mushrooms.
She was going to die.
The dragon lurched and Aliisza heard a great gurgle all around her. Then, suddenly, she felt the stinging flesh of the creature's stomach press in on her, tighten around her.
She opened her mouth, no longer able to hold her breath, and sucked in a lungful of foul odor and searing liquid. She gagged and fought not to breathe again, but her body was no longer under her own control.
She shot forward, her body gliding through a tunnel like a snail being squirted from its shell. She rushed onward and in the next instant felt a blast of cool mist on her burned skin. She shuddered and sucked in welcome air as she hurtled through it. She hit water with a jolting splash and the burning acid washed free.
Aliisza sank beneath the water, vigorously scrubbing the acid from her face. She needed more air. She shoved against the water and surfaced.
Gulping pure, fresh air was the most joy the alu had experienced in a long time.
When she could breathe again, she opened her eyes. The dragon writhed before her, as though in agony. He shook and jerked, regurgitated. A form flew from his mouth, along with a spray of mushroom bits. The figure splashed into the water near Aliisza.
It was Kaanyr.
The dragon roared and spun away, still twitching. He dived into the water and vanished, and Aliisza felt the fear again of not knowing where he was. She wanted to swim to shore, but she had no idea where that might be. Instead, she began stroking through the water toward Kaanyr.
The cambion thrashed and coughed in the water. Aliisza drew up just out of his reach and watched him flail. She did not want him to grab her and drag her under in his panic. Finally, he grew calmer and began breathing normally.
He opened one eye and peered around. He spotted Aliisza and both eyes flew open wide.
'Who in the Nine Hells are you?' he demanded. 'Where's Zasian? Where's Aliisza?'
Remembering her altered form, the alu smirked. 'You're looking at her,' she said, the unfamiliar and masculine tone still strange in her ears. 'It's me, you wretch.'
Kaanyr peered at Kael's face for a long time, wary. 'Aliisza?' he asked. 'Why do you look like a drow?'
The alu shook her head. She wasn't sure how to explain to Kaanyr that she had given birth to another lover's son. 'Long story,' she said. 'I'll explain later. We have to get out of the water before that storm dragon returns.'
'Where's Zasian?' Kaanyr asked again. 'Did he make it out?'
'Oh, yes,' a booming voice said, echoing through the mist. It was that of the storm dragon. 'I did, indeed.'
Aliisza spun in the water, looking for the creature. Kaanyr spotted it first. The great wyrm was floating behind the alu, with only his head above the surface. His glare sent a chill down the alu's spine.
'Thank you so much for the timely rescue, Aliisza,' the dragon said. 'You shaved it very close.'
'Zasian?' Kaanyr asked. 'Is that you? What happened?'
'No, it's a trick,' Aliisza muttered. 'I fooled it with the mushrooms, and it's trying to gain revenge.'
'Yes, Vhok it's me. I am one with this beast for now. We made it through. Or rather, I made it through. You two merely helped. Thank you for all your assistance, but now our ways must part. I have things to do, and you two must remain here.'
'I don't-' Kaanyr began, but Aliisza understood.
'Dive!' she screamed. 'Get away from it!' She spun and tried to submerge, but with her broken ribs, she wasn't fast enough. Kaanyr was too confused to react at all.
A tingling struck Aliisza then, a wave of energy that overwhelmed her. Every nerve in her body seemed to overload with sensation, crackle with agony. The alu screamed and went rigid, then sank below the surface of the water.
As she slid downward, vanishing into the murky blackness, she lost consciousness.
Aliisza opened her eyes, and stared up at Tauran's face. The angel stood over her, a worried look on his mien. The alu noticed that he was disheveled, his clothing torn, and a bloody gash crossed his chest. Beyond him, she saw the night sky, and she could hear the muted rumblings of thunder. She was still in the storm dragon's lair.
Kael stood beside the angel, staring down with his garnet eyes. Aliisza was in her own body, and it took a moment for the alu to understand. She gazed at her son, getting a closer look at his face for the very first time. His eyes showed an intelligence that reminded her of Pharaun.
They also revealed a deep sadness.
He knows what I did to him, Aliisza realized. Then another thought swept through her: Why am I not dead, drowned? Kaanyr!
The alu sat bolt upright. Her head pounded with the sudden motion.
'Easy,' Tauran said, helping her. 'You need some time. Switching between bodies can exhaust you.'
'Kaanyr,' she mumbled, feeling as weak as the angel suggested. 'Where-?' She looked around and spotted the cambion lying near her. 'Is he-?' she asked.
'He'll live,' Tauran said, and she could hear the sternness in his voice.
Aliisza sighed and leaned back. She wondered what the point was. Surely after her betrayal, Tauran would deliver final justice to both of them.
'What happens now?' she asked, gazing wearily at the deva. 'What are you going to do with us?' She drew a deep breath, steeling herself for his answer. 'Why save us if you only intend to put us to death?' she whispered.
Tauran said nothing for a moment, but a faint grimace crossed his face.
Aliisza stared hard at him. 'What? What happened?'
'Your third companion,' the angel said. 'The priest.'
'Zasian,' Aliisza answered, feeling rage suffuse her. 'The Banite. He used us to come here. He betrayed us.'
'Yes. Zasian. But not a servant of Bane.' The angel looked away, and for the very first time, Aliisza saw real fear and doubt on his face. 'Zasian serves Cyric,' Tauran explained. He looked back at Aliisza and his gaze filled her with dread.
'I need your help,' he pleaded.
