Amor Vincit Omnia

(Love Conquers All)

Part Two: The Fragile Heart

"Waking stream of consciousness
On a sleeping street of dreams
Thoughts like scattered leaves
Slowed in mid-fall into the streams

Of fast running rivers
Of choice and chance
And time stops here on the delta
While they dance

I love the child who steers this riverboat
But lately he's crazy for the deep
The river seems dreamlike in the daytime
And someone keeps thinking in my sleep
- Crosby, Stills, and Nash
"Delta"

100 reviews! I love you guys! Sorry about the wait, but I hope the chapter is worth it. :)

Chapter Seventeen: The Black Soulstone

When he saw Saiya crumple, Caesar's first panicked thought was that she had been struck by an unseen assailant. But his first cursory examination revealed no obvious wounds, and he concluded that she had fainted – an outcome no less grim in its implication. His heart hoped it was merely fatigue and malnourishment that had caused her collapse, but his mind suspected it was linked to the neurotoxin, and that time was dwindling.

Shouldering her pack, he bundled her limp form into his arms and stood, aghast by how effortless it was. They were of a similar height (if anything, Saiya was half-an-inch taller), and he was not a muscular man. It should have been a struggle to lift her up, but she weighed no more than her bones.

-Can you hear me, boy?-

The voice was like a trumpet blare in his skull. The mage had never heard it before, yet he recognized it instantly.

"Zoltun?" he asked cautiously. "Is that you?"

-Of course. Who else? Feel free to answer me with telepathy, by the way. I can understand you perfectly well.-

-H-how are you- To me, I mean? Uh, speaking, that is. Damnit!- His thought-speech felt coarse and clumsy, words jumping ahead of each other and leaving their sentences in disarray. Kulle chuckled coldly.

-Relax. Don't let your brain get ahead of your tongue. And I should think it's obvious: I'm speaking to you from within Saiya.-

"I didn't know …" He stopped in frustration, starting over again, like a child scolded for shouting. -I didn't know you could do that.-

-Of course I can. Who do you think you're talking to?-

Caesar glanced down at the unconscious woman in his arms. -Please help me,- he begged. -I'm afraid she's going to die. You know how to save her. You can tell me what to do.-

-It would distress you if she died, would it?- asked Kulle.

-'Distress' is putting it mildly,- Caesar replied, trying not to grit his teeth.

-Do you love her?-

-Like my own sister.-

-I suspect it's rather more than that.-

"Are you going to help me or not?" he snapped aloud. "I don't have time to sit here chatting with you!"

-Very well. Do you see that door directly ahead of you? Go through it.-

The 'door' in question was formed by a sheet of sand jetting continuously up from vents in the floor. Caesar was just on the point of asking how to open it when the geyser suddenly shut off, apparently triggered by a pressure plate he had stepped on. Grains of sand scattered everywhere, crunching under his feet.

The room within was, without a doubt, the site of Kulle's most important experiments. This was obvious not only from the various scientific paraphernalia but also from the decapitated corpse in the center, clad in long robes, the arms spread wide. Black stains covered the ground from where blood had pooled and dried, preserved even after hundreds of years. Caesar grimaced as he surveyed the scene. The Horadrim hadn't even showed the courtesy of interring their former comrade; they had simply hacked off his head and left him where he fell.

-Lay her on the table, there,- Kulle instructed, seemingly unaffected by the presence of his own cadaver. Caesar obeyed the direction, easing Saiya onto the stone surface as gently as he could. He removed his outer coat, rolled it up, and tucked it under her head as a makeshift pillow.

-You're going to want to strap her down,- said Kulle. -The patient's response can be … turbulent. It would be unfortunate if she injured herself by thrashing around.-

Soft leather straps, reinforced with steel, were positioned at the monk's forehead, chest, hips, wrists, and ankles. Caesar buckled them all, ensuring they were secure but not tight enough to cut off blood flow.

-Now,- said Kulle, -for the transfer.-

The wizard frowned. -Transfer?-

-Yes. I can no longer use her as a vessel. There is too great a chance that the treatment will fail, and I am unwilling to risk my life. If I am to save her, you must allow me to temporarily occupy your body instead.-

-That's fine, but how would I go about, uh … 'transferring' you? I thought that an exorcism had to be performed.-

-You show your ignorance, boy,- Kulle sneered. -I can easily move from one physical form to another as long as there is contact between the two. A kiss should suffice.-

Caesar's mouth went dry. "A … a kiss?"

-Don't be coy. You heard me perfectly well.-

"I can't do that! Surely something less personal-"

-This amuses me. Your petty moral conflicts are an endless source of entertainment.-

"Damn you, Kulle," Caesar snarled angrily. "This woman allowed you to use her as a host for days! Don't you care about her at all?"

-She was pleasant enough company, I suppose, and she served her purpose. I am going to save her life. What more do you want? Hurry up, boy, time is wasting away, and so is her brain.-

"Baal is going to kill me if he finds out," Caesar groaned. Slowly, he lowered his head until he was nose-to-nose with Saiya, his hands planted on either side of her shoulders. She looked so peaceful; a fairy-story princess, like the one who was placed under a sleeping charm that lasted a hundred years until her true love kissed her awake.

Will she wake if I kiss her? he wondered. That might be awkward to explain. Not nearly so awkward as what I'm about to do, though.

He could feel Kulle's eagerness nudging his thoughts, like a child's face pressed against window glass. Steeling himself, he dipped quickly down and touched his lips to hers. Absurdly, he was trembling, and he scoffed at himself. He was not a virgin about to have his first sexual encounter. There was no reason for a kiss, given not in lust but out of necessity, to have this much effect on him.

A moment later, however, all uncomfortable stirrings were shoved clean out of his mind by the strangest sensation he had ever experienced. It was as if his skin had been stretched to accommodate another person. He felt bloated, like a glass bowl that someone had filled with water, but at the same time as bare and stripped as a tree whose branches had been pruned. It was bizarrely violating, and he wondered how Saiya had endured it so stoically for so long.

-She is a remarkable girl, is she not?- said Kulle – much louder now that he was inside Caesar's head. Almost deafening, in fact. -A Nephalem,- the sorcerer continued, -but then, you knew that. You're a half-child yourself.-

"I don't think my heritage is important right now," Caesar said, struggling to hide the tremor in his voice.

-Oh, but it is. Far more than you know.-

"Whatever you say. What do I do, now that you're … that we've done the transfer?"

-Do you see the mask there, the one connected to the tube? You must place that over her face.-

Caesar looked around as saw the mask in question, a leather contraption that resembled a muzzle, like one might put on a vicious dog. "And uh, what does that do?" he inquired doubtfully.

-It will ensure that she continues to breathe. Do you deem that to be of any importance?- Kulle's tone was biting. -I grow weary of your skepticism, boy. Either follow my instructions or I will cease to give them.-

"Alright, fine," Caesar muttered, reaching for the mask. It fit snugly over Saiya's nose and mouth. She looked disturbingly like a corpse, stretched out on the table with heavy restraints. The image was far too familiar for his comfort, and for a moment, he was standing in another laboratory, thousands of miles away and many years previously, with a desperate, broken voice crying, 'Please, please, let me go!' His stomach heaved and his pulse roared in his ears as he fought to return to the present.

It's done. It's over. It has been over for a long, long time.

"Now what?" he rasped.

-You're almost finished,- Kulle said. He sounded almost kindly, as though he was trying to encourage the faltering mage. -All you need to do is pull that lever, there.-

Caesar moved to do as he said, then stopped, hand gripping the cold metal. Something had caught his attention: a large object nestled into the swarm of wires and pipes that overshadowed the table. It was encased in glass, so he could see it clearly. A black crystal with several branching spikes and a multitude of facets. He had seen it before, once, a faded sketch on a torn-out page of forbidden book.

"Is that-" he began, and nearly staggered as Kulle's voice, suddenly furious, swept through him like a high wind.

-Pull the lever, you fool!-

"No," Caesar said, dropping his hand back to his side. "What's going on here, Zoltun? That's the black soulstone, isn't it? That's what we're here for. Why is it attached to the same machine that Saiya's hooked up to? What are you trying to do?"

-I am trying to save her life,- Kulle replied, -but you seem determined to get in my way.-

His tone was one of righteous indignation, and Caesar knew that he was trying to salvage the situation, but it was too late. The pieces of the puzzle had finally come together, and they showed a very ugly picture indeed.

"Oh gods," the wizard breathed. "You never intended to save her. In fact, it was the other way around! Was there ever a neurotoxin? There wasn't, was there? It was all you, infecting her thoughts, manipulating her emotions to drive her away from Baal and closer to me. You knew I was sympathetic to your cause, you played off my admiration and respect for you to trick me into doing exactly what you wanted. You sly, slimy, evil son of a whore, I trusted you! I trusted you and you betrayed me! Why? We could have worked together to achieve the same ends!"

-And what ends are those, exactly?- said Kulle.

"What do you think? We're going to kill Belial and trap his soul, so that he can never again plague humanity. It's the only way our world will ever be safe. Why don't you want that?"

Kulle laughed. -Oh, I have no objection to your plans for my stone. You still don't see, do you? Look around, boy, all the evidence is right before your eyes.-

Caesar stared helplessly around the room, trying to understand what the sorcerer was talking about. Evidence? Evidence of what? He had already caught on to Kulle's game. What more was there to know?

Then all at once it came to him, and he gasped aloud at the terrible realization.

"The stone isn't finished," he said. "You never got a chance to complete it. You were working on it – maybe even putting on the finishing touches – when they broke in and killed you. I'm right, aren't it?"

-Clever boy. You are absolutely correct.-

"But then … Saiya …"

-You know of my methods, how I crafted the stone.-

"Using the blood and essence of Nephalem. And … great fucking gods, you need one more. One more sacrifice. Saiya."

-Yes.-

He couldn't breathe. "How long have you been plotting this?"

-Since the beginning,- Kulle said. -I realized what she was immediately, of course, for I myself am one. It was not difficult to persuade her to accept me into her mind: she was far too desperate and too noble for any other option. Her injuries on the bridge were a stroke of luck, but I would have improvised had they not occurred. It was essential that no one figured out my intentions until it was over, so I deliberately created conflict within the group, kept her isolated.-

"And when the 'treatment' resulted in her death?"

-A tragic failure. I did warn you that there was a risk.-

"Why?" Caesar asked again. To his shame, his voice was weak and small.

-Because it is necessary,- Kulle said with finality. -Without her death, the soulstone will be useless. Belial will continue to rage across the land, spreading rot and disease wherever he goes. And it does not end with him. You know as well as I that this must be done. It is unpalatable, yes, and you must not imagine that I don't feel some regret. I genuinely liked the girl. But there is no other way.-

"You're wrong," Caesar snarled. "I don't care what you say, I'll find one. I'm not going to kill her."

-My dear boy,- Kulle said, -it is no longer your choice.-

Against his will, Caesar's hand began to move, creeping towards the lever. He fought against it, muscles tensing with the strain.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he stammered. "Stop!"

-Fool,- sneered the sorcerer, -there is nothing you can do. You are but a marionette, and I am the puppet master. Surrender now, and take solace in the knowledge that it was not your doing.-

There was a horrendous pressure in his skull, as though the bone was about to crack open and spill his brains to the floor. His fingers clenched around the handle of the lever and began to pull.

"NO!" A cry of pain and fear and bleak despair broke free of his throat as, with the last of his conscious will, he drove his magic out through his flinching palm and into the inner workings of the machine. Kulle howled in his mind.

-You! What have you done! You've ruined everything!-

And then all was silence, and darkness, and he knew no more.

Lyndon was not in good humor. Granted, if he had been allowed to choose two companions from among the group to be lost with, Eirena and Ghor would have been top of the list, but lost they were, in a dangerous madman's maze-like archives, in the dark (fortunately, Lyndon had a lantern in his pack, so they were not totally helpless). And of course, because bad luck loves to congregate, something was following them. Lyndon had caught brief flashes of it: a darker patch of shadow just outside the pool of lantern light, a brief flare of eyes like twin embers, the rasp of shallow breathing.

"We're at another intersection," Eirena announced. "Lyndon, it's your turn to pick."

"Let's go left this time," said the rogue. "Looks like it opens up a bit out there. Maybe we'll be able to get a better view of this place."

"Right-o!" She grinned, and Lyndon quirked his lips in a return smile. That was an expression she had learned from him and never seemed to tire of using. Modern jargon delighted her, and she had picked it up quickly, though Lyndon found her especially adorable on the occasions that she misused it.

"No, left," he teased, and tapped her gently on the nose when she gave him a confused look.

He glanced behind them as they continued down the left-hand path. The eyes were still there. They blinked several times, and were joined by a second pair, then a third.

Great, thought Lyndon. Really fucking amazing. Please, in Raven's name, let it just be rats. Very large rats.

"Come along, ladies," he said, placing a hand on each of their backs to usher them out into the room ahead. His voice never faltered; Lyndon prided himself on his ability to keep his cool even in the most dire of situations.

"Wow!" Eirena gasped, her eyes growing wide as she took in the massive area they'd entered. On either side of the narrow walkway, the floor dropped away into empty space where rune-scribed monoliths floated free of any visible support, clustered in groups that Lyndon guessed must have some magical significance, though he could not begin to guess what, or how they had been arranged.

"There are lights on the other side," Ghor exclaimed suddenly. "There, see? It looks like spell lights."

"Is that a good thing?" Lyndon asked.

"Spell lights are usually dormant until activated by a certain keyword or phrase," Eirena explained. "If those are lit, it could mean that some of our friends have passed that way. We should at least check it out."

"Good enough for me," said the rogue. "After you, my lovely."

Eirena started forward with a confident stride. As soon as they reached the middle of the room, however, she stopped in dismay. More of the mysterious creatures that had been following them had appeared directly in their path, identifiable only by their blazing red eyes and gleaming teeth. They were hemmed in on both sides, able neither to advance nor retreat.

"They don't seem to want to attack, whatever they are," the enchantress murmured after a few moments. "It's almost like they're waiting for something."

Drawing his crossbow, Lyndon sent a bolt into the forehead of the closest creature. It had no effect; in fact, as far as he could tell, the projectile passed through its target as though it was nonexistent and glanced off the slick floor, skittering into the darkness. The eyes blinked slowly at him.

Staring into them, he was suddenly gripped by a feeling of dread unlike anything he had ever felt. All rational thought deserted his mind, leaving only the blinding need to run. The crossbow dropped from his hands and clattered on the floor. Beside him, Eirena screamed in raw terror and fled, her stumbling feet carrying her straight towards the edge of the walkway. Lyndon tried to warn her, but his throat was as tight as a locked safe, and the only sound that emerged was a strangled whine.

Ghor caught the petite blonde moments before she pitched into the chasm, throwing her arms around the other woman's waist and carrying her bodily to the ground. The shock of hitting cold stone seemed to snap Eirena out of her panicked state.

"Cast a light spell!" Ghor urged her. "Quickly now! It will shield us for a moment."

Eirena obeyed without hesitation, chanting a few quick words and thrusting her staff towards the ceiling with both hands. The orb on the end flared to life, throwing out a brilliant glow that lit up the surrounding area brighter than day. Lyndon closed his eyes against the glare.

"What's going on?" he cried. "What are they?"

"Shadow beasts," said Ghor, her tone grim. "They feed on the fear that they inspire in their prey, and cannot be killed by any physical weapon."

"What, then? There must be some way to get rid of them. What do we do, think happy thoughts?"

"They are weak to holy power," the sangoma said. "It is a pity that Saiya is not here to lend us aid. We shall have to make do. There is a spirit that I can summon, though I am hesitant to use it around other people. It is … very powerful."

"Sounds like a good thing to me," Lyndon grunted, peering through his lashes at the demons milling about just outside the range of Eirena's magical light.

"When I tell you," said Ghor, "you must shut your eyes tight and under no circumstances open them until I say that it is safe. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Eirena said. Lyndon nodded in agreement. The witch doctor began to chant under her breath, a hypnotic sound. He watched the movement of her full lips, fingers itching to trace them. What a shame, he thought, that she was only interested in females; ordinarily, he was fully in support of the idea of two women having sex, but in this case he couldn't help wishing that the lovely sangoma was available. He had slept with ladies older than he, but never with an umbaru. There were not many where he came from, which Lyndon considered a shame. He had always had a weakness for their wild beauty.

"Now!" Ghor cried, and Lyndon covered his eyes just as Eirena's light was extinguished. The darkness enfolding them was alive with horrific sounds: the clacking of dry bones, the rattle of death in an ancient chest, the wet thump of slow, heavy footsteps. The rogue felt a malevolent presence pass by not a foot away, and breathed in the stench of rot and something far worse – the cold tang of metal and fresh blood, the wood of the executioner's platform, the reek of stale sweat and filthy flesh. He gulped down the lump that rose in his throat, threatening to choke him, and fumbled for Eirena's hand in the darkness. They clung to each other.

Afterwards, Lyndon could not say with any certainty how long they stood paralyzed, drowning in a sea of shadows. It seemed both an eternity and no time at all. All he knew was that when Ghor finally said, in a voice worn by weariness, "It is over. You can look again," the crimson eyes were gone.

"What the hell was that?" he gasped, reluctant to breathe in the air that still carried the taint of terror. "What did you do?"

The witch doctor looked visibly aged, her shoulders slumped and her eyes hollowed. "Our enemies were demons who dealt in fear," she said, "and so I called up a far more powerful being to our defense: the embodiment of Fear itself. We call him Hofu – one of the old gods. It is said that the very sight of him will drive men out of their minds."

"A god answers to you?" Lyndon asked disbelievingly.

"He answers to no one," replied Ghor. "I called to him and he came. I offered him a sacrifice and he accepted it."

"Please, can we go?" Eirena interrupted, her clammy palm still tucked into Lyndon's larger one. "I don't like this place."

The vulnerability stamped on her face was like a beacon, bringing Lyndon back to his comfort zone. He knew how to deal with frightened or emotional girls; he'd always been skilled at comforting them with his natural charm. What he would not allow himself to acknowledge was that having someone weaker than him to take care of was just as soothing to him.

"I couldn't agree more, darlin'," he said. To Ghor, he added, "Thank you, Mistress Sangoma, for saving our lives. Your awe-inspiring power is only matched by your indescribable beauty."

"I am sure there is a true compliment hiding beneath your flowery speech, Lyndon," replied Ghor with a wry smile, "but you owe me no gratitude. Come, let us go."

Continuing towards the corridor lit by the spell-lights, they discovered definite indications that Caesar, at least, had been that way. There were splashes of ice on the walls and icicles sprouting up from the floor, among the shattered bodies of mechanical constructs.

"Looks like there was quite a battle," Lyndon remarked, kicking lightly at the severed head of one of the steel sentries. It rolled away, clanking loudly against the floor.

"Hopefully no one was injured," Eirena said anxiously. "I don't see any blood, so that's probably a good sign."

Following the trail of devastation, they came to a large room filled with various pipes, wires, cauldrons, and other instruments that appeared to be designed purely for torture. Lyndon lifted up an enormous glass syringe, the needle of which was as thick as his pinky finger, and tossed it carelessly back onto the table where he'd found it. Eirena was clearly impressed with the place, and even Ghor seemed interested, but he could not summon much respect for the belongings of a man like Kulle. His motto was: take anything of value, and the rest be damned.

Something caught his eye then, and he moved closer to investigate. At first he thought the body strapped to the table was a corpse, but then he noticed the slight rise and fall of the chest, and the rosy tone of the cheeks. He got a further shock when, upon taking in the white-blonde hair and what features were visible beneath the mask, he realized that it was Saiya.

"Ghor!" he cried, and she responded instantly to the urgency in his tone. Lyndon started to undo the leather bindings holding the monk in place, but to his surprise she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Not yet," she cautioned. "We do not know the purpose of this machine. It may be keeping her alive."

"Whatever it used to do, it's broken now," Lyndon said. "Look, the gears have been frozen."

"This doesn't add up," Eirena said as Ghor began a thorough examination. "We know that Caesar was with her. They went through the portal together, and his ice magic was all over the hallway outside, and here on the machine as well. So where is he now?"

"Cut his losses and ran, perhaps," Lyndon suggested darkly, though at heart he knew that it wasn't true. That's something I would do. Not the mage.

"I have a bad feeling about this," the enchantress fretted. "My intuition tells me that Caesar's in trouble."

"He can handle himself," said Lyndon. "Saiya's the one to worry about right now."

"She is unharmed," Ghor announced, "merely sleeping. If I remove the mask, so–" Her agile fingers worked at the clasps. "She should wake."

Right on cue, Saiya's lashes fluttered and the lids slowly rose to reveal pale blue eyes. Her pupils, wide and groggy at first, shrank and focused on Ghor's face. She blinked a few times.

"Ugh," she groaned. "Where am I?"

"Mind your step there," Baal cautioned. "I don't trust these sand-bridges."

"I won't argue with you there, Brother," Kormac replied. He glanced down into the abyss that yawned beneath his feet, thinly veiled by an insubstantial sheet of particles. The Templar did not understand the technology that made such a bridge possible, and he was the sort of man who disliked on principle anything that baffled him.

Except Eirena, he thought, feeling the familiar rush of longing and terror as the petite enchantress's image sprang easily to mind. My little angel. No, that's wrong – she could never be mine. Not in a thousand years could I be worthy of her innocence and beauty.

"Kormac!" Baal cried, grabbing his arm and wrenching him to the side just in time to prevent him from stepping off into the chasm. He paled, breaking out in a cold sweat as he realized how close to death he had come.

"Damn it," his companion grumbled. "Keep your wits about you. How do you think Eirena would feel if she found out you died because you were daydreaming about her?"

"Ei-eirena?" Kormac stammered. "No, I - I was thinking about … our mission," he finished lamely. Baal rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, right. I've never seen a man so smitten. Not that I blame you, but you really should do something about it. You can't keep pining away forever, you know."

Korma scowled heavily at him. "Forgive me, Brother, if I am hesitant to take romantic advice from you." Baal stiffened at the words, and he realized with a wince how it had sounded. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I was referring to how long it took you to accept and return Saiya's affections for you, not the way things are now … uh, I mean …"

"It's okay," Baal sighed. "I get what you were trying to say. Still rude, when I'm just trying to help you out, but I'm not offended." He raked a hand through his hair, his eyes distant. "I don't know what to do, Kormac. I still love her. I don't think I could ever stop loving her."

"Of course not," replied the Templar. "She's Saiya."

"Not anymore." Baal's voice was a whisper, barely audible. Kormac got the impression that he was speaking mostly to himself, but he couldn't let something like that go unchallenged.

"What do you mean, 'not anymore'?"

"I mean that whatever Kulle has done to her changed her somehow. She's not the same person. I don't know if she ever will be again."

"I know she's been a little scatter-brained lately," Kormac began, but Baal cut him off.

"It's much worse than that, Kormac. She - uh, the night before last, when I woke you and Caesar up, it's because she … attacked me. She came to me wanting … um, sex – and when I refused, she did this." He slid his fingers under the collar of his shirt and pulled it to the side, exposing his shoulder. There was a set of scabbed-over indentations in the skin in the shape of tooth-marks. The surrounding flesh was darkly bruised.

"She bit you?" Kormac mumbled. No, I can't believe it. Saiya would never-

"I told you, she's not herself."

"Was she possessed? Kulle-"

Baal shook his head, letting his collar cover the unsightly wound once again. "I don't think so. I've seen a good number of possessed people in my time, and she seemed like she was acting under her own free will."

"Have you told any of the others?" Kormac asked, blurting out the first question that came to mind.

"Not yet. I guess I didn't want to admit that it happened."

"Understandable. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Baal admitted. "I can't bring myself to give up on her, but at the same time I'm not sure I can keep up this … this weird state of limbo. You know what I mean? I feel like we're back to where we started, only this time I've got more to lose." He sighed despondently. "I don't really want to talk about it anymore. Do you mind if we keep going?"

"Not at all," said Kormac.

They walked uninterrupted for a while, maintaining a respectful silence. Kormac's thoughts drifted back to Eirena, to her sweet laugh and her soft lips, the delicate bones of her hands (he loved the shape of them despite the burns that marred the left – nothing could diminish her beauty in his eyes), her blue eyes, the color of ice yet somehow managing to be warm and kind. He couldn't remember ever having desired a woman as much as he wanted her. It was a deep, keening ache like a knife wound in his chest, but he would not defile her by casting himself at her feet and offering up his poor promises of love like a beggar offering coins at the statue of a goddess. He hoped beyond hope that she was safe and sound, for he neither liked nor trusted Lyndon, and the thought of his treasure having to rely on the womanizing rogue for her survival was a disturbing one.

In the absolute stillness of Kulle's archives, the slightest sound stood out like a stampede of ghouls, so when a third pair of footsteps joined theirs, both men noticed instantly and froze in place, reaching for their weapons.

"Whatever it is, it's just out of sight up ahead," Baal whispered. "I don't smell any demons, but then again, I haven't been able to detect Belial's serpents on any of the occasions that we've encountered them."

"Let's proceed with caution," said Kormac. He slid his spear noiselessly out of its sheath, padding along as quietly as he could. Baal followed right behind him with his favorite bow drawn and ready to fire.

Rounding the corner, however, they were surprised to spot Caesar, by himself and carrying a bulky object under his arm. It appeared to be some kind of stone.

"Hey, mage!" Baal called. "Where's Saiya?"

Caesar turned around. It struck Kormac that there was something off about his expression, or perhaps the way he carried himself, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"In a safe place," the wizard answered. His voice was different too: abnormally slow and a bit slurred. Kormac wondered if he'd been hit on the head.

"Where?" Baal pressed.

"Back there," the smaller man said, waving a noncommittal hand in the direction he'd come from.

"Why aren't you with her?" Kormac demanded. "You really shouldn't have left her alone in the state she's in."

"She's fine," Caesar said, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "We got her to the machine in time, and she's currently receiving treatment. She should make a full recovery."

"That's great," said Baal, with real relief in his tone. "Where are you going, though?"

"Oh." Caesar held up the stone he was carrying. "I found the black soulstone. Kulle gave me instructions on how to unlock it, so that's what I'm doing."

The Hunter frowned. "It has to be unlocked?"

"Yes … some kind of spell that prevents anyone but him from using it, apparently. It shouldn't be a problem."

"We'll come with you," said Baal. "We might be able to help."

Caesar looked less than pleased with the notion, but all he said was, "As you wish. Follow me."

As the three of them changed direction and set off on a new course, Kormac couldn't help but notice that Baal kept his hand on the hilt of his crossbow.

"It's unbelievable," Lyndon said. "You really don't remember a thing about the last week? Nothing at all?"

Saiya shook her head for what had to be the hundredth time. "Nope. I told you, the last thing I remember clearly is falling into the ruins in the Oasis. Everything since then is just a vague blur. I feel like I should know what I've been doing – I mean, the memories are there, I just can't access them. Have you ever had a dream that you can't quite recall when you wake up? That's what it's like."

"What about Kulle?" Eirena pressed.

"Kulle …" Saiya hesitated. "He was in my head, wasn't he? Guiding me … I don't remember anything he said, but I can feel the echoes of his voice." Her mind was silent now, like a room after all the people have gone. She was the only occupant of her own body. It felt strange.

"Was?" demanded Lyndon. "You mean he isn't there anymore?" When Saiya shook her head, he said, "Well. That's marvelous, isn't it? A murderer's ghost is rampaging around his own laboratory with gods-know-what intentions. He could be anywhere, and we'll never find him unless he wants us to. I'm so glad that I decided to come along on this charming little adventure!"

"Do you have any idea where Caesar is, or why he left you here?" asked Ghor. Her tone was calm as always, but Saiya got the distinct impression that she was worried about her friend.

"I'm afraid I don't," she said, "but I have something that might help. Is my pack around?"

"Right here," said Lyndon, handing it to her. He'd found it discarded some feet away, along with Caesar's. Saiya opened it up and removed Leena's mirror, peering intently into the cloudy surface. She had a hunch that if she could locate Baal, she would be find the missing wizard as well.

"What's that?" Eirena asked, craning her neck to see. "It's got a strong enchantment on it."

"It shows the image of your true love," Saiya replied. "Or at least, it's supposed to. Maybe it broke again?"

"And who exactly are you trying to find?" Lyndon asked dryly. The young monk's head snapped up and she gave him a sharp look.

"Baal, of course. Who do you think?"

Lyndon shrugged. "Well, I did wonder. You haven't exactly been very loving towards him lately. We all thought it was over between you."

"I didn't," said Eirena.

Saiya ignored her. "What are you talking about, Lyndon. Baal and I aren't getting along?"

"I think that's the understatement of the year," snorted the rogue. All three women glared at him, and he held up his hands. "I'm just telling the truth. The atmosphere between you two has been downright murderous ever since you nearly died."

"Since I what?"

"No, wait, it might have been before that, even. Yeah, now that I think about it, he wasn't too happy about your decision to, uh, adopt Kulle."

Saiya was almost too shocked to process what he was saying. "I nearly died? When was this?"

"We were ambushed by Belial's servants as we approached the Aqueducts," said Ghor. "You were bitten. The poison was very strong – I was able to save your life, but only because Baal gave so much of his blood for the antidote."

The words sparked a fragment of a memory: Caesar's voice saying, "Ghor eventually had to stop him before he bled himself dry." It didn't matter what stupid thing they'd been fighting about, she thought. A love like theirs didn't just disappear.

A faint image appeared in the glass: Baal and Kormac walking across a narrow bridge of stone spanning a great chasm. Ahead of them was Caesar. Saiya turned the mirror around so that her companions could see it and said, "Does this place look familiar to anyone?"

"I don't see anything," said Eirena.

"Jahaira," Ghor breathed, holding trembling fingers up to the reflection.

Lyndon said nothing, but he stared into the mirror with stricken eyes.

"Ah, sorry!" Saiya snatched the precious object back. "Naturally, you would all see something different. Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Um, it's a cavern, quite large, with a bridge going across from one side to the other. There's a lot of big rocks, like tombstones only larger, floating in the air all around."

"We were just there a few minutes ago!" Eirena exclaimed.

Saiya stood up. "Let's go, then. If we hurry, we may be able to catch them."

"We have arrived," Caesar announced. They had followed a convoluted series of hallways and stairwells to a circular platform overlooking a great pit in the earth. In the center was a sphere covered with protruding metal blocks. The wizard approached it and stretched up to place the black soulstone in a receptacle on the top, where it clicked audibly into place.

"Now," he said, "to activate it. I advise you both to stand back." He threw wide his arms, black fire igniting in palms and streaming out to smite the sphere. The blocks disengaged and began to move, linking together to form rings that orbited around the sphere at an increasingly furious pace. The air was filled with a strange, sonorous whirring, and the crackle of powerful magic. The stone began to glow.

Suddenly, Caesar swayed on his feet, the arcane beams sputtering out. Baal jumped forward to brace the mage as he slumped backwards, but the moment his hands touched the other man's back, he felt a burst of such wrongness that he recoiled. Caesar hit the ground with a grunt of pain.

"Not very friendly," he said.

"You're not my friend, remember?" Baal replied.

"I had thought, after all our time together, that you might have at least a little regard for me. Clearly I was wrong."

Within seconds, Baal had his crossbow pointed at the wizard's forehead. "I asked if you remembered that you're not my friend, Caesar," he snarled. "Are you going to answer me or not?"

"Baal!" Kormac reprimanded in a shocked voice, but Caesar merely smiled bitterly and climbed to his feet.

"I could give you the answer that you're looking for, Baal," he said, "but frankly, this little game is starting to bore me. I will admit that it was clever of you to figure out my secret. What gave me away?"

Baal rolled his eyes. "You weren't enough of a dumbass."

Kormac, though clearly baffled, had nonetheless staunchly came to back Baal up, menacing Caesar with his spear-point. "What's going on?" he muttered to the Hunter.

"He's been possessed," said Baal. "Isn't that right, Kulle?"

"Mein Gott!" Kormac groaned. "What about Saiya, then?"

Baal's finger tightened on the trigger. "If you've hurt her, you'll regret it."

"I wasn't lying when I told you she's safe," Caesar-Kulle said. "You have your friend here to thank for that. He sabotaged my plans very effectively. I do hate being forced to improvise; it never turns out the way you want."

"Go on, then," Baal urged. "Tell us what your plan was."

"Oh, I shall. And once I do, I'm sure you will see things my way."

"Never," growled Kormac. "I would die first!"

"Your loyalty is touching," sneered Kulle, "but you don't fully understand the situation. The black soulstone is not capable of enslaving a fly at the moment. It is useless, it's potential untapped, because I was never able to complete it."

Baal swore under his breath. "Then this whole fucking ordeal was for nothing? You let us wander to our almost certain deaths for something you knew was never going to help us? Fucking bastard."

Kulle laughed, the sound unnatural and unpleasant coming from Caesar's mouth. "Would you allow me to finish before you start hurling vulgar language as if it will injure me?" he asked. "I have all I need to finish the stone here, in my archives. That's what this machine is for. The one that Caesar destroyed was my main generator, but the back-up will do nicely. All I ask in return is that one of you temporarily host me until my body can be reconstructed, at which point I will give you the stone and we will part ways."

"Hang on," Baal interrupted. "You already have a host, albeit an unwilling one. What do you need us for?"

"I should have thought that was obvious," Kulle sniffed. "The essence of a Nephalem is required to make the stone complete. I was unable to use the girl, as I had intended, so this one will have to do instead."

"Out of the question," said Baal. "Did you really think I would let you just kill one of my companions?"

"I don't think you have much of a choice, Hunter. There is no other way to stop Belial. One of the four of you must die. Would you rather it was your pretty lover or the sangoma? Men should be prepared to make sacrifices on behalf of the women they love, don't you think?"

Baal's jaw clenched. "There has to be another way. You're a brilliant sorcerer, Kulle. Figure it out."

The wizard's face twisted into an ugly scowl. "I have had years to 'figure it out', boy," he spat. "Believe me when I say there is no salvation for you, no tricky bit of magic that will enable you to get out of making a hard decision. Do you know how many lives I took to reach this point? I did not enjoy that aspect of my work. I accepted it as an inevitability, just as you must. Let me take the mage. No one need ever know what happened here. You can tell your friends whatever story will assuage their grief, you will have the black soulstone and will be free to continue your quest, and I will have my stolen life returned to me. It is a solution that is beneficial to everyone."

"Except Caesar," grunted Baal.

"Yes," said Kulle. "A man that is friend to neither of you. Oh, don't be shocked. I am a telepath, you know. Both of you find my offer tempting."

"Oh Herr, vergib mir meine Sünden," Kormac whispered, one hand leaving the haft of his spear to form the Church's sign of warding.

"A chance to get rid of the mage," Baal said slowly, a grin forming on his face. The crossbow dropped, pointing towards the ground. "Do you know how long I've dreamed about this?"

"Brother, no!" Kormac cried. "We must not give in to him!"

"I'm sorry to say …" Baal began. Both men had their eyes fixed on him: Kormac's wide with horror and Caesar's dark with anticipation.

"You're shit out of luck, Kulle," he finished, raising his weapon once more. "I may not like the mage, but I hate you with a passion. This has been a long time coming."

"So be it," sighed Kulle. "If you insist on being a fool, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you both."

"You can try," Baal said, and fired.

* Kormac said: "Oh Lord, forgive me my sins." Thanks, Leena! You're the best!