…

Rena knocked softly and pressed an ear to the door. Thinking to have heard a faint 'come in,' she stepped into the room. Her Zachy lay on his side, a blanket tangled around his legs. One bandaged hand plucked vaguely at loose strings protruding from the pillow beneath his head. He looked up. There was no sadness in his dark, flashing eyes, no anger or regret. She almost wished there were, for his listlessness wrought with her tender heart more than any of his sorrow could.

"I bring you food," she murmured, placing the tray carefully on the side table. "How are burns?"

"They're much better, thank you," he responded, sitting up. Bandages encased his hands, arms, legs, and his feet where his boots had melted against his skin. A general flush colored his face, neck, and shoulders, and red rimmed his eyes. Whether it was because of the smoke or from crying, Rena didn't know.

"This is good," she said, gazing sadly down at him. "This is good." He concentrated on eating, politely ignoring her presence. "How have you slept?" she asked.

"As well as can be expected," he answered simply. He pushed some of the food around, then said, "I'd like to see AnnElyse's house today."

Rena hesitated. "We see what Marli say. Before, she say you stay here until healed. Today maybe different." After a pause she added, "House isn't much to see. Everything burned into black ashes." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

He blinked and the cracker he held snapped in his fingers. "I see."

Overcome, Rena settled beside him and gently pulled him into her soft arms. Her face pressed into his hair, she murmured, "I am sorry, my love. I am so very sorry." When finally she released him, he pulled back from her, dragged one bandaged hand across his face, and returned to his meal.

"Thank you for the food," he said.

"You are welcome. I return to my home now. My men need me."

"Of course. I hope to see you again soon."

Rena gazed sorrowfully down at him, then touched his cheek briefly before departing.

…

He suffocated in a bed, covered with too many blankets. He couldn't feel his right arm, but he could feel the unwanted warmth of someone's body curled up beside him and the touch of their skin against his. Karigan? No, Karigan had snuck into his room through the secret passage. She leaned over him, a sword pressed to her lips and her hand over his mouth. "Shhh…" she whispered, then pulled the stifling blankets away and poised herself above him. He took her face and kissed her, long and deep, before pulling her down until their hearts threatened to break through their chests. But when he opened his eyes, she was on fire. Her mouth opened in a scream as the flames engulfed her.

Her ashes rained down onto the white blankets.

…

Marli crept carefully into the room and sighed. Emmi had snuck in again. She was curled up beside Zachary, her head tucked between his arm and chest. Her little hands clasped his skin. Setting her supplies down, Marli gently lifted Emmi from her warm nest and relocated her to her temporary bed in Dagon's room. Returning to Zachary, she was surprised to find him sitting up and trembling like a leaf. He had shoved the covers to the foot of the bed and he was pushing himself back against the headboard, staring at nothing in terror.

Marli hurried to take his hand in hers, chafing it gently until he finally took notice of her. She watched the emotion drain from his face until he settled back into the apathy that had previously dominated his features.

"Marli," he murmured.

She rested a hand on his cheek. "Nightmares?"

He frowned. "No, no. I'm just - hot," he responded. His free fingers jerked through his cropped hair, which hung short and choppy around his ears, the rest having been burned away in the fire. Fedir had completely shaved his beard as well, not bothering to even out what was left of it. She was surprised by how young he looked now, in spite of the new lines in his brow and around his tired eyes. For some reason, she had thought he was much older than this. Something in his manner…something in his deportment implied a maturity beyond his years.

"Once I get these wrappings off, I can prepare a cool bath for you." She began unwinding his hand. "Are you in pain?"

He shook his head. "Not much," he mumbled. He watched quietly as she unwound the bandages. As the silence pressed heavier and heavier upon them, Marli began telling him all she had discussed with Karigan. He listened impassively, his eyes following her hands as she worked. When she mentioned Dagon and the burn, Zachary's head tipped slightly, but nothing more.

"After Karigan left, I managed to pry more information from Dagon," she said, setting the used bandages in a pile on the end of the bed. "It seems that Mickey stumbled across my family's machine, in spite of its hiding place. He assumed Dagon would know how it worked. He doesn't, of course, and that sparked the fight." She huffed. "I can't imagine what he would be doing so far back in the caves." With a chuckle, she blundered, "Perhaps he was hiding a body." Her teeth snatched at her lip, but looking into his face, she found no reaction. She patted his knee and stood. "I'll go prepare that bath for you."

"May I go to the house today?"

Marli hesitated in the doorway. He was so strong, this Zachary, but was he strong enough? His apparent calm worried her, especially when it was broken with bouts of panic like the one she had just witnessed. "You're feeling that well?" she evaded, tapping her fingers against the doorframe.

"Much better than yesterday."

"But your feet, Zachary. You can hardly walk."

"Your medicine is working wonders, like it did before. I believe I would be able to manage."

Her fingers continued to drum. After another moment's hesitation, she sighed and said, "I would like you to wait one more day, at least, just to be certain. Your burns—"

"Damn my burns!" he shouted, leaping to his feet. With a gasp, he fell back onto the bed, eyes wide in shock at the pain. Sighing, Marli took up her ointment and fresh linen.

"Never mind the bath. You'll just have to bear with the bandages a little longer."

He threw his head back against the headboard, his velvet eyes glistening with remnants of rage and misery. Marli worked fast, wanting to leave him as quickly as she could. She glanced up at his face as she tied off the last bandage. He sobbed silently, tears streaking his skin, his lips pulled back over his teeth in a horribly tragic grin. Her throat constricting painfully, Marli grabbed her things and rushed out of the room.

…

He peered through the swirling dust of the stable. "Karigan?" he called softly. Night Hawk and Condor snuffled in their stalls, unfazed by the celebration happening just outside. He thought to hear her up in the hayloft and he climbed the ladder carefully. She huddled in a haystack, trying to keep herself warm in the dainty little nightgown she wore. She was sobbing and he wrapped her up against him. Her body convulsed in his arms as her pain tore through her being.

"I love you, Karigan G'ladheon," he whispered. "I love you."

Condor and Night Hawk screamed as the stable walls erupted into flames. He held Karigan tighter as the fire spread, eating through the hay and wood. Long shadows flickered as someone came into the stable. He stared at the ladder as it creaked with someone's weight. It was Fastion. The Weapon's white teeth flashed in the firelight as his lip curled. In an instant, a dagger was in his hand. "You are still alive," he said. "Fool." He lunged forward.

Karigan became still and cold. He peered through the smoke at her. A half-rotted corpse gaped back up at him, a dagger in her holey neck.

…

She didn't like seeing him so sad. She didn't like the way he cried, or the way he stared at the wall like there was something there, even though there wasn't. She didn't like his new haircut, and she especially didn't like the way he had screamed when she had accidentally woken him up.

He wasn't screaming now, though. No, he was staring at the blank wall again. Emmi looked down at the bandaged hand she held in her lap. She traced the long fingers, remembering when he had picked her up and thrown her into the air. She had shrieked like a little girl and he probably liked his ladies to act more like ladies.

But Karigan hadn't been a lady. She wore clothes like a man and her hair was always sloppy, and she had knocked Mr. Potts right off his feet. But Mr. Potts had knocked Zachary right off his feet. Karigan had acted just like a Black Weapon should act. Emmi smiled and leaned against Zachary's arm. Karigan would be a great Black Weapon.

Zachary's other hand came up to ruffle her hair. She raised her face to meet his gentle smile. "How are you, little one?"

Emmi sighed a great sigh. "I still see it when I sleep."

He bent to kiss her forehead. "I do too," he whispered.

"But you're not scared of it, though."

His eyebrows furrowed together and his great, terrier eyes became suddenly very sad. "It does scare me."

"Really? Is it the – " her voice lowered to a whisper, " – the man?"

"What man?"

"The man in the fire. He scares me more than the fire does."

"I didn't see a man."

"Oh, he was very scary." She clutched his arm, her eyes wide. "He was angry. He controlled the fire and told it where to go. He yelled and his eyes glowed."

Zachary managed a chuckle as he pulled Emmi into an embrace. "Well, the fire man is gone forever." His eyes became sad again and for some reason, he repeated, "Gone forever."

"Karigan yelled back at him. She probably finished him off." When he didn't answer, Emmi looked up into his face. "What's a gladstone?"

"A what?"

"A gladstone. The fire man wanted a gladstone, but I don't know what that is."

He was staring at the wall again. "I don't know what that is either."

Emmi frowned at him. Karigan was gone, that's what her mama told her. She said that Karigan and Terrier went with the Birdman, somewhere far away, somewhere Zachary and she couldn't follow. At the thought of her dog, Emmi shuddered and snuggled closer. It was all the man's fault. He had been angrier than the fire.

The door opened and Mama looked in. "Emmi, darling, let Zachary rest."

Emmi reluctantly pulled away from his embrace. He still stared at the wall, so she stood on the bed. Because he was sitting, she was eye-level with him and she turned his head to face her.

"No matter what," she said, looking deeply into his eyes, "I will love you forever." She pulled his head down and tenderly kissed his hot forehead. She was suddenly swept up in another hug, but this one was stronger. He kissed her cheek before letting her go. Deciding to never ever wash her face again, Emmi hopped down from the bed and hurried to her mother's waiting hands. Glancing back as she left the room, she saw that Zachary had stretched onto his stomach. Silently, she offered up a prayer that the fire man didn't bother him while he slept.

…

He lay in a bed, his face buried in pillows. He was hot, sweating, and uncomfortable. He shifted, managing to pull one arm out from beneath the blanket, but no relief came. His breaths came harshly as he tried to move. His limbs were all tangled up in sheets and they became even more tangled as he struggled. Trapped. He was trapped. His skin blistered as he fought to free himself. Too hot.

Running footsteps, then hands gripped his shoulder. He collapsed into immobility, panting. "Calm down," a voice whispered. He knew that voice. "You're safe." Those soft hands caressed his face and he allowed himself to be rolled onto his stomach. "Relax," the voice murmured, stroking his heated forehead. "You're safe."

The mist in his eyes burned away. The room was dark and heavy with wet air. Sea-scented wind drifted through the window, accompanied by crying seagulls. A hand still rested on his face and he raised his own to cover it, turning his head. Karigan.

"Good morning," she said. Her dimples peeped at him.

"Good morning," he responded. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not as long as you would think." Karigan pushed his hair from his sweaty face. "What do you remember?"

"A fire," he answered. "A building was burning. What happened?"

"I wish I knew," she replied. "I wish I had answers for you, but I don't."

"Where are we?"

"Marli Spinter's house."

"Does it remind you of home?"

She laughed, taking bread from a tray on the nearby table. "No. The smell, yes, but my father's estate is considerably bigger than this." She held the bread out enticingly before him. "Feel up to eating?"

She sat on the bed near his chest and he took the opportunity to study her closely. Her bare legs peeked out from beneath the lace hem of an adorable little nightgown that barely reached her knees. He knew she had lent her coat to Emmi and it was conspicuous by its absence, laying bare the smooth skin of her arms and chest. His eyes traveled up the curve of her throat, over the shadows playing on her face, along her elegant jaw line, and settled on that stubborn upper lip that drove him to distraction. It took a few moments, but he finally realized she watched him expectantly.

"I'm fine," he said. "Really."

She looked unconvinced, but traded the bread for seashells she pulled from her pocket. "I went to the beach earlier, Zachary. Look at these."

Zachary hoisted himself up onto his elbows and pushed the sandy shells around in her hand. "Beautiful."

"Do you see the red in this one?" She lifted one from the pile. "Like fire."

He examined it obediently, but his gaze drifted to her hair blazing in the light. "Beautiful," he repeated. Pain suddenly shot up through his leg into his back. His body convulsed and she held him tightly, the forgotten shells shattering on the floor. Finally he slumped into the pillows, his gasps diminishing into rattling breaths. "How…" he breathed, his hand curling tightly around hers, "…embarrassing."

She smiled. "It really is," she responded. "But not everyone can handle pain like me."

He chuckled. "I made a fool out of myself, didn't I?"

"No! No, not at all. It all came very unexpectedly." She leaned nearer. "I thought you were very brave."

"Especially when I almost fell into the fire."

"Well, what's more brave than facing certain death?"

"Risking my life all for the sick hope that two people who love each other can be happy and can live—" Another wave of pain pushed bile up into his throat and he jerked and cried out, clutching the bedding with his free hand.

Karigan leaned over him, resting one heated hand on his forehead and the other on his back. "You should be resting," she said. "I'll go."

"No—please. Don't." He grasped for her arm. "Please stay."

Her fingers trailed away from his forehead and over his shoulder, across the smooth skin and muscles of his back. She traced down his spine, then paused and whispered, "What nightmares must torment you." Bringing her legs up onto the bed, she curled around his hand, her skin burning hot against his. As he gave in to his exhaustion and his pain, he heard her murmur, "I'll be here when you wake up." He bent his neck to kiss the top of her head. It was all he wanted. But then she slipped away even as sleep overcame him.

And when he awoke, she wasn't there.