Miles away from where the battle was taking place, a group of powerful men gathered around a pool

Previously…

"Perfect." Caleb turned to regard his team. Aldarn was hardly standing and Blunk was shivering like a frightened child. On the far wall, Roiya, who was the worse for wear, was tending to his father who was slumped against the wall. She bandaged his wounds but the festering molds around certain cuts alerted him to the very real danger that his father may not remain his father for much longer. Phobos, that nuisance, was standing again. He had his back to Caleb and had his head against the wall. He, like Julian, was almost killed tonight. His magic drained, Phobos was useless for the remainder of this fight.

Miss Pitterbee sat before an orb, communicating with her god. They could use some divine intervention right about now.

"So what now?" Aldarn asked his lifelong friend.

"Now we do what we do best." Caleb turned to the door which was rapidly giving way. "Stand our ground hold out to the bitter end."

"That doesn't seem like much of a plan."

"You're right." He couldn't help but laugh. "You're right."

--

12- Loss

Miles away from where the battle was taking place, a group of powerful men gathered around a pool. In its surface they could see the chaos that ravaged their city. An army of undead, many of them their former servants, rummaged around the ruined streets, killing anyone that they happened upon. With each slain individual, the horde grew and soon it would gain enough strength to challenge the power of the Lords of Limen. Their power.

"How could this have happened?" Asked one of the Lords, currently shrouded behind a veil. Each of the barons was sitting behind a one-way veil, so that they may see the pool but no one may see their faces. This secret society knew each other by rank and by name, but not by face. It was a way to ensure security as well as keeping their identities a secret. In a city where allies were just as likely to kill you as your enemies, secrets were the only things that kept you alive.

"We must send more troops," said another.

"And have them become part of the horde when they are cut down?" The one next to him said. "The undead never tire and no manner of weapon can destroy them for long. They always return stronger and more ravenous than ever!"

"He's right. Sending the Guard will only serve to increase their numbers. We must barricade the horde within that district and cut them off from the rest of the city."

"But what about the people still inside? If we trap them with the horde then surely they will become a part of it. Their numbers will rise either way."

"We'll evacuate as many as we can. Have the Guard bring plenty of torches. Zombies don't like fire."

"But that still leaves us with the problem that is the Necromancer."

"Yes! What do we do about him?"

"Curse that fowl creature."

"A little late for that I suppose."

"Enough!" Commanded a booming voice. All veiled faces turned to the baron who had spoken. His was the oldest and most powerful voice in the room, indicating a level of authority that far exceeded his humped frame. "Listen to you! All of you! You act as if this is a manner beyond our abilities. We've faced far greater threats to our barony than the Necromancer."

"He is a powerful lich, High Lord."

"Agreed. Even when our organization was expanding to encompass the entire city and the province, we never opposed the Necromancer."

"He's always left us alone before. If we do the same, he'll…"

"Burn down this entire city," the High Lord finished. "Are we to do nothing while everything we've worked so hard to build is destroyed? The Necromancer is an aggressor. What do we do to aggressors in our city?"

"We eliminate them."

"Exactly." The High Lord glared down at the image of the Necromancer. The lich observed his minions going about their slaughter.

"The one question is why, after all this time, has he decided to turn on us now?" asked an inquisitive Lord.

"Perhaps the scrying pool can tell us more. It shows us everything that happens in our city regardless of where or when it takes place. Go back some. I want to see the precursor to all this." At the High Lord's command, the pool reverted to a more timely period. This one showed the horde consolidating around a lone house in the Market District. The Necromancer was up front. Upon his command, his legion assailed the house. Among them were several Negotiators. "Aren't those the masked assassins in the employ of the Pirate's Guild?"

"Indeed, High Lord. But what are they doing with the Necromancer?"

"Perhaps," ventured another. "They had the misfortune of becoming unwitting members of his army."

"Let's observe." The High Lord and his fellows watched as the initial attack was repelled and the horde pulled back. After a notable reprieve, the door opened and a man in dark robes stepped out. He challenged the Necromancer to a duel. "I am Prince Phobos, Ruler of Meridian, Bane of Candracar and Foe to Nerissa and you are all DEAD MEN!" With that, the two began to fight.

"Did he say Prince Phobos?"

"As in the usurper of the throne of Meridian?"

"What is he doing in Limen?"

"I thought Nerissa had him imprisoned."

"I heard rumors he joined the new rebellion."

"But that's impossible! They would never ally themselves with him."

"Enemy of my enemy and all that."

"Silence! I want to see what happens next." As the High Lord observed, the battle between the two spellcasters caused a fire to erupt throughout the streets below. As the fire spread, a lone warrior came charging out of the house, attacking the zombies and cleaving them with little effort. "The Guild shall never fall!" He cried. "Once we uncover the secret to Nerissa's weapon we shall destroy you all! This city will be ours! You, the Lords, the measly Guard, you'll all cower before us like grass in a storm. Our will shall not be denied. All hail the Pirate's Guild! Let all who stand against us feel our steel!"

"Did he just say what I heard him say?"

"The Pirate's Guild?! They have a hand in this?"

"What is this about Nerissa's weapon?"

"Is he working for them?"

"Is Prince Phobos?"

"Has the Guild somehow recruited that powerful wizard into their ranks?"

"Here comes the Guard," One of them pointed out though the others were too busy asking questions to care.

"High Lord, we must do something."

"Rally the Guard! We must attack the Pirate's Guild!"

"High Lord, please," pleaded the baron next to him.

Frustrated at the bickering of the so-called masters of the city, the High Lord raised his voice until it boomed, using magic to enhance it even further. "BE QUIET!" The entire room shook. All was silent. "Good. Now let's start talking like sensible men instead of rambling children! We must move quickly before our entire city is burned to the ground."

"Or conquered by the lich," one dared to say.

"What was THAT?"

"Nothing, High Lord."

He humphed. "Thoughts?"

"Look!" All eyes returned to the pool and watched as Prince Phobos was mortally wounded by the Necromancer. "The prince is dead!"

"No he's not," said another as his companions rushed to his aid. Phobos was taken inside while two warriors rushed to the assistance of a third who was being mauled by zombies. The managed to rescue their endangered companion and rush him inside. The Lords observed as the horde began their assault anew on the house and the Necromancer flared to life on the roof. His power was extraordinary.

"That settles it! He must be stopped!"

"Send our strongest wizards to help entrap the lich and his army within the district. That will keep them from spreading."

"Not to mention make it easier to stop them once and for all."

"But how long can we contain them?"

"Long enough."

"The Necromancer is too strong."

"If some of us go we can lend our strength to our forces and…"

"I don't want to become a zombie."

"Are you a coward?"

"What did you say?"

The High Lord wailed. "Why am I surrounded by such incompetence? Do you realize the longer we bicker the greater the chance we may lose this city from right out under our feet?" He held up his hand. "I'll tell you what we should do. Half of you come with me and we shall deal with this Necromancer ourselves. Should we cower now before an aggressor the people will think us weak and I'll become a lich myself before I allow that to happen." He held up his hand. "The rest of you, raise our army. You will lead an attack on the Pirate's Guild and find that weapon. If the rumors are true then it is the very weapon Nerissa has been constructing in Kazan all this time. How the pirates managed to obtain it proves a lack in our intelligence department. We must not let them keep it. It may be our only trump card against Nerissa."

"A battle against the Necromancer and the Guild? High Lord, that will strain our resources to the limit."

"Not to mention that infighting between the city's great powers will surely destroy that which we're trying to control!"

"Master, if Limen is destroyed, how will we defend ourselves? Limen is the only free city left!"

"In truth I'd rather see it burn then fall into the hands of that witch." He spoke venomously. "But if we manage to defeat the Necromancer and obtain the weapon which she has so reverently guarded then Nerissa may think twice about challenging us."

"Then we go to war?"

The High Lord took a deep breath and said, "Yes. The Lords are going to war.

--

Julian groaned.

"How is he?" Caleb asked Roiya as he came to her side. The pirate had tended to him gingerly, like a lover, and the look in her face when she turned to face him said it all.

"I don't know, Caleb." Then she said, "To be honest, I don't think Julian will last very long." She heard him intake a breath of air. "I'm afraid I don't have any anti-zombie potions. Funny, you'd think after all I'd seen I'd be prepared for anything. Even this." She turned to stroke Julian's head. He was ice cold. Pale. It wouldn't be long now. "Julian," She looked back to Caleb. "Caleb…I am so sorry."

"Dad…"

Blunk whimpered at the sight of Julian hanging by a thread. He'd come to respect the man greatly—as much as any passling can respect anyone. He was one of the few who ever treated Blunk with the respect reserved for a hero, something it took a war and a lot of close calls to gain from Caleb and the girls. He would miss Julian. He was his friend. He was his hero. "He no die."

Caleb glanced at Blunk. Despite the sadness building in his eyes, he managed a smile. "You're right. He won't." Taking the time to wipe the moisture from his eyes he added, "Not so long as I live. My father will never be forgotten."

"Not like this."

"What?"

Roiya was shaking her head. "It can't end like this. Not after all these years…Julian, it wasn't supposed to be this way."

Reaching out, Caleb grabbed Roiya by the arm and brought her up. "What are you talking about?" Suspicion making its way into his voice.

Roiya seemed reluctant to continue but she did so anyway. "Your father was right about me, Caleb. I…I betrayed him."

He could feel his grip tighten around her, could feel her wince, but he did not let her go.

"Julian trusted me. I left him to die."

"Roiya, start making sense."

"I'm sorry."

He shook her violently. "Roiya!"

"Ow!"

"Tell me what happened." It seemed pointless now. What happened between her and Julian was so long ago, before his time. What could learning about it serve him now? His father was dying, they were about to die, what use was this one revelation? Closure? Caleb wasn't the one that needed it. His dad did, but he likely wasn't about to get it. "Talk!"

"Caleb…"

A bright flash of light filled the room and when he looked, Miss Pitterbee was gone!

Blunk cried out. "Old Lady gone! Old Lady gone!"

"We have eyes, Blunk!" Aldarn had been watching the door when the cleric made her sudden exit. Turning, he was nearly blinded by the flash of light and was just now recovering. With all that happened it was only natural for him to be a little angry. "Where'd she go?"

"No!" Caleb released Roiya and stalked towards the spot where Pitterbee had once been. Like some fool he reached out as if thinking she'd turned invisible. But it was not so. Pitterbee was gone in every sense of the word.

"Caleb?"

He shook his head. "I cannot believe this!" Hands pulling at his hair, Caleb screamed. Phobos, Aldarn, Roiya and Blunk gawked at his outburst. They'd never seen him lose his cool like this. They watched as Caleb turned towards the nearest stone wall and punched it with all his might. He did it again and again. His fists screamed in pain but he did not cease. He was angry. Angry with Pitterbee. Angry with himself. Angry with his mother. Angry with this war. Angry with living. Angry! Angry! Angry!

"Stop it!" Aldarn protested.

"Yes, that wall has never done anything to you," Phobos said and received a murderous glare from Aldarn. "Just trying to help." He shrugged.

Blunk tried to approach him but his friend was too lost in his rage to hear his words. "Caleb need to stop! This not help papa. This not help Corny. This not help you!"

"Shut up!" He screamed. Blunk cringed. "I wish the entire world will just shut the hell up! I'm sick of this crap! I'm tired of fighting! I'm tired of watching those I care about suffer! Phobos! Nerissa! The Council! We're always getting caught in the middle of somebody else's fight! Well I've had it!" His voice wavered. "I've already lost Cornelia. Now I'm about to lose my father." He fell to the floor. "Now I'm about to lose everything. Meridian, Earth, it's all finished!"

"Not finished."

"Give it up, Blunk!"

The passling backed off.

Aldarn exclaimed. "We've still got a war to win, Caleb! The rebellion depends on you, we all do. Julian needs,"

"My father is dead!"

"No he's not!"

"He will be…"

"Caleb!"

"Enough, Aldarn!" He fully sagged now. "Just…enough…"

Aldarn shook his head.

Phobos rolled his eyes. "Well this is pathetic."

Hearing him, Caleb reared around, his eyes burning. "You…" Like a rocket, Caleb sped across the room and pinned Phobos against the far wall. The others cried out as he removed a dagger from his belt and brought it to his neck. "You've been nothing but trouble. You've always been our enemy. You…" His voice fumed. "If my father hadn't gone to get you he would be all right. Because of your selfishness he is about to die."

"I saved his life!" Phobos argued.

"One which is infinitely more important than yours. Look at him, Phobos. Look!" The ex-prince did as he was told. Julian's skin was a pasty white and his breathing was slowing. "He and countless others are suffering because of people like you. My mother, the Necromancer, you're all alike. You can't leave well enough alone, you only care about yourselves and what you want. Well this time I'm about to get what I want. Justice! My father is about to die, Phobos. But not before you." He pressed the knife closer and Phobos gasped.

"Caleb…"

His father's voice stopped him cold.

Dropping the knife and Phobos, Caleb rushed to his father's side. Phobos coughed as he sat up, massaging his throat. A trickle of blood appeared when he pulled his hand away and he grimaced. How dare he pull a knife on him? How dare he?! Had he the strength Phobos would blast him into oblivion. As it stood he found a substitute—right under his hand. The dagger Caleb had pressed against his jugular was now in his custody. Grabbing the hilt, Phobos stood, his face promising swift retribution. He approached Caleb who had been surrounded by the others when they heard Julian speak. With an open path to his target, the wizard prepared to thrust the knife into the back of this thorn at his side.

No, he thought. The neck. He would hear Caleb gurgle his last breath, watch him turn in horror as he discovered it was he who had slain him—his oldest enemy. Yes. That would be so much better than in the back of the heart where he would die swiftly. Nerissa would not have him. Phobos would! Even if his friends slew him afterward, he'd have joined Caleb in Hell knowing he had his vengeance.

As the fool muttered over his father's prone body, he leaned over, a perfect execution pose. Phobos smiled. He raised the knife.

The house shook. All except Caleb looked up. Blunk noticed Phobos holding the knife and he gawked. Phobos quickly hid the knife behind his back, awkwardly smiling at the passling as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Another tremor shook the house, stronger this time. Outside, the zombies who had so been trying to break into the cellar had ceased all such action.

"What is going on?" Aldarn asked. Too bad there were no windows. He rushed toward the broken door and peeked outside. "They're just standing there," he told the others. "They're not attacking anymore."

"How fortunate for us." Phobos glanced at Blunk who was still looking at him curiously. "Err…perhaps the tide has turned."

"But in whose favor?" Roiya asked.

"Hey!" Aldarn began as the house shook again. "They're leaving!"

"What?" Phobos rushed to the door and forcibly shoved Aldarn aside. He saw the zombie, a full score of them filling the narrow hall, shambling up the stairs and away from the door. They seemed to have lost all interest in them and were now heading out of sight. But why? "Where are they going?"

"You sound displeased," Aldarn said.

"I don't understand it. They have us trapped and they leave? Why? It doesn't make any sense."

"Should it?"

Phobos stood back. "This is our chance! We must go!"

"Go where?"

"Anywhere you fool! We must escape!"

"But we're not finished here."

"I say we are." He pointed to Caleb. "Our glorious leader is no more. The mission is a complete failure! I say we cut our losses and get out while we still can." He steadied himself after another shake. "We will only die if we stay here."

"And that scares you."

"Don't give me that that, Aldarn! You know as well as I that this is all over."

"You're right." He smiled. "For you." His sword appeared in his hand in a flash, leveled straight at Phobos."

"What are you doing?"

"Cutting our losses. Caleb is right. You are nothing but trouble. Julian was hurt trying to get you and is paying the price. Had it been me or Caleb, the same thing would have happened. You look out for no one but yourself."

"I was fighting the Necromancer!" Phobos picked at the hole in his clothes. "He stabbed me! I almost died!"

"But you didn't."

"It's hardly my fault if that pirate wench could not heal Julian. I never asked to be saved." He motioned around. "I didn't ask for any of this!"

"Neither did we. But that didn't stop you from destroying our lives."

"What are you going to do, Aldarn? Kill me?"

"You know too much. The location of our base. Our strength. Our numbers. Our capabilities. You're a loose end." The rebel's eyes hardened. "What would you do?"

"I…" But Phobos stopped. He would not plead to this peasant. If he was to die here then it would be as a prince, no, a king. "Do it!"

The roof caved in. An energy blast bore through the upper floor and created a hole that went up through the ceiling. Phobos and Aldarn coughed and fell to the floor. The first to recover, Phobos looked up. Beams of energy flicked across the night sky and he need not be a wizard to know that a magical battle was in place. Someone was attacking the Necromancer. A great many someones by the look of it. He could also make out the clash of steel and the cries of the wounded and the howls of the undead. It was war!

This is my chance!

Using the last of his magic, Phobos levitated up through the hole. He was shaky and could barely keep himself straight but he did manage to latch onto the next level with his feet dangling. Phobos frantically pulled himself up just as he heard Aldarn swearing his name. Collapsing on the floor, Phobos dared a peek back down. Aldarn, still coughing, jabbed his sword at him futilely. If he jumped he would just be able to catch the edge of the gap, but Phobos wasn't about to give him the chance. "I wish I could say it's been nice knowing you." He stood up. "But even I can tell so many lies."

Shaking himself of the dust and of the rebellion, the wizard trudged his way through the ruined house. Pieces of zombies still littered the floor, with hands and feet and even a few heads poking, kicking, are snapping at him as he walked pass. Phobos ignored them and went straight for the window. The Necromancer and his horde were locked in battle with a group of robed men and the City Guard. The men were wizards and they exchanged magical blows with the powerful lich. On the ground, zombie and guardsman alike were locked in a bitter fight for supremacy. If a guardsman went down, he would return as one of the undead, adding strength to the lich's already formidable forces so they resolved to hacking the zombies to pieces—particularly their heads. They also used fire. Many of their weapons were enchanted with flame spells and as they cut through the zombies, the undead burst into flames. Others used torches, fire arrows or just chopped with wild abandon.

All in all, it was a pretty even fight.

"May you all suffer miserable ends."

Phobos made his way toward the back door and after checking for any surprises, made a hasty retreat into the alley behind the house.

--

Caleb was lost. He heard his father speak and rushed to his side. Try as he might, Caleb called out to Julian. He pleaded with him, begged him to speak to him again. But there was nothing. It was if Julian had used his final breath to speak to his son one last time.

"Dad?"

"He's dead," Roiya muttered.

But Caleb did not hear her. He touched Julian's head and felt his heart stop as it just slumped to the side. "Dad?"

Kneeling beside him, Roiya began to cry. He head in her hand, her shoulders heaving with sobs, the pirate could feel every fiber of her being in anguish. Julian was gone. Her Julian. The man she betrayed all those years ago. She never got to tell him how sorry she was. "Forgive me, Julian."

"Dad?"

She turned to Caleb. Seeing him now on the verge of tears, no longer the stoic, battle-hardened commander of the rebellion but a son who'd just lost his father, she rubbed his neck. "He's dead, Caleb."

"Dad?" He was whimpering now.

Without thinking, Roiya threw her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry."

Fighting and losing, tears began to flow. This was it. He'd just lost the last family he had on this world. Julian had been his hero. He had been everything Caleb wanted to be and more. He'd always been his mentor and his guide. No greater father had there been on this world or any other. Not that it mattered. Caleb's world had come falling down around him.

That proved to be more literal as the roof of the cellar came crashing down. Phobos had escaped through the gap and was gone, Aldarn shouting threats after him. He gave up trying to "carve Phobos a new one" and instead turned on to Caleb. "Caleb! Phobos has…" He stopped when he saw what had happened. "Oh no."

Caleb and Roiya grieved. Blunk began to cry as well.

"No…" Aldarn clasped his fist. "Dammit!" He slammed the tip of his sword into the floor; the blade quivered back and forth.

Leaving it, Aldarn approached his comrades. He knelt beside them. "This is not right. It should be Phobos lying there right now, not Master Julian." He allowed a few tears to fall out. Wiping them off, Aldarn spoke through clenched teeth. "We can't let his death be in vain. We have to finish this. For Julian!"

But it was Roiya who spoke to him. "Are you mad? Take a look around you. This city is tearing itself apart. Your presence has done more damage to my home than Nerissa ever could."

"So you blame us for this?"

"I blame whatever powers would sit back and watch people suffer. This world has gone mad and no matter how hard we fight, no matter how many enemies we vanquish, we will never be able to purge it of all its wrongs."

"Wrongs? You're a pirate for Oracle's sake!"

"I'm a survivor. Would you have me work in a brothel or as some slave? Everywhere I go I see people struggling to survive while those on high reap all the benefits. You wonder why I'm a pirate? It's because I refuse to become a victim. People die everyday, Aldarn. It doesn't matter whether it's Phobos or Elyon or Nerissa, people will always die for others' mistakes. I don't doubt I will die one day, but it will be at a moment of my choosing." She buried her face into Caleb's hair. "I just wish we didn't have to die. I'm tired of losing those I care about."

"Roiya—"

"We have to go," Caleb said.

Roiya raised her head just as Caleb stood up. Aldarn took a step back while Blunk just gawked at him. Caleb looked very different to the passling as if…as if a part of him had died.

"Roiya," he began—a deep undertone to his voice. "Do you know the way to the Pirate's Guild?"

"Yes, but,"

"Then take us there." He ordered, not asked. "We still have a job to do."

"Caleb, I realize that everyone has a way of dealing with the loss of a loved one—but charging into one of the most heavily guarded instillations in all of Meridian it taking it a bit too far."

"We won't be alone." He turned away and made for the door. The zombies had nearly broken through and it bent inwards with splinters all over the floor. Caleb began to dismantle the remainder of the barricade as Aldarn spoke to him next.

"Listen, Caleb, you know I'm with you and I want to see this through to the end myself. But there are only four of us." He felt a pain in his stomach as soon as he said that. Four of them. Of the original five who had entered the city of Limen, only Caleb, Blunk and himself were left. Roiya was a temporary addition to their group and who knows how much longer she'd stick with them. When they left the city, there would be just three. How could they return to their comrades and tell them that Julian, the creator of the rebellion and hero to all Meridian, was dead?

Caleb ripped out the final plank and opened the door. He was up the stairs before Aldarn could hurry up and follow. "Caleb," he called. Did he just plan to leave his father's body down here? Rotting? Food for flies? "Caleb!" Aldarn reached the top and searched for his friend. Caleb was rummaging through the ruined cabinets which had been strewn across the floor during the battle. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for this." He uprooted a broken lantern with its top half still missing. "Get the others out into the alley. I'll be right there."

Aldarn watched as he brushed past him into another part of the house. He followed and almost bumped into Roiya who had just come up the stairs. "Where is he?"

"In the lounge, I think. He says we should go the alley."

"But Julian…" Roiya's eyes widened all of a sudden. "Oh. I see."

"See? See what?"

"Come, Aldarn. He needs to do this alone."

"Do what? Where are you going?" He called after Roiya. "Roiya!"

"Blunk!" She cried. They heard the little passling scramble up the steps after them and when he did his face was full of excitement. "Caleb's daddy not dead! Blunk see him move!" the naïve creature said. "Caleb! Daddy alive! Daddy," Aldarn silenced him with a tug at his collar. "Huh? What going on?"

Suddenly, Aldarn understood. He knew what Caleb was about to do. "Let's go Blunk." He dragged the passling toward the back exit where Roiya was standing guard by the door. The two them did not look back, though Blunk kept trying to get their attention. He was like a child not fully understanding that certain things could be done by certain people. "But daddy alive!"

Inside, Caleb returned to the cellar with the broken lamp and a match. Down the stairs he found the place empty as he had wanted it. It was just him and his father. No. He wasn't his father anymore.

The thing across the room was beginning to stir, its head slinking back and forth as it began to gain consciousness. Caleb stood unwavering in the task he'd set before him. His footsteps fell loudly as he approached the zombie, removing the small flask on the lantern. Without a second thought he began pouring the oil all over the thing that was once his father. It protested slightly, but made no move to stop him—it was as if somewhere deep down inside, what little part that was Julian remained agreed with what he was about to do. Destroying his head wouldn't be enough. Julian would be purified in the fires of his son's love.

Caleb began to spread the oil around until the lantern was empty. Blocking out the sounds of the battle outside, Caleb raised the match lit it using the leather hilt of his sword. Standing over his father, Caleb prepared to perform his one final act as his son. "Dad, whatever part of you can hear me, know this: you have always been my hero and my inspiration. You've completed me. I'll never look up to anyone the same as I've done to you. Remember always that I love you and that I promise I will not stop fighting until our world is free from Nerissa." There were no tears, only silent vows. "I will never forget you." He tossed the match.

As the cellar began to burn, Caleb stepped out of the house without once looking back. Aldarn, Blunk, and Roiya were waiting for him in the back. "Take us to the Guild," He told Roiya without regarding her and they parted to let him pass.

The pirate didn't show any contempt at being ordered around like a common deck hand. She understood Caleb was going through tremendous pain and that he would cry for his father in private…but not now. No. Right now they had a wrong to right and by so doing would at least bring some meaning to Julian's sacrifice. Putting on her wide hat, Roiya paid one final glance at the burning house and said her last goodbyes to Julian before following his son.

"But what about daddy?" Blunk asked Aldarn who looked like it pained him too much to even talk about it?

"He's gone, Blunk. He's in a better place." He watched Caleb and Roiya slink away into the shadows of the alley and then back to the house. "A place without Nerissa and monsters and battles. Julian is a peace. Some day I hope to see him again." His gaze lifted to the stars. "Watch over us, Master Julian. We still have a long road ahead of us." He did a silent prayer. "Come on, Blunk." He and the passling left the battle behind them…and the legacy of a proud man.

--

Phobos hated scrounging around in the shadows like a rat but with his powers depleted he had no choice but to remain out of sight. The whole city was in an uproar as the Lords battle the Necromancer and his horde. Already the Guard were closing off the streets leading to the battlefield and Phobos knew he had to hurry else he get trapped within.

Citizens panicked in the streets and he had to take care not to get swept up in the mob. Stealing a robe that hung from a low clothes-iron, Phobos tried to blend in as he stepped out into the open. He was almost knocked over several times before he made it across the street. Rubbing his bruises and cursing the day he ever set eyes on that rebel warrior, Phobos panned back to get some breathing room. He needed energy and fast but he must do so discreetly else the Guard, who were out in force, spot him and make his life even more difficult.

Now if only these fools would stop running around so fast.

Phobos gasped when a Guardsman stepped out in front of him. Then he realized that the large brute had his back to him, urging the citizens to keep moving with a large steel halberd. Seeing his chance, and making sure none of his fellows was around to interfere, Phobos slowly reached out with his hand, preparing to steal the man's energy as he once did the entire world's.

Only he never got the chance.

Someone grabbed Phobos and pulled him back into a passage that lead into a dead end between two squat buildings. Phobos stumbled and fell to his back where he immediately reared around to face the impudent interloper. It was then that his eyes went wide and his mouth gawked open. "You!"

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A few things changed while I was writing this one, but rest assured we're almost to the finish. Thanks to everyone who reviews and any comments, complaints, or suggestions you may have feel free to post them on my forum regarding TCIYA. Thanks guys and I hope you enjoyed it!