Lela-of-Bast: Glad you liked the cliffy, wasn't sure if it would work or not.

Sonnet Lacewing: I have read those books over and over and each time I have read it as Spin-drens, probably because they spin webs. I've corrected them all now, but I can't get it to sound right in my head. Firegills were made up - don't worry, I doubt you'd ever miss anything! If I don't write more about them in this then I will in my RoTG follow up. Re the massage, I wish my other half had that talent!

Daine: Thank you for your review. I can be a bit lazy, and instead of checking something I will often just put down what I think it is instead of checking. I also don't like breaking the flow of writing.

Nativewildmage: I hope you're not in too much pain!

Skysong the Dragonet: Hope this updaye is quick enough for you!

Silverlake: The story will stop once they're reached Port Legann. Another 6 chapters I think.

Esmerelda 01: Your reviews make me laugh! I think you'd be a bit nicer than Cloud! I do regulary want to bang their heads together. Its been carthatic writing this as I've been able to extend on their relationship fromthe books and build it up more. As they were friendsfor so long, and Numair realised he was in love with her six or seven months before they did anything there must have been a tension between them and its been fun writing about it. I can't wait to do the ROtGfollow up and develop their relationship as a new couple.

A request: A show called Bones is starting in England on Thursday and I was wondering if any of you have seen it as it started in the states a while ago. Its got David Boreanaz in it and its written by Kathy Reichs, whose crime novels I love. If you've seen it or know anything about it can you PM me and let me know what its like - I don't want to be disppointed! Ta muchly!

Disclaimer: It's not mine!

Chapter 12 – A Red Mage

Numair had realised they were surrounded. Surprisingly he felt remarkably cool headed and calm. He stepped so that Kitten was shielded between himself and Daine. Spidrens were extremely quick and nasty, but they weren't especially intelligent. Daine had her arrow ready and he guessed she was probably going to go for the one to her side first, then behind. He thought that he should attack the female in front first to cover Daine and then to his side.

"Are you just going to stand there and wait to be eaten?" the female taunted. He raised his hand and blasted her with his gift. Just as quickly Daine had moved to her left and speared the Spidren there with an arrow. In the light of the moon he saw pink web flying out of the spinneret of the Spindren to his right and felt it glue to his side and chest, now unable to move his arm freely. Daine span round and faced that spidren, aiming an arrow at its belly and hitting exactly. The webs on Numair turned to liquid and left him free to move, although his arm was now covered in painful welts. The final immortal behind them jumped quickly away from them; both Daine and Numair faced him. Almost simultaneously, they attacked the remaining spidren; Numair's black power exploding into its stomach and Daine's arrow piercing one eye.

She let out a deep breath. "Are you okay?" she asked Numair.

"I don't know, that webbing they fire doesn't feel particularly pleasant," he felt pain in the right side of his neck and where his shirt didn't cover his skin. "Can you sense any more?"

"No, that's it. We need to find the Rider group. How bad are you?" she asked.

"I'll live. Can you call Spots and Cloud? We'll find the Riders much quicker on horseback," he said grimly, fearing the worse for the Rider group.

Daine called the two mounts to her. They came rapidly, heeding Daine's urgent call.

"Do you have an idea of where the Rider group is?" she asked Numair who was studying a map he had kept tucked in his pocket.

"I'm going to assume that they're close by. I don't understand why we hadn't heard from them again that the spidrens had moved nearer in our direction," she could see in the moonlight that Numair looked a little bemused.

"Is it possible that they were ambushed by the spidrens?" Daine asked.

"It's possible, but not probable. It seems that somehow the Riders have been stopped from letting us know that the spidrens had moved," Numair used his magic to light way in the blanket of darkness that had engulfed them.

Travelling east, the direction in which the Rider group had last been to their knowledge, they approached a clearing in the thick undergrowth that they had been riding through. Numair's light caught the liquid webs, eerily pretty as it reflected the glow. Daine made out familiar faces of people lying on the floors. A muffled cry came from the other end of the clearing. About to dismount Cloud and hurry over Numair stopped her. "I'm going to set up a light spell," he informed her. "There no point either of us being injured by tripping over vines or such like as we try and help." He conjured up a ball of light, sent it up high and expanded it, casting light over their surroundings.

"Be on your guard," he told her.

"You too!" she muttered back, eyeing her tall companion.

Silently, they went to check on each of the eight riders, Numair's face turning greyer with worry as he approached each one. All had been covered with the spindren's webs, but how they had been attacked by them so easily wasn't as clear.

Numair called her over to him. "I think they've been given dreamrose, or something remarkably similar, before being trapped by the spidrens. All but one are alive, they're just in a deep sleep."

"Where's the one that has gone to the Black God?" Daine asked. The Riders she had been to had all had a heartbeat.

"Behind the ash tree over there," he pointed in the direction slightly. "I'm afraid the spidrens took an exception to him."

Daine pulled a face. Another moan came from Jarrard, one of the Riders. "He's beginning to wake up," she said, stepping over to the man, "We're going to need a healer and fast, although I don't know how that's going to happen."

"I'll get in touch with Jon and find out where the nearest healer is," he fiddled in his pocket for a vial. "There's wakeflower. Drop a bit on this handkerchief and hold it under their noses. I'm hoping it is dreamrose they've been given, although some look as if they also have broken limbs."

"They may have fallen when the webs broke if they were up high, which I think they were as some of that strange liquid is on the trees…how are you going to speak with Jon?"

"I'll open a window. I'll let him know our location and hope that he can eithertell us where wecan find a healeror get a healer out here," Numair responded and went to find a spot to work.

Daine moved around the group, holding the wakeflower under the noses of the Riders. She stayed with each one until they had come to, warning them not to move just yet. A woman who Daine recognised from the training camp when she had first gone to Pirates' Swoop wakened quicker than the others.

"Is that wakeflower?" she asked Daine, "It's revolting! Why Numair or Harailt couldn't find a way to make it smell better is beyond me."

"I think it's the smell that brings you round," Daine replied. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. We were eating and then… that's all I can remember, really. How is everyone else?" She looked round, noting the various people moving slightly or still sleeping.

"A man didn't make it. It looks like the spidrens bound you up in their webs. One of them took a liking to your friend," Daine responded as softly as she could. "Everyone else is okay, just broken bones. We need to find a healer before you can all move. Numair's trying to find where the nearest one is. We don't know how bad some of the breaks are."

"I can heal," the woman said quickly. "I'm Nafeesa,"

"I'm Daine…"

"I remember you. We were supposed to be waiting for you to get here to sort out these spidrens. What happened to them?"

"We sorted them out. Are you fit to heal?" Daine inquired.

"I'm fine. I don't feel as if I've fallen. I'll start to check the others."

Daine went to find Numair. He had obviouslyopened a windowto communicate with the king and looked deep in conversation. Daine made herself known by coughing slightly, hoping not to make him jump. He turned around sharply.

"There's a healer with them. Nafeesa. She's well enough to heal," she reported.

Numair nodded and continue with his conversation. Daine returned to the Riders, two of whom besides Nafeesa were now on their feet.

"Where are your mounts?" she asked them.

"I don't remember," one of the male riders told her. "We were sat down eating when it happened. It was if someone came up and dropped something that made us lose consciousness."

Numair had returned and was listening in to the man. "That can happen with dreamrose. If enough of it is spilled then the people who inhale it will automatically lose consciousness. Usually it is given in food or drink, as has happened to Daine."

"We need to find the horses," she told Numair. "They may have seen something. This is more than just spidrens." She reached out with her mind and found them five miles away, next to a river.

What happened? She called out to the head of the herd when he had realised who she was.

A man came and let a glass thing drop. We ran, we were scared of him. When we came back they were gone, he replied in a soft voice.

What was the man like? Daine pressed, did he have fire?

Lots of fire. Red fire. We saw that and left, the horse told her. She could tell he felt ashamed that he had left his riders.

It's okay. You did the right thing. The red-fire man is gone now so you can come to us. Your friends are beginning to wake up and they will need you, she said, trying to reassure him.

She relayed the new information back to Numair, who was doing what he could to help people to be comfortable while Nafeesa, who was beginning to look drained, healed broken limbs and eradicated any infection. Numair looked at her, a worried expression on his face. "A mage with red fire?" he muttered to himself. Daine left him to his musings and continued to help the Riders, who were beginning to move about and piece together all the information they could remember about the ambush.

It was almost dawn by the time the eight remaining riders were fit to move. Daine had sensed no nearby immortals and her tensed muscles had begun to relax slightly although her brain was continuing its realisation that this was what it was going to be like from now on. She looked over at her weary mage, propped against a tree and walked over to him. Some of the Riders were preparing breakfast, while others tended the horses. Two still had to recover from the effects of the dreamrose and the healing, and Nafeesa was sleeping, exhausted and drained from what she had done.

Daine laid her head on Numair's shoulder, watching his chest rise up and down with each breath.

"Are we heading straight back to Corus?" Daine asked him quietly.

"Jon will want us to go back to brief him over what has happened. We will also need to give some thought to who this red mage is. From your description of what the horses saw I don't recognise him, but I suspect he may be from Scanra. They appear to keep the power of some of their mages very quiet to be able to surprise them with us," Numair's voice was quiet yet it still contained an edge to it that disturbed Daine. He was worried.

"We'll be alright, Numair," she comforted, putting her hand in his. He looked at her, taking in her delicate features and smoky brown curls and smiled at her, feeling that gurgle from his heart to his stomach that Daine's presence prompted.

Silently, they watched the scene before them. The dawn had turned into day, and the Rider group having buried and prayed for their colleague and friend has begun to mount and leave for Corus, prompting Daine and Numair's own return back to their king.

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