The Journery....(3)

"Once more with feeling," the angel muttered to himself, closing his eyes, as he spread his arms wide again. Immediately, a ripple of aural power washed out from the angel and over the group, steadily growing in intensity.

"I better be, cuz HERE WE GO!" the angel said, lifting his left hand high above his head, fingers splayed wide,and bringing down the right in a wide arc. It stopped suddenly, in front of his middle, and the angel gave a sudden snap of his fingers.

In the next microsecond, a bright flash emanated from the angel, and flared over the entire group. The next instant, as the flash disappeared, the area was entirely empty. No trace remained of the 'Scapers having ever been in the clearing.

No light. Except for the two crystals which glow on the table beside him. What need does he have for light? Light is a distraction. The crystals are all he needs. To watch. Yes, to watch. And to feel.... them. Oh yes, feel them he could. He didn't really need the crystals to know they were in this world. The telekenetic, the empath, the elf, the witch, the.... <shudder> angel. And WizMick. The others he could feel too but couldn't put a name to their magics just yet. That was fine though, he'd deal with them in time. And above all of that he could feel the Heart Stone. It breathed with a life all it's own.

This was no news to him. He had seen it in the crystal. But it should not have happened this fast. *Damn that Dartran. He was suppose to be the best. Was it so hard to keep them separated for more than a few minutes. I shall deal with him at another time.* A kind of animal growl escapes his lips. *But for now, to slow them down.* He reaches out slowly and places his hand flat over one of the crystals. The color glows through his hand as his magic intensifies.

The group pops reappears as quickly and quietly as they disappeared. Rechecking their equipment and weapons once again they turn to look at their surroundings.

Kay looks around her too. She saw the others wondering where they were. Even Twig had nothing to say at the moment. But, by the look on Spy and Wiz's face. They had an idea where they were. And the looks weren't of pleasure.

"The frell it isn't!" Rae hisses, pushing Mouse away, but still keeping a tight grip on Spy with her left hand. "What... did... you... do?" she demands in a very soft voice, outwardly devoid of emotion, but with a slightly threatening edge all the same.

Rae laughs and stares at Kay through glazed eyes. "Nowhere and everywhere in between." Rae mumbles, as though reciting a class-room recitation learned by rote years ago and never really forgotten. "A place doesn't need a name to leave a trace in your mind. It doesn't need a form to leave scars that never fade."

Rae shrugs. "I'm not great with names. Maybe it is, maybe not. Maybe I never bother to learn the names of certain places, 'cause that makes them more real." Raegun is muttering softly to Rae in Sebacian. She rises slowly. "Well, wherever the frell we are, let's finish what we need to do here and GO." She hesitates and looks from Spy to Wiz. "What did we need to do here?" she asks, looking confused, as she sinks to the ground once more.

that she should really think before she speaks. She feels horrible that she brushed off Rae's concern about this place as if it was nothing, but Spyral WAS looking concerned. An angry Rae is not something to be taken lightly.

As Spyral and Wiz confer about where exactly they are, Mouse shuffles over to Rae and sits down. Raegun is still humming softly and it seems to have relaxed Rae a little. Mouse pats Rae on the hand and Rae flinches, like she was a mile away in thought.

The Angel also keeping an eye on Rae, replies softly. "I'm not sure but I don't miss by much...usually. I think we are in the area...but I felt something kinda push us. I don't know what it was.

"Okay Spy, I'm going to take a peek with my Crystal in a sec' but I've got a question for you. You mentioned you used to do a "little borrowing" from time to time in your past. Do you still have that ability cuz if you do I think I might have a way to get the Heart Stone into the temple?"

The others start milling around looking at one another, IQ spots Wiz & Spy in conversation and starts to walk over. As IQ walks up Wiz pulls out his Crystal, "Sorry guys but I'm going to need a few seconds to get my mind in gear. Spy do you think you've still got it?"

"Got it? What are you guys talking about?" IQ has a bewildered look on his face. "And Wiz what the heck are you going to do with that crystal. You ARE NOT going to try and move us again!" IQ asks with a shudder.

Wiz shudders and takes a deep breath, "Well folks we did make to Acheron on the Northern Side closest to the temple. That's the good news the bad news is they know we are coming and are prepared."

The others come up to the trio one by one. "It seems that someone has the welcome mat out for us. There are dozens of goblin bands in the area, and some are camped right in front of the temple doors."

Wiz looks around, "They're roasting a unicorn in front of the temple. Unicorns are sacred to the Goddess, they wouldn't dare unless they felt protected. We have got to get in there...something is going on. It has got to be stopped but we can't get anywhere near that nest of filth!"

Rae looks around cautiously, and continues in a voice so quiet that Mouse has to strain to hear her. "Years before I got into Deep-cover Covert Ops, I was part of a Tac-team. Um, Tactical Ops, a lot of search-and-rescue for downed pilots, things like that. Very low-presence, mostly extracting teams from Scarran territory when they got themselves in too deep. I was young and idealistic and fully prepeared to destroy every Scarran I came across. Good at it, too." Rae smiles slightly. "Um, less than a cycle in, we got a special assignment, and I was put with a new team. Mostly older troops, battle-hardened, who'd gotten into extraction much later. I was the baby of the group. Hell, I was team mascot." Rae laughs.

Rae manages a pained grin. "This mission was special. I didn't know that I'd already been marked out by Command. They'd been watching me for cycles, since I was taken. But, um, this was... well, different."

"That's what I thought, but we weren't rescuing fighter-pilots this time. It was a team of scientists. Um, we were never fully briefed, except that they'd been working on a system designed to make worm-hole techs obsolete before we even had them. There was an accident..." Rae trails off and stares at the ground.

Raegun picks up the narrative. "They'd created a dimensional rift and gotten themselves caught in it. Rae's team was sent to extract them, but they hadn't been properly briefed. Only Rae survived."

Rae holds up her left hand and it erupts into flames. She stares at it dully for a minute before shaking the fires out. "I discovered what Command alredy knew about me." She stares at her undamaged hands. "If I'd been trained prooperly in it, the others might have made it. Bastards."

"I told you I never learned it's name? Cycles after I came to Earth, I found one that was fitting. This is Room 101." Rae rises and walks away, ending the conversation.

"Frell." Rae shakes her head. "That's going to be a toughy." She unshoulders her bag and reaches inside, disappearing to almost the waist. She comes back with a six-pack of beer and a bottle of raslac. "And after all, what are friends for if not to get drunk with and plan outrageous acts."

"Plan? Plan won't work. This is my contingency plan." She grins and cracks open the bottle. "Look, I can make us safe here overnight, so we have time to talk and think and prepare ourselves, but it'll take a lot out of me. If I expend enough for twelve arns, I'm not going to be able to use magic against them. BUT, the others will actually be well-rested, and I can fight well enough. It's late. No one's slept, and that's bound to affect our chances. Wiz, Spy, should I go ahead and cast a circle? Guys?"

Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she stood slightly apart from the group, looking toward where the temple should be. *They can't be doing that, Unicorns are sacred!*

She just barely heard Rae's suggestion and turned around to nod her agreement. Kay and Scorpio went over to Chryse and tried to comfort her. "It'll be ok. We'll stop them."

"No it won't. It won't be ok. Everytime a unicorn dies, some of the magic in the world dies, some of the light goes out of the universe forever. We all are diminished in an essential way. They are the guardians of goodness, of light and warmth and love. They embody those traits, in a very real way. They've taken something from us, something precious and good. And we all lose." replied Chryse.

Jila started crying, her power was starting to overwhelm her control. Sensing her problem, Rae pulled together for a second to help Jila concentrate again. Mouse went over to help Rae calm Jila while everyone else started making camp. It was silently agreed that a night's rest would do them all some good.

Once Jila felt under control again, Rae cast the circle around the scoobs. No one felt hungry but they all ate Twig's vegetarian meal that night, knowing they would need their strength in the morning. After eating, most of the scoobs tried to sleep. Both Rae, Spyral, Wiz and Chryse didn't even try. They were still too upset to even to pretend to sleep.

Chryse took out her flute and began to play softly, Rae looked over in irritation, about to chastise Chryse for giving away their position with the music, but shut her mouth without a sound as she recognized the music.

The tune had no name, it never had a name. It was quiet, sad and yet, full of infinite joy. It was a death song, and a song of renewal. It was promise to make things right.

The wards around the scoobs glowed in the night. It did not let out the music beyond the circle, the music would have been inaudible to evil creatures anyway. But other creatures heard it, and were comforted by it. There were few unicorns in the land, and they had been terrified of the goblins when they had killed their friend, but the song renewed their hearts and they slowly came toward the temple, eager to help their new found friend.

The Scoobs had finally fallen asleep to the music, calmed and comforted them as well. Even Jila's powers seemed easier to control while the music played. Rae and Wiz had worked out a plan, or the beginnings of one and turned in to sleep. Spyral gave Chryse a kiss on the cheek and gently reminded her to get some sleep too. Chryse nodded but kept playing on.

She played far into the night. She was still awake when she saw the first of the unicorns come into sight. Nodding to the mystical beast, she finally stopped playing and went to sleep, knowing the others were on their way.

"Just for a little morrale support, this is NOT the first Temple we've ever broken into, or out of, for that matter. I forget for the moment who was with me, but when we were in Mexico, we had a similar event, and got through it just fine."

Spyral nodded as he recalled their breaking into and out of the Temple in Mexico, and remembered they had more Scoobs there, but decided this wouldn't raise the groups' confidence level any, so he kept it to himself.

Mouse initiated a group hug, then they went off to bed. Before she fell asleep, though, Mouse wondered about that brief flash of energy she felt during the hug. She would think on it tomorrow.

The angel stared at the ceiling of the room, listening to the sounds of the steady breathing of the 'Scapers sleeping around him. With the silence of a shadow, the angel rose from the stone floor and made his way quietly towards the door. He paused there, glancing back at his friends.

The angel was rooted into place by fascination as he saw the small heard of unicorns milling about the area outside the room. The silvery moonlight glistened over the coats and manes of the beautiful one-horned beasts. They paused in their grazing to observe the angel, who was observing them. The largest of the group, with a small bluish star above one eye took a step towards the one-winged angel.

*That is why we are here.* the unicorn replied. The unicorn then gave Spyral a respectful nod, which the angel returned, then watched as the angel moved into the shadows, and became one.

Jila looks down the street to her left and there she finds the group heading into one of the buildings. Well it Was odd that they'd let her lay there for so long before yelling but the building wasn't so far away that she couldn't catch up quickly. Jila shrugs and jogs down the street.

"IQ don't............." Wiz yells a warning but it's too late. IQ reaches out to grab Jila's arm, and just as he gets to within two feet of her his hand contacts the magic field around her and zaps him a good one.

"By the look of it," Wiz tries to explain "somebody has tampered with her magic or her mind. By her non-reaction I'd say she can't see any of us." Wiz brings his crystal back up to see if he can see anything different about Jila. When he does, a blinding flash of light comes from the crystal. "Dren!" he growls, quickly covering his eyes. "I might have known"

The Angel hugged the shadows of the stone wall, pausing to listen to a small group of goblins pass by on the other side. He had made it across the town without meeting any resistance, stealthily evading the various groups of roaming guards. The Temple lay on the other side of this wall.

Hearing the grunting voices of the guards fade away in the distance, the angel leaped onto the top of the retaining wall, and silently crouched, scanning the immediate vicinity. No guards.

Looking over the empty courtyard of the temple, then looked over the temple itself, as it rose into the early morning sky. The temple stood at least several hundred feet high. A strange mixture of organic shapes, and odd angles gave its construction a contrasting look to the simple architecture of the area. It looked VERY out of place for this realm.

The angel glanced to his left. He could hear the approach of another roving band of guards. Doubting that he could make it across the open courtyard with enough speed to not be seen, he quickly looked up to the temple, and found a small balcony that appeared to elad into a darkened room. With a flourish, and a small whoosh of air, the angel 'Jaunted' from his perch atop the wall, and reappeared on the balcony, watching as the half-dozen grunting goblins passed by his former perch atop the wall.

He turned and crept to the open door leading out onto the balcony and paused there, listening for any sign of a presence in the room. Detecting none, Spyral made his way in and slowly crept across what appeared to be a music room. Instruments of all kinds littered the room in a haphazard fashion, but all appeared to be covered in a think layer of dust, as if they had not been played for hundreds of years.

Mouse wonders as she looks around an notices that Spyral is gone too. *Why do they feel the need to go of alone all the time! Don't they realize that TOGETHER we are the strongest??*

"Probably." Rae nods acceptance of this fact. "Going off is thier way of saying 'spare them! take me!' Stupid, but I respect the sentiment. Doesn't mean that heads aren't going to roll, but I DO respect it."

"NOT OUT OF ONE OF MY CIRCLES!" Rae yells, shaking her head. She leans close to Chryse and whispers. "No, something else happened here. They must have done something to Raegun and me. And to you. You were up most of the night, too, but we didn't see anything. Any of us."

"They cast spells last night, or possibly before you cast the circle Rae, to split us up. They must have." said Chryse. "The unicorns came to my song. They will help us, but they are frelling us up good. Some of us HAVE to go after Jila. She's very dangerous now and she doesn't even know it."

"You're right. FRELL! We'll have to go after Spyral too, we need him." said Rae. She recalled the feeling of muzziness as she woke up, and realized that it was the after effects of a spell cast on her.

"She's right." said Chryse. "The rest of us can't risk ourselves like that." The other scoobs protested again. "None of us can defend against Jila's power. And it's extremely unpredicatable right now. Rae is the only one of us who even has a chance. But, I will ask one of the unicorns to help you. Don't you even dare to refuse that. If nothing else, they can break the spell Jila is under."

Rae nodded her agreement. Chryse walked toward the herd. One of the unicorns, a mature female separated herself from the others. She bowed her head toward the elf. *I will help your friend* She thought to the group. *Whenever you are ready Rae, I will follow.*

"Good, that's settled, the rest of you go after Spy, maybe one of unicorns knows where he went." said Rae. She gave a quick wave, held Raegun tight and started after Jila, the unicorn right behind her.

A large unicorn stallion, with a blue star on his forehead came up to the group. *I do indeed know where your angel friend went, but he does not want your help.*

The others start looking around the clearing, Mouse points "Look at Max and JaeLithe!" The little white dragon was flying around in frantic circles, Max was darting back and forth. "Meow! Meow!" (Wiz...Wiz,,,Wiz)

Wiz staggered but his stomach flipped over, taking a deep breath against nausea. Wiz stared at the unfamiliar room he was in, he stumbled to his feet caught his balance and managed to right himself against a wall. His hands were chained behind his back, and his mouth was gagged with a cloth.

Wiz tried to remember what had happen, the last he knew he was next to IQ watching Chryse with the unicorns and then...Light flared and he found himself somewhere else entirely.

Making sure there were no enemies about to pounce on him, that did kind of take first priority. Right now "Enemies" included anything or anyone. Wiz wanted get his hands in front and untie the gag in his mouth, then he could make up a spell to get rid of the chains. What to do first?

A light bulb turned on inside his head, he remembered an old childhood game of trying to step through the circle of his own arms with his hands held together. Carefully, trying not to lose his balance, Wiz bent his knees, getting his wrists as low as he could and stretching the chain as far far as it would go. Then slowly Wiz lifted his left foot and tried to push it over the chain links. His toe caught, for a second he teetered, madly trying to keep his balance then fell crashing against the stone wall.

Wiz lay still senses alert for anyone coming, while trying to contain his anger...it wouldn't do any good to let it out anyway. Well now he was on the ground so he had no balance to lose. Wiz pulled his left foot up and through, straightened his leg...now his right. Wiz reached up and pulled the gag out of his mouth. Wiz spit out lint and worked his mouth to bring saliva, moistening his tongue.

Wiz recited a quick spell to make his chains fall off, then inspected the room he was in. When he put his hands on the wooden door, he could feel the magic that held it closed...he knew where he was! Wiz tried to ignore the hollowness in his stomach..."Well at least my hands are free. God, I hope the others are safe?" Wiz couldn't "feel" JaeLithe but knew she was alive and if she was alive so was Max.

"I've got to get this door open." Wiz started reciting a spell, he had scarcely begun before he felt an inimical magical force gathering around. Wiz strained, sweat starting from his brow, but the magic web held him tight! Shaking his head, Wiz tried again...the magical field pressed against him making the hairs on the back of his neck stand, his whole body shaking with tension. "All that is good help me!!!"

The sounds of deep, dark and arcane voices, chanting a foul sounding language, grew louder, as the angel made his way down the corridor. Eerie flashes of energy discharge seemed to bounce around the stone walls in a strobelike effect, that was almost nauseating. The corridor ended in yet another balcony, that looked down over a large room, open to the night sky, which danced with fiery mystical lightning, the heat of which the angel could feel deep inside him, with every flash.

He saw below, what seemed like a thousand goblins, chanting and writhing in time to what could be called a melody, if such a horribly ugly sound could be called music. The smell of blood and rot seemed to permeate the air, and the angel could feel it coating him like a second skin. Never had he witnessed such a display of rancidness. And never, he had to admit to himself, had he ever felt such an incredibly large amount of magical power in one place. Dark, horribly black magic that seemed to defy that anything good and white could exist in the world, seemed to roll over the area in massive waves. Whoever was directing the goblins in their macabre dance, was VERY powerful indeed. Spyral would not be surprised to find that whoever it was, was from the Beyond, or a place very similar to it.

In a dank and fetid cage at the other end of the hall, a large, gleamingly white unicorn, its sparkling golden horn reaching thru the bars of the too-small cage, stood in horrific contrast to the hell-like cacophony surrounding it. A dark substance, that looked too much like spilled blood, surrounded the cage in a splashed circle.

Looking over the crowd of goblins, the angel believed that they were much too wrapped up in their dark ceremony to notice a quick intrusion. The angel glanced back to the cage and focused, initiating a 'Jaunt' that in the next second, had him standing on top of the Unicorns cage.........for a microsecond.

As he became fully material, the top of the cage became fully insubstantial and the angel, wheeling his arms for stability, plummeted to the floor of the cage, where the unicorn once stood. The impact knocked the angel senseless for but a moment, and he attempted to rise to his feet, reaching into his wing for his sword.

Dank and rotting vines rose up from the floor of the cage and bound the angel in the blink of an eye. As he struggled to a position where he could see, the angel watched as the row upon row of goblins turned to face the cage that once held the illusory unicorn, that now held him. Dark laughter and curses now filled the air as they witnessed the now imprisoned angel. Laughter that lasted for only a few seconds, and ceased all at once. The power in the room seemed to magnify times ten, and the angel was sure, for some reason, that the 'host' had arrived.

The heavy dark feeling of the dark magic nearby. Kay kept looking around uneasily as the unicorns led them to where Spy and Wiz were. Worried about Rae and especially Jila, in the state she was in, Kay knew they were headed toward some very evil presences indeed. The head of the unicorns stopped and looked ahead. Kay stared at the huge stone wall ahead. There was pure evil behind those walls. She could feel it. Chryse knew from the unicorn the location of Angel, and that he was in grave danger.

As silent as darkness, the Scoobs climbed trellises and vines and walls, untill they were able to find an open hallway to lead them where they needed to be. Mouse gasped as a figure jumped in front of them. Kay waved her arm immediately, and the goblin froze in space as the Scoobs hurried past. Now, they were in the hallways but, where do they go from here?

Stepping cautiously out into the corridor Wiz spots a reddish light down the dark hallway. As he moves down closer he sees it's a balcony, and he can hear sounds of goblin music. As Wiz moves out onto the balcony he sees what seems like thousands goblins, chanting and writhing in time to what could be called a dance around a cage. The smell of blood and rot seemed to permeate the air, never had he witnessed such a display of rancidness. Dark, horrible black magic seemed seemed to roll over the area in massive waves.

Looking down at the cage Wiz spots the Angel trapped in the cage with cage with dark rotting vines holding him to the floor of the cage. "Lord, this can't be happening...where are the other?" Wiz quickly scans the area but dosen't see any of the other Scoobs in the crowd.

"Well Wiz, do you let a friend die alone..." Wishing he had Tira with him but remembering he left it stuck in the ground, Wiz pulls his Crystal out. Wiz closes his eyes and recites a travel spell...for a moment it seems as if it won't work but in an instant Wiz is besides Angel.

Quickly Wiz recites runic phrase and the vines binding Angel are gone. Wiz smiles at his friend. "Okay Angel, pull out your sword and let's make these goblins wish they had never been born!"

The Angel grins back, "Wiz do you think they'll ever talk or write a ballad about an Angel & Wizard's Last Stand!" Laughing they stand back to back as howling goblins surge towards the cage follwed by what looks like a black cloud.

as possible, not knowing what to do but not wanting to touch the aura that she sees around Jila. When Jila walks through the door of one of the buildings Pandora goes /between/ to Rae who has started down the street in her search for Jila. Pandora's eyes are stark white, and the glittering patterns swirl faster and faster. She lands on Rae's shoulder and twists herself around Rae's neck hoping for comfort.

As Jila walks through the entrance she suddenly finds herself down in the grotto of the Mansion looking at Ragnar's longboat. The voices that echo through the grotto are familiar, Ragnar and 6th. Jila looks back at the entrance, which looks as it should like the doorway of the grotto, and then back at the longboat.

*Ok," Jila shrugs, and starts down the stairs and across the gangplank to the longboat. "So I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and I ended up here. I must have come here for a reason so, if I go onboard maybe it will come to me.* Jila goes up to the pilothouse where 6th and Ragnar's voices are coming from.

"I saw you Sixthy." This is an old arguement but one that neither of them minds. "You haven't yet learned to deal from the bottom of the deck without Me seeing you."

"Yeow!" Jila takes a couple of steps sideways when she sees a rather short, Really ugly being standing beside her. "Where did........? 6th, Rag, " Jila is getting pretty scared about now. It's a goblin and she's pretty sure this one is part of the group that she saw.......... from somewhere. *Darn! Where have I seen goblins lately?* "I don't remember why but you've got to help me kill it, it's dangerous!" The goblin pulls a nastly looking club around in front of it.

"Wuisjtl isuomt" The goblin yells. Only the goblin isn't a goblin, it's Rae. "Jila stop. It's me Rae. I don't know what you're seeing right now but stop. Think, girl, think."

Behind Wiz, Angel starts chanting a weird melodious sound...Wiz is startled as the goblins seem to stop in their tracks and start milling around. Wiz turns around to to look at the Angel who has has a determined look on his face as he chants! "Angel, what are you doing?"

Angel stops chanting for a second and looks at Wiz. "That is the battle chant of the ArchAngels! It was sung as Heaven's Hosts fought Lucifer and the other demons. The goblins and the other evils remember it well!"

Wiz grasps his Blue Crystal tightly in his hand, wishing for the second time he had Tira with him. In that moment Wiz understoond how his anger had been used against him. To leave Tira stuck in the ground and allowing an opening in their defenses. That's how to he got sent to that room and Jila away from the others, to seperate all their strengths at the time they needed them.

Jila veers off to the left, to the direction of the voice. All she finds is a dropped comm. "Frell..." Jila turns around. The 'goblin' raises its club and hits her in the face.

quickly went through the corridors, they heard noises on the other side of the wall. Finally, coming across some big double doors, they pushed them open. There were Spy and Wiz in some sort of cage and goblins everywhere heading right towards them. The group froze for a moment. Kay kept hearing a voice in her head. "Remember your magic." Coming to her senses, she quickly raised her hands and all motion in the room stopped except for the Scoobs. Everything, including the goblins froze in motion. Spy waved and grinned.

you set THESE in a perimiter around the room at intervals of ten square feet." Rae anounces, walking into the room with Jila slung over her shoulders. She hands a small glass bottle to IQ.

"She's taking a nap." Rae mutters, popping the lock and pulling the door opened. She bows regally to Spyral and Wiz as they clmaber out of the cage. "Quickly, please. I'd like to be long gone before they realize we are."

"You don't have to ask me twice," Spyral said as Rae opened the door to the cage. The angel stepped forward, then paused to give a regal bow to the Peacekepper. "Thank you, milady!"

Rae, Wiz, and Spyral made their way carefully across the room, stepping gingerly around the still forms of the goblins. The angel remained tense, and at the ready for the smallest hint of movement from the dark creatures.

"Spy," Rae said. "Line a few of these against the door," she said, handing him several more of her strange explosive bottles. "Little surprise for whoever comes thru first."

Rae tells the Scoobs from the rear of the line, pushing them along while at the same time trying to keep from dropping poor Jila. Poor Kay looks ready to drop.

"Hold it, hold it!" Rae orders. Glancing hastily around, she repositions Jila so that she's only occupying one shoulder, fireman-carry stlye. She scoops Kay up and keeps running. "Hold it, hold it!" she chants to Kay, at some point reverting to Sebacian without even noticing.

"Then FEEL the frelling thing!" Rae shouts. "For Kahleen's sake follow the power lines!" She gives Wiz a shove. "Humans are SO frelling dense! There's not one of us but can't FEEL the power from it, so just focus and tell us where the frell it's coming from!"

"You want to carry these two?" Rae snaps. "I've got my hands full running with them, and what's left of my magic is going straight into Kay so she can hold out that much longer! Now we are wasting valuable time. Close your eyes and GO!"

Wiz sighs and closes his eyes, humoring the tempremental witch. Then he hears it, softly at first, but clear, like Pan's flute. "This way..." he mutters, staggering in the direction of the music without opening his eyes.

Wiz sighs happily. The music from the stone is relieving ever physical pain he feels, easing every sorrow he has ever known. It's so beautiful. He wants nothing more than to stand and listen to it forever.