A/N: Hello all; aren't I being nice? Giving you another chapter so fast? LOL; no, actually it's because I've got SOOOO much homework coming up and this is really my chance to upload. So…here we go! Don't forget…Plz review!

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Aladdin & the Heirs of Magic Ch. 21: The Seeing Gaze

Sadira put her head down, looking as though reluctant to reveal how…when the ruin suddenly quaked! Everyone lost their footing, though Al and Sadira regained theirs the quickest.

Being street rats did have advantages, Jasmine thought wryly, grabbing a nearly wall.

Genie and Carpet both flew in at breakneck speed; Genie was bleach-white and his heart was literally pounding hard enough to be visible. Sadira ran to an old wooden chest and flung it open. Out of it she drew a long scepter with a golden claw clutching a dark rose stone. She waved and her emerald cloak darted to her and wrapped itself around her body. She stood her ground, bravely looking at the ceiling; no, Jasmine caught herself.

She was looking through the ceiling; her eyes had that un-focused gleam to them.

"You do not want to know what's out there," Genie exclaimed, diving under a toppled table, to join Carpet and the animals that had already hidden themselves there.

"I can just imagine," Iago muttered grimly.

Outside, loud wails pierced the night; terrifying shrieks and loud roars of things…most definitely unearthly, Jasmine thought, tore through the air and clawed at her ears.

Sadira's eyes narrowed. Jasmine felt goose-bumps ripple across her arms and back. She glanced at Aladdin; he had found a sword and was holding it with one hand…his other clinging to a stone table for support.

"He's seeking us," Sadira said over the blaring onslaught of noises, "but my wards will hold. They will."

She raised the tip of the scepter a bit higher, covering her bases.

Xerxes meanwhile, was trying to shield his master with his little body; debris from the already broken stone ceiling was drifting down and covering him in dust and tiny bits of rock.

Mercifully, the shaking eventually died away. Silence once again reigned.

"I can see why Jafar steered clear of that guy," Genie said, shifting back to blue, but still clearly rattled. Carpet nodded in agreement.

Iago dusted off his wings. "We had to save the wizard brat, we couldn't stay home; we had to-"

Everyone—except Al-glared at him.

He flung his wings up. "I was just saying!"

"Wu walwaayz sawyin," Abu muttered, crossing his arms.

Aladdin put down the blade and wordlessly sat in a niche by Mozenrath's bed. Xerxes was cleaning the debris off his sleeping master; not paying attention to anyone else.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Jasmine asked.

Sadira shook her head. "No; his magic gaze failed to find us. It was a gambit; now he'll wait until we show ourselves." She turned back to Mozenrath, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "He must really want this wizard bad."

Iago sputtered. "The brat who betrayed him!? Yes; didn't you ever hear the story of what he did to his last apprentice?"

Everyone but Al riveted their attention to him. "I…didn't even know he had an apprentice before Mozenrath," Jasmine confessed.

"So no one's heard the tale?" Iago expectantly said. An entourage of shaking heads. "Good. It's not a story you wanna hear."

Sadira's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Really? It was that bad?"

Iago nodded, picking debris from his feathers.

Sadira let out a steadying breath, as if preparing herself for something.

Jasmine cocked her head. "Sadira, what is it?"

Sadira knelt back at the bedside. She placed a hand over Mozenrath's forehead. "I just had a thought: I never checked him for mental torture." Grimly, she exhaled again and closed her eyes.

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Sadira had grown up in the harsh life. She had long envied men for at least being men—they didn't have to constantly be on the lookout for brothel "recruiters," and human traffickers who would sell her to an even worse life than she already knew. She learned one thing early on:

Always think of every possibility, anticipate all angles.

Something as simple as stealing a melon could easily become a literal race for survival; add in sword-waving guards hot in pursuit with prison plus possible hand-removal in your future if not careful—yep; think of everything.

So…why didn't she predict this? She berated herself as she knelt beside this 'Mozenrath' who couldn't be much older than her…and while obviously handsome and high born, even mangled as he was, had somehow landed in a situation not too different from her daily grind.

Angering the wrong person; crossing the wrong man in power…and so on and so on.

Why did she feel like he knew all too well what harsh life meant? Even growing up as a royal and heir to a kingdom?

She placed a hand on his forehead…now cool—good; that meant the fever had broken—and took a deep breath.

She plunged into his memories.

And straight into hell.

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A/N: Sorry, I know it's short…but I have a looooong day ahead of me tomorrow…and I need to be up in 4 hours. So, time for ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ….. And please enjoy! Leave a review!