"Damn it, man, do you mean that we are to do nothing tomorrow?" cried Jamie. "If Berys is left to work unchallenged we will all be the worse for it. Surely there is some way, between the eight of us, that we can defeat enough demons to at least distract Berys."

Aral began to protest, as did Rella. Vilkas scowled at everyone.

The most peculiar idea occurred to me.

"What if Berys were attacked by a demon?" I asked loudly.

Well, it got their attention, but not a soul there looked pleased at the idea. Vilkas glared at me and said sternly, "Mistress Lanen, do you tell me that you are versed in the summoning of the creatures? I would be surprised to hear it."

"Of course not," I snapped. "Only Healers can call the things, surely. I thought that perhaps you—I mean—uh—"

Vilkas's and Aral's brows were two black thunderclouds, and I was hugely relieved that it was Aral who spoke first.

"No, Lanen. Anyone can call them." Her eyes were hard as stone. "All it takes is a blood oath in which you revile the Lady and reject Her utterly. I'd rather not, thanks. Are you volunteering?'

My mother stood, slowly, and opened her mouth.

Jamie, not seeing her, said, "Lanen, it is an entrancing idea, to burn him with his own fire, but there are some ways closed to us. Would you rid a kingdom of a despot by torturing his subjects into rebellion? We cannot so debase ourselves as to use demons. We would be no better than Berys."

Maran turned and wandered off, as if to stretch her legs, but I knew perfectly well that she had meant to offer herself and risk her soul as a demon-caller. I wasn't certain whether I was proud of her courage or worried that she had so low an opinion of her own worth.

A few more idiotic ideas were put forward and demolished, until finally Will spoke up. "The truth is," he said practically, "that none of us wants to admit that we're useless in this." He stood and paced a little. "Believe me, I find this as maddening as you do, Master Jamie, but—I at least admit that I am completely out of my depth."

Maran, composed again, returned to the circle of firelight. Will continued. "I'm a decent hand with a longstaff and not a bad shot with bow and arrow, but I don't have either, and in any case a bit of wood isn't going to bother a demon. And I shouldn't think Berys would leave himself vulnerable to physical attack."

"He has before," said Jamie.

"When?" asked Vilkas, quick and sharp.

Jamie sighed and then grinned up at Will. "Twenty-five years ago, I suppose it was. You don't reckon he's learned anything in the meantime, do you?"

"Even if he hasn't, we'd have to get to him first," said Rella practically. "I suppose one of the Kantri could drop us fairly near the castle, if we had any idea of being useful, but I'd hate to give the bastard a chance of taking any of us prisoner again." She sighed. "I'm afraid we're just going to have to wait tomorrow. Wait and watch." Jamie began to protest, but she silenced him. "I don't like it any better than you do! But unless you can think of something we can be sure of accomplishing, we will best serve our cause by keeping out of the way. I shall keep my sword loose in its sheath and my wits sharp about me, but to throw ourselves into Berys's path unprepared is surely the worst kind of folly."

"I wish you were wrong," said Maran heavily, "but I know better. Goddess, to come so far and be so helpless!"

"Do not despair, Lady Maran," said Varien, smiling grimly. "The day lies before us, and nothing in this world is certain before it happens. It may be that we will all have something to do before the end."

With that we all had to be content. The rest settled down to sleep for what was left of the night. Varien and I walked along to the little waterfall arm in arm, taking our time in the starlight, walking in silence. The water sang a merry tune as it fell, heedless alike of demons and dragons, and it comforted me. Varien walked beside me, silent still, but I swear I could feel something rising in his soul. I just couldn't tell what it was.

"Varien, love, how fare you?" I asked him, finally. "Funny how I have grown so dependent on truespeech so quickly. I would bespeak you if I thought Marik wouldn't hear, but—"

"To the Hells with Marik," said Varien roughly, taking me in his arms. He kissed me passionately, desperately, and I could feel his mind singing in mine, a counterpoint to the whispered endearments so wild and intense that I grew giddy. "Lanen, kadreshi, beloved, beloved." He all but sang the words. "Come, my dearling, come, hold me, let me feel your dear arms about me. Bear me up this night, beloved, of your gentle mercy, for my heart is weary unto death with care and thou art my only rest."

We kissed and clung to one another and the world went away, just for those few moments. Alas that such distractions could not last.

Varien suddenly broke away and started walking, as if he would walk away from the dread in his soul. I kept pace with him, trying not to feel hurt that my love and care were not enough. "My heart tells me that this could be the last night that there are Kantri in the world, Lanen," he said bitterly. "On the Isle of Exile I often worried that there were so few born to us. It seemed to me that in several generations, perhaps as long again as it has been since the last coming of the Demonlord, we might be no more, and that was a dark evil." His voice was like a whip, but it was himself he was lashing. "And behold! I fall in love with you, I choose change rather than death, the world seems brighter than it ever has been—and now all my people face death on the morrow. All of us, even the Lost, Restored for a paltry few days and lost again forever because of me!"

I grabbed his arm and stopped him. He sought to tear himself loose but before he could I slapped his cheek. Not hard, just enough to shake him out of himself.

"Don't be so damned full of yourself," I snapped angrily. Bloody dragon. "If we had never met, if I languished still in Hadronsstead, do you think your island would somehow yet be above the waves? Nonsense. The Kantri would still be here in Kolmar, Berys would still have summoned that damned Black Dragon, and here you would be, all of you, just as we are now." I let go his arm. "The only real differences would be that the Lost would still be lost, the Lesser Kindred would still be asleep on the borders of reason, and—I wouldn't be carrying your children."

"And you would not be here, in terrible danger, carrying our children," he echoed, all contrition. He wrapped me again in his arms. "Oh, Lanen, how do you bear it?" he murmured into my ear.

"One breath at a time, my love," I said, holding on to anger that I might not weep. "One breath at a time."

We walked slowly back to the fire. The Kantri had begun to return by that time, and I felt safe enough to rest. We lay near the fire beside Idai. I had no idea what lay ahead, though I dreaded it—but for that moment I was content to sleep beside my husband, held close in each others arms. One breath at a time.

Kedra

We did not even seek to rest until the moon began to sink, weary, towards the mountains. Our plans were laid, our preparations, such as they were, completed. We would fight fire with earth, air, and water. I think that none of us truly believed we could prevail, yet still we worked deep into the night, flying by moonlight, piling the largest boulders we could lift into a cairn on the flat top of a low hill beside Lake Gand. Idai and I found a small wood that would serve our purpose, and made certain that as many knew of its location as possible.

A few of the Dhrenagan yet kept pace with the Black Dragon, still several hundred leagues away and not likely to arrive before morning, but for the most part they joined us that night. Nearly.