Lizzie shut her eyes, her stomach lurching as if she stood on a ship's deck during a terrible storm, tossed on troubled waves and thrown off of what had once been such a safe haven. She did not want to see what was before her; her mind rebelled against the conflicting terrors of seeing Joshua or losing him.

"You stupid cow!" Diana howled in her head. "Now's not the time! Kill him!"

Lizzie snapped swiftly out of the tempest in her mind, remembering that her very existence was in danger. She was not a moment too soon. As her eyes snapped open, Andrew flung a deadly sharp knife at her. She dove forward and down. The knife sailed over her head and she crashed into Andrew, knocking them both to the floor.

Lizzie's skin felt as if it was on fire as his hand grabbed hers. The revulsion she experienced at his touch was almost enough to make her lose control and retch. But she didn't dare seem weak now. She fought back, tooth and nail, as Andrew sought to pin her down, no doubt to have his way with her once again.

'Diana!' Lizzie screamed inwardly. 'Diana, help me!' But there was no reply, no sharp retort telling her what she was stupid enough to forget. Lizzie trembled; she was truly on her own now.

Andrew laughed as he finally shoved his knee into her stomach and pinned her to the floor. Lizzie gasped in pain.

"Don't worry," he murmured softly, his mouth far too close to her own. "I made sure not to injure the baby."

"Pity," Lizzie growled back, trying not to allow her entire mind to shut down from fear. She rolled over, ostensibly struggling to escape. Andrew laughed at her attempts and shifted slightly to hold her down better. That one moment of movement was all she needed and, with a speed born of terror, she slammed her fist as hard as she could into his groin.

Andrew let out a shriek, collapsing and clutching his manhood in agony. Lizzie rolled away, quite pleased with herself though she almost wanted to cut off the hand that had been forced into contact with him. She got to her feet and spared a glance for Joshua, who was curled up in the corner, his face hidden by his soft hair. He was beautiful like this and her heart ached to see him in pain. She knew, deep down, that he was bleeding to death from the wound in his side, but she could not stop fighting to help him. If she did that, she would be dead in an instant.

A sudden movement above Joshua's head made her head snap up. Diana's spirit was hovering there, invisible to anyone other than Lizzie.

"Don't worry," she said in strange, wind like tones that neither Joshua nor Andrew seemed to notice, although to be fair, they were both distracted. "I'll take care of him for you."

Lizzie nodded and turned her attention back to Andrew, who was beginning to recover from what no one had ever dared do to him before.

"You little…" he hissed, getting to his knees. "What were you trying to do, castrate me?"

"No," Lizzie answered, surprisingly calm, "But it would have been an added benefit."

They were on even grounds now. Andrew had lost the element of surprise and Lizzie was as ready as she'd ever be to face him. If he used violence now, she would have no compunction turning him into a living bonfire. Neither would he, evidently, as he raised his staff high in the air and focused the full force of his wrath on Lizzie. An incredibly large inferno leapt out of the ends of the golden halo and flew at her like a firebird. Knowing better than to duck, Lizzie raised her own wand and a sphere of cold moonlight shimmered around her, stopping the flames that struck her shield.

Andrew stopped first, halting his attack and moving the staff so that it was pointed at Lizzie. She dropped her shield, not wanting to use up the magic in her blood too soon. She knew that they were far too evenly matching in wizardry for her to take a chance with even the slightest amount of power.

Andrew murmured something to the shining metal and it began to glow. He laughed softly and a strange golden mist began to fill the air. Lizzie, recognizing it immediately from Diana's memories, shut her mouth and nose, refusing to breath in the mist for she did not want to fall asleep for twenty years. She fell to the floor, for the fog would not descend below chest level and carefully aimed a lightning bolt at Andrew.

Unfortunately for her, he caught it using his own magic, but it did serve its purpose; the mist began to dissipate.

"Don't you think that's hitting a little below the belt?" he mocked.

"I wasn't aware you had any scruples about fighting fair," Lizzie answered him. "What you've done to me certainly qualifies as below the belt, don't you think?"

"You're taking this remarkably well."

"Well, it's rather hard to kill someone when one's not in control of oneself. Not that you would know what self control means."

"You know, Elizabeth, I do believe our child is going to turn out magnificently."

"Not unless he can overcome his terrible paternal inheritance like his half brother did."

They were involved in a most intricate dance of words and actions, the biting insults that they traded were merely the icing on the cake as they fought one another with deadly spells. In between the acerbic words were charms to suck all the air from a person's body, spells to bring down the ceiling onto an opponents head, hexes to send one to the farthest desert or the depths of the sea, curses to turn the skin inside out and even enchantments that could turn the other into a most ferocious beast. Lizzie was not pleased when Andrew dodged that particular spell.

"It seems that you hold my son in high regard," Andrew said with a deceptive gentleness.

"I love him," Lizzie answered simply.

"How sentimental. And is that why you came here? To save his life?"

"Partially. Though revenge is quite a motivator as well."

"Is it?" Andrew asked blandly. "I wouldn't know."

Lizzie laughed softly and nearly had her head taken off by an axe that had not been there moments before. Sobering immediately from her very brief fit of hysteria, she answered him. "Don't you? I can think of no other reason for you to try so hard to kill your son then. Had you been afraid of him, you would have moved much faster. But there was no reason for you to attack now, other than that you were jealous that he had done what you could not do."

"What?"

"Make himself liked."

Andrew laughed and it was Lizzie's turn to catch him off guard with a spell. She did better than he had, the edges of the rubble she sent flying at him struck his shoulder and made him wince in pain. "My dear girl, I have no desire to be liked. If I am feared and, more importantly, obeyed, I will consider myself as having done a fine job with my life."

"That's because you are disgusting beast of a human being. I pity the woman who was forced to see you as the fruit of her womb."

"Where did this fire inside you come from, you were such a docile young girl."

"It is only when the metal is placed in the fire that the true refining begins. You may not have meant to separate the silver from the dross in me, but I wouldn't complain about the effects, you are the one who orchestrated them."

"Quoting wizarding maxims at me, are you?"

"Well, they must be useful for something," Lizzie said with a shrug that send a deluge of water over Andrew's latest attempt to incinerate her. The powerful magics flying back and forth were beginning to cool the magic in their blood. Lizzie shivered as the room felt strangely cold. She knew what this meant; it was a sign that she was reaching her limit. Magic was powered by something special in a mage's blood that flowed throughout the body and could perform wonders when released. But it was not unlimited. Each spell took a little more out of the wizard and, if it ran out, they would be left powerless. Lizzie and Andrew were running low on power and it came down to whoever had the most strength at the end.

Lizzie stood her ground under another one of Andrew's brutal assaults. She felt weak and dizzy, as if she was bleeding. She knew she did not have the ability to dodge him anymore and he laughed as her pitiful shield flickered.

"If I laughed manically and declared that you cannot defeat me, would you feel any better?" Andrew mocked.

There was a strange pulsing feeling in Lizzie's body, as if her lower stomach was on fire. She groaned, what could Andrew have possibly done now? But the man in question was quite busy with magic to change her into a swan. Wrong fairy tale, Lizzie thought to herself, resting a hand on the flat stomach that would, in a few months, show signs of the life within. And then she froze. Something she had said just moments before was coming back to her; the idea that the sayings of wizardry were useful in some way. It was true, especially one that Joshua had mentioned…had it only been two weeks? He had reminded Maurice of a saying about midgets standing on the heads of giants. And now, with Diana's knowledge in her head, she knew what that meant. Her lips curved up in a small grin as she blocked the swan curse almost instinctively. A child up against its father had the power to defeat him. For no matter how powerful the parent was, the son or daughter could use the parent's magic for his or herself. It was an old law, one of the strange safeguards that wizardry was born with to prevent its misuse. It was, according to Diana, how Joshua had the power to transpose her into the book. And it was how Lizzie was going to beat Andrew. For the child that had barely begun growing in her womb was the key.

Joshua sat against the wall, keeping his body as immobile as possible. He hadn't the faintest idea why he hadn't died of his wounds yet and he really didn't want to know. Someone or something was helping him and he was desperately grateful for their help, though he did wish that they would move a little faster. He had watched the battle, both of words and of magic, through a curtain of hair so that Lizzie wouldn't be forced to look at his face. She would need his help before the end and perhaps, together, the two of them could defeat Andrew.

Joshua watched as his Lizzie's mouth curled up in triumph. His blood ran cold at the look in her eyes; wild with victory. She seemed to rally the rest of her strength and, as Andrew laughed at what he thought would be a pathetic last attempt, she loosed a maelstrom of pure magic at him. He screamed as it whirled around him, ripping at his flesh to get to the blood beneath. Andrew shrieked over and over again as the magic ravaged his body, abusing him for his own purposes. It was a fitting punishment for a man who had done similar things to so many women. But that was not what Joshua was worried about. He stared unabashedly at Lizzie, her arms held over her head, which was thrown back in triumph. Magic coursed through her, powers that he knew she didn't have and he dared a small spell to try and find their source. It was all too easy to find. Joshua let out a sob as the realization dawned. Andrew had not simply raped her; he had gotten her with child as well. It made him want to rip the bastard to shreds, but his Lizzie was already doing a wonderful job of that. Joshua trembled, wondering what the hell he was going to do with this nasty can of worms he had been presented. Then something happened to take his mind off the future and slam it right back into the present.

Andrew, in the midst of a terrible end, raised his staff one last time and screamed a bloodcurdling scream. Then the bloody fire in those haunting green eyes went dark as he slipped into the arms of death, thrown there by his own angry actions. But his last scream did its work. With the last of the magic in his blood, he directed one last enchantment at his foe. Beneath Lizzie's feet, it opened up a hole in the ground from the floor on which she stood all the way down into the dungeons, some good fifty feet. Lizzie cried out in fear as she felt the wood give way. Her magic was completely spent on killing her mortal enemy; she had none left to save herself. She scrabbled for a hand hold, short fingernails grabbing at wood that was crumbling to dust ere she felt it. Joshua, no longer interested in healing his own body, rose swiftly to his feet and dove at the hole in the floor. His side was bleeding sluggishly, but most of the deep, life threatening wound was gone, albeit he had lost much blood in the process.

"Lizzie!" he screamed in heart wrenching agony as his hands brushed hers for but a second and her beautiful blue eyes met his for what he knew deep in his heart had to be the last time. He watched her fall, reaching out with all the magic left in his blood. But it was not enough; he had spilled too much of his own blood and had used too much of his power to have any left to save her. So he could just stare, tears sliding down his cheeks, as she fell. And then he flung his head back and roared in pain.

T.B.C.

A/N – Well, I didn't kill Joshua. Alright, alright, I'm fully aware that I am setting myself up for hate messages here (and some of you have been so good to me), but this story isn't over yet. Don't worry, I do believe in resolving things before tying up a tale and I suppose I've been a little cruel here. That said, you had better hope I take pity on Joshua before the next chapter and, if nothing else, ship him off to a certain reviewer to make him feel better (shortstef, are you up for it?). Please don't shoot me yet, I still have a few tricks up my sleeves.

Ah well. Anyway, it's time for the praise of the wonderful reviewers (see what happens. Instead of updating every two years, I get around to updating every two days). Kate, I'm glad you like having chapters dedicated to you. And I'm especially happy when people like the way my characters behave. I'll pass the thanks on. She's another one with a mind all of her own, never bothers to inform the author what her plans are. And if the pesky characters wander off on you…actually I don't have any idea how to get them back, they do that to me too.

Soofija my dear, you are perfectly correct. This can go nowhere but wrong. Though you've undoubtedly figured that out by now. And I did kill Andrew for you. That's got to count for something, right? I too like the quick updates; I'm rather anxious to find out what happens at the end myself- please don't yell at me for not knowing. I try my hardest, but…

And, shortstef, I'm glad you're so anxious about them. I liked the mask revelation too. After all, if I was going to make this BatB fanfic, there had to be a few little parallels.

On with the show and I'll try not to leave you suffering too long between updates, k? (Or I could go on a six month trip to a tropical island with no computers…)

Levana (Damian)