Hey you'll be getting this a little sooner than planned, I hurt my ankle and they let me work on this while I'm waiting to hear from x-ray. So I'm here instead of work at the moment. Yeah, just how I wanted to spend my time, just kidding.

Ch 7 A Hunt, A Dance and a Maiden

Finally the night of the party arrived, Dorian hoped the party would take his mind off the fact that they were no closer to finding the Shadowman and he was due for another nightmare, tonight in fact. Maybe if he stayed late at the party he would miss the next dream, he sighed and knew that he would be going to bed at his regular time, they couldn't afford to miss any opportunity for information, however unpleasant.

The families coach took him and Lorilyn to the palace, it would be in the gardens, the only place large enough to hold everybody who wanted to come, it seemed that the whole court was showing up. A lovely evening anyway, he thought with a sigh. He looked over at Lori, she was dressed as a Tayledras mage, as wild as anything he had seen from Firesong when he had still resided at court, Fenrick must have been in raptures he thought with a slight grin, perhaps it made up for him choosing to dress as a Herald, though he was sure they didn't wear uniforms quite like the one he was wearing.

They would be meeting up with Gareth at the palace, because he was living within the grounds there was no reason to take him to their home first, as they had done with Lori's friends. He glanced at the two giggling girls, both dressed as wildly as his sister, though her costume was in slightly better taste. He shook his head and sighed again, he hated these things. Secretly he thought to himself he wished he really was a Herald, but that was silly, as heir such a fate was unlikely.

"Cheer up Dor" Lori said. "It's not that bad, besides you'll get to meet all my friends".She looked at him with a sly smile "I'm sure some of them would be glad to meet you as father's heir".

He groaned and covered his red face as the three laughed. Just what he needed, Once he found Gareth they could hide out in the crowd, then he realized something with a touch of horror, he was wearing white and would really stand out in the colorful crowd. He dearly hoped there would be others wearing the same costume as him, Herald's were popular he thought hopefully.

Once they arrived he grabbed Gareth's arm and almost ran to the crowd gathered near the gardens, he could hear the girls laughing behind him, and hoped Lori was actually joking about her friends.

"What's the hurry" Gareth asked.

"Lori's threatening to set me up with her friends, he said with a shudder".

Gareth just shook his head, he was older than Dorian and the prospect didn't seem bad to him.

They had circulated for some time when Dorian froze in midbite, he choked, and Gareth pounded on his back.

When he recovered, he looked at Gareth with a white face "He's here".

"Who" Gareth asked confused.

"The one killing the women, I can feel him" he looked through the crowd, but he saw nothing that looked out of the ordinary.

"Where is he" Gareth's voice had grown intense and he watched Dorian's face closely.

"I don't know where he is, just that he's near" he said, frustrated.

"Try lowering your shields" Gareth said.

Dorian did as he said and winced, it was like being in a room filled with shouting people, he raised them again and thinned them out until he could hear and sift through the voices, without feeling like he would go deaf. There, he caught a thread and began to follow it slowly, Gareth close on his heels. Several times he lost the trace and stopped, casting for it again. He had almost found it again when a arm slapped him in the back, shattering his concentration.

"There you are" Lori said. "I'm sorry I scared you away, I promise I won't sic my friends on you".

"Not now Lor" he said shortly.

"I said I was sorry" she said in a hurt voice.

He shook his head "It's not that" he said absently, still searching for the trace with part of his mind.

"We're looking for someone, it's important" Gareth said and Lori looked over at him, her jaw dropping.

"I don't remember seeing you before" she said in a distracted voice.

"I'm a friend of Dorian's" he said.

"Oh, the Herald" she said, still staring at him.

"Not yet, but I will be once my training is done" he said, looking at her as well.

Dorian noted the look on his face absently, another one fallen for Lori, though for the first time she appeared to have a similar look on her face, he approved. Ah, he caught it again, he turned to Gareth and said "I feel him now" he started to say then, he felt it the thread of rage and wanting, the feeling of power. "He's doing it again" he gasped and started to run in the direction of the mind he was hunting, weaving through the crowd. With an oath Gareth shook himself from Lori's spell and ran after him, Lori following behind.

The found her in an isolated corner, the white stone splashed with red, they all skidded to a stop, staring in horror, at Lori's sob, Gareth gathered her into his arms and turned her from the sight. It was uncertain how long they stared at the horrible scene before, a horrible gurgling moan shocked them into action.

"Get a healer, she's alive" Gareth's voice barked at Dorian. He turned and ran for the Healer's Collegium as fast as his feet could take him, he didn't notice the shadow that watched them, none of them did, not even the one who was it's obsession, it's reason, it's love.

The shadow was long gone before the first healer or guard arrived, leaving only Gareth holding a shaking Lori, muffling her sobs in his shirt.

Oh, it's not broken in case you're wondering, but it looks like I'm not working until Mon. More stories anyway.