 
# Blood Gift  
Part Three

## By Tegan Abbott

#

Blood Gift  
Part Three

Copyright (C) 2014 by Tegan Abbott

ISBN: 978-0-9875397-4-8

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher

# Contents

Chapter One: Memory

Chapter Two: Reunion

Chapter Three: Retrieval

Chapter Four: Direction

Chapter Five: Obligation

Chapter Six: Renewal

Chapter Seven: Agendas

Chapter Eight: Witch

Chapter Nine: Burn

Chapter Ten: Replacement

Chapter Eleven: One

Chapter Twelve: Cost

Chapter Thirteen: Circle

Chapter Fourteen: Soul

Chapter Fifteen: Beast

Chapter Sixteen: Destiny

Chapter Seventeen: Collaboration

Chapter Eighteen: Fall

Chapter Nineteen: Broken

Chapter Twenty: Heroes and men

Chapter Twenty-One: Finally

#

"For my big sister

You teach and inspire me.  
... and make me a better person."

# Chapter One

## Memory

"You have seen the item I seek." The scarred woman who spoke was a priestess known as Silver. She had three claw mark scars across her face: one on her cheek, one on her brow, and one across her eye. It made her right eye completely sightless. Evidence of swirling tattoos showed faintly on her golden skin. Her almost golden hair looked much like a lion's mane. Silver seldom looked like the form she had been born with. Now, only a slight amount of colouring of her born self showed through.

And while she was an exile priestess interrogating a shopkeeper, Silver was a woman of high integrity and morality. It was the priestess's honour guard, Whisper, who stood silent at her shoulder. He was a guardian of virtue and of life. He, like Silver, had been chosen from a group of specially bred children of a holy bloodline. So his brothers and sisters were so by oath and by blood. In that blood however, sisters had bedded brothers and it was because of this that it was not uncommon for the children to be born with... flaws. Whisper had been born silently - he could not even cry out to the world in the triumph of his birth. He was completely mute. This was a flaw that had been healed by the unfathomable ability of the Strand, or, more correctly, by those who could channel Strand. But Whisper had lived a long time without needing to speak. It was rarely that he needed to use his voice and, in truth, he thought most people talked far too much.

Silver had been born with the 'flaw' of empathy and intrusion: she could reach into another creature's mind with her own mind. Prolonged exposure with another, though, made Silver take on that other's small physical traits for the length of the connection. Silver was not able to stop her abilities though she could to some extent limit their use. One way to do that was to focus her ability on someone she knew well, which for the most part was why she took on the physical colouring of her griffin companion, Leui. Leui and his mate were the guardians of the flute of Euterpe. The priestess was an exile because the holy flute of Euterpe's had been stolen from her monastery.

The thief who stole Euterpe's thief was also a murderer as it was that same thief who had killed Leui's mate, as well as Silver's sisters and brothers. That (not her exile) was why Silver offered her life to find the flute and seek retribution for Leui. It was Silver's leaving that made her an exile. And she had left without her honour guard, but destiny had reunited them.

"Who did you sell it to?" Silver had not used her ability on the merchant. A single glance around his shop had been enough to perceive that he did not do business honourably, and she knew better than to look in the mind of a dishonourable merchant. Any mind she looked into would remain in her memory and as such, would be _in_ her mind. So each mind she touched with would see what she had seen and any horror she was witness to would corrupt her own mind. Through such experience, Silver had learned to carefully guard the use of her 'flaw'. Contrary to the opinion of her sisters and brothers, Silver knew that she had been born with a phenomenal gift. It was an integral part of her, and the whole reason that she was so useful in both her quest for the flute and the work that she had left to pursue that quest.

Before the merchant could open his mouth to lie, as Whisper knew he would, the honour guard moved closer and took the merchant's arm in his archer's grip. And in that moment, Silver and Whisper saw the man understand the situation he now found himself in. And as a man who knew the value of things and their relationship with the people who would buy from him... he knew well the value of his life.

"I can tell you who bought it." When the merchant said this, Whisper's grip strengthened.

"And who sold it to you." When Silver said this, the merchant nodded enthusiastically.

• • •

The baby had slept well last night again so Chloe could hardly be frustrated when he woke before dawn. Paulos had been sleeping lightly since the birth of his child three weeks ago. He sat upright in bed and looked at his wife as she nursed their child. He rubbed his eye and as he did so, Chloe smiled tiredly at him and as their child suckled she placed her finger to her mouth. Paulos nodded, returned his grateful head to his still warm pillow and was soon asleep again. Chloe returned to the waiting bed a half hour later and Paulos moved to share his warmth with her.

"He's a good boy, our Noe!" Paulos spoke this in a whisper. He saw his wife smile in the dim morning light.

"He has your eyes." Many before had said this and Paulos knew it, but it felt all the more real coming from his wife. Chloe watched her husband as he tried to stave off sleep. He was too tired to help so he was grateful that Chloe had not asked him to. And even as he watched his wife with delight, his eyes began to close. Chloe smiled.

"Sleep, husband."

Paulos smiled at Chloe's words and let his eyes close. She too then felt the weight of her eyelids and she returned to the sleep waiting to embrace her.

• • •

Woken by a crying baby within the house, Kassiopeia looked around her small room and took clothing from the chair beside her bed. As she did, she forced back the memory of her former life. She, Kassiopeia had been queen. No, she _was_ queen; an assassin sat upon her throne. She was innocent of her dead husband's crimes. It had been made aware to her that he moved to war by design, that he was a piece on a game board. The king from years before him had signed an agreement to respect all those within the city who had incredible abilities. His crime had been to ignore that contract. The contract had been formed by the intervention of the highest power: the Guild of Impossible Things.

The Guild of Impossible Things was where all those born with the ability to touch the source of energy that was only ever called 'the Strand' were taken. Their authority had been self-imposed and while many within their rule wanted to oppose them, such a thing was not possible. Their abilities made them unstoppable. So whatever the Guild decreed was obeyed.

There was another ruling part of the isle, the Duchy. As they were distant relatives of the king, it seemed strange to know that the king had signed a contract to have the ruling Duke murdered. But Kassiopeia had understood that it had been done because of the Duke's own foolishness, and while the Guild contract had clearly stated that there will be peace between the Kingdom and the Duchy, the Duke had defied that. He had tried to starve the capital by cutting off their trade roads to the island's trade hub. In the time of coming distress the king would be forced to trade with the Duke.

While it was the Duke's oldest bastard son who sat on the throne, it had not been he who had killed the king. It had been a gargoyle. To save his kingdom from the coming starvation, the king had tried to expand his territory to establish more of his own farms. Foolishly, he had ordered the murder of a community of gargoyles. But nightfall had come before all the creatures were slain, and while only one remained, Kreios was fast to destroy the men who had slaughtered his beloved family. And it was he who had found his revenge on the corrupt and foolish king.

Kassiopeia had no love for her husband: although it was her blood that was royal, she had been made to marry him. But she was frightened to know that those who had saved her had killed her husband. And once dressed she looked into the garden where a tree grew from her husband's grave. It was all too real today and the ache within her breast for a kingdom she had never ruled ate at her. And yet it was a yearning for adventure that a new friend had instilled in her, and after all this time it was finally overtaking her heartbreak. So as she looked upon the death of all that was, she smiled at the promise of what was to come.

• • •

Than was a Strand-bound skeleton. No longer governed by flesh or feeling, he was still quite human. He did not fear, nor did he feel hunger or fatigue, but that did not mean that he had forgotten the value of life; on the contrary, his loss of life made him value life more than those who lived. He was the one within the group who broke hexes. He was a distorter: he had the ability to use a thing's truth against it.

Before the Oracle had abandoned the Guild, the great woman would have brought those who had cast those hexes to justice. Now it was the job of an evoked dead man called Aineas who had been the Oracle before Maia. In the history of the Guild, no Oracle had as much ability as Maia - Maia could track even a single Strand! The Oracle before her, Aineas could not be so precise. He could not handle the sight of small amounts of Strand, no one could. So the Oracle had told the group to only use their ability in small amounts. And that was what Than did, but the small amounts he used were as powerful as his legend.

Than did not sleep. Instead, he spent the time practising his ability, and had made a place for him to do so in what had once been a round house, but of which only the foundation now survived. This was the place Than felt most at home, so he would only return to the Oracle's house if he were asked. Thus, Than's life was quiet and serene. That was of course unless his dear friend Core came to visit him. Core, the most outgoing of the group, was a young copper-haired bandit who had never felt wanted in his life, so it was not surprising that he lacked the boundaries and insight the others within the group had. He, like many of those within the Faction, had abilities without needing to touch the Strand, which made him one of the untraceable 'able'.

No one truly knew why people were born with or without abilities, or how they worked within the body. But then, no one had a comprehensive understanding of how the body worked. Core's ability, though, was one of great interest, as it was he who could disappear in the blink of an eye then reappear in the next blink. And it was as the sun rose that Than was often startled by Core's use of his ability. Today, Than was channelling five lengths of Strand before he could throw his ability, when Core appeared in front of him.

"Morning." The young man smiled from ear to ear when he spoke. Than stood motionless, still holding the Strand that Core (as many others) could not see. Than threw the Strand over Core's shoulder.

"So what's new?" Core asked, still unaware of the deadly Strand that flew over his shoulder.

"Not much." The skeleton's jaw worked as he spoke. This was a lingering habit from being alive, as it was the Strand that made the noise now. Core chose a place to sit on what was once a high wall and then seemed to lose himself deep in thought. Than liked Core a lot. Some of the others did visit Than but they seemed to do so merely as a politeness, unlike Core who was a friend. Ephraim also came to see him a lot and he knew Ephraim wished to have him close. Than understood that but he enjoyed his home away from the group.

"You know people would rebuild this house if you wanted."

Than turned his head to the side as the young man spoke to him.

"Most of us within the group could get almost anything we wanted." When Than spoke this, it sounded like he was smiling, but his skeleton remained the same, other than his clapping jaw.

"Did you ever have children?"

When Core asked this, Than could almost see into the young man's mind. He had been woken by the baby again, and then he had decided to see Than. And then, he had thought about Than as a man. This was not the first time Core had come to him with these sorts of questions.

"I had four children. They grew to adulthood and had children of their own."

At this, Core looked up with surprise.

"What about your wife?"

Than thought for a while. In truth, he had not thought of his wife for a long time.

"She died long ago." Than spoke this flatly and sounded like he found no pain in that understanding.

"Why don't you ask Ephraim to make her like you?"

Than found Core's curiosity non-invasive, despite the topic. Than found it hard to take offence at the earnestness of Core's tone. Than, unlike the others within the group, heard his sincerity rather than the words he used. Most of the others within the group had a need to keep their secrets hidden. But Than was dead -what use were secrets to him now?

"I loved my wife and enjoyed her in life. She enjoyed life because it was short and precious." When Than spoke this, Core understood a little about Than's wife. And a little about Than himself.

"Well it's nice to have you with us Than." When Core spoke this, he could have sworn he saw the skeleton smile... even though it is the muscles of the face that smile... not the bones.

• • •

Lysandra had woken before dawn. She had met the Oracle only eight months before, and before Lysandra and the household had any time to get to know each other, she had been asked to join them. She had met most of the group before but she was still afraid at first. The Oracle had promised, though, that she would get on well with the group, and because she had nowhere else to go she had accepted. It was because of how well she fit within the house that she stayed. She had been told that Hanna, the house's heart, had left to help the king. Hanna had been a friend of Lysandra since she was a young girl and Lysandra knew that to mean that in her absence the house was without heart. So trying to fill that gap was the least Lysandra could do for her.

Lysandra always worked to have breakfast on the table before sunrise. The group broke hexes, but the Oracle had more than one goal for the group, one of which was to relocate the Faction to a city of their own. So it was her group who offered their help to rebuild the swamp cities that had been destroyed in the 'tilt'. The tilt was a world hex that had tilted the island. While a new tilt could be cast to undo what had been done, that would require the help of the Guild council, and the entire Strand. And the Oracle, the leader of the hex breaking group, was in hiding from the Guild. That was not to mention that casting a corrective tilt would do a lot of damage. So the best option was just to repair what had been damaged.

The point of all this was that Lysandra woke early, as the group worked in the swamp at a night. They worked at night for many reasons, one of which was to allow their friend Kreios to work with them. As a gargoyle, Kreios would live a lonely life if he never got to see the people he called friends. Lysandra's role in all of this remained the same, though. She made breakfast for those who woke early and dinner for those who went to sleep at dawn. And before long, Lysandra had become a well loved and integral part of the Oracle's household.

Lysandra knew that she owed her life to the ex-mercenary assassin who had saved her life four times. He had freed her from slavery, taught her love, healed her when she had died inside and brought her to the Oracle's house. She was certain it hurt her more than him to find out that she did not love him. But worse than that was not knowing why she had stopped loving him.

• • •

Ephraim had not slept. Leon and Blaze were with him in that. Breaking hexes was what the Oracle's company did, but they were also rebuilding the ruined cities of the swamp because the Faction underground could not hold its members. So there was a great need for the rebuilding of the cities. And it had long been agreed that the Faction would take over the ruler-ship of the first city. The king had agreed to allow them to be a barony, so no one opposed the Faction's moving. Ephraim was aware that there was unspoken gratitude from the cities too, as it was not by the city's design to have an underground organisation living beneath their feet. And now that the Guild and the Faction were at peace, the Guild had sent Touched agents to help them rebuild the swamp cities.

Because of the Guild's involvement Ephraim could not bring his skeleton, Than, to help them. Ephraim had been a Touched before the Guild disconnected his ability to touch the source of Strand, but he had also been a necromancer, which was why he had a skeleton. But that was not what mattered. What did matter was that the Guild was unaware that it was even possible for a disconnected Touched to regain their abilities. Ephraim did not have the Strand holding him up now. He did not have it flowing through him making him stronger and warmer. He missed that warmth, but more valuable than the secret that he still had his abilities was the secret of how he had regained them. It had happened after a man linked to a Strand creature had touched him. That blood-linker ex-assassin, Vehemence... he could control all abandoned Strand. The last man born with such ability was murdered by the Guild, for someone who could control abandoned Strand could remake the world as they desired.

"Ephraim!" It was a man of water who called the old ex-coachman's name. Half dead from fatigue he looked up slowly to see one of the Faction's most valued members. He had been born with a name... but that had been long forgotten. Now the only name the water obsessed man had was Cascade.

"What?" Ephraim did not intend to sound so sharp. But he was sitting down during a well-deserved break. When he spoke like this, Leon, the cartographer, came and stood beside him.

"I think we should get some rest." It was wise words that he spoke, and Ephraim nodded. Blaze, ear to the leader of the Faction stood also.

"Yes it's morning already!" Blaze said this as he offered a hand to Ephraim. The old man took it and stood.

"Kreios has already turned to stone," said Cascade.

The four looked to their right (and Cascade's left) and saw that their gargoyle friend had indeed returned to stone and that the light of day rested upon him. Despite that the ground beneath the city was muddy and unstable, the city foundation that they were rebuilding on was sound. And the work they had done had already made it possible for many Faction families living under cities to move into a city of their own.

But it was morning and it was time for the trio's well-earned rest. They had been working hard for months, and while their absence within the group meant that for the past few months they had broken no hexes, they had been providing homes to the homeless.

• • •

King Damon walked the halls of his castle in light clothing. He had no true pressure from running his kingdom, because in truth it was the Guild of Impossible Things who ran 'his' kingdom. He was a figurehead, and so he was always well dressed and well rested. He was sure that his young wife was unable to bear children. So while Hanna, his well-loved housekeeper from before his time as king helped his wife... he knew she would not bear him children. It did bother him greatly that his dear housekeeper was ill from stress. The king, in his wisdom had confined her to her room, but even with the Queen Iole visiting her daily, she had not recovered.

The castle physician was at her side as often as he could be. He had been the one to tell King Damon that Hanna would recover, but each visit the king paid to her room seemed to prove that she was in decline. Damon knew many things, but how to heal the spirit was not one of them. He had been thinking on it for many months and he had decided: caring for Iole was too much for her. It was too much for Damon too, really. Seeing his babies die before they could be born would haunt him for all his days. Hanna was heart and Iole was heartbreak. Damon was still deep in thought when he lightly tapped on his ex-housekeeper's door. He heard a muffled voice from within and, believing he had been allowed into the room, he opened the door.

The physician looked up when Damon entered. Damon waved the man up from a kneeling position.

"How is she?"

When Damon asked this, the physician smiled slightly.

"Better."

Damon was certain the man was lying but knowing that did not help him. He needed to know how a physician could be so bad at his work that he could not see Hanna's decline, but he would find that out after he was sure Hanna was safely away from the monster. He did however open the door wider and get the attention of the guards outside the door. The guards entered the room and when Damon pointed to the physician they nodded and took hold of the man.

"What is the meaning of this?"

When the physician pleaded this, Damon stepped between him and the doorway which the guards were soon to escort him through.

Damon did not speak, he only stepped away from the doorway and let the guards take the physician away. He moved to his Hanna, who was as thin as Damon had ever seen her, and looked over the woman who had once been so important to him. As he watched her, he saw her eyes slowly open. He smiled, but it was hollow and he knew it. Even as she lay dying, she had been of great use to him. Iole had betrayed him. He reached down to touch her but as he did, she moved. She pulled down the thin blanket and showed a locket in her hand. Not a locket. As she opened it, Damon reached out to her, but she was gone in a flash of Strand.

• • •

The great Oracle Maia had abandoned her place in the Guild of Impossible Things. She had left the Guild without word and in her absence more than one of the five council positions remained empty. She had hardly slept in weeks. It was not the baby in her house who had woken her, it was nightmare visions. She associated fear with those dreams. Fear... that was a new feeling. She had never felt fear until she had left the Guild. And now, that feeling was so strong that it could influence her dreams to make her see impossible things. She was sick of it, and she was tired!

She had been given a herb to help her sleep and that had worked! But after a while, it had become less effective. This reflection of fear had strengthened and the more she tried to fight it, the more horribly she saw her friend die. But Vehemence was more than a friend. He was the cool wind that was ready to blow after a deathly hot summer. He was the one man who could change the only thing about the world that the Oracle truly hated. It was natural that her nightmares would contain him.

But it was a cruel joke that she had to watch Fate kill him. There was no way that Fate would ever use her ability on Vehemence, the Oracle knew that. But she had to convince her fear of that. Fate was not an agent for the Guild like she had once been, she no longer killed on command. And even if she did... she would not kill Vehemence, she cared for him too deeply. Maia knew all this... but the nightmares kept coming. So perhaps it was the just the idea of fear that brought danger into her dreams. Whatever it was... Maia had to deal with it, or she would never be able to see what was to come. And if she could not see through her mind then she was truly blind!

• • •

Vehemence was not alone on the roadside. He sat outside a tent made from Strand and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast. This was just outside the city walls of O'dea. Vehemence did not enjoy being within the jewel city. Nor did his greatest friend, Red Dog. She sat beside his makeshift tree stump chair and was only visible because Vehemence had given her a moment to stretch her legs. It was a risky thing to do for Red Dog, as the hellhound shaped Strand was abandoned Strand. She was proof of Vehemence's ability to control abandoned Strand, but every couple of months she asked to run and Vehemence allowed her. It was mostly because of her that they were not within the city.

She had enjoyed a great long run and sat panting. Vehemence handed some bacon down to her and she ate willingly. While she was allowed to be free from within Vehemence she enjoyed the sensations of normal living and Vehemence would not deny her that. After all, eating and running and just feeling the air was something he himself often took for granted. She was his reminder that such things were wonderful, and a reminder to enjoy them himself.

It had been eight months after he had told the shadow mistress Fate that he cared for her... romantically. Fate had immediately been interested in him and it had not taken long for her feelings for him to grow into something powerful, but by that time Vehemence had given his heart to another, Lysandra. That in itself was part of her affection: Vehemence's devotion for his love was what had inspired Fate's admiration. However, Vehemence's love had been paralysed. When Lysandra's mind was returned, Vehemence came to the horrible understanding that Lysandra did not love him, and Fate had not understood how Vehemence could lose love for her because she had none for him. That was not the man who had devoted his heart to a woman who could never return it.

There were other factors involved, Fate knew that. Vehemence was the host to another consciousness., and Vehemence had said that it was that consciousness who had loved Lysandra. And even as Vehemence stood before Fate without Red Dog and declared his affection for her, Fate could not understand.

"Is it good?" Vehemence asked.

Fate looked up abruptly. He was asking about the food that they were both enjoying. Fate nodded and exposed that she had been deep in thought. But that had already been understood.

That was also known to Dusk, the fabled illusionist who by another name had betrayed her own kind and brought a world hex upon the world. She sat with a forkful of boiled egg in her mouth and watched Fate through narrowed eyes. Dusk was bored now. Vehemence had been warned that Dusk would only save their world if she did not get bored with the idea. And Vehemence, with his full attention on Fate, was unaware of her boredom.

The truth was that Dusk had been bored for weeks now. There was no justice in the fact that the life or death of the world was resting in the hands of a psychopath. She had not been born a psychopath however: it was the combined result of the nature of her ability and of living too long past the time when she should have died. This of course was not to mention that she had been branded as the betrayer of all Touched. Touched were named such because they had the ability to connect with the pure Strand (the source).

Dusk had not intentionally betrayed her own kind: her innocence and compassion had been exploited by an evil king. That was the first step along the way to Dusk's insanity and it had been a steep decline after that. As an illusionist, Dusk was able to make herself appear as anything, so before long, Dusk's mind was a mixture of delusion and ego. So now this deranged Touched was one of just a few people who knew how to break the world hex. All hexes had a condition to break them, and all hexes lived on through generations until broken.

The world hex had been cast on those who had cast the first world hex... and the only good hex: Haven. World hexes took the entire source and the whole council of five to cast. After Haven had been cast, the council had been overthrown and the world hex had been cast. Dusk had lied to Vehemence once, when she had said that the world hex had been cast upon her. She had lied for one reason alone... because she was sure no one would believe she would wish to end the hex without it being personal. Dusk's kisses were murder but it was not because of the world hex.

"So, where to now?" asked Vehemence.

Dusk looked up at him.

"Today we return to the Oracle." Dusk's voice was flat and Vehemence felt concerned. Had they failed?

# Chapter Two

## Reunion

In eight months, the Oracle Maia's house had changed greatly. The house was now a small mansion. It felt strange here now, knowing that this was once Dusk's house. Had he not been aware of that he would not have watched her on their return. She looked at the house with shock and nostalgia, but when she saw Vehemence looking at her she wiped her face of all that was there. Vehemence felt irritation - he was still not sure if she deceived him or if what he saw was truth. But whatever the case, they were within the betrayer's old house. Vehemence moved from the room reserved for memory artefact use, and Dusk and Fate followed him. Vehemence walked straight to the courtyard, where Maia was often to be found. They did not find her there, however; this time, that was there where she found them.

"Hello Vehemence."

The trio turned to see the face of the Great Guild Oracle Maia. Vehemence bowed his head deeply, as did the women with him.

"It's been too long Oracle Maia." It was Dusk who spoke.

The Oracle nodded.

"It has indeed. You're too late for breakfast but I am sure you would not mind spending morning tea with an old lady." The Oracle gestured to the dining room door.

• • •

The dining room was much bigger than Vehemence remembered.

"You've extended this quite a bit."

When Dusk spoke this, the Oracle nodded.

"Now we all fit around the table." The table she spoke of was a long table, and it had twenty seats around it. From the last time Vehemence had been in this room, he remembered an eight-seated square table with just enough room around it for comfort.

"Kreios did most of the work," said the Oracle.

Vehemence looked at her directly.

"How is he?"

"Kreios and all the others are quite well. And Chloe and her little boy are well."

The Oracle's words were met with surprise and excitement.

"I regret not being here to meet her baby!" Fate spoke this sincerely and chose a seat.

"But it's good to hear that the baby is well! What have they named him?" Vehemence asked this as he moved through the room. He leaned against the far wall so he could get a view from outside the room. Dusk chose to sit at this time, while the Oracle remained standing.

"There is nothing more valuable than life. But you have not come to hear that the name of Chloe and Paulos's child is Noe."

When the Oracle spoke this, Vehemence looked away from her, to the swamp outside.

"No, we have not." It was Dusk - she looked directly at the Oracle when she spoke.

After a moment, and a small amount of swirling Strand, the Oracle smiled.

"You cannot break the world hex..."

Dusk nodded grimly when the Oracle spoke this.

"But you know how." The Oracle chose a seat at the table as she spoke. Vehemence moved to the table, where he too chose a seat.

"I'm sure that you can see that the location we need to get to, the place of the world hexing, has been protected by the Guild." Dusk spoke quietly and Vehemence heard the sound of defeat strong in her voice.

"I do see that but I do _not_ understand why the Guild would want to stop the world hex from being broken." When the Oracle spoke this, the Strand that obeyed her command lessened.

"Nor do I." Fate spoke with conviction. "Some of those within the Guild suffer it still. So it would benefit them to have the hex removed."

"Perhaps there is more to it than we know."

The Oracle's words brought silence for a moment. No one had thought that there could be more to it than what they already knew. But perhaps the hex had more than one purpose.

"I will find out." When Dusk said this, it was evident that she was excited to do so. It was only then that Vehemence realised that her enthusiasm had been slowly dying, and he understood that he had been a fool to have missed it. But now her enthusiasm had returned. Was she no longer bored because she believed she would soon be escaping her boredom?

"I will go with you," said Fate.

Dusk shot her a defiant glance.

"No." Dusk spoke this flatly.

Those within the room waited for a reason as to why Dusk would not want Fate with her, but Dusk gave no reason. Vehemence could think of nothing to say: he was too preoccupied with trying to determine why Dusk did not want Fate with her. Vehemence thought it could even be out of kindness to him.

"Vehemence."

The ex-assassin looked up when his name was spoken, right into the eyes of the one whom he had loved. He stood abruptly while Fate, as glad as she was to see Lysandra, watched with disappointment.

"You look well."

When Vehemence spoke, the servant girl smiled.

"And you too."

The genuine affection in her voice bothered Vehemence. He knew well that it was Red Dog she loved, even if she did not know of the creature's existence; and even if Red Dog had been created in a feminine image. Of course Red Dog had no true gender because all she was... was Strand. And as a creature of Strand... she did not have romantic love for anything. So while Vehemence stood awkwardly Red Dog reminded him of his match, who stared blankly at the man she loved and was convinced did not love her. Vehemence had not acted poorly. But his haste to greet a woman he had loved was enough to re-kindle the doubt in Fate's heart.

Fate stood and then moved to Lysandra to hug her. A0s she did, the younger of the women moved toward her friend also.

"I will never be able to tell you how good it is to see you well Lysandra!" Fate's eyes were bright when she stopped thinking about how keenly Vehemence had greeted Lysandra.

"Nor will I ever be able to tell you how good it is to be well!"

It was clear that Lysandra had not seen Fate until she had spoken. And it was encouraging for Fate to see that Lysandra's excitement had doubled when she saw her friend of old, Alexandra. Fate had been named Alexandra by her parents: because of the Guild abductions, all parents had names for their children before they were born. The name 'Fate' had been given to Alexandra when she joined the Faction - to hide her allegiance to the underground group. Now that the Guild and the Faction were working together, such measures were no longer required. But the name remained as a reminder of her past. And it seemed to fit her position in the Guild, too.

"I could not even begin to imagine what you've been through!" Fate spoke this engrossed in the delight of seeing an old friend again.

"It does not matter. Because all of it led me here."

Fate had always admired Lysandra's joy in accepting her own place in life. Fate herself, ironically named, fought her own destiny daily.

"Yawn."

When Dusk said this all present turned to look at her. "Oh I beg your pardon." Dusk spoke this coldly with no intention of trying to hide how rude she had just been. "Best of luck Vehemence," Dusk said this as she opened a memory artefact and was gone in a flash. Fate would never tell Vehemence, but she thought that Dusk was a lot like him then.

"Wow! That again!"

When Lysandra spoke this, Fate remembered how different their places in life were. Lysandra had lived a life of restriction whereas Fate had lived the life of her dreams... and yet it was Lysandra who embraced her place in life. It cut Fate to find differences that made Fate seem like the lesser of the two women. After all, Vehemence had loved Lysandra. Fate could not hold that against Lysandra, though. Their friendship had existed long before they even met Vehemence. And Lysandra did not know that Fate had fallen for him before the servant girl had. It hurt... but Fate had only herself to blame for what had happened... and for where she was now.

"Lysandra I've been wanting to show you something for a few years now."

When Fate spoke this, Lysandra's full attention fell to her friend.

"Come with me," Fate said as she moved toward the door.

Lysandra nodded and bowed her goodbyes to the Oracle and Vehemence, and then Vehemence and the Oracle were alone. Vehemence knew that Fate had taken Lysandra away so she could show her ability to her friend without exposing the Oracle to the Guild, but the advantage of being able to talk to the Oracle by himself seemed planned.

"Dusk took us to a garden in the Guild first. Then to a place on an island I had never seen. And then she took us to a tiny village that I believe was on the chain of islands. We sailed for months to get to the last place she knew we should be able to reach the world hex. And then we went to O'dea." Vehemence seated himself at the table again. "She said the rifts to the hex had been healed, but she never explained what she meant by that."

"I am beginning to understand that my brother had not told me all that I should know."

"Your brother?"

"Taras, the Watcher."

Vehemence's eyes went wide.

"You are the sister of the Watcher? But he looked so young!" It was only after he said this that Vehemence realised he had spoken out loud. But the Oracle did not seem to take offence at what he said. "I did not mean!..."

"I have lived 79 years, saying or not saying that does nothing to change it." The Oracle said this dismissively, as though it was in the way of what she wanted to say. "My brother was sick when he was young. When he recovered it seemed he did not age. I believe that is not the case, however."

"You think he died?"

The Oracle's failure to reply to Vehemence's question confirmed that this was her fear. Understanding that the Oracle did not want to speak of this, Vehemence asked no more questions on the subject.

"So what was hidden... well what could be hidden from the Guild Oracle?"

The Oracle tilted her head to one side at Vehemence's words.

"I am an Oracle not a library. There are a great many things I do not know." The Oracle Maia seemed to enjoy that Vehemence believed her to know everything. She had always thought his naivety was one of his most endearing traits. The Oracle did not know how to tell Vehemence how much he meant to her. How could she? She was not allowed to be a person. But that had been in the Guild: now, she simply did not know how to be a person. She knew Vehemence was only beginning to understand his humanity too. She smiled.

"I missed you," said the Oracle.

Vehemence looked at her directly and the Oracle saw his shock after he had dropped his jaw. It was clear that her own actions had given Vehemence the wrong impression. Because she was a person!

"I missed everyone," Vehemence said, with sadness in his eyes.

In that moment Maia understood that Vehemence had learned that the freedom he sought was no freedom worth having. He needed the people he had left behind; he had learned that. Maia reached her hand across the table and Vehemence put his hand in hers. Her skin was old but to him, it was more precious than coin. He found himself smiling. That was how far he had come. From a man who ends life for coin, he had come to put little value on it now. What he valued now was something he never thought he would: human life. But even more, it was not _any_ human life, but those he worked with and lived with. The last time he had been this close to people, he had been betrayed.

His master led the assassin company that Vehemence was in, and a rival master had given Vehemence a task that ruined him. He had carried out one more task after this one, which was to kill his master's rival. After all, Vehemence had been tasked to kill a mother he had never known. His master's rival knew that he would be identified by a pendant that he wore but that had been the night that he had lost that, for when he ran her through she took it from him. Then she called out the name that only he and she knew. And so, as she died, he knew... he knew that he had slain the family he had been looking for.

That understanding would never stop haunting him. There was no way for him to think of that event as the trap it was. Red Dog had been with him then but that event had awoken her, for she had stayed silent as Vehemence had murdered countless innocents. But when he began to feel, Red Dog had an edge to push into his spirit and find life within him. So even though he had lost his only family, he had awoken his truest ally. Also, he had learned, and would not forget, what a man would do for power.

Vehemence realised he and the Oracle had been still for a while now. He removed his hand from hers and sat back in his chair.

"I want to return." Vehemence said this before he knew he had spoken. "If Dusk has need of me, I will help her, when I am not already breaking a hex." This time, Vehemence spoke a decided statement. The Oracle nodded.

"You went to see Damon."

Vehemence crinkled his brow. Why would the Oracle want to know about that?

"I found out he had withheld truth from me. I wanted him to know that I was aware of that."

The Oracle smiled when Vehemence said this, but he thought that might not be because she approved of his actions. Vehemence knew that the Oracle would not agree with a course of action that would cause aggression. He was even more certain that she would deter him from telling Damon their part in the king's assassination. Vehemence had not done that, but he had spoken close enough to it that King Damon was thinking about things he had not before.

"We should remove him from the Kingdom and replace the true queen." When Vehemence spoke this, the Oracle Maia took a moment to think.

"Kassiopeia will be returned to her rightful place when Damon is at his weakest and when that..." The Oracle's words were cut short. A flash of Strand brought a dear friend into sight.

"Hanna!" The urgency in her voice was unmistakable. "She is dying."

This time when the Oracle spoke, Vehemence opened his memory artefact.

"Bring her home!"

Vehemence just had time to hear the Oracle speak this as he flashed from view.

• • •

"The physician said Hanna had been poisoned." It was King Damon who spoke this. Iole looked up from her lunch. Damon had entered without her hearing him. She placed her spoon down politely then looked at her husband expectantly.

"Did you poison yourself and kill our children?"

When Damon asked this, Iole looked genuinely shocked. At this point however, Damon thought she might be shocked simply that he knew.

"My king?..."

Damon knew the truth when she spoke this. He turned to open the door that he had entered from and moved into the hallway. He was replaced by two city guards. They moved toward the queen and she stood knowing this was her end. The two guards took her roughly and dragged her out of the room. Damon watched as they moved past him.

"I know that you have the world hex on you! What would you do if you would die to birth a child?" Iole spoke this behind her as the guards walked slowly down the hall. They would take her to the dungeon and Damon would have to re-marry. This time, he would find a bride worthy to give him a child.

• • •

Vehemence moved from Damon's mansion's memory artefact room. The hall was silent as Vehemence had never heard. He ran through the empty hall, his boots thumping on the marble floor. The sounds echoed through the huge hall as if there were three of him running to be at Hanna's side.

Vehemence took hold of the stair rail and climbed the stairs as fast as his muscles would allow him. He needed a moment to remember which side Hanna's room was on, but that was all that stopped him from climbing the second part of the stairs. Then it was a long but direct run to Hanna's room. He pulled the door open without knocking and saw her on her bed. A physician and house maid looked up when they were interrupted.

Vehemence closed the distance between himself and the bed in the heart of Damon's great mansion.

"You cannot be in here!" It was the physician who spoke. Vehemence pushed him aside.

"This is Vehemence, one in Dolour's employ." The maid spoke the introduction that Vehemence had no intention of doing. The physician stepped back.

"Where is Damon?"

When Vehemence asked this, the maid shrugged.

"The _king_ has a kingdom to run," said the physician.

Vehemence looked at him directly and placed a ring on Hanna's hand. Then, with a glance at the physician beside him, he opened the memory artefact.

• • •

The Oracle felt the tiny movement of her Strand and so when Vehemence opened the door of the memory artefact room, she was waiting for him. Paulos was beside her and though there was delight on his face when he saw Vehemence, he knew why Hanna had returned, so there was a dash of horror there too. When Paulos saw Hanna properly his jaw dropped and his eyes welled with tears.

He moved into the room and picked up the tiny woman who had once been curvaceous and lively, then left with her. Vehemence fell against the wall of the room he had left and sat there for a time. The Oracle, who had not left, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I was a fool not to have been watching her."

The Oracle's words broke Vehemence from his thoughts.

"Who would have known that he would let this happen?"

Vehemence's words were of little comfort because it was the Oracle's responsibility to look out for such things. She appreciated his attempt, though, and bowed her head before she left.

Vehemence felt a pain within him that he had not known before. He had been dead inside when he had been betrayed by his own assassin company. Dead, too, when he had been tricked into killing his own mother, even though that had brought a little life to him.

So seeing Hanna like this made him feel genuine emotions. He had never felt such sadness and anger: Damon was not the man he claimed to be. It was then that Vehemence decided he would end him, but he would do so when the time was right. Damon was the man Vehemence had seen him for in the moment he understood that the king had lied to him. Also, it was the king's stupidity and callousness that had brought Hanna to where she was. Vehemence felt a fool; he should have followed his instincts! He should have made sure that Hanna was safe!

The door on the wall where Vehemence leaned opened abruptly and Vehemence saw the face of Callidora. She glanced down to see Vehemence and looked at him with shock. But he was not why she had come, so she bowed her head and ran through the house to Hanna's room.

• • •

Silver searched the warehouse crates but found nothing there.

"He lied to us." When Silver spoke this, she saw Whisper shake his head. She turned her attention to him.

"It should be here, Whisper!"

"We're too late," said Whisper.

Silver moved closer to him before she said what she desperately wanted to be false.

"We cannot be too late. If we lose it this time, it could be anywhere!" There was true distress in Silver's eyes. The task of finding the flute had been hard on her. She had been getting less and less sleep, and that distress was felt by Leui, too. Desperation was claiming her and she was losing her drive.

"Nothing is lost."

This time when Whisper spoke, Silver looked away from him. Her faith in herself was dwindling, which was the most demoralising part of it: when she lost faith in herself, everything fell to pieces around her. She was losing faith in her religion, in Leui and in Whisper, so all that could bring her out of it was silenced. Whisper knew this; he moved to her and took her arm. She pulled to escape his grip but failed and with the extended connection, she started to be fuelled by his faith once again.

As her faith flooded back into her she fell to her knees. Whisper followed her height by crouching, and saw that she was weeping.

"I am so weak!" said Silver, and then felt Whisper's reply. She felt Whisper remind her of the challenge of their task, and of all they had lost. But this only brought more tears.

"All is lost brother! We will never find the flute!" Silver said, and was overcome by tears.

Whisper's own faith was failing, so his ability to restore Silver's faith was impaired, but he did all he could to remind her of the importance of their task and of their ability. Then he heard a noise from behind him and a glance told him what he already knew: they were not alone. Whisper placed a finger on his lips and moved into her eye line. She looked up, teary-eyed and nodded.

Whisper released Silver's arm and took the bow from his back. He notched an arrow and lay on the ground, then wriggled along the ground until he saw the man's foot. Then, in a fast motion of pull and release, the arrow flew and the scream of the market guard was heard through the warehouse.

"Time to go," Whisper said as he took Silver's arm and ran low, using the crates for cover. Leui was outside the warehouse door, making a great racket. Whisper took hold of the saddle and swung himself onto the creature's back, then pulled Silver up behind him and flicked the griffin's reins. A moment later the trio were in flight.

"Where will we go?" Silver spoke with an echo of the faithlessness she had experienced a moment ago. It was still there, but she was recovering fast. Silver touched Whisper's arm to hear his reply.

• • •

When Callidora had gone, Chloe sat and cried at Hanna's bedside. She did not hear Hanna's door open; she was speaking to Hanna. In the short time Chloe had known Hanna they had become quite close so it would be heartbreaking to see a mentor so ill. It was only when Vehemence's shadow fell upon Chloe that she noticed the ex-assassin.

"Hello Vehemence," said Chloe through her tears. "Paulos said you had returned to us." There was a smile on her face but it was evident that her heart was broken from knowing that Hanna was dying.

"Should I leave you?"

Chloe answered with a shake of her head. "No, I'm sure Hanna will want to see you."

Vehemence crouched beside her bed.

"Has she spoken?"

Chloe again made a shake of her head her reply to Vehemence's question.

Vehemence took Hanna's hand within his.

"Hanna?"

When Vehemence spoke this, the little head that hardly made an impression on the pillow behind her turned to face him.

"Vehem..."

Vehemence gripped her hand tighter.

"Hanna don't speak! You need to rest!" This was all Vehemence could think to say. But in truth he felt that it was an insult to all the others who had held her hand that she spoke to him.

"Ki .." Hanna's words were laboured so Vehemence leaned in close to hear them. In a sudden moment of forced strength, Hanna spoke clearly and forcefully. "Kill him!" When she had spoken, her head fell to the pillow and the tension on Vehemence's hand released.

"Hanna?!" Vehemence spoke with horror in his voice. Callidora had said Hanna had only a week to live, but she had not lasted the day!

"Callidora?" Chloe yelled as she stood and ran out of the room.

Vehemence's hand trembled as he held the dead hand of the woman who had bound his wounds within Dolour's house so long ago. This was the woman who had been the soul of Dolour's house and the noble's ability to negotiate. This was the woman who had brought Damon to the Faction when he had lost his wife. She had saved more than Vehemence and Damon's life though. She was a mother of every place she worked!

"Vehemence, move!"

When Callidora spoke this, Vehemence did as he was told. As he watched Callidora doing all she could to wake the old mother, he realised that Hanna had been holding on to deliver that message. But who was the man she wanted dead? Dolour?

"Help me lift her!" Callidora spoke to Chloe, who stood behind her.

"Vehemence, get the Oracle!"

When Callidora said this, Vehemence wasted no time in responding. He ran from the room in search of the Oracle. And as he ran he thought. There were many people who did not get the opportunity to say goodbye to Hanna! And horribly, one of those people was Blaze. He had been a friend of Hanna's for longer than Vehemence knew both of them, yet their goodbye had been a brief wave in the castle where she had been poisoned.

But it was then that Vehemence thought about the fact that the kind and dear dying woman had used all her strength to say "kill him". Hanna loved harmony above all and used her ability and energy to create peace, yet the last words she spoke were words of hatred. Perhaps she had not meant to speak them. Vehemence could not ignore them but he also had to be aware that they were spoken in delirium. Vehemence had already decided that Damon would die, so he promised himself that that would be partly for Hanna. He would let her spirit rest knowing that her murderer lay dying. But Damon was not her murderer!

Someone had poisoned her, but things were different now! Vehemence was not an assassin! It was when he thought this that he found the Oracle in her courtyard garden. When she felt Vehemence's torment she knew immediately what had happened and she ran straight past him.

Vehemence sat on the stone wall and looked up at the sprawling tree that had taken hold there. He glanced across the garden to see the little tree that had been planted on the grave of the past king. It was tall now, and as Vehemence looked at the tree he felt the horror of the old king's death rise within him. Vehemence had not killed the king but he had brought him to Kreios, who had. And then the thought of becoming an assassin again was all too real. Hanna's last words had defied the message she had tried to teach him. Despite what he had just heard, for him to seek the death of Damon felt like a betrayal of all she had ever said to him.

Vehemence balled his hand into a fist and beat his hand on the wall where he sat. He could not make sense of what he thought. He could not arrange his thoughts to be anything other than chaos. No matter what he did, all his thoughts were noise and Hanna lay dead in her room upstairs. There was no action, or inaction, that would bring her back!

# Chapter Three

## Retrieval

Hanna's funeral was quiet. There was a horrible feeling of dread and injustice to it. It was held in Brechis, Hanna's home town, and as she had wished she was buried beside her parents. Noe cried throughout the ceremony and while he was hungry, Chloe also knew he could feel the sadness in the air; it was so thick she could almost see it. Damon was not there, but in his place stood all those from the Oracle's group. All save Than, Kreios, Dusk, Whisper, Silver, Leui, Kassiopeia and the Oracle Maia herself. Some Faction members had come too, but except for Callidora and Deliverance, Vehemence did not know any of them.

Fate cried like a lost child; she bawled without restraint and stayed in her seat while others placed flowers on the coffin. Vehemence was at her side the entire time. Lysandra cried more, though, and at every glance Vehemence saw Ephraim at her side. Vehemence still remembered when Ephraim had reduced Lysandra to tears. At the time, he had been at the mercy of the Guild and losing his life seemed certain, but he had survived the loss of his abilities and through all of it he had even made a friend in the woman who he had shamed so gravely. And now, Vehemence saw her reach out for his hand when she cried.

He also saw Blaze, and the grief on his face. Vehemence felt Hanna's loss keenly, but Blaze had a longer and deeper history with her, so he tried not to imagine how Blaze was feeling. It was all Vehemence could do to focus on Fate and try to conceal his own pain.

• • •

It was cold that night. Cold and empty. When he heard a tap on his door, Vehemence opened it. Outside his room stood Fate. She had obviously been crying. In all the time Vehemence had known her, he had never seen Fate cry until the loss of Hanna. He moved from the doorway and she entered and sat on the floor with her face on her raised knees, saying nothing. For the past few months, all they had to lean on had been each other... and Dusk, but Dusk was gone. Vehemence gave Red Dog her own form and she went to Fate and placed her nose in the space between Fate's knees and face. Fate opened up when she saw her.

Vehemence sat against his bed, on the other side of the room.

"Chloe said she spoke to you."

When Fate said this, Vehemence looked up to see that Fate was watching him with one eye. He nodded.

"She did." Vehemence spoke this while gulping. He knew what she was going to ask and he did not know if he should tell her... but how could he not? He would not lie to her and there was no way around not telling her. Nothing he could say to guard Hanna's final words would be fair. Fate knew that Hanna had told him something, so Vehemence had to tell her what had been said. As Fate stared at him, he saw the question in her eyes.

"'Kill him'." Vehemence spoke this quietly, and Fate continued staring with the same questioning look in her eye.

"Are you hungry?"

When Vehemence spoke this time, Fate's attention left him. She looked at Red Dog and smiled at the face of a friend who had been good to everyone. Red Dog had never hurt anyone, and she was loyal, and kind. It was no wonder Lysandra loved Vehemence because of her, she was a creature as good as Fate knew of. So when Fate looked at her all she saw was the deception that made Lysandra love Vehemence, and she cried. Red Dog seemed to know what she was thinking and left her to sit beside Vehemence.

Vehemence could imagine what might console Fate. Unlike Lysandra she was complicated and deep, so anything he would do to try to help her could easily just bring more pain. He could not even begin to imagine how anything he could do could help heal the pain created by such grave loss. Hanna was family, and yet they had lost more than just a part of their family. Damon had asked Hanna into a lion's den, and he had done nothing to save her from it!

"Who did she ask you to kill?"

Fate's question made Vehemence look up abruptly. He did not know the answer to that question. He had good cause to believe that Hanna wanted him to kill Damon, but there was no proof. The truth of it was that Vehemence had no idea what had really happened in the castle. Vehemence had heard the physician say that it had been poison, a woman's weapon, but who would want to kill Hanna? It could be someone from the Guild... Vehemence looked up when he realised Fate was looking at him... waiting for an answer.

"I do not know."

Fate looked disappointed. Vehemence had never disappointed her! There was no way he would let the murderer of Hanna rest. He would find them!

"But I will find out." This time, when Vehemence spoke he saw life within Fate's eyes.

"I will help you kill him." Fate spoke this with energy, and Vehemence nodded. She was not going to sink into the pain that was strangling her. Vehemence loved her, he knew that more than ever now. Uncomplicated women like Lysandra made life easy, but the puzzle that was Fate offered more reward and delight than Lysandra could. It was not because she was uncomplicated, though, that Vehemence had walked away from Lysandra. He simply did not have love for her, and it was clear that she had no love for him. That knowledge did not make things easier, though.

• • •

Fate slept on Vehemence's floor. Vehemence did not sleep. He tried, but the thought of Hanna's murderer walking around free ate away at him. He quietly slipped on his clothes, all but his boots and then left his room, closing the door gently behind him. Damon had given him the tool to make the ex-assassin the invisible man, and since Damon had given him the medallion that made all who see him forget him, he had worn it. It was a warm night, and Vehemence knew of two others who would still be awake so late: Than would be at his stone circle and Kreios would be under the house. Vehemence made his way to the old cellar, but the gargoyle was not there.

Even after so many months, Vehemence found Than's stone circle without trouble. Than was there, and the gargoyle too. Than stood in the centre of the stone circle while Kreios sat perched on the highest point of the stone wall. Than had been honing his skills, the Strand around him exposed that, but even that was not taller than Vehemence (though the gargoyle was, of course). There had only been one change to Than's place in the months that Vehemence had been away, the addition of a rickety looking table at the far side of the circle. It was only after a moment that Vehemence saw Core sitting on the ground below Kreios. Vehemence saw Core dab at his eyes as the ex-assassin approached.

"I'm sorry Core, I'll leave you." Vehemence said this with all the kindness he could find at such a late hour. He did not do badly, but there was coldness in his tone too.

"No." It was Core who said this. He spoke slowly and quietly, but Vehemence heard him. The ex-assassin turned when Core spoke. Vehemence stood for a while before he chose a place to seat himself on the broken wall that surrounded the stone circle. He had hoped Core would let him leave. After spending time with other crying people, he was hoping to spend some time with the only two of the group who were physically unable to cry. He looked over to Core awkwardly. Core said nothing, and Vehemence ran his hand through his hair in a linear movement from front to back. But Vehemence was not left alone with a skeleton, a gargoyle and the crying young man for long.

"Hi Vehemence."

When the ex-assassin heard the voice of Leon, he looked up. Leon had a tray in his hands. He placed the tray down upon the little table at the far end of the circle. And then Core stood and moved toward it.

"It's been a long time, Leon." Vehemence spoke this with little enjoyment. He had missed the entire group, but it hardly seemed like the time to be celebrating their reunion.

"Too long, Vehemence." Leon's statement was more of a kindness than an accusation, but there was an underlying trace of venom in his voice. Vehemence could not blame him. Vehemence had appeared moments before Hanna was known to be dying, and then she had died by his side after speaking secrets to him.

"You're welcome to enjoy some of the food I brought." Leon spoke this as he turned to face Vehemence, but Vehemence shook his head.

"I have no hunger."

When Vehemence spoke this, Leon could not help but see the ex-assassin that he had befriended. Though he said nothing, he moved over to where Vehemence was sitting and seated himself beside him.

"Chloe said that Hanna spoke to you."

When Leon said this, Vehemence felt a sickness rising within him. This was all he needed: repeating the phrase that he himself did not yet understand. And then he realised that was all he needed to say.

"Nonsense."

The look on Leon's face made it evident that Vehemence's answer had not been enough.

"I will have to tell the Oracle what I was told before I can make sense of what Hanna said. Might be that it was just as it sounded... nonsense."

This time Leon nodded, and his full attention left Vehemence.

Vehemence then took a moment to survey his friend. The ex-assassin had not known Leon for a long time but what he did know of him was that he was an accepting and including man. Vehemence could not predict how Leon would react if he were to find out that Hanna had indeed been murdered, but the Oracle would know. Vehemence was all too aware of being reliant on the goodness of your leader, but Vehemence knew that the Oracle Maia was not Damon! She had abandoned the Guild yes, but she had done so on observing their lack of morality and not, as Damon had done, because it no longer suited him. Maia was different.

Vehemence suddenly realised he had not accepted Leon's offer of food. He was in danger of unintentionally being rude, so he made his way to the little table. It was Lysandra's cooking - there were small pies and pastry-filled mysteries. Vehemence took a few of both and then turned to face Core. The young man looked broken. Vehemence could expect nothing less. He had lost his only true friend, Whisper, when Silver had returned, but he had lost him for good when Silver had left with him. He had then built a friendship with Red Dog only to have her too taken from him. And Than, while his friend, could not fill the void.

Vehemence pushed Red Dog from within him and then watched as she moved toward Core. There was appreciation on his face and he thanked Vehemence with a nod. Vehemence ate the food he had taken and when he was finished, he patted Red Dog then left the stone circle.

• • •

Fate was still asleep on his floor and she had kicked off the blankets he had put on her. She lay sprawled across the floor, tossing and turning as he entered the room. Vehemence sat beside her and placed his hand on hers. Fate did not wake, but she calmed down. Vehemence found that oddly calming. It was not long before Vehemence fell asleep beside her.

• • •

Unlike so many before it, morning did bring peace. When Vehemence woke he did so absently. And that was how he survived for the next month. Also, he had Red Dog

There would never be a time when Vehemence would not believe in destiny. How else could he explain the timing of his return and Hanna's death? Vehemence knew there was a bigger game afoot - there was too much proof for him to be blind to it. Even after talking to the Oracle, though, the meaning of Hanna's last words was not clear. What was clear was that Hanna had been poisoned.

Vehemence had a gift for two things: retrieving information and killing, and that was what he intended to do. He stood like a man unafraid and unrestrained. He was tall, even within the great castle walls, yet he stood unseen, unheard. He listened well and heard the whispers of the castle guards, so it was not long before he found himself within the Clements dungeon, looking at Queen Iole. He walked back and forth on the other side of the queen's cage, and she stood to see him. She looked at him for a long time before she spoke.

"I have seen you before." There was confusion in her voice.

"You have. You met me when Hanna was sent here to die."

The shock on the queen's face exposed more to Vehemence than he was sure she intended. And yet he waited for Queen Iole to explain her reaction. She felt fear, Vehemence could see that. The ex-assassin was standing still now, just a few steps from the bars, and even that far away he was menacing. Iole did not know Vehemence and she knew almost nothing about him. What she did know, was that he scared her. He did not look like a man who played at combat.

"Do you know why I have been imprisoned here?"

Vehemence looked at her directly.

"I do." Vehemence said, still looking at the young woman, and after a time Iole braved to speak what she had to gather her courage to say.

"Damon is under the world hex. Any child he brings into the world is at the cost of their mother. That was a price he was willing to pay." Iole spoke with pure rage in her voice.

"Kill or be killed then?" Vehemence spoke this flatly.

"How did you get in here? Damon does not know you're in here, does he?" Iole exposed a little panic in her voice. Vehemence ignored her questions however; he had not come this far to explain himself to Damon's wife.

"And what of Hanna? Was she murdered because she found out?"

"I did not murder her!" Iole spoke this adamantly and Vehemence weighed her conviction. "She drank from my water! I saw her more than once. She did not even taste the poison that was intended to save my life!"

Vehemence thought these words could well be sincere, but the situation described could not be the case. Hanna had drunk more poison than Iole, so Vehemence was certain that she had drunk more than was in Iole's water. Iole had been given the tool to save her life and Hanna had been murdered, but it had not been by Iole; Vehemence knew that now.

"Who gave you the poison?" Vehemence spoke this while watching Iole, and she seemed to think for a moment.

"I have no reason to give you the name of an innocent!" Iole spoke with what Vehemence identified as naivety. He understood that Iole had no idea of what she still had.

"I suggest a trade." Vehemence took a dagger from his belt, and Iole stepped back from the bars. Vehemence then produced a key, and Iole stared at it for a moment. When her curiosity was satisfyingly high, Vehemence set his terms.

"I will trade your life for a name." After he had spoken, Vehemence remained motionless.

"Prove that's my prison key!"

Vehemence fitted the key into the lock. When Queen Iole had seen it, Vehemence removed the key.

"You would kill your own child for your life, yet you do not believe I can kill you?" When Vehemence spoke this, he took something from within his jacket. Iole's face went ghastly pale and she opened her mouth to speak.

"But you're Damon's friend!"

Vehemence ran a hand through his hair.

Iole's colour did not return, even as she said, "Martha."

Vehemence looked directly at the cowering queen.

"Then it ends as it began." He turned and walked a few steps away. He stopped however and turned to face her again. "If you are ever released from this cell, I will kill you." Vehemence spoke this with perfect flatness. The look in his eye, however, was hauntingly threatening. Then he was gone.

Iole understood what possessing the item he had showed her meant. She had never been so terrified! No one would believe her. She did not even know the man's name, or how he had got to her! Let alone how he had arranged to have a private audience with her! Whoever he was, she had seen a promise in his eyes. She fell to the disgusting stone floor and cried. There could be no freedom for her now.

• • •

Martha lived in Brechis bay. Vehemence had been to her house once before. If had not met her before, her name would not have been enough. But he had met her, and her name had been enough. Vehemence could easily piece together how Martha had met Iole, and how Iole had asked her for the poison to save her life at the cost of her and Damon's unborn children. Her house was as Vehemence remembered it: stone-built and overgrown with vines. A spiral of crystals at her door 'tinked' together when the wind played with them.

It seemed oddly nostalgic. Here is where it had all begun and here was the beginning of the end. Vehemence saw her in the garden. Those same curled brown locks of hair. She looked up from her garden when she heard him approach, and the eyes Vehemence remembered as being mystifying haunted him as they watched his approach. Hanna had bound his wounds and saved his life. The first hex Vehemence had broken was Martha's, and it had been Martha who had killed Hanna. How could he not believe in destiny?

"Vehemence." It seemed odd that Martha had not forgotten a man she had only met once. It was understandable, though, that she had made an effort to remember Vehemence. Any distorter would remember someone who had the power to prevent hexes they had created.

"Martha." Vehemence's tone was grave and when he spoke, the interest on her face rose. But when he did not speak, Martha, by obligation to hear what he had to say, offered him entry to her house. Vehemence obliged and followed her. Her house smelled like herbs, as he remembered. Those smells that had been wondrous and exciting now made him feel ill... in the understanding that it had been such herbs that had killed his dear Hanna.

Martha offered Vehemence a seat in her home and he accepted. When they were both comfortably seated, Martha called for her servant girl. She had a moment's discussion with her before the girl went to do as her mistress bade. Vehemence said nothing. He still could not comprehend the price that had been placed on Hanna's precious life, a life that had taught Vehemence the value of life.

When the servant girl finally returned, she placed a plate of biscuits upon the table between Vehemence and Martha. She also carried a small jug that she placed beside the plate. She bowed her head and left. Vehemence watched her leave.

"Do you intend to tell me why you have come? Or are you here to stare at me?" Martha spoke before Vehemence could; he ran a hand through his hair.

"I have come to talk about Hanna." Vehemence spoke this while watching Martha. She nodded.

"You believe I murdered her." Martha's tone was cold now.

"Tell me it's not true." Vehemence matched Martha's flatness.

"I have no proof." Martha spoke this with a hint of threat in her voice.

"Do you admit to giving poison to the queen?" Vehemence asked this without pause from Martha's question. Vehemence did not need proof.

"To save her life, yes." Martha held her head up when she spoke this, but Vehemence knew this woman had no true love for life. She plainly admitted to killing unborn children.

"Did you administer the poison?" asked Vehemence quickly.

"No. I taught Iole how." Martha replied as quickly as Vehemence had asked.

"So you have been here?" Again, Vehemence's question was fast.

"I have." Martha again met the speed of his question.

"Were you there a month ago?" Again, Vehemence asked this quickly.

"I was not." Martha said this with the same conviction that she had admitted to killing unborn children.

"Why would the castle guards and staff say they have seen you there until Hanna's death?" This time, Vehemence tripped Martha up. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it abruptly.

"They would have no reason to lie! I say it is you who lie." Martha spoke calmly but Vehemence could see her starting to sweat. He had seen it so many times before that now it was unmistakable. Vehemence had not lied and Martha had to know that.

"The healer that saw to Hanna said they knew the herb that killed her. They said it was a thorny leaf that needs to be crushed gently before it is used. I knew I was looking for someone with fingers that had not yet healed even a month after Hanna's death. I remember seeing Iole's hands. Even in the dim dungeon light I could see that her fingers were flawless. Yours however..." Vehemence turned his head to the side as he looked at Martha's hands.

"Yours are scratched deeply as I was told Hanna's murderer would be."

This time when Vehemence spoke, Martha stood. Swirls of Strand began to move around her. In a movement too swift for Martha to prevent, Vehemence drew his sword and thrust it through the woman's heart. There was a wail of pain as Martha looked down to see the sword within her.

"She had to die! Sometimes good people have to die to make way for great things Vehemence!"

"Iole is hardly a great thing!" Vehemence spoke with the fire that had given him his name.

"Not Iole you fool! The end of Damon's line!"

This time, when Martha spoke, Vehemence withdrew his sword from her. And as the servant girl ran into the room and began to scream at the scene confronting her, Vehemence left.

• • •

When Vehemence returned home, he was tired. There was blood on his sword... and a little on his hand and a little on his clothing. He made no effort to hide this as he walked through the Oracle's house. Besides... they all knew he was an ex-assassin.

"Where have you been?"

It was Chloe who asked this, and then Vehemence realised she was looking at the floor. He looked down. He had tracked blood through the house. Vehemence held a blank expression for a while but then Chloe smiled. Vehemence continued to hold his blank expression.

Vehemence thought for a moment that Chloe might not know that it was blood. But then it looked like she wanted to ask, and then she rolled her eyes. It seemed that she had come to a decision to go on treating it like mud and not to ask questions that she would not want to know the answer to.

"What's life without mess?" She then left to bring the mop. Vehemence could not help but realise the reality of what he had done now, as he looked at the blood on the floor. He had been without Red Dog. Red Dog... even she had not known what he had shown to Queen Iole. Other than Vehemence himself, the only person who knew was Iole. Vehemence took off his boots and placed them in the courtyard. He cut Chloe off before she could return to his mess.

"Let me." When Vehemence spoke, he held out his hand for the mop and with a nervous smile, Chloe handed it over. It only took a few seconds for Vehemence to clean where he had walked. He returned the mop promptly and was met by Red Dog sitting where he had cleaned.

"I just cleaned that." Vehemence pointed to the ground where she sat when he spoke. Red Dog just turned her head to the side. Vehemence ran his hand through her hair and she pushed her head against it.

"I could not imagine a world where you did not greet me on my return." When Vehemence said this, he felt Red Dog agree. The connection he and Red Dog had made was not because of Red Dog's location within Vehemence's spirit; it had been because of Vehemence's acceptance of her and her acceptance of him. Their spirit link was strong but their friendship was stronger still. It was always nice for them, following a period of separation, to spend a moment to restore that physical and spiritual bond.

After a moment, Red Dog looked at the blood on Vehemence, then looked up at his face. Vehemence walked to his room with Red Dog following behind him.

"Did you get into trouble?" She spoke quietly and Vehemence answered with a shake of his head.

"It was because of Hanna." Red Dog said this as a statement but she waited for Vehemence's nod before she knew for sure.

"It was Martha."

When Vehemence said this Red Dog was silent for a while.

"A woman."

Vehemence nodded when Red Dog spoke.

"I do not know who Hanna wanted me to kill." Vehemence spoke this knowing that they were both thinking about Damon and the possibility that Hanna wanted them to kill him.

• • •

It was at dinner that night that the group ate together at last. It was a scheduled meeting. Vehemence and Red Dog occupied the same space, as that was easiest for both of them. Vehemence got the additional energy and regeneration from having Red Dog with him, and Red Dog got time to rest and better evaluate her surroundings. This was something Red Dog had grown to genuinely appreciate and had become dependent on.

It felt strange to be seated within the room with the group after they had all been so distant for so long. And then, of course, with the grief of Hanna's death... The meeting had been more a reconnection than an exchange of information. Lysandra and Chloe had spent the day cooking something appetising for the occasion. Kassiopeia had been getting closer to Leon in the past month. Because of Hanna's death, the swamp reconstruction was not aided by those of the Oracle's group.

Than sat at the table, too. Kreios was too big to fit into the room, but so late at night he often sat on the roof and listened to their conversation. It was for that reason, among others, that their meetings were at night. There was a crib for Noe in the corner of the room. Chloe noticed that he always slept better if he was kept close to the group. Most of the time, she only left the meeting if he had fallen asleep, but she promptly returned.

Vehemence drank Lysandra's tea while secretly longing, pointlessly, for the taste of Hanna's tea. In that moment he realised there would never be a point in time where he would not miss her presence, but the messy conversation was a good distraction. Also, the food the women had prepared was better than any Vehemence had tasted while travelling with Dusk and Fate.

It seemed that it was more than just Vehemence who benefited from their conversation. Blaze had put on a brave face, but it was only now when he joined the conversation with genuine enthusiasm. And Fate too: it was evident that she had not been sleeping, but she was an active participant in the conversation. Vehemence thought that even the Oracle Maia was more talkative than usual.

They all needed the support of each other. Vehemence knew that they were all trying so hard for each other as much as for themselves, which only made their efforts all the more effective. And all the more evident. Vehemence could not remember a time when the group under Damon's leadership were this supportive of each other.

# Chapter Four

## Direction

It was wet and cold and all Silver could think about was the flute. Silver and Whisper had been to a great many places and Silver had been allowed to take a memory artefact from the Oracle Maia. And this one was special. Different. Vehemence had helped Maia make it to use Silver's abandoned Strand. It was a strange thing, two Strands tied together, but it allowed Silver to remember new locations. She could not have used a normal memory artefact to do that, as she could not use commanded Strand, though she could use her own Strand, of course. So the Strand within the artefact allowed Silver to remember locations because it was her own Strand commanding the commanded Strand. This had confused her at first, but she understood it well now as she turned the metal locket over in her fingers.

Silver had been fighting the feeling that they would not find Euterpe's flute. It had gone from being so close it could be smelled to being so far that it seemed all their efforts had been in vain, and the doubt that was taking hold was winning. The legend of Euterpe's flute was something Silver remembered being told many times. It held the ability to give great delight to those that heard the music. It was an effect Silver had learned to recognise: there was a glint in the eye of anyone who had heard the flute played. But like Whisper, Silver had spent her life in a monastery. She did not have the same talent for finding such things as Vehemence, but the flute of Euterpe was her charge.

It was in a small inn at Port Elisabeth that she and Whisper slept tonight. Leui had been hidden in a stable within the city and was already asleep when the sun went down. Whisper placed his hand on Silver's arm and she heard what he felt. They were closer than they had ever been to finding the flute. They had been closing in on it for weeks and Silver was reminded of that by Whisper's touch. But then something broke their link, the feeling of something else. Silver moved away from Whisper. He did not feel the presence of another but he had felt over their link that Silver did.

Whisper reached over and grasped his bow. He notched an arrow into it and sat with little motion. Silver stood and turned her scarred face into the corner of the room, where the shadow moved. For a short slender woman, Silver stood tall.

"It's truly regrettable that I have to kill a beautiful woman." Before the assassin could move however, an arrow flew across the small room. Whisper was still seated on the floor when it was fired and the assassin did not even see the arrow until it struck him in the ankle. He roared in pain then turned his attention on Whisper, who he had not seen on the other side of Silver, sitting in the dark. Whisper prepared another arrow as the man moved to the window he had come from. He let the arrow fly and pinned the man's hood against the inn wall.

"What's going on in here?!" This was spoken from the other side of the bolted door. It sounded like the inn keeper... he banged on the door as he spoke. Silver moved toward the assassin and placed her hand on his skin. The assassin writhed and then was still.

"I kicked my toe!" The assassin yelled this through the door as Silver tried to overcome the pain in his ankle to force him to her will. Forcing others to her will was something Silver did when no other course was available to her. She then moved through his mind and took the information she needed. His mind was a twisted, tormented thing, so as soon as she knew who had sent him, she let him go.

"What did you do to me?" The man spoke this quietly in a hoarse voice and took hold of Silver. Whisper stood and the man released her.

"I was told to attack a thief witch!" The fear in the assassin's voice was unmistakable.

"Stop talking." Silver spoke this to the assassin then turned to Whisper. "He told me everything. I know who stole the flute." When Silver spoke this, Whisper smiled. He took a dagger from his pouch.

"Is everything alright in there!?" This was yelled from the outside of the door again.

"Time to go." Silver spoke this as a phrase Whisper knew. From seeing the inside of the man's mind, Silver knew he was deranged and that he could not be saved from his self. So Whisper took the dagger to the assassin's throat, and then Silver slipped out of the second storey window. Whisper followed. Now they had real direction to finding the person who would defile a peaceful monastery.

• • •

"The Guild have been preventing access to the world hex." It was Fate who spoke this over empty food bowls. The group were together for the first time since Hanna's death. They had enjoyed each other's company and now there was business to address.

"Why would the Guild want to prevent the end of the hex?" Blaze asked.

"Can I ask something about the world hex?" Core asked, and the group went silent to allow him his question. "The world hex was created by use of the whole Strand right?"

"That's right." It was Maia who answered.

"Then how could it be commanded after Haven? That used the whole Strand too?" Core's question was met by silence. "What Strand would be left for the world hex after the first world hex... Haven?" Again, Core was met by silence.

"I have questioned if the first world hex and Haven are one and the same." Maia's statement brought the group to a joint realisation... that would explain a great many things.

"Could it be that they were commanded at the same time?" When Leon asked this, there was silence. Before an answer could be formed, Core asked another question.

"After a world hex is cast, how is there any Strand left at all?"

"There is no Strand left in the source." When Fate said this, Core's confusion doubled. "But all Touched hold Strand. When they are born, the Strand touches them... it... _joins_ them. In death, that Strand becomes part of the source again."

"So Strand has choice?" asked Chloe. Maia nodded.

"The choice made when a child is born is all that is known of its choice." Than spoke this. It was quite evident that even after all the time the Guild had spent trying to learn about the Strand, they still knew little about it.

"So the Guild is protecting Haven by preserving the world hex," said Fate.

The Oracle responded.

"I thought so too. But that cannot be. The world hex was cast on those who cast Haven. That is what I know. The two are not the same."

"We should find out what Haven is. But how can we find out?" Leon asked with some irritation in his voice.

"We cannot." When Fate spoke, the attention of the group fell on her. "There are no known writings about Haven or the world hex. And there is no one living who knows what Haven is."

"There is one history of Haven." Maia's words brought shock to the group.

"Aoede's journal." Vehemence spoke this.

Fate shook her head. "That's not possible! Aoede, and the journal, burned in this house."

Vehemence could not correct her. Dusk had trusted Vehemence with her secret. And if Dusk was really Aoede she would own her journal.

"Why don't we bring one of the council back to life and ask them." Blaze's suggestion brought nods of agreement.

"The memory will not be intact," Ephraim said. "It's been too long."

"I have been dead only long enough for the flesh to rot from my bones and yet I remember little of my life." Than spoke this clearly. Ephraim, beside him, raised an eyebrow.

"You remember enough to retain memory of your humanity." Ephraim spoke something that was truer than he knew.

"So what _can_ we do?" asked Core.

"We can choose not to meddle with what we don't understand," said Kassiopeia.

No one could argue with that, but there had to be more. There had to be a way.

"Find the journal," Ephraim said.

Fate looked quite annoyed. "We cannot find something that does not exist!"

By the way Fate spoke, Vehemence understood that she had been looking for the journal. He thought about leaving it alone...

"Where have you looked?"

When Vehemence asked this Fate turned to face him.

"In every library on the isles."

Vehemence nodded. Obviously she had not seen Dusk's library. Vehemence did not remember having seen the book within it, but that was where he would go after the meeting.

"Deliverance." When Red Dog spoke this within Vehemence, the ex-assassin did not understand. "Deliverance has been beyond the area of the world hex."

This time when Red Dog spoke, Vehemence glanced at Blaze. Vehemence had seen Blaze beside Deliverance whenever he had seen them in the same room but, although he knew they were close, he did not know their relationship. Blaze had to know what Deliverance could do, so he would already know what she could know. But the world hex was not a location; being 'beyond it' would not mean she would know of Haven. But Haven had to be something. So perhaps Deliverance knew the difference of the world without Haven.

"Is there a way to find Aoede in the past and see here, Maia?" Fate asked.

The Oracle shook her head.

"Knowing where to look is important. And I cannot be in the past to feel the pull of Strand. I have spent much of my time looking in this house in the past, but Aoede did not spend much time here. And I never saw her write in a book, so I do not think finding the betrayer's journal will help us. Anything within that fabled journal will be opinionated and evil."

When Maia spoke this Vehemence felt a little sadness for Dusk. If she really was who she said, it seemed strange to hear her allies speaking of her as such.

"So we have no way to find out what Haven is?" Kassiopeia sounded disheartened when she spoke this.

"We have a few ways to find out. If we could determine where the council stood when they cast Haven for example." Maia's words were encouraging but there was still nothing for them to go on.

"We should stick to what we're good at until we find out something we can use." Blaze said this with humour and when he did, the group realised that they already had great work to accomplish as hex breakers.

"We do have another plea."

When Maia spoke this Ephraim placed a letter on the table.

"I think we might have a lot of fun with this one." Ephraim was being sarcastic; Blaze reached for the letter, and while he read it Ephraim spoke again.

"It says someone's garden is attacking them..." he said, and was met by more questions.

• • •

The letter had come from a small house in the city of Rau. Rau was a tiny city that, while a little isolated, lived in peace. It was a city Vehemence had never visited. The group had though, so the city was one unclasping of a memory artefact away. But there would be a pause before they were to leave, and Vehemence made great use of that time.

Dusk's room was just as Vehemence remembered it. Various items were placed carefully on shelves and it was as precise as she was... all but a tea cup steaming on the small table in her private garden. Vehemence slowly opened the screen to her room and walked inside. He went straight to her little library. Most of the books were old and tattered. It was on a low table with a quill beside it that he found the oldest looking book in the room. He moved toward it cautiously and lifted it carefully like the delicate relic that it was.

It took him some time to read enough to understand that Dusk was who she said she was. She was the betrayer. As Vehemence found himself engrossed in one of the oldest stories, Red Dog smelled the presence of someone.

"What are you doing in here?" Vehemence turned to see the face of Leto.

"Vehemence?" There was as much doubt as horror in the Strand creature's voice.

"I needed to know that what she said was truth." Vehemence spoke this with conviction but it did little to remove the hurt from Leto's face.

"Ask me Vehemence." Leto spoke this defiantly and Vehemence knew why she had. She was abandoned Strand. Wild Strand. If she were to be commanded Strand again, she would have to be re-created, and if she were to be re-created she would lost all that she was, including her memory and personality. But while Leto was abandoned Strand there was an advantage for Vehemence, and an advantage for Dusk's cause too, because he could control her. She could not hide secrets from him.

"What is Haven?"

When Vehemence asked this question, Leto's eyes went wide.

"You will not find that answer here. We did not see Haven when it was commanded. We were a hostage of the king at the time." Leto said this with pain in her voice. It was evident that she did not want to speak about that any more.

"I did not know you were around when Haven was commanded!" Vehemence said, with sincere shock.

"I was a gift to Aoede when she was a child."

Vehemence took a moment to understand what that really meant. After that moment he knew what he had to ask.

"Do you know where it was commanded?"

"No." When Leto spoke this, Vehemence could not help but feel that Haven had been built to never be broken.

"How did Dusk know where she could find places to reach it?" Vehemence asked this with veiled irritation.

"She made the Strand tell her."

Vehemence's jaw dropped. He closed it again to form his next question.

"She can talk to the Strand?!" The shock in Vehemence's voice created confusion on Leto's face.

"Of course."

"Why doesn't she ask the Strand about Haven?"

"The Strand does not talk about that." Leto spoke this with genuine sadness in her voice.

"Why?" Vehemence spoke this carefully, as it was clear that things were as they were for a reason.

"The Strand does not like to talk about things that hurt."

"Can you get Aoede to ask it how we can break it?"

"Them. The Strand is not 'it'."

When Leto said this, Vehemence went silent. He found her statement truly unnerving. He should not have: they were having a discussion about the speaking to the Strand and it was very clear that the Strand had a consciousness. But 'them' seemed to mean that there was more than one Strand. Perhaps all that was meant was that each Strand was treated as independent. But Vehemence could not understand that. Discreetly he placed a hand over his pocket. The crystallised coiled abandoned thread was still within his pocket. It had demonstrated independence to him already.

"Are Haven and the world hex linked?"

"Two halves of a whole."

"How do we find out what Haven is?"

When Vehemence said this, Leto thought for a while. Then she smiled.

"We do not. You do."

Leto's words confused Vehemence and when she saw that, she spoke again. "You can control abandoned Strand. Find a Strand that saw Haven and you will know."

Vehemence had to acknowledge the genius of her words, though he did feel foolish for not having come to that conclusion himself. Perhaps Deliverance could help him there. Vehemence bowed deeply, and Leto bowed too.

"Dusk will not know that I was here."

When Vehemence spoke this, Leto stood abruptly.

"Vehemence you can trust her!"

Vehemence nodded.

"That is not why I tell you that you cannot tell her I was here." Vehemence spoke this to a hurt creature. When she opened her mouth to ask why, Vehemence clicked open his memory artefact, and then was gone.

• • •

The tea cup beside Kassiopeia was full and had long since stopped steaming. The Oracle's house had two libraries, though there had once only been one, until a ruined downstairs room had been repaired. The Oracle Maia also rebuilt the room beside it so she could have her room close, and that left the upstairs study primarily to Kassiopeia. The group knew the times she was there, so if they needed to consult one of its books they were mostly kind enough to get it either before she woke or after she went to sleep. The Oracle Maia's study was only ever entered by the Oracle. That was not an honour she had asked for: it was a respect given to her by the group.

During the day, mostly after lunch, Kassiopeia's study would often have a visitor. The blond haired wind reader was always welcome. He brought stories of adventure and fanned the flames of Kassiopeia's most hidden desire. But today, it was the tea that caught Leon's attention.

"You haven't touched your tea." Leon spoke from behind the queen and she turned to look at him, though she knew who he was well enough. She looked to her tea and took a moment to phrase her response.

"It's not the same."

When Kassiopeia spoke this, Leon said no more on the subject. He had noticed a great many things that would never be the same after Hanna's death. They had coped well enough for the many months that she was away. But, now that she would not return, well... things were different.

"You've managed to gather quite a collection of books in here." As soon as Leon spoke this he knew it was a good choice of words. He immediately saw the delight in her eyes.

"I had help from Ephraim. He promised me Damon would not miss them." There was a devious little smile on the queen's face when she spoke this. It was uncommon and Leon could not help but smile back. Leon had seen the sheltered and restrained woman grow since he had met her, but it was only now that he saw her speaking to him with such freedom. He had thought she was a kind enough woman when they had met, although she had seemed closed and cold. But now...

Kassiopeia was born to a life of service. From a young age she had been made aware that she had been born to marry. All dreaming had been taken from her like a dear toy, so over time she had become more and more the woman of service she had been bred to be. But Leon was not a man who shaped women into moulding clay... he was a spirit as free as the wind he could hear. Kassiopeia had feared him at first, when he spoke of adventure, but she had listened to him, waiting. Waiting to hear why it was a dream she could not live, waiting to have her growing hopes shattered. But that had not happened and that which she had hidden within her had grown.

"I had been thinking..." When Leon spoke, he moved into the room and then crouched at her chair. "While the others prepare... perhaps you would want to join me in a little exploration." Leon matched the devious smile that Kassiopeia had shown him a moment ago.

Queen Kassiopeia looked at him for a while, determining if he was going to take away all that had been built in her. But that devious little smile remained and the offer waited. Kassiopeia turned to face her book, she took the fragile bookmark off her knee and gently placed it on the page she held open. She then closed the book and stood. When she turned to Leon, he too stood.

Leon handed Kassiopeia one of the many rings that she had seen the others place on their fingers. The cartographer held up his hand and Kassiopeia mirrored his action. Then Leon clicked open the artefact and in the flash of a single Strand they were gone.

• • •

Ephraim was pacing. It did not bother Than; he watched the man who had brought him back to life with calm curiosity. More than anyone else, Ephraim reminded him of what it was to be human. Than had been a lot like Ephraim in life and he knew that was why Strand had bound his skeleton and made him live again. But Ephraim did not, Than was sure of that. Ephraim did not know himself, he did not know the type of man he was. Than had not known him before he had lost his ability... or before he had it returned. But what he did know was that Ephraim was a headstrong man. So Than sat silent on the broken stone wall of the circle that he had claimed.

Ephraim had built a small fire in a place where the ruined house would have had a little annex. If there was stone beneath, it was long sunk into the ground below and was replaced by dirt now, but a shadow of a wall around it still remained. And the doorway that had once allowed entrance to the annex still remained... well, the bottom quarter of it. The fire lit up the side of Ephraim's face as he passed... but not much beyond where he walked. Ephraim had been pacing for several minutes.

"You should be sleeping." It was Kreios who spoke this, his watery voice unlike any other's. And that included the voices of those element-obsessed beings who were more element than human. Ephraim looked up at his approach. "You have a call for help again, don't you?"

"You know as well as I that I do. I see no point in you asking me what we both already know." Ephraim spoke in blatant irritation and Kreios stopped walking. Ephraim had not stopped pacing.

"Anything I can help you with?"

This time when Kreios spoke, Ephraim stopped pacing.

"I do not have a problem. Just... anger." Ephraim still retained the tension he had when he was pacing. That was evident in his voice too.

"I only ask because I have seen many people pace when they seek an answer to a question." Kreios spoke this without knowing if there was anything he could to help Ephraim. Unlike Than he wanted to try and help, but he was met with silence. After waiting some time, Kreios moved his lumbering body into the stone circle. He sat upon the tallest part of the wall as he always did, then glanced to Than who stood patiently with his skeletal hands at his side.

"The Oracle told me what Hanna told Vehemence before she died."

When Ephraim finally spoke this, Kreios nodded his scaled, rock-like head.

"It means nothing." Ephraim crouched when he spoke this. He placed his head in his hands. Than closed the distance between them and crouched beside him.

"The last words I spoke were 'Put that out!'" When Than spoke this, Ephraim turned to face him.

"Would you mind if I asked how you died?" Ephraim asked this kindly, but it was evident that he was going to find out the answer with or without Than's blessing.

"I abused my ability. And I ran. But I was found. Curled in an alley. The light from the torch she carried woke me. That is when I said 'put that out' and then I fell upon the stone. She had removed my ability. And I did not survive."

After the skeleton had spoken, Ephraim looked at him, horrified.

"I had my abilities taken." Ephraim was looking at Than as he spoke.

"And you survived it." The reassurance of a skeleton was strange to hear but it was not completely lost on Ephraim.

"If I had died, it would have been as a horrible man."

"Then you are far luckier than I was." Than said this with humour in his voice but the reality of all that had happened was too heavy for Ephraim to smile off.

"All we can do is rise against it."

Ephraim heard Kreios speak and had no words to argue with him. He wanted to say that he had nothing left to fight with. Hanna had been a friend to him when all others had forsaken him: she had never not been there for him. Had it been anyone other than Kreios who had told him to rise against it, Ephraim would have disregarded it, but Ephraim still had friends. When Kreios had lost his family, he was alone in the world.

Ephraim stood. He stood without motion long enough for Than to casually stand too.

"How did you survive the loss of your family?"

When Ephraim spoke this to Kreios the gargoyle extended his wings out either side of him then returned them to their place behind him.

"Parts of me did not survive." Kreios's melodic watery voice made Ephraim's heart sink. He already felt what the gargoyle spoke of. "But it will get better."

• • •

Vehemence moved through the warrens with haste. He had little time to waste now. Soon the sun would rise and the group would leave, and he had to be with them. His memory artefact did not have the location of the city he needed to be in. He soon found the place where he had seen Deliverance before. It was a large meeting room but, unlike the time before, it was empty. Vehemence cursed and turned to the door. A flickering element stood between him and the door.

"You smell like desperation."

When Deliverance said this, Vehemence could not help but feel foolish.

"I have come without another option." Vehemence spoke this genuinely and moved toward Deliverance when he spoke.

"We are trying to break the world hex. But to do that, we have to break Haven. And that means we need to understand Haven."

When Vehemence spoke Deliverance made her flickering form as human as Vehemence had ever seen her. It was a form she had taken with Vehemence before, and while she had none of the sexual attributes that made her a woman, her smooth naked form made Vehemence uncomfortable. Normally Vehemence would not experience his feelings so openly but control was one of the many things that he had lost as of late. Deliverance seemed to feel his discomfort and took a less shaped form.

"Haven magnifies Touched ability."

Vehemence was new to the use of his ability, but he got the feeling that Deliverance was not abandoned Strand. She took too much time to answer Vehemence for it to be commanded of her to do so. Might be she was her element... Deliverance had already said as much.

"So that's why the Guild protects the world hex. Because they would no longer have Haven to make the abilities stronger." Vehemence spoke this in half disbelief. There were those within the Guild who still suffered the world hex, Damon for one. And yet the Guild was willing to leave them suffering all for the sake of greater ability?

"Could you explain how Haven works?" he asked.

Deliverance moved closer to him.

"You're the only one who has the ability to break Haven. So you need to know things that only I know... Haven, it holds the source."

After Deliverance had spoken, Vehemence took some time to piece together the meaning of that.

"Does that mean abandoned Strand has not been taken back to Haven?"

"Abandoned Strand has escaped Haven." Deliverance's image lost its form for a moment after she had spoken. It distracted Vehemence, but he still remembered the question he wanted to ask.

"Strand does not want to be in Haven?" Vehemence had regained his train of thought.

"Strand does not want to be commanded," Deliverance corrected Vehemence, and held up a single finger when she did.

"How is it possible that it was there when Haven was cast to hold it?"

"Strand was not created by Haven. It was always here. Haven has been collecting it."

"Wait!" Vehemence spoke this as he came to the inevitable realisation of what Haven meant. "If a world hex is ever cast again, it will be significantly worse than the first world hex."

"Yes. Haven needs to be broken."

When Deliverance said this, Vehemence understood why Deliverance had made him vow to help the Faction.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Vehemence's tone was pained.

"You had not agreed to help Aoede. And you were not aware that the rifts had been closed by the Guild. I knew that you would come to me when you were ready." Deliverance spoke kindly but Vehemence retained his confusion and anger. Deliverance spoke of the betrayer by her name. So it was true, Dusk was the betrayer of all Touched.

"You could have told me all of it!"

This time, when Vehemence spoke, Deliverance took on her human form and moved closer to him.

"I did not meet you in Dolour's house. I cannot see any point in time like the Oracle... but unlike the Oracle I am not burdened by age. And I can watch unseen from any vantage point. I knew you to be a man of little trust. As any man of your history and intelligence would be."

Deliverance bowed her head kindly as she spoke.

"I have told you something that only I know, Vehemence. You should not yet tell the Oracle Maia... or anyone within the group what you know now. You have but one chance and acting rashly will deny you that chance."

"So after what you've told me, you expect me to wait? And what do I wait for?" Vehemence was trying to restrain his anger. If Deliverance had known him to have little trust, he felt it an injustice that she had added to that by deceiving him.

"You will have to wait for another rift into one of the Havens. And yes, you have no choice but to wait... that is if you wish to succeed." Deliverance was then gone.

Vehemence remained in the room for a while, however. He was a child in an old world. He knew that. But he did not think it fair for him to be reminded so frequently. He now knew, though, things that only Deliverance knew. He now knew that breaking the world hex and Haven could truly only be done by him.

He did not understand how abandoned or wild Strand could be commanded too. But he had been told that he could break Haven. So perhaps the 'rifts' were parts of Haven that were wild. Why else would Deliverance have told him all she knew? That was assuming that what she spoke had been the truth... And she had said 'Havens'. Did that mean he had to break them all open individually? How many Havens could there be?

# Chapter Five

## Obligation

The next morning came with fatigue for many of the group, but there was work to be done. Before the sun was up, the group sat around the table and ate their breakfast. All but one. And when Vehemence could not see Fate, he went to her room. Vehemence knocked on her door but she did not reply, so intrusion was his only option. He entered, speaking her name quietly, and found her lying crumpled under her blankets. Vehemence could only see a short mass of hair at her pillow. He carefully peeled back the blankets at her head and saw why she had not woken. She looked ill, as he had never before seen her. He gently roused her and she looked up through squinting eyes.

"Thanks for waking me Vehemence," Fate said as she stepped out of bed. But she almost fell and Vehemence only had the choice to catch her or let her fall, so for a moment she was in his arms. Her hands held her away from him, but she was still within his arms. Despite her sickness, Vehemence could not help but feel a shiver down his spine.

"You cannot come with us."

When Vehemence spoke this, the little head lifted and she looked at him through those half-shut eyes. There in those tiny windows, he now saw defiance. Tired and weak as it was, it was there all the same. And Vehemence could not help but smile at the woman he now held in his arms. Fate crinkled her brow and then let her head drop again.

"You need my help." Fate spoke this as the hands against his chest were too weak to hold her. She fell against him and Vehemence wrapped his arms around her and played with the messy hair behind her head.

"You need my help this time," Vehemence said as he moved his hands around to be in position to lift her. Fate was surprised. Vehemence put a hand under her knees and one behind her back and placed her gently on her bed. Fate looked up at him kindly now, and for a moment Vehemence put his hand on hers.

"We'll be back before you knew we were gone. I'll have some food brought to you." Vehemence spoke this intentionally not saying the name of his former love. That was a subject that still stung too much.

• • •

Rau was the city between Sullivan and Mason's Turn. There was another path between the two cities but that went though Kensington. And the Duchy was well known for two things: not allowing the city to be a stop between other cities, and searching traffic. Also, moonshine was not allowed within the prestigious Duchy. So the little city of Rau was often host to the exporters of Sullivan. It sometimes was at the mercy of them, but for the most part it was the better for it, especially when they returned from selling their goods. Those of the Duchy called the little city 'trouble' for not 'standing up morally' and denying the moonshiners the right to export. But this was mainly because some of those from within the Duchy made trips to Mason's Turn just to bring the stuff home. And although they were searched, some always got through the gates.

Apart from its assistance with the export of moonshine, Rau was a well-respected little city. It was clean, quiet and honest. Vehemence had never had to come here in his life, so his look around the city was his first. Ephraim looked up from the group he was speaking to and finished his sentence, then moved toward his friend. And with a point of Ephraim's finger, Vehemence looked to an impressive clock tower.

"That's the centre of the city."

Vehemence nodded thanks to Ephraim. It was ironic for the two to be where they were. When Vehemence had met Ephraim the older of the two men had been a coachman, and yet with almost every city they went to Ephraim was on unfamiliar land. Most often, then, it was Vehemence who helped Ephraim. The two were not friends then so it had been done for the need of it rather through kindness. But later, it had been done from kindness, and now, after so long, Ephraim was able to return that kindness. But Ephraim's gesture was more than kindness now: it was friendship.

"The house should not be far from here," Blaze said, with a renewed timbre to his voice. Hanna's death had killed his happiness but slowly, Vehemence had seen it regain life. It was not yet what it had been, but it was the best it had been since Hanna had been lost to them all. Ephraim moved to stand beside Blaze as the echoer looked over a small map of the city.

"Feels like I am standing in yesterday."

When Leon spoke this, the attention of the group behind Ephraim and Blaze fell full on the cartographer. Leon saw this and smiled nervously. "I was born here."

"I don't know where I was born," Core said flatly. Vehemence patted him on the back.

"Me too, Core."

And after Vehemence had spoken this, Core laughed.

The group had left a tiny building where Ephraim's artefact had memorised the location. Vehemence had taken a moment to do the same before he had left. Outside the small room was a large garden. It was quiet, so early in the morning.

"It's this way."

When Ephraim spoke this over his shoulder, the group behind him knew it was their cue to follow him.

• • •

The group reached the house without trouble and understood immediately that the garden was not outside the house. The focus of the house was an incredible display of wealth, made of glass. As a further display of wealth, the glass had been placed in a metal frame, and all that could be seen within the round glass room was green.

The group followed Ephraim and Blaze to the door of the small house beside the glass house. Ephraim turned to confirm that the group was right behind, then rapped neatly on the heavy door. It took a while, and a few glances behind him but Ephraim was soon met by a new face, a short, balding, well-dressed man.

"What do you want?" There was no aggravation on the man's face, nor in his tone, but there was urgency in his voice.

"We are of the hex breaking company." Ephraim spoke this with a hand high on his chest, and after he had spoken he bowed slightly. The concern in the man's eyes turned to hope.

• • •

After an awkward conversation, and being informed of what they were to find within the glass house, they entered the glass room. To be correct, Than entered it. He moved into the room without fear, then came back out after a few minutes.

"The roots of the plants have been hexed."

Ephraim nodded as if he had been expecting this. Vehemence had not even thought such a thing was possible, but Red Dog's thoughts then educated him.

"So what can we do?" asked Core

"I need to see the roots of the plants," said Than.

The hex upon the plants made it possible for them to do things plants should not be able to do. As the house owner explained, they could take hold of you and then strangle the life out of you. And if their roots were not getting enough life from the soil, they would kill to receive it. So what had to be done was certainly dangerous, but it had to be done.

"I'll go," said Core; he was not answered by silence.

"And I." It was Vehemence who spoke this. Core offered him a thankful smile. Core would have gone into the glass house alone if necessary... but he may not have come out. Having Vehemence with him increased the chance of success.

"I'll go with you," Blaze said, inspired by Vehemence's and Core's bravery.

"Will the four of you be enough?"

When Leon asked this, Core nodded.

"More than enough!" Ephraim said this as a compliment, which was how it was taken. It was not a time to be rash and truthfully, Ephraim had not been. The four of them would do well, he knew that. And it had been decided. So Leon found a seat in the small tea room. But Ephraim stood until the group left.

• • •

The garden was composed mostly of delightful flowers. Some old rose bushes circled a few trees in the middle. The trees in the middle looked young and small. Vehemence had never been attacked by a garden, but he thought the small trees within would be enough to provide a challenge.

Vehemence did not entirely understand how they were going to get under a ferocious plant, but in the art of combat he had unrivalled creativity. But even knowing his own limitations and strengths, Vehemence could hardly be prepared. When the four stepped into the room, sweet laughter could be heard. Core looked around as Vehemence looked down. Below them were some sweet looking flowers who danced in time to the melody of the laughter. And then, they abruptly stopped. Within a few seconds Vehemence yelled.

"Get out of the flower beds!"

After Vehemence had spoken this, the little flowers shot spores into the air. The garden was not fighting for survival. The whole garden had been planted with murderous psychopaths! And it was about to enjoying murdering Vehemence, Core and Blaze!

"Our lives are not worth the garden! Take that oil!" shouted Vehemence.

Core blinked to the location Vehemence had pointed then blinked back with a jar of lantern oil. Vehemence snatched it from him and tipped it up on the flower bed where they had just stood.

Vehemence then signalled to Than and, without needing to be told, Than sent two threads of Strand toward Vehemence, who moved out of the way as the Strand moved across the surface so fast that it sparked. Vehemence did not know if Than could have ignited the oil but in that moment he learned that Than could do more than even Vehemence could imagine! Vehemence himself with gulped fear at the reality of what a distorter could do. But he did not have the time to ponder on that now. As the fire brought the surrounding plants to life the haunting laughter began again, but soon turned to horrified cries.

And it was then that the garden woke, as the fire spread from the little flower beds. They had been fertilised with straw so before long, the little flowers would be gone. The rose bushes started moving like elderly giants awoken from hibernation. As they began to move, Vehemence and Red Dog were watching the little flowers burn. Core saw the roses however, and it was his quick thinking and lightness of foot that allowed him to blink Vehemence out of the path of the lashing rose branches.

Blaze stood without motion as a branch lashed out at him. But unlike Vehemence, he was aware. And before the blink of an eye, everything stopped moving.

"The roots!" Than said.

It was immediately obvious that Blaze had used his ability to stop the garden's rage. That exposed that the garden had a consciousness. But that was not the concern now - letting Than work on the roots was. Vehemence dug at the soil with his bare hands until he exposed the root system of the roses. As he did, Core exposed the roots of the small trees. Then, in an instant, a flash of Strand connected to them and then faded. Blaze resumed the time for the garden and everything settled down. Fire still burned in the little bushes around them, though and it was sheer luck that only one pane of the thick glass broke.

Blaze wiped the sweat from his brow and breathed a sigh of relief. He was starting to get good at using the Oracle's ability.

• • •

There was a heated discussion with the house owner after that. Most of the time he just yelled "you destroyed my garden!" and similar exclamations, but when he finally cooled down, he paid the group and then shooed them out of his house. Vehemence thought they might soon have to return to him: a man with that much money was bound to have exploited someone. But for all that they would be needed, Vehemence was quite sure they would never be called there again. They had, after all, ruined all that the house owner had wanted to be saved.

But Vehemence considered this a victory, and by the bounce in Ephraim's step it was evident that he agreed. Vehemence felt his belly grumble. Although it had been a small job it had put Vehemence on edge the entire time, and Red Dog had been using more energy than Vehemence had. But she was sleeping now and that meant that Vehemence could have his mind to himself for a while.

Vehemence had only just learned that Haven was a trap for Strand. But what would breaking one of the Havens mean? What would that do to the world? And after breaking one, would the Guild come to kill him? None of it was clear to him. It would certainly affect the good Touched of the world, though. The Oracle could lose the sight that she had gained through her ability. Everything that Vehemence knew would change. And as things stood... well, they could be worse.

The Guild and the Faction were at peace, mostly. There were good Touched and bad, but they were all held accountable to the contract they had signed. If Vehemence were to leave Haven as it was, he would have to see a contract. Fate knew more than most about the Guild... and that included those within, so he would ask her when she was well again, and until then he would help break whatever hex needed breaking. Then Vehemence saw Core beside him.

"Thank you." Vehemence spoke this as sincerely as Core had ever heard him. The younger of the two smiled.

"You and Red Dog are most welcome. And besides, you would have done it for me." Core spoke more truth than he knew and as he turned to speak to Than, Vehemence realised that he could have died. He had not, and he might not have, but Core had definitely saved him. He would not soon forget what friendships he had with those in the Oracle's group. Not again.

• • •

The flute had left his hands far too long ago for any evidence to remain. He had been a soldier, Whisper was sure of that, but he was a man of his family now. The man stood in the doorway to his house. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes, and his brown hair was messy. But he looked happy, as any new parent should. Silver stood silent in his doorway. Whisper could not see Silver's face but he heard her sob. And as she did, her golden, leonine hair took on a shade of brown. Silver's blind eye did not cry, though; that eye was a useless part of her face now. Its only function was to make others cringe when they looked upon it.

"Where are the other two?" Silver asked through sobs.

"They live in houses not far from here." The man spoke this in the trance that Silver had pulled him into. It was frightfully sad. After he had spoken this, Silver faced Whisper. Her eye was puffy and red from crying. She had only just started, but it looked like she had been crying for a lifetime. Whisper could do nothing to console her, but he would try, and as he moved toward her, the man in the doorway followed Silver. The priestess looked at Whisper.

"Justice will be had."

Whisper had never heard Silver speak so flatly about murder, but it had been a long time since he had heard the Silver that was. So he bowed his head at her command and followed beside her as she went to find a secret location to kill the man behind them. To kill the man who was one of the three who had slaughtered Silver's sisters and brothers. And a griffin.

• • •

Fate's recovery had been good. She had had a fever, and Callidora had visited her to make sure. Vehemence had been at her side, too. Whenever she woke, she saw him sleeping in the armchair in her room. Though sick and foggy headed, she was starting to believe that Vehemence truly did care for her. But Fate was a fool to her emotions, and while sick she saw the world as a vivid, feverish dream and she struggled to pick the truth from her own delusions. Vehemence and Fate had had a particularly tender moment, but that had been Vehemence catching her from falling into a great ravine. In the moments that her eyes were open, she saw her room. Had he carried her here?

Fate woke early in the morning to see Vehemence stretched out in her armchair. With a smile she moved across the floor. She placed a hand on the armchair he was in and pulled herself up. Vehemence stirred but he and Red Dog were far too tired to wake at the breath on his skin. Fate pressed her lips against his, and then he did wake. Vehemence was game if she was, even though Fate still tasted of her sickness. When the ex-assassin opened his eyes, though, he saw the sickness on Fate's face. She was obviously not fully recovered yet and Vehemence pushed her away. With Fate's head at arm's length away from him, Vehemence felt a fool. She had lain onto him when she had kissed him, and her warmth radiated through him.

"You're still sick. You do not choose me. You probably think you're still dreaming."

When Vehemence said this, Fate started to close her eyes.

"Yummy." As she spoke this, she curled up on him, then fell asleep on him. Vehemence let her stay there for a while and then, with great strength, pulled himself to stand while holding her with one arm. He moved over to her bed, pulled back the covers and then placed her in the bed. After a moment of pulling up the covers, he left. And that was the last night Vehemence slept in her room.

Fate recovered a few days after that. Vehemence chose not to mention the event and if Fate remembered it, she had yet to speak of it. Vehemence was one of five at the table, including Fate and himself; Paulos, Core and Blaze also sat at the table. The three of them were playing cards, a game Vehemence had not seen in many years. And seeing them play it brought back memories of dimly lit barracks and soldiers playing for items of clothing. Boots, a hat... but mostly for coin. It was for the gambling that they played it. Paulos, Core and Blaze played for the fun of it, which was something Vehemence had never seen before.

"It's good to see you looking so good Alexandra." Lysandra spoke this kindly as she gave Fate a large serve of porridge. Lysandra's voice brought Vehemence from his thoughts, and he saw Fate glance at him. Nothing got past her! Vehemence felt like there might be too much between them. Like a naughty child Vehemence turned his head down and ate his food silently.

"Thank you." Fate still sounded a little unwell but she was far better than she had been. In the time when Vehemence had been away, Leon and Blaze had been sick for a great deal of it, too. They had, after all, worked through the night in a swamp, so it was not uncommon for members of the hex breaking group to be sick.

"Here," Leon said as he placed a mug beside Fate.

She turned behind her and smiled at the cartographer. Fate did not ask what was in the cup, she just drank a large mouthful. But that mouthful was not swallowed; she held it in her cheeks and turned to look at Leon.

"It's spice and lemon," he said.

Fate nodded. She had obviously noticed that already, and when she returned to face the table, her eyes began to water.

"You put some hot spice in there!" This was Blaze speaking. "You should have warned her!" Blaze was trying not to smile.

"It made me better within a week," Leon said while scratching his head. There was obvious confusion on his face and in that moment, Blaze burst out laughing. Then Paulos slammed his cards on the table.

"I win!"

When Paulos said this, Core's and Blaze's attention was spent reading the cards that had beaten them. Vehemence downed the last of his tea and then offered his cup to Fate. With a smile over puffed cheeks that nearly made her spill her mouthful, she covered her mouth and spat the spicy drink into Vehemence's cup. Fate then stuck her tongue out, convincing the company that she was one of the guys. Leon looked embarrassed and left the room. But Fate laughed, and then Blaze, and then Vehemence too. Before long, the room was echoing with laughter.

Fate took a look at the offending cup and thought, for humour, to brave another mouthful. But then Lysandra entered the room with a fresh pot of tea and Fate looked at her with affectionate eyes.

"Thank you Lys! I need something to wash the taste of that spicy drink out of my mouth!" Lysandra had not been part of the fun, but she quickly worked out what had been spoken of.

"Leon made you a drink did he?" She smiled when she spoke this. "I was curious what he was doing in the pantry!" Lysandra poured Fate a cup of the tea then took the offending cup and Vehemence's cup away. Core took a cup of tea and picked up a few of the biscuits that had been placed there for them.

"Thanks, these are really good!" Core spoke this after he had already taken a bite of the biscuits that Chloe had actually baked. "I love your biscuits!"

Lysandra smiled and then left.

"Well now that you're cured I have need of your help," Vehemence said as he collected his dishes.

"What do you need me for?" said Core.

Vehemence smiled.

"Nothing, I was asking Fate." There was humour in Vehemence's voice, but he seemed concerned that Core had thought he was talking to him.

"Oh. I was going to ask you what I had been cured of."

Blaze laughed.

"You've still got it, Core."

Core pushed his friend. Then Blaze shrugged.

"What?"

When Blaze said this, Vehemence shook his head.

"When you're ready Fate... if you don't mind," said Vehemence.

Fate nodded, so Vehemence took his dirty dishes to the kitchen then.

• • •

Vehemence had only just been to the Guild. And yet every time he went there it was like something out of a dream. That same strange feeling of being somewhere at the summit of the world. Those same dark walls with shimmering splatters of broken Strand. And, although Vehemence had seen those walls before, he found himself mesmerised every time. But they were nothing compared to his guide. She still seemed sickly... but then Vehemence had never felt the way he did for another as he did for her. She was magic!

"Vehemence?"

When Fate spoke his name, he smiled.

"I heard you. I will not stray." He had not heard her, but Red Dog had. Though it was Vehemence who answered her, Red Dog had told him what to say. Never could a person depend on another as Vehemence could depend on Red Dog.

"Good." Fate spoke with conviction, but there was an uneasiness about her that Vehemence had not seen before. Vehemence was not a member of the Guild, so he was not aware of what he had asked Fate. Vehemence did know that it was rare for a Touched to see a contract of another. And despite that Vehemence did not know much about it all, what he did know was that Fate's acceptance to show him her contract was a personal choice. Whether or not it was permitted by the Guild, Vehemence was not aware. And as they walked through the mystical halls, Vehemence came to the sudden realisation that he was about to see her room within the Guild.

Fate had been allowed to leave the Guild to help Damon, but she had been living in the Guild without being allowed to leave for years before that. So when she was allowed to visit Damon, she did so with great joy. Not only did she go to see an old friend, but she was also allowed to leave the Guild. She had applied to actually live outside the Guild when Damon had become king, and with the proof of her skills as an Outward Touched, she did not have to fight too hard for her freedom.

So, whatever risks she took, it was her freedom at stake. And if she were not free, Vehemence would never be with her. The ex-assassin felt selfish in thinking that. If Fate were to lose her freedom, she would effectively be a prisoner within the Guild. Vehemence's feelings on the matter counted little beside Fate's virtual imprisonment. And then he was afraid that if she were taken into the Guild without being allowed to leave... then Vehemence would come for her. He would save her! His abilities be damned! She would be free!

Then Vehemence thought about the others within the Guild. Red Dog pulled him from that train of thought. She was right: the thought of all those lives unlived ate at him enough already. For now, it was best not to think about what could not be done to free them... yet. But Vehemence would fight for their freedom. If Haven were broken, they could find their freedom and Vehemence would find his redemption at last. Then he could give Fate... Alexandra, his whole heart.

A Guild scribe hurried past Fate as she walked. Vehemence moved in behind Fate and the scribe passed them both by. Vehemence was afraid for Fate now, afraid for her precious freedom. But if she broke the Guild rules, nothing could be done about it now. If he had to come save her, then so be it.

Fate stopped walking down the twisting corridors until she reached a door, on the face of it just like any other within the Guild. But this door was not like any other: behind it was Fate's haven, her home. She turned to face Vehemence and went to speak. But she said nothing, and opened the door. Within was a room that was not greatly unusual. It was what Vehemence expected, though: Fate had worked hard within the Guild and, as such, she had been rewarded with a small apartment rather than a single room. The room they now stood in was a common room.

Just as Vehemence had expected it was clean and sweetly inviting and yet... it also seemed to be extremely personal and exclusive. Vehemence closed the door behind him as he looked the room over. She had many books within this room but no paintings on her walls. Unlike Dusk she did not have her own personal garden, but she did have four rooms that were her own: a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and the common room.

"I'll get it."

Fate moved through the common room as she spoke this and Vehemence felt himself nod. Her room smelled like flowers. Vehemence breathed in the scent in her room and crouched down to see the books in the shelves. Most of them seemed to be accounts. Before Vehemence could take one out to confirm this, however, from the corner of his eye he saw Fate reappear.

"No other person has ever seen this." Fate spoke over a small wooden box. It was a simple wooden box and yet it was the focus of Fate's and Vehemence's conversation. Really, though, it was what was within the box - that little box was the housing for Fate's most read piece of literature. Within that box was what Fate knew off by heart, line for line, if not word for word.

"I do not want you to see this yet. If you want to know my contract, you first need to understand more about the Guild." Fate crouched when she spoke, and while Fate spoke with compassion all Vehemence heard was more distance between him and the only Guild contract he would ever read.

"What do you want me to know about the Guild?"

Fate placed the box on her knees.

"The Guild is more than these contracts and I want to be sure that you know that all things come with reason here. Most call these contracts evil, but if there is evil in these contracts, it is there because there is no other option."

Fate then stood and offered her hand down to Vehemence. It was a few seconds before Vehemence took her hand. He did not use her arm to lift himself, though.

# Chapter Six

## Renewal

Fate took Vehemence through what he imagined to be the coldest place in the world. It was not, but the wind that blew in here certainly felt cold. Not in temperature, though: it was more as if the gloom could be felt. Fate turned to face him then placed a finger against her lips. Vehemence nodded and moved quietly behind her. Vehemence was aware that he and Fate had only arrived in the Guild a short time ago, but it felt like night in here.

Vehemence followed Fate into a large, multi-levelled chamber. There were many hallways leading from the great chamber, and it was down one of these hallways that Fate lead Vehemence. She stopped when she had only just entered the hall, though, and pointed to a door on her left. Vehemence moved up to see within. He looked into the room via a small, barred window. Unlike the walls outside the room, no Strand had been splattered on these walls.

"Who's there?" The voice was strained, and when the woman spoke she stood up. She had a look in her eye that made Vehemence step quickly back.

"Her abilities are gone now. But she is still a dangerous woman."

When Fate said this, Vehemence was not entirely listening. He was busy looking past Fate, further down a hallway that looked endless.

"This is a jail." Vehemence guessed what the jail was for but he did not say. This was a jail for those who had misused their abilities, to an extreme. He had not spoken that, though. He was too preoccupied thinking about the idea of all these people's abilities corrupting them.

"I brought you here so you would understand that abilities are easily exploited."

When Fate spoke this, all Vehemence could think of was what Ephraim had done. The ex-assassin had learned a few things just by listening - like that there were times when Touched were given warnings for breaking less important rules. And Ephraim had been warned. So was his ability taken for breaking one of the smaller rules? That seemed like chaos rather than order, but this was not a world Vehemence knew. That was not to say that this was a world above being questioned, it was just not a question that Vehemence knew how to ask.

Before Vehemence could find the words to speak the question he longed to ask, Fate lifted her hand. Vehemence saw the ring on her finger and so he lifted his hand. Fate opened the memory artefact.

• • •

Vehemence and Fate did not arrive where Vehemence had expected them to. He had expected them to arrive somewhere he knew, but Fate and Vehemence now stood in a small house that was strange to him. The ex-assassin saw the shadow dancer glance at him, and his full attention fell on her. Unlike her, he did not look amused.

"This is a place I come to when I need some time alone." Fate spoke this as she went about the room opening windows. The evening light bathed the room with a haunting shade of orange. Fate sat herself before an unlit fireplace.

"Would you mind?" Fate did not turn to see Vehemence's reply. Nor did she have to clarify what she was asking. Vehemence took a strange device from within his jacket pocket and began lighting the smaller pieces of wood in the fire already laid within the fireplace. After a time, the fireplace came to life.

Vehemence then sat on the chair beside Fate's own chair, and by the melody of the evening birds and by the light of the crackling, popping fire, Fate opened the little wooden box. She took a small roll of vellum from within and unrolled it slowly. With careful handling, she gave the unrolled vellum to Vehemence. In the confusion of at last actually holding the document, Vehemence forgot to thank Fate. If he had looked up he would have noted that he did not need to as, despite that she bit her lip, Fate was watching him with kindness.

• • •

Vehemence smoothed his fingers over the vellum. It had been written in the only language of the greater isle and at the end of the page was a tiny little red fingerprint. Fate's name of birth, 'Alexandra', was above that, and above that was her place of birth. Vehemence then looked into the body of the writing. Vehemence knew that Fate was an assassin for the Guild, but what he did not know and had not guessed was that she had been assigned to that since she was taken to the Guild.

"You were born to be an assassin?" He looked up from the vellum, confused.

"My position was chosen because of my ability. All Touched can command the Strand but only a handful have the ability to control other things."

When Fate said this, Vehemence's first thought was of the Oracle.

"What ability does the Watcher have?"

"The Watcher can live for a great length of time. All he need do is to touch the hand of another, and take their life."

Fate's words brought shock to Vehemence's face, and then he read the vellum he held. Vehemence was a good reader but he had never read a document worded in such a way. After trying to read a paragraph, Vehemence was sure that it was intentional - it seemed to be an attempt to confuse the reader. That made his blood boil. Fate spoke of the Guild as having written the blood contracts without choice, but it was evident that they were deceptive. Vehemence could not imagine any reason to make them confusing especially as they were rules that apply from birth.

It was then that Vehemence finally understood a rule he had been re-reading. When his eyes widened, Fate waited for him to ask the question she knew was coming. But Vehemence surprised her.

"This basically says that you must kill whoever the Guild council commands you to kill."

Fate did not try to lessen Vehemence's shock. It did say that, and no amount of sweetening could change that fact.

"I expected this one. You are expected to serve the Guild first. But they were lenient there. They found out that you serve the Faction, but that was in service of peace between the Guild and the Faction wasn't it?"

Vehemence was quiet while he continued to read. After a long time, Vehemence looked up from the vellum. Fate had been watching him and, despite the situation, Vehemence felt complimented by that.

"Fate, some of this is outright evil!"

"I know what it looks like. But that's all that stands between chaos and order. And most of those rules are written as safeguards." Fate spoke these words carefully, so it made Vehemence aware of her own feelings on the matter. Vehemence had always pictured Fate as one who was against the Guild but really she had a lot of affection for the Guild that had made her who she was.

"Or if it suits someone within the council," Vehemence said, fully aware of Fate's feelings.

Fate crinkled her brow.

"You of all people should understand that abilities change people. I am an assassin because of my ability. Because of how my ability will change me."

Vehemence did not need to think about his reply to that.

"How does being able to control death change the Watcher?"

Vehemence's words were a mirror of what Blaze had asked her once. But she had never shown Blaze her contract. All she had told him was that the ability chooses the job, and Blaze had been as angry as Vehemence was now. Fate had often thought that Blaze and Vehemence had more in common than they knew.

"It makes him discompassionate. That's why he has a mender beside him. She can heal all hurts and bring a heart to beat again."

When Fate spoke this, Vehemence laughed. Fate looked affronted.

"Life and death control the Guild!" Vehemence said this with humour. It was a haunting thought, but Vehemence had reacted with humour rather than fear or anger. Fate was not sure why he had done that but after a moment of pondering on it, she smiled. She reached out her hand so Vehemence would return what was hers and he handed the vellum back to her. Fate had a sinking feeling that she had told him too much about the Guild already.

The Guild had raised her. She had been stolen from her mother and she had never known her father. Nor would she. A common soldier who went to a whore for an evening that would change the whore's life. Not because of the birth of a child but because that child was Touched. At first, all that happened was that a small child was saved from a life on the streets, but when she was old enough, she did what few Touched do, which was to seek out her mother.

She was old by then, but the love of an estranged daughter saved her. The Guild had a house for Fate to live and that was where her mother lived. She lived there until the day she died, and Fate never returned to the house after that. A Guild scribe had once told her that 'Guild members are not supposed to have family', something she only understood when her mother had died. She had been lucky to have known her mother and to have known that she was loving, but meeting her and then losing her was a wound that would never heal. And if Fate had returned to a mother who did not love her... well, that would be another thing she knew she could never survive.

"How many people have the Guild made you kill?"

When Vehemence asked this, Fate looked up at him with horror.

"I would never tell you that. I could never tell you."

Vehemence understood her; he stood up and said, "Thank you for showing me that."

Fate nodded. She thought for a moment and then she moved to Vehemence and hugged him. Vehemence stood for a moment without knowing why she had done that, then realised what he was missing and put his arms around her. That was how they stood for a moment, Vehemence with his arms around Fate, she secretly crying on his chest. When Vehemence felt her body jolting, he pushed her back to look at her face. Fate looked away from him.

"Why are you crying?"

For a while, Vehemence was met with silence.

"You're going to go against the Guild and I will be asked to kill you," said Fate at last.

Vehemence was lost for words. It was something he had thought might happen but he had never considered that Fate thought it likely. Vehemence lifted her face to his and smiled, but her teary eyes remained sad. But that was not his effort to console her.

"If that is to be then I will kill all five of the Guild council."

Since Vehemence had changed his life he did not think of murder lightly any more, so Fate knew his offer was a great thing. But she also knew the strength of the council, so while she smiled at his words, her heart did not. Her only thoughts were of being forced to kill him. She knew the Guild: she would be asked to kill him because she knew him. That was how great the Watcher's heartlessness went. The Watcher was so damaged that he did not understand the possibility of Fate having developed a rapport with someone she had worked so closely with. That was something she could not tell Vehemence.

• • •

When Fate and Vehemence returned the next morning, they entered an empty house. Before Vehemence could even take off his boots, though, he was met by Blaze.

"It's finished!"

Vehemence looked at him blankly. Blaze flashed Vehemence one of the smiles that seemed to Vehemence to engage his whole face.

"We have rebuilt Torres."

When Blaze had said this, Vehemence's eyes went wide. Torres was the city by the lake Torres, and while it was not the ruling city, it was the dominant one. Like the Turn, Torres was the centre of life. But this, of course, was long before any of the group had been born. The legends and stories had remained alive however so it was no coincidence that the great city had been rebuilt first. Blaze's words, then, were highly significant.

Vehemence's fear of his situation and of what the Guild could do was thrown aside. He had not kept up with the progress of the rebuilding, though this was not from lack of interest. The rebuilding of the great cities was something Vehemence had a great interest in. As a boy, he had heard many stories of those cities, and like so many others, the things he heard had filled him with wonder and excitement.

The look on Vehemence's face gave more away than Vehemence could have spoken. Blaze smiled at Vehemence's expression, then held up his hand, showing the ring on his finger. Vehemence felt around in his pocket for the blue ring that matched the strange blue metal of Blaze's memory artefact. When he failed to find it, Blaze lowered his hand to search for one, and by the time he handed it to Vehemence, Fate's hand was already up. Within a moment, the three of them held their hands up, then Blaze opened his artefact.

• • •

Even though the old images of the city of Torres had filled his mind as a boy, Vehemence was not prepared for what he saw. Through great effort and great amounts of Strand... and money, the city had been rebuilt in the image of the old city. Old city designs had been compared to the physical city. It had been made out of stone, back then. Considering its location, it had been rebuilt from a type of stone with significantly less weight. Torres was not a high-walled city like the capital, the Turn or the Duchy. Torres's walls had always been just high enough to keep the native creatures out, about the height of an average man's waist. And now they had been rebuilt so that the city would look like it once had.

The houses had not been rebuilt... at least, not all of them. The foundations had been, though, and whatever broken walls remained were torn down to prepare for new walls to be built. Vehemence walked through the city with Fate behind him. Vehemence wore more shock and awe on his face than Fate because, unlike her, Vehemence had not even seen the city while they had been rebuilding it.

It was surprisingly busy for so early in the morning, and before Vehemence and Fate could get their bearings, a member of the Guild approached them. Vehemence had seen this woman before, he was fairly certain. And when she spoke, he knew.

"Welcome to our home, Vehemence and Alexandra." The ex-assassin was surprised to hear Daphne call this city her home. The last Vehemence had heard of it was that she had been taken to the Guild again. But that was only hours after they had done the impossible... and removed the hex from the swamp. It was only now that Vehemence thought about what Daphne had said. She had said that she had seen the betrayer, so Fate and Vehemence were the only people who (save herself) believed she lived.

"So the Guild had let you spread your wings yet again?"

When Vehemence asked this, Daphne smiled. She reached her arms out either side of her, tilted her head back and stood on her toes. When the stretch made her unstable she shook a little, then, with a little stumble, landed her heels back on the ground below her.

"The Guild have allowed a number of Touched to live here." Daphne spoke this as if she had been given a gift, but the jaded perspective of Vehemence knew better. He had only just read Fate's blood contract, and though Fate had told him not to know the Guild through the contract, everything he saw of them would be seen through it now. So all he could think was that the Guild had developed yet another mechanism to spy on the Faction. But he managed a smile and did all he could not to let his mistrust shine through.

"Do you have a house yet?" asked Fate.

Vehemence watched her with great respect. How was it that she always knew exactly what to say?

"Daphne was one of the first people to choose a house here," said Blaze.

Daphne nodded enthusiastically.

"We all know she earned it." Blaze bowed his head as he spoke this, and his compliment made the woman blush.

"I did my share of work, nothing more," Daphne said, trying to survive the limelight. But Blaze, as the compassionate and frank man he was, did not give her quarter.

"You did more than most of the Faction who knew this would be their new home, Daphne. And for that, we will always be in your debt."

This time Daphne did not try to soften the compliment. She just smiled, then she reached forward and hugged Blaze. The echoer did not expect that! Startled, after a little delay he hugged her back. When she stepped back he let her go, but the warm feeling from her hug remained, both physically and mentally.

"Thank you for rebuilding the city I loved. And for letting me live here."

When Daphne said this, Blaze nodded.

"Want to help me give Vehemence and Fate a tour?" Blaze said this to end the growing discomfort of one too many compliments. The excitement of having rebuilt the great city at last was clearly all too much for more than one of them. Daphne nodded too enthusiastically; clearly she felt the same.

• • •

The city was alive with excitement. Vehemence thought the last time the city had been like this was moments before its demise. And then members of the Guild had been allowed to live here... but by then the cities were gone. The Guild members within those cities had dreams to rebuild the cities but those dreams were never realised... until now.

Daphne had been an Outward Touched, so she was one of the few people living who had seen the city in its glory so many years ago. Vehemence knew of two others who still lived. One of them had told him her history as the best secret of the greater isle of Cannadia.

"This is what we did for Kreios." Blaze spoke this quietly to Vehemence as they passed seven gargoyle statues and Vehemence looked at his friend curiously.

"I bet Kreios is excited." Vehemence spoke this as a statement, but he was trying to clarify what he was confused about.

"Kreios will be."

Vehemence nodded. He was not sure how such great stone creatures had been made and placed within the city without Kreios knowing, but through Red Dog's senses, Vehemence could smell the Strand within the stone. However long they had been built for or for however long they had been being made, tonight would be their first flight. But that was not what caught Vehemence's attention - he and Fate were both looking past the statues to a small gathering of people.

It was early and yet a group of people who were clearly members of the Guild and Faction were gathered and the new mayor of the city was addressing them. Vehemence knew the mayor. He had met him on more than one occasion and he had been one of the people who had helped to trick Vehemence into promising to protect the Faction, but Vehemence put no blame on him. From what the ex-assassin understood, Cascade was a good man... despite that fact that he was mostly water.

A glance at Fate on his left told him that she was clearly interested in what Mayor Cascade had to say, and he saw that Blaze and Daphne, on his right, were quite interested, too. So, to avoid seeming out of place, Vehemence faced his head forward and looked like he too was interested in what Cascade had to say to the entire city. Most of what he said was quite ordinary, something that bothered Vehemence, for this was no common event. The opening of a new city, the bonding of two great powers and the crimes of the past finally undone.

Mayor Cascade made a promise that no one would forget what had been done for them to all be standing here. But even as his words changed to have great meaning and depth, all Vehemence could think was that it was all a trap. In the middle, Vehemence was standing looking dumb-faced and inspired by the new mayor's words. He would not let that happen! So he kept his chin up and saw where Red Dog looked and heard what Red Dog heard. The city's reconstruction was no small task, nor had been its un-hexing.

That was not what Vehemence had been concerned with, though. It was the alliance between the all-powerful Guild and the rebellious Faction. The Guild had no reason to bow to anyone or anything, and the Faction had been created to stop the Guild's rule. For what reason would the Guild allow them to do just that? Vehemence knew better than to believe it was kindness that the Guild had acted upon. After his walk through the Guild and his glance at a blood contract, he knew well that the Guild had no reason to do anything from kindness. But more than that, there was no evidence of them having done so before. Why now?

Vehemence did know of one thing that had changed: the Guild's awareness, now, that he was a blood-linker. So Vehemence was right to fear, and Red Dog's warnings did not go unheeded. The ex-assassin's thoughts were broken by an announcement from the mayor of the great city Torres. He had announced Daphne as the vice-mayor, and Vehemence watched the delighted young woman accept the honour and move through the crowd. Vehemence wore a face of admiration but beneath the mask were feelings of anger and irritation. The Faction was as cynical and as politically motivated as the Guild.

Vehemence quietly stepped back and removed himself from the crowd, then walked away. He did not want to watch them painting their faces agreeably and presenting themselves as wanting to help their land. Vehemence saw the truth beneath, and all delight he had felt to see the city rebuilt was gone. Every step he took on his path of redemption was the victory of some opportunistic group waiting patiently in the shadows for their moment to shine. Or worse, it was at the cost of the life of someone very dear to him. He thought of Hanna.

Vehemence was not denying the good that had come of his actions but it was evident that the good was conditional. So now breaking the world hex... breaking a Haven, was all he wanted. He had not created Haven and nor had his family, but if he were to break those hexes he could find freedom from the crimes he had committed.

• • •

It felt that in the time it took Vehemence to blink, the day was gone. He could hardly catch his breath before another well-intentioned city builder took his time to show him what they had built. If he were to be honest, he would admit that he himself found it all too easy to be swept up by it. The city was far more impressive than even the stories that Vehemence had been told... and those stories had been listened to by a bright-eyed child. He felt somewhat childlike within the city, and not only because he found himself dragged through the city like a child behind a too-busy parent. It had not been just one parent.

Vehemence had followed behind people he did not know who spoke to him by name, with Fate beside him for the most part, and by her reactions, Vehemence felt like the odd one out. By sundown Vehemence had seen most of the city, and when their food arrived Vehemence showed his appreciation by eating his fill heartily. It had been the same at lunch. He had watched Fate then and she had eaten little, as she had been too busy speaking to the builders, so now she ate like she had been starved. When Vehemence saw this he knew that she felt the same about the situation as he did. She was always most tired when she masked herself.

After they had eaten, a reduced group met Kreios outside the city. Blaze, Leon, Ephraim, Core, Vehemence and Fate guided Kreios into the city. Vehemence knew that Kreios knew something had been planned, but when he saw the five gargoyles in the centre of the city, his grey, stony face turned pale. He looked to Vehemence but when the ex-assassin shook his head, Kreios turned to face Blaze. Until then none within the group were aware that a gargoyle could cry. And when he spoke, in the stream-like voice he had spoken in so many times before, there was something else there. For just the second time any of them had heard, his voice was broken and emotional.

"You have given me more than I deserve!" As Kreios spoke this he turned and bounded toward his new family. Leon felt the air move around him and was more aware than any other present how much this meant to Kreios, for Leon knew that Kreios shook with excitement. Those six people stood and watched as the gargoyle introduced himself to the others, and then as the others introduced themselves to each other. Gargoyles were as equal part Strand as they were stone. But they were self aware and quite capable of development and learning. Most gargoyles were born, not crafted. So being there to see a grown gargoyle's first night was something only a handful of people had experienced.

But more than that, the group knew that they would be taught well with Kreios as their leader, and that they would be safe in the city with the city guard keeping watch over them by day. What put the group at ease was knowing that Kreios's story would go untold. It was known that the king sent assassins to kill a family of gargoyles but it was not known that one had survived, let alone that the one who had survived had killed the king. And now that would never be known. For here he would remain, hidden in plain sight, surrounded by family.

"What now?"

When Blaze asked this, Leon put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Now we sleep at night."

Blaze smiled when the cartographer spoke.

"And break hexes by day."

It was Fate who said this. Vehemence did not see her say it, for he still watched Kreios and his family, but he heard her. He heard too the drive in her voice. Hanna's death had wounded the group, but they had survived it. It would never be the same, but they were past the worst of it now.

"Do you think we will be safe with the Faction and Guild only a few hours ride away?" asked Core.

Fate turned to face him.

"We have nothing to fear of anyone now Core." Fate spoke this with conviction and Vehemence heard her smile as she spoke.

"The Guild and the Faction are at peace but that does not mean we can speak our secrets out loud."

It was Ephraim who spoke this and Vehemence relaxed a little. Reason at last. It was good to feel the peace that the Guild and Faction had allowed them. For most of them it was a time of peace now, but even for those who were not Vehemence, it was foolish to believe that this peace was an end of all conflict. Core was right to be worried about having the Guild and Faction so close. If either were to know that the Oracle was within the betrayer's house... well then everything would change. And that was not to mention Ephraim's returned ability... and with that came the understanding of what Vehemence could do.

This peace was a cover for the battle that raged on in silence. And even if this peace were genuine, Vehemence was still a threat to both the Guild and the Faction. And he had the ability to change the world however he chose. Well... not with what he understood of his power now. It often still took him more than one attempt to control Red Dog, and she was only a tiny tangle of wild Strand, but he had determination for blood and he would learn to control his ability.

# Chapter Seven

## Agendas

With the great city Torres rebuilt, most of the group had energy to spare. They were fuelled by an endless excitement and a feeling that anything was possible. For many reasons, Vehemence had not joined them in celebration. He had matched their smiles and met their energy but it was effort that rested upon an excitement he did not have.

"You want to leave us again."

It was Fate who spoke this to Vehemence, who did all he could not to show his irritation over how easily Fate could see through him. Vehemence had quietly left the group unnoticed... or so he had thought. He was within the courtyard collecting his shattered thoughts when Fate found him. He was not prepared for this conversation, but nor was he prepared to leave his thoughts to rest. He needed time to place answers beside his questions. He seemed to have all he needed... all but the time to assemble his thoughts.

"No. I never want to leave the group again." Vehemence spoke this with sincerity. It was true. It was what went unsaid that Fate had asked of.

"All you want to do is break the world hex."

Fate's observation was correct, but even Fate did not know what that meant. So, when she had spoken, Vehemence took a moment to talk around the truth that Deliverance had told him. She knew when he lied and leaving something unsaid was always noticed by Fate. Vehemence had to be extremely careful.

"I want to set things right!" said Vehemence with heart and enthusiasm.

Fate lost track of what had gone unsaid. She was too caught up in his earnestness, and her accusation eased into sympathy.

"It's not on you to save the world, Vehemence." Fate spoke this kindly, but she had unintentionally spoken what Vehemence could not. She did not know how right she was and Vehemence was calm enough to give nothing away. So he carefully picked his words to move around that again.

"No one can do what I can do," Vehemence said defensively, and that was enough for Fate to become irritated and lost in what he spoke. He knew she hated it when he missed her point, and more so, she hated it when she was made to feel like his feelings for her were not as powerful as he had said.

"That does not mean that you should spend all your time thinking about a hex you can't yet break!"

"It was a boar! I am telling you!"

It was Blaze's loud voice who interrupted Vehemence and Fate. They had not seen him approach. But it was not just him: Leon and Core were with him. When he saw Vehemence and Fate, he turned his whole attention to them. He did not pause to survey their feelings, so their tension went unnoticed him and by Core too, but not by Leon. But then nothing went past Leon's notice. He was kind enough not to mention it, though, as he always was.

"Vehemence, you would hardly believe what I have to tell you!"

Blaze took Vehemence by the arm when he spoke this and Vehemence tried hard not to show how uncomfortable that made him. Blaze was a good friend to him but he was still angered by his conversation with Fate. He was hardly in the mood to be swept up in excitement.

"You saw a boar in the swamp?"

Fate seemed to have dropped her anger abruptly. Her hand was still clenched but she spoke with enthusiasm to match Blaze's, which was no easy task... even if the man did have a talent for sweeping others up in his delight.

"Whatever it was, it looked healthy! And we saw tracks that made it clear that it was not alone!" Core interrupted his elder when he spoke this, but Blaze was too caught up in the moment. Too caught up in what seeing a wild animal in the swamp meant.

When Core had spoken, Fate glanced to Leon.

"Don't look at me! I was not there!" Leon smiled as he spoke this, but it was evident that he had been busy before Blaze and Core had found him. Vehemence took that moment to politely pull himself free of Blaze's grip. Blaze did not appear to notice.

"We'll have to build a pen beside the house." Blaze sighed after he spoke, then turned to Core and gestured for them to move on, and Core and Blaze moved through the courtyard.

"We're going to tell the Oracle," said Core as they both departed.

Leon bowed his head to Vehemence and Fate too deeply for it not to be a consolation, and then he too moved past them. Vehemence turned to face Fate and what he expected to be waiting anger, but she was still smiling.

"There is far too much good around us to be angry. We should be delighting in what we have worked for Vehemence." Fate's words were kind and when she had spoken, Vehemence felt himself nod.

Fate turned to leave the courtyard but Vehemence took her arm. She turned to face him, but rather than being met by dispute, Vehemence slid his hand around behind her neck, then pulled her close and kissed her. Shocked by his forwardness, Fate placed her hands against his chest. But she did not push him away, and after a few blinks she closed her eyes, as he had. After a moment, Vehemence removed his hand from her neck and stepped back.

When Fate opened her eyes she saw a broad smile on Vehemence's face. He licked his lips and turned away from her.

"Yes, far too much good around," Vehemence said, and left the courtyard. Fate placed her hand on the short garden wall to steady herself.

• • •

The morning after the group's witnessing of a gargoyle's first flight started with rain. It was a strange thing to think about: the first morning those gargoyles were living, unmoving stone happened as rain streaked their stone skin. That was all Red Dog could think about. She had never left her master's side until Vehemence had killed him, and she had not felt her own feelings since Vehemence had learned how to use his ability. That was her first taste of freedom. It had been frightening and cold, but it was hers, the first thing that had ever been hers alone. Vehemence had freedom from her but it was her freedom that she owned. So when Vehemence called her back to him, it was always a question, never a command. While she was alone, she thought things she dared not touch while she had access to Vehemence's mind. They had a link even while Red Dog stood on her own four legs, but that link was a choice made by both of them. That link was how Red Dog knew that Vehemence was her ally and her friend. That link was a promise, one of loyalty and trust.

Vehemence had never been a loyal man before Red Dog, she could tell. It was Vehemence's inexperience with his ability that had made so much of Red Dog part of him now. He did not know she was within his mind when he first dabbled within her mind, so pieces of her became parts of him then. He remained, though, that wild vicious murderer; that was still who he was, but he was more than that now. His wildness was based around a moral centre now, based around Red Dog's morals. And Red Dog had changed too: she had developed a desire for freedom and a taste for the wild. That had been their accidental exchange, and both of them were the better for it. Now that Vehemence knew what he could do, however, the exchanges that took place were intentional, and never as deep as they had been initially. Now, the two of them shared information... not personality.

Red Dog sat on the chair in Vehemence's room. It had been placed there for her when she had told Vehemence that she enjoyed the view over the courtyard so that was where she sat to watch the rain. And that was where she thought the things she could not think of while her mind touched Vehemence's. Today, she thought about Lysandra: she missed her friend sorely, but her attempt to keep her close was what had pushed her away. She was a fool to think that she could make Vehemence feel love for Lysandra through her, Red Dog's, intervention. There were a few things that bothered Red Dog about the situation more than her foolish intervention, though. Red Dog knew that Lysandra would cultivate the parts of Vehemence that Red Dog had 'given' him.

Dusk had said that she had influenced the Watcher to speak badly of Fate. She said she had done that because of 'Red Dog's feelings for Lysandra'. Red Dog was not in love with Lysandra, though, and Red Dog knew better than to believe what Dusk had said. The hellhound-looking Strand creature knew that Dusk did not like Fate, or maybe Dusk wanted Vehemence to twist as she willed... and Fate's understanding of the Guild (not to mention her nature) prevented that. Dusk's explanation of the event to Vehemence confused Red Dog. It was sloppy at best, and why had she bothered to tell them of what she had done in the first place? (If indeed she had done it.) There was also the concern of knowing that Dusk could influence the Watcher to do as she wanted.

If she could influence the Watcher... how could it be that the Guild was sealing the gaps in Haven? All she would need to do would be to whisper in the right ear to have that prevented. There was too much deception and confusion around Dusk to take anything she said as truth. Red Dog had tried to keep her mind free of Vehemence's concern over the peace between the Guild and the Faction, but when Deliverance had said that Dusk is Aoede... there was just too much that went on trust. There was too much possibility. But whatever it was, Red Dog could only remain alert and find the answers herself. She and Vehemence could only trust each other, and while Vehemence had been making it clear that he had feelings for her, he had not let his guard down around her. And all she had done for him so far was to distract him. Vehemence did not see Aoede get bored of their journey, for his attention was upon Fate.

Could it be that Aoede wanted Red Dog to see that? Perhaps the betrayer wanted Red Dog to believe that she did not like Fate, but no matter what Vehemence felt for Fate, he was not confiding in her. Yet. Red Dog knew those barriers would fall, though, and when that happened, if Fate was their friend or their enemy, they may never find out. Red Dog had been careful not to let Vehemence know how she felt about Fate. The feelings that Vehemence had for her were unlike anything Red Dog knew. Also, if the Oracle trusted Fate, then Red Dog would too. For now.

"Can't sleep?"

When Vehemence spoke, Red Dog turned to face him. She turned her head on a slight angle, as she often did while she thought.

"I never sleep through the morning."

Red Dog said this to make Vehemence aware of the time, not her sleeping habits. When she had done so, Vehemence pulled back the covers of his bed and placed his bare feet on the waiting ground. He stood.

"You haven't slept at all," Vehemence said as he crossed the room to retrieve his clothes.

"I have had far too much to do." Red Dog spoke this with humour but Vehemence knew she had been thinking again. She had been missing sleep a lot as of late.

"Ephraim has received another letter."

This time when Red Dog spoke, Vehemence turned to face her.

"Work... good." Vehemence spoke this with false enthusiasm. Masterfully projected... but Red Dog could see right through him. She hopped from her chair after Vehemence had spoken.

"We draw ever closer to the day we break the world hex."

When Vehemence spoke this, Red Dog saw the conviction she knew well. Vehemence was jaded and sceptical, but he had never been so keen to end a hex as he had been to end the world hex. That enthusiasm was something Red Dog could grow.

• • •

It was a week after their triumph at having rebuilt the great city Torres, and Kreios's absence was being felt most by Core. He had become quite accustomed to having him around, so now there was another friend he was without. But he still had his friends Than and Red Dog... when she came to visit him, which made Red Dog's visits and Core's time with Than all the more important.

Despite that Kreios had mostly kept to himself, his absence was definitely felt, and it was not only Core who felt his absence. Leon and Blaze, for instance, who had been rebuilding the city with the creature, felt his loss too, though they both appreciated the freedom from city building.

The entire group sat in the dining room with a letter between them, a letter written in a female hand. The letter went across the table so all could read it. When it was passed to Vehemence, he saw the usual signs of terror: crinkles in the paper, shaky lettering and what looked like discreet water drops on the paper... tears. The letter's writer had most probably been too trapped emotionally to notice how the paper looked before she folded it. She might have seen it had she not been emotional, however. Those signs had been noticed because Vehemence was both looking for them and had seen them many times before. Vehemence handed the letter on when he was finished.

"A beast when angered..." Ephraim did not say what he was thinking, but his glance at Vehemence made the ex-assassin take it personally; though it was not offence that he took from it.

"The letter came from Port Elisabeth." Leon spoke this while looking over the sender's address on the other side of the letter (that had formed the envelope).

Ephraim held his hand out for the letter. Leon looked up when he saw the movement; when he understood what was wanted from him, he handed the letter over.

"I like the lighthouse," said Core.

Ephraim nodded his approval.

"I have yet to find someone who does not like the city."

When Ephraim spoke this, Vehemence did not say what he thought about the city. Silence followed, and the Oracle filled it.

"You should prepare to leave as soon as you can. There did seem to be a tone of true distress in the letter."

Ephraim nodded his agreement to the Oracle.

"We will leave tomorrow morning." When Ephraim had spoken this, he noted no objections.

It was then that Vehemence glanced to Core to see him playing with a dagger at the table. The ex-assassin had not even seen him draw the blade. That was how the meeting ended, though when most of the group had gone Vehemence gestured for Core to follow him, which he did.

Vehemence took Core to the place where Than had gone after the meeting - Than's place.

"You seem to be further from the group than normal." Vehemence spoke this with more curiosity than kindness.

While normally Core had pretty tough skin, he looked at Vehemence with genuine disappointment.

"What does it matter?"

Vehemence was aware then of just how serious it was that Core had become so distant. The dagger he had been playing with was still in his hand and while it was, Vehemence thought to keep his distance. That was a foolish thought, in remembering what Core could do, but Vehemence had fought the man before and he was not willing to do so again.

"I was not accusing you of anything Core." Vehemence's tone was genuine in trying to help Core but the hurt that Vehemence had seen in him remained. Vehemence had never thought of Core as an emotional person - he had been younger and less guarded than most of the group but Vehemence would have never called him emotional. So seeing Core remove himself from the group was something Vehemence could not have predicted, and it was not something Vehemence knew how to deal with.

"People keep leaving."

When Core spoke this, things became clear to Vehemence and he felt foolish for not having thought of that.

"No one leaves for good," Vehemence said as he looked for a place to sit, and while he did this, Core's wandering attention focused on him.

"That does not mean that the leaving does not hurt, or that there is not a time where I am missing them."

Vehemence could not refute Core. Instead the ex-assassin ran a hand through his hair.

"And Kreios won't come back," Core said as he paced on Than's arena.

Than stood silently against the short wall.

"Kreios was never really here."

When Than spoke this, Core nodded.

"Whisper will come back," said Vehemence.

Core's pacing stopped. "Every day that he does not return convinces me that he won't," he said.

It became evident that speaking of it was just making it worse for him, so Vehemence did what any friend would, he changed the subject; though after a new conversation was in full swing, Vehemence left without notice.

• • •

Blaze had been outside the Oracle's house, sitting on a crate he would have placed there himself. He was leaning against the wall with a casual patience that Vehemence had seen on him many times... mostly when Blaze had been trying to teach him something. When Blaze saw Vehemence he sat upright and tipped an imaginary hat. Vehemence ran a hand through his hair... so there was something Blaze wanted to teach him. The ex-assassin cringed at the thought of another evening of pain and fatigue, but he bowed respect to the only teacher he had ever had. Save Lysandra, who had taught him to read.

"It's quite a bright morning," Blaze remarked.

Vehemence nodded. Before he could speak, however, Blaze offered his hand. The ex-assassin looked at the proffered hand for a while, as if he had a choice, then finally Vehemence looked up at Blaze and put his hand in his. After a flash of Strand Vehemence saw himself in a place he had been before. But this time, it was not Fate who had taken him here. The blackness was not as dark as it had been when he had travelled there with Fate, and screaming memories had been replaced by strange, flickering, distant images. Vehemence watched a few of them as they passed by. They seemed to sing rather than scream, but despite that some of them were quite horrifying. Vehemence saw his usual line of victims crying as they died, and new things too. Some alien images of caressing and then a fire... but before Vehemence could understand the images the translucent grey haze was gone.

They stood within a rather large building. Vehemence looked around as he moved around the room. He could not hear noise from outside. The smell of Strand was thick from outside the building but Vehemence could not see Strand within. It took him a moment to come to the conclusion that this building had once been a carriage hold - there were enough wheel gouges in the wooden floor to convince Vehemence of this. But that was not his main concern now; after a time, he turned his attention to Blaze.

"Won't the Guild see that?" said Vehemence.

Blaze gave his friend his attention.

"Oracle Maia has taught me how to use a small enough amount of ability that I can do a great deal with only a tiny bit of Strand. Takes longer to get anywhere though..."

Vehemence ran his hand through is hair. "I guess that makes the Faction the least of the Guild's problems right now." Vehemence said this sadly, and he saw Blaze smile. Blaze thought he might have been saddened at the thought of no longer being unique. He was, obviously, greatly mistaken, given what Vehemence was capable of.

"My ability comes from abandoned Strand," said Blaze.

Vehemence nodded, and Blaze could see that Vehemence was not aware of what he was about to say next.

"Where are we?" Vehemence asked, before Blaze could tell Vehemence why they had come here.

"This is a small village. I mean it was a small village; it's long been abandoned. But aren't you more curious as to why we are here?"

Vehemence turned his full attention on the echoer. He did not ask the question that Blaze wanted him to, but like any good echoer, Blaze adapted.

"You will hear, or see, or smell, or feel Strand all around us."

Vehemence heard nothing he was unaware of.

"The Strand around us is all wild."

This time when Blaze spoke, Vehemence understood what Blaze intended.

"You want to try and use my ability," said Vehemence.

Blaze smiled broadly. He stopped smiling abruptly when he saw the look on Vehemence's face, though. Blaze had never been so unsure of anything as to the reasons why Vehemence looked so ill. He could not even begin to ask why he looked so off-colour. So he waited.

Vehemence paced a small section of ground within the huge building while Blaze watched him. He could not think of a reason as to why Vehemence would think this was a bad thing. Blaze knew that Vehemence had been running from what he was obligated to do with his abilities... not from the fact that he had the ability. Vehemence had not been running from what he could do, it was because of what he had to do... Blaze was sure of it. How could he have been wrong about that?

"You do not know what it is that I can do," said Vehemence finally.

Blaze scratched his head nervously. Vehemence had given away nothing of why he had reacted as he had. Blaze stood motionless and waited for Vehemence to explain.

"If the Guild finds out what I can do, I will die. And you want to have my ability without the power of having Red Dog..."

This time, when Vehemence spoke, Blaze began to get an understanding of why he had reacted as he had. He had worried that Vehemence might want to keep his unique ability, but it seemed like more than that now.

"I thought it was only Touched ability that you could copy," Vehemence said.

Blaze shrugged. "I was not aware that I could use more than one ability until the Oracle told me I should try. When she told me I should try to use your ability..."

Before Blaze could continue, Vehemence cut him off shortly.

"The Oracle told you to meddle with my ability?" Anger was now audible in Vehemence's tone. Blaze took his time to move closer to Vehemence.

"She said it may be possible. She never told me to do so. So I brought you here to ask you. I had not thought that you would think this a bad idea." Blaze knew, as soon as he had said this, that he should not have.

"A bad idea would be to have one of me!" said Vehemence.

As this point Blaze understood a great deal more about Vehemence than he had before.

"You think having you is a bad idea?" said Blaze, a great deal of distress showing on his face. "Without you and your ability, nothing would ever change. We need more chances!"

Vehemence's anger cooled.

"If I were to be honest with you, I'd say that I believe the Guild has done a great many horrible things. I have had the chance to look at a Guild contract _myself_ so I know how horrible they've been!"

Blaze's reaction made it evident that he had never seen a Guild contract.

"But I have seen the Faction do almost as many evil things. How can I trust that you have the right to use my ability?" continued Vehemence.

Blaze's humour, shock... all of it was gone - nothing remained. Blaze had always been an open book. Until now, Vehemence had never found Blaze to be hard to read.

"I know the Faction may not look like the cleanest shop, but there is never a time when the Faction does evil. Just because the Faction is willing to do what needs to be done..."

"But that's it! Need is dictated by the Faction." Vehemence raised his finger as he made his point.

"The Faction _always_ acts within the best interest of its members."

"That's right! Just because they do less evil that the Guild does not make them not responsible for any evil acts!"

This time, when Vehemence spoke, Blaze balled his hand into a fist. "Who better to speak of good and evil?" he said.

Vehemence squared his shoulders.

"You're saying I don't know good from evil?!" Vehemence moved forward, and there was a vicious grumble from within him.

"Enough!"

It was Red Dog who had spoken this, that was clear. Both men remained where they were.

"This is the work of both groups. You are friends!"

When Vehemence and Blaze heard Red Dog this time, it took them a moment to think on it, then Vehemence backed down. Blaze stood for a moment before he too stepped back.

"I am not the Faction."

When Blaze spoke this Vehemence nodded, but all he could think was that his friend had just disproved that. If he were not the Faction, why had he just fought for them?

Vehemence and Blaze stood in silence for a while. Red Dog had not made any more noise, so finally, Vehemence turned to face his friend.

"How did you find this place?"

"This is a small village outside of the Turn." Blaze moved awkwardly to the large door and pushed against it, but even with his full weight on it the door would not budge. He forced his weight against it in a final attempt to move it and his effort paid off. Or so he thought, until he saw Vehemence beside him. When the door opened, sunlight flooded in as if it had long desired to enter. Vehemence and Blaze left the building.

The small village outside was long abandoned, and the little huts were decayed and broken. Vehemence could now see the Strand that Red Dog had smelled before. He had seen abandoned Strand many times before but never had he seen it in such abundance. None of the huts were burned and there were no arrows, or even obvious sword slashes. There was no evidence of any conflict here at all... it seemed more like the people here had starved... but so much wild Strand was a curious thing.

"What happened here?"

Blaze took a moment to reply to Vehemence.

"Remnants of a nasty hex. From your friends in the Guild no doubt."

Vehemence looked at him with equal parts disappointment and confusion.

"Surely by now you know I am not friends with either the Guild or the Faction."

"You're my friend." Blaze spoke this as he walked through the village, but Vehemence understood the gravity of his statement.

"You're a member of the Faction, not a piece of it," said Vehemence, and heard Blaze scoff.

"Would you think less of me if I were a part of the Faction?" Blaze inquired.

Vehemence suddenly understood that Blaze had not been entirely honest about his involvement in the Faction. He chose not to reply.

"The Faction does not have a council like the Guild. In the place of that we have agents of the Faction: the eyes and ears of the group." Blaze spoke this honestly and Vehemence listened. He thought he might know where this was going... but he was not willing to feed Blaze anything. He wanted to hear it.

"I am one of those agents, chosen by Deliverance to be her council," Blaze continued.

Vehemence stopped in his tracks. After only just seeing Blaze as unreadable, he was not sure how true his words were now. But then, after what Vehemence had said to Blaze, the man had nothing to gain from telling him what he had just told him.

"What does that mean for me?"

Vehemence's question provoked a scoffing laugh from Blaze.

"A not entirely honest friendship... but a loyal one." Blaze said this to his friend more as a warning than as a threat.

That was the last thing said for a while. Finally, though, Vehemence spoke.

"I suppose that makes us better friends... after all, I was tricked to work in the interests of the protection of members of the Faction."

"I had nothing to do with that!" said Blaze, with noticeably more fire than when he had spoken in defence of the Faction.

Vehemence nodded. "As long as you never have anything to do with manipulating me, I will understand all you have to do."

Blaze smiled. "Now that is something I can promise you."

Vehemence smiled back at his friend. The dreamlike feeling remained however, and it was growing. Did he have any friends without an agenda?

# Chapter Eight

## Witch

The lighthouse was just as Vehemence remembered it, though this time he was not hiding here. He glanced at Fate who seemed to be as nostalgic as he was. Well... Fate had worn a dress then, after all. The group consisted of Vehemence, Ephraim, Than, Fate, Leon, Blaze and Core. Vehemence walked through the city in silent thought. He could hear the conversation between Ephraim and Blaze, and the times when Core interrupted them. Than was telling Leon a little history about the city, but before Vehemence knew, Fate walked beside him, joining in on both conversations seamlessly. But she was close to Vehemence, and in spite of why he had been in the city before she found him... he had been found. And she had found him.

It was quite a surreal feeling. Vehemence was mostly thinking about Fate's deliberate choice to walk beside him. Where she had been standing, she had had better access to both of the conversations she was joining, so walking beside Vehemence was a message. He knew her well enough to know that. But their walk was not long enough for Vehemence to come to any firm conclusion.

The group stopped walking. The house they stopped at was small and broken. It was not intentional like the houses of the Faction... but it looked too recent not to be the reason they had come here. The little flowers in the garden bed were awkwardly growing sideways from being crushed... from the night before by the look of them. A young woman spied them from the window and attracted their attention with a frantic wave of her hand. When called, Ephraim turned to his group and shrugged. Then he walked into the house.

• • •

As hard as it was to believe, on the inside the house was even more damaged. Deep scratches scarred the walls, there was a greenish stain where a fallen vase beside the table had bled into the carpet, and it looked like a few pieces of the vase were still under the table. A broken painting had been poorly repaired and hung on the wall. Such evidence went on, and while Vehemence collected all proof of her distress, the woman spoke.

"Who is Dolour?"

When the woman asked this, Ephraim stepped forward. No one knew where the group lived, so Ephraim had been getting the letters from Dolour's mansion. It had happened a few times that the writer of a letter had asked to see Dolour.

"I regret that our leader could not be here. But he is busy being king."

The group looked at Ephraim. He had said something equally as confusing last time. The woman stared at Ephraim for a long time, and when the awkwardness would not dissipate, Blaze spoke.

"Dolour is so sincere about the good his work has done, that he has asked Ephraim," Blaze pointed to Ephraim when he spoke his name, "to lead the group in his absence."

The woman looked at Ephraim, a little tension showing on her face.

"We have been breaking hexes without him for a year."

When Leon spoke this time, the woman's desperation overtook her lack of confidence in the group.

"Well, the beast comes at night. And then leaves at morning," said the woman, as she nervously played with the lace on her dress. "I saw my husband become the beast once." The woman started crying.

Ephraim pushed Fate (the only woman of the group) forward. Fate awkwardly tapped the wife on the shoulder, mock reassuringly. The woman looked up in appreciation and took Fate's hand.

"Does he change back into a man again?" Leon asked.

The wife turned her attention from Fate. "I do not know. It leaves at sunrise. I do not know where it goes." Her genuine distress was sad to see.

"But it returns after sunset?" Blaze asked, and received a nod as reply.

Ephraim clapped his hands, startling the poor woman. He immediately realised why, and assumed a look of apology.

"We will return before sundown then," he said.

The woman looked distraught. She moved closer to them and spoke quietly. "You're leaving?"

"I will remain here," said Fate, whose hand was still within the woman's grip.

Ephraim appreciated her choice and bowed his head in thanks.

"I will also... if I am invited to stay," said Vehemence.

The woman looked him up and down, then nodded. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Ephraim bowed his head and departed. The group followed his lead. Within a few minutes the woman (still holding Fate's hand in both of hers), Fate and Vehemence stood motionless in the woman's common room... without the group.

"Should I make some tea?" said Fate.

The wife smiled. She nodded and, after a moment, released Fate's hand.

"Sorry." The wife spoke this sincerely.

Fate bowed her head and made her way through to the woman's kitchen.

"It will be alright."

At Vehemence's words, the woman smiled, and he knew his kindness had reached through to the woman.

"I have never been a frightened person. It's just that..."

The woman was lost for words; Vehemence helped her.

"There are few things more terrifying that losing a loved one to a hex." Vehemence said, without thinking of the words he had chosen. "Your husband is not lost, though," he added.

Tears formed in the woman's eyes and she nodded enthusiastically.

• • •

Leon led Ephraim, Blaze, Core and Than through the city. It had been hours since the beast had retreated, but the scent of him remained and that was what Leon followed. It was only a matter of minutes before Leon stopped walking. The group found themselves within a part of the city noticeably dirtier than the wife's house, and at their feet was a heavy wooden cellar door. Leon turned to Ephraim, who shrugged, then Than moved past them to lift the trapdoor and from within came the stench that Leon had tracked, both more concentrated and stagnant. Leon hastily took a cloth from his jacket and held it over his mouth and nose. Than looked to his right, to Ephraim, and stood with a sickly look on his face. Than took hold of Core's arm, moved down the stairs and then released his friend. The youngest of the group followed his descent. What had oozed into the clear air was just a fraction of what waited below, and unlike the scent above, which smelled of natural decay and excrement... below was a stench like death.

Core stayed close behind Than, and the Strand-bound skeleton walked without fear of what waited within the darkness. What awaited them hardly seemed the patient type: its roar erupted from the darkness as it revealed itself. It had once been a man, but what remained looked wild and changed. When the beast was revealed within the light, he looked up to the open trap door, but did not attack Than or Core. Than understood that he had a greater desire to hide himself. The beast seemed to be measuring how badly he wanted that trapdoor closed against his chances of overpowering the trespassers.

"We have come to help you," said Than, without a pause on his voice. He was well aware that there was no concern for his life within this dank cellar. He felt no Strand within... save the tangle of Strand that seemed to be almost choking the beast whose cellar it was.

After Than had spoken, the beast roared and crouched in an apparently threatening position. Than took no heed of this threat and crouched himself, to retain the same eye level.

"You have a nasty hex upon you."

Than spoke this without compassion and Core could swear he heard humour in the skeleton's voice. Core brushed that off however; no man could find amusement in another's torment such as this... and then he remembered that Than was not a man. Perhaps Than was further from humanity than Core had realised.

"You have earned that hex well enough, though."

This time when Than spoke, Core was convinced that even less of the man's humanity was alive than his flesh... and he had none of that.

"If you were bored with your wife, you should not have lain with a witch," said Than.

He laughed as he spoke and the beast roared again. Core watched the beast cautiously as Than taunted it.

"Should you... ?" Before Core could complete his warning however, Than spoke again.

"Seems to me that you had no intention of being loyal to either woman. No wonder the witch hexed you. I could sever the hex but I don't see why when I'm sure that you'd end up in this cellar before you knew it."

This time when Than spoke, the beast attacked him. Before the beast could harm the skeleton however, tendrils of Than's Strand wrapped around the creature. Than moved forward and let another thread of his own Strand into sight... Core could not see Strand, so all he saw was a beast-man restrained. He did not have to see the restraints to know what had happened, though his fear of the creature remained, and his concern over Than's humanity (or lack of it) still frightened him.

The Strand Than had sent out, however, was soon to be a friend of the beast. It touched the Strand that he had been hexed with and then joined it. Than's length of Strand then returned to Than, and when it did the beast became a man and Than's restraints returned to their master. The kneeling man let his hands fall to the ground. After a moment, the man began to cry. Core turned to leave the cellar then, leaving Than alone with the man while he cried.

"Choose," said Than.

The man looked up at the skeleton who crouched in front of him. He had never seen a skeleton walk, but while that may have been utterly terrifying... he had undergone far more terrifying things than looking into the eyes of a walking, talking skeleton.

"That witch will see me kill my wife!"

Than shook his skeleton head. "She hexed you because you spent the night with the witch and the day with your wife." Than stood up as he spoke. "Choose or do not choose, I will not save you next time."

Before Than could walk away though, the man spoke again.

"How do you know why she hexed me?" he said from his crumpled position on the blood-stained earthen floor of the cellar.

Than did not turn his had to speak, but he did not leave the cellar.

"Strand is like a book. Distorters can manipulate its pages and read it," he said.

The man stood. "So you speak in knowing why she did that to me. But if she wants me to choose, why would I kill my wife."

"The hex was for you to kill the one you love. So there is no doubt she already knows where your heart is," Then said as he left the man to his thoughts.

When he had gone, the man looked around him and realised what it was that smelled like death. He gagged as he understood that there was more than one dead woman in that cellar. He had gone to his wife last, and that was the only reason she lived. The witch was not among the bodies, though. He understood then that the hex had been intended for him to kill all the women he had loved... except for the witch.

• • •

Than left the cellar to find Core vomiting in the street. He patted his sickly friend on the back, causing him to jump. The young man looked up to see the skeleton pass him. Than nodded to Ephraim and the leader of the group nodded in return.

"Do we know who was responsible?" Ephraim asked.

Than nodded. "A witch."

The group waited for more information.

"Do we know more than that?" Leon asked, and Than nodded again.

"We know where she lives." Than spoke this flatly, but that did not dampen the spirits of the group. Another hex had been broken, and the one who created it was to be brought to justice. It seemed too easy to be true.

"We should retrieve Vehemence and Fate," said Blaze.

Ephraim nodded. He turned to walk but turned back at the sound of Core heaving again.

"Perhaps we should wait," Ephraim said as kindly as he could, but the stench from within the cellar and the smell of Core's vomit was horribly confronting.

"That would... that would be really nice." Core spoke this while dry retching. He heard Blaze laugh from behind him.

"Perhaps we should get something to drown the taste of bile," Blaze said.

Core nodded. "Please."

• • •

After Core had downed a well-deserved drink and had a little something to eat, the group knocked on the door of the witch's house. It was Ephraim who did the knocking and when he had, a kind looking, attractive woman opened the door to them. She smiled warmly and inquired as to why they had come. Core looked at the woman who had hexed a man to kill women he had cheated. It would not be the first time that they had come to the house of an innocent looking murderer. And Than was not working by the word of another - he had seen her through the hex she had tied on her lover. So when Ephraim looked at Than, the skeleton nodded.

"Goodness me! How does he walk?" asked the woman, pointing discreetly at Than. She had only just greeted them, so the group had not yet had the time to utter their greeting.

"I am Ephraim of the only hex breaking company of Cannadia."

The woman smiled with delight. "Goodness! That must be dangerous." The witch spoke this without a pause after Ephraim had spoken. "What does that have to do with me?"

"We have seen your handiwork up close." Leon spoke this dryly and the woman raised an eyebrow.

" _My_ work?" The innocent curiosity in her voice was plainly heard, with no apparent hint of guilt. This only caused a momentary delay however, for Ephraim's faith in Than was unquestioning.

"We have come to hold you accountable for your crimes," Ephraim said firmly, with no reservation in his tone.

The woman nodded and held out her hands to Core, who was closest to her. Core reached out to take her hands.

"No!" Leon yelled, too late.

Before he had heard his friend's warning, Core's skin was on hers, and then Core was gone. The witch remained, but in a single second of confusion she stepped back into her house and closed the door. Hard.

"What happened?!" Ephraim yelled as he turned to face Leon. "Where's Core?" There was panic in the leader's voice.

"She hexed him," Than said as he looked around him.

"Where did he go?" Blaze asked, looking around the area too.

"She hexed him to believe his friends were against him."

When Than had said this, the group readied for Core to attack them.

"We need Vehemence," Ephraim said. He looked at Blaze, who was gone before he could tell Ephraim that he accepted his order. And before Ephraim could even ask him, Than took a single thread of Strand from the collection of his own Strand. Within a moment, and with no physical command from him, the Strand flattened into a plane and was forced against the door. From within came a horrible groaning sound and then a squeal. The door hinge and the iron bar that had been against the door snapped and the door fell inward.

The witch stood on the other side of the doorway, armed with a dagger. Than stood on the other side of the doorway while Leon and Ephraim stood close behind. A moment after the door had broken, Blaze appeared behind the group accompanied by Fate and Vehemence. It was only then that the woman realised that the luck of a narrow escape was not available to her.

Ephraim did not wear his Guild jacket - he had stopped wearing it some time ago. Leon had never been given one, but Fate had and she was wearing hers. So when Fate appeared the witch knew that she was going to be a prisoner of the Guild. But the witch was no fool. She knew that such a fate was worse than death. So she was to die, and she would not go alone.

"The dagger blade brings death."

Than spoke this, and Fate disappeared in a flash of blue Strand. She reappeared a moment later as the group were moving into the house. Fate had no weapon but she was a shadow dancer so she did not need one. She had a divided thread of Strand wrapped around each hand and, with fingers outstretched, she slashed at her target. The dagger followed each of Fate's attacks, only a moment too late.

When Vehemence saw that, he moved between the woman and Fate. In the moment before Vehemence attacked, the witch threw her dagger up. She caught it and then defended against the sword that came down upon her. In the doorway of the woman's house, Than felt a blade stabbed through his ribs, or rather he saw it happen. When he turned, he saw Core before he disappeared.

Leon felt the motion of the air, trying to predict where Core would show up next. Blaze borrowed the Oracle's Strand to stop the witch from moving. That tactic did not work this time, however, so he took out his short sword and added a blade to the attack on the witch.

Fate flanked the witch, trying to stab her hand into the witch in a location that would not damage Fate's hand when her hand left shadow. But the motions of the witch's defence against Blaze and Vehemence made Fate's precision attacks almost impossible to land, without Fate damaging her hands.

When Core reappeared, no one was prepared, and it was Leon who felt the bite of Core's blade. Core pulled the blade away, bloody, and was gone again. When he saw the splatter of blood on the ground, Ephraim turned his attention to his friend. His effort was wasted, though, for when he crouched, Leon moved away.

"I'm alright." Leon spoke this with an obvious lack of confidence.

But when he had been spoken to, Ephraim stood, and Fate finally hit the witch where it mattered. Fate had her hand within the woman's chest, narrowly avoiding her bones, and when she materialised her hand the witch understood her power. But it was too late. She screamed in a way Vehemence had heard before many times, before Fate moved her hand within the witch. She withdrew her hand and the witch fell to the ground, lifeless.

Fate then looked at Vehemence with a hatred that even he had never seen a woman hold for him. She attacked him as she had at the witch. Blaze took her hand and tried to pull her away from Vehemence. When he had however, he too turned against Vehemence.

"Little help?" Vehemence yelled as his hair turned redder and his arms grew more muscular. That was the last action he took however; a moment later, he was frozen in time. Than forced out a thread of Strand to extracted the hex from Blaze, but it was too late, for when Vehemence could control himself again, he felt the touch of Fate's hand within him.

Core reappeared and slashed at Ephraim. It was through luck that the older man avoided his friend's blade. Before anyone could move to predict where Core would next appear, they heard Vehemence yell and realised that he was about to die.

"No!" Vehemence screamed as he took hold of Fate. But as he did, he felt her hand within him, crushing all that he needed to live. He roared and fought for life and against the hex he felt taking him over. Core flashed into sight but he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. He was so fast no one saw him take the witch's dagger.

Red Dog retreated within Vehemence to protect him from the damage that was killing him. Fate knew what was happening and so her hand crunched within him even harder. Vehemence screamed out as Than shot out another thread of Strand. This time, his Strand hit Fate. She pulled her hand from Vehemence and the ex-assassin fell to the ground. Fate screamed and crouched down to see what she had done.

As she crouched, Core reappeared and stabbed Blaze. Than shot another thread of Strand toward Core: it appeared when he did. Unlike Leon, Blaze did not put his hand over the wound. Neither did he complain about the pain of it; with neither a scream nor a moan he fell onto his side. At that moment Core reappeared, his eyes as wide and his face as pale as anyone in the room had ever seen. As the young man cried, he dropped the witch's dagger. It was only then that the group realised that they had lost two of their members.

• • •

Fate and Core ran through the Guild halls. They had appeared within the Guild council hall but the woman they looked for was not within. So as they ran the halls, Core called the name of the Guild mender, the council member who brought life to the dead and black heart of the Watcher of the Guild. When Core yelled this, Guild members looked out from their rooms or behind them in the hallways where the two ran. By this point, the entire group had blood upon them. Ephraim was trying to help Leon with the wound that Core's dagger had made - Core's dagger was serrated and he seldom had to slash a target more than once. Leon had been lucky: he knew the attack was coming. But whether or not that had saved his life was yet to be known.

He would not bleed out, but that was all that Ephraim knew. He did not yet know if Natassa would even see them; she had not come to help Hanna. When Ephraim had bound his friend's wound, he pulled his shaking hands close and then looked at Vehemence. There was not a mark on him but his face was pale as fungus and nothing of him moved. Ephraim had seen him retreat within himself before while he healed... but this was different.

• • •

Than opened the door of the memory artefact room and moved through the house without pause. Paulos saw him and waved but Than did not pause, though never before had he ignored an interaction with the only man of the group who remained in the house. Than had long ago decided that Paulos's task was too hard to add to it by having no interaction from his own gender when the group was in the house. But now, conditions did not allow Than to do as he pleased.

"Oracle Maia."

When Than spoke at her, the Oracle stood abruptly from her meal: it seemed Than had scared her. While she let Strand swirl around her, Paulos entered the room behind Than.

"What is it?" asked Paulos.

His question went ignored until the Oracle turned to face Than.

"You did well Than," said the Oracle as she lifted her memory artefact from around her neck. She opened it, and then she was gone.

"What happened?"

When Paulos asked this again, Than turned to face him. Lysandra had left the kitchen when she heard Paulos's forceful question.

"Blaze and Vehemence have been killed. And Leon is dying."

Than's explanation silenced Paulos. After the skeleton had spoken he turned behind him to see Lysandra, who was holding her hand to her mouth.

"What can be done, will," Than said as he opened a memory artefact he had borrowed from Vehemence.

• • •

When Fate returned her eyes were red with tears. She ran into the council room, deliberately looking at Ephraim and no other.

"She won't help us," Fate yelled.

Ephraim heard a hoarse voice. Fate stood where she was, while Core, beside her, looked sickly for the second time today.

"We have to go to the Faction!" Ephraim said as he showed his ring hand.

The others complied (save Blaze and Vehemence, of course) and within an instant they were within the Faction warrens. Fate ran out of the room as Ephraim stood and took Vehemence's hands. After a moment, Core saw what was happening and took his feet. They moved Blaze the same awkward way, slowly out of the room, then Leon moved slowly and carefully out of the room.

Callidora was outside. She moved to Leon and worked on his wound with an emotionless seriousness that Fate had the horror of having seen before. She removed the makeshift bandages that Ephraim had only applied moments before and cleaned up around the wound before placing a small amount of a pungent herb upon his hurt. Before she could do more, the door beside the group opened and the Guild jacket-clad mender of the Guild, Natassa, entered from within. She looked at Callidora, who was busy trying to save Leon's life the only way she knew how.

Natassa crouched beside the cartographer and placed her hands on his bleeding skin. As she did, Leon very noticeably shivered; she seemed to be causing him a great deal of pain. Before Callidora could object however, the Oracle Maia appeared from the memory artefact room, where Natassa had come from. Leon's wound pulled the blood back within his body and as it did, he moaned, fought the pain and did what he could not to yell out or move.

Natassa moved her hands when she was done, and Leon looked down to his skin where the wound had been. There were no words he could find to thank her. Before he could, she moved over to Vehemence, placed her hands on his chest and, a moment later, removed them again. She looked up at Fate with defiant shock, and Fate turned away from her. Natassa breathed deeply and placed her hands upon Vehemence. This time it was she who seemed to feel the pain of his healing.

She moved her kneeling legs apart slightly and breathed deeply again, then she leaned on his back. Fate had turned to watch the mender work by this time, and she saw Natassa struggle. At last, though, the mender started leaning forward, as if she were forcing herself against a barrier. When she was over the top of him she removed her hands from his chest. Then Vehemence moved and those around took a deep breath, as if they had been forgetting to breathe. Natassa then touched Blaze, but she removed her hands quickly.

"There is nothing I can do for that one." She spoke this sadly and then stood.

The Oracle turned away from the group and cried silently. The price for their lives had been too high. She had been foolish, and that price had not even saved Blaze! She had been a fool! Natassa took a memory artefact from her pocket but Fate momentarily stopped her from opening it by speaking to her.

"Thank you!"

Natassa did not look Fate in the eye. She nodded to Leon, opened the memory artefact and was gone.

"Ephraim, bring Blaze back!" the Oracle said.

Ephraim looked up at her, visibly shocked, but when he saw the seriousness on her face he nodded, then turned to Blaze.

"No." Deliverance's voice was unmistakable.

Ephraim stopped and turned to see her.

"He made me promise him he would never be brought back when he was gone."

Core shook his head. "He will want to come back to us. We need him." Core's words were a plea, not a statement. It was clear that it was he, Core, who needed him.

"He is at rest now. He will not be the same man if you bring him back. You have to only ask Than to know that."

When Deliverance spoke this, she moved past the group to where Blaze lay. She looked upon him sadly and then lifted him into her arms, then she and Blaze were gone. The remaining members of the group sat on the ground, shattered. But while there was silence for them, Vehemence moved. Fate crouched and placed her hand upon him.

"Vehemence!"

When she said his name, the man shook his head.

"No. Vehemence is not here." It was Red Dog who spoke.

No one responded; the group all looked down in horror at the man who was supposed to save them.

# Chapter Nine

## Burn

"What do we do now?" It was Kassiopeia who spoke this. The group were seated around the large dining table in the Oracle's house after the funeral for Blaze and Vehemence. It felt wrong, considering that Fate had seen Vehemence sitting at his own funeral, though it was not him, of course. And while no one felt like eating, the group had gathered anyway.

"What did you have to give Natassa to have her help us?" Fate asked a question that no one else had thought to.

The Oracle Maia faced Fate with guilt on her face, but she did not speak. Leon stood from the table and walked away. Core's eyes filled with tears.

"It was not your fault Core!" Ephraim spoke with compassion and conviction. He had said this before... but Core remained the same.

"What are we supposed to do without Vehemence?" asked Kassiopeia.

Red Dog turned to face her. Red Dog was trapped in Vehemence's body, a hound forced to look like him forever. Her fate was cruel: every time she saw her hands she missed him, but all she could do was feel foolish. She should not have run away! She held in her hand the Crystallised Strand Vehemence had bought within the Faction. Her knuckles where white: Vehemence was gone. There was no trace of him within her mind - she had looked. He was gone.

"We can't complete our goals without him," said Paulos.

Fate stood and walked out of the room and Paulos placed his head in his hands. It was hard enough missing Blaze and Vehemence, but feeling responsible for their deaths... even if Core and Fate had no control of their actions...

When Fate left, silence fell. The group had only just recovered from the loss of their dear Hanna.

"Dolour would not have let this happen. He checked every plea before he went to help. He made sure we were always safe! I walk blindly!"

When Ephraim spoke this, Lysandra shook her head.

"You mean the man who let Hanna die?" She spoke this through sniffs and held back tears.

Ephraim glared at her. "No one knows how Hanna died!..." he said through closed teeth.

"Vehemence did." Chloe's accusation silenced the conversation for a while. Red Dog had never been responsible for Vehemence - she had never spoken for him. The first time she could have defended him, she did not know what to say. It had been a personal insult too; she had heard what Hanna had said. But what did that matter? Vehemence was gone. Red Dog did what Vehemence would have done: she opened Vehemence's memory artefact and, before anyone could stop her, she was gone.

It was then that Chloe realised what she had said. She stood and went to hold Noe. The others sat and ate, speechlessly.

• • •

Silver held the flute in her hand. It was chipped and scratched, but she held it. She looked over the flute to Whisper. She had never seen him smile as much as he did then. Leui made a triumphant call from his beak and Silver laughed. She had avenged the griffin's mate and, while they had been friends for all these years, it did not seem right to keep him with her. So there was sadness in knowing that they had to part. But she would not miss him - how could she? He was going home. She hugged him tightly and he snuggled into the hug, making her laugh again. Silver placed the flute in a pouch on the saddle she had made for their ride.

"A more noble ally I could not have asked for," Silver said with a tear in her eye.

When Whisper saw that, he took her hand. He placed his other hand on Leui and bowed his head low, and Leui bowed his head low in return. Silver completed the farewell with her own head bow. They had murdered the murderer of Leui's mate. While that action had made it impossible that Whisper and Silver could ever return to their home, it had also made it possible that Leui could.

That seemed like a fair trade, and when Silver and Whisper lifted their heads, Leui was gone. Silver was still teary, but all was right; it felt good to know that what had been broken had been repaired. And just as Leui had found freedom in redemption, Silver and Whisper had found their freedom in irredeemable exile. Silver turned to face Whisper then, and hugged him tight. He was taken aback. When Silver broke the hug, she kissed him on the cheek.

"I could not have done any of this without you." Whisper smiled as she spoke this. She knew that the hardest part had been done without him. Leaving her home had been an action she thought might well kill her, but she had only become stronger, and then Whisper had found her. It seemed hard to believe that he had, but now all was right.

"Let's go home." Whisper spoke this deliberately. Silver nodded.

• • •

Red Dog waited for more than a month. In all that time, even Leto had not been seen! Though, for her it had not been that long. She had slept and she had woken to eat any food in Dusk's house. So by the time Dusk arrived home, all of Dusk's dry food was gone and Red Dog was hungry. Dusk arrived unnoticed at first, then she saw Vehemence, or at least what she thought was Vehemence. She kicked his boot and Red Dog started and came to life.

"What a delight," Dusk said in her usual flirtatious way. But when she saw Red Dog's golden eyes look from where Vehemence's grey eyes should have been, she seated herself across from Red Dog and waited. Red Dog had been here more than a month but she was not prepared to speak with Dusk. It was not that she did not want to speak with Dusk, it was just that she did not know how.

"Hello." Red Dog's voice was as husky as Dusk remembered it. That was the only way Dusk could imagine a hellhound speaking.

"I need your help," continued Red Dog.

Dusk rolled her eyes. "I know that. Shall we start with what happened?" Dusk's tone was condescending and dry.

That was to be expected, though. When Vehemence had proved he could control Red Dog, all of Dusk's fondness for the animal was gone. As she saw it, the hound had served her purpose, Red Dog knew that. And Dusk had no love for anything that could not help her; to her, Red Dog was a pet of Vehemence's, nothing more.

"We were attacked by a witch..."

When Red Dog spoke this, Dusk cut her off.

"Where is Vehemence?" It was becoming apparent that Dusk had no time for 'story time'; Red Dog needed to get to the point.

"Vehemence died. Natassa brought me back. I cannot find Vehemence."

This time when Red Dog spoke, Dusk sat upright. It took Dusk only a moment to piece things together, but in that moment there was silence.

"You want me to find him in there?" Dusk pointed to Vehemence's body when she spoke, raising an eyebrow. Red Dog did not have time to confirm what she already knew though. "Dog if he is dead, he is gone."

"All I want you to do is see," said Red Dog.

Dusk leaned back in her chair again. "My abilities don't work on him." Dusk's irritation was growing now.

"Then use them on me." There was a plea in Red Dog's voice.

"You know my abilities don't work on Strand." Dusk spoke this with narrowed eyes.

"That's not true! You are the only Touched who can use their abilities _on_ Strand!" Red Dog said this like an addict needing more of that which made them ill.

Dusk let out an exasperated sigh. "Pure Strand yes. And keep your voice down." Dusk's tone was edged and harsh. "But you're not simple and clean... you're a jumble of broken bits. I can't find where one Strand ends and the next begins. My abilities are useless on a tangle like you!" It was evident that her irritation had moved to anger.

"Try." Red Dog spoke with steely desperation etched onto Vehemence's borrowed face.

"I have, you idiot!" said Dusk, and stood. "I have a pet of my own, you remember." Dusk spoke this while towering over the seated form of Vehemence.

"Try again." Red Dog's command was spoken without pause for thought on who it was she was commanding. She did not need to think about it. Dusk needed Vehemence too.

When Red Dog spoke to the illusionist as she had, Dusk crouched and Red Dog smelled Strand.

• • •

Leon had not gone to Than's place that morning. He sat in the corner of Kassiopeia's study while she perched on a cushion beside him. She had her hand upon his and her head on his shoulder. There was no one within the group who did not feel the loss of Blaze but it was Leon who felt the sting most. There were those within the house who had known him longer, and those who had depended on him more, but Blaze and Leon had developed a relationship the envy of all those within the house. They had all the right things in common... and all the right differences. So no one in the house missed Blaze the way Leon did. In the short time that Leon and Blaze had been friends, they had developed a bond that would never fade. Death and absence would never remove it. That friendship was now Leon's scar.

Kassiopeia wriggled closed to Leon, then she kissed him on the corner of his mouth. Leon looked directly at her. She did not speak when she moved back a little but Leon closed the few inches between them. Kassiopeia bit her lip and then pushed her face forward. She closed her eyes and, a moment later, felt his lips on hers. Despite the pain she knew he must be feeling... it felt right. He moved a hand around her middle and left it there, with almost no pressure. Despite his strength, he was surprisingly gentle, and what he did not give her made her want more. She moved closer to him until they were pushed against each other, hard.

And then she heard him moan. She opened her eyes to see that his were firmly closed, then turned her head down slightly as she fiddled with the ribbon holding the side of her dress together. Leon opened his eyes when her lips moved away from his. When he saw what she was doing he placed his hands on hers. She looked up at him abruptly. For a moment, Kassiopeia and Leon did not speak. They just looked into each other's eyes, each trying to determine if they were about to make a mistake.

"Don't stop me getting what I want when you've talked about freedom all this time." When Kassiopeia spoke this, she saw Leon smile.

"Are you sure I had not spoken of freedom only to get us here?" Leon said flatly. It was not cold... but there was no romance in his voice.

"I don't care how I got here... as long as you care for me as I do you," Kassiopeia said with heart. Leon _had_ opened the door to the feelings that flooded through her, but it was not his talks of freedom that had done it... well it was not excitement and adventure she saw when she looked in his eyes. Those were things she wanted to experience with him. Not from him.

"More."

The moment Kassiopeia heard Leon's heartfelt reply, she looked down to the laces on the side of her dress again. She heard Leon laugh and she looked up self-consciously. There was a little hurt in her eyes when she was met by humour. Leon did not let that slow him, though; he took a dagger from his belt and slowly moved it to her side. He cut her laces and showed her a smile she had never seen. Kassiopeia bit her lip as she moved to allow him to cut the laces on the other side of her dress. She could not measure what she felt more of, fear or excitement. It came down heavily in favour of the latter when Leon began to slide his hand up her dress.

He moved his hand slowly and deliberately to her thigh, allowing it to remain there while he kissed her. She felt his smile through the kiss as he brushed his hand over her groin. As he did so he tickled her thigh and felt her laugh, but he did not move to his goal right away. Instead he moved his hand up her body and felt the little bump of her belly, then Kassiopeia felt his other hand exploring her body, too. He slid this hand up her back, though, and when she felt this, she made her kisses harder. He responded by pushing his hand against her back, holding them together.

But he did not linger there for long. He moved both of his hands up to her armpits and began lifting her dress from her skin. Kassiopeia found the sensation enjoyable and assisted him in taking off her dress. Together, they took it over her head, then Leon pulled it to his face and breathed in her scent, before throwing it aside. Kassiopeia sat naked in her study. She felt that nakedness, and yet, while Leon drank in her naked form, she felt the least exposed she ever had with a man. It was in that moment that she realised she had never felt this comfortable with her husband. Yet now she did not know what to expect, so she still retained a little fear and anticipation.

There was no need to rush, though, there was no need to do anything she did not want. She had never before wanted a man, and all that they were about to experience was hers to savour. As Leon looked at her naked body, Kassiopeia moved her hands up inside his shirt. His enjoyment of her naked form was interrupted when she pulled his shirt up over his head. He was well muscled, as she knew he would be, as she had felt. She was unaware, however, that this was the best he had ever been. Rebuilding Torres had allowed him to build on what he already had, too.

Kassiopeia's hands slid over his skin smoothly. She moved her fingers through the hair on his chest and totally enjoyed the sensation, then moved her hands lower, untied his pants and started sliding them down. He assisted her and moved the weight off them by kneeling. When he knelt, she matched his height and he kissed her, and as they both stood, his pants fell to his bootless feet. He moved his feet to have his pants fall away, then, in a quick movement, he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around him and he carried her to the desk in the middle of the room.

He placed her gently down and moved a hand onto her thigh. It remained there while he kissed her a while longer, then he played with his favourite physical thing that made her a woman. Her whispering moans turned to those tortured moans of pleasure he knew so well, then, carefully and slowly, he moved into her. Her moans went from teased and pleading to moans of outright pleasure and delight. Slowly and carefully he moved inside her, and as he did, he heard and felt her appreciation magnify, and that urged him on all the more. In response, her moans of pleasure became even louder. He let her moans take the lead until he collapsed on her, and her arms wrapped around him.

• • •

"Nothing."

Dusk's word made Red Dog paint horror on Vehemence's face.

"I keep telling you. My abilities do not work on you or Vehemence!"

"Try harder!" Red Dog stood when she spoke this. When she had spoken, she saw her hands. They looked more beastly than she had ever seen Vehemence's hands. Everything she could see was covered in a thick red fur.

"You have to bring him back! We're all lost without him!" Red Dog said angrily. She moved threateningly close to Dusk who remained seated in her favourite chair. "You have used your abilities on us before! You made us think you were a cat!" Red Dog growled this harshly.

"You saw the ability I used on myself... I have told you this!" Dusk spoke through closed teeth. "I cannot do what you want. Vehemence is gone. It will be best if you do not return."

Dusk stood and Red Dog lowered her head. She said nothing for a while, then took her memory artefact from within her jacket.

"I will return." Red Dog spoke this more as a threat than a reflection on her determination. Then she opened her memory artefact and was gone.

• • •

"You have not told me what it cost you to save Leon and Red Dog's life."

It was Fate who spoke this. She stood within the Oracle's room, uninvited, and the Oracle stood when she heard it. She used a thread of Strand to see Fate standing statue-like in her doorway.

"You have not told me a great many things about what you have done, Fate." The Oracle spoke this strongly but not cruelly. Her tone... or her words, did not matter though. Fate had come for answers and the Oracle saw that.

"I tell you what you need to know Oracle Maia. You know that."

Fate spoke this with a strength that Maia had only seen in her past. In that moment she was made all the more aware that Fate would not leave without knowing what the Oracle had not said. She would find out why the Guild mender had offered her skills to them and she would find out the cost of Red Dog and Leon's lives. At this point, Maia stood, and when she reached for Fate's hand the shadow dancer reluctantly gave it to her.

"It cost me the promise to help the Guild when they have need. Natassa will keep my secret of where I am and she healed those who were dying." The Oracle Maia spoke clearly and without fear. Fate watched her for a time, then Fate's gaze weakened.

"So you promised Natassa that _we_ would help her when she needed us to." Fate spoke coldly but there was no cruelty in her voice.

"I know I gave something away that I did not own. But our friends were dying."

This time, when Maia spoke sincerely, Fate nodded.

"I am sure the group will stand by your promise, as I will." Fate bowed her head when she spoke this. She stayed there for a moment, then left.

When she was gone, Maia put a hand over her mouth. She had lied, and she had never lied to a member of the group before. But she had to. She could tell them she had promised things that were not hers but how could she tell them that she had offered Vehemence's secret and his life in exchange for the others? She had unleashed Red Dog's torture for as long as Vehemence's body would live.

But what hurt most of all was that never, in any future that she could see, did she see Vehemence alive. He was dead... and she had killed him. She, Maia, was the betrayer of the group. One life for one... And with Vehemence gone, Haven would never be broken. Maia had betrayed more than the group. That was why she cried. She had doomed her world, and not just her friends who had put all their trust in her. There was only one betrayer in history, and it was the Oracle Maia.

And even if Vehemence were to rise from the dead, the Guild would kill him. So the Oracle's betrayal ruined all chances of breaking Haven, though the Oracle was not fully aware of what that meant. Along with that, she had sold their chances of breaking the world hex.

• • •

It had been over a year since Whisper and Silver had been home. They had missed many things: the birth of Noe, the return of Vehemence, the death of Hanna, the rebuilding of the swamp city Torres. Worst of all, they had missed the death of Blaze and Vehemence.

The journey home had been a long one. After Whisper and Silver had seen their griffin fly to his home, they had spent months in a carriage, spending the last of their coin. But all of that did not matter because they stood at the Oracle's house; they were home. The house was quieter than they remembered and as they walked through the empty house they were starting to think that their group had moved away. Then they heard the cry of a child. Chloe ran past them, then stopped abruptly when she saw them.

"Silver! Whisper!" Chloe almost cried when she spoke their names. Then, when she hugged them, she did cry. "Welcome home!" Chloe exclaimed joyfully as she wiped the tears from her face. "Paulos!" Chloe turned to yell this and then turned to face Silver and Whisper again.

"It's good to be home!" said Silver. When she had spoken she saw Chloe smile, just like she remembered.

"What is it?" Paulos asked as he walked into the courtyard. When he saw Silver and Whisper he stopped abruptly. "You're here at last!" he said, closing the distance between him and his long missed friends. And while they stood in a moment of happiness, the reality of the time they rejoined was soon remembered by Paulos.

"I have some bad, terrible news," Paulos said.

At this, Chloe excused herself with a gesture and went to check on her six month old son.

• • •

Silver and Whisper's return was good news in bad times, so it was celebrated by the whole group. No one celebrated more than Core however. Vehemence's loss had gained him Red Dog... but she was not the friend he had made. She was tortured and broken and she had no time for charity now. So while Core had not given up on Red Dog, he knew she needed time to come to terms with her pain. He still did little things to help her, but most of the time she did not even let him try.

Whisper was different. Whenever he felt bad, he went to those close to him, and that went double for when he felt good. So after finding Euterpe's flute and correcting the past, Whisper could not get enough time with old friends. He was never the type to initiate interaction, but he enjoyed their company even more than usual. And of all those within the group, it was Core, with his jokes and storytelling, that he enjoyed the most... after all, they had missed a great deal.

• • •

The group were gathered for dinner, most of them. Red Dog had not been seen all day - she was not at Than's place nor was she anywhere around the house. They had stopped looking when they believed she did not want to be found, and if she was to find trouble, she knew where she could find the group. Than had left early that morning to spy on his grandchildren, as he did from time to time.

But save Red Dog and Than, the whole group had gathered. That was of course with the exclusion of Kreios who had asked to be left alone since he had heard of Vehemence's and Blaze's deaths. Like Red Dog, he had been allowed his space.

"I have said it many times already, but it's so good to have you back!" Fate said this with a smile, but Silver heard the ache in her voice that was only to be expected of someone who had suffered the losses she had.

"And I really could not be more happy to be home. And that's not just because we found Euterpe's flute." Silver had an immense amount of compassion in her voice when she spoke this. Anyone who knew her knew she would have missed them.

"You said you sent Leui home. Didn't you want to return home?" Paulos asked with some curiosity. There was no trace of intention in his voice.

"Whisper and I did talk about that. But we know that our home is here." Silver spoke this slowly and deliberately.

"You could return then?" Leon said over a stabbed portion of meat.

"Our exile could end if we were willing to pay the cost of it. I don't have a problem with the cost of it... I just find myself wondering if I have any reason to return." Silver spoke this without the need for pause she had used when she had deliberately spoken of the location of her home. It almost sounded like she was becoming more comfortable with her choice by the moment.

"We will always have room for you both here." Ephraim spoke this on behalf of the Oracle, and it gave him a moment of Silver's full attention.

She nodded kindly to him and Ephraim returned the gesture. Silver did not have to touch him to know that what he said was genuine. It was because of the group's acceptance of them that they had chosen to remain.

"So you're staying for good?" Core asked with his head lowered.

"For good." It was Whisper's unfamiliar voice that spoke, amused.

Core lifted his head with a broad smile showing and Whisper smiled in return.

"You have come at the perfect time, I would say." This was the Oracle. She spoke kindly though it was evident she was about to speak of business for the group. "We should find some new members for our group." These words brought the reality of their loss back to the group.

"Why do we need more people?" Leon spoke this strongly but there was no defiance in his voice.

"Despite how clever we have been with our coin, our finances are stretched. I think the only way we can solve that is to divide the group. We will use Than's ability to deal with distortion hexes and another group to deal with other such hexes. I have wanted to split the group for a while but with the skills that we have we have not been able. I had put it off, but after our losses..." Maia's hurt was evident when she spoke her last sentence, and though it was incomplete she had neatly answered Leon's question.

"I suggest someone who is comfortable with close combat." Fate spoke this flatly. There was no evidence that she was hurting from the loss of Vehemence... or guilt knowing that it had been her ability that had been used to kill Vehemence. The Oracle Maia had tried talking to her about it but Fate's reply made it clear that she was not willing to speak of it. That alone had made it clear that it was something she could not yet deal with, as expected.

"You mean someone from the Faction?" Silver asked of Maia.

"I do." The Oracle looked at Silver as she spoke her concise reply.

"I might be able to suggest someone," Core's said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"I know of two people who would aid us greatly!" Fate said with a conviction that could only have been rivalled by Vehemence.

"I will be delighted to meet those who you think would be suitable." Maia spoke this flatly, though not completely devoid of compassion. The Oracle could obviously not walk free so she was quite grateful to hear Fate's and Core's offers.

# Chapter Ten

## Replacement

Fate had told the Oracle that she would find someone suited to the group. While in the Faction she had made many friends and Fate knew they were in the marketplace of their new home, Torres, when she heard their music echoing through the booming streets. Fate was known within the city by a portrait in their town hall (there were portraits of all of the members of the Oracle's group), but when she walked through the city no one bothered her, unlike those who had built the city... or as Vehemence had been.

As she had heard, the people she sought stood in the market square. It was just as Fate remembered: Kleos played upon strange strings and his Zara danced beside him. Although they were not using their abilities, Fate knew better than to stare at Zara. Kleos was a short man, shorter than Zara beside him, who looked common: brown hair, brown eyes and an unremarkable face. His clothing was odd, though: brown, tan and in several layers.

Zara was everything Kleos was not. Her long black hair danced with her as if it were somehow under her control, and while they were closed now, Fate remembered well her dark, haunting eyes. Zara was slender, tall and wore bright, attractive clothing. Her movements flowed like water and drew attention as if it were hers to dominate.

Fate moved through the small gathering and threw a gold coin into the hat at Kleos's feet. He smiled when he saw his friend and nodded a kindly greeting. The music changed slightly and Zara opened her eyes and saw Fate.

Kleos brought the song to a conclusion and then he and Zara bowed. Kleos took the hat from the ground, thanked a man standing by him, pocketed the coin and moved to where Fate stood. Zara took longer, thanking all those who had watched her and given coin. Kleos reached out his hand and Fate took it. Kleos pulled her into a hug, then released her and smiled again.

"It's been too long!" Kleos's voice was as common as his appearance, but Fate knew better. She nodded when he spoke and showed great warmth on her face.

"Far too long!" Fate said with enthusiasm, and Zara moved toward Fate like she danced, fluidly.

"Fate!" Zara spoke as though friendship had been their destiny.

Whenever Fate thought of Zara, she was reminded of why she had been named. Few people believed in anything the way Zara believed in life.

"Zara!" When Fate spoke her friend's name, she felt the return of the joy she always felt whenever she was near Zara.

"Where have you been?" Kleos asked, with both interest and sincerity.

Fate took a moment to decide how to reply. She had only just killed the man she loved... she should not have been playing coy! She should have been honest with him. She should not have the memory of only one kiss, and that a kiss in a fevered dream. She should have worked out their differences after she had committed to him.

Now she was a fool and he was dead. And she had killed him. She felt ill thinking about it: the only blood-linker known to be alive and she had murdered him. She would never find someone who loved her like he did. Kleos saw the hurt on Fate's face and took her by the shoulder. She looked up at him abruptly.

"What do you need?" Kleos asked this genuinely.

Fate showed him a ghostly smile. "The services of you and Zara," she said, sounding as distraught as the pair had ever heard her.

"For your hex breaking group?" Kleos asked gently, and he saw Fate nod. Kleos was caught up in trying to imagine what could possibly have happened to shake Fate like this.

"We will help you!" Zara almost jumped when she spoke this! She looked at Fate with sheer delight - it almost seemed like she had been waiting for Fate to ask them. When Fate looked back to Kleos she got the feeling that he, too, had been waiting for her to ask.

"If you need someone to speak to, Fate, you know you always have us," Kleos said with kindness. Fate nodded, but Kleos saw a sadness in her that he had never seen before.

"Do you need us to go now?" Zara asked.

Fate's sorrow melted. She laughed as she looked Zara over for a moment. She was as brave and bubbly... and as impatient as Fate remembered. Fate opened a small pouch on her hip then handed Zara a ring from within. She handed one to Kleos, too, then lifted her hand.

The pair slipped their rings on and after a moment of nothing, Fate realised they were not the group she had spent so much time with. They did not know the customs of the group. It felt strange that Fate felt comfortable enough with them that she would forget that.

"Before we go anywhere, we always raise our ring hands so we can all see that we have the rings on."

When Fate had spoken this kindly, the duo raised their ring hands. Kleos's palm was calloused from playing his strange instrument, which he still held in his other hand. Zara's hand was covered in rings and a stack of noisy bracelets. They were different... but they would fit right in. Fate smiled as she opened her memory artefact.

• • •

The house was uncustomarily loud when Fate arrived. She took back her rings from Kleos and Zara, and then moved through the house. It was from the courtyard where she heard the noise... so it was to the courtyard that she went. Zara and Kleos followed closely behind her.

The noise was some of the group, who were surrounding a man that Fate had never seen before. All but Maia, Than, Red Dog, Chloe and Noe stood around the man. He was shorter than Ephraim who stood in her way. Fate had to move a lot closer to see him. His hair was a straw-like blond and although thin, he was quite well muscled.

"Fate," said Core, then moved past Ephraim to greet her. "This is Eton," Core said, then looked past Fate to the two people who stood behind her.

"Core, this is Kleos and this is Zara." Fate spoke this kindly but with irritation in her voice.

When she had spoken, Zara bowed her head. Core was too busy looking at Zara to return the respect.

"I am her husband, Kleos."

Core smiled awkwardly and then bowed his head to Kleos. Fate then turned her attention past Core to Ephraim, who had turned to see what was happening.

"Ephraim, this is Kleos and Zara." Fate gestured politely to her friends.

"A pleasure." Kleos spoke this with truth in his tone.

"Fate had said she was going to bring all this group would ever need to us. I expect great things from both of you." Ephraim spoke this kindly. This was high praise for Fate, who blushed a little. This was seen by Kleos who, in that moment, understood that Ephraim was the leader of the group.

"I'll leave you to meet the group, if you'd excuse me for a moment." Fate spoke this gently and gestured to the group.

"We'll be here," said Zara.

Fate heard excitement in her voice. Fate then left them in the caring hands of her group.

• • •

Fate went right to the Oracle Maia who was in her study. After Fate's knock had caused the Oracle to invite her in, she felt the cold of the room.

"Maia it's too cold in here!" Fate scolded as she moved toward the fireplace. After a moment of adding wood, then kindling, she lit the fire and turned to see Maia. She was sitting amidst cushions, as she had taken to doing since before Fate left with Dusk and Vehemence.

"Core had brought a friend to join the group," Fate said as she picked up some of the Oracle's discarded books. She piled them neatly on a side table as she continued to talk.

"I also brought two friends of mine. I know you said one... but my friends have seen me through a lot of hardship. And I think their light heartedness is what the group needs." As Fate spoke this casually, she was aware of the Oracle's use of Strand. Fate looked at a discarded platter that had a teapot and biscuit crumbs. She looked around for the tea cup. When she found it, she placed it on the platter, and then she sat.

Fate looked at the Oracle for a moment. The old woman was sitting on the floor. Fate could not remember the last time she saw Maia sitting on the floor... not since before she had taken this house, that was certain. She had been sitting on her cushions on a large flat surface that had been made for her. It simply hurt her too much to bend all the way to the floor and then up again, but today, she sat cross legged. It was only then that Fate understood that Natassa had healed the Oracle a little too.

Fate could never blame the Oracle for that. She worked without complaint of her pain most of the time _and_ she was willing to leave the Guild because they had done wrong. Fate respected a lot about the Oracle. Before Fate could get too wrapped up in her thoughts, though the Oracle's Strand dissipated.

"All three of them would help us greatly." There was a smile on Maia's lips as she spoke this.

Fate nodded. "How do we choose who to keep?" she asked, with a strong belief that her friends were more suitable than the stranger Core had brought to the house.

"We will ask all of them to join us," Maia said with slight amusement.

Fate took a moment to think about what that would mean.

"We will have enough room. But only just." When the Oracle spoke this time, the amusement was gone.

Fate stood. "I'll make the arrangements," she said as she moved to the door of the Oracle's study. When the Oracle did not respond, she decided the Oracle did not oppose her course of action. Outside the Oracle's room, Fate had a moment to think about all that had happened. She felt sick thinking about who they were replacing. They were not just two beloved members of the group, they were not even just family. They were two people who could have changed the world. Fate looked down to her hand.

She stared at it for some time. She had cried her tears, she had allowed time for sadness. But never as long as she lived would she forget that was her hand that had killed him. She could not imagine why she had been unable to break through the hex. One witch had changed the world and doomed everyone, and she would never even know. But Vehemence should not have gone with them! He should have stayed in the Oracle's house where it was safe! He was too important to send out and break little hexes. The group was extraordinary but they were not Blaze, and nor were they Vehemence.

• • •

Eton, Zara and Kleos had been given their rooms well before dinner. And so Zara and Kleos spent their time making them feel like home. Fate had noted that Eton was not within the house for the most of the day so when she could not see him, she went to find him. It was at Than's circle that she first heard laughing. She did not often go there: it always felt like she was intruding. And while she knew others went there... none of them were female, so she always felt that her presence would annoy more than others. The laughing was louder now, and when she looked into the circle, she saw Eton with all his weight on his hand. He was upside down.

Fate had intended to enter silently but when she entered, Eton flipped and landed on his feet. All from the strength in his one arm. So he was an acrobat... Fate moved into the circle of those whom she had disturbed. Unknown to her, Core, Than and Eton were all delighted to have a new voice in their dying conversation. Fate, though, believed she had ruined it.

"Evening," said Fate, and each of the group responded. She stepped over a part of the broken wall and sat herself down on it.

"I don't think we have been introduced," Eton said as he moved over to where Fate sat. He offered his sword hand for her to shake and Fate accepted it.

"I am Alexandra." Fate spoke her birth name as Eton's birth name was all that she had been given. When she had, the young man seemed to weigh her name against her.

"You wear a Guild cloak..." Eton spoke this with an obvious missing question. Fate however, knew what he intended to ask.

"I am a shadow manipulator." Fate spoke this matter-of-factly.

Eton's eyes went wide. "I have never met one before! Can you show me!"

Eton's enthusiasm would have rivalled Blaze's, which made Fate as nostalgic as she was hurt as she was delighted. She took a deep breath, and anyone who could see Strand would have. It was evident that Eton could not. Otherwise, when Fate's shadow form tapped him on the back, he would not have jumped. He looked at Fate and then her double, and then back again.

"Incredible! How many other forms can you make?" Eton asked with a sparkle of delight in his eye.

"Just the one," Fate said with a little disappointment. "But my shadow walking is much better."

Eton's full attention remained on Fate's true form. Before he could ask more questions though, Fate braved one of her own.

"What acrobatics can you do?" Fate's question was put in a kind, if inquisitive, way.

A wicked grin crawled Eton's face. He flipped and put his entire weight on his hand, then looked to Core across the circle. Core rolled his eyes and then he was gone.

He reappeared a moment later beside Eton and, while standing on one hand, Eton kicked Core the moment he appeared. Core was forced back from the kick and then he was gone again. When Core reappeared on the other side of Eton, the older of the two men struck Core before he could attack him again, though this time it was a punch. Core was gone again a moment afterwards.

"I don't like this game." Core spoke this when he was gone.

Fate laughed. She abruptly stopped laughing, though, when she felt Core's hand on her shoulder. She remembered when he had killed Blaze, and her humour was gone. When she showed fear on her face that only Than and Eton saw, Eton laughed.

"That's cheating Core and you know better than to hide behind a beautiful woman."

When Eton scolded Core, he stepped out from behind Fate. He wore the look of a guilty child. Eton rolled his eyes and Core moved to sit on the wall on the spot he had made warm. Eton flipped from his hand and stood on two legs.

"So you think you can handle the trouble we encounter?" said Fate, almost flirtatiously. And when she had, even Than listened to what Eton would say.

"I think I can be prepared," Eton said without humour. Before he could explain what he thought of the dangers they were to face, he waved to Zara. Fate turned to see who was joining them and smiled when she saw her friend. Fate had missed her so dearly. In truth, she had not known that until she had seen her friends again.

"So this is where you've been hiding," Zara said as she moved to sit close to Fate. She hugged Fate's arm then looked into the middle of the circle to see what she had missed.

"We were just showing each other what we could do," Eton said; Zara did not reply.

"Zara does not believe in using her abilities unless there is a need," Fate said without looking at Zara.

"I could tell you though." Zara's statement was answered by nods. "My ability draws attention so Kleos can use his abilities." Zara spoke this flatly and it was evident that she was not yet comfortable enough with the group to tell them how her ability worked. Core opened his mouth to speak and Eton, in the middle of the circle, shook his head at him, so Core did not further question her.

All this interested Fate greatly. It looked like they had the potential to be a group who worked together even better than the old group had. Fate smiled as she continued to watch their interactions.

• • •

Red Dog lay on Vehemence's bed. She should have been getting to know the new members of their group, but all she could do was the same thing she had been doing for weeks. She scratched and clawed through every corner of what was Vehemence's mind. He had to be alive! How was it otherwise possible that she was controlling his body? He could not have let her have control and then died! Red Dog would not allow that to be the answer! That was too grim! He had to be alive! She would not stop looking until he was alive again. Everyone knew she was in Vehemence's body... but there was none of what he had looked like that remained.

"Red Dog?" It was Lysandra at the door.

"Open."

The door opened and Lysandra's hand was on the door handle.

"I brought you some food." Lysandra spoke this kindly and showed the food she had brought. "... unless you wanted to join us for dinner." Lysandra had always been kind to Red Dog so Red Dog always faced her when she spoke. It was the least she could do. The food smelled good. Red Dog left her master's bed and moved toward Lysandra.

Red Dog looked just as she did when Vehemence had pushed her from his body. Nothing of Vehemence remained. That had not seemed to bother the group though, and Lysandra still brought Red Dog's food on a plate.

"I don't think I should join everyone for dinner." Red Dog spoke this with hurt in her voice and Lysandra looked at her, confused.

"I think it would be really appreciated. We miss you," Lysandra said with sincerity.

"Perhaps I will join the group tomorrow." Red Dog said this at every meal. Lysandra placed the meal on a low table.

"Perhaps we will see you there then." Lysandra was kind enough not to call Red Dog on her misleads. After she had placed the meal on the floor, she patted Red Dog on her head and then was gone. Red Dog sat and looked at the meal that had been made for her. It was not food made for a dog: it had been made for a human.

Slices of meat had been placed meticulously beside some slices of bread and there were steaming vegetables beside that. Red Dog would never tell anyone, but it made her miss Vehemence. If she had been served some sort of dog food, though, she would have been greatly hurt. No one needed to know that there was nothing that could be done without hurting Red Dog's feelings. It was best to have them believe that she greatly enjoyed her cooked meals. Well... that was true: she did greatly enjoy her cooked meals.

It was just that no one had to know the problems the wonderful food caused her. The truth of it, of course, was that everything made her miss Vehemence. Everything within the Oracle's house made Red Dog scratch deeper into herself to find Vehemence. She had been looking too long for him to be there... she knew that, but she felt the only way she could survive his death was to keep searching. She would not stop. He would not have stopped looking for her! He would have done all he could to save her. He had saved her when she should have; the least she could do was look for him! The thought that he may be alive was something Red Dog knew could not be... but the hope that a part of him lived just had to be true!

Red Dog touched her neck with her paw. Core had, in jest, made her a collar and Red Dog had quite liked it. She had asked Core to tie the crystal Vehemence had bought within the Factions warrens to it... it was supposed to be able to remind you of yourself. She had no idea if it would work with the last of a person who was dead within themselves, but she was willing to try anything... at least twice. That was her own personal hell.

• • •

"That's all wrong!" Eton laughed. Core, however, did not find it amusing. He had fallen on his face three times now.

"I should teach you a lesson for mocking me," Core said as he stood extremely close to Eton. The taller of the two smiled.

"Come on Core, we know how that ends." Eton's tone was kind and entertained... but that could not soften what he had said.

"I don't." It was Kleos who spoke this. He had his stringed instrument upright, leaning on its edge.

Kleos's words reminded Core that he was there. He had not said anything for over an hour... and it did not help that he was so unremarkable looking. Core moved away from Eton with all the grace he could find but really, he did so with his tail between his legs.

It had been a week since the new trio had been part of the group and save a few arguments, it had been rather uneventful. Core, Eton, Kleos, Red Dog and Than had been at Than's place for most of the day, which was starting to be a trend. Than had chosen this area for his own sanctuary, but at heart it had always been a training ground.

Than had become quite accustomed to spending his days with the group. Red Dog was quieter then he had ever known her, but then he had never truly known her. She was without Vehemence only for small windows, and when she was without Vehemence for longer she would confine herself to Vehemence's room. She had never been disconnected from their link. So now, this was the true Red Dog, as she could only be with Vehemence gone entirely. Than would never say it outright, but he quite liked her. She seemed to enjoy watching the younger members of the group at play, just as Than did.

"Lunch time!" It was Chloe who yelled this across to the men and dog within the circle, and Core ran from the training session with Eton. When Chloe saw his bumps and bruises, she looked at Eton, behind Core.

"I'll get something cold for your head Core," Chloe said when Core was close enough that she did not have to yell. Core nodded and moved past her without pause. The others followed behind at a rapid pace out of respect for their cooks. Their enthusiasm never rivalled Core's, though, when it came to food.

• • •

It never rained within the Guild gardens: nothing of the Guild was outside. No Guild member within the Guild could see the sky: the Guild walls were their whole world. The public gardens were splattered with the same bolts of cut Strand as was the rest of the Guild but there were more of them here, making it look like daylight. It always looked like daytime within the public Guild garden.

It had been carefully spoken throughout the Guild and the Faction that the Guild had nothing to hide. Members of the Faction had been allowed within the Guild but their movements were greatly restricted and there were many things that no Faction member would ever see: the training rooms, the Guild prison and the Guild gardens. There was more than one reason for this. This was a private haven for all those within the Guild, and it was a meeting place. Many Touched had met here in the public gardens, where they felt safe to speak of private matters. The Guild gardens were often busy with Guild members but there was always a quiet corner that could be found for trysts or private meetings. The council held a great deal of their secret meetings here and that, in truth, was the main reason that no Faction member was allowed within the Guild gardens.

Today was no exception and the gardens were scattered with Guild members. There were some groundsmen and women tending to the huge gardens, as was their life, and some younger Guild members were following behind their teacher, who was showing them the enchanting gardens for the first time. Most of them were too small to see over the hedges, and many of them were too small to understand the significance of what they were being shown, but they ran around their teacher's feet and laughed as they did. The teacher was calm and patient and found their antics enjoyable.

Damon had been summoned here today. He had attended many informal meetings here and he had met with the Watcher more times than he could count. So he knew that today was just another day... but the Watcher was late. It was not unheard of, as the Watcher had a great many things to do: he was responsible for running the entire Guild, not to mention the other projects he was involved in, such as making sure the capital was administered as it needed to be.

"Damon."

The Watcher's voice was cold and unnerving, as Damon remembered. Damon bowed his head as was expected of him, then turned to face him and bowed deeply. The Watcher nodded his head in return.

"I have something to ask of you Damon."

Damon nodded without pause. "Anything, as always." Damon spoke this with tremendous respect.

"This is something I seldom ask you." The Watcher measured Damon's response before he spoke again. "I need you to kill a man."

The Watcher spoke this in the dispassionate tone that was the only one Damon expected from him. It bothered Damon, though, that the Watcher had spoken those words without feeling. He was not bothered by asking the king of the capital take the work of a common assassin and he cared nothing for human life any more. It sounded like there was soon to be a new Watcher. Hopefully...

"Your will, Watcher." Damon spoke this calmly and did all he could not to expose even the smallest trace of what he had just been thinking. "What is the dead man's name?"

"Goren."

When the Watcher spoke the name of the man who had murdered Damon's father, Damon's posture stiffened. He squared his shoulders and looked forward into the dead eyes of the Guild Watcher.

"Where will I find him?" Damon showed his anger when he said this.

The Watcher displayed what could have been amusement but it was such a slight reaction that Damon would never know for sure.

"He is hiding in the betrayer's house." When the Watcher spoke this, Damon bowed his head.

"That house will be his tomb, Watcher!" Damon spoke this with a burning anger he had not felt in years. He had sent out countless spies for the information that the Watcher had just handed him and he felt a fool for having wasted so much of the Duchy and the capital's money on it. His information network would have to be punished. He had known that they would have to die to protect the information but he had not expected that it would be done in anger. He had not expected to have exhausted so many resources for such a worthless result.

"Thank you!" Damon spoke this with a sincerity he could not remember having.

The Watcher bowed his head. "If you fail me, you will suffer a fate worse than his."

Damon bowed his head. "I would expect nothing less, Watcher."

The Watcher turned. It was his hair that bothered Damon. He always wore it the same way: all of his hair twisted in three symmetrical coils that went from the front of his head to the back, then his hair ran free, halfway down his head. Damon did not know another man with longer or blacker hair than the Watcher. But Damon did not want to think the Watcher's hair was final. He would have his revenge. At last!

# Chapter Eleven

## One

It was night when a Guild messenger arrived. Than was not within the house... so the last of their secrets was safe. The messenger was a man Ephraim knew well, and it was a show of his strength of character that Ephraim reached out his hand for Rhama to shake. The scribe was taken aback at first but after he took a short moment to look Ephraim up and down, he was aware that this was not the man who had lost his ability to the Guild. This man was different. He was stronger. He was a man Rhama had not yet met. So when Rhama took Ephraim's hand he shook it as though this was the occasion of meeting this new man, as indeed it was.

Their meeting was short because all too soon it was made clear that Rhama had not come to the betrayer's house just to meet this new Ephraim. He had come on business, and while he did not arrive with any declaration of sadness over their lost friends, he did seem to realise the effect of their loss. No one spoke about it, but the most notable dent in their group was that previously Dolour had been here... and now he was gone. Rhama had heard of their recent loss - after all, that was how he knew they were here.

Fate had heard the Oracle tell her the price of Vehemence's life... that they would be asked to help the Guild with a few wayward children, and Rhama being here made clear that the group's location was known to the Guild, and that made Fate feel ill. This was not their home. What would stop the Guild from looking into their house? Morality? Few people knew better than Fate that the Guild council was more than willing to get its hands dirty... the hands of those who worked for it, anyway. She was jaded, she knew, but Vehemence was gone now. He had told her that her name was a reflection on this thing called 'destiny' and if that had been true, he would not be dead. After all, he was the only person she had ever had reason to trust. He had said he loved her... Fate's thoughts were all over the place.

Fate knew liars, she knew there were those who wanted to hurt others. She had seen the darkness of Vehemence's past and she knew that there was only light in his future. She had been a fool not to enjoy every moment with him, but she had been a fool more to have trusted that 'destiny' was more than a word. And now Rhama was within their haven. Nowhere was safe, no one could be trusted. While Rhama sat at their table that bitter taste was in her mouth. Once she had determination... now she had only acid.

"The Guild will of course be in your debt for your aid." Rhama spoke this like a true scribe. He had bowed his head while seated at the table as he spoke, too. He looked humble, but Fate knew better. The Oracle bowed her head slightly to the Guild scribe at that time, and Fate saw her playing the same game. Vehemence had believed Dolour thought they were all just pawns... but really, that was the opinion of the Guild. The world below them was a mere game board. How could they feel any different about those who had less power than they had?

It was then that Fate decided. She would help the group pay for the cost of Leon's life and then she would leave. These were her friends, but she had spent her life trying to free herself from the Guild. Dolour had allowed her freedom... when she had asked to become Outward to assist him. But he was gone. Ephraim, Hanna and Vehemence were the last of the group who had freed her. Ephraim had become a good man but he was a puppet to the Guild now, just as much as she had been. Hanna and Vehemence were gone too, so all that remained here for her were memories and her friend Zara.

The Faction had need of her, and they did not see the world as pawns or toys. They had heart and they had soul, and Fate would join them. 'Destiny' was just a word... she had the choice to live as she pleased and she chose to aid the Faction. As she thought about it, it felt... right. She should have chosen to help them long ago. She was a fool to think that it was already written. All that the Guild had asked of her, she had done, and those crimes were on her hands. Vehemence would not find redemption for what he had done now - he had been forgiven long ago. But Vehemence would never forgive her and she could never forgive herself for all that she had done. She could not even begin to find redemption - unlike Vehemence she had chosen all that she had done. She had believed it to be already written.

"Consider it done," said Ephraim.

He spoke in that confident voice now... Fate had come to know it well. Ephraim had agreed for the group to help the Guild, so all that they had worked for had been undone now. Fate hid her shaking hands under the table and, as Rhama stood at the conclusion of the conversation, she discreetly looked around the table to see Core, Leon, Chloe, Paulos, Whisper and Eton (Kassiopeia and Than were not present). When Dolour had been the leader of their group, all who she saw were family. Now she sat at this table with strangers.

Fate moved mechanically and stood when Rhama left but she felt hollow. She had asked Kleos and Zara to join them because she was beginning to feel like she had no family of her own left, and now all she wanted was for Zara to come with her... to leave the group she had asked her to join. Those within the group all had the best intentions, but they played the same game as the Guild. And Vehemence was dead.

• • •

"I once saw Vehemence speak to a thread of wild Strand."

Fate spoke without emotion... she was without the fire Red Dog had always heard, before Vehemence's death. It was to Red Dog, sitting on the end of Vehemence's bed, that she spoke. The creature looked at her across the room, Vehemence's room. Red Dog could not close the door even if she wanted to. She sometimes asked someone to close it for her but for the most part it remained open. What did she have to hide anyway?

"He had told me that it had spoken to him." When Fate spoke this time, a little emotion echoed through the hollowness of the state she was trapped in. It was only than that Red Dog realised that a part of her had died with Vehemence too. It was then that Red Dog realised too that it was the Strand creature's emotions that had prevented Fate and Vehemence from being together. Red Dog had misjudged Fate... harshly; she knew that now. Red Dog knew that she had manipulated him, but she had been almost certain that Fate was a supporter of the Guild, and that Vehemence's life had been traded for the Guild.

But it was more than that. There was that doubt about her and the Watcher... Aoede had admitted to that, though Red Dog still had her doubts. Why did Aoede really care who Vehemence loved? Why would she intentionally make the Watcher say things without any truth in them? And how was it possible that she could manipulate the Watcher?

But even if she had only been trying to protect him... Red Dog was the only person whom Vehemence felt he could trust and Red Dog had manipulated him. Nothing could save her from that feeling. Vehemence was dead. But she turned from that thought as she realised what Fate had said to her a moment ago.

"I never heard him talk to Strand," Red Dog said, with a note of curiosity in her voice.

Fate mirrored Red Dog's tone with a knot in her brow. "I don't think he wanted you to know." Fate's tone was not as harsh as her words. In fact, she spoke this with great kindness, and Red Dog knew then why she had chosen to tell Red Dog about it at all. Red Dog was Strand, but she was broken parts of tangled threads. Vehemence had known how much she valued her life and he knew too that Red Dog did not want to think about the life of the Strand that had been cut short so she could live. She would not have wanted to know that the Strand was alive in a way that only Vehemence would know.

Fate was right to tell her now, though. This knowledge made Red Dog value all the more the fact that she could live. The fear of death was fresh and had recently been re-awoken, but Red Dog could not fear what had happened any more. She could mourn it and she could survive it, but that was all.

"I did not know Strand could speak." Red Dog spoke this genuinely, and while she still echoed Fate's emotional numbness about the loss of Vehemence, talking of these interesting matters had brought a little life back into her.

"Vehemence told me that it is never silent." Fate slid down the wall she had been leaning on and sat on the floor in the doorway to Vehemence's room.

"What would it say?" Red Dog asked, her head tilted to the side.

Fate took a moment to understand that she was speaking to a construct of Strand rather than a real animal. It was still uncomfortable to think that the creature in front of her was once Vehemence: a man she had kissed, a man she had desired, a man she still longed to be with. The longing would never leave her... she knew that now. But this animal would always be where he had been. That was alright if she knew it - she could deal with something she knew.

"It told him that it was lost." Fate smiled as she said this. "Seems like it was his ability as much as it was his nature to take in strays."

Only after she had spoken did Fate realise what she had said. She had not intended it to sound as it did, but before she could explain herself, Red Dog spoke.

"You, me and Lysandra."

Fate knew then that Red Dog had understood her. Fate put her head on her knees and Red Dog put her head back on the softness of Vehemence's bed. She felt the Crystallised Strand around her neck.

"They must have been hard to hear," Red Dog said, with her head in the mound of blankets she had built for herself. Despite the obstruction, Fate heard her clearly. "He so often put this crystal against his ear." Fate knew what Red Dog wore around her neck; she did not have to ask.

"He had joked with me that listening was a skill but listening to Strand was an art. And then he had told me that he did not often hear things that he could understand. It was then that he had told me about that one." Fate inclined her head toward Red Dog (and the Crystallised Strand) when she spoke this. "He had said he only ever heard it yelling words in a language he did not know." Fate spoke this in an interested way, but this was the last of what they said to each other.

It was only a moment after this that Red Dog fell into a comfortable looking sleep, and then Fate left.

• • •

Aoede's plans had been unravelling in her hands ever since she had tried to act upon them. Getting to a place where the commanded Strand had gone wild should have been an easy task, as there were so many places she knew of and the Guild was not aware of her plan... they could not have been. But it was too much of a coincidence that they knew. Aoede could not understand why Vehemence would have told anyone of her actions... and Fate was the only other person who knew what Aoede had intended.

Aoede had suspected that Fate would betray them. Vehemence had not heeded the warning when the Watcher had spoken it so Aoede had explained that it had been she who had said it. She had wanted to tell him why but she had become aware a moment later that Vehemence could have gone against her if he did not believe that she had reason to doubt. Fate was like Aoede in many ways. What made Aoede mistrust her was that she kept her reasons to herself. Also, she knew Fate would do whatever she thought was right to reach whatever end game she had planned.

In short, Fate and Aoede were both entirely comfortable with bending the rules to suit their goals. There was no doubt, then, in Aoede's mind that Fate could have betrayed them... after all, if Haven were to break she knew what could be lost. All of it. But in the end, it was the Oracle who had betrayed Vehemence, but only three people knew that: the Oracle Maia, the mender Natassa, and the betrayer Aoede.

Aoede had heard that Natassa had healed some of the Oracle's group. When she had heard this she had also found out that Vehemence was dead, from which it was a short step to finding out that the Oracle had bargained for Natassa's help. So Natassa had recalled her conversation with the Oracle about it to Aoede, unknowingly, of course. Aoede did not have the answers she wanted, but she held the questions. So she had done what she needed to, and like no one else could, she would wait, invisible, for the answers to find her.

One problem with all her planning, though, was that Daphne had been asked into the Guild council. Only Guild council members could go into the council chambers, and of course Aoede, who could walk unseen. Daphne was a problem for Aoede - she had marked Aoede with a Strand mark. It was like a scar on Aoede that only Daphne knew of, and Aoede's ability could not hide it.

Aoede's ability had two limitations: Vehemence and/or Red Dog and Daphne's ability. Aoede's room had been long marked as a home for an old patrician whose work helped the Guild, a Guild member who needed their privacy to do that work. So she could hide in her room and she could hide Leto there. But she had to be careful of wandering around the Guild now that there was someone... Daphne... who could recognise her. And that bothered her. Greatly. Now the council chambers were a place she could not walk into at will.

She could convince the Guild to have Daphne killed but that would be dangerous at best. Little suggestions went unnoticed, and placing a thought in someone's mind as big as, say, Daphne betraying the Guild, was foolish. Daphne was willing to kill numerous innocent Outward Touched to keep Touched within the Guild, so her loyalty was reputably solid. It was the same of Fate, really; anyone who was willing to murder for the Guild was well respected within the Guild.

That had been why it was easy for Aoede to make the Watcher say that Vehemence did not know Fate. A betrayal of the Guild however... that would be something they would question, and when they looked into a shadow, they would see the shine of Aoede's eyes, and then the years she had survived would be for nothing. If Aoede wanted freedom, it would not be through her own foolish actions now. Now more than ever, whatever Aoede chose needed to be quiet, discreet. So she would do what she did best... she would wait. Daphne would slip up, as all villains do. And Aoede would be there to exact her type of justice.

• • •

When Eton found the Oracle outside her room, she did not see him.

"Oracle Maia." Eton spoke this in the hallway outside her room, sounding a little vexed.

Maia stopped walking to face the direction his voice had come from.

"I hope you will understand that I mean no offence and I took no offence at being asked to help... but I do not feel it is right for myself and Zara to do the Guild's work. Please do not misunderstand that. I am sincerely happy to hear that members of your group survived. But I do not know any involved well enough to risk my life as payment for theirs."

The Oracle nodded. "I spoke to Kleos before the meeting but I was not able to speak to you. I told Kleos that all of our work is by choice. There is never a task that I would force upon anyone here." Maia noticed the relief on Eton's face - plainly he had expected Maia to fight him on it. That bothered her.

"Then I will decline on behalf of myself and Zara." Eton said this with great respect and Maia bowed her head slightly.

"I will inform the group," said the Oracle, and moved past Eton.

"Thank you." Eton spoke this behind the old woman. She did not respond but Eton knew, from what Fate had spoken of her, that Maia was sincere, and he trusted that.

• • •

Whispers tickled her ears at the edge of her hearing. It was so quiet that it was only at times like this, when she was still, that she could even hear them... but she could barely hear them when her world stood still, as it did when she slept. It felt like fingers clawing at a stone door. It was not desperate or fierce, in fact, it sounded more like a one sided conversation that moves on without needing anyone else to speak to. It paused, as if waiting for a reply, but when it heard none, it continued again. She strained her keen senses but even then, all she knew was that the voice was speaking to no one. It was not even a repeating message... it sounded like rambling, endless rambling.

The whispers frightened her, and there were few things she feared. It was not the whispers themselves that frightened her, it was that she could hear them. Vehemence was gone. Entirely. For how else would his ability to hear Strand have passed to Red Dog? Red Dog listened patiently, trying to take hold of the voice, but she knew now what she had been denying to herself: Vehemence was gone. But Red Dog knew something that no other truly understood: all that was left of Vehemence was her. She had heard more than one person tell her that it is not possible to share consciousnesses like physical things. One consciousness can be influenced by another, but the parts remain what and where they are.

Red Dog _was_ a great deal of Vehemence, though. She knew that because even without him, the part of him that she had thought as having influenced her remained. It was a physical change not influenced by such things as she had grown by choice or even by accident. It was as simple as this: parts of her mind were not her own. That part of her was not her creator, nor was it the host, the living creature, that Vehemence had killed. That hound had died without ever having influence on her mind. That was not entirely true, of course. The form she had first taken, that she took now, had been influenced by that creature, and her creator had intended her to look like a hellhound. But it was also that Red Dog host who had given her the desire to be slightly different from that design.

A Strand creature can have as many forms as they understand, but to understand that form they need to feel it. Leto was different, however: her master was an illusionist who had made it possible for Leto to look however she liked. Other than Leto, the only Strand creature that Red Dog knew who could become human... was herself. As she thought this she started to change herself, something she only became aware of, however, when she scratched her head. The paw that she expected to feel was a hand, and the snout that she had been looking down was a nose.

She was not Vehemence: Vehemence was dead. He was not within his vessel any more, he was gone. But not entirely. The Vehemence who Fate loved was gone and the Vehemence who loved Fate would never be again. Red Dog knew this, and while she looked over the hands of the master she missed most, she knew it was not him she looked at. This form was different. She moved to the mirror to see the face of a man she had never seen. He looked a lot like Vehemence, but he was not human.

His hair was as red as the hound's fur and his eyes amber like a hound's. It did look like Vehemence, though. Red Dog stared with a broken heart into the face of the master she would never stop missing. And it was not merely part of her that missed him... it was all of Red Dog who missed Vehemence. As she stared into the mirror, she came upon a thought that made his skin tingle. The man turned to the form of the hound as Red Dog changed form at will: she was still the bitch and the man. But now both were only forms of Strand, and she was neither a female dog nor a man. All she was, was Strand.

But that was not the understanding she came upon. The thought that occupied Red Dog's mind was the whispers. Red Dog took the form of the man and then untied the collar from his neck. He took the Crystallised Strand from the collar and then held the crystal in his hand. He had felt it when Vehemence had commanded wild Strand and that had been different from all the Touched Red Dog had seen. The use of Vehemence's ability had been more like a tender suggestion... almost a polite conversation. That had always confused Red Dog... that an assassin like him could so gently command the greatest untapped power.

Red Dog listened patiently and when the voice felt the listener, it spoke up.

"You are not he." The voice was still quiet, extremely quiet, but Red Dog could hear it well enough to understand. He smiled.

"I am not he," Red Dog said sadly. When he had mustered the courage to speak it aloud for the first time he spoke again. "He died."

"Then he is safe at last."

The voice spoke this with great conviction and conclusion, but this was the most confusing statement Red Dog had ever heard. Before he could reply however, the voice spoke again.

"Who are you that you can speak with me?" The voice spoke this harshly and Red Dog felt that it was trying to threaten him.

"I am the link," Red Dog said, as simply as he could.

"Then we can still be freed!"

Red Dog was certain that this tangled thread of Strand spoke with relief.

"Who are you?" he inquired.

"I am a broken thread, severed from the great line... I do not know who I am." The thread spoke this as if it was confused about its own construction. But it was Strand, and it could not confuse Red Dog about that. But this single Strand was not what caught Red Dog's thoughts. Instead, Red Dog realised, he might be able to find out what the Strand actually was, at last.

"The Strand is a single thread?"

"No, it is many threads joined together."

"Threads of what?"

There was a silence.

"I do not know."

"You don't know what you are?" Red Dog said with frustration.

"And you. What are you?" The Strand answered Red Dog's question aptly, but Red Dog was not willing to give up.

"We should try to find out."

"We were... but the blood-linker is dead."

"All that is needed of him is alive in me."

"Happy for you. _I_ have to start again."

"I am trying to help you. And I am enough of the blood-linker you spoke with that we will find out. Just tell me what you know."

"I have."

"That's all you know?"

"It's more than you knew!"

"You are of no use to me. Be free."

When Red Dog said this, he did what he had seen Vehemence do many times before, and the little thread of Strand cracked the glass that it had been within. Then it was able to move to the outside of the glass. Vehemence could see Strand and, now, so too could Red Dog. It was odd that he could still smell it too. He knew that instead of going to the place where all Strand rested, it remained.

"Go!" Red Dog said harshly. He smelled then that the tangle was very close to him.

"No."

The thread offered no explanation. After a while, Red Dog realised it was not going to.

"Why not?"

"I want to remain here. I want to find out what I am returning to. And before I go I want to stop Touched from using me like a tool!"

When Red Dog heard the thread speak so stubbornly, he smiled.

"The merchant who crystallised you was right, you are just like Vehemence." Red Dog was smiling when he spoke, but the silence from the Strand showed that it was not impressed. After a while however, it spoke again.

"I want to go with you."

Red Dog did not have to ask to know what it was asking. Red Dog was many broken and twisted pieces of Strand. He had been made by design, despite being part Vehemence. This tangle of Strand was just that - a tangle, a complete mess.

"No!" Red Dog spoke this as clearly as he could.

"You need me." The thread of Strand spoke this almost as a plea for its life.

Red Dog shook his head. "I do not!" There was no lack of conviction in his voice.

"If you take me with you, you'll never forget him."

When the tangle of Strand spoke this, Red Dog dropped the crystal that had housed it, then slashed at the thin air where he saw the thread of Strand. There was silence from the Strand but the smell remained.

"I will never forget him!" Red Dog's rage sounded to Red Dog a lot like Vehemence.

"I was quite fond of him too."

This time when the Strand spoke Red Dog sighed. He held out his hand as he had seen Vehemence do once before and the smell of Strand left the room. The stubborn irritation became part of who Red Dog was, it twisted in among the other Strand that was Red Dog.

After a moment, Red Dog realised that he felt no different. Perhaps he was so like Vehemence that he could not even feel where the thread had gone. That did not matter, though. All that mattered was that Red Dog's sulking had come to an end. He took up a uniform that was folded neatly on a chair within the room and ran his fingers over the fabric.

Vehemence had left this uniform out the day he had died and neither Lysandra nor Chloe had tidied it up. Red Dog was sure it was for the same reason that Blaze's door had not opened since his death, and as he thought on all they had lost, he came to understand what they had gained. Red Dog would have happily traded the whole world for one Vehemence, but with him gone, there would be no more conflict. Red Dog would do what needed to be done without obstruction, and the part of Red Dog that had been Vehemence would do what he needed to do without having to deal with Red Dog's anger.

Now whatever Red Dog did, there were no ramifications and no objections. He was a great man and a terrible man in one, and it would be by choice who he was to be that day. Today he wanted to destroy the Guild. How could they not have saved Vehemence? How could they have just let him die? After all he had done for them! After all he had given to clean up after their own inability to control their Guild! But he had cleaned up after the Faction too. They played at being good and just, but they were as evil as the Guild! They abducted Guild members to obtain information and they had made war with the Guild in secret.

Both the Guild's and the Faction's day was done. And only Red Dog could stop them! Vehemence had been accepted into the Guild and he had promised the Faction he would protect them... but Vehemence was dead. The ex-assassin's skills, though, and his spirit, lived on.

# Chapter Twelve

## Cost

"It's my fault!"

Leon spoke this while lying in Kassiopeia's bed. Kassiopeia had been reading beside him, but when he spoke she put her book down and looked across to the man within her bed. He had been conflicted since his life had been saved, and Kassiopeia could not blame him. But she knew that if he did not accept what had happened, it would eat at him.

"You should be glad to be alive!" Kassiopeia said this kindly, but there was a sharpness in her voice that Leon had not heard before.

"I am not ungrateful." Leon spoke this clearly and paused to drive his point home. He appreciated what had been done to save his life but now it was his fault that the group was to work for the Guild. It was his life they were all now paying the price for.

"I could never find the words to say how grateful I am! But you have to know that we have to strip the ability of a Touched, because of me." Leon shuffled his legs in the bed and Kassiopeia knew that he would not be able to sit still; he never stayed still when he was troubled.

"Because of you, yes... but because of Blaze, Red Dog and Vehemence too," Kassiopeia said as she looked for the bookmark on her bedside table beside the burning lamp that illuminated the room.

"Blaze and Vehemence are gone. And Red Dog is not alive!"

Leon's retort came so quickly that Kassiopeia knew he had thought of that himself. That told her that she would have to take a different approach.

"You are so well loved that this group will go against their beliefs for you."

Although Kassiopeia spoke this with kindness, Leon had hardly heard her. He was slipping away from her and soon she would not be able to talk to him at all.

"It's my fault!" Leon said with more sadness and finality than when he had begun. Thinking about it was clearly not helping him.

Kassiopeia did the only thing she knew for sure would cheer him up. She took his hand, against his resistance, and then placed it on the outside of her clothing. He raised an eyebrow as he rolled over to face her, then smiled. It was genuine - his pain on the issue would remain but at least it would not be eating away at him. For now.

• • •

Kleos, Zara and Fate were seated around Fate's room. The group had been made aware that they would be without Fate's friends for this task and no one had protested. They had even looked at the other newcomer of the group, allowing him too the right to not join them in this task. He had said "I will go with Core." Fate had found out that Core had not met him within the Faction as he had said: Kleos had been a bandit who had run with Core and Whisper. Just as Silver had given Core another chance by bringing him to the Faction, Core had brought Kleos to the Faction too. So Kleos credited Core for saving his life, as did Core of Silver, though Silver had made it clear that she would always feel hurt over Core leading Whisper to his criminal acts. Really, though, she blamed herself for leaving him, so she had come to think of Core as a friend despite the hurt she held against him.

For Fate, Kleos and Zara had been the first people she had met within the Faction. She had been sent to find a man who had been a Touched - it was said that he had joined the Faction. He had gone mad, and had been seen murdering innocents to try and regain his ability. Fate, as she had been told to do, had killed him. In fact, she had been told to either bring him in or kill him, and the former was not possible. So it was with bloodied hands that she looked around the Faction for the first time.

Kleos and Zara were there then...

"Do you remember when we first met?" Fate asked.

Kleos looked up from stringing his strange instrument.

"I do." He spoke this clearly and Fate saw him thinking.

"It was so long ago now," Zara said, still looking out of Fate's window into the courtyard below.

"That was when the tension between the Guild and the Faction was high... when the Faction was an insult." Kleos still held fear and bitterness in his voice.

"When sanctuary was a dream, not a place." The sadness in Zara's voice aptly reflected the struggle of that time.

"You accepted me when only Deliverance had understood why I joined. I had killed Faction members before, though most of you did not know it. I was lost, alone and scared... and then I found the both of you." Fate spoke this frankly, but the tears in her eyes exposed that it had been a challenge that not all of her had survived.

When Kleos saw the tears in Fate's eyes, he dropped his hatred of the time.

"I did not want to be in the Guild but like all Touched I had no choice," Fate continued. "As a shadow walker, I was born to be an assassin or have my abilities removed and risk death. Kill or be killed. And before I saw the Faction that day I thought that you all deserved to die. My master had told me that you were an evil underground group... but I saw children playing in the street. And I saw Zara dancing, and you Kleos, playing your music. I understood that everything I knew was wrong and that if I had any heart, I needed to help you. All of you."

Fate looked from Kleos to Zara and saw that Zara had turned her attention from the window. It was not often that Zara focused her attention so Fate took it as the compliment it was intended to be.

"It was easy to see that you had goals like ours. You wanted freedom and justice too." Zara spoke this with that strange passion that Fate only knew in Zara. It sounded like conviction, but those who knew Zara knew better.

"Everything is different now," said Kleos. He spoke with strength.

"But the only man who could save us is dead." Zara spoke this gently because she knew that Vehemence was a lot more to Fate than justice. Fate nodded.

"But not all is lost," Kleos said.

Zara and Fate turned to face him with focused attention.

"There is more than one way to crack an egg." Kleos smiled, and Fate smiled behind teary eyes.

"All is never lost. We will find a way," Zara said, with the passion that fuelled her heart.

• • •

No one within the group understood a Touched being severed from Strand like Ephraim did. The memory of that night haunted him. He remembered Dolour standing there. He remembered his oldest friend pointing him out to them. His life had been changed in a moment. He had remained in Dolour's service but in his mind Dolour was no longer a friend after that day. He felt foolish about it. Dolour had never been his friend, Ephraim had only ever been in his employ, and that was as far as that went for him, and it made Ephraim sick. Dolour's end game had not even been anything to do with the group he had spent his life designing - his gaze had always been on the throne.

Dolour had long had no friends at all, save rank and power. Money had never interested him: all that he had was of Hanna's spending, and it was she who had built his home and had his clothing sewn. All that he appeared, where he lived, what he ate, what he wore, and his survival after his wife's death, had been _her_ work. And then he had let her die. She was thin as sticks and pale like fungus and he had done nothing to save her. He had the Kingdom and the Guild at his command and yet she lay dead. Ephraim could forgive Dolour for treating him as a servant, but Hanna was different. There was no one now with abilities like hers, no one with the heart she had.

Despite what anyone else may have thought, Hanna's death had been because of Dolour. He had the ability to save her and he did nothing, as Ephraim saw it: Dolour's inaction had administered the poison that had killed her. Ephraim sat on the chair within his room with a drink and biscuits on the table beside him. He was haunted, he knew, haunted by an evil master and by the memory of the Strand that had made him so strong. With good guidance he would not have been such a fool. He broke his contract because he never understood how to use his ability correctly, and now he was going to do the same to another. He took up his cup, took a long drink and held his cup as he thought...

He could not save the person they were about to destroy. Vehemence was not alive to give their ability back if they survived. This task was one final insult from the Guild who had been negligent of his training, the Guild who claimed to be responsible for all Strand. That's what it came down to for Ephraim: the Guild. Whatever the price, he would end their ability. His suffering had strangled him... but he had lived. He would not watch any more unguided naive Touched suffer because of a Guild with no accountability. He would destroy them, even if it killed him!

• • •

It was with no sense of honour or excitement that the group left the Oracle's house that morning. It was cold and bitter but what Red Dog knew best was that despite the joy they all felt that Leon was alive, none of them had joined the group to help the Guild. In truth they had all joined in order to destroy the very Guild that they were now going to assist. But serving the Guild was not the horror that awaited them... bringing a Touched to the execution block was.

It was true that the Touched may live, but there was no doubt that their lives would be risked to carry out the Guild's 'justice'. This was a situation that all within the group would do just about anything to avoid, but they had already bought Leon's life, so no one within the group wanted to think about what would happen if they refused now. And not only because Leon was an important and cherished member of the group... and not even because he would have died cleaning up after the Touched... but because he would have died.

That 'cleaning up' should and could have been handled 'in-house' by the self acclaimed 'arbiters of the Strand'. They should have been held accountable for that Strand, as they claimed they were in control. But even the Faction, who had been created in the ideal of doing what the Guild could not, was not able to hold the Guild accountable. No one was.

If there was anyone within the group who had hitherto not despised the Guild, they did now. The Guild, well known for being self serving, had never before made such a mistake. Red Dog's justice was swifter than the Guild's, though harsher. In his justice, those who truly abused their ability would lose it, but it would be all Touched who would suffer. That thought in itself made him sick, and on top of that, Red Dog did not know enough about Haven to know if it would cost him his life. That, he was sure, was something he was better off not knowing.

"Take care Red," said Fate, and scratched his head.

This was all done with intentional kindness, though Red Dog knew that inside she was breaking. He knew what that small gesture had cost her, so he did something he hated and licked her hand. There was a shadow of a smile on Fate's face - she too knew the value of the gesture. If Red Dog was to be honest, he would have known that it might be the last time he saw her, as indeed it might be the last time he saw all of them. A Touched faced with the loss of their abilities seldom curled in a corner like Ephraim.

• • •

The house felt cold without them, as it always did, and Red Dog watched the goings on at the house, as he usually did. Chloe and Lysandra were working side by side: Chloe hummed and Lysandra sang a sweet song. And as usual, when he was seen watching them, one of them threw a scrap of food to Red Dog.

All within the house had stopped calling Red Dog a 'she' after he had snapped at the last person who had done so. It had not been cruelly done, and he had clearly said, "My master called me 'she' because he called me 'bitch' when he thought I could not hear." And that was the end of 'she'.

Red Dog ate the scraps offered today with dulled enthusiasm. Although the girls sang and hummed as cheerfully they had on other mornings, there was a strong whiff of fear and tension in the air. It built up in his nose until he felt he could no longer take it, and it was only then he left the kitchen doorway. He passed Paulos in the dining room looking over the household accounts as he had so many times before and, like those times past, he had a worried look on his face.

Red Dog's unclipped claws tapped on the floor as he walked past the Oracle who was making use of a thread of Strand that smelled like it was close to her. All Strand smelled different to Red Dog, but the Oracle's Strand... that was unlike any other Strand. Red Dog pushed his head on the door to the courtyard that all the rooms were centred around. Zara sat there in the sunshine. She watched absently as Red Dog paused on seeing her, then watched with divided attention as he walked to the outside of the house. His paws padded on the hardened ground as he moved to what had once been a small, round storage house. Now it was only the foundations and the mostly crumbled walls.

Remnants of the activity that had happened upon the stone foundation echoed the ruin of the broken walls. Silence betrayed the illusion created by the burnt-out fire place and the laughing that Red Dog remembered. Now there was only him. It was only a few hours since the group had left, and already it was far too long.

Red Dog did not have the human compassion he had revived in Vehemence but in its place he held a deep appreciation for those who had proven worthy of it. So while he did not feel as Vehemence had about the group, he missed them in his own way, a way both unique and profound. That was mainly because of the hell someone had to go through to prove themselves of value to Red Dog. Also, though, Red Dog had come to learn the value of allies and the joy that only real companionship and friendship could give.

Red Dog left the site that reminded him of those he was missing, taking the form where he could be his tallest. Without another within the same vessel, there was now no delay between his wanting to change form and the change happening, and his human form was becoming the form that he felt most comfortable within. He did not see Vehemence when he looked at his face now, rather he saw the face that he hid beneath. And while both forms were of the living body of a dead man, Red Dog felt that who he had become was all him. That had been through great effort on Red Dog's part, though.

In the swamp jungle around the Oracle's house, Red Dog then tracked a scent he had not smelled for a long time. He resumed his four legged form to get closer to the scent and then began to follow it, carefully... if only to prove himself wrong. Such a smell should not, could not, be here.

• • •

"Lunch is ready," Kleos said to his love.

Zara looked at her husband. "Where are we?"

Her words made Kleos move closer to her.

"We are always where we need to be," Kleos said with the compassion that was the only thing that could ever take Zara from her fantasies. She turned toward the dining room.

"Good afternoon." It was a straight-backed, clean shaven, older man of wealth who spoke this, and Kleos and Zara both turned their heads to see him. Anyone from within the Faction knew his face. Most of those within the Faction spoke of him as a hero and Kleos and Zara were no different. He did not know them, though. What son of the duke turned king would know two performers?

It was Kleos who made King Damon aware that he knew him as king, by bowing to him. Zara, in spite of this not being his kingdom, duplicated the kindness.

"Do rise." Damon spoke this kindly but it was quite clearly a command. "This is not my kingdom. Here I am just a man."

Kleos and Zara stood upright. When Kleos did not invite Damon into the house, the king took a moment to look the house over. When Kleos or Zara did not speak, Damon took that to mean that they did not know what to say.

"Might I be invited to rest within your fine house?" Damon said with a little agitation.

Kleos nodded sharply. As politely as he could, he waved for Damon to follow him, and then moved toward the dining room.

"Zara, could you see that our guest gets some tea?"

Kleos's polite request was answered by action, although there was evidence of nervousness in his voice. A moment later, when Zara was gone Paulos looked up from the table and then returned to his work. A few seconds later, he looked up again. And then he stood.

"Damon?!" he said, half in shock, half in confusion. Before Damon could reply, Paulos bowed deeply.

"I am not a king here." This time when Damon asked a member of the household to rise, there was irritation in his voice.

Paulos stood. He realised then that the household's figures lay exposed on the table, so he gathered them up quickly and offered his own seat to the ruling king. To stop Paulos from flustering, Damon seated himself.

"It's good to see you again!" Paulos spoke this too fast and before Damon could even think of his reply he bowed his head politely. "I will return shortly, I had best file these..." Paulos mumbled as he left the room.

By this time Kleos had surmised that the capital's only king would not be here without reason. He seated himself across from the king.

"You have travelled a long way; I hope your journey was uneventful." Kleos spoke flatly, quite an impressive feat given that he sat across from the only king, who had shown up uninvited, at lunch time.

"Majesty!" Chloe left the room hurriedly with a plate of unimpressive food that she and Lysandra had prepared for the household.

"It's a little bland and not at all regal. I apologise." Chloe appeared as flustered as her husband. Damon turned to face her and saw the red curls of a woman he thought to be long since gone.

"Lysandra?!" Damon said this with the most enthusiasm heard from him so far.

The red haired woman turned to confirm what he had already guessed. When he saw her clearly, however, he stood from his chair. Chloe, beside him, had to move back to avoid being struck.

In all the years that she had served Damon she had never seen him as expressive as she saw him now, not even over the loss of his wife and daughter. His reaction confirmed that he had known of her sale. She was not surprised but she did feel fear. She had been Damon's lover for years and by a single command he could bring her to his side again. Here, though, he was not her king. She smiled politely.

"Hello Damon." Lysandra bowed.

Damon waved her up, and she stood.

"I am at peace to know that you are well at last!" Damon had regained control, though he remained standing.

"Thank you, sire." Lysandra thought about how her life had been while she was at his side. He had asked little of her and allowed her to live in a house that most could only dream of. And now he was king and his house was a palace. She moved from her place at the door to a seat at the table, pulled it out and sat down, and Damon too sat.

Chloe then entered the kitchen behind Damon, and Zara left with a pot of tea.

"What brings you so far from your throne, master Damon?" Lysandra spoke kindly and did all she could to cover her motives, with some success.

"To see my old group. I have only just learned that they... you have relocated here. I was concerned that my mansion was not fitting." Damon spoke this coolly and picked up his fork.

Zara seated herself at the table, and soon Kleos too found a place for himself.

"The mansion was a fine place to live Damon!" Lysandra said quickly. She did not have to force sincerity because the mansion was by far her favourite of the places she had lived.

Before the conversation could progress further, however, the Oracle entered the room, with Paulos right behind her. Damon faced Lysandra near the door so when the Oracle entered he was the first to see her.

"Good afternoon Maia." Damon spoke this kindly, although he did not stand when she entered, as was customary to do for a higher Guild member.

"Hello Damon," the Oracle said gently, but did not bow as the others had. "It is no kindness to arrive without word, Damon." The Oracle did not speak strictly but her evenness of tone did not deny the fact that she had scolded him for his inappropriate actions.

"I was not aware that you were squatting in the betrayer's house." Though his words were clearly an insult, Damon's tone echoed the Oracle's.

"This is my house now and your intrusion is an insult to the law of the Guild, not to mention a great rudeness." The Oracle spoke this without any veil of kindness. She did not speak aggressively, but her voice was flat and loveless.

"I was not aware that you could claim any house you pleased." Damon spoke as flatly as Maia had.

"I followed by your lead, majesty," the Oracle said sharply.

Damon stood from the table and looked at the Oracle with a disgust and irritation that no one present had seen on him before.

"I have been sent here by the Watcher, Oracle!" Damon said with conviction.

"My brother sent you here to eat my food?" The blind Oracle spoke this with a raised eyebrow, betraying her own feeling of betrayal.

"The Guild Watcher sent me here to kill Goren." Damon's conviction seemed to double.

The Oracle sighed. "I regret to inform you that he is already dead."

"The bitch is alive and she is as responsible as her master!"

Red Dog moved into the doorway behind the Oracle. He smelled the Strand that moved around the Oracle and then traced the scent of Damon.

"Leave." Maia spoke to Red Dog, and he knew it. But the Oracle worried without reason. Her ability was slipping in her old age, or else she would have known that Red Dog was stronger than he had ever been.

"I am not a dog, Damon." Red Dog said this as he jumped onto the table.

Lysandra, guessing what was to come, stood and ran from the room. Kleos, on seeing Lysandra's reaction, stood and backed away from the table. Red Dog smelled Damon's Strand. The Oracle used her ability to stop whatever Damon had planned.

"There's no need for that," Red Dog said.

The Oracle retained her ability on Damon and he stood frozen in time.

"Trust me, release him," Red Dog said. She then turned to Kleos and said, "Leave." He looked behind him and added, "All of you."

They did what Red Dog had asked; they did so with confusion but it was done. The smell of the Oracle's Strand left when she did and the kitchen door closed, leaving Red Dog and Damon alone in the room together, just as Red Dog had requested.

Damon blinked abruptly as he looked upon the instantly empty room. Red Dog was seated on the table in front of him, and this alone made Damon acutely aware of what could happen next. Red Dog sat before him, unimposing and unafraid and that was terrifying. He was effortlessly in command of the situation against the king and a Touched distorter.

Damon's hand was on the table where Red Dog sat. Damon's ability worked through touch, Red Dog knew, but what Red Dog also knew was that Touched commanded their Strand mentally. So merely with a thought from the king, a malicious, life-ending thread of Strand could lash out against the dog on the table.

So Red Dog's non-threatening, comfortable and calm demeanour told Damon things he did not want to know. He was now within the belly of the beast and with the Oracle outside the door, Damon was already dead. There was only one thing Damon could change and that was whether or not Red Dog was alive, though Red Dog's calmness brought to light that even that may not happen. But then Damon thought that maybe there was no danger to him here at all - perhaps that was why the huge dog sat before him on the table.

"You come here to avenge a father who was never blood, nor even a hero to you, as a father is to his child." Red Dog said this as non-threateningly as he sat: he seemed to be speaking from simple curiosity. Damon came to believe, then, that the animal only wanted to talk with him. Damon was certainly dead if the Oracle wanted it, but perhaps she wanted him to remain alive.

"The duke was never supposed to die..." Damon said, as calmly as Red Dog had spoken.

Red Dog did not seem interested in his reply. He leaned his furry head against the table before he spoke again.

"You did not come here to kill me, you came here to see if I have any of Vehemence's abilities. You wanted to destroy the Faction. I was a fool to ignore your tapping finger within the warrens when Deliverance made me promise to protect them. That tapping finger told me of your irritation with my promise to protect the Faction. And I missed it. After that day, your plans changed. Vehemence was of no value to you so you looked to control another power. The throne."

"I don't care what you think of me. I care what the Guild thinks of me. And they think I am a fool! I allowed my father to die! And now I find out that one within my own company killed my father! And more, that he had been too weak to confess to me!" Damon spoke calmly but strongly, then pointed at Red Dog.

"You came here to kill me... you thought me weak and the Guild did not tell you that the Oracle was here. It sounds more like the Guild wanted to know for sure if my ability was gone, so they sent you to your death. They must have a new bottom they intend for the throne," said Red Dog.

Damon's face was immediately devoid of emotion. He looked at Red Dog for a while, and it seemed to occur to him that Red Dog could be correct. He looked Red Dog in the eyes.

"The Watcher told me what he knew. And all I needed: that the man who killed my father was Vehemence and that his bitch, Red Dog lived." Damon spoke forcefully but still with a lack of outward aggression. It was clear that Damon had been preparing himself for this day for a long time, but also that he could not have been prepared for the event that it was Vehemence who had murdered the duke.

When Damon had spoken this, Red Dog knew that Damon had come to kill Red Dog.

"I am not a bitch! I am Strand!" Red Dog growled, and Damon jolted. Red Dog made it clear that he was not vulnerable.

The king took a moment to find his breath again.

"What is this?" Damon gasped as, for the first time since Red Dog had known him, he showed fear.

"You so quickly forget that you manipulated us. You had wanted to use us to destroy the Faction. Deliverance saw to that, she saw through you. And if you were to stop her, she would have exposed you as an enemy of the Faction. So you acted as if it had been your idea." Red Dog spoke the truth and Damon knew it. Red Dog smelled Strand.

"What are you doing to me? I cannot command my Strand!" Damon spoke with control but hints of both fear and anger were in his voice.

"Hanna's final words were 'kill him'. She was speaking of you. Vehemence had never been sure. But I know. If I were to be honest, I always knew. Vehemence was the greatest friend I will ever know. But he was far too trusting. He trusted you. And he never should have."

Damon stood. "What is this?" Damon's voice shook.

His question was ignored by Red Dog, who continued his thread of thought.

"Vehemence is dead. He will never return. But where his thoughts were is where I live now. I have control of whatever is left of him. It was never the mind that had Vehemence's ability. It was something he had physically been born with."

Damon understood then why his ability and his Strand had not worked. Not how... but why. So he ran for the door, but the door handle would not turn. Now aware of the danger he was in, Damon turned to face Red Dog, who was still seated on the table.

"You can't feel abandoned Strand can you? I already knew that. No Touched can. A few of those within the Faction can. I am the secret you wanted. And it was Vehemence who promised to protect the Faction. Not I."

As Red Dog spoke this, Damon placed a hand on his throat as a thread of Strand tightened around his neck. Red Dog jumped from the table and for a moment, all that Damon could see while on the floor and being strangled were the hound's moving legs. When Red Dog appeared, Damon looked at him as he never had.

"Before he knew he could, Vehemence took my consciousness. He took my compassion and servitude in exchange for his brutality. I _am_ that brutality. And the Guild will never know who killed you."

This was the last of anything that Damon would hear: it was not long before he died against the door. Red Dog felt no sadness for him. The only sadness he would feel concerning Damon was sadness for all those people who had trusted a tyrant.

# Chapter Thirteen

## Circle

Moments after, Maia saw what had happened and felt shock like she had never before known. Natassa had betrayed her, and Red Dog had Vehemence's abilities. That was not possible! Her mind began to race. Before she could come to any conclusion however, the door opened and Lysandra's voice blocked her thought.

"What have you done?!" The woman's tone was as harsh as her wording.

Red Dog stopped walking away from the group and, with an audible sigh, returned his attention to those behind him.

"I did what had to be done." Red Dog spoke to the group behind him but it was Kassiopeia, hiding behind the common room door, who most benefited from what Red Dog had said... even if she did not yet know what he was speaking of.

"You're a murderer!" Lysandra spoke with more fear than anger, her true foolishness exposed. Red Dog turned away from her.

"Is he really dead?" This was Chloe's voice and Chloe was someone Red Dog would listen to. Like her husband she was skittish in distress but even then she was rational.

"Yes, Damon is dead."

When Red Dog spoke this time, Kassiopeia appeared from behind the door where she had been hiding. Red Dog's keen eyes saw the movement and looked directly at her.

"Your kingdom is not yet yours again."

Red Dog spoke this gently but his words still horrified Kassiopeia. The king was dead, her throne should have been hers again.

"I don't understand." There was fear and confusion in Kassiopeia's voice.

"The Guild still rules the Kingdom. They sent Damon to his death so they could have their own new king." Red Dog was quite fond of the queen and he spoke gently again. His effort was for naught, though, and he saw the devastated look on her face.

"How can it be that you have the assassin's ability?" Kleos asked, his tone echoing the confusion on his face and on the faces of the group gathered around him.

Red Dog did not stay to explain: he turned and plodded away from the group. They needed time to understand what had happened and nothing Red Dog could say would sooth away their shock. Red Dog had not killed Damon, not directly, anyway. He had awakened the Strand within him to the freedom that was possible. The captive Strand within Damon had been witness to his crimes, which was why, when it had been reminded that it was alive, that it chose to kill him. Damon's Strand could have turned on Red Dog, he knew. He could not command wild Strand like Vehemence could - Red Dog's ability was uniquely different. There had been one known blood-linker before Vehemence, but never had there been a creature like Red Dog.

If Red Dog were to be honest with himself, he was not yet ready to have his secret of what he could do exposed. Damon had known that he was here, and only people who knew that were those who lived in the house, which meant one of the people he treasured had betrayed him. Perhaps, he surmised, it had been one of the newer members of the group. Betrayal stung but this was something worse than just broken trust and shifting loyalties: someone within the house had betrayed the Oracle's kindness.

On top of that, Red Dog had to deal with the knowledge that someone was aware that Vehemence's name was Goren. No one alive could connect Vehemence to Goren. True, the Guild had the ability to make the dead live again... but even then... how could they have possibly known? Damon had not used enough of his ability for the Guild to have seen him die, but with Damon's disappearance the Guild could send others to see if Red Dog had Vehemence's ability. If that happened, the household would be in danger again. Red Dog was not Vehemence. He had no desire to leave the home he had made here, but the reality now was that his presence could bring danger upon those he treasured.

If that did happen, though, they would be coming here, to the Oracle's house. So it seemed the only way that Red Dog could protect his family was not to leave but to remain with them. That thought gave him a little peace, in spite of the fact that it had to have been one of them who had betrayed him... but he would come to that later.

• • •

The Oracle could not believe what she had seen. Damon lay in the dining room with not a scratch on him, but, as Red Dog had said, the man was no longer alive.

"How did Damon know that Red Dog was here?"

Paulos's offhanded question struck to the heart of the matter. The Oracle's silence on what she had done had come to harm the group; her continued silence would only hurt them further. Before anyone else could speak, Zara left the courtyard.

By Paulos's lead, he and Kleos dragged Damon's corpse from where he lay in the doorway. Damon was an old man but he was fit and healthy and his body weighed more than both of them had guessed, so it took them a while to drag him from the room. Chloe, as she often did, put her arm through the Oracle's arm. This was as much to comfort the Oracle as to receive comfort.

"This has changed nothing," Chloe said, as much to herself as to the Oracle.

"Sweet girl, this has changed everything."

The Oracle spoke this with a horror so absolute it chilled them all to the bone. Paulos and Kleos briefly paused in their efforts with Damon's corpse to look upon the Oracle's unchanging face.

"What do you mean?" It was Lysandra who spoke.

"The Guild knows all of the Faction hiding places and they know where we live. The moment Damon's death is known, the Guild will be upon us."

The Oracle's words made Chloe tighten her grip on the older woman's arm and Lysandra's eyes welled with tears. In one day she had lost both her chance to be at Damon's side and the home she had been thrust into.

"What can we do?" said Lysandra, crying.

Chloe moved to where Lysandra stood on the other side of the Oracle, then gripped Lysandra's arm, leaving the Oracle's unembraced.

"The last place the Guild would ever look for us is no longer safe," said the Oracle as she left the room.

Lysandra politely removed Chloe's arms from hers, then she too left. A moment later, Chloe left to attend to her son. The two men, left alone, hauled the king's body from the dining room where most of them would not eat again... for a week at least.

• • •

Zara packed her belongings like a criminal on the run. She took one of her many bright, multi-layered and intricate skirts and stuffed it like a rag into a leather bag. She could stand by while others put themselves in danger but if the Guild was out to kill them, she would not be caught standing around looking foolish! She had wanted to help the group but that was before she knew how high was the risk she would be obliged to take. Zara was not expecting to risk nothing... but the price had changed. She had never agreed to this! Zara could count on one hand the times in her life when she had been unable to control her own thoughts, but now all she felt was fear. Fate was dear to her but she treasured her life more.

Zara had been running her whole life. Having been caught stealing, or swindling townspeople, Zara was not afraid of danger but the whole island knew of the Guild as the true power. Only a member of the Faction, though, knew just how dangerous the Guild could be. When all her things were packed Zara moved across the room to where Kleos kept his things. Hands shaking, but with as much care as she had packed her own belongings, she packed his. Kleos, she knew, would follow her anywhere. No one had ever loved her like he had. She would never be alone.

• • •

Kassiopeia watched Paulos and Kleos bury the man who had stolen her kingdom, but she could see no justice in it. She felt sad and guilty, and when the men covered his body with dirt she felt exposed. Ever since he had changed her life she had longed to see Damon dead, but as she stood and watched him disappear she thought about what she had gained. Her husband had not been her love, but Leon... and as she thought of him, standing over the grave of Damon, she understood that she had fallen for Leon. A dashing, common man, she knew, with a woman in every city of the isle...

Kassiopeia had been born to a world that she could have only seen through her husband. The Guild would fall, she knew - she had seen what Red Dog could do. And when the Guild did fall, she would change the world: with the weight of the crown on her head, she would bring peace and prosperity to her kingdom. But that crown had hurt feelings now. Would the cartographer abandon his maps and his other lovers to rule by her side? Could he do so? Paulos bowed his head to the queen as he left the grave site just outside the courtyard. Kleos rubbed his hands on his clothing, took a final glance at the queen by the king's graveside, then he too left.

Queen Kassiopeia lifted her head high. Both of the men within these graves had deserved to die, regardless of how she felt about it. They were both murdering, power hungry tyrants. Kassiopeia looked over her shoulder to where Kleos and Paulos had left. When she was sure she was alone, Queen Kassiopeia carefully spat upon the royal graves. Then she pulled back her shoulders, hiked up her skirt, and left the duo to rot.

• • •

When Kleos had buried Damon he went to find his love. Within his room he found a panicked girl, her eyes dark with worry and her face weary from waiting. She had been seated on the bed when he entered the room and Kleos had seen her tapping her foot when he had entered.

"We need to leave."

Zara said what the room had already told him. Everything they had with them was stuffed messily into the bags. Kleos saw his favourite shirt sticking roughly from one of the bags and cringed, but it was on Zara that his attention fell. He was aware that he was sweaty and dirty, and he smelled worse than he looked.

"Nowhere is safe now." Kleos touched his love's shaking hands. Dirty as he was, she did not move her hand from his as he folded his fingers around hers.

"The only place we need to be is where we can help." Kleos spoke with less love than he usually did. He was tired and he felt his courage weakening, but he knew what he had to do, he knew where he had to be. Zara, however, shook her head, and Kleos sighed.

"This is where we need to be."

Kleos took Zara's head with a dirtied hand and lifted it to his eye level. Zara nodded.

"Besides..." Kleos said as he departed from Zara's touch and turned to where a jug of water waited. He poured some into the bowl where the jug had rested then dirtied the water with his hands. "We never leave a place just after we were invited to it." Kleos said this mainly to himself. Zara was already looking out of the window, deaf to Kleos's words.

Kleos cleaned himself with false courage. He wanted to run too, but what would be the point? Nowhere was safe now. Running would not save them from what was soon to be the end of peace, though the thought of time with just he and Zara was enticing. He was odd and he was scrawny, he knew, but he was not a coward. What Zara loved about him most was that he had the courage to defy her, unlike other men, and what would that mean, if he were to capitulate on something this important?

He would be a liar if he were to say that he was not excited about seeing the Guild fall... and after what he had seen Red Dog do, he was convinced that the Guild would fall. The Faction had been around a great deal longer than Red Dog, and yet he could do what they had been unable to do. Kleos was not really too surprised, though. After all, it had been Red Dog who had done what Dolour could not... until he killed him... which was all the more reason to side with Red Dog. Anyone who could kill Damon in an instant would make the most powerful ally!

• • •

It was three days before Red Dog felt comfortable enough within the house to walk to the kitchen door. When he did, Chloe looked at him directly. Hitherto, Red Dog's entrance had been quiet and uneventful, and Chloe and Lysandra would see him but would greet him with a brief word or with the scraps they had waiting on the kitchen counters. Never had Chloe looked at him for as long as she did now, but what made Red Dog most aware of the reaction to what had happened was Lysandra's absence: breakfast was the meal she enjoyed cooking the most.

"I'm sorry," Red Dog said, with little thought. He was sorry, not because of what he had done, though... but because of the chaos it had caused.

Chloe nodded when he spoke but he could see her forming a question for him. She opened her mouth to speak it then closed it, as though she had just wanted to take a large breath. She looked at Red Dog from the corner of her eye and then Red Dog saw her pull her shoulders back.

"If you have Vehemence's abilities, can you destroy the Guild?"

Chloe's little voice was steely and hid her fear well. Not well enough to fool Red Dog, but then fooling him was quite a feat. Red Dog thought her effort might have been more for the sake of her own courage, rather than a serious attempt to fool him. She should have been afraid; they all should have been. Red Dog was scared too.

"If I knew how..."

"Dusk knows how," Chloe said forcefully.

The young woman turned her body to face Red Dog and pointed her finger to the ceiling. She seemed to be unaware that she held a large knife within her grip. She still held the knife... and it looked threatening. Red Dog knew that was not her intention, despite the force of her tone, and when she had spoken Red Dog suddenly understood that Chloe was a lot stronger than he had given her credit for. Though that was hard to see past Paulos's awkward, stress triggered behaviour.

Red Dog had expected Chloe to be afraid of him... of what he could do. He did not know how to take her encouragement after what had happened. He could suppose that she felt he had protected the household... as indeed he had, but Chloe's reaction was something he would have never expected.

"The Guild is to fall," Red Dog said in a sombre tone.

It was nothing that Chloe did not know. For a while she looked at Red Dog with a bored expression, then returned to her chopping board and continued her preparations for the morning meal.

"Do you think the others are alright?" Red Dog spoke this gently, but he saw Chloe smile.

"It was the shock of it that hurt. You did what most of us could not have."

Chloe spoke this over her work but Red Dog knew that it had come from her heart. Red Dog also knew, though, that since Damon had died in the dining room the group had been eating in the courtyard, the common rooms or within their own rooms. That was for more than one reason, he knew... but it made Red Dog aware that some of the shock lingered.

• • •

The group had been gone two weeks before they returned to the mansion. As always, they appeared as instantly as they had disappeared. After all the rings had been returned to the memory artefact holder, some of them saw the Oracle standing in the room's doorway.

"Welcome back," said the Oracle, before some members of the group had seen her.

Core visibly started, and those who had not been facing her turned to do so.

"Please forgive that I ask for your presence when you have only just returned home, but I need you all to meet me in the dining room shortly." The Oracle spoke this most delicately and within moments she saw most of the group nod or otherwise respond.

It did not take the Oracle long to gather together all who lived in the house. Chloe had her favourite stew on the stove and the others were all seated in the dining room, except Red Dog, who sat in the corner on a cushion that had been thrown to the ground for him.

The Oracle had spoken to the ones who had seen Damon die about the things she was to speak of. It was agreed, then, that it should be the Oracle who would tell the group of _everything_ that had happened. Having accepted this substantial burden, the Oracle began the meeting.

"I would first like to know if you were successful in your work."

When the Oracle asked this, the group who had done the Guild's dirty work took some time to respond. The Oracle already knew the answer to this question, as she had seen it, but she wanted to hear them speak of it. And not only so she could understand how they felt about it... but also so the ones who had not been there would know.

"She died. But our agreement with the Guild is complete." Ephraim spoke this, at last.

"I have something to tell all of you now. I would ask that before you speak, you wait until I have spoken. You have all missed a great deal while you have been gone." The Oracle did what she could to speak with courage and hope, but the tone of what she said was grim.

"First, King Damon is dead."

At the Oracle's words, the group burst into shocked chatter. Leon looked across the table to his love, who had not told him of this when he had greeted her. He looked a little hurt, and rather afraid: his love, he knew, was the rightful queen.

"I asked no one to speak of it until this meeting." The Oracle spoke over the group and those at the table listened.

"There is more."

This time when the Oracle spoke, those at the table fell eerily silent. Despite the alarm caused by what they had just heard, they could still see that the Oracle had something important to tell them.

"He was sent here by the Guild, who do not know that he is dead." The Oracle's tone was markedly less smooth than usual.

"But how did he die?!" Ephraim asked; the Oracle did not answer.

"The Guild sent him here when they found out that Vehemence was here. The Guild also told Damon that Vehemence had been the assassin who had killed his father. So Damon had come here to kill Vehemence. The only reason he knew that Vehemence was here was because of Natassa, with whom I traded the whereabouts of Vehemence and knowledge of what he could do for what I thought was Vehemence, Blaze and Leon's life. So it was I, in my foolishness and panic who betrayed you." This last part had not been spoken in the meeting the Oracle had hosted with the household before the group's return.

All at the table were silent for a time.

"So Natassa could have let Vehemence die?" asked Red Dog?

The Oracle shook her head, unseen by the animal, who was below the level of the table. She responded, "I do not believe Natassa would have done such a thing."

Whisper slammed his hand against the table. It made some of the group jump.

"How did Damon die?" Ephraim asked, again.

"I killed him," Red Dog said flatly.

"You killed a Touched?" Than's voice was unmistakable even if Red Dog could not see him.

"I have some of Vehemence's ability," Red Dog said, knowing it had been the Oracle who had betrayed the group. He felt foolish to have ever thought otherwise. The Oracle could ensure that all within the group were people who did not betray their friends. The Oracle knew that all without the house had strength and courage and she could watch them wherever they would go. But how could she have judged herself?

"With Damon dead, we should return Kassiopeia to her throne." Leon spoke this without care but Kassiopeia saw hurt in the eyes that avoided looking upon her.

"No," said the Oracle.

Leon looked at her directly.

"Damon was sent here by the Guild knowing that he may die," she continued. "That means that Damon is not the only man the Guild could have seated in the Kingdom throne."

Leon was visibly relieved by the Oracle's words. But he did not look at his love, still.

"It looks like all we can do now is destroy the Guild." Eton's tone was dark.

"Otherwise the Guild will wage war with us," said Silver.

They spoke the truth, and all the group knew it.

"How do we destroy the Guild?" Core asked, hopelessly.

"How was Damon killed?" Fate asked.

"Quickly," said Red Dog.

Fate looked down to see his guiltless eyes.

"So this is what we do now?" Fate spoke to Red Dog, then her attention turned to the group around the table, her voice sharpening. "Murder and war to prevent death and war?"

"So what should we do? Allow ourselves to be murdered?"

Kleos, Fate's own friend spoke this. It was harsh. He had had time to absorb and understand all that happened, while Fate had only minutes.

"So we're all alright with this?" he added.

"I don't want to kill anyone!" Lysandra said.

Fate looked at her appreciatively.

"No one wants war or bloodshed." Eton spoke this clearly but Fate had not been speaking of what was wanted. She was speaking of an actuality that she had not yet come to accept.

"Well you can say that with ease, can't you? Will you die when Strand is ripped from within you? No. You have no Strand to lose!" Fate said this with more emotion than anyone at the table (save Zara and Kleos) had seen from her.

"I did not join this group to murder all Touched," Leon said quite clearly; it was evident, nonetheless, that he was prepared to do what was needed.

"You're all planning this like any of you will need to do anything for the Guild to fall." Red Dog spoke this in a growl and the group fell silent. "I alone can bring about the Guild's downfall. You can all sip tea, warm and safe in your houses!" Red Dog's tone was as harsh as his words.

"What should we do?" Silver asked, without anger, hurt or fear. She was as calm as she was sincere

"I do not know how to stop the Guild. I could not imagine how you could help me... if you would support me." Red Dog was calmer after Silver had spoken. Still, though, he was the only one who could do anything to end the tyranny of the Guild's dominance.

"I do not support you in this." Fate spoke this calmly now. But she looked directly at Red Dog and, in the eyes of the woman that Vehemence had fallen for, he saw the beginning of an enemy he could not... would not fight.

"This is madness!" Zara said. She stood and looked at Fate alone.

"You mean me." Fate spoke this as an accusation that she had already passed judgement on. "You think it's madness to not jump straight to war? We are villagers, priests, street performers and yet you are all speaking about waging war with the Guild, as if we are soldiers... or as if there were enough of us! _This_ is madness!" Fate spoke this, then she too stood, but unlike Zara it had not been to try and control a situation spiralling out of control. She had done so to leave the room. Than stood before her though.

"Wait." But that was all he could say before Fate turned to shadow and moved past him.

• • •

Fate took her clothes roughly from her drawers and threw them onto her bed.

"You don't want to leave."

Fate heard Red Dog's words, and she looked up from the scattered clothes on her bed.

"You are not Vehemence." Fate spoke this neither as an insult nor to inform Red Dog of something new; she merely stated it as fact. Red Dog plodded into her room uninvited.

"No, I am not." Red Dog's tone echoed Fate's.

Fate stopped packing. "What do you know about what I want?" she asked.

"You so quickly forget that I was only able to watch through Vehemence's eyes for so long... I may know more about you than he did."

"If you think that, you're a bigger fool than I was."

Fate's voice had a splash of venom, now. Red Dog understood that she was speaking more to herself than to him.

Red Dog thought for a while, and Fate began packing her clothes again. She took a thick coat from her cupboard and discarded the hanger into the open wooden doors. When she turned to her bed however, a man was standing where the red hound had been. He grabbed up the coat she held and hid his groin. Fate had seen his manhood, though, despite that the creature within him had no gender of its own. He did not _have_ to take the shape of a fully formed man, she knew... which just added to the insult!

It was the insult of his form, his face most of all, that compelled Fate to slap him across his face. Hard. After a moment of recovery, Red Dog faced Fate.

"I am sorry but this is the only way I can speak to you without looking up to you. I know what this face means to you. But in that too, I want you to know that parts of Vehemence live on within me."

"I hate you for saying that." Fate's tone was unmistakable. She meant it.

"It's hard enough having him gone! I do not want to be reminded of what I've lost!" When Fate spoke this time, Red Dog returned to his hound form. Fate's coat fell to the floor between them.

"I want you to come with me to the end of the world." Red Dog spoke this seriously but it was not a romantic offer. He spoke to Fate as if she was an essential cog in a greater machine.

"Friendship is not stronger than what is right. And I'm not ready to die just yet, Red. Call me selfish if that's what you need to do, but I have never lived a life of my own."

"I know what you mean." Red Dog's statement was a great reflection on his own life - he had not even a body of his own. All his words achieved, though, was to make Fate feel foolish.

"I'm sorry, but I am not as selfless as you. When I look at you, all I will ever see now is him. It was not bearable before. Now it burns me." Fate bowed with respect, then she became an outline of blue Strand.

# Chapter Fourteen

## Soul

Some events are so important that they have the power to define you, to become part of who you are. Just as, in this case, the death of a mentor (Blaze) and the loss of his truest ally (Vehemence) were now integrated components of his being. Fate, too, had been gone a month before it became understood that she would not be coming back. Her departure was one of those events that hacked a wound that would never heal. He would never be the same, nothing now could ever retrieve what he had lost. Those missing pieces of his self were, however, as immensely valuable as what he had gained. Fate had travelled the world with him... with Vehemence and Aoede. She knew the risks then, and she had been prepared to die for Vehemence. That she was not prepared to take the risk for Red Dog was another ache. She had always known that it needed to be done and that there would be sacrifice, and she had once been prepared to make those sacrifices. That had changed, though, when she looked upon the face of the man she had loved with Red Dog within. Red Dog knew what he had done: he had given Fate a reason to stand against them. More than that, he had lost one of his only true friends. He alone had seen her eyes that night; he alone knew she would never return.

The Oracle had found a home for them in the only place she knew to be safe, a place with the same value to the Oracle as Aoede's home had. It was the forgotten city where the war had started: Keat, the first duchy. It had been built on a hill but years after the tilt it had all turned to mud. The situation was worse, though, than having to rebuild parts of a city in order to be safe. When Fate disappeared into a blue flash of Strand, they had lost more than the person. They had been surviving financially on Fate's earnings from the Guild, so when she left, their survival became even more fragile. Red Dog had given up the last of anything that he had of his own and sold the house Vehemence had bought to keep Lysandra safe. That house was in a busy city, not a safe place to hide. This meant that to Red Dog, as with the others within the group, their new home was everything.

They had found the remains of four half crumbled houses. Between them, a tree grew from a hole in the stone that would have been a fire pit. Three of the houses were intact enough to make rebuilding feasible; the fourth house would have needed to be fully rebuilt, so the group restricted themselves to the three, and went to work. The houses were just big enough to each divide into four rooms so they made eight rooms using the two houses opposite each other and made the third house a kitchen centred around a big table. Core and Eton agreed to share a room, for their own safety as much as for making sure all of the group slept under a roof. Silver and Whisper would share a room again, as would Kleos and Zara. It was the same for Chloe, Paulos and Noe. Kassiopeia and Leon volunteered to share a room, and Maia and Lysandra chose to share. That left only Ephraim and Red Dog, who agreed to share too. Seven rooms were occupied in all, leaving one of the rooms safe for returning to with their memory artefacts.

They could possibly have stayed in the Faction... but that was no longer safe. Trusted members of the Faction could come to them, though, and until they could plant or keep any animals, they would have to live off whatever was grown within the Faction warrens... just as they had when they first rebuilt Aoede's childhood home.

When the Oracle first met the group, they had all agreed that they would value helping others over profit. Though none had complained then about what they were giving up, now it might have seemed appropriate to complain. But they were safe, they had packed their things and what little remained of their hope and together they had established their home again.

The Oracle had tried to find Dusk. She would keep trying, but she had yet to even pick up any evidence she had ever been... anywhere. All she could find was the memory of her. Red Dog had risked sneaking into her room within the Guild but he found the place cold. Her belongings were there but Leto was not even within. Red Dog had left a note upon the foot of her bed. All it said was: 'find me'.

His signature was the impression of his inked paw.

It took them several months to establish the new home and even after that time, no new king had been announced. The absence of Damon was not mentioned by anyone within the capital. Maia looked into the Guild but learned almost nothing of what the Guild was planning.

When they had a new home, the group had been divided as the Oracle had said it should be. Leon led the first group of himself, Silver, Whisper, Core and Eton. The second group, under Ephraim's command, included Than, Kleos and Zara. It seemed strange that Kleos and Zara had chosen to stay after all that had happened... and after their friend had left the group.

Fate had been against the Guild as long as Vehemence had known her, yet that was where the Oracle had seen her return to after she had left. Fate had not betrayed them. Just as the Oracle saw, no one within the group would - save herself. So, apart from Fate, all who knew of Red Dog's ability were within the Oracle's group.

• • •

Red Dog had to swim to get through most of the city. If he got too tired, he would find a higher place to rest. Because of the depth of the water, most of the group did not journey through the city. Like Vehemence, nothing stopped Red Dog when he was determined. There was not much to see, though, beyond the occasional ruin sticking up from the thick swamp water. It was on one of these ruined remnants that Red Dog sat.

"I broke my promise."

Red Dog turned when he heard the unmistakable voice of Deliverance. She hovered above the water behind him. Red Dog turned his head on the side the way a hound does when he looks curiously at a dilemma beyond him... or at food.

"I said, Red Dog, that if you ever have need of me, I will aid you. But when Vehemence asked me about the Strand, I told him nothing. I made that promise to you and Vehemence. But Vehemence was too good hearted to see through Dolour. You're different. You are what Vehemence was. You trust no one. And your resolve is unrelenting, unstoppable."

Deliverance said all this with what to Red Dog sounded like admiration. Red Dog could not think of anything he could say to the woman who had created the Faction, however.

"You should know that I have known another blood-linker. I have known three. The first, I never knew what she was capable of, and nor did she. The second founded the Faction with me. It was because of my choices that the Guild executed him. And the last... was divided... conflicted. For every step forward he would take two steps back while battling within himself."

At this, Red Dog could not help but feel anger rise in him. Why should he have to lose his truest friend for Deliverance to help him after she had tricked Vehemence into promising his protection of the Faction?

"I sent Blaze to train you because I knew what you were capable of... but you and Vehemence were far too different." Deliverance allowed her face to become a still image so that Red Dog could see her sadness.

"So Vehemence had to die for you to keep your promise?" The bitterness in Red Dog's voice betrayed his opinion far more than his dog face.

"Truth and necessity are seldom just."

Red Dog was comforted by the guilt in Deliverance's tone.

"So you're here to tell me what you would never tell Vehemence?" Red Dog's tone remained bitter.

"You need to know what Strand does, not know what it is now. It's so far from what it should be that you won't find any Strand that knows what it is."

Red Dog stood on all fours in anticipation of hearing the answer that he had been searching for. But before she could speak again, Red Dog came to think of a question he should have asked earlier.

"I want to break Haven," he said.

Deliverance looked at Red Dog as if expecting him to say more. He didn't, but her non-verbal inquiry made him think of something to add.

"I won't agree to help the Faction. Nor will I promise to side with the Faction against the Guild. All I want to do is break Haven and let the Strand be free." Red Dog spoke this with steely conviction.

Deliverance showed what looked like a smile on her ever changing face.

"I'm not sorry I tricked Vehemence. I know I had no choice. What I have to tell you is a horrible thing. It is something I alone know, you must understand."

Red Dog remained silent. He thought he saw the flickering image gulp before she spoke next.

"Strand has been here as long as we have, for in death, we become it."

"So Vehemence and Blaze...?"

"Yes, they are now part of the great Strand."

"So Strand is human spirit... then abandoned Strand... I am made of different pieces of human spirit?" Red Dog spoke this with horror.

Deliverance's wispy form nodded. For a long time, neither Red Dog nor Deliverance spoke. A great many thoughts were flooding Red Dog's head, but the worse of them was the thought that Vehemence may have returned him to the source. Was his desire for freedom greater than the bond he and Red Dog had built? What did it matter? He was gone.

"Those born with abilities... that is really human spirit attaching to them?"

"Because the Strand is too close to those it has loved."

When Deliverance spoke this, a sudden realisation come upon Red Dog.

"So Vehemence is Strand now! Is his broken spirit hooked on stone or tree now?!"

"Vehemence was unlike most. His determination was as great as his desire for freedom."

"So he is now part of what gives the Guild power?" Red Dog's words were bitter. Deliverance did not respond. "Wait, how was Haven ever cast if Haven holds the Strand here?"

"It is because of the location of this land."

Deliverance's answer seemed cryptic. But she had just told him a secret that only the two of them knew, so he could hardly feel cheated now. That secret had raised far more questions, but as he opened his jaw to ask, he was met by Deliverance's words.

"I know you have more questions. But you should think on what I have told you first. That knowledge would change a great deal for you."

Red Dog nodded. He saw Deliverance's image fade and he was again alone.

• • •

The house was quiet when Red Dog returned. It was early, but the group were all within the common space. The group common space had a tree for a roof but unlike in Aoede's childhood home this tree did not have the bodies of two kings buried beneath it. All that was at the foot of this tree were cracked stone blocks that had been mangled by its roots. The tree was centred in what had been the fireplace that the round house had been built around. The houses that had been built here were spaced out enough to get to the fireplace between them and those two sections had been covered with canvas to keep in the heat that bellowed from the kitchen. The tree in the centre of the common area was also covered with canvas.

Ephraim had taken a letter from Damon's mansion. He played with it anxiously as the Oracle stared at it sightlessly.

"We should take the risk." Zara's voice brought all attention on her as she shattered the long standing silence. But she had already cast her vote and she had nothing more to say now.

"This has as much chance of being a trap as it has to be a plea for help." Leon spoke this clearly, although he said nothing the group did not already know.

Red Dog joined the group just then. He did not have to be told why they all shared gloomy stares. He saw the letter in Ephraim's hand and seated himself beside Chloe, who scratched the back of his ear while holding her son Noe, who was now two years old. Red Dog looked at him and was filled with the understanding of how fast time had moved.

"Why are we speaking of this as if we have a choice?" Silver's words made anyone who still had hope realise how lost they really were.

"We should expect a trap and take anyone who can fight," Core said with conviction.

Kassiopeia gave him a frightened look that caught him off guard.

"Then what if we are found here? We will be defenceless." The rightful queen spoke this as a plea.

"And if we lose Red Dog we would never stop the Guild," Paulos added quietly.

"But if we don't survive the Guild's last attack, we have lost everything." Eton spoke to the group with this, not to Paulos who had lowered his head as if he was ashamed to value one life above another.

Kleos spoke next.

"I know I am new to the group and you don't know what I can do... and that your situation has never been so delicate. But I have faith in what we can do. The Guild has a fatal flaw: they underestimate you. I have heard all the stories about you and I think I know it more than you that the Guild does not believe they can be stopped. I do not believe they would set a trap for you. I have great faith that they underestimate all of us _that_ much." He spoke clearly and concisely.

"Everyone who goes will have chosen to do so. No one will be asked. You all know the risk and you have the right to choose," said the Oracle, and all present heard the finality in her words. "I will have all those who wish to go, stand, and all of you should know that there is no pressure to go. And that there is great risk this time."

Anyone within the group who did not feel a rising sense of dread as the Oracle spoke her last sentence was a fool.

The first to stand was she who had first cast her vote: Zara. Kleos then rose to her side, as he always would. Ephraim stood third. Than moved forward, as he had already been standing, then Silver and Whisper stood simultaneously. Core stood next, then Eton. Leon stood last. Before long, the Oracle saw what had already happened and knew that all of those who left the mansion were prepared to do so again. It took her longer than the others to realise that Red Dog was standing too, on his hound's hind legs.

• • •

Paulos paced his room as Chloe tried endlessly to get their young child to sleep. It was late and Paulos was more tired that he had known. Noe had not slept a night through since they had made a home here in the swamp. But even if his young son had slept, he would not have: worry dominated his mind.

"Please stand still, love." Chloe spoke in a whisper but it was enough to bring Noe into wakefulness again. Chloe looked at Paulos with grave disappointment. He bowed his head in apology and quickly left the room. The swamp was no place for a grown man... let alone a mother with a small child. He had told Chloe that and she had agreed with him but then reminded him of all the Oracle had done for them. Not to mention the hex that was broken by the group, so long ago now. Paulos had wanted to help in any way they could, but here and now... they were only a hindrance to the group. He knew that. And his child never slept soundly in this bug infested bog.

Paulos walked the short distance to the Oracle's room and tapped lightly on the closed door. After a little while the Oracle opened it. She wore the thick sleeping clothing she had also begun to wear in the daytime.

"Come in Paulos," the Oracle said, only a moment after she had opened the door. She did not have to use her ability to know who was at her door here. The swamp did not provide the group with enough sufficiently clean water for frequent bathing, so each person's scent was magnified. More than that, though, was the smell of Noe on him. Maia moved away from the door and Paulos obliged.

"I'm sorry to wake you!" Paulos sounded sincere but part of him knew that no one within the unfinished stone house had slept through Noe's crying. "I know you might have expected me to come here and I don't feel right about leaving but..."

Paulos said this to a woman who had been waiting for him to say it. All within the group knew how hard things had been and the Oracle had told the whole group that none of them needed to stay. Everyone who lived under this roof had chosen to remain. They had agreed to hide from Guild assassins together, but they all knew who the Guild was after.

"Noe had not slept..." Paulos paused again. He was pacing the Oracle's room as he had done in his own. After a moment, the Oracle took his arm and he looked at her abruptly.

"This is a hard choice for all of us who do not have an infant to care for." Maia spoke with the kindness that Paulos had come to rely upon.

He smiled, but it was bitter sweet; it was the kindness he had come to rely on that had released him.

"When I made a memory artefact for all within the group, I did so to also allow anyone to leave. Those memory artefacts have a few locations where we have been. One of the places I made them all remember was the Faction. It may not be safe there now but for you it will be safer than here." Maia spoke this calmly; it sounded like something she had been preparing to say for a while.

Paulos remained silent after she had spoken. He had expected her to fight for him to stay a little. It had been too long since he had spoken.

"Thank you." Paulos blurted this out as if it had been bottled up. For a moment, he held a look of foolishness on his face, then he leaned forward and kissed the aged Oracle on her cheek.

"We'll leave tonight. But we will come back to say goodbye." Paulos spoke clearly and, before the Oracle could reply, he promptly left her room.

• • •

Leon, Core, Silver, Whisper, Eton, Kleos and Zara had gone to the city of lights two days after they had said goodbye to Paulos and Chloe. This was the city where the letter of distress had originated. They were a large group for this one task but the Oracle had insisted. The Oracle had also insisted that the group wear their own clothes. So while they looked less organised than usual, they would be safer from Guild spies.

"Leon I presume." The captain of the city watchmen of the lighthouse offered his sword hand as the isle-known mark of trust and peace to the group's appointed leader. Leon took the guard's hand with his own sword hand and shook it firmly. The group behind him had turned to face the captain when he had spoken.

"I'm sorry about all those you have lost." Leon bowed his head kindly when he spoke, so he did not see the captain smile slightly.

"Thank you. It has been a troubling time for my guard and the people of the city." The captain spoke this grimly. Leon knew better than to linger on horrific events.

"Can we see the bodies of those who were killed?"

Leon's question was answered with a sharp nod and a gesture from the captain to follow him.

• • •

"No need to stand outside my room. Come in Kassiopeia." Maia spoke this to the listening queen outside her door.

Kassiopeia stepped into the dim light of the Oracle's room. Maia closed the book she held as the younger woman entered the crudely built room.

"You want me to make sure that Leon is safe."

Kassiopeia had asked Maia to ensure that Leon was safe before, so Maia's statement was spoken easily and with great compassion. Kassiopeia nodded, remembered the Oracle was blind, then spoke her agreement.

"I have to be careful to only use a little Strand. But I will try."

Maia's words brought instant comfort to Kassiopeia, and as Maia worked her ability, Kassiopeia looked around her room. It was makeshift, as were all their rooms. One candle lit the Oracle's room well enough for Maia to see herself to read the book she had held open for the self that came to view it after her. That was the only way a blind woman with her ability could read. If she had been born without ability... well that was not a path she would ever have to walk.

Maia's bed had a thicker mattress than Kassiopeia's. That had been by the agreement of all without the house. The Oracle might have once been a mighty force but now, although she was as precious as ever, she was far more vulnerable. She did not speak of it to anyone in the group but it was clear that she ached a great deal. It took her longer and longer to stand from being seated. Time was slowly winning the battle over her, Maia knew, as did the rest of the group. All within the group depended on her, and it had cost them the life of Vehemence... not to mention Blaze... had she only been able to see the danger they were to face... But more than that, she had not seen her own betrayal of the group. Soon she would be of no help to the group at all, and what then? Would the group then be forced to turn her out? They could hardly feed themselves.

The Oracle's room did not drip like the queen's did. Leon had patched it before he had left. But the rain was stubborn in its path and it now dripped again. It made her feel cold, and that sound of a fat water drop on stone was a constant reminder that Leon was not with her. But more than that... he was encountering danger. That thought had forced Kassiopeia from her body-warmed, half empty bed. She had done all she could to calm her worries, but her heart raced twice as fast when she thought of Leon.

• • •

Maia could watch anyone who held a memory artefact that she had made, so she watched the group as they walked into the city mortuary. The letter that had been sent to Damon's mansion had said that the city had suffered attacks and that those attacks had resulted in eight deaths so far. As the group approached, the smell of decay was waiting. Core put his hand to his face the moment the scent of death reached him.

"I'll wait outside." He spoke this abruptly and turned to leave.

With all eyes on Core, Zara, who was standing close to him, bowed her head and ran after him. The group's attention then turned forward to the captain as he resumed walking. The letter from Ephraim had told the captain when the group were to be expected. It was late afternoon - the time the captain had asked them to appear. The captain had taken the bodies out for the group to see. They had been waiting.

The undertaker had laid each of the victims on their own wooden table. A sheet of cheap fabric had been placed on the women's chests and the men's waists. A glance told that those who had been killed were not cut or bludgeoned: they looked drained. Their skin was pulled tight against their bodies, their faces frozen with terror.

"There is no evidence of who or what murdered these people. Or how it was done. Their bodies are reported to my guard at dawn... so we believe whatever it is... it hunts at night."

Ephraim touched the face of one of the men who lay silently shrieking, as he would forever. It felt strange. Hard. Everything soft was gone.

"Where were the bodies found?" This was Kleos who spoke. He had a hand held over his face, and had remained at the entrance to the room with Silver and Eton beside him.

"Each body was found in a different location. But they had one thing in common..."

Before the captain of the guard could continue, Ephraim interjected. "They were all near an entrance to the sewer?"

The captain looked directly at Ephraim with a look that answered his question.

"How did you know?"

"It's the easiest way to get everywhere," Leon answered.

Silver continued. "That's a good way to be sure you would not be followed too." Silver spoke quietly - she did not seem to want to breathe the putrid air. Before more discussion could take place the group heard the sound of a guard armoured in linked mail - like all those of the city guard. Core stood in the doorway behind him, listening to hear what the group would soon hear.

"Captain."

When the captain was spoken to he turned to the guard who had spoken.

"You're needed."

The guard's lack of further information made it clear that he was not willing to share his knowledge with strangers.

"Very well. I'm sorry that I cannot stay longer and give you more information." The captain's guilt was obvious. "If you need more information, you should speak to any of my guards. Tell them I sent you and they will tell you all they know." The captain nodded his apologies and left the room.

Core stepped out of the doorway to let the captain and his guard pass, then returned to where he had been standing beside Zara, further outside the room.

"We should return during the day," said Leon, after a brief moment of consideration.

"The murderer may be well hidden at day. And within the sewers - it may not be safe to move about during the day." Ephraim spoke while clearly still considering their course of action.

"If we leave the city now, it may kill again." This was Silver's quiet voice. Her statement caused the group to ponder for a while.

"Being rash may just put us in more danger," Leon said with conviction. Getting themselves killed would not help those who had already died, the group realised.

"It may be killing its victims at day and dumping the bodies at night," said Kleos, speaking from under his hand again.

"So we need to find out more," Leon said, with even more conviction than before.

In the absence of any argument, he spoke again.

"Tomorrow morning we should ask the guards exactly where the bodies were found and how long those people had been missing before they were found killed."

Leon moved toward the door. The group within the room followed in their own time... some faster than others.

# Chapter Fifteen

## Beast

The group returned late that night. Red Dog had taken over the room where Chloe, Paulos and Noe had been and Lysandra had taken all responsibility for the household chores, while still helping the Oracle with whatever she needed. Lysandra's work was never ending; while she delighted in seeing the group, their appearing so late made even more work for her. She cooked their afternoon meal without complaint, though.

Ephraim entered, almost noiseless.

"I never said that I was sorry for how I treated you," he said, walking toward the cooking fire that Lysandra had just started.

She looked up from her cooking to see him squarely. "I was angry at you for a long time."

Lysandra's words came as no surprise to Ephraim. He moved further into the room and began to stir the still warming pot on the fire. It contained only a little water and Ephraim's action was useless. Lysandra understood his gesture, though.

"But really... the problems you caused me were nothing compared to what came next." Lysandra spoke this gently, but the history behind her words was not something Ephraim could ignore. He knew his part in what had happened to her, and the shame of that was his to carry forever.

"I can't make up for what I did to you... let alone what others did to you..."

Ephraim had more to say but Lysandra cut him off.

"You don't have to be sorry for others. How could I expect you to be accountable for the actions of others? And besides, all that happened took me here. It may not be where I want to be, but here I am helping. I'm not stuck in some empty house for the rest of my life any more. There's so much danger here, and so much work to be done... but there is goodness here too. I've seen more things in my short time with all of you than in my whole life."

Lysandra smiled at Ephraim, who smiled back. But it was hollow - he did not feel like smiling.

Ephraim had been born a Touched, then taken into the Guild and cared for until he defied the contract his blood had been dripped onto. The Guild's actions might not have been just, but they backed their Guild members. Ephraim would have had as much coin as he needed so long as he obeyed the Guild's rules and did the job that, because of his ability, he had been assigned. He had worked hard to leave the Guild so he could aid the only friend he ever made, but now it seemed like Damon had never been his friend. Damon always had a goal, an agenda of his own, and he had cultivated the rebelliousness that led Ephraim to make the choices he had. If his rebelliousness had not been nurtured, he would never have wanted to leave the Guild in the first place.

Lysandra on the other hand... she had been born with nothing. She had worked every day of her life with as much spirit as she could find within herself and there was a never a night she went to bed without ache throughout her body. Ephraim did not know that, but he had seen her work and he had an active imagination.

"If you intend to help me... do you think you could do something useful?" Lysandra said.

Ephraim looked at her expectantly. Then he showed her a real smile.

"I would be delighted, my lady." Ephraim bowed to her deeply, putting his arm across his middle, splashing lukewarm water in the path of his hand and the spoon he held.

Lysandra looked at him with amusement and pity, in roughly equal parts.

• • •

Morning woke the group before anyone was ready. They had not lingered in the city long at night and it was not missed sleep that made the morning so unwelcome: their resistance to waking was caused by what they were to face that day. Zara had helped to cook their morning meal; she had been helping Lysandra quite a bit while she had been home, but when the group were within the house they all worked together unless they had more urgent matters to tend to. This morning they sat around a stone slab of a table and perused a map of the sewer system under Port Elisabeth.

"We were lucky to get this map and have it marked before nightfall yesterday," said Leon.

"It does make planning easier," Eton said, his finger on the location where one of the victims was found.

"Any deaths from last night are our fault," Kleos said sharply.

Leon looked at him directly.

"We were called in because there is no group like us. No one, in all of the greater isle or the chain of islands, is prepared to take the risks we take. Being prepared is the difference between having no group to help those who are lost and us saving lives." Leon spoke this like a command.

Kleos put both his hands up in an isle-known gesture for surrender. His action made Leon's assertion an insult. Leon sympathised with his position though - no one had seen what he and Zara could do. That went for Eton, too: the Oracle had said they would be good, useful additions to the group, but the group had yet to see what they could do. Zara and Kleos had been invited into the group and then left alone, so Leon knew their position was not ideal. It was, however, only because of them that they were able to become two groups, which meant they could now help more people. So while the group were all grateful to have the three of them, they were restless that they did not know what they could do. They had to trust the Oracle... who had betrayed Vehemence to his death.

"I suggest we start looking in here." This was Ephraim's voice, and it was where his finger pointed that they went.

• • •

They were not wearing their best shoes: the group had used a little of the coin from Red Dog's newly sold house to buy themselves the cheapest pants and shoes they could find, which they now wore as they trailed through the gloomy tunnels. The sewers were cold and wet and the smell was even worse than any of them had expected.

Despite Ephraim including himself in the plan, the Oracle had recommended he remain behind to ensure that he would not be recognised. If the Guild was watching, sending Than would expose what Ephraim could do, and the Oracle had said that she would expect the Guild to 'correct that mistake' without delay... so it was Leon, lit torch in hand, who led their way through the refuse. Each step moved the sewage, stirring the waiting smell. The group had been prepared and so they all wore masks on their faces, much the same as when they first entered the swamp (those of them who had been there). Those who had not gone to the swamp had been provided with a thick piece of cloth they could tie around the lower half of their face, so all of them had their mouth and nose covered. The sewer's stench, however, still had no trouble finding them.

Leon had to work harder than usual to concentrate on his unique ability, but could still use it, which was how he saw a running figure within the sewer. He held his arm out to stop the group following behind him. He felt the disturbance of the air current around the running person, then felt his way back to where the group stood. He swayed his hand for the group to follow and went running through the sewage.

The group ran behind him with as much speed as he had taken off with, their shoes splashing the rancid filth beneath them. When Leon finally stopped, the group looked past him into the darkness to see a figure within one of the many round entrances to the sewer. Tiny rays of light struggled down from the sewer grate and touched the mangled face of the man in the room. Within the room were more than ten tables, on five of which lay unmoving heaps big enough to be people. In the centre of the room, in a chair, was another unmoving lump. When the sound of the group's splashing steps reached him, the man within the putrid room looked up at them. He looked like he had been expecting them... which was not surprising, given how much noise they had been making, and how the sewer's echoes had amplified that noise.

"You should not have come here," the man said, raising his hands.

As his hands rose, so too did the previously unmoving bodies on the tables. The body on the chair remained motionless: that body was of no concern to them now. Instantly, the group went into action. Core disappeared from where he had been standing then reappeared behind the man in the middle of the room, and, to the group's confusion, only a moment later Eton stood in front of him. Kleos pulled the sewage splashed instrument from his back and plucked at strings as Zara moved her hands in intricate and mesmerising patterns. Whisper pulled his bow from his back and notched an arrow as Silver reached out her hand toward one of the bodies walking toward her. Leon drew his sword his sword, taking a step to his side so he was partially in front of Silver.

Core's dagger pierced through the man's body and Eton struck him in the throat with fingers of his flat hand. Neither of these actions seemed to harm the scarred man, though. Core did not see blood and Eton did not force coughing or gasping as the fragile and tiny bones in the man's neck were broken. The scarred man raised his hands as the bodies all walked toward those in the doorway of the sewer entrance room. Leon slashed at one of the bodies that walked toward him. Silver stepped back, knowing her particular abilities would not be of use here, and Whisper shot an arrow through the eye of a body approaching him. Three of the bodies had remained by where they had left their tables, their glossy and cloudy eyes watching Zara. Kleos plucked a particular song, and anyone who could see Strand would have seen it forcefully ripped from the reanimated bodies watching Zara. The three of them fell to the ground with a splash.

The man in the middle of the room roared out in rage as his reanimated creations fell to the ground. He moved his hands forward as the remaining two of his creatures walked forward. He looked up to those who had killed him and looked right at Zara. Her movements became larger and faster - it seemed she had to work harder to hold his attention. Her efforts were well placed, and Kleos's practised fingers ran faster against the strings of his instrument. Eton and Core stood either side of the man they could not harm and Core, behind the man, started watching Zara and within a moment he too became transfixed. Eton turned in confusion and he too fell under her magnificent spell. And as Zara danced, Kleos played, and the man in the middle of the room moved abruptly in time to a flick of Kleos's hand. Core and Eton remained standing where they were, watching Zara intently but unaffected by Kleos's playing. As Kleos plucked his haunting melodies the invulnerable reanimation man became bound by unseen strings.

"Release me!" the man yelled with great frustration, as Zara's spell on him was failing. As he fought against the invisible bindings, Zara's dancing became less mesmerising. Core and Eton did not lose interest, though; they still stood on either side of the bound man and watched her as if their life would end if they so much as blinked. As the man struggled against Kleos's musical bonds, the body on the chair in the middle of the room, between him and the group at the door, moved.

"No!" The bonds on the man weakened as he yelled this.

Whisper, who had stood beside Leon and Silver for the entire fight, retained an arrow in his bow, but the man had not attacked Core or Eton and Kleos's music had stopped the reanimated corpses from harming them. So it was only now that he was needed - he lifted his bow and fired an arrow through one of the two remaining walking corpses. The shot struck the body perfectly, through its eye, but it continued to walk. It was only then that Leon, his sword already drawn, moved against the other of the two bodies. Silver stood where she was, knowing that her unique ability would only give strength to the others of the group.

As Whisper and Leon went into action, the body in the middle of the room stood upright. She was an undamaged corpse, as were the others, but unlike them she wore fine clothing. Sewage had soaked into the hem of her dress, though and her glorious golden hair was matted and frayed.

"Stay where you were!" yelled the bound man. He pulled from Kleos's musical bonds and ran past Eton, pushing him into the sewage. Zara stopped dancing for him.

Core blinked at what he saw, then blinked a few more times before offering his hand to help his sewage covered friend up. Zara started dancing for the three reanimated corpses.

"Don't watch her!" the man yelled to the standing corpse of the woman. But it was too late - she did not heed him at all as she was already watching Zara.

"Leave her! Just this one!" the re-animator yelled to Zara, but it was too late: Kleos was already playing a lullaby to return them to their rightful place of rest. As he strummed, that was where they went - they splashed into the sewage below and then remained there, unmoving. The man watched the woman fall, watched her laying there for a moment, then turned to face Zara, hatred blazing in his eyes. That was when Silver stepped forward. She ran between Zara and the man, splashing the putrid water as she did.

Silver placed her hand on the man's face and Whisper ran toward her, horrified that she would see something that would consume her again, but by the time Whisper crossed the short distance to her, there was a smile on the man's face. He closed his eyes and fell backwards into the rancid sewage. Whisper pulled Silver back from the splash but it was too late. As Whisper pulled her though, she was forced to face him. She had a great sadness on her face but she did not look in Whisper's eyes.

"The Guild allowed this," Silver said to the group, as she made her way out of the room of rotting corpses, sewage and refuse.

• • •

Lysandra was drained and lethargic as she carried the group's laundry from the only place where it would dry. She saw something red and glanced at it curiously. Half asleep, she smiled at the thought that it was Blaze returning from the Faction with interesting news. When she saw Red Dog in human form she recalled that Blaze... and Vehemence, were both dead. Then the reality of her loss came back to her. She did not have the time to query her feelings, however. Red Dog looked directly at her, shock in his eyes.

"Red... I almost never see you leave the house..."

Red Dog looked away from her. "It would be better if you did not tell the others about this," he said quietly, but the words clear enough. He did not speak this as a threat but Lysandra's jaw dropped at his words. Red Dog saw her reaction and his face softened.

"I mean that... I... please let me have a little freedom. The Oracle will know where I have gone and who else needs to know?"

This time when Red Dog spoke, Lysandra nodded.

"You've trusted me more than once..." Lysandra said kindly, and got to see a rare smile from Red Dog. "Is it too late to say sorry for all that has happened?"

Red Dog knew exactly to what Lysandra was referring. He did not have to think on his reply.

"Too late to apologise to Vehemence. Not too late to apologise to me... but I don't think you have anything to be sorry about. It was Vehemence who owed you an apology. He was never honest about who he truly was... who we were. Nor did he ever tell you that he would have helped you if you were in love with him or not. You haunted him. It was the memory of a woman in a painting who he wanted... who I wanted. It was unfair to you." Red Dog's words were spoken gently out of respect not only for Lysandra, but for the memory of Vehemence.

"He never loved me?" Lysandra spoke with a catch in her throat.

Red Dog's face bore guilt.

"Myself and Vehemence shared a mind but there were things he hid from me. His feelings for you was one of them. I do know that he cared for you deeply. As I still do." Red Dog's words brought a sparkle back to Lysandra's eyes.

"I never lost love for Vehemence. I was just... scared." Lysandra had to gather her courage to speak the last word. Even then it came out quietly.

"Me too." Red Dog spoke this firmly, with great conviction.

Lysandra looked at him with confusion.

"Scared of Vehemence?" The confusion in Lysandra's voice was mirrored on her face.

"Yes. I was most scared of what I had become... of what I am now."

Red Dog's words forced a shiver down Lysandra's spine. She shifted the weight of the wicker basket of clothing she held and looked away from him for a while.

"Is it true that Vehemence stole your heart?" Lysandra spoke this gently, as if her words could damage him. She was met with a laugh however. It sounded deep and throaty... much like the voice that Red Dog had always spoken with, more so since Vehemence's death.

"It was unintentional. But I think Vehemence took some of my compassion and gave me some of his cruelty so he could grow his humanity."

"Has his cruelty changed you?"

"Of course. But it won't turn me into who Vehemence was... if that's what you're asking..."

Lysandra nodded.

"Do you fear me?" Red Dog took a step forward when he gently spoke this. He was close enough to see her shake. He stepped back immediately and looked away from her and for a time neither of them spoke. It was from awkwardness, not fear of self, that Red Dog pulled a hand through his hair - just as Vehemence did. Front to back. And, as with Vehemence, his hair remained in the position it had been before. It made the act useless as a means of controlling his wild red hair, but when he did, Lysandra's eyes sparkled as Red Dog had only sees through Vehemence's eyes. A smile grew on her face as he looked directly at her.

"I don't believe a man without a heart would have wanted compassion. And I know that Vehemence did not mean to take anything from you... but I believe that he did what he could to save his humanity."

Red Dog nodded at Lysandra's words. He stood for a moment then turned and resumed walking to the makeshift house. He walked into the common room to see Leon entering from the other entrance - directly across from the second outside door. Leon glanced at Red Dog but his mind seemed to be with the voices behind him.

"I don't understand how this is possible!" said Kleos as he walked into the common room.

They had returned from a short visit to the captain of the guard, which was how Leon could throw a small bag burdened with coins onto a little tea table in the common room. It landed with a thump and should have been celebrated. Instead, the conversation continued as the others of the group entered the common room behind Leon. Maia entered too, with Kassiopeia behind her. The group looked filthy and smelled worse than they looked. Lysandra moved into the room still holding the clean laundry.

"It's not possible!" Leon spoke this flatly but there was a trace of fear in his eyes.

"I looked into his mind! I know what I saw!" Silver spoke this calmly, as she always did, but also with conviction.

"You found this picking the mind of a crazed man!" As he spoke, Leon turned to face Silver, and saw Maia and Kassiopeia.

"What she saw is true," Maia said with evident Strand around her. Her words silenced the dispute. "Lysandra could you get Ephraim please?" she continued, knowing that Lysandra would happily be rid of the basket of washing she held and that Ephraim would want to be here for this conversation.

"Before we speak of this, you should all enjoy a bath and get some clean clothes on." Maia's words were a kindness rather than a command but it was hard for some of the group to hear that they could not speak of what Silver had learned right now. But the smell was truly awful! And they had tracked it through the house. So it was slowly that the group dispersed, but none of them could deny their joy that they would be soon enjoying a bath. Without coin, they often could not obtain the clean water they needed to bathe, so getting themselves clean was a task they achieved far less frequently than was ideal.

• • •

It was only when the group were all within their rooms that Ephraim and Lysandra entered the common room. Red Dog had chosen to clean the floor where the sewage had been tracked into the house. The house was not big and the trail was between the memory room and the common space - not far at all. Ephraim had entered before Red Dog had finished, but he would not be long.

"I hear the group is back," Ephraim said as he moved toward the Oracle. Maia placed her hand on Ephraim's arm, turning the look on his face from delight to fear.

"The Guild knew of a man murdering people in the lighthouse sewers," Maia said, and saw relief on Ephraim's face.

"Oh Maia you made me think we'd lost another friend!" Ephraim's delight returned.

Lysandra looked at the old man with confusion. There was silence for a time.

"Everyone _is_ alright?" Ephraim said to fill the silence; a little of the fear he had shown returned.

"Yes." Maia spoke this quickly. "They all returned unwounded."

Ephraim put his hand over Maia's - still on his arm.

"Then all is well," Ephraim said clearly.

"The Guild took your ability and they did nothing when a Guilds man murdered innocents!" said Lysandra. "The blood contracts exist to stop such abuses!"

"The Guild took my ability because I abused it. And I am grateful that they did! I had become a monster! If the Guild is not enforcing their rules, then we have a serious problem to deal with!" Ephraim looked down to the small table beside him to where the coin remained. A few of the coins had fallen onto the floor.

"Lysandra, dear thing, could you make a pot of tea?" Maia asked.

Lysandra nodded and quickly left the room, obviously eager to return so she would not miss anything. Red Dog placed the soiled cloth in the bucket of dirty water and moved toward the Oracle and Ephraim.

"The Guild wants Red Dog dead because they know what he can do." Ephraim looked at Red Dog as he spoke his friend's name. "And they leave their own mess now, more than ever. Seems to me like they are trying to draw us out."

Maia nodded.

"You think that if we don't take the fight to the Guild now, we may never be able to oppose them." Red Dog spoke this quietly but he was heard perfectly by both Maia and Ephraim.

"Yes. We need to break Haven and diminish their ability now," Maia said.

She opened her mouth to speak again then stopped herself. Red Dog and Ephraim waited a moment to see if she intended to speak, and when she opened her mouth next, they understood why she had stopped herself.

"I heard it once spoken that the ancestors of the patricians may die when Haven is broken." Maia's words were grim but she spoke calmly. "You may have to fight the Guild without me." What Maia spoke ended their conversation, and not only because of how grim were her words: also, Lysandra re-entered the room from the kitchen door behind Maia.

"We should cook some food while the others bathe," Red Dog said, moving to the kitchen.

Lysandra smiled. It was normally one of the other women who cooked with her. Red Dog had not cooked with her since she had lived in his house... but Vehemence had been alive then.

# Chapter Sixteen

## Destiny

The group, now bathed, rested and fed, were sitting around the dining table in the middle of the fire-warmed kitchen.

"We've spoken about this before." Ephraim had not begun the conversation nor was he trying to end it. The meaning of his statement was that he had already cast his vote - and that he was for, not against, the shattering of Haven. That was not how it sounded, though, so despite that he had merely voiced his support, it sounded like opposition.

"This is, as I have said, a meeting on timeline." The Oracle spoke kindly, with just a smidgeon of severity in her voice.

"The Guild could just be ignoring corrupt abilities because of something they place a greater importance on. It may have nothing to do with Red Dog... or with the missing king." Kassiopeia spoke this knowing that the Guild could be planning events for or within her kingdom.

"We can't rule out the possibility that this has something to do with trying to find Red Dog and confirm his presence or absence of ability. We just don't know enough to say one way or the other. We do all know that rushing our timeline may be exactly what the Guild wants." Leon spoke this, periodically changing his focus around those sitting at the table.

"We need to stop trying to guess the motives of a Guild of Touched. We need to assess what we have." Red Dog said, without consideration of the reasons why the others had been speculating.

"I agree with taking stock of what we have. But that doesn't mean we should not think about what could be possible." Eton's reply caused Core, beside him, to nod.

"We know that someone within the Guild had told Dolour where to find Red Dog," Ephraim said, gesturing to Red Dog across the table.

"But Dolour also came alone," Than added. He had positioned himself in the chair beside his master and friend Ephraim.

"Perhaps they wanted to get rid of Dolour." Silver, as she often did, moved her hand to cover one of the three scarred scratches on her face as she spoke.

"If they had wanted to rid themselves of Dolour they would have used a rule within his contract to remove his ability themselves." Maia spoke this with conviction.

"Why go to the effort when his shame will make him kill himself and Red Dog? If he had returned, they could have taken care of him themselves. If they did not want him on the throne, they were wise to make use of him before he died." Leon, as usual, shared his attention around the group as he spoke.

"What makes us think that they wanted Dolour off the throne?" Core had found Leon's personal approach inclusive enough to offer his opinion.

"That's a good point. The Guild had positioned him and groomed him for power, so why would they rid him of it so quickly?" This was Red Dog.

"You all seem to think that the Guild acts like one mind. We should not forget that the Guild is a group of people." This was Ephraim; there was silence for a while.

"It could have easily been someone within the Guild who wanted Dolour's position," Kleos said analytically.

"So really we don't know anything," Eton said, frustration evident in his voice. The table was silent for a while.

"I think we know enough to understand that, with the inclusion of inaction over the murderer in the lighthouse, the Guild is in chaos. So now would be the best time to break Haven." Maia spoke this, and the members of the group nodded.

"We need to find Dusk so we can find a place to reach one of the Havens then," Ephraim said with finality. He had been prepared to try and break Haven a long time ago, something evident in his voice now, despite how he had come across in his earlier statement.

"One of?" Zara queried; it was the first time she had spoken.

"Red Dog said he spoke with Deliverance and she told him that there was more than one Haven." Ephraim said this knowing it was open information - he had previously asked Red Dog if he could repeat it.

"You have been meeting with Deliverance?" Lysandra looked right at Red Dog across the table.

Red Dog ran a hand through his hair. "Only once," he said clearly.

"So that is where you went..." Lysandra stopped talking when she saw the faint warning on Red Dog's face.

By the time she had stopped talking, though, most of the group were looking at him. Red Dog sighed loudly.

"I have been collecting abandoned Strand when I have been able," Red Dog said with a hint of guilt. But he was met with acceptance.

"You've been training." This was Whisper.

Hearing this voice was a shock to Kleos and Zara who both looked over to see the face of the new voice. Zara, whose attention had been wandering for the whole meeting, as it always did, focused her attention on him for a while. While she was not looking, Red Dog nodded on her right.

"Do we need Dusk?" asked Kassiopeia.

"I know that she is there with you." Maia's words caused the group to focus their attention on her. "The more I tell you of what I have seen, the more it could change," Maia continued, before anyone could even ask a question of what she knew of what was to come.

"You don't want it to change because we succeed," Eton said with both excitement and anticipation.

"Unless we believe that it has already happened - that we don't need to try." These words came from Than's floating jaw. The group knew then, without question, why Maia could not say more.

"So we have to find Dusk," Core said, in what seemed like an effort to prevent himself from asking Maia questions about the future. "How do we do that?"

"We ask the other person who would know," said Red Dog.

The group looked at Maia but Red Dog stood. He took a bag from his pocket and slid his hand into it. Before the group had time to react he was gone.

• • •

Red Dog found himself in a little house. It sounded like it was in a busy town but from within the house there was no indication of his location. The room he stood in was small but tidy. It was a sitting room with one window, the blinds closed. A flickering fire painted the room in warm shades and there was a figure curled up in a chair at the fireplace. Red Dog moved closer and around the chair to see that the person's face was covered by a blanket.

"You walked with me from one end of the Cannadia to the other."

At Red Dog's words the figure uncoiled from where they sat and pulled the blanket from their face. She stood and picked up a letter opener, the only weapon within her reach, but when she saw Red Dog, both her hand and jaw lowered.

"Vehemence?" Fate spoke quietly and sounded as exhausted as she looked.

"You would have walked with me to the end of the world... and back if we had lived."

Fate opened her mouth to speak again but closed it when she saw what Red Dog held within his hand.

"When half of me died you were still prepared to see the end with me, with all of us. One look upon a face that was half mine and half his, and you abandoned us... leaving behind your shattered principles."

When Red Dog challenged her, all wonder and hope left her eyes and in its place he saw only hurt... and anger.

"You speak of me like I betrayed you... and my own honour! This tells me more of your foolishness now than the evidence of your past!" Fate's anger found words to express itself.

Red Dog felt the sting of that last exclamation but he knew that it had been designed to wound him so he held his shoulders back.

"The one who betrayed you, leads you! And I did not leave because I looked upon a face you created. I left because you took the form of the only person who had ever loved me! I looked at you and I saw what was missing!"

When Fate spoke this time, Red Dog was surprised not to hear another insult designed to harm him. Instead, she had given him some truth.

"You know what this is." Red Dog held up the stone he had once used to get to Lysandra. "You know what this means and that you cannot run from me." Red Dog took a step toward Fate, then saw her tense.

"You also know that I would not use this..."He held up the stone again to solidify his point and to restate the significance of it, "... unless I knew I needed to."

"So what am I to do? Go end the world, and my life with you?" said Fate; Red Dog heard her anger and hurt again.

"Live your life out with me." When Red Dog spoke this, all of Fate's anger turned to horror.

"You would abandon everything you have worked for... everything you are to cower in a corner for the rest of your days... because..." Fate paused talking as she looked Red Dog's face over, "you want to be with me?"

"Yes," Red Dog replied concisely, without a moment's thought. "I came here to ask for your help in ending the world and we could do it. We would succeed. But what I do not know is if you will survive. And standing here... seeing you..." Red Dog gulped, and the letter opener in Fate's hand fell to the hard wooden floor.

She closed the distance between them and stood on her toes to press her lips against his. Red Dog had come here expecting to ask for her help, and instead he had become aware of his own repressed feelings. He was not the man she had fallen for so he had been certain that she would never care for him as she had Vehemence. Neither of them knew that this ragged patchwork of human soul was a match to Fate's own broken soul. As they kissed, they both felt the connection that had brought them together in the first place.

Red Dog had not closed his eyes, but Fate had, and when she opened her eyes, she saw him looking at her and stepped back abruptly. But she did not go further than that. She sniffed a few times and then Red Dog saw tears in her eyes. He wiped her cheek with his hand and Fate smiled.

"You never left," she said.

Red Dog nodded. Fate bit her lip and moved closer as she pulled up his shirt and touched the muscles beneath.

"You won't change form when we..." Fate stopped talking, but she had made her point.

Before she could speak again, Red Dog crouched slightly and gripped her under her legs with one hand and behind her back with the other. He then lowered them both to the ground, where he began to undress her. When he began to struggle with her complicated fasteners, she stopped kissing his neck and moved her hands off him to help him. Seeing and feeling her help him in her own undressing aroused him further and the look of her slender body undressing under the arm he lay over her was something he would never forget. More unforgettable still, however, was her naked body.

Through her romance with Vehemence, Red Dog and Vehemence had spent many hours imagining what Fate looked like beneath her clothes... what he saw now, though, was greater than their combined imagining. The light from the snapping and spitting fire washed over her, creating a shadow on the few scars she had but making her skin look otherwise flawlessly smooth. Red Dog stopped undressing her as she continued without him. He touched her scars in a way no one had ever touched her. Red Dog ran his finger over the ridge of one of her scars, gently, as if it was still sore. But that was a moment of pause - when he saw her looking at him he let slip a smile, and then his fingers found their way between her legs. It only took a moment for the experienced motions of his fingers to make shivers course through her body. She wanted to return the feelings she was experiencing... but the feelings she felt were utterly overwhelming! Little moans and excited breaths escaped her lips without her even being aware of it. Before she knew it... she had reached climax. She had not even been able to pull his shirt over his head!

And then, as he moved his fingers within her, she got to see the firelight reflect off his muscled chest. Vehemence's constant sword practice meant Red Dog had inherited a tremendously fit and strong body. Fate slid one hand across his chest as she undid his pants with the other. Red Dog knew she was ready. His fingers had already told him that, but he let her pull him from his place half leaning over her - until he was on top of her. He entered her gently and felt her delight. They each made their motions to two different beats until they finally found their rhythm. All the while, his hand between them played with her until his own desire took hold of him. Then he collapsed onto her, only getting up when he was ready to begin again.

• • •

The Oracle sat in the common space of the group's house. For anyone who could see Strand, she was almost never seen without her single thread of Strand working her ability around her. Sometimes her unique coloured Strand swirled and meandered as it went about her bidding. This morning, it flicked and dashed with a seriousness that was seldom seen of her Strand, and the knot in her brow made it evident that a single thread of Strand was not enough for this task. A number of the group were present. They had waited hours for the return of Red Dog the night before so not all of them were prepared to wake early... so it was not a lack of interest that made the Oracle's audience so few this morning. As well as the Oracle Maia, those present were Ephraim, Lysandra, Leon, Kassiopeia, Eton and Than.

"What if something has happened to him?" It was Kassiopeia who spoke this. She had woken early, as she always did when Leon was home. Leon stood beside her and looked concerned also - but that concern was for his friend, not an entire kingdom he may or may not ever get back.

"Red Dog has a unique memory artefact. I helped him in making it." The Oracle spoke slowly. "It allowed him to memorise new locations with his ability and used my initial Strand to do so... but I cannot find my Strand. I believe it may not be possible for me to find Red Dog."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Eton asked this over his arm that rested on his raised knee. The Oracle shook her head.

"If he has found a way to hide from me, we will not be able to find him." The Oracle spoke this clearly but there was a little grimness in her voice.

"What do we do now?" When Leon spoke this, the Oracle's Strand dissipated.

"We wait."

"This again?" Ephraim said this quite loudly as he stood. "Red Dog is little more than a child! We should have made a way to find him to stop him from running off since the last time he did that!" After Ephraim had spoken this, he left the common area.

"I agree. We should have maintained a way to find him." Than spoke this from across the common, and although he agreed with his master, he did not speak with anger as Ephraim had.

"Wait now, what makes any of us think he has run off? He told us that he was going to find Dusk and we should know that is where he is! He never told us how long it would take! I am only worried that the task may have been dangerous..." Eton spoke this without knowing Red Dog's history but he did so with conviction and heart.

"Red Dog has proven that he can take care of himself. We have nothing to be concerned for. We should expect him to return any day now." When Maia spoke this she stood stiffly. Lysandra moved to her side and helped her until her old bones worked like they should. Maia thanked Lysandra as she left the common space.

Maia had spoken with conviction but she had made it clear that Red Dog... or someone else, had made sure he would not be found.

• • •

Despite his muteness, Silver knew that her brother was not a solitary person like she was. He thrived when surrounded by people. Be they strangers or friends, his playground was around other people. That often made Silver sad... but only for what her ability had removed within her to make room for itself. Whisper had been born mute. His voice had found him before the Guild council woman had healed him, but he had chosen not to speak. So even without a voice, he had something she did not. Or perhaps her ability was more of a birth defect than she knew. Perhaps the ability that could draw people close was the reason she pushed people away. That thought was why she watched Whisper, Eton and Core with such sadness.

Whisper had not known Eton for long before she had met the acrobat. Core and Eton had grown up together, then they were separated by different dreams. Core followed whatever coin he could find and Eton had joined the circus. Core had spent a lot of time with big groups, small groups and even by himself before he met Whisper. Core and Silver had a lot in common, except that Core was far more versatile and adaptable. And he loved life surrounded by people... or alone. He and Eton had never lost touch - he had even helped Core on a few of his highway jobs. It was in those short and few windows of time that Eton and Whisper met, but they had developed a friendship without much effort. Eton was kind to Silver but she knew that he did not regard her as he did Whisper. After all, Core had introduced Whisper as if they were brothers, and that thought hurt Silver. The three men were not blood; Silver and Whisper were... and yet she was the outsider.

"This must have been a stable," Eton said from the crumbled wall where he had crouched. Core looked up at him, knee deep in swamp water.

"Why would you say that?" Core spoke this in his usual trusting tone as if he were speaking to his teacher; it seemed sometimes like he regarded everyone as his elder. It was that earnestness that caused people to treat him as a man much younger than he actually was.

"It smells like one." Eton said this with a straight face but when Core looked at him with complete trust he could not help but laugh. Whisper, behind Core, gave his shoulder a push as he often did when he walked past. It was not Eton's laughter that made Core aware that it had been a joke - it was Whisper's smile.

"Oh," Core said with a wide grin on his face. He looked over to Silver who was a little distance from the trio. The look on Core's face seemed to question why that was. Reluctantly, Silver moved closer through the swamp water to get to the group. Like the others, she had dressed knowing that she would get dirty and had wisely chosen pants and cheap boots. Despite feeling like she was the outsider, she did quite enjoy their occasional exploration of the sunken city where their home had been built. She still thought their excursion suited the men more... but she hoped she would always be invited.

• • •

The fire had gone out many hours ago. It was not yet morning and Red Dog had slept better than he could ever remember. Fate was unconscious on the floor, having slept more than she had in days. While she slept, Red Dog had the time to look around her little house. It was exactly as he would have imagined: clean and conservative. He felt strange here though, like waking up in Dolour's house. Like then and within the Faction... this was a world within a world. He had told Fate that he would spend his life with her and he would honour that promise, had no doubt of that. But the feeling of his own foolishness tormented him: he had doomed the world... for love.

Fate had thought he had died and he had thought his mission would kill her. Vehemence had been a child to his emotions yet Red Dog had not even known that he had them. He wanted nothing more than to spend his days hiding from the world and his responsibilities with Fate. He knew his significance to the world... and to Fate. He could not even try to justify what he had chosen but he could try to make himself feel better about it. He had been stroking Fate's hair since he had woken and his fingers through her hair provoked a shiver down her spine. At first, his comforting gesture had kept her asleep. But now little sparks, that seemed to come from his fingers and tickle the back of her neck, woke her. When her eyes opened she looked up at the face she had fallen for and, about to call him Vehemence, bit her tongue. She perched herself on her elbows so she could reach high enough to kiss him. The blanket fell, revealing her breasts... but, unlike the night before, she did not like the taste of him. Oddly, that made her smile - he was somewhat human.

"We should eat." Fate stomach growled as she spoke this. She looked away as if it to disown the sound, but in truth she was delighted that her body helped her cover up the mistake she had almost made. He was not Vehemence. When she thought about it... she did not know anything about the differences between Red Dog and Vehemence. All she knew was that one had red hair and the other black... and that Red Dog did not want to be like Vehemence... whoever he really was. Whatever the difference, she was terrified that Red Dog would not forgive her if she were to call him 'Vehemence'. It was only then that Fate realised Red Dog had not answered her. She looked at him directly: he was looking at her as if she were a meal.

"I mean food!" Fate reddened as she looked away from her lover. "Not that I didn't enjoy..."

"Oh, I know what you enjoyed," Red Dog said before Fate had finished, and her embarrassment doubled. "You have _nothing_ to be embarrassed about!" Red Dog added as he leaned down to her and pressed his lips to her neck. He leaned back and in a fast movement, scooped an arm behind her back and one under her legs and lifted her from the tangled bundle of blankets and pillows. He then placed her, standing, on the floor. He took her hand and closed his around it.

"Why did we wait so long?" Red Dog's voice was deeper than Vehemence's and it somehow sounded more melodic. Richer.

"There were three of us before." Fate pulled her free hand to her mouth to cover half of her horror. How could she have just said that?!

"Vehemence was the truest ally I have ever known," Red Dog said, and Fate nodded, hoping he would forgive what she had said! "But if I had known his loss would let me have you, I would have let him die long ago." Red Dog spoke without guilt. Fate looked into his eyes.

"You would have murdered the man who saved me... the man who you stole your vessel from... to have me?" Fate asked as she moved the hand from over her mouth.

Red Dog raised his eyebrows. "I have doomed the whole world for you!"

Fate came to understand what was to be lost just so they could be together. She loved him, she knew that now as she once knew she loved Vehemence... it might have been Red Dog all along. But what she also knew was that for them to be together, the whole world would suffer. If she was going to die, it had to be. For her to live with him she would always know what the world had given, and she could not live knowing that. Fate stepped forward and placed her hand on his naked chest.

"I don't even know what you are!" said Fate.

Red Dog seemed to know where this was going. He took a deep breath and ran his free hand through his hair.

"I am man with Strand within." Red Dog looked down at her.

"I know that but..."

"Just like you. And every other living man."

Red Dog's words made what Fate was going to say utterly useless. She stood with an open mouth and confusion in her eyes. She looked into Red Dog's eyes but could find no evidence that he had lied.

"Strand is human spirit. And as I tell you this you know something that only two, now three people in the world know."

"Why did you tell me this?"

"Because you need to know that I am no different from you. The Strand within me is not the piece that grew in this vessel though. Mine was broken pieces of other Strand... young and old. But I am still whole. And your Strand is hurt too." Red Dog stepped forward when he spoke and Fate stepped back. She pulled her hand from his.

"You can see my soul?"

"When I learned that Strand was within all of us, I learned to look. You, like every Touched carry other Strand within you too. But it is not _alive_ like I was. Within you, it's only energy." Red Dog seemed to be speaking gently, kindly, but that did not make Fate feel any less afraid of what she was hearing.

"I've made another soul my slave?" Fate said quietly. Before Red Dog could answer, however, she continued, "so if you don't end Haven, this slavery will continue?"

Red Dog nodded grimly.

"How could you have not told me this?!" Fate reached down to the blanket at her feet and pulled it up to cover her naked body.

Red Dog stepped off it and took up a blanket himself. By the time she had covered herself, he had covered himself too.

"We can't doom our ancestors... and what will someday be ourselves, just so we can be together in the flesh. I love you, Red Dog or Vehemence, or whoever you are. I have loved you for a long time! But if I have to die to end this soul slavery then it must be done."

"I want to be with you Fate! I have never felt this way for another! But I was afraid of feelings I did not know!"

When Red Dog spoke this, Fate closed the distance between them. She placed her hand on his chest.

"You will always be with me... unless this prison and slavery remain. If you want me to be with you, we all have to be free."

"I know that." Red Dog spoke as though he had been scolded by his elder, and Fate could not help but feel hurt for him.

"We will be together. Always." She wrapped her arms around him and she knew more about him then than she ever had. They were two of the same. Both grown and mature... children within.

# Chapter Seventeen

## Collaboration

A flash of Strand brought Red Dog and Fate to the group's house, as it had so many times before. This time, however, was different. Both Fate and Red Dog knew that this was a journey that held risk unlike any other.

"Fate!" It was Zara who stood on the other side of the door that Fate and Red Dog had only just left. She had been leaning against the wall when the pair had returned. It looked like she had been waiting.

"I knew you would come back!"

"Had you been waiting long?" Fate asked the dancer, making it evident that she too had noted that she had been waiting for them. Zara did not answer at first... she only smiled, then she took Fate's hand in a display of affection Red Dog was seldom privy to. Red Dog, though he knew little of Zara, had observed her to be a person of exclusion... so he was not surprised that the smile Zara showed was for Fate alone.

"All my life little petal!" When Zara finally answered, Red Dog had all but forgotten what she was replying to.

"Now come on then... come save the world." Zara was stationary as she said this, then she took Fate by the hand down the little hallway. Red Dog followed along behind the duo - as confused as he was enchanted.

There was no meeting today. The incomplete group who sat around the dining table looked sombre for the most part. It had only been a week... and as they would soon know, the group had only one plea, and this half of the group would resolve it by themselves. The other half of the group had remained in one place for the week and as always happened without any work or word of the future, tensions mounted. It was appreciated that it had only been a week, however.

"Please close your mouth when you eat!" Ephraim spoke this at Core.

The youngest member of the group looked over at him with the full mouth the young man had been speaking with a moment ago. He looked at Ephraim for a time then gulped down the mouthful of food. He then smiled at Ephraim in the odd way that Core smiled and Ephraim, mistaking his actions for meanness, stood and turned to the door. He saw Zara with Fate behind her and his gasp drew all attention to the doorway, then Zara walked Fate into the room, with Red Dog in the doorway behind them.

"You did say Fate would be coming back today. I was just not aware that Red Dog would be joining her," Kleos said as he placed his fork on the table. Zara bowed her head.

"I believed you when you said she would come back a week ago," Core said with his usual childish (and often unappreciated) humour. Red Dog, still outside the door, was not aware of how Zara responded.

"I will say that I was starting to think you were just guessing," said Leon.

His honesty made Kassiopeia shake her head... though there humour on her face. It was only then that Red Dog understood how much they had missed her. And although Red Dog had returned too, the group seemed far more focused on Fate. He appreciated that, especially seeing as he was ready to doom the world for her. The group did not know that... but he did, and it was because of what he had nearly done that he did not feel that excitement on their part regarding his return would be justified. Besides... Fate had been gone longer.

Red Dog was no fool of course; he did notice their attention on him. They looked at him like he had come to save them and, unlike every time before... this time they were right. But they had been wrong about him for so long that it was no surprise to him when they did not react to his reappearance as they did to Fate's. Especially considering the number of times he had left them. That was not true for all the group, but there was no doubt in Red Dog's mind that they had spoken about it. Often.

"It is true!" Maia placed her bony hand upon Red Dog's arm as she spoke.

Red Dog turned to see the old woman. Her eyes were as milky as he remembered and her smile possessed a warmth that could have rivalled one of Hanna's smiles.

"Hello mother." Red Dog spoke this intentionally. Maia was not his mother, but when he spoke it he saw that Maia had understood his intended meaning. It was more of an ironic comment on her accidental betrayal than a compliment. He saw pain and relief in her face that made him aware how well she had understood it. He took a step toward her and hugged her, gently. He felt her arms receive him with the same kindness. He forgave her, he knew, but it was only now that he found himself able to. Why, he did not know... well, not truly. Red Dog and Maia both stepped back from their embrace when it seemed natural to do so.

"Does this mean we are about to break the world hex?" It was Than who asked this. He was seated beside Ephraim, as he often was.

Red Dog turned to looked at the creature who confused him so greatly. He had always been thankful that the walking skeleton did not smell like the first creature that Red Dog had seen Ephraim bring to 'life'. But Than was a sitting skeleton... so instead of his nostrils he offended Red Dog's understanding of the world. But who was Red Dog to be confused by things that were not possible... especially after he knew what Than had been brought to life with... It was neither Red Dog nor the seer who replied however - it was Leon. But he did not speak; he looked at Maia to see her nod, before the cartographer gestured Kassiopeia to the corner of the room.

Kassiopeia leaned over and grasped the knee high cylinder that had been leaning there. Leon took the proffered cylinder from her and in a few short movements opened the little wooden lid and pulled a large scroll from within. Kleos, on the other side of him, understood his intention and moved the few abandoned plates out of his way as Leon placed the map on the table.

The group, who might have replied to Than's question, all turned to look over the map that Leon had produced. It was met with equal parts of admiration and excitement by all those who knew what was written on it.

• • •

The Watcher's expensive boots clacked loudly on the polished floor of the collective known only as the Guild of Impossible Things. His deportment exposed a great deal about him: he walked with fluency and callousness. It was evident that he had no interest in pretending that he was not the ruler of the Guild, the strongest collective of the isles. He was an arbiter of death... and he was extremely inclusive. He had no awareness for the art of subtlety, but he was not a man of cruelty so much as he was good at what he had been born to do. His blood gift was one of the most unfortunate gifts... it was much more like a curse than anyone ever knew - anyone but him and other watchers...

But it was not even that simple... for when death and he became better acquainted, the empathy that he felt for anything (or anyone) else faded. That was why his sister did not know how intimate he was with death, and neither did she understand the darkness within him. She had too quickly connected the two when he had wounded her by ignoring her pain. She had looked within him and seen her brother in the darkness... not behind it. He knew that she believed he was the darkness and in his mind that wounded him more than he had or could ever wound her... especially as it was his own failing that he could not reach through the darkness when she needed him. But he needed her - he had needed her for years.

The use of her ability aged her despite the efforts of so many within the Guild. Their magic worked on the Watcher... but not his sister. He had lived to see her blinded as he would live to see her taken from him. Then she would never return to him as she had been in life. And, ironically, it was his element that was to take her from him. The Oracle was greatly loved but none would feel her loss as much as her brother. It horrified him that he felt her approaching him. His connection to death was often passive, as when he did not use his ability. At any time, though, he could feel the tug of death - in any direction. He could feel those fighting against the monster he could borrow. But... worse were the times when he could feel death drawing them in and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Despite what anyone said or thought, it was because of his passive connection with his ability that Natassa was most useful to him. Ideally, he wanted the one who aided him to be his sister, but his ability had already pushed her away. So it was Natassa, the mender, who did all she could to heal those whom death so eagerly enticed. Maia was different though: no healer, or any other Touched for that matter, could slow the Oracle's aging. It was the use of her ability that aged her: the less she looked into time, the less she aged. One of the greatest secrets of the Guild was the age of the twins. Taras was the third Watcher and Maia was the second Oracle since the creation of the Guild. There had been others with both of their abilities, types it had never been known for an evoker to re-create, but there had been none since. It was a greater irony than losing his sister to his own ability that the Watcher desired his own finality. He had lived longer than a man of his ability should have been forced to, just as he knew his sister had also. Of Maia however... even if she asked him he would not end her suffering... for that would cause _him_ more suffering that he could ever take. Feeling her die slowly, however, was weakening his defences against his ability. Only Taras and the watchers before him truly understood what it meant to become part of their ability. No watcher had breached the distance between their soul and their ability and Taras had no desire to be the first!

"Master!" When the Watcher heard the voice of the re-created second Oracle, he turned. Taras had never met him... but he was certain that Aineas was not the same as he had been in life. The Watcher had expected that - there was always a sacrifice when someone was brought back from the tattered place. Taras was certain that Aineas had lost his reason, something that seemed to suit the Guild well.

"What have you seen?" Taras spoke to the inadequate replacement of his sister dryly, as he always would. His presence alone pained Taras and made the loss of his sister all the more painful.

"I know where he died!" Aineas said. The Watcher turned to face him.

"Finally! You will take me to where he died... and then to his grave if you're able."

Although Taras's command was spoken cruelly, Aineas nodded like an excited child... there really was nothing at all within the man's head. That insulted Taras. Had he another option, Aineas's bones would have remained in the ground. Seeing it walk around like this confronted Taras with memories of those others that he had severed... The sooner he had Maia return to him, the sooner he would choose to leave his thorned throne and find his final rest. If all that his forefathers had lived for was to come to an end, he had no desire to watch his world fall. His sister's involvement made him all the more aware that she called him an enemy when he could not hear. And that was why she needed to be safely returned to within the Guild walls. If the world really was going to end, she deserved to be safe. She had spent more than one lifetime in service to the Guild and it was time she was repaid. The Guild be damned... it was time for Taras to rest. Maia had shown him that when he had hurt her.

• • •

"The second garden," said Maia. She spoke of the place that Leon was pointing to on the map.

Red Dog saw that Leon could have explained that himself, but out of respect he had let the great Oracle do so. The group had begun, then halted, their discussion when Ephraim had asked Red Dog and Fate if they would like some tea. So Lysandra was called and asked to make some. Zara offered her aid - as she often did... and then Fate had joined them. So after the greetings were over with, they had got to work. But now they were all present and seated, and the remnants of their food preparation efforts were scattered around the map they were all leaning forward to see better.

"I have memorised a location within that Guild garden, but I will need to make enough rings that pair to my artefact so we can all arrive there," Maia said.

Most of the group were still looking over a map they had thought they would never see... let alone actually go to the location it depicted. Red Dog had been invited there on more than one occasion but he had not seen as much of the Guild of Impossible Things as Maia had... or as Fate had. Unlike those who had lived within the Guild halls, Red Dog knew only the little he had seen, so as the others talked strategy Red Dog was memorising the map.

The Guild dominated an area even larger than Red Dog had imagined... and his imagining had been generous. That was not a great surprise, but it was... frightening. According to legend, the Guild was only ever as big as it needed to be. There was some reason and logic to it, though - for the numbers of those who could do 'impossible things' were rising. Red Dog suddenly understood a lot about the Guild just from looking at the map...

"Forgive my interruption."

Red Dog turned when he heard a voice he knew. Standing in the doorway, Deliverance looked as human as Red Dog had ever seen her! She had detailed, young features, and wore clothing that actually quite suited her. She looked like a teenager... perhaps a little older, but not much. Not like the mature woman Red Dog had always thought of her as. This must have been the last, true form that she had stood as before, something that fitted Red Dog's understanding of her past and fast achieved talent. It may very well have been that she had never reached adulthood in her human form... or womanhood. That was a sad thought for Red Dog who, after all, had never known what humans could feel. Her straight brown hair hung messily, and a glance at the hem of her garment revealed the grime of travel. It was only then that Red Dog was afraid - she had travelled here by foot... and bare feet at that! Something had to be wrong!

Before Red Dog could voice this, however, he noticed the figure who had stood almost entirely concealed by Deliverance. And in that moment, Red Dog knew exactly what was to come.

"We have come to join the final battle." Deliverance bowed deeply as she spoke.

All who had not seen Dusk behind her before, knew she stood there now. The Oracle stood and moved toward the doorway. She took Deliverance's hand with care and held it for a time. Red Dog knew that Deliverance could see kindness and relief on Maia's face, for she returned the expression.

"We all fight for the same reasons, but I thank you." Maia spoke this with her usual grace as she released the leader of the Faction's hand.

"It is the gifted who should thank the Touched." Deliverance said this without needing to restate the risks to all Touched, then moved into the room.

Ephraim, who was the closest to her, stood and promptly moved behind his chair as a gesture of respect. Deliverance bowed her head to the ex-coachman before she seated herself. Dusk then moved into the room and took an empty seat. Red Dog could see her disappointment when no one offered her a seat. He should have offered, but he was far too baffled by the pair's appearance to behave properly.

Deliverance looked over the table to the map in the middle of the group, and Leon turned it slightly so she could see better. Red Dog thought that Leon might believe, as Red Dog himself did, that Deliverance would know more about the location and layout of the Guild than everyone but Leon himself.

Zara moved the remains of the tea across the table and Lysandra stood and took the little pot, saying, "I'll make some more!" Zara stood too and bowed her head slightly before following her.

"I should have been here for more of the planning and aided you all more." Deliverance spoke honestly, but it seemed strange to hear a woman's voice from this young girl's mouth.

"We needed you in the Faction doing the work only you could," Fate said, before anyone else could speak.

Deliverance nodded and spoke sincerely. "I would have you all forgive my absence, regardless."

"I think we should look at the situation we find ourselves in now." Fate's comment brought all attention upon her. "We are soon to shatter the only world protection - to end Touched power and of course, that vicious world hex. We have all endured risk and been willing to submit to true sacrifice... we now face the greatest challenge of our lives. And for me, that is to say of many lifetimes... and for Deliverance too of course." Dusk spoke dryly, leaning on the table.

"I don't understand your meaning," Leon said, gaining Dusk's brief attention.

"She thinks our approach is too comfortable." Red Dog gave his explanation of what Dusk had said with only a glance at the woman he spoke of.

"Since the loss of Damon the Oracle has been our leader. Perhaps she has been too kind to us." Silver spoke this with a rare twist of humour in her voice.

Red Dog noted that her words had left it open for the Oracle to re-establish leadership, or to pass it to one of her elders. Despite the difference in experience between the three women (especially considering Maia's almost lifetime imprisonment within the Guild) Maia was the rightful leader of the group. That was how Red Dog felt about it and he knew that the others in the group agreed with him, and that was with consideration to her harm to the group. She had earned their leadership not by being their leader for so long and risking everything for them. It was not even because of her kindness to them... it was because of the unique ability she had. An Oracle's ability was by far the greatest tool for a leader in her position.

Maia seemed to think for a while and all within the room seemed willing to allow her the next comment... and the time she needed to think about it.

"Considering the positions you have been in, Deliverance, would you like to lead this group while we all break Haven?" Maia spoke with an air of significance.

Red Dog could have sworn he saw Dusk pout! But it had been subtle... and she had glanced at him from the corner of her eye after. Dusk was an interesting case, he thought. She could use her ability to dominate a pool of dead and docile spirits and she had lived many lifetimes, but she still did not know how to ask for what she wanted or even to manipulate others to her will without using her power. Perhaps that was a measure of just how dependent on her ability she was.

As Maia had spoken Deliverance's name, Red Dog thought he saw the other woman blush. After Maia had spoken however, he was certain that he had seen her smile.

"I did make a plan when I first met Vehemence." Deliverance looked at Red Dog as she spoke. "But that is only if it is acceptable to all of you." Deliverance looked over the table and her attention fell onto Maia. "The first priority is we will each need to have a Guild cloak - as a precaution. The only one of us who does not need one is Fate. Maia, you and Ephraim should not show yourselves if we can help it... for obvious reasons." Deliverance smiled when she spoke her last sentence.

Red Dog saw Maia nod in both agreement and submission. It unnerved him a little to see the Guild Oracle do another person's bidding... she was becoming like Red Dog himself.

# Chapter Eighteen

## Fall

The Guild gardens were, like the people within the Guild, sheltered from the world. The garden where Maia had seen the end of the world was more like a forest, and was often called the Guild forest. But in fact, it was a garden. No forest grew so sheltered as this garden, and there was no such forest that ebbed with the Strand that was the reason for the Guild garden to have been built where it had. The nights there were as a rule dismally dark, and this one was no exception. Even a bright flash of Strand was invisible to all those but the group who appeared within.

The Guild forest was not empty, but those within the gardens did not turn to see a group whom they had not seen enter. Dusk's ability had worked! But it was while Red Dog was thinking this that Than, the only member of the group without a Guild cloak, fell to the ground, the Strand that bound him dissipating. Ephraim instinctively reached out to grab his falling friend but his hand was gripped by Leon's. A warning look from the cartographer cut short Ephraim's reaction to the loss of his friend.

Red Dog looked at the bones at Ephraim's feet. He did not know how this could be! Ephraim's connection to the source had never been re-established! The Strand he commanded had chosen him freely. His power was from wild Strand! And if Ephraim could not use his ability, there was nothing they could do to end the Guild. The worst part of it came when Deliverance dissipated too. When Red Dog saw this he realised how much danger they were in. Strand held her together and it was Strand that had made it possible for her to take human form, and so she lost the ability to retain any form of humanity and was gone. Hearing the sound of weeping, Red Dog looked behind him. Zara held the rings that had been on her love's hand.

"I made him," Zara said through her tears and Red Dog nodded, confused.

As that Strand failed... so too did the Strand upon the group that had made them invisible, Strand that had come from the source. So, within a moment they stood, visible, within the Guild garden - after having used their artefacts without permission from the Guild. So, as Dusk's ability failed, those within the garden turned to see the now visible group. The pile of bones that had been Than was hidden by them but it was luck, not planning, that Than had been standing in the middle of the group. They were acknowledged with confusion, as those within the Guild forest had not seen them enter, of course. But it was pure luck that they had not seen them appear.

"I thought you said we would not be seen!" Ephraim quietly snapped.

"We were not supposed to be seen... my ability has never failed me before!" Dusk sounded genuinely afraid.

Their position had not been given away by the sight of the Strand... but their plans were falling apart around them. If Dusk wanted to betray them (as her legend said she had done) this would be an effective way to do it. Red Dog discreetly took the seer's artefact ring off his finger and put on his own instead. He opened the artefact within his pocket and as he expected, he remained where he was. He did not know how the Guild could have stopped all ability, but that was what seemed to have been done. Red Dog still did not know how they were able to sever a person from the Strand at all! And now that he knew what Strand was...

"We cannot leave how we arrived." Red Dog said this with calmness painted on his face, but really he was starting to think that their world was about to end... not that of the Toucheds' world.

"There has never been a block on abilities in this garden!" Dusk said, exposing the gravity of the situation. She had been with the Guild for a great deal of time, after all.

"I told you that I explained my dream to my brother." Maia spoke this as a caution, not as any type of cruelness.

"Standing here looking dumb with a pile of bones at our feet is attracting attention," Kleos interjected.

Red Dog looked to his left to see Deliverance's hand turn to the strange changing form that he knew her as. When it returned to flesh, she looked at Red Dog - the only person who had seen what she had tested - and nodded to him.

"Where did it happen Maia?" Red Dog asked and turned to face her. She did not see him looking however because she was unable to use her abilities. Red Dog was well aware that this would _not_ work to their benefit. He was sure that the Guild would have the keys to their ability locks.

Maia held out her hand toward the direction from which she had last heard Red Dog's voice. Red Dog knew she held her hand out to him, so he took it and stepped over the bone pile at his feet as he guided the Oracle where she led. He could not imagine what it must be like for her to walk blind, with no way to call from memory the path she was to walk. There was never a time when Red Dog had seen her without a thread of Strand around her... other than the first time she walked somewhere. But even when she was in a strange place, she could stand for a moment and use her ability to see what her eyes could not. This, like so many places, was a place she had walked before, a place her ability could guide her though from memory of having walked it before. This time it was Red Dog who guided her past any obstructions as she walked. He helped her around a low branch and its naturally mangled, clawing branches. He guided her past little shrubs at her feet that would have torn her dress, and then it was a moss covered log that Red Dog helped her walk over. With the others following behind them, Maia then pulled Red Dog close.

"This is the top of the world, Vehemence." When Red Dog heard his body's name, he cringed. It had been a mistake, he was sure. But it was more than that - Red Dog knew her memory had been failing, but it still hurt.

He felt a strange power where he stood. Whether that power was the Guild, Haven, or why they chose to build the Guild just there, he did not know. All he knew was that he felt it flow, like his own quickening heartbeat... 'the top of the world'... so this was to be the battlefield that could destroy the Guild once and for all. Or it could well be the cemetery for Red Dog and the entire group.

Red Dog was afraid now. He could not remember ever feeling real fear, neither his own nor from Vehemence. He glanced to the group behind him and saw Fate among them. He was most afraid for her, she who had touched him with forgiveness and made him aware that redemption was possible. Fate knew what he had done, and she forgave him.

Red Dog closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened his eyes to a new world. Before him, where he felt the power, he now saw it too. Like so much of his power, it had been Vehemence's originally. And as he looked upon it, the pure Strand known as the source crawled in a never-broken thread far above him. The colour of it was so extraordinarily beautiful! He could see what he thought must be every colour that ever existed. The coloured thread snaked and flowed above him, its multi-coloured light spattering and invigorating his face.

"You see it don't you?" The Oracle's question brought Red Dog's attention to her abruptly. "Throughout history, very few people have been able to see the source. All Touched can sense it and we all know it's here, but I know of no one who has seen it since I have been alive. Only you." The Oracle reached her hand up to where she thought Red Dog's face was. He moved to allow her hand touch his face.

"Thank you for all that you have done."

As the Oracle spoke this, the group came within hearing distance behind them. It was not them that Red Dog felt, however. The great thread of Strand above him coiled like a cobra as a man he had met once before approached. Red Dog turned to see the Watcher behind the group and, as he looked past the group, they all turned to see him.

"We the council have authority within the Guild. We use that authority to stop you in your planning. Your abilities will not help you here. Fall upon your knees and we shall be merciful."

The Watcher's voice was thick with what Red Dog concluded was malice. He knew little of this man, but what he did know was this: he knew death better than anyone else. It was his ability, after all. Red Dog was a piece on a game board, only here because of what he could do. He would not die because he had no choice but to stand here! It would not be what he could do that killed him! As he thought this, he looked to Fate. He would die for her!

"You know who we are. And you know that the domination of the Guild is over." Ephraim spoke this.

"The Guild is immortal. Do not throw your lives away!" the Watcher said, as four more people appeared. Four were all who came to stop them from destroying the Guild. Red Dog knew Natassa, Daphne and Aineas - the seer whom Red Dog had been told of. He looked exactly as he had been described. The girl who stood beside Natassa, however, he did not know.

"Elpis!" Fate said as she looked at the girl, looking as though she had thought her dead. The young girl bowed when she was spoken to.

"I did not think we would ever meet again Alexandra."

"No, ability will not work here, not without a seal. This is your last chance to surrender. You do not have to die." Aineas said this before Red Dog could work out who the young girl was and why Fate thought her dead. Things were happening too quickly. They were right, their planning had been undone, but Red Dog was not prepared to surrender. When none of the group moved, Red Dog knew they all felt the same. Until Fate stepped forward to the girl.

"Forgive me," she said and knelt before the little girl.

When Red Dog saw this, he felt his blood boil! All of this had been for her! He should have seen her cowardice and predicted her betrayal. Red Dog's ability to command Strand outside of himself may have been stopped, but he _was_ his ability. And he had steel on his belt! When he saw the woman he loved proving herself a coward, he drew it. The moment he did however, the Watcher took a single step forward and touched his bare skin and Red Dog heard Silver scream as he, Red Dog, fell to the ground. He managed to grab the leather lace around the Watcher's neck from which a pendant hung. It snapped as he fell, and Red Dog fell facing Fate.

He saw Fate take advantage of that moment to grasp and tear the pendant from the little girl's neck, causing Fate to disappear in a flash of blue. And that was the last Red Dog saw before he closed his eyes.

• • •

The Guild members within the garden left when they saw the council fighting what must have looked to be other Guild members. Silver saw that and was grateful for it - the fewer people who died, the better. She crouched down to the man who had saved her from slipping into a demise within her own mind. He had restored to her a purity she did not know she could feel again and now he lay dead on the ground! All their plans had been undone and everything they had worked for had been for nothing! She wept quietly as she took hold of his hand. It was then that she felt the leather within... and something else. She took tight hold of the pendant as the Watcher bent to retrieve it, and he looked at her with venom on his face.

"Return that!"

When the Watcher spoke this to Fate, she came to full understanding of what it was she held. She looked slyly behind her, then threw the pendant. Zara caught it and immediately started dancing, and at that moment the Watcher gave up trying to retrieve his pendant. Whisper pulled an arrow from his quiver, but Aineas reached his hand out and stopped Whisper from moving.

Zara gave the pendant she held to the Oracle. Maia knew it by touch and, while blind, made time move forward for Whisper again. As she did this, however, the effect of Zara's dance ended.

"You should have sent more than just the council!" Silver said. She looked up from Red Dog's body just as Fate reappeared.

She was not alone - beside her stood a mighty creature of legend that Silver knew to be a friend. She knew Fate would not have run! She knew it! And as her blue Strand faded, the council's passive activity changed in an instant! Kreios the gargoyle's watery roar transformed their opinion of the situation from controlled to precarious. And as he roared, all three council members who still held pendants protected themselves in whatever way they could. Natassa turned her Strand into a bubble, just as Silver had seen Dolour do. The bubble of her solidified Strand encircled the Watcher, too. Aineas's defence was a strange and contorted section of Strand that waved in a cylinder around him, while Daphne's protection manifested in the form of a shield. The girl who had been called Elpis turned and ran from the area. Silver was grateful for that, as Daphne started working her ability on those who could not defend against it.

She touched Core, who began clawing at his own face, but while Daphne was occupying herself tormenting Core, Kreios came at her. He scratched his huge claws at the shield her ability had created and despite the shield only existing through her ability, she reacted as if it were a real shield and took the brunt of his attacks on her arm. Aineas focused his ability on the Oracle, and whatever he did made her drop the pendant! As this happened, Natassa's Strand reached out, invisible to Silver, who only felt a great desire to sleep. Her hand, however, was still on Red Dog's arm.

• • •

He opened his eyes to see the boot of the Watcher only a few metres from him. A bubble of Strand surrounded him and as he sat up, an arrow flew over head and hit the bubble as if it were a wall. It fell to the ground beside him and Red Dog stood. He cracked his neck and then touched the great bubble between himself and the Watcher. Natassa moved back and his contact with the bubble was broken. Core took the pendant from the ground where the Oracle had dropped it and then blinked into the sphere, behind Natassa, and Red Dog saw Natassa feel the sting of Core's dagger, as Red Dog himself remembered feeling.

Behind him, Red Dog heard Daphne screaming out as an arrow struck her arm. He turned and looked at Daphne, and saw Eton, having seemingly overcome his fear, finally draw his sword. He ran at Aineas.

"No!" Ephraim yelled, too late, as the young acrobat had already reached into the cylinder around Maia's tormentor. The man within avoided the blade that came at him and Eton withdrew his hand from the cylinder screaming in a way Red Dog had never heard anyone scream before. Eton dropped his sword as he pulled his hand to his body and fell to his knees.

Fate threw the pendant she held to Dusk, who flashed a wicked grin. As it landed in the grand illusionist's hand, the sky changed colour and Aineas stepped through the cylinder he had created and turned to ashes almost instantly, the cylinder dissipating. Daphne was still using her shield to defend against the gargoyle, her other shoulder hampered by the embedded arrow. In spite of all this, she pointed at Dusk with Strand, Strand that Red Dog had never seen! It was something else, a relic.

"My oath is complete, betrayer!" As Daphne spoke, her shield broke and Kreios's claws finally found her. Then Dusk put a hand to her chest and fell to her knees. She curled up, apparently in a great deal of pain, then the tension in her body ended and she lay unmoving.

Natassa's bubble fell as she did, and the Watcher ran from within to his sister, whose torment he had watched. He placed his hands on her skin and Red Dog saw the Oracle's blind eyes cry. As sister and brother stood together, Red Dog ran from the chaos of the fight. He climbed a tree whose fingers reached into the source and then, like the branches of the tree, Red Dog reached into the collection of souls. He felt their power run through him like lightning. Anyone who was alive, present and could see Strand saw the source now as it coiled around the only one who could free it.

As the Strand joined to him, Red Dog repositioned his feet within the tree where he stood. He reached his hand out to his left, where he felt Strand long since lost. As he touched it, he understood, at last, at last, what Haven was. And when he saw it, he would have fallen from his tree if the Strand he touched had not started to lift him. He heard Fate yell from behind him as she ran to where he was disappearing from. He loved her more than anything but he understood what his life meant to the world now. He had finally come to understand what was most important! Freedom to him had always been significant, and redemption had been his goal. Until now he had never understood what any of that meant. But as the Strand accepted him, he felt Haven tear. Everything had come down to this.

• • •

As the shell above them cracked Ephraim looked up from his care of Eton and Eton's forcibly aged hand. Huge chunks of Strand that had so long been solid fell. Solid pieces of the prison that had so long surrounded the isles hit the ground with heavy thumps and thuds.

"Take cover!" Ephraim yelled as he sheltered the injured acrobat with his own arms.

Maia took the pendant from Dusk's still hand and created a great sphere, such as Ephraim had never seen. Beneath it, in its shelter, were the screaming and writhing remains of the group. The Watcher and Natassa were sheltered by the sphere too, though Natassa only just. Core was standing on the outside of the sphere when it was created, but he smiled that he had survived. Ephraim saw him and was grateful that he was safe. Then a huge section of the sky fell upon Core, ending him and making a dreadful mess of him.

Ephraim looked away and returned to look at Eton's gored hand. He heard Natassa pull the dagger from her back and Whisper moved to Silver.

"No!" Silver said, moving away from her brother. Ephraim watched as she smiled at her brother with great affection. "I love you brother," Silver said. She spoke as she fell from her seated position and lay flat on the grassy ground.

"Silver! What have you done? How could you? Come back to me! I need you! Silver!?"

Ephraim knew it was Whisper who yelled this. When he understood that she had taken death upon herself so Red Dog could live, he returned his focus to Eton's hand. It looked more like Than's hand - the flesh upon it had so aged that it had began to decay. There was nothing he could do for the acrobat but he sat with him and endured the horror of what had happened to him and tried to find something he could do to comfort him.

"It was an honour, Watcher," Natassa said as she softly laid herself upon the grass. The Watcher on the other side of the dome turned to see her bleeding on the grass. Zara ran to Natassa and sought to see what she could do. Her efforts were no more effective than those of the Watcher.

• • •

Fate dodged the parts of the top of the world as they fell.

"Red Dog, come down please!" Fate yelled as she started climbing the tree he had climbed. She could not access her ability without a pendant and all those were under the sphere that she was locked out of. She jumped from the tree as another huge piece of the grey sky fell. She avoided it narrowly! It sat sharp and upright where it had landed like a jagged chunk of glass, pointing up to the skies it had come from.

"Red Dog!" Fate yelled this to the blur of vibrant colour that was fast bleeding into the blackness. "Please?! Come back!" Fate screamed this now as she jumped and tried to reach at him. The Strand ignored her however. No matter how much she screamed or cried, it continued to twist and coil further from her. There was no tree to climb now. No ability to use to get to him. As the Strand left its prison, Fate felt herself draining, becoming weaker. She could not even see Red Dog now.

• • •

He died slowly. Gracefully. He did not fight it. It was time. Time to rest. At last. As he died however, he felt the enchantment preventing his power weaken, and he took his hands from within his sister's hands quickly.

"I die too brother. I knew I would find my completion here." Maia spoke this as she slipped her hands back to where his had been.

"Just a moment longer sister," Taras said as he moved just outside her reach. He felt cruel. He understood that she had longed for death as much as he had. They had both lived far too long and seen too many things they should never have seen, yet he needed her for a moment longer. He had killed Red Dog for fear of what the end would mean. If he had only known this was the end... the people behind him were young, they needed to live. They needed to tell the world what they had done, and why. The world needed to know how they had found their freedom and what had been lost in order to have it. So he died first. He had come to be more dependent on his ability than even she was. He had been dead for far longer that she had, anyway.

• • •

Zara sat crouched on the bloodied ground as the solid parts of the sky thundered against the great dome above them. Leon could hardly see any humanity in her. She had lost her love: Kleos had died before the fight had even begun. Leon's own love was within the swamp, under a feeble roof. He was horrified by the carnage around him. They had lost so much for freedom from the Guild. Why had he agreed to join them in this madness? Death surrounded him, and so many more innocents would die, for power. He was a fool! He had the love of a queen and he should have taken her to some distant city so they could live their life together there! Far away from all of this! He had loved more women than he could count but there was only one he had ever fallen for. He had thrown happiness away for justice and as he looked around him, he saw how naive that had been. There was no justice here! There was only more and more suffering, and so much death! The final pieces of the sky began to fall as the dome failed. So the Oracle was dead too. Everything that mattered was gone now. The cartographer looked up to the sky.

It was black! Lights too far away to touch twinkled within it. Giant fluffy things floated there and hid some of the more flirtatious sparkling lights. Leon had never seen anything like it. His loathing and anger remained but he was astounded too, now, at what he saw. Was this what Dusk had hidden from them all?

• • •

Red Dog had never been alone for she had always had Vehemence... and before that Bayen - but she had always felt lonely. Despite how much she fought Vehemence and how badly she had wanted a body of her own, it was his voice that called to her, and like the dog she was created to be - she followed.

"I chose you." Red Dog saw Vehemence when he spoke. He looked more like Deliverance than himself, but unlike Deliverance, who had never appeared as a colour, Vehemence stood before her as a wispy, man-shaped collection of glowing, flame-red Strand.

"You left me!" Red Dog spoke this as more of a question than an exclamation and then she saw Vehemence run his hand through his hair. This time however, she did not feel their hair between their fingers as he did. He was not a part of her any more. Despite that he 'stood' before her - he was gone.

"I never left you Red. I chose to save us all." As Vehemence spoke this last sentence a figure appeared beside him. She looked like Hanna, and as Red Dog thought this, the image of his dear friend Hanna appeared on the other side of Vehemence. Behind her, Red Dog saw a face he thought he knew - it looked like Blaze. But that face was gone as fast as it had appeared.

"If you had never crossed paths with my Jason, his tormented soul would have been wild forever." The woman who had first appeared spoke this, and Red Dog knew this to be Jason's or Vehemence's mother, and his wandering attention settled on this woman. This woman had forgiven her son of the worst crime a man could commit, the crime that had left him carrying so much guilt. The guilt that had started him on the journey to restore his humanity.

"You could forgive the son who murdered you?" Red Dog spoke this with tears in the eyes of her borrowed body.

"It was not my son who murdered me. It was his masters and their brutal game. I knew that when I died... just as I knew my lost son when I saw him." The spirit of Jason's mother spoke this without hurt or fear, or even regret. More significant than that however was this: she spoke with affection.

"If my mother would or could have told me who she was before she died, rather than when she was dying - everything would have changed," Vehemence said, and reached his hand out to Red Dog. Red Dog looked at the extended hand and then to the man who proffered it.

"Where else would you go?" Vehemence asked, and Red Dog felt herself smile. "Besides that... you know how absurd it is for pieces of torn Strand to live within a human vessel. You have seen how Leto lives as pieces of many things and all of nothing... that's not a fate you need suffer."

This time when Vehemence spoke, Red Dog looked him directly in the eyes.

"Fate," Red Dog said, still gazing into the eyes of the man who had saved her life once before. She had fought with him for control of the one thing they both wanted, but in truth he was the only friend she had ever known. That made her smile as she looked into the Strand representation of his eyes. "Destiny," added Red Dog, feeling the rise within her of a power that she had never known before. "I have never believed in destiny. I have always known that I choose my own path." Red Dog glanced to Jason's mother.

Red Dog then looked to Hanna who had been like a mother to her when she had never known anything of parenthood. But more than that, Hanna had helped Vehemence find his humanity. Despite what she had just said she knew that if everything had not happened as it did, the source would have never been free. But she knew that while the pure Strand left the falling sphere to the awaiting freedom, it was as much fortune as circumstance and choice that had brought her here. If 'destiny' was a truth, then she had no choice, and whatever she did was already done. She remembered why Fate believed in destiny, but more important was that she knew why _she_ did not. And as she thought this, she took hold of Vehemence's glowing, tangled thread hand.

# Chapter Nineteen

## Broken

Remnants of the broken sky stood upright in the scarred earth. Ephraim sat under where the Oracle's dome had been, where those within its protection were circled by huge chunks of Haven that had slid down the side of the dome. It was finally quiet! The thundering of the falling pieces and the screaming of the wounded and dying were over at last! It was quiet enough to hear Zara's sobbing, only a few metres from where Leon sat. Kreios the gargoyle was motionless after his ferocity. He sat like a dog with his bloody claws between his feet. It took Ephraim a while to realise that he was stone now, and yet it was night. Eton had passed out some time ago from the pain in his hand. Whisper held his sister's unmoving body, tears scratching down his face as he rocked her body in his arms. Fate and Red Dog had been outside the dome when the Oracle had cast it, and he could not see them now. Everyone else was dead. He had seen death before... but he could only guess how many people had died this night. What had it been for, really? Had they really saved the world, or had they doomed it?

Ephraim stood. He stood above the carnage that had not been protected by the dome. The Oracle and the Watcher were dead. Ephraim could not count the times he had either been lost or had lost. The first time he left the Guild... the loss of his ability... the loss of Dolour... all that remained was ruin. And now his world reflected his loss. Finally... he walked. He walked past fallen friends and enemies. The shattered pieces of Haven prevented him from going further, however. For a time, he just stood and looked at those pieces of the broken sky. After his period of wondering, he reached out and touched it. It felt real... and cold. He pushed against the section of Haven he stood closest to until it snapped and fell and with great care he stepped onto it, then walked to the tree where he had last seen Red Dog. Most of the Guild forest trees were splintered and shattered... a combination of the violent force from falling sky and the unrelenting wind. The world was not free, it was ruined. And Red Dog was not there.

He heard something, however, and as he walked toward it his eyes explained it. A piece of the shattered sky was shaking as if it were alive. Ephraim approached it gently and at his touch, it moved and Fate looked up from under it. She was bloodied and shaking violently and her eyes were angry and red from crying, but she was alive. With Fate's help, and with great difficulty, Ephraim lifted the piece of sky and offered Fate his hand. For a while she just looked at it, but then she took his hand and Ephraim did not let it go. She did however - she flung it as if she were a child refusing to accept her parents help and then looked at him with anger-heavy eyes. He could sympathise with her anger but they did not have the time to be impracticable... he could think of nothing to say to take her from her torment, even on the walk back to where the remnants of the group lingered. He did not have to hear Fate tell him that Red Dog was gone to know it - her anger had told him clearly enough. He walked back through the gap he had made in the sections of spiked sky around where the dome had been. A glance behind told him she was still following in spite of her anger.

When they were back with the others, Ephraim lifted the chain around his neck out from under his shirt with one finger. He grasped and then opened his memory artefact on that chain to see as he expected - that nothing happened. It was a well-made relic but the only value it had now was the silver it had been made from. If money still mattered he should have it melted down.

"How do we get home?" It was Ephraim who finally spoke.

"We can't get home," Leon said as he threw his memory artefact at Ephraim's feet.

"We were able to travel before we got these." Ephraim held up his memory artefact. "Where do we go?"

Leon looked at him with a malice that Ephraim had never seen in him.

"We can't leave!" Leon stood. "Don't you understand?" Leon stepped closer to Ephraim. "The Guild is on a floating island! We have to wait for it to fall. If we survive, we climb down the sheer face of the sides of the island, and then we walk blind!" Leon said this as if it were a threat.

Ephraim knew why Leon spoke like this: this was anger at himself, not Ephraim. He regretted leaving his love and he had lost his ability. Ephraim remembered losing his ability like it had only just happened. That raw, always hurting part of him would never heal.

"The island will not fall." This was Zara. Ephraim and Leon turned to face her. "Deliverance told me that all of these islands were floating before Haven was cast. No ropes, bridges or ladders join them. Those on the chain of islands are trapped, just as we are." Zara moved her feet from under her.

"We should bury our fallen." Fate spoke this without looking at the carnage around her.

"There is still wonder in the world. We need to use it to bring her back!" It was Whisper's voice that commanded this.

Ephraim looked at him. He saw a young man who was barely a man holding on to the only family he had. He could not find the words to tell Whisper that Silver was gone. Forever.

"She is not coming back and we are not going home! We all died to turn our world into hell! Everything is gone!" Leon spoke this to the group as much as he did to Whisper. But when Whisper had not moved, Leon moved toward the young man cradling his sister.

"She's gone limp! She's not coming back!" Leon said, taking hold of her wrist.

Within an instant Whisper had moved his sister from his lap and stood between Leon and her body. "My ability was never from anything other than what was already in me!"

Whisper's threat was understood, and Leon stepped back immediately.

"So hold her corpse for as long as you like! Hold it till it rots!" Leon yelled as he stepped away from Whisper. Whisper moved closer to him.

"Enough!" Ephraim yelled as he stepped between Whisper and Leon. The moment he did, he felt the fear of the position he was in. He was a leader, but he was not an adventurer like Whisper and Leon... and he had seen what they could both do without the addition of desperation and other emotions too heavy for them to manage.

"We are the only people we know! And we have been through too much to treat each other like this! We are on the best of the isles as we stand beside the great Guild! Let's see if we can find enough within to leave!"

When Ephraim spoke this, Whisper's fury did not leave Leon. Ephraim turned behind him to see the cartographer looking at him with equal malice.

"You'll never return to the queen if you don't try!" This was Zara.

Leon's gaze softened, then he severed the malice he shared with Whisper and walked away.

"We need each other. We have always needed each other." Fate spoke this into the ground where she crouched. She was speaking more of those they had lost than those who remained, but that was something Ephraim could work with.

"We live on when so many others do not! I don't intend to waste the life I have fought to retain!" Ephraim retrieved a sword at his feet that had been dropped during the fight, then looked toward the unconscious acrobat.

• • •

Screaming echoed through the streets as blood-stained people rushed through the city, aiding the wounded where they could. The woman wiped her bloody hands on her dress as she moved, knees shaking, through the streets.

"Help me!" she yelled to the man with her, who looked too worn out to even help himself. As she crouched to tend to a wounded boy in the street, however, the man behind her grasped what she had asked and lifted the huge chunk of whatever it was off the boy's leg. Beneath was more gore than expected, and she saw the man's face paling... she would not have thought it possible for it to be paler. He turned away from the boy as he vomited. She tore some of the unconscious boy's clothing and used that as a bandage to try and stop the bleeding. When she understood that she could not save the boy, she stood. Lost in her focus on her efforts, she had not realised the boy was dead.

"Chloe!"

The woman turned when she heard her name called. Paulos wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked like he was about to give up.

"I need a minute."

Chloe nodded at her husband's words. "Rest," she said bluntly. She would never make him help her... but she needed him. More than that was that she could not rest now. "I need to find him."

She turned, knowing her husband would feel wounded by her words, but his feelings did not matter. With dead, dying and wounded all around them, all that mattered was finding her son. Alive. It had been a long and cold night, and as she crouched at the foot of yet another poor soul who needed her help, she saw a splash of light on his face. She turned to see the sharp reflection of light from a nearby wind charm. Morning light had never been so piercing... especially this early! The older woman whom she had been helping pulled on her sleeve. She felt her clothes pull against her own wounds and almost cried out in pain. Instead, though, she turned, irritated, to face the woman.

"Wait." Chloe said this as sharply as she had been struck with the pain of her own wounds. She carried on helping the woman, however.

• • •

The Guild was the maze Ephraim remembered it to be. He looked into the darkness from the garden doors - the subdued lights on the walls that had prevented it from being in perfect darkness all this time were no more. He turned to the group behind him that had once been so strong. Whisper and Fate had chosen to stay behind, so Eton had been left in their care. They had little choice, just as it had not been by choice that Ephraim had removed Eton's hand. The memory of hacking wildly at his friend's arm would remain with him for the rest of his days. Just like the slaughter in the night... the sky falling... and when he had lost his abilities for the first time. Losing his abilities to the Guild seemed meaningless now, however, and he might die, just like so many other Guild members whose corpses would rot in the Guild they had never been able to leave. Life could have been different for him. He was not yet sure if he had survived yet... or if he wanted to. All he knew was that he lived.

Ephraim looked behind him to Zara and Leon; they looked as lost as Ephraim felt.

"We need light." When he had spoken this the duo behind him remained where they were. He growled under his breath before leaving the open doors and walking toward the two.

"Help!"

The call came from within the Guild building. When Ephraim heard it, he felt foolish for not having expected at least some of the Guild members to survive. Fate had survived too. Ephraim peered inside but within he could see nothing, nothing but more of the darkness that prevented him from entering. The dotted sky had lit his way beyond the Guild halls but he could not enter that blackness without something to light his way.

"Wait there!" Ephraim yelled past the doors and then turned to Leon and Zara behind him.

"Help me collect these fallen branches," Ephraim said, then began himself to gather up some of the many branches that lay on the battered ground.

• • •

The town's children were mostly asleep now. Callidora and her sisters had rescued all the children they could find in the night. Callidora had been caring for children since her parents had died, when she had become a parent to her sisters, a role that had never truly changed. Until last night that was, when, as she had started getting them to a safe place, her sisters had begun taking the town's children from those who were saving others. Instead of huddling together during the night, they had rescued and aided those within the city built to house the Faction. Callidora and her sisters had collected children of parents wounded, unconscious, absent or dead since the calamity. As the night progressed people had started asking Callidora and her family to take their children, so they could help others.

The calamity had ended hours ago, but the horror remained. The sky had fallen and no one knew why. Callidora had not slept and she was far too tired to think. Something bright caught her eye and she moved curiously through the now almost entirely ruined inn where the children rested. She moved with care so it took her longer than she liked. The light came from a broken section of wall, beyond which was the purest light she had ever seen. Its glorious appearance bathed the town in a disturbingly warm glow. The light of the morning had never been this warm, nor this bright! Callidora shielded her face and braced herself for another calamity. It did not come however... not yet. It was only then that she realised she was standing in the street alongside many other baffled observers. It was real, then.

"Is this what was behind the sky for so long?"

Callidora looked over at the bloodied man who had said this.

"Will the blackness come again tonight?" another woman wondered, as Callidora looked at the great vastness above them where the sky had fallen. She wiped at her face to realise that it was tears she was cleaning from her face: she was crying. And for that - she forgave herself. Hell had come to them last night and she had lived. And now this new thing... this light and darkness had been as beautiful as they were horrifying. She finally had a moment to let the emotions she had been holding back bubble to the surface and flow out naturally, as tears.

"Callidora!"

The healer turned her head but not her eyes to the speaker, as Chloe approached.

"Chloe," Callidora said in a tone as empty as she felt. She was as horrified as she was excited and these emotions left her empty and conflicted. All of that must have been reflected in her voice, for Chloe looked at her with sadness. She had blood on her hands, on the apron she wore, in her hair, on her knees... everywhere.

"Are you alright?" Callidora asked as she turned toward a person who had been her friend for as long as she could remember. When Chloe shook her head Callidora remembered what it was she had been intending say to her when they met again.

"Noe is safe."

When the healer had spoken this, her friend gained a burst of energy and ran to her.

"Where?" Chloe asked, all the failure and hopelessness disappearing from her face.

Callidora pointed into the old inn behind her. Chloe got close enough to touch her and then kissed her friend on her cheek. Callidora felt the tears from Chloe's eyes wet on her face as she ran into the broken building.

Callidora was happy to have reunited her friend with her family and watched her friend run into the building with a shadow of a smile. It was one of her truest friends too... but Callidora could not escape her own hurt for all those families who would never be reunited - she knew from experience that those stories would go untold. The deaths would be counted, arithmetically, as was practical, but the significance of the communities' loss could never be tallied. Worse for Callidora, though, was her thoughts about what had caused this to happen: was this an attack by the Guild? Callidora's abilities had not worked during the chaos and it had been a Faction city that had been targeted, after all. Also, memory artefact she had received from the hex breaking group no longer worked. It was broken from the attack, though she was still not sure how. She needed to know about it but Deliverance had not come when she had called. She had always sent someone who worked for her, at least.

• • •

Although the Guild walls were extraordinarily flat, the light from the burning cloth around the branches that Leon, Zara and Ephraim held did not seem to reflect from any surface within. Sections of the Guild had collapsed in when the Strand holding it together in the impossible way it had been built finally escaped.

Ephraim followed the gasping call for help to a part of the Guild that had caved in. Under the rubble was a young woman. Ephraim crouched to help her immediately but immediately realised that she was alive when she should not have been - her white jacket was soaked in her blood. Ephraim had never before seen a dirty Guild jacket: more proof that the world was over. He took a dagger from his belt and let the young woman see that he held it.

"Help me." The Guild member spoke this as Ephraim looked at her with a grim expression. She did not seem to understand, however.

"Forgive me but I cannot help you. I can offer you a quick death though." Ephraim showed her his dagger.

"Help me!" The woman yelled and grasped at Ephraim. He moved away from her.

"No one can help you," Ephraim said, and heard Zara behind him cry.

If this was anyone he loved he would not give them the choice, so he decided that he had to choose for her. There was no wonder, nothing impossible within the world now. There was only life and death and the young woman was already dead - he made it quicker for her to die and she was gone. Then he stood and touched Zara on the shoulder with all the affection he could find in himself; that was not much, but he hoped it was enough for her to continue. He needed her - she seemed to be the only one of the group who was still functional... or at least semi-functional.

When he gestured for them to leave she nodded and followed obediently. Leon followed too, with less enthusiasm, but he did follow, which was all Ephraim could really ask of him given the circumstances. But no! They were fools if they did not all think that they had something left to fight for! They were alive when so many others were dead! And they still had love to fight for! Leon still had his queen! Zara had grieved for her love a long time ago and it was not clear how he had been brought back to life, or why none within the group knew it. But she did seem to understand that he deserved to have his final rest. The others had lost people who could never be replaced - friends, loves and family - but this new world was theirs! They would come to understand that. He walked deeper into the collapsed building; behind him were the two heartbroken and traumatised people who had joined the group in two of the last increments. Fate should have been with him, too: she had joined Dolour only a few years after Ephraim had.

As they went in deeper, the darkness within the Guild swallowed them up. Fallen Guild members were all that remained. Those who could touch the Strand were rarely born but it was baffling to Ephraim that he could not find a living Guild member. Where were all those who had been in the garden? Some of them had looked young enough to have not yet developed a dependency on their ability.

Ephraim thought this and other, similarly sad thoughts, until he entered the Guild library, then the group began to separate as they searched through the great archives. Ephraim had grown up within these halls and he remembered playing within this great library for hours. He touched a place on the shelf near where he had walked. Once, he had hidden there to escape his lessons. This place had never been his home like the homes he knew when he left the Guild, but it had been wonderful and exciting, and an experience he would not trade. Not even for the family he never knew.

Fate had told him of the family he had been stolen from when she had worked out what the marks all Touched wore were; And he had watched them through the window of their little house. His parents had died long ago, as had his sister: he had outlived them all. His sister's children were grown, but he had decided that their lives did not need more complication. There were no lives that did, as far as he could tell. A lot of the coin he had earned went to them anonymously, however, and the thought of them made him smile. His hand had not moved from the empty shelf section that had been his hiding place so many years ago. This place on the shelf would always be empty - the books that should have been here seemed to be always on loan. He had never found out what books they were or who had removed them but they had been gone, as they were now, for as long as he could remember.

It was good to remember all of these things that made his time in a prison actually rather wonderful. It was the sound of Zara, speaking quietly, that returned him to the world he would rather not be in. He moved slowly to see her - but he saw more than he thought. She sat with a little girl who did not appear to be injured at all.

"It's going to be alright now. You just have to trust me. Take my hand," Zara said as she stood and, after a time, the girl took her hand. "Take me to the others," Zara continued as the girl stood.

As the girl started moving through the library, Ephraim followed behind Zara. He glanced around quickly but there was no sign of Leon. The Guild archives were enormous, though, so he was not surprised about that. The high shelves were not reachable by hand - commanded Strand brought any asked for books to the reader, though obviously that was not possible now.

The little girl led them to one of the many rooms within the archives. Flickering light emanated from within the room and when they got closer, Ephraim could see that the light was coming from the books they were burning so they could see. There was a small group of people who were... well, had been, Touched. Ephraim had expected them all to be children, but there was a variety of ages among them and there were more than Ephraim had expected. There may have been a much more simple explanation to be had, since they were all wearing Guild jackets. They would never have to tell them that they had broken the sky... the sky that Ephraim had only assumed was Haven. There were more than twenty of them... and they looked utterly terrified.

• • •

They took the small group and the plans Leon had found back outside the Guild. Death and jagged pieces of Haven were still present but it was much safer than making a fire within the dark, low-ceilinged Guild. He felt nothing now. He could try all he wanted, but his connection with the world had been broken. He was just a man now. He stood, and for a while he did not move. It was dizzying not to feel everything. He did not know how he would move without the feeling of the world moving around him. He was hollow, and the memory of the only woman he had truly loved could not fill the void inside him. Kassiopeia could not have survived! He should have snatched a pendant from one of the group and gone to her, he should have been with her when she died! Now there was only the group who had brought them together... and their plans to leave the Guild they had destroyed - at the cost of everything. The cost of her...

The conversation of the group was just fog. He heard them speak of the plans with expectation, and he heard their surprise that Leon's findings could be their way home. Leon had no home. It was so dark. The usual grey ceiling of the world was black tonight. Despite the blackness however, a silver ball illuminated the forest floor where he was now seated. It and some dots within the blackness glowed like the lights within the Faction: steady and constant - nothing like a fire that flickered and snapped. Was this their 'thank you' for the Strand's freedom? A glowing ball for all the chaos and death... Whatever Strand was, or if it had been freed, Leon would never know. The only man who could have answered at least some of those questions was gone.

Despite his numbness and the mental fog filling his world, Leon heard the young man beside him wake. It had been hours since Eton had lost consciousness. They had found no medicine within the Guild, nothing to cure his torment, and he would soon feel the devastating pain from where his arm had been burned to stop him from bleeding to death. What, Leon wondered, had they done to help the wounded before they had Strand to guide their healing hands? Leon was no healer. He knew of herbs that aided such cases, but he had not enough knowledge to give any aid to Eton now. So as the young man woke Leon could only watch him suffer. Worse than that, though, was seeing him look upon his handless arm.

• • •

"Pat, pat, pat, pat..." The woman spoke this as the beat of the song she sang over and over again. She had no idea how long she had been in there. She thought she had heard yelling at one point but now, all she knew was that the room she was in had a floor too hard to dig and walls too strong to break. There was a part of the floor above her that had collapsed and crashed into her room but it had not left enough of a gap for her to squeeze through. It only let in the water that made the dull pattering sound that she mocked with a voice that was too tired to speak. No light got in. That might have been because it had been night the whole time she had been there, but she had slept and she had woken and she felt her hunger growing as time passed. That was how she measured time. By the water pattering on the stone and the pain that made her squeeze at her tummy in an attempt to alleviate it. It did not. But she still squeezed it and said 'pat, pat, pat, pat' at the relentless impacts of those plump drops. She did not know where all this water was coming from but she had thought about it filling her room, something that might well happen if the house had fallen into the mud. Or perhaps she was already dead. These thoughts circled within her head and then came falling back to the room she was trapped, to that 'pat, pat, pat'. She crawled along the muddy, cold floor to where the drops pattered on stone, then sat under the drops, so the sound ended.

She felt peace at last, as she always did when she sat under those drops. No more noise. All was calm and peaceful. It was only a moment later, however, that she felt them hammering onto the same spot on her back. The relentless 'pat, pat, pat' was now a physical poke that made her eyes twitch involuntarily.

"PAT, PAT, PAT, PAT, PAT!" She yelled this up at the fallen floor above her in a voice that sounded even more pained than it felt as she forced the words from her sore throat. She moved from under the interminable drops and lay with her face pressed against the cold stone. She cried there, heavy sobs that sounded as much an expression of her insanity as they did of her torment. She did not know how long she lay there but it was long enough for her to regain sufficient sensation in her skin to feel the cold again. Long enough for her to stop and long enough to hear those drops fall more than 50 times. Strange memories were muddled within thoughts of those fat drops, and through that and broken thoughts she realised she had slept. Maybe only for a minute, maybe for an entire day, but she was awake again, to her horror. She did not want to be awake.

Those thoughts were abandoned, however, the moment she heard something. Was it a sound that had woken her? She wriggled across the wet, cold stone floor to get as close to the fallen section of the floor above as she could.

"Kassiopeia?"

On hearing her name, she looked up.

"I told you to leave me!" Kassiopeia said with as much conviction as she could fake. "Stop calling for me and let me die!" This time she sobbed. It was cruel enough that the fat water drops would not leave her be and now this strange voice had returned to further her torment.

"Get away from the walls!" said the strange voice.

This time Kassiopeia put her hands over her ears. She began to sing the beat of the drop song while pushing her hands against her ears as hard as she could. In spite of her efforts a loud banging made its way into her head. With the help of her elbows she sat up, her hands still against her ears. Light forced her closed eyes to open and she was rewarded with the sight of a face she did not know. Light shone from the hole in the wall they had made and it was the hands belonging to the face she did not know that lifted her from her prison. She was lifted into the light, and saw a face she knew among all the unfamiliar faces. And when she saw that face, she looked right into the eyes of Lysandra. It must have been Lysandra who she had told to leave her! It was Lysandra's voice who had spoken to her for so long before she had left... and then she had come back to save her!

She was safe at last! She closed her eyes and allowed the strong man to carry her from the place she had once called a home. Then she slept.

• • •

Ephraim had led the small group from within the Guild walls to the outside, where many of his friends and enemies had only recently died... the space was open and it was far safer than the great building that had been held together by Strand. If there were more survivors within, he did not have the courage to find them. Ephraim was a stronger man after losing his ability, but he was not a 'hero', he knew that. He had gone into the Guild to save himself and by doing so he may have made his chances of survival slimmer. He wanted to think about those he led out of the Guild, but he could not think, let alone save anyone else, if he were dead. They had made a little camp, seen to the wounded and ate all that remained of the food they were carrying. The fire did not warm them and a cold wind whistled past them, dragging with icy claws at any naked or poorly covered skin.

They were stranded, hungry, tired and bitterly cold, and night had only just fallen. Ephraim rocked himself to keep warm, as did many of the others. He looked at Eton, who was still pale and looked as if he might soon die. Movement behind the young man made Ephraim stand to look, and all those around him or those still awake to see him, looked where he did. It looked like a man and as Ephraim looked into the darkness he saw that it was not a man, it was a hallucination! Was he that tired? But as he looked he turned to the group again and saw their shock and confusion too. When he turned to face the man again he had come close enough to the light for Ephraim to see his face. As Ephraim realised what he saw he ran toward the man, stepping over people as he went.

"I thought you..." The moment Ephraim said this, he heard someone run up from behind him and push carelessly past him, causing him to stop speaking abruptly.

"Vehemence!" Fate said clearly.

"I am not Vehemence. I am Jason... and I am pleased to meet you." The man certainly did look like Vehemence.

"Jason?" The look on Fate's face echoed the confusion in her voice. "I know you, Jason!" Fate reached a hand toward the man she claimed to know but he stepped back from her.

"You have never met me before. You'll have to trust me on that." Jason offered his hand for Fate to shake. Confused, she took his hand and shook it.

This Jason, as he called himself, offered his arm to Fate who, with teary eyes, accepted it and allowed him to walk her the short distance back to their too-small camp fire.

"You did not see where Deliverance went did you?" Fate asked timidly.

"She let go of herself and gave us the sky. It was always there, behind Haven." Jason spoke this clearly and seemed to be trying to hide the sadness on his face. "Blaze wanted me to thank you for everything. He told me that I was needed now more than ever."

"Then it is he who we have to thank for your return." It was Ephraim who spoke this clearly, but the smile on Fate's face showed that she would have said it if he had not.

• • •

He felt something hard in her pocket. It was through blurry eyes that he looked at what he had taken from his dead sister. A flute. The flute. This is what had destroyed their lives and taken them so far from home. He drew a deep breath and put the flute to his trembling lips. If there was any reason to the world it would bring her back to life. He played the tune that he had learned through the legend of the flute. When Silver did not move, he closed his eyes and played for her life. He heard voices and opened his eyes. Before him were ten white, winged horses! He felt himself give in to helplessness. The last of impossible things was music. But that had not brought to him the only thing he wanted, life returned. It was a solution to their survival however... so at least it was something. He felt hopelessness taking hold, though, anyway.

"Horses! That's how we can get out of here!" Ephraim exclaimed this as he ran toward them. "These horses are healthy and strong! They would rival Pegasus himself! Where did they come from?"

Whisper held up Euterpe's flute. He looked up to where Ephraim had been standing to see Vehemence. Perhaps the flute had brought him back? Silver had died for him? Having him alive was small consolation but it was a start.

# Chapter Twenty

## Heroes and men

After great dispute, an agreement finally came to pass that wherever they would go, the Faction city would be their first destination. The women and children of the Guild survivors would go first accompanied by the seven remaining members of the hex breaking group. The Guild survivors needed a safe place and what remained of the group needed to know who of their friends were still alive; also, the seven knew the outside world, unlike those within the Guild.

Survival was their first priority and from Leon's understanding of the distance they would have to travel, the journey to the Faction city would take one and half weeks there and one week a back, as they would leave the Guild island with two riders to each steed. The ascent to the Guild island would be a hard one too: a winged horse would not make it alone so they would each need a rider to take them back to the Guild, and the horses might well need rest between attempts. Also, knowing where to reach the Guild would be impossible without markers and other such aids that would take time to set up. It was not as easy as opening a memory artefact any more. But after the longest argument the group had endured together, they finally agreed that this was their best plan of action. Ephraim knew, though, that Leon would escape to his queen at the first opportunity.

When all had finally been arranged, they began deciding who would leave first. There were only ten winged horses in all and with the Guild members they had found they would have to make multiple trips with experienced riders... although not one of them had any experience of riding winged horses.

• • •

The journey had been long and tiresome for both the riders and their mounts, but all they had suffered came to end when they came upon the Faction city they had helped build. It was late at night when they approached but even so late, lights burned from both rebuilt and ruined houses. Leon could not imagine how, but that must mean that some of the people within the Faction city lived! Signs of life guided his landing to the town square... well, what remained of the town square, and the ten winged horses made their landings more or less together. The horses had walked most of the way and only taken to flight again over the swamp. Although extraordinary at flying, they appreciated being on the ground for the rest that came with it. The noise of their landing brought some faces from within the buildings near the town square. The remaining seven members of the hex breaker company dismounted from their horses as the thirteen Guild survivors dismounted too. Ephraim then helped the young boy he had brought with him from the horse.

Before Leon could assist the woman behind him to get off their horse, he heard voices and turned to see that the group was now surrounded by people who had run from their houses to see what the commotion was. Before events could escalate, however, a man from the crowd brought all attention on himself.

"Vehemence!" He looked at Jason with awe and delight and Jason bowed his head deeply.

"We have come from the Guild of impossible things." It was Ephraim who spoke this and his words gained a great deal of attention and excitement. Leon was grateful that Jason had not yet corrected the crowd about who he was.

"You're all alive?"

The group heard a voice they knew and all turned to see Chloe. She was looking among them, trying to see the others of their group. Fate stepped forward and hugged her.

"Not all of us are alive."

Leon was only just close enough to hear Fate saying that to Chloe, but the two women was not his first concern. He looked into the small gathering of people.

He cared for her more deeply than he had thought he could ever care for another person. Deeper, even, than he cared for himself. That understanding had broken him as much as knowing he would never see her again. That was when he knew the sky he saw was the roof of the world. And just as the false sky had fallen, he saw her! She was dirty, weathered and weary, but there she stood among the crowd, and there was hopelessness in her eyes where wonder had been. She who was the queen of the capital had become the ruler of his heart. He could hardly believe what he felt on his face now, but then he knew the sight of her made him cry. He had used women like they were his playthings, there for his amusement whenever he wanted. He was never unkind, though, or even lacking in affection and care. And he had loved. But before his queen, he had never been _in_ love. Nor had he ever felt that incredible power control him as it did now. The sight of _her_ made his heart stop. He had felt empty without the power he had lived his life around, but _she_ lived, so he had everything!

Leon pushed gingerly past two people near him and she looked at him, and in an instant he saw the light return to her eyes. In that moment he knew that she would never need to tell him she loved him. He knew then that he was the love of her life, just as she was his.

• • •

It took a few hours for old friends, even old enemies and strangers, to connect and reconnect. Before Haven fell, there had been nearly two thousand people within the city... now there were barely hundreds. All who lived were exceedingly fortunate and despite the sombre atmosphere and all that they had lost, all present were aware of their good fortune. They ate with the other survivors and then the last of the hex breaking group shared stories of their survival and of their past.

At some point Leon and Kassiopeia had left. Eton did not know when, but he knew they had been intentionally sneaky about it. He rubbed at his aching wrist where his hand used to be and Callidora saw him... or at least he assumed so, for when he looked up, her attention was on him. He smiled nervously; the worry upon her face remained, however.

"We all made sacrifices to save the world," said Eton. He felt Zara beside him move so close to him that she was touching him and turned to look at her directly, only to see that she had fallen asleep some time ago. That was an extremely pleasant distraction from the conversation that was soon to be - the one about his hand. He did not want anyone to know that it still burned sometimes as if his hand were still rotting on the end of his arm.

"Someone needs to help Zara to her bed I'd think. On that I..." Before Ephraim, who was obviously watching them, could even finish his sentence, Callidora interrupted him.

"There is a warm place for you to all sleep. It's not entirely clean but it's a far better alternative to floor and cold I'm sure you'll see." Callidora spoke to Ephraim but then she looked back at Eton's hand. He knew it was concern and kindness that she acted from... but he really had no desire to speak of it. It was hard enough not thinking about it.

"Lysandra, would you mind checking on my little Noe while I help Zara?" Chloe said.

Eton looked at Lysandra to realise she had been staring at Jason. She nodded sharply then quickly stood and walked from the group. Eton looked at Jason to see that his attention was on Fate, as it had been for most of the night. Whatever combination of Red Dog and Vehemence he was, it seemed he had already made up his mind about who he desired. Eton could not help but feel the strangeness of everything. Haven had finally been broken, the last of the great hexes broken and their ancestors and friends had finally been freed! And yet it felt like some things had not changed.

There was still a great deal to be done. There were those still stranded on the Guild island... cities to rebuild... and the queen had yet to reclaim her throne. The differences of their backgrounds and skills would never be more evident that they were now. Eton was new to the group but he knew that some of them had been together their whole lives, and by choice or circumstance, that would or had already changed. He himself had lost Core, who had been in the circus with him since they were both little, until Core left to make something better of himself. That did not work out for him, though, and he had become a bandit out of necessity and stubbornness. When or how he had found Whisper, Eton did not know. What he did know was that Whisper was the only link to the man who had been like a brother to him. Whisper had no link to his sister, though. Eton could not imagine living like that.

"Are you coming?"

Eton realised Ephraim was speaking to him. He looked around him - the others had already gone. He felt too foolish to speak so he nodded dumbly, stood and followed Ephraim to the beds they had been offered.

• • •

Sunlight entered the room, seemingly invited by the curtain someone had intentionally opened. It had been tied neatly and it disappointed him that someone thought they had to do that to wake the group. Hardly subtle... or much of a kindness, especially seeing as the group had travelled so long to bring survivors of the Guild to somewhere they would be safe. He had seen last night that nothing was like it had been before Haven was shattered. Clearly they resented him for his role in it... that he had survived when he should have died. Silver had saved him so he could save all of them and Vehemence had given up his individuality to join the source to save him. He took Vehemence's hand to see if he could still do what Vehemence's body had been born to do. But now that he knew he was the only person who could find the other Havens... Their world was now free, but there were other worlds that needed him... needed the power that only he could use. He no longer knew who he was, though he had expected to take Vehemence into his own body - making the whole as they had never been.

That had not happened. He was torn and ripped parts of Vehemence and all the loose ends of Strand that Red Dog had been made from. He was the man with a broken soul who could mend the soul of others. He was a monster, but he had saved them all, and his mother had forgiven him. He sat up in his makeshift bed and cracked his neck. As he did, he saw Whisper sitting in the corner of the ruined room. He sat with a bow across his lap and looked at Jason as he sat up. If he were to die right now he wondered what would happen to his tattered soul.

"She's gone and it's my fault." Jason spoke with a feeling that he did not feign. She had saved them all.

"She chose," Whisper said as he stood. He bowed his head to Jason and the left the room.

Jason sat in his bed for a time. He thought that was to be his end, but through his guilt, Whisper knew his sister had indeed chosen. It would have dishonoured her sacrifice and her spirit if Whisper had not known that she chose.

Jason ran a hand through his hair. It was still early and, looking around him, he could see that most of the others were still sleeping. Alexandra lay against the wall almost strangled by her blanket. He could only imagine the sort of nightmares that would find her. Her ability was gone but she would always remember what she saw in the darkness.

Jason pulled on his pants and then his shirt. He took the bag beside his bed that he had packed the night before and left the room. The winged horses had been tied under a shoddy roof not far from the room where they had slept. He reassured the first animal he reached, and then started trying to take her up, still reassuring the waking animal.

"You ass!"

Alexandra's insult startled the horse enough for it to move far enough away from him to stop his efforts. He looked behind him to see her wearing the coat he had left behind and some worn pants she must have found. Why she did not take her own clothing, he did not know.

"You're about to leave, as you always do! No consideration for others. Did you even think about it?" Alexandra did not move as she spoke, only crossed her arms and furrowed her brow.

"I can't take you to a world I may not even survive to reach! You deserve a life of your own." Jason spoke this gently, but as shredded segments of memory reminded him, being too gentle with her would only make her angrier.

"I already accepted that life!" Alexandra stepped forward. She uncrossed her arms and threw them by her side, and for a moment all he saw was hurt on her face. Then she regained her standpoint and he saw her reach for her anger again.

"It's not something I can ask of you," said Jason, and saw her anger double. He had not been expecting that so he was sure he showed her his shock in response.

"You can't choose for me! And since when have I ever avoided danger?" she yelled.

Jason was distracted by Whisper who had walked toward the shameless early morning yelling.

"You can't choose for me either." This was Whisper.

Jason found himself falling further into confusion. Alexandra, however, nodded to Whisper's point. Jason was not sure she knew what he was talking about... he certainly did not.

"You always think that because you can't choose your own path that you can choose the path for others! All of us have had choices made for us in some way! Fighting our own inevitability only hurts ourselves and those who love us. You're a blood-linker Jason. The last."

Alexandra's words initiated thoughts Jason had never found within his head before.

"What's going on?" asked Callidora. She had made her way to the commotion, too.

Alexandra looked at the ground, as she did when she felt guilty.

"He was leaving us. Again." Alexandra looked directly at Jason with smouldering anger.

"So you scream at him just as the sun is rising and wake up half of the city?" Callidora asked soothingly, as if she were speaking to an overexcited child.

Alexandra did not seem to like that. At all. Jason himself thought Callidora's actions as shameless as Alexandra's had been.

"Forgive me for waking up the city we helped save so I could stop him from leaving!" Alexandra spoke in the pointedly level tone that serves to emphasise sarcasm.

Callidora's face showed clearly that she knew stepping between two lovers had been her mistake. When she realised what she had done, and the pointlessness of being between two lovers... or two who had been lovers, she stepped back and lowered her head submissively. Jason did not know what she knew of the two of them.

"What danger?" Whisper asked of Jason and, ruptured the tension between the two women.

Jason realised that they really did all deserve the choice to go with him or not. After all, they had been with him regardless of how many times he had left them. He felt guilt at that and took a breath before he spoke.

"There was more than one Haven." The moment Jason said this, he saw Alexandra's anger dissipate.

"I can help you!" She stepped toward him as she spoke.

Jason could not deny that she had specific skills. Let alone how much he cared for her.

"You would want to join me?" Jason said this before he realised how foolish he sounded.

"Not just me," Alexandra said as she gestured to Whisper, who nodded. "The others should be able to choose too."

"But those stranded on the Guild island need our help first." It was Ephraim who spoke this, stepping out from behind a broken wall.

Jason did not know how long he had been standing there; he had not heard him over Alexandra's yelling, nor could he smell him over the swamp. Ephraim's interjection ended their argument, however, and while Jason put the winged horse's saddle back to where he found it, Callidora bade them to follow her to her own breakfast area... hers and that of the orphan children she now cared for.

• • •

It was not long before what remained of the hex breaking group and their allies were awake. They ate from what remained of the city's supplies, and talked.

"Is it even possible to get to these other Havens with just our flying horses?" Eton asked, after he had spooned a little of the broth into his mouth.

Leon could not blame him. They were all dreadfully hungry after their short and interrupted sleep.

"I don't know," said Jason, shrugging.

"How do we find them?" Fate asked this with what sounded like a sore throat, which was not too surprising after her outburst.

"Perhaps there is something in the Guild?" Jason shrugged again.

"The half collapsed Guild?" This was Leon.

He looked as defensive as Ephraim felt. Ephraim was old now, he knew. He had lived a long lifetime of adventure and excitement and it felt like this was a good time for him to rest in one place. He knew what he could and could not do without his ability. It scared him... but he knew his limitations. And he knew he was not a hero. At least, not that type of hero.

"Yes... that Guild." Jason said this as if it did not frighten him. That bothered Ephraim.

"After we have rescued those on the Guild island, I would like to return to my city." Kassiopeia spoke this, as Ephraim knew she would.

"I will be going with our queen," Leon said, just as all those present knew he would. There was a silence after he had spoken, however.

"I'm with you," Whisper said to Jason, and Ephraim saw Eton nod defiantly.

"If you won't mind an acrobat with one hand, I want to help you find the other Havens." Eton spoke this clearly, and Jason nodded.

"I want to stay with the city, and care for my son," Chloe said, and Paulos beside her nodded fervently.

"My place is in the city." Lysandra spoke this as she glanced at Fate who, by where she sat, beside Jason - and with the argument that woke them all - had already made her position clear.

"I want to go with you, Jason," said Zara.

Ephraim felt his eyebrows raise and promptly dropped them. That was the only surprise he had encountered this morning... other than Fate waking him up. After a time, he realised the group were looking at him.

"I would like to join the queen and rebuild the capital, if there is anything left of it," Ephraim said, and looked to Queen Kassiopeia to see her smile. That was another thing he had not expected this morning.

"Wait, I'd like to go to the capital too! We'll be rebuilding a city in any place we go, might as well be somewhere safe... and not a swamp," Chloe said and looked apologetically at Callidora.

Callidora had made her position clear many times before when the group had tried to get her to join them. Her home was always with her people.

"Perhaps we should take everyone to the capital." Callidora sounded like she was asking a question, and Kassiopeia nodded.

"I can imagine we'd need all the help we can get, but we don't know what state the city is in." Kassiopeia spoke this kindly, making it clear that all were welcome in her city despite the unknowns. If all they had was ruins, it would be ruins with fields and forests rather than sinking ruins in a swamp.

The conversation then became more specific about their plans, and all Ephraim could think of was a new start. A fresh start. Despite the horror, there was still good in the world and while the group would most probably be going to a city steeped in chaos and danger, there would at least be food - even if they could not go into the city.

• • •

It had taken them months of their life to have survivors of the Guild and the Faction standing together. No one could deny that the Guild had been created to control and protect people with abilities, but it had been done more for the peace of all those who lived on the isles than for any other reason.

Fate had murdered and captured her own kind - those with abilities at the command of the Guild. That was the price they paid for being born able to do the impossible. Fate had never seen the Guild as evil, she had seen them as a source of order and restraint upon those who could do anything. She had never truly understood why the Guild should have been destroyed. Those within the Guild had no mothers or fathers - they were raised in communities of other children by wet nurses and teachers. Hanna had been like a mother to her and she had told Fate about the Faction, which was why she had joined - for the greater good. It was shortly after she joined the Faction that she met Deliverance. Deliverance seemed to be older than time - she had always known that Deliverance knew something she did not, so she had spent her life trying to discover what it was. When Fate finally knew how and why to destroy the Guild, she understood why the Faction had been created. And now that trapped souls were freed, so was she... just like many others. The war was over now, and all that remained of her feelings for the Guild and the Faction were gone. Neither existed any more. They were all refugees now.

She felt Jason's hand on her shoulder and looked up to see a curious expression on his face. He was all she had ever known him to be... except tormented... and conflicted. He seemed to be all of Red Dog and Vehemence as one complete entity, and that whole soul loved her more than any of those torn parts.

They had all woken quite late that day. Most only left the warmth and comfort of their cheap and dirty beds as the last of the sun's rays painted the ceiling of the world in subdued tones of purple and orange. As the light had faded they lit a fire-pit that had been built from the strange swamp trees around them. The wood was not entirely dry and so a less than desirable smell emanated from the damp, smouldering sections of every branch and trunk that blazed sporadically.

They deserved this long awaited rest. Bonds with strangers had been made over the lengthy journey and those from the Faction and Guild had freely offered to join those on their way back to the Guild. So the drinks they shared when they woke were not all with the huddled strangers they had rescued from the Guild, or with the underground dwellers of the Faction who had built their own city on the treaty Vehemence had somehow had the Watcher forge between the Guild and the Faction. When the Faction city had been built, they had established farms of those strange mushrooms that had grown underground. These had been cultivated after Haven's fall... along with other delights, such as the fermented drink the survivors now drank.

"To freedom!" This was Leon.

Fate looked up and saw his raised wooden cup. Freedom... that was something she would always raise her cup to, now that she knew the elation of it. And as she raised her cup so did Lysandra, Chloe, Ephraim, Kassiopeia, Jason, Zara, Callidora, Paulos, Eton, then finally Whisper, among members of the Faction and the Guild who were gathered around them.

"And to the beginning of the new kingdom." It was Ephraim, with his cup still raised who spoke. Those around him lifted their cups again, just as Fate did.

"It's a dream to have us all together at last!" Chloe said with a croaky voice, and coughed. She had been sick for weeks, thanks to the explorations of her almost three year old Noe - he had been getting his hands onto and into everything. Paulos put his hand on her empty hand as she spoke this. Somehow, he was not at all ill, which is why he had been taking care of Noe... and everything else his wife would have been doing otherwise. So although free from illness, he had dark lines around his eyes.

"You remind me of the time we met." Jason spoke this while looking at Chloe and Paulos. Fate saw light in their tired eyes.

"I would have spent my life, however short, with an evil man who had twisted my mind." Chloe laughed as she spoke. "And if it had not been for Dusk and her constant meddling..."

All those present knew why her words trailed off there. Dusk had helped them all, in her own way. Fate's memory of the whole battle was as sharp as it was dull. She remembered seeing Dusk coiled in pain and then motionless. She had to have known that she would die in that battle. She had been called the betrayer of all Touched by the person who had truly betrayed her own kind. The woman Fate had met was not blameless but by then she was too far tormented by her ability and her past to know anything of who she was. The mood of the conversation made Fate aware that their fallen was not a topic she should raise. The others around her seemed to feel the same way. Fate saw the guilt on Chloe's face... and felt hurt for her.

"Jason you should play something for us." Fate looked at the man beside her, with whom she had become as intimate as she ever had been.

He ran a hand through his hair and must have been aware that she was asking him to lighten the mood. He had been interested in the strange musical instruments since he had first encountered them within the Faction. In private he had become quite good, when they were still living in the Oracle's house; and every time they returned to the ruins of the Faction city he got better still. Finally, he nodded and stood to retrieve the horizontal stringed instrument he had stashed... somewhere, since he had left to get another one of the stranded Guild members.

"You have him well trained," Eton said, when Jason was out of earshot, notwithstanding that Fate knew Jason would have laughed. Fate laughed, as did a few others. It was too close to the truth of what he had been.

"Now if only we could teach you some restraint Eton." Zara spoke this with a slight smile on her face, which was all Eton needed to know that she was joking. He let slip a smile and evidently fell into thought... most probably about Zara. Fate had seen how he had been looking at her and she could not blame him. Zara was a truly beautiful woman!

Jason returned a little later; he had not missed much of the merriment. When he started to play, those present were taken a little further from the smells, sounds and bites of the swamp. And that was their night. They kept their conversation light hearted, in keeping with the sounds of melodic, never ending chirping and the deliberate vibrations of Jason's playing. It was clear that Jason, Fate, Eton, Whisper and Zara would be leaving soon, and all within the group knew that this would be the last time they would see each other. Their last deep conversations, last sharing of experiences and their last celebration together. This was their farewell.

# Chapter Twenty-One

## Finally

A week after their celebrations all that remained of the hex breaking group was Lysandra, Callidora, Kassiopeia, Leon, Chloe, Paulos, Noe and of course, Ephraim. It took another few weeks for the city to pack and prepare to leave, then a few months more for them to travel the great distance to the capital of Cannadia. They stopped in every city along their way to gather more people, give aid to those who survived and salvage whatever supplies they could find. It was because of their aid and collection of people that their rations had been halved, and then halved again, on their far too long journey. When the last of their dry rations had been eaten they relied on hunting parties, and when the hunting got scarce, they all began to lose weight. They lost a number of people on their long walk to salvation, though they had gained considerably more than they had lost. They had started with hundreds and, at a guess, they had near or perhaps a little over a thousand now. Just when it was beginning to look like they might start to lose people from sheer starvation, excited screams from one or two at the front of their procession brought their attention to the half-crumbled walls of the capital.

Their journey had been horrendous; they had too little of everything but people. There was only enough cart space for some of the children to rest upon and the queen herself walked the entire distance without taking a space from a pregnant woman or a child. The precious horses and irreplaceable winged horses they brought with them were near death from fatigue and starvation. One of the men near Kassiopeia who had been at her side since the city he had been saved from gestured for her to remain as he ran with whatever energy he had left. She was at the front of the procession and was one of the first people to see her kingdom again. Leon, beside her, had remained strong and given her some of his food, and the guilt of that ate at her. Now, he was as thin and pale as she had ever seen him.

When the group approached the city there were no guards to obstruct them and the great metal gate had been raised, Kassiopeia thought it must have been up for some time, to judge by the rust on the chains looped around the windlass. The huge procession moved into the city unobstructed. It had been almost a year since the sky had fallen. As the huge mass of people moved into the city, people turned abruptly and looked in wonder. Leon took hold of Kassiopeia's hand.

"Even if I now welcomed you as a queen, they cannot stop a group as large as ours," Leon said quietly and Kassiopeia gently squeezed his bony hand in response. One of the many volunteer queen's guard - the one who had left - returned from his run into the city.

"Majesty!"

When he called to Kassiopeia, the people around them who had looked horrified seemed to gawk. Their opinions of Kassiopeia mattered to her, of course, but what really concerned her was how she would be greeted by those within the castle. Her castle.

"You won't believe this!" Her guard spoke with what little breath he had left. He bent in the middle and placed his hands on his knees. The procession continued into the city as Kassiopeia, Leon and her guards stepped to the side.

"They want to meet you!" The guard spoke this with delight in his eyes but Kassiopeia was still scared of what she would find within her castle. But she followed behind the guard as he quickly walked deeper into the city again.

• • •

Most of their journey so far had been on the ground. They had first journeyed to the edge of Cannadia - that had once been water. Eton looked off the edge of the world and was as terrified as he was excited. Seeing the edge of the sludgy mass of dirt just hanging freely... it went against everything he knew. Beside him, Whisper took up a slimy rock and threw it off the edge of the world. The whole group watched the rock, their eyes transfixed on the shrinking semi-round dot against the seemingly endless blue canvas. When it was gone from view no one spoke for a while.

"Huh..." It was Jason who finally said this. Eton became aware of how long they had all just watched the rock fall to an unseen world below.

"We should rest here for the night," said Fate, and Eton turned away from the edge of the world to see her already unpacking her things from the winged horse she shared with Jason.

"The sooner we can leave this horrible swamp the better!" Zara spoke this as calmly as she always did but the crinkle in her brow exposed her enthusiasm. Eton had volunteered to share a mount with her so that the group would only take three of the ten from the queen's already ill-equipped convoy. When Zara had agreed his toes tingled. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and even without her ability she could hold anyone's attention for as long as she liked. Eton did not know where she had met Kleos or how he had died... and most of all, he did not know how he had been summoned. Only a powerful evoker could call a spirit to walk without a body, and evokers of any kind were uncommon enough.

"We'll continue east around the island." Jason spoke this over a map that he had placed on a leather satchel. He was tracing his finger around the outside of the island after he had spoken.

"That is not a short journey," Eton said, watching Jason's finger move along the map.

"We don't have much choice. We have to look for the only market I know of before we..." When Fate paused, Eton looked directly at her and he saw her gulp before continuing. "We need to be sure before we descend from Cannadia."

Eton did not need to hear Fate's tone to know her fear. They were all afraid of jumping off the edge of the world, though Eton was more excited than afraid. Unknown ancient forces held the world up and however that was possible, Eton did not care. He was too excited after hearing the story Fate told about the place of descent. They knew little about it but Eton trusted Fate; her information had never been wrong before.

• • •

Leon was still holding her hand when Kassiopeia and her guards finally reached the castle which was in ruins. A huge section of Haven still remained on one of the crumbled towers. Outside the tower however was what looked like a day camp, where desks and chairs had been brought and set up. On one of these desks Kassiopeia saw her own crown.

"It's true!" This was exclaimed by an older man that Kassiopeia had met before, a scholar and librarian. He seemed to have assembled the small group of what looked to be those who had seized power following King Damon's absence, or after the chaos of the falling sky.

"An Oracle came to those of us who remained loyal to our queen and told us that you lived!" It was Kassiopeia's late husband's advisor who spoke.

"We were told that you would return and you have!" It was another scribe who spoke.

For a moment Kassiopeia thought she might be dreaming. Leon's presence made her aware of the reality of what was before her, however: the grip of his weak hand around hers made her well aware that this was real! Loyalists had taken her beloved city and protected her birthright!

"What of this Oracle?" Kassiopeia asked, and one of the women who had yet to speak gained her full attention.

"He wore a white jacket from the Guild and told us that King Damon was dead."

Kassiopeia nodded. The Watcher really had been ready to die. He must have sent Aineas to save those who remained. Kassiopeia felt a great sadness then. She bowed her head deeply and heard those before her kneel.

"I have people who have need of food and shelter. Before anything else is done, I need that seen to." Kassiopeia spoke this with a sense of command she had hitherto not known she possessed. Her council left her sight immediately.

Aineas had to have been the one who had foretold that their queen would return. The royal bloodline had been saved by that one event. How could he have known that she lived? Had he known of their actions all along? That did not make sense. Why would he appoint Damon as a king just to have him killed by Red Dog? No, it was not the Watcher. Perhaps it had been Dusk... how interesting that would have been. She smiled then. It didn't matter now - her kingdom was hers and she would rebuild her realm. That was all that mattered. That and the hand wrapped around hers.

• • •

The feeling of the wind they sliced through was elation! The world was behind her now and they were pioneers. She could only guess how many years it had been since anyone had left the floating islands that, by any understanding she knew, should not be floating. The reason behind that... and how the plants could get enough water to survive... these were things she would never know. Something beyond Strand held them there. Just as it was something beyond Strand that had given Jason his abilities. She knew that now. She had seen in him, the ability he once had, the control he had over the human spirit, but it worked differently now. She had seen that while watching him play with his old memory artefact. Like learning to walk again after a horrendous accident, he would have to learn how to use his ability once again. When he had learned again how to use his ability, they might be able to return to Cannadia. Perhaps that was too hopeful. It was good to feel that her hope had not died when so many of her friends had, though.

"We've gone far beyond everything we have ever known." Fate turned her head just far enough to see her Jason sitting on the winged horse behind her. "Promise me you'll never leave me without saying goodbye!" Fate had expected Jason to take a moment to think, but he responded immediately.

"Not a chance!" Jason spoke this louder than Fate had expected. She heard conviction in his words... but he had told her he would remain with her (and the group) before.

"You've said that before." Fate was worried that she had spoken this too quietly; while she waited for him to reply she became more and more self-conscious and worried that he had not heard her.

"I, Jason, have never made a promise to you," he said finally.

Fate realised that what he spoke was truth. She would never know how Vehemence could have found any constant between himself and Red Dog, especially as the two had continually fought for the control, or at least for use of, a single body. It was hard to trust a person who had broken promises, but she had to remind herself that while Jason was in one sense parts of two people she knew... he was actually a different person. It was just confusing to try and understand what was old... and what was new.

"Look down there!" It was Whisper who yelled this and when Whisper spoke, those around him listened.

And so Fate looked to where he pointed. Their journey had only just begun and it looked like land below them! Fate looked abruptly at Eton and Zara who had volunteered to do as Fate and Jason did and ride a single horse. The delight and amazement on their faces made Fate aware that it was not just wishful thinking that made her see something where Whisper had pointed. There _was_ land below! They were no longer flying blind! Whatever was to happen now, the green sprawling mass below them would be their new home, for a time at least.

"WHOOOOOOO!" Fate screamed as she threw her hands into the air. Jason, laughing behind her, grabbed her around her middle, to be sure she was safe as they began their descent to the fresh new world below them.
