SLEEP DIDN'T COME normally that night. I didn't know how much time I really spent awake, since it was always dark and one time seemed to melt into another, but it felt like half the night. Every time I woke, I was thinking about the same thing, like my mind had been whirring even while I'd slept: what Cristine had asked me before she'd fallen asleep - and how I'd answered.

I'd lain there for a long while after Cristine dropped off, turning it over in my mind. Unfortunately, I seemed to manage to follow the exact same train of thought every time, so I never got far. It felt like I was going round in circles. Very small, unproductive circles. Kind of like (it made me shiver when I thought of it, so I tried not to) the awful machine in the Goretress that some of the prisoners had had to push round each day.

I knew I'd dreamt, but I couldn't ever remember what the dreams were about until the last time I woke, when the sun had risen and Cristine was out of the room. I remembered, because what had woken me up was the sudden way that the dream-Erik and I had been ripped away from each other by a sword-wielding Aquila. My heart was beating fast, but I wasn't sure whether it was because of the shock or because of how close Erik and I had been before. We hadn't been kissing or anything. We were sitting back in the inner sanctum, leaning up against each other, holding hands. It had been the most peaceful moment I'd felt in a long time - maybe ever. I'd stayed asleep after Aquila had appeared just long enough to feel Erik's raging hatred against him swell up again, pulling him far away.

Then I shook my head, hard, and made myself get up. I glanced out the window at the clock tower. It was six fifty.

My stomach growled.

Breakfast time.

I found Nick and Cristine already down at the table, halfway through plates of food. I grabbed some of my own and joined them.

"Hey," I said. "Erik still snoring away up there?"

Nick smiled. "Literally, as it happens," he said. "I think it took him a while to get to sleep last night." He shrugged. "I suppose he's earnt a lie-in. You both have."

I grimaced and dug into my breakfast.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, which I appreciated. Cristine and I were feeling a little awkward around each other after the end of our conversation the night before.

Erik finally made it down when we were about done eating. He got food and sat down, nodding to Nick and Cristine but ignoring me. I narrowed my eyes but said nothing.

"How'd you sleep, then?" Nick asked.

Erik shrugged noncommittally. "Fairly well, I suppose." His voice was flat, and he didn't look up from his food.

Nick, Cristine and I exchanged glances. I raised my eyebrows. Nick shrugged. Cristine turned back to Erik and said, "Well...anyway, we were hoping to get back to Alltrades and the Starflight as soon as possible to head for Gittingham Palace. I mean, there's no point waiting round, is there?"

"No." He ate for a moment longer, then pushed the half-full plate away like he was done. "Shall we, then?"

He got up from the table and, without looking at any of us, took his plate to the kitchen like he was getting ready to leave.

"Oi," I called, grabbing my plate and heading after him. "You could at least wait up!"

He didn't respond. I frowned. What's going on here?

As we passed, we brushed arms, and my breath caught. The dull quietness I had felt when he'd been sitting at the table changed the instant we touched, forming rapidly into a vortex of hurt and anger. He started walking a lot faster, but I had to stop and try to regain control of myself. The change had been so sudden and so strong - I'd never felt anything like it before. Once I recovered a little, it worried me. A lot.

What was happening to him?


Soon, we were in the Starflight, coming down over the Gittish Empire's lands. Off to the east was the Goretress, empty of all life. Directly in our path was a bright blue tree, the one Celestria had put in place for us to use. In a straight line from that was Gittingham Palace.

We touched down, and everyone but Sterling clambered out. "I'll stay 'ere, treacle," he said. "Just in case you need a quick ride outta 'ere."

Gittingham Palace was surrounded by what looked to me like a shield field. But when Erik tried to get though, he couldn't. It was like a solid wall.

"Erik, my child… A malevolent force protects the stronghold wherein dwells the evil… I shall open the way for you..."

A golden beam of light like sunshine streamed down onto the part of the shield blocking the drawbridge, and that part disappeared. Celestria spoke again: "But that is the limit of my powers… The task of eliminating the evil's origin must fall to the four of you. Only my prayers may go with you…"

The light and the voice both faded away. Nick, Cristine and I all exchanged glances, but Erik just set his shoulders and strode across the bridge. We followed quickly.

A pair of bad karmours guarded the palace doors. I drew my sword and was just about to lunge at them when a ball of darkness appeared, growing and shifting until it took on the form of Hootingham-Gore. I scowled when I saw him.

"Hoo hoo hoo," he laughed chillily. "Hoo should it be but you. Hoo nice to see you again."

Too bad the feeling's not mutual. I tightened my grip on my sword, waiting for the opportunity to strike. If I hadn't thought we might get some useful information out of him then, I wouldn't have waited at all.

"Your actions proved me hasty in dismissing you so readily," he continued, "to wit your liberation of the hoodlums hoo infested the Goretress." He cawed derisively and started pacing. "Although it is that careless toowit Goreham-Hogg hoo is to blame. It was he hoo caused King Godwyn to scold us so."

Us. The rest of the Triumgorate

He laughed again, trying a little too hard to sound offhand. "But this is hardly becoming. I'm allowing my feelings to fly away with me. Hoo, my blood is positively boiling!"

I could tell. I had a funny feeling that he wasn't going to be talking for much longer.

"I shall just have to take it out on someone, to wit your good selves! Hoo hoo hoo!"

Before he could attack, though, I did, slicing up at him. He just barely managed to block the attack with his staff, and the bad karmours moved forwards to back him up.

Erik unleashed a back kick at Hootingham-Gore's head, which made contact with a nasty thunk. The lieutenant stumbled back, a hand to the place where Erik's foot had hit, and cawed angrily at the bad karmours.

They moved forwards. One swung his axe at Cristine, who ducked and rolled to the side just in time. Nick rammed it in the head with his staff. Cristine lunged at Hootingham-Gore, but the other bad karmour jumped between them and took the blow instead. Then it swung at me, but I raised my shield and caught the blade there. The impact made pins and needles flood my arm, and I winced.

Hootingham-Gore swung his staff at Erik, who ducked and came back up with claws bared. Neither of the bad karmours were fast enough this time to take the attack, and Hootingham-Gore screeched as the claws scored lines up his staff arm.

The bad karmours came to really annoy me over the course of the battle. Every chance they got, they leapt in front of Hootingham-Gore, keeping us from hurting him. When we managed to finally kill them both, I was darkly pleased.

Then we were free to concentrate on Hootingham-Gore himself, and Erik and I especially showed no mercy. When we forced him back, he was bleeding heavily, and I felt a little bit of disappointment. I would have thought that a lieutenant of the Gittish Empire would have been a much better warrior than that.

"Hoooo… It seems I underestimated you yet again…" His breathing was laboured. "Still, it is you hoo I pity. A worse fate awaits you, to wit Lieutenant Goresby-Purrvis, last of the Triumgorate. The palace is safe in his hands. Hoo, but I would so love to have hoomiliated you myself… Hoo hoo hoo…"

His shape dissolved into blackness, and I sighed. "Two down, one to go," I murmured.

"Goresby-Purrvis?" Cristine asked, biting her lip. "You don't think he's really here, do you?"

"Who is Goresby-Purrvis?" Nick asked. "Why would he be any worse than Hootingham-Gore?"

I rolled my shoulder, wincing as I pulled at a bruise from Hootingham-Gore's staff. "He's one of the Triumgorate," I said, starting to walk into the palace, "along with Hootingham-Gore and Goreham-Hogg. Accordin' to the stories, they're all good warriors - though I don't trust that now, after fighting Hootingham-Gore, because he was awful - but Goresby-Purrvis was the strongest of them all. He was a warrior even before he joined the Empire's armies, and he rose in rank faster than any other. He was the only one of the Triumgorate to not have come from a noble family. He made it to high rank through skill alone. Not a lot of people like that in the Gittish Empire, I might add." I smiled grimly. "So if that's what we're facin' up there, it's a bloody good thing there are four of us."

"That's encouraging," Cristine muttered.

We were mostly silent as we struggled to navigate the half-ruined corridors of the palace. They were prowled by monster guards, who we generally managed to evade. I struggled to keep Erik's emotions from tangling up in my head. He was positively mercurial today - something I'd never noticed in him before. He slid from one extreme to the next with a suddenness that had me frightened. It was like he'd let go of anything he'd had before that tethered him to some vestige of his sanity.

When we finally made it to the top of the palace, it had started to rain. I drew my sword as I saw a distinctly feline figure standing before a door, arms folded, looking extremely bored.

"It's him," I whispered. "It's got to be."

His ears flickered towards us, and he glanced our way. "So the other two snuffed it, eh?" he called. "What purrfect fatheads! Then I'm the last of the Triumgorate."

"That's him, all right," Nick said. "Come on - he's seen us. We might as well go out and face him."

We moved out, heading up the steps to join him in front of the door. He grinned, showing a line of needle-sharp, catlike teeth. "Goresby-Purrvis is the name," he said. "Beyond this door lies the throne room of our purroud and purroserous leader, King Godwyn of the house of Gitt." He drew his sword so quickly that I almost missed it. "And I'm afraid that to let you pass is purrfectly out of the question. Purrepare to be perrforated!"

I brought my sword up just in time to parry his blow, and then swiped at him with my shield. The edge of it clipped his head, but nothing more.

Erik and Cristine raced for him at the same time, one to his right and one to his left. Goresby-Purrvis slashed at Cristine and stabbed at Erik, making them both dodge back, but then Nick came up and managed to hit him hard while he was distracted. He hissed and whacked him in the head with a paw.

Cristine hurried over to make sure he was okay. I cast a quick spell to hold Goresby-Purrvis's sword hand immobile while Erik lunged again, this time managing to rake his claws down Goresby-Purrvis's side.

It was the best battle I thought I'd ever had. A violent recklessness had taken hold of me, probably from Erik (I couldn't hide away from his emotions so well while I was fighting), which made my blood race and had me feeling vividly, viciously alive.

Cristine was the one who struck the final blow this time. Somehow - she told me later that it was a complete accident - she managed to slice deep into the wrist of Goresby-Purrvis's sword hand, straight down to the bone. He stumbled back, holding the wrist.

"G-Golly," he stammered. "You're purretty good, I must say. It's rather a surprise to meet someone else who surpasses me in skill. Still it's truly an honour to end my career with an opponent such as yourself…" He closed his eyes. "Purrfect… Just purrfect… Your Majesty, I hope you can forgive me for not sticking around. I've been purrfectly useless…"

His shape dissolved into blackness, which washed away in the rain.

We all looked around at each other.

This is it, I thought. My stomach clenched nervously. This was what we were sent here to do…

Erik pushed open the door, and we headed inside.

In front of us, on a platform tall enough that it needed a railing and stairs, stood Aquila. His back was to us, but I recognised him immediately. So, apparently, did Erik, whose features suddenly contracted in stormy anger. He tried to lunge; I grabbed for him and ended up putting him in a headlock.

"Don't do it!" I hissed. "You'll just get yourself killed!" I shuddered as the boiling anger inside of him swelled in me, too. I struggled to contain it, or at least put it to good use restraining Erik.

"A little help?" I growled, trying not to get the attention of the Gitts in front of us.

Nick and Cristine hurried round and helped me restrain him.

"Let - me - go!" Erik snapped. "I shall murder him - mmph!"

The last bit was me shoving a wad of medicinal leaves into his mouth, the first things I'd been able to come across that would muffle the sound of his voice.

"Dammit, Erik, you'll get all of us killed!" I hissed in his ear. "We'll deal with him later; right now our first priority is takin' out the king! I don't care how you control yourself - just do! You're not gonna die on me today."

After another moment of struggling, he grumpily went limp. Nick and Cristine released him. I let him out of the headlock, though I kept a firm grip on his upper arm.

"Now come on," I whispered, "carefully."

We made it round to the stairs on the left side of the platform, where my eyes went wide. Aquila had the fyggs!

"Come, Aquila," said the robed beast-thing sitting on the throne - King Godwyn, without a doubt. "Hand over those fyggs now, there's a good fellow."

We had to wrestle Erik into submission again.

"Very well, Godwyn of the House of Gitt," Aquila said as we struggled, and Erik redoubled his efforts. "If you desire them, they are yours. But in return…"

I heard the metallic scrape of a sword being drawn, and a series of dull thumps as something hit the floor.

"...I must take your life!"

Aquila's words echoed through the room, making all four of us freeze and stare up at the platform. Aquila's sword was out, pointed at Godwyn's throat. The fyggs were lying on the floor, and it occurred to me that they looked a little funny.

"So that's what this has all been about," Godwyn said interestedly. "Well, well… And I suppose that means they're not real fyggs, either?"

Aquila's nostrils flared. "The fyggs are the sacred fruits of the Observatory," he said coldly. "To use them as mere bargaining tokens would be sacrilege."

I looked down at Erik, who was watching the scene in shock. Something was welling up underneath it, though - something that felt completely natural, coming in to replace the wild emotions of before. I got up. Everyone else did, too.

"I feigned the betrayal of my kind, my land...my pupil…" Aquila said, dropping his head almost like he was ashamed. "All so I would be brought before you." He looked back up. His aquiline features were set in solid resolve.

"Oh, how delightfully clever of you." Godwyn's voice was dry. "Unfortunately, the price for such a priceless piece of deception will have to be your life."

Aquila's free hand clenched, and he brought the fist to his chest. "No. I will vanquish you and release your prisoner, foul fiend!" Then he held out his free hand, and bolts of blue lightning arced from his fingers to wrap around Godwyn. Then he opened his wings and flew forwards, bringing his sword down onto Godwyn's head.

But it stopped there.

Godwyn looked up at him. "Is that really all you can muster?" he asked. "A little disappointing, I must say."

Aquila's eyes went wide. Godwyn swatted him away like he was nothing but a fly. The Celestrian tumbled back through the air and hit the ground hard behind the fake fyggs.

"No!" Erik breathed. He started forward but then hesitated. His breathing was uneven. My heart was beating faster than it should have been.

"I doubt you'd even make decent feed for Barbarus, and he's hardly the fussy type."

Erik's nostrils flared angrily.

Godwyn rose. "And, quite frankly, if you're not going to make yourself useful, I shall jolly well have to get rid of you."

He flung his staff out, and red lightning shot out the end and wrapped around Aquila. I gasped and struggled not to cry out as I felt the phantom effects of the curse wrap around me.

Then the pain vanished and I looked up, breathing hard. A ball of fire was growing above the end of Godwyn's staff. A thrill of fear - mostly not mine - ran through me as it grew bigger and bigger. And then it was flung at Aquila.

"Aaaaaggghhh!"

I screamed, too, and collapsed. A pair of arms caught me just before I hit the floor and pulled me to my feet. The fire died away soon, leaving me gasping.

Then I hurried up the steps two at a time beside Erik to make sure his master was okay. I could hear Nick and Cristine right behind us.

He was lying on his side, singed and smoking. He coughed once, and slowly turned his head to look at Erik.

"Is this an...apparition…?" he whispered. "Erik, can it truly be you…? What brings you...to this accursed place…?"

"And what have we here?" came Godwyn's voice from behind us. "More grubs come crawling out of the woodwork, eh?"

We turned. Erik scowled at the king.

He looked over us, evaluating. "But to make it this far," he said, "you must have beaten their respective Goreships. Good show! I certainly shan't be holding back, then. Come along, let's give you the right royal thrashing you deserve."

"I'll take care of Aquila," Nick said. "Just keep the battle away from here!"

As one, Erik, Cristine and I raced towards Godwyn. He swung his staff round, but I brought up my shield and blocked it. We drove our weapons into him at almost exactly the same time. He roared in anger and cast Kafrizz. It caught Cristine in the stomach and she fell back, crying out, batting at the flames with her skirt.

I cast a spell to put the fire out. She nodded her thanks and healed the burns quickly.

Erik slashed at Godwyn, only catching the robe with one claw but cutting into flesh with the other.

Cristine attacked again, dodging the staff and sinking her fan into Godwyn's stomach. He stumbled back, glaring. "Do you have any idea what an insult to the glorious Gittish Empire your continued insistence on causing trouble constitutes?" he growled.

"A lot, I hope," I replied, grinning. "I'm not well disposed towards your lot."

He harrumphed. "I see I shall have to beat your lesson into you with a good deal more force," he said. "Very well. But I'm warning you: you won't like it…!"

He gestured with his staff, and a fog started forming around him. I could see his shape in the fog. For a moment, there was nothing, but then it started to change. I took a half-step back, staring.

The dark shaped writhed, morphing and elongating until it looked almost like a dragon. Then the fog cleared, and all three of us recoiled. It was a dragon - a dragon skeleton, eyes alive with glittering malice, a halberd in one claw and a shield in another. "Grrrrrrrarrrrrrrrggghhh!" he roared, shaking the entire throne room.

Erik leapt into action, rolling under the shield and slashing at the dragon-Godwyn's exposed ribs. There was an awful scraping noise when the metal scratched against the bones.

Cristine cast Crackle as soon as Erik was out of the way, and the icicle speared Godwyn from below. I used the cautery sword, directing the stream of fire at Godwyn's skull. He roared.

We were on the offensive, but the day's battles were starting to catch up to me. My left arm felt leaden. I switched my sword over, but despite training with Fred at Swinedimples I was still a lot clumsier with my right hand than with my left. And since Nick was busy tending to Aquila, Cristine was our only healer. On her own, she couldn't take care of all the injuries we were managing to accumulate.

Even as we grew more tired, we had to keep fighting. We had to keep Godwyn away from Nick and Aquila - they were too vulnerable. I wasn't going to have them killed on my watch.

I struggled to think of a way to stop him. There was no sign of a heart or any other vital organs which we might have been able to take out with a lucky strike between the ribs. But he was alive and moving - something vital had to be at work. His skull was completely intact, so there was no way to see into it, but I would have been willing to bet money that he still had his brain. It was the only way he could still be functioning. If we took out his brain, then maybe -

"Nngh!" I dodged a swipe from the halberd by millimetres. I struck back with my sword, hitting a rib.

If we took out his brain. That was what we had to do. But how were we supposed to get through the skull to hurt it?

My mind was racing - mostly around in circles, since most of my attention was focused on not being killed. But finally, I thought of something.

"Cover me!" I yelled, stumbling back a few paces. I closed my eyes, putting my shield up as a preliminary defence just in case, and started probing.

It took me a minute, but I managed to feel out Godwyn's brain. It made me shudder, but I ignored the repulsion and started to push and prod at what I figured were the vital centres - breathing, motion, cognition, senses. I also started messing with the shape - pinching off neurons wherever I felt best.

Godwyn roared, and I heard him stumble. I opened my eyes and watched as I continued.

He writhed round, seemingly unaware of what was going on in the throne room. Those malicious eyes were turned inwards. The halberd fell from his claws.

Gotcha.

All at once, I bore down as heavily as I could, forcing him back.

"Grrrarrrggggghhh!"

And he collapsed into a heap on the floor.

I pulled back to myself and sank down into a crouch. My heart was beating fast. It felt like I'd just sprinted two hundred metres.

"What was that?" Cristine asked quietly.

I took a deep, rather shaky breath. "Just a little...mental effort," I said. "I think it worked…"

Erik snorted. "You think?" he asked.

I rose slowly. "I do," I said. "He stopped attackin', didn't he?" Then I turned. "Nick, how's -?"

"Better," Nick said. He was helping Aquila sit up. The Celestrian's burns were all healed.

Erik hurried to his master. "Master," he said. "I am so sorry -"

Aquila shook his head. "I feigned obedience to Godwyn in the hope that I might free the Celestrians he held captive, but I was too weak," he said. "But I do not hold my actions to be shameful - as you should not hold yours to be. We both did as we thought correct."

Erik looked down. "I wished to murder you," he whispered.

"My only regret is that I was forced to deceive you," Aquila said. "Look at me, Erik."

Erik did. The two Celestrians held each other's gaze silently for a moment. I could feel Erik's regret, but there was something deeper underneath that made me feel that maybe it wasn't all bad. And Aquila - Aquila was proud as he could be.

"You have far exceeded all my hopes," Aquila said quietly. "You are become truly mighty… Erik, you…"

He tried to stand. Erik reached instinctively to steady him.

"Grrarrrgh!"

The roar echoed in my ears, and my eyes went wide. Impossible -!

We all whirled round to see Godwyn rising up. "Come now, did you really think that was going to be enough to finish off Godwyn of the House of Gitt!"

Erik was closest of all of us, and so he was the one Godwyn stabbed at. "Erik!" I yelled, lunging for him.

"Erik!" Aquila yelled at the same time, pushing him out of the path of the halberd and raising his sword. I grabbed Erik to keep him from falling over as Aquila and Godwyn met in a clash of weapons. There was a crashing, clanging fury of blows, and then I heard an awful cracking noise. Godwyn crumpled to the ground, his skull split open.

"You...rotter!" he groaned. "...Grrarghh…"

And then he dissolved into blackness and then to nothingness.

"Master…" Erik said, taking a half-step forwards. I let my hands drop.

Aquila turned slowly. My breath rushed out of me like I'd been punched in the gut when I realised that there was a deep, wide gash from his shoulder to his hip.

"You...are...unharmed...Erik?" he asked slowly, wincing with each word. "Praise...be…" He took a shallow, rattling breath. "It...seems...my...journey...ends...here…"

"No," Erik whispered. "No, master! We shall heal you!" He looked desperately at Nick, but the young priest's expression said it all. There was no way to heal that wound.

"Master…"

"You...must...finish...this…" Aquila said, looking Erik in the eye. "You must free them… Free...the Celestrians… Free...him… Free...my...teacher…"

The edges of his wound began to glow. The light grew brighter and brighter, until I couldn't see anything. I could feel, though. I could feel Aquila's determination like it was my own. I could feel his love for his apprentice.

And I could feel Erik's loss of his master.

I couldn't see when the light vanished, either, half because my eyes needed to adjust and half because my vision was blurry with tears. My throat was tight.

A half a pace in front of me, Erik's shoulders shook. He swallowed and sniffed. And then they shook again.

"Erik…" I whispered. As gently as I could, I reached out to touch his shoulder. He stiffened when I made contact, but didn't shake it off. I tried to swallow a sob. "Erik, I'm so sorry…"

He shook his head. "It was not your fault." His voice was tight.

I hesitated. I didn't know what to do here. But I had to do something - I couldn't just stand and let him cry.

So, almost without thinking, I took a half-step forward and put my arms around him.

"I'm sorry," I whispered again as he went stiff from surprise. "I wish I could do more…"

We stood that way for a moment. And then he turned around and threw his arms around me.

I leaned my head against his shoulder while he cried. His whole body shook with each sob, and I couldn't pretend that I didn't cry, too. At that moment, close to him as I was, I felt the loss as keenly as he did.

Slowly, the emotions on my side began to settle down. I rubbed his back softly while he cried.

"Don't look so down in the heart, Erik, you did more than anyone could've hoped…" Stella said quietly. "You beat the boss of the bad guys for a start. Everyone'll be pleased as Punch and Judy about that, won't they, eh…?"

"She's right," I whispered.

I felt him shake his head. "I did nothing," he said. "You defeated him the first time...then it was Aquila."

I shook my head. But before I could protest, Stella did it for me. "Listen, you!" she snapped. "This is no time to stand around looking all down in the doldrums! Snap into it! There's Celestrians to be saved!"

She whacked him once on the head. He whirled round, mouth open angrily.

"They're probably being captivated somewhere else in the palace," Stella said quickly. "We have to find them! Come on, look lovely!"

"Aquila's master is down there," I reminded him quietly. "We can release him."

Erik looked down, and then nodded. The five of us started down the stairs and back through the palace.

We were quiet. I walked next to Erik. And, as we walked, I realised something about what I'd told Cristine the night before, when she'd asked if I was in love with him.

I had lied.


Okay, we're getting close to the end now, I promise! I've just now realised that this chapter puts Song of the Souls at thirty, even longer than The Mortal Sentinal. Jeez...

Is it really wrong that Aquila's death is one of my favourite scenes in the game? That and when he betrays the Hero. I don't know why I enjoy them so much - they're supposed to be painful and angry and sad! But then again, those are my favourite sorts of scenes to write. ...Maybe there's just something weird in my brain. Not that I didn't know that before, of course, but...

Anyway. May all the bodies of the heavens watch over you!