A/N: Hey y'all! I really hope you will enjoy this chapter. I've got the votes. Someone's death is soon! Not telling though. I really hope the this is coming together better now. They've finally gotten somewhere! So I hope you enjoy!

Enjoy!


Jackar sighed. "I must begin my search for my heir. Though how I'm going to do so here I do not know."

Samuria blinked at him. "We'll probably find someone in the forest around here." she said. "Since I came and you and Kleay are here. And the Katka." She suddenly gave a shiver of fear. "If the Katka are here, then so are the Ammorin." she whispered. Kleay and Jackar both widened their eyes and made some kind of symbol by making an X on their left shoulders and then touching their lips once with their fingertips.

Will, Halt, Gilan and Crowley all exchanged looks, wondering why the cat-people were so terrified of these Ammorin, whatever they were. Will went to speak, but Kleay started first.

"Jackar?" she asked. "Where is the magic? Do you know where it is?"

"Yes."

"Then we must find it and restore it! We must—"

Jackar let his tail curl up so it was almost touching his back. It obviously meant for the cat-girl to be quiet and she obeyed instantly. Jackar's ears twitched slightly in acknowledgment. He let his tail drop. "First," he said. "I must tell all I know of what is happening." He turned to Crowley and Samuria and rapidly informed them of what was going on. When he had finished, he stood silently, tail twitching.

The sandy-haired ranger commandant stood rigidly, eyes betraying how shocked he was. But Samuria was blinking furiously, as if she was frantically trying to remember something.

"I—I thing I somehow knew this already." she stammered. "I have a feeling..." She trailed off when the prophet-mage turned his intense black gaze on her.

"Yes?" he queried.

Samuria gathered herself and started again. "I have a feeling that these rangers are strongly connected with the magic itself." She closed her eyes and thought hard for a moment. "One of them more strongly so than the others."

Will shuddered involuntarily. Something about the way she said it chilled him to the bone. Samuria suddenly opened her eyes, frustration in every line of her body.

"I forgot who is though!" she announced quietly to herself. Jackar and Kleay were now both talking to Halt, Crowley and Gilan. Only Will was still standing next to Samuria. Will, rather creeped out of the young brown-haired Vetaer, sidled up to the little group of rangers and Vetaer. A few other rangers straggled up, still glancing up at the sky.

"What were they?" asked Brent, a young ranger apprentice. He was pressing a small wad of cloth to his bloody cheek and his wide blue-gray eyes were serious.

"They came strait from the devil." uttered another ranger in hushed tones.

Will reached out with his hand and gripped the other man's arm tightly.

"Yes, it does seem that way, Corin. But they actually belong to another world. It's a very long and complicated story, and I'll tell you about it later."

Will's dark eyes bored into the other man. Corin read what Will was expressing and nodded silently. Will released him and walked over to Halt and the others. Samuria followed behind him. Trailing her were Brent, Corin and many other rangers.

Crowley and Halt were conferring urgently in the midst of their group. Kleay was urging Jackar to drink some water. The prophet mage was still looking a bit frightened. His white-tipped ears were strait up though. And Will knew enough about cats to figure that that meant he was fine.

Will walked up and stood by quietly listening to the discussion between Halt and Crowley.

"We will have to send somebody to help Jackar and the others save us." Crowley was saying. "Otherwise everyone will attack them."

"I know." Halt agreed quietly. "And I really think Will should go, with Gilan also. They have the skills to get wherever needs going, plus the skills to protect the Vetaer. I want to go too, but I have to get back to Pauline and get her somewhere safe."

Jackar broke in before he could say anything else. "There will be nowhere safe." He said harshly. "The fire is the fire of NeverMore and once it touches something, it will soon leave this earth. Nothing you do to stop it will be any good. Water, earth and anything else normally used to douse or smother the fire will only disappear. Nowhere is safe."

Halt, Crowley and the rangers grouped around were frozen into shocked silence. Jackar's eyes glistened with tears as he shook his head. "My people are dying already." he whispered.

At this last statement, Halt's jaw tightened. "Then I'll go bring everyone I can with us to where it's far away."

"NO!" said Jackar. His voice rang out strong. "The fire goes faster with each step you take towards it willingly! It wants to devour you!"

The bearded ranger's eyes widened.

Jackar shook his head with frustration. "You must come with me to restore the magic. Will and Gilan must come also. Many must come, as I fear the return of the Katka." His eyes flickered as he said this.

"But I have to get Pauline!" Halt said, his voice hollow with obvious shock.

"No." This time it was Will who spoke up. "Halt, Jackar just warned us not to. Send a message to her. But you can't go."

Halt turned his dark eyes onto his former apprentice.

"Is everyone trying to convince me not to go?" he asked dryly. "Alright then, Will. I'll stay. But I will send her a message."

Halt quickly strode back to his own tent to get paper and ink.

Kleay watched Halt walk swiftly away. I wonder what he's doing? She thought. She turned to Will and tugged his sleeve. The young man looked at her.

"Yes?"

"What's the matter with Halt?" Kleay asked curiously.

"He's just gone to get paper and ink to write a message to Pauline."

"Who's Pauline?"

"Halt's wife."

Kleay glanced curiously at the gray-bearded man's receding back. "Oh." Her green eyes flitted back to Will. "Will, please, could you show me around the camp." she broke off and looked at something behind his back.

Will turned to look as well and saw nothing but the trees at the edge of the forest. He looked back at Kleay.

"What is it?" he asked. "What are you looking at? I can't see anything."

Kleay's eyes flickered to Will, then back to the forest. "You have inferior sight then. I'm watching a...a...I'm not sure."

Will whirled again. But, as before, he saw nothing.

"How far away is he?" he asked, frustrated.

"Very far into the trees. He would be gone by the time you got there at a run. Long gone. His scent might even have faded a tiny bit."

"S-scent?"

Kleay stared at Will. "You mean you can smell no scent? I can smell everything. Even fear."

Will gaped.

Kleay nodded at the forest. "I can go catch him for you. I can run very fast. If he escapes I'll track him down by scent."

Will barely had the time to nod before she was gone. He watched her progress with amazement. She ran on all fours, like a dog, but seemed to fly over the ground. She soon was at the treeline. Kleay then leaped into the trees and jumped and ran along branches. Will watched her as long as he was able. She was long gone by the time he turned to Crowley's discussion.

The ranger commandant was making swift plans to head in the direction Jackar told them to go.

"Okay, Will, Gilan, Halt and I are all going. Jackar, Kleay and Samuria are going too." he said. "Everyone who can, go to your fiefs. Those who can't, head to Castle Araluen. It's in the opposite direction from the fire. Send messages to your fiefs everybody. That will be all." He moved off to his tent to start packing. Will fell into step beside him. Crowley looked up and nodded. "Where's Kleay gone?"

"She saw someone spying on us and she went to get him."

Crowley frowned at this piece of news but nodded. "Good. Can she track him down?"

Will nodded. "She said she can track down people by scent. She can also run like the wind. She'll bring him back, whoever it was."

Crowley nodded again. Will turned and went to pack his own tent.


So, excited? Anxious to see who the spy is? FIND OUT VERY SOON BUT NOT YET! And, REVIEW of course!

Chocolate and Beans will rain from the sky while Ninjas dance in cranberry juice!-Me