CHAPTER 1

The night was damp. The small campfire strained against the wetness, struggling to illuminate the small circle of tents clustered so tightly around it. Two small figures huddled together before the fire, whispering softly.

"It will be tomorrow. There was never much chance that we could make it to the border but now..." the stockier of the two figures cut himself off and shot a quick glance at one of the tents. He blushed and wrenched his eyes back to the fire, refusing to meet the gaze of his companion. "Trevor will not make it through the night. The last pass was too much. Perhaps... perhaps it would be best to cut our losses."

The second figure remained silent for a long moment. Finally, she turned a thoughtful face to her companion. "Trevor is, after all, our leader. I think it best to consult with him on the matter of his death." She sighed then contined, "Perhaps we should wake a few of the others before even attempting to make such a major decsion."

Just then a twig snapped in the underbrush. Both figures were on their feet instantly. Weapons in hand they turned to face the source of the noise, she with a pistol and he with a heavy blade. Jorgran waved his blade at the surrounding trees, "Whoever you are, we know you're there. It's best for us all if you come out now and don't make us come in after you."

The two waited for a moment before Shera shoved her pistol into her pants and started forward. Jorgran put out a restraining arm and hissed, "What do you think you're doing? I can't cover you with nothing but a bloody sword."

Shera sighed and again drew her pistol. "Fine, you go then."

Jorgran nodded and turned towards the woods. "Alright, I'm coming in, last chance to make it easy on yourself." No response came from the surrounding darkness.

Shera remained at alert, while silently praying that this was just another moment of over cautiousness. Still, being this near the border she supposed that one could never be too cautious.

Jorgran walked slowly into the darkness. Senses alert for the slightest hint of movement. Useless in the night he closed his eyes and focused on listening to his surroundings. Where was it? There! The sound of breathing. Jorgran stood still a moment longer, listening for others.

Finding none Jorgran drew his blade and in the same fluid motion plunged it through the underbrush and into the soil inches from the panicked breather.

"ACK!!!!" the breather jumped up, attempting to back pedal away from the crazed man with the sword, "all right! I surrender! Just please don't hurt me!"

Jorgran lunged his sword into the figure before him, embedding his large blade deep into the right shoulder of the smaller figure before him. Blood sprung from the wound as Jorgran lifted his heavy sword for another pass.

"Stop."

Unable to halt the plunge of his heavy blade, Jorgran managed to deflect the final blow; the sword bit deep into the ground instead of burying itself in the tresspasser. Several heartbeats passed in silence before Jorgran issued a heavy sigh and turned round. "Trevor."

The figure before him would have been extraordinarily tall if it had not been nearly doubled over with pain. Great drops of sweat poured from his face as he reached a shaking hand to brace himself against a nearby tree.

Jorgran heard a sharp intake of breath below him and turned his attention back to the intruder. The wretch lay huddled on the ground clutching her shoulder, her eyes focused on Trevor. "Blessings of Anisis! It's a --"

"Say it and I will kill you where you lay, dog." Shera emerged from the shadows with her pistol carefully leveled at the stranger's heart. The stranger fell silent, whether due to the threat or the tremor of pain that shook her body who could say.

Trevor looked at the trembling figure on the ground, then back to Jorgran, "You give up too easily. Fail at your post again and you won't have the luxury of deciding what to do with me." He turned and began to make his way slowly back, calling over his shoulder, "They'll decide for us."

Jorgran's face remained impassive but his left hand curled slowly into a fist. When he was sure Trevor was out of sight he turned and leared at the prisoner. Snarling, he smashed the toe of his boot into the tresspasser's side.

"Enough of that. We'll kill her later if we must but there is no reason to take your anger out on her." Shera knelt over the captive and reached to examine the shoulder wound. She quickly snatched her hands back with a look of horror. "A child! She is nothing more than a child!"

Jorgran turned his back towards Trevor's tent and faced Shera, "What? How could a child have made it this close to the border. By the three suns will nothing go right this cursed night?"

Shera turned from the injured girl to her companion, "Shut up you fool and help me with her, haven't you caused enough trouble already?"

Jorgran eyed Shera warily but bent to pick up the child. With the girl in his arms, he started to rise when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Nearly dropping his burden in surprise, he sighed when he recognized Melinda's soft touch. "You've all made such a racket out here. I'll take the girl, and you two try to learn to watch better."

Jorgran yielded the small girl to the sidhe's thin yet strong arms, and watched Melinda in open admiration as she returned to her tent.

Shera sighed again, "She's way out of your league, species even, Jorgran. And I don't think Trevor would take too kindly to your interest in her."

Jorgran spun around to glare at Shera, anger flashing in his eyes. "You are a fool; I could make passionate love to her tonight and it wouldn't matter. Haven't you thought about why we're not running? The Borani have our position locked - you can feel it; the blood pounding in your head, the deep ache in your bones. They could take us tonight if they wanted but they won't; they're too smart for that." Jorgran paused and picked up his fallen sword. He wiped it clean and let the point drop into the earth. Leaning on the hilt he looked across the small camp. Focusing on the farthest tent, he whispered, "They know we will be without a leader come dawn."

Shera shot him a dirty look. "Don't be ridiculous. He was feeling well enough to come out here and reprimand you; I think he has a few more days left in him still."

Jorgran rolled his eyes. "What's a few more days? It will take at least a week and three more passes to get to the border. And what then? Do you have a plan to get us across? And what about the girl? Do you intend to drag her along with us?"

Anger flashed in Shera's eyes. "Unlike you, I haven't appointed myself Trevor's replacement yet. I've made no plans for the girl; I think we all need to discuss her fate. As a unit." The tone of her voice told Jorgran that there would be no point in discussing the matter further.

With the dim light of the false dawn appearing on the horizon came the raucous call of distant battle horns. In Melinda's tent, the small child shivered in fear. Peering cautiously at the sleeping Sidhe, the girl silently moved to leave.

"You should travel with us. We can protect you."

The youth snorted. "I don't need your protection. I made it this far by myself, I can make it the rest of the way. Besides, they're chasing you, not me." And there was no way in the Nine Hells that she was going anywhere with...that thing.

Melinda tilted her head and eyed the child for a moment. "You are injured."

"No thanks to you people. I'll take my chances." She began to make her way out of the tent once more.

"You haven't told me your name."

The girl stopped once more and turned to face Melinda. "Do you think I am a fool?"

Melinda sat up and looked the child in the eyes, "You shouldn't believe all the stories told of my kind child. It would take far more than your name for me to steal your soul." The child's face remained impassive but Melinda could see the anger and fear burning in her eyes. Melinda sighed. "My name is Mehelianda Menradandia of Felendor -- most people call me Melinda. The two you met last night are Jorgran and Shera. On guard now are Renu and F'loro. Gan is up ahead tracking and Sacha behind. And there is Trevor, of course. That is eight names for the price of one; I'd call that a bargain - wouldn't you?"

The girl glared. "No, I would NOT. I'm supposed to ignore all the stories about your... people, just because you tell me to? I'm not stupid. I told you, I made it this far... I had to be smart. But you can call me..." she trailed off, searching for an answer that would not give too much away.

Melinda snorted. "How's this. I'll just call you 'hey you' until you think of something you'd like to be called. Deal?"

A sly grin crossed the girl's face. "I like that. Call me Deal!"

Melinda laughed. "Fine, Deal it is. Now, how about breakfast?"

Deal rolled her eyes. "I told you I'm not staying with you guys."

Melinda raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about staying? I just asked if you wanted breakfast."

The girl frowned and shrugged in resignation. "Why not? It'll be nice to eat something I didn't have to kill myself."

The two had just emerged from the tent when Melinda heard the all-too-familiar sounds coming from Trevor's tent. She dashed over to see the spasms of pain wracking his gigantic form.

Deal looked down at the blood trailing from Trevor's mouth and nose and muttered, without sympathy, "I guess someone snuck some iron in here."

Melinda knelt to assist Trevor. When his coughing subsided, she helped him clean himself and rose. Turning to Deal, she said, "You're getting confused. Trevor is not Fae. Even if he were... " she glanced at the dagger hanging from her belt. "I carry no weapons of silver. If I did we would have traded them for freedom long ago."

Trevor struggled to keep his feet. Pulling himself up to his full height, he towered above Melinda, pushing her away when she offered support. Shakily, he glanced down at Deal.

"What's this? We've no room for another."

Deal smiled defiantly. "That's fine. I'm not joining you."

Trevor's mouth began moving. As Deal watched, the tusklike teeth prodtruding from it seemed to twist on their own, reforming at new angles. She realized that he was trying to smile. "We can't just let you go. No, we'll have to take you, so you'd better prove yourself useful. See if you can go find some breakfast for the group."

Deal's jaw dropped. "I'm not travelling with you freaks. Just because they're not scouring the woods for me doesn't mean that I want them to find me. And I refuse to travel with, with, a trog!"

He looked at the girl hard and long. "Even if we were not pursued by the Vanguard, you would have little chance of making it to the border alone. Do you know what lies ahead?" Trevor's eyes glazed over as he continued, "There are but three passes left before the border and each one doubles the next in ferocity. The next pass is less than four leagues from here. It is known by the name of Dragon's Death; have you ever seen a dragon?"

Deal bit her lip but kept her face stern and uncaring as she shook her head. "No, but I've seen pictures and heard stories. They're not so bad."

Melinda put a cautioning hand out, "Trevor, don't. There's no need to terrify the child."

Trevor plucked her hand from the air and held it cupped inside of his own fever warmed hand. "She must know." Trevor grunted in pain as he swiveled his head back towards Deal, "The tales in your little books don't even begin to fathom the horror which is a dragon child. The beast that guards the next pass, Trothivyr, has made its lair in the pass for over a thousand years. It's murdered countless thousands, and chooses randomly who it will let pass and who it will incinerate with its breath, have you ever felt the heat of a star burning your flesh girl?" He turned his gaze away from Deal and his voice grew soft as he continued, "Dragon fire is not like any fire you have ever known. It is patient, it delights in torment. It knaws on your fingers and your toes, working it's way steadily inward. You'll open your mouth to scream and it will slide down your throat and begin its work from the inside out. You writhe on the ground, a burned and unrecognizable piece of flesh, but still the pain goes on. Until there's nothing left. Not even ashes." Trevor paused and took in a quivering breath. "It's the closest thing to true Hell a mortal being can suffer."

Deal raised a doubting eyebrow and said, "It can't be as bad as all that. It's just fire, after all, even if it is magic."

Trevor opened his mouth to reply but closed it again when he saw Jorgran running towards them.

"They're catching up. I don't know how the bastards sleep; they seem closer every morning."

Trevor cursed, and Melinda had to stop herself from covering Deal's ears. The child must have survived far worse than Trevor's foul tongue in order to have made it this far alone.

"How much time?"

Jorgran shrugged, "A few hours at the most."

Trevor closed his eyes and sighed. "Ten minutes to pack up. Leave the tents; we can't afford the weight." Jorgran paused as if to say something more but Trevor stopped him with a glare. "Ten minutes."

As the camp began to disintigrate around them, Trevor turned to Melinda. "Can you find Sacha?"

Melinda nodded and knelt on the ground. Deal's eyes grew wide as several thin streams of blue energy began eminating from the Sidhe. The streams grew from trickles into raging rivers and the blue light flowed over Melinda's small frame like a mountain cascade. The glamour soaked into the earth and vanished. The sidhe's eyes burned with the light so brightly that Deal had to look away.

Melinda spoke, with a voice that seemed worlds away, "I see her, she's headed this way." A sudden intake of breath, "A patrol has found her, they wait for her in hiding. Sacha doesn't see them. She's going to walk right - wait, someone has loosed a premature arrow! Sacha's running...they pursue. There is one who follows...I can't..." Melinda bit back a cry of despair as she turned wide eyes towards Trevor. "It is the Dark One. Sweet mercy, it is Ranchut who leads the chase."

Deal shuddered. "Who are you people that-" she shook her head, "Nevermind, I don't want to know. I'm leaving now; I should have left long ago." The young girl began to gather together what few belongings she had.

Despite his injury Trevor swiped Deal up in a single pass of his huge right hand. "You're not goin anywhere alone girl, not while Ranchut stalks behind the trees." He shifted his attention from the strugling form in his hand to his remaining troops, "Forget everything but your weapons, we move out now."

Trevor turned, still holding Deal, and marched into the woods.