Amor Vincit Omnia

(Love Conquers All)

Part Two: The Fragile Heart

"A spider's touch
Such a cold finger
Beckons you to enter his web of sin
But don't go in."
- Shirley Bassey
"Goldfinger

Chapter Thirteen: Voices in the Dark

As she fell, Saiya instinctively tucked her chin to her chest, cradling the back of her head with her hands, elbows pointed towards the ground, to minimize the damage upon impact. She landed in soft sand and rolled, sliding to a stop several feet away. Looking back up at the ceiling, she could see a pale hole where she'd fallen through, and the round shapes of her companion's heads peering down.

"Saiya?" Baal called. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she yelled back, her voice bouncing off the walls and echoing back to her. "I found the door!"

The Hunter laughed. "So you did. Stay right there, okay? We're going to figure out a way to come down to you."

"Make sure we can get back up again, 'cause I'm not sure there's another way out," Saiya advised.

While the others tried to figure out a solution to this problem, Saiya got to her feet, shook the sand out of her clothes, and examined her surroundings. The underground ruins were largely cloaked in darkness, though there were a few rays of light scattered here and there, giving her a good idea of the immense scope of the place. Crumbling stone pillars supported the ceiling, and the ornate floor tiles showed through the sandy covering. There was an ancient smell in the air: not foul, per se, but musty and stale.

Venturing out a little into the half-lit gloom, she happened upon the remains of an armory, with weapons still on their racks. She brushed her fingers over them, clearing the dust of ages: spears, axes, sword, maces – all bearing a similar design that she assumed must mark them as Horadrim craft.

A skittering in the shadows startled her, but it proved to be nothing more than an inquisitive scarab beetle. Saiya watched it forage around, searching for food. She knew that the golden scarab was the symbol for the Coven led by the late and unmourned Maghda, but she could not find anything to hate in the resilient little insect. In fact, she thought amusedly, it was kind of adorable.

Without warning, a small brown hand emerged from a drift of sand and snatched the beetle up, transporting it to a fanged mouth in a scrunched-up face. The eyes, luminous yellow and grotesquely huge, stared flatly at the young monk while the teeth crunched through the scarab's hard shell.

At first, she thought it was a child, perhaps lost and gone feral as a result, but though the creature was roughly the right size and shape, there was something twisted about it that precluded the notion that it might be even remotely human. Guessing that it was some kind of demon, Saiya backed away, calling anxiously up to her friends, "I'm not alone down here! There's a thing … about the size of a four-year-old, and it doesn't look friendly at all."

"Oh, fuck," exclaimed Baal, not at all reassuringly. "How many do you see?"

"Uh … just the one."

"There'll be more," he said. "Listen to me, Saiya – stay in the light. I'm coming down to back you up, okay?"

"No," she argued. "If they attack, you'll be more useful up there, where you can snipe them."

"She's right, Brother," said Kormac. "If anyone goes down, it should be me."

Baal sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a sure sign of his frustration. "Fine, but if she gets overwhelmed, I'm not hanging around up here. Have you seen what Dust Imps do to their victims? Because I have, and it's not pretty."

"This is Saiya we're talking about here," the Templar asserted with touching confidence. "She is nobody's victim."

Even as prepared as she was, the next few minutes were some of the most nerve-wracking Saiya had ever experienced. There was something very disturbing about knowing that an attack was coming, but not when or where from, or even how. To combat her tenseness, she sank into meditation, allowing her senses to roam naturally without hindrance. She picked up on the demonic energy almost at once: no fewer than fifteen of them, fully surrounding her and moving forward at a slow but inexorable pace. She had no doubt that they were waiting until the optimal moment to launch their ambush.

She exhaled a long breath, smiling, exuding relief and relaxation, as if she had decided she was safe. In that instant, just as she had expected, she felt a shift.

Now.

They came faster than she had anticipated, from all directions simultaneously. Saiya dropped her weight, lunging forward to meet the assault head-on, crossing her arms at the chest and then sweeping them outwards in a wide arc. The blades on her new knuckles, honed to a razor sharpness, sliced effortlessly through hide, flesh, and bone, splashing blood and spilling guts onto the sandy floor. Three of the Imps at least were down – one decapitated, one with its stomach open, and another whose leg had been hacked off. The sound of crossbows firing (tat-tat-tat-tat-tat for Baal's and a slower, louder one that indicated Lyndon had joined in) was met with high-pitched squealing from behind her. Intellectually, she knew that her companions were covering her blind spots, but she turned around anyway, balancing on one leg while the other lashed out in a circular motion, knocking her miniature foes back with the force behind her kick.

It was a mistake. Even before her foot had touched the ground again, she felt two pairs of tiny arms grabbing onto her – one high on her back, clinging to her shoulders, and the other on her left arm. She reached up with her free hand and seized the head of the first Imp, twisting it sharply to the side and snapping its neck. At the same time, there was a terrible pain in her bicep. The young monk shook her arm hard, sending the demon attaching to it flying to the side. Examining the wound, she saw the ragged marks of teeth in her flesh; a whole chunk had been gnawed away. Looking back at the Imp, she watched it chew and swallow, her blood slicking its chin, and felt sick to her stomach.

Oh Ytar, she thought, they're going to eat me alive if they can.

The smell of her blood seemed to drive the creatures into a frenzy; they surged forward, climbing over each other in their haste to get to her. Baal was shooting at them, but it was not enough to stem the tide. In another few seconds they would be on her, and then he would come down to help, and they'd likely both be killed or severely injured.

Saiya could think of only one solution that might save her life without endangering his. She reached for the bell.

It was her second use in just a few hours, and the energy was wild, rampant, harder to control. It burst forth in waves, shattering the floor tiles and throwing up waves of sand. The Imps were blown back like chaff before a wind.

When the thunderous echoes had died down, there was a moment of complete silence. Then, with timing that would have been almost comical if it had not heralded such disaster, the ceiling began to crack. Dirt rained down on Saiya's head. The nearby pillars crumbled into rubble.

"Run!" Baal cried.

She did, not daring to slow down even to glance behind her. In the dark, she tripped on loose rocks, tumbled down inclines, scraped her hands and knees. She followed no clear path, letting instinct guide her more than her limited vision, and eventually she came to a halt, panting and covered in sweat, unable to see more than a few feet ahead. Trying to get her racing heart under control, she crouched down and listened intently for her comrade's voices, but she could hear nothing at all. The silence was smothering.

Calling out to them was not an option, she thought. Only the gods knew what other foul things lurked down here, and she did not want to find out. She considered trying to retrace her steps, maybe dig her way out, but she wasn't sure that was even possible. So in the end, she simply kept going, feeling her way with her hands stretched out in front of her, making as little noise as possible.

She paused frequently to meditate for a few brief moments, checking the area with her senses for any signs of demonic activity. Several times, she nearly fell into a hole or pit in the ground, which she avoided at the last second by reflex alone. Once a bridge that she was crossing broke under her weight, nearly dumping her into the chasm below. The ruins seemed to follow a continuous slope downwards, and the young monk fervently hoped that the geography of the oasis above followed the same trend, and she was not actually making her way deeper into the earth.

Saiya was not naturally a claustrophobic person, but after a little while the darkness and the silence and the tenseness of having to fumble her way blindly through potentially hostile territory began to wear on her nerves. She felt trapped and unable to breathe. To combat her rising fear, she recited mantras – nothing complete enough to produce holy energy, just little snippets meant to calm and reassure her. It brought back memories of how the head monk used to comfort her as a child when nightmares plagued her. His deep voice, rolling softly yet inexorably through the room, had chased away all her fears.

In fact, it was working a little too well. Saiya could swear that she did hear a voice, as yet no more than a whisper, but growing louder with every passing step. She stopped in her tracks, cocking her head to one side to focus her hearing.

-Keep walking. You're going the right way.-

"Hello?" she called softly. "Is someone there?"

There was no response. She shook her head, thinking that she must have imagined it. Just to make sure, she swerved abruptly to the left. The voice returned again, much more insistently than before.

-No no, you silly chit. Not that way!-

Saiya knew that the art of telepathy – speaking with another being mind to mind – was possible, but she had never attempted it before. Taking a deep breath, she tried to project her thoughts as loudly as possible.

-Who are you?-

-Hm. You needn't shout, I can hear you quite well. Who do you think?- She was getting a better feeling for the nature of the voice now: dry and masculine, neither very young nor very old, with a definite flavor of sarcasm.

"Zoltun Kulle?" she wondered aloud.

-Very good. What a brilliant girl you must be.-

-But how is this possible?- Saiya asked. -Adria told us that you were dead.-

-I do not know this Adria, but she is wrong. The Horadrim could not kill me. They merely inconvenienced me for a while.-

Saiya hesitated before communicating any further with the ancient sorcerer's spirit. She had not expected to be put in this position, and was unsure how much of their quest she should reveal.

-I'm here to retrieve your head, Kulle,- she said at last. -Will you give me directions to it?-

-I already am,- replied the voice. -Continue the way you are going. I will warn you if you stray off course.-

He's helpful, Saiya mentally observed, with a good deal of sarcasm, and jumped when a cadaverous chuckle rang in her ear.

-Indeed I am.-

It was unnerving to know that her private thoughts were being scrutinized, so she tried to clear her mind completely and concentrate on following Kulle's instructions. With him acting as a guide, it was not long before she saw a blue glow in the distance. Upon reaching it, she found a glyph of magical origin inscribed upon the ground, with her prize floating above it.

-Stop!- roared Kulle as she tentatively extended a hand.

"What?" she said, alarmed.

-It's a trap. If you breach the perimeter without first uttering the correct phrase to undo the magic, a guardian will be summoned. I would prefer to avoid that outcome, as it will likely result in your death, and my continuing imprisonment here.-

"Tyrael never warned us about that," Saiya muttered. Instantly, she regretted speaking as she felt a surge of interest from her companion.

-Tyrael? You are allied with him?-

"Yes," she responded curtly. "So, what's the phrase? I presume you know it?"

-Listen carefully. The words are: 'Horadrim üzvü kimi, men onun istirahet yeri namerdlik bas aradan qaldirilmasi icaze'. Can you remember that?-

"Um … could you say it one more time? A little more slowly, maybe?"

He sighed impatiently, but did as she had requested. Saiya mouthed the words along with him, utilizing the same technique that had allowed her to memorize so many mantras: dividing up a longer sentence into multiple clumps of words. When she was confident that she would not make any mistakes, she took a deep breath and recited the incantation. The end result was choppy and stilted, but apparently acceptable to the magic that held Kulle's head. The seal vanished, and the head fell to the floor with a soft thump.

Saiya bent down and carefully lifted it. She had expected it to have decayed (after all, it had been separated from its body for many years) but some enchantment had preserved the flesh as if it had been severed just that day. The young monk looked into the eyes, partially open and filmed over, and wondered what sort of man they belonged to. Some might consider him handsome, in a cold and distant kind of way. The nose was proud and hooked, the cheekbones prominent and the fore-head high and dignified. There was a stern countenance to the features. His crown was completely bald, with not even the shadow of stubble growing in, but his chin and upper lip were masked by a thick black beard and mustache.

-Admiring me, are you, girl?-

To her credit, Saiya barely flinched. "My name's Saiya, by the way," she said. "And I'm not sure about admiring, but I am curious what you'll look like once you're not, you know, dead." She took perverse pleasure in the disapproval she could sense emanating from the sorcerer's presence.

But all he said was, -Tell me, then, Saiya: how did you come to do grunt work for the Archangel of Justice?-

"I beg your pardon?" she snapped, annoyed. "I'm no grunt!"

-Then why did Tyrael not come to fetch me himself?- When she did not reply, he sneered, -You decline to answer?-

"I don't owe you any explanations, Kulle. I'm here to help you, but if that's not good enough for you, I'll just put this-" She hefted his head. "-right back where I found it."

-Touchy, aren't you. Very well, suit yourself. I'll get all the answers I need in good time.-

"Right," said Saiya. "I'm glad we understand each other. Now, how do I get out of here?"

-There is a back door not too far from here … a concealed exit that only opens from the inside of the ruin. Come, bring my head. I will guide you."

As soon as she had begun to walk in the direction Kulle indicated, however, the dreadful sound of rocks grinding together erupted only a few feet away, and a massive shape began to rise up from the ground. Brightly glowing runes inscribed all over the surface of it gave Saiya some idea of its proportions: ten feet or more in height, and as girthy as a hundred-year-old oak.

-What is it?- she asked telepathically, not daring to speak aloud lest the thing hear her.

-That,- replied Kulle, -is the guardian I warned you about. Iben Faud must have been cleverer than I ever gave him credit for. If you run, it will follow you to the ends of the earth.-

The guardian took a few steps in Saiya's direction, its tiny head swiveling on its shoulders, searching the darkness. The ground shook when it moved. Saiya held her breath.

-How do I kill it, then?-

-There will be one master rune located somewhere on its body,- said the sorcerer. -Destroy that, and the construct will cease to work.-

-You'll have to help me, Kulle. I can destroy the rune, but you must find it for me.-

-Be careful, girl. That thing will crush you like a beetle.-

She smiled. -I'm tougher than I look.-

-Very well. I warned you.-

Crouching down, the young monk tucked Kulle's head behind a pillar, where it would hopefully remain safe in the battle that was to come. Despite her boasting, she was legitimately worried about her chances against the thing. The only technique in her arsenal that might be effective was the bell, but she did not want to risk using it for a third time. Even if it worked, the risk of passing out was too great, and lying unconscious down here could be fatal.

But what else was there? Her normal attacks would not damage stone and steel, and she did not wish to blunt her new knuckles. It seemed that she would have to play hide-and-seek with it until Kulle successfully located the master rune.

The guardian was within two paces of her now, and she decided it was time to go, circling to the left, trying to stay behind cover.

But her attempt at stealth was in vain, for the instant she moved, the construct's head snapped in her direction, gemstone eyes lighting up in a way that reminded her absurdly of Baal. Then it charged, and all thoughts except for survival were wiped from her mind. Some instinct told to her dodge towards it, and she rolled between its legs just as the huge fist smashed down, forming a crater in the floor where she'd just been standing.

Saiya wasted no time in scrambling to her feet, using her superior agility to her advantage as she jumped, rolled, and vaulted around the arena, barely managing to stay one beat ahead of the ferocious guardian.

-Hurry up, Kulle!- she thought furiously. -I can't keep this up all day!-

-Perhaps you would care to try searching for one particular rune among dozens on a behemoth that won't keep still?- Kulle replied. His tone was dry, but Saiya thought she detected a strained note.

A low wall loomed up ahead of her; she leaped over it, cutting abruptly to the right in a spurt of sand. Her legs were beginning to tire, and a stitch in her side was worsening by the second, making it difficult to draw breath. If she was forced to continue this for much longer, she was going to make a mistake.

-There!- Kulle cried suddenly. -On its lower back, the Horadric crest. That will be the one.-

-One problem,- Saiya snarled. -I don't know what the Horadric crest looks like!-

-Look for a round eye with a narrow pupil, and two prongs below it.-

Momentarily distracted, Saiya's foot came down wrong and she slipped, catching herself painfully on her forearms and tumbling a few times, ending up sprawled on her back. Looking up, she saw the guardian's fists descending towards her in a double swing.

There was no time to move, or even think. The bell tore out of her in a great wave of holy power, leaving her empty. It was only with immense force of will that she was able to keep herself from passing out.

But her opponent had not escaped unscathed either. The glyphs on its arms and chest had been burned away by the blast, and some of the smaller stones that served as fingers were cracked and broken.

-Now!- urged Kulle. -Kill it now, girl, while it's weak!-

Saiya needed no further encouragement. Scrambling upright, she slipped around behind the stunned guardian, where the master rune shone brightly, just as Kulle had described it, at about her head-height. She jumped and caught onto a ridge on the construct's back, using the joints of its mighty knees as footholds as she smashed her free fist into the rune again and again. The giant lurched forward, stumbling two and fro and thrashing around in an effort to shake her off, but she clung on with grim determination.

At last the magical seal gave way beneath her barrage in a fiery burst that seared the skin of her forearm. The guardian took two final steps and collapsed into a pile of useless rocks. Saiya lay motionless on top of it, her ears ringing, content for the moment simply to breathe.

-Get up.-

Saiya groaned. "Give me a minute, alright?"

-No. You'll get up now.-

"Ugh. Bastard," she muttered as she forced her battered body to rise, but she recognized the prudence behind his ruthless demand. Staggering over to the sorcerer's severed head, she picked it up and tucked it rather irreverently under her arm.

"Lead on," she grunted.

-Straight ahead. You're no ordinary chit, are you? I sense a great power in you, not of this world. What is the nature of it?-

"Mind your own business!"

-Rudeness is a trait I cannot stand,- sniffed Kulle. He sounded offended, but Saiya had to smirk at the irony of his words.

"You're the one calling me 'chit' and 'girl' when I told you my name is Saiya," she pointed out. "I'd say one discourtesy begets another."

Apparently his curiosity overruled his pride, for after a moment, he said, -Very well … Saiya. What is this power that allows you to summon the Chimes of Heaven?-

"Is that what they're called? Anyway, I truly mean no disrespect, Kulle, but I'd rather not discuss my abilities with you." She kept a tight lock on her thoughts, not trusting him to abide by her wishes.

The walls gradually closed in around her until she was traveling through a narrow passageway of packed dirt, shored up by tree roots and the occasional wooden support beam. There was a heavy stone door at the end, which was closed. Saiya pushed at it with all her strength, but it refused to budge.

"What now?" she asked her self-appointed guide.

But Kulle seemed to be having difficulties, muttering under his breath and occasionally uttering a groan. Listening to him, Saiya realized that his voice had grown weaker and weaker since they entered the tunnel; she had been so successful in tuning him out that she hadn't noticed.

"Are you alright?" she inquired with genuine concern.

-I am in pain,- he replied. -My soul is chained to this place, and trying to leave it is causing me great agony. I fear that if I go much further, I shall be rent asunder.-

"What should we do, then? Can I take your head with me, as long as your spirit stays here?"

-Theoretically, yes, but I am loathe to be parted with my remains.-

Saiya nodded. "Understandable, I guess, but I can hardly leave your head after the effort I went to to get it. Besides, we need it if we're going to resurrect you." She bit her lip as soon as the words were out, angry with herself for revealing so much. I must be tired.

-There is another way,- Kulle said. His tone had subtly changed; he sounded sly and nervous, all at once. -If I were to have a human host …-

"A human host?" Saiya echoed blankly. "What do you mean?" Then comprehension dawned, and she vehemently shook her head. "Oh! Oh, no. No way. I'm not letting you possess me, if that's what you're talking about."

-Then I must insist that you either find a host who is willing, or leave my head here when you go.-

"I'm trying to help you, damn it!" Saiya growled. "Can't you see that?"

Kulle didn't respond, and Saiya turned away, dragging both hands through her hair in a gesture of agitation that, if she could have seen herself in that moment, would have reminded her irresistibly of Baal. She was resentful of the choice that had been forced upon her, but she could not see that Kulle was in the wrong. In his place, she would be equally reluctant to let a perfect stranger run off with her very life in his hands for gods-know-what purpose. And she was completely unwilling to allow any of her friends to be subjected to something that she herself refused. That left two options: give in to what Kulle had suggested, or abandon their quest and try to find another way to defeat Belial.

The first option was repulsive, and her entire body rebelled at the idea of it, but the second … the second was deeply selfish, and it was not in her nature to consider herself above all others.

"I have some questions," she said.

-Of course. Ask away.-

"And some requirements."

-I will accommodate them if possible.-

"What exactly does possession entail? Would you be in control of my body? My mind?"

There was a brief pause before he spoke, and she sensed hesitation. -I will be honest with you. Once you let me in, I could, if I so desired, 'take control', as you put it. I could force your own consciousness into a state of slumber, where you would be unaware of anything I did using your body as a vessel.-

Saiya didn't like the sound of that at all, but she did feel some small gratitude for his forthrightness. It was information that he could easily have kept hidden from her, and the fact that he had divulged it made her more inclined to trust him.

"Clear enough," she said. "What about when it comes time for you to leave? Is there some special process? Will it hurt me at all?"

-There is a ritual - an exorcism, it's called - that will force me from your body if I am unwilling to vacate it. That ritual does carry its risks, but the likelihood of your survival is high. But I doubt it shall come to that. I do not wish to control you, merely ride along with you for as long as it proves necessary. It would be like carrying someone, just a little more … intimate.-

"Very well, Kulle," she said. "I'll do it, but on two conditions. First, you will keep to yourself while you're in my head. No reading my thoughts, no poking, no prying, and absolutely no 'putting my consciousness into a slumber'. Is that acceptable?"

-Perfectly. And the other?-

"I'm in control. You're just a passenger. If I make a decision, you have to go with it, even if you don't agree. If I decide it's not working out, I'll bring you back here so you won't die."

-As you wish.-

"If you break the terms of our agreement in any way," Saiya warned, "I will have that exorcism done. Got it?"

-Yes. Are you ready?-

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "I am."

It was nothing like she had imagined. A momentary chill, a strange sensation of stretching, as though she was made of elastic, and then a mild tingling in her limbs. She had expected Kulle's presence to feel more intrusive, but in truth she could hardly detect it. For a moment, she wondered if it had actually worked – until his voice resounded in her skull: -Yes, it was successful.-

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't read my mind," she scolded.

-My apologies. It is difficult, especially at first, to keep our psyches separate. I will try to restrain myself.-

"Make sure you do. Now, how do I open this door?"

-There should be a lever or a pressure plate here somewhere. Look around.-

She located it eventually (buried under a pile of dirt right next to the door) and sighed with relief as the slab of stone sank down into the floor, letting a flood of light into the dim tunnel. With the light came the sound of people talking.

"It seems a hopeless cause to me, Brother." In this land, that Northern inflection could belong to no one but Kormac. "We've been trying for what … twenty minutes now? And we've yet to find a way in. Are you even so sure this door leads into the same ruins? We are quite some ways from the clearing where Saiya fell in."

"Damn it, I'm not going to give up!" That was Baal, sounding extremely frustrated. The two men were standing just out of sight on the other side of a patch of greenery, and Saiya, giving in to a wicked impulse, stopped to listen.

"I refuse to believe that she's dead," her lover continued, "but she could be trapped in there, injured … we've got to find some alternative route! I won't leave her!"

"No one's asking you to do that, Baal," said Eirena, softly. "We all know how much you care about her."

"All we're saying is, spending any longer trying to open a door that clearly isn't meant to open is a waste of our time and energy," added Lyndon. "It's getting late. I suggest that we go back to camp for now. The umbaru woman is a witch doctor, right? She might be able to get the door open with one of her summons."

"You all can do what want," replied Baal. "I'm staying here."

Deciding that she'd kept them waiting long enough, Saiya stepped forward into their line of sight, inadvertently rustling the bushes as she did so. They spun around, startled, partially drawing their various weapons. Then, seeing who it was, they gave a collective sigh of relief. Baal ran to meet her, joy and worry warring for control of his features.

"Are you alright, nuur il-'en?" he demanded, taking her by the shoulders and peering anxiously into her eyes.

Saiya intended to answer him properly, but a wave of exhaustion swept over her, causing her to sway on her feet. She nodded wordlessly and held up her gruesome burden.

"I found Kulle's head," she announced, and promptly fainted into Baal's waiting arms.

She awoke feeling ravenous. Judging by the amount of light in the sky, she had slept the night through, and well into the morning. The only reminder of the previous day's events was a lingering soreness in her muscles, and a slight headache. There was a tight sensation around her bicep where a bandage had been placed on her bite wound.

Sitting up, Saiya glanced around to see her companions in various states of relaxation. Caesar was stretched out in the shade, legs crossed at the ankle and arms tucked behind his head, dozing. Baal had all his supplies and weapons laid out on the ground and appeared to be taking inventory. Lyndon was fishing in the pool with a homemade rod. He was the first to notice her, and nodded cordially in greeting.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning, Lyndon," she replied. At the sound of her voice, Baal's head jerked up, and he grinned broadly. The young monk's heart skipped a beat at the sight.

"Saiya! You're awake! How do you feel?"

"Pretty well, considering. Where are the others?"

"Kormac, Eirena, and Asiya took Zoltun Kulle's head back to the Hidden Camp earlier. They should be returning any time now with the location of the body."

-I can tell you that.-

Saiya jumped. She had forgotten for a moment about her deal with the sorcerer. Looking back at Baal, she saw that his smile had changed to a frown of concern.

"Sorry," she said. "An insect bit me."

"You'd better let me see," he said, getting to his feet and beginning to walk towards her. "If it lives in this place, it might be poisonous."

Saiya scrambled for an excuse, feeling extremely foolish. "Don't worry. It was, uh, just an ant. I'll be right back!" She got up and fled.

"Where are you going?" Baal yelled after her.

"Latrine!"

Once she had gotten some distance, she all but collapsed on the ground under a twisting tree (after first checking the area for zeheratici). She was not sure why she had lied to Baal – only that some intuition had warned her not to tell him about what had happened between her and Kulle in the ruins. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she reiterated, it was simply that she wasn't sure he'd understand or approve, and she didn't want to have an argument with him about something that was already done.

-What's the matter, girl?- asked the sorcerer's perpetually mocking voice. -Regretting our union so soon?-

"Kulle," she growled aloud. "You're treading on thin ice."

-Merely an educated guess, my dear. I have not violated the sanctity of your inner thoughts, merely interpreted your outer ones.-

Saiya did not like his familiarity in using an endearment, no matter how sarcastically it was meant, but she didn't think it worth the trouble of bickering about. Instead she leaned back against the tree trunk and tried to settle into a meditation in the hope that it would help calm her shattered nerves and allow her come to some conclusion about what she should tell Baal.

As it turned out, she did not have long to deliberate, for not ten minutes later, footsteps sounded through the brush nearby, and the Hunter came into view. He was obviously looking for her. Noticing her, he changed course.

"What's wrong, Saiya?" he asked, stopping in front of her with his arms crossed.

"What makes you think there's anything wrong?" she countered.

"Come on," he snorted. "Give me some credit. I know you. You never act like this unless something is bothering you. What happened when you were separated from us?"

Recognizing that she was going to have to explain sooner or later, Saiya heaved a sigh and motioned for her lover to sit down.

"Zoltun Kulle isn't dead," she said. "Not even close. I encountered his spirit in the ruins, and he helped guide me to his head and told me the phrase that would release it. The trap still triggered though, and a guardian sentry awoke. To be honest, I probably would have been killed if Kulle had not helped me fight it."

"You didn't give him any information, I hope," Baal said.

She shrugged awkwardly, knowing that Kulle was listening to every word. "Baal, he's a telepath. I concealed what I could, but he knows the gist of our plan."

He struck his knee with a closed fist. "Shit. That's exactly what I was hoping to avoid. I'll have to warn Adria to be careful."

"That's not all of it, though. You … I don't know how you're going to take this, but … well, he had some reservations about me just running off with his head. He offered me a choice: I could either leave it behind – which I was not about to do – or I could, uh … 'host' him for a while."

Baal froze. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. "You let him possess you?"

"I had some terms-"

"Saiya. You let him possess you?"

"It was the only way! It would have been wrong to just take his head without his permission. And I couldn't leave it, not when it's our only chance to take down Belial."

"You should have consulted me first."

"You weren't there!"

"You should never-"

"Baal, do you think I just-"

"-never allow yourself to be voluntarily possessed-"

"-acted without considering the dangers? I know-"

"Gods damnit, Saiya, he's a fucking murderer! And now-"

"I know the risks. I've got everything under control."

"Oh, you think so? Do you even know what he did? Don't you wonder why the Horadrim were so especially brutal in how they executed him? They didn't ever want him coming back. He tortured people to death and imprisoned their souls just for the sake of his sick experiments. That's the man you let into your head. And he could be controlling your every move now, for all I know. I can't even be sure that's you looking at me out of your eyes right now. Do you understand why I'm upset about this?"

"I had no choice!" she screamed, and he recoiled as if he'd been slapped, shock showing sea-green through the blazing crimson of his eyes. "I made my choice for the greater good," she continued stonily, "and I'm not happy about it either, so you needn't act as though this was something I asked for. Kulle gave me the option of finding another host, but I'd go willingly into the Burning Hells itself before I let one of you take on this burden. What would you have done in my place?"

"I would have taken the head and left the fucker there to rot."

There was a chill in her very soul. "Yeah, well, you're the man who thought nothing of slaughtering Khazra children in cold blood, so I'm not terribly surprised. You know, Baal, I don't half wonder sometimes who's the real demon."

The instant she spoke, Saiya knew she had wounded him deeply, and a wave of remorse swept over her. Her breath hitched and she reached out to him, but he pulled back, staring at her with such hurt on his face that her heart cracked. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. Angrily, she wiped them away with the back of her hand. What right did she have to cry when she had caused him pain?

"I didn't mean that," she mumbled. "I don't know why I said it. I'm really sorry, Baal."

"But you did mean it," he replied. "Oh, you might wish you didn't, but I saw how you looked at me after I killed the goatmen. As if I was a monster. And you know what, perhaps you're right. Perhaps I am evil. But I'm a necessary evil. Without me and my kind, people like you would be wiped out by their own soft-heartedness."

"You're not evil, Baal."

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day you'll believe it." He got to his feet and stalked off into the forest.

Saiya felt as if her whole world was crumbling around her, and she had no one to blame but herself. Miserable, she curled up into a ball and sobbed until her stomach ached and her eyes were dry and reddened.

A sound in the bushes caused her to look up hopefully, thinking that Baal had returned, but it was Ghor instead. The sangoma crouched down beside her, dark eyes aglow with compassion.

"Why do you weep, rafiki?" she asked.

Without really intending to, Saiya found herself pouring out the whole story, from her encounter with Kulle to her fateful decision to Baal's reaction and their subsequent fight. "I'm afraid it's over between us," she moaned. "After what I said, I don't know if he can ever forgive me."

The older woman folded her in a comforting embrace. Resting her head against Ghor's smooth shoulder, Saiya inhaled her spicy, pleasant scent.

"Oh, child, child … he can, and in time he will. Your Hunter has a big heart, and his love for you is true. Give him space, and be gentle and contrite but do not push for reconciliation. He will come to you when he is ready. The most important thing for now is to figure out what to do about this sorcerer's spirit you are hosting. Will you allow me to help you?"

Saiya nodded her consent, and the witch doctor placed both hands, with fingers splayed wide, on either side of her face, barely touching the skin.

"Hear me, Zoltun Kulle," she said. "I call you now. Answer me through your human host, if you will speak."

-Tell her that I'm perfectly content to have you speak for me,- said Kulle. When Saiya mentally transmitted her surprise, he said, -I made a deal with you. I intend to keep it.-

"He says that he's not going to break our contract by using me," Saiya explained. Ghor seemed to be satisfied.

"This is good. I wanted to test and see how he behaves himself. For now, I do not see that you are in any danger. However, I will keep a close eye on you. Should it prove necessary, I can perform an exorcism ceremony."

The two women returned together to camp, where they found that Kormac and Eirena had returned with rather discouraging news. Asiya, apparently, had remained behind to help her aunt deal with some unexpected trouble.

"Adria tried the summoning spell, but it failed," the Templar reported. "She suggested that we gather all of the, er, proper ingredients. Unfortunately, she has only a vague idea of where the body might be. Supposedly, it lies somewhere in the Desolate Sands, but that is an area many hundreds of miles in size, and largely unmapped to boot. I fear that our quest is doomed from the start."

Saiya knew what was coming, and hence was not surprised in the least when Kulle murmured, -I can guide you.- She took a deep breath and prepared herself for a difficult conversation.

"I know where we need to go."

* The phrase that releases Kulle's head is: "As a member of the Horadrim, I authorize the removal of this traitor's head from its resting place.'

I'm pretty proud of this chapter, despite the extreme length it took me to finish it. Sorry about that. *guilty face* But please review and let me know what you think! The more feedback I get, the more inspired I'll be to hurry up with the next update... :P