip and she wasn't about to ruin her only bargaining chip.  Faedra could sense it without a doubt.  As much as she hated the thought, Skylar would be safe enough until Vivianna and Arawn no longer needed her, and they'd need her to get to Todmus.  She let her orbs fizzle out.

“Didn't think so,” Vivianna sneered.  “Arawn just wants the dwarf.  You know where to find us.” She smashed the vial on the floor and disappeared behind a cloud of white smoke.

CHAPTER THIRTY

The group surged forward to the spot that Vivianna and Skylar had just occupied.  Faedra ran her hands through the smoky air then slumped onto the seat that Vivianna had been using, letting her head hang with disappointment.

Jocelyn was trying to comfort a distraught Allora on the opposite bench, even though Faedra could sense the young fairy's emotions were confused.  Once again, it was a battle between knowing it wasn't Vivianna but seeing Vivianna's body.

Faen sat down next to his charge on the bench.  He put his arm around her shoulders “She did it again, Faen.  She's always one step ahead of us.”

Todmus walked over and stood in front of his two friends, his hands fisted and resting on his hips.  Faen and Faedra looked up at him.

“I'm sorry, Todmus,” Faedra said.  “I couldn't risk it, I may have hurt Skylar.  I'd never forgive myself if I did.”

Todmus gave her a doleful smile.  “This is not your battle, miss.  This day has been coming for a long time.”

“Got any plans?” Faedra asked.

Todmus sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “My plan was to enter the castle, paralyze Arawn long enough for me to free my wife and child, and escape back to Azran.  We all know how that worked out.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Carina asked.  The ovate had joined them after hearing the commotion going on in the cave.

Faedra shrugged her shoulders, feeling totally helpless.

“What are we going to do?” Allora sobbed in Jocelyn's arms.  “If Todmus goes to the castle, Arawn will surely kill him.  If he doesn't go, I dread to think what he will do to Skylar.”  She put her head in her hands, overwrought with emotion.  So much so, Faedra was having a hard time breathing around it.

Todmus turned to stand in front of his wife.  He took her tear-soaked face in his hands.  “I will get our daughter back, my love.  Of that, you have my promise.”

Faedra studied the face across from her.  Her cheeks were tear-stained and her nose was bright red, but it was her red-rimmed eyes full of anguish that were the saddest things to see.  In that moment, Faedra no longer saw Vivianna, but the gentle soul that lay within her half-sister's body.  A beautiful, generous and kindhearted spirit.  She sensed that's what Todmus saw now, too.  The love and concern for his wife flowed with every beat of his heart.  He leaned forward and kissed her.  A soft, loving kiss.

Faedra leaned her head on Faen's shoulder and released a pent up breath as Allora's anguish evaporated into her husband's kiss.

With love, all things are possible, she thought.  It's just that right now, some things seemed more possible than others.  “How on earth are we going to get into the castle and get Skylar out?” Faedra mused, not realizing she was speaking her thoughts out loud. “Arawn will be waiting for us, so we've lost the element of surprise there.”

Everyone turned to look at her.

“Maybe not,” Alyssa piped up. Her energy changing to excitement.  “We could use Todmus's secret passageway.”

“You have a secret passageway?” Faedra asked, straightening up.  “Why didn't you say so?”

“Had a secret passageway.  It's not my castle anymore,” Todmus replied.

“Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we?” Faedra quipped.

“No,” Todmus said, looking at the group with a grave expression.  “I will not have any of you risk your life for me.”

Faedra raised her eyebrows and shot him an incredulous look.  Faen coughed; not very subtly either.  Alyssa, Etyran, and Jocelyn all crossed their arms over their chests in one smooth, synchronized motion, nailing him with a gaze full of attitude.

“I think that gives you an answer to that statement,” Faedra said.  “So, does Arawn know about this secret passageway?”

“No, he doesn't,” Alyssa butted in just as Todmus took a breath to answer.  “That's how we escaped earlier on.  He was just on the other side of the wall and didn't even know we were right there just a few feet from him.  It was so cool.”

Faedra smiled at the young Lightbender's enthusiasm.

“So, Todmus.  Tell us more about this secret passageway,” Faedra said.

***

“Do we have much further to go, Todmus?” Faedra asked, trying to sound as unruffled as possible.  She didn't want the others to know she was holding onto her poise by the skin of her teeth.  Even with all the powers she possessed, not one of them was able to dispel her fear of the dark.  She was having a hard job believing that at this point, but right now, being cramped in a tiny dark tunnel with six other people, her insides felt like a powder keg waiting to blow.

“It is just up ahead, miss.  Not much further,” Todmus answered.

All around her were intense feelings of anxiety, fear, excitement and maybe even a little hope.  Then from nowhere came a sensation that did not ring true to their situation.  One of self-satisfied cockiness.  Faedra looked around at her friends, their faces illuminated by the flickering glow of the torches carried by Todmus up front, and Etyran at the back.  Everyone's expression matched the emotions swirling in the stifling air within the tunnel.

“Here we are,” Todmus said as he came to a halt.

Faedra felt the sensation of arrogant self-importance grow with every heartbeat.

“Something's wrong,” she mumbled, trying to make sense of the energy pummeling at her.

Todmus rested his hand on the brick that would open the secret entrance to the kitchen.  Faedra grabbed it, which earned her a questioning look from her little friend and anxious glances from the rest of the group.

“Miss?” Todmus said.

Faedra raised a finger to her lips, silencing everyone.  “Something is very wrong,” she whispered, her eyes darting about the tunnel as if she could see something no one else could. She turned to Etyran who was standing at the back of the group.  “Etyran, back up.  We need to get out of here.”

Everyone turned.  Etyran did an about-face to lead the group back out of the tunnel.  He only got a few paces.

“Err, Faedra, we have a bit of a problem back here.”

Light spilled into the tunnel as the wall behind them opened, its grating noise sent shivers down Faedra's spine.  The group turned back towards the light.

“Leaving so soon?” a malevolent voice asked.  “But the party's only just getting started.  You must stay.  I insist.”  Arawn bent down in front of the opening, looking like a giant in his full-size stature.

The group started to jostle towards the kitchen.  They didn't have much choice.  The guards who were now bringing up the rear saw to that.

Todmus and Faedra spilled out of the opening first, expanding to full size as soon as they entered the kitchen. Faen and Allora followed, then Jocelyn, Alyssa and Etyran.  Behind them, were at least half a dozen of Arawn's guards.

“Not so secret, after all, then?” Faedra quipped, finding it hard to keep Savu's sarcasm at bay.

Todmus cast his gaze to the ground.

“She didn't mean it, my friend,” Faen reassured him.

“Oh, didn't I?” Faedra snapped, her eyes flashing with anger. She stepped towards her Guardian and prodded him in the chest with her finger.  “Don't dare to tell me what I did or didn't mean!”

Faen took a step back from the Custodian, his eyes wide with surprise.  The other five gave each other sideways glances at Faedra's outburst.

“Faedra?” Faen said, searching in her eyes for some explanation.

“Oh, don't ‘Faedra’ me,” she jibed. “Faedra isn't here right now.”

Faen kept his eyes on his charge, his expression unreadable. The rest of the group turned to each other, mumbling between themselves.

“Faedra, you have to fight him,” Faen said, reaching a hand to her face.

She batted Faen's hand away and shot him a contemptuous glare.  “Faedra is sick to death of playing Miss Goody, I'm-going-to-save-the-realm, Two Shoes.  She wants to have a little fun.”  She looked over at Arawn who was viewing the unfolding scene with amusement.  “What say you, Mr. Arrogant?  Want to take on an apprentice?”

Arawn crossed his arms over his chest and rested his chin on a fist, cogitating over Faedra's surprising request with the raising of a sleek eyebrow.  No doubt wondering if this wasn't just a ruse to distract him from the task at hand.

“There you are,” Vivianna said, bursting through the entrance to the kitchen, tugging little Skylar roughly by the wrist.  “I wondered what was taking you so...long.”  She hesitated when she saw the looks on everyone's faces.  Something strange was happening and she looked disgruntled by the fact that she didn't yet know what it was.  “Is there something I should be aware of?” Vivianna asked Arawn.

“Mama!” Skylar cried when she spotted her mother in the crowd.

Vivianna tugged her closer.  “Quiet, you little brat!”

“Dearest Sister,” Faedra cooed, stepping away from her group with open arms towards Vivianna. “So nice of you to join us.”

Vivianna shot the Custodian an incredulous, if somewhat wary, look.  When it seemed like Faedra was going to continue until she was close enough for a hug, the confused woman backed up a few paces and put out her hand.

“What?  No hug for your sister?” Faedra mocked. “Come now, after all we've been through together, surely we should give each other a hug.”

Vivianna cast a questioning glance towards Arawn and received a shrug in return.

“No?  Oh, well, can't blame a girl for trying.”  She leaned down and squeezed Skylar's chubby cheek between thumb and forefinger and gave it a little wiggle. “Aren't you just a little cutie?”  She straightened and turned.  “Well, let's get this show on the road, shall we?” she said to Arawn, then examined her fingernails. “I'm already getting bored.”

“Faedra, what are you doing?” Jocelyn asked, tears welling in her eyes.

Faedra put her hand up to silence the young fairy.  “Shut up, Jocelyn.”

“This isn't you.  You have to fight...”

Faedra swished her hand and Jocelyn's mouth slammed shut.  Jocelyn's eyes widened as she put her hands up to her lips, unable to open her mouth or speak.

“Now, you can't say I didn't warn you,” Faedra said with a nonchalant air, then laughed at her own pun.

Faen and Etyran took a step forward.

Faedra barked out a conceited chuckle. “Really, boys?  You think that's wise?”

Faen and Etyran looked at each other then back at the Custodian, who was now holding two fiery orbs.  Both blew out a long, slow sigh before taking a step back.

Faedra's mouth curved with a sly grin.  She closed her hands on the orbs and then shook them out.  “So, I'm sure you don't want to be conducting your business in the kitchen,” she said to Arawn.  “This is, after all, where your food is prepared and I can see things getting a little messy, and that would be, well, just a tad icky, if you know what I mean.”

Arawn gave the Custodian another thoughtful look.  “Bring them up to the hall,” Arawn instructed his guards.  He marched out of the kitchen followed by Vivianna and Skylar.  Faedra kept in step with Vivianna on the other side of the little girl she was dragging along with her.

Arawn's guards gave Etyran and Faen a shove from behind forcing the group to fall in behind Arawn and the others.

“What are you playing at?” Vivianna hissed at Faedra as they marched up the steps behind Arawn.

“Vivianna, darling.  It's me, Savu.  I knew the little wretch couldn't keep me under her control for long; I was just biding my time until she was too distracted to fight me.  Turns out she's scared of the dark. Ha!”

Vivianna narrowed her eyes at Faedra.

Faedra raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Believe me.  Don't believe me.  I really don't care.  I have much bigger fish to fry, as you will soon find out.”

Faedra strode out in front of Vivianna as Arawn entered the hall of his castle.

Vivianna hastened her steps to catch up. “What do you mean you have bigger fish to fry...?” She looked down at Skylar who was starting to cry.  “Stop your sniveling!  You are trying my last nerve.” Vivianna jerked sharply on Skylar's wrist again, causing the little girl to yelp in pain.

“Oh, for God's sake, quit your bitching, Vivianna,” Faedra snapped.  “If you can't handle the child, give her to me.” She took hold of Vivianna's hand and wrenched it from Skylar's wrist just as they filed into hall.

“Hey!” Vivianna cried. She glared at Faedra but picked up her pace to follow Arawn to his dais where an ornately carved chair was placed.

Arawn stepped up onto the dais.  He turned, sweeping his robes to one side with a graceful swish of his hand before seating himself.  Vivianna stepped up onto the dais and stood to one side of him.

Faedra cast an indifferent glance at the others who were entering the hall and getting herded into a group by Arawn's guards.

“Faedra, come and join us,” Arawn invited, his arms open.

Faedra took a step towards Arawn, with Skylar in tow.  The little girl cast a frightened look to her mother, who whimpered in response.

“Faedra, I beg you, fight him.  You cannot let him win!” Faen implored.

Faedra eye's flashed with anger and she drew in a breath.  She looked up at Arawn who seemed pleased by her reaction.  Then she turned and glared at Faen.  Jocelyn and Alyssa gasped at the light flickering in the Custodian's eyes.  Faedra stomped towards them dragging Skylar with her.  When she got to the group they took an involuntary step back.  Faedra and Faen locked gazes, his eyes widened a second later when she winked at him.  Etyran, who was standing beside him, saw it too.

In the next second Faedra turned to Allora and Todmus and handed Skylar to them.  “I believe she belongs to you.”

Allora exchanged a silent ‘thank you’ with the Custodian, then dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the little girl.

In the blink of an eye, Etyran and Alyssa disappeared and guards started dropping one by one.  Jocelyn conjured her sword and joined the foray.

Faedra turned just in time to deflect a couple of fireballs thrown at them by Arawn who was now standing and glaring at them with murderous intent.

“I knew she couldn't be trusted!” Vivianna screamed at Arawn.  She was inching her way behind Arawn's chair realizing she had no powers in Allora's body.

Arawn stepped down from his platform and started towards Faedra.  Faen drew his sword and stepped in front of his charge.

“No!” Faedra cried, knowing the sorcerer's strength was too much for her Guardian, but it was too late.  Arawn had already disarmed Faen, sending his sword flying across the room with a flick of his hand.  Faen took his attention off the sorcerer for a split second as he watched his sword being thrown across the room.  When he looked back, Arawn had his hand raised and a bolt of electricity shot straight through Faen’s heart.  The Guardian inhaled a ragged breath as he stumbled backwards.  A second later Faen dropped to the floor like a rock.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Vaguely, Faedra heard running footsteps getting quieter behind her.  The remaining guards that her friends hadn't disabled were running from the room in defeat.

Faedra dropped to her knees beside the man she loved.

Arawn took another step forward, armed with something else from his powerful arsenal.  Faedra didn't even look up at him.  Somehow she knew to let her body take over.  She channeled all her fear of what may have happened to Faen at the tyrant sorcerer.  He was knocked off his feet with the force of what she threw at him.

Faen lay unmoving as she tentatively placed her fingers on his neck.  She rested them over his carotid.  Behind her, their friends had gathered around the two of them.  Breaths held, waiting.

A sob broke from the Custodian as she hung her head.  Her fears were confirmed, her Guardian's pulse was gone.  He was dead and it was all her fault.  Why couldn't she have given him some kind of warning of her hare-brained idea before she implemented it?  Trying to make Arawn think Savu had turned her seemed a good idea at the time.    She was just trying to buy them a little more time so she could think of a way to get her hands on Skylar before Arawn hurt her.  Now that he had Todmus in his grasp, he had no more use for the child.  It was spontaneous and reckless, and it had gotten the person she loved, more than anything in the world, killed.  How was she going to live without him?  That was simple, she couldn't.  So, she realized, it didn't matter if she lived or died.

She looked up and had the strange sensation that everything around her was happening as if she was inside a goldfish bowl looking out.  She watched Arawn getting back to his feet.  She heard Etyran telling Todmus and Allora to take Skylar and get out as quickly as they could.  She saw Vivianna creeping out from behind the other side of the chair, eying the doorway.  She felt Savu's power build inside her before she unleashed every bit of it on the castle, as a whole.  She would bring this place down on Arawn's head.  She would not leave a stone standing of the place in which her loved one had been killed.

The control Faedra had on her power was surreal.  All this time she'd been fighting it, but now that she let it go, the power seemed to know instinctively what it had to do to fulfill her request.  Is this how easy it could have been the whole time she was fighting with it?

Arawn summoned a couple more fireballs.  He looked down at the dead fairy lying beside her, then returned his gaze to her.  The corner of his mouth curled up.  Faedra didn't take her eyes off the tyrant, her expression neutral.

In that moment the floor started to shake, challenging Arawn's balance.  The sorcerer looked around himself, the smug smile falling from his face.  A chandelier crashed to the ground a foot from where he stood, and his balls of fire fizzled as he covered his head with his arms and shot the Custodian a bewildered look.

The columns on either side of the dais collapsed in a pile of blocks and rubble.  Vivianna screamed and ran for the door, narrowly avoiding being crushed.  Faedra tracked her movements through the room. As she reached the door, her half-sister jerked awkwardly as if being grabbed from behind, then her hands moved to behind her back and stayed in place at the base of her spine.  Faedra did a cursory glance of her friends only to find Alyssa missing.

When Faedra turned back, Arawn was heading towards a door on the other side of the hall. Faedra looked up and the ceiling collapsed in on him before he got a step further, spilling tons of wood and rubble onto the floor.

Etyran leaned down in front of Faedra and scooped Faen off the floor.  His limp body hung from the Lightbender's strong arms like a wet rag.  A section of ceiling above the dais collapsed and sent rubble and dust flying towards the four still left in the hall.  Etyran turned and Jocelyn brought her arms up to protect her face as the sharp fragments of rock flew at them like shrapnel.  Faedra raised her hand; all the shards stopped a few inches short of them, floated in mid-air for a moment, and then fell to the floor.

Jocelyn grabbed her friend by the arm.  “We have to get out of here,” she cried as she hauled an unresponsive Custodian off the floor and dragged her towards the door just as the walls started caving in around them.

Faedra kept her eyes trained on the destruction in front of her, trusting her young fairy friend to guide her out of the castle.  Not that she cared if she made it out or not, but she didn't want to see any of her remaining friends hurt, and to guarantee that, she had to go with them.

As they moved through the castle, Faedra reduced each room to rubble behind them.

After what seemed like an eternity, Etyran burst through the castle gates, with Jocelyn dragging the Custodian close behind him.  Todmus was waiting with his family just outside the gates.  Alyssa was holding Vivianna in a vice grip next to the dwarf.  Etyran staggered for a few paces before laying his best friend down in the soft grass.

The group turned to look as the last remaining wall of the once impressive castle was reduced to rubble, sending a plume of dust into the sky.  Faedra ignored it as she kneeled beside her Guardian.  His face looked calm, like he was sleeping.  She leaned over and moved a lock of hair from his forehead with her finger, she then let her hand trail down the side of his face until it came to rest on his cheek.

There was a hitch in her breath before the tears came, attracting the attention of her friends and one enemy.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered to Faen before placing a delicate kiss to his lips. “You will hold my heart always.”  She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest, the emptiness of it without a heartbeat tearing her own heart in two.  Tears ran down her cheeks and soaked into his tunic.

Jocelyn, who was standing next to Etyran, leaned into the Lightbender.  He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head as she sobbed into his chest, her own tears for her brother flowing freely now.  Etyran cast his sad gaze over to Alyssa who was still holding tight to Vivianna.  An expression of commiseration shrouding his new friend's features.

Todmus cleared his throat.  He leaned over and placed his hand on Faedra's shoulder.  She opened her eyes, sensing the hope in the little man's energy.  “What is it, Todmus?”  She pushed herself up into a kneeling position; her eyes level with the dwarf's.

“I believe you have the power to save Mr. Faen.”

Faedra gave him a weak smile. “Todmus, he's already gone.  Unless Savu has the power to breathe life into the dead then I'm afraid there's nothing we can do.” Her voice cracked with her words.

Todmus smiled.  “If what I have read is correct, miss, Savu did have the power to give life.  It's just that he always found it more amusing to take it away.”

Faedra held Todmus by the shoulders and searched his eyes.  “How, Todmus?  Do you know how?”

“Well, miss, as far as I've read in the texts, dark energy takes life.  So, it would stand to reason that light energy should give it.”

Faedra stared at the dwarf for a long moment.  Energy she understood.  She was, after all, an energy manipulator, but she'd not yet had to differentiate her energy between light and dark.  It was easy enough to equate dark energy with bad stuff and light energy with good, but when it came to bringing someone back from the dead, that was something altogether outside of her realm of comprehension.

She gave Todmus a weak smile and turned back to her Guardian.  Where did she even begin?  Her eyes closed on a heavy sigh and she laid her palms to Faen's chest.  It was dark behind her eyelids; she was hoping when she closed them something in her mind would present her with a solution.  She took a calming breath and relaxed, giving herself up to Savu's power as she had done moments earlier in the castle.   Only this time, she wasn't seeking to destroy, but to create.  Her power seemed to know what to do back then, maybe it would in this situation, also.

A moment ticked by but still she was secluded in her own darkness. Just as she was about to open her eyes in defeat, she saw something.  A pin prick of light in the distance, coming from the darkest recesses of her mind.  Gradually, it got closer and closer, lighting up the darkness as it approached.  When it reached her, the force of it took her by surprise.  She could feel the warmth of it flowing all around her, reaching out to the man she loved, also.  It felt like they were being wrapped in her favorite soft blanket. A love and light so powerful it flowed through every vein, chased away every shadow, and took her breath away.  If this was what light energy felt like, she never wanted to experience dark energy again for as long as she lived. Then she felt something under her fingertips, a heartbeat. Then another… and another.

Faedra opened her eyes.  For a split second, she looked down at herself and was taken aback to see that she was glowing; not just her eyes this time, but her whole body was glowing a beautiful soft white.  Where her hands touched Faen, the light radiated out across his chest and drenched his whole body in the same ethereal light.

She studied Faen's face.  It was calm, sleeping.  Faedra brought a hand to her mouth when she saw Faen's lips part just a fraction as he took a breath, then another.  Tears pricked her eyes, eyes that were drawn upwards for a second by the sound of soft gasps all around her.  Her friends were standing in a circle around them, looking down in astonishment at the miracle taking place under her hands.

Jocelyn's tears still flowed, but Faedra could sense they were tears of happiness this time.  Faedra returned her gaze to the man who still lay unmoving on the ground.

“Come on, Faen,” Faedra whispered.  “Come back to me.”  She let her fingertips trail down the side of his face, leaving wisps of light in their wake.

Faen's eyes moved under their lids.  Slowly they opened. He blinked a few times before focusing on the one who had brought him back.

“You're alive!” Faedra cried.

“You're glowing,” Faen said in a hoarse whisper.

Faedra choked on a laugh, her face lighting up with joy, making her glow even brighter. “I know.  Isn't it incredible?”

Faedra flung her arms around her Guardian as he pushed himself up to sit.  “Oh, Faen.  I'm so sorry,” she sobbed. “I should have told you what I was planning.  My stupid plan nearly got you killed. Actually, it did get you killed. Oh, God.  I'm so sorry.”

Faen took hold of Faedra's shoulders and pushed her back until he could look into her eyes.  She turned her head, too ashamed to look him in the eye. He coaxed her face towards him with his fingers.

“Look at me,” Faen whispered.

Faedra did as he asked and raised her tear-soaked eyes to meet his soft gaze.  The light around them now was dissipating like the sun burning through a morning mist.

Faen did a quick glance around at the people encircling them, smiling as he did an inventory of bodies.  “It looks to me like you got everyone out of there alive.  I would call your plan a success.”

“I nearly lost you.”

“But you brought me back,” he said with a smile. “And discovered that Savu's powers can be used for good instead of bad.”

Faedra threw her arms around him again and buried her head in his neck.  Faen reciprocated, wrapping his arms around his Custodian; he held her tight.  Unfortunately, the moment didn't last long.

“Whoa, what's going on?” The startled cry from Alyssa had everyone turning their attention towards her and Vivianna.  The body Vivianna was occupying now lay motionless on the floor in front of the young Lightbender.  Alyssa held her hands up to the onlookers, most of whom were scrunching there eyebrows in question.

“I swear I didn't do anything.  She just went limp and I wasn't expecting it, so I couldn't keep hold of her before she hit the ground.” Alyssa explained.

There was another thud.  Everyone's attention turned back to see Allora had also collapsed beside Todmus.  Faen and Faedra released each other and looked from one unconscious form to the other.

Todmus leaned over the body Allora was occupying and gave it a cursory once over before standing up and shooting a knowing smile at the group.  “I suggest someone take hold of this one before she wakes,” he said, looking at Etyran with an air of expectation.

“Todmus, what is happening?” Faedra asked.

“Arawn's life energy just expired.”

Faedra answered his reply with a bemused expression.

“When a sorcerer's life energy expires, so, too, does his magic.  Vivianna and Allora will awake in their own bodies.”

Faedra smiled.

“You killed Arawn?” Faen asked.

The circle of friends, who had been standing over the pair, effectively blocking Faen's view of the castle, parted to either side.

Faen's eyes grew wide when they fell on the pile of rubble that occupied the space that was once a castle.

“Oh, my! You were busy.”

Faedra smiled and kissed him on the cheek.  “Let's just say I got a little angry when he killed my boyfriend.”  Then she turned back to Todmus, and with a sheepish grin said, “Sorry, I wrecked your house, Todmus.”

Todmus gave a dismissive wave.  “With a power like yours, miss, I dare say you will help us rebuild it.”

Faedra's grin widened.

There was a groan from the body on the floor, which procured a quick response from Etyran.  He leaned down and grabbed Vivianna's hands, holding them behind her back before she had a chance to fully awaken.  A moment later he was hauling her off the floor to stand in front of him.  She looked behind her and gave him a glare of pure malice.

“Unhand me you wretched oaf,” she spat.

“That's not what you said last time we were together,” Etyran said with twinkle in his eye.  “As I recall, unhanding you was the last thing on your mind.”

Vivianna gasped.  “How dare you?”

“Oh, I dare, Princess.  Just try me.” Etyran glared back at her and tightened the grip around her wrists.  “In fact, I dare to throw you in a dungeon where no one will ever lay eyes on you again.”

Vivianna looked affronted but said no more.

Another groan a few steps away garnered a different response from the group.

“Todmus?” A small voice murmured.

Todmus ran over to his wife and helped her off the ground.  “Allora, my love,” he said, cupping her face in his hands.  “I have my beautiful wife back.”  He pulled back from her slightly, soaking in her features before throwing his arms around her and hugging her to within an inch of her life.

Skylar stood behind her daddy and peeked out from behind his trouser leg.  “Mama, is it really you this time?” she asked.

Allora let go of her husband and scooped her daughter from the ground and swung her around.

“Yes, darling.  It is really me.”

Todmus put his arms around his wife and child and turned and addressed the group. “Thank you.  Because of you, I have my family back, and my home.”

“So, I guess that means you won't be coming back to Azran?” Faedra asked.

“No, I'm afraid not.  This is my home, my kingdom.  My people need me; we have a lot of rebuilding to do.”

Faedra addressed the rest of the group.  “I guess that means we're stuck with Mr. Grumpy Britches as our ‘people greeter’.”

Jocelyn, Etyran and Alyssa wrinkled their brows.

“Oh, that's right.  You haven't had that pleasure, yet.” Faedra looked up at Faen and grinned.  “They are in for such a treat, aren't they?”

Faen shook his head and laughed.

“Well, evil half-sister of mine, let's get you back to your nice cozy dungeon, shall we?  And no mirrors this time.”

Vivianna scowled.

Faedra pulled the cypher wheel from its pouch and handed it to Todmus.  “Do you know a more direct route to Azran?  I really don't think the guide at Dragon Hall could handle any more people materializing from his treasure chest.”

Todmus smiled and took the device from the Custodian.  He busied himself with the dials on the wheel before handing it back to Faedra.

She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.  “Thanks, Todmus.  We'll be back to visit soon. I owe you a castle.”

Todmus lay his palm on her cheek.  “You will always be welcome in Drofoz, miss.”

Faedra stood and joined her group of friends.  “Okay, everyone ready?”  She felt several hands grab onto her clothing.  “Let's go home then, shall we?  I have a wedding to plan.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It takes a lot of people to bring a book to life and mine is no different.  With that in mind I am going to mention each and every one of the wonderfully supportive network of people who helped me.  So, if you are sitting comfortably, I shall begin.

The inspiration for this book came from Frank Phelps, creator of the real Cypher Wheel. Find out more about it at www.cypherwheel.com

My wonderful beta-readers (in alpha order). Alyssa, Andi, Carina, David, and Jos.  Your feedback and ideas helped me mold and shape the story into what it is today.

Marisa Wagner, my awesome editor.  Your attention to detail is amazing. You took my words and made them sing.

The following people who took me on private tours when researching this book:  Joan Smith and Maureen Eastman at The Great Hospital, Norwich, England.  Jo Archer from Norwich Heritage who showed me around The Guildhall, Norwich.  Richard Matthew – tour guide at Dragon Hall, Norwich.

And last, but by no means least, my soul mate.  Your never ending love and support knows no bounds.  I love you.

Thank you to you all.

In Memory

Gypsy

1989-2012

About the Author

Alison Pensy was born and raised in England.  She grew up near a medieval city, which is where much of the inspiration for her books comes from.  Moving to the States in 2001, she eventually settled near a small town in mid Missouri with her menagerie of animals.

Alison also runs her own tax and accounting business and started writing when she became so fed up with the real world, she decided to create her own.

Please visit her website at www.alisonpensy.com.  She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to leave comments or ask questions.