© 2026 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

Recovering from a cowardly assault, Duke Stein and his duchess remain loyal to the throne of Uduithia and King Uric, as traitors infest the king's royal court. The Duke's personal friends have taken the position of Duke Stein's personal guards as the long winter nears an end. There's joy in the duke's household as Midwinter Night approaches, the celebration of the end of snow and the promise of a spring planting season, but danger does not wane as even the elven princess Tsarra Naedove turns to Nick and Octavia for help.

Gods Save the Queen

Book 4 Part 2

Stardance

Chapter 11 - Tanithil Glynrie's Purpose

Tanithil Glynrie was learning the odd pattern in which Rkund Hold was built. There was no rhyme or reason to the placing of the hallways and rooms. At first, it seemed like everything was placed randomly, that there was no pattern to the design. He was given the task of mapping the keep. Daily he muttered under his breath about the damn dwarves that built the strange keep. He kept notes on the halls and vaults that he discovered on a slate with a stub of chalk he found in a room filled with rows of small desks and chairs.

Worse of all was the dark. He was being led around by light. He would find rooms with soft illumination glowing from gems mounted on sconces, but when he took the gem it went dark, and he was plunged into pitch black until he fumbled his way back to a corridor with light. The sconces seemed to be part of the wall and could not be removed, and any gem that he took from its sconce eventually returned to glowing, but it took days.

Every other day he traveled down a long corridor that led south (he believed). He was led by a faint light that traveled ahead of him, casting just enough illumination to show him that the floor was clear of obstacles. Eventually the light would stop, and there, at the end of the long corridor, sat a canvas sack filled with vegetables and fruit. Enough to survive on for a few days. The hard part was getting back, because he would be plunged into total darkness. He would have to find his way back by feeling the oddly smooth wall.

He found a room full of ancient tomes and scrolls, but he's never had time for reading in his past. Writing was for the weak; if you weren't elf enough to lift a sword, you lifted a feather and sat with a bottle of ink and whiled away your life. Tanithil Glynrie knew how to read; that's how he learned to forge mithril in his youth. The last sword he made was now in two pieces, carved in half by that bastard human, Pommy.

The only thing that was in abundance in this pit was darkness. His explorations were illuminated by the occasional glowing gem mounted high on the walls of the tunnels he walked through. When his daily duties of exploration and mapping were done, he was challenged to a bit of sparring by Pommy. They sparred with wooden swords in silence, in a stone gymnasium illuminated by flickering torches. When the sparring match was over, the torches were extinguished and Pommy was gone. And that was it until the next day when he awoke to a bowl of porridge with sliced fruit, and the day would continue.

Finally, he could take the darkness no more. He found his way to the bizarre underground garden where glowing plants grew and fairies flittered from plant to plant. "One of you fairies, come with me!" he shouted and turned to leave, but instead of being escorted by a fairy, he was greeted with high-pitched laughter.

That night in the gymnasium, Tanithil was angry. "I grow tired of this infernal darkness! You task me with numerous responsibilities, but I can't see to work!" Their wooden swords whirled and whooshed through the air as they sparred. As usual, Pommy was angering Tanithil by doing something annoying with his free hand, like eating an apple. "What must I do to get some light in this cavern?"

"You must be the light."

"Huh?" That was the most stupid sounding thing Tanithil had ever heard. "I said I need light to see."

Pommy gently touched Tanithil on the forehead with the point of his wooden sword and said, "Killing stroke!" He sheathed his wooden sword, then snapped his fingers, and that black walking stick sailed from wherever he had left it to his hand. "You must become the light. This keep is filled with all sorts of creatures that create light, or carry light, or are made of light. But you storm around here like an angry herd of oliphants, stomping and roaring. They're afraid of you. Make friends with one and the others will follow."

Instead of leaving by turning into an eagle and flying out of the keep, he suddenly became Saatus, goddess of Fate. "Where is Pommy?" demanded Tanithil.

"Sir Nicholas Stein hath destinies woven by greater looms than to trade blows with thee, mortal."

"Why am I here? Does my stumbling in the dark please him?"

"Such would have been thy ordained destiny, had not Sir Nicholas, by mine grace, intervened," barked Saatus, her voice suddenly booming and ringing through the underground keep. Suddenly Tanithil was no longer standing in a warm, dry gymnasium; he was standing at the bottom of a cliff, looking at his broken, frozen body. "This, then, was the peril from which Sir Nicholas sought to deliver you."

"I don't understand, we are sworn enemies! We hate each other!" roared Tanithil against the murderous winds of Morna Oran.

"Nicholas doth not harbor hatred, but perceives thee as a challenging spirit, burdened by excessive solemnity, and in dire need of a gentle, enlightened touch," said the goddess of fate. "Few are those who incur his displeasure, and thou art not among them."

"Then why am I here?" asked Tanithil. For the first time in his life, the elven warrior felt uncertain and nervous. The snow was swirling around him, and in the distance he heard the hungry howl of a wolf preparing to dine.

"This hallowed peak bears a destiny woven by the ages. I command thee, mortal, to obey Lord Stein's desire, to unveil its sacred purpose. Ascend, and claim dominion over Morna Oran, for it is thy divine duty! All is open to you except Artafána, the castle of white!"

Tanithil found himself in what he considered his bedroom. A small ten foot by ten-foot room with a fire pit in the middle, a futon cushion with pillow and blanket. He burned small pieces of firewood that he found stacked outside the room. He burned them to ward off the chill, but mostly for the light. He fell into a deep, troubled slumber, and when he awoke; he heard the sound of fluttering wings.

"Hello?" called the warrior elf.

"Hello," came the response.

"Are you a fairy?"

"Are you going to cook me?"

"No, of course not.

"Then I'm a fairy," came the tiny voice.

"Why do you live in such a place as this?" asked Tanithil. He had never talked to a fairy before; he hoped this was right.

"Because!" said the fairy cheerfully. "Outside we get blown all around and we crash into trees and rocks. In here there's no wind so we can fly really fast!" Suddenly there was a streak of light that circled the room three times before the light extinguished.

Despite himself, Tanithil laughed at the tiny creature. "That is quite an exhibition of flying."

"There's no owls down here to eat us either."

"Owls eat you?" That was something elves didn't worry about, and the thought saddened Tanithil. Who would want to eat such a sweet, silly creature?

"My wife got eaten," said the fairy. "Now I'm alone."

For some reason that touched Tanithil. He's never had a wife, and suddenly the horror of watching his wife being eaten filled him with dread. "If you'd like, you can stay with me. We can explore this mountain keep together."

<><><><><>

Tanithil became acquainted with the joys of researching information. The small library he found seemed to be a huge instruction manual for the Rkund Keep, and to his shock, the scrolls were not written in Dvørg Námfólk, common Dwarvish, nor was it written in Dvørg Handverkarar, the language of Dwarf craftsmen. Every scroll he opened was written in Varresh Keel, the royal language of the elves, using the beautiful cursive style of writing that seemed to have been abandoned a hundred generations ago. "Why was all of this information written in Varresh Keel and not some form of Dwarvish?" Tanithil wondered aloud.

"Why should the scrolls be written for dwarves?" asked Butternut. "This is an Elf city."

"This hole in the ground is an Elf city? This is a dwarf fortress."

Butternut shook his tiny head. "Elsenas!"

Tanithil's head spun. The fabled city of Elsenas was thought to have been destroyed by the gods thousands of years ago. Elf and human explorers and treasure hunters gave up on finding its remains centuries ago. "This is Elsenas? Why is it known as Rkund Keep by the dwarves?"

"Rkund Keep is the upper chamber the dwarves were able to get into," said Butternut brightly.

From that moment on, Tanithil Glynrie worked as hard as he could to prove Butternut wrong. He could read Varresh Keel and most of the scrolls he read were mechanical documents, but when he found the scrolls that listed the minutes of the governing body starting with their statement of allegiance to King Norwynn IV. "Norwynn predated Elandorr Cailee," gasped Tanithil. Butternut nodded his head happily.

He now had two fairies accompanying him on his explorations: Butternut and Tulip. They were studious (for fairies) and had a fairly good memory (for fairies) and when a scroll mentioned something with a proper description, the fairies often remembered where they had seen it, and they could lead Tanithil to it. He grew excited when they found a scroll that mentioned a Mithril Forge.

"What's that?" asked Tulip.

"It's a place where you can make metal out of ore dug out of the earth. A kiln heats the iron, carbon, and mithril hot enough to melt together and it makes a mithril impregnated iron billet. From there a smith can forge a mithril steel blade if there's an anvil and a weightless hammer available."

"Weightless hammer?"

"It's a magical instrument. It's a hammer that weighs maybe three pounds, but strikes with the force of a fifty pound hammer." He was excited; maybe he could re-forge his sword, because without a sword he was merely a caretaker in a mountain fortress. But the more he read, the more excited he grew about this spider's web of tunnels under the mountain. It connected with several other keeps under the mountain, and each keep had a different purpose. There was a connection to Artafána (White Castle) where the great library of Nolmë was housed. The fairies grew excited about that and called it "Momma and Poppa's house." Deep below the mountain was an underground river, and a water wheel to power Rkund Hold was down there. That was called Duin Mar - the River House. And then there was Taur's Padad, the king's walk.

"It's dark there," said the fairies.

"You can't see! Only the King can see!"

That evening, when sparring with Pommy, who was actually Saatus, Tanithil said, "I want to see Taur's Padad."

"The King's Entrance?" Pommy chuckled. He was drinking a mug of cider this evening as he sparred with Saatus. "Let me know if you see anything there. It might be interesting. But legend says that only the king can see. It's a day's walk to get there, and a half mile long tunnel of pitch black; no light can exist in there. Not a torch nor an enchanted gem. Even a fairy's light fails there."

"You can see in there," said Tanithil.

"Nay, such power resides not within me. Only Sir Nicholas may perceive what lies in Taur's Padad. Yet, alas, he remains blinded by his own refusal to embrace the truth that unveils his eyes," said Pommy, but this time using Saatus's voice.

"You're a goddess and you can't see in there?"

"Nay. 'Tis whispered that Saehrimnir, god of Divine Fools, *might* gaze into such depths; yet I deem even his sight insufficient."

"Then who cast that spell?"

"That enchantment was wrought by elven mages who were here before we arrived." Then Pommy touched Tanithil's chest with the tip of his wooden sword. "Killing stroke!" and he became the twelve foot tall goddess.

"Who does Pommy spar with? Does he spar?" demanded Tanithil.

"He doth spar with thee, as I beheld him in this very gymnasium but two days ago."

"He was here?" roared the elf warrior. "You two are driving me crazy," muttered Tanithil as he wandered off, cursing.

<><><><><>

"I was speaking with Saatus..." started Tanithil.

"She likes Poppa!" said Tulip. Tulip had bright purple hair, and it appeared to Tanithil that there was some affectionate fluttering going on between her and the brunette Butternut. To Tanithil, they both looked like tiny elven women.

"As I was saying," resumed Tanithil. "Saatus told me that the enchantment on Taur's Padad was placed before the gods arrived. Does that make sense to you?" Both fairies acted like Tanithil had announced that he discovered that water was wet. "When did they get here?"

Butternut shrugged his tiny shoulders. "Before stardance."

<><><><><>

As usual, Tanithil started his day with a long jog followed by a soak in the underground hot spring five levels below the library. Every room in the Rkund Keep was much brighter this morning, and when he got to the hot spring, a chorus of fairies was squeaking, "GO! Go to Taur's Padad!"

"Why should I go there?"

"Poppa needs you!" and the continued squeaking and begging would not stop.

"Who is going to go with me? Who will show me the way?"

"US!" they cried.

"Yilos balls!" swore Tanithil as he climbed out of the steaming hot pool where he liked to soak before bedtime and when he finished his morning jog through the corridors of Rkund Hold every morning. "Gods among us!" cursed the elf warrior. "Let me get my clothes on!"

"Hurry! Hurry!" squeaked the fairies.

"What is the rush?"

"Poppa needs you! Lambkin!" cried Butternut.

"I think Tulip is making you crazy old man," grumbled Tanithil, but he pulled on his kilt, the work shirt known as a bryss, then over that a jacket type overshirt tied off with a belt. He pulled on stockings, his leather boots, then bound the boots and stockings to his legs with wrapped bandages. The fairies were squawking and chirping, driving him crazy. "Who of you is coming with?"

The fairies were quiet for a time, then they said, "Not Tulip." All agreed that Tulip wasn't coming. "Ok, Butternut, you stay with Tulip, make sure she's ok. The rest of you, let's go on an adventure!" and with a cheerful cry from the dozen or so fairy escorts, they were off.

It was indeed a full day's walk to Taur's Padad, and it was all underground. It was an immaculately carved tunnel that widened in several spots, providing resting spots and fresh water. There was a large rest area with sweet spring water, a pool one could bathe in, and several benches to rest or sleep on. The corridor beyond was pitch black. Tanithil left his pack on a bench, realizing that this was the path he had to walk on his own. The fairies looked worried. "Hurry! Lambkin waits!"

Tanithil entered the dark corridor and found that the floor was smooth and level. The walls were too far apart for him to trace with both hands, so he kept his left hand on the left wall and ran. It was terrifying to run in the dark, but an elf is not afraid of the dark, right? However, in this case, Tanithil was terrified. The pitch black was darker than the corridors of Elsenas; this was not an absence of light; this was like swimming in a pool of black ink. There was no light, no sound. It was the perfect way to prevent someone from entering because this was so terrifying that Tanithil wanted to stop, crouch and cry.

His fingers felt what seemed to be words carved into the stone, then suddenly he emerged into the light. He found himself ten feet into an underground cavern, and ten feet away was daylight! He stepped out into the light and was surrounded by elves of all types carrying clubs, and a few had swords. There were plains elves, forest elves, and mountain elves, all together in unity. Unfortunately, their unification seemed to be centered on beating the life out of Tanithil Glynrie.

Finally, an elf with crimson hair and silver eyes, with the face tattoos of the Maethor Nos warriors, stepped forward. "Are you Tanithil Glynrie?"

Tanithil drew himself to his full height and said, "Yes I am, what of it?"

"Gods below!" gasped the warrior. "It's him!" and the elves that surrounded Tanithil shouted, "Las see olla!" ("let it be" in High Elvish) "The Duke said you would be here; you need to protect our friend."

"Protect?" All his life, Tanithil Glynrie's job was to kill; now he was being asked to protect?

"I am Vesstan Aedi, mayor of Irla Stein Anore, the first village where all elves can find peace. We have a problem." Three elven maids stepped forward, leading someone who was wearing a full-length cloak, and the hood was pulled over his or her head. All Tanithil could see were her hands, which appeared to be dark.

Suddenly a huge black eagle swooped in, and as it landed, it became Nick Stein. "The duke!" gasped the elves. Many bowed, others knelt, which Nick frowned at.

"Thank you for keeping Tsarra my friends, but we are out of time, the out riders are almost here and I can't protect her off of this mountain." He looked at Tanithil and said, "Let's be heroes." And they led the traveler back into the cavern, but this time Tanithil could see the carvings on the walls. Beautiful, ancient carvings, images of long forgotten elf kings, unrecorded battles, and images of something huge and round in the sky.

"What is this witchcraft?" gasped Tanithil. "I can see now."

"That's because I can see and you're touching me," said Nick as they carried the exhausted traveler.

"So I'm seeing what you can see? How does that work?" demanded Tanithil.

"I honestly don't know for sure, I was hoping you figured it out by now."

They finally reached the open area where a cloud of fairies waited for them, and they laid the traveler down on a blanket that Tanithil had brought. "Poppa!" cried the fairies.

"Are you helping Tanithil?" asked Nick.

"Well..." The fairies looked like they were expecting a scolding.

"I told you, he may be grouchy but you need to help him."

"Tanny is funny!" said one fairy.

"I told you, I don't like being called Tanny," snarled Tanithil. He was examining the traveler; she was obviously exhausted.

"She got separated from her father's caravan and was set upon by highwaymen in Spatz Mountain," said Nick. "They chased her into my duchy... I'm going to have a few words with Duke Vivas. Royal or not, travelers must be protected."

"Duke Balun Vivas is dead," came a soft voice from under the cloak. "His son killed him and took over the duchy." The traveler lifted the hood that was covering her face and removed her veil. Tanithil Glynrie had never seen a more beautiful visage in his life. She had the golden hair and purple eyes of mountain elves, just like Tanithil, but her skin was dark, the dark brown of a betel nut. Rudely called a dark elf, she was of the Odhalleas, the royals. The eldest known species of elf. "My father must be told," she gasped. The poor maiden was exhausted from her journey.

"I will see him tonight. I am going to leave you in the care of Tanithil, he's got some amazing things to show you."

"The only thing I want to see is water," she gasped, and Tanithil produced a bowl from his pack and brought her some water.

"I have to leave. Warrior Glynrie, your duty is now to the princess." And with that, Nick became an eagle and flew off into the dark corridor.

"You're a princess?" asked Tanithil.

She nodded weakly. "My father is King Erolith Xillee, ruler of Silvanor."

The fairies fluttered around the traveler and started calling her Princess Lambkin, while Tanithil tried not to faint from the shock. This could only be Princess Tsarra Naedove, crown princess of Silvanor.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 12 - Police Wedding

"Where were you?" asked Octavia as Nick appeared on the front porch and stepped into the house.

"On my way back I noticed a disturbance at Irla Stein Anore," said Nick as Octavia wrapped herself around her husband. Then he whispered in her ear. "Crown Princess Tsarra Naedove finally made it to safety. There was a dozen highway men after her. She was at Irla Stein Anore looking for a place to hide and I helped get her into Rkund Hold."

"Through the Kings Entrance?" asked Octavia. She hated it when Nick ran off to face trouble like that.

"Yeah, the black tunnel." He refuses to call it the King's Entrance. "The fairies were in an uproar again about Elsenas."

"That's an ancient elven city. It was lost ages ago."

Nick just shrugged. "We have four of the greatest minds up there trying to learn about the mountain, two in Artafána and two in Rkund Hold."

"While you were out, packages from the king and queen arrived," said Octavia.

"What is it now," groaned Nick as Octavia led him back into the cottage. Inside the cottage, Preston and Annabelle were sitting on the ancient and most honorable throne of the Xuantang Empire, playing with Marlon. The elves Flinar and Shelara Mialen and the dwarves Bughac and Eryri Orebeard were seated at the table and discussing mountain security over tea. "Your secret weapon is in place," said Nick as everyone turned to the Duke and Duchess.

"What weapon is that?" asked Shelara Mailen.

"Tanithil Glynrie and Tsarra Naedove are in place in Rkund Hold."

"Glynrie... is that the arrogant horses hind end that I met a few months ago up on the dig?"

"That's him. He's currently researching Rkund Hold with Princess Tsarra Naedove."

"Princess Naedove and Tanithil Glynrie?" asked Flinar Mialen, his brows rose in amusement. "That's a pair that can beat a royal flush."

Flinar's wife, Shelara, smiled and said, "That's quite a match you made."

"I'm sure they'll figure it out," said Nick.

"No, really, you took a blood thirsty cold hearted killer and locked her under a mountain with Tanithil Glynrie? What did he ever do to you?" asked Shelara.

"What do you mean?"

"Tanithil has a brain full of dead cats, but he's still a soldier," said Flinar. "Princess Tsarra is bloodthirsty and not afraid to show anyone her close combat skills. Why do you think she's the most eligible princess in Elvendom and is still single?"

Nick just chuckled and said, "You're underestimating Tanithil. We have to get dressed," and Octavia nudged Nick up the stairs to their room. Up there they opened the large flat boxes they received from the castle and sure enough it was uniforms for the duke and duchess.

"The queen had these made for us and she wants us to wear them to the ball."

They were similar to their previous outfits. Octavia had a wizard's robe, but it was clearly designed for a woman and it accentuated her bust, her narrow waist, and round hips. It was midnight blue with silver stars and moons, but that came later; she had to help an injured Nick get dressed. Nick's uniform was clearly designed by Queen Elinor. She just loved having an actual swordsman in the nobility. His uniform was midnight blue to match Octavia's gown, but the mithril and gold ornamentation were far beyond anything he wore when he guarded King Alfrich.

The collar of the jacket was a standing collar, known to military men all over Kodu as a choker. The joke was that it prevented rope burns at your execution. The standing collar was trimmed with gold braid and ornamented with mithril silver elm leaves to pay homage to Elm Springs. Midnight blue shoulder boards trimmed with gold braid and gold epaulettes hanging off the shoulder. Clusters of elm leaves of mithril decorated the boards. A gold and mithril belt was worn over the jacket, and a midnight blue and mithril cutlass scabbard hung from the belt. There was much more fancy crap (as Jehans would have put it) on the uniform, like the mithril stripes on the trousers, and the mithril buttons and braid around the buttons. Nick felt like a walking jewelry store. The only thing he added besides a cutlass was his pocket watch and chain.

As Octavia and Nick stepped out of their bedroom, Preston and Annabelle finished putting on their uniforms and opened the curtain of the nursery where they were dressing. "Gods below!" gasped Preston.

"You look like royalty!" whispered Annabelle.

"Not royalty, never royalty" said Nick as he tugged his jacket into position, then howled in pain.

"I warned you about flying around like this," hissed Octavia.

"It felt good when I was flying," said Nick.

"That's because the eagle wasn't broken, but your actual body is broken." She put her hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She could sense the tissue knitting from the arrow shot. She could help it along with magic, but it would probably not be right and leave a horrible scar. It's best to let nature take its course. Several pieces of fabric were included with their suits for repairs or, in Octavia's case, modesty covers when nursing Marlon. She fashioned a sling for Nick's injured arm, then took the cutlass and sheath off his uniform. "No sense in carrying a sword you can't use, you'd be tempted to pull it the first time a drunken brawl broke out."

"As always, you are right my love. I'll take Teivas with me."

"And Pepin," said a voice from under the bed. "Wounded nobility needs a fierce wolf for protection."

"Good idea," said Nick. Then, pretending he didn't know where Pepin was, he called out, "Pepin! Are you willing to travel?"

"I think I can handle it, sire," said Pepin as he crawled out from under the bed.

"Go," said Octavia. "I need to get dressed."

"I'm going to check on the boys in the bunk house and let them know what is going to happen." With that, Nick made his way down the stairs to find the elven guards holding Marlon.

"He woke up and was getting fussy," said Shelara.

Octavia followed Nick down, scolding him that she should have led in case he lost his balance. "I'll take him," she told Shelara.

"No, he's fine. I think he's learning about his fingers!" said Shelara with more excitement than Octavia thought necessary.

"Is this something significant with elf babies?" asked Octavia as she watched Marlon close his hands into little chubby fists and gnaw on them.

"Very important! We celebrate because it shows the child's curiosity," said her husband, Flinar.

"Shelara and Flinar are considered experts in the field of raising elflings," said Nick.

"True," said Flinar. "We have had four, twice as many as most elves."

"Five," said Shelara. "Our fifth will be born Mid-Autumn."

"Such a beautiful time!" sighed Octavia. "The leaves turning, the harvest celebrations!"

"A yuletide baby!" said Nick with a grin. In his experience, most of his deliveries came in autumn, mostly from their parents celebrating the Yuletide holidays.

"You are so crude! Go check on your giants!" scolded Octavia.

Nick ducked into the bunkhouse, and the guys were getting their Midwinter dinner together: a huge ham, potatoes, corn, and a beautiful Midwinter cake that Octavia and Nick had made for them. They had the big iron stove hot and were getting ready to cook. "We're going to be heading to the palace soon; are you guys ok?" The four hands turned and broke into grins.

"Who replaced our boss with a broken tin soldier?"

"Whoo hoo! Very pretty!"

"That puts the grace in 'your grace!'"

Nick was in the uniform that the king and queen gave him, and he looked like a tin soldier, and the sling made him look broken. Octavia cast a spell on the uniform, making it fit perfectly no matter what shape Nick was in. If he gained weight or lost a limb, the uniform would adjust itself to fit correctly. "It was a gift," said Nick.

"A likely story," said Dexter, which caused the former bandits to laugh.

"It's very sharp, your grace," said Bertie, the largest of the group.

"We'll be heading to the palace soon; no idea when we'll be back. And the gatehouse will be manned for the next few weeks."

"Aye-aye!"

Nick headed back to the cottage, feeling every bit of the tin soldier. Luckily, the hat the queen sent had a low crown and was not tall like the toy tin soldiers he had seen. Back at the cottage, he met Sgt. Prescott, as he stood on the patio, nervously pacing. "Second thoughts?"

"No, your grace. Just worried about what the lieutenant is going to say."

"What can he say?"

"He's made it perfectly clear that he's not happy about a couple under his command."

"You're no longer under his command; you are now on even footing with your former commander. The king ordered me to open another Highway Watch barracks here in Hay-on-Wægn county, which is centered on this cottage. You need to tell me if you're no longer interested in a posting here so I can find a new lieutenant."

"No sire, we want the positions you offered; however, it is a bit overwhelming."

"The first step is always the hardest. You have another first step to take. Shall we?" Nick tapped on the door. "Are you ready in there?"

"Nobody here!" called Annabelle.

"Ok, here we come," he turned the handle and entered, and Nick's eyes were drawn to Octavia in the beautiful wizard's gown.

"How do I look?" she asked, turning side to side. She brought things to wizardry that no other wizard has ever brought before, like full, round breasts, cleavage, a narrow waist, sexy round hips, and a million-dollar smile. All Nick could see was the shine of joy in her beautiful brown eyes.

"That hat looks so cute on you," grinned Nick. Her hat was designed after a witch's pointed hat, but was smaller.

"I was hoping for hot," pouted Octavia.

"The rest of the gown does that." Nick stood behind her and helped her put on her new necklace, created by the artisans of the desert kingdom of Sotis. She held up her thick mane of hair while he coupled the clasp. "Where's the star of the show?"

"Annabelle? Are you ready?" called Octavia.

"Coming!" she slowly came down the stairs in her police uniform. Like Preston, she wore a blue and white jacket, but instead of blue slacks, she was wearing a long blue pleated skirt. She added a white veil to the uniform, and in her arms was Marlon, who was happily gnawing on his fist.

"Is that a hint?" Nick whispered in Octavia's ear.

"I don't know, but Marlon really likes her."

Annabelle stepped up next to Preston and smiled as he lifted the veil off her face. Their eyes met, his hazel eyes meeting her dark brown eyes, and they leaned in closer. They suddenly caught themselves and turned nervously to Nick. "Oh, you guys can kiss. This isn't a church; we can do whatever we want in our wedding. We can build a snowman for our ceremony or wait for summer and get nekkid and do this up to our necks in the pond."

That caused Flinar and Shelara to snort as they held back their laughter. "It's ok," said Nick. "If you want to laugh, laugh. If you want to sing, go ahead and sing. This is a celebration." Those words started Annabelle giggling and caused Preston to blush, so Nick felt like he had touched on something in their past. He took Marlon out of Annabelle's arms and said, "Sorry buddy, you've already done one wedding this month," and he handed the baby to Eryri, who cuddled her godson.

"He was already in a wedding?" asked Preston.

"Yes, we had a couple of dwarves get married right where you are standing a few weeks ago, and the bride wouldn't put the baby down."

"That would be us," said Buggy.

"But this should be fun, you're my first humans in this house not counting Octavia and me."

"Mostly human," said Annabelle with a slight giggle.

"Wait, you did your own wedding?" asked Preston.

"No, of course not, that wouldn't be right," said Nick. "Let us begin, shall we? So here we go... Important part number one, Annabelle, are you marrying Preston of your own free will? You're not being forced, you're not doing this to win a bet, you just want to partner with Preston Prescott forever?"

Nick's question caused Annabelle to giggle even more. "Yes, I want to marry him because I love him."

"Now Preston, I heard rumor our wolfling may have nipped you. If this is true, you need to concentrate. Are you doing this of your own free will? You're not being forced, coerced, or enchanted into this, are you sure that you want to partner with Annabelle Schultze forever of your own free will?"

"I wanted to marry her long before she bit me."

Nick gave them a big, relaxing smile. "Ok, first hurdle surmounted, we're a third of the way there, now the tough one, ready?" The nervous couple nodded. "Ok, hold hands, now give me your free hand, now just relax..." Nick slipped his arm out of the sling, and they joined hands in a circle, and now Nick could feel familial distinctions, which with mountain people are important. He could feel more, however.

"Annabelle, is there something you want to tell Preston before we move on?" She blushed furiously but didn't say anything. "Annabelle, we can't move forward until all members of this wedding are acknowledged."

Her nervous smile turned into a sad frown. She wanted to run, but she couldn't break away; her hands were trapped in Nick and Preston's hands; they were locked in this circle. She felt Nick standing before her, a calming big brother, ready to protect her if Preston got angry. Nervously, she whispered in Preston's ear.

Preston looked at Nick in shock, but Nick said, "Don't look at me, look at Annabelle." Preston gazed into her beautiful blue eyes, then kissed her long and passionately. Nick chuckled as he saw realization spread over Octavia's face. "Ok, with that settled, let us see if you are brother and sister..." He closed his eyes and delved into their families.

Towns in the mountains are small and isolated; families can be large, and soon everyone in town is a cousin. It's up to the witch to determine how close a cousin they are. Finding no familial connection in a couple in the Snowcross Mountains is indeed rare, so the rule is if the couple are third cousins or closer, the wedding is off. They didn't believe that there would be a connection. Preston was from Breaze and Annabelle was from Elbreshowth on the Moor; how could their families be connected?

"I don't know if you two realize it, but you have a common relative, Goodie Hays. She was the witch in Bent Plow, a little town in Warwickshire, an independent duchy west from here. She was Annabelle's great-great-aunt on her father's side, and a sixth cousin to Preston's maternal great grandmother, so you two are just barely related." They opened their eyes and saw Nick smiling broadly. "The wedding is still on. Now we come to the third hurdle. Honey?"

Octavia opened the door, and Nick stepped out of the way. "This is it; this is your last chance to walk away. The door is open, you can run, I'll trip whoever is chasing you."

The lovers looked even more determined, so Octavia closed the door and Nick continued. He joined their hands so they were standing face to face; then he stepped back. "Now comes the time of binding, where your souls join forever and until this world passes away, you have a partner, a lover, and a workmate. Be aware that all you endure or love shall be shared with your mate."

It was Nick speaking, but his voice was coming from far away. Everything grew dark for Preston and Annabelle; the only light they saw was shining on their partner. They could feel their very souls intertwining, their dreams and desires becoming one with each other's wishes. Was everyone holding their breath, waiting for the moment to arrive? Or was this all happening during a single tick of the clock?

"Now look into each other's eyes and tell them that you love them and you are one."

It was the most natural thing to do. "I love you," the two watchmen said, and they could feel their souls envelop each other. A contract that encompassed so much was sealed with three little words that came from the heart.

"Now bind yourself to the other with a kiss... and... you're married."

To Preston and Annabelle, time became their plaything. They could see their sun, Thaal, burning in space far below them, and it was orbited by two planets, massive giant Zigu and comfortable Kodu. They could see the cloud of planetoids that ringed the orbit of the two planets and the comets that orbited Thaal, but followed their own design. They saw Deffyn's Comet as it started its dive toward Zigu, and they saw how it would all come together. They could see how Kodu neared Zigu on its four times annual meeting, but the sun and stars burned quietly compared to their passion. As they kissed, they plunged back into their bodies and found themselves standing in a tiny cottage, clutching each other as their kiss grew in passion.

Nick's voice came from the celestial void... somewhere. "You can stop kissing whenever you want." They stood panting, man and woman united for eternity. "I'll notify the castle that you were married on the eleventh day of the month of Celestique, in the year 3432, and you'll need to go to Waleston on any Wednesday to meet with the King and Queen and the King will enter your marriage into the rolls."

They finally ended their kiss to see the elves and dwarves smiling at the meaningful simplicity of the ceremony, while Pepin grumbled, "another good wolf bites the dust."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 13 - Midwinter Night

They celebrated with a cask of cider that Buggy brought up out of the cellar, and Octavia emerged from the kitchen with a wedding cake, and they toasted the newlyweds. "To our bride and groom!" said Nick as he raised his glass. "Footmen to the court of Alfrich, survivors of the Night of Black Treachery, proud guards of King Lars and Queen Rania, allies at the battle of Tähelepanek Point, and lovers the whole time." Nick grinned at Annabelle and said, "And you thought we didn't know. May you prosper in your new home!"

The guests cheered and patted Annabelle and Preston on the back. Preston was still overwhelmed by what he had seen during the ceremony and wanted to describe it. "I saw..." but Preston couldn't continue; it was all too big to put into words.

"I saw it too," gasped Annabelle, who spent much of her life in Elbreshowth on the Moor. Weddings there were long, boring, and full of dark mysteries with necromancers and thaumaturgists calling up the spirits of a dark age to witness the union. This simple wedding was tiny in comparison... yet so much bigger.

"Yep, mountain weddings aren't fancy or frivolous. We add fancy by throwing a party for our friends," said Nick, but the look he got from Octavia told him that something had happened.

Trying to lighten the mood, Octavia said, "Nick and I were married right where you're standing. We were the only living persons here."

"There was your witch," said Preston.

"Yes and no," said Nick, "she was dead, her ghost performed the ceremony."

"Oh, go on!" laughed Annabelle.

Octavia lit a candle on the small table next to the empty rocking chair, and slowly the image of Nana Partridge, the former witch in the area, appeared. "We just had a wedding, Nana; how did I do?" asked Nick.

The ghost looked up from her knitting and smiled, "You did quite well, and your couple looks so beautiful. Policemen are they? And a baby! My, how Elm Springs is growing!"

"Thank you Nana," said Octavia, wishing she could give the dear old woman a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Midwinter." And she blew out the candle, and the ghost went back to her knitting as she faded from sight.

"Did she say baby?" cried Eryri. Preston and Annabelle looked at each other, then Preston nodded.

"Do not fret," said Nick. "Many of the first babies in these mountains come soon after their parents tie the knot, many are there for the honeymoon and that doesn't make them any less loved."

"I didn't know!" gasped Annabelle as she placed her hands on her stomach. "I didn't understand what was happening to me."

"I understand," said the elf Shelara Mialen. "I was the same with my first. When you get to number three it's all automatic."

"I was the same way with my first also," said Eryri. "It was so confusing and scary, so if you have any questions, come to us."

"Is it the same for an elf, a dwarf, a wizard and a werewolf?" asked Annabelle.

The women looked at each other in confusion, then Shelara said, "Sure, why not?"

With that settled, Flinar said, "We need to go, your grace. Thaal is setting behind the mountains."

Nick nodded in agreement. "Ok, Flinar and Shelara you are joining us on horseback, Preston and Annabelle, I understand we are taking the police sleigh. Is that a one horse or two horse hitch?"

"We have a singletree and a doubletree hitch but we only brought Billy. The police sleigh will hold six... eight if you're friendly," said Preston.

"We have seven passengers. Let us see if Billy and Trixie can pull together," said Nick. "Or should we use the mules?"

"Billy can pull anything a mule can pull, and Trixie is young. We'll be fine," said Preston.

Then Nick turned to Buggy and Eryri. "And you?"

"We will be staying with Mayor Vesstan in Irla Stein Anore," said Buggy. "There's some highwaymen coming, they're looking for Princess Naedove, we'll convince them to head back to Spatz Mountain."

"Ok, let us ready up and head out," said Nick. "We have to stop at the Temple of the Woods and get our guests and we can head over the hill."

<><><><><>

The first guest to emerge from the Temple of the Woods was Doctor Tidor Dhukonn, who was utterly amazed at what he saw and what they did in the underground castle of Artafána. "My dancing gods! The information that is stored in your library!"

"That's not exactly my library," said Nick as they got into the police sleigh. "It's all of Elvendom's information and under my care it's all of Uduithia's information."

"Could I sign out a book from the library for personal study?" asked the excited mage.

Octavia thought, then said, "I think I could arrange a spell where the book will remind you of the agreed upon return date in a way that would make it impossible to read... or sleep."

Her teacher chuckled and said, "I'm sure you could."

Just then, the remaining passengers emerged from the temple: Bruce and Sheila Dinkum from the arid, hot subcontinent of Bovuka. "Snow!" cried Sheila, and she bent over and scooped some up, then dropped it immediately. "It burns!"

"It's just cold, darlin'," said Bruce. "It's quite the snapper to put in a drink."

Nick and Octavia hugged their friends from so far away. A magical tunnel brought them here from the other side of the planet and far north of them, way up near the equator. Introductions were made, then Preston lit the oil lamps on the sleigh, and everyone climbed in:. Nick and Octavia in the rear with Bruce and Sheila, while Dr. Dhukonn climbed in front with Preston and Annabelle. Preston gave a sharp whistle and shouted, "Billy! Trixie! Git up!" and they were underway.

Flinar and Shelara rode beautiful silver horses that glistened in any light available. The sun was setting and the ruddy red of Thaal as it sank in the west colored their horses a beautiful amber. "What kind of horses are those?" asked Preston.

"These are South Mandril bred unicorns," said Shelara as she patted her mount's withers.

"I thought unicorns had horns," said the confused cop.

Flinar rolled his eyes and said, "Know ye anything? These are mares! There's no such thing as a saddle stallion unicorn."

"Stop teasing the lad," Shelara scolded her husband. "These are two of only twelve saddle unicorns on the entire continent of Edux. They are our personal mounts, a gift from King Erolith Xillee of Silvanor."

Annabelle leaned out of the sleigh and ran her hand down the unicorn's flank. "I can touch it! And I'm not..."

Shelara laughed and said, "Neither am I, that fable started with the stallions, except a virgin can't touch them either. The stallions don't like anyone or anything except unicorn mares." She patted her silver mount and said, "Breena is a well trained warhorse. Flinar's mount, Elwyn, is a show pony who loves to be adored."

Octavia leaned forward and said to Preston, "You will be meeting King Xillee tonight, and King Lars Ranzau."

"'tis well," groaned Preston. He liked King Lars, but Queen Rania was a demanding elf that saw him and Annabelle as personal servants.

As they headed up Breeders Peak, they were joined by Pepin, who scampered up into the front seat with Preston and Annabelle. "Are you being serious?" asked Nick from the rear seat.

"Hey, someone has to teach this wolf pup to howl at the moon."

"You never cared before," said Octavia.

Sheila Dinkum had never seen snow before and was shocked at how cold it was, but she and Bruce were taken by the beauty of the snow as it started to gently swirl down from the heavens. "Oh my, just like a Yuletide post card!" gasped Sheila as the rhythmic jingle from the bells around Billy's neck caused her to breakout singing "A Horse and a Sleigh" a Gibby winter carol much loved by children all over Kodu. Soon, they were all singing.

Give me a horse and a sleigh on a cold winter day

and bells that jing-jingle as we head on our way...

Jing jingling, jing jingling, jing jingling hey!

Jing jingling, jing jingling, jingle all the way.

"Those bells are darling," said Sheila. "Just like the songs!"

As they turned off the main road onto the Breeders Peak Road, Nick pointed out an abandoned farmhouse and barn at the corner of the two roads. "I'd like to put the Watch barracks here," said Nick. "Then you could mount patrols on both roads."

"The barn is a little run down," said Annabelle. "I don't think Billy will like it."

Small talk continued as they snuggled under the blankets and kept warm. Nick had a flask of hard cherry cider to warm the insides, and the sleigh made its way up the mountain. The thick forest came right up to the edge of the road, and the road switched back as it climbed the mountain. "We were attacked by highwaymen there twice," said Octavia, pointing at a snow-covered rock. "There were a bunch of armed soldiers hiding on that curve waiting for us just last month."

"You're right sir, there's plenty of call for us," said Preston.

Soon they reached the summit of Breeders' Peak Pass. "This is the border sergeant. To your left is Waleston Town, to the right is the Duchy of Wægn and all of Hay-on-Wægn County. Waleston has their own watch that patrols to the peak here. I want a watch for the farmers and businessmen of the north side of the kingdom."

Preston and Annabelle were amazed at the area their patrol would cover. Far away, an opening in the forest appeared with a large frozen pond, a cottage, two small houses, and an enormous barn. It was the Duke and Duchess's farm, and they hugged each other, so happy to call that distant sight their home.

"What do we do with highway men when we catch them?" asked Annabelle.

Nick asked, "What did you do with them at Midpoint Station?"

Annabelle and Preston looked at each other for a moment. "I don't know. We never caught anyone."

"Oh, Nick tends to hire them," said Octavia.

"Never caught anyone?" asked Nick. "Midpoint has been open for months, reports of highway men keep coming in..." He leaned forward and tapped Preston's shoulder. "I want you to figure this out."

"Yes your grace."

"Look at the party!" gasped Sheila. Below them, the town of Waleston was lit up with lamps of all colors; they could see groups marching through the streets in impromptu parades, and bands played as people sang.

"Two... three... four... bloody hell! There's six, no seven beer tents down there!" cried Bruce.

"I believe three are beer tents, two wine tents and two cider tents," said Octavia, who sat through the planning meetings while suffering labor pains.

"Wow," gasped Flinar as his eyes locked onto the wine tent. "I could learn to like humans!"

"Dear gods below," gasped Doctor Dhukonn. "I've died and gone to nirvana."

"This is what we do in the mountains to shake off the winter blues," said Nick.

They descended from Breeders Peak pass into the biggest party in the kingdom. The entirety of Waleston was decorated with colored lamps and evergreen garlands, and the people were celebrating. Several bands marched throughout the town, playing one gay tune after another. Beer tents, cider tents, and wine tents were erected in several parks, and dozens of hogs, deer, and calves were roasting on spits everywhere. Every pond and stream was an ice skating rink, and couples skated arm in arm while teams waited for their chance to play ice hockey by lantern light.

"What fun!" exclaimed Sheila. "This makes our beach barbeque look like tea and crumpets with grand ma-ma." Heads turned as the large, gaily decorated police sleigh slid past with a second row of riders.

"Too right! If it wasn't so blasted cold!" agreed Bruce.

"I was told that these parties go on until Saint Holger's day," said Octavia. Saint Holger's Day is two weeks away on the last day of the month of Celest.

Finally, Nick directed Preston to head up to the castle on the hill overlooking the town. "There's going to be two lines heading up to the castle. Stay to the right and go through the portcullis." Preston followed his directions, and soon they found themselves at the entrance marked "Nobility & Guests Only."

"Bloody hell, mate!" laughed Bruce. "You're bleedin' peerage?"

"Kind of, only Marlon truly is. He is the Marquess of Black Mountain. I'm just holding the title of Duke for him."

Young men in festive uniforms greeted the sleighs and carriages, helping riders out of their seats, and hostlers took the teams and sleighs back to the stables. "Good evening Captain Fahy!" said Octavia as Sean Fahy, the head of palace security, stepped forward to help her and Marlon out of the sleigh.

"Good evening your grace, how is the young marquess this evening?"

"He's marvelous. Thank you for asking. This is Preston and Annabelle Prescott and Flinar and Shelara Mialen. They will be manning the new Highway Watch station in Elm Springs. Preston will be commander and Annabelle will be lead detective, Flinar and Shelara will patrol Black Mountain and Irla Stein Anore."

Annabelle's eyes spun, and she clung to Preston's arm tightly. Annabelle Prescott! It was the first time someone besides her had said those words. She's been in love with Preston for years, and now their love is taking shape in her womb. "Good luck!" said Sean with a smile. Sean is a kind soul unless you appear to be a threat to the royal family or his friends, Nick and Octavia. He shook hands with the four police officers.

"How's your mom, Sean?" asked Nick.

"She's actually considerin' slowing down a mite, to act her age, if you can believe it, yer grace." Sean's mom, Esadora, known to everyone as Ezzy, is probably the most senior witch in Uduithia. She's a spry soul stuck in an 80-year-old body, but she doesn't let that slow her down.

"Give her our love and a kiss from each of us, Marlon included," chuckled Nick as Billy and Trixie were whisked off to the stables. The two unicorns were led by a stableboy who had no idea what those beautiful beasts really were.

Nick led the group into the castle, and they checked their coats and hats. The two policemen looked resplendent in their dress uniforms, but Nick and Octavia looked incredible. The Uduithia Medal of Honor, held by a blue and mithril ribbon at their throats, required a salute from soldiers and nobility. The soldiers were quite dutiful with the salutes, but a salute from a noble was rare. Preston swore to correct that.

"What's with the flipper?" asked Bruce. "You were healthy three days ago when we dropped off the couch."

"I was at an archery meet and ended up playing goal tender." That caused Bruce to laugh, and he almost slapped Nick's arm as he laughed.

Nick carried a curious Marlon cradled in his left arm so that Octavia could have a free hand to shake hands and return salutes. Her left hand was filled with her wizard's staff, a six foot tall length of prudent oak named Virga, atop which rested the Orb of Jørn, a gem that was a full foot in circumference and looked like a piercing eyeball. The white of the eye was ivory, the pupil was lapis lazuli, and the iris was a jet black diamond. There were eyelids made of AAA Imperial Jasper that looked like polished wood, and they closed when Virga was sleeping (or bored). Like the two young policemen, her staff searched the crowd for threats.

There was no doubt that this was the event of the year. The palace was filled with royalty from all over the Snowcross Mountains. Several mountain kingdoms sent envoys and representatives, and the Duke of Wægn was looking for the expected representative from Torwin-Armistad.

The palace was festooned with decorations to celebrate the season. After tonight, the palace will be swamped with tourists who come to see the beautiful decorations. The magnificent decor made it difficult for Annabelle and Preston to keep their eyes on the crowd, looking for potential hazards. A string octet played beautiful seasonal adagios at the center of the great hall, and couples danced close together to the music. Nick, Octavia, Bruce, Sheila and Doctor Dhukonn, along with their police escort, moved among the revelers.

A popular romantic waltz started up, and Nick, Octavia, and Marlon started dancing. Octavia held her boys to her as they danced to the 3-4 rhythm. Bruce and Sheila stepped out onto the floor and joined the dance. "Sir, we can't..." Sergeant Prescott protested, but Nick said, "Sergeant, we're going to dance all night until you and your wife dance with us... it's your wedding night!" With a chuckle, Annabelle and Preston danced too, as Flinar and Shelara scanned the crowd for danger. It was magic for all three couples, twirling around the floor with the orchestra playing winter holiday themed waltzes. The decorations made the morbid old castle look positively joyful.

"Ah, the young duke!" cried a slightly drunken voice after the dance was over. "You make quite the nattily dressed nanny. And the police! Are you under arrest?"

"Preston, Annabelle, this is Lord Slipspring. He's the Viscount of Stormchester and head of national security. No, he's not your boss. If anyone in this building other than the king is your boss, it is me. Lord Slipspring, may I introduce Lieutenant Preston Prescott and Sergeant Annabelle Prescott, they are the nucleus of the Hay-on-Wægn Highway Watch."

Lord Slipspring shook hands with Preston and Annabelle with a sneer of disdain until he noticed Flinar and Shelara moving through the crowd. "And you brought elves! Doesn't your mommy let you play with humans?"

"My elven friends are Flinar and Shelara Mialen, they are the head of my Black Mountain Guard. Like Preston and Annabelle, they fought with me at Tähelepanek Point. Too many people are tired of being robbed, too many poachers haunt our forests, too many rich slobs get richer selling illegal pelts, and these fine officers and their friends are going to help us with that." Nick emphasized 'rich slobs' knowing that Slipspring made quite a lot of money selling illegally obtained snow lion pelts.

The drunken Count laughed and patted Nick on the shoulder, causing Nick to wince in pain. "I thought the little people stopped being robbed when you took over the duchy, lad."

Changing the subject, Nick said forcefully, "Lord Slipspring, less than two months ago, we delivered two prisoners who attacked us on the Breeders Peak Road. I'd like to know..."

"Bullies, ruffians. They will do their time."

"They were armed soldiers and part of a force that attacked us!"

In a drunken whisper, Lord Slipspring said, "It's very dangerous to be an honest man these days. Keep your eyes open and a hand on your coin purse." With that, Lord Slipspring staggered off into the crowd.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 14 - Dinner with the Kings

"I don't trust him," muttered Annabelle as she sniffed the air with her tiny but accurate nose. "He looked drunk, he sounded drunk, but he smells of tea."

"Take no notice of him, m'boy," said an amiable Lord Harcourt, the Earl of Mallburg and exchequer of the kingdom. "He sees thieves and enemy forces behind every rock. We're living in the most peaceful period this kingdom has ever had!"

"I hope to keep it that way," said Nick, trying not to mention that he and Octavia have been attacked over six times in the past year. "I see a guest I've been wanting to speak to," said Nick as an excuse to move away from his fellow lord.

"Duke Stein! And Duchess! And Doctor Tidor Dhukonn! So good to see you!" cried Lady Moira Darby.

"Your grace," said Doctor Dhukonn with a deep bow.

"You are looking marvelous yourself," said the Duchess of Torwin. "But I must see your grandson! Oh, how precious!" She immediately washed over Nick and Marlon like an overjoyed tsunami. She was a hurricane of taffeta, a tornado of genteel manners, and a powerhouse of optimism. Beautiful, solid, and cheerful, Moira Darby was born as poor as Nick, and so was her husband, and now she's the richest woman in Torwin-Armistad. In her wisdom, she married her best friend from childhood, the most dower, pessimistic man on Kodu, Ned Sinclair Darby, commander of the Torwin-Armistad City Guard. Like Nick, he was born a gutter rat, living on the street in the most wicked part of the city. He learned to think and live like a criminal, which made him such an effective cop. One would think that he would get lost in the wake of his overpowering wife, but the Duke of Torwin was a power unto himself. They were the perfect couple.

"C'm here, kids," General Darby growled at Preston and Annabelle. "Are you Nick and Octavia's guard?"

"Yes, sir," they said in unison.

"So are we," said Flinar and Shelara as they glared down at Ned.

"Oh, elves too. That's my Nick. You're not just pretty uniforms? You're real cops?"

"Yes, sir," said Preston, but Flinar remained silent as he eased his mithril combat sword partially out of its sheath. Shelara prepared her gat, ready to strike this mouthy man down.

"You're looking all wrong. Don't worry about these stuffed wigs. They don't have the guts to dirty their hands with wet work. It's the hired hands to watch for, the waiters, the guards, the faceless individuals, the ones that can be bought cheap. You need to have a nose for danger..."

"I do," interrupted Annabelle. That stopped Vimes cold. A petite cutie like Annabelle should be selling cookies in a high end bakery, not playing police girl.

"I see you found our newlyweds," said Octavia as she entered the conversation. Although she adores showing off her Marlon, this little bit of freedom from him, the very first since his birth, was refreshing. Let Dad and Grandpa show off the baby; Octavia wants a martini!

"Lady Stein, it is good to see you. How was your last trip to Xuantang?"

"Lord Darby!" said Octavia cheerfully. "It was delightful! We got to see the city of Chéngshì Jin, we met with some locals in a darling village called Sunhae, and I got to give birth in the middle of an uncharted bamboo jungle."

"You kids have all the fun," said Ned. "I was just talking to your security team."

"Don't put my little sister down," said Octavia, putting her hands on tiny Annabelle's shoulders. "She's werewolfish and truly has a nose for trouble. Her husband appears to be a true cop, they both served under Nick at Breaze and all four were at Tähelepanek Point. Nick wants to build a force around them to patrol the highways in our little duchy. What do you think?"

Ned gave the Prescotts and the elves a piercing stare. "What happened with Nick on the east end of the Main Road?" Ned has only heard rumors, but the Wægn cops didn't need to know that. Acting like he had memorized every word of their report; he glared at them.

Preston started by saying, "Sir, the investigation is ongoing so I cannot..."

"Good answer, for the king," interrupted Ned. "I'm not the king, I'm a cop. What did you see?"

"Three assailants," started Annabelle. "They were nervous. I smelled their fear on everything they touched, even through their gloves. They dropped the tree on the road at the last moment to ensure that all persons in the sleigh were confused and they didn't get the wrong sleigh. They shot the duke in the right shoulder, the shoulder away from the duchess. I believe they were purposely trying to kill Nick but were avoiding Octavia."

"Why do you think that?"

"The arrow was poisoned, but not enough poison to kill with a grazing hit. Then we found a length of octiron chain," said Preston. "We believe they were going to throw the chain on Octavia and run off with the baby while she was incapacitated."

"With the baby in their possession, they could have forced Octavia to do anything," said Anabelle.

"What was their biggest mistake?" asked Ned.

"In my opinion, they didn't put enough poison on the arrow," said Annabelle. "If they put just a little more on it, he would have been sicker, distracting the duchess and Doctor Dhukonn to a greater extent. But, if they put too much on it and killed him right away, they would have ignited the wrath of the duchess."

Ned looked Annabelle and Preston up and down with a frown, then turned to Octavia. "I'll send you two patrolmen, a detective, and someone who can start recruiting and training cops. Maybe more, I'll see what Felicity can afford. You might have to wait for after the weather to break, but we will get you up and running before spring."

"Thank you, your grace," said Octavia, and she graced Ned with her thousand-watt smile. She knew Annabelle and Preston were good cops the minute she met them, and Nick's dream of a safer Hay-on-Wægn was becoming a reality.

Soon, the guests were called to their tables. Nick and Marlon led his family, guests, and bodyguards to the table which was next to the king's table. The smell of the food was heavenly, and the decorations were a festive dream. Both Octavia and Sheila gasped at the beauty of the setting - the crystal! The silver! The holiday inspired China! Even the napkins were a holiday dream, embroidered with holly and evergreen. It was a Mid-Winter dream come true. "The king!" gasped Sheila. "We're sitting next to the king!"

King Uric was tall and handsome; his dark hair was graying at the temples and his exquisitely trimmed beard was perfectly salt and peppered. His eyes showed the weight of being ruler; however, yet he took joy in talking to the callers at his ball. With a smile, King Uric led Queen Elenor to Nick's table, and all started to rise, but the King said, "Pray, be seated, as we extend a hearty welcome to our esteemed guests." He turned to Sheila and bowed and said, "Pray tell, what a charming inflection! From whence do you hail?" and he gently took her hand.

Sheila looked the king in the eye, opened her mouth, and nothing came out. As he shook hands with the queen, Bruce laughed and cried, "Bloody gob smacked! Twenty years of wedded bliss and this is the first time I've seen me mate shut down. We come from Bovuka. Pleased ta meecha Miss Queen. 'me name is Bruce."

"Ah they call it 'The Land Up Yonder' do they not?" asked Elinor.

"Sure they do. If I may ask, yer highnessness, how did ye drop the posh attitude? You talk like real people" asked Bruce.

Queen Elinor gave her sparkling laugh that enchants most of their kingdom. "I am real people. I was born and raised on Shawmere Mountain about ten miles east from this very room. I fell in love with a minstrel named Blair McLeod who was in reality the bastard son of King Frodo. The rest is history."

Bruce laughed loud and long, eventually shaking hands with the king. However, Sheila remained silent until the royal couple returned to their seats. "The king! I shook hands with the king! HE kissed me cheek!" The whole table broke up laughing, then she said to her husband, "Give me your napkin." He handed it to her, and she stuffed it in her purse.

"Why did you take my napkin?"

"I don't want them to think that I took it," said Sheila. Nick signaled the waiter and got Bruce another napkin.

All were still chuckling over Sheila's reaction when Octavia leaned over and whispered, "I have a few at my house also."

The King rose and gave his standard Midwinter Holiday address and, after a chant from the local druid temple monks, the lucky diners tucked in for a feast. They started with marinated leeks in a bacon and mustard vinaigrette, fava bean soup with spinach and ham, lamb chops in a tangy mint sauce, fried potato fritters, venison sausage with mushroom gravy, pork rissoles with ham and peach chutney, Snowcross Mountain oysters (they are not seafood) and for dessert, a selection of cakes and pies. As usual, there was breast of quail and whole pheasant stuffed with apple for those keeping an elf diet.

Being served first, Nick and Octavia's table finished first, and they could sip coffee as the King stood to start his annual Midwinter speech. Traditionally, Midwinter is highly important. It sets the tone for the rest of the year. Nick and Octavia weren't paying attention; they were chatting with Bruce and Sheila and making jokes about the more senior court members. They almost missed it when the king said, "Now I would like to introduce you to our newest court members, our new Lord of Health and Safety, Sir Nicholas Stein and the new Court Wizard, Damme Octavia Stein, the Duke and Duchess of Wægn."

Nick and Octavia stood up and waved to the crowd, but the king gestured for them to join him on the dais. "I want to show off Marlon," whispered Nick, and he took Marlon out of Sheila's arms. Preston gestured to Annabelle, who nodded and joined Nick and Octavia at the dais while he moved to the back of the crowd. Flinar and Shelara Mialen somehow disappeared into the crowd and were almost invisible even though they have bright emerald eyes and long forest green hair and are the tallest people there. As they moved through the crown, Pepin joined them, moving silently... someone was aching for a leg full of teeth, he needed to find them fast.

When the king says "Give us five minutes" you give him five minutes. Nick stood up to the lectern and said, "Hi, I've gone by many names, but Nick works best. I grew up in Elm Springs as Pommeraie de la Montesquieu but later went back to my original name. This is my lovely wife Octavia, our son Marlon, and this is Annabelle." He made no mention of the fact that Annabelle was guarding them.

"I am a witch, she is a wizard, Marlon is a baby and Annabelle is a blond." That started some laughter. "For those of you that don't know us," Nick put his arm around Octavia, more for support than affection, he was shaking so badly he thought his medals would fall off, "we are the Duke and Duchess of Wægn, governors of Hay-on-Wægn county, protectors of Black Mountain, and emperor and empress of the Xuantang Empire."

That got such a laugh that he relaxed some. "You're doing marvelous," said Octavia, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"When Octavia and I first met she was a wizard and engaged to marry the King of Breaze, King Alfrich. I was his head of security and I was paid to consider her a threat." The crowd continued laughing, which only encouraged Nick, so he continued, "That is the truth. She married King Alfrich the same day I married my fiancée, Ziska Thornehammer. A few hours later, King Alfrich and Lieutenant Ziska were dead and the peaceful kingdom of Breaze had fallen. As for Octavia and I, we were both widowed virgins with an entire army looking to kill us."

That's when the room went silent. "I'm not raised from royalty, neither of us are. In fact, we don't know who our parents are, and for all we know, our police guard has more royal blood than we do. A year ago, as Octavia and I ran from men who would kill us, we fell in love with each other, then we fell in love with Uduithia. We were looking for my great grandmother, a witch named Nanny Peacock and somehow we ended up with her cottage and her practice. I am the only male witch in existence and my darling wife is the only female wizard in existence, which makes us rare, and it makes you wonderful for knowing us."

Nick noticed that Preston was moving along the back wall and Annabelle was pointing at something. Then he saw Pepin zip under the tables heading toward the rear of the ballroom; he was shadowed by Flinar and Shelara who were stealthily racing toward the rear of the room. But what bothered him the most was the shadows on the back wall. Someone or something was watching, but leaving only shadowed distortions of reality on the back wall.

Before Nick could say another word, Octavia stepped away from him and threw up her arms, and a protective ward appeared around the head table. Nick saw a few sparkles in front of him, like he was looking at a window and he heard a crystalline "TINK!" There, a foot in front of him, was a small, pointed metal shaft that hung motionless in midair, trapped by the magical ward that Octavia threw up. The metal shaft was pointing straight at his heart.

Nick leaned over and considered the tiny shaft, and he heard another "TINK!" over by King Uric. He reached out to touch it, but before he could recognize it as a poison dart, Octavia yelled "Mien ära!" (Druid for go away) and he, Marlon, and Annabelle disappeared. The ward she threw up crackled with energy, and she glared at the dart. Was it poison? There's one sure way to tell... "Tagasta Saatjale!" Doctor Dhukonn recognized the little spell that Octavia created at the university, which she named "Return to Sender." The little dart rocketed back to where it came from and, shocked, Octavia saw someone she knew slump to the floor.

Three people began to run, and Pepin sank his teeth into one with a snarl while Flinar and Shelara followed someone who dashed out of the ballroom. Octavia turned to the King and Queen and raised her hands, shouting "Mien voodisse!" (Go home) and the King and Queen disappeared, as did the King and Queen of Teurnia and the King and Queen of the Elf Kingdom of Silvanor.

Octavia dropped her ward and dashed to the back of the room, dodging tables and shoving people out of her way. There she found two guards kneeling over a young man dressed as a waiter. He was lying on the floor, dying. Her shoulders slumped and her heart sagged when she recognized him. It was the young man from Elm Springs who impressed Nick with his kindness and curiosity, the young man that helped Bruce carry the throne to her home, the young man that held Marlon... Ninian McKenna.

"Ninian!" she cried. "Why did you try to kill Nick?"

"You bitch!" he hissed as he died.

<><><><><>

King Uric and Queen Elinor found themselves in their royal apartment along with King Erolith and Queen Thaola of Silvanor and King Lars and Queen Rania of Teurnia. They shook their heads to clear the fuzziness that a magic spell brings on the non-magical. "She truly was a good choice for court wizard," said Elinor.

"Indeed so!" laughed Lars.

"I still don't like her," said Queen Rania.

"What is going on here?" demanded King Erolith.

"I too demand to know what in blazes transpired," demanded King Uric. One moment he was engrossed in Nick's impromptu speech, then suddenly their apartment appeared around them.

"I'm not sure, but Octavia was very upset about something," said Elinor. "She made Nick and that guard disappear, and now we're here."

The unmistakable sound of men in full armor at a run came from outside the apartment. Uric and the other two kings looked at each other. A plot? Uric rose and strode across the room where he grabbed his father's sword from over the fireplace mantle, then turned to the entry door. He took a deep breath and grasped the door handle. When the door opened, his normal bodyguard, a knight named Essex, blocked him. "Please stay, your highness, until we hear that the threat is gone."

"What is going on?" demanded the king.

"No one really knows but it appears that four people attempted to kill Duke Nicholas. One is dead, one was captured by the Duke's wolf, another made it to the stables but no further."

<><><><><>

Flinar and Shelara Mialen were racing through Waelmore Castle as fast as their long legs could carry them. At seventy-five years old, they were in their prime (for elves) and could run all day through heavily forested land and not break a sweat. However, this man knew this castle. He dodged and ducked, racing downstairs and up other stairs, following the confusing maze that this castle actually was.

"STOP THAT MAN!" they shouted, but the culprit was past the guard who could have grabbed him if the call had reached him in time. On two occasions, a guard tried to grab the elves. Flinar got loose and Shelara shouted, "He tried to kill the king!" and soon there were half a dozen guards joining the chase.

"Lock it down!" shouted Flinar. "Lock down the castle!" and the alarm bells rang. However, it was the holiday season; visitors and tourists were pouring in and out of the castle, locking it down would take an hour. The man they were chasing finally ducked into the royal laundry room and dodged between folding tables and ironing tables and dashed out a door to the outside.

"He's headed for the stable!" called a guard as they dashed through the laundry and leaped outside. Now Flinar and Shelara were in their element, and the suspects' lead quickly diminished. However, he got into the stable, and Shelara groaned as the fellow jumped on her mare's back. Immediately Breena reacted like Breena had been trained: when a stranger hopped on her, to shake him off. She went from standing still to a bucking beast, and she bucked at the human that jumped on her back without proper introduction. She bucked him so high that he broke his neck when he hit the stable roof, and he fell limply to the ground.

"Well, damn," swore Flinar.

Shelara checked the human for signs of life and said, "I don't know human bodies well, but I'm going to say he's not very alive."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 15 - Aftermath

Preston and Octavia did what they could with Ninian, but he died quickly. The tube he used to launch the dart was still in his right hand, and there were several more darts in his pocket.

"Oh gods," groaned Octavia. "Nick counted him as a friend."

"Who was he?" asked Ned Darby.

"He was a laborer in Elm Springs," said Octavia, fighting back the tears. "He hung out at the blacksmith's shop with the men and..." she groaned and said, "He was in my house two days ago!"

"Blast!" groaned Doctor Dhukonn.

"Why would he do this?" sighed Octavia, and she took a couple of the darts and folded them up in a napkin and put them in her purse. Suddenly, there were people around Octavia and Preston demanding answers, and Sir Ned Darby helped push the crowd back. Octavia recognized Lord Cadence, the prime minister, and Lord Laird, the lead lord in the House of Lords. Together they were supposed to represent the common man and nobility in all matters of government, but truth be told, the king and queen do a better job of that than these two perfumed fops.

"What kind of theater are you and your husband providing?" demanded Lord Cadence

"Get up there and calm this crowd down," hissed Octavia.

"And say what?" sputtered Lord Laird.

"I got an idea. Try the truth. You've never attempted that before." Lord Laird glared at Octavia. He never liked her, and now his dislike was growing by leaps and bounds. "Get up there before I put you up there!" she snarled.

"I'd like to see you..." and suddenly Lord Laird and Lord Cadence were standing at the lectern, gazing out at the large, rich, influential, voting crowd.

Lord Laird knew nothing about addressing a crowd; he's never spoken to any group larger than five extremely rich patrons to be elected the Lead Lord in the House of Lords. On the other hand, Lord Cadence was a wordsmith; he could sell a snakeskin back to the snake that had just shed it.

"Thank you for your indulgence in our little bit of theater," he said to the crowd. "This was to show you that our court wizard is a Uduithia woman through and through, and our king and queen are safe from all peril. Thank you to the beautiful Damme Octavia Stein, the Duchess of Wægn, and Lieutenant Preston Prescott of the Wægn Highway Watch. Give them a hand!"

As Octavia supervised the removal of Ninian's body, the entire crowd stood and applauded. Without a break, Lord Cadence continued, "In this most jolly yet solemn time of the year where we are focused on family and friends..." He would continue on, talking about nothing for the next forty-five minutes.

"Bloody hell! What was that?" demanded Bruce as he and Sheila caught up to Octavia.

"Someone tried to kill Nick," said Octavia. Then she frowned as a guard brought a waiter up to Octavia in a chokehold.

"We got da one dat choo pointed out, Duchess."

"Thank you Jerry," said Octavia, and she waved Virga over the squirming waiter. The Orb of Jørn squinted as it dug deeper into the captive's mind, breaking down barriers thrown up with magic. Eventually Virga said, "Right rear trouser pocket." The waiter fought harder, and the huge guard nearly broke the waiter's neck as Octavia extracted a blowgun and a packet of four darts from his pocket.

"I don't know where that came from!" gasped the waiter.

"He's lying," said Virga. "He was Ninian's backup, and he made the darts and he made the poison. The ingredients he used to make the poison..." The Orb of Jørn glared menacingly at the waiter, then said, "He put them in a cigar box which is hidden in the safe house."

"I want one of those sticks," said Sam as Virga picked the subject's brain.

"Take this one to Mr. Morose downstairs," said Octavia. "Tell Mr. Morose that we want everything."

"Yes, mum," said the guard as he dragged off the squirming waiter. Mr. Morose was King Uric's Chief Examiner. He examined every thought in a subject's head and had a multitude of methods of extracting those thoughts and verifying their veracity. It is said that many of the men and women he questioned survived the experience, but no one was ever quite able to point out those survivors.

"He said safe house," said Ned Darby. "Did your magic wand figure out where the safe house is?"

"I don't know, and I don't care, Mister Morose will figure it out," said Octavia with a cold, empty voice.

Ned couldn't figure out if she was becoming homicidal or suicidal. "Where is Nick?"

"He's safe, I hope. It depends on how strong Annabelle is."

In a room outside the main ballroom, Sean Fahy was directing the search for more terrorists. When Octavia entered the room, the chief guard snapped to attention. "My apologies your grace," he said and steeled himself for whatever punishment she would deliver.

"Relax Sean, this is not your fault," then she pointed to the corpse of Ninian; his body had been deposited in this room. "That one was in my house. How large is this plot?"

"One dead, two captured, one got out of the castle but your elves are chasing. The first one we captured is headed down to Mister Morose right now." As he spoke, two guards brought the fourth conspirator into the room. It looked like they were playing tug-of-war with Pepin, and a struggling man dressed like a waiter was the rope.

Preston and Ned joined Octavia, who wandered over to the person whom Pepin stopped. Two guards held him, and a third guard tried to get Pepin to release the waiter's leg. "He won't let go," grunted the third guard as he tried to pry open the growling wolf's jaws.

"Pepin, please let him go," said Octavia, as if scolding a toddler. The angry wolf released the waiter's mangled leg and sat in front of Octavia, wagging his tail, and the look on his face clearly said he wanted a treat for obeying. Octavia reached over a diner's shoulder, took a dinner roll out of the serving basket on his table and gave it to Pepin, who wolfed it down in one gulp. She then trained Virga on the waiter who didn't even try to mask his thoughts. "His target was the king," said Virga. "He got a shot off but your ward deflected the shot. He was caught reloading."

"Seega alati Türann!" shouted the waiter in Druid.

Fighting back the wave of emotions, Octavia said, "this one goes to the front of the line in Mr. Morose's office. He attempted regicide."

"Yes your grace!" and the two guards dragged the waiter off to the dungeon of the castle.

As the squirming waiter disappeared toward the dungeon, Octavia gathered Bruce, Sheila, and Doctor Dhukonn together. "I'm sorry, but I have work to do. I'll get you down to the temple in Elm Springs where you can make your way home." She hugged Sheila and said, "I'm so sorry this had to ruin our evening. I promise our summer party will be better."

"It was a delightful party," said Sheila as they made their way to the coat check.

"Too right!" agreed Bruce. "But mind ye, I'm still a cold beer and a prawn on the hot barbie kinda bloke."

"You bring the prawns, we'll bring the beers," said Octavia as they got their overcoats.

Doctor Dhukonn took Octavia in his arms and asked softly, "Where are your boys?"

"Don't worry about Nick and Marlon, daddy. I put them someplace safe. We'll come visit soon."

<><><><><>

"Where the hell are we?" muttered Nick. They were in a pitch black room; there was no light for him at all. Normally his left eye, the golden magical eye, can see in the dark because there's always some light and the left eye amplifies that light, but this room was 100% dark; there was no light at all for his magical eye to collect and amplify. Kodu natives aren't used to pitch black. With a bright yellow sun, three moons, and a nearby giant planet, there's always light to see.

Nick was getting dizzy; he couldn't tell which way was up, and little Marlon felt the same way. He was crying and fussing and squirming in Nick's arms, but Nick held his son carefully. After what seemed like an hour, his head cleared, and he could tell that he was standing on a throw rug.

"There's a bed behind you," said Annabelle.

Nick moved back slightly, and his legs bumped into something. He reached back and found it was indeed a bed, and he sat down. "This is worse than being blindfolded," he muttered, which for Nick was true; with his magical false eye, he could see through blindfolds. As they sat glumly in the dark, Marlon's fussiness became outright dissatisfaction. The little guy didn't like this at all. He started with a tiny double cough, then started wailing. "It's ok little fellow, daddy's here." Luckily, Marlon was wearing a dress type sleeper so Nick could reach inside and check inside his rubber pants and check his diaper. The little guy was soaked.

"Hang on, daddy can fix this, I have the tools and the skills." Now Marlon was wailing; the darkness was terrifying the little guy. Then Nick remembered... the horror that he repressed and hid... he remembered the cold, dark night, Yuletide Eve, when his father... No! Not his father - no man could do that to his own son! The Yuletide Eve when Ivo Stein killed Nick.

He remembered his mother screaming in pain as Ivo hit her over and over. He could hear the meaty thunk of Ivo's fist as it struck his mother. Nick couldn't remember what his mother really looked like; all he remembered was that she was sweet, and when Ivo hit him, she could comfort Nick, but that night her shrieks of pain rang in his ears. He remembered crouching in a corner, his eyes closed tightly, and the beating... it went on and on. Nick knew not to make a noise, or he would get it too.

That night he couldn't hold back; it was just too horrible. Ivo Stein punched and slapped Mom until three-year-old Nick ran to the man who called himself 'father' and he tried to stop the beating. Nick wrapped his arms around Ivo's forearm, trying to keep him from hitting Mom again, but Ivo shook him off like he was a bug. Nick remembered flying across the room and slamming into the wall so hard he couldn't breathe, and he heard his mother scream, "Not my baby!"

The last thing he remembered was his mother crawling out the door, leaving a trail of blood, and he never saw her again.

Two nights later, Nick crouched in the corner, starving and shaking with terror. Ivo was gnawing on a turkey leg he brought home and said, "Hey kid, want to see Saint Heldus?" Saint Heldus was the patron saint of children and the god of Charity. He brings gifts to all the little kids on Yuletide eve; he was the hero to all young boys and girls in the Tubes, the foul slums of Torwin-Armistad.

"Yeah!" said Nick, too young to doubt Ivo's word.

Ivo walked Nick to the end of the block, where they hopped on a mule drawn streetcar, which carried them far from the one-room apartment that Nick called home. As they passed the trash heaps behind the temple of Saehrimnir, Ivo grabbed Nick by the collar of his threadbare jacket, picked him up and threw him as hard as he could. Nick crashed into the trash heap and was knocked unconscious.

Soaked from the icy rain, Nick awoke to a hellscape that was his world. He was freezing and covered in garbage. He untangled himself, bruised and battered, then in terror he started running in different directions, calling for "Daddy!" shrieking in terror. Ivo Stein was a mean, shitty father that beat his mom Catrin bloody, but Ivo was his daddy and the only family Nick had left.

The realization that Ivo was gone crashed over Nick... the little boy was alone, terrified and freezing in a cold, wet, hate filled city... hungry... lonely... and soon to be near death.

Happy Yuletide.

Annabelle heard Marlon crying, but she also heard something else. She finally found the box of matches and lit the candle stub on the dresser, and in the dim light she saw Nick clutching Marlon to him tightly, both of them crying their eyes out. "Never... I'll never leave you..." Nick was gasping when he could get the words out... "You're my baby boy... you're my gift of love... daddy will never leave you."

He fought back the tears as he changed the baby's diaper. The horror of his formative years on the streets without love stabbed at his heart, but this tiny bundle of joy, totally dependent on him, helped so much. Slowly, Nick got control of his tears as he finished changing Marlon's diaper and put the rubber pants back on him. He did a pretty good job changing it in the dim light of a sputtering candle. He found a bottle in Marlon's "Possibles Bag" and the little guy latched onto the rubber nipple and drank thirstily at the goat's milk, still crying as he nursed.

"I'm sorry," Nick muttered. "I have some dark corners in my past, and when Marlon got scared, it reminded me of the night I..."

"You what?" asked the little police sergeant as she sat next to Nick.

The memories continued to flood Nick's mind... living in the gutter, eating out of garbage cans, drinking out of muddy puddles, getting beaten up by bigger homeless kids daily... being beaten for his pennies until... until he was no longer Nick, he was "Hey You" and "Get out of here." The beatings only stopped when he found Pepin stealing food from the offering plate inside the temple. Nick went inside to get out of the rain. "You can't eat that, it's for the gods," said Nick.

"If they show up, I'll share," said the wolf pup earnestly. From that day on they were a team until Pepin was stolen by a traveling entertainer and Nick was completely alone on Nanna Peacock's farm.

Nick turned to Annabelle, his eyes still red from crying, and said, "I was abandoned by my father. If I ever do anything horrible to Marlon, if I ever raise my hand to him in anger, you are under orders to kill me."

Ignoring his orders, Annabelle asked, "What happened to your father?"

Nick almost smiled. "He was a drunken gambler and a Skim addict. As a thief he was so bad that the guild wouldn't take him in. I looked him up... he disappeared from Thieves Guild records a few years after he threw me away like a bit of rubbish. He sniffed and said, "I tried to find my mom, but he scared her away for good. Maybe he killed her; I don't know. I would love to show Marlon to her and say, 'look what I did mom, look at this marvelous little man.'"

The tears threatened to come again, but he fought them off as his hungry little boy drank himself sleepy. Nick took the bottle away from the infant and patted his back until he burped. Then Nick put the rubber nipple back in Marlon's mouth and the infant nursed more. As soon as his tiny tummy became full, Nick properly burped him one more time and Marlon was fast asleep, safe and secure in daddy's arms. Gently, Nick laid him down on the bed and tucked two pillows around him.

"How did you get out of the slums?" asked Annabelle.

"An acolyte of Saehrimnir caught me stealing bread from the collection basket and drinking from the holy water font. He dragged me into the temple portal and we emerged in Elm Springs. He hauled me a mile up the mountain and dropped me in front of a witches cottage." Nick shrugged. "I was alone, just me and Pepin, and we had nothing to eat, but I was out of the rain." He looked around the room and said, "Where the hell am I?"

"My bedroom at Grandma's house," whispered Annabelle. "If we're real quiet, maybe grandma won't know we're here."

A low growl at the door let them know Annabelle was being a bit too optimistic. With a bang, the door flew open and a huge Timberwolf leaped into the room, but Annabelle felt the bed jerk and a monstrous image of pure white leaped from the bed to slam into the Timberwolf and drive it back into the hallway. They barked and snapped at each other; snarls and roars filled the air and spittle flew as the timber wolf tried to get an advantage on the huge Snowcross Mountain Lion. Eventually, the wolf was flipped onto its back and the mountain lion's teeth were at its throat.

With a snarling white lion at its throat, the Timberwolf slowly transformed into an elegant, slim woman with milk white skin, jet black hair, and burgundy red lips which matched her eyes. Nick transformed back to his body, his hands holding the woman's wrists. It was an old acquaintance, Lucretia Vladimíra von Reichenbach. "Hello Lucricia," said Nick.

"Ve meet again bush vitch. Ven did you learn such a trick? Did someone nibble at your neck?"

"Lady Lucricia, I learned that trick in the library at Bet ha-Kise Temple College of Wizardry. You saw it there."

"Grandma? That's my boss!" cried Annabelle. The girl was completely embarrassed.

"You're the werewolf grandmother I've heard so much about?" said Nick as he helped Lucricia von Reichenbach to her feet.

"Nonsense little one, you work for ze Duk uff Vægn, ziz iz Neek, a common..." she saw Nick grinning and said, "No!"

"Yes!"

"Ze kink appointed you duk?"

"Yes, and your granddaughter is in charge of my personal security."

"Mein gots below!" Lucricia shook her head, causing her ebony mane to shake. "Sche is not a verevolf... sche ist volfling."

"Yes, she's already blocked two attempts on my life."

"Mine little tomboy?"

"GRANDMA! I hate when you call me that," groaned Annabelle, who was now holding Marlon.

"Und you haf a child?" gasped Lucricia.

"That's Marlon, he's my son. I married her this afternoon..."

"YOU MARRIED MINE ENKELIN?" shrieked Lucricia.

"Yes, I married her to a wonderful man, another cop who is now her commanding officer," said Nick, almost glad that he got a rise out of the only woman on Kodu who is a werewolf and a vampire. He took Marlon from Annabelle as he continued, "I'm also a witch, so I check for familial relation and perform weddings."

"Are zey related?"

"Slightly. They're both related to Goody Hays."

Lucricia nodded when he mentioned the old witch, then she got upset. "Ok, now, vhy are you here?" demanded Lucricia. Nick could see her canine teeth growing. "Und vy shouldn't I drink your blood?"

"We're here because Octavia sent us somewhere she thought was safe. She thinks very highly of you. And if you bite me, Octavia may not like it."

"Fine, fine," sighed Lucricia. "Follow me, ve vill haf tea."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 16 - Jus Primae Noctis

The main door of the King and Queen's apartment opened, and the guard called, "Your majesty!"

"Yes? What is it?" demanded King Uric without looking up from the chess board. Queen Thaola of Silvanor had him in a corner and he was in danger of losing.

"The court wizard to see you."

Uric straightened up and sighed. This game was going to have to wait. The three royal couples were getting along so well, it was as if this emergency was created by the gods to bring them together. "Send her in."

There was a sound at the sitting-room door and King Uric called, "Come in!"

Duchess Octavia entered with a tea tray. "I brought tea." She set it on a table and poured a cup for each of the kings.

"Why were we suddenly brought here?" demanded Queen Thaola, then her mood softened. "Although I love the view of the city from these enormous windows..."

Octavia insured each king had a teacup, then started to pour for the queens as she tried to steady her hands. "You are all here because a man with a blowgun shot a poisoned dart at Nick. A second man fired a poisoned dart at the kings table... it could have been any king; he was bent on regicide." She placed the first cup in front of Queen Elinor. Protocol says the King should be served first, then the queen.

"I was able to throw up a ward, a wall like glass except it will catch the projectile, be it a dart, arrow, crossbow bolt, even a stone from a sling." She placed a cup in front of Queen Rania and said, "Nick and I knew the attacker. He was in our house three days ago. I don't know who he worked for and I don't know what information he passed on before he died tonight." She poured a last cup for Queen Thaola.

"What makes you think he is working for someone?" asked the king.

"We were attacked in the mountains a month and a half ago by armed soldiers. Two nights ago we were attacked by three men. Now tonight we were attacked by four men, maybe more. Somebody wants Nick dead, and they want something from me... I hope Mr. Morose can find the answers." Octavia actually looked afraid. "I don't want to raise my children in a glass bubble."

"I'm sure he can," said Queen Elinor, trying to soothe her friend's nerves.

As Trei Metsker would say, 'it was time to drop the hammer.' Octavia gathered her strength because she was going to make accusations soon. "Unfortunately, the soldiers that accosted us on the Breeders Peak Road six weeks ago are gone. The records of what Mister Morose could get the soldiers to admit to have all disappeared as well. The men who attacked us two nights ago on the main road between Slate Bottom Creek and Elm Springs disappeared immediately after the attack. The two men we captured need to be guarded."

"Whoever is behind this has agents inside the castle," muttered the king.

She frowned and nodded in agreement. Then the wizard said, "We have gathered all the attackers and their accomplices, I believe it's safe to rejoin the dinner now. Lord Laird is entertaining the people."

"Then we must save our people!" said King Lars. He knew as well as King Uric knew how much of a windbag Laird was.

"Good gawds can that man talk," groaned King Uric, and he got up to leave, but Octavia was already gone.

The captain of the guard, Sean Fahy, appeared at the door and said, "Your majesties, if you will follow... Lord Laird told the audience that this was a bit of play acting to show how secure his court is."

Octavia appeared in the castle entry foyer to gather her coat and Nick's overcoat, then she disappeared again and reappeared in the police sleigh as Preston drove the sleigh up to Breeder's Peak pass. As the Kings and Queens returned to their dinner, Octavia wrestled her way under the warm quilt in the front seat of the police sleigh as they crested the top of Breeders Peak. "Hold up here," said Octavia to Preston, and they stopped on the road that ran along the broad, flat top of the mountain pass. Down below them, lost in the swirl of snow, the Duchy of Wægn celebrated Mid Winter's Eve with fireworks. Winter would only get shorter from this day forward, so it was time to celebrate! "Nick wanted to see this..." she sighed.

"It's bloody beautiful," said Sheila from the back seat as they watched the colorful display below them. Fireworks of all colors bloomed above every home and farm in the duchy. No matter how high the fireworks flew; they were still below the viewers in the police sleigh.

"Breath-taking," sighed Doctor Dhukonn. "I can see why you love it here so much."

Nodding in agreement Octavia said "Our people save up all year to buy fireworks... This year they could afford this because Nick declared a tax holiday..." She sniffed when she remembered handing that sack of coins to the king. "Nick loves these people so much we gave almost every penny we had to the king to pay their taxes for them... That's the man I married..."

It was the most money either of them had ever seen, and with it, they bought their people some peace of mind and, for some, the first Mid-Winter free from the terror of the tax collector's visit. "Nick wants to do a big public display for them next year, so the families that don't have the money to spend on fireworks can celebrate too."

"Oi heard of a wizard in Vespil who specializes in fireworks. Gandy something is his name. Oi'll get you his address," said Bruce.

"Thank you for your offer to stay the night, but Bruce and I want to get back to our warmth. It was a beautiful evening," said Sheila. "Dinner with the King of Uduithia, and Teurnia, and Silvanor... and snow! Actual snow!" she shook her head with a smile. All the faculty wives back at the University of Cloacina in Bovuka will hear of this night.

"Let's head down, Preston," said Octavia, and using the fireworks to light the road, they made their way down into the valley.

They dropped Doctor Dhukonn, Sheila, and Bruce off at the Temple of the Woods with fond goodbyes and assurances that Nick, Marlon, and Annabelle were perfectly safe, and fond kisses for her stepfather. The visitors returned home via Portal Hop. Before they left, Shiela Dinkum asked Tervis, the god of health, if she could bring a friend or two for a momentary visit. "Hark, mortal! What divine purpose draws thee to these hallowed peaks in winter's frozen grip?"

Shiela scooped up a handful of snow and wrapped it in a towel she produced from her purse. "To see the snow!"

"Strewth, mate, not a flake of snow graces Bovuka, ya know!" added Bruce.

The god laughed and said, "Verily, I deem His Grace the Duke would welcome your presence, a pilgrimage undertaken in the sacred pursuit of knowledge. Science!"

Meanwhile, Octavia and Preston then headed up the hill and put the sled in the shed on the side of the barn and the horses in their stables. "Come on, let's go get your honeymoon cottage warmed up, then we'll go get your bride."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The gate house was a small one-room cabin made of logs and inside lined with rough cut boards. The double layer of wood made it warm and cozy inside. The cabin had a small iron stove for heat and cooking, a sink with a well pump, and a small icebox. With a snap of her fingers, Octavia cleaned the bed linen and ignited the fire in the stove as Preston put dishes away and found a bottle of wine to celebrate with. "You don't go through a lot of matches at your house, do you?" asked Preston as the oil lamp on the table lit by itself.

"Here," said Octavia, and a bottle of champagne and two glasses appeared on the table, along with a tray of cheese, sausage, and fruit. "Let's go get your bride."

They walked back to the temple and made an Æther hop to Elbreshowth where Snupp the god of wolves greeted them. Then a short walk to a menacing-looking castle on a rocky cliff overlooking a forlorn lake, and Octavia knocked on the huge door knocker. "This is your mother-in-law's house," said Octavia.

The door creaked open, and a creepy-looking, balding little man with a bad comb-over and a hump on his back wordlessly led Preston and Octavia into a large barroom. Four people were playing an intense game of cards on a poker table in the corner while a short, balding man with a bad comb-over and a hump on his back was manning the bar. "Welcome to Elbreshowth on the Moor mahthter. Would you like thomthing to drink?" the odd man said.

"Uhhh... I..."

"I think he needs a cup of coffee, Vlad. It's his wedding night," said Nick from the poker table without looking up from his hand. He had Marlon in the crook of his arm, and he showed his hand to the baby. "What do you think, this one?" Marlon looked away, disinterested. "Ok then it's this one!" he slapped a three of clubs onto the table.

King Samrel Oakenarmour, foreman of the Boxlis Pit, regent and lord of all dwarves, scooped up the card, placed it in his hand, then laid out his cards. "Gin!"

"Seriously Pommeraie," sighed Lucrecia as she sipped her Bloody Mary. "Vill you effer learn zis game?"

"No disrespect, sir, but you really suck at this game," said Annabelle. "That's the third win you gave him!"

"We're not playing for mining rights," grumbled King Oakenarmour. "Nick never loses when his mountain is at stake."

Looking up, Annabelle noticed Preston standing in the center of the room, looking utterly confused. "Honeeeeey!" she squealed and dashed into his arms. "You're safe!" After a kiss, she said, "Let me introduce you. This is Vlad, he's grandmama's chief butler, and bartender. He's a self-made man, and he makes a wicked martini. This is Uncle Samrel, he's the king of all the dwarves, he rules all dwarves everywhere."

"Everywhere?"

"Yes sir," said Samrel as he shuffled the cards. He paused to shake Preston's hand. "Dwarves must obey local laws but they also must obey Dwarven rules and customs wherever they are."

"Pleased to meet you," said Preston, barely surviving the King's bone-crushing handshake.

"Grandmama, this is my husband Preston Prescott. Honey, this is the woman that raised me, Lucrecia von Reichenbach, my grandmother."

They shook hands, and he said, "Do I know you?"

"Maybe," purred Lucrecia as she eyed Preston up and down. "I am how you say, zee vight scheep uff zee family." As they shook hands, Lucricia looked at her granddaughter and said, "You did gif him a bite! Good girl!"

Annabelle practically glowed with the praise from her grandmother, and she snuggled closer to Preston. Then Lucrecia glared at Preston with her hypnotic red and black eyes. "You vill inschure zat no harm comes to my little Annabelle. Sche iz all I haf of her mother. Zat ist all I vill say on zat subject."

"I will protect her with my life, ma'am."

"Goot answer. Don't let it come to zat."

Meanwhile, Octavia was seated on Nick's lap, snuggling her baby, while their friend Samrel gruffly said, "I do not envy your position. There is a cancer in Uric's court. The good news is they are not paying attention to King Uric and Queen Elinor right now. The bad news is that they are looking at you. They think if they can get the duke out of the way and blackmail the duchess into doing their bidding, they can steal the throne of Uduithia and turn on Elbreshowth."

"Turn on Elbreshowth? Uduithia isn't a military power. If we put every man in the field, we could barely take out the weakest neighbor," said Nick.

"You underestimate your men. Uduithia could easily take their neighbors, then the unaffiliated Snowcross kingdoms will fall or join you one by one, their resources becoming yours and soon Elbreshowth falls."

Nick started shuddering. "I don't want this, not on top of everything else."

"We must play the hand we are delt, my friend," rumbled Samrel. "You need to realize more than your mining rights are at stake. This is for the soul of your people."

"It was such a good day four hours ago..." Nick muttered.

Meanwhile, Annabelle gestured and urged Octavia to come speak to her. Demurely covering her nursing son with a cloth that matched her dress as she rose and walked to Annabelle, who wanted to remain out of earshot of the Duke. "Something is wrong. When we appeared here, the baby started crying, then the duke started crying, horrible heart breaking sobs... he tried to cover up, but when I lit a candle, you could tell he was heartbroken over something."

Octavia's lips tightened when she realized what night it was... Midwinter, one of the grandest holidays in the mountains. Last Midwinter they were at Bruce Bockschecker's Goolah River Station in Bovuka, running from dingaroos and falling deeper and deeper in love. They never even noticed that the holiday came and went. Nick had spent most of the winter healing after being trampled by a herd of sheep and being gnawed on by a dingaroo. They survived the holiday season by running away from it. "Nick had a terrible childhood; he and I will see to it that our children will never experience something so horrible..."

"Pardon, ma'am, you're nobility, but you live like paupers!"

"Not paupers, farmers, but to us, this is living the high life. We have food on the table and a roof over our head. We intend to ensure that Marlon never spends a hungry night or a lonely day. At the same time, he's not going to grow up a spoiled palace brat."

"And the duke doesn't mind that you're so much more powerful than he is? I mean, he's just a witch..."

"No, he's much more powerful than just a witch. He can't conjure, but he's got other skills besides turning into a dog."

"What's conjuring?" asked the tiny, newlywed.

"This," and a flat package appeared in Octavia's hand. She handed it to Annabelle and said, "I'm going to give you a few minutes to open that and get ready. After that, it's up to you." And with that, Annabelle disappeared.

<><><><><>

The tiny policeman found herself in a small one-room cabin. The bed was made up, the fire in the stove was warm, and a bottle of champagne in a bucket of snow awaited them. Gaining her wits about her, Annabelle opened the package to find a frilly babydoll nightie. "Thank you, boss!" she called out. There was a large pan of water on the stove to humidify the air that the iron stove was drying out. Finding a cloth, Annabelle undressed from her uniform and washed up with the hot water. It felt so good to clean up. All she could smell was herself; she wanted to smell Preston.

She got her nightie on just in time because he soon appeared; his face covered with a look of concern. He saw her and smiled, but he was still concerned. "What's the matter, honey?" asked the tiny wolfling as she stood up on tiptoe for a kiss.

"Our first day on the job and they almost killed our boss," he growled, but Anabelle silenced him with a kiss.

"But they didn't," she said with a smile. "And tomorrow we rest."

"No, tomorrow we will go on a trip. The duchess wants to talk to students."

"What does that mean?" asked the bride as she eased the champagne bottle out of her husband's hands. Without looking at what she was doing, she soon had the foil removed, the cage taken from the cork, and the cork eased out of the champagne bottle with just a little pop. "What?" She said to his surprised look. "We drink a lot of champagne at Grandmama's house. Uncle Vlad had me open all the bottles for him while his new arm was healing."

New arm? Preston shook that off, listing it as the weird way they talk in Elbreshowth. "Thank you for opening that, I've never done it. The duke teaches reading and writing; we'll probably see his young school students," said Preston as Annabelle handed him a glass of champagne and popped a bright purple grape into his mouth. "Mmmm! The grape! So delicious!"

"The duchess said they came from her underground garden, and the wine..."

"She conjured that," said Preston, "I watched."

"No, she stole that from the king's wine cellar." She showed Preston the stamp on the label that said, "Royal Wine Cellar."

Preston couldn't believe these past two days, he finally got to go out on an assignment with his lady love and it led him to Midwinter celebration with the duke and duchess, dinner with three kings, a meeting with the top cop in Torwin-Armistad, a royal murder mystery, a mountain wedding, and a private honeymoon suite... and in Whorl, or in the ancient calendar, Ætherwhorl... a daughter!

Now Annabelle couldn't hold back, and she unbuttoned Preston's uniform jacket. "I love you," she whispered. "Our love is pure and perfect, and it's growing inside of me... I thought I lost you at Tähelepanek Point..." as she undressed her husband she wept over the terrors of the past, the fall of Breaze, of being abandoned in Teurnia, then when Pommy came back, even with a new name he was still Captain de la Montesquieu and they were marching to his orders again!

Preston ran his hands over his wolfling, slim yet curvaceous. She looked just like her grandmother, and when she got excited her eyes glowed like Lucretia's eyes glowed. Annabelle was a tiny goddess. She was small, barely a handful, but she wrapped herself around Preston like a sexy little snake. His hands grasped her tiny butt cheeks as they kissed. "No! Bad boy!" said Annabelle, slapping his hands away. "I'm not done using you."

She got his jacket and his pants off when she removes his shirt and underwear, and he will be naked. She wanted her man, and she wasn't letting clothing or romance get in the way. If you want a sweet lover who likes to cuddle and enjoys hours of foreplay, avoid a werewolf or a wolfling. They don't have the patience for that.

Annabelle pushed Preston back onto the large cot where he lay smiling, his manhood ready for her. She could smell his pheromones; they called out to her in the dim lamplight. She could nearly see the odors; her sense of smell was so powerful and so accurate. Preston watched as she approached with her eyes closed; a game she loved to play. Gently sniffing, she grew closer and closer, and suddenly her mouth opened wide. "My master!" she hissed. He could see her long canine teeth in the candlelight, as she climbed up over him and without the aid of her hand or sight, she lowered herself as her teeth found his neck, and he groaned in pleasure... the wolfling and her mate became one.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 17 - Murderers Nest

"Annabelle is worried, she said you had a bad time tonight," said Octavia as they settled in for the night. They had taken off their fancy uniforms of office not to wear them again for weeks or months; then they crawled under the heavy, warm quilts and pulled each other close.

"I'm sorry the memories came back. How could he do that to me? How could any man do that to their own child?" He stopped to fight back the horror of a three-year-old boy awakening to find out that he's been abandoned in the darkest, most dangerous slum on Kodu. "I gave Annabelle orders that if I ever do anything like that, she is to kill me. I hope you will do the same." And then the horror of his past crashed down on him even harder. He remembered the frozen face of a dead child he found in a trash heap, staring at him with lifeless eyes. That memory ignited more and more images of horror. He curled up and buried his face in his hands, and wept for every beaten and abandoned child in the world. "How could he do that?" wept Nick, weeping for his mother and his lost innocence.

Octavia knelt next to him, his tears igniting her own sorrow. "Honey, look," she put a warm hand on each of his temples and forced him to look her in the eye. She saw both heart shattering sorrow and gut twisting hatred. "Honey, we can't spend the entire month of Celest crying. It won't wash away what he did to you, but I can make it less painful."

Slowly the pain eased; the need to shout and release the anger also faded. "I can take it all away," said Octavia, "but I won't. This is a very noble anger and maybe you can make a kingdom where this anger isn't needed anymore."

Nick took a deep breath and let it out, and she was right. The memories were still there, but the thought halting anger was tempered. "Thank you... will it last?"

"Maybe?" she smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, thank you, and thank you for my baby."

"There are more babies to come. Don't get complacent."

"More?"

"Well, yeah! I waited this long to find the right lover; I'm not quitting sex just because I had a baby." Nick leaned in to kiss again, but Octavia stopped him. "Hang on. There's more."

"What now?"

"The waiter that fired a dart at you..."

"I'm sure we'll find out who it was." Suddenly he realized that she knew who it was. "Who was it?"

She grasped his hands and softly said, "Ninian McKenna."

"Oh gawds..." he sighed as he felt the bile build in his stomach. How could that kid... one of The Boys... he was in this house! Suddenly, he realized that the tea he drank in Überwald would not stay down. He reached for the rarely used "thunder mug" under the bed and got it out just in time to catch the contents of his stomach.

When he stopped vomiting, he apologized and carried the chamber pot downstairs and washed it out. "How did you find out? Did you talk to him?" he asked as Octavia came up next to him and wrapped her arm around him.

"When I saw the dart stuck in the ward, I got you and Marlon out of there, then I gave the dart a 'return to sender' spell and the man who fired it crumpled. When I got there, he still had the blow tube and several more darts in his hand."

"Did you talk to him?"

"Yes, but he just called me a name and died." She kissed Nick's cheek and ruffled his unruly hair. "I'm sorry. I know you liked him."

Nick sadly dried out the chamber pot and sighed. "I got an idea..."

"What?"

"Let's have a better Midwinter next year."

Octavia clicked her fingers, and nothing happened. "You missed?" asked Nick.

She smiled and said, "Not at all, your grace," and she took his hand and led him outdoors into the gently falling snow, where they stood naked and shivering. "It appears to have worked," she said as she saw the steamy exhaust from the sauna. She pulled the door open, and the little wooden house was nice and warm inside. "Come on," she said as she led Nick into the first sauna in the Snowcross Mountains.

"This is nice," said Nick, who was completely unsure of why he was sitting in the hot little box. In the heat, the smell of the wood was very nice. He used several boards of sweetwood lumber, and that added a sweet aroma to the heat. "Now what?"

"Well... here's something I really like to do in a nice hot sauna," purred Octavia. She leaned over Nick's lap and reached for a bucket in the corner and lifted a dipper out, then poured a cup of water into the box at the back of the sauna, and the tiny room filled with steam. Soon they were warm and sweaty in their little hideaway, their lips pressed together and their tongues dancing together over and over.

<><><><><>

The next morning, Preston and Annabelle joined Nick and Octavia for the breakfast that Nick made. Nick was up before sunrise with Marlon and taught him to bake, and they concocted a feast for the hungry honeymooners. "I hope you got a good night's rest, because it's back to work today."

Both Annabelle and Preston looked tired but happy, having made love all night long. "What's up boss?"

"We're going to visit with a couple of students. You're going to need your dress uniforms again... sorry. The duchess will launder them before we leave, and I'm going to need you to carry your truncheons."

"Planning trouble, sir?"

"Possibly."

After breakfast dishes were done and the baby's bag packed, they headed out. It wasn't too cold, so they walked the mile down to Elm Springs, where Trei Metsker was hard at work. The blacksmith's forge was fired up, and he folded back two sides of his shed because that forge can get extremely hot. As usual, The Boys had gathered to watch Trei make his form of magic with heat and metal. From a distance, Nick saw the usual number of guys watching the show, so maybe Octavia was wrong, but when they got closer, they saw that the extra body was Calum McCrory, Trei's son-in-law. He was Octavia's friend Ena's husband.

"Hey, yer grace!" said Sieffre Merrick, the senior member of The Boys, 85 years old with a mind as sharp as a razor. He was still teasing Nick about a weather prediction that failed to come true a few months ago. "Did you get the six inches that the weather wizard promised ya?"

When the laughter died down, Octavia hefted the baby in her arms and said, "I found quite a few inches to use, thank you," which turned the laughter raucous and fired it right back at Sieffre.

"Darlin' I loves ya like a granddaughter, which means I can't take you across m' knee like a daughter," was the old timer's rebuttal.

"I love you too, grandpa," and Octavia gave Sieffre a kiss on the cheek. With the teasing settled, it was time to get down to business. "The duke and I think it's about time we had a few watchmen on the main road east and west from here and up the Breeder's Peak Road up to the pass," Octavia said.

"Hear, hear!" cried Trei, whose blacksmith shop had been broken into regularly by bandits.

Nick gestured to the newly wed watchmen and said, "Preston and Annabelle are our first watchmen, and hopefully we'll see them often. Annabelle, Preston, this is Sieffre Merrick, he was sitting here at the crossroads and they built Elm Springs around him, Trei Metsker, the only man in town with a steady job, his son-in-law Calum McCrory, and these guys are Merle Rorie and Tiernan Brighid, who farm on either side of town."

As The Boys shook hands with Annabelle and Preston, Preston asked, "Does anyone know where Ninian McKenna is?"

"He mentioned getting a job at the palace serving dinner for Midwinter Eve. Didn't you see him there?"

"I didn't," said Nick truthfully. "Does he have a place in town?"

"Yes," said Sieffre, "He rented my second-floor apartment for three months, paid cash in advance."

"Let's go see if he slept in," said Nick and took Octavia's staff Virga and he led the way across the street to Sieffre's big two-story farmhouse at the corner of Main Street and the road up to Nick and Octavia's cottage. Nick was halfway up the external stairs when he noticed a hasp and padlock on the apartment door. "Who puts a big padlock like that on their apartment?" he asked himself aloud.

"Someone protecting a possession," replied Virga.

Nick turned around and, finding a sturdy board leaning against the back shed, he carried it up the stairs with him as the Orb of Jørn on Virga opened and glared at the padlock. Annabelle knew something was going to happen because Virga was made of prudent oak. Her grandmother has a tea table made of prudent oak like Virga. It absorbed so much magic that it could keep the teapot hot. Nick held the board up like a shield while Virga continued to glare at the padlock. After a moment, the lock suddenly fell to pieces and dropped off the hasp.

"Blimey! Did you do that?" asked Annabelle.

Nick shook his head and said, "Virga did it... Truncheons at the ready..." then crouching behind the board, he turned the knob and, using his walking stick Teivas, he pushed the door open. With a sudden "prang!" and a solid "thwack!" a crossbow bolt slammed into the board he held.

"Yilos Balls!" shouted Annabelle. "What in the name of all eight hells was that?"

Nick turned the board so the cops could see the crossbow bolt sticking through both sides of the solid wood. "Someone doesn't want to see you this morning," said Preston.

Peering in the door, he saw another crossbow next to the door, set to fire into the apartment, obviously set to shoot anyone who made it past the door and charged into the apartment without looking. Nick disarmed it by knocking the bolt out of the crossbow with Virga. He picked up the bolt carefully and set it on the counter, then tripped the crossbow. Annette would have to check the bolt for poison later.

"Any other booby traps, Virga?" asked Nick. The Orb of Jørn reopened, and Virga scanned the apartment, then said, "No traps, but there are a few loose floorboards. There are weapons hidden in the closet."

The apartment was nearly empty inside. There were two cots with quilts, a small table and two chairs; a couple of rusty frying pans sat on the iron stove, but there were no dishes in the dry sink or cupboard. The only other items in the apartment were some articles of clothing and a long bow and a quiver of arrows that matched the bow and arrows the bandits that attacked Nick on the highway used. On the table were several empty apothecary bottles.

Nick headed back to the boys with the crossbow bolt he took from the trap and the bow and quiver, leaving Annabelle and Preston to scour the apartment. As they crossed the street, Nick stopped and actually hugged Virga. "Thank you, my wooden friend."

The Orb of Jørn shot open in surprise. Since they met, Nick and Virga have been angry with each other. Virga actually convinced Nick to leave Octavia because he was distracting her from her mission. Officially, Virga belongs to Nick because Octavia gave her staff to him, but when she was appointed Court Wizard, she needed a staff, so from that day forward Virga was jointly owned, but Nick rarely touched it. "Why the sudden affection?" asked the staff.

"The Duchess was fiddling with my memories last night and she unlocked a few that I had hidden away. Why have you been allowing me to say that Octavia's dad taught me to read and write? I was barely scratching by with Torwin, now I'm literate in four languages. It was you that taught me all of that."

"You were an excellent student," said Virga.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Nick.

"We were not on the best of terms back then."

"Regardless, thank you. It truly means a lot."

"I can teach you how to sing."

"Thank you, but I'm doing fine.

"No really, you need help."

"Octavia says I sing nicely."

"You scare the baby..." their bickering continued as they returned to the blacksmith shop.

"Oh shit," Octavia muttered under her breath, seeing her husband trudging back through the snow with the bow and quiver.

"What do you have there gov'ner?" asked Merle as Nick joined the group.

"It looks like Ninian was a hunter." He showed the crossbow bolt to Octavia and asked, "Is this poisoned?"

She stared hard at it, then said, "I don't have daddy's chemical knowledge, but to me it looks to be the same stuff they shot you with the other day."

That caught Trei between blows of his hammer. "Someone shot you, my lord?"

"Yeah, but my angel fixed me up." Nick bared his shoulder to expose the burns to his flesh from Octavia's emergency cauterization.

"Ow! That looks like it hurt," said Calum.

"Not as much as the poison that was on the arrow." Just then, Annabelle and Preston arrived from across the street. "Find anything else?" Nick asked.

Preston held up a cigar box full of packets of fine powder, several blowgun tubes, and a packet of metal darts. "Found this under the floorboards. We guess it is the same stuff he shot at you last night. The Dispatcher's Federation calls this stuff 'Payday' because it guarantees a kill."

Nick frowned; the Dispatcher's Federation was merely a consortium of murder for hire thugs. It was no secret that Orazio Laurita, the Dominus of Torwin-Armistad, allowed the Dispatcher's Federation to exist. They gave him a hit squad that owed its existence to him, and Laurita demanded gratitude.

Annabelle held up a fat leather coin purse. "We found this under a floorboard. They left their blood money behind." She spilled out ten coins, all twenty-dollar silver coins. Two hundred dollars.

Nick frowned and shook his head. "I'm barely worth the taxes on my farm."

"What should we do with the money, your grace?" asked Annabelle.

"I suppose some judge will have to make a ruling..." Then he noticed that everyone was staring at him. "What?" he demanded.

"You're the judge, your grace."

Nick looked at Octavia, who nodded. "I suppose that once everything in the apartment is confiscated, if Sieffre wants, we can break the lease and he can lease out the apartment."

"That's very kind, your grace," said Sieffre Merrick.

"On the other hand," started Nick, his hand stroking his slight beard, "that abandoned farmstead across the street from your house looks dangerous. A child could get hurt playing in there. I may have to confiscate it for the safety of the children of Elm Springs."

"Your grace!" gasped Sieffre. "I am going to sell that!"

"You're clearly not in the selling mood," said Nick as he absently studied the bow he confiscated. "I will entertain an honest price when we get back from our meeting!"

Ignoring the questions from The Boys, Octavia said, "let's lock up these things in the temple, we have a meeting to go to."

After a dipper of ice cold spring water to quench his thirst and help with the jangling nerves, Nick unlocked the temple bookstore and led the policemen in. "You can leave your parkas here; it's going to be warm where we go." Nick ducked behind a screen and came out a few moments later in what the policemen could only describe as a red and gold high collared dress. "Rule of thumb, if one or both of us are missing and you can get in here, look in this desk drawer. If you see a silver key, then I am dead. If you see a gold key, the Duchess is dead."

"I don't understand," said Preston.

Nick unbuttoned the collar button of his shirt and pulled out a silver key on a ribbon. "This is my temple key. It will open any temple on Kodu, and only I can use it. If I lose it, it will return to me within a day's time. If I die, it will return to this temple. Octavia has a matching gold key."

Octavia stepped out and showed off a similar dress to Nick's, and Nick wrestled Marlon into an infant size version of the same design.

"Wow," said Annabelle as she ran her fingers over the golden dragons on the dress. "That's genuine gold!"

"All the gold embroidery isn't thread, it's gold wire." Nick opened up the diaper bag and took out a small box that was wrapped in a baby blanket. When he opened the box, he peered in and said, "You guys ok?"

"We're fine," said the fairy Sundrop as he fluttered out.

"Sundrop, we all need translators..." before Nick could finish his statement, three more fairies streamed out of the box and all four fluttered over sleepy Marlon and started squabbling. "Girls, Marlon doesn't need a translator..."

"Awwww..." the fairies whined and hovered in front of Nick.

"Just the grownups, one fairy each." Eventually, all four had a fairy seated on their shoulder. "Preston, Annabelle, our little friends are going to translate what is being said and whisper in your ears. If you want to speak to someone, there will be a fellow there that speaks Torwin, and he will translate your words."

"Why? What's going on?" asked Preston.

"You are joining us in Xuantang," said Octavia as she collected Marlon and his possibles bag.

Preston was confused. "It will take months to get there!"

"Follow me," said Nick with a cryptic smile. They followed him into the temple and, linking hands, they walked into the four columns that made up the Æther portal. They stepped out of the Æther portal into a wide open room with a polished black marble floor, a couch like the one in Nick and Octavia's cottage, and the walls were hidden behind red silk curtains. A tiny, ancient man in a brightly colored dress similar to what Nick and Octavia were wearing hurried to them, then stopped and bowed deeply, and he babbled in a lyrical language.

The fairies translated what he was saying, "Welcome to the most exulted throne of Long Won Di, Nicholas the Dragon Emperor."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 18 - Return to Xuantang

The tiny old man knelt down, put his hands on the floor, and bowed forward until his forehead touched the back of his hands. He spoke in a terrified voice, which the fairies translated to, "Please forgive me for my conduct at our last meeting."

Nick stood in front of him and frowned. He knew from history that he couldn't say "Stand up!" Lung Mist would believe that his apology wasn't enough, and he would have to find some other way to prostrate himself before the emperor. Nick looked down on the old man and said, "I understand and offer you forgiveness."

"Thank you your highness," said Lung Mist as he struggled to stand. He would be offended if Nick tried to help him; he would be seen as too weak to do his job.

"Lung Mist, we understand," said Octavia. "The palace was under attack and people were telling you crazy things, and you had an empire to care for. You did an excellent job, thank you." She didn't mention that the person telling him crazy things was Ning. "We got out safely, and look!" Octavia held the baby so that the old eunuch could see him. "He was born in a bamboo forest here, so he can be considered a citizen of Xuantang!"

"So beautiful," said the prime minister of the Agatean empire as he gently touched the sleeping baby's hand. In his 80 years, Marlon is not the only baby that Lung Mist has ever seen close up but he is the only baby he had been allowed to touch. As if breaking a spell, Lung Mist said, "Today payday," and he gestured to the side. Nick recognized the official of the treasury, who came to them and bowed, then handed them two large sacks of Agatean coins.

"This is a lot," said Octavia.

"Last time you were here you made an inspection flight over the Lu Yazi river and the Western Provinces," said Lung Mist, referring to Nick and Octavia's escape from bedlam. "You earn them."

"This sack a gift for Ying Zhi Zi," said the man from the treasury, holding up a smaller sack that contained several one ounce and five ounce gold ingots. The treasury man was probably the only man in the room that understood the Uduithian love of gold.

"Holy shit," whispered Preston as he peeked into the bag.

"It's gold, it's almost play money to them and they think we're crazy demanding our pay in gold. Here the real value is copper and tin," said Nick. "That's why we brought so many pennies."

"SHHH!" hissed Octavia as a small boy came out from behind the curtain.

"Greetings Emperor Long Won Di, Empress Ying Won Ho," said the boy. The fairies translated the names as Dragon Emperor and Eagle Queen. "Is that Prince Ying Zhi Zi?" That name was translated as Eagle's Son.

"Yes it is," said Octavia and as Nick and Annabelle quickly hustled back through Æther portal and left the gold in Nick's safe under Black Mountain, Octavia let their little friend Jia hold the lad known in the Agatean empire as Ying Zhi Zi Marlon, the boy born on the wings of a dragon.

Soon Nick and Annabelle were back, and Jia asked them to sit one last time on the throne of the Agatean empire. Nick and Octavia sat on the throne while Preston and Annabelle stood behind them. The curtain opened, and oddly, the packed audience in the palace was completely silent. They stared at Nick; their nearly identical almond-shaped eyes focused on him. Soon the future emperor's mother entered. Ning was wearing a tight silk dress like Octavia, her ebony hair done up in a knot secured by two sticks. She stood in front of Nick, and she slowly sagged to her knees... Was there a tear in her eye? She slowly bent forward, supporting herself with her hands, and pressed her forehead to the ground.

"I humbly beg your forgiveness," she started.

"For what?" asked Nick.

"Conspiring against the emperor of the Xuantang Empire and the Duke of Wægn."

A rock suddenly developed in Nick's stomach; he expected nothing like this on the day after Midwinter. "What do you mean, Ning? Speak." When she remained silent, he repeated, " Hau Chung Ning I command you to speak!"

"A wizard asked me to help save both of our kingdoms, he say you were agent of the devil, you must be remove. Jia was right, I was wrong for conspiring. I apologize for my part in the conspiracy."

That explains it! The day before Marlon was born, she demanded that she be returned to Chéngshì Jin, and she and Jia were arguing all the way from the castle in Waleston to the Temple of the Woods in Elm Springs. She demanded that Nick and Octavia escort her to the palace, and when they got there, she closed the Æther portal so they couldn't return to Uduithia, and she became very threatening. Afraid for their lives, Nick used the cover of the confusion caused by the pirate attack to escape.

"Who was the wizard?" asked Nick.

Ning froze. A few sounds came out of her mouth, then she said, "I cannot say... the wizard make me not say his name."

"Who was the wizard?" asked Octavia. Nick had never heard this tone of voice from his wife before. It wasn't angry or demanding; at the same time, there was no way that Ning could hold back. No secret could survive that voice.

"His name... His name... Nithe Skelm."

When Ning said Nithe Skelm, Octavia tightened; that name was known on several worlds, worlds on which Octavia had been trained. She waved her hands and muttered "Kaitse kurja eest" and drew a ward around them all that were standing around the throne, including Lung Mist. Then she continued, "Was anyone on the court of Uduithia involved?" Octavia demanded.

Ning nodded and listed the conspirators. "Orrell Slipspring, Silas Singe, and Placid Cadence." Both Annabelle and Preston worked to memorize all four names; Nick and Octavia knew the last three conspirators on the royal court, and Octavia knew the fourth name: Nithe Skelm. It was actually more a title than a name, but the damage to Uduithia was great. Ning had just named the chief international advisor to the king of Uduithia, the head of National Security of Uduithia, and the Uduithian Prime Minister.

A horrible realization came over Nick. He crushed the last two emperors that ruled here, and now he was here to judge this woman and crashed down on her. Nick looked up at the petitioners, hundreds of them lining the Great Palace, sitting on the floor behind long and very low tables. Landowners, farmers, shopkeepers and rich, rich men. It was rumored that several men in the room owned a ton of copper each, making them the richest men on the continent. Someone coughed, and the sound cut through the silence like a fart at a funeral.

Nick reached for Octavia's hand and held it, and a murmur ran through the crowd. Such a display of affection is frowned upon in Xuantang society... but now the sitting emperor held a woman's hand in front of scores of powerful men. What message was the sitting emperor sending?

Jia, Lung Mist, and Octavia stared at Nick; each looked concerned. Treason like this deserves... no, it demands the death penalty. King Samrel Oakenarmour was right; there was a cancer in the court of Uduithia, and it fell to Nick and Octavia to carve it out. He looked down at Ning, her slim body shaped like his dulcimer; for a moment he wondered what sex with the lithe, beautiful woman was like. "Jia," he called, and the boy who would soon be emperor came up to him. "Jia, can you confirm what your mother said?"

"Yes, your grace, I heard every word. I was at the meetings."

"Thank you... LUNG MIST!" he called. The new prime minister hurried over and bowed low to hear Nick. "I will pass judgement. When I stand, I want you to tell them all what I tell Ning and Jia. Understand?"

Lung Mist nodded firmly. "Shi da."

"And do it loud, everyone must hear," demanded Nick.

"Shi da." This time Lung Mist grinned; he likes to yell.

"Sundrop, I want you to tell me if he translates properly."

"Yes boss," said the fairy on his shoulder cheerfully.

Nick slowly rose, trying not to let their stares and the overpowering silence stop him. For the first time, Ning's proper name was heard in public. "Hau Chung Ning, look at me." Nick stoned his heart to this cute little woman, a woman who has been used as a toy by powerful men her entire life.

"Hau Chung Ning, I find you guilty by your own admission of seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government of the Duchy of Wægn, seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government of the Kingdom of Uduithia, and treason against the Xuantang Empire. The sentence for each of these charges is death."

When Lung Mist stopped shouting, there was an audible gasp in the audience. Nick heard Sundrop's tiny, Gibby voice say, "He got it right, boss!"

"Hau Chung Ning, because you were ensorcelled by a powerful wizard, I cannot hold you responsible for your actions, but the gravity of these crimes does not allow me to release you."

Again, Nick waited for Lung Mist to stop shouting. "He got it right, boss," came Sundrop's Gibby report, and the crowd held their voices. What was this Gwáilóu pretender to the throne going to do now?

"I therefore decree the following. You are to complete the investigation of these allegations fully, any failure to do so other than by reason of ensorcellment bears the death penalty. I also decree that when the investigation is complete, you are compelled to be the servant to the emperor of Xuantang for the rest of your life."

Ning looked up at Nick, her heart beating a mile a minute. She's going to live! When Lung Mist was done shouting and they weren't rushed by an angry mob, Nick turned to Jia and said, "Are you ready your majesty?"

"As long as I can turn to you and to King Uric for advice, yes."

Nick and Octavia stepped away from the throne, and Nick exclaimed, "My job is finished, and I return the throne to a son of Xuantang." Jia sat on the throne, and Nick and Octavia bowed low to him. The crowd didn't need Lung Mist to translate; they understood what had just happened and broke into thunderous applause. Lung Mist translated, his heart beating madly in joy, and the curtains closed.

"Thank you, your grace," said Jia, then a young boy grin spread across his face. "Can I still come and play with the magic dog?"

"Anytime you want. Can I still hug my young friend?"

With a broad grin, Jia nodded joyfully and ran to Nick, and they hugged. The implication was clear: Jia was in charge of one of the largest empires on Kodu, but better yet, he had someone who acted as a dad. "You have always been there for us, you ended famine and years of government failure," said Jia. "Xuantang will always be there for the Duke of Wægn and the King of Uduithia."

Nick turned to Lung Mist and said, "I'm going to turn the business over to you. I'm taking Jia out for a walk. Give me security guards to protect the emperor. Come along Ning."

<><><><><>

Ning led the group on their walk down a crowded street in Hunghung city. The street was alive with vendors selling everything that could be worn, eaten, taken home to be cooked, and cooking utensils. Jia was amazed at everything: the items, the people, the smells, and the flavors! Meat, fish and vegetables on sticks with so many flavors! Nick would pay for something on a stick for himself and Octavia, Jia, and Ning and their four security guards with a penny, and the stall keeper would swoon. When they argued that they couldn't make change, Nick would tell Jia, "Tell him it's a gift from Uduithia."

They found so many cute things for Marlon: dressing gowns and sleepers, blankets and a soft comforter that felt silky smooth called Wuduan de Mink. They had four enormous shopping bags full of items that were paid for with pennies. They even found a man selling cones of shaved ice with fruit flavoring. "I'm going to sell these in Uduithia this summer!" said Nick.

They ended up at a little restaurant that pushed a few tiny tables together so all eight could sit together and when the tiny waitress asked what they wanted, Nick said, "We want your cooks favorite meal," and soon Nick, Octavia, Jia, Ning and their four bodyguards were being fed fried rice, with different dishes containing shrimp, eel, beef and pork. Sweet, tart, savory, amazing flavors that never made it into the diet of the emperor because the emperor never ventured out of his palace.

"Ok, Jia, what was the lesson today?"

"The people!" gasped the little boy. "I've never seen so many people! So many shops and stalls!"

"Absolutely correct, these are YOUR people. You are the emperor, but it is your job to make sure they can cook and feed people like this every day. You serve them; they do not serve you."

"You're going to be a great king someday," said Octavia as she gave Nick a kiss.

"I'm just happy to be a backwoods duke," said Nick as he paid for the enormous meal with a handful of pennies that overjoyed the restaurant owner. Now he could afford all new furniture!

Arriving back at the Palace, Nick asked Ning, "Is it safe here or is that wizard part of the empire now?"

"It's safe here for now," said Ning, "but if Nithe gets control of Uduithia, he will take all the continent. Then he plans to move on Xuantang."

"Ok, we're going to set up a meeting with the king and queen of Uduithia. I'm going to invite a few other people and I will guide you, Jia, and Lung Mist to the meeting."

<><><><><>

Elm Springs, Uduithia

"Sieffre!" called Nick as he and Annabelle strolled up to the morning meeting of The Boys at Trei's blacksmith shop. "Sieffre, you've been holding out on me."

"Aye, on quite a lot of things, young duke, what did you find now?"

"That farm on the corner of Main Street and Uduithia Town Road. I asked for a fair price or I'm going to exercise Eminent Domain."

"The farm is mine, and it's going to stay that way."

"I don't want the entire farm, just the corner acre with the rundown house and the collapsing barn to build the Highway Watch Station."

Now, all of The Boys were listening with amused smiles. "I don't want to sell."

"You can donate it to the Duchy of Wægn for a considerable tax credit on all your property taxes, or you can sell it to me for five ounces of gold and I'll donate it to the duchy and take the tax credit."

Nick knew that five ounces of gold was a lot more money than that lot and two buildings were worth, so did Sieffre, but the thought that Nick offered that much money must mean that the tax credit was sizeable. "I will donate it, but all liability is yours," the old man said.

"SOLD! Let's go see what is going to be your new home, Detective," and Nick led Annabelle to the corner lot. Both buildings were in much better shape than they had thought. All windows on the house were intact; the walls were solid; the stove and fireplace were solid, and the basement was dry. The root cellar still had shelves full of jars of canned fruit and vegetables.

The barn was going to need some cleaning before they could stable the horses there, but it shouldn't be too much work. The house needed a coat of paint inside and out; it needed the porch leveled; the barn needed the doors re-hung, and the weeds needed to be cut back.

Back at the cottage, Annabelle was overjoyed. "We have a home, honey! We can raise our children there!" Nobody noticed, but as Annabelle peppered Preston's face with kisses, the wind outside came up.

That night, as the wind picked up and blew the snow that was on the ground, visibility dropped to a matter of an arm's length, and Annabelle and Octavia became worried about the storm. Earlier that month The Boys were talking about the "Valley Blaster" that blows in off the western ocean and roars up the Creel Creek Valley between Black Mountain and Breeders Peak. Being in a bowl, Waleston never noticed them, but from Widdershin through Elm Springs on up to Slate Bottom Creek, the winds could roar for days. The Valley Blaster that hit that year lasted over a week.

By the next morning, the Valley Blaster was in full force. One could tell that there were few clouds by looking up; you could see the sun trying to peer through the blowing snow, but the wind blew the snow so viciously that you couldn't see forward more than a couple of yards. The cottage shook with every blast of wind, and little snowdrifts appeared at every crack the wind could get through. The gatehouse was frigid, and the wind kept blowing the stove fire out, so Preston and Annabelle grabbed all of their clothing and blankets and moved into the cottage with Nick and Octavia.

The cottage was cold, and the only person who didn't mind was Marlon. His parents normally keep him warm. The fairies huddled near the fireplace or the stove, and sweaters and blankets were the order of the day. Much of Nick and Octavia's time was spent playing the dulcimer and autoharp, and they got quite good at their instruments. Even though they had been gifted with the knowledge to play their instruments, they needed to train their fingers to play them.

Finally, one night Octavia said that it was cold enough for the sauna to feel right. The wind had stopped, but it was bitter cold, all the animals huddled in the barn, Billy and Trixie were moved into the same stall, the rabbits moved into the bunkhouse which the boys said was nice and warm, but the chickens started dying. By morning, they would all be gone.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 19 - Valley Blaster

The night that the storm came to an end, Octavia led Nick out onto the back patio. He looked up, and the stars were incredibly bright. Then he ducked into the sauna. "Oh gods you're right! This feels so good after freezing for days," groaned Nick. "Can we move out here?" The steam coming up from the rocks was so thick that you could barely see your hand before your eyes. Nick and Octavia quietly enjoyed the steam, but as the steam dissipated, they noticed Annabelle and Preston sitting on the other side of the sauna. Octavia had invited the young couple to join them in her sauna.

"No towels!" demanded Octavia.

"What?"

"No towels in my sauna. This is a reserve for pure hedonistic nudity. Come on, off!"

Preston took off his towel, showing his slim but muscular build, but Annabelle clung to her towel. "Come on, take it off or I'll take it away," said Octavia. In response, Annabelle stuck her tongue out at Octavia. "I warned you," said Octavia, who was suddenly holding Annabelle's towel. When her towel leaped into Octavia's hands, Annabelle squealed and tried to cover herself with her hands. Nick poured more water on the box of hot rocks, and the cloud of steam filled the tiny sauna again, allowing Annabelle to think she was hiding.

"Thank you, your grace," sighed Annabelle.

"Oh, you have a darling figure," said Octavia as she leaned back against Nick.

"I'm skinny!" the tiny cop pouted.

"You're darling! Doesn't she look like your lover, sweetheart?"

"Huh? My what?" gasped Nick, who was half asleep.

"Doesn't she look like Ning?"

"Her eyes are all wrong, her hair's the wrong color, she's shorter than Ning and what are you accusing me of?" demanded Nick.

Octavia turned and kissed Nick's chest and said, "You're crazy about Ning. You couldn't have sentenced her to death if she was holding a blood-stained knife."

"I care for Ning and Jia, maybe too much, but I love you and Marlon and I don't appreciate being accused of cheating."

"Good answer," said Octavia as she slid her sweat slick body onto Nick's lap. "But doesn't Annabelle's body resemble Ning's body?"

"No, Annabelle has a sweet little body that she should be proud of. Ning is covered with scars. She's had a very tough life."

"How can you tell?" asked Preston.

"Her family was thrown from power and she was used as a..."

"That's not what he asked," said Octavia. "He wanted to know how you know she has scars."

"Oh, I uh, can see..."

"What the duke is trying to say," said Octavia, "is that his golden eye can see through cloth. Everyone is naked to him."

"NOT ALWAYS. I have learned to ignore it because fully dressed old people are a blessing."

"You could see me naked the whole time?" demanded Annabelle.

"No! Well... yes. But I can ignore it."

"You could see my grandmama naked too?" Annabelle's question was almost a shriek.

"Yes."

"Oh," the little wolfling sounded depressed.

"She pads her bra." When he said that, Octavia whooped with laughter, and Annabelle broke into a grin.

"I knew it!"

"I can see all kinds of things with this eye. Most of the time, I'm not sure what I'm seeing, so I've learned to ignore it."

"Like what honey, what are you seeing?"

"It's weird, l see shadows that aren't associated with anything..."

Octavia suddenly looked concerned. "What are the shadows doing?"

"They follow some people, they watch others. They aren't shadows they're completely invisible with invisible outlines. I see them by the way they distort things behind them."

"Are there any in here?" asked Preston.

"No, shadows don't get near the Duchess, but they circle her at a distance." When Nick said that, for Octavia it suddenly got cold inside her sauna.

"Who made your eye?" asked Annabelle as she leaned forward and studied his golden eye.

"Lung Mist had the court wizard make it and put it in. It was the first time we met. I had just uh... removed a small platoon of guards and a mad emperor. They were thankful and noticed that I lost my eye, so they made a gold eye for me, but it wasn't magic when they put it in."

"May I?" asked Octavia softly, and when Nick nodded, she gently touched his gold eye and suddenly she was somewhere else...

<><><><><>

Somewhere Else

Octavia found herself naked, standing in a long hallway of whitewashed hewn rock. Closed doors lined the hallway, and she guessed that she was in Artafána, the underground castle on Black Mountain. "Hello?" called Octavia.

"No," said a voice, "You are not under Morna Oran, this refuge is under a desert in the land that you call Sotis. The two sites are connected, however."

Sotis was a far-flung, mysterious desert land of camels and palm trees and massive temples and pyramids, and odd gods. "Why Sotis?" she asked.

"We built strongholds everywhere in case we decide to come back. Your husband was given one in the Snowcross Mountains."

"Come back from where?" asked Octavia.

"The question is, why are YOU here?"

"I don't know. I was looking at my husband's golden artificial eye, and I touched it, and now I'm here."

"Ahhh, the one the fairies call Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas, the elf that is not an elf. Our warrior, that is not a warrior."

"Nick is not a warrior!" demanded Octavia.

"That is just what I said. No, he is not a warrior, until the cost is high enough, that's when he's his most fierce."

"Did you enchant his eye?" Octavia was looking around, trying to find the source of the voice. It seemed to come from everywhere.             

"The enchantment came from the same magic he uses to change shape. He is going to need it soon."

"What will he need it for?" Octavia demanded.

"Tell him to pay attention to the shadows."

"Can I ask a question?" said Octavia.

"You may," said the voice.

"Who are you?" Then suddenly she was back in the sauna, her finger gently touching Nick's golden eye.

"I'm your husband, the father of your child, keeper of your chickens, but I'm failing at that last task miserably."

<><><><><>

Waelmore Castle

Mister Morose stropped his razor blade using the leather strop attached to the table his "guest" was strapped to. He would lift the razor and examine the edge, then go back to stropping. Never quite satisfied with his work, he continued to strop as he said, "Now Mister Nutley, we are going to ask one more time. Who hired you to kill the Duke of Wægn?"

Laurence Nutley watched the razorblade travel up and down the leather strop. "Ninian! Ninian McKenna! It was all his idea," the former Laurence Nutley gasped.

"We all know that wasn't the case," said Mister Morose as he handed the razor to Mister Morose, who plucked a hair and sliced it with the razor. Nodding in approval to Mister Morose, Mister Morose advanced on the shrieking would be assassin, the razor ready to slice fine, thin strips from Nutley's face.

"Skelm!" Laurence Nutley shouted, "It was Nithe Skelm! He gave us the idea; he gave us the money! He said we were back-up if Plan A didn't work."

"So you were Plan B. What is Plan C?" asked Mister Morose as he advanced on Laurence Nutley.

Suddenly, Laurence started screaming and writhing against his bonds. He twisted, shrieking in agony as every cell in his body burst its seams. He screamed in horror and with a cloud of sulfurous smoke; he was gone.

Mister Morose looked at Mister Morose in shock; they turned to Mister Morose who was sitting at a desk, pen in hand. "Did you get that?"

"Nithe Skelm. I'm aware of him, I have heard that he causes a lot of trouble on a lot of worlds."

Mister Morose tore off his blood splattered smock and threw it in a laundry bin. "What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know," said Mister Morose as he adjusted his tiny glasses, "wanna go bowling?"

"You always want to go bowling."

"It's nickel beer night for the women."

Mr. Morose grinned, "I'm in!"

"You guys go ahead," said Mr. Morose. "I have to finish this report or the king will have a fit."

"Ok, we'll catch you later," and Mister Morose and Mister Morose left, leaving Mister Morose behind to complete the paperwork.

Mister Morose is a set of identical triplets, exactly identical. They start questioning the prisoners, working individually. They work in four-hour shifts, changing round the clock, asking identical questions, using the identical methods of "inspiration." After a while, the prisoner sees two Mister Moroses, and eventually they see a third sitting nearby taking notes. They talk; they always talk. But this time their "guest" disappeared, leaving the smell of sulfur and old sewage... a sure sign of dimensional shifting. Lord Baltimore's wizards will need to hear about this.

<><><><><>

Peacock Cottage, Elm Springs

After a week, the "Valley Blaster" storm was finally over. All the chickens died within the first couple of days of the storm; the rabbits survived happily in the bunkhouse, and the four farmhands, Alphie, Carl, Dexter, and Bert, loved them too. Unfortunately, they didn't put the rabbits back in the hutch the way they came out, and before the winter was over, the number of rabbits on the farm quadrupled. The rest of the animals, except for Nan, their cow, survived. Nan, however, was old and didn't make it.

Nick spent the storm week calculating the tax burdens of each of his duchy's property holders. His work dominated the dinner table, books and documents stacked up in just the right order, but he and Octavia eventually came up with a simplified tax code that made the burden as fair as possible. Comparatively, next year's tax calculations will be a breeze. He also had several births that winter. Two of them were during the storm, of course.

When the messenger candle lit up, letting Nick know he was needed, the storm was at its peak. Nick transformed into a Snowcross Mountain Lion to get to their location. The Snowcross Mountain Lion was fierce, tireless, and had a heavy coat of incredibly soft, pure white hair. Nick got to the remote locations safely, and he delivered the babies and returned to the cottage alive. The danger was that Octavia fell in love with that fur and Nick was terrified of waking up a bedspread.

When the storm ended, it was sudden. Suddenly, the wind stopped, and the sun came out. The temperatures rose, and people emerged to find their world re-arranged. Houses were buried under massive snow drifts and people had to escape through their attics. Nick and Preston went out and checked every single homestead in the duchy looking to see if anyone needed help, and he found a few occupied homes completely buried by massive snow drifts. He organized work teams to dig the families out, and he gathered four witches to fly from farmstead to farmstead and check on the health of every single person they could find. The tiny cobbler shop was completely buried, trapping Harry Neumann and his wife Dounia, and his two young sons Steff and Mathis in the tiny building. The family came out shocked to see Nick digging them out of their frigid trap. "Yer grace? You are here?"

"Where else should I be?" he asked with a grin as the family emerged from the house for the first time in twelve days. "Let's get these people some firewood and some hot food!" called Nick, and the family was carted over to the temple where a kitchen was set up.

"The old duke, Duke Roem, would always winter at a beach estate in Farferee," said a blanket clad Harry as his neighbors gave him a hot plate of food.

"It would take most of the autumn to get there!" gasped Nick. Farferee was as far away from Uduithia as one could get and still be on the south side of the equator.

The only breaks he took were visits to Waelmore Castle for Preston and Annabelle's wedding presentation and the weekly royal court meetings. Being the only wedding in the month of Celest, Preston and Annabelle's wedding presentation was a warm event held in the Royal Chambers. The newlyweds had lunch with the king and queen and emerged from the chambers with huge smiles, hugging each other tightly. "What did they say?" asked Octavia as they headed back to the cottage.

"Let's just say that we can't wait for hot summer afternoons in the pond," said Preston with a grin. The royal couple loved to relax in the pond and Nick and Octavia were sure they were skinny dipping on hot summer evenings. King Uric may have no sense of humor, but he appreciates the concept of fun.

At the court meetings, Nick and Octavia remained quiet. Normally. Nick observed his court members more closely than he did the previous year, looking to see if any had a "shadow" worth noticing, and to him there always seemed to be a shadow that hung near one of the three that Ning named, Viscount Slipspring, Baron Singe, and Baron Cadence. Nick found it odd that the three traitors had the lowest ranks in nobility, with Baron being the lowest. Count Slipspring was not a count; he was a viscount, one step up from baron, but he insisted on the title Count. The court held no Earls or Marquess, and Nick wondered why that was. Was this merely a game of royal jealousy? The Prime Minister and Lead Lord were elected positions, but the rest were royal appointments. Nick wasn't born to nobility; he was made a duke, the highest rank of nobility, for his actions, bypassing the hereditary titles of Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.

"Your highness, we must increase the size of the standing army! My intelligence reports that the Duchy of Warwickshire is planning to mobilize their forces this spring!" demanded Orrell Slipspring, the head of National Security.

"Your highness," Nick said as he stood and bowed. He rarely spoke in court meetings, but when he did, he was a firebrand. "I stand in opposition to such a truculent request. The Duchy of Warwickshire is in no way planning to mobilize anything. Their entire army is no larger than our current palace guard and they intend to be busy this spring planting their fields. Colonel Handpipe is their commander, and I recently delivered his daughter's baby. We had long talks while waiting and the Duke of Warwickshire, Lolar Hampton, was there much of the time. Duke Hampton agrees with me when I say that if anything is a threat to our peace and security, it is the bandits in the hills outside of these palace walls. I would be happy to introduce the members of this court, like Viscount Slipspring to a few bandits. I deal with them every day."

"What were you doing, birthing a child in Warwickshire?" demanded Viscount Slipspring. "You're the witch of Hay-on-Wægn county."

"Infants know no boundaries. I was touring the western region of Wægn when a rider came and asked for my assistance." Nick turned and faced Slipspring and said, "I'd rather listen to the cries of a newborn than the blithering of a warmonger."

"Are you making an accusation, Duke Stein?"

"I am merely pointing out the obvious, Viscount Slipspring. Every week you demand more and more soldiers, but as of yet, you have failed to present any reason to feed, clothe, house, and train those soldiers."

Slipspring fumed. He demanded to be addressed as Count rather than Viscount, but Nick refused to do so. Now Baron Placid Cadence, the Prime Minister, rose to support Viscount Slipspring. "Your highness, the house of commons has voted on this measure and by a measure of 47 to 44 passed..."

"CALL THE QUESTION!" called Octavia. To call the question is to demand the results of a roll call vote. Too often Baron Cadence has come before the king and said that a voice vote, a vote of yays or nays, had a numerical value. Many votes are voted down in a voice vote, but the Prime Minister is reporting them incorrectly to the king, and regardless of the actions of the parliament, the king's word is law.

"Your highness, the court wizard dares to question my word? How do we not know that she will ensorcel me?" demanded Baron Cadence.

"Pardon, your highness, may I have a word with the Prime Minister?"

"Please do Sir Nicholas."

Nick turned to Baron Cadence and stood almost touching him. Nick is six feet tall, and so is Baron Cadence, but when Nick's ire is up, he stands far taller than the baron. Nick said softly, "Both the Duchess and I were there with Crown Princess Sophia to observe the vote. It was voted down almost unanimously. Now what say you... baron?" and he stepped away.

Lord Cadence did a slow burn, his face turned red, and he glared at Nick, then he glared at the King, the Queen, and Crown Princess Sophia, who was playing "Goo-goo Eyes" with Marlon, whom she was holding. She smiled smugly back at the Prime Minister. "Apologies, your highness," said Baron Cadence, "but I cannot find my notes from the vote tally. I withdraw my objection."

"You mean that you withdraw your support of Viscount Slipspring's ill-advised request," said Nick.

"Sir Pommeraie," the king spoke in a harsh tone, "There is a time and a place."

"My humble apologies, your highness," said Nick, and he bowed deeply.

"You have made an enemy," whispered Cadence, "a powerful enemy."

"When you see him," said Nick softly, "tell him I'm ready for him." He tapped Lord Cadence on the shoulder with the silver tip of his ebony walking stick, then he turned his back on Baron Cadence, daring him to strike.

"That is all, gentlemen, until next Thursday we are adjourned. Sir Nicholas! Damme Octavia! To my quarters, we will discuss respect and how this process is to be held." With that, the king stomped off.

Fifteen minutes later in the King and Queen's quarters, Nick and King Uric were sipping a pint of ale with Queen Elinor, who was sipping "Floral Ale" and Octavia was playing darts against Princess Sophia. Marlon snoozed happily in Annabelle's arms; the first hints of a baby bump were pressing against her uniform. Behind her stood a proud future papa. Now Preston has the honor of guarding the Duke and Duchess of Wægn and his own family.

"As soon as the winter breaks and we can get a start on the Watch House, we will have the meeting," said Nick as he sipped his ale.

"Keep us informed." King Uric gestured to the barman for another pint, then he remembered, "I'm supposed to be lecturing you on protocol. You're skirting the fringes of insubordination, but it appears that you know where the line is drawn."

"I've heard rumors of a line," Nick responded as he passed the fresh pint to his king. "Mister Cadence was lying, as was Slipspring. I couldn't believe their gall! To attempt to build up the military for their own personal reasons!"

"What reasons would those be?" asked Queen Elinor.

"Insurrection," said Nick.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 20 - The Meeting

Duchy of Wægn Highway Watch House #1

Construction of the new watch house started as soon as the temperatures rose. A fire was lit in the stove of the old farmhouse, and work began. Walls were torn down and moved, then offices were built. The first floor was rebuilt so that when entering the front door, you were faced with the desk sergeant's counter. The first item that was completed was the commander's apartment. On the second floor, a common room with a stove for heat and cooking was made, and three rooms were built off that. Annabelle and Preston moved in as soon as the paint dried and the fumes didn't make her vomit. While all this was going on, the "volunteers" from Torwin-Armistad were scheduled to show up.

Detective Sergeant Helgribena "Gibby" Wraithhorn, a female dwarf from the Torwin-Armistad watch, alighted from the day coach at the temple/bookstore with Constable Daf Slumnut, a human in his 20s, Sergeant Sina Romanovna, a vampire from Elbreshowth on the Moor but raised in Torwin-Armistad. With them was Camus von Reichenbach, a captain in the force and a cousin of Sergeant Romanovna.

They looked around the tiny mountain village of Elm Springs in shock. Commander Ned Darby told them it was small, but they didn't realize how small a village could get. Spring was starting to show its presence; snow was melting and water ran through the ditches that lined Main Street. Nothing looked open except for the blacksmith shop where a blacksmith and his assistant labored at an iron bar he was pounding on with all his might. Sparks flew as Gibby walked up and said, "Excuse me, can you tell me where the Watch House is?"

The blacksmith glanced over his shoulder at Gibby quickly and said, "It's right where you left it," and went back to work.

"EXCUSE ME?" snarled Captain Von Reichenbach. He didn't like his little friend being ignored for any reason.

Trei straightened up and eyed the four watchmen, especially the dwarf Gibby. "I apologize. I thought you were someone else."

"Someone else?" demanded Daf Slumnut. "How can you mistake a female dwarf for anyone else?"

"When you get to the Watch House, you will understand. It's just over there at that intersection. Oh, by the way. Can you give this to Nick?" and he handed Constable Slumnut a small wooden crate containing several heavy iron items. "They are waiting on that," and he went back to hammering on the iron bar.

Muttering under his breath about the heavy work going to the lowest ranking, Daf grumbled as they walked the few yards to a large farmhouse that appeared to be a beehive of activity. The sound of hammering and sawing could be heard as people walked in and out with boards and furniture. They entered the front door and found a proper watch style front desk with a proper watch style bell. Sina rang the bell and a few people glanced their way, but a loud, high-pitched squeal rang through the building, "CAMMY!!!"

"Squeaky?" said Camus to the blond-haired tornado that rocketed through the busy workers and slammed into the Captain with a bone crushing body hug. "What are you doing here, Squeaky?"

"I'm a detective."

"I detect you're going to have a baby," said Camus with a sniff.

"In autumn! The duke thinks around the middle of Ætherwhorl!"

"Does your grandmother know?" Annabelle's grandmother is Camus's great aunt.

"Yes! She's wild about it and can't wait to be a great grandmother. She loves my husband Preston; she says I bit him just right."

"I can't wait to meet him." Camus could only laugh at her young cousin's joyful outlook.

Just then, a tall, slim human wearing old, rag-tag clothing covered in paint splatters and spots appeared from a back room. "Captain von Reichenbach? I'm Lieutenant Preston Prescott, commander of the Elm Springs Watch House. We've been working to get the bunkhouse ready for you." Annabelle stood next to him and wrapped her arm around him. A wag of her eyebrows wordlessly told her cousin Camus that this was the father of her baby.

"I'll be happy to see it," said Camus von Reichenbach.

"Honey," said Annabelle, "This is my cousin Camus von Reichenbach. He and I grew up together in Grandmama's house. We even had lessons together in Grandmama's library and Vlad was our tutor." Then Annabelle smiled slyly, "His girlfriend calls him Warforge."

"Squeaky..." growled Camus in a warning tone.

Preston eyed Camus: he was nearly as tall and Nick, very muscular, and something about him cried 'werewolf.' "It's good to meet you. I can't wait to hear stories of growing up with my baby girl," said Preston as he shook hands with Camus.

"Excuse me," said Constable Slumnut. "Where is Nick? I have a gift for him from the blacksmith."

"He's out back working on the barn, come on Cammy, we'll show you around," said Annabelle.

As Annabelle started to show the Torwin-Armistad cops the new watch house, Daf Slumnut went looking for this Nick character to give him the crate of metal parts that grew heavier with every passing minute. He stepped outside and walked around back to the huge wooden barn. Six men were working on the immense doors, preparing to replace the hinges. Slumnut saw an old man watching and offering the workers advice. "Hey gramps, is Nick around here?"

"He's upstairs," said the bystander, who was clearly in his 80s.

"Thanks old timer," which caused a "harrumph!" from the old guy, and Daf went in search of Nick.

"YOU! LOUDMOUTH!" someone yelled. Daf looked around. "YEAH YOU! GET YOUR ASS UP HERE!" Daf looked up and there was a tall, dark-haired man wearing an eyepatch standing at a door on the upper loft, glaring at him. When Constable Slumnut began to mosey toward the barn to find a path to the upper loft, he cried, "NOW LOUDMOUTH!"

Daf hurried into the barn, hearing the snickers from the men behind him. At the top of the ladder, the man was waiting for him. Before Daf could say anything, the man tore into him. "That man you called gramps and Old Timer donated that house, this barn, and the land it stands on to the Duchy of Wægn so policemen can live and work here. In Uduithia, we don't go around belittling each other, we work together. Now you get your ass down there, apologize to Mr. Sieffre for your mouth, and get to work on those door. We've been waiting for those hinges."

"I'm supposed to..."

"NOW! Get to work or by god I'll see you on the next train to Torwin-Armistad tied up in the baggage car with a note telling Duke Darby to keep his help, I can hire better trained monkeys from the zoo!"

In his embarrassment, Daf heard laughter from a couple of young boys who were listening as they rigged a hay pulley in the rafters.

Mortified, Daf Slumnut made his way down to the front of the barn where the men were no longer sniggering. They were doubled over with laughter at his expense. "Way to go city boy!" laughed a local. "First day on the job and you piss off the Duke."

"Wha?"

"Sieffre Merrick is like a dad to the duke, and you go call the duke's favorite names."

"Oh crap," groaned Daf. "This stuff is for Nick, is Nick here?" which caused even more laughter.

"Nick just chewed ten pounds off of your ass!"

An enormous man, tears of laughter streaming from his eyes, put a hand on Daf's shoulder. "Come on, city boy, we'll show you how to rehang a barn door."

Inside the watch house, Gibby, Camus, and Annebelle watched the events from the porch. "Your trainee is acting up again, Sina," said Gibby.

"Oh lord, now vat did Daf do?" groaned Sergeant Sina Romanovna.

"He just pissed off the duke," said Annabelle, who explained what happened. The vampire cop was not happy.

"I vill go talk to Mister Merrick," she sighed and headed over to the man who watched the progress on the barn work.

"Let me show you the lab," said Annabelle, and she led Camus and Gibby to a back room that had just been painted. It still reeked of paint, but it looked clean and sterile. A dwarf was working on a sink pump. There were several worktables set up like you would see in a chemistry classroom. They all have sinks with hand pumps for water.

"Try it again," came a female voice from beneath the counter.

The dwarf worked the pump handle, and soon clear water began to flow. "You got it!"

The person who was under the counter stood and grinned, causing Gibby to break into a grin, another female dwarf! She was wearing rouge and eye makeup just like Gibby. That must be why the blacksmith said what he did. Female dwarves rarely entered human towns and villages and almost never wore makeup. It was clear that someone (Octavia) taught Eryri about cosmetics. "Gibby, Camus, this is Buggy and Eryri Orebeard, the duke and duchess' good friends. They have a small mine on the back of Black Mountain."

"Aye! If the snow ever melts. We can't abide a mine on a living mountain without a clear exit," said Buggy.

Annabelle looked at Buggy in shock. "I thought you were an assassin, how did you learn about mining?"

"A dwarf has to do something between jobs," said Buggy with a shrug.

Eryri hugged Buggy and said, "The Black Jackals have hung up there blades."

"You were a Black Jackal?" asked Gibby. "I've been looking for Vesstan Aedi, Hugues Du Gouey, and Bughac Orebeard for years!"

"We've been rehabilitated by Duke Stein," said Buggy. "Vesstan is the mayor of an elf village up on Black Mountain if you can believe that."

"The living mountain?" asked Camus. After years of friendship with Gibby Wraithhorn, he thought he knew all dwarven idioms. "What do you mean living mountain?"

"She's still a young mountain, still twists and turns in her sleep," said Eryri, who, like Gibby, was overjoyed to find another female dwarf. Just then Octavia stepped into the room. She had a paintbrush in one hand and Marlon in the other. "This is the Duchess Octavia Stein," said Eryri as she took Marlon from Octavia's arms. "This is Gibby Wraithhorn and Annabelle's cousin Camus von Reichenbach from the Torwin-Armistad watch house."

"Oh! The folks that Ned Darby promised," said Octavia happily, and she shook hands with the new folks in town. "Step aside, we got your alchemy lab," said Octavia as a wizard entered, huffing and puffing. He was carrying an ancient door made of scraps of lumber. "This is the research department wizard, Izhar."

"Where do you want this?" asked Izhar, ignoring the surrounding people.

"Put it anywhere you want, just not on the floor," said Annabelle.

"How about here," and the wizard put the door against an outside wall.

"That will work," said Annabelle, and she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, revealing a huge wizard's laboratory. The people in the crime lab gasped in shock. If that door worked, it should have opened onto the new horse paddock outside, but here was a huge wizard's laboratory that looked like it was in the dungeon of a castle. Gray stone walls, slit windows allowing fresh air to enter, guttering torches, and shelves of apothecary bottles filled with colored fluids, moving creatures, and bubbles that wandered freely in their liquid.

"Izhar has been my mentor for years," said Octavia as she went to his solar system mobile. She turned a crank and said, "Detective Wraithhorn, when was your birthday?"

"Mystara eleventh, thirty-three ninety one," said Gibby, which got her an elbow from Eryri. At the age of forty-one, that was the dwarven equivalent of her late teens.

Octavia turned the crank on the box on the wall until Gibby's birthdate appeared on the box dials. As she did that, the planets orbited the central sphere, which glowed, showing that was the sun, Thaal. The moons orbited the planets, and soon they stopped. "That was the celestial alignment on the date of your birth," said Octavia.

"Hmmm, an auspicious alignment if ever there should be one," said Ishar as he studied the planetary alignment. "Have you ever considered going into forensic investigations?"

"I am a detective!" said Gibby.

"A wise choice," said Izhar. "As you can see, Zigu is in the fourth radiant..."

"He can go on about this forever," said Octavia. "I hate to dash off, but the king and queen are here. Duty calls." She handed the paintbrush to Eryri, who gave the baby to Annabelle, as Octavia took off the floppy men's clothing she had on to protect her blouse and skirt. "Ready Annabelle?"

"Aye ma'am," and they stepped out of the lab and walked over to the barn.

"I guess it falls on us to familiarize you with the area," said Buggy. "The Duke and Duchess are going to be busy for a while and we have instructions."

Eryri was at the window and gestured for the cops to come over. They looked out and there were two posh fops looking around at the bustling workers. "That's Lord Singe and Lord Slipspring. They're on the king's court and not to be trusted. They're working to militarize the palace guard and the Highway Watch to shore up the army; we're working to stall them until the Duke and Duchess can figure out how to stop them."

"If they ask for the duke, duchess, king, or queen, be honest," said Eryri. "I saw the duchess step outside with the baby, I saw the duke in the hayloft."

"Where are they?" asked Gibby.

"I saw the duchess step outside with the baby. Last I saw the duke he was in the hayloft," said Buggy. "I haven't seen the king or queen, but I was told they were here."

"I get it," said Camus. "Why doesn't somebody show us the area that we're going to patrol?"

One moment King Uric and Queen Elinor were in the barn with Nick, Octavia, Doctor Dhukonn, and their bodyguards; then a moment later they were in the temple bookstore. "Is everybody ok?" asked Nick, not everyone can handle Octavia's transporting.

"Where are the wolfling and your baby?" asked Queen Elinor.

"They stayed behind," said Octavia. "Babies don't take to transporting well."

"I transported once with him, and he didn't like it at all, he cried for an hour after," said Nick. "But Æther hops through temple portals don't bother him at all."

"Wise observation," said Doctor Dhukonn. It was clear he was going to mention this in future classes he taught. "Keep me apprised if anything else you notice."

"Ok your highness, we're going to Xuantang, then to the meeting, Doctor Dhukonn is going to Torwin-Armistad and will meet us there." And they headed into the temple portal.

<><><><><>

Somewhere in the Xocurian Empire

It took six Æther Portal hops, but eventually Doctor Dhukonn led Ned Darby and Orazio Laurita, Torwin-Armistad's top policeman and the man who actually ran the city, to Xocuria. Ned and Orazio were arguably the two most powerful men in Torwin-Armistad. They started their travel in the Temple of Saehrimnir in Torwin-Armistad and ended in somewhere completely different. Everything about this temple shouted "Foreign" to Ned. The chairs were too low, the tables too narrow, the books too big, and the air too humid. The foreign walls were made with large foreign stone blocks with foreign pictogram carvings. Then Doctor Dhukonn led them out onto a balcony where they could see for hundreds of miles.

They were deep in the Xocurian jungles and high up in a Xocurian pyramid, and below them sprawled the city of Itzamna. It was hot; it was humid; the air itself felt like it was carrying incurable diseases. The Xocurian jungle was home to mosquitos the size of hummingbirds, and bloodthirsty hummingbirds the size of chickens. The Xocurian language had 154 words for mold, 163 words for mildew, and 1078 words for foot rot.

In an empty room next to the temple the players assembled, King Uric and Queen Elinor, Lolar Hampton the Duke of Warwickshire, Orazio Laurita, General Sir Ned Sinclair Darby the Duke of Torwin, King Samrel Oakenarmour King of the Dwarves, Ladies Serafine and Lucricia von Reichenbach (werewolves) and Lady Silivanova Ninochka von Reichenbach (vampire).

A week before the meeting, Sarafine and Lucricia von Reichenbach had tea with Annabelle. Flush with her pregnancy, Annabelle was eager to get this talk over because all Serafine and Lucricia ever seem to do is fight. Annabelle thanked the gods that Aunt Silivanova Ninochka wasn't there; it would have been bloody. Lucricia is the eldest of the three sisters: she's a werewolf and a vampire. Her younger sisters, Sarafine and Silivanova, are twins, but Sarafine is a werewolf, and Silivanova is a vampire.

"Aunt Silly isn't here?" asked Annabelle, hoping she wasn't invited.

"Nein, zis, does not concern her." Then Lucricia patted Annabelle's knee. "Ve vant you to know first und foremost iz zat ve luf you, ja?"

"Yes grandma, I understand." Annabelle knew that anytime a grandmother-granddaughter speech starts like that; it always ends in tears.

"Ve haf not been fully honest vith you, Annabelle. You..." Lucricia paused far too long, then said sadly, "...are not a halflink. Your mother vas my daughter Liana, and Liana vas vhat ve call ein shtekn, she could not change from her human schape to a volf."

"I know that."

"Vat your grantmother ist trying to say," said Sarafine, Camus's mother, "Your father ist mine son Andrei, und he vas das shtekn too."

"I... I... wait! My mother and father are first cousins?" Annabelle shrieked. "My baby is going to have two heads and an IQ of four?"

"Nein, nein little vun. Ist not problem in verevolf society, but both of your parents were shtekn, vich means you are shtekn also... probably... maybe. That ist vy ve tell you are halfling," said her grandmother, "ve did not vant you to be angry if your change didn't happen. You are full verevolf, you chust can't change."

"Ve don't luf you any less..." started Aunt Sarafine.

"Thank you," she said. Now she was confused. She was happy being a halfling, but now... her dad was Andri? Andri was a shtekn, and he was stuck as a wolf. Her mother was a shtekn stuck as a human and... eeewww! Annabelle felt her lunch coming up.

Family lore has it that her father, Andri, was driven off by his own brother, Wolfgang. Did Wolfgang kill her mother? On the bright side, Camus isn't her cousin anymore; Camus is her uncle. But then, Aunt Sarafine is now Grandmama Sarafine.

Elbreshowth families are complex.

The leaders gathered around a long, low conference table and were served mounds of fruit and a cup of cold chocolate, an invigorating but bitter drink. "Beyond the obvious, I wish we were not here," said King Uric. He called this meeting, so he gets the straightforward part: a few words of introduction. Anything beyond that is too horrible to consider. "Events over the past six months have led myself and my closest advisors, along with the emperor of the Xuantang Empire, Jia Hau Chung and his mother Ning Hau Chung, to believe that darkness is spreading across our land." He took a sip of the bitter chocolate, holding the cup with both hands, and hoped that his shaking hands didn't spill the drink. Then he continued.

"My government is already infected with this nightmare. Our friend, his royal highness Samrel Oakenarmour, has called it a cancer and it must be cut out. I called this meeting to make you aware of the threat, and to let you know that we are desperately attempting to cut out this cancer right now. If we are unsuccessful, you will know by the way Uduithia has suddenly armed itself and went on the march. When that happens, you will also know that I am dead. I will not allow my beloved kingdom to become a threat to my neighbors and my friends. Queen Elinor and I have pledged our lives to this cause..."

"What threat are you talking about?" said Orazio Laurita. The leader of the largest city on the Edux continent was slim and nondescript, a man that defies description; he can look like any man with pale skin and dark hair. He had the perfect face for an assassin, which is how he got his job. "It's stifling hot here, too hot to dance around the subject if you please." Orazio Laurita never asks a question he doesn't know the answer to. He was just tired of the heat. He had to get this meeting moving forward.

King Verance looked uncomfortable and said, "Nithe Skelm."

Several people in the room went pale. "Scheiße," whispered Lucrecia von Überwald. Her niece, Serafine von Überwald, the head of the werewolves, looked horrified. "Scheiße, ja."

"Merde," gasped Lady Margolotta. Anything that can truly terrify a vampire must be something to avoid.

"Dermo," groaned Lolar Hampton. "This is a fairy tale! It cannot be true!"

"That bastard," hissed the elven warrior Tanithil Glynrie. Next to him, Princess Tsarra Naedove nodded in agreement.

"What are we talking about?" demanded Ned Darby. "What is a Nithe Skelm and does it have anything to do with the attacks on Duke Stein?"

"It has everything to do with them," said Lady Octavia.