Hey, everyone! Once again THIS CHAPTER RATED FOR VIOLENCE AND PROFANITY.

Music: Red Hot Chile Peppers' Soul to Squeeze, Otherside and Scar Tissue, Sibelius' 4th Symphony in A minor

Disclaimer: Amahallahoochie

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Chapter 12

Cold.

Kero's world consisted of cold, pain and exhaustion. The freak weather front that had moved in brought freezing temperatures and cold, icy rain that penetrated all the layers Kero wore as if they were not there at all. She had long ago lost any feeling in her hands and feet, and her face felt as if she were wearing a mask of ice. Sayvil strode determinedly forward, head down and drooping.

:Maybe we should stop, love. We can find some shelter in the trees and snuggle together for warmth.:

Sayvil snorted. :I want the stables. I want them warm, and I want them now.:

Kero decided it was not worth the argument, especially when she could be spending the night in a nice warm bed with her nice warm man.

:About time you learned I'm always right.:

:Keep thinking that, hayburner. Damn mage.:

:He was right. You are in no shape to travel.:

:We have to get back to the girls. Even if the damn mage won't gate us.:

She decided it was no use concentrating on her miserable present, so Kero concentrated on her future, on her plans specifically for that night. As much as her troops would like to think otherwise, her plans were actually quite demure. The hottest thing going between the sheets that night would mostly be the stones Eldan was hopefully warming on the hearth. Maybe with a hot meal insider her, hot stones and hot man outside her, she might just warm up before she expired of old age.

:Dearling, I know thoughts like that keep you going when you are cold, but they only serve to make me more miserable. Please be miserable with me.:

:Just because you like to grump doesn't mean I have to.:

Sayvil snorted again, then jounced Kero with a particularly punishing gait, causing her to curse as her wound jolted in protest.

:Careful love, that isn't healed, yet.:

Sayvil smoothed her pace as Kero concentrated on her breathing, trying to ease the throbbing pain the jolt had caused.

:Sorry. I wanted to make you miserable, not in agony.:

:Get me home to my bed and I'll forgive you.:

:It's a deal.:

Kero focused on her breathing, trying to ignore the cold and pain that were eating away at her last reserves of strength. She was more than ready to be home and hoped the girls would realize she was not up to any of their usual antics and keep the havoc to a minimum for the next few days. Gradually, unknowingly, she slipped into a light doze, head lolling until it rested on her own shoulder, arm clasped about her middle to ease her breathing. A hand on her boot brought her abruptly awake with a quick inhalation of surprise. Her hand automatically reached for her sword, but stopped when she realized they were in the stables. The hand on her boot belonged to one of the grooms, and he peered up at her with concern in his eyes.

"Are you back with us, Captain?"

She rubbed her eyes and yawned widely for a moment, then blinked owlishly at him. The warmth of the stable was penetrating the sodden mass of clothes, but it only served to remind her how cold she was. Kero shivered, then inhaled sharply again as the shivering jarred her wound and pain spangled her vision.

"Captain?"

"Give me a moment." Her voice was strangled with pain, and she once again concentrated on her breathing.

:Easy, Chosen.:

Slowly, after almost an eternity, her vision cleared and she was able to focus on the groomsman.

"Can you get down, Captain?"

"We're about to find out."

She managed to get down after a few false starts, but her saddle bags were beyond her.

"I'll have them sent to your place, Captain," the groomsman said after a few minutes of watching her curse and struggle.

"Thank you. You all set?"

:They'll take good care of me.:

"I'm off, then." :Eldan?:

:You're back?: His voice was warmed at the prospect of her return.

:Mm. I'm cold, tired and hungry. And I want a hot bath very badly.:

She turned and started out of the stables, loathe to do so, but knowing she had to in order to get home. She headed for the cottage, then stopped when Eldan's mindvoice came back to her.

:We're in the mess hall with the Trainees. I didn't feel like cooking tonight.:

:In that case, I think I'm going to take a bath in the bathing rooms at the palace. Can you have someone bring me some dry clothes from home? And a cloak?:

:Sure. Soaked through, are you?:

:And frozen.:

:Go get warm. I'll bring some food back to the cottage with me. We'll meet up there.:

:Sounds like a plan.:

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The hand on her shoulder would have startled her, but she recognized the mind brushing against hers, easing her startlement before she could jerk awake. Then she realized she had fallen asleep in the bathtub.

"Kero, wake up. You've been dozing for about a mark, now."

Kero dragged open eyes that seemed to be glued shut with exhaustion, then gave into their weight and let them close again.

"Le'me die in peace," she slurred, and settled herself more comfortably in the bathtub.

"Kero, this water is going to get cold in a few minutes. Where would that leave you?" Talia's patient logic was dragging her inexorably back to semi-consciousness. When Kero's fogged mind could not supply an answer, Talia answered for her. "Right back where you were. Cold and wet. Now, let's get you out of that tub."

Talia reached in and dragged Kero from the tub by wrapping her arms around Kero from behind and pulling. Kero's weak knees were refusing to support her, so Talia had to support her. Then Talia grabbed some warm towels and bundled Kero into them, vigorously rubbing to instill more warmth into Kero's still mostly frozen body. Talia's eyes darkened when she saw Kero's latest wound, a deep slice across her midsection that the Healers had only taken the stitches out of the day before. She made a mental note to be careful where she grabbed and to warn Eldan. Knowing Kero, she'd probably only told Eldan she had gotten a little cut. Kero was vaguely aware of female trainees trickling in to take evening baths, but her mind was too befuddled to care. Eventually, Talia got Kero wrapped up in enough towels to meet her requirements, then helped Kero over to sit on one of the benches that lined the bathing room.

"There. Now for clothes."

She managed to get Kero bundled into the warmest clothes she could find in the cottage: a thick soft shirt, a long, undyed woolen sweater that remained snug on her upper body and flared out to swirl around her knees and soft leather breeches. Those breeches had surprised Talia, since she had never seen anything like them before. The leather was supple enough that they would be completely comfortable to the wearer, but the real surprise was inside the breeches, for they were lined with an incredibly soft wool.

"Socks and boots."

Talia grabbed up a thick pair of socks and wrestled Kero's feet into them, like she would with Jemmie, then quickly pulled on the boots and laced them up. She stood and grabbed the cloak she had brought for Kero and threw it over Kero's shoulders, fastening it with a cloak pin made from bronze and bearing carved topaz and sapphires that bore the sigils of the Skybolts and Heralds. The pin was a work of art and Talia knew it to be Kero's work. All of Kero's friends were accustomed to getting her work as gifts, and several nobles had been known to pay Kero to make a piece for them. Talia had been aware that Kero had been taking more of those offers to pay lately and had been using those funds to stretch the pay she received as the Captain of the Skybolts and the stipend she earned as a Herald.

"Are you ready to try walking?"

Kero regarded her blankly, her head braced against the wall. She had discovered a few moments ago that her head had an alarming tendency to loll at the oddest moments, and her knees still felt a bit liquid. Talia watched Kero contemplate her situation for a moment, then realized Kero would most likely continue contemplating her situation until she was good and ready to walk. She also knew that the only way Kero would be ready for that would be after a visit with a Healer and a good night's sleep.

"Cover up, ladies! Male entering!" With that, Talia stepped to the door, opened it and dragged an extremely uncomfortable Alberich into the bathing room. She had stationed him there exactly for this purpose. Eldan had told her Kero was in fairly bad shape, but Talia had not thought it would be this bad. "Kero needs help, Alberich." Talk about the room had silenced, and all the girls stood, rooted in to the floor, bundled in towels and robes as the infamous Stoneheart stalked into their private domain. Alberich, recognizing that the girls were as uncomfortable as he was, paused, bowed briefly, if gallantly, then pointedly turned his back to the girls and contemplated Kero.

"Better, you have looked, Captain."

Kero's befuddled mind tangled itself as she tried to unwind the simple sentence, then she gave up and nodded like she would when a drunken mercenary tried to babble nonsense at her. Alberich shook his head, then stepped forward and crouched, resting a hand on her knee to bring her wandering attention back to him.

"To bed, you must go. I will help." He stood, slipped one arm under her knees, the other behind her shoulders, and lifted. Kero's head lolled, then settled on his shoulder. Talia made sure Kero's cloak was tucked tightly around her, then pulled a woolen cap over her short blonde hair that was already dry.

"Let's go."

Alberich followed her out the door.

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She awoke to hands on her, and she did not recognize these hands. They were pulling away her warm cocoon of blankets, and that alone was enough to make her cranky, but the fact that she knew she was in her own home, in her own bedroom and that those hands did not belong here, made her wake with a battle cry on her tongue and weapon in her hand.

"Kero!" Eldan's voice and hand on her weapon hand stopped her. "It's just the Healer, Kero. You're fine." She dragged her eyes open and met the startled gaze of the Healer.

"Sorry." Her voice was husky with sleep. Then she rolled her head and met Eldan's eyes. "Hey."

He smiled warmly. "Hey. About time you showed up. I think the girls were planning a palace coup in your absence; I wasn't sure how I would deal with something like that."

Kero smiled back. "Easy; restrict playtime and make Acacia wear a dress. She'd be the ringleader for something like that."

The Healer went back to work, and she saw Eldan's gaze darken as her shirt was pulled up and the wound revealed. The Healer tsked.

"You should not have been traveling, Captain."

"You heard him; the girls were planning a coup. I had to come back and protect the world from them."

"We were not!" Acacia's indignant voice came from the doorway. "What's a coup?"

Kero grinned as the Healer began soothing the ache. "Overthrowing the palace."

Acacia wandered into the room and climbed up on the bed, plopping down next to Kero's hip and stationing herself by Eldan. "Did you fight?"

Kero raised an eyebrow. "Think I did this shaving?" she asked with humorous wryness.

Acacia's eyebrows wrinkled. "Aren't you supposed to wear armor?"

"I did. This was an ax. Enough of the edge got through the cut me."

"I thought you were supposed to be some great warrior."

Kero did not wilt under the inquisition. "I was swarmed." She was aware of Eldan tensing where he reclined against the headboard beside her, and she raised a hand to lace her fingers through his. "It's easy for someone to get through your guard in that situation."

Acacia nodded. Kero could see the gears turning in her head.

"Did you get the cow?"

Kero frowned. "No."

Acacia frowned. "Where do you think she went?"

"I don't know. I imagine she'll turn up soon."

"That's enough, Captain." The healer tugged her shirt back down and the blankets back up. "More sleep and more food. I don't want you out of bed for a few days." He turned his gaze on Acacia. "Hear that? Don't make her get up. Don't let her up."

Acacia sat up straight and nodded regally. "Yes, sir."

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When Kero next awoke, it was to Eldan's hand gently tracing a cheekbone. She dragged her eyes open and met his gaze from only a few inches away, his head sharing her pillow. His gaze was dark with emotion and his face was creased in worry.

"Hey."

"Hey." Her voice was husky with sleep. "You look upset."

"I've been called out."

She felt her own face crease in confusion.

"Where?"

"Ardana is attacking again. She's going after a small town not too far from here. Daren is confident that the standing army can take care of this, so he isn't calling up the Bolts. He wants Heralds, obviously."

A chill crept down Kero's spine, despite the warm cocoon of blankets.

"I don't like this, Eldan."

"No one likes fighting this close to home."

"It's more than that. She's up to something. This isn't what it seems."

Eldan frowned, his fingers absently toying with a few shorn locks of her hair. "All the Foreseers are seeing is a victory for us. Alberich didn't even have an itch that this battle was even coming. All indications are that this is going to be a relatively easy battle. The Guard is on high alert here. I promise to be careful."

"Eldan-"

"Don't worry." He leaned in and gleaned a slow kiss, then drew back so he could look her in the eyes again. "I'll be back before you know it. Acacia has agreed to help keep the rest of the girls under control, since there won't be anyone here to help you. They're all in bed, so you have until tomorrow morning to rest. This snowstorm is pretty much keeping everyone inside, so the next few days should be fairly easy for you."

"Be careful."

"I promise."

"I love you."

One last kiss and he was gone.

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"Stay there!"

"But-"

"No! Eldan said you guys had to listen to me until Auntie Kero gets better, so do what I say!"

Caia slumped back down next to the fire in the common room, still only dressed in her night gown like the rest of her sisters, except for Acacia. Acacia was fully dressed and bundled in her outdoor gear.

"I'll be right back."

"Fine."

Acacia stepped out the front door, carefully closed it, then growled to herself. It was all well and good for them to give Eldan and Auntie Kero a hard time, but right now they needed to be good, at least until Auntie Kero could get up without going all white and sick looking. Her goal at the moment was getting wood for the fire. Auntie Kero was sleeping again, the baby tucked in the bed with her, as well as Dami, who had been in dire need of her afternoon nap. Eldan had chopped a bunch of wood and stacked it by the side of the house under a large piece of oiled cloth so that Acacia would be able to easily access it when they needed. The weight of the snow piled on it made getting to that wood much harder than Eldan would have anticipated. Auntie Kero would have been able to manage it without a problem, but she was still too sick to be going outside. Acacia knew that if Auntie Kero had known about the stacked would, she would have insisted on getting the wood herself. However, Acacia knew that whatever grown-ups did not know would not hurt them. So, every time Auntie Kero took a nap, Acacia bundled herself up and went to refill the wood box.

Never thought I'd be doing this. 'Course, never thought I would be rid of that witch of foster-mother, either.

Using all the strength in her little frame, Acacia pulled the oiled cloth off and began piling wood on an old blanket she had brought with her. Another snowstorm had moved in and was quickly piling more snow everywhere. From the looks of things, the weather was only going to get worse.

Better try to bring in as much wood as I can before this gets worse. The snow drifts are almost as big as I am, already!

She had filled the blanket with a load of wood and was gathering up the ends to drag it inside when she heard the crash, followed by the screams of her little sisters. Dropping the ends of the blanket, Acacia bolted back toward the door of the cottage, pulling the dagger she had looted from Auntie Kero's weapon chest when Eldan had left, jumping into the fray with no hesitation.

"Let go of my sister!" Acacia leaped up and planted her dagger in the back of the nearest bad guy and did not stop, even when blood spurted and covered her clothes. A commotion from Auntie Kero's bedroom and a Shin'a'in warcry indicated Kero was up and fighting for the babies. The pint-sized warrior moved from the body of the first attacker to the next, determined to save her patchwork family. She had buried her dagger in the leg of another invader when he swept out with a vicious backhand that caught her across the face and had her slamming into the mantel. Acacia slid to the ground and tried to pull herself up, but the world spun and she sank back to the ground again. Kero burst from the bedroom, wielding a pair of matched long knives like woman possessed. Even Kero, however, was no match for the reinforcements that charged in through the door.

:Sayvil!:

:I can't get to you! I don't understand! I can't move!:

Overwhelmed, Kero was pinned to the floor and battered by fists and feet, all the while screaming as she watched the unconscious bodies of the older girls being dragged out the door, then the fiercely fighting form of Dami, then the baby. Before consciousness vanished, a brutal hand fisted in her short hair and dragged her head back to meet the eyes of the leader of the kidnappers. He grinned viciously and gave her head a solid jerk.

"Ardana sends a message. She says that you took away what she wanted most, so she's going to take away what means the most to you. Tit for tat." Then he slammed her head against the floor.

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Fury. It encompassed her, formed her very existence. From the moment she opened her eyes, everything Kero saw was tinted red. She dragged her battered body off the floor, stumbled once, then used the fury to push herself forward. When the skeleton force of Guards left behind to hold the palace arrived at her shattered door, they found her fully dressed in black leathers and methodically lacing her armor.

"Captain? What happened?"

She turned her cold gaze to the guardsman and he shuddered.

"She took my girls."

"Who took your girls?"

"She hurt my girls, and now I'm going to hurt her."

The matched swords were strapped across her back for her preferred cross draw, then several knives, daggers and shortswords were secreted about her body. The Guardsmen stood in silence while they watched a woman that scared them unto death arm herself for a battle with a person they almost felt a bit of pity for. Almost.

A black rag tied around her head made her helm fit snugly in place, then she strode past them. Sayvil slid to a stop in front of her, and Kero mounted as if she was not bruised and bloody.

"Lock the palace down. No one gets in or out except for our returning forces."

"Captain, perhaps you should-"

A look cut the guardsman off. He swallowed and stepped back as Sayvil turned and kicked into a gallop.

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"Eldan!"

Alberich's hand dragged Eldan from his camp cot.

"Hm? Huzzat?"

"Get your arse moving! Now, you must go!" Alberich bent and began cramming the items scattered about Eldan's tent into any pack he could find. "In danger, Kerowyn is!"

"Kero? Danger? Slow down, what do you mean?"

Alberich growled in impatience and stopped cramming clothes into packs and forced himself to concentrate and speak clearly and concisely. "I had a vision. Ardana will take the girls and Kero will go after her. In my vision, Kero dies. You must go to her. I will tell Selenay."

"She what! Where?"

"The Waystation to the south of Haven! You must go! Now!"

Without another word, Eldan pulled on his boots, his cloak, grabbed his packs, and darted out of the tent. Alberich followed him on his heels, and stopped outside the tent, watching as Eldan darted to where the Companions had gathered to socialize.

"May the Sunlord protect you," he whispered in Karsite.

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Sayvil did not falter in her headlong gallop down through the city. People cleared the way before them. In what seemed like a heart beat, they were out of the city and Sayvil was using all the energy she had to propel them down the road. They both knew where Ardana was holding the girls. It was the only place within leagues around, with the additional bonus of holding some emotional value to both Kero and Acacia.

By now the fury had settled from an all encompassing fire to a concentrated ball of flame in the back of her mind, allowing her to concentrate and plan. She had no doubt the wizard would be there and that he would be keeping the girls from using their Gifts. Kero also knew that he would not dream of interfering in the decisive battle between her and Ardana.

Sayvil drew up with a snort and Kero realized that they had made it to the Waystation.

:Be careful, Chosen. She will not fight cleanly.:

:I've never expected a clean fight from Ardana.:

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the wench that stole my Company from me."

Ardana stood jauntily in the middle of the clearing Sayvil had romped in not too long before. Her armor looked as though it had seen better days and her grey eyes, while bloodshot from too much liquor, were even colder than Kero remembered them being. Twin swords that could have been siblings of Kero's rose over her shoulders.

"Here I am." Kero spread her arms from her sides, letting Ardana see her weapons. "What do you want?"

Ardana smiled sourly. "I want to see you dead. And I want them-" she stepped to the side so Kero could see where the girls were tied up "-to watch". A quick head count came up short.

"Where's the baby?"

Ardana gestured negligently to a rumpled pile of blankets lying in a snowbank. "Over there. I'm sure the brat will die soon, making my life much easier. Can't have a babe on the campaign trail."

Fury began to cloud Kero's vision once again. "You piece of –"

"Careful, Scout Kerowyn."

Kero broke off as the mage appeared and laid a dagger against Acacia's throat. The little girl's eyes burned hatefully up at the mage, and Kero had no doubt that he was going to pay, if not by her hand then by Acacia's.

"You want to see me die?"

Ardana smiled and nodded.

Kero met her eyes. "Fine. Then come kill me. Let's finish the duel that never got started. You and me. Let's go."

"I've never been one to not accommodate someone, especially when it is something I want." Ardana gestured to the mage and dome sprang up around them. "Can't have anyone interrupting, can we?"

Ardana stepped forward and Kero matched her, pace for pace. They began circling each other, neither drawing a weapon, until they charged each other in a blur and met with a clash of swords. Ardana came away with a cut on her face that steadily dripped blood into the snow. Kero smiled sourly. "I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"

With a hiss, Ardana charged back into battle, wielding her own twin swords against Kero's. The air was filled with the sounds of clashing blades, harsh breathing and hisses of pain as blades found their marks. Kero worked Ardana around the circle, then gave ground as Ardana pushed her into a retreat. Too late, Kero realized that a seeming wild swing from Ardana would cause her to hit the shield wall on the dodge, then cried out as her left arm went numb from the shoulder down from the contact with the magic. Her sword fell from her useless fingers, leaving her with one blade against Ardana's two.

"I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"

Kero grinned in a way that could only be described as blood thirsty. "Not in the slightest."

"Hault!"

Both Ardana and Kero froze at the sound of the mage's voice. Kero kept her focus on Ardana, but she was vaguely aware of the arrival of more people outside the dome.

"Drop the shield, mage, or you die!" Shallan's voice ripped across the clearing.

"Kill me!" the mage shrieked. "It stays whether I live or die!"

Shallan shrugged. "Do you really think I'm going to listen to a mage who got his butt whooped by a toddler? You asked for it." A flick of a wrist and the mage was dead of a throwing dagger in his neck. Much to Shallan's disappointment, the shield held. Ardana laughed.

"You should have listened to him. Now there is no way to take the shield down!"

Kero tsked. "Pity for you." She charged.

Ardana brought her guard back up in the nick of time and stumbled backward in the face of Kero's renewed advance. A twist of her wrist and Ardana was down to one blade. Ardana managed to batter aside Kero's guard and score a bruising hit along the half-Healed gash across Kero's abdomen. She was vaguely aware of the people outside the shield yelling, but all of her attention was on Ardana. By now, Kero was breathing in gasps and every wound ached with a vengeance.

:One final push, Chosen. You can take her.:

A surge of strength came over the bond and Kero pushed forward, disarming Ardana and tripping her adversary to the snow. She stood over Ardana with her sword point at her throat.

"No mercy from the great Herald-Captain Kerowyn?"

"Mercy from the person who would kill my girls?" Kero snorted. "I doubt the Bright Lady Herself could save your soul from where it is about to go."

Kero braced herself for the lunge that would end the duel when she heard his voice.

"Kero! This isn't you. Don't kill her. Let the Guild have her. You've always trusted them before. Let them have her."

She raised her head to meet Eldan's gaze and felt the fury retreat enough to let her think.

:He is right, Chosen.:

:She hurt the girls.:

:And you hurt her: Eldan Mindspoke. :Let it end here, Kero.:

As Kero stood over Ardana and felt the fury rapidly receding, she realized how much she had aged over the years and realized that the girls had taught her something she did not even realize she was learning.

:All right.:

She felt his smile over the link. :That was quick.:

Kero smiled in return. :I don't think I ever wanted to kill her.:

:Give us some time to get this shield down and we'll—LOOK OUT!:

A handful of snow caught her in the face, blinding her, and she staggered backwards, frantically trying to clear her vision.

:KERO!: Eldan's mind scream echoed in her head as she felt a burning coldness slice through her belly, catching on bone. She wiped the rest of the snow off her face and looked down to see the hilt of Ardana's sword protruding from her armor. Ardana laughed as Kero's knees turned to liquid and she collapsed to the snow. The girls' screams echoed in her ears as Ardana climbed to her feet to stand over her. Kero slumped to her side, shock numbing her while blood slowly began to ooze around the blade to steam in the snow.

:Kero? Answer me!:

:Stay with us, Chosen.:

:Eldan? Sayvil?:

:We're right here. Stay with me!: Eldan's Mindvoice was panicked.

Abruptly, her eyes locked on Acacia's.

Acacia felt tears welling up as she boldly met Kero's eyes. "You promised me," she whispered. "You promised that you would keep us. You can't keep us if you're dead!"

"You should listen to the child."

Tarma sat beside her in the practice ring, sword lying across her knees.

"I'm dying."

"Yes, you are. Soon, you will be dead, and there is no getting around that."

"I want to stay with them."

"Some things are beyond our control." Lerryn's voice startled her as he stepped over her legs and stood behind Tarma. "You fought well, Kerowyn. Now it is time for the old adage to take effect." He smiled at Kero's perplexed look. "'Mercenaries don't die. They just regroup in hell.'"

The sword she had dropped by the shield wall was in her hand and Ardana was still standing over her, holding the other sword that was a twin to the one currently planted in her belly.

"I think it is time we ended this." Ardana moved the tip of the sword to Kero's throat, and the screaming of the people outside the shield increased. "I hope you enjoy hell."

Kero grinned. "Somehow, I don't think you will." She swept up and out with her left arm, earning a gash and knocking the blade away from her throat. Before Ardana could react, Kero had wrapped her left hand around Ardana's sword arm and pulled her down onto the blade she had been grasping. Ardana's eyes bulged as Kero's blade found a weak point in her armor and sank through her neck. Aqua marine eyes held grey eyes from a few inches away.

"Tit for tat. Bitch."

Life fled from Ardana's eyes and she slumped down over Kero. With a growled curse and one last gasp of strength, Kero shoved the body off her own, then curled into a fetal position facing the shield wall.

"Auntie Kero?"

Acacia was kneeling next to the shield wall.

"Go over by Shallan, Acacia."

"No." Acacia shook her blonde head emphatically.

"Listen to me this once and go over by Shallan."

"No, 'cause then you'll die and leave us here and you said you would keep us."

"Go over by Shallan." Kero felt herself weakening and forced herself to hold on with all of her strength, try to spare Acacia this last trauma. "Please, Acacia. Go over by Shallan."

Eldan placed his hand on the little girl's shoulder and firmly moved her away from the shield wall. Acacia fought him until he turned her to face him.

"Acacia, I need to talk to Kero right now, all right? Stuff we can't talk about in front of you. Go stand with Shallan so we can talk."

"You're lying."

"Yes, I am. Now go stand by Shallan."

"Make her stay." Her blue eyes were desperate.

"I'll do my best."

Acacia nodded and began trekking wearily through the snow toward Shallan, who pulled the little girl into a hug along with the other girls. The baby was snuggled under Geyr's tunic and cloak, quickly recovering from her exposure to the cold while the company mage continued to fight to bring the shield wall down.

Eldan knelt by the shield wall, then lay in the snow so that he could meet Kero's eyes as intimately as they had shared a pillow only a few nights before.

"Hey, love. I told you I'd be back before you knew it."

Kero smiled weakly as she felt darkness begin to overwhelm her. She could feel the warmth of her blood soaking into the snow around her and knew her time was short.

"Eldan-"

"Hush. Save your strength. The shield wall will come down any second now and you'll need everything you have for the Healers to use."

"They won't get it down in time."

Eldan's eyes misted over. "Sure they will, love. Do you really think I can handle those terrors of ours all by myself? Acacia has never listened me and Dami somehow figured out that if she gives me a kiss I would give her anything. They'd be out of control in no time."

The darkness began crowding her vision, obscuring her view of him. Eldan saw her begin to edge out of consciousness and felt his fear overtake him.

"Stay with me, Kero."

"Can't. So tired."

"Don't go to sleep, love. Stay awake."

Her eyes clung to his, but she knew there was no hope and tears blurred her vision.

"Love you."

The darkness closed in on her.

"Kero!"