But the energy being, so new and fresh, had no concern for Zeratul. It hovered for a moment longer, then shot upward as if propelled, moving with a clear sense of purpose. For a precious second Zeratul was too startled to do anything, but he recovered swiftly and began to follow it.

Home.

More than something so simple, this moon was the site where Ulrezaj had first embraced his destiny. But like all things that birth one's fate, this world had a hold upon him, and he had returned many times ere now.

The unique manifestation of energies that had enabled Ulrezaj to begin his transformation, his becoming, had also necessitated that hereturn here when he was depleted. And so he had done over the last four years, a silent shadow slipping unnoticed into the deep waters of Ehlna's ocean, settling downward until the surface light faded to darkness, only to find brightness again in the illumination of a cluster of glowing crystals.

She was here already, the clever prey he hunted: somehow she had learned of Ehlna, of the Alys'aril, of the memories that could be housed here by means of research, skill, and intellect rather than a

disturbing accident of birth. How Zamara had learned of the site he neither knew nor cared. In the end, it did not matter. The freakish preserver and the uncountable memories not her own would die, and the secret would be safe.

If he could have closed his eyes in pleasure, he would have, at the sweet sensation of gathering strength and restoring himself. He would not be able to fully regain the energy that he had expended in the recent battle; he lacked the time. His enemies were right behind him. Ulrezaj knew well that it was not for him that the zerg had come, but for the same prey he himself sought. He could afford to linger only the barest amount of time, so that he could fight and destroy both Zamara and the zerg. Once that sweet goal had been achieved, then he could rest and enjoy the healing and peace a full restoration would bring.

But ah, it was good, to begin to shed the weakness as he had shed his physical form. He would enjoy this.

Thoughts were exchanged between the protoss so swiftly that Rosemary didn't even have time to process them on a conscious level, but she got the gist of it. The Alys'aril was pretty much defenseless, at least to her and Selendis's way of thinking. There was an energy shield that could be erected to protect the building and its precious contents from the devastation of weather or other environmental dangers, and in a pinch—which gosh, Rosemary supposed this was—the alysaar could augment the shield with their own mental abilities. Thoughts on how this would be accomplished were flying, and Rosemary winced from the speed and intensity of them.

"Who's attacking? What's going on?" Rosemary demanded, trying to get at something she could understand.

Selendis favored her with a quick glance. "Zerg." Rosemary swore. "Same crew we fought on Aiur?" "It appears to be, yes." "Can't you call for help through the Khala?"

"I have tried to do so. For some reason, I am unable to enter the Khala here." Her mental voice betrayed some of the strain and frustration she was feeling.

Several of the alysaar raced up to them, their robes fluttering as they ran. Terror poured off them, and their thoughts assaulted Rosemary: zerg, lots of them, and their leader wanted to speak to whoever was in charge.

Mohandar was obviously outraged; fury roiled off him so thick Rosemary could almost see it. "Zerg. Here. Our most sacred space." His eyes fell upon Rosemary, and there was accusation in that gaze. "You brought them here, human."

"We made the decision as a united people to come here, Mohandar," Selendis said. Her words were quiet, but firm. "Even you agreed, knowing what might happen."

Rosemary couldn't tell if Mohandar agreed. He had shuttered his thoughts from her, but she could tell he still seethed with anger.

"This is your world," Selendis continued quietly, permitting them all to hear the mental conversation. "Your people who are in danger. But I am the executor. With your permission, I will go to the zerg's leader and speak for all our people."

Mohandar composed himself with a visible effort. "Go," he said, surprising Rosemary and apparently also Selendis. "Razturul and I will see what can be done to protect this practically defenseless place. We will be in contact."

Selendis bowed and then began to race outside, to the courtyard that encircled the temple and the steep stone steps that led down from it. Rosemary followed her; Selendis did not protest. A heartbeat later, Vartanil followed them as well. Rosemary had to run flat out to keep up with Selendis's long strides, then came to an abrupt stop and swung her rifle up in a single smooth motion.

She had known there would be a lot of zerg, but here, pressed in so close around them and yet not attacking, there seemed to be an infinite number of them. But she had eyes only for one being—a humanoid, sitting astride what looked like an enormous flying serpent.

Ethan.

"Protoss!" came a strong masculine voice. Rosemary jerked as if stung. It was not a mental voice, not this time, and the sound of it shivered along her blood. "My queen does not desire your blood. We have come only for the preserver. Hand her over to us and we will leave you unharmed."

"Oh, come on," Rosemary retorted. "We didn't fall for that the last time; what makes you think we will now? There's no way in hell you'll just take what you want and go away."

Ethan turned and fixed his gaze on her, a slight smile, sickening in its familiarity, turning up his lips as he regarded her.

"Actually, I'm not lying, Trouble," Ethan drawled. "I really don't care about anyone or anything that is here. I've come for Zamara. And I will have her, one way or another."

Rosemary closed one eye and peered through the sight on the rifle in response. She tightened her finger on the trigger. If they were all going to perish here, at least she'd take Ethan down with her this time.

"No, Rosemary!" Selendis's mental shout was so powerful that Rosemary gasped slightly. "There may be another way."

Slowly, Rosemary lowered the weapon and shot a glance at Selendis. She stood straight and tall, holding out her hand, palm up, toward the hovering figure.

"I am Selendis, executor of the templar. And I tell you truly, if you attack this temple now, Zamara will perish!"

Ethan was silent for a moment. Rosemary looked at the thousands of unblinking zerg eyes riveted on her. "Go on," Ethan said at last. "And I will know if you are lying."

Rosemary wondered if that was true and thought it might be.

"Zamara's presence in Jacob's body is killing him," Selendis continued. "We are in the middle of a delicate attempt to extract her essence from him. If we succeed and can transfer Zamara's essence to a specially prepared crystal, both Jacob and Zamara's knowledge will survive. If you interrupt the ritual now, both will die and the information your queen seeks will be forever lost. I do not think you wish that."

Rosemary smothered a smirk. From Ethan's silence, he most certainly did not wish that.

"You are hopelessly outnumbered, Executor Selendis," he said atlast, his voice laced with contempt. "And even if these...monks who have been cloistered here for God knows how long can actually put up a fight, we will still triumph. You must know this."

"I do," Selendis said quietly. Rosemary turned to look at her, narrowing her eyes slightly. She was familiar enough by now with how protoss mental abilities worked to recognize that Selendis had tightly shuttered her thoughts. Nothing was coming in or going out that she did not want to hear or be heard.

I know as little as you, Rosemary Dahl, came Vartanil's baffled thoughts.