A/N: I'm gonna have fun with this part of the story...maybe I can vent some of my hard to vision action into it. I'll apologize ahead of time for any hard to understand parts in the story that are possibly coming up...

***In the city***

Numair, Esmond, Owen, and Kel sprinted down the deserted streets as best they could in the slippery darkness. Night had fallen earlier than Numair had expected and Owen was wishing that he had brought along a torch. The air was growing colder and Kel expected that it was about to start snowing any minute now, she could see her breath coming out in puffs of air as they raced along the dark cobblestone path. Alanna had told them to meet her and George in the Dancing Dove, and none of the four were looking forward to it. The place could almost be decent in the day, especially during markets when travelers came in to buy drinks, but at night the only people who went their had a price on their heads as big as the royal treasury.

Numair stopped to catch his breath before they entered, finding the freezing air a little hard on the lungs. He turned to the others, "All right. You are all knights and I don't want to see you cause any trouble in this place."

Kel grinned and pushed her way passed him into the tavern, "That is funny, I was just about to say the same to you."

Esmond and Owen followed next, slight smiles playing across their half-frozen faces followed by the mage who gave the lady knight a glare before stepping in.

Kel's fingers twitched on the hilt of her dagger as she got looks from rouges at the bar and was glad that her face was at least partly covered by a brown hood that was drawn low over her face. Owen glanced timidly around, scanning the area for George or Alanna and Esmond followed closely behind his younger friend, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone who seemed suspicious. Numair nodded politely at a roughed-up man who was eyeing him and herded the group over to the far corner where two hooded figures sat, talking avidly to each other.

When they caught sight of the four they motioned them to come over and sit down. Kel did so reluctantly but relaxed at once when she heard the Lioness's voice, "Sorry about the disguises Keladry, good to see you again by the way. George would rather not want to be seen in here, since there are people here who would enjoy having his head on their wall..."

"Of course, I have many of their ears so I suppose I deserve it."

Numair looked from the crowd of people behind them and then back at George, "So, you know what we have to do? Could you fill the rest of us in?"

"I suppose I could. Listen up though, 'cause I won't be telling you all a second time, too many ears listening on. The kidnappers name is Trycos."

Esmond looked surprised under his hood. All of the knights had worn hoods to hide their faces. Many of the people here would probably recognize them if they took them off, "That's his whole name? Just 'Trycos'?"

"Just Trycos. That's all he ever tells people. He supposedly has his hideout somewhere in the city and from the little adventure we had with the walk-through wall we all had a few days ago, I would say that would be it. But the guys dangerous, so actually I'm glad that you brought Kel along...we're gonna need all the help we can get..."

Kel's voice was curious, "Is this Trycos really such a good fighter?"

"Fighter? No, a page could fight better than he can. It's just the more minds that are there the harder it is for him to control a single one."

"Oh, okay, so what are we planning on doing?"

George glanced around and leaned in closer to the rest of them, "First, before I tell you, you all must promise that no matter how absurd it sounds, you will follow the plan exactly, to the tiniest detail." The four nodded and George continued, "Good. I expected as much from servants of the crown..." Alanna elbowed him, "Sorry dearest, no offense meant. Well, yes it was, but anyway, back to business. The first step is to get Trycos's attention. To do that, I have been spreading a rumor around all bloody day about how a group of knights thought that they could take him down."

Owen turned to George and sighed, "You meant us didn't you?"

"Yes, actually I did. Second step is we 'wander' close to the spot where Phi vanished through the wall and hopefully he finds us and brings us all through."

Esmond interrupted, "And if not?"

"If not, we go to plan B, which is we get ourselves drunk, run out into the middle of the street and start calling out his name and insulting him so much that it would impossible for even him to ignore us...I would prefer to stick to the first plan."

Numair shook his head, "Yes, so would I..."

George glanced at the mage before saying, "Next, once we are inside, we overwhelm Trycos, kick his ass and bring back our friends. Sound good?"

Kel looked as Esmond before nodding and Owen just stared.

Numair stood up, "Right then. Let's go!"

The rest of them stood up too and followed the mage out the door.

***Alex, Tom, Phi, and Devic's View***

Trycos was back in a minute and turned around to smile at the group, who each gave him a look of burning hatred in return, "Well I am glad to see you all missed me. It seems that while I was in here, someone decided that they would like to pay me a visit, so you might be getting company in a short while. Maybe you will know them...I heard that it is a group of knights! No matter, I can make room for all of you...but let's see where did we leave off? Oh yes, I came up with a brilliant idea..."

The whiteness swirled around the room again and Phi, Alex, Tom, and Devic found themselves free floating in the nothingness, Trycos's voice echoing through its vastness, "I am curious to see how you do when faced with your worst fears. I will tell you who's it is before it starts just because I am such a nice guy. Devic, your turn is first. Let me see now..." Devic felt a tickling in his head, "Oh! What a nice game to play! It seems that you have a certain fear of fire that came from when your family's first house burned down! It's a shame that you were able to rebuild it..."

The voice faded, and a wooden floor appeared beneath their feet. Phi and Tom lost their balance and fell to the ground as whitewashed walls began to appear around them. Pictures faded onto the walls and rugs seemed to dissolve out of the wooden floor and harden underneath them. They seemed to be in some sort of hallway with doors on either end of the room. Devic went pale, "Oh Mithros, it's my old house."

A large window appeared on one of the walls and Alex could see that it was night outside, and then he noticed something strange. Their old clothes that they had been wearing a moment before were gone and were replaced by embroidered tunics, breaches, and riding boots. Phi looked down disgustedly at the lacey, tight-fitting, uncomfortably low cut dress that had appeared on her body, and her hair had been pulled up into a sort of bun. Alex turned and helped her up and Devic spun around gapping, "This is exactly as I remember it, nothings changed...that means that the fire should start right about..."

But he didn't have time to finish his sentence because just then a large pair of heavily adorned door from the end of the exploded open and flames spilled out, licking the empty door frame and spreading quickly over the rugs as embers flew in all directions. Alex swore and Tom struggled back to his feet just in time to be knocked back down as a second explosion rocked the house, sending a column of fire ripping through the hall, charring everything in it's path. Devic grabbed Phi's hand, pulled her to his feet, motioned for Alex and Tom to follow, and took off through the other door and the roar of the fire grew louder.

" A candle was knocked over in my father's lab!" Devic was yelling over the noise as he pulled Phi through a strange set of twists and turns down corridor after corridor, "It lighted up some of his chemicals, then some kind of blasting powder that he had been experimenting with! It ended up destroying our entire house and about a quarter of our acreage! This is the way out!"

He threw opened the next door, only to find it covering a solid stone wall. Trycos's voice echoed again through the walls, "Oh my! What are you going to do now Devic?"

The young teen through himself against the wall, "No! This is the only door to the outside! This is the only way out!"

"I don't think so!" Tom grabbed Devic, pulling him away from the door and set off at a sprint back down the hallway, going back the way they came. Alex and Phi followed him, but she began to slow down. Finally she stopped all together and leaned against a wall. Alex slowed down and ran back to her, "What's the matter? Are you hurt?!"

"No! It's these shoes!" She yanked a pair of small high heel dress shoes off her feet and threw them over her shoulder, "That's better...Come on! We have to catch up!"

The two took off down the hall that Tom had taken, and Alex glimpsed him turning left at a turn ahead, "Phi! I saw him! He went left!" They sped down the hall and were almost there when a huge smoldering beam above their heads creaked and fell. Alex called out and threw himself on top of Phi and the both of them rolled out of the way just in time to avoid having been squished. Sparks and ash exploded from the beam as it hit the floor and a bunch of burning timbers fell from the hole the fallen beam had made in the ceiling, completely blocking the left path.

Alex waited before he heard the last timber fell before he uncovered Phi and helped her to her feet. They were both covered in soot and ash, Alex's tunic had been singed, and Phi's hair had completely come undone. She stared in horror at the blocked path, "Oh God Alex, you saved my life...again! Why can't I ever save yours..."

"I dunno, maybe it's just luck...anyway, our path to Tom and Devic is lost, so where do we go now?"

"What other choice do we have? Let's go right."

***

Tom whipped around as he heard another explosion from behind. He and Devic turned around just in time to see the ceiling in the hallway behind them collapsed in a burst of flame. Tom's face grew ashen and he spun around, "Devic, where are Alex and Phi?!"

"They were...behind us..."

Tom ran over to the wreckage, "ALEX! PHI! Are you alright!"

He waited but there was no response. Devic pulled on his sleeve, "Remember Tom, if they di...if they got hurt, it won't be for real, and we still need to find a way out. What was your idea?"

Tom turned slowly around, "Remember that big window in the hallway we were first in?"

"Yes. Tom, are you thinking what I think you are thinking?"

"It's a way out isn't it? Let's hurry before the fire in there spreads anymore." Devic nodded and the two raced back to where they started.

***

Meanwhile, Phi and Alex where having a heck of a time avoiding chunks of falling ceiling that was aflame and both had gotten slammed against a wall by the other, trying to avoid getting killed several times.

They jogged down yet another hall and Alex threw open a door that led into a huge room that looked like it was a ballroom. Now all Phi and Alex could see was the burning tapestries on the wall and a circle of fire that had surrounded them as soon as they stepped through the door. Phi grabbed Alex's shoulder and pointed, "Look! We can jump out that window!"

"Jump out the window!? Are you crazy? How are we going to get over there, and who knows what's out there! We could end up jumping from three stories high up!"

"Do you have a better idea?!"

"No!"

"Then unless you think of one, we're doing mine!" Phi stepped up to the very edge of the flames. Alex sighed and walked up next to her and grabbed her hand, "On the count of three...one...two...three!"

They burst through the flame circle and sprinted towards the window. They smashed through it with their shoulders and had just enough time to look down before they plummeted for about twenty feet.

***

Tom and Devic reached the hall after making it through the first door they had gone through that was now engulfed in fire. They burst into the room and ran to the window. For a minute, Devic seemed to freeze. He was about a foot away from the window and Tom had already crashed through, sending shards of glass flying out with him. Devic turned and looked around. He was seeing his home disappear for the second time, and for the second time he felt a huge pain well up inside his chest and spill out his eyes as tears. The last time he had seen this happen, he was five and his older sister had died trying to save him. He shook his head, trying to clear it, before launching himself out the widow and hitting the ground about five feet below.

Tom, who had been staring nervously up at the window, waiting for him, now jogged up next to him and help him up onto his feet. A crash sounded off in the not-to-far distance...like another window shattering. Tom and Devic looked at each other before taking off around the other side of the building.

Tom's stomach flipped as his eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness of the night and saw two bodies lying on the well-cut grass surrounded by tiny pieces of glass. Phi's multiple skirts had been partly burned and Alex groaned as he rose shakily to his elbows, "What a jump..."

Devic looked shocked, "You jumped from the ballroom window?!"

"Well we would've picked a different one if we knew the drop was so big..."He paused to watch Phi rise to her feet, "How did you guys get out?"

Tom grinned, "Well I guess great minds really do think alike Alex, because we jumped out a window too, just not one that was two and a half stories high..."

Trycos's voice appeared again, although this time it seemed somewhat disappointed, "Well, I see that you managed to escape with your lives in tact... Oh, my new guests have arrived!" The scenery dissolved around them and they were suddenly back in the room with the two couches, Trycos heading towards the door, "Let's see who it is..."

***Outside***

The group made it back to the main street, looking anxiously around for the alleyway that Esmond, Owen, and George remembered. Kel gazed around, "I don't see anything. If I would have known that we needed to find something magically hidden, I would have brought my griffin feather headband..."

Owen looked around, confusion written clearly on his face, "But it was here a few days ago! It was right here!" He pointed at the side of a house.

Esmond went up to it and examined the space, "Owen's right...It was right here."

"Hmm..." George paced the street across from them and they all turned to look, "Maybe, all we need to do is just look away for a few moments and...there, you see!" The group whipped around and an alleyway had appeared exactly where it had been before.

Alanna wandered into it followed by the knights, Numair, and her husband, "That was a nice trick, but I'm waiting to be impressed..."

"Then come inside..." A drifting voice had come out of the wall, "I have something that will impress you and do so much more..."

Alanna rolled her eyes and, closely followed by George, cautiously stepped into the wall and, finding that her foot went right through it, went all the way in. Esmond walked up third and carefully touched his boot against the wall. It was solid. He threw his hands up into the air, "Not again!"

Numair gently pushed him aside and did his spell on the wall. It flashed brightly for a moment then returned to its normal color. The mage bowed, half-mockingly, "After you Esmond."

The knight grinned and stepped through the wall, followed by Owen, and Kel went last. She turned to Numair, "Aren't you coming too?"

"I should probably stay here in case you need to get out again." Kel nodded and stepped through, only to have a cold darkness sweep over her mind and she passed out.

A/N: Now that more people are in there, things should get more interesting. I would love any kind of feed-back/reviews/comments about my story as I have been getting fewer and fewer ever since I last threatened to stop writing...and a lot has happened since then...I WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU LIKE MY STORY!!!