Review Response: (thanks much to everyone who reviewed!)
Rubber Duck: Thank you very much! I try hard to describe their surroundings but it's sometimes hard to get my imagination on the computer.
Mango Sam: Thanks for the idea; I always appreciate them. I shall definitely take yours into consideration...
Jadestar123: Will probably will have a bigger part...Right now, he's still kinda shy around Phi and Alex though...Give him some time, he'll come around.

oOoOo

Devic turned slowly to Trycos, his face calm and his lips pursed, but his voice was shaking, "What...in Mithros's name...have you gotten us into?"

Trycos cast him a sneer, "Nothing that you cannot handle...Either that, or I want you dead, which could be a very high possibility, don't you think?"

Will was glancing over his shoulders nervously, "Where did that man go? What will he do to us?"

Trycos addressed the younger knight mockingly, "Do not worry young one. He is probably just standing behind you waiting for you to turn around so he can slit your throat...Do not be ridiculous! That old sack of bones could not even make it down those stairs alive much less attack us! No, there are only two things you need to fear...His Gift and his dog."

Phi turned to stare at him, "What do you mean his dog?"

Trycos faced her, "Ah my lovely dear, you will unfortunately see soon enough..." Alex bristled and Trycos let out a laugh, "Still it remains so easy for me to upset you Alexander! I shall never grow tired of it...Now, good-bye. If you all die, do not worry, I will take care of your children!"

Phi let out a small growl and lunged and Trycos, but just about as her fist was going to connect with his cheekbone, he disappeared. Phi stumbled, but righted herself, scowling, "If he does anything to Devic or Luke, I swear I'll kill him..."

Alex walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "Get in line, Devic and I were going to kill him first..."

Devic let out a short laugh, but Will cut him short, waving his hand urgently, "Devic! There is a strange shadow in the corner, and it grows ever closer. I have been watching it for a while...It seeps forward like a mist, slowly, but I would swear to the Mother Goddess that it is moving...I do not like this..."

Devic turned immediately and faced the strange phenomena, gazing at it unblinkingly as the patch of darkness slithered forward. He drew his sword and motioned for Alex to do the same, "If a mere shadow snake is the best the old man can do, we shall be through with him in no time at all..."

Will jumped up onto a rock, perched on top of it, and tightened his hold on his bow, stretching the sting back, his muscles tense, "Do not underestimate it cousin..."

Alex stepped in front of Phi slowly and drew his sword from its sheath, "So how do we kill this thing, or stop it, or whatever?"

Devic frowned, his brow furrowing, "Give me a moment..." Concentrating, Devic reached out with his Gift looking for the shadow's source.

Suddenly Will felt something wrap around his ankle. He looked down and was just able to catch the sound of Phi screaming in surprise before realizing that the shadow creature must have snuck up behind them and attacked him and Phi from behind. The shadow snake yanked Will's ankle out from underneath him, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall, hitting his head on the stone he had been standing on. Devic whipped around, "Will!" His eyes grew wide and he leapt forward to grab his now unconscious little cousin as he was dragged off into the darkness.

Alex turned and caught hold of Phi's hand as the shadows wrapped around her waist. She struggled against it, but when she kicked at it, her foot went right through the shade and the shadow around her waist pulled harder. Alex lashed out at the attacking darkness with his sword but to no avail. Devic turned, Will having disappeared into the gloom, and, his face contorted with fear and rage, cried out in surprise as he saw Phi being dragged away too, "No!" Devic sprinted over and dove at her, reaching the space just a few seconds too late. Phi was gone.

Devic slammed into Alex, who had fallen forward after his hand slipped and Phi disappeared, and the two men hit the ground, a cloud of dust rising into their faces. Devic scrambled up, waving his hand in front of his face to clear the air and helped Alex to his feet. Alex coughed a few times, scrubbing his eyes with his sleeve, then gazed around wildly, "Phi? Phiona?!"

Devic cupped his hands around his mouth, "Will? Where are you?!"

The shadows drew back up against the trees but the clearing remained silent except for the dying echoes of their cries. Alex ran his fingers through his hair, his breathing uneven and his face pale, "Where'd they go? Oh god, what's happened to them?"

OoOoO

Phi sat up moaning and waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The air had been knocked out of her and the last thing that she remembered seeing was Alex and Devic...she felt something touch her leg and she let out a soft scream, but stopped abruptly as a familiar voice filled her ears, "Phiona? Shh... It is me, Will..."

Phi gasped for breath, feeling around blindly. Reaching out to her side, she felt her fingers brush across a tunic, "Will?" She felt his hair. It was wet, "What's this?"

She heard him wince and the sound of fabric brushing up against stone as he rose into a sitting position, "My head...I think that...when that thing pulled me away...I must have fallen and hit my head on the rock..."

"Are you all right?" Phi narrowed her eyes, trying to peer into the black.

"I think I will be okay..." There was a pause, "It doesn't feel like anything is too broken..."

She let out a little sigh of relief, "We have to get out of here so that we can help Alex and Devic!"

"Can you see anything?"

Phi shook her head, then realizing that he wouldn't be able to see that said, "No. You can't either?"

"No...Here, give me your hand so that we do not get separated..." Phi felt around for his hand and tried to help him stand up, but felt him wobble and kneel back down. His voice was strained, "I must have lost a lot of blood...I cannot balance properly...I hate to do this, but would you mind if I asked you to crawl?"

Phi grinned dryly, "It's okay Will...It'll be easier to not get lost this way..."

"Thank you..." They moved forward cautiously, always feeling ahead with their free hand before progressing. They had been moving forward for about five minutes when Will paused, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Phi froze, her heart jumping into her throat.

"I thought I heard something move behind us..."

Phi swallowed and began to tremble despite herself, still remembering what had happened the last time she had been dragged off into the darkness...There had been those spider creatures...She swallowed again, her voice shaking and her imagination running wild as she spoke in a whisper, "What did it sound like?"

"I am not sure...perhaps...some sort of animal? It was barely audible, but I still could have sworn that I heard something...Come, let us keep going...We are bound to reach a wall or an end to this darkness sometime..."

"R-right..." Phi began to stretch out her hand again, although not quite as far as she had been, feeling her heart pound in her ears and wishing desperately that Alex or Tom were with her to keep her calm.

Will felt Phi's quivering but decided that it would be best not to mention it but was about to say something to console her when his fingers touched something hard and cold...like a piece of rock. He let out a soft, triumphant noise and crawled closer to it, continuing to run his hand up the rock. "Phiona, I have found something! It feels as if it is some sort of statue..."

Phi rose shakily to her feet and, keeping her leg press up against Will's shoulder so she wouldn't loose him, she examined the stone with her hands. It was about as tall as she was and felt as if it had been carved into the shape of some sort of animal.

Suddenly, her fingers brushed across a piece of stone as smooth as glass and the room instantly flooded with light. Will let out a small cry and covered his eyes with his hand and Phi blinked in surprise, this time momentarily blinded by the light.

After the pain of the sudden brightness had subsided, the two found themselves gazing up at a larger than life stone carving of a huge wolf dog, its jowls drawn back into a ferocious snarl, it's ears flat against it's skull. Phi gasped for breath and glanced down at Will, who was staring up at the statue in awe, "I wonder if this is that old man's dog?"

Will gave her a weak smile, "I just hope this statue is not a real life depiction..."

She bit her lip; glanced back up at the hound, then back down at Will. He had a large, but shallow gash across his forehead, but it was bleeding badly. She frowned and motioned towards him, "You should wrap something around your head to stop the bleeding."

"You mean it is still bleeding?" She nodded and he sighed, "Well that explains a lot..." He glanced around, looking for something to use, and she finally pulled off her sweatshirt and, after a little bit of difficulty, tore a strip of fabric off and handed it to Will. He smiled gratefully and tied it around his forehead.

While he was busy, Phi glanced around the room that they had been brought to. It was long and rectangular, made completely out of stone and apparently had no windows and no doors. The only furnishing was the statue of the dog. Suddenly a thought hit her; if they were trapped alone inside a room, what had made that noise? She glanced around a second time. There must be a way out...Somewhere...

OoOoOo

Alex fell to the ground, his knees suddenly unable to support his weight. Devic glanced down at him and then up at the compound in the center of the clearing, "Come Alex. I bet that they have been taken inside that building. We should start to look for them."

Alex stared up at Devic, then slowly rose back onto his feet again and looked blankly at the knight, "...You're right...We should start looking..."

"Maybe when we are in there we can find the old man too, and end all of this before anything worse can happen..."

"How can it get any worse Devic?"

Devic whirled on Alex, grabbed his shoulders, and whispered, "Never ask such questions Alex. Remember this...it can always get worse, and if you want to know how, your enemies will always be much obliged to show you..."

Alex stared at him, then nodded gravely, "I see your point..."

Devic clapped Alex reassuringly on his shoulder, "They are not dead yet, so let us make sure that they stay alive, eh?"

Alex nodded again and began to walk forward, his sword clenched tightly in his hands. Devic walked beside him and the two walked side by side up the marble stairs and into the darkened doorway.

Alex frowned and narrowed his eyes. There was no door. There was a stone archway that formed a doorframe, but no door. He glanced at Devic who motioned towards him, "Alex, you take the left side and I'll take the right. Walk all the way around the building; look for doors or windows. I will pass you at the back end, but we will meet back here, at the front of the building, okay? There has to be a way in...That old man got out here, so we should be able to get in..."

Alex nodded and hurried off at a light jog while Devic ran off in the other direction.

A few minutes later and they were standing in front of the complex again, "Did you find a way in Devic?"

"No...I did not...Did you?"

"Nope..."

The two men stared at each other for a moment, and Devic raised his eyebrows, "I guess that means we will have to make our own door..."

Alex grinned dryly, "I guess it does..."

OoOoOo

A/N: Sorry this chapter's kinda short...I've been busy lately...No, seriously, I have been! Oh well, if you're not to busy, I would appreciate it if you would review...