"I want to thank you, Mag—Aegwynn. Without you, all would have been lost."

Aegwynn simply bowed her head in response.

"I suppose that you'll want to return to Bladescar?"

"Actually," Aegwynn said with a lone small smile, "no."

Jaina blinked. "No?"

"I'd like to return long enough to retrieve some things, and pick from the garden one last time before the thunder lizards trample all over it. But I've been out of the world for far too long. I think it's time I started living in it again. Assuming that the world will have me, at any rate."

"Most definitely." Jaina sat up in her chair. She had hoped that Aegwynn would feel that way, but had not in her wildest dreams believed that those hopes would become reality. "As it happens, I have an opening for a chamberlain. It's a position that requires knowledge, insight, and a willingness to put me in my place and tell me off when I need it. I'd say you qualify in all regards—especially the last part."

Laughing, Aegwynn said, "Certainly, though the first two are arguable. Still, I suppose I gained some knowledge and insight in a thousand years." She got to her feet. Jaina did likewise. Aegwynn held out her hand. "I accept."

Returning the handshake, Jaina said, "Excellent. Thank you again, Aegwynn. You won't regret this."

"No, but you might." Aegwynn broke the handshake and sat back down. "Here's my first piece of advice to you as your chamberlain: Kristoff was right. Zmodlor was a minor demon. He didn't have the brains to come up with something like this."

Jaina frowned. "I thought you said he started the Burning Blade."

"Yes, but just as a means to cull souls. A plan of this complexity is far beyond him. You yourself said that Zmodlor wasn't the only demon left behind after the Burning Legion was driven back."

Knowing the answer to the question, Jaina felt the need to hear it from the Guardian's lips nonetheless. "What is it you're saying, Aegwynn?"

"I'm saying, Jaina, that this is probably not the last we've heard from the Burning Blade."

Keith R.A. DeCandido is the author of over two dozen novels, plus whole bunches of novellas, short stories, eBooks, comic books, and nonfiction, in a wide variety of media universes. In addition to Warcraft, he's played in the worlds of Star Trek (in all its incarnations, plus some new ones), StarCraft, Spider—Man, the X—Men, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Farscape, Andromeda, Resident Evil, Xena, and a whole lot more. He is also the author of the high—fantasy police procedural Dragon Precinct, and the editor of many anthologies, most recently the award—nominated Imaginings and the Star Trek anthologies Tales of the Dominion War and Tales from the Captain's Table. His work has journeyed to several bestseller lists, and has received critical acclaim from Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, TV Zone, Starburst, Dreamwatch, Library Journal, and Cinescape, among others. He lives in New York City with his girlfriend and two lunatic cats. Find out too much about Keith at his official website at DeCandido.net, keep up with his ramblings on LiveJournal under the rather goofy user name of "kradical," or just send him silly e-mails at keith@decandido.net.