THEY WERE THE most perfect five minutes of my life.

We didn't kiss the whole time. I ran out of air halfway through - I think I'd forgotten to breathe - and had started to get really dizzy, so I'd had to pull away. After that, we'd just sort of sat there, nestled up against each other like in my dream from that morning.

This time, instead of Aquila interrupting us, it was Cristine. "Guys, we're getting close," she said, sliding the door open and sticking her head in. Erik and I jumped out of our skins.

"Oh," Cristine said, her eyes going wide. "Sorry, I'll…" She put a hand in front of her mouth, but she couldn't hide a grin, and I felt the shot of triumph that ran through her. She turned to leave, but not without cheering, "I knew it!"

"Bloody hell," I muttered. "I'll never live this down…"

Erik snorted. "You ought not to have lied." But I got a slight smile along with it.

"Well, I didn't realise it was a lie at the time," I pointed out, and rose. "C'mon. Let's get in there and see what we're facin'."

Cristine turned, giggling, into Nick's shoulder as Erik and I came in. I made a rude face at her. Nick looked rather bewildered.

"Sterling," Erik said, turning to the front of the Starflight. "How close are we?"

Sterling nodded out the window, his expression grim. "See for yerself, treacle."

We gathered round one of the windows to see the Real of the Almighty just above us. As we grew closer and drew into a loop round, the Realm started to shift.

A wave of horror ran through us.

Clouds were closing in around everything, leaving it murky and dim. What looked like dark red roots were sprouting from the islands, wrapping round one another and connecting the islands with thick, dark tendrils. The grass withered away to a greyish dust. The temple at the top shook and several chunks of stone fell away, leaving it with a ruined look. Bare rock showed through the islands' previously beautifully manicured lawns. Some of it had a strange, soft reddish look, like an organ.

I repressed a shudder and reached up to grab the hilt of my sword. This place was wrong.

"Well that's not exactly easy on the eyes, is it?" Stella muttered. "Or the guts. I've got a bad feeling about this. This Corpus character needs a serious talking-with about his taste in evil fortresses."

We pulled to a halt by the lowest island again. Nick slid the door open and started out. I hesitated in the doorway behind the others.

"Tammy?" Cristine asked. Her eyebrows pulled together in the middle.

I took a deep breath and stepped out, but didn't let my feet touch the ground. I could feel Corvus's hatred in the air around me. I didn't want to think about what would happen if I touched the ground he'd polluted with it.

It wasn't long before we realised that the place was crawling with monsters. All of us kept our weapons out. I kept my feet off the ground. The higher up we got, the more strongly I could feel Corvus's presence.

"That is so weird," Nick said, shaking his head.

I snorted. "You're tellin' me. I've gotta say, though, it's helpful right now."

We fell back into silence.

The Realm seemed to have expanded when Covus took it over; it took what felt like hours to get through. We ran first into Goreham-Hogg, then Hootingham-Gore, and finally Goresby-Purrvis, who were all considerably weaker than before but shouldn't have been there at all. When we managed to beat Goresby-Purrvis, we all looked round at each other.

"How did Corvus manage to resurrect them all?" Cristine asked quietly. "No magic's supposed to be able to raise the dead."

Nick shook his head silently.

"There are too many strange things here for any of them to be understood," Erik said, massaging one of his temples. "The only thing to be done is to defeat Corvus."

We weren't far from the temple now. It seemed to be getting darker and darker as we headed up, but I couldn't decide whether it was the effect of the clouds or that we'd just been there that long.

I flew slower and slower as we approached the top. The hatred I'd felt even at the bottom seemed to be pulsating out stronger than ever before. It pressed up against the edges of my mind, pushing against my defences, searching for a way in. It took everything I had to keep my mind closed to it.

We found Corvus at the top of the temple, where Erik had offered up the fyggs the day before. He was sitting, head down, muttering to himself again.

"Their very existence is an insult…" he whispered. "An abomination...a crime… Not the mortals alone… The very world created for them by their pathetic god -" I saw Nick's jaw go tight - "is irredeemably tainted with sin. The only righteous path is that of destruction… Immediate and total destruction…"

He looked up slowly. "Wherefore do you come here, wingless one?" he asked. "Do you mean to prevent me from fulfilling my purpose?"

"Indeed," Erik said. We settled into ready stances.

"...Your intentions are foolish and utterly futile," Corvus said, looking us over disdainfully. "You are bound by the laws of the Celestrians and cannot take arms against me. Come, let me teach you of oblivion!"

If I had blinked I would have missed it - he rose from the throne and lunged for Cristine. Cristine ducked under his outstretched hands and leapt back up, slashing at his side. Erik followed up almost immediately with a blow from each claw. Corvus's red eyes went wide with shock and fury.

"How can this be?" he roared, stumbling back against the throne. "How is a Celestrian able to stand against me?"

Erik looked down at him . "I am no longer a Celestrian," he said, drawing himself to his full height. "And believe you me, you are not either."

Corvus held him in regard for a moment. "...Hm," he said finally. "So you have forsaken your Celestrian powers to take on a mortal form?" His lips curved up in a mad smile, and he looked down. "Hm hm hm. How fitting… That the one who would destroy me should become mortal, when my hatred of mortalkind has made me as I am…"

The last of the feathers on his wings started to shed, and darkness started to swirl around him. I clenched my fists, struggling against the madness.

"And just as you have shed your Celestrian form, so shall I shed mine, that I might give vent to the full force of my power."

The darkness kept gathering, until it was too thick to see through. All four of us took a unified step backwards.

Then suddenly, there were twin gleams of red through the black mist. It exploded outwards, chilling me to the bone as it passed by, and Corvus rose.

But he was different.

The wings were the first, most obvious change. They'd gone from twisted Celestrian to full-on bat, only they were the same greenish shade as his skin. The horns on his head were larger. There were strange, pulsating marks on his skin, and he had a tail.

He launched himself into the air. "I await you below, mortal-made!" he cried triumphantly, and soared out of sight.

I shuddered and let myself fall into a crouch on the ground. "Ugh," I moaned. "I think a whole bunch of people need to get down on their knees right now and thank the Almighty they haven't got empathy."

"That bad?" Cristine asked quietly.

I nodded.

She sat down slowly. "Well," she said, "I think we can put off going down there again… I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starved." She opened up her bag and pulled out food.

The boys sat down, too. I couldn't help smiling a little. "Food sounds good."

Somehow, I thought, this makes it all bearable. I could still sense everything from Corvus, but it was fainter with the others around me. Things seemed very close to normal.

I hummed softly as I ate. Erik looked over at me, though he didn't say anything. But when he swallowed his next bite of food, he started singing along.

"March, my comrades to battle here today…"

I had to put my hands in front of my mouth to keep from spitting out my food. "Almighty!" I exclaimed when I'd decided I could talk without choking. "Your voice -!"

On my left, Cristine was falling into a fit of shocked laughter. Nick's eyes had snapped wider than I'd thought possible.

"It was one line!" Erik said, almost sounding offended. "Was it not you who wished me to sing when we were in Wormwood Creek?"

"It was," I admitted. I couldn't say anything else, though - I was in too much shock and ended up just dissolving into laughter.

"It is not my fault that my voice is untrained!" Erik said.

"Untrained!" Cristine exclaimed. "No offence, Erik, but I think that's a little more than lack of training."

Erik folded his arms. "My sincerest apologies," he said grumpily. "I was merely attempting to lift the gloom of this situation."

"Well," Nick said fairly, "you did. Just probably not the way you meant to."

"Oh, come on," I said when he refused to look any less surly. "Let's face it, it could have been worse - I don't know how, but it could have - and you broke the mood nicely." I grinned. "Besides, if we really put our minds to it, Cristine and I could fix that for you in no time."

"I'm not sure I want to listen to it enough to fix it," Cristine murmured.

We all laughed at the offended look on Erik's face.

"Come on," I said, taking his arm and getting up. "We're done eatin', I think. Let's go down and do what we came here to do."

"And if worst comes to worst," Erik said, "I suppose I could always sing again." His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Nick smiled. "Exactly," he said. "You'll be our secret weapon."

We headed down the stairs. Erik reached into his bag and started rummaging for something. He reemerged when we reached the bottom and pulled out something small.

"Tammy," he said, "I wish you to have this." He held it out to me. It was a bracelet made from braided silver wire, strung with amethyst beads.

I blinked. "Er, why?"

He rolled his eyes and put the bracelet in my hand, closing my fingers around it. "You accept gifts poorly," he said. "Celestrians give such tokens to those for whom they care, although I admit that such transactions are most common between master and apprentice. Romance, as you may imagine, is rather rare among my...among their people."

Suddenly I was hyperaware of Nick's and Cristine's eyes on me in addition to Erik's. I felt myself go red. "Er, thanks," I said, sliding the bracelet onto my right wrist.

We'd stepped outside, and before I could say anything else, the whole island started to shake. "Wh-Whoa!" stammered Nick. Then there was a particularly violent buck, and we were all flung off the edge.

Our combined screams were loud enough that I wouldn't have been surprised if every mortal in the Protectorate had heard them.

I managed to get my head, though, and scrambled to grab hold of people. I couldn't hold us up, but I could slow our descent a little and get enough control to keep us from hurtling past any islands that could have caught us. We hit the dirt hard, but clambered up mostly unbruised.

It was a small island. We'd crossed it earlier on our way up, but I hadn't paid it any mind. Now there was a small path of light leading out to a deep red egg-looking thing. There was a dark shape inside of it that I assumed was Corvus.

I swallowed.

Slowly, we headed out along the path.

A growling voice from within the egg made us all jump. "Come to me, Barbarus born of darkness!" it cried. "Obliterate those who would disturb me!"

The dragon flew in, roaring and breathing jets of dark flame. I rocketed into the air, casting a quick spell. "The air around the path's solid!" I shouted down at the others, and then fanned a jet of flame at the black dragon's head.

Erik was the first to test it out. He raced off the path, dodging Barbarus's maw and inflicting a pair of claw marks on the soft skin beneath the dragon's lower jaw. Barbarus roared.

Nick cast Insulate, enveloping Cristine in a soft light as she sprinted forwards. Barbarus clawed at her, but all he caught was the side of her skirt as she spun aside and cast Crackle. The icicle speared into Barbarus's belly.

"Come up and fight, you scrawny lizard!" I taunted. "Or are you too afraid you'll be beaten by a faerie?"

"Insolence!" Barbarus roared. He rose up on his hind legs and pushed off the solid air.

I grinned. "Come on, you old has-been!"

Cristine used Hot Lick, catching the last several feet of Barbarus's tail with the flames. While he was twisting down after her, I stabbed my sword into the chink between two of his scales. He roared in pain.

I could see Erik gesturing below me. I dove, drawing the dragon back into range of Erik's and Nick's earthbound attacks. Nick rammed Barbarus in the head with his staff. Erik jumped up and caught hold of one of the spikes on Barbarus's back.

I spun round in shock. "Erik -" I shouted.

He shook his head hard. In a few quick motions, he'd hoisted himself up onto the dragon's back. Then he dug his claws into the gaps between scales.

Barbarus screamed.

There was no sign of fire in the back of his maw, so I made a split-second decision. I soared in, avoiding the dragon's flailing claws, and flew for his mouth with my sword at the ready. As the mouth opened even wider, my boots made contact with the bottom lip. Then I shoved my sword up through the roof of the dragon's mouth.

He didn't even have time to breath out one more jet of flame.

Erik leapt off the back as the dragon began to fall. I let go of my sword and moved back. There was a drain on my energy as the spell holding the air solid jolted when the dragon landed.

I came to a gentle landing next to the still-open maw. "That was for Greygnarl," I whispered, and yanked my sword out.

Barbarus's body turned to dust and was blown away on the wind.

Before any of us could really enjoy the victory, though, there was a cracking sound from the egg-thing. We all whirled round.

Cracks were forming all over the surface. Then they shattered, revealing an utterly unrecognisable Corvus. He looked like a demon.

"So, mortal-made, you have bested might Barbarus," he said in the same growling voice. His eyes were pure red, no whites or pupils, and his canine teeth were sharp. "Fool! It is my hatred, my bitterness towards mortalkind - your kind - that feeds my power, that drives my rage!" He raised a hand and stretched out the enormous bat-wings.

"And now there shall be no holding back. You will feel the full weight of my wrath, the full depth of my hatred!" He roared and flung out his arms. "It is time… The end of all things begins!"

The wind picked up around us, keening angrily. Nick readied his grip on his staff. "By the Almighty who gives us strength," he cried, "you're not laying a finger on our world!"

And he and Cristine raced forwards.

Cristine cast Crack, knocking Coruvs momentarily out of the air. As he fell, Nick cracked him hard with the thick end of his staff, sending Corvus flying several metres.

He pulled himself back up, lips curling back in a snarl. A taloned hand caught Cristine's leg, making her stumble. Before he could move in, though, Erik leapt forwards, landing with one foot on Corvus's outstretched arm and slashing at his face.

I dove in then, slashing at Corvus's wings. I made a huge slit in the right one and ripped my sword around a little before I yanked it back out. Now if he wanted to fly, he'd be lopsided.

He shook Erik off his arm and pushed up, swiping at me. I grunted as the talons cut through my boot and into my calf.

In spite of how well the first round had gone, it wasn't long before it became clear that Corvus's power far outstripped ours. I went to defensive, hoping that as long as I wasn't killed, I might still have a chance of fighting later, when Corvus got tired out. Erik hadn't stopped fighting, but he wasn't really doing much. The fight had gone over to Nick and Cristine.

By the Almighty who gives us strength...you're not laying a finger on our world!

The other battles of the past few months had been nothing. They'd been warm-ups to this final, most difficult, most important battle - this one that Nick refused to lose.

He and Cristine took over the fight quickly. Tammy was better now than she'd been before - or at least, she didn't seem to be sensing Corvus's emotions so strongly - and Erik wasn't ever one to back down, but they both seemed to have sensed that this wasn't their fight as much as the one with Barbarus had been. This fight was for the mortals.

Nick could tell that Corvus was more than a match for them, but neither he nor Cristine were slowed by that. They stayed on the offensive, working as hard as they could to get past Corvus's defences and cause real damage. It was exhausting work.

Cristine fanned a jet of flames at Corvus's head. He sprang into the air to dodge, getting his foot singed but nothing else. Cristine frowned.

"Look out!" Nick yelled, seeing the green shape dart back down. Cristine leapt back, and Corvus missed her by centimetres. Nick lashed out with the staff and managed to catch Corvus on the head.

Erik raced in and tried to slash at Corvus's side, but Corvus lashed out and caught the silver-haired ex-Celestrian in the gut. Erik was knocked backwards with a grunt.

"I've got him!" Tammy yelled as Nick moved to go help. "You focus on takin' him!"

Nick nodded, setting his jaw, and he and Cristine raced back into battle.

It felt like they fought forever. Corvus hardly seemed to tire, but Nick and the others were battered, bruised and exhausted. Nick knew that if they didn't end it soon, they were going to lose. So he pulled his energy together for one last decisive strike.

"Cristine," he muttered. "Cover me!"

She nodded and leapt to the side, drawing Corvus's attention with a stream of fire fanned off the edge of her fan. Nick edged round the other way.

"I've got this," he whispered to Erik. "You and Tammy work with Cristine - draw his attention away!"

Erik nodded and waved Tammy round. They joined Cristine in bothering Corvus. Tammy dive-bombed him repeatedly, narrowly avoiding Corvus's talons several times. Erik bobbed and wove just out of reach. Corvus was completely focused on them. Nick was on his own.

He bowed his head, staff at the ready. Guide my staff, Almighty, he prayed. Let my hands do Your work!

And then he raised his staff and raced for Corvus.

Corvus didn't notice until it was too late. Nick leapt over the tail, dodged the wings, and brought his staff down heavily on the base of Corvus's skull. He collapsed into a heap on the solid air. They all stared in shock for a moment. Then Tammy whispered, "You...you got him." She looked up at him, grinning. "You did it!"

Nick's heart was racing a million kilometres an hour. "We did," he said quietly. A slow smile spread across his face. "Almighty help us, we killed him!"

Erik's face was rigid. "Not quite," he said tightly.

Nick's heart stopped for a second, and then started back up double time as he realised it was true.

Corvus shifted slightly. "H-How...can this...be…?" he whispered hoarsely. "How can I, who surpassed even the power of the Almighty, be defeated by mere...mortals…"

All four of them lifted their weapons. Nick saw a flare of light pass along the edges of Tammy's sword - a spell in progress.

"Don't move," Cristine said, raising her fan threateningly. "You're all but dead as it is - it won't be hard for us to finish the job."

Corvus was silent for a moment. Then Nick heard a quiet chuckle. "Hm hm hm hm hm."

They looked up at each other, eyes wide.

"Ha ha! HA HA HA HA HAAAA!"Corvus flung his head back in maddened laughter. "It matters not! Revel in your pathetic victory while you still can, mortal worms!" He leapt up. The four of them stumbled back, out of the way.

"This world will soon be no more!" Corvus roared exultantly. "You and all who dwell here will suffer complete and utter annihilation at my hands!" He crossed his arms over his chest, and red-and-black energy started to gather around him. As it got thicker, he flung out his arms. "GRRRRRAAAARRRRGGGHHH!"

They were all flung back in the explosion of energy. Tammy screamed, a dark, furious, terrified ripping sound that didn't sound like it could possibly come from a human mouth. Nick had to shield his eyes to squint through the harsh wind that had sprung up around them. Across the platform of air, Tammy was writhing convulsively, an agonised look on her face. She was still screaming.

As the wind picked up, a thrill of fear ran through Nick.

What was coming now?

I was trapped in a vortex of rage and pain.

They swirled round me, buffeting me every which way and battering down my defences. I was anchored to myself by something small and comforting on my right arm, but Corvus threatened to engulf me. I was very vaguely aware of a ripping scream and a throat dry and rough as sandpaper.

Something touched me as the vortex raced faster and the scream grew louder. Warm concern shot through my veins, mixing a touch of light into the darkness which was almost all I could sense. I couldn't hear properly, but I knew someone was speaking from right beside me. Erik.

I felt bruised, and realised that I must have been writhing. I couldn't feel any motion apart from the vortex. I had to assume.

Something warm leaned across my chest, pinning me down. Now that the motion of the writhing was gone, I noticed it. But the warm thing was the source of the concern, and a growing determination, and something warm and comforting and beautiful and strong. It kept the wild motion of the vortex at bay.

But there was more motion. Wind was ripping around me, cutting into my skin. It grew stronger as Erik and I lay there, struggling against the dark vortex. There were more screams - Erik's, Nick's, Cristine's. The wind threatened to rip us all away from our solid platform.

Then something new entered the air.

"I've found you…" said a soft voice that somehow managed to cut above the wind and the screams. "At last… I've finally found you…"

The wind eased suddenly, and surprise ran through the air. I took a deep breath through my raw throat and blinked, trying to look up. A soft blue light was coming towards us.

Erik sat up. So did I. Across the way, I could see Nick and Cristine doing the same thing. Then the light reached us, and it resolved itself into the ghost of Serena.

Corvus stared at her in utter shock. "...Serena…?" he whispered. Then something clicked in his brain, and I flinched away. "What business do you have with me, treacherous mortal!?"

"Corvus…" Serena whispered, smiling sadly. "I've been looking for you… I've been searching for you for so long…" She moved closer, and the pendant of her necklace began to glow.

Seeming almost transfixed, Corvus moved closer. Then he touched the pendant, and the glow increased so that I couldn't see. There was a stream of emotions pouring out of Serena and into Corvus through the necklace.

"I was so sorry I couldn't save you that day… I've been looking for you ever since. Trying to find you so I could… So I could save you at last… Save you from the darkness and the bitterness and despair…"

An even brighter golden light flashed from the direction of Serena and Corvus. Then the glow vanished, revealing Serena and Corvus, both restored to all their living glory. For the first time that I'd seen, Serena was smiling without a hint of sadness. Corvus was looking at her like he couldn't get enough of the sight of her.

"Serena…" he murmured. "How could I ever have believed you would betray me?" He swallowed. "I am ashamed… So deeply ashamed of my lack of faith...of my rage… And you have suffered so much…" He cupped her cheek gently. I saw Serena blush. "You have wandered so long in search of me… Yet your will never faltered… Your resolve to bring me back from the darkness never wavered… To have believed one so pure...so blameless…could be guilty of treachery…" He closed his eyes and looked down. I saw a tear trickle down his cheek. "Though I tried for all eternity, I might never atone for my sins. But that final, most heinous crime…that, at least, was averted…"

Serena smiled again, touching his face. "How I've missed you, Corvus…"

He smiled, taking her hand and kissing it softly. Then he looked down at us. "Erik...Celestrian and Guardian…" he said. "You are the pupil of my own apprentice, Aquila. He has trained a worthy Guardian. You must ask him to forgive me failings on his part."

Erik swallowed and just nodded. I didn't think he was going to be able to say anything at that point.

"It's time to go, Corvus," Serena said quietly.

Corvus looked back up at her. "...Yes," he said happily. "Finally, it is."

I shielded my eyes from the light, but I couldn't look away. Twin circles of gold formed around Serena and Corvus, and then they rose into the skies until they were so tiny they looked like stars. But they shone brighter than any stars I'd ever seen in my life. A deep sense of joy pervaded the air.

"Wow," I whispered.

I pulled my eyes away from the new stars, feeling warm all through. Erik's hand touched mine. I looked over.

"If that's true love," I told him, "I think we're sort of in trouble."

Erik snorted. "We will never stop arguing long enough for that."

I grinned. "Well, what fun would it be if we got along anyway?"

I could feel myself leaning in towards him again, but before anything could happen I heard a voice.

"...Erik."

We all looked up. In the centre of the platform, where Corvus had stood, a column of golden light had formed. It resolved itself into the form of Celestria. She seemed to shine from the inside out. Her blue eyes sparkled. She raised her hands, and in a flash of gold the Realm returned to normal. She smiled.

"It was you, Erik…" she said. "You and your friends who saved the world from sorrow… You who are both mortal and Celestrian… The world owes you all its very existence…" She reached her hands out, one towards me and Erik, the other towards Nick and Cristine. We all rose and moved towards her. She hugged us all tight.

"And now," she said, releasing us, "the duty of the Celestrians, the task that has spanned so many aeons, is finally at an end…"

She gestured. We all looked down over the edge of the Realm to see the Observatory, sparkling like a gem in the bright sunlight. Flashes of gold showed where the Celestrians were.

"...The Celestrians who rise to the heavens shall watch over the skies of all eternity…"

Suddenly, we weren't in the Realm of the Almighty any more. We were standing where Yggdrasil was supposed to be, only the Tree wasn't there any more.

"...But you, Erik…" Celestria said. "...Your fate lies elsewhere…"

The Starflight came soaring around to us.

"...You must remain among the mortals… You must stand Guardian over their world…"

The Starflight ground to a halt.

Celestria looked at Erik seriously. "...In time, the Realm of the Almighty...myself...all will be lost to your perception… But nonetheless, you must go forth… Go forth to your realm… the realm of the mortals…"

Erik nodded slowly. He turned, and Nick, Cristine, and I walked with him back to the Starflight.

He paused just inside and turned round. I looked out past him. The Observatory was gone, but Celestria was still there. So were the golden Celestrian-spheres.

"...Thank you, Erik…"

The Starflight rumbled to life, and we took off. I put a hand on Erik's shoulder.

"Hello?" he whispered. He didn't seem to be aware that he was talking. "Is anyone there? If you're there, say something. Show yourself." He bit his lip, and when he spoke again, his voice sounded choked. "Thus do the voices of mortals plead, ever hopeful of proof of our existence…"

Gently, I pulled him away from the door and slid it shut. We were turning, and I didn't want him falling out.

"For how long now have we watched over their realm…? For how long have we Celestrians existed…?"

He nodded again, and I saw his face go funny like he was about to cry. I put my arms around him and bit my lip in an attempt to keep from crying myself. He pushed back fairly quickly, though, swallowing. "Thank you, Tammy."

The Starflight was silent until we landed outside of Alltrades Abbey. We piled out, and then Stella started sniffing.

"...Ohh…" she moaned, and sobbed. "Is this really goodbye, then? But I don't want you to go! Don't goooo!"

Sterling spread his hands helplessly as Stella started crying in earnest. "There ain't much we can do about it though, is there? Erik's mortal now. We belong to different worlds."

"What's that got to do with it, you flapping old fatguts?" Stella wailed. "Have you got a heart of bone or something?" She sobbed again, and fled into the Starflight. I could hear her hiccoughing and wailing inside.

Sterling sighed. "Looks like there ain't much we can do about 'er, neither…" He looked up. "Don't blame 'er for takin' it so 'ard, Erik. She's only a kid. She don't understand yet like we do."

"I must confess," Erik said, "I do not understand it well myself. Goodbye, Sterling." He held out a hand.

Sterling grasped it tight and managed an approximation of a smile. He gave me a brief hug and turned back into the Starflight.

"Anyway, looks like this is ta-ra for now," he said huskily. "Look after yerselves, treacle. Be lucky!"

He slid the door shut behind him, and the train rumbled to life.

As the Starflight rose into the air, the door slid open again. It was Stella, and there were tears pouring down her face. "Waaaaaait!" she called, waving. "Erik! Travelling round with you has been...has been…you know, quite good." She sniffed. "We're still friends, even though you're mortal now. Never forget that you've got friends in, er...high places…" She broke off, biting her lip, and then forged back into it. "Oh, and, her… This is my last chance and everything, so I'd better tell you my toppest secret of all… I'm, er… I've kept this on the low-down for a long time now, but the truth is, I'm… What am...hiding...for…?"

It was too far away now for us to catch more than the odd word. "...truth is… I really want...be a...nail ar…!"

There was one golden gleam in the sky, and then nothing. The Starflight was gone.

Erik was staring up after it, and I saw a tear run down his cheek. I took his hand. "Are you ready?" I whispered quietly.

He stared up for a moment longer, and then nodded slowly. "Yes," he said. Then he looked down at me. "I am ready."

It's been five years to the day since the earthquake, and everything in the Protectorate seems to have returned to normal. All memory of the Celestrians seemed to have disappeared from everyone but Erik, Nick, Cristine and me. Our lives are going on almost like they'd never been changed.

Within three months of defeating Corvus, Nick and Cristine followed Erik into blindness where ghosts and other supernatural things were concerned. I was the only one who could see strange things again.

We spent the first few months travelling like we had been before, helping out with quests and mysteries. But by the beginning of August, Nick and Cristine were both back in Coffinwell. Nick was helping old Father Matthew with the church. Cristine began work on a project she'd talked to me about once or twice before - a performing arts school.

By fall, I was back in Snowberia for a term at Swinedimples. I was shocked to discover that not only had Fred reformed himself and his cronies, but he'd been appointed Head Boy and was helping the sword instructor during his free period. I kept up a correspondence with Nick, Erik, and Cristine during the year. Erik wrote most. I never knew where his next letter would come from - he kept travelling the entire time, and he seemed to have turned into as much of a wanderer as me.

When the term was over, I joined back up with Erik, who apparently had spent the last three months doing vocal training at Cristine's fledgling school. He would never have an extraordinary voice, I knew, but it was much better than it had been before and, most importantly for a minstrel, it carried emotion.

That's what we've been doing for the past few years. Cristine's school has taken off. She has teachers from all over the Protectorate, and even though she's headmistress and one of the main dance teachers, she takes time off quite often to help the two of us and Nick solve the occasional mystery. Three weeks ago, she and Nick got married.

I'm sure the same thing is going to happen to Erik and me one day. As strongly as I feel emotions, I can feel that what we've got is going to last for as close to forever as a mortal relationship can. We can't go two weeks without a big fight, but we can't seem to make it two hours afterwards without making up. Maybe it's not true love, but I've never been into that sort of thing anyway.

We're together, and that's all that matters.