"Gea Kul?"

"Don't sound so surprised, lass. Was a much nicer, cleaner place a decade ago. Something foul's touched it since, just as it's touched every other place I hear of these days."

Kara carefully kept her expression neutral. As one of the faithful of Rathma, she knew well that dark powers had begun to spread over the world. The ransacking of Bartuc's tomb only exemplified that fact. The necromancers feared that soon the world would slip out of the delicate balance it needed to maintain, that the tide would shift toward the Lords of Hell.

That demons already walked the world again.

Captain Jeronnan had been talking while she had considered all of this and so Kara had missed his past few words. However, something at the end caught her attention, so much so that she had to blurt, "What?"

By now his face had turned grim, so very grim. "Aye, that's what happened, all right! Two years we lived here, happy as could be possible; then one night I hear her scream from her room, a place no man could get without passing me first! Smashed through her door, I did-and found no trace of her. Her window remained locked, her closet I searched well, but she'd somehow vanished from a room with no other good exit."

Jeronnan had searched high and low for his daughter, several of the locals more than willing to join the hunt. For three days, he had looked and for three days he had failed… until one night, as he tried to sleep, the captain had heard his daughter calling to him.

A cautious man despite his desperate hopes, he had taken with him the ceremonial blade awarded to him by his admiral. With it, the innkeeper had gone out into the wilds, following the call of his child. For more than an hour he had trekked through the woods and hills, seeking, searching…

Finally, near a crooked tree, he had caught sight of his beloved Terania. The girl, her skin so oddly pale-even more so than Kara's-had stood waiting for her father with arms outstretched.

She had called out to him again and Jeronnan had, of course, responded. Sword in one hand, he had taken his daughter close-

Her fangs had nearly ripped out his throat.

Captain Jeronnan had sailed the world, had seen many a marvelous and disturbing thing, had fought pirates and villains in the name of his masters, but no experience in his life had meant more to him than raising his only child.

And nothing had ripped at his soul more than running the creature she had become through the heart.

"It hangs downstairs," he muttered, finishing. "A fine piece of craftsmanship and designed to be practical, too." Almost as an afterthought, the captain added, "Plated in silver or else I'd not be here with you today."

"What happened to her?" Kara knew such tales, but the causes varied.

"The damned thing is, I never found out! Finally managed to push it to the back of my mind until you vanished. Feared that it had come back for you!" A daring tear escaped his eyes. "I still hear her cries… both the one when she vanished and the one when I slew her."

Jeronnan's unknown horror had not stalked Kara, but the two undead tomb robbers had certainly been waiting, which drew her at last back to her own immediate situation. "Forgive me, captain, for sounding so uncaring about your great loss, but can you tell me if any ships departed during the time I was lost?"

Kara's question caught the grieving man off guard for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "Only ship that's sailed off so far has been the Hawksfire, a cursed vessel if I've ever seen one! Surprised it hasn't sunk yet."

Only a single ship had departed. It had to be the one she wanted. "Where was it heading?"

"Lut Gholein. It always sails to Lut Gholein."

She knew the name. A prospering kingdom on the western side of the Twin Seas, a place where merchants from all over the world bought and sold.

Lut Gholein. The Vizjerei and his grinning friend had trekked all the way here from the tomb, moving at a pace only those who felt no exhaustion could maintain. They had specifically come to Gea Kul, whose only good purpose served as a point by which to reach other realms. But why?

There could be only one reason. They pursued the remaining members of their party, the ones who also carried with them Bartuc's armor. Kara suspected that might be only one man, but she had to keep in mind the possibility of more in mind.

So this Hawksfire carried either the survivors or the revenants. If the latter, the pair would have to have secreted themselves carefully in order to avoid detection, but she had heard tales of the undead doing whatever they needed while pursuing their victims. Crossing the sea would be difficult, but not impossible.

Lut Gholein. It might yet be only another brief stop, but at least Kara had a particular destination.

"Captain, when is the next ship sailing there?"

"Lass, you're barely able to sit up, much less—"

Silver eyes fixed unblinking at him. "When?"

He rubbed his chin. "Not for a time. Maybe a week, maybe more."

Much too late. By then, both the revenants and those they pursued would be long gone, the armor with them. Even more important than her dagger remained the fact that the bloody warlord's suit moved about. The enchantments within would certainly call out to the ambitious, the evil.

Even those not necessarily human.

"I have funds. Can you recommend a ship I could hire?"

Jeronnan eyed her for a moment. "This is that important?"

"More than you can imagine."

With a sigh, the innkeeper replied, "There's a small but sleek vessel, the King's Shield, near the northernmost end of the port. She can sail at any time. Just need a day or two to gather the crew and supplies together."

"Do you think you can convince the owner to hear me out?"

This caused Jeronnan to laugh hard. "No need to worry about that, milady! He's a man who used to follow many a cause, so long as it was a good one!"

Her hopes rose. Already she felt nearly well enough to travel. The Hawksfire had a few days head start, but with a good ship, Kara might be able to arrive in Lut Gholein in but a short time after. Her unique skills, combined with a few careful questions, should enable her to follow the trail from there.

"I need to talk with him. I must be able to leave by tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morn—"

Again she gave him that gaze. Kara regretted pushing, but more than her health and the patience of this other captain were at stake. "It must be so."

"All right." He shook his head. "I'll get everything ready. We'll set sail in the morning."

Kara was touched by his sudden offer. "It is more than enough that you can convince the King's Shield' s captain to take this journey, but you need not tear yourself from your beloved inn! This is no longer your concern."

"I don't like when my guests are nearly killed… or worse, lass. Besides, I've been too long on dry land! Be good to feel the sea again!" He leaned nearer, giving her a smile. "And as for convincing the captain, I don't think you understand me yet, enchantress! I'm owner of thatfine vessel and by all that's holy, I'll see that she sets sail in the morning-or I promise you that there'll truly be hell to pay!"

As he hurried off to see to arrangements, Kara slumped down, caught by his last words. Hell to pay?

Captain Hanos Jeronnan had no idea just how fateful his oath just might end up being.