CHAPTER 8: Curiosity killed the Fey...

* * *

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by," Hailey sung under her breath as she scrubbed the floor. "When hope was high and life worth living."

She pulled at the leather slave collar around her neck. No matter how she moved her head, it always seemed to dig into her chin or collarbone. She considered trying to get it off again, but didn't want to be caught trying.

Again.

"I dreamed that love would never die," She continued singing quietly. "I dreamed that God would be forgiving."

Bracing herself, she plunged the rag into the ice cold water to rinse it out. She winced, then started on the next section of floor. "Then I was young and unafraid, and dreams were made and used and wasted. There was no ransom to be paid, no song unsung, no wine untasted."

Hailey felt a few tears collect at the corners of her eyes. This wasn't how her life was supposed to turn out. She was supposed to be at college, or starting her career, or maybe marrying and settling down. Anywhere but this God-forsaken hellhole of a world.

"But the tigers come at night." her voice cracked as she sang the next lines. "With their voices soft as thunder, as they tear your hope apart, as they turn your dream to shame."

Before long, water wasn't the only liquid on the floor.

An hour - and many sad songs - later, she finished scrubbing the floor. She stood up, grabbed the bucket and headed back into the kitchen. It was large and very functional, if a bit warm because of the ovens. The other slaves were busy making food for the feast after their master's victory in The Arena. He always won the judicial duels, so they assumed this time would be no different. At least he was in a better mood after winning a fight.

"Hailey, he's losing," Vienne shouted from across the kitchen.

"What?" Hailey's jaw dropped. He NEVER lost. Well, not against the helpless prisoners his father always threw into The Arena for him to fight. She didn't think he'd stand a chance against a real fighter. Maybe he had met one?

"Yeah, one of The Arena slaves told me," Vienne continued. "He's fighting some young dragon and it's basically toying with him."

Everyone in the kitchen turned to her with an expectant look. It only took a moment for her to figure out what they wanted.

"Oh no, not again," Hailey said.

"Please?" Vienne asked.

"Not a snowball's chance in hell," Hailey shook her head.

"But you're the only one who can sneak into The Arena," Vienne countered. "Besides, won't it be great to see that bastard get his comeuppance? You could actually watch it happen."

Hailey had imagined their master getting killed in The Arena more times than she could count. God forgive her, but she wanted to see him die so badly. After what he'd done to her and the rest of the slaves, to actually see him die in person... It wasn't as good as burying a dagger in his heart personally, but it was close.

"I'll sneak you a sweet roll from the feast if you go," The head chef offered.

"I'll sneak a spare blanket for your bed at night," One of the laundry ladies offered.

"But if they catch me again..." Hailey said.

"It won't matter if he's dead," Vienne countered.

Hailey teetered on the edge for several seconds before deciding. "I'll do it."

The whole kitchen cheered and clapped. Hailey stripped off her work dress to reveal a pair of very worn yoga pants and a loose fitting T-shirt underneath; remnants from her previous life.

"Hurry, or you'll miss it," Vienne said.

Hailey turned and sprinted out of the kitchen and into the yard. She made it to the vine trellis without the guard seeing her - not that he ever paid attention - and scaled the twelve-foot, vine-covered wall in mere seconds. She dropped down and rolled through her landing to come up sprinting.

Thirty seconds later, she was at the slave's entrance to The Arena. She rapped on the door twice, paused a moment, then rapped three more times.

"Hailey, you're insane," The grizzled old gatekeeper shook his head as he opened the door.

"He's losing," Hailey said. "That bastard is losing right now."

The grizzled old gatekeeper stepped aside and smiled, revealing a mouth only half full of teeth. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek in thanks, then sprinted through The Arena undercroft almost on autopilot. When she reached the store room, she used a few stacked barrels to get up into the rafters. Moments later, she was high and out of sight jumping through the wooden supports.

It took her another ten seconds to reach the one of the water drains lining the edge of The Arena. Five seconds later she had crawled into one so she was looking through the iron grate into The Arena. A small, steel gray dragon had pinned the champion to the ground. It was casually twirling a spear in one hand.

"This is it!" She thought.

The dragon raised his spear above his head.

"Do it, please do it," she hissed.

The dragon seemed to falter, or at least hesitate. He shook his head and seemed to be fighting with himself about something. The crowd was silent as the grave.

"Please finish him. Kill that bastard."

The dragon's spear came down with incredible force. From her hiding place, Hailey could hear the sound soft 'thud' of it striking something solid. A wide smile crept onto her face.

She was free.

She was finally free of that monster. He couldn't hurt her or anyone else again. A wonderful lightness of spirit swept over her. She felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She would probably be sold to a new master, but they couldn't possibly be worse.

The dragon pulled his spear up and all of Hailey's hopes were dashed in an instant. There was no blood on the spike at the spear's tip. The dragon must have thrust his spear into the sand.

Her owner was alive.

He slapped the ground three times.

He had yielded the fight.

A sinking weight of despair came over Hailey. The slaves still told stories about the last time he had lost a fight. He had beaten half the slaves and raped many of the female ones. For weeks afterward, every little infraction was punished so severely that a few slaves had died. With his father being the magistrate, there was nothing anyone could do.

Panic was soon replaced with a survival instinct. If she was found outside his estate when he was that mad...

Hailey's flight back to the kitchen was even faster than her run to the Arena. She scaled the wall using the rope she'd left there for that purpose while her heart pounded with fear and adrenaline. She managed to get back without being seen, and slipped inside the kitchen. One look at her face told the rest of the slaves everything they needed to know about the outcome.

"He lost, but he's not dead or even injured," Hailey said.

They whole kitchen was dead silent for several seconds and then there was a mad scramble to get the work done. Hailey retrieved her working dress and slipped it on. She ran to where she had left the bucket and sponge, then ran to the next place she was supposed to clean. As luck would have it, it was the rear entryway. Far from the front entrance her owner usually used because he liked the attention. Hailey breathed a sigh of relief and started scrubbing the stone floor vigorously.

Not for the first time, Hailey imagined how she could get a dagger and kill that bastard herself. She touched the leather slave's collar around her neck and cursed the enchantments would make that nigh impossible. With the collar on, she couldn't hurt him or even sneak up on him.

Five minutes later, she had already scrubbed a quarter of the floor. She had finally started to calm down when the back door opened. She turned around to see who it was-

WHAM!!

Something heavy and solid collided with the side of her head. She momentarily blacked out before a searing pain on her scalp brought her back to consciousness. Someone was dragging her by her hair. Hailey let out a scream then struggled to her feet, but the person never let go of her hair.

Then she saw who it was.

It was her owner.

He was still clad in full armor and the look on his face was pure murder. Hailey had never seen such pure hatred before. Ever. Fortunately it didn't seem to be directed at her, though her hair wasn't sure it agreed. She couldn't even fight back. Striking your owner was punishable by death.

She realized he must've used the back entrance to avoid being seen. He dragged her through the streets and back towards the Arena. Hailey managed to stay on her feet, even though he kept dragging her by her hair.

After several extremely painful minutes - which sadly weren't even close to the most painful she'd experienced since coming to this world - they arrived in what looked like a reception area inside the Arena. Her owner stopped, but he dragged her forward by her hair and threw her to the ground.

She caught herself, but barely.

Her owner touched the back of her neck, and her slave's collar fell to the floor in front of her. She couldn't believe it. She was free. With the collar gone, he had no hold over her anymore. No enchantments stood in the way of her escape...

Or revenge.

Hailey looked up and found a clawed, steel gray foot right in front of her face. Looking further up, found herself staring into the face of the dragon.

To say it was terrifying was a massive understatement.

The dragon looked livid. His mouth was open and his teeth were bared. They were long and looked razor sharp. Its eyes looked like a cat's, and they were narrowed in fury. Hailey could see the muscles rippling under its scales. His hands looked like talons. His claws were out and they looked like the Grim Reaper's favorite weapon.

She wished to God that he would use them on her master.

"How DARE you treat her like that!" The dragon shouted as he placed himself between her and her owner - no, her former owner. She was momentarily confused. He almost looked like he was trying to protect her.

"I'm giving her to you," Her owner said. "A life for a life. My debt of honor is repaid so don't even think of trying to collect."

A low growl escaped the dragon's throat and her former owner looked terrified. He backed up as fast as possible without losing face until he hit the doorway, then turned and fled the room. The dragon growled after him for several seconds while flexing his claws like he was itching to use them. Finally, it turned around to look at her.

She flinched.

"Are you okay?" it asked. There was a surprising note of concern and care in its voice. Plus, now that he didn't look livid he seemed much more... human? Personable?

"Um, yeah," Hailey replied.

"Don't worry, he's not as scary as he looks," A woman with flame red hair said.

"Well, sometimes his breath is," A short elvin woman said while waving her hand under her nose. She had chocolate brown hair, wore a green dress, and smiled mischievously.

"You find me a toothbrush and I'll take care of that," the dragon rolled his eyes. It was an oddly human gesture for one of his kind.

"What's a toothbrush?" The flame haired woman asked while the chocolate haired Elf looked confused.

Hailey blinked several times as the significance of what the dragon had just said hit her. "You know what a toothbrush is? As in a toothbrush and toothpaste to clean your teeth?"

The dragon's jaw went slack for several seconds. "Are you from Earth?"

Hailey smiled wider than she had since arriving on this world. "Yup, the good old US of A."

"I'm from Iowa; the land of cornfields and... more cornfields," The dragon said with a smile. A smile that showed a lot of teeth and could've been scary if his eye weren't shining with happiness.

"Kansas," Hailey said. She had the strange urge to give the dragon a hug, but resisted.

"How did you get here?" the dragon asked.

"I don't know," Hailey replied. "I was out jogging when someone ambushed me. I woke up here and don't remember anything in between."

"But if you got here, then maybe there's a way to get back,"

"You'll get no argument from me, but you'd need to ask the assholes who kidnapped me and sold me into slavery," Hailey replied with a note of bitterness in her voice.

"Oh, I will,"

"So..." Hailey bit her lip before asking this next question. "If you're from America, are you as opposed to slavery as I am?"

"Absolutely, why?"

"Because technically I'm your slave," Hailey said. "My previous owner gave me to you so technically - if you want me - I'm supposed to be your slave."

Hailey didn't add that she would put a knife through his heart if he tried to put another one of those damn slave collars on her.

"I have zero interest in slaves," The Dragon said. "You're welcome to come with us, but it will be as a free woman not a slave."

"I can live with that," Hailey smiled; she was really starting to like this dragon.

He certainly made a great contrast with her former owner. At that thought, she suppressed a shudder and a scowl. Now that she was free - and the slave collar was off - she had a little unfinished business with her former master. More precisely, she wanted to better acquaint him with the business end of a dagger.

There was an awkward moment of silence, then the door opened and a herald entered.

"Sir dragon, I bear a message from Elder Goman," The Herald said. "He requests an audience with you and your Elven companion."

"Isn't he the one that helped at the trial?" The dragon asked his fiery haired friend.

The redhead nodded. "Yes, though I didn't get the impression he was all there."

"Elder Goman once ranked among the greatest wizards of our age," The herald said. "Sadly, his mind is declining with his health. However, he does not request an audience with non-wizards very often. You should consider this a great honor."

The dragon looked at the chocolate haired elf for a moment and a silent conversation seemed to pass between them.

"We'll go," The dragon said to the herald, then turned to the flame-haired woman. "Rachel, can you escort..." he turned to Hailey. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name is Ethan, this is Alana and Rachel," He indicated the two women.

"I'm Hailey. It's nice to meet you all," she said, and she really meant it.

"Come on, I'll take you back to our airship and introduce you the others while they're meeting with the elder," Rachel offered.

Hailey's eyes went wide. "You have an airship?"

* * *

Alana was really starting to enjoy communicating telepathically with Ethan. They followed the Herald in complete silence, but could still talk. She loved that they didn't need to worry about other people interfering or overhearing. It was just them and she liked the intimacy that provided.

*So, you and Hailey seemed to hit it off.* she observed as she thought about the girl.

She was tall, slender, and willowy with a certain grace that made Alana think of a dancer. She was nearly as tall as Ethan, but probably didn't weight much more than herself because of her rail-thin frame.

Hailey's hair was jet black and fell to mid-back. Her face was also thin but very feminine. She had a nice figure too, but being so thin she wasn't quite as curvy. She did have legs that went on for miles. The wood elf was frankly a little jealous of them.

*Yeah, I didn't know anyone else from Earth was here. I thought I was the only one.*

*You seemed very interested in going back,* she tried to keep the disappointment out of her tone, but wasn't sure she succeeded.

*Does that bother you?*

*Um, not 'bother' me exactly. It's just that I'd miss you.*

*You could come with me.*

She considered for a moment before replying. *I could, and I suppose there's nothing stopping me since Beth is... you know.*

*I know,* he replied. *I still haven't had time to even process it. It's just so hard to believe.*

*Yeah, me too.*

Ethan took a deep breath. *I don't know what to do. I didn't know her that long, but now that she's gone it's like there's this enormous hole in my life. I don't know if that's normal, or because the bond we had, or something else. I feel like there's a hole there, like part of me isn't... I don't know, I feel like part of me is missing.*

*Missing?*

*Yeah.* Ethan replied. *Well, more like it was cut off. And with that part gone I just... It doesn't..."

*Doesn't what?* she asked. Ethan didn't say anything for several moments but the guilt rolling off their bond was almost palpable.

*You wouldn't understand.*

Alana put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. *You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Because of our bond, your feelings are an open book to me. But your thoughts are your own. I'd like to know what you're thinking, but I won't pry. You can tell me when - and if - you're ready to.*

He gave her a weak smile. *You're amazing, did you know that?*

She felt a distinct warmth in her chest as she smiled back. *Takes one to know one.*

*I'm not a good guy,* he said as a dark cloud seemed to roll over his thoughts.

*There's your trademark guilt again. What's so bad about you Ethan? Because from my observations you are one of the best men I have ever known.*

*No I'm not. Not really.*

*You may not feel like it, but I tend to judge men on their actions,* she countered. *I could tell you wanted to kill that champion in the Arena, but you didn't.*

He didn't reply, but the guilt over their bond intensified as the darkness in his thoughts deepened.

They walked in mental and audible silence for a while. She tried to figure out why mentioning the champion at the Arena had provoked such strong feelings. Ethan's emotions where a swirling mix every negative thing a person could feel, especially guilt.

But even more disturbing than that was the dark edge to them. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was affecting him. She didn't know what, but it was dark and... just evil. Every time she focused on those thoughts, she got distracted.

Hmm...

She stared into space for a moment as she tried to remember what she'd just been thinking about.

She started to say something telepathically several times but couldn't even get a word out. She didn't want to push, so she let it be. Finally, after almost five minutes of false starts, he spoke.

*I tried to kill him,* he said like it took all his willpower to admit.

*Who, the champion?*

*Yeah.*It seemed that once he started he couldn't stop. *I could feel what I was doing and I couldn't stop myself. I wanted to kill him Alana. Every instinct in me was screaming for me to kill him. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't stop myself. Worse, I didn't want to stop myself.*

*But you did stop yourself.*

Ethan shook his head slightly. *No, I didn't. When I brought that spear down I fully intended to... to...*

He looked away from her and shuddered.

*Then what happened?*

*Something pushed the tip of my spear just before impact. It wasn't me though. If something hadn't intervened I would've...* He trailed off like he couldn't bring himself to admit it. *It wasn't even like it was self-defense. I had him dead to rights. This wasn't like the other battles I've fought. He was helpless and I just... I tried to...*

He was trying to hide his shame, but there was no mistaking the droop of his shoulders or the faraway look in his eyes. His head hung low and he couldn't even look at her.

She didn't know what to say and her jubilation over their victory evaporated.

In her head she had built up this idea that Ethan and the Dragon were two completely different people, like he had a split personality. Now she was forced to consider that this wasn't the case. Maybe the Dragon was a part of Ethan that he couldn't escape? Maybe it was part of his nature now that he was a dragon?
The Herald broke the silence.

"Elder Goman is just through here," The Herald said indicating an ornate wooden door.

"Let's go." he said without meeting her gaze. The guilt rolling over their bond was so strong it was almost palpable, and it had that dark edge to it that just didn't feel natural.

Come to think of it, she'd felt this darkness from him several times over the last week or two. It clung to his thoughts like ugly to a troll, but it was a subtle thing too; insidious, pernicious. There was no denying the darkness behind it though...

Then the thought slipped from her mind.

* * *

Beth followed Ethan and Alana as they followed the herald to meet this Elder Goman person. Ever since the fight, the dark halo around Ethan's head had grown larger, thicker, and darker. It looked even more evil, if that was even possible.

The creeping roots from the dark halo - which before had originally struggled to find purchase on his head - were now securely fastened and had started winding their way down his neck. It was as if he had lessened his resistance for a few moments, and they had surged into the small crack in his mental defenses. Every so often, a pulse of darkness would travel from the dark halo down through the roots, thickening and lengthening them.

"What is it doing?" Beth asked her companion.

Gabriella frowned. "Feeding him a constant stream of negative thoughts and emotions, while suppressing any positive ones he might feel."

"So how do I get rid of it?"

"You know I can't tell you. I promise you will figure it out before the week is out, but I can't tell you. Now pay attention; you should listen to this conversation."

* * *

Ethan entered Elder Goman's room feeling like he deserved to enter a cell on murder row. The champion's obvious disregard for other people - like Hailey - helped a tiny bit. However the knowledge of what he'd nearly done felt like the emotional equivalent of an eighteen-wheeler on his back.

In the back of his mind, he wasn't sure why he felt so guilty. Something felt off, but every time he tried to think of what it was his thoughts turned to other matters. He wasn't sure why he couldn't keep his mind on track.

*This is incredible* Alana mused upon seeing Elder Goman's room.

The room looked exactly like what he imagined a wizard's's room would look. There were several bookshelves filled with dusty old tomes. A few tables were covered with glass bottles filled with different color liquids, which reminded him of a mad scientist's lab set in medieval Europe. Against one wall there was a massive window overlooking Arcanum.

"Welcome," Elder Goman said after they entered. He still looked like he was on death's door and Ethan almost suggested they come back when he was feeling better.

Elder Goman's eyes dropped a little, but he went on. "Welcome to my... my room. Yes, my room. Could you shut the door behind you dear, I fear for the draft in these old bones."

Alana nodded and closed the door.

As soon as it shut, Elder Goman stood up a little straighter and took a deep breath. Suddenly, Ethan's impression of Elder Goman changed. In an instant, he went from looking like he was on death's door to looking almost healthy.

Physically, he didn't look any different. His hair was still wispy and his robes still clung to his thin frame. But the overall effect had changed drastically. Suddenly his face didn't look so heavily lined and his eyes looked a lot brighter. He looked like a fit man in his sixties instead of pushing one hundred and on death's door.

"Ah, that's much better," Elder Goman said in a voice that was strong and confident. "Thank you very much my dear."

"What just happened?" Ethan asked when he'd picked his jaw up off the floor.

"A simple but powerful illusion spell," Elder Goman replied. "Never underestimate the value of surprise. I used to be one of the greatest mages of this age but never got a moments' peace. So I announced I was going to become an arch mage, but made it look like I botched it and the attempt made me senile."

"An Arch mage," Ethan repeated. "Aren't they the ones who can tap the Ether for mana directly?"

Elder Goman nodded. "We also go by the term 'wizard' but yes. Would you please have a seat?" Elder Goman indicated two ornate chairs and a couch that lay opposite him, so they sat down.

"You're really an arch mage?" Alana asked with an eyebrow raised.

Elder Goman raised his hands and conjured a marble sized fireball out of thin air. He let it hover for a few seconds before making it dissipate. The temperature of the room hadn't changed a single degree.

The Elvin enchantress looked dumbstruck. "I've never seen anyone do that. So you just act all helpless and weak when you wield more power than a hundred mages put together?"

"A hundred is quite an exaggeration, but I certainly do wield more power than any normal mage."

"But if you can draw unlimited mana from the ether... I can't even imagine having that kind of power."

"Unlimited is also a stretch," he chuckled. "I may be able to access unlimited mana, but doing so would kill me outright. Even making that small fireball was rather taxing. Too much mana too fast is deadly. But Arch mages certainly have a much larger mana pool than any regular mage."

"How much larger?" Alana asked.

"Enough," Elder Goman said with a sly smile. "But enough about me; let's talk about your Arena victory."

Ethan let his shoulder slump. "What about it?"

"It was you," Alana said. "You're the one who pushed the tip of Ethan's spear."

Elder Goman nodded. "I thought he deserved a second chance after that sham trial. A blind mage should've been able to see that Ethan was bonded to the murdered woman. A dragon will no more kill someone they're bonded to than they would give away their gold."

Ethan stared at him blankly.

"Goodness boy, I thought you were intelligent," Elder Goman said. "When a dragon bonds to another human - or any sentient - the person changes in a fundamental way. They become more receptive to the dragon's unique magical aura and gain the ability to resonant in the dragon's presence."

"Resonate?" Ethan repeated. "You mean like how I make gold resonate to collect mana?"

"Of course," Elder goman said then pointed at Alana. "Haven't you noticed your mana fills when this young woman is around?"

"Yeah, I just didn't know exactly why," Ethan said.

Elder Goman frowned. "Dragons crave power and control above all else. Their attraction to gold is only because gold grants them power. Most dragons are too selfish to realize the advantages of bonding to another. In fact, I only know of one other dragon that discovered this secret."

"Who?" Alana asked.

"Ithlan."

Alana looked dumbstruck. "Ithlan? Are you serious?"

"Wasn't he an emperor or something?" Ethan asked.

Elder Goman nodded. "Our first emperor, yes."

"Everyone always wondered how he..." Alana covered her mouth. "By Illuminar's name... Does that mean Ethan will...? I mean, considering what happened to Ithlan."

"What happened to him?" Ethan asked.

"Ithlan bonded to many women," Elder Goman nodded. "Certainly dozens, possibly more. With all of those women acting like gold and feeding his magic, he became the second most powerful being this world has ever seen, behind Illuminar Himself of course."

A fire was stoked deep in the core of Ethan's being. Something about Elder Goman's words rung true and made Ethan excited beyond all belief. His dragon's heart was kindled at the thought of easy access to so much magic. A warmth spread through his chest as he thought about what it would be like to have a group - a harem - of women all feeding his power while they served him completely as their lord and master. As the man said, it was power and control just short of God Himself.

The idea was intoxicating.

*Calm down Ethan.* Alana thought to him.

"Yes, that's a splendid idea," Elder Goman said. "Please keep a level head about this information."

They stared at him.

"You heard her?" Ethan asked.

"Of course dear boy," Elder Goman said. "You've been broadcasting your thoughts all over the city since you arrived. They're the only reason I'm telling you all this."

"How did you hear us?" Alana asked. "I thought we could only talk this way because of our bond."

*Yes and no,* Elder Goman said telepathically, and somehow Ethan could tell Alana had heard the wizard too. *Your bond just makes psychic communication far easier between the two of you. Normally, telepathic communication is impossible for all but the most gifted mages.*

"Is there any way to prevent someone from overhearing us?" Ethan asked out loud.

"Of course," Elder Goman replied. "That's part of the reason I asked you here."

"It is?" Alana asked. "What's the other part?"

Elder Goman's face grew dark. "Lord Delmar. Most people don't realize this, but he is the most dangerous man in the ten kingdoms. His strength with magic is almost unprecedented and he has the backing of a dragon."

"By Ithlan's blade..." Alana covered her mouth. "He's an Arch Mage. Rachel told me about her fight with him. No normal mage could've used that much magic for that long."

"Dear God in heaven, I have an Arch Mage after me?" Clapped his hand to his forehead. "And the hits just keep on coming."

"Yes," Elder Goman nodded. "But the bigger problem is his the dragon ally."

"A dragon is a bigger threat than an Arch Mage?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I have trouble believing that."

"That's because - ironically - you know nothing about dragons," Elder Goman replied. "They can make their scales harder than diamonds, have the strength of twenty men, and move faster than the eye can see. Plus, there is no substance in the world that can long resist their breath. But beside all of that, never underestimate the primal cunning of a dragon."

"That certainly doesn't describe me."

"It could," Elder Goman said. "You have no idea what you could be capable of. I called you here because someone needs to stand up to Lord Delmar. I've lost the vigor of youth and wouldn't last long against a dragon. But you Ethan; you have a chance. A slim, outside chance perhaps; but you have a chance."

"I'm just one man though," Ethan replied.

"No, you're one dragon," Elder Goman leaned forward in his seat. "A thousand years ago, Ithlan proved that a single dragon could bring the ten kingdoms to their knees. That's Lord Delmar's plan and he's succeeding. But the real threat is the black dragon that supports him. We need a dragon to fight a dragon."

"I'm not strong enough." Ethan admitted after taking a deep breath. "I can barely fight one arena champion let alone an Arch Mage. And if this black dragon is as powerful as you say, I wouldn't last five seconds."

"Not as you are," Elder Goman replied. "But you are a dragon. Enchant yourself, find more gold or bond to more women, and I guarantee you—"

Ethan jumped up from his seat. The darkness surged over his thoughts, making his temper rise along with the volume of his voice. "I don't want to fight Lord Delmar or the black dragon. I'm not... I'm just not strong enough."

"Ethan—" Alana started to say.

"No," he said rather more loudly than he intended as darkness settled over his thoughts again. "Look, everyone seems to think I'm this great guy, but I'm not. I filet people alive when I lose my temper and there's a part of me that actually likes it. I am NOT your savior. I couldn't save Beth, I couldn't stop myself from trying to kill the Arena champion, and I certainly can't save a whole kingdom."

"Ten," Elder Gomans said.

"What?"

"There are ten kingdoms you need to save," Elder Goman said.

"I can't do this okay!" Ethan nearly shouted. "I'm not your Jesus okay? I'm not your fucking messiah! I'm a broken wreck of a man who's barely holding it together."

His anger abated only to be replaced with a black sense of despair. "I'm not fit to save anything, let alone save everyone. And how anyone could care about me I'll never know."

"Ethan," Alana said gently.

"What!?" He snapped. "What could you possibly want from me? I'm a miserable failure and you're better off without me."

"I care about you Ethan." She smiled at him in spite of his rage. "I love you,"

It was a simple declaration of truth; one she'd never made before. How could she possibly love him?

How?

It was at once innocent and powerful; uplifting and heartbreaking. Something inside of Ethan just broke. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. It broke through the black cloud that hung over his head...

But only for a moment.

Then darkness returned with a vengeance. There was no way; there was no possible way that she could... not after everything he'd done.

"You can't mean that,"

"I do."

Ethan turned away. From the back of his mind, a little voice whispered that he was so wretched, so horrible, that she would be better off without him. That he was so awful, he would ruin her life - even more than he already had.

"I'm not that guy Alana. I want to be - God I want to be - but I'm not."

"You're a better man than you know,"

"But I'm not a man," Ethan said. "You don't deserve... I mean I can't..."

It was too much.

All of this was too much.

Through the large open window, Ethan could see the city stretched out before him. They were many floors up and a flock of birds was flying past the window.

Things always seemed so simple when he was flying.

*Ethan.* Alana's mental voice came like a soothing balm over his thoughts.

But the last thing he wanted was to be soothed right now. For the first time since hearing her in his head, he truly wanted to be alone with his thoughts. He truly wanted Alana to be out of his head. She didn't deserve this.

The dark cloud whispered that she didn't deserve to be stuck with someone like him either.

From somewhere deep inside him, an instinctive knowledge of what to do came forth. Ethan imagined his mind, then imagined a massive stone castle defending it. He poured a little mana into the mental image to solidify it.

*Ethan, you-* Alana's mental voice was abruptly cut off as Ethan's mana did its work, hardening the stone castle around his mind.

"I'm sorry Alana," Ethan said as he stared at the window. "I wish I could be the man you think I am."

Ethan took a step toward the window and opened it. He crouched at the windowsill and opened his wings. The darkness cheered, praising him for doing the right thing to keep her safe.

"Ethan, did you block me out?" Alana asked. "What are you doing?"

He glanced back at her. "I'm sorry, but you're better off without me."

Ethan readied his wings, and then jumped out the open window.

* * *

Beth turned to Gabriella as Elder Goman and Alana started out the open window.

"You have to tell me how to get that thing off of him!"

Sadness was etched on Gabriella's heart-shaped face as she replied. "I wish I could, but I can't. You will figure it out yourself - and before the week is out - but you must figure it out yourself. "

Beth scowled at her.

Just before Ethan had jumped out of the window, the shadowy halo had surged in strength. The clinging tendrils had spread to envelope nearly his entire torso and the pulses of darkness aimed at his head had greatly intensified. She didn't need to be an arch-mage to know it was getting worse.

"Well, how am I supposed to help him if he's run away?"

"I know exactly where he's going," Gabriella replied. "But it will be a very long walk."

"Walk!?" Beth threw her hands in the air. "My husband is being attacked by Saidow's minions. We don't have time to walk!"

"An enchantment created by Saidow's minions." Gabriella corrected. "If he were being attacked by Saidow's armies there is nothing you could do little one."

"There must be a faster way than walking."

"Not really, and what would you do if you were near him now? Do you have a plan to help?"

"Well, no," she admitted.

"So a nice long walk will give you time to think won't it?"

Beth didn't answer because she was trying not to explode in anger. How could Gabriella be so calm?! Ethan's very life was in danger she wanted to go for a walk! Of course, she didn't actually know how to help yet, and that was another thing.

"Why won't you just tell me how to destroy the enchantment?"

Gabirella smiled. It was one of the infuriatingly disarming smiles that made it almost impossible to be mad at her. "When you first discovered you loved learning, what did you do?"

"I asked everyone to read to me."

"But that wasn't enough was it?"

Beth shook her head. "Everyone was busy and they couldn't spend the time, or didn't want to read the books I was interested in."

"So what did you do?"

"I convinced daddy to hire a tutor to teach me to read so I could learn whenever I wanted to."

"And were you better off for it?"

"Of course, once I learned how to read I was- oh!" Beth said as it hit her. "We're not talking about reading are we?"

Gabriella put a comforting hand on Beth's shoulder. "If I give you the answer now, I will rob you of the struggle. Working on the problem will make you better at all manner of things; problem solving, patience, and persistence to name a few."

"Rob me of the struggle?"

She nodded. "Just like muscles on get stronger when you work them, people only get more capable when you stretch them. If I rob you of these challenges, I will have solved a problem in the short term, but ultimately weakened you in the long term."

Gabriella gestured to the window through which Ethan had just flown. "Consider your husband. He has faced trial after trial since arriving on this world. But it was through these trials and obstacles that he grew stronger. Without them, he would've been slain in the ambush as you left Gralden, during the alley attack, or in The Arena."

"So, you're saying that you won't help me because you want to make me stronger?"

"Beth, you have great things ahead of you, but you aren't yet the person you must be to accomplish them. This trial, though small, is the first step toward those goals. Instead of fighting the challenge, embrace it. Learn from it. "

"I hate it when you make sense," she acquiesced

"My Lord is even worse; He knows everything. But listen yet to the rest of this conversation. Then we have a long walk ahead of us."

* * *

"Ethan!" Alana yelled after him for umpteenth time. But by now, his powerful wings had already carried him too far away to hear... Or he was ignoring her.

*ETHAN!* she shouted as loud as she possibly could over their bond.

Nothing.

He kept flying.

Drousin was right: dragons could learn magic mostly by instinct if they wanted to badly enough. That meant Ethan really didn't want her in his thoughts.

"That was unexpected," Elder Goman mused.

"He blames himself for Beth's death, and for the Arena," she finally turned away from the window when even her Elvin eyes couldn't see Ethan anymore.

"No, not that. I was referring to..."

"To what?"

Elder Goman looked pensive as he started after Ethan. He moved his hand through the air where Ethan had been sitting, as if feeling for something that she couldn't see. She thought she heard him say something about a 'clever enchantment'. Then his eyes went wide and he rushed to his desk and pulled out paper and quill. He was poised to write something down when he hesitated.

"What was I...?" He looked around the room, seeming confused for several moments. Then he turned his attention back to her. "What happened with the young woman who died? Beth I believe?"

"We were doing okay until he lost control to his dragon impulses." She said and then explained what happened.
"So it is his fault?" Elder Goman asked. There was no blame in his voice; he merely wanted to know the facts.

Alana considered for a moment before nodding her head. "If he would've kept his cool, I think Beth would still be alive. I don't think it's really his fault; he certainly didn't mean to, but..."

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"What others do can hurt us; but what we do ourselves truly breaks us," Elder Goman said with a sigh.

"What do I do?" Alana asked. "He's such a good man and I don't want this to ruin him."

Elder Goman leaned back in his chair and put his fingertips together. "It's easier to mend a broken egg than a broken heart. You didn't cause the damage, so you can't repair it."

"I thought if I told him how I felt it might..." Alana blinked trying to hold the moisture at the corner of her eyes at bay. "I thought he might see that at least some of us knows he's a good guy."

Elder Goman smiled kindly. "Believe it or not, I think it did help. I think him leaving proves that he is a good man. Misguided perhaps, but a good man."

"Misguided?"

"I think he left because you told him you loved him."

"What?" Alana felt like someone had punched her in the gut. Why would he leave because of that?

"The last thing he said was that you were better off without him," Elder Goman explained. "If he truly believes he caused Beth's death, then perhaps he's worried he will cause your death as well."

"Oh Ethan," Alana shook her head then rested it on her hands. "You wonderful, amazing, stupid fool."

Elder Goman smiled. "That's a near perfect description of our young dragon friend."

"So what should I do?" Alana asked.

Elder Goman got up, sat down next to her, and put an arm around her in a comforting, almost fatherly manner. "I don't know. I have never seen a man - or dragon - so thoroughly besotted with a woman before."

At that, Alana looked away to hide the tears that began to trickle down her cheek.

Elder Goman continued. "He believes he's doing the right thing for you. He believes he's keeping you safe. As long as he believes that, he will move heaven and earth to stay away from you; to protect you. You need to convince him otherwise."

"But it's really not true," she replied quietly. "Look, I'm not stupid. I know that traveling with Ethan is dangerous. Not only is he a dragon, but Lord Delmar is after him. I knew I might be signing my death warrant by traveling with him. I wish that wasn't the case, but it really is."

"If it's so dangerous, then why are you traveling with him?" Elder Goman asked.

"Some things are worth dying for."

"Oh?"

"The world is a better place with Ethan in it, and I love his stupid heart to pieces." She shook her head. "If my bow can keep him safe a little longer, then it's his."

"You just confessed your love to a man who responded by literally jumping out a window," Elder Goman said. "Yet your only thoughts are for his well-being and safely."

She nodded.

Elder Goman locked eyes with Alana, "You are a rare woman Alana Dragon-Bride," Elder Goman said. "Very few people in the ten kingdoms are so selfless and caring. Fewer still have the strength of character and willpower to be a dragon's match. You are perhaps the only woman in these kingdoms worthy of the title Dragon-Bride."

Alana didn't try to hide her tears. She let herself slump against Elder Goman's shoulder and just let the tears fall.

It was too much.

In the back of her mind, she realized it was strange to be crying on the shoulder of a virtual stranger. But honestly, she didn't care. She had missed her father terribly since he died. Elder Goman wasn't him, but he possessed the same fatherly air.

It did her heart good.

The last six weeks had been absolute hell, except the parts that felt like heaven. First meeting Ethan, then falling in love, him marrying Beth, their wedding night, the attack on the Argo, Beth's death, The Arena, and now this? Alana felt like a wet rag that someone had wrung out until it was dryer than a desert.

"Perhaps it's good that Ethan isn't interested in power," Elder Goman said after a minute or two. "Dragons tend to grow more savage as they grow in power and I would hate to see that happen to him. Look at what happened to Ithlan in the end"

She sat up and wiped her tears away. "Yeah, that's true. Silver lining right?"

"Perhaps. You need a dragon to fight a dragon, especially this black dragon. Ethan may be the only one in the ten kingdoms that could defeat Lord Delmar and his dragon ally. In doing so, he might change though."

"Damned if you do; damned if you don't," Alana commented. "When did life become a series of no-win choices?"

"That is the very essence and nature of war. And make no mistake, this is war. You may not wish it, but as long as one side wishes for a war, there will be a war. Or a massacre."

"If Ethan was going to fight Lord Delmar, what would you suggest?"

He was silent for a moment. "Perhaps that discussion is better left for another time."

"Why?"

"This day has been trying enough," he replied.

"I can handle it."

"I know you can, but you may not wish to. I have one idea, but I think you will find it quite distasteful."

"If you have something that can help Ethan against Lord Delmar, I'm all ears," she said when he didn't elaborate. "Please tell me? I don't care if it's difficult; it's worth it if it'll help Ethan."

"I didn't say it was difficult; I said it was distasteful."

She took a deep breath. "I want to hear it anyway."

"Ethan could bond with as many willing women as possible to increase his mana. That would give him the power he needs to stand up to Lord Delmar and the Black Dragon."

"You can't be serious."

"You asked."

"I can't believe you're suggesting that," Alana felt like she'd need a levitation spell to pick her jaw up off the floor. One part of her was utterly revolted at the idea. It was disgusting and yet... Somewhere in the back of her mind the idea didn't sound too bad. If she was completely honest with herself, a part of her almost liked it.

She shut that thought down instantly.

"It's the quickest way to make him more powerful." he continued. "If Ethan gets a lot of gold, he'll only want to guard it. This way, he'll have something to fight for and something to protect: the women who give him his power."

"I thought you said dragons grow more savage as they get more powerful," she countered. "You can't want that to happen to Ethan."

"Of course I don't want that," Elder Goman replied. "But as we already agreed, war is a series of no-win choices by nature."

"So you'd pimp him out to win a war? That's revolting," she made a show of disgust, but the emotion behind her words wasn't quite genuine.

"My dear, I find the idea quite distasteful," his eyes narrowed and something about his piercing gaze made her feel like he could see right through her.

She blushed slightly.

"But I am a realist," he continued. "I do not see another way for Ethan to survive against Lord Delmar, let alone the Black Dragon. And that's merely surviving; it says nothing of his ability to defeat them. Can you think of another way to get Ethan's powers up to snuff?"

Alana opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. The worst part was a small part of her actually liked the idea. The idea of Ethan playing stallion to a small herd of broodmares actually turned her on slightly if she thought about it.

She tried not to think about it.

Why had she recently found the idea of Ethan bedding another woman arousing, and almost appealing? She didn't like the side of her that was coming out. She pushed those thoughts as far to the back of her head as she could.

"We need to find another way," she said after taking a few deep breaths.

"I have been working on this problem for many years. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm one of the most accomplished and powerful Arch mages in the world. There might be another solution, but I haven't been able find it."

Alana swore.

"In the interest of full disclosure, there is another way to save Ethan," Elder Goman said.

"What?"

"He could go home. I know others from his world have found their way here, mostly as kidnapped slaves. Find a slaver's camp with an active portal spell, use it, and leave this world forever."

She thought about leaving with him. She had very little tying her to this world, birth parents notwithstanding. She could just leave with him. They could start a new life together. She doubted Lord Delmar would pursue them that far, but if they remained in this world...

Then she thought about Ethan. His desire to help people and genuine goodness. "He'll never leave while people here need help. It's part of the reason I love him, but I sometimes hate him for it."

"If I may offer a suggestion?"

"What?"

"Focus on finding him for now," Elder Goman said. "Don't borrow problems from the future; today has enough troubles to worry about."

"That's from the Book of Light isn't it?" Alana said referencing Illuminar's Holy Book. "My father said that a lot before he died."

"I assume you're referring to your adoptive father and not your birth father?" Elder Goman asked.

Her jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Someone of your birth parents' stature can't keep things like this a complete secret, no matter how hard they tried."

"You won't tell anyone will you?" Alana pleaded.

"Your secret is safe with me," Elder Goman assured her.

She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, but you should tell Ethan. Secrets like this have a way of tearing relationships apart if kept for too long."

"I know it's just..." she sighed. "People have a way of treating me differently when they find out."

"I'm not surprised given your parentage," Elder Goman said. "But you can either choose to continue living a lie with Ethan; or you can tell him the truth. Either way, if he finds out before you tell him it won't bode well for your relationship."

"I know."

"You've lived your entire life as Alana Tarihowen, daughter of simple staff growers." He locked eyes with Alana, "But your birth family's name isn't a curse... Alana Kalon."

She smiled weakly. "They told me it would be Alana Nalfigar."

He shook his head. "No, you have more of your mother in you. It's Alana Kalon."

"Thank you," Her smile was genuine this time.

"You're welcome," he said, then his face turned more serious. "There's one more thing."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "You should know that Lord Delmar has a powerful mage working with him, possibly even an Arch Mage. This mage has been running experiments designed to turn humans into Dragons."

"Holy mother of Ithlan," Alana said. "Is that even possible? I know you can transfigure objects sometimes, but people? Does that kind of magic even exist?

Elder Goman nodded. "I think it might. I've encountered a few of their early experiments. They clearly haven't perfected it yet, but based on what I've seen, it's certainly possible."

Alana hung her head. "Will it never end? Do you have any more bad news?"

"I forgot to put pepper on my eggs this morning," Elder Goman replied. "Other than that, no."

Alana shook her head, but smiled weakly. "Good."

"Now, before you start searching for your beloved, I have one thing to teach you." Elder Goman said.

"What?" Alana asked.

"How to shield your mind from everyone except Ethan." Elder Goman replied. "Though, you could block him out too if you wish."

"Thank you." Alana said.

"You're welcome my dear." Elder Goman replied. "Now, let's get started."

Alana nodded as she glanced out the window.

Where had he gone?

* * *

Teloni shook her head. "Seriously Prayla, what were you thinking?"

"Oh come on Tee," Her friend replied as she flopped down on her cot. "It was a fight between dragons. How could I not watch?"

Teloni shook her head again. "You do know dragons are attracted to gold mines like this one right?" She gestured to the small room around them, which was placed near the top of the gold mine's shaft. Several cots were spread around the room for injured miners. Though they were currently empty as she healed the last of them earlier.

"So?"

"Dragon fights happen twice a month around here."

"But I've never actually seen two dragons fight," Prayla replied. "I just had to watch. And when the one dragon pounced from the sky, it was like a lightning bolt from heaven."

"I don't think dragons come from heaven," Teloni replied, then rubbed her hand over the leather collar on her neck. "Besides, what if the masters had found out? You could've been in serious trouble."

Prayla shot Teloni a look. "Well, it doesn't stop you from watching the airships take off and land in Arcanum does it? How many hours a week do you waste watching them coming and going?"

Teloni felt her cheeks grow warm. "I don't do it that often," She lied.

"After every shift until sundown," Prayla replied, then added with a wink. "You're in the prime of your life; you should be hip deep in miner's sons if you know what I mean."

Teloni blushed even redder. "I'm not... I mean I wouldn't... Not with... Just no."

"Oh come on," Prayla replied. "You can't tell me you haven't thought about it. Besides, you've been legal for weeks now and haven't gotten any."

At that, Teloni turned so Prayla couldn't see her face. Doing 'that' was the last thing on her mind right now.

"I don't have time," she finally said. "The masters keep me so busy in the clinic and I'm worn out after every accident."

"Which doesn't stop you from climbing to the surface to see the airships in Arcanum," Prayla countered. "If you can do that, you can find some time for a roll in the hay- er, mine"

"So you were telling me about this fight between dragons?" Teloni said.

"Subtle change of topic," Prayla said. "You even have your own room because you run the clinic. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a place to screw around here?"

"No."

"Fine, spend your days pining after airships," Prayla say throwing her hands up in surrender. "I'll just pretend I'm not jealous of the only Fey in this god-forsaken mine."

"It's not like they let me be a Fey," Taloni touched the collar on her neck then looked over her shoulder at the wings that lay limp against her back. On her best days, she could get one of her wings to twitch. Otherwise, the enchantment was too strong to fight.

"I'm sorry," Prayla said, and she looked like she was. "Maybe when you get older they'll take it off.

"Maybe," Teloni said, though she didn't really believe it.

"There was a light gray dragon and a darker, steel grey dragon," Prayla said.

Taloni appreciated the change of topic so much that she didn't mention she wasn't interested.

"The steel gray dragon looked like it was wandering aimlessly," Prayla continued. "The light grey dragon pounced from the sky and the steel gray dragon went down like a rock. They fought on the ground for a minute, but the light gray dragon won."

"And the steel gray dragon died," Taloni finished. "The end."

"Nope," Prayla replied. "The steel gray dragon coughed up the gold in its gullet. The other dragon took it and left."

Taloni twitched her pointed ears. "Wait, did you say the steel gray dragon gave up the gold in its gullet?"

Prayla nodded. "Yeah, weird huh. Wouldn't they normally die before allowing that?"

"Yeah," Taloni said, her Fey brain latching onto something she didn't yet understand.

Curious.

Very curious.

* * *

Taloni's afternoon passed quickly after that. After Prayla left, Taloni spent much of the afternoon tending wounds from a minor rock fall in one of the lower mine shafts.

Once the masters let her go, she wandered up to the surface and headed for her favorite lookout spot. Once there, she flopped down on the grass to watch the airships entering and leaving Arcanum.

"Yeah, you don't do this often at all?" Prayla said nearly an hour later, which made Teloni jump in surprise was.

"Prayla, what are you doing here?"

She gave her a pointed look. "Not watching airships while hoping someone will come take me away from all this and free me."

"Guilty as charged," Teloni said, then touched the enchanted collar around her neck. "If only I could use my wings."

"I know something that will take your mind off of that," Prayla said with a grin.

"No, I'm not finding a boy," Taloni said firmly.

"I didn't mean that, but I suppose that would work too," Pray replied with a slight gleam in her eyes. "No, I meant let's go see the dragon."

"Are you suicidal?" Teloni asked. "That dragon has been killing miners for months and you want to go find its lair? Are you nuts?"

"No, not that dragon," Prayla replied. "I meant the other one. The one he fought earlier, the steel gray one. Why would it attack us if we don't have any gold?"

"Well it probably wouldn't, but—" Teloni started to say, but Prayla cut her off.

"Then we'll be perfectly safe. Come on," Prayla stood up and started walking roughly in the direction of Arcanum.

"Prayla, wait," Teloni stood up, but didn't follow her. "You're going to get yourself killed. It's a dragon."

"Yeah, that's the point, come on," Prayla said. "Or will you make your best friend face a wicked dragon all by herself? Besides, aren't you curious?" She said with a wink, then turned and started jogging away from Teloni.

Teloni bit her lip for a moment, then her Fey nature asserted itself. She was curious. Too curious. Moments later she took off after her friend.

"You'll get us thrown in the stockade," she said when she had caught up.

"I suppose I could be a good friend and bail you out," Prayla said. "But I'd rather be the great friend sitting next to you saying 'damn that was fun'."

The Fey rolled her eyes.

They reached a small creek a few minutes later and Teloni caught a glimpse of her reflection as they jumped over it. At nearly 5' 2", she was freakishly tall for a Fey woman. Her skin looked sun-kissed despite spending most of her time in the mine. Her golden-brown hair was long, silky smooth and flowed like water despite the fact that she had never owned a brush or comb.

The benefits of Fey heritage.

As far as Taloni was concerned, that's where the benefits stopped. Everyone described her face as 'cute', but never once had anyone told her she was beautiful. She hated how small her chest was and felt cursed with short legs.

The only other thing she loved was her wings. They shimmered in the light of the setting sun, like gorgeous cross between a dragonfly and a butterfly's wings. They weren't large, but thanks to the magic of her Fey heritage she could fly with them anyway... or would've been able to without the collar.

Prayla skipped ahead of her for a few minutes before slowing down and making an effort to be quieter.

"It's just over that hill, go take a look," Prayla whispered and pointed to a hill covered in large boulders about a hundred feet away.

Taloni took a few steps toward it before she realized that Prayla wasn't next to her.

"Aren't you coming?" Taloni whispered.

"I've already seen him, so I'm good," she whispered. Taloni noticed her body was rather stiff and her tone was slightly strained, though she was trying to hide it.

"Scared?" Taloni teased.

Prayla hesitated for a moment, then took a few tentative steps forward. Taloni crept toward the top of the hill and peered around a large boulder.

Below was a small, shallow ravine with shallow dirt and gravel sides and a small stream flowing through it. All around the ravine were broken bushes and scraped up earth that bore clear witness that a fight had taken place her. A few of the bushes were charred and blackened by fire.
And there was a steel gray dragon.

It laid unmoving at the bottom of the ravine. His arms, legs and wings were flopped on the ground and he looked decidedly the worse for wear. There were small patches of scales missing from his hide and those places had dried blood caked on. The dragon's wings were clearly cut in a few places and they lay limp against the ground instead of being tucked up against his body.

"You see it?" Prayle whispered from twenty feet behind Taloni.

She nodded.

"What do you think?" Prayla asked.

The Fey bit her lip; there was something odd about this dragon. Every dragon that she'd ever heard about was described a vicious monster. They were primal forces of nature that fought tooth and claw to survive at any cost. But this dragon didn't seem to fit that description.

"Is it safe?" Prayla whispered.

Taloni beckoned her forward and Prayla appeared at her elbow moments later.

"Is it dead?" She asked.

Taloni shook her head. Even from this far away, she could tell the dragon's wounds weren't serious. They would be painful and probably debilitating, but certainly not life threatening. She could also see the slow rise and fall of the dragon's chest as he breathed, so it definitely was alive.

"What now?" Prayla asked.

"Hmm, I don't know," Taloni replied. Try as she might to repress it, another facet of her Fey heritage was asserting itself again: Curiosity. She stood a little straighter to get a better look.

"What are you doing?!" Prayla hissed. "It might see us."

"I know I just..." Taloni trailed off. There was something very odd, very un-dragon-like about this dragon. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was bothering her.

"Come on Tee," Prayla said. "Curiosity killed the Fey."

"But satisfaction brought her back," Taloni retorted.

"Now look here," Prayla started to say, but she nearly lost her footing as she turned.

Her one foot slid several inches accompanied by the sound of gravel grinding. Several small rocks broke loose and half rolled, half bounced down the shallow walls of the ravine. Taloni and Prayla looked at the dragon to see if it had heard the noise.

After several tense seconds, the dragon slowly turned its head to look in their direction. Prayla screamed, turned and took off running as if the dragon was hot on her heels.

Taloni didn't.

She met the dragon's eye and was nearly overwhelmed. She had seen sadness and despair before, but not like this.

The dragon blinked slowly then - as if it didn't have the energy - let its head lower and land on the dry creek bed. Something was truly and deeply wrong with this dragon. Dragons weren't like this; they didn't feel pity or remorse. They were savage creatures and showed no mercy to any living being.

Despite herself, Taloni stepped out from behind the rock. She couldn't decide if she should go see the dragon or run away. After a couple minutes, self-preservation won out. She backed away from the boulder she'd been hiding behind until she couldn't see the dragon anymore. Then she turned and started walking back toward the mine.

Ten steps later she stopped.

Why?

Why was the dragon like this?

She cursed her Fey curiosity and took another step away from the dragon. Walking was harder than she remembered. What could possibly make a dragon feel that way?

She turned back toward the dragon, then shook her head and took another step away. Or at least, that's what she had intended. Her feet had carried her in quite another direction. Taloni took a deep breath, turned back toward the mine and walked resolutely forward...

For about five steps.

"Curiosity killed the Fey," Taloni reminded herself.

But the dragon...

Thirty seconds later, Taloni was slowly and carefully making her way down the shallow sides of the ravine. It was maybe ten feet deep, but the sides were sloped gently enough for her to half crawl, half slide down. When she reached the bottom, she was only ten feet from the dragon.

The dragon opened its eyes when she started making noise, but only regarded her for a few seconds before its eyes closed again. Up close, it didn't look so scary. Even counting the wings and tail, Taloni didn't think he weighed more than a large-ish man.

"Hi," Taloni said tentatively.

The dragon grunted in response.

"Um, what's wrong?" Taloni asked, though she felt very stupid doing so.

The dragon whimpered.

"Is it these wounds?" Taloni asked.

The dragon shook its head a fraction of an inch, but enough that she was sure the wounds weren't the problems.

"Are you going to eat me if I tend your wounds?"

Another grunt, though this one sounded like the dragon was scoffing.

"Is it okay if I heal your wounds?"

The dragon didn't move or make a sound.

"Okay, I'm going to heal them," she said. "Please don't eat me."

The dragon still didn't move. She waited for a second to confirm he was still breathing then took a small step forward. All the while she was trying to ignore the panic in the back of her mind. Unfortunately, she was a Fey. When curiosity and panic fought, curiosity often won.

It took Taloni almost a whole minute to get up the courage to walk the ten feet to the dragon. She placed her hands over the biggest wound she could see, called on her mana, and began healing.

* * *

Rachel spent most of the walk back to the Argo answering Hailey's questions about Ethan and Alana. Finally, Rachel had just broken down and told her everything that had happened so far, starting with Ethan's arrival. When she finished, Hailey was silent for nearly a minute.

"So, I guess Ethan doesn't know how he got here then?" Hailey asked.

Rachel smiled. "Well, we're pretty sure it was a death shaman's resurrection spell gone wrong, but that doesn't answer your question."

"Do you know for sure??" Hailey asked.

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"I won't try getting back to Earth by dying if that's what you're thinking," Hailey said. "Maybe if I knew someone would try to resurrect me, but we don't have any death shamans on earth."

"What do you remember about how you got here?" Rachel asked. They had just past the merchant district and could see the Argo's mast and sails - along with a dozen other airships - above the nearby buildings.

"Not much," Hailey replied. "They knocked me out after they grabbed me. I woke up here without a clue how it happened."

"Then maybe a good first step is tracking down the men who kidnapped you. What do you remember about them?"

"They stank, swore and threatened to rape me more times than I can count," Hailey shuddered. "But besides for that, they didn't say much that made sense to me back then."

"Any locations or names you can remember?" Rachel asked.

"They mentioned their boss several times," Hailey replied. "Galeios? Galeforce? Gonorrhea? Something like that anyway."

"Hmm," Rachel mused. "Perhaps we should inquire around for Mr. Gonorrhea?"

Hailey burst out laughing.

"What?" Rachel was slightly nonplussed.

"I was kidding when I said Gonorrhea," Hailey replied through her laughing. "It's the name of a sexually transmitted disease where I come from."

"Oh," Rachel smiled. "Well considering his chosen profession and threats, perhaps it's an appropriate nickname after all."

"Mr. Gonorrhea," Hailey repeated. "Okay, that's his name until we can find his real one."

Rachel laughed, then they rounded a corner in the docks and she pointed to the Argo. "That's her."

"Wow," Hailey's face split into a huge grin. "That's amazing. I've never seen one up close before."

Rachel introduced Hailey to rest of the crew and they talked on the weather deck for a while. They had arrived in time for lunch, but the meal was over and cleaned up by the time there was a lull in the conversation.

Rachel watched Hailey closely the whole time.

Though she seemed very happy and put on a cheerful face, Rachel could tell that something was wrong. Hailey seemed a little too cheerful and a little too happy; almost like she was hiding something under a joyous farce.

She kept glancing toward the center of the city and subconsciously balling her hands into fists. All the while, she was laughing like she was having the time of her life.

Eventually, their conversation ended midafternoon when Rachel caught a glimpse of Alana half-jogging, half-running toward the Argo. From her gate, Rachel could tell that something was wrong. The other must've noticed too because they met the wood elf at the top of the gangplank.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked as soon as Alana was on board. Alana explained how her meeting with Elder Goman went and how Ethan had left. Rachel got the feeling the wood elf had left out a few details though.

"We need to find him," she finished.

Rachel felt the gears in her mind whirring. In hindsight, she was surprised Ethan hadn't cracked earlier given his state of mind and everything he'd been through in the last 6 weeks.

"Maybe he just needs a little time," Anthiel suggested. "He's been through a lot and might just need to sort through it all."

"Maybe," Alana replied, but she didn't sound convinced. "I just can't shake the feeling that something is wrong."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked. "I thought you couldn't hear his thoughts or feels his emotions anymore?"

"I can't," Alana said. "But I'm not sure he's able to block out absolutely everything. Every time I look at our bond I get nothing, but I feel like something isn't right."

"Any idea what?" Rachel asked.

"Not really," Alana frowned.

Raklan scoffed "You're just being stupid, he'll show up in a-"

Serif backhanded Raklan across the face, interrupting him.

"What the hell you do that for?" Raklan looked furious and his hand went toward his sword.

Serif looked completely relaxed and didn't even react. "Be more polite unless you are going to pull that sword, in which case I will be your opponent," Serif didn't appear to have a single weapon on him.

Raklan eyed Serif for a moment, then dropped his hand to his side and mumbled something under his breath.

"Do you think he's in trouble?" Hailey asked Alana.

"That's just it, I don't know. I've been able to feel him for over a month and now that I can't... It's like I've lost an arm or been blinded. I just don't know."

Rachel stepped over to Alana and put an arm around her shoulder. "We'll find him and he'll be fine. Ethan is one of the toughest men I've ever met; I can't imagine him getting into trouble he can't get out of."

"I hope you're right," Alana replied, then turned to Serif. "You've been awfully quite; time to weigh in."

Serif's face was unreadable as he replied. "Ethan could be in trouble, but there's no way to know for sure."

"A response without an answer," Rachel observed.

"Insufficient data does not compute," he replied.

"Thank you mister Spock," Hailey rolled her eyes. Everyone else looked at her blankly, so she continued. "It's from a TV show- Nevermind, I agree with Alana. He might be in trouble."

"We need to take the Argo and go find him," Alana insisted.

"Would that be a prudent course of action?" Serif asked. "If Ethan decides to return to us, he'll likely return to the Argo."

"And if the Argo isn't here, we could be looking for each for months," Rachel finished. "Good point."

"Precisely," Serif said.

"But how could you find a dragon without an airship to follow him?" Hailey asked.

No one answered.

"Let's see what we can come up with by morning," Rachel said after a few moments. "It would be twilight by the time we left anyway, and I doubt we could find him in the dark."

Alana opened her mouth to replied, but Rachel headed her off. "Only one of us has wood elf eyes Alana, and we don't even know where to look."

"Okay," Alana nodded, and everyone dispersed.

"Come on, you look like you could use some rest," Rachel said to Alana.

She didn't resist Rachel's gentle pull and they went below decks to the 'women's section' of the sleeping area. It was located farther from the stairs than the men's hammocks and Anthiel had hung a thick blanket between the two sections to give the ladies a little privacy.

Once there, Rachel locked eyes with Alana. "Do you really think Ethan is in trouble?"

Alana hesitated for a moment then nodded. There was no mistaking the concern in her eyes or body language.

"Okay, then we'll do everything we can to find him," Rachel said. "I promise."

"Thank you," Alana said and gave Rachel a hug. "I really appreciate you standing up for me. Everyone else seems to think Ethan's just out for a walk- er, fly."

"He might be, but that doesn't mean he isn't in trouble," Rachel replied. "Better safe than sorry."

Alana breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad someone else understands."

"I think Hailey might too," Rachel replied. "Though I'm worried about her."

"Oh?" Alana said.

"Yeah," Rachel replied. "I think her slavery was harder than she let on. I think she's harboring some real resentment against her former owner."

"Can you blame her?" Alana asked.

"No, but I think it goes beyond disliking forced manual labor," Rachel replied, then sighed. "Having come so close to slavery myself, I can sympathize."

Alana raised an eyebrow.

"You and Ethan saved me from a life of slavery, trapped in a prison in my own mind. I owe you two more than I could ever hope to repay."

"We'd never ask you to repay anything," Alana said offering another hug.

"I know," Rachel replied, gave Alana a little squeeze then let her out of the hug.

"I'm really glad we got that will-breaker ring off you," Alana said. "You're a good friend."

"I'm glad too." Rachel smiled. "Come on, let's get some sleep. We can brainstorm while we're falling asleep and find him in the morning."

* * *

Taloni dropped her hands as the last of the dragon's wounds closed. She nearly dropped herself she was so tired. The sun had fully set by now, but there was still a little light in the sky. It was slowly changing from the reds and oranges of sunset to the dark blues of twilight.

"How are you feeling now?" Taloni asked the dragon.

He didn't respond.

"After all the time I just spent healing your wounds," Teloni said. "The least you could do is answer some questions."

The dragon turned its head to look at her, but remained silent. The look in his eyes was heartbreaking.

"Okay, let's start with something easy," Taloni said. "What's your name?'

"Ethan," The dragon said after a few moments.

"Please to meet you Ethan," She replied. "My name is Taloni."

"Hi,"

"What's wrong Ethan?"

"Nothing," he couldn't have been less convincing if he tried.

She put her hands on his scales and used her mana to enhance her senses and perception. It took almost a minute, but she finally got a sense for what was actually wrong. She had been so concerned with his physical health that she'd missed it.

"You're not taking in any mana are you?" she asked.

"No," The dragon replied.

"You need some gold," Taloni said.

"No I don't,"

"But won't you die without it?"

"It's okay, really," The dragon grumbled after a few moments.

"How could that be okay?"

The dragon shrugged.

"I don't understand," Taloni replied. "You don't want to die... do you?"

The dragon grunted. It was almost a disinterested grunt; like it simply didn't matter to him.

"You will die. You know that right?"

The dragon sighed then - with what seemed like a great effort - he stood on all fours. Taloni scrambled away from him, but he made no move to threaten her. Instead, he took a few steps toward the creek and took a sip of water.

"What happened?" Taloni asked. "What was so terrible that you're willing to die?"

The dragon opened his mouth to reply, but then shook his head and closed it. "I appreciate you healing my wounds. That was very kind. Thank you."

"You're avoiding the question," Taloni observed

"Yes I am," The dragon replied, then he flopped down next to the creek as if he was exhausted.

Taloni mentally cursed her youth and inexperience. She knew something was up, she just didn't have a clue how to get the dragon to open up to her. Finally, she settle on the one thing that seemed to help when Prayla was concealing something.

She marched over the dragon's head, lowered herself to eye level and stared into his eyes as she spoke. "Please tell me?" She asked as nicely and sweetly as possible.

The dragon's lips twisted into what was unmistakably a smile. It was odd seeing a dragon smile. It didn't look quite like a human's smile, but it wasn't far off either.

"How old are you Taloni?" the dragon asked.

"I just passed eighteen summers last month," Taloni announced proudly.

"So eighteen," The dragon said. "I remember being eighteen. That was the year I started a business with my best friend. We were going to be like Calvin and Hobbes. We would change the world and make a fortune doing it."

The dragon seemed pensive, so Taloni kept silent and let him continue.

"It's strange, looking back on my life," The dragon said. "I never thought I would end up on another world in a dragon's body. Life is strange you know?"

"Yes," she replied. "Yes it is."

"It's also precious," The dragon said. "Take time to savor life Taloni; you never know when it will end."

"I think—" she started to say, but was interrupted by someone shouting behind her.

"THERE SHE IS!"

Someone shouted from the top of the hill where Taloni and Prayla had been watching the dragon. There were a dozen men, all had a large shield plus a spear or axe. Peeking out from behind the men was Prayla, her face was a mask of worry and concern.

Leading them was Thaltien; her owner.

He stood head and shoulders above the other men. He was a gruff man with a large unkempt beard, clever eyes, and no patience for interference in his business. He was holding a large Dane Axe in one hand and a massive kite shield in his other. He wore no armor, but his surcoat was thick enough to stop all but the sharpest of weapons.

The dragon's response to their presence was instant and shocking considering how exhausted he seemed to be. The dragon took a flying leap right over Taloni's head, landing between her and Thaltien's men. He raised his hand a large hammer flew to it from the bushes nearby. The dragon crouched low in an unmistakably protective stance.

He was shielding her from them.

Taloni felt her heart go out to the dragon. She knew exactly how exhausted and tired he was, yet he had sprung to her defense without a moment's hesitation. No one had ever done that for her before.

"Let her go beast," Thaltien said. "She saves me a lot of money, so Fey is off the menu tonight."

"You know him?" The dragon asked Taloni without taking his eyes off of Thaltien.

"He's my owner,"

"And I want my slave back,"

She let her shoulders slump. Thaltien wasn't mean and allowed her a lot of freedom. He was fairly kind until the moment his bottom line was affected. Then he eliminated any obstacles without hesitation.

"That's barbaric," The dragon growled.

"Time to kill a dragon boys," Thaltien said.

His men began advancing down the ravine with their shields up. The dragon bristled, then reached out with his other hand and a spear flew into it. He was definitely about to fight for her.

He was going to fight for her...

For her.

Nobody had ever done that before.

Not once in her entire life.

No one had ever stood up for her without asking something in return. Not even Prayla - who was a good friend until trouble showed up, then she would bail without a second thought. Not a single person she'd met in her entire life would've done that for her.

Until now.

Taloni felt tears well up in her eyes. How could anyone - especially a dragon - do that for her? What could possibly make him do that? She didn't understand it, it didn't make any sense.

Then it registered with her that this dragon was about to fight a dozen armed men. They all had experience fighting dragons and he was in a weakened state.

She couldn't let that happen.

She couldn't let anyone hurt him.

"Wait!" Taloni scrambled to her feet and ran in between the dragon and Thaltien's men. "It's okay, I'm fine and he hasn't hurt me."

Thaltien stopped his advance and signaled his men to do the same. "Explain."

"He was hurt," Taloni said. "Another dragon took his gold and he's dying. Please, just let him be and I'll come quietly."

The dragon growled.

Taloni turned to him. "It's fine, really. He's my owner and it's his right."

The disgust was as obvious as the dragon spoke. "Not on my watch."

Taloni took a step toward the dragon and looked into his eyes. "It's okay. Really, I'll be fine. Thaltien's not a cruel master and he treats me well as long as I keep his miners patched up."

The dragon bristled again, then took a threatening step toward the armed men.

"Please don't," Taloni pleaded. "They'll kill you."

"I'm going to die anyway," The dragon replied. "Might as well go out fighting for a good cause."

Taloni felt her breath catch in her throat. He thought fighting for her was a good cause? What kind of a dragon was this? Her heart was doing little backflips until she remembered the danger he was in.

"Please, do me this one favor," Taloni pleaded. "Let me go with them."

The dragon hesitated.

"I healed you, so don't you technically own me a favor?" Taloni said. "I'm calling it in. Please, let me go?"

The dragon didn't move for several seconds, then nodded and lowered his weapons. "A girl with a heart like yours shouldn't be a slave," He said matter-of-factly.

"A dragon with a heart like yours shouldn't die," she countered.

The dragon gave her a weak smile, then took a step away from Thaltien's men and she walked toward them. They seemed wary, but more relaxed now that the dragon didn't appear so threatening. She joined their group and they headed back up the shallow sides of the ravine. Most of the men were walking up backwards, shields raised and never taking their eyes off the dragon.

As Taloni crested the ridge of the ravine, she looked back at the dragon. Despite his burst of energy, she could tell he was exhausted. He dropped his weapons and flopped down to the ground.

As Teloni looked at him, she couldn't help but smile. He'd only known her for a few hours but was willing to fight for her. She felt her heart soar; she had never met anyone like that before.

As he disappeared out of sight, the only thought in Taloni's head was that she wanted to see him again.

Soon.

* * *

Ethan opened his eyes to discover the entire world had a strange purple hue to it. It took him a minute to remember that he'd done this before on the Argo. Anthiel had called it 'Astral Projection'.

He stood up and looked around. He was still in the ravine and his draconic body lay there. His body's breathing was slightly labored. Ethan himself didn't feel as strong as he usually did. Somehow, in this astral projection form he felt less substantial. Like he was there, but not all there.

The ravine itself was very peaceful.

The sound of the creek trickling and insets chirping were the only sounds. The trees were swaying gently in the light breeze and the bushes surrounding the area had a verdant glow from the moonlight. Besides a few bushes the other dragon has burnt to a crisp during their fight, it was an idyllic picture of nature at its most beautiful and pristine. Though, it was odd to see it all in shades of purple.

Ethan's thoughts drifted to both Taloni and Alana. He was a little worried about Taloni, but he desperately wanted to see Alana. He warred with himself for a few moments before deciding that Alana was safe, Taloni might not be.

He stretched his wings and leapt into the air.

It turned out that flying was a lot easier when he was astral projecting. He took off in the direction that Taloni and the others had left. At the speed he flew, it was only a minute or two before he came across what looked like the entrance to a mine.

There were a bunch of flimsy shacks around the entrance and one sturdier central building. A rickety windmill was on the outskirts of the camp and the large, wide blades were lazily spinning in the light breeze.

Ethan landed and began searching for Taloni in the shacks. It didn't take long to find her because he could walk right through the walls. She was sleeping peacefully in the fetal position with a contented smile on her face. She was laying on a well-worn cot with a blanket wrapped around her and looked healthy.

A passing thought crossed his mind that she was quite beautiful, but that thought also reminded him of Alana.

He spread his wings and took off like a shot toward Arcanum.

Not long after, he had found the Argo and landed on her main weather deck. As before, Anthiel was sitting up on the quarterdeck playing a small flute-like instrument. None of the others were anywhere to be seen.

Ethan ran to the lower deck and over to the sleeping area. Everyone appeared to be fast asleep in their hammocks, even Raklan who was snoring loudly. Ethan rolled his eyes and walked through the blanket that separated the men from the women.

He saw Alana first and went over to her. She was sleeping in her hammock, though obviously not sleeping well. She was tossing and turning every few seconds, which was impressive considering she was in a wrap-around hammock.

He felt better just being around her.

He walked over to her hammock and ran his finger gently over her cheek. His fingers passed right through her cheek of course, but he still liked touching her.

Suddenly, Alana sat bolt upright... and nearly fell out of her hammock.

"Who's there?" She asked after recovering.

Ethan didn't respond because he knew she couldn't hear him anyway. The wood elf felt around the dark room and her hand passed through Ethan's chest.

"Ethan?" she said tentatively. "Ethan is that you?"

She looked around more, but he knew she couldn't see him.

"Ethan, if you're there please come back to us," Alana said. "Please come back to me."

Just hearing her say that changed Ehtan's mind. He was going to get out of that ravine. He was going to make it back to Arcanum and this wonderful, perfect woman.

Then the darkness descended on this thoughts. It wasn't even being subtle anymore. He could feel something foreign in his mind obliterating every positive thing he felt and replacing it with black despair.

He fought.

He fought as hard as he possibly could, but it was like playing tug-of-war on ice in slippery shoes while his opponent had cleats. It didn't matter how hard he fought, the darkness slowly - inexorably - pulled him into its black embrace.

He did everything possible to keep those thoughts at bay. He needed to; he needed to get back to his Alana. He smiled at the thought; 'his Alana'. He liked the way that sounded. Suddenly, it was like his feet gain purchase on the slippery slope the darkness pulled him towards.

Then the darkness gave an almighty tug and he felt his thoughts slipping...

Hmm...

What was he thinking about? He knew it was important, but he couldn't remember.

"Ethan," Alana whispered. "Ethan if you're there please come back to me."

"I want to," he replied, though she couldn't hear him. "Dear God in heaven I want to Alana. You are the most wonderful woman I've ever met and if I could spend my life with you, I'd consider myself the luckiest man on earth."

"Ethan, if you're out there I want you to know that we're looking," Alana said. "Rachel and I are brainstorming and we're going to find you. I don't how yet, but we will."

He smiled.

Alana was the perfect woman and she loved him. That fact alone did his heart good...

But the black cloud settled around his thoughts again, telling him he couldn't risk it. He would be the death of her and needed to stay away. In fact, it would be better if he died, just to make sure he could never hurt her again.

He closed his eyes.

Despite being near Alana, his mana wasn't refilling. He supposed astral projection didn't count as being near her. His mana was still slowly draining away. He guessed he had couple days before it was gone at the current rate. He figured he'd probably lose consciousness long before then though.

He was so tired.

The darkness told him to sleep. It would all be over soon.

* * *

Rachel stood on the deck of the Argo watching the rising sun. It reminded her of her conversation with Ethan two weeks prior and their talk about homes. As she glanced around the Argo, she realized it didn't quite feel like home. It was nice, and right now she needed to be there; but something was missing.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Hailey asked.

Rachel smiled. "I was just thinking about a conversation I had with Ethan that started with the exact same question."

"What did you talk about?" Hailey asked.

"Homes and our place in the world," Rachel replied.

"Speaking of," Hailey said. "I was wondering if - after we find Ethan - there was any chance we could figure out how I got here so I could go back."

"Ethan might like to leave too," Rachel mused.

"It would be great to have company," Hailey said. "I just, I don't belong in this world you know. I should getting ready to graduate college, not stuck in this God forsaken world."

"Illuminar hasn't forsaken anything," Rachel replied almost automatically, then added. "Assuming he exists."

"Oh, God definitely exists," Hailey said bitterly.

"What makes you so certain?"

"Your first rule of Magic is the same as the first rule of physics." Hailey replied. "Matter and energy - including magic - can't be created or destroyed. So where did all this come from?" Hailey waved her hand at the world around her. "Someone or something had to create it, which means breaking the laws of physics and magic. And anyone powerful enough to break them would be indistinguishable from that prick we all call God."

"What if it's always existed, so it didn't need to be created?"

Hailey shook her head. "If the universe was eternal, the stars would've run out of fuel an eternity ago and the galaxy would be dead and frozen," Hailey replied. "I wish it was all come cosmic accident - because God is seriously a major asshole - but you can't break the laws of physics. "

Rachel wasn't sure exactly she what meant by 'galaxy', but otherwise Hailey's logic made sense. "So why do you hate him so much?"

"Because some all-powerful dickwad decided to create everything and then just walked away to let us to fend for ourselves," Hailey replied. "What kind of insensitive douchebag does that?"

When Hailey finished speaking, she glanced over toward The Arena with barely concealed rage on her face. Rachel eyed her intently. She was definitely concealing something; something that made her blood boil.

It probably wasn't God either.

She thought back on her life about all the times she'd heard about the great, kind and loving God illuminar. Somehow, Hailey's perspective didn't make a lot of sense. She had experienced too much good in her life to agree with her. However, she couldn't deny that life was rough sometimes.

"I just want to get home," Hailey continued. "I figured if the slavers kidnapped me from my home, they must have a way to get there right?"

"That would make sense."

"I'm still wondering why they didn't start stealing some guns though," Hailey said. "They could live like kings with that kind of power."

"What's a gun?" Rachel asked.

"It's like a crossbow that can fire a bolt every second," Hailey replied. "They can kill a person from across The Arena and the bolts move so fast you'd never see it coming."

"That sounds like a powerful weapon indeed," Rachel agreed, and her mind went spinning with all the ways she could use that to defeat Lord Delmar.

"I know, so why didn't the slavers grab them?" Hailey asked.

"That's easy," Rachel replied. "Magic portals are incredibly hard to set up and pretty easy to destabilize. They were probably worried a mage from your land would hear about them and close the portal. It would take a long time for them to create a new one and they'd be trapped until they did. Besides, I'll bet the mage who created the portal wouldn't go through it for fear of being trapped."

"So the slavers would be stealthy for kidnapping because they might be trapped if they were discovered," Hailey said. "I suppose that makes sense, especially if they never saw a gun being used."

"Exactly."

"But you agree there is a portal to Earth somewhere in this world?" Hailey asked, and Rachel could hear the hope in her voice.

"Probably. I doubt they'd close it because they're so hard to open. The entrance in your world is probably disguised though."

Hailey broke into a wide smile. "That's the best news I've had in years. Thank you."

"We need to find Ethan first," Rachel said. "Then maybe we can start looking for your portal."

"Yeah, I think Alana's already on it," Hailey said.

They both turned and watched Alana pacing back and forth on the Argo's deck. She was pacing with a determination Rachel had never seen before. Her brow was furrowed and she kept muttering under her breath.

"How long has she been doing that?" Hailey asked.

"Since before I got up," Rachel replied.

The wood elf looked distinctly the worse for wear. She had dark circles under her normally bright eyes and her hair was a complete mess. It looked like she hadn't slept much - if at all - the previous night.

"She's going to kill herself worrying," Hailey said.

Rachel nodded, then walked over to her. "Alana?"

She turned as soon as Rachel spoke. "Did you think of anything?"

"No, I'm sorry," Rachel shook her head. "But you need to relax."

"I can't," Alana replied. "I can feel something from Ethan, it's... I don't know what but he's in trouble; big trouble."

"It must be your bond," Rachel said. "We'll find him, we're doing everything we can to figure this out."

"I just hope we find him in time," Alana gazed out at the horizon.

"Me to," Rachel said. "I think we can—"

Rachel was interrupted by Alana swearing loudly.

"What?" Rachel asked and looked were Alana was looking. They only thing she saw was two airships on the horizon.

"Lord Delmar's flag is a stylized dragon on a red background isn't it?" Alana said.

"Don't tell me those are..." Rachel said squinting at the two incoming airships. "Not now."

Alana nodded. "I guess Ethan's antics in the arena caught some attention because those Saidow spawn finally found us."

Rachel would never have used the name of Saidow - the source of all evil and Illuminar's mortal enemy - so flippantly, but she agreed with the basic sentiment.

"We have to get out of here," Alana said before making for the quarterdeck, but Rachel grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Wait, by the time we get clearance to leave the dock they'll already be here and they'll see us leave."

"You're probably right," Alana nodded. "Suggestions?"

"We'll get clearance to leave and then wait until dark. Hopefully, we can slip away under cover of darkness. At least, I hope we can."

Alana nodded and bit her lip while Rachel stared at the approaching airships. Her father certainly wasn't making life easy.

* * *

Taloni finished her morning prayers to Illuminar asking for the same thing she'd wanted ever since she could remember: her freedom and the enchanted collar that paralyzed her wings to be removed. She also added a prayer that Illuminar would send someone to help the dragon get better.

At the thought of the dragon, her heart did a little backflip. She knew it was stupid, but no one had ever cared enough to fight for her before. Her owner Thaltien had of course, but that was only because she was useful. He didn't care about her personally, only what she could do for him.

The dragon on the other hand...

Taloni shook her head. It was stupid thinking of a dragon like that. He was a dragon. Everyone always said the only thing that dragons love more than imposing their will on others is power. Dragons didn't care about people at all and saw them only as tools. But that dragon - Ethan - he wasn't like that; or at least he didn't seem to be.

"I'm so glad they saved you from that awful dragon," Prayla said after sticking her head into Taloni's private sanctum.

"They didn't save me," Taloni said. "He wasn't going to hurt me."

"Oh right," Prayla said rolling her eyes. "And Saidow is about to repent to Illuminar for creating evil."

"I don't think that's likely," Taloni replied. "But that dragon was just... He was so... I don't know," Taloni couldn't think of the right word.

Prayla gave her an odd look, then her eyes lit up. "You're not in love with this dragon are you?"

"Of course not," Taloni said a little too quickly and a little to loudly.

"You are!" Prayla exclaimed. "So what was he like?"

"He was kind, and I think he cares about other people," Taloni replied.

"No, not that," Prayla said teasingly. "I mean the sex. How good was he in bed? Did he live up to the legends?"

"What?" Taloni went beet red. "No, of course not."

"So he wasn't good in bed?"

"No, that's not what I-" Taloni spluttered. "I mean I wouldn't know. We didn't do anything."

"You're such a little liar," Prayla said with a good natured smile and in a sing-song voice. "I bet he drilled you like a-"

"Stop," Taloni cut her off. Her cheeks were feeling hot and it suddenly felt very warm.

"So you don't want to jump his bones?' Prayla asked.

"No, I would never- I mean I wouldn't even think of- Just no," Taloni finished.

"Come on, anyone with eyes could see you're smitten," Prayla said. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want to feel some dragon cock in your pussy."

Taloni covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment. She hadn't really thought about doing 'that' with the dragon and she wouldn't. wouldn't think about it that is. She definitely didn't want to think about him like that. She was a good Fey and followed Illuminar. Good Fey didn't think about that until they were bonded.

Ever.

Although...

"So you do want to?" Prayla asked after Taloni was silent for several seconds.

"No," Taloni said from behind her hands. Though now that Prayla had mentioned it, she wondered what it might be like. She tried to put that thought out of her head as quickly as possible.

"Then say it," Prayla said. "And remember, good Fey don't lie."

Taloni dropped her hands, looked into Prayla's eyes and said. "I don't want to do 'it' with the dragon."

Prayla rolled her eyes. "You are a terrible liar."

"I'm not lying," Taloni exclaimed.

"Sure you aren't," Prayla replied then with a huge and mischievous smile.

Taloni got up and left the room.

* * *

The rest of the day passed slowly for Taloni. After escaping Prayla's heckling, she had very little to do. Fortunately, there were no cave-ins or other accidents, so she spent most of the day wandering through the mines out of sheer boredom.

The miners catcalled and whistled as usual, but several were glad she hadn't been eaten by the dragon. Taloni tried to explain the dragon was nice, but that was a losing battle to gold miners.

When the day shift finally quit to have dinner, Taloni grabbed a few bits of meat and slipped away from the mine.

When she got back to the shallow ravine, the dragon was in exactly the same position as when she'd left the previous night. That wasn't a good sign. She made her way down and over to the dragon.
He barely reacted to her presence.

"Ethan?" Taloni said.

The dragon made a small noise in its throat, but calling it a grunt would've been generous. He appeared to be halfway between awake and asleep.

"Ethan, I brought some food for you," Taloni set the bits of meat in front of him.

The dragon sniffed, and it looked like he tried to move his head, but he gave up rather quickly.

Taloni put a hand on the dragon and discovered his scales weren't nearly as warm as they had been the previous night. She focused all her senses on the dragon trying to get a sense for his health. It took some time, but she was able to see how he was doing.

It wasn't good.

His regular mana was completely exhausted and his deep mana was much lower than was healthy. It was slow, but his deep mana was being used to keep him alive and wasn't being replenished. The only good news was that his deep mana wasn't too depleted; she could use regular mana to help.

"I'm going to give you some of my mana," Taloni said.

The dragon opened his eyes and - after struggling for a few moments - managed to get out two words. "No, bond"

"It's just regular mana silly," Taloni replied. "It won't cause a bond to form but it will keep you alive a little longer."

The dragon made a noise that sounded like permission, so Taloni went ahead. She placed both of her hands on the dragon and nudged her mana out of her body and into his. It was much harder than she expected. The dragon almost seemed resistant to accepting it. Eventually though, he relaxed and her mana began to flow into him.

A few minutes later, Taloni was all out of regular mana.

The dragon seemed better. His breathing was less labored and he was looking around. He even thanked Taloni for the meat scraps and nibbled on them a little. Afterward, he took a few sips of water from the stream. Even doing that appeared to take a great effort.

Taloni put her hand on the dragon and check again. His body was slowly converting the regular mana to deep mana. However, he was going through the regular mana very fast.

"I thought you needed deep mana to replenish deep mana," The dragon said.

"Only when you're really low on deep mana," Taloni said. "Your body converts regular mana to deep mana and uses the deep mana to keep you alive. But if your deep mana gets too low, your body just doesn't have enough energy to do the conversion."

"Oh," The dragon said, then closed his eyes again.

"The mana I gave you might help for a half day," Taloni said. "But you're still going to run out. I can't collect and share it fast enough because you're burning through the mana I gave you really fast."

"Why?" the dragon asked sleepily.

"Not all mana is the same," Taloni explained. "The mana trees leave behind is slightly different than the mana animals leave behind. Different people find it easier to use mana from different sources. For example, wood elves find it easier to collect the mana left behind by trees. Fey find it easier to collect the mana left behind by people, etcetera."

The dragon grunted.

"Your body isn't used to the mana I gave you, so it doesn't use it very efficiently," Taloni finished. "You need mana from resonating gold."

"M'kay," The dragon said, then Taloni saw him relax as he drifted off to sleep.

She checked his mana again. At the rate he was using it, the mana she gave him would be gone in just a few hours. By the morning, he would probably be unconscious. By midnight tomorrow, he might be dead.

Taloni got up and started pacing. If she went back to the mine and spent all night replenishing her mana, she could buy him a little more time. His body just burned through her donated mana so fast though, there was no way she could keep up.

She felt her chest get tight and her eyes get watery. Ethan was going to die soon and she had no gold so there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

The sun had just risen over the eastern skyline when Hailey made her way up to the weather deck of the Argo. A quick glance over the side confirmed that Anthiel had stuck to the plan and kept the Argo as low as possible. The lower mast was less than thirty feet above the tops of the trees. The high elf had also stricken the upper sails to reduce the chance that someone from Arcanum would see them.

Hailey looked around. Anthiel was up at the quarterdeck playing an instrument that looked similar to a violin. At the bow of the Argo, Alana was looking over the side of the ship, presumably for Ethan. Hailey knew they would have a better vantage point if they flew higher, but with Lord Delmar's dragon hunters on their tail it wasn't an option.

Hailey glanced over at Arcanum.

They had made good time during the night and it was just a little blip on the horizon. She doubted that even wood elf eyes could make out individual airships at this distance. They would probably be safe until the dragon hunters figured out where they went. If they figured it out at all, which was too likely.

She scowled as looked to where she knew The Arena was. Her former master was its champion and she seethed at the thought of him going free. If he had had been killed.

She sighed; if only.

As much as she wanted to leave this God-forsaken world, she wanted to make him pay before she left. She gazed out at Arcanum wistfully. It wouldn't take much; just a few hours at night and a knife. She knew the house and thanks to her training, there were few buildings she couldn't infiltrate.

Hailey shook her head and resolved to join Alana in looking for Ethan instead of brooding on revenge.

"Penny for your thoughts," Hailey said when she got close.

"I'm worried about Ethan," Alana replied as she turned to face her.

"I could tell," Hailey replied, then leaned her willowy frame against the rail next to the woof elf. "You look like you have something else on your mind though."

Alana hesitated for a few moments before answering. "Do you believe in fate Hailey?"

"I don't know," Hailey replied. "Why?"

"Because of Ethan," Alana replied. "It seems like we're so perfect for each other, yet nothing ever seems to work right."

"And you're wondering if fate wants to together or wants to keep you two apart?" Hailey asked.

"Kind of," Alana said, and she ran her hands through her chocolate brown hair. "I mean, on the one hand he literally traveled across words to get here and the first thing he did was save my life. But on the other hand, everything that's happened since then makes it seem like..."

"Like...?"

"I don't know," Alana replied. "We're bonded, but it seems like everything in the universe is trying to prevent us from being together."

"You think so?" Hailey asked.

"He married someone else because I forgot about contract bounties," Alana said. "Then I nearly died getting him out of the vault at The Bank, and the only reason I came with him on the Argo was so Lord Delmar wouldn't kill me. Plus, there's all the issues he's dealing with from his home and now the guilt from Beth's death. Finally, I told him I loved him and the first thing he does is literally jump out a window."

"And you're wondering if maybe all of that is a sign?"

"Yeah," Alana replied. "I hate being apart from him, but maybe we're not meant to be."

Hailey was silent for nearly a minute. She had heard the Ethan and Alana's star-crossed lovers' history the previous day and could see the wood elf had a point. On the other hand, the way Alana talked about Ethan, the care and concern in her voice, it couldn't be anything but real love.

"Where I come from, there's a very famous playwright named Shakespeare," Hailey said. "In one of his plays, he wrote 'the course of true love never did run smooth'. Maybe that's all this is?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, yes all those things have happened, but you both still care for each other. You know? Maybe these... these trials aren't driving you apart? Maybe they're just steps on your journey together. A tough journey to be sure, but wouldn't that make it more worthwhile when it does happen?"

"Yes it would." Alana said with a sigh.

They stood there in companionable silence for several minutes watching the ground move underneath the Argo. The ground below was deceptively peaceful and stood in stark contrast to the wood elf standing beside her. Hailey didn't need a bond to tell that Alana was a bundle of nervous energy right now.

"He really jumped out a window after you told him you loved him?" Hailey finally said.

"Yeah," Alana replied. "He said I was better off without him. I think he believes he got Beth killed and he'll do the same to me."

"Well, he does have Lord Delmar hunting him," Hailey replied. "I suppose just being around Ethan puts you in Lord Delmar's crosshairs."

"What do you mean by 'crosshairs'?" Alana asked.

"It's just an expression where I come from," Hailey explained. "It means he'll go after you."

"Strange expression, but you're not wrong," Alana replied. "So why are you still here if you're worried about Lord Delmar?"

"Partially it's mercenary," Hailey said. "I need to get back home and an airship goes a long way toward that goal. Partially..." Hailey trailed off. Why was she traveling with the Argo? It certainly was dangerous with Lord Delmar pursuing them.

"I don't know," Hailey finally said. "I guess maybe you guys are my best shot at getting home? I assume Ethan wants to go home too?"

"I think so," Alana replied. "And that's another thing. From what I've heard your world is very different. If I wanted to follow Ethan, would there be any place for me there?"

Hailey took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't envy your situation Alana. That's rough. Maybe try to focus on finding Ethan first and worry about the rest later?"

"Good idea; 'don't borrow problems from the future; today has enough troubles to worry about'."

"That sounds like the Bible," Hailey said.

"I've never heard of the Bible," Alana said. "It's from Illuminar's Book of Light."

"Either way, it's good advice," Hailey said.

Alana nodded. "Agreed, the trouble is how to do find one man -er, dragon in this wilderness?"

"Good question," Hailey replied. "We can't go higher and searching on foot would take way too long. Plus you'd get soaked crossing all these rivers and streams."

"Soaked in the rivers..." Alana trailed off, then she clapped her hand to her forehead. "Of course! That's it!"

"What is?"

Alana nearly jumped for joy and gave Hailey a huge hug. "Thank you so much, I know how to find Ethan!"

TO BE CONTINUED...