For two weeks after Alanna's confrontation with Thom, the twins avoided each other. Alanna had hoped that she would be able to forgive her brother quickly, but hot anger boiled up within her every time something reminded her of her brother or the (thankfully still) late duke.

Jonathan experienced this first-hand when he casually asked if she wanted to join her brother and a few others for a spell-practicing session.

He saw her face grow cherry red before she could even utter a response.

"Nevermind." He said before making a quick exit.

This same scenario repeated itself two weeks later, except this time, Jonathan didn't retreat.

"You're still that upset?" he asked softly.

"I don't want to be," Alanna said with evident frustration. "But I just don't understand how he could have - bah! I just need to learn to not think about it."

"Would some time away from the palace help?" Jonathan asked.

"It might," Alanna admitted.

"I may have something for you if you're interested."

Alanna gestured for him to continue.

"It may be nothing, but Halef Seif has been troubled recently. He's been having dreams about a sorceress friend of his living in the Hill Country. She was cast out by her tribe because of their prejudice. I still can't believe how blind they were, how many of them still are. Anyway, she's in Alois near Lake Tirragen."

"Did he request help?" Alanna asked.

Jonathan shook his head. "He just shared his anxieties with me as the Bazhir do with the Voice."

Alanna felt a chill go down her spine even though he had said it casually. She couldn't imagine giving someone an unfiltered view or her innermost thoughts and anxieties.

"Halef doesn't have any more details," he continued, "Just these vague dreams."

Alanna thought for a moment and then smiled. "That sounds like just the escape I need, and it shouldn't take long."

"Good," Jonathan said. "I think Halef will be relieved to hear it."

Two days later, George, Alanna, and Faithful road Southwest.

Alanna always marveled at how the distance of a few days' ride could make such a temperature difference. It was December, and she had left Corus bundled up in many layers.

"Forget all of your fancy tricks and trinkets, just dress like that all the time, and you can hide all the blades you want," George quipped as they rode across the countryside.

By the fourth day of their journey, she had shed half of her layers. The warmer weather and the distance from Thom brightened her spirits significantly.

The next day, they reached their destination to find a crowd gathered in the town square.

A man dressed in religious robes was shouting, "Yahzed is punishing us because of the witch! We must burn her to appease his wrath!"

"How do you know that is true?" Another man asked.

"Look at her. She is a Bazhir. Her own people threw her out because they knew what she was!" the priest yelled.

"Bring her forward," the other man said.

A woman that matched the description Jonathan had relayed from Halef Seif was pushed forward.

"I'm no evil sorceress. I'm a mage, and I have only ever helped you," she said cooly.

"Burn her! Burn her!" the priest shouted, and soon the crowd was joining his chant.

"What makes you think she's provoking the wrath of Yahzed?" the man who must be some sort of headman asked.

"I saw her making a concoction with a newt!" someone screamed.

"And what happened when you took it, Elzeal?" the woman asked, her calm expression never faltering.

"I got better," the man mumbled.

A silence followed before the priest resumed the chant. "Burn her! Burn her!"

Alanna turned to look forlornly at George, but he wasn't there. He was riding right into the center of the fray.

"There are ways of tellin' if someone is angerin' the gods," George said loudly and confidently. The height the horse gave him made him readily visible, and every eye turned to him as the crowd quieted.

"What are they?" The headman said.

"Tell me: what do the gods do to those who anger them greatly?"

"They burn them!" the priest shrieked.

The crowd looked poised to start chanting again.

"So they don't need our help, do they?" George said.

The crowd paused for a moment to consider this.

"Apart from burning witches, what brings the favor of this god?" George asked.

"Burning more witches!" someone yelled.

"Altars built of very small rocks," someone suggested.

"Libations of cider," said another.

"Prayers carved in lead," said a third.

George shot Alanna a quick look, clearly wanting her help. Against her better judgment, she shouted, "Sacrificing a duck!"

Alanna had heard of this particular god from Myles. The Scanran legend went that he was a nasty one with a thirst for blood, though the tales also specified that he wasn't too picky about the source. So this seemed plausible enough, not that she believed this god was truly the source of their troubles.

"Exactly!" George said. "So you can try sacrificing a duck, and then you won't have to sacrifice your mage."

The crowd cheered and began discussing plans to secure a duck.

"If that doesn't work, we burn her!" the priest said petulantly.

That seemed to bolster the crowd's spirits even more as they dashed off en masse toward the nearest pond.

"I can't believe that worked," Alanna said as she rode up to George's side.

"Crowds are all the same," George said. "You can't stop the enthusiasm, so you have to redirect it."

They both dismounted and walked over towards the mage sitting on the side of a well, looking a little dazed.

"Who are you who are so wise in the ways of the gods?" she asked sardonically.

"Lady Alanna and Lord George of Olau, at your service," Alanna said. "We were sent by Halef Seif, who feared you may face trouble."

A genuine smile lit her face at the name. "Well, then I am grateful to you and to him. I had nearly resigned myself to death. I am called Ara."

"How could they do that to you?" Alanna asked, her anger rising now that she had time to react.

"Times have been hard, and they're scared," the woman said simply.

"You're far more charitable than they deserve," Alanna responded after a long moment.

"Perhaps," she said quietly.

"You can't stay here," George said. "They'll turn on you again."

"We can take you to the Bloody Hawk if you like," Alanna offered. "I think you may find them a bit more accepting than on your last visit."

"You're their 'woman who rides like a man,' aren't you? The 'burning brightly one?'"

"I'd be rather happy to never hear that second moniker again, but yes, that's me."

The woman nodded thoughtfully. "My poor children. Who will care for them if I leave?"

"You can't care for 'em if you're dead," George said gently.

Ara sighed. "I confess, I have longed to see this change among the Bloody Hawk for myself, and I have something I've been meaning to give to Halef besides. I will take you up on your offer. Thank you."


Alanna hadn't planned to return to the Bloody Hawk anytime soon, but the prospect delighted her.

Three days later, she was back with her tribe.

She and George were having tea with Kara and Kourrem when Halef asked to speak with them privately.

Ara was already waiting when they entered the headman's tent. "We believe this was meant for you," she said, handing Alanna a silk envelope.

Alanna opened it to find something that looked vaguely like a map with text in a language she didn't know.

"I believe it holds the secret to the location of the Dominion Jewel," Ara said softly.

Alanna looked from Ara to Halef and back, searching for some hint that this was a joke. She found none.

"You're serious?" She asked.

Ara nodded.

"I thought that was more legend than truth," Alanna said.

"It is not something either of us knows much about," Halef said slowly, "but we both feel strongly that it is genuine and that you were meant to have it."

"I have some gift of prophecy," Ara said. "I have very little control over what I see, but I sense difficult trials coming for your land. You may need something of legend to fight this coming darkness."

"Can you tell us anything about what it says?" George asked, looking at it in wonder.

"I'm afraid we cannot. You'll have to discover that yourselves," Ara said. She and Halef exited the tent, leaving George and Alanna alone with perhaps the most valuable gift they had ever been given.

"I wish Myles were here!" Alanna said at last. "I doubt he could read it, but he would know who could."

"Well, our plan is to hurry home anyway, so you can ask him soon enough," George reminded her.

Alanna didn't respond but chewed on her thumbnail as she thought.

"What is it, Lass?" George asked finally.

"I don't know how much time we have before Tusaine its move," Alanna said. "And retrieving the Dominion Jewel doesn't seem like a quick task."

She got up and began pacing. "I wish I could talk to Myles and Jon now!"

"You can talk to Jon now, can't you? They'll be communing with him soon."

"I told you I'm not doing that!" Alanna snapped.

"You could ask Halef to talk to him for you like you've done before," George suggested.

"I could, but this is complicated. Too complicated for that."

"So then we head for home first thing tomorrow," George said.

Soon they joined the others for the evening meal, but Alanna spent most of it feeling impatient and distracted. How could something that was still such a mystery have so firm a grip on her?

When the others gathered around the large fire to commune with the Voice, Alanna began walking with George toward their tent. Then she swore softly, turned on her heel, and joined the ring of sitting Bazhir.


"Alanna. This is unexpected," Jonathan said into her mind.

It was an experience unlike any she had ever had. She was suddenly aware of nothing of her surroundings, just her connection to him. While a part of her still knew Jon's voice was only in her mind, it somehow had the same quality as if they were standing in the same room. Alanna shivered and tried not to think about it.

"Please don't look inside me," she pleaded.

"I don't have that much control of what I see and don't, but I'll do my best to act as if I can't. What is so urgent that it made you willing to do this?"

"Don't you already know?"

"I'm pretending I don't to try to make you more comfortable."

"Right. Okay. Then you know I have the map to the Dominion Jewel. Or at least, I think I do. If it's everything the legends say it is, it could be vital to us. Halef Seif and Ara, the woman you sent me to rescue, believe it is. But we can't read it. And it could take us away from Corus for a long time."

"Can I see it?" Jonathan asked.

Alanna tried to picture the document as clearly and accurately as she could.

"Intriguing," Jonathan said. "I'm afraid I don't know what is truth and what is myth from the tales I've heard of the jewel, but it would be a boon indeed. Do you want to do this?"

"I take it you already know that I do?"

"Yes, but I want you to know that it is your choice, and George's. I won't send you into danger chasing a fairy tale if you don't want to. But I believe it's worth the risk if you do."

"Then we will, but I confess I don't know where to start."

"Stay with the Bloody Hawk one more day. I'll talk to Myles and figure out what I can. Join with me tomorrow - or I could just tell Halef," he amended quickly, sensing her discomfort.

"I would appreciate that," Alanna replied.

"Alanna, for what it's worth, I see nothing that surprises me. Aside from a bit of willful blindness on my part, I've always known where I stood with you, and I appreciate that more than you know."

"My loyalty is yours, Jon. Always will be."

"Then go with my love and gratitude. Same to George."

Alanna felt a sudden and deep sense of connection, and then she was back to being the only one in her head.

The next evening, Halef told her of an innkeeper in Berat that Myles thought might help her. The tribe gave George and Alanna what provisions they could for their journey, and then the following day, they were off.


A/N Apologies to anyone who got the reference. I wanted to do something that wasn't a total rehash of the book, and I couldn't get the Monty Python bit out of my head, so I just went with it. ;)