Chance's back hurt, He had no idea how much damage had been done, but he knew it was bad. He shifted, bad idea! Even the slightest movement caused intense pain. And not just in his back. Apparently the mage was right about the ropes too. His wrists and ankles were swollen and raw, as well as badly infected.

How long had it been? How long had he been out? There were no windows in the small stone room. The only light came from four torches along the walls. The flame of the torches was a strange reddish color and seemed to produce no smoke.

"Huh. Probably more damned magic."

Chance carefully tried to work at the ropes that bound his wrists, but soon had to give up. Every movement just opened the sores, causing even more pain and damage. He could feel his own blood dripping down his arms.

After a little while, the door opened again. Chance glared coldly at the red kat as he entered. The mage's 'pet' werekat followed along behind him, snarling at Chance.

"Your lover didn't sleep very well last night. Seems she wasn't too fond of the images I showed her."

"What did you do to her?"

He shrugged casually. "Just reminded her of exactly what I'm capable of. And that was only a small sampling anyways. Apparently she and your partner are going to take slightly longer to arrive than I had expected. So..."

He turned and looked at the open door. A group of koblins came in carrying a brazier of hot coals and a heavy metal rod with a semi-sharp point on one end.

"I'm afraid you're not going to like this at all. But it's your own fault."

Chance really did not like the look of this. Even still, he remained defiant.

"First, I think we should do something about your back. Don't want you to bleed to death, now do we?"

Chance tried to struggle again. The wounds on his wrists opened anew.

Kirok shook his head.

"Guess we'll have to do something about that too."

He motioned to the werekat, who walked over to Chance's right side and stood up on it's hind legs. The beast grabbed Chance by his wrists, holding him firm. He hissed from the pain, but tried to ignore it.

"Now then." He stuck the poker into the coals, leaving it there for several moments. When he pulled it back out, the metal glowed softly from the heat.

Chance knew what was coming, and he braced himself. Even so, he couldn't surpress the scream. The pain was excruciating. He could smell the fur and flesh of his own back burning, hear it hissing as the infection burned away. He tried to keep quite, to not let the mage have the pleasure of hearing him scream. He failed. The pain was too much. And it lasted for nearly five minutes, the poker being reheated about every 30 seconds.

At length, Kirok finally gave the poker back to the koblins, and waved a hand for them to remove it and the brazier. They did so, closing the door again behind them as they left.

There werekat still held a firm grip on Chance's bloody wrists. He knew it wasn't yet over.

Kirok reached into a pouch that was tried around his waist. He pulled out a small wooden jar and opened the lid carefully. Reaching in with the tips of his claws, he pulled out a thin razor-blade. It was barely a half-inch long and only a few millimeters wide. Chance's vision was blurry from pain, but he could still see what the wizard held in his claws.

"Kougré was lucky I chose to remove these rather than leave them in to fester. I wanted to keep her alive as long as possible. Were they still in when you found her, the damage would have been too extensive for her to have fully healed. Perhaps I should have left them. Then none of this would have happened. Regardless..."

He placed his free hand on Chance's shoulder, gripping tightly. Chance tried to struggle, but couldn't. He clenched his teeth and hissed as the thin blade was pushed through his skin. Kirok knew exactly what he was doing. The blade found it's way directly in between the joint of Chance's shoulder. He then walked around to the other side, pulling another blade out of the jar. He repeated the action, pushing the second blade into the other shoulder joint.

Over a dozen blades were inserted into major joints on his body, as well as against his spine. Even the slightest movement caused extreme pain.

"Maybe that will keep you still. The more you move, the deeper the blades will work themselves. And the greater the damage will be."

He closed the jar and put it back in his pouch. The mage then turned and left the room again. The werekat released Chance's wrists then followed.

The pain was so intense it caused him to dry heave. He didn't actually vomit, because there was nothing in his stomach to come out. He hadn't eaten, or had anything to drink since the wizard captured him the previous day. Being hungry didn't bother him, but he was starting to feel the effects of the dehydration. Chance wished he could black out again. He didn't. For many more long hours, Chance just hung there in the small room.

The sun was now preparing to set. The shadows deepened. The forest here was now even thicker than Jake had ever seen. He had a creepy feeling that made the fur on the back of his neck stand on end. The horses seemed to feel it too, as they tossed their heads and nickered softly. Suddenly, a faint sound echoed through the thickly woven branches. The leaves rustled softly, as if in response to the sound. It almost sounded like pipes, but with a very haunting melody. Elena brought her arm up, hand in a fist. A silent signal to stop. The horses pawed nervously.

"What is that sound?"

"Sh!"

Both kats listened, ears pricked. Jake felt a chill down run his spine as another sound added to the pipe-like melody. Singing. He couldn't tell if the voice was male or female. In fact, he wasn't sure if it was even real. He couldn't make anything out at first, but then the voice became a bit louder. He began to recognize lyrics.

"I am forsaken in my solitude. My song is pleasure and it is pain. My song will drive a kat insane! Come with me, my pipes I'll play, and we will dance 'till break of day!"

Elena's expression turned to a soft smile.

"I know that song..."

"I am the music and the dance. I am the piper who enchants. So loose all ties to mortal kind. My pipes shall play within thy mind!"

She turned Bolt and kicked him gently behind the ribs, urging him forward into the thick brush, away from the trail. The horse sidestepped nervously, tossing his head.

"C'mon, boy. It's okay." She clicked to the stallion and increased the pressure with her legs and heels. Bolt finally moved forward, pushing his way through the thick undergrowth.

Jake watched her nervously. "Where the heck are you going?"

"Follow me."

Jake hesitated, as did Fleur. Finally he turned the red stud and kicked his flanks. The horse reluctantly followed his herd-mate into the dark woods.

The deeper they went, the louder the music grew. Soon sounds like string music and drums echoed along with the pipes. The lyrics became louder, clearer. Jake didn't like this at all. The eerie 'song' was making him very nervous, and the horses agreed with him.

"Come unto me my beauteous maid. I'll lead thee to the hidden glade. Thou shalt be happy and be free. When I play, thou wilt dance for me!"

Finally, the thick forest gave way to a small glade filled with wild heather. The sun is almost set, the crescent moon hanging low in the darkening sky.

The music is loud now, filling the air with clear sound. It seems to come from all around them. The two horses stand nervously, pawing and nickering, at the edge of the glade.

"So take thy rest within the shade, and as the evening hours fade, I'll take thee deeper in the glade, my cloven hoofs through heather wade..."

Jake looked forward to the other end of the glade and his jaw dropped at what he saw. It appeared to be a kat at first with fawn-colored fur. But then, he could see that only the upper half of his body was kat-like. From the waist down he was built like a deer! Small antlers were on the top of his head, poking up through his scruffy hair. The strange creature continued to sing and play his pipes, dancing as he approached. Elena watched, a soft knowing smile on her face. When the song came to a sudden end, the creature stood only a few feet in front of them. He bowed deeply. "My Lady, Elena! I feared I would never see you again!"

Elena shook her head. "Same old Nebelun. It's good to see you again too."

Jake looked at her in surprise. "You know this guy?"

The deer-kat bowed again, this time to Jake. "Nebelun, at your service!"

Elena gave a soft laugh and patted Bolt's neck to calm and reassure the large horse. "Nebelun is a satyr. One of the Fae."

"Fae? Faerie-folk?"

"Yes."

The she-kat dismounted and grasped the satyr's arm in greeting.

"I have heard of your plight, my Lady. We Fae grieve for the fate of your friend. We know he means a great deal to you."

"Is there any help you can give us, Nebelun?"

"Aye. We know of a way for you to enter Kirok's keep!"

This got Jake's attention. "What? How?"

"Come with me, and I shall explain."

Jake also dismounted and they followed the satyr to other end of the glade, leading the now calm horses. A massive oak tree, nearly forty feet wide at it's base and standing over two hundred feet tall, spread it's branches in a wide canopy over the glade. Jake had at first thought it was the other end of the glade, but in fact was the center of it.

Nebelun led them around to the other side of it, where a massive root lifted out of the ground, and had a flat area on it, forming a natural table. Setting on this table was a golden plate of fresh wild fruits. Three small goblets sat beside the plate, along with a pitcher of honeyed milk.

The horses were allowed to graze as the three settled onto the root. Nebelun offered them both the fruit and milk, then began his explanation.

"There is an underground river that runs below the keep. It is more than a mile from the nearest entry point though. Too far for any fae or kat to swim without drowning."

"Unless they have oxygen masks!"

"Which, thankfully, we do. Good call, my friend."

It was Jake's suggestion to have brought them, and now Elena was glad they did.

The satyr nodded. "I doubt even Kirok will expect you to come from that way. The river has cut through the stone below the castle and there is a single, very small spot, where you should be able to enter. But beware. The river is not without it's dangers."

"I expected as much. Any idea where he may be keeping Chance?"

Nebelun shrugged. "Where else. The tower. He seems to be expecting you to come in the... 'jet' is it? He has wyverns and drakes all over that thing. Even your beloved stalker bats are under his control."

Jake glanced to his friend. "Guess you were right."

She nodded, then looked back to the satyr. "What about the rumors of the peryton?"

A slight shiver ran over the deer-kat. "True, I'm afraid. That beast would never have let you gotten close."

Elena considered everything for a few silent moments.

"So... we ride the horses to the river entrance, then swim into the castle. Good. But getting in will be the easy part. Getting out will be the true challenge. Chance will more than likely be in no shape to do much of anything. I doubt he'll even be conscious. I'm sure Kirok has already seen to that."

Jake nodded. "Even if he were, we only have two masks, and he's not a good swimmer."

"We'll have to come up with another method of escape. Something that hopefully Kirok won't see coming."

"Aye. And if anyone could accomplish that, I am certain it is you, my Lady. By the way, an old friend has learned of your return. He has been waiting here for your arrival!"

Elena looked curiously at the satyr. "An 'old friend'? Who?"

Nebelun gestured off into the shadows to their right. Jake and Elena turned. At the edge of the trees, past where the horses grazed, a large black shadow stood among the trees.

Elena felt a familiar presence brush against her mind. "No way," she whispered.

The animal walked forward, his black coat shinning in the moonlight. He had dropped the illusion, and now Jake saw him as he truly was. ShadowStar's "star" was gone. In it's place was a long, silvery horn. It wasn't spiraled, as were the horns of his white cousins, but smooth and strong as newly-forged steel, with a slight upward curve to it. His hooves were cloven and shinned like polished obsidian, a thick silvery feathering flowing down from his fetlocks. His long tail was thick, like a lion's tail, and from the underside and end flowed long silky hair, also silvery, matching his long mane. His eyes shone deep red in the darkness.

Jake looked in awe at the powerful creature. "Whoa..."

"ShadowStar..." The unicorn stallion approached, and nuzzled Elena gently with his soft muzzle. "I missed you too, my friend."

Nebelun smiled. "ShadowStar knows the way to the entrance of the river. He will lead you there, then bring the horses back here once you're in. It will be best to go in under the cover of night."

"Agreed. But we will need at least some daylight to escape. I'd say our best shot will be one hour before sunrise."

"Then sleep well tonight, my friends. You will be safe here. I shall wake you before the dawn."

"Thank you, Nebelun."

[Note: I take no credit for the lyrics of the satyr's song. The lyrics are from the song "Creature of the Wood", by Heather Alexander, with whom I have no affiliation, but absolutely love her music.]