"We might be best off letting this one die on its own, sir. I'm no coward but I can't see risking lives if the beast truly is mortally wounded, sir," Bradley said.

"I agree," Chase said, "but I want to get a closer look at what we're facing."

Shouts from above rang out, and Chase looked up to see Morif leading a group of men down the stairs. There was no mistaking the towering presence that was Morif, and it brought a smile to Chase's face. There might be a bit of gray in the old soldier's beard, but he'd certainly lost none of his warrior spirit. As he rounded a bend and got his first glimpse of the downed dragon, he got an impression of size but little else, as most of the creature was engulfed in shadow. It was the size of a large male, and Chase's knew that even a swipe of its tail could be an end to anyone caught in its path. The valley was still, and the wounded dragon had gone quiet.

"Stay where you are!" Chase shouted across the valley to Morif and his men. "I'm going in for a look. You stay here," he told Bradley and Simms. The men seemed uneasy about his order but didn't argue with him. Descending into the darkness, Chase tried not to think about what it would feel like to be crushed to death. When he reached an area where the terraces ran near a rooftop, he leaped across and shimmied down the side of the building, which had been constructed of whole tree trunks and offered a variety of hand- and footholds. When he peeked around the corner, he found himself face-to-face with a very alive dragon. His heart nearly stopped.

It took his brain a moment to register that this was no feral dragon. The head was wider, and the eyes were more on the sides of the head. Color was hard to guess, but this dragon was clearly not the shiny black of a feral. Those huge eyes, flecked with green and gold, held Chase in thrall, and he knew. It was not like what Catrin had described when Kyrien showed pictures in her mind. Chase simply knew: this was no ordinary dragon; this was Kyrien, Catrin's dragon.

Catrin sat up so suddenly that Millie fell out of the chair she'd been leaning back in.

"By god and goddess!" Millie shouted while gathering her skirts. "Lady Catrin!"

That brought new shouts from down the hall, and Mirta soon charged through the door. Millie poured a mug of water and handed it to Catrin, who had yet to speak or acknowledge anyone else. Her hands trembled but managed to grasp the mug, and after a few moments, Catrin drank. When she looked around, she had eyes for only one: Prios. His still body was the color of ash.

"Back to the viewing chamber," Catrin said in a raw voice that left her coughing.

"You're in no condition to be up and walking," Mirta insisted, but Catrin would not be deterred.

"I'll carry him there myself if I have to," Catrin said as she stood on unsteady feet.

Millie wrapped an arm around her. "Do as she says! Guards! Help Mirta carry Prios back to the viewing chamber."

Men rushed into the chamber and carried both Prios and Catrin down the hall. Another man helped Millie, who was breathing heavily enough that she was having trouble complaining that she didn't need help.

"Get Brother Vaughn," Catrin gasped. "Tell him we need the chanting. He will understand."

"He tried for a time, m'lady, but when it had no effect after days, he finally gave it up," Millie said. "I'm sorry, m'lady."

Weariness washed over Catrin, and she hadn't the energy to respond. Instead, she just concentrated on breathing. Her body felt weak and disconnected, which was not unexpected. She'd been through this before, but this felt worse, as if troughs had been carved deep in her mind, and she doubted she would ever be whole again. For the moment only Prios mattered. Every second increased the chances he would simply fade away.

"Hold him in front of the left portal. I'll stand in front of the right," Catrin said. In truth, she leaned on the two young men flanking her only slightly less than Prios's unconscious form did. This was not entirely a bad thing as she uttered, "Hold on to me tight."

"Don't you dare leave me again!" Millie shouted, but it was too late, Catrin was already gone. Soon the air was filled with rhythmic chanting as Millie wept.

Chapter 6

Demons held the darkness, which surrounded Catrin's spirit and tried to smother her, but she conjured a herald globe that shone brightly, like those that lived only short lives. It was something she had learned while her spirit had been trapped at the farm. The things she was adept at creating in the physical world she could conjure on the astral plane. She used the globe to pierce the darkness and find Prios. She found him cowering in the corner of the barn; somehow he'd made it back. Memories of their battle would forever haunt her. Kyrien had spoken to her, and he had seemed so close, but the darkness was too strong. Weakened by prolonged separation from their bodies, the two had been in no shape for a fight.

Again, the demons closed in around the farm, leaving them to rot inside. Catrin often wondered why they didn't attack, but she supposed it didn't matter; death would come either way.

Prios whimpered and pulled his knees to his chin.

"I'm here. I came back for you," Catrin said, but he did not seem to hear. Rocking back and forth, he seemed to have left this reality for another, and Catrin shouted for him to wake. Still he didn't respond. Movement caught Catrin's attention, and her spirit froze. Slipping in from the blackness came the demons, seemingly no longer willing to wait. The sound of movement behind her alerted her to more danger, and Catrin prepared herself for one final effort. She would carry Prios and simply make a run for it. It seemed like suicide since they would both be defenseless, but Catrin could find no other solution. At least they would die doing something.

Reaching down, she gathered Prios's energy, which had weight and mass and was more difficult for her to carry than she had imagined; she would not give up, though. Pulling energy from the night air, she conjured four herald globes, each taxing her but intended to drive the demons back. It didn't work.

Pain seared her soul as Catrin moved past the first of the demons. She spun slowly, awkwardly, and half fell out of the barn and into the night. Demons poured down the valley walls like a flood of evil. Shadow dragons flew overhead, ridden by men with twisted faces. Only Catrin's conjured herald globes cast any light, and she moved like a candle afloat on a raging river. Roiling clouds of deep black obscured the night skies. Her beams of light illuminated the fog, casting rays of color around her and Prios, but the darkness pressed in close, causing the sphere of color to shrink. Claws and slavering jaws broke through the light. Gibbering madness drove searing knives through Catrin's mind and she screamed.

Prios flung his limbs outward, seemingly awakened by Catrin's anguish, and he sent balls of lightning into the demons. Catrin screamed as burning embers branded her soul. With a cry of rage, she rose up and cast flames in a wide arc, knowing it was the last of her reserves. Any more and she would simply dry up and blow away.

Light parted the darkness. Like a knife of fire it raced from the skies and cast demons spinning as it came. Awestruck, Catrin saw Kyrien in the form of flame and lightning. He was even more beautiful than in the physical world, and he proved as deadly as well.