The roll of the river was overwhelming. Fand wanted off this damned boat. Forever it had been carrying her further and further away from home. The fog was so thick she couldn't see anything. She didn't know where she was. Zog and Uncle Wert must be so worried. In her head she heard a loud moan and then Zog's voice whispered, "My braid."

Fand sat up and cried out, "Zog." No answer. She looked around her. She wasn't on a boat but in a cage on the back of a swiftly moving wagon. The wagon traveled beside a river. Above her tall leafy trees loomed. She looked ahead and she saw the Sonpur. Huge hairy beasts on horse back. She counted seven. Each wore leather britches and was shirtless. Their fur ranged from dark ebony to dirty brown. All at once events slid into place in her mind. She remembered her nightmare and the reality of being kidnapped. She remembered Uncle Wert. Was he dead? Frantically she looked behind her and in front of her. There was no sign of him. Panic began to rise in her. Panic like she had never felt before. What would these creatures do to her? Worse than Gregor ever would have. Fand closed her eyes. She began to pray, "Please, please intervene. Please help me." Over and over she repeated this until she knew she was not alone. Frightened out her wits, trembling, sick to her stomach, she knew there was a force bigger than herself, holding her.

Ahead a strange light emanated through the trees. Dazzling fingers of multi colored light shot out in every direction. Fand had never seen anything like it. A peculiar feeling twisted inside of her, a desire that pulled her away from the presence with in her. She wanted to go to that light, be one with that light. The trees parted. The brilliance of the crystal dome was blinding. Fand shaded her eyes. Beneath the dome was a city, a beautiful city. A slender spire rose in the center of the city and seemed to be supporting the dome. Fand stopped breathing.

Large wooden gates opened. The Sonpur took the wagon through. The inside of the dome was even more magnificent. Everything glowed with an ethereal light. The city was set up like the spokes of a wheel. Vacant streets ran to the center of the city where a huge crystalline spire rose.

A shadow swung near by. She turned to her left. Hanging from a tree was Zog's limp body. His face was contorted. A rope was around his neck. Oh, Keeper NO! NO! NO! The strange tug inside of her ceased. She screamed. With all her might pressed and tugged against the bars of her cage. She had to get out of this thing. Get to Zog.

Zog's braid lifted slightly at the nape of his neck. Fand watched a silver disc fly toward her. It spun around her neck and shoved itself into her braid at the nape of her neck. Her hands went to her hair. Beneath her skin she could feel the shape of the disc. When she pulled her hands away from it, there was no blood and yet somehow it had passed through her skin. Had she absorbed it? What was it? She looked at the beasts, had they seen the thing come to her? Their eyes were focused straight ahead. They had not seen it, or if they did they were not concerned.

A slight breeze kicked up and swirled around her. She could have sworn it whispered, Little One. She looked back. Zog had vanished. Had she only imagined what she had seen? She did not know. She turned forward. The cage was entering the Spire. She felt the lure of it and she knew it was evil. With all her might, she pushed against the bars. They did not even move. She was trapped, she was trapped and they would take her where they would and do to her what they would. Terrified she started ramming her body against the bars. A large hand reached through and shoved a kerchief over her face. The sweet sickly scent filled her nostrils and her mouth. The world began to shut down again and she sunk into quick oblivion.

*

The air was sweet and warm. Fand felt like she was floating. Her eyes were still too heavy to open. Beneath her was a soft, soft mattress. She slid her hand across the silk coverlet. A sense of relief filled her. The other was just a bad dream or the result of some fever. She would be fine. Zolla would see to that. Zolla was a natural healer. She would take care of her. It would be all right. She heard Zolla softly humming. Fand always liked to hear Zolla hum. It meant she was content and that was a rarity. It also was further confirmation that everything was okay.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Into the peace a sound tore through Fand. A woman screamed again and then there was silence. A soft voice said, "It is finished. Angs can no longer torment you."

Fand heard a woman crying. She was not with Zolla. She struggled to open her eyes. The same voice she had heard before said, "Gruin, tell Trug to fetch Talbot's body."

There was a swish of skirts and then a door opened and closed. Fand smelled the Sonpur when he entered the room. She opened her eyes. It was the one who had captured her. He passed by her like she was invisible. Behind him walked a female Sonpur. Her face was imprinted with wrinkles but they were not as deep as the male Sonpur’s. She was muscular and wore a dark green gown. Her skin was dark and her eyes were pale green. Those green eyes glanced at Fand. There was resignation in those eyes. The female followed the male through a doorway.

Instinctively Fand felt that someone beyond that door had just died. Death was in this place and death could and would take her if she let it. She tried to get up, but she was too weak. She wanted to run, but her legs were heavy. Two more Sonpur passed through the room and went through the door. When they came back through they carried a cot with a body wrapped in a linen sheet. The body smelled foul. A wave of nausea engulfed Fand. She turned her head to retch, but her empty stomach had nothing to offer. When she turned back, the Sonpur who had kidnapped her strode through the room. Behind him was the female Sonpur. Her green eyes dripped silent tears.

An old woman dressed all in white followed the female Sonpur to the door. One of her hands reached for the female and gave her claw like hand a reassuring squeeze. The female Sonpur did not look at the woman or even acknowledge the gesture. She pulled her hand free and went out the door. As soon as the door closed the old woman bolted it.

When the old woman turned, she saw that Fand was awake. A slow smile spread across her face fanning out into fantastical wrinkles. She had a cup of tea in her hands. She said, "Ah, you are a wake. I was beginning to fear Trug used too much potion and you had sunk into an eternal sleep."

Fand thought, Trug is the Sonpur who captured me. Just above a whisper, she said, “Let me go.”

The old woman sat down in a wooden chair beside the bed. “Would that I could, but I can’t. We will make the best of things while we can.”

Fand’s throat ached. Her mind was still so fuzzy and she felt weightless. She tried to speak again but only managed to make a painful rasping sound.

The woman held out the cup of tea. “This will soothe your throat.”

Fand forced a question through her lips, "Is this drugged or poisoned?"

"No child."

There was something in the woman's brown eyes that made Fand trust her. She took a sip of the tea offered her. Its warmth slid down her throat and settled in a warm pool inside her stomach. The warmth seeped into the rest of her. She felt her body begin to relax again. The woman had lied. The tea was drugged. The room began to fade and Fand felt herself sailing into a place of peace and light.

*

When Fand awoke again the waning face of moon hovered over head. Its shape was distorted through the ceiling. Wait the ceiling looked like it was glass, no it was crystal. Fand heard soft breathing. Beside the bed the female Sonpur lay on a pallet. Cradled in her arms was a Sonpur child. Both were soundly sleeping.

The dark in the room filled with a muted burst of rainbow light. Fand looked up. An arc of colors shimmered and danced. Above Fand the outline of a man walked within the dancing light. Was he floating? He stopped above her. Fand watched him kneel down over her. She saw him press his hand flat against his crystal floor. A longing to press her hand to the ceiling came over Fand, but her body was too heavy to lift.

A spiral of multicolored light swirled through the transparent ceiling. It wrapped around the dove pendant at Fand's throat and lifted it. The sensation was pleasant. A wonderful euphoria coursed through Fand's body.

All at once a searing pain shot down Fand's spine. A horrible cold radiated from the nape of her neck where the disc had lodged itself. What was this thing? It burned cold and distracted her from the light above her. Her pendant fell back to her chest. The man stood and walk out of sight. As soon as he disappeared the cold burning stopped. Whatever the thing in her neck was, it had just protected her from something. But what? It had not protected Zog, if it had been Zog that she saw hanging from the tree. Dreams, reality and nightmares were confused. Had Zog’s spirit whispered, Little One to hers?