The Ruby Guardian

Emriana's heart nearly skipped a beat.

Junce Roundface stood in the middle of the intersection, having simply appeared there. Blessedly, he faced away from the two intruders, and the moment he showed up, he began walking, his boots clicking loudly on the paving stones of the hallway.

He had not seen them.

The girl held her breath as the assassin strode away from her, down the hall and out of sight around a corner. It was only after she let herself exhale again that she realized she had one of the throwing daggers in her hands. She decided to keep it out.

'Come on,' she hissed to Pilos, who looked as pale and shocked as she felt. 'That's Junce. We have to follow him!'

The Abreeant nodded, and silently the pair darted forward, cutting through the intersection with a cursory glance in either direction. Emriana tried to remain as quiet as she could, but behind her, Pilos's every footfall brought a scuff or click that was driving the girl crazy.

He's even breathing too loud, she thought.

He's doing the best he can, Hetta chided, nearly making Emriana jump. Her grandmother had been strangely silent for so long, the girl had almost forgotten she was with them. Without his spells, you would never have made it this far.

Chagrined, Emriana answered, I know. I'm just scared.

She turned, halted Pilos, put her mouth to his ear, and whispered, 'Try to roll your feet with each step, heel to toe, heel to toe.' She felt the young man nod, and she continued on her way. After her advice, the priest's steps were quieter.

When they reached the turn Junce had taken, Emriana pulled up again. She peeked around it cautiously, afraid to expose too much of herself to anyone watching. The new passage ended only a short distance away, as an open doorway. Beyond the wide doorframe, Emriana could see the bars of several prison cells. The whole place was lit with flickering torches.

It was the same chamber from her vision.

Emriana drew her head back and looked at her companion. 'That's it,' she mouthed to Pilos, motioning around the corner.

The young priest nodded and peeked around; then he drew back. Holding up one finger as a sign for Emriana to wait a moment, he reached inside his doublet and removed a scroll. He glanced at it then nodded in seeming satisfaction. He leaned close, putting his mouth to Emriana's ear and said, 'A spell to handle pesky guards. Very quick.'

The girl smiled appreciatively at Pilos and turned back. Taking another deep, calming breath, she peered around the turn once more then stepped out. She padded step by step closer to the doorway, her arm cocked back, dagger at the ready.

Don't miss.

At the doorway, Emriana pressed herself to one side, peering in all directions. The room was square, but the central corridor that ran among the cells was laid out in a T shape. The entrance where she stood would have been at the base of the T. There was no sign of Junce, a fact that almost filled her with dread more than relief. She tried to scan every corner, every cranny in the prison, but the whole place seemed empty. Even the cells appeared to be unoccupied, though she couldn't be sure, for they were cloaked in deeper shadows.

Frowning, Emriana stepped into the room.

In one corner, she spotted the table from her scrying. Xaphira's clothing and equipment were still haphazardly scattered across its surface. The girl's heart raced, filled with hope.

She pointed to it, and Pilos nodded. He still held his scroll in his hands, unfurled, ready to be used in an instant.

Summoning all of her courage, Emriana took another step into the room, then another. She made her way to the table, her dagger still held high, drawn back for throwing. When she reached the wooden slab, she tentatively reached out, feeling the items, wanting to make sure they were real.

A groan, soft and muffled, issued from a cell to the girl's right.

Emriana spun, staring in that direction. 'Aunt Xaphira?' she called out before she could stop herself. She froze, listening. Beside her, Pilos craned his neck forward, trying to see into the corner cell.

'You might as well come in and join us, Em,' Junce said, his voice carrying from the shadows in the deepest part of the cell. 'That's what your aunt calls you, isn't it?'

Emriana froze, her heart sinking. She half turned to flee again then stopped, rage filling her.

No.

'Show yourself, you worm,' she said aloud. She stormed forward, trying to spot the assassin where he hid. 'Or are you really scared of one helpless girl?' Do something, Pilos, she thought desperately as she moved toward the cell, before he thinks to pay any attention to you.

Junce laughed, and she saw him, reclining against the corner, inside the cell. Another form lay at his feet, pale and naked in the dim light of the torches.

Aunt Xaphira.

The dagger was sailing forward, passing between the bars of the cell, before Emriana even realized what she had done. Her aim was true. The blade was spinning directly toward Junce's chest.

He reached up and snagged the blade out of the air.

'Actually, you have proven to be the most resourceful in your family, Em,' Junce said, his voice filled with mirth. 'I've had more trouble dealing with you than the rest of them combined.'

Using the very dagger that Em had unwittingly provided him, Junce reached up and sliced through a thin cord that ran through the cell. As it snapped, the girl saw motion out of the corner of her eye. A black cloth was rising, itself being pulled by a cord attached to counterweights. Behind the cloth, she caught a flash of light, though it was not magical.

A reflection.

In the heartbeat of time it took Emriana to realize she was looking into a mirror, she found herself in the grip of its magic. There was the briefest of tugs, and suddenly she was in a small, lightless space. Four walls, a floor, and a ceiling, all surrounded her, all within arm's reach. She was trapped in a box.

She huddled, naked, alone, imprisoned.

Everything-the Generon, Pilos, her clothing, the ruby ring with Grandmother Hetta inside-was gone.

There was the faint sound of Emriana's name being called then a window appeared, at first very far away, overhead. It seemed to enlarge, to zoom close to her, becoming one wall of her tiny prison. She could see Junce through that clear, solid barrier, still standing in the cell of the jail room in the Generon, looking at her.

Emriana tried to push against the window, but it was still as solid a barrier as the darkness before it had been.

Junce laughed. 'It's quite a mirror, isn't it? I hope you like it, because you're going to spend a long, long time in there.'

And the window was receding, growing ever so tiny, until it winked out completely, leaving Emriana alone in the darkness once more.

The sound of her scream echoed in her own ears.

Vambran and Arbeenok dashed out into the street to find people running in panic. As one man went sprinting by, a look of horror on his face, Vambran grabbed him by the arm and spun him around.

'What is it?' the lieutenant demanded. 'What's wrong?'

'The plague!' the man cried, yanking his arm free and running off again. 'The Rotting Plague has returned!'

Arbeenok, who had remained in dog form until that moment, transformed back into his natural shape. 'The great death,' he said.

'What?' Vambran said, spinning to look at his companion. 'What do you mean?'

'My vision. Remember? I foresaw a great death, and in my divinations, I saw that it began in a great city. It seemed that I might find a way to prevent it, but I did not know what it would be, so that is why I have come here with you. Now I know. We must find a way to stop this plague before it spreads.'