"Thonlin!" Brazie shouted. Heads turned as the girl greeted the handsome veejia. "I didn't know if you'd come back. How was the Clan?" She threw herself up as he caught her easily.

He laughed at her serious expression knowing she was aping her grandmother. "The Clan is doing better now that they may have a better leader soon. How are things at the camp?"

She grinned, "I have another new friend."

An eyebrow lifted. Who else could be coming here? "Tell me about him."

"Well he's tall and blonde, but not as handsome as you. I think he's quite powerful and he is so eager to hear about you and your sponsibilty."

A cold chill raced down his spine, but he shook it off. Who could this new friend be? "I'd like to meet this friend. Where is he?" He asked as he scanned the camp.

"Oh, he doesn't come here. I go out and talk to him mostly. Great mother says that he's probably shy around so many of us here. Mamut had been searching, too. Oh! And I think Ranec likes Ayla, a lot."

Thonolan groaned inwardly. He didn't want to have to deal with the situation. All the while he was gone, he had hoped that Jondalar had made his position clear. Obviously his big brother wasn't thinking with his brain again.

"You missed the hunt, too! It was so exciting, and Ayla chased the animals with Whinney. You have to be there next time, promise?"

He grinned at her innocent expression. "I will if I can. But I can't promise something I'm not sure that I can fulfill."

"Brazie, for shame. Let the poor veejia have some rest before pestering him." Bectie came and collected the girl shaking her head. "Welcome back Thonolan, you've been missed." A smile quirked at the corners of her mouth.

Suddenly, Brazie became agitated. "He's here!" Scrambling away, she ran towards the hillside.

"What's that all about," he asked.

Bectie shook her head, "it's odd the way she's taken with that strange veejia. I don't know how she knows when he's here."

Curious, Thonolan followed Brazie. As he crested the rise, he spied the two forms. Brazie was animated and jabbered on about the camp. The veejia had his back toward him, but Thonolan would know him anywhere.

"Lumio," he whispered forlornly.

He must have heard Thonolan for his eyes turned and trained their steely gaze on him. Lumio got up and laughed. "I knew I'd see you again soon. I've just been passing the time with this little one."

"You better not have hurt her," Thonolan warned.

Lumio threw back his head as his rich throaty laughter was heard. "Why on earth would I hurt an innocent girl? It's not her I'm after."

"Then who are you after?"

"Don't you know yet?" He shook his head in mock disgust, "I don't know what the Mother thinks she's doing giving you such a responsibility. I'm going to enjoy watching you fail."

Brazie looked at her two favorite male veejias in confusion. Didn't they like each other? They laughed and talked but she sensed an underlying tension that made her afraid.

Fists clenched at Thonolan's sides. He would not fail in the important duty given to him, not even if it came to facing Lumio. "Since you don't intend harm to Brazie, then let her go back to the camp," he said with a touch of steel to his voice.

Lumio grinned and looked at Brazie, "do you want to go back to the camp, sweet?"

The girl looked in indecision between the two veejias. Lumio was smiling at her the way he always had, but Thonolan looked mad. Perhaps she should go back and let them talk. She nodded hesitantly at Lumio.

"Then you may go," he said with a warm smile, "but I would like to see you next time you come and we can talk more."

The two watched as the girl scampered quickly back to the camp. When she was out of sight, Thonolan rounded on Lumio. "What do you think you're doing with her?"

"Ah, just passing the time, she can be very informative. I hear that all is not well with your two charges? Perhaps they will not be woven together after all." He grinned knowingly.

"They will be just fine, it's not something you need to know about."

"But it is something that I am very interested in," Lumio ventured, "Ayla was once someone very important to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Ask Malia. No, ask Sela. I'm sure you can romance an answer from her. Sweet little thing, isn't she?"

Before he realized what he was doing, Thonolan pulled his arm back and let his fist fly. Abruptly, he found his arm locked in Lumio's steely grip, his taunting eyes leering at him.

"Temper, temper. You don't really want to fight me, you know you'll lose." He threw Thonolan's arm away from him in disgust. "Besides, I don't fight fair. But next time I may not be so lenient." Stepping back, Lumio began to chant in a strange and eerie language.

Goosebumps broke out on Thonolan's flesh. Something evil was happening. "Stop it!" He shouted as he tried to approach the veejia. Something held him back and made his arms and legs feel like they were moving through mud.

Repeating the last refrain, Lumio threw up his arms heavenward. The words were carried away by a gust of wind and traveled toward the camp. Slowly, he lowered his arms and fixed his gave on Thonolan. "Now her chance at happiness will be very slim indeed." He laughed softly to himself and left a bemused and frustrated Thonolan in his wake.

Thonolan watched helplessly as the enchanted whirled its way toward the camp. He sprinted to follow it; keeping an eye on the spell as it descended on the people. Swirling and weaving through the camp, it wavered over Ayla, but passed on. In a mighty rush it descended on Jondalar. Thonolan was sure the spell had gone awry and had overshot Ayla and landed on his brother, instead.

"No!" Thonolan said.

As the spell began to penetrate, it encountered a barrier. Unable to descend in complete potency, it entered where it could. Jondalar had been given a protective covering when the cave lion had breathed on him.

Bectie had been watching the strange breeze as it blew around. "Thonolan, what is that?" She asked fearfully.

He looked at her and shook his head, "I don't know for sure. I think it was a spell to stop Ayla's happiness. But why would it be given to Jondalar?"

She shook her head sadly, "don't you know the only thing that could take happiness from her forever?"

Suddenly, he realized what it was. "Oh Mother, what do I do now?"