11.4.0

As the residents of Castle Blackpool sat down to dinner the next night, Zyrdicia was conspicuously absent. Except for Portia and Anthony, everyone else involved in the lawn croquet festivities had suffered the indignities of vicious champagne hangovers earlier in the day. They were all only now returning among the living.

Given that the launch of Zyrdicia's corporate venture disguised as a province was virtually complete, her absence was unexpected. The town had suddenly become a thriving city, renamed Geshna, the Tenaebran word for greed. She imported artisans and craftspeople from Lyr to make the new financial capital of the North beautiful, with copious gargoyles, spiked walls and sinister-looking spires. It required far less of her time now than it had in the beginning.

"Is Zyrdicia feeling OK?" Geoffrey asked casually.

Portia looked confused. "Uh-huh. Splendid. Probably better than most of you today since she got more sleep than anyone. Why?"

Geoffrey shrugged, "I saw she was taking a nap in the library." No one bothered to address why Geoffrey would have been in the library, of all places. Despite feeling decidedly ill, he had been secretly researching love sonnets. He hoped to find one that he could pretend to have written himself and send to Princess Ariel.

Portia glanced at the window. It was dark out. There was no reason Zyrdicia would be asleep at night. She had already slept all day. "Geoff," she asked carefully, panic etching her voice, "Was anyone else in the library when you left?"

He shook his head and answered, "The librarian left an hour or so ago. About the same time I did."

"Azriok," Portia breathed jumping up from the table. Her chair tumbled backwards as she raced as fast as she could toward the library. Dirk was only a step behind her. Vector followed at a more leisurely pace, purely out of curiosity.

When Portia opened the door to the castle's library, a sudden chill flooded into the hallway. A red, magical portal glowed in one corner of the room. A swarm of books and furniture flew chaotically about the air inside the room. A great demon with long, twisted horns and leathery wings bent over Zyrdicia and plucked her limp body from the couch where she slept. The creature paused briefly when the door opened. He then began to emit a painful, ear-piercing howl as he moved toward the magical portal.

Instinctively, Dirk concentrated his loathing of the creature into the monocle. A green beam of light shot out from the lens, causing the unholy creature to vanish when it struck. The magical portal closed when the demon disappeared. Zyrdicia's lifeless-looking body slumped to the ground.

The prince immediately rushed to her. He shook her and called her name. She neither fought against him nor responded in any way. Were it not for her body's warmth, and a faint pulse, it would be easy to believe she were dead. Her face lacked the beatific expression of sleep. Its blankness seemed entirely out of place on her.

Vector watched the scene silently. He recognized Bethel's handiwork and found it rather intriguing. He chuckled to himself silently. Going to see her last night had been a good idea after all. The castle had not entertained the old Wizard this well in years.

Portia touched Dirk's shoulder and shook her head. She had feared this might happen eventually. She looked as though she were on the verge of tears as she whispered, "It's too late. She isn't in her dreamworld anymore. He has her."

"What are you saying?" Dirk asked angrily.

"Azriok is trying to reunite her body with her dream spirit to keep her alive. He will send another demon, or many more, soon. Her consciousness is already in Hell."

"There has to be some way to get her back," the prince growled. "Vector, do something!" He was furious. It was impossible to concede that in the blink of an eye, the fiend had stolen his favorite toy and most effective weapon against the South.

"What exactly do you suggest, my lord?" Vector asked ironically.

"There maybe something," Portia mumbled, her expression darkening. "I have to go. Promise me if the demons return you won't let them take her body through that gate!"

"Of course! Go!" he scowled.

11.4.1

Minutes later, Zyrdicia's unseeing, panic-stricken eyes flew open and she gasped for breath as though she had been suffocating. Zyr had suddenly intervened in Tenaebra and sent her back. Azriok never had a chance to try to fetch her body again. It was the first time she had actually lain eyes upon the entity who sired her. She too shaken to wonder how he had known she needed help.

Seeing Azriok in his full glory in Tenaebra had been more splendid than she had ever imagined. It had also been utterly terrifying, for she finally realized how powerful he truly was in his homeworld. His recent, relentless pursuit of her made that all the more disturbing. He was more dangerous than she had ever dreamed. An array of emotions played across the surface of her eyes as she returned to the world of flesh - terror, horror, desperation and wonder all emanated from her at once as she remembered what she had just experienced in Tenaebra.

Zyrdicia felt someone hovering over her. She did not care who it was. She reached for out instinctively, craving the warmth of mortal touch after the soul-chilling cold of Tenaebra. The place she had been was not a realm of fire or lava pits. It was an empty, frigid darkness. And it was somehow more familiar than any place she had ever visited. Reemerging into matter now was alien enough to be almost painful.

"Are you alright?" Dirk asked carefully.

She shook her head and shivered involuntarily. Her eyes were hollow and distant. Her child-like expression made it easy to forget that this was the same creature systematically depopulating Camarand. "He is very angry that I am here," she whispered, mostly to herself as she wondered how Azriok had known to find her.

The prince said nothing for a long moment. The fiend's meddling had begun to vex him profoundly. "From now on, you are not to be left alone. You will be escorted by castle guards whenever you are not with me. If you fall asleep, then at least you will not be in danger."

She shook her head and started to protest.

He cut her off. "And you will not attempt to evade them!"

11.4.2

The charade with the guards lasted less than a day. Zyrdicia reacted predictably, teleporting about the castle rather than walking from place to place. The guards were unable even to guess where she was, much less follow her about.

She knew that Dirk had given Vector the task of occasionally watching her in the viewscope. The Wizard was as annoyed by the duty as she was by the supervision. She could have blocked his ability to watch her entirely, or blinded him through the device for that matter. Instead she played a game of random filtration, momentarily allowing glimpses when it suited her to be observed. It served both of their purposes in keeping the prince satisfied without unduly burdening either of them.

She sensed that Dirk also frequently used the monocle to monitor her whereabouts himself now. Such obsession was not abnormal or irrational in her world. Azriok's minions had watched her for years. Exhibitionist that she was, she rather enjoyed the sensation and made every effort to provoke the prince's attention still further whenever she sensed the monocle's magical signature. His watching she permitted, most of the time without restriction.