CHAPTER III DIANA For Diana, it began when I landed on the rough wooden floor of her cage with a solid sounding thud. The first thing I recalled after feeling Suri's boots contact the side of my head was the ache throughout my body, which, with the attendant bruises, remained with me for a week. After realizing with some amazement that I was still alive, I sat up and surveyed my surroundings. I noticed that I wasn't alone. Sitting in a corner as far from me as she could get was the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on. She was a vixen. Literally. Her perfectly proportioned body was completely covered in short, crimson fur, and her hands and feet ended in small, dark, curving claws instead of fingernails. Her jaw was drawn forward into a sharp, slender muzzle, terminating with a tiny, heart-shaped pink nose, and set above her muzzle was a pair of beautiful soft brown eyes. She had a full head of hair like a human woman would, of a shade of red slightly lighter than her fur. She wore some sort of tight black pants, cut very short, and a slightly threadbare dark blue shirt. She saw that I was awake, but said nothing. "Where am I?" I asked her, reasoning that if I could speak, she probably could too. "And who are you?" "You can talk?" She asked. She sounded surprised, damn it. "Yes, I can obviously talk, thank you for noticing." I snarled. "Well, since you can, will you answer a question for me first?" The vixen asked, ignoring my caustic tone. Her voice was smooth and sweet as honey, soft and seductive even when her words weren't. "As long as my questions get answered, you can ask." I allowed, "I don't guarantee that I'll answer, but you can ask." Something about those wide brown eyes and her tone of her voice had a calming effect. I could feel my anger beginning to disappate. "Do you always smell like that?" she asked, wrinkling her nose in an a way that was almost unbearably cute. So much for my anger melting away. "Only when I've been set on fire." I growled. "Oh, Alright then." She said, once again ignoring the tone of my voice, "My name is Diana, and you are in my cage." "Yes, I had gathered that we were in a cage, but where?" "We're part of the carnival's Animal Show. The carnival travels from..." "I'm not an animal!" I exclaimed. "You think that I am?" she asked indignantly. I shook my head. "No, I didn't mean that, Diana. I'm just angry." I slammed my paw against the floor. "I don't like being caged." "Trust me, you'll get used to it." Her voice was flat and fatalistic, "You'll have more than enough time." "Never!" I avowed, "What, have you been here all your life?" She shrugged. "It seems that way sometimes. But no. I wasn't even like this then. I was human." She sounded wistful as she said this. "You miss being human?" I asked, surprised. "Of course!" She sounded shocked that I needed to ask. "Don't you?" "I don't recall ever having been human. For all I know, I was born this way. Besides, why would I want to be human?" She looked at me like I'd asked why rocks don't fall upward. "To be normal, maybe? To live like other people do, and not be stuck in this cage?" "If they," I said, gesturing at the world outside, "are what you mean by normal, then you can keep it. And as for this cage, I don't have to be human to have a right to be free." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You're here, now, and this is where you'll stay. You might as well get used to i." I retreated from her pessimism, and sat in the corner pondering my new situation. "Hey! Hey you!" I hadn't intended to fall asleep, but apparently I had. I looked over at Diana, who had awakened me. "Yes?" "You never told me your name." My name? "I... I don't have one." I admitted. "Then what are you called?" "Mikhal always referred to me as 'lad', and I wouldn't want to claim any of the things the others called me." "Well, I'm not about to start calling you 'lad'. It'd make me feel like an old lady. Why don't you choose a name for yourself?" I shook my head. "I don't know, I just can't think of any. I mean, what would you name yourself, if you didn't already have one?" "Hmmm.. that's a good question." She thought for a moment. "I had an uncle named Fabel. You remind me of him a little." She saw the look on my face and laughed. "All right, maybe not. How about an elven-style name, like Bright-Eyes?" "Elven-style?" "Yeah, elves give their children first names the way we give people surnames." "I still don't understand." "Well, I had a cousin named Jeba who had a limp ever since he took a tumble off a cliff. So people took to calling him Jeba the lame, and later they just called him Jeba Lame. The elves do the same thing, except they do it with first names instead." "I see. Well, I like the idea, but I don't know that I care for Bright-Eyes. It makes me sound like I'm a cow, or something." "I guess you're right. How about..." She reached out and touched my partially-burned mane. "Firemane." "Firemane?" I thought it over, said it aloud a few times to get a feel for it. "Firemane. Yes, I think I like that." She smiled at me. "Well, alright then." Her smile widened. "Firemane." We were fed sometime late the next morning. Her meal consisted of scraps of rabbit left over from the guards dinner, while mine consisted of bloody horse flesh. I refused to touch it until Diana urged me to eat. "It's all you'll get today, and perhaps tomorrow as well, if they forget to feed us. Eat it before it spoils." "You mean they lock us in here and then forget about us?" I asked, shocked. "My, we do have a quick grasp of the situation, don't we?" She mocked. "Diana, are you always this sarcastic?" She seemed to think about it for a minute, then nodded. "Yes" Well, at least she was honest about it. "Trust me.." "I know, I know, I'll get used to it. Don't take this the wrong way, Diana, but I don't plan to stay here long enough to get used to anything." "Believe me, there isn't any way to escape. I've tried. See?" She turned around and lifted the back of her shirt. I growled softly as I saw the whip slashes across her back. "They did this to you for trying to escape?" "Mostly, that and for disobeying Master Shaloc." I raised an eyebrow. "You call him master?" I asked. "All here do, one way or another. Even the humans." "We shall see when I meet this Shaloc. I call no one master." "You think you are the first to say that? He's taken on humans who're bigger than you. I once saw him beat a lycanthrope into submission... during the full phase of his cycle, no less." "As I said, we'll see about that when I meet this person." "Then meet him you shall." I swung around to see who had spoken. I saw Shaloc, and knew that, however bad my day might have been, it was likely about to get worse. He was easily the largest human I'd ever seen, and the way he carried himself suggested that a lot of that bulk was muscle. I have a hard time judging beauty by human standards, but even to my eyes it was obvious that Shaloc was far from handsome. His clothes looked like they'd been finery once, but now the original color was almost indistinguishable beneath various stains. Worse luck, he was surrounded by several burly thugs. "I'm surprised, beast, that you can speak." He said as I appraised him, "They didn't mention that when I bought you." "I am not a beast," I snarled, "And I am nobody's property that I may be bought or sold! I can think as well as you. I _can_ speak. How then, am I less than you?" "Because you're a freak of nature, and I'm normal." He explained, "It's a simple difference, really. I'm sure a clever animal like you can understand that." I realized that he was trying to goad me into a rage. I had to admit, he was doing a good job of it. "By what right do you hold us here?" I demanded, "We haven't done anything!" Shaloc laughed. "You obviously don't know her that well, beast. And as for you... well, I paid a good price for you, and I like to see a return on my investments. Tom! Ash!" He barked to two of the thugs, "Go fetch a muzzle. Now, you're going to be a good little kitty and sit still while we put it on, aren't you, beast?" "My name is Firemane, and if you'd like to let me out, I'll show you what a 'good little kitty' can do!" "Why, of course I'll let you out." He agreed, to my surprise, "Open the cage!" He ordered. "Quickly, Diana, this is our chance!" I whispered to her, "When the door opens, we can be free! If we run in opposite directions, they won't be able to go after us both." She just sat there, staring despondently back at me. "I can't... I'm sorry." "Then you're a fool!" I spat contemptuously. With that, the cage was open, and I was out. As I turned to run, the nearest lashed my foot, tripping me. I hadn't even seen the whip he was holding. That was my first mistake. I got up and in my anger forgot about running. Mistake two. I focused on the one who had dared to lash me. That was mistake three, because I almost didn't notice the one behind me, with the mace. Almost. Fortunately, he was as slovenly as Shaloc, and had been eating onions. I turned and slashed with my forepaws. I've never been sure whether the impact or the sight of his own blood dropped him, but whichever it was, he was no longer a threat. I turned around and five of them faced me. We stared at each other for a moment, as none of them wanted to be the first to move. Then I leapt toward the cage, grabbed the bars for a moment, then rebounded towards them again, landing behind them. My sudden disappearance and reappearance confused them, and two more of them fell. The other three had time to turn as I was finishing the first two. The three leapt at me in unison. Two survived, and one died with his throat removed. I backed away from the combat, about to finish the other two, when my vision began to blur. I couldn't make my eyes focus properly, and it felt like the ground was moving in slow circles beneath me. While I was dealing with this vertigo, the two remaining thugs managed to pin my arms, holding me in a grip I just couldn't seem to break. Had I not been mysteriously ill, I might have been able to escape. As it was, I was held fast, and Shaloc walked over to where they were holding me. "Now beast," He drawled slowly, cracking his knuckles threateningly, "What is my name?" "You are Shaloc, the swine!" He reared back his massive ham-shaped fists and slammed my torso. "Let's try again. Who am I?" "You are Shaloc!" "Better, but not good enough. What are you supposed to call me?" "Nothing! I call no man master!" He slammed me again, this time in my head. "You will change your mind, beast." "My name is Firemane!" Again I was beaten. It was worth it. I was glad to have a name to argue about. "Who am I?" "Shaloc the porcine!" A blow to the head. "Shaloc the toad!" He kneed my groin. "Shaloc the fool, Shaloc the rat, Shaloc the unbathed, Shaloc the coward!" Each statement was punctuated with a blow. "You will call me Master, if you wish to survive." "You won't kill me, Shaloc. I don't know how much you paid for me, but I'll bet it was a high price. And I'll bet you can't get much revenue off a corpse." "You'd be surprised, actually, just how much revenue I could find in killing you. For the moment, though, I won't. Ed, Fecil, hang him to the lashing post, then clean up this mess. I'll have to hire a few more mercenaries. Think about that, beast. When the cost of replacing mercenaries outweighs your value, what then?" He turned and walked off, and I was dragged away. I was hung by my wrists between two wooden columns. A man, whom I identified as Shaloc by his stench, came and gave me an uncounted number of lashes. I didn't give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream. That came later, when I was thrown back into the cage and tried to move. When I regained consciousness, Diana was kneeling beside me, applying something to my back. "This helps to deaden the pain, and to keep it from getting infected." She explained. I shrugged her away. "Why didn't you help me?" I demanded angrily. "We could have escaped! Are you so helpless that you couldn't take on two puny, clawless humans?" "Don't judge me, blast it! You don't understand!" I winced as she rubbed some more of whatever it was into my bleeding back. "Then why don't you explain it to me, Diana, so I'll know where I stand." "That's just it, Firemane, you're not supposed to stand. Standing before Master Shaloc is not permitted. We are his animals, and must act as them." "I am no one's animal." I paused a moment, "I thought they were going to muzzle me?" "They did. It's lying over there." She shrugged. "They thought I couldn't get it off by myself." A dark suspicion passed through my thoughts. "Diana, do you have any idea why I was suddenly sick during that fight?" She nodded, but she at least had the decency to look guilty about it. "Yes, they put something in your food. You're just lucky the Master's favorite apothecary is still miles away. He ran out of his preferred potions weeks ago, selling them in some of the villages we passed through. He has potions that would make you helpless as a kitten, potions that drive you to fever-madness, and much worse. If you ever find a small white tablet mixed in with your food, pretend to swallow it, then spit it out as soon as you can. Trust me, it isn't something you want to eat." "What is it?" "Something that makes you feel... odd. I honestly can't--won't, try to describe it. The worst part of it is that after a short while, you start to want the pill, want it more than you've ever wanted anything in your life. Then Master Shaloc will keep it from you, until you do whatever he wants." "And just what does he want with me?" "You'll find out, as soon as we reach the next village. If this tour is like the last three I've been on, we pass through two more little towns, and then we hit Hurshtown. When we get there, things get a lot worse." "Why? What could be worse than this?" "It takes a bit more, in the Master's opinion, to impress the city dwellers than it does to impress the country folk. I don't see why, though. Both varieties seem fairly stupid." I couldn't think of anything to say to that, but there was something else on my mind. "What did Shaloc mean about you, when I said that we hadn't done anything to deserve being caged?" She looked away. "I... don't like to talk about it." "You can think of a better topic?" She sighed. "No, I suppose you're right. In fact, I guess I might as well tell you the whole story. Sit back and get comfort able, because it's a long one." She paused and gathered herself before beginning. "I was born in a little backwoods village in the South. My family was poor, but we got along well enough with what we had. My childhood was pretty uneventful, really, unless you count the fact that my sister, Tesla, was studying magic with a local enchanter. And, of course, the fact that I was so blasted pretty. The local boys constantly fought for my attention, not to brag, of course, but I wasn't really interested in them. Or anyone else, for that matter. I was always more interested in woodcraft and hunting. I had the misfortune of catching the attention of the enchanter who was teaching my sister. He started finding reasons to visit our home more often, trying to ingratiate himself even more into my father's favor. Eventually he proposed, and my father ordered me to accept. I refused, and the enchanter swore revenge, refusing to teach my sister further. Needless to say, home wasn't very happy for me after that. I ran off, and took to the woods, using my hunting skills to provide me with food, and sleeping wherever I could find shelter. "One night, as I slept, the enchanter came to me in my dreams. He told me that, as revenge for spurning him, he would turn me into a woodland animal, and that, since I liked hunting so much, I could hunt rabbits as a fox for the rest of my life. My body began to feel very strange, sort of warm and..." She gestured with her hands, as though trying to pull the words out of the air. "I don't know how to describe it." She finally said, giving up. "There was a distant scream, and I woke up. When I did, I was covered in fur, and I looked like this. I don't know why his spell didn't work correctly--Hells, for all I know, maybe it did-- but I've been like this ever since. As the enchanter had promised, I hunted the woods, with my bare hands, or paws, if you prefer, and I avoided any people I came near. "Then, one day I came across my sister, standing in the middle of a clearing. As I watched, her skin started to have this strange pink glow, and animals of all sizes began to come out of the woods, in a wide circle around her. I felt irresistably compelled to come forward, to be closer to her. I took a few steps toward the open field, then stopped myself. One thing I learned from my sister as a child, Firemane, was how to fight her powers. I got a strange, uncomfortable twitching feeling in my nose. Then I saw something that made my blood cold, my friend.." "I'm not your friend, Diana." I corrected, "Friendship must be earned." She winced. "Go on." "Yes, well, the pink glow about my sister became a purple nimbus of light, which crackled like lightning and enveloped the animals around her. She was practicing sorcery, Firemane! If I had been any closer, she would have been practicing it on me! "I was going to run from that place forever, but my sister turned and saw me. The glow around her vanished as she stopped her spell, and the animals ran in all directions as fast as they could. I don't know how, but she recognized me. She gave this little breathless gasp and turned away from me, but not before I saw the horror on her face. "I ran as fast as I could from that place and that look. I eventually decided that if the enchanter could take revenge, then so could I. It turns out that I can smell some kinds of magic, I don't know why, so I began hunting the enchanter. I caught him visiting my sister, and I killed him on his way home. Satisfied?" I wasn't, not quite. "So how did you come to be in this carnival?" She snarled at the memory. "Stupidity. Pure stupidity. The carnival passed near where I was hiding, and one of Master Shaloc's helpers ran across me. He acted nice, and, foolishly, I trusted him. I told him my story, and he seemed captivated by it. As it happens, he was just waiting to see if there were more like me waiting to be found, and when I finished my tale, he jumped me, and I wound up in here." "One human, alone, took you by force?" I asked, incredulous. "Yes, but he was a burly man, and I'm just a woman." "Look at your arms. Look at your legs, your claws, your teeth. You are a huntress, you said so yourself. Tell me, did you ever take down a deer?" "Yes." "Was is difficult?" "At first, but once I learned how to track them it became fairly easy." "Why should this be different, then? They are weaker than you! You shouldn't have let them take you!" "But I'm just a girl!" "No, you aren't. You are more than 'just a girl', and even if you were 'just a girl' I'm sure you could do more than just sit there while I'm attacked by a mob!" "Blast it, I already told you, there was nothing I could do!" "Yes, there was! Do you want to escape, or not?" "Yes, of course I want to escape!" She yelled back, "There just isn't any way to do it!" "There has to be a way. It's just a matter of finding it. Tell me, when we do escape... would you like to stay with me?" She gave me a look that could have made a salamander shiver. "You can forget about that, boy. I won't play that game with the Master, and I'll be blasted if I'll play it with you." "No!" I exclaimed, shocked, "No," I repated, more softly, "You misunderstood me. If you want to escape and I can find a way to do it, I'll take you with me, you don't have to worry about that. I was just wondering if you'd want to stay together afterward, of your own free will. I have to admit, it is nice to have someone like myself to talk to." "What makes you think that I'm anything like you?" "We're neither animal, nor man, but something of both. Look at yourself! You're beautiful, strong, and intelligent, something completely unique. Are you seriously trying to pretend that you're human? You aren't, and the sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be." "I will be human again, I will! I hate being a monster, so just shut up!" She snarled. After that, we lapsed into silence, and neither of us spoke for the rest of the day. The next day we were again visited by Shaloc. He brought me a few articles of clothing. Having all the covering I usually need to stay warm already attached to my skin, I usually don't wear clothing, and I had no desire to please Shaloc. On the other hand, since the time wasn't right to escape yet, I tried the loin-cloth and tunic on. I had to admit, whoever did Shaloc's tailoring was good. There was even a hole for my tail! Although wearing clothing was never going to become a preference for me, I soon got used to the feel of cloth against my fur. Shaloc looked me over, then looked over to where Diana was crouched. "Has the bitch told you the rules yet?" "No." I said sneeringly, "Why don't you enlighten me." "Well, first, you don't stand when I'm around. I am a man, and your superior. Second, don't look me in the eye. I've never had a beast that could stand to look a man in the eye, and I don't plan to start now. Third, if I give you a command, you do it, right then. Fourth, unless I ask you a question, don't talk around humans, unless you want to wear that muzzle all the time. By the way, Diana, I see you helped him take it off. You'll pay for that later. Lastly, I am to be addressed as MASTER Shaloc, do you understand?" "If I call you master, do I have to call you Shaloc, or can I call you by a more familiar name?" I asked, feigning defeat. "Lad, as lo.." "Don't call me that!" I roared, as loudly and viciously as I could. Even Shaloc took a moment to compose himself after that. I caught a new smell coming from him. Fear. "As I was saying, beast," He managed after a moment, "As long as you call me Master I don't really care. What did you have in mind?" "Bater." And then I bared my teeth, in the closest my jaws come to a grin. He should have known better, anyway. "You'll pay for that one." Shaloc warned, stung. "Fine, Bater, you come right in here and try it. I haven't eaten anything since that drugged meat, so there won't be any surprises this time. And from what I see, this time you don't have any bootlicks to hold me." "I don't need them, beast. You see, I have something better." He left and returned with a staff that was several meters in length. "This poker here can reach anywhere in your cage. Just ask the bitch over there. She'll tell you from experience." He began poking me repeatedly with the hard, rounded end of the stick. "There's one major difference, though," I managed to get out between jabs. "What might that be, beast?" He asked. Stupid of him, really, to let his attention be drawn to conversation. "I fight back!" I dodged his jab, and grabbed the end of his pole. He began to try and twist his end of the pole, trying to loosen my grip. He should have let go as soon as I grabbed it, but then, he's a fool. Dropping to a crouching position to get a better angle, I raised the pole as far as the cage would allow, with Shaloc still on the other end of it. Immediately I brought it down again. Unfortunately, Shaloc released his end as soon as I started to drop him. A shame, really, because I'm pretty sure I could have killed him with the impact. I then smashed his toy into several pieces. "Come inside, Bater, and I'll do the same to you." "I don't think so. You'll have to sleep sometime, and then you're mine." "That's where you're wrong. No matter what you do, neither she nor I will be 'yours'. And there are two of us." "You still think you can trust her? I broke her long ago, just as I'll do to you." "We'll see... Bater." It felt good to mock him. I could tell he disliked the name as much as I despised the title of 'beast'." He left, presumably to wait until I was forced to sleep. I turned to my companion. "Is he right, Diana?" I asked her, "So far, you've done nothing to help me, aside from removing my muzzle. We can beat him, but only if we work together. I need you to stay awake while I sleep, and I'll do the same for you. That way, he can't catch us defenseless." She shook her head. "I don't know if I can. There are times when I do things, even when I don't want to, just because the memory of the pain is too great." "I understand." I nodded sympathetically. "It's a simple trick, really. He has you trained like a dog. Do you fetch his slippers and roll over too?" "Don't judge me, blast you. You haven't been through what I have." "But I will, if you don't help me, and you'll go through it again and again until you die from it or until he can't use you anymore. Either way, you'll die. Helping me is your only chance." She sighed, but nodded. "Then you can count me in. Getting to sleep soundly would probably be worth anything else he could do to me." "Do you know how long it takes for his potions and pills to start to work?" "Most of them, yes." "Then that simplifies matters greatly. You search the food thoroughly before either of us eats, and even then, we eat in turns, so that neither of us is affected at the same time. Understood?" "Certainly. I.. I'm glad that you're here, Firemane." "I'm glad I'm not alone too, Diana. You can have the first turn at sleep, if you like." She did like, so I remained on watch for the next several hours. I was amazed at how innocent she looked while asleep, especially for a vixen. On the other hand, I haven't known too many vixens to compare to, as you might imagine. Thus the days until my first 'performance' passed uneventfully, not counting the three failed attempts to catch us off-guard or drug us. At least they never tried to starve us, presumably since we had to look good for the shows. My guess is that the only reason we were forced to wear clothing was to cover the scars on our backs from our respective trips to the lashing post and to satisfy local sensibilities. It turns out that my performance was rather simple. All I had to do was stalk around the cage and snarl, and remember never to speak. Diana, on the other hand, was forced to show off her body, and prance around fluttering her fluffy fox-tail. It must have been horribly embarrassing for her. The crowd ate it up, while Shaloc described her lusty, bawdy exploits in lurid detail. I've never heard a more badly contrived, ridiculous story, but the crowd loved it. After a few days in town, when the locals stopped spending money, the carnival packed up and moved on. We continued our schedule of eating and sleeping, but no more attempts were made for a while. I cautioned Diana against getting too happy over this minor victory, since they were probably waiting for us to slip up. Then one morning as she was eating I heard her make this small, strangled noise. At first I thought she was choking, but then she pulled a tiny piece of something white from her food. "No, oh please, no." she began to moan. "Oh gods, please, no!" "What is it, Diana?" She looked up at me, and I've never seen anyone look so miserable. "It's that tablet I told you about. I thought he was out of them, so I stopped checking!" Her shoulders slumped in misery, and her head hung low. "I'd better explain. The drug makes you strongly... aroused, um... sexually," She actually blushed! "And very suggestible." She looked extremely embarrassed, "I know, because Shaloc used it on me before. I can feel the burning starting already! It lasts the better part of a day, Firemane! What will I do?" I thought for a while. "When is the drug at it's strongest?" "About seven hours from now, and it stays that way for about four more hours after that." "Can you control yourself until then?" "I think so, Firemane, but you can't imagine the burning!" "Then I will sleep for the next six hours, while you watch. Then, I will remain awake with you through the worst of it. When you have recovered sufficiently, you can sleep. Does that sound good?" "Yeah." Somehow she didn't sound very enthusiastic. "Wake me if you feel you can't take it, Okay?" "Sure." The thunder eventually woke me up. I jumped to my feet, and found myself to be drenched with rain. I'd never tried to weather a storm in a cage before, and I don't recommend it. I also found myself to be surrounded by Shaloc's men, and Diana gone. I surveyed my opposition. Six thugs, no blades, only clubs and a couple of metal rods. That and the extremely close quarters made for good odds. When I'd finished with them, I looked around for Diana again, and caught sight of her several yards away, pressed against a building by Shaloc. For the gods' sakes, she wasn't even struggling! "Diana, fight him!" That seemed to stir her at last. "Firemane! I... I can't!" She screamed. "Shut up, bitch, and take what's coming to you." He slapped her. I felt something new stir within me, something I'd never felt before. It felt like anger, but a thousand times stronger. I heard a loud, deranged roar of fury, which I soon realized was coming from me. I began to beat the bars of the cage in futile anger. Why hadn't the bastards left the door open?!? My fury continued to build, until the world seemed to dissolve into a red fiery haze. Each scream, every moan that I heard drove me even more into a rage. Then it stopped. Not the screams, not the rain, not the moans, not even the fury. But the fire the rage had given me vanished, replaced by a cold, icy calm. I drew a deep breath and somehow I felt the power of the storm rushing through me. I never took my eyes off of Shaloc and Diana, but suddenly my vision was obscured by a blinding blue flash. My skin felt as it had when I was burned, but I paid no attention to that now. My cage was gone. I mean, GONE. And now there was nothing between me and Shaloc. As quickly as it had come, the icy calm vanished, and the raging fire returned. I covered the ground between us in seconds, and pounced on him from the side, tearing him off of her. I could have killed him easily, in a heartbeat, but I wanted to savor the victory. I let him get back up. We slowly circled each other. "So, beast, you're out of your cage. What's the matter, you jealous cause your bitch'll take me but not you?" He lunged. I'd made the mistake of paying attention to what he was saying instead of what he was doing... and he was a lot faster than he looked. He caught me by my neck with both hands, and began to strangle me. I fell to the ground, rolled, and flipped him off of me. He landed with a none- too-subtle thud, and got back up almost as fast as I did. Almost. I had my claws dug deeply into his flesh in seconds. To give him credit, he never acknowledged the pain I must have been causing him. "Go ahead, beast, finish it." He goaded me through clenched teeth, "Don't you want to kill me? Why do you hesitate? Afraid, like the bitch, to kill your Master?" "Her name is Diana, you diseased slug. And for the last time," I slashed across his chest with my claws, ripping his shirt and leaving broad streaks of red. "You are not my master! My name is Firemane. Remember it, because it's the name of the MAN that let you live." That said, I battered him unconscious, then went to see to Diana. "Are you all right?" I turned her around to see if she was hurt, and I inhaled sharply. Her face was a twisted mask of hatred. "You killed him, you bastard! He was about to stop the burning, and you killed him! Rarrrgh!" she screamed, and jumped straight at me. Although taken by surprise, I knocked her out easily with one smash, trying as best I could not to hurt her badly. The gods knew, she'd been hurt enough. I locked Shaloc up in one of the empty cages, and then I went back to survey the wreckage where our cage used to be. I found several bits of twisted metal, a few burnt boards, and pieces of the various bodies that had been in the cage. At least, that's what I assumed them to be. You couldn't really say for sure, off hand. But the vast majority of the cage was simply not there, and the ground itself was scorched for several feet in all directions. I finally noticed that my fur was dark and smoldering once again, as though I'd been burned. Then I heard voices shouting, off in another part of the camp. Not wanting to find myself in a cage again, I slung Diana over my shoulder and ran. Even with Diana slowing me down, who is, incidentally, quite a bit heavier than she appears, I quickly outdistanced them. I ran for what seemed like hours, swiftly changing directions, both to put ground between us and the carnival, and in simple joy of being able to run again. I came across a small stream, and followed it until I was certain that we wouldn't be found for a long while yet. Cupping water in my paws, I tried to cool her off as much as possible. When she'd mentioned burning, I'd associated that with the sexual arousal she was talking about, but it seems that fever is also a part of the drug's effects. When I was sure that I'd done all I could, I lay down beside her to sleep again, exhausted. I was startled awake by Diana's paws near my thighs. Apparently she'd managed to remove most of my clothing without waking me. "Diana" I said softly, and she nearly jumped a yard out of her fur. "I... I didn't see that you were awake. I.. just wanted to see if you were injured." She smiled and seemed like herself again for a moment. "Your fur stinks again." "Diana, are you all right? Is there anything I can do to help?" "You really want to help me?" she asked, with an odd glint in her eyes. I saw instantly what she wanted. "Yes, but I won't do that, Diana. You wouldn't want me to, and it would be wrong of me to take advantage of you." Sweet Shani, but her smell! I doubt if you could ever understand what I mean when I speak of the increadible attraction that smell generated. It was all I could do to keep myself from obliging her. "Then blast you!" She shouted, pushing herself back, "I need this!" She got up and began to walk away. "Where are you going?" "I'm going back. Maybe there are some real men back there, who can actually help me." I quickly moved to block her. "Diana, it's not that I don't want to, believe me. But I don't want to take advantage of you, and you're being affected by that blasted pill. If you want to hate someone, hate Shaloc. He's the bastard that put the pill in your food in the first place, remember?" She stopped. "You... killed him, didn't you?" "No, I didn't. By not killing him, I proved both to him and myself that I wasn't a beast. I'm not human either, but I'm certainly not a beast. And, Diana, it's because I'm not a beast that I can't help you that way, do you understand?" Her face took on a more natural expression, and she seemed to calm down. "Yes, I understand. The worst is past, anyway. Please, forgive me." "There is nothing to forgive. You were not yourself." "But there is, Firemane. When the desire became unbearable, I should have awakened you. But Shaloc came earlier than I expected, and, well, I sort of lost control." I raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that that was what the drug was supposed to do?" "Yes, but I should have known better." "Forget it. At any rate, we are free now, and anything that led to that can easily be forgiven." She smiled at me, then settled down to go to sleep. I imagine that she must have been exhausted, both from fighting the drug and from her ordeal. Being unconscious is far less restful than real sleep, or so I have found from experience. When she finally felt rested enough, we continued our flight from captivity. When we were hungry, I hunted, and brought down a fair sized stag. I was well pleased until I discovered that Diana found watching me hunt incredibly erotic. Unfortunately, it turned out that there was little she didn't find erotic, under that blasted pill's influence. As near as I could tell, I only had to deal with that for a few more hours, and then she would be back to normal. Just as I had hoped, she finally stopped drooling over me every time I moved, and, aside from the tired look about her, she seemed fairly normal again. Even that blasted smell became less noticable, which really helped. Lust simply is not conductive to rational thought. Then, about an hour later, she started shaking all over, and fell to the ground as her legs gave out. I had to dive to catch her, to keep her from smashing her head on a near-by rock. "Diana, what's happening?" She was still shaking uncontrollably. "This.. this is where things get w-worse, F-Firemane. My b-body wants the p-pill now, and there is n-no way to get it." "What can I do?" "P-please, d-don't leave me." I've never understood how she thought I could have left her, but I reassured her to the contrary. She smiled up at me, and began to vomit. I saw, immediately, that this was going be one of those days again. She lay stricken for all of two days. Twice I thought I heard humans, but both times it turned out to be just low- flying birds chattering at each other. I carried her again, this time in my arms instead of over my shoulder, and tried again to locate a stream. I woke her up briefly to tell her that I was going to hunt for something for us to eat, and she went frantic, begging me not to leave. Probably just as well, considering that the only reason she hadn't been violently ill again was that she had nothing left to regurgitate. Which, of course, didn't stop her from trying anyway. I watched over her, holding her at times to still her trembling, wiping away the sweat that matted her fur to her forehead, thinking that this must have been what Mikhal went through with me. Of course, it wasn't quite the same. Mikhal was like a father to me, while Diana and I were... well, I wasn't quite sure what we were. Later that day I bathed her as well as possible in the nearby stream, and did what I could to untangle her beautiful red fur. Well, I mused in a brief quiet moment, Mikhal always did love to talk about red-haired women. On the other hand, or paw, rather, I doubted he had a vixen in mind. Or perhaps he did, after all, knowing the sorts of women he'd been partial to. I quickly lost this line of thought as Diana began to tremble again. By late in the second day we were both quite exhausted, but her shaking fits had finally stopped, and her head was no longer burning to the touch. She even felt up to conver- sation again. Her first words were very welcome, as the silence was becoming uncomfortable. "Thank you, Firemane. Thank you for staying. For..." "Where else would I go, Diana?" I interrupted, to keep her from having to continue, "You are the only person I know still alive who hasn't tried to kill me at least once! Besides, I couldn't leave you while you were sick." She looked disappointed. "That's the only reason you stayed?" I looked at her sad brown eyes, and I did something I never thought I'd do. I kissed her. It didn't work very well, naturally, but it got the point across. "Diana, I don't really understand how I feel for you, or how I should feel for you. I do know that I've been trapped in a cage with you for a couple of weeks, and you are the only thing about the experience that wasn't unpleasant." She managed a sardonic grin. "My, you say the nicest things..." "Diana, please don't be disappointed. If it's any consolation, I do find you amazingly attractive, and you are quite a woman, but I just don't know if you and I could work out that way. For that matter, I'm not sure if anyone and I could work out that way. Please don't be offended." "All right, Firemane. I understand, I suppose, but you can't blame me for being a tad confused." "I feel for you things I haven't felt for anyone. Please understand, I'm the one who is confused." She seemed to accept this without further debate, and she went on to chide me about my singed fur. "How did your fur get singed again, by the way? I wasn't exactly in a position to notice at the time. And how did you get out of the cage? One thing I did see was that they locked themselves in with you." "As near as I can tell, the cage was struck by lightning." "You must be joking!" "It seems odd, but that's the only explanation I can find. One moment I was trapped in the cage, the next the cage was gone and I was smoldering again." I neglected to mention the feeling I had that the cage had vanished because I made it vanish, since I wasn't at all certain of that part. "What did you do with Master Shaloc, Firemane? If you didn't kill him, that is." She frowned. "I vaguely remember you telling me you didn't kill him." "I beat him, clawed him, and locked him in a cage. It seemed fitting." She favored me with a smile. "You know, you needn't call him Master anymore." Her smile vanished. "I know, but it's going to take some time to get used too." "'Trust me, you'll get used to it'!" I replied back to her, mimicking her standard reply to my complaints. She laughed. "Alright, alright, I admit, I deserved that one. Now what do we do from here?" "Well that depends..." "On what?" "Do you want fish, or venison for dinner?" I earned another smile. "Fish, if that's not too hard." So I spent the next couple of hours showing her the best way to catch fish from the stream. Her hunting skills were less than perfect, after her long stay with the carnival, but I had to admit, she learned quickly. After eating our catch, we continued on our way through the forest. We stopped when the light began to grow dim, and we settled in for the night. I hadn't bothered to put my tunic back on after our escape, but Diana kept all of her clothes, saying that she'd grown used to them, and something about modesty being a virtue. As we sat there, looking up through the trees at the stars as they appeared, we started talking about what we wanted to do with ourselves. There was no question that we wanted to stay together, but I had no idea about what to actually do. I mean, all I'd ever known was Mikhal's village and Mikhal's life. I obviously couldn't go back to that, nor did I really want to. I suppose what I really wanted was some sort of purpose, a goal to work toward. Somehow the idea of aimlessly wandering the woods didn't appeal to me. I said as much to Diana, who agreed, saying that she'd had enough of that before she was caught by Shaloc. "Isn't there anything you want, Firemane? To be honest, the only thing I want is to be with you. Well, that, and to see Shaloc's entrails draped over his shoulders." I couldn't understand her sudden infatuation with me. I wondered if it was a lasting effect of the drug, or perhaps the fact that I had freed her, or just that I had stayed with her while she was ill. Not that I minded, of course. I also noticed that she had dropped the 'Master' from before Shaloc's name. "Do you still want to be human?" I asked. She hesitated before answering this time, which I took to be a good sign. "Well... not as much as I did. I'm just not sure, anymore. I mean, I never really considered that I could be happy like this. I always thought that being happy again would mean being human." Even after she finished, she continued to look doubtful, which I found encouraging. While I would do anything I could to help her become human again, if that was her wish, I would truly hate to see such a wonderful creature ruined like that. "You never answered my question, Firemane." She said after a moment, "Is there anything you want?" I thought for a minute, picking up a stick and toying with it. Finally, I nodded. "There is one thing I want." "What?" "I want to go back to my village, and pay my last respects to Mikhal." I crushed the stick with a loud crack. "And I want to make them pay for what they did to us." She shot me a look that was hard to read. "I'd be careful about taking revenge like that. I can tell you from experience, it doesn't really help anything." She watched me for a moment before continuing. "But I understand if you feel you have to. I felt the same way, at the time." "Thank you for understanding." She shrugged. "No problem. My only question is, can you find your way back there? I mean, do you know where it is in relation to here?" I shook my head. Then I had an inspiration. "But we know someone who does!" "Who?" Diana asked, puzzled. Then her eyes widened. "You don't mean..." I nodded. "Shaloc would know, wouldn't he?" "Surely you don't mean for us to go ask him?" I laughed. "Not that we ask him politely, no. Come on, it'll be fun!" She couldn't help smiling. "All right, but when we get there, you deal with him, okay?" "You aren't still afraid of him, are you?" "Not really, but after what you said about not killing him and being a beast and all, I'm afraid I might do something I'd regret. Like kill him." I understood, and didn't say a word. The next day we set off in pursuit of the carnival. We had an easy time retracing our steps, and I was certain that Shaloc had given up on finding us. He certainly wouldn't be expecting us to come back. As we made our way back, I continued to try and show Diana just how lucky we were to be what we are. She grew to love hunting together, especially the exhilaration of stalking and then chasing down our catch, but I got the feeling that my efforts were otherwise in vain. For one thing, she seemed to have this strange idea that she was weaker and less able simply because she was female. She also had the incomprehensible attitude that the only sort of beauty a woman could possess came from being petite and delicate, and that strong women were somehow unwholesome. I continued my efforts, but I didn't see much of a result. This was very frustrating, because I found that I liked her very much, and I wanted to tell her so. I was convinced that the two of us could have a life together, though probably not what could be called a 'normal' life, but a happy life, nonetheless. The only thing I could see standing in the way of this was her mysterious self-loathing. If I couldn't get her to believe that she even liked herself, how could I expect her to really believe that I loved her? It just wouldn't work. I had to find some way to get her to come to terms with who she really was. After a few days of back-tracking like this, we came upon the wagon trail the carnival was following. We hadn't traveled far when Diana stopped me and left the path. I followed her, and she led me to a large charred patch, several yards from the road. She whistled in wonder. "Now I see why lightning was your best guess. It's a wonder you survived that, much less fighting Shaloc after- ward." I shrugged. "Well, perhaps the gods had a hand in that. Now that we have a simple path to follow, the two of us on foot should be able to catch up with them in fairly short order, don't you think?" "Try and stop me, Firemane." She smiled back. She was much better at making human-like facial gestures. Perhaps it was because she had been human, and her body remembered, or perhaps just because she had different facial muscles. When we stopped, we camped in the forest beside the road. Food wasn't a problem, but since we'd traveled a good distance from the last waypoint on the trial, we needed to find a good source of water. We decided to search in opposite directions, and meet back at the road. I started off and, after a brief search, I picked up the scent of water- lilies. Following the scent, I found a small pond which looked serviceable. As I was nearing the road where I was to rejoin Diana, I heard shouting, so I silently crept to a point where I could watch, hidden. Diana was standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by three men. I sighed and was about to charge in to rescue her, when I noticed that one of them was bleeding profusely from several deep scratches, which explained their reluctance to attack. I decided to wait this one out for the moment, to confirm my suspicions. "Come on, bitch," the horseman said, "The Master's waitin' for us. You know he don't like bein' kept waitin'" "Come on, Diana, you can take him!" I muttered to myself. She looked uncertain for a second, then she stiffened her back and answered. "Then you get off your high horse, Eric, and come get me!" she retorted. Apparently this was one of Shaloc's long-term lackeys, one she knew by name. "Right, then, boys, get her." Still the men on foot hesitated. "Come on, she's just one woman! Surely two big lads like you can take on one lousy bitch!" Eric goaded. Spurred by his taunts, the one who bore claw marks already stepped forward to attack. Diana took a a swipe at him with her paws, which he managed to duck, and the he came back with a vicious uppercut. She went down, and I was again about to rush out to help when she sprang almost immediately back to her feet. "You hit me!" She snarled, and that was the last thing that one ever heard, as she lunged forward with her entire body and bit his neck open. I'd never seen anyone do THAT before. As he was still falling she jumped at the other man on foot. She turned her leap into a sailing kick, and knocked him to the ground, rebounding off of him like a wall and slammed full force into Eric's horse, on the shoulder just below the neck, and the animal tipped over, pinning Eric's legs beneath it, painfully, too, to judge by his screams. She stalked forward to where he was trying to free himself, and he quickly froze in terror. She fell into a crouch in front of him, and she started talking to him. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but he calmed down, and his face had a look of relief and hope. Then she drew back and slashed down and across with her claws, three times across his face. He started screaming again. "You promised, bitch!" he screamed. I decided hearing her reply was worth being seen, and I quickly moved closer. As I did so, the one she'd knocked to the ground started to get back up. I returned him to the ground with a quick swipe of my paw. "You'll live." she spat back, and silenced Eric by pummeling him into submission. She stood up and rubbed her jaw, as if just noticing the pain, then saw me standing there. She didn't look very happy to see me. "How long have you been standing there?" She demanded. "Long enough." was my enigmatic answer. "What do you mean, 'long..'" I interrupted her. "We'll talk later. We need to hurry now." "Why? One's dead, and the other two won't be getting back up for quite a while." She sounded quite pleased with herself. "Yes, and what if they weren't alone? Don't you think those screams might draw some attention? We need to move, Diana, quickly!" She nodded her understanding, and we ran off into the forest. I led her eventually, in a round-about way, to the water I'd located, so she could wash the blood off her muzzle. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" I asked. She just gave me one of those unreadable looks, and a tiny smile. "A woman must have her secrets." Was all she would say. "I honestly don't understand how human blood can taste this different," she commented, as she rinsed her mouth a few moments later, "Rabbit's blood and deer's blood are delicious, so why does this taste so bad?" "I don't know, I've never tasted human blood." She looked over at me with a dreading look. "You aren't about to get holier-than-thou with me, are you?" "No, Diana," I reassured her, "I'm actually quite proud of you. You defended yourself as you had to, and showed a sense of honor when it was needed. You didn't kill those two men when you had the chance, even though I'm pretty sure they've hurt you before. You needn't be ashamed." "Good, because I'm not ashamed of myself anymore." She grinned. "To hells with being human, I like this too much!" "You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that, Diana." "Oh, really? Why?" "Because now I can honestly do this, of course," and I pulled her into an embrace, and did my best to kiss her. "Oh," was all she could think to say, and then she returned my embrace. It was not that night, or the next, but the night after that when we finally caught up with the carnival as it made camp. As I expected, all of Shaloc's men were patrolling the camp, waiting for us. The men Diana spared had warned them, I was sure. We ascended a nearby tree, and surveyed the camp. Diana quickly pointed out Shaloc's wagon. Naturally, it was the largest one. We still had to figure a way to reach it unseen. Diana soon solved this puzzle by noticing that Shaloc had made the mistake of leaving his wagon near a tree, which had branches higher up that interlaced with the trees nearby. We figured that we could both make the climb with little difficulty. We descended, and stealthily made our way to the stand of trees near the wagon. I had the opportunity to admire Diana's grace and agility as she easily climbed up and across to the tree above the wagon. I followed and, aside from a moment where I thought the branch I was on would snap, easily joined her. We scaled our way down the tree and quickly ducked under the wagon together, to avoid being seen. We were about to rush out and break Shaloc's door down, when I noticed a soft patch in the wagon floor. Extending a claw, I scratched a patch open and, sure enough, it was wet, molded, and eaten through by termites. I should have guessed that Shaloc's home would be as slovenly kept as the man himself was. We quickly revised our plans, and I smashed my way up through the floor. I also smashed through a pile of rubbish, rats and insects, which was quite unpleasant. Shaking the refuse and vermin off, I surprised and overpowered the two thugs who were guarding the door. It was a good thing we came in the way we did, because it looked like they were expecting us. They were armed with a net and the obligatory lengths of pipe. It looked like Shaloc was interesting in catching us again. Thinking of our porky malefactor, I quickly scanned the room. He was smarter than we gave him credit for, hiding somewhere else. On the other hand, I was sure the goons would know where he was. I proceeded to shake and rattle one until he finally regained a semblance of consciousness, and I asked him as politely as possible how to find Shaloc. He replied rudely, making obscene noises. I heard Diana enter through the hole in the floor, cautious of the slime surrounding it. I motioned to her and she came around and started interrogating the other one. Shaloc must have hand- picked these two specifically for stupidity in the face of danger, because they both refused to tell us. Diana responded by smothering the one she was working with until he faded out again. "Firemane, I think I know a way to get this nice young man to talk. I'll watch him, while you see if you can find Shaloc's pill-box. Let's see if Shaloc saved us any of his other nasty tricks in there, and, if Mr. Strong-Silent-Type here won't talk, we could try them out on him." I handed him over to her, and began ransacking the wagon. It didn't really change the look of the place that much. Finally, I found a small wooden box, which was securely locked. The trick to getting around locks is to realize that they're only as good as the wood around them, and this one was no exception. A quick smash opened the box, though ruining it as a container. A varied assortment of vials and pills was inside, including, I noticed, two of those blasted white tablets. I brought the box over to her, and watched the thug while she perused it. She selected a vial of clear fluid, and made a point of showing it to my captive. His eyes widened considerably. "Now," she said, "You will do us the favor of telling us where Shaloc is, or we will force this down your throat. I trust you remember it? It's what they used on me the second time I tried to escape. Nasty tasting stuff, too. This little unguent makes every muscle in your body try to twist itself out of your skin. It's very painful, I can assure you, and you can't do anything, because you can't control your limbs. Now, do you have anything to say?" He actually dared to spit in her face. "Firemane, hold him, would you?" "Gladly." and as I held him, she forced him to swallow the potion and nearly lost a finger in the process. "Now, as I recall, there is an antidote for this particular potion. Then again, why should I go through the trouble of finding it for you?" Diana seemed to be enjoying this. Not that I could blame her. "Master Shaloc'll have you for dinner! You can't beat him! He told us all about how you came up and brained him from behind, and how he escaped by locking himself in a cage." I'd wondered how Shaloc had explained his defeat. I had to credit him, though, he wasn't flinching. Diana was untroubled by his bravado. "You have about thirty more seconds before that begins to take effect. After that, the antidote is useless." She began a slow countdown, keeping time from a rusted old timepiece Shaloc had lying on the floor. She reached three before he began to talk. "He's in the cook's wagon. Now find that blasted antidote!" "Sorry, I lied. Enjoy!" She smiled at him before she smacked him unconscious again. "Now then, Firemane, I'm willing to bet that the cook's wagon is the other large one, with the smoke-stack." "First let's get out of here. This cabin is almost as disgusting as Shaloc himself." She snorted in agreement, and we left through the hole in the floor. Once outside, we both scrambled back up the tree. Diana easily climbed and leapt her way across to the other trees. I followed, and was halfway there when I remembered the weak limb. I heard a crack, and had time to utter a choice expletive, and then I was falling, being buffeted by branches. I struck the ground badly, and lost consciousness. I woke with Shaloc sitting in front of me, my hands and legs chained behind me. We were in yet another wagon. Shaloc took the opportunity to punch me a few times, then he settled back into his seat. "Well, beast, you just couldn't handle it on the outside, could you? Don't worry about Diana, we caught her a few moments after you. Why did you come back, anyway? You decided you still wanted a piece of me?" "You flatter yourself, Shaloc. Not that anyone else would bother. We'll escape again, Shaloc. You can't keep us here." "We'll see how resistant you two are when you're kept apart. I'm putting you in different cages, as I should have done in the first place. It was only my merciful nature that led me to introduce you two in the first place." "'Merciful nature'?" I mocked, "Ha!" He punched me. It was worth it. "If you try to escape again, I'll hamstring the bitch. If you try after that, I'll kill you, and have you stuffed and mounted. You won't draw as big a crowd, but, then, you won't cost me anything, either." "You're a pathetic maggot, Shaloc." He hit me again. I was really beginning to regret that I'd let him live. What the Hells had I been thinking? Shaloc was talking again, but I ignored him. I heard something outside, probably beyond Shaloc's range of hearing, but quite unmistakable. Shouts, fighting. Could I have some unknown benefactor? I lost track of the sound when Shaloc slapped me to get my attention. "You'll listen to me, beast!" If he would vary his insults a little, it wouldn't be so bad, but the monotony of his slurs was beginning to get on my nerves. He reared back to hit me again, and I braced for the impact. The punch never came. I opened my eyes, and saw that Shaloc had finally heard the sounds outside. He walked to the door, which promptly slammed open, with him in it's path. He fell to the ground with a muffled "Oomph!", and I heard an unmistakable and beautiful sound. Diana was snarling. "Shaloc!" she spat, and I wished I could see her. Unfortunately, the chair I was shackled to was turned in the opposite direction. I heard all manner of painful noises behind me, then she walked around in front of me. I gasped when I saw her. She was covered in blood! She noticed my look of shock and chuckled. "Don't worry, silly, most of it isn't mine. I had to tear through half the camp to find you, and occasionally they'd get off a few good hits, especially that one bastard with the knife. Now, why don't you get up, and we'll see what Shaloc knows, okay?" "I'm chained to the floor," I stopped and considered that. "Which is made out of cheap wood... I see your point." I strained for a moment, and the chains came loose with parts of the floor still attatched. "Gods, I feel stupid!" "Well, I've acted a tad silly before myself, love. Nothing to be ashamed of." Gods, but I love this woman. Shaloc stirred behind us, and we quickly turned our attention to more immediate matters. "Now, Shaloc, it's my turn to ask the questions. We want you to answer one question, in return for your worthless life, you see?" He nodded. "Tell us where my village is." "Is that what this is about? They got greedy, so we burned that dump to the ground!" He began laughing, bordering on the maniacal. "I hope you don't mind if we check this for ourselves, right?" "Go right ahead! You can't miss it, it's the desolate patch of burnt shacks to the south-east!" "Now, about these chains..." "The key's on the counter." Shaloc was being very cooperative. Perhaps he thought we were going to just get the information and leave. If so, he thought wrong. I took the key and unlocked my chains, rubbing my wrists where they'd begun to chafe. "Well, dear, I think that's all we need from him, right?" She looked at me with a sly grin. She showed me the vial she had. "I took this when we were interrogating the guard. I'm sure Shaloc here recognizes it. I won't go into detail, but I'll say that he won't enjoy this at all." I held Shaloc while she poured the fluid down his throat. I saw that he was about to spit it out, and I batted him with a paw, and tilted his head back. He swallowed reflexively, and began crying. Diana left him some other marks to remember her by, and we made good our escape. The scene outside was one of utter carnage. "Sweet Shani! Did you do all this?" I asked, incredulous. She frowned and looked a little confused, and a bit embarrassed. "I'm not sure... I sorta lost it there for a minute, when I thought I was going to lose you." I chuckled softly. "It's nice to know you care. Come on, let's get out of here." We left with next to nothing in the way of opposition, and we quickly made our way through the woods. I knew that Diana would want to wash, and both of us had some wounds that needed cleaning, so I found us a small stream. We quickly bathed, and I helped her untangle her fur, which was matted and caked with blood in some places. Afterward, we got out, and shook ourselves dry. I looked over at Diana. "Do you think Shaloc will try to follow us?" "Dear, Shaloc won't be concerned with anything more strenuous than attempting to walk and feed himself for a few days. Besides, I doubt if he has many mercenaries left. Do you want to head south, see about your village?" I shook my head. "No, actually, I've given it some more thought, and I decided that you were right. Revenge simply isn't worth the effort." "What about your last respects to Mikhal?" "I don't know. The more I think about it, the more it feels wrong. I don't know why, but it just doesn't feel like the right thing to do." "Well, you don't necessarily have to see his grave to honor his memory, and my mother always told me that so long as you remember someone, they're never really dead." I nodded, and we continued to put as much distance as possible between us and the carnival, just in case. As we lay down to sleep that night, I found myself taking comfort from her words, and I promised myself that his memory would live in me always.