"Get the water buckets!" Beadu screamed. A company of flaming arrows came toward the wall. The first missed, landing in the dirt. The next few lodged but missed the pitch and hissed out in a fit of steam. Finally one landed in the pitch. A quick thinking soldier dumped his water down the wall at just the right moment and doused the flame before it could catch.Those on the wall relaxed for a moment. Then another set of flickering stars lit along the ground before arcing through the air. Had it not been fiery arrows meant to kill her, Mairwen thought the sight was almost beautiful. More of the arrows hit high enough on the wall this time; the archers had moved closer. The princess used the origin of the lights to take out as many of the archers as she could while the others fought off the flames.One, two, three of the fiery arrows were extinguished, but the forth bit deep into the wall in the center of the pitch. For a moment it seemed that nothing would happen. Perhap

Aurora stared, reading the same page for the hundredth time. Her mind could not focus. Having received a brief account of what had happened at the fort from a messenger late the night before, the Empress had been unable to sleep. Instead Aurora found herself pouring her time into working on her son's problem: ridding his body of magic and its damage.After sunrise, Councilman Birger had joined her in scouring the books for a solution. As promised, he had diligently come every day to read with her, and when she was particularly tired, he would read aloud to her. Just now they were sitting quietly in the palace library when Aurora slammed the book shut in frustration."The princess should have been here by now. Perhaps the messenger did not know to find me here. Nurlan!" Aurora called. The guard appeared instantly. "Make sure the front gate knows where to find me. I want to know the minute Mairwen and Brinn enter the city so I can meet them when they arrive""Yes,

"My servants tell me that Renat has found his way to the infirmary," Aurora commented as she walked down the hall with Brinn, Mairwen and Zan."Is he sick?" Mairwen was worried."Did you hurt him, Your Majesty?" Brinn was quickly returning to her plucky self.The Empress looked at her friend sidelong. "Not yet. Renat seems to have taken up well with the doctor. Great minds must gravitate towards one another."Mairwen only heard the threat at the beginning of her mother's words. "Please do not hurt him! Remember that he saved my life and yours too with those special glasses. Renat is one of your most loyal subjects. Anyway, he is just a friend so there is no need for alarm." The last part was more to herself than to the others."I will reserve my judgement until after I have met him," the Empress responded, suppressing a smile. It was nice to have the tables turned after days of fretting over her daughter. 'Let her sweat a little,' Aurora thought. A

Cafer came above ground with Alaron in a cloud of dirt. Their stops were frequent as the gnome kept having to surface to communicate with Xander via leprechaun. The messages were increasingly expensive, and Cafer was running out of coin. His frustration and greed made him decide that continuing to use magic to travel underground was his best option. The gnome had been making record time even with the extra strain from the teenage boy.Alaron stepped away from the gnome and brushed himself off. "It is a good thing I am not claustrophobic," he grumbled. "But I will admit it is fast. How much further do we have to go?""A day or two if we keep up this pace.""Will we have to go underground the rest of the way?" Alaron was obviously not fond of the idea."The other option is traveling via eagle." Cafer suggested. He was also tired of using his magic.The prince scrunched his face. "An eagle? The small bird?""No, an eagle big enough to carry bot

"Kill them!" Baak commanded.Alaron froze. Had he heard correctly? The prince moved his hand to his sword as he continued to bow. He heard the ringing of steel as the gnome soldiers drew their weapons. The boy had no idea if he could defeat them all, but he would not go down without a fight.Cafer, on the other hand, pretended to be amused. "You are quite humorous, my king. You are far too wise to go around killing your faithful subjects like this." The crafty gnome straightened his back and gave the Baak a warm smile.Alaron picked up on the game. He also lifted his head and beamed a grin on the gnome king. "You had not told me that the King enjoyed jokes, Cafer. I would have come prepared with my own riddles."Baak raised his hand and the guards sheathed their swords. He gave a booming laugh. "You have a lot of nerve, Cafer. I will give you that. I would have much preferred to have you beg."Cafer dipped his head again. "I may yet have to do just that, my king. May I introduce Princ