Amor Vincit Omnia

(Love Conquers All)

Part One: Sun and Shadow

"The preacher was talking, there's a sermon he gave
He said, every man's conscience is vile and depraved
You cannot depend on it to be your guide
For it's you who must keep it satisfied."
- Bob Dylan
"Man in the Long Black Coat"

Chapter Twenty-One: A Funeral and a Wedding

Saiya woke late in the morning with a throbbing head and a tongue that felt like sandpaper. She sat up slowly, groaning as the movement exacerbated her discomfort. Apart from her, the infirmary was empty, not a soul in sight.

She rose and slipped into her robe, then went over to the bowl of water that was sitting on a nearby stand and splashed some on her face with cupped hands. The events of the previous night were a bit fuzzy in her memory. Something about Baal apologizing, and a bottle of honey mead, and a kiss.

That's right! she thought. He kissed me! Not on the cheek, either, but a full-on, deliberate mouth-to-mouth kiss. My first.

The young monk meandered outside, full of optimism. The sun was shining brightly, but there was a bitter chill in the air warning of the onset of winter. Spotting Kormac further down the street, she called his name. The Templar turned and waved to her.

"Good morning, Saiya!" he said as she approached. "I heard you had a bit of a wet night."

"That was just an accident," she replied, thinking that he was referring to her impromptu dip in the river.

"An accident!" Kormac laughed. "I've never heard of drinking a whole bottle of mead by mistake, Sister."

"Oh." Saiya flushed beet red. "Well, I shared it with Baal. Do you know where he is, by the way?"

The westerner shook his head. "Haven't seen him yet today, though if he feels anything like how you look, he's probably sleeping it off."

"Alright, alright, we didn't drink that much," Saiya grumbled, feeling embarrassed. Had they really become local legends overnight? Trying to change the subject, she asked, "What are you up to?"

"I was on my way down to the docks. Captain Aidel asked me to oversee the transfer of some of the town's supplies over to Wortham."

"Would you like some help?" she asked.

"I wouldn't say no," he answered.

On the way to the main gate, Saiya stopped in at the guard barracks, only to be informed by a sleepy-looking soldier that Baal had never come in the previous night. Beginning to worry, she excused herself to Kormac with the promise to catch up with him later, and backtracked to the Slaughtered Calf. The Hunter had not slept there either, nor was there any sign of him at Leah's house. Saiya did not linger there, and avoided entering the living room where Deckard had been killed. Guilt at the part she had played in his murder gnawed at her stomach like a hungry wolf, but she forced it away, concentrating on her rising concern for her friend.

Failing to locate him within the confines of New Tristram's walls, she roamed up and down the road and ventured in the woodlands as far as the river, but Baal was not to be found. She did however encounter Lyndon, dressed for travel and looking furtively behind him. He was southward bound. When she stepped from the cover of the undergrowth, directly into his path, he jumped and hissed out a curse before recovering his composure.

"Oh, Saiya … I didn't see you. What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Lyndon," she replied, arms crossed.

"There's no law that says I can't leave town, is there?" he said with a charming grin. "This place is too hot for me. Hordes of demons, crazed cultists following some devil-worshiping witch, people getting murdered left and right – I want no part of that."

"What about Sasha?"

Lyndon snorted. "What about her?"

"You're betrothed!"

"Really, darlin', do I look like the marrying type to you? The chit will find another man, probably someone much better for her than the likes of me. Your mage friend seemed game for the challenge."

"And the relic?" Saiya pressed. "Is that staying behind too?"

The corners of Lyndon's mouth curved down, and he laid a hand none-too-subtly on the handle of the heavy two-handed crossbow he carried slung over his shoulder. "Don't give me any trouble, Saiya," he said. "I would hate to have to go head-to-head with you, especially since I've seen what you can do with those fists, but I'm not going to let you stop me."

Saiya heaved a long sigh. "Why are you doing this, Lyndon? You're not an evil man, I can tell. Why dupe a poor naïve girl into thinking that you're going to marry her, and then steal the only thing of value that she has? If it's money you need, there are far nobler ways to get it."

"But none quite so entertaining," said the rogue. "And if you think Sasha is an innocent party in this, you're sorely mistaken. That girl is the sort that would pretend to be with child just to rope a man into staying with her, and then leech off of him for as long as she could. In a way, we would have made a perfect pair – not a lick of conscience, either of us. She was a good lay, but ultimately more of a pain in the ass than she was worth."

"You're heartless," Saiya said in disgust.

"A tender heart will only get you killed, my dear," Lyndon replied, tapping his chest with a gloved finger. "Take my word for it. Now if you don't mind, I'll be leaving. Stand aside."

Saiya shook her head. "You can go, Lyndon, but the relic stays here. It doesn't belong to you."

"Don't make this difficult," he implored. "I admire your moral purity, really I do, but you're being foolish. Get out of my way."

"You wouldn't hurt me," she said, although she was far from certain.

"Let's not put that to the test. Stand aside, Saiya!"

She clenched her fists, shifting her weight in case she needed to throw a sudden kick. "I refuse."

"Ah fuck," Lyndon groaned, and reached for his crossbow. Before he could take aim, however, a black-feathered bolt lanced through the air and stuck quivering in the earth between his feet. Both the rogue and Saiya turned to stare into the trees from where the shot had been fired.

Baal was standing there, weapon in hand and eyes ablaze. He had obviously been hunting; the carcass of a yearling hog was slung over his shoulders.

"You're very lucky, friend," he said, stepping out into the road, "that I arrived when I did. If you had actually drawn on her, I would have killed you where you stand."

Lyndon said nothing. Baal stopped a few paces away, keeping his crossbow fixed on the other man's heart, and nodded to Saiya. Understanding his meaning, she marched up to Lyndon and disarmed him, making no attempt to be gentle.

"Alright," she said. "Hand it over."

He slipped off his knapsack and dug through it, removing a small, narrow object wrapped in cloth and tossing it on the ground at her feet with a sneer of contempt. Saiya picked it up and set the crossbow down in its place, after first disengaging the firing mechanism so that it could not immediately be used.

"Well, good luck on the road, Lyndon," she said. He gave her a poisonous look and held up his middle finger.

"Get moving," Baal growled, prodding him in the back with the loaded bow. The other man scooped up his weapon and set off without a backward glance. Baal kept his finger on the trigger as they watched him go.

"I wish it hadn't come to that," Saiya remarked when Lyndon's figure had vanished into the distance.

"Yes," Baal agreed. "We lost a valuable ally, even if he was untrustworthy." He hoisted the dead hog higher up on his shoulders and turned back in the direction of New Tristram. His pace was brisk, his expression preoccupied.

"Thanks for coming to my aid," said Saiya, scurrying alongside him. "I might really have been in trouble there."

Baal shrugged modestly. "Well, I wasn't just going to stand by and do nothing."

"I appreciate it."

Silence.

Saiya awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "So … about last night …"

"Yeah," Baal muttered, grimacing, "I must have drank more than I thought, 'cause I don't really remember much. I didn't do anything embarrassing, did I?"

Her heart sank. He has no memory of kissing me … does that count as 'something embarrassing'? She debated for a long moment whether or not she should casually mention it or just bury the incident in the graveyard of her romantic hopes, and eventually settled on the later. She felt like a coward, but it was better to suffer in silence, clutching onto that one precious memory, then to potentially ruin her friendship with the man she loved.

She said, "Truth be told, I don't remember either, but there was any embarrassing behavior, I think it was mine and not yours. I'm pretty sure I fell in the river at one point."

"Oh, yeah, I do remember that," the Hunter chuckled. "Well, don't worry about it. I was the only one who was there to witness it, and I promise not to tell a soul."

"That's a relief," she quipped back. "By the way, where did you sleep? I've been looking everywhere for you this morning."

"I had an idea for an improvement to my crossbow, but I needed an isolated spot to work on it. Would you like to see?"

"Of course!"

Dropping the hog's carcass on a patch of green grass, Baal unhooked an apparatus from his belt that appeared to be two bombs connected to each other by an eighteen-inch chain. He clipped this into the groove in his larger bow where a bolt would normally fit, securing one of the black balls at the top of the barrel and one at the bottom. He lined up the sights on a nearby dead tree that was leaning against one of its healthier neighbors, and let fly. The balls-and-chain left the bow at tremendous velocity, creating a whirring sound as they spun in the air. When they hit the trunk, they wrapped several times around it and dangled for a moment before exploding in a flash of fire. As the smoke drifted away, Saiya gasped at the devastating effect: the tree, a good half-foot in diameter, had been cracked clean in two, and the splintered halves were charred by the blast site.

"By the glory of Ytar!" Saiya exclaimed. "I never seen anything like that before!"

"It's called a bolus," said Baal. "A common enough weapon in my land, but it typically takes the form of three wooden or steel balls on chains, attached to a central shaft. I modified the design to be more compatible to my fighting style. It should be effective even against tougher enemies, like Leoric, or the berserker we faced outside the church in Wortham. I also had ideas for bolts that could be electrified by magic, or sanctified by holy energy, but I'd need you or … uh … someone skilled in sorcery for that."

"You mean Caesar," Saiya said slyly.

"Doesn't have to be him," Baal shot back.

"Yeah, right. How many other wizards do we know?"

The Hunter scowled and picked up his catch, replacing the crossbow in its holster. "Let's head back to town," he said. "I'm hungry."

Saiya shook her head over his immaturity, but followed him nonetheless. She knew that she should eat something as well, but the nausea still digging its claws into her stomach violently discouraged that notion.

When they reached New Tristram, Baal went immediately to the docks to send the dead hog over to the Wortham refugee camps, while Saiya veered off in the direction of the Slaughtered Calf, intended to pay Sasha a visit. The young woman was sitting by the window in her room, combing her auburn hair and humming an off-key melody.

"Oh, hi, Saiya," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Saiya placed the stolen relic down on the bed and clasped her hands behind her back, unsure how to break the news. Sasha stared blankly at her while she fidgeted.

"There's something that I need to tell you," she said eventually.

"What?"

"Lyndon's gone. I'm sorry, I tried to stop him, but he was determined to go. I did manage to get your relic back, though."

"What are you talking about?" Sasha asked. "Lyndon just went out to get me some food. He'll be back any minute now."

Saiya shook her head, brows creased in sympathy. "No, he won't. I just ran into him on the road heading out of town. He had all his things with him."

"Wh-what do you mean?" the other woman stammered. "I don't … I don't understand! Where did he go?"

"I have no idea. Sasha, I'm really sorry. I know how much you cared about him, but please understand that he was just leading you on. He never intended to marry you; all he wanted was this." She tapped the cloth-wrapped bundle with her forefinger. "He said so himself."

Sasha looked down at her hands, twining together in her lap, for a long moment. When she lifted her chin again, her eyes were bright with unshed tears, but there was a crooked little smile on her lips.

"I knew all along that it was hopeless," she said. "I just wanted to be near him for as long as I could. It's not really Lyndon's fault, so please don't think poorly of him. He's a man who loves his freedom. He was never meant to be chained down."

"How can you still defend him after the way he treated you?" Saiya asked.

"Because I love him," Sasha replied simply.

Saiya nodded, accepting the explanation, and feeling a curious pang of resonance within her own heart. She had never held a very high opinion of Sasha before, judging her to be a foolish and shallow person, but now she saw that she had gotten one thing very wrong. The girl was foolish, perhaps, but no one who was capable of such unlimited and perceptive devotion could be called shallow.

"Besides," Sasha added with a lascivious grin, "he was wickedly good in bed. I mean, the man would melt your flesh off."

"Ah … really?"

"Oh yes. He certainly knows how to touch a girl." Looking keenly at Saiya's beet-red face, she said, "You haven't lain with a man yet, have you?"

"No," Saiya admitted.

"Why not? I mean, it's not like you're ugly or anything. And your body is nice even if it kind of looks like a boy's." Then, realizing that her comment had been rather insulting, she hastily continued, "No offense, Saiya! I'm sure there are plenty of men who find that really attractive."

"What, the ones that want to have sex with other men?" Saiya said glumly.

"I'm sorry!" Sasha wailed, hiding her face. "I can't believe I said that!"

"It's okay, Sasha. Truth be told, I don't have much interest in love-making. It seems rather pointless to me, unless you want to have a child, and I've already decided to dedicate my life to the Temple of the High Sun."

"You only say that because you've never experienced it," said Sasha. "Trust me, sex is something that you don't want to miss out on. It's amazing, especially if your partner is as skilled as Lyndon. But honestly, I'm kind of surprised that you haven't done it yet. I mean, with a fine man like Baal hanging around …"

"What?" Saiya interrupted, her voice emerging sharper than she'd intended.

"Well, don't you think he's handsome?"

"Yes, I do."

"You know," Sasha smirked, "when I first met you I thought that he was your lover, because the two of you seem so close."

Saiya fought back a long sigh. This conversation was only serving to make her feel more depressed about the limitations of her relationship with Baal. She said, "Nope, just friends."

"Does that mean he's up for grabs?" Sasha inquired, tilting her head to one side.

Saiya flinched as an image invaded her mind of Baal and the redhead locked in an embrace, staring into each other's eyes as the distance between their mouths slowly closed. The idea of it was so sickening that at first she thought she might actually vomit. She shut her eyes and took a shaky breath, wondering what the hell was wrong with her.

"Baal doesn't belong to me, or anybody else," she forced herself to say. "He can make his own decisions."

"You do like him," said Sasha. "I knew it!"

"Of course I like him. He's my friend."

"That wasn't what I meant. But Saiya, if you're so attracted to him, why don't you do something about it? Make him want you? It's not hard to get a man's attention."

"Maybe not for you," the young monk muttered, "but believe me, I've given Baal plenty of opportunities to acknowledge his feelings, if he has any. The only time he's ever initiated contact that was not strictly comradely was when he got drunk, and don't think he really meant to."

"Have you tried flirting with him?" Sasha asked.

Saiya shook her head. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

The other girl pursed her lips and gazed off to the side as if submerged in thought. After a minute she said, "Well, there are two different ways to flirt, depending on what kind of man you're trying to attract. Baal seems to me like the type who would like a coquettish female more than a promiscuous one. That means that rather than blatantly trying to seduce him, you'll have to lead him on and make him try to pursue you."

Saiya found herself intrigued. "How would I do that?"

"Honestly, most of it is in the facial expressions and movements that you make," Sasha explained. She demonstrated a few examples, lowering her chin and looking up at Saiya with big limpid eyes, leaning forward and folding her hands demurely in her lap while subtly squeezing her breasts together with her arms. She did it so cleverly that she did not even seem to be aware of the motion, but the result was that the neckline of her gown dropped dramatically to reveal her smooth, rounded bosom. Saiya imagined herself doing the same thing and nearly died of embarrassment.

"Laugh a lot when he's talking," Sasha went on, unaware that her student was already suffering major doubt. "If he gets near to you, be sure to blush and look away. It doesn't hurt to act a bit clumsy; men like having to catch women if they fall or trip. Give him lots of compliments. And – listen close, because this is very important – the first time he makes a move, don't accept his advances. I'm not saying you have to slap him or anything … in fact, it would probably be better if you ran away or made an excuse to leave. Usually half the attraction is in the thrill of the chase, and if you give in too quickly, you'll bore him. Just enough tease to get him excited, not enough to frustrate him, that's the key."

Is that really how it works? Saiya wondered. Turn my head a certain way, flutter my eyelashes, expose a bit of cleavage, and any man I want will sleep with me on the spot? Somehow I don't think it's that simple …

"Thanks for talking with me, Sasha," she said.

"Anytime," the redhead replied with a smile. "You need more female friends, you know, being around all those men."

"Yeah," Saiya said noncommittally. "Well, I'd better get going. I told Baal that I would meet him down by the docks. There's still a lot to do over at Wortham. We could use your help, if you feel inclined."

"Oh, I wouldn't be any good to you," Sasha demurred, rapidly shaking her head. "I don't have a strong stomach like you do. I'd probably throw up if I saw a dead body."

"Suit yourself, but there's more to be done than cleaning up corpses. You could help with the cooking, or keep the children occupied. Just a thought."

"Well, I'll think about it. Anyway, see you later, right?"

"Right," Saiya confirmed. After a brief moment of hesitation, she extended her hand, wanting to show her appreciation of the other woman's kindness. Sasha seemed confused, but accepted the gesture anyway. Her palm was as soft as bread dough compared to Saiya's callused and scarred hands, and her fingers were like fragile twigs.

Leaving the inn, she saw Baal coming towards her up the street, walking side by side with Aidel. As they passed by one of the houses, the front door opened and a small girl burst forth. The two men stopped in their tracks as she ran up to them. It took a moment for Saiya to identify her as the child who was escaped the goatmen's massacre of the caravan, the one whose mother had been so brutally slain. The nausea, which had been abating, returned full force at the intrusive memory of pale, lifeless flesh exposed to the rain.

"What is it, Rosylea?" Aidel asked. "What do you need?"

"Ah … ah …" mumbled the girl. She was looking at Baal. He gazed down at her for a minute, a strange look on his face, before dropping to one knee so that his face was at her level.

"You wanted to ask me something?" he said quietly.

Saiya was not close enough to hear that word that issued from the child's lips, but its effect on Baal was instantaneous. His shoulders stiffened and all the blood drained from his face. Slowly, he turned to stare at Aidel.

"You haven't told her yet?" he demanded, his voice pitched low and furious. "Do you have any conception of the wrong you have done?"

"I was trying to spare her the suffering," replied the Captain.

"And instead you have succeeded in drawing it out! Good job!" His eyes gentled as he turned back to the girl, resting his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady. "Sweetheart, your mother cannot come back to you. She died, do you understand? Her soul has gone to the High Heavens to live with the angels, but that does not mean that she doesn't love you anymore. I know that she will watch over you always." He reached into his pocket and took out the chain and pendant that he had removed from the dead woman's neck. "I brought this back for you. I thought that you would want to have it."

Rosylea took the necklace from his grasp. Her lips trembled, and her eyes welled up with tears. With a sob, she flung her arms around Baal's neck and buried her face in his chest. Aidel shook his head in angry resignation.

"Look what you've done," he said. "She was much happier believing that her mother was still alive, and might return to her someday. But no, you had to take away her hope."

Baal rounded on him, standing in a smooth movement and hefting the girl with him. The Hunter's face was a mask of barely-contained fury, and his arms tightened around the child as if shielding her from harm.

"You fool!" he spat. "What good is a hope with no chance of being fulfilled? What good is happiness when it's based on a lie? What you did was not for her. It was because you were too weak to tell her the truth!"

"Baal!" Saiya exclaimed, laying a stilling hand on her friend's arm. She could feel his muscles trembling under her touch: not from the strain of holding up the girl, whose weight was insignificant, but from the turmoil of his emotions. No one spoke; the only sound came from Rosylea's muffled weeping.

"Come on, Baal," Saiya murmured, "let's go and get something to eat." She tugged lightly on his sleeve, and he snapped his head around to look at her. His face was a rigid mask, but his eyes glistened, and Saiya could tell that he was close to his breaking point. Something about the girl set him on edge, she realized, recalling how tense and unapproachable he had been right after she had stumbled into them in the woods. No, it was not the girl herself, but what she represented: a child cruelly torn from her family, alone in the world.

The revelation came to her like a thunderclap striking overhead. Oh Gods, how could I have been so stupid? The reason that this child is such an emotional trigger for him is that his own family was killed the way hers was, probably by demons! No wonder he's so upset. It must be like reliving that part of his past. The words he had spoken outside the Temple of the Nephalem, after her outburst, echoed though her mind: "Deep wounds like that never really heal, they only scar over."

Baal's tortured gaze was still fixed on her, and the agony in his eyes made her heart ache. As the first tear overflowed the dam of his eyelashes, she captured it on her finger and brought it to her lips as he had done before when she'd cried.

"Mmm, salty," she whispered.

Baal gulped, and a shiver ran all through his body. He set the girl down (gingerly, as though she might shatter into pieces at the slightest jolt) and, turning on his heel, walked away. His strides were fast and rather jerky.

Aidel watched him go with a bewildered frown. He laid his arm around Rosylea and pulled the girl close to him, directing a questioning look at Saiya. The young monk shrugged in response, saying, "It's not your fault, Captain. You did what you thought was best. Just leave him alone for a while, he'll come around."

"I'll take your word for it," he replied. Picking Rosylea up, he settled her on his hip as if she was a babe and went back inside the house that she had come out from, shutting the door behind him.

Saiya, left by herself, dallied in the street for a few moments. She wanted to run after Baal, who was still in sight, and see what she could do to comfort him, but she was well aware of his tendency to shove her away when he was troubled. Instinct won out over common sense, however, and she sprinted after him. He let her catch up, grabbed her arm, and dragged her behind a nearby house. There, out of sight of prying eyes, the Hunter finally lost the control that he'd been clinging to. Dropping to his knees, he pressed his hands to his face, shoulders hunched and shaking.

Saiya, taken aback though she was, lost no time in kneeling beside him and gathering him into her arms, one hand combing through his hair while the other traced soothing circles on his back. He surrendered to her embrace without complaint, and even as she comforted her, Saiya mused to herself that this was something of a landmark in their relationship: the first time that he had allowed her to see him vulnerable and grieving.

No more than five minutes passed before Baal's breathing slowed and he disentangled himself. His eyes met hers, full of wariness. Saiya smiled reassuringly.

"It's okay," she said. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

"Thank you," he replied. "I would like to tell you at some point, but I don't think I'm ready yet. It's … not easy for me to talk about."

"I understand completely. When the time comes, I'm here. Until then, I won't mention it."

Baal nodded, and a stray teardrop was shaken loose from the tip of his nose. "Again, thank you. This … what you've done for me … you don't know how much it means."

"That's what friends are for," she said. "And we are friends, Baal … we always will be. I'm glad that we met."

"So am I." He took out a handkerchief and cleaned himself up. "Right, then … about breakfast."

After a brief discussion, they decided to cross the river and join the relief crew. Some of the fishermen had mobilized their vessels to form a small fleet, which was ferrying supplies and workers back and forth between the two towns. Saiya and Baal climbed aboard one of the boats bound for Wortham.

Out on the water, the wind picked up suddenly, wrinkling the perfect surface. Looking north, Saiya saw dark clouds massing, and the air was heavy with the scent of rain. Any more of this weather, she thought, and we'll have a flood on our hands.

The children greeted her exuberantly when she disembarked. At first they were wary of Baal, peeking out at him from behind Saiya's legs. Bassa was the first to warm up to him, pointing to his crossbows and asking blatantly, "Are those what you use to kill demons?"

"That's right," the Hunter said, winking. There was no trace of the intense sorrow that had overtaken him less than an hour previously, but Saiya knew that it was still there, dormant but building, like lava trapped beneath solid rock. How long can he keep it hidden there, she wondered, before it really explodes?

"Wow, that's awesome," Bassa crowed. "Can I try shooting one?"

"No, but I'll show you how it's done if you pick a target."

He was instantly inundated with requests.

"The sun! The sun!"

"A rock. I'll throw it for you."

"Kill that bird over there."

"Can you shoot an apple off my head?"

"What about that log floating down the river?"

Baal held up his hands in self-defense. "Whoa, whoa, kids. One at a time, please. Who suggested the log?"

One of the girls in the back of the group shyly raised her hand. Baal grinned, saying, "That sounds like a good challenge. Alright, is everyone standing clear?"

The children grouped behind him in a semi-circle as he drew his favorite bow, hauled back the string until the lathes were bent to their maximum capacity, sighted down the barrel, and released a single arrow with a sharp click. The bolt soared true, skewering the chunk of driftwood and knocking it slightly off course. The children cheered.

"I wanna try, I wanna try it!" Bassa pleaded, hanging onto Baal's arm and pushing his bottom lip out adorably. "Please, please, please?"

"I suppose," Baal sighed. "But you have to let me help you. I don't want you hurting yourself." He crouched down with one knee planted in the soft sand of the riverbank, placing the little boy in front of him. "Put your hands here and here. Be careful, that's the trigger. When you pull that, the bow will fire. No, not yet! You want to wait until you've scoped out your target. How about that tree over there? Okay, now pull back the string … can you do it? It requires quite a bit of strength. Here, let me help … there you go. Hold the butt of the bow up to your chin like this, then you can look down it. Do you see what you want to shoot at? Okay, fire!"

Bassa, his round face set in an expression of deep concentration, pulled the trigger. The arrow stuck into the soil at the base of the tree, sending up a puff of dirt. The boy frowned in disappointment at missing the shot, but Baal patted him on the shoulder and said, "That was excellent for your first try." He looked around at the others. "Does anyone else want a turn?"

Saiya stood off to the side, unable to contain a smile as she watched him. She hadn't figured him to be the sort who was good with children, but he was surprisingly calm and relaxed, congratulating them on their efforts and patiently answering their questions.

He would make a wonderful father, she could not help thinking, although the moment that she reached that conclusion she turned pink in mortification. Gods damn it, girl, next you'll be imagining having his child! Uh … but to do that we would have to have sex first …

Then of course she involuntarily imagined that, and her cheeks grew even hotter. Happily, neither Baal nor any of the children were paying attention to her. She decided that she had better get away before she made a spectacle of herself.

Returning to the main camp, she stopped in to visit Pip, and was elated to find him conscious and coherent, if still very weak. He was glad to see her, and inquired anxiously about the fate of his comrades, from whom he had been separated at the beginning of the battle, when he split off from them to look for Roxanne. It soon became apparent that no one had told him of Rumford's death, and Saiya deliberated for several minutes before she finally broke the news. Pip was very distressed about it; the Captain had been like a surrogate father to him, and to make it worse he had violated orders when he left the group. Saiya had quite a difficult time persuading him that what had happened was no fault of his own, and since his actions had certainly saved the life of his beloved, he had nothing to be ashamed of.

Roxanne entered the 'critical cases' tent just as Saiya was leaving. The plump young woman was carrying a tray loaded high with food, and seemed much friendlier than she had the previous day. She greeted Saiya by name and thanked her for visiting Pip before turning her attention to the injured soldier. Saiya departed, wanting to give them their privacy.

Baal was standing by the bonfire, talking to Kormac, Ghor, and Aidel. Caesar sat off to the side, legs stretched out in front of him, working his way laboriously through a meal while holding the fork with his right hand. When he saw her, he touched his forehead in a symbolic salute.

"There you are!" Baal called. "Why did you leave me alone with those brats?"

"You looked like you were in control of the situation," Saiya replied. "What's for breakfast?"

One of the cooks handed her a plate heaped with fried potatoes, strips of bacon, and an omelet filled with mushrooms, onions, and melted cheese. The enticing aromas drifting up to her nose made Saiya's mouth water despite her lingering nausea. She took a seat on the ground near Baal's feet and started eating.

"We were just talking battle plans, Sister," Kormac remarked. To Baal, he said, "I personally am in favor of waiting another day before we depart. There is still much to do here."

"I don't think we can afford to delay any longer," replied the Hunter. "Maghda has the upper hand here. She has all the sword pieces, and what's worse, she has Najmah. We can only pray that he is still alive."

"Tomorrow at dawn, then," Ghor said, in her deep, slow voice.

"Shall I send a contingent of men to accompany you?" Aidel asked.

Baal shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, Captain, but I don't think that will be necessary. With the four of us-"

"Five!" called Caesar, who had been listening in. "You aren't going to leave me behind."

"Be realistic," Baal said. "You'd just slow us down right now."

Moments later, a fist-sized ball of ice formed above his head and promptly shattered. Crystalline shards rained down, dusting his hair and shoulders. Baal brushed them off, directing a frigid glare at the wizard.

"Party tricks aren't going to impress me," he growled.

"Would you like me to freeze you completely?" Caesar asked, mockingly cheerful. "I can, you know."

"That won't be necessary," Saiya interrupted, holding in a sigh. Really, she thought, what was it with these two? Get them within ten feet of each other and no one could have any peace. She continued, "Caesar, I think you've adequately proven that you're not helpless, even without your wand. And Baal … we already discussed this, remember? He's coming with us."

"As you wish," he said, but his displeasure was obvious. "As I was saying, Captain, the five of us should be sufficient to deal with Maghda. You should keep your men here. You have few enough as it is, and if we do fail, Gods forbid, then you will be the last line of defense for these people."

"I understand," Aidel replied.

"So then," Kormac rumbled. "We meet here tomorrow at dawn, and begin, as my people would say, our Hexenjagd."

"Agreed," said Baal, and the others nodded in unison. No one acknowledged it, but they were all thinking the same thing: "How many of us will return?"

In the ensuing silence, Saiya set her plate down and got to her feet. Mustering a smile, she announced, "Okay, I'm ready to go to work! What needs to be done, Captain Aidel?"

As it turned out, most of the volunteers were currently occupied with preparing for the mass funeral to take place that evening. Saiya and Baal joined the group collecting wood for the pyre, and spent a long afternoon cutting trees and hauling them back to the field by the church, where the cremation would occur. It was heavy work, and by the time they had reached their quota, Saiya's robe was drenched with sweat, and she had developed several blisters on her hands from where the leather logger's gloves had chafed.

She returned to the camp to bathe in the river, and was surprised and pleased to see Sasha among the women who were preparing dinner. The pretty redhead, clad in a checkered apron that accentuated her curvy hips and the slender circle of her waist, was flirting with Caesar as she cut up vegetables for the stew.

As the sun sank towards the western hills, casting a ribbon of golden light over the surface of the river, the head priest began strolling through the camp, ringing a bell to signify that the somber ceremony was about to begin. The fallen totaled eighty-three in number: fifty-nine of them Wortham townspeople who had died either during the attack, or afterwards from their wounds; twenty-three soldiers in the militia, including Captain Rumford; and finally Deckard Cain, the only citizen of New Tristram to have been slain.

The service was a new experience for Saiya. She had attended funerals before, but they were done very differently in her homeland of Ivgorod. There, the deceased was washed in rosewater and sacred oils by the head of the family, wrapped in snow-white linen, and laid in the temple for two nights while a procession of mourners passed through to pay their last respects. The corpse was buried at dawn on the third day, laid to rest with chants and mantras promising safe journey to the afterlife, and the grave was marked with a oaken stake engraved with prayers.

Here, in Khanduras, the priest read a brief passage from his holy book, about the tragedy of lives cut short before their time, and then recited the list of names of the dead. At each utterance, there was a sound of response from at least one person in the crowd: a cry or a sob. Everyone present had lost someone dear to them.

When the priest reached the end of the list, he paused for a long moment, adjusted his glasses, and said, "There were two names I did not announce, who are deserving of special mention. All of the souls whose earthly forms lie here before us died as heroes, but these two men willingly sacrificed their lives so that others may survive. I speak, of course, of Deckard Cain and our former militia Captain, Peter Rumford."

Peter, Saiya thought. So that was his name. A fresh wave of grief washed over her, causing her eyes to swim and a lump to rise in her throat. She clung to the scant knowledge of his first name like a drowning woman seeking a lifeline, focusing on that so she wouldn't have to contemplate how much she missed him.

The priest leafed through his book until he alighted on the page he had been seeking. He began to read aloud: "The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk upright enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

"But blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. The Lord does not abandon anyone forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion. He will wipe all the tears from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or weeping or pain. For after every storm, the clouds part and the sun returns. After every winter, the snow melts and flowers bloom again. And for every life that is lost, a new soul will enter the world. Thus the circle continues, eternal. In nomen sanctum Domini, et sic fiat."

Closing the book with a sharp snap, he held out his hand for the lit torch that one of the junior priests had ready. The gathering was deathly silent as he brought the flickering fire to the edge of the first set of pyres. The wood, soaked in oil, flared up quickly, and flames licked hungrily at the still forms arranged in rows, curling possessive fingers around them and eating away hair and skin. The trees that the pyres were constructed of had been selected specifically for their fragrance when burned, but even that pleasant scent was drowned out by the harsh odor of scorched flesh. Many of the people in the crowd retreated to the edge of the field, where they could still observe the ceremony without enduring the stench and the heat. Saiya, however, stayed nearby, her eyes fixed on Rumford's profile as it slowly crumbled, flaking into ash.

"I'm so sorry, Peter," she whispered under her breath. "I should have been there to fight by your side."

After the funeral, most of the villagers returned to the temporary camp to eat the meal that had been prepared, but Saiya did not join them. Instead she wandered down to the river and meandered along the bank. Finding a cozy spot, she sat down and plunged her bare feet into the icy water, watching the current form ripples around her ankles. She knew that she should meditate, but she could not bring herself to face the empty void. So instead she remembered the faces of the fallen, branded them into her mind, each name falling from her lips like a stone.

Dry brush crackled behind her. She didn't have to look to know that it was Baal.

"Hey," he said. "You're missing a good dinner. They cooked the boar I shot this morning."

"I'm not very hungry," she replied.

"Are you sad, Miss Saiya?" asked a second voice. This one belonged to a child. Saiya turned to head to see Bassa perched on Baal's shoulders. The Hunter was gripping one of the boy's legs in each hand to hold him in place.

"Yes, I am sad," Saiya answered, though she forced herself to smile.

"How come?"

"Well, a lot of people have died. That's a good reason for anyone to be sad."

"I guess so," said Bassa, his round face pensive. "My grandpa was one of them, but I don't feel very sad about that. He was a mean old grouch."

"That's not a very nice thing to say," Saiya scolded. "You shouldn't speak ill of the dead, especially if it's a member of your family."

Bassa wrinkled his nose. "Well, he wasn't really my grandpa. My real grandpa died a long time before I was born. He was a knight, and he fought in a lot of wars and was really brave! I'm named after him. But after he died, my grandma got married again."

"What about your parents?" Saiya couldn't help but ask.

"They're traveling merchants, with a caravan," the little boy explained. "They're gone most of the year, although Dad told me that when I'm ten, I can go with them."

"I see."

"Anyway, Miss Saiya, aren't you scared to be out here by yourself? What if the demons come back?"

"Well, I've got you two fine warriors to defend me, don't I?" she said, grinning.

"That's right," Bassa affirmed. "Now that Mister Baal taught me how to shoot a crossbow, I can keep everyone safe!"

You do that, little one, Saiya thought. Grow tall and strong, and protect your people, so that nothing like this will ever happen again.

Baal winked at her and let go of one of his charge's legs so that he could lean down and offer her a hand. She took it, letting him pull her to her feet. She stumbled, her legs having gone numb from long submersion in the frigid river, and the Hunter gripped her by the elbow, supporting her while she regained her footing. She looked up at him, allowing undisguised affection to show in her eyes, and thought she saw his cheeks color faintly.

Back at the docks, the meal was well under way. Saiya collected a plate of food (hearty vegetable soup, fresh-baked bread, and honey-roasted pork) and sat down with her friends. Caesar offered her a bottle of wine, but she declined, remembering the consequences of the morning after.

It was fully dark by this time, and torches had been lit throughout the camp, casting their orange glow in dancing circles. As the feast wound to a close, a large form entered one of the pools of light in the center of the camp. It moved awkwardly and appeared to have multiple appendages, and at first Saiya could not understand why. Then she saw that it was Pip, bracing himself on two stout poles in order to walk.

"Attention, everyone!" the young soldier cried. He was forced to repeat himself several times before people heard him and stopped their conversations.

"There's something I would like to say," he began. Saiya could see from where she sat that his face was flushed, and his eyes appeared feverish in their brightness. At first she wondered if he was drunk, but his speech was not impeded in the least, and he seemed to be clear-headed.

"There has been a lot of suffering, and much cause for grief," he said, "but we cannot allow ourselves to drown in our sorrow! As the good father said, 'there is a spring after every winter'. In that light, I have decided that I don't want to wait any longer to make this announcement. Some of you may think it in poor taste, or that my timing is bad, but I say this: the time has never been better! If I have learned anything from this ordeal, it's that no one's life is guaranteed, and that we must summon the courage to do what we need to do, even if it seems selfish or inappropriate. And so, without further ado … Roxanne, I ask you to marry me, now, as I am, crippled and destitute. I cannot offer you anything but my love and my devotion, but that is yours until the end of time."

There was a brief moment of stunned silence following Pip's bold proclamation, and then his fiancée stepped forward to stand before him. She was crying, hands fluttering about her mouth like moths, but her soft face was split by an enormous grin and she was nodded repeatedly.

"Oh Pip!" she squeaked breathlessly. "Oh yes, yes, I will!"

Pip released his crutches and tottered forward into her arms, kissing her face over and over. If his rigid body was any indication, he was still in terrible pain, but he never uttered a word of complaint. The head priest materialized from the shadows, book in hand and an expression of tolerant fondness of his face.

"It seems that my services are needed once again," he said. "Please sit, my son, for I see that you are wounded, and we may be here a while."

Roxanne helped her injured lover into a sitting position and knelt beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder. The flickering flame of the torch bathed them in an almost holy light as the priest recited the sacred scripture that would bind them together as husband and wife. As Pip had predicted, a number of the audience looked scandalized, and some of them openly stood up and left, but those that remained watched with varying degrees of happiness as the young couple were united by their vows of love.

Saiya, for her part, felt a curious burning in her chest that was not wholly pleasurable. She was glad for Pip, and hoped that he and Roxanne shared many years of peace together, but at the same time she was conscious of a keening ache, an almost unbearable desire to possess what they had been fortunate enough to find. It made what should have been a joyful occasion bittersweet in her eyes.

As the newly wedded couple shared their first real kiss, she experienced a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, and glanced sharply up to see Baal staring at her from across the circle their group had formed. His eyes were blazing with some emotion she could not identify, and she looked away again, a shiver running down the length of her spine.

What was it Pip said? she thought. "No one's life is guaranteed, and so we must summon the courage to do what we need to do, even if it seems selfish or inappropriate." Well, he's right. Any of us could die at any time, and I'll be damned if I go to my grave without ever knowing what I could have had. So I'll do what Pip said, I'll find the courage, somehow, to tell Baal how I feel. Once we defeat Maghda, I'll tell him then.

Having made this decision at last, Saiya was able to meet her friend's eyes once again, and this time, she did not look away. For the first time in days, she felt at peace with herself.

* Hexenjagd means 'witch-hunt'.

* The bible verses I borrowed are the following: 1. Isaiah 57: 1-2, Matthew 5:4, Lamentations 3:22, Revelation 21:4, and the Latin reads: In the holy name of our Lord, let it be so.

Now fully edited and updated with new content! If you spot any typos or mistakes, please let me know so I can correct them! :)