Neira paused for a moment, sword in hand, then charged forward. She glanced to either side as she ran. The other eight bandits had come from behind her. Was their camp surrounded? How many more would there be? Neira steeled herself for a fight, she couldn't let everyone down again. These bandits left their weapons sheathed, they had not come for a fight. Swift as a pack of wolves, they loosed the camels, and led them off toward the dark mountains.

"No! Stop!"

Neira raced after them, but stumbled in the darkness. Tawny shot forward, easily overtaking one of the strangers. She tore a chunk from his leg, and he collapsed with a scream. Another bandit turned and whipped his blade out to fend her off. She lunged toward him, sidestepping his strike, but the man on the ground had retrieved his own weapon and attacked from behind her.

"Tawny look out!"

Neira reached the fray just as the bandits' blade bit deep into Tawnys' hind leg. Neira plunged her sword into the mans' chest and dropped beside Tawny with a sob. Her hands shook as she looked over the wound.

"It's going to be alright, Tawny." Neira bawled.

She scoured her surroundings for anything to help stop the bleeding, her vision blurred and her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Akua rushed to her side, having dispatched the two bandits he was fighting. He set a hand on Neiras' shoulder, and knelt beside her in the blood soaked sand.

"I can cauterize the wound, that will stop the bleeding, but it will still take her some time to heal."

Neira nodded, tears still streaking down her cheeks. Akua held a hand over the wound, there was a flash of red light. Tawny whimpered, Neira stroked her soft feathers, murmuring reassurances. With the blood staunched, Akua gently scooped Tawny into his arms and carried her back to the others.

All the bandits that had attacked had been slain, but it was far from feeling like a victory. The sand was drenched with blood and littered with the dead. Dyric hunched over his wife, his face twisted with worry and pain. He pressed the rag hard against the gash through which her life drained. She had fainted, and her pallid skin left her looking little different from the corpses surrounding them.

"Assem!" Neira cried rushing forward. "I couldn't get to the camels fast enough- I'm so sorry..."

She looked up at Akua, her voice small and tremulous.

"Can you help her?"

Akua nodded, and set Tawny in the sand beside them. He put a gentle hand on Dyrics' shoulder.

"May I?"

Dyric nodded, and shifted to the side, clutching Assems' hand.

"If you can help her-" his voice broke, he stroked Assems' pale cheek. "Please, please do whatever you can."

Akua nodded and held his hand over the wound. The flash of red light elicited cries of surprise. Wide eyes were fixed on Akua, everyone in stunned silence.

"I've stopped the bleeding, but she's already lost a lot of blood. There's no way she can travel all the way to Nopriat until she recovers."

Akua turned and conjured a fire that hovered above the sand near Assem.

"How is this possible?" Morai inched toward the flames, tense eyes flicking between them and Akua.

"No man can do what you've just done." Dyric said quietly "However it is that you have done it, I am grateful."

Akua nodded to him and a hush overtook them for a long moment. A crack sounded and their attention turned to Pacumi, who groaned as he ripped the pieces of arrow from his thigh.

"If yer feelin' genrous," He hissed through gritted teeth "I could sure use sum a that glow hand magic ta stop this bleedin."

With a soft chuckle, Akua obliged and he was pulled over to the fire as well. Cuzew and Morai slid over, next to Assem.

Dyric furrowed his brow and stood.

"If we have to wait here for days then we'll be needing our supplies back. Morai, you look after everyone here."

Morai nodded mutely, arms draped around her weeping son. Neira stood as well, wiping the tears from her face.

"It's my fault they got away. I'll come with you to help get everything back."

Dyric shook his head.

"Zora, no offense, but I don't think that's a good idea. I appreciate the offer- but you'd be a liability."

"I won't, I swear! Please, at the very least you will need help to lead all the camels back."

With another sigh, Dyric relented.

"Fine, let's hurry then."

Akua climbed to his feet with a grin.

"I suppose I'll have to come along too, it's getting pretty dark. I imagine you'll need a light."

He gave a wink and conjured a ball of flame in his hand. Dyric shook his head, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Perhaps along the way you can tell me more about how any of what you've done tonight is possible."

"It's quite simple actually." The light from the flames cast an eerie glow over his grin. "I'm a fire demon."

With that statement hanging over the silence, he turned and started off in the direction the bandits had taken. Neira followed, coming up alongside him.

"You know, you have a lot in common with the Goddess Zyree." She muttered with a look of amusement.

Akua laughed, his eyes glowing brighter in the darkness.

"It seems fitting, considering she was the one who created me. Perhaps she infused a little of her flair for the dramatic."

"Is that something they often do? Infuse their characteristics into their creations?"

"Truthfully, I never thought to ask. But it's equally likely that I just spent far too much time around her." He smirked at her. "Habits like that can be quite contagious you know."

Dyric came up beside them and they set off, pausing to retrieve Neiras' sword before picking up the trail of camel prints. They walked in silence, their focus on the faint traces left in the sand, until they reached the mouth of a cave.

"Great," Neira muttered "more caves."

Dyric cocked an eyebrow at her. She shook her head with a dour laugh.

"Long story."

Akua snickered and dimmed the light in his hand.

"I thought your last cave ended rather well."

Neira rolled her eyes at him crinkling her nose with a small grin. The trio crept forward down into the bowels of the mountain. There was light ahead, flickering torches that cast eerie shadows. The cave dropped lower as it twisted inward and opened wide. It was a huge stone warren, filled with treasures like a dragons' horde. Laughter echoed from the space before them, in the center of the piles of valuables were the three bandits and their stolen camels. Raucous laughter filled the cave as they dug through the packs, and reveled in their latest spoils.

"What have we got this time boys?"

A new figure appeared from behind a pile, his face obscured. The dry gravelly voice rang in Neiras' ears and left her pulse thumping. Her jaw clenched and she leapt up, ready to rush forward. Akua grabbed her hand, yanking her back down out of sight.

"What are you doing?" He hissed "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Neiras' eyes burned as she stared down at the man who had slaughtered her parents. She trembled with fury. Dyric shook his head with a sigh.

"Look Zora, I really think it would be best if you just find somewhere to hide. You can help us with the camels after, but we can't afford to be protecting you if you freeze up down there."

Neira glowered down at the man, not trusting her voice. Angry tears welled up in her eyes. Akua still held her wrist, and gently tugged her back up the tunnel.

"Give us a minute, Dyric."

With an impatient grunt he assented. Once out of earshot, Akua turned to Neira and put his hand on her shoulder.

"You ok?"

His hand was soft and warm on her shoulder, his gaze intense and concerned.

"There is no shame in hiding-"

"Of course there is!" Neira hissed furiously "All my life I've been a coward that had to rely on someone else to save me because I can't!"

Her face burned and she looked away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. He turned her face back, his voice just above a whisper.

"You are not a coward. You've been forced into unfair situations from the time you were a helpless child."

A heavy pause hung in the air. He looked down, shifting a bit.

"I used to watch you sometimes," he said "with the goddesses. I always thought you were incredibly strong, going through all of the suffering you did."

He peered up at her and she had loosened her stance, her arms going slack. Her voice was tentative.

"Did you see that man Who came in just now? The leader?"

Akua nodded. Neira bit her lip, fighting to steady her breath.

"He killed my parents. That's the man who sold me into slavery, and destroyed everything I knew and loved." Her voice shook "I watched as he and his men killed nearly everyone in my village and took the rest to be slaves."

Her lips were pressed in a tight line and she looked away, scrubbing the tears from her cheeks. Akua stayed silent, and waited for her to speak again.

"I hate that I always seem to freeze up. I want to fight, to protect myself, to protect my friends."

She looked at him again, face ridden with anguish.

"Hey, it's going to be ok. Remember what I told you, huh? You're not alone anymore. There's nothing wrong with getting help sometimes, and it's ok if you aren't ready to face him yet."

Neira shook her head.

"I need this. I'm ready to face him, it's time he pays for everything he took."

Akua nodded.

"Dyric and I should be fine to handle the others. Do you want me to lift the glamor for this?"

"It's been years, he'd never recognize me. I'm just one of who knows how many. It won't matter how I look."

Akua nodded and together they crept back down to where Dyric was waiting.