A/N:-dances- 30 reviews! Yes! Ahahahahahaha! You people are great! And because I'm so happy I tried to make this longer. Gah! You know you've watched too much of something, when the theme song gets embedded in your brain. –Thumps head on desk- Get. Out. I'm. Trying. To. Write.

Disclaimer: The world and characters you recognise all belong to Tamora Pierce.

Chapter 10: A Black Kudarung

Julia coughed, and sat up. She was in impenetrable darkness, and the air was stale and musty. She stared ineffectively around before she thought to use her gift to cast light. It illuminated a small stone chamber. She froze at the sound of approaching shuffling footsteps. Lilith appeared in a dark corner which turned out to be a door way. She cursed, even as Julia watched stepping into the glow cast by Julia and groaned,

"Why the hell can't I do that?"

Julia shrugged an evil grin on her face. "I could have saved you stumbling around if you'd waited. To think, you're power can do something as amazing as to take us here, but not do something as simple as cast light…"

"Shuddap," muttered Lilith sourly. "It's not like I can control it any better than that mark. In case you're interested, there's another chamber connected to this one, but no way, that I could find –in the dark- out of it. Anyway, there's something against the entrance in there, something huge. It's like a massive block of stone, half blocking the entrance to the chamber, for the gods know what reason…"

"It could just have been a column, supporting the roof for all you know," Julia taunted, as Lilith glared at her. "We're probably under ground. One thing's for sure, this place hasn't seen open air for a long time. How the hell there's still breathable air in here…"

"I'd rather not dwell on that. Or the fact it might run out."

"You have a point." She stood with a groan, and stepped towards Lilith and the door. "Let's see this 'column', than shall we?" To her surprise Lilith grinned, white teeth flashing white in the dark.

"What?" Looking at Lilith curiously. Lilith only shook her head, her face hidden behind an emotionless mask. Julia gestured ahead, "By all means, lead on."

They walked through a short passage, sidling around an enormous stone block that half blocked the passage and entered a larger chamber, with an arching ceiling, so high that it disappeared back into darkness.

Lilith nodded over her shoulder, at what had blocked the passage "That's what I was talking about."

The two of them turned to face it, and then gasped, frozen in awe at the sight that rose above them, now visible in the light Julia cast. It was an enormous statue of a Kudarung. Its massive forelegs pawed the air as it balanced on its hind legs, its head and mane flung back in savage joy. Colossal wings, at full-stretch, flowed from powerfully muscled shoulders, curving around slightly to frame the entire piece. The varying shades of the single block of black marble, it was carved from, had been so skilfully combined with exacting attention to detail, that it seemed it strained to be loose from whatever kept it earthbound, that at any second it would simply leap into the air.

"What is that?" Whispered Julia awed.

"It-it's a Kudarung. A flying horse…they're nearly extinct…"

Julia looked at Lilith sharply, at hearing the almost reverent tone in her voice, "I've heard of them. I thought-What aren't you telling me?"

Lilith grinned ruefully, "They were almost sacred in the Isles at one point in history. They were the symbol of the Kyprish royalty…but a black kudarung…"

"Yes?" Julia interrupted impatiently.

"There's a legend, which started sometime after the Grey Palace burned. When the queen and all those loyal to her were killed, there were many rebellions against The Government that replaced the monarch. All were put down ruthlessly and with no concern for the blood spilt. The people lived in fear, and under constant persecution. And then, so the legend goes, the Guardian Spirit appeared; at the beginning of the people's last ditch effort to rout The Government. A kudarung like midnight." Lilith swayed suddenly, as dizziness overcame her. Julia grabbed her left arm to steady her,

"What's wrong?!"

"N-nothing…I'm almost used to this now…" The world around her faded into a dark void, and in it's depths images began to form as they usually did. Lilith looked around something was different…and with a shock she realised what it was. She wasn't alone. Julia stood next to her, in the semi darkness, wide eyed with shock.

……………………

…"Wha-who-how…" his voice trailed off, as to be on the safe side, she held her newly reclaimed knife to his throat and growled,

"Unless you want gills, I suggest you let me ask the questions. You just be a good kid and answer them."…

Aly waited patiently as he nodded slowly, eyes darting around, searching for a way to escape. She saw him tense, and dodged sideways as he flipped to his feet and swung a punch at where her stomach had been a moment ago. Before he could fully register it, he found himself once again on the ground, this time with the weight of a booted foot on his chest. 'Dammit, she's so fast…'

"I thought I told you to be a good kid. Let me rephrase that. The next time you try to get away, I won't be gentle in…persuading you to stay put." The knife glinted in the faint light and Aly watched the boy's eyes follow the blade's slightest movement. Good. She'd finally got through to him. "Let's start with something simple shall we? And don't bother lying, I have the sight. What's your name, and why were you following me?"

She watched the boy think it over. 'The Sight-no. She has t' be lyin' about that. Everyone in Rajmuat, even those who has a strong gift, 'av' lost all magical ability. That's why there were all those riots, an' why everyone was so panicked. Th' gods have turned their faces from us. Even th' bright one.'

Aly could see the rebellion in him despite his apparently passive face. He shrugged, "If you say so, my name's Ti-,"

"I thought I told you not to lie!"

The boy stared at her and swallowed, hard, as he saw power swim in her eyes. "Now let's try that again shall we? Name and why you were following me."

"M-Miki." The boy stuttered, still staring at the woman and the strange power he now saw in her eyes.

"Much better, Miki. Now, why were you following me?"

"I-Well-you se-," he stopped taking a shuddering breath, "I was followin' you 'cause one o' the people in black," he nodded his head in the direction of the fanatics, "told me-well, he said if they turned you into th' government, they'd getta reward, an' if I helped them they'd gimme some an'-,"

"Stop and take a breath," Aly ordered not unkindly, to the babbling kid, giving him a few seconds before continuing. Her eyes hardened, "They said there was reward?"

Miki nodded uncertainly, then as though he'd just realised he might have offended her, he began to justify it, "I wouldna done it usually. I swear! Tis just with th' government, an' the blocking o' th' harbour an' th' riots..." The lady's eyes flashed and he stumbled to a halt. Aly frowned, that was the second time he'd mentioned this government.

"Riots? Government?" The boy stared at her in shock, and she swore inwardly. Of course, if she'd been in Rajmuat, probably even the Copper Isles, she would've heard about something as obviously, big as this. She swore again as she realised if the fanatics were still around she couldn't just leave a trail leading directly to her. And she would not resort to cold blooded killing. Especially, not to a kid how was only doing his best to survive…she watched as he paled suddenly, realising what he'd done. She had to have been outside the Copper Isles not to have heard…and with the government killing anyone trying to leave or come in… With a strength born from desperation he managed to twist free, and was up and running in a second. She groaned inwardly, and took off in pursuit. "I don't have time for this! Why must I waste it all chasing people?!"

The boy lead her on a merry chase through the back streets of Rajmuat. They'd just run through a deserted square she knew and had entered an alley that ran around it. Seeing the approaching intersection, which she knew was a dead end. Removing a knife from a wrist sheath, she paused to throw it to the boy's right. It was close enough to make him swerve towards the alley, and with a spurt of speed she had been saving she managed to herd him into it. He raced to the end, looking around frantically. Seeing no other way out, he began to try to scramble up the wall. She had to give him some credit, he managed to find hand and toe holds where it looked like there was nothing.

Darting forward, Aly managed to grab hold of his ankle and pulled. He lost his grip and tumbled to the ground with a curse. He somehow managed to land on his feet, and spun to face her, a wild look in his eyes.

"You can't run any further. If I have to chase you again I'm going to get annoyed," she said panting slightly.

Backing up against the wall he glared at her defiantly, and spat at the cobles at her feet. "Whatever. If you're ever goin' t' get round t' killin' me-,"

Aly raised an eyebrow, "Now whoever said I was going to kill you?"

"Th' bloody knife you chucked at me and held at my neck! Or is that a greetin' from where ever you come from luarin!?"

Rolling her eyes, in a way that plainly asked for patience Aly retorted, "I did not say I was going to kill you. And how else was I meant to get you to listen or run into the dead end? If I'd thought you'd listen to me if I asked nicely, I would've done it at the start."

"Then why th' hell did you bother followin' me!?"

"The same damn reason that you thought I wanted to kill you for! I can hardly just let you keep on running around with fanatics every where just dying to see my blood!"

"Make up your mind! Do you want t' silence me or not! Stop bein' such a hypocrite!"

Aly looked at him for a moment, then couldn't stop a small chuckle from escaping her, "You have a point…I wasn't really sure what I was going to do, but you've done nothing to me that I would kill you for," her voice suddenly turned hard, her eyes glittering like ice. "Those fanatics though, and their bastard master…now they are going to pay for what they've done."

Miki shuddered, at the note in her voice…he almost pitied those the lady spoke of with such loathing…almost.

"Look," said Aly. "If I put my weapons down will you at least hear me out?"

"You don't need weapons. You've th' gift."

"No, as I've already told you, I have the Sight. It can't really do you any harm."

Wariness in every move the boy made, his expression turned crafty, "If you put down your weapons, no. If you give me at least one of them and put the others down…" he let the sentence trail off. Aly paused, then shrugged. She doubted he could match her skill with a knife or in unarmed combat. She would just have to be careful. Removing all her knives, she watched as Miki's eyes widened slightly, at the small arsenal that appeared. He waited until she backed away and then darted forward grabbing one of the knives. It reminded the former spymaster that she had left the knife she had chucked to corner the boy here in the alley. She just hoped it would still be there. It was a good knife.

He looked at her, "Well are ya goin' t' talk or not!"

"Talk about impatient," Aly muttered to herself. "Look ki-Miki, I don't want to kill you, but I can't just leave a trail leading those fanatics straight to me. And if what they told you was true I don't want this government of your's-,"

"They're no government o' ours!" Miki spat the venom in his voice startling her. "They're the bloody ones who brought this on us all!"

"My apologies…What exactly have they brought on all of 'you'…and while I think about it who's this 'us'?"

"They were the ones who were responsible for the burning of the Grey palace! They've condemned all of us! All the people! They've caused the gods to turn their faces from us- banning worship of our gods and preaching about this Lungkata-"

"What!? Oh for-That bastard is every where!"

Miki stopped cursing Lungkata, as the tone of her voice registered. The anger that filled her entire being blazed in her eyes, with a tiny flicker of…fear? "Sorry?"

"That-that…argh!" She looked down, drawing the boy's attention to the lizard shaped scar on her wrist, that flared a dull red. "I swear," she hissed, "the next time we meet will be the last." The mark pulsed again, brighter, and she gave a little gasp of pain as a voice issued around her.

"So you finally figured out how I did it? Well, my dear former spymaster, I can't help but agree. Once I finally get hold of you, I'll be able to tie up all these loose ends you create with your mere existence, in this world." Hissing laughter filled the air, "And when that bloody trickster finally looses his last tie to this world, he can be sent to the void with all the others. I will not let your soul roam free, when I finally kill you, for if it continues to, even if you die, he will still have the link that allows him to endure. That," he paused, "and because the idea of you living on in eternal suffering, appeals to me."

Aly's voice was strangely calm. "You could try. But while I still exist, in some way or form, I will fight you, or at the very least aid those who do."

"Be quiet bitch! Your time of reckoning will come! And when it does, this world will, at last, lie at my feet!" The voice faded along with any sense of his presence. Aly shuddered, and collapsed to the ground, whimpering as blood red light blazed around her, rippling in waves of sparks over her body. She welcomed the approaching darkness, and dove into its depth racing from the pain the wracked her body. Miki could only stand and stare.

……………………

Aly found herself falling through the darkness, only to emerge a little later into a less complete one. She looked around in surprise. She felt the movement of air across her back and turned in shock, only to find herself looking at a pair of midnight coloured wings, that obviously originated from her own back. With shock she looked down at the flickering lights of Rajmuat, as they drifted past, and found herself looking at a pair of hooves. A chuckle from behind her caused her to try to whirl in midair, resulting in her to loose quite a bit of altitude. Wings beating frantically, she regained her lost height and came face to face with Kyprioth. Grinning the voice sounded in her mind,

…So, do you like my little surprise?…

…Kyprioth,…Aly said, her voice dangerously calm, …what the hell have you done to me?…

…I, my dear? I have done nothing!...Ok, maybe I twisted some little things here and there…but apart from that I have nothing to do with this!…

…uh huh. Sure Kyprioth. Why would I have cause to suspect you?…

…That's a good point my dear. I've been puzzling over it for sometime now…

Aly snorted, …Riiight. Now back to the point. What the hell's happened to me? Last thing I remember was being in the alley with that kid-Miki…

…Well technically, you're still there…at least your body is-actually, Miki might have moved you by now-…

…What!?…

…Don't panic on me now my dear. Miki is perfectly trustworthy, and he knows the people you have to meet-…

…Are you deliberately trying to avoid answering my question?…

…Would I do that?…

…Yes…

…Oh stop complaining. You could at least show a little gratitude. Now you won't be bored and wasting time while your sleeping, or unconscious or whatever…

…Stop stalling Kyprioth. I can see you're dying to tell me about your brilliance in achieving this-whatever it is you've done…

…You know me too well. It's disconcerting…muttered the god. He sighed, …Very well. What you are now, well as you appear to be now is your spirit form…

…More information please…

…I was getting there if you'd be patient. All spirits take a form when away from the bodies they inhabit. Previously, if you remember, I took you places and you stayed as Aly…Well, that's one of the things I…fiddled with. You had to be able to move around, and no disrespect to the crows but they can't really command a presence-…

…Kyprioth get on with it. What the hell am I?...

…Guess…

….Kyprioth…Aly said warningly

…Oh fine. You're no fun. You're a Kudarung. Happy now?...

…No…

…Humph. All my hard work and this is the thanks I get for it…

…I thought you said 'fiddled' and 'twisted a few things here and there'. That hardly constitutes as hard work…

…You'll thank me for it later. Really, what I've done is a masterpiece but I wouldn't expect you to appreciate that. I believe you are the only pure black kudarung, but it hardly matters. How many would have wings that's feathers are like a crows. Besides, you did say that you were wasting time earlier. Look what you can accomplish even when you're unconscious…

…You know this is worse than having my own words chucked back at me. It would take you to chuck my thoughts back at me…

The Trickster surprised her by laughing, …Go on. Give it a try.. I didn't just do this for amusement you know and I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that mark can't effect you in this form.

Those lapdogs, that call themselves 'the government', do most of their dirty work at night, hence the black colour -at least if someone looks up it will make you that much harder to see-. Beats me why they wouldn't do it in daylight but I won't try to fathom a fanatic's thoughts. They're obviously mucked up in the first place if they follow Lungkata…

When she hesitated, Aly felt a tendril of power from the god push her forward and down.

…Go on… he laughed, and turned and disappeared.

'Easy enough for you to say.' She thought grumpily as she craned her neck to glare at her wings. 'Ah well, at least I don't have to learn how to use these bloody things…'

The room was quiet, and Miki fidgeted under the gaze of the other people in the room.

"Why did you bring her here?! You could have ruined everything!" The man glared at the boy who stood awkwardly before the group.

Miki looked down, "I-I,"

"Oh leave, the lad alone Lykas," said a female voice. "He's smart and wouldna done it without good reason. Now where's the patient?" The old raka healer, walked easily over to the pallet where the woman Miki had 'found' lay. Although her healing gift had dwindled and died along with all other gifts, she still had herb lore among other things. She looked her over with a shrewd eye, and shook her head, "There is nothing I can do for her. Her mind does not reside in her body at the moment. Either she will awake, or she will die." She glared at the people staring at her. "Well! Are you doing to stand around like a herd of cattle or will one of you give an old lady a seat?"

There was an embarrassed rumbling and a chair was produced. "Thanks, Tara," Miki mumbled quietly as he drew the chair to the woman. She gave him a sly wink, and with a groan sat in the chair.

"So Miki," Lykas continued, rolling his eyes, "why did you bring her here? You'd better have a good reason."

Offended the boy's awkwardness seemed to drop away, and he looked directly at Lykas as he said, "She is a marked enemy of Lungkata, and has the Sight-,"

"Fool boy!" Growled a new voice. "Everyone knows that every kind of gift has disappeared as though it never was! It is proof of the god's disfavour! It doesn't work fro any except those that serve Lungkata."

"I heard him speak!" Protested the boy. "Look at her arm! She bears a lizard-scar! And th' voice called her 'former spymaster'. That may make her dangerous, but she obviously hasn't been in th' Isles for sometime. We could still use her! And besides, when he was speaking- well she wasn't on friendly terms with him!"

"And what do you have, apart from the coincidence of a lizard shaped scar that it was Lungkata how spoke boy!" Zaos's voice cracked through the air like a whip effectively ending Miki's argument.

"Now, now, bickering avail ye nothing," Tara's voice interceded. "There is nothing we can do until she wakes, then she can speak for herself." Reaching to the pouch that hung at her waist, she pulled out a clear crystal. "Know what this is? It's magicked to glow when someone tells a lie. It's powerful enough, and if what Miki heard was true, former Spymaster or not, she won't even be able to say a half truth without us knowing. I made sure of that when I made it." The wide eyes looked at the stone in awe. All magical artefacts, that hadn't become worthless with the extinction of the gift, were now beyond priceless. Looking smugly at the expressions on the faces around her she grinned slyly, "I was saving it for a special occasion."

Aly laughed inwardly with pure exhilaration. She'd been surprised to find herself perfectly at home in this different form as though she'd lived in it her entire life. The strength it had surprised her, as well as it's ability to see in that dark, without her using her Sight. Swooping closer to the city, she located the alley where she'd passed out. Miki was no where in sight, nor was her body, if what Kyprioth said was to be believed and this was her spirit's form.

Wheeling higher, a dark patch in the net of lights below her caught her attention. She had found the Grey Palace. Its ruins were dark, and it looked as though there had been no attempt to restore the place. 'Which is how is should be,' she thought grimly. It was the resting place of many, and would not be disturbed.

Another empty patch caught her attention, this time in a more central location. Drawing closer she saw the blackened rubble of what had been the temples. With an angry cry, she gained height, circling above it, taking in the construction of another larger one on the same land. So this was Lungkata's temple?

She was letting herself drift closer, when harsh cries split the night. A virtual sea of familiarly black cloaked people converged on a few of the buildings in the temple district. They swarmed into the houses, dragging the occupants from them. A selected few, hung back, and in Aly's sight they all glowed with the gift. Light erupted from them, as they cast spells at the figures that tried to flee. Aly cried out, as she saw the small figure of a child fall to one of them. A cheer rang out from those in black as the people were herded, into the centre of the horde. One of the mages voices rang out in the still night,

"For the crimes of heresy, worship of the gods and conspiring against the government. The penalty is death. Let this serve as a warning." He raised his hand and brought it down, with a feeling of finality to it. The mages pressed forward towards the centre ringing their captives. Rasing their arms they began to chant, the feeling of power growing with each word. Aly looked on in horror. Why did no one do anything but huddle at the centre of that circle of death?

The mages, began to walk clockwise faster and faster, closing in on the small group. Something in her snapped and all coherent thought disappeared. Rage filled her. Rage at those who so blatantly would violate the temples; at those who had destroyed her life, family and friends; and at them that where abusing the people of her adopted homeland. With a ringing cry, that sent a chill down the spines of all those present, she dived.