the creature growing within her womb. 'I accept your terms,' she said.
'Of your own free will?'
'No one within this chamber coerces me,' the alu responded. 'No one compels me to say these words, nor do they manipulate me in any fashion. The decision is my own, freely given and without remorse.'
Another blinding flash of light slammed Aliisza. She wanted to scream, but couldn't. The forbidding tower vanished, leaving her floating in the gray void once more before her body seemed to explode into a million pieces.
CHAPTER FIVE
The smell of sweet summer grass wafted into Aliisza's nostrils. She could feel a carpet of it beneath her, soft and warm. The scent was pure, almost overwhelming. It made her heady with arousal. The sun shone down upon her, not too hot, but pleasant, like a warm spring day. The glow of it bathed her in tranquility, soothed her every ache. The sound of insects and birds buzzing and chirping in the distance hummed in her ears. She felt life vibrating there, passion and sorrow and fear and death, all swirled together in a magnificent dance of existence.
In the void, she had forgotten how to feel. Her body had ceased to be for a while. In the new place, she felt more alive than she could ever remember. She existed more completely than at any time before. It was too much; she was afraid to open her eyes. Filled with trepidation mixed with yearning curiosity, she dug her fingers into the rich, damp soil to brace herself, and risked a glance.
To say she lay in a meadow would have been a poor excuse of a description, yet she could find no words to capture the raw energy and beauty of it. Every sight and sound, every sensation and color, every scent and movement breathed more life into Aliisza. The intensity of it was almost painful. The alu stared at a copse of trees nearby. Flowering vines climbed the trunk of a dead tree closer to her, and she could detect their blossoms' fresh scent in the gentle breezes that caressed her skin. In the distance, she heard the faint gurgling of a stream.
As she took in more of her surroundings, Aliisza realized that the meadow seemed isolated, out of place. There was no horizon, no line of hills surrounding the edges, no forest in the distance. There was only brilliant azure sky. The world seemed to end on every side only a few paces in each direction.
The angelic creature stood beside her, and when she at last looked up to gaze at his face, that same radiant beauty shone from him, and it still hurt her eyes. It was raw energy, pure and sweet, like the land itself. She wanted to drink it in, yet it scalded her, left her feeling tainted in some way.
Beyond her guide, hazy in the distance, a great mountain reared up. It seemed close, very close, making the meadow where she lay feel alpine in nature. But it was all wrong. There was no beginning or end to it, no bottom or top. It simply appeared and disappeared, below and above, vanishing in all directions in white, puffy clouds. To the alu, it seemed more like a massive, forbidding cliff wall.
And it moved.
Aliisza sat up. She peered more closely at the mountain, thinking perhaps it was a trick of her imagination. Surely the clouds were drifting past, and the mountain was stationary. But no-as she gazed at it for several moments, she realized it definitely shifted against the closer surroundings of her meadow. The mountain was moving.
'Where are we?' Aliisza asked at last, turning to squint at her escort once more.
The creature squatted next to her. Aliisza flinched at his proximity and averted her eyes, looking at the mountain as it drifted slowly from her left to her right.
'The House of the Triad,' he answered.
The half-fiend jerked her gaze back to the angelic figure in surprise.
'What?' she asked. 'This?'
The creature chuckled. 'Yes,' he said, 'though I brought us to this spot because I thought it would not be quite the shock to you as elsewhere. I guess you were expecting something more… majestic?' When Aliisza didn't answer, he turned briefly and pointed to the mountain, still slowly sliding across the alu's field of vision, before meeting her gaze again. 'Behind me, you can see Celestia, surrounded by three other peaks. Martyrdom serves as Ilmater's home, Trueheart is where Torm resides, and the Court, where we shall journey, serves as Tyr's residence. Perhaps that will be more what you envisioned.'
The alu frowned. 'Who was the armored one in the stone tower?' she asked.
'Ah, we were within Everwatch, the tower-home of Helm. All who come to the House first visit his domain to determine if they are worthy to continue on.'
'And those he finds lacking?' Aliisza asked.
'They do not leave,' the angelic figure replied, his mien grim. 'But you satisfied his concern with your oath, so it is irrelevant. And to answer your question from before, I am Tauran, a servant of Tyr.'
Aliisza stared around, and again at the gargantuan mountain, with a growing feeling of concern. My oath, she thought, thinking fully on what she had acceded to. Easily broken, she decided, amused at Tauran's foolish trust.
For the first time, the alu realized that she existed as she had before, prior to her battle with Zasian's intruders. She stood up and performed a cursory self-examination. All of her possessions were in their proper places. Her elven blade was strapped to her hip and leg, her pouches of magical triggers were tied to her belt, and she could feel all of her innate abilities at her command. She could employ magic to escape, she could draw her blade and run Tauran through, or beguile him with her considerable charm into doing as she wished.
She could do all those things-and yet she couldn't. The thought was there, but she had absolutely no desire. She reached for her sword, but the moment she gave thought to using it to fight her way free, her hand dropped to her side. She frowned, concentrating on moving her arm toward the weapon.
'I told you that once you agreed to the terms, you would be held to them, by magical coercion,' Tauran said, his smile appearing a bit sad. 'I cannot stop you from thinking the thoughts, nor would I want to. But until such time as you are safely ensconced in your quarters, you do not have the free will to act against the agreement you made.'
Aliisza chuckled, but inside she was seething. She suddenly felt a puppet upon strings. She decided to try a different tactic.
'So, you brought me here to keep me all to yourself,' the alu purred, moving closer to the angel. She wrapped her arms around his waist and nestled her head against his chest. 'What are you going to do to me now?' she asked, giving him a sultry smile and invoking her preternatural charms. She strained very hard not to squint at his brilliance.
Tauran's sad smile turned to a look of pure sorrow as he gently disengaged himself from the half-fiend's embrace.
'Take a moment,' he said. 'Regain your wits. It is a startling adjustment from what you are used to, I am sure. We can remain here, in this meadow, for a few moments more, until you feel more at ease.'
Aliisza stared balefully at her counterpart and withdrew. She practically stomped away from him, scowling, and folded her arms across her chest.
How impertinent! she thought. Suggesting I have lost my wits.
As the fury within her waned, the alu realized she was more dismayed than angry. The discovery that her charms were useless against the creature was unnerving. She was beginning to fret that she hadn't thought through the oath carefully enough.
What have I done? she asked herself in growing dread.
For a moment, she fought vertigo and claustrophobia all at once. The strange sense of not being able to act even while thinking about acting sent tremors of horror through her. She could not imagine feeling more helpless.
The panic did not last long. Aliisza reminded herself of all the various difficulties she had extricated herself from in her long years of life. She would find a way to succeed with Tauran, too. As her confidence returned, she looked at the angel once more, letting her eyes glitter with a suggestive hint of a smile.
'Oath or no, I don't see why we can't enjoy one another's company, hmm?' she said, sauntering toward
