Author's Note: Here you go, my friends. A new chapter. Why is it so late? Uh... yeah. I've mentioned that I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, right? I forgot. But, thanks to Sapphira, Redaura, Sue and everyone else who provided a friendly and only slightly angry reminder of how tardy it was, I remembered. Thank you, angry people! If I can't have an actual memory, it's nice to know that I have people out there willing to substitute for one in a pinch. Replies to review after I've had dinner, so that my replies won't be entirely about gravy, potatoes and the pleasantness of adding one to the other. *g*

Chapter Eight

Renee followed the other guards as they walked away from the throne room, through the black twisting corridors and endless empty rooms until they finally stopped by a large metal door. The door stretched almost to the ceiling and was almost totally featureless, distinguishable from the rest of the wall only by the seams. Renee watched the guards closely for a hint as to what was expected of her. They didn't look at her.

One of the guards placed his hand on a blank patch of wall beside the door. Lord Avaren, he said, and light flared from the wall and shone through his hand. The guard didn't appear to be surprised. He paused for a long moment and then said, Juin. First.

He - Juin - stepped away, his brightly glowing handprint fading almost immediately and leaving the wall once again dark.

The second guard stepped up and put his hand on the wall. Not in the same place, Renee noticed, but a little further along.

Lord Avaren. The second guard said in the same formal tone as the first had used. Again, light sprang to life behind his hand. Again, the long pause before he said, Kairn. Second. Kairn stepped away and went to stand beside the first guard. Both of them looked at Renee.

Renee's mind was racing, it was a struggle to keep her thoughts from showing on her face. The pattern was simple enough, right up until the final part. Was she the third, or the last? Or some Atavus word for closure that she'd never even heard of? She'd be expected to know. She had to get it right. She had to get it right now, before she made them suspicious.

She walked with careful nonchalance to a spot slightly farther along the wall from where the second guard had touched. Raising her hand, she placed it against the wall.

Lord Avaren. She said formally. This was the easy part. The light appeared, just as expected.

What she had not expected was the cold that accompanied the light; horrible searing cold that burned like fire or acid, tearing into her hand and setting every nerve to screaming.

Renee took in an involuntary breath to scream, but - Mind over matter, she told herself, life over pain and they were watching her.

she said, giving her name the twist on the end that Yulin had suggested. No time to pause now, what would it be? Third' for continuity, or last' for closure? It was hard to think through the pain. Third', Renee decided. That was the logical answer.

Renee said, and stepped away from the wall. And waited as the light died away with her heart in her mouth and her hand curled hurt and useless by her side.

The doors seemed almost to shiver, strange ripples moving down the metal, and a high-pitched whine emanated from within.

The doors began to swing open.

Last' had been right, then. It made sense - the Atavus were security mad and had to have a clear ending to their security sequences, otherwise there might be a slip up and a guard could get through that wasn't really a guard at all. It was all perfectly logical. Obvious, even.

The doors were still opening, moving incredibly slowly, no doubt designed to give any people inside time to marshal their defenses. Unlike the room Renee had stayed in last night, which had had only a thin curtain for a door, this chamber was obviously designed to withstand anything short of a nuclear blast. And given the strange metal the walls were made from, even that might not be enough.

Renee followed Juin and Kairn as they walked through the doorway. As soon as all three of them had cleared the threshold the doors swung quickly shut on their own, trapping any would-be attackers outside. They made no sound as they closed.

The three of them were now standing in a room that was almost a square, the closest to a normal room that Renee had ever seen in an Atavus building. One wall of the square was entirely taken up by the huge door they'd entered through. The wall directly opposite the entrance door housed a much smaller metal door of the same design. To the left and right there were open doorways covered by hanging curtains.

Yulin had never mentioned this. He hadn't thought it was necessary to go into details of the palace layout. Neither had Renee. So much for planning.

Going purely on instinct, she turned towards the left-hand curtained doorway just as the other guards moved towards the right-hand one. Damn it, she thought.

They didn't even look at her as they both walked into the right-hand room and let the curtain fall back into place behind them.

Renee walked to the other doorway and pushed aside the curtain. The room inside wasn't a room at all, just a large hole carved out of the rock with both floor and walls covered with pointed outcroppings of stone. Two of the black rose beds lay by either side of the curtained door, their petals very short.

Of course, Renee thought, glancing around. These must be the barracks. Beds for the guards to sleep in but not comfortable enough for dangerously sound sleep and with low enough petals to let them see every flicker of light outside their curtained door. And apparently, this one was all hers. Perfect.

Renee stepped inside and pulled the curtain closed, wobbling a little as she tried to get her bearings on the rocky floor. Finally she managed to pick her way over to one of the beds and sat down heavily. She let her bag slide off her shoulder onto the ground.

Renee's hand was still throbbing with pain but when she examined it for obvious signs of injury there was only a faint redness, undetectable unless you were looking for it. That was good; she wouldn't have wanted to have to explain a non-healing wound to her fellow guards.

Her fellow guards. Juin and Kairn, Renee repeated to herself, trying to memorize the names. Juin was the tall one who'd been so insulting about her use of weapons. Kairn was slightly shorter, and it was his helpful' arm that had been clamped across her shoulders all the way to the palace.

Judging by the little performance they'd all had to put on at the door, this must be Lord Avaren's reserved suite of rooms. That meant that the door she hadn't been through yet probably led to the Lord's sleeping quarters. He got a real door, of course. That way, he would be safe inside while his guards were conveniently placed outside to meet and greet any assassins that happened to come calling. Not exactly a room with a view.

Still, at least it was relatively private. It looked like only Lord Avaren or his guards could get in, which meant that for the moment Renee only had to worry about three Atavus instead of thousands of them. Good. She could use that.

Ten busy minutes later, Renee pushed aside the curtain and walked out of the room.

Juin and Kairn were waiting for her, standing like still black statues in the entryway. Renee stopped walking and looked at them. They looked back. The silence stretched.

They broke first, as Renee had known they would, since they were only trying to assert a tiny dominance over her by making her speak first, whereas she was hopelessly confused and would stand silent until doomsday rather than risk saying something she shouldn't.

We are going to feed, Kairn said, and Renee mentally classified him as the nice one.' Will you join us?

Renee shook her head. I had just fed when we met, she replied, letting her tone warm to show that she appreciated the gesture. I will explore the palace. And assess its dangers, hung unspoken in the air between them, although And look for a way out would have been more accurate.

Kairn nodded, and Renee thought she detected a hint of approval in his eyes. Our Lord will probably be speaking with the King for some time, he said. He may not come here until near dawn. We will see you then.

Renee said with a thin smile.

The two guards left. Juin hadn't said a word. Renee made a mental note to keep a close eye on him, at least until he'd gotten over the shame of being rescued' by her.

She waited a few seconds before she followed them out the door.

Once Renee was in the corridors, she hesitated. All of her instincts were telling her to get out of the palace as fast as possible, if only because being in the same building as Howlyn was wreaking havoc on her nerves. On the other hand, if she had interpreted the guard's comments accurately, it looked like she'd arrived at the same time as a high level meeting was being held on the question of whether or not to stay on Earth. There had to be something she could do to tip the balance in humanity's favor.

And then there was the prisoner. He was somewhere in the palace, probably awake by now, almost certainly being tortured.

Renee thought about what would constitute torture for a species with almost unlimited healing powers and shivered.

Whatever Renee was going to do, standing around wasn't getting it done. She set off in the direction of the throne room.

The throne room wasn't that far away from their suite of room. No doubt the suites for the rest of the Five were similarly close, which should make it easier to find them if she had to. But proximity to the throne room meant proximity to Howlyn meant that she probably didn't want to hang around in these corridors for too long. Much safer to spend as much time as possible in her room behind those reassuringly solid doors.

Renee stopped when she reached the corridor outside the throne room. She could see light glowing through the open doorway, so someone was in there. She leaned against the metal wall farthest from the doorway to the throne room and looked around, making a mental inventory of all the exits. One of the doors led back to the portal that had brought her there, but which one?

It was very hard for her to think. She was intensely aware that Howlyn was still in the throne room, only a measurable distance and an open door away. She kept wanting to glance over and check that he couldn't see her, wasn't watching her through the doorway.

I'm too far away, Renee told herself. As long as I stay on this side of the corridor, he can't see me.

Are you sure?

I'm sure.

How sure?

Not quite sure enough, as Renee found that she had to turn and look at the entrance to the throne room, because she couldn't think, couldn't find herself on her mental map, couldn't even make a guess as to which way to go until she knew once and for all that she was alone and unobserved.

There was a woman standing by the entrance, watching her. Not a real woman, of course. An Atavus. With long dark hair and golden skin, looking remarkably like Judah but not Judah and also looking remarkably like every other Atavus Renee had ever seen.

Renee met the woman's gaze and hoped that her own eyes showed cool interest rather than the surprise she felt.

The woman waited for a long moment. Renee thought quickly. This woman was obviously one of the palace inhabitants or she would never have dared to watch a stranger so openly. Traditionally, it was the visitor who came to the inhabitant, showing a degree of submissiveness because they were in a territory that was not their own. Therefore, the woman was expecting Renee to walk over to her and make the first move.

It would take more than tradition to make Renee walk over there and stand outlined in the doorway to Howlyn's throne room. She waited.

Another second ticked by before the woman finally came towards Renee, moving with a liquid grace that managed to suggest that she'd been planning to make the first move all the time and was only doing so as part of a carefully plotted master plan. Renee felt like applauding.

The woman said in a neutral voice.

Since the other woman had made the first move, it was Renee's turn to show submission – either that, or start getting ready for another fight to the death.

Rene replied, her tone bordering on cordial. Renai, Last of Lord Avaren's protectors. There. She'd given her name, her lord and her status all at once. That should show that she wasn't interested in power struggles.

The other woman smiled, and Renee blinked. It was a friendly smile. Unexpected

The woman – Ledah, said. First of Howlyn's Guard.

Every muscle in Renee's body tightened. First of Howlyn's Guard would make Ledah First of the Guard, and the effective head of all Palace security. Renee forced herself to relax, muscle by muscle, returning Ledah's smile as best as she could. No wonder Ledah had felt free to make the first move. She was second only to Howlyn in this place; she had little to fear from a struggle for dominance.

I am pleased to meet you. I've heard great things of you. Renee said, feeling that that was probably safe enough. Everyone must know Ledah's name. It never hurt to throw a little flattery into the mix, too.

Ledah's smile widened. Most have, she confirmed. Although few are gracious enough to mention it. I wish that I could say the same of you, but you have me at a disadvantage. Is this your first visit to the palace?

You know that it is. Renee replied. Ledah shouldn't be asking her questions. Questions meant weakness. Where were the power games? Was Ledah that strong?

Do I? Ledah smiled.

Of course you do. Renee said, teasing now, greatly daring. She could feel herself relaxing and knew that it was a mistake. It was just so good to have a normal conversation with someone, even if it was entirely based on lies.

Ledah acknowledged the humor with a sly grin. Of course I do, she said. I would be a sorry guard for my King if I did not make an effort to learn about his guests.

Very true. Renee said. And what have you learned about me?

Ledah pondered the question, tilting her head to one side in a careless gesture that reminded Renee sharply of home.

Why, everything. Ledah said at last. Renee's heart skipped a beat. And then Ledah grinned and said, Everything about nothing, that is. Official facts so rarely tell the whole story, don't you find?

Renee could have strangled her but managed to have only a slight edge to her voice when she said, Yes. I'm sure that the official records could tell you little about me. I have few stories to tell. My life has been a quiet one. "

Ledah looked amused, no doubt entertained by Renee's attempt to make herself seem harmless. Which she actually was, Renee thought, at least in relation to Ledah's interests. Killing Howlyn or destroying the Palace weren't on Renee's agenda. Not yet.

I would enjoy hearing your stories. Ledah said. It might bring life to the dull, dry facts I am obliged to read. I often think that we should record things of a personal nature as well as those things related to security. It would make my job far more enjoyable.

For example, Ledah continued, her eyes drifting away from Renee to stare off into space in a way that could only be described as dreamy. I was recently mated and yet my mate and I have nowhere to record our union. We are as separate in the eyes of the records as before and yet, for us everything has changed.

Renee said, nodding in what she hoped was a sympathetic way. This was another area Yulin hadn't told her much about.

Are you mated, Renai? Ledah asked, her eyes still focused somewhere behind Renee.

If only I was, Renee thought. Howlyn off my back and the perfect excuse to leave the Palace.

Oh. Now there was a thought.

Renee said. I am mated.

Ledah's eyes refocused on Renee's face. Another protector? My mate is. It's best that way, I think. What is his name?

His name? Renee said.

Oh yes, Howlyn said, his voice a dark purr from close behind her. Tell us his name.

Renee forgot how to breathe.

______

End Part Twelve

Gotta love a good cliffhanger. Next chapter out next friday, or thereabouts. I have it, it's done, but I need to run it past my unofficial, and very competent, Quality Control tester before I spring it on the helpless public. *g* (That would be you guys, in case that wasn't clear.)

I dug out my E:FC clip tape yesterday - all the moments between Howlyn and Renee boiled down to an hour and a half of undiluted sexual tension. It amuses me that I can watch this under the pretext of doing 'research'. I have a good life.

AKA Jay