I awoke into the painful existence of the heat.

"Hawk, wake up. We have to move you out of here fast if we don't all want to get caught."

It was the voice of Ahmahl. I opened my eyes and saw to my amazement the faces of Ahmahl and Ahmail. My wrists and ankles were unfettered. I sat up in wonder, then laid down again in agony.

"He's too weak on his own, just as Moonflame suspected. Give him the drug."

A liquid, cool and soothing, entered my throat and I instantly felt some strength returning to my body. I tried again to sit and this time found myself on my feet. Ahmahl and Ahmail supported me and led me to a bridge entrance only a few yards away. As I neared it, I had the immediate feeling of distance one gets from looking through a spy glass, only amplified. This bridge led to a world other than the Carousel.

"Where?"

"Never mind, just get in. Master Moonflame expended much energy preparing this escape. Let's not waste it."

With that, I was thrown onto the bridge and, supported by the air, was whisked into nowhere.

A moment later, and several dimensions away, I fell into the arms of Moonflame, then collapsed into a dreamless sleep that lasted several days.

"... coming out of it now. He's going to be all right."

I slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust slowly to the light. Moonflame was over me.

"Where am I?"

"You're safe. Don't worry over the details right now, just suffice it to say that we are safe from all who would harm you."

"But my ring."

"It's here. I stole it from the Dark One myself. You'll be ready to wear it again soon. In your condition now, it just might overcome you. Now get some rest. But before you go to sleep, I want you to know that I am proud of the way you fought. We all are. We watched, shall we say, from a distance. Now sleep."

"But Majestrix...."

"Is safe. Now sleep, before I have to drug you."

I slept another day before awakening under a green sky.

"Neverwhere."

"Yes, Neverwhere. It's the only place that I could think of to camp and rest."

I turned to face Moonflame. He was smiling at me.

"You left me to die!"

"No. You were under some sort of spell. I tried to break it, but we had to leave, or else they would have gotten us, too. I felt the shadow demons and demondarcs about three minutes before they hit you. I barely had time to form a bridge to this place. We tried to reach you, but you were fading away. I grabbed the sword, headband, and necklace. I didn't know about the ring. They are here."

He spread his hands. On the ground at his knees were my boltstones. I took them and it seemed as though Majestrix hummed then, though I may have still been groggy. I placed the ring on my finger, and felt a surge of heat. I jumped a bit, then it faded.

"It burned me."

"No, it is just making sure that no one but you will ever remove it again. That flame is a vein running from the ring into your hand. No one can remove the ring now but you. It did that because you used it. It had been dormant until the time you focused through it. Now it will never be used by anyone else. The same will probably be true of the headband. Come here and eat."

He held out a hand to help me up. The hand seemed frail. I looked into his eyes for a moment. They were red with weariness.

"This will strengthen you a bit, though all you really need is rest. Now eat it. I have some work to do while we're here."

He walked off around a tent that the brothers were setting up and disappeared from view. I looked around for Inhar, but couldn't see him, either. I ate.

A minute later, Inhar came from the back of the tent and sat down next to me.

"I just wanted to say that you fought well against the shades. You have learned well what Moonflame has taught you."

"Is he all right? He doesn't look good."

"You were held by the Dark One for five days. You have slept here, almost comatose, for seven more. Moonflame has slept none since that first night. He's in the tent now, asleep. You have a good friend in him."

"I know. We're not moving from camp until he is well."

"We had no intentions of moving, regardless of what you were to say. It's good you agree with us."

We laughed, and I felt better for it. We were a family now, the five of us. There on Neverwhere, the Carousel didn't exist for us. It was a time for a long needed rest.

We had been there a week when I first noticed the disturbing feeling of being watched. I looked toward the woods at the east side of camp. I thought I saw some rustling of the bushes, but I wasn't sure. I went to tell Moonflame. He was not in the tent.

"Inhar, where is Moonflame? He's not in the tent."

"He left early this morning while you were getting water. He said he had some overdue business to take care of. I haven't seen him since."

"Did he say how long he would be gone?"

"No, just that he might not be back for dinner."

"Do you feel like we're being watched?"

"No. It's just your imagination acting up. A natural reaction. I felt the same way two days ago, but Moonflame said it was nothing to worry about. He said it was just the strangeness of Neverwhere having its effect on our systems."

"I could have sworn I saw something out there. Maybe it was just the wind." Saying this, I looked at the smoke from the fire rising straight up into the sky like a grey stone column. There was no wind.

All during the day, I had the continued feeling of being watched. I kept looking toward the woods, but saw nothing. When time for dinner came, Moonflame was not in sight. The four of us ate in silence. All of us were noticeably on edge. We did not speak while we ate, and when we went to our tents afterward, we did not discuss a watch at all.

I lay down and went almost immediately to sleep. I dreamed again of the strange woman. I dreamed of a child. I dreamed of Sharmayn. I dreamed of dying. I awoke with Moonflame shaking me.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I was merely dreaming."

"That must have been some dream. Now get up and straighten yourself. We have company I want to introduce you to."

I stood and donned my jerkin and cloak. I laced Majestrix's scabbard to my belt and put the headband on my head. I stepped from the tent into bright firelight. I could see shadows beyond the flames, but could not see features. Moonflame came forward and, with elaborate bows, introduced his "company".

"Gentlemen and lady, this is Hawklok of the Rebuilt Cities, former apprentice to Karnelian. As you see, he wears the boltstones. Hawklok, these are some friends of mine from my peoples' exile time here on Neverwhere. They have been watching you for most of the time you have been here and have agreed to help us. General Ponnph'r."

Ponnph'r was a tall, muscular man with the distinct features of the people of Qyn. At his side was a large, two-handed broad sword. He extended his hand in greeting. I accepted, and my hand was almost crushed by the strength of his grip.

"How do you do, Hawklok. I knew Karnelian. I respected him and all of his friends. I'm sure the same will be true of you, from what Moonflame tells us. I'm honored to fight under you."

"Lieutenants Gar, L'gan, and C'ang Ling."

These three were triplets, identical in all respects.

"Not all respects, Master. I am left-handed, L'gan is right handed, and C'ang Ling is ambidextrous. Also, we can all three read thoughts. We can always 'talk' to each other perfectly, but our power to talk with others is limited to speech. We all give our loyalty to you."

They stepped off to the left, as Moonflame called on Hiachmal Truth, a small man of medium build. As he approached, he pulled his short sword in salute.

"I salute you, Hawklok, as I would salute Karnelian himself. All of my thieving and battle skills are yours to use. Do not let my stature fool you. Karnelian taught me the Arts long before he gave the Elderonians the boltstones. I still might be able to win over Moonflame in a fist fight."

"We'll see about that, Truth, but for now we both need to stay in good condition. Finally, there is Myranda the sorceress."

She came into the light slowly, almost gliding over the ground. She was astoundingly beautiful and almost familiar, as if I had seen her in someone else's dream.

"What is wrong?"

"It's you, Myranda. I've met you before."

"No, we've never met. Karnelian taught me himself when I was but a little girl. I dare say that I am as powerful now as he was when he taught me. But something else troubles you about me. What is it?"

I couldn't share my dreams.

"It's nothing. Just your power. I've never felt any so strong. Not even Karnelian...."

"Karnelian could control his aura. I am not that powerful yet. Don't let my power frighten you, for it is for your use, I promise you."

I didn't care. The mystical energies I felt around her were enormous. They rivaled Moonflame's own eldritch magic. I shivered, and I know she felt it. But there was something else felt as well, something hidden.

The others stood there waiting and I realized that I was supposed to say something.

"I thank you all. Your aid will be much appreciated. I'm sorry I'm not as good with words as Karnelian was, but I know he is with us. You all know what we must eventually face. I hope you are as well prepared as you look."

"We are prepared for all, Sir Hawklok. Where you lead, we will follow."

"Brave words for a woman," said Moonflame, "but, then again, you are no normal woman, are you?"

"As you well know. When do we leave?"

"Two weeks time. Until then, rest and prepare. Be with your families. I will get the devices from the Caves. Go."

As they left, I thought about what he had said.

"What devices? What caves?"

"Not 'what caves', the Caves. It is an archives of sorts. The Caves actually exist in a parallel dimension from ours that Neverwhere crosses occasionally. Two days hence, the planes will meet and we must go down into the Caves and, shall we say, procure a few devices that might be effective against the Dark One. These devices are of a different magic not based on our own forms of the arcane arts. Since he has never been assaulted by them, perhaps the Dark One has no defense against them. Let us hope so. Now, eat. It's lunch time already."

We ate a small lunch of rabbit and quail. All the while, I pondered on the Caves and what might await us there. Terrible visions of the past loomed in my head as distinct possibilities. Everyone knew of the creatures that used to be men who became too knowledgeable and destroyed the world they lived on, creating the Carousel. Legends were told of survivors of these lost races, and I did not like what I remembered of them. Physically powerful, frightful to behold, and merciless fighters, the Remnants were not to be encountered if possible. I expressed my fears to Moonflame.

"There is nothing to fear from the legends, Hawk. They are nothing more than legends. Trust me. In all my years of travel, I have yet to come across one Remnant, yet alone the hundreds that are supposed to survive on the Carousel."

It was at this point that I realized that I did not know Moonflame's age. He seemed to speak of countless ages of wanderings, and, certainly, his teachings reflected such, but his apparent age was that of a young adult, perhaps only seven years older than I. His power and magic, though, were of ancient and timeless descriptions. I was about to ask him about this when he turned to look at me. His hair hung into his face a bit, and the shadows it created looked like wrinkles of decrepit age. As he looked at me, I realized that his look was a warning not to ask the question my mind was voicing

He turned away after just a second, and walked into the woods. I did not follow. No one saw him for the rest of the day, nor half of the next.

At camp, we made ourselves busy preparing for our journey to the Caves. We didn't know how long we would be gone or how far away the Caves were, so we prepared for the worst. The brothers hunted constantly for a day, returning to camp only once to drop their spoils. Inhar skinned and cleaned the food, hoping for it to dry a bit before we left. I packed two of the tents away, and started packing the saddle bags for the horses the people of Neverwhere had left for us. After that, I climbed up the hill behind us to see Neverwhere. The sight was astonishing.

As far as I could see, the ground was covered in red and gold grasses. A mile or so away, I saw a stream rushing over a waterfall into a pool of deep blue. Above, clouds floated gracefully through the blue-green sky to the horizon. The suns rained down a warm golden light on the whole valley. In the distance, I could see a flock of birds winging their way away from me. It was paradise.

As I stood in utter disbelief of the world around me, I slowly became aware of the arm around my waist. Startled, I turned to look into the wide open eyes of Myranda. There was calm in those eyes, an almost hypnotic quality that grabbed at the mind. I was enthralled by them, and also by her beauty. I turned to face her, both arms around her. She looked up into my eyes and, instead of the power I had sensed earlier, it was a pleading I now felt. Our faces came slowly together and we kissed for a long time. After we broke the kiss, she still hung on me, facing the waterfall in the distance.

"It's fantastic, isn't it?" she asked.

I nodded agreement. I wasn't sure whether she meant the view or the emotions boiling within the both of us, but I could agree with either one. We stood there a while longer, holding each other as if it would be the last time. There were many times like this to follow in our future, but none this intense.

"Is something bothering you, Myranda? You're shivering."

"No, nothing is wrong. I'm just thinking about your journey to the Caves. They are a strange and ancient place. They should not be disturbed. I don't know exactly what the old magic was, but Karnelian spoke of the powerful but self-destructive forces of the magics used in the old world. I don't know what forces, what gods, will be awakened if those magics are released. The old world was one of evil and destruction. The Dark One is powerful as it is, but, if the Dead Gods were to join him, their power would become immense. Nothing would stop them. Nothing could."

"But the Dead Gods are alive and well; at least according to Moonflame they are. That is where his powers come from. We have nothing to fear from them."

"I pray you are right, Hawk."

We held each other still as the suns set. Then, as Myshella rose to her ever-watchful position, Myranda pulled me to the ground. We made love all night, not caring what gods were watching, feeling ourselves as gods equal and surpassing in power those we were so fervently frightened of.

Moonflame returned at noon of the next day, laden with a sack of various herbs. Myranda and I tried to talk to him, but he seemed withdrawn, as if preparing for the trip mentally as well as physically. He spent most of the rest of the afternoon sorting through the herbs, separating red from gold, blue from green, and brown from black. Myranda and I watched in silence for some time before leaving for dinner.

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