Just a heads up, I've switched from MS Office to OpenOffice. Probably not a huge deal, but... We'll see what comes of it. Lol, after my new MS Office dictionary was finally starting to catch up. OpenOffice is about to lose it mind. XD

Anyway, some of the people you're used to are back in this chapter. Also, time for another party member swap!

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Chapter 5: Within the City

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From a comfortable distance, it all appeared to Rowan just as he remembered it from so long ago – the red clay of the wastelands, the sudden sharp smoothness of the steel wall, the complete strangeness of this part of the world. As they flew closer and closer to Habaharan's famous wall, he was overcome by a feeling of nostalgia. All the stranger, for his last journey through this barren land had held no happiness for him, and had never had any desire to come back.

Perhaps it was simply because Zeel had been with him, then, and they had grown so much closer over those few days. She had traveled by his side, then; and now, his whole purpose in returning was to find her. Thinking of what might have become of her and their one child by now, somewhere within the walls, in a city that was clearly burning to the ground, twisted knots in his stomach.

It was still difficult to believe that the wall could be completely deserted, even though the Lord of Fire, Himself, had promised it. It just seemed so improbable, at a time like this. Perhaps, the false Titan was just that secure in her borrowed power, that it didn't matter to her one way or another if someone waltzed right into the city. Perhaps she simply assumed that such a person would be caught up in the madness inside and lost, as it had always been.

At least, until those people inside found a clever new way to escape. He and his friends, his family, his destined child were only the most recent band to do so. He wondered if the Dragon Lords had grown used to it, if they expected it, even; or if it baffled them anew every time, as if such a thing had never been heard of or done before.

He wondered if Zadina, who he had once mistakenly called his Hallowed Sister, had any idea that he was coming to smash her ancestors' work to pieces. Did she expect him to come, or was he about to give her the shock of her life? She was so vain, it was difficult to guess.

Honestly, neither one will surprise me, he finally decided to himself.

He knew that his friends behind him were all reaching for their various weapons as Unos swooped over the wall to land. It would have been odd if they hadn't; but as soon as they landed and jumped to their own feet, it was clear to see that it was as promised. They had landed on a long, wide walkway, walled on either side with solid steel railings, and flanked by small watchtowers. Not wanting to be seen, even though they appeared to be alone, the seven crouched low behind those low railings.

"Let me see if I remember correctly," Annad said in a low voice. "The four walls are divided into sections just like this, and there is a squadron of ten assigned to each one. Five to watch the horizon for intruders, and five to watch the city for rebels, I think is the idea."

All but her husband looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know that?" Marlie asked.

"The Garased boy told me about it, those years ago when he was in our jailhouse," Annad answered. "I was curious, and also wondered if the knowledge might be of any use someday. Its been better armor and arms than anything else we've brought, so far."

Norriss nodded in approval, looking quite proud of his wife. "The boy and I had a few discussions about that, ourselves. It's all very different from what I recalled. Once upon a time, this whole wall would not have been guarded at all – it faces south, into the wastelands, and of course an invasion from that direction should be impossible. As for the view from here, what isn't slums is Central housing and unimportant neighborhoods."

Annad shrugged, recalling those conversations along with him. "I believe the boy said he lives in that area. Southside, I think he called it. Apparently, the people there aren't wealthy or politically interesting, and so Central neglects the area altogether. It's really no wonder the rebellion was born there; no one ever pays attention to it."

"What's left of it, you mean," John observed grimly, daring to peek over the ledge at the city. "You should all see this..."

Following his lead, they slowly rose until they could just see into the city; and as soon as he saw it, Rowan felt his heart breaking all over again. The scene before them was like something from a nightmare. Buildings were burning all over the city, some of them very close by. Other buildings weren't burning, but appeared to have been fired upon with canons, with holes blasted into their sides. Windows everywhere were broken, and doors hung twisted out of their hinges. The streets were filled with debris and dust, and other things too terrible to look at.

Above the city, massive flocks of grach wheeled together for safety, with no masters and no direction. There were easily hundreds of them, all their raspy hisses filling the air. Unos was watching them anxiously, swaying as her forked tongue tasted all their scents. She plainly wanted to fly off to join them, to find her mate among them if she could, to follow her instinct to take shelter with her own kind. But she was still with her family, as was too loyal to leave them.

Aside from that, it was deathly quiet. Rowan scanned the streets for movement, and saw nothing anywhere; even in the slums, nothing stirred. Compared to the wails of grief and terror that had filled his mind just the previous night, the utter silence was bone chilling. Beside him, Marlie was shaking her head, her face pale with horror.

"It's only been one night," she whispered. "Not even a fully day, yet! What could have caused so much destruction in just one night?"

That was a terrifying question. Sick to his stomach, Rowan looked away from the ruined city and shut his eyes. Habaharan was vast city – bigger than he had ever guessed – and something had overrun and destroyed it all in a single night. He couldn't bear to think of how many were now dead at the hands of such force; he could only imagine that they must be beyond count. The temptation to despair for his wife and daughter was nearly too strong to withstand.

..Um...?

Just as that temptation was overcoming him, a blessed voice broke into his thoughts. It was Zizi's voice, louder and stronger than before, no doubt feeling the anger and grief and fear in his brother's heart. Rowan found a reason to smile faintly, glad to have a direction again.

Zizi, we are here, on the Southside wall, he told the boy as matter-of-factly as he could. You are right below us somewhere, I think.

Did you see – Did you see what they did to the – Look at the city! They broke it – all of it! It's all – its ruined! Don't look at – I don't want you to see – it'll make you cry. My big sis says so.

Yes, I know. I have seen it, and I do want to cry. One or two of us already are. He glanced down the row of his friends, not at all surprised that Shaaran was weeping bitterly at the sight.

Rowan, Rowan, did you see Ofelia yet? Did you?

Startled, he stood a little taller and peered all around. Did I see who? He asked.

Ofelia, Zizi repeated. She used to be – she didn't – she tried to hit my big sis with a – with a broom, once! But she's good. We all love her, and I – I told her about us, and she – she just – she went off to meet you. She said, "I'll show him – I'll show him the way."

Ah, yes. The Lord of Fire had mentioned, there would be a guide waiting for them on the wall, who would take them to where Zizi and his sister were hiding. Rowan had wondered who they would meet here; but everything between then and just now had driven it from his mind. And now, it seemed that he and his companions were the only ones on the wall at all.

The wall was divided into sections, he remembered. With a thrill of irritation, he saw that this woman could be waiting on any one of them, and that unless he was very lucky, finding her would take a great deal of time. At the same time, though, his heart went out to her. Even though her city was burning and her people were dying all around her, she had dared to leave her own shelter to find him. She had dared to climb Habaharan's wall, even though she was not of Central Control and forbidden on pain of death to do so. How long had she been sitting here somewhere, waiting for him while hiding for her life?

And Ofelia had not been sent. She had simply done what needed to be done. She had done this of her own free will, without being asked to, at terrible risk to herself. Rowan marveled at the courage that must have been in her heart. Oddly, he felt that he understood her very well.

Years ago now, Zan Garased had mentioned someone called Ofelia. It had been in vague passing and not worth remembering, because it wasn't as if they would ever meet. Now, it pierced Rowan's mind like a dart.

This must be the very same person the boy was talking about, he thought ruefully. A friend, or a family member, perhaps. Someone he clearly loves very much. Someone Zizi would run to for help and comfort at a time like this. In all these cases and more, we need to find her – quickly!

As he went on watching for any sign on movement, wishing he knew which way to start searching first, he suddenly heard something. A hissing sound, from somewhere on his left. He and his family turned to look, wondering who had crept up on them this time. But this time, there was no one there.

After a long, tense, silence, it suddenly came again.

"Psst", a voice was hissing from the watchtower there. "Psst!"

Also starting at the sound, Unos flicked her tongue toward the tower, tasting the air for danger. Instead of becoming alarmed, she hissed back in greeting and raised her spines. In Rowan's mind, her normally pleasant voice was nearly squealing with excitement.

"It is Fair Maiden, who tastes of flour and sugar and sweet lemons! She is not lost, after all! Oh, how I hoped she might escape. And now she is here! Come, Red One, come and meet a friend I have made here. You will like her, I think."

She plodded toward the tower with great purpose, gently grabbing Rowan's sleeve in her teeth and dragging him along. Despite everything that lay just below, her eagerness cheered him; and he was increasingly excited to meet this woman who man and beast alike thought so highly of. Dimly, he wondered at what his family thought of him just now, and if his behavior was frightening them. If so, there was little time to care.

In the tower's round wall, an open archway gaped like a black pit. Rowan peered into the darkness and saw a staircase leading downward, their way off the wall and to the street. He stuck his head inside and looked down – into a marked, frightened, beautiful face, golden eyes bright against smudges of ash and dust.

The two yelped to see each other so suddenly, but Rowan mostly felt enormous relief. What were the odds that they would land right next to their guide? It was rarely ever that easy. Fate truly was on their side today, and so he grinned for a number of reasons.

"Hello," he said kindly, holding out his hand in greeting. "My name is Rowan."

He had expected her to answer him right away, to jump to her feet and lead them all to their next destination. Instead, the woman continued to stare at him, her face a mix of fright and amazement. And it seemed to him that she was flinching away from him, as though he had reached out his hand to strike her. While she hesitated, it occurred to him that it was only natural for her to be afraid of him; all she knew of Titans was their immense power, and she was used to hers abusing others with it. Surely, she knew who he really was; she was friends with him family, who would have told her the truth. But she knew no better.

Perhaps she was also just stunned to see his face for the first time, unable to believe how familiar it was.

Finally, the woman swallowed hard, gathering her courage, and reached to take his hand.

"Ofelia," she answered, letting him pull her to her feet. She peered over his shoulder and noticed Unos' bulky shape looming behind him, waiting impatiently to be petted. All fear vanished from Ofelia's face, replaced by joy to see the beast alive.

"So this is how you did it," she commented, taking Unos' head in her heads and scratching behind the quivering spines. "I had wondered..."

She looked up and gazed out of the tower, seeming to notice the other people there for the first time. Just like that, her eyes went wide again. Almost certainly she could guess who those people were; their children all looked just like them, too. Seeing that she wasn't going to speak, Rowan beckoned his family to come and join them.

As the six of them hurriedly crept into the safety of the watchtower, Rowan went on watching Ofelia's face, wondering what she was thinking. At least she didn't appear to be afraid of them. She suddenly looked a bit dazzled, as if she couldn't believe her tremendous luck.

"Ouai," she sighed once they were all crowded inside. "You, I had expected," she said to Rowan without really facing him. "You, I was told were coming; but no one else. Not... all this."

Rowan felt Norriss nudging him, and looked up to see the taller man shaking his head in amusement. "Didn't we have this discussion the last time you were here?"

Rolling his eyes at his brother-in-law, he brushed him off and placed his hand on Ofelia's shoulder. He was surprised to see her shaking, overwhelmed by what had just happened.

"I'm sorry to have surprised you this way," he apologized. "We just... Well, I'm sure you can tell why we're all here."

Still clinging slightly to Unos' solid presence, Ofelia hummed in agreement. "Yes, I can," she said, her gaze wandering around the gathering once again.

"Ofelia, listen to me. I need to find Zizi, and I need to find him at once. You know where he is – it is why you've come here, isn't it? If you can just get me to him, perhaps together we can make this madness right again."

The woman looked like she had a great many questions to ask him, and he didn't blame her. He was glad when she visibly forced them all away, and a great sternness filled her golden eyes.

"Come with me," she answered, nodding her head. "It's straight down to the street. I meant to show you the way; one man or seven, it doesn't matter."

It came as no surprise that Shaaran and Norriss were the first to follow her. After that, the rest followed in single file. Rowan himself waited until very last, hanging back with Unos and patting her scaly neck for what felt like the last time.

"Thank you, Only One, for all you have done for us," he told her. "You really have been the miracle we've been praying for all this time."

"I am glad to have been of help," she agreed. "But I am still with you, and not leaving your side. Why do you speak as though you are saying goodbye?"

"We can handle the rest together. And you don't really want to follow us, do you? You want to join the other grach, and look for your mate."

"My Iron Hide made his choice. He will be unhappy to see that I have returned, against his wishes. My place is with you."

"No. Your place is with your own, as my place is with mine. You've done your part. Now go. Follow your heart. Be free, my old friend, as your wonderful Hallowed Father would want you to be."

Looking happy and sad at the same time, Unos thrust her head into his arms once more.

"Thank you, Red One."

Without another word, the grach turned and galloped out of the tower, launching into the air and out of sight. It ached to see her go, and it hurt to think that they might never meet again after just being reunited. But as Rowan lost sight of her, he couldn't help feeling that there was a rightness in it.

Wishing the beloved beast all the luck in the world, and followed his own heart.

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Silence and invisibility. Of all the things the true Titan of ancient, silent Earth could do, these two were the most powerful and exciting. Because of that, they were far too sacred to use for anything less than a dire emergency. Therefore, Rowan had only ever used them once or twice, and never on so many people at once, and certainly never at the same time before.

As Ofelia led him and his family down through the wall and onto the street below, it became apparent that he would have to change that today.

"Hang onto me," he told his friends, holding out his hands. "Or hang onto someone who is. Quickly!"

As they scrambled to grab his hands and arms, heavy footsteps and cruel laughter were echoing from somewhere nearby, growing closer and closer. Not a second too soon, Rowan felt the deep magic which filled him flowing out and filling his friends, cloaking and hiding them. Moments later, a pair of men in guard's uniforms came around a corner, kicking garbage out of their way and spitefully crushing debris under their heels. If not for Earthen magic, they would have seen the heroes at once.

Not quite understanding how concealed she was, Ofelia froze in terror at first; then she frowned in puzzlement, but did not relax. Not daring to speak, she looked to Rowan and pleaded silently for an explanation.

"I've hidden us for the moment," he said in a normal voice. "They can neither see nor hear us right now, and thank goodness. These must be the gray monsters Zizi has told us all about."

Behind him, Allun was wrinkling his nose in disgust, all his sharp sense suddenly alert. "Whatever they are, they most certainly are not men," he said tensely, refusing to take his eyes off them for even an instant.

Rowan nodded slowly, wondering if his friend had read his mind, somehow. Indeed, the more he looked at the two guards, the less like men they appeared to him. There was something horribly wrong about them. And it seemed to him that they left a foulness in their wake; it was so thick, he could almost see it. As though with every step they took and everything they happened to touch, they were poisoning the land itself, little by little.

"We need to go, Ofelia," he said to his guide, gripping her hand and willing her some of his own courage. "I can keep us hidden, but not forever. We must get where we are going as soon as possible."

Pleased to be going, Ofelia gripped his hand in return and pulled him off into the street, dragging his friends in a cluster behind him.

"I can sneak around just fine on my own," she said in a low voice. "I made it all the way here without being seen once; it was a near thing, once or twice, but I managed it. I were worried when I saw that so many had come, and I say to myself, 'how do so many people walk unseen past all the guards? Ofelia, girl, you barely make it yourself! Ouai,' I say, 'we all getting killed..."

Because she was afraid and focused on her mission, her common tongue was falling apart and her lovely accent was growing thicker with every word. Still, she continued babbling in a frenzy, and Rowan allowed it even when he could no longer understand her. All she wanted was to be heard. To make some sort of noise in the hopes that someone might hear it, or at least to ease the terrible pain in her heart.

And it quickly became obvious that she hadn't been able to do that in some time. No one in Habaharan had been. There were guards in gray uniforms standing watch on every street corner, still as stone statues, watching for any sign that someone was stirring. More than once, as the heroes kicked aside debris in their haste, those guards had come alive with vicious snarls and attacked those spots with swords or whips.

If there were any people left here, in what remained of the city's slums, they were hiding just as desperately as the heroes themselves. And so, being the only one of them who could speak freely, Ofelia went on talking, to herself as much as to her companions, sometimes in two languages at once, to distract herself from the sights and smells all around her. Rowan could see that, and couldn't think of telling her to stop.

He wasn't sure when they left the slums, at last; everything was so battered, it all looked sadly alike to him. But there eventually came a time when he noticed, most of the buildings around him were still standing. Many were even undamaged, though their windows were still dark, and the street corners were still being patrolled, and nothing withing those buildings dared stir. Finally, just as he was nearing the end of his strength, Ofelia led him past several large, grand-looking homes, only to duck suddenly into an empty alleyway.

She looked over her shoulder and said something to him in her own language, all the more beautiful in his mind for the accent that went with it. But she spoke so fast and so thickly, he didn't understand.

Being courteous, he asked, "Loua'mul's'en'dirsa?"

Ofelia was just reaching for the backdoor to one of the bigger homes. Hearing him speaking her language so easily, she nodded and slowly repeated, "Ik't'en ad'haran."

We are home.

Watching to make sure the guards didn't see or hear, she pushed the backdoor open and shooed them all inside a dark, ruined space. Broken glass and pottery crunched under their feet. Annad gasped and caught hold of a bent sink as she nearly slipped on the remains of a cake. The shapes of tumbled, broken chairs and a table hulked in the dimness before them.

The space was very different now, but Rowan knew exactly where he was. He had seen this place, in Iris of Fisk's memories. If only there was warmth and light and a gathering of eager young people instead of the gloom, he knew his family would have recognized it, as well.

"This is Bhlai House, isn't it," he said to Ofelia. She had backed herself against the door to hold it shut, and almost seemed to be hiding from the rest of the house. To Rowan's astonishment, she looked like she might begin to cry.

"Everything is broken," she mumbled, gazing forlornly over the mess. Surely she had been back before leading them here; she had spoken with Zizi, who hadn't left once. But she clearly loved this home and the people who had lived here. Seeing this beloved place smashed spitefully to pieces must have shocked and hurt her. Seeing it again seemed to have broken her heart all over again.

His family, also knowing the place form shared memories, looked around and saw the space in a new light. The dismay was plain in their faces. Then his sister shook herself and marched with purpose to set the broken furniture back up.

"Let's clean this place up a little bit," she suggested gently, mainly to Ofelia. "Then we'll have room to sit and talk, and plan the next steps of our mission. I'm afraid we've played the whole thing by ear so far; but if you are willing, I think you can help us."

She was looking for something practical they could do together. Something to distract Ofelia from the pain she felt, and give her a sense of control in all this chaos, and a chance for them to find a common ground. All those things were vital for everyone right now; and none of them could do it quite like Annad could. Her heart for justice aside, she had learned that skill from watching her older friends care for her brother in the exact same way.

Perhaps already knowing something of this, Ofelia nodded vaguely and came to help her, though she said nothing. Now that she had a purpose, the terrible sadness had left her face, and now her eyes were cold with anger. Maybe even vengeance. But when she happened to glance at Annad and received a smile, she returned it with a look of thanks.

Seeing that that was settled, Rowan turned back to the rest of his family.

"Zizi and his sister are upstairs, somewhere. My next step is finding them. I would holler for them, but with the streets being patrolled as they are..."

Norriss nodded and looked at the ceiling. "There are another two floors above this one, aren't there? We'll help you look. If we split up, we will find them faster."

At the mention of splitting up, Allun and Marlie exchanged a look of interest and understanding. Deciding something for themselves, they went ahead into he rest of the house without waiting for the others.

"We will take the third floor, in that case," Allun explained over his shoulder. "Our children have been hiding up there... Perhaps they've left something useful behind for us."

For half a moment, Rowan wanted to protest. Neither of his dear friends were as young as they had once been, and it seemed unfair for them to hike up so many stairs when they were surrounded by younger folk who could do it, instead. But he knew that they would only tease him for worrying over them, and carry on as if he hadn't spoken. After all, he had asked them to come with him for a reason; it would do no good, asking them to hold back now. It would make no sense, and would only offend them when they were so filled with determination.

As he and Norriss moved to follow them, Rowan looked over his shoulder, surprised that they were following alone. John was helping to right the toppled table, fixing one of its broken legs back in place. Elsewhere, Shaaran had found a broom in all the mess and was doing her best to sweep the floor. Seeing that everyone had a task that suited them set his heart at rest, and so he chose not to call them along.

He continued on after his friends, into what he recalled was the main room of the house. Stepping through the kitchen door, he nearly crashed right into them as they stopped suddenly to stare at another sad, ruined space. Amid a mess of broken glass and the heavy scent of burned books, a torn couch had been set upright, and a still figure draped in stained cloth lay in state upon it.

Simon Bhlai, Rowan realized with a terrible start. Through the crack in his hiding place, Zizi had seen the man cut down by the gray monsters, and heard the man's own big sister cry out in anguish and fury. Rowan knew very little about him – only that he had been sickly and ill-tempered, and that he had grown secretly fond of the young people his sister had hidden for so long. And he had died trying to defend them.

Unable to help himself, Rowan strode to the figure's head, laying his hand over its eyes and whispering a blessing. Even if it had failed, he was profoundly grateful that someone had cared enough to try. Somewhere in the afterlife, perhaps this man was finally healthy and whole, and at peace.

Passing through the wreckage to the nearby staircase was just as painful and humbling. Spots of dark blood showed the way through it all, leading to a terrible stain at the foot of those stairs. The front door sagged on its hinges, held closed by the remains of a bookcase propped against it. Another strong sense of evil and dread seemed to waft from the door, which Rowan knew must have been branded like so many other doors they had passed by.

The mark of the Shadow Lord. He had heard of it from the Keeper of the Crystal, as a warning to watch for and beware of at all times. He had never planned on seeing it, far away in his hidden village. And now it was here, not a day's sailing away from his homeland. Far too close for comfort.

The four trudged up the stairs in silence, not looking forward to seeing how the rest of the house had been torn apart, but anxious to find the children hiding there. Rowan frowned in thought as he climbed, wondering if he should call out to Zizi in his mind, asking him to come out. He immediately decided against it, still feeling drained from cloaking his whole company for so long. In fact, the short climb up the stairs had winded him a bit.

He shrugged over it, deciding that it didn't matter one way or the other. Zizi knew that they were coming. He and his sister had probably already heard them coming up the stairs. They would meet in a moment or two. What difference did it make?

The second floor common room was in as bad a state as the first, all its doors hanging open and all its furniture smashed. Rowan and Norriss squared their shoulders, trying not to look too hard at the mess, and set off to search those rooms. Behind them, Allun and Marlie went ahead to the third floor, as they had planned, calling the children's names as loudly as they dared.

"Zizi? Vivi? You can come out now."

"Hello? Are there any little ones up here, somewhere?"

The quiet was suddenly pierced by a shriek of joy; and somewhere above them, Rowan and Norriss heard someone be knocked to the floor.

"Forley! You came back! Oh, I knew you'd get out alright – I just knew it! I told Zizi you were too smart for them, but he didn't..."

The thrilled voice of a little girl trailed off, as she must have seen her mistake the way so many others had in the past. The two men dashed to join their friends on the third floor, hearing the child gasp in alarm, and the distinct sound of a blade being drawn.

"You're not my Forley," she shouted angrily. "Who are you? What did you do to him? Where is he? Tell me!"

A comic scene met them at the top of the stairs. It was Allun who had been knocked down, certainly by the ragged, curly-haired little girl who was now brandishing a knife at him. For all her forcefulness, her lip was trembling and the knife was shaking in her hands. Her clever face was shocked and frightened, unsure of what she had just walked into, or who she was looking at.

Hearing his younger friends clattering up the stairs, Allun looked over his shoulder at them and smiled in his good natured way.

"I do believe we've found them," he said brightly, turning back to the girl and holding his hands out in peace. "What is your name, dear? Its Vivi, isn't it?"

Partially forgotten in the shadows, Marlie crept forward to join in him on the floor. "Yes, indeed, it must be. We've heard good thing about you. You're friends with our son, I believe."

The child continued to stare at them, her eyes huge as she processed this. The moment she realized what it meant was plain as day. The knife fell out of her hands, and her face crumpled as she began to sob abysmally. Without warning, she threw herself back into Allun's arms and squeezed him with all her might.

At first, he seemed caught off-guard by her ever-changing mood; but he was no stranger to frightened children, and so he hugged her back right away. "There, there," he whispered. "It's alright."

"No its not," she sobbed, burying her face in his shirt.

"Everything is alright," he insisted. "You're safe now, Vivi. Everything is going to be alright."

"No, its not! It's all got to be really, really bad for you to show up!"

It was a far cry from the person Rowan knew from other people's memories. The Vivi he had heard of was bold and brash and unshakably cheerful enough for ten little girls. He had almost counted on her optimism to greet him, to lift everyone's spirits and move them forward. Seeing her as broken as the rest of her people was just as painful as anything else.

But she was still just as loud as he had expected, and almost as filthy. She was dressed in rags, and the bandages on her knees and elbows were in bad need of changing. Plainly, she had had an adventure of her own, sometime in the long night.

She happened to look up and peer over Allun's shoulder, and notice who had come to join him for the first time. Her pale eyes grew wide again, with that same look of dazzled amazement Ofelia had met them with. For a moment, her mouth hung open in surprise, too shocked to speak.

"It's you!" she squeaked, bouncing with excitement. "You're Rowan of Rin! You really came!"

There was the child he had been prepared to meet, at last. Chuckling at her excitement, he knelt beside her and brushed her tears away. "Did you think I might not?"

At the sound of all the noise, a door across the room inched open and another young face peered out into the dimness. There was only one person it could possibly be. Rowan felt a wave of overjoyed relief come over him. Before he quite knew it, he found himself sprinting to that door and throwing it open, catching the trembling child there in an inescapable embrace.

"You made it," Zizi squeaked. "I was – I didn't know if – I can't believe you're here! You really – you did it!"

"Of course I did. I wouldn't have missed this for anything," Rowan agreed, taking the boy's face in his hands and admiring the sight of his new brother for the first time. In many ways, he looked just like the Hallowed Father. He was no more than 10 years old, but there was hope and eagerness in his face. A willingness to do whatever he could to make things right again, and a great joy to be doing it together.

There was that same dazzled look in his ruby red eyes, too, the same as Ofelia and Vivi had looked before. As if they were all overly excited and a bit frightened to meet him, even though they must have known through his family what kind of man he was. But Zizi was also grinning, beaming like the sun. His brother had promised to come, no matter how impossible it seemed; and Zizi had trusted in that, though it must have been hard at first. Mostly, he seemed glad that the waiting was over, and that they were together, at last.

"So, now we're going to – now you're here, we'll – we'll finish the plan," the boy said firmly. "The plan we all – the others and me, we – we made a plan, just like – like you told us to. Meeth said it was – he said he liked it. He said it was – that it was a good one."

Rowan hufffed as he took Zizi's hand and led him out. "It's not even noon yet, and Mithren's letting you call him that?"

Zizi shrugged. "He told me to."

"Well, he must like you an awful lot, then. He won't let us do that."

Zizi smiled proudly at that, and then sighed a bit. He made a more serious face and squeezed his brother's hand.

"I'm glad you're here, now – real, real glad. But we've still got a lot of – we've got work to do, huh?"

Rowan nodded, sobered by the child's determination. "That is what the Hallowed Father said..."

Zizi nodded back and squared his shoulders. "Okay. I'm ready."