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Perhaps a year later, the day dawned like any thousand others: the red anger of the summer sun burned fiercely upon the scattered clouds.  The terrible storm that had swept through the city with its sudden downpour and pounding thunder the night before was quickly disappearing.  The city streets were filled with deep puddles and the commonfolk slowly wound their ways around them as they began to emerge from their homes.
         I stood upon the roof of a smithy, my face blackened by the thick smoke that erupted from the chimney in a slowly-rising pillar.  The night before had been one of much violence.  The smith, whose residence rested quietly below my feet, had been quite delinquent in his payments on a debt incurred many months ago.  So we had given his a family a slight reminder.  The man's head rested now upon the table in his kitchen and his bloody body lay quietly in bed with his still-sleeping wife.  The man had given my two partners and I a good fight just less than an hour before.  Dark blotches of both his blood and mine were spattered on my clothing, and my left arm was deeply bruised.
         I waited only a few more moments in silence, knowing just when the rising sun would strike the window of the smith's bedroom.  The woman's shrill scream streaked through the damp morning air like a piercing thunderclap and a slight, twisted smile moved my lips.
         In the next breath I was whisking lightly across the rooftops of the awakening city.  The thick morning air filled my lungs as the woman's screams and ravings faded into the distance.  As I ran, I thought that I really had come to enjoy these sort of jobs.
         I was beginning to develop routes in my arrogance and rising power.  No one would dare to oppose me in the Great Citadel anymore, not even Jack - though I knew that he could still defeat me in any situation.  Upon my usual route, which took me close by the Eastern Gate, I noticed a few of my pitiful colleagues.  I had to shake my head as I watched a pack of thieves chasing a single man.
         I paused to watch this spectacle: nearly a dozen haggard and wild thieves chasing a single well-dressed and muscular man like a pack of hungry dogs after the fox.  I was going to enjoy watching this noble make a fool out of my colleagues.
         The movement of two figures in tattered and well-traveled clothing further down the street caught my eye.  They were commonfolk at first glance, but a closer look revealed they had daggers, and the sturdy look that was only carried by adventurers of any experience.  With a raised eyebrow I noticed that they were both elves, their pointed ears just barely emerging from their long hair.  Elves were an uncommon sight even in the masses of Near Capital.  Neither were the two women adventurers at all accustomed to the city.  They looked about them with large and gawking eyes, drinking in the enormity of the Great Citadel.  For a fleeting moment, I allowed myself to remember being struck much the same way only a few short years before.
         Another smile stretched my lips as the noble crashed harshly into this pair of lithe travelers.  The three of them landed upon the ground with a thud, one of the elves splashing into a large puddle that covered nearly half the street.  What a lucky break for my associates, I thought.  These women should be rewarded.  And then it occurred to me that they would more likely be killed by the pack of raving thieves that was swiftly approaching.
 The noble was quickly lifting himself to his feet, a deep scowl aimed at the two elfin women.  He looked over his shoulder, and his scowl deepened as he saw the pack of thieves.  They were too close now to run, and I saw that he knew it.  With a deep sigh, the noble drew his sword and prepared to die with honor.
         What an utter waste, I thought.
         Then, to my great surprise and amusement, something totally unexpected happened.  One of the elves, finally on her feet, made a sharp gesture and said a word that I could hardly understand.  Magic.  In the next moment, a large coating of thick grease covered the ground all around the wizard.  The approaching thieves, easily caught within the radius of the spell, went sprawling in every direction.
         Unfortunately, the same happened to the wizard, her companion, and the noble.  In the next minute, I very nearly burst out laughing hysterically at the feeble, determined, and oft-futile attempts of everyone involved to stand on his, or her, own two feet.  But a few managed to do so: one of the elves, the noble, and a few thieves.  Thoroughly enraged, but still cautious enough to maintain their balance, the thieves lunged at their opponents, flinging themselves upon them.  It seemed like a reasonable-enough attack, considering the circumstances.  One slash would likely be all one would get.
         But despite their rage and sharp steel, these thieves were not good in melee.  The two who lunged at the noble were both easily and swiftly deflected by the man's tall broad sword, and the thief attacking the standing wizard was turned aside and to the ground with the hard butt of a quarter staff.
         I shook my head at the pathetic sight as more tried to stand.  Soon the other elf and most of my colleagues were on their feet.  For a moment, no one moved, trusting neither the others nor his precarious footing.  I found myself holding my breath to see who would make the first mistake: to move.  With a great sigh, I watched as a thief stumbled towards the wizard.  His chest soon bore a dagger wound that, if not fatal, would certainly leave a nasty scar.  Chaos quickly ensued, with anyone making any move too quickly falling to the ground and receiving a swift and painful lesson in proper balance.
         I watched with interest.  The noble was slowly but surely making his way toward the edge of the magical grease, while the two elves seemed to be following him more out of desperation and hazard than plan.  Thieves stood and fell, and stood and feel again, hardly inflicting anything real upon their crafty opponents.  The moment the noble had reached solid footing he turned his heel and fled.  Wise man, I thought.  If any of the thieves had reached solid footing also, he would have been in dire straights to win such a combat.  Most Guild thieves were not very skilled, but they were the fiercest fighters in the city.
         The two elves, however, retreated only to a short distance, warily eyeing their opponents as several thieves scrambled for the edge of the grease.  I smirked to myself and thought that it was certainly unfortunate to be killed on one's first visit to Near Capital, but such is life.  But these two adventurers had more surprises in store.  With a swift wave of her hands and a string of odd-sounding syllables, the second elf caused a large ball of fire to appear at the edge of the pool of grease and roll quietly into it.  The magical substance was just as flammable as the real thing and soon a great inferno rose in the center of the street.  My dozen associates burned within, their screams and wails carried on the slight wind.
         I scowled deeply at the enormous fire.  Flames, especially of this scale, did not bode well with me.  For a few moments I studied the elves as they quickly fled the fight scene.  I wished to remember their faces for when we would meet again - I was quite sure that we would.  Then I turned away and swiftly made my way back the Guild.
         I returned with a rather demonic smirk on my face.  Did I ever have interesting news for the Master.
 

         The Master.  A dark and thoroughly evil man.  Certainly one of the best thieves in the city - he could not have remained alive for so long if he had not been so good at what he did.  But it was definitely his mind that was sharper than his blade and swifter than his hand.  But no matter what skills he possessed, I was better.  And I hated him no less the day I left the Near Capital Thieves' Guild than the day I first met him.  But he commanded an air of respect, and so that much I gave him.
         For only the second time I stood in his visiting chamber.  The large, dark and imposing space seemed not much different than from a year ago, though my sharp eyes did notice the slight wear of time.  The Master sat very stiffly upon his large dark-wood chair, a deep frown sourly contorting his face as I related to him what had happened on the street.
         "The fools!" he cried when I had finished.
         I only nodded.  Before coming here I had learned from others that the noble those filthy rats had been chasing was Samuel Goodblade, the personal guard of Monica Gleamblade.  I don't suppose even that family name means anything anymore after all these centuries.  But then, Richard Gleamblade, Monica's father, was one of the most wealthy and powerful merchants in the kingdom.  Of course, he had many ties with the Guild.  Ties that were tenuous, but ties none the less.  Some thieves, half-drunk in the sitting room of the Guild had related to me that Master Gleamblade had double-crossed us on a deal having something to do with diamonds from Ruûn.  I did not care about the particulars, but the guard's death would have been a powerful reminder of ties and debts.
         Of course, the bungling idiots who had been sent tried to overtake the man on his morning walk.  An assassination in broad daylight, how sophomoric!  Quite easily the guard had seen them and began to flee.  Not shortly after, he had his saving encounter with those two elves.
         The two wizards had been praying on my mind incessantly that morning.  I did not know exactly what it was about them, but somehow I felt that they were important.
         My mind had wandered to cover all these details when I softly brought my attention back to the Master Thief as he nearly raved in his fury.  "Those damned idiots!" he cursed.  "They've bungled everything!"
         I nodded again.  That bodyguard, and the whole Gleamblade household as well, would from now on be more than aware of us and ready for any action we may take.  The message we had intended to convey had been sent, but it had been tainted.  Yes, we had well-reminded Lord Gleamblade of his duties to us, but we had also assured him of our inefficiency.
         For a child of nine, flashes of insight are rare.  But they occur.  My eyes lit up and a smile spread my lips.  "The elves," I said.
         The Master looked at me with bewildered eyes.  "What?"
         "The elves," I said again.  "They were to blame."
         "That's non - "
         "So they should pay for their crime."
         The Master eyes lit up with recognition of my plan.  He smiled, too.  "Bring them here."
 

         It took most of the day for our best men to find those two.  Finding any certain person in the Great Citadel is much like trying to find any certain leaf in the forest.  But finally, there they stood in the Master's visiting chamber.  As I hid in the deep shadows, I took the chance to study them even more closely than I had that morning.  The elf that had cast the first spell I recognized easily: her long, straight, black hair was striking, and faintly reminiscent.  She was tall and very thin, like most of her kind.  The other wizard was slightly shorter, and not quite as almost grotesquely thin.  She could have easily passed for a young human girl had it not been for her pointed ears and pale skin.  Both wore the same travel-weary robes in which I had seen them before, though any weapons had been removed long before they had even approached this room.  Neither did I fear their magic.  The Guild had not a few powerful magicians in its ranks.  It was their task to protect us, and I knew that they did a very good job of it.
         The two elfin women stood in the center of the large chamber, eyes wide with fear, almost terror.  They remained close to the other, somehow drawing a little security from the other's nearness.  They could, of course, have been killed in the blink of an eye by any of the thieves in the chamber.  I wondered if they knew this, or simply sensed it in the way wizards do.
         A disturbing calm settled in the room as the Master sat on his raised chair, leaning forward a bit so that the light from the torches along the walls made eerie shadows on his face.  His words sounded more like a death-sentence than a mere statement: "You killed my men."
         The elves only swallowed hard in the fear.  I almost smiled.
         "You realize, of course," the Master Thief said, "that such a transgression does not pass in my city without its proper punishment."
         A look of total and utter horror formed on the elves' faces.  They were like so much clay in his hands now.
         "I'm not going to kill you, dear ladies."  A look of relief washed over the wizards.  "Though perhaps you will wish that you were dead."  The look of utter horror returned.  The Master stood and walked from his dais to stand before the elves.  He towered above them, the width of his shoulders nearly that of the two women standing side by side.  He looked down at them with a rage that was almost real, though his words were perfectly controlled and commanding in that bitter tone of his.  "It is to you now to kill that noble you saved this morning."
         The women's eyes grew wider, if that was possible.  Finally, the dark-haired one roused the courage to speak.  "And if we don't?"  Simply from that I could tell that she had more courage than most.
         "Then you die," the Master replied.  The statement was made lightly, but it hammered home like a blow.  The two elves cringed.  "Not to worry, dear ladies.  I have someone here who will help you."
         I emerged swiftly from the shadows.  The wizards' gasps told me of their surprise; they had not seen me there, or even sensed my presence.  I stood very stiffly, with an intimidating air.  I let my eyes bore into theirs.
         "He knows his way well around the city," the Master said.  "And he will help you as you need.  But be careful."  An evil smirk twisted his lips.  "He's one of my best."
         "I don't like this at all," the shorter elf said to her companion.
         "You don't have any choice, though," I said, "do you?"      All I received for an answer was silence as they pondered their lack of choice.
         "Good," I said.  "You understand.  Now, come on."  I walked briskly past them to the door.  I heard them hesitate for a moment, and then rush to catch up.  The loud clack of their boots on the stone floor echoed harshly down the corridor as we left the Master's chamber.  I can still hear that exact sound in my mind.
          To me, it is a wonderful noise.
 

         I led them swiftly out of the Guild and the Dark Quarter without a word.  Only a few whispers passed between them.  Dusk was swiftly approaching, and I knew that these two would certainly not last the night within the Dark Quarter, especially with myself as company. I walked before them, not out of trust - I trusted no one - but out of the surety that they would not, and really could not, do anything to harm me.
         We had hardly stepped away from the Wall when the dark-haired elf's courage overtook her again.  "I am not taking another step until you answer me some questions," she said defiantly.
         I stopped, the sound of her boots on the ground still resounding in my ears, and turned around.  She had stopped directly in the middle of the alleyway for everyone to see, and she had crossed her arms.  She frowned at me, quite upset, and waited for my reply.
         Standing the middle of an alleyway, no matter how small or unoccupied, made me uneasy.  I slid to one side of the alley and leaned against the wall.  I crossed my arms, almost mimicking her stance.
         She waited for a few moments, and then finally realized that silence was my reply.  "What's your name?"
         "Does it matter?" I retorted.
         "Maybe it does to us," the shorter one said.
         "It don' to me," I said.  "Now come on, we don' have alotta time."  I started to push myself away from the wall.
         "I have to call you something," the first elf demanded.
         Gods give me strength, I thought.  I had known that these two were going to be naive and inexperienced, and that this little adventure was going test my patience, but I was still not accustomed to it.  I turned to her sharply and said, "They all call me Kid."
         "'Kid'?"
         "Kid."  It was the truth.  Since arriving at the Guild I had refused to reveal my name to anyone.  So the pseudonym had resulted out of the necessity of others to address me in order speak.  Such conversations were usually one-way.  I listened to them, never trying to conceal my contempt, and they spoke incessantly, oblivious of my tremendous impatience.
         "Well, it's good to meet you, Kid," the shorter elf said, "I'm Chantel."
         "While we're on introductions," I said, the bitter sarcasm dripping from my lips as I turned to the other wizard, "who're you?"
         "Kes," she said staunchly.  "Kes of the house of Wycke."
         I nodded.  "Are we done now?"
         I regretted that remark not a moment after making it.  "No," Kes snapped.  "I have more questions."
         I rolled my eyes.  These fools!
         "I know we're supposed to murder some noble..." Kes began.
         "The man you ran into this morning," I said impatiently.
         "But who is he?" Chantel asked.  "And where do we find him?"
         I smirked slightly to myself, seeing that these two clearly had no problem killing someone when their own heads were on the line.  "He's the guard of a noble," I explained, still rather impatient.  "I'll show you where he lives, an' I'll help you with whatever else you're gonna need me for.  Are we finished now?"
          Kes and Chantel looked at each other, and then nodded to me.  It struck me as odd how close these two were.  I could see just from they way the carried themselves and how they spoke that they were very close.  There was a bond between them that I saw as alien, a weakness to someone like myself.  Jack's proverb of "Trust No One" still guided me well.
         I turned with a bit of a huff.  "We gotta do it tonight," I said.  "Any later an' they'll be even more prepared."
         "Who's 'they'?" Chantel asked.
         "House Gleamblade, who else?"  I was becoming quite exasperated with them.  I began to walk down the alley again.  "Now, let's go.  We don' have much time, and it's a ways to the Gleamblade mansion the way we're goin'."
         Not that Kes would have ever given my temper any heed.  "How do you know all this?"
         I stopped, still in the same alley, and whirled around.  With one swift and sliding pace I was standing before Kes.  She was not much taller than I was, and so I took her roughly by the collar.  In the next moment my dagger was at her throat.  "I wanna make somethin' perfectly clear right here and now elf," I growled.  "I know all this 'cause of who I am and what I do.  I'm the best thief in this city.  An' I'm called that 'casue of alotta blood spilled, most of it way more important than yours.  When I say jump, any thief in this city jumps and prays to every god that it's high enough."  I paused and let my gaze burn into hers.  She blinked once, struggling to maintain a passive stare.  "I'm not here 'cause I wanna be.  I don' like working with the peons in the Guild, much less lowly adventurers like you.  Don' even think that I wouldn't kill you.  Is that perfectly clear?"
         Kes swallowed hard, then nodded.  "Perfectly clear."
         "Good," I spat, then released her and sheathed my dagger.  "Now, for the last time, come on.  An' no more questions."
 

         The rest of the relatively short trek was made in silence.  I could tell that occasionally Kes and Chantel would exchange wary glances behind me.  While we traveled swiftly and inconspicuously through streets, the city still bustled with a vibrant and noisy life.  Lanterns were lit and tavern windows glowed to life in the spreading darkness.  I felt the deepening shadows wrap about me like a cloak, and I welcomed them.
         As we traveled, I pondered upon the two women behind me, especially Kes.  She was a strong soul, full of spite and courage and the will that was necessary to survive in my world.  She was a Leila, I thought at last.  And then I understood why her appearance had been reminiscent.  She looked much like Leila: the long, dark hair, ivory white skin, and the silent strength that she carried about her that was quite visible to me.
         In that moment I acquired a new appreciation and even a slight affection for this stranger.  I stopped for a moment, feigning a pause to decide which way to go, and I looked at Kes from the corner of my eye.  She was looking quite intently at me, though she did not notice my sly gaze.  I wondered what she was wondering about me.  Probably everything; most of what I had told her were lies.  I had no real shortness of temper for her or her companion.  In reality, I was quite sure that I'd had total control of this little sortie from the very moment it began.  But something within me just couldn't let anyone know why I had to be with these women.  I don't think I really knew why myself.  I just felt very compelled to meet and be with this elfin wizard.
         How odd, I thought as we began to approach the Gleamblade mansion.  How odd, indeed.
         I turned us into an alleyway, motioning for my two companions to be silent.  In a few minutes we had managed to reach the roof of the dwelling across the street from the Gleamblade mansion.  I instructed Chantel and Kes to watch the mansion carefully, to study the movements of everyone inside and out.  Everything they could learn would be important tonight.  This visit would have had a better chance of success, I realized, if we had had more time to watch the mansion; but time was of the essence tonight.
         While the elves carefully regarded and marked all the bustling within the mansion, I looked more at just the building itself.  It wasn't really a mansion, actually.  It certainly wasn't a great estate like that of a duke, not at all like the palaces that bards would describe in their tales - not that bards were all that trustworthy in their tellings.  No, the Gleamblade mansion was no great estate, but it was certainly the largest thing in the city next to the Guild fortress and the Duke's palace.
         Seeing that they were thoroughly engrossed in their observations, I turned from the elves to watch the slowly-fading sunset.  For some reason, in the kingdom of Stephen sunsets are always more beautiful in the summer.  I watched the clouds glow an angry red while the sun fell below the horizon.  Pinks and oranges and even violets played across the sky like a slow, tortuous dance.  I felt mesmerized.
         "It's just beautiful, isn't it?"
         I quickly shoved down the natural reaction to draw my knife and slay the person behind me.  It was only Kes, I reminded myself.  Dear Kes.  I turned to look at her with dark eyes.  "The sky is burning."
         She gave me a slight smile, and then looked at the dying sunset again.  "Yes, I suppose you could say that.  That's quite poetic, actually.  Pretty good for human."
         "I hate flames," I said, and then walked past her to where Chantel was still carefully studying the mansion.  Good girl, I thought.  Does what she's told.  That wasn't quite right, and I well knew it.  Underneath the quiet exterior, I could see that this woman was just a fierce and strong-willed as her companion.  They made a good team.
         Kes joined us in a moment.  "When?" she asked.
         Spoken just like Leila, I thought.  Straight to the point.
         "Later," I said.  I saw that Kes understood, and I smiled to myself.  Just like Leila.
 

         We waited a few more hours, motionless and silent upon the roof.  It was late in the night now, though clouds blocked most of Luna's children.  I could hardly see the goddess herself that night, but she was still there.  My companions seemed anxious, or perhaps merely uncomfortable in the motionless silence.  From experience I knew that this was quite necessary, and so I had grown accustomed to it.
         Chantel's gaze remained firmly fixed upon the mansion, and she seemed agitated by our lack of action.  She rung her fingers tightly, and constantly placed a tight grip upon the hilt of her dagger.  Kes had drawn her dagger, and was examining it in the thin moonlight.  I stared at the blade for a while when I first saw it: the weapon glowed, seemingly of its own accord.
         Kes noted my gaze.  "Yes," she seemed reluctant to say it, "it's magical.  My mother made it for me."  Then she sheathed it quickly.
         I nodded and returned my attention to the mansion.
         Most of the lights throughout the mansion and even the city had been extinguished by this hour, so I stood in readiness when a candle flame waved ghost-like in the window on the front of the house.  Through the curtained window I could see two figures.  One was lithe and female, most likely Monica.  Which meant... I looked carefully.  Yes, I thought.  Yes, that was most certainly the guard.
         Kes and Chantel stood beside me at my motion.  I would have preferred to find Samuel at some time when he was alone, but perhaps this was for the best.  A witness would do well to remind the Lord Gleamblade.  I thanked the gods that the window was on the ground floor as we swiftly descended to the street.  Climbing up the face of the mansion was something I was sure neither of my companions could do.
         We approached the mansion cautiously, all of my senses ready to detect the slightest presence.  Knowing that seeing out into the dark street would be difficult with the light of candle blazing inside, I walked directly to the window and even touched it with my finger.  I smiled slightly to myself; it was thin and fragile enough.  I checked to see that my companions were ready on either side of the window.  As I raised my foot, I saw the guard look outside.  And then I saw that he saw me - but it was far too late.
         The large window shattered with a brilliant show of flying glass and a sharp scrack.  In a moment I was inside.  But a dark blur moved swiftly past me.  In a moment I recognized the fury of motion as Chantel.  She was furiously attacking Samuel, but to little avail.  Actually, it seemed that he was about to get the best of her.
         I certainly wasn't going to really allow either Kes or Chantel to face this man.  They were fresh adventurers and he was a hardened mercenary - or, at least that was the excuse I gave myself for intervening.
         However wizened and experienced this man was, I was hardened even beyond him, and his reflexes were nowhere near fast enough to parry the swift and fatal blow of my dagger as I plunged past Chantel.  He was dead before his body hit the floor.
         I turned to see Kes standing ready to fight with nothing really to do.  She looked confused and flustered and even a little disappointed.  It was all rather anti-climatic: all that time and preparation finished in a matter of moments.
         Suddenly, the girl started to scream.  Her shrieks grated upon my ears, which I swiftly covered to protect them.  In the next moment I realized the danger she had just put us in.  "Shut her up!" I barked at Kes.
         Kes, finally with something to do, grabbed the young woman by the hair and slammed her face-first into the nearest wall.  I heard Monica's face break with a wet smack, and the she slumped to the floor.
         I nodded my approval.  Gruesome, but effective.
         The sound of people stirring in the floors above and the rooms around reached my ears just before the sharp clack of a Watchman's boots as he ran down the street.
         "Damn it all," I cursed.  "Run!"  I had leapt out the window and turned to Kes and Chantel just to make sure they heard me.  I couldn't let anything happen to them.  "Run, you fools!"  I turned away and sprinted for the nearest alley.  In only a few moments I was a good distance from the Gleamblade mansion and quite safe, though I knew that I had to keep moving.
         But where were Kes and Chantel?  I looked up to the sky to see Luna smiling upon me.  But I felt an odd sensation: a slight apprehension.
 

         The next day I wandered about the streets rather aimlessly.  I really had no place to go.  It was certain that the Master would hear about our success, so there was no point in returning to the Guild.  Neither did I have any pressing engagements or raids to attend to.  So for the entire day I wandered in and out of taverns and back alleys.  I must have covered half the city.  It was mid-afternoon by the time that I realized just what I was doing: I was looking for Kes.
         I stopped in the middle of the street at the moment this realization struck me.  I had never been so intent upon one person on all my life.  Why now?  Kes' striking similarity to Leila provided a clue, I felt.  There was a retribution that, in some way, I felt I owed to the dead.  One that could, of course, only be made to the living.  And a retribution best made to the closest incarnation of Leila that I knew.  Though, something else tugged at my mind, too.  There was more than just a likeness to Leila that and special.  And something told me that I was the ingredient drew me to Kes.  It was a bond that I had trouble explaining.  Within Kes, I sensed there was something... great, required to bring that something to birth.
         In the centuries to come, I would regret this, but with my plans now firmly before and a definite goal in my sight, I set off rather boldly for a future greatness that I knew was lying dormant in the elfin wizard of Kes of the house of Wycke.  I began to scour the city quite intensely.  I must have questioned more than a dozen of my street contacts before I had tracked them down to an inne in the Peasant Quarter.
         It was well past dusk by the time I arrived, and as I peered cautiously inside, I noted that Kes and Chantel had been joined by a man in dark clothing.  He seemed to be rather well built, though his face was very pale, drawn and gaunt.  There was a sharpness in his gaze and his words that revealed he knew far more than he ever spoke.  He was a strong, ready, and very capable man.  "Thorax," I wispered to myself.  A man of dubious reputation - and incredible mystic powers.  Thorax was the one psyker I knew by name - that faceless race of men who scorn both magicks and gods, deriving their awesome powers from deep within their own psyches and souls.  I eyed him warily, and listened as well as I could from outside, over the constant hum of humanity in the tavern below the inne.  Whatever business he had with Kes and her companion, I wished to know what it was.  I did not trust this man, more than I did not trust anyone.  There was a foreboding air about him that unnerved me.
         Soon, though, my nerves had something else to disquiet them.  I felt It coming long before I saw It.  The air grew a touch cooler, and the breeze slackened to almost nothing.  I felt a familiar yet still horrible turn in my bowels.  With nervous and wary eyes I looked to the roof-tops.  The raven's blood red eyes peered at me from the darkness, and from that moment I was sure.  In a few heartbeats I had disappeared from the front of the inne to an alley across the street.  I crouched low as I felt It approach, and hoped that It would not sense my presence.  I did not know how well I could run from It.  I did not know how I could leave Kes anywhere near It.
         I heard the unmistakable thud of It's footsteps mount the porch of the tavern and then enter.  Only then, and with the utmost caution, did I allow myself to peer into the tavern.  All commotion in the tavern had ceased, and all attention was centered upon the priest as It stood just a few steps within the entrance.
         I snarled at It just as the raven landed by my side to give me its demonic attention.  With a lightning-quick flick of my wrist I grasped the thing by the neck, and to my vague surprise, I maintained my hold upon a solid bird.  "Now, you sonofabitch," I cursed.  "Now you die."
         The creature's beady red eyes suddenly began to bore into mine.  I blinked and shook my head, but the spell had already been cast.  I felt myself slowly slipping away from reality.  When I looked back to the tavern, I could only see the entire structure engulfed in flames.  Kes and her companion were trapped inside, screaming wildly to get out.  But my legs felt as if they had been tied to the spot and my arms could not move.  I wished to scream, but the noise seemed to be locked within my throat.  My gripped tightened upon the bird, and I felt it flutter and heard it begin to squawk in protest.  "No," I growled.  "You won't escape this time.  I don't care if we both die."  All my attention, every ounce of my strength, was focused upon killing that damned bird.
         Kes' shriek shattered my attention like a thin layer of ice on a pond.  I released my grip upon the bird to turn to the tavern.  A great chaos was thrashing about inside.  Bodies, weapons and fists flew in all directions.  I looked about desperately for Kes, or Chantel, but could not find either of them.  Thorax was easy enough to find, however.  His distinct aura made him as much a beacon in the chaotic crowd within the tavern as the priest's.  The two auras seemed very intent upon each other presently, and I waited to watch this foolish man come to his end at the hands of the priest.  It would be interesting to watch, I thought rather morbidly.
         In a matter of moments I saw the man's figure come flying out a window onto the street.  He lay there unmoving, though he still breathed.  He was wounded, badly, but still alive.  I grunted and turned my attention back to the tavern.  Something inside of me screamed that I should be jumping right into the brawl to find Kes and make sure that she was all right.  But my horror of the priest kept me at bay.  I knew that should It ever find me, I would be dead.
         The priest's presence was moving now to the second floor of the Inne, to a room in the corner of building.  As I peered inside I saw that unmistakable form of Chantel huddling in a corner.  Oh gods, I thought.  Kes was sure to be in that room, also.
         Finally, I overcame my sense of horror.  With a slight grunt I leapt from the roof-top and dashed into the tavern as soon as I hit the street.  Making my way through the still-ensuing brawl in the tavern was not difficult; I was too small for anyone to notice.  I bounded up the stairs and burst into the room just to see Chantel being slammed up against the far wall by some unseen force.
          My gaze swept around the room, but Kes nowhere to be seen.  I breathed a sigh of relief.  But that relief was short-lived as I felt the priest's gaze fall upon me.  I looked at It with as much anger and defiance that I could muster under Its inhuman gaze.
         It smiled that wicked smile.  "Ah, the youth again.  You'll not escape me this time."
         I had drawn my dagger before it had taken Its next step.  But it was away from, not towards, me.  "Oh, I won't be taking you now, boy," it said.  Its voice sounded like stones grating together.  "You'll be coming to me."
         I finally allowed myself to breathe.  But Its presence remained, and I felt my gut churning again.  As I struggled to compose myself, the glowing red eyes of the raven shot at me front the windowsill outside.  I glared at it with complete hatred.  For a moment time seemed to stand utterly still as our gazes remained locked.  Then, with a maniacal scream, I rushed at it.  The window shattered upon impact and I went hurtling to the street below.  I can remember the raven's familiar, mocking laughter as I rushed towards the ground.  When I hit, a total blackness engulfed me, one that - thankfully - ushered away the raven's horrible laughter.  I groaned once with pain, and then fell unconscious.
 

        I awoke as the bright, too-warm sunlight of the dawn struck me.  Before opening my eyes, I shifted from an uncomfortable position into one that was even more uncomfortable.  I opened my eyes to find myself lying flat against a cold stone wall, my face to the pavement and my forehead resting in a pool of rain that had not completely disappeared the day before.  The pain from a series of bruises and scrapes assailed me as I tried to sit up.  With a groan I fell back to the ground.  "Gods," I sputtered through swollen lips.
         It took me a few moment to recall just how I gotten to where I presently found myself.  Violence had been involved, of course; I never got drunk.  Then the fall, and the raven, and the priest, and the inne came to mind.  Ah, yes, I thought.  I felt more comfortable already now that I knew where I was and how I had come here.  I had fallen to the street, that much I remembered quite well now.  I looked quickly about myself as I now lay on my side.  An unmoving figure lay a few paces away.  Through the waking haze, I managed to bring it into focus.  The man was dead; the glassy look in his eyes and the blood that covered his face and clothing made it certain.
         I looked further about and saw that I was in an alley.  Someone must have moved me out of the center of the street at sometime the night before.  I had no clues to tell me who, nor any reason to think that it was important.
         Something was still missing from the puzzle in my mind of what had been the previous night.  As I further awoke I clawed through the pain-induced fuzz and fog for what was missing.  It hit me like a solid punch to the chest.
         Kes.
         I sprang to my feet immediately, the pain of my injuries forgotten in a heartbeat.  Where was she?  I had not found her in the brawl the night before, only Chantel, who had unfortunately been taken by the priest.  "Hostages."   The word resounded in my mind.  I muttered an obscenity to myself as I left the alley.  His plan was perfectly clear: take Chantel and capture Kes coming to rescue her.  Logic followed that I would be with Kes at the time, and so it would have us both.
         I snarled to myself.  It was a shallow, sinister plan, and one that would have worked on most, lowly adventurers, those such as Kes.  The worst thing was that I knew if I was to survive I could never go help Kes rescue her friend - but I knew that was exactly what I was about to do anyway.
         I sauntered slowly down the street, keeping my wits closely about me.  Pain shot up my right foot every time I used it, and my right shoulder throbbed horribly.  I must have fallen on it, I thought, but continued down the street without pause.  Finding Kes was a task that I knew would take a lot of time and energy.  I could not waste the precious minutes tending to wounds that would eventually heal anyway.
         I pondered my problem as I walked, not wishing to ever pause until I found Kes.  I was assuming that she had escaped last night's brawl somehow, that she was till alive at all.  It was mid-morning, which meant that she was probably still in the city.  Not that the fact gave me an real aid.  The ease of finding a person in the Great Citadel had not increased in the past day.
 

         By the time the pain in my foot made me pause for a few moment's respite it was nearly dusk.  I had already met with a good half-dozen of my contacts, and none had seen the dark-haired elf.  I was beginning to become discouraged.  That morning I had known that finding Kes was not going to be an easy task, but the pain in my foot and lack of any information at all as to her whereabouts was not a pleasant thing.
         As I slumped wearily against the front of a tavern, a dark, moving patch in the sky caught my attention.  I stood as quickly as I could, my every joint roaring in protest.  My dagger was drawn by the time I was able to stand up relatively straight.  The flying creature circled a half-dozen times or so before descending towards me.  All, right you demonic bastard, I thought, this is it.  You or me.  I was firmly resolved of the fact that it was going to be me.
         As the creature approached, I blinked.  Were my weary eyes deceiving me?  It was not a midnight-black raven that was approaching me, but a large eagle.  My guard was lowered, slightly.  Everything, to me, still represented some threat.  But at least it was not the raven.  That raven still mortified me, just the thought of it sent shivers down my spine.
         The eagle perched itself inconspicuously - which I didn't think was possible for a bird of such size - upon the roof of a building across the street from where I stood.  It eyes seemed to hold some sort of intelligence, though unlike the raven's demonic stare, the eagle's gaze seemed very benign.  It looked at me, and seemed to beckon, though it did not move.
         I moved swiftly to cross the street and reach the roof.  I was not quite sure of just what I was doing, it even occurred to me that this may be some sort of elaborate trick, but something else told me that this was the only way I was going to find Kes.  When I had reached the roof, the eagle turned to face me.  There was a small medallion hanging from its neck, which it proficiently removed and gave to me.
         I took the medallion in my hand and examined it.  It was gold - pure, by its weight, with a purple string.  It bore a strange symbol, perhaps a rune, I thought.  Certainly it was magical, or represented something magical.  But what?  And whose messenger bird was this before me?
         I looked down to the medallion again and stared at it for a moment.  Of course, I thought.  "Stëpan," I said, half to myself, half to the eagle.  The bird nodded, an exaggerated gesture, but one which was definite in purpose.  "He'll help me?"  The eagle nodded again.  I felt an odd sense of elation.  Chance had smiled upon me so, or so I had thought.  I did not stop to consider that all that Chance gives, she eventually takes.  My mind snapped back to my present predicament.  "Well, where the hell is he?" I demanded, not even stopping to think that there was probably no way this bird could answer such a question.
         The eagle did the only thing which I think it could do: it lowered it head to the roof-top, and with an odd motion which looked like a bow, suggested that I get on.
         I paused for a moment, quite unsure.  This could still have been a trick.  But, if there was anyone in the entire world who I trusted, it was - and continues to be - Stëpan.  He - and Camir, I reminded myself - were the only people who had never done me any harm.  To that extent, I trusted them.  Not, I thought, that I had any other real choice to make.  I cautiously mounted the bird, which stood just taller than myself.  I closed my eyes and clutched tightly to its feathers as the creature leapt from the roof into open space, spread its wings wide and soared into the sky.
 

         That experience was my only one of flight, and it is not one which I ever wish to repeat.  Even at such a great height that it made my head swim to look directly down to the ground, things whisked past at incredible speeds.  For the first time, nothing, nothing in the entire world could have willed me to watch the sunset.  I hugged the eagle tightly, pressing myself close against the creature's great neck.  It did not seem to be hindered by my death-grip, but kept a steady path through the air.  The journey seemed to take forever, though most of the time I kept my eyes tightly closed and my face buried close to the eagle's thick coat of feathers.
         I finally willed myself to open my eyes when I felt the bird begin to descend.  Below us, in almost utter darkness, stood the small circle of what was certainly a dying campfire.  As we neared the campsite I could make out a old and well-used carriage, and soon two figures soundly asleep not far from the fire.  The eagle landed softly and nearly silently upon the wagon and I quickly slid off.  I did not trust my wobbling and still-injured legs, and so I pressed close to the warped roof of the carriage, and slid down to the ground with great care.  The eagle, its job finished, took to the air again without so much as a sound.
         A total silence had filled the camp, and I found myself quite at home with it and the dark, ubiquitous shadows.  My legs finally stable enough to support me, I took a good look around to familiarize myself with the surroundings.  I was dead tired, but years of being taught caution would never yield to fatigue.  I was in a good-size clearing with a trail leading away and probably to a nearby road.  The fire was, of course, at the center of the camp, surrounded by a ring of fair-sized rocks.  The carriage stood at the north end of the clearing, very near the trail, and its horses were tied to a nearby tree.  They were well asleep.  Two other figures lay fast asleep on the south side of the clearing.  One I recognized instantly as Kes, which I took oddly as a matter of fact.  But who was her new companion?  It was certainly not Chantel.  I took a step closer, and recognized the large bulk of the man with whom Kes and Chantel had been conferring the night before.
         "So there you are," came a deep-voiced whisper.
         I whirled about, once again every bone and muscle screaming in protest, and unsheathed my dagger.  The shadowed figure of a small, thin man stood in the open doorway of the carriage.  His brilliant blue eyes and long, flowing beard shone in the light of the dying fire.
         "I was hoping you would get here sooner," he said as he descended a few steps to the ground.  "But I suppose Merlyn can only fly so fast.  He's getting on in years, you know."
         I stood motionless and silent, my dagger still drawn.  Simply because he had never harmed me before did not mean Stëpan had no wish to ever do so.
         He stopped only a pace away from his carriage and regarded me closely for a moment.  "Very good, Kae," he said.  "You'll do fine, just fine."
         I still did not reply.  I wished that he would get to the point so that I could sleep.
         "The point," he said, startling me, "is that I wished to be sure that you had arrived.  Well, you have, and you are weary and injured.  Go to sleep, boy.  You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."  He turned and began to return to his carriage.  He paused at the doorway, and I barely heard him remark, almost sorrowful: "As a matter of fact, you have a very long life ahead of you."  Then he disappeared into the darkness of his carriage.
         My guard relaxed as soon as his door clacked shut.  I was too weary to puzzle out the meaning of his last remark, though it ate at me from somewhere in the back of my addled and weary mind.  Sheathing my dagger, Kes' sleeping figure grabbed my attention.  I slowly hobbled over and lay down beside her.  If there was ever time, I thought, that I needed the comfort of a warm body, it was now.
         I feel asleep with worries upon my mind, and had dreams of fire and the priest and Leila.  But the most haunting of visions was that of Kes, trapped within large, magical sphere surrounded by an inferno.  She pounded fiercely upon the sides of crystalline sphere, and I could see her mouth working as she screamed and fumed.  But I was powerless to move, not that I really wanted to.
 

         Kes' musical voice was a delight to my ears as I felt it roused me through the heavy mists of sleep.  Someone was shaking me gently.  It was a comforting motion, one that I had not felt for a long time.  With a sudden pang of nostalgia I remembered that Leila used to gently shake me awake almost every morning.  I opened my eyes with a flutter to escape the painful memories, and found myself staring full into Leila's face.  I let a quick and almost horrified gasp.
         No, wait.  It was Kes who was smiling down at me.  Her bright green eyes glinted in the morning sun, and her long dark hair poured over shoulders.  As usual, though, it was not so much of her physical beauty which impressed me, but the aura of strength which I sensed surrounding her.  I allowed myself a swift inner smile and for a moment I basked in the wonderfully warm light of her smile.
         But my face betrayed no such joy, neither did I allow myself to become to complacent.  In a moment I leapt to my feet, determined to keep my expressions cross and my feelings well-hidden from this elf.
         The moment I reached my feet I regretted the action.  A million bolts of pain from stiff joints and sore muscle erupted all over my body, and with an odd squawk I lurched back to the ground.
         Kes was at my side in an instant, like I knew she would be.  "What?" she asked, her face contorted with concern.  "What is it?"
         I gritted my teeth and fought away the haze of pain.  "I hurt," I said through strained teeth.  "All over."
         Kes looked extremely concerned - almost maternal - for a moment, and then lifted her eyes to look at someone approaching from my left.  In a moment, Stëpan's benign and infinitely wise face came into my view.  He did not smile, but let his eyes reassure me.  I closed my eyes as another bolt of pain surged through me.
         "What happened to you, boy?" Stëpan asked.  Even the soft, low tone of his voice seemed to help ebb the pain - a little.
         I tried to speak, but for a moment my mouth worked without forming any words.  "Fell out a window," I managed to blurt.  "From the second story."
         "The raven," Stephen said.
         I managed to open my eyes long enough to look at him with eyes that questioned: "How did you know?"  Then I closed them again as yet another bolt of sore muscles and deep bruises assaulted me.
         "Well, what can you do for him?" I heard Kes ask.  Very good, Kes, I thought.  She had well-recognized that there was certainly nothing she could do.  But she was still looking out for me.
         "Still?"  The thought assailed my mind with more urgency than the pain.  "Still."  Why did I have this notion that Kes had always been looking after me?  I had know the woman only a few days, and yet there was some undefinable bond between already.  I wondered if she felt it, too.
         I felt Stëpan place a cool hand upon my forehead and heard him mumble a few words which were clearly magic.  I did not have the energy to protest.  The thought that this was still a trick remained firmly lodged in my mind.  To my slight surprise, I felt the pain slowly begin to ebb.  Thank the gods, I thought, and let my gritted teeth relax.  My eyes remained closed and I let myself rest, truly rest, this time.  I knew that as long as Kes was there beside me, she would let nothing would harm me.
         A little while later I felt Stëpan's warm and comforting hands upon my back, pushing me into a sitting position.  I opened my eyes long enough to be sure of what was happening, and then greedily drunk the syrupy blue liquid which he offered.  In a matter of moments, the pain had disappeared!
         My eyes fluttered open in my utter surprise, and in the next moment I jumped to my feet.  Nothing hurt, not even slightly.  Not a single muscle screamed - or even whispered - in pain.
         "You're all right."  A huge smile almost split Kes' face as she stood from near the fire.  She took a step towards me, and I could see her arms begin to open in order to embrace me.
         "I'm hungry," I said tersely, and walked straight past her to the fire.  A small cauldron of soup boiled and bubbled over the coals.  I grabbed a ladle and quickly spooned out some steaming-hot soup into a bowl which I simply swiped from a near-by stone.  I began to gulp the meal without the use of a spoon.
         "You know, that could be someone else's property," I heard someone say from behind the bowl.  It was definitely male, and it was no surprise to me to find the darkly-clad man standing across the fire from me when I lowered the bowl to look.
         "You think I give a damn?" I spat.  I did not trust the man, nor would I pretend to do so.
         "I think someone ought to give you a lesson in manners," I heard Kes say.
         I turned to her in surprise.  She was the last person from whom I expected a reprieve.  "And who's gonna give me that lesson, you?"
         "If I have to."
         I laughed and finished my soup.  Kes didn't make any move to do anything, but she had reminded oh so subtly of what role a maternal figure plays in one's life.  Part of me was thinking maybe hanging around this women wasn't such a good idea.  And the other part of me immediately rejected that thought as ridiculous.  Something far more powerful than convenience tied me to Kes, though I would never discover just what it was.
         Stëpan emerged from the carriage just as I finished my meal.  He paused for only a moment to regard us.  "We have a visitor coming," he announced.
         I immediately dropped the bowl and began to search the skies, my hand upon the hilt of my dagger.  I do not know how I knew that it would be the raven, I just knew.  This time, I vowed, it would not escape me.
         In only a few moments, the raven's pure black figure appeared in the sky, and swiftly descended to alight upon the roof of the carriage.  I glared at it and for a few moments it glared back at me with equal intensity.  But I was far beyond allowing any amount of magic frighten me anymore.  That raven would taunt me no longer.
             "A message," the raven cawed.  It was odd to hear its voice trying to speak, but it was not a surprise me.  I doubted that anything would surprise me just then.  "A message," the thing cawed again.  "For the elf," it paused to look at me again, "and the boy.  Glymch, the High Priest of Kraz, sends you greetings."  I heard hear the bitter sarcasm dripping in those words despite the bird's odd voice.  From the corner of my eye I also saw Stephen scowl at the mention of Kraz's name.  "He keeps your friend until you find her."
         "I hate traps," I grumbled.
         "So do I," Kes said.  "Where?" she demanded of the raven.
         "The Black Forest," the raven cawed.  "The boy knows.  The old man knows."
         That was all that I needed to hear, and thus the usefulness of this creature, brief as it had been, came to a swift end.  I turned to Kes, unsheathed her dagger, and with the same motion threw it at the raven.  The magical elfin blade struck home and the creature let out a caw that crescendoed into an ear-splitting roar.  With a brilliant flash it was gone, and Kes' dagger dropped to the ground with a slight thud.
         "Wh - what was that all about?" Kes said, very bewildered.
         "Well done," Stephen commended.
         "That is certainly the first time I have ever seen a demon killed," the man said as he stood.  He walked to the dagger, picked it up, and examined it.  He nodded to himself, then tossed the blade back to Kes and turned to me.  "Why do I have the feeling that it won't be the last?"
         "For as far as you are concerned," Stëpan said to me, "this man can be trusted."  His propensity for reading my mind has forever unnerved me.
         "Why should I trust him?" I demanded.  He'd better come up with a very good reason, I thought, seeing as how I don' trust anyone, much less the likes of him."
         "Because he is a trusted friend of mine," Stëpan said.  "And he is, for the moment, in league with Kes."
         I mulled these two reasons in my head for a little while, then contorted my face in acquiescence.  "For now," I said.
         Kes let out a heavy sigh.  There was no way of getting around it, and so he cut straight to the heart of the matter.  "That... thing said you know were Chantel is."
         I shook my head slowly, trying to fake being apologetic.  I knew exactly where to find Chantel, and I knew that there was no force in the universe that would compel me to go there again so easily.  Not even Kes.
         Kes' visage contorted in frustration, and then she turned to Stephen.  "Do you know?"  Her question sounded almost desperate.  Again, I sensed this alien bond between Kes and Chantel.
        Stëpan looked at me for a moment, with apologetic eyes, and then: "Yes, of course.  It's difficult to describe, though.  I'll draw you a map."
         It did not take long, and Stëpan's instructions were very specific.  Well before mid-morning we were on our way.  I rode behind Kes on her own mount, which I learned had been... "borrowed."  I smiled carefully to myself.  She was not much larger than myself, and so we both fit quite comfortably onto the back of the large horse.  After a few last farewells and thanks, we parted with Stephen at the road to which the trail from the clearing had led.
         "What a wonderful old man," Kes remarked as we trotted away.
         "Don' you know who he is?" I asked.  Certainly Stëpan deserved more than `wonderful old man.'
         "Just some pilgrim, no?"
         I dropped it there.  Stëpan had his reasons.  The Kyie has always has his reasons.
 

         Apparently the distance I had traveled the previous evening had not been quite as much as I had imagined; we spotted the great, grey walls of Near Capital by noon.  Our little trio swung well north of the city as we approached.  Apparently the horese had been "borrowed" horses from the Watch, and no one wanted to have to deal with that small inconvenience right now.  I certainly did not object.  My anonymity was complete to the Watch, and I wished to keep it that way.
         As we approached the Black Forest I could feel the fear building within me.  What had started as a slight whisper in the back of my mind when we first caught sight of the great forest was swiftly crescendoing into a full-blown scream of utter horror.  Fear was not an emotion to which I was accustomed, and its alien presence unnerved me greatly.  We were marching quite boldly and quite blatantly to our deaths, and I was quite aware of that.  The pure evil which resided in the priest was a force that could never be stopped, or even hindered by puny mortals like us, and I knew that too.
         So then why in all the hells were we walking straight into so blatant and absolute a trap?!
         "Kid?" Kes' voice cut easily through my panicked thoughts.
         I looked at her.  "Hmm?"
         "You look very worried," she said sweetly.  "What's wrong?"
         It struck me that not only was I walking into this death-trap, but Kes was coming with me.  Gods!  I couldn't let this happen.  There was something rare and special in the elfin women before me, I could never let it be destroyed.
         "Nothing," I said flatly, trying to look very calm and composed.  I was not sure of how effective this truly was, but Kes merely smiled at me and turned back around.
         My mind bubbled with panic and fear, and I fought desperately for control.  Above all else I could not let Kes see that I was afraid.  It was not machismo that made me feel this way, it was something far less tangible.  I felt, I knew, that should I ever panic, then so would Kes.  More than anything, no one could panic right now.  So, I cleared my face of any signs of worry and tried ferociously to put my attention elsewhere.
         I caught sight of the psyker over Kes' shoulder.  He was riding just ahead of us.  Knowing my luck, I thought, he knows exactly what I'm thinking right now.  There was no way to fool him, and so I did not try.  Let him know what he must.  I still did not trust him in any way.  But Stephen had compelled me to, and Kes seemed to trust the man, also, so I grudgingly accepted his presence as necessary - for the moment.  Besides, I tried to reason, we need as much help as we can get.
         Somehow I failed to convince myself that any amount of help would do any good.
 

         Hours passed as we reached the edge of the Black Forest and pressed deeper and deeper into the woods.  This day, too, I did not look at the sunset as usually did.  It would remind me too much of flames.
         I felt my stomach churn as we neared it.  Its presence in these woods was almost a tangible thing to me, though neither Kes not Thorax seemed to take any notice.  Most likely Thorax sensed it even more acutely than myself, but it did not seem to affect him in any way.  Perhaps he had become accustomed to such things.  It was conceivable, and even a little comforting.  At least we had a well-experienced adventurer with us.  But I never allowed myself any comfort for long.  To be complacent was to die.
         And somehow I was determined to live through this, and to make sure that Kes would live, too.  At any cost.  Any cost at all.
         Thorax reigned his mount to a halt in a small clearing.  In the last few dying rays of the sun, he examined the map and nodded to himself.  He seemed to do so very often.  It was a well-practiced and confident motion.  He dismounted and motioned for us to do the same.
         "I could've told you we were close a long time ago," I said, keeping my voice low out of mere habit.  But whispering was not going to keep the priest from detecting us.
         "So could I," Thorax replied non-chalantly.   His eyes raised to something above and behind me and he scowled.  "Damn."
         I dove to the ground as the whining of a dagger hurtling through the air reached my ears just before the squawk of a downed bird.  I turned to see a wounded raven begin to fall from its perch only to explode silently before it reached the ground.
 Kes calmly retrieved her dagger.
         "Nice shot," I said.
         Kes shrugged.
         I began to stand when the dying sunlight struck something red and very unnatural upon the ground.  With a well-practiced swipe I took it into my hand.  It was a gem, just larger than my fist, and a finely-crafted one.  I stole a glance at it, and smiled.  It was a large ruby with streaks of deep black running through it.  The magical stone that I had stolen from Kraz's chapel about a year before.  Obviously Stephen had somehow gotten hold of it, and slipped it into my inside pocket.  It could be used as a bartering chip; the priest valued it highly.  It glowed slightly, and I smiled to myself again.  Or it could be used as a weapon.  Suddenly, my confidence had returned.  I still felt that enormous horror, but it was subdued somehow by the magical gem in my hand.
         Thorax eyed the place where the raven had perched and grumbled an obscenity.  "Now it knows we're here."
 I looked up at him with raised eyebrows.  "You were thinkin' about sneakin' up on it?  I've already tried that.  Don' work."
         "You've dealt with this... man, demon, thing before?" Kes asked.
         I nodded grimly.  "A coupla times.  Not a pleasant experience."
         Thankfully, Kes let it die with that.  I had no wish to drudge up painful and frightening memories.
         "Well," Thorax said, "now what are we going to do?"
         "Nothing left to do," I said.  "Just a full frontal assault."  I began to tromp away through the woods.
         "Are you insane?!" Kes cried as she started after me.  "If we have any chance of getting out of this alive - "
         I showed her the glowing gem in my hand, and her eyes widened. "That pilgrim of yours gave it to me just before we left.  I think it may be of some use."
         Kes still looked doubtful.
         I needed to spark her fiery spirit.  "What, you wanna live forever?"
         "Some people shouldn't say such things," Thorax said.
         I gave him a sharp look.  There was a bitter and foreboding truth in his words that I did not like.  I have always hated that psyker.
         Kes sighed heavily again and shrugged.  "We really don't have any choice, do we?"
         I smiled at her reassuringly.  "Now you are beginning to understand how things work."
 

         It did not take long to find what we were looking for.  Thankfully, it was not the clearing that I had visited so many years before.  A rather small wooden shack stood in the middle of the forest.  Trees around it were sparse, and those few that did manage to grow within the black aura of the dwelling were thin and sickly things.  A great, morbid sense of death and decay filled the air.  I eyed the shack wearily as we drew near.  It was deceptively small and unobtrusive, though the unnatural ambiance which surrounded it gave it away as not belonging in the heart of the forest.  I had a notion that its origins were not even of this world.
         Not that such things greatly mattered right now.  What mattered was that priest and getting Chantel.
         A grim look of determination had molded itself onto Kes' face.  I had a feeling that was the only way she was going to survive this - through sheer will.  Myself, well, I had never been concerned with my own mortality since joining the Guild, and with the gem in my hand I wondered: why waste the time?  Thorax was being cautious, very cautious.  I was sure that he sensed as much as I did, and it did nothing to ease his nerves.
         I really cannot explain my sensitivity to such things.  Ever since my flight from home in the Black Forest, since that fateful night, I had been able to detect things which others could not.  Perhaps it was just that my senses were more acute than others'.  But perhaps it was something more.
         Not that any special sensitivity was going to help me now.  I was sure that even someone like Kes could feel the evil which thrived in that shack as we approached.
         In the twilight I could soon make out two figures standing outside the shack, both outlined by the bright light which came from inside.  Both figures waited, unmoving, as we approached.  When we were within a dozen paces I was sure that it was Chantel and the priest.
         The priest did not say anything until Kes and I alone began to approach.  "Very good."  Its voice once again reminded me of two stones being ground against each other.  "Very good indeed.  You have read my intentions well."
         We continued to approach silently.  The look on Chantel's face was one of complete fatigue, though an untellabe horror still resided in her eyes.  She had seen things that no one could ever make her relate.  I knew the feeling well.  Kes reached out to take my hand, and I squeezed it tightly as I gripped the gem in my other hand.  The ruby was glowing warmly, and I prayed that It would not see the ruby until it was too late.
         "You for your friend."  The priest chuckled hideously.  "Yes, indeed, this was almost too easy."
         "Those'll do for last words," I said, and swiftly revealed the gem.  Its brilliant red glow illuminated an area for a least a hundred paces in every direction.
         The priest recoiled, but only for a moment.  "How thoughtful."  It grinned with evil glee.  "You have even brought a present."
         A bright bolt of fire erupted with a roar from behind me, passing only a few hand-breadths from Kes' shoulder and striking the priest full in the chest.  Its clothes immediately burst into flames, and It swiftly became a towering inferno.
         I froze.  Despite the heat of the magical blaze before me, I felt a terrible chill run through my entire body.  The priest was laughing within the flames.  It seemed to be almost enjoying itself, as if we were playing some huge joke.  I found no humor in the situation, only utter terror at the sight of so much flames and the sound of the priest's mocking laughter.  I could only watch as Chantel dashed swiftly away from the priest, though It didn't seem to mind, only continued laughing.  I felt my eyes grow wide at the horrifying sight, and all my limbs fell limp.
         I watched, unable to do anything at all, as Kes snatched the gem from my falling hand and did the only thing that even I could think of to do: she ran straight to the priest and rammed the gem into Its chest.  The laughter turned into an ear-splitting, horrified scream as the priest watched Kes plant the magical ruby into its chest.  It began to grope desperately at its chest, began tearing away burning flesh.
         This shattered my paralysis, and the first command from my mind to the rest of body was simple: run.  For the second time in my life, a total panic wrapped itself about my mind like a thick, black cloak, and my legs carried my away faster than I could have thought possible.
         Trees whisked by as grey streaks, the entire forest became nothing but an incredible, dark blur.  I ran until I felt my lungs ready to burst, until I could go not a step further.  I collapsed at last in the center of a small clearing, not much larger than a shack.  I lay upon my back for a long time, letting my breath return to normal, and allowing the pounding in my head to subside.  Visions of what I just seen, the priest, Kes, the ruby, and the horrible, living inferno, all intruded into my mind, and I willed them away with all my strength.
         Finally I opened my eyes.  And I gasped.  Luna, in all her glory, was shining brightly down upon me, while her children drew close to give me comfort.  For the first time in what seemed forever I felt utterly at peace.
         The sharp snap of a twig shattered my reverie into so many shards of glass.  Without a pause I leapt to my feet, and panic soon fluttered within my mind again.  I darted back into the thick forest, away from whatever it was that was chasing me.
         Beckoning cries from behind me only caused me to run faster.  Already my legs hurt, my head was pounding, and my lungs burned.  Suddenly, two enormous arms wrapped themselves about me, trying to drag me to the ground.  I took one arm firmly in both hands and flung my attacker well away from me.  I heard his bulk smack hard against a tree, but kept running.  Another pair of arms grappled for me, but these I easily slipped through.
         I ran faster, harder, the panic still controlling everything in my mind.  My one objective remained purely away.
         Suddenly the bulk of someone else was flung directly into my back, knocking the wind out of me and driving me to the ground.  I felt strong arms wrapping tightly about me and struggled desperately to escape, but in vain.  My attacker had me firmly and I knew now that this was the end.  A blood-curdling scream erupting from my throat.
         Which was swiftly drowned by the deafening roar of an enormous pillar of fire.  My eyes grew wide once more as a huge, towering inferno erupted from the center of the clearing I had suddenly found myself in.  This was far too familiar, and a new, stronger panic willed my body to move, but my captor had me tight.  I could only shiver in my terror.
         A large, humanoid figure began to form of the flames.  Its eyes were terrible black holes and its voice was ear-splitting.  It was one which I had heard before.  "YOU!"  The black-hole eyes bore into me unmercifully.  I wished to scream, but the noise was locked in my throat, tearing at it to be released.  "AND YOU!"  Kraz pointed to the figure beside me, whose death-grip suddenly loosened.  I was able to steal a quick glance was horrified to see Kes staring at avatar with total horror filling her eyes.  "YOU WILL BOTH BE MINE FOR THESE TRANSGRESSIONS!"  Kraz's voice scraped at my ears and echoed time and again within my head.
         The horror that had latched Kes and I to the spot suddenly loosened, and we broke free in our terrible fear and panic, fleeing into the dense forest together.  The unholy light that was Kraz lit our path well for several hundred paces.
 

         It was nearly dawn before we left the forest.  We had spent most of the night running, running as fast as we possibly could.  Finally, on the edge of the forest, we collapsed.  Sleep overcame us quickly and thankfully.
         Thorax and Chantel found us about mid-morning, and soon we had made camp enough to cook a meal and rest for a while.  No one talked about the previous night.  I assumed that Thorax and Chantel had seen our encounter with Kraz, they looked about with a fear that was only gained after seeing such a dark thing as Kraz.  I had no wish to press the matter, nor did anyone else, so conversation was kept to a minimum.
         Just as we had finished lunch, the familiar creak and clank of Stëpan's carriage warned us of his approach.  After a short and rather apprehensive wait, he appeared from around a hill.  He stopped the carriage and regarded the lot of us with his deep blue eyes and benign gaze.
         "Very good," he said.  "I was hoping you would all make it."  He smiled pleasantly.  "And you did.  Very good, indeed."  He leaned over with a serious look upon his face, as if perhaps he was about to tell an enormous secret.  "You," he pointed to me, "and you," he pointed to Kes, "are important, more important than any of you could possibly imagine.  You will win the war."  Then he sat up straight again.  The look on his face was more grim now.  "But some battles must be lost before the war can be won." Then he snapped the reigns and his horses trotted briskly away.
         I stared after him for a while, rather mournfully.  When I felt Kes put her lithe arms around me, I wrapped mine around her and hugged her close.  Tears welled in my eyes and stained her travel-worn robe.
 

         The name "Kes" in my mind will forever be synonymous with the word "comfort."  She was so like me that it seemed almost impossible that two such souls could ever really exist.  Impossible and tragic, once we learned of our fates.  Kes became the mother I never had, the companion I could always count on, and the friend who I would always trust.  The universe has sent me a comforter, and for Kes I will forever be grateful.
         Grateful to whom? you may ask.  Certainly not any gods.  I despise such beings, such beings are the reason that I exist as I do.  No, it is the universe which gains my gratitude, all of existence itself.  But for all that it has done, it has gained my deepest hate as well.
         Do you think it odd that I can be grateful to the universe and hate it at the same time?  Is such a thing possible for you?  You see, the universe is far more cruel and far more kind than you could imagine, and so I love it and hate just as much as it loves and hates me, all at once.  It is a chaos which continually threatens to drive me utterly insane.  I keep my sanity by delving into the extremes which continually threaten to tear it apart; I become part of the chaos of life itself.  It is not always a pleasant way to exist, but I have never found existence to be continually pleasant.