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The Bright Side

Chapter 34

In the darkness of night, the snow seemed to glow, and Azrian stood on the white hill, her face lifted as she gazed at S'pru. It was burning. The beautiful and perfect world she had so carefully crafted for her kin . . . was burning away to nothing before her very eyes. She could only imagine that Ayni was behind it. Who else wanted vengeance on her? Ti'uu had warned her of Ayni years before. And because she had defied his plans, her father would not be saving S'pru. No. The Father of the Water was not going to quench Ayni's fire for Azrian. Not this time. She could only imagine his response if she were to call on him now: she dug the hole, now she had to climb her way out. All Ti'uu cared about was making her return to Wychowl, even if that meant submitting her to the torture that was traveling with Atieno.

For the first time in an hour, Azrian turned away from the sky. It seemed that in such a short amount of time she'd lost everything. Etienne, her world, and her son. . . all out of her reach. And now here she was, lost in the white wilderness of the artic north.

Azrian's sad eyes wandered listlessly to the camp below, where the others were gathered around the fire. A polar bear attack had nearly killed half of them. When Azrian and Atieno arrived through the portal, the bear already had Nkwe pinned on his back and was slurping his erection with a big red tongue as Nkwe shivered helplessly. Meanwhile, it had Chase by the ankle with his pants torn off and his penis already slurped, and was ploughing its enormous pink erection through the tight lips of Natasha's helpless sex. Natasha lay beneath the bear, screaming against the great paw on her throat, as the bear humped her like a mountain of white fur.

In those first horrible moments, Atieno did the last thing Azrian had expected someone with his powers to do: he hurled a rock. The rock nicked the bear on its ear and its beady red eyes swiveled around to glare at them. Once it realized its raping fun was over, it attempted to kill them all instead. It opened its mouth in a snarl that revealed long, dripping fangs and bellowed a cry that made Azrian's fur stand on end.

Grumbling under his breath, Atieno lifted his paws and released several short bursts of fire. The fire was particularly weak and didn't even reach the bear before puffing out. Azrian watched her brother's struggling with narrowed eyes. Why was Atieno unable to cast? It had to be NorthlynHarbor. The air was heavy with wards, as if some ancient spell prevented magic. She tried to help Atieno anyway and realized she could not cast as well: magic was impossible in NorthlynHarbor because it was a place of peace. Violence was only of the physical kind in this wintry land. And those who committed physical acts of violence died by physical acts of violence.

Azrian had to admit it, though: her brother was brave. Atieno charged forward and smacked the bear in its face with a stick. Bleeding and roaring, the bear reared up on hind legs and gave a bellow that sent flurries of snow across the frozen water. The sound echoed hard, and Azrian silently prayed some nearby tribes had heard and would come running. The bear seemed to be thinking along the same lines, for it glanced off toward the trees, its ears pricked as if it'd heard something, and suddenly furious, it actually threw Chase at Atieno. Chase screamed as he hurtled, pants down and penis flapping, through the air. He collided with Atieno hard. They smacked into a tree and went down in a cascade of pine needles and powdery snow.

Azrian made a move to stop the bear before it hurled Nkwe as well, but she needn't have bothered. There was a fierce scream, and Azrian's head turned in unison with the bear's to see a white female fox emerge from the nearby trees, spear lifted, screaming a war cry. The bear was twelve feet tall and the vixen likely four, but she took it on by herself, flipping fearlessly through the air and landing deftly on its back. She viciously stabbed her spear between its shoulder blades, and it roared and stamped as blood flew.

Taking her chance, Azrian ran to Nkwe and Natasha and dragged them from the fray. The ground was shaking beneath the weight of the stamping bear, and she staggered several times before she got them away. Nkwe appeared to be in a daze and was unable to move. Azrian was healing his head injury when the bear roared again. It gave a final pained bellow as the stranger plunged her spear in its neck, and as it tipped over, she surfed on its white back, holding onto her spear, crouched and strong, as it banged the ground in a spray of snow.

When the spray had cleared and the earth had settled, Azrian looked up to find the young fox standing over them with her bloody spear aimed at their faces. She stared at them solemnly and they stared back at her, still as frightened mice. She was ferocious in appearance, with bones and teeth woven into her wild mane. A sharp bone went right through her nose, and blood-red war paint had been drawn in terrible lines across her white face. Despite her small size, it was easy to see she was a force to be reckoned with. But her face suddenly split in a grin and she laughed at their fear, lowering her spear and introducing herself as Leyta Clan Poallu.

"Clan Poallu" was the name of Leyta's tribe, and she insisted on being called "Leyta Clan Poallu" and not just "Leyta." To call another by their birth name without their permission was an offense in NorthlynHarbor that was taken very seriously by the locals. Leyta told them they would be wise to learn and remember the ways of "the Harbor," as there were some clans who invoked the Blood Price for the smallest offenses.

Without being asked, Leyta gathered firewood and helped Azrian set up camp. When Natasha appeared baffled by her generosity, she explained that such generosity was "the way of the Harbor."

"Not like some places," Leyta said darkly, and her piercing gray eyes flitted momentarily to S'pru. But catching Azrian staring at her, she smiled sarcastically and returned to building up the fire. "Don't you talk, pretty thing?" she asked Azrian but did not wait for a reply. She jerked her head at Atieno's limp body. "Drag that one over here before 'is toes freeze off, eh? Let's set to work mendin' and wrappin'."

Azrian obeyed. Atieno had been knocked out cold, something for which she was exceedingly glad.

Despite the soreness in her sex, Natasha was in one piece, while Nkwe had suffered a minor head injury when the bear slammed him on the ground. Chase had suffered the worst during the bear attack, as the creature had gouged him with its claws, smacked him across the face, and left him bloody and torn. One side of his face was now disfigured and one ear was gone. Azrian found it sadly ironic: Chase had been so handsome_before. Leyta took it upon herself to care for Chase beside the fire, and if Azrian didn't know any better, she'd almost swear Chase was _enjoying it.

It wasn't long before night fell, and given everyone's injuries, they decided to stay where they were for the time being. Leyta seemed very proud of her kill and talked extensively about summoning her clan to collect the bearskin. Chase listened with interest, while Nkwe prepared supper and Natasha paced restlessly.

Unable to speak for Atieno's curse, Azrian retreated to the lonely hill above the camp and stared at S'pru. The glass dagger was still on Atieno, whose limp body had been laid to rest near the fire. If she could take it from him as he was unconscious, she could stab herself with the dagger and return to S'pru, immortal once more. Whoever was burning her world would pay. And then she would find Ettoras and Kayya. . . . if it wasn't too late. She didn't even feel guilty about leaving the others behind. Chase practically doted on Leyta, and Nkwe and Natasha would have been warmly accepted by the northerners, who viewed mating across species as little more than a common practice. Yes, now was the time. She would take the dagger and then . . .

"No one should wander alone after dark," said an anxious voice.

Azrian glanced over her shoulder to see Natasha approaching her up the hill. Her tall and naked form was wrapped in the blanket Leyta had so kindly given her from her own bedroll, and her tawny mane was down around her shoulders. Behind her, Nkwe watched her anxiously from the fire, but catching Azrian's eye, he glared and returned to warming his paws.

Natasha clutched the blanket tight to her throat as she approached Azrian, her brows pinched with concern. "But it's never dark here, is it?" she said and smiled at the great white moon in the sky.

The moon over NorthlynHarbor was in fact so large that it almost obscured the sky. It appeared even larger than S'pru, and Azrian had to resist the urge to reach up and try to touch it. She knew there had been terrible consequences to creating S'pru and she knew there would be at the time she created it. The gravitational pull of another heavenly body over Aonre had caused earthquakes, as well as floods that nearly destroyed the Nahet Fens. Azrian's battle with Hellene had worsened earthquakes that were happening regardless. Many of Ayni's followers who lived in the Nahet had drowned as a result, yet another reason for Ayni to hate Azrian. Thousands of females and children and good foxes were now dead, foxes who would never have come to S'pru nor left the Fens had Azrian asked them. She frowned sadly to think of it. So much wasted life. She had killed thousands to save millions, and yet, she still asked herself everyday if it was worth it.

At least Nhlahla and Sampson were safe. Before Azrian created S'pru, she found her moa bird Meba and sent it to them with the message that they should flee their home at once. Azrian knew stubborn Nhlahla might not leave even then, but she also knew Sampson would convince her, and she was relieved when she was correct: Sampson later sent Meba to S'pru with a letter attached to her long neck. The letter stated that Nhlahla had refused to leave, forcing them to stay in the Fens until the very last moment. They had barely managed to escape the coming flood by the skin of their fangs but were alive and unharmed and were living in the countryside of Varimore. They feared to put the exact location in a letter, for Ayni's vengeance was hot, and they warned Azrian not to leave S'pru unless she wanted a taste of that fire.

It was too late now, Azrian thought, peering up at the sky where S'pru still burned. She had tasted Ayni's fire. And so had her son. Hildrith'el had been protecting S'pru for years, but now she wasn't. Why?

"It's beautiful," Natasha whispered, and Azrian glanced at her in surprise.

Azrian had forgotten for a moment that Natasha was even there. But the pretty mastiff still stood at her side, wrapped in a blanket with her mane tumbling gently in the breeze. She was smiling happily at S'pru and the fire was reflected in her eyes. Azrian thought Natasha's pale green eyes were like a child's, always so round and mystified by the world and its beauty. That she could love someone like Nkwe - someone so dark and angry - still flabbergasted Azrian. But love was bound by no rules. Love thrived on whims. And love was always full of surprises. . . . Azrian's eyes drifted to Leyta, who was kneeling over Chase and smiling as she touched his face. Chase peered at Leyta with a soft light in his eyes, and Azrian knew that if they had been alone, they would have kissed. But Nkwe watched them sourly, and it appeared he didn't approve of Leyta or her involvement with Chase. Azrian noticed the absent way Natasha smiled at Nkwe, and she suddenly understood how she could love him.

You think the world so beautiful despite its darkness, Azrian said into Natasha's mind. Hang on to that purity. You will need it if you truly wish to stay with Nkwe.

Natasha blinked at Azrian, startled to hear her voice in her mind. She dropped at once to her knees and bowed her head breathlessly. "Oh, goddess of purity and light, Nadheertia, Chosen of the Creator, Most Holy of Holies, I - I am unworthy to hear your v-voice!"

Azrian looked away wearily. She had often wondered if the dogs truly worshipped her despite all she had done to shake Aonre, and now she knew it was true. The very thought was . . . disturbing.

_Get up, child,_Azrian said soothingly.

Natasha gulped but obeyed. She stared at Azrian with large eyes and seemed unable to move. "Terr Beauelle," she whispered happily. "It really is you! You are as beautiful as the stories say. If not more."

Azrian smiled sadly. It had been such a long time since anyone had called her Terrible Beauty. The foxes of S'pru did not see her as terrible, as her high tier of immortality had forced her to remain mysterious and withdrawn. No, they saw her as a goddess of mercy, justice, and light. She was not Terr Beauelle to them but La Fin on May. The Beginning and the End. To them, all life began and ended with Azrian. Those who had come to her from Aonre had forsaken the old world for the new. And to the new generation, there was nothing outside of S'pru. Azrian and her world were the end and the beginning of all time.

At first, it seemed fitting for a new world to isolate itself, but watching as Ettoras and Kayya grew up confused and ignorant of their true origins, Azrian knew it wasn't right. The answer wasn't to cut themselves off from the dogs. The answer was to learn to coexist. She . . . just didn't know how to make that happen.

Stories have a way of exaggerating, Azrian said to Natasha.

Natasha frowned. "How can you say that? You saved the foxes!"

No. Azrian dropped her eyes. I didn't save them. I preserved them.

Natasha was confused, but Azrian knew it was true. She lifted the foxes out of reach and locked them away in a bubble, made their children ignorant of all that had come before, and divided them from the foxes on Aonre. She hated to admit it to herself, but Ti'uu . . . was right. In trying to protect Ettoras, she made him ignorant of the truth . . . and angry. Azrian couldn't imagine what Etienne would say when he discovered Ettoras. And he was going to discover Ettoras. That was how such things always worked.

Natasha frowned, not understanding. "But it was the right thing to do, wasn't it?"

Azrian smiled sadly at her. Was it?

Natasha just stared at Azrian, sad and confused by the words of a being she had no doubt worshipped all her young life. While young foxes were raised to worship Azrian on S'pru, young dogs were hearing tales of how she defended Wychowl from the wrath of ancient fire before sweeping away into the sky. In Natasha's eyes, she was truly a god, wise and magnificent. And perhaps Natasha would never see it any other way.

Azrian smiled sympathetically at the mastiff. I am not all-wise and all-knowing, girl. Like anyone else, I make mistakes. Dividing the foxes from the dogs . . . that was a mistake. Her eyes lifted to the sky. S'pru was a mistake. Perhaps Hildrith'el is truly what a goddess should be in that she allowed me to fumble and learn without dictating or controlling my actions. Or . . . perhaps she just doesn't care. Azrian dropped her eyes to the snow. She suddenly felt very tired.

Natasha frowned. "Then what is the answer?" _ _

Dogs and foxes should learn to live together, child. One should not rule the other - that was my father's mistake. He sent your kind to rule the foxes, just as your dogma states. But one can not be ruled without being oppressed. It is the way of civilization. To break the cycle . . . civilization would have to break as well: no kings, no nobles, no rich, no poor. Azrian shook her head. Only I don't know how to make such a world. A world where dogs and foxes live in peace as equals? She glanced sadly at Natasha. It is beyond even me.

"Then maybe it is up to your son," Natasha said gently.

Azrian went still and her ears pricked forward. ". . . how do you know of Ettoras?"

Natasha glanced darkly at Atieno. "He talks in his sleep . . . Most Holy."

Azrian looked away. You don't have to call me those things. Azrian is fine.

Natasha blinked. "I . . . I don't know if I could."

Azrian looked at her fondly. Try.

"Alright . . ." Natasha swallowed breathlessly. " . . . Azrian. Who is he really?" She jerked her head at Atieno's unconscious body where it lay down by the fire. "Why won't he tell us his name? He took your voice, didn't he?" Her faced darkened. "He hurt you."

Yes, Azrian admitted_. . . . he did_. I could tell you his name, and if you spoke it, he would lose his hold over me, perhaps even become banished to some dark place. But the effect would only be temporary, and as soon as it was over, he would make you suffer for it. I would be powerless to stop him.

Natasha's face twisted impatiently. "Why did you wait so long to speak to me! Now you speak? When we are in a place that has you powerless?"

Your mind was closed to me.

"Because of him," Natasha said bitterly and glared at Atieno.

Azrian nodded sadly. Do not trouble yourself. Tonight, I will take the one thing that can restore me to power. Tonight, you will be free of him.

Natasha frowned. "You sound as if you're leaving. Please - you can't leave us!" She looked at Azrian sadly.

Azrian looked away. As if my staying would do you any good, child. You and Nkwe will be fine. The tribes here will accept your love. The gods as well. She laughed softly. Not that you should care what the gods accept.

Natasha scowled. "I do not love Nkwe!" she shouted more loudly than she intended.

Over by the fire, Nkwe's ears pricked forward. He stared for a moment at their distant figures, then his ears flattened, and he looked bitterly at his paws as he warmed them over the flames.

Azrian only smiled. You scream so loudly, the love and the hurt bleed from your voice.

Natasha stubbornly shook her head. "I do not love h-him." She lowered her voice and whispered angrily, "He's a murderer!" Her green eyes slid to Nkwe and she glared at him.

Over at the fire, Nkwe's lips tightened, but he didn't raise his eyes, and Azrian knew he could hear every word, despite the fact that Natasha was whispering.

Whatever he was before, Azrian said gently, he is different now.

Natasha's breasts heaved behind the blanket. "Is he? He killed Captain Franklin in cold blood!"

No, Azrian said and cast her eyes down, he didn't. The blade that struck your captain made him immortal, Natasha.

Natasha's eyes grew round. "What!" she whispered in astonishment.

Your captain will have the powers of a god. He could storm the gates of Skkye itself and challenge the power that sits there. But I imagine his heart carries no grand ambitions beyond vengeance.

"You imagine right," Natasha said with a short, breathless laugh that said her captain was indeed a simple soul.

Azrian could see the young mastiff was very happy to hear her captain was alive. The color seemed to return to Natasha's face and a smile crinkled her eyes. She laughed again in disbelief and tears of joy slipped down her face. Azrian wanted to tell her that the captain would likely attack Etienne, but she also didn't want to steal what hope had lit in Natasha's eyes. She would keep her worries to herself.

"Captain Franklin was the first male to take me seriously at the academy," Natasha said, clutching the blanket tight to her throat as she gazed off at S'pru. "Mastiffs aren't supposed to take Honor Guard at Wychowl until they're at least forty and very experienced. But Captain Franklin . . ." Natasha shook her head happily. "He saw something in me. Only the very exceptional are promoted young. The captain of the Honor Guard will make standard rounds at the academy to keep an eye on the new talent there. I was a three-year cadet when Captain Franklin came to the academy, and I was about to get chucked out. They'd recently found out I was female . . ." Her eyes grew bitter and dark. "They were ready to send me home. . . only . . ." A tear caught in her eye. "I didn't have no where to go." She smiled at Azrian through her tears.

Azrian frowned sympathetically. What do you mean?

"My father died twenty years ago, serving the crown," Natasha said. "I never knew him and he never knew about me, though I followed the gossip like a love-struck pup. I look like a mastiff, but my father . . . he wasn't a mastiff. He just thought they were pretty." She smiled again through her tears. "So on top of being female, if anyone found out I wasn't purebred . . . and Mother also said my father was from some disgraced family. He'd been exiled from his homeland or something. That was why she never let me meet him. I think she was ashamed. But she told me he was a great ol' warrior and said I had his talents. She wanted me to have a better life than . . ." Natasha's ruddy brown cheeks blushed scarlet. "My mother was a whore," she whispered. "She was half lapdog and half mastiff, serving in a brothel over in Redwick. That's where I'm from. I'm . . . the daughter of a whore."

Azrian didn't know what to say. It felt as if Natasha was confessing her sins.

Natasha, Azrian said soothingly, you don't have to . . .

"I'm trying to make you understand how important Captain Franklin is to me!" Natasha said over her and her eyes grew large. "See, his mother was a whore as well. That's why he was so small for a mastiff . . . His mother was a lapdog bred for the brothel, and his dad was some mastiff soldier who knocked her up. Captain took pity on me. He knew if I was sent from the academy, there'd be no life waiting for me but one on my knees. And he seemed to guess that some of the instructors were trying to take advantage of me after my gender was discovered. He was right. One had already tried to put his dick in my mouth as I was in bed. And I was so s-scared I . . . I let him." She suddenly scowled. "The academy is a twisted, corrupt, disgusting place. Captain Franklin went through a similar hell when they discovered he wasn't purebred. One of the instructors blackmailed him, made him a . . . pet. If he wanted to graduate, he had to . . . do _favors_for his teacher. It's how he became captain of the Honor Guard so young."

Azrian wasn't certain she wanted to hear anymore. During her time as queen of Varimore, she'd heard such stories of the academy, but she'd been so focused on helping her own kin, she'd never even stopped to consider helping the mastiffs who were sexually assaulted not a mile away. The academy was in Thalsin, after all, the city in which Wychowl itself was located. The fact that Etienne hadn't done anything in twenty years to stop such practices baffled Azrian, and it suddenly dawned on her why Captain Franklin would hate him.

"If you really_have to leave us," Natasha said, "then _please, please find Captain Franklin and take care of him! He's a good male and he's been through hell. He doesn't deserve whatever is about to happen to him." She stared glumly at her toes.

Overcome with compassion, Azrian squeezed Natasha's shoulder. I promise, child.

Natasha smiled gratefully at Azrian. "Thank you, Most Holy! I m-mean Azrian! I don't care what Nkwe or anyone else says," she whispered and glanced darkly in Nkwe's direction. She looked at Azrian with round, doting eyes. "You really are Nadheertia. You'll take care of us. I know it."

That night, Azrian pretended to sleep. When she opened her eyes again, she was glad to see Atieno still unconscious, but Leyta and Chase had remained awake and were beside the fire together, talking. Chase lay on Leyta's bedroll, hardly recognizable for all his bandages. He seemed unable to sleep for the pain of his injuries.

Leyta pulled some herbs from a pouch on her belt. "Here," she whispered, her eyes hooded lovingly. "Take this. It will ease the pain."

Chase looked Leyta in the eye as he extended his tongue, and she carefully placed the leaf on it. The moment he swallowed, his eyes clouded, and his words were sluggish. "Choo . . . didn't ssssay it would . . . put me to . . . sweeeep . . ."

Leyta smiled and touched his cheek with the back of her fingers. "Hush, now, love. In the mornin' I'll summon me clan. You'll like 'em. We've a shaman that'll take good care of ya."

"Mmm . . . but I wanted . . ." Chase protested softly. But whatever he wanted, he never had a chance to request it. He dozed off.

"There ya go, darlin'. Nighty, night," Leyta whispered. Then she turned her head and looked directly at Azrian, who froze. A slow smile spread her lips and her gray eyes glinted maliciously. "Lookin' for . . . this?" She pulled Atieno's glass dagger from her coat and held it aloft.

Azrian slowly sat up, her eyes glaring. So Leyta knew who she was after all. What do you want? Azrian asked bitterly.

Leyta laughed softly. "I want a lot of things. For you to suffer would be great, ya."

Azrian's slanted eyes narrowed. Who are you?

Leyta pretended to pout. "Aw. Don't remember me, darlin'? I'm hurt." Her face darkened and her lip curled in a sneer that revealed a crooked fang. "Five years before, darlin, I was livin' in your perfect, precious S'pru. I'd been exiled from the Harbor and had no where to go. Me husband had beat me. Had always been an abusive lout, and that night, I'd had enough. I killed him. 'Course, me chief was a belligerent ass and didn't believe me. Said if I wanted to avoid the Blood Price, I'd have to give him a piece of tail, ya? So I gives him me middle finger, and off I goes south. Didn't wanna live there, though. So I goes to S'pru."

Azrian's eyes softened with sadness. You.

Leyta smiled, revealing her crooked fang again. "Me."

Azrian's heart sank. Five years before, she had judged a young white vixen who'd been accused of attacking one of her neighbors with a knife. Leyta had insisted she'd had good reason: the young male was trying to get her exiled because she wouldn't give him her virginity. But Azrian had an unspoken policy of taking the word of her local inhabitants over that of newcomers. The young fox making the accusation had been a model citizen for years, while Leyta had only just come to the world and had admitted to a criminal background to boot. Azrian had made her judgment easily and even indifferently: she exiled Leyta to Aonre.

Leyta was only one of many victims of Azrian's indifference. In those days, the more immortal she became, the more she was forced to withdraw from her subjects and the less she cared. Life as Second Light was that of a cold and distant goddess, who had lost touch with everything and everyone. There were many days when Azrian simply didn't feel anymore. It wasn't that she couldn't meet Etienne in the Halfway Place, it was simply that she didn't care. But since her fall from S'pru, the emotions had been making a slow crawl back to her heart. She felt it again. Love and fear and anger. For the first time in twenty years, she felt physical pain. So many little agonies had pulsed and burned all over her body. And as much as it hurt, she almost laughed to feel again. Because for the first time in twenty years, Azrian felt alive.

But how could Azrian hope to make Leyta understand any of that?

How did you recognize me? Azrian asked dully.

Leyta smiled. "You don't forget what it feels like to stand before a goddess. You may be mortal now, but standin' in your presence feels just the same. Also . . ." She jerked her head at Natasha's sleeping form. "I heard the tall one call ya Azrian. Bowed to you and everything."

What do you want? Azrian repeated quietly.

Leyta's throat tightened, and Azrian knew she was thinking of that fatal day when she was exiled from S'pru, left in the cold and the rain on the opposite end of the bridge of light with only the clothes on her back. "Been watchin' you for a while, ya," she said with calm malice and her gray eyes glinted. "Saw you come steppin' through the portal with that fox there draggin' you along." She jerked her head at Atieno. "You're his prisoner, ain't ya? Nothing would tickle my pussy more than to wake him up and have him continue torturin' ya." She smiled.

Azrian waited, her eyes flat and emotionless. She wasn't going to give Leyta anything. Not even her anger.

"But then I figured," Leyta went on, her eyes on Atieno, "anyone who's powerful enough to subdue the great goddess Azrian is someone I should be rid of, ya? I thought the bear would finish him, so I just sat back and watched. But then I realized . . ." She dropped her eyes. "I couldn't just let the bear harm the others with ya. Who would I be then? Who would I become?" She shrugged unhappily. "Maybe I'll just use this here dagger to slit his throat. Or maybe stab him in the heart --"

Azrian's eyes widened. No! Whatever you do, don't do that!

Leyta went still, regarding Azrian with narrowed eyes. "Well, now," she said, flipping the dagger deftly in her paw. She slowly smiled. "Looks like I've found a magical trinket, now ain't I? What's it do?"

Azrian swallowed bitterly and said nothing. She tried to keep her mind clear, but Leyta probed her way inside. Azrian shut her eyes, and her mental defenses snapped up like a wall to block Leyta out. The wall came up so hard, Leyta rocked back and rubbed her neck as if she had whiplash. She stared at Azrian in amazement.

"Whatever this pretty dagger does, it wouldn't be good for either of us if I stabbed him with it, huh?" Leyta said curiously.

Smarter than you look, sugar tits, Azrian answered.

Leyta laughed. "I don't remember you havin' much spunk, oh Second Light. What happened? Now that you're mortal you've got a proper sense of humor?"

Azrian smiled. Something like that.

"But we can't leave that one alive, can we?" Leyta said, jerking her head at Atieno. She stared at him thoughtfully. "Something has to be done. I figure he's a danger to my cutie here." She glanced at Chase and her eyes softened. "And we can't have that, can't we?"

Azrian watched Leyta curiously. You really like Chase? How can you be so certain?

Leyta snorted. "Look, I know I ain't got the best track record with males, alright? More than one male has gotten me turned out on me ass. But this one . . ." She looked at Chase again, her eyes soft with affection. "He's different. I knows it. M-Maybe I could even give him me first love." She swallowed nervously as she thought of it.

So what are you going to do? Azrian asked. She kept her voice indifferent, but inside, she was furious at her own helplessness . . . and afraid of what Leyta might do to her. Leyta could decide to just kill her, and who's to say she wouldn't deserve it? After everything she had done, Azrian wondered why someone like her should deserve happiness . . . yet another reason she had avoided Etienne the last fifteen or so years.

Leyta's sharp gray eyes glanced up and down Azrian, thoughtfully studying her. "I'm gonna kill your friend there," she said, slowly pulling a knife from her boot. "And then, I'm gonna tie you up real nice. I'm sure Chasie here and your fox buddy won't mind," she said, jerking her head at Nkwe. "But the big bitch . . ." She stared at Natasha's sleeping form thoughtfully. "She might take some convincing. Maybe her boyfriend could convince her that you aren't her savior." She looked at Azrian bitterly. "You're nobody's goddess."

Azrian swallowed hard, trying to keep the guilt from her face.

Leyta's eyes narrowed angrily as she realized, "And you know that, don't you?"

Azrian dropped her eyes. You're going to tie me up and leave me here?

"Would be little more than you deserve," Leyta said with a laugh, "gettin' left out in the wilderness for a change. How many innocent foxes did you banish to the rain, I wonder? But no. If I left you here, I wouldn't get to see your suffering. And I _really_want to see it." She smiled nastily, revealing her crooked fang again.

Azrian stared past her, cold and indifferent.

Leyta tucked the Skkye Glass in her coat again and examined the small knife she'd pulled from her boot. "Come mornin' I'm gonna use me horn to summon me clan. I joined Clan Poallu soon after I came back here. Couldn't imagine livin' out in the lands of war. Poallu welcomed me with open arms. They know nothing about me original clan and everything that happened before. I told them they was dead." Her lip puckered and her eyes clouded with anger and sadness. But she lifted her gaze and looked at Azrian derisively. "Clan Poallu's got this huge, horny male who needs a wife, ya. The chief's youngest son, Prince Tatuk. I'll present you as a gift to the prince, say I captured you. The story will be you was exiled from your clan and attacked these others here. I saved them from you." She smiled. "How's that sound?"

Better than death, Azrian returned listlessly.

Leyta grinned. "Now you's lookin' on the bright side, darlin'."