Jorad was staring so intently at the ring of glowing rock they had just come through, that he stumbled on the uneven floor. Regaining his balance he looked to Corvan. His face was tense, his breath coming in erratic gasps. "Is it much farther? How many more of those do we need to go through? I haven't rested or eaten for long time."

It had been almost impossible to get Jorad to step through the first circle of blue rock. The man had asked for his medallion back so he could flee back to Kadir. In the end, Corvan stepped through to the other side and told Jorad that it would close soon and if he wanted to wait in Kadir for him to return, that would be acceptable, but Corvan was not giving the medallion back. At that choice, Jorad stepped through, but with each successive opening Jorad's fears grew and with each new cavern they navigated he kept insisting he could hear and smell a burak nearby. Corvan knew the large beasts could not come through the portals but since the man's medallion was allowing them safe passage through the labyrinth, there was no way he could let Jorad go back and leave him stranded.

Raising the glow globe between them, Corvan moved forward into the new cavern. Jorad always stayed close to the light. It was about the only way to keep him moving.

Just ahead Corvan caught the glimmer of water and next to the mirror-like pool was the table sized rock. This was where Kate had stolen Tsarek's glowing medallion and had left them no option but to use the tight crawl where Tsarek had broken Corvan's collarbone to set him free. "I recognize this place," Corvan said as he approached the rock and sat down. "Let's take a short rest. Hopefully the next blue ring will not appear right away."

"Is the water safe to drink?" Jorad moved towards the pool. "Still water can make you ill and it smells like something died in here."

Corvan looked across the water, expecting to see the severed arm of the Volisk still floating on the surface, but there was nothing there. "It might be best if we didn't drink it." Corvan reached in under his cloak and brought out the skin full of the special drink Saray sent with him. He held it out to Jorad. "Try some of this."

Jorad sat on the stone table with a deep frown on his face. "I've been telling you for the last while I needed a drink. I suppose you were keeping it for yourself."

"I was saving it until we got to a room I recognized. We shouldn't have far to go from here and it will give you energy to get to the end."

Jorad took water skin, uncorked it and tested the fluid with his tongue. His eyebrows raised as he took a longer drink. "Where did you find this?" he asked, wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve.

"Someone gave it to me for the journey home."

Jorad nodded and tipped the skin back, draining its contents and wringing the last drops from the skin. "A distinctive flavor. There was an old woman used to sell this drink at the market in Kadir, but that was before the lumiens failed. I would imagine she is long gone now." He studied Corvan's face as he handed the wrinkled skin back to Corvan.

Ignoring the implied question, Corvan took the skin back and tucked it back in his tunic. Jorad's drinking all the juice without sharing was irritating enough, but the man's memory of the drink's creator might eventually lead him to Saray in Kadir. That was the last place he wanted Jorad to go.

Swiveling about, Jorad pulled his legs onto the stone and lay back. "You said it wasn't far. Exactly how many more rings must I go through? I'm certain that magic is having a negative effect on me."

"I'm not sure. We skipped a few of the rings the last time and came through the water into this place instead."

"You and Kate?" Jorad murmured from behind closed eyes.

Corvan stiffened. He wasn't going to bring up Tsarek now. "Kate was here." He looked at the pillar of rock his clothesline had been tied to. She had left through the wall they had just entered from but where would the portal back to the surface be? They might not have long to get through it once it opened.

The last bits of light settled to the bottom of the ball and Corvan stood to his feet, listening any sound of water lapping against the rocks. He didn't like this place and the memory of being dragged through the water by the long arms of the smaller Volisk.

"What is it?" Jorad whispered. "Is something there?"

As if to answer the man, a faint blue glow appeared around a corner away from the water.

"The next ring has appeared. We need to keep moving."

Groaning, Jorad shook the light, then swung his legs off the table. "I'll carry it for now. I need to see where my feet are going."

Corvan headed in the direction of the blue glow with Jorad trailing along behind. The man ran forward and fell in beside Corvan.

"We're being followed," Jorad whispered.

Corvan stopped and listened, but the only sound was Jorad's heavy breathing.

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Jorad touched his shoulder and leaned in close. "It's not a burak. It's one of the smaller creatures. I could hear claws on stone. We can defend ourselves against one but if more of them join it and they are hungry, we could be in danger." He held out a hand. "It would be best if you returned my knife to me."

Corvan stepped away. "I don't hear anything." He studied the shadows around the water and stone table. Claws on stone could possibly be Tsarek. He wouldn't put it past him to have found his way back to this room through the long tunnel they had crawled through. Tsarek wasn't one to take no for an answer.

"Let's keep moving." Corvan raised his voice. "Hi-ho Silver away."

"What did you say?" Jorad peered at him past the light from the globe.

"We say that at my home when we want to hurry along."

Jorad grunted and gestured for Corvan to take the lead.

Corvan didn't like being ahead of the man in the dark, but at least if Tsarek were following, he would understand that Corvan knew he was there.

Moving on around the bend, the glimmer of the next blue ring appeared and Jorad groaned behind him. Corvan moved quickly through it and didn't bother looking back to encourage Jorad along.

The next three caverns truly earned the designation of a labyrinth with multiple pathways that went in many directions and channels that lead up and down. They would have become lost except for an odd chirping that would direct them along each time they arrived as a crossroads.

"What's that noise?" Jorad asked.

"It sounds like what we call crickets. Just black bugs," Corvan replied, but the more logical answer was that Tsarek was keeping them from getting lost.

Following the chirps, they emerged into a wider room where a blue ring beckoned. This this time it was Jorad who stepped through first. "I can hear running water and I need a drink," the priest said.

Stepping through, Corvan was overjoyed to see the reflection of a flowing pool on the far side of a small cavern. Jorad was already on his knees, drinking deeply. They were finally back below the castle rock in his backyard.

Corvan glanced back through the blue opening, but Tsarek did not appear. He looked to where the final entry under the castle rock should be, but the passage was dark. Maybe it wasn't the medallion opening the rings after all. Maybe it was Tsarek, and the lizard would have to join them in this room for the final door to open.

Jorad finished drinking and came away from the water to lean up against a slanted boulder that faced away from the blue ring they had just enter through. "I need to rest. I can't go any further. You can wake me when you are ready to go on." The man placed the glow globe on the ground between his knees.

Corvan walked over to the cavern wall and sat down across from Jorad. He would let the man fall asleep and then go to his house. By the time Jorad woke up he would be back with the scepter, and Jorad would be rested enough for the trip back to the Cor.

The blue ring they had come through slowly closed, leaving only soft light from the globe lighting up the reclining form of Jorad.

"I will let the light rest," the man said. "They only last so long, and if it died completely, we would be defenseless in the darkness. Not a good idea if that creature is still tracking us, especially since you will not let me have my knife to defend myself." The man busied himself a moment, then tossed something at Corvan's feet. "You might as well put it back in the scabbard, so you don't cut yourself by accident. That knife is extremely sharp."

Corvan bound the scabbard back on his arm and slipped the knife inside. Flexing his forearm, he felt the bands tighten against his muscles. Even though he knew there was no danger of being attacked, the possession of the black knife gave him a sense of personal power, a feeling that he was in charge both of the situation and himself.

"I also want my medallion back as you promised," Jorad stated. "I can't take the chance that you will open the next door while I sleep and leave me here to die. If I have it with me, you will need to wake me to go on."

Corvan wanted to protest but what would be the point. Corvan knew the feeling that everyone was out to take advantage of you. Getting to his feet, he dropped the medallion back into Jorad's outstretched hand and the man looped it round his neck, then closed his eyes and leaned back against the slab of rock.

The glow globe at Jorad's feet was fading off when the glint of metal near the water caught Corvan's eye. Something was hidden amidst a tatter of cloth and long sticks. It was Tsarek's hobo bundle that had been left behind when they had been pulled into the water and down to the lower level. Smaller creatures had devoured whatever had been eatable and left the metal object behind. What else had Tsarek been taking back to the Cor? Most likely just another trinket from his pantry.

Corvan took a step towards it. The gravel crunched underfoot and Jorad mumbled in his sleep. Corvan stood still as the pinpoints of light sank to the bottom and went out. He listened intently to any sound nearby. If Tsarek was with them in the cavern, he wasn't moving. The only sound was the steady rhythm of Jorad's breathing. The man had already fallen asleep.

Blue light ebbed up the channel to Corvan's right. The final door was open which meant that Tsarek must be waiting for him. Leaving Jorad behind Corvan moved quietly away from the water.

The blue ring was fully formed but Tsarek was nowhere to be seen. Corvan stepped over the threshold and watched through the ring. He was finally back home and this time his next steps were crystal clear — find the scepter, return with Jorad to the Cor, then rescue Kate and his father.

But his feet refused to move. The thought of meeting his mother just beyond the cellar door stopped him in his tracks. If he asked his mother to give him the scepter to save his father and Kate, his mother would ask to go back with him and how could he possibly argue with her? Not only was she his mother, but she was also from the royal family of the Cor and would have her own thoughts on what they should do.

The blue hole closed off beside him and Corvan caught sight of his reflection in the glossy rock. Putting a hand on either side of the smooth glass, he stared into it. Now that his hair had grown out, the face looking back at him resembled his father more than the young boy who would pretend he was a superhero on the castle rock above. Back then he had imagined how exciting it would be to save the world, but things were completely different now that the fate of an entire civilization was upon his shoulders,

His life had been turned upside down. He was no longer a scrawny uncertain kid from a small town in the middle of nowhere. His parents didn't belong to the surface world and neither did he.

He drew in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. It was time to move on and begin the final quest of the journey.

As he turned toward his home, the stone shook under his feet, as if a giant were ripping the castle rock out of the earth by its very roots.

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