Kaidan and Zerua glanced at each other before turning their attention back to the large double doors leading into the king’s audience chambers. “You ready?” He slipped his fingers through hers.

She bit her lip. “Me? You’re the one who’s explaining what we found. Are you ready?”

He took a deep breath. “To lie to the king and leave out our most recent discovery? No. But I don’t have a choice. We can’t reveal this until we know for sure that it’s true.”

She sighed. “I hope the king doesn’t question anything.”

Kaidan squeezed her hand. “It’ll be fine. I’ve had the last half hour of waiting to come up with something suitable.”

The doors opened, and the guards who had gone to see if the king was available slipped back out. “His Majesty King Aladhan will see you now.” The bulkier of the two guards held the door open, his gaze piercing into them.

Zerua resisted the urge to turn around and run. I can hardly believe we’re lying to the king of Argos about our discoveries... First time for everything, right? She swallowed back a laugh, her shoulders tensing.

Kaidan tugged her forward, and she followed him into the audience chamber, clinging to him. He let go of her hand as they passed the threshold, and she fought the surge of anxiety begging her to turn around and flee the room. The two of them paused in the center of the room and knelt on the cold marble floor, bowing their heads.

King Aladhan’s robes rustled as he shifted and stood. “You may rise. What news do you bring of the dig, Tadegan?”

Kaidan stood, drawing Zerua up with him. “We’ve finished, Sire. The dig site has been cleaned up, and we’ve brought the artifacts we removed for your perusal.”

King Aladhan smiled. “Did you find the evidence you were looking for?”

Kaidan glanced at Zerua. “We did, Sire.”

“So, the battle really happened?”

“I couldn’t say if it was truly a battle between the gods, Sire, but we did find evidence of a battle, and we found multiple pieces with the crests of Rith and Sedra Valmurith.” Kaidan ducked his head. “Besides that, we didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.”

Zerua kept her head down, remaining quiet as Argosian tradition dictated she should in the presence of royalty. Sweat slicked her palms, and she clasped her hands in front of her to avoid fidgeting.

The king settled back into his throne, his robes brushing the marble platform in Zerua’s line of vision. “Well, have the artifacts brought to the Vault. My Imperial Knights are trained to work with researchers; they’ll help you with getting the artifacts placed in the proper places within the Vault. Bring me the records list of what you found when you finish.”

Kaidan cleared his throat. “Of course, Sire. I will deliver it myself.”

King Aladhan laughed. “I know you will. You came with high recommendations and commendations from previous benefactors. The two of you are dismissed. Thank you for the report, Kaidan. I wish you and your lovely wife the best with whatever you do next.”

“Thank you, Sire.” Kaidan turned and strode toward the door.

Zerua bowed to King Aladhan once more before turning to follow her husband. The two of them walked through the door without any comment from the king. Sweat trickled down Zerua’s back, and she bit her lip, hastening her steps. Kaidan shot her a glance as they strode past the guards.

Once they’d moved out of the guards’ earshot, Kaidan laid a hand on her arm. “Are you going to be alright? You’re looking a bit pale.”

Zerua took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping. “I’ll be fine.”

He stopped walking, taking her hands in his. “Zerua, there’s nothing to worry about. No one has any reason to think we found something else there. We buried the body when everyone was busy, and we kept the journal under lock and key.”

She rested her forehead against his chest. “I know. I just can’t help wondering when the anvil will drop.”

Kaidan ran his hands up and down her arms with a sigh. “Me too, but we’re going to face much worse than this in this endeavor. We can’t get cold feet now or we’ll never make it through this.”

Zerua leaned into him, her pulse slowing down to normal rates. Her breathing steadied, and she exhaled, warmth returning to her extremities. “True... Well, we’d better get on with the labeling and storing of the artifacts.”

He pulled away with a grimace. “Yes, I suppose so. Though I’d prefer we got on our way now instead of later.”

She shook her head with a laugh. “Patience, dear.” Looping her arm through his, she tugged him forward. “The sooner we complete this task, the sooner we can worry about the next.”

***

On their lunch break, Zerua and Kaidan left the musty tunnels of the Kier Records Library and emerged into the bustle of the castle courtyard as others also went to find lunch or bartered with the vendors in the courtyard. They stepped aside as two children barreled by, one in hot pursuit of the other. Zerua smiled at the weary mother who was following on their heels.

Dogs barked and quarreled over a bone by a meat vendor’s shop, and as they passed, they heard the vendor haggling with a customer over the price of a shank of agharval—a venison-like meat that the vendor insisted was of the highest quality. Zerua and Kaidan glanced at each other with a laugh.

“Vendors around here—” Kaidan shook his head. “If you aren’t careful, they’ll swindle you quicker than the best actor around.”

Zerua looped her arm through his with a grin. “One might say they are the best actors around here. Look there. That woman’s paying that man twice what that shawl is worth.”

She pointed to a woman handing a vendor two gold coins for a shawl in a powder blue shade.

“True enough.” Kaidan guided her around a steaming pile of horse dung and through crowded stalls.

The cries of vendors trying to sell their wares filled the air. The couple shook their heads at vendors who clung to them, begging them to buy and offering steep discounts if they would. Beggars and thieves wove through the market byways, snatching purses or pleading for a copper or two.

Moments later, they burst out onto the main street and passed under the castle gate, following the crowd jostling and hustling across the drawbridge. Then they flowed out onto the streets of Upper Kier, and the crowd thinned, leaving Zerua and Kaidan to amble down the streets in relative peace.

Zerua pressed a hand to her chest with a sigh. “Rith, but I hate crowds.”

Kaidan patted her back. “There, there. We’re free of it now.”

She turned a baleful frown upon him. “Are you mocking me?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, love.” A smirk played on the corner of his lips.

Zerua smacked his arm with her purse, narrowing her eyes. “You are!”

“Well, perhaps a little.”

She huffed and turned her focus to the streets around them. “So, what have we ventured out of the bowels of the library to do?”

Kaidan threw his head back and laughed. “Such impatience, woman!”

“You said you’d tell me when we got out of the library and the courtyard.”

He shrugged. “So I did. We’re going for lunch, and then we’re going to commission one of those new-fangled flying contraptions for the journey to Ashkarith.”

Zerua raised a brow. “Really?”

“Yes, really. You didn’t think I’d want to wait three months to travel all that way, did you? We’ve got the money, Zer. Better to find the truth sooner rather than later.” Kaidan looped his arm around her waist and tugged her into him, laughing when she squealed. “Isn’t that right?”

His wife’s lips curved up in a soft smile. “I suppose.”

He released her with a grin. “It’ll be an adventure!”

She smoothed the creases from her gown with a shake of her head. “Yes, an adventure where we’re very likely to lose our lives. Quite entertaining, I’m sure.”

“Oh, don’t be sour.” He elbowed her. “It’ll be the grandest adventure we’ve ever taken in the pursuit of truth. And if we don’t come back—” He bit his lip. “Well, we will. But if we didn’t for some reason, at least we died searching for the truth, right?”

She heaved a sigh. “Yes, I suppose you have a point there. Better that than dying of old age.”

Kaidan chuckled and threw an arm around her shoulders. “That’s my girl.”

Zerua leaned into his side, appreciating the rays of sunshine soaking the two of them and the comfort his presence radiated. For the moment, she decided, it would be best to set aside the worries. They had to go whether they had fears or not. Truth and justice demanded it, and that was what they’d stood for their entire lives.

They went where the leads took them and told the tales they found. Nothing was kept secret and nothing was too sacred to be told. The truth was meant to be shared, to be used to enlighten others, not to be hidden away for fear of the repercussions.

***

The flying ship, Rith’s Demise, tugged at its moorings in the breeze blowing across the air field. Kaidan tilted his head back to look up at the curling black letters that declared the ship’s name proudly to any onlookers. Beside him, Zerua clung to his side, a small hitch in her breath the only other indication of surprise.

“What do you think, love?” He turned to her, drawing her close with a smile.

Zerua cast the ship an apprehensive look. “Well—” She bit her lip.

Kaidan looked back at the ship too. The iron-covered boards were grooved from many flights, and the soft-bodied, gelatinous hael that followed the air ships clung to the hull, leaving their own trails of glowing slime over the clear film from previous feeders. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Look.” He pointed to the hull. “Plenty of hael occupying the hull. That means it’ll fly smoother.”

Zerua frowned. “Does it?”

“According to the research I did, it does.” Kaidan rubbed the back of his neck. “Supposedly, the slime they deposit hardens, and over time, the lightweight layers of the deposits are able to store more and more energy for the Endenes who guide the ship and keep it aloft.”

He tugged her to stand in front of him and pointed out the empty spaces on the hull. “The hull itself is made of iron because that conducts energy best. So, you see, the more hael that attach themselves to the ship to feed on the oxidization on the hull’s surface, the better the ship will fly.”

“So, it’s a sort of symbiotic relationship?”

Kaidan squeezed her hips with a smile. “Exactly.”

She leaned her head back against his shoulder. “Intriguing. So, you say this ship is a good choice?”

“For the price we’re willing to pay?” Kaidan wrapped his arms around her waist. “Yes.”

“Then we should find the captain and speak with him about passage to Ashkarith.”

“That shouldn’t be a hardship.” Kaidan released her with a grin. “He’s been watching us since we arrived. Looks like he’s starving for business too.”

“Does it?” She craned her neck, looking for the captain.

Kaidan pointed him out.

The man stood in the shadow of his ship, long grass brushing over his boots. He wore all black, his long coattails whipping in the wind whistling across the field. His sharp gaze met theirs as the couple sized him up the same way he’d been sizing them up since they’d arrived. Kaidan shot the man a broad smile.

Zerua cleared her throat, running her fingers through her loose black curls. “I don’t like him. Looks like a swindler.”

Kaidan’s grin widened. “That he does. Probably is. But you heard what they said in the tavern. He’s the best air-captain in port that’s affordable.”

She heaved a sigh, dropping her hands to her sides. “Well. Then we’d best start the process. Just keep an eye on your purse.” She pursed her lips. “I don’t like the way his men are eyeing us.”

The men, Kaidan noted, had ceased their work on deck and were thronging the rails to eye the newcomers their captain had been sizing up. The looks on their faces were ones of unabashed greed. It mingled with the looks of curiosity and the longing for a reason to be back in the air, creating a peculiar mix of expressions on the crew’s faces.

“They don’t seem so bad to me, love. Just a little starved for business.” With that, he took her hand in his and tugged her forward, striding across the field to meet with Captain Eras Dhiabhan.

“Anything turn up with the book?” Zerua set a basket of unearthed artifacts down on the table beside him with a smile.

He glanced up at her and returned to his reading. “The translation is slow going. Some of the words are proving difficult. The writer uses the words svaemel and bodashel interchangeably in places, and I’m still trying to place the words.” He brandished the journal. “But, I’m almost positive about the identity of the writer now!”

“Really?” Zerua craned her neck to get a peek of the book.

“It’s Queen Banach’s diary. She refers to Rith as her husband, and she speaks of raising an army with him. Who else could it be?” Kaidan graced her with a bright smile. “This could be a major break through in our understanding of the Rithians’ side of the conflict. She’s already offered some great insight into what caused the war.”

Zerua raised a brow. “Has she?”

“Yes!” Kaidan had to resist the urge to leap from his spot and pace. “She says that Rith saved her from Sedra’s wrath back when she was one of the six and was a failing part of Sedra’s great experiment.”

“Experiment?”

“Oh, right... That’s another part we’ll have to check into. She claims that Sedra wasn’t a goddess at all but was instead a being from another world who played the part of a god and created them. But she didn’t do it for good purposes. She was experimenting on them for reasons Queen Banach never understood.”

His wife cocked her head to the side, both brows rising. “Are you certain? Maybe you just translated it wrong. That’s clear blasphemy. If you listen to the Church of Sedra, that is...”

He bit his lip. “I know that, and I know what will happen if this is true. So, yes, I’m certain. I triple checked. She spells it out clearly. In that first entry we started reading, she explains that Sedra bound souls to each of them to give them life and power.” He waved the book at her again. “If this is true...” His lips pressed together in a thin line, and he shook his head.

“If this is true,” she finished. “Then everything we’ve believed our entire lives is a lie.”

He nodded.

“We can’t let anyone know about this until we’re certain that what this diary says is true.” She knelt beside him, staring down at the blood-stained pages. “If we put this in the public eye without any proof that it’s true, we’ll be in a world of trouble.”

“Love, if we publish our findings on this at all, we’re going to be branded heretics and laughed out of every scholarly circle.”

She looked up at him and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Kaidan, we’ve devoted our entire lives to the pursuit of the truth. That’s why we’re here today even though people claimed the myth was a lie and wouldn’t produce any evidence.” She tapped a knuckle against the book. “Something is going on here, and we have to find the truth.”

He sighed, staring at the damning words on the page. “I know. I just wish I could know ahead of time what we’ll get ourselves into while searching out the truth on this one. This won’t be like our usual digs where everything we’re after is long dead, Zerua.”

“What makes you say that?”

He shot her a glance and opened the book to the last page. “Because of this.”

The last page had been written in a shaking hand as if the writer was now feeble or rushed. The ink had blotted the page in a few areas, blurring some of the words. Zerua frowned and pointed at it. “You know I don’t read the older forms of Wyrdhan.”

Kaidan raised a brow. “Zer, it’s not that different from modern Wyrdhan. It just switches the endings around a bit for the nouns. That’s pretty much it.”

“Either way, I’m too worn out to figure this out. What does it say?”

He cleared his throat and took the diary back, running his finger beneath the text as he read. “Tomorrow it will be done. They will never be able to touch the scrolls that prove the truth of this book’s contents. The scrolls are safely hidden in a place where even the strongest will be brought to the ground by my curse.”

“How does that prove we’re not digging for things that are long dead?” Zerua settled her hands on her hips.

“It ends with one last warning. ’To those who would find the scrolls, you must seek the truth with pure intent and justice in your hearts. If you do not, you too will fall to the bane of Ashkarith.

'Someday, someone will uncover the truth and will preserve it until the day when the Son of Shadows comes. I foresaw that someone would find the truth, but before this can happen, the spirits that she has wronged must be laid to rest.” He lifted his head. “Zer, I don’t think Queen Banach, Bane of Ashkarith, ever moved on. And this seems to indicate that those souls Sedra supposedly murdered in their war never did either.”

The blood drained from Zerua’s face, and her lips moved in a soundless prayer for Albrith’s protection. “So, if we go after this, we have no guarantee we’ll make it out alive, and we’re dealing with a possible haunting.”

Kaidan nodded, his fingers shaking against the wood of the low table he’d spread his translation work onto.

“Are we really prepared to take that chance?” Zerua chewed on her lower lip, looking at the book with a sharp intake of breath. “Take the chance with our lives and those of others?”

“We won’t be taking anyone else for this one, Zer. We can’t.” Kaidan cleared his throat when she shot him a wide-eyed glance. “If what that says is true, who knows if we’ll make it out, and we know anyone we hire won’t if they’re not there for the same reasons we are.”

“But we can’t just go without help or backup, Kaidan!” She threw her hands up. “That’s the same as asking to die!”

He scrambled to his feet and wrapped her up in his arms. “Listen... I know that. But we can’t let this go without investigating, and if the evidence is out there, we have to find it. If this is true, all of us have been lied to for centuries of history.” He held her back at arms’ length. “Zer, I can’t let that go. Not if there’s even a remote chance. So, I have to go.”

Her shoulders slumped, and she bit her nails. Kaidan took her hands in his, stopping her from chewing them to stubs. “Hey, it’ll be fine. We’re going to go, and we’re going to come back with the truth, Zerua.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright. You’re right... The part about dying shook me up, but we do have to know what really happened.” She pulled out of his grip and snatched up the basket she’d come with. “I’ll keep working with the others on the dig while you work out where we’re supposed to go.”

“I have my guesses, but I’ll need to search into the lore more closely to determine what she’s talking about when she says ‘the place where even the strongest will be brought to the ground by my curse’.” Kaidan settled back into his place by the translation work, shifting on the grassy ground. “Then there’s the matter of the rest of the book, which seems to be a collection of prophecy of some sort based on the sentence case she uses.”

“The sentence case?”

Kaidan nodded. “Back in the time period this came from, there was a prophecy case that was supposedly only usable by an individual if they’d received divine revelation. But people mimicked it all the time. That’s how the cult of Ishtral started.”

Zerua laughed. “I’ll leave you to it then. If I don’t leave to go work with the others, I’ll be in here all day listening to you.”

He rolled his eyes, still focused on the papers strewn over his work surface. “I doubt that. You have more self-control when it comes to this stuff than I do.”

She snickered and padded to the tent’s entrance. “Well, someone has to keep your head out of the clouds when people need you here on Alcardia, darling.”

He snorted and waved her away. “If you say so.”

The tent flap rustled, and she left him to his work with one parting quip. “You know I’m right, dear.”

***

Night fell all too soon, and the dig was coming to a close for the day when Kaidan finally pieced together all the clues to determine the location where Banach had hidden the scrolls the journal spoke of. He jotted down the location, his heart thumping against his ribcage, and then sat back, staring at it in disbelief.

The voice of his wife and the workers’ headman drew closer, and he listened to her talking to the man. “Respect is important to everyone in this situation, I know. So, since we’ve proven what we came to prove, we’ll be finishing up with the dig tomorrow.”

“Much appreciated, ma’am. I’ll inform the workers.”

“See that they’re careful when they rebury the remains, please.” His wife pulled aside the flap and ducked inside the tent as she spoke.

“Understood, ma’am. They’ll be told to take care.” The headman glanced inside the tent. “Evening, Master Kaidan.”

Kaidan smiled at the man. “Good evening, Leotwo.”

The man’s gaze wandered around the inside of the tent. Then he returned Kaidan’s smile and ducked his head. “Well, I’ll take my leave for the evening, then.”

The two of them bid him farewell, but Kaidan’s attention was only partially on the headman and the current situation. His wife sat down on the mat beside him, tracing her fingers down his spine. “What have you found?”

“The location.” He crumpled the paper in his fist.

“And?”

“You’re right... It is a suicide mission.”

“But where do we have to go?” She began massaging the knots out of his shoulders.

He closed his eyes, groaning when she hit a sensitive spot between his shoulder blades. “Ashkarith. We have to go to Ashkarith.”

“Ashkarith?” His wife’s hands stilled against his back. “No one even knows for sure if the city still exists, though.”

Kaidan sucked in a deep breath. “I know...”

“The jungle supposedly reclaimed it, Kaidan. How are we going to find that?”

Kaidan shrugged. “No one will trek in there, and the captains of those new-fangled flying ships refuse to fly over the spot. They say it’s cursed.”

“That doesn’t answer how we’ll find it. That just means we’re going alone.” She resumed kneading knots from his stiff muscles.

“I know. We’re going to go to the village of Faeridhia. It’s the closest to the former city’s location, and if anyone knows whether or not the city survived the jungle and where to find it, it’ll be the natives.” He slumped over the table to give his wife better access to his back and the sore muscles.

“But that’s still deep in the jungle. No one will fly us there.”

“True, but we might be able to find someone to lead us there.” Kaidan sighed as his wife’s nimble fingers removed the aches and tension in his back.

“Kaidan, you know what’s said about the people in Faeridhia.” Zerua wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back.

Kaidan snickered. “Come bearing gifts unless you want to be eaten alive?”

She smacked his side lightly. “You know that’s not what they say.”

Kaidan sat up and drew her into his arms, stretching out on the mat with her beside him. “I know, I know. They’re unpredictable and vicious.”

“That doesn’t concern you?” She traced his cheekbones with her fingertips.

“We’ll find a way, Zer. There’s no other choice.”

“We’re going to get ourselves killed.” She bit her lip.

Kaidan leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the tip of her nose. “What better way to die than in pursuit of truth?”

She rolled her eyes, but his words drew a smile from her. “Perhaps of old age in your sleep?”

Kaidan brushed his lips over hers with a smile. “Boring.”

Her lips flirted with his own, and her breathy laughter greeted his comment. “I thought the same.”

“So, it’s settled? We’re going to go after this thing?”

She nodded, her smile fading. “I don’t see another option. We can’t just let this go. Now that we’ve dug up this, we’ve got to find out if it’s true. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to believe that wrong is right and truth is untruth for the rest of my life.”

His gaze dropped to the small space between them. “Neither do I.”

“Then we’ll set out for Ashkarith as soon as we finish up here.” She tangled her fingers in his hair. “But for now, let’s take an opportunity to rest. I have a feeling we won’t be doing much of that in the near future.”

Kaidan gathered her closer to him. She’s right. Whatever we find in that jungle is going to turn our world upside down, and I don’t think either of us will have a chance to rest easy once we find out the truth. He closed his eyes with a sigh. The journal’s already disturbing enough. His mind drifted as the lack of sleep for the last few months caught up with him. Ashkarith. City of the dead. What will we find there? His breathing slowed, and after a few more minutes, he was out.

The team worked over the rubble on Dubarin hill while Kaidan Tadegan, leader of their expedition, picked over the far side of the hill, nearest the Rithian side. He worked with fervor but with care, not wanting to damage anything. The sun glared down on him, roasting him alive, and he wiped the back of his neck with a cloth. Who knows what we might find! Perhaps we’ll find some proof of the ancient lore about this place.

The hole he was digging had turned into an open-roofed tunnel that sloped gradually downward as he went. At around seven feet down into the side of the hill, his shovel struck something with a dull thud. He tested the soil with the tip of the shovel, trying to determine what it was. When he shifted some more dirt, he saw a flash of white under the sun. More bones? They’d found many bones on this site, an indication that the legends of the battle that occurred between the gods might have some merit. Still, so far, he hadn’t found any bones on this side of the hill, and he’d begun to think the battle hadn’t raged this far. Perhaps I just hadn’t found any yet.

Minutes later, he’d cleared the remaining layer of soil off to find the bleach-white bones of a corpse glaring up at him in the harsh rays of the sun. Kneeling down on his knees, he brushed the dirt away and grabbed a trowel, gently clearing packed clods of dirt and loose soil away from the corpse. When he had, he backed further up the slope and sat on his heels, staring down at it.

Inside the tunnel, the bones of the corpse rested. Time and worms had rotted through the clothing of the deceased individual. The slender facial structure of the skull and the tiny stature indicated it was a woman. He frowned. Who is this? All the corpses we’ve found so far have been of men and boys, not women.

A book lay locked against the corpse’s chest, her skeletal hands clutching it to her even in the rigor of death. He leaned down, seeking to pry it from the hands of the skeleton. The hands wouldn’t move, and he didn’t wish to snap the bones. Jumping down into the hole again, he tried to find a better angle so that he could slide it out of the corpse’s grasp.

This time, the hands relinquished their prize, and he stared down at the book’s unmarked leather cover, which was worn with age and crusted in dirt. He returned to the mouth of his tunnel and opened it with a frown. The book’s pages were stuck together with time and a dark brown substance, though they yielded with some gentle prying. Upon closer examination, he realized it looked much like dried blood. What have I stumbled across here?

“Kaidan? Kaidan, what are you doing over here?”

Kaidan looked up to find his wife Zerua strolling down the hill toward him. “Zer, look what I found!” He pointed to the grave site and waved the book.

She rushed to see, a smile lighting up her gray eyes. “What is it?”

“I think it’s some sort of burial site. It’s the first woman we’ve found buried here.”

“Any clues as to why she was buried here?”

He shook his head, hefting the book up onto the grass and clambering out of the hole where his ramp downward had begun. “Not yet. Let’s take a look at this book though. She was holding it.”

Zerua fingered the ancient leather. “This is in awfully fair condition for being buried thousands of years.”

“Outside maybe. I opened it briefly a moment ago, and it looks like there’s dried blood caked to it. It’ll be a wonder if we can get pages apart to read any of it.” He settled cross-legged on the ground beside his wife and pulled the book into his lap. “Let’s see what we have here...”

He eased the cover open, minding the brittle crackling of the paper as he did. The scent of iron still lingered on the pages, and he frowned, flipping past the first empty page to look at the next. “There’s writing on this one.”

His wife leaned over his shoulder, fingering the flaking black-brown substance. “How strange that this substance on the pages didn’t render it illegible.”

He stared at the first words on the page. Sedra cannot be trusted. She has lied to them all, but they do not know the extent to which she has deceived them. His gaze lifted to meet his wife’s wide-eyed gaze. “What have we found?”

***

By the light of the torches, Kaidan and Zerua examined the book and its words. “Who do you think it belongs to?” Zerua traced her fingers over the cover.

Kaidan batted her hand away with a snort. “I’d be able to tell me more if you let me brush all the dirt on this cover away.”

“Brush away then.” She held back and let him set to work cleaning the dirt off the book.

When he’d finished, the two of them stared down at the crest embossed on the leather of the book. He ran his fingers over the symbol. Two wings spread to either side with a strange sigil of lines and swirls in the center.

“What is that?” His wife pointed at it. “I haven’t seen that one before.”

Kaidan smiled. “Not often I know more about history than you, my love.”

She rolled her eyes. “You give me too much credit. Now, what is it?”

“This was the sigil of the royalty of the house of Rith. According to the stories, Rith and his two eldest sons died in the Battle of Dubarin Hill.”

“Yes... That’s why we’re here.”

“But the legends also claim that his wife fled with their daughter, the youngest of their children, and one or two other children also survived by fleeing the battlefield in the chaos.” He tapped the sigil. “This sigil is the symbol of the psyche, and the wings were supposed to represent the overshadowing of Rith’s protection of his kingdom. Queen Banach was said to have watched as Sedra hunted down and killed the last of her children. Supposedly, the woman went mad and spent the remainder of her life wasting away in a prison cell at Aghraban, what we now call Kier, the capital of Argos.”

“So... What is our corpse doing with a royal diary here in the hillside of Dubarin?” His wife frowned and began pacing the length of their tent.

Kaidan shook his head. “That, I do not know.”

“Who was this woman? Why would she have such a thing?” She spun to face him. “Is anything said in the legends about the diary?”

Kaidan shrugged. “Some tales say that Banach had a book in which she wrote prophecies. But it was lost with her when she disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“People say she died because one day, when she had reached her five-hundredth birthday, the guards found her cell empty. No one ever saw her again, though it’s said she haunts the ruins of her former capital, Ashkarith. Legend says that she is the reason everyone who goes into the city disappears or returns raving mad.” He shook his head. “As for why our mystery woman has this diary, I couldn’t say.”

Zerua sighed. “Well, only one way to find out. I suppose we’ll have to read everything in this to determine where it came from and whose it was.”

Kaidan sighed. “I suppose you’re right. There’s not much else we can do since the author didn’t leave their name in it.” He tucked the book under his arm. “But for tonight, it’s late. Shall we retire, my love?”

Zerua smiled up at him. “Indeed, we shall.”

He wrapped his free arm around her shoulders. “Zer?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think we should tell the others anything?” He bit his lip. “I can’t explain it, but I get the feeling we should keep this a secret.”

She hummed softly, a sign she was considering his question. “I have the same inexplicable feeling. For now, let’s keep this to ourselves.”

“Agreed. Do you think there’s more to the legends than people think?”

“We wouldn’t be out here if there wasn’t a chance of it.” She wrapped her arm around his waist.

“What we saw in the beginning of this diary...” He cleared his throat. “Zerua, those words are heresy. Always have been. To say that the goddess of magic lied or deceived the Originals is blasphemy.”

“I know.”

“Why would the writer claim this?”

Zerua clutched him closer to her and held the lantern higher. “I don’t know. But the sigil on the cover is from the House of Rith. The two siblings clashed all the time. The people of his house wouldn’t exactly be unbiased.”

“True. But what if they were on to something, Zerua? They had to have some reason for saying the things they did.” He gnawed on his lower lip. “It doesn’t make sense.”

They reached their tent, and she set the lantern down, pulling aside the tent flap for him. “I don’t know, darling. But we’ll find out, won’t we? We’ve found something, and that’s what we were here for. To prove what really happened in The Battle of Dubarin. To prove it happened in the first place. This book could be a good first step.”

He ducked his head and entered the tent. “I suppose that’s true. But it’s curious, isn’t it? A diary from this time period that claims the goddess everyone revers isn’t who she said she was. If that’s true, what else might be a lie about the myths and the beliefs from the old times?”

His wife ducked through the tent flap and set the lantern next to their bed roll. “Dangerous questions, husband.” She tugged the book from his hands and set it at the foot of their bed. “But right now, it’s time to get some sleep so we can face tomorrow with a brand new outlook.”

She’s right, of course. As always. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers with a sigh.

She released a guttural hum of approval, threading her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer. He let her soft lips and pliable form melt away the distractions and worries of the day. With her next to him, things would work out anyway. They always seemed to.

“I love you, you know.” He smiled down at her, trapping her legs between his.

She stroked his face, laughing when her fingers brushed over days’ old stubble. “I love you too. Even if you do need a shave.”

“You know you love the rugged look on me, though.” He settled his lips on hers, laying on his side and pulling her hips flush against his.

She laughed, kissing him back. “You know me too well.”

He slid his hands up her sides, letting himself relax and take his time with her. It had been too long since they’d had a moment to themselves like this thanks to the travel to Dubarin and the hard work, which left them exhausted each evening. Tonight, he wouldn’t let that stop him.

“You know, whatever we find out there, I’m sure it won’t change that much.” Zerua slid her hands along his chest then tugged at his shirt. “You and me... We’ll still be the same at the end. And we’ll have each other, no matter what.”

He grinned. “I need nothing more. Now, how about we finish what we started instead of getting distracted with that book?”

“Someone’s impatient.” She tugged his shirt up over his head.

“We haven’t had any real alone time since we set out on this expedition. What do you expect?” He pulled at the laces on the front of her tunic, tugging them free of their grommets. She squealed in surprise as her shirt was peeled off her and joined his. The cool air in the tent played over both of them, and he trailed his fingers over her shoulder with a smile.

“I couldn’t ask for a better wife, my love.”

“Nor I a better husband.” She lifted her lips to his, and talking ceased. 

This took me a month to write - yes, a month - but many more months to revise. Even now, I am still certain there is something more to fix, something more to change or tweak with this. No writer or author is ever truly done making a work better, though there does come a point when making it better crosses the line into making it mechanical and dull. 

Either way, my hope with this book - as with most every book I've ever written - is that the reader will be transported into another world for a time. My hope is that you, as the reader, will have been given a chance - if you've read this far - to escape reality for a time. Maybe you've learned something while following the characters' journeys, maybe you haven't. Either way, I hope that you have gained some enjoyment from this book if nothing else. 

Remember, none of us ever comes back from reading a book without being changed in some way, however small. If you are a writer, every time you write, your words are changing something - you, others about you, the world. That, I think, is the most important part of a book. Its ability to change people and things. To teach even when it was written with the intent of enjoyment purposes. So I hope that this book has accomplished that most important purpose in some way, no matter how small. 

Thank you all so much for reading this book. I appreciate it greatly! 

Ariel Paiement

A little girl’s laughter rippled along the air. Her mother smiled as she watched her little daughter play with her older brother.

Ten years ago, Nari had married Chenn. Two years later, they'd had a precocious little boy, whom they'd named Ali in honor of Chenn’s best friend, Ali.

The couple watched Ali grow up into a fine three-year-old boy. When he was three, Nari became pregnant with their daughter, Hanna. They were delighted when Hanna was born, and so was her brother, Ali.

Now Nari watched them playing happily in the brilliant sunshine that was filtering through the trees in the jungle near West Base. Her little copper-headed son and silky, blond-haired daughter played side-by-side and chased the exotic blue and pink butterflies.

Hanna was five, and Ali was eight, but that didn’t seem to matter to the two siblings.

Chenn joined her in watching them. He placed his hands on her hips just as he had that day he took her to that enrapturing clearing of gold and silver trees with the one wild rose bush blooming profusely in the center. They never returned to that forest. Both of them stayed on West Base, and when Indri was promoted to lead East Base, Andrew made Chenn the Lieutenant General in his place.

Nari had a lot on her hands raising the two children, and Chenn pressed her to quit working. His pay was enough to support them, and Nari respected his wishes. She quit her job as a field agent, and turned to raising Ali and Hanna.

She spent her days schooling them while Chenn worked in his office, and at night, Chenn came home to their quarters on West Base.

 Life was everything they could have wanted and more, and Earth was safe from threats once more. The Balance was restored, and they were secure in the knowledge that for a while, it would stay that way.

It was a good ending to their story, and both of them would tell you today that they wouldn’t do anything different even if you gave them the chance. They had gotten what they wanted out of life even if it was a hard road to get there. And that was the end.

“We’d like you to marry us, Indri.” Chenn said.

“Me? Why me?” Indri looked up from his papers, gazing silently at Chenn. “Why not a minister?”

“Indri, you know that legally, anyone can marry us so long as there are witnesses. We’re of age, and the laws have allowed marriages without a minister for years. We just have to sign our marriage papers and have several witnesses sign them too.” Chenn responded, smiling.

“Well, yes, but I don’t understand why you want that person to be me.” Indri leaned back in his grey, metal chair. He wished there was just a little splash of color in the office. Not a lot. He wasn't an extravagant person. But more than there was now. Which was none.

“Because you’ve been like a father to me.” Chenn answered quietly.

Nari listened to the exchange quietly, leaning against Chenn. He had one arm around her shoulders as he spoke to Indri.

“Does Nari want this too?” Indri glanced over at her.

“Oh, yes, Indri! I would be honored if you would marry us.” Nari looked up into his eyes, smiling.

“Well, faced with such persuasive arguments and such a lovely young couple, I can only say yes.” Indri smiled at Chenn. “You found yourself a wonderful bride, Chenn.”

“Thanks, sir!”

“You’re welcome. Now out. I need to do some work, and prepare for the wedding ceremony. When are you having it?” Indri asked.

“We wanted to keep it simple. She said yes a week ago, and we’ve got the dress already. When Andrew found out, he insisted on setting up the room for the reception here on West Base. He also insisted on seeing to making sure that the food and everything else was paid for. We pretty much told him to do what he liked for it. Nari told him what colors and flowers she liked when he asked, but it’s been such a blessing not to have to worry about it.” Chenn grinned.

“That doesn’t answer when you’re having it, Chenn.” Indri glanced back down at his papers.

“Right. Well, we were thinking that we’d have it in two weeks. I know it’s short notice, but we’ve already got the people we wanted in the ceremony involved. There was just you to ask, and we kept it all simple, so it’s almost completely done.” Chenn looked down at Nari, who smiled up at him.

“Alright then. Thanks for the notice. I have to work on paperwork now, Chenn, so you two run along now.” Indri waved a hand at them, shooing them off.

Chenn grinned. “Thanks for accepting the job, Indri.”

“You two are very welcome, I’m sure.” Indri was already distracted and paying attention to his paperwork again.

Chenn laughed softly. The two took the hint and walked out.

“Just think. In a week, we’ll be married, Nari. Married.”

She smiled. “I never would have imagined it was possible. I mean, you and me? We should’ve hated each other by all standards and rights. I spent years hating you for what happened to Hanna, and you… What did you think of me all those years?”

“I guess I hated you too. I mean, your despair and pain haunted me all those years in jail. Every night I dreamed about that day, and it was never anything good.”

She laughed. “Well, I’m just glad that it worked out for us. I never thought I’d get married. Everyone ignored me if they didn’t hate me outright, so I just assumed that no one would ever want to marry me. But when you asked… I was so surprised; I hardly knew what to say.”

Chenn grinned. “I’m told I have a silencing effect on people.”

She smiled back at him, and then she gave him a slight shove. He bumped into her a bit good-naturedly. They continued laughing, and went to eat lunch together.

 ***

Two weeks later, Nari and Chenn stood at a small wooden table with a ivy green cloth draped over it. They didn't have an altar, so the table stood in. The vaulted ceiling high above them was crisscrossed with decorative blue and green streamers, which were secured to the steel girders that wove across the ceiling in a tight web. 

Andrew had done admirably with the decorations. They were simple, but tasteful. White carnations and blood red roses adorned the walls of the room that he had chosen for the wedding, their colors brightening the room and making it appear much larger than the eighteen by nineteen feet it really was. A carpet of blue lay between five rows of chairs containing about twenty chairs each, and the table that was serving as an altar was also draped in blue. Offsetting the blue, Andrew had done the tablecloths in ivy green. 

Nari wondered how much it had all cost, but she decided not to worry about it. Andrew had told them both that it was his wedding gift to them and his gift of thanks for all their help during the war.

She gazed down at the dress that Chenn had helped her pick.

The skirt flowed down from her waist in silver-white petals. It blazed in the bright light, and the blue sash provided a lovely offset for the color. The bodice was a lace up that cupped her form comfortably when laced up. The glittered top caught the light when she moved, making it appear as though she were robed in light.

She gazed at Chenn, a happy smile on her face. She was nervous about this, yes, but with Chenn, she knew she would find happiness. So she would survive the nervousness and fear that she was feeling because he was at her side.

Indri began speaking to Chenn. Nari tried to focus on what he was saying, but her attention wandered. Everything was so perfect, but her happiness put a haze over everything. She felt like she was floating on air as she waited for her turn to say her vows.

When it finally came, she breezed through the vows without really thinking about what she was saying. She only knew that what she was saying was binding her to Chenn, and that’s what she wanted.

Indri’s voice with his final lines cut through her haze.

“I now declare you man and wife. The groom may kiss the bride.”

She threw her veil up off her face. Chenn took her in his arms and kissed her long and hard. She tossed her arms around his neck, kissing him back as her heart thudded in her chest. Her stomach fluttered as she and Chenn turned to face the crowd.

Everyone there broke into cheers and laughter. They clapped and whistled, cheering for the newly-wed couple.

***

Nari and Chenn lay beside each other in the dark. It was around midnight, and Nari was nestled up close to him under the blankets. Chenn put his arms around her, breathing in her rose and pine needle perfume. She enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her, content to be beside him. It was more than she could ever have hoped for.

She had gotten the man she’d fallen in love with, and he was one of the best men she knew. However unlikely their love story had been, it was only more amazing to her because of it.

Only a few things shadowed it, memories of the recent war being one of them.

“What’s going to happen to Amory?” Nari whispered.

“He wouldn’t surrender, and neither would Bjorn. Andrew has no choice but to banish him into the Dark Realms - a place from which he will never return.”

Nari sighed. “It’s the perfect ending.” She paused. "For us anyway and for those who surrendered and rejoined us."

Chenn smiled, kissing her with passion, savoring the honey taste of her lips, and then caressing her cheek. “Yes. It’s the perfect ending.”

She kissed him back, slipping her fingers through his hair and sighing. “Glad you agree. Now go to sleep. It’s late, and I’m tired.”

He smiled, giving her a quiet laugh. “I thought you were scared of the dark.”

She pressed tighter against him. “Not when you’re next to me. You seem to chase away all the bad dreams, Chenn, my love.”

“Do I?”

“Yes.” She kissed him again with gentle firmness. “Now go to sleep.”

He grinned, moonlight illuminating his face. “We’ve been through so much together, you and I. What do you think will be next?”

“I don’t know Chenn. Maybe you’d like to embark on the adventure of raising a family? I think I could live with that adventure. But let’s not have too many more like what we just went through.”

“Yeah, let’s not.” Chenn murmured. “As to the children… I don’t know. Maybe after a few years of living together and enjoying the peace of wedded bliss.”

“Wedded bliss. I like that.” Nari murmured, sleep overtaking her.

“Glad to know you do.” Chenn whispered back.

But she didn’t hear him. She had fallen asleep nestled against him, safe and warm.

Chenn and Nari were working in the kitchen. It had been a week since Nari had been released from bed rest, and two since Chenn was first allowed to leave his cell.

Someone burst through the door, shouting joyously and dancing. “We’ve won! The war’s over! It’s over! We won!”

Several people in the room, including Nari, burst into tears, smiles lighting their faces. There had been reports of many casualties during the three or four weeks of real fighting. And Chenn knew that because of what he’d taught Andrew, they had won the war so much faster. If it hadn’t been for that, the war might have dragged out for months, maybe even years.

Nari turned to him, still weeping. She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him hard. He put his arms around her waist like he had so many times before. When she stopped kissing him, she whispered, “We did it! We won. It’s all over, and we won. No more battling and death. No more war. It’s over, and Amory is defeated! Earth is safe!”

Chenn grinned. Her excitement was contagious. He began laughing. “Yeah, we really did it. The war’s over, and we won!”

He picked her up, and spun her around in the open area of the kitchen. She laughed breathlessly as he did so.

“Chenn, put me down!”

“We won!” He finally stopped spinning her about, and set her down.

She laughed, hugging him tight. “Yeah, we did!”

Andrew walked into the kitchen then. “I guess you’ve all heard that we won. Otherwise you wouldn’t be yelling ‘we won’.  I’ve come to ask Chenn something.”

Chenn stepped forward. “Yes, sir?”

“You told me two weeks ago that you would pledge to the MBC, to me, anything just to leave your cell. So now I’m here to ask for that. In the front of all these people, will you pledge your allegiance to the MBC?”

“Yes sir, I will.”

“Repeat after me. I, Chenn Covalenti…”

“I, Chenn Covalenti…”

“Do hereby swear…”

“Do hereby swear.” Chenn felt like he was in some medieval world as he spoke the words.

“To serve the MBC faithfully and to obey my superior officers…”

Chenn repeated the words, struggling not to laugh over how ridiculous he sounded. But the solemnity of the situation sobered him, and the laughter dissipated. 

“To the best of my ability…”

“To the best of my ability.” Chenn finished.

Andrew smiled, clapping him on the back. “Glad to have you back on board, Chenn. I have to go now. I’ve got to offer all of Amory’s men the same choice I offered you.”

Chenn nodded. “It’s generous of you to do so, sir. I thank you for your willingness to allow me the chance to reform my ways.”

“You’re welcome.” Andrew turned and walked of the room.

As soon as he was gone, cheering broke out among the kitchen workers again. Everybody was yelling and shouting in ecstasy.

Chenn took Nari’s hand and led her through the kitchen where people had abandoned the shining pots and cooking meals to dance around and shout ecstatically.

Nari smiled and laughed too, her body going relaxed with the release of the tension she'd been dealing with. It was finally over, and everything looked brighter - better - now. She followed as Chenn led her out into the hall.

He continued to walk on until he reached her room. Then he went down on one knee, still holding her hand. She frowned down at him, confusion in her eyes. “Chenn?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant to do. Her heart pounded, and her mouth was dry. Her hands sweated in his grip.

He popped the box open, revealing a glittering, clear diamond chip with two ice blue sapphires set on either side in a band of white gold. Two tiny ruby chips flamed on the last pieces of Grecian scroll work on the ring's surface. The gold gleamed in the soft light of the hall, and the tiny rubies on the very ends winked up at her. She gasped as she saw it, all speech fleeing her.

“Nari, will you marry me?” Chenn whispered. 

She stared at him, breathing hard, unsure what to do. But she heard her voice responding in a haze.

“Yes.” She laughed as she realized what she’d said. “Yes, Chenn. I’ll marry you!”

He laughed too, and he stood up, swinging her into his arms. “Thank you!” He whispered in her ear as he spun her around.

She laughed, tightening her arms around his neck as he spun her about for the second time that day.

Her lips pressed against his as he stopped spinning, and he kissed her back. His heart throbbed with relief and joy.

She’d said yes. She’d said yes! She’d consented to be his wife, and it made him happier than he’d thought it could.

Andrew stood on the field, staring out across the airfield of West Base, waiting. 

Amory's forces were camped out on the huge, sprawling expanse of grasses and tropical flowers covering the open space around West Base. 

They were waiting. Waiting for something. 

Men and women mingled with strange, contorted beasts with snarling faces and twisted limbs. Fangs and snapping growls mixed with hushed whispers and anticipatory stares. The forces his brother commanded stood waiting, seas of bodies - whether man or beast - spreading out to touch the Gate and past the walls, which had previously kept out anything thrown at them but which now lay in a pile of rubble, desolate on the ground. 

It was time. 

Time to decide the course of the battle. 

Chenn had taught him what to say and what to do. Now it was time to use it. 

Amory's forces charged him in a swell, bearing down upon his small force of men and women with grim, determined faces and raised sidearms. He stood at their head, a desolate, lone figure, battered and worn, the dust and dirt from yesterday's battle still clinging to his body as he prepared to meet them, exhausted from a night spent sleepless and restless, reworking the words he had to say to end it all. 

The roars and yells of his brother's forces melted away, fading out of his ears. 

He closed his eyes, focusing. 

There was only his breathing now. The soft in and out, in and out that signified he still lived, still led those loyal to him. 

He raised the gleaming Wand high, lips beginning to form the arcane words that would end this battle once and for all. Perhaps even end him, if he was so unfortunate. But he prayed it would not end him. That he would end lucky. That his life-force would not be used up in this blast. 

Chenn had warned him that if he used the spell at the wrong time, it could drain him of his life within seconds, killing him as surely as any enemy laser or explosive could. 

The end wouldn't be without pain either. Chenn said that - according to the texts he'd read when studying the matter - it was highly likely that the victim of the unfortunate event would spend up to ten minutes in utter agony as they felt every ounce of life fade out of them, their bones snapping, brittle and unsustained, their skin shriveling up against the broken bones causing punctures that let the blood seep out, and their teeth falling out. Until finally they were only a pile of dust on the ground. 

That wasn't the worst part either. The Wand could drain one's very soul, stealing away everything that made the person human. And that knowledge that they were losing all that made them alive and human - different from the animals all around them - could be enough to drive them insane in the last intervening minutes before death. 

He prayed one last time that it would not be his end. That he would not go that way. He wanted to die peacefully - painlessly if possible; didn't everyone? He didn't want to die in the horrific way Chenn had described. 

Honestly, the boy had a knack for describing terrifying images and haunting events. It sent a shiver down his spine just thinking of the images Chenn's words had conjured. The boy was certainly a master at story-telling. 

The boy?

Chenn wasn't a boy anymore than he was. They were around the same edge. If Chenn was a boy, so was Andrew. 

This thought hadn't occured to him before now. But as time stilled to a halt for him, creeping by in barely noticeable fractions of an inch, he realized that perhaps all of them were too young. No. Not perhaps. They were too young. All of them were too young. 

Too young to be arguing and bickering like this with such high stakes. 

Too young to be fighting the war against evil and Dark Magic. 

Too young to be entrusted with something so dangerous as the Balance. 

Too young for all of it. 

Really, they shouldn't be here at all. They should've been back on Earth, studying whatever they were planning to do when they were grown. Just like his younger sister, Ele, was doing in his aunt's custody back on Earth. Back on Earth in his aunt's custody where her father had sent her to get away from the last reminder of her that he couldn't deal with, couldn't bear to beat, couldn't bear to break, and couldn't bear to allow to see how low their mother's death had brought him. 

He'd never resented her for it. It was just a fact. 

But the fact was, he, Chenn, and Nari - even Amory, really, though he was on the side of evil, not good - were too young to be here in an alternate dimension waging a war against evil and wrong-doers as they were. 

His time to deliberate and reflect was over. The first tide crashed into him just as the blinding light exploded, disintegrating all the unearthly beings - it would send them back to the Dark Realms where they belonged - and scattering the humans, knocking some unconscious, killing others, and simply badly injuring others. 

His little force stood firm, protected by the barrier of magic he'd cast around them before beginning the spell. 

But his energy was spent. The Wand had drained it all from him. 

His men caught him just as he collapsed to the ground, eyes rolling back in his head and fluttering closed as he passed out. 

***

When he woke up, he was in his bed in his rooms. 

The cold grey walls hedged him in and the white sheets seemed to pristine for the ache in his heart. 

Chenn was sitting in the chair beside his bed, something which greatly surprised him, given the young man's animosity towards Andrew for imprisoning him. 

When Andrew attempted to sit up, his arms gave out, and he collapsed back into his pillows with a moan. 

Chenn's head snapped up, his mesmerizing, somewhat unnerving eyes piercing into Andrew's. "You're awake." His voice was almost flat, but a hint of something - relief, Andrew thought - flashed through his eyes and into his voice.

Andrew nodded weakly, giving Chenn a half-hearted smile. "Did it work?" He whispered.

Chenn nodded curtly. "You did well... Most of the forces were made up of supernatural beings Amory conjured... All the others were put into the cells, safely out of the way and contained..." Chenn stopped, staring out the single window in the room, which looked out over the dark, green jungle. 

"Chenn... I just... Thank you." Andrew smiled at the young man in the seat beside his bed, the look genuine this time. 

Chen shrugged. "Don't mention it..."

"Why did you sit here? How long have you been here anyway?" Andrew inquired, concern lighting in his eyes. 

Another shrug. "A day... I sat here because... I don't know... Because I felt I owed it to you. My judgement of you at first... Well, to be honest, I thought you were a jerk and asinine... But I watched from the roof of the Base as you stood down those armies. Watched as you blasted them. As you stood up for what was right and said no to what was wrong..." He stopped, hesitating, but then continued. "I was impressed... And to be honest, I look up to you for it. I had to side with evil and be burned before I realized how dangerous my position was... You didn't. You always knew. My judgement of you was wrong."

Andrew didn't say anything, but continued to quietly observe Chenn. 

Chenn cleared his throat. "I just wanted to say... You're a good man, Andrew Parsi. A better man than I, for certain, and certainly a better one than your brother. I'm sorry that I misjudged you so grieviously..." Then he got up and stalked silently from the room. 

But not before Andrew caught the stain of a blush in his cheeks, as though the other man was embarrassed or uncomfortable to be admitting that he thought Andrew was a good man. 

Andrew smiled softly. He was glad Chen had decided not to hate him. He had liked the boy from the start, and it was easier to be friendly and get to know him when he wasn't on the defensive or angry with Andrew for something. 

With that thought in mind, he allowed the exhaustion he'd been fighting ever since waking up to take over, and he was plunged into inky blackness and dreams once more. 

“Thanks to you, Nari, we’re winning.” Andrew remarked.

Nari was sitting in her bed. All the excitement of the last week or so had caused her to pass out when she finally reached West Base. Due to this, the doctor had placed her under bed rest.

“That's great! How long do you think it will take before we can defeat them completely?”

“I have no idea, but based on the way we’ve been routing forces, I’m guessing that we’ll win within a month. But you needn’t worry about it. Focus on resting up and getting better.”

“How is Chenn?”

Andrew started to say something, and then he stopped. “He’s well enough.”

Nari eyed him, crossing her arms. “Andrew, what aren’t you telling me? Where is Chenn?”

Andrew sighed. “The doctor said I’m not allowed to upset you.”

“Not telling me upsets me too. Where is Chenn?” Nari's heart pounded, and her hands were suddenly slick with sweat. She glanced away from Andrew, focusing instead on her white sheets, the steel bed frame, the grey walls. Anything but him.

“In jail.” Andrew decided a blunt reply was best.

Being level with Nari accomplished more than lies.

“Why?” Nari’s voice was hard and cold and she looked back at him, eyes glinting. “He went through a lot to help me!”

“Nari, he was with the enemy. I don’t know him that well, and I can’t take any risks. He’s well cared for, fed, and clothed, and he’s getting plenty of stuff to occupy him. He’s got everything he needs or could want.”

“Except his freedom.” Nari’s voice was sharp and her hands clenched, bunching the sheets.

“Except that. But when the war is over, he’ll be given that. I promise.” Andrew tried to appease her.

“Don’t use that conciliatory tone with me, Andrew.” She snapped.

“You shouldn’t be rude to me.” Andrew shot back.

“You locked up a good man. You don't deserve my respect.”

“Nari…” He dropped into the chair beside her bed, taking her hand.

She pulled her hand away, not wanting him to touch her if he was going to lock up the one person she trusted most. "He has important information."

He sighed. "I..."

"Don't! Just... go... away." She gritted her teeth, clenching her hands on the sheets.

“He’s the enemy, Nari. Why would I listen when he’s likely to lie to me?” Andrew protested, raising his hands to ward off her furious glare.

“Because he isn’t going to lie. He risked death to help me, and he’s not going to throw away everything he’s worked hard to accomplish just to tell you lies about how to work the Wand and Scepter. Amory’s gathering his forces. You need to end this war now; Chenn can help you do it!” Nari's voice rose, and she struggled to keep her voice level and polite.

“I’ll talk to him, Nari, alright? You get your rest, and don’t worry about it all.” Andrew stood up, turning to go.

“I’ll worry if I want. Release him, and I won't have to worry.” Nari snapped, her cool demeanor cracking.

“Chenn isn’t in any danger, and he won’t be harmed, Nari. I’m not my brother. I won’t do to Chenn what my brother did to you.” Andrew promised.

Nari didn’t reply.

Andrew sighed, and walked out of her room.  She watched him go, silent and unmoving in her despair. How could Andrew lock Chenn up when he’d done so much for her?

***

Chenn sat in his cell absorbing himself in a book. He’d spent ten years of his life in a cell just like this - bleak and unadorned - and being back in one wasn’t having any good effects on him. Already he felt confined and claustrophobic. He fought hard against the rising panic, but with little success.

The only way he knew to combat it was reading. Fortunately for him, Andrew had been quite willing to give him almost anything he asked for. He was getting plenty of clean water, food, and he had enough books to keep him occupied for a while.

He had a few bright cordless lamps to light up the cell so that it didn't seem dreary or dark like the one in jail had been. But the iron bars and grey interior with its single metal bunk and a small table with two chairs were so similar to the ones he'd had in jail that he might as well be living back there again anyway. It didn't matter that he had light or that Nari had asked Andrew to give him fresh flowers every day to give him something pretty to look it.

Yet he couldn’t focus on any of the things that distracted him from his predicament no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to know how the battle was going. Was Andrew winning now? Or was Amory still winning despite all Chenn’s hard work to be sure he never would?

The door rattled open. Andrew stepped in.

“Nari asked me to talk to you. She said you knew a way that I could end this war now.”

Chenn nodded. “Yeah. But, out of curiosity, why would you listen to me? I thought I was your enemy.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness entirely out of his voice.

Andrew didn’t miss it either. The man rarely missed anything it seemed. “I’m sorry about this, Chenn, but we can’t risk that you’re spying on us or in some way compromising us. This war and its outcome are too important.” He sat down in the chair across from Chenn, who had set down his book, Don Quixote.

“I understand.” Chenn stood up, marking his place in the book he’d been reading.

“I hope that you do. As soon as the war is over, you’ll be released, of course. For now, though, I hope that you’ll not be too upset with our meager hospitality.” Andrew's voice was soft.

“What did you come for, sir?” Chenn didn't want to speak about pleasantries. "Please just get to the point."

But why not spend time speaking about meaningless things? What else would he do other than go back to trying to read his books in this bleak, grey cell? The ones he couldn't focus on anyway? What was the point? At least Andrew was company. No one else visited him.

Andrew sighed. Why did Chenn have to be so hostile? Then again, Andrew had locked him up, so he supposed it made sense that Chenn wouldn’t act in an appreciative or friendly manner. “I came because I wanted you to help me.”

“You’d ask your enemy for help?” Chenn turned to face him, arms crossed, eyes widening.

“Chenn, I don’t believe that you’re my enemy, but I can’t take the risk.” Andrew smiled at Chenn.

Chenn didn't return the smile. “Fine. I’ll tell you. Did you bring the Scepter?”

“Yes.” Andrew pulled it out of his satchel.

Chenn took it from him carefully, and started demonstrating.

***

An hour later, Andrew had learned all Chenn knew how to teach. It was up to him to make use of it.

If he would, Chenn could not say, but he couldn’t change what Andrew would do.

“Thanks, Chenn. I’ll make good use of what you’ve taught me.” Andrew put his hand out for Chenn to shake it.

Chenn didn’t take it though. “You’re welcome.”

Andrew took his hand back. “Chenn, I don’t want to be your enemy. I really don’t. But if you insist on being hostile like this, I’ll have to assume you are my enemy.”

Chenn didn’t reply. He just looked at Andrew calmly.

“I won’t beg, Chenn. If you don’t want to treat me with respect and decency, fine. But I can’t consider you a friend or even neutral if you insist on this behavior.”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t treat you this way?” Chenn continued to watch Andrew warily.

“Chenn…”

“Well? I do everything in my physical power to help Nari to bring you what you need, and the only thanks I get is this. You lock me away here, and act like you don’t have a choice. I haven’t done a thing to you, so give me a reason why I should be here.”

“For your safety and for everyone else’s.”

“How is this for my safety?”

“Chenn, we’ll be bringing Amory back here as a captive, and if he sees you around Base, there’s a good chance he’ll try to kill you. He isn’t stable like he was when we were boys. He’s… He’s gone power hungry and crazy. You turned on him, and he hates you anyway based on what you’ve told me, so for your safety, having you locked up down here where he can’t see you is best.”

“Fine. Have it your way. If that’s how you rationalize locking away an innocent man, then fine. Maybe Amory was right about you after all. Maybe you are a monster.” Chenn stood in a widened stance, ready for anything, arms crossed.

“Look, you’ll be released after the war, Chenn. I promise.” Andrew hated seeing Chenn so hostile. He remembered well how happy and easy-going Chenn had seemed in the times when Andrew had seen him. He wished Chenn would go back to that behavior. But he supposed that being locked up would be enough to change anyone, and Chenn had already been locked up once back on Earth for something. Andrew didn't know what because the information was too classified for him to reach it, but he couldn't believe that Chenn was really some sort of evil criminal.

“Released where? The Dark Realms?” Chenn's voice snapped Andrew back into reality.

“I won’ t banish you there so long as you’ll swear fealty to the MBC and to me.” Andrew tried to proffer an olive branch to Chenn, hoping that he would have the good sense to take it. No one deserved to banished to the Dark Realms, a cold, lifeless place where people wandered aimlessly and there was naught but sorrow and nearly eternal darkness.

“So now you’re a king, are you?” Chenn's tone was light, but his eyes were hard.

“No. But I need your solemn oath to serve West Base and the recaptured East Base to be sure that you’ll never try to cause trouble again.” Andrew didn't miss the hostility in Chenn's posture, but he chose to ignore it for the moment. He'd be hostile against those who locked him up too if he was Chenn.

“Fine. You can have it. I’ll do anything to get out of here.” Chenn turned away from Andrew, not wanting him to see the tears springing into his eyes. “I hate this place. You know I was in jail, right? Back on Earth? Of course you do. It was in my file.”

“Yes, I know that, Chenn. Why tell me that?” Andrew asked.

“Do you know why I was in jail?” Chenn rounded on him.

“No. It was too classified for me to reach it.” Andrew said, sitting back down.

“I’ll tell you then, Andrew. It’s because I was accused of killing Nari’s little sister, Hanna.” Chenn said, sitting down across from Andrew.

“What?” Andrew couldn't believe that this gentle, loving young man would ever do such a thing. Especially when it would harm Nari.

“That’s right. It was your brother who sent the thugs who actually killed her. They were trying to kill me, and instead, she died. Do you understand?” Chenn gave him a sad look. “I spent ten years in jail because of it, and Nari hated me even though she didn’t know it was me who did it because I killed the person who meant the most to her. Only I didn’t do it.”

“I ask again, Chenn, why are you telling me this?” Andrew whispered.

“Because I wanted you to know that Nari trusted me even after she knew that I was the one she’d blamed for her sister’s death for so many years. You can trust me too, but you have to give me a chance. Let me prove it to you, Andrew. Give me something to do in this war. I’ll do anything gladly. Just let me leave this cell.” Chenn pleaded, hating himself for doing it, but at the same time, unable to do much else.

Andrew sighed. “Alright, Chenn. I’ll give you a chance. You’ll be on kitchen duty in the mornings and armory duty in the afternoons before you return back here at night. I have to have a guard with you all the time, though, Chenn.”

“I understand.” Chenn whispered.

“So I’ll have one of the guards come get you tomorrow morning. For now, just do whatever in here. Read, I guess.” Andrew waved a hand at the books.

“Thanks.” Chenn said.

“You’re welcome.” Andrew walked out of the cell, and the heavy wooden door slammed behind him.

Chenn sat down on his bunk, and went back to reading. This time, however, he was able to focus better because he knew that he would be leaving this miserable cell during the day at least. It wasn’t complete freedom, but it beat sitting around in this cell, wondering all day how things were going. At least in the kitchen and the armory, he’d be getting some news of what was going on.

West Gate rose before them, glittering and blue. Ivwen halted before it.

Chenn slid off her back, and Nari slid off after him. During the last two days of travel, she’d become much better at riding Ivwen, and she stayed on easily now.

“This is where we must part, children of Earth.”

Nari smiled at Ivwen, sadness tingeing both the smile and her eyes. “Thanks, Ivwen. We appreciate all of your help.”

“You are welcome, daughter of Earth.” Ivwen nuzzled Nari’s cheek. “Do not be sad. Perhaps we shall meet another day.” She tossed her head.

“Perhaps.” Nari hugged Ivwen around the neck. “We’ll miss you.”

“Hurry up, Nari! We’ve got to go!” Chenn waved to her to follow.

“Coming, Chenn.” Nari waved goodbye to Ivwen, her heart heavy, and then she followed Chenn.

They stood before the Gate, bathed in its cool, blue glow. She stared at the ripples in the surface, feeling mesmerized by its slow, steady movement. It was sluggish in a way, but also beautiful and serene. She smiled at it, knowing that - despite the illness it brought on - it was the way home. Her mission would be complete as soon as she stepped into the swirling blue depths of the Gate.

Chenn took a deep breath, stepping through the Gate, and she followed him.

The nausea hit her in the gut as though a swarm of bees was invading her stomach, and she staggered, catching hold of Chenn’s arm. For some reason, no matter how much she prepared herself, the nausea always caught her unawares. It was just as bad as it had been the first time when she hadn’t been prepared for it.

Chenn’s hand gripped her elbow with gentle force, and a moment later, they were spit out of the Gate and onto the grassy, moss-covered floor of West Base’s landing strip. A blast of the steamy jungle air struck them, warming them as they sat there.

The moisture condensed on their skin as they sat, catching their breath on the ground. A warm breeze was blowing, ruffling their hair and clothes. Shafts of sunlight beamed out at them through the trees surrounding the landing strip, and the sky above was heavy with migrating birds.

For a moment, it seemed as though everything was peaceful and quiet. But then the nausea got the better of Chenn, and he began wretching into the moss. 

Nari managed to hold herself together despite the nausea, but Chenn's wretching was not helping.

She looked away, struggling to calm the waves of dizziness washing over her. Staring at the greenery and cerleun sky above seemed to help, so she watched the clouds instead of the ground and Chenn. Making sure to keep her gaze on the clouds so that she wouldn't become sick too, Nari rubbed his back. “Shhh…. Are you going to be alright?”

“Probably.” He muttered. “I wish I didn’t get sick like this every time I went through one of those two stupid Gates.”

“Yeah, me too. But there isn’t anything we can do about it, Chenn.” Nari soothed.

“I know.” He whispered.

His stomach roiled and churned again, and he started throwing up again.

A guard came running across the strip of grass, the lightweight uniform he wore fluttering in the wind. “Hey! What are you two doing here? Who are you?”

Nari looked up at him. “We brought some really important stuff for Andrew. It needs to get to him right away. Can you take us to him?”

“No, I can’t. I don’t know who you are, and we’re at war with the General’s brother. We can’t afford to let anyone in to see him. You could be an assassin.” The guard said, face blank of all emotion.

“I’m Nari Eaton! Just go tell him that Nari Eaton wants to see him.” Nari snapped, growing impatient with the guard.

“What about him?” The guard nudged Chenn a bit with his toe.

Chenn smacked the guard’s boot away. “Leave me alone. I’m not a dog. Keep your feet to yourself!”

The guard backed up, raising his hands. “Sorry, kid. I wasn’t trying to offend.”

“What do you think is going to happen when you…” Chenn was cut off as the rest of his lunch came up.

“What’s the matter with him?” The guard gave Chenn a disturbed look.

Nari’s face was pale as she struggled to keep her own lunch down. “We get sick going through Gates. He’s just worse than I am this time.” She muttered.

The guard nodded. “Well, I’ll give the General your message. If he wants to see you, someone will come to take you to him. Otherwise, you’ll be thrown into the dungeons until someone can interrogate you.”

Nari blanched at the idea of being in a dungeon again. She’d been in too many confinements in the past month or so, and the idea of another was terrifying.

“Thank you. You do that.” Nari responded, trying to smile.

He smiled back. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to bring you inside the doors. You can take him to a bathroom, but I have to have a guard with you. So just wait here till I find someone.”

“Thank you, sir!” Nari gave him a genuine smile this time.

This man wasn’t bad. He was being kind to them. They were both getting more than they would at Amory’s hands, she knew.

“You’re welcome.” He turned and walked away to talk to another guard.

One of his companions walked over to them. He gave Chenn a helping hand, and they headed inside.

Finally. Just a bit more. I’ve done all I can. Now it’s up to Andrew to come see me. Nari thought as she followed the guard.

Her knees were feeling weak, and her head was spinning. The sky looked darker, gloomy even, and the trees seemed to spin and undulate in strange shapes and patterns. The grass beneath her swayed, and spots danced before her eyes.

"What's happening?" She started to call out to the guard, but her eyes were growing heavier, and the words wouldn't form.

Then she was falling. Everything was black, and she was floating. Floating away and out into the abyss. Then nothing.