Yilina returned home. Ann transported her all the way across the desert to Ventara. With her, she carried the encased residue from eight horns and the severed head of a Tamerian. No, not just a Tamerian, the one who had taken her husband’s horn and cost her family its status. She helped as much as she could to heal those injured by the horns. She had successfully performed the task she had been sent to do. Now, she wanted to see her family. Ann hadn’t been able to pinpoint the herd but she was close enough to transport there on her own. *** “Papa, I miss Mama.” “I know you do, little one. She’ll be home soon,” Jamis assured the boy. Yilina’s youngest was having trouble being away from her. Jamis missed her too. He’d never told her so, but she was his favorite wife. He’d loved her since childhood. Most of his wives he’d taken to increase his status. He’d worked his way up to lead stallion from a weed eater in order to keep his promise to Yilina’s father that he would care for and protect her. He hoped he hadn’t broken that promise by allowing her to go. Whether or not he had, he would watch over her sons until she returned. And he would not allow it to hurt his own status. Taking care of your own children was not a weakness. He lay with the boy until the boy fell asleep. Then he checked on the other two. They were a little older and doing better, but both were starting to worry. They were currently sleeping too. He couldn’t sleep. He wandered from the others a ways and then lay, looking up at the stars. He glanced back at the herd. Most were asleep. He thought he saw a flash and turned. There was Yilina, in human form walking towards him. With tears in his eyes, he went to her. He took human form and took her into his arms hugging and kissing her. “I missed you so,” he told her. “I missed you too.” “Did you do it?” He asked. “I’ve got eight horns. We killed several Tamerians, fortified the protections against them, and I brought you this.” She held up a severed head. It had been years since he’d seen that face but he’d never forget it. It was the face of the man who had taken his horn. He snorted. He took the burdens from her and held her again. “You smell like a dragon,” he told her. She did smell different but he didn’t know what the dragons smelled like. “It’s the dragon skins I brought for protection.” “A lead stallion’s wife shouldn’t wreak so. Come get cleaned up.” “What about my boys?” “They’re asleep. You can see them later. Come, let me bathe you.” “You?” She realized what he was asking. He pulled her close and kissed her. “I missed you so.” *** “Careful now,” Mishtali warned. He lowered Remtani into a chair. Remtani kept a tight grip on the dragon and his cane. It was the first time he had been up since the attack. The horn had done serious damage and he needed extensive healing. He winced in pain. This was definitely one of the worst injuries he’d had. The healers had done well helping him. Mishtali gave him some green bough root for the pain. “I might need to make a quadruple batch,” Andy said. “That’s from Bacna’s supply.” “Hey!” Bacna protested. “You still have a dozen more,” Andy assured him. “Thailyn hardly needs his since they healed his heart. You can use some of his if you need to,” Pisha told them. “My what?” Thailyn asked as he came with drinks. “Your green bough,” Pisha told him. “Oh sure. Are we getting low?” “I’m making more in the morning,” Andy told him. Ann sat and curled up with him. They were gathering in the barroom. It seemed like a good place not to be alone, something they all seem to want. “Remtani, are you supposed to be up?” She asked. “Thailyn said I could,” Remtani told her. “It’s therapy,” Thailyn added. “Walking and sitting up. Dad carried him on the stairs.” “Did Yilina get home okay?” Pisha asked Ann. Ann nodded. “She did and her husband was quite happy to see her.” “You didn’t,” Mishtali growled. “I scried her. I didn’t interrupt. I ended it as soon as I saw them together. They weren’t doing anything yet but it was clear what he had in mind. I have no desire to watch,” Ann assured him. “May we join you?” Emeton asked along with Tylan, Pt’this, and Sapphire. “It’s your palace,” Bacna shrugged. Emeton frowned. He didn’t like that response. “Yes, it is, and that’s my wine you’re drinking.” “No, it’s not. It’s juice Andy m-made. And he paid for it,” Bacna grinned. “Be nice,” Tylan scolded. Bacna sighed exaggeratedly. “You’re not drinking, are you?” Tylan asked Remtani. “It’s just juice,” Remtani assured her. “My guards won’t let me.” He gestured to Mishtali and the healers. “No one’s having alcohol tonight,” Ann told them. “At least not in this group, not yet.” Tylan frowned at that last portion. Ann had a tendency to drink excessively when she did drink. “I’m not drinking it all,” Ann assured her. “I’m still staying sober from what they did to ‘help’ me. I mean if others come.” Tylan nodded. Emeton handed her a drink. “Sorry that took so long,” Shay said as she and Jaidu joined them. “Hello,” she greeted the newcomers. “Ann, what did you learn about the council spying on me?” Pt’this asked. “It’s council business. Do you want me to say it here?” “Yes. I’m tired of all the secrets.” “That’s not going to stop with you knowing this.” “What is it?” “They’re planning on naming you and Nim as two of their successors. That’s why you’re both out of Baj-tisk, so all the successors aren’t in the same location. John’s your aide, but he’s also here to protect you and train you.” “Are you serious? I thought they hated us.” “They do, but that doesn’t enter into it. They think you both are the right people for the job.” A man entered tentatively. “I was told the prince-general was up here. I just wanted to check on him.” “Jev, come on in,” Remtani called. “There’s no rank in here, remember?” Emeton asked. “I know, but…” “Sit, join us,” Tylan insisted. Jev obeyed. He looked different, older, not much but enough to pass for an adult. He had two eyes again and the new one matched the old one perfectly. “Make yourself at home. Pour a drink,” Remtani said. “I’d get you something, but I’d fall before I got to the bar.” Jev glanced at his gloved hands. “No, thanks.” “Problems?” Ann asked. Jev shrugged. “Not really. I’m just not done with therapy yet. I can’t control how hard I hold things. I may break the bottle.” Ann rolled her eyes. “If you need help say something.” She got up and went to the bar. “What do you want?” “I don’t know. I shouldn’t have alcohol yet.” “Do you want coffee, tea, apple, pear, cherry, or grape juice?” Jev turned to look at her. “There are several here avoiding alcohol lately,” she explained. “Cherry juice, please.” Ann nodded and poured him a glass. “Thanks.” “What are you doing here if you’re not done with your therapy?” Tylan asked. “The Tamerians have been monitoring Torthoc to make sure the Ertonians weren’t planning anything with some device up in the stars. After you came and told them about the rebels, they started watching the shield. They saw a variation in its strength here in Menthanla. Then it started fluctuating. They assumed the rebels were doing something. They used the transport charm you gave them to come help. They brought me to act as a guide and to help convince you they were only trying to help. I wasn’t supposed to be fighting, but there was no way I could not help.” “Ann, Drepal, and I will talk with them and decide what to do with them,” Emeton said. “I’ve seen nothing to indicate they are planning trouble. And I should go back.” Jev took off one of his gloves to reveal a mechanical, metal hand. “I wasn’t quite done with my surgeries. They were going to do it all at once, but I started having problems because of the spell and had to be woken up.” Emeton nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.” “Maybe I can go with him,” Raylee offered. “I can keep an eye on him during the surgery and bring him back when he’s ready. Perhaps I can work with their therapists and learn to help him so he doesn’t need to stay as long.” “Is it safe for you to go back,” Ann asked. “They can’t hold me any longer. I don’t know that they’d try.” “I’ll think about it and talk to them,” Emeton agreed. “Was it you who was working the shield protecting the well?” Jev asked Raylee. “No, I was the one repairing the well. It was one of the Augmenters.” “It was me,” Crito admitted with a sigh. “Was that you who shielded me up in Paosij?” Pt’this asked. Crito nodded. “Thanks?” “Just doing my job.” “Why hide it?” Sapphire asked. “No one thinks a non-mage would be an Augmenter. It’s not safe for us.” “They’ve been open about it for years,” Emeton pointed out. “We have classes,” Andy reminded him. “Ones you could probably benefit from if whatever happened that you needed a charm to shield you was related to it.” Crito nodded. “Chapado’s been teaching me. I would sometimes lose control.” “May I ask you something about that here?” Thailyn asked. Crito shrugged. “I should have asked when you had that problem, but it didn’t register right away. Was that caused by the Milshika?” “That didn’t help, but I had the problem before that.” “What’s Milshika?” Andy asked. “It’s a poison used to cause Mia-tal in elves who had Shia tal ma,” Ann explained. “They lose control of their magic and cause all kinds of problems. Vor went through Shia tal ma and then was poisoned later. But why give it to a human who no one knows is a mage?” “This is when I was in Thager investigating when Jev and Prince Remtani were attacked. Someone put it in both the coffee and the tea. Jerta was helping us so we figured it was for him.” “When was this?” Ann asked. “When you were on Earth when you disappeared and we all thought you were dead,” Remtani explained. “So why are you still hiding it?” Emeton asked Crito. “You could have had time off to go to the college. Don’t tell me you’re that insistent on being on duty.” “No, sir. I got the ability from my father. He was the worst troll’s cur to walk Menthanla.” Ann snorted. “Worse than me?” Crito nodded. “Even when you were at your worst.” Kritalla scoffed. “There was only one person that bad, human at least. You are human, aren’t you?” Crito nodded. “I am.” “Well, then your dad wasn’t the worst, not unless…” Kritalla paused. “Is your dad Merrada?” Crito nodded and shrugged. “Is that why you hid it?” Remtani guessed. “Would you want to be related to him?” As much as he’d hoped, he’d always known he couldn’t keep the secret forever. “Then you really are my brother,” Jev said. “He’s your father too?” Kritalla asked. “He adopted me after my parents died,” Jev explained. “So he was the one who cast that spell on you?” “No that was someone he sent me to live with. “There were times when Crito claimed to be my brother when we were undercover to explain why a kid was there,” Jev explained. “When we arrested Merrada after the trouble in Thager’s orphanage, Jev saw him and said he’d adopted him. I realized we were brothers, but I couldn’t tell him. It wasn’t just that I didn’t want people to know how bad my dad was. I didn’t want it getting back to him who else was in my family. He killed my mom’s family because she hid me from him. I was afraid it would happen to others.” “Crito, it was trolls that killed them,” Remtani insisted. “No, it wasn’t,” Ann said. “I read the report. That wasn’t the way trolls did things. They wouldn’t have burnt down the house. And they would have been more brutal with the people.” “You’re from Yotiuy, right?” Kritalla asked. “When was this?” “About thirty years ago.” “That wasn’t trolls or Merrada. That was Chartar’s men.” “Who?” Raylee asked. “That mercenary Kritalla used to work for,” Morina said. Kritalla nodded. “I wasn’t working for him anymore. He was a dwarf that was almost as bad as Merrada, at least by reputation. Even Merrada was afraid of him. He sent some men to collect money from your mom’s husband. They were only supposed to scare him. But they got carried away and killed him. They killed your mom and sister to try to make it look like trolls. Chartar found out and killed them a lot more painfully than your family died.” Crito was stunned to learn he wasn’t the cause of their deaths. “Merrada is dead. There’s no reason to hide anymore,” Chapado told him. “Yeah, do you have any other family you’re hiding?” Bacna asked. Crito shook his head. “Where’s Ruzi tonight?” Shay asked Thailyn. “He and Lamdi are holding a study group for the kids in Nim’s class that are struggling.” “Perhaps we should look into a remedial class for the beginners,” Emeton suggested. “Bacna, talk with Nim. This is something we should help pay for. And I think we need to look into schools in other towns.” And with that, Crito’s revelation was forgotten. No one here cared. Others might if it got around, but he’d deal with it when he needed to. He put an arm around Chapado and glanced at her belly. She was starting to show. They’d have to get married soon.