Ever since he received the summons to answer the Queen, Sir Bomilcar asked himself if he should have just taken the boy when he had the chance. If he had, the girl might have eluded his grasp and he would probably be in no better position if he brought back Tobias alone. No, that was just an excuse. When the moment came, he could not bring himself to capture the boy he raised as his own. And now he was suffering the consequences for pretending to be a father.

To take his mind off the stewing regrets churning in his mind, he turned his attention to the others gathered in the chamber. 'Convocant' was the word he heard used for the Queen's guests. Apparently there was an agreement among these Convocants. Each of them would bring an entourage of no more than four people. Some only brought one or two and a few came alone. It was a good thing because the chamber had enough people as it was.

What an assortment. Sellswords and slaves, knights and priestesses, cloaked Children of the Forest, thick-bodied and bushy bearded Sons of the Mountain, and even the savage Catmen of the North. The only reason they could stand in the same place was because of the common purpose that bound their masters. What that purpose was, Sir Bomilcar did not know. He did not need to know. Probably he did not want to know either.

True to his well-seasoned discipline, Sir Bomilcar stood motionless at his post, yet his eyes were constantly scanning the room in search of any sign of treachery. In theory, no single faction had the strength for it, but what if there was some hidden alliance? Eight or ten united could easily overcome twenty divided. Just because there were women in the mix was no cause to underestimate them. A woman did not need to be a savage-blooded she-ass like Captain Yael to kill a man. It would be easy to hide a knife in those priestess robes, for instance, and if you let down your guard, you were inviting that blade in.

Although no one was above suspicion, he was most suspicious of the Catmen. They were little better than animals, after all. Sir Bomilcar had been on the northern marches on several campaigns, so he knew exactly what they were like.

Of these three big shaved lions, the biggest of the three was the one that concerned him most of all. Ever since the Convocant he served went up with the others, the big lion's eyes had not strayed from that halfblooded mindwalker the Queen had taken in. His tail wagged agitatedly as he watched her. Sir Bomilcar had seen the same behavior in housecats stalking a bird or mouse. Whatever part of this cat had anything resembling a man's reason was the only thing that kept him from pouncing.

And then he made his move.

Nadha, the elder brother, asked, "What do you mean to do?"

The Ah ih Khul simply repeated, "See that the Tall Apes do not interfere."

The Ah ih Khul raised his hand, flexing his fingers and baring his claws.

Tadha, the younger brother, then said, "We are only seeing that they do not interfere with whatever the Ah ih Khul means to do. If the Tall Apes do not bare their claws, neither do we and so we still obey the G'hah ih Sh'ach."

This seemed to convince Nadha. He was soft-headed enough to be easily swayed by his brother's cleverness. However, even though it served the Ah ih Khul's purpose, he regarded Tadha with suspicion. A clever mind was often the sign of a craven heart and so it was not highly esteemed among Ral'gha warriors. The Ah ih Khul would need to watch young Tadha more closely from now on.

The two of them went over to the Tall Apes standing by the stairs while the Ah ih Khul approached the wretched creature whose very presence had been driving him mad this whole time. She was a female Tall Ape, but there was something different about her. It gave him an ill feeling. More than that, though...

The woman did not respond. There was no fear. The was nothing at all. He had seen the cubs of the Tall Apes play with likenesses of themselves made of wood and straw. 'Dolls', he believed there were called. This woman was like one of those dolls. She had the shape of a Tall Ape but no life to her. It only served to make him angrier.

Still she said nothing. She may as well have been made of wood and straw herself.

He seized her by the neck, shouting, "Answer me, damn you!"

It was not one of the Tall Apes Nadha and Tadha were holding back. He did not belong to the Tall Ape queen, so why as he interfering?

While he could understand the Tall Apes' tongue well enough, it was difficult to speak it.

The Tall Ape reached for the hilt of his sword.

Who was this wretched, puny Tall Ape that he thought he would give orders to the Ah ih Khul? Between him and the woman, the Ah ih Khul's anger burned too hotly for him to hold it back any longer. Tossing the woman aside, the Ah ih Khul swiped at the offending Tall Ape with his claws. The Tall Ape proved to be somewhat more skilled than most, dodging the Ah ih Khul's paw and drawing his sword. Normally, claw and fang were more than enough to deal with a Tall Ape, but even in his anger, the Ah ih Khul knew better than to take this one lightly. He took hold of the hand-axe hanging loosely off his belt that he might meet iron with iron.

All who had arms took them up. If they all came at the Ah ih Khul, even he would have found it to be something of a challenge, but it would seem that they were not so united in purpose. The ones to his left, none of whom smelled like ordinary Tall Apes, made no move against him. That just left seven with arms to his right. A mere seven Tall Apes were no match for the Ah ih Khul.

Better yet, only two came to the aid of the interfering Tall Ape. The first one caught the Ah ih Khul's axe in his neck and his body was thrown down on the floor. The second tried to seize the opening to attack the Ah ih Khul from behind, but he was able to turn in time and rake his claws across the Tall Ape's face. Not one to let an opportunity go to waste, the interfering Tall Ape went on the attack. Had the Ah ih Khul been a moment slower, he might have found himself with the Tall Ape's sword buried in his lung.

If that were not enough, he heard a tortured screech. To keep the Tall Apes by the stairs from interfering, Nadha and Tadha were standing so close that the Tall Apes could not draw their swords, but the female did not let the distance deter her. She had drawn a knife and plunged it into Tadha's neck. Despite her smaller size, she was clutching him by the ear with her free hand and trying to wrestle him to the floor.

He went to his brother's aid, but he was a fool to turn his back on the Tall Ape he was blocking. Once the Tall Ape had room enough to draw his sword, the blade went between his ribs.

It was no time for the Ah ih Khul to be worrying about anyone else, though. The interfering Tall Ape made another thrust that the Ah ih Khul only narrowly dodged, but not without opening up a long gash in his side. The Ah ih Khul chopped with his axe, but missed. However, the Tall Ape sacrificed his footing to dodge the attack. He was in no position to block or dodge the Ah ih Khul's other paw. If he was not wearing armor, the blow may well have put an end to him then and there. At very least, knocking him away gave the Ah ih Khul a moment to regroup before resuming his attack.

He should have moved in to finish off the interfering Tall Ape, but the Ah ih Khul noticed the woman picking herself up as if nothing had happened. The fighting and killing going on around her did not faze her in the slightest. Surely no living thing was so unfeeling. Was she even alive?

He found himself growing angrier still. This creature would not even give him the satisfaction of showing him the fear he deserved. He wanted to break her in body and in spirit to hurt the Khul na Ty'ha more, but if the woman had no spirit to break, he would have make do with breaking her body alone.

He needed a place where he could take his time with her, a place where he would not be disturbed. Perhaps if he had sought out an opportunity earlier, Nadha and Tadha would still be alive. No matter. It was too late for them, so he might as well get their blood's worth.

He seized the woman by the neck once more and made his way to the door. If any were fool enough to try to follow him, he would cut them down. Let the one interfering Tall Ape try. Who would be fool enough to follow him? One was dead and another maimed already. If any had a mind to join them, they would have done so already.

The Ah ih Khul had to put away his hand-axe so that he could open the door and leave the chamber. Once he opened the door, though, he realized that he had been careless. He should have noticed it sooner, even with everything that had been going on. There was no mistaking that scent.

It was the Khul na Ty'ha.

Out walked a big leonine Catman carrying around a woman by the neck. It was not just any woman either.

With a loud snarl, Tym'r darted ahead. The other Catman, seeing Tym'r coming at him, flung Shoshanna at Tym'r. Tym'r dropped his sword so that he might safely catch Shoshanna, providing the very opening the other Catman was looking for. The other Catman drew a hand-axe and sprang at the two of them. Tym'r dodged the other Catman's lunge just as Tobias was catching up to them.

In a single smooth motion, Tym'r handed Shoshanna over to Tobias while Tobias gave Tym'r his sword. Tym'r then went on the offensive while Tobias carried Shoshanna a short distance away to check her for injuries.

She did not answer him. There was some redness around her neck from where the Catman had been gripping her, but no serious hurt. The more concerning thing was that she did not answer him. Her eyes were lifeless and dull, as if her spirit had left her.

Still she said nothing. What had they done to her?

Someone else came out the door. Tobias scrambled for the sword Tym'r had dropped. The movement drew the man's attention from the two Catmen fighting further down the hall.

Tobias remembered him. He was the knight from Shakab, the one who served Lady Aria. Sir Nicolaus, was it?

Sir Nicolaus leveled his sword at Tobias.

Tobias did not raise his sword to meet him, but he did not let go of it either.

Sir Nicolaus hesitated. Tobias just needed to push a little more.

That was the correct approach. Sir Nicolaus may have been devoted to his liege lady, but he did not share that faith in the Queen and the other Convocants.

Tightening his grip on his sword, Sir Nicolaus said, "I should have trusted my instincts. I knew there was something foul at work here. Very well. You saved my lady's life once. I will trust you to do so again. God help us if you are wrong."

Tobias had been so focused on trying to win Sir Nicolaus over to their side that he had forgotten about Tym'r. One-on-one, Tobias was fairly confident in Tym'r's ability to come out on top, but he had been starved for nearly a week and did not have the spell from Master Tallan to give him borrowed strength. Tobias feared he had made some terrible mistake, but when he looked to Tym'r, the fight was already as good as finished.

Tym'r had pinned the other Catman to the floor in a deadly embrace with his opponent's throat in his jaws. The other Catman's claws dug into Tym'r's side, but it was not long before the strength left its fingers and the lifeless paw released him. Tym'r held the other Catman a while longer, so that there was no doubt it was dead, before finally letting go.

Tym'r looked at the body briefly before taking his paw and reaching up under the other Catman's ribs, forcing his way through hide and flesh, digging around inside until he pulled out the Catman's heart. He growled something that sounded decidedly unpleasant in his own tongue, then took a knife from the dead Catman's belt and stabbed the heart. With what sounded like some parting words of curse, he unceremoniously tossed the heart aside.

When he looked at Tobias, there was the briefest moment when Tobias though he might be next, but the fierceness in Tym'r's expression softened somewhat as he said, "A coward and a traitor's due. Let him find his way to the Far Plains empty and hollow."

So it was some sort of damning rite among his people. Now was not the time to think on it further, though.

Tobias looked at the necklace Shoshanna was wearing. If it was enchanted, perhaps removing it would break the spell. Although he did not know much about magic, he had been warned against tampering with enchanted items as they were often cursed. However, so long as it was not Tellus who cast the spell, he would probably be fine.

He took the necklace off Shoshanna and slowly the light returned to her eyes. She touched her neck where the Catman had bruised it, asking, "Tobiyah, where am I?"

Before Tobias could answer, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.

Tobias helped Shoshanna to her feet. Once she was steady on her feet, she went over to Tym'r and stroked his cheek. It sounded like she may have whispered something to him, no doubt a word of thanks.

Looking to the door, she then said, "Prepare yourselves. There are four men to the left, sellswords and the like. To the right are three Sons of the Mountain, apprentices of that vulgar smith; something else I cannot read; and two Children of the Forest. And ahead are the two captains, Bomilcar and Yael."

Tobias took hold of the door, looked at the others and said, "Ready? Tym'r, cover my right. Shoshanna, stay behind us. Let's go."

He opened the door and took the lead going in, with Tym'r close behind. His eyes quickly swept from corner to corner. Like Shoshanna said, there were four armed men on the left and seven others who appeared to be unarmed. There was a dead man lying in a pool of blood and another who appeared wounded that was being tended to by one of the priestesses from Mother Marina's temple. At the door to the stairwell stood Captains Bomilcar and Yael with two dead Catmen laid out in front of them. Captain Yael in particular looked a bloody mess, but the blood did not seem to be hers.

Before Tobias could try pleading his case any further, three cloaked men on their right rushed at them with knives drawn. Tobias slashed at one, only to discover the man did not bleed, or at least not like any ordinary man. Thick, blackish blood seeped from the wound. It was like the man was already dead.

The Son of the Mountain seemed to know she was talking about him. He looked at his hammer, then said something in his own tongue to his fellows. They seemed to come to some sort of agreement, then raised a warcry before joining the fray. However, they did not join on Tobias' side.

Sir Nicolaus nearly took an axe to the ribs. It was almost certain they were not going to get out of this unscathed, but then the Son of the Mountain with the hammer bashed in the skull of the companion on his left. The other Son of the Mountain shouted something at him before getting the same treatment. Tobias was confused for a moment, but then he saw Shoshanna with her hand stretched out toward the hammer-wielder.

Next it was one of the Children of the Forest who shouted something, nocking an arrow and loosing it at Shoshanna. Tobias drove his sword into the body of the dead man he was fighting and pushed the body into the path of the arrow. Had he been even one heartbeat slower, that arrow would have been sticking out of Shoshanna instead.

Using the body as a shield, he charged at the Children of the Forest. Both of them loosed more arrows at him, but Sir Bomilcar moved in from the other side, running one of them through. The remaining Child of the Forest pushed the body away and tried getting in close to slash at Tobias with a long curved knife. Tobias drew his sword out of the body and was about to attack when he realized the Child of the Forest he was fighting was a woman. He hesitated and it nearly got him killed.

It was all he could do to dodge the quick swings of the Child of the Forest's knife. He was giving ground to her and it seemed like she might take the advantage, but then a sword blade burst through her chest, nearly skewering Tobias as well. The Child of the Forest clutched at the blade with quaking hands before it was jerked sharply out of her body. It was Captain Yael who was standing there as the dying Child of the Forest fell to the floor.

Captain Yael then squared off against Tobias, saying, "I'm not going to let some tree fairy take my prize."

Before Tobias could say anything to dissuade her, Sir Bomilcar assumed a ready stance behind her.

Subtly shifting her position so she could have her eyes on both Tobias and Sir Bomilcar, she asked him, "Are you planning on joining in his treason, Captain Bomilcar? I'm not above letting you share the credit so long as you stay out of my way. Surely restoring your honor is worth more than one wayward fosterling."

Captain Yael sighed.

Sir Bomilcar gave a shout as he moved in with an overhead chop. It was a large move meant to be read, ensuring Captain Yael would be put on the defensive to block it.

Sir Bomilcar did not take his eyes off Captain Yael, but he still spared a moment to tell Tobias, "Get going. If this thing is as dangerous as you say, put an end to it."

One of the sellswords stepped forward, saying, "If you plan on gettin' in the boss' way, I reckon we gotta stop you."

His partner, however, said, "You fool, we don't stand a chance 'gainst them."

As if to support his point, Shoshanna waved her hand, making the remaining Son of the Mountain crater in his own face with his hammer.

Sir Nicolaus moved to cover Sir Bomilcar's back and told Tobias, "We will hold them here. I am trusting my lady to you, Sir Tobias."

Tobias nodded and along with Tym'r and Shoshanna, he made his way up the stairs. Tellus was waiting for him. He only hoped they were not too late.