They had found Sir Remnick and Sir Pallas at the intersection of three long corridors. Arai guessed that Lillandra had gone left, if only to avoid the wisp, whose wailing seemed to be coming from the corridor which ran off to the right. He had no idea why Lillandra might have wandered off in the first place, however, and he supposed it was also possible she had gone off in the other direction.

He swore under his breath. Lillandra. What the hell was she thinking?

Well, maybe it wasn't her fault -- perhaps she had been attacked, or dragged off into the shadows by a monster like the one they had fought at Nharlek's castle back in Addis. But if that was the case, why hadn't they heard anything? Why hadn't she screamed or called out for help?

No, she had almost certainly wandered off. She had been acting strangely, talking about having seen Urumkesh in her dreams; perhaps she had felt compelled to explore the fortress further. But why would she just leave without explanation?

He tried to ignore the wisp. The creature seemed to be following him, wailing and moaning like a lost soul. Better that it was following him than chasing after Shell and the knights, he supposed, but its constant wailing was terrifying, and he wasn't sure if Silus could protect him from it. The sword was a potent weapon against magic and monsters; he wasn't sure how effective it would be against a spirit.

And so he marched on, ignoring the wisp, ignoring the thumping of his own heart. He had to find Lillandra. He had to get her out of here.

He eventually arrived at another intersection; here the corridor branched off in two different directions. He had no idea which path to take -- he couldn't make out any footprints on the stone floor, and there was no other sign that Lillandra had been here -- so he made another guess, choosing the right-hand path. There were several rooms connected to this hallway, which he investigated, but they were totally bare; in fact they reminded him of crypts or burial vaults, although there were no coffins or sarcophagi within them. The entire fortress was rather curiously empty, now that he thought about it; there seemed to be no articles in these dark passageways at all. No furniture, no sconces, no statues, no thrones, no discarded weapons, no broken pots or jars. Perhaps, he thought, the ruins had already been picked clean by bandits.

He came to the end of the corridor, which was partially caved in; there were large stones blocking his path forward. There was, however, a two-foot gap between the stones and the ceiling, which suggested to him that the corridor continued beyond it. Had Lillandra gone to the trouble of climbing up there? Or had she taken some other path? He frowned, trying to decide where to go from here.

But the matter was soon decided for him -- the wisp was still following him, and he was sure to encounter it if he doubled back now. With nowhere to go but forward, he quickly climbed up the fallen stones -- which wasn't easy; he was still carrying the torch -- and squeezed through the gap. Then, righting himself, he wriggled down the other side, scraping and scratching himself as he went. Fortunately the corridor did continue beyond it, just as he had expected, and this area was undamaged. Dusting himself off, he marched on, still calling out for Lillandra. His voice echoed through the darkness; the sound was almost as eerie as the moaning of the wisp.

The corridor went on for about fifty feet, then opened up into a large, open room with a very high ceiling. This room was unlike any of the others he had seen -- for one thing, the walls were decorated with huge, colorful, and very lively mosaics. Though he didn't recognize any of the characters in the mosaics, or any of the historical events they depicted, he was impressed by the artistry -- the mosaics covered entire walls, and were incredibly detailed. The glass and colored stones that made up these scenes glinted and glimmered in the flickering light of his torch.

The other strange thing about this room was the fact that it was not empty -- unlike the other rooms he had seen, this one was full of artifacts, including several ancient-looking suits of bronze armor, which lined the walls.

At the far end of the room was a kind of dais, and standing on the dais, looking down at the floor as though she were lost in thought, was Lillandra. Arai immediately ran to her, relieved, but also angry; he was torn between wanting to hit her and wanting to hug her.

He quickly climbed the steps to the dais. Lillandra didn't even look up at him; he had to take her by the shoulder and shake her into alertness.

"Lillandra! What's wrong with you? Why did you wander off?"

She finally deigned to look at him. "I saw her," she said.

"Saw who?"

"Maximine."

"Maximine?" Arai suddenly noticed that she was holding something in her right hand -- a short sword with a brilliant, mirrorlike blade. She held it up to show him.

"She gave me this."

Arai studied the sword. It was a beautiful, slender blade -- only half as long as Silus, but perfect for someone of Lillandra's size. The crossguard was silver, and the pommel was a golden globe. Arai realized with a start that the design was very similar to Silus; the two blades could have been forged by the same smith. "Where did you get that?"

"I told you, Maximine gave it to me. She was here. At least...I think she was." She suddenly looked confused. "It feels like a dream now, but..." She examined the sword. "No, it had to have been real. The sword is real, isn't it?"

"It looks real," Arai said guardedly. He wasn't sure what was happening here, but whatever it is was, it was very strange.

"This is the sword she used to slay the Demon King," she went on. "Helene, the Bright Hope. That's what she called it. She told me to take it, to go forth and fight evil. But what am I supposed to do with it? I don't know how to use a sword."

Go forth and fight evil. This was the same expression Illu Matté had used when Arai had spoken with him -- or his shade -- in the snowy wasteland beyond the Frozen Mountains. He had given Lillandra a rough account of his search for the sword, but he never mentioned his dreamlike conversation with Illu Matté; he didn't think she had picked up that phrase from him.

Had Maximine really appeared to her, as Illu Matté had appeared to him? Had she really given her that sword?

But this wasn't the time to ask questions. "We have to get out of here," he told her urgently. "The wisp--"

"I hear it," she said. She shook her head to clear it, and that distant look in her eyes finally went away; she appeared to be herself again. "All right. Let's go."

They began to climb down from the dais. Before they had even made it down to the floor, however, the wisp -- still wailing -- floated into the great room. Arai stopped and raised his sword.

It was a weird, phantasmal thing, a blob of ghostly quintessence with no face or features at all. It floated through the air as though it were swimming through the sea, moving quickly and making many rapid adjustments, and leaving behind tentacle-like trails of light in its wake; it reminded Arai of a jellyfish. It was partially transparent, and apparently intangible, for it had just passed through the stone wall as though it were no obstacle at all. It paused when it saw them, but did not stop its unearthly wailing.

Arai turned to face the creature. Was it really a ghost? He had no idea. He knew he didn't want to fight the thing, if he could help it, but the wisp was blocking their exit, and now it was floating closer, whirling through the air, feinting and lunging at them as though it meant to attack.

"Don't let it touch you," Lillandra warned.

Arai didn't need to be reminded; he had seen what had happened to Sir Pallas. Carefully, he edged forward, trying to predict the wisp's movements, but the thing was very fast.

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And then it suddenly darted forward. Arai attempted to strike it with Silus, but it shot up into the air above him before he could land a blow. It spun around a few times, then darted off in Lillandra's direction. She ducked, and it flew past her, spinning around and flying at Arai once again.

This time it got close enough for Arai to touch it with Silus. His blade passed through it, making no apparent contact at all, but it must have done something, because the wisp's wailing suddenly rose in pitch, turning into a shriek, and it retreated, flying over to the standing suits of bronze armor.

Well, that proved one thing, at least -- Silus was capable of injuring these creatures. Buoyed by this, Arai hopped off the dais and started after it, intending to strike it again and finish it off if he could.

Then the wisp did something strange -- it flew into one of the suits of armor and disappeared from view. At first, Arai thought it might be attempting to hide from him...but then the armor itself, the whole suit, began to move, stumbling off the stand upon which it had been placed.

Arai had never seen anything quite like this -- the ghostly entity had evidently "possessed" the empty suit of armor. It picked up a mace and started for him -- a bronze cuirass, with gauntlets, greaves, and cuisseses, and topped with a round helmet, but with nothing connecting any of these disparate pieces together.

The suit of armor came rushing at him very quickly, faster than any human could move. Arai was so surprised by this sudden burst of speed that he stumbled back a step, and only barely managed to avoid the mace as it came crashing down. He dove to one side, and the mace impacted the stone floor instead, cracking it; Arai realized with dismay that if he had attempted to deflect the blow with Silus he probably would have been killed. This animated suit of armor was not only supernaturally fast, but supernaturally strong.

Rolling to his feet, he delivered a quick, horizontal slash to the armor. It was little more than a tap, an attempt to drive the wisp out of the armor with Silus's magic-cancelling power, but it did nothing at all; the armor remained upright, and Arai was forced to jump out of the way again when the mace came swinging back at him.

He scrambled away from it. How the hell was he supposed to stop this thing? "Lillandra!" he shouted. "I could use some help here!"

"I'm working on it!" she said. She was digging through her satchel, probably looking for a zemi.

"Can you dissolve the spell it's using?"

"It's not using magic," she said.

He had to duck and dodge the mace a few times before he could fire off a reply. "So what's holding it up? What the hell is this thing?"

"A ghost, maybe. A demon." She stopped suddenly. "A demon..."

There was no time to ask her what she was thinking; the wisp-armor was attacking him furiously now, swinging its heavy mace again and again. Arai backpedaled -- there was no point in trying to actually engage this thing -- but it was so quick that he couldn't evade it, and finally he was forced to try to parry one of its swings with Silus. The mace struck the blade with resounding force, easily knocking it out of his hand. Arai stumbled and fell. The living armor loomed over him, raising the mace over its helmet. And then it came down.

Arai timed it as best he could, rolling to one side to avoid the strike, which, as before, shattered the stone floor. He grabbed the mace, hoping to wrestle it away from the wisp-armor, but it was too strong; it drew back the mace, which had the effect of yanking Arai back up to his feet. And suddenly he found himself face to face with the thing, staring into the black nothing within its helmet.

The wisp-armor easily shook him off, then raised the mace again, preparing to strike. He was too close, and the armor was too fast; there was nothing he could do to avoid this blow. He flinched.

But the blow never came. The living armor had stopped in mid-swing, and a fraction of a second later, it crashed to the floor, totally lifeless. At the same moment, the wisp reappeared in its ghostly, blobbish form, but it was screaming now, and wriggling, something like a worm pinned on a hook. After a moment of struggling, it disintegrated, its cloudy essence dissipating, its scream slowly dying away.

And as the wisp faded away, Lillandra came into view -- she was standing behind it; she had stabbed it with her new sword.

"What happened?" Arai asked. "Is it dead?"

Lillandra slowly lowered the sword. "It was already dead."

"But you destroyed it, banished it. With that sword."

She nodded. "I had a feeling it would work."

Arai was full of questions, but they would have to wait; it was more important that they escape from this place. Who knew how many more of these wisps might be out there?

"Let's get out of here," he said, collecting Silus and taking her by the hand. She did not object, but followed him out of the great room, through the caved-in hallway, and into the confusing corridors beyond it. Arai, who had gotten himself all turned around, wasn't sure which way they had come, but Lillandra was able to use the Rabbit's Foot to direct them out of the fortress. They soon found themselves back in the huge cavernous gallery where stood the great stone statues of Maximine and Illu Matté.

Shell and Sir Estil were waiting for them there. Shell let out a great sigh when she saw them.

"We were just about to go in and look for you," the elf girl said. "Are you all right? Where did you go, Lillandra? Why did you run off? We were so worried!" She was getting a little choked up.

"I'm sorry," Lillandra said, touching her gently on the cheek. "I didn't mean to make you worry. There was something in the ruins I needed to find." She looked at the sword, which she was still carrying in her hand.

"What happened?" Shell whispered to Arai, as they began to make their way back to the camp.

"I don't know," Arai sighed. "I wish I did."

* * *

Sir Pallas made a swift recovery, and the expedition left Urumkesh the next morning, venturing further into the desert and closer to the great Riven Mountains. Sir Estil, Damon, and a few others scouted ahead as usual that day, but Arai remained behind with the main group, partly because he was exhausted -- he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before -- but mostly because he wanted to speak with Lillandra.

She spent most of her time in the wagon on which Hiero had mounted the radiator, and that's where he found her, sitting in the back, pondering the sword she had discovered in the ruins. He jumped up on the wagon himself and rode with her for a time without saying anything, and indeed it was Lillandra who finally broke the silence.

"I want to hear the story of how you found Silus," she said.

He obliged her, leaving out no details. He told her how he had crossed the Frozen Mountains with Odo and Maya; he told her of their travails in the snowy, lifeless wastes beyond; and he told her, at last, of how he had stumbled across the shrine of Illu Matté.

"You saw him?" she pressed. "You spoke to him?"

He hesitated. "I think I did. But I hadn't slept in three days and I hadn't eaten in five. I was delirious. It's possible I just imagined it."

"Do you remember your conversation? Do you remember what he told you?"

He nodded slowly. "He gave me Silus. He told me to go forth and fight evil, wherever I found it."

She considered that for a long moment. "The same thing Maximine told me. What does it mean, Arai?"

"What I thought it meant, at the time, was that I should use the sword to defeat you and your monsters, to free Velon from your tyranny. I thought I had been chosen by Illu Matté to carry out that purpose." He put his hand on Silus' pommel. "I thought I was the hero, and you were the villain."

"I am a villain," she muttered. "At least in the minds of the people of Velon. I'm certainly not any kind of a hero. Why would Maximine give this sword to me?"

"Are you sure it was Maximine you saw? Are you sure it wasn't some kind of vision or hallucination?"

"I might ask you the same thing, in regards to Illu Matté."

"Fair enough," he admitted.

"I saw Urumkesh in my dreams," she went on. "I saw Maximine as well, although I didn't realize it was her until I saw the statue in the ruins. But Maximine really was a hero, the savior of mankind, the woman who slew the Demon King. I don't deserve to carry her sword. I don't know how to use a sword anyway. Why would she want me to have it?"

"I don't know," Arai confessed. "But if you really did speak to Maximine's spirit, and if that sword really is Helene...she must have had a good reason for giving it to you, right?" He frowned. "How is it that your sword was able to destroy the wisp, while my sword could not?"

"Maybe Helene is different in some way," she said. "Maybe it has some properties that Silus does not."

"Is there any magic in it? Is it anything like a zemi?"

She shook her head. "I can't sense anything. It's similar to Silus -- at first glance there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about it, but if you look at it closely..." She shrugged. "I don't know how to describe it to someone who can't see magia. It's like a sliver of darkness in a sea of light. In any case, there's no spells in it that I can see."

He extended a hand. "May I?"

She handed him the sword. It was considerably smaller than Silus, more of a long knife than a sword, really, but it was very well-balanced, and it felt good in his hand. The blade was sharp, and the grip and pommel were free from wear; in fact they appeared to be brand new. The silver crossguard had been polished to a mirror-shine.

Was this really the blade that had destroyed Enlil, the Demon King, thousands of years ago?

"Beautiful," he said, handing it back to her.

"What am I going to do with it?" she asked.

"Keep it," he said. "Learn to use it."

She blinked at him. "Learn to use it?"

"You wanted to learn how to fight, didn't you? And it's like I said before: if Maximine really did appear to you, if she really did give you this sword, she must have had a reason for it."

Lillandra sighed. "I don't like this. I don't want whatever it is that Maximine has prepared for me. I won't be her pawn."

"We can't always escape our fate."

"Maybe you can't," she said.

He smiled a little. This was the Lillandra he had come to know -- the Lillandra he had, at last, fallen in love with. She would fight against fate; she would even defy death if she had to. Nothing was impossible for her. Nothing would stand in her way.

"I offered to teach you how to use a sword," he said after a moment. "That offer still stands."

She didn't reject him outright this time. This time, she looked thoughtful for a moment, and said, "Maybe I could use a couple of lessons."

Arai's little smile grew into a grin. One step at a time, he repeated to himself. One step at a time.