Jake looked down at the body before him, but he didn't really see it. His thoughts spun and smashed together as he tried to decipher Cassandra's last, cryptic message. Most of it seemed clear, there were more of her kind out there, but well-hidden and difficult to track down. The rest seemed less clear.

"What did she mean by that?" Tom asked.

"It seems straightforward." Rachel replied softly. "There's something worse out there. And that something is nearly ready to reveal itself."

"Worse than Cassandra?" Stacey asked in horror.

"Apparently she thought so." Brian gestured at the girl. "She also mentioned that there were others of her kind out there, and indicated that something else not of her kind had helped her this time around. Those mudmen are clearly not of her doing."

"Agreed. Although I find it strange that they would all die when she died." Jake commented.

'That's not the only thing I found strange about them.' Serena said tiredly. Her wounds bled a little still, and silver appeared on the ground. She shrugged off their voiced concerns. 'I'm fine. What I was trying to say though is that I felt a horror and innocence coming from inside the creatures. Not the ones of the consumed,' she paused sadly. 'But something else, smothered over by a foul intelligence that actually controlled the creatures.'

"What could it be?" Jake asked. He looked around. "There's nothing left of the mudmen now." He pointed out. Where they had once been were only little sand statues that were blowing away with the wind.

"Well, let's not figure this all out now." Rachel suggested. "We have sick comrades here, the forest needs to be healed, and we have to help the people inside."

"I'll go into the house first." Jake said. "My armor should protect me against any spider left behind."

"You won't fit through the door." Brain sighed.

"I'm not going through the door." Jake told him.

Ignoring their looks of confusion, Jake stood on his hind legs and grasped the roof in two places with his front legs. With a great heave, he pulled a section of the roof off and threw it away, snarling as he snapped his head into the opening with the quickness of a striking rattlesnake.

Inside the house, Jake found no trace of the people that had been in there, at first. There were plenty of webs and a slow, fat-bodied spider already dead. A strange blade stuck out if its eyes, showing how it had died.

Knives, guns, bits of clothing and personal items were strewn about the floor in an uncaring manner.

Jake felt confused. There'd been so little time between their capture and his arrival that Cassandra couldn't possibly have eaten them all, and she would have left remains behind. This seemed as if the people had all simply vanished.

He leaned in farther, ignoring the arrival of Brian and Tom and Asbiorn, and their shared looks of confusion. He caught a whiff of something different, not spider smell, but not human either. He leaned ever closer to the floor, sniffing harder. His nose bumped the floor and he heard a hollow knock.

Realizing that the building had a basement, he pulled his head back and, controlling the flame, he burned a hole into the floor wide enough that he could get his head and neck in.

Climbing up the wall proved impractical at this point with the damage the building had received, so Jake simply knocked down part of the wall with his weight and eased his head down the hole.

At the bottom his eyes found a horrific sight. About eight people were there, some still wrapped in their silken cocoons, but at least three of them were lying on the dirt ground. The earth had partially covered their nude bodies and seemed to be in the process of transforming them into mud or earth. Their skin had turned brown and amorphous like sand, in fact their entire lower bodies from the waist down seemed nothing more than sand.

A flicker of movement caught his eye and Jake pulled away from the scene just in time to see a part of something disappear into the earth wall.

He stared at where it had been, shuddering. Whatever it was, he guessed it was whatever had been helping Cassandra. And there was supposedly something even worse out there?

Jake eventually mastered himself, and after checking the lifeless bodies of the half-transformed, he lifted the cocoons up to the main floor so the others could wrestle them outside for healing.

"Brian, you need to see this." Jake called when they were done. Brian came over with a wary look, but followed Jake down into the bottom aided by him when the stairs proved treacherous.

He paled when he saw the trio of bodies, but looked them over professionally enough to make any detective proud. He examined the line of change with particular care, then the earthen half with interest. Jake watched over it all with the patience of a reptile hunter.

When Brian at last finished, he stood up on his hooves and asked for help getting back out. Though he seemed composed, Jake sensed a disgust and fright just under the surface.

Above, Brian related what he had discovered and his thoughts on the matter. Jake chimed in with what he'd seen of the monster, and Brian added that to an emerging theory.

"We seem to be dealing with something or someone that has an ability to travel through earth and rock like it was open air." He explained. The clearing had emptied now that the battle was over. The trees stood rustling in the wind, drinking in the sun while the animals had left for home, their numbers greatly reduced.

"What it may look like we have no idea yet, but it can change living people into a form of slave creature that is wholly devoted to it, despite the host's original inclination. I'm not sure how to fight this." He admitted. "So far, arrows, swords and other methods are ineffective in the extreme, while fire seems to be the only way to actually hurt them."

'We can't.' Serena sounded horrified at what had been found. 'These are innocent people enslaved to a dark purpose! We must find a way to free them.'

"I would prefer that, yes." Brian agreed. "But we've seen how dangerous these things are. The numbers of our allies that were...absorbed by them proves their dangerousness. We may be left with no choice but to stop them in whatever manner just to preserve ourselves."

'There will be another way.' Serena said stubbornly. She paused, a thought occurring to her.

'You said the creature waited until just now to leave?'

"Well, it left a while ago now, but certainly until I went down below. Kind of late, especially with the battle lost on its side." Jake agreed.

'I wonder...I bet it has a limited range of casting. It can't get too far away from its slaves before it loses control of them, or they change back. It has probably been waiting for us to leave...I need to see the changed! Now!'

She reared and rushed into the building. Jake barely had time to follow before she disappeared into the hole. Jake followed after her, seeing her stop at the wall beneath.

Her horn flared in the darkness as it touched the stone and a scream of pain sounded. It was high pitched, nearly above a human's hearing, but shockingly loud and distinct. It tapered quickly as whatever it was fled.

As soon as the voice had disappeared, there came a strange hissing sound, like sand falling through an hourglass, and Jake watched in quiet amazement as the three bodies below became firmer, more distinct and more human. In seconds, three humans were lying on the floor, their bodies covered in a fine layer of dust, but seemingly none the worse for wear.

Which was not quite true, Jake noticed after Serena healed them and they started to bring them up. Their skin still had the dividing line between pale to muddy brown, like they'd been laying half-in and half-out of the shade during a hot day.

Well, hopefully it will turn out to be just like sunburn and it will go away in a few weeks or months. Jake thought. (He wasn't right, in the end. The victims would always have that line, but it would fade in time and be invisible when they did get tanned on the beaches.)

"Well, let's head back." He suggested. To the disappointment of everyone, no one else had appeared with the creature's flight. It appeared that, if killed in battle then they truly were dead. Jake felt incredibly sorry and more than a little guilty over that. He'd been responsible for most of the deaths, after all. Some thirty at least he'd killed, and that was an awful lot.

The others agreed. Sirens were coming up the road now, and it would have only minutes before aid arrived.

Everyone set off into the forest, while Jake chose to camouflage and fly overhead. He lingered only long enough to watch the first responders arrive and start treating the eight folk lying on the ground. At their touch, the victims sprang up apparently unhurt and looked around wildly, then began spilling their story as fast as they could.

Jake wondered what the police would make of it. They'd left the memories intact this time, only weakening the hold fear would play on them, bringing it down to a level not dissimilar to the fear one would experience after falling off a ladder. They would be cautious, Jake thought. And they would be haunted by what had happened, but at least they would know, and sometimes that was just as important, as they'd learned with Sam.

Sam...Jake sighed. He didn't look forward to the meeting back at the fortress. He wondered if it would ever be as safe as it had seemed. A creature that could walk through stone could simply walk into a vault. He wondered if it could walk through Dragon Ice as easily though. That stuff had magic infused with it...it could prove too challenging for it.

He hoped so. Now that they'd met this new enemy, he didn't think the others would object nearly as much if he kept their families locked up for a while. The danger had simply become too great, and if this new enemy, this Mud Master, ever got a hold of one of them...Jake chopped the thought off.

Still, he felt an intense desire to talk to Nacomi and gain her opinion, which meant he should probably talk with Sam as well. He sighed. Why did love have to be so complicated and hurt so much?







Jake tread slowly down the long passageway to the vaults. He barely noticed the splendor of the halls and rooms he passed. Instead, his mind focused on the one person he was going to see. The one person he needed to see.

The five or so days since they'd returned to from the Battle of the Ranger Fire Station had been difficult, if not downright dangerous. Military jets prowled the skies looking for any sign of hostility. On the ground National Guard and Regular Army units searched through the National Forest and State Parks, and in the city military convoys moved with regular frequency. Impromptu armories sprang up everywhere, and the first tanks and artillery were starting to arrive. Choppers filled the sky like insects, both military, police, and news.

Jake avoided the city other than his first overflight, and kept to the Farmlands and parks, looking for signs of battle or the enemy. So far it had remained quiet.

The military movement had the forest in an uproar. The trees were furious at the heavy vehicles running over their roots or the cutting down of some of their number to clear new roads. Birds were getting killed by the jets already, and one plane had been brought down when it accidentally flew through a formation of geese and sucked several into its engines. The beasts gave the men a wide berth, but clashes were unavoidable when the city-bred, not recognizing the obvious warning signs, stumbled into dens or onto cubs.

Serena and Stacey did their best; they moved animals that were in danger, strengthened the magic on the trees to bewilder the soldiers and kept peace as best they could. Several times when people found themselves on the verge of shooting a feeling of calm would descend upon them and they held their fire.

No one had come close to discovering the Fortress or the Great Tree, but Jake had no doubt satellites were being employed as well as high-flying reconnaissance. If it hadn't already, the tree would soon be discovered. What would happen then, no one knew.

Jake found all the worries distracting in the extreme. Their side found itself nearly paralyzed by all the activity. It wouldn't just blow over, either. Too much had happened; people had been killed or hurt in strange ways that couldn't be rationally explained. Jake couldn't be surprised that the military had come in, he felt relief actually. It meant that more people had a form of protection now. But would it be enough?

Jake just couldn't figure it out. His nervousness was starting to show in the meetings, and he needed to get on keel again.

Realizing that he'd arrived at the Vault Room without realizing it, Jake almost laughed. Woolgathering, by God!

Feeling a little better, he turned the statues and opened the Vault of History.

Inside the humans stood in the same positions as when they'd been frozen. Some looked angry, others surprised and Rachel's brother and wife had fearful looks on their faces. But it was Nacomi's that interested Jake today.

Her crystal had been placed next to her sister and parents, her face betrayed her surprise from that day, and perhaps a hint of resignation.

Jake stood there a while, observing the perfection of her body, the flawlessness of her features before spraying on the Ice Remover.

Once the cloud dissipated, Nacomi stood there looking bemused. When her eyes cleared, she quickly threw an arm over her breasts and glared at him.

Without speaking, Jake passed over a robe he'd taken from an outdoor rack in town. He'd left a gold coin in place of the rack, much to the surprise and delight of the merchant.

She took the robe and, dignity recovered, proceeded to flay him alive.

"What do you think you're doing?! Freezing us in such a manner! God knows what kind of trouble you got into while I was gone. Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm not going to apologize." Jake rumbled. "If that's what you were looking for. I did what I did because it needed to be done. It still remains to be done."

She looked at him in surprise. "I thought...Didn't you get her?"

"Cassandra is dead." Jake confirmed. "But there's more to that story now, and I need your help. I just can't make sense of it all, other than you are in more danger now than ever before."

She looked at him seriously for a minute. "All right," she said at last. "Tell me."

"And that's what is going on." Jake finished. She was sitting on his neck, leaning back against his spikes and stroking his neck idly.

"Wow." She said softly. "That's...that's quite something." She didn't speak for some time after that and Jake wondered if she'd gone asleep before she suddenly spoke.

"I can't honestly tell you what to make of all this. I mean, dirt monsters?" She shifted on his back and he thought she might have shaken her head in disbelief.

"I know it seems strange, but that's exactly what happened." Jake said defensively. "And we killed a lot of innocent people before we realized what had happened." He admitted softly.

"Don't be like that." She snapped. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen. It just did, you know."

"Perhaps, but it still didn't..." Jake began.

"Still nothing. Yes, it would have been nice if you had come through and rescued everyone. There's no doubt about that. But sometimes you just can't. There's no understanding it, no reasoning with it. Sometimes bad things just happen. All we can do is decide how to fight them as best we can."

Her words came so forcefully that Jake almost let himself believe her.

"I guess you are right." He said at last. "But it isn't easy. Each time I fail or am too slow, someone dies."

"I know." She said softly. "But that's why there are so few. You do your absolute best to make sure that everyone lives. But Jake, no matter how powerful you get, nor how fast, you can't save everyone."

"I'm a dragon." He repeated stubbornly.

"Dragons aren't gods." She snapped. "You are living creatures with magic, yes, but not gods! You cannot win against everything, Jake. It just isn't possible."

"It should be." He muttered.

She actually laughed. The delightful sound filled the cavern and buoyed his spirits.

"That's not true, and you know it."

"Yeah, I know." Jake admitted. "But it would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"And you'd cure all the evils of the world and a new golden age of enlightenment and peace would sweep mankind and there'd be no more war or hate or crime and the sun would be warm and steady for eternity and the moon would turn into cheese." Nacomi said wryly.

"Careful." Jake laughed. "I think you just hit your sarcastic quota for the month."

"Buddy, I haven't even begun to be sarcastic yet."

"Then I'm in trouble."

"You have no idea."

They continued in this vein for several hours, talking about everything they liked to do and the way the world was turning. At the end Nacomi returned her robe to Jake, and he returned her to her prism. She looked absolutely gorgeous.

So, why do I feel so lousy about all this? Jake wondered to himself. His girlfriend was safe, his family was safe. No one could find them, or use them against him. So why did he still feel like part of him died when he sealed them up?

Jake carefully ensured that Nacomi wouldn't tip over no matter what happened to the cavern.  When he finished, he patrolled all the others, then he left. He didn't quite run, but he didn't linger overlong with the door as staying seemed to become unbearable.

He went up the passage at a fast trot, spiraling up the grand staircase, as they'd come to call it, up the long tunnel, and through the secret door. Sealing it behind him, he saw it vanish and leave only a stone wall behind, bare except of the picture someone had hung there of Amalthea, the original Last Unicorn.

He found it oddly appropriate, somehow.

Returning to his golden couch, he stretched out upon it and fell into a deep sleep. Everyone had returned inside except Serena and Stacey, who remained at their Glade and Great Tree. Jake felt that would still be safe enough, the magic there was so strong that it would take something very powerful indeed to break through.

Yet all throughout his sleep thoughts and plans and fears swirled in his brain in such a mad dash that he could still make little sense of it.

When he woke up, he still felt incredibly tired. Strolling the entrance of his cave, he observed the overflights of the military as they quartered the forest in a protective umbrella of air power. Jake had no doubt that the woods would be full of armies seeking an answer to the mystery of what had been happening. Jake couldn't offer them any, he still wasn't sure himself. But he had this terrible feeling that soon things would start coming to a head, and he'd need to be ready.

What will happen to this world if what I fear comes to pass? He wondered. He recalled Serena's warning of a darkness covering the earth. Something big would be required to do that. Something demonic that's for...

Jake froze at the thought. Demonic. Could what was coming be an actual Demon? They were reported to be a powerful people in the biblical tales and in many others...even in modern times they were the embodiment of evil power.

Jake hurried back inside, closing the door firmly behind him. He needed to find Brian and Rachel, fast.

After a fruitless search when he couldn't find them in their room, he at last came upon their sad forms in the Vault of Families, as they'd come to call it.

"Brian, Rachel, we need to talk." Jake interrupted them awkwardly. They removed their hands from their parent's faces and turned to him, quickly wiping eyes.

"What about?" Brian asked, a little harshly but Jake pretended to take no notice of it.

"I have a theory about the warnings." He told them. "I think that someone is trying to summon a demon to this earth. What's more, I think Melinda has been feeding off that desire and bringing about all these smaller nuisances; Cassandra, this strange mud creature, maybe something else now that I'm not aware of, to distract us from their efforts."

They looked surprised, but when Jake finished they retreated into a thoughtful silence.

"That makes a certain amount of sense." Brian admitted reluctantly.

"Yes, but hard to prove until it happens." Rachel agreed.

"We don't want to be caught off-guard this time." Jake explained. "I think we should look through the records and archives that we've uncovered. I'm almost sure that demons have showed up before, and we should see what we can find out."

"Why do you think that?" Brian asked.

"Well, we know they've passed through before, because various ancient texts mention them. Since they've been here before, we should get some idea of their power."

"Makes sense." Brian agreed. "But that would mean going out and about to look for more material."

"What about Shyla? She could go out to town and get the material." Rachel suggested.

"No, it would be too dangerous," Jake argued, "With that creature on the loose.”

"She'll have protection, Asbiorn will go with her." Rachel argued.

"All right, but I'll fly overflight the whole time." Jake said grimly.

"All right."





A day later they'd scoured perhaps a quarter of the material in the library of the dwarves. It proved to be extensive, with thousands of books and scrolls placed in shelving units in grand libraries that soared perhaps a hundred feet into the air.

The most interesting thing they'd found so far was a complete map of the Fortress City. To their surprise, there were about six more passages that they hadn't uncovered, and three smaller outbuildings that proved to be storerooms. Empty storerooms. But now they knew exactly how big the Fortress was, and it was massive. If Jake's sense of scale was correct, it was nearly the size of Tacoma in Washington State. It was massive, and it had only been a Fortress-City that served as an outpost for the dwarves. Jake wondered what one of the great Dwarven Cities would be like.

As interesting as that information was, it paled in comparison to the information they'd found on Demons. So far they'd only found two books on the subject, but one of which appeared to be a an actual study of them, while the other a detailed account from an adventurer that had stumbled across them and managed to escape.

Demons, the first text explained, were a powerful race of the underworld. They were several kinds of demons, and they were also various levels of power, from the basic demons whose power was comparable to that of a human sorcerer, to the great Chiefs, whose power were a direct challenge to the Creator.

"Well, that decides it." Jake sighed.

"Decides what?" The centaurs asked.

"Well, a couple of things. For one, I guess I will follow Shyla into the city tomorrow and we'll pick up some additional materials to confirm what we've found. For the other, my guess is that the summoners are trying to bring about one of the Chiefs of the Demons."

"Go big or go home?" Brain asked.

"Something like that."

"So what do we do about it?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure what kind of things would be required for such a ritual. What sort of space they'd need, what ingredients...that sort of thing."

"So we go into town?" Rachel asked with raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, we go into town." Jake sighed. "Or at least Shyla and Asbiorn will."

"They should be fine, but I don't think you should go." Brian broke in. "You are simply too noticeable right now, even when invisible. The airways over the city are extremely congested with helicopters and jets, and on the ground? On the ground you will have no choice but to leave some sign of your arrival which would easily be tracked. No, it is far better for you simply to leave well enough alone, in this case. Stay here and let the others do their work."

Jake wanted to argue, but Brian, with his confounded centaur logic, had made good points.

So, without much more discussion, Jake took Shyla and Asbiorn out as close to the city as he dared and left them.

He flew back to the fortress to await anxiously for the third day to rise and set, before returning to the farmer's field that he had dropped them off at to begin with. He felt relieved to see them already there waiting for him.

Without saying a single word, they quickly got onto his back and he flew them to the Fortress.

"Well," Shyla began when they were sitting around the main meeting hall. A fire had been set to provide warmth and cheer, which they seemed to need. They continued to shiver all throughout, drawing as close as they dared to the flames.

"The city's a much different place then we remembered. People don't linger anywhere they can help it, the shops are all but empty as are the bookstores, and everywhere you go there are suspicious soldiers watching the comings and goings of everyone."

"That's pretty bad." Jake agreed.

"Well, get this. It appears the encounter in the woods weren't the only attacks by our friend the sandman; seems a battalion of soldiers got jumped, and before they could drive him away they'd suffered over half their number turning into mudmen and following the sandman. It's got the military up in arms, and the civilian population terrified. Already there've been disappearances on the outskirts of town, so he's evidently building up to something big. What that could be, I've got no idea."

"Perhaps he's seeking to protect the summoners and their place of worship." Jake suggested. "It may no longer be safe, so he's seeking to create a stronghold around it so it can't be disturbed easily."

"Makes sense." Brian nodded at last. "And we'll have to deal with that when the time comes. What else can you tell us?"

Shyla shrugged. "If you mean about our research? Then not much. I checked every book you told me to look at and whatever else I could find. There wasn't much that we didn't already know. Modern books are chock full of demon literature, making them seem everything from an alien race to demigods to full gods in power. None of the accounts are consistent with one another, and many are downright ludicrous. However, the stuff I found in the older reprints of old stuff indicated to me that Jake was initially right in his assessment. There are levels of power in demon hierarchy, with the biggest being the strongest."

"Any clues on ow they were stopped before?" Jake asked.

Shyla shook her head. "Most cases, they were set on taking over the world and were stopped by divine intervention. Angels or the Big Man himself coming to earth to stop them."

"Hmm." Jake thought hard. "Much as I'd like to rely on such an event happening again, we can't afford to risk it. They may not come in time, or He may have moved on to greener pastures than Earth. We've got to be able to stop him on our own."

"That's impossible." Rachel pointed out. "We can't fight that kind of power."

"Well, one of us can." Jake said quietly. "We still don't know the limit of her power, and when joined up with all of ours, centaur, fairy, witch, and dragon, it may be enough. It has to be enough to shut that creature down."

Everyone went silent as they considered, and looked towards the empty place where Serena usually stood or sat. She was out with Stacey on a mercy trip into the forest, keeping the soldiers from simply attacking the trees and vice versa.

"I think even she would find it difficult to face such a demon." Brian concluded. "I know she is strong, heck none of us know how strong, but I believe firmly that she would face incredible odds against her."

"Don't count her out just yet." Jake argued. "As I've said, if we combine all the power that is in us, we could win."

"Such power would be deadly to wield. It could kill all of us." Rachel argued.

"That could be." Jake said at last, unhappy about the prospect himself. "But what would be the alternative? A world ruled by the Chief Demon? Hell itself unleashed? I would take the final option and go down fighting, if I could, then let that happen. You don't have to join, we might be able to do it without. Even if all of us agree, it is a desperate venture."

"Maybe too desperate." Brian said.

"Well, what about the humans?" Asbiorn asked. "They've already skirmished with the Sandman, they would be willing to face off the demon. Sure, some will run, but that leaves a good number that would fight for our cause."

"Fight for their own, you mean." Jake grumbled. "We were all human, we know that they all have their own agenda, same as us. I don't think our freedom is high on theirs."

"Perhaps not, but it could be. If we show them that we stand with them against the darkness, then perhaps they'd be willing to "live and let live", I believe is the phrase."

"It is." Brian confirmed. "And I do see them fighting in the last battle, but I fear that the demon will have a plan already to deal with them."

"But if he does, then he will still need to implement it." Jake said thoughtfully. "Which means that he will be distracted, perhaps fatally so."

"That might work." Brian said slowly. "It will take perfect timing, though. That might prove impossible in combat."

"It might, but I think it will provide our best chance at winning this war." Jake said firmly.

"Are you sure about this?" Rachel asked. "The consequences if we lose don't bear thinking about."

"Someone once told me that winning isn't about how hard you hit, but how much you can take and keep going on, keep fighting no matter how bad you get hurt."

"Sounds like a masochist." Tom muttered.

"Eh, close enough. I think he was a boxer. Anyway, I think those words are true. We can't simply just stand around moaning and giving up. We're going to take hits, it's going to be bad. But we can't let that stop us. We have to keep moving forward, no matter what."

There didn't seem to be more to say after that. They tried to continue the conversation for several minutes after that, but it became clear that all that needed to be said had been.

Jake made his excuses and slipped from the room. He thought briefly of going to his bed and catching some sleep, but he didn't feel all that tired yet.

He thought briefly of going to see Nacomi, but didn't know what to say to her even if he did talk to her yet.

He was simply anxious for battle, he realized. He wanted it over with, to be done with the waiting. Unfortunately, things don't run to his timetables, he realized. It would happen as it happened, and when it did he'd need to be ready for it.

He forced himself to lay down on the pile of gold that served as his bed, close his eyes, and wait for oblivion to lay claim.



Flying swiftly, Stacey twisted and turned through the fronds of ferns that towered above or hung below her, providing obstacles. Ahead she could see her quarry walking swiftly along a trail that had been made for their use. Looking similar to the official park trails, the army squad didn't realize that it was a fake. A fraud intended to wear them out for about an hour and gradually lead them back to the park.

Her task was simply to watch over them and summon aid if they needed it. She didn't feel all that ready for a fight, despite having taken part in several battles to date. Her efforts had always been small, not affecting the outcome one way or the other, yet helpful nonetheless. She simply hadn't been made for great things, like Serena and Jake, or to be very smart like Brian and Rachel, or powerful like Shyla and Asbiorn. What she was intended for remained a mystery. She didn't even know if she would recognize it if given the chance.

A curse and the sound of a stumble brought her up short, and she watched the soldier rub his ankle angrily.

Looking to see what might have caused his trip, she felt deep into the trees around her, but none of them had caused it. Fluttering up to the branches above them, she listened to the Sergeant in charge hurry back to the wounded man.

"What happened?" He barked.

"I'm fine sir. I just tripped." The man reported.

"On what?"

A moment of silence, then "*sigh* My own feet, sir." He sounded embarrassed.

"Ol' Joe can't walk without tripping over his big gunboats." A woman laughed.

"S'not funny, Sandy." The man snarled.

"All right, all right. Funtime's over. Wilkes, can you make it back to camp on your own? We have to push on to that tree. Should be just a little further on."

"I'll be fine sarge. Just give me a couple of minutes and I can go on." The man protested.

The sergeant hesitated, looking around at the squad.

"All right." He relented. "We'll take five here before going on."

"We should have made it to the anomaly by now, or at least seen some sign of it." One of the men muttered to his friend as they sat on a tree root. "It's strange that no one's made it in by foot, despite the aerodales having talked about it for so long."

"Yeah. It's driving the intel guy buggy. Can't figure it out. And that's not the only questions. Why does all the equipment fuzz out when we get under the trees? The GPS and stuff, that isn't supposed to happen. And the trails; we're using official park trails that go all through the park and everyone always comes back to the main parking lot on the Western edge of the forest. It just doesn't make sense." The man agreed. He had a clipped accent that made his words seem almost bitten off.

"Aw, quit whinin'" another came with a thick southern drawl. "Ah'v nevah seen ah fohrest that can't be beat with a leettle purrsuadin'"

"What do you mean?" One of the others asked. "Chop down the whole forest? Now I know you're nuts Davis."

"Weall, we'll see, won't we?" Davis replied.

"All right, that's enough." The sergeant barked. "Wilkes, how's the leg? Good, we'll be moving on then. I want to make it to the anomaly before those Marine pukes do."

The squad made its way further up the trail, shadowed by Stacey.

They aren't going to be too happy when they discover themselves back at the parking lot, Stacey thought to herself. It actually seemed pretty funny to her. She knew Serena would be following the Marines, and that they wouldn't make it to the tree either.

The stubbornness of the soldiers was worrisome though. This was her thirteenth patrol in two days, and she felt exhausted by the effort of making sure each would make it out of the forest all right.

When the patrol got to the end of the trail at the parking lot, she found herself treated to the unusual sight of the sergeant attempting to kick a field goal with his helmet.

Stacey snickered at the sight and sound of the helmet skittering across the pavement, before turning away.

She wanted to get back to Serena and help her with the marines.

Not that she actually needs my help for anything, but I don't have much else to do. She admitted to herself.

A fox wandering one of the few actual paths barked at her. Recognizing him as the old todd that helped her when she'd been kidnapped by Shyla, Stacey paused her flight to speak with him.

"Good morning, Mister Fox! How are you doing today?" She asked politely.

"Good morning to you as well, little tree-singer." The todd growled. "It does not go well. The humans are scaring away all the food with their clamor and racket. A fox can't even get a good hunt going without some big human stomping his way through the brush like a wounded elk."

"I know, Mister Fox. But please bear with us." Stacey pleaded. "They are just trying to protect their young. Unfortunately they can only do that by going to where the danger is."

"Then they're going the wrong way." He pointed out.

"We know that, but they don't. And it won't do any good to tell them." She added, seeing his look. "They can't understand animal speech and are likely to shoot you for acting strange than try to understand."

"That's the problem with humans." The todd agreed, tongue rolling out in a slight yawn. "But now my problem is that I'm up night and day searching for enough food to survive. I'm too old for this, I miss my den at night."

"Would you like me to make you a delicious piece of fruit to eat?" Stacey asked.

The todd made a face. "Er, maybe not right now." He temporized. "I've—uh—managed to find a little something to eat."

Stacey laughed. "All right Mister Fox. Take care of yourself, and stay away from humans."

"Hold on!" The todd barked. "That's not why I flagged you down, to hear me bellyache over humans. I meant to warn ye. Several of the animals want to try and get food from the city, wondering why the Lady doesn't do something about the humans. Others want to try and help her by scaring the humans off for good."

Stacey put her hand to her mouth in horror. "They can't do that! These humans aren't normal hunters! They're soldiers! They've got far more powerful weapons."

The todd gave her a disbelieving look, but didn't argue.

"Thank you for telling me! I'll bring the matter up with...the Lady and we'll figure out something."

"I hope so." The todd muttered as he continued on his way. "Farewell to ye."

"Good-bye! Best of luck on your hunt!" Stacey called out to him.

She worried over the bit of news as she searched for Serena, calling to the trees to guide her. Branches shivered and moved to point in one direction, bushes turned all one way, and the occasional bird chirped instructions at her.

With all the help, it wasn't long before she came across Serena shadowing as many as sixty marines strung out in a staggered column, guns held at the ready as they moved cautiously.

She flew down to land on Serena's head. Quickly she whispered what the Todd had told her into a quivering ear.

'I should have guessed.' Serena told her quietly. 'The people have been making such a racket as to be heard for miles. What they expect to find with such noise is beyond me.'

"Well, remember that to their small ears, they are probably very quiet." Stacey reminded. "It's only to our sensitive hearing and feel of the forest that we think that they are so loud."

'You're right of course.' Serena sighed. 'Have you heard what they are looking for now?'

"Yes. The Great Tree, and the Glade we call home." Stacey shuddered. "We can't let them find that!"

'Obviously not, but how do we satisfy them that it is no danger to them?' Serena asked.

"I don't know, but I think we'd better come up with a solution fast, or they are likely to try helicopters to come in and drop soldiers off there."

Serena nodded. 'I know. They've tried it yesterday and the day before, but each time they do they frighten the flocks that have come seeking refuge that they've been forced to turn away or risk engine damage.'

"I hadn't known that. So that's why they've been stubbornly seeking a footpath to it." Stacey said thoughtfully. "Well, they could try a combination move, find a nearby clearing to settle down in and the soldiers attempt to find their way to the tree that way."

'I don't think any of them want to risk it.' Serena said quietly. 'Their GPS and other navigational aids don't work in the forest, and once they drop their helicopters to the ground that close to my home, all the electronics will cease to work as well.'

"Are you certain?"

'Yes.'

"So what do we do in the meantime? We can't let this go on for much longer, the animals have retreated closer and closer to your Glade, but they can't hunt that close in. The Peace is still in effect there, so they're going hungry."

'I don't know but," she cut off abruptly.

"What?" Stacey asked.

'Don't you feel that?' Serena pointed ahead of the soldiers. 'A bear is sleeping there, that's why it hasn't simply moved off. Now she's waking up, and she has cubs nearby. She won't be able to back down!'

"You deal with the bear, I'll slow the soldiers down." Stacey cried.

The two split apart, Serena galloping away as only a unicorn can, and Stacey flying as close to the trail as she dared and not be seen.

"Come my friends!" She shouted. The forest stirred itself at her call. "We must help the Lady! Trip up the feet of these men! Clutch their clothes and snag their hair to slow them down!"

There came a creaking sound of wood and a swiftly gathering presence in the air. Immediately afterwards there came confused shouts from the soldiers and the occasional smack of someone hitting the ground; others found themselves tangled in bushes or balked by thorns.

Soaring upwards, Stacey could see Serena escorting the bear family away from the trail, the mother quickly chivying her cubs who wanted to stop and play with the unicorn instead of hurrying along.

When Stacey judged that they'd gone far enough away she stopped the magic and asked the forest to allow the soldiers to pass away unhindered, turning them back to the city.

Still moving cautiously, the marines continued down the trail. These ones weren't using GPS or other sophisticated technology to travel but instead relied on the sun.

To counter that effort and still lead them back the way they'd come, the trees came closer together, turning their leaves or needles to catch the maximum amount of sunlight, leaving almost nothing to filter down to the forest floor. Deprived of the light, the marines relied on the moss to show them which way was north, but Stacey had given the moss strength to move to the south side of the trunks.

Following the wrong directions, the marines were making a slow but steady progress towards the parking lot.

Serena came back and together they pursued the marines quietly for the rest of the day, until they came to the parking lot, much to their surprise and chagrin. In fact, throughout the entire length of the forest they could see parties of soldiers coming to the camp, stopping in surprise, before walking dejectedly to the tents.

Feeling that they'd managed to avert disaster, they left the task of keeping the soldiers contained to the magic of the forest and made their own way back to the glade.

Once home Serena settled down in a corner of her clearing to nibble clover while Stacey went to a large blueberry bush that had become her favorite and ate.

The silence allowed her to turn her attention inward, and like always her thoughts turned to her sisters and parents entombed in Dragon Ice in the Vault of History.

She knew why Jake had done it, and had refused to let them out. On some level she even agreed with him, but she couldn't...just couldn't...forget the screams of her frightened family as the mist enveloped them.

She missed them terribly, and wanted more than anything to be able to talk to them again, laugh over some stupid joke, whisper excitedly about boyfriends and their foibles, or discuss the obvious superiority of womanhood.

'You'll see them all again soon, Stacey.'

Serena's gentle voice yanked her from the image of her mother's frozen face and she flushed at realizing she'd been caught.

"Sorry." She muttered.

'Don't be. I know how you feel, Stacey. We all do, even Jake. He doesn't let it show, but freezing everyone like that really hurt him deep down. He did it to protect them, however. He won't free them until he's certain that they're safe. The stakes are too high in his opinion.'

"They are." Stacey agreed. "I can't imagine how horrible it would be to see Hermione or Stella or Melody turned into one of those mudmen!" She almost spat the name and shivered in instinctual horror.

'I've been thinking about them as well.' Serena's voice sounded thoughtful. 'And I think you'll be the best one to help against those.'

"Me?" Stacey asked, startled. "What do you mean?"

'You're natural ability with plants. Plants hold and trap soil in their roots. What if you carried seeds with you? You could throw them on the mudpeople and have them grow into dense a latticework that would act like a prison, keeping them alive but harmless until we can free them. That may be as simple as simply forcing their master to retreat far enough out of range, or it may be as long as having to defeat him entirely. However it works out, my hope is that they'll come out as human or animal again, and the plants can let them out then.'

"Serena, that's brilliant!" Stacey gaped. "I'll gather seeds right away!"

'It's only brilliant if it works.' Serena demurred. 'But it's a hope, and sometimes that's all you need.

"Sometimes that's all you need." Stacey agreed.





Jake looked up as Serena and Stacey entered, their forms twinkling in the light. He noticed Stacey carried a bulging bag on her hip, apparently fashioned from a broad leaf of some kind.

'Hello brother.' Serena nuzzled his face.

"Hello." He stretched. "How did your efforts go in the forest?"

'Very well. The soldiers are pretty much stuck in an endless loop that takes them back to their camp no matter which direction they go. The helicopters and stuff still can't get too close because of the flocks of birds that are surrounding my home. They tell me they're there seeking my help, but I think they're really there to protect me.' She sounded both fond and exasperated at the same time.

"That's nice of them." Jake said neutrally. He didn't tell her that he'd spoken to his friend and asked him to keep an eye on her. Apparently he'd managed miracles.

'Yes. Well, what has been happening while we were out?" she asked.

Jake filled her in on Shyla and Asbiorn's excursion and the resulting information they managed to obtain on the suspected Demon.

'That...sort of makes sense.' Serena admitted. 'Although it is terrifying to me to think of anyone having the power to be able to do that. What are we going to do if we're right?'

"Keep fighting, I guess."

'Yeah, I guess so. But, on a positive note, I think we've figured out how to neutralize the mudmen without hurting them while we attack the Master.' She explained her idea.

Jake was cautiously enthusiastic about it, hoping that it would work. He didn't want to keep killing innocent people!

They were interrupted by the drumming of hooves on the ground. Brian burst through the door, oblivious to all their stares, and started ranting excitedly to Jake.

"I think I have it!" He said over and over again.

"Have what?" Jake asked, wondering what could have excited him so.

"The time of the Demon's arrival!" he shouted.

"What?" everyone shouted. "How? When?"

"Quiet! Let me explain." Brian said. He lowered his arms. "Now, we all are aware of the power the moon has over magic of both kinds, right?

Shyla nodded. "It's one of the things covered in my spell books. My...er, dark, magic works better when the moon is in complete shadow."

"And we were transformed when the moon was full, enhancing our good magic." Jake said slowly.

"That's right. So, working with that theory, then it becomes obvious that the best time to summon a demon is when the moon is obscured or empty. I think it will be when it not only is obscured, but when the moon is at its closest point to earth and will appear to be much larger than normal in our sky. That night is Halloween, and there's supposed to be an eclipse that night, when the moon will turn red."

"A Blood Moon!" Shyla gasped. "The most powerful spells in my book are supposed to take place then, for that is when the forces of light are at their weakest."

'Of course.' Serena cut in softly. 'We wouldn't be able to fight effectively until the shadow has passed, a period of an hour or so, plenty of time to complete the ritual.'

"We have a time then. Now all we need is a place." Jake pointed out.

"How do we determine that?"

'My pool should help. It should give us an exact location, since we aren't dealing with something off plane, but on this earth. With that, we can move in and secure the site, wait for the people, priests, or whatever to show up and cleanse them, or at the very least drive them off.'

"That would work. This kind of Blood Moon shows up once every thirty or forty years, and the chances of it being Halloween when it does would be even rarer, most likely thousands of years or so." Brian offered eagerly.

"All right, so we will try to get that information about the location from the pool, and Halloween is in two weeks, right?"

"Actually, three days." Shyla smiled apologetically.

"Wow, you do lose track of time in here. All right, that's very little time to work this out. We'll have to move fast."

"Agreed."

The rest of the hours-long session was devoted to discussing various fighting styles, methods, ideologies and strategies for dealing with demons. The best scenario, Brian suggested, would be if they could interrupt the summoners before they could summon, but if they managed to bring a demon into the world then they would have to face it and whatever else it could summon.

The worst scenario would be if the monster was too strong, then they would be forced to retreat, if they could.

Stacey asked about the US Military, if they should be brought in. That brought the conversation to a dead halt.

Jake thought about it. "I suppose it would be a good idea to talk to them," he admitted at last. "Such an event as we're talking about is sure to bring them in anyway, but I'd rather they came in on our side rather than shooting everyone."

"But how do we talk to them?" Shyla asked. "I can't exactly walk down in there, and neither can anyone else without risking being shot."

"I could survive the hits," Jake rumbled. "But I don't suppose anyone would be in a talking mode by that point. It would have to be someone who can keep them calm enough to talk."

'I guess that leaves me.' Serena sighed.

"Actually, I had been thinking of Stacey." Jake replied.

"Me!" She looked up startled.

"Sure. You're small enough that you'd have no problem infiltrating their camp to talk to their commanders, and are powerful enough to bring aid and escape should things go south. And, to be safe, I'll fly over watch and give a distraction in case you need it." He offered.

"Joy." Stacey muttered. "I get to talk to someone who probably crushes bugs without thinking of it."

"You should have nothing to worry about then," Jake encouraged. "You're too big to be a bug!"

"Thanks a lot." Stacey grumped.