I loved once, long ago.

The sound of the angels soft voice stirred the old man from slumber, its words hanging
in his mind like an accusation. It said nothing more for a long while, and the man thought it
might not speak again, content with only stealing the last of his labored inhalations before
dragging him to Hell.
The man opened his eyes to find himself lying in a clearing in a dark wood, gasping his
last puffs of breath next to a long, tall wall of crumbling stone. The wall had broken in places
where trees once pushed their mighty limbs through, before their strength had failed beneath the
decaying touch of time.
Behind the wall, the orange light of distant fires warbled in the night. The darkness
grinned at the man, revealing the silhouettes of a ruined cityscape standing within its smokey
maw like broken teeth. A fire lit behind the wall and he heard then an anguished moan as the
smell of roasting flesh wafted through. The fires light shone sharply through the breaks in the
wall and slithered along the branches, illuminating patches of pale meat where the curiously thin
bark, like a hideously wrinkled skin, had peeled away in strips.
Once lavish paintings now faded from weathering hung upon the rough stone like ghostly
windows into other worlds. The flickering light animated the figures in the paintings and they
seemed to act out the last moments of their lives in ghoulish repetition.
The angel's grim form crouched beside the man and he narrowed his burning eyes,
straining to look upon the figure beyond the sound of its raspy breathing, but its features lay
hidden in shadow. Ghosts rolled out slow against the cold night from the angels black face,
shimmering as their translucent forms waltzed in the moonlight, drifting lazily against the night
like mist upon the surface of a still, black lake.
Do you enjoy love stories, child of man? Its eyes flared like stoked embers in the
darkness as it spoke. The man said nothing.
A gust of wind wailed through the bare maples, their foliage recently stripped away by
the touch of autumns life-stealing breath. The fallen leaves, taking flight, lit like flames of red
and yellow as they danced their macabre dance of the dying season in the silver rays of the
moons ethereal light. In audience, hunched and colorless trees huddled about like a coven of
crooked hags. The motion of their great, swaying limbs seemed to stir the leaves from the ground
as if rousing ember and ash from the bed of a long burning fire, sending them swirling and
twirling away into the black heavens above.
Of course not, how could you? You are a vile creature, incapable of love. Is that not so?
A shaft of moonlight fell just short of the angels features, but touched eerily on gnarled,
colorless fingers which peeked from beneath the ragged sleeve of its cloak like the legs of a
cautious hermit crab hiding beneath its shell. The man croaked a saddened cry at the sight and
the dreadful tone cut through the quiet night, entreating him to the awful sound of his own
despair. The crab retreated.
I will tell you this story anyway.



Elias woke with a start, the image of the battered angel from his dream still haunting his
mind. He scanned the stone walls of his bedchamber, half expecting to find the wraith there
waiting in the places that dawns gilded rays hadnt yet fully revealed. Beside him, Ariana slept
peacefully. He looked down at her tenderly, brushing a spill of auburn hair from her serene
features. He watched the gentle undulations of her swollen belly as it ebbed against the bed
covers. At this he smiled and leaned in until his lips were barely touching her forehead and
kissed her softly, then slid from beneath the blankets, careful not to wake her, and slipped his
arms through the sleeves of a white robe which had waited through the night beside the bed like
an attention-expectant pet.
Elias stepped from the room in a sweep of white silk and sailed down the hallway like a
ship. Oncoming servants swam wide like frightened fish as he glided past and the ghostsof
which there were many heregave him no birth at all but simply passed right through him.
Though he was aware of them, he didnt seem to notice. Things were as they had always been.
He stopped at a doorway and eased the wooden plank door half-open. He leaned in to
find his daughter sleeping. At her bedside, an elderly nursemaid watched over her patiently. She
turned, noticing Elias, and with a stern nod rose from her post and motioned Elias out of the
room. She emerged in the hallway, her countenance severe.
Shes worse this morning. She keeps calling that name in her sleep.
What did the seers have to make of it?
Hmmph. They never heard of such a name: Mirabosa. Who ever heard of such a thing?
Fever-talk, a couple more helpings of your soup and Im sure shell be up and about.
I dont know, Elias. Something about her voice when shes talking in her sleepI dont
like it. Not one bit. Somethings amiss; I have a sense for these things. If that kooky physician
doesnt figure out what is wrong with her soon Im going to take her to the Skykeeper shaman
and I dont care what your father says, let him have me hanged.
Elias smiled coyly at the woman: Im sure it wouldnt come to that, my fathers more
afraid of you than I am.
Mmm, dont be so sure, Elias. Somethings been off with him as well these past few
weeks. Hes been harsh with the servants; a dark moods been upon him. And pardon my
curtness,
Always.
The way hes been slinking about with that guardVirette, they stalk the corridors like
wolves looking at the servants as if they were prey. I dont like it.
Elias rolled his eyes and grinned sheepishly at the woman. Is he back?
Of course not! You asked me that yesterday. Hes not due back until tomorrow. Youre
too young to be forgetting things.
Elias beamed at Lorna as she studied his expression. Exasperated, she slapped the young
princes arm and he laughed out loud, his ruse discovered. Oh, you. She cast him a stern
expression and slipped back through the door without a sound.



Ariana lay sleeping, awash in golden beams of sunlight. Suddenly, a winged form cast its
shadow upon her. She woke with a start. In the window crouched a creature, no larger than a boy
of eight, with wings of white and amber eyes set in feline features. Ariana grinned.
Mercus, didnt anyone ever tell you its not proper to sneak in peoples windows?
Ariana struggled to a stand and approached Mercus.
Mercus looked down at his feet, shuffling them timidly. No, maam. Im sorry.
Its alright, sweetie. She tapped his chin with her forefinger.
Mercus blushed.
How did you get past the watchmen?
Aww, theyre easy. They never look up.
Clever. Are you looking for Mina?
Can she play?
Oh, Im sorry. Shes not feeling well. Why didnt you go to her window, instead?
Momma said its good manners to always ask first.
Your mother sounds very wise, Mercus.
She knows lots of stories, too.
Does she? Well, Id like to hear one someday.
Okay. Can Mina play tomorrow?
Well, that depends on how shes feeling. Why dont you come back in the morning?
Okay.
Ariana tickled Mercus and he twisted with a giggle. Then he lit into the sky, shooting
straight up into the clouds.
Ariana leaned out of the window. She looked to the watchman stationed on the rampart
nearest her and he met her gaze. He looked up into the clouds and then looked back at her, giving
a wink before he turned his attention back to the landscape. Ariana smiled.




Elias emerged in the atrium. By a pillar stood Winda, the banshees translucent form
quivering softly as she quietly wept, gazing out over the castles courtyard. He greeted her as he
always did, and she in turn ignored him, just as she had always done. Amused, Elias approached
an easel in the center of the room draped with a sheet and pulled the fabric back to reveal a
nearly completed portrait of Ariana. In the painting, Ariana stood in a flower garden reaching up
to a lilac blossom which hung against the bright sky like a lavender balloon. She seemed to be
holding it as tenderly as a mother would her childs face. Her loving eyes blazed like sapphires
from her milky complexion, blue and brilliant. Elias stepped back to admire the portrait in its
entirety and, with a nod, turned to the north wall where a mortar and pestle sat upon a bench
surrounded by tiny clay jars. He removed the lids of a few and then, choosing one, tapped a few
nuggets of crimson pigment into the mortar and crushed it into a fine powder with the pestle.
Then, taking a pitcher of water from the shelf above, he let a little water drizzle from the mouth
of the pitcher over the powder and mixed it with his finger until it blended to a uniform texture
and emptied it onto his palette. He repeated this process twice more and, with another nod,
returned to the portrait.
Elias set the palette upon a wooden stand next to the easel and returned to the bench.
Here, he poured a cup of water into a small clay pot, gathered a set of brushes from the shelf, and
returned to the stand which held his palette.
There is my husband! Ariana stood in the doorway smiling radiantly at Elias. Stepping
into the room, Ariana greeted Winda; Winda did not acknowledge her.
She is chatty as usual. Ariana said with a laugh.
Elias grinned. Can barely get a word in edge-wise.
Ariana moved around to the side of the easel. When am I going to get to see this
magnificent painting of yours? By the time you finish I will be old and withered; no one will
even know that it is me.
Never-mind. Elias pulled the sheet up over the back of the easel to shield the painting
from her view. You will see it when it is finished. Ariana craned her neck around. Elias pulled
the sheet over it.
Hmmph. Ariana feigned a look of disappointment. Elias raised his eyebrows
expectantly. They both began to laugh and embraced.
Lorna told me you stopped and checked on Mina earlier. She was saying that name
again. Its so odd.
Probably a playmate she made up. It must get lonely being the only child her age in the
castle.
Mmm, maybe. When shes feeling better we should have Mercus over; they get along so
well.
Father wont allow it. He has been in a foul mood these past couple of weeks. The
Skykeepers arent even allowed to fly over the ramparts anymore. Then, with a chuckle: Lorna
thinks theres a conspiracy afoot.
She told me that last week he let one of the servants go for spilling a bit of his soup.
Really? She hadnt mentioned that.
Its true. He must have turned her out on foot; her father came to the castle yesterday
looking for her.
That doesnt sound like my father; Im sure she had an escort. Perhaps she stopped
somewhere. Maybe she has a lover.
Or maybe a dark, sinister creature snatched her away like you did me.
I remember it the other way around.
Ariana slapped Eliass arm. Ooh, youyoure a beast.
Alyas chuckled.
Well, my dear husband, I am going to change into something warmer. I have a chill
about me this morning. Ill leave you to Ariana made a playful attempt to lift the sheet before
Elias could stop her, but he was too quick.
Nice try. He slapped her on the behind as she turned to leave and she looked back at
him incredulously as she tried not to laugh.
Booold.
Elias grinned at her as she left.

...

Ariana walked down the hallway, smiling at the servants as they shuffled by. An elderly
man carrying flowers happened by and offered a handful to her. She accepted them with a smile.
As she rounded a corner, a young, timid servant girl began to pass by afraid to make eye
contact. Ariana held a flower out to the girl and she rigidly accepted it with a small grunt as if the
simple act of raising her arm brought her pain. As she passed, Ariana stopped and called after
her: Wait she began to come around the girl to look her in the face, noticing traces of blood
on the back of her habit. Is something wrong? Are you hurt? The girl stared at the floor. Look
at me. The girl looked up at Ariana, revealing the tears in her eyes. What is it? You can tell
me.
I, the girl began and broke into tears.
Here now, let me see your back. The girl was frozen. Ariana untied the string at the
back of her neck and opened the back of her habit, exposing flesh striped by the tip of a whip.
Oh my, who did this to you?! The girl did not reply, merely stood trembling in the center of the
hallway as passing servants gawked. Come with me.
Ariana took the girl by the hand and led her to Minas room. Here, she opened the door
halfway and motioned for Lorna. Look at this. She opened the back of the girls habit again
and showed Lorna the damage there.
Who did this to you, Cyna?
The guard, maam.
Lorna looked at Ariana and back at the girl. Did they give you a reason? Why would
they do this?
Ariana bent to look directly into her eyes. You arent going to get into trouble, do you
understand? The girl nodded. Im going to talk to the captain right now. Well make sure the
guards who did this never see the inside of this castle again.
He was the one with the whip; he was the one laughing.
First shock then rage stole across Arianas face and she stormed away as Lorna drew the
sobbing girl into an embrace.



Elias was putting the finishing touches to the portrait as Ariana stormed past, her face red
with anger. Elias knew that face. Aw, damn. He started toward her and the sleeve of his robe
dragged through the paint. As he reached up to pull the sheet over the canvas, he dragged
crimson across his lovers midsection.
In the hallway, he could see Ariana marching determinedly toward the stairwell. He broke
into a jog, calling after her. She descended out of view.
At the bottom of the stairs the hallways ran off in three directions. He looked first down
one, then another, and then the lastno sign of Ariana. He stood there a moment, uncertain of
which way to go when he heard Ariana shouting. Ah. With a nod he hurried down the hall to
the north wall where the guards were training.
And what made you think you had the right to discipline that child! You know damn
well, Virette, thats the Head Matrons responsibility! Ive never seen
Whoa, whoa. Elias jumped between Ariana and Virette Drakhon, the Captain of the
Guard. Whats going on here?
Ask the mighty abuser of small children. You count your days here, Captain. I assure
you they are few.
Virette glared at Ariana as she pulled away from Elias and stomped back into the castle
Elias noticed his contempt.
Mind how you look upon my wife, Captain. You surely forget your place. Virette
turned to Elias, regarding him coolly, and the young prince looked past him at the rest of the
guard. Were they smirking? He postured to Virette despite the chill rushing down his spine.
Now, tell me what this is about.
Seems were not to discipline the servants anymore, my Prince. Virette replied, ending
Prince with a hiss. Please give milady my assurances that it will not happen again. The two
men held a silent stare at one another and Elias was about to reprimand Virette further when a
trumpet sounded, drawing his attention away from the dark man. When he looked back Virette
was walking back to the rest of the guard.
Virette!
Virette turned to Elias with mock interest.
We will speak more of this when my father returns.
Of course, my Lord. Virette grinned and bowed. He watched as Elias walked away with
contempt in his eyes.



Elias found Ariana pacing in their bedchamber, biting her nails.
Dont look at me like that. You didnt see what he did to that girl.
He was a little overzealous disciplining her. Still, its not your place. And you shouldnt
let yourself get so upset with the baby coming. You know what Lorna says about that.
Elias, dont fight me on this. Not this. When your father gets back hes going to hear
from me, I promise you that. I want that fiend out of here, out of the entire kingdom. I never
trusted him.
My father is going to tell you the same thing that I just did. You cant just go
reprimanding the guard because you dont agree with their disciplinary methods.
Disciplinary methods? You sound more like one of those pompous noble windbags you
used to complain about every day. Were talking about a young girl, Elias. Theres a great big,
thick line between discipline and cruelty. They beat that girl for sport.
You dont know that.
She told me they were laughing. I wont have it. Not in the home were to raise our
children in. Theres going to be payment for this, Elias, mark my words.
Okay, okay, calm down. Sit down on the bed.
Ariana glared at Elias and he took her hand.
Ill talk to father when he gets back. Dont worry any more on this. Ill take care of it.
He better be punished, EliasI mean it. He better have stripes of his own.
I know, my love. Please lie down and rest.
Ariana let out a weary sigh and allowed Elias to lead her to the bed.
Im going to check on Mina again. Ill send Berta by with some fresh water.
Elias exited the room and Ariana laid back into the pillows as fatigue drained from her
body. She closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the courtyard outside her window. She
began drifting when a shadow moved into her field of vision, a blot moving past her closed
eyelids.
Oh, Berta, just put it on the stand. She waited for the blot to respond, but it didnt. She
opened her eyes to find a dragon whelp perched upon her window sill and smiled.



A beetle scurried along a workbench like a locomotive. A gloved hand pinched the bug
between the index and forefinger and turned it over, watching as the tiny legs pumped furiously.
After a moment, the fingers snapped together and the bug exploded in a green gush. The man in
black turned to face the beast army standing in neat rows inside a dimly lit hangar.



She chuckled and rose from the bed, slipping into the robe by the bedside. She
approached Mercus with a smile.
Well, hello there.
Hello, maam. Is Mina all better?
No, honey, shes still not feeling well, would you like me to take you to see her?
Yes, maam.
Okay, but just for a minute. She needs her rest.
Okay.
Ariana lifted Mercus from the sill and held him like a baby. Behind, long shadows began
to creep from the corners of the room. Mercus watched curiously as they slid across the walls.
Maam?
What is it, Mercus?
Whats on the walls?
Pardon? Ariana turned to find the shadows gathering and darkness began to fill the
room. A dark figure stood in the corner and Arianas eyes drew wide. She opened her mouth to
scream, but the figures hand shot up and closed into a fist as if snatching the sound from her
throat as Mercus tore away from Ariana in a panic and rocketed back through the window.



As Elias reentered the atrium, he noticed red paint on his sleeve. As he pulled the sheet
away from the portrait, he noticed the streak of red across it. Nooo! In an impulse of rage and
frustration he threw the canvas to the floor.
Exasperated, he stood over the painting clenching his fists. He looked to Winda.
All that time, for nothing.
For the first time in his life, Winda looked back.
The children, she said. The Pale Children are coming. Then she began to wail.



Mina woke to the awful sound of the banshees wail. Someone had diedsomeone in her
family.
She looked to the nursemaid, Lorna, peeking out through a half-opened door; the elderly
woman stared worriedly at the servants bustling about in the dim hall outside her room. Is
that... Mina asked weakly. ...for me?
The nursemaid looked down at her as if she had been shaken awake by the young girls
question. Oh, no princess, someone else. Dread washed over the child.
From her window, Mina could see the pale blue sky; it seemed clearer than she could
ever remember, like the surface of a pool of still water. It seemed impossible that anything bad
could happen beneath something so beautiful.
She could see also the turrets, and upon them the archers of Windbreedstoic, like
painted statues. She knew that they were there to protect her, the sick little girl who everyone
pretended wasnt dying although she knew that she was. They were her defenders, but they also
stood as a constant reminder that there were things beneath the beautiful sky that would harm
hermaybe even things worse than the Cann Bohr.
Elias appeared in Minas doorway panting, his thin features drawn into an expression of
surprise as he peered at her through long strands of disheveled blonde hair. He appeared relieved
as he puffed the wind back into his heaving lungs. His long, white robe had been smeared with
red. He began to say something but before he could get the words out a terrible scream issued
from far down the hallway.
Then her father was gone, whirling away into the shadows, leaving Mina to wonder who
the banshees wail had been for if not for her. This thought was interrupted by the horrible pain
of sickness and it overtook her, as it always did. Darkness closed in around and life seemed
nothing but a shrinking window floating upon a sea of nothing.



As Elias burst into the hallway, his wifes handmaid rushed screaming from his
bedchamber. She was bleeding, a little. A thin stream of violent red raced from her temple to her
jaw-line, painting her face with madness. As he reached the doorway, she clung to him, her
mouth full of gibberish. Elias shouldered past her roughly, sending her sprawling on the floor.
Inside, the chamber was empty. Soft breezes animated the curtains making them seem
alive; they stood patiently by the window, their forms rising and falling with slow, deep breaths.
Elias entered cautiously, his heart swelling against the confines of the shrinking cavity within his
chest. He ignored the growing congregation of chattering spectators at his back, their quiet
mouths shouting which voices that seemed under water through the blood pulsing in his ears.
They clambered into the room behind him, moving slowly, awkwardly, as if running on legs
made of springs and cotton.
Then he saw her; or rather, a spill of her auburn hair from behind the foot of the bed, and
the world became a river gushing past. People spilled about like marbles, their mouths strobes of
sound, an incomprehensible language. Elias struggled to grasp his sanity, but it had become an
oily beast with cold, smooth scales of steel. He rounded the bed and found Ariana there, her eyes
wide and watching, her mouth nursing the air like a fishs as it lay dying upon a shore, and then
her life was simply gone. With a guttural half cry, half moan, Elias drove his knees roughly to
the floor beside her. He gathered her limp body as best he could against his own, but she spilled
from his trembling arms like a bundle of lifeless fish. In the end, only her head remained in the
cradle of his lap. He caressed her face, beads of sweat standing upon her brow like drops of
silver. Her eyes gazed longingly out of the open window into the blue nothing above, as if
looking for the light that had been stolen from her. The slender arms that had held Eliass neck in
a thousand embraces lay upon the place where her belly had swelled like a melon over the last
eight months. Now it lay flat; their childs little heart no longer beat there.






Mina woke again, this time to find the violet cloak of dusk covering her window. At the
foot of her bed, Lorna sat sleeping uneasily in a velvet chair, its straining joints creaking wearily
as she restlessly shifted her mass about. Mina crept from her bed and shuffled down the hallway
toward Elias and Arianas bedchamber.



The day bled away, revealing the ashen tapestry it had been painted upon. The moon cast
its searchlight through the bedchamber window, searching for the ghosts and shadows
imprisoned here and found Arianas spirit waiting. The latter hid behind the furniture and even
behind Elias, lest they be dissolved by the haunted light of night. They found no cover behind
Arianas incorporeal form.
She sat astride Elias, a wisp of silvery smoke, watching compassionately as he
succumbed begrudgingly to his grief.
Soft, occasional breezes climbed through the open window and as they passed the couple
gently by, Arianas features shifted subtly. Her dark eyes glinted as if glass. They sat there a
while in silence, he unaware of her presence, she awaiting what would come.
Ariana placed her ghostly fingers upon Eliass cheek and he started with a gasp. He could
see her now, vaguely, and he pressed the tears from his eyes with upturned palms.
Ariana?
She only stared back at him.
I can see you. Can you hear me?
I hear you, Love.
Her voice was distant, barely audible.
Elias attempted to take her hand, but she was smoke. Through her misty visage he could
see lines forming upon the stone of the chamber wall behind her, an odd geometry. As he
watched, a door emerged and swung slowly open to reveal an apparition standing upon the
thresholda ghostly man with skin of steel.
Arianas features narrowed.
What is it, Elias?
Theres someone else here.
The silver man stepped from the doorway and stretched his hand out over Arianas head
and she looked up at it. Elias sprang to his feet and squared off with the figure.
Dont touch her!
The silver man shot Elias a quizzical glance and closed his hand.
You can see me, manchild? Curious.
Shes not going with you.
How is it that you are aware of me, young one? What sort of strange magic is it that you
have come upon?
Elias tried to gather Ariana to him, but her form flowed through his fingers.
Take me in her stead, spirit.
She must go, child; it is written. This thing neither you nor I can alter.
Elias let out a moan and swung wildly at the mechanical ghost, his blow passing through
ether. Wisps of silver mist streamed from his fist. The figure stood unaffected. He looked at Elias
sympathetically.
You will have your time. Spend your days here piously, and you may see her again one
day if the Machine wills it.
Myael helped Ariana from the floor and Elias advanced once again. Ariana held her palm
up to halt his advance.
Its alright, Elias. I think Im supposed to.
No.
Elias watched hopelessly as they receded through the doorway. Looking past Elias,
Ariana blew a kiss just before the door closed and he turned to find Mina standing in the
doorway.
Mommy?
Tears streamed from her eyes and she slowly put her hand to her mouth and returned her
mothers gesture. Looking to Elias she stepped forward, teetered, and the world went black.



Mina woke often, though only for brief moments, pain and nausea coursing throughout
her body. At times she found her father watching over her silently. At others she was alone.
When she finally truly woke it was night, and she found her father sitting on the bed beside her,
stroking sweat-soaked hair from her face. The sickness had receded a little and she managed a
weak smile. Her father smiled back, though there was a sadness behind it.
Her father was a strong man, and was a respected member of the royal family, even
though he was the youngest of his brothers and not in line for the throne of Windbreed. He was a
magnificent speaker and mediator; Mina had seen him diffuse disagreements between feuding
lords using his charm alone. But here, as he sat beside Mina, he seemed young to her, almost a
child himself as he stumbled on his words. His speech seemed to her a puzzle of words and she
struggled to find meaning in the stream of gibberish as he attempted to comfort her. Then the
window was shrinking again as she fell away from it, the sounds of her father calling her name
mingling with her own cries trailing down into the darkness with her.



Elias stood at his bedchamber window like a shadow in his dark cloak, watching as black
clouds eased across the face of the moon, his pale face coming aglow with its haunted ghost light
as they passed it by.
Behind him, by the doorway, stood a white Umbrehad awaiting his masters beckon.
Elias began to turn toward him.
Runenor?
Do you require something, my Lord?
NoIwaitRunenor.
Yes, Prince?
What manner of magic could have done this? And for what purpose? Her bodyshe
became smoke, do you understand? Just smoke. And the baby. Where could it have gone? I
cannot understand it.
Dark magic. A demon, surely. Such things are within their power.
How would you defeat such a thing? How could you harm a spirit made of smoke and
shadow?
Would you truly wish to possess such knowledge? Power is a hungry beast, insatiable.
Eventually it consumes those who wield it. Such secrets are best kept that way--secret.
Wouldnt you wish to know, my DihJinn? Would you not treasure such power, the
power to protect those you love, the power to defeat death?
I would not.
Elias turned to the creature, disbelieving. How could you not? Is it better to lie down
like cattle and hope death comes to another before one of yours? Why should we await it? Tell
me.
That is the order of life. We spend our time here until we have no more to barter with.
Then we ride with the Ferryman. It is how it has always been. It is how the balance is
maintained.
Cant you see that means nothing? Wouldnt you want to live forever?
I can think of nothing more horrible, my Lord.
Bah. Because you have the mind of an animal.
As you say.
Never mind, Ill keep such talk for those with the intellect to grasp what I am saying.
Elias turned back to the window, impetuous.
You may retire, Umbrehad. On your way by the atrium, task Tesura with informing my
father.
As you wish. Runenor clopped heavily through the doorway and disappeared.
Elias looked out over the dark hills to the black silhouette of the forest beyond. Where
could one find such power, he wondered.
In his peripheral, a glint of light caught his eye. He turned to find a small metallic object
just beneath the sweep of the skirt around the bed. Kneeling, he picked it up to find Arianas ring.
He studied the stone, noticing a streak of silver along the edge of a facet. He turned it over in his
hand a couple of times, letting the moonlight play upon it.



Silver light spilled across Minas face as she slept. Her little body shifted beneath the
blankets as she reacted to imaginary events in a dream. Her mouth worked weakly at words she
was unable to form until, finally, she found the strength to utter one aloud: Mirabosa. Her dark
eyes opened suddenly, very unlike those with the sapphire irises she had looked about the world
with earlier in the day. These were deep eyes, bottomless eyes, like night on the ocean. She
moved mechanically, throwing the blankets back, and swung her little legs off of the mattress.
She planted her bare feet on the floor and stepped rigidly through the doorway, looking back at
the servant girl who had fallen asleep in the chair at the foot of her bed, the one who had been
beaten so cruelly beaten just this morning, impassively.
She walked slowly through the hallway until she came upon her parents bedchamber and
hung in the doorway staring at Elias as he gazed out into the darkness. Feeling a cold presence at
his back he whirled, half expecting that the mechanical man had come back to claim him as well
but found only the silhouette of a child in the doorway.
Mina? You shouldnt be out of bed. He started toward her, but stopped as a gargling
noise emerged in her throat and he noticed, suddenly, that her breathing was stunted and
wheezing.
It is secretsyou desire?
Mina? But the voice was not hers.
You wish power, chk, chk, chk, over death. You wish vengeance. These thingsare
possible. All thingsare possible.
Who are you?
There are places, chk, chk, within theseancient walls, secret places, their
passageslong forgotten.
Dont hurt her.
The child, chk, chk, chk, sleeps. She dreams.
Do you wish, chk, the knowledge? Would youdestroy Death?
I just want my daughter safe. Please.
He iscoming for her. But.
But what? Answer me, spirit!
Elias waited for a reply but none came. He started toward Mina.
Ican show you such power.
Elias froze. I could protect her with this power?
And more.
I could find Ariana and bring her back to us?
More.
I could destroy the demon that haunts us?
More, yes, more, more. Chk, chk, chk, chk, chk.
Show me, spirit.
Come then. Follow Mirabosa.
Mirabosa!?

Elias woke with a start. He looked about the room, panting and wiping sweat from his
brow. With a sigh of relief he eased back down, the pace of his breath slowing. He looked to the
doorway, the soft light from the hallway lanterns painted a ghostly tombstone on the floor.
Within its form, he could see a black puddle on the floor where Mina had stood in his dream.
Rising from his bed, he pulled his black cloak over his shoulders and stepped to the doorway,
crouching to inspect the liquid. He touched it and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger.
His fingertips had become stained with black ink.
Looking out into the hallway, Elias noticed that shiny black footprints tracked around a
corner. He followed them past Minas room and up a winding staircase to a large hallway leading
to the library. He entered to find the place dark but for the moon beaming through the towering
windows, striping the bookcases with pale light. He followed the footprints to a bookcase
standing before a stone wall where they stopped abruptly. He scanned the books, expecting to
find a text filled with writings about demons and sorcery, but there was none. Instead what he
found were worn volumes of folk tales and fables. He scanned the leather bindings until he came
upon one that had been stained with a splotch of black ink. He pulled it down and opened it,
finding the pages inside yellowed with age. He turned to the first story and read aloud: The
Dark Witch.