Title: Coming to a Head

Setting: Early Winter, 1992: The Realm of Dungeons & Dragons

Summary: Someone pays the price for Diana's confrontation.

xxx

December 21, 1992, early evening:

Presto sat back on his heels and smiled in pleasure at the growing warmth of the campfire he had built with Hank. He grinned at his former foster brother and pushed his glasses up with his right index finger. "Shall we go on a hunt, Hank?"

For the past few days, the lands they traveled through had gotten steadily more friendly, at least for survival purposes. Water ran in small streams through ever increasingly larger stands of evergreen trees. Small game, including many types of game birds, rabbits, squirrels, and opossum seemed in abundance. Vegetation offered up the typical berries and roots of that time of year, but now included pine nuts, late mushrooms, and a wide variety of non-meat options. For the first time in months, the small group of travelers felt well watered and fed.

Glancing around the camp, Hank noticed the absence of three of their party. "Sheila, Diana, and Dara are gone. Did they say they were hunting?" He stood swiftly but did not give off an air of alarm. Early on it had been an unstated rule to tell the rest if someone was going off hunting: hunting was dangerous work.

"I didn't hear anything," Presto said, glancing around as well. He stood, a bit slower than the much more athletic Hank. He'd developed well while on caravan, but Hank had always been a natural athlete.

"Terri, Bobby, any word from the girls?" Hank asked, approaching the pair as they finished laying out the rations the party currently carried.

Terri looked up and shook her head, smiling softly, eyes shining. She opened her mouth but that familiar, almost dreaded golden glow lit both eyes and locket.

Great waves, towering ten feet and sparkling like jewels across the horizon, rose up to block their path. Blues and greens in all their variants rippled through the massive natural barrier. As the sun played through the clouds, the undulating water heaved and rolled in the distance, alerting them to just what new obstacle the Champions had reached. Strangely, no sound came with the crashing waves that glittered in the distance, no smell of water. Then the clouds opened up and the waves stopped, frozen in the brilliant sunlight that fell over the mighty river that blocked their path.

With a gasp, Terri bolted to a sitting position, barely aware of the strong arms encircling her, holding her securely against an equally muscular chest. "Oh! Oh!" Terri turned wide denim-colored eyes over the group, not registering the absence of some of their members. Instead, she barely noticed reality as her mind grasped onto the newest vision, replaying it over and over until she could tell the others what had been revealed.

"Terr?" Bobby's worried voice sounded just behind her, as she knew he'd be. "It's okay, rest. Have some water."

A bowl appeared before the girl but not directly in her face, and she lifted a trembling hand to help guide it to her mouth in a long-learned ritual. Lifting her eyes from the bowl held for her, Terri met Hank's worried light blue gaze. She offered a smile of reassurance and he smiled back, relaxing noticeably.

"A not-so-bad one then," Hank said and Terri murmured in agreement.

"I saw a rough dirt path through trees, like what we're following now. And then, in the distance, there was a huge wave of water. It was over ten feet high, Hank. And it seemed to roll and shift. The whole horizon was covered in waves. It was beautiful, like being at the ocean but with huge waves instead of little ones." Terri sighed and turned slightly in Bobby's arms, her eyes meeting those of the Barbarian. "It was beautiful, Bobby. Even if it was as scary as Dara said it would be."

"Ten foot waves in an endless looking sea?" Hank asked slowly. He glanced towards Dara's packs, wishing he could get a glimpse of that map. She'd been using her fingers to measure distances in time. If he could use fingers to do the same, he could tell if it really was a river or an ocean they would be facing.

Eric's steady hoofbeat approached and the unicorn and his elven companion stopped beside Presto. Uni tilted her head. "Is Terri okay?" she asked softly, worry in her maroon eyes.

"I'm great," Terri said before anyone else could. She beamed up at Uni. "I saw the Crystal Waters Dara spoke of. I think it's a rough sea, not a lake. We'll need to find a way to cross. A boat would probably be best." She glanced at the others around her. "Do you think there'll be a fishing village near it?"

It almost felt surprising how amiable Terri had become after this newest vision. But the Dreamer finally felt well enough and sure enough after her pre-sight of the next obstacle. It was as if seeing the waters had reassured her there was nothing weird or terrifying about it. A normal water voyage would be welcome, even if the seas were a bit rough.

"Ten foot waves, Terri," Presto reiterated, "aren't the easiest. Especially in a row boat. We'll need to actually get a real fishing boat to bring us out."

"What'd we miss?" Diana asked, sounding a bit winded. Sheila caught up a moment later, both women breathing as if they'd run. Behind them, further back and at a slower pace, trailed Dara, frowning and appearing deep in thought.

"My newest vision," Terri said. She glanced towards Dara. "Is everything okay?"

"We gave up the hunt once Presto took off back to camp," Diana said, sounding cheerful but meeting Presto's shocked eyes with her serious expression. "I guess he was disturbed by our private conversation."

Instantly processing the hints, Presto shrugged and said, "well, we're all back now. Let's go on a real hunt."

Bobby stood and nodded. "Okay, hey, Dara, glad you're back. We're going hunting. You, Hank, Diana, and me." He grinned as if there had been no excitement over a new vision and no confusion over Diana's charge that Presto had ever left the camp.

The guide frowned and suspiciously looked around the expectant group. She fumbled with her five foot staff and slowly said, "What miss Dara?"

"My newest vision," Terri answered. "While you were . . . going bathroom?" Terri seemed to ask but barrelled on, "I saw the Crystal Waters. They are ihuge/i waves in an endless distance." Her voice didn't hide her pleasure at the vision, drawing a quick frown from Dara.

"Big. Much big," Dara agreed. She looked over the rest. "Happy? Good all? Water big!"

Bobby grinned at Dara," we were thinking we could build a boat to cross over so we don't have to swim. We can teach ya how, Dara, so you won't be stuck on this side any more . . . if you ever need to cross in the future."

Finally Dara seemed to accept what they said and why they seemed relaxed. "Boat. No build Dara."

"It'll be fine," Diana smiled at Dara, as if not suspicious of their guide at all. "All of us know how to build a boat, except maybe Uni."

Uni let out a horsey sounding snort, drawing a surprised look from Dara. The guide narrowed her baby blue eyes, studying the former unicorn but not revealing her thoughts. Slowly, she pulled her eyes from the elf and said, "Dara hunt."

"You'll be with me, Dara," Hank instantly claimed and hefted his unstrung bow. "Let's go." He nodded to Diana and Bobby. "Let out a signal if you get something or need help. We'll be listening." Gesturing to the shorter woman, Hank began leading his chosen partner up and over the road where Diana and Sheila had come from.

Dara glanced over the others then turned and followed Hank, a soft frown on her face.

Diana held up a hand and softly said, "I'll tell you later, guys. Sheila be ready to help. Hank's alone now. Dara seems to be trying to get each of us alone, so be careful everyone. Pairs at all times. C'mon, Bobby. Let's hunt some wabbit."

At the pronunciation, Bobby chuckled, the term bringing back memories of old cartoons he used to watch. "Right . . . I say right," he drawled back in a thick southern US accent. Everyone laughed as the pair headed further from the campsite, staying on that side of the road.

Sheila looked at the others, meeting Presto's eyes. She whispered, "someone was pretending to be you, Presto." She slipped the hood of her cloak up and disappeared, her footsteps and direction masked by her magical boots.

Presto turned back to the smaller group and shuddered. "First Hank then me? What's her end game?"

"Magic," Uni sighed and sank down beside Terri. She began helping prepare Terri's evening dose of tea. "Dara's fascinated by the magic we have."

With a soft whicker, Eric bobbed his head and glanced towards the route Hank and Dara had taken. He made a series of nickers and whinnies, causing Uni to slip her hand into her thigh pocket to touch the alicorn she had there.

Presto had no idea when she'd switched to actually carrying the alicorn on her, but he silently approved the wise move.

Watching the former unicorn and the present unicorn, Terri murmured, "what is it? What's he saying?"

Uni looked towards the younger girl and, just as quietly, said, "he thinks she's after him, and I don't think it's arrogance. I agree. Dara wants Airk."

"We keep telling her he's not a unicorn, he just looks like one," Terri frowned. "Do you think she thinks we're lying?"

"Or not telling the complete truth at least," Presto interjected. "She wants our magic. We have to keep her from it. Should be simple, right Eric?" Presto pinned the former Cavalier with an intent stare, knowing he just used a phrase Eric would have normally said.

The humor, dark as it felt, wasn't lost on the unicorn. Eric whickered in agreement and pawed the ground with his right front hoof.

"Eric," Terri said slowly, watching the habitual movement Eric had picked up. "Aren't you left handed?"

The other three looked at Terri in surprise and Eric bobbed his head.

"Then why do you do that with your right hoof?" Terri pointed to the moving foot, which Eric stopped moving.

Uni smiled softly and said, "because he's silly? That's his shield arm."

Presto stood and shifted over to Eric's side. He gripped his friend's right foreleg and said, "let me look, Eric." As Eric glanced worriedly at his old friend, Presto lifted the leg and studied both hoof and actual leg. He frowned and gestured towards some scarring a little ways above the coronet. "You were hurt, Eric? It hurts?"

Instantly, the smile dropping away, Uni said, "it aches?" She couldn't recall exactly when Eric would have hurt his right forearm during their travels. She tilted her head. "When did you hurt your leg, Arik?"

Studying the scar, Presto said, "teeth marks. Who bit you, Eric?"

A flash of memory came and Uni flushed in regret and embarrassment. "I did," she whispered. "About a year into our solo quests. I was panicking and bit him." Her normally pale complexion had gone bright red.

Terri tilted her head, denim blue eyes confused. "But wouldn't that have healed completely when Presto threw the net over you both?"

"No," Presto sighed and pushed his glasses into place once more. They were getting loose, as they often did. He'd have to find a way to tighten the screws again. The pair was so old, Presto knew he'd have to find a way to replace them as soon as the quest had finished. "When I hurt my throat, Kosar used the net on me. But it never healed my broken foot." The ginger-haired man lifted his left booted foot. He quickly removed his footwear and sock, revealing a pale foot with heavy scarring across the top and bottom. "I had a nerveless spell while working with one of the beasts and it stepped on my foot. Broke it so bad some of the bones crushed and chips of bone even came out and weren't able to be replaced. They had to get a magic healer to fix it. I still limp, sometimes worse than others." He looked up from the long healed injury. "The net didn't touch it. I guess it can't heal old wounds that already healed."

The unicorn whinnied softly and bumped his head into the side of Presto's face, eliciting a soft chuckle from his oldest friend. Eric glanced over to Uni and appeared to stare intently as her color remained high.

Softly she answered, "I really am sorry I bit you, Airk. You never said it still bothers you."

After another intense pause, Uni finally sighed and conceded, "no, I guess whining about it couldn't fix it. But I still would like to have known, even if there's nothing I could have done meow."

Terri's hand flew to cover her mouth, trying to hold back a sudden laugh at Uni's wrong word. Presto grinned and Eric threw back his head and let out a whinny of a horse laugh. Uni narrowed her eyes and gripped the alicon, then started chuckling, her guilt assuaged for the moment. "Myeah, I never did learn how to say that right."

Terri suddenly hugged Uni to her. "It's okay There are words I can't say, either. Like . . ." she paused, then rushed on, flushing as she bungled the word, "burgular."

"Burglar," Presto lightly corrected, his grin widening. "Hank's sister, Stacy, would say 'skiorl' instead of squirrel. I think there are words each of us can't pronounce right." He took a slow breath to control his chuckles and grinned at Uni "So, how's that tea coming?"

Uni chuckled and, relaxing finally, began to steep the razor leaf in the now boiling water. "Coming right up, Presto."

xxx

December 21, 1992; early evening:

Stepping softly through the underbrush and fallen pine needles, Hank kept alert for more than the animals they sought. He hadn't missed the surprised expression on Presto's face at Diana's odd claim. The Magician hadn't left the camp that morning at all, so he couldn't have had a private conversation with Diana unless it had been on watch the night before. It didn't take a big leap to realize that Diana had been talking to the shapeshifter who'd impersonated Hank back at the Shifting Sands.

A shapeshifter Hank suspected to be Dara.

The soft sound of a footfall directly behind the Ranger had Hank whirling, lifting his bow and instinctively nocking an energy arrow at the same time. His blue eyes widened in shock as the arrow, still held, came within inches of Dara's forehead. The guide ducked and back tracked quickly while Hank lowered his bow, letting the arrow dissipate unfired.

"Bow magic big!" Dara breathlessly claimed, still curled in a defensive ball. "Hank kill!"

With a shake of his head, Hank remained standing several feet from the cowering guide. He tried to soothe her with his voice, knowing it had been a terrifying shock to nearly be shot through the head. "Sorry, Dara. You spooked me. You shouldn't sneak up so close to someone." He saw his words did nothing to relax the frightened woman so added, "I thought it was that shapeshifter we're all looking out for. I had no idea you were so close, Dara."

Finally, Dara looked up, still curled in a ball. Her distrustful, frightened eyes roved over Hank's serious form, his contrite look. Swallowing, the blonde woman rasped, "Hank Dara kill?"

"No!" Hank shook his head and frowned more severely. "I won't kill you, Dara. I have no reason to even hurt you. You startled me and I got defensive. I'm sorry I scared you."

Slowly, the smaller woman uncurled her trembling body. She rose to her feet, still watchful of her companion. "Bow no light. Bow kill."

With a sigh, Hank glanced at his bow then looked back at the guide. "It can be used as a light. But, yes, it's a real bow. And the arrows can kill if I choose to." He paused, then asked, "like you can kill with your knife or staff, right?" It felt odd to discuss killing in what seemed so casual a manner.

Dara blinked. She glanced at her knife, tucked in her belt, then at the staff held in one hand. Looking back at Hank, the woman slowly nodded. "Dara kill. Knife kill. Staff kill. Hank bow kill."

"Exactly," Hank agreed softly. "But I didn't want to kill you. I wouldn't have fired except at an enemy, Dara." He met her baby blue eyes with his own light blue. "I don't prefer to kill."

"Hank weapon more?" Dara asked. "Hank knife?"

Relaxing his body at last, though very much on his guard, Hank offered a small, strained smile. "Well, I actually never learned to fight with anything but my bow. I guess I could use a knife or something if it came down to saving myself, but I'm trained with the bow. You?" He tilted his head in a curious manner, "do you know any other weapons?"

Giving a snort of disdain which surprised Hank, Dara looked over the bow and shook her head. "Dara knife. Dara staff. Dara no bow. Bow stupid."

"Why?"

Dara shot a look at Hank's face then frowned. "What?"

"Why is a bow stupid, Dara?" Hank asked, but he kept his voice light, not taking offense to her criticism of his chosen weapon.

"Bow pull hurt. Bow aim bad," Dara informed the Ranger.

Hank smiled and chuckled, drawing a surprised look from the guide. "Yeah, it takes a lot of strength to pull a bow. And it takes a lot of practice to hit anything. I guess that's why I like it so much. It's a weapon of skill and practice. Like a staff. I never could balance one properly. You and Diana have that much in common."

Surprise shot over Dara's pixie-like features and she widened her eyes. "Diana staff fight?"

Nodding Hank confirmed, "yeah. It's her weapon of choice if she can get one. Dara, why don't we bring some game back for the gang and we can ask the others what kinds of weapons they prefer. All right?" He offered a relaxed smile, appearing at ease with the jumpy woman the group barely trusted.

She studied him for a long moment in return. Finally, Dara said, "Hank shapeshift kill."

The smile fell from Hank's face and he sighed. "Dara, I don't plan on killing anyone unless I have to. That includes whoever was impersonating me back at the Shifting Sands. If we're being followed by a shapeshifter, I'd rather capture him and find out why he's trying to impersonate me. What he intended by knocking Bobby into that pit." Capturing Dara's gaze and locking eyes, Hank added, "maybe he thinks we're a threat or something. Maybe he doesn't know any better. Maybe he's scared he needs to attack before we do. I don't know. But I'd rather talk to him than kill him."

Dara let out a snort and broke the gaze. "Hank talk. Hank not kill." She sounded condescending.

"I can't help what I am or what I believe, Dara," Hank replied with a shrug. "I'm not a killer by nature. I tend to talk things out. But, I can't talk a rabbit into our pot, so I'm prepared to kill some game. Are we hunting?"

"Hunt. Yes," Dara nodded firmly then turned to quietly slip further among the trees.

xxx

December 21, 1992; early evening:

Despite the odd comment Diana had made back at the campfire, Bobby didn't question his hunting partner right off. Instead, he waited until they'd caught a pair of partridges. Spotting their prize in the pine needle fodder ahead, Bobby glanced at Diana in a nonchalant manner. "You and Presto talk about something deep on watch, Diana?"

"Always," Diana confirmed in a soft voice. She looked at her young friend. "We often talk about the people we left behind: the caravan and Dekkion."

Lowering his gaze, retrieving first one bird than the other, Bobby asked, "is that what bothered him this morning? To make him leave? 'Cause I didn't see him go anywhere after I woke up."

"Not really," Diana answered, retrieving her javelin she'd thrown to catch the game birds. "The conversation was about pregnancy and which of us women were expecting kids besides Terri."

Nodding, Bobby straightened, holding both birds while Diana cleaned her javelin of blood and feathers. "Diana . . . how long you and Dekkion been a couple?"

With a shake of her head, Diana answered, "Six years . . . a day . . ." She looked up again to meet Bobby's worried blue eyes. "Somewhere in between." Straightening, Diana mentally commanded her Weapon of Power to shrink then added, "I'm not really sure when I fell in love. Or when he did. It just seems to have happened slowly, I guess."

Hefting his club in the other hand, Bobby nodded. "And are you?"

Puzzled, Diana asked, "am I what, Bobby?"

"Pregnant," the eighteen year old clarified his question, flushing a bit at the personal conversation he'd initiated. "You and Dekkion."

Shaking her head, Diana softly said, "no, Bobby. We never had the chance. I never really even realized I was in love with him until he was so badly hurt. And Dekkion is a stand-offish kind of guy. He's not really into public affection," she smiled wider, "like you, Bobby." The smile fled as quickly as it had come and she sighed. "But that's not what I said this morning. I even said that Sheila had been pregnant but had a miscarriage." She waited for Bobby's reaction.

He snorted and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Sheila's not pregnant and she certainly didn't lose a baby, Diana. We'd know the moment she knew. My sister isn't exactly the world's most closed book."

"She's grown a lot, Bobby. But I think you're right." Diana smiled. "Sheila's not pregnant. But the imposter," she waited for his reaction but Bobby seemed unsurprised, "didn't know. And the imposter even asked if Eric had gotten Uni pregnant before he became a unicorn."

A gagging noise escaped Bobby and he shook his head emphatically. "He better not," Bobby growled low. "That's disgusting, taking advantage of someone. Uni's a baby. I don't think Eric's the type."

Diana reached out a hand to capture Bobby's shoulder and turn him to face her. "Bobby, for six years she's been an Elf before he became a unicorn. They were alone in the wilderness with very little outside contacts. And she's older than you, at least in this form, not a baby. It's possible the bond became strong enough for them to forget she's under a curse and not really humanoid."

"But . . . she's a unicorn . . ." Bobby swallowed past the surge of anger and disgust, his tone still sounding shocked.

Rolling her eyes Diana nodded. "I know. But I'm just saying that for a couple alone for so long, it might have been hard to recall life before the Void. But, if it eases your mind, she's not pregnant. None of us are except Terri." She paused then chuckled, adding, "maybe Ayesha."

"Ayesha? Rahmoud's daughter?" Bobby asked, intrigued.

"Presto's in love with her. And if her goodbye to him is anything to go on, she loves him right back." Diana turned her smile on her companion.

"Geez. Was that last night just a giant . . ."

"Don't say it, Bobby," Diana scolded, though she privately agreed with his nearly stated opinion.

They began walking back towards camp, side by side. After a little time, Bobby broke their companionable silence. "So, the shapeshifter pretended to be Presto this time, huh?"

"Yes, and messed up some very key things about him, too." Diana turned a grim smile on Bobby. "Like the fact that he's right handed."

With a soft, fake groan, Bobby shook his head. "That would be one of the first things I'd have made sure to get right if I was impersonating someone. Out of our whole group, Eric's the only lefty." He shrugged, "well, Hank's ambi, but the rest of us are righties."

"Dara's left handed," Diana informed Bobby.

Diana stopped walking, turning to face Bobby, who also came to a stop. "And I think she's getting desperate to play out her end game, whatever it is. She made some pretty big mistakes today. Ones that most spies wouldn't have made at all. I mean, if you've never heard someone referred to by a second name, you shouldn't agree that any name you hear is a good one."

"Huh?" Bobby hadn't followed Diana's convoluted logic. "What are you talking about?"

"Our imposter agreed that it was okay for me to call Presto by his real name - - Andrew." Diana shrugged. "From there it was fairly easy to feed some false info and watch her dig deeper and deeper. The final nail in the coffin was when I had to point out that Uni was a unicorn before the transformation, so wouldn't be pregnant by Eric, who wasn't a unicorn."

Surprised, Bobby's eyes widened and he asked gruffly, "how'd she react to that hidden secret?" He didn't argue that they'd all been trying to keep that information hidden. It seemed Diana had picked a very key time to release Uni's secret.

"Turned and ran into the woods without a word," Diana revealed. "Sheila and I took off for camp as quick as we could at that point."

"Weird," Bobby shook his head. Lifting the hand with his club, he frowned, dropping it again since he couldn't run the hand through his hair. "She'd gotten Hank so accurate. If she hadn't talked about the book instead of the body, I would have doubted myself. I mean, I knew Hank was on the other side of camp, and I knew that I heard Dara behind me, but she even had his accent down. We all sound pretty much the same - - except Hank. Sometimes he sounds more California than, well . . . home."

Diana reached over to take the birds from Bobby. "She had to have studied him very carefully to have picked up on the specific words that had a different accent from the rest of us. She got the intonation and accent right for Presto, too. But it was the use of her left hand and her general stiffness when talking to me. Presto always relaxes around me."

"Not around Dara." Bobby grinned wickedly. "He's always stiff and tense near her, even if he keeps his face blank. Has been from day one. I don't know if he ever trusted her." His smile faded into a frown. "But why'd she choose to pretend to be Presto? It would've been easier for her to pretend to be someone else. Maybe Hank again?"

"No bow," Diana pointed out immediately. "And Uni wouldn't leave Eric to go hunting. Sheila was already with me. Terri doesn't hunt. That leaves you and Presto. I guess she figured it was easier not to try to pretend you had wandered off to hunt without your club. Presto makes the best choice if you consider what we always carry."

"Huh," Bobby grunted. "Guess you're right. The other choice woulda been Sheila, but, like you said, she was already with you."

Both friends took up their trek once more when suddenly Bobby thought of something and he stopped, causing Diana to halt. She turned a puzzled frown on the younger man. "Bobby?"

He frowned and shook his head "I don't get it. Why would Dara want to know who's pregnant?"

Diana let out a soft chuckle. "Maybe because she knows pretending to be pregnant will be hard? After all, look at Terri. Dara couldn't predict when Terri will have a seizure."

"I'd think Terri would be harder to imitate because of her dreams. Can't predict when or which one will come up," Bobby snorted. "And none of you girls even look pregnant. Terri's starting to get a belly."

"If Dara is as unfamiliar with pregnancy as she said, she wouldn't know about all that," Diana agreed. "So, who knows when one of us would show or even get seizures like Terri or any number of mysterious things Dara wouldn't expect." Diana began walking again, smiling as Bobby quickly kept up.

"So, she'd be safer pretending to be a male," Bobby concluded. Then he shook his head, "or Sheila. You already told her Sheila isn't pregnant."

"I told her Uni isn't pregnant, either," the Acrobat pointed out. "But I did that when she was trying to be Presto." Neither friend pretended to think the imposter was anyone other than their guide.

Frown deepening, Bobby glanced over to Diana. "She's alone with Hank now."

Diana nodded. "But I sent Sheila to trail them, just in case. He'll be fine, Bobby. Even if she somehow gets the jump on him, Sheila will be there to help out." A smile lit Diana's face. "Sheila isn't helpless and afraid anymore. She's a strong woman."

Bobby let out a soft snort. "Yeah," he admitted. "She grew up real good. I keep reminding myself she's not a weak fifteen year old anymore."

A crack of laughter came from Diana, drawing a surprised look from Bobby. Diana gave her companion a one-armed hug. "And we're all reminding ourselves iyou/i aren't the baby anymore. We all grew up, Bobby."

Unable to resist, Bobby leaned into the hug and chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, we all did."

Talk turned to reminiscing rather than troubling futures, and the pair, in harmony, entered camp once more.

xxx

December 22, 1992, early morning:

The first sun barely crested the horizon as Presto began to cook the morning rations. He'd been up most of the night reviewing every detail of their journey south with Dara and determined, since he couldn't sleep, he might as well make breakfast while Uni and Eric finished the watch.

Without a sound, as if conjured by the Magician's thoughts, their guide squatted down across the fire from him and watched him for a long, silent moment. Presto never shifted under her intense gaze. Finally, she said, "Presto hat spell big. Learn Dara."

Meeting her eyes, Presto said simply, "No. I won't teach you my magic, Dara. None of us will." He wasn't surprised Dara had taken Hank's explanation of the magic over Bobby's. Hank always seemed a bit more trustworthy, even if Bobby was the guy she'd trusted from the start.

Anger raced through Dara's blue eyes and her face twisted oddly before settling once more. She leaned closer, ignoring the heat of the small fire, "Presto learn Dara spell!"

"Or what?" Presto challenged, stick stilling in the embers. "You'll kill me? Steal the hat? It took ten years to learn how to use it right, Dara. You won't get far before the others figure it out." He sat straighter, not shifting his eyes away, but he dropped his voice to a low, menacing whisper, "I know what you are, Dara. And we are all on the alert for your tricks. You were stupid to try to pretend to be Hank or me. You should have stuck with trying to convince us Uni was trying to kill Eric. That was more believable."

Dara looked surprised but calculating. "Not believe."

"Because Uni and Eric are in love, you idiot," Presto hissed. "They'd die for each other. None of us would hurt the others. We've known each other since we were children. We know each other's very thoughts, Dara." He pushed up his glasses with his index finger and glared through the lenses at the smaller woman. "I don't know why you followed us . . ." Presto paused, then softly added, "or maybe I do." His voice strengthened. "But I can tell you, we aren't gonna go down easy. We faced off a lich and beat it, so you aren't going to be hard to kill." He deliberately emphasized the last word.

She blanched and her eyes filled with big tears. Dara sat back and crossed her arms. "Mean."

"You have no idea, honey," Presto growled, unconsciously channeling Eric. "You threaten my family and I will be the worst thing you ever saw. Those are my brothers and sisters. Do you understand? I love them and I'll fight to the death for them. Every. Single. One."

The guide frowned, dropping the teary eyed act, studying the deadly serious Magician. Suddenly, she shrugged. "Not like others."

That surprised Presto and he asked, slowly, "you don't like the rest of the group? We've been good to you. Hell, Sheila's forgiven you at every turn!"

"Not group," Dara hissed. "Brother. Sister. Dara not like. Kill. Dara alone."

Presto's hand went limp and the stick dropped into the growing flames. He choked as he breathed out, "you killed your brothers and sisters so you would be alone?"

With a nonchalant shrug, Dara confirmed, "yes. Dara alone. Kill others."

"Shit," Presto hissed, eyes narrowing. "Dara, you . . ."

Sheila unexpectedly sank down beside Dara with a yawn, effectively ending what Presto had been about to say. She blinked and looked from one to the other. "What? Did I interrupt at a bad time?"

"No, it's perfect, Sheila," Presto growled. He never took his eyes off the blonde guide. "In fact, I think it's time everyone got up and ate before this stuff congeals further. Terri will need her tea. Can you see to that, Sheila?"

Not missing the way Presto and Dara continued to lock eyes, Sheila agreed reluctantly, "okay." She stood slowly and headed over to the packs of herbs, pulling out the carefully measured dose of razor leaf. She checked that it was indeed the real thing before making the tea.

Once Sheila had moved off, Presto finished his statement, "Dara, you dare harm any of my family, I will make you wish you'd let us stumble after those will-o-wisps. You will die horribly the same way Rahmoud is dying - - skin peeled off, bleeding forever."

Dara did blanch at that. She drew in a shaking breath and hugged herself, dropping her eyes at last. She whispered, "Presto mean spell."

"Yeah, Dara," Presto agreed readily enough, "I can be a real bastard." He stood and left the fire, taking the stew towards the rousing Hank and Bobby. He didn't leave the food alone with Dara at all.

"Guys," Presto said, not bothering to hide his words or soften his tone, "we don't let Dara touch any food or medicine. She can not be left alone at all. We keep an eye on her always." He looked back at the woman who looked a mix of dejected and defiant. "She told me she killed her siblings so she could be alone. And I wouldn't put it past her."

Hatred swept into the guide's pretty blue eyes as Sheila gasped and Hank shook his head, agreeing softly yet clearly. No one questioned Presto's words, no one asked Dara for confirmation or clarity. They had united against her.

The guide rose to her feet and moved to her bedroll, packing it away as neatly as ever. She didn't look at anyone else, nor did she even glance at the bowl of food Sheila put by her side a moment later. After making sure her pack had been neatly stowed, she hefted it onto her back and stood, settling her knife on her hip and grabbing her long staff she'd never bothered to use on their journey except to lean on. "Dara wander home."

Silence met her declaration. Finally, Presto looked up and said, coldly, "goodbye, Dara. Safe journey. If you go north a day or two beyond your swamp, you should find our camp. Tell them we owe you as our guide and they'll pay you a fair amount." He swallowed a spoonful of the lukewarm stew then added almost casually, "but if you try to pretend to be one of us, it won't work. Those are our families back there. They know us better than you do and can test you. You'll fail and they'll believe you killed us."

Shock crossed more than one face at Presto's casual tone and matter-of-fact threats.

With a single nod, Dara turned and headed back towards the Shifting Sands, using her staff to start picking her way over the dirt path north.

"Pack up," Presto said, immediately, despite no one having gotten more than a bite to eat, "we leave now. Eat on the move."

No one questioned the suddenly serious toned man. Soon, the group began walking south, swallowing with difficulty around food none of them had an appetite for.

xxx

December 22, 1992, late morning:

"She's following us," Diana offered softly, striding beside Presto right behind Eric and Uni in the lead.

Presto nodded and answered, just as softly, though his tones had moved from the intensity of that morning to a tired wariness, "I figured she would. She wasn't with us for a normal payment."

Bobby, directly behind Diana, stepped quicker to catch up to them and asked, "do you know what she wanted, Presto?"

"Our magic. Eric's alicorn." Presto shrugged and glanced at Bobby then back towards the road they traveled. "Something powerful and unique and she was never going to get without an epic fight."

"Well, now she's harder to keep track of," Terri frowned, but she didn't blame Presto for chasing Dara off. She couldn't forget Presto's declaration about Dara's murderous background.

"I think," Hank spoke up from the rear, beside Sheila, "that we might be safer this way in the end. We can protect each other and we know she's back there. She's actually alone. And even if we won't try to attack her without provocation, she might not know that." He looked at Sheila and offered an encouraging smile to the Thief. Her skin, normally pale, appeared even more drained of color. Reaching over, Hank slipped his hand over hers. "It'll be okay."

Shifting her teal eyes from the road to the Ranger, Sheila offered a grim nod. "I think we certainly need to keep alert, of course." She turned her hand and twined fingers with Hank, beyond the point of shyness around the others. She'd spent too long without her love; Sheila refused to waste more time playing coy. "When we break for lunch, I think we all need to talk. Openly," the petite redhead turned her attention towards Presto near the front. "We need to exchange the information we each might have found out."

"Agreed," Presto said firmly. He checked the roadside in all directions, the terrain surrounding them, and said, "lunch break. Let's get a break right over there." He used one hand to point in the direction of a wide clearing. They wouldn't be hidden from the road, but they'd see anyone approaching for some distance. The Champions of Power were going to start using a whole different strategy for safety with the tail they had.

No one complained or argued. Everyone headed for the clearing. Quickly they drew water from a small stream and made themselves relatively comfortable around a hastily built fire. Hunting wasn't needed yet, but they did forage a little for edible vegetation within their clearing. After fifteen minutes, everyone sat in a circle except Hank, who literally circled the small group repeatedly, nonstop, watching in all directions. It was a tactic they'd never used while with Dara.

"Okay, I'll go first," Presto said as he started handing around rations. As no one protested, he continued, "Dara asked me, then ordered me, to teach her to use my hat. I refused. Then I accused her of trying to hurt us, and she told me she'd killed her siblings so she could be alone." The ginger haired man sighed and shook his head. "I threatened to flay her alive and she took off."

Shock coursed over the group.

Sheila kept her voice low as she asked, "but you wouldn't have . . . right?"

Lifting determined golden eyes, the magician stared directly at the Thief and said, "Sheila, if anyone threatens any of you I'll do the worst I can imagine. What I did to Rahmoud, remove his skin, was an accident when my hat flared. But I'd do it on purpose, or much worse, if anyone tried to hurt my family." He reached over to lay a hand over her trembling one.

The petite redhead didn't remove her own hand nor look away. She turned her hand under Presto's and squeezed his fingers, offering a worried smile. "Thank you, Presto. Let's hope it doesn't go that far."

Presto offered a soft, if grim, smile in return.

Still circling at a slow pace, ever watchful, Hank said, "she was curious about our fighting styles and weapon choices, but we never got to continue the discussion when we got back to the entire group after hunting." He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, "I told her I don't know how to fight with anything but the bow, really."

"Is that true?" Bobby turned to watch their circling guard.

"Very true, Bobby. I never learned to fight with anything else. I told her I was sure I could defend myself with anything, but I prefer the bow. I did tell her that Diana uses the staff, like her." Hank accepted his share of the rations and ate as he moved, but he never let down his guard.

"She knows I can use a knife and I've taught Terri," Sheila filled in. "And she must suspect Bobby can use his club to fight and not just as a light."

As the group murmured agreement, trying to think of other fighting techniques Dara might know they used, Diana said, "she was really interested in which of us were pregnant. I convinced her I am but that Sheila and Uni aren't. Or I think I convinced her.

Surprise drew Presto's head up sharply and he hissed, "are you pregnant, Diana? We need to know these things!"

"Not pregnant," Diana shook her head, lifting both hands, palms out, in an age-old gesture of defense. "I told her I was, but it's not true. I also told her Sheila miscarried . . ."

"But I was never pregnant," Sheila instantly cut in, looking at Hank rather than Diana. "I was with Diana when she told Dara that."

"And me? Why would she think I was having a baby?" Uni asked, frowning, troubled. "I'm not mated. Never was."

Diana shifted her eyes to the former unicorn and said, "she thought Eric was your mate before the curse."

The large cream and gold unicorn choked, there was no other word for the sound he made. Uni snorted and soothed him with her gentle hands. "No. Airk isn't my mate. We never mated ever." She flushed but shook her head vigorously, not telling anyone about the shared kiss Eric had run from.

"That's good," Bobby growled, drawing a surprised look from Uni. He refused to elaborate instead saying, "so Dara thinks it's Diana and Terri who are pregnant. Not sure how that helps, unless she thinks she can't imitate a pregnant lady." He glanced at Diana, since they'd discussed that on their own hunt.

Finishing her meal, Diana reached over to collect Terri's empty bowl. "Did anyone tell Dara, even accidentally, what mistakes she made?"

Presto snorted and said, "yeah, and it wasn't accidentally. I told her that we know each other's minds so she was stupid to try to pretend to be one of us. And that we'd all die or kill for each other. She was shocked by that. I guess since she was willing to kill her own family, she didn't think we would seriously worry about someone other than ourselves."

As Hank handed down his bowl to Diana for cleaning, he froze, eyeing the horizon. "She's stopped and ducked behind the distant trees." He started circling again, as if he'd never noticed the woman tailing them. "Look, when we hunt, it might be wisest to do it in triples instead of pairs. And no one break off, even if the game runs. Go as a group to find the kill."

"And I can teach you all to use a knife," Sheila offered, "but we'll need more knives. I only had the one."

"I can make some," Presto declared. He looked around. "I need the right kind of rocks and some strong tanned hide and cord. The neanderthals didn't have forged metal, but they had some of the sharpest knives ever. Flint or obsidian is best."

Uni glanced at Eric then back at Presto, smiling, her embarrassment forgotten. "Airk says you know too much history."

The Magician snorted. "Yeah, but it's better than not enough, Eric."

"I told her that Uni was a unicorn before she was swapped with Eric and became the elf," Diana said suddenly.

That drew everyone's attention and a grim look from Hank.

"She was discussing Uni and Eric and insisting that Uni might be pregnant, so I told her to shut her up. That's when she ran from me, while pretending to be Presto." Diana sighed. "I think she really didn't believe us about Eric not being a unicorn."

"That means Dara still thinks Eric was an elf?" Hank asked softly from right behind Diana.

Nodding, Diana glanced up and said, "she seems to." Collecting Sheila's bowl then Uni's, Diana added, "she also thinks Presto's real name is Andrew."

Presto stood and stretched, wincing. He looked over the group and said, "well, at least she doesn't know everything about us. But if she turns and head's for the camp instead of following us, she'd learn my name pretty much right away. The entire caravan calls me by it."

The Acrobat stood and offered half of the dishes to Presto. "Do you want us to call you it?"

With a snicker, Bobby said, "I'd rather he be Presto or Albert. It was a creepy space clown."

Confused glanced crossed the rest of the group and Terri actually giggled. Bobby, that came out right before we went back home. You just spoiled the book for them!"

Everyone chuckled at that, and the group quickly cleaned up camp and packed up to continue their journey.