Trissana
(Nomadlands, prior to the egg theft)

     Triss came back to full consciousness with a jerk at the sudden flash of
light and heat down near the base of her tail.  The enraged roar of the giant
black dragon that had her pinned beneath him almost deafened her.  Her
attacker released the vise of his mighty jaws on her throat, just long enough
to swing his neck around in a broad arc, flaming at something she couldn't
see.  She was still his prisoner, but at least she was able to breathe again.

     She was amazed to still be alive...when he'd closed his jaws hard enough
to choke her, she was certain that he would kill her at once.  Why had he not
done so, when he had her at his mercy?   The black dragon continued to roar in
anger, turning his head back and forth as though looking for something.  

     Realizing that her life depended on escape, she twisted and struggled
frantically, extending and beating her wings from pure instinct.  And she got
lucky - by sheer accident, the knucklebone of her right wing connected with
the monster's jaw just as his head swung into its range.  Surprised, the
dragon let out an even louder roar of rage, leaping up off of her.  As he did
so, she felt something warm and wet sliding out from beneath her tail...she
didn't know what it was, but her every instinct screamed warnings at her.

     Still dazed, she struggled to stand.  She expected him to attack her
immediately, but instead the black dragon did a strange thing.  He froze in
place, raising his head and cocking it as though he were...listening to
something?  She couldn't explain his strange behavior, but knew that she now
had a chance against him if she acted quickly.  She drew in a deep breath and
prepared to flame her attacker.  At this distance, she couldn't miss - she'd
catch him full in the face with her blast, blinding him at the very least!

     And yet she hesitated for a crucial second.  This was still a dragon like
herself, and despite everything he'd done to her, she found it difficult to
strike when he wasn't actually attacking her.  And due to her hesitation, she
lost her opportunity.  His eyes met hers, and before she could react he
whirled around and struck her a powerful blow with his tail, knocking the wind
out of her and sending her tumbling.  She saw him crouch, preparing to spring
onto her, those terrifying red eyes boring into her own.  She tried to beat
her wings to escape, but was so frightened that she could only manage a feeble
effort.

     But just then she heard a dragon's angry roar from overhead, and a stream
of fire lanced down from the sky to wash across the back of the huge black
dragon.  A second later, she saw the dark form of a dragon swoop down and rake
his claws across her attacker's back and neck.  Bohoc!! It was Bohoc!!!

     Bohoc soared upward from his strike, and began to circle around for a
second attack.  Howling with rage, the black spread his wings and prepared to
take off after this new threat.  Trissana screamed a warning to Bohoc, but it
was unnecessary.  Another dragon roared overhead, and now she saw Tergath also
diving to the attack.

     The black had finally had enough, but before fleeing he fixed her with a
look that froze her blood - a look that seemed to promise that they would meet
again.  Then he was gone in a flurry of wingbeats.

     *Triss!! Triss!  Are you all right??*  It was her rider.  She raised her
head weakly and saw him scrambling over the nearby ridge and rushing
frantically to reach her.

     <Yes, my rider,> she told him, though she felt anything but "all right"
at the moment.

     Bohoc landed, and as soon as his rider had dismounted, the green dragon
was pressing against her side.

     <I came,> he said, tenderly nuzzling her cheek with his nose.  <I am
here...I love you!>

     <Oh Bohoc...>  She was so overcome with relief and gratitude that she
found she couldn't speak.  Shaking uncontrollably, she pressed her face
against his neck and wordlessly returned his sentiment.

* * * * * * * *
Trevor

     His heart was pounding like a blacksmith's hammer by the time he finally
reached his dragon.  Andahar was already treating her wounds, but looked up at
him with a surprisingly gentle look in his eyes.  Nearby, Farr'in and Tergath
had just landed.

     "What happened?" he asked, panting breathlessly as he looked up at his
trembling dragon - and then caught sight of the burned out fire-lance lying on
the ground nearby.  "Where's Nikol?"

     "Bohoc found you," said Farr'in, coming up behind him.  "There's gonna be
a few relieved people back at Cleft who will be happy to know that the news of
your demise was greatly exaggerated."

     "I'll bet," Trevor agreed.  "And I'll bet they'll welcome me back with
open arms just before they start chewing us out for what happened."  He could
just imagine Cynthia's reaction...!

     "Don't you think you deserve to be chewed out a bit?" Farr'in demanded.
For the next few minutes, Trevor had to keep dividing his attention between
Farr'in, who made sure he understood what might have happened because he'd
overworked his dragon, and Andahar, who kept insisting that he finish helping
him dress the numerous small wounds Triss had received.

     Farr'in was right, of course, and Trevor knew that he had no excuses.
He'd let his concern for fulfilling his mission override his more basic
responsibility to see that his dragon was properly cared for.  He resolved
never to let it happen again.

     "I've got to check on her," said Trevor, standing up.  Triss brought her
head down so that he could lay his hands on her nose.  *Triss how are you?
What happened?*

     He could tell through their link that she'd been frightened out of her
wits, but she tried to speak calmly.  <Another dragon attacked me, my rider,>
she said.  <He seemed friendly at first, but...when he got close enough to me,
he grabbed me!>  She broke out shivering again.  <My beautiful saddle...he
ripped it...>

     *It's all right, Cupcake, it's all right,* he reassured her.  *You're
safe now, and that's all that matters!  Saddles can be replaced - *you*
can't!!*

     Triss just let out a shuddering sigh and turned so she could touch her
cheek against him.

     Behind him, he heard Farr'in speaking.  "You said Nikol was with you when
we arrived..."

     Trevor looked behind him.  Nikol!  He'd certainly been here, the fire-
lance proved that. "You didn't see him?"

     "No, just you and Triss," Farr'in replied.  "But you stay here and tend
to your dragon.  Andahar and I will go look for him."

     Trevor nodded and watched them go.  He turned around and reached up to
lay a hand on Bohoc's neck.  "Thank you, Bohoc," he said quietly.  He doubted
that the dragon had understood his exact words, but from the look in the great
eye that was turned towards him, he thought that on some level Bohoc
understood.

     Shortly, Farr'in and Andahar returned, and the unconscious form of the
blaster was cradled in Farr'in's arms.  He revived after Andahar had spent a
few minutes tending his injuries, and then listened as the others brought him
up to date on what had happened with the black dragon.

     "Look, I need to get back to Cleft and let them know you two are alive
and okay," Farr'in said, standing up.  

     "Give us just a few minutes and we'll join you," Trevor said, beginning
to stand up also.

     "NO!" Farr'in told him.  "You've already found out what happens when you
try to teleport on a tired dragon!  Triss isn't going *anywhere* until she's
rested, and Tergath and Bohoc are going to make sure she is before they'll
allow her to fly home."

     Trevor was about to argue, but Triss spoke in his mind first.  <My rider,
Bohoc says I may not go...I do not wish to stay here, but I know he is right.
Remember why I would not agree to take you back to the warren earlier?>

     Trevor knew when he had lost an argument.

* * * * * * * *

     After Farr'in had gone, the three men sat around the small fire talking
about what had happened.

     "I was just starting to think that all dragons were nice," Nikol
commented.  "But now I can see that there are dragons, and there are
*dragons!*" 

     "I just can't imagine a wilder attacking Triss like that," Trevor said.
"They usually won't go up against a warren dragon one-on-one!"

     Andahar shook his head.  "I do not think this dragon was wilder," said
the young Nomad.  "This creature was huge, much larger than Trissana."

     Nikol nodded in agreement.  "I saw it up close," he said.  "It was hard
to see the outline of it in the dark, because it sort of blended in.  But he's
right - it was *big!*"

     Andahar leaned forward.  "Trevor...could this have been Shamir?"

     Trevor blinked.  "I don't know," he admitted.  "Ankara said the dragon
she saw was huge and black..."

     "Shamir?" Nikol asked.  "What's Shamir?"

     "We're not exactly sure," Trevor told the blaster.  "Ankara was kidnapped
and taken to Jhezrael.  She said that a big black dragon talked to her, and
called itself Shamir...that's the name of a Nomad deity.  And by the way...I
want to thank both of you for helping her.  You both took big risks, and both
of us are in your debt.  Andahar, would you please tell Bohoc that for me as
well?"

     "Of course," Andahar said, nodding.

     Nikol looked uncomfortable.  "I...still can't believe what I did.  Next
to this beastie, that yellow dragon that went for me earlier was just a
harmless little lizard.  But when I saw him lying on top of your dragon, and
what he was doing to her...well, I just couldn't stand by and watch.  I had to
do something!"

     Trevor looked up sharply.  "What do you mean?" he asked, alarmed.  "What
*was* he doing to her?" 

     Although Trevor couldn't be certain in the flickering firelight, it
looked like the blaster's face turned red.  "Well...I thought she'd have told
you."

     Trevor shook his head, a feeling of nameless dread settling over him.
"Nikol...what did he do to her??"

     Nikol looked down, embarrassed.  "I don't know much about dragons, mind
you, but...it looked like...well, like he was trying to, um, mate with her..."

     Trevor's jaw dropped at Nikol's words.  "No," he whispered.  Immediately
he leaped up and ran over to his dragon.   She looked up in alarm, sensing the
agitated state of his mind.

     *Triss...gods, what did that monster do to you?* he demanded, looping his
arms around her muzzle.  "Nikol said he was trying to...to...*

     He couldn't bring himself to say it, but Triss understood.  The dragon's
blue eyes widened in fear and revulsion.  <Oh, my rider...I didn't know...>
She began to tremble again, so violently that Bohoc draped his wing over her
back and pressed his cheek against hers again, while giving Trevor a
reproachful look.

     *Oh, gods...just lie still!  I'll have Bohoc and his rider bring
S'lomon...* Trevor hugged her tightly and rested his head on the bridge of her
muzzle.

     And then Andahar's arms were around his shoulders, gently but firmly
drawing him away from her.  "You are scaring her again," the Nomad told him.

     "We need to get S'lomon out here..." Trevor began.

     Andahar shook his head.  "She is not badly injured," he said.  "If Bohoc
and I go back to warren for healer, she will be defenseless here until we
return.  It will keep till morning...or at least till Farr'in returns."

     "Do you know what he did to her??" Trevor demanded.

     "I heard from blaster, same as you," the other rider replied.  "But I
think this upsets you more than her.  She is happy just to be alive...you
should feel the same.  Worry about other things later...when we go to hunt
down and kill this dragon!"  The look in his eyes left no doubt in Trevor's
mind that he meant every word.

     Trevor sat down in front of the fire again, not knowing what to think.
Andahar draped an arm across his shoulders, an action that Trevor assumed was
intended to comfort him.  "Nikol," he said, looking up at the blaster.  "Other
than Triss, you got the closest look at that monster.  What else can you tell
me about him?"

     Nikol shrugged.  "I didn't stay around long enough to give him a really
good lookover," he admitted.  "I was too busy running for my life.  After I
gave him that little burn on his privates, all I could think of was running.
But now that I think of it, I did notice something...he looked at me for just
a second, and I saw those eyes...they were red, like coals in a forge."

      Trevor closed his eyes, and had to clench his hands together to keep
them from shaking.  The physical description of Andahar and Nikol matched
Ankara's detailed description of the "god" Shamir.  But when combined with the
nature of the...*assault*...on Trissana, it even better matched another
dragon.  One who'd been dead for 15 years.

     No, he told himself firmly.  Trissana's attacker may well have been the
beast Ankara had met, the one who had called himself Shamir...but Triss knew
what Rashevon looked like, from the image she'd gotten from Trevor's own mind.
If that's who it had been, she'd have told him at once...or at least, so he
assumed.

     Farr'in returned shortly afterwards, and as soon as Tergath had settled
himself down on Trissana's other side, his rider walked slowly over to join
them by the fire.

      "Did you tell them?" Trevor asked.

     "I let everyone know," Farr'in answered.

     At any other time, Trevor would have pressed him for news of Cynthia's
reaction to the news that he was alive - but his own news was too important.
He quickly related what the other dragon had done to Triss, and saw Farr'in's
eyes widen in shock.

     "That's impossible," he said.  "She's hardly more than a hatchling!"

     "I think it was Shamir," Trevor continued.  "The dragon you all saw fits
Ankara's description to a tee.  I don't know...the only dragon  ever heard of
who'd do what this one did was my...my brother's dragon, Rashevon.  It
couldn't have been him, of course..."

     Farr'in appeared ready to say something, but held himself in check.

     "But this means that there's another dragon on the loose that's just as
dangerous," Trevor concluded.  "Farr'in, we've got to warn Cynthia right
away!"

     "The warren's on alert right now," Farr'in said.

     Trevor shook his head.  "You don't understand!  Farr'in, if this Shamir
*is* the same type of dragon that Rashevon was, then our regular security
procedures wouldn't stop him...he could slip right past the watchdragons, and
probably wouldn't even hesitate to attack one of the queens..."

     Farr'in sighed and rubbed his eyes.  "Everything that can be done...is
being done," he told them, and would say no more except to say that he would
stand the first watch.  Frustrated, but knowing that there was nothing he
could do, Trevor stretched himself out on the ground and tried to sleep.
Andahar and Nikol arranged themselves on either side, while Farr'in sat
silently staring into the fire.  Trevor found it difficult to sleep,
though...all he could think of was the terrible, lingering death he would
somehow inflict on the monster who had caused such pain to his beloved
Trissana...

(Arlene, Mike, Barb - feel free to add conversation, etc.)

* * * * * * * *
Early next morning

     When Trevor woke, the sun was just coming up.  Somehow, and he thought it
was on purpose, he'd been missed for watch duty.  Nikol was the only one
awake, so he must have relieved Andahar.  The young Nomad was lying right
alongside Trevor, with his arm across the mapmaker's chest.  Trevor blinked, a
bit surprised.  Must be how they keep warm out on these plains at night, he
concluded.  

     The dragons were also awake by now, so he gave Andahar a gentle shake to
wake him.  "Morning," he said.

     "And to you," Andahar responded, yawning.  He left his arm where it was
for a moment before withdrawing it and sitting up.

     Quickly, the four of them broke camp.  *Triss, are you rested enough to
teleport now?* he asked his dragon, walking over and patting her nose.

     <Yes, I feel much better this morning,> she told him.  <I still
hurt...right under my tail...but I want to get away from this place as soon as
we can!>

     *We're leaving now!* he told her.  *And the moment we get back to Cleft,
S'lomon's going to have a look at you!*

     All of them shared that desire, and left as quickly as they could get the
dragons saddled.  Trevor had fixed Trissana's saddle as best he could, but it
was no more than a jury-rig repair and he didn't feel comfortable trusting it
with the weight of two men, so Nikol rode on Tergath behind Farr'in.

     Trevor breathed a sigh of relief when they came out of teleport and saw
the comforting bulk of Cleft Warren below them.  He knew he and Triss would be
resuming their search for Jhezrael soon, but for the moment they were at the
one place where they were safe even from something as dangerous as Shamir!

     *Tell Syren we're back!* he told Triss.  *Have her tell Cynthia I'll be
right over as soon as I've taken you to S'lomon!*

     <Yes, my rider!> the pearl dragon answered.  She was silent for a moment,
and when she spoke her mindvoice was troubled.  <My rider, Syren is here, I
can feel her presence, but...she is not answering.>

     *Maybe she's asleep,* Trevor said, though this puzzled him as well.

     <I do not know...wait...Tymor is instructing us to land at her ledge.>

     Trevor frowned.  What was going on here?  He saw Tergath and Bohoc change
course as the junior queen directed, but he ordered Triss to hold her course
and land in front of the med center.  *Tell Tymor you're going to be looked at
by the healer...but that I'll be right over.  And tell Leis we're coming."

     Alerted, S'lomon was waiting in front of the med center as soon as Triss
landed.  Dismounting, Trevor told him what had happened to his dragon the
night before.  The healer's eyes widened with disbelief as he heard Trevor's
story, but he immediately agreed to examine her.  "She looks all right," he
said, "but you were right to bring her here right away!  This will take a few
minutes...Trevor, have you talked to Brisse yet?"

     He shook his head.  "No, I came here first," he said.  "Tymor said she
wanted to see us."

     S'lomon looked like he wanted to say something, then changed his mind.
"I'll examine Trissana and let you know what I find...you'd better get on over
there."

     Trevor nodded and left, after instructing Triss to cooperate fully with
Leis and his rider.  then he set out across the green.  But on the way, he
took a detour to the hatching cavern...he *had* to see Cynthia first, and he
was sure he'd find her there with her queen.

     He rushed in through the entrance and came out onto the sands.
"Cynthia?" he called hopefully.  He couldn't wait to see her, even though he
knew she'd likely give him a chewing out that would make Farr'in's seem mild
by comparison.  

     He stopped, his eyes widening in horror as he took in the scene around
him.  Syren lay at the far end of the cavern, her usually-bright scales a dull
grayish color.  She didn't react to his presence, though her eyes were open.
And the eggs...almost half were missing!

     "Gods," he whispered.  Cynthia wouldn't leave her queen at a time like
this...where was she?  He felt a terrible, creeping fear come over him.

     "Trevor?"  He turned at the sound of Dan'yar's voice in the entranceway.
In addition to the acting wingleader, his mate Brisse stood there as well,
along with Farr'in, Meena, Turner, Andahar, and Nikol.

     "Where is she?" he demanded.  "What happened here??"

     "We wanted you to hear it from us rather than to see this first," said
Brisse.  "That's why Tymor didn't tell Trissana, and why she asked you to land
on her ledge first."

     "Where is *Cynthia?*" Trevor demanded.

     "Kidnapped," said Dan'yar.  "We were raided last night...they came for
the eggs.  They took her with them...and Trevor...they took Kellie too!"

     "Who took her?" he asked.  "Who did this??"

     Turner came forward.  "Your brother," he said, scowling.

     Trevor backed up a few steps until he was leaning against the wall, using
its solidity to anchor himself.  No, it couldn't be!  All this was too
much...Lenna gone...Blanchie hurt...Triss attacked...the eggs stolen...Cynthia
gone...Kellie gone...and now this?

     "No," he said.  "It had to be Khazeen...it was that Shamir who attacked
Triss...he must have come here afterwards."  He rubbed his burning eyes, then
fixed his gaze on Farr'in.  "You knew," he said angrily.  "You knew when you
came back and you didn't tell me!"

     Farr'in nodded his head.  "Yes, I knew," he said.  "There was nothing you
could have done except get yourself killed in another bad teleport.  They were
already here and gone by the time I got here."

     He had to do something...he had to think!  And so he did yet again what
he'd done so many times over the years...he clamped down on his fear and his
rage, forcing them deep within himself.  He couldn't banish them, he knew
that...but he could, at least master them long enough to let him do what he
needed to do.  It was all that kept him standing after being battered by so
many shocks.  Cynthia gone...!!  

     He looked at Brisse and Dan'yar, who now served as warrenlady and
wingleader.  "We attack?" he demanded.

     "Yes," Brisse said simply.  "Once you find Jhezrael.  Can you do it?"

     "Yes, he said, and then turned to the blaster.  "Nikol...that explosive
charge the dragon set off just before we found you...can you make more like
that, portable ones that can blast rock like what you did in here?  And one or
two that make smoke as well?"

     "I think so,"  Nikol replied.

      Turner stepped forward.  "Didn't you hear what I said?" he asked.

      "I did, and you're wrong," said Trevor.  "M'del's dead, and so's his
dragon!"  He crossed his arms with an air of finality, refusing to be
contradicted.  "And Khazeen and Shamir will be too, when I get done with
them...for this, and for what they did to Triss!"

     "You're damn right about that!" said Turner.  "But you need to know the
truth now, and accept it...before you go out there and find the truth staring
you right in the face!"

(Tag Barb)

* * * * * * * *

Trissana
(outside the med center)

     <My rider says you may lower your tail now,> Leis told her.  She
gratefully complied, then watched as Leis' rider went back inside the
building.

     <I cannot believe that another dragon would do that to you!> Leis said,
an unaccustomed anger in his mindvoice.  <He would have hurt you very badly if
he had succeeded in mating with you!  You are much too young!>

     <Then he...did not?> she asked, feeling as though a great weight had been
taken from her.  She'd felt so ashamed when she'd been told what he'd done to
her, even though she didn't really understand why.  

     <He attempted to, and that is why you are sore back there.  You must have
fought him off just as he was beginning,> the other dragon said.  <Because you
are so young, and have a long time to go before you have your first mating
flight, those parts of you still need to fully develop.  If he had been able
to force you to mate with him, there would have been much bleeding and you
would have been damaged inside.  At the very least, you would not have been
able to fly back here on your own.  And at worst, you might never have been
able to mate when your time came.>

     His words shocked her.  <Thank you for telling me this, Leis,> she said.
<And please thank your rider.>

     <He will speak to your rider himself,> said Leis, as he lay down near the
entrance to the building.  <You should rest now.>

     She bobbed her head and turned to rejoin her rider.  Bohoc was waiting
for her, having come as soon as he dropped his rider off.

     <That dragon must pay,> Bohoc said.  <I would not have believed that I
would ever feel this way toward one of our own kind, but...he does not seem
like one of us!>

     <Have you heard what the others are saying?> Trissana asked.  <They say
that it was Rashevon who attacked Syren and took her eggs.  It must have been
him that we fought last night, though I did not recognize him.  My rider's
memory of him is...much different than what we saw last night!  If he is
alive, then his rider is alive too - and his rider once did something very bad
to my rider!  Oh Bohoc, I don't want him to be hurt again! I always thought I
could protect him...but last night, I couldn't even protect myself!  What can
I do?>

     <You will not have to do it alone!> Bohoc asserted, leaning over to touch
cheeks with her.  <Your rider is nice.  My rider likes him, you know.>

     <Oh...really?> Triss asked.  <Well, yes, I suppose everyone would,
wouldn't they?  Do you think your rider would help, then?>

* * * * * * * *
Kellie
Jhezrael, Southern Nomadlands

     She'd been blindfolded from the moment they'd landed, somewhere out on
the plains, following her abduction from the hatching cavern.  After that,
things had become a blur.  She'd been taken off Rashevon's back...oh, gods,
how it horrified her to have to ride on that evil monster - and placed on the
back of a small dragon that wasn't saddled.  After being tied in place with
ropes, the dragon had taken off and teleported. When next they landed, it was
someplace with hard rock underfoot.  Arms grasped her to pull her from the
dragon's back as soon as the ropes had been loosened, and she heard hushed
voices speaking in the Nomadic tongue.

     Still blindfolded, she was shoved against another person by her captors.
"Kellie?"

     "Cynthia?" she whispered.  "Gods, they got you too, then?"

     Both of them were roughly shoved forward, and prodded with what felt like
sharp pikes when they attempted to speak to one another.  The next thing she
knew, they were in a cool place, a cave or tunnel she guessed.  Jhezrael?  On
they went, through tunnels that twisted and turned, always going farther down
into the deep rock of the mountains.  Her worry burdened her like a heavy
stone.  Turner had been with her in the cavern...was he all right? And had
anyone found Trevor?

     And then suddenly they found themselves in a much larger space - Kellie
could tell that much by the echoes of their footfalls.  A hand reached up and
yanked the blindfold from her.  Cynthia, she saw, was beside her, her own
blindfold having just been removed.  She cast a quick glance back and saw
their Nomad captors in the process of closing a pair of immense wooden doors
behind them.  They were trapped!

     A low, rumbling growl caused both women to turn around.  They were in a
huge, high-ceilinged chamber that could have held over a hundred people
comfortably, in addition to the vast black form that lay curled around a broad
stone pillar at the far side of the chamber from where they stood.  Again
Kellie felt her blood turning to ice as Rashevon raised his massive head and
glared at them, his red eyes hot with malice that she knew was directed
entirely at her.  Despite the dim, flickering light of the chamber, she
thought she could see the corners of the black dragon's mouth twitch upward in
a smile.  The only thing she saw that did give her some hope was the gash that
had been opened in the side of the monster's face.  At least Syren appeared to
have done some damage before he took her down.

     "That's him, isn't it?" Cynthia whispered quietly.  She and Kellie
exchanged glances, and the older rider slowly nodded.  Kellie marveled at how
calm the warrenlady looked!  Either she's much braver than I am, Kellie
thought, or much better at looking like she is!

     She sensed the second presence in the chamber before she saw or heard
him...but she knew he was here.  There was an aura about him that she'd always
been able to sense, less outwardly menacing than his dragon, but more...evil!

     "Few are so honored," said a voice from atop the high dias, "as to stand
in the presence of Khazeen, Lord of the Nomadlands.  We accept your gratitude
at this honor as a matter of course."

     Squinting, Kellie could see him then, a dark form seated atop the dias,
eerily lit by the guttering flames that flickered in front of him.  Suddenly
she found her voice, and felt the pent-up anger and hatred she'd carried all
these years rising to the surface."

     "Damn you, M'del!!" she shouted.  "You've got me...that's what you've
always wanted, isn't it?  Let the others go!!"

     Slowly the figure rose from its thronelike chair and stood, and now she
could see the face clearly.  Older, thinner, more lined...but it was him.
Hard grey eyes stared down at her.  "Ah, yes, *mother,* you cannot know how
delighted we were when Rashevon laid eyes upon you in the hatching cavern!
The gods smile upon their own, do they not?"  His smile was more menacing than
even that of the dragon.

     Then his eyes shifted, falling upon Cynthia.  "And who might you be, you
who were with the queen and her eggs?" he asked. She glanced nervously at
Cynthia, wondering suddenly if M'del actually knew who he held prisoner
here...and also wondering how Cynthia would answer his question.

(Tag Alton  - have fun with this one!)

(Arlene and Mike - tags for both of you in here as well!) 

Submitted by:

John

Trevor & Trissana, Cleft Warren
Kellie & Varie, Cleft Warren
M'del/Khazeen & Rashevon/Shamir, Jhezrael