Disclaimer: Drow not mine.

Alhana: Ok here's another chapter. Please don't die on me. I think I'll write at least two parts after this. (Maybe more if you get creative and give me suggestions smiles encouragingly) And when it's over I'll send you some cookies to compensate for the loss.g

Realmwriters: If you're still reading this, please tell me the name of the pizza place so that I can avoid going there.

SilverWolf7: You tell me to write one ending, but you give two suggestions! You're soooo mean! I'm gonna have to write four endings now g

A/N: I don't know if any of you liked Ayren, but I thought it would be nice to bring her up once again (even if it is only to let her suffer).

C

Play time

C

The remainder of our trip is blissfully boring. For a few miles I even try to teach Andy how to sing one of our traditional songs, but his tongue keeps stumbling over the unfamiliar words of my native language and I give up eventually. I've always liked music, although I'm not good enough to become a bard.

It's about four hours from dawn when we catch sight of the tower for the first time. I turn around with a relieved smile on my face, only to see Andy's less than joyful expression which looks, if such a thing is possible, even more haunted than before. What's wrong with him? He seemed perfectly happy trapped inside a prison cell, but now that we have nearly reached a save haven he is getting all nervous and tense. This is grating on my already frayed nerves, why can't he act normal for once damn it? Ok, so Giciel doesn't particularly like Drow, but he's got me to help things along. There really isn't anything to worry about. With a shrug I turn back. Fine then, let him worry as much as he wants I'll make up for it with some extra happiness.

Of course the thought that someone with a special liking for sadistic mind games and lots of superfluous power might get some sick pleasure out of surprising us just before we reach our goal, has never crossed my preoccupied mind. If it had, I would have understood Andy's fear a lot better.

But nothing happens, everything stays nearly eerily quiet without even the slightest sign that Giciel has sensed our approach and when we finally enter the yard I can see why.

"He's not here."

There are runes of warding on the door and absolutely no indication of the resident's presence is to be seen. A quick search confirms my suspicion. The stable door is closed, no horses are inside, the windows are dark and nothing is moving. My favorite Drow gives me a look that is clearly bordering on panic.

"What are we going to do now?"

How the hell should I know? I feel so cheated! Why is it that mages never do what they're supposed to do? Instead of being useful they either disrupt your life in the most irritating way possible or they are simply not there when you actually need one. Bloody bastards the whole lot of them!

"We could wait until he comes back." I suggest weakly.

"Are you MAD? You could just as well put a collar on yourself right now and save him the trouble of doing it later. Why not have a picnic while we're at it!"

Andy rages before he starts pacing and muttering softly to himself. I only catch some of it, mostly words like stupid, idiot or fuck, but nothing useful. After watching him for five minutes I slide down to rest my back against a wall, why waste precious energy? And being here isn't so bad. It's warm, the mage has not found us yet and the hope that Giciel will arrive in time is one I don't want to discard before everything is truly lost…

When Andy roughly shakes me awake the sun is shining in my face. I must have fallen asleep without noticing it. How embarrassing! He seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown though, which confuses me, because I don't see anything that could possibly have caused such a strong reaction.

"Toren you idiot, you have to wake up now damn you. He's here! TOREN!"

"What do you mean, he's here?" I ask blearily. "I can't see anybody!"

"Of course not." Andy hisses bitterly. "What fun would it be to just end this straight forward and miss out on playing with your prey?"

With that he hands me two things: A bracelet and a lock of hazel colored hair, both neatly tied together. The sight sends ice cold shivers down my spine. I know the bracelet, know it very well. In fact I was the one who made it all those years ago. It is amongst the few things I ever gave to Ayren while I still lived with my clan. The hair is exactly like hers and in my mind I can already see her tied up and bleeding or even worse her corpse staring at me with unseeing, empty eyes. I shiver in dread. What have I done to deserve this?

As I look up to Andy I must be deathly pale, because I can practically feel how the blood is leaving my face at a rapid speed.

True I can't stand her, but I wouldn't wish for her to be abducted by a vicious, sadistic lunatic. The thought that this time I might really be responsible for the death a relative is a terrible one and suddenly I feel light headed as if I'm about to faint. Andy slapping me in the face is probably the only thing which saves me from doing exactly that.

"What do we do now?" I ask helplessly as soon as I've recovered a bit. Andy just shrugs eyes wide and fearful and suddenly he reminds me of a trapped and cornered animal.

"We could separate", I suggest "and hope he only catches one of us, but I'm not sure if that would do any good."

Andy shakes his head. "No, if he's found me here he will find me anywhere." With a hopeless sob he sinks to the ground. This doesn't look good. As usual I have absolutely no idea what to do and Andy seems to have given up already. The thought of just blindly running off into the wood seems very appealing right now, but with my luck it would probably just result in me bumping into Enzageyn straight away.

Suddenly a scream intrudes in my internal whining.

"Ayren!"

Andy's head snaps up. "Your cousin?" he looks at the bracelet apparently making the connection. I nod, getting up, but I'm not even halfway there when he tackles me. Surprised by the unexpected attack I end up with him sitting on my chest. This is becoming quite a familiar sight.

"Get the hell off me!" I hiss, but Andy shakes his head.

"You're not going there."

I start bucking wildly trying to throw him off, but without any success. Ok different approach.

"I have to! She's my cousin."

"So?"

He really doesn't understand, but what can you expect from somebody whose family sold him for food? He could be right though. This is of course a trap; the bastard is obviously mocking me by using the doom of my past as bait. What can I do to help her without getting caught? Nothing really. He's far more powerful, more experienced and to top it off more vicious than I will ever be.