Within the hour, the party was summoned by a pair of palace guards; not the same ones from the previous night. "It is time, Lord de Perrin."

  "Let's not keep our king waiting, then," Jasper said, rising from the table, and the others followed suit.

  The guard who spoke led the way while the other fell in behind Astrid as they filed from the borrowed room, navigating the labyrinthine halls with the ease and quickness of years of familiarity. At the door that lead out the the courtyard, the one they had entered from, the first guard paused momentarily, turning to face Jasper.

  "May you have swift travel and a safe journey, Brother," he said, holding his right fist to his heart and bowing his head.

  "My thanks to you," Jasper replied, giving him the same gesture.

  The guard quickly turned to open the large door, releasing them to join those already assembled. Jasper continued across the courtyard, leading their group in the direction of the king and wizard at the center of the gathering. Nearly a dozen palace workers buzzed about like bees in the hive as the last of the preparations were being made for their departure. The final crates, boxes, rolls, and parcels were being loaded and secured into two canvas-covered wagons, and the last of the horses were being saddled and readied, their own mounts included. Victoria watched as freshly sharpened swords and spears, short bows and longbows, and several crates containing quivers of arrows were being carefully inspected before being loaded and secured into the wagons. She felt the fear begin to rise.

  "This really is going to be dangerous, isn't it?" Victoria said quietly to Jasper.

  "Apparently, yes. I'd like to think His Majesty is just being overly cautious, but given the nature of this little endeavor, it could very well become necessary. With any luck, we'll be over prepared," Jasper replied.

  While it did nothing to alleviate her fears, she appreciated his honesty. Better to set off expecting the worst than to minimize the threat of danger and face it ill-prepared. Then the unpleasant thought that it wasn't enough darted through her mind, settling itself like a stone in the pit of her stomach.

  "Lord de Perrin." The king's voice brought Victoria back to the present.

  "Your Majesty," Jasper replied, laying a fist to his chest and bowing low, the three behind him following suit.

  "Nine of my best Elite Guardsmen will be escorting you, as will Master Agarus," Nicodemus stated. "We've decided to favor haste over concealment, so you'll take the road that follows the river. At the Eralian border there will be elven guards ready to escort you to Astheas, where you will report immediately to King Naverion. Do nothing to attract unnecessary attention to yourselves." He gestured for them to join the waiting entourage. "Captain Bechard and Master Agarus will fill in the details and answer any questions once you're away from the city. For now, may you have swift travel and a safe journey." The king turned away, giving a gesture to the man at the head of the caravan.

  "Mount up!" the man barked, and everyone moved quickly to obey. "You four, to the front," he said, gesturing to Jasper.

  Ozan Agarus joined them at the head of the line, inclining his head. "On your order, Captain Bechard."

  The Captain of the King's Elite Guard gave a brusque nod. "Move out!"

  At his word, the company set out at a brisk trot through the courtyard out into the city streets, and they rode in silence until the high walls of the city dwindled to a small thing behind them. Ozan was the first to break the silence once the Captain deemed them far enough from the city to speak openly.

  "I'd like to apologize again to you all for the rather abrupt way that matters have played out in such a short span of time. A long, unplanned excursion to unknown ends with an individual not of our world was never something we imagined would come to pass. In all honesty, we never thought the stone would even be found, at least not in our lifetime," The wizard said.

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  "What was the plan, Master Agarus?" Jasper asked.

  "Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, there are secret passages within the castle," Ozan explained. "Some lead in and out to secret locations, but there is one that leads far into the earth. Created specifically for the purpose of concealing the stone. Its construction was commissioned by King Jareth shortly after Assyria's disappearance. Anyone involved in its creation was confined to the castle until its completion, and with my assistance, every one of them were made to forget anything they knew of its existence."

  "So you wiped their memories?" Victoria added, slightly appalled.

  Ozan chuckled lightly. "Not the whole of their memories, child. I merely removed their memories of the passage and its location, nothing more. Jareth believed that for the protection of the realm and all within it, and all else for that matter, that only he and I should know the location and how to gain access to it. The stone was to be sealed away deep in the belly of the earth so that it may never fall into the hands of those who would use it to malevolent ends. Namely, Assyria. But," he paused, addressing Victoria. "Your arrival changed all that."

  At that moment, Victoria felt about an inch tall. "I'm sorry, I really am. Believe me, if I'd known any of this was going to happen I would've left the damn thing in the box I found it in and none of us would be in this situation."

  "There's no need to apologize." Ozan reassured her. "Things will happen the way they are meant to. A power that no one could speak against brought you here for a purpose. Perhaps the Magic saw something in you that you yourself do not yet see."

  She pondered his words for a few moments, then shook her head. "I don't know what it would see in me. I'm not particularly good at anything, don't have any special talents. I'm about as average as you can get."

  "We shall see," Ozan replied. "I would like to hear the course of events that lead to your finding of the stone and how you came to be here."

  And so she retold her story, in as much detail as she could remember, at Ozan's insistence. He listened intently, interrupting only to clarify small details. The others listened too, including the guards who rode close enough to hear. The stories of the stone were centuries old, and they had doubted that it even existed, but now they listened with fascination as they realized they now played a part in what was to be the last tale of the stone. She ended where it started, waking in the meadow and being found by Jasper's children.

  "The rest you know," Victoria said.

  Ozan road silently for several moments, contemplating her tale, before heaving a sigh. "For all the years I've lived, all the knowledge I possess, in this I seem to be nigh unto useless."

  Astrid turned to the wizard as she was struck with a thought. "In the castle you said you knew of a witch who might know things about the stone. Did you never think to consult with her before now? At the very least to know more about it, if not to learn its whereabouts?"

  "Of course I did." Ozan straightened, put off at the thought that he would be so ignorant. "Three times I've journeyed to the island. Each time I returned empty-handed as I was either turned away or she was nowhere to be found."

  "What makes you think she'll change her tune this time?" Victoria asked, a hint of worry in her words.

  "Well for one, we're no longer trying to find the stone. For another, ancient magic has tasked you with its destruction. But the blunt truth is that I don't know," Ozan stated. "We can only hope that she will hear your words and either give counsel or knowledge. With any luck, both."

  Wonderful. Now I'm relying on luck to get home.

  He said no more, and Victoria was content to not ask anymore questions she wouldn't like the answers to. It was still early and they had a very long way to go, more unpleasantness could wait.

  They continued in silence a while longer before Captain Bechard turned to address Victoria. "Young lady, considering what you've told us, I believe I can safely conclude that you've no skill at arms, correct?"

  "Arms? Like swords?" she replied.

  "Aye."

  "No. That kind of thing is barely a hobby where I'm from," she said.

  "Hm," he said with a slight scowl of disapproval. "Well we'll have to work on that. You'll need to at least learn to defend yourself. It won't do to undertake a task such as this without a rudimentary handle on a weapon. We'll see what we can teach you when we break at midday."

* * *

  The party pressed onward, unaware of the familiar glowing red eye that followed them, circling far overhead; watching, listening. Unaware of the woman who watched and listened through it from her dark fortress deep in the frozen waste. The water of a wide, black stone scrying bowl glowed red as the raven's vision played across its surface.

  Cruel laughter like honey tinged with poison rang through the room, echoing into the mountains. "Foolish child. You think to deny me what's mine? I think not."

  She passed a graceful hand over the bowl and the vision cleared. With closed eyes she began to chant, and the water beneath her palm began to ripple and glow with a pulsing crimson light. Her eyes opened, glowing red as the water before her.

  "Hunt them down."