Portals of Infinity

Book Five

Demigods and Deities

Published by John Van Stry

Copyright 2015 John Van Stry

Copyright John Van Stry 2015

Cover Credits: eBook Launch (http://ebooklaunch.com/)

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Any resemblance between characters in this story and people living or dead is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction created by the author and the author retains all rights to the material in this story.

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P91161DE

Dedication

For my father,

Robert L. Van Stry April 29, 1921 - March 19, 2015

I miss you, Dad.

One

Dezba's Sphere - Roton CITY

I looked over the hill, out onto the fields of the valley below. I was on Dezba's left, Nikki was on her right, and a group of warriors from Dezba's nation were waiting quietly behind us, out of sight.

"Okay," Dezba whispered softly, "let's go back, mount up, and do this."

I nodded and slid back down a ways, making sure I was well below the ridgeline before standing up and walking down towards my mount. I was still rather surprised that my mount didn't shy away from me; I was in my hero form after all. But the horses really didn't seem to care, and even the other members of Dezba's nation didn't seem to care.

Then again they were totally ignoring the fact that there was a twelve-hundred-pound talking tiger in our midst as well.

"Finally," Joseph growled as we all mounted up, "I was getting tired of all this waiting."

Dezba led us off at a canter, Nikki taking half of the soldiers and heading around to the right side of the hill, while the rest of us followed Dezba around to the left. As we came into sight of the defenders on the plains, all broke into a gallop and charged, the only sounds were the thud of the horses hooves and the growling of the warrior's fighting dogs.

The alarm went up from the walled city before us. Shouts and cries from atop the wall, then the sounds of alarm bells being rung.

I watched as the guards hurried to close the large heavy gates before we could reach them. Opening those gates was going to be my job, and I was not looking forward to it. These were not my people; I wasn't really fighting for my wife, our country, or my god. I was here because Dezba needed help, and I owed her.

And because my god had sent me.

We rode down in relative silence. Dezba's people, and her own tactics, were impeccable. They were known as 'The Silent Warriors,' they did not yell, scream, or call out taunts during their battles. In fact they rarely even called out orders. Dezba had trained them long and hard over many years in the tactics of her style of war, and everyone knew what was expected.

It was this silence and apparent lack of emotion that struck terror into the hearts of their foes. The Silent Warriors never lost, and they never stopped.

They left forces outside the wall; they were dug in behind a hastily built set of defenses, mostly it was just a wooden palisades. I don't know why they bothered, they didn't leave enough of a force to stop Dezba's army, all they were doing was further dividing their forces and making it easier for us to win.

We rode through the weak points, after a very brief amount of fighting, and then the rest of her army rolled them up and defeated them rather quickly. I think it took them thirty minutes, such a waste of lives and men. I honestly don't know what they hoped to gain, other than postpone the inevitable a little longer.

When we got to the wall, the archers on horseback started shooting at those on the wall to provide us cover. Several groups of us got off our mounts and started to throw grappling hooks up over the top, and place ladders that had been carefully carried in on horseback against the wall.

While the defenders were distracted by all of that, I started to climb up the wall using my claws, digging them into the wood of the gates until I got to the top of the gates, then digging into the mortar between the heavy stones as I made my way further up, to the top of the wall.

It was at that point that I was noticed and they started to shoot arrows at me, as well as the rest of the attackers. I got hit three times before I grabbed the top and pulled myself over the wall and onto the walkway. I then was stabbed several more times as I pulled my own swords out and attacked while healing myself.

An extra heavy grappling hook came over the wall by where I was fighting then, and with no one there to cut the heavy line, a moment later Joseph pulled himself over the top. Up until that instant I would have sworn that a tiger couldn't climb a rope, even one with a six-inch diameter.

Joseph's fighting style was equally amazing. He didn't lunge in and attack, or stand on his hind legs and swat at them. No, he started to spin around, almost like he was chasing his tail as he moved in among them, lashing out with each of his four legs on every revolution. He was moving too fast for any of them to get a good hit on him, and he was hitting them so hard that he was knocking them off the wall. I'd never seen an animal fight like that, but then again, Joseph really wasn't an animal.

I looked down into the street behind the heavy wooden and steel doors of the gate, there were guards there, some were guarding the heavy doors of the gate, and others were starting to rush up the stairs to the wall. I saw an empty spot and I jumped down to the ground.

The cries of warning to the men down there were too late, and I started to slaughter the men around me with a will as I made my way towards the gate. I was almost out of healing spells at this point; I'd been stabbed and shot with arrows so many times. Others were supposed to follow Joseph up the rope, and help us, but I couldn't wait for them. The heavy doors were the key to this city, once I got them open that would guarantee Dezba's win.

There were three heavy wooden crossbars on the door, the first one I pushed up using all of my strength and let fall to the ground, then I was heavily beset by the defenders once more. So I had to turn and fight again, or be killed from behind.

I fought another quick and vicious battle, and in the brief respite that followed it, I turned and with a strong heave I pushed the second heavy wooden bar out of the way, letting it drop to the ground as well.

The attackers outside had started to pound on the door with the small battering ram that they had brought, but I was sure it wouldn't be enough to break that last crossbeam barring the door, Dezba had told me that the wood of those bars was often as strong as steel. I just knew that it had been almost as heavy.

I had to turn back to fighting them then, and what I saw next was what I had been afraid of the most: their champion had arrived.

I moved forward to attack him, the others pulling back as I did so, as those that tried to stay behind me I quickly slew.

"And what kind of foul beast be you?" He snarled and attacked.

I didn't answer him; I was too busy trying to win the fight. He was good, he was very good. Beating him, if I could, would take way too long. Plus he was fresh, and I was well out of healing spells and starting to pick up injuries.

We fought for several minutes, and while I wounded him, he easily healed every cut, and every stab. I looked around quickly when he back peddled to heal. I needed to get the gate open, and I needed to get it done now. I could hear Joseph's growls above me, so I knew that the battle up on the wall was still going on. Which meant I wasn't likely to be getting any help from that direction.

"You have no where to run to beast!" The man yelled at me as he attacked again, mistaking my looking around as me looking for an escape.

Suddenly I saw on the ground a large heavy war axe and I knew what I had to do.

I lunged forward stabbing with both of my swords, and then let go of them as he backpedaled again, one of the swords actually stabbing him.

"I've got you now, demon spawn!" He yelled as he saw my weapons drop. But I was already turning and starting to move. I scooped up the axe with a hand and then grabbed it with the other as I ran straight for the gate, with their champion, and a good deal of their guards, hot on my heels.

I took one last step as I wound up, raised it over my head, and jumped at the door, bringing the axe down on the center of last bar, burying it deep into the wood.

But not splitting it in two.

I swore and tried to pull the axe out, but it was stuck.

Letting go I turned and charged my attackers, using only my claws. I needed another weapon, and I managed to dodge around their champion as I relieved a guard of his as I ripped his throat out.

"You failed, beast!" He cheered and I found myself in the middle of a large number of the enemy, all of whom were trying to cut and stab me, and more than a few were succeeding, I was getting fairly well covered with my own blood.

I could see the gates were shaking each time they were hit with the battering ram. I could barely hear the sound of it over that of the fighting, but when the axe suddenly fell to the ground I screamed and charged their champion, one more chop, and I was sure I could sever that last beam.

I think the noise shocked him a moment, or maybe he heard the splintering of the wood behind him, I don't know, but on the next hit of the battering ram, the beam splintered, starting to break. As he turned to look at it, I turned and dodged to the wall on my right. I was pretty badly hurt at this point, and if the door was going to break on its own now, I certainly wasn't going to kill myself fighting him.

Sure enough, the next hit with the battering ram snapped the beam and the heavy wooden doors opened just a bit.

And then they blasted wide open as Dezba kicked them in, and led her army into the city. She engaged the champion, as her attackers, both human and canine surged by the two of them, quickly overwhelming the rest of the guard and moving deeper into the city.

I sighed and stumbled forward, two on one wasn't really fair, but then this was war, and war was never fair.

He turned to attack me, realizing that I was the less dangerous one now, so if he killed me quickly, he'd be back to even odds.

Which was when a very large tiger suddenly landed on his head and ripped it off.

I stumbled backwards from the shock of it, I had totally forgotten about Joseph up on the wall above us, and from the way Dezba reacted, she had obviously forgotten about him as well.

"If you don't mind, I'm just going to sit here and bleed," I said and finding a spot in the shade, did just that.

Dezba nodded, "Come with me, Joseph. Let's finish this."

I sat and watched them stride off deeper into the city. Nikki rode in a few moments later, stopping only to heal the worst of my wounds.

"Coming, brother?" she asked.

I looked at the piles of dead bodies around, a lot of which I was responsible for.

"You go, I'll catch up," I said and getting to my feet, I started to look around for my swords.

Nikki nodded and rode off.

I found both of my swords, wiped them clean, and then started in after everyone. I wasn't looking forward to anymore fighting; I'd been here almost four months now, since the start of this campaign. The queen, who lived in this castle, had decided a few years ago to start encroaching on the lands of Dezba's god Diannion and his people. Last year, Dezba's people, the Juiat Nation had enough, and as soon as spring had come, the war had started.

Most of the towns and settlements had been quickly and easily taken, though there had been one fort that had been rather difficult. This would be the last battle of the war; while there were other settlements and towns to the south that were a part of this kingdom, the Juiat people didn't care as those were not part of their lands. With their capital destroyed and the royal family gone, Dezba figured that the other kingdoms in the area would snap those up.

The Juiats mainly stayed to the plains, in many ways they weren't all that different than the Mowoks back home, just that there were a lot more of them, on a lot bigger area, and they were a theocracy. The head priest, of the God Diannion, ruled the nation by divine right, Dezba carried out the wishes of the Priest or her God, as required.

The only other thing that was different was the wolves. They came in multiple colors, were all very big, and were telepathic.

Normally they were used to herd the several different types of sheep, cattle, and a buffalo type creature that the people of the Juiat Nation raised. But the Silent Warriors used them for fighting, and they had a lot of them. Oddly enough, few of the other kingdoms or city-states in the area did.

I made my way to the center of the castle, where the royal family lived. By the time I got there, it was burning rather merrily, as well as the temple across the street.

"You look like crap, Will," Dezba said walking up to me.

"Yeah, I feel like it too." I sighed and sat on the edge of a fountain.

"Good job on the gates. I really didn't want to have to pull a siege."

I nodded, "So now what?"

"The usual. If they convert, they can stay, but the walls have to come down. If they don't convert, they have to leave."

"That's not really a bad deal. I take it the queen and her family are dead?"

"We took her daughters, they're going to be sent back to the first tribe and be awarded to any of the heroes of this campaign who wants a wife."

I shook my head at that.

"It's our way, Will. They get to live, and they get powerful husbands."

"I know, I know," I said nodding, "And after all the things I've done, I shouldn't be one to find fault with it. I take it her sons are dead?"

"She didn't have any sons."

"Really?" I was surprised at that.

"Queen Arealla didn't like men much. After she killed her husband, she killed her son as well."

"Rough."

Dezba shrugged, "The Rotons are a strange family. Or were rather," Dezba said with a smirk. "It's not uncommon for the queens to kill their husbands; men haven't ruled the kingdom for several generations now. Apparently a male heir hasn't made it to adulthood in over a hundred years."

I nodded. "Think that champion will be back?"

Dezba shrugged, "If he makes it back, he'd be smart to quit and find another god. As far as I know there are no temples left, just a few churches. Depending on what the other kingdoms do when the other villages get taken over, this might be the end of old Soneous."

"Isn't Diannion worried about that?"

Dezba shook her head. " Diannion has made it clear to the other gods that what is his is his, and what is theirs, is theirs. He has no interest in expanding the size of our kingdom."

"Huh, that's different."

Dezba nodded, "It's a different game here, that's all."

I thought about that a moment, "You mean the rules that the gods follow here are different?"

"A few of the most minor ones are. As far as I can tell, the major rules never change, but those little changes, even if small, have a major impact on what the gods want, and what they will do."

"Huh, I didn't know that."

Dezba shrugged, "I really don't understand it myself."

Nikki rode up then with Joseph in tow.

"Hi, Nikki, Joseph," Dezba said, and I echoed it with a wave.

"So how long do you need us for?" Joseph asked.

"We're done here. You can go whenever you want."

Joseph nodded, "Okay, bye!" And he formed a portal back to Circe and left almost immediately.

"Nice to see he still has the hot's for her," Dezba laughed.

"I'm surprised he had enough power to gate home," I said with a yawn.

"Well, I'm going to go too," Nikki said getting off of her horse and taking the reins. "Come on back with me Bro, Aryanna wouldn't mind a visit I'm sure."

I looked at Dezba who made shooing motions with her hands, "Go, go. I'll be cleaning this mess up for weeks. No reason to stay and be bored."

I nodded and stood up, and gave Dezba a hug. "Until next time, Dez."

"Be good, the both of you," she said hugging me back, then going over and giving Nikki a hug.

"Bye," Nikki said and opened a portal then back to Aryanna's temple in Kingstown and the two of us walked through, into Aryanna's temple, with Nikki's horse following.

She handed the leads off to an acolyte, and then healed the rest of my wounds; I had already changed out of my champion form to my local form before we'd gone through the portal, so as not to scare anyone.

"So what's the real reason you wanted me to come here?" I asked as I followed her out of the chambers.

"Mom's birthday is next week, and I thought it would be nice if the both of us showed up."

I thought about that a moment, I hadn't been to my parents' house in several years, and not for my mother's birthday in a lot longer than that. I nodded. "Sure, why not? I'll check with Fel tonight to be sure he doesn't need me."

"Good, we can leave the day after tomorrow."

Two

Earth - New York

It was weird being 'home'. Maybe because it wasn't really home anymore? But it's kind of strange how we always refer to the place we grew up as home, even when you no longer lived there, and hadn't even been back in several years.

My folks were pleased to see me, of course, and it was nice catching up with my brothers when they came by as well.

"What's your problem?" Nikki asked. We'd been here several days now and we were walking down to the local bar, it was a bit cool out, which was a little surprising for June in NY, at least it wasn't raining.

"I'd rather be with Darlene," I sighed, "I hardly get to see her more than a couple of months here and there."

"You know Mom misses us, hell, you didn't have to listen to all of those 'Where is Will? How come he never writes? Why doesn't he visit?' speeches."

"She has Rob and Kev, both of whom are married, and have children," I said shaking my head, "you'd think that would be enough."

"I've seen you with your own children, Bro, you should know better," Nikki laughed.

"Do you know she was getting on my case before dinner for 'taking you away'?" I said and grinned at her.

"She didn't!" Nikki laughed.

We continued to make small talk all the way down to the bar. We could have driven, we had a rental car, but when you're used to walking everywhere, eventually you just need to go outside and stretch your legs.

Plus it would give whoever was following us a chance to confront us. Something neither of us wanted to do at our parents' house.

"Nikki! Will!" the bartender said as we walked in. "It's been ages! How have you been doing?"

"Hi, Henry, set 'em up, shots for me and my brother with some Heineken chasers."

"Sure thing, Nikki!" and I watched as he poured out two shots of Wild Turkey.

"Cheers, Bro!" Nikki said and picking up the shots we clinked glasses and tossed them back.

"So, where have you two been? I heard you got out of the Army, Nikki, that true?"

Nikki nodded, "Bro and me are working a sweet deal over in southeast Asia."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, he's got an inn there of all things! Can you believe it?"

I was watching the door in the mirror behind the bar, two men entered wearing suits and ties, the usual stuff for government agents, no one else would be wearing a suit this late in the day in June.

"You're kidding me!" Henry said looking at me.

"Nope, and Sis here is working for the town, pulling security. She's quite the hard-ass too, how about a couple more shots?"

Henry laughed and grabbed the bottle and set us up another round. "Guess all that Army stuff paid off then, huh?"

"Sure did!" Nikki said and we clinked glasses again, and tossed off another round.

Nikki and I each put a twenty on the bar, and sat down on a couple of stools to sip at our beers. I wasn't worried about the alcohol, there were cantrips to keep that from having an effect, but the people following us wouldn't know about those of course.

"So, FBI?" I asked her softly when Henry wandered off to take care of some of the other customers after we'd chatted a few more minutes.

"Well, everyone says that the CIA has more class, but they're not wearing hats." Nikki laughed and sipped her beer.

"Well, this isn't 'The President's Analyst,' so I don't think we should count on that as our guide," I grinned teasing her about one of her favorite movies back when she was a kid.

"We could go ask them," she suggested.

"They really aren't being very discreet, are they?"

"Eh, they're pressuring us. Want to see what we'll do. It's an old intelligence tactic. Means they don't have anything on us, but they have a lot of suspicions."

I nodded and took another drink of my beer.

"So which of us do you think they're after?" I asked after thinking about it for a minute.

Nikki shrugged, "I'd think me, because I'm the one with all the training, but who knows?"

"So, do we ask them now? Or wait until we go back outside?"

"I say we duck out the back door and see what they do," Nikki said.

I shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

"Take your jacket," Nikki said as I got up.

"What?"

"So they think we're stupid," she grinned.

I shrugged again, and grabbing my jacket I went past the bathrooms and out the back door with Nikki behind me.

There were two more men out here, dressed the same as the two inside. "Hold it!" one of them said, putting his hand out.

"Show us some ID, or we ain't stopping," Nikki said from behind me as I continued to walk forward.

"FBI," he said and pulled out a badge.

I heard the door behind us open again and the other two agents came out behind us, guns drawn.

"I would put those away," I said nodding towards the guns and then turned back to look at the badge, "That look real to you, Sis?" I asked.

"Beats me, never seen one before. You guys got more than a badge? Say an actual ID?"

"We need you to come with us," the one holding out the badge said.

"Uh-huh," I said. "Sure you do. What could the FBI possibly want with two law abiding citizens, out for a drink?"

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," he growled out.

"I don't think you get to make that choice," Nikki laughed.

I sighed, "Show us your ID, tell us what this is all about, and we'll consider it."

"Okay, the hard way it is!"

I clicked into high speed as soon as he reached back into his jacket. I didn't hesitate and just jumped forward. I grabbed his arm, spinning him around as I went past him and grabbed his partner's gun as he started to draw it out. Using my speed and enhanced strength I snatched it away from him, then turned back to his partner, who was starting to look rather shocked and did the same. I looked back at Nikki; she had already field stripped one pistol and was starting in on the second one.

I followed suit, and dropped the pieces on the ground, and everything returned to normal speed, the agents still looking shocked.

"ID's," Nikki said and held her hand out.

"How the hell did you do that?" One of them babbled.

"Your tax dollars at work," Nikki growled. "ID's! Now!"

They fumbled and pulled out their ID's and we both looked at them.

I shrugged, "Seems legit."

"How long is this going to take?" Nikki asked one of the agents.

"I ... I don't know, they just told us to bring you in for questioning."

I looked at my watch, it was only a little after eight pm.

"I don't know, it's kinda late," I said. "Couldn't this wait until tomorrow?"

One of them started to say something, but the one standing next to him put his hand on his arm. "Would you please come with us," he asked.

I smiled, "Well, since you asked nicely," I looked at Nikki.

"Sure, why not?" She said.

I nodded to the parts on the ground, "So pick 'em up and let's go."

"And we won't tell anyone about it, if you don't," Nikki said grinning.

They gathered up their parts, and quickly put their pistols back together and then holstered them and led us to a car.

"So where did you learn how to do that?" One of the agents asked me.

"My sis taught me, obviously," I said smiling.

"Yeah, sure," he grumbled.

The drive wasn't a very long one, maybe twenty minutes, and we pulled into a fairly nondescript building, with a small 'FBI' logo on the front.

"Huh, I don't remember this place."

"Most don't," the agent driving said, "Most of the agents here are just accountants really. So no police cars, no swat teams, nothing to make the place standout."

"Accountants?" Nikki asked surprised.

"White collar crime. Wall Street and organized crime are what we focus on the most in this office."

They parked and escorted us inside. I wasn't surprised to see the place mostly empty, it was getting late, and they escorted us down a hallway and into an interrogation room.

"We need you to go to a separate room," they said to me when I started to follow Nikki.

"Oh, that's okay," I smiled back, "this one will do just fine."

"We want to talk to you separately."

"You can either talk to the both of us together, or you can talk to our lawyers," I shrugged and smiled again.

"It's okay, Agent Jones," said an older man who walked up and joined us at that point. He was wearing a badge on his suit jacket and was holding a folder in his left hand.

He walked up to us and shook hands with me and then Nikki, "I'm Agent Addison," he said and motioned through the door to the seats by the table in the room, "have a seat."

We nodded and both went inside, he sat down on the far side of the table and dropped the folder.

"I was wondering what you could tell me about this," he said and flipped open the folder. There was a picture of Stephanie, Cenewyg, Joseph, Dezba, and myself. We were getting on a boat, and each of us was carrying a couple of large bags.

I recognized the scene; it was back when we were getting ready for another attempt at the portal to Ithaca. If I had to guess, it was the last attempt, the one that was successful. The picture wasn't that high of a quality, I'd guess it was taken with a telephoto lens from quite a distance, and then enlarged.

I looked up at him and shrugged, "What do you want to know?"

"What was in those bags? Where were you going?"

"Supplies, I was helping a friend who needed help with a problem and I owed them for helping me with one of mine."

"Uh-huh, sure you were, just what was in those bags?" Agent Addison asked.

"Supplies, like I said." I said and motioned to the folder, "Mind if I take a look?"

"Knock yourself out," he said.

I grabbed the folder and started paging through it; there were quite a few pictures, several of each of us, though there were about twenty of Cenewyg. The pictures of Stephanie, Joseph, Dezba and me were all from that last trip, they seemed to have picked us up when we hired the boat. Then there were the pictures of Cenewyg, the dates on those were pretty varied, going back to nineteen sixty-eight.

I set those in front of Nikki, who picked them up and looked at them.

I looked up at Agent Addison who was watching Nikki with interest.

"This is about Cen, isn't it?"

He looked back at me, "Cen?"

I picked up one of the pictures of Cenewyg that Nikki was done with and slid it over to him. "This guy. I know him as 'Cen' short for 'Cenewyg'. No idea if that's his real name or not. Just the name I knew him by."

"Where is he now?" Addison asked leaning forward.

"No idea."

"Really now? Are you completely sure about that?"

I paused a moment, and thought about how I wanted to say just what I wanted to say. I suspected that they recorded these interviews, and that there were probably people behind the mirror on the wall.

"If I knew where he was," I said slowly, "I believe it would be fair to say, that he wouldn't be there for long." I looked at Addison, "Or anywhere else."

"Oh? What did he do?"

"Tried to kill me, almost succeeded too." I said and rubbed the back of my head where he'd hit me with that rock, thinking about it.

"Oh? And just why did he try to do that?" Addison asked leaning back in his chair.

I thought about that a moment, trying to think of exactly what I wanted to tell him, and again, just how. I glanced over at Nikki and I could see she was paying rapt attention, I guess she was doing the 'eyes and ears' bit for Aryanna.

I sighed and grabbed the picture of Stephanie. "This is Stephanie; she was a very good friend of mine."

"Was?"

"She's not with us anymore," I sighed again, "she passed on. Anyway, she did me a favor a while ago, I won't go into the details, but she helped me out, so I owed her."

"I see, and just what did Stephanie do?"

"She worked for a government...."

"Which one?" Addison interrupted me.

"Never asked, thought it was ours or England or something like that. I can just tell you it isn't one we're at odds with because the few times I saw her deal with any government types they all treated her well. Do a records search; I'm sure you'll turn her up if you look.

"So, anyway, she was working on recovering some sort of artifact or item, ancient history crap."

"So what happened?"

"Cen tried to steal it, apparently it was worth something. He tried to ambush us, we fought, he got away, end of story."

"What about everyone else?" Addison motioned to the picture of all of us.

"As far as I know, they all went home."

"So, tell me about this artifact."

I shook my head, "Sorry, it just looked like an ugly piece of a third grade student's effort at pottery to me. Beyond that, I don't know anything." I leaned forward, "Now how about you tell me about this asshole," And I tapped the picture of Cenewyg. "Has he been seen lately? Has be been seen around here?" I asked.

"I'm not done asking questions yet," Addison said.

"Well, you're not getting anything more, until you tell me what you know about him," I said. "So unless you want me to get my lawyer in here, which will put an end to all of your questions, I suggest you talk!" I pushed a little using one of the champion's voice cantrips when I said that.

Addison stopped, and looked at me, then at Nikki, then back at me.

"Okay, you have been helpful, and as far as we can tell you haven't broken any laws. We know him by the name of Sean Gatwick; he's supposed to be from Scotland. I suspect you already know he's an arms dealer."

I sat back, "Uh, actually, no. I didn't know that."

Addison looked at me surprised. "Wasn't that the reason he was there? To supply you with weapons?"

I shook my head, "He was an old friend of Stephanie's. The rest of us thought that he was on loan from another agency or something, never really thought to ask."

"So why was he there?"

"To help, why else?" I shrugged, "Oh, he was supposed to have been some kind of expert at dealing with this sort of thing. Seemed nice enough at first, but after a while we all kind of realized that he was a pretty self-centered prick."

"So was he from another agency?" Addison pressed.

I shrugged, "No idea. I doubt it though; the only interest Cen ever represented that I saw was his own. So, he was a gun dealer?"

"Arms dealer," Addison corrected me. "We've had sightings of him dozens of times over the years, only a few interactions though. But there hadn't been any sign of him since nineteen seventy-nine until he turned up in Greece with you seven years ago. You were the first solid lead we've had on him in almost a decade."

"And just how did you find me?" I asked curious.

"Rental car records. You know, we searched Ithaca, except for a few people at the inn you all stayed at, no one there knew anything about any of you. Where'd you go?"

"South," I said, "By boat. Cen had some connections that could get us into northern Africa without any questions being asked." I paused a moment and then shrugged, "Maybe that was why Stephanie had him there, to get us in quietly.

"So, you haven't seen him since then?" I asked.

"No, that's why we brought you in here, we were hoping you might know something. We've been keeping an eye on his estate, but he hasn't been seen there in years either."

I sat up a little straighter, "He has an estate?"

Addison nodded, "Big one down in South Africa, just east of Johannesburg, he's a big supporter of the apartheid government there, inherited it from his father in the sixties they told us."

"Why are you guys involved in this?" Nikki said, surprising me, as she'd been silent up until now. "This isn't an FBI job, this is all foreign stuff. Except for my brother, they're all foreign nationals."

Addison nodded, "That's true, Interpol asked us to help when the link to your brother was discovered. Also, there are believed to be some links between Mister Gatwick and several terrorist groups in Ireland, Germany, and even here in the U.S. We suspect that he has been selling them weapons and possibly even getting involved in some of their operations."

I was pretty surprised by that, why would he want to help terrorists back here? That seemed pretty pointless, plus I'd think the god he was a champion for wouldn't want him wasting his time.

I shook my head and stood up, "I think we're done here, I really don't know much of anything about Cen ... err Gatwick, but you obviously do, and I want nothing further to do with the guy. Do you have a card, Agent Addison?" I asked holding out my hand.

He looked at me surprised. "I still have more questions."

"I told you all I know about him, he didn't like me much, and we weren't very friendly. If I see him, I'll let you know."

"I could have you detained."

"And I could call my lawyer, come on, Nikki, let's go."

They wanted us to stay longer of course, but Nikki apparently knew the law a lot better than I did, and was a lot better at making legal threats, so we finally walked out of there about thirty minutes later. They wouldn't drive us home, but at least they called us a cab.

"So, why did they pick you up now?" Nikki asked after we'd gotten back to our parents' house.

I shrugged, "You heard him, they got my info off a receipt."

"So why didn't they pick you up when you were here one of the previous times?"

I stopped and thought about that. "Good question."

"My guess is that someone either put them on you, or he was supposed to contact somebody, and now that he hasn't, they're worried about what happened to him. Notice that they asked several times about where he is now?"

I nodded.

"And then there is that whole bit about his estate. If they've known where he's been living for all of these years, they haven't been trying to bring him in; they already knew where to find him." Nikki shook her head, "No, this is someone wondering where he disappeared to."

"Well, it's only been what, five years since I saw him last?" I said. "And whatever exactly happened to him, Aryanna seems to think it will be a while before he'll be back, so they're going to have some waiting to do before he shows up again."

"Still, it probably would be best for you to leave tomorrow," Nikki said. "If they think you killed him, they're going to be looking to talk to you again. And depending on who is behind this, they might decide to take you in for a few days regardless."

"I just wonder what the hell he was up to, and if it's going to involve me," I shook my head. "I wonder if his god knew about it, and if he's been up to something for a while now."

"Who knows? If Aryanna tells me anything, I'll let you know," Nikki said.

I nodded.

Nikki caught up with me the next morning, while I was being sick in the toilet.

"Hey, Bro, what's wrong?" She asked looking at me surprised.

I coughed and wiped my mouth and got back up. "No idea, I think I picked up a stomach bug or something back in Dezba's sphere."

Nikki looked at me a little confused. "How long has this been going on?"

I shrugged and got a drink of water, rinsing my mouth out. "A week? Two? Started puking in the mornings about five days ago. Up until then I was just feeling sick in the mornings."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were pregnant," Nikki laughed.

I stopped and stared at her, "What?"

"Well, I don't think we can get sick, I mean we have healing spells for everything, Bro, and when we're in our champion forms, we're immune to everything I think as well. Course being pregnant isn't a disease." Nikki smirked, "However, as you don't have the equipment for it, I don't think that's the case."

I closed the toilet and sat down on it, "Morning sickness?" I said and shook my head.

"I was just teasing you, Bro," Nikki laughed, "you're a guy! You can't get morning sickness."

I looked down at the floor and shook my head. "Actually, I am pregnant." I looked up at Nikki, who looked like she'd just eaten a lemon. "Almost three months, if what I was told was correct."

Nikki blinked, "That's impossible, Will. You're not a woman."

"Remember when I told you about how we all got sex changed when we went to the Siren's sphere?"

Nikki's eyes got wide, "Oh. My. God. You didn't?"

"Well, actually, Stephanie did, and I didn't find out about it until we left." I told her about what Fel had told me, and what the goddess Sireen had done for me.

Nikki sat down on the edge of the tub. "Wow, I had no idea. But still, it's been years, and all of that is back on that sphere. You shouldn't be feeling it now."

I nodded, "I'll talk to Fel about it I guess."

Nikki shook her head, "Come back with me and talk to Aryanna about it."

"Why Aryanna?" I asked surprised.

"Cause she's a girl, you nit," Nikki laughed. "What does Feliogustus know about having a baby? He's a guy!"

"He's also a god," I reminded her.

"Pfft! Still a guy. Aryanna's had kids of her own, besides, you can always talk to Feliogustus about it later."

I thought about it a moment, "I guess that makes sense."

Nikki nodded, "Of course it does. Let me go tell Mom I'm leaving with you, and we can head out in an hour or two."

I nodded and stood up. "Might as well gather my things."

Nikki stopped at the doorway and looked back at me, "What are you doing to do about it, Bro?"

"About what?"

"The baby."

I held my hands out and shrugged, "Have it eventually, I guess."

"Really?" She looked surprised.

"With all the kids my wives have had, only seems fair that I go through it once, don't you think?" I joked.

"Yeah, sure." Nikki said and rolled her eyes, "What's the real reason?"

"Steph meant a lot to me." I paused a moment, "She's gone now. It may seem tacky, but it's all I've got left of her, and well, I think she'd want me to." I laughed and smiled, "Besides, you know how much I love my kids, how hard could it be?"

Her laughter was not very reassuring.

Three

Kingstown, Aryanna's Temple

We were sitting in the high priest's office in Aryanna's main temple, just me, my sister Nikki, and Aryanna, who I was surprised to see felt this was important enough to have her manifestation here with us. As she could hear everything going on in her temple, and manifest her voice wherever she wanted to inside, I hadn't expected this.

"So am I really having morning sickness?" I asked.

Aryanna nodded, "In a manner of speaking, yes. There is only so long that you can wait before you must go have the child, if you still want to of course."

"So, if I don't go and do it soon, I'll lose it?"

Aryanna nodded again, "I'm afraid so, William."

"How long do I have? Until I have to go back there, that is."

"A few months, and then of course you'll be stuck there until you deliver."

I nodded, "I guess I'll have to talk to Fel, it's a long trip. I'll need to get started soon, if he lets me go."

"Fel is okay with it," Aryanna said, "and Joseph can come here and take you back with him, he is just the next sphere over, remember."

I nodded, I had forgotten about that.

"Can I go with him?" Nikki asked.

"I don't think I'll need your help, Sis," I said.

"Have you ever had a kid before?" Nikki asked.

"You haven't either, Nikki," Aryanna said. "William will be fine."

"And I was there for several of my kids' births," I said to Nikki, "So I do have at least some experience."

"Oh, okay," Nikki grumbled.

I smiled and turned to Aryanna, "So, when can Joseph get here?"

"He'll meet you at your inn in a couple of weeks."

"Darlene has been asking for me to visit, hasn't she?" I smiled.

"Yes, she has," Aryanna smiled back.

"Well, I better get going. Even with the portals it's going to take me two days to get back there." I looked back at Nikki, "Got a horse I can borrow?"

#                    #                    #                    #

"Don't worry Will, things are quiet right now, and there's nothing going on," Fel told me, for probably the third time. We were meeting in his 'bar', as we usually did when I was asleep and dreaming. I was worried about being gone another six months, when I'd already been gone for the last four. At least I had managed a few days here and there with Rachel during those four months. Right now I was staying with Darlene at our inn; I hadn't seen her in those last four months at all.

"So there is nothing going on with Barassa or Tantrus?"

"Tantrus is still trying to re-establish his power base; at this point all of his temples outside the kingdom of Barassa have been destroyed. He was forced to play his hand too soon, and now he's paying for it. It will be decades, if ever, before he can grow again."

"And Barassa?"

"King Stivik is in a tight spot. Your raiders from the Mowoks have shut down almost all overland trade to his country, and put a complete end to any overland slave trading. He's still doing business by sea, but it's a fraction of what it used to be, and his economy is suffering. He's being forced to sell his own people off into slavery."

"And they're standing for that?" I said surprised.

Fel shrugged, "They don't have much of a choice. He's cleaned out his prisons, and just about any crime gets you sent to the auction block. It's actually been an effective tactic for him, there may be unrest in his kingdom, but showing it gets you a quick trip to the slave market, and sold to owners overseas."

"That's pretty brutal; I wonder how long that will last?"

"The moment he sells off a member of a noble family, or that of a leading merchant, I expect it will blow up rather nicely," Fel laughed.

"Well, I hope I'm back by then," I sighed.

"Oh, it will be years yet," Fel said making a dismissive gesture with his hand, "if it does come to pass. He may still find a way out of this mess after all. So I'm sure you'll be back for it, or for whatever happens."

I nodded, "Do any of you know what Cen was up to? Or at least, know anything that you can tell me? I don't know if there are any rules involved."

"We have our suspicions, but neither I nor Aryanna know for sure. Custios, his god, knew that Cenewyg was going to Earth and spending time there, but didn't realize he was up to something. He just thought Cenewyg was homesick."

"I'm not looking forward to dealing with him, when he comes back. No one has any idea where he went yet?"

Fel shook his head, "No. And until he shows up, we won't. Of course it is likely he won't come after any of you, William."

I shook my head, "I think he's got too big of an ego to let go of what I did to him."

"Last he saw you, William, you had a god-stone in your hand. He probably believes you're a god now."

That stopped me. "You really think so?"

Fel smiled, "Would Cenewyg have given it to someone else?"

I shook my head, "No, of course not."

"Then he is incapable of believing that anyone else would as well."

"Huh," I said and thought about that a minute. I could see it; Cenewyg was not the type to realize that other people weren't as selfish as he was.

"Exactly, so go and deal with this, we know it's important to you, and to be honest, it's important to Aryanna too."

"Stephanie and her were rather close, weren't they?"

Fel smiled, "They still are, though Aryanna can't do much for Stephanie, until she's become better established."

I nodded. "Well, I guess that answers my questions for now. Until next time, Fel," I said.

He smiled and hoisted his beer mug in salute, and I feel into a deeper sleep.

#                    #                    #                    #

I spent the next week with Darlene and my children, I had four now, another son and another daughter, Dennis and Sylvia. Travis, the oldest, was eight! Carrie was six, Dennis four and Sylvia two. I had no idea if Darlene wanted anymore, I figured she'd let me know, once she had decided.

I felt bad that I wasn't here more often, but there was just always something I had to do it seemed, even when I was here I often rode out into the hills to deal with any of the more difficult problems that Duke Lias might be having. It was well known now that my sister was Aryanna's champion, and that I was an ally of the church as well. Some probably suspected that there was more to me than met the eye, but as far as I could tell, no one here knew that I was a champion.

And of course there was Rachel, and my three children with her. I got to spend a lot more time with them, because most of my tasks did revolve around Hiland City, as that was where Fel's main temple was located. Being as I was Fel's champion, gating to Fel's temple was a fairly simple thing for me to do, so going home to see Rachel was always an easy trip.

I really had considered Rachel's offer to bring Darlene, and my children by her to Hiland, to live in the castle with Rachel. But the realities were too different, I was afraid of how Darlene or my children with her would handle it. Plus I didn't think she'd like not being able to see her parents and sisters anymore.

I shook my head as I thought about it; I hadn't even considered the other children I'd been 'encouraged' to father, not that it had taken much encouragement when I was younger.

And now I was going to go have another child, one I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with. I'm sure Aryanna would happily let me foster the child at her main temple; I wouldn't be surprised if she had the ability to get the royal family to foster the child as well.

But I wasn't sure that was what I wanted. I knew I could leave the child with Darlene; she wouldn't have any issues with that at all. She was just too sweet and too giving and sharing. Rachel however, I don't think Rachel would be as understanding. I couldn't blame her all that much either, when I was with Rachel there were a lot of other demands on both of our time, because of who we were and what we did.

Also Rachel didn't like having to compete for my attention against other females, and there were a few who I had a hard time refusing because of who they were, or my relationship with them. There was the high priestess who did want my company at times, and not solely because of her position in the church, I did have two children by her after all.

On top of that, Goth was almost eighteen now, and I think she had a serious hero worship thing going on with me after all I'd done to save her. I knew that Rachel was starting to find that annoying as well, especially now that Goth had turned into a rather striking young woman. The way she dressed when I was around was almost scandalous, and it did not go unnoticed by Rachel.

Then there were times when I wanted to be left alone with Rachel, and no one else. No interruptions, no other people to interrupt, nobody. Yes, I loved Darlene, I cared about Narasamman, I even had feelings for Tareassa. But Rachel was my soul mate, and there were times that I didn't like it when her duties took her away from spending time with me, so I could just imagine that she felt the same about me as well.

Yeah Stephanie had been right, I spent way too much time thinking with the little head and not the big one. Or I had at least. Just thinking about all of the commitments I had now was more than enough to make me think long and hard about any new ones.

Thinking about all that brought me back once again to what I was about to go do and wonder yet again about it. Stephanie had been someone important to me, I'd loved her back when we'd been dating on Earth years ago, and once I had reconciled my own thoughts with finding out what she had set me up for, I had loved her again.

But did I really want to experience childbirth? Go through all of that? I wasn't sure I was ready for it. In fact I'd been very successful at having put that whole episode out of my head.

However.

However, I just couldn't say no to this. I wanted the kid, and apparently Aryanna now wanted me to have the kid, and while Fel hadn't said anything either way, he'd dropped enough hints by making sure I'd have the time to go do it.

I shook my head again and sighed, then got up and went back inside to spend some time with Darlene. Joseph should be here tomorrow, so I would definitely make the most of the time I had left, and maybe even sneak in a few questions about childbirth from the woman's perspective, as long as I had an experienced one to ask.

Four

Lionesnesc

"So why'd you want to come back here?" Joseph asked me. He was a wolf now, and a pretty damned big one.

"A wolf?" I asked looking at him. "What happened to the tiger?" I had hesitated to ask when we were in Circe's realm; gods could be fickle after all.

Joseph laughed, which sounded kind of strange coming out of that muzzle, "Circe likes a little variety, and that's fine with me."

"But you don't have to be one here," I said and gestured around us. We were in the hills to the west of Lionesnesc, the city where we'd first come all of those years ago. There were apparently a great many links between Circe's realm and that of the Sirens. This one was a lot easier to take, and didn't require a boat.

"I prefer to be however Circe wants me to be," Joseph said happily.

I nodded, "Well, as long as you're happy, right?"

He ducked his head in agreement. "So, changing the subject back, why are you here Will?"

"I have an obligation I need to honor," I told him and looked back down at the city. It was late and the sun has long set. I could see the amphitheater off in the distance and hear the music coming from it. I placed my hands on my abdomen, I couldn't feel it of course, but I knew.

"I could just pin you to the ground and keep you there until you tell me," Joseph said with a wink and another rumbling laugh as he held up a paw, which was probably wider than me now.

I shook my head and smiled, no matter what form Circe stuck him in, he always seemed to fit it rather well. "Maybe afterwards," I told him shaking my head. "Not right now."

He paused and thought about it a moment, looking at me. He nodded slowly. "Okay, but listen, I'm just through there," he motioned with his head back towards the portal, "So if you need someone to talk to, just ask."

I nodded and turned back towards the city, "Care to join me for a while?"

"No, I can't. I'd scare the hell out of everyone if I wandered into town like this."

"Maybe, but then I'd get to make one heck of an entrance," I laughed. "So, don't want to be a pretty girl again?"

"Not today!" Joseph rumbled. "I need to go, see you around, William - I mean, Wilma," he laughed.

"Been a while since I heard that one," I smiled and started to walk down the hillside. "Later, Jo."

It took me quite a few hours to make it to the city. By then the music had stopped, and everyone had called it a night. I should probably have brought a horse or something to get here faster, or left earlier in the day, but I hadn't really thought about it. Plus I didn't want to spend too much time in Circe's domain, well not anymore than I had to. She liked my champion form way too much for my liking, and the last thing I needed was to get involved with another woman right now. Especially not with one who was also a goddess.

I wandered a bit, and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that I ended up at Alice's place. I knocked on the door a couple of times until I heard a non-stop string of complaints and curses approach from the other side.

"Who the hell ... Wilma?" She said, her eyes getting wide. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story, can I crash here tonight?" I sighed.

Alice grabbed my arm and pulled me in, closing the door behind me.

"What happened? Where's Stephan? Josie? I heard you all had left Scopuli, but what are you doing here?"

I smiled a little sadly, "Stephan died a couple months ago, he had a condition of some sort, we all knew it was coming," I said holding up my hand when her eyes widened, "Josie and I decided to go our separate ways after that. I just," I shrugged, "I thought I'd come back here, and get an apartment or something."

Alice hugged me, "Oh I'm so sorry to hear that, Wilma, I know you and Stephan were pretty close. You can stay here as long as you want, have you talked to Henry? Do you want to?"

I hugged Alice back, I was a bit surprised by the affection and concern she was showing. "I haven't talked to him; I literally just got in town tonight. I just got caught up in old memories and didn't think to find a place to stay until it was too late."

"Well come to bed and in the morning we can look him up. He's scouting a new act, so he's back in town."

I let her steer me back towards her bedroom.

"So, what's new in your life?" I asked her.

"I have a new boyfriend," Alice said grinning.

"Will wonders never cease," I said shaking my head.

"Wilma, Evan. Evan, Wilma."

I looked up and there was a rather unattractive man sitting up in Alice's bed. Unattractive was perhaps a bit kind, he was definitely not a handsome man. However he was rather impressively built, and I suspect that attracted Alice a lot more than his looks did.

"Wilma, huh?" He growled.

"Oh, shit," I said softly. It was Evean!

Everything slowed down as Evan jumped out of bed approaching me, and I backed up until I was in the doorway leading to the bedroom. Evan was naked, and he didn't have any weapons. I did the eyes and ears thing, I didn't know if Fel could help, but I sure wanted him to know what was going on.

I, on the other hand, had a knife and it was already in my hand. But I didn't want to fight Evan/Evean if I could avoid it, as a man, Evan was stronger than me, though I didn't know how experienced Evan/Evean was at fighting.

"I'm going to pay you back, Will," Evan growled.

"Evan! Stop!" Alice said and moved to stand between us.

I was worried what he would do to her, for getting in his way, but Evan simple picked her up, and moved her aside and set her down.

"Evan, I'm pregnant!" I said loudly.

"So. What." he growled taking a step towards me.

I got in a fighting stance and waved the knife at him. "If I lose this baby, I swear what I do to you and Roden will make what I did to the Mulanders look like a Sunday social."

Evan stopped and winced. I got the impression that Roden had just pulled on his leash, hard.

"The Goddess here owes me too, Evan, if you die here, you will spend several days in the kind of agony that can destroy your soul. If you thought what happened in that tent was bad, this will be a thousand times worse."

"Not if I kill you first," Evan said, but he wasn't looking as confident now.

"If you kill me first, Roden will stop you from going home, the local champion will get you, and you'll suffer, oh trust me, you'll suffer."

"Roden wouldn't do that!"

"Fel is probably telling Roden right now just how pissed off I'll be. Oh, and there are a few other gods involved in this now as well. They'll be pretty pissed off too. Why do you think Roden is telling you to stop?"

Evan snarled, and the look he gave me was full of hate and frustration. "I came all this way, I put up with months' worth of shit, to pay you back, and now I can't?" He screamed.

Alice looked at Evan, then at me, then at Evan again. "What's going on here, Wilma?"

"Me and Evan have a history, and it's not a good one," I said. "Though that's not my fault. Is it Evan?"

"You tricked me!" Evan snarled.

"Yeah, well you tricked me first!" I yelled back at him. "And I told you I felt bad about it, I even apologized to you! I didn't have to do that, Fel didn't tell me to do that, I did it on my own!"

Evan turned and stomped back to the bed, and dropped down to sit on it, looking daggers at me.

"I'm sorry, Wilma, I had no idea," Alice said to me, and looked back and forth between the two of us.

I sighed and put the dirk away. "It's not your fault, Alice," I said and gave her a hug, "Besides," I said and took a moment to give Evan's naked body a more appreciative look, "he's definitely a hottie. Bet he rocks your world in bed, right?"

Evan's jaw dropped when I said that, and surprisingly he blushed something fierce.

Alice just giggled and nodded. "Yeah, he's built like the ultimate roadie, and he rocks the bed like a complete five star act!"

"I am not a 'hottie,'" Evan grumbled, still looking embarrassed.

"If you're in Alice's bed," I smiled sweetly at him, "you are by definition, a 'hottie'. Alice only picks the best, and everyone knows it."

He blushed even more at that, and I had to admit I enjoyed watching him squirm, it is the little things in life after all. What I couldn't figure out was why Evan was so, well I wouldn't quite say 'ugly', but his face did seem to have taken a couple of shots from the ugly stick. Evean was the one of the most gorgeous females I'd ever seen in my life, so as a man, she should have been a complete knockout in the looks department here as well.

"Did you say you're pregnant?" Alice asked stepping up to me, and looking me up and down.

I smiled and nodded, "About three months."

She stopped a moment, "Stephan?"

I nodded again, "Yeah, Stephan. I didn't really know until after he was gone, and well," I looked around, "I thought here or Scopuli would be a better place to have a baby then out there, in some small village," I said waving a hand towards the hills.

Alice nodded, "Who are Roden and Fel?" she asked next.

"Two guys that we sort of work for," Evan said from the bed. "They're like mayors of different towns."

Alice gave him a look, and then looked at me.

"Close enough," I nodded.

She nodded slowly and decided not to make an issue of it.

"Can I trust you to behave?" she said looking at Evan.

Evan grumbled but nodded, "I won't do anything to her."

"And you?" Alice said looking at me.

I held up my hands, "I won't attack him, I swear."

"Swear?" Evan looked up at me and smirked.

"For as long as we're both here," I motioned to the world around me, "I do. By Fel even."

Evan looked at me surprised, and tilted his head to the side as he considered my words. "Okay, I swear the same, by Roden."

I sighed and smiled. "Thanks, Evan, I'll try to make it up to you someday."

"Oh really?" He said looking at me in obvious disbelief.

"Hey, boy scout, remember?"

"What in the world are the two of you talking about?" Alice complained.

"Eh, old joke." Evan said, and then patted the bed. "Come to bed, Alice."

"I'll sleep on one of the couches in the other room," I said and nodded towards the hall.

"Darn, there go my hopes for a threesome," Alice sighed, leering at me.

"Maybe tomorrow," I laughed, and left the room, closing the door behind me. With a sigh I went and found an extra pillow and a blanket, and went and sacked out on the couch.

"Tonight would be a good night, Fel," I mumbled and curling up I fell asleep.

"I had no idea that she was there, or even how she got there," Fel said to me as I appeared in his bar.

"What I want to know is how she got by those SOBs in Ithaca." I complained.

"She didn't go that way."

I looked at Fel, "What? I thought that was the only way through?"

Fel shook his head, "No, there a lot of connections between the sphere Ithaca is in, and the one your Earth occupies. Same for most of the realities you went through."

"Then why did we have to go that way?" I said rather hotly.

"Because at the time, it was the only pathway that we knew about," Fel said and sighed, "you know that, William, and you know that we wouldn't have put you all through that even once, if we could have avoided it."

I nodded and sighed myself. I was surprised that it still bothered me, what we had gone through in Ithaca, this many years later.

"So how did she find out? How did Roden find out?"

"Roden claims he has no idea either, that Evean just wanted to go 'home' for a while and check up on her family there. I'm sure he knows by now what happened and how it happened, but we're not allies, so he's not sharing with me."

"Do you believe him?" I asked.

Fel shook his head, "Not really. I mean it is possible that he didn't know what she was doing until she did it. But I'm starting to think that he likes to cater to her. No idea yet why, it's not like there are other gods who spoil their champions," he said and winked at me.

I tipped my beer to him and took a drink, "It was still one hell of a shock. I'd love to know how he found Alice."

"I'm guessing that was just dumb luck," Fel said smiling.

"That's a pretty big coincidence to just be 'luck,'" I complained.

Fel shrugged, "There are forces beyond that of the gods, William, ones that we don't even fully understand...."

"Or can't explain because of the rules, right?" I interjected.

Fel tipped his beer to me, "Sometimes, but not always."

"So more of the 'limited omnipotence' that Stephanie told me about?"

Fel paused a moment, "It doesn't exactly work the way that Stephanie led you to believe, though it isn't a bad explanation."

I raised an eyebrow at that one, "How's that?"

"In our own spheres, we have our powers, which are limited only by the rules of our reality and those of the overall; I guess you'd call it a 'system.' Some of these rules you are aware of, some of them you'll never notice, even if you run up against them a hundred times. We're also limited whenever we interact with another god, goddess, or their champions and priests.

"So my omnipotence is limited, as Stephanie told you, by those things. My omniscience is however is not limited within my sphere, I am only limited in what actions I can take, or what I can tell others, due to those ever present 'rules.'"

"Sounds confusing," I said shaking my head.

"For you, yes it would be. But for me, William, as a god, not at all. In fact I find it quite helpful."

I thought about that a minute, "So, why is Aryanna able to see the future in your sphere?"

Fel smiled at me, "As in any 'game', William, there are always loopholes and ways to get around certain rules without breaking them."

"So can Aryanna see what's going to happen next in Siren?"

Fel shook his head, "No, because those situations don't apply there. Also you and Evean are champions, and that makes things difficult anyway."

"What about Evan ... err Evean. Will she behave? Or do I have to watch out from now on?"

"I wouldn't worry about Evean anymore. Roden believes your promise of retribution if she should cost you the child, and I was quick to make sure that he understood I would back you on it. Aryanna and several of her allied gods also made sure he understood they would also back you."

I was taken aback by that, "Really?"

Fel smiled and gave a nod of his head.

"But, but why?" I asked confused.

"Because Stephanie and Aryanna were close, because they're friends with Aryanna, and because more than a few of them got on well with Stephanie in the same way you get on with Aryanna.

"Friendship, no matter how one-sided it can often be, William, is actually very important to many gods and goddesses."

I smiled and shook my head, "I had no idea."

Fel smirked at me then; "Well, you always remember your favorite pet!" he said and laughed.

I stuck my tongue out at him, but then laughed as well, and hoped he didn't start patting me on the head and telling me what a 'good boy' I was.

"Well, I hope Alice isn't pissed at me when 'Evan' leaves tomorrow."

"Oh I don't think Evan is going to go anywhere for a while," Fel said.

I raised an eyebrow and stared. "What?"

"Well, as I can best figure it out, Roden feels that if he leaves Evean there to keep an eye on you, and 'protect' you, that if anything does happen, we'll owe him one."

"And will you?" I asked cautiously.

"Aryanna probably would feel so, and I might as well," Fel said with a nod.

"And is that all there is to it?"

Fel laughed, "Oh, I suspect Evean, err 'Evan' just wants the opportunity to annoy the hell out of you for the next six months."

I sighed, knowing Evean, I had a suspicion that was going to be true.

Five

Lionesnesc

"Where's Evan?" I asked Alice the next morning as we left the apartment rather early to go get some breakfast.

"Sleeping in," Alice smirked, "I kept him well occupied last night, I'm surprised you didn't hear it?"

I had heard it, and I'd cast a cantrip to block it out after the first few minutes. A voyeur I'm definitely not.

"Umm, I sort of slept like the dead last night," I said and gave a shrug. "I was pretty tired."

Alice laughed, "Must have been to sleep through that! Anyway, I called Henry a little while ago, he said to bring you by his office and let him set you up with a place to stay or something. If you an Evan don't get along, well, I sure don't want to force the two of you to keep company."

I nodded to that.

Alice was quiet for a moment as we walked; we were heading towards the amphitheater obviously.

"You know," She started, "I heard a lot of stories about what went on at Scopuli just before everyone said you dropped out of sight. I've asked Henry, but he doesn't want to talk about it."

I nodded and looked at her a moment, then back down the street towards our destination. "And?" I asked.

"Well, what happened?"

"Another city tried to invade, being the fresh new act we got tapped to help out."

"I heard it was pretty impressive what you guys did up there."

I sighed and shook my head, "We slaughtered them, Alice, we went out there not just with a new play list, but with a whole new sound. They never had a chance, they had no idea what was waiting for them."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Alice said, sounding rather surprised.

I shrugged and thought a moment, and then nodded slightly. "For the people at Scopuli it was good, and it was definitely good for the goddess, but it was a bit hard for me to take, Alice. I think of music as something to be enjoyed; fun to listen to, fun to play. Not something that you kill people with.

"It kinda messed with my head."

"Oh," Alice said and stopped, forcing me to stop and look at her.

"I'm sorry," She said and gave me a hug, "I've heard it can be rough. But still." She hugged me again, "thanks for doing it. They would have come here after they destroyed Scopuli, and it would have been even worse for us, as we're just one of the city's subject towns."

I nodded, "I don't regret saving the city, I just wish we hadn't had to do it."

"Well sometimes we all get caught up in things that we didn't intend to," Alice said and taking my hand started us walking again.

"Like Evan?" I asked softly.

Alice laughed, "Like Evan. Ever sleep with him?" Alice inquired with a grin.

"Almost," I smiled and sighed at the same time. "He can be quite charming when he wants to be!"

"Don't I know it! And let me tell you, he knows his way around a woman's body so well I'd swear he was a woman himself!"

I coughed at that as I tried not to laugh.

"What?" Alice asked looking at me.

"Some-how I can't see him as predator and you as prey," I said and covered up with a giggle.

Alice leered at me rather outrageously. "Yeah, and I don't think he expected to be the fish on my hook either, but when I saw that boy, oh yeah, I sure went and reeled him in!"

I laughed with her then, I would not at all be surprised to find out that Alice was Evan's 'first' after he got here. Switching sexes was pretty disconcerting.

"So, you going to?" Alice asked me.

"Going to, what?" I asked back.

"Sleep with Evan of course!" She giggled.

I shook my head, "I don't think so."

"What? The boy is fantastic!"

"Too much history," I said and shook my head again, "I mean, not that I wouldn't if we didn't," I grinned back at Alice who laughed again.

"I'm gonna have to tell him you said that!"

I blushed, she probably would too, "Umm, I'd rather you didn't," I said a bit embarrassed.

"Oh?" Alice smirked at me, "You do like him, don't you?"

"I also like chocolate, but I know when something is bad for me!"

"Hey, he swore to behave, so if you ever wanted to have a roll with him, now would definitely be the time."

"You have a one track mind, Alice," I complained.

"This from the girl who snogged me on stage in front of a full house?"

"Yeah well," I grinned at her, "You deserved it."

"Uh-huh."

We talked about other things from that point; Alice was never one to stay on one topic for long, no matter how embarrassing it may be. When we got to Henry's office she knocked on the door, opened it and showed me in, waved to Henry and said 'Hi', then left to get to her own work.

"Wilma! It's so great to see you again!" Henry said coming around the desk and giving me a hug. "The priests at the temple told me you left after that nasty little business we had back then," he gave me another hug, "Alice also told me about Stephan, I'm sorry to hear he's no longer with us."

I nodded slowly. "We'd known it was coming for a long time, so we'd already made peace with it," I told him.

"Well at least now I know why you weren't interested in the money so much. Come, come, sit down, relax."

I let myself be steered over to a comfortable chair by the side of his desk, not one of the unpadded hard wooden ones he normally made the band members sit in, when I'd been here before.

"So what brings you back? Looking to perform again? I can set you up with some first class musicians! People would give their last breath to be on stage with you, and not just the new acts either! I'm talking the old hands! You folks really shook things up when you were here."

I smiled a little wanly, "I'm pregnant, Henry, with Stephan's child. I need a place to stay for a while."

Henry's eyebrows rose slightly and he smiled, "Well, congratulations then! And of course you can stay here! You still have quite a sum of money on account after all, and with Stephan having passed, and you bearing his child, you're entitled to his account as well."

"And here I thought I was going to have to work to pay my way," I smiled.

"If you could teach some of my acts a few of those songs of yours, I'd be a happy man, Wilma. But don't you worry about money, even if you didn't have a dime, I'd still be happy to take you in! Talent like yours is a rare thing; it will be a pleasure to have you around. My house is your house, and my door will always be open to you."

"Thank you, Henry, I appreciate it very much, and I'll be happy to teach your acts a few songs."

We talked a little longer, and then he called for his car and took me to his estate in town and had his staff set me up in one of the many spare guest rooms.

The next month was nice, if a little boring at first. I did help his acts, with what I could, and I also let Henry talk me into doing one private show a week, usually I'd do an acoustic set with just a bass guitar backing me. It was fun, and I know Henry appreciated it a lot. But I didn't have any desire to get up on stage and perform anymore; mostly I was just killing time until I delivered.

Evan showed up a few days after I moved in, apparently Alice had gotten him a job working for Henry, as both a roadie and as security for his acts when they were on stage. I just did my best to ignore him, which was easy at first, as Henry put him to work and made him prove himself before he'd even let him near me.

I think Alice had told him that we had a history, but I think she also told him that I was sweet on him. All I know is that Evan was sure acting like I was his long lost love every time he saw me if Henry was around. He'd make with the puppy dog eyes and the heavy sighs, and hang on my every word like they were pronouncements from on high.

When Henry assigned Evan to be my roadie and security for my weekly shows, I just sighed and put up with it.

"Would Madam like her feet rubbed?" Evan said with a wink.

"Knock it off already, Evan," I sighed. "Gods above, I think I liked it better when you were trying to 'get' me."

"Oh I'm still trying to get you," Evan said with a smirk.

"Let me rephrase that, trying to kill me," I grumbled.

"Well, that's in the past now, so why don't we let bygones, be bygones, and here, have a seat while I get you something to drink, and pack up your gear for tonight."

I blinked, he was being suave alright, and turning on all the charm.

"Oh my goodness, you really are trying to get me in bed!" I said looking at him rather shocked as the realization dawned.

"Well you did say that I was a hottie, didn't you?" And saying that he actually struck a pose and winked at me again.

I quickly shook my head; this was something I didn't need. Or even want!

"What, I thought you found me attractive?" Evan said, and suddenly he looked rather hurt. That was almost worse. "It's because I'm ugly, isn't it?" He said.

I groaned "No! No it's not that!"

"It is, isn't it? You can tell me the truth!" He said and I could tell he was starting to get upset.

"For a woman who is the hottest thing on two legs in the entire freakin' sphere back in Saladin you sure don't seem to know much about attraction!" I almost yelled at him.

Evan stopped and looked at me, "What?"

"Oh please, you're an incredibly hot woman, you make this," and I motioned to my own body. I knew I was good looking here, but I wasn't in the same class as Evean was, I wasn't even close. "You make me look plain and drab. Now please don't tell me that you only slept with guys based on their looks!"

"Well, yeah, of course not." Evan said and put his hands on his hips, in a decidedly feminine gesture, "But that was because I was doing it for Roden."

"Wait, what?" I shook my head confused, "Evan, I may not have been a woman long, but I've been one long enough, and been with enough to know that looks don't mean as much to women as they do to men."

"Oh really now?" Evan said and looked me over.

"Evan, you've got a body like a Greek god, and when you turn on the charm you make the girls all pant like they're in heat!"

"Well, you don't," He said and glared at me.

"That's because last time we hooked up you tried to kill me! What the hell do you expect?" I shook my head, "Shit, I can-not believe we are even having this conversation!"

"So you do find me attractive then?" Evan asked looking at me curiously.

"Of course I do! Hell, when you're acting like the hottest guy around do you think I give a damn about how 'attractive' you look? You're a big bad ass alpha male; of course I think you're hot!"

"Ah!" He said and started looking me over again, "So how about it? Say after the show tonight?"

I smacked my head with the heel of my right hand and swore, "Evan, why in the hell are you trying to get me in bed? Especially after last time?"

"Well, I thought maybe if we ummm, 'buried the hatchet,'" he said and gave an outrageous wink, "we could get along?" he leaned over then and ran his fingers through my hair, and took a deep breath, taking in my scent.

I shivered, it was damned sexy, and he had to know it.

"Evan," I warned, "Right now I'm pretty damned terrified of getting into bed with you, and if you don't want a swift kick to the nuts, I think you had better back off."

He took a step back, and gave me the puppy dog eyes again. "Aw, Wilma."

"Why the hell aren't you beautiful?" I said changing the subject quickly. Evan was well versed in the pickup arts, obviously, and right now I did not want to be 'picked up.' "As a woman you're so beautiful it's almost painful."

Evan sighed, "How come you're not seven feet tall?"

"Because Fel made me b..." I stopped and looked at him, "Roden made you like that?"

Evan nodded, "Yeah. I'm ugly as ugly can be in my natural form, so his gift to me was to make me one of the most beautiful women in the sphere. He said it was easy to do, because I was so ugly."

That stopped me, and I thought about it a moment, "Can't he fix it so you're beautiful everywhere?"

Evan shook his head, "Not yet, he's not that powerful. He'd need like a couple million followers and a couple dozen temples to be able to do that. He'd have to alter my base form."

"Oh," I said and nodded slowly as I got the picture.

"Exactly, 'oh.'"

"So you really weren't experienced when you came to Saladin, were you?"

Evan laughed, "I was a virgin! Only thing I knew about sex was what I'd witnessed when sneaking a peek of other people having it."

"That must have been pretty rough,"

"Yeah it was, but as Evean," He smiled at me, "All you men just follow me with your tongues hanging out. Lambs to the slaughter."

I had to laugh, "Yeah, but it's not just your looks, Evan, you don't just look hot, you act it too. For someone who grew up ugly, you sure have mastered the art of seduction."

Evan shrugged, "Roden had his clergy teach me. They're all pretty good at it."

I nodded, "So I've heard."

Evan smiled, "So does this mean...?"

I shook my head, "Not tonight, Evan, not tonight. So, have you thought of cosmetic surgery?"

"Cosmetic what?"

"Surgery, you know, get your looks fixed?"

"How would that help?" He said looking confused.

"Well, you fix your base form, and everything else gets better, right? I mean how much could it cost?"

"Do you think they could do that?" He asked looking surprised.

"Of course, where are you from back on earth?"

"Vietnam."

That stopped me a moment. "If you're from Vietnam, how do you know about boy scouts, and bygones, and all the rest of that stuff?"

Evan actually blushed, "I used to sneak into a lot of movie theaters and watch the movies, especially the American ones. The women all looked so glamorous with their dresses and the men were all so full of action." Evan smiled, "It was my escape."

"I read a lot," I said.

"Why? I've seen what you look like, you're not ugly, you're very good looking."

"I was a fat kid, so I got teased a lot growing up. In college I started exercising and lost the weight. After that," I shrugged, "it took me a while to stop thinking of myself as the fat kid that girls didn't want to be seen with."

Evan laughed at that and shook his head, "Well, let me get your gear and let's get going, or we'll be late."

I nodded and got up and grabbed my guitar. I wondered if all champions were such messed up people.

Six

Lionesnesc

Another month had gone by since Evan had been assigned as my personal roadie, the passes and little hints hadn't stopped, but that's all they were now, just teasing. Evan might be rude, and at times even crude, but deep down Evan was still Evean, and there was a line there that apparently he wasn't going to cross because of that so I didn't have to worry about him trying to 'force' the issue.

Or maybe because he just feared what I'd do to get even?

In either case, it didn't matter, because a sort of understanding had been worked out, and that was all that mattered.

"What's with that guy in the back of the room?" I whispered to Evan between sets. It was late on a Wednesday night, I was out doing one of my once a week shows at some private party. I was shocked at the kind of money Henry was pulling in for these little shows. But apparently I was still a big hit in these parts, and I was still singing songs that were new and different. Of course if any of the copyright owners ever made it here I'm sure there'd be hell to pay, but it didn't seem very likely.

"The short one with the hat pulled down low?" Evan asked leading me back towards the private makeup room that was set aside for the performers. I didn't miss the fact that Evan hadn't turned to look; obviously he'd noticed the guy as well.

"Yeah, him."

"Not sure, I asked our host about him, she said he's the date of one of her guests."

"Something about him doesn't seem right," I said.

"Like the fact that he's not mingling or eating, or doing anything other than holding up that wall?"

"Is that an expression back in Vietnam, or did you get that off of an American movie?" I chuckled.

"I think the soldiers left that one behind after the war," he smiled. "So, want me to do something about him?"

"Keep an eye on him. Last time I was here, one of the other bands tried to kidnap me to get all the material I have up here," I said tapping the side of my head.

Evan looked surprised at that, "Really?"

I nodded, "It was pretty nasty, and Stephen got really pissed, took one of their heads off with a big ass knife."

"Let me guess, that's the night you got pregnant?" He teased.

"Umm," I thought about that one a moment and I could feel myself blushing, that may very well have been the night.

"Gotcha!" Evan teased.

I grumbled, but left it at that.

"I'll keep an eye on them, and talk to the other band's roadies as well."

"Thanks, Evan," I smiled.

"Anything to get you into my bed," Evan said and winked.

I sighed and rolled my eyes as he walked away laughing.

Sarah, the woman accompanying me on bass guitar came over then, and we chatted a bit and discussed the play list. She had a great voice, better than mine to be honest, and sang backup for me, as well as the duets. I suspected that when I moved on, she'd be in pretty high demand because of all the songs I was teaching her. But that was fine with me.

"How's the baby doing?" Sarah asked.

"Fine, now that I'm starting to show, I suspect things are going to get harder to deal with."

Sarah laughed, "Yeah, say goodbye to seeing your feet. Still, it's worth it."

I nodded, Sarah had two kids already, which was part of why I picked her, I figured she'd be good for advice when the time came that I needed it.

"To be honest, I'm feeling pretty good about it all, it's not like I've been getting tired or anything, quite the opposite actually."

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, that's your hormones kicking in. Enjoy it while it lasts!" She said smiling.

"Well, at least I can make Evan rub my feet when they start hurting."

"I thought you and he weren't?" Sarah said giving me a questioning look.

"Just because we aren't, it doesn't mean I can't torture him," I said in a low voice.

"He is a little strange at times, I hear you two have a history?"

"A little," I shrugged. "I think he's trying to get on my good side, too bad I don't have one!" I checked the clock on the wall, "Well, I need to hit the lady's room, before the next set."

Sarah nodded and joined me.

The second set went well, but I noticed that our 'friend' had disappeared. I wondered if Evan had anything to do with that, but when I turned to look at him during a break between songs he just looked at me and shrugged.

When we finished, the hostess came over and we chatted for a little while, and I shook hands with everyone as she introduced me to her guests. Again, our 'friend' was nowhere to be seen. I decided not to ask about him, and eventually excused myself to go get cleaned up.

I opened the door to the bathroom and everything slowed down. Our short 'friend' was there, and he had a big ass old fashioned revolver. I dodged to the side as he opened fire and Sarah screamed behind me. I grabbed her arm and pulled her with me as I ducked into a room on the right side of the hall.

I could see the next several bullets tearing through the plaster walls as he tried to track us, Sarah stumbled and fell to the floor, so I let go of her hand and kept moving. The firing stopped suddenly, and I heard the sound of a loud click, and then some swearing, followed by some fumbling. I guess he had a misfire. That was followed by the sound of a bunch of metal objects hitting the floor, I guess he was ejecting the brass from the revolver and reloading.

I looked around for something to use as a weapon, I only had a small knife on me, nothing really serious. Firearms here were only supposed to be owned by the priests, the champions, and the military, so I wondered how this guy had gotten one.

I also resolved to get one myself after I got out of this mess.

I found a floor lamp and grabbed it, it was long and tall and made out of some sort of glass, so I lowered it like a pike and turned to attack.

Sure enough he had followed us into the room, but he paused to aim his gun at Sarah's head. Their was so much smoke in the room from the previous shots, that I guess he didn't see me, so I screamed as I charged, hoping to draw his attention, but it was too late, and he shot her point blank, and then turned the gun on me.

But I was still boosted, and he most certainly was not. I took him under the chin with the lamp, the lighting fixture on the top shattering and collapsing as I drove it forward into his body with my enhanced strength. Then the glass rod snapped off at the end, and the now sharp tip plunged into his neck and came out the back.

I grabbed for the gun as he flailed and when my hand touched his, I knew it instantly: He was a priest. Not of the Goddess Sireen, someone else. What the hell was he after me for? Or was he really after Sarah and I just got in the way?

Evan suddenly arrived as I wrestled the gun away from the now limp fingers.

"Careful, he's a priest," I said and then let Evan deal with him as I turned and knelt down to check Sarah.

She was dead. She'd taken two shots to the body when he'd first opened fire on us, I don't know if those killed her or not, but the one to the head definitely had.

"Take the gun, we're leaving." Evan said grabbing my arm.

"What about Sarah?"

"She's dead, there may be more of them, we need to go, now, Will!"

I nodded and let Evan pull me away. We quickly ran to the back of the house, I could hear a lot of commotion coming from the room we'd performed in, and I didn't want to see what it was. I checked the safety on the handgun; there wasn't one, but it was a revolver with a big hammer, so hopefully it wouldn't go off accidentally, so I tucked it in my waistband.

"Where are we going?" I asked as Evan led me out a back door, then between two outbuildings.

"There's a police station about a quarter mile to the south. I thought we'd head there first."

"There's a church closer than that," I said and motioned to the east.

"So?"

"That was a priest, Evan, and not one of Sireen's. If he's got friends, they'll be a lot worse off in a church than in a police station.

Evan changed course, "Damn, you're right!"

My stomach churned for a moment and I put a hand on it and gasped.

Evan stopped and started to run his hands over me, "You okay? You wounded?" He said concerned.

I shook my head, "The baby just moved, that's all," I said and caught my breath a moment, then pushed him, "Keep moving."

Evan nodded and taking my hand again continued to lead me down a back alley and then between two rather fancy townhouses.

"Too bad we can't take a moment to celebrate," he said shaking his head, "I mean that's one of the first milestones, right?"

I sighed and nodded, "Baby's first gunfight." I said unhappily.

It took us a good twenty minutes to get to the church; Evan had stopped at each street crossing and waited until there was no nearby traffic before we scuttled across. When we got there, I strode right through the doors and quickly down the aisle.

"Madam, what are you doing? Who are you?" An acolyte said running up quickly.

I stopped and grabbed my purse, I had the money from today's performance still in it, they had paid up front, as was usual. I pulled it all out and handed it to the acolyte, "I'm making a donation to the Goddess Sireen." I turned and looked at Evan, "Give him all your money."

"What?" Evan said looking a bit shocked.

"Just do it!"

Evan dropped the rather large blade he'd been carrying, which until this moment I hadn't even noticed, and pulled out a rather large wad of money and handed it to the kid.

"What? What's this for?" He said looking at me confused.

"It's a donation. Now go get the head priest, and alert whatever guards you have."

He looked at me.

"Chop chop!" Evan said and turned him around and gave him a little push.

The acolyte went.

"What was with giving him all our money? I'm broke now!" Evan grumbled softly.

"I'll pay you back, I'm loaded, remember? That reminds me, I need to donate half of whatever I got left in the bank when we get back to Henry's."

"What in the hell for?"

"Rules," I said.

"Rules?" Evan looked at me a little blankly.

"Pay attention, there'll be a test on this later." I said, as a priest hurried up to us looking most upset.

"What is this all about?" He asked.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked him.

"N ..." He paused a moment, and got that surprised expression that told me he just got a wakeup call. I noticed Evan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You're Wilma, the foreign champion who helped Rondall and our most blessed in the defense of Scopuli some six or so years ago." The priest said, and he looked a lot more respectful suddenly.

"Yes, and this is my friend Evan. Please convey to your goddess that we, or rather, I, was just attacked by a strange priest at the Morgan estate, where I was performing a private show for Mrs. Morgan's guests. I don't know what god he followed, and he killed Sarah, whom I pray is now in the arms of the Goddess as we speak.

"There may have been more there, I don't know."

The priest nodded a moment and closed his eyes, I guess in prayer. "The Goddess Sireen hears all in her house of course, and she asks if you have anything of this priest's?"

I pulled out the gun and showed it to him. He took it and examined it closely, then blessed it before handing it back.

"He was a priest of the god Trespon," the priest told me.

"Who the hell is Trespon?" Evan said.

"Yeah, who is he?" I echoed.

"Trespon is the god whose high priest and champion you slew in defense of our most sacred city."

I swore. "So he's looking for paybacks?"

The priest nodded, "Apparently. I will have the couple of the temple guards take you to your home, and will dispatch several more to the Morgan estate."

I nodded, "Thank you; I appreciate your hospitality, and the gracious charity of the Goddess."

The priest smiled and gave a small wave of his hand, "Think nothing of it, you performed a service for our lady and the most blessed. Please, come to my office and rest while I arrange things."

He showed us to his office, and sent someone out to find me something to drink while he went and talked to the guard.

"I'm surprised Sireen didn't talk to us herself," Evan said as we sat around the room waiting.

I shrugged, "I'm not fully up on the rules here, also remember that we're not members of the faith, so while I'm sure she's interested in what we're doing, and what's happening, I suspect she has a lot more important things than us to deal with."

Evan laughed and nodded, "True, guess I've gotten spoiled. I'm too used to being someone important!"

Someone brought us drinks a minute later, and then ten minutes after that, the priest showed up with a member of the guard, and he escorted us out to a car with two more guards, and drove us back to Henry's place.

Henry came rushing out as we pulled up.

"Wilma! Are you okay? I just heard what happened!"

I hugged him as he grabbed me and hugged me back. "I'm fine, Henry, but Sarah didn't make it." I said and tried not to cry, the damned hormones had kicked in again I guess.

"I, I heard," he said and I could see he was trying not to cry himself.

"Let's get inside," Evan said, and motioned to the three guards who had driven us here. "How about you three helping me check the house?"

"Yessir!" they all said and nodded.

Henry and I followed them inside.

"I need a few things, Henry," I said when we got to his office, after it had been cleared by Evan.

"Sure, anything!"

"I need you to get half of what you owe me; I need to make a donation to the goddess Sireen. Then I owe Evan some money, after that, I want to give most of what's left to Sarah's kids."

"I, I can do that," he said and nodded. "But don't worry about Sarah's children; they'll be well taken care of."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Henry nodded rather sadly, "Her eldest is my son."

I lost it then and gave him a hug. "I had no idea," I cried, and we spent the next hour comforting each other as Evan and the guards secured the estate.

It was late and we were back in my room, Evan and me. Evan had a gun and a sword and was rather set on spending the night sleeping in my room. At the moment, I wasn't about to say no either.

"So why are you going to give that to the local goddess?" Evan said motioning to the several rather large bags of money sitting at the foot of the bed. I myself had been a bit shocked at just how much money Henry had given me. At least they used paper currency here, or I'd never been able to lift it. I was still shocked he'd been able to come up with it so quickly.

"It has to do with the rules," I told him.

"What rules? What are these rules you are talking about? You mentioned them twice earlier today when we were at that temple."

I looked at him surprised.

"What?" Evan said blinking.

"You don't know about the rules?" I said rather surprised myself.

"Well, I wouldn't be asking if I did, now would I?"

"How long have you been working for Roden?"

"Oh, I don't know, fifteen, eighteen years now?"

"And he never once told you about the rules?"

"I said I didn't know anything about them, didn't I?"

I nodded slowly, "Okay, I take it you know how to gate home; you know how to do the eyes and ears bit, right?"

Evan nodded, "Of course."

"Think of this," I waved my arm at the room and everything in it, "all of this, the room, the sphere, the gods, the people, everything! Think of it all as just one big game."

Evan looked at me like I'd lost all sense. "What?"

"Everything we do, everything we can do, its got limits on it, right? There are things I can do; you can do, that the regular people can't do. Then there are the things that the gods can and cannot do, right?"

Evan paused a moment, obviously thinking about it, "You know, I never really looked at it that way."

I nodded, "Those are the rules. But there are just more rules than those which say what powers we have because of the roles we play."

Evan nodded slowly, and then suddenly I saw the light go on in his eyes. "That was why Roden could make me so beautiful, wasn't it? Because I was so ugly!"

I nodded, "I'm sure that had a part in it. The gods may be all powerful, but their actions are limited by the rules. And if we know about these rules, we can manipulate them to our advantage."

"I see," Evan said slowly. "So why did Roden never tell me about them?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe they can't? When I talked to Fel about it, and the topic came up, I was already thinking in those terms, so maybe that's why he could tell me?"

"So what are they?"

"I don't know, well, that is, I know a few of them. But I'm still learning."

"Okay, and what do the rules have to do with that?" Evan asked pointing at the large bag of money.

"God's are limited in what they can do for you, based on your piety. One of the measures of that piety is how much you contribute to them. By giving Sireen every last cent we had between the two of us, when we walked in there, we showed her, by the rules, that our need was great and our desire was sincere.

"Also, as it was the first time either of us had contributed, it had a bit of an added effect."

"You don't think she would have helped us, otherwise?" Evan said looking puzzled.

"Oh, I think she would have still helped, I did do her a great service after all. But by giving all that much extra, it frees her up to do even more."

"Like the three guards that were sent with us?"

I nodded.

"But still, why so much now?"

I shrugged, "I'm loaded here, in order for an offer from me, someone who doesn't really live here or worship her, to be judged sincere it has to be a lot. I'm hoping that," I pointed to the four large canvas bags at the foot of the bed, "is enough. I would have given her more, but I wanted to have something for Sarah's children, now that their mother is dead."

Evan nodded, "Okay, I get that now. But that leads to another question."

"What?"

"Why the hell did he kill Sarah?"

I shrugged, "Maybe he thought she was also a champion? Maybe he thought it was Jo? Maybe he panicked, or with all the smoke from the gun he couldn't see well? I don't know. In either case, I'm thinking it may be a mistake that helps us."

"How so?"

"Well, you and I are not followers of Sireen, even if I'm on good terms with her. But Sarah was one of her followers."

"So?"

"So a priest from a rival god kills us, and Sireen probably can't do much, because of the rules. But he killed one of her followers, so that means she can probably declare a holy war."

"Huh," Evan said digesting that for a few minutes.

"Think she will?" He asked after a while.

I shook my head, "I don't know, 'The ways of the gods are subtle' after all."

Evan snorted, "Yeah, until you step on one, then they're like a land mine. So what's our next move? Should we go to Scopuli? It is pretty well defended."

"I don't know. We do that and anyone looking for us, won't have a very hard time. I'll stand out and everyone will know exactly where we are."

"You could stay in the temple," Evan pointed out, "Any priest setting foot in there will stand out the second she places a foot on holy ground."

"That's assuming Sireen will allow me to stay there. For all I know that might cause her problems she doesn't want to have right now. Also, the first rule in the importance of not being seen is to not stand up."

Evan lost it then and started laughing rather hard.

I sighed and shook my head, "I had no idea they had Monty Python in Vietnam."

"Oh, the Beeb is everywhere!" Evan said still giggling, "I always loved that skit. And I see your point. If they can't find us, they can't kill us."

I nodded, "And gods can-not see priests or champions of other gods, unless they are on their holy ground, or recognized by one of their priests or their champion."

"So, let's buy a car, tell everyone we're heading to Scopuli, and then we'll just 'get lost' and drop out of sight somewhere between here and there," Evan said.

I thought about that, it was a good idea. With everyone thinking we were in the city, they'd all look for us there first.

"Sounds good to me," I said and checked the clock on the wall.

"I want to get an early start tomorrow, so time for bed," I stood up and started to strip down to my underwear. I wasn't really worried about Evan, he really was a woman after all.

"Could I offer you any 'comforting'?" Evan asked and gave me a wink.

"You are sleeping on the floor, in front of the door," I said rather haughtily and pointed.

"Yes, your majesty," he said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Better," I smiled, and getting into bed, I pulled the sheets up. "Don't forget to turn out the light."

Evan nodded, and suddenly shifted and Evean was standing in the room.

"What are you doing that for?" I asked curious.

"Better hearing, smell, and I can see in the dark," she grinned toothily.

I smiled back, suddenly I felt a lot more secure about our chances.

Seven

somewhere

I sighed and wiped my brow, it was hot out, and it had been hot out for some days now. I rubbed my swollen belly, I was getting close to term, and from this point on I could start labor any day.

"So, do they have any kind of a midwife here?" I asked Evan as he came back to the cart.

"No, but the next town does, it's about a two-day journey."

I nodded and leaned back in the seat. "Might as well get going then."

"Right after I pick up some supplies," Evan told me.

"We still have money left?" I asked surprised.

"Some, not much though."

I nodded, "Okay."

Evan climbed up onto the cart and urged the horse on. We'd traded the car months ago, gas was not easy to find once you got farther away from the large towns, and it stood out too much. A horse and a cart was a lot more discreet.

We went in and did a little shopping at the small country store here, I didn't like the way my bones ached as I walked around, they almost felt as if they were grinding, and then there was the way my balance had changed, and the constant need to pee. I was doing my best to be pleasant about all of it, Darlene and Rachel had both gone through their pregnancies rather cheerfully.

I was starting to be less than that myself however. Especially with this heat wave we were experiencing, and the baby getting active every time I laid down to sleep. I was looking forward to being done with this and the way certain parts of my body were now aching.

Evan at least had stopped hitting on me when I started getting big. That was a relief, though at times I got depressed about it, because it meant I was no longer attractive. And trust me, that I would get depressed by that, made me even more depressed! This whole pregnancy thing, with the hormones, the mood swings, the changes in my body, yeah, I wasn't cut out for this!

We'd been 'on the run' for I guess five months now. At first we were setting up camps outside of the small towns, and moving on after a few weeks and finding a new place to stay. Then we'd found a nice spot out far from everything and stayed there for several months, until I realized I needed to start looking for a midwife. Childbirth was not something I wanted to do by myself.

We paid for our things; the lady at the store made a few comments about how nice it was to see a young couple getting started and all that. I didn't want to chat much and Evan told her we needed to be going.

He helped me up into the cart, then got in next to me and directed the horse out of town.

"Thanks," I said.

"For what? That?" He laughed, "You look tired, that lady should have known better than to stop and gossip."

"Not just that," I sighed, "for everything."

"Eh, Rod wants me to do it, I think he figures your Feliogustus' friends might be good for a favor or two if I stay and help out."

I nodded, "Yeah, Quid pro quo is pretty standard with the gods."

"Quid what?" Evan asked looking at me.

"I help you, so I expect you to help me," I said. Evan knew so much of American culture that I often forgot he wasn't from there.

"Ah, okay. So how long do you think 'til you deliver?"

I shook my head, "I don't know, just 'soon'."

Six hours later I started to have contractions, and a few hours after that 'soon' became 'now.'

"I think my water just broke," I said and Evan looked over at me, and then down at my feet.

"Guess I need to find a good place to stop," Evan said.

"What are we going to do?" I said panicking, "We're miles from anywhere, there's no doctors, no midwife, nothing!"

"Don't worry; I'll take care of it." Evan said soothingly.

"What! How can you! You're not a doctor!"

"I've done this before," Evan said and smiled at me.

"What!? How come you never told me this before?" I said and then grunted as another contraction hit.

Evan shrugged, "I figured I was the last person you wanted to deliver your baby. But, now that we're out of choices, looks like it's me."

I growled and slapped him on the arm. "You better not be lying to me!"

"I grew up in a poor village, my mom was a midwife, she taught me everything. That's why I stopped at that store, just in case we didn't make it, I wanted to be prepared."

I looked at him; he looked calm, cool, and collected. Something that I definitely wasn't at the first several births I'd been at.

"Okay, I believe you. Now what?"

"We find a good place to make camp; this is your first, so it'll be a while."

I nodded, I knew that much myself.

We rode along probably another twenty minutes, then we turned off the trail, and Evan directed the cart back and around a hill, that would hopefully keep us out of sight from the main road.

"Okay, just lay back here and rest, let me get everything ready," he told me, "and let me know when the contractions come, okay?"

I nodded, they were still pretty far apart, and I knew it would be a while yet, so I wasn't worried, too much.

Evan made camp, got a small fire going, and moved me onto the bed he'd prepared for me.

"Okay, I know you've got kids, you've told me about them more than once in the last few months. But I don't know if you ever paid attention to what they told your women, so here it is again," and with that Evan told me what to expect, when to expect it, and what to do about it.

I was impressed and felt a lot better about things.

I won't go into the details, it was rough at times, and it took all night. When the baby started to pass through the birth canal at last, it was the most incredible feeling, and because I was so numb at that point, I really didn't feel any pain.

Evan tied off the cord, cut it, and cleaned and wrapped the baby and put it on my chest, near my breast.

"Congratulations, you have a daughter," Evan said, and then started to clean me up, and deal with the afterbirth.

I looked down at her; words couldn't describe how I felt at that moment. I like kids, the gods know I have enough of them! But I'd never actually given birth to one myself. I think I understood Darlene and her desire to have a big family in that moment, and Rachel's desire not to. Darlene had so little in her life really, and this was so much. She was surrounding herself with the one wealth that money and power could not buy.

And for Rachel, she already had so much money and power, she had her kingdom, which was family to her, that she didn't need to surround herself with children to get that, she already had so much of it.

I moved her to my breast and started feeding her, quieting her down.

"What's her name?" Evan asked.

That stopped me, all this time and I hadn't even thought of a name!

Evan laughed, "Don't have one, do you?"

I shook my head weakly.

"Cam," Evan said, "she's Cam."

"Cam?" I asked confused.

"Well if she stays female when we leave here, you can call her Camille, and if not, Cameron."

I laughed, "You've been thinking about this awhile, haven't you?"

Evan blushed. "Yeah, well, deep down I'm still a girl, and you're still a guy, so I knew you'd forget."

Now I blushed, "So, Cam it is. Thanks, Evan. So how many births have you helped with?"

Evan smiled, "I was studying to be a midwife when Roden found me."

"You haven't done this before, have you?" I wasn't angry, 'no harm, no foul' right?

"Well I did watch it once."

"Well, that's better."

"On film," Evan smirked.

"You're not improving your case, Evan," I warned.

"It was in a foreign language too."

"Did you really have any training?" I grumbled, but I couldn't move or do much, and not just because the baby was feeding, but because the feeling was starting to come back to my lower pelvis, and I was sore.

"Hey, I did alright, didn't I?"

"I think I'm going to ask Roden if I can deliver your first born."

Evan grinned, "Hey, you've been through it now, so you know what to expect."

I sighed and closed my eyes. I need to sleep.

"Did I mention that the film broke before I could watch it a second time?"

"Shut up, Evan."

I looked around, I was in Fel's bar. I hadn't been here in a while, so I was a bit surprised. I was still getting used to the stage with the instruments on it. I couldn't recall if the stage had always been there, or had just been added when he'd partnered with Fordessa.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you," Fel started off.

"It has been a few months," I said leaning back and relaxing. I wasn't stiff or sore here, so I was enjoying it. "At least the baby is born and I can come back now."

"Not right away you can't," Fel said surprising me.

"What?"

"It's dangerous for a newborn to go through a portal, even one you make coming back here."

"How dangerous?" I asked concerned.

"Deadly in most cases."

I swore, "How long do I have to stay here?"

"Another month should be enough for you," Fel started.

"Then I can bring her home?"

"Enough for you, Cam will have to stay longer than that," Fel warned.

"Longer? How much longer? And what do I do? I can't stay here!"

"No, you can't stay there; you're going to have to foster her with someone else."

"I can't stay?" I said, I was torn too; I wanted to go home, badly. But I didn't want to leave Cam here alone either.

"No, I have work for you to do, and your wives, both of them are starting to complain."

"But to leave her here...."

"You can visit, Will, besides, how much time do you really get to spend with any of your kids?"

"Yeah, but I birthed this one myself, Fel," I sighed.

"That's why I'm giving you a month to settle down and find her a foster home. Give you some time to bond."

I nodded, "Any suggestions on who I should foster her with?"

"I can't really help you with that; you're outside of my sphere."

"Maybe I should go to the temple in Scopuli and ask Sireen for help." I sighed.

"No!" Fel said sharply and rather loudly, startling me, "Do not take her to Scopuli or any temple or church of any god or goddess! In fact, make sure that whoever you foster her with doesn't even go to church."

I looked at Fel shocked. "Why?"

"Just don't, William."

"But--" I stopped a moment and thought about it. I'd never seen Fel so emphatic about anything before. "Rules?"

"I can't say anything more on the subject, William," he warned.

I nodded slowly, "Can I ask a question?"

"William," Fel said in a warning tone, "no more."

I felt it when he said that too, a sense of, of that I had best leave this subject alone.

"I don't understand, but I won't ask anymore probing questions."

"That would be best."

I wondered if I could even ask, if I could ask? I shook my head; this was going to be like the old joke of 'don't think about pink elephants.'

"I'm very confused." I admitted, though I was sure he already knew that. "I'll start looking for a place to foster her. How long until it will be safe for her to travel? Can you answer that?"

"I'll let you know when the time comes, William," Fel said, having settled back down to his usual relaxed demeanor.

I nodded, and fell into a deeper sleep.

We spent a couple of weeks there, with Evan waiting on me and helping me to recover, as well as helping me care for Cam. I cheated quite a bit and used healing spells on myself, but I learned that they weren't all that effective, as I was recovering from a 'natural' process. So there really wasn't all that much to heal.

When we left there, we headed off to our previous destination. We splurged and got a room at the inn.

"Well, now what?" Evan asked, "We're almost out of money."

"I'm thinking of going back to Lionesnesc, doing one or two big money gigs, and then heading back out." I told him.

"I can't stay much longer, Roden told me last night that I've got another couple of weeks before I have to return. What do you need more money for? I don't expect you to be staying much longer either."

I sighed and shook my head "Fel told me that she's too young to survive a portal."

Evan looked surprised. "Really? So what are you going to do with Cam?"

I shook my head, "I have no idea, I need to find someone to take care of her."

"Try Alice."

I laughed at that, "Alice? Oh right, I can just imagine how she'd feel about that."

Evan shrugged, "She might surprise you. Did Fel tell you how long until Cam will be old enough?"

I shook my head again. "No, just that he'd let me know when. That makes me think it could be a while. Guess he didn't want to stress me out talking about it," I said a little sadly.

"Well, you can get your friend Joseph and your sister Nikki to come check up on her when you can't," Evan noted. I'd told him about the two of them during the time we'd spent out here alone, when we'd been trading stories about ourselves.

I smiled, "I hadn't thought about that. Thanks, Evan, I just might do that."

Evan smiled and changed into his champion form, even as a female I could still appreciate just how hot Evean was. Evan had been spending the nights as Evean ever since we'd started out on this little odyssey of ours, mainly because the felinoid bodies had a better sense of hearing and could see better in the dark. But also because as a champion, Evean had the far greater strength and all of the other benefits of being a champion.

"Well, time for bed. Sleep well." Evean said and lay down.

I set Cam in the small bassinet that Evan had bought at the last town and laid down myself. I could have shifted into my own champion form, but I didn't know what effects that might have on my body, or Cam, while I was nursing, so I decided it would be better if I didn't.

Eight

On the road to Lionesnesc

We'd been on the road for over a week, I hadn't realized just how far from Lionesnesc we had gone, until we started heading back to it. There really was a rather large 'outback' type of an area to the east of the whole country of which Scopuli was the capital. As it was pretty arid, I wasn't too surprised that it could only support scattered small towns.

We'd been staying in inns almost exclusively, because I wasn't sure how healthy it would be for the baby to spend the nights outside. It could get pretty cold out at night around here. Fortunately, I'd been able to perform at most of the inns, who were very interested in the latest music from the 'big city' and that got us a break on our lodging, plus tips, which let us stretch what little money we had left a lot farther.

"I'm going to have to leave here in a couple more days," Evan told me that night, as we were getting ready to bed down.

"I think it's only about two more days back to Lionesnesc at this point."

"Any ideas on what you're going to do?"

I sighed and shook my head; we'd had this conversation at least once a day. "At this point I think I'm going to ask Henry for his help."

"I still think you should ask Alice first," Evan said.

"What is it about you and Alice?" I asked. I was really pretty curious about that.

Evan laughed, "It's a woman thing, you wouldn't understand it."

"I wouldn't understand it?" I said and gestured to myself with my free hand. I was supporting Cam with the other while she rested.

"Just because you're one part-time, it doesn't mean you understand us," Evan laughed and I just shook my head again. Perhaps he was right, maybe I'd be better off checking with Alice first. I knew she wasn't at all religious, so I could probably steer clear of things like Fel had commanded.

I put Cam down and started to get ready for bed.

"Hey, did you hear something?" Evan said, and instantly switched into Evean.

The door suddenly blew in, with a loud explosion, and there were two people outside with what looked like shotguns. Evean attacked pulling out the pistol, which I had given over to her care some time ago.

She killed the two with the shotguns, shooting one in the head, and ripping the other one's throat out with the swipe of a clawed hand.

There was more gunfire then, I started to reach for one of the shotguns that had fallen into the room when Evean waved me back.

"There's at least a dozen of them out there, take Cam and run, I'll hold them off here!"

Evean charged out the door then, and I heard a lot more gunfire, screaming, and Evean swearing.

I picked up a chair and threw it through the window and then grabbing the bassinet I jumped out onto the roof.

However there was already somebody there and he was moving as fast as I was. I didn't recognize him, but I knew that he had to be somebody's champion. I didn't even get the chance to draw my knife before he was on top of me, hacking at me with a sword.

I healed the first wound, but my body exploded in pain as somebody shot me from behind! Obviously there were several people on the roof.

"Be careful fool! We want the child alive!" Yelled the champion I was fighting.

I head butted him and kicked him in the crotch, and healed the wound, then tried to bull him forward. Which didn't work well as I was up against someone both bigger and stronger than I was. I started to shift; I needed my larger and stronger champion form now, if I was going to save Cam....

And I suddenly found myself standing before Sireen.

"What... What happened?" I said trying to figure out just what had happened and where I was.

"You were shot in the back of the head," Sireen said and led me over to a seat.

"What happened?" I said, still confused, I was having trouble making sense of things.

"Head wounds are nasty, just sit and relax a moment, it will come back to you."

I sat and blinked at her a few times, and then suddenly I realized what had happened.

"CAM!" I screamed standing up.

"Is alive, they took her alive. She's okay, they'll take good care of her, don't worry."

"Who? Who!?"

"Trespon, his champion and his priests killed you and took your child."

"Why?" I said. I wanted to throttle someone, I wanted to kill a lot of someones, but I guess Sireen was exerting some sort of control over me, being as I was in her domain, as I felt my anger and upset become contained.

"The children of champions are special, William," Sireen told me, "At least those that are the offspring of two champions."

"I have to get her back! I have to go!" I said trying to move, but my feet were rooted to the spot, and everything felt heavy.

"You have to do your time here, and then those along the way, plus the ones at your god's. But don't worry, I will send my troops after her. Could you perhaps give us a song to use?"

I thought of some of the nastiest punk stuff I'd heard when I was in college and she smiled.

"That will do, now you just go to sleep, and don't worry about a thing."

Nine

Fel's Bar

"I need to go get her, Fel," were the first words out of my mouth when I opened my eyes in the bar.

Fel nodded, "And you will. Aryanna is rather upset by this turn of events."

"I had hoped they'd given up on following me after all that time." I said sitting down in one of the chairs at the bar and hanging my head in my hands.

"When they found out you were pregnant, Trespon decided that he wanted the child. Now that he has her, it's going to take some effort to recover her."

I nodded and my spirits sank even more.

"Sireen said she would help."

"Yes, I know," Fel sighed, "But it would be better if you got Cam yourself, and got her out of either side's grasp. I fear that Sireen might be tempted to keep Cam herself if she should get her hands on her."

"Why?"

"Remember what she told you?"

I nodded, "That the children of champions are important. Well, if both parents are champions I gather. I haven't seen anything overly special with my own offspring."

"Gods are fickle, William; you of all people should know that. If we don't give her the opportunity to be fickle, then there's less chance that she will be."

I thought about that, it made sense.

"So what do I do?" I asked looking up at Fel. I needed answers. I know I needed help. Storming in there would be one thing, but I didn't want to end up in a situation where they might kill Cam.

"Well, first of all, don't worry about Cam. They're not going to do anything to hurt her, quite the opposite. They'll treat her very well.

"But they are going to guard her heavily, because they know you'll be coming back to get her eventually, so they're going to be ready for you."

I nodded, "I wonder if I should bring Evean with me, she actually was quite helpful."

"Oh, Evean is still there."

I sat up and looked at him, my mouth open in shock. "Whu?" I mumbled as I tried to make sense of that.

"They left her for dead on the floor and took off with your child. But she wasn't dead, she just faked it."

"So what is she doing?" I asked.

"She's following them back to their base. From what I gathered, she's really rather pissed off and apparently is holding quite the grudge."

I nodded, "Sounds about right. What's Roden think of that?"

"That you owe him a rather big favor," Fel said, and moving behind the bar he drew us each a large beer.

I took it and took a long draw off the mug. While things here were somewhat hazy when I was asleep dreaming, everything was quite real and detailed when I was here waiting to be resurrected. And the beer in Fel's bar was always the best. Aryanna had her garden with its many plants, Sireen had her music room with its many instruments, but Fel had his bar with its many many taps of different types of beer.

"Sireen asked me for a song," I said as I drank.

Fel looked surprised for a moment and then sat back and took another drink. "Hmm, so I see." He paused a moment, "yes, I'm going through your head. She almost managed to hide it too. Hmm, she shouldn't be able to do that."

"What I want to know is how she can teach it to her people. I got the impression that gods and goddesses couldn't pass on those kinds of things."

"Oh, she can't pass them on if she learns them herself, but you offered it and you had made some rather generous contributions to her temples. That was probably also part of the reason that she didn't have her own people out looking to bring you in."

"You really think she would have?" I asked surprised.

"I'm a pessimist when it comes to the other gods, William. Oh, I know there are gods out there who are still romantics at heart, and Sireen actually does seem to fit that mold. But why take chances, right?"

I laughed and shook my head, "Aryanna strikes me as quite the romantic."

"Oh she is, that's why we get along so well!" Fel laughed.

"Excuse me?" I said surprised.

"Romantics never get along with each other, they need more pragmatic people like me and you, so their romanticism can be fully appreciated," Fel said smirking.

"I bet you never told her that!" I said grinning.

"Oh no, I told her that all the time, why do you think I put up with your shenanigans?"

"Umm," I looked at Fel a little guiltily. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Only occasionally." Fel said and I sighed.

"Well only occasionally now," he corrected himself.

I spent my three days meeting with the recently departed, and learning what I could about what had happened in the many months that I'd been away. I also spent time with Fel, just being with him and talking with him. Fel's presence had a big effect on me and on my state of mind, and right now I needed that influence. I knew logically that Cam was okay, it just took a while for me to accept it.

At least I didn't have hormones in my body messing with my emotions.

I also spent some time with Fordessa, which was rather pleasant, while I wasn't her champion, she was now in a pantheon with Fel, so I owed her my respect as well. We actually spent a fair bit of time on stage playing songs together, I still enjoyed music, and I enjoyed learning the songs of my adopted people. They taught me quite a bit about the history of the region, as well as places further away.

"And here you are," Fel said as I awoke on the small altar in the back of the temple. I looked around; Narasamman was the only one in the room. I sat up as she walked over to me.

"It's so good to see you again, Will," she said and gave me a hug and a kiss.

I returned both with heartfelt affection.

"How are things, Nara?"

"I think Rachel is about to kill Goth," Narasamman laughed a bit darkly. "And I might be willing to help her."

I slid off of the altar and onto my feet, standing up. "What? What happened?"

"Goth is an adult woman now, William, with an adult woman's taste."

I nodded, "Yeah, so?"

"Goth has decided that she wants you, and that she's going to steal you away from Rachel."

"What?!" I said shocked, but the sinking feeling I felt inside told me that I shouldn't have been.

"Oh, she thinks she's being coy about it, and that no one knows, but she's still as young and clueless as ever."

"I guess I better go see Rachel right away then."

Narasamman sighed, "As much as I'd like to delay you a while, yes, you had best get going. She's on a short fuse right now."

"Rachel is the love of my life. She should know better than to think I'd toss her over for Goth. Hell, I've cut back on ... well let's just say that I don't warm that many beds anymore." I said with a suddenly blush.

Narasamman eyed me over, "Oh really now, Will?"

"Ask Fel, he knows exactly how many women I'm bedding,"

"It's depressing," Fel's voice surrounded us, "the opportunities he turns down."

"Well, that's surprising," Narasamman said.

"What's even more surprising is that my own god encourages me to do these things," I said a bit guiltily.

"That's because you're one of my finest creations, William! I don't want all that breeding potential to go to waste!" Fel said laughing.

I could feel all the fur on my face standing straight up as my ears went flat in complete embarrassment.

"I think I'm done here," I mumbled, and grabbing a tunic from the chair I hurried out of the temple, via the back door I often used when trying to come and go unseen, with Fel and Narasamman's laughter echoing in the room behind me.

I pulled the tunic over my head and jogged straight to the castle. I found Rachel almost immediately; she was sitting in council with most of the council members. She looked up at me when I came into the room, and I could see that she was definitely not happy.

"Meeting adjourned, family stuff," I said loudly and I grabbed Rachel and kissed the hell out of her, while holding her close.

I think the fact that she was growling loudly did more to empty the room than my word had.

"Where. The. Hell. Have. You. Been!" She snarled at me when I stopped kissing her, and took a swing at me. I winced, because she had her claws out and she laid a nice set of bloody stripes across my face.

"I'm sorry, Hon. I couldn't come home, and I have to leave again soon as well." I pulled her close and then stared her right back down, "But don't you ever think that I don't love you more than anybody else in my life!" And I kissed her hard again.

She was still mad, I got bit, clawed, kicked, slapped, and punched, all the way back to our rooms in the castle. I'd seen Rachel mad before, but I'd never seen her quite this furious. I don't know what Goth had been doing, but whatever it was, it was going to have to stop.

"You're bleeding all over everything," Rachel growled when I finally tossed her onto the bed in our bedroom.

"Whose fault is that?" I said looking back at her.

"Yours! Heal yourself already!"

"So you can cut me some more? I'm not immune to pain, Hon, besides; I thought you might want to enjoy your handiwork for a while."

Rachel stopped and suddenly looked both sad and embarrassed. "Are you mad at me?"

I looked up rolling my eyes, "How could I be mad at you? I've been gone for almost a year, left you by yourself, and I should be mad? You're my wife, I missed you, Rachel, I missed you tremendously. I don't care if you pull out a knife and stab me! I'm just so happy to see you again, to hold you! Whatever I did to piss you off, I'm sorry! But I don't always control my own life, you know that, dear."

"It isn't you. It's that girl you rescued." Rachel sighed and looked up at me, "I'd have her whipped, but I know it would make you mad."

I stopped and blinked, "You'd whip her? What the hell has she been doing?"

"She thinks I'm too old for you, that you deserve a younger, prettier wife. That I haven't paid enough attention to you, or you wouldn't be away so much. That I should give you more children."

I could feel my jaw drop as my eyes got wide and I just stared at Rachel as she said these things.

"She said that?" I gasped.

"Well, not to my face, but she's been saying things like it to everyone else. She's a veritable gossip factory, that one!" Rachel said looking close to tears.

I walked over to her and leaning over I put an arm around her and pulled her to me and kissed her again. "Those are all terrible and nasty lies, and I'll punish her for saying them. But first," I crawled onto the bed, pulling Rachel along with me, holding her close, "I want to spend my time with the woman I love."

I kissed her again, and she relaxed against me. "Did you really mean the bit about the knife?"

"Please don't go and make me prove it," I sighed and she giggled.

"Well then, why don't you stop bleeding all over the bed, and you can show me just how much you missed me?"

I did, and I most definitely did.

Several times one of the maids tried to interrupt, we both growled at them, and Rachel said if the kingdom wasn't under attack, it could wait. After I started to growl really loudly with my ears back on the third interruption, they stopped trying to bother us.

But at least they left us some food.

Two days later we emerged and apparently there were quite a few people cooling their heels outside waiting for their queen to make her appearance. They were mostly her ministers, Narasamman of all people, and of course, Goth.

Goth had definitely grown up alright. The last time I'd seen her, which was probably ten months ago, she'd been cute. Now that she was all grown up, she was definitely hot. Hotter than her mom, hot. Oh, not as hot as Rachel was when we first met, and to be fair, Rachel was still hotter by far. But if she wasn't my adopted daughter, and if I didn't have Rachel, yeah, I'd bed her.

But she was my daughter, and Rachel did mean a hell of a lot more to me. So I really wasn't interested, quite the opposite in fact.

I smiled at Goth, which was about all I could do because Rachel and I were being rather clingy with each other.

"Goth, I'm surprised you're here."

"You promised me you'd come see me whenever you were here!" She said pouting.

I nodded, "And I will, but you have to understand that Rachel comes first, she's my mate. I'll visit you tomorrow, okay?"

"Will..." She started and pouted some more. I was impressed, she had that look down pretty good, I wondered if she practiced it in front of a mirror, because it was sexy as hell and I bet there wasn't a guy in the city that'd resist it.

"Goth," I interrupted, growling softly, "I will see you tomorrow, and you are going to behave between now and then. You are going to stay out of trouble and be the perfect little girl, or it will be a week before you get to see me again. Am I clear?"

"Willll..." she started.

"Am I clear?" I said loudly with more than a hint of a growl while giving her a dark look and pulling Rachel closer, causing Rachel to purr rather happily.

"Yes, Will." Goth said and flounced out of the room looking rather unhappy.

"The rest of you can leave," Rachel said with a dismissive wave to the ministers. "We'll be busy with other matters today. If it's really important, you can leave the scrolls on the table, over there."

Several of them did drop scrolls on the table, but they all beat a hasty retreat after Goth. From the grins on the faces of a few of the female ministers, I think they could tell the boom was about to get lowered on Goth. This made me worry even more about what Goth must have up to during my absence.

Narasamman didn't depart with the other ministers and earned a look from Rachel while I sent one of the maids off to gather up our children.

"And what do you want?" Rachel sighed.

"Hey, don't complain, I could have waylaid him, instead I sent him right up here to you, first."

Rachel looked at me, "Honestly, hon?"

I smiled and hugged her again, "Did I tell you just how much I missed you? I don't know if she could have this time, but she didn't even try, and she warned me about Goth."

Rachel relaxed against me, "Okay, so?" she asked Narasamman.

"I want Goth sent to the temple," Narasamman said smiling.

"Oh ho!" Rachel laughed, "That would be wonderful!"

"Why are you asking us?" I asked.

"Because you're her father, you have parental rights. So you can send her to us and make it stick." Narasamman said rubbing her hands together while she smiled.

It wasn't a pleasant smile either.

"I thought Jezza was her father now?"

"Nope. Everyone recognizes it as you, even she does."

"Then why is she trying to get me in bed?" I sighed.

"Ah, you noticed!" Rachel teased.

"I may be slow, but I'm not an idiot," I said and sighed again. "But that act of hers, and the things she's been saying. Yeah, it's obvious. But why me?"

"Cause you saved her," Narasamman said, "because you're the big tough warrior. Surely you've noticed the way females look at you around here?" She smirked at me, her own tail curling.

"So what are you going to do to her?"

"Yes, what do you have planned for her?" Rachel asked, looking rather predatory herself.

"Well, I just happen to think she'll be a great candidate for Fordessa, don't you, Will?"

I blinked, "Fordessa? Has Goth shown any interest in music? Or even singing?"

Narasamman gave a very slow predatory grin of her own then. "Felecia has guaranteed me that it will take at least a year to really assess Goth's talents. Even if she doesn't have any."

"And that's good because?" Rachel asked curious.

"Because Fordessa's main temple is in Marland, over a week's travel from here," I said.

Rachel leaned into me and purred, "Nara, you really should come over for dinner tomorrow night!"

Narasamman laughed, "Think you'll be done with him by then?"

"For this, I'll make time!" Rachel said smirking.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I sighed.

"No!" They both said in unison.

"If we could trust your judgment, you wouldn't get into this kind of trouble in the first place," Rachel said and whacked my butt with her tail.

I decided my best option was to keep my mouth shut.

The maid brought our children in then, and I was surprised that the two children I'd had with Narasamman were there as well. Rachel didn't complain, and in fact even invited Narasamman to stay for lunch, while I spent the rest of the day getting  reacquainted with my children.

I slept in a little with Rachel the next morning, and then had a leisurely breakfast, with her and our children, Baron, Suisan, and our youngest who had been named after Diament to honor his sacrifice.

"So, what are you going to do to her?" Rachel asked.

I shook my head, "I don't really know. I do care about her; she's like one of my own children. But she can't go spreading lies, and she can't have me," I shook my head, "it would be like sleeping with my own child."

"Make her start calling you 'Dad' again," Rachel said, "That should get the point across."

I nodded slowly, "Maybe that would do it."

"She needs more exposure to males her own age, hopefully being sent off to Fordessa's temple will help with that."

"I can just imagine how she's going to take that!" I sighed.

"She's an adult now; she needs to start doing adult things."

I nodded.

"So when are you leaving again?"

I flinched; I couldn't believe that wasn't foremost in my mind!

"Well, that's not a pleasant expression," Rachel said looking at me rather curiously.

"Because I have to go deal with something very unpleasant," I growled.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rachel asked.

I almost started to growl again, just thinking about it, but I stopped myself. "I don't know how much I can tell you."

"Feliogustus's stuff?"

I shook my head, "Not exactly. Back when I first became Feliogustus's champion, I had to go do a thing for an ally of his."

Rachel nodded, "I remember that."

"Well, things happened, that weren't part of why we were there. Those things had consequences. I spent the last six months dealing with those consequences." I sighed and looked down at my plate.

"Didn't work out the way you expected it to?"

"Up until the last minute, it was working out alright. Then it got all screwed up."

"There's more to it than just that, isn't there?" Rachel asked probing.

"Yeah, there is. It's very personal for me."

"So, tell me about it."

I stopped and looked at her, "I'm not sure you'd understand. The things that the gods have us do, these are not things that are easy understand, the places we go, are just, different. I don't even understand it all, and I deal with it all the time."

Rachel nodded, "Well try anyway."

"I had something stolen from me, something that was like a part of me, something I created from my being with the help of another, who has passed on to the next stage in their life."

"They died?"

"No, I wouldn't call it that. They became something greater than what they were."

"Will that happen to you?" Rachel asked concerned.

I laughed, "No, it won't happen to me." I reached across the table and took her hand, "I have every intention of meeting up with you in the afterlife, in heaven, when my days are done. Even if it may take me a little longer to get there."

Rachel's eyes got a little misty when I said that, and her face softened. "You have no idea how much that comforts me, to hear that you want to do that."

I smiled at her, "Which is why I always make sure you know how I feel about you, so you'll be there for me, when I show up."

"Ah, I'll be sure to make sure I use that information to my advantage then!" She teased. "So, you had something stolen?"

I nodded, "And I have to go get it back."

"Sounds easy enough."

"A god took it, Rachel."

"You'd think they'd know better than to steal something from the 'god slayer', wouldn't you?"

I gave a small laugh, "Yeah, you'd think."

Rachel gave my hand a squeeze. "Well, you do what you have to do, and don't show them any mercy, or think twice about doing what needs to be done," She growled. "You make them suffer, and you make them pay."

I blinked, surprised.

"They're taking you away from spending time with me, that alone demands the most severe punishment!" Rachel said a little haughtily, with a smile.

"I'll see to it that they're most harshly punished, Your Majesty!" I said with a smile.

I was joking of course, but I wasn't so sure that she was, Rachel was quite the bloodthirsty little queen at heart.

I finished up and left not long after that, as Rachel went to go meet with her ministers and council members, to discuss those things that she'd been ignoring for the last few days.

It didn't take me long to find Goth, she was at Jezza's house waiting patiently for me.

"Will!" She said and ran up to me, hugging me.

I gave her a hug back and then slowly peeled her off, as she didn't seem to want to let go. I looked over her outfit, or rather lack of one. While there wasn't much of a nudity taboo, what with the fur and all, there were still standards of what to wear, and how to wear it. In the tradition of young women everywhere, Goth was definitely beyond what was tasteful.

"Is that any way to dress for your father?" I asked her with a critical eye.

"Oh, Will," She said and smiled, "I'm not a child anymore."

"To me you are, and further, you're my child. Go back inside and put on something a bit more appropriate."

"Will!" She said and stamped her foot.

"And stop calling me 'Will,' I'm your father, Goth," I said and gave her a stern look and a warning growl.

"You're not really my father!" She complained rebelliously, but dropping her eyes to look at her feet.

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you, Goth. Do you want to spend the day with me, or not?"

Goth gulped, I didn't press my authority often, and perhaps that was my problem with her. But she knew well enough that when I did make an issue of something, I meant it.

"Yes, Father," She said contritely.

"Good. Now go inside and put on something a bit more suitable to be seen with your father."

Goth nodded, and went back inside, ears down and tail lashing.

Sara came over to say hello while Goth was changing.

"Hello, William."

"Hello, Sara, is she always this bad?"

"Only when you're involved," Sara said grinning.

"Do your daughters dress like that?" I asked curious.

"Mara does, when she thinks we don't know what she's up to."

"Poor Jezza must have a fit."

Sara laughed, "Not really. Oh he'd never let Mara, or Goth know, as far as they're concerned, he's an old uptight male with no idea of what it's like to be young."

I nodded, "If she wasn't trying to get my attention with it, I wouldn't care either," I sighed. "Rachel's at her wit's end with her, I don't think Goth has realized just how thin the ice she's walking on is."

Sara nodded and sighed, "She won't even look at the males her own age, and quite a few have tried to court her."

I shook my head, "I should have set her up with a family in another town."

"Oh, don't say that, Will. She's a nice girl; she just has a bad case of hero worship is all." Sara looked up at me; I was a good two feet taller than her. "She told me once what her life was like before you saved her."

"Well, she's not going to be very happy when I pack her off to a nunnery."

Sara looked at me, "What's a 'nunnery'?"

I laughed, "Old expression. She's going to be apprenticed to the temple."

"Oh! You're right; she's not going to like that at all. But I'm surprised the local high priestess agreed to it."

"It was her idea," I said.

"You're kidding me!" Sara said shocked.

"Yup, the high priestess at Fordessa's temple in Marland is more than happy to help out with Nara's little problem."

Sara laughed a moment and then covered her mouth. "I shouldn't laugh, but I'm sure it will be for the best. Now excuse me while I go prepare the house for the inevitable explosion."

Sara passed Goth as she headed back inside, "Now don't go giving your father a hard time, Dear," she said to Goth as they passed.

"Is this better?" Goth asked, and posed for my examination. She'd still be in danger of going to jail in most of the states back home, but here she was just a slightly rebellious daughter now, instead of a scandalous one.

"Well, at least I won't have to throw a blanket over you with a hole cut in it for your head," I said and gave a dramatic sigh.

"Will!" she said and stamped a foot again.

"What did I say about that?" I warned her.

Now it was her turn to sigh, "I'm sorry, Father."

I smiled, "Better. Now, let's go find some lunch, and then maybe do a little shopping while you tell me what's been going on in your life for the last year."

Goth nodded and was a lot happier about that. I let her hold hands for a while, but I didn't allow her to walk arm in arm with me. When we sat down to eat, it took a rather well-placed glare to get her to sit on the opposite side of the table.

"So aren't there any boys in your life?" I asked after she'd recounted most of what I'd missed.

"I'm not interested in boys," She said and I felt her foot rub against mine.

"So, you're interested in girls, then?" I smiled innocently at her, "I'm okay with that of course, as your father, I'll support you, if that's what you want."

"William!" She said, ears going flat and all of her fur bushing out in embarrassment.

"Well if you're not interested in males that way, what is a father to think?" I said.

"Oh I'm interested in males, Father," she said lowering her voice to draw out the word, "or rather, I'm just interested in one. A very special one."

I shook my head, time to grab the bull by the horns, "No, Goth. You're my daughter. I have a wife already, whom I love very much."

"But she's so, old! And she never has time for you! She stays here and doesn't go with you!" Goth started to get more and more animated as she went on.

"Goth!" I growled, and showed some teeth.

Goth's ears went down and her eyes got wide as saucers. I'd never bared my teeth at her, in the world of Saladin, bearing one's teeth was a serious threat.

"Have I ever hit you?" I asked, still a bit growly.

"N... no," She answered shakily.

"Keep talking that way about Rachel, and I will. Do you understand me?"

Goth gulped, and I could see tears forming in her eyes as she nodded. "Yes, Father," she said in a small voice.

"I've heard all about the things you've been saying about her, the rumors, the gossip. Is that anyway to treat the woman who has made sure you were taken care of? Protected? Put with a loving family? Do you have any idea how much you've hurt her? I'm very disappointed in you, Goth.

"I blame myself mostly, I haven't been here enough to see that you've been raised properly. But all of this is going to stop, now, understand?"

"But... but I love you, Will," Goth hiccupped, she was crying quietly now, and I felt like a total heel. Who knew being a parent could suck so hard?

"I love you as a daughter, Goth, and that's all it will ever be. I cannot be your partner, your husband, or even your lover. I'm not the male for you."

"But... but, who would want me? I'm just a stupid little slave girl that gets passed around to...."

I slapped her, lightly. Not hard, not enough to hurt her, or even turn her head to the side, just to shock her and get her attention. I was on my feet and I had my nose inches from hers.

"You are NOT a slave, you are NOT stupid, and you are NOT a thing to be abused. You are my daughter! You are smart, attractive, caring, and there are hundreds of males out there who would court you, if you only gave them half a chance.

"Now stop saying stupid things, and don't you ever even think that again!"

She looked confused, "But you said you didn't want me...."

"You think that because your father doesn't want to sleep with you that no other male does?" I said exasperated.

"But you're not really my father, you just took me in."

"Goth, how many times do I have to tell you this? I'm your father. Okay, stepfather. And why do you think all of those boys keep coming around Jezza and Sara's house to talk to you?

Goth looked embarrassed, "You know about them?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, "Of course I know about them."

We sat there quietly a minute and looked at each other. I glanced around at the other diners, most were carefully not paying attention, but one male did make eye contact and rolled his eyes in sympathy.

I noticed the younger female sitting next to him was starring at the table and the older one sitting across from him was smiling at the younger one. Obviously I wasn't the only parent here with problems.

"So ... So now what?" She asked after a minute.

"I've apprenticed you to the temple," I said looking at her.

Goth's ears shot up and she started to open her mouth to protest.

"Quiet," I growled and her mouth closed with an audible 'snap'.

"You can't continue to live at Jezza and Sara's house. You're an adult now. You need to start learning something, and providing for yourself."

"But Nara hates me!" Goth blurted out.

"Whose fault is that?" I asked, perhaps a bit too quickly, because Goth got embarrassed and started to study her own plate rather carefully.

"Besides, I'm not sending you to the temple here; I'm sending you to Fordessa's temple, to the east."

Goth's head came up, "Why are you sending me away?" I could see there were tears in her eyes again.

"I like music, Goth, I've always been impressed by those who could play it, and sing it. If I have to choose what you're going to do, well, I'm going to choose that."

"But it's so far!" She protested.

"Goth, I'm hardly ever here, I'm as likely to visit you there, as I do here."

"I, I don't want to go."

"You're going, Goth, it's already been decided."

"Don't I get a say?"

I shook my head, "No, as your father I've already decided. I have to do what's best for you, Goth, and well, your staying here isn't."

"She did this, didn't she?" Goth said glaring at me, "To punish me!"

I almost said yes to that one, though I don't think Goth understood just which 'she' it was!

"No, I'm doing it, I discussed it with Narasamman and she took care of it. Rachel only found out afterwards."

"I'll run away!"

"Stop acting like a child, Goth," I sighed.

"But if I run away, you'll have to come get me."

I shook my head, "They'll send Jane after you."

"Jane?"

"Fordessa's champion. As you'll be at Fordessa's temple, you'll be her responsibility. Nice fem, just don't get on her bad side."

Goth just looked down at the table and grumbled.

I got up and took her hand, "Come on, we still have some shopping to do."

"I don't want to," Goth mumbled.

"What? This is your one chance to punish me by spending all of my money on useless stuff you don't want and don't need!" I teased.

Goth huffed and got up to follow me out of the restaurant.

"Okay, Dad," She grumbled.

Suddenly I felt a whole lot better about the day.

"So how did she take it?" Rachel asked me, as we got ready for bed.

"About as you'd expect."

"Think she'll run away?"

"I told her they'd send Jane after her, if she did. That didn't sit well."

Rachel thought about that a moment and nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense; she'll be under Felecia's care after all."

"After she got over her initial sulk, she started to get interested in the idea of learning to play an instrument. So I have my hopes up, that this just might work out."

"What got her interested in that?"

I smiled, "I told her that I was very impressed with people who play instruments or sing, and that was why I was sending her there."

Rachel laughed, "Sneaky. But what will you do when she comes back a few years from now to try again?"

I sighed, "Let you whip her?"

Rachel smacked me with her tail. "Some father you are!"

I grinned, "So what happened with the council today?"

It was Rachel's turn to sigh now, "Rigel has been getting reports out of Barassa that King Stivik is mobilizing his army."

"I thought they were on the verge of collapse?"

"They are, and Stivik knows it. His slave markets are shot, his trade is down to almost nothing. He's swept up just about everyone he can afford to, and sold them off, but he needs more slaves, and he needs a lot of them, if he's ever going to bring his markets back."

"So he didn't try to switch to some other economy?"

Rachel shook her head, "He's sticking with what he knows. I'm not surprised really, from what I've heard Stivik was never a very imaginative person, and he has no problems with living off of the misery of others. Feliogustus alone knows how many lives of the people here he has destroyed."

I nodded, "So, who does Rigel think he's going to attack?"

"We're not really sure. Holse thinks he'll try to go after the Mowoks first, because they've been causing him so many troubles, attacking his trading routes."

"The Mowoks will see them coming from miles away, and will just move."

Rachel nodded, "That's what Holse and Carso believe. Carso thinks we should take our cavalry down there and help the Mowoks defeat their army, but Holse thinks we're better off letting the Mowoks just pick it off piece by piece, until the Barassan army is forced to retreat out of the Mowok's lands."

"I'd think that Holse would be looking at the attack on the Mowok lands as a chance to defeat the Barassan army in detail."

Rachel shook her head, "I thought that at first as well, but the Mowoks are not part of the Kingdom, and unless they ask for help, it would be better for us to prepare for what will happen after Barassa withdraws."

"Oh? What does Holse think will happen?"

"Holse feels, and I happen to agree, that Barassa will march on either Holden, or Marland. It's much more the type of fighting that the Barassan generals and army understand, and the prospect for slaves is significantly greater than from the Mowoks."

"Why won't they just attack there first, and ignore the Mowoks completely?" I asked curious.

"Because they don't understand how hard the Mowoks will be to defeat. They think the Mowoks are just weak savages. They haven't grasped the concept of mobility. At least not at the level the Mowoks have developed it to. Plus the word is that Stivik really hates the Mowoks."

I laughed at that, "Good."

"So after they get their tails cut off there, they'll move on to Marland or Holden, but they'll be a much more dispirited army."

"Let me guess, Holse thinks Marland, because it will be an easier war?"

Rachel nodded, "Exactly. Plus it's rather difficult for them to get to Holden without going though Marland first anyway. Holse wants to start moving troops into Holden to build up their defenses, which I've now given him permission to do."

I nodded, that only made sense, especially with the future wedding of our son and his daughter, which would unite the two kingdoms into one after King Charles died.

"So what do we do, when they invade Marland?" I asked.

"That's the sticky part," Rachel sighed, "Normally I'd be willing to let them just burn themselves out in Marland, and once they were mostly spent, I'd send our army in to clean up and destroy whatever is left of Barassa's army, and then annex all of Marland."

"But Fordessa's main temple is in the capitol." I said.

Rachel nodded, "Nara has made it clear that Feliogustus wants that temple protected, and well, we owe him, so I agreed."

I nodded, I wouldn't want to see Fordessa's main temple destroyed either, especially not when Goth was going to be there.

"What is King Ruusolf doing?"

"Fooling himself mostly," Rachel sighed. "King Stivik has apparently told Ruusolf, that as long as he's not provoked, by say a large massing of Marland's troops along the Barassa border, that he won't attack."

"And Ruusolf believed that?" I said surprised.

"Ruusolf both desperate and delusional; he's willing to believe anything at this point. Also there is still a lot of bad blood over the destruction of Tantrus' temple in Marland city."

"So where is Ruusolf keeping his army?"

"Encamped around the capitol."

"So Barassa could easily raid the eastern half, make off with a bunch of slaves, and be gone before Marland could respond."

Rachel nodded, "That's a possible scenario, but if Barassa pushes further west, and takes the capitol, they'll get enough slaves to keep their economy running for decades."

"Which we don't want, and can't afford." I said.

"Exactly," Rachel agreed.

"So what are we going to do?"

Rachel smiled sweetly at me, "We?"

I sighed, "Okay, what am I going to do?"

Rachel grinned and kissed me on the nose. "Oh nothing much, just overthrow the monarchy in Marland, and then invite Hiland in to save them from the rampaging Barassan army."

It was much later at night, I was asleep now, and was in Fel's bar. I sighed. "Gee, thanks, Fel."

"Hey, don't thank me," Fel laughed, "It was Rachel's idea."

"Uh-huh, sure it was."

"Actually it was. Pretty smart one too."

"Uh-huh. And just what are the other gods and goddesses going to say when I take over another kingdom for you?"

Fel laughed, "That's the best part, they won't say anything."

That stopped me, "I don't understand."

"There are now three main religions in Marland with Tantrus gone. Fordessa's, mine, and this other god who is also popular with the populace as his temples are one step shy of a whorehouse."

"So?"

"So if Barassa invades, they'll stamp out those religions. Rachel has sent a representative to each of the religions and let them know that if Barassa invades, she will move to stop them, and will protect those religions, as long as they support her and her army."

"Smart," I nodded thinking about that; "It maintains the status quo."

"And she also had her envoys drop a hundred gold on the altar of each of those three god's main temples in Marland."

I shook my head, "She bought off all three of you?"

Fel smiled, "She didn't just buy us off, she bought our support. So each of us can send in whatever religious support we want. Priests, champions, what-have-you."

"And the best thing is, you and Fordessa are the main religion here as well. But if we take over the country and annex it, that's going to give that third religion access to the rest of the country," I pointed out.

"Their coming here wouldn't be part of the status quo, so I don't think they'll be spreading west into Hiland. Also, as religions go, it's a lot more of a decadent one than what we have around here, so it doesn't really have much of a chance to gain that many converts, if any. I'm not really worried about it."

"Well, if you're not, I won't be. So when does all this start? And do I have time to rescue Cam?"

"If Barassa launches its campaign against the Mowoks, like Rigel and the rest believe, not until the following spring."

I nodded, it was late fall now, about November back on Earth. "So that gives us a while."

"Yes. As to recovering Cam, I haven't heard anything from Sireen, but Circe sent Joseph over to spy a bit, and Sireen's putting together a serious army. As I understand it, the Sireen's haven't gone to war in a very, very, long time. So this is not going unnoticed by the other gods in the sphere."

"You think she wants Cam for herself, don't you?" I growled.

"It is a possibility. It is just as possible however that she just doesn't want Trespon to have Cam, or even that she just wants Aryanna to owe her a favor."

I nodded slowly. "So when can I go rescue my daughter?"

"In a few months. You sister is dealing with a few issues, so is Dezba, and Jane."

"Jane is helping?" I said surprised.

Fel smiled at me, "Apparently she has a soft spot for you, now that she's gotten over the fact that you recruited her. Something about, "Maybe next time, I'll get to be the father...."

I groaned as Fel laughed.

"Gee, thanks." I said.

"This is why mothers teach their daughters to use birth control. Oh wait; you didn't get that lesson, did you?" Fel said laughing some more.

"I'd be mad at you, but dammit, if it wasn't worth it."

"Oh, I know."

I blinked, "How do you know?"

Fel smirked, "God, remember?" he said and pointed at himself.

I sighed and shook my head. "So, does anyone have any kind of plan yet?"

"That's up to the rest of you to figure out."

I nodded, "Oh, can I take Cam out of there yet?"

"I won't know until you touch her again. It's different for each child; it depends on when they fully establish their sense of self."

I nodded, "If you don't answer this next question, I won't press you, because I know it might be a rule-breaker. But can I take her to Darlene when I do take her out of there?"

"I can't answer that one."

I nodded, "And if I ask around it, I'll get in trouble. I understand. I don't know why, but I understand."

Fel smiled and hoisted his mug to me, and as usual, I fell into a deeper sleep.

Ten

Kingstown

"So what's your plan?" Nikki asked me.

I shook my head, "I don't have a plan yet. I figured once we got there, we'd see what was what, and go from there."

We were sitting outside of Aryanna's temple in Kingstown; there was a really nice small pub next to the temple entrance that served some rather nice ales. I had my suspicions as to how it came to be there, but I kept those to myself.

"Well, that's not going to do, Bro. We need a plan if we want to get your daughter out of there in one piece."

"But we don't know anything," I said looking at her.

"Actually, we know quite a bit, we know that they're holding her on holy ground, so the moment we set foot in there, we're going to light up like a Christmas tree to their god and their clerics. We know it's not the main temple, so we probably won't have to deal with their champion and their high priest. Maybe one or the other, but probably not both.

"We know that they have firearms, so we know that swords are not going to do it for us."

"The guns they have there are pretty clunky, they're handmade, revolvers, kind of slow, and while they have cartridges, they're hit or miss," I told her. "When I was attacked by that one priest, he had a misfire, and the thing belched so much smoke, it helped me surprise him."

"Primitive black powder weapons," Nikki told me.

"But they were using cartridges!" I told her.

"What do you think we used in ours, before smokeless powder was invented?" Nikki sighed looking at me like I was an idiot.

"Oh, I forgot," I said feeling like one too.

"If we were to show up with some nice modern weapons and a lot better firepower, I bet we could get in and out of there with a small team, and do it pretty quickly." Nikki mused.

"And where would be get those?" I said.

"Where did you get them last time?"

"Cenewyg showed up with them," I said. I had of course lied to the FBI agents about what was in the bags, but I hadn't known that Cen was an arms dealer; I just assumed he knew where to get them from.

"Well, that sounds like a good place to start," Nikki smiled.

"First off, he's still out of commission," I said glaring at her, "secondly, the next time I see him, I intend to kill him."

"He'll only come back you know," Nikki pointed out.

"I know," I grumbled, "I'm still working on that one. But still, we can't do business with him."

"Who said anything about doing business with him? I was thinking more about raiding his estate," Nikki said smiling.

"You think he'd have anything there?"

"The estates in South Africa are armed camps, which is probably why he set up there. When I was in the army I spent some time there, and there were lots of stories about stuff moving through there constantly. Seems there's always four or five revolutions going on somewhere on that continent."

"And how do we get in?"

"You let me worry about that, Bro."

"Okay, so we get fresh arms, how do we know that they'll work?"

"We can test them when we get there, but if black powder works, I'd expect the other stuff to work as well. It doesn't sound like the chemistry is all that different from Earth's there."

"Then why don't they have better weapons? They have the same level of tech in their instruments as Earth does."

"Who controls the existing firearms?" Nikki asked smiling.

"The gods do ..." I said getting it. "They've been holding the tech back."

"Probably. Aryanna has told me that it's not uncommon."

"Oh? She doing that here?"

"Chemistry is different here," Nikki told me. "A few minor changes in the laws of physics, and you get stronger magic and weaker science. Explosives can't work here, well non-magical ones can't. I don't really understand it; physics was never my best subject."

I nodded. "Okay, so we go see about stealing guns from Cen's estate. Then what?"

Nikki smiled, "Then I get to teach you all about special weapons tactics, clearing buildings, and hostage situations."

"I didn't know you studied that in the army," I said surprised.

"Anti-terrorism was one of the few places where they'd let women get into the line of fire," Nikki said smiling. "Terrorists don't expect women in plain clothes to be soldiers, and now I finally get to use some of that training."

#                    #                    #                    #

I gritted my teeth as we bounced down a rather poorly maintained road in an older Range Rover, which Nikki had bought earlier today. Finding Cen's estate hadn't been as hard as we thought it might be, a few questions, one small bribe, and we had the address as well as directions, and were on our way out of Johannesburg and on our way.

"Do you think you could slow down?" I asked.

"Nope," Nikki laughed and sped up.

"It's not my life I'm worried about, so much as my kidneys," I told her.

"Oh, don't be such a wuss. Check the map, how much further?"

I looked at the folded map on my lap and leaning over I looked at the odometer on the dash, then looked out the windshield.

"I think that's it up on the left there," I said and pointed.

Nikki nodded and slowing down, turned into the drive. There were a pair of columns to either side of the road, with the name 'Gatwick'  on them. Each of them were topped by a rather curious design; it looked like a stylized letter 'G' with a dagger sticking down from the top, with the top of the dagger on fire.

"Must be the place," Nikki said and shifting into first we drove past. It was a perhaps a quarter of a mile, until we rounded a bend and the main house came into sight. It was pretty impressive, two stories, with probably a dozen outbuildings. There were a few people working the grounds, I guess they were the hired help.

Nikki pulled up front, honked the horn twice and hopped out, I followed her around.

"Sean!" she called out, "Come on out!" she turned to me and said in a lower voice, "Get our bags, okay?"

"What are you up to?" I asked curious."

"Oh, just a little something I learned in the army," she smiled.

"Uncle Sean!" She called again, "It's Nikki!"

I got the bags and started to follow her up the two steps onto the porch as she headed for the front door, which had the same curious design painted on it as was mounted on the columns by the driveway. The door opened at that point and an older white man stepped out looking at us in a rather disapproving manner. There was another man with him, he was an African, and both were wearing side arms. Both men were dressed in khaki shirts and pants, with that same symbol sewn into the left breast pocket of their shirts.

"Who are you?" The first one asked.

"Oh hi!" Nikki said and stuck out her hand, "I'm Nikki Taylor, this is my husband Will. Uncle Sean said that as long as I was going to be out here this fall I should stop by and he'd take us out hunting."

"Uncle Sean?" He said looking Nikki up and down slowly.

Nikki nodded, seemingly oblivious to the scrutiny. "He in town or something? He said he'd be here."

"Young Lady, Mister Gatwick has not been here in some time, and he is most definitely not here now."

Nikki turned from looking around at the grounds, and looked him right in the eye, "You sure about that? He was just out at my parents' ranch in Texas a few months ago, picking up a few things he had stored there."

"And who would your parents be?" He said a little stiffly.

"Stephanie and Joseph," Nikki said, and then I felt her put a little power into her words, "I'm sure you've heard him speak of them before?"

I watched as the man pondered that, as shots in the dark went, that wasn't a bad one. Knowing Cenewyg, he'd probably talked more than once about Stephanie, and whether or not the words had been kind, it wouldn't be hard to guess at the kind of relationship he'd told this guy he'd been having. Cenewyg did like to brag after all.

I watched the expression on his face, as he gave Nikki a second look over. I suspect he was probably looking for a resemblance and wondering if Nikki was Cenewyg's illegitimate daughter.

"I do not recall Mister Gatwick mentioning anything about a brother Joseph," he said. "And in either case, Mister Gatwick is not here."

Nikki smiled and leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "Yes, well, he didn't even tell me he had a place here until I told him I had a job to take care of up in Angola. My Uncle Sean sure loves his secrets, as I'm sure you know. In any case, I'm here on work, and he told me I could use the place, and that he'd be here. If I were you, I wouldn't want to tell him when he finally shows up that you had to turn me away, now would you?"

I could feel her push hard with her champion's voice the entire time she was talking to him. He hesitated a moment, but I could tell the other man was already thinking of her as a guest, and possibly even his boss's daughter, if not his niece. He straightened himself up and started to look non-threatening.

"Yes, yes I agree," he said nodding slowly. "You said you saw him recently in Texas?"

Nikki smiled and nodded, "Yes, may we come inside? Kind of hot out here,"

"Yes, Missus Taylor, oh, where are my manners, I'm Stanley Chamers, I run Mister Gatwick's, I mean your Uncle's estate for him."

I set the bags down I had been holding and shook hands with him when he turned to me.

"Botha, be a good man and get those for us, would you?" Chamers said to the other man who nodded and picked them up as he led us inside.

"How long will you be staying?" He asked Nikki.

"Oh, that depends. You do know that interpol has the grounds staked out, right?"

I watched as he almost stumbled and looked at her surprised, "What?"

"Why do you think Uncle Sean has been avoiding the place? Supposedly they're after him for some 'thing' he did up in Greece a few years ago, and he's just waiting for the heat to die down."

"Then why are you here?" He asked.

"To use the facilities, like I said," Nikki smiled, "and to see if I can find out who on his staff has been informing on him, and deal with it. Uncle Sean felt it would be easier if I cleaned things up for him before he came back."

Chamers looked shaken, "He believes there's an informant here, on the grounds?"

Nikki smiled, "Yup, like I said, I'm here to take care of it, before he shows up. But don't worry about it none. He told me I could trust you. Otherwise I wouldn't be telling you any of this of course."

Chamers nodded slowly, still a bit pale "Of course."

"Now, how about a tour of the grounds?"

It was nighttime and we were lying in bed, the only problem with telling Chamers that we were married is that we had to at least appear to be so. We'd both checked the rooms we were using for any listening devices, and nothing had turned up.

"That was pretty ballsy," I whispered to her, it was the first chance we'd had to talk in private since getting here.

"If you can't baffle them with brilliance," Nikki snickered.

"They taught you that in the army?" I asked surprised.

"When you're dealing with flunkies, especially criminal flunkies, big brass balls and a cheery smile work wonders."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"Well, the voice thing helps too. Bet he's gone by the time we get out of bed in the morning." Nikki said with a soft laugh.

"You think so?" I whispered back surprised.

"You saw how panicked he got when I mentioned an informant."

"So?"

"So, if it wasn't him, he would have been mad, not scared. He has a pretty good idea of the kind of work 'Sean' does, and now he has a pretty good idea of why I'm here. He either figures that I'm warning him off, or he managed to fool Sean, or that I'm a racist and would never ever suspect a white person when there are so many black people around."

That stopped me, "What does being white have to do with it?"

"Bro, haven't you noticed how they're treating all the blacks here?"

"I thought that was just because they were the hired help!"

Nikki sighed, "I swear, you're so dense sometimes. This is South Africa, Apartheid, ring any bells?"

I started to shake my head, then stopped. "Oh shit, so the stories are true?"

"Course they're true. Why do you think your friend Cen set up here? If he's anything like you say, he probably just loves being able to play god."

I nodded and filed that all away. I knew a little about European history, and a fair bit about American. But I knew next to nothing about Africa.

"So what do we do next?" I asked.

"Keep our guard up and see what's going on come morning. You can take the first watch, night!"

When morning came, I woke up as one of the maids knocked on the door. Nikki was already up, having taken the second watch.

"Enter," Nikki called out.

"Breakfast, Madam, Sir," One of the local women said opening the door and stepping in.

"We'll be down shortly," Nikki told her, and I went and took a quick shower, then we both went downstairs.

The woman, I guess she was one of the maids, served us at a rather nice table, in a large room off the kitchen.

"Will Mister Chamers be joining us this morning?" Nikki asked.

"No, Ma'am, he had important business in town, said he'd be gone quite a few days. He told us you'd be in charge until he got back." She said nodding.

Nikki turned to me and smiled, "I see. Well, please let Botha and the staff know that I'm expecting a few guests over the next few days, and that we'll be using the special training range to the east of the house. So I want them to make sure it's in order and ready for use. Okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am," she said nodding and left the room.

"We're expecting people?" I said looking at her.

"You saw the stuff he's got set up out there, we need to do a few run-throughs first, make sure everyone works together well. Now that I own the place, might as well use it, right?"

I sighed and shook my head. "You don't think he's coming back, do you?"

"I bet he cleaned out the mansion's safe and is probably on a flight out of the country as we speak. Finish up your breakfast there, lets go have a look around and see what we weren't shown yesterday."

Botha found us about an hour later; we were sitting in Cenewyg's, or rather 'Sean Gatwich's' office and looking around. As Nikki had suspected, the safe was open, and had been neatly rifled and I suspected, cleaned out of any money, as there was no money in it now.

"Mrs. Taylor," Botha said coming in. "I have the men cleaning up the team practice range as you requested. I stopped by Mister Chamers room, but he was not there. Selli told me he went into town, but I don't think he's coming back. He cleaned out most of his stuff.

"No, he's not coming back. My Uncle Sean called us last night while we were discussing some problems with the estate and fired him."

Botha looked at Nikki surprised. "Mister Gatwick fired him? Then who will run the estate?"

Nikki smiled one of her winning smiles at him, "Why you will, Botha. You've been here how many years now? It's not like Chamers could have run this place without you anyway, am I right?"

Botha smiled and stood a little taller, "Yes, Mrs. Taylor, that is true." He looked over and saw the open safe, "Should I call into town and have someone stop Mister Chamers?" He asked.

"No, I think my Uncle will deal with that little issue himself. Could you direct me to the armory please?"

Botha nodded and gestured to the door, "Of course, Mrs. Taylor, this way please."

He led us down the hallway, down three flights of stairs into the basement, then to a heavy metal door, which he unlocked with a key, and led us inside.

I looked around, impressed. There were a lot of guns arrayed on stands, on the walls, followed by what I guess were heavy weapons. It was a rather long room and there were also a lot of crates stacked nicely in the center of the room, as well as along the far wall.

Nikki walked up to one of the smaller weapons, I had no idea what it was, it was too large to be a pistol, but smaller than a rifle.

"Oh nice, just what I was looking for, MP5's." She turned and looked at Botha, "Do we have silencers for these?"

"Yes, Ma'am," He said and pointed to one of the sets of stacked crates.

Nikki smiled with genuine glee. "Wonderful! Could you have someone bring a dozen of these, with a dozen silencers, two hundred magazines and ten thousand rounds of ammunition up to the office please?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Taylor," Botha said and nodded.

"Oh, and cleaning kits for them as well, if you have them."

Botha smiled, "Yes, Ma'am, I'll have them up there after lunch."

"Thanks, Botha! Will and I will take these two out to the target range and get a little practice in," she said grabbing another one off the wall and grabbing a couple of magazines off the table under them.

"Grab that ammo can please, dear?" she said to me and pointed to one of those big square green things you always see in the war movies. I nodded and picking it up I followed her out of the armory, up the stairs, and out back to the small target range that was behind the main house.

"What are these?" I asked her; once I was sure no one else was around.

"MP5's are small submachine guns made by Heckler and Koch. A rather reliable gun firm. The SEALs use these, and quite a few of our commando teams. They're good for close in work. Now pay attention, let me show you how it works."

I nodded and examined the gun, "Hey, what's this?" I said and pointed to the handgrip. The same symbol I'd been seeing all over the estate was stamped into it.

"Huh," Nikki said, "never seen that before."

"Haven't you noticed it's all over the place here?" I said to her, "All the workers here have it sewn onto their shirts."

Nikki shrugged, "I thought it was the family crest for Gatwick or something."

I scratched my head and thought about that, "Maybe so, but why would an arms dealer stamp that on his weapons? They'd be able to trace them back to him."

"Handgrips are easy to change out, Will. And maybe these are his private stock? Anyway, pay attention."

I nodded and spent the next hour learning all about how an MP5 worked, how to shoot it, how to clear it, and when we were done, how to clean it.

"So, any idea who else will be joining us?" I asked Nikki after we had gone back inside to eat lunch.

"Not yet, I'll find out tonight from Aryanna, I'm sure."

I nodded, "So what are our plans for the rest of the day?"

"We have a dozen weapons to strip, clean, and prepare for use, after that, if you want we can look through the rest of the house."

We didn't get to do much poking around that day, as all of the MP5's were in need of some serious cleaning, apparently they'd been prepped for long-term storage, and there was a lot of grease and such in the parts, and even coating the insides of the barrels to protect them against rust I guess. When we finally settled down for the night, we moved a wardrobe in front of the bedroom door, to keep it from being easily forced open and both collapsed on the bed in our champion forms. Hopefully I'd hear anybody and wake up long before they could be a problem.

When the next morning came Nikki looked happy.

"Aryanna told me the others will be showing up this afternoon, so I'll run into town and pick them up at the portal we came through."

I nodded and wondered why Fel hadn't told me as well? Then again, Aryanna was the one coordinating the forces on this, which when I thought about it, felt kind of weird. I mean it was my child, so I figured I'd be the one in charge, but Nikki had all but usurped my role in this.

Of course my sister did have a lot more training on this kind of thing than I did, so I wasn't too put out by it. But it did seem kind of strange.

I decided to spend my time searching the house, not that I was really looking for anything, but I was kind of curious as to what was there. The place was really pretty big, and there were a lot of rooms we'd not checked out.

I puttered around a bit, finding a few more guest rooms, storage closets, a few dens, a library, and a map room of all things, when eventually I came across one rather large room in the back of the house. It looked like a ballroom at first, there was a huge amount of open space, and there were chairs all nearly stacked on either side against the walls.

But it was what was in the front of the room, on the far wall from the doors, which caught my eye. There was a large hanging flag with the 'G' symbol with the dagger on it behind what looked like some sort of table, which was up on a dais. I walked over to it, and stepped up onto the dais and pulled the sheet that was covering the table off of it.

It was an altar. Or rather, it looked like an altar. The same symbol was engraved across the front in gold. There were two gold and silver daggers laying on it as well, and I was pretty sure the grooves cut around the edges and leading to a corner drain were blood grooves. I looked around, and back at the closed door, and loosening my shirt and my belt, I kicked off my sneakers and shifted quickly. Leaning down I sniffed at the drain and the grooves, but didn't scent anything, beyond a very weak trace of Cenewyg.

I shifted back rather suddenly as I head footsteps, and straightening up my clothes I slipped my feet back into my sneakers. I'd torn the toes out of my socks when I'd shifted of course, it was a bit uncomfortable, I'd have to change them later.

"Mister Taylor," Botha said coming in, "what are you doing in here?"

I shrugged and looked around, then taking the sheet I drew it back over the table. "Just looking, it's a lot bigger than the one they have at Nikki's parents' ranch. Do you use it much?" I bluffed, thinking that if I just calmly accepted the fact that it was common for there to be a sacrificial altar in the middle of an estate, that it wouldn't raise any alarm.

Botha smiled, "Only when Mister Gatwick is here. He's promised us to make us great again, to free us from our chains. I did not know he had built others."

"Oh, several if I'm not mistaken," I told him, surprised that my bluff had worked. Of course now I suspected that there probably were a few more of these around. "But this is the main one, the biggest, and the fanciest."

Botha nodded, "I am glad that Chamers left, he did not seem to be a man of faith. I often wondered how he came to be here."

I shrugged, "I have no idea, maybe he once was, but his faith weakened with time. Some people need to see a thing everyday, or they start to lose their faith. The ones that never waiver, they are the ones that will be the most rewarded when the time comes!" I said finishing passionately. I'd heard enough preaching over the years to know what people liked.

Botha nodded happily, "Yes! These are the things my father taught us, and the same things that Mister Gatwick says. 'We must have faith, and bide our time, because the great goat herder will come when we least expect it, and will bring us power and freedom, and end the poverty of all of Africa.'"

I nodded and said the first pithy comment that came to mind, "The promise made, is the promise kept."

"Ah, I have not heard that one, is it new?"

I smiled, "He told it to us when we saw him last."

Botha nodded, "Did he tell you where he was going? When he would be back?"

I shook my head, "I don't think those things are for you and me to know, Botha, though perhaps he will tell us when he returns," 'if I don't kill him first of course,' I finished in my head.

I heard the sound of a car out front, "Ah, I think I hear Nikki returning. If you'd excuse me?" I said walking towards the exit.

Botha smiled, "Of course, and may you walk in the path of our blessed goatherd."

I smiled, and wondered just what the hell Cenewyg was doing here. "Thank you, Botha," I said and I left the room.

We were sitting in Cenewyg's office, drinking his booze, and eating his food. I looked around at the others; I was impressed by how many Aryanna had gotten to show up. Joseph and Dezba were here of course, as well as two others that I'd not met before: Gregory and Suzona.

Gregory was from a world that wasn't that much different, technology and magic wise, from Aryanna's. He was about five foot ten, long thick black hair, and built like an NFL linebacker with huge arms and legs. He made me think of Conan the Barbarian. Apparently he'd been a champion for quite a few decades.

Suzona was from a world that was much more technological then Earth was and which had no magic, but was fairly warlike and was mostly city-states and small countries with no large countries. She was about six foot, had short blond hair, and was built like a super-heroine off of a comic book cover: lean, long, big busted, svelte muscles, and a thousand-yard stare that put all thoughts of romance and sex deep in the cellar, in a box, with chains wrapped around it while they whimpered quietly and hoped not to be noticed.

I was a little put out that Jane hadn't shown up, but when I thought about it, with all that Stivik could do back home, it probably wasn't safe to pull her away right now.

I sat back and listened as Nikki explained the situation to everyone there, Joseph and I were the only ones not in our champion forms, because neither one would fit in here on Earth of course. I did wonder if Joseph was still a giant wolf, or if Circe had given him a new one?

When Nikki mentioned that the baby was mine, Joseph looked at me and smirked, while Dezba shook her head and didn't look at all surprised.

"What do you mean, the baby is his?" Suzona asked in that sexy low contralto of hers.

"She means, that I got pregnant, and delivered a child," I said looking back at her.

"How is that possible? You're a man!"

"Were you paying attention when Nikki told you that everyone's sex is changed in that sphere?" I asked.

"But still! You're a man, how could this happen?" She said smirking.

"Would you like to come back to my room and have me demonstrate the process?" I growled at her.

"Pfft! In your dreams," Suzona said dismissively, her accent I noticed was rather Slavic. I wondered if she had come from Earth?

"Who was the, err, the other parent?" Gregory asked. His voice almost sounded like a radio talk show host, and I'd noticed that for all of his aggressive looks, he was unfailingly polite.

"Another champion," Nikki supplied, "his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Suzona asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, when the men in the party became women, the reverse happened as well," Joseph supplied.

"And you were all okay with this?" Suzona pressed.

"Wasn't like we had any choice in the matter at the time," Joseph said, smiling back.

"But still ..."

"Obviously, you have never been in love," Dezba said, which earned her an immediate glare.

"Of course I have!" Suzona fired back, and then immediately blushed.

"Yeah well, love makes us all do stupid things," I grumbled.

"But there are cantrips, spells ..." Suzona said still looking embarrassed.

"Yeah well, it was our first time like that, and we both sort of forgot," I said blushing myself.

"I'm surprised you went through with it," Gregory said.

"Will loved her, and she's no longer here," Nikki said interrupting, "and Aryanna asked him to 'go through with it' it as a favor to her."

Gregory and Suzona both went 'oh' and nodded slowly, Dezba rolled her eyes and smiled at me, and Joseph was just sitting there looking thoughtful.

"So, we over this?" I grumbled.

Everyone nodded.

"Okay," Nikki said and pulling out a large sheet of paper, she used a couple of thumbtacks and posted it against the wall.

"This is what we know about the place where the child is being held. It's more of a monastery than a temple or a church, but it is on holy ground."

I looked it over, "Where did you get that from?"

Nikki smiled, "Your friend Evean was quite busy. She scoped the place out rather carefully, and sent us the details."

"Another girlfriend, Will?" Dezba asked laughing.

"She just wants what she can't have," I grumbled some more.

"She's the one who tried to lure him into bed so she could kill him," Nikki supplied grinning. "Apparently she has seen the error of her ways."

"Why would she do that?" Gregory asked looking amused.

"Our William here is quite the lady's man," Dezba teased.

I sighed, "Could we stop talking about my sex life, and get back to the plan?"

I noticed Suzona looking me over, curiously, and I tried not to shiver. I suspected she left a trail of broken and ruined bodies in her wake, and I wasn't thinking of her enemies.

Nikki coughed and we all looked at her as she continued. "Okay, from Evean's observations, this is what we know."

I listened attentively, as all of the entrances and exits were pointed out, the suspected location of stairs, where the rooms were most likely located, how may guards and priests or priestesses there were, and were they were guessing my daughter Cam was being held.

"Why don't we know more than this?" Suzona asked.

"Evean knew that if she set foot on the grounds, then they'd know there was a champion observing them, and that they'd probably then move Cam someplace else. Right now, as far as we know, they don't know that we have this information."

"Ah, I see," Suzona said and we all nodded in agreement.

"So what is the plan?" Dezba asked.

"I have a bunch of weapons I want to make sure you all know how to use," Nikki started out, and held up one of the MP5's. "Firearms work in the reality we're going to, and the opposition will be armed, though their weapons are far more primitive. I also want to go over a couple of team exercises on the grounds here to make sure we can all work together.

"After that, we'll go over the plan of attack, practice it a couple of times, then go in."

"That could take weeks!" Gregory said.

"Five days," Nikki said. "We're all experienced; none of us are new at this. I think five days should be enough."

"And who put you in charge," Suzona asked.

I don't know why, but something about the way she said it just pissed me off. I shifted and stood up, not really giving a damn about my now ruined clothes.

"I did," I growled looking down at her. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Suzona looked me over and slowly smiled. "No, I don't have any problems at all."

Eleven

South Africa

Nikki laughed at me, "You're going to have troubles with that one, Bro."

I sighed, "I just wish I knew what I did wrong."

We were talking about Suzona of course. She'd been having problems with damn near everything so far it seemed, since we'd started training. And of course I had to be the one to help her out, because Nikki was busy with everyone else.

"I can kind of understand why she has a problem with the gun, if it's similar to something she's used to. Minor changes can mess you up more than bigger ones," I sighed.

Nikki laughed again, "Oh, it's not that, Bro. She's interested in you, and in a very shallow and maybe not so meaningful way."

I glared at her, "With all the crap she's been giving me? How can you say that?"

Nikki smiled, "Because you are the only one not drooling over her looks, and you're not afraid of insulting her, or getting in her face. You laid down the gauntlet when you got in her face about who was in charge. Up until then she thought you were just some lame-ass wuss pushover. Now she sees that you're a tough customer.

"And I'm betting she likes the tough customers!" Nikki smirked at me.

I groaned and facepalmed. "I got enough troubles already; I don't need some gal looking to get me in bed."

"Yeah, for a guy trying to avoid it, you sure do seem to end up there a lot!" Nikki said and giggled some more.

"Maybe if I acted desperate, they'd leave me alone...."

"Too late for that now!" Nikki smirked, enjoying my discomfort. "She's on the prowl."

"Maybe Gregory or Joseph will slow her down then?"

Nikki smiled, "I don't think either of those two would touch her with a ten-foot pole. They know better!"

I sighed and shook my head again. "Oh, I found the strangest thing this morning," I told her.

"Oh? What?"

"I think I'd be better off showing you, I don't want my opinion to affect your observations."

"Will, it's late, I was thinking more about going to sleep."

"It will only take a few minutes, it's just downstairs."

"Fine," Nikki grumbled and stopped undressing. I led her down the hallway barefoot, I'd already destroyed enough socks today, and if I had to shift again, I didn't want to ruin anymore.

I took her downstairs and into the room, once we got inside I turned the lights on and closed the door behind us.

"Just looks like a ballroom," Nikki said.

"Yeah, I told Botha when he came in here to check up on me, that we have one just like it at your parents' house, well I said that the thing under the tablecloth is smaller, but that Sean put it there."

"Thing under the cloth?" Nikki said looking at me.

I made shooing motions with my hands, "Go, go look."

Nikki shrugged and crossed the floor over to the dais, and stepping up she pulled the covering off the altar.

Nikki gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"

"You tell me," I replied. "I'm not sure what it is. I mean I know what it looks like, but I don't know of any gods with that sigil."

"Yeah, me neither," Nikki said, and then took a moment to examine it.

"I wonder what the hell he's been up to here?" She finally said putting the cover back over it and looking at me.

I shrugged, "Damned if I know. But I figured I'd show it to you, and see if you can figure anything out." I related my conversation with Botha to her next.

"Huh," She said thinking about that. "Maybe he's starting a cult?"

I shrugged, "Why would he want to do that? And why here? On Earth? Yeah we're powerful here, but we wouldn't last long against a couple of guys with guns. And why goats of all things?"

"Actually that's pretty smart," Nikki told me. "Goats are a pretty major part of African and Asian culture. They're everywhere and hold a lot of significance."

"Maybe, but in European cultures aren't they associated with the Devil?"

Nikki shook her head slowly and coming over to me she turned off the lights and opened the door. "I don't know. Do you think we should mention this to the others?"

I shook my head, "Not right now. I'd rather everyone stay focused on rescuing my daughter."

Nikki nodded and I followed her back to our room.

"Well, at least with you in my room, I don't have to worry about Suzona," I said when we got there.

"Oh yeah, about that," Nikki turned and smiled rather sweetly at me, "Would you mind switching with Joseph tonight?"

"What?!"

"Hey, unlike you, I'm not married, so I gotta take it where I find it. Besides, I like Joseph, he's actually pretty good at...."

I held up my hand forestalling any further conversation. "I'll go get him," and I went.

I was in Fel's bar, Jane and Fordessa were actually onstage playing, which I found surprising.

"Hi, Fel, what's up? And why can I actually see them?"

"Oh, they like having an audience, so I felt it only fair to let you listen in."

I nodded, they sounded pretty good, but I wouldn't have expected otherwise.

"King Stivik launched his war this morning," Fel continued. "As we expected, he's going after the Mowoks first."

"Good, that gives us more time at least. Do the Mowoks know they're coming?"

Fel laughed, "They're looking forward to it actually. They know that Tantrus and I are at odds, so this is taking on a bit of a holy war aspect for them."

I nodded, "Well, hopefully I can be there to help soon."

"Don't worry about it, William," Fel said. "This is going to be a guerrilla war; there really won't be much of a place in it for you."

I nodded, "Well, you're the boss." I paused a moment and listened to the two of them play on stage. It really was lovely. "Oh, I think Cenewyg was trying to start a cult or something, back on Earth."

Fel nodded, and I was surprised that he sighed as well, "Yes, that or he was planning on taking up with a cult. Perhaps using his god given champion powers to help a god other than his own. This is the first that Aryanna or I have heard about it, and we're not quite sure what to make of it yet."

"Do you want me to investigate it?"

Fel shook his head, "Not now, there are more important things for you to do, starting with your daughter. Cenewyg is out of the picture, and will be for a while, so it can wait."

I nodded, "Anything else?"

"No, but you're welcome to stay awhile and enjoy the music."

I noticed at that moment that Rachel was with me, sitting besides me and watching the stage as well. She turned and smiled at me when I kissed her neck, and we cuddled up against each other and just shared the dream together and enjoyed the show.

The next day we practiced doing team infiltrations. The way this worked was we'd form up in a line, each person with a hand on the back of the person in front of them. This way everyone knew were everyone else was, and would hopefully not shoot each other.

We also practiced techniques for entering and clearing rooms.

Suzona of course showed up wearing panties and a rather loose and sheer blouse, which showed off her assets rather nicely.

"What?" She said looking around at the rest of us, "It is hot here, is it not? Why should I dress up?"

We all looked at Nikki, and Nikki shrugged. "She has a point you know."

Ten minutes later we were all in our underwear and T-shirts. It was hot, over a hundred in the shade and pretty damned humid as well.

We spent all of that day, and most of the evening, practicing the techniques, Nikki was a pretty effective teacher, and she could be brutal when you messed up. So we learned rather quickly. The estate's staff avoided us almost scrupulously, except when they served us meals. I know Nikki had told them we had a 'job' up in Angola, so I suspected this was a clear case of 'you can't get in trouble for what you don't know.' I can't say that I blamed them either. I'm sure Cen was engaged in a lot of shady practices when he was here, and knowing too much was probably hazardous to one's health around him.

The second day was a repeat of the first, except perhaps for the places Suzona was putting her hands on my body during drills. I got on her case about it a couple of times, but stopped as not only did it have no effect on her, but the others wouldn't stop laughing about it.

"Okay, tomorrow we start practicing the assault," Nikki said. We were all lounging in the rather nice indoor swimming pool, cooling off and drinking more of Cen's beer.

"Sounds good to me," I said and the others agreed.

Nikki nodded, "Okay, let me go over the plan at a high level, then we can all go to bed and I'll hit the fine points in the morning."

She did a basic walk through, we were going in as one six-man team, but would split into two three-man fire teams as we moved through the place. Once we recovered Cam, we'd signal the others, and move to our exit point, then move out and off of holy ground, so we could gate out of the sphere.

Simple really.

"Okay, I'm off to bed, night all!" Nikki said, and I watched a little amused as Gregory joined her. Joseph and Dezba had already paired up in the pool and so left together as well.

Suzona smiled and came over to me as I leaned back against the side of the pool, standing in the shallow end.

"Well, it looks like it is just you and me," Suzona said rather huskily.

I smiled and looked her over, she was naked, we all were actually, and she was rather lovely to look upon, and that husky sultry voice of hers definitely had an effect, especially after a couple of beers.

"But you don't even like me," I said smiling.

"Oh that is not true, William. I think I like you quite a bit, and could even like you some more."

"Yes, well, I don't like you," I grumbled and put my beer down.

Suzona pouted, the expression was so perfect, I bet she had spent years perfecting it. "Oh, do not be so cruel. Yes, we did get off to a bad start; let me make it up to you."

"You just want to jump my bones," I growled.

Suzona smiled, not at all shyly, "I am doing you a favor, William, is it so much to ask for a little affection and fun in return?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, she had me there. "Fine, but I promise not to enjoy it."

"Ooh, a challenge! I like challenges!" Suzona laughed.

We got through three practice runs the next day when one of the servants came running out waving at us.

"What, Marla?" Nikki asked as the woman came up panting.

"There are men out front. They are from the police; they want to search the house. Botha is trying to stall them."

Nikki swore. "Everyone, back to the house, grab your stuff, we're leaving."

We all ran for the house, then up the back stairs.

"Meet in the office, be quick!" I told them, and we all scrambled.

I ran into the room I was sharing with Nikki, tossed the few things I had in the suitcase and closed it, while she did the same. I could hear people entering the house downstairs, and some rather loud arguing.

When we got to the office, I closed and locked the door. The extra guns, magazines, and all of our ammo was here.

"Grab all of it," I said and took an extra weapon and slung the strap around my neck. At least we'd attached all the silencers. I grabbed two of the ammo cans next, as did everyone else.

"Joseph, open a portal to Circe's."

He nodded and started to concentrate. Someone knocked on the door just as he got the gateway opened and everyone rushed through. I heard them trying the door, which was locked, but I went through next, followed by Nikki, then Joseph brought up the rear and the gate collapsed.

"They see you?" I asked him.

Joseph shook his head panting, then dropped his gear and turned into a rather large lion with a very black mane.

"Damn, that was tough," He said panting.

"Ooooh, lions this month is it?" Dezba said grinning.

"What, you have a problem with lions?" Joseph said, turning his head to the side and looking over at her.

Dezba just grinned and shook her head.

I decided I didn't want to know, and looked around. We were in a room in the back of Circe's estate house; there was an altar here of course.

"I think we should move outside, this is Circe's domain, and I really don't want to offend her," I said as I shifted into my own champion form.

The rest nodded and we trooped outside after gathering up those things Joseph had dropped.

"So now what?" Gregory asked.

"I guess we go rescue my daughter," I said and looked around at the rest of them.

Nikki nodded, "Might as well."

Everyone else nodded and agreed.

"Let me go talk to Circe," Joseph said. "I'll see if we can borrow a mule or a horse to carry the gear, and I'll see about dinner."

"Sounds good." I said.

#                    #                    #                    #

We were in a gully, looking out at the building. It was sometime long after local midnight; Nikki said it was the best time for an assault, as people were at their most tired and unawares at this time of the night.

We'd crawled up slowly, and taken our time once night had fallen, and now we were just taking a last look-see before we approached.

"Remember, leave nothing behind," Nikki was telling everyone. "Stick the empty magazines back in your bag, don't leave any weapons behind, and if anyone dies, their body comes with us."

A couple of us grumbled, but we'd gone over this already. Aryanna had made it clear, that nothing was to be left behind if we could avoid it. I think she would have even preferred brass catchers on the guns, but we didn't have any of those.

Sireen's forces were busy attacking the city to the west, where Trespon's main temple was. The main attack wasn't supposed to start for another day yet, and as far as anyone from Trespon's side knew, this place was still secret. So they were counting more on obscurity than actual security.

"Let's go," I said and we crawled up out of the gully as one, and started to move across the grass to the entryway we'd picked out. We were all in our champion forms, except for Joseph, whose champion form was currently that of a rather large lion. We were all garbed head to toe in black to make us harder to see, everyone was even wearing gloves and stocking caps. Nikki had hoped to get us some body armor, before we left Cenewyg's estate, but our sudden departure had foiled that idea.

We crossed onto holy ground about twenty feet from our objective, whoever was here, they knew that we were here now, and it was definitely 'game on' from this point.

I held my hand up, and we all formed up into our line, then Gregory kicked the door in and we shuffle-walked inside, as he joined the end of the line and we moved down the hallway.

Alarms were raised as we moved, people were calling out "intruders!" and "attackers!" and somewhere, someone, was hitting a large gong. We didn't care, we moved down the hall like a caterpillar with machine guns. Every time someone popped out of a door, a short burst from my submachine gun dropped them, the silenced weapons making a soft noise that sounded more like somebody farting than the 'burping' noise I'd always heard it described as. We maintained our fire discipline, and we kept moving, never stopping.

When we got to the first staircase, my team went up, and the other team continued on to the next one. There were probably twenty dead bodies on the floor downstairs, they may be priests, but a head shot from an MP5 did so much damage, that there was no healing any of them. They were dead before they even hit the floor.

As we moved down the upstairs hallway, we had to clear each of the rooms, from here on, we did not know where we would find Cam, just that she was in this area someplace. The other team's job was to take care of any reinforcements, and come up the other stairway to this floor, helping us to secure it, once they got up here.

It was a long hallway, and we were about halfway down it, when it sounded like the other team had started up the other staircase.

"Clear!" Suzona said as we checked another room. This one had only one occupant in it, now dead of course. We weren't leaving anyone around to flank us.

"Stop!" A man commanded and came out of one of the rooms. He was holding Cam, and he had a knife to her throat. "Another step and I will slay the child!"

Suzona shot someone peeking out of a door way then, her MP5 making the quiet 'pfffft' sound as the gun clicked in her hands.

"And stop using those vile weapons!" He called.

I held my hand up to Suzona and Joseph, who lowered their weapons.

"Good, now drop them!" He commanded.

I raised both my hands; the MP5 fell and hung by the strap around my neck.

"I said drop them, to the floor," he warned.

"They're on straps, so we'll have to pull them over our heads," I growled at him.

"Then do so, but carefully."

I nodded and the three of us pulled them over our heads and slowly laid them on the ground, then stood back up.

"You will all pay for this, and the Goddess Sireen will pay most harshly!" He said smiling. "Now, step back."

"The Goddess has nothing to do with this," I told him as we slowly backed up. "I just want my daughter back. You stole her from me. So why don't you just give her back? Now, while you still have the chance?"

"Trespon has great plans for this child, and he will...."

He never finished the sentence as his head exploded. Nikki had popped out from the stairwell and put a well-placed shot in the back of his head, not unlike someone here had once done to me.

I dove forward, using all of my speed and strength to catch Cam as the priest started to tumble to the floor face first. Then just wrapped my body around her and covered her there on the floor as a brief, but intense, firefight was waged in the hallway. As firefights went however, it was rather one sided.

I looked around, my gun was where I had set it, but the others were armed and clearing out the last of the rooms. Cam was crying at this point, so I shifted out of my champion form and sitting cross-legged on the floor, I did my best to calm her. When she started to root, I bared a nipple.

Dezba came out and smiled at me, "You make a great mom, you know that?"

"Hush," I growled at her. "Unfortunately, with all the shifting, I'm dry."

"Oh, there's a cantrip for that," She said and quickly taught it to me.

"I forgot that you've had children," I told softly her, as Cam stopped fussing.

"What's it like?" Suzona asked coming over to me and handing me the MP5 I'd dropped, which I slung over my back.

"You've never had any children?" I said and looked at her.

Suzona blushed and shook her head.

"Try it, you just might like it," Dezba said smiling.

"Yeah, but you're a woman, what about you?" She said looking at me.

I smiled and looked down at Cam, "It was worth it." I said.

"We need to get going," Nikki said coming up to us. "I think somebody is pretty pissed right now."

We all nodded, we could feel it. Trespon was in a rage, we had just killed quite a large number of his priests after all.

Dezba helped me to my feet. "You know what I'd like right now?" She said smiling.

"I don't know, what?" Joseph replied smiling as well.

"A fire, a nice big, warm, happy, fire."

"Why, Dez, I think that's a wonderful idea," Joseph grinned, "and why lookie here! There are all sorts of wonderful things here to make one with!"

I turned to Nikki, "We better get out of here before the wonder twins let loose."

Nikki laughed, as did Suzona and Gregory. "Yes, lets."

The four of us quickly made our way back to the gully, and then started up it, back to where our camp was located. The portal we'd come in from was a half day's further travel, Lionesnesc as best as I could tell, was a two week walk to the southeast of here.

"I need to take a nap," I told them.

Nikki nodded.

"I'll keep watch," Suzona said, sitting besides me. I'd noticed she'd been watching me rather closely since we left.

"What?" I said softly looking at her.

"You know, you really are pretty cute like that," she whispered and I blushed.

"I didn't think you liked women."

"It makes me wonder what I'd look like as a man...," she said thoughtfully.

"Well, we're not going anywhere for a few hours, and the mission's all but over. So why don't you find out?"

She changed, and I sighed shaking my head, she looked like a Viking god.

"What?" she said looking at me, surprised with her eyes wide open.

"You still look hot. It figures," I laid down. "Wake me if anything important happens."

"Don't worry, I will protect you," she said in a voice that was even deeper and sexier than before.

Some people had all the luck.

#                    #                    #                    #

"Fel?" I asked. It was just me and him, in his bar.

"Yes, she can travel."

I nodded and sighed, "Thank you. I don't want to bring her here; I don't think Rachel would understand."

"No, she probably wouldn't," Fel agreed. "Plus if the other gods discovered her here, there would probably be a war."

"I don't think I want to take her through to Circe's either."

"No, Circe would be forced to kill her."

"What?!" I said shocked.

"Remember how the rules are different in Circe's sphere?"

I nodded mutely.

"Because gods can fully manifest, bringing Cam there would cause major issues with the power structure, because of what she is. Circe would have no choice."

"Well, I can't take her back to Earth," I said.

"Obviously."

"I'd like to take her to Darlene, but you said to avoid the other gods,"

Fel nodded, "I did. Do not take her into any temples and do not let any priests touch her. If your wife Darlene understands that, and agrees to it, then there should be no problems."

I nodded slowly, "But won't Aryanna want to see her?"

"Aryanna wants the child to go to Stephanie when the time is right. She is willing to tolerate the child in her realm, as long as the child is not brought to her attention, or the attention of anyone else."

"What about my sister?" I asked suspiciously.

"She's related to you, as long as you make everything I told you clear, she will be okay, but only because Cam is her niece and she's related."

I nodded, "There's a lot going on here I obviously don't understand."

"Yes," Fel nodded.

"Are there any other warnings that I need to know about? That you can tell me?"

"Yes there are, but I can't tell you, William."

I looked at him and wanted to ask "why not."

"Because I don't know what they are," Fel said to me, and there was nothing I could say to that.

#                    #                    #                    #

"So now what?" Nikki said when I woke up. Dezba and Joseph were both back with us; Joseph was back in his champion form, which looked even bigger now that I was a woman again. Off on the horizon I could see that there was a rather bright glow from where the monastery was now undoubtedly burning down.

"I'm going to take her to Darlene," I said.

"Who is Darlene?" Suzona asked in that very deep male voice.

"A friend, a normal friend," I said.

"Well, let me open up a gate back home, and we can go there."

I started to nod, and then stopped. "We can't do that."

"What? Why not?" Nikki demanded.

"Aryanna doesn't want her in any of her temples."

"It would only be for a minute," Nikki protested.

"No."

"Oh come on! How else are we going to get her there? Hell, you can even run out the back door, I'll have Dezba go and clear the way for you."

"I said no." I said looking at Nikki and for once wishing she'd shut up.

"Will! Come on! You know...."

"Sergeant!" I barked, "You are out of line, sit down and SHUT UP!"

Nikki's eyes went wide, and she stopped in mid sentence, and then stared at me, looking rather angry as she slowly sat down.

The others all stared at me for a moment as well, not saying anything.

"We can use the portals, but we can not set foot on holy ground. That's the rule, and before any of you ask, no I don't know why."

"How about taking the portal through to Circe's?" Dezba asked.

"No, Circe doesn't want the child there at all," Joseph said, saving me from that one.

"Well, we can't go back the long way," Dezba said, "That's months of travel."

"And a lot of obstacles, yes, I know." I sighed.

"Let's head towards Lionesnesc," Nikki said looking at me angrily. "We need to get away from here, and the sooner we do, the better. Their will be troops looking for us by morning."

I nodded and stood up. "Nikki is right, we need to move. I thank all of you for helping, I appreciate it very much. You're all free to go."

"You saying you don't need any help?" Nikki said, still looking angry.

I sighed, "I need help, I need a lot of help. I'm in the middle of the wilderness with no supplies and no transportation, and a very long way to go. But other than you, Sis, none of these folks signed up for this, and if they want to leave, that's okay.

"We need to get all these guns of yours out of here anyways."

"Lets hold on to the weapons for a little longer," Suzona said. "You can hold the baby, the rest of us will shift into our champion forms, and you can ride on Joseph's back." Suzona finished with a smile.

"Hey! I'm not a horse!" Joseph protested.

"What if I promised to make it up to you?" Suzona said and gave Joseph a wink.

Joseph sighed and lowered his body to the ground, "Climb on."

"You sure you're okay with this, Joseph?" I asked looking at him.

"She's right. Besides, you don't really weigh that much as a woman."

Gregory and Dezba both agreed to stay on, and we quickly headed off into the night. Champions are able to move rather fast for long periods of time, so by morning we were quite far away. We continued to move during the day, avoiding the few towns we came across, and except for water and rest breaks, we didn't stop until nightfall.

When we finally stopped and settled down to camp for the night, Joseph went off and killed us a deer, which he brought back to camp, then went off to find another one for himself to eat apparently.

When the others were all finally relaxing, I went over to Nikki and nudged her foot. She glared at me, and I motioned to the side with my head.

She glared a moment more, then with a sigh got up and walked with me, I made sure we were well out of earshot of the camp.

"I'm sorry I had to step on you like that, Sis, but you had to shut up, and I didn't know how to stop you."

"Oh? And why did you have to shut me up?" She asked still glaring.

"Fel told me flat out that Aryanna won't tolerate Cam setting foot in any of her temples. She's not to be seen, or even touched by any of her clerics. The only reason you're allowed is because you're my sister and Cam's aunt. I can't even hand her off to any of the other people here, and Fel is afraid that if she's discovered in his realm that the other gods will team up against him."

"Why would they do that?" Nikki asked concerned.

"They're all still pissed at Fel and me, because of what I did to that other god. They're afraid he's getting too powerful. Apparently if they were to find Cam here on his grounds, they'd freak or something."

"You sure about Aryanna?" Nikki asked looking concerned.

"Ask her yourself!" I sighed, "Nikki, do you think I would make this shit up? You're my sister, and probably the only living being I trust."

Nikki raised an eyebrow and looked at me, "You don't trust Fel?"

"He's not exactly living now, is he?"

Nikki smiled, for the first time since last night, "Point. So what do we do? Can you gate home to Feliogustus's temple and then make a dash for the portal there? It's what, a two day walk?"

I thought about that, mounted I could make it in less than a day.

"I'll have to ask Fel, if he allows it, we could try that."

"Well, that's really our only option," Nikki said.

I shrugged, "There are a lot of portals on this plane, now that we got the hard part done, Aryanna or Fel might be able to find us a way out of here."

Nikki nodded.

"And I'm sorry for yelling at you, Sis."

"Well, I'll forgive you on one condition," she smiled.

"What?"

"Can I hold my niece?" She said looking at me rather wistfully.

I laughed, "Sure," and I handed her over.

"Wow, isn't she the cutest little..." Nikki stopped and her eyes got wide.

"Sis? Sis, what's wrong?"

Nikki looked up at me, "I can feel something, when I touch her. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it."

"How come I can't feel anything?"

"Maybe because you carried her? Or she's your daughter?" Nikki shrugged and looked back down at her niece, "but there is definitely something there, and I know Aryanna felt it when I did."

"All the way from here?" I said surprised.

Nikki nodded. "I think that's why she and Feliogustus want the baby kept hidden and away from everything, even themselves. There is something here, some kind of power, and until she's old enough, she's a target."

I nodded slowly, "I had no idea. But if just touching her has such a big reaction, then yeah, I can see why."

"Well, let's get back to camp, we can put Joseph on one side of you, and I'll sleep on the other."

"You sure that's okay?" I asked looking at her.

"Joseph already said that Circe wants no part of the child, so we know he's safe."

I nodded, it made sense.

"What about the others?"

"We'll just have to see what happens." I said, and realized I had to talk to Fel again.

#                    #                    #                    #

"Ah, you're back," Fel said smiling.

I nodded, "Can we do what Nikki said? Just run through here to the other portal?"

Fel nodded, "Yes, but you have to be quick, and you can-not stop for anything. I'll have Narasamman bring two wolats to the room."

I nodded, "Thanks, Fel."

Twelve

East of Lionesnesc

The next morning we told everyone what our plan was, and they all wished us well as I shifted back to my champion form and opened a gate back to Fel's. There were two wolats there, tied to the altar, and no one else in the room. We mounted up, and rode out of there, not stopping for anything and keeping a fast pace until we were well out of town.

We stopped for lunch and that of course led to our first problem. I was no longer female, however Nikki was. So she had the wonderful task of playing wet nurse.

"Hey, she's no longer a she!" Nikki said.

"Huh?" I said and looked over at Cam, who was now a male felinoid cub, "Oh, yeah. I kind of expected that would happen. So little Camille just became Cameron."

"Well I hope she, err he doesn't have gender issues when he grows up."

I shrugged, "At this age, I think they're all pretty much the same, so I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Nikki nodded and after getting Cameron cleaned up, we continued on our way.

We made the portal by nightfall, and debated what to do with the wolats.

"Bring 'em through," Nikki said.

"But they're not horses!"

"If their intelligence survives, they'll be handy, even if they're still just wolves."

"Well, grab one," I said.

"I'll take Cam, you bring them."

"Why?" I said looking at her.

"Because I'm Ary's champion, and if they're not allowed, I can't bring them. Duh!"

I laughed and stepped through.

I looked at the leads, and I had two rather large wolf-like dogs on leads. They were both wearing collars.

They both 'woofed' at me, and Nikki stepped through a moment later with Cam.

"Hey, you two," she said. "Sit!"

They both sat, and wagged their tails.

I looked at them, then over at Cameron.

"You protect him, okay?" and taking Cameron from Nikki I let them both smell him. Then smell me again. "And if you hurt him, I'll turn you into a rug! Got that?"

They both whined a moment, and then licked my hand.

"Wow, I think they're smarter now." Nikki said as we headed off towards the road.

I shrugged, "Hard to say, wolats are pretty smart, they're just a bit contrary. Making them over into something more like a dog may just have made them easier to deal with."

Nikki nodded.

"So where are we?" She asked.

"East of Riverhead, a couple of days ride. If we head east from here, we can make it to Portsmouth in a day, probably less, on foot.

"Oh, okay." Nikki nodded. "We can catch the ferry down the river."

"Hope you have some gold on you, because my pockets are empty," I told her.

"Heh! I'm Aryanna's champion; I'll have the local guard cover it for me."

I nodded, "Good idea."

We walked through the night and made it to Portsmouth early the next morning. The weather was nice enough, so neither one of us minded the walk. We even caught the morning ferry down the river. Two days later we made it to my inn in Riverhead.

Darlene was as happy to see me as ever, especially as I had a new daughter with her, child number five had been born only about a month ago. Darlene had named our new daughter Rachel, which surprised me. But whether it was coincidence or on purpose, I decided I'd wait until Darlene told me why she had picked the name.

"Welcome to our home, my Sister!" Darlene said and gave Nikki a hug, "And who do we have here?" She asked looking down at young Cam.

I opened my mouth, but Nikki spoke up first.

"This is my son, Cameron," Nikki said, "and I need a favor, a really big favor from you."

"You want to foster him here with our children," Darlene smiled, "Of course I will take him in for you, you're our family, Nikki! And I know that bein' a champion for our goddess you surely don't have the time to be raising a child all by yourself."

"Oh thank you so much," Nikki said with a sigh, "I was sure you would, and Will told me not to worry, but well. I know it's a lot to ask and all."

Darlene took Cameron and held him smiling. "I like children, the more, the better as they say. Come, let me introduce Will to his new daughter, and you can meet her as well."

"Another one, Will?" Nikki whispered to me as we followed Darlene back to the family section of the inn.

"What can I say?" I sighed, "I can't say no."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Nikki teased and motioned to Cameron.

I blushed so hard I could feel it going down my chest.

We spent a while with the children, and then we all sat down and caught up on things. Nikki hadn't been here in a lot longer than me, as I'd come here before setting off to have Cameron, some nine months ago. Darlene caught us up on the goings on in town, the inn, and even some of the local area news. Nikki shared what was going on back east, especially in Kingstown.

"There is one more thing you have to do for me, Sister," Nikki said to Darlene.

"What?"

Nikki then told Darlene Aryanna's conditions for Cameron being here. Darlene seemed puzzled at first, but Nikki was Aryanna's champion, and told her that the dictate had come from Aryanna herself.

"That is strange, but if it is what the goddess commands, then it is what I shall do."

I sighed and nodded, "Thanks, Hon, and thanks for taking Cameron in."

Darlene smiled, "Family is family. No matter how they got that way. Now, what is the story with these two strange looking dogs?" She said and motioned to the former wolats.

"Well, that's Heckle, I pointed to one, "and that's Jeckle," I pointed to the other one. They both wagged their tails. "I can leave them here with you to watch over the family if you'd like?"

Darlene smiled, "The children could use some watching, and people say that dogs are good with children."

I nodded and turned to Heckle and Jeckle. "You listen to my wife," I told them and gave Darlene a hug, "And keep an eye on the children, understand?"

They thumped the floor with their tails, and I think they might have understood. Only time would tell I guessed.

"How long can you stay?" Darlene said looking at me.

"A few months, maybe longer," I told her and gave her a kiss.

"And you, Sister?" she asked Nikki.

Nikki looked a bit more wistful, "Maybe a week. There are things that need my attention."

Darlene nodded, "Well, let me get dinner started. Come, Will, you can help."

"Yes, Dear," I smiled and followed her out of the room.

I spent the whole summer with Darlene, something I hadn't been able to do in years. Rachel may have been a little put out, but Darlene was often on the losing end of the arrangement that had developed over the years, and I did love her, a lot. So it was only fair that I do these things for her, when I could.

Cameron continued to thrive, and so did my new daughter and my other children. Travis, the oldest of all my children, was nine now! I spent a lot of time with him, and his younger sister. It was hard to believe I'd been doing this for so long, that I'd been coming here for so long, that I'd been married almost ten years now to Darlene. The life I'd lived as a junior engineer seemed so far away and foreign to me now.

I went back to Rachel and Hiland in the fall; I usually didn't spend my winters in Hiland City, or had not in some time at least, but Fel had been keeping me apprised of the war, and it seemed likely the invasion of Marland would start early next spring. So we'd need to spend the winter preparing.

Thirteen

Hiland

"So," Rigel was wrapping up his presentation to the council, "the reports we've received from the Mowok's leaders, have all been verified. The Barassan army has pulled completely out of their territory. The reports we received from them over the course of the summer on casualties is rather striking when you add them up, Barassa lost about ten percent of it's army while trying to fight with the Mowok's, whose own losses appear to be less than one percent."

"Is ten percent a lot?" Shellia, our foreign minister asked.

"It's huge when you consider the size of their army," Holse said. "And it means that everyone lost someone they knew, everyone suffered at some level or other. It's very hard on morale, and it's very hard on the army, as all of those people need to be replaced."

Holse turned to Rigel, "What are the reports on their morale?

Rigel smiled rather toothily, "Their morale is terrible, there were so many deserters when the army pulled out, that the Mowoks had to field a force to escort them through the plains before the winter rains came."

"Really?" I said surprised. "How many do they think deserted?"

"No idea really, but the Mowoks 'escorted' several large groups to the cities north of Metina. From the sounds of it, I'd suspect thousands."

"Why would they desert? Especially into the hands of their enemies?" Narasamman asked.

"Because Stivik's generals are probably going to be looking for scapegoats to keep the blame as far away from themselves as possible. Then the locals back in Barassa probably won't be too happy about welcoming back their army after it was beaten." Holse supplied. "Any of the smart ones, and probably half of the leadership, have now left.

"After all, King Stivik still needs slaves to sell to raise money, what better place to look than among the ranks of his defeated soldiers?"

Rachel sighed, "Promise me that we will never do that to our soldiers if they should lose, General."

Holse nodded and smiled. "Yes, Your Majesty. I promise."

"Good, make sure your successors and subordinates understand that as well." Rachel looked around the room, "Thank you for that report, Rigel. Do we know for certain yet that Marland will be their next target?"

"No, Your Majesty, we do not. However the show of strength in eastern Holden has definitely been noticed, and those residents of eastern Marland who can leave, are leaving."

"Where are they going?" Rachel asked.

"Quite a few are settling in Holden, Your Majesty, the rest are heading further west inside Marland. A lot of Marlanders seem to feel that Marland will be attacked next."

"Still, we should be on our guard," Holse said, "Deception is a valid and worthwhile tactic."

Rachel nodded, "Very true, we've even used it ourselves a time or two," she said smiling. "I think we should call up the levies now, before the snows hit. We will let half of the regular army winter in Holden with King Charles's forces, with an equal number of levy troops, to dissuade any ideas of adventures there by King Stivik. Also make sure that Tradeson, Midway, and Rivervail all have sufficient troops, and send something to Stongshold as well so they don't feel left out."

"Your Highness, if we call the levies up now, that will cost a substantial amount of gold." Ceras, whose primary concern now was the kingdom's finances warned.

"Stivik is getting desperate, the moment the weather even begins to look favorable, he'll be marching. He may even decide to launch a winter campaign, if he thinks it will be successful. The starving bear is the most desperate, and Stivik is most definitely starving."

"What about the spring planting season?" Ramert said, "With so many young males off their family farms, there will be problems."

Rachel nodded, "I know, sit down with General Holse and the other commanders, and find a solution. We can always send the home guard out to the farms to assist in the planting."

"Yes, Your Highness," Ramert said and nodded.

"Will the Church be ready to support us?" Rachel asked, turning to Narasamman next.

"Yes, Your Highness. We have been preparing all summer. We will have priests and priestesses ready to accompany your army."

Rachel nodded, "William will be in charge of operation, Holse will be second in command. The two of you can spend the winter going over plans and force assessments. I'll send a missive to King Charles to find out how he wants to integrate his forces with ours."

"Are you sure he will?" Shellia asked.

"I'd be surprised if he doesn't," Rachel said, "seeing as our two kingdoms will soon be one. If you'd prefer, I can send you along with the missive, to help with any issues that might arise."

"I'd be happy to go, Your Highness," Shellia said. "I understand how important this is, and of course I want to do whatever I can to help," She smiled, "it's not like I know anything about military matters, but I think I can handle the diplomacy part."

Rachel nodded and smiled, "Good, in that case you're going." She turned back to General Holse next. "Now, let's go over the force assessment for Barassa, Holden, Marland, and our own army.

Holse nodded, "Yes, Your Highness," and started going over both what we knew, and what we suspected.

It was going to be a very long winter.

Fourteen

Holden Border

Start of the Spring Campaign

The weather was terrible, it was raining fairly hard as we crossed the border into Holden, but that's better than the snowstorm that was now raging up in Hiland. This late in the year snow was almost unheard of, but a freak late storm had swept through just as we were leaving. We'd had to ride hard for several days in order to outpace it.

"I can't believe the weather we're having," First Carso said to me as we passed through one of the small border stations Holden maintained on the road. Rachel hadn't bothered to build a new one after the Mulanders fell, seeing as negotiations to unite the two kingdoms had started before she could order one to be built.

"I'm just glad we got out of there when we did," I told him. "Another day and we'd have been snowed in for at least a week."

"Probably longer. Good thing the queen sent the army down months ago. With a storm like that messing up things, it would be a month before they got organized and sent out."

I nodded, "I think the days of the Army operating exclusively out of Hiland are pretty much over."

Carso nodded. "I'm almost ready to split the First Cavalry into the First and Second," he told me. "I'd like far more soldiers, but I need to start the whole process soon so I can split off a second command and get them trained and used to working by themselves."

I looked back at the line behind us. We had over four thousand cavalry soldiers with us. At this point, the only thing holding back the size of the cavalry now was the number of mounts available. Trading was still going on with the Mowoks, though with their war last year the number of mounts delivered had been less than usual, but a large breeding ranch was in the works, and several small ranches were already in operation.

"How big do you want each unit to be?" I asked out of curiosity.

"About five thousand, we could them break them up into company groups, like we do with the regular army."

"So you think ten thousand will be enough?"

First Carso shrugged, "I'm not so sure. I know that her majesty wants to get the size of the army down, for cost reasons, but I think I'd like to see twenty thousand cavalry and probably an equal amount of foot for our standing army."

"What if we beat Barassa?"

First Carso laughed, "That's after we destroy Barassa! We're just getting so large now, that we're going to have to station troops in different parts of the country, so if we're attacked, we can do something about it."

I grinned and shook my head, droplets flinging off the edge of my hood. "That's the reason for good intelligence, Carso, if we know what our neighbors are up to, we can move our army where it's needed, when it's needed."

"Yeah, that's what General Holse keeps telling me. But I still prefer to have the troops available, it takes weeks to raise the levy, and then we always need to train them, those idiots never seem to remember anything we teach them during the yearly drills."

"Yeah, I guess I can understand that. How soon do you think we'll be facing Barassan troops?"

First Carso shook his head and turned to glance at me as we rode in the rain. "If they're smart they'll attack Marland now, with the snow up north, they'd figure we're paralyzed."

"They have to know that we moved our army out before the winter came," I said looking back at him.

"But our troops aren't in Marland, they're in Holden, and after that little fiasco with their god a couple of years ago, Holden sealed the border and they've been patrolling it pretty aggressively."

"I don't know, it would be a pretty bold move, I'd expect their weather to be even worse than ours."

"Perhaps, but after all the failure they had last year, bold is what they need."

I signed and nodded. Holden wasn't a terribly large kingdom; you could walk across it in a week, if you kept up a good pace and stuck to the roads. We would get to our destination in two days at our current rate, less if we rushed.

Holden was mostly situated in the coastal mountain range, with salt marshes on the other side of the mountains near the sea. With the shape of the coastal range, it lay in a valley that was incredibly fertile due to all the rainfall. Even the sides of the hills were terraced, and they grew a tremendous amount of grains. The shape and close proximity of the costal range also provided a formable barrier to attacks from the east and northeast.

While the coastal range may not be a very high one, the ocean facing sides where rather shear and the winds coming off of the ocean could be quite fierce at times. However to the west there were no natural barriers, and hence that was where the former Mulander army had always come raiding from.

Marland lay along the river, on the opposite side from Barassa, between Barassa and Holden. Marland was actually twice the size of Barassa, but the eastern half of Marland, where the river neared the sea, was mostly swamps. The western half of Marland was better land, and that part of the country was more prosperous, but Marland had never entered the slave trade, preferring a more agrarian economy.

That had worked fine, when Barassa was more interested in staying home, or looking north when it looked anywhere at all, and the Mulander's army was not up to having yet another enemy on their borders, especially as Marland's army was larger than theirs back then, so Marland got off easy.

But Barassa had expanded as far north as they seemed to be interested in going and their economy desperately needed slaves, and Marland had much better and more productive farmland than the city-states to the north. So Marland was next on the hit parade.

"Messenger!" One of the forward scouts called out.

"Well, I doubt this is any good," First Carso said, and waved the lone wolat rider over. Changing the military messengers over to riders from runners had been a good idea that General Holse had pushed through years ago.

"First Carso?" The rider asked.

"Yes," First Carso said and held out his hand.

The messenger handed him a scroll tube. "I've been told to await your response, Sir."

First Carso nodded, "Wait back there," he said and pointed to a spot far enough away to let us converse in private.

I moved my mount closer to his, and waited for him to read it.

"Just as I suspected," he said and handed it over to me.

I scanned it over quickly, Carso's hunch had been right; Barassa had moved troops across the river and were attacking the easternmost Marland town that lay along the river. "So they've started their attack on Marland. Well, I guess that speeds things up a bit."

"It will be interesting to see if they press westward immediately, or secure the town first."

"How hard is it to get troops across the river?"

First Carso shrugged, "I have no idea, we know that it's pretty deep, and the current is fairly quick, but we've never done it, and we don't know anyone who has. They just may be striking now to secure a place to land their troops."

I nodded; it made sense from what I knew.

"I'm thinking we should continue on to our original destination and meet up with the troops there."

I nodded, "I agree. It's too early for us to ride to Marland's defense, obviously."

First Carso waved the messenger over. "Tell your commander to sit tight, and we'll be there tomorrow. Probably not all that far behind you.

"And ask him to try and get numbers on the enemy. Dismissed."

"Yessir!" The messenger said and saluted, then rode off.

First Carso then waved a couple of his sergeants over and filled them in on what had transpired.

"Let the men know that Barassa has attacked Marland, we don't foresee any fighting soon, but nevertheless, the war has started, and every male should keep his eyes open and his wits about him."

"Yessir!" they said and saluted, then returned to the ranks to pass the word.

"Who do you think Marland will ask for help first?" First Carso asked as we started to ride again.

"Rachel," I replied. "They never helped Holden against the Mulanders, so King Charles won't lift a finger, and I'm sure they know it."

"Sounds about right."

"I just wonder if we'll ride into Marland as saviors, conquers, or victors."

"Why not all three?" First Carso said and then laughed at the expression on my face.

But I guess he was right, why not all three?

We rode into the main camp the next morning, we'd only stopped twice to rest the mounts and feed them and the troops. Everyone was wet, tired and unhappy, the rain still hadn't let up.

The camp itself was rather nice, the army had been here for three months now, and had taken the time to set up a decent fort. There were palisades around the entire camp, a corral for our mounts, and large tents for command and operations.

We left the sergeants and junior officers to get the men settled, and I joined First Carso and his staff over at the command tent.

"First Wyland," First Carso said as we entered the tent, "allow me to introduce my staff," Carso went down the line, and when he was finished he came back to me, "And I believe you have met William before?"

First Wyland had been pressing palms with each of the staff as introduced; when he came to me he smiled rather happily. "Of course! I was with the heavy foot that day we won against the Mulanders! It is a pleasure to serve under you again, Champion Will!"

I smiled and we grabbed arms after touching palms, "Just Will, please, First Wyland. Champion is such a mouthful."

First Wyland laughed and nodded, "Of course, it's not like anyone doesn't know who you are, right?" He turned to the others and gestured to the large table in the tent. "Please, be seated. I'll send one of my men out for hot food as I go over the current situation with you."

We all smiled at that, and settled around the table as he filled us in. The Barassan army was still pacifying the town, but that looked like it would soon be over. Troops were still being shuttled across the river; apparently Barassa only had five ships of their own, and could move maybe a thousand troops at a time.

"So they attacked now, during bad weather, to secure a safe place to land their troops?" I asked.

First Wyland nodded, "That's what we think. It hadn't occurred to us that they had so few ships to move troops."

"So, how many trips can they make an hour?" I asked.

"From what we have observed so far, only one."

"Only one? That means it'll take them a week to move their army across the river!"

"Closer to two, we don't think they'll continue to move their army across during the night."

That stopped me a minute.

"They're launching a major attack, and they can only move maybe ten thousand troops a day, into the battle."

First Wyland and his staff nodded.

"So it'll be what, a week before they can attack?"

Everyone looked at me, curious.

"The people running Marland may not be military geniuses, but they can get their entire army down there in what, two days? Three?"

"We expect them to be ready to attack the day after tomorrow. We expect to have reports back from our scouts tomorrow to confirm this, but we know that the town did send for help."

I nodded, "So Marland's army, which is what, sixty thousand?" I saw heads nod. "Okay, so Marland's army will come in and attack in two days, and have a better than two to one advantage over Barassa, defeating about a third of the Barassan army, and putting an end to the war before it has even begun?"

I noticed the shocked expressions on all of their faces.

"Barassa is not that stupid," First Carso said.

First Wyland face-palmed and shook his head. "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. We missed their main invasion force!"

"So the Marland army is walking into a trap," First Carso sighed.

"How many troops do we know for sure were landed?" I asked.

"It looks like six thousand were there when I got my last report, the town wasn't terribly large, a force of three thousand could have taken it without too much trouble," First Wyland said.

"And if this is just a diversion, they'll probably stop reinforcing it." First Carso added.

I sighed, "So we have two questions: one, where is their army. Two, what do we do about it?"

"Why we tell the Marland army about it!"

I thought about that a moment. From Rachel and Holse's point of view, the purpose of the Marland army was to cut the Barassan army down to size, so we could defeat it, if it came to a war for us to take it over. But if they were ambushed, there wouldn't be much size cutting.

On the other hand, we wanted the Marland army to be weak enough so that when all was said and done, Marland could easily and painlessly be annexed into Rachel's kingdom.

Everyone was looking at me. As the Prince Consort, or whatever the hell I was called, I outranked everyone here. Being Fel's champion also pulled a lot of weight. It was up to me, which was why Rachel sent me here in the first place.

I sighed, "We need to send a messenger to the Marland commander, tell them what we suspect, tell them that we think the main body of troops have either already landed, or that they're going to land after Marland's troops are committed.

First Wyland nodded, "I'll get on it right away, Sir," and he ordered one of his men to get a messenger, while he sat down with another to detail the message.

"You weren't thinking of letting them get slaughtered, were you, Sir?" First Carso leaned over and asked me softly.

"If I didn't consider the option, and how that would affect our plans, Rachel would skin me alive," I whispered back. "Being married to the queen is not always easy or simple. I have to make the kinds of decisions she does at times."

First Carso nodded slowly, "I guess I can understand that. But she wouldn't really skin you alive, Will."

"I reincarnate, Carso, and she knows it. If she got sufficiently mad at me, who knows what she'll do. When she threatens to kill me, understand that she means it, because she knows I'll be back."

I could see his eyes had gotten rather wide, and his lips had gone rather pale.

"Welcome to the down side of being a champion," I said with a smirk, "who is married to a queen who does not take 'no' for an answer."

"You must really love her to put up with that kind of abuse," He said with a weak smile.

"Yes, I do."

There was some further discussion on where the rest of the Barassan army might be hiding. It broke down into two camps: the smaller group thought that they had already crossed, further east in the swamps and salt marshes and were sneaking up through there.

That idea I thought did have merit, but I personally didn't think it was practical, nor did I think the Barassan army had that level of commitment.

The larger group felt that the Barassan army was further west, and that once Marland's army was lured out to attack the supposed main landing, they would do a mass crossing, and fall on the rear of the unprepared forces of Marland.

That would leave Marland's capitol city completely undefended, and would destroy most of Marland's military might in a single blow.

I made the recommendation that if Marland's army moved east, that we should move to occupy Marland's capitol city immediately, as it would take our forces two days to get there.

And then I went to bed.

When I woke up six hours later, the rain had stopped and the camp was a hive of activity, it had gotten rather cold however, but at least the sky was clear, though it was now late in the day. I went and hit the mess tent, I noticed that the rest of the cavalry was waking up and also getting fed. After I'd eaten I went over to the command tent to find out what was going on.

"So what's the situation, Wyland?" I asked.

"We'll be striking camp and heading west in another hour, as per your recommendation, Sir."

I looked around and resisted the urge to swear. I'd forgotten that any 'recommendations' I made were considered 'orders'.

"Do we know what the Marland Army is doing?"

"Initial reports having them heading east, Sir."

"Will or William is fine here in the command tent Wyland," I sighed. "I'm dependent on your opinions, and if you keep 'sirring' me, I'm not sure I'll get them."

"Yes, Will," he said and nodded.

"Do we know if they got our message about a possible ambush?"

"Not yet, but we sent two separate riders, so we're fairly sure it will get through."

"Are the Barassan's still reinforcing the town below?" Our camp, being located high on the coast range did have a rather commanding view of the river valley, so those with the keenest eyes were watching the movements below.

"Yes, they are. But the army on the far side of the river does not appear to be as large as some of my scouts think it would be, if it was the full army."

"So what is your opinion?"

First Wyland paused a moment, "I think they mean to put up a good defense of the town, so when the main body of the Barassan army falls on the Marland forces from the rear, they will be able to crush them on the open fields west of the town."

I thought about that a moment and nodded, "Makes sense. Apparently Barassa's generals learned a few things last year."

"It would appear so," First Wyland agreed.

"Now what I wouldn't give to know just how big of an army they have in the field this year." I sighed.

"It is the subject of a lot of debate, isn't it, Will?" First Carso said joining us in the command tent.

"I'd bet on smaller," First Wyland said.

"Oh? Why?" I asked curious to hear his reasoning.

"Boats cost money, if they're going to cross in a large group; they're going to need a lot of boats, so that means less money for mercenaries."

I nodded, "Well, I hope that's true. Have we received any word from the Holden forces on their plans?"

"They'll be joining us at the border, prior to our move to occupy or defend Marland," First Wyland said. "We received their response to your orders just a few minutes ago."

"So they're under our command?" I asked surprised.

"No, they're under your command, William. Apparently King Charles agrees with your assessment, and has released his troops to follow your orders."

I nodded slowly, not sure if I should applaud or swear. Charles had just made me responsible for winning this thing for him. Of course Rachel had done that already, and Fel was expecting nothing less. Well I wasn't going home, so it was time to go big.

"How many men does that give us?"

"We have ten thousand of the queen's regular army, another ten thousand of the Hiland Levy, forty-five hundred cavalry, and then there are the Holden troops, they have twenty thousand regular, and thirty thousand levy."

"I had no idea Holden had such a large army," I said surprised.

"They're just as big as Hiland, Will," First Carso said, "And they've got all of theirs right here, were we need it."

"Have riders been sent out to inform General Holse of our situation?" General Holse was sitting in Rivervail, with the other two-thirds of the Hiland army, in case Barassa decided to try and come farther up the river, prior to attacking. We didn't think they would, but none of us wanted to take that chance.

"Yes, they were sent out when you left to sleep."

I nodded again, "Carso, make sure the men are ready to go when they break camp. We'll ride ahead of the main body. I'm going to want to look around myself."

"Yessir," He said and saluting he left to go check on the men.

"I'd like go take a look across the valley before the sun sets," I said to First Wyland. "Could you have someone show me where your lookouts are positioned?"

"Sure thing, William."

He called over one of his sergeants, and he led me up a long path to the crest of the mountain we were on. It was about a twenty-minute walk.

I looked out over the horizon, the entire river valley was laid out in front of me, and it really was quite the view. The last time I'd seen something as impressive was when I'd stood on the observation deck of the World Trade Center in New York City. Everything just dropped off and it was open for miles and miles.

"Don't ship captains have devices for seeing across the distances?" I asked one of the men sighting off into the distance. None of them had anything beyond their own eyeballs.

"I wouldn't know about that, Sir," he replied. The Sergeant behind me coughed.

"Yes, Sergeant?" I asked looking at him.

"I have heard of such devices, Sir, but I have also heard that they are rather expensive and that the quality is poor."

I nodded, if they existed here, that meant I could get somebody to buy me a few, and then I could see about improving them. While the rules said I couldn't bring in new technology, they didn't say anything about my improving on what was already here.

Then again, I didn't know much about lens grinding. Oh well, guess I'd talk to Sorin about it later, he was the one who dealt with ships for the kingdom.

I turned my attention back to the view, and started to look at what I could see before me. It was late in the day, and the sun was only a few hours from setting.

I could see the town that the Barassan army had taken, there were still a few fires burning down there, and I could see the boats crossing the river. The point where they were launching from was quite a ways off, and it was hard to get any idea of how many people were gathered there.

I turned and looked west up the river. I could see all the towns up along the river, the farms, and even make out quite a few houses. I was fairly certain that I could even see the capitol city, but I wasn't positive, because of the lay of the land. Marland city was not on the river, it was in fact a couple of miles south and uphill from it, to avoid the spring floods.

Over all, as look out positions went, this was a pretty good one. I could see why they placed one of the army units near it.

"Anyone see anything up the river that looks like the main army?" I asked the others, and they all shook their heads.

"Who has the best eyesight here?" I asked.

"That would be me, Sir," said a younger male wearing regular army markings.

"You are?"

"Corporal Styles, Sir."

I nodded, "You're attached to me for now, Corporal Styles. Go get your gear and have someone direct you to First Corso."

"Sir?"

"We're going to go looking for that army, Corporal."

He nodded and saluted and ran off down the trail.

I turned to the Sergeant. "Please inform First Wyland that I borrowed Corporal Styles. Wouldn't want to get him in trouble."

"Yessir," the Sergeant said and nodded, giving me a salute as well.

I took one last look, before heading back down the trail myself. Only this time I looked to the east, until I found Barassa. It wasn't hard to find, Barassa was a rather large city, and being on the river it was easy to spot.

"Your time will come, Stivik," I growled softly, then turned and left.

Fifteen

Northern Holden

It would take the foot soldiers about a day to make it to the pass that led from Holden, into Marland. From there it was another day's march to get to Marland. Holden maintained a fort in the pass; Marland did as well, so I'd have to figure out how to deal with that when we got there.

Relations between Marland had always been good, though they had cooled a little in the last couple of decades when Marland didn't aid Holden at all in its wars with the Mulanders.

The sun was setting when we got underway, I'd gone over a map of the area with both of the Firsts, and there were three more encampments of Hiland troops that we would pass on the way, with four more to the west of the pass. All had been ordered to wait at the entryway to the pass. King Charles's troops would be waiting outside the fort inside the pass.

The ride there was trouble free, though twice I had the men wait while I took a few of us up onto the ridgeline, at spots that had been marked on the map for having a good overview of the river valley below.

At the first one, we could see nothing, beyond the distant lights of some of the houses in the small towns along the river as night has already fallen.

At the second, we could hear the faint sounds of an army on the march, and after looking for a while, Styles told me that he could make out the dark mass of an army moving east on the plains below. I guessed that it was probably the Marland army, as I didn't think the Barassan army was in the field yet. If there had been any lights or lanterns, it might have made it possible for us to figure out who it was, but we all had rather excellent night vision, and the moon was now up, so everyone traveled without lights.

When we got to the entrance to the pass, the sun was starting to rise, and half of the Hiland army units had already reached the spot and bivouacked.

"Well, let's go find who's in charge," I said to First Carso, and we left our mounts with the rest of our group and got directions to the command tent.

The way things had been planned command-wise for the Hiland army detachment that had been sent here was two Firsts, each of whom would command their individual Division, with Seconds commanding each of the Companies. Wyland had been the farthest east, because his position had the best visual intelligence on the most likely invasion routes. First Young was in command of the Division to the west of the pass, and was with the group closest to the pass. He was also senior to both Wyland and Carso and very good at his job.

"William! Carso!" He said walking over and touch palms with both of us. "I got your message and I've ordered my units to join us here."

I nodded, "Do you know if our warning to the Marland General got through?"

First Young made a rather unpleasant expression. "Yes, and the ass still marched off anyway. He thinks he can reverse and attack anything the Barassan generals can throw at him."

"Well, at least he won't be surprised. Is there a vantage point around here, where we can get a good overview of the valley?" I asked.

Young nodded, "It's about an hour up the hill from here."

"Well, if you can detail someone to show me, I'll take one of my mounts up. I'd like to have a look."

First Young nodded, "By all means. When do you want to march on to Marland?"

"How long a march is it, from the forts in the pass?"

"Ten hours at a forced pace, eighteen hours if you want them to arrive well rested."

I nodded, "And how far are the forts from here?"

"About a three hour march, the Holden army is already encamped there, waiting for your commands."

I nodded, "How hard will it be to get past the Marland fort?"

First Young laughed, "The sole purpose of the Marland 'fort' is to assess customs' fees. They rely on the Holden fort for security."

"So we'll have no problems there then," I nodded.

"No, none at all."

"Okay, when all of the troops have arrived here, give them a chance to rest and eat, then I want you to march them up behind the Holden troops and bivouac there. From this point forward, I want all of our movements to be at full force. We still don't have any information on the enemy."

"When do you want us to march into Marland?"

"I'm not sure," I said looking at both Young and Carso. "Most likely we'll leave at sunrise tomorrow, which will give all of our troops a chance to rest. I want them to show up ready to battle, so I'd prefer not to do any forced marches at this time."

"That could be bad for the Marland army," First Young warned.

"Yeah well, that's their problem," I sighed, "I'm not going to put our army at risk to save him from his own stupidity. Tomorrow evening the Marland forces will make it to that town, if we do a forced march behind them; we'll just show up in time to be attacked by the Barassans, instead of them.

"Until I know where they are, I'm going to be very cautious. Our primary goal is to hold the capitol city and everything west of there."

"Hold or take?" First Young asked with a smile.

"Well, that depends on just how well Marland comports itself, doesn't it?" I smiled back at him.

It only took twenty minutes to ride up to the ridgeline. I brought Styles along for his eyesight and Carso along for his advice.

"Well, see anything?" I asked Styles as we scanned the horizon, the coastal range wasn't really all that high here, and the view was not as far reaching, but there was still a fairly good view, because the river valley was rather flat.

"I think I see something glinting off in that direction, Sir," Styles told me.

I looked but I couldn't see anything, there were too many trees in the way to see the river well.

"Anyone else?" I asked, First Young had two lookouts posted up here, along with a couple of messengers.

Everyone shook their heads, so I came around behind Styles.

"Point to it," I told him, and I sighted down his arm. I did see a sparkle or two after a minute through the trees, but it could just have been the sun playing off of the water.

"Sure it's not the water, Styles?"

"No, Sir, I mean yes, Sir, it's not the water, the color is all wrong."

I nodded and walked over to Carso, "Let me see that map."

First Carso pulled it out and we spread it out on the ground and we both checked our landmarks.

"If the Corporal is right," I said looking at the map, "that would put the Barassan army somewhere around here." I pointed to a spot on the map, which was about a third of the way from the capitol to the town that had been taken.

"The next question is, what side of the river are they on?" First Carso said.

I shook my head, "If I was their commander, I would cross tonight before the moon rises. Less chances of being seen. Then once your troops are organized, march them off to destroy the Marland army. I don't know if the general commanding for Marland will attack when he gets there tonight, or just encamp and then wait until morning.

"In either case, I'd expect the defenders to be able to hold off for a while if they've been sufficiently reinforced."

First Carso nodded, "Makes sense. So what's your next move, Will?"

"My next move is to have some food and take a nap," I smiled and stretched yawning. "We'll go over this again with Young and Wyland if he's here too. We might want to involve whoever is commanding Holden as well."

"Then we'll make our plans, but make sure the men are rested and ready to go at a moment's notice, I'm thinking I might want to do a little reconnaissance in force tomorrow."

First Carso nodded and smiled, "I'm sure they'll be looking forward to it, Will. All this riding and no fighting hasn't been much fun for the men. They're still sore they weren't allowed to go help their friends from the Mowoks last summer.

I nodded. "Okay, let's roll this up and get some food and rest." I turned to Styles, "Corporal, stay here until we send someone up to recall you, send hourly reports, and if you see anything else of note, have someone notify me immediately." I turned to the others, "He's in charge," I pointed to Styles.

"But I'm only a corporal, Sir!" Styles said a little embarrassed; two of the males here were sergeants. "Not anymore, you're a Sergeant, you others, don't go causing problems, or we will have words, unpleasant words. Understood?"

The others all snapped to and saluted, "Yes, Sir!"

I smiled, "Thank you. I'll make sure the mess tent sends up some food. Carry on."

I yawned and stretched, I was in Fel's bar, and I was still tired. It had been a while since I'd slept well I guess.

"So, think you found them?" Fel asked me.

"Yeah, I think so. Can I ask you if I'm right?" I said raising my mug to my lips, more out of habit than any real thirst.

Fel nodded, "Sure, ask away."

I snorted and took a sip of my beer, then set it down, "So, am I right?"

"Yes, you're right, William," Fel smiled.

"Tantrus get a new champion?"

Fel nodded again, "Yes, and I'm fairly certain that he's with them. He's a home grown one however. None of the freelancers are interested."

"Freelancers?" I asked. I hadn't heard that term before.

"If, or when, you quit my service, you'll be a freelancer. Different gods, who think you might do well for them, or any that are desperate and just don't care, will contact you."

"Well, how do you know what kind of situation you're getting into?" I asked curious.

"Well, you can ask the god trying to recruit you. You can also ask the other gods who are interested in you. Or if you were say, to be living in my sphere or Aryanna's sphere, you could just go down to one of our temples and ask us."

"Huh, I hadn't thought of that." I said and took another sip.

"It doesn't always work of course, you may not be contacted by more than one god at a time, and it may be someone too far away from both mine or Aryanna's sphere of influence to know anything about them. But if a god is rushed and desperate, well, there's probably a good reason for it."

I set down the mug and looked at Fel and laughed. Too bad gods don't blush.

"Yes, William, just like me. Which is why I made sure I had you stretched over a barrel first."

I smiled, "Yeah, but we both know I'd do it again. So this guy is inexperienced?"

"Well he's not too inexperienced; he took part in the last few weeks of the Mowok campaign. But this will be his first major war."

"And hopefully his last," I smiled.

"Don't over extend yourself, William," Fel warned. "Barassa isn't the only player in this confrontation."

I sighed and set the mug down, "Don't I know it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with Marland, but I may want to borrow Jane once we get into the city. There's only one of me, and she could be instrumental."

"Just remember, it's going to be a long summer, William," Fel warned again.

I nodded, "I know, I know." I paused a moment in thought, "Is there anything else you can tell me that I need to know, or might find interesting?"

"Wyland was right about there not being any mercenaries in the Barassan army that is invading."

I nodded, "What about the rest of their army?"

"There are more than a few back at Barassa. Mercenaries who do garrison duty are cheaper than actual combat soldiers."

I smiled, "Garrison? Sounds like things aren't too easy back inside the city proper."

"They are having problems I gather," Fel smiled, "But King Stivik likes to have some sort of home guard, and the high priest of Tantrus is concerned enough that he's tapped heavily into the temple's gold to make sure he has a well trained force protecting Tantrus's interests as well."

I nodded, "I will keep that in mind, Fel, thank you."

"Sleep well, William."

I nodded and fell into a deeper sleep.

It was late evening; all the troops were now in the pass, just south of the Holden fort that controlled it.

"So," I said going over the map with all of the senior staff, "This is what we know currently."

I had added the location of the Barassan army, which I suspected was crossing into Holden at this moment.

"That would put them about a twelve to sixteen-hour march from Marland City," General Weiss, the leader of the Holden army said.

"I would think that they're most likely going to first go after the Marland army, and come back to pick the capitol off at their leisure," I said.

"Barassa probably has a two to one advantage over Marland. They could easily split off ten or even twenty thousand soldiers to attack the city," General Weiss said. "I advise we march at once, we should be able to get to the city and take up defensive positions before they get there."

I looked around the room as I thought about it, all of our First and Seconds were in the tent, as well as those for the Holden troops. There were about three times as many Holden officers, but then they outnumbered Hiland's military here by almost three times.

"How well rested are your troops General?" I asked Weiss.

"They've been encamped here for a day. They're fine."

I turned to First Young, "What's the status of your troops?"

"About half of my soldiers showed up within the last four hours after marching all day. If we make this march, they'll be tired, but there shouldn't be any real difficulties."

I nodded, and looked at the map. "Do you think they could make a forced march, or not?"

"Half of them could, the other half," First Young looked embarrassed, "Well, half of those are levy troops, and I'm not sure they can do it."

I nodded again and sighed, "I really hate splitting up my forces, especially when going up against a larger opponent. But General Weiss's concerns are valid, and I have an obligation to protect the temples and the city."

I looked up at General Weiss, "March your troops out as soon as possible, do not take orders from anyone in Marland, other than Champion Jane at Fordessa's temple. We're not there to save their army at the price of our own. Once we get there, we'll examine our options and see what we can do."

I turned to First Young, "I hate to do this to you, Young, but pack them up and march them out about an hour after General Weiss leaves. Get them to Marland city as quickly as you can, with as many as you can."

"What will you be doing, William?" General Weiss asked.

"I'm going to take the cavalry and ride ahead, and see what we can learn and if necessary wreak a little havoc of our own."

"But you've got only a few thousand of them!" General Weiss said surprised, "You'll be crushed!"

I smiled, "Yeah, and they'll think the same thing. First Young, have somebody recall the lookouts, First Carso, tell the troops to saddle up, we'll be leaving shortly." Everyone nodded and got up and went to work.

I went back to look at the map, none of the lookouts had reported any large fires to the east, so we suspected that the Marland forces were waiting for morning to attack. The rider we'd dispatched to Rivervail wouldn't be there for a few more days, and even then it would take them a week to march down to Marland from there.

But they'd know that the fighting had commenced. At least the weather was holding, and I hoped it would continue to do so, even if it was rather cold.

"Sir, Champion Sir!" A male called and rushed into the tent. It was one of the messengers from up on the ridgeline lookout.

"Yes, Sergeant, what is it?"

"Your man Styles, Sir. He's fairly certain that they've started moving across the water, Sir."

"Really?" I said surprised.

"Yes, Sir. He said they appear to have a lantern or some sort of light on each of the boats. Probably to keep from hitting each other or such."

"I see, how many did he count?"

"He couldn't really tell, Sir, but there were a lot, dozens he thinks."

I nodded, "Okay, thank you Sergeant, please inform your superiors and whomever else you usually report to, dismissed."

He saluted and left, I took one more look at the map and left as well.

Less than an hour later we were mounted and moving out. I'll say this for Weiss's people; they were packed up and on the march as soon as we were.

"Impressive," I remarked to Carso as we rode pass them.

"They held the Mulanders off for years with an army half the size of the Mulander army," Carso said. "They've got a pretty solid officer corps. Holse can't wait to raid them once we've become united," He laughed.

"When this is over, I'll have a few words with King Charles. Maybe we can work something out earlier," I said thoughtfully.

"What do you think we'll find when we get there?"

I shook my head, "I haven't a clue."

The next hours were not very enjoyable, it was cold, and being out on the plains to the south of the capitol when the wind is blowing was not terribly enjoyable. We got off once an hour to walk our mounts and let them rest a little while, and then mounted back up and rode on.

The temperature continued to drop, and there was frost on the ground when the sun finally stared to rise.

"I hope we don't lose anyone to the cold," I sighed.

"At least we have the pelts for it," Carso noted. "The Barassan's however...," he turned and grinned at me.

"I'll take all the help I can get!" I smiled and nodded up ahead, "Well, there it is."

We could see the city off in the distance; it was still about an hour's ride from here.

"Didn't you ride in there once before?" Carso asked.

"Yup, and I bet they still remember it. Going to be an interesting reception."

"What's our first destination?"

"Fordessa's temple. After that, we'll see."

When we finally rode up to the city, the gates were closed and there were soldiers on the walls.

"Who be you, and where are you from?" One of them called down.

"I'm William, the God Slayer. Champion of Feliogustus and the current leader of the combined armies of Holden and Hiland."

"What do you want here, William?" He said, not quite insultingly, but I could tell he was unhappy.

"Why to ride through so I can save myself the trip of riding around." I smiled winningly, and then triggered my champion's aura. "However, I am also here to tell you that we are the lead elements of the army, which is coming here to defend the city and the land, from the Barassan army, which landed last night on your shores, well behind your own army, which is now cut off." I smiled again. "So do please, open the gates!"

I was actually surprised when the gates opened, and I led my troops inside. A male wearing a Third's rank insignia ran up to me, "Sir! His Royal Highness King Ruusolf summons you, that he might discuss these matters!"

"Take them to the Temple, get them fed, and wait for me. If Champion Jane shows up, listen to her."

"Yes Sir, William."

I slid off Tom, my wolat, and handed the reins to one of the sergeants and told Tom to go with them.

"Well, lead on," I said to the Third and waved to him.

He took me down the main avenue about five blocks, then turned left down another one and went two more blocks, and there was the castle. It was rather old, and sat next to a small park. It wasn't a bad looking place actually; it had obviously been kept up by the ruling family. It wasn't as nice as King Stivik's, from what I'd see of that from a distance, nor as nice as King Charles's, but it was fairly large and tall. According to Rachel, Marland was the oldest city in the area, possibly the continent, and the castle had been built long before the city. That probably explained the rather plain architecture.

There were guards at the front gate, and the gates looked to be in excellent repair. I was led down a short hallway, and then into a room on the left hand side. I paused a moment before I followed the Third in, mostly because I'm just naturally suspicious. The room was rectangular in shape, probably thirty feet long, and fifteen wide. There was a door on the right hand wall at the far end, and two arrow slits placed rather high off the floor that allowed some light and fresh air to enter the room.

Seated on a rather nice and slightly elevated chair was a rather heavy middle-aged male, which I guessed to be King Ruusolf. There were about a dozen well-armed and armored guards in the room, six to either side of the chair, and several, I assume servants, were scattered about, all of which were rather young, and rather attractive looking.

"So, you are, William the God Slayer," he said looking at me.

"King Ruusolf I presume?" I said and gave a small bow.

"Kneel before the King!" One of the guardsmen said.

"Blow me," I smiled back at him.

He blinked confused and Ruusolf did not look happy for a moment, but he schooled his face and it quickly passed from his features.

"I said kneel!" The guard said and took a step towards me.

I looked at Ruusolf, "Are we really going to do this?" I sighed.

He said nothing but watched as the guard drew his sword.

"I commanded you to kneel!"

"Do you worship Feliogustus?" I asked as he wound up with his sword to attack and everything slowed down.

"No, I worship...."

His voice died at that point as his head and his body where now separated from each other. I hadn't drawn either of my swords; I'd instead used the rather large dirk I wore because he had been rather close.

The speed and strength of my attack had not gone unnoticed and they all stared at me in surprise, except for Ruusolf who seemed to be contemplating something.

"So, Your Highness, you summoned me?"

"What does the Champion of Feliogustus want with my Kingdom?"

"The temple to the Goddess Fordessa lies in this city; I am here to see that the temple is protected."

"And is that all of why you are here?"

I smiled at him, "I'm also here as the Queen of the Hiland's husband and consort, and leader of her armies."

I could see him twitch at that statement.

"And what does that mean?"

I shrugged, "It means that you should have come and visited and made nice to Queen Rachel before she sent me down here to save your," I almost said 'fat ass', "kingdom. She does not want Barassa to have possession of this city, or points further west, and I am here to make sure that does not happen."

"Our army has the situation well in hand," King Ruusolf said to me.

"No, unless your army pulls something incredibly brilliant in the next day or two, I expect to see them wiped out and Barassan troops in the new city laying siege to the old one."

"They're still landing their troops in the farming town of Seawick," Ruusolf smiled. "General Eklin has them well in hand."

"You don't know then that they landed an army more than twice the size of yours behind your army? About twelve hours travel from here?"

"I've had no reports of such a thing!" Ruusolf said loudly, and for a moment I could see he looked worried.

I sighed, "You invite me in here, you let one of your men attack me, and then you refuse to believe anything I tell you. King Ruusolf, I have a war to fight, and if I'm lucky I might even be able to save some of your army. So if I may be excused?"

"Are you always so rude to your betters?" He snapped.

"No, are you?" I smiled, "Don't forget your place, Ruusolf; I'm a god's champion, and I'm married to a queen. I'm also the only thing right now standing between you and a Barassan pike with your head on it. I don't know who your advisors are, but I would suggest you get new ones!"

"Leave me!" He thundered and pointed to the exit.

"Thank you," I smiled and gave him a nod, and then I turned and left the room.

The Third who had led me here came running to catch up.

"Allow me to lead you to the Temple of Fordessa, Sir," He said.

"What, no words about me insulting your King?" I said glancing at him.

"I'm a follower of Feliogustus, Sir. If you are rude to King Ruusolf, then I can only believe that he deserves it."

I smiled at him, "I've never been a fan of those who always try to play everyone off of one another, while they sit back and smile."

"There are many here who are not very happy about the influence that King Stivik and his court have had here."

"Do they still have influence?"

He shook his head, "Not after yesterday when they invaded, though to be honest it's waned a bit over the winter, once it became obvious that their campaign against the tribes on the plains had failed."

"I have to wonder why he ever sided with them, or the Mulanders, in the first place."

"Well, Sir, far be it from me to criticize the king, but the Marlander policy has always been one of strict non-involvement with any of the surrounding kingdoms. We traded for what little we needed, but largely we were self-sufficient, and our army was large enough to keep all of the smaller states around us, away from us."

"But Barassa isn't a smaller state," I pointed out.

"Well they aren't now, but they were when Ruusolf's father died and he inherited the kingship. Rather than take heed of those who have preached caution and urged for a change in policy, Ruusolf believed that as long as King Stivik could feed his economy off of the smaller states surrounding us, that they would leave us alone."

"So survival by being last eaten?"

"Yes, and rather than build up for when the day that we were last came, he decided to believe Stivik's promises of friendship, and claims of leaving the peaceful citizens of Marland alone."

I shook my head, "You seem to be fairly well educated for a Third, ummm Third...?" I trailed off.

"Third Adams, Sir. And my father was a First in the army of Ruusolf's father, King Ruungolf."

I nodded; I could see the temple now, and the assembled riders of the cavalry unit waiting outside.

"Well, thank you Third Adams. By the way, any idea why he set that man of his on me?"

Third Adams smiled, "Seth was one of the remaining followers of Tantrus in the castle. He was quite the bully and as the Captain of the King's guard, had an influence well beyond his abilities.

"I suspect his attack was purely his own idea, he often forced our king into certain choices, by taking matters into his own hands. And because King Ruusolf was rather afraid of him, he was never removed."

"Well, he's certainly removed now," I smiled.

"And King Ruusolf now fears you. As you did not pander to his vanity like Seth did, he no doubt hates you as well, Sir. I would advise keeping your eyes open around him, if you gather my meaning, Sir."

I nodded, "Thank you, I'll be sure to put a good word in with Feliogustus the next time I see him, to thank you for your help. Luck and skill be with you, Third Adams."

Third Adams 'blushed', his ears out flat to the sides from the compliment, as he bowed and then left.

I turned and went up the steps and entered the temple.

"Ah! There you are!"

I turned and looked to the left, and Felecia was there with Jane and First Carso.

I smiled and stepping over I touched paws with Felecia, but I gave Jane a hug. "You're looking good; I can see working with Fordessa agrees with you."

Jane looked a bit startled at first, but then smiled slightly and gave me a hug back, as Felecia smirked and First Carso looked confused.

I smiled at First Carso, "We go back a ways."

"If you say so, William," he shrugged.

Jane smirked, "I rescued him from an evil bitch once, he was very grateful."

I laughed, "That you did, and yes I was. So, what do we know?"

"Let's go sit down in my office and we can discuss this," Felecia said. "I just finished helping First Carso here get his men settled and arranging for a meal."

I nodded, and she then led us through the temple, and into the back, pausing only to bow at the altar as we passed it. The rest of us doing the same.

"The Barassan army landed early last night," Jane said after we had sat down and Felecia had sent for food and refreshments. "I watched them do so personally. I don't have an exact count, but I'd estimate their size at about eighty thousand, mostly medium foot, with some archers. I didn't see any heavy foot at all."

"From what we were able to gather from those fleeing Seawick, they landed at least ten thousand heavy foot there," Felecia said, picking up the conversation as Jane unrolled a rather detailed map on Felecia's desk. "The best estimates that we have for the size of the forces in Seawick, are between twenty and twenty-five thousand."

I nodded and looked over the map.

"Do we know how many of the invading force is headed this way, and when they'll be here?"

"None of them are heading this way," Jane told me. "I arranged for a set of signal fires, should they be observed heading this way, before I left last night. But it appears that the Barassan general is not going to divide his forces further."

"What about General Eklin and his forces?" I asked. "I sent warnings about the ambush, but he marched anyway. Do we know if he at heeded my warnings at all?"

"General Eklin was ordered out to Seawick, by King Ruusolf himself. I don't think he was happy about it, however he had to do what his king ordered him to do."

I nodded, "Well then, hopefully he isn't an idiot, and is taking at least some precautions. If our estimates are right, they're probably engaged right now."

Felecia looked up at me and nodded, "Yes, and this leads to our first real issue."

"Well of course it does, Eklin is outnumbered two to one, and if Barassa gains a foothold here, dislodging them will be a lengthy and costly undertaking," I sighed looking at the rest of them.

"Ah no," Felecia said and looked a bit annoyed; I noticed Jane was sort of smirking at me.

"We have another god helping us, William, he's the third most popular god in Marland, and his champion has managed to arrive, just a few hours ago. Eklin and a large part of his army follow him, so we want to get his champion to Eklin as soon as possible, and well, your cavalry is our best bet for that, so we want you to take them there.

I remembered then Fel's offhanded comment some few months ago about the 'god of warriors and whores' or something like that. I shrugged, "Hey, if Fel and Fordessa are okay with it, I'm not going to complain."

"Are you sure about that?" Jane snickered.

I went "huh" and then I heard someone else enter the room.

"Hi, Will! Miss me?"

I turned, eyes wide in surprised. It was Evean! I took two steps and grabbed her and looked at her. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Roden's got a lot of followers here now," she said smirking, "we managed to convert about half of the followers Tantrus lost when you burned down his temple here."

"You're not angry, are--" Jane started and then stopped as I hugged Evean rather fiercely.

Evean looked at me rather surprised. "Well, hello to you too, Will!" And recovering she winked.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did for me, Evean," I said softly. "I know Roden wasn't happy with you for doing it, but you did it anyways."

"Well, if I'd known I'd get this kind of reception, I wouldn't have thought twice about it," Evean purred huskily at me.

I laughed and took a step back, looking her up and down. "I had no idea that armor could be made to look so sexy."

"I heard you got Cam back?"

I nodded again, "And thanks to you, I'd kiss you, but I don't feel like getting drugged again."

"Oh, I'm not wearing any lipstick," Evean smirked.

So I pulled her in close and kissed her, she still tasted nice and kissed better than any woman I had ever kissed in my life, but I could tell she was enjoying it this time as well, as I was focused completely on her.

Felecia coughed rather loudly and I remembered where we were, and broke the kiss.

"Mmmm, you really are thankful, aren't you?" Evean purred and laughed.

I leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "I'll let you get even with me for the tent if you want, that's just how thankful I am."

I noticed her eyes widen a bit, and then she smiled again and joined us as we all sat down once more.

"Well, that's certainly not the reaction I was expecting," Felecia said.

I noticed Jane was almost glaring at me, and First Carso just looked embarrassed.

I shrugged and smiled and winked at Jane who just sighed and rolled her eyes up at the ceiling.

"So what are we going to do with General Weiss and his troops when they get here?" I said looking at the map once more.

"I was hoping we could attack the Barassan army from the rear," Jane said.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," I said. "Even if Eklin's forces reduce the size of the Barrassan forces, they're still going to have a huge size advantage over Holden's forces."

"Well, we have to do something," Jane said.

"Yes, but I don't want to see us defeated in detail," I said, "which is exactly what will happen if we keep throwing ourselves at them one small piece at a time."

"What about the Hiland forces?" Jane asked.

"There's only twenty thousand of them, and they've marched so much in the last two days, that they'll probably need a day's rest before they'll be useful."

"What about the rest of the Hiland army?"

"It will be days before they arrive here, none of us expected Barassa to launch its offensive this early."

"What about this," First Carso said. "We have to deliver Champion Evean to the Marland forces, which we should be able to accomplish tonight."

"Assuming there are any Marland forces left," I said.

"Granted, that is a possibility," First Carso agreed, "However, if Eklin did take our warning to heart, there are some very defensible positions here to the south at the base of the mountains."

I looked over at the map where he pointed, and nodded as I saw them.

"We have General Weiss come down immediately; Barassa's scouts won't miss an army of that size moving forward, so they'll be forced to disengage from Eklin's forces, to prepare for the attack. Eklin retreats to the west along this route," First Carso drew his finger along the map, "and once that's done, Weiss retreats back to the west, towards the city before he can be engaged.

"By then, our troops should be recovered, and we have them dig in here, just east of the city. When Weiss gets there, he joins up with them, and we take on the Barassan forces at that point."

I looked it all over carefully; to me it seemed like a good idea. Any of their scouts that got a good look at Weiss's army would know they still had a huge size advantage over us. Adding in the Hiland forces would reduce that advantage, and they'd be better rested than the Barassan troops.

"It could work," I said looking up at the rest of them. "I wish I could go over this with General Weiss and First Young, but I'm going to ride out with the cavalry. I want to get a good look at the terrain, as well as Barassa's army, and what's left of Eklin's."

"I'll go over it with Weiss, and I'll only let him make changes if I think it makes sense," Jane said.

I smiled at her, "Don't be afraid to ask Fel for advice, and if First Young makes it here before you leave, go over the plan with him as well, so he understands his part in it. Right now they're all under my command, by royal edict from both King Charles and Queen Rachel. So as of this moment, you're my second in command, Jane. So don't let me down."

Jane paled for a moment, but nodded, "I'll do my best."

"That's all I'm asking for, but don't worry about Weiss, he knows his job, and any suggestions he makes are probably good ones, just make sure you understand what he wants to do, and don't be afraid to make him explain it to you."

I looked at First Carso, "Anything else?"

He shook his head.

"Then I guess it's time for us to check on the men and get going."

I warned Evean to cover up Roden's device on her armor before we went outside. I didn't want to find out if our mounts had the same opinion as I suspected all of the wolats in the Mowok herds did.

Once we got that problem covered, we were able to proceed without any problems. The other males in the cavalry where all enthralled with her looks of course, and no one complained about having her ride on the back of their mount with them. We just had to make sure to move her around a bit so we didn't wear out any one mount too much.

We made good time on our ride east. Our riders picked up on scouts from the Barassan army several times, and we did our best to avoid those. Normally we would have taken them out, but we wanted them to know when Weiss was coming, when his forces took the field.

"Did you really mean what you said to me, back in the temple?" Evean asked me.

We were walking our mounts, giving them a chance to rest. After this, we'd be in contact with the rear elements of the Barassan army, as we tried to determine the plight of Elkin's army, and hook up with them if we could. As the Barassan army seemed to be arrayed to deal with an opposing force to the south, I was actually pretty hopeful.

I nodded to her, "I owe you, Evean, you helped me when I needed it, and you helped me save Cameron. The information you provided us with made it easy for us to get in and get away quickly. Hell, if it hadn't been for you, it would have been months finding where they were holding her."

"So, you'd let me stick a sword through you, and just hold it there while you suffered?"

I could feel my ears go flat, my tail almost tucking. "I pay my debts, Evean, if you want to do that, I'll suffer through it," I said and gave an involuntary shiver.

"Why?" she asked looking at me, I could see the genuine curiosity in her eyes.

I sighed, "Some day, when you have a child, and hold them in your arms, you'll know why."

"Yeah, Roden told me that as well. He said you'd probably let me do whatever the hell I wanted to."

I looked at her surprised. "When did he say that?"

"Oh, a couple of hours ago while I was napping on the back of one of your dogs."

"They're wolats, not dogs."

Evean grinned, "Dogs don't last long in Vietnam, kind of sad, after seeing these guys; I bet I would have liked having one."

"So, can you at least wait until we're done here?" I asked her.

"For what?"

"Before you stick me," I sighed.

Evean laughed, "Oh, don't worry about it. You think I'd waste a favor of that caliber on something as simple as revenge?"

I smiled, "I don't know if I should be happy about that or sad."

"Besides, Roden told me to get over it already. He doesn't want any conflict between your god and him."

"Well, you won't get any complaints from me on that. The whole 'god slayer' thing is getting a bit old."

"Yeah, but you'll still do it to Tantrus if you get the chance," Evean smiled.

"Well, wouldn't you?" I grinned back.

"Honestly, Will," She said and stopped smiling, and looked at me with a rather serious expression, "I don't think I could. I think that's why the other gods are afraid of you, and by association, Feliogustus. You not only destroyed a god, you genocided an entire people. You pulled not just their religion, but their entire culture up by the roots and erased it.

"You didn't even leave a trace, you were so thorough. I think all the gods know that sooner or later they will be out of the game, that they will retire to their heaven with whatever followers that they have managed to earn. But they all seek to leave their mark on the world Will, and you erased his completely. I can not even remember his name now, soon no one will."

I looked at her for a moment, "It keeps me awake some nights. Gives me bad dreams. Maybe if I'd been more experienced I would have stopped when Fel told me to," I shrugged, "but it's in the past now and I have to live with the consequences."

"Alert!" one of the sentries called, riding in from our perimeter, "We have contact with the enemy!"

I swore and mounted up, pulling Evean up behind me.

"How many?" First Carso asked.

"Looks like a company, Sir. They're coming this way, double time."

"Well then, first and second company, circle around them and make sure there aren't any other surprises, third on the right flank, fourth on the left, the rest in the middle with me, let's see how they react to a cavalry charge!"

First Carso got us organized rather quickly. Apparently the Barassan's thought they were dealing with the same tactics that the Mowok's had used, small group hit and run tactics. When faced with a full on cavalry charge of almost a thousand wolats with mounted troops, followed by a second line of just as much, the expressions on their faces where rather interesting.

Of course, not a single one of them survived to share their discovery with anyone else.

"That was ... impressive," Evean said in my ear.

"Yup, you're witnessing the balance of power shifting," I purred. "Everyone is about to find out that Hiland is the new power on this continent."

"Big words there, William," she chuckled.

"Uh-huh. Next time you talk to Roden see what he says. You saw what happened."

"You did outnumber them rather heavily, Will," Evean laughed.

"And if we hadn't, we would have just ridden away and looked for an easier target."

Evean considered that, "Good point."

First Carso rode over then.

"Well, they know we're here now, so we might as well get to work."

I nodded, "Have at it, First!"

We spent the next five hours skirting the Barassan troops, as we circled to the south, and whenever one of our scouts found a favorable situation, we galloped in and attacked. We were wreaking serious havoc in the rear of the Barassan army; I was actually surprised at just how well we were doing. When we finally came to the southern most part of their army, we could tell that they were definitely engaged with the Marland forces, who had managed to retreat to a fairly defensible position under the cliffs.

At that point Carso ordered us in and we charged in and hit them hard, and kept it up until we had fought our way through them. It took an hour, and we lost about a hundred men, but we caused so much panic on the flank, that we were able to temporarily rout the troops on the flank, and until they were able to reorganize and push us back, we ran wild and killed hundreds of them. When they finally rallied, it was only because our males and our mounts were starting to tire, so we retreated back towards the Marland lines.

Fortunately, I'd dropped Evean off near their lines early on, and she had run up there to ready them for our retreat.

"Champion William, First Carso, I'd like to introduce you to General Eklin," Evean said when we finally rode in at the tail end of our troops and dismounted.

"General, you have no idea how happy I am to see that you took our warning seriously," I said and touched palms.

"I'll admit that I didn't take it as seriously as I now wish I had, Champion, but it would have been much worse if I had simply ignored it. As it was, when they attacked our rear I'd already given contingency orders, just in case."

"What's your situation?" First Carso asked.

"We've taken heavy casualties, a third of my troops are either dead or too injured to fight. But we've been able to inflict heavy losses on them as well now that we're up here in the rocks. They may have us pinned down, but they can't get up here to wipe us out without exposing themselves."

"So how many effectives do you have left then?" I asked.

"About forty thousand."

I nodded, "What are your estimates on the Barassan's army?"

"I'd put them over a ninety thousand. However you put quite a bite on them just now. I must say, these beasts you're riding, I have never seen the like. What do you call this?"

First Carso smiled, "They're called wolats, General. And this is what is known as 'Cavalry.'"

General Eklin harrumphed a little and shook his head, "Always something new to learn," but then he smiled. "At least you're on our side."

I looked around at our situation, with all of the wolats and their riders up here, it was a bit crowded.

"I think we're going to have to ride back out of here in a few hours, say before the moon has come up. What do you say, Carso?"

"Aye, William, and best to do it before they get a handle on how to box us in up here."

"I take it you have other forces in the area?" General Eklin asked me.

"Yes, though they're a day away from here. So we won't be able to get you out of here immediately."

"What we want you to do, General," Evean said smiling and leaning against him. "Is to retreat west along the base of the cliffs, once William and First Carso can bring the other troops to bear. Then you can join up with them and we can counter-attack the invaders."

"Are you suggesting that I put myself under his command?" Eklin said looking at her.

Evean smiled that rather winning smile of hers, "Yes."

I could see that Eklin looked conflicted, but even while wearing armor covered in blood, Evean was not a fem that could be easily resisted.

"Well, I don't know, Champion Evean, Ruusolf is my king and I am sworn to him."

Evean smiled and I was surprised that she didn't push or use any cantrips at all as she spoke, "General, Roden is your god, is he not?"

"Yes, of course he is," Eklin agreed.

"And in all of your years, has he every set you wrong? Has he not been fair and just, and guided you through all your trials and helped in times of difficulty?"

Eklin nodded, "Of course. I have never once regretted my faith in him!"

"As Roden's Champion, you know that I speak for him, and Roden is not happy with King Ruusolf, and his comfortable ways with King Stivik, or Stivik's god Tantrus."

Eklin looked rather shocked, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Roden, your god, releases you from your oath to King Ruusolf, he is no longer worthy of your respect. You would be wise to question any orders he offers you."

"But, he's the king! What we will do without him?"

"I would say that before you worry about who is going to rule these lands, that we first make sure there are lands to rule, wouldn't you agree, General?"

I watched as Eklin nodded slowly. "We will have to talk more about this."

Evean smiled and purred, "Of course, General."

"You are right however, that the first thing we must do, is defend the land." General Eklin turned to me, "I will put my men at your command, once we are free of this trap."

I nodded, "Thank you, General. If you don't mind, First Carso and I would like to see to our men, before we head back out."

"No, by all means. If you need anything, let one of my staff know. We may not have much, but we will share what we can."

I gave a small bow, saluted, and First Carso and I went off to join the rest of the men.

"Wow, I think she's even more dangerous than you are," First Carso whispered once we got out of earshot.

"The smart ones always are," I chuckled. "And Evean is a lot smarter than people realize."

We rode out three hours later, First Carso being of the thought that the less time we gave them to figure out how to bottle us up in there, the better. Considering that there were no other ways for us to easily leave, I agreed with him.

General Eklin led his troops down in a feint when we rode out, making them think we were staging a major counter-attack, and after a brief engagement, he retreated back as we turned and disengaged, allowing us to escape relatively unscathed.

We then spent the rest of the night scouting out the Barassan army's troop positions and launching little blitzkrieg assaults on their positions all through the night.

By morning we were down to about four thousand effective fighters, but we'd done enormous amounts of damage, as well kept them from getting any sleep.

"This is working out far better than I would ever have thought," First Carso admitted to me when we finally rode west back towards Marland city to find a place to rest and regroup.

"Eventually they'll figure out how to deal with us, and it won't be so easy," I warned. "But we will always have an advantage, especially if we don't get cocky about it."

"It's nice to see morale so high," he smiled.

"Well, just think about how you want to use them once the main battle is joined."

"Will you be with us then, William?"

I shook my head, "I'll be in the front with whatever heavy foot we have. I need to be seen out in front of the army, especially if their champion is out there leading them."

"Well, better you than me, I think I'm sold on this whole mounted cavalry thing. My days of fighting on foot are definitely over!"

Sixteen

Plains East of Marland

I was waiting with the rest of the Hiland heavy foot as the Holden forces retreated back past our positions. General Weiss had adopted First Carso's plan, with only a few minor tweaks to it. I'd also made two other minor changes after I'd seen the ground we'd be fighting on, to improve our position.

Jane was now with the Holden troops, and would stand with them as they moved into the positions that had been laid out for them.

First Wyland turned and smiled at me, "Almost time, William."

I nodded and checked my weapons and my gear, then checked his, then checked the soldier on my left.

The Holden soldiers were turning as soon as they cleared our lines and racing for their positions. The Hiland troops were laid out in a bit of a 'V' position, with me at the bottom of it. We'd start advancing once we had contact with the enemy.

Our biggest problem were our flanks, they wouldn't be up to strength until the Holden army's troops had taken their places within the ranks along either side, so Carso had split his cavalry in two, and put a group on each of the flanks. They'd ride out and fight a delaying action, if necessary, until the lines would be able to hold on their own.

After that, they'd race around behind us and join back together on our left flank. The Barassan commander would have to be concerned about Eklin's troops attacking his left flank (our right) and so he'd have to reinforce that side of his army accordingly. This meant that the other side should be an easier target.

But still it was going to be a tough battle. We'd dropped our estimates on the Barassan army to below ninety thousand troops, last night's escapades, along with Eklin's efforts, had done some damage. However, we were only seventy thousand, not counting the four thousand cavalry, and whatever Eklin managed to save.

"I hate waiting," I growled and looked around the field at the rest of our deployed forces. The Holden troops were still coming, they were jogging rather quickly.

"I don't think we'll have too much longer to go," Wyland said and pointed across the field where the troops emerging from the brush there were actually running now.

"Finally," I said and put my helmet on, and fastened the straps.

For about a minute, no one else emerged from the brush, but then we saw them, the Barassan army. They were double-timing it, chasing after the retreating Holden soldiers. When they saw us, some of their front line faltered a moment, causing those behind them to push into them, knocking them down and tripping them up.

Unfortunately it was only a handful. Commands were shouted out, then a horn blew, and the army went from double time, to normal time.

But they had entered our 'V' and would soon be making contact with the elements of our flanks before they could stop.

"Troops!" I called out loudly, using my champion's powers to amplify my voice.

"Ready!" I called again, and I heard all of their swords drawn as one, as I drew my own.

"Charge!" And I took off, leading the charge and getting in front so that all eyes were on me, and as it had happened before, a beam of light found me in the field and I suddenly blazed brightly in the sunlight in the field and the Hilander's all cheered as I led them against the Barassan army.

They were still in disarray when we hit them. They had been concentrating on trying to catch up with the retreating Holden forces, that they had not thought that they might face a counter-attack.

And of course, it was their light infantry leading the chase, and no doubt, they had been running for some time, when they suddenly encountered our heavy infantry, all of whom were quite well-rested.

And then I was in the middle of it and fighting for my life once more. I slowed a little as I plowed into their lines, to let the rest of my soldiers to catch up with me. The fight started off a lot easier than the battle with the Mulander army had, but then I wasn't facing fresh, well-rested, heavy infantry.

I actually managed to fight for quite some time before I got my first wound, which I healed immediately. But I still took a step back to try and assess just where we were, and what was going on around us.

I could see that we'd actually moved forward of the line where I had originally planned on halting. I could see there was a lot of fighting going on off of both flanks, but that the cavalry was still split in two groups. The group on the right flank was actively supporting that side of our formation, beating back a break in our lines by launching a direct assault into the company that had broken the line.

On the left, I could see that Carso was leading his troops into the Barassan flank and trying to carry out the maneuver we had planned, with those riders and mounts that he had. Neither side appeared to be in too much trouble, so turning my focus back to the battle before me, I stepped forward and rejoined the fight.

Suddenly I heard horns blowing, I didn't recognize the horn or the tune, and the Barassan army started to withdraw.

We continued to fight with them, and we were doing a fair amount of damage still, but when I saw the brush line was getting near, I stopped, and using a cantrip, I raised my voice and waved my swords in the air.

"Hold! Hold! Advance no further!!"

Our commanders picked up the call, and our own trumpets signaled to our troops to stop advancing.

I looked around, the enemy troops were retreating much faster now, I waved everyone back, and slowly we all started to move back to our positions. The recall played a moment later and all of our lines pulled back.

I looked around at the other troops, they all had the same dazed expression on their face, but life was slowly creeping back in, now that the battle was over. That was when I stopped and surveyed the field.

There were a lot of dead, a lot of dead, and among the heavy foot, the number of our bodies lying dead on the ground was fairly few, the enemy however had not faired so well.

"Well, looks like we carried the day again, William," Wyland said walking over to me.

"Yes, we won this round. Now we just need to see what it cost us, and how much of a force Barassa has left."

"We lost close to ten thousand soldiers, about half of those were killed, the rest have been wounded enough to make them ineffective." General Weiss was giving us the run down, while we sat around the command table and ate.

"On the positive side, we killed over ten thousand of their soldiers, and have taken another twelve thousand prisoner, though more than half of those are wounded."

"We took how many prisoners?" First Young said rather surprised."

"About twelve thousand, we're still counting." General Weiss said.

"How did that happened?"

General Weiss smiled, "Apparently First Carso was able to cut off a couple of companies from the main body of troops, and then drive them into a marsh. They either surrendered, or they drowned. Most surrendered, which almost doubled the numbers of soldiers we had captured."

"What is the status of Eklin's troops?" I asked.

"He lost almost another third before he could fight his way free. He's down to about twenty-five thousand effectives. But they're in need of food and rest. It will probably be several days before we can use them."

I nodded, "What do we know about the Barassan troop dispositions?"

"Reports are still coming in, but it appears that they have withdrawn back to Willet's Town."

I looked at the map on the table and someone pointed to it.

"What happened to their heavy foot?"

"I'm guessing that they were either too tired to fight, or left in the rear from the start. The Barassan general must have felt that he had a good enough advantage, that he didn't need them."

I nodded, "How did our right flank do? I noticed they got hit pretty heavy early on."

"There were a lot more troops than we had expected, and they managed to break through our lines before we had them fully developed. However Second Charles, with the cavalry engaged them aggressively, and moved deep into their formation, and broke their attack."

I nodded, "Is he still with us?" I asked.

"Yes, but he's now among the wounded. First Carso is with him now."

I nodded. I'd already gotten a note from Carso detailing the cavalry losses, Carso's group had lost a little over a hundred riders, and around seventy-five mounts. Charles's group had lost close to five hundred riders, and about as many mounts.

"So, what's our next move?" I said sitting back and looking around the room.

"Well, we go after them of course."

"Are you sure that's wise?" I asked.

Everyone looked at me, "How do you mean?" General Weiss asked.

"They've withdrawn to a position that they believe they can hold against us, or at least have an advantage. If we go to them, we lose the advantage that we have here." I looked around the room at everyone, and then continued. "Now we did score a good victory against them today, but they probably still have the numbers on us. So if we attack now, we attack at a disadvantage."

"But we need to drive them back to Barassa, if not wipe them out!" One of the junior officers said, and more than a few nodded.

"I'm a big fan of the wiping them out option, I'll admit," I said with a smile and more than a few gave a snort of amusement or smiled as well. "However, we have a lot more troops coming to join us, we have Eklin's troops that need to recover, and the simple fact of the matter is, Barassa has to come to us.

"At this point, if we don't move to engage them, it costs us nothing. In fact, it gains us quite a bit in improving our numbers, and our ground. But Barassa? Remember, this is a war of conquest for them, if they just sit there, King Stivik will have their heads! They need to conquer us, they need to beat us, they must come back and fight us again. Until we are gone, they can not take Marland. They can not move on to Holden, or Hiland.

"This is where we make our stand. Here is where we will destroy them!"

General Weiss and First Young both looked thoughtfully at me, a couple of the other officers actually cheered.

"But, but what if they don't attack?" General Weiss asked slowly.

"Oh trust me," I smiled, "They will. Oh, I'm sure they'll do what they can to try and lure us out. I know I would. I'd burn all the villages and towns to the ground, and do anything else I could think of to try and break our resolve.

"They will probably hold out a week, possibly even two. But their general's head will be on a pike and there will be a new commander if he tries to go a third one." I smiled, "Besides, it's not like we won't be making their lives difficult. Our cavalry is still effective and will be performing raiding operations on any exposed or isolated units. But once we make it clear that we're not moving, King Stivik himself will order the attack if their general does not."

"I think he has a point, General," First Young said.

General Weiss nodded slowly, "You do make a compelling argument, William, and you are in command after all."

I nodded, "Yes, but I want you to understand my reasons, General. I need your advice, and the advice of the other officers here," I gestured to the room, "if you don't understand my tactics, and except my arguments, then I won't get very good advice, will I?"

General Weiss smiled and nodded. "All too true, William, all too true. So I guess we need to start planning our defenses for when our friends the Barassan's decide to come visit us once more."

I went looking for Jane next, and found her with the healers as they worked on the wounded.

"How are you doing, Jane?" I asked her quietly after I pulled her away from one of the beds where a medic was working on one of the more seriously wounded soldiers while the priests recharged, or did whatever it was they did between healings.

"I'm... I'm fine," she said turning away.

"Save the brave act for the dying and the wounded," I told her, taking her arm and gently turning her back to face me. "Now, how are you really doing?"

"What do you care?" She said shooting me a glare. "Why aren't you off with Miss Hotbody!"

"Miss Hotbody?" I snickered, "Fordessa did tell you what she did to me, didn't she?"

"Well, you sure forgave her pretty fast!"

"Jane, she went against what her god was telling her to do, to help me get my child back! Of course I forgave her! You would have too."

Jane sighed and looked down at her feet; I could see her tail was drooping.

"So how are you doing, with all of this?" I asked again.

"It's rough, it pretty rough. So many people died, and the killing, I don't know how many I killed when I ran up to help close the breech, just that it was a lot, many, too many."

I nodded and hugged her, because she looked like she needed a hug, "The first time is always the worst."

"So you're telling me this gets easier?" She said and tucked her head into my shoulder.

"I don't know that it gets easier," I sighed, "It just gets easier to deal with. Go find a place to sleep for a while, talk to Fordessa, it helps, a lot."

"Will, I," Jane looked up at me, "I really don't want to sleep by myself."

I smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Fine, I have a tent around here somewhere, you can sleep with me. But I need to go talk to Miss 'Hotbody' first, before we do."

"What do you want to talk to her for?" Jane said growling softly.

"Because she's a lot smarter than she lets on, and hiding under that manipulative sexy exterior lurks an opportunist with a bit of a decent streak and a few morals." I said grinning at her.

"You like her?"

"When she's not turning on the charm, yeah, I do a bit. But it scares the hell out of me sometimes how hot she is."

"It's just an act you know," Jane sighed.

I shook my head, "I got to know her when she was helping me while I was carrying. I think she desperately wants men to like her, to desire her. I suspect that's why she's so good at it, because it's a part of her."

"I'd much rather hear stories of you being pregnant," Jane teased.

"Uh-huh, I'm sure you would. Well, let's go find her, then we can go get some sleep."

It took us about an hour to find Evean, she was visiting with the most severely of the wounded, I watched as she finished with one and kissed him rather passionately on the lips, then moved to another, talked quietly with him a moment and did the same.

Apparently she'd been at it for quite a while, because she was at the end of a rather long row.

"Oh, hi, Will, Jane," she said and came over and gave each of us a hug, "No kissing," she warned me when I hugged her.

"Why not?" Jane asked curious.

"Lipstick, it's a pretty potent narcotic."

"But I just saw you kissing each of those males," Jane said looking down the line of cots.

Evean nodded, "They all served well, and fought with honor and distinction, sending them on with a last passionate kiss, and putting an end to their pain is one of the jobs I'm tasked to do."

"You ... you killed them?" Jane said looking rather indignant, and the fur on her hackles and face started to rise. I had been looking at the soldiers in the tent; they all looked pretty badly wounded.

"Jane," I said and put my hand on her shoulder, "Look at them."

"Huh?" she said and looked back at the wounded.

"They were the ones that couldn't be saved, aren't they?" I asked Evean.

Evean nodded, "Yup. Normally one of the priestesses would ease them out, but I promised them all that I would do the service for any that fell today."

"Promised them?" Jane looked a little confused.

"Roden is also a god of warriors," Evean said to Jane. "Going to see Roden after valiantly falling in battle is to be celebrated, each warrior cherished." Evean sighed and smiled, "They fought so well, Roden is very pleased with all of them."

"Doesn't it bother you?" Jane said looking at the unconscious bodies, many of which bore some rather horrendous wounds.

"I've seen worse," Evean said.

"Than this?" Jane motioned around.

Evean nodded, "As a child. Now, what brings the two of you here?"

Jane started to say something, but I put my hand on her arm again, and she quieted, I knew where Evean was from of course, and doing some quick mental math I suddenly realized just when she'd left her home. I also suspected that quite a few of the patients had died while we were talking.

"Let's go outside," I said and taking Evean's arm as well, I steered us all out of the tent.

"I wanted to find out if you saw anything worth sharing," I said to Evean as we walked. "I also wanted to let you know that we're going to be setting up camp here and defending against the Barassan army when it comes back.

Evean nodded, "Okay." She stopped, causing Jane and I to stop as well, and looked around. "A word of caution, Will," she said in a soft voice. "Ruusolf's just sent orders to Eklin that went on quite a great deal about you, and about how handsomely Eklin would be rewarded if you should say, be cut down in battle or some such."

"I'd just reincarnate," I said wearily.

"But without you there to inspire and guide your troops, they'd suffer greatly, especially if the Barassan champion was to target them over the others."

"You mean to tell me, that will all this crap that's going on, Ruusolf is trying to sell us out?" Jane growled, her eye's narrowing to slits.

Evean shrugged, "I don't know, maybe, or maybe he just really hates Will. You know he does have that effect on people," Evean sniggered and gave me a wink.

I sighed, "So what is Eklin going to do?"

"Eklin is keeping a sharp eye on his officers, and any new troops that show up. As most of his officers worship Roden, I'm going around and having some discreet words with all of them. But still, be wary, Will."

I nodded, "Thanks. Well, I'm going to go get some rest."

"Me too," Jane purred and gave me a hug.

Rather than looking jealous, Evean just laughed, "Well, good for you girl! Just don't do Ruusolf's job for him and kill him in bed!"

I laughed as Jane actually blushed.

"Not that kind of rest," I smirked at Evean, "Though we were a couple, once upon a time."

Evean didn't look like she believed any of it, "Oh of course, sure you were. Well, I have an appointment with the still active members of Eklin's troops. Time to cheer up the soldiers!"

"There must be twenty thousand of them," Jane said surprised.

"Yeah, it's a bit less than I'm used to," Evean said pouting, "But I'll just have to make do. Bye!" She walked off then, with a wicked smile and a very exaggerated sway in her hips.

"She can't be serious!" Jane said and looked at me.

"I think your leg just came off in her hand," I said and tried not to laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jane said looking at me.

"It means we should go back to my tent and get some sleep."

"Oh, well, if you insist," Jane smiled and took my arm.

Seventeen

Battlements East of Marland

"Holse!" I said and came over and touched palms, then grabbed his forearm happily, "Am I glad to see you!"

Holse smiled and looked around, "Been busy have you?"

I nodded, General Weiss and First Young, and even General Eklin, had gotten their troops busy building a palisades all along our front lines. It had been a week since our last battle, and the Barassan troops still hadn't stirred from their position, but I had faith in my plans.

"So, is this all of the army?" I asked looking at the length of troops marching behind him, that I'd already tasked my personal staff to getting situated.

"I brought most of it; I've got thirty thousand with me. What have you got here?"

"We've got about eighty thousand infantry, and a little over three thousand of our cavalry left."

"And estimates on the enemy?" Holse asked as we headed for the command tent.

"Sixty to seventy thousand after our last battle," I filled him in then on what had happened with the different commands, and what my plans were, as we sat down at the table and I had the rest of my command staff summoned.

Holse nodded, "I can't argue with your assessment of the situation, we know that Stivik needs to conquer Marland, and he's not going to allow his general to just sit there and occupy a few small towns. His only option is to attack us, or to withdraw, and I don't think he's going to be withdrawing."

I nodded, "Thankfully the other commanders see it my way. Eklin took a little convincing, but he's already lost about two-thirds of his command, so he's not really in much of a position to argue."

"How is King Ruusolf taking it?"

"He wants me dead, and is actively pursuing my demise," I sighed.

Holse laughed, "So, about what we expected."

"Just about."

Jane joined us while we were waiting for the others to show up.

"General Holse, this is Fordessa's champion, Jane. She's my second in command. Jane, this is General Holse. Pay attention to him, he's a lot better at this than I am!"

Holse laughed, "I don't know, Will, you have a rather impressive record so far." He then bowed to Jane and touched paws. "It is nice to meet you, Champion Jane."

"Jane will do just fine, General." Jane said smiling.

"Call me Holse, please."

The other officers started to show up then, and I introduced Holse, who was the General in charge of the Hiland army, to General's Weiss, and Eklin. I then introduced those member's of Weiss's staff, and Elkin's staff that were also in the tent. I didn't bother to introduce the Hiland officers, as he already knew all of them.

"So, General Holse, now that you are here, will you be taking command of the army?" General Eklin asked.

"I will only be assuming command of the Hiland troops that have previously been reporting to William," Holse said, "I will follow his commands the same as the rest of you have been. This is not the first time William has led our army into battle, and I have the greatest confidence in his abilities."

I smiled and tried to look as confident as Holse sounded. We'd had some great arguments over tactics and strategy over the years, and I'd be the first to admit that he was a better general than I would ever be. Of course, they didn't need to know that, and the simple fact that Holse didn't see fit to tell them, once again proved just how good he was.

We both knew he'd end up calling the shots, even if it looked like I was.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing our strategy with Holse, and going over with him how to best deploy his troops, and how to redeploy our existing troops.

We were just finishing up when two messengers arrived. One from the southernmost lookout point in Holden, which we'd left a small contingent at. I didn't like that it took a rider from there almost two days to get here, even with relays set up. But there really wasn't a better solution, long distance communications hadn't been invented here yet, and probably wouldn't be for a long time.

The second messenger was from our scouts, his report was only a few hours old, and we read his first.

"Well, it looks like Barassa is on the move," General Weiss said nodding at me, "you were right, William, they should arrive sometime tomorrow."

I nodded and looked up from the second message, which I had been reading, and passed it over to Holse. "Our lookout reports that they've been reinforced. Twenty ships made at least two trips at the time of this message being sent, and that looked like maybe half of what they were sending over."

"So we no longer have the size advantage we had before," General Eklin said.

"Maybe, maybe not," Holse said. "They probably don't know yet that I'm here yet. But in either case, we still control the better position."

"I'm a bit surprised they sent more troops over," I said, "I hadn't considered it, and I should have."

"I don't know, you were right when you said they have to come to us, if we wouldn't go to them. So it makes sense to me," General Weiss said.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," I sighed nodding, "I should have realized it, it's only logical."

Weiss looked at me, "In for a what?"

I laughed, "Old saying from the people who settled my homeland, I guess here it would be 'in for a copper, in for a gold.'"

Weiss nodded, "Ah yes, that does make sense."

"Well, unless anybody has anything else, I think we should all go prepare for tomorrow." I said and stood up.

Everyone agreed and we all left to go to our respective posts. I followed Holse out, so we could continue to discuss things, he was particularly interested in hearing about how our cavalry had been doing.

""You should send them out to attack the enemy's supply lines, while we're fighting tomorrow," Holse said.

"I don't know, they were pretty instrumental in our victory last time, their ability to move around the battlefield so quickly saved us."

Holse nodded, "Well, keep a force of them here, and have First Carso take the rest of them out tonight, under cover of darkness. Let him decide how to divide them up."

"Okay," I agreed. "Any other suggestions?"

Holse shook his head, "You've done a good job here, William, with such a diversified group of soldiers, sitting tight and waiting for the enemy to come back was the best decision you could have made. Even if it you had a unified force, it probably still would have been the best decision."

I smiled, "Thanks, the only one who's really hated it is Ruusolf, and I think at this point he knows better than to leave his castle."

"You are going to have to figure out what to do about him, Will."

I nodded, "I know. I'd kind of hoped he'd die in this war, even if I had to 'help' him along a bit. But he won't set foot out of his castle now. The man is quite the coward."

"Well, he is surrounded by enemies," Holse pointed out.

"Yes, but he made them all himself. I wonder if we offered him enough money, if he'd just abdicate?"

"Do you really want to be giving him the queen's gold?" Holse laughed.

I shook my head, "Rachel would be upset, to put it mildly."

"Very mildly. I think she still hasn't quite forgiven you for buying all those wolats, and she actually believes that was a good idea."

"Well, if you can think of any way to get rid of Ruusolf and put us in charge, let me know," I said. "Otherwise, I'm off to make my rounds, and cheer on the troops."

Holse nodded, "Later then, William."

The Barassan army arrived about four hours after sunrise, and then spent another hour getting organized before attacking.

Which was when First Carso, acting on his own initiative, decided to attack their flank.

It was a slaughter, apparently, the idea that we'd attack while they were still forming up hadn't occurred to them. To be honest, it hadn't occurred to any of us either. I could hear Holse swearing from where I was standing, but he adapted quickly and sent the thousand cavalry units that Carso had left with us out to harass their front lines when they tried to rally the first time and drive Carso's attack off.

They did succeed eventually, but the end result was that they needed an additional two hours to reform their lines before they could attack.

When they finally did attack, it went about as we had planned. Their heavy foot led the assault, with their champion in the lead.

It took me a good thirty minutes to fight my way over to him; it seemed to me that he was trying to avoid a confrontation.

"Hey! Tantrus! You afraid of me?" I called out after the third time I'd tried to move closer to engage, and he'd once again moved away.

"I fear no man!" He yelled back.

"Then why are you running away?" I yelled back, loud enough that all around me could hear.

He tried to ignore me, but some of the troops on his side retreated slightly, making it easier for me to close with him. I was sure they wanted to see us fight, after all, they believed in his abilities as Tantrus's champion.

And I could understand why he didn't want to fight me, we had three champions here today on our side, they only had one. He'd probably even been told to avoid me. But Fel had told me he was a homegrown type, so I hoped he had more ego than brains.

"Afraid of me?" I yelled again and laughed, loudly.

He swore and killed the male in front of him, and then turned to face me, "As if I would fear a low born piece of foreign trash that sleeps with whores and fat ugly sloths!"

"You forgot your mom," I replied, and was rather shocked when he screamed rather loudly and attacked. Surprised enough that he managed to wound me before I got my own act together and started to fight him back.

"I will kill you, foreigner scum!" He screamed, apparently quite enraged. I guess he didn't like mother jokes.

I healed myself, and went to work; he was a sword and board fighter, where I still preferred a two-sword approach. I was impressed at how well he fought, as angry as he was. Made me wonder how well he fought when he wasn't so angry?

I decided I didn't want to know.

"Does your mother still charge five coppers a night?" I said and stabbed at him.

"My mother is not a whore!" He screamed and took a wild swing.

"Oh, so she's giving it away for free now!" I laughed and this time I got him under the arm as he took a second wild swing.

He tried to bull into me, and I kept retreating, drawing him away from his own men, who were unable to press forward, as my men weren't retreating.

"You filthy whoreson!"

"Hurts not knowing who your father is, doesn't it?" I snickered and I smacked his arm wide and kicked him in the crotch. It didn't do much damage, but I could tell it pissed him off, and he struggled to heal the wound I'd given him.

"I know who my farther is!" He snarled.

"Did Tantrus tell you? Cause there was no way your mother could have known!"

"My mother was not a common whore!" He screamed again

"But she sure was common, wasn't she!" I laughed and dodged and he really went into a rage!

By this time we were a good twenty feet past the line, inside our territory. The archers must have noticed, because suddenly he started to sprout arrows, the rest of my men had cleared away from him as he had screamed, because none of them knew what he was going to do.

I waited until he had about ten shafts sticking out of his body, then I moved in for the kill, he was trying to pull the arrows out with his shield hand, which blocked his view of me, so I came in low under the shield and took his left leg off at the knee. He screamed even louder then, and as he topped forward I sidestepped and drove my other sword through his neck, severing his spine and causing his body to spasm and drop.

Then I took his head off and punted it a good twenty feet, back into the enemy's lines.

Their entire front line gasped and watched it fly overhead, and then all died as my soldiers took advantage of the situation and ran them through. I ran right into the midst of them screaming 'For Feliogustus! For Fordessa! For Roden!' and all along the line, everyone on our side picked it up and we started to push them back.

Their horns started to blow the retreat once more, and they quickly started to pull back, I could see that they were demoralized and were more than happy to retreat. We continued to press and attack until finally our own horns blew the signal to pull back.

I had to use my champion's aura and voice several times then to get my men to pull back, and I could hear Jane and Evean doing the same. Everyone was sure that we had them, and maybe going after them would have been the right thing to do, but I knew how quickly the fortunes of war could change. Their general's willingness to pull their troops back may have been to stop a slaughter, or it may mean that they had a trap laid for us, just like we had laid one for them a week ago.

So we pulled back, and Holse sent our cavalry out to harass them, and make sure they continued to pull back.

When they came galloping back rather quickly, we could see that there had indeed been a trap laid, and the enemy charged us once again.

The fighting went quicker this time; they had lost their momentum, their spirit. They had been falling apart due to their champion's loss on the first attack, their second attack had not caught us off guard as they had intended, and our side's morale was still high after seeing them retreat the first time.

When Evean led Eklin's troops in a charge that started to fold up their left flank, their commanders again sounded the retreat, but this time it was far less orderly, and some of the troops just turned and ran.

We gave pursuit this time, and were not called back until we had sent them fleeing in a full rout.

"That Evean is one scary girl," Jane said to me later as we were cleaning up our weapons and armor.

I laughed, "Yeah, she's not the type you'd expect to lead a charge, is she?"

"Did you see what she was wearing?" Jane said in disbelief.

"Not really, I was too busy trying to stay in one piece."

"She was naked!"

I looked at Jane and then closed my mouth. "What?"

"She was naked! Totally! Well, she was wearing a vambrace on her sword arm, but that was it!"

I started laughing, I couldn't help it, the idea of Evean, leading a charge, stark naked, and probably cutting down the enemy left and right was just too much.

"No wonder they broke and ran!" I said still laughing, "The hottest gal in the world is coming at you with a sword? It's every masturbatory fantasy gone wrong! Those guys won't be able to touch a woman for months!"

Jane looked at me as if I'd lost all sense at first, but eventually she couldn't help but laugh herself. "But what would have happened if she'd gotten killed?"

"It probably would have pissed off every male in eyesight, probably on both sides! No, the only sensible thing to do was to turn and run." I wiped my eyes and giggled some more. "I told you not to underestimate her."

"She's insane," Jane sighed shaking her head.

"And now you know why I won't sleep with her," I giggled.

"Well, how about we find our generals and see what the outcome of today's battle was?"

I nodded and grabbing my gear, I followed Jane to the command tent.

"Oh, Jane?" I said and she stopped to look at me.

"Yes?"

"Think you might want to give it a go? I mean it worked for Evean after all," I said.

She just growled at me, and I laughed some more.

"You're sick," Jane grumbled.

"It's the company I keep," I snickered.

We made it to the command tent without further incident, and I guess Jane did see the humor in the situation, as she didn't growl at me again.

"You know," Holse said coming up to me, "That Champion of Roden's is quite the imaginative young woman."

"She's insane, is what she is," Jane grumbled.

"I prefer 'scary,'" I said and grinned again.

"I won't argue with what works," Holse said. "But someone should let her know that it probably won't work a second time," and he looked at me.

I nodded, "I'll be sure to discuss it with her."

"So how did we do?" Jane asked.

"Rather well, to be honest, less than two thousand killed, and only a bit more than three thousand wounded."

"Do we have a count on the enemy dead?" I asked.

"It's well over five thousand." Holse said. "I suspect it will be at least eight when we finish clearing the bodies. First Carso's move was brilliant, and it's given me some new ideas as to how to employ his forces next time we fight."

I nodded, "I think you're going to have company in the general ranks by the time this is all over."

Holse nodded, "He sure is earning it. Putting him in charge of the cavalry was the best decision I ever made."

"And here I thought it was you letting me lead your army against the Mulanders," I said with a grin.

"Oh no, I was ordered to do that," Holse said grinning at me. "That one is on Queen Rachel's head."

"So now what?" Jane asked, finding a chair and dropping onto it to rest.

"We wait for them to try again, that's what," Holse said.

"Any idea how long that will be?" General Weiss asked, walking into the tent.

"At least a week," I said and found a chair myself.

"Why a week?"

"It'll be three days before they have their champion back," I told him, "And a day or two for him to travel to where the army is."

"Why would they wait?"

"Because he does counterbalance the effects that me, Jane, and Evean have on their troops. So as long as they got one, they're going to use him."

"That also gives them time to reinforce," Jane said.

"I don't think they'll be reinforcing much," Holse said. "If King Stivik allows his forces to get too low, he'll either be facing a rebellion, or one of his northern neighbors might decide to relieve him of his crown."

Weiss and I both nodded at that.

"Well, might as well go check on the wounded, and see how the men are doing," I said and got up.

Jane nodded and got up as well, "See you all after dinner I guess."

Eighteen

On the March, East of Marland

It was early September, and I was looking over a rise at the Barassan encampment in Seawick, along with Jane, Evean, and Generals Holse, Weiss, and Eklin, as the Barassan army quickly boarded the boats docked there. The war had continued, as predicted, and each time the Barassan army tried to take us, they left with a few less members then they'd had before.

Their champion had only seriously engaged one of the other two champions after his loss to me. He'd picked on Evean, figuring I guess, that she'd be the easiest of us to defeat. Evean however had distracted him by flashing her tits and ass at him while they fought, all the time making rather enticing sexual suggestions that would have made a whore blush.

He'd done even worse against that, than he had with my mother jokes and me.

After getting killed by her, he kept farther back from the front line, and just exhorted the troops on. If he joined in the fighting, he'd retreat as soon as one of the three of us drew near. By the time mid summer rolled around, he was no longer anywhere to be seen.

It was about then, that Evean got really imaginative. She started to offer herself to any Barassan soldier who would abandon the fight and join her side. She even promised safe passage to any male brave enough to try.

Eventually one did, and she did, right where the entire Barassan army could see. Over the next week hundreds of Barassan soldiers deserted to be with Evean. I had no idea if she actually slept with all of them, but from the way she was smirking for days after that, I had no desire to find out.

Her next escapade was to have a number of the deserters stand behind our palisades during the next attack, and call to their former comrades about the joys they were experiencing, and how they should leave now, before they either died, or were sold off in slavery for losing.

Over a thousand deserted after that, though many of them just wanted safe passage to one of the many city-states or kingdoms beyond our borders. We had to provide escorts to a few of the larger groups of course, just to be on the safe side, but by then the number of Barassan soldiers were down to under fifty thousand, while our numbers were still over ninety.

That was over two months ago, and their numbers had continued to decline as attack after attack had failed. After reading current assessments of their troop strength, General Holse had suggested several days ago that the time had come for a counter-attack.

We'd all readily agreed.

"I'm surprised Stivik finally relented and allowed them to retreat," I said to everyone as we watched.

"This is what, his fifth general?" Jane asked.

"I'm betting sixth," General Weiss said, "He probably had number five executed just for suggesting this."

"Almost a shame about the first one," Holse said, "he was the only decent one of the bunch, but I'm not going to complain if Stivik wants to do our work for us."

We'd learned not only of the terrible morale of the Barassan army as we'd come across more and more deserters, but we'd also learned that King Stivik had executed the first commanding general two months into the war, due to lack of progress. The next two hadn't lasted more than a month; with number four lasting only as long as it took Stivik to have him killed after he'd engaged in the most bizarre attack we'd ever seen. We lost one hundred men to that one. They'd lost over six thousand.

"So, do you think he relented because he's afraid of losing what's left of his army? Or because he figures he can just sell them all off into slavery for losing?" Evean asked.

"That's a good question, if he'd been smart he would have pulled them out long ago, when it was clear further attempts were pointless. They had to realize that eventually we'd come and attack them."

"Maybe he decided to save money," Eklin suggested.

We all looked at him, "What do you mean?" Jane asked.

Eklin nodded to the evacuating soldiers off in the town. "If they don't come home, he doesn't have to pay them, does he? So the less returning soldiers, the more money in his coffers."

"Wow, that's pretty cold."

The rest of us nodded slowly and Eklin shrugged, "It would see to be in character with what he's done recently."

"So, how may do you think they'll get out of there?" I asked Holse.

"Oh, thirty thousand maybe thirty-five. But once we attack, someone is going to have to decide when it's time to write off the remaining troops, or we'll capture those ships of theirs as well."

"Probably be quite the panic once the ones on the defenses realize that they're not going home," General Weiss pointed out.

I nodded, "Probably. Well, shall we get started then?"

Everyone nodded.

"To your commands then, everyone."

I walked back to join the heavy foot who I'd been fighting with all summer now. We'd won this war, now we just had to clean up what was left.

An hour later we were all on the march, I'd decided to leave the cavalry out of this one, and we'd left them as well as a small force back at our fortified encampment, just in case of any unexpected problems. Like maybe a couple thousand deserters running roughshod over the land.

I was in the front, leading the heavy foot, as usual. Jane was leading the Holden forces, who had come to appreciate her quite a bit, while Evean was leading the Marland troops. Which she was leading in singing bawdy pub songs rather loudly. While only half of the Eklin troops followed Roden, apparently all of the soldiers were rather fond of her, and not just because of her good looks, Evean had a rude and crude sense of humor that they rather appreciated, along with her winning personality.

When we hit their outer defenses, we took our time in destroying them while fighting the defenders. Everyone knew this was the last battle, and we knew the Barassan army was retreating. We'd do what damage we could to them, but we weren't looking to wipe them all out, just put enough of a hurt on them, that they'd never come this way again.

Apparently however, I and the others had misjudged the anger of our own troops, because once the Barassan defenses started to fall, rather than taking the cautious approach we had ordered, they just went crazy and began a full out assault.

I think it started with the Marland troops, but I honestly wasn't sure, but within minutes the defenders were finding themselves overwhelmed and were getting slaughtered left and right. When the defenders found themselves suddenly being pressed back into their own forces with no place left to go, they finally rallied and began to fight with a desperation that only the truly trapped could appreciate.

When I noticed that many of the defenders were actually crying as they fought, I called for my men to pull back. I had to call it several times, and I had to put my full champion's persona and power into it, and I quickly heard Jane and Evean repeat the call. All of our forces retreated back about twenty feet from the Barassan fighters, who did not take a step forward, despite they're being packed in tight.

"Hold!" I called and started walking back and forth in front of our lines, "Hold! Let them go home! Let them go!"

"We've won today; let us show them the mercy of our gods and our leaders."

I turned and looked at the defenders, "As long as you continue to retreat and take not a step forward, as long as you promise never to return, we will allow you to board your ships and leave us, and return to your homes."

I noticed that I was glowing then, so was Jane and Evean was as well. All of our troops held their ground, but you could see their anger, you could see they wanted these people gone from their soil.

But you could also see that the fight had gone out of the Barassan's, and they just wanted to leave.

So we let them.

It took four hours for the ships to come and gather them all, when the last group left I could see the captains looking at us with obvious concern, but we did not move from where we had stopped.

When the last solider stepped on to the last boat, he stopped and turned and saluted us. I could see he was their general. I suspected he'd be dead before the sunset, so I saluted him back. Then everyone cheered as the last ship sailed off.

"You know, we could have easily killed thousands more, and probably taken thousands prisoner as well," Holse said to me, when we stopped to make camp that night. In the morning, we'd all start marching back west, but for now, it was time for everyone to rest, and yes, celebrate.

I shrugged, "What would we do with the prisoners? Besides, you should have seen them, they were broken, they knew they had nothing left, they knew they were dead."

"So?" Holse said looking at me.

Jane sighed and spoke up, "They were crying, all of them, they were like children who had been beaten one time too many. It was time to show them the mercy that their own leaders never would."

"Still, it would have weakened them further," Weiss pointed out.

"I'm not so sure about that," Evean said leaning back and stretching rather fetchingly. "Bad morale is like a disease. We just demoralized their entire army. All of it. And then we patted it on the head, forgave it, and sent it home."

She sat up suddenly and smiled looking at all of us. "What do you think that's going to do to everyone back home in Barassa?"

"I don't know, what?' Weiss asked.

"They'll blame the leaders, they'll blame King Stivik himself, and they will question their priests, even Tantrus himself." Evean smirked, "I'm going to be spending the winter and next spring smuggling Roden's priests into the towns surrounding the main city, maybe even the capitol itself!"

I had to agree with that, losing a war was never good for a leader, and King Stivik was already in a bad position.

I could see several of the officers nodding as they considered it. Even Holse appeared deep in thought.

"Sleep well, everyone, I'm going to get some rest," I said and went off to me tent for the night.

"William!" I sighed and got up; I was just about to fall asleep.

"What?" I asked pulling the tent flap aside. It was one of the messengers from the cavalry.

"Ruusolf is trying to take the main camp!"

I looked at him, "With what?"

"His city guard, and palace guards," the messenger smiled.

"That's what? Five thousand?"

"A bit more First Carso suspects. He seems to have hired every able-bodied male he could get his hands on."

I shook my head, the cavalry was down to about three thousand now, and we'd left behind another two thousand infantry, mainly to keep out the thieves.

"How long ago was this?"

"I rode here directly, about a half-hour after the attack started. Eight hours I'd guess?"

I nodded, "Go rest your mount," I nudged Jane with a foot, "put your armor on, time to deal with King Ruusolf."

Jane stretched and yawned. "Should we get Evean?"

I thought about it, but decided not to. "I think the two of us should be enough."

Jane nodded and we got our gear on, I woke one of the sergeants and told him to pack up the rest of my gear come the morning, and to notify the command staff that I was heading back to the main encampment, and Holse was in charge.

We got our wolats, I had brought Tom along of course, and seeing as we currently had more wolats then riders, I'd taught Jane how to ride over the last few months and given her one as well.

The dawn was breaking when we got back; one of Carso's scouts picked us up, and led us to him. He was sitting at a table, looking over a map, with a couple of his thirds.

"What's the situation?" I asked him, both Jane and I dismounting and walking over.

"We've got them pretty much dug in, here along the north side of the camp," He said pointing to the map. "Mostly we've just been keeping them pinned in that position. Any of them try to venture forth and one of my companies rides in and shows them the error of their ways."

"So you're not trying to take them?" I asked surprised.

First Carso shrugged, "Why bother? They may outnumber us, but most of them aren't even soldiers, they're just people who were either bought by Ruusolf's men or convinced to be here. Oh about a third of them are from the guard or the city's reserves, but even they quickly realized that they were outclassed.

"I sent a message over that if they just sit there and behave themselves, we won't slaughter them when the army comes back," First Carso said and laughed. "A few of the loyalists in charge tried to rally them after that, and I put that rally down rather brutally.

"So now they're just sitting there all meek and well behaved and if there are any royalists left, they're probably bound and gagged at this point."

I nodded, "Well, I hope they were paid up front."

"I don't think a lot of them were paid," First Carso told me, "More like threatened."

"So where is Ruusolf?" Jane asked.

"Well, I think he was watching from the city walls, but when his people got so handily beat, I think he retreated back to his castle."

"Surely he didn't think he could win?" Jane said looking around.

"He sent a runner off to find Eklin, that runner was carrying this," First Carso handed me a rolled up message, I looked it over quickly and then handed it to Jane. It was about what I expected, orders to turn on the Hiland army, and keep them from regaining the battlements. There were also instructions to allow the Holden troops to proceed home, if they didn't side with Hiland.

"Male's an idiot," Jane sighed and tossed the scroll on the table, "Eklin doesn't have the numbers, it would be suicide. Unless he figures it would give him a chance to survive a siege?"

I shook my head, "Eklin stopped following Ruusolf's orders some time ago. Evean told him Ruusolf was dishonorable in Roden's eyes and his oath to his king was no longer binding, and well, Eklin is rather devout."

"I had no idea," Jane said.

"Well, we might as well go pay good King Ruusolf a final visit," I sighed.

"Do you want an escort?" First Carso asked.

I thought about it and nodded, "Sure, can you spare a company?"

First Carso laughed, "I can spare two."

Twenty minutes later, we were outside the castle's gates. The city gates had been completely unmanned, and if I had to guess, there was probably only one male holding these gates.

I pounded on the gate a couple of times with my fist, "Open!" I called. "In the name of Feliogustus, and Fordessa, open this gate!"

I was rather surprised when it opened.

"What do you know, it worked," Jane murmured.

"Champion Will, Champion Jane," Third Adams smiled and bowed to us.

"Adams! Nice to see you here," I said and smiled back. "Are you the only one here?"

"King Ruusolf is holed up in his throne room. He's got about fifty of his retainers with him. Last I saw him; he appeared to be rather scared."

"When was that?" Jane asked.

"About twenty minutes ago, when I decided to come out here and be ready to open the gates up for you."

"Knew we were coming did you?" I smiled.

"Ruusolf does as well," Third Adams warned us.

I turned to the men who had ridden here with us. "Secure the castle, allow people to leave, but none are allowed to enter."

"Yessir!" The Second in charge saluted.

"Shall we?" I turned to Jane.

"Well, he is expecting us, wouldn't want to disappoint him now, would we?"

I nodded and we went inside.

The halls were empty, and quiet. I didn't know if the staff were hiding, or had fled. Third Adams had volunteered to lead us to the throne room, and when we came to the closed double doors, we dismissed him.

I looked at Jane, and she nodded, and I tried the doors.

Surprisingly they weren't locked, so we pushed them open and got ready to dodge.

Ruusolf sat on his throne, surrounded by his men, and his retainers. All of them were armed, but only about twenty looked like they were really fighters.

I sighed and shook my head, "Any of you follow Feliogustus?" I asked.

I saw a few heads, mostly those of the non-fighters twitch.

I jerked my head towards the door, "Leave the room."

"The same goes for any followers of Fordessa," Jane added.

"No one is going anywhere!" Ruusolf said loudly.

"Roden has also withdrawn his support from Ruusolf," I added smiling, "which is why his army has not rushed back here to support him."

"This is my kingdom! I am in charge here!" Ruusolf yelled loudly.

"Not anymore," I replied. "When you attacked our positions, you declared war against Hiland. Queen Rachel now controls the city, the outskirts, everything.

"I'm not here to play games, Ruusolf, step down now, and I'll let you leave with everything that you can carry, and you can take whatever retainers that choose to go with you."

"And if I refuse?" He said and looked at me.

Jane and I both drew our weapons, "We'll kill everyone in the room."

There was a loud clatter as half of the retainers dropped their weapons and fled. A couple of the soldiers looked at each other, and putting their swords away, they quickly turned and left the room as well.

Ruusolf's fear was so strong that it filled the room with its stench.

"What guarantee do I have that you'll keep your word?"

"I suggest you start gathering your stuff now and be quick about it, you've got twenty minutes, and we will be following you."

I had someone find a scribe while he rushed around gathering his stuff. He signed his kingdom away when I didn't protest him throwing as much gold and jewels as he could toss in the cart in the time I gave him.

Surprisingly eight of his guards and three of his servants went with him.

I had one of the companies of cavalry accompany him, I told them to escort him to the border of our lands, and then return to Hiland. I knew it would be weeks before we saw them, but I didn't want Ruusolf slaughtered for his wealth anywhere in Rachel's kingdom. I also didn't want him to use all that gold and wealth to start any troubles within our border.

"Bet you his guards kill him and split the money as soon as they're out of sight of your cavalry," Jane snickered.

I smiled, "I don't care, all that matters is he's gone, and we even have a nice document ceding all of Marland to Rachel."

"So why didn't you just kill him?" She asked as we headed back to join First Carso.

"Because I didn't have to," I said and smiled.

Nineteen

Hiland

It was very late in the fall, the leaves had almost all fallen by now, and the nights were getting rather decidedly cold. It had taken almost three months to get things stabilized in Marland, which was now firmly in Rachel's grasp. Oh technically it was a territory belonging to and controlled by the combined kingdoms of Hiland and Holden, because both kingdoms had been instrumental in saving it, and picking up the slack when Ruusolf abdicated. But everyone knew that in a few more years when the official royal wedding took place, and Holden and Hiland became one kingdom, that it would all be part of the Hiland kingdom as well. King Charles of Holden had already told those administrators and officers of his that he'd sent in to help rule Marland, that they took their orders from Queen Rachel.

Eklin was now living in the castle as the Duke of Marland, as a reward for his services in the war, and his fealty to the people, so he was rather satisfied with the way things were going. Furthermore taxes had been lowered to bring them in line with Hiland's, so both the merchants, and the people were happy.

Also, a rather large contingent of Hiland, Holden, and Marland troops were now stationed in the region, to hopefully deter any further attacks by Barassa, and because they were there not as conquerors, but as protectors, they were rather well received by the people. Of course, the story that Fordessa's minstrels had spread, that King Ruusolf had raided the treasury and stole off into the night when it looked like Barassa might win, while the brave allies of Holden and Hiland had joined with the faithful Duke Eklin to win the war may have had a little something to do with that.

In fact, the only person who had been unhappy at all was Rachel, who'd really wanted me to kill off Ruusolf, but she got over it. Eventually.

"So," I asked Rachel as we relaxed by the fire, and sipping our tea enjoying a rare day of nothing to do. "What does Rigel have to say about our friends in Barassa?"

Rachel gave a small shake of her head, "Not much really, there is turmoil of course, we wiped out half of their entire military. That's a lot of males who did not come home to their families, and the country has nothing to show for it."

"Does that mean Barassa is ripe for the plucking?" I asked and curled up a little closer.

"I wish," Rachel sighed. "But with mercenaries and the levy, Rigel believes that King Stivik still has close to seventy thousand soldiers available to him."

"How much of that is the regular standing army?"

"Less than ten thousand. He's trying to promote more up out of the levies, but Rigel's reports have him suspecting that the levies aren't exactly cooperating."

"How many mercenaries does he have?"

"Around twenty thousand, give or take a few thousand."

"Wow, that has to be costing him a fortune," I said thinking about the numbers.

"It is. He has to be running low on funds in his treasury at this point."

"So if the mercs leave, and enough of the farmers revolt and don't send their sons and fathers in for the levies, he's going to have a very small army." I said smiling, "A very small and inexperienced army."

"You've seen Barassa, it wouldn't take much of an army to hold their capitol city," Rachel grumbled.

"True, but it means their days of attacking us are over. Well, at least for now."

Rachel smiled and purred curling up against me as well. "There is that. A few years' peace would give me time to consolidate things, and get our own defenses built up. With all the new lands we've added, it's going to take a while to get everything and everyone sorted out."

I nodded; Rachel's kingdom had increased drastically in the last ten years.

"Oh, Rigel did have on other piece of interesting information."

"Hmmm?" I asked.

"Seems like several of Barassa's northern neighbors have noticed Barassa's plight, and are considering relieving King Stivik of some of the outlying parts of his kingdom."

"Oh, that would definitely keep him out of our fur for a while."

"That's what I thought," Rachel smiled.

I was just about to suggest retiring to bed a little early tonight when a guard stepped in rather hastily.

"Yes?" Rachel said looking at him.

"Summons from the temple for William, Your Highness. They said it was rather urgent."

I untangled myself, and kissed Rachel, "Duty calls, my Love,"

Rachel sighed and looked as unhappy as I felt, "And it always has the worse timing. If you're going to be gone long, let me know."

I nodded and left, stopping only to grab my weapons as I left.

"What is it, Fel?" I asked as I stepped into the temple.

"Your son Cameron has been kidnapped." His voice said as I entered.

"What?" I said and swore, "Who, how, when? Is Darlene all right? What happened?"

"I am going to open a gateway through to the temple in Riverhead. You can find out yourself."

"Where? And what can you tell me?"

"Here by the altar, and I sent for you as soon as I found out. Aryanna can tell you more than I can, ask her."

I nodded and strode up to the main altar. Fel didn't open portals often, because it was difficult for him to do so, and even then, the other god had to be helping him.

"I'll have someone tell Rachel you're going to be a while," Fel's voice said as I saw the small black door-like opening appear before me, and I stepped through.

When I stepped out the other side, I was in one of the small side altars that existed in the temple. I was also not alone. The head priest for the temple, who I recognized was there, as was a very bloody and half-conscious looking Chaucer, and my wife Darlene.

"Darlene, what happened?" I said as I took a step forward. I noticed then that her eyes suddenly got very wide.

"Will?" She said.

I looked down at myself and swore, I was still in my champion form, I shifted out of it, and looked back up at her. "What happened? Are you okay? Are the kids okay? Where is Cameron?"

"What, what was that, Will?" she asked blinking at me as I walked up to her and pulled her close. "What are you?" She said looking up into my eyes.

I was surprised she wasn't trying to pull away from me, but then I think she'd always know there was something more to me.

"I'm a champion, Hon, just like my sister. Just when I'm there, I look like that. My god and Aryanna are allies, so I'm allowed to come here."

"But, why are you here, if you, if your god, isn't?"

"Because I love you, that's why," I told her softly. "Now, tell me what happened?"

Darlene nodded and then she sobbed, "We were at the temple, for our usual weekend service, and when we got back, we found Chaucer, almost dead, like that." She looked up at me crying, "Harold and Emma are dead, Will, whoever took Cameron killed them!" She buried her head in my chest then and I just held her.

"How is he?" I asked the priest and nodded towards Chaucer.

"Alive, barely. But now that he's here we should be able to heal him, but he was pretty badly injured. It's going to take a while."

I nodded, "How long before I can at least talk to him?"

"I'm not sure, a few hours, maybe longer. Whatever hit him, it wasn't a regular weapon."

"How so?"

"The effects, it seems like it was cursed."

"Hon, where are our children?" I asked Darlene.

"At my parents,' the Duke has the Swan being guarded."

I nodded and kissed her, "Go to your parents' house and wait for me there, I need to go take a look at what happened."

"Will, will you be okay?" She asked looking up at me.

"I'll be fine, Hon," I looked at the priest, "Have somebody go with her, okay?"

He nodded, "I'll see it taken care of."

I let go of Darlene and ran out of the temple and back to the inn, it was starting to get dark out, so I guess this had happened probably six or eight hours ago. When I got to the inn there were several of the Duke's guards around it all right, and the one in charge nodded to me as I came up.

"William, they said you'd be here soon, but I wasn't sure I believed it."

"Who did?" I asked. I knew him of course; it was Sergeant Habe, who I'd traveled to Kingstown with some time ago.

"A couple of the temple guards that the priests sent over. I guess with your sister being Aryanna's champion, that they're taking an interest in this."

"You got that right," I said. "Is there anyone else inside?"

"No, everyone's gone."

I nodded and walked in through the front door, and then looked around. The place was a mess, somebody had taken the time to smash a couple of the tables and chairs, there was quite a bit of damage to the bar, and blood spattered all over. It was worst behind the bar.

I looked at Habe, who'd accompanied me inside. "I need you to wait outside and not let anyone in."

"I can't do that, Will, the captain ordered me himself, I'll be cashiered."

I nodded, "Okay, you do follow Aryanna, right?"

Habe nodded, "Of course I do, Will."

"Okay, tell anybody what you're about to see, and she's going to be very unhappy with you."

"What?"

"Oh, and don't scream."

I shifted then into my champion form, and I grabbed Habe by the shoulder as I heard the sharp intake of breath. "What did I say about screaming?" I growled.

"What, what are you?"

"Let's save that until later, right now, I need to get a good look around."

I carefully walked around the bar, and sniffed at everything. I could smell Darlene's scent, as well as the children's, but Harold's scent was strongest here, because all the blood was apparently his. There were another couple of faint scents that was fresh, but it might have been those of whoever had taken his body from here.

I walked back around the room, and picked up a couple of pieces of the smashed furniture, but nothing really stood out. So I headed into the back.

"Where was Chaucer found?" I asked him.

"Out back, he was either coming in, or he saw what happened here and ran out after them."

I nodded and looked down the hallway.

"Emma was in the family room, babysitting Cameron." Habe supplied.

"Thanks," I growled and went inside.

There was blood everywhere, lots of blood. I noticed the two dogs I had left here were both dead. I bent down and examined their muzzles; both had bits of fiber and blood on their teeth.

"At least they bit the bastard," I said and picked out the pieces of fiber and sniffed at them. Unfortunately, the saliva and smell of the dog's mouths didn't let me get any kind of scent off of the pieces. While I had a stronger and more informative sense of smell as a felinoid, it wasn't anywhere as fine as a dog's or most other animals. I looked around the room some more, I'd seen some pretty gruesome scenes in the last ten years, and I'd been responsible for more than a few of them. The dogs had been cut into pieces, by a large bladed weapon, and I suspected Emma had been killed the same way.

I turned and left the room, and went to Cameron's crib. It took me a minute to find it, apparently Cameron was now old enough that Darlene had moved it into a separate room, and out of our bedroom. There were two cribs in the room, and I was easily able to quickly identify which was Rachel's and which was Cameron's.

I noticed that Cameron's clothing was in a mess, like someone had dug through it. I checked for scents again, and this time I thought I smelled something familiar, but it was too faint to be sure.

Standing up I went back to Darlene's and my room, and shifting back I put on fresh clothing. I hadn't been wearing much more than a tunic and a loincloth when I came through the portal, and I had been barefoot.

I looked up at Habe who was watching but not saying anything.

I went back to getting dressed. "I'm a champion to a god in a far away land. Aryanna and he are allies. I come here because I love my wife and my family. No, I wasn't a champion when we first met. No, you can't talk about it with anybody, well maybe the head priest at the temple." I said and then looked back up at him. "Any other questions?"

"Do you know who did this?" Habe asked.

I shook my head, "No, not yet. But when I do, it isn't going to be pretty."

I got up and went out and looked up and down the hall. "I need you to hire someone to clean up all of this blood and gore for me, can you do that? And do it right now?" I asked him.

"I'll have one of the men go turn out the barracks."

I nodded, "Thanks, tell them all they'll get free drinks for a month."

Habe snorted and gave a weak smile, "They'll make this place cleaner than the king's palace for that!"

I nodded, "I just don't want Darlene or the kids to come back here and see all this blood."

"I'll take care of it, Will, I'll even ask the captain if he knows of any carpenters to come in here and fix it all up."

"Thanks, Habe," I smiled and shook his hand, then went back to the temple.

I went back to the small side chapel where I had seen Chaucer last, he wasn't there anymore.

"Where's Chaucer?" I asked one of the priests.

"Who?"

"The man who was brought here earlier, he was seriously injured."

"Oh, we moved him to a bed in one of the back rooms. Would you like to see him?"

I shook my head; it could wait a little while yet. I needed a bit more information than he probably had.

"I need some privacy for a few minutes, if you would leave and close the door behind you please?" I said to him, and the acolyte who I guess was cleaning the floor where Chaucer's stretcher had been.

"Sir, I must protest," the priest began.

I put my finger to his lips, "This is not the time to talk, this is the time for you to listen. I need to talk to Aryanna, in private. Now go.'

He started a moment, and then he grabbed the acolyte and left the room. I sighed and turned to the altar, "I don't have any money on me, but I hope I've built up enough capitol with you by now. What happened?"

"I'm not exactly sure, William. But I have my suspicions."

"How can you not know?" I replied hotly, "You're a goddess! Hell, you're the goddess around here! You're the most powerful being I've ever met, or probably ever will! What happened?" I said pacing back and forth. I normally didn't have much of a temper, but right now, I was getting pretty upset with what had happened, as it finally started to sink in: My child was stolen; again, Harold and Emma, two of my oldest friends here, were dead! Violently murdered!

"What did I do wrong? What did Darlene do wrong? How did anyone even know? What's going on, Aryanna? What's happening?"

"Sit Down, William," Aryanna ordered me, rather loudly.

I sat.

"Better, I know you're upset, but you will respect me, or I will punish you, understand?"

I sighed and put my head in my hands, "I'm sorry, Aryanna, I know I shouldn't yell at you, and not because you're a goddess, but because I know you would have prevented this if you could have. I'm sorry, I'm just, well, I just can't believe this has happened."

"That's better, William," her voice continued, still a bit stern, but not as stern as before. I don't know if I had actually upset her, or if she was just yanking on my leash. It didn't matter really, I heeled. "As you know, there are certain people the gods and goddesses can-not track."

I nodded, "Champions, Priests."

"Exactly. This was one of those."

"Do you know who they are?"

"It is not any god or goddess from this sphere. That is all I have been able to determine so far."

"Was it Trespon?" I asked looking up.

"Trespon is so weak right now; he no longer has a champion."

I blinked, "How did that happen?"

"Your attack hurt him enough that it gave Sireen's forces an edge, and they exploited it unmercifully. His main temple was torn down, his city was completely destroyed, his followers were scattered. Sireen is not a goddess to be trifled with, she'd warned Trespon off, but he did not listen. So she is destroying him."

I nodded; I didn't care much about Trespon, I was just happy to know he wasn't involved. I had an inspiration then. "What about Harold and Emma? Can you ask them? Tell me what they saw?"

"William, you know I can't relay to you what the dead tell me, even if you were my champion, which you are not, you'd have to ask them yourself."

I slumped back down in the seat, "Well, if you could tell them I'm sorry, I'd appreciate it."

"Of course, William."

"Can you tell me why my child was taken?"

"Not until I know who took him."

"Do you know where they went after they took him?"

"Actually, I believe so."

I sat back up, "Where did they take him?"

"They rode immediately to a portal far up in the hills; they left through it about two hours ago."

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"Because you asked me, William," Aryanna replied with a pleased voice.

"Why does that make a difference?" I asked.

"Cameron is your child, so even though he does not appear to me, the same way as priests or champions other than my own do not, he can be tracked, through you, because of that connection."

"So because I asked, you could track him."

"Yes, William, but only because we have a prior connection, which is why you appear to me, even though you are a champion."

"Rules," I sighed.

"Yes," Aryanna agreed, "Rules."

"Can you tell where Cam is now?"

"I'll know when he changes spheres, and which gateway he uses. Beyond that, I can not tell you more."

I sighed, "I guess I'll go question Chaucer, and reassure Darlene, then go find a horse."

"Nikki will be by here soon, you should wait for her."

"Why? The sooner I leave, the better chance I have of catching up!"

"Because I told you to," Aryanna in a very neutral voice that made my ears perk up.

"Is there anything you're not telling me?" I asked carefully.

"There are many things that I'm not telling you, William," She said rather pleasantly.

"Are there any things you can tell me now, that I need to know, or which will help me?"

"Do not ride off in a rush, whoever did this, planned it. You should try to plan as well."

I nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Aryanna. I am in your debt," I bowed to the altar and left then.

When I found where they were keeping Chaucer, he was still unconscious. As much as I wanted to wake him, I knew that I had to wait for Nikki. I also knew I had to gear up for a trip, and that meant money, which meant waiting until the bank opened.

I sighed and went to Darlene's parents' home. I'd spend what time I could with her and my children. Come the morning however, I'd be leaving. If Nikki wasn't here by then, she'd just have to catch up.

Twenty

Riverhead

We hit the trail not long after sunup, Nikki had arrived about an hour earlier, and I'd had almost everything ready by then, I just needed to hit Black's Bank for some gold, and buy horses.

Darlene wished I could have stayed longer, but she knew that we had to go save Cameron. Apparently she didn't care in the slightest about what she'd seen of me in the temple. That or she had decided that this wasn't a good time to bring it up.

Habe had stopped by to let me and Darlene know what the progress was on cleaning and fixing the inn. It felt good to know that mess at least was being taken care of, and was in capable hands.

"So, what did you learn?" I asked Nikki after we cleared the city gates.

"It was one person, a man. Harold said when he came in, he seemed normal enough. He asked questions about the town, then the bar, how long it had been there, who owned it. Nothing strange, at first.

"Then he asked if the family were all good followers of Aryanna, and Harold nodded and said 'Of course.' Sometime after that, he asked if they were all follows of Aryanna, why weren't all the children at temple? Harold's guess was that the man must have heard Cameron in the back."

"So what did Harold say to that?" I asked.

"I'm getting to that," Nikki said. "So, he tells the man that the child was recently sick, and they decided to keep him home another week, seeing as the priest was there yesterday anyway and all."

"Then he asked if the child was yours, Will. And Harold said, that no, and that you hadn't been around in some time. That it was Aryanna's champion's and perhaps he should take his custom elsewhere."

"Harold talks too much," I sighed.

"He said that he was a little guy, so he really didn't expect much trouble out of him."

I almost reined the horse in, "He said what?"

"That he was a little guy."

I swore, "That was Cen!"

"I've seen pictures of Cen, Will! He's not a little guy! He's as tall as you are!"

"Not in his original form," I growled. "He's like five two or something; I thought he wasn't due back for years yet!" I yelled and swore again.

Nikki looked at me a bit shocked, "Are you sure of that?"

"That it's Cen, or that he's not supposed to be back yet?"

"Yes," She nodded.

"It sounds like something Cen would do. Especially if he still thinks I'm not around anymore, but that Cameron is Stephanie's kid. As for the not coming back yet. Well, that's what Aryanna told us, so you'd have to talk to her." I said and grumbled some more.

"So why did he take Cameron then? Do you think he's looking to blackmail Stephanie with him?"

"How?" I said and shook my head. "And if he's a champion, why the hell didn't he just gate out of there back home."

"Maybe he's afraid of what his god will do?" Nikki shrugged, "Remember, both Ary and your Feliogustus wanted him kept away from all the other priests, champions, and gods. Maybe when he picked Cameron up, he realized there was something there, and now he's trying to figure out how to use it."

I shook my head, "I have no idea, and unless we catch up with him and ask him, I don't know if we're going to find out." I shook my head again and swore a few more times just trying to make sense out of it.

"So what happened next?" I asked.

"He attacked Harold, no warning, nothing, just attacked him and killed him. From what Emma told me, the first she knew there was any trouble was when Heckle and Jeckle ran out of the room. A moment after that, the guy, came in the room with the dogs on him. He killed them both, and then killed her."

"What about all that mess in the front bar?"

Nikki shook her head, "I have no idea. I haven't seen it, was it trashed?"

I nodded, "Either he did it after he killed Harold, and Emma didn't hear it, or he came back after killing everyone and did it."

"Why would he do that?" Nikki asked curiously.

"Because Cen was a very unhappy man last time I saw him," I said and spit. "Did Aryanna find out anything about the temple stuff that Cen had going on back on Earth?"

"Umm, no."

"Did you press her?"

"Will! I can't do that to her!"

"Sis, if you can't, who can? We're champions; we can bend or break the rules, sometimes finding out why she can't tell you something is just as important as finding out what she can't tell you."

"Isn't that cheating?"

I shrugged, "I don't know if it's possible to cheat. But they have to know something about what's going on. The idea that they may not know scares me more than having Aryanna or Fel mad at me."

"Well, I can ask her when I sleep next."

I nodded, "Well, once we clear the portal, you'll have to do that just to find out where we have to head next."

Nikki nodded, and we spent the next several hours riding in silence.

I checked the portal when I got there, mostly out of habit. I didn't recognize it, and after Nikki checked it we both went through.

"Well, nothing seems different," I said looking around.

"Why don't you go make some food while I take a nap?" Nikki said.

I nodded and led her and the horses over to a small clearing nearby, and then I set out gathering material to make a fire while Nikki hobbled the horses, and then spread her cloak out on the ground and lay down and took a nap.

She must have been tired, because she slept at least an hour, before she finally woke up.

"Hungry?" I asked and handed her a plate.

Yeah, thanks."

"So, what did Aryanna tell you?"

"She told me where she thinks he's heading, and yes, she thinks you're right, that it is Cenewyg. He obviously can't open a gate to where he's going, so he has to go the long way around."

I nodded and started to clean up and pack stuff away. "How many spheres from here does she think his destination is?"

Nikki shook her head, "She thinks she knows where he is going here, and that's only because she agrees it's Cenewyg. After his next pick, she thinks she'll be able to tell what his destination is."

I looked at her, "What?"

Nikki shrugged, "I hit her with every question I could think of, to see if there was something else I could learn. She didn't even get mad," Nikki sighed, "but."

"But what?"

"But when I asked her how Cenewyg had gotten back early, she told me that she couldn't answer that."

"Couldn't, not wouldn't?"

Nikki nodded, "When I tried to find out why she couldn't, she told me that I was wasting her time on those questions, and that she wouldn't tell me why. Then I woke up."

"Okay, now that's different," I said thoughtfully. "So how far away is the next portal?"

"About two weeks from here on horseback."

"Well, if you're done, let's get going."

Nikki finished the last of her food and we mounted up and left.

#                    #                    #                    #

We were at the next portal, it had been a hard two weeks, we'd slept as little as possible, and rode as much as possible. We'd had to stop and walk the horses fairly often, as they were definitely feeling the strain of what we were putting them through. The only stops we'd made that were out of the way, was to pass through a couple of towns or villages that we had spied during our trip, to replenish our supplies and get our mounts better food than they could graze on.

We went through at the same time, and I broke to the left as Nikki broke to the right and we both looked for cover. We didn't know if Cen knew he was being followed, but we don't see how he couldn't be expecting it. Coming through the portal was a good place for an ambush, so we did what we could to minimize the risk.

"Anything?" Nikki asked me. I was in my champion form, and I was scanning the area, ears, eyes, and nose active.

I shook my head, "I can scent him, weakly. He was here a while ago, probably six or so hours ago."

"Let's take a break; I want to talk to Ary."

I nodded, "Let's find a good place first," Nikki agreed and we started looking for a place to camp.

"Hear that?" I said and started looking around.

"Hear what?" Nikki said and looked at me.

"Follow me," I said and carefully started to follow a steady thumping sound. As I got closer it got louder.

"I hear it now," Nikki said.

I led us up a small rise, leaving the horses tied to a tree lower down, when we got to the top we looked around the trees at the small valley below.

"Well, will you look at that," Nikki said.

I nodded, "Indeed." There was a small village there, with what looked like a couple of inns, a few stores; even what I suspected what was a police station of sorts. But the most interesting thing was the vehicle that drove in, parked next to a line of others, and from which several people got out and went inside.

"Pretty freaky looking cars," Nikki said.

"Cars are faster than horses," I pointed out.

"And ours are about done," she agreed. The constant riding had been hard on our mounts, my dad had always told me that a man could walk a horse into the ground, and up until now, I hadn't realized just how true that was.

"What do you say to getting a room down there and a decent meal?" Nikki said looking at me and shifting out of her champion form.

I nodded, "I think we could both us a short break. If we can get a car that would help us tremendously."

"Especially if Cenewyg already has one," Nikki pointed out.

I nodded, "I'll have to ask around and see if anyone has seen a man of his description here." Shifting out of my champion form I followed her down the hill and back to our horses.

I snickered when I noticed something as we got to our horses.

"What?' Nikki asked looking at me.

"Nice tail," I said and grinned.

Nikki swore and put her hands on her butt, "I thought something felt wrong back there!"

I laughed. "Oh it gets even better," I said smiling at her.

"How's that?"

"Men apparently don't have them."

She glared at me, and then made me lead the way to the village, apparently not wanting me looking at her butt.

"Didn't somebody make a movie like this?" She grumbled as we entered the town.

"Yeah, but yours is much nicer looking," I snickered.

"It's in my pants, how would you know?"

"I have an active imagination," I said and snickered some more as she swore.

When we got to the village, no one paid us much attention, the inn did have a stable for the horses around back, though there was only one other horse inside. Apparently horses were still used, but I guess they were falling out of vogue.

"Excuse me, who would I have to talk to about hiring a car?" I asked the innkeeper after we'd secured a room for the night.

"Oh, go talk to Rutgarr, his place is just past the constable's station down the road," He said and motioned with his hand in the general direction. "How far do you need to go?"

"A fair ways," I said.

He nodded, "Well, there are larger cars that carry people longer distances when you get to the city, for most folks out of the country like you, it's the easiest way to travel."

I nodded.

"By the by," I said, "Did you see a short man," I held my hand out to about where I felt Cenewyg's height would be, "Come through here recently?"

"Friend of yours?" he asked looking at me.

"Oh, he's no friend. I just want to be sure he's not staying at your inn, wouldn't want to cause a problem if I came across him here."

"Well, don't worry none, there was a man like that here a month ago, but haven't seen him since."

I nodded, "Thanks," and we went and had dinner.

"A month ago," Nikki said while eating, "must have stopped here on the way to your place."

I nodded, "So he's probably returning to wherever it was he came from."

"Which means he knows the territory," Nikki pointed out.

"Well, this is all in the vicinity of Hilshire, so maybe Aryanna knows about it too."

Nikki nodded, "I'll be sure to ask her tonight."

I nodded. "I think I need to have a conversation with Fel as well," I said thinking at him as I said that. I hadn't bothered Fel since this whole thing had started, because I didn't know how much help he could be. But at this point, I'd take whatever assistance I could get.

I went and found Rutgarr next while Nikki left to deal with our supplies.

"How do," a middle-aged man said as I approached the building the innkeeper had directed me to.

"I wanted to ask about buying or hiring a car," I said to him.

"Well, I can't say that I have any for sale right around now, but I do have one for  which you could hire. Where be you wanting to travel?"

"Where do you go?" I asked.

"Well, on the east road we can take you as far as Laudenfort, it be about a day's drive, and you could hire another car from there. Going to the west, we could take you to Lordsford. It being a bit of a longer ride, you wouldn't get in until after dark. There are a lot of cars to hire there to take you farther, however."

I nodded; I had felt one of those 'positive' feelings when he'd mentioned Laudenfort, "We're going to Laudenfort, how soon can we be started?" I asked because it was late, I didn't know if they'd be willing to drive through the night. From the way the cars looked and the state of the road that I'd seen so far, I sort of doubted it.

"I'll have a car and a driver ready to go at first light," he said.

I nodded and we dickered over the price a little, I just offered a bit less than what he asked for, until we came to an agreement. I'd have to procure some currency later, or figure out how much gold or silver would cover it.

We shook hands, and I went back to the inn to check out our room, and talk to Nikki.

"Ah, hot and cold running water!" Nikki said from the bathroom when I came in, she was drawing a bath.

"You got the supplies taken care of already?" I asked surprised.

"Traded the horses to the innkeeper, he also owns the shop next door and he's having everything put together for us. We can pick it up in the morning when we leave."

"Good, I'm going to sleep. Don't go turning into a prune on me, Sis."

"Oh, Cenewyg left town here this afternoon, probably about four hours before we showed up."

"What?!" I said surprised.

"The person who minds the store for the innkeeper told me, I figured Cenewyg would need supplies too, so I asked. He was in with a small child, and bought a lot of food, then left."

"Damn, and we can't leave until the morning, maybe we should steal a car and try to catch him tonight."

"From what the guy at the store told me, nobody drives the roads around here at night, they're too dangerous and the cars don't have very good lights. I don't think he's really going to gain that much on us, Bro."

I sighed, "Well, I hope not, it's just that the sooner we catch him, the sooner we can get Cameron and go home."

"You're not thinking this all the way through," Nikki said looking at me.

"Huh?"

"What are you going to do to Cenewyg?"

I shrugged, "Kill him?"

"And then he just comes back and does it all again, doesn't he?"

I swore and hit myself so hard on the head I saw stars for a moment. "So what do we do?"

"Well, I for one am going to take a bath." Nikki said and started to disrobe. "But it bears thinking about. We can't just kill him, or if we do, we need to think about the consequences of that. As well as what we're going to do, if he does come back again."

"Definitely something to think about," I agreed and left, closing the door behind me.

"Nice to see you too," Fel said smiling at me from behind the bar. I was sitting at it for a change, rather than the two of us sitting around the table.

"I'm sorry, Fel, I know this is all something that doesn't really concern you, and I'm sorry it's taking me away from you." I sighed and hung my head a bit.

"Cheer up, William," Fel said and slid me a beer, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Truth is, this does concern me, because this has become a part of Aryanna's game, and I will do what I can to help. Further, I know how you feel about your children, you've been dedicated and faithful, it is only fair that I help you when you need it."

I nodded, "Thanks, Fel, I just wish I knew how Cen got out of where ever the hell it was, early. And what the hell he's up too. If it was simple revenge, I would have expected him to have just killed Cameron, and then killed the rest of my family too."

Fel nodded, "I believe you will discover the answers you're looking for, it is just unfortunate that I can not provide them to you."

I nodded, "I wish I could press you on that, but after the last time, I have a suspicion that I might get in trouble. But there is one thing I want to ask, can you tell me what Cen was up to on Earth?"

"I can't tell you anything more then what you already know about that question, William."

I nodded, "Any advice on what I should do when I catch up with Cen?" I asked and looked up at Fel, "If I kill him, he comes back, but if I don't kill him, he'll probably kill me, or worse, he'll kill Cameron."

"So maybe you shouldn't kill him," Fel said.

"I can't do that!" I said loudly.

"Why not?" Fel asked looking at me calmly.

"Because he took Cam! He killed Henry and Emma! Hell, he's tried to kill me!"

"But killing him doesn't really kill him, anymore than his killing you would have," Fel pointed out.

"He still needs to be punished!" I growled.

"Ah," Fel said nodding. "Punished, yes, he should be punished. Maybe you need to start thinking of ways to punish him, rather than ways to kill him?"

"But if I don't kill him, he'll try to take Cam away from me, once I rescue him!" I said feeling frustrated.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't try to take your son back, until you've figured out just how to deal with him."

That shocked me! "What?" I said looking at Fel.

"We know for certain that Cenewyg isn't going to hurt Cameron, until he gets to wherever it is he is going, to do whatever it is he is planning to do, right?"

"We know that?" I asked still unclear on where Fel was going with this.

"Yes, William, we do."

"So, I should do what then? Just stop chasing him?" I asked befuddled.

"No! Of course not!" Fel said looking at me like I'd lost all sense. "Keep chasing him, and stay close. You have to decide what you're doing to do, and then when the time is right, you have to do it. So you need to follow him, to be close.

"But don't confront him before you're ready, William," Fel warned. "If he panics, and you don't have a plan to deal with him, he could kill your son. Nobody wants that to happen."

I nodded and agreed.

"One last thing," I said.

"Yes, you're heading the right way, here's where we are fairly certain he is going," Fel said and put the location in my mind, along with a little local knowledge on the area. "There is actually a link between that sphere and your home one, though it's no-where nearby. Just remember to be careful."

I nodded, "Thanks, Fel, hopefully I won't be gone for a year."

"I don't think you will be, but don't worry about that right now."

"Night, Fel."

"Night, William."

Twenty-one

Noctune

"Fel advised me that we shouldn't confront Cen, until we have a plan for dealing with him." I told Nikki as we walked from the inn, it was early and the sun was just starting to come up.

"Aryanna advised the same thing, I picked up a map by the way."

"Good, that will give us an idea of where we're going and how long it's going to take us to get there."

When we got to Rutgarr's the car was ready. A young man was waiting to drive it for us, and we exchanged money with Rutgarr. I was surprised at how little this trip was costing us, that or what Nikki had gotten for the horses was quite a bit of money.

They showed us into the car, which was a rather interesting contraption; it wasn't powered by an internal combustion engine, but by steam. So there was a firebox of sorts, though I think it was fired by an oil fuel, a boiler, a water tank, and a set of steam pistons that drove an assembly, which was attached to a transmission.

I was surprised that one man could operate all of that, but as I watched I could see that most of the settings were set once the engine had warmed up, and not touched again there after. When the driver adjusted the throttle, which was a large lever next to the seat, it engaged a mechanism that not only increased the steam pressure to the pistons, but which also increased the oil flow to the fire, to increase steam production.

The interior of the car itself wasn't terribly large; there were two bench seats that would sit three across, which ran down the sides, facing each other. The driver sat in a separate seat, front and center of the cabin. The entire contraption was slung on a four-wheel chassis, with rather large, fat, wheels and a good deal of ground clearance.

Amazingly the ride was rather soft; I guess the suspension was rather advanced. It also moved at a decent speed, probably thirty miles an hour, if I had to guess.

"So, let's see the map," I said once we got settled down and our driver had us on our way.

Nikki nodded and pulled it out, and unfolded it. I noticed that caught the driver's attention as we looked at the map.

"Are you folks traveling on further than Laudenfort?"

He asked.

"Yes," I said, as he'd turned his attention back to the road, thankfully. I looked at where Nikki was pointing on the map, which was the site of the next portal that Fel had given me. There were a few towns in the area, the nearest was named 'Overhill'.

"We're headed to Overhill," Nikki told him. "Any idea how hard it is to get there?"

"This time of the year, it should be an easy trip to undertake," he said over his shoulder to us. "The garage I'll be a stopping at for the evening, before returning back home, has a pretty good car service. I think they should be able to take you as far as Pendle on your trip. They'll also probably know who you can do business with after that for the rest of your trip."

"Thank you," Nikki said and we both studied the map. Pendle was a good deal further along. "If I'm reading this right, we should make it in another two days."

I nodded, "Driver, how many towns are there, between here and Laudenfort? The map shows at least two."

"That's a fairly old map there I'd say then. There are seven towns now, we'll be a stopping at three of them along the route to refuel, and use the facilities."

The trip was comfortable, and the roads were in better condition than I would have imagined. The stops were long enough for us to relieve ourselves as well as grab a bite to eat. As we got closer to Laudenfort, there was an increase in traffic, we passed quite a few cars going in the other direction, and there were now a couple of cars before us, as well as behind. I guess Laudenfort was a larger town than what we'd seen before.

Getting a car to Pendle was as easy as our driver had said. We hired another to take us to Overhill, and got there early enough that we hired a local to drive us fairly close to our destination.

"So now what?" Nikki asked as we headed towards the gate.

"I'd say we keep our eyes open, this place has enough tech for Cenewyg to lay a decent trap, and we don't know if he's still in front of us or not."

Nikki looked around, she'd already shifted to her champion form, as it didn't stand out here all that much.

"The brush is thick enough here, you should shift and see what you can pick up." She told me.

I nodded and did so, and within minutes I had Cen's trail.

"Can you tell how old it is?" Nikki asked.

"A few hours, let's see where it goes."

We followed it, and it went exactly where we were going, it didn't look like Cen had even hesitated, he'd just gone straight through.

"Something doesn't feel quite right about this portal," Nikki said.

I checked it next, and I had to agree. It felt, well 'uncomfortable' was about the best way I could describe it. "Well, we know Cen went through it, as well as Cameron. So it can't be deadly."

"But there is something we need to be worried about," Nikki said.

"Think it's a trap?"

"Would a portal know what a trap even is?" Nikki countered. "I mean, they're not intelligent, they're just physical, well, things, right?"

"So you don't think it's anything Cen did?"

Nikki shook her head, "I don't see how it could be. But from the feeling I'm getting, I wouldn't want to go through there; I especially wouldn't want to take a child through there!"

I thought about that and I had to agree. "So what do we do?"

Nikki shrugged, "I don't know, backtrack to Cenewyg's car and see if there's anything there that will give us a clue?"

I thought about that a moment, it did make some sense, and we'd both been warned about not getting too close until we had a plan.

"Sure, let's go back and look," I said, and started to backtrack the way we had come.

It took us about an hour to find the car, and another hour to search it rather thoroughly. About all we discovered was that Cenewyg was a bit of a slob.

When we got back to the portal, I checked it again; it still felt uncomfortable, but just barely.

"Nikki, check it out," I said, and watched as she did.

"Quick, let's get through now before it changes!" She said and stepped through. I stepped through right behind her.

"What the hell?" I said and looked around, the sun was going down, which had been the same case as where we left. It was not uncommon I'd found for the time to be the same when you went through a portal. We were on a plain, and there was water running around my feet, a few inches about my ankles, rather rapidly.

I looked around and saw Nikki about ten feet away, she was standing on a fairly large rock, which stuck up about two feet above the ground.

"What the hell is this?" I asked.

"Ever hear of the Bay of Fundy?" Nikki asked.

"That's the place with the huge tidal surges, isn't it?"

"Yup, I think the tides going out, so we need to figure out which way the high ground is, and head there as fast as possible."

"Are there any markings on the rock?" I asked looking around myself.

"Why would anybody put...?" she trailed off "Well huh, think we can trust them?"

"Which way are they pointing?" I asked.

Nikki pointed about a hundred and twenty degrees from the direction the water was flowing.

"Sounds good to me," I said, and we both took off jogging in that direction. I made a note of where the sun was on the horizon, once it went down, we'd have to find a star to guide us, so we didn't end up running in circles.

"So he set up a natural trap," Nikki said. "That's pretty damn smart. Anyone trying to swim against that current would drown."

"Cen can be pretty cunning," I agreed, "all the more reason to be careful of him."

It took us about an hour to reach the beach. By then all of the water had drained out, but it hadn't started coming back in yet. I had no idea how long that would take, but I didn't think that was our problem anymore. The sun had set and it was full dark, but there was a moon in the sky, and while not as big as the one I'd grown up with, it shed more than enough light for me to see where I was going.

"Which way?" Nikki asked.

I could see several bright glows on the horizon, so I picked the brightest, hoping that was the closest.

"That way," I said and pointed.

We came across a road after about ten minutes, so we both shifted out of our champion forms and just jogged down the road. A couple of cars passed us as we went, and when one came up behind us and flashed its lights, we stopped and waited for it.

"You folks need a lift?" A man in a uniform, with a hat that had some sort of badge on it asked as he leaned out of an open window.

"If it's not imposing on you," Nikki said and smiled.

"Not imposing at all. We run a circuit around the bay after every tidal shift. Some people get stranded on the little isles out there, and come ashore afterwards. We pick them up and take them back to their hotels."

"Guilty as charged!" Nikki said with a giggle, which almost made me laugh. Nikki was not the giggling type normally.

"Well, hop in, Saxby is just up the road a way, is that where you're headed?"

"Yes, sir," I said unslinging my backpack and followed Nikki into the car.

"Great, I'll have you there in no time at all."

I looked around the car as we drove. From the outside, it hadn't looked all that much different than the cars at home did, except the fenders seemed to have more of a 'fifties' curve to them. The seats were either leather or vinyl, and quite comfortable. I listened while Nikki chatted with the officer, about the area, she asked him a lot of questions, and he seemed more than happy to answer them.

When we pulled into town, she just pointed at one of the hotels, and he dropped us off as we thanked him for the ride, and then left.

"Well, let's get a room, some food, and see if we can find out what's next," I said picking my pack up.

"Sounds good to me, lead on, Bro." Nikki said and grabbed hers.

We got a room and Nikki decided to take a nap and find out what she could from Aryanna, while I went out and bought a few maps. I also grabbed a couple of newspapers, reading was always hard, because you didn't pick up the written language like you picked up the spoken one. But it seemed that the more written languages you knew, the easier it got each time. I guess you just got good at figuring out the sounds or something.

I also noticed that our clothing was woefully out of style, so I picked up a new pair of pants that looked like jeans, and a couple of nondescript shirts. I had to haggle a little over the prices, but we'd gotten a good idea of what silver and gold pieces were worth here when we checked in, and most people seemed inclined to take it.

"Well, what did you find out?" I asked when I came into the room.

"Did you get any maps?" Nikki asked, so I tossed them to her, "Good! Okay, Aryanna knows this place fairly well; it's a lot like home in the fifties, only with a few tweaks here and there, both economically and socially.

"Cenewyg's goal is a gate about two thousand miles from here, so we'll have to buy a car and drive it."

"What about a train?"

"There isn't one, they built a pretty impressive canal system, and ships are just a lot cheaper to deal with."

"What about a ship?"

"We're going to be going pretty far inland, once we get around the mountains we need to skirt. So we have to buy a car regardless. Plus it's faster."

"Okay," I nodded, "Car it is. What else?"

"Ary thinks that Cenewyg is heading to the sphere your Stephanie is now a goddess in."

That stopped me! I turned and found the chair, and sat down. "He's going there?"

Nikki nodded, "Looks like."

"But why?"

Nikki shrugged, "She's not sure. But she's starting to suspect that Cenewyg may be a champion there, or someplace adjoining to it."

"Well, if we know where he's going, maybe we can get ahead of him and stage an ambush," I said thinking about that.

"That's an idea. It would definitely give us an advantage. I'll have to go over the different ways to get there from here."

"Oh, our clothes stand out here, I bought a few new things, you might want to buy a couple also."

Nikki nodded. "May want to buy some better weaponry as well. We're in high tech zones from here on. If we have to fight anybody, I'm not sure I want to use swords against guns."

I nodded, "Sounds good to me."

It took us a week to get there, I found a car fairly quickly, but halfway there we had to stop at a town and have a mechanic do a tune up, and replace the tires. It was an older car, and ten-hour long days of driving were a bit rough on it.

Nikki found a couple of small carbines in that same town, while we were killing time and waiting for the mechanic to fix the car, the ammunition was fairly common and pretty cheap. We'd already found a couple of pistols back at Saxby before we left.

I was looking at the map, and Nikki was driving. "Well, we have a choice, Sis. We can stop at this next town, refuel, and rest, or we can drive straight through, and try to make the portal before nightfall."

"I vote for stopping," Nikki said. "I'm tired, I'm sure you're tired, and I really don't feel like pressing on through to the gate. If Cenewyg's going to try anything at the gate, I'd rather be well rested."

I nodded, "Sounds good to me. Plus maybe Fel or Aryanna can tell us if he's gone through yet."

We hit the town about ten minutes later, got the oil and water checked and filled up on the fuel. It was pretty dry here, having become almost a desert this far from the ocean, and it had been getting hotter each day during the last few days of driving.

We got a room at a small roadside motel, and I took a nap while Nikki went in search of food and drinks.

I looked up I was in the bar, I was a little surprised, I hadn't planned on talking to Fel again until after we were through the next portal.

"Hi, Fel, what's up?"

"I wanted you to have the same information as Nikki does before you went through the next portal, you can't really make any plans if you don't know what's going to happen next."

I nodded, "Aryanna is fairly certain he's going to Stephanie's sphere. I take it you agree?"

Fel nodded, "It's the only logical destination for him at this point, he has been taking the shortest path."

"So how many more spheres do we have to go through?"

"Three more, each of which will have a higher tech level than the one before it. Because these are tech worlds, there are portal traveler shops in them, the same as you found on Treow. In order for you to get some of the things you will need, you may have to do business with them, so I wanted you to know where those were, as well as the locations of the portals you will need to go through."

"Is there a way to get in front of him?"

Fel shook his head, "Not by taking another route there isn't, this is really the shortest. If you can travel to a portal before he gets there however, then you can get ahead of him."

"Do you think he knows we're on his trail?"

"Oh, I'm fairly certain he knows you're after him. I don't think he knows who is helping you however. Or how far behind him you are."

"Well, we don't even know how far behind him we are."

"He's still in the same sphere you're in, he hasn't left yet. Aryanna's ability to track him, through your connection to Cameron is at its limits now. Soon she may not even be able to tell when he goes through a portal."

I nodded, "Does Stephanie know we're coming?"

"I do not know, I have not talked to her. Aryanna has barely been able to talk to her, Stephanie is barely ten years a goddess, and she is still coming into her powers, and still gathering followers."

I was about to ask another question, when I remembered Fordessa, Fordessa had quite a few followers, a temple, and a couple of churches and a minor temple when we'd run into her. She was a hundred years or so a goddess at that point, but still hadn't gathered enough followers or power to have a champion. So it was only logical to assume that Stephanie was much weaker than Fordessa had been.

"Exactly," Fel said reading my thoughts.

I wondered suddenly if this was some attempt by Cenewyg to get in her good graces again. He had loved her once, or at least Stephanie had told me he had, and now that she was a goddess, well down the road that could probably pay some serious dividends.

Cenewyg would definitely be interested in serious dividends.

"I can not help you with that either," Fel sighed. "We can't read Cenewyg's mind, and because of who and what he is, Aryanna can't see what his actions in the future will be."

"Well, is there anything else you can tell me?" I asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, William, you'll have to make your own decisions on this one."

"Well, it still didn't hurt to ask," I smiled a little weakly. "What's Barassa up to? And how are things in Marland?"

"Marland is doing rather well. Your friend Evean has left to go back to Roden's main temple however."

"I'm not so sure she's my friend," I laughed, "She sure surprised the hell out of me though. Why'd she go back? Is she still planning on smuggling priests into Barassa?"

"Possibly, I think some of Barassa's neighbors just may be thinking about taking a few of the northern provinces away from King Stivik," Fel said smiling. "In fact, I think a few are even considering a trip down to the capitol and seeing just how well those walls have been maintained. If they do, I'm sure Roden will have her tag along and do what she can to spread his faith."

"Huh, think they have a chance of taking the city?" I asked.

Fel shook his head, "Not this year, I think they all know that too, but the simple fact that they're considering something that no one would have ten years ago, says a lot. Both Evean's actions and Jane's actions have also brought more interest to both Roden and Fordessa."

"Well everyone looks at Evean, and all they can think of is 'sex,'" I agreed. "Finding out that she knows how to lead men and fight, I don't think anyone expected that."

"Oh, her ability to lead men is well known, just into other things," Fel laughed. "But her abilities on the battlefield have drawn a lot more fighters into Roden's temples than she was able to before. He's rather pleased with her right now."

"And Fordessa?"

"Her musicians are getting much more respect now that people have seen that their order is willing to fight to defend themselves. Quite a few martial types who are interested in music are taking an interest in it now as well. Everybody does love a winner after all, William."

"And how have you been doing?"

Fel smiled widely, "As I said, everybody loves a winner, and as Roden and I have reached something of an understanding for now, my priests are now welcome in a few places that I hadn't been able to reach in the past."

"Huh, thinking of bringing Roden into the pantheon?"

Fel smirked, "Well, there's something to be said about 'wine, women, and song,' right?"

I groaned, "You serve beer, Fel."

"Actually, I serve both, I just like beer more," Fel said still smirking.

"Who knew? Is there anything else on the home front I need to know about?"

"No, winter is coming, so everyone is pretty much settling in."

I nodded, "Well, until next time, Fel."

Twenty-two

Sandy

"Will, wake up!"

I opened my eyes and my sister was at the foot of the bed, shaking my foot.

"What?" I said and looked around. Nothing seemed to be going on.

"I saw Cenewyg!" She said.

I sat up quick and looked at her. "Where?"

"At the store I was shopping at, about ten minutes ago."

"Are you sure it was him?"

She nodded, "I saw Cameron in the car. I thought about doing something, but I remembered our problem with him not staying dead and all that."

I nodded, "Almost tempting to try though," I growled.

"Well, that's not all," She said. "I heard him on the phone while he was in there, he was calling somebody. I couldn't get close enough to tell, but after he left I asked the clerk about the phone call."

"And he told you?" I asked a little skeptically.

"Eh, I shook my tits at him, and asked in a roundabout way. Clerk said that there's a mining camp down the road a ways, jade or emeralds, not sure which. Anyway, there are a lot of tough customers down there."

"So you think Cen was talking to them?"

She nodded, "Either he called to get passage, or he called to set up an ambush. Those are the only two things I can think of that he'd call about."

I rubbed my temples and nodded, "Makes sense, I can't think of any other reason for him to call."

"I think we should go now. I watched him after he left; he drove off outta town, probably trying to stay ahead of us. If someone's going to set something up, better to get there before they've had too much time."

"Yeah, but it's going to be dark soon, they know the territory, we don't.

"You can use your champion form in the dark, Bro. In the daylight, you'd stand out and everyone would be shooting, not just the bad guys."

"Assuming they're not all bad guys," I sighed.

"Hey, the town's still standing. Come on, let's get a move on."

I nodded and got up, quickly getting dressed and gathered my things back together. Ten minutes later we were on the road.

"So how much of a lead would you say he has on us?" I asked Nikki as I drove and she scanned ahead. We had both of the carbines duck taped to the inside roof of the car, right above our heads. Another one of Nikki's ideas of course. Which I had to admit, was pretty sneaky, most folks when they walked up to a car were looking down into it, and never looked at the ceiling.

"Well, I watched him drive off through the window, then spent about ten minutes chatting up the clerk, five or so to get back to the room, another fifteen to tell you, and get cleared out. So figure half-hour."

"I'm wondering if we should lay back and give him a bit more of a head start."

"Why?"

"Because if we get into a firefight with these people, he's gonna hear it, and know that someone is on his tail."

"Bro, if there's an ambush up ahead, he already knows that someone's on his tail!"

"Well, do we need to let him know he's so close?"

"Fine, pull over and we'll eat dinner. But after that, we drive on," Nikki sighed.

I pulled us off the road and she reached in the back, grabbing the food she'd picked up at the store. We sat in the car and ate while the sun set.

"Car coming," I said nodding to the lights coming down the road.

"Wonder if they'll stop?" Nikki asked unbuttoning the top three buttons on her shirt.

"What's that for?"

"Miners are all guys, and guys are always horny," she said and laughed at my expression.

I just grumbled, because she was probably right.

They saw us and stopped, turning their vehicle to point at us, it was some kind of a truck, but I really couldn't tell as the headlights were in our faces.

Three men got out, all of them were armed. One stood by the truck watching us, the other two came up, rifles in their hands, going one to either side of the car.

"What are you two doing up here?" The one on my side asked.

"Hey, guys," Nikki said smiling and leaning a bit towards the one on her side, giving him a nice view I was sure.

"We're heading up to Clemsville," I told him. That was the next town on the road.

"Yeah, our uncle said we could come work for him," Nikki said.

"I don't see no weapons, Jeff," the one on Nikki's side said, "But I do see something I'd like to get my hands on!" and he guffawed after that.

"Who's your uncle?" The one by me asked.

"Tom," I said pulling a name out of the air.

"I don't know no 'Tom' in Clemsville!" He said and motioned with the rifle, "Out of the car!"

I started to open the door with my left hand and put my right hand up in the air. "Okay, don't shoot! We're unarmed."

"Could you help me with the door please?" Nikki said to the guy on her side, she had both her hands up. "It sticks."

"Oh that's not all I'm gonna help you with!" He said and laughed again.

Nikki shot him as he opened the door, and I pulled the gun on my side down and kicked the door open and shot the guy on my side, then dove out and rolled across the road and out of the headlights.

The guy by the truck fumbled to unsling his rifle and turned to follow me, then dropped as Nikki shot him from the back.

I got up and quickly ran to the truck, and checked it out, it was empty, but it was a lot more solid than our car was.

"Let's switch to the truck," I said to Nikki who was searching the bodies.

"Yeah, they see that, they'll figure the gunfire was these assholes killing somebody."

I went back to the car and grabbed our backpacks, and tossed them in the back, then grabbed the box with the extra food and water in it. Nikki dragged the bodies off the road and out of sight.

"Okay," I said and got in the truck, "let's go."

"Might as well shift," Nikki said to me, and then grinned. "I mean the cat's out of the bag already, right?"

I growled, "Shut up you," But I shifted anyway.

Fifteen minutes later we came to a roadblock. I tapped the horn and waved, a couple people waved back and the car in the middle of it backed up and opened up a hole for us to drive through.

"Find anything?" Someone called as we drove through.

"Nope," Nikki said and shot him in the face.

I shot several of the ones on my side of the truck, and then floored it as they scrambled to react.

"Now what?" I asked her as we careened down the road.

"First corner we go around, pull across the road to block it. We bail out to either side, and light them up when they stop or crash."

"Sure thing, Sis!" I said and at the next corner, I locked the brakes up, stopped us across the road and turning the truck off I jumped and ran for cover at the side of the road. Nikki had bailed as soon as I hit the brakes.

Sure enough, they came flying around the corner after us, the first truck lost control trying to avoid the truck I'd left in the roadway, and hit the ditch on the side of the road and flipped over several times before coming to a stop.

The truck behind that just plowed into it, the two guys in the front seats flew through the windshield, their bodies smacking into the body of the truck; I guess they weren't wearing seatbelts. If they weren't dead, they probably would be soon enough.

The third truck stopped before it hit anything, and the doors flew open as several men jumped out. Nikki and I opened fire from either side of the roadway, and it didn't take long to finish them off.

"Grab our stuff, we'll take the third one," Nikki called out.

So I dashed over to the truck we had been driving, which was pretty well trashed now and got our backpacks, then hopped in the third truck and looked around for Nikki. She was doing something with first car that had wrecked, then came over and jumped in with me.

"Let's go."

"Should we grab the rest of the supplies?" I asked.

"I don't think we have the time," she said and I put it in gear and drove off.

"What did you do with that other car?"

"Just wanted to make sure we weren't going to get shot at, while we drove off."

Just then the other car exploded and I floored it.

"What the hell did you do?" I growled.

"Fuse in the gas tank," Nikki said and smiled.

"I thought that was impossible," I grumbled.

"Not if you attach it to this!" Nikki said and showed me a small cardboard tube.

"What the hell is that?"

"Improvised explosives. Made a few last night when you were sleeping, thought we might need a diversion, figured these would work."

I shook my head and drove. "How much further?"

"Take any left at this point that you see, and just keep driving until we feel something."

I nodded.

"And turn the headlights off."

"What?"

"You don't need them to see, do you?"

She was right, so I switched them off.

We drove on a few minutes more, before I found a side road on the left and cut down onto it.

"Just in time, I see more approaching lights," Nikki warned.

I made sure to keep my foot away from the brake pedal and glanced briefly back at the way we had come. I could see some lights, but that was it.

"How many of them?" I asked.

"Let's see, one, two, three, four, whoa that's a big one! Six. Five trucks like this and one really big one."

"Well, let's hope they don't see us," I said and drove on.

"At this point, I'm not so sure that they're going to want to," Nikki laughed.

Ten minutes later we felt it, I drove us as close as we could get, then we abandoned the truck, grabbed our gear, and hiked for the gate.

"Think he's on the other side waiting for us?" Nikki asked as we both checked the portal. It felt okay to me.

"If he is, it's going to be messy," I said.

"Well, lock and load!" Nikki said and we both charged through together.

Twenty-Three

Some Street

"Oh, Shit!" I swore and Nikki did the same thing, as we both hid our weapons and dove for hiding places.

We were on the side of a road, a fairly busy road, and there were cars driving along it at a fairly high speed, and while it may have been dark out, the street was well lit with lights about every hundred yards.

"Stash it and let's get out of here!" Nikki called. I had already stuck my carbine in my pack as she came over.

I shifted out of my champion form and stood up, then followed her as she jogged off away from the road.

"We need to change our clothing, first chance we get, so no one can identify us," I told her.

Nikki laughed, "Oh, like that's going to matter!"

I looked at her, "But that will be in any description anyone might give to the police!"

"Yeah, right along with the seven-foot-tall cat man!" She laughed. "They may come out and look if they noticed the guns, but more likely than not, they're going to think someone was playing a prank."

"Oh, right," I sighed. I hadn't thought about that.

"What do you think, do we keep the guns? Or do we dump them?" I asked.

"The carbines are going to be hard to hide, and we don't know what people are like here."

"I'm still worried about getting rousted by the cops," I admitted.

"Yeah, me too. But I hate getting rid of weapons. Besides, if we get rousted by the cops, we've both got enough knives on us to get in trouble anyway."

"Yeah, there is that," I agreed. "Let's stash the carbines someplace we can come back to, if we need them, while we find a hotel and figure out what we're dealing with here."

"Sounds like a plan."

Ten minutes later we buried them in a small hole near a street sign on another, less traveled, road we'd come too. We'd wrapped them in one of my shirts to keep the dirt out of the actions.

Finding a hotel wasn't too hard after we'd taken care of that, we just followed the main road, just from a distance. Two hours later and we were in a rather large suburban town, with a room at a cheap motor lodge.

"Ugh, this place is like the places Dan used to take me to," Nikki grumbled as we settled it.

"Dan? Wasn't he the guy you dated in high school?" I asked

"Yeah, he was always taking me to this cheap motor lodge," Nikki sighed.

"You could have said no," I laughed.

"But then I wouldn't have been getting any!" She said with a smirk. "Dan may not have had much money, but what he did in bed more than made up for it!"

I sighed and shook my head, "Too much information, Sis. How about you go clean up, take a nap, and I'll go see about getting some maps and other information?"

"Sounds like a plan, Bro."

Two hours later I was back at the room with maps and fresh food. Apparently they had fast food here and something that looked suspiciously like a certain hamburger place back home.

"Wow, they've expanded into other spheres?" Nikki laughed as she unwrapped a burger; I'd bought a dozen, plus fries and shakes.

"More likely, some portal traveler copied their business plan and came here," I said and took a bite of my burger.

"How do you know it didn't start here first?" She grinned.

"Point made." I nodded to the maps we had spread out on the bed. "We have quite a ways to go, again."

Nikki nodded, "Yeah, but I bet they have airplanes here! So we can fly."

"Yeah, I saw a few up in the sky," I pointed to the map, "and there's an airport."

"Do you think we should hit the local portal traveler shop?" She asked looking at the maps.

"Why bother? It's just going to slow us down. You saw the way the manager's eyes got wide when we offered him some gold. I say we go get a bunch of cash from him, grab a cab straight to the airport, and get the next flight out of here."

"As easy as that?" Nikki said looking surprised.

Everything slowed down at that point and we both dove off the bed as the door was kicked open. Two men with guns came in.

"Up against..." One of them started, but didn't get any further than that; one of Nikki's knives was sticking out of his eyes at that point.

I grabbed the other one and pulled him down to the floor, snapping his wrist as I disarmed him, then put him in an arm lock and jumped on his back, pinning him to the floor.

"Clear!" Nikki called out from by the door, looking up and down the parking lot outside.

"What the hell?" I said looking at the guys, and then back at her.

She shrugged, "Maybe the owner called them when you paid in gold?"

I growled, and twisted my hold on the guy's broken wrist, he cried out in pain. "What do you say we find out?"

Four hours later we were on an airliner to our destination.

"I still say we should have done something to the manager for what he did," Nikki grumbled.

"I didn't want to spend the time, or take the risk," I told her. "They had more than enough money, they had local weapons, and they had a nice car to get us here to the airport."

"Yeah, I guess," She sighed.

"Besides, I'm sure when their bodies are found by the maid; the police are going to have some interesting questions for him, not to mention their friends."

Nikki nodded. "So why the rush anyway?"

"I'm thinking I want to get there first. Find Stephanie if I can, and talk to her. Maybe she can do something that our own gods can't."

"Yeah, they aren't being very helpful on the solution end, are they?"

"No, they're not. And I have no idea why."

"Well, Ary's told me more than once, that the other champions, gods, and the like always queer the rules. They're hard to predict and hard to deal with."

I nodded, "Yeah, I know, I've been told the same thing. But I'm still surprised that Cenewyg is running as fast as he is. If he kills us off, we have to go back to the beginning; we'd be way behind him then. It's his best option, strategically, and tactically he's been here before, so he knows how to lay the traps for us. We saw that in the last sphere, right? So why isn't there a trap in each one?"

Nikki shrugged, "Maybe he has limited resources? If those guys hadn't made such a nice donation to our cause, we'd be getting low on funds ourselves now."

"True."

"But I do like your idea of getting ahead of them, and contacting your Stephanie. I should see if Ary can help with that at all."

"Can't hurt to ask," I agreed. "By the way, did she have anything for you when you napped earlier?"

"She had a bit of a chat with your wife, Darlene. Other than that, nothing."

I sat back in my chair, surprised. "What?"

"Apparently Darlene is tired of waiting for you to get back, so she can ask you just what the hell you are," Nikki smirked. "She saw you, didn't she?"

I sighed, "Yeah, when I was gated into the temple by Aryanna and Fel. What did she tell her?"

"That you'd explain when you got home, and that it wasn't anything to worry about."

"Well, that's not too bad," I said relieved.

"Then Ary and I had this long discussion over whether or not Darlene likes cats," Nikki smirked.

I groaned, "Let's not go there."

"But we have such a long flight, Bro, and it is an interesting topic for discussion, don't you think?"

"I think I'm going to take a nap. Wake me when we land."

We landed six hours later, changed planes, and flew another two hours, then arrived at our final destination, took a cab, and got dropped off rather close to the portal. As airport security was non-existent, we had all of our weapons and other items still with us.

"I wonder if we're ahead of him, or behind him?" Nikki asked as we carefully made our way to the portal.

"There was a flight two hours before ours, that was a lot more direct. If he got that, he's ahead of us. As he wasn't on our flight, if he missed it, he's probably behind us."

"Well, at least we made good time; let's see what's up next, shall we?"

I nodded to her and after checking our surroundings; we approached the portal carefully, checked it, and then stepped through.

I looked around as we stepped out, we still moved quickly to opposite sides, though at least this time we kept our weapons out of sight.

It was daytime, and we were in a park. I knew it was a park, because there were kids running around, adults sitting on benches watching them, and things were laid out all nice and orderly.

"I can't believe no one noticed that," Nikki said after walking quickly over to me as we struck out for the park's exit. Which hopefully was down the path we were following.

I shrugged, "We just appeared out of thin air, unless someone was watching that specific spot, they'll just figure that they missed us, until they noticed us."

"You hope."

I shrugged, "Isn't more than that to do really."

"So what's our plan for here?"

"Well, I think we should go to the portal traveler shop here, and get some help. This one is close enough to the portal that we might as well use it."

"Plus we can avoid another run in like we had at the last one if we flash our gold at the wrong person, right?"

I nodded, "Exactly."

"I just thought of something," Nikki said.

"Hmmm?"

"Cenewyg knows that portal comes out in the middle of a park, right?"

I nodded, "That's a fair assumption."

"So he's not going to use it when there are people in it."

I thought about that, "Good point."

"So unless he got here way before us, he won't be coming through until tonight."

"Makes sense. So there's a good chance we're ahead of him now."

"Now, we just need to stay there."

I agreed with her. Now just to find the way out of the park, and a map, so we could find the shop we needed.

"Isn't that it?" Nikki said pointing across the street when we finally made it out of the park.

I looked at the small shop and nodded, "Looks like. Guess this is a fairly popular portal."

We crossed the street and went inside, there were two people working behind the counter, a man and a woman.

"Good evening, how may we help you?" the woman asked.

"We're ahh, travelers; I need to convert some paper, and perhaps some gold?"

"Ah, yes, of course," she smiled, "portal?"

I nodded, and put the paper money from the last sphere on the counter.

"Is this a popular trade route?" Nikki asked.

"Popular enough," She said and examined our money. "Have you been here before?"

I shook my head, "We're on our way to a place we heard about, a few portals over from here."

"Oh? Care to tell me?" She asked smiling.

"Umm, maybe next time after we've had a chance to see if there's anything worthwhile there," I said and smiled back.

Nikki wandered over to the wall, which had a large map of the world on it, while I exchanged the paper money. I had no idea if I was being cheated or not, but hopefully they wouldn't rip me off.

"What's the air travel like here?" Nikki asked.

"They magnetometer everybody, and X-ray all the carry on bags. Don't try to bring any weapons onboard, you'll never get past them." The man said grumbling.

"What about checked luggage?"

"Put any handguns you have in a locked case. That should be okay."

Nikki nodded, "Sounds reasonable."

"If you brought any guns or ammo from the same place you got this money, I have to warn you that it won't work here." The lady told me.

"Oh, well in that case," Nikki said and we dug into our packs for all the ammo we had, and laid that and the guns on the counter, "How much?"

I haggled over prices with her, while Nikki discussed airfares with the man, trying to get an idea of how much flying cost here.

"Anything we need to know about? Like are our clothes okay?"

"I'd replace the backpacks, with something a bit more modern, but they should pass. People will just think you like the retro look."

I nodded, "Okay, thanks. See you in a few months I guess." I said and waved as we both left.

"Think they figured out we're champions?" Nikki said after we had left.

"Possibly. I've only dealt with one of those places before though and from what little I've picked up, there is quite a bit of trade that goes on. People go to the less developed worlds, and bring back stuff to sell here. Precious stones, metals, whatever is easily carried and sells for a lot."

"I really wanted to ask them about the next sphere," Nikki sighed, "But I didn't want to clue them in to where we're going."

I nodded. "Well, let's go hit the airport, I take it from the way you were looking at the map, that our next stop is a trip?"

"Not really, but if we fly it, we'll save a lot of time."

"How far is it?"

"About a ten-hour drive, if the roads here aren't bad."

I looked around at the size of the city, and suspected the traffic probably was pretty heavy.

"Oh, let's hit a luggage store, so we can check all the weapons and stuff."

I nodded, "Sounds good to me."

Six hours later we were standing in front of the next portal. We'd caught the last flight to our destination, just barely; security had been a pain, adding an hour to our time at the airport. Apparently there were a lot of hijackings or something here.

When we landed, we had to bribe a cab driver with quite a bit of cash to take us where we wanted to go, because it was after midnight, and we wanted to go quite a ways out of town. But at least our luggage made it there with us.

Best of all, Aryanna had told Nikki, while she was napping on the flight, that Cenewyg hadn't come through yet.

"Well, let's see what we're in for," I sighed as we stepped through. The high tech spheres may have annoying laws, and be a bit overpopulated, but at least the travel times through them were fairly quick.

Twenty-Four

Chocoga

"What the f...?" Nikki said as I looked around. Usually the land features are the same on the other side of the portal, as before you stepped through. This was not the case here, or maybe it once was, but obviously, things had changed.

We were standing near the edge of a large concrete basin, which was full of water. Looking around I noticed there were a lot of very large buildings behind us, all well lit up. For that matter, where we were, while in shadow, wasn't all that dark.

"Unless the time changed, it's like two in the morning," Nikki said and motioned towards one of the buildings, "What are all those people doing?"

I looked, and there were a lot of people on the streets, walking along, or whatever. There was also a lot of vehicle traffic.

I took a closer look at the cars. None of them had wheels.

"Holy..." I laughed, "Look, Sis, it's the flying car!"

"Huh, wonder if that cost anyone a foot?"

"What?"

"Forget it," she grinned, "old joke. Take a look at the people, at what they're wearing."

I took a good look, to say that they were showing a lot of skin would be an understatement. They also had a lot of body art going on, from what I could see; which was probably due to the lack of clothing.

I also noticed that it was pretty warm outside, which of course would make it a lot more comfortable to walk around in what amounted to a bathing suit and not much else.

"You know, they dress a lot like the folks do back in Saladin," I observed.

"Yeah, well I bet they don't have camera's on all the street corners back in Saladin," Nikki said to me.

"What?"

"Look," she pointed at a utility pole off a little ways. There were a number of small globes mounted around it. "I've seen camera's like that in security areas when I was in the military. Look around, there's one like every hundred yards."

I did as she said, and sure enough, I could see them everywhere.

"Do you think we're on one right now?" I asked

"Well, there seems to be a different type around the, well whatever that is," She said gesturing to the concrete lake, "and none of those seem to be pointing to this spot that I can tell."

I nodded, "If Cen came through here on the way out, he wouldn't have wanted to be observed on the way back in."

"We're going to stand out like a sore thumb here, Bro. What'll we do?"

"Let me think," I said slowly as I had noticed the big advertising boards on the sides of the buildings were animated, like huge television sets. I motioned to Nikki as I watched the ads.

"Huh, are those commercials, news reports, or movies?" She asked as we both watched the scenes playing over them.

"No idea."

"Well, I guess we need to strip down. Let's see what we've got in our packs that we can cut down to size, so as to not stand out too much."

It took us a little while, I ended up in a pair of boxers and a cut half shirt, Nikki wore about the same, only on her the half shirt was a bit more risqué, but we matched, so we figured it would work. I still had my outfit from home, but I wasn't sure I wanted to go around in a loincloth.

We got a few looks as we started to walk down the street, I noticed that most of the people here were fairly thin, not skinny exactly, everyone looked trim and fit, but there were very few people with any kind of a 'muscular' build. While I didn't look as muscular as I normally did, I still looked a lot more so than any of the people around us. So did Nikki for that matter.

"Now we just have to find out where the hell we're going," I said.

"Might as well ask someone," Nikki said and stopped one of the guys who was trying to check her out.

"I'm sorry!" He said immediately, "I wasn't staring! Honest!"

"Umm, sure. Look, can you tell us where West James Avenue, Chocoga, is?"

"You're in Chocoga!" He said, still a little flustered.

"Well, yeah, I know. But where's the street?"

"Why don't you look it up on your phone?" he said looking at her like she was some kind of a freak.

"I lost it."

"You lost your phone?" He said looking at her like she'd just murdered the Pope, six kittens, and his mom.

"West James Avenue, Please?"

"How could you lose your phone? And what about his phone?" he said motioning to me.

"So you don't have your phone either," Nikki sighed. "Well at least I don't feel like a complete idiot."

He pulled something out of his pocket, and waved it around. "No, I have my phone!" He said triumphantly.

I looked around us, people were starting to stare.

"Oh, how nice, now maybe you can show us you know how to use it?" Nikki said in a rather sweet voice, dripping with sarcasm.

Phone-boy apparently didn't notice.

"Of course, I can, because I didn't lose my phone!" He said, and I watched as he touched the flat surface of it, and the whole front lit up. He tapped out a sequence of some sort on the front, and was suddenly a small map displaying on it. There was even a dot showing where we were I guess.

"But seeing as you lost your phone, I guess you won't be going anywhere, will you?" He said and laughed at Nikki.

I sighed and facepalmed as Nikki snatched his phone and punched him in the face so hard he stumbled back a good five feet, his head hitting the ground as he landed on his back and laid their unconscious. I didn't think he'd be getting up anytime soon.

"Thanks, sweetie," she said as everyone around us gasped, and a couple of people even screamed. "Now, let's see, how does this thing work?" She mumbled and started to look at the screen as I grabbed her arm and started dragging her over to one of the alleys. I noticed a lot of the people were holding their phones up and looking at them.

"We need to leave, now!"

"Hold on, I've almost got this figured out. Okay, there's the street, there's the lake, there we are ... Got it!"

The phone started to make a noise then and a green circle appeared on the screen, with a red circle next to it.

"Huh, I wonder what this does," Nikki said and touched the green one.

"Eth! You're on the news! Who was that wakka that hit you?! That was brutal! You're gonna be famous tonight!"

We looked at each other.

"Hey, Eth, you there? Eth?"

Nikki dropped the phone and we quickly walked away. "On the news?" She said looking at me, "I only just hit him!"

I looked around; there were a few cameras here, but not as many as elsewhere.

"Destroy the cameras," I told her.

She nodded and we did, moving along carefully. There weren't that many back here in the alleys, just the occasional one here and there. When we got to a spot where we could peek out of one I grabbed her arm.

"Look," I said and pointed.

On one of the big displays on the side of a building, there was a rather clear shot of Nikki punching the guy, and him stumbling backwards, then the two of us ducking out of the frame. That was followed by a picture of both of our faces, the one of me wasn't very good, but the one of Nikki was pretty clear. Then it cut back to the guy lying in the street and people running over to him, he was bleeding pretty heavily from the face.

"Shit!" I growled, "Now what."

"How the hell did that get around so quickly?" Nikki said shocked, "I just hit him, what, five minutes ago?"

I scanned around the street some more, and I noticed something I hadn't paid too much attention too before. Some of the more outrageously dressed people weren't walking along the streets, they were hanging out by one of the light poles, and people would occasional stop and take their picture, or have their pictures taken with them.

The folks in the second group would give them something, and then walk on.

That gave me an idea.

"Come," I grabbed Nikki, and pulled her back down the alley, near a dumpster behind one of the shops.

"What are we going to do now?" She said shaking her head. "I shouldn't have punched the little twerp, should I?"

"I have an idea, strip."

"What?"

I shucked my clothes as fast as I could, and shifting to my champion form, I put my loincloth on, and donned my weapons harness, and put all my weapons in place.

"What, are you crazy?" Nikki said looking at me.

"People will think it's a costume, now shift and let's see if we can make a similar outfit for you," I said and looking at some of her pairs of pants I cut one of the black ones up. I'd been wearing loincloths for so long now; I could make one out of damned near anything.

"What about my chest?" Nikki asked when I was done.

I cut another strip of cloth off another shirt and wrapped it around her and tied it behind her. She had a pair of sandals; I figured I'd go barefoot.

"Toss the backpacks," I told her.

"What about our supplies?"

"We'll take the gold and silver," we were both still wearing a couple of necklaces and other jewelry, I always wore something, in case I needed to trade, and when I'd left Hiland, I'd been wearing my usual amount. Nikki apparently had already learned to always have some on hand as well.

"We don't have all that much left anyway, so it shouldn't be hard to carry. As for the rest of this," I motioned to our packs, "unless you can hide it easily, trash it. Those bags stand out, and they were in all the pictures."

Nikki nodded, "Sorry, Bro. It's my fault, I shouldn't have punched him."

"Eh, with the way he was drawing attention to us, it was probably the best thing to do." I said and tossed the rest of my stuff in the trash.

"I screwed up," Nikki sighed and tossed her stuff in as well. "Let's go."

We walked out on to the street, and within moments we were getting a lot of attention. People were pulling out their phones and pointing them at us, I realized then that they probably worked as cameras too. Which probably explained how we'd ended up on those television things so quickly.

I stopped Nikki, and we posed for a few of them, then walked about ten more steps, before people started coming up and asking if they could pose with us.

"Wow! Nice costume!" One of the guys taking pictures commented, "Where did you get it?"

"It's for a movie," Nikki said. "We're trying to raise money, so we thought we'd come out and let people see it."

"Your costume isn't bad either," He said smiling, "You must be a weight lifter or something, you're really ripped!"

Nikki blushed, "Thank you."

"How much for the picture?" The woman posing with me asked.

I held up one finger, and she smiled and handed me a few bills. "Keep the change!" She laughed and they went on their way.

"Hey, we're working this side of the street!" The people at the lamp pole called out.

"Sorry!" Nikki said and waves, "We're moving!"

We spent the next hour moving slowly down the road, a lot of people took pictures, more than a few posed with us, and gave us money when they were done. Several folks wanted to talk and ask how it was all done, were we using animatronics? Muscle wire? What kind of micro kit were we using to drive the tail and the ears? How long did it take to put all that makeup on?

I just mumbled "trade secret" and left it at that.

When they asked Nikki where the website was for the movie we were making, she said it was being launched in the morning. Neither of us had any idea what a 'website' was, but that answer seemed to satisfy them.

Eventually a police car pulled up and chirped his siren, which caused most of the people to back off, and two officers, one male, the other female, got out and walked over to us.

"Yes, officers?" Nikki asked.

"What's all this?" the female officer asked.

"Costumes for a movie we're working on."

"You look kind of familiar," the she said looking Nikki over.

Nikki shrugged, "I used to compete in the body building circles before I took up acting, maybe you saw me there?"

I watched as they looked her over, and one took a picture of her face. Nikki's face as a champion was similar to her native face here, but her features weren't exactly the same, so I hoped they wouldn't link her to it.

"How long does it take to get into that?" The male officer asked stepping over to me.

"Four hours," I said holding my tongue still, to try and make it sound like I was talking through a fake head.

"Four hours? That's quite a bit."

"Use to 'e six, 'ut lots of 'ractice," I said very slowly.

"What, can't you talk right?"

"Issa 'uzzle," I said and tapped my muzzle.

"The muzzle?" He asked.

"It's glued to his face," Nikki said. "If he talks too much, the glue starts to unbond, so he has to hold his mouth as still as possible."

"Damn, must be hot in all that fur!"

I nodded, "essss!"

"She doesn't match up," the woman said and her partner looked at her. "She doesn't?"

"No, she's close, but the eye ridges and nose are different. Not something you could hide with makeup. Besides, our perp didn't have a tall guy in a cat costume with her."

The male officer laughed, "Yeah, but could you imagine the shocked faces down at central booking if we brought this guy in?" He said and nodded at me.

"I can also imagine the civil rights lawsuit for interfering with a street performer." She said to him. "Have a good night, you two," she turned to her partner, "let's go."

Nikki turned to me as they drove away. "Bronze ones, you have big bronze ones."

"Yeah, this from the girl who pulled the 'Uncle Gatwick' act."

"Well, I was a sergeant, sergeants are expected to be able to make shit up and lie with the best of them!"

I sighed, "How much farther?"

"Lots," she grimaced.

The sun had come up, and had started to climb into the sky before we felt it, the next portal. When we finally got there, it was in a parking lot, behind what looked like a post office, but I wasn't quite sure.

"So, what do we do?" Nikki asked looking around. There were quite a few people there, coming and going, as well as cars driving in and out.

"Just walk through," I said.

"But everyone will see us!" She said.

"And after the night we've had, I really just don't give a damn," I said.

"Look, free money!" I called out and threw all the cash we'd gotten for pictures that night into the air.

Then I grabbed Nikki and sprinted for the portal as all the people either went and chased it down, or watched those that did.

Twenty-Five

Wasteland

I stood there shocked; we were standing right on the edge of a town, or rather, what had once been a town. The entire place was destroyed, bombed out; it looked like something out of the apocalypse.

"I thought this was supposed to be an even higher tech world?" I mumbled looking at all the wreckage, the twisted rusted hulks, and shells of burned out buildings.

"Looks like they had a pretty serious war," Nikki said. "And it looks like they had it some time ago. This wreckage looks old."

I looked around, "So, some sort of nuclear war?"

"I'd guess. We don't have any food, not much water, and I'm pretty beat. How about we find a place to sleep, and then figure out what we're going to do next?"

I nodded, I'd figured we'd just cash our gold in for food and supplies when we got here, I sure hadn't expected this. It had been a few days since we'd done anything beyond napping. Sleep was in order.

We found a place nearby on the outskirts of town that wasn't too badly destroyed, the roof was mostly gone, and it was hard to get to the top floor, which meant anyone trying to get up there would wake us long before they got near.

"Fel," I said, "Good to see you."

"William," Fel nodded, "Cenewyg crossed into that park about three hours ago, in the morning."

"So, we're what, twenty-four hours ahead of him?" I asked.

"At least, it depends on how fast he travels, and when he thinks it's best to cross into the next sphere."

"He could do it tonight, it's not that far a trip, then get a taxi and cross through to here within a few hours, and be here by morning," I said. "He does know the territory."

"Did you see any children out last night?" Fel asked.

I shook my head, "Come to mention it, no I didn't."

"Child welfare laws would consider it child abuse. He has to go through there during the daytime, so he has to hit there tomorrow morning, at the soonest."

"So you think he'll spend a day in the previous zone, come into the last one sometime early in the day, then come here?"

Fel nodded, "So you've got about twenty-four hours until he catches up with you, at a minimum."

"Okay, anything else?"

"No, good luck."

"Thanks," I said and fell deeper asleep.

"William."

I sat up and looked around, Nikki was also waking up, we were still in the spot we had laid down to sleep, the shadows hadn’t changed that much, so I suspected we’d only slept an hour, two at most.

"William," I heard someone call again.

I looked at Nikki, she looked at me and shrugged. So I carefully crawled away from her position, and looked over one of the ruined walls off towards where I had heard the sound.

"William."

I saw them; it was a man, an old man. He was carrying a staff with an ornate headpiece on it. With him was a young boy, and no one else. They were carrying slung rifles, but nothing else in the way of weapons that I could see.

I watched as they slowly moved along, about once a minute the man would call my name.

"What?" I called back quietly after a minute.

"The great and good goddess Stepheen has sent me here to find you, so that she might talk with you. She has told us that you are a great and powerful warrior, and a harbinger of the son, who will do great things for her people." He said, looking around to try and see where I was.

"And you are?" I asked.

"I am her high priest, her voice among her people."

"Prove to me that you are here from her, and not a trap."

"She says that you gave that which most would keep for themselves," he paused a moment, "and that you think with your dick too much."

I heard Nikki snicker.

"Yeah, that’s Steph," I sighed. "I’ll be right down.

It took us a couple minutes to make our way down to him, by then he was sitting in the shade on an old ruined ledge. The boy gave a start when he saw me; I was still in my champion form, as I knew my loincloth wouldn’t fit my human version here and I really didn't feel like walking around naked. Nikki was still similarly attired of course, and drew a bit closer inspection from him, once he got over the shock of seeing me.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Why Stepheen told me," He said.

"That was for her, not you," I said. "Gods and goddesses aren’t supposed to be able to track champions, yet, here you are."

The old man nodded, "She says to me that when she learned of what the evil god Fuerston had done, and what his vile champion was trying to bring to the land, that she knew you would follow." He smiled at me, "She has much faith in you, William."

"Please, no editorializing, okay?" I said and he nodded.

"So you know Cenewyg is on his way here?"

"Yes, William, of course she does."

"Does she know when he’ll come out?"

"No, the darkness spread by the…."

I waved my hand and stopped him. "No editorializing, okay."

"She was saying that."

"Well, then ask her to stop as well, I have a lot of questions and I don’t think we have a lot of time, and I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do. First question, how many people do you have?"

"It is just me, and my acolyte Jebediah."

I was shocked by that! "Her entire following is just the two of you?"

It was the old man’s turn to look shocked, "No, there are many that follow the Goddess Stepheen, we are the only ones that are here. Her warriors are engaging the forces of the evil Fuerston, to delay their arrival and capture of this holy ground.

"Doesn’t feel very holy," Nikki commented.

"That is because the blessed event has not yet occurred."

"And what is that blessed event?" I asked.

"Why the birth of the child of the Goddess Stepheen and your union, of course! You are the war leader of myth, the man with the ferocity of an animal, which shows in your temporal figure as you stand here ready to battle the forces of the evil Fuerston and his most vile champion, who come here to sully this blessed event."

I sighed and rolled my eyes in my head, I wondered if Stephanie was talking to him like this, or if he was adding all these flourishes? Probably both.

"So, we have an enemy army on the way, what do we have in the way of weapons?" Nikki asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Ah yes, many many years ago, the Goddess Stepheen in her…."

"Stop, just tell us what you have, and where you have it," I said interrupting him again.

"You are most abrupt, William."

"Yes, but she loves me anyway. The weapons?"

"Very well, follow me."

He got up then and led us through the town, and into a building that looked totally demolished.

"Pull the floor up there," He said, indicating with his staff.

Nikki and I set to work quickly; under the rotten wooden floor were several heavy steel plates, which only someone with hydraulic equipment, or a couple of champions, could move.

Once we got them cleared, we found quite the armory underneath.

"Grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, mines," Nikki looked up at me and smiled. "I feel like a little girl on Christmas!"

"Fel thinks that Cen won’t pass through into the previous sphere until morning, having a child in that place at night would probably land him in jail for child endangerment or something," I said to Nikki. "So I’m thinking we’ll see him not long after first light."

Nikki shook her head, "Remember how crowded that place was in the morning? He’d want to wait until later in the day, less people, less problems."

I thought about that and nodded.

"I do not understand what you are talking of," the old man interrupted, "but the goddess says to say to you that tomorrow, as the sun is halfway down to the horizon, is when the appearance of the son will take place."

"She’s positive?" Nikki asked.

"She’s a goddess, Nikki," I sighed.

"But Cen’s a champion, how can she tell."

"Because it’s her and my child?"

The old man coughed, "The goddess has instructed me to say ‘What he said’."

"Damn, now I’m sorry we never met," Nikki laughed.

"Oh, this is my sister, Nikki, recently of the U.S. Army, and Aryanna’s champion," I said and nodded. "Not sure if that made it through or not."

The old man nodded.

"So, just when do you expect the evil army to get here?" I asked the old man.

"Tomorrow, when the sun is halfway down to the horizon," he said.

"I thought you have an army delaying them?" Nikki asked.

"Their army is many times the size of ours, the best we can do, is to delay them. Otherwise they would be here in the morning."

"How big is your army?" I asked.

"Five thousand strong!" He said proudly.

"So the enemy is what? Twenty thousand? Thirty?" Nikki said.

"The enemy has many soldiers in its army, but we believe they have sent only five times our number to this battle."

"What kinds of weapons do they have?" I asked next.

"They have rifles like the one I carry, and they have swords and bows. The bullets that you have in there," he nodded to the pit we had exposed, "probably equal that of their entire forces, bullets are expensive and hard to come by in this time."

I looked at Nikki, "So, two against twenty-five thousand. Feel up to it?"

Nikki grinned, "Not like I have any other plans for tomorrow!"

I grinned back at her, "Finally, a chance to kill something! Let’s start hauling this stuff out of here, and get set up for the big reception."

Yeah, we'd probably die horribly, but I was sure it would be worth it.

#                    #                    #                    #

We were sitting on the top of one of the higher ruined buildings, looking out across the wastelands. There were wrecks and ruined houses everywhere, and all the growth looked stunted. We'd spent all night and most of the morning rigging mines, setting up several machine gun nests, and placing weapons and ammo stores around the outskirts.

Once they closed, we'd have to rely on our mobility, which meant constantly moving from spot to spot.

I opened another can of rations, there had been quite a bit of food stashed with the weapons, and so Nikki and I were stocking up for the fight. We'd given the man and the kid some as well, and shown them where all the fallback positions were. They could lead whatever survivors of their army made it here, to those positions to back us up.

"Okay," Nikki was talking to the kid, his name was Jeb, "this map shows where the mines are, and this number written under them, shows what controller activates those mines. Turn it to 'on' and they're armed. Turn it to 'det', and they explode. Got it?"

He nodded.

"Good, now say it back to me, and then point to where each group is on the map."

I looked back out over the wastes as Nikki went over how she wanted him to use the minefield. She and I would be out there at the opening of the battle, so we didn't want the mines to be active until after we'd retreated from the field.

About half the mines had to be detonated manually, and just prior to when we expected Cenewyg to show up, we'd have him start firing those off as well.

We'd moved a few of the wrecks littering the streets to the eastern side of the portal, that was the side away from the town, and from which we expected the enemy to arrive. I had to be down there waiting when Cenewyg came through, and I really didn't want to be standing in the open with the entire enemy army shooting at me while I did.

I looked up at the sun, it was getting near time.

"I'm going to move over to the rocket launchers," I told Nikki and she nodded.

"Guess I'll do the same." She turned to Jeb, "Remember what I told you, and keep your head down and don't stand up, there's nothing to draw them to this position, and once all the mines have been fired, you go join the priest, okay?"

He nodded.

I ran out to the rocket launchers with Nikki, and we climbed up onto the platform. We had them set about three hundred yards outside of town, on top of some sort of one-story building. I checked the submachine gun slung on my back, my grenades, my ammo, and then picked up the binoculars and started to search the horizon.

"There they are," Nikki said and pointed, I turned and looked; there was a column of dust rising in the distance.

I nodded, "Well, might as well fire up the launchers."

We unpacked the rockets, there were twelve of them, and they were fairly smart. I moved six of them to my launcher and turned it on, while Nikki did the same with hers.

I fitted the first rocket in, and then looked through the eyepiece, and waited.

Thirty minutes later their column came out on to the plain. There were a lot of them, and they were using some sort of truck to carry their solders.

"Damn," I heard Nikki swear, "They got a tank."

I scanned the line until I found it. "They sure do. Think that's the only one?"

"Let's wait until they're all out on the field."

"Okay," I said and started counting the other vehicles, they had about twenty of them, and they looked pretty backed with soldiers and supplies.

Ten minutes later they were all out in the open, still advancing.

"Sloppy," Nikki said, "No scouts and they're all bunched up. Okay, I'll hit the tank first and work my way back from that. You hit the first truck and the second, then hit the ones in front of the tank. Work fast, we want to catch as many on the trucks as we can."

"Got it." I checked my sight, the target light was green. "On your command, Sis!"

"Fire!"

I pulled the trigger and everything slowed down as the rocket launched forth and I grabbed the second one and slammed it home into the launch tube and sighted my next target. I got the green targeting light, and I pulled the trigger and grabbed for the third one and was slamming it home just as the first one hit. I launched the third one then, and I had the forth one in the air before they even started to react to the attack.

I noticed the ones in the back that Nikki had hit were going up in rather large fireballs, I guess she had hit a fuel truck or something. She hit the tank a second time as I hit the truck right in front of it, and I saw the top hatch on the tank open and men starting to jump out of it, as it started to burn.

"I got one left, Sis!" I called.

"Hit the truck two from the end, I think it's an ammo truck."

I sighted it, then fired. It made a nice explosion.

"Now, let's see if I can remember what I learned about mortars," Nikki said with a grin, we had a small one along with twenty-five shells to drop in on the enemy. They'd scattered at this point, and it only took us two shots to sight in on several of those groups.

"Welp," Nikki said grinning after we'd finished off the last of the mortar shells. "Off to our sniping positions. See ya' later, Bro!"

We jumped down from the roof and ran off to where we'd stuck the two large caliber rifles that we had. We had five hundred rounds each, and we figured about fifteen minutes to use them, before they'd be close enough to return fire.

It actually took them ten minutes just to get organized, and I managed to pick off about ten of them in that time. They were so far out though I was missing half my shots, so I stopped until they got closer, as I was just wasting ammunition.

But it did slow them down.

Those that weren't already walking dismounted from the surviving vehicles and left them there, and after forming up, they all started marching forward. I started looking for priests and holding my fire. The first few I had identified dropped in quick succession as Nikki opened fire, and I had to look for new targets.

They spread out more after that, and tried to double time it, while moving back and forth across the field, there really wasn't much in the way of cover and they knew they had to take the objective. I could see the officers yelling and screaming at them, urging them on.

It took a couple shots, as they were standing pretty far back, but I got two of the officers before they decided they were safer in among the troops than standing behind them.

When I'd shot out my ammo, I set the booby trap on my position and retreated out of there. I hauled the rifle back to a hiding place closer to the town, then turned back to run to the first machine gun nest. There were six of them, and we'd shoot each one as long as we could, then break the gun and move back to the next one.

The next hour was brutal. We continued to cut them down, and they continued to advance. Twice I had to pick one of the machine guns up and re-aim it, as they tried to flank me. Only my champion strength let me do that, those things were pretty damned heavy.

I was down to my last position, near the portal when I felt it, something was starting to happen.

"Jeb!" I heard Nikki yell, "Turn them all to det! Turn them all to det!"

I turned and ran for the portal as the ground started to shake as all the mines started to detonate, one group after another in quick succession. The effect on the enemy was tremendous, as their leading elements were suddenly destroyed.

But I my attention wasn't on that, it was on the area around the portal, there was a sudden blast of light and a shockwave rolled out behind me. Cenewyg was standing there looking at me rather surprised, with a sword in one hand, and a gun in the other.

"What the hell are you doing here!" he screamed at me.

"Killing you," I growled and attacked, drawing my own sword, I was afraid to unsling the submachine gun on my back, as I might accidentally shoot Cameron in any kind of a firefight.

He got off a shot as I closed, but I healed the damage immediately as I tried to cut his head off and he had to block. He shot me twice more, but I managed to grapple with him as he did, rushing as I blocked his sword high, forcing him to drop the pistol. I healed myself again, and then bit him on the side of the top of the head, causing him to scream and push back away from me.

"Two bad you're such a runt," I growled, "I could have ripped out your throat instead!"

"I'm going to kill you, you furry bastard, then I'm going to sacrifice your child, and after that, we're going to destroy that two-timing bitch!" He said healing himself and coming back at me with his sword.

I had the reach on him, but he was still a better swordsman than I was, so it evened us out. We fenced back and forth for several minutes, cutting and slashing at each other, until eventually neither one of use had any healing left.

All the time we fought, I was dimly aware that I couldn't hear the army, that they weren't taking shots at us. I couldn't hear Nikki either. I had to keep my attention focused mainly on Cenewyg, but all I saw from my peripheral vision was a bluish glow, and it was getting brighter.

"Oh, I burned down your house in South Africa, runt," I grunted as we continued to fight. Most of Cenewyg's comments at this point were curses and simple insults.

That seemed to outrage him even more and he slipped past my guard and stabbed me in the side.

"Die bastard!" He said, as he ran me through.

I cried out in pain, it hurt a lot, more than I had expected, I'd been stabbed before, but for some reason, this time was different. I grabbed the blade with my left hand and spun away from him, ripping the blade out of his grip as my side burned.

I felt my tail hit his legs then, as I continued around, and following through I saw him stumble from the unexpected hit. Winding up I circled my sword up and then came down with the last of my strength and cleaved his head in two, and everything around us exploded in a blinding flash of light and booming sound.

When my eyes cleared, I was on my knees, with blood pouring out of my side, and a young man was standing before me.

He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it, and he glowed.

"Father?" He said and looked down at me, then smiled, "Father!"

I stood up, and suddenly I could hear the war going on behind us, and we were standing out in the open, the wrecks Nikki and I had dragged over for cover were nowhere to be seen, and I could see everyone was turning to shoot at us.

"Cameron?" I gasped, I could taste the blood in my mouth, Cenewyg's corpse laid to either side of us, split in two.

"Yes, it's Cameron, Dad."

I heard the guns open fire and I grabbed him, "Down!" I yelled as I felt my back light up with fire as hundreds of bullets tore into me.

Twenty-Six

Stephanie's House

I groaned and sat up. "What, what happened?"

"You died."

I turned and looked; Stephanie was standing there looking down at me.

"Steph!" I said and jumping up I hugged her, "Steph! It's good to see you." I stopped and grabbing her shoulders pushed myself back from her, as my memory caught up with me. "Cameron! Is he okay? What happened to him? Did he escape?"

Stephanie laughed and patted me on the arm. "Cameron is slaughtering Fuerston's army as we speak."

"What? How? What happened? Why isn't he a baby?"

"Sit," Stephanie said and patted the arm of one of the chairs in the room, as she sat down in the one next to it. I sat.

"Cameron is the son of a Champion and a Goddess, Will. He's a demigod now."

I blinked, "But you weren't a goddess when I got pregnant!"

"No, but I was one, when he was born."

"What?" I said and I'm sure I looked as stunned as I felt.

Stephanie shrugged, "Rules, as you like to call it."

"Why didn't I notice this before?"

"You know that energy that everyone felt?"

I nodded.

"That was his potential, not unlike the potential energy of a wheel at the top of a hill, our son had the potential to be a demigod, but in order to be one, he had to come to the place where his mother is a goddess, while his father was there, for the potential to be realized."

"And why is he full grown?" I said as I tried to wrap my head around that.

"Because a baby demigod isn't in the rules, that force field that was around you and Cenewyg as you fought was Cameron trying to manifest into the world. He couldn't do it with the both of you there, and if Cenewyg had killed you, he would have come in as just a normal baby.

"But once you killed Cenewyg, there were just the two of you in the portal mouth, and as the conditions now all fit, our son manifested, and fulfilled his destiny."

I sighed, "That's almost tougher to follow."

"Oh don't worry, there's actually a lot more to it than that, but you're not capable of understanding it."

I nodded, oddly enough, that made me feel better.

"So what was Cenewyg trying to do?"

"He believed that if he sacrificed a child of mine, here, on the altar of the god he's champion for, that he would gain power from it."

"Would he?"

"Not in the ways he might have expected. Maybe not at all. The rules for these things are hard to know, because they're not common. So the smallest nuance in the execution can have a very large effect.

"Take our son; because he was born in a war, he's now a demigod of war. Because his father died in a hail of gunfire, he's now immune to gunfire."

"Well, that's got to be handy," I laughed.

"Oh yes, it will be," Stephanie smiled.

I nodded and a question occurred to me. "Just how did Cenewyg get out of that limbo early? And just how did he end up here of all places?" I asked.

Stephanie stood up and held out her hand, I stood up and followed her out of her house, into the town we'd been fighting outside of; it was still a ruin, interestingly enough.

"Well, you see," Stephanie said to me as we walked among the ruins, "Cenewyg was trying to do on Earth, what I had been doing here, before I ascended: start a religion, with himself as the god. Aryanna has known where that god-stone was for centuries, so about eighty years ago we started setting up a religion here, with me as a goddess.

"I'd show up at first once or twice a year, to start rumors and lay the ground work. The last forty or so years I was showing up constantly and performing miracles, gathering the faithful together, and establishing a creed." Stephanie smiled at me and continued, "So when you gave me the god-stone, there was an opening here for me to come to, they were already starting to venerate me, it was really just all a matter of timing."

"So if Cen had gotten the stone, he would have been a god on Earth?"

Stephanie nodded, "Yup, but I don't know how successful he would have been, Earth is not the kind of place you want to do that, I would think his god Custios would have discouraged him from doing that."

"So his god knew?" I asked surprised.

"Oh, of course he knew!" Stephanie laughed, "I suspect Ary's not happy about it, but each god plays his own game, and she knows it."

"So how does that effect what happened here?"

"Well, all of the gods here were watching when I grabbed the god-stone, they knew I was going to come here, and one of them, figured that Cen, being my biggest enemy, would make a good champion, and grabbed him. However Cen was too slow in accepting, so he got partially caught in the collapse of the sphere, which should have held him in limbo for about twenty-three years."

"But he wasn't," I said.

Stephanie shook her head, "No, he wasn't. You see, when the police raided his temple in South Africa, the locals there took your sudden disappearance as a sign. So they attacked the police officers, killing several, and sacrificed one of them on that altar to Cenewyg, who they believed, was now their god."

"They did what?" I said shocked.

"Sacrificed him, I think the one you called 'Botha' cut out his heart. Oh, the South African government showed up in force not much later and machined gunned everyone and burned the place to the ground, but it didn't matter, they tried to venerate Cenewyg.

"If he'd had more of a following, a bigger base, it might have succeeded, but again, because he was still partially in the void, in a sort of limbo, it had enough power to knock him out of it."

"So he became a champion."

Stephanie shook her head again, "No, he became a demigod, but an incredibly weak demigod, and a champion. But because his champion powers are still in that limbo, he has no access to any of them. Just the weak powers of being a demigod."

"So that is why he couldn't gate back here!"

"Exactly," Stephanie said. "And if you had killed him outside of this sphere, he would have bounced back to limbo, or possibly even died. No one is quite sure, because he's in seriously 'bent rule' territory. So he had to avoid confrontation with any other champions, because while he's more powerful than any mortals, you'd easily defeat him. This is also why he was in his original natural form every place he went. As a demigod he's locked into one form and one form only. He doesn't even get a local form."

"So, does that mean he's dead now?" I asked hopefully.

Stephanie shook her head, "Sorry, because he died on this plane, he goes back to his god here. But," She smiled, "it'll take a year for him to regenerate, and then his champion powers will still be limited outside of this sphere."

"So how do I 'un-venerate' him?"

She smiled, "Easy, destroy all of his churches or temples back on Earth, get rid of his followers. At least the ones acting as priests."

"And that'll kick him back into limbo?"

"Oh no," Stephanie said and gave me the most wicked grin, "That will kill him. But you have to do it while he's regenerating, and before his champion powers come out of limbo. If he loses that small base on your home sphere, Earth, and doesn't have a physical form, or loses it, he dies. Permanently."

I smiled and hugged her, and actually kissed her!

Which felt like kissing a live wire, my entire being lit up. I made a note not to do that again!

Stephanie laughed while I recovered from that experience.

"Um, one more question," I said as I got my wits back.

"Yes, Will?"

"Why couldn't Fel or Aryanna tell me any of this? Didn't they know?"

"Some of it they knew, some of it they didn't know, none of it they're capable of talking to a champion about. This level of rule bending and abuse is something that champions, as a class, are not allowed to know."

That stopped me, "Then why are you telling me?" I asked, rather confused.

"Because in this sphere, you're not a champion Will, or rather you're not just a champion. You're a mythic."

"A what?" I said trying to wrap my head around that.

"You had sex with a goddess; you are the father of a demigod. Your name, your image, you, all have entered the mythos surrounding me and our son. What happens becomes myth, the myth gets spread, and you my dear William are now a part of it."

"And because of that, I get to know things?"

Stephanie nodded, "Yes, because of that, your status in the infinite has increased, as well as a little of your power. Eventually, when you are here, say in a couple hundred years, you gain powers, but only here, in this sphere."

"Huh, I guess this means I should visit, huh?" I said and smiled at her.

"Yes, don't be a stranger." She came over and took my hands in hers, "I can feel the pull starting, your time here is almost done."

"That soon?" I said surprised.

"I'm still a very weak goddess, Will."

"Oh,"

"Before you go, I wanted to tell you that yes, as a mortal, I loved you, Will, I loved you very much, but I loved the idea of being a goddess more."

I laughed, "Stephanie, that is something that you, as a mortal, a champion, or even a goddess do not need to apologize for. I knew when I handed you that stone, that I couldn't stand in your way. It was what I wanted you to have."

"Thank you, Will. I also want to thank you for Cameron. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes, Stephanie, I did." I said to her, "Take care of Cameron for me, okay? He's still just a kid."

Stephanie smiled and gave me a hug, "Say hi to everyone for me. Now, go play."

Twenty-Seven

New York

"Agent Addison I presume?" I said quietly and gave his shoulder a shake.

The man in question sat up rather quickly, turning to the side and reaching for the light with one hand, and I'm guessing his gun with the other.

"Let's not wake your wife, or your children, okay?"

He froze, his hand inches from the light.

"Put some clothes on, I'll be down in the kitchen; you can bring your gun if it will make you feel safer." I said and I walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind me.

I was sitting in the kitchen, with the lights on, drinking a glass of water when he came in. He had his gun, but it was in the holster under his arm.

"How did you get in here?" He asked looking at me.

"Magic. Have a seat, we need to talk."

"I'm going to place you under arrest for breaking and entering," he said still staring at me.

I sighed, "SIT!" And I pointed to the chair on the other side of the kitchen table, putting some of my champion's power into my voice.

He was halfway down onto the chair before he paused and looked at me, "How did you do that?"

"Don't worry about it, just sit down. If I was here to cause you trouble, we both know I would have done so already."

"So why are you here?"

"This," I said and dropped a necklace with Cenewyg's symbol on it. "Seen any of these before?"

He picked it up and looked at it, then back up at me, "Can't say that I have."

"How about that symbol?"

He shook his head no.

"Well, that's a good thing," I said smiling.

"What is this all about? What are you doing here?"

"We'll get to that. By the way, did anything on Stephanie turn up?"

"Nothing official, but word came back she was with MI-5 or something like that, and not to ask anymore questions."

I nodded, "Now, didn't you find it the least bit, well, peculiar that you were asked to bring me in for questioning about a man who had disappeared years ago, a man whose home was under constant surveillance?"

Agent Addison shrugged, "They'd run into a dead-end, they were looking to see if they could find out anything new. Now why are you here? It's been over two years!"

"One last question, did you hear anything about the dust-up at the Gatwick estate about a year ago?"

"What? No, I haven't heard anything."

I nodded, "I would suggest you contact any sources you have in Interpol, and contact them directly, you may find it interesting."

"Interesting how?"

"In that it will back up what I'm about to tell you. You see, Interpol, along with the local police, raided the Gatwick estate, it turned into quite the bloodbath and before it was done, Gatwick's followers sacrificed one of the police officers on an altar, with that symbol on it." I said and nodded to the necklace.

"What! You ... I can't believe that! Why, we would have heard about it here!"

"Well yes, normally you would have, but there is, or rather, there was a rather high placed official in the FBI, who squashed the report, so it didn't get filtered down to the rest of the agency."

"I find that hard to believe!"

I shrugged, "Believe what you want, but Gatwick started up a death cult, one with himself as the both the god and the head. His main temple, or whatever you want to call it, was in his estate in South Africa. Using his money, his charisma, and his access to certain, umm, channels, he subverted more than a few government employees, both here, and abroad."

"Why would he do such a thing!"

"Because he's a sociopath," I said and smiled again. "A rather powerful one too, truth be told."

"I find this all rather hard to believe," Agent Addison said looking at me, eyes narrowing a bit. "What is your part in all of this?"

"Well, you see, when you brought me in, it was because your boss in DC was worried about Gatwick, he hadn't see him in far, far too long. So he went through the Interpol files, and found that picture, and then put his people to work on it. There was no receipt at a rental car agency; I don't have any credit cards and I didn't sign anything. He matched the picture up with my high school yearbook. I gather he had quite a lot of people digging to find that, which is probably why it took several years."

"I don't believe you."

I shrugged, "Again, call Interpol, find out if they ever requested I be questioned, or if they even know who I am."

Agent Addison stopped to think about that a moment, and then nodded. "Okay, so let me get this straight, my Boss is the member of a death cult, he spent agency time and money to hunt you down, to find out what happened to the leader of this death cult, which your friend Gatwick runs."

"Close, Gatwick is not my friend, and he didn't spend agency money to go through the yearbooks, he did that using other members of the cult. Though I'm sure he used agency resources as well. He used you after all."

"I find this all rather hard to believe."

"Tomorrow, after you make a few phone calls, I think you'll start to consider my words."

"So why tell me? What do you hope to gain?" Agent Addison asked.

"Because you need to purge the members of that cult from your agency. I'm sure there are a few more that are in it. Probably in some other government agencies as well. Also, I need you to see if you can find where the other altars, or 'temples', of this religion are. Gatwick probably had one in each of the areas he was doing business in."

"How about I call my boss, and see what he has to say about these allegations of yours? I'm sure he'll find them all rather interesting."

"Don't bother, he's dead."

"What!?" Addison reached for his gun.

"Heart attack. Who knew he had a bad heart, right?" I smiled at him, as he drew his gun.

"What did you use? Cyanide? Ricin?"

"Run all of the toxicology reports you want. He wasn't poisoned, or assaulted, so you won't find anything. However if you do a little checking, you will discover that necklace was his," I pointed to the necklace I had dropped on the table. "We had quite the conversation about his actions before his health caught up with him. Do a little digging and I think you'll be rather surprised by what you find."

"You're under arrest, Mister!"

"Don't bother; even if you could make a case, which you can't, I'm not going to be around here much longer."

"Oh, I think I can guarantee that!" Agent Addison said motioning with the gun.

"Agent Addison," I said and stood, "I'll be back, occasionally to see what you have found out about that symbol," I said nodding to the necklace. "If I'm going to stop Gatwick, I'm going to need your help."

"Sit back down!"

"If you find out anything or need me, just go to church and pray. I'm sure I'll hear about it."

"Sit down or I'll shoot."

I shrugged, "All you'll do is succeed in waking up your wife and kids. But hey, if you want to, knock yourself out."

I turned and started walking out of the room. He fired of course, and hit me in the back.

"Damn, that stings," I said and healed the wound immediately. "Don't tell anyone you shot me, or they'll think you're going crazy," I said and waved at him, my back still to him as I opened a portal and stepped through.

"Be seeing you," I said and closed the portal before he could shoot me again.

End Book Five

As an author, I would ask that if you liked this book, please take the time to rate it. Ratings are an important part of success as an ebook author, and four or five star ratings are of course the ones that help us the most. So while I feel a little embarrassed about asking for ratings and reviews, the reality of this business is that without those reviews my work will not rise in rankings and will not be seen by others. So please, if you liked the story I would greatly appreciate your taking the time to write a short review and rate the book.

Thank you,

John Van Stry

www.vanstry.net (vanstry@gmail.com)

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If you liked this book, you might like my other stories:

Urban/Modern Fantasy:

Portals of Infinity, Book One: Champion for Hire

William is just your typical engineer fresh out of college with a stressful job, a boring life, and not a lot of prospects of anything better in the future.

Until one weekend while hiking in the woods he stumbles across a portal to another time, or perhaps another place. The more he investigates this new world the more he realizes that it may just be able to offer him a lot more than the one he's been living in.

However, there are forces at work beyond anything that Will has ever come across before and the local goddess seems to have taken a liking to him. Will may soon find himself getting an offer he cannot afford to refuse.

Portals of Infinity, Book Two: The God Game

Will’s life has definitely changed since that day he went hiking in the woods of Pennsylvania. He’s discovered that reality is a lot bigger and stranger than he had ever imagined. Learning about the portals that link the infinite number of worlds opened his eyes to that wider reality. Learning that he was being groomed to become the Champion of a God in one of those realities was an even more startling discovery.

But now it’s time for him to pay the bill for his ‘recruitment’. Just as the Gods on a single world fight and jockey for power and position, the older Gods from the many different spheres of the infinite play a much larger and more complicated game. The Goddess Aryanna has a quest she needs completed, and William and four other Champions are the ones tasked to do it.

What bothers Will however is what could a Goddess possibly need? And why would it take five Champions to retrieve it?

Portals of Infinity, Book Three: Of Temples and Trials

With the first of what he suspects will be many favors completed, William finds himself busy with important tasks back at his home on Saladin. Queen Rachel has several jobs she needs him to do, and Feliogustus has similar tasks in mind for him as well. All in all, it seems easy enough to Will, it’s not like he’ll be fighting in any wars, or traveling across the infinite on a strange quest after all.

But things aren’t always as easy as they might seem, and both politics, as well as the other gods, aren’t going to ignore Will, or the tasks he’s been set to complete. And is if dealing with that isn’t problem enough, when the time comes to do some serious diplomacy between Hiland and a neighboring Kingdom, a deadly problem comes from a most unexpected quarter, forcing Will to take immediate action to payback both his, and his God’s foes.

Portals of Infinity, Book Four: The Sea of Grass

With no otherworld tasks to run for Fel, Will has spent the last year mainly helping Rachel consolidate her hold on her expanded kingdom. Barassa has been set back, for now, but Will knows it’s only a matter of time until they’re at odds once more and Barassa still has the bigger army. So taking the time to learn more about their enemy seems like a good place to start, and of course, Rachel has more things she expects him to do, even if he has no idea just how he’s going to do them.

Fel also has things for Will to do as well, even if they are the more mundane jobs that a Champion of the faith must perform. Escorting missionaries isn’t the most exciting or glamorous job, but its one Will must do. At least the people are different, interesting, and friendly, and some perhaps a little too friendly. But that’s never gotten him in trouble before, right?

The Hammer Commission

Mark's job seems pretty dull, working as an investigator into crimes committed against Church property, theft of holy objects, vandalism; nothing terribly exciting but he does get to travel the world.

That's just the window dressing. Mark does work for the Church, but as an elite member of a thousand year old secret society that hunts down devils, demons, and other evils. His job is not just to find them, but to remove, dispel, or kill them: he's on the front lines of the secret ongoing war between Heaven and Hell. However as wars go, it has been a fairly easy one for the last few decades, with nothing seriously evil having been summoned since the last world war.

But all of that is about to change, and the question for Mark may not be can he survive, but can he survive long enough.

Science Fiction:

Children of Steel

Raj is just your average everyday genetically modeled and artificially created anthropomorphic worker for one of the many corporations of the future. Extensively trained and conditioned from birth he's now indentured for the next fifty years of his life; assuming he doesn't die first, or somehow manage to pay off his creation and training debts.

Created by the corporations to deal with the harsh labor shortages of the twenty second century when humans will no longer take on the dangerous jobs Raj finds himself now in the harsh world of space exploration, trading, corporate maneuverings, and sometimes the even more dangerous fanatics that hate Raj and his fellows. No longer in safe confines of the training academies he must learn how to live and deal with both his fellow workers and the humans he encounters and not get saddled with extra bills or fines because he's screwed up or worse yet, get 'put down' because he's lost his temper one time too many.

After all, it's not like he's human...

Interregnum (Sequel to Children of Steel)

The war is over, Raj and Cassandra are together, and everything should be 'happily ever after', and return to normal, right?

Well, they would be, but Cassandra still has issues to overcome after spending three years in POW camps where abuse and even torture were commonplace and many of the guards were sadists. Raj has gotten over most of his problems, after all, he did save his mate's life, but there are still issues from his past that are dogging him. And of course, there are just a few minor things that need to be cleaned up, leftover issues from the war, and some of those issues shoot back.

Interregnum is the sequel to 'Children of Steel' and picks up where it left off, continuing to follow the life of Raj, a genetic construct and wage slave to one of the major corporations that dominate Human explored space.

Danger Money

Jotun was born and bred to be a corporate assassin, back in the days of the Corporate Wars. Confined these days to life in a gilded cage, Jotun welcomes any opportunity to get out and lately he's been getting out a lot. But as a genetically designed and Laboratory bred animorph by a company that isn't quite sure if it trusts him anymore his choices are few: do the jobs that eventually will kill him, or refuse, which will also kill him.
Of course it isn't like he doesn't enjoy the work, but when everybody wants you dead you start to wonder if there isn't more to life.
When an unexpected betrayal kills the few friends he has and nearly him as well, Jotun realizes he has bigger problems than his lifestyle, namely finding out who betrayed him and paying them back, no matter what the cost.

Danger Money is a Science Fiction story that takes place in my Children of Steel universe, a future where genetically created animorphs serve as second-class citizens and handle all of the dirty and dangerous jobs that are part of humanity's extension to the stars.

Dialene

Dialene's Captain decided to play pirate, and one well placed nuclear torpedo later she finds herself prisoner of the Corporation whose ship they were attempting to raid; her friends and lover all dead. With no corporation to ransom her back she finds herself in the unenviable position of having to work off the debt assigned to her for her part in her Captain's actions. With concerns as to where her loyalties lie she has but two choices: Work in the mines on an airless rock where a small fem like her would not last long, or work in the company bar entertaining those very same miners.
At least working in the bar beats the alternatives, until one day an interesting character inserts himself into her life.

A Novella from my Children of Steel universe, Dialene is a foxmorph who until her capture was a highly rated shuttle pilot working a deep space trader for one of the more notorious corporations. Like most of her kind she had no choices in her employer who considered her nothing more than a disposable asset.

Shorts: The Furry Years

A collection of short stories that I wrote years ago for several of different anthropomorphic fanzines. Includes the following short stories:

Changes: The hero of the story wakes up in the morning to find his world has changed, rather drastically for him, hardly at all for others.

Old Business: This is from my ‘Children of Steel’ universe, it’s about the beginning of it all, the very first of the sentient animen (or animorph) ever to be created.

New Beginnings: Jack is the new bartender at a small pub, a nice quiet pub in the business district. The patrons tend to find his opinions humorous, as what does a bartender know after all? (More of a slice of life type story).

Fox Hunt: A joke that I just could not resist.

Easy Money: What happens to spies who come in from the cold? Especially ones who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks? Nothing good I’m sure...

Available in eBook format at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo,  iTunes, and wherever eBooks are sold, available in print from CreateSpace or Amazon.