Astir wanted to go to the catacombs immediately, but Addison pointed out that they would need help if they wanted to remove the lid from Link and Zelda's tomb. That presented a bit of a problem.

"Do we really need to keep this a secret?" Astir asked. "In fact, I think it would make everyone feel better to know that Link and Zelda are going to find Lucien."

"But they did say that the gods are breaking their own rules," Addison pointed out. "We might not should make that publicly known."

"They didn't tell us we couldn't say anything."

"Still, I think it would be better to ask, Sire, rather than make assumptions. Secrecy may give them an element of surprise, too; the enemy will not know that they are being hunted."

Astir had to concede that point. So, after a few minutes' deliberation of where best to find discreet help, they decided to send a page to wake Hadrian.

Astir wondered if his father-in-law slept in his clothes; Hadrian found him and Addison in the Council Room an incredibly short time after being sent for.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" Hadrian asked. In all the years that Astir had been his son-in-law, the older man had never addressed him by anything other than his title—not even in private.

Astir briefly explained what had transpired since Ysabel had woken him up a couple of hours before. He was rewarded by a rare look of surprise on Hadrian's face. It wasn't often that his father-in-law showed emotion.

"What are you going to do?" Hadrian asked once Astir was finished.

"We're going to do what they told us to do," Astir replied, as if this should be very obvious. "But Addison pointed out that we will need to have help getting into the tomb. He also suggested that we keep this quiet; it might improve Link and Zelda's chances of catching the criminals if they don't know they're being hunted."

Hadrian nodded. "I agree."

"Can you find some people to help who can keep their mouths shut?"

"Of course," Hadrian said, almost sounding insulted the king would ask. "If you tell any of your knights to do something for you in secret, it will be done in secret."

"You're right," Astir said. "I hadn't thought about it like that. Gather up a half-a-dozen or so and have them meet us at the Sanctuary."

Hadrian bowed his head, then hurried out. Given the man's near-magical ability to appear at the castle at a moment's notice dressed and wide awake, Astir wouldn't be surprised if Hadrian and a troop of knights managed to beat him and Addison to the tomb.

"Go back to the chapel and get the Scepter," Astir told Addison. "I'll get some horses and some lights and meet you out front."

"Maybe some clothes would be in order, Sire?" Addison hinted.

Astir looked down; he completely forgot he was in nothing but his nightshirt and a robe. "Yes, I think so." Earlier, when he thought this quest a hare-brained idea, he had been defiant when Addison suggested he put on clothes. Now, he was embarrassed he hadn't taken the older man's advice.

Astir wasn't as fast a dresser as Hadrian, but he still made a quick job of it and he and Addison were on horses, riding out of the castle, less than half an hour later. Addison had the Scepter discreetly wrapped in a cloak and Astir had some fresh torches tucked inside a haversack.

When they arrived at the monastery, they found a monk waiting for them, the gate wide open. "Sir Hadrian said you would be coming, Sire," the monk said with a bow of his head. "He and his companions are in the Sanctuary, waiting for you."

"Good," Astir said, although he was a touch disappointed that Hadrian had beaten him there after all. "I have business to discuss with them, then I wish to pray for the safe return of my child."

"There are brothers in the Sanctuary right now praying, Sire," the monk assured him. Then he paused, looking a little perplexed. "Or will they bother your meeting? Do I need to have them go elsewhere?"

"No, they won't be in our way. Better they stay and continue their prayers." Despite bringing in Link and Zelda, more prayers would never go amiss. Who knew what other rules the gods might be willing to break to save his son's life?

Astir and Addison dismounted and the monk led their horses away to a nearby hitching post. In the Sanctuary, just inside the door, they found Hadrian and six knights. The knights ranged in age from a young man who didn't look old enough to shave yet to a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair. All were tall, strapping men, however. Just the sort of muscle that was needed.

"There are monks praying," Hadrian whispered to Astir, gesturing to the monks who were on the dais up front. "What should we do about them?"

"Let them get on with it."

Astir limped towards the front of the Sanctuary, making for the door set under the high altar. As he neared, one of the monks broke from his recitations and came down the stairs to meet them.

"Good morning, Sire," the monk whispered. "Can I help you?"

"I have come to pray," Astir replied, also in the whisper. "But I wish to pray at the tomb of Link and Zelda. Perhaps they can intercede on our behalf."

That wasn't even a lie.

The monk nodded approvingly. "A very good notion, Your Majesty. Let me fetch the key to the catacombs and I will let you in."

The monk hurried away without so much as a question of why the king, the Grand Vizier, the Captain of the Castle Guard, and half-a-dozen knights felt the need to pray in the wee hours of the morning. But perhaps because the monks were on a round-the-clock schedule of prayers, they didn't find it strange when others came to pray, no matter what the time.

The monk returned in short order and opened the door under the altar. "Oh, I forgot to get some lamps," he said, as he peered into the darkness.

"No need," Astir said, pulling out the torches he had brought with him.

"Very good." He took one from Astir and went up on the dais. Standing on his tiptoes, he carefully touched the resin tip of the torch to the lamp of the Sacred Flame. Then he carried it back down to the king with equal care.

"Here is a sacred flame for you, Sire," he whispered. "May its light bless you in your quest."

"Thank you," Astir said, feeling touched. It was as if, unknowingly, the monk had given him a good omen.

"There is only one thing," the monk added: "you must never blow out or douse a sacred flame. Leave it to burn out on its own, or use it to light a lamp here in the Sanctuary. Once the flame has been passed on, then your torch can be extinguished."

"I understand."

The monk gave him an encouraging smile, then returned to his prayers.

Astir took the lead and went down the stairs to the catacombs door. Once the others were inside, he passed out the remaining torches and the men lit theirs from his.

"Remember what he said about the sacred flame: you all hold sacred flames now as well," Astir said. The men nodded in reply.

One torch was left in a holder near the door to light their way out, then they moved into the center of the room and down a set of stairs into another room, even larger than the first. It was round and had many corridors leading off of it. In the center, however, sat the solitary tomb that was the object of their mission.

Astir limped forward quickly, hardly noticing his crippled foot's protest, and he looked down on the painted likeness of the people he had just seen in spirit form. He felt hope, but also some trepidation. What if this didn't go right?

He quickly dismissed the thought from his head and turned to face his team. "What have you told them about what we're doing here?" Astir asked Hadrian.

"Nothing, Sire."

Astir looked each man in the eye. They were a credit to their rank; none flinched away. "What you do here now—what you see or hear—must never leave this room—at least not until my son is returned to me. Swear to me your silence."

Each man pledged in turn to keep his silence without hesitation or asking any questions about what it was he was about to be asked to do.

"Thank you," Astir replied. Then he turned back the tomb. "Now, we need to remove this lid."

The knights may not have hesitated to pledge their silence, but they certainly hesitated at that command.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" one of them asked.

"We need to take the lid off this tomb," Astir said, pointing to Link and Zelda's tomb.

The knights all glanced at one another, clearly uneasy.

"You told me that you were willing to serve the king in anything," Hadrian said, almost snapping. "Well, now's the time."

"Begging your pardon, sir, but I didn't know the king would ask us to desecrate Link's tomb."

"That is a sacred object—as well you know," another knight said, looking at Hadrian rather accusingly.

"I am not desecrating it," Astir said.

"You don't have to look at their corpses in order to pray to them," another knight said, a little more sympathetically. "They can hear you from out here."

Astir ground his teeth together. He really didn't have time to explain everything to them. What if the window for Link and Zelda's return was short? It seemed like it had been hours since he talked to them. Dawn was approaching. What if the spell wouldn't work then?

"Do you trust your king or not?" he growled. "If you don't, then get out and we'll find someone else to help me." He glared at Hadrian, "You should have just brought the castle guard; they wouldn't argue with me."

He saw the knights visibly flinch; his comment hit them where it hurt—as he knew it would. The Knights of Hyrule were known for looking down on the palace guard; they saw themselves as far superior protectors of the Royal Family.

"It's not that we don't trust you, Sire . . ." one of them began rather lamely.

"Then do as I asked," Astir snapped.

With great reluctance, the knights put their torches in nearby sconces, then began to slowly slide the lid off the ancient tomb.

It soon became clear that even the six of them would not be able to manage the lid alone, so Astir, Addison, and Hadrian stepped in as well, helping bear the weight of the lid as it was pushed off. It took everything all of them had to finish lifting it off the base underneath and place it gently on the floor.

Despite their misgivings about the enterprise, Astir noticed that the knights were quick to take a furtive peek inside the tomb, as if torn between their intense curiosity and a sense that to look on the dead was disrespectful.

Astir felt no such qualms, and he stepped up to the side and looked fully into the tomb.

There were two forms lying side-by-side in the bottom of the tomb. One was a naked skeleton, its grayish-white bones glowing dimly in the light of the torches. Whatever clothes the body may have had on at burial were now nothing more than a fine layer of dust around the bones.

To the right, however, rusted metal plates covered almost all of the bones of the other body. There was even the brittle remnants of a helmet on the eyeless skull. The leather that had once joined the armor together, however, had rotted along with the other body's clothes and its dust had joined it on the bottom of the tomb.

Both skeletons had their hands meeting in the middle, just as it was depicted on the lid's effigy. Astir found the image of Link and Zelda's skeletons holding hands for all of eternity very moving and he looked at them for a couple of minutes before Addison came to his side, offering him the bundled Scepter. That brought him back to the task at hand.

Astir unwrapped the Scepter and held it up. The knights around him gasped in shock, immediately recognizing what he had. But even they could not have guessed what was about to come.

"I summon forth Link and Zelda in the flesh," he said loudly, his voice echoing around the large circular room. Then, just to make sure he had been clear, he added, "Let their souls be returned to their bodies."

A white light flashed out from the head of the Scepter, causing everyone in the room to cry out in alarm. Even Astir was terrified; it had not done that when he used it before. But his arm did not falter and he held it steady as fog began to creep in from around the edges of the room and up through the stone floor.

"Look!" someone hissed.

The fog flowed like water across the floor and up the sides of the sarcophagus. Then it spilled over the edge and went down inside, where the bodies lay.

"My gods," another voice whispered as the fog seemed to gently rattle the bones.

Astir was now too terrified to drop the Scepter, even if he had wanted to. He stood, struck mute, and watched in horrified fascination as tendons began to build up on the bones. And then there was a sudden snap as they locked the separate bones together at the joints.

Then muscle began to build up, enclosing the bleached-white bones in a red, meaty case. And in the center of the bodies, the abdomens began to swell like an inflating balloon; presumably the organs were being reconstructed and filling in the empty void.

A moment later, the lungs apparently came into existence, because there was a rattling intake of breath, then both flayed bodies began screaming the screams of the tortured.

Astir and everyone else jumped back from the tomb, but the agonized screaming continued as the last of the muscle came into being and flesh began to rapidly cover it.

"We must help them!" Addison shouted in Astir's ear, his voice still barely audible over the horrible screams. But there was nothing that they could do to help, as far as Astir could see. If he dropped the Scepter or did something else to try and stop the process, then Link and Zelda might be stuck inside their flayed bodies until they could be put out of their misery.

Then suddenly the screaming stopped, replaced with nothing but labored breathing. Cautiously, Astir limped back up to the tomb and looked in.

Inside lay the naked, dust-covered bodies of a young man and woman. Even in their disheveled state, their resemblance to the figures on the effigy was unmistakable.

"A-are you alright?" Astir asked hesitantly. They were panting heavily, but otherwise didn't seem to still be in pain.

Link slowly pushed himself up to his knees, the rusty remnants of his armor falling away with dull thuds on the stone. As if exhausted beyond measure, he leaned against the edge of the tomb, clinging to it like a drowning man clinging to a bit of floating debris.

"Water," he managed to croak out.

Astir looked around, but didn't see anyone with a flask or waterskin. "Get some water. Quick!"

The young, beardless knight dashed up the stairs.

Link rasped something else, but Astir couldn't make out his words. "Can you repeat that?" he asked, leaning closer so he could hear better.

"Clothes."

It took Astir a moment to comprehend what Link had said, then he became very aware of the fact that he—along with everyone else—had been staring at Link and Zelda with such disbelief, they hadn't even considered that they were shamefully gawping at their naked bodies.

The remaining knights seemed to come to this realization a moment later and they hurriedly turned away, putting their backs to the tomb to give Link and Zelda some semblance of privacy.

Astir handed Link the cloak that Addison had wrapped the Scepter in and looked away as well. But even from the corner of his eye, he could see Link putting the cloak over Zelda to protect her dignity.

One of the knights stripped off his tunic and passed it to Astir, who handed it to Link. Link put it on, but it was so big on him, he looked like a child dressing up in his father's clothes. But it had one advantage: it covered him completely.

It had always been said that Link had been a rather small man, but it was rather shocking to see how very small he was in person. How did someone so slight manage to do all that he had done?

A few minutes later, the young knight ran back down the stairs carrying a bucket of water. He sat it by the tomb and offered a dipperful of water to Link.

As before, Link took the offering and gave it to Zelda first. She seemed to be in worse shape than him and he had to lift her in his arms and carefully pour the water into her mouth.

"Thank you," she whispered hoarsely once she had finished the water.

Link laid her down again before handing the dipper back to the knight for a refill. Then he finally drank for himself.

"Are you alright?" Astir asked again, once Link was finished drinking. "Do you need anything else? What can we do for you?"

"Help us out," he said, as he struggled to push himself to his feet.

Two knights rushed over and took Link under the arms. They lifted him out of the tomb with ease and put him on his feet. But Link immediately sat down and put his back against the tomb, still clearly needing to rest.

Another knight stepped into the tomb and lifted Zelda out. He passed her to another knight, who laid her on the floor beside Link. But she pushed herself into an upright position beside Link.

"Now what?" Astir asked, eager for more instructions. Link and Zelda surely had a plan and he wanted to help them in any way he could.

Link started to say something, but then let out a deep breath. "Give us a minute," he wheezed. "Undying is . . . a lot more painful . . . than dying."

"I'm sorry. Of course," Astir hurried to say.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, but what the hell did I just see?" the eldest knight demanded.

"Nothing," Hadrian barked, glaring at each knight in turn. "Remember your oaths of silence. You saw nothing."

Astir raised his hand, cutting off his father-in-law. He thought it was permissible for the men to know what happened, even if they weren't to tell anyone. "It's a long story," he began, "but the short of it is that the gods have restored Link and Zelda to life and they are going to find my son."

This shocked all of the men into silence again.

Link took a deep breath and let it out again. When he spoke again, he seemed to be in better control of his voice, although it was still a little hoarse. "Before we get started, we're going to need a few things: weapons, proper clothes, something to eat, and some supplies. In order to go to the human realm, I am going to have to go get the Master Sword; it's the only thing that can cut through the gods' storm barrier and allow us to safely reach the other side."

Astir practically quivered with excitement. Not only was the great force of Link and Zelda being brought to bear on the situation, but the Master Sword was as well! The dark wizard who had stolen his son would regret the day he had ever been born by the time Link and Zelda were finished with him!

"We can provide you with all of that," Astir said.

Link looked up at him. "I think your decision to keep this enterprise quiet is wise. We don't know who else may be involved—or even if the humans had help here from some dark person. But, even if that is not the case, the more widely our presence is known, the more someone might be able to find out by scrying and listening to what people are talking about."

He took another deep breath, as if gathering up his strength. "Let's get on this," he said. "I would like to be on our way by sun-up."

Two of the knights rushed into help Link to his feet, but he waved off their guiding hands. "I think I can manage now," he said.

Another knight offered to carry Zelda back to the castle, but she waved his offer off as well. "I think I should walk. I need to get the stiff out." He helped her to her feet, but when she swayed a bit precariously, she took his arm and allowed him to assist her.

One of the knights took Zelda's bow and Link's sword from the stony hands of their replica selves on the tomb lid and offered them to their real counterparts.

"I wonder if this is still any good?" Zelda asked as she looked her old bow over. It was, after all, a few thousand years old and it was only made of wood; it was nothing magical.

"I don't know," Hadrian said, "but the Knights have kept it waxed through the years . . . just as we have tended Link's sword."

Link held up his sword and looked at it in the firelight. "I think it looks the same as the day when I bore it last."

All of the knights—even Hadrian—smiled at that. All their effort had not be in vain.

They moved slowly across the room—Link and Zelda as slow and shuffling as Astir on a bad day—and made their way even more slowly up the stairs. When they reached the top, Addison put his hand out, stopping Astir.

"Should we lead them out?" he asked quietly. "The monks might notice that we're leaving with two half-dressed people that we didn't have with us before."

"True."

"We can go the back way," Zelda said, a bit breathless from the climb up the stairs.

"The back way?" Astir asked.

She pointed to a back corner of the catacombs. "The passage to the throne room."

Astir had forgotten about it. He knew that it existed, of course, but he had never personally explored it; he was afraid the walk might be too far on his lame foot. And if he went down in the passageway, there was no telling how long it might be before someone found him.

"I'll go with them," Hadrian offered, taking the torch that they had left by the exit. "There are guards in the throne room and there will be questions if two unknown people come popping out from under the throne."

"The monks aren't likely to notice that one of our party is missing," Addison said.

"Very well. Take them to my room. We'll meet you there."