***FYI: Many moons ago I made a small retcon to chapter 4 concerning the events in Lord Borden's vault. This chapter makes a passing reference to the "corrected" version of events. (and BTW, I was never happy with the original version. The corrected version fits the characters so much better.***

***Also, I self-edit so I apologize for anything I missed.***

* * *

CHAPTER 17: "Portals, and Necromancers, and slavers; Oh My!"

Ethan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he looked in the direction of the slaver's camp from the Argo's gangplank.

There were several large square pens with steel bars and thick wooden frames. They were mostly empty, but one had several burly men in it. There were also several small bunkhouses which he assumed housed the dozen or so armed guards scattered around the camp. The guards didn't appear to be heavily armored, but they were heavily armed.

On the outskirts of the camp, butted up against a large hill, was a moderately sized house of wattle and daub construction. Just based on the size and ornate look, he assumed that's where the necromancer lived.

The ground in the entire compound looked to be hardened and cracked sand, which would be quite hot in the full afternoon sun.

Surrounding the entire camp was a fence at least ten feet high with what looked like a crude version of barbed wire lining the top. The only entrance opened onto a road which the camp was situated next to. Across that road and down about a short walk was the earthen ramp that led to the airship dock which the Argo currently occupied.

He turned back to the assembled crew. "So here's the plan: Rachel and I are going down there."

Alana opened her mouth to protest, but he headed her off.

"I know you want to go, but archers are much better from a distance if there's trouble. Plus I'm not risking you or our child, which is why Raklan and Serif are also staying here to guard the ship. If there's trouble, I want you to turn the guards into pincushions from here."

The wood elf nodded. She clearly saw the sense, but also clearly didn't like it.

"These are slavers." He continued. "I don't want to take any chances and I have no moral problems with cutting them down if they attack. That's why I'm bringing some grenades." He nodded toward the satchel. "I hope it doesn't become a fight because we're heavily outnumbered. But if it does, our first priority is to protect each other and defend the Argo. Understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then here we go." He said, activating his disguise gem.

*Be careful master." Taloni thought to him.

*I will.* He thought back.

With Rachel in tow, he led the way down the earthen ramp and across the road to the ten-foot tall double gate. It was made from thick oak boards, was reinforced with wrought iron, and also had a type of barbed wire at the top; these slavers certainly weren't taking any chances. The double gate was open, and half a dozen guards were watching them as they walked up.

"Looking for some slaves?" One of them asked gruffly.

He shook his head. "I hear you have a portal; How much for a trip?" Ethan replied, figuring that being upfront from the beginning about what he wanted was a good idea. He wasn't a very good liar anyway.

The man made a thoughtful, grunting noise. "Wait here, gotta check with Gonorran." Then he walked off.

They waited near the gates for five minutes before the man came back following another man. From the other man's bearing and demeanor, he must be the one in charge here.

He was tall; well over six feet and very thin. He had short hair which was perfectly styled without a single strand out of place. He was wearing a long tan cloak which was perfectly tailored. Underneath it was a smart-looking leather vest that was also tailored. His clothes were clearly high quality, but not ostentatious.

He almost looked like a pleasant fellow except for the eyes. His eyes were... dead. Not like the man wasn't living, but just devoid of light and life. Even though the man was clearly human, his iris had no color, but it was as black as his pupil. They reminded him of beetle's eyes or black marbles. He had a friendly smile that didn't reach his eyes and the air of a sophisticated yet sleazy used-car salesman.

The man looked at Ethan.

He cocked his head to one side, then raised two fingers and made a slight waving motion, almost like a Jedi mind trick or like he was feeling something intangible in the air.

"A dragon with a disguise gem." The man said. "Curious."

"Gonorran I presume?" Ethan replied.

The other man nodded once. "What would a dragon want with my portal?" He spoke every word very clearly and precisely.

"To use it. I need to bring one of my crew to another world for medical attention."

Gonorran raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know they have the medical skills that you need?"

"I've been there before." He replied evasively.

Gonorran made a thoughtful noise and then his eyes flicked up to the Argo. "And what are the odds that one of your crewmembers is a wood elf who wears a green dress?"

Ethan narrowed his eyes.

Gonorran raised his hand. "Peace beast; I have no desire to turn you in to Lord Delmar. He doesn't much approve of slaver traders, and no reward is worth my business."

Ethan glanced at Rachel who nodded. He internally breathed a sigh of relief; at least Lord Delmar got one thing right.

"Besides." Gonorran continued with a glance at Rachel. "I have no wish to embroil myself in a dispute with his daughter, disinherited though she is. I have found fathers to be very protective of their daughters."

Rachel gave a subtle nod of her head.

"Now." Gonorran put on a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I don't suppose I could interest you in a slave to work your ship? I have several strong men who could work the rigging. I also recently acquired a couple young women who would make fine cooks or pleasure slaves."

Ethan resisted the urge to curl his lip in disgust. "I'm not interested in slaves, just the portal."

"Come, let me show you my wares before you decide. Then we can discuss my portal."

Ethan hesitated before nodding.

It was obvious that Gonorran wouldn't take no for an answer and he didn't want

to push his luck. Not with what he'd heard about necromancers.

"Excellent." He said with a gleaming smile that was nevertheless slightly creepy. "My stock is very low right now because I've just had a major client come through. However, I do have a few excellent specimens I've recently acquired."

The slave master led them inside the compound and over to one of the larger cells. Inside were three men, all of whom were in the prime of life and looked incredibly strong.

They also looked dead inside.

"As you can see, we keep them well fed and exercise them regularly to ensure you get years of strong service out of them. We'll throw in a slave collar when you purchase them too, so you don't need to spend any extra coin... like some slave traders make you do." He said with an air of practiced derision.

"I'm not interested." Ethan said gently but firmly. He could feel the scales on the back of his neck starting to stand up. He had the powerful urge to maul the necromancer right here, but resisted for the sake of the crew and especially Beth.

His dragon side didn't seem to care.

After his morning with Taloni and Alana, the dragon had all but gone to sleep. It didn't seem to care one bit about the plight of these men. He kept reminding himself that Beth needed the portal to live again. He figured that maybe - just maybe - he could do something to free these slaves after they had gotten Beth back. He needed to play nice until then, but he hated doing so.

Especially with a slaver.

"Not interested in fine specimens like these?" Gonorran said with surprise that was probably feigned, but he was a good actor.

"We have all the muscle we need." He replied.

Gonorran nodded. "Very well, but you simply must take a look at the women I acquired a few days ago. They aren't quite broken in yet, but they should be soon. Possibly by the time you return."

The necromancer led them to another, smaller cage. Inside were two women; one in her early twenties, the other in her forties. One glance told him they were from Earth. The older one was somewhat overweight and had glasses with plastic frames. The younger woman was wearing mascara that had been mostly cried off, leaving streaks down her cheeks. Their clothes were clearly from Earth too. The younger one wore jeans and a T-shirt, the other wore a pencil skirt and button up blouse.

They looked like schoolteachers.

They were also strapped to a contraption much like a pillory from medieval Europe. Their heads and hands were secured with iron shackles to a straight wooden beam. They could barely move and he couldn't imagine how uncomfortable that must be.

"You can see the old one is a fat hag." Gonorran said carelessly. "But with a little exercise and some starving she'll be alright to work."

The older woman teared up and looked down in shame at his completely unfair assessment. She was a bit overweight, but hardly obese nor old. Ethan again resisted the urge to call his hammer and spear to deal with this disgusting, abominable excuse for a man.

The dragon inside him didn't even raise its head.

It didn't care.

"But just look at this one." Gonorran pointed to the younger one. "Now this one here, she's a looker. Just imagine how she'd look in your bed."

The younger one teared up as well and shuddered. She looked completely hopeless and the expression in her eyes was one of deepest despair. Every single one of Ethan's chivalrous instincts were screaming at him to wipe out every last slaver in the camp to free them.

He glanced around.

There were about ten guards nearby; all of whom were heavily armed.

*Ethan, are you okay?* Alana's voice came over their bond.

*No, I want to rip these assholes apart.*

She didn't reply, but he could feel her struggling with the same things he was.

"Ethan?" The necromancer said when his attention had wandered for slightly too long.

He shook himself out of his reverie, and then realized that he'd been called by his name without introducing himself. "How did you know my name?"

"There are rumors circulating that a dragon used lightning and raised someone from the dead in the Arcanum Arena." Gonorran replied with a skeptical look. "I don't give credence to such puerile rumors, but they do stick out in a man's memory."

Ethan nodded. "Fair enough."

"Now, I see you are a man - or dragon - of discerning tastes." He got a sly grin on his face that again didn't reach his eyes. "I do have some other stock that a discerning dragon such as yourself might appreciate, especially with your long life."

Ethan forced a smile and followed the necromancer to another area with another pen. This one was covered with a large bulap tarp to hide it from prying eyes.

Something wasn't right.

He could feel it.

He could feel that something was well and truly wrong. It wasn't just this tour through a slave camp or the unsavory nature of the slaver himself. It was something else. He could feel something in the air; some sixth sense that something truly revolting was happening.

"Now, I don't show these to everyone, but since nothing else has caught your eye..." He waved his hand and a gust of wind blew the tarp up, so most of it was laying on top of the cage.

His blood ran cold.

He clenched his fist so tight he was surprised he didn't hear his bones snap. The scales at the back of his neck stood up as Rachel gave a sharp intake of breath. He could feel a fire welling up deep within him. He was beyond angry; he was beyond enraged.

They were children.

Six kids who looked like they were around seven or eight years old were clustered in a corner of the cage looking terrified.

"Of course they aren't much good for work yet." Gonorran said like they were discussing the weather. He was apparently too taken with his 'wares' to notice Ethan's body language. "It's hard to get a good day's work of them so young, but you'll save a fortune in the long run by buying young because grown slaves are far more expensive."

Right then Ethan decided that by hook or by crook, he was going to free those children. He wasn't sure how, but he was sure. He didn't have a lot of money on the Argo, but he did have the gold cube...

The dragon woke.

He could feel his dragon instincts bristling at the mere thought of losing a single ounce - even a single gram - of gold.

Ethan clenched his fist so tight he might've cut his palm with his fingernails if he was still human. Diplomacy might actually be a better option here, though the necromancer's head rolling would be far more satisfying.

"Not interested." He said in as normal a voice as he could.

"There aren't many takers for children any since the market changed." Gonorran shrugged with an air of practiced indifference. Then with the air of a sleazy used-car salesman setting up for a line, He said: "I suppose I could drain their life force to power my portal, but I'd rather take your gold for them."

Ethan snapped at the first half of that sentence.

The dragon snapped at the second half.

He had been a dragon for precisely fifty three days. In that entire time, not once had he and his dragon side ever truly agreed. Not once had his rational, human mind been in perfect agreement with the primal force of nature that was his dragon side. They had always fought each other, vying for control.

Until now.

Now they agreed.

Now they were united in purpose and rage.

And while they had different reasons, both dragon rage and human instincts fully agreed on what needed to be done. He flexed his fingers, calling his weapons to his hand.

* * *

Alana felt a tidal wave of emotion surge over their bond. Anger, rage, disgust, and an overwhelming desire for vengeance surged with such force that she physically stumbled at the intensity. Ethan's hammer and spear - which he'd lain on the deck for quick access in case of an emergency - flew into the air, heading toward him faster than she'd ever seen them go.

She looked towards him, expecting to see a battle in progress but they were just out of sight of the airship. She could see Rachel's flame red hair, but a building blocked her view of Ethan. They didn't seem like they were fighting...

*Ethan, what's-*

*They have children here!* A voice roared over their bond; a voice that was neither fully Ethan nor fully dragon, but a strange combination of the two. *And this fucking necromancer will use them to power his portal unless I hand over my gold!*

The contempt and vitriol in his tone was unlike anything she'd ever heard. It took the wood elf several seconds to realize what he meant by 'power his portal', and her blood ran cold when she did.

*Kill them.* Her normally compassionate husband commanded. *Kill them all.*

Without hesitation, she knocked an arrow to her bow and let it fly.

* * *

Rachel recognized the motion of Ethan's hands. She seen him do it enough while he practiced on the Argo to know he was calling his weapons. The logical part of her brain argued that starting a fight with a necromancer inside his compound and surrounded by guards was the worst possible idea.

At this moment, she didn't care.

One look at those kids while knowing what the vile necromancer was willing to do them was enough. She waited until she thought Ethan's weapons must be very close, then gathered her mana.

The moment she did, Gonorran reacted.

He must've sensed it.

He whipped around making a sweeping gesture with his arms as he did so. A powerful blast of concentrated air threw herself and Ethan backwards. Rachel reacted almost on instinct and met his air-ram with her own to cancel it out. She started pulling heat from the hot, sandy ground which was baking in the afternoon sun to form a fireball.

The necromancer was faster.

He hurled a large fireball at her, she leaned back in an attempt to dodge, then an idea struck her. She never would've tried it normally, but his fireball was hastily constructed, and therefore large and slow.

She reached out and took control of the large fireball in mid-air, doing a pirouette while dragging the fireball with her hands and spinning it around with her to launch it back at the original caster.

Gonorran dived out of the way as the fireball carved a sizzling path through the air. He rolled through his landing and came up throwing both of his arms in her direction as he did so. She was caught off guard as a massive air-ram slammed into her, throwing her backwards at least a dozen feet.

She hit the ground, rolled into a crouching position and looked up. The necromancer was calling to his guards and she got ready to attack while his attention was split...

Then she saw the kids.

Gonorran had gusted the tarp out of the way and onto the top of the cage, which allowed the kids to see everting that was happening. She knew how brutal Ethan could be when his dragon side came out and those kids didn't need to see that; they'd been through enough.

Focusing, she grabbed all the air molecules around the tarp and reoriented them. The resultant gust of wind blew the burlap tarp back down so it hung as before, concealing the fight from the children's view.

The delay cost her dearly.

She turned back to the necromancer only to be met with another powerful air-ram that she wasn't prepared for. She was blasted backwards and slammed into one of the buildings. Her head ached and she let herself crumple, hoping that playing dead would give her moment to let her head stop spinning before she launched a surprise counterattack.

It worked.

Apparently, being a slim woman was enough to make the necromancer think she was frail and out of the fight. That was fine by her. As she lay there, she opened her eye a crack to track the fight's progress and saw Ethan fighting.

It was incredible.

It was brutal.

It was downright disturbing.

Ethan had disabled the disguise gem to reveal his draconic form and roared. The sound was earth-shattering and ear-splitting. Despite being near his roars before, this one was on a whole different level. The blind, primal rage conveyed through the terrifying sound was almost palpable. The roar seemed like a nearly physical force that stunned everything within earshot. Even Gonorran - a necromancer - seemed like he was rooted to the spot for a moment.

Her blood ran cold and she felt her body wanting to lock up in primeval dread. It would've been hard to move if she had been inclined to.

She wasn't.

She was biding her time for a surprise attack.

He didn't need her help anyway.

The dragon finished his roar and leapt forward with nearly reckless abandon at the half dozen guards that had been rushing him, but were not root to the spot. He hit one square in the chest, knocking him to the ground. He opened his mouth and literally tore out the man's throat with his razor sharp teeth. The dragon spit the bloody mass of mangled flesh out and used his spear to skewer another one of the guards through the chest.

The other guards finally reacted.

They raised their weapons and Ethan was forced to retreat to avoid them. Gonorran smiled wickedly. He started moving his hands as if there was an invisible orb right in front of him that he was caressing. Slowly, a green light began to form where the center of the orb would be.

He did this for several seconds before Rachel realize what spell he was charging. She was about to shout a warning to Ethan, but it was too late. Gonorran extended both his hands and the green light streaked toward the dragon.

Rachel summoned all of her willpower.

She grabbed every last molecule of air around Ethan and applied her will like she had never done before. She forced them all to change direction instantly, creating the most powerful air-ram she'd ever summoned to blast him out of the way.

It was barely enough.

Ethan was blasted almost twenty feet to the side and the green light missed him by mere inches. The light streaked past and struck one of the guards. His eyes when blank the moment the green light touched him. He crumpled like a sack of potatoes, dead before he hit the dirt.

Gonorran turned to face her and pulled up his hands for another air-ram.

Air-rams were tremendously effective in re-locating your opponents. However, since they hit the entire body at the same time with the same force, it was more like an extremely hard push than a punch... unless you could knock them into something.

Rachel rolled and the necromancer's strike missed. As she rolled, she used her close contact with the sandy ground - which was very hot from the afternoon sun - to gather enough heat for a small fireball. She launched it at devastating speed like a mini-cannonball.

Gonorran crossed his arms over his chest, then whipped them outward as if to ward the micro-fireball away. The fireball impacted on seemingly thin air and completely dissipated.

The necromancer looked at her with interest. "How did a child like you get so skilled?"

She ignored him.

Two guards were trying to sneak up on her. Without looking, she extended her hands rearward and blasted one with each hand. They were thrown backwards and she heard them hit the building behind her with a sickening crunch.

She grimaced, she'd never be able to do that to Gonorran; not being this far away because proximity mattered when controlling the elements, especially against another mage.

Gonorran was momentarily distracted as Ethan let loose another mini-roar before charging the guards again.

Needing to close the distance quickly before he turned back to her, she leapt into the air, firing another air-ram to boost her jump. She made it ten feet into the air at the apex, and as she hurtled toward Gonorran she blasted another one to slow her fall, before grabbing all the air in front of him, determine to knock him into the next kingdom.

She landed mere feet from him, but he had already turned his attention back to her and must've guessed her plan.

She could feel the air resisting her.

Proximity mattered when controlling the elements - especially against another mage - so she took another step closer. She raised her hands, putting all her willpower into this strike.

He responded in kind.

Then both took another step closer, each hoping to get closer than the other to the air under contestation. Both had their hands outstretched. Both had looks of fierce concentration.

Rachel grunted with the effort.

While mana was used to fuel spells, the strength of the spell was entirely dependent on the willpower of the mage. A mage with higher willpower could create far more powerful spells, regardless of how much mana he - or she - had access to.

This wasn't a contest of mana or magical knowledge.

It was purely a contest of willpower.

It was a nineteen year old girl versus a powerful necromancer who'd been practicing magic for decades; an evil mage who'd doubtless had ten times the combat experience that she herself had.

She held her own.

She couldn't believe it, but she held her own.

She could feel her mana being rapidly depleted as the struggle continued. Each was trying to take control of the air between them to blast the other away. Caught in a state of flux, the air turned into a powerful wind blowing out to their right and left sides as the ultra-high pressure air looked for an avenue of escape.

Rachel summoned the depths of her willpower, gathering strength for a final push. For some strange reason, she could feel her birthmark - the one on her left shoulder that resembled dragon scales - tingled slightly as she plumed the depths of her willpower for the resolve to beat this wicked man.

She was winning

She felt it.

He felt it too; She could see it in his eyes.

"How?" He breathed as the powerful winds began to turn in his direction.

"Fuck. You." Rachel replied, then released her coiled willpower into her spell.

There was the tiniest moment of completely calm as his spell was utterly shattered. Her formidable willpower had crushed it into non-existence and the air between the necromancer and the redhead was momentarily without a magical master.

Then her spell hit.

The massive air ram - even more powerful than the one she'd hit Ethan with - landed. The necromancer flew through the air like a stone out of a catapult. She dearly wished that air-rams were more like powerful punches, because he'd be dead if they were. Sadly, the force was spread evenly over the body and so caused very little actual damage.

The necromancer tumbled a few times through the air, then righted himself as he began to fall. He used a gentler air-ram to slow and guide his fall, landing next to one of his dead guards.

He was smiling.

Rachel narrowed her eyes. Why was he smiling? She'd just handed him his ass and he looked very pleased with himself.

The necromancer extended a hand toward the fallen guard. Something flowed from the dead guard's body to the necromancer's hand. It looked like heat waves rising off the desert.

Dark mana.

Rachel could've slapped herself for her stupidity, inexperience, and for forgetting what made necromancers so deadly.

He was absorbing the negatively charged mana from the dead body to replenish his reserves. He looked so pleased because she had used a lot of mana on their contest of wills. He surely had too, but he could replenish it easily thanks to the plentiful number of dead bodies Ethan had left lying around the area.

She couldn't.

She had less than half her mana left and he had just completely refilled his.

"Shit." She breathed as he grinned.

* * *

Alana loosed another arrow. This one missed its mark because of the extreme distance and the target had moved before the arrow arrived. Given the range, she was finding it hard to hit them because they were always moving. She started toward the gangplank to get closer, but a small hand reached out to grab her dress and stop her.

Taloni was sitting on the deck with her back against the solid railing of the Argo. Her legs were pulled up to her chest and her arms were around her knees in a sitting version of the fetal position. She looked terrified.

"Taloni, what's wrong?"

The Fey teen shook her head but didn't speak. She looked like a small child who was terrified.

"What is it?" She asked after kneeling down beside the horrified Fey teen.

"I... I feel..." She managed to get out before she lost her nerve.

"Oh." Alana said as comprehension dawned on her. They were both bonded to Ethan, but she had long ago adjusted the walls of her mental fortress so his dragon emotions didn't overwhelm her.

Taloni hadn't.

The full force of his rage had made the wood elf physically stumble, even with her mental defenses.

The Fey teen didn't even have mental defenses.

The wood elf wanted to kick herself for forgetting to teach Taloni how to shield her mind, but it was too late now. There was no way she could learn it when she was this scared. She felt the emotions coming over their bond with Ethan, and shuddered to think what it must be like to feel them full force. She might be huddled on the deck too.

She glanced over at the fight, where Ethan - or maybe the dragon - was brutally ripping into another guard. His hands, feet, and teeth were covered in blood, and the rest of his body was splatter with it. He was ripping through them with the weapons that nature gave a dragon, in addition to the ones she'd given him. He was cutting through them like a scythe through harvest wheat.

Those horrible men were meeting a horrible end.

She shuddered and wondered if she should be more disturbed by the grotesque spectacle before her. Taloni trembling shook her out of her reverie.

*Ethan.* Alana called to him. *Ethan you need to calm down; you're scaring Taloni.*

*SHUT UP you elven bit-* a strange, enraged voice sounded in her head before being abruptly cut off. It sounded like Ethan, yet not like Ethan and she recognized it instantly.

"The dragon." She breathed.

She looked out toward the slaver's compound to see Ethan swaying slightly on his feet, as if trying to get his bearings. One of the guards was slowly creeping up behind him. Quick as a flash, she drew her bow and let an arrow fly. It embedded itself in the man's chest several seconds later, mere moments before he would've run her husband through.

*Ethan!* She thought to him sharply, hoping to jar him back to the Present. *Ethan, WAKE UP!*

* * *

Ethan came back to his senses with a piercing headache as Alana's voice rang out in his head.

He tasted blood.

His mouth was full of it and he spat to clear it. All around him were the bodies of the slave camp's guards. Not a single one of their corpses looked vaguely human. They were covered in claw marks, bite marks, and one had been completely ripped apart.

He shuddered and resisted the urge to vomit.

His hands and feet were covered in blood; saturated in crimson. He spat again to fully clear the blood from his mouth. The dragon had taken over again... and he had let it. The unspeakable evil of the necromancer enraged him enough to drop his guard against his dragon side. He knew there would be fallout; he knew he would have to deal with this sooner or later.

He picked later.

He turned to see the last guard fleeing toward Gonorran. The wicked necromancer was in the middle of a mage's battle with Rachel, and he was clearly winning. The fiery redhead was spending all her time dodging and very little time counterattacking. He wasn't sure, but it looked like she was trying to conserve mana.

Gonorran wasn't.

He was shooting fireballs and powerful gusts of air at the redhead almost continually. She was continually seeking cover behind anything nearby that the necromancer hadn't already blasted. Ethan called his spear to his hands and charged the necromancer, determined to save the wonderful redhead.

Gonorran saw him coming waved his hand at him. A powerful burst of concentrated hit him everywhere at once, throwing him backwards almost ten feet. He landed, caught his footing and charged again. Again, the necromancer blasted him away as he continued his relentless assault on the redhead.

It almost seemed like he had a vendetta against her.

Frustrated, Ethan launched his spear with all his might. That worked slightly better, but he was so far away that Gonorran was able to dodge. He called the spear back to his hand to try again, only for Gonorran to turn and fire a massively powerful air-ram at him.

He flew back twenty feet, only landing on his feet because of his dragon reflexes. He reached for the grenade satchel before realizing that using one would be a colossally stupid idea with the necromancer blowing things all over the place.

He growled.

Gonorran paused for a moment near one of the mutilated corpses that the dragon had created. He continued to assault Rachel with one hand, while extending the other toward the corpse. Something that looked like waves of heat flowed from the body to the necromancer's hand and suddenly the furry of his attacks nearly doubled.

That's when Ethan realized: it was his own fault.

The necromancer was doing what necromancers do: draining mana from newly dead bodies. In his dragon-fueled rage, Ethan had provided him with plenty of fuel to work with. Of the original dozen guards, only one remained alive. He was clearly terrified and sticking close to Gonorran, guarding his flank. A crushing weight hit Ethan as he realized he had given the necromancer all the tools he needed to kill them all...

...and Rachel paid the price.

She was caught off guard by the renewed ferocity and speed of his attacks, and was hit by a powerful air-ram. She was blown backwards and was slammed into a building wall, dazed and struggling to stay on her feet. That momentary distraction was all Gonorran needed. He conjured a powerful mini-fireball and launched it directly at the redhead's heart.

"NO!" Ethan shouted as the fireball streaked toward her.

* * *

Beth had watched the entire fight being desperate to help, but being completely unable to. She had felt a hitherto unknown level of disgust and revulsion at the necromancer's casual tone when talking about murdering children. She had been captivated and nearly spellbound watching Rachel duel Gonorran. She had looked away in horrified revulsion as the dragon - her husband - had brutality eviscerated the guards.

But in every case she could do nothing but watch.

Now, as Gonorran's fireball streaked toward Rachel, she leapt into action nearly without thinking. She focused entirely on making the point of her shoulder solid and she sprinted. She rammed into Rachel's left side as hard as she possibly could to get her out of the way.

It only partially worked.

Her concentration broke the moment she made contact, but she did make contact. The stunned redhead flopped over at the impact, but didn't get completely out of the way. The fireball slammed into the outside of Rachel's left shoulder, instantly immolating that part of her shirt and lighting her flawless skin on fire.

Rachel screamed in pain and crumpled to the ground.

She didn't move.

Knowing how crucial the first few seconds of burn wounds are, Beth focused all her willpower into making the palm of her hand solid, and then slapped Rachel across the face, hoping to wake her up.

* * *

A sharp, stinging pain jolted Rachel back to the edge of consciousness. She was dimly aware that her the outside of her left shoulder felt like it was on fire. It probably was. She fought to stay conscious, knowing that falling into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness would likely cost her life. Worse, it might cost the lives of her friends.

She had to help.

She had to.

She could smell the stench of burning flesh and realized it was her own. Using some of the mere puddle of mana that she had left, she pulled all the heat out of the fire in her shoulder.

The burning sensation didn't disappear as the fire went out. If anything, it got worse. The pain was overwhelming. She was dragged kicking and screaming away from the waking world and into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness.

* * *

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that Rachel was still breathing. The fire in her shoulder was abruptly snuffed out. She was still breathing, but out cold.

She would be okay.

Growling, he turned his attention towards the man who had inflicted her pain. He called his hammer and spear to his hands and started launching them alternatively at the necromancer, trying to keep him off balance.

It only sort of worked.

Gonorran was kept off balance by weapons flying at his head, but Ethan couldn't get close enough to do any real damage. Every time he tried, he'd be blasted backwards.

*Alana, can you come down here and turn this guy into a fucking pincushion?* He thought as he flung himself out of the way of yet another fireball.

*On my way.* She said, though there was hesitation in her tone.

*Stay back and don't let him hit you, but Rachel's out cold and I need the backup.*

*Coming.*

As Ethan turned his attention back to the fight, he realized he had zero chance of winning all by himself. The necromancer had plenty of dead bodies to fuel his powers and he couldn't even get close. He momentarily wished he could breathe fire, but then he remembered how Rachel had dealt with Havorleth when he'd tried that move.

They dueled for a whole minute. The whole time Ethan felt like he was barely keeping up, and sometimes wasn't. Gonorran had hit him twice with fireballs. They hurt like hell, but he wasn't injured thanks to his heat-resistant scales.

The necromancer changed tactics after the second hit. Instead of throwing fireballs, he extended his hand toward Ethan in what seemed to be a pulling motion. He could feel his body starting to get cold, even in the bright afternoon sun.

Gonorran was trying to freeze him.

Ethan dodged behind one of the guard's bunkhouses to break the necromancer's line of sight, hoping that would fix the problem. It didn't. He could feel himself getting colder and colder. Throwing caution to the wind, he sprinted out from behind the bunkhouse and charged straight at the necromancer with his spear at the ready.

Surprisingly, Gonorran didn't blast him away this time.

It wasn't until Ethan was almost on top of him that he figured out why. The necromancer pulled a sword that he was concealing from behind his back. He must've picked up from a dead guard while Ethan was behind the guardhouse, and he was going too fast to slow down.

Gonorran parried Ethan's spear thrust and shifted position to counter attack. With all his momentum pushing him forward, Ethan did the only thing he could think of. He spread his wings wide, creating massive air resistance and nearly stopping him on a dime.

Gonorran smiled wickedly.

Ethan felt a massive rush of wind hit him from behind, catapulting him forward because his wings were outstretched and he was bracing them to slow his charge.

He'd run right into the necromancer's trap.

As he hurtled forward, his enhanced reflexes kicked in. The world slowed just slight as he furiously twisted his spear into a defensive position, trying to parry the necromancer's thrust. He also twisted his torso to dodge it.

He did mostly avoid it, but not entirely.

A sharp pain erupted in his left side and wing as Gonorran's sword pierced through his side and sliced out, cutting deeply into the thin membrane of his wing. He howled in pain as the air-ram threw him over the necromancer's head and into the fence that ran around the compound.

Gonorran laughed. "You think you're the first one to attack this compound? You think you're the first to try and kill me? Surrender and I'll make your death quick, but I won't promise painless." His cold, all-black eyes seemed to radiate malevolence.

Ethan groaned.

* * *

Once her husband's rage wasn't coursing over their bond anymore, Taloni had managed to pull herself together a bit. It took a minute, but she got up and peeked over the railing just in time to see Ethan get partially impaled and thrown by the necromancer. She covered her mouth with a sharp intake of breath.

She turned to Serif, who had been watching the entire battle standing guard on the Argo's gangplank as Ethan had directed.

"You have to help him." The Fey pleaded.

"He told me to guard the ship; to guard you."

"But he'll die." The Fey teen begged.

Serif looked at the state of the battle, then called to the quarterdeck. "Anthiel, please take up the defense of the ship; Raklan and I are going to assist."

Anthiel hurried down the stairs from the quarterdeck, her roll-able leather shield in hand and a cutlass at her side. Raklan looked like he was going to protest, but one stern look from Serif silenced him on that count.

The two men grabbed their weapons and started running toward the battle scene. All the while, Taloni was desperately hoping and praying that they would get there in time.

* * *

Rachel clawed her way back to consciousness, fighting tooth and nail every step of the way. There were several large bumps throbbing on the back of her head and her arm felt like it was still burning.

Fortunately, it wasn't.

She forced her eyes open despite her body screaming that they should stay shut. She did her best to block out the pain. She briefly considered healing her wounds, but she was very low on mana; mana that she would need to fight Gonorran.

Still, she couldn't fight while distracted.

She siphoned off a sliver of mana to heal her arm just enough so the torturous pain was reduced to merely excruciating. Another sliver made her headache go from a debilitating migraine to merely agonizing.

She saw Alana rush into the camp, drawing an arrow as she did so. The wood elf glanced her way and slowed, but the redhead waved her on. The wood elf hesitated, but then glanced toward Ethan and nodded.

Rachel struggled to her feet, her body fighting her the entire way. Being blasted into all of those objects had really taken its toll, but she didn't think there was any permanent damage. She started staggering after Alana, hoping she would actually be able to help the wood elf and her husband.

She only had enough mana left for a couple of fireballs, or maybe a few decent air-rams; then she was out. For this fight, she was almost willing to tap into her deep mana to power her spells in order to keep her friends safe. It was dangerous and probably stupid, but she was willing to if it was necessary.

She hoped it wouldn't be.

* * *

Ethan clutched his side as he lay slightly crumpled on the ground at the base of the fence. He started trying to heal the wound, though that would take some time. It probably wasn't life-threatening, but it was damn painful and would greatly hinder his mobility. Plus, his wing membrane was cut deeply enough that he wouldn't be able to fly until he healed it.

Fucking necromancer.

Gonorran suddenly snapped his head up, then whipped around and raised his hands in a defensive gesture. Ethan barely caught a glimpse of an arrow before it skittered off seemingly nothing - thin air - and spun off harmlessly. Alana had arrived and loosed another arrow. This one also skittered off of seemingly nothing and spun off harmlessly.

"Another piece of meat to play with." The necromancer grinned. "You'll make a fine pleasure slave for me."

Ethan growled and called his hammer to his hand. Once it was there, he paused. With his wound, he couldn't jump high enough to get over the necromancer so the electricity could arc down to his foe. He needed the electricity to arc across the air to hit Gonorran. That's when he realized what he needed to do: what he should've been doing with lightning from the beginning.

He started pulling electrons directly from his foe to charge his hammer.

The necromancer gave him a murderous - but confused - look as he could clearly tell that Ethan was using magic, but also clearly didn't recognize it. Alana took advantage of his distraction and tried again with another arrow, but this one also glanced off harmlessly.

Apparently, he wasn't easily distracted.

*Be ready.* He grunted through the pain as he continued charging his hammer. *I'm going to fry him with lightning and you put an arrow through his heart.*

Alana nodded. *It's a small target - if he even has one - but I will.*

Gonorran turned back to Alana and started firing a ton of mini-fireballs at her, the hot afternoon sun on the sand providing plenty of heat from which to draw. Alana dodged and weaved, then headed for cover behind one of the bunkhouses.

Ethan nearly had a heart attack when he saw one of the fireballs streaking towards her head, but it missed. Not my much though, and he saw puff of smoke as one of the mini-fireballs collide with a tiny sliver of his wife's beautiful chocolate brown hair, incinerating it instantly.

Gonorran then made the same drawing motion towards Alana that he'd made toward Ethan. He was trying to freeze her too. The thought of what that spell might do to his wife or their unborn child made his blood boil.

He roared.

Gonorran whipped around.

*Now!* Ethan thought to Alana as he raised his hammer, pointing it directly at the necromancer. "Eat lighting asshole."

CRACK!

The electricity arced outwards, traveling parallel to the ground in the characteristic branching style of true lightning, but at a mere fraction of the power. It slammed into Gonorran's shoulder.

His eyes went wide.

He clutched his shoulder as Ethan heard the 'twang' of a bowstring. Whatever spell he had been using to deflect arrows had fallen, but the arrow didn't pierce the man's clothes. The arrow slammed into his leather vest, but didn't penetrate more than a few millimeters before falling to the ground. The vest must be enchanted as armor like the leather shields that several of the Argo's crew carried.

Fucking necromancer.

Ethan stood, clutching his side in a vain effort to stop the bleeding. He locked eyes with Gonorran again as he started charging his hammer. The necromancer must've felt him begin to draw electrons because He took an involuntary step backwards, glancing back and forth between the dragon and the wood elf. Alana had knocked another arrow into her bow but hadn't drawn it.

The necromancer kept a wary eye on both of them before apparently deciding he was still a match. He conjured two fireballs and launched one at each simultaneously.

They both dodged and then - coordinated telepathically - they both attacked at the same time. His lightning arced at the same instant that her arrow flew, this time she was aiming for his unprotected head. Ethan's lightning hit the instant before Alana's arrow. The sharp pain and impact from the lightning seemed to shake Gonorran's concentration because her arrow didn't completely skitter off completely this time. However, it deflected slightly as it hit the weakened invisible barrier... but it still made a shallow slice in the necromancer's cheek, drawing blood.

He staggered back, touching his cheek and looking at the blood on his hands like he couldn't believe it.

All that work for a single drop of blood.

Ethan growled.

He probably looked a lot more confident than he felt. The pain from his side was threatening to take all of his attention. He looked down to see his left leg covered with blood that had come from his wound. He hoped it looked worse than it was. He had been trying to heal it, but it was hard and took a lot of concentration; not the kind of thing you could easily do in the middle of a fight.

He was also getting a little lightheaded.

He hoped it wasn't from blood loss.

He summoned his willpower and started charging his hammer again. Alana knocked another arrow into her bow. Gonorran took an involuntary step back.

At that moment, Serif and Raklan made an entrance.

They were both fully armed with spears and shields, and looked ready to do some serious damage. Raklan looked especially sour and was glaring murder at both Gonorran and Serif.

"Give up." Serif ordered.

"To the likes of you, never." The necromancer spat.

"How about the likes of me?" Rachel said as she hobbled out from behind the building she'd been blasted into. She was limping and was clearly both injured and in pain. But she was also clearly determined.

The necromancer gaped at her.

Then he looked around.

By chance or fortune, Ethan, Alana, Serif, Raklan, and Rachel had ended up between Gonorran and all of the remaining dead bodies. Cut off from his source of mana, he appeared to be reconsidering. He looked from Ethan's hammer to Alana's bow, to Rachel's fiery expression, to the intimidating sight of Serif and especially Raklan, who were rested and clearly spoiling for a fight.

"To the cave." Gonorran said to the sole remaining guard, who had been cowering behind a nearby tree for much of the fight. The necromancer started backing away as the guard turned and fled.

The wicked mage then summoned a hoard of tiny, marble sized fireballs and started launched them at the Argo's crew. Serif and Raklan merely raised their shields. Rachel ducked behind a nearby bunkhouse and Alana leapt to join her.

Ethan just stalked forward, trusting his heat resistant scales to protect him against these small threats.

It sort of worked.

They hurt like hell but didn't seem to cause any damage. Gonorran adapted by throwing larger fireballs at him while continuing the micro-fireball assault on the rest of the Argo's crew.

The whole time he was backing away toward a large hill. As Ethan dodged the larger fireballs and ran for cover, he saw the other guard had run into a small cave which Gonorran seemed to be heading towards. It was cut out of the rock in the side of a very steep hill, which is why he hadn't noticed it before.

Finally, Ethan had to dive for cover behind a tree as a larger fireball streaked towards him. Peeking out, he saw that Gonorran had turned and ran towards the cave. He was holding his hands out behind him as he did so. He guessed it was for his shield spell, which was proved right when another one of Alana's arrow skittered off it. Moments later, the necromancer disappeared into the cave.

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone emerged from their cover and cautiously converged on the cave's mouth. He staggered slightly, still feeling lightheaded. Fortunately, the wound in his side seemed to have closed enough that it wasn't bleeding much anymore. Bracing himself, Ethan called his spear to his hand and readied it as they slowly entered with him in the lead.

It was really more of a tunnel than a cave and looked man-made. The tunnel turned at an abrupt ninety-degree angle about twenty feet inside. He leaned up against the inside of the bend, partially for the support and partially to peek around the corner.

About thirty more feet into the tunnel, it opened into a large circular room about thirty feet in diameter and twenty feet tall. In the center of the room was a large ring standing vertically with a wooden ramp leading up to it. About ten feet in front of that and off to one side was a short, thick, wooden podium.

Gonorran was standing in front of it with his hand touching it. Beside him, the other guard lay dead. Ethan assumed he'd been murdered so the necromancer could replenish his mana.

Ethan stared at the large ring.

It was about ten feet wide on the inside and fourteen on the outside. The ring had a shallow wooden ramp leading up to it, so he couldn't see the bottom eighteen inches of empty space in the center of the ring.

All around the side of the ring facing him were strange symbols; he counted thirty-nine. Seven Large gemstones were embedded into the ring at equidistance points, but they were arranged as if there was an eighth one that was out of sight below the ramp. Five of the seven gemstones were glowing brightly, the other two were dark.

As he watched, another gemstone slowly lit up and then flashed.

It was the portal; Gonorran was charging the portal.

Speaking of, the necromancer saw him and directed a powerful air-ram at him, Ethan moved, but the force didn't diminish much in the confines of the tunnel. They were all pushed backwards, but not physically thrown.

Ethan dropped to all fours to reduce his frontal area and stalked forward, ready to kill this bastard. About ten seconds later, Gonorran launched another air-ram, blowing them back again.

As he rounded the corner, he saw the necromancer's plan.

The portal had already opened. It looked like a pool of water with the wind blowing over it as it undulated and rippled. Gonorran was backing towards it, firing air-rams at regular intervals to keep them back.

As Ethan advanced, he saw the lower right gem slowly fade and then go out. Then the middle right gem faded and went out. Then the upper right gem. They were slowly dimming and going out in a counter-clockwise sequence, each one taking about five seconds.

If the gems lighting up had been him charging the portal, then...

"The damn thing is closing, we need to get in there." Ethan yelled and tried to advance, but the necromancer's air-rams kept blasting him - and everyone else - backwards.

There were only two gems left; ten seconds.

They still couldn't get close.

Alana fired an arrow, but it went badly off target as the next air-ram buffeted them.

One gem left; five seconds.

Gonorran looked at the gem, then at them, then fired a massive air-ram and leapt through the portal. Everyone was thrown backwards and by the time they'd disentangled themselves from each other and were ready to rush forward, the portal's appearance had changed.

The rippling on the surface abruptly stopped and the membrane separated from the ring. It appeared to start flowing inwards and circling like water down a drain. He stumbled forward, but in mere seconds it had swirled away into nothingness, again like water going down a drain.

The portal was closed.

Gonorran was gone.

Ethan let himself fall to the floor of the tunnel clutching his side. He hadn't even made it into the cavernous portal room. Rachel similarly slid down against the cave wall opposite him. They both groaned, almost in unison.

"Are you guys okay?" Alana asked in alarm.

"Just peachy." He grunted as he focused on healing his side.

"Could you be a dear and fetch Taloni?" Rachel through gritted teeth. "I'm almost out of mana and..." She grimace and took a sharp intake of breath as she moved her arm.

"Of course." Alana said and took off sprinting.

"Go with her and guard them." Ethan said to Serif and Raklan.

Moments later, he and Rachel were alone in the cave. The redhead grimaced and then quietly moaned in pain. The outside shoulder of her left arm was red and looked angry and swollen. There were blisters forming and he could see it was a serious burn. The fact that she still felt pain was good though. That meant it was only a second degree burn, not a first degree burn which would mean irreparable damage and that the nerve endings had been destroyed.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Uh-huh." She said while shaking her head. She looked like she was in terrible pain.

"I'm sorry." He said hanging his head. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. If I would've kept a lid on it - on the dragon - then maybe we could've-"

"Stop apologizing." She groaned. "I almost did what you did after hearing..." She shook her head. "Yeah, it probably would've been better to have a plan of attack instead of going off like that, but it's water under the bridge. Besides-" She nodded to his still bleeding side. "-seems like you're paying as much as I am."

He nodded but wasn't sure he agreed because she groaned again.

Trying to distract her from the pain, he observed. "Those air-rams are very useful. How come you didn't use them against me when we met? Or fought in Beth's room?"

She screwed up her face and took a few deeps breaths. "I don't think I really wanted to hurt you; that was the ring not me." She got a slightly mischievous look despite the obvious pain. "If I wanted to hurt you, you'd be dead."

She winked, then winced.

He chuckled, then also winced as the motion hurt his side.

He continued healing his side for the next few minutes before Taloni and Alana returned. The instant he saw the Fey, he knew something was wrong. She only glanced at him, and there was something approaching trepidation in her eyes when she looked at him.

He supposed he shouldn't blame her.

He was covered in blood, most of it not his own. His hands, feet, and mouth were covered, and the rest of him was splattered with the blood of the men he'd killed. He wasn't sure he regretted it given their crimes, but the look on Taloni's face was heartbreaking.

The Fey focused on Rachel first, healing her head and then working on her arm.

"Well, that's all I can do." She said with a slight flutter of her wings. "Burn wounds are different than cuts and other injuries. I can heal them, but I can't instantly regrow the damaged skin. I'm sorry, but it needs to re-grow naturally." She looked at Rachel apologetically.

"No that's good." Rachel said as she moved her arm. It clearly still hurt, but much less. The blisters were gone and so was most of the redness. However, it was still far pinker than the rest of her fair skin and it would certainly leave a scar. Maybe not an obvious one, but it would definitely leave one.

"Thank you. Now you might want to check on your husband." The redhead said, casting a knowing look in his direction. Then she turned to Alana. "Come on, let's set some people free." The two women left, leaving him alone with Taloni.

The Fey got up slowly and turned to face him. She approached in much the same manner as you would a wild animal you weren't sure about. Her steps were slow and hesitant.

It was heartbreaking.

"I won't hurt you Taloni; I promise I never will." She said.

"I know." She whispered, her gaze fill with both adoration and trepidation.

She bit her lip and stepped closer so she could look at his wound. He had mostly healed it by now, but she finished healing it and his wing. She seemed very reluctant to touch him, which he understood with all the blood, but it seemed to be something more.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She looked very conflicted. She trembled slightly as she knelt there, seemingly riveted to the spot. He checked their bond and could feel relief and heartfelt love mixed with apprehension and anxiety. They were all jumbled up in a swirl of powerful emotion like a turbulent tempest on the open ocean.

"I... um, I need to... to..." She glanced towards the entrance of the cave. "I should check on the slaves; make sure they're okay."

She didn't meet his eye.

"Okay." He nodded, deciding not to push. "But when you're ready to talk, let me know."

She nodded in return and made to leave. Before turning the corner she looked back at him and gave him a small but genuine smile. "I'm glad you're okay."

Then she was gone.

Ethan closed his eyes and rested his head against the cool stone of the tunnel's wall. He had certainly made a mess of things. Gonorran was gone, but now he was on Earth. Or at least, he assumed that's where the portal led. He wasn't too worried because Earth had guns. A few well-placed shots would finish the necromancer off, no matter how powerful he was. It took time to heal wounds and he highly doubted that the necromancer's leather armor would stop bullets.

Still, he felt some responsibility to find Gonorran.

He sat in the cave for another minute and then pulled himself to his feet. He ached almost everywhere. Magical healing closed wounds, but it didn't do much for the aches and pains they left behind.

He looked at his blood-covered hands and feet, realizing he would need to get cleaned up before he wanted anyone - especially Taloni - to see him again. He vaguely remembered seeing a stream to the north while approaching in the Argo and decided to visit it before doing anything else.

* * *

Taloni left the cave feeling conflicted. On the one hand, she truly and dearly loved Ethan. He was the best man she had ever met and she couldn't believe Illuminar had blessed her so much that he was her husband. She was truly grateful for that.

On the other hand...

She shuddered as she recalled the emotions that had come over their bond. She couldn't even comprehend someone being that full of rage and fury. Those words weren't even strong enough to describe what she'd felt from him. There wasn't a word in either the common tongue or the Fey tongue that would describe it.

Not one.

If she hadn't felt it herself, she wouldn't have believed it. Just thinking about it she wanted to curl up in a ball and hide again. She couldn't though; there were people counting on her.

She spotted Alana and Rachel near where the two women were in the pillory. She walked over to see if either of them needed healing. That was something she could do; that she could help with. It would also be a welcome distraction from thinking about earlier.

She shuddered again.

Rachel pulled out the pins holding the iron shackle down and let the two women up. They both stumbled and nearly fell to the ground, even though Alana and Rachel helped lower them. There was an awning above them to keep them out of the direct sun, but otherwise they were completely out in the open. Judging from their looks, they had been that way for some time.

Rachel and Alana helped them to the ground and the Fey placed a hand on the older, slightly overweight one.

"Hello." She said kindly. "My name is Taloni and I'm going to take care of you."

The older woman burst into tears and encircled the tiny Fey in a hug. She sobbed onto her shoulder for nearly a minute while Taloni did her best to support her. It wasn't easy given her weight. She had never seen anyone except the richest men and women get this way, because only they could afford that much food. Maybe the woman was royalty, or a Lord's wife?

The woman adjusted her hands and they brushed the tops of Taloni's wings. She pulled back; cheeks wet and her face full of gratitude and curiosity.

"What are...?" She looked behind the Fey, who turned and fluttered her wings so the woman could see them better.

"They're my wings."

"But how...? What are you?" The woman rubbed her eyes, trying to clear them of tears.

"I'm a Fey of course." She replied. "Haven't you heard of us?"

The woman shook her head in wonder. "Only in fairy tales."

"I am not a fairy." Taloni felt herself getting hot under the collar. "Please don't compare me to those... those..." She suppressed a growl; Ethan must be wearing off on her.

"Oh, okay. I didn't realize... Okay." The woman said. After a moment, she spoke again. "My name is Marge."

"Well Marge, let me heal you." Taloni replied and then put her hand on the woman's shoulder. Most of her wounds were superficial so she was able to heal them quickly. As she closed a cut on Marge's arm, the woman's mouth fell open.

"That's... is that magic?" She breathed.

Taloni nodded. "Your wounds weren't serious, so you should be perfectly fine."

Marge nodded, mouth still agape.

"I'm going to help your friend now, okay?" The Fey said and Marge nodded mutely.

The other girl was much younger and slimmer. She looked to be about twenty and would've been very pretty if she hadn't been in such a sorry state. She had black lines from some kind of makeup around her eyes which trailed down her cheeks.

Taloni knelt down in front of her, her heart going out to her.

"Can you help me too?" The girl asked.

Taloni nodded with a smile. "And I will."

The younger girl's wounds were even less severe that Marge's, but the Fey suspected the mental trauma was worse. The girl seemed slightly shell-shocked and kept staring off into space.

"All done." Taloni said when she'd finished. "How do you feel?"

"Was that a dragon?" The girl asked, apparently not registering the question.

"That was Ethan. He's my husband." She glanced at Alana, who'd raised her eyebrow with an amused expression. "Well, he's our husband."

"Husband?" The younger girl looked at the Fey teen and then shrank back with fear in her eyes. "That... that thing is your husband?" She lowered her voice. "Did you see what it...?" She seemed to lose her nerve and fall silent.

Taloni didn't know what to say.

"What's your name?" Alana asked as she too knelt down in front of the shell-shocked girl.

"Sally, it's Sally." She managed to say, though it looked difficult.

"I know seeing him like that is..." She shook her head. "Well, it's hard. But remember why he was that way. He couldn't stand to see those children locked up and sold... or worse. He lost his temper and yes he can be brutal. But I've never seen him direct that temper at anyone who didn't deserve it. He's a good man."

Sally clearly didn't believe her.

Taloni did.

She remembered the tiny glimpse of Ethan that she had gotten when they bonded. She didn't remember any specifics, but she knew he was a good man. The Fey couldn't deny that she was a little scared of him right now, but she knew he wouldn't hurt her. Ever. That didn't completely allay the anxiety she felt, but she knew she would get over it because of who he was.

Maybe not instantly, but she knew she would.

And soon.

* * *

Ethan used the river's water to wash of as much of the blood as he could. Some of it had started to congeal, and some had been nearly baked on by Gonorran's fireballs, but with enough scrubbing it came off and he felt some semblance of clean. The water had taken on a red tinge initially because there was so much blood caked to his scales.

He sat down on the bank when he was done, looked into the late afternoon sky and sighed. What a day.

*Ethan, we may have a slight problem.* Alana's voice rang in his head.

*Oh?*

*Yes. It seems one of the women who saw you shredding the guards is really scared of you right now. She saw your disguise gem form too and she's a smart girl.*

*Add that to the list of things I've messed up today.* He sighed. *Do you know what's up with Taloni? She seemed... off earlier.*

*I forgot to teach her how to shield her mind.* Alana said.

Ethan clapped his hand to his forehead. *Damn, I didn't think of that. She must've felt everything and... oh shit.*

*Yeah, she didn't look good when I left the Argo to help fight.* Alana replied. *That's part of why I shouted at you telepathically. It seemed to jar you out of 'dragon mode'."

*So one of the women we rescued is scared of me and now my own wife is too.* He shook his head. *My dragon side has a real history of saving the day by screwing everything up.*

*I don't think she's actually scared of you, but she is a bit skittish right now. I'm sure she'll come around.*

His wife was trying to reassure him and he appreciated it. But he didn't want to be reassured right now. He had never gone that ballistic before. He'd viciously attacked people as a dragon before. He'd even pummeled someone who'd hurt Alana the night they left Gralden. He killed plenty when his dragon side took over.

But somehow this seemed different.

Unlike the previous times, he could recall most of what had happened if he tried. Those slavers surely deserved a gruesome fate. However, dishing out that fate was very different than thinking they deserved it. He remembered tearing at the guards with claw and fang and he remembered sinking his spear into many of them.

Worse:

He remembered enjoying it... or at least his dragon side had enjoyed it. He shuddered and tried to put it out of his mind. It was surprisingly - and almost disturbingly - easy to let it not bother him.

*After you've freed the slaves, let's meet back on the Argo for dinner.* He said finally. *Then we can discuss our next move... assuming I don't scare our guests away.*

*I'll let everyone know.* She paused, then said tenderly: *I love you Ethan. I have almost since we met, I do now, and I always will. Always, no matter what*

He managed a small smile.

*Thank you, that means a lot.* He said as the weight on his shoulders and the pit in his stomach became slightly easier to bear.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was the most amazing woman he had ever met. For some reason, she was able to see past all his flaws and faults to love him anyway. He didn't understand it, but he was very grateful for it.

* * *

Kendra wished her tiny airship was large enough so she could pace and think. She had watched the dragon's entire interaction with the slavers through her enchanted telescope and didn't know what to make of it.

She initially wondered if she'd made a mistake by not trying to kill the dragon again. That feeling had intensified when she saw that the slaver was keeping children in cages. She had half a mind to wait until dark and kill every last one of them for it.

But the dragon beat her to it.

She didn't understand.

This dragon was unlike every dragon she had ever encountered before, unlike everything her instructors said that dragons were like, and unlike what all dragon hunters knew to be true. The only thing that dragons loved more than power was imposing their will on others. They never did anything for anyone but themselves.

Ever.

And yet...

She shook her head.

This dragon did.

Or at least he and his crew appeared to. They had released all of the slaves, the Fey girl had healed them, and now they were being fed on his airship. It looked like a veritable feast he'd set before them from the airship's hold. They had even been considerate enough to move the bodies before letting the children see them.

It didn't make sense.

Well, it didn't make sense for a dragon.

A good man might've done what the dragon did, except he wasn't a man. The brutal massacre of the guards seemed more in line with a dragon's nature than the kind, almost caring way he was making sure the captives were being tended to. The two women they'd rescued shied away from him - the younger more than the older - and he appeared to be keeping his distance from them for their sakes.

It just didn't make sense.

In the back of her mind, she could feel an unfamiliar emotion starting to rise.

She shook her head and pushed it down. It was silly to be feeling that about her actions toward the dragon. It was silly, despite the fact that he'd nearly died rescuing some children he'd never met before. It was silly even though he'd risked his life for his crew. And it was silly even though he'd saved her life.

Twice.

She had acted rightly based on what every dragon was like. Well, maybe not every dragon she conceded to herself.

She glanced toward his airship and shook her head as she tried to get the feeling out of her mind. It wasn't something a dragon hunter should feel about their actions toward their prey. This was the last thing she needed to feel. It was the last thing that made sense with every other dragon.

But with him...

She looked out toward his airship. It seemed impossible, especially given how dragons were, but there was a tiny sliver of doubt in her mind now. A tiny sliver that just refused to be silenced. A tiny sliver that gave rise to the faintest ghost of an emotion she'd never felt about hunting dragons before. It was extremely faint, but growing slowly.

She could feel the barest whisper of guilt.

* * *

Alana looked around the deck of the Argo with no small amount of pride. The shell-shocked children of the afternoon were now happily chasing Taloni around the deck in the fading light of evening. They were playing a game of tag that the Fey teen only mostly consented to. It had been the wood elf's idea to get the children playing with Ethan's newest wife in order to help them all, and it seemed to be working.

At least they all looked happy instead of hurt and forlorn.

*Well done.* Her husband said telepathically. *They're all doing so much better than earlier. I'm so proud of you.*

He was smiling at her.

*Thank you.* She said as her heart seemed to swell. She wasn't sure why, but every time her husband praised her, she felt like a million gold coins.

She leaned up against the railing as the smell of the leftover salt pork, mutton, and biscuits wafted over from the fire where Anthiel had cooked a meal large enough to feed an army. Everyone had devoured it like they hadn't eaten in days. Despite the quantity of food that the high elf had prepared, it was nearly all gone.

The two women they had rescued both kept a wide berth from Ethan, but they looked better now that their bellies were full. The kids had barely finished their meal before they wanted to resume chasing Taloni, as they were fascinated by her wings. The Fey kept making little jumps and beating her wings furiously to escape tight spots, often by going over their heads. She couldn't fly on her own yet, but her wing muscles appeared to be getting stronger.

Alana put her hand over her womb, imagining what her daughter would look like running around like that playing with their aunt Taloni. Or maybe 'Aunt Tee'; she thought that had a nice ring to it.

"Alright." Ethan called to the other adults after finishing his nearly all-meat dinner. "There are some things we need to discuss."

Everyone turned their attention to him except Taloni, who had just done a near cartwheel on the ship's railing to escape a young girl with sticky hands. Alana loved how her husband commanded everyone's attention almost without trying. She readjusted her legs to better conceal the itch forming in her loins.

Ethan glanced at her with a smile before turning back to everyone else. The three men and two women they had freed, plus the crew of the Argo - again sans Taloni - looked back

"Obviously you can't all stay on the Argo because we don't have enough space or food." He said, then turned to the two women. "I assume you want to go back home to Earth with the kids?"

They nodded.

"Good, because we were planning on going to Earth anyway." He turned to the three men. "What were your plans?"

One of them shrugged. "Not sure, but we'll need more than just a hot meal to make our way in the world."

Ethan nodded toward the camp. "I'm sure there's plenty down there, and you're welcome to have all of it. I would ask that you spend the night down there though - maybe in one of the bunkhouses? - because we don't have room for everyone on the Argo."

The man shrugged, then unceremoniously led the other two down the gangplank and toward the camp without another word. Alana wasn't sure why, but something about them seemed off. She got a bad feeling that they were big trouble.

"Let's keep an eye on them; better safe than sorry." Ethan said to the Argo's crew once they were out of earshot. Apparently he shared her concerns.

Everyone nodded.

Ethan then turned to Rachel. "Did you get a chance to look at that portal?"

The redhead nodded. Alana couldn't help but notice the way her hair bounced slightly as she did so. She had such beautiful hair. And her eyes; her eyes were absolutely gorgeous.

"I did." The lovely redhead replied. "It seems fairly simple to operate. There's a short podium which you channel your mana into to charge the portal. Once it's fully charged, the portal opens and then then you have a short time before the portal closes again."

"Why do you need to charge it?" He asked. "The portal stones Elder Goman gave us don't need a charge."

"Yes, but they're enchanted at both ends. This portal projects the other end somewhere else. That takes a lot more energy than keeping a portal open between two enchanted objects."

"Okay." He nodded. "So it's easy to use?"

"Sort of?" Rachel replied. "It looks like all the symbols around the inside of the ring are some kind of coordinate system. My guess is there's at least thirty nine other locations it can go to, but I can't be sure. It's more complicated than any projected portal I've ever heard of. Gonorran must be a genius to have created it."

"So we could go other places?" Alana asked. There were a few places in the Ten Kingdoms she'd always wanted to visit...

Rachel shook her head. "No, it might take me months to figure out how it works. I'm guessing it's still set to Ethan's planet because he hadn't captured anyone since you two." She indicated Marge and Sally before continuing. "So, as long as we just charge the portal and use it exactly the way it is now, we should be fine."

"Fortunately, that's all we need." Ethan smiled. "How soon can we leave?"

"Now if you wanted to, but I'd wait until morning." Rachel replied. "It it takes an insane amount of mana to charge. I did a little looking with Alana earlier and I'm guessing it would take all of our combined regular mana to fully charge it."

"So we'll need at least two magic users on this side to open the portal again." Ethan nodded.

"My place is with the ship." Anthiel spoke up. "I'd be happy to provide mana for your return trip."

"Any other volunteers?" Ethan asked looking at Rachel and Alana.

They looked at each other, and the wood elf did her best not to get distracted. The redhead was so smart, elegant, and beautiful; not to mention powerful. Alana remembered the one night they'd spent next to each other in the hammock. She wished they could do that again, preferably with Ethan there because she didn't liked being away from him.

"I can stay behind." Rachel said after a moment. "I was kind of looking forward to seeing your world and all the strange things you've talked about, but it's probably better that you take your wives."

"Unless we run into Gonorran." The wood elf countered. "I love Taloni dearly, but she's not a fighter. Rachel's spells might come in very handy and Taloni can certainly help Anthiel charge the portal."

Rachel set her jaw. "And I wouldn't mind running into him again where there aren't a lot of dead bodies around." She cracked her knuckles.

"You make a good point, but..." Ethan mused, then glanced over to where Taloni was still racing around with the kids. "I hate to take off after what happened earlier."

"A little space might actually help." Anthiel offered. "She's a wonderful girl and has a huge heart, but that does mean she gets hurt more easily and needs time to heal. I have found a little space can help; absence does make the heart grow fonder."

Alana felt slightly guilty at how happy she would be with both Ethan and Rachel on this trip. She loved them both dearly and...

Wait...

What?

Since when had she felt like she was in love with Rachel? Ethan of course, but Rachel? There was no time to ponder it because her husband interrupted her line of thought.

"What do you think?" He asked.

Alana tried to put her feelings aside and look at it objectively. When she did, there was one thing that kept sticking out in her mind. "If we run into trouble - like Gonorran for instance - would you rather have Rachel or Taloni there? Bearing in mind Rachel spells and Taloni's complete lack of combat ability or experience?"

"Point taken." He nodded and turned to Rachel. "Are you ready to slum it with some scientists?"

Rachel made an exaggerated gagging noise, winked, and then nodded.

Alana noticed Ethan looking over at Taloni, who had been keeping children occupied for well over an hour now. He had a strange look on his face. It was a mixture of pride, sadness, longing, regret, and more than a little adoration.

The wood elf came up and sat next to him, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow and resting her head on his shoulder. *You're going to miss her, aren't you?* She thought to him.

He nodded. *yeah, I am.*

*Me too. At least you can talk to her while we're away.*

He smiled. *Yeah... yeah that'll be nice.* His face darkened slightly. *Unless she's not in the mood to talk. I wish that I'd kept better control of my temper... and the dragon.*

*She'll come around.* Alana said with absolute certainty. *She's a very kind-hearted girl and just wasn't ready for the emotional onslaught of your dragon side. I'll show her how to shield her mind tonight so it doesn't happen again. She will be fine soon. Trust me.*

He smiled. *I do trust you.*

She snuggled into his shoulder and felt him kiss the top of her head. She sighed softly and squeezed his arm. She closed her eyes and just rested there for a minute. She always loved being this close to him, even with her clothes on. There was something so comforting about his presence and she just felt better with him nearby.

She opened her eyes and looked around, noticing that Hailey had been very quiet all afternoon.

"Hailey, are you okay?" She asked after sitting up straight.

"I think so?" The willowy former slave replied hesitantly.

"Are you sure?" Ethan asked raising his eyebrow.

"It's just..." Hailey looked towards the tunnel where the portal was. "I've been gone so long. What if he moved on?"

"Jason?" Alana asked

Hailey nodded. "It's been, what; nearly four years? Maybe more? What if I've been gone too long and..." Her face fell.

Alana didn't know what to say because it was entirely possible. Many of Hailey's friends might've moved on, or gotten married and moved away, or any number of other things.

"Hailey, I don't know what you'll find when you get home, but we will be with you no matter what you find." Alana said.

"Really?"

The wood elf nodded. "Absolutely."

"Why are you being so nice?" Hailey said wiping an errant tear that haddd started down her cheek despite her efforts to keep it contained. "After what I did in Arcanum, after all the danger I put you in, why are you even tolerating me at all?"

Ethan opened his mouth to reply, but Rachel beat him to the punch.

"I sometimes wonder how they can be so nice to me too." The redhead replied. "I actually tried to kill both of them several times and they still tolerate me."

Alana couldn't help but wink and add. "Sometimes, we even like you."

Everyone laughed.

Anthiel gave her a piercing look. Her cheeks grew warm and she laid her head back down on Ethan's shoulder to hide.

"Trying to kill a crewmember of the Argo is almost a rite of passage around here." Ethan added. "The only one who hasn't is Taloni. Even Alana and Rachel nearly killed each other before she joined us."

"When we rescued Beth." Alana nodded remembering. "I can't wait until she's back; I miss her."

"Me too." Ethan said.

Moments later, the wood elf felt a slight "Tap, tap." On her shoulder, which she took to mean that Beth missed them too.

They sat around the fire and chatted for another half hour before Ethan looked up into the sky which was fast approaching night.

"We should turn in early; we have a big day tomorrow."

Alana nodded and got up. "I'll go teach Taloni how to shield her mind and tell her she's staying here while we're on earth." She volunteered.

He nodded.

The Fey girl had finally tired of being chased around the ship and was sitting with all six of the children in a semi-circle around her as she told them some scary story or another.

It was wonderful to see.

The Fey teen was a natural with children, keeping them endlessly entertained and enthralled for most of the evening. She had initially resisted, but Alana could tell she was truly enjoying herself. The wood elf knew she would be a wonderful mother to Ethan's children and couldn't wait to see it happen.

As she walked up to the bow of the ship where they were, Taloni glanced up. Alana put her hands together near her shoulder and mimed laying her head on them like a pillow before indicating the kids.

The Fey teen nodded, the turned back to the kids. "And then, they opened the door to discover the scariest monster of them all." She said in a conspiratorial whisper as she leaned forward. The kids leaned forward as one with riveted looks on their face.

"What monster?" A little boy of about seven asked.

Taloni smiled, then said. "Bedtime."

They all groaned.

"Please will you finish the story tomorrow Talanoni?" One of the girls asked.

"Taloni." Alana gently corrected with a smile. "And we'll see."

"Come on; everyone get up." Marge ordered. Alana hadn't noticed her come up behind her.

There was a collective groan from the kids and all but one got up. "But, I'm not tired." He said with bleary eyes.

"Then you can be 'not tired' in bed." Alana said, giving the same response her adoptive father had always given her.

The kid mumbled something and then followed Sally and Marge below decks to where Anthiel had strung up several additional hammocks to accommodate their visitors.

"Are you okay? About earlier?" Alana asked the Fey teen once they were alone at the bow of the ship.

Taloni's face fell slightly, but she nodded. "I'll be okay. I've just never seen anyone like that before, much less felt it, and I just..." She shivered. "I'll be okay though, I promise."

"I can teach you to shield your mind so it's not so overwhelming." She offered.

"Thank you." She looked around at the rapidly clearing deck. "I suppose I should go to bed too; big day tomorrow."

"Well, sort of. You were keeping the children entertained so you missed the briefing." Alana replied, then explained what they had decided and why.

Taloni looked simultaneously relieved and very sad.

"What's wrong?" Alana asked.

"It's just, I'm a little nervous to be around master right now, but I don't want him to go anywhere without me." She shook her head. "I don't make any sense."

"Join the club." The wood elf replied. "I get it; I really do. You forget, I've been around Ethan for a while now and his dragon side can be brutal. Ethan isn't, but the dragon part of him... Yeah it sometimes is."

The honey-blonde haired teen looked toward the captain's cabin with both longing and a little trepidation on her face. Alana felt for her; she really did. Seeing Ethan in action could be terrifying and feeling his emotions in dragon mode was even worse. The Fey girl seemed unsure about sharing a bed with him right now, so Alana did what she knew Ethan would do.

"Do you want to sleep somewhere else tonight?"

The Fey teen hesitated for only a moment before shaking her head. "No. Despite what happened earlier I just don't think I could do that. I don't want to sleep anywhere but next to him, because..." She got a small smile on her face. "... because it's him, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean." Alana beamed. "Now, we have a few minutes yet. How about I teach you how to shield your mind?"

"I'd like that, and then we'll see if master wants company in bed."

"Sounds good." Alana smiled; everything would be just fine.

* * *

Ethan realized that he was completely spoiled. His wives hadn't come to bed yet so he was alone in bed and didn't like it. He hadn't been married for a whole week yet and he already missed Alana in bed with him, not to mention Taloni. He looked out the large glass-block window that spanned the entire rear of the captain's cabin. The night sky was now truly dark.

He yawned before remembering that one of his wives might be here. "Beth, are you there?" He asked the room. There was several seconds pause, then:

Tap, tap.

"You're always around when I ask. Do you tend to spend your time around me?"

Tap, tap.

"You saved me a couple times when Kendra attacked and I'm sure that was you who helped Rachel earlier, right?"

Tap, tap.

"Hmm, you're becoming like our guardian angel." He chuckled. No response from Beth though, which made sense as he hadn't asked a yes or no question.

"Looking forward to having a body and talking again?"

Tap, tap. The taps were harder and faster like she was excited.

"Me too. What are you going to do first?"

He felt a gentle tap on his lips and then a gentle tap between his legs.

"Mmm; yes." He mused. "Sounds amazing."

Tap, tap.

"I hope we can bring you back by tomorrow night." He mused aloud. "We just need to find someone to do the transfusion. But if Hailey doesn't know anyone it might take longer."

Tap.

"Yeah, I don't want that either. I might be able to find someone in a hospital? But they would ask a lot of questions... kind of like you." He smiled widely, then added with an impish grin and a wink. "I miss your questions, even if you were annoying with them."

There was a moment's pause, then he felt something invisible poke him in the side.

"Ah!" He jumped and then laughed. "Even when you can't talk and can barely touch you are a delightful woman, you know that?"

No answer.

"You are." He stated matter-of-factly. He was going to say more, but Alana entered the captain's cabin at that moment, closing the door behind her. She took in his rather odd posture and raised her eyebrow.

"Beth." He said, but didn't offer a further explanation in case the sometimes devious wood elf suggested that Beth launch an all-out poking assault on him; a poking assault that he would be defenseless against. He wouldn't put it past her; past either of them.

Alana shrugged and walked over to the bed, grabbing the bottom of her dress to pull it off as she did so. However, she stopped before it had risen past mid-thigh.

"Well don't stop on my account." He winked.

"I'm just thinking Taloni will be in soon." The wood elf frowned slightly. "I'm pretty sure she'd be a little uncomfortable if I were naked. She's really not in the right frame of mind for that right now."

"Fair enough." He sighed as he undressed her with his eyes. "Well, come here anyway."

She smiled and climbed into his arms. He liked having her there; it just felt right. She relaxed into him and he gave her a tight hug which she returned. He ran his hands through her hair, but something felt slightly off about her chocolate brown tresses.

"Sit up and turn around." He said.

"Why?" She asked as she complied.

There was a tiny sliver of her hair on the left side which ended abruptly at about shoulder height, unlike the rest of her hair which fell to mid-back. He looked closer at the ends and a few of them had curled from heat.

"Gonorran." He said. "One of his fireballs hit your hair."

"I know." She turned to look at him. "We were very lucky."

"You aren't kidding." He replied fervently. "I got stabbed, his fireball nearly hit your face, and I think Rachel's shoulder will scar. Maybe not badly, but I think it will."

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I vote we completely avoid necromancers from now on."

"Amen." She said fervently. "I'm sure Rachel would agree too."

"You two seem to be getting very close lately." He observed.

She squirmed slightly. "We're not that close. I mean, we're just friends and all; nothing more."

"That's what I meant." He said confused. "What did you think I meant?"

"Uh..." She started to say, but was interrupted when the door to the captain's cabin opened.

It was Taloni.

She looked a little nervous, more than a little shy, and yet relieved a seeing him too. She bit her lip, stepped through the door then closed it behind her. She took a few slow steps into the small room, which put her beside the bed. She got a tiny flicker of a smile when she saw them snuggling there.

"Hi." Ethan said.

"Hi." The Fey replied with an embarrassed smile. There was definitely awkward tension in the air.

"Can I...?" She gestured to the bed.

He grinned widely. "Absolutely."

He and Alana disentangled themselves to make room for her. The bed was about the dimensions of a king-sized mattress on Earth. There was room for the three of them, but none could exactly spread out. This hadn't been a problem before as both women were always snuggled up against him.

Taloni slid into the bed and lay down close to him, but not quite touching. She laid on her side with her head on the pillow and looked up at him with wide eyes. She had beautiful eyes. They were the prettiest lilac color and she looked so tiny and vulnerable.

He laid down on his side facing her and she looked into his eyes for nearly a minute, as if searching for something.

He gave her a gentle smile. "Are you okay?"

She hesitated, then nodded slowly. "You really scared me earlier."

"I know, I'm sorry."

*May I say something?* Alana asked telepathically.

*Of course.* He replied.

He felt the bed shift slightly as she moved and then felt her head rest tenderly on his shoulder.

"I know the emotions were horrible, but it seems something more than that is bothering you." The wood elf observed. "You still seem nervous now; why?"

Taloni averted her eyes for a moment before looking back at him. When she did, she somehow looked even smaller and more vulnerable. "I..." She started to say, but seemed to lose her nerve.

"Take your time; I'm not going anywhere." He said encouragingly.

She took a few breaths and blinked her stunning lilac eyes as her honey-blonde hair framed her face perfectly. She was a vision of perfection, made even lovelier by the vulnerability on her face.

"Some of the miners at the camp had tempers, and sometimes their wives... well they..." She seemed to falter.

"They paid the price?" Ethan offered.

She nodded.

"Ethan isn't like that." Alana said. "Someone grazed me with an arrow the day we met, and he got so mad that he charged a dozen armed men because of it. When we left Gralden he only lost it when one of the pirates hurt me. When we arrived in Arcanum, he only let the dragon out after someone hurt Beth."

"So, you only lose your temper when you want to protect people?" The Fey asked.

"Not all the time." He admitted. "But often." He glanced back at Alana. "There was that one time in Lord Borden's vault."

"What happened?" Taloni asked wide-eyed.

"I got between him and a lot of gold." The wood elf said. "I got between a dragon and a lot of gold, but he didn't lay a finger on me."

"Really?"

"Really." Alana replied, then added. "He just couldn't do it. He even raised his arm like he was going to maul me, but he just couldn't hurt me."

Taloni seemed to relax after hearing that.

Some of the tension drained away and she looked calmer. Her wings fluttered a little as a contented smile crept onto her face. Most of the apprehension had drained from their bond too. She closed her eyes and just smiled for a moment before sighed softly.

"I'm glad." She said after opening her eyes. She looked at the distance between them and then back into his eyes. "May I snuggle with you master?"

"Always." He nodded, feeling much better now that she was. He opened his arms and she rolled into them, spooning so he was the big spoon. He pulled her tighter into his chest and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"I would never let anything bad happen to you." He whispered into her ear.

She made a noise that was some combination of a sigh, a giggle, and a squeal as she wiggled herself closer to him. It seemed like only a minute later that her breathing changed as she slipped off to sleep.

*I'm glad she's feeling better.* Alana thought to him as she kissed his shoulder.

*Me too.* He said. *The only downside is I just have one set of arms, and they're occupied; I can't hold you too.*

Alana peeked up over his shoulder and looked at the sleeping Fey. She reached down and brushed a lock of golden blonde hair out of her face and tucked it behind the sleeping teen's ear. The Fey ten sighed softly as she did so and the wood elf got a look of supreme happiness on her face.

*I don't mind, but you own me those big strong arms tomorrow night.* She winked.

He smiled back. *Deal.*

* * *

Kendra could've sworn she'd laid down to sleep only moments ago She thought she was headed for blissful rest or perhaps a few dreams, but now found herself standing in her tiny, canoe sized airship. She frowned.

That was strange; she was sure she had fallen asleep

Shrugging, she decided to go below decks and started down the winding marble staircase leading to the lower deck of her canoe-sized airship. As she stepped off the winding staircase, she glanced to her right into the ballroom. It only made sense to have a ballroom in a tiny airship; it helped to break up the monotony of long journeys.

She slipped into the ballroom, being careful not to bump the door guards. They looked like owls from the neck up and were twisting their heads all around. She watched the rows and rows of women dancing in their long flowing gowns and sighed. It had been too long since she had been dancing.

She sat down on a nearby bench and watched for several minutes, envious of the women who had partners.

She didn't have one.

Many men came up to her, but they always asked the girl sitting next to her to dance. Funny, she never realized there was a girl sitting next to her until a man asked the girl to dance.

Finally, the dragon that she'd been hunting - Ethan - came up to her. He was all smiles and she couldn't help but notice that he looked dashing in his suit. She didn't think dragons wore suits, but apparently this one did. That was one more thing that made him different.

"May I have this dance?" He asked with a toothy grin.

"It would be my pleasure." She agreed and took his scaled-covered hand.

He led her onto the dance floor as everyone arranged themselves in two long lines; ladies on the right, gentlemen on the left. The music started and all the men bowed to their partners while all the women curtsied. That's when Kendra realized she was wearing a flowing ball gown the likes of which she'd never seen before.

As one, the couples started moving. Ethan was quite light on his feet, which was good because her soft shoes would've provided no protection against his claws.

"I didn't know dragons could dance." Kendra observed as they did a do-si-do.

"I didn't know dragon hunters danced with dragons." He counterd with a chuckle, taking her hand and swinging her, then leading her off into a lady's chain.

"I'd rather be dancing than hunting." She said and felt herself genuinely smile for the first time in ages.

"Oh?"

"Absolutely." She said as he swung her again. "Dance was part of our training so we could blend in anywhere. It was the only part of my training that I truly enjoyed."

"Interesting." He replied as all four in their sub-group put their hands in the center, each one grabbing the wrist of the one in front of them to form a right-hand star. They then all walked forward, turning together in a circle.

"Indeed it was." She agreed. The star then reversed directions as everyone switched hands and turned the other way.

"So why did you start dragon hunting?" He asked as they ended the turn facing a new couple, with them having moved up the line a bit.

"I don't remember." She said honestly. "They recruited from an orphanage and I don't remember being asked. I went from always starving and cold, to hot meals and a warm bed after intense training every day. I never complained."

"That does sound like an improvement." He said as they held hands, stepped close together, then apart, and then swung.

"It was." She nodded fervently. Surprisingly, she found his closeness when they sung comforting.

She didn't know why.

They chatted idly for the entire dance. By the end, Kendra was feeling happier than she ever had. Or at least, happier than she ever remembered feeling. As the music wound down, he bowed to her and she curtsied in response.

"Thank you so much for asking me to dance." She said as he led her off the floor.

"It was my pleasure." He said.

"Hi you two." A pleasant voice said. It was the wood elf in the green dress, who had walked up holding a bundle of blankets that could only contain a baby.

"Hi." Kendra greeted her like they were old friends, then leaned in to see the sleeping face of a newborn baby girl carefully swaddled in the blankets.

"Do you want to hold her?" The wood elf asked.

"Oh, I don't... I don't think I should."

"Nonsense; you'll be wonderful with her." The chocolate haired elf replied. She adjusted the baby and carefully handed her over.

Not knowing what else to do, Kendra took the little bundle of joy. The baby was clearly asleep, but had worked one of her arms free of the swaddling and was gently rubbing her nose and mouth in an adorable way.

"Hi there. Hi." Kendra whispered to the baby. "What's her name?" She looked up... but everyone was gone.

She was completely alone in the ballroom.

She looked around, starting to panic. She had no idea how to take care of a baby. None. She looked around frantically but she was truly alone. Holding the baby protectively with one arm, she rushed to the door, opened it and ran through.

But instead of the corridor she remembered, now she was on a battlefield.

A massive battlefield.

The entire ground was covered with dead bodies of many different races from all across the Ten Kingdoms. The stench of blood and death was thick in the air. Most of the bodies had been slain with weapons, but many bore scorch marks from spells and the foul odor of charred flesh was also in the air. Many different battle standards where laying on the ground or stuck in the earth. Most were ripped or torn.

There was no one living in sight.

Fires - probably from the mages - where scattered all around the battlefield, giving off small amounts of smoke which covered the entire area. Their red, flickering light and the omnipresent smoke in the fading light of the twilight sky gave the entire area an otherworldly reddish glow... and not in a good way. It seemed like blood and smoke filled the air.

Something truly awful had happened here.

In the distance, she heard the sound of steel ringing against steel. She turned around to see two dragons fighting, each attacking the other with a ferocity she'd never before seen.

One dragon was steel gray.

The other was black as night.

The steel gray dragon was wielding a shield and a gleaming sword that seemed to shine with an inner light. The black dragon was answering with a mace and shield. They were both moving so fast she had trouble keeping her eyes on their movements.

She clutched the baby tighter as she realized what terrible danger the infant was in if the gray dragon lost.

"Keep the baby safe Kendra." She heard a somber but melodious voice say from behind her.

She whipped around to see a woman who was wearing robes of the purest white. Despite the bloodiness of the battlefield, there wasn't a single speck of dirt or blood on her pristine, shining clothes. She seemed to shine brightly, but with the warmth of a flickering candle.

"Protect the baby Kendra; keep her safe." The luminous woman said again.

Kendra heard a growl behind her and turned.

The gray dragon had been wounded - though not fatally - and he had fallen to the earth. The black dragon turned and started charging towards Kendra and the baby. She turned and fled, clutching the baby tightly as her heart pounded in her chest.

She wasn't fast enough.

She could hear the black dragon gaining on her as she ran for all she was worth, clutching the baby tightly to herself the whole time. She chanced a glance behind her and saw the black dragon was nearly upon them and swinging its weapon in a powerful overhand strike. She dove to the side and curled herself around the baby to protect the infant as best as she could.

She hit the ground and heard the dragon roar. She turned to see it raise its mace and prepare for a vicious downward blow that would surely kill them both. She used her body to shield the infant and clenched her eyes shut.

The hammer whistled through the air as it swung down...

* * *

"Aah!" Kendra yelled as she sat bolt upright in her airship, her eyes flying open.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was panting as if she'd just run a marathon and was nearly drenched in cold sweat. She was clutching her travel pack tightly to her chest as if it was the infant she'd been so desperately protecting.

Her hands were shaking.

Her breathing was short and ragged.

It took a few moments for her to get her bearings.

"It's okay, you're okay." She told herself. She took a few deep, calming breaths and tried to still her racing heart. "It was just a dream."

After a few moments, her body seemed to realize that she wasn't running or fighting for her life and it slowly calmed down. Her breathing returned to normal along with her heartbeat, and her hands stopped shaking.

"What in Saidow's lair what that?" She said thinking back to the dream. Dancing with a dragon? Fighting to save their baby like she was the most important thing in the world?

Kendra shook her head and shuddered.

It was still in the pre-dawn hours. The sky had just barely begun to lighten in the east and there was still a slight chill in the late summer air. She pulled out her enchanted telescope and scanned the horizon to make sure the dragon's airship was still berthed near the slaver's camp. It was, though they had removed the gangplank and risen another fifty feet in the air to prevent anyone from boarding at night.

Smart.

Satisfied that her quarry hadn't escaped, Kendra laid back down and pondered the dream. It certainly hadn't felt like a normal dream. Well, perhaps the first part with the dancing was. She often dreamed of dancing and realized with a sigh that she couldn't remember the last time she'd done it in the waking world.

But dancing with a dragon?

Strangely, she had quite enjoyed the experience and the conversation that had flowed naturally between them. She couldn't remember opening up that easily to anyone before. Of course, that was only in dream. She wouldn't even consider opening up like that to the dragon in real life.

And then there was their daughter.

The baby had been so cute. Kendra had never been a 'baby person' but had to admit that little bundle of joy felt amazing in her arms. She felt sorry for the girl because of her parentage, but otherwise...

She closed her eyes and tried to remember every detail. She lay there thinking about her desperate attempts to save the baby and the strange luminous woman who had instructed her to do so. Something about that seemed significant, but she didn't know what.

That was her last though before she drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he looked at the large wooden ring that housed the unopened portal.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Alana agreed with him.

They stood just inside the small cavern which housed the portal. Taloni, Rachel, Hailey, Anthiel, the two women from Earth, and all the kids were standing behind him. Everyone had eaten a hurried breakfast and now they were ready to leave.

Or as ready as they could be.

"Okay, here's the plan." He said turning to face them. "Rachel will show Anthiel and Taloni how to open the portal. Once it's open, I'll go through first to make sure it's safe and Gonorran isn't around. If the coast looks clear, I'll let Alana know and she'll let everyone else know. If she says to go, then run through the portal because I'm not sure how long it will stay open. Rachel says it would take the better part of a day for Taloni and Anthiel to replenish their mana enough to open it again, so rush through as soon as Alana gives the word. Everyone understand?"

There was a general murmur of agreement.

"Then let's get to it." He said.

Rachel led Anthiel and Taloni over to the control podium and started showing them how it worked. It seemed as simple as pushing your mana into the large orange gemstone embedded in the center of the control podium. At least, it was that simple to open a portal. Rachel had said there was no way she would risk trying to alter the portal's endpoint.

He noticed Hailey standing a little away from the others. She had her arms crossed as if cold, but it wasn't cold in the cavern.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Just nervous. I've been dreaming about this day for years. Now that it's here I just..." She glanced at the portal. "What if everything has changed?"

"I'm sure some things have changed." He replied. "You've been gone a while and it would be silly to think that everything stayed the same. But we'll be with you every step of the way."

"Still?"

"Yes." He nodded. "We take care of our friends."

"Thank you. I don't know what I would've done without you; all of you."

"You're welcome."

She looked at the portal. "I'm half expecting this thing to open into a military base under the Cheyenne Mountains. It looks like the Goa'uld might come through at any moment."

He chuckled at the Stargate SG1 reference, though he had to admit the resemblance was striking. There were plenty of differences between the portal and SG1's Stargate, and also between the portal's control podium and SG1's DHD - dial home device - but they were definitely similar.

It almost made him wonder...

"Maybe the resemblance isn't accidental, but causal." He mused.

"Come again?" Hailey asked.

"Well, Earth has plenty of stories filled with magic. Perhaps Earth once had mages and one of them created a portal like this which someone found? That would certainly explain the resemblance."

"That sounds farfetched." Hailey replied.

"Does it?" He asked. "I've definitely met other people on this world who came from Earth, or at least visited there." He then explained about Luminar Kossel quoting Star Wars and Kendra's friend who had a quote from Pulp Fiction memorized.

"Interesting." She made a thoughtful sound. "So what? You think the US government has some top secret portal and that was the inspiration for the Stargate movie and series?"

"Maybe?" He shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm just thinking out loud. Besides, there's no magic on Earth now anyway, so how would they charge a portal to open it? "

"Good point." The willowy woman replied.

"We're ready." Rachel called.

Ethan walked over to Antheil, Rachel, and Taloni; who were all standing near the control podium. He looked at the Fey teen and smiled.

*You can hear me right?* He said telepathically.

*I can.* she replied the same way, then she grinned. *I like this; it's like our own private conversation in a room full of people.*

*I know, right?* He gave her a hug and then kissed her forehead. *I love you, and I'll be back as soon as possible.*

She squeezed him tightly. *I love you too master. Be careful and hurry back.*

*I will.* He nodded and then walked to the head of the ramp.

"You might not want to stand so close while the portal is forming." Rachel said from the base of the ramp where everyone else was standing. "It might be dangerous."

"Good point." He said, remembering how the portal on Stargate SG1 had a tendency to vaporize everything in front of it when it opened. He walked to the bottom of the ramp, picked up his spear and hammer, and waited.

"Okay ladies, give it all you've got." Rachel instructed.

Taloni and Anthiel placed their hands on the large orange gemstone on the control podium. They got looks of intense concentration and then looked at the large ring that would contain the portal.

It worked.

The gemstone on the lower left slowly lit up and then flashed slightly.

"Chevron one encoded." Hailey whispered to Ethan.

He chuckled at the Stargate SG1 reference.

It took about a minute for the Fey and the high elf to fully charge all seven gemstones around the edge of the ring. When they had, all seven flashed at the same moment, then something that looked like opaque water started flowing from the inside of the ring toward the open center. It moved like honey or maple syrup; slowly and like it was very thick. In seconds it had met in the center, forming a membrane and then began to relax and undulate like water in the wind.

The membrane was like the surface of water as it reflected the sun. Or perhaps like oil left out on a flat surface. Like the portal stone Elder Goman had given him, it undulated and moved liked water in a slight breeze, reflecting the colors of the rainbow like soap bubbles. At the same time though, it was a subtle thing; easy to miss with just a glance; again like the rainbow colors in a bubble.

"Portal's open." Rachel called. "You better get going."

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his weapons. Then - hoping that Gonorran wasn't waiting for him on the other side - he ran up the ramp and jumped through the portal to Earth.

TO BE CONTINUED...

STORY TAGS: dragon, magic, medieval, elf, teen, romance, virgin, harem, cuckquean