HUGE delays and a special treat for loyal fans

For those of you who've stuck with me, I thank you.  Unfortunately, we've hit a patch of delays.  I'm working hard at my job, I have applications to do for work overseas, I'm terribly sick, and my old computer got fried last week, so I'm trying to settle in with my new one.  As such, chapters six and beyond will be delayed by at least one, possibly two weeks.

This is a huge disappointment to me, as I really was making good progress with keeping this blog regularly updated.  However, I do have a special treat for everyone.  I said that when the delays inevitably came, I would try and share some supplementary material with everyone.  Well, here's the first of it.

During one of my conventions, I found an exceptionally talented artist...whose name I've unfortunately forgotten.  Please forgive me.  However, I got her to make a commission based on my writing.  This is a fairly accurate interpretation of Aeon, the Frozen Shade.  With green flames in his eye sockets and cold fire burning in his palm, I think she really captured the aesthetic I envisioned.  I got one more commission made last year, but that's a treat for later.  So, for those with no imagination, let me introduce Aeon, the Frozen Shade.

Chapter six is coming along.  It'll be ready soon, so please be patient.

Chapter 5: Suspicion

There's honestly no easy way to voice one's worries without sounding like whining.  "WAH!  No one is paying attention to me, WAH!" but it does crop up in my mind from time to time.  My book, as is usually the case, has only limited appeal.  And hell, I don't know how to market things, so...meh, worry about this sort of stuff later.

I'm in this for the long haul.  My only hope is that my little story gives a few people some joy.  And now, without further ado, this chapter took...surprisingly little time to get revised, despite all the changes.  I'm impressed.

Chapter 5: Suspicion

“Agh!” Mina sat bolt upright in bed and her eyes snapped open.  Panting hard, she wiped cold sweat from her forehead and pulled at her nightgown, which clung to her skin.  Pressing her hand to her chest, she took several deep breathes until the rapid thumping of her heart returned to normal.

“You alright, Mina?” looking up, Mina saw Celine stumble towards her with her leather work dress half on.  After pulling it the rest of the way on, she took a seat at the edge of Mina’s bed.

“F-fine, Celi…” Mina waved her away before lying back down.

Celine put her hand up to Mina’s forehead before grabbing at her wrist.  “Well…you feel a little warm, but not feverish.  However-”

“Celi, I’m alright!” Mina snapped.  “I just had a bad dream.”

“Was it the same one you’ve had for the last three days?”

Mina gave her a curt nod and let out a long sigh.  “I don’t know what it means, though.”

Celine shrugged.  “Maybe it’s a memory from your childhood.  I mean…you’re familiar with bandits.  Could the man in blue armor represent the Templar?”

“No, that’s not it,” Mina shook her head.  “I’d remember.  Besides, none of the Templar with bishop Charas had blue hair.  And I’m certain we never met a golden haired woman while they were bringing me to Gesthal either.”

Running her fingers up Mina’s arms, Celine frowned.  “You’re getting leaner, Mina.”

“Am I?” Mina sat up and her nightgown nearly slipped off her shoulders.  “Agh!  Damn…I guess I am,” she muttered, holding it close to her chest.  “But I’ve been eating like a starved fenris since we got back…”

“I know,” Celine grimly muttered, “That’s what worries me.  Maybe…maybe tonight you should go back.”

“I can’t!” Mina squealed, shivering in bed.  “I…I mean, he wasn’t like the Molten Zombie, but…he’s still a lich, Celi.”

“Mina…” Celine started to say something, but closed her mouth and rubbed the backs of her ears.  “It’s your choice, but we have to tell Kano you’re sick.  Get a doctor here or something.”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Mina grunted, “I need to get down to the tavern and get back to work.  That’ll give me some energy.”

“If you won’t tell him, then I-!” Celine started to say, but stopped when the loud sounds of footfalls reached the girls’ ears.

Clearing her throat, Mina sat up and called out, “Yes, Celi, I’m feeling much better.  Just let me get my dress on and I’ll help you with the morning shift.”

No sooner had she spoken these words than Kano threw open the attic door and stepped inside bearing a tray of milk gruel and some water in a clay cup.  Laying it down next to Mina’s bedside, he jerked his head at Celine, who hurried downstairs and left them alone.  Plopping down on Mina’s bed where Celine had been sitting, the orange haired man gazed down at Mina for a minute before finally speaking.

“What happened out there?  I mean really, Mina.”

“I told you already, uncle!  We got pinned down by those fireballs and-” Mina snapped.

“You’re wasting away up here!” Kano snarled, holding up Mina’s arm.  Glancing over at it, Mina’s eyes widened slightly at how lean it had become.  “A few more days like this and you’ll be nothing more than a corpse.  Please…” a tear sprang to the burly man’s eye, “Just tell me what’s wrong with you.  Did you get bitten by an apocra or-”

“Uncle…I swear, it’s nothing,” Mina lowered her eyes.  “I…I’m sorry for worrying you like this.  We all went without food in that forest…but since I’m smaller, I guess it affected me more than Daryl or Celi.”

With a sigh, Kano got to his feet and said, “Fine.  I’ll take your word for it.  So, what can we do to get you up and about again?”

Uncle, please let me go down and work the tavern.  I know the patrons miss me and my muscles are turning to mud sitting in bed all day,” Mina glanced at her arms and frowned.

“Hehe, I bet the border guard don’t miss ya,” Kano snickered, turning back to Mina with a sad smile on his lips, “With you gone, it’s been open season on Celi’s rear.”

“Uncle!  That’s one of the reasons I need to get down there!” Mina grunted, kicking back her covers and swinging her legs onto the floor.  They wobbled slightly, but still held her weight.  She put her hands on her hips and added, “I don’t need to be babied!”

“Geh…” Kano grunted and ran a hand over his greasy orange hair.  “Dammit, girl, you’re just like your mother.  Shendoah’d work even if she was sick.  I’d try and stop her, but it was always for naught.  She’d find a way around her big brother every time.”

“Then…?” Mina leaned forward.

“Alright, alright, I know when I’m beat,” Kano chuckled and put a sturdy hand on Mina’s shoulder.  “Eat your breakfast first, then come down and help Celi with the morning shift.  Maybe getting back into the routine’ll help.  Not like I could stop you anyway.”

A small smile appeared on Mina’s lips and she wrapped her arms around the innkeeper’s large stomach.  “Thank you, uncle!” she cried, kissing him on the cheek.  “You won’t regret it!”

“Tch, c’mon…most kids aren’t happy to be given chores,” Kano blushed and pulled himself free of Mina’s hug.  “Just remember, you’ve been through a lot.  You start feeling tired or anything, you let me know right away.  Deal?” he held out his hand.

“Deal!” Mina grabbed Kano’s hand and shook it fervently.

Mina watched Kano retreat downstairs and after he had closed the attic door, she wolfed down her milk gruel and water.  “At least while I’m working, I won’t have time to worry,” she mumbled, tossing her sweaty nightgown aside before slipping into the leather dress Aeon and the others had given her.  After pulling it over her head, she bolted downstairs, only to find Celine leaning against the wall, her arms crossed and a contemplative look adorning her face.

“I knew you’d manage to convince him,” she muttered.

“Any word from Daryl?” Mina furtively murmured, “Is she going to tell Angelo?”

“No.  We agreed that starting a war between the border guard and a lich isn’t too smart.  For now, we’re sticking to my story.  Though, I don’t know why you’d be so worried about that.  Didn’t he threaten that promise out of you?” Celine raised an eyebrow.  “Now that we’re back home, it’s okay to tell the priests, right?”

“Uh-uh,” Mina shook her head.  “I…he asked me to keep his secret and I felt it was the least I could do.  He did save me, even if he is a-” a shiver ran through Mina’s body and she decided not to finish that sentence.

“Anyway, I’m just glad you’re up and about,” Celine smiled, ruffling Mina’s emerald hair.  “Now let’s see if the old man’s ready for us.”

Taking Celine’s hand, Mina followed her into the kitchen.  Mina felt her stomach gurgle slightly when she saw Kano peeling meat from a skull that was half as tall as she was.  It protruded out further than a human’s and had three long curved horns jutting out to the right, left, and behind the skull.

“Well, you two don’t waste any time,” he muttered, depositing the meat into an iron pan.  “Here.  Serve up!” Kano smiled at them before handing four trays to Celine and two to Mina.

Celine headed into the tavern first, but Mina stopped before leaving the kitchen.  She heard a loud “Sqwuark!” and glanced around.  Sitting next to Kano was a small cage with a feathery apocra inside it.  It had two long wings that ended in sharp talons, two scaly feet, and a serpentine tail.  The creature had a red crest of feathers on its head, a long beak, and cockles that hung under its chin.  What Mina noticed most, however, was that it was blindfolded.

“A cockatrice?” Mina mumbled.  “Uncle, why-”

“For dinner,” Kano said, cracking an egg into his skillet.  “Aurox meet gets boring after a while and Giles was kind enough to give me a good price on this one.  He’s an oldie, but we gotta keep him blindfolded till I can cook him.  I dunno about you, but I don’t wanna be paralyzed by that stare.”

“Hehe, me either, uncle,” Mina let out a short laugh.

Turning on her heel, Mina headed out of the kitchen and into the tavern.  Her pace quickened as the weight of the two trays started to make Mina’s arms wobble and she had to sprint over to Wrec’s table and drop them both down before she toppled over.

“Woah, you sure you’re okay?” Wrec mumbled, pulling out a chair for Mina to sit in.  “Here, take second to catch your breath.”

“Ugh, I’m fine.  I wish people would stop babying me!” Mina mumbled.  Looking up, she saw that Wrec was wearing the same blue and white uniform as the other border guards.  “Oh, hey!  Morak let you in, did he?”

“Hehe, yes indeed,” Wrec smirked, straightening out his new uniform.  “After we got the order to return to Gesthal, I went up to the Keval pass to check on things.  Morak was fighting off half a dozen skeletons with his sword.  I tell ya, Mina, it was amazing!  His sword kicked up whirlwinds each time he swung it and a few of the others had flaming spears.  Reminds me of when I was part of the Luvolian army,” he laughed heartily.  “He saw me fighting off a Goetian with my bare hands and offered me a job right then and there.”

“Deeds speak louder than words for Morak,” Mina smiled.  “Anyway, how much are you getting paid?”

“Room, board, and I get a stipend each week that I’m saving up for my family back home.  All I have to do is keep watch with the others in the Keval pass every couple of days.  Thankfully, your uncle let me keep his cloak for those long, cold nights out there.”

Lowering her eyes, Mina murmured, “I wish they’d gotten you a safer post…”

“Ah, don’t worry!  I’m a Therian, remember?  I’m tough!” Wrec chuckled, digging into his food with a vengeance.  “Oh, but that means I won’t be around as often, so story time might have to wait.  Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Mina smiled at his appetite.  “I understand.  Should I fetch you seconds?”

“No!” Wrec looked up and fervently shook his head.  “I need to save every copper I can!  If I eat light, I can add a little extra to my stipend each week.”

“Alright,” Mina stifled a giggle before getting back to her feet.  “Good luck.”

Heading back to the kitchen, Celine passed her with a second set of trays in her arms while Kano had a much smaller tray waiting for her.  “Next time I better let Celi handle Wrec.  Never seen such a big eater…” he mumbled, handing her the small tray of food.  “You oughta be able to handle this one.  It goes to your other rescuer.”

Nodding, Mina headed to a table in the back of the tavern where Nivtenc sat alone.  Laying the tray down in front of him, she saw him pull out a flask from under the table and empty it into his drinking mug.  When he saw her staring at it, Nivtenc quickly hid the flask and addressed her.

“Good morning,” he bowed his head cordially.  “Are you feeling better?  Your presence has been missed.”

“Hehe, no need to be so polite,” Mina chuckled.  “I do owe you my life, after all.”

“No.  Wrec and I merely had the good fortune of finding you.  You survived the flaming rocks all on your own.”

“I guess…” Mina stammered, averting her eyes from him.

Tilting his head, Nivtenc looked at Mina from across the table and said, “You have something on your mind, do you not?  Please, tell me what ails you.”  He gestured to an empty seat across from him.

Looking over her shoulder, Mina saw Celine deliver her trays to the border guard and sprint back to the kitchen for more.  With a sigh, she shrugged and took a seat across from Nivtenc.  “You’re a traveler, right?”

“Indeed,” Nivtenc nodded.  “I have spent many a year traversing the Aridian deserts and ventured across much of Lucaria.  I even visit the Umbran Bazaar in Telnumbra, on occasion.”

Stifling a grin, Mina replied, “I did too, when I was a kid…” Mina raised her eyes to face Nivtenc, but his eyes were obscured by the white clothe draped all over his face.  “I used to travel with a caravan…and we met all sorts of people.  Teythens, therians, neeg, nagas, beholders…even a few anubians.  Not all of them were nice, but I never had a reason to fear any of them.”

Tilting his head again, Nivtenc mused, “But recently you have?”

“Not recently,” Mina wrapped her arms around her legs and sat in the fetal position in her chair.  “When I was six, my caravan was attacked and I lost both my parents.  An undead did it.  He…he scared me.  Wreathed in fire and cackling like a mad man…I’ve been afraid of undead ever since.  Everyone in Lucaria says that’s normal, but…is it?”

“I cannot say for certain,” Nivtenc shrugged.  “I have nearly fallen prey to mummies and skeletons in Aridia, but I’ve also been saved by a charismatic necromancer who used her undead minions to help others.” Looking over at Angelo and his priests, Nivtenc drew closer to Mina and gestured for her to draw near as well.  “You may not believe it, but I even owe some degree of fealty to a lich,” he whispered.

Mina’s eyes widened and she scooted away from the table, trying not to look too shocked.  “R-really…I-I didn’t know that!” she stammered, trying to keep her voice low.

Nivtenc observed her for a moment before saying, “It is not how you envision it, I assure you.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Mina mumbled.

“Most people fear liches for their grim visage and startling power,” Nivtenc said, “However, in Aridia, we had a greater fear.  Djinni.”

“Djinni?” Mina repeated the word, trying to sound as if she didn’t know what it meant.

“Yes.  Apocra with fire for blood and wind for legs.  They are fearful creatures who can come in all shapes and sizes.  Normally, they stick to their own cities, hidden beneath the sands.  However, they grew rambunctious a decade or so ago and threatened my people.  A lich came in with an army of undead, apocra, and conjurers and beat back the djinni, all the while protecting my people.  He did so to offer us a trade agreement.  We accepted his agreement and his forces became the guardians of our villages.”

“But…isn’t Aridia part of Lucarian territory?”

“It is, but no priest would desire to live in the desert,” Nivtenc chuckled.  “It is a harsh life.  However, we have learned to enjoy it.  In fact, I prefer the blazing sun to this frigid snow.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Mina hissed.  “How…how could you let a lich into Lucaria?!”

Nivtenc fell silent for a moment, occasionally looking over at Angelo and the priests before he finally replied.  “We merely adapted to survive.  It is the Aridian way.  He wanted to trade with us and offered us protection as well as money.  We did not betray Lucaria.  We merely made a business deal with Telnumbra.”

“So, even though he protects you…you’re still loyal to Lucaria?”

“We require Lucaria’s trade to survive,” Nivtenc said, “We stay loyal to them so long as they will trade with us.  You see, in Aridia, water is scarce and the food is bland, but many rare items can be found in the desert, provided one knows where to look.  Rare items that those in Constantine or Diarma would pay handsomely for.  Take this for example,” he said, pulling out a serrated beige sword that resembled the jaw of a gigantic insect and laid it on the table.  “This sword was crafted from the pincer of a mandiblar and can slice through nearly anything.  The blade and the hilt can only be acquired in Aridia.

Running her fingers over sword from the jaw like blade to the oiled leather handle, Mina could not hide her surprise and admiration for the weapon. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured.

“Thank you,” Nivtenc muttered, sheathing his sword.  “You see, items like this make trade possible with both Lucaria and Telnumbra.  Lucaria supports us, but we saw no reason to fear or hate the lich.  He came to us wanting trade.  So, we agreed to trade with him.”

“What…umm…what was he like?” Mina mumbled her heartbeat quickening.  “Did you ever meet him?”

“Once, long ago,” Nivtenc said, resting his head on his knuckles.  “He had a cruel sense of humor and could be a tad eccentric.  However, he treated my people with respect and always honored his word.”

“What was his name?” Mina said, taking in a few quick, shallow breaths.  “Was it The Molten Zombie?”

“Him?!” Nivtenc nearly shouted, but kept his voice low after glancing over at the border guard and priests.  “Never!  That barbarian leaves naught but scorched earth in his wake!  We treated with Suna, the Blighted Corpse.”

“So not all liches are…evil then?” Mina swallowed hard.

“I have heard stories that liches are little different from humans,” Nivtenc said.  “Some are kind, some are cruel, and some are noble at heart.  One cannot judge all liches from encountering a specific one.”

Allowing herself to exhale, Mina reclined in her chair.  “Right.  I…I’d forgotten that.”

“Hmm?”

“My mother and father had a rule like that,” Mina said, getting to her feet.  “They didn’t care how someone looked or what race they were.  You couldn’t know someone from just one glance, after all.”  She smiled at Nivtenc and bowed to him.  “Thank you for listening to me.”

“It was my pleasure, Mina.”

Scampering back to the kitchen, Mina nearly bumped into Celine, who was returning to the kitchen bearing six empty trays.

“Well, you’re not overworking yourself, at least,” she chuckled.  Grabbing the last tray Kano had lain out, she handed it to Mina.  “This is the last one.  I took care of the rest already.”

Glancing down at the tray, Mina let out a short sigh.  “Sorry, Celi.  I came down here to help, but I’ve just been dawdling.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Celine laughed and gave Mina a playful punch to the arm.  “If you wanna do me a favor though, take the last table,” she pointed to a figure in a long brown cloak, “I’m gonna go check on Daryl.  She hasn’t been with the priests for the last few days.”

“Say hey for me, if you see her,” Mina winked at Celine.  The two girls headed into the tavern together, but parted halfway in.  Celine headed outside while Mina laid the tray down in front of the cloaked figure and said, “Sorry for the wait.  We’ve been a bit short staffed lately because I’ve been sick.”

“So sorry to hear that, little Mina.” Mina’s eyes widened when the figure pulled back the hood of her cloak to reveal a woman with dark bronze skin and violet hair which had been brushed over her forehead to hide a pair of horns.

“Y-you’re-” Mina stammered.

“Yes?” the woman tickled Mina under the chin with her purple nails.

“M-Miss Kinana?” Mina swallowed hard and blushed a deep shade of red.

“You remembered!” she clapped her hands together and giggled.  Pulling a chair free with her tail, she patted the seat.  “I’m flattered.  I had worried you might have just forgotten me,” she added, pouting with her lips.

“Hehe,” Mina let out a nervous chuckle, “Believe me, I doubt I could ever forget you.”

The sound of the door closing brought Mina to attention and she looked to the tavern’s door.  Angelo and his priests had vacated their table and disappeared outside.  Save for their absence, the tavern was normal, filled with the wild stories and outrageous boasts of the border guards, the occasionally nervous glances of the villagers at the travelers and the exhausted looks of the travelers at the villagers.

Zipping into the chair Kinana had pulled out, Mina drew close to Kinana and hissed, “What do you think you’re doing here?!  This is where I live!”

“Hmm?” Kinana recoiled with surprise.  “Why, I was worried about you, of course!  And with good reason…look at you,” the succubus replied glumly, taking Mina’s wrist and glaring at it.  “Your skin’s clinging tighter to your bones…you’re losing nourishment by the day.”

“How…how can you even be here without Aeon’s permission?!” Mina grunted, ignoring Kinana’s words.

“Our contract is fairly liberal,” Kinana furrowed her brow.  “I can do as I please, for the most part.  I just contact him from the pits and ask him to summon me.  So long as I…behave, he lets me do as I wish.  Now, will you listen to me? I need to take you back to-”

Kinana stopped mid sentence when she saw Mina’s eyes widen.  The girl jerked her hand away from the succubus and scooted her chair away from her.  “I won’t go back!” she hissed.  “I-I can talk with the priests about my illness.  Angelo is pretty skilled at healing magic an-”

“It won’t work,” Kinana shook her head before slumping in her seat, “Sure, they could remove the soul satchern, but…not in enough time to save your life.  Besides that, once it’s taken out, you’d have to explain how a Telnumbran apocra got into your body.  And I doubt that would end well for any of us,” she lowered her eyes and sighed.

“Hey, Mina!” Both Mina and Kinana looked up and saw Kano approaching them, wiping his greasy hands on his apron as he walked.  “Everything okay over there?”

“Umm…this is my last table, uncle,” Mina stammered.

“Hehe, you sure do like talking with travelers…though I hafta admit, we don’t get many as beautiful as this one,” he smiled, bowing to Kinana.  “I was surprised that such a pretty lady would come looking for a room in my inn so late.”

“Thank you for being flexible last night, innkeeper,” Kinana courteously replied.  “So you’re Minava’s uncle?  Hmmhmm, I had no idea.  I suspect she gets her good looks from your side of the family,” the succubus laughed.

“True enough, but not from me,” Kano snickered.  “Her mother was quite a looker.”  Composing himself, Kano shook his head and added, “B-but that’s not why I’m here.  There’s something important I need to discuss with you.”

I’ll be done in a bit, uncle,” Mina frowned, shooing him away.  “You can flirt with Miss Kinana later!”

“Kinana, eh?” Kano called after turning and heading for the kitchen.  “Why wouldn’t you give me your name at the door?”

“I was just waiting for the right opportunity!” Kinana called back and winked.

“You stay away from him!” Mina snarled.  “I won’t let you-”

“Weren’t you listening?” Kinana childishly ruffled her hair.  “I have to behave when I’m out on my own.  I was just teasing.  But…Mina, you really do need to go back,” she reached out and touched Mina’s hand.  “Your body’s just going to keep getting weaker if you don’t.”

Gritting her teeth, Mina lowered her eyes.  “I-I don’t know if I can go back.  Every time I think about him my body just…” Mina shuddered and wrapped her hands around her legs.  “I know he saved me…I know he’s not like the others…but-”

“If you’re not going to do it for your own sake, then think of those you’ll hurt when you fall sick without Aeon to help you,” Kinana murmured somberly.  Gathering her cloak around her, Kinana got to her feet, leaving her food untouched.  “I’ll take my leave for now, but I’ll be watching…just in case you need me,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice before strolling over to the door and heading outside.

Mina’s shoulders drooped and she slunk out of the noisy tavern, past the kitchen, where Kano was cleaning his pans and humming to himself, and into the attic.  Crawling into a dark corner, she shook her head and sighed.  “What do I do?”

Minutes ticked by and Mina’s stomach began to rumble.  Her body felt stiff and her skin tight against her bones as she squatted in that dark corner.  Closing her eyes, Mina dozed for several minutes until she heard some knocks on the attic door.  “Mina, it’s us!” Celine’s voice called out.

Scampering to her feet, Mina pulled the door open and welcomed Celine and Daryl inside.  “Mina,” Daryl said, forcing her way inside and putting her hands against Mina’s face.  “You…you don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” Mina snapped, plopping down on her bed.  “Stop worrying so much!”

“Still, maybe we should tell Angelo about the lich…or at least about your sickness,” Daryl rubbed her lower lip.  “It could get worse if we leave it untreated…”

“Yeah, that’s a grand idea, princess,” Celine sighed.  “And how should we explain her sickness?  ‘Hey, Angelo!  No, we didn’t do anything unusual, just strolled through a lich’s fortress!’”

“Well what do you think we should do, vagabond?!” Daryl snapped.

“We can’t tell…” Mina mumbled, her eyes growing heavy.  “Miss Kinana was here this morning.  She said she’d be watching…us…”

All the color left Daryl’s face and Celine furrowed her brow.  “That succubus…she seemed friendly enough, but-” Celine started to say.

“You’re missing the point!” Daryl exclaimed.  “They’re spying on us!  Now, if we talk with Angelo, they’ll know and they might seek retribution!”

“I don’t think so,” Mina shook her head.  “She seemed worried about me,” she rubbed her eyes and reclined on her bed.  Squirming in place, Mina let out a tiny yelp and groggily looked over at Celine and Daryl, who were both staring at her.  “Sorry…I guess I’m…” she paused to yawn, “A little sleepy.”  Pressure started to build up on Mina’s chest and she put her hand over her heart.

“Are you okay?” Celine whispered, feeling Mina’s forehead.

“I feel weak.  I…I’m tired, Celi,” Mina stretched out on her bed without changing out of her work dress. 

Celine and Daryl exchanged worried glances. “We don’t have to decide today.  You’re still recovering from the shock and the surgery,” Celine murmured, pulling Mina’s blanket over her.  “Why don’t you just rest and tomorrow we’ll talk some more.”

“Okay…” Mina pulled the blanket around her and suppressed a gasp as sharp pains shot through her arms and legs, as well as her chest.  She listened as Celine and Daryl trudged out of the attic.

“We can’t just leave her like that,” Celine hissed, just loud enough for Mina to hear as they were leaving.

“I know but she won’t go back to the lich, so…” Daryl retorted.

“Tonight, we look for a doctor who might know about her sickness.  I won’t to lose her,” Celine said, just before the attic door closed.

“Celi…I’m sorry,” Mina whispered before falling into an uneasy slumber.

*

Holding a hand over her mouth, Mina stifled a yawn and sat up.  Blinking furiously, her eyes slowly grew accustomed to the darkness of the attic.  A few stars shed some light in through the attic window and as her eyes adjusted she noticed Celine’s back heaving to and fro, as well as a soft snore escaping from her side of the room.

Feeling her heart, Mina grimaced as a sharp pain slid through her body.  Holding out her hand, Mina thrust it into the starlight cast by the window.  Even in the dim light, her skin and muscles seemed to be shrinking over her bones.  Glancing back up at Celine, Mina’s heart began to pound and Kinana’s words echoed in her ears.

“If you’re not going to do it for your own sake, then think of those you’ll hurt when you fall sick without Aeon to help you.”

Swallowing hard, Mina nodded and crept out of bed.  She headed to the attic’s door, but stopped when Celine muttered in her sleep, “I can…stay?  Really?”

Skulking over to Celine’s bed, Mina took a seat on the edge and touched the bronze skinned girl’s hand.  “It’s been four years….back then, you were scared and frantic, like a wild apocra.  After uncle Kano and I took you in, I used to worry about you all the time.  But look how the tables have turned,” Mina sighed, gingerly fingering Celine’s blonde hair.  “Now, you’re the one worried about me…but not anymore,” she got to her feet and tip toed over to the door out of the attic.  “After tonight, it’ll all be over, Celi.  I promise.”  As she spoke, Mina’s voice became little more than a whimper.

Putting her hand over her rapidly beating heart, Mina tried to stay quiet, even as pain raced through her stiff arms and legs.  Her heart ached with each breath she took, but Mina ignored the pain and carefully made her way downstairs.  A loud snore from Kano’s bedroom next to the kitchen made Mina freeze in place, but as soon as she heard him roll over, she resumed moving.  Stumbling through the deserted tavern, she pulled the door open and stepped outside.

Snow still littered the ground and Mina shivered in the cold night air.  Save for the stars and a slender moon up above, it was pitch black outside.  Hugging her leather dress close to her, Mina carefully walked through the snow, taking small steps so as not to wake anyone.

Mina treaded carefully, stepping into the footprints of others in the snow until the dark shapes of Gesthal’s many buildings faded from sight.  When she could no longer differentiate them, Mina threw caution to the wind and began running through the snow.  With ice crunching under her shoes, she made her way towards the mountains, stopping short of them to head in the direction of the nearby forest.  Her breath came out in jagged bursts as the pain made her body stiff and unwieldy.  Nonetheless, the fourteen year old girl kept on moving until she caught sight of the smooth hill that concealed Acacia.

Raising her hand to knock on the hill, Mina stopped when she felt something warm and woolen fall over her shoulders.  Spinning around, Mina’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open.  Standing shivering in the snow and covered in sweat were Celine and Daryl.  Celine had a wry grin on her face, while Daryl’s eyes were filled with a mix of fear, worry, and grogginess.

“Sorry it took us so long to get here.  I had to wake the princess up and then we had to find our way out,” Celine said.

“Y-you…but…how…?” Mina stammered.

“I-It’s g-getting w-worse, right?” Daryl’s teeth chattered as she spoke.  “W-we c-couldn’t find a d-doctor…so when C-Celine saw you leave we th-thought…where else would you go?”

Pulling the woolen blanket tight around her, Mina lowered her eyes.  “Are you two really okay with this?”

“No, not really,” Celine snorted, “But given the circumstances…we don’t really have a choice, do we?”

Lowering her eyes, Mina whispered, “Thank you.”

“Th-thank us later!” Daryl snapped.  “For now, just open the d-damn thing so we can get out of the c-c-cold!”

“R-right!” Mina exclaimed.  She spun around and rapped three times on the exterior of the smooth hill.  Instantly, an iron door melted out of the side.

Celine and Daryl stepped up and grabbed the metal door’s handle.  They both had to pull hard to dislodge it, but eventually they managed to drag the door open.  The trio scooted into the warm darkness and pulled the door shut after them.

“Hold on, I’ve got a light,” Daryl mumbled.  Mina saw a sphere of light bloom in the palm of her hand and hover over it.  “Well…may as well get going,” she sighed, sounding anything but confident.

The sphere of light illuminated their way through the stone corridor however Mina soon began to lag behind Celine and Daryl.  “W-wait!” she panted.  “I…”

Before she could say anything further, Celine raced back and knelt down in front of her, hauling Mina onto her back.  “There we go.  Comfy?” Celine smiled warmly at her, though worry was etched all over her face.  Lowering her eyes, Mina nodded. 

After several minutes of being carried on Celine’s back Mina mumbled, “I’m sorry…I didn’t want to be dead weight, so I thought if I did this by myself I’d spare you the worry.”

“Yeah, we figured that much out already,” Daryl muttered.  “That was pretty stupid.”

“Daryl!” Celine snapped.

“Well it was!  I mean, you didn’t leave me in the dust when I started whining and crying during that raid…so, what?  Did you think we’d abandon you?”

“No, I…I just don’t want to be a burden,” Mina sighed.

“You’re never a burden,” Celine whispered.  “If I recall correctly, I still owe you from when you and Kano took me in off the street.  Oh, and just to be clear, I wasn’t scared…I was being cautious.”

“You heard all that?” Mina groaned.

“Like I said,” Celine chuckled, “You’re too easy to fool.  Even after four years, I still sleep with at least one eye and one ear open.”

“Celi…you couldn’t have just ignored all that?” Mina blushed deeply.

“Hey, we’re there,” Daryl called, closing her hand around the sphere of light.  The three of them stepped through another doorway and entered Acacia.  The island was dark, however all around them were a myriad of glowing lights dotting the landscape, offering just enough illumination to see where everything was.

“Beautiful…” Mina craned her head to look over Celine’s shoulder.

“Ssh, I hear something,” Celine muttered, tightening her hold on Mina.

“I-it’s not the machinery again, is it?!” Daryl whimpered.

“No, it sounds more like…something’s climbing out of the valley,” Celine said, turning towards the desolate valley to her left.

The sound of scratching on the valley’s stone walls soon became loud enough for all three girls to hear and before they knew it, a giant paw, with only a little rotted flesh covering the bone, reached out over the cliff face.  Another paw followed, covered with a bit more flesh and some fur.  There was an audible scrabbling in front of them until a large apocra managed to pull itself onto the grassy meadow the girls were standing in.

The apocra supported itself on four legs, though each leg looked skeletal and unstable, and had three monstrous heads, with elongated snouts and arrow shaped ears.  Of the six eyes the three heads shared, only four had any light in them and they gave the three girls an amused look.  Three tongues hung out of the panting apocra’s mouths and it wagged a bony tail behind it.

“An…apocra?” Celine grunted.

“An undead apocra!” Daryl exclaimed

“Wait, does that mean-” Mina started to say, but was cut off by a loud yawn and the smacking of lips.  “Look!  There, on it’s back!”

The three of them looked up and saw a little girl in a white night gown reclining on the undead apocra’s back, curled up in its molting fur as if it were a feather mattress.  The apocra nuzzled her with one of its noses and she sat up, rubbing her eyes.  Using her toy scepter as brace, she stumbled to her feet and pulled at several knots in her long, black hair.

“N-Nerise?” Daryl called out.

The undead apocra stopped in its tracks and looked over at them, smiling and panting playfully.  “What is it, boy?” the girl on the back of the three headed beast yawned and patted its neck.  Turning her eyes to the three girls in front of her, Nerise’s eyes gradually widened and a smile burst onto her lips.

“Dary!” she cried, jumping off the apocra.  She landed nimbly on the ground and tackled Daryl to the grassy floor, giggling uncontrollably all the while.

Chapter 4: Fear

Okay, this chapter is late because it took an extra long time to edit due to the need not only for cleaning up certain bits, but also to make the characters and their interactions more natural and organic.  It's also pretty long, so be prepared.  I should also note that the chapters may slow down a little bit over the next three weeks.  I will still try to deliver at least one chapter a week and, failing that, some extra bits, but...bear with me, people.  Now, without further ado, 

Chapter 4: Fear

            A chill in the air jolted Mina awake.  Save for a soft piece of cloth covering her from the waist down, she was naked to the world and goose bumps blossomed on her skin like flowers in the midst of springtime.  She could feel a damp cloth over her eyes and despite the cold, the fourteen year old girl was drenched in sweat.  Though she had wanted to scream from the moment she had awoken, Mina had been uncomfortably aware of her mouth being wedged open by something cold and slimy that filled her cheeks and continued down her throat.  Weakly tossing her head left and right, Mina tried to spit the sickeningly cold substance out of her mouth, but her tongue was pressed against the floor of her mouth and save for a few panicked mewlings, she was unable to make a sound.

            As if in response to her fear, a warm fluid coursed into her neck.  Mina felt her body relax and her heartbeat slowed, despite the growing awareness that she could not speak, see, or move.  Listening carefully, Mina could discern two voices around her, muttering unintelligibly.  Save for them, it was quiet.  The voices she had heard in her head before falling unconscious were silent and the pressure on her body had almost eased up entirely.

            After a little experimentation, Mina found that she could move her arms, but they were numb and did not want to cooperate with her.  Lifting them as best as she could, Mina tried to cover her breasts, only to feel warm hands take her arms gingerly by the wrists and place them back at her side before pulling the cloth up to her neck.

            “Aeom, ai tink she isth wakin uup.”  A delicate female voice grunted, sounding as if the speaker had something crammed in her mouth as well.

            Mina blinked as the damp cloth was pulled away from her eyes.  Though the light in the room was dim, she had to scrunch her eyes shut and open them gradually to adjust to it.  “Ugh…” Mina let out a frail groan.  Tears fell unbidden from her eyes.

“Shh…is aight.  Ur sav,” the female voice murmured.  It no longer sounded delicate, but strong and matronly.  The same warm hands from before touched her cheeks and wiped away her tears.

When her eyes finally adjusted, Mina saw two torches hung on the wooden wall of the hollow tree, shedding a soft glow onto the polished wood, even though outside the windows there was only darkness.  Turning her head to the right, she saw that she was still lying atop the wooden table she’d been placed on before she had fallen unconscious.

            A soft, silvery glow grabbed Mina’s attention and she glanced down at her chest.  Her heart nearly exploded when she saw something silver and ethereal passing beyond her lips.  A pair of skeletal hands slid into the ethereal mass and began to dig around.  As they did, Mina began to shiver uncontrollably.          

            “Uh-uh!” she grunted, shaking her head.  “UH-UH!”

             “Kinana, calm her,” Aeon murmured without turning to face her.

Suddenly, Mina felt more warmth coursing into her neck.  Her eyes relaxed and looked to her left, where a thin black tail had pierced the skin of her neck and was pumping something into her.

“Ish okay…Aeom ish elpin yu,” the distorted voice mumbled. 

The black tail ran off the table and led back to a woman standing next to her, with skin far bronzer than Celine’s, tucking a cloth blanket under Mina’s arms.  Looking closely, Mina noticed that only a few tiny scraps of black leather covered her curvaceous body, wide hips, and ample bosom, while a pair of black, leathery wings jutted out of her back.  She had long violet hair, horns that protruded out of her forehead, and a mischievous smirk that stayed on her lips even though her mouth hung open.  Then, Mina saw it.  The silvery wisp that was coming out of her mouth was held in place by an exceedingly long forked tongue that wrapped around it and fed back into the bronze woman’s mouth.

At the sight of the long tongue, Mina felt her stomach begin to churn.  Hot vomit started to rise in her throat.  She wanted to thrash about, but the warm fluid from the black tail invaded her neck once again and her stomach quieted itself.  Sensing Mina’s fear, the violet haired woman met her gaze with a pair of bright golden eyes.  Tenderly, she stroked Mina’s cheeks with her long purple nails.

 “Ow muc ronger?” the woman glanced back at Aeon, whose hands were still sifting through the silvery wisp.

“Hmm…” Aeon looked down at Mina, his eyes smoldering with green flames.  “There is still more to do, but for now, we should stop,” he said, pulling a tiny glob of green slime out of the silvery substance and tossing it into a tray next to Mina.  “You may release her, Kinana.”

The woman named Kinana gave Mina’s hand a squeeze before unraveling her tongue from the silver mass.  Gingerly, she lowered it back into Mina’s mouth.  When the mass was all the way inside Mina’s mouth, Kinana’s tongue released it completely.  Mina swallowed hard, as if she had just been fed a fistful of mud, however once the silvery mass had passed beyond her throat, she felt warmth course back into her numb limbs.  With a groan, Mina wrapped the thin woolen blanket around her and tried to rise.

 “Do not try to sit up.  You have gone through a great deal of shock.  Even with Kinana’s assistance, your body is weary.  You require more rest,” Aeon whispered, gently pushing Mina back down.  Barely able to keep herself up to begin with, Mina did not argue with the lich.

“Wh-what’s happened to me?” she mumbled, straining to keep her eyes open as all the blood in her body seemed to rush to her head.  “Why are you…helping me?”

“You would do well to not judge all liches as wicked,” Aeon muttered, resting his spine against the back of a wooden chair next to the table.  “As for what’s happened to you…that may take some time,” the lich sighed.

Glancing from Kinana’s tail to Aeon, Mina felt her heartbeat quicken.  “Wha-what have you done to me?” she stuttered.

“You have been sedated while I was operating on you,” Aeon patiently replied, while Kinana moved over to his side and took a seat on the arm of his chair.  As she did so, Mina felt more warm fluid pumping into her neck and her heartbeat slowed. “When you are able to walk, I can take you to your friends.  They are quite worried.”

“C-celi and Daryl?” Mina croaked.  “They’re here?”

“Hmm?  Do we have more guests?” Kinana glanced down at Aeon before throwing her arms around the grim figure and giggling.  “I wonder if they’re as cute as this little treasure,” she winked at Mina.

“Kinana, please,” Aeon muttered.  Turning back to Mina, he added, “Yes.  Your friends are waiting for you outside.”

Groaning to herself, Mina rubbed her eyes.  “What happened to me?  Why did I-?” Mina’s eyes grew wide as she drank in the sight of the lich sitting before her.  Her heartbeat quickened and she began breathing hard.  Even though more warm fluid was pumped into her neck, she opened her mouth to scream.  The flames in Aeon’s eyeless sockets flashed for a moment and before Mina could cry out, a band of ice formed around her lips.

“My apologies, but time is short and I do not wish to explain your hysterics to the others,” the lich muttered.  “To answer your question, you fell into a batch of soul satchern when you were in my lab.  It is a parasitic apocra that feeds off of Leyline energy by entrapping and preserving a living body and soul, then using them as a conduit for the Leyline.  It saw you as a source of food and tried to engulf you.  Do you understand?” Aeon asked Mina.

The ice that had gagged her melted away and Mina felt warm blood coursing back into her lips.  Shifting her gaze from Aeon’s cold demeanor to Kinana’s smiling face, Mina nodded.  “I…I think I understand.  Is that why I heard someone’s voice in my sleep?”

“Yes,” Aeon nodded.  “There was another soul being preserved in the soul satchern.  When it swallowed you, the satchern attempted to merge your souls within itself to increase the amount of Leyline energy it could draw upon.  Coming in direct contact with another soul put your body into shock and threatened to destroy your mind.”

“I-I see,” Mina lowered her eyes, “So I was just food to it.”

Glancing over at Kinana’s tail, she took a deep breath and tried to pull it lose.  The barbs in the tail held firm to her neck and Mina’s arms fell to her sides after a moment of pulling.  Aeon looked on passively while Kinana furrowed her brow in concern.

“What’s wrong?” Kinana murmured, releasing her hold on Aeon and floating over to Mina with a flap of her wings.  “Are you ill?”

Color flushed Mina’s face and a tear trickled out of her eye.  “P-please, can you remove this?” Mina tugged at the tail.  “I…I don’t like feeling so…helpless.”

“I’m giving you my life essence,” Kinana retorted.  “It will ease your pain and reinforce your strength.  Your body’s in bad shape after-”

“Let her try, Kinana,” Aeon interjected.

With a sigh, Kinana pulled her tail from Mina’s neck and the fourteen year old girl felt at the spot where it had been.  There was no puncture mark and no bleeding.  No sooner had the tail been removed than Mina’s heart began to beat faster and her breathing grew shallow and haggard.  Kinana raised her tail to Mina’s neck again, but she shook her head, swatting it away.

  “I-I’m alright,” she panted, gulping in air.  “Please, just give me a minute!”  Kinana lowered her tail at a nod from Aeon, but stayed close to Mina.  With her hand pressed to her heart, Mina glanced up at Aeon.  “Who…who are you really?” she panted, trying to get her breathing under control.  “You’re not like the other one.  You…you saved me, but why?”

“You ask why would I save you?” Aeon rested his chin on his bony knuckles.  “A better question is why would I not?  It was my fault that you were stranded here and the fault of my subordinate that you were in my laboratory.”

“Even so…” Mina mumbled.  She tried to swing her legs off the table, but lost her balance and nearly fell off.  Aeon flicked his finger at her, and branches sprang out of the wooden table to catch Mina.  Kinana lifted her off the branches and sat her down on the table.  Mina leaned into her arms and lowered her eyes.  “Even so,” she repeated, “You didn’t have to.  It was my own damn fault…I heard you talking with that teythen and I…I shouldn’t have been so scared.  I should have trusted you.”

“I know you fear me, Minava,” Aeon said, floating out of his chair, “However that is of no concern to me.  You were in danger and needed help only I could give.  Do I need any other reasons to save you?” his words were delivered with a warmth that belied his fearful appearance. 

A knock on the door of the hollow tree drew their attention.  “Hey, is it safe ta come in, chief?”

“You may enter, Yuka,” Aeon replied.

No sooner had he spoken than the door was thrown open and Celine forced her way in.  “Where is she?!” the tan skinned girl growled in Aeon’s face.  “She’d better be alright!  We were told she was sick and that only you could help her, but it’s been too long and I-!”

“Celi?!” Mina exclaimed, a smile bursting onto her lips

Turning away from Aeon, Celine gaped at Mina.  A few solitary tears ran down her cheeks as she stumbled over to the emerald haired girl and wrapped her arms around Mina’s shoulders.  Closing her eyes, Mina leaned against Celine’s chest and let out a sigh of relief.

“Hehe, guess that makes it all worthwhile, eh?” Looking over Celine’s shoulder, Mina saw Yuka next to the door, wearing a sleeveless white tunic and a leather smock with matching work pants.  “Half thought she’d tear up the forest ta find ya,” she snickered and waved at Mina.

“Will she be alright, Aeon?” Both Mina and Celine turned their heads when they saw Gadius step inside.

“The surgery was a success,” Aeon replied, “She will be fine.”

Ambling over to her side, Gadius gave Mina and Celine a curt bow before ruffling Mina’s hair.  “Glad to see you up and about.  You gave me quite a scare when you and Aeon popped out of thin air inside my home.”

“I…I’m sorry,” Mina hung her head.

“Relax, I’m just glad you’re okay.  Everyone is,” Gadius laughed, “And with good reason.  Twould be a shame for such a lovely lady to meet her end while still in the springtime of youth,” he took Mina’s hand and kissed it delicately.

“Ain’t she a bit young for ya, Gadius?” Yuka snorted, “At least give her till she’s fully grown before ya start hittin on her.”

Kinana batted Gadius’s lips away from Mina’s hand and scowled at the jela-vey.  “I agree.  She’s too much of a treasure for you.”

“For any of you,” Celine hissed, squeezing Mina tighter.

Yuka rolled her eyes while Gadius smirked at the two girls.  Kinana, however, looked hurt by Celine’s words.  Floating over to Aeon’s side, she leaned into him while scowling at Celine.  The lich patted her hand and gave her shoulder an affectionate nibble with his lipless mouth.  She suppressed a giggle and twisted her tongue into Aeon’s empty eye socket.

            “Celi…where’s Daryl?” Mina broke from her friend’s embrace and looked her straight in the eyes.  “Is she-”

“Tcch,” Celine grunted, “She was waiting with me until Nerise started talking about magic.  The damned fool got so engrossed in her discussion that she forgot about us.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Gadius shrugged.  “She seems like a sweet girl who’s only trying to make the best of a bad situation.”

            “That…sounds about right,” Mina sighed and managed a weak smile.

            “Yuka,” Aeon interjected, folding his hands behind his back, “I gave instructions not to be interrupted unless it was ready.”

 “Oh, right!” Yuka snapped her fingers.  “One sec!”  She dashed outside and returned less than a minute later holding a leather dress.  It was darker than Celine’s and seemed to be stitched together from several different pieces of leather.  “Dakon didn’t have a big enough piece of leather, so Echidna had ta stitch a few together.  Did a pretty good job of it too.  Hope it fits her.”

“We shall see,” Aeon replied.  “Lay it down on the table.  Now, I must ask that the rest of you leave us for a moment.  I must speak with Minava in private.”

“I’m not leaving her again!” Celine grabbed Mina’s hand and narrowed her eyes at Aeon.

“I’ll be fine, Celi,” Mina mumbled, squeezing her friend’s hand.  “If he didn’t hurt me while I was unconscious, why would he now?”

“I…but…” Celine stammered.  “Ugh, fine…but I’ll be listening in!  If you hurt her-”

“I will not,” Aeon cut her off.  Celine gave him a curt nod and reluctantly let go of Mina’s hand.  After dropping off the dress, Yuka followed Gadius and Celine outside and they closed the door behind them.

Forcing herself to look in Aeon’s direction, Mina felt her body involuntarily shudder.  “So…what did you need to say?” she asked.

“Dress yourself first,” Aeon retorted.

“Here, I’ll help,” Kinana said.  Grabbing the leather dress Yuka had left on the wood table, she walked over to Mina and handed it to her.  Then, taking the blanket Mina had wrapped herself in, Kinana held it up between Mina and Aeon, like a screen.

Glancing from the dress to Kinana, Mina blushed and quickly shoved the dress over her head.  Though it was a little too big for her, the leather was soft and warm, almost like a fur coat.  When she had finished dressing, she jumped off the table where she had been sitting.  Once her legs touched the wood floor, however, they gave out and Mina nearly fell over.  Kinana dropped the blanket and grabbed Mina to hold her up, getting tangled in the blanket as she did so.

“Thank you, Miss…” Mina stopped and suppressed a giggle when she saw that the blanket was caught on Kinana’s horns and one of her wings.  “Let me get that for you, Miss Kinana,” she smiled, unhooking the blanket from her head.

“You okay?” Kinana asked, steadying Mina with her tail and allowing her to grasp her hand to stay upright.

“Yeah, just…a bit tired is all,” Mina said.

“That will pass, in time,” Aeon broke in.  Another shiver went down Mina’s spine as he drew near and she hid behind Kinana.  “However, I fear we are not done with your surgery yet.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Mina asked.

“The surgery for detaching a soul satchern from its host is complex,” Aeon replied.  “It involves cleansing the soul satchern from your physical body as well as removing any taint it may have left on your soul.  And souls are difficult to sift through, even for a lich.  I fear we have not removed all the soul satchern within you.”

For a moment, there was silence between the three of them.  Mina lowered her eyes and crept further behind Kinana.  “Are you going to force me to stay here?” she squeaked.

“Of course not,” Kinana stroked Mina’s hair.  Her hands were hesitant and her voice contained a hint of sadness.  “No one’s going to make you stay.”

“However, you must return to us within five days time,” Aeon added, “To finish the treatment.”

“And…” Mina shrank from Aeon’s gaze, her heart thumping in her chest, “What if I don’t?”

“Then you will suffer complications,” Aeon murmured, folding his hands behind his back.

“You mean…I’ll get sick?”

“Correct,” Aeon nodded.  “Should complications occur, your body will waste away and your wits will leave you.  Your body is only meant to house your own soul.  If the satchern containing Lucia’s soul is not removed completely, your body and soul will start to reject each other.”

Mina’s eyes widened and her heart pounded loud enough that she could hear it.  She gulped down air in quick shallow breaths and felt her eyes tearing up.

“Aeon!  You’re scaring her!” Kinana snapped.  Kneeling down next to Mina, Kinana put her arms around the girl and held her close.  Her warmth reassured Mina and she calmed down somewhat.

“She has a right to know, Kinana,” Aeon said.  “If she chooses not to return, then she should know what awaits her.”

 “Is…is that why I had to have a change of clothes?” Sniffing back tears, Mina looked down at her new leather dress.  “Is that stuff really so dangerous?”

“It is,” Aeon said.

“We had to burn your old dress,” Kinana added, lowering her eyes.  “On the bright side, your body isn’t scarred at all.  And what a cute body it is,” she rubbed her cheek against Mina’s.

Mina’s face exploded into a bright red and she pulled away from Kinana so fast that she stumbled and fell backwards.  “Wh-what?!” she exclaimed.

“Oops,” Kinana stuck out her tongue and laughed, “That probably sounded dirty.  Sorry.  It’s just in my nature, I guess.  I am a succubus, after all.”

“A…what?”

“It is a type of Goetian with the ability to draw the souls out of other beings and feed on their sexual desires,” Aeon bluntly replied.  “Without this ability, it would have taken several days rather than several hours to treat you.”

“O-oh…ummm…th-thank you then, Miss Kinana,” Mina stammered, her face still burning red.

“Isn’t she cute?” Kinana laughed before kneeling down and helping Mina to her feet.  “You’re so polite, little Minava.”

“Please…just call me Mina, Miss Kinana,” Mina blushed at the succubi’s touch, but did not pull away.  “So…it looks like I don’t have a choice, do I?” she balled her hands into fists and kept her eyes on the floor, unable to look Aeon in the face.

“We all have a choice, Minava,” Aeon said.  “However, you only have five days before your condition worsens.  By then, you must decide for yourself what you fear more.  Me…or death.”

“I…I can’t stay here though!  I need to go back to my uncle’s inn.  He’s probably worried sick about me!”

“Agreed.  It would be wise if you returned home for now,” Aeon lowered himself to the floor and raised her chin with his skeletal finger so that she was looking directly into his eye sockets, which were filled with green flames.  “Minava.  I give you my word that for the next five days my comrades and I will wait outside of Gesthal for you.  However, if we do this, I want your promise that you will not turn us over to the clergy or the border guards.”

As Mina stared into Aeon’s eye sockets, she felt a cold chill run down her spine and began to tremble, but she did not look away.  “I…I suppose we owe you that much,” she mumbled.  “I…I promise.  Just…please don’t hurt anyone.”

“Of course,” Aeon released her and floated back into the air.  “That was never my intention.”

Dropping her eyes to the floor, Mina struggled to keep her heartbeat steady.  There was a squeeze on her shoulder and Kinana whispered in Mina’s ear, “He may look grim, but you can count on him.  You don’t need to be scared.”

“R-right,” Mina said.  She stepped forward without Kinana’s help, and though her legs trembled, she faced the lich.  “I…ummm…Aeon, right?” The lich gave her a curt nod.  “Well…I…ummm…I mean, I’m grateful, for-”

“Gesthal draws near,” Aeon said, without acknowledging Mina’s words.  He floated over to the hollow tree’s wooden door and pulled it open.  “Kinana, I leave her in your care.  Collect her friends and come to the exit to Acacia.  I will be waiting there for you.”

“And what will you be doing in the meantime?” Kinana called back.

“I must speak with Raschid about his…prank…on our guest,” Aeon hissed.  Mina saw his eyes flicker with brilliant green fire before he passed through the door and disappeared.

Only when Aeon had departed did Mina’s trembling cease.  She dropped to the floor, clutching her heart and Kinana was next to her in an instant.

“He really does scare you, doesn’t he?” the succubus whispered sadly.

Averting her gaze from Kinana’s golden eyes, Mina merely replied, “I’ve seen what his kind can do, Miss Kinana.”

“So have I, little Mina,” Kinana said as she helped Mina to her feet.  “So have I.”

Save for the stars above and two small bonfires, it was dark outside when they finally emerged from the tree.  With what little light she had, Mina was able to make out that they were on the edge of a huge field, filled to the brim with exotic plants, curious fruits, malformed vegetables.  The whole area was part of a large clearing, with trees surrounding them on all sides.  Turning her gaze skyward, Mina saw the stars and clouds pass over them quickly, even though the ground she stood on seemed relatively stable.

“We’re…in the forest, right?” Mina whispered, her eyes wide with wonder.  “The one I saw when I first entered Acacia?”

“Yep.  Well, to be specific, this is Gadius’s garden.  The others gathered here to wait for you, so let’s go find your friends,” Kinana said, pulling Mina along.

Falling into step behind her, Mina squeezed Kinana’s hand and her own was squeezed in return.  The Goetian looked down at her and winked.  Feeling her breathing steady, Mina smiled at Kinana.  “Ummm…Miss Kinana…are you and Aeon…married?”

A lusty laugh burst out of Kinana’s throat.  “Married?!  Me?!  Haha, no, little Mina.  I’m merely bound to Aeon through a Goetian contract.  Though…I suppose you could call it marriage of a sort,” she put her hand over her heart and let out a whimsical sigh.  “Aeon called upon me for the pleasures of my body…but he ended up teaching me of the pleasures of the heart.”

Feeling her cheeks burning, Mina lowered her eyes and fell silent.

“I’d never betray him,” Kinana whispered, lifting her hand up to Mina’s cheek and rubbing it against her skin.  “But you are a treasure…maybe I should…”

Mina pulled away and fell onto the grass with a squeal of surprise.  Her face looked as though she’d swallowed an entire mouthful of Hamelin pepper.

“Oh, relax,” Kinana laughed, reaching down and scooping Mina up before depositing her back on her feet.  “I’m just teasing you.  I thought…a little levity might be in order.  After all, you’ve been through a lot.”  When Mina looked up at Kinana’s face it glowed with warmth and a smile played upon her lips.

Mina’s heart sank and she felt a tear come to her eye, but she blinked it back.  “Miss Kinana…please, forgive me,” she whispered, “You and Aeon have been very kind to me, but-”

“Pfft, me more than Aeon,” Kinana snorted.  “I may love the man, but he’s not one to mince words.  Anyway, don’t let it trouble you.  It’s only natural to be a little scared.”

A smile came to Mina’s face and she took Kinana’s hand for support as they approached the first bonfire.  The firelight illuminated Echidna’s massive form.  She cradled something in her arms and held it up to one of her breasts, which had been pulled out of her tunic.  Seated next to her were the purple skinned Dakon and bronze skinned Celine, laughing and talking together.  On the other side of the bonfire was Yuka, sharpening her wrist mounted blade on a whetstone.

“Oi!  Mina!  Kinana!” the neeg jumped to her feet and walked over to them.  “Good ta see that you’re up and about,” Yuka smirked and clapped Mina on the back so hard she nearly fell over.  “I was right.  Dress fits ya like a dream, don’t it?”

“Haha, yes, Miss...Yuka, was it?” Mina laughed nervously, rubbing her sore back.

“Not miss, thank ya kindly.  Just Yuka,” the neeg smiled at her with pristine white teeth, “I ain’t no lady, so no need for fluff.”

“Mina…” Mina, Kinana, and Yuka turned and saw Celine get up and amble over to them.  When the glow of the flames touched Celine’s face, Mina saw that she was scowling at Yuka.  “Can you leave us, for a few moments, Yuka?”

“Ah, so ya know my name now, eh?” Yuka snorted.  “Sure.  Whatever,” she shrugged.

“Miss…I mean, Yuka,” Mina stammered, glancing from Celine to the neeg woman.  “I’m sorry about this.  It’s just that-”

“Ah, forget about it,” Yuka shook her head, “No big deal.  Anyway, thanks for pullin me outta that tree,” she nodded at Celine.  “Never thought I’d fall so far from uncle Merkel’s tower…”

“Ummm…and thank you for helping us in the forest,” Mina quickly added, taking Yuka’s hand and giving it a shake.

The neeg looked down at her hand and grinned.  “Ah, I didn’t do much.  You’re welcome, though.”  Whistling as she walked, the green skinned woman brushed past Celine and disappeared into the forest.

Steadying Mina with her tail, Kinana frowned at Celine.  “You’ve been a bit harsh with her, don’t you think?  Yuka’s a good girl.  Why-”

“It’s none of your business,” Celine spat.  “And why are you clinging to Mina like that?  The surgery’s over, isn’t it?!”

“It’s okay, Celi,” Mina mumbled, “I’m still a little sick so Miss Kinana is helping me.”

Celine scowled at Kinana, who returned her scowl with an impassive stare.  A purple hand on Celine’s shoulder made her jump and she turned around to see Dakon and Echidna behind her.

“You can relax.  She might look like trouble, but Kinana’s very kind,” Dakon said.  “She won’t hurt your sister.”

“Sister?” Kinana glanced down at Mina, then back up at Celine.  “You two sure don’t look alike.”

“Sisters by adoption,” Celine said, kneeling down next to Mina.  “You alright?  That lich didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“N-No, he…he was…very kind,” Mina stammered.

“I told you there was nothing to fear,” Echidna laughed, ruffling Celine’s hair.

“Yeah, yeah,” Celine chuckled, squirming out from under Echidna’s large hand.

“Dakon and…Miss Echidna, right?” Mina stepped up to the purple skinned man and his much larger wife.  They nodded to her and Mina responded with a bow.  “I…wanted to thank you for helping us before.”

“Haha, she’s going to do that to everyone here, isn’t she?” Dakon laughed and gave Celine’s arm a little nudge.

Shrugging, Celine put her arm around Mina and laughed.  “What can I say…it’s her nature.”

Blushing hard, Mina lowered her eyes to the ground.  “So, is that a new one?” she heard Kinana mutter.  Looking up, Mina saw that what was cradled in Echidna’s arms was a little bundle of fur with small, leathery wings, a long tail with spikes coming out the end, and a small, rounded head, lapping at her breast.

“A baby?!” Mina gasped, stumbling over to Echidna and almost losing her balance as she did so.  Celine and Kinana caught her and they all gathered around the larger woman.

“Hmm?  Oh, yes.  This little one’s name is Kal.  He’s only a week old, so I still have to suckle him.”

“He’s adorable!” Mina squealed, reaching over and tickling the little ball of fur.  It let out a low purr and went back to sucking on Echidna’s nipple.

“I really envy you, Echidna,” Kinana sighed, poking at the ball of fluff with her tail.  “You not only get to have kids, but you’ve got such a lovely mate…” she smirked and tickled Dakon under the chin with her hand.  The purple skinned man raised an eyebrow in her direction, but otherwise did not react.

“Hand’s off, succubus,” Echidna growled good naturedly.  “He’s mine.”

“So…” Celine interjected, blushing a little as she did, “Is it time to go?”

“I think so.  We need to go find Daryl,” Mina replied.

“Easy enough.  The princess ought to still be with Nerise.”  Turning to Dakon and Echidna, Celine smiled and held out a hand.  “Thanks for everything.  It’s been a lot of fun.”

“The pleasure was ours,” Dakon nodded.  “It’s not everyday we meet a girl who’s skinned a cu sith with her bare hands while running with a pack of fenris.”

“Haha, yeah, I had some wild times before I settled in with Mina and Kano,” Celine snickered.

“I hope you can come back sometime,” Echidna added, planting a small kiss on Celine’s forehead.  “All of my children are really quite fond of you.”

Waving as they went, Celine took Mina’s hand and led her and Kinana towards the other bonfire on the far side of the clearing.  “This sure is a weird place, huh?” she smiled at Mina.

“You get used to it after a while, though,” Mina giggled, squeezing both Celine and Kinana’s hands.  “It feels nice, being back among so many strange and wonderful voices.”

“Sounds like our little family’s nothing new to you.”

The three of them turned and saw a figure garbed in a black cloak melt out of the darkness.  “I do not believe we have been introduced.  I am Vincent,” he bowed deeply, his pale skin almost glowing against the blackness of the night.

“Minava,” Mina curtsied, “but everyone calls me Mina.”

“Celine,” the bronze skinned girl nodded at the man.  “So…you’re a teythen, right?”

The man’s crimson eyes flickered and he averted his gaze from the girls.  “That is correct.”

“Oh, don’t be so gloomy, Vincent!” Kinana sighed, leaning over and dragging the man over to the two girls by the arm.  Even in the dark, Mina could see color rise to his cheeks and a small grin played at his lips.  “If they’ll sit and talk with a nal-vey and an omnara, you really think they’ll be scared of a teythen?”

“I…have my reasons for staying at a distance,” Vincent replied, straightening the bandana he wore over his white hair.  Turning to Mina, he added, “I merely wanted to say…I am grateful for your offer in the forest.”

“It was just a little blood,” Mina shrugged.  “And you seem like a good person.  You did protect us, after all.”

“Hmm,” Vincent stroked his chin. “It is unusual for people to be so accepting of my kind outside of Ahri.  This is a pleasant surprise.  I must admit, I was somewhat concerned when your friend-”

“Yeah, Daryl’s a bit…pampered,” Celine snorted.  “Our little princess doesn’t get that the clergy might be wrong about a few things.”

“Nevertheless, I am grateful.  I hope your time here has not been too…unsettling.”

A shiver ran down Mina’s spine, but she tried to hide it.  “It was fine,” she said hurriedly.

“Good,” Vincent nodded, before pulling out a small flask and taking a quick drink.  “Forgive me, but I have business I must attend to,” he added, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

“Oh…umm…okay,” Mina said.  “It was nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Vincent nodded at her before taking a few steps backwards and vanishing into the trees.

“Ugh, he’s so stiff,” Kinana grunted, folding her arms across her chest.  “It’s not like we’re strangers.  There’s no need to be so formal all the time.”

“It’s just in his nature, I guess,” Celine murmured, narrowing her eyes at Kinana.  “Come on.  The princess is just over there,” she pointed to the bonfire at the edge of the clearing.

When the three of them drew close, Mina saw that three figures were seated around the fire.  The little girl with long, coarse black hair and a robe that was too big for her was seated next to Daryl, who was engaged in a lively conversation with her and had laid her expensive purple cloak on the log next to her.  On the other side of the fire was the brown haired conjurer, gazing down at his bandaged right hand.

Looking up from his hand, the conjurer noticed them coming and waved.  “Oh…uh, hey!  Pull up a seat, if you want,” he patted the log he was sitting on.  “There’s plenty of room.”

“Why are you sitting all alone, Deminos?” Kinana flapped her wings and floated over to the conjurer, landing next to him on the log.  “Don’t tell me you’re scared of girls…” she smirked, nudging him with her hips.

“N-No, it’s not like that!” he grunted, turning bright red and scooting away from Kinana.  “It’s just… it’s pretty clear I’m not wanted over there,” the conjurer snorted, jutting his thumb out at Daryl and the little girl.

“Why would you think that?” Mina asked, taking a seat next to the young man named Deminos.

“Did the princess give you the brush off since we’re not in danger anymore?” Celine sighed.

Glaring up at Mina and Celine, Deminos let out a grunt and turned his gaze back to the fire and flexed his bandaged hand.  “Something like that.”

“What happened?” Mina asked, scooting a little closer to Deminos.

“When we first met it was all, ‘protocol this’ and ‘we beg your protection’ that, but now…” Deminos blew air out of the side of his mouth and glared at Daryl.  “But now that she’s got no use for me, I may as well not even exist.”

Looking over at Daryl, Mina and Celine saw that she was enraptured by what the little girl was saying.  “Wait, say that again.  I’m not sure I understand this whole ‘Void energy’ business,” Daryl raised an eyebrow at the little girl skeptically.

“Okay.  See, the power I use in my necromancy is Void energy.  Void Energy is the essence of the soul,” the little girl said with a childish smile on her lips.  “We all know that the Void is the stream of souls which binds the worlds Shanadia created together.  But what some people forget is that it’s just like the Leyline.  The Leyline is a stream of life, while the Void is a stream of souls.  And, since they’re so similar, it’s not that hard to use Void energy for magic just like how we use Leyline energy.”

“So…it’s like a secondary source of power?” Daryl mused, rubbing her upper lip, “I mean, can it heal like holy magic or kick up fire or ice like elemental magic?”

“Uh-uh,” the little girl shook her head.  “Void energy is the opposite of Leyline energy.  Leyline energy creates the tangible, like a body, and Void energy creates the intangible, like a soul.”  The little girl spoke frankly and childishly, but with knowledge that belied her appearance.  “The Leyline gives the world life and all the laws surrounding that life.  However, by introducing a small amount of Void energy into the world, you can kind of bend those laws.  That’s basically what necromancy is.  Normally, a soul can only exist in a living body.  But we bend the law a teensy bit and we can briefly put a soul into a dead body for a short time.”

“I never would have guessed…” Daryl mused.  “Tell me, Nerise, does teleportation magic make use of Void energy as well?  You said it bent the natural laws of the world and I can think of nothing more unnatural than moving between distant lands instantaneously.”

“Tcch, teleportation magic,” Deminos snorted.  “You really think you can boil something that complex down so easily?” he growled at Daryl, “Listen up!  If you know what’s good for you, you’ll forget trying to understand teleportation.  Without years of training, you’ll just end up splattered across five different kingdoms the first time you try it.”

Daryl glowered at Deminos.  “I don’t recall asking your opinion.”

“Well, thank you both for that wonderful image,” Kinana let out a sigh and stepped between the two of them.  “No doubt the next time I take my meal, all I’ll see is a bloody smear from the Bay of Bendak to the Gollian lowlands.”

“Kina?” Nerise tilted her head to the side before a huge grin split from her lips.  “Kina!” she jumped off the log she was sitting on and ran over to Kinana before jumping into the air, latching onto the succubus’s chest, and smothering her face in Kinana’s bosom.  “KinaKinaKinaKina!!!”  she squealed.

Everyone present turned a bright shade of red, save for Kinana, who merely laughed and patted Nerise on the head.  “I missed you too, Neri,” she said, extricating the girl from her breasts and nuzzling her cheek.  “Have you been entertaining our guests like a good girl?”

“Uh-huh!” Nerise bobbed her head up and down.

“Kina?” Daryl repeated before finally noticing Mina and Celine.  “Mina!” she ran over to Mina and hugged her.  “I was really worried!  I…I didn’t know what to think when I heard that…that lich was going to be the one treating you,” she lowered her eyes.

“You can relax, Daryl.  I’m fine,” Mina smiled, looking from her friend to the impish little girl held in Kinana’s arms.  “This place is a little crazy though.”

“Dary, who’s your friend?” Nerise asked when Kinana put her down.

“It’s Daryl, Nerise,” Daryl sighed.  “Anyway, this is Mina and the vagabond.”

“Hey!” Celine exclaimed.

“Haha…Mina and Kina,” Nerise giggled.  “Hi there.  I’m Nerise, but you can call me Neri,” she waved at Mina and Celine.

“Ummm…nice to meet you,” Mina let out a nervous laugh and held out her hand, only to have Nerise run up and hug her.  When she was done with Mina, she hugged Celine too.

“Vagabond is a weird name.  Why’d your parents call you that?” Nerise mumbled, still clinging to Celine.

Slapping her forehead with her palm, Celine sighed.  “My name’s not vagabond, kid.  It’s Celine.  Celine Gren.”

“Oh!  Haha, that makes more sense,” the little girl laughed.

“Well, this is sickeningly cute and all, but I think it’s time for me to leave.  Before you lot make me hurl,” Deminos grunted and got to his feet.

“Awww, Demi, don’t be like that,” Nerise whined.  “We want you to stay!”

“We do?” Daryl whispered to Celine, only to be rewarded with a quick shot to the kidneys to silence her.

“My name isn’t Demi, Nerise!” Deminos yelled.  “It’s Deminos.  Deminos Savant!  Jeez…the way you say my name, I sound like a stupid girl!”  Instantly, a sea of scowls bore down on Deminos from everyone around him.  “Err…I didn’t mean it like-”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Celine retorted.  “Excuse us for being ‘stupid girls!’”

“Look, I didn’t-”

“Ummm…” Mina tugged on Deminos’s sleeve to interrupt him.  The conjurer eyed her suspiciously and pulled his sleeve free of her grasp.

“What is it?” he grunted.

“I just wanted to thank you for saving us in the forest,” Mina bowed deeply, even though she was still scowling at him.  “It was very…heroic, of you.”

Deminos’s face flushed and he quickly turned away.  “S-sure.  You’re welcome or…whatever,” he mumbled before stalking off into the forest.

“Hmmph.  Typical Telnumbran,” Daryl sneered.

“Demi’s not usually so crabby,” Nerise scratched at her cheek and let out a quick yawn.  “He’s usually pretty nice.  When he’s not being crabby.”

“I wanted to thank you too,” Mina smiled and knelt down next to Nerise.  “Without you, we would have died.”

“Oh!” Nerise gasped.  “I remember now!  You’re the screaming girl!”

Immediately, Mina’s smile faded and her face turned bright red.  “I…um…yeah…I…I suppose I am.”

“I hope you’re okay,” Nerise put her hand on Mina’s forehead.  “Aeon said he’d treat you.  Are you feeling better?  He’s a good doctor.  You hungry?  I’ve got some snacks if you wan-”

A small gurgle escaped Mina’s stomach and she put her hands over it.  “No…I’m fine, Nerise.  Really,” she laughed.

“I hope that is the truth, young lady.”  Mina jumped at the sound of a soft, voice from behind her.  Gadius stepped out of the forest, clothed in nothing but a pair of dark green trousers.  He knelt down next to Mina and took her hand.  After feeling her wrist for a moment, he began to press his fingers against Mina’s cheeks, neck, and temples.

“Get off her!” Celine yelled, grabbing for Gadius’s arms.

Flashing her the warmest, most ingratiating smile he could muster, Gadius said, “Relax.  I am merely examining Aeon’s handiwork.  So, do you feel any pain anywhere?” he turned back to Mina.

“N-no…I’m alright,” she stammered, pulling away from Gadius’s probing fingers.  “And…umm…thank you for saving us in the forest.  And for helping me when I was sick,” Mina added.  “Mr…?”

“Hmm?  Ah, how rude of me,” he slapped his forehead.  Getting back to his feet, the muscular man gave Mina a low bow.  It was so low that she could see a pair of pointed ears sticking out of his hair.  “I am Gadius Yggdrl.  It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Ummm…I’m Min-” Mina started to say, only to have Daryl butt in.

“Daryl Telvun!” she said with a curtsy.  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yggdrl.”

“Just Gadius, if you don’t mind,” he smiled at her and lifted her chin with his hand.  “My…what a pretty young lady.  I am sorry for all your troubles, I-” he stopped mid sentence when Nerise bonked him on the head with her toy scepter.

“Gadi!  Aeon told you to behave, didn’t he?”

With a sigh, Gadius backed away from Daryl, who was frozen in place, her face glowing red.  “I suppose he did.  Right after he sent me to fetch you three.  Come on.  I’ll lead you out of the forest.”

Celine cast a frosty glare towards the smirking jela-vey.  “I don’t like you,” she snorted.

“What a shame.  If only you’d lose the attitude, you might actually be cute,” Gadius winked at her.

“Mina and Dary and Celi…will you come back?” Nerise lowered her eyes.

“I don’t know…I’d like to, but-” Daryl started to say.

“Sure…we’ll be back soon, Neri,” Mina quickly interjected.

“Yay!  I can’t wait!” Nerise threw her hands up in the air and laughed.

“Come on,” Gadius said, stepping back into the forest. “Given how the sky looks now, I’d wager it’s about twenty minutes till dawn.  Acacia will touch down before that, so with any luck you can be back in your beds before sun up.”  The three girls and Kinana followed Gadius through the forest, which he navigated with ease.

“So, I heard the little girl storming off into the woods.  I suppose no one was paying attention to him, eh?” Gadius muttered good naturedly.

“Little girl?  Does he mean Nerise?” Mina started to ask Kinana.

“He means Deminos,” Kinana frostily replied.  “Gadius, why must you hound the boy so?  He is no less stable than you were when you first arrived here.”

“Because of that damnable chip on his shoulder, my sweet Kinana,” Gadius smirked.

“Yeah, it’s official, you’re an ass,” Celine snorted.

“Shush, vagabond!” Daryl growled, her eyes fixed on Gadius’s sculpted body, hairless chin, and beautiful face.

Slowing his stride to match Kinana’s, Gadius put a hand under her chin.  “Since my home was taken over by Aeon, I had to cancel my date with a lovely trio of harpies.  Would you be interested in filling the time slot?”

“No chance in any of the Goetia’s nine hells,” Kinana snarled.

“Well, it was worth a shot,” Gadius shrugged.  There was a sudden tremor all around them, rustling the leaves of the trees, which stopped almost as soon as it had started. “It seems like we’ve touched down.  Best hurry.”

Stepping out of the forest, they appeared to be in a grassy meadow overlooking a desolate valley.  On the far side of the meadow, near a wall of cliffs was the hallway that Mina and the others had entered Acacia through.  Stoically floating in place by the doorway was the skeletal form of Aeon.

“Wait…shouldn’t we still be in there?” Celine jutted her thumb in the direction of the forest.  “I was wandering in that forest for hours before I found my way through.”

“When you’ve got grace and beauty, even the trees make way for you,” Gadius smirked.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he added before turning around and disappearing into the forest.

“What a pompous fool…” Celine snorted.

“But he was a handsome, pompous fool,” Daryl blushed.  “And a native of Lucaria.”

“And that’s all that matters to you, huh, princess?” Celine sneered.

“Not all of us want to end up as vagabonds, you know!” Daryl retorted.

“Aeon’s waiting.  Should we-” Kinana muttered, pointing at the pair of arguing girls.

“No, it’s best to just leave them be.  They’ve been like this from the moment I introduced them,” Mina sighed, heading towards the doorway with Kinana.  After a few minutes, the sullen pair caught up with them, averting their eyes from each other.

Floating forward to meet them, Aeon looked directly into Mina’s eyes.  His piercing gaze and the cold that seemed to radiate from his body made Mina shiver and look away. “There were no problems?” he stated more than asked.

“Nope.  She’s a lot stronger than we thought,” Kinana smiled, patting Mina’s shoulder.

“Very well.  You are dismissed,” Aeon said, locking eyes with Kinana.  The succubus nodded to him and a circle of light appeared at her feet.  The circle contained a heart shaped sigil held within a pentagram, with runic characters all around it.  Kinana gave Mina’s shoulder one last squeeze before she slid into the circle and disappeared.

Without another word, Aeon pulled the door to the hallway leading out of Acacia open and beckoned Mina and the others inside.  With a snap of his fingers, the walls lit up with torchlight and Aeon led the three girls through the stone passage.  None of them spoke until the doorway to the outside came into sight.

Rushing ahead, as if Aeon intended to eat them right there, Daryl pushed the door open and stepped onto the snowy grass outside, taking a deep breath of the cool morning air just as the sun started to peak over the horizon.  They were at the edge of the forest just south of Gesthal and could see a tiny outline of the town in the distance.  “We’re alive…and we’re home!” Daryl nearly cried out.

“Yeah…well, anyway…” Celine turned to Aeon, scratching the back of her head anxiously.  After a second, she got down on her knees and bowed to him.

“Celi?!” Mina mumbled.

“What do you think you’re doing, Celine?!” Daryl snapped.  “He’s a-” she thought better of finishing her sentence after looking at Aeon’s skeletal form.

“I feel like I owe you this much,” Celine said, looking up at Aeon.  “I don’t care how grim you are.  You saved my best friend’s life and I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“You owe me no thanks,” Aeon retorted.  “Her mishap was my fault.  Had I been more careful, she would not have suffered.”

“I…um…” Mina stammered.  “I’m sorry…for what happened in the lab.”

Looking directly at Mina, Aeon’s eyes bloomed with fiery green light.  “Remember, Minava.  I can only wait five days.”

“I…understand,” Mina said, glancing from Aeon to her two friends.  “Thank you.”

“So, have you thanked everyone on the island yet?” Celine put her arm around Mina and laughed.

“N-Not everyone, I don’t think,” Mina blushed and lowered her eyes.  “Anyway, let’s just go home.”

 “Hey, what about this place?!” Daryl snorted, looking out at the massive island that seemed as big as the mountains that lay behind it.  “You can’t just leave this place here.  It’s too big!  People will spot it the moment they look out their windows!”

When she had finished speaking, Aeon raised his hand, which was sparkling with a black light that seemed to shimmer in mid air, and touched it to Acacia’s wall.  In an instant, the entire island disappeared and in its place, a large, but smooth hill appeared, with an iron door set into the wall of the hill.  Pulling the door open, Aeon stepped inside.

“When I close this door, it too shall vanish.  However, if you knock three times on the hill, it will reappear.  Keep that in mind,” Aeon said before grabbing hold of the door and pulling it shut.  After the door was closed, it melded into the hill and disappeared from sight.

The three girls looked at the hill for a moment before making their way along the edge of the forest towards the outline of Gesthal.

“So, what do we do now?” Daryl mumbled.  “Should we tell Angelo and the clergy about everything that’s happened?”

“We can’t…” Mina sighed.  “I promised Aeon that we wouldn’t.”

“You made a promise to a lich?!” Daryl exclaimed.  “What would possess you to do something like that?!”

“It seemed like the right thing to say at the time,” Mina groaned, holding her growling stomach.

“Look, let’s save the arguing for after we’ve had some food and rest,” Celine sighed.  “For now, let’s just keep what happened to ourselves.  As far as we know, we got lost in the forest overnight before stumbling back into town.”

“I hope everyone’s okay.  They were on their way to Steadfall when we-” Mina started to say, but her words died in her throat when she saw two figures approach them in the morning light.  One was swathed in a white cloak with a layer of sand on it, while the other was a muscular man with shaggy black hair peeking out of a soiled coat.

The pair of men gawked at the trio, as if they had come from an entirely different world.  “You’re here…you’re safe!” Wrec exclaimed, running out and embracing Mina joyously.  “Oh, man!  Kano’s been beside himself with worry!  C’mon, we gotta get you girls home!”

“U-uncle Kano?” Mina stammered, tears blooming in her eyes.  “He’s back?!”

“Yes.  One of the border guards found us and told us the fighting had died down, so we returned to Gesthal,” Nivtenc muttered.  “We assumed you had as well, since we didn’t find you on the road to Steadfall.  However when we got back…”

“Oh, goddess!  My mom must be going crazy!” Daryl squealed.

“Uncle…we made it,” Mina sniffled.

“C’mon, there’ll be time for tears later,” Wrec said, taking Mina’s hand.  “For now, let’s get you some hot food and clean clothes.”