Amor Vincit Omnia

(Love Conquers All)

Part Two: The Fragile Heart

"Let me see you stripped down to the bone
Let me hear you speaking just for me."
- Rammstein
"Stripped"

Hey, everyone, so sorry about the length of time that it took me to post this chapter. (I spent a week this month in Philadelphia visiting my grandparents, so I didn't have much time to write.) Hopefully the fact that this is the first M-rated chapter of the story will make up for the delay. That's right. First sex scene! Hip hip hooray!

I'd like to sincerely thank all you lovely reviewers from the bottom of my heart, and a special note to the dude and Peter. I really appreciated your comments and kind remarks, although I couldn't write back because you weren't signed into your accounts when you left the reviews. I hope both of you continue to enjoy the story! To answer your question, Dude, I was planning to include a cameo appearance of the barbarian in Part III. Sorry to everyone who wants the barbarian as a main character, but I haven't played with that class and don't identify with it as much as I do with the others.

That said, on to the goodness! Reviews, as always, are read and re-read with great appreciation!

Chapter Seven: For Your Heart Only

The stars were beginning to come out by the time they made their camp in a dry creekbed several miles away from Holy Rock. There was enough brush and deadwood around to make a decent fire, and Gawahir had returned from hunting with a young hare clutched in his claws, so they had the makings of a good meal roasting over the open flame. They supplemented it with the flat leaves of an edible cactus grilled on a hot rock, and the rest of Saiya's hardtack.

While the food was cooking, Saiya insisted on changing Baal's bandages and inspecting the wounds. There were several (far too many for her liking): the head injury, which looked as though it had been caused by the blunt end of a club; and several deep but clean lacerations from the sword Maghda had wielded against him. They were all healing well, and did not look infected, but Saiya resolved to keep a good eye on them nonetheless. She had not gone to this much trouble to be with him only to lose him now to a septic wound.

"I want to thank you, Saiya," said the Hunter, as she finished tying the knot of the bandage around his brow.

"Don't mention it," she replied, thinking that he was speaking of her medical ministrations.

"No, not for this." He waved a hand at his head. "I mean, thank you for this as well, but that wasn't what I meant. I'm glad that you came to find me. Most women would have given up on me by now."

Saiya laughed. "Well, in case you hadn't noticed, m'dear, I'm not most women. I'm just one woman, and this woman doesn't give up on people she cares about. Ever. If you won't stop running off, then I'll just have to keep coming to find you. Okay?" She nudging him playfully, earning a shy grin. "By the way, speaking of 'thank you's', I owe you one as well. You saved my life, yet again, when you hauled me all the way back to Khasim. So, thank you."

The smile dropped from his lips, and his eyes darkened at the memory. "I don't ever want to have to go through that again," he said. "I was beyond terrified that you were going to die right there in my arms. Saiya, what were you thinking, grabbing onto Maghda like that and warping off with her?"

"Probably something along the same lines as what you were thinking," she said dryly. "'How dare that bitch run away again?' I just did something about it. Not the best idea, I'll admit, and not one I'm particularly eager to repeat."

"How did you get away?" Baal asked.

She told him the whole story, though she omitted some details of her torture that she deemed unnecessary. In return, the Hunter recanted his version of the fight with Maghda, which tallied pretty thoroughly with Kormac's, but with a lot more swearing. By the time they had finished catching each other up to speed, dinner was done.

Afterwards, Baal gathered up the uneaten scraps and offal from the hare and took it a fair distance away from their camp, where he buried it in the sand so that nocturnal predators would not be attracted to their location. Meanwhile, Saiya laid the strongest protective barrier she could muster. After the physically and emotionally exhausting day she'd had, she intended to get a restful night's sleep, and not having to take shifts of guard duty would go a long way towards making that happen.

By the time Baal returned, she had stripped down to her underclothes and was examining the soles of her feet. The new skin there was still tender, and had not yet had the time to develop the thick calluses that had allowed her to walk barefoot over any terrain, no matter how rough. Her boots, while necessary, chafed terribly and had left her with blisters and a general soreness. Unfortunately, the specialized oil that she brought from Ivgorod to soothe and soften her feet had been in the pack that was destroyed in Deckard Cain's house.

"Looks painful," the Hunter remarked, sitting down on his bedroll and removing his own worn leather boots.

Saiya shrugged. "I'm sure they'll get less so with time."

He held out a hand, beckoning with his fingers. When she frowned in puzzlement, he said, "Give me your feet."

Curious, she did. He propped her ankles in his lap and began to carefully massage her, starting at the toes and working down toward the arch and heel. His probing movements were deft and skillful, and Saiya found herself relaxing – a little too much, it seemed, for he froze as she let out a quiet groan of enjoyment.

"Sorry?" he ventured. "I was trying to be gentle."

The young monk blushed a deep crimson and stammered, "Ah - it's not … I mean, you didn't … it felt good, that's all."

He gave her a smug smile and resumed the massage. "Oh, is that so? Alright, then."

Saiya tried to be discreet after that, but when he touched an especially sensitive place, she could not prevent another little whimper from escaping. Baal's grin turned wicked and he began kneading the spot with his knuckles, coaxing more sounds from her.

"S-stop it!" she reprimanded between bashful giggles. "You're doing that on purpose!"

"Of course I am," he replied, his voice a sensual rumble that sent pleasurable shivers up her spine. Hastily she sat up, pulling her feet out of his lap and tucking them under her.

"Th-thank you," she said thickly. "That's a lot better. My feet, I mean. They feel better. So, thanks. Um … why are you looking at me like that?" For Baal was staring at her with half-lidded eyes that managed to burn all the more brightly for being partially veiled.

"Because you're beautiful," he answered.

Saiya had no idea how to properly respond to that, so she settled for a self-conscious laugh. "I'm not, really," she said, "but thank you for saying so. It's very nice of you."

"I'm not trying to be nice," protested the Hunter. "I mean it."

"Well, you'd be the first." The bitter tone in her voice had been unintended, and she winced upon hearing it. She didn't know where this acrimony had sprung from, especially since she actually had been enjoying herself.

"I'm sorry, Baal," she said. "That came out wrong. I guess I'm just a little skeptical whenever anyone compliments me. I don't think of myself as beautiful." She snorted. "And I'm fairly sure most others don't either, unless they want something from me. Sasha once told me that I look like a boy. Well, actually, she said that I 'have a nice body, even if it looked like a boy's'."

"Sasha's full of shit," said Baal, rudely. "Seriously, Saiya – are you going to accept the opinion of someone who thinks the Idiot Mage is good-looking?"

"Hey!" she snapped, glaring at him. "I think Caesar is good-looking."

He smirked and said, "My point exactly. Your taste is clearly flawed. I know a drop-dead gorgeous girl when I see one, and you, my sweet, definitely fit that description."

"Says the guy who mistook me for a male when he first saw me!"

"You really hold that against me, don't you," Baal grumbled, but there was a teasing glimmer in his eyes. Before she could react, he lunged forward off his bedroll and was suddenly looming over her, one knee planted on the ground between her legs and his hands gently trapping her shoulders. Saiya gasped sharply, gaping up at him.

"Let me put it this way," he growled, tracing a line from her jaw to her collarbone in a way that was entirely distracting. "You drive me mad, Saiya. I dream of you at night. I think of you by day. If I have to wait much longer to have you, I'm going to go insane." He bent his head and dropped kisses on her fluttering eyelids, the tip of her nose, her mouth.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" she breathed, unable to control her racing pulse.

"Yeah, I am." A grin tugged at the corners of his lips. "With your permission, of course."

"Yes!" she blurted out. "I want to … um … I want you, Baal. If you don't care that I'm inexperienced and flat-chested and prone to freezing up and making awkward comments and-"

He stifled the flood of words with a kiss that started out gentle but got increasingly more passionate as tongues got involved. It was their first kiss since they had gotten separated at the Khasim Outpost eight days before, and the long interval combined with the mutual fear for each other's safety only served to intensify the fervor of their emotions. The Hunter's hands were all over her: running up and down her sides, cupping her breasts through the fabric of her shirt, playing with her hair. Saiya was aware of a building pressure in her core, an ache that needed to be satisfied. Baal was affected as well; she blushed when she noticed the outline of his erection through his pants.

He was fiddling with the buttons on her shirt now; growing frustrated with their complexity, he sat up, pulling her with him, and dragged the offending garment over her head in one swift action. He untied her breastband as well, letting it fall to the ground between them. Saiya shivered as the night air hit her naked skin, raising goosebumps.

"Beautiful," Baal said, looking down at her. Reverently, he let his fingertips trail across the rise of her breasts, circling the nipples with his thumb. He gave them a light pinch, and Saiya squeaked.

"I feel exposed next to you," she complained.

Baal chuckled. "Ah. Well, maybe this will help." Undoing the fasteners of his vest, he peeled it off, folding it meticulously and setting it on his bedroll so it wouldn't get sandy. He took off his shirt as well and gave it the same treatment. His tanned skin had a warm glow in the dying light of the campfire, but Saiya's eye was drawn to the dark, puckered scar on his side – an ugly reminder of how he had nearly lost his life to the Butcher's sickle.

The Hunter saw where her gaze was directed, and took her hand in his own, carefully guiding it to his marred flesh. Saiya stroked along the length of the scar, feeling the taut muscles on either side. Moved by an impulse she only half understood, she bent at the waist so that her face was level with his midriff, and kissed the place where the old wound met healthy skin. Baal made a rough sound deep in his throat, but he didn't flinch away. Instead his questing fingers found the small knot at the base of her throat where the snapped-off head of his arrow had lodged.

"Baal-" she murmured, trying to forestall any apologies he might feel the need to make.

"An inch higher and you might have died," he said. "Fuck, you might have died anyway from the infection."

"Any of us might have died any number of times throughout our lives," Saiya retorted. "Don't think about it. Think about us."

She sensed that he was not entirely satisfied, but his hand left her healing scar and ghosted along her back to her hip, where it found a firm hold.

"May I?" she asked, touching his belt buckle. His head jerked up and down in what she took to be a nod of consent. As she worked to loosen his trousers, her forearm accidentally brushed up against his erection, and he inhaled a sharp breath.

"Let me do that," he said hoarsely. Getting to his knees, he slipped his trousers down and kicked them aside. His shorts followed suit, leaving him completely nude. Saiya's eyes grew round. She had seen his manhood before, of course – on several occasions, actually – but catching a glimpse as he emerged from the river was a far different proposition from having it a foot away from her and fully erect. The first thought she had was that it looked so much bigger than she'd expected (not that she had given much thought to it), and how on earth was she supposed to fit that inside her?

"It won't bite, you know," Baal said. Saiya couldn't tell from his tone whether he was amused or annoyed, but when she looked up and met his eyes she saw that he was smiling.

"Go ahead," he added. "Touch me, if you want to."

I'm being stupid, Saiya thought. He had no problem with touching me, and that felt incredibly good. I bet it feels the same for him.

She reached out and wrapped her hand around the shaft. It had an unexpected texture: incredibly soft skin – like silk – and beneath that, a core of steel. Experimentally, she pumped her hand up and down and was rewarded with a groan from her partner.

"Keep doing that," he gasped.

She almost said, "But I don't know what to do!", but something made her hold her tongue. Baal was putting a lot of trust in her to let her get this far, and she did not want to ruin the mood by acting like a silly girl.

Alright, she thought, I'll just approach this like I would any training session: try out different things to see what works best. If I do something he doesn't like, he'll tell me.

She began to move her fingers up and down, slowly and first and then gathering speed. It was clear that Baal had no problem at all with her attentions; his occasional noises and muscle spasms made that quite obvious. Saiya was intrigued to discover that he particularly enjoyed it when she alternated the tempo of her strokes, and also when she covered the head of his cock with her left hand.

Just when she was beginning to get really comfortable with it, however, Baal suddenly grunted and seized her wrist, effectively halting her movements. She released him at once, saying anxiously, "Did I hurt you?"

He shook his head. "No, not at all. It's just … if you'd kept that up any longer, this would have been over too quickly. I can't have that – not with all the things I'm planning to do to you."

Saiya was puzzled for a moment until she noticed how heavy his breathing was and thought, Oh. He's talking about his own release. I guess I was doing pretty well, then. She couldn't help but feel a little proud that she had managed to bring him to the edge on her first attempt.

"Right," said the Hunter, plucking at the waistband of Saiya's own undershorts. She could not get rid of them quickly enough, and flopped onto her back in an undignified way as her ankles got entangled in the fabric. Baal laughed.

"Sorry," he said when she scowled at him. "You're just too adorable, Saiya."

She held her breath as he lowered himself down over her, their stomachs touching and their noses inches apart. His weight was supported on one elbow, and his other hand wandered across her hip to explore the valley between her thighs. Saiya gasped as his finger slipped inside her – a foreign sensation, but one that she was not averse to, especially when he wiggled the digit. Presently his middle finger joined his index.

"How's that?" he asked, kissing her tenderly.

Not trusting herself to speak coherently, Saiya nodded and made an appreciative noise.

"I'm trying to loosen you up," he explained. "If you're too tense, it'll hurt, and that's the last thing I want."

Though she hardly understood why, she did indeed feel herself relaxing, the tight muscles of her core widening to accommodate the intrusion. Baal crooked his fingers, stroking her inner walls, the pad of his thumb rubbing circles on her clit. His movements were confident, assured, the faint smile hovering on his lips as he looked down at her hinting that he knew how good he was making her feel.

"Ah!" she panted as a jolt of pleasure arced through her stomach and thighs. "Baal, please-"

His fingers slipped out, leaving her aching and empty in their absence. But then she felt the blunt tip of his cock pressing against her, maneuvering to get the angle just right. With a smooth, slow thrust, he entered her. Saiya grimaced: even with the preparation, it was uncomfortable. There was a trickle of warm liquid from somewhere inside her, and she flushed bright red, thinking she'd wet herself – until she remembered that women usually bled a little on their first time. Nothing to be concerned about, Jijamae had told her, just the maidenhead giving way. There's no damage as long as the man is gentle with you.

Her hands, which were resting on Baal's shoulders, tightened until her knuckles turned white. He was trembling with the effort of holding himself perfectly still.

"Alright?" he murmured.

"I think so," she replied.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Saiya shook her head. She was nervous, yes – but not afraid. He was not some boorish ruffian who sought pleasure only for himself. He would make this good for her as well.

Baal began to move, rocking his hips back and forth in a steady rhythm. It was not entirely enjoyable at first, but before long the pain had worn off and each thrust sent tingles of ecstasy through her core, fanning the flames that were licking at her insides. Tilting her head back, she gazed up at Baal, wanting to know how he looked during this intimate moment. His eyes were closed, his mouth a narrow line, and Saiya was overtaken by the desperate urge to kiss him. She reached up and latched her hands around the back of his neck, dragging him down to her. He gave a brief grunt of surprise as their mouths clashed together, opened one eye, and forced his tongue past her teeth with an intensity that he had never shown before. Without breaking the connection between their lips, he began to thrust harder, practically slamming his hips against hers. Feral sounds erupted from his throat: growls and groans and harsh panting breaths. Hearing them drove her into a frenzy. She hardly recognized her own reciprocal noises, her high-pitched cries of "Yes!" and "More!" and "Oh gods, Baal!"

She could feel her climax nearing, the ache building up inside her to the point where it was almost unbearable, and she closed her eyes in anticipation of being swept away by the wave. But the moment passed her by. She felt almost delirious with the need for release, but it was denied to her; she hovered, just on the edge of the abyss, and could not fall over it.

Baal's back arched and he buried himself in her to the hilt, then abruptly pulled out with a rasping moan. Saiya, sitting up in confusion, saw him ejaculate onto the sand. She made a split-second decision not to tell him about her own lack of satisfaction, lest she wound his manly pride and spoil an important milestone in their relationship.

She ought to have guessed that she could keep no secrets from him. One look at her face told him everything.

"You didn't finish, did you?" he said quietly.

"Um … n-no," Saiya mumbled. "Sorry, I don't know why … it felt fantastic, truly, and I was about to, and then I just … didn't."

Baal smiled kindly, and her nervousness crumbled like a boulder breaking away from a mountainside. He said, "Not to worry, nuur il-'en. A lot of women can't come from intercourse alone. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I'll make it up you."

She was about to ask how, but he answered the question for her by dipping his head between her legs. His tongue flicked out; her protests died in their infancy. The Hunter gripped her knees to hold her still as she squirmed, his mouth wet against her and delightfully warm, tongue alternately stroking and swirling. Her vision blanked out as the wave carried her away. She was barely conscious of Baal crawling up to lie beside her on the bedroll, reaching for the water flask and taking a long draught to rinse his mouth, and then collapsing beside her with a weary sigh and laying his arm over her waist. His bare chest, damp with sweat, rested with a comforting solidity against her back. He leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"How was that?" he asked.

"Mmm," Saiya replied dreamily.

Baal chuckled and said, "I take it that's good."

"Mm-hm." She turned onto her back and looked up at him. "What about for you?"

"Perfect."

What she really felt like doing was snuggling up to her lover and falling asleep, but she made herself get up and wipe the blood smear from her inner thighs and put her underclothes back on. Baal watched her move around the camp, an unreadable expression in his eyes. She felt a little flustered by his unwavering gaze, and consequently took twice as long as she would have normally.

"Coin for your thoughts," she said as she climbed onto the bedroll beside him and pulled the blanket up to cover them both.

"Just one?" said Baal. "Mine are worth at least five."

"No way. That's half my fortune!" Saiya exclaimed in mock protest.

He grinned. "Alright, then. I was thinking how lucky I am to have such a beautiful woman gracing my bed."

"That's it?"

"You get what you pay for."

She smacked him lightly on the arm, an affront to which he responded by tickling her side. This launched an all-out war that continued for several minutes before they finally declared a truce and flopped down side by side, panting heavily.

"The stars seem so much brighter out here," Saiya said after a minute of easy silence. "And the constellations are different from the ones I learned in Ivgorod."

"That's Al-Ghurab, the Raven," said Baal, pointing to a cluster of stars shaped rather like the arc of a bow, with two descending in a perpendicular line. "See, there's the beak, there's the tail, and that star down there is the foot. Al-Ghurab was always my favorite."

Gawahir gave a drowsy caw from his perch in the branches of a nearby bush.

"That one is Hayyat al-Ma'," continued the Hunter. "The Water Snake. At-Tirs, the Shield. And that large one right above us is Al-Mara'ah Al-Musalsalah … the Woman in Chains. She was the daughter of a king who angered an angel by boasting that his offspring was the more beautiful of the two. As a punishment, the angel chained the girl to a rock in the middle of the desert and left her there to die a slow and disfiguring death. But she was saved by a brave warrior, who later married her and sired many children by her. People say that the previous ruler of Kehjistan was one of their descendants."

"I never knew you were so knowledgeable about astrology," said Saiya, admiringly.

Baal's smile was full of bittersweet remembrance. "My fa- … Saif loved the stars," he said. "He used to take me out at night and show me the constellations and tell me tales about them. I don't remember most of them anymore, but that one stuck with me because he always put Mother in the place of the maiden, and himself as the rescuing warrior."

"And the angel in the story?" Saiya asked before she could stop herself.

"Just an angel," said Baal. He added under his breath something that sounded like, "My real father, maybe?" Saiya didn't inquire further, opting instead to change to subject. If she starting thinking about their shared Nephalem heritage, then she would have to face the fact that one of her parents was angelic. And that was something that she preferred to ignore.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Sure," replied Baal, sounding as though he was still lost in the past.

"What comes next for us? Maghda's dead now, the cult has been destroyed, and Najmah – Tyrael, I mean – has his memory back. Our work here is done." The most important question, she left unasked: Are you going to leave me now that we don't have a quest to bind us together?

Baal was fully alert now; she could tell by the furrow between his brows and the way he chewed on his bottom lip that he was carefully weighing his words before he spoke. At last he said, "I'm not so sure about that. Maghda was only the servant … the pawn, if you will, in a much bigger game. Emperor Hakan may be another. I would be remiss in my duties if I left this land without tracking down the shadowy hand behind all this chaos and destruction: Belial, the Lord of Lies, and one of the Lesser Evils. The snake demons that the soldiers in Khasim transformed into are his minions. I'm convinced that we'll find him in Caldeum."

And after that? Saiya wanted to say. Will you find another demon to kill, and another, and another? When all the demons are dead, will there be any meaning left in your life?

In that moment, she realized how little she truly knew about the man lying beside her, the man she professed to love, the man to whom she had given her heart, her body, and her trust. In her own mind, she had made a commitment to him on par with the vows of marriage. But what was she to him? Comrade, yes. Friend, yes. Lover, yes. But there was one important barrier that was yet to be breached.

Wife, she thought, or at least life-long partner. That's what I want to be. But will he have me? It frightened her, the knowledge that he might consider their relationship impermanent, a passing thing that was beautiful while it lived, but whose lifespan was inevitably brief. A flower, blooming gloriously until it withered in the frost.

"You're awfully quiet suddenly," said Baal. "Everything alright?"

"Sorry," she replied, "I just dozed off for a minute. It's been a long day." Her voice sounded surprisingly normal, considering her inner turmoil.

Though the sound he made was skeptical, he didn't push the matter. But he did take her hand, caressing the back of it with his thumb in a gesture of comfort and solidarity. A glow of affection deep in her breast warmed her to the core. She treasured moments of silent connection between them, when she felt as if their very souls were speaking to each other.

Tired as she was, it didn't take her long to fall asleep. Twice throughout the night she opened her eyes, the second time when dawn was just touching the horizon with painted hands, and both times Baal was beside her, sound asleep. By the time she woke fully, however, he had risen and dressed, and was preparing breakfast with Gawahir hopping in circles at his feet.

"Good morning," she called. He looked around, and upon seeing her, a smile widened his mouth.

"Hey," he said. "Sleep well?"

Saiya nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"Oh yeah." There was a definite suggestive quality in his tone that made her blush as she recalled their exploits of the previous night. She was sore in places she hadn't thought possible: the thick tendons in her loins, around the lip of her entrance, and even inside, in a place behind her belly-button. But it was a pleasant sort of soreness – physical evidence that she had lain with her lover, and that she was now a more complete woman because of it.

She performed the basic necessities of her toilet, washing her face, straightening the hair that was tufted with sleep, rinsing the chalky taste out of her mouth, and when she was finished, pulled on her newly acquired armor. Meanwhile, Baal teased the raven by holding a shred of jerky just higher than he could reach, lowering it tantalizingly and then lifting it out of way of his snapping beak. Gawahir was getting increasingly more and more frustrated, and finally, with an indignant squawk of, "Leave it alone, you ass!", he darted into the air, buffeting Baal's face with his wings. The Hunter swatted playfully at him.

Both of them were eager to be on their way, so breakfast was a hurried affair. Afterwards, Baal cleaned the dishes while Saiya packed up both their bedrolls. The shortest route to the Khasim Outpost lay directly south-west, and they struck out accordingly (thankfully Baal was possessed of a compass, eliminating the need for more complex navigation).

As they walked, they passed the time by telling stories of the past, gradually filling in the tapestries of their respective lives. Saiya was wary of mentioning her lover's family, with the previous day's events still raw in their minds, but to her surprise he broached the topic himself. Seemingly in a nostalgic mood, he reminisced about his early childhood, which he referred to as his 'happy days'. Saiya learned specifics about his family members, and his descriptions were so vivid and full of loving detail that she felt almost as if she herself knew them. Saif, the man he had known as his father: tall and proud and solid, always standing with his legs spread and his arms crossed. A quiet man, whose will could not be defied, but who won the loyalty of his wife and children through firm guidance rather than strict punishments. Baal's beloved ana – his mother – with her loud, bright laugh that rang throughout all corners of the village. No one could feel sorrow when Kalila laughed. Shadi, at twelve, already considered a man: sullen and given to black moods, but unfailingly, relentlessly fair … and strangely protective. Shadi bullied his brother, but no one else was allowed to.

Salim was a year Baal's junior, but you would never know it by comparing their behaviors. Baal was the trouble-maker, the prankster, the unreliable one, but Salim was studious and solemn. Small and weak for his age, with a nervous disposition, he had spent most of his time nested in the house, pouring over his precious books and drawings. He talked incessantly of joining the Alchemy Guild in Caldeum and becoming a famed scholar and philosopher.

And then there was Luna, the darling of the family, the plump, cute, sweet-natured child that no one could ever be cross with. Everyone had adored her, and Baal most of all. He did not speak for very long about Luna.

Midday saw their goat track joining forces with the main road, and a few hours later, the Outpost was in sight, looming on a distant hill. Saiya quickened the pace, eager to rejoin their companions. Someone had clearly been keeping watch, because Kormac came striding out to greet them with a bear hug for Saiya and a firm handshake for the Hunter.

"You did it, Sister!" he exclaimed, thumping her on the shoulder. "You said you'd find him and you did! I should have had more faith in you."

"What have you been up to?" the young monk asked as they trudged up the sloping, rutted road to the fort's eastern gate.

Kormac shrugged. "Oh, you know. This and that. These Kehji fellows know how to play a wicked hand of cards."

"Any word from the capitol?" inquired Baal.

The Templar shook his head. "Nary a peep. I hope that Leah and the others are alright."

Baal didn't reply, but Saiya thought that a shadow of concern passed across his features.

The five of them (including Eirena and Tyrael) spent an educational evening as guests of Garrison Captain Davyd, who spoke openly of the ongoing conflict between the Iron Wolves as the Imperial Guard, and of his concerns for the refugees caught in the middle. It was his strong opinion that Hakan could not continue to rule his realm with such disinterest for long before a coup was inevitable; in the event of such an uprising, he, Davyd, would be fully in support of Gamil Fahkri, a political advisor to the boy emperor who had made his support of the common populace well-known. Fakhri, said the Captain, would not hesitate to protect his people. He would never have allowed the nation to fall into a state of ruin. But what else could you expect when you put a child on the throne and gave him unlimited power? It was asking for trouble.

Saiya's head was spinning by the time she retired for bed – partly because of all the information she had absorbed, and partly because a strong wine had been served with dinner, and the squire waiting on them had kept her glass brimming, which had made it difficult to determine exactly how much she had consumed. At least she had not been the only one who had overindulged: Eirena's snow-and-roses complexion was decidedly more glowing than usual, and Kormac hummed a song from his homeland (in the wrong key and with half the words missing) on his way to the men's quarters. Even Baal grew rather talkative towards the end of the meal. Only Tyrael seemed completely unaffected, and Saiya idly wondered if enough of his angelic nature lingered in his mortal body to render him impervious to the effects of alcohol. Dimly, she was still pondering the question as she drifted off to sleep.

She would have slumbered well into the morning if Asiya had not woken her with a rough shaking. Her head pulsed with the ferocity of lightning splitting the sky, but she had barely gotten out a slurred groan when the healer shoved a cup into her hand and said, "Drink up. I knew you'd need it." It proved to be a liquid of exceptionally foul taste and disagreeable texture, though Saiya decided not to complain after her headache eased within several seconds of downing the tonic.

"I brew it by the cauldron for the boys," said Asiya with a grin. "Our wine – like our people – is not to be taken lightly."

"Very thoughtful," Saiya grumbled, swishing water between her teeth to rid them of a nasty grittiness. She reached for her leggings.

"So, you and Baal, huh?" the other girl said. Her eyes gleamed knowingly.

Saiya's only response was a noncommittal grunt, but her crimsoning cheeks gave her away. Asiya let out an irreverent whistle.

"He's a fine looker, alright. Just my type. Don't worry, though. I like you too much to have a go at stealing your guy. How'd you meet?"

"I was meditating under a waterfall and he jumped down nearly on top of me," Saiya replied. "I'm afraid that I got scared and knocked him out cold with a rock. Of course, I then had to jump in and prevent him from drowning."

Her friend laughed. "Ha! Romantic."

Baal's entrance to the room at that moment put an end to any further questions. Asiya offered him a glass of the hangover tonic, which he accepted with a brusque nod.

"You ready yet, Saiya?" he asked. "I'd like to get back to Caldeum as soon as possible."

He's worried about Leah and the others, Saiya thought. Then, Gods, I hope nothing has happened to them. We should never have split up!

She hurriedly finished dressing and, five minutes later, was meeting up with the rest of their group in the courtyard. Asiya caught her up in a forceful embrace, saying, "I'm sure I'll see you again. I'm trying to convince Davyd to send some of us to help my aunt in the city. It's a bit tricky, because the whole reason that I was posted out here in the first place was to keep me out of the danger zone (like I need protecting!), but I think that I can successfully prove that being stationed in a rural area is no guarantee of safety. Anyway, I hope that we'll get to fight together in the future."

"Me too," Saiya said. "In the meantime, take good care of yourself."

"That goes double for you," Asiya said seriously. "You're the one who seems to get into trouble all the time. Don't make me walk all that way just to find out you've died or something."

"I won't," the young monk promised. She would have said more, but Baal was hailing her impatiently from the western gate, so she simply gave her friend another brief hug before running to join her companions.

They sustained a brisk pace throughout the day, and the wind was at their backs, so they made it substantially farther than they had on their original journey, passing both Yol Kenarina and the cave where Baal had nearly been eaten by a rockworm, and spending the night in an abandoned mining shack. As before, they stopped to refill their water supply at Yol Kenarina's well, and Saiya suddenly remembered the badly injured woman they had rescued from the cultists there. She asked Kormac about the woman's fate, and the Templar sadly informed her that they had not been able to save her. It was a sobering reminder of the toll that Maghda's Coven had taken on the land.

By the evening of their second day of travel, they reached the mouth of the canyon that had been blocked by Saiya's bell-induced avalanche. There they found Jarulf and his Iron Wolves hard at work shifting the massive pile of rocks. They had already created a passage narrow enough for one person to pass through, and were making good progress. The Wolves insisted on a party to celebrate the demise of the witch and her followers; Saiya had the good sense to decline all offers of alcohol, though her companions did not show the same restraint, and woke up regretting it immensely when Asiya was not there to administer her medicine.

At long last, during the hottest part of the afternoon of the third day since they had left Khasim, they saw the spires of Caldeum in the distance. Baal bypassed the gate and led them directly along the path to the Hidden Camp. There was a huge commotion as soon as they arrived, with everyone shouting at once and crowding around. Baal was just trying to get a heckled-looking man to explain what was going on when Squirt pushed her way through the throng and threw her arms around his waist. She was babbling in a confusing mix of Kehjistani and Khanduran, and it took a while for the Hunter to calm her down and decipher what she was saying.

"What is it?" Saiya demanded. "What's happened, Baal?"

He looked up at her from where he was kneeling, his hands encompassing Squirt's thin shoulders. His face was wooden, but his eyes burned with muted fury. "Leah, Ghor, and the mage are missing," he said grimly. "They haven't been seen since the day we left."

"They must have been captured by the emperor's guards!" exclaimed Kormac. "What are we going to do? We can hardly lay siege to the Imperial Palace with just the five of us."

Baal shook his head. "No. There's only one person who can help us. Let's go. I think I know just where to find her."