
# Morven's Legacy

# Book 2

# To Seduce a Sorceress

Written By: Steven Sterup Jr.

Copyright 2018 Steven Sterup Jr.

Legal Disclaimer - This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Epilogue

# Chapter 1

Daniel Jahl walked down the street of the sparsely populated town of Lelthan. Lelthan was the capitol city of the kingdom of Saltha but looking at it now, it seemed more like a ghost town. This town had once been a hub of trading and commerce for the kingdom but now it barely had a few hundred people in it. Whereas once there had been merchants and wealthy inhabitants, now the town was full of murderers, thieves and prostitutes. The only people willing to live in the town at the foot of Morven's castle were the ones who had nothing to lose. Anger and hatred filled Daniel as he thought of Morven and what he had done, not only to him personally but to the whole kingdom.

Christopher Morven, known only as Morven, had terrorized the whole kingdom for over twenty years. He was an evil wizard who enjoyed terrorizing the people he now ruled. It all started when Daniel was very young. He knew the story well and had gone over every detail with anyone willing to tell him.

When Daniel was three Morven lived with his wife, his son-in-law, his daughter and his granddaughter. Morven lived a quiet life until the invasion. The kingdom of Saltha was well known throughout the land as a place of freedom. Slavery had been abolished here centuries ago and women were treated as equal to men, something not found in many other kingdoms. Saltha wasn't large but its population and wealth grew. Saltha was surrounded on all sides by kingdoms who despised and envied it, except for its only ally, the kingdom of Volneer. No one knows which kingdom or kingdoms started the invasion but the precise incursion from nearly all sides must have been the work of at least two of them.

Being such an ideal place to live, many people moved to Saltha. This included people running from their past, one such man was Morven. No one knows why he was running, nor what he was hiding from but that didn't matter to the invaders. The poor fools who had the misfortune of stumbling across his modest farm had no idea they had snuck up on one of the most powerful mages the world had ever known. The five men got lucky and knocked Morven out before he knew what happened but then their luck changed. Before Morven had woken up these five men had killed his son-in-law, raped and murdered his wife and daughter and were in the process of doing the same to his granddaughter. Many tales are told of what Morven did to those men and none of them were worth repeating. Suffice to say, the men got what they deserved and then some.

This was the single violent, pointless act which set off a chain reaction which changed everything. Morven retaliated against all the kingdoms except Volneer. Not a single king stood when Morven was finished, not even Saltha's. You see, even Saltha's king was to blame. He had not tried to stop the invaders. He hid away in his castle and recalled all the guards and soldiers to protect himself like a coward. Morven had no trouble decimating the entire army who sat waiting at Lelthan then he killed the king. Morven took up residence in his castle and had been terrorizing the kingdom ever since but this wasn't what caused Daniel's hatred for the wizard.

When Daniel was six his life changed as well. He lived in a small house with his mother and father outside of Lelthan. Their house had been just far enough to be spared from the decimation of the king's army but they had provided the previous king with milk and grain. When Morven took over they continued to supply the castle's new owner. One day, for no particular reason, perhaps there had been a reason but only Morven knew it, some men came to Daniel's door. His mother hid him in the closet while the men tortured and killed his parents. As the screaming died down a man opened the closet door and spoke to him. It was Morven himself. Daniel was six so he barely remembered the words but he remembered the man. Morven had killed his parents or, at the very least, had ordered men to do it for him. For this reason Daniel had spent the last twenty seven years training to kill Morven.

Daniel had hopped around the kingdoms, spending time at any mercenary or bandit camp that had anything new to offer him. He trained with soldiers and farmers, even spent six months with a pair of assassins, all in the hopes of one day being good enough to kill Morven. Over time Daniel figured out he was a decent fighter. Very few people could match him when it came to a sword. He took on many jobs as a mercenary, royal guard, whatever struck him as useful at the time.

Today was the day all his plotting and training would pay off. Daniel had found two people with similar goals several months ago. These two had been hired by a mysterious benefactor to kill Morven and this suited Daniel just fine. Three people trying to kill one of the most powerful men in the world might just succeed.

Crystal and Deston met Daniel a few months ago and, after a long drunken night, decided they should team up to kill Morven. Deston thought of himself as an assassin but Daniel saw him more as a hired killer, a mercenary, maybe even a thug. Daniel had spent time with real assassins and Deston had neither the ability nor the subtlety required. Even though Daniel didn't agree with Deston, he wasn't about to contradict the man. Deston was a very large man. At six foot two he was two inches taller than Daniel and Deston was built like a plow horse. Daniel thought of himself as good-looking and judging by his success with women, they agreed with him but it all changed when he was around Deston. One look at the muscular Deston, with his steel gray eyes and long, straight black hair and Daniel wasn't even worth a second look. Daniel was in good shape and decently muscular but he paled in comparison to Deston.

Daniel brushed his brown hair out of his similarly brown eyes as he looked across the nearly empty bar and found Crystal.

"Where's Deston?" Daniel asked as he took the seat across from Crystal.

To say the tavern was run-down, was an understatement. Like every other shop and tavern in this town, the owners just didn't care anymore. The patrons who came to this tavern didn't care about cleanliness nor fancy drinks and food. The desperate souls who came to this town wanted cheap ways to forget about their troubles until the end inevitably found them.

The small, thin woman whose breasts looked slightly too large for her small frame, was incredibly attractive. Her long wavy brown hair, which went to the middle of her back, was almost the same color as Daniel's but her eyes were a strange shade of light blue which caught Daniel's attention every time he looked at her. Daniel guessed she was about five foot eight and judging by her small frame, probably didn't weigh more than a hundred and twenty pounds. If it wasn't for the fact that she had met Deston first, Daniel thought he might have a chance with her but it was painfully obvious she was much more interested in Deston. Daniel found this funny because although Deston treated her kindly, he barely glanced at the gorgeous woman. In fact, Deston barely looked at any women. The man was constantly hit on and followed by beautiful women but Daniel only remembered one occasion where he actually paid attention.

It had been one of their drunken planning sessions. Daniel didn't recall the name of the small town but he remembered the waitress. The woman was pretty and, like all the rest, threw herself at Deston. She was a good looking woman, to be sure, but compared to Crystal she might as well have been a dirty street beggar. Perhaps it was the fact that Deston and Crystal were partners which kept the large man from seeing his partner for the beautiful woman she was or maybe there was more to Deston's ignorance. Daniel had only known them a short while and they didn't like to talk about much besides the job at hand.

"Deston has business in Volneer. He'll be here when he's done," Crystal replied in a curt tone which caught Daniel by surprise. Crystal wasn't generally abrupt to Daniel, in fact, she was quite kind to him most of the time, unless she was angry. Apparently she wasn't happy with Deston being gone, or maybe she wasn't happy with his business in Volneer.

Daniel quickly tried to steer the conversation away from Deston. It was clearly upsetting Crystal.

"Do you know what she looks like?" Daniel asked.

Crystal's cheerful smile returned and she winked at Daniel.

"Excited?" Crystal asked.

"I get to seduce a beautiful woman," Daniel paused for a moment and a thought occurred to him. "She is beautiful right?"

Despite all of their planning sessions, most of which were spent completely drunk, this subject had never come up. He knew very little about the woman he was going to seduce, mostly they talked about how difficult it would be and what Daniel had to do once he got inside Morven's castle. Looking back on it, Daniel realized he probably should have focused more of his time learning about the woman and less on drinking.

"Depends on your definition of beauty, but she's not ugly." Crystal waved at a dirty whore propositioning a man in the back corner of the tavern. The woman looked starved and it was clear she hadn't bathed in weeks.

Daniel smiled for a second then his smile hardened to the anger which he carried with him always.

"And I get to kill him with my bare hands?" Daniel sneered.

"Not exactly your bare hands." Crystal slid a dagger across the table to Daniel who grabbed it with a confused look on his face. "You'll need to use this dagger to do it. He's a wizard. Did you think you could just strangle him or something?" Crystal lifted one eyebrow and gave Daniel a playful look.

"Well, no. I'm not stupid. I just meant that I get to be the one to kill him," Daniel's anger faded as he gazed on the dagger in his hands. It would finally all be over. The man who had his parent's killed, the man who ruined his life, would finally pay for what he had done.

"I didn't say you were stupid. Just impatient," Crystal said kindly.

"Is it magical or something?" Daniel asked.

"Something like that." Crystal winked as she looked around the room.

Her playful reply and short answer told Daniel this was as much as he was going to find out about the dagger. Crystal was kind to him, playful and almost flirtatious at times but she was, by far, stronger willed than he was. Hell, she could even stare down Deston if the mood struck her. One did not want to stand between Crystal and whatever she wanted.

"What does your boss need for proof of..." Daniel looked around the room then lowered his voice. "Morven's death?"

"Morven has a ring. He never takes it off, never. Grab the ring and we're set for life." Crystal leaned back in her chair and looked around the room more intently. Was Crystal nervous?

"A ring?" Daniel asked. Why hadn't Crystal mentioned this ring before? Truthfully, all their planning had to do with the details of getting inside and what he needed to do when he got there. The countless nights they spent scheming and planning had more to do with this than the wizard and his granddaughter. It seemed a little odd to Daniel but, then again, most of the time they had all been completely smashed.

"One step at a time, Daniel." Crystal looked at him more seriously. "This is all for nothing if you can't keep up your end. If she doesn't let you in, it's all over."

"Don't think I can seduce a woman?" Daniel leaned in and smiled at Crystal lustfully. "You could have just gotten Deston to do it if you didn't trust me."

"It's not that," Crystal laughed. "And have you seen Deston with women? They have to practically fall in his lap before he notices them."

"Or literally," Daniel laughed. He had forgotten that part of the story and maybe this had been why Deston spent the night with the waitress. She had tripped and spilled her tray on Deston. When she fell into his lap he shot up in surprise and the poor girl feverishly tried to wipe off the ale which covered Deston's clothes. Two minutes later they were both gone for the rest of the night. The waitress made the excuse that she had a brother with clothes large enough to fit Deston, but in the morning Deston was still wearing the same ale soaked clothing.

"My point exactly. He wouldn't know what to do with this woman. She won't be an easy mark. She's suspicious, cautious and very smart." Crystal scanned the room again and a crooked smile spread across her face. "There she is."

Daniel turned his head slowly, so he didn't look suspicious. He saw a woman with long black hair and a revealing blouse walk up to the bar. She was curvy and her dress looked expensive. She leaned across the counter and, with one finger, motioned the barkeep toward her.

"She's interesting," Daniel smiled.

"Not, her, you dolt. Behind the hooker," Crystal snapped as she reached across the table and grabbed Daniels face. She turned his head to look at the shorter, thinner woman behind the whore. This woman wore a full length cloak and hood. From here Daniel could barely see her face and the small amounts of black hair which had snuck their way out of the hood.

"You sure that's a woman?" Daniel joked as he forced his face from Crystal's hands and gave her a silly look.

"You think Morven's granddaughter wants everyone knowing she's walking around the town? So smart, but so dumb. Think before you speak. You won't get a second chance with her if you start talking like that." Crystal scowled and Daniel turned back toward the woman.

"I'm good at this, Crystal. She will think she is the most important woman in the world," Daniel said while he stood, not taking his eyes off the cowering woman behind the prostitute.

As he made his way across the bar he saw the barkeep slide a package toward her. Then he realized, he didn't know her name. Crystal had never told him. With all the planning and hours spent going over what he would do once he got inside, he had forgotten to get her name. There was something strange about the fact that they had spoken so little about the woman he was going to seduce. It was almost as if Crystal and Deston were afraid to tell him exactly what he was getting into. Was she ugly underneath the cloak?

Daniel gulped and walked closer to the woman who was opening the package cautiously. She pushed up the sleeves of her cloak and Daniel could see her toned arms, they were thin but muscular. As her hands opened the package he could see her muscles flexing under her skin. He wasn't really into muscular women but this was a job. She was a means to an end. His personal preferences were not important. Seduce the girl and kill the mage. That was the plan.

Daniel leaned on the counter beside her and put on his best smile.

"Haven't seen you here before," he started.

As soon as she realized he was talking to her she grabbed the package and slid around him. In her rush to get away from Daniel her hood fell back and her short, black hair fell around her face. Her hair was kind of cute, he thought to himself. It was cut just above her shoulders and almost seemed to shimmer purple in the dim light.

Daniel stood there stunned for a second. Were her eyes silver? Not grey like Deston's but actually silver, almost white. And he thought Crystal's eyes were mesmerizing. This woman's eyes could stop an oncoming army. True, he didn't like women with short hair, but again, this was a job and at least her face was pretty.

The woman rushed out of the back door of the tavern and Daniel looked across at Crystal then shrugged. Crystal, forcefully pointed at the door and Daniel took off after the cowering woman.

When Daniel was outside he saw the cloaked woman rushing down the alley. Daniel took off after her and she turned the corner quickly. When Daniel got to the corner he nearly ran into the woman who was standing there waiting for him.

"What do you want?!" the woman yelled at him. Her eyes seemed to almost glow in the dim light of the alley. Did they really have a purple tint to them or was it the sparse lighting in the ally? She was shorter than he was, maybe as much as six inches shorter and he had to look down to meet her gaze.

"I...I just wondered if you...I'm sorry, beautiful women make me nervous." Daniel said pushing his hand through his hair, acting nervous.

"Seriously?" the woman sneered and walked away.

"Wait, I don't know your name," Daniel shouted after her.

"Don't do that again! I could have accidently killed you!" the woman yelled back then turned another corner.

Daniel rushed to the next corner to continue the conversation but she was gone. Not the best first meeting but he had accomplished the first task. Get her attention and compliment her without it sounding like a line. He smiled to himself then headed back to the tavern.

When he arrived back in the tavern and plopped down across from Crystal she looked at him condescendingly.

"I told you she'd be tough," Crystal's look softened as she spoke. "As long as you didn't completely screw it up you'll have another chance in a day or two."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me her name? That might have been useful information," Daniel looked at her sternly.

"To tell the truth, it was hard to get a word in. You are quite proud of your conquests. And you never asked," Crystal smirked.

Daniel had expected her to be angry but Crystal seemed more amused than anything.

"So, what's her name?" Daniel asked again.

"Lydia," Crystal replied.

"That...actually fits her quite well," he replied with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Not the kind of woman I would choose but she isn't unattractive."

"Scared, Daniel?" Crystal mocked.

"A little. She looks like she could tear me apart with her bare hands," Daniel laughed nervously.

"She wouldn't need her hands. She's Morven's granddaughter. All she has to do is think the wrong thought and you are a smudge in the alley." Crystal seemed a little more serious now.

"I'll keep that in mind," Daniel said as he held his hand up to get another drink.

# Chapter 2

Lydia walked quickly toward her grandfather's castle. What was that man thinking? Sneaking up on her like that. She could have accidently killed him. She had felt the power caused by her fear and anxiety almost explode from inside of her. Luckily she had known he was following her or it could have gone very differently.

Lydia painfully remembered the last time she lost control. It had been several years now but she remembered every detail. The poor man had literally incinerated right before her eyes. True, he was trying to rob her but it was no excuse to lose control like that. The man's screams of agony, as he burned from the inside out, still haunted her. What if she hadn't known this new man was following her? She might have burned him alive as well and all he wanted was a date.

Lydia felt horrible and she pulled the hood in closer to her face. People didn't often recognize her but her emotions were all over the place. She couldn't risk some angry person coming up to her and sending her over the edge. The energy burned inside her and was almost too much for her to contain.

While she hurried down the street toward the castle she noticed a man standing against a tree. He was partially covered by shadow and he didn't move toward her but she knew this man. People didn't usually come this close to the castle, especially at night. It was less than a hundred feet to the main gate. What were this man's intentions? She had seen him several times over the years, never clearly but she knew it was the same man. He, evidently, didn't want to harm her but even through the darkness she could tell he was watching her. He was always watching her.

Lydia finally reached the gate and it opened without her touching it. She looked back and the man by the tree was gone. In the wide open space she couldn't see any sign of him. There were a few trees here and there but they weren't large enough to hide a man. Where had he gone?

Lydia looked down at the hand that wasn't carrying the package and saw the dim purple energy shoot across it from finger to finger. The distraction of the man by the tree coupled with her encounter in the alley had caused her to forget she needed to keep control. The magic was seeping out of her skin.

"Don't do this, Lydia," she scolded herself. "Control it."

The energy shooting across her hand dimmed then disappeared.

She stared up at the moon and sighed.

"Stupid, stupid girl. Keep it under control," she said softly then headed up the steps to the castle. Behind her the gate shut itself.

As she opened the door to the castle she looked around the small entry room. Good, her grandfather wasn't here. No one had seen her lose control of her magic. It was a stupid mistake, a lapse in concentration. She could do better. She hung her cloak by the door and hurried through the dining room and into the kitchen. She set the package on the counter and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" an older man's voice said from behind her.

Lydia jumped and purple energy shot toward an elderly man sitting in the corner. The man held up his hand and the magic just stopped as it hit it.

"What the hell are you doing, grandpa?! I could have killed you?!" Lydia screamed.

"No, you really couldn't," Morven laughed as he stood. Christopher Morven stood a few inches taller than Lydia. He had a short, grey, goatee but aside from this the rest of his head was bald. He looked at her kindly as he crossed the room. "You will get it under control someday. You just need the right motivation...and lots of practice," he said kindly as he brushed the hair out of her eyes.

Lydia nervously glanced at the package on the counter then back at her grandfather.

Morven looked at her sadly, realizing what was in the package.

"You don't need more, Lydia. They can only help so much," Morven said, understanding his pleas were falling on deaf ears.

"Just finish this one. Please, grandpa?" Lydia begged.

"I suppose, but this is the last one. The control has to come from inside you." Morven started toward the dining room then turned up the stairs toward Lydia's bedroom.

Lydia excitedly grabbed the package and raced upstairs, passing her grandfather on the way up. She rushed into her room and slammed the door. Once inside her room she pulled off her shirt and laid face down on the bed. She heard a knock on the door.

"Are you decent yet?" Morven asked.

"Yes, grandpa," Lydia answered, excitedly.

Morven walked into the room and looked at his granddaughter. She was face down and half naked. On her back was a work-in-progress, a tattoo which filled her back from the edge of her pants up to the top of her shoulders. The tattoo depicted as scene of an angel with farmers bowing around it.

"This will be the last one, I swear," Lydia sounded very excited.

Across each of her arms, almost to her elbows, were vine tattoos with many decorations, pretty flowers and a few small daggers. Although Morven couldn't see them right now he had also given her a few down her legs and one large one across her chest. That one had been awkward to say the least. Tattooing his adult granddaughter while she held two bowls over her breasts was something he never wanted to do again.

Morven opened the package and saw the bottles of colored ink. He set each of them out on the bedside table then took another vial from the table drawer and put two drops in each bottle.

"They are ready if you are," Morven said sadly.

"I don't even feel it anymore," Lydia lied. "And they do help."

"If I had been a normal person you would have killed me," Morven scolded.

"I know but I was able to control it in town tonight...well, almost," Lydia replied.

"What do you mean almost?" Morven asked as he dipped the needle into the black ink. Energy flowed from his hand into the needle as he placed it on Lydia's back.

Lydia winced in pain then bit her lip as she spoke.

"I didn't kill a man who was flirting with me, even when he startled me in the alley." Lydia gasped as her grandfather dipped the needle in the ink again and reapplied it to her back. "I just had magic sort of oozing out of my hands. I didn't hurt anyone!"

Lydia's pride was evident in her voice and Morven didn't have the heart to scold her any longer. She believed the tattoos were helping but he knew better. The magical tattoos helped a little but most of the control had to come from the mage. Adding more and more tattoos served no functional purpose after the first few but Morven had a hard time telling his granddaughter no.

"When is she coming?" Lydia asked while biting her lip. The pain was overwhelming at times but she felt the sacrifice was worth it if she never killed anyone again.

"Your cousin will come when the time is right," Morven said answering the question he had answered a million times.

"Rachel didn't tell you anything else?" Lydia pushed.

"You are thirty six. You know as well as I do that it will be this year. I just don't know exactly when." Morven dipped the ink into the alcohol then into a peach color for the faces of the farmers. It was darker than Lydia's pearl colored skin so the contrast would be very appealing.

"I'm almost thirty seven. It has to be soon, right?" Lydia asked, partially distracting herself from the pain and partially to squeeze more information from her grandfather.

"Yes, Lydia. It will be before you are thirty seven but your birthday is four months away." Morven stopped abruptly as Lydia gasped in pain. "Are you ok? Should we take a break?" he asked.

"No, I want this finished tonight," Lydia replied.

Morven looked down at the half finished tattoo. The tattoo would take all night to finish and that would be several hours from now. Why did his granddaughter like to torture herself? The man she had killed had intended to harm her, maybe even kill her. He deserved what he got.

"Aren't you a little excited?" Lydia asked, trying to change the subject. Her pain was a punishment. She would never again lose control like that.

"No, because no one will ever really know the truth. Just you, your cousin and your closest friends. That's enough for me," Morven replied solemnly.

"But you didn't do any of it. The demon did it and framed you. All you ever did was try to save people from it!" Lydia's voice rose as she spoke. This subject made her furious. How could everyone blame her gentle grandfather for killing so many people?

"I know, but no one will ever believe you. The demon did a good job making sure of that. Now we're trapped in this castle where I fought it. Well...I'm trapped." Morven changed the color on the needle for a golden one to add detail to the angel.

"I'm not leaving you," Lydia said this half-heartedly and Morven smiled.

"If you want to save everyone, you will have to," he comforted. He knew she was just trying to be kind. She had waited for the day her cousin would arrive for years now. She wanted to leave.

He waved his hand across Lydia's back and the ink shimmered with energy then he started on another section. Lydia winced in pain as the magic seared into her skin. When she caught her breath she asked her question again.

"You sure Rachel didn't say anything else I might need to know?" she asked.

"No, I told her not to reveal too much to me. I don't want to screw it up," Morven lied. Rachel had told him far more than he was willing to share with his granddaughter but this was his burden to bear. It would serve no purpose to tell Lydia what trials and hardships were coming her way. If she was the person he believed her to be, she would survive and be victorious over the demon.

Morven continued on until almost daylight before he was finished with Lydia's last tattoo. He infused the ink with magic and sometime after the sun rose, Lydia fell asleep.

# Chapter 3

Daniel sat across from Crystal at the same table in the same tavern as the night he first met Lydia. He had been here every night since and was growing impatient.

"You sure she comes here twice a week?" Daniel asked as he picked at the food on his plate. He thought it was pork but somehow it smelled too gamey to be pork.

"Yes, who in their right mind would deliver to the castle? Not that anyone could get inside." Crystal apparently had the same reaction to the food as Daniel and he smiled when he noticed her spit out some of it on her plate.

"What's wrong?" Daniel smirked.

Crystal leaned in and whispered.

"I don't see any rats in town. You don't think," Crystal raised one eyebrow.

"Eww," Daniel dropped his fork onto the plate.

"I'm kidding," Crystal laughed. "It's wild boar. I'm just not fond of the huge amounts of garlic they put on it to disguise the gamey taste."

"Sometimes I can't tell if you're picking on me because you're flirting or because you just like to see me squirm," Daniel laughed.

Crystal leaned in again but was more flirtatious this time.

"If I was flirting with you, you'd know it," Crystal said in a low, seductive voice.

"So you just like to see me squirm," Daniel said uncomfortably, trying to hide his attraction to her. Now this was the type of woman he liked. Soft and not too small. Seductive and womanly. Lydia reminded him of a stringy teenage girl. Though he hadn't actually seen her body, from the look of her arms, he imagined her as a lean woman. He knew she was older than he was but the image of a flat chested, thin, girl just wouldn't get out of his head.

"Of course I like to see you squirm. It's the highlight of my day," Crystal smiled then started to eat some of the vegetables instead of the meat. "At least this has pepper instead of garlic," she said with her mouth full of mixed vegetables.

Daniel looked across the table and the thought which had plagued him since childhood occurred to him again. This time he needed to say it out loud. If nothing more than to have Crystal tell him it wasn't true.

"Do you ever get the feeling like something is directing your life?" He paused but Crystal didn't answer. "I mean, you get to choose your clothes and what hairstyle you want but in the end you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Like me being back here. Somehow I always knew I would be here. Like someone planned it."

Crystal stared at him seriously and swallowed her food then started laughing loudly.

"Are you trying to make me choke?" She picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth. "Don't tell me you believe in that demon story? Morven is completely innocent? Let me guess. You still believe in the tooth-fairy?" Crystal laughed harder.

"Don't be like that. I was being serious," Daniel begged.

"Oh yes, some demon is playing us like pawns to kill Morven for it. We were always meant to be here," Crystal said in a condescending voice.

"You don't have to be rude. I'm just saying," Daniel trailed off.

" _You_ decided to train. _You_ decided to travel around the kingdoms. _You_ decided to join us. No one is making you do anything. _You decided_ ," Crystal said, her condescension almost turning to anger.

"Fine, no need to be a bitch about it," Daniel replied and stared at his food.

"Don't be like that," Crystal comforted. There was still some condescension in her voice but Daniel could tell she felt bad for what she had said, or rather the way she had said it.

"Come on, Daniel. I didn't mean it like that." Crystal crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

"Then how did you mean it?" Daniel asked.

"I just meant that people like to blame things beyond their control. Don't be a fool. Morven is the bad guy. You are here to kill the bad guy," Crystal replied.

"I just don't feel right using that poor girl," Daniel said, trying to change the subject. Despite Crystal's disbelief he still felt as though he was a pawn in a much larger game. Bringing it up to Crystal only served to make him feel stupid but didn't help alleviate the feeling.

"Don't look at it like that. You're doing her a favor." Crystal looked at him sternly and couldn't help but smile as Daniel lifted one eyebrow. "I didn't mean that!" She put her finger to her chin and grinned even wider. "Although, I doubt it's been easy for Morven's granddaughter to get laid. You'll be doing her two favors."

"And what is the other?" Daniel laughed.

"If she isn't already evil you will be saving her from becoming like him," Crystal replied more seriously. "And besides she's not a little girl. She's about three years older than you. She's a grown woman, it's not like your forcing yourself on her."

"Hell, no!" Daniel replied quickly. Just the thought of it turned his stomach. "I'd never do that!"

"Then what are you so worried about? She'll have a good time and you'll get to save her from her grandfather." Crystal glanced at the bar and watched Lydia walk up to it. "Now go get her."

Lydia was wearing her cloak and Daniel saw her sinewy arms slide out of the sleeves again as she handed the barkeep a few coins. The man hurried to the back, presumably to get today's package so Daniel made his move.

When Daniel was leaning on the counter beside her she pretended not to notice him but her heart raced in her chest. It had been a while since she'd been with a man and this man was certainly handsome and definitely interested.

"Back again?" Daniel asked casually.

"Still here?" Lydia asked in reply. She tried to sound uninterested but the octave of her voice gave away her anticipation. She had hoped he would be here today. She looked forward to seeing him again.

"Was hoping I might run into you again. I mean, not run into you like last time but...umm...see you," he replied.

"Seems your tongue is working just as well today," Lydia commented with a grin.

"Ugg. I told you I had a hard time talking to beautiful women." Daniel faced the bar and leaned on his elbows then cocked his head toward her. "I must be a glutton for punishment," he grinned.

"Won't your girlfriend mind?" Lydia motioned toward Crystal.

"What?" Daniel asked, surprised then realized who Lydia was referring to. "No, that's my friend's girlfriend. And besides she's not my type."

"What's wrong with her?" Lydia grinned wider. It was fun teasing him.

"Nothing, I mean. She's just...she's more like a sister. My friend would kill me if I even looked at her. Not that I would...she's not my type," Daniel stuttered.

"You said that already," Lydia replied. This was a lot of fun. He was easy to tease. It had been a long time since a man flirted with her, even if this was the most pathetic excuse for flirtation she had ever witnessed.

"Shit, sorry. I told you," Daniel started.

"You get tongue tied around beautiful women?" Lydia finished.

"Yes, exactly. Well, not the words I used but those were my sentiments. Now I'm talking too much. Sheesh, just tell me to shut up. What's your name? I'm Daniel." Daniel held out his hand and Lydia reached for it. The sleeve of her cloak went up farther as she reached up and Daniel caught a glimpse of the vines going down her arm.

"Lydia," she answered.

Daniel imagined how far up the tattoo went. He couldn't take his eyes off her arm and noticed she might not be as thin as he had imagined her. She was certainly muscular but not thin. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Tattoos were a definite plus.

Lydia noticed Daniel's eyes staring at her arm and got uncomfortable. She quickly pulled her sleeve down then noticed the barkeep returning with her package. She snatched it up and this time headed for the front door. Before she left she shot a smile at Daniel.

"Be seeing you," she said.

"I sure hope so," Daniel replied.

Daniel's grin was so large Crystal could see it from her seat. He headed back to the table and sat down. He crossed his arms and glared at Crystal triumphantly.

"What are you so happy about? She left," Crystal asked confused. "And if you ask me, that went horribly. I thought you were good at this. You acted like a nervous kid."

Daniel sat with his arms crossed and a grin as wide as his face for a few seconds before he answered.

"You're telling me it's not flattering to have a man stuttering and tongue tied because he's too nervous to talk to you?" Daniel asked and his grin seemed to get even wider.

"You did that on purpose?" Crystal asked.

"Of course. I told you I'm good at this," Daniel said then started to eat his food again.

"But you didn't get her," Crystal stated.

"Didn't I?" Daniel asked.

"What's that mean?" Crystal asked.

"She'll be back and the whole time she's gone she will be thinking of me. The clumsy fool who was nervous because she was so beautiful." Daniel took another bite of food and glanced at Crystal's astonished face.

"Shit, I'm sorry I doubted you. You are good." Crystal leaned back in her chair again and just watched Daniel with admiration.

# Chapter 4

It was dark again as Lydia walked back to the castle but this time she wasn't upset or afraid, she was walking on air. A man, Daniel, told her she was beautiful. Luckily she covered the tattoo on her arm before it became an issue. She doubted he would be so eager to call her beautiful if he saw what she hid under her clothes. Next time she met him she would have to wear a long sleeve shirt to make sure they stayed hidden. A man like that wouldn't be so complimentary if he knew how much of her body was covered with magical ink.

A wave of guilt hit her as she thought of her last lover, one night stand, whatever he had been. It was over ten years ago when she was just realizing the extent of her powers. In fact, a few months before she killed the potential robber.

She'd had the occasional lover, she had been in her twenties and felt no guilt over sleeping with the occasional traveler she picked up in the tavern. That was, until the night she nearly killed someone. The bad part was, all she did was kiss him. They hadn't even made it up to the tavern room yet. Her excitement coupled with her lack of control caused the energy inside her to surge and send the man flying across the tavern. He survived, after spending a few weeks at the local infirmary, but he did live.

Daniel would be different. She had more control now. She wouldn't let it go that far. No kissing, no anything else, just pleasant company. Lydia's stomach did flips as she thought of Daniel. As long as it didn't go too far she could handle it. Perhaps a kiss wasn't out of the question? Maybe she could control it better than last time. Hell, she didn't accidently kill Daniel when he was following her. As long as he didn't jump out from behind something and try to kiss her, it might be ok.

Lydia smiled to herself as she approached the gate. She had a strange feeling and looked over her shoulder to see the same man leaning against the same tree as the other night. She turned and stared at the man who stood upright then waved. Afterward he put his hands in his pockets and walked off. What was his deal?

She got a better look at him this time. He had long wavy hair which went just below his shoulder blades. It looked black in the dim light but she couldn't be sure. His figure seemed slightly smaller than Daniels in both height and weight. He wasn't a thin man but he was not built like Daniel. Who was this man? Why was he always watching her? Lately he had even gotten braver, the wave was proof of that. What had changed? At least he didn't seem to want to harm her. Which was good for him. As much control as she had, she wasn't sure she could handle another ordeal like last time without losing it. Hell, her grandfather had startled her enough to release some energy. An actual attack? She would most certainly lose control.

Lydia turned and headed into the castle, confident the man was no threat. When she closed the door she listened intently. Was her grandfather sneaking around, waiting to test her again?

She set the package on the dining room table and yelled in the empty castle.

"Hello?!" Lydia yelled but all she heard was an echo. The anxiety inside her rose. No answer meant one of two things. Her grandfather was trying to test her again or he was in the basement, in his room.

Lydia crept toward the kitchen hoping to see her grandfather before he had the chance to jump out or whatever his plan was this time but there was no one in the kitchen. She turned back toward the dining room then heard the rear door of the kitchen slam shut. Lydia spun around and a small amount of energy released. The dishes on the kitchen counter all slid onto the floor with a loud crash.

"Holy Shit!" The elderly woman yelled as she dropped an armload of wood to the floor. She looked to be in her fifties and was somewhat heavy. She had a kind face and blonde hair which was quickly turning grey. "You nearly gave me a heart attack Lydia!"

"So sorry Abby. I'm really sorry," Lydia apologized as she knelt down to pick up the dishes.

Abigale Shole was Morven's housekeeper, maid, cook and basically did whatever was needed to keep the castle, and Morven, from falling apart. She had been trapped here since Morven fought the demon and despite being a prisoner was quite kind to Lydia and Morven. Lydia often thought of Abby as the mother she never knew. As Lydia grew older it became harder and harder to remember her real mother. Every time she tried she would see Abby's smiling face and eventually she just accepted Abby as her adoptive mother.

"Not your fault, dear. I thought you were in town for a while tonight so I was just collecting some fire wood for breakfast tomorrow," Abby replied.

"I don't do that anymore, Abby. You know that," Lydia replied sadly.

"Can't blame an old woman for hoping," Abby smiled as she helped Lydia pick up the dishes. "Can't go through life alone. You're still so young. Surely it won't happen again."

Lydia slowed as she put a load of broken dishes on the counter and a small smile slipped out.

"Well," Lydia started.

"You've met someone haven't you?" Abby asked excitedly.

"I won't be doing that again but...he's nice to talk to." Lydia's smile grew wider.

"Oh, I have to tell Morven. He'll be so pleased. He worries so much about you." Abby was nearly frantic.

"You can't tell grandpa. I'm not even sure it's anything yet. I'm just talking to him. He's nice, in a clumsy sort of way." Lydia inadvertently smiled as she finished and Abby stared at her.

"Ok, but don't let him suffer too long. Your grandfather worries about you," Abby said.

"If it's something more serious I'll tell grandpa. Right now, it's just talking." Lydia bend down to get the remaining dishes and her smile grew.

"Really? Just talking?" Abby put her hands on her hips.

"Seriously, it's just talking. I've only met him twice." Lydia tried to hide her smile but it wasn't working so she just gave up trying to hide it. Abby gave Lydia a knowing look then headed out of the kitchen.

"Well, I better go check on your grandfather. Make sure he didn't fall asleep in his chair again. That man," Abby said sternly.

"Yeah, it's not like he's trying to save the world from a demon or anything," Lydia laughed.

"I know right? You think he could be a little more considerate to his maid," Abby replied with a smile.

Lydia put the final load of broken dishes on the counter then started up to her room. She could hear Abby walking down the steps toward her grandfather's room.

Who did Abby think she was fooling? Check on her grandfather? There were many reasons their bedrooms were in the basement and Lydia's was in the upstairs. The most important was that Abby and Morven were at the, very least, sleeping together, possibly something more serious. It would be strange for a woman to be held captive in a castle and not complain but she didn't, not even once. She never tried to escape and never said a disparaging word about Morven. They thought they were being sneaky but Lydia was not a little girl anymore and certainly no idiot. The only one trapped here was Morven. Abby could leave any time she wanted, but she wouldn't even dare go outside the gates. There was something fishy about it but Lydia didn't want to think about it too hard. Abby was good to her and good to her grandfather, that was what mattered.

# Chapter 5

Daniel sat in the same seat, at the same table, at the same tavern as he had for the last week since he saw Lydia. He was starting to get worried. Maybe his flirtations had backfired? Suddenly his stomach sank. What if she wasn't coming back? Then he chastised himself. He was supposed to be seducing her, not falling for her. This was getting more complicated by the minute and mostly it was all in his head. He just couldn't get the image of Lydia's tattoo out of his head. Where did it stop? How many more did she have? Something about a woman with tattoos just drove him crazy. Sure she was rougher than he would like and her hair was shorter than he wanted but the tattoo produced so many images in his head that he couldn't care less about the rest. And then there were those eyes. He had never seen eyes like hers before. They were positively mesmerizing. How could he be doing this to her? An image of her face flashed in his mind and he felt guilty.

How had he thought her unattractive? That face, with those eyes, could make him happy for a very long time. He was in no hurry to get her into bed. He actually wanted to talk to her and stare into those silvery eyes, letting his problems just wash away.

Crystal waved her hand in front of Daniel's face.

"You in there?" she asked.

"Yes, sorry. Just thinking," he replied, snapping himself out of his argument with himself.

"Having second thoughts?" Crystal asked a little annoyed.

"No, of course not. I'm wondering if I messed up somehow. It's been a week." Daniel lied to Crystal but couldn't lie to himself. He honestly missed Lydia. Her laugh, her smile. He had talked to her for a total of maybe five minutes. How had this happened? Then he realized he was doing it to himself. He was falling for a notion of what the woman was like. It was all made up. He had no idea what the real Lydia was like. Then he remembered Morven's face as the evil man opened the closet door. The horrid scene behind the man. His parents lying dead on the floor. Crystal was right. Lydia needed to be saved from her own grandfather and her grandfather needed to die. This stupid infatuation with a woman he hardly knew needed to stop!

"Good, cause I don't relish the idea of recruiting another gigolo," Crystal laughed.

"What?!" Daniel balked. "I am not."

"Ok, let's go with conman. That more to your liking?" Crystal asked with a snide laugh.

"Actually, yes. I don't get paid to have sex." Daniel crossed his arms and glared at Crystal.

Crystal stared at him for a second before answering.

"Actually...you are getting paid," Crystal replied.

"Not for the sex," Daniel winked.

"Now I know you're joking and just trying to get my guard down but remember who is paying." Crystal crossed her arms and leaned on the table. "Don't try to con me."

"I would never," Daniel laughed.

Crystal pulled a dagger out of her boot, spun it in her fingers then slammed it into the table.

"I know where you sleep," Crystal said seriously.

"Then why do you insist on sleeping in your own bed?" Daniel asked with a smirk. He knew Crystal was serious but felt it was better not to let this get out of hand. She could usually be disarmed with a few jokes and flirtations. As much as Deston wasn't an assassin and called himself one, Crystal called herself nothing but could probably kill them both without breaking a sweat. Crystal was dangerous and scary at times but she was also a necessary evil. All in the hopes of finally being able to kill Morven.

A smile started on Crystal's face, his charm had worked on her once again.

"By the way. Who is this king and how much is he paying us? How much was the advance?" Daniel asked.

"Enough," Crystal answered. "And he is a king from far away, that's all you need to know."

"Fine, but why do you get to hold all the money?" Daniel asked, pushing his luck.

To his surprise Crystal just smiled at his question.

"Because you'd lose it at cards or dice or something stupid and Deston would just plain lose it." Crystal leaned on her hands and let out a small laugh.

"Ok, fine. Good point, but can I get a few coins? Next time I see Lydia I'm going to ask her to diner or buy her something. I just need to show her I'm not broke." Daniel put his hands on Crystal's wrists. "Please."

"Ahhh, you're so annoyingly charming some times. If I wasn't me..." Crystal started as she removed Daniel's hands then got a few coins out of her pocket.

"If you weren't you what?" Daniel pushed.

"I just might fall for your bullshit and end up," Crystal stopped herself.

"You'd have fun," Daniel smirked.

"So would you," Crystal winked. "Until I realized it was a scam and gutted you."

Daniel gulped. He wasn't sure if Crystal was being serious or just going along with the joke. He decided it might be a better idea to just change the subject. He took the coins and put them in his pocket then looked around the room.

"I hope she comes soon," Daniel said absentmindedly as he found who he was looking for.

"You know, someday a woman is going to come along who is going to have you wrapped around her little finger. It will be so gratifying to see the tables turned on you." Crystal followed Daniel's gaze and found Lydia standing at the bar.

"That will never happen," Daniel laughed while not taking his eyes off of Lydia.

"Not her! You've got to be kidding me! You just better keep up your end of the deal!" Crystal stood up and stormed out of the tavern.

Daniel turned to watch Crystal leave.

"What?" Daniel asked but Crystal didn't reply.

Daniel turned his attention back to Lydia who had noticed Crystal storming out. Lydia walked slowly toward the table and Daniel looked her up and down. Tonight she wasn't wearing the cloak. She had on a long sleeve blouse which went up to her neck. He thought it was a little strange to have such a high neckline in a place like this but who was he to judge women's fashion. At least her pants were tight and he could easily see the outline of her body. She wasn't slim at all. Although she had a very toned body it looked good on her, what he could see anyway. What was more, she wasn't flat chested either. She wasn't busting at the seams like Crystal would have been in the same blouse but there was enough there to catch his attention.

"You look...I mean...Hi," Daniel said when she was close enough to hear. Strangely this wasn't an act. He had meant to turn off his clumsy act. It wasn't good to keep it up too long or the woman would get suspicious but the words just fell out of his mouth. He needed to try harder or Lydia would bolt and he'd never get to kill Morven.

"Mind if I sit?" Lydia asked.

"No, Crystal isn't coming back," Daniel replied.

"She looked mad," Lydia stated.

"Well, it seems you were more right than I was. Although, I see her as a sister. She thought that being alone with me while her boyfriend was gone was a good time for us to...you know. Get to know each other better," Daniel said. He was laying it on a little thick and hoped Lydia wouldn't see through it.

"So she's mad because you didn't feel the same way?" Lydia asked skeptically.

"Pretty much," Daniel replied casually and took a drink of the ale in front of him.

"You turned her down?" she asked with more skepticism in her voice than before.

"I tried to let her down easy," Daniel winced to emphasize his point. "But she threatened to tell Deston we did it anyway so we might as well. Then you walked in and she saw how I looked at you and well...you know the rest."

"So, you're saying I saved you?" Lydia giggled.

"Actually, yes. Sort of. Well, not really but maybe," Daniel struggled. Why was he so nervous? Like her opinion mattered more than his job? "Let's just say you were at the right place at the right time to dissuade her."

"So, I saved you, accidently." Lydia put her elbows on the table and leaned closer to Daniel. She let out a small laugh and Daniel's heart started pounding in his chest.

Daniel crossed his arms and leaned back without realizing it then replied.

"I like that. I don't look like a wuss and you still get to save me," Daniel laughed nervously.

"Do I make you nervous?" Lydia asked as she backed away.

"Actually, very nervous." Daniel realized his arms were crossed and quickly put them in his lap. Although it wasn't part of his plan, his honesty seemed to be helping him. Why was he so nervous? He had conned, charmed, whatever you wanted to call it, much prettier women than her. As he thought these words he realized he wasn't sure he believed them. Prettier than Lydia? Doubtful. Then he realized he was doing it again. Falling for an idea of what Lydia was like without even knowing her. He really needed to quit it and get back to work. Seduce the girl and kill the mage. That was the plan.

"I can't stay long but I'm glad I ran into you," Lydia said as she stood up.

"Leaving already?" Daniel asked and he realized this also wasn't an act, not this part of it. He really wanted her to stay.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Lydia replied.

"Would you have dinner with me?" Daniel asked. "Maybe we could spend more than a few minutes together?" Daniel winced.

"Maybe," Lydia replied.

"Say, five o'clock?" Daniel asked, standing to face her. He looked down at her and his stomach flipped when her silver eyes looked up at him.

"Seven. I can't come to town before dark." Lydia turned and headed to the counter to get the package the barkeep had left for her.

"I'll be here," Daniel said as Lydia left the tavern. He felt like an idiot. Why hadn't he said something more seductive? Something more manly? 'I'll be here' sounded so desperate.

Daniel plopped back onto his seat and drank the rest of his ale before he headed out. This was getting very complicated. He needed to calm himself down. Lydia was just a woman, like all the rest. He could do this. Seduce the girl and kill the mage. That was the plan.

# Chapter 6

Daniel walked up the stairs and went into his tavern room. It was a little pricey to stay in a tavern room for weeks on end but Crystal had insisted her employer would pay for it all. What's more, her employer required them to stay close and take advantage of any opportunity to kill Morven. As he shut the door he heard what sounded like crying coming from his bathroom. When he could finally see inside the bathroom he noticed Crystal leaning over the bathroom sink using a pail of water and a cloth to clean the blood off her face. In the mirror he could see she hadn't just been beaten, she had been severely beaten. Her lip was cut in a few places, her left cheek was bruised and puffy and her right eye was swollen nearly shut.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Daniel yelled.

"You fucking idiot! You weren't supposed to fall for her! My employer has spies everywhere! He knows!" Crystal dipped the cloth into the cold water then placed it on her eye and let out a loud gasp as the pain assaulted her.

"What?! Why beat you? Why didn't they beat me?" Daniel struggled with what to do. He wanted to give her a hug, to help her somehow but this was Crystal. She'd probably knife him if he tried.

"Because it's my job to make sure you do your job. The men he sent had a message. You get one more chance then I have to find someone else." Crystal stopped crying and looked in the mirror at Daniel.

"You mean?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, I'm supposed to kill you if you don't get this done. If I don't they will kill us both." Crystal leaned over the pail and spit blood into the water.

Daniel ran his fingers through his hair. What was happening? Now, not only was he messing up his chance to kill Morven, he was putting Crystal in danger. Crystal was a competent fighter. Whoever was sent to bring her 'the message' must have been either very good or just plain outnumbered her. Either way Daniel didn't want to meet them. This was his job. He would be the one to kill Morven. He needed to speed things up.

"How do I get into the castle?" Daniel asked.

"You don't listen! You don't 'get in'! She has to let you in!" Crystal replied then placed the cloth to her lip and winced in pain. "The gate only opens for her."

Daniel had an idea. It wasn't great and it would probably get him killed but he was going to die anyway. At least this way Crystal would be safe.

"I'll get her to let me in tomorrow. Don't worry." Daniel paced while Crystal headed for the door.

"I hope so," Crystal said as she opened the door.

"Where are you going?" Daniel asked.

"I'm going to get really drunk and maybe my head will stop pounding." Crystal forced a laugh then shut the door.

Daniel considered joining her but realized he didn't need to deal with a hangover tomorrow. Tomorrow was too important. He needed a clear head and he really needed to quit thinking of Lydia as a woman and start thinking of her as a mark. She was his way in, nothing more. Seduce the girl and kill the mage. That was the plan.

# Chapter 7

Lydia sat in the kitchen absentmindedly spinning a cup on the table while she thought. She could do this. She could just sit and have dinner with Daniel and not kill him. Her newly finished tattoo would give her the control she needed to keep the magic in check. Lydia laughed. That was, if Daniel didn't kiss her. Her heart pounded in her chest. Did she want him to kiss her? Even though she might lose control? The thought made her feel so guilty and yet so alive. Maybe she could control it now?

"What are you doing in the kitchen?" Abby asked.

Lydia jumped and the cup went spinning out of control and smashed on the floor. For a second Lydia just stared at her hands. There was no energy. Abby had startled her and there was nothing. She could feel it trying to escape but she could also feel her own willpower holding it in.

Lydia sped across the kitchen and hugged Abby.

"Thank you so much!" Lydia yelled.

"For scaring you?" Abby asked.

"Yes." Lydia held out her hands. "I didn't kill you!"

"That's good," Abby said, confused.

"You scared the shit out of me and not even an ounce of magic came out," Lydia said. Her voice was still an octave too high, her excitement was nearly uncontainable.

"This is about that boy, isn't it?" Abby asked.

Lydia grinned and walked back to her seat.

"I have to have complete control. This new tattoo is working." Lydia looked at Abby. "He asked me to dinner tomorrow."

"That's great!" Abby exclaimed. "You said yes right?" She looked down and raised her eyebrows.

"Yes," Lydia replied with a bashful smile.

"Well then you should probably pick out some clothes," Abby smiled and motioned to the stairs.

"Can you help?" Lydia undid the top buttons of her blouse and the hilt of the large sword tattoo was visible. The very detailed image stopped just short of her collar bone and continued all the way down, between her breasts, to her navel. "I don't want him thinking I'm some kind of freak. I need something sexy but not revealing."

"Lydia, don't hide who you are. If he doesn't like you for you then you don't need him." Abby followed Lydia as she climbed the stairs.

"I know but for a first date? I just want to have one night and not worry about anything. Just sit there and talk with a cute guy and not care about anything else for once." Lydia continued up while Abby followed.

"I understand, dear. Everyone needs a break from their responsibilities once in a while and I don't envy yours," she relented.

# Chapter 8

Lydia walked into the tavern a little after seven and found Daniel sitting in his normal spot. At least she assumed it was his normal spot since he had been sitting there all the previous times she'd seen him.

He looked handsome in his grey button up shirt. He was still wearing every-day pants but his shirt fit well and was neatly tucked in. It was clear he had made an effort. Staring at Daniel, Lydia felt overdressed. She had gotten Abby to help her pull her hair back. Not an easy task considering how short her hair was but it came out looking nice. Abby had helped with some attractive makeup, which she normally found no use for, and Abby had also picked out a flattering black dress with long sleeves and a high neckline. The dress had silver trim and lace that Abby said complimented her eyes. Why had she dressed up so much? A nice blouse and pants probably would have been more appropriate but it had been several years since she'd gone on a date. She simply wasn't prepared to handle this kind of attention.

Daniel glanced at the doorway nervously and his eyes got huge when he saw Lydia. She was absolutely picturesque. How had he ever considered her unattractive? He looked down at his shirt and pants and felt very underdressed. He hadn't realized how seriously Lydia was taking this. He assumed it was a casual meal but Lydia looked like she was going to sit down for a royal diner. Lydia's dress fit her like a glove and although there wasn't much skin showing, he could easily tell she was not the thin woman he had once pictured her as. She had even done up her hair, she was taking this very seriously.

Daniel quickly stood up and grabbed the chair opposite himself. He pulled it away from the table and nervously motioned for Lydia to sit. Once she was sitting he took his seat across from her and struggled for something to say that wouldn't sound completely idiotic. Thankfully, Lydia sensed his apprehension and spoke first.

"You look very nice, tonight," Lydia said quietly then looked at her lap where her hands were neatly folded.

"I look nice but," Daniel couldn't remember what he was saying. The act of Lydia looking at her lap left him completely speechless.

"But?" Lydia asked, looking at him again. After a few long seconds Daniel found the words.

"But...Why the hell would a woman like you even give me the time of day?" Daniel nervously put his hands on the table then decided his lap was a better place for them. "I mean, seriously, have you looked in a mirror?"

Lydia looked down at her hands again to hide the pink growing in her cheeks.

Seduce the girl and kill the mage. That was the plan. He needed to quit this or he and Crystal would soon be dead. The fact that Lydia was possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen didn't change anything.

"So, anything good here to eat?" Daniel asked trying to rid himself of the desire to give up on killing Morven and run away with Lydia. Would she even go?

"Don't order the pork," Lydia laughed which caused Daniel's will to falter again.

"Yeah, I've tried it. Strong stuff." He raised his hand to get the waitress's attention then deliberately avoided looking at Lydia. Those eyes were not helping anything. One look and he would forget his life was at stake here. He needed to avoid staring into those enthralling eyes.

"The steak is much better...or even the fish, for that matter," Lydia smiled but Daniel wouldn't look at her. "Something wrong?"

"I'm just really nervous," Daniel replied, not a total lie. The implied reason behind the nervousness was the fabrication.

"What do you do? I mean, what brings you to Lelthan?" Lydia asked.

"I am a mercenary of sorts," Daniel said, finally looking at Lydia. He saw the look of shock on her face so he decided to soften his comment a little. "Not like a hired killer," he laughed. "I protect wealthy people when they travel. It just so happens that I'm between jobs. Lots of wealthy people wanting to come here but they are not so wealthy when they leave...if they get to leave."

"Yeah," Lydia agreed sadly. "For most people this is a one way ticket."

"I wish I'd known that before I took the job to come here. I was actually trying to decide if it was just better to leave without a client when you showed up." Daniel kept his focus on her mouth. Not much better than her eyes but slightly less dangerous, at least until the thought of kissing her crossed his mind.

Luckily the waitress showed up and distracted Daniel from his thoughts.

"What do you feel like today? Perhaps something not on the menu?" the blonde, bosomy woman asked Daniel with a smile. She knew he was here every day and had made more than a few attempts at flirting with him.

"Is the fish fresh?" Daniel asked, giving Lydia a wink.

The waitress turned her gaze from Daniel and was frozen. She hadn't realized who was sitting across from him until now. The fear in her face was evident, even to Daniel.

"The fish was caught this morning," the girl said quickly, her voice full of terror. "I promise Miss Lydia."

"The fish will be fine," Lydia replied.

The waitress didn't waste any time and left without saying another word.

"What was that all about?" Daniel joked.

"Misunderstanding," Lydia replied sadly.

"Anyway," Daniel said, trying to change the subject. "What do you do?"

Lydia looked anxious and twisted her hands together in her lap.

"I care for my grandfather. See to his packages and stuff like that. Nothing much," Lydia answered.

"That's very noble of you," Daniel replied as the waitress arrived with their food.

"Sorry for the wait, Miss Lydia," the girl stated almost begging.

"It's ok, Genene. That was very quick." Lydia looked at the girl who quickly curtseyed then hurried off.

"You some kind of big shot or something?" Daniel asked.

"I told you, it's just a misunderstanding," Lydia replied. She wanted very much to forget the waitress and get back to their conversation.

"Well, Morven is lucky to have you," Daniel said scooping up some fish. Before the fork reached his mouth he realized his mistake but it was too late to take it back. He looked at Lydia whose face had turned from nervous to positively livid. Her beautiful eyes were not mesmerizing in the slightest now, in fact, they appeared to be turning a shade of purple.

"You! I can't believe I..." Lydia stammered then threw her fork onto her plate and stood up quickly, nearly tipping her chair over in the process.

"I confess, I did a little research on you. After I met you," Daniel scrambled.

"Oh just stop!" Lydia shouted and the tavern went quiet.

Everyone in the tavern stared on in horror. Upon realizing who was shouting, some of them tried to sneak out the door but when Lydia started toward the door they headed the opposite direction.

"Wait!" Daniel yelled after her and she stopped at the doorway.

Without turning around she clenched her fists and tried to contain her powers while she spoke through gritted teeth.

"If I ever see you again." Her voice rose in volume with every word. "If you ever speak to me again! I will not be held responsible for what happens!" Then she walked out the door and slammed it hard enough that the crash echoed through the tavern.

Everyone in the tavern turned and stared at Daniel. He threw on a fake smile.

"Huge misunderstanding," he said with a chuckle then chased after Lydia.

When he was outside he could see Lydia practically stomping toward the castle gates. He needed to be quick as well as quiet. He had messed up any hope of something with Lydia but he couldn't let his chance at Morven go to waste. This was a stupid plan, actually it was plan b. Plan a, the plan where he would kiss Lydia and hopefully get her to invite him in was completely out of the question now.

Daniel snuck along the decrepit store fronts, trying to keep out of sight, while staying close enough to Lydia to make his move. After a few blocks Lydia slowed to a walk and Daniel could swear she was crying. He could hear sobs once in a while coupled with some kind of argument with herself.

The guilt welled up inside him. He knew all too well what the argument was about. Although he couldn't make out the words, he knew what she was likely saying. She was blaming herself for being gullible enough to fall for his flattery. Possibly mad at herself for daring to hope he was sincere. The more Daniel thought about it the worse he felt.

Seduce the girl and kill the mage. That was the plan. Now that seducing the girl was out of the question, he still had to kill the mage. There was no turning back now, he was dead either way. He had no choice.

As Lydia approached the gate Daniel pondered how he was going to cover the large empty space between the last of the shops and the gate itself without Lydia noticing him. He had watched Lydia open the gate twice now and both times the gate was only open for seconds after she left. This would take speed, skill and a ton of luck. What would happen if he touched the gate? What would happen if it closed on him? He didn't want to even think about it but the thoughts plagued him. Either way he was dead. By a magical gate or the men who ruffed up Crystal. Hell, Crystal might just kill him to save herself. There was no choice anymore. If he was going to die, he might as well try to take Morven out with his last breath.

Luckily for Daniel, Lydia wasn't even paying attention to anything around her. As she cleared the gate it started to close and Daniel took off full sprint for the opening which was growing smaller by the second. Fifty feet, twenty feet, he wasn't going to make it. The gate only had a few feet to go before it closed then suddenly it stopped closing. The seconds seemed like hours as Daniel slid through the small gap in the gate then it slammed shut. Out in the empty yard in front of the gate Daniel saw a man standing beside a tree. This man was covered in shadow but Daniel could see he was holding his hands up. Strange purple energy was swirling around his hands then the man put his hands down and the energy stopped. The strange man bowed to Daniel then put his hands in his pockets and walked back toward the town.

Had the man forced the gate to remain open? Why? What did he have to gain from Daniel getting inside? Maybe he was also working for Crystal. Daniel didn't have time for this right now. He felt in his pocket, relieved that the dagger hadn't fallen out in the confusion then headed up to the front door.

Daniel waited, shaking with anticipation, outside the door. Five minutes had passed and he couldn't hear anyone moving around anymore. From the sounds of it, Lydia had thrown around some books, maybe furniture then stomped up the stairs after yelling at an elderly woman who was just trying to calm her down. The guilt snuck its way back into Daniel's mind as he waited. If only things had gone differently. Lydia could very well be the woman of his dreams if it hadn't been for the dubious circumstances of their meeting. If only he had met her before taking on this job to kill Morven. Maybe he could have convinced her to run away and they could both leave Morven's evil behind. Not that it mattered now.

Daniel readied himself as he grabbed the door handle. Slowly he turned the knob and slid inside. The door didn't even make a single creak as he closed it and the relief this brought was quickly chased away as he looked into the dining room and saw someone sitting in a chair.

An elderly man's hand grasped a pen and wrote quickly on a piece of paper. At least the person had been facing away from the door. Then it hit Daniel. It was Morven. There were only three people living in this castle and only one of them was a man. The ring on the man's finger sealed the deal. That was the ring Daniel needed to retrieve. It looked ordinary. A plain gold ring with a small red stone. Nothing that stood out, no designs. It could be easily fabricated. How would Crystal's boss even know it was the right ring? Daniel pushed these thoughts from his head. It didn't matter now, he was inside the castle.

Adrenaline flooded Daniel's brain and his hands shook. He could barely keep hold of the dagger as he inched his way closer to the chair. Was the chair too thick to stab a dagger through? Perhaps. He would have to come at Morven from the front. Stab him through the heart but this meant Morven would have a chance to defend himself. Daniel tried to think of other options but there were none. He was only ten feet from Morven, there was no turning back now.

Daniel glanced nervously at the stairs on the right but, thankfully, no one was there. He shifted the dagger to his left hand. He was less than five feet from Morven now. He would spin the chair with his right arm because it was stronger. Pin Morven to the chair, then stab him through the heart before the evil wizard knew what hit him. Just a little more. Daniel stuck out his right hand and grabbed the chair. He prepared himself and grasped the dagger tightly in his left hand then it all went black.

He remembered a strange tingling sensation and a funny taste in his mouth right before he blacked out. It was a strange sensation like nothing he had experienced before. It was almost like he'd been drugged or something.

Daniel's eyes opened wearily and his head pounded. He tried to move his arms but they wouldn't move. He was tied to something. As his eyes focused he saw two people in front of him. Morven and Lydia.

"Awake finally?!" Lydia spat at him.

Morven just stared, not saying a word.

"I...ut...i cat I heek," Daniel stuttered. His tongue was numb. He had been drugged, but how? How did it work so quickly? Again he tried to move but all his muscles ached and he didn't have the strength to even look at his arms, let alone break whatever bonds were holding them.

"Why the hell are you in my house?!" Lydia screamed. "You're just lucky I controlled myself. I almost killed you." Lydia's voice softened and her relief for not killing Daniel was clear.

"ut..." Daniel tried again but his tongue was still numb. He wiggled it around then opened and closed his mouth a few times. "What" He started very slowly, enunciating every syllable. "Happened?"

"You snuck into my house and I zapped you," Lydia replied matter-of-factly. "You're just damn lucky I controlled myself. A few years ago...heck, a few weeks ago and you would have exploded."

"Thank...you," Daniel replied very slowly and deliberately. He was starting to get some feeling in his tongue but it wasn't pleasant, in fact, it was very painful. The more the numbness subsided the more pain he felt. It wasn't just his muscles now. His skin hurt, almost like a very bad sunburn. It hurt all the way down to his bones. For a second he even though he could feel his hair hurting but that was ridiculous.

"Why did you follow me?" Lydia asked more specifically this time.

"I'm sorry," Daniel said painfully. Speaking hurt now but at least he could speak.

"Sorry for what? Why did you follow me?!" Lydia demanded.

Daniel thought quickly. 'I am here to kill your grandfather' wouldn't go over very well. She might just finish the job she started. Saying he was love-struck and wanted a second chance would also not go over so well. Lydia wasn't stupid. His charms had worked on her once, he doubted they would again. Something in between the two extremes. Something that might make her mad but not mad enough to kill him.

"Ok," Daniel replied dejectedly. "I'm a thief." This was perfect. You don't kill thieves. You call the sheriff, maybe even beat them but you don't kill them.

"A thief?" Lydia asked confused.

"Yes, I was told your grandfather had some very valuable items in here." Daniel scoured him mind, there needed to be more to this. Being just a thief was despicable. A thief with a reason to steal? Perhaps a threat to his life? "I owe some very bad people a lot of money. I had no choice." Yes, perfect. He was a bad guy but there were worse guys making him do this. Yes, this story might even gain him some sympathy.

"So you decide to steal from the most powerful wizard in the world?" Lydia stared at him unconvinced.

"What?! A wizard?! They never told me he was a wizard! What the hell did I get myself into this time?!" Daniel rolled his eyes and tried to gauge their response. Morven's face didn't show a hint of what was going on in his evil brain but Lydia's expression softened, just a little.

Lydia turned to her grandfather, a concerned look filling her face.

"What do we do with him now?" she asked.

Morven stared at Daniel for a minute, in his left hand he held Daniel's dagger. Morven wasn't buying the story. Lydia hadn't seen the dagger and Morven held it close. He was letting Daniel know he was on to him but keeping it from Lydia? Why?

"We kill him. He's been inside, his life is already forfeit," Morven said without a hint of emotion.

"We can't just kill him!" Lydia exclaimed.

"Well he can't leave," Morven replied. Emotion seeped back into his voice as he addressed his granddaughter. "The demon will kill him for having been so close to me." Morven thought for a second then amended his statement. "No, actually, the demon will torture him first to get any scrap of information that might help it get in here. Then it will kill him, very painfully." Morven looked at Daniel again and his emotionless expression returned.

"Then give him to me," Lydia begged.

"Give him to you?" Morven asked. "He's not a thing. You can't own a person."

"He's dead anyway right? Make him my servant. He will cook and clean. He can help Abby out?" Lydia looked at her grandfather and it appeared as if she was about to cry. "Abby could use the help. She's getting older and...Daniel can chop the wood for her. She won't have to work so hard anymore."

Lydia saw the faltering of her grandfather's expression and turned to Daniel. She leaned in close to him and he was surprised by the cruel expression which filled her beautiful face.

"Agree to this or he will kill you," she said quietly but forcefully. "Or even worse, we'll let the demon do it."

Daniel's mind raced and his body ached. What choice did he have? Then something occurred to him. Even if the demon was all in their minds, Crystal would kill him if he left. This was his only choice. What's more, he would get another chance to kill Morven. It may take months but he would gain their trust and get another shot at it.

"I agree," Daniel replied.

With a wave of his hand Morven pulled Daniel into the air. With another wave Daniel's hands were freed from their ropes, the chair he was tied too fell and a bracelet flew from one of the shelves. It clamped itself tightly on Daniel's wrist then Daniel fell back into the chair.

"If you try to leave. If you even take one step on the other side of the castle walls. You will feel the most unimaginable pain. Pain like you have never experienced," Morven said cruelly.

"You kidding me? I hurt everywhere. I think I know pain," Daniel joked.

Morven took a step closer and stared intently at Daniel.

"You think that was pain? All my granddaughter did was stun you. Don't be such a baby," Morven sneered then turned and headed to the basement door. When he was at the doorway he looked back at Lydia. "He's your servant. Your responsibility. Anything he does is your mess to clean up." With that he shut the basement door and headed to his room.

"Thank you, so much. I owe you big time. I'll do..." Daniel started but Lydia's stare of pure hatred stopped him.

"Don't say a fucking word to me! You will do what I say, when I say it. Nothing more." She turned on her heels and headed up the stairs. When she was half way up she looked at him hatefully. "Get your ass up here!"

Daniel quickly climbed the stairs behind her, afraid to even sneeze. The pain was excruciating. Every muscle, every bone hurt like it was on fire but not listening to Lydia would be worse. This woman held his life in her hands, almost literally. One false move and she might just kill him. It would only take a thought, one angry thought, and he would die.

"Thank you for not killing me," Daniel said sheepishly. When she didn't yell he added. "And saving my life."

"Don't thank me yet. Tomorrow you start your new job as the maid's lackey," Lydia laughed cruelly.

At the top of the steps Lydia stopped at a doorway. She pushed open the door and Daniel could see a modest bed, some shelves with books on them and a table covered with drawing papers and pencils. In the opposite corner from the bed was a large bathtub.

"This is my room. You don't even open the door without my permission," Lydia glared at him. "Do you understand?"

Daniel shook his head fervently.

"And that..." Lydia pointed down the hall to a closed door. "Is your room. Have fun cleaning it up before you go to sleep. Your first chore." Daniel heard the small snicker Lydia was trying to contain. She was enjoying punishing him. Perhaps his chance with her wasn't completely destroyed, just very, very far away.

"Yes, ma'am," Daniel replied.

"Just call me Lydia. I'm too young to be a ma'am," she growled.

"Yes, you are Lydia," he replied.

"Good night and be ready for a lot more in the morning," she said then walked into her room and slammed the door.

Daniel hung his head and continued on to his new room. He had really screwed this up. Not only did he fail to kill Morven. He was now a servant and the maid's assistant. What a horrible mess he had made of this whole plan. At least he was still alive, that was something.

He opened the creaky door then shut it behind himself. In the dim light he could barely make out the table with the lamp on it. He felt around and found a match then lit it. As the room came into view he realized why Lydia was snickering. This had apparently become a junk room of sorts. There were boxes covered with cobwebs all over the room. Even the bed was piled under with boxes.

Daniel submitted to his punishment and started moving the boxes. As he cleaned the room he thought about his new plan. Morven had the dagger he would need. Somehow he had to gain their trust enough to be let into the basement to get the dagger. Then when everyone trusted him, he could finally finish off Morven. Lydia would be mad but she would eventually come to understand why he did it. Morven was evil, tonight served to reinforce it even more. The evil wizard's first instinct was to kill. If it hadn't been for Lydia, he would be dead right now. Morven needed to die, not only to avenge his parents but to free Lydia.

After an hour of moving boxes and coughing from all the dust flying around the room Daniel finally collapsed in a chair. He stared at all the work he had accomplished and all he had left to do. He hadn't successfully uncovered the bed yet but he was making progress. The wall of boxes was getting quite tall but his exhaustion finally won and Daniel passed out.

# Chapter 9

Daniel woke to a bucket of cold water being splashed in his face. He lept to his feet, unsure of where he was.

"What the hell?!" Daniel yelled.

"You stink, buddy," Lydia laughed from the doorway. The bucket dangled from her hand as her other hand rested on her hip.

"It's not even light out. What time is it?" Daniel begged.

"It'll be light in about twenty minutes. Get your ass out of bed...err chair and get yourself cleaned up. You have a lot of work to do today," Lydia decreed then walked out.

"Is there a tub in here somewhere?!" Daniel yelled but there was no answer. "And where do I get the warm water?!" he yelled again and this time there was a reply.

"In the kitchen, as soon as you warm it up, servant," Lydia said with a laugh. Daniel could tell she was on her way downstairs.

Lydia was having way too much fun with this whole servant thing and truthfully, Daniel didn't mind. She seemed to have forgotten the angry words from last night about him not being allowed to speak to her and this was worth the cold wakeup call.

Daniel headed out the door and down the steps. He looked around but Lydia was nowhere to be found. In the kitchen was a heavier, elderly woman, probably in her fifties. He guessed she was the maid. She was chopping what appeared to be meat and vegetables. The cleaver in her hand moved with precision and speed which could only have been learned over many years of cooking.

"Hello," Daniel said as he came in the kitchen.

The kind, old woman slammed the cleaver into the table then turned to him with her hands on her hips. Her kind demeanor disappeared and he was met with an angry mother bear.

"Don't think I don't know what's going on. Lydia told me everything you...you..." The woman threw up her arms then continued with her chopping.

"I'm really sorr..." Daniel started.

Abby slammed the cleaver back into the table and turned to face him again.

"No you are not sorry! You are sorry you got caught! What you did to Lydia! If I was a lesser woman that cleaver would be between your legs, young man," Abby shouted then picked up the cleaver and started chopping the vegetables like a mad woman.

"What should I call you, ma'am," Daniel said quietly.

"Abby," she replied abruptly without looking at him.

"Where can I get some water to warm up, Abby?" Daniel asked, unsure if this might cause another outburst. He waited for a second then decided to add his instructions. "Lydia told me to get warm water and take a bath because she said I stink."

"Bucket's on the stove. Pump's outside." Abby still didn't look up from her chopping and seemed to increase her speed to keep from yelling at him again.

"Thank you," Daniel replied then grabbed the bucket and headed for the back door.

As he passed Abby she spun and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" he whimpered.

"Don't lead Lydia on again! You hear me?! She has a hard enough time without gigolos like you taking advantage of her." Abby stood with her arms crossed ready to smack him again if she didn't like the response.

"I'm not a gigolo," he started then realized, this was a good way to get hit again. "Yes, ma'am. I'm really sorry," Daniel groveled.

"Good. You aren't completely stupid. You might survive longer than I thought," Abby replied with a crooked smile which barely hid her contempt for the man and went back to her chopping. "Morven doesn't know what you did to her. For your sake, let's keep it that way," she added without looking up.

Daniel proceeded to fetch water and warm three buckets full so he could bathe. An hour after the sun came up he found his way to the dining room where breakfast was sitting on the table waiting. Lydia sat at one end of the rectangular table while Morven sat at the other with Abby beside him. Daniel found it strange how the maid sat near the head of the table and so close to her employer slash master but this whole situation was nothing if not strange. Beside Lydia there was a place set for him, which he also found strange. Were the servants in this castle required to sit by their masters to eat?

Daniel cautiously sat at the empty seat and placed his hands in his lap. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to get food or if he should serve Lydia, his new master? Since he was the newest was he supposed to serve them all? No one seemed to have any food on their plate. The large bowls of scrambled eggs, what looked like sausage and a plate full of pancakes all sat untouched.

After a few moments of awkward silence Morven was the first to speak.

"I suppose we should get this out of the way. You look like you are about to jump out of your skin," Morven started with a small, self-satisfied grin. He was quite pleased with Daniel's predicament and it caused anger to well up inside Daniel.

When Daniel didn't comment Morven continued.

"First, the ground rules," Morven started. "I am your boss, Abby is your boss. If either of us tell you to do something, you do it without question. Do you understand?" Morven asked and waited for Daniel to respond.

"Yes, sir," Daniel replied trying to cover his growing hatred for the man.

"Good. Now let's get something else straight. Abby and I are your bosses, Lydia is your master. It is up to her whether you live or die. If her orders contradict ours, I'd choose hers if I was you. Your life is safe as long as she allows it." Morven gave Daniel a serious stare, this was no joke. Morven would kill him if Lydia decreed it. Or, maybe Lydia would kill him herself. She was more than capable, if last night's ordeal was any indication.

Daniel shook his head, trying to cover his hatred and fear.

"Secondly, there are some truths you need to come to grips with. You will be staying with us until the demon is defeated so you need to get comfortable with your new life." Morven leaned back in his chair and looked less angry but just as serious. "When Lydia leaves," Morven started but Daniel had heard enough.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe a demon is trying to kill you and that all of this," Daniel stuck out his hands and motioned to the world around him. "Is because a demon framed you?" He had heard the rumors but believed none of them.

"Actually," Morven said with a grin nearly as wide as his face. "I do. It's all true."

"Oh come on! Demons? Really? Might as well say the tooth fairy framed you," Daniel said remembering how Crystal had made him feel so ridiculous for even bringing up the subject.

Morven grew impatient. He waved his hand and Daniel flew out of his chair, knocking it over, then flew up against the wall. He struggled to free himself from the invisible bond holding him a few feet from the ground but there was nothing to grab. It was as if the air itself was pushing in on him, holding him there.

"Is it any more ridiculous to believe I'm holding you against the wall with my willpower alone? There's nothing physically holding you there, just my willpower," Morven laughed.

Abby put her hand gently on Morven's arm and patted it.

"Let him down please, you're upsetting Lydia," she said quietly but Daniel heard every word. Abby wasn't a maid! She was Morven's girlfriend, lover, maybe even his wife!

Morven obeyed and Daniel fell to the floor, his legs not ready to hold his weight. After forcing himself up he righted his chair and sat in it again. He glanced at Lydia who had what he could only describe as a mix of fear, compassion and confusion on her face. It was clear she didn't want to hurt him. Tease him, yes. Make his stay here uncomfortable, sure, but she had no intention of actually harming him. She was a woman who had been hurt emotionally by him, she wanted him to know what it felt like. Although she wasn't quite accomplishing what she had intended it was working out better than she ever imagined. Daniel actually felt guilty for the first time in his life.

He had conned and slept with countless women to get what he wanted in life. He had stolen from people who thought he was their friend. He had even stolen their women on occasion, only to leave them in the next town after the thrill was gone but this was different. Lydia was different. Why did she matter when no other woman had? Was it the fact that he was seeing her after what he'd done? No, it had never bothered him before. There was something about Lydia that he couldn't describe. He felt an uncontrollable urge to protect her from harm, especially since he was the one causing it.

Daniel looked back at Morven, he pushed the hatred down. Morven may have been a vile man but Lydia didn't deserve this. For her sake he would play nice with Morven, at least for now.

"I understand, sir," Daniel replied. He swore he heard Lydia let out a sigh of relief and when he turned back she was smiling. "What would you like master?" he joked as he picked up her plate.

"I told you to call me Lydia," she laughed.

"A little humor in the morning is a good way to start the day," he grinned and waved the hand that wasn't holding the plate toward the food.

"Two pancakes," she started and he put two on her plate. "A couple scoops of eggs." Daniel did as he was told. "And umm, eight sausages," she said almost guiltily.

"I've seen your arms, Lydia," he smiled, emphasizing her name. "You must work out a lot. Do you want more? I mean, I'm going to have at least twice what you took."

"I'll be fine," Lydia smiled meekly. "Besides, you are probably going to get a better work out than I will today." Her meek smile turned devious and Daniel was almost afraid for a second. Then he remembered her reaction to Morven's outburst. It would be a hard day's work, for sure, but he would survive. She had no interest in harming him, only punishing him for what he'd done and he felt he deserved it. In fact, he almost looked forward to the suffering. It might make Lydia happy.

Daniel glanced back toward Morven and Abby. Abby's arm was around Morven's and when Morven noticed Daniel looking he quickly removed his arm from hers.

"Can I get you anything?" Daniel asked, looking at Abby.

"No, I will get Morven's and my own, you just tend to your own master," Abby replied. Daniel caught the, not so subtle, eye-roll from Morven. Morven was not Abby's master, in fact, it may have been the opposite that was the truth. "You should get your fill as well. Lydia has a mountain of chores for you today." The devious grin was tempered this time. Apparently his response to Morven's threat and, more so, his treatment of Lydia, had softened Abby's anger toward him.

"Make sure you eat your fill, Lydia," Morven said, abruptly. "We have a lot of training today. Four months is not a lot of time, if we even have that long. You're not ready." He graciously accepted the plate from Abby and started eating.

"Yes, grandpa," Lydia replied and started eating her own.

Daniel lived up to his word and grabbed more than twice what Lydia had on her plate and finished most of it. The whole time he kept catching Lydia giving him strange stares. Occasionally he would catch Abby and Lydia having what seemed like a silent conversation. These two were very close. He knew Abby couldn't be Lydia's mother but they sure acted like mother and daughter. She was a little young but maybe Abby was her grandmother? Eventually the silent glances between the two and his growing discomfort for the awkward silence forced Daniel to speak.

"Are you Lydia's grandmother?" Daniel asked. In response he got a hateful glance from Morven but the old wizard held his tongue.

"No, Daniel. I'm just a maid. I've raised Lydia since she was six. Since her mother died," Abby explained.

"That explains a lot," Daniel stated.

"Any other questions before you start your new job," Lydia teased.

"Actually, I have a few," Daniel said, ignoring another annoyed look from Morven.

"Well, spit em out. I'll be pretty busy today...as will you," she sneered, lifting one eyebrow.

"What happens in four months? What are you not ready for?" Daniel asked.

"Well, I am going to kill this demon when my cousin gets here," Lydia replied.

"No, Lydia. You are going to defeat the demon. No one said anything about killing it. After you defeat the demon and stop its plan to summon more demons," Morven paused and Daniel was sure he was trying to word this next part perfectly. It was like he was hiding something. Not exactly lying but he was keeping something from them. "It will be someone else's job to kill the demon."

"Sorry, grandpa, I am going to defeat the demon with my cousin's help," Lydia corrected herself.

"So...will I be stuck here until you come back?" Daniel asked.

"That depends on if Lydia can trust you," Morven interrupted. "It's up to her."

"I see," Daniel replied to Morven then turned back to Lydia. "I guess I better start working on that." He smiled and stood up. He grabbed Lydia's empty plate and glass then stacked them with his. Finally, he grabbed her silverware and headed to the kitchen. From the kitchen he yelled to them. "Am I washing these!?"

"No, Daniel, that's my job," Abby replied as she stood up and grabbed Morven's dishes.

"We need some wood chopped," Lydia giggled. "A lot of wood." She stood up and headed to the kitchen. As she passed Daniel she drug her nails across his back.

Daniel got the distinct impression this was meant as encouragement. She was indicating that he hadn't completely lost her, at least not yet. It might take a week, maybe longer but there was still a chance to get back to where they were. He wouldn't be sharing a bed with her anytime soon but strangely it didn't seem to matter as much to Daniel as he thought it should. The desire was still there but, somehow, her talking to him was more important.

Lydia headed out the back door of the kitchen and Daniel followed her. Once he was in the enormous back yard he saw a pile of logs, not lumber, not cut up pieces of trees but ten foot logs. The pile was huge, enough to build a decent sized house.

"How the hell did you get all these in here?" Daniel asked surprised.

"Part of my training," Lydia replied, looking at the ground. "We hired some men to chop down the trees and bring them to the gate then I had to move them all, one at a time, without touching them."

"Damn," Daniel said then walked over to the pile that was taller than he was and wider than an average room. He noticed quite a few of the logs had scorch marks and a few even looked like they had exploded from the inside. "You must be really powerful." Daniel turned and looked at Lydia who seemed to be embarrassed.

"I have trouble controlling it," she admitted.

"As strong as you are, I can see why." Daniel saw a glimmer of happiness in her eyes as she looked up to meet his gaze so he decided he should push it a little farther. "It must be really hard to control that much power. I'm not magical or anything but if the marks on those trees are an accident you must be one of the most powerful mages in the world." Daniel felt a little guilty after saying it. He had meant it as a compliment but halfway through his natural instinct to seduce women kicked in.

"Well, thank you, but I'm not really that strong. I'm just...inexperienced," Lydia replied, disappointed in herself.

"That's not what I see," he replied then turned back to his task. Beside the logs was an axe and a saw. This was going to be quite a chore but it would give him something to do. There was nothing worse than being bored. He often thought that if he had ended up in prison for one of his con jobs, he'd have gone insane from the boredom.

"I appreciate it but you'll see soon enough," Lydia laughed uncomfortably and headed to an open area beside the logs.

In this area of the yard was what appeared to be a few training dummies. They were actually just thicker sticks in the shape of a T with garments draped over them and helmets on the top. Not quite the sturdy ones Daniel was used to but they were training dummies not mannequins for decoration. They were supposed to be destroyed eventually and Daniel guessed these were not meant for sword play.

Daniel grabbed the saw and carefully rolled one of the logs from the top of the pile toward a make-shift sawhorse that had been set up. He caught Lydia watching him a few times as he moved the log around. He guessed they each weighed twice as much as he did. While Daniel's training didn't make him as large as Deston, it had made him strong. Daniel glanced over to find Lydia still stretching out in the open yard with no sign of Morven yet.

After few minutes Daniel decided to remove his shirt. The day was warming up and he wasn't quite sure who did laundry nor how many shirts he actually had here. He, very well, might be the one in charge of doing the laundry and he wasn't about to make more work for himself. He hid a smile when he noticed Lydia paying closer to attention to him now that he was no longer wearing his shirt. At least she was attracted to him. That was something.

Daniel continued to saw up the log into manageable pieces, trying not to look at Lydia. He had a job to do and he did not want to be called lazy. After he had finished sawing up the first log he started to haul the pieces over to the chopping block and noticed Morven had joined Lydia. Then he realized Lydia had taken off her warm shirt to reveal a sleeveless shirt underneath. Her pants were fairly tight as well and now Daniel was the one staring. This sleeveless shirt still had a high collar and Daniel wondered why that was but, again, he was no expert on women's fashion and he was more interested in her arms. The tattoos on Lydia's arms were amazing, to say the least, and the way the woman moved was nothing short of enthralling.

Lydia kicked high in the air at Morven's hand which was inside a padded glove. The reach she had with her legs surprised Daniel. He had never seen anyone except for the assassins with that much flexibility and precision. He corrected himself. There was one woman with moves like that. Next she spun and punched Morven's other hand and Daniel was again surprised but not at Lydia's speed. It was Morven's speed that confused Daniel. How was a man who appeared to be in his seventies keeping up with this whirlwind of a woman? The longer Daniel watched the more he was convinced the assassin's had nothing on Lydia. He had only seen a few people as impressive as she was.

One had been Fiona Craylet, a beautiful, red haired princess that acted nothing like the princess she was. Fiona was a couple years younger than Daniel and had beaten him up so quickly that he didn't even know what happened. He had been hired by her father, King Seth, to protect her but Daniel quit after a few weeks when he and Fiona had their falling out. King Seth was surprisingly understanding and even paid Daniel a decent bonus without asking why he was quitting.

Daniel laughed as he thought of Fiona. It had been his uncontrollable urge to seduce women which had been the cause of him getting his ass handed to him. Fiona had actually taken offence to Daniel hitting on her and proceeded to show him the error of his ways. He had been sleeping with two of Fiona's friends at the time and Fiona didn't appreciate him wanting her to be his third girlfriend. Even Lydia wouldn't stand a chance against Fiona but he was pretty sure the two of them would band together and make his life miserable rather than fight each other.

The second was a large, blonde, voluptuous woman named Selna Valduran. Selna was from a small village far to the north where the snow lasted all year long. Although she was not as fast as Lydia and Fionam she was incredibly strong. This was another woman who turned Daniel down, though not as violently as Fiona. Selna was as strong as five men. If she was here right now, she'd be teasing Daniel for his inability to just pick up the stupid logs and carry them to the saw horse. She was a complicated woman but, unlike Fiona, whom Daniel had offended, Selna thought Daniel wasn't smart enough to keep her interested.

Daniel remembered these two women well. It was rare when women turned him down and these two had made a lasting impression on him. He had never felt so inadequate in all his life, that was until he was captured by Lydia. Lydia wanted him, he was sure of it. It was only his stupidity which was keeping her away. There was nothing worse than realizing you were your own worst enemy.

Daniel pulled himself away from his daydreams and his staring then got back to work. He positioned himself so he could keep watching Lydia while he chopped up the logs. She was quite impressive but this was just the warm up. As Daniel started on the second log he saw what the training dummies were for and realized why Lydia was so frustrated with herself.

Lydia continued to spin and kick at Morven's gloves while trying to use magic on the training dummies to her sides and behind her.

Lydia spun and kicked Morven's hand, again high in the air, then landed and held out both hands toward one of the dummies. It exploded in a ball of fire and Daniel was excited for her. She was doing amazing. Then he realized that exploding the dummy had been a mistake.

"Damn it! I just can't get it!" Lydia stomped over to the flaming dummy and waved her hand. Air rushed in and smothered the poor flaming pile of wood and cloth.

"Concentrate. Release only enough magic to knock it over. You're trying too hard. Just let the magic flow out, don't force it." Morven took a few steps back then yelled to Daniel. "Bring me two sticks. About three or four inches in diameter."

"Yes, sir," Daniel replied and headed toward a pile of sticks beside the logs. He quickly used the axe to sheer off the smaller branches until he had two sticks which looked about like the ones used to make the training dummies.

As Daniel approached Lydia seemed self-conscious. She put her hands on her shoulders in an attempt to hide her tattoos. Daniel noticed right away and felt he needed to say something. Something not flirtatious was the hard part. His natural instinct was to say something intended to get her into bed but he forced this back and came up with something more platonic.

"Nice tattoos," Daniel said and handed the sticks to Morven. "I wanted some once but I highly doubt I'd wear them so well."

Damn it! He had almost done platonic. He tried so hard but he just couldn't break the habit. To be fair it wasn't overtly sexual but the tone of his voice was flirtatious.

"Thanks," Lydia said blushing.

"Daniel, can you take a break and give us a hand?" Morven asked with a devious look on his face.

"Sure?" Daniel asked, looking at Lydia.

"It's fine," Lydia replied.

"Smart boy," Morven said. Now hold these like so. Morven made an X in front of himself with the sticks. "And stand about ten feet behind Lydia."

"No, grandpa! What if I hurt him?" Lydia begged.

"Then I guess you'll have to find a new servant," Morven teased.

"I can't," Lydia protested.

"You can and you will," Morven demanded. "It will be much worse in the real world. You will have to hurt people trying to hurt your friends. You won't have time to think about it. You will just have to react and hit one target among many."

"But..." Lydia argued but she had already lost.

Morven took a step back and held up his gloved hand.

Lydia turned and looked at Daniel, her face full of worry.

"I'm really sorry, Daniel," she said.

"Why? You're amazing! I'm not worried," Daniel said, although he wasn't as confident as he pretended to be. Lydia smiled and turned to face Morven.

Daniel picked up the sticks and his hands shook. He might very well die, right here, right now. He always pictured Morven killing him. He had no misconceptions about his talents. He was a good fighter but nowhere near some of the top tier fighters he had met in his travels and what was more, Morven was a wizard. His only hope had been that he might deliver a fatal blow to the man before he could react. Now it seemed like it all might end and he would die because of his own stupidity. Not because he tried to kill Morven but because he had betrayed a woman who had done nothing wrong. It was almost poetic. A man who seduced women for a living, dying to the one woman he might actually be able to care about.

Lydia took her stance and spun, kicking Morven's hand then turned to Daniel and unleased a torrent of energy. As the energy washed over him he felt calm at first then the burning started. Daniel flew backward and fell on his back a few feet from where he stood. He slid in the dirt and when he came to a stop Lydia was over top of him.

"Are you ok!? Please say something!" she begged, her voice an octave higher than normal. "Please Daniel, don't be dead!"

Daniel's blank expression slowly turned to a smile.

"That was incredible. I'd clap but I think my arms are numb," he laughed.

Lydia slapped him on the shoulder.

"Ow! No, they're not numb, I just can't move them," he laughed again then winced as the laughter caused him pain. He looked down at the sticks he was still holding. "At least you broke the sticks without breaking me." Both sticks had been broken at the point where they crossed.

"I'm really sorry," Lydia said.

"Why? Next time maybe use a little less power but you did it," Daniel grunted.

"Why don't you see to Daniel and we can take a break. That was decent progress, Lydia. We can start again after lunch," Morven said and headed back inside.

Daniel waited for Morven to get inside before he spoke.

"Is he always so hard on you?" Daniel asked as he tried to get to his feet. Lydia put herself under his arm to help him up.

"Yes, but it's because he wants to make sure I come home. If I'm out there and I can't handle myself," Lydia didn't want to finish so Daniel did it for her.

"Someone could die, maybe you," he said quietly.

"Yes," she replied solemnly as she helped him toward the kitchen. "I killed someone once. I didn't mean to but he was trying to rob me." She wasn't sure why she said it but something about Daniel invited her to spill her darkest secrets. It was unnerving and comforting at the same time.

Daniel thought for a second before speaking. Some people would want him to say 'it's ok' or 'he deserved it' but not this woman, not Lydia. She wanted to feel bad about it. She had taken a life when she didn't have to. Daniel understood her a little and that much was clear. She didn't have to kill anyone. She was so powerful she could have just disabled the man. He was no threat to her.

"It was a mistake. Not to lessen it any but you won't make that mistake again." Daniel squeezed his arm around her shoulder lightly to let her know he understood.

For the first time since it happened someone finally said the words she needed to hear. Someone understood. Perhaps Daniel had done something similarly regrettable in his life, something she would have to ask about later. For now, his words and his presence beside her was what she needed.

# Chapter 10

After Daniel had full control of his limbs again he ate a quiet lunch with Lydia then headed back out to work. The rest of the afternoon Lydia spent doing target practice as well as staring at the handsome, half naked man who was now her servant. She felt a little guilty. Daniel was a compassionate and caring man, when he wasn't trying to either get her into bed or rob her grandfather. Despite his failings he was nice to talk to, the thing which attracted her to him in the beginning.

At the supper table there was very little conversation. Lydia was bruised and worn out and so was Daniel. The only conversations were short answers to Abby's questions. After supper, Daniel cleared the table and started heating some water. It would feel great to soak in a warm bath now that he had part of his room free from boxes. Tomorrow he would have to ask Abby where he could store them, tonight he only wanted a bath and sleep.

Lydia walked into the kitchen, she looked even more tired than Daniel felt.

"Magic takes a lot out of you, doesn't it?" he asked kindly.

"Yes, it does. I guess it gets easier as I get better but eight hours of training is a little rough." Lydia leaned on the counter and sighed at how good it felt to relax.

Daniel noticed her shirt was covered with dirt and sweat and her hair was a little frazzled.

"Want the first bath?" he asked.

"Why you being so nice? You're basically a prisoner here." She looked at him curiously, trying to figure out if this was just another con.

"Well, if this demon is real and I'm not saying I believe it just yet. But if it is real, you are saving my life." Daniel flashed her a weak smile. He was worn out, more so than he had been in years. Even sword training didn't compare with chopping wood all day, not to mention the assault of magic he had experienced. All in all it was a very tiring day. "Besides, I'm your servant. It's my job."

"I suppose," she said and started wearily toward the steps. She turned at the doorway. "Don't think this excuses what you did, but it's a start." She smiled then headed up the steps.

When the water started boiling Daniel grabbed the pail with a cloth and headed up to Lydia's room. On the way up he thought about the strange situation he was now in. He wasn't so sure he could kill Morven. He had hurt Lydia so much already. What would happen to her if he killed Morven? He didn't even seem that bad. Maybe he had changed from the man he once was...or maybe this story about the demon was true. Either way, he needed to spend a little more time figuring out what was really going on before he decided what to do about Morven.

He pushed these thoughts from his mind when he reached Lydia's door. It wasn't important right now. Lydia needed a couple more pails before he could even start on his own bath. It was the least he could do since he had treated her so badly.

Daniel turned the nob and opened the door. As he stepped inside he started to speak.

"How many..." Daniel couldn't say another word. In front of him stood Lydia, facing away from him but completely naked. She was reaching toward a coat hanger with a robe on it. He had never seen such a beautiful sight. Her toned body looked more amazing than he could have imagined. He had seen a lot of beautiful women and most of them naked but they were nothing like this. He had always assumed he liked soft women with soft, smooth skin and maybe even a little weight on them but he was wrong. Every muscle in her back and her legs was clearly visible. The tattoo of the angel surrounded by farmers was the icing on the cake. As soon as she heard him speak she quickly grabbed the robe and pulled it around herself.

"Don't you knock?!" she yelled as she turned around to find Daniel with his eyes wide open as well as his mouth. As shocked as he looked she was surprised he was able to hold onto the pail.

Daniel quickly looked at the floor and hurried over to the tub. He poured in the pail then hurried back out of the room without a word.

Lydia waited on the bed impatiently for him to bring the next pail. After about ten or fifteen minutes she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in, Daniel," she laughed.

He came in with his eyes looking at his feet again and quickly dumped the pail in the tub.

"Not even going to say a word?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm really sorry, I assumed...well, that's where I went wrong...I assumed," he replied nervously. The whole time he couldn't even look at her.

"You've seen naked women before, I'm sure," she smirked.

"Umm," Daniel tried to find something to say that wasn't sexual but after what he'd seen it wasn't possible.

"Spit it out Daniel. Why are you acting so weird?" Lydia thought for a second then realized it was probably her tattoos. "It's the tattoos isn't it?" She asked disappointed.

"Actually, yes. I've..." again he bit his tongue. Every thought in his head would only make this situation worse.

"I know, they are weird. They help me control my magic. Not going to win me any beauty contests," she laughed apprehensively.

"What?! Are you kidding me?! That's half the reason I can't find anything to say. I mean, shit! I've never seen a woman who looks like you. Ok, that sounded horrible. I should just shut up now," Daniel said, still looking at the floor.

"You can't even look at me," Lydia said sadly. "Is it that bad?"

"Ok, you're probably going to punch me or zap me or something but I can't not say this." Daniel looked her in the eyes, afraid to look at anything else and that in itself was a mistake. "That has to be the sexiest thing I've ever seen...and your body...I should shut up again." Daniel looked at the floor.

Lydia walked over to him and put her finger under his chin. She lifted his face to look at hers. Daniel looked into those silver eyes and realized he had misspoke.

"Ok, I was wrong. THAT is the sexiest thing I've ever seen," he cringed waiting for her to hurt him.

"Looks like torturing you will be easier than I thought. You're doing it to yourself. One more pail please," she laughed then turned, walked to the tub and ran her hand through the water. She looked over her shoulder and stared at him seductively. "Yes, one more should do it."

While Daniel was downstairs warming the last pail of water Lydia had a devious idea. Daniel torturing himself was great but she could give it an extra boost. She put some bubble bath into the tub water then agitated the water until the bubbles were practically flowing over the edge. Then she eased herself into the tub. It was decently warm but the last pail would make it just right. She leaned back and waited for Daniel. Soon she heard his knock on the door. She leaned forward to expose her back and carefully pushed the bubbles up to cover her chest.

"Come in, Daniel!" she yelled and almost laughed as she said it.

She looked over her shoulder and saw the same scared, excited and confused look come over his face.

"It's getting chilly, can you hurry up and pour it in?" she asked cunningly.

"Yes, ma'am, I mean Lydia," he stuttered. He hurriedly poured the hot water in down by her feet while trying to look at the ceiling.

"So what is it that you find so appealing about my tattoo?" she asked slyly. "Why don't you have a seat on the bed and talk to me for a while."

Daniel nervously sat on the bed and made a loud clang when he tried to set the pail on the floor.

"Don't worry, Daniel. You won't be seeing anything." She looked at Daniel over the mountain of bubbles and this time couldn't stop the giggle. "At least not until they start fading." She picked up a hand and blew the bubbles off of it.

"Umm..." Daniel stumbled. "What was the question?" How could he be so tongue tied? This had never actually happened to him. Sure, he had pretended it had but now, actually experiencing it. It was overwhelming, humbling, even a little frightening. He was actually afraid he might say the wrong thing. Him, Daniel Jahl, afraid to talk to a woman. How many of his conquests would find vindication in this? Probably quite a few.

"What do you find so appealing about my tattoo?" Lydia asked again, more seductively than before.

"Umm...well...The symbolism of it," he replied, not sure where he was going with this train of thought.

"Really? And what does it symbolize?" she asked, enjoying every minute of his awkwardness. This was retribution beyond what she had hoped for. Now he would get to feel what it was like, although she wouldn't brush him off, just leave him hanging for a while. The thought made her giggle out loud again.

"Umm...why are they thanking the angel?" he asked, trying to undo his stupid comment from before.

"What makes you think they are thanking it?" she asked, now more curious about his answer than his discomfort.

"I don't know. It's pretty obvious though," he replied.

"Not even my grandpa realized what it depicted the first time he saw it. Everyone I've shown the drawing to asks what the people did to make the angel so mad. Why they are begging for forgiveness, but not you. Why is that?" She had nearly forgotten she was supposed to be torturing him.

"They look so...happy. What did he do for them?" Daniel asked.

"They are thanking him for saving their crops but that's not the point. How did you know when no one else did?" Lydia asked.

"I just figured, you being you. You..." Daniel stopped himself. He needed to hold himself back. He had wronged Lydia. This was too soon to start flirting. She deserved better than that. "You are a kind person."

"Perhaps I misjudged you," Lydia replied. "You probably better get your bath water started. We will be up early again tomorrow." Lydia didn't like the idea of him leaving but there was no way she was sleeping with him, not yet. Not after what he had done. He would have to work a lot harder. One day of kind comments didn't take away the sting, although it did help.

"Don't want you throwing water on me again because I stink," Daniel laughed as he made his way to the door.

"Besides," Lydia added as one final jab. "The bubbles are starting to get thin. Wouldn't want you getting too worked up."

"No, we wouldn't want that," Daniel said with a wink and left.

Lydia sank into the bubbles and quickly realized Daniel wasn't the only one getting worked up. If things continued like this she might not be able to last. She just had to be sure he was being honest this time, not working some angle she couldn't see.

# Chapter 11

After Daniel's bath he decided to take a tour of the house. Lydia would be sleeping by now and hopefully Morven and Abby were as well. He put on some clean clothes and headed down the stairs. The dining room was dark and the only light in the kitchen was the moonlight shining through the window. As he stumbled through the dining room and felt his way to the basement door, he realized what he was doing. Somehow, subconsciously, he still wanted to kill Morven. Daniel told himself he was just going to have a look but his mind was preoccupied with finding the dagger, the one that could kill a powerful mage like Morven.

As he silently crept down the stairs to the basement he argued with himself. This would save Lydia and vindicate his parents but at the same time he would certainly lose Lydia for good. How was she so important to him now that she, alone, stood in the way of what he had been striving for all his life?

Daniel found two doors at the bottom of the steps and decided to try the one on the right first. It was pitch black and there was no sound coming from inside so he decided to see what was in the other room. He closed the right door and headed for the left. Upon opening the left door he heard breathing. It was soft and there was a sensual quality to it, it was a woman, it was Abby. He peered into the room which was lit by a single lamp in the far corner and realized Abby wasn't alone. Morven was on the side opposite of Abby, facing away from her.

Quickly Daniel scanned the room and saw bookshelves full of books, a dresser with a few books on top of it and to the far left a table. On top of the table sat the dagger Crystal had given him. How easy it would be to grab the dagger and plunge it through Morven's heart. All the years of scheming had come to this moment. In a few seconds it could all be over.

Daniel hung at the doorway unable to make his feet move. What would this do to Lydia? Beside the fact that she would hate him, what would it do to her? If the demon story was true he would be sentencing her to death as well. If it was all a fabrication and she would live, how would she deal with him seducing her to kill her grandfather? Daniel had seen the love in her eyes when she looked at Morven. Despite everything this man had done, she loved him more than anything. He was more than her grandfather. He was a father figure, a teacher, someone she confided in, maybe even her closest friend. What would Lydia's life be like without this man?

Daniel forced his feet to move and he silently crossed the room then picked up the dagger. The light of the lamp shimmered off the blade as Daniel held it up and examined it. This small piece of metal could end all his suffering but only by giving it to Lydia. Daniel put the dagger back on the table and hung his head as he made his way to the door. He wouldn't do that to her. She had done nothing to him. She had done nothing to anyone. He doubted Lydia had ever done anything intentionally unkind in her entire life. No, if the price for his peace was harming Lydia, he wouldn't do it!

When he was almost to the door Daniel tripped on a book that had been left on the floor. His hands smacked hard on the stone walls and Morven shot up in bed.

"What's going on?! Who's there?!" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, Morven," Daniel struggled for an excuse. "I...I thought I heard something down here and wanted to make sure you two were ok." He nervously turned to Morven. "I had just finished my bath and I could have sworn I heard some scratching or something."

Morven relaxed and sat back. He stared at Daniel curiously but there was no sign of anger.

"Probably rats. Good night, Daniel." Morven sounded annoyed but relieved.

"Good night and I'm sorry I woke you," Daniel said then closed the door on his way out.

When the door was shut Abby opened her eyes, sat up and looked at Morven. She followed his gaze to the table and saw the dagger Morven was staring at and realized it was facing the other direction.

"Fine, you were right," she sighed.

"I told you he could be trusted. Lydia means too much to him," Morven laughed as he laid back down.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in. You're always right," Abby conceded. "I just didn't think he would change his mind so quickly. He still thinks you killed his parents."

"He will have to keep thinking that for now," Morven replied as he covered up Abby then himself. He turned to face her, his nose inches from hers. He leaned in and kissed her then smiled. "Lydia needs him."

"Nathan doesn't agree with you," Abby countered.

"When does Nathan ever agree with me?" Morven asked. "He will help regardless of what he believes. It's Lydia."

"How do you think Daniel will react when our guest arrives?" Abby snickered.

"I'm sure it will be a _heartfelt_ reunion," Morven laughed.

"You joke, but I sure hope she doesn't kill him." Abby sounded a little apprehensive.

"She wouldn't kill him, hurt him, yes but she wouldn't kill him," Morven added then slid closer to Abby. She rolled over and Morven put his arm around her then kissed her neck. "Now maybe you can actually get some sleep. No more worrying about Daniel."

"When he came in the room I thought for sure you'd have to kill him," Abby replied.

"I don't kill people, dear. Not if I can help it," Morven trailed off and Abby grabbed his hand tightly.

"I'm sorry I brought it up. You did what you had to do." Abby placed his hand to her lips and kissed it gently.

"That's why we must stay here. I've lost so many wives to the demons. I will not lose another," Morven added.

"Maybe you should just quit finding wives," Abby joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

"I did quit. I will make sure you are the last." Morven hugged her more tightly and she understood his love for her. She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep in his arms.

# Chapter 12

After another week of chopping wood while Lydia practiced twenty feet away from him Lydia was starting to trust Daniel. Daniel woke one morning to Lydia staring down at him. She had a devious smile on her face. He cringed in anticipation of another freezing bucket of water but Lydia just laughed. She tossed an empty pack on to his chest then headed to the door.

"Get dressed, we're going for supplies," she said then headed downstairs.

Daniel dressed and joined everyone at the table for breakfast. As he ate he realized he had apparently missed the first part of the conversation but it seemed like Morven wasn't too happy with the idea of Daniel going to town.

Morven looked at Daniel with an inquisitive look.

"Are you sure you can trust him?" Morven asked then looked back at Lydia.

Daniel felt like a child. They were talking about him without addressing him.

"Yes, grandpa. Besides, if he leaves he will be signing his own death warrant. It's in his best interests to come back with me," Lydia stared at Daniel intently.

"Do I get a say in this?" Daniel asked, staring at Lydia then Morven. When neither of them showed any sign of responding he looked to Abby for help. "I'll come back."

"But will you protect her?" Morven asked.

Daniel looked at Morven and replied sternly.

"Lydia doesn't need my protection but if you are asking if I would put myself in harm's way for her, the answer is yes." When Daniel broke from Morven's gaze he saw the look on Lydia's face. He had apparently answered the question much better than Lydia had hoped. At least if the look of almost lustful appreciation was anything to go by.

"Fine," Morven replied and waved his hand. The bracelet fell from Daniel's wrist and clanged on the floor.

"I'm starting to think your demon story might not be a bunch of bullshit after all," Daniel added as he rubbed his wrist. "I just might go out and buy a cross or two." Daniel laughed but no one joined him.

"That's vampires, Daniel," Lydia scolded. "And only the storybook ones."

"I know, I've seen a vampire or three," he joked. "No fancy dressed men seducing beautiful women. They're real beasts."

"Just like you," Lydia giggled and took her plate to the kitchen.

"Wait...which one is like me? The storybook vampire or the beast?" Daniel asked, pretending to be offended. He grabbed his dishes and hurried after her.

"Actually...both," Lydia teased.

Abby leaned in to whisper to Morven.

"You didn't need to make it so difficult. You'd already decided he could go," Abby smirked.

"They need to feel like they are on the same side against me or it will mean less," Morven replied patting her hand.

"So you think I'm a beast?!" Daniel asked with far too much shock in his voice.

"Not just a beast...a beast that seduces beautiful women," Lydia laughed.

"Oh ho! You do realize how beautiful you are! It was all an act!" Daniel pushed by her and grabbed the dishes from her hand. "And I'm the servant here. You don't get to do your own dishes."

"Fine, but I will dry. I'm still the boss," she laughed.

Abby leaned in again.

"I should just let them do the dishes. They are getting along so well," she commented.

"For now," Morven replied. "He's still on the fence. He picked up the dagger the other night. If he had decided, he wouldn't have done that. So he will probably screw up with Lydia at least once more."

"Can't we do anything? I don't want to see Lydia get hurt," Abby whispered with concern in her voice.

"No, it's part of growing up. Let's just hope he doesn't mess up too badly. She needs him," Morven replied. "Someone who can see beyond who her grandfather is and beyond the tattoos she's burdened herself with."

"Daniel likes her tattoos. I think he's the one. And you talk like she is a child. She's thirty six," Abby complained.

"Compared to me she is a toddler," Morven smiled. "But then again so are you."

"Cradle robber," Abby teased and quickly stole a kiss while Daniel and Lydia were busy pretending to argue.

"And I never said I was beautiful," Lydia disputed.

"Oh really? Then what did you mean?" Daniel prodded.

"You have probably seduced a lot of beautiful women," Lydia said with a hint of sadness. Their fake arguing had caused her to admit something she was having a hard time dealing with.

"Ok, let's get one thing straight," Daniel replied, he felt a little guilty about all the women but saw a way to perhaps vindicate himself. "I used to be like that, yes, but believe me." He put down the dishes and grabbed Lydia's hands. "I have never met a woman as beautiful as you." He dropped her hands and a smile spread across his face again. "And I tried to seduce you but it backfired."

"What do you mean backfired?" Lydia asked.

"You were supposed to fall for me, not the other way around," Daniel replied snidely then headed toward the dining room. "We should get going. I still have a ton of wood to chop when I get...back." He had almost said home but this wasn't his home. He had been here for a little over a week. Why did it feel like home? Maybe it was the feeling of family that spread thought this place like a fog on a cold morning or maybe it was just Lydia.

Lydia was a little stunned from Daniel's admission. His brutal honesty wasn't what she expected. She absentmindedly put the drying rag on the counter and followed Daniel almost in a daze. She grabbed her cloak and pack and followed him out the front door without saying a word.

"He better not hurt her or I'll..." Abby said angrily once the door was shut.

"He'll probably hurt her some. It's just life, dear. It will all work out in the end," Morven replied then added. "I hope."

"You hope? Rachel told you about Lydia's future," Abby argued.

"Rachel was amazing but even she couldn't see everything. The farther away from her death, the foggier it became. Seeing this far after her death was tricky. There were four men who would complement Lydia and help her do what she needed to. She couldn't see which one was the right choice. Which man was best for her was my decision," Morven stated.

"Why Daniel then? He seems...I'm not quite sure how to say it," Abby said.

"Duplicitous, conniving?" Morven asked with a laugh.

"Actually, yes," Abby agreed.

"Because Daniel is the only one she might actually fall in love with. The others would be passing flings, distractions. Daniel is also the only one who would love her as she is. The others would try to change her," Morven stated.

"What about Nathan?" Abby asked skeptically.

"It was my choice. Nathan has no say in it," Morven replied. "We raised her. And besides, Rachel said I had to choose."

Abby didn't respond to this, she agreed with her husband choice. A chance at real love was worth the risk.

# Chapter 13

Daniel walked down the crowded Lelthan street beside Lydia, constantly checking to make sure she hadn't wandered off. Today was a rare occurrence, actually, a once a year occurrence. No wonder Lydia had been in such a good mood when she woke him. Once every year, for one day, a band of traveling merchants stopped in Lelthan along their winding path through the kingdom. The normally sparse streets turned into a bustling market much like it had been before Morven. The murderers, thieves and prostitutes were replaced with farmers from the surrounding countryside. They all put aside their fear for this special occasion.

Daniel kept a close eye on Lydia as they approached the garment section of the traveling market. She looked like a child in a candy store. Her excitement was so pleasantly contagious that Daniel hadn't even realized Lydia had taken off her cloak. He was too caught up in her barrage of oo's and ahh's as she felt the need to touch every silken, shiny, gem studded garment they had on display. A few of the pieces Lydia had a hard time saying goodbye to but she only had enough money for supplies. Clothing was an unnecessary indulgence the sorceress couldn't afford. She needed food and other supplies. Despite being the make-shift king, Morven was poor. In order for a king to become rich he would have to levy taxes and hire solders to enforce those taxes. Morven scraped by with what he'd had with him in the beginning and what the former king had left. That meant Lydia did as well. They often traded off some of the previous king's silver and gems but even this was dwindling now after more than twenty years.

Daniel saw an opportunity. A chance to show Lydia he wasn't as cruel as she thought he was.

"How about we meet over there in an hour or so?" Daniel asked, pointing at a temporary restaurant which had been set up on the street.

"Why? Where are you going?" Lydia asked skeptically.

"I have some...personal things to take care of," Daniel replied vaguely.

"Personal things? You're leaving aren't you?" Lydia asked.

"What?! No! I'm just finishing up some business then I'm all yours," Daniel winked.

"That's not what I meant," Lydia blushed and crossed her arms. Her half full pack dangled from one hand.

"I know what you meant. It's just too much fun to pick on you," Daniel laughed. "I'll be there in one hour." He took off without waiting for her response.

Daniel pushed his way back through the crowd until he was at the garment section again. He quickly found the piece Lydia had agonized over for a solid five minutes before putting it down and continuing on. This would be his apology. Surely she would see he was serious after he gave her this.

"Buying your new girlfriend a present?" a familiar voice came from behind Daniel.

Daniel spun around and met Crystal's gaze. She looked angry and terrifying. He could see the blade she held close to her leg. Was she going to kill him right here? Then a horrible thought crossed his mind. Lydia would never find out the truth. She would think he left. This realization was more terrifying to Daniel than the thought of dying.

"What do you want Crystal?" he asked, trying to sound brave even though he felt anything but. If he couldn't talk Crystal out of it, she could kill him before he could do anything about it. He had never seen her kill anyone, it was just a feeling he got. Something about how she carried herself and the fact that even Deston was afraid of her.

"I wanted to check on your progress," Crystal said angrily.

"I almost got him the other night," Daniel lied.

"Almost?" Crystal asked and sheathed her dagger.

"I was in his room and had almost made it to the dagger. Which he took from me the first night when Lydia messed it all up." Daniel's instincts kicked in. He might not be able to fight Crystal but he could spin a tale like no one else. "Anyway. I was inches from the dagger when Morven woke up. His wife..." Daniel suddenly realized he had said something no one else was supposed to know. Crystal's eyes lit up and her face contorted into something Daniel almost thought was a smile.

"The wizard has a wife?" Crystal asked and Daniel got the strangest feeling. Like he had just given an enemy his only sword.

"Don't tell your boss. She's innocent. Just like Lydia," Daniel scrambled.

"As long as you kill Morven it won't be a problem but I need to warn you. My boss is getting impatient. He said he will send new people, assassins, if we don't finish up soon." Crystal stared at Daniel with her soft blue eyes and he was amused at how they didn't even affect him now. Lydia's were much prettier.

"Assassins?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, not people who will care about the innocent getting in the way. They will kill everyone in the castle, including you. Then," she added. "They will find me and kill me for letting you screw this up."

"How long do I have?" Daniel asked frantically. Morven may not be quite who he thought he was but he had still killed his parents. If it was a choice between Lydia and Abby or Morven. Morven would be the one to die. Lydia would hate him, Abby would try to kill him, but at least Lydia would be alive.

"A week at most. Hell, they might already be here. You better do it quick or that pretty sorceress might be dead by the weekend." Crystal crossed her arms and looked at him, feeling the need to drive her point home. "Not that you will care because you will be dead right along with her."

Daniel took this as a threat as well as a warning. If it came down to it Crystal would succeed even if the assassins failed.

"Come on," Daniel said in his charming voice. "Assassins can't get in there and Morven has the dagger." He forced a laugh but soon realized Crystal wasn't buying it.

"My boss gave me the dagger. There are more daggers and we're talking about assassins. How hard will it be for them to sneak in when Lydia opens the gate? They might already be inside the castle just waiting for their chance to strike." Crystal uncrossed her arms and started to leave. She decided to add one more thing. "Maybe they are watching you to see if you wuss out on your deal. Giving you a chance to hang yourself." She turned and headed into the crowd.

"I'll get it done, tonight! I promise!" Daniel yelled after her, hoping she might be able to call off the assassins, although he knew she wouldn't. Not until she was sure Morven was dead.

Crystal turned around before disappearing and walked back toward Daniel.

"I believe you," she said putting her dagger into Daniel's hand. "My wizard killing dagger. I told you there were more. Don't make me regret this. Kill him tonight!"

Daniel looked down at the garment beside him. It was some kind of scarf which was lacey and frilly. He didn't understand why Lydia wanted it so badly but that was unimportant. He was about to kill her grandfather. The least he could do was make today happy for her. He would disappear after killing Morven but at least Lydia would have a fond memory of today. Daniel traded his belt and the few silvers he had in his pocket for the scarf then headed to the restaurant to meet Lydia.

When Daniel arrived he saw Lydia before she noticed him. Lydia was looking around nervously, presumably looking for him and hoping he hadn't stood her up. The look on her face when she saw him filled him with regret. How could he do this to her? His only solace was, as hurt as she would be, she would be alive to feel it.

"What took you so long?" Lydia asked.

"Sorry, the salesman was a tough one to crack," Daniel smiled as he put the scarf on the table.

Lydia's face filled with a combination of confusion and gratitude that broke Daniel's heart. He would give her a happy day to remember but it didn't mean he could enjoy it.

Lydia lept from the table and threw her arms around him before realizing what she was doing. She backed away uncomfortably.

"I'm still mad at you," she said with a smile nearly too wide for her face.

"Then I'll have to keep trying," Daniel smiled a fake smile. He could convince her nothing was wrong but inside it felt like his stomach had fallen on the ground and was being trampled by the countless people walking by.

The glow from Lydia was evident to the waitress as she took their order. Even the people walking by could sense the happiness coming from Lydia. It was just a good thing they couldn't sense Daniel. He had never felt so horrible in his entire life. He had done some very bad things to some very nice women but they all paled in comparison to what he was about to do to Lydia.

As the day went on Daniel continued to be charming and complimentary even though he felt like a slug on the ground. He was very good at keeping his feelings hidden and only letting Lydia see what he wanted her to see. He was relieved when they finally got back to the castle. He would no longer have to keep up this painful charade. He would kill Morven then disappear and Lydia would be left with only questions. He could even make it look like he was killed as well. That might help her deal with it, or maybe he was being selfish. It would appease his guilt more than help her. No, she deserved the truth. She would hate him after tonight. He would leave a letter explaining everything and taking the blame. Maybe she would spend her life looking to kill him like he had done with Morven or maybe she would realize, he just wasn't worth the effort. Either way she would know the truth and even if she killed him, he would at least have given her some kind of peace.

Daniel sat the bag down on the table and headed upstairs. The trip had taken much longer than they expected. It was already dark and Daniel just wanted the day to be over. He would pretend to be tired and sit in his room until he was sure Lydia and everyone else was asleep then sneak downstairs and kill Morven. Maybe he should stick around and let Lydia kill him afterward. At least then her suffering would be over. She would get vindication without having to search for him. It actually sounded like the best idea yet. He would admit to what he'd done and let Lydia or Abby finish him off. This new idea gave Daniel a little peace.

Lydia stood at the top of the steps staring at him strangely.

"Can you draw me a bath, please?" she asked with the strangest expression on her face.

"Ok, but I'm pretty tired. Shopping is exhausting," he said with a smirk. "Then I'm going to head to bed."

"Thank you," she replied with far too much enthusiasm. Daniel shrugged this off and began heating her some water.

When the first pail was boiling he headed upstairs with it and this time knocked on the door. He wasn't about to make the same mistake as last time.

"Come in, Daniel," Lydia said, her voice sounded almost giddy.

Daniel opened the door and Lydia stood in the middle of the room with her robe on. He moved toward the tub and dumped the pail in.

"How many would you like tonight?" he asked half-heartedly.

"Would you like to see my other tattoo?" Lydia asked with a smirk.

"What other tattoo?" Daniel asked. He may have felt horrible but the idea of her having another tattoo was very distracting.

"There's one I couldn't show you." Lydia took a step back from him and untied her robe. "This one is very private." Lydia pushed her arms back and the robe fell to the floor.

Daniel couldn't move. She was positively the most devastating woman he had ever seen. The large sword tattoo which went from her collar bone to her navel was even more detailed than the angel on her back. How had someone done the fine detail that was required for it? There were letters on the hilt, down the blade and they were small, intricate letters. These must have been done with a very fine needle and a considerable amount of time.

"Nothing?" Lydia asked disappointed. "You're just going to stand there and not say a word."

"I..." Daniel tried but he had no idea what to say. She was completely naked and his brain had shut off.

"Well that's a letter. It's a start," Lydia teased and walked towards him. She put her hands on his neck. "Think we can come up with a few more letters?" She kissed down his neck while Daniel struggled with his thoughts. What should he do? This was too far! He couldn't do this to her! Not this!

"I..." Daniel started but Lydia interrupted him.

"That's the same letter," she whispered and kissed him gently on the lips.

Daniel's mind raced. If he did this. If...he...if...she. Even his thoughts were stuttering.

Daniel kissed her back, unable to resist the gorgeous woman in front of him. Their kiss lasted for seconds but Daniel could have sworn it was hours. When she released him from the kiss it took him a second to realize she had pulled him toward the bed and she was now sitting on it in front of him. She was frantically trying to unbutton his pants so Daniel pulled his shirt off.

"That's more like it. I was starting to think you weren't interested," she said while biting her lip.

"Oh don't do that," Daniel stated playfully.

"Do what?" she asked biting her lip again.

"That!" he laughed.

"Why not?" she asked as she finally undid his pants and they fell to his ankles. She slowly stood up, trailing her finger nails across his manhood while she pulled her hand upward.

"I...I..." he stuttered again.

"Back to one letter?" she smiled as she stroked him up and down with her nails.

Daniel couldn't take it any longer. He put his hands under her and lifted her on top of himself. As she slid down the full length of him she let out a sigh which drove him crazy. Lydia put her hands on his shoulders and wrapped her legs around him then leaned back. Daniel was unprepared for this and he fell with her on to the edge of the bed. Daniel's knees hit the floor and to his surprise the bed was at exactly the right height.

Lydia grabbed Daniel's hips and bit her lip again.

"I haven't done this in a long time," she said with a cunning grin.

"I'll go slow," he said kindly.

"You better not! Fuck me hard, then we'll try slow," Lydia laughed and pulled him completely inside her, roughly. She leaned her head back and moaned.

Daniel obliged and slammed into her harder and harder as she urged him on.

"Harder!" she demanded and dug her fingernails into his hips.

The octave of her moans rose as she drew closer to climax. Daniel pushed harder and harder, though he had little choice. Any time he wasn't going hard enough she would dig her nails in deeper. Something about the whole ordeal of a woman telling him exactly what she wanted, even forcing him to do it, was more erotic than anything he had ever experienced.

Daniel could feel the pressure building up and just hoped she wouldn't be disappointed.

"Shit...Almost!" she screamed. Daniel was afraid Morven and Abby would come barging in at any moment then the thought quickly left his mind as she forced him to slam into her again.

"Shit!" she screamed as she dug her nails in deeply then wrapped her legs around him like a bear trap. She squeezed with her legs while digging her nails in and all Daniel could think of was how strangely perfect she was. As hard as he tried Daniel couldn't hold out any longer. The room went black and electricity shocked his brain over and over again until finally Lydia's legs relaxed and she removed her nails from his hips.

Lydia got up and slid under the covers. She patted the bed beside her and Daniel knew exactly what she wanted. He climbed into bed, his legs still shaking. Lydia pulled the covers away from his side of the bed and when he was lying on the pillow she covered him. She slid her body up against him then whispered in his ear.

"Shall we try slow now?" she asked.

"I'm not sure my legs can take it," he laughed.

Lydia didn't wait. She straddled him quickly then eased him inside of her again.

"I didn't say you had to do anything but lay there." She started the slow rhythmic motion and Daniel knew he had never met a woman like this before. There would never be any woman who could top this. A woman who knew exactly what he wanted even when he didn't. The nails in his hips had been painful and there might even be blood there but the sensation was something he had never experienced before. He had never even thought he might like it but somehow Lydia knew or maybe he liked it because it was her, he was unsure. Either way he did know one thing, he wanted more!

Daniel's musings gave way to blind passion once again as he drew nearer to climax. He caressed her breasts but she forced his hands lower to her hips to help her go faster. He lifted her up and down, faster and faster as she closed her eyes and moaned softly. When the moaning grew more frequent and her breath got shorter she leaned in and put her lips beside his ear.

He could feel her hot breath on his ear and neck. Her breathing got quicker and as she was about to climax again. She kissed him passionately while she moaned into his mouth. This was again something he had never experienced and never even dreamt of. The shock and excitement shot electricity through his body again. As he shuttered underneath of her she broke their kiss and slid off of him. She snuggled up against him and put her hand across his chest.

"Now get out," she said sternly.

"What?!" Daniel asked. He panicked. Had he done something wrong?!

"I'm kidding," she replied. "Not so fun when you think someone's used you, is it?" she laughed.

"Never going to forget are you?" he asked.

"Nope. If you want this," she motioned to herself. "You have to live with that. I don't forget. Someday maybe I'll forgive, but don't count on it. Doesn't mean I'll treat you like garbage but I will give you a hard time."

"I can live with that if it means being with you," Daniel said. This seemed to satisfy Lydia. She placed her head on his chest and after a few moments she was sound asleep.

# Chapter 14

Daniel eased out from under Lydia, being careful not to wake her. He looked down at her with compassion and respect. He couldn't do this to her. He needed to come clean. If Morven was warned he might be able to protect himself. Surely a mage could defend himself from assassins. Daniel quietly put his clothes on and found the dagger from Crystal then snuck out of Lydia's room.

He went over what he wanted to say while he made his way down the stairs to the dining room. He held the dagger by the blade. He didn't want any misunderstandings. Strangely there was a lamp on the table and it was lit. Then to his surprise he saw a hand. An old hand with a plain gold ring on it. Morven was waiting for him. The old wizard was facing away from the stairs in the chair Daniel normally sat in but it was definitely Morven. Daniel prepared himself then walked off the last step.

"Glad you came down, Daniel," Morven said in a strong sturdy voice.

"How did you know it was me? And where is Abby?" Daniel asked, not really sure why he was so curious about Abby. Maybe he didn't want to risk Abby hurting him. Morven may have been evil but he was a logical man. He would give Daniel a chance to explain. Abby struck him as someone who stabbed first then regretted it later.

"Abby is asleep. She doesn't need this kind of aggravation," Morven replied then motioned to Lydia's chair. "Have a seat. This isn't going to be an easy conversation."

Daniel didn't like the sound of it but he obeyed. Besides, it didn't matter whether he stood or sat. Morven could kill him either way.

"Let me start, please," Morven said.

"Ok, but I have a lot to talk about. You might be a little...upset," Daniel answered.

"Don't be so sure," Morven said. "My story starts a very long time ago but I'll jump to the part that pertains to you." Morven shifted around in the chair and when he was ready he started again.

"I have been chased by a demon for a long time. Actually, more than one. Seems like every time I beat one, another takes its place. I've lost several wives to them. Finally, I made the first smart decision I've ever made. I put my family first. Actually, it wasn't my decision, more of a favor but that isn't the point." Morven grabbed a bottle and poured out what appeared to be some sort of whiskey into a glass. He took a sip then continued.

"I secured this place so Abby and Lydia would never be harmed by this new demon. But in doing so I made myself a prisoner. I can never leave without putting them in danger." Morven took another sip then motioned to the bottle. "You should have some. You'll need it."

Daniel grabbed the bottle and poured himself a glass full. He took a sip and started choking.

"What...the hell...is that?" Daniel sputtered.

Morven let out a laugh.

"A present from my son, Seth," Morven said. "He likes to give me special whiskeys to try. I must say, this one is quite strong. Not sure where he got it." Morven looked at the bottle and a sadness came over him. "I guess this is the last bottle he will ever send me. I barely knew him but we send letters...sent letters."

"Wait...is your son?" Daniel started then he heard a noise from across the table.

"Yes, Morven is my grandfather," a small red haired woman said as she leaned forward into the light. It was Fiona Craylet. "Hi, Daniel."

"He's your...he's King Seth's..." Daniel reeled from all the information flooding his brain.

"It gets worse," Morven said as he pushed the glass closer to Daniel. "Take another drink."

Daniel gulped down the rest then poured himself a second glass.

"Fiona, I..." Daniel started to apologize but Fiona cut him off.

"I'm not here to get my revenge. You're a jerk and an asshole but we were friends once." Fiona stared at him blankly.

"You're the one Lydia is waiting for?" Daniel asked hoping her words were sincere.

He hadn't meant to hurt Fiona or offend her. He just couldn't help himself. Fiona's friends were beautiful, Fiona was beautiful. How was he to know they all talked about who they were sleeping with?

"Yep, that's me," Fiona laughed and held her glass of the strange whiskey then swallowed a mouthful. "Pay attention. What happened with us is in the past. This is more important than you trying to get with me and my girlfriends, Daniel." She made a sour face and put the mostly full glass down. "This is horrible grandpa!"

Morven smiled then turned back to Daniel.

"It's about your parents," Morven started.

"You killed them!" Daniel's rage got the better of him.

"No, I didn't but that was my biggest regret," Morven replied. "Taking a stand and protecting my family worked but I let my friends suffer. The demon killed everyone I knew who wasn't in the castle with me. I hadn't counted on that. Your parents were one of my dearest friends. Why do you think they supplied me with food?"

"I...then...why were you there?" Daniel asked. He couldn't handle everything going on. None of it made sense.

"I realized too late that the demon was exterminating my friends. I got there in time to save you but they were already dead," Morven replied sadly.

"The men? All those men?" Daniel asked. He remembered the scene like it was yesterday. There must have been ten people there besides his parents and all of them looked horrendous.

"I lost my temper. After seeing what they did to my friends I..." Morven paused and took a big swallow of the whiskey. "I lost it."

"Like with Lydia's parents and your wife?" Daniel asked, seeing a pattern in it.

"Yes, something like that." Morven laughed and Daniel got the impression he didn't know the whole story but Morven wasn't offering an explanation for that incident.. "I have a very bad temper. Something I passed along to my granddaughters." Morven gave Fiona a smile.

"Thanks for that grandpa," Fiona laughed.

Apparently Daniel was wrong about who was the level headed one here. Maybe he should have talked to Abby. Morven was likely to kill him after his confession.

"So, you were fed misinformation to get you here," Morven put his drink down. "That, coupled with your fuzzy memories of that horrible day, brought you here."

"So I am being played for a fool. Someone IS directing my life!" Daniel said loudly.

"Yes, a demon," Morven replied.

"But..." Daniel fumbled. How could he say what he needed to now? He felt so stupid. He had betrayed Lydia and almost killed her grandfather based on a lie.

"It's ok, Daniel. I know you were sent to kill me," Morven said before Daniel could.

"You knew?" Daniel asked, stunned.

"Since before you met Fiona," Morven answered.

"Wait that was like five years ago." Daniel tried to grasp the scope of what was going on but he still couldn't quite get a handle on it.

"Yes, I've also been steering you this way." Morven poured himself another glass and topped off Daniel's. Daniel drank his halfway down.

"But why have me try to kill you?" Daniel asked.

"A test and a hunch," Morven replied with a laugh. "A hunch that you wouldn't actually kill me. Who better as my assassin than someone I knew I hadn't wronged."

"And the test?" Daniel asked, gulping down the rest. When Morven tried to pour him some more Daniel refused. He needed to stay sober and the whiskey was quite strong.

"A test to see how compatible you were with Lydia. To see if you would actually betray her." Morven crossed his arms and waited.

"I failed," Daniel replied, looking down in shame.

"No, you didn't," Morven stated. "You came down here to confess, didn't you?"

"How did you know?" Daniel asked.

"The fact that you were holding the dagger by the blade. You were either going to surrender or you were going to throw it. I doubt you were going to throw it." Morven laughed and this made Daniel even more uncomfortable.

"I lied to Lydia," Daniel admitted.

"That you did do and you will have to pay for it, believe me. My granddaughters are quite vindictive. You'll suffer for weeks, maybe months, but if you don't give up she'll take you back." Morven was confident and Daniel found hope. "But you better tell her yourself before she finds out from someone else. If you don't tell her first she will never forgive you."

"She is going to kill me," Daniel stated.

"She's not going to kill you. She will probably hurt you but not kill you." Morven stood up and put the cap on the bottle. He grabbed his glass and Daniel's.

"If you're here then she is leaving soon, right?" Daniel asked Fiona.

"Yep, so be quick about your confession. I'm not pleading your case for you. If she leaves you, that's on you," Fiona replied scornfully and picked up her nearly full glass. She got up and followed her grandfather to the kitchen.

"Think she'll keep him?" Fiona asked when Daniel was half way up the stairs.

"I don't know. Lydia is touchy about these things. Trust is very important to her." Morven shrugged his shoulders.

"But you told Daniel..." Fiona started.

"He needed a kick in the ass. What am I going to say? You can try but she'll probably throw you out anyway? I know Daniel, he'd just give up. He feels like he deserves to be punished and if that means never seeing her again, that's the ultimate punishment." Morven took the glass from Fiona and set it on the counter.

"I suppose nothing to do but wait," Fiona said.

"I have a room down in the basement no one is using," Morven grinned. "Why not get some sleep. I'm sure you've been traveling a long time. A bed might be nice."

"Actually, a bed sounds great," Fiona answered then followed Morven to the basement.

# Chapter 15

Daniel slipped back into the room and Lydia was awake. She looked worried and angry.

"I thought you left," Lydia said with anger in her voice.

"Not exactly," Daniel replied.

"Well, you either left or you didn't," Lydia stated.

"I went to talk to your grandfather. I had a confession to make." Daniel sat on the bed and readied himself. "I have one for you as well."

Lydia looked worried and didn't answer. She was afraid to hear it.

"I was tricked into thinking your grandfather killed my parents," Daniel started.

"That's ridiculous," Lydia protested.

"Still...I believed it. And I was sent here to kill him," Daniel cringed.

"So..." Lydia couldn't find words for the anger inside her. She clenched her teeth. "So this..." Her anger rose along with her voice.

"No, I decided earlier that I couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt you like that," Daniel looked down in shame.

"You lied to me! AGAIN!" Lydia was practically screaming. She rushed to the middle of the room and grabbed her robe, wrapping it tightly around herself then changed her mind and threw it off then found the clothes she had been wearing before. The anger she felt clouded her mind. All she could see was the fact that he had betrayed her yet again.

"This," Daniel motioned to the bed. "What happened tonight, was after I decided I wasn't going to kill him," Daniel pleaded.

"YOU FUCKING LIED!" Lydia shouted and the room shook.

"I'm telling the truth now. I didn't betray you. I could never do that. It just took me a while to do the right thing," Daniel explained.

"You had me believing that you cared about me. You gave me that scarf...you..." Lydia pointed at the bed. "You seduced me!" Lydia's voice started rising again. The papers on the table shook and the pencils fell on the floor.

"It wasn't like that," Daniel begged and got to his feet. He could sense something very bad was about to happen. The room shuttered again then everything went silent.

Lydia finally had all her clothes on and she walked almost calmly toward him. He would have preferred stomping or yelling. This was terrifying. And the look on her face. It was nothing short of cruel. Her eyes were had turned purple as well.

"Wait Lydia, I think I'm falling for you," Daniel said but this was the wrong thing to say.

Lydia waved her hand and Daniel flew against the stone walls with a thud.

"You think your falling for me?! Do you think I'm STUPID?!" Lydia waved her hand the other direction and Daniel flew into the tub. As he landed something in his body cracked, he wasn't sure if it was his arm or his leg because everything hurt.

"I'm not dumb enough to fall for your shit a third time!" Lydia stood in the middle of the room struggling to control her magic. Purple swirls started to appear around her arms and her face. It looked like she was ringed in energy. Energy snapped between her fingers as she held up her hand to Daniel. "I never...want...to...see you...EVER...AGAIN!" Lydia closed her fist and the tub shattered but Daniel was unharmed, at least from this barrage.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" she screamed and Daniel got to his feet. He stood in front of her, battered and broken.

"Please, Lydia. I can make this up to you," he begged but she was beyond the point of listening.

"Get out!" she pushed one hand out and Daniel was thrown through the door to her room. He tumbled down the steps and landed at the bottom, bruised and bloody.

Daniel painfully got to his feet and limped toward the front door. He opened it and slipped out as Lydia got to the bottom of the stairs. She stormed after him.

"I'm leaving!" he yelled back when he saw her chasing him through the yard to the gate. "What else do you want?!"

The magic nearly engulfed Lydia now. She looked like a purple flame with a person inside.

"You can't open the gate!" she yelled.

She waved her hand and the gate flew open, smashing into Daniel. He was knocked backward but he got to his feet again, painfully.

"If I ever see you again I'll really hurt you," she said more quietly but no less angrily. There was a cruel quality in her voice which filled Daniel with fear and regret. She spun her hand upward and Daniel was thrown through the gates then the gate slammed behind him.

Daniel watched as the perfect woman walked away from him engulfed in a purple flame. As much as his wounds and broken bones hurt, the sight of her walking away thinking he had used her hurt even more.

# Chapter 16

Daniel sat at the bar in the tavern where his room was, waiting. He probably should have just left but something kept him here. Some sense of unfinished business. It had been a week since Lydia had literally thrown him out and Crystal had been strangely absent. His wounds and bruises had healed for the most part but Lydia had broken his arm. He struggled with a glass of cheap whiskey. He was right handed and Lydia had broken his right arm.

"Daniel?" Crystal's voice panicked Daniel. Was she here to kill him? She had been gone a long time. Surely she knew how badly he had failed.

"Hi," Daniel replied.

Crystal sat beside Daniel.

"I heard how badly you screwed up." For a change Crystal sounded almost compassionate.

"So, you going to kill me now?" Daniel asked without much emotion. He honestly didn't care if he died right now.

"Actually I'm giving you the chance to run. I'll give you a week before I tell the boss I lost you. Just go somewhere and don't get noticed." Crystal smiled at him and Daniel found it strange.

"Won't they kill you?" Daniel asked.

"Nope, I've already fixed that." Crystal waved to the barkeep and he brought her a drink.

"How?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Remember those assassins? I helped them find a way in," Crystal replied full of pride.

"What?!" Daniel just realized he had forgotten to tell Morven about Crystal and her boss. He hadn't even mentioned the assassins.

"I told you it would happen. I scored some points by instructing them in how to get in." Crystal took a long drink of whatever fruity concoction she had ordered.

"We have to stop this," Daniel begged.

"Too late. And you need to run. Get your things and leave." Crystal finished her drink and stood up. "I don't want to kill you Daniel. Please don't make me."

Daniel slumped on the stool and gulped the last of his drink as Crystal walked off. She was right. It was too late. Even if it wasn't, no one would hear him from outside the gate. There was nothing he could do.

A few moments after Crystal left the bar a strange man sat beside Daniel. This man had long black hair and the strangest silver eyes which reminded him of Lydia's only a little more jaded. Almost like he had seen horrible things in his life. He wore a leather coat which went to his knees and under it, clean, fancy clothes.

"So it seems I was right," the man said with a grin. He looked at Daniel for a second then waved to the barkeep who brought him a drink.

"Right about what? Do I know you?" Daniel asked, sure he had seen this man before.

"I helped you get into Lydia's castle," the man replied. He stuck out his hand then laughed. "Guess you can't really shake. Name is Nathan."

"So what where you right about?" Daniel asked curiously.

"I told Morven you were the wrong choice. I knew you'd just give up at the first sign of adversity. I've been following you, off and on, since you were a kid. I know you a little better than Morven does." Nathan tossed a silver coin on the counter, downed his drink then got up. "Well, have a good life Daniel. Sorry it couldn't be you."

"Wait, what? What's that supposed to mean? I'm not giving up!" Daniel argued.

"That pretty lady, Crystal, I think her name is," Nathan teased. He knew very well what her name was. "She said some assassins are going to kill Lydia. I think I'm about to prove to Morven that I was right and you are too weak."

Daniel stood up and grabbed Nathan's coat.

"You can get in?" Daniel asked frantically.

"I let you in didn't I?" Nathan taunted.

"Let me in again. I can do this. Please. I am the one Lydia is supposed to be with. I know it! Please! Give me one more chance!" Daniel held Nathan's coat with his left hand. Nathan poked Daniel in the right arm and Daniel winced but he didn't back down.

"Ok, I'll give you one more chance but if you screw it up I'll kill you myself," Nathan replied.

"Let me get my things," Daniel said and ran upstairs.

Nathan sat back at the bar and waved for another drink.

"Damn it. That was too easy," Nathan laughed to himself as he downed the second drink. "I guess you were right, Morven. He is the one for her. That poor fool is willing to die for her."

# Chapter 17

Lydia stood in the yard across from a flaming training dummy. She looked at it angrily and pretended it was Daniel. She hit it again with a blast of energy and this time it exploded.

"Boy, I'd sure hate to be him," Fiona laughed as she walked out of the back door. She had a shield slung over her back and a sword at her side. Her white frilly blouse made Lydia jealous. It had short sleeves and an abundant amount of cleavage. If only she could wear such revealing clothes but people wouldn't understand her tattoos. Well...Daniel would...

Lydia's rage filled her and she threw another blast of energy, this one missed the charred remnants of the dummy and flew until it hit a tree. The trunk exploded then the tree toppled over sideways.

"You're only mad because you still care," Fiona said matter-of-factly.

Lydia turned to hit Fiona but Fiona caught Lydia's wrist.

"You're not mad at me," Fiona warned.

Lydia pulled her wrist from Fiona's grasp then tried to kick Fiona. Fiona quickly pulled her shield. She smacked Lydia's heel then dropped and kicked Lydia's foot out from under her. Lydia fell with a crash then got up angrily.

"I've been fighting since I was a child. If you wanna spar though, I'd be happy to teach you a thing or two," Fiona taunted.

Lydia clenched her teeth and tried to punch Fiona in the gut. Fiona put out her shield and Lydia's fist smashed against it painfully. Fiona spun then elbowed Lydia in the shoulder. When Lydia fell to the ground Fiona laughed.

"Anger makes you do stupid things. Hell, so does love," Fiona teased.

"What are you talking about?! I don't love him!" Lydia protested.

"Riiiiight," Fiona goaded.

Lydia's anger got the better of her. She waved her hand and a ball of energy shot at Fiona. Fiona flipped her shield around and the inside was smooth and shiny like a mirror. The energy reflected back and Lydia was thrown at least ten feet.

"Damn it!" Lydia screamed.

"You can love him and be mad at him. Believe me, my mom was pissed at my dad a lot and there are few men who can stand up to his example. Men are just idiots, even the good ones. They do stupid shit but they get it right enough times to make it worth it." Fiona laughed. She put her shield on her back and offered Lydia her hand.

"But he..." Lydia started as she let Fiona help her up.

"Yep, he screwed up big time. No doubt about it. Do you really want to never see him again?" Fiona asked lifting one eyebrow.

"Well, no," Lydia replied. "He just makes me so mad! Why did he have to lie?"

"Like I said, he's a man. He must have gotten enough right or you wouldn't be so pissed," Fiona gave Lydia a knowing look.

Lydia cracked a smile.

"Well, he did know how..." Lydia started but Fiona put her hand over her mouth.

"Whoa, whoa, hold that thought. I don't want to hear about what he did to you in the bedroom. I have enough problems of my own in that department, don't need your sex life making me feel worse." Fiona lifted her hand from Lydia's mouth and cringed.

"I was going to say...he knew how to make me laugh," Lydia smiled.

"Ok then," Fiona sighed.

She put her arm over Lydia's shoulders and led her inside.

"Let's talk over some food. Watching you work out made me hungry," Fiona giggled. "So what are you going to do about Daniel?"

"I think it might be more satisfying to see him suffer," Lydia laughed. Her devious look gave Fiona hope.

"Now that's more like it. Punish him but keep him close for...you know." Fiona elbowed Lydia in the ribs.

"I thought you didn't want to hear about it," Lydia teased.

"I don't," Fiona balked.

"Well, there was this one thing he did with his..." Lydia started but Fiona covered her mouth again.

"Don't you dare," Fiona ordered. She removed her hand at the sight of Lydia's pathetic look. They stepped into the kitchen and Lydia absentmindedly started getting out some food.

"I just hope I didn't really hurt him," Lydia stated. "He might not even want to come back."

"I know Daniel pretty well. He can take a lot more than that. His specialty is getting the shit kicked out of him then getting up and doing it again. And as for wanting to come back?" Fiona lifted one eyebrow and waited for Lydia to notice.

"He's had a lot of women." Lydia noticed Fiona's expression but ignored it.

"Yes, he has. What he did to you he wouldn't think twice about doing to someone else then going about his day like nothing happened. I saw something I never thought I'd see in Daniel the other night." Fiona grabbed some bread and brought it to the kitchen counter.

"What was that?" Lydia asked.

"He actually felt guilty. He cares about you." Fiona crossed her arms.

"That's supposed to excuse it?" Lydia asked angrily.

"Oh hell no! You punish him and make him suffer. He deserves it but keep him close. I think Daniel has finally met his match." Fiona popped a pickle in her mouth and smiled at Lydia. After chewing her food then swallowing it she felt she needed to add something. "He makes you happy. I can see that. Don't throw away your happiness because he can sometimes be a real jerk. He's not bad if you can break him of his habits."

"You make me sound like some kind of animal trainer," Lydia laughed.

"He's a man. Same thing," Fiona replied.

"You have a real problem with men, don't you?" Lydia asked. It was fun to pick on Daniel but Fiona seemed like she hated all men. Maybe hated was the wrong word. She obviously liked men, she was just down on them for some reason.

"Never found one who was worth anything. They all lie and disappoint you. Well," Fiona mused.

"Well what?" Lydia asked. She listened intently. She would be spending a great deal of time with her cousin. She needed to get to know her.

"The only man worth anything is...was my dad," Fiona replied sadly. "Can't exactly marry your dad." Fiona tried to play it off as a joke but Lydia knew better.

"I'm sorry," Lydia said quietly. "There's someone out there who can make you happy."

Fiona just stared at the food. She had lost her appetite. Her dad should be dead by now. She was with Lydia, he must be dead by now. She hoped it was quick and painless. A tear fell from her eye, the first since she had left home over two months ago. She wiped it away and tried to keep it hidden from Lydia.

"I don't think I'll ever find someone like him," Fiona stated.

"I wish I had met my dad," Lydia said sadly.

"What do you mean? You're dad died," Fiona stated.

"No, my step dad died. He was a good man but not really my father. My real dad left before I was born. My mom said he was important and his job put me in danger so my mom chose me. She kicked him out." Lydia's sad expression told Fiona this was something Lydia didn't talk about often.

"And you've never met him?" Fiona asked.

"Nope. No pictures. Nothing. Mom said she didn't want me to be burdened with my real dad's job. How stupid is that?" Lydia replied.

"Was he a king or a criminal or something?" Fiona laughed but it was true, both jobs would fit Lydia's situation.

"I have no idea. I just know he was important and his job put me in danger. Oh well," Lydia sighed. "I'll probably never find out. With an ominous sounding job like that he might even be dead already."

"We'll have to look into him when we have time," Fiona comforted.

"Well, until then, we have a demon to find," Lydia smirked.

"Good point," Fiona agreed then pulled herself up and sat on the counter while she watched Lydia make sandwiches.

# Chapter 18

Daniel walked across the empty field in front of Morven's castle. It was broad daylight. What if Lydia caught sight of him? Would she blow him up this time? Nathan followed closely behind Daniel but didn't seem to share his nervousness.

"You sure you can get me in there?" Daniel asked as they approached the gates.

Nathan snapped his fingers and the gate eased its way open.

"Nope, don't think I can handle it," he joked.

"You're a strange man," Daniel replied then headed toward the gate.

"And Daniel. Not a word about me helping you. I'll find you later. Just remember you owe me," Nathen said in a loud voice. Not loud enough to alert the people in the castle but loud enough for Daniel to hear.

"If I live that long," Daniel replied then headed up the stairs to the front door.

Nathan turned and started to walk away.

"Morven chose you, you damn well better live that long or we're all screwed. It's too late to change now," Nathan whispered to himself. Nathan put his hands in his pockets and headed back to the tavern to wait.

Daniel crept inside and silently shut the door. Thankfully no one was in the dining room. He could hear talking in the kitchen and when he took a step into the dining room he could see it was Fiona and Lydia. Daniel's heart felt like it was being stomped on. Lydia looked so happy joking around with Fiona. He hoped someday she might forgive him but it would have to wait. He was here to save her or at least warn her.

Daniel readied himself then strode into the kitchen.

"Lydia, I'm here to warn you," Daniel blurted out before Lydia could stop him.

Lydia took one look at him and the purple returned to her eyes.

"Wait, Lydia," Fiona stepped around the counter and put herself in front of Lydia. "Let him talk." She turned and faced Daniel. "Then we'll burn him," she snickered.

"Assassins are here to kill your grandfather," he said frantically. "I think they're already inside."

Lydia dropped her food on the counter and pushed her way by Fiona and Daniel. She rushed to the basement door and threw it open.

"Grandpa!" she yelled down the steps. Come to think of it she had not seen Abby nor her grandfather all day and it was noon. When no one answered she rushed down the stairs.

Daniel looked at Fiona for a second then rushed down the steps chasing Lydia.

"Wait Lydia!" he yelled but as he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw an assassin grab her. The man wore all black and had a blade in each hand. One was pointed at Lydia's throat and the other at her heart.

"Not a step or she dies," the man ordered.

Fiona came walking down the stairs calmly. When she reached the bottom she glanced into Morven's room and saw one of the assassins standing over him. It had plunged a dagger into her grandfather's chest. It was too late to do anything about her grandfather but Lydia could still be saved, as well as Abby.

"This is a huge mistake," Fiona started and pulled out her sword.

"Going to fight me little girl?" the man taunted.

"No, I was just distracting you. You're holding on to a fire bomb," Fiona replied menacingly.

Energy exploded from Lydia and the assassin was thrown against the wall. Fiona stepped in gracefully and stabbed the man through the heart with one swift motion. Lydia didn't wait for the fight to be over before she raced to her grandfather. The other two assassins lept at her but Daniel threw himself at them clumsily. Being assassins they were not very heavy, nor very strong. His weight was enough to send them flying backward. Fiona swiftly got behind one and cut its throat then stabbed the other through the back.

"Grandpa!" Lydia yelled as she held his limp body. Lydia looked curiously at Abby who didn't seem as upset as Lydia assumed she should be. She was worried yes, but not like a woman whose husband had been killed. Morven groaned then spit out some blood.

"Damn that hurts," he complained.

"What happened?" Lydia asked, nearly in tears.

"At least they didn't have one of Daniel's daggers," Morven laughed then held his chest as the pain set in again.

"Will you be ok?" Lydia begged.

"I'll be fine. It's painful but not lethal," he replied.

Once Daniel had untied Abby she got up and started grabbing bandages, still far calmer than Lydia. She cleaned Morven's wound and bandaged it thoroughly while Lydia hovered around them. Daniel and Fiona excused themselves from the room and headed upstairs to make sure there were no more assassins lurking around.

"Brave thing you did there," Fiona said once they were on the main floor.

"Not really, it's my fault," Daniel replied. At the top of the steps they split up and searched around the main floor. "This sure is a small castle," Daniel laughed as he continued searching.

"This is the servant's quarters. The bulk of the castle sits unused," Fiona replied then checked the kitchen.

When the main floor was cleared they headed to the bedrooms upstairs.

"You going to have that looked at?" Fiona asked.

"What do you mean?" Daniel lied.

"I saw the blade hit your side. The one meant for Lydia," Fiona replied.

"I deserve worse," Daniel replied sadly.

"You do but Lydia doesn't. Stay alive for her, idiot." Fiona smacked him on the broken arm and he winced.

"Fine," he relented.

"I gotta say. You sure can take a beating." Fiona searched around Lydia's room and when she was satisfied she headed back downstairs.

"It's my one talent." Daniel lifted his shirt and sat at the dining room table. It was pretty deep and without treatment he actually might die from infection. Fiona grabbed some alcohol and splashed some on the wound. Daniel clenched his teeth together and groaned.

"That's for trying to get me to be part of your haram," Fiona smirked then grabbed a cloth and started cleaning the wound.

"I thought you said it was in the past." Daniel winced again as Fiona pushed on the wound.

"I was wrong. Either way, your Lydia's problem now." Fiona stood up and grabbed some bandages. "You'll live. As long as you don't cheat on Lydia, that is."

Daniel was certain that although it sounded like a joke, it was very serious. If Fiona didn't kill him, Lydia certainly would.

"Does that mean she forgives me?" Daniel asked.

"No. It means you get to follow her around and do everything she says. If she asks for water, you will jump to get it. If she wants chocolate you will walk through the snow to find it. And IF she decides you're worth her time, she MIGHT take you back. Until then you are her servant, her cook, her lackey. Whatever she wants, you do it as if your life depends on it. That is, if you want to be with her." Fiona crossed her arms and stared at Daniel.

"That actually seems quite fair, considering," Daniel replied and put the bandages over his wound.

"What the hell?! Who are you and what did you do with Daniel?" Fiona laughed.

"She's the one," Daniel replied.

"Really?" Fiona asked, unsure if this was just another con.

"Yep," Daniel replied then to solidify his point he added. "Have I hit on you even once?"

"Well no," Fiona relented.

"I haven't even looked at another woman since the moment I met her," Daniel went on. "She makes me stupid and crazy."

"To be fair you were already stupid," Fiona jabbed.

"Fine, whatever. You know what I mean. I'd never take a blade for anyone." Daniel pointed to his side. "I didn't even have to think about it. I just did it because she was in trouble."

"Ok, you get a pass...for now. Just don't screw this up. If she is 'the one' you have some serious ass kissing to do before you are ever going to get her to trust you again." Fiona put the cap on the alcohol and out of the corner of her eye she noticed Lydia hiding in the doorway.

"Did you ever think I would find that one girl? I mean we're talking about me. I'm about as far from monogamous as they come and now I can't even look at another woman. How crazy is that?" Daniel winced as he put more pressure on the wound, it was starting to seep through the bandage.

Fiona had a sneaky idea.

"So, Daniel. Why did you lie to Lydia?" she asked without letting Lydia know she had seen her. She was going to get Daniel to tell the story in a way Lydia might believe.

"At first I was going to use her. She was just another con. Then I got to know her. I just had no choice. I was in too deep. It was either kill Morven or they were going to kill Lydia. I don't know how I thought it was a good idea but I chose her. I know, I know. I should have just told Morven and Lydia from the start but, as you said, I'm a little stupid." Daniel hung his head.

"No. You're very stupid and that proves it. Now go upstairs and get yourself cleaned up." Fiona helped him stand then started to clean up the mess.

When Daniel was gone Fiona's grin grew.

"He's gone now. You can come out," Fiona giggled.

"You knew I was there?" Lydia asked.

"Yep. Find out what you needed to know? I helped a little." She tossed the blood soaked rags in a pail then headed to the kitchen. Lydia followed closely behind her.

"What do I do?" Lydia asked.

"Like you said. Make him suffer, punish him and then when you finally trust him. Let him in," Fiona replied. "Just don't take too long. Daniel may have fallen for you but he's a man. His eyes will wander eventually."

"I think I know how I can keep his eyes from wandering," Lydia said deviously.

"Oh this should be good." Fiona stood in front of Lydia looking at her hopefully. "Need some help?"

"Actually, could I borrow some clothes?" Lydia asked with a grin.

# Chapter 19

Abby wiped the blood from Morven's chest. The wound from the dagger was completely gone but she applied another bandage.

"Thanks, dear. Don't want the girls to know just yet, do we?" Morven asked while he pulled his shirt back down.

"You scared me," Abby said, ignoring his words. "You know damn well that was a magic dagger. You were just lucky the assassin's didn't hit your heart."

"No need to upset the girls. And the assassin missed. No harm done." Morven laid on the bed to continue his ruse of being hurt.

"What would I do without you? What would any of us do?" Abby asked, clearly upset.

"The girls don't need me to defeat the demon and I can't get anywhere near that portal. No one needs me any longer," Morven replied. Morven hid the truth from Abby. He knew that by the end of this he would be dead. Rachel was very specific about that point but she couldn't see when. Morven was holding off on telling Abby this for now. Truthfully, he thought today was the day but things worked out differently than he thought. Now that it had begun he needed to make sure to spend every possible moment with Abby until it was his time to go. Worrying her would help no one and only cause her undo stress and pain.

"That doesn't mean we wouldn't miss you. Your part of this might be over but we'd still miss you." Abby punched Morven in the shoulder.

"I'll be more careful," Morven laughed. He was glad it wasn't today. He wasn't ready to say goodbye to Abby. He hoped for months, maybe years but he was also ready to die to save his granddaughters and Abby. He had lived a long time and despite his desire to stay with his wife, they deserved to live their lives, he'd already had more than his share.

"Good. Now we should head upstairs to say goodbye." Abby gave him a look which told Morven he couldn't refuse.

Morven got out of bed then put his arm over Abby's shoulders. He eased himself down and started acting like he was weak and in pain.

"Don't overdo it dear," Abby scolded. "They're not stupid."

Morven straightened himself and walked with Abby up the stairs where she left him in his chair then sat beside him.

Fiona was the first one down and she knew right away what was happening. She sat in Daniel's chair and waited. Daniel joined them shortly afterward and sat in Lydia's chair.

"You ready for this Daniel?" Fiona asked.

"I'm not sure," Daniel replied.

"You better be ready to give your life to protect her or don't bother coming," Fiona scolded.

"That part's easy. Believing there is a real demon after Lydia. That's the hard part," Daniel admitted.

"Well, you better come to grips with it quickly. Once we are outside the walls and looking for the demon, it will know," Fiona explained. "If it doesn't already."

"I..." Daniel started but then he noticed Lydia walking down the stairs.

Lydia had on one of Fiona's short sleeved, white blouses which revealed the top of the sword tattoo. The plunging neckline went low enough that Daniel could see the words across the hilt. Daniel was speechless and Fiona could swear his jaw might hit the table.

"Something wrong, Daniel?" Lydia asked as she walked up beside Fiona. Her huge grin made Fiona smile. Lydia had the perfect torture in mind for Daniel and he would suffer greatly.

"N...Nothing," Daniel stuttered.

"Are you all ready?" Morven interrupted. His voice sounded weak.

"Yes, grandpa," Lydia replied, turning away from Daniel. As much fun as it was to torture Daniel, she couldn't make light of what was about to happen.

"I'm going to miss you," Abby said with tears in her eyes. She got up and rushed around the table to hug Lydia. "It's going to be so lonely without you here." She squeezed Lydia tightly and Lydia started to cry as well.

"I'll be back," Lydia assured her.

"I hope so," Abby cried.

Fiona stood and grabbed the bags Lydia had packed. Before she could get them over her shoulder Daniel shot up and removed them from her hands.

"That's my job," he said and Fiona gave him a smile.

"You're getting it," Fiona said quietly and let him have the bags.

"Sorry I didn't get to know you very well, Fiona," Morven said weakly.

"Maybe when we get back," Fiona replied. She had a small urge to get to know her grandfather but the task at hand was more important. She'd been preparing for this her entire life, she was ready.

"Where to first?" Lydia asked Fiona.

Fiona just looked at her confused.

"I thought you were supposed to know where we were going," Fiona replied.

"That is why you need Daniel," Morven laughed weakly. "He knows the people you will need to find. Together you will fight the demon but Daniel will lead the way."

"Me?" Daniel asked, shocked.

Fiona and Lydia both looked at Daniel in disbelief.

"You know some very strong and very smart people, Daniel," Morven started. "You have trained with some of the best fighters in the world. If you were going to pick people to help Lydia who would you pick?"

Daniel thought for a minute. If this was up to him, and it clearly was, he would definitely pick Selna for her strength.

"Selna Valduran should be our first stop," Daniel said confidently. "She is the strongest person I've ever met. Maybe she couldn't take Fiona in a sword fight but hand to hand, she'd kick Fiona's ass." Daniel laughed at the indignant expression on Fiona's face.

"What do you mean strongest?" Fiona asked.

"I mean she could lift a horse. Seriously," Daniel replied.

"Are all your acquaintances women?" Lydia looked at him quizzically. Her condescension was clear.

"No..." Daniel thought quickly. Was his perfect band of fighters all women? What did that say about his life? Then he remembered his almost friend, Jason Yellan. Jason was quite possibly smarter than Morven. He wasn't much of a fighter but he was the best strategist Daniel had ever met. Jason could out think anyone. "After Selna we should find Jason."

"Is he gonna kick my ass as well?" Fiona asked, her ego bruised.

"No, he's not a fighter." Daniel looked at Lydia, her expression had softened since he had mentioned a man. "He's a thinker."

"What good with that do us?" Fiona asked.

"We can't just run headlong into a demon and hope to win," Daniel started. He got another approving look from Lydia so he continued. "He can help us find the right way to fight this demon and make sure we don't end up dead."

"Ok, fine. That it?" Fiona asked.

"That's it," Daniel replied.

"Don't forget your two friends from town," Morven added.

"What?" Daniel suddenly realized Morven had known everything from the start. Nathan had said he was following Daniel and Nathan knew Morven. Nathan was Morven's spy! Why hadn't Daniel put this together a while ago? Maybe he wasn't looking. Despite having the feeling that his life was being directed, he really hadn't been looking for things like this.

"Crystal and Deston, don't forget them," Morven said with a knowing look.

"If I can convince Crystal not to kill me." Daniel forced a laugh and cringed as he looked at Lydia.

"A woman wanting to kill you? Hmm, I think I'll get along with her just fine," she said with a devilish grin.

"I'll try but I should go alone. She doesn't like new people. I'll meet you at the north edge of town in say an hour or two?" Daniel asked, clearly asking for Lydia's permission.

"That's fine," Lydia replied.

Fiona headed to the door followed by Lydia. Daniel followed them toward the door then looked at Morven. He stopped and walked closer to the old wizard.

"Thank you and I'm sorry," he said.

"Why?" Morven asked.

"I'm sorry I wanted to kill you." Daniel paused for a second. He had so much to thank Morven for, where should he start? Steering Daniel toward this town to start with. Then there was the fact that Morven had basically set him up with Lydia. Him meeting her was thanks to Morven. Him falling in love with Lydia, though he wouldn't tell anyone, especially not Lydia, was also Morven's doing. Then he realized one thing summed it all up. "Thank you for choosing me."

"Thank you for being what Lydia needs," Morven replied.

Daniel walked out the door and shut it behind him. They could hear Fiona and Lydia picking on Daniel until they finally went through the gates. As the teasing and talking died down Nathan walked out of the kitchen. In his hand he held a sandwich.

"This sandwich is pretty good Abby," Nathan said with his mouth half full.

"I didn't make it, Lydia did," Abby replied. She was cold to Nathan but not hateful.

"Damn, Lydia has grown into quite a woman." Nathan raised his eyebrows, clearly to annoy Morven.

"She's has and she really likes Daniel. Don't forget that," Morven said spitefully.

"I wouldn't dream of getting in the middle of that. I want her to be happy even if he wasn't my choice," Nathan replied and took another bite. "Tell me about Fiona. That red hair and her attitude. Is she taken?"

Morven stood up angrily.

"Leave Fiona alone. She's off limits," Morven said sternly then a strange smile came over his face. "Besides, you couldn't handle her. She's a fire maiden."

"Yeah, right!" Nathan laughed. "There are no fire maiden's left. Everyone called Rachel a fire maiden but I don't think anyone remembers what a fire maiden really is."

Morven stared at Nathan and his grin grew.

"Fiona is a real fire maiden," Morven growled.

Nathan stopped chewing and stared at the old wizard. Morven was a lot of things but he was not a practical joker.

"No way!" Nathan replied, not ready to believe it.

"She doesn't even know it yet but she is," Morven replied.

"Well, shit," Nathan replied and sat down. "They might actually stand a chance against the demon. Here I thought you were crazy sending your granddaughters to fight it. Lydia is powerful, untrained but very powerful. If Fiona is a real fire maiden. They just might win." Nathan stared off into space and Morven's grin didn't falter.

"Seeing an end to this, old friend?" Morven asked.

"For the first time in three hundred years, I can honestly say yes." Nathan still looked dazed.

"You will need to train Lydia. I have tried but I don't have your knack for teaching, nor the patience. You taught me, you can teach her. I'm not saying tell her everything but it would be nice if you got to know her." Morven's face turned more serious. "Keep them safe and you will finally get your wish."

"For the first time since I summoned your crabby, know-it-all ass I can finally see the end..." Nathan trailed off.

"You are just lucky that when you opened the portal it was me who came through." Morven stared at Nathan waiting for his response.

"I realize that Morven," Nathan replied with annoyance. "You've told me a thousand times and you'll tell me a thousand times more. Not all demons are like you. After all these years you should realize I know this. I've fought demons with you."

"Fighting demons is one thing. We finally have a way to close the portal you opened." Morven sat down, his annoyance with Nathan had subsided.

"I know, I know!" Now Nathan was the one annoyed. "It's my fault! I get that! And my punishment is to live forever, watching everyone I love die." Nathan put his half-eaten sandwich on the table and cradled his head.

"How was I supposed to know eternal life would suck so bad?" Nathan asked rhetorically.

"Just remember, you may have eternal life but you are not immortal," Morven lectured.

"I know, I know! If I die the portal rips open and demons come pouring out. Do you enjoy reminding me of how badly I screwed up?" Nathan's false bravado was completely gone now. The man who was full of regret was coming to the surface.

"You act so uncaring. I feel it's my duty to remind you of what's at stake," Morven scolded.

"I do nothing, this demon opens the portal farther. I die the portal opens father. I get it. It's my mess and I need to clean it up." Nathan sat back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling.

"I'm not saying you intended for any of this. What else would a thirteen year old master wizard do but summon a demon to avenge his parent's death? I don't blame you," Morven replied.

"Why not? I do!" Nathan replied then stood up. "Anyway, it was fun traveling down memory lane but I have a student to teach and a fire maiden to avoid." Nathan's bravado was returning, something which annoyed Morven. Perhaps he did because it annoyed Morven. Nathan walked to the door and stood there for a second like he wanted to say something else but it wouldn't come out.

"Three hundred years is a long time. It's ok to forgive yourself for making a mistake," Morven said.

"Let's just worry about fixing my mistake," Nathan replied curtly then walked out.

Abby looked at Morven with worry.

"Do you think he will really leave Fiona alone?" Abby asked.

"He has never listened to me before. He better not start now." Morven laughed and grabbed Abby's hand.

"You want him to pursue Fiona?" Abby asked.

"Of course I do. That's why I made such a big deal about it. Fiona wants someone like Seth. Who is more like Seth than his best friend?" Morven stood and helped Abby to her feet. "I don't know about you but I'm tired." Morven gave her a look which implied he was anything but tired. He needed to spend as much time as possible with Abby and now was the perfect time to start.

"A nap sounds like a very good idea," Abby laughed and pulled Morven to the basement.

# Chapter 20

Daniel walked cautiously into the tavern he had been staying at with Crystal. At first he saw no sign of her then he realized the hulking man in the back corner was Deston. Crystal was obscured by the huge man's ominous form. Daniel readied himself then headed across the tavern. As soon as Crystal saw him her face filled with a mixture of anger and worry. She stood up and threw her arms up in exasperation.

"What the hell are you doing here?! I told you to run! I really don't want to kill you, Daniel." Crystal sat down and her tone softened. "You've sort of grown on me. Like a rash," she laughed.

Daniel pulled a chair from another table and sat with them.

"A rash that is going to save your ass," Daniel laughed. "Sup," Daniel said nodding to Deston.

"Hey. I hear you screwed this all up," Deston teased.

"Yeah, sort of, but I think I have a way out." Daniel looked at Crystal and waited.

"Well spill it. We don't have all day. What if those assassins finish up and head this way?" Crystal asked clearly worried.

"They're dead," Daniel replied swiftly.

"You killed them?" Crystal asked astonished.

"No, Fiona did...I helped a little," Daniel replied meekly.

"That's not good. He will send more. Next time he won't even warn me because they will be after me too." Crystal looked at the table trying to decide if she should run or fight.

"That's why I'm here," Daniel paused and looked at Crystal again.

"Well...you enjoy making me wait don't you?" Crystal was agitated and Daniel holding things back was making it worse.

"The story about the demon," Daniel started but Crystal interrupted him.

"This again? There is no demon, Daniel." Crystal looked less agitated and more annoyed now.

"What if the demon isn't a demon? What if he's just a really clever man? What if someone really is trying to set Morven up as the patsy for all this? Maybe someone wants to have everyone focused on a man they can't kill while the man behind it all runs around doing whatever he wants? Morven is the perfect patsy. He's paranoid and never leaves his castle." Daniel raised one eyebrow and waited for Crystal to put it together. Daniel was very good at spinning a tale to win over his audience. Whether he believed it or not didn't matter.

Crystal looked at Daniel then at Deston. Her mind was wrestling with it. When she finally spoke it looked like someone had just taken her blindfold off.

"You mean the king we've been working for. You think he...?" Crystal put her hand on her forehead and leaned on the table. "Oh why the hell didn't I see this? It was right there."

"Exactly," Daniel replied. "How much time and effort has he put into seeing Morven dead? Morven also didn't kill my parents."

"This king couldn't have killed them. Or could he?" Crystal replied. "But..." Crystal stared at Daniel with determination. "You don't suppose..."

"That a king sent men to Morven's farm and killed his family to get this all started? Knowing about Morven and how he'd react. Someone clever enough could pull it off. Don't you think?" Daniel asked with a smile. "So who is this king?"

"If we got played," Deston said angrily.

"We got played," Crystal stated. She looked at Deston then at Daniel. "King Darion Volt, that's who hired us," she said to Daniel.

"The king of Alitha? The kingdom in the desert? That King Volt?" Daniel asked in disbelief.

"There's another King Volt? Sometimes I swear you're really smart then you go asking stupid stuff like that. Yes, that's him," Crystal replied.

"I thought they went broke in the war," Daniel mused.

"Not any longer. They found a diamond mine like ten years ago. They are freaking rich. Like you would not believe." Crystal looked at Deston with a strange look Daniel couldn't quite place.

"We won't be getting paid, will we?" Deston asked.

"I don't think we were ever getting paid," Crystal replied. "And I've about had it with people beating me up and threatening my life."

"Someone beat you up?!" Deston asked angrily. He slammed his fist into the table. A few of the patrons turned to look but Deston didn't seem to notice. "I'll wring their scrawny necks!"

It was then Daniel realized Deston did care about Crystal, just not in the way Crystal cared about him. He saw Crystal as a little sister. Someone he had to protect.

"I'm fine, Deston," Crystal stated. "So what do we do?" she asked Daniel.

"Come with us," Daniel said.

"Who is us?" Crystal asked curiously.

"Lydia, Fiona, she is Lydia's cousin, and me," Daniel replied.

"To do what exactly?" Crystal wasn't sure she liked where this was going.

"To kill King Volt. He is the one behind it all. We will never be safe until he is dead." Daniel crossed his arms or rather tried too. As he lifted his right arm he painfully remembered, Lydia had broken it. As he put his left arm back down he hit his stab wound and winced.

"Looks like you've taken quite a beating," Crystal laughed.

"Yep. In the end it's all King Volt's fault. Let's do something about it instead of running." Daniel looked at Crystal seriously.

"Why not?" she replied and looked at Deston.

"Sure, why not?" he replied, much less enthusiastically.

"Meet me at the north end of town in say an hour or two?" Daniel asked.

"Ok, we'll be there," Crystal replied then stood up. She headed upstairs to her room followed by Deston. Daniel headed out the door of the tavern to grab some supplies before meeting with Lydia.

Once Crystal and Deston were inside her room, where Daniel couldn't hear them, Deston handed Crystal a coin.

"Fine, you win," Deston said with a grin.

"I told you I could get Lydia out of the castle and Daniel would be the one to do it," Crystal replied with a hateful sneer.

"Rub it in," Deston laughed. "I thought for sure Daniel would die trying to kill Morven or Lydia would kill him before he got the chance."

"I told you he could do it. He talks a big game but in the end he always wants to save the girl...and damn, the man can talk his way out of anything. That story about the man behind the plan. He doesn't even believe it. He's completely invested in Lydia's demon story," Crystal laughed. "They're all such fools."

"What now?" Deston asked as he sat on Crystal's bed.

"We go with them." Crystal sped around the room and collected anything she might need on the trip. She stopped suddenly and turned to Deston. "Why kidnap a powerful sorceress when we can just lead her to Alitha. She's practically begging to go. We don't have to do anything," Crystal laughed.

"I can't believe it was that easy," Deston pondered.

"Believe me, it wasn't easy. Daniel is a pain in the ass. All the whining and fawning over that sorceress got on my nerves." Crystal returned to her packing.

"So who beat you up?" Deston asked.

"I did," Crystal laughed. "The whiny bastard was about to just give up and leave so I had to improvise."

"Smart," Deston complimented.

Suddenly Crystal stopped dead in the middle of the room and a look of horror filled her face.

"Wait...how did it go in Volneer? Is it finished? Did anyone see you?" Crystal begged. She looked terrified.

"Don't trust me? King Seth is dead and no one saw me," Deston smiled, full of pride.

"You didn't kill anyone else and no one saw you? You're sure? We can't have anyone telling Fiona it was you. That would go very badly." Crystal still looked at Deston with a terror he couldn't understand.

"She's just a little girl. What's the big deal?" Deston asked, unimpressed.

"She's not JUST a little girl! Where there any witnesses?!" Crystal asked, her fear turning to anger.

"No. Not one person. I promise," Deston replied. "Not like it was hard. King Seth was an old man." Deston fidgeted and Crystal stared at him trying to figure out why. He was hiding something and she knew it.

"You are just lucky he was old. In his day..." Crystal said with a look of admiration as she stared off.

"Bah, he was easy. He didn't even try to run. Didn't fight back either. It was like he wanted to die," Deston laughed. His nervousness seemed to have left. Perhaps she was reading too much into it.

Crystal smiled deviously at Deston as she walked closer. She extended her index finger, revealing her long nail and placed it under Deston's chin. As she put pressure on his throat he started to look nervous again.

"The King Seth from thirty years ago would have torn you apart. Make no mistake. He was ten times the man you will ever be but he deserved to die." Crystal removed her finger and turned away with a sadness Deston didn't understand.

"What is part two?" Deston asked.

Crystal snapped out of her sad daydreams and turned to Deston with renewed hatred. The evil smile on her face told Deston he wasn't going to like part two.

"You are going to make Fiona fall in love with you," Crystal replied with a cruelty that made Deston cringe.

"Not her, please," Deston begged.

"Why not?" Crystal asked.

"She's...she's so small and skinny. She's...I really don't like red heads," Deston stuttered, trying to find an excuse Crystal would buy.

"Quit fucking whining! Is Daniel rubbing off on you?" Crystal threw her jacket on angrily then picked up her bag and stomped over to Deston. "If you ever want to be with me you better fucking do this! It's not like I'm making you sleep with her. In fact, I prefer you don't have sex with her at all. No kissing, no making out, nothing at all. Just get her to follow you around like a lost puppy until we get Lydia to Alitha. That's all."

"So you do care about me? Jealous?" Deston asked hopefully. His act of treating Crystal like a little sister was all for Daniel's benefit.

"No, I don't care if you sleep with all the women in this town. Makes no difference to me one bit. Just not Fiona. I want Fiona frustrated and distracted," Crystal replied.

Deston's face fell and Crystal noticed. She put her finger under his chin, this time gently. She lifted his head up and kissed him on the lips.

"Ok, maybe I'm a little jealous," she replied. "But it has to be done."

"Why are you so scared of her?" Deston asked, feeling vindicated.

"Because she is stronger than her father. Lydia has no idea how to use her powers and is easy to manipulate. Fiona is another story. She's dangerous." Crystal headed toward the door and Deston followed.

"So, if I keep Fiona distracted. When this is all over. You will be mine?" Deston asked.

"No, much better than that." Crystal looked up at the large man and pulled his head down then kissed him passionately. When she was finished she put her finger to the corner of her mouth and bit her nail. "You will be mine."

# Chapter 21

As Deston and Crystal walked up to the group Daniel shot up from the side of the road. He walked quickly to meet them then ushered Crystal to Lydia.

"Lydia this is my friend Crystal and this," Daniel smacked the large man on the chest. "Is my punching bag, Deston." Daniel laughed and Deston pushed Daniel, almost knocking him over.

"Pleased to meet you," Lydia said politely.

Fiona looked up from her pack she was struggling with and saw Deston. She walked over and stuck out her hand, nervously trying to cover her attraction for the large man.

"I'm Fiona," she said quietly.

"My, aren't you a petite little thing," Deston laughed as he shook her small hand.

Crystal elbowed Deston in the ribs with enough force to make the man grunt.

"Be nice," Crystal said sharply.

"I didn't say she wasn't pretty. Just saying she's small." Deston winked at Fiona and it caused her to blush. She quickly went back to shoving her many belongings back inside her pack while avoiding eye contact with Deston.

"So, I'm assuming Daniel told you about King Volt?" Crystal asked.

"Yes, sounds like the person we're looking for," Lydia replied, avoiding the subject of the demon. Daniel had explained to her that Crystal would have a hard time believing in the demon but killing an evil king was something she could get behind.

"So you think he's a demon?" Crystal teased.

"Maybe," Lydia replied, surprised that Crystal was entertaining the idea after Daniel's rant.

"Well as long as he quits trying to kill me, I'll call him a lobster if you like," Crystal laughed and Lydia smiled back at her before grabbing her pack.

Daniel quickly rushed over to Lydia and grabbed the bag before she could get it off the ground.

"That's my job," Daniel said as he smiled at her.

"If you want to lug all my stuff to Alitha then by all means," Lydia laughed and released the bag with flourish.

"I'm still your servant," Daniel said as he lifted the bag and threw it over his shoulder with his good arm.

"You are not my servant. You are going to have your friends thinking I'm some kind of tyrant or something." Lydia looked at Crystal apprehensively.

"Hey, what you two do is your business. I've had guys who wanted me to pretend to be a hooker and a waitress, who am I to judge?" Crystal winked.

"It's not like that!" Lydia complained.

Daniel looked at Crystal with a grin.

"I just wish it was like that," Daniel said then took off down the road.

"What?! Hold on a minute!" Lydia complained and followed after Daniel. "Don't you go giving people the wrong impression. You are NOT my sex slave!"

When they were a ways down the road Crystal nudged Deston in the ribs again. He walked over by Fiona and knelt down.

"Need a hand?" he asked politely.

"No, I got it. Carried this stuff all the way from Volneer. I think I can manage," Fiona replied indignantly.

"I didn't say you couldn't handle it. Just offering to carry it for a ways," Deston laughed softly. "Maybe you can carry mine next time."

Fiona looked up into his grey eyes and was lost for a second then noticed he and Crystal only had one large bag that almost looked large enough to fit Fiona inside of it.

"You shouldn't be flirting with women when Crystal is right there." Fiona looked up at Crystal who was still standing.

Crystal bent down and smacked Deston on the back.

"He's like my little brother. That's why he's carrying all my shit." Crystal stood again and headed off to follow Daniel and Lydia.

"I'd hardly call you little," Fiona laughed nervously.

"And I wasn't flirting," Deston winked. He grabbed Fiona's bag and she didn't argue.

She followed along beside Deston nervously fidgeting with her hands while they tried to stay caught up with the rest. She got the impression that Deston was lagging behind intentionally and she didn't mind.

"So why are we heading north?" Crystal asked when she caught up to Daniel, then pointed behind them. "Alitha is that way."

"We need two more people if we are going to pull this off," Daniel replied.

"Oh? And who would they be?" Crystal asked.

"Two friends of mine...almost friends," Daniel cringed. "Selna and Jason."

"These 'almost friends' have any special skills? Why do we need them?" Crystal was unsure about the new additions. She had planned on the five of them, seven meant more people to deceive. More people questioning her motives and more people to mess up her plan to have Fiona fall for Deston.

"Selna lives far north and she is really, really, really strong," Daniel laughed.

"So you're saying she's really strong?" Crystal teased.

"Like she could carry Deston on her shoulders then pick me up as well. Really strong." Daniel felt he couldn't emphasize this enough. When he said 'really strong' he meant 'really strong'.

"Ok, and this Jason?" Crystal asked. She wasn't worried about Selna. Strong usually meant stupid, like with Deston.

"He is to the east of us and he is super smart," Daniel replied.

"Why not go there first?" Crystal didn't like the sound of Jason. She didn't need some scholar figuring out her plan. She was anxious to get a sense of the man's intelligence. Killing him would cause problems but if he discovered her plan it would cause more.

"Jason will take some convincing to go with us. I'm hoping Selna can help with that." Daniel looked at Lydia and raised his eyebrows.

"You're playing matchmaker aren't you?" Lydia asked with surprise.

"Jason likes umm...larger women, shall we say, and Selna is large." Daniel looked at Lydia hoping for pity then remembered something else. "Oh and she has really pretty blonde hair. Jason is a sucker for blondes."

"So she is a blonde with big boobs. Is that what you're not saying?" Lydia looked at him contemptuously.

"Yes and a little heavy, just the kind of woman Jason can't say no to," Daniel laughed nervously as he cringed. He expected a slap at any second.

"So basically you are going to set Selna up with Jason so Jason will help us, why?" Lydia looked at Daniel then answered her own question. "You screwed him over and he's mad at you? What did you do? Sleep with his girlfriend?"

"I...umm...slept with his sister?" Daniel cringed and this time Lydia slapped him on the back of the head.

"So was she a heavy blonde girl with big boobs?" Lydia seemed very angry now and Daniel was afraid to answer.

"Maybe? I think his blonde thing comes from having four sisters and a mother who were all blonde and umm...big boned." Daniel cringed again and Lydia slapped him harder. "He's adopted so I think he has a crush on his adopted sisters and maybe even his adopted mother."

"You're horrible!" Lydia yelled. "Did you sleep with all of them?" Lydia could see this coming.

"Yes? Well, not the mom. That would be weird," Daniel took a step away from Lydia but he wasn't quick enough. She closed the gap and punched him in the arm, his broken arm.

"Holy shit!" Daniel screamed as he dropped both packs and fell down holding his arm.

"I'm sorry Daniel! I didn't mean to...I'm so sorry." She bent down and tried to comfort him but was afraid to touch him again.

"Don't worry about it Lydia. I deserved it. I'm not like that anymore." Daniel looked at her seriously. He needed her to realize, he meant it.

Lydia shifted uncomfortably then stood up.

"We'll see about that." She looked down at the poor man and took pity on him. "I'm really sorry though. I can carry my pack now."

Daniel quickly snatched up her pack first then grabbed his own. He quickly walked away from her.

"I don't think so missy. I have one job, don't go taking it away from me," he laughed.

Crystal watched on in disgust. She could barely stand their stupid courtship ritual but she had no choice. This had been part of her plan. Keep Lydia distracted with Daniel so she wouldn't learn to use her magic. Then keep Fiona busy with Deston. This could still work, even with two more people. She glanced back and saw Fiona and Deston talking quietly to themselves and strained to hear their conversation.

"You and Crystal been together long?" Fiona asked sheepishly. She wanted to find out how truthful Crystal had been.

"Oh yeah, since umm well, since I was a kid," Deston lied. It was the story Crystal had coached him on. He felt like he was a horrible liar but as long as he stuck to Crystal's story he would be fine. Fooling Daniel had been easy, he only had to seem uninterested in Crystal and stay quiet while Crystal steered things. Fiona was a different story. He was on his own with the small redhead and she seemed far more skeptical than Daniel had been.

"Oh so, you two ever...you know...give it a go?" Fiona asked.

"Ha!" Deston laughed loudly, maybe too loudly. Perhaps he was trying to hard? He looked down at Fiona. "She's like my sister. That's just...eww." Deston stared at Fiona nervously hoping she would buy it.

"No serious girlfriends then? I mean you're traveling around with Crystal. They must get jealous." Fiona looked up at him and was lost in his grey eyes.

"Nah, not much time for that." He smiled at Fiona and noticed her disappointment. Crystal's story was working. Fiona didn't suspect at thing. "Well, maybe I just haven't found the right girl." He winked at her and saw the red make its way back onto her face. She looked at the ground. He felt tremendous relief when she looked down. The story was working perfectly, now if he could just keep it up. This deception Crystal had planned was difficult. How was he going to be able to keep his story straight? Hopefully Fiona would quit focusing on the past.

"Maybe you'll find her on this trip." Fiona couldn't believe she had randomly been paired with a man whose physique rivaled her father's. Deston might even be larger. She knew it was weird to actively seek someone so much like her father but it was what she wanted. She wanted to feel safe and protected even though she didn't need to be protected. She wanted a man who made her feel special. The fact that he was large and strong was a bonus she hadn't even hoped for.

Deston looked up from Fiona and saw a group of weary farmers walking toward Lelthan. As they passed Deston he made a face and looked down at Fiona.

"People like that should just give it up. Why do they insist on working a farm until they die then shackling their children to the same miserable fate?" Deston waited for Fiona's response.

Fiona watched as the man pulled the cart with no horse while his two children sat on the back, on top of what was, most likely, their last bag of grain for the season. His wife following behind, playing a silly game to entertain the children. Her heart went out to them. Their life wasn't easy. Sure they could give it up, sell the farm and move to a small house in some city but what then? What would they do? How would the make a living? Besides, the farm was probably like one of their children. Their kids wouldn't grow up 'shackled'. They would grow up loving their land and hoping for good crops so they could restore it to 'how it was when their father was still alive'. They would romanticize about 'how it used to be' and strive to make it as good as they could manage. Their life was not a prison they couldn't escape it was a labor of love they would teach their children and their children's children afterward. Despite the hard times they would consider themselves lucky as they sat around the fire, surrounded by their many grandchildren. Where Deston saw futility and despair Fiona saw hope and happiness.

Fiona walked silently, not responding to Deston. How could a man look so much like what she wanted yet not understand this simple truth of life? It didn't matter what you had but who was beside you.

Far off beside the group, hidden by the trees Nathan watched them carefully.

He was furious. How could Fiona fall for that insensitive behemoth who called himself a man? Did she not see he was wrong for her? Sure, even Nathan had to admit the man was practically godlike but he was a jackass. Fiona could never be happy with a man like that no matter how good he looked.

Nathan stomped along in the grass, fuming at the cruelty of his situation. He could make Fiona much happier but Morven wouldn't allow it and besides...why would she be interested when she had someone who looked like Deston?

He thought about joining the group and introducing himself but changed his mind. It wasn't the right time. He needed to keep an eye on the girls from a far to make sure they were safe, at least for now. He would teach Lydia in time but it was too soon. Lydia needed her full attention to learn what he had to teach her and right now Daniel was taking up far too much of it. He wished Lydia would give in and just forgive Daniel already. She had a right to be angry but even from where he stood Nathan could see Lydia was trying to fool herself into believing she wasn't in love with Daniel. The clumsy buffoon had captured her heart and no amount of pretending would change that. Nathan would just have to bide his time, silently watching them, until Lydia finally admitted the truth.

# Chapter 22

Nathan sat in the grass a little over a hundred feet from where the group had set up their camp for the night. He couldn't afford to start a fire, someone would surely see it. Fiona may have been distracted by Deston over the last few weeks but it didn't seem to lessen her cautiousness. A few times since they had left Lelthan Nathan had been sure Fiona spotted him. No one else had even come close but Fiona was sharp. Nathan thought about Fiona and his heart raced. How odd it was to be infatuated by his best friend's daughter. If his had been a normal life it might have even seemed creepy but at over three hundred years old it hardly seemed to matter if she was twenty six or seventy six. There was not a woman alive who would be an appropriate age for him. He was stuck in his twenties anyway, who would even know he was as old as he was?

Nathan thought back on his life. How horrible it had all started and how horrible it still was. His life was a string of bad situations and depressing tragedies.

At the age of thirteen he'd had what he considered a perfect life. His father was an apprentice magician with very little magical power. Despite his father's lack of power he possessed a willpower that even master mages admired. His father would sit in their barn for hours practicing spells his peers thought were child's play. Nathan used to sit in the loft of the barn and practice along with his father. He admired the man. With so little natural talent the man had earned the respect of many mages more powerful than himself. It was on one of these nights when Nathan was mimicking his father that it happened.

Two men broke into their humble home hoping to steal something they could sell in the nearby town. It was too late by the time his father heard the screams for help. And when Nathan had climbed down from the loft both his mother and his father were dead. Nathan was left with no parents and no idea who had killed them. Nathan took after his father in many ways, his stubbornness, his kindness but the one area where he did not take after his father was his power. Nathan knew there was something different about himself. He felt it when he was mimicking his father but he had always assumed it was supposed to feel like that when he used magic. Little did the boy know he was powerful beyond measure.

As the boy traveled through towns in search of the men who had killed his parents his anger and hatred grew. He met mages and fakes in his travels, easily telling one from the other. His power grew alongside his hatred and by the time he was nearly fourteen his power eclipsed even his father's peers.

One night Nathan found a woman who claimed to be able to read the future. This was, of course, a ruse to swindle people out of their money but when Nathan called her out she gave him a book as payment for her life. Nathan had become cruel and had little patience for people who tried to steal from others. Luckily for the woman, the book, unlike her powers, was not fake. Nathan spared her life and studied the ancient book for days on end. When the young boy finally worked up the courage he performed the ritual and opened a portal to another dimension. The demon who came out was named Morven. Morven looked like a man, having transformed during his travel through the portal but Nathan knew better. He bound Morven to an oath, kill the people responsible for his parent's death and he would be released into the world. Morven agreed and set out to kill the men responsible but what Nathan hadn't realized was that his life and Morven's were linked by the ritual.

As the years went on Nathan started to notice he wasn't aging. He had his revenge and Morven was free but something was off. At twenty years old he looked like he was sixteen, at thirty he appeared to be eighteen and finally when he should have looked like an old man at fifty he appeared to be in his early twenties and that was where his aging stopped. Nathan found Morven after a great deal of searching and tried to convince the demon to release him from their pact. Morven, being one of the kindest demons in existence agreed and the two returned to the portal.

They both felt the power as they approached the portal and knew something was horribly wrong. The portal had reacted to them and flashed with power then went silent. They struggled for hours trying to reactivate it then finally they tried to destroy it but it was no use. The portal was immune to their magic and unresponsive. It took ten years before they realized what had happened that night. The portal had reacted to the two of them and caused a demon to be born to a human mother. They killed the demon and returned to the portal for another attempted, hoping their new understanding would produce different results. In the original book they had found what they thought was a solution but the cycle repeated itself. The portal caused another human woman to get pregnant with a demon child.

After many years of frustration, fighting the same cycle, trying different techniques with the same results, they realized that neither of them could get near the portal without devastating consequences. That was the year they made their plan. Morven had produced a child with a human woman and the child was not demonic in the slightest. She had power but this little girl was as compassionate and kind as any little girl should be. They decided that if they could not get near the portal, perhaps one of Morven's offspring could. All they would have to do was teach the girl magic and she could destroy the portal for them. This was the perfect plan until Morven's first wife was killed.

In their attempts to destroy the portal and kill the demons they had missed one. This demon was sneaky and hid from them until it was strong enough to fight them. After it killed Morven's first wife it went after the child, realizing a child of Morven could close the portal for good. Luckily Nathan was with the eighteen year old girl when the demon came. Nathan fought the demon back and eventually killed it but it left him with a message. It had found a way to empower the portal using their combined blood. Every thirteen years the portal would be able to collect enough power to send another demon into a human woman and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Morven and Nathan took Morven's daughter to the portal but found that only the girl could approach it. Morven and Nathan could not even get in sight of the portal without feeling incredible pain, nearly passing out. To their dismay Morven's daughter had been much like Nathan's father. She could use magic but it was difficult and she had neither the skill nor the power to destroy the portal.

Nathan and Morven parted ways after that. Both dedicating themselves to fighting the demons which were being produced. They found being together only stood to remind them of what they had failed to accomplish, Nathan more so than Morven. They had given up on one of Morven's children being able to stop Nathan's horrible mistake and went on with their lives, fighting demons every time they appeared, until Lydia was born. From the moment Lydia cried at her loving grandfather he knew this was the child he had been waiting for. Her power surged around her as she cried in her crib and Morven knew she was more powerful than he was. Not as strong as Nathan but close, strong enough to destroy the portal. The only problem was, the demons were coming faster and faster. What had started as thirteen years had shortened over time to two years and the demons knew an offspring of Morven was the only one who could get near the portal and possess enough power to close it. These demons pursued young Lydia until the day they found her. That was where the story differed from the one people told. The men that came were not men at all but demons searching for the powerful Morven heir who could close the portal. Morven had not been the one to kill the demons, Nathan had killed them while Morven lay unconscious. He had gotten there too late to save Lydia's mother, step-father and Morven's wife but he was able to save Lydia.

Nathan wiped a tear from his eye as he broke himself from his horrible daydream. He heard laughter in the camp which was on the next hill. It was Fiona's laugh. How he wished he could be there with them. Maybe Fiona would be laughing at his jokes or even his stupidity, just as long as she was laughing. Nathan sat down and drank a swig of the strong alcohol he had brought with him. If he couldn't have a fire, at least he could be warm.

He then laughed at himself as it reminded him of his one and only friend in his entire three hundred and sixteen years. How sad was it that he had only found one friend and what made it even sadder was that he was now dead. Nathan laughed again as he remembered the circumstances which led to him befriending such an unlikely boy, a son of Morven, no less. There was some moral or hidden meaning in it, perhaps even a little irony, of this Nathan was sure. Everything in Nathan's life was linked to Morven. His hardships, his love, his friendship, everything was linked to Morven.

Morven always had a knack for falling in love easily and completely. Perhaps it was because Morven was a demon and not human. He had no qualms loving any woman who even gave him an ounce of attention. At first Nathan thought Morven was simply marrying women to produce children and stop this curse but over time he came to realize, Morven just loved women. Morven wasn't interested in producing children. He had found six women after his first wife died before Nathan realized it. Morven would settle down with any woman willing to give him a chance until the woman either died mysteriously or grew tired of Morven constantly leaving to fight demons, track down spells or whatever it was Morven was interested in at the moment. It was one of these women who brought about Nathan's friendship with Seth, Morven's second child and only son.

Morven did not get along well with Seth's mother. They fought constantly, except when they were in the bedroom. Their relationship was tornado of emotions both bad and good but Morven refused to leave and the strong willed woman refused to kick him out. It was one of their more robust fights which led to Morven taking a break and spending the night at an inn to cool off. In the morning he returned to find his wife and their home burned to the ground. His son Seth was missing but within a few weeks Morven had tracked him down. It seemed a kind red head named Rachel had found Morven's son and saved his life. Morven was saddened when he found out Rachel had the curse, the curse he knew all too well. He was also surprised by this woman. Not only did she know about her curse, she had found a way around it by marrying a man who could not get her pregnant. In the end Morven decided to leave Seth with her as a form of retribution since he and Nathan were the cause of her dreadful curse. The woman could have no child of her own, it was only right she raise Morven's.

Over time Morven got to know Rachel under false pretenses, only to find out Rachel knew exactly who he was. She had a gift for seeing the future so Morven spent a great deal of time having her do just that.

This was where Nathan came in. He was charged with guarding the young prince, Morven's only son, while Rachel and Morven struggled to get a sense of what was coming. This lasted only a year but in that year Nathan grew found of the young boy he was guarding. When Morven left to prepare for what Rachel had shown him Nathan stayed and continued guarding the young prince as he grew into a man. The two were inseparable for many years until Seth found a wife. This was one of the hardest days of Nathan's life. Maybe even harder than when he lost his parents, though not even a shadow of what was to come afterward.

Rachel came to Nathan one night and told him he would have to leave and never see Seth again. Nathan could not be a part the lives of Seth's children and Seth must never speak about their friendship. Even Seth's future wife could never know about him. When asked why he had to leave all Rachel would tell him was that someday he would be very grateful he had left.

Nathan stretched his neck so he could see the fire at the camp on the hill, it was dying down now. The laughter and joking had dulled to quiet whispers. He wondered when the day would come when he would be grateful for leaving his closest friend. Would it be tomorrow? Next month? Now that he knew Seth was dead he would never get the chance to apologize for leaving. He would never see his friend again. Nathan threw the bottle of strong alcohol against the ground angrily. How would he ever be grateful? When would he ever be happy about leaving his best friend without even saying goodbye?

Nathan tried to push his self-pity aside before his mind inevitably came to the worst tragedy he'd endured to date. The act which broke his heart more than all the rest. The sacrifice he made for Seth was bad but the sacrifice he didn't even dare think about was worse. Perhaps it was punishment or maybe it was justice. Maybe all Nathan deserved was hardship after creating a portal to bring demons into this world.

# Chapter 23

Daniel let his eyes adjust to the darkness as he brushed the snow from his jacket and walked into the seedy tavern. The place was packed with stinky, heavily bearded men who were all laughing and shouting. They had traveled nearly two months to get here. If Selna was gone he would never hear the end of it. Lydia, for one, would hold this over him for months to come. He could hear her now. 'Let's walk a hundred miles in the snow to find a woman who isn't even there. You're an idiot, Daniel.' Ok, maybe she wouldn't be so nice about it. Daniel laughed at the sound of Lydia's voice in his head and a heavy set man looked at him strangely as Daniel pushed his way to the back of the tavern.

Lydia hadn't given up on her constant torture. Thankfully, the snow and cold winds forced her to cover herself but even that didn't keep Daniel's temperature from rising every time she smiled at him. He actually thought he might be making progress. She had taken to sleeping beside him. 'For the warmth' as she put it but warmth didn't require her to sleep so close did it? Daniel thought there just might be another reason. He was slowly wearing her down. A few mornings he even found himself with his arms around her and, to his surprise, she didn't seem to mind.

As Daniel passed another group of men he saw a head full of long blonde hair. Selna face away from him but he was certain it was her. She wore a heavy coat which seemed just a little cleaner than the men around her and when she raised her cup of ale Daniel was sure. No man would have such clean hands and they looked very feminine.

Daniel inched his way closer and when he was beside her she turned and gave him a look of uncertainty.

"Hi Selna," he said in a loud voice.

"Daniel?" she smiled and stood up. She stood only an inch shorter than him and was a few inches wider. She was a large woman with a large figure. She threw her arms around him and Daniel struggled for breath.

"S...Selna...you're crushing my ribs," he struggled.

"Sorry, forgot you were such a wimp," she laughed and smacked him on the chest. Daniel stumbled backward and the men at the table laughed. These were large men, larger than Selna. Maybe not as large as Deston, nor were they half as muscular but they were large compared to Daniel.

"Can I have a word with you?" Daniel looked around at the table then added. "In private."

The oo's from the table made Selna blush then she stared at the men menacingly.

"He's just a friend." She smiled at Daniel then looked back at the table. "He's too scrawny for much else." She laughed.

The men all laughed as Selna followed Daniel to the door. At the doorway they stopped and huddled into a corner. It was the only part of the tavern that wasn't crowded.

"What do you need?" Selna asked kindly. "Sorry about that, I have a reputation to uphold. Wouldn't want them guys getting the wrong idea."

"It's ok, I have a girlfriend now, sort of," Daniel said unsure if he could really call Lydia his girlfriend.

"Just one?" Selna laughed and smacked him hard on the chest again. Daniel coughed and rubbed his chest.

"You're going to break my ribs if you keep that up," Daniel complained.

Deston walked into the tavern, followed by Fiona, Lydia and Crystal. All the men turned to stare at the beautiful snow covered women then turned back to their drinking.

"These are my friends." Daniel looked at Lydia and Selna could see the attraction between them.

"And this must be her," Selna said looking Lydia up and down. "Not bad Daniel. Don't screw it up."

"I like her!" Lydia smirked.

"Of course you do." Daniel rolled his eyes.

Selna then moved closer to Deston.

"You look like you might last a bit," she smiled seductively.

"Sorry..." Deston started but Selna interrupted him.

"Too dumb. We'd have nothing to talk about afterward," Selna said then turned to Fiona whose mouth was open.

"You're too timid but I like you," Selna then turned to Crystal. "And I don't trust you." Then Selna turned back to Daniel. "Nice friends."

"Did I forget to mention that Selna is very...blunt and really good at reading people?" Daniel looked at Lydia fearfully.

"So what did you want to ask me?" Selna asked.

"We're going to fight a demon. Want to go?" Daniel asked.

"You don't just ask someone that," Fiona blurted out.

"Sounds fun," Selna replied. "When do we leave?"

"Or maybe you do," Fiona laughed.

"Actually I'd like to leave right away. Snow sucks," Lydia added.

"Snow does suck but you get used to it sucking," Selna laughed then smacked Deston on the chest harder than she had Daniel.

Deston doubled over and held his chest.

"Guess I was wrong about you. You're not sturdy, just dumb," she said with a laugh as she headed out the door.

Daniel felt the need to comfort Deston. He put his hand on Deston's shoulder and said quietly.

"Don't worry, she thinks I'm dumb too," Daniel said then followed Selna into the snow.

Selna walked through the ankle high snow with ease as everyone else seemed to be tip toeing through it.

"Should have brought boots," Selna said over her shoulder. "My place is just over here. Let me grab a few things and we can head out."

"She doesn't hold anything back does she?" Lydia asked.

"Nope, she's a lot of fun to be around sometimes," Daniel laughed.

"I bet," Fiona said.

"I like her." Lydia looked at Daniel. "And not just because she's mean to you."

"She's actually very nice once you get used to her rough exterior." Daniel walked more quickly to catch up to Selna so Fiona and Lydia did as well.

Crystal and Deston lingered behind and once the others were inside they started whispering.

"She's going to be a problem," Crystal said quietly.

"I could take her," Deston said feeling emasculated.

"While I doubt that, it's not the point. We can't just kill her. We need to find a way to keep her from nosing around." Crystal paced back and forth, deep in thought.

"Daniel is setting her up with some smart guy." Deston stood still watching Crystal pace.

"I hope that's enough." Then Crystal turned her attention to Deston. "What's up with Fiona? She falling for you or what? It's hard to tell."

"I don't know." Deston looked perplexed. "One minute she's staring at me like I'm a piece of candy, the next she seems upset with me. I just don't get it."

"Well figure it out. If she finds out what we're up to it will be your ass." Crystal started to walk toward Selna's hut but Deston grabbed her arm.

"I'd rather it was your ass. Maybe we can sneak away for a while?" He looked at her lustfully but she pulled away.

"You'll never touch this ass if you keep that up. Do your job so we can finish this." Crystal stomped off but before she entered the hut she turned back toward Deston for one final thought. "The sooner we get done, the sooner this ass is yours." She smiled playfully and slapped herself on the ass then went inside.

Deston didn't head inside, he liked the snow. While everyone else was complaining, even Crystal, he enjoyed the white powder. Even though he had been raised in the desert he dreaded heading back south. He had come to hate the heat and dryness of the desert. The beautiful white powder was amazing to him.

Crystal pushed her way through the crowded doorway to see Daniel bargaining with Selna.

"He's super smart. I think you'll really like him," Daniel said for the third time.

"I said I'm not interested," Selna argued. "I'll help kill the demon but I'm not going to flirt with some guy so he will come help us. I just won't do it."

"Fine!" Daniel threw up his hands then walked away.

Fiona walked up to Selna and gently patted her shoulders.

"I understand. You're afraid. It's ok." Fiona rubbed Selna's back.

"I'm not afraid. I'm afraid of nothing," Selna replied half-heartedly.

"You're afraid he'll turn you down," Fiona added.

"Oh come on, you wouldn't understand." Selna stood up to her full height and looked down at Fiona. "You're..." Selna motioned at Fiona. "You're small and pretty. I'm a big oaf that hangs around men all day because I look like a man. They all see me as 'one of the boys'. I'm not a pretty girl."

Daniel smiled from across the room. Fiona was good at this. Why hadn't he tried this tactic? And Selna not pretty? That was a joke right? Just because she was big didn't make her ugly. In fact, she was quite beautiful.

"Not all guys want small," Fiona said with a crooked smile. "I have it on good authority that he likes his women...well endowed."

Daniel walked back over to Selna and whispered to her quietly.

"I didn't try to sleep with you because you're ugly. It's these clothes you wear. You dress like a guy. You are very pretty. Just intimidating." He looked nervously at Lydia.

"I heard that. You'll pay for it later." She looked at him sternly and lifted her eyebrows. Somehow Daniel had come to enjoy her scolding and threatening. The punishments generally were quite enjoyable. Frustrating and left him wanting, but very enjoyable none the less.

"I'll try," Selna relented. "Just once but I'll try. If he doesn't like me then you're on your own."

"Oh, Selna, he won't just like you," Daniel said excitedly. "He's going to be begging to join us just to be near you."

"And all I have to do is dress sexy and flirt with him?" Selna asked then looked at her clothes. "But all I have are men's clothes." She looked so depressed that even Lydia joined in.

"We'll find some clothes for you. Don't worry about it," Lydia comforted.

"Ok, I'm warm. I'm going to go see what Deston is up to. The clod is probably making snowmen or something," Crystal said then abruptly left.

"I still don't trust her," Selna said as she watched Crystal walk out.

"She is a bit abrasive," Daniel agreed.

"That's not what I mean," Selna replied then decided to drop the matter.

# Chapter 24

After a few more weeks they had left the snowy north behind and were headed south east to find Jason. Nathan was happy they had spent so little time in the north. He absolutely hated the snow. He hadn't even bothered to follow them the day they met with Selna because he just couldn't bear another minute of freezing his ass off. He spent the day around his campfire which he was able to make once they were preoccupied in town and thanked the creator for giving him one day to ease his frostbite. Although Nathan lived forever he wasn't impervious to pain. His body would heal, just like Morven's, but frostbite was a new torture he never wanted to experience again.

Nathan watched them from a distance as the group, which was now one stronger, made their camp in the grassy plains. They were traveling east now and nearing an ocean. The weather was moist and cool but not chilly. Nathan again thanked the creator for this little piece of luck. He never wanted to feel cold again as long as he lived. The grassy plains left Nathan with little shelter to hide so he kept his distance. They would soon be heading south again, just as soon as Daniel found their last member. He hoped Lydia and Daniel would make up soon. It would be very hard to find hiding spots as they continued south. The tall grassy plains provided him with some concealment, though he often had to crawl on the ground to be very close to the group, but the desert would give him nowhere to hide. Sure he might occasionally find a rocky outcropping or maybe even a sand dune to hide behind but most of the desert was just empty nothingness.

Nathan couldn't make out what they were saying from this distance but it seemed like Fiona was scolding Deston then she headed off into the grass by herself. What was she so upset with him about that she would head off alone? Nathan decided to follow. Over the months Nathan had developed an even bigger crush on the fiery haired woman. He often found himself daydreaming about what it would be like to talk to her. Would she act like his friend Seth? Would she talk like him? Maybe she picked up her speech and mannerisms from her mother? A woman Nathan had never met. He had seen glimpses of what Fiona was like, always from a distance but it didn't quite substitute for an actual conversation. Would she laugh at his jokes? Tease him when he made a mistake? In a way he hoped she would tease him. And that would lead to more teasing that would lead to an awkward kiss. Nathan quickly put it out of his mind. He was supposed to leave Fiona alone. Daydreaming about her was not helping.

Fiona disappeared into a small collection of trees so Nathan crouched down and inched closer. When he heard no sound he continued on. As he reached the trees he noticed the sharp incline on the other side that led down to a small pond. In the water was Fiona, completely naked, bathing. Nathan quickly turned away and hid in the grass. What was he doing? This was wrong but he really wanted to look. He had never been so attracted to a woman. Fiona was something else. Her long red hair and that smile...then there was her body. A body that was completely naked in the pond below him. He inched his way to the ledge again and peered down but Fiona was gone. What if she was heading back to the camp? Nathan quickly got to his feet just in time to catch Fiona's foot squarely between his eyes.

"Trying to get a free show creep?!" Fiona yelled at him.

"Wait! It's not what it looks like. Ok, it's a kinda what it looks like but I didn't do it on purpose." Nathan scrambled to his feet and held his hands out in front of himself, begging for mercy.

Fiona's soaked clothes and soaked hair told him she had seen him from the water and rushed up here to deal with him.

"Oh really? You just happened to find me bathing and couldn't help yourself?" Fiona asked angrily as she closed in on him. She threw a punch then a kick but in her frustration Nathan easily avoided them.

"Yes, well no. I did follow you but I didn't know you were bathing." Nathan scrambled to keep away from her and didn't see Selna right behind him.

Selna grabbed his arms and held him tight.

"I was just coming to join you when I noticed you trying to catch this weasel," Selna said with almost as much contempt as Fiona.

"He was watching me from up here!" Fiona pointed at the spot where Nathan had been crouched down.

"This is a serious misunderstanding. I wasn't watching you. Not like that." Nathan squirmed but he wasn't going to get free from Selna, not without hurting her and he wasn't about to do that. He could take his lumps and a part of him knew he deserved them.

"Hold his ass still so I can kick it," Fiona said with far too much enjoyment for Nathan's liking.

Lydia and Daniel walked over to them. They had heard Fiona's yelling and wanted to make sure she was alright.

"What's going on?" Lydia asked.

"This..." Fiona couldn't find the word she was looking for so she just blurted out something hateful. "Pervert was watching me bathe."

"It wasn't like that. Nathan noticed Daniel and fear filled his eyes. Daniel realized who Selna was holding at about the same instant and shared Nathan's fear.

"Nathan?!" Daniel shouted, unsure what he should do. He couldn't lie to Lydia, not again, but he also couldn't betray Nathan. Nathan was the reason Lydia was alive, mostly.

"You know this pervert?" Fiona asked, liking the word although she really wanted something more hateful.

"I'm not a pervert! Tell her Daniel. Tell her that Morven sent me to watch over you guys." Nathan looked at Daniel intently. This was the truth, just not all of it.

"You knew about this?" Lydia now shared Fiona's anger but turned hers toward Daniel. "You lied to me again?"

"Wait!" Daniel scrambled. "I didn't lie!" He looked at Nathan for help.

"It's not Daniel's fault, Lydia. I made him promise not to tell you." Nathan looked at Lydia seriously. "I helped him save you so Daniel felt the need to keep my secret. Daniel was stuck in an impossible situation so it's me who is to blame."

"You helped Daniel save me how?" Lydia asked with disbelief.

"I let him into your castle. I work for Morven so I can get inside. He needed to warn you about the assassins so I...I let Daniel see me. I wasn't supposed to. Morven would be furious if he knew." Nathan was lying now but Daniel didn't know it and neither did anyone else. He couldn't let Fiona and Lydia find out how long he had been following all of them. Fiona couldn't find out that Nathan had known her father either and Lydia could, most certainly, not find out the horrible secret he kept from her.

"Wait, I know you." Lydia furrowed her brow as she walked closer. "From the castle. You were waiting outside the gates. You've been watching me a long time." Lydia paced back and forth in front of him and Selna's grip loosened. Nathan gently eased his way back to standing and tried to explain without giving away all of his secrets. He decided that telling part of the truth, the part about watching Lydia was the safest.

"I was watching over you to make sure no one hurt you again. I'm so sorry I wasn't there that day. The day," Nathan hung his head.

"The day I incinerated a man," Lydia finished for him.

"I thought you were safe. I took a night off. What are the odds that on the one day I took a night off, some jerk would try to hurt you? I'm so sorry Lydia." Nathan looked distraught.

"How long have you been watching us?" Lydia asked.

"You, since you were eighteen and Morven started letting you go out by yourself. When you joined Fiona Morven told me to watch her too." Nathan felt better having told them some of the truth. The rest would wait until he was sure they were safe. Even Daniel didn't realize how old he really was and it needed to stay that way.

"So I don't get to kick his ass?" Fiona huffed and relaxed.

"If it will make you feel better," Nathan joked. "I do kinda deserve it. I seriously had no idea you were going to bathe." Nathan looked at Fiona and her anger melted away.

"Don't let it happen again," she snapped even though inside she had already forgiven him. Morven had sent a bodyguard to watch over them. It actually felt nice to have someone care that much and Nathan wasn't such a bad guy. At least not from the little Fiona had found out about him. He cared about Lydia. He couldn't be all bad. Fiona started walking back to the pond. "And to be clear. I'm going to bathe. Don't follow me!" Fiona said with a small grin that Nathan didn't miss.

"I think I'll join you," Lydia added. "And we'll talk about your punishment later." Lydia gave Daniel a stare that told him this time wouldn't be so easy. This punishment wouldn't be her walking around in revealing clothes, this would be him actually working. Maybe she had some clothes that needed washing or some other menial task he would be required to do.

Daniel lowered his head and walked back to the camp. Nathan saw his queue and headed out with him. Nathan stopped and turned back to apologize one more time.

"Again, I'm really sorry, Fiona. I really had no idea what you were doing," he said with a sorrowful look.

"It's ok, Nathan. We just need to communicate better." She smiled fully this time and found herself wondering how much he had seen. A side of Fiona she didn't even know she had found this strangely provocative. At least now that she knew Nathan wasn't some random wierdo.

"So, what was that?" Lydia asked while giving Fiona a suspicious look.

"What do you mean?" Fiona asked feigning innocence.

"I thought you had a thing for Deston? I saw the look you gave Nathan." Lydia continued.

"It's the strangest thing. As soon as he started talking it was like I knew him from somewhere. Like I knew him and liked him instantly. So strange." Fiona shook her head almost like she was shaking off a dream.

"Maybe we should put Nathan in Deston's body?" Lydia teased.

"Actually, that would be perfect," Fiona laughed. "Deston is an insensitive, idiotic, jackass, but damn he looks good."

"Yeah, Deston can be a real jerk," Lydia agreed.

"I just can't get over the feeling that I know Nathan from somewhere. What the hell is wrong with me?" Fiona continued down the incline until they were at the water's edge.

"Maybe you knew him in another life?" Lydia joked.

"Seriously? That's absurd. I think I'll just stick with Deston. He's a jerk but he's hot and he's interested." Fiona sat by the edge and flicked at the surface, looking at her reflection. "Nathan is mysterious and risky. I have no idea what is going on in his head."

"Mysterious could be a good thing," Lydia joked then pulled off her clothes and dove in. The water splashed up onto Fiona who was already soaked so she barely noticed.

"I just wish I could figure out where I know him from. It's going to drive me nuts." Fiona absentmindedly pulled off her clothes and waded in with Lydia.

# Chapter 25

Nathan was invited to stay with them since he was going to follow them around anyway but this didn't sit well with Crystal. Despite her objections the group, as a whole, decided to let him stay. As they drew closer to the town where Jason was Nathan started to fit in with everyone except for Crystal, who seemed to keep her distance even more than she had before.

Lydia woke to the morning sun and nudged Daniel. She had continued to sleep next to him even after leaving the snowy north, but only sleep. Her cold attitude was wavering and she knew it. It was just so comfortable to sleep in Daniel's arms. She couldn't deny herself this simple pleasure. She knew it weakened her position with Daniel but she didn't care. She could torture him in the day time. At night she deserved to be held.

"Wake up jackass," Lydia said as she nudged him harder.

"What? Was I snoring?" Daniel asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"No, I've gotten used to that," Lydia teased. "It's time to make breakfast."

"Well, good morning to you too, beautiful," Daniel smiled as he pulled on his shirt and headed out of their tent.

Lydia hid her smile to keep Daniel from noticing how much she enjoyed his compliments. He needed to suffer just a little longer. She almost trusted him now. They had been together for months and he hadn't lied once. At least not that she knew of. There it was. There would always be that hint of 'what if' when it came to Daniel. What if he was lying again? What if he was conning her still? She doubted it would ever go away completely but she also wasn't going to deny herself the happiness she felt around him. Her heart was sinking deeper and deeper in love with him and she knew it, she just couldn't tell him yet. Not until she knew he felt the same way. Sure, he was complimentary and he was very attentive but how could she really know it wasn't all a con?

Lydia got up and ran her fingers through her hair. She pitied Fiona. Long hair looked nice but waking up and having to brush it every day was a chore. Although Fiona had started keeping it in a ponytail, even to sleep. Still it was an unnecessary annoyance and Lydia had enough annoyances.

It had been a few days since Lydia had used magic. This trip didn't afford much time for practicing but she slipped in a few hours here and there to keep up with her training. Her grandfather would scold her if he knew how little she had practiced lately. As Lydia stepped out of the tent she stretched then leaned down and kissed Daniel on the head.

"I'm going to go practice a little. Let me know when the food's ready." She looked down as Daniel stared up at her. If he didn't love her he sure was good at faking it. That look he gave her almost every morning. That look that said, 'please take me back', would be so hard to fake but this was Daniel. Daniel could have sold milk to a cow farmer. She just couldn't be sure. Maybe it didn't matter? Maybe she didn't care if it was fake, just as long as he continued doing it. She decided today was not the day to tell him how she felt and slipped on her shoes then headed out to an open spot in the field.

Nathan noticed Lydia heading out by herself and figured now was as good a time as any to start her training. He had to do it subtlety and without her realizing that he had been sent to teach her but he could handle it.

"How's it going?" Nathan asked as he took a spot a few feet from her and started stretching out just like she was.

"What are you doing?" Lydia asked with a little apprehension in her voice.

"I've been following you guys around for months. I couldn't just practice magic. You would have seen me. Do you mind if I join you?" Nathan asked. He stopped stretching. "If you mind I can go find another spot. I understand. Some people like to be alone when they practice."

"No Nathan it's fine. I just didn't realize you could use magic." Lydia continued her stretching and tried to block out Nathan.

The sun was starting to get warm and Nathan was beginning to work up a sweat, just as he had planned, so he removed his shirt.

"Getting warm. Sure am glad we're out of that freekin blizzard. I don't know about you but I hate snow." Nathan stretched his shoulders and noticed Lydia watching him.

At first she only saw a glimpse of black as Nathan pulled one shoulder then the other. Then she realized, he was a real mage, it was a tattoo and a large one.

"Aren't you embarrassed to show off your tattoo?" Lydia asked curiously.

"No, why?" Nathan asked.

"I don't like to show mine off," Lydia answered sadly.

"Why not? Daniel seems to like them. Who else matters?" Nathan asked with a wink.

Lydia looked over at the camp and saw Fiona sitting by Daniel talking.

"Are you afraid Fiona and Daniel might...?" Nathan asked with a laugh.

"No," Lydia lied.

"It's ok. I know you are but you have nothing to worry about. I know Daniel pretty well. With you it's not fake." Nathan bent over and touched his toes and Lydia got to see the full tattoo on his back. It was a large dragon with red fire coming from its mouth and glowing red eyes. At least Lydia thought they were glowing. Whoever had created his tattoo had the talents of her grandfather. The only person she knew who could produce such magical tattoos was him but, obviously, there had to be someone else.

"Are you sure it's not fake?" Lydia asked. She held out her hands and tried to make the energy obey her and jump from one hand to the other.

"You've almost got it. Mind if I show you something?" Nathan asked. "And I'm sure it's not fake. He is in love with you."

Fiona and Daniel watched as Nathan got behind Lydia and helped her hold her hands and arms correctly.

"Jealous?" Fiona asked with a grin.

"You better believe it." Daniel looked at Fiona and returned her devilish grin. "Are you?"

"What?! Why would I be?" Fiona protested a little too loudly and Daniel's smile widened. "I'm not!" she shouted and looked away.

"I know they are just training but still. They have so much in common. I can't compete with Nathan." Daniel mixed the mush that was to be breakfast. It had started as oatmeal but it ended up as a sticky, slimy mess. Luckily it still smelled decent. It just looked horrendous.

"Lydia keeps looking over here. She could care less about Nathan," Fiona comforted.

"Really? Well Nathan keeps..." Daniel started but Fiona interrupted.

"Don't lie Daniel. He's looked over here once and I think it was to see if the food was ready. He's just hungry." Fiona plopped down on the ground and crossed her legs.

"You are jealous. You've been watching him," Daniel stated playfully.

"Looks better than yesterday," Fiona said, trying to change the subject.

"I'm getting the hang of this," Daniel said.

"You'll make a good house wife someday," Fiona teased.

"If I'm lucky," Daniel laughed.

Nathan held Lydia's hand flat while pointing it at a rock in the distance.

"That's too far. I'll never hit it," Lydia objected.

"It's not that far," Nathan encouraged.

"Ok, I'll try. I sure hope there's no deer or bunnies over there," Lydia laughed.

"Really?" Nathan asked contemptuously.

"What? It's the girly thing to say," Lydia joked.

"You're not an ordinary girl, quit acting like one," Nathan scolded.

"And how should I act Mr. Emotionless?" Lydia asked and released the energy. It flew and hit right beside the rock throwing dirt everywhere.

"Almost and I'm not emotionless. I just don't...I just can't..." Nathan couldn't finish it.

"You like Fiona don't you?" Lydia asked and released another small burst of energy. This time her aim was right on target and the rock exploded.

"Good job and it's complicated," Nathan replied.

"Doesn't sound complicated," Lydia said and lined up another shot with a rock father out.

"Oh, getting cocky now?" Nathan asked. "She likes Deston. It's fine."

"Fight for her," Lydia encouraged.

"That's not how you win a woman's heart," Nathan replied.

"That would win mine," Lydia said with a smile.

"Fiona is different. She's..." Nathan started but couldn't find a word to describe her.

"Complicated?" Lydia asked.

"Exactly," Nathan replied.

"She might not be as complicated as you think," Lydia replied and headed back to the camp. She could smell the sweet gruel and knew breakfast was ready. Nathan lagged behind and gave one longing glance at Fiona until she noticed him staring then he looked at the grass as he followed Lydia.

# Chapter 26

After breakfast they sat around talking as Daniel cleaned up the dishes. A few times the others protested and offered to help but Lydia was clear. It was Daniel's job and he better damn well do it himself.

"Wish I had someone to spar with. Been months," Fiona said sadly.

"I'd love to spar," a low voice came from behind them. As Fiona turned she saw Selna smiling down at her.

"You fight?" Fiona asked.

"Do I fight? Is snow cold?" Selna asked rhetorically.

"Where were you?" Fiona asked, pushing aside Selna's offer for the moment.

"I can't stand sweet food," Selna replied, looking at Daniel crossly. "I was also out hunting for some lunch." She held up two rabbits and in her other hand she held six eggs.

"Lydia likes sweet food so you're out of luck," Daniel teased.

"Actually some rabbit and eggs sounds good," Lydia replied.

Daniel hurried over to Selna and grabbed the rabbits and fumbled with the eggs. He had to hold them in his shirt but he didn't break a one.

"I'll have these ready by lunch," Daniel stated. Even though he had no idea how Lydia wanted her rabbit, he'd give it his best shot.

Lydia followed Daniel and everyone could hear her scolding him.

"It's all about the spices. What do you have? I can cook you know?" Lydia continued to torment Daniel until they were too far away to hear.

"What kind of sparring do you prefer?" Fiona asked, getting back to Selna's offer.

"All kinds," Selna replied. "Nathan, you should join us." Selna gave him a strange look which told Nathan he had better say yes.

Selna was an oddity to Nathan. She seemed to know what was going on in the camp though she spent most of her time alone. She was kind to everyone and even seemed to prefer talking to Nathan when she did talk. The only one she didn't get along with was Crystal. The two never spoke unless absolutely necessary.

"I'll go a few rounds," Nathan said then got to his feet.

Fiona grinned as she walked to the open field where Nathan and Lydia had been practicing magic. She kept her face hidden until she could push down the smile.

"What shall we use?" Nathan asked.

Selna walked over to a few trees and effortlessly ripped three branches off.

"Wooden swords?" Selna offered.

"More like staves but I'll take it," Fiona replied.

Selna tossed a stick to Nathan and Fiona then took up her stance across from the small redhead.

"On you, Fiona," Selna said with a satisfied grin.

Fiona paced and got a quick sense of how Selna would react then thrust forward before pulling her stick back and cracking Selna on the thigh.

"Good one," Selna laughed. She reached down and rubbed her thigh.

Nathan watched with interest. She had rubbed the wrong spot. Was she patronizing Fiona or was there more to it?

This time Selna approached swinging widely but when Fiona dodged Selna shoulder checked her and Fiona fell flat on her ass.

"Nice fake," Fiona replied. Fiona got up and rubbed her shoulder. "Damn you're hard as a rock."

Although Fiona didn't catch the expression, Nathan did. Selna was nervous. Why? Was it the comment about being hard as a rock? That was it! Nathan's mind put it together. He knew Selna was familiar to him and now he knew why. Something he would have to bring up the next time Selna sat down to talk with him but only when they were alone.

Nathan watched the rest of the display with amusement and admiration for both women until it was his turn. Fiona had beaten Selna, although only by points. It was Fiona who ended up with bruises. Nathan was willing to bet Selna didn't have a scratch on her despite Fiona hitting her solidly several times.

As he took his stance in front of Fiona he panicked. Fiona wasn't stupid. He had to make this look good or Fiona would notice how different he was. Selna had been very good at disguising her body being impervious to damage, although his wasn't, he could beat Fiona if he tried. How would it look if he was a superior fighter and a powerful mage? Someone would realize he was not who he pretended to be. He had to lose to Fiona but make it look like he was trying.

"Go easy on me Fiona. I'm no novice but I'm not that good either," Nathan lied to set the stage for his deception.

Fiona swung over her shoulder and Nathan jumped, perhaps a little too quickly. Then she jabbed at his stomach. He let it hit then spun and cracked her on the arm. He had to get some hits in to make it look good.

"Nice," Fiona complimented.

Nathan rubbed his stomach. Unlike Selna, he did feel pain and Fiona hit hard.

"Likewise," he replied.

Fiona was breathing heavily as she stepped to the side. Nathan saw an opening and ignored it. He had to be good but not too good. Instead Nathan struck out at Fiona's left side and she cracked her staff on his calf muscle. Nathan dipped his leg to the ground and grabbed his leg.

"Damn you hit hard," he laughed then spun his staff and tripped Fiona who fell flat on her back. "Don't let your guard down," Nathan teased.

Fiona spun on the ground in an amazing display of flexibility while Nathan stared in awe. Nathan didn't even see the staff coming for his head. The thud of the staff was the last thing he remembered before he was face down in the grass a few seconds later.

"I'm sorry, Nathan!" Fiona exclaimed as she knelt beside him.

"Well, I should heed my own advice. Admiring my beautiful opponent is not a good way to win," Nathan laughed as he spit the grass out of his mouth. "I didn't even see it coming."

"I figured you'd move," Fiona apologized. Had she heard him right? Did he just call her beautiful? Was he flirting? Nathan was confusing. Where Deston was up front and almost blunt with his propositions, Nathan seemed uninterested one minute then a compliment like that would come out of his mouth the next. Was Nathan interested in her?

"Told you I wasn't that good," Nathan lied. The truth was, he was too busy watching Fiona to realize she was swinging right at his head. He couldn't have planned the loss better if he had tried.

Selna walked over and picked up Nathan with one hand then set him on his feet.

"Let's get that knot looked at tough guy," Selna teased. She put his arm on her shoulder and walked him back to the camp with Fiona trailing behind, apologizing the whole way.

# Chapter 27

"You see them?" Crystal asked angrily while grabbing Deston's face and forcing him to look across the field at Fiona, Selna and Nathan. "You should be with them, impressing Fiona."

"By getting the shit kicked out of me?" Deston laughed.

"Actually, in this instance, yes," Crystal released his face and walked angrily a few feet away so she didn't strangle him.

"Women like that sort of thing?" Deston asked sincerely.

"Sometimes," Crystal replied. "It's not the fact that he got beat up that's important. It's how he reacted. How stupid are you?"

"I just can't concentrate. I don't want Fiona. I want you," Deston said looking at Crystal lustfully.

"That Nathan guy is winning, you idiot!" Crystal yelled.

"So? What difference does it make who she is distracted by?" Deston asked and walked closer to Crystal. "I think this works out perfectly."

Crystal looked up at him then punched him in the gut. Deston doubled over and anger spread across his face.

"What the hell, Crystal?!" he yelled angrily.

"You see? You were distracted by me and I got a hit in before you knew what happened." Crystal walked around behind him, put her foot on his ass and pushed. The large man toppled forward then spun to face her as he got up.

"Ok, I get the idea," he responded.

"It needs to be you if we are going to get your mother's revenge," Crystal scolded.

"Hey, wait a minute here. My mother is paying you a small fortune to get revenge. Why am I the one doing all the work?" Deston looked at her indignantly.

"You think I'm doing nothing?" she replied indignantly.

"Honestly, I don't know what you are doing." Deston took a step back so he wouldn't get hit again. "What is she paying you for?"

Crystal closed the gap between them and put her finger in his face.

"I got Daniel to lead Lydia out of the castle. Hell, I found Daniel. And now I'm working on a way to get Nathan out of the picture. I have my job and you have yours...besides...I thought you wanted to be with me?" Crystal relaxed and moved her hand to his cheek. "If I'm yours you should do what I say." She grinned at him seductively and his anger faded.

"I was getting the idea you had forgotten about me," Deston said timidly.

"Because for this to work no one can know about us. When it's is done we can do whatever we want. We're so close." Crystal removed her hand and turned around.

"My mother's revenge against Morven can wait. He killed my father but I don't care. My father was a horrible man. There are more important things...like you...and me," Deston said as he put his arms around her waist.

"We can't just stop. We're so close. You're mother wants her revenge or we won't see a silver." Crystal sounded like she was about to cry. "I can't be happy until I know we won't have to worry about anything." She turned around and her watery eyes looked up into Deston's.

"We need to give Lydia to your mother so she can lure Morven to his death or she won't give us anything. Don't you want to be with me? Did you forget how she cut you off? You're the one who started this. You said you were tired of living under her thumb." Crystal put her arms around Deston's waist.

"Yes, I know I started this. I'm sorry. You're right we need to finish so we can be free," Deston relented.

"No one is looking. We're all alone." She stared up at him with a smirk on her face and waited.

Deston leaned in and kissed Crystal passionately. After a few seconds Crystal pulled herself away and looked around frantically.

"Someone is coming. I need to hide!" Crystal dashed into some nearby bushes then when she came out the other side she brushed herself off and walked away slowly. As she walked a smile started and she whispered to herself. "Oh, Deston. So cute, yet so stupid." She laughed and rolled her eyes." A smarter man would have at least gotten me in bed by now."

# Chapter 28

Nathan sat alone as the moon was rising into the sky. He had spent so many nights by himself. It was hard to get used to so many people. Even though they all seemed to like him and maybe even trust him, he still felt the desire for some time alone. Nathan grinned as he heard the footsteps behind him. He'd been doing this for a very long time. He doubted Fiona could even sneak up on him at this point but that was not who was behind him.

"Hi, Selna. Figured you'd come," Nathan said with a laugh.

"Really?" Selna asked although she knew the reason. She was used to dealing with men who had small minds. Nathan was not one of them but patronizing men was a habit and it was hard to break.

"Don't play dumb Selna," Nathan said without even looking at her.

Selna sat down beside him and looked up at the moon.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Selna snickered.

"Now you're just teasing me," Nathan said then looked at her. "We both have secrets. I'm pretty sure you figured out mine, well part of it and I've figured out yours."

Selna let out a big sigh.

"You're not going to tell anyone are you?" Selna asked apprehensively.

"Why would I do that? What purpose would that serve? Besides, what you are hiding is your business not theirs." Nathan looked back at the moon and waited. It was Selna's turn.

"So why are you hiding your abilities from Fiona and Lydia? If you don't mind me asking." Selna shifted to face Nathan.

"I'm here to protect them and I'm not sure from whom. It's better and safer if no one knows what I can do." Nathan glanced at her and smiled then looked at the ground. "There's more but it's unimportant right now. Just believe that I am keeping my secrets to protect them not to hurt them."

"I think the rest is important but as long as you are doing it for them I can't fault you and I won't push it." Selna fidgeted. "How much do you know?"

"I know about a mountain king who had a daughter. I know about a daughter who was kidnapped by a demon. I also know about a mountain king who gave his life to save this daughter and how she disappeared without a trace." Nathan turned and gave Selna a smile.

"No one believes in those stories anymore," Selna said nervously.

"The mountain people are all gone. Why would people believe in them anymore?" Nathan put his hand on Selna's face and brushed her hair back. "You remind me of him."

A tear fell from Selna's eye.

"You have the same blue eyes and your face...I see your mother as well," Nathan said kindly.

"You're older than you pretend. You knew my father?" Selna asked, her voice cracking a little.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save him. I tried." He looked sad for a moment then pushed it aside. "You're smarter than you let people think." Nathan stood up and Selna did the same. "You're sense of what a person is like. Is it a feeling or do you actually hear them think?"

"It's just a feeling. As you know, my mother was human. I don't have the gifts my people had." Selna looked a little sad but the tears had stopped.

"I'd say that rock hard skin is quite a gift and that strength." Nathan could see another sad truth about the kind mountain woman in front of him that he felt needed to be addressed. Not for his sake but for hers. She was all alone, the last of her race. She might never find someone who saw her like he did.

Nathan leaned in and kissed Selna deeply. She accepted at first then pulled away.

"What about Fiona?" Selna asked.

"Yes, there's Fiona and if I had met you fifty years ago, maybe things would be different," Nathan looked at her with a kindness she'd never seen from a man before. "Let's just call that a 'what if' kiss."

"What if?" Selna asked confused.

"What could have been?" Nathan replied. "If I had met you sooner. If Fiona wasn't so frustratingly magnetic. If..." Nathan trailed off and didn't finish.

"That's the way my life is," Selna shrugged and put her arm around Nathan roughly. "The one man who sees me for who I am is taken." She hugged him tightly then took a step back. "By the way. You could have taken us when I grabbed you at the pond. Why didn't you?"

"I didn't want to hurt two beautiful women. What kind of man would I be?" Nathan laughed and started walking back toward the camp. "Besides, I stumbled upon a woman bathing. I deserved some punishment."

"I may not have found a man yet but I still got time. At least I have a friend?" Selna lifted one eyebrow.

"Most definitely!" Nathan said enthusiastically. "And you're what? One hundred and two?"

"One hundred and five, but you're close," Selna laughed.

"Heck, you still got like four hundred years to find a husband." Nathan put his arm around her large shoulders.

"Hey, I want to find a man before I'm old and grey. Let's say two hundred." She leaned her head against him contently as they walked.

As they got closer to the camp they started to talk quieter.

"Have you ever met anyone you couldn't feel?" Nathan asked more seriously.

"A few," Selna replied.

"Anyone here?" Nathan asked.

"No," Selna replied then a thought occurred to her. "But Crystal is strange. I get conflicting feelings and a lot of them. It's like a room full of people stuffed inside one body. I don't understand it."

"We'll have to keep an eye on her. She's a strange one but that doesn't mean she's working for the demon. She might just be a little nuts." Nathan took his arm off Selna and walked beside her. He didn't want anyone, mostly Fiona, getting the wrong idea.

"I think she's more than a little nuts," Selna laughed. "But she seems to want to help."

The rest of the way they walked in silence. Their secrets needed to remain between them. Selna felt comfortable for the first time in many years. Having a friend who knew who she really was seemed unimportant until she found one. Now it seemed like the thing she had been searching for.

# Chapter 29

In the morning they all sat around the camp fire and suffered Daniel's attempt at scrambled eggs. They weren't exactly horrible but they also weren't chicken eggs.

"Where did you find these?" Fiona asked as she picked at the strong smelling eggs.

"In the bushes about twenty feet from here," Daniel replied and took another bite.

Selna finished off hers and put her plate in front of Daniel. She looked at Lydia as if she was asking permission. As strong as she was Lydia was far more stubborn and commanding. Selna was not about to insult Lydia, she may not have been as close to her as she was with Nathan but she considered Lydia a friend as well.

"You want more?" Daniel asked excitedly. He looked down at the pot then around the camp and realized Selna was the only one eating.

"Can I?" Selna asked and looked at Lydia.

"You can have mine," Lydia said and handed Selna her plate. "Anyone else not want theirs?"

Nathan stood up and smiled at Selna then Daniel.

"Sorry Daniel, I'm just not fond of lizard eggs." He snuck a peek at Fiona who immediately spit hers out onto her plate. It looked like she might start scrubbing her tongue then she noticed everyone looking at her.

"Sorry, lizard eggs, eww," Fiona said.

"They're not that bad," Crystal scolded and put the remaining food from her plate onto Selna's. "Well, I'm off. I'll meet you guys at Tolsha. I need to see if these rumors I've been hearing are true."

"What rumors?" Nathan asked. Crystal gave him an angry stare then hid it quickly.

"King Volt is sending assassins after us and not just a few," Crystal replied. "I need to find out where they plan to ambush us."

"That's a very good idea. Need any company?" Nathan asked.

"No, you would just spook the men I need to speak with. They don't like...well, they don't really like anybody to be honest but they trust me," Crystal replied then headed out.

Deston got up quickly, nearly throwing the remaining eggs on Selna's plate then he chased after Crystal.

"You sure you don't need help?!" Deston yelled after her.

When he caught up to her he lowered his voice.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Get Nathan and Fiona to stop in Shalan," she looked at Deston angrily. "And don't screw this up. They will have orders to kill no one except for Nathan. Make sure Fiona notices you. Do something heroic." Her angry expression turned kind as she continued. "Now is your chance to show Fiona you are the one she wants."

"What difference does it make? Nathan will be dead," Deston argued.

"The difference is...if you don't impress her she just might mourn him alone. You don't want that." Crystal looked at him angrily again to get her point across.

"Right," Deston agreed.

"Shalan, one day, don't screw this up," she said angrily.

When Deston rejoined the group Nathan watched him curiously.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Oh, umm," Deston stuttered. "She doesn't want me to go either. I'm supposed to go to Shalan to pick up some stuff for her. Fiona, Nathan? You guys mind coming?"

"Why me?" Fiona asked.

Deston thought for a second. Why had Crystal given him this task? He hated fooling people. Killing people he was good at but she was the one who usually did the talking. Trying to keep Fiona interested had become a full time job and he hated every minute of it.

"Umm, I need to pick up some clothes for her and you're just about her size," Deston stumbled.

"No I'm not," Fiona laughed.

Lydia nudged Fiona in the side.

"He wants you to come...for other reasons," Lydia whispered in Fiona's ear.

"Oh," Fiona said a little too loudly.

Fiona leaned in and whispered to Lydia.

"Why does he want Nathan to go then?" Fiona's face looked completely perplexed.

"Deston isn't too bright. He likes Nathan and has no clue how you look at Nathan when no one is watching. No one except me," Lydia whispered quietly then started giggling.

Fiona jabbed Lydia in the side with her elbow then stuck out her tongue.

"What's that about?" Nathan asked with a smirk.

"Nothing," Lydia and Fiona said in unison but even Deston realized it wasn't nothing.

"How far away is it?" Fiona asked as she stood up and gave Lydia another look that told Lydia she should shut up.

"A day or so?" Deston replied.

"Should we all go?" Daniel asked.

"Nah," Deston replied. "It's out of the way. Besides, you and Selna need to go convince Jason to join us. Shalan is South and you are headed East. We'll meet you in Tolsha."

"You have a point," Daniel replied. "Ok, we'll meet at Tolsha in a few days." Daniel shot a concerned look at Lydia but Lydia nodded and he relaxed.

Fiona went to her tent to grab her things while Nathan approached Deston.

"What was that about?" Nathan asked quietly.

"Ok, I suck at this. I wanted to show Fiona these amazing gardens they have in Shalan," Deston lied.

"Then why ask me to go? I figured you two would want some alone time," Nathan winked. He wasn't about to stand in Fiona's way. If she wanted Deston he wouldn't mess up her chances. Besides, he had been told to leave Fiona alone. An order that was getting harder and harder to obey, but he was trying.

"She wouldn't go by herself. Daniel and Selna need to go to Tolsha and Lydia never leaves Daniel's side. You were my only choice man." Deston was astonished at how quickly he had come up with the lie. Perhaps Crystal was rubbing off on him.

"Ok, I'll be your chaperone," Nathan laughed.

"Exactly!" Deston replied loudly. "But when we get there can you make yourself scarce?" Deston tried to wink but it looked more like he was squinting.

"Sure, but don't wink at Fiona," Nathan laughed. "You look like you're constipated."

Deston smacked his large hand on Nathan's back and laughed.

"You're a good guy Nathan. Thanks." As he walked to his tent his smile faded. Deston had no qualms about killing Nathan. He just wished he could be the one to do it. The annoying little man was just an obstacle in his way. Just like King Seth had been and no one was going to keep him from getting Crystal.

# Chapter 30

Nathan looked at the town of Shalan with amazement. He had been here before but it had been quite a few years. The main street of the town was clean and all of the shops looked to be doing well. This place had really grown. Then he started to wonder why there were no customers. After a few more shops went by he noticed they were all closed. There weren't any shopkeepers either. No customers and no townspeople.

"There a holiday I don't know about?" Nathan mused as he walked along beside Fiona and Deston. Deston made sure to put himself between Fiona and Nathan but for some reason Fiona kept trying to get between them and this caused Deston some annoyance.

"Not that I know of," Fiona answered trying to look around Deston's large frame to see Nathan.

"Where are all the people?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, it is a little strange," Deston answered, hoping to sound as confused as they were.

As they walked down the empty street they noticed a man leaning up against a tree in front of one of the empty shops.

"Let's ask him," Fiona offered.

Nathan picked up the pace and strode ahead to meet the man.

"How are you today?" Nathan started.

The man looked at him carelessly then looked at Fiona. His face lit up.

"I'm better now," he replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nathan asked. The agitation in his voice was clear.

"Didn't even have to search for her." He looked into the shop and yelled. "The red head is here!"

Four men stepped out of the shop and stared at Nathan.

"You're making a big mistake," Nathan said. When none of the men responded he yelled to Fiona. "They're here for you, Fiona!"

The four men took off at a sprint while the one leaning against the tree pulled out two daggers and came at Nathan.

Deston charged at the four men and knocked two of them down with his initial blows. The other two dodged and went for Fiona. One grabbed her arm and was greeted with a dagger in the ribs which Fiona had pulled from her belt as soon as Nathan yelled. Fiona pulled the dagger from the man's ribs and jumped on the second who was on the ground with the dagger in his throat before he could react.

While Deston struggled with the two men he had knocked to the ground the man with two daggers attacked Nathan with a fury of stabs and swipes which he easily avoided.

"This isn't going to go how you want," Nathan warned.

The man stabbed again and Nathan let it hit him in the side Fiona couldn't see then thrust his palm into the man's chin. The assassin fell backward and Nathan pulled out the dagger and shoved it into the man's chest then turned to help the others. He headed for Deston to give him a hand then noticed about ten more men coming from behind Fiona.

"Behind you!" he yelled and Fiona turned to face them. Nathan changed course and bypassed Deston to help Fiona.

"You have a choice," one of the men said.

"We have all the shop keepers in one of these shops. Give us the red head and we'll let them go," another man said from beside him.

"Refuse and they all die," the first man added.

Fiona turned to Nathan and Deston, who had finally overpowered his two men and snapped their necks.

"I've got this. You go find the shopkeepers," she ordered.

Nathan nodded and headed off to start searching the shops while Deston stood his ground.

"I don't think so," he said angrily.

"I can handle them," she said again adamantly.

"I'm not a coward like Nathan. I'll keep you safe," Deston smiled.

"You think...erggg. Fine whatever!" she replied and turned to face her attackers.

While Fiona, with a little help from Deston, finished off the ten men Nathan searched through the shops cautiously. Something about this didn't feel right. Why clear out a whole town and hold hostages? Why not attack them in the countryside? Why go to all this trouble to kidnap Fiona?

Nathan crept from the first shop to the second through a side door that connected the two. He could hear muffled cries then he noticed two men with daggers in their hands. This was where they were being held.

He snuck up behind them, grabbed one of the daggers from the first man and plunged it into his heart as he turned. The second stabbed him in the shoulder but Nathan quickly disarmed him then slit his throat with his own blade. His shoulder hurt more than his side but he had to act like he hadn't gotten hurt. If Fiona saw how fast his wounds healed she would know he wasn't a normal man. He held himself up straight and walked slowly toward the three prisoners. Maybe the rest were in other buildings?

"You're free. My friends are outside cleaning up the rest of the men. Is anyone hurt? Where are the other shop keepers?" he asked through gritted teeth. Even these people couldn't be allowed to see his wounds.

"Thank you," a woman in her thirties said as she held out her arms to hug him. That was when Nathan realized these people weren't shop keepers. At first he noticed the man in the back had daggers attached to a belt. The two men with the woman looked too rough and they both had scars on their faces. The woman who was hugging him wasn't soft either. She was toned and strong like...an assassin. That was when he felt the blade pierce his heart. He stumbled backward grasping the dagger as everything started to fade.

"You're not here for Fiona," he said weakly and fell backward onto the floor.

"No, Nathan. We're here for you," the woman sneered down at him.

He had been found. A demon had found him. As the room turned black his thoughts turned first to Fiona. Was she going to be alright? She was a good fighter but a demon was behind this. Was Fiona prepared to face off against a demon? Then he remembered Lydia. He hadn't finished with her training, they had barely begun. And now she would never know that her father had been watching her since she was a child, even if he couldn't be with her. She would never know how much he loved her. How much he had sacrificed to keep her safe. He had given up being with his little girl. Given up on seeing her childhood up close so Morven could protect her in a castle while her father killed the demons searching for her from the outside. She would never know the truth. Then everything went dark.

When Nathan woke Fiona was staring down at him.

"Are you ok?" Fiona asked compassionately.

"I'm..." Nathan quickly felt his chest then his shoulder. How long had he been out? The assassins must have taken the dagger from his chest and, thankfully, all his wounds were healed. "I'm ok." Nathan was confused. Maybe this wasn't a demon, just some human who wanted him dead. Surely a demon would have known that no simple dagger could kill him.

"What the hell happened?" Fiona giggled. "I guess this isn't your blood?" She motioned to Nathan's shirt. Luckily there was a lot of blood everywhere, not just on himself. It wasn't hard to imagine that it came from the two dead men beside him.

"No...I...where are the shopkeepers?" Nathan asked and tried to get to his feet. Fiona helped him up and looked around the room.

"You made quite a mess in here," Fiona laughed. "We found the shopkeepers in the next building over. They were all tied up in the basement. So, what happened to you?"

"I don't know," Nathan lied. "I killed these two then everything went black."

"Someone must have clobbered you and thought you were dead. With all this blood on your shirt it's no wonder." Fiona walked over to Deston. "Maybe if Deston hadn't insisted on _saving_ me you might have had backup."

"I thought protecting you was more important," Deston said in his defense.

"Fiona can take care of herself," Nathan scolded. "Apparently I'm the one who needs protecting." Nathan laughed and Fiona gave him a warm smile. Nathan felt stupid. He had known something was up, if he had only noticed the woman's intensions a few seconds earlier he wouldn't be in this predicament lying to Fiona. Ok, he would still be lying to Fiona but about something a lot less embarrassing.

"We should head to Tolsha," Fiona commanded. "Whoever sent these guys might be heading there."

"Good point," Nathan agreed.

"And Mr. Hero," Fiona teased as she took a step closer to Nathan. "Be more careful next time." Her smile and the look on her face made Nathan forget about his stupidity and embarrassment. He would do it all over again if it meant Fiona would look at him like this. This look was worth the painful dagger to the chest. Her appreciative smile was enough to endure the pain and then some.

"I'll certainly try," Nathan laughed then headed for the door.

Deston fumed behind them. Crystal wouldn't be happy and it was all Nathan's fault. Why had the assassins failed? Why couldn't Nathan just die and get out of his way?!

# Chapter 31

Daniel walked through the town of Tolsha and admired the sites. Tolsha was a large town and, apparently, very rich. It was, after all, the main sea port for the area so it was bound to have many rich tenants. As he walked up the marble stairs leading to the library he looked back and saw Selna fidgeting.

"You'll be fine," Daniel assured her.

She looked down at her tight fighting clothes and her ample cleavage. She wasn't sure about this. She didn't often dress like a woman and it felt strange. Her pants were too tight and the amount of cleavage was almost obscene. Why had she agreed to this?

"I look like a slut," she said.

"What? No, you look very pretty," Daniel waited for her at the top of the stairs. "Jason better watch out. Someone else might come along and steal you."

"Quit!" she said but secretly she was enjoying the attention. The pink of her cheeks wasn't just from the makeup.

Daniel stopped at a statue right before the entrance of the Library. It was a huge statue of a wizard named Xarios. He had short hair and a standard wizard's beard which went to the middle of his chest. On his head was a silly looking wizard hat and he wore robes which most people associated with wizards. In one hand he held a book and the other a staff. It was the standard depiction of a wizard and Daniel doubted the real Xarios had ever worn such a ridiculous outfit.

Selna's pace slowed as she looked at the statue.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said quietly to herself.

"What was that?" Jason asked.

"Nothing," she replied with a smirk then continued to the top.

"Jason is going to have a heart attack when he sees you," Daniel smiled as Selna reached the top.

"Why couldn't Lydia come?" Selna asked.

"She's waiting at the bar for Fiona, Nathan and Deston. Besides, we want Jason's attention to be on you." Daniel walked up to the large doors then held one open for Selna.

"Are you saying Jason would pick Lydia over me?" Selna teased.

"Wait. I didn't mean it like that. I would pick Lydia, no offense, but not Jason," Daniel explained.

"It was a joke, Daniel," Selna comforted.

They walked through the large library admiring the shelves of books that went to the ceiling. This was the largest library on the continent. People from every kingdom would travel here to find out about history.

At the end of a very long hall of books sat a tall thin man hunched over a book. He appeared to be transcribing one book to another. His short brown hair was appropriate for a librarian, at least Selna thought so. When he heard them approach he looked up and anger filled his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Then he saw Selna. He didn't know what to say and just stared at her awkwardly with wide eyes.

"Calm down Jason, I'm here to introduce you to my friend, Selna," Daniel said with a smile.

Jason stood and walked around the desk. He was about an inch taller than Daniel but thinner. He had spent a great deal of time in this library so it was no wonder he didn't look like a warrior. When he reached Selna he held out his hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Selna," he said calmly. Although his outward appearance was emotionless, inside he was trying to figure out why Daniel, of all people, would introduce him to such a ravishing woman. Wasn't Daniel interested in her? If not, why not? The woman was perfection come to life!

Selna took his hand and shook it politely. She looked at Jason curiously. In all her years she had only met three other people whom she couldn't feel. With the other three it had felt like a cold void but not Jason. With him it felt like a locked door. Was Jason somehow able to keep his feelings so bottled up that she couldn't feel them? After an awkward silence she turned to Daniel.

"Give us a minute, please," she said giving Daniel a stare which said 'get out'.

Daniel took a second to realize what Selna was getting at then excused himself and headed back outside. When Daniel was gone Selna decided to level with Jason.

"I'm just going to tell you the truth. You are clearly too smart to fall for Daniel's stupid plan to have me tempt you," she looked at Jason and hoped he would argue with her. When he didn't Selna went on, clearly disappointed. "Daniel said you would take one look at me and drool or something but clearly that isn't the case so let me just put it out there. We're hunting a demon." She looked down at the book Jason was working on. 'The real story of Xarios'. Then she had her hook, the thing that would make it impossible for Jason to refuse. "You like the story of Xarios?" she asked slyly.

"Yes, he's my hero," Jason replied. "I'm just not sure I'm the right fit for a band of demon hunters." He looked nervous and agitated. He walked back to his chair and sat down.

"What if I told you that you would get to meet Xarios?" she winked at him and Jason gulped. She assumed it was her statement but, truthfully, it was taking every ounce of his willpower to stop from kissing her or worse. She was perfect in every way. Everything he had ever wanted in a woman. And she was smart too. The way she spoke, the way she acted. He could not have made up a more perfect woman and this was precisely why he couldn't go.

"We're hunting a demon. Where do you think Xarios would be?" Selna sat on the edge of the table and leaned in to talk to Jason.

"It would be a bad idea for you to take me," Jason said nervously. Why was the world being so cruel? He had never had a woman nor could he ever have one. Why was this happening? Was someone torturing him?

"I think you could keep my friends from making stupid mistakes," she said with a cute smile as she leaned over closer to Jason.

It took every ounce of strength not to look down her shirt. Was she intentionally trying to torture him? Had Daniel put her up to this? No, Daniel didn't know his secret. No one did. The cruel reality of living with an adopted mother and sisters who were all so beautiful was almost too much to bear and now a woman more perfect than they were was propositioning him? Was the world trying to make him kill?

"If you don't want to come, I'll understand." Selna sat up and adjusted her shirt. "Sorry, Daniel and Lydia said I should wear this. I don't usually dress so umm...slutty."

"I think you look beautiful," Jason said before he could stop himself.

"Then come along. We'll laugh and joke, get drunk and kill demons. What do you say?" Selna laughed at her own joke but felt a little stupid when Jason's expression didn't change.

"Getting drunk before fighting demons is a bad idea," he said, unable to come up with anything else. He was just so flustered by Selna he couldn't come up with a witty comeback.

"It was a joke...apparently a very bad one." Selna laughed at herself then started walking to the door.

"I'll go!" he yelled to her. He wasn't sure why but he had the strangest feeling. Like if he didn't go he would never see this goddess ever again and that was something he couldn't risk. Even if he could never have her he needed to make sure she didn't die.

She spun and her long golden hair fell across her shoulders in a way Jason thought was too perfect for any woman.

"We're at the bar across from the library. Umm something Sea and stuff," she said with a smirked.

"The Sea Witches Grave?" he asked.

"Saying it out loud, it does sounds kind of ominous." She looked at Jason. He was confusing. She was trying her hardest to act like Lydia and Fiona and flirt her brains out but it didn't seem to be working. And why was she acting so silly? She never spoke like this? Sure, she was really nervous but why was she acting so...girly. This man was incredibly smart or at least she thought he was and he wasn't bad looking either. In fact, he was downright cute.

"I'll head over after I clear up some things. I need to leave my notice with my superiors," Jason said then looked back at his books. He couldn't take looking at her any longer. Maybe this was a bad idea. He would be constantly tempted by this amazing woman the whole trip. What if he snapped? He had never killed a human but he knew what happened every time he tried to get close to a woman. The sexual tension and excitement caused his fangs and claws to come out. What if he was like his father? Well, fathers.

Jason thought about the man who had made him and anger flooded his mind. Not a man, a demon, who had decided it wanted an army of murderous creatures. So this demon, his first father, had combined his blood with that of a vampire, his second father then injected it into a newborn child. So, by all rights, he had three fathers. Jason turned out better than the demon had hoped for, he was strong and quick, even smart, except for one flaw. Jason had a conscience. He refused to kill anyone so at the age of seven the demon left him on the street and headed off to perfect his experiment. Days later the great mage Xarios killed his first father. It's what led to Jason admiring the great man, the demon slayer Xarios.

"Don't take too long," Selna said then headed out.

When Selna was outside she looked up at the statue of Xarios and shook her head with a smile. An old woman, who was also looking up at the statue bumped into Selna and was knocked to the ground. Selna helped the woman to her feet then continued toward the bar while the old woman went inside.

The old woman stopped at Jason's desk and interrupted him writing his resignation letter.

"Excuse me young man," the woman said with an old creaky voice. Her old wrinkled hands held on to the cane she used to steady herself. "Can you help me find a book on Xarios?"

"Actually, ma'am, I have the book right here." Jason kindly handed over his book and went back to writing.

The old woman took the book and sat at a table. She opened it and started to read the tale of Xarios.

The great mage, Xarios, savior of Tolsha, saved many people the day he faced down the evil demon. Little is known about how he did it and he was never seen again after killing the beast. This evil demon was attributed to having killed at least four women and is suspected in killing at least thirty more. The city of Tolsha is in debt to this great man. May the gods watch over Nathan Xarios wherever he may be.

"Oh Nathan," the old woman said, her voice sounding younger. She stood and her skin started to tighten, her hair slowly lost its grey. "The most powerful mage in the world and you still haven't mastered the magic of concealing your appearance?" Crystal stood where there had once been an old woman. "This just got more interesting."

Crystal left the library, crossed the street and entered the tavern. Her cruel smile turned kind as she looked across the crowded tavern. She noticed her companions and headed over to them.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Nathan asked.

"I'm glad you all made it. I was starting to get worried." She looked around the table at Fiona and Lydia, Daniel and Selna then she turned her eyes to Deston. "I would like to apologize for being so strange around you all. I get uncomfortable around new people," she said kindly while putting her hand on Nathan's shoulder. "I'd like to buy you all a drink to celebrate our new friendship. I'll try not to be so weird in the future."

They all smiled and raised their glasses to her then Crystal leaned over to Deston and put her hand on his large shoulder.

"Can I borrow Deston for a moment? I have some news about his mother," Crystal said looking at Nathan.

"Sure, we'll be right here," Nathan smiled.

Crystal ushered Deston outside then headed around the side of the building.

"What's wrong? Is mother ok?" Deston asked fearfully.

"Prince Volt, your mother is fine," Crystal sneered.

"Then what is this about?" Deston asked.

Crystal kissed Deston deeply then bit her fingernail.

"I'm starting to think I don't want to wait to be yours," she smiled.

"Oh?" Deston's fear and apprehension fell away.

"One more task then I think you and I deserve a little alone time." She playfully drug her finger nail across Deston's chest.

"What do you want me to do? Name it!" Deston couldn't believe he might finally get to be with Crystal.

"I think you need to step up your game with Fiona," Crystal replied slyly.

"Step up my game?" Deston asked, confused.

"Maybe you should fight for her." She put her fingernail to her chin and tapped it a few times. "Maybe a contest between you and Nathan? The winner gets Fiona?"

"Then you will be mine?" Deston asked eagerly.

"Yes, we won't even have to wait. We'll be together behind Fiona's back and she'll never know. Just as long as she chooses you." Crystal waited for his answer.

"I can do this," Deston said sternly.

"Then get in there and get started," Crystal laughed. "I can't wait!"

After Deston had walked away Crystal looked at a small locket she had around her neck. It looked like a tangle of vines with thorns and blood. She sensed the presence behind her and knew who it was right away.

"I have the fire maiden, the sorceress and the stone warrior. Now, I even have the man who started it all. All that's left is the beast king but I have a sneaking suspicion Daniel has lead me right to him. The portal will be strong enough to let him in soon." She laughed evilly as she turned to the tall man dressed in black. His stoic face and short blonde hair were a stark contrast to his clothing. The man looked menacing and cruel but his expression softened as he looked down on her.

The man leaned forward and caressed her cheek.

"You are doing very well. Soon the master will be free. Free to destroy all these pathetic creatures." His look turned cruel again as he looked up from her and stared at the large man entering the bar. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Don't worry Dornias. I have a plan for Deston. This is going to be so much fun. I'm going to enjoy watching him self-destruct." Crystal stared into Dornias's eyes and threw her arms around his neck. She pulled him closer then kissed him passionately. When she was finished she felt the need to add something. "Don't be jealous. He hasn't touched me. He's far too stupid."

"Good, I would hate to have my future wife spoiled by a baboon like that," he said with a grin. "You would never be able to wash that away."

Crystal latched onto his arm and he walked her to the door.

"You know what has to come next. Can you do it?" he asked.

"I've been waiting for this for years. Of course I can do it," Crystal replied with a sneer then released his arm.

When Crystal started to head inside the man grabbed her arm.

"You can't kill her yet. It's not time," he said with worry in his voice.

Crystal turned to him and an evil smile spread across her face.

"Now why would I let her off that easy? I don't want her to die. I want her to feel helpless and alone as she watches everyone she loves vanish. I want her to suffer!" Her evil expression grew even more cruel. "She took everything from me now I'm going to return the favor."

Without waiting for a response she turned and entered the bar.

Before she rejoined her group she headed to the bathroom and found a pail of water. She gargled then spit it out several times. Then she picked up a sponge and scrubbed her arms where the demon had touched her.

She lowered her voice a few octaves and made a disgusted face while she scrubbed. "You'd never be able to wash that away." She said speaking like the demon. "We'd rather sleep with Deston than kiss you again you disgusting freak."

She dropped the sponge, looked in the mirror and smiled. Her image shifted quickly and a red haired girl with features similar to Fiona's appeared for a fraction of a second then she returned to looking like Crystal. Her smile turned cruel and crooked as she looked at Crystal's face in the mirror.

"We know what we have to do don't we Crystal?! It was our plan after all!" Her anger faded instantly.

"Yes we do." She said kindly then her face grimaced and she punched the mirror which cracked.

"If he touches us again I say we rip off his arm!" She smirked at herself.

"That's a very good idea, Elisabeth. Now I see why I keep you around."

When Crystal was done she straightened her clothes and forced a joyful smile on her face then walked out of the bathroom.

# Chapter 32

After a night full of drinking and dancing the group set up camp outside of Tolsha. Jason had joined them half way through their celebration but he didn't join in the drinking. He sat quietly, drinking his water and watching Selna's every move before everyone returned to the camp then he headed off by himself.

Lydia had turned in early and Selna was off doing whatever it was she did every night before returning to sleep at the camp. Nathan, Deston and Fiona had all drank way too much so Daniel was fixing them some food to ease the hangover that was surely coming their way.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Fiona asked loudly with a boisterous laugh then almost fell backward.

"I'm just saying that Nathan and I need to help you make a decision," Deston replied.

"What do you mean?" Fiona asked as she bobbed back and forth. She leaned over, practically falling on Daniel and kissed him on the cheek. "You're so cute when you're being all domestic and stuff. I need to find me one of you." She pinched Daniel's cheek and he smiled.

"Is that all you want from a man?" Deston asked raising his eyebrows. "I'm pretty good in the sack you know."

Fiona laughed too loudly and too long then nearly fell over again. Luckily she grabbed Daniel's arm or she would have been flat on her back.

"Sorry, Danny," she giggled. "Ok, you are _so_ not a Danny." She ruffled Daniel's hair then leaned on him for support. "And what do you think, Nathan? You think I should just jump into bed with Deston here?"

Nathan was flustered. He desperately wanted to scream no at the top of his lungs but knew it was none of his business.

"If it will make you happy," Nathan replied, taking the safe path through this maze of a conversation.

"Happy? HA! I've gotten more satisfaction alone in my room than I've ever gotten from a man." Fiona's eyes grew huge and she clapped her hands over her mouth. She opened her hands and started laughing. "Oh shit! I didn't mean to say that out loud."

Deston was apparently offended and stomped off.

"Does that make me gross? Is that why Desty left?" Fiona watched the gorgeous man leave, plopped down and started giggling again. "Desty, that's good. I gotta remember that."

"No, Fiona, it's not gross. At least not to me." Nathan stood up and offered Fiona his hand.

Fiona grabbed his hand and was surprised at how strong Nathan was. He lifted her so effortlessly and so gracefully, she felt like she was flying. Then she realized she wasn't flying, she was falling right into Nathan. She smashed squarely in the middle of Nathan's chest and looked up into his eyes.

"Damn, you're eyes are sexy," Fiona said then giggled again. "Why aren't you so drunk as I am...me am? Drunk as me? How do you say that?" Fiona grabbed Nathan's shirt roughly and held on. "So, did my little story make you horny?"

"Umm..." Nathan didn't know what to say. He was no longer as drunk as Fiona because his body healed so quickly. Also he had been drinking for a lot longer than this young girl.

Fiona slipped on nothing and started to fall so Nathan grabbed her other arm.

"Now that's more like it!" she exclaimed. "Give me a kiss Nathan." She puckered up her lips and shut her eyes making stupid kissy noises.

"Fiona, I think maybe it's time for you to head to bed," he said as he swept her up into his arms.

"Wee!" she yelled and threw her arm around his shoulders. "Where are we going? You taking me to bed now. Oh, it did make you horny!"

"I'm taking you to bed but I'm not joining you," Nathan said exasperated.

"Ahh," Fiona complained. "I haven't had sex in like a year. Please?" she begged.

"I thought you said you had that covered?" Nathan asked with a smirk.

"Doesn't mean I don't want to keep trying. Someone must be good at it," she replied with a hint of sadness.

Nathan adeptly hauled Fiona into her tent and set her on her bedroll. He grabbed a bucket and put it beside her, in case she had the urge to vomit, then knelt down beside her.

"You probably wouldn't even remember it but I would. That's why I can't." Nathan's voice sounded very depressed and Fiona started to cry.

"I didn't mean to make you so upset," she sobbed.

"I'm not upset with you Fiona. I'm just a little sad," Nathan replied.

"Lay with me?" Fiona asked. The sobbing had stopped but she still looked very depressed.

"I told you we're not having sex. Nice try," Nathan said with a chuckle.

"No, I just want you to lay by me. I'm...I'm lonely, Nathan," Fiona said, almost starting to cry again.

Nathan obliged and laid down beside her. She quickly pressed her small body against him and placed her head on his chest. Nathan couldn't resist stroking her long beautiful hair. He pulled it out of the ponytail and smoothed it while she hugged him tightly. She snuggled in closer and within a few minutes she was out.

Nathan laid there for a while, just stroking her hair and wishing she would remember tonight then tried to slide out from under her.

"You're leaving?" she complained, suddenly wide away.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he replied then pulled her in tighter.

"Never leave me, Nathan." She snuggled up to him again and pulled the blanket over herself and Nathan.

"Deston does have a point. You need to choose." Nathan brushed her flaming hair out of her face and she looked up at him. "It's not fair to either of us and it's not fair to you."

"I know." Fiona buried her face into his chest and started saying something but it was muffled.

"What was that?" Nathan asked with a smirk. "You kind of need to get your mouth off my chest or I can't hear you."

Fiona lifted her head and her expression had returned to the sad, lonely girl he had seen moments ago.

"I know," she replied.

"That's not what you said," Nathan laughed.

"How would you know?" Fiona smirked, her sadness parting for a second.

"It was much longer than that," Nathan scolded.

"I said I know I have to choose but I've never had two men wanting me at the same time. It's kind of nice." Fiona grimaced, which made Nathan laugh.

"I should also not spend the night here. That would be unfair." Nathan kissed her on the forehead and started to get up.

Fiona forcefully pushed him back down. Although he could have just resisted her and stood up, he really didn't want to.

"All's fair..." Fiona said with a grin.

"Ok, on one condition." Nathan put one hand under his head while the other stroked Fiona's hair. He looked up at the roof of the tent while he spoke. "You decide tomorrow. Ok?"

"Ok, but I don't want anyone to be mad at me," Fiona argued.

"I won't be mad if you choose Deston. I'll still be your friend." As Nathan absentmindedly stroked Fiona's hair she started to drift off again.

"But you won't do this anymore," she replied sadly.

"No, it wouldn't be good for any of us." Nathan gave Fiona one last kiss on the head then sighed and stared at the ceiling once more. He heard Fiona's breathing change and figured she was probably asleep so he let himself drift off, content for the first time in a very long while.

# Chapter 33

Fiona woke with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. She had never been that drunk before but had seen her friends do it. They always ended up puking the next morning. She was surprised she didn't feel like vomiting but she always did have a strong stomach.

Suddenly Fiona realized she wasn't laying on a pillow. She squinted to keep the sun from exploding her brain and recognized Nathan. She shot up and slapped Nathan on the chest.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" she screamed then held onto her head. Her own voice hurt worse than the sunlight.

Nathan eased himself up on to his elbows and grinned.

"Absolutely nothing," he replied proudly.

"Nothing?" Fiona asked, unconvinced but much quieter. "I was completely drunk and we slept together but didn't sleep together?" She lifted her eyebrows to emphasize the phrase but Nathan knew what she meant.

"Well I played with your hair until you fell asleep. It was something. Does that count?" Nathan laughed and got up on his knees. He waited to see if Fiona was going to accuse him of anything else and his expression told her he saw it all as a huge joke.

She scoured her mind and vaguely remembered Nathan stroking her hair. It felt so calming and safe. Then she remembered trying to kiss him and she scrunched up her face.

"Oh, I was so embarrassing." She opened one eye slowly to judge Nathan's response but he was just grinning and nodding. She slapped him on the arm playfully. "Why didn't you stop me?"

"You really think I could stop you? Besides, I made sure nothing happened that you might regret." Nathan put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Everyone gets stupid drunk from time to time. It's important to do it around people you trust."

Then Fiona remembered Deston leaving and her embarrassing comment. Her face turned bright red, she pulled away from Nathan and faced away from him.

"Did I say something about," she glanced over her shoulder and Nathan's grin told her everything she needed to know. "I'm so sorry. You don't need to hear about things like that. It's so...disgusting."

"It wasn't disgusting," Nathan replied.

The look on his face was something she couldn't quite decipher. Was he actually turned on by it? He was a really strange man and Fiona found herself wondering what he really thought then his look changed.

He looked at her deviously and just couldn't help himself. "Now I know what you're doing when you need 'alone time'."

Fiona giggled, spun to completely face him then slapped him hard on the shoulder.

"I'm never going to hear the end of this am I?" she asked, her face nearly as red as her hair. Part of her hoped he would keep teasing her. Something about it seemed provocative yet comfortable. Talking to Nathan wasn't like talking to anyone else. She felt she could tell him anything and he would just smile at her or maybe laugh but without judgement.

"I won't say another word about it," Nathan said as he made his way out of the tent. He popped his head back in and added. "Unless _you_ want to talk about it?"

Fiona threw her shoe at him and it smacked him on the forehead. He laughed and pulled his head out to join the others for Daniel's breakfast which smelled rather good. Daniel had improved a lot over the time they had spent traveling. His oatmeal actually looked like oatmeal and his eggs were generally restricted to fowl.

In a few moments Fiona came out of the tent. Her red face had turned a lighter shade of pink, that was, until Lydia gave her a look. A look which begged the question 'what were you and Nathan doing in your tent?' It was surprising how well she got along with Lydia. They seemed like they had known each other all their lives even though it had only been a few months. She felt more comfortable with Lydia than she had ever felt with her own sister. Even Fiona's friends were sometimes a struggle to talk with but not Lydia. Fiona sat next to Lydia and shaded her eyes from the blinding sunlight then whispered in Lydia's ear.

"Don't look so excited. I apparently kidnapped him last night and made him my pillow but that was it," Fiona stuck out her bottom lip to Lydia and Lydia giggled.

"Next time," Lydia whispered back with a silly smile.

"We'll see about that," Fiona replied dejectedly. She looked around the camp and realized Deston was missing.

"Where's Deston?" Fiona asked.

"You mean Desty?" Daniel teased.

Suddenly it hit her. Not only had Deston and Nathan heard her embarrassing confession, Daniel had as well, which meant...

"Sharing your intimate secrets when I'm asleep?" Lydia whispered with a giggle.

Yep, Daniel had told Lydia. This didn't surprise Fiona, it only added to her embarrassment.

"Shit. Does everyone know?" She wanted to yell but her head just hurt too much.

"Nope," Lydia replied. "Just us."

Fiona looked around and realized, not only, was Deston gone but Crystal, Jason and Selna were also missing.

"Where is everyone?" Fiona asked.

"It's getting close to noon," Daniel said raising his eyebrows. "Selna is hunting. I think Jason is hunting too but not with Selna and Crystal is...well, she's Crystal. Who knows? Deston is..." Daniel looked behind himself when he heard the footsteps.

Fiona looked beyond Daniel and saw Deston angrily walking toward them. She stood slowly, still a little dizzy from too much alcohol and too little water. She smiled at the approaching, vision of a man, but he didn't smile back.

"Fiona. Nathan. We need to talk!" His voice was stern and commanding but not nearly as angry as Fiona had imagined from his look.

Nathan stood and followed Deston away from Daniel and Lydia then Fiona joined them.

"What's on your mind?" Nathan asked and Deston punched him in the gut. He coughed then got back up. "I suppose I deserve that one."

Deston ignored Nathan and turned to Fiona.

"Choose!" Deston ordered.

"What? I'm not sure. I can't really..." she trailed off.

"Then Nathan, I challenge you. We'll fight for her," Deston decreed.

"Wait. I don't think that's how it works. She has to choose. Fighting doesn't solve anything." Nathan didn't want to fight Deston. He would have to either lose or risk everyone knowing his secrets. Secrets which were getting harder and harder to hide. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad. He doubted Deston was a very good fighter. If he could just barely beat the behemoth then his secrets would stay safe.

"He's right!" Fiona fumed. "I'm a grown woman. I will chose who I want to be with."

"Then we'll fight you," Deston smirked.

Fiona looked at him flabbergasted.

"You will choose based on whatever criteria you want." Deston looked at her, sure of himself, and to Nathan's surprise Fiona lifted one eyebrow. Was she actually considering it?

"That sounds like a great idea," Fiona said and walked away.

"Wait, what do you mean? We have to fight you?" Nathan asked frantically. Fighting Deston sure, but fighting Fiona again? To win he would have to show everyone who he really was. Fiona was no slouch and could nearly match his ability to fight if he didn't use magic. This would surely cause everyone to question his story.

Fiona stopped and turned.

"There's a catch." Fiona's face could barely fit her huge grin. "You can challenge me at anything. Pick something you're good at. You get two chances each. The point is to impress me. Deston, since this was your idea you will go first." Fiona resumed her path toward Lydia while Nathan stared on in shock.

Within a few minutes Lydia, Daniel and Fiona were sitting on a blanket at the edge of a large open field. Deston walked up shirtless and ready to start. Nathan walked slowly toward them while struggling with what he should choose. How was he going to impress Fiona? She was a good fighter but would beating her actually impress her? No, there was a trick here. Fiona was playing at something. Was it about the choice they made or how they performed? Maybe it had nothing to do with either. Maybe she wanted to see how graciously they lost?

"I choose wrestling," Deston smirked.

Fiona got to her feet. Her hangover was still bothering her a little but this needed to be dealt with. Having two men fighting over her was flattering but eventually they would kill each other and it would be her fault.

"What type of wrestling?" Fiona laughed.

"Type?" Deston asked.

"What are the rules?" Fiona elaborated.

"Oh," Deston replied. "Umm. Three count, down on the ground and you are out. Other than that...no weapons, no hitting below the belt no biting, scratching all that good stuff."

"Ok. Whenever you're ready." She turned and looked at Daniel. "Daniel? Could you be the ref?" Fiona asked kindly.

"Of course," Daniel replied, jumping to his feet. He had no idea where Fiona was going with this but it would provide two important things. First it would be amusing, of this Daniel was sure. Second, Fiona would finally be forced to choose. A source of constant frustration between Deston and Nathan, well truthfully, it was mostly Deston. For some reason Nathan seemed to be able to control his frustrations much better, though they did slip out once in a while.

Crystal walked up, followed by Selna then from the other direction Jason came with a deer draped over his shoulders. Selna was the first to notice Jason and she was pleased.

"Now that is how you hunt!" Selna exclaimed and rushed over to Jason to help him with his kill. "We can eat venison for a week."

"Impressive," Daniel agreed.

Jason remained silent and seemed very nervous when Selna was close but he handed her the deer and followed.

"What's going on?" Crystal asked, staring at Deston and Fiona.

"Oh you are going to love this," Lydia started. "Deston and Nathan are going to challenge Fiona. Then she will choose one of them."

"About time," Crystal said then gave Deston a cold stare.

Fiona walked to meet Deston and looked up at the impressive man. He looked amazing. This was going to be a tough choice. How could she possibly choose between them?

"Go!" Daniel said after he got into position and Fiona started to circle Deston.

Deston kept his eyes on her and when she lunged he grabbed her small arm and tossed her to the side.

"Ha! Give up Fiona. I got you. Admit it." Deston laughed.

Fiona didn't like his attitude. Did he not understand the rules? It wasn't about winning at all. She decided it was better just to get it over with. She lunged again but this time faked him. He bent over to grab her arm and she sidestepped. She stepped on his bent knee then latched onto his neck and spun until she had climbed up on top of him. She wrapped both legs around his neck then squeezed and pulled herself backward. Deston lost his balance and fell. Both Fiona and Deston hit the ground with a thud that made everyone cringe but Fiona didn't let go. Deston scrambled to remove her iron tight grip but he couldn't pry her legs off.

"1...2...3" Daniel counted then Fiona let go. Deston coughed and rolled to his side while Fiona stood. "The winner!" Daniel laughed and held up Fiona's small hand. Lydia and Selna cheered while Crystal crossed her arms angrily and Jason seemed uninterested. Jason barely glanced at the ridiculous show then went back to cleaning the deer.

Fiona slapped Deston on the ass as he rolled around.

"Get up big guy, Nathan's turn." Fiona didn't even wait for Deston to get up. She headed straight for Nathan who seemed very nervous.

"What do you choose for your first challenge?" she asked with a grin.

Nathan struggled. He could beat her at anything but that wasn't the point of this. He was sure of it. What was she trying to figure out? Why have them choose? Then it came to him.

"I choose dancing," Nathan grinned.

"Dancing?" Fiona laughed.

"Wait! That's not fighting," Deston complained with his hoarse voice then started coughing again.

"Fiona didn't say it had to be fighting." Nathan looked down at her and saw the apprehension in the small, gorgeous woman.

"I don't know how to dance," Fiona admitted. Her father had taught her how to fight with every weapon imaginable, even fight men twice her size but the one thing he had never taught her was how to dance.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you," Nathan smiled and held out his hand.

"Wait! You can't do that!" Deston complained then started coughing again. "That's not fair!"

Fiona looked up at Nathan and again found his gaze to be sexy and compelling. "Ok, teach me."

Nathan put his hand in the small of Fiona's back and held her other hand then started to sway.

"By the way," he whispered to her. "I'm a horrible dancer."

"Then why?" Fiona asked.

"It's better than fighting you. At least now I have a chance." He looked down at her and words screamed in her brain. 'Yes, you do!'

Nathan twirled Fiona a few times and even impressed himself with the fact that he didn't fall, then bowed to their crowd. As he eased himself back up he laughed.

"She won didn't she?" He looked right at Lydia.

"Yeah, she kind of did," Lydia replied while cringing. "You kind of suck."

"That's ok," Nathan replied. "She looks better than I do too. It was bound to happen." Nathan shrugged and walked away from Fiona who was still standing in a daze.

"And...umm...Let's take a break," Fiona fumbled. "We should get some food before round two."

Lydia sat next to Fiona while everyone ate and the two of them whispered back and forth through most of the meal.

"So who's winning?" Lydia asked.

"It's so hard to choose," Fiona whined quietly.

"Oh, come on. Don't lie to me," Lydia whispered. "Nathan is winning I can see it on your face."

"So," Fiona replied, looking at Nathan who was staring at his food, then rolled her eyes.

"Deston better come up with something amazing this time," Lydia added.

When they had all finished lunch they gathered at the field again. Selna sat next to Lydia while Jason sat a few feet away from everyone. Crystal paced in the back and Daniel started playing the announcer.

"Welcome back for round two." He did a flourished bow then opened his hand to Fiona who grabbed it. "Our lovely champion Fiona." He bowed once more then walked back to sit beside Lydia.

"To be fair I'm going to make Nathan go again. Then Deston will have a chance to think about how he will top it." Fiona looked at Deston who didn't seem to care then at Nathan who took it as his cue to approach.

"Think you can top dancing?" she asked quietly.

"Top dancing? I lost." His confident smile told her he knew he hadn't lost.

"Well?" Fiona asked impatiently while looking up into his eyes with a longing Nathan couldn't dismiss.

"I choose a type of wrestling," Nathan replied with a smirk.

Fiona looked disappointed. She looked down then after a sigh only Nathan could hear she looked back up.

"What kind?" Fiona asked, disheartened.

"It's a little different. To start with you have to put your hands here." Nathan moved Fiona's hands to the back of his neck.

Fiona's heart started pounding in her ears. What was he doing? What kind of wrestling started like this?

"Next I put my hands here." Nathan put his hands around her waist. "And when I say go we start."

"What do I do?" Fiona's excitement made her voice crack. What was he playing at? Who in the world wrestled like this?

Nathan leaned in and when his lips were inches from hers he quietly whispered. "Go." The seconds seemed to last an eternity as she looked into his eyes and was lost. Her stomach felt more uneasy now than after a night of drinking. Her heart raced and her hands shook. She had never wanted to kiss anyone as much as she wanted to kiss Nathan right now. Fiona pulled him in quickly and greedily kissed him. She kissed Nathan like she had never kissed any man and he didn't disappoint. While she kissed him she ran her fingers through his hair and imagined doing much more with the charming man.

When they were finished Nathan turned to Lydia again.

"She beat me again," he laughed.

"What?" Fiona balked. "I didn't not!" She felt a little dizzy, perhaps it was the alcohol from last night? Surely a kiss didn't really make someone dizzy. She looked down at her hands and they were still shaking. What had just happened?

"You know what?" Nathan asked turning back to Fiona. "Let's call it a tie."

"I would have to agree," Lydia said with a smirk.

Fiona just stood there trying to figure out what had just happened. Did Nathan just win? Did she even need to have Deston do his challenge? She really didn't think Deston could come up with anything that could top that kiss. She turned to Deston who looked furious and felt pity on the man. As good looking and...well that was the problem wasn't it? He was good looking and that was where it stopped. He had nothing else to offer. Nathan had actually won last night, maybe before that. Fiona was fooling herself thinking Deston even had a chance.

"You're turn Deston," Fiona said, her voice still a little shaky. She had never had a kiss like that one. All her reading and fantasizing hadn't prepared her for something so amazing. And it was just a kiss!

"Well," Deston started as he stormed over to Fiona. "If Nathan gets to show off so do I. I challenge you to have sex with me."

Lydia and Selna covered their eyes and shook their heads while Daniel's eyes opened wide, unable to believe the words coming out of Deston's mouth.

"What?!" Fiona laughed. "You can't be serious?"

"Nathan got to kiss you." Deston looked at her pleading and she took pity on him again.

"Pick something else. We're not having sex." Fiona looked up at him with compassion. She didn't want to hurt his feelings but he had already lost. She had chosen Nathan. There was nothing Deston could do that could top that kiss.

"Then kiss me too," Deston said adamantly.

"Deston. I'm sorry but you've already lost. I'm really sorry. I choose Nathan," Fiona said softly. She didn't want to embarrass him and it was clear that whatever he chose would be far more embarrassing than if she just told him the truth.

"You what!" Deston's temper exploded. Deston looked at Crystal and fear took over. "I did everything you asked! I need another chance!" Then Deston turned back to Fiona. "Please Fiona!"

"I'm sorry Deston. I can't help it. I want Nathan. Maybe I always did. I'm really sorry." She wished she could soften the blow but there was no way to ease into it. The truth was Deston was nothing but a pretty face...and body but that was all. They had nothing in common and their personalities often clashed. Fiona had spent more time angry with the man than wanting him. Nathan was another story entirely.

Deston's anger grew. He walked over to the campsite and grabbed a sword then angrily walked back.

"I won't take no for an answer." Deston stared at Fiona and extended his sword at Nathan.

"Deston, calm down." Fiona tried to reason with him. She understood heartbreak but this seemed like something else.

"Deston, this is a very bad idea," Nathan warned.

"Shut up!" he yelled at Nathan then turned to Crystal. "I tried, Crystal. I really tried."

Crystal crossed her arms and looked up into the air.

"I killed King Seth. I did everything you asked! Please, give me another chance!" he begged.

"You did what?!" Fiona's voice had lost its compassionate tone. "YOU DID WHAT?!" the disbelief in her voice quickly turned to anger then to blind fury.

"Shut up!" Deston turned and yelled at Fiona.

Before anyone could do anything about it, and perhaps Nathan hadn't really tried. He probably could have stopped her but maybe he really didn't want to. Maybe he even wished he had done it first. Fiona disarmed Deston and removed his head in a matter of seconds. As Deston's body was falling to the ground Crystal covered her face and fell to her knees. Jason covered his mouth with both hands and ran off into the forest. Fiona held the bloody sword while she slowly walked over to Crystal, full of anger.

"You told him to kill my father?!" Fiona stood over the cowering girl. Was she crying? It sounded like sobbing.

Crystal got to her feet, keeping her hands on her face. Fiona felt a little sorry for her but was still furious. Was Crystal afraid?

"Answer me," Fiona demanded but in a quieter voice.

Crystal turned away and lowered her hands. She stood there for a moment then Fiona grabbed her shoulder and forced her to turn around.

When Crystal turned around it was clear. She wasn't crying. She was laughing. "I can't believe you're all so stupid!" Crystal put one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead. "I've been here the whole damn time! I mean come on! Seriously?! How many brain cells do you have between you?!"

Fiona pulled back the sword, ready to behead Crystal as well then she was thrown backward when Crystal waved her hand.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm really good but you guys take the cake. Not a one of you even suspected me?" Crystal crossed her arms and smiled at Nathan. "Not even you?"

"Who are you?!" Nathan asked.

"I'm your daughter, you fool!" Crystal exclaimed. "You left mom when she was pregnant. She died when I was six. Where were you?" Crystal covered her face with her hands again.

Nathan walked up to her slowly and put his hands on her shoulders. She lowered her hands but kept her face looking down.

"Who was your mother?" Nathan asked quietly then he felt a sharp pain in his thigh.

Crystal looked up and smiled.

"Again? Really?! I knew you were stupid but that's just...unbelievably naïve. I've met four year olds who are less trusting than you." Crystal crossed her arms and in one hand was a sharp object that looked like a claw.

"What...was?" Nathan stumbled backward and everything started to get blurry. Then the pain started. His neck muscle's clenched as did his chest. He couldn't breathe but the excruciating pain made him feel like he had to scream. He felt himself trying to swallow his own tongue and could do nothing to stop it. Next he started to convulse and finally he fell to the ground.

"Don't worry, I'm not really his kid." Crystal looked at Lydia and smiled evilly.

"Why are you telling me?" Lydia asked, not sure what was happening and what else to say.

"Recognize the story? You should ask him when he wakes up," Crystal smirked.

"What was that?!" Fiona asked frantically as she rushed to Nathan. She picked up his head and felt for breath. He wasn't breathing. "He's dead!"

"It was Drahlbeere poison but he's not dead," Crystal said condescendingly as she walked over to Fiona.

"Drahlbeere poison?! What do you mean he's not dead?!" Fiona screamed.

"That's another one you'll have to ask him about when he wakes up. Boy, Nathan sure likes his secrets," Crystal replied and walked toward Selna. "So _Selna_." She said the name like she was spitting out sour milk.

"I'm going to crush your skull!" Selna said angrily and rushed at Crystal. When Selna tried to punch her in the face Crystal caught her hand effortlessly. The look of sheer surprise on Selna's face made Crystal laugh.

"Did you honestly think it would be that easy?" Crystal put the palm of her other hand on Selna's chest and an explosion of force threw Selna backward. Selna flew through the trees and within seconds she was nowhere in sight.

"What did you do with her?!" Fiona asked, unable to believe the power Crystal had. Her anger was quickly turning to fear. She grabbed her sword from the ground and rushed at Crystal a second time. Crystal held out one hand with her palm up then blew across it. Flames shot out at Fiona. Fiona shielded her face with her arm and her clothing caught fire but strangely she felt no pain.

"You'll have to ask Nathan about that one too. The secrets are just piling up!" Crystal shouted as she threw her hands in the air. Fiona stood there staring at her arm that should have been scorched beyond recognition but even though parts of her shirt still smoldered, there was no damage to her skin. Fiona looked up at Crystal angrily and started to rush her again but Crystal just waved goodbye to her then thrust out both hands and a shockwave of force collided with Fiona. Fiona flew backward and landed on her back about twenty feet away, unconscious. Then Crystal turned her attention to Lydia.

"Just you and me now," she said creepily to Lydia.

"I'm still here!" Daniel complained and tried to look menacing, although he was terrified.

"What do you want?" Lydia was starting to get angry. Her eyes were turning purple and the swirls of energy started to form around her.

"I want to give you a present," Crystal said strangely.

Crystal pulled a dagger from her belt and put it in the palm of her hand.

"You've seen a mage dagger before right?" She looked quizzically at Lydia, ignoring Daniel. She didn't wait for Lydia's response. The dagger started to float over her hand then shot out toward Lydia's chest. Daniel jumped in the way and it hit him in the right shoulder. He hit the ground hard with a grunt and struggled to remove the dagger while Crystal laughed.

"Told you it was just you and me," she teased.

Lydia lost control. The purple flames swirled around her and grew. She thrust out her hands and all the energy slammed into Crystal. Crystal looked at her feet then flipped her hands over, looking at both sides then crossed her arms and looked at Lydia condescendingly.

"That's it? Is Nathan the only one of you with any real power?" she taunted. "Why do you think I took him out first? I mean if he was awake right now I might actually be scared. I expected you to be stronger...more like this."

Crystal thrust out her hands and purple energy washed over Lydia. The pain was incredible. She now understood how Daniel must have felt. Her skin hurt, her bones hurt. Every muscle and every cell in her body screamed for it to stop then she passed out.

Daniel scooted across the ground toward Lydia and caught her before she hit the ground. He yelled as the pain of his shoulder assaulted him again when Lydia landed on top of him.

"Well, I guess I'm done here." Crystal dusted off her hands then turned and started to walk away. "Oh, I probably want my dagger back." She said as she turned and held out her hand. Daniel screamed as the dagger was pulled from his shoulder and flew into her waiting hand. "Since you're the only one left awake. I have a message for your friends. Think you can remember to give it to them?"

Daniel looked at her angrily then growled. "Yes."

"Good. So here's the important parts. I'm working with the demon you're looking for. He's my fiancé. Surprise!" She waived her hands and put on a stupid smirk which quickly faded to anger. "I let you all live because we need you alive for now. That could change very quickly so quit looking for him!" She paused and waited to make sure Daniel was still conscious then started again. "If you don't listen to me and continue to try and stop us it will get very messy. You know what? How about I tell you where we are so you know where not to go. How about that?"

"Sure," Daniel mumbled, he was starting to get light headed. His wound was bleeding very badly.

"I didn't make up the part about the demon being in Alitha. It was the only part of my story that was true. We killed King Volt and framed Morven. My soon-to-be husband has been working on this for a very long time." She took a step toward Daniel and looked down at him. "I have another request." She waited for Daniel again.

"What is it?" he grunted weakly.

"Get the master's sword for us. Nathan knows the sword I'm talking about. If you do that I'll let you all live. I'll find you when you have the master's sword. You can all go back to your pathetic lives and I'll leave you alone

Crystal turned and disappeared through the tree line as Daniel's vision went black.

When Crystal was alone and far away from the camp she spoke to herself again.

"You messed up the speech, Crystal," she said with annoyance. "We rehearsed it differently."

"It was just enough to get them to go find Dornias. A few threats. Some things they were told they couldn't do. Which they, obviously, will do. And I told them about the sword. I thought it went very well." She smiled happily then the anger returned.

"You didn't have to hurt them all. Just her!" she shouted.

"To hurt her you have to hurt them. I thought you understood that Elisabeth. That's why you need me," she said kindly.

"You're right. I'm sorry. We'll do it your way," she yielded. "By the way I like how you framed Dornias for the plan. It was quite clever. Do you think they bought it?"

"Truthfully, it doesn't really matter. Even if they figure out we came up with the plan they'll still get the sword and even get rid of Dornias for us. Then we'll kill them one at a time and she will lose everyone one she cares about." She smiled evilly.

"And we'll leave her to suffer, all alone, like we suffered." Crystal laughed as she came upon a small town. She quieted herself and put on a carefree smile then walked up to a man selling horses.

# Chapter 34

Fiona sat on a stone watching Lydia as she strolled toward her. The sun was nearly down and the sky was getting darker. It had been three days since they found out about Crystal and everyone was still shocked and unsure of what to do about it.

"How are you doing?" Lydia asked and sat beside Fiona.

"I'm angry...mostly at myself," Fiona replied.

"Why?" Lydia asked uncertain of what Fiona could have done, other than killing Deston, an act no one seemed to blame her for.

"I was told time and again not to tell anyone but you," Fiona shifted her position to look at Lydia. She was completely serious, she blamed herself. "I couldn't fucking listen. We told everyone. I should have listened to Grandma Rachel. I should have listened to my dad." Her anger eased into sadness.

"We didn't die and we haven't lost yet." Lydia put her hand under Fiona's chin and made sure Fiona was staring right at her. "There's enough blame to go around. People are keeping secrets and it needs to stop. If Selna and Jason weren't hiding whatever it is they're hiding. If Nathan hadn't lied to us about basically everything." Lydia released Fiona's chin and put her hand on Fiona's leg. "If you ask me, you are the least to blame. You don't keep secrets. You hold nothing back. You are the most honest person I've ever met. Sometimes a little too honest." Lydia giggled and Fiona smiled sadly.

"How are they?" Fiona asked. Her voice sounded depressed again.

"Daniel will be fine in a few weeks. Although I thought about trying some healing magic. I've seen grandpa do it once for Abby. If Daniel is ok with it I might try it." Lydia stared at Fiona hoping her mood might improve.

"And Nathan," Fiona said angrily.

"He's breathing but that's about it," Lydia replied. She knew and understood the reasons for Fiona's frustration. She knew very well what it felt like to love a man with secrets and Nathan's secrets made Daniel's look insignificant. Although Nathan hadn't lied, it was just as bad maybe worse. Did they even know the real Nathan?

"When he wakes up...I'm going to kill him!" Fiona said then stormed off.

"Kill him, kiss him, maybe both?" Lydia laughed. Fiona was too far away to hear but it wasn't meant for her.

"I think both," Selna agreed. She had walked up behind them without Fiona noticing. A rare occurrence but Fiona was very distracted.

"So what's up with Jason?" Lydia asked.

"I think he's squeamish around blood. He won't talk to me about it. It's really weird," Selna mused.

"He can kill a deer though?" Lydia pondered.

"Weird right? I mean, a man getting his head chopped off is a little different but still. He just seems really rattled by it. You have a good night, Lydia," Selna added as she walked off.

Lydia walked to her tent, deep in thought. What was Selna hiding? What was Jason hiding? All of these secrets needed to be addressed. There had been enough secrets to last a lifetime. Lydia stepped into the tent then stopped. She stared at Daniel, shirtless in their make-shift bed. Yes, it was time for ALL the secrets to come out.

"You hungry?" Lydia asked, trying to ignore the sight of Daniel shirtless. How was she going to get him to say it first?

"Is it supper time? I can make it," Daniel replied, trying to sit up. Lydia rushed over to him and put her hand on his chest and forced him back down.

"Why do you always do that? I can cook you know," Lydia said while not removing her hand.

"I know but it's my job. We both have jobs to do. Your job is to look amazing. It's my job to cook and clean," Daniel smirked.

"And why is your heart racing? Are you afraid of me?" Lydia asked. Maybe she could coax it out of him?

"Why would I be afraid of you?" Daniel asked while avoiding her gaze. "There are many reasons why a person's heart rate would go up."

Lydia removed her hand and smiled down on him deviously.

"Name a few," she prodded.

"Well, maybe I had a good workout? It takes a lot of work to sit up," Daniel teased.

"That's not it," Lydia replied condescendingly.

"Ok fine!" Daniel laughed. "My heart pounds every time you walk by or I hear your voice or...or...if I think about you," Daniel admitted.

"Why?" Lydia asked, hoping he would give the right answer. He had to say it first, that was just the way it was.

"I'm in love with you Lydia. Fine, I said it. Happy?" he replied like he was embarrassed to admit it.

"Yes," Lydia said and laid down beside him. She put her hand on his chest and her head on his good shoulder.

"Yes what?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, I'm happy." She sat there for a minute, torturing Daniel once more then added. "And I love you too."

# Epilogue

Nathan woke to throbbing pain all over his body. How long had he been out? Where was he? He didn't recognize his surroundings but mostly it was all a blur. He tried to turn his head and pain shot through his body. Someone was here, he could see an outline through the fog which seemed to cover his eyes.

"Who's...there," Nathan struggled. His eyes were clearing. He could make out shapes and colors. As the person walked closer he could see her pretty face. His vision was returning. It was Lydia. He smiled up at her and was met with a cross look. "Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Jason and Selna are out hunting and Daniel is recuperating in our tent. You've been out for days." Lydia looked down on him, she still looked upset but some compassion had seeped in as well.

"And Fiona?" Nathan asked sheepishly.

"Fiona?" Her look turned condescending but with a hint of pity. "She wants to talk to you and find out the truth but is trying to stifle the overwhelming desire to kill you. Although, I guess she can't actually kill you can she?"

"Oh," he replied dejectedly. Nathan looked up at the ceiling, full of guilt.

"I may have been six but I remember you. You saved me then left me to live with grandpa. It took me a while to place you but I see it now. I guess I can thank Crystal for opening my eyes," Lydia started. She lost any sign of pity and all that was left was contempt. "I've had enough secrets. We need to talk...Dad."

Keep an eye out for Morven's Legacy Book 3, Heart of the Stone Warrior.

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