World of Warcraft®

Light was beginning to creep in under the door and through the shoddy, hastily thrown up planks that made the walls- or what was left of them, anyway. Some were charred, some were just sooty. The vaguely acrid scent of charred wood filled her nostrils as Brae came around slowly, squinting. Her head was pounding and her mouth felt like it had been full of linen for hours.

She pushed herself up, noticing the soot and ash on her skirts and frowned. Where was she? How the hells had she gotten here? And what in the name of the loa had happened? She wasn't sure she wanted to see, but she had to. There had been something heavy and unpleasant under the smell of burnt wood. She pushed the curls out of her eyes and fought back a wave of bile.

It could only be assumed they used to be orcs, of one clan or another. At the moment, they were merely smoldering husks, burnt beyond recognition. She flexed her hands. This couldn't have been her- she simply wasn't capable of that kind of....

"Oh, Loa, no." A low groan escaped her as she hurried back against the wall, scuttling on her hands and heels backwards. If her wards against Avanidra had been rubble....yesterday, maybe- there was nothing left of them now. Ice churned in her gut as pieces fell into place and she got the feeling she was only being permitted to see this as proof that she'd failed entirely.

She remembered bits of the fight: how hurt she'd been that Yoresh would hide something so important, the white-hot anger....and the slow sense of being pried away from herself. She'd run, or tried to, realizing she'd needed to be away from anyone that could be hurt. She couldn't remember this place, though, or how she'd arrived. She rubbed at her temples before peeking cautiously outside the door. Another three or four...judging by the standard near by, Kor'kron, she thought- all just as well done as their friends inside.

This was worse than she'd thought, if this was how the necromancer was just starting her play. She ducked back in the door, leaning back against the wall, trying not to simply collapse in a sobbing heap. Please, loa, let him find help and then find me before this goes too far. Please. it was as far as her thoughts got before she heard herself speak.

"None of that now, dear. We've got so much more work ahead of us." Brae felt herself slipping away again as someone else lifted her skirts and lightly stepped around the bodies as if they'd only been mere inconveniences in the walking path.

Avanidra tucked the journal and thick stack of notes into her bag hurriedly. Well, it was Brae's bag, but she considered the mage hers now. She needed to be out of here as quickly as possible. It hadn't been hard to distract the troll and get him out of the small room-he'd been so hot under the collar after that escapade with that delicious young gentleman and the hearthstone. She shut the door quietly behind her and locked it, tucking the key back into her bodice.

She made her way back to the docks, keeping an eye out but knowing she'd changed Brae's look enough that it would take a couple more passes than a casual glance to figure her out- some nice boots, comfortable pants instead of those obnoxious skirts...she'd even managed to smooth down some of those rabid curls. A few coins and a sly wink ensured that the goblins would send anyone who asked on a wild chase to Pandaria. She needed the rest of her journals- the rest of her, really. And the lovely young mage had worked so hard to give her a start on where to look.

She disappeared behind several stacks of crates and pulled the spell out of the mage's memory. and it was off to Stonard. Karazhan was a manageable travel from there, and her most promising lead pointed that direction.

In retrospect, Derscha wondered why they had kept the book at all. However, there had been no sign that the spirit still possessed the thing, and even then, it had been kept safely behind Yotingo's wards as an extra safety measure.

She sighed. Perhaps the spirit had simply been biding its time until it found the right victim. She could only be grateful that the spirit didn't seem intent on tormenting her staff this time, with the one exception of the librarian she was currently inhabiting.

"Kezrin!" she called the goblin into her office.

Kezrin poked her head inside the door, eying her boss warily. "...yeah?"

"I want every spare courier and Shield you've got on the watch for signs of Miss Sunhawk. And get every tracking spell we have on this; there ought to be something of hers we can use."

"Including the pigeons?" Kezrin asked dubiously.

Derscha frowned. Pigeons? Oh, yes! She grinned brightly.

"Well... yes, those, too, although preferably without the explosives."

"Right. That was Myzzi's specialty, anyway. On it, boss."

If there was something Derscha had learned over the years, it was that finding someone who didn't want to be found was difficult, but not completely impossible. Brae, however, was going to be extra difficult; mages always were, and one familiar with the AAMS' procedures even more so.

Telirra would have laughed if the situation was so dire. She didn’t need to be asked to find her friend she had already been looking. It perhaps made it easier when Kezrin told her that she needed to be looking for the lost mage. It meant she didn’t have to feel guilty for dropping her other duties. The rogue perhaps felt slightly guilty when she had promised she would be around and now she was off to find her missing friend.

With one last once-over on her room Telirra hefted her almost too full pack onto her back and headed out to her Hawkstrider. The bird rather hated being cooped up so close to the Ocean, but she didn’t have much of a choice. Until she managed to find a more permanent residence she stayed near the office in Booty Bay.

It was for the best to be so close to the home office, it meant she was the first on the scene when something went wrong, like the recent fiasco with Braeadori and that stupid journal. Telirra pushed the anger out of her mind and focused on the task at hand; find her old contacts, find Brae, get rid of the psychotic Necromancer.

Even the strongest anchor can be ripped away.

She hadn't listened to Kordrion then. She wished she had, now. She should have been tipped off that Yoresh hadn't quite given her the straight and narrow when she'd asked him what Hasanah had had to say about the pregnancy. She knew, deep down, he'd only been trying his best, in his own sweet, occasionally infuriating and frustrating but no less genuine way to keep her from additional worry.

Just thinking about the fight made her feel sick, which was silly, really, if only because she was locked here, in a cell of her own making, with no control over her body at all. The mage was entirely aware of everything her body's new tenant was up to and she could do nothing to stop it.

Sometimes she had more energy to put up a more spirited fight and test the wards. Tonight was not one of them. Instead, she as doing her best not to retreat so far the necromancer could take over entirely. Disgust warred with despair as Avanidra leaned over another body- this one used to be human- and tucked a small piece of cloth into its hand. The white and gold were unmistakable.

Help wasn't going to come in time. She was alone, lost in the dark and entirely bereft of anything solid to cling to.

I should have listened to all of them.

Five days earlier…

Brae was doing her usual- if short due to the size of the room- rounds of gathering their things for both repairing and laundering. While the....order-request from Derscha was obviously not sitting well, she wasn't arguing about it, either. In fact, she'd been rather careful about letting her emotions get the best of her one way or the other until she could get help.
With a sigh, she lifted his over-robe, brows furrowing as a small black pouch hit the floor with a solid' thump'. She shifted her skirts and started to bend carefully, more like crouching with her knees- to lift it.

Yoresh sat at her desk to try and be as out of the way as he could for her, reading a book when he heard the thump. He looked up just as she went to pick something up and stood to help her when he saw the pouch. "Don't touch that!" he shouted suddenly and hurried to snatch it up, nearly tripping over his own feet. He held it in both hands, close to his chest. How could he have been so stupid as to leave it in his robe!

She paused, giving him a long look. "One of your...projects, love?" She wasn't quite sure why he'd reacted so strongly.

"Not quite," he said after a relieved sigh. Nothing had gotten out of the pouch. He closed one hand around it and offered the other one to help her up. "I didn't mean to shout," he said apologetically.

She accepted his hand up, dropping it once she stood. Her frown deepened. "What do you mean by 'not quite'? What is it, then?" A cold knot in her gut was starting to tell her she wasn't going to like the answer.

"I mean it's just a pouch of herbs, but it's not a project I'm working on," he said bending down to pick up his robe. "I should have checked the pockets first, I forgot you were doing it today."

She chewed her lip. "Awful odd reaction to just a bag of herbs. What is it, really?" it was clear from her expression that she found the whole situation out of line, even for him. He could also see that she was doing her best to keep her breathing even and her calm.

"It is a herb. I didn't want it to get on your skin, love," he said. "I haven't been able to discern all of it's properties yet."

She gently set the laundry on the edge of the bed, leaning back against the post. "Where did you get it, then, if it's not yours and you don't know what it does?" There was something oddly defensive in her body language, as thought to block either unpleasant news or another brushing off of her question.

The corner of his mouth gave a little twitch. "Well I know the main properties, but as I've said, I'm not sure if skin contact would have any effects." He tucked the pouch into his pants pocket. "Better safe than sorry, aye?"

"I...suppose. What -are- the main properties, if you don't mind my asking? I mean, we could probably puzzle out how safe it is between the two of us, perhaps." She didn't know why she couldn't let this go, but she just had to keep asking. His answers were vague- even for him.

"That's alright, love. It'll be something to keep my mind occupied in quiet moments." He gestured to the laundry. "Want me to carry that for you?"

"No, I can do it myself, still. A while yet before I can't." Still, her eyes kept straying to his pocket. "Was it a gift, then? Or a job for a client?"

He stifled a sigh and moved back towards his book on her desk. "It was a gift," he said and sat down, turning a page to resume reading. "Let me know if you need help with anything."

"Why are you being so vague?" The words tumbled from her lips before she could stop them. "With everyone else telling me how I should do things or handle things right now without any actual advice beyond 'you need to get rid of her'....I figured you'd at least be a reliable antidote."

"This has nothing to do with her or the book," he said gently to try and pacify her. "Just put it out of your mind, love. It's nothing to worry about. I'll take better care to keep it away."

That made her hands clench and unclench rapidly. "Yoresh, love? You, of all people, should know how that particular phrasing and cliché irk me, don't you?" She was going to keep a grip on her temper. She was, loa help her. She was not going to let the rising tide of bile and hot anger get the best of her again.

He pressed his lips together, realizing what he had said and stood, his hands on the desk, and leaned forward. "Forget I said that," he said quickly. "It's a pouch of herbs. It's nothing. I'm just being careful. Or would you rather I leave my things lying around and have you stumble into them and loa knows what might happen then?"

Her frown deepened. "You know what I meant, love. And my apologies if I find it incredibly unusual that an alchemist would know so little about such a gift from....apparently someone I don't know!"

He stood straighter and rubbed fingers over his forehead. "Why can't you just let it go?"

"I....I don't know. It's just the way you're acting about it. So secretive- it's not like you. And I'd rather thought we'd gotten past that when you told me everything Hasa told you." Her expression held a hint of the crestfallen and she turned back to the pile on the bed.

Yoresh closed his eyes. He hated seeing her like that and even more knowing he was the cause of it. But if she found out what he had kept from her it would only make it all the worse. He should have just burnt it after the conversation back in Bambala.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but closed it as the words didn't make it past his throat and sat down, staring at the book without really seeing it.

"Why can't you just tell me, anyway?" She glanced over her shoulder in her sorting. "I don't want to argue about it, I don't even give much of a damn what it is. I do give a damn that you're obviously going out of your way to hide something and you seem to think I'll buy it."

"I already told you what it is," he frowned, folding his arms on the table and turning his head to face her. "There is nothing to 'buy', Brae."

She merely pressed her lips together in a firm line, sorting the cloth with perhaps a little more vigor than necessary. "No, you didn't. You only -technically- told me what it is, and you're clearly afraid of it- why -wouldn't- you tell me so I can avoid it? Loa, I'm starting to feel the only person around here who tells me anything is Avanidra."

A foul curse followed the mention of her name. "That is enough!" he growled and stood, moving towards the door.

"Then what in the name of the loa is scaring you so badly about some damn herbs you can't even tell me what they do? What harm is there in me knowing? Where did they come from? It's practically idle chat for normal couples!" She hurled the words back at him, moving to stand between he and the door, hands on hips.

He wanted to say he wasn't afraid, but he was, he could feel his heartbeat in his throat. He balled his hands at his sides. "Because you wouldn't be satisfied with knowing what it is," he growled. "And I don't want to get into twenty questions with you right now."

She sighs quietly, pushing her hand through her hair. "You can't- it's not fair to say that I wouldn't without trying. And you know the questions wouldn't stop- I'd just find new ways and times to ask them." She reaches out for one of his hands, holding it between both of her smaller ones. "Please, love? I don't want an argument, I don't want a fight. I just want to talk with you. That's all."

He looked down to where she held his hand and sighed. He looked back up. "It's a kind of poison," he said quietly. "That's what it is."

"Oh. What kind of poison? Do we know anyone who'd give you poison?" She lifted a brow slightly, looking worried.

He gave her a look. "That is exactly what I meant!" he said frustrated. "More questions and more worry!" He laid his other hand against her cheek and leaned in so he was a little more even with her eyes. "I knew it was poison when it was given to me and there is no cause for concern."

She frowned at him, stepping back and letting his hand drop. "There wouldn't be more questions if you'd just been clear up front, you know. Can I at least ask how long you've had it?" A wave of foreboding was starting to lift under her feet and she gave him a long look. "Yoresh, are you sure you told me absolutely everything that afternoon?"

He looked down in the space between them and let out a soft growl, finally shaking his head. "No, I hadn't." His eyes returned to hers and he gripped her shoulders. "But Brae, what I'm about to tell you... I didn't want to tell you before because I didn't want you thinking about it with everything else going on." He paused and licked his lips. "The poison was given to me by the Zulfi to be used in the event that something went terribly wrong with the child," he spoke fast, giving her no chance to get a word in edgewise if she wanted to. He wanted to make her understand. "It was meant as a precaution! A safety net! Only if there was no other choice; I swear to you!" He had to take a breath before pushing on. "That's why I didn't want you touching it. She told me it was to be ingested but I never asked her if skin contact would harm either of you. I didn't want you to know and make you keep thinking about it. I was just going to get rid of it once the child was here."

Brae shrugged off his hands, backing slowly away until her back was pressed firmly against the wall. She wished she hadn't asked. She wished she could unhear any of it. Her head was spinning. "You......you keep saying 'the', not 'our' or.....and loa, I had to even talk you into it....and....and..." She looked up at him, disbelieving. "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME? After -everything- with Sarenne? HOW?" She couldn't help herself, even though she knew she was half-shouting. "Did....do you even -want- this baby? Were you planning on holding it, waiting to slip it when I wasn't paying attention.....with everything so risky it would have been the perfect answer, wouldn't it have, looking natural as can be?" She was shaking, not sure where the train of thought was taking her, but it wasn't anywhere she wanted to go.

His hands remained in the air, hovering where she had been. "Brae, no," he said his tone almost pleading. "No no no, you're not understanding." He crouched down, one hand touching the floor, the other half reaching out to her. "I told you it was just if there was no other way." His voice trembled, somewhere between soothing and frightened. "I was going to tell you if it was to be used, I swear I would tell you first. And of course I want the child- our child," he quickly corrected himself. "But Brae, I didn't want you worrying about it, thinking about it the entire time, wondering... I told you." His knees hit the wood. "I would never trick you into taking it unaware. Never! How can you even think that?!" He hit his knuckles against the wood.

"Because you stood there, looked me in the eye and swore that that was all she'd had to say. And you looked me in the eye and lied to me. Knowing everything about my history. You chose to hide something like this." She shook her head, pressing back against the wall further as he reached. "You're not just like her. You're exactly like her. Exactly like every single last one of them- the concept that I can manage to handle anything at all is so foreign to you that I might as well never have bothered trying in the first place." She was practically shaking with fury, but all she wanted was to be out of here, away from this, away from him because she couldn't meet his gaze any more.

"I am nothing like her!" he barked before he could stop himself, her words stinging something fierce. He grabbed his braid and kept tugging with every word. "I'm not. I'm not like them!" he growled. "I love you! I care for you, I take care of you! I'm your mate Brae, it's my job to protect you, keep you from harm. I did it to protect you! Please look at me, love. Brae, please understand?"

"When will you get it through your thick, loa-damned skull that LYING TO ME IS NOT THE SAME AS PROTECTING? I wouldn't have worried one damn minute knowing it was there, I would have ******* been reassured! I am so sick and tired of having that choice- the choice of whether to worry or not- stolen away from me by someone who thinks they KNOW BEST FOR ME." She roared back at him, although she picked a spot just over his shoulder to actually stare daggers at. "I have asked nicely. I have tried to be firm about it. But for whatever reason, you don't want a partner for your mate- you want a weakling. And I am not that girl anymore. I couldn't be, after you were gone." She tugged a curl and inched her way toward the bed, giving him as wide a berth as possible and trying to stay out of arm's reach.

Yoresh's ears went flat to his skull as she roared at him. He had never heard her cuss like that nor had she ever spoken to him like this. Not like this. His ears lifted halfway, then lowered again, then twitched up and flattened back down. Finally they lifted halfway up, stiff with anger as it pushed down the panic inside of him. He was incredibly hurt by the way she was acting; the way she was avoiding him, not even looking at him.

He pushed himself to his feet and turned towards her, his voice when he spoke, tight and low with an edge of growl. "You would have been reassured?" he asked her. "You wouldn't have asked me why I had it in the first place? Why I would want to keep it? Why I would even think of using it? You wouldn't have wondered somewhere in the back of your mind if the tea I gave you was the right tea?" He snarled the last. His hands were balled into ever tightening fists, his claws cutting into his skin. "You wouldn't ask me again and again if I wanted our child? Why I wasn't more enthusiastic about it? If I wasn't thinking about using it without just reason?"

He took a step towards her. "I don't want a weakling, I never did," he said, his voice squeezed down again. "You were never a weakling. Shy and unsure of yourself maybe, but never weak."

"I've always had your best intentions at heart and maybe I've been wrong on several occasions but I try, Brae. I try." He reached out for her. "I didn't leave you by choice! I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when I should have been and I'm sorry you've had to change on account of it. But while you where out there changing, I was locked away in a cell, still the same. I am who I've always been; the person you fell in love with. Who has always wanted to protect you from anything that might threaten you!"

He closed his hand on air and lowered his arm. "Why are you pulling away from me like this? Like I'm about to hurt you?"

"If you'd just told me about it? With everything else you'd already told me? NO, I never once would have wondered- because when, until now have I EVER less than trusted anything you've told me? I never would have wondered if it was the right tea because I TRUSTED YOU. I always did, from the first day. But this....this..." She gestured. "I can't...it's... no, I just...I can't. I'm sorry. I can't." She avoided his gaze, hiding by turning her head so he could only see the side of her face and even that was hidden by her curls. "You've been so busy and distracted hiding this that of course I wondered if you were actually....but if you'd said something....." She shrugged, ears twitching rapidly. "I...just...I'm sorry." It wasn't an apology to smooth things over.

Had he truly misjudged events this badly? She couldn't even look at him. What had he done? He felt sick. What have I done? "Brae," he said quietly. "Look at me?" He carefully reached up, intending to touch her chin and turn her face to him.

She let him turn her face, but she closed her eyes a long minute. "Yoresh. Please. Please don't make this harder, because I can't bear.... Just...this was a fairy tale, I guess. And..." She shook her head, gently lifting her chin out of his fingers.

He let his hand fall away and took a step back, something incredibly cold going through him in a wave. "What are you saying?"

She did look at him then, brow lifting. "What do you think? I can't....this..." She couldn't find words for how rucked and abandoned it made her feel. "I never thought you would do something like this, not you. Never, ever, ever you. But you did. And I can't...." She shook her head and sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. "I'm sorry. I can even wait for you to brew some, if you want- and then free of complications, I guess." She looked entirely defeated, her ears still twitching slightly.

He stared at her with something akin to horror in his eyes. No. Nonononononono. "No... Brae.. no," he wanted to touch her so badly his fingers itched with the need and he had to close his fist to keep from reaching for her again. "I told you... I wasn't going to... I would have told you before..." he grabbed his braid. "I thought it would add to your stress, your worries. I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Again his hand moved as if to touch her, but never made it that far. "I didn't mean for this to..."

He took another step back, his hand going to the pants pocket the pouch was in. He shook his head. Back and forth and back and forth.

Overall, she'd been...uncharacteristically calm. Very unlike herself. Finally she rounded on him in a way that -was- more herself, punching the oddities through even his panicked mind. She whirled and closed the distance. "You didn't mean for this to what, Yoresh? You were..you are...I told you that you'd been my whole world even when I thought you were dead and you did this. When I think about how many times you could have told me...." Two tiny fists beat against his chest, punctuated by ragged sobs. "And she never told me, either. I can't....believe this... I just....what am I supposed to do when the world caves in on me AGAIN?"

He froze when she suddenly turned to him, came closer to him. He let her hit him and didn't know what to do for an instant, the change had been too sudden. He finally put his hands on her upper arms. "I never meant for this to go so horribly wrong; to hurt you like this!" He moved his hands to cup her face. "I really thought I was doing the right thing. I was hoping I would just keep it away and destroy it. That there would be no need for it. I want our child to survive and I want you to survive. But I had to have something... something to make sure if the worst would happen I could make sure you would come through. Hasanah couldn't guaranty me she would be able to make it in time to save either of you. And with everything happening, I thought not telling you would be better, I really did, Brae. Please understand, I never meant to hurt you like this."

"But you did anyway." Quietly, with a sniffle. "I asked so many times before because I needed to know- with what's lurking in my head...I needed....so this wouldn't..." She shook her head, nearly recoiling- not from him, he didn't think. "No...." A horrified whisper before she pulled away gently, starting to back toward the door. "Stay away- you have...promise me you'll stay way." Her ears were twitching something fierce.

The thought that struck him was almost like a physical blow and for a moment he completely forgot to breath. "No... I didn't... please tell me I didn't..." He moved to stand between her and the door, his hand hovering in front of her. "No Brae," he said with words that sounded infinitely calmer than he felt. "I am not going to abandon you to this. To her. I won't!"

She didn't seem particularly steady on her feet and she gave him a pained look. "You have to, at least right now- she'll use me to hurt you and no matter how hurt I am I can't..." She yelped and tried to move around him. "Tell them. Tell them and you can all find me...but I need to be far, far away from anyone right now." She was gritting her teeth, fighting the urge to just knock him aside like a toy, knowing it wasn't her.

He was torn. He didn't want to force the !@#$% to make Brae do something she didn't want to, but he couldn't just let her leave. He couldn't.

"I can't..." he breathed. "Tell me how to help you Brae... I can't just stand aside... I can't."

She squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her teeth. The sound of her wards coming loose was like a valance in her head, victorious, raucous laughter echoing through it. "Then let me go around you." She gritted out. "Leave like I'm...angry. And then find me, because I know you will....and we'll solve the rest then." Her fists were clenched, knuckles white. Finally, her eyes opened, but they weren't entirely hers. "I'm sorry, love..." An involuntary flick of her wrist sent a spell hurtling his way.

Yoresh managed to cast a barrier spell in time, but it was brittle and only took the brunt of the spell instead of all of it. He was knocked clear of the door, landing in a heap with a snarl. Even after all this time his magic was still failing him. He pushed himself up. "I will find you," he said. His eyes bled over and began shimmering like embers, his face crumbling into something vicious and she knew the next words weren't meant for her. "I will find you and I will destroy you!"

The mage herself was gone- from the eyes that gauged him critically, to the straighter, more self-assured posture. She swept past him in a rustle of skirts, pausing to pat him on the head condescendingly. "You keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll even believe it, some day. In the meantime, I do believe I have some -delightful- exploring to do." He got an evil smirk. "I do owe you such a great deal of thanks for getting me out of that wretched cage- here I'd thought I'd have to work harder, and instead you delivered her with a bow!" She laughed quietly. "Maybe, just maybe, I'll show my thanks by not disposing of her like so much leftover cloth when I'm done with her." The...Ava-Brae swished off toward the docks, whistling to herself.

He knocked her hand away like it was something vile and stood as she spoke, claws cutting into his healed palms all over again. She was right. Loa she was right. It was his fault she had gotten so angry it had cracked her wards and his actions veritably destroyed them. His stupidity.

"I'll get you back," he said as he could only watch her leave. "I'll get you back. I swear I will get you back."

Yoresh had told them for all the good it had done. They had been told she had taken a ship to Ratchet, but who knew if she had really gone there or teleported someplace else entirely. Returning to the small room he grabbed his over-robe, slipping it on, and went to her desk. The journal was still there.

One day earlier…

Yoresh was debating on whether or not to take the journal to Kordrion and the others for safe keeping as he looked through Brae’s papers, looking for anything that might help them, when he heard the voices. He looked over his shoulder, but there was no one there and it finally occurred to him the voices were coming from his hearthstone. He fished it out of his pocket and held it up, listening.

It was Brae’s voice… but not. No, it was different. It was Avanidra. His lips pulled back in a sneer while part of him was hopeful that Brae had somehow managed to activate the stone so he could overhear something that would give him a notion of where she was currently at.

That hope was swiftly dashed when he realized what was happening. The other voice had been male and what he was hearing now made him sick to his stomach. The hearthstone hadn’t been Brae’s way of trying to help him find her. It was Reece’s way of letting him know exactly what she was doing with his mate’s body.

His hands clutched the stone as though he would crush it as rage so hot it should have erupted from his very skin tore through him. Foul words and deadly promises flowed out like water from a broken dam as he tried to drown out the sounds. He tried and failed to sever the connection repeatedly and it wasn’t until they had finished that he was left with the echo of her laughter in his ears.

Yoresh didn’t know when he had ended up on the floor. The pain of his knees striking the wood hadn’t registered at all, nor the fact the knuckles of his left hand had been struck bloody, the wood beneath it cracked. He dropped the stone and grabbed the crest of hair at its roots doubling over.

Brae… loa…

A strangled sound escaped through clenched teeth. He had to get out of here. If he didn’t he was going to destroy the room and likely everything close by anyway he could. As if on autopilot he grabbed the hearthstone and slipped it back into his pocket before using the desk to pull himself to his feet. He stumbled away from it and was out the door, the journal and Brae’s research remaining behind.

It was very late when the sound disturbed whatever fitful rest he was managing.

"Y-Yoresh? Arer you th-there?" Quiet, terrified, almost full of despair. Definitely not Ava. Brae, somehow. A faint sniffle. "It's al-all right if you're n-not I j-just don't know how l-long I've...she'll s-stay asleep."

Yoresh was out in the jungle, a little ways away from Booty Bay, when he heard her voice. At first he thought he had just imagined it, but then quickly fumbled in his robe to get the hearthstone out, holding it tight enough to turn his knuckles pale. It took him two tries to get his voice to work.

"Brae?"

"I'm s-sorry if I w-woke you up." He could hear her gulp. "I j-ju-just...after sh-she....the th-thing sh-she....d-did th-the other n-night..." Another quick breath. "J-just n-needed to hear you."

He heavily sat down against the closest tree and held the stone in both hands, easing his grip a little. He shook his head. Then realizing she couldn't see it, he swallowed. "I was awake." He hunched forward and pressed the stone to his forehead, his eyes shut tight as he tried his best to keep that horrible feeling at bay. "Has she hurt you?" His voice was a little strained with the effort. It was an incredibly stupid question, but he didn't know how else to ask after her wellbeing. 'How are you feeling' would have been even worse. He just needed to know something.

"It depends on h-how you m-mean 'hurt', love. Physically? N-not p-particularly. B-but l-locking me b-behind my own wards so I kn-know wh-what she's up to and letting me out a n-night to th-think it over...." She trailed off into silence. "I'm m-more worried about y-you, honestly. She n-needs m-me, so I'm re-relatively s-safe for n-now."

He shook his head again. How can she worry about him at a time like this? It was her they needed to focus on right now. "She stole the journal and your research," he said after a moment. "I'm assuming she's after the other books." He paused and leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree. "Where are you right now, do you know?"

"On th-the w-way to Karazhan, I th-think. I know she t-took them- but she n-needs me to decipher them and I c-can keep her running for a wh-while, I th-think." She paused, and he could hear the uncertainty hanging in it. "I'm n-not s-sure how m-much l-longer I've g-got- she'll b-be f-furious if sh-she catches m-me.... Th-the other n-night...I'm s-sorry. I cou-couldn't st-stop her."

He grit his teeth and smacked the back of his head into the trunk hard enough to spot his vision for a few seconds. "I know... I know you wouldn't have chosen it," he said quietly, his voice squeezed down. "Brae... I'm...." he made a low sound in the back of his throat. "I haven't given you much reason to trust me, but know that I will find a way to get you back and I will make her sorry she ever laid a finger on on you!"

"I kn-know. The b-books, l-love. F-find th-them first. She'll c-come f-for...." There was an abrupt end to her sentence and a screech, the sound of stone clattering to the ground and then being picked back up.

"By all means, do find my books for me, could you? Might be the only thing that keeps the troublesome !@#$% alive."

Yoresh growled and bolted to his feet. "You wretched scum," he snarled. "When I get my hands on you I will take great pleasure in wringing the life out of you!"

A laugh. "I'm sure she'll be so pleased to hear that- you can't kill what's already dead, dear." She seemed to be enjoying aggravating him so.

"I'll find a way to rip you out of her you ^-*!@!" he shouted, nearly crushing the stone in his hand.

"Temper, temper. No wonder the girl's half-terrified of you. I was merely proposing a simple b usiness exchange. My books for your elf. Easy enough, isn't it? Or should I find that other elf you both seem rather fond of and let you pick?"

Her words gave him a moment's pause. Was Brae really scared of him? He growled and glared at the hearthstone. "You better not go near her," he said, avoiding naming Lanth. He didn't know how much Reece knew and he didn't want to put her in danger by giving her a name. "How do I even know you'll uphold your end of this bargain?"

"Do you have any choice but to just hope I will?" She nearly purred it

She laughed at him again. "Oh, you can try, but I put plenty of thought into handling bumbling heroes like you."

"So much thought that you can't even find your own books anymore?" he shot back.

"They were...misappropriated by another bungling hero. I'll have them soon enough thanks to your lovely little elf here. And then I'll either give her back to be myself....or I 'll keep her and there won't be anything left to save. I might keep her. Apparently gentlemen do like her curves, and I do like the gentlemen."

A wordless, rage filled roar was her answer, pulled from the very center of his being and he punched his hand into the tree repeatedly before digging his claws into the bark. He wanted it to be Reece so badly and tore down into the wood, pulling out a chunk of it. It promptly caught fire in his hand, suddenly burning him and he threw it away with another shout.

"Don't you dare use her like that again you filthy !@#$%," he snarled, the words barely understandable with rage and rising panic playing havoc inside of him.

"Oooh, touched a sore spot, have we?" She sounded more delighted than anything. "Aren't you the pair that come as a set of gifts that just keep on giving.."I rather think I'll continue to do as I please, and neither of you are capable of stopping me." He heard a faintly delirious giggle. "She's delicious, you know. So much doubt...."

Yoresh felt like his rage wanted to burst his skin. He wanted to feel the fire surround him, feel the power that was supposed to be at his fingertips. But nothing of the sort happened. Faint lines of ember glow was all that crept over his skin, to vanish like it was snuffed out. He let out a frustrated yell. "What the hell are you talking about?!" he shouted into the stone.

"You're her mate and you don't know how badly she second-guesses everything, every day? Herself, orthers...." A snicker. "Oh, that's just too rich. Do you actually know her at all, then?"

He stared at the stone, his breathing ragged. Every day? He clenched his hand around the stone so hard his arm shook. "You lie," he growled low. "You wretched snake. You're lying."

A snort of derision- he could tell she was starting to lose per patience. "Of course. Where do you think her stutter comes from? Trauma? No. She thinks she's unworthy of notice and so goes out of her way to make herself so- including making herself unintelligible. It eats at her, her worthiness."

"Braedori is the most worthy person I know," he growled. "You're wrong about her. If she wanted to make herself unnoticed, why would she have accepted me as her mate? Why would she go through the trouble of building bonds of friendship with others? So she stutters a little, who cares? She speaks many other languages which is more than I can say of you, I'm sure. She is so much stronger than you think, you ^-*!@. I bet she's fighting you even now, isn't she." He let out a sharp breath. "She is a better person than you or I will ever be and she won't give up without a fight. Watch and see what your underestimating her will bring you."

"So overwhelmingly strong she let herself be gift-wrapped and locked up behind her own wards while she shrinks like a coward from the power she has command of. I'm absolutely trembling in these new boots." A faint sigh, as though of boredeom. "This was quite a fun toy, for a while. Now it's become a liability. Sweet dreams- she's not getting loose enough to get in touch with you again." He heard the stone fall to the ground and silence fell shortly after the hideous crack of breaking rock. Brae's stone, as it had been, was gone.

"Your soul to the nether!" he snarled, knowing she couldn't hear him anymore. He closed his finegrs around the stone as though he would crush it in his hand, but then eased up and let out a heavy breath. Jan'alai, watch over your chosen or so help me I will come after you next. His hand went to his braid to pull it when he brushed over the feather. Brae..

Yoresh looked back to where he knew Booty Bay was located. He didn't know how to get Reece out of Brae, but he did know that he couldn't let Reece get all of the books. He had to find them first. Who better to help get information than a spymaster?

Wincing, Koudo bit her lip as the last clasp was tightened. She had ample padding between the cold gray metal, but her left side was still tender from her ordeal over a month ago. She slowly flexed her joints letting them get use to the weight. Approaching a full body mirror, she inspected the fasteners and fittings before placing a simple gray circlet on her head. Satisfied that everything was in order she tipped the armorer, before making her way out into the dusty streets of Ratchet.

She knew she could be stuck in this metal prison for days if not weeks. She had used that excuse to pay for an extravagant bath and spa before setting out on the task at hand. She sighed deeply looking over the small village knowing that Miss Sunhawk wasn't here. Without much to go on she withdrew a small coin from a leather pouch. The coin was palm sized, without markings. She tossed it towards the ground. As the coin fell its descent slowed. The coin itself began to grow rapidly in size. Dust flew up from beneath its hovering surface as it floated about a hands height from the ground. Koudo quickly stepped onto its surface. Kneeling down she grasped the sides letting the disk rise slowly.

She did a quick check-in using her hearthstone before directing the disk south along the coast. She spoke to the wind as she picked up speed, “Okay Brae, where are you hiding?”

Tanaris was not one of Elren Beckley's favorite places to visit. Dry, sandy, and far too sunny. Not to mention infested with goblins.

Bertram Grady, however, was fond of the goblins. "Honest way of living," he grinned when she'd questioned him about his choice of locales. He then added with a wink, "Not to mention they don't ask too many questions about what a man chooses to buy, as long as he's got the gold."

And he did have unusual tastes. She'd spent hours listening to him reminisce about the grand libraries of Stromgarde or playwrights of Alterac, speaking of both common street art and grand opera. He was one of the few who, upon evacuating to Kalimdor, thought to roll up every canvass he could find and bring them with him.

"Art is food for the soul. I would not have us starve," was his explanation.

She'd offered several times to pay for him to live in Stormwind, but the old man was stubborn. He'd moved across the sea once, lost his home twice, and that was enough for him. He preferred to remember his home the way it had been. She supposed she could understand that; even now, she could barely stand the thought of the ruined Theramore. Instead, the Society paid for him to watch for any antiques that might drift through Gadgetzan's markets, and to help restore damaged goods. There were few with Grady's delicate hands and artistic sensibilities.

Elren adjusted the leather tubes under her arms and knocked on his door. Two recently acquired paintings, both covered in layers of dirt and grime. Grady would be delighted to see them, as they were both quite old, yet there were hints of vibrant colors waiting to be released. She also brought some notes on an artist he'd been interested in for a side project of his, although she had found very little of use beside names and a list of lost paintings.

No answer. He was probably busy with a project; he knew she was arriving today. Elren shrugged and walked around the side of the building to the entrance of his art studio. The door was open to allow for a breeze.

"Bert? Bert!"

Black soot and ash coated the stone walls of the studio. The black skeleton of an easel stood in the corner of the room, the painting resting upon it consumed by a long extinguished flame.

And there, in the center of the floor, the blackened husk of a man lay like a forgotten doll.

Not a single footprint disturbed the layer of ash surrounding his body, and yet, there was the glint of a pristine white and gold cloth pressed into Grady's charred fingers. Just a scrap of cloth, but even from the doorway, Elren could discern the pattern of a winged boot embroidered in gold thread.

The AAMS would answer for this.

The Rogue had been warring with herself ever since she left the Hinterlands. She needed information, she knew others were looking for Brae and the other journals, she was looking for different information. The kind of information that would give her the upper hand if it came down to a fight between herself and the possessed mage. Telirra pushed the thought from her mind, if everything went to plan she would never have to fight Brae, she would be able to lock up the filthy necromancer in her own journal all over again. She choose to ignore the fact that she had no idea [i]how[/] one went about locking another essence into a journal was accomplished, but that was why she was traveling where she needed.

Undercity, Telirra avoided it at all costs in the past, almost as much as she avoided Silvermoon but for different reasons. The smell mostly, it always made her gag. The pungent mix of formaldehyde and whatever sludge flowed in that 'river,' if you could call it that.

The slight Elf felt the weight of the stone tucked safely away in her pouch. Commander Stonheardt and his wife had done something for Telirra that she felt she would never be able to repay, the gave her a link to her best friend. She would not be able to use it for a good long while, but it was a trump card. With a sigh she pulled the reins of her Hawkstrider, Belu'ana, taut pulling the flightless bird to a stop. She dismounted and ignored the stiffness in her legs, darkness was falling and she didn't want to be caught in the dark by some of the more unsightly creatures that now infested the Alterac Mountains. Telirra found an abandoned house near the lake that borders the Undercity, after slowly coaxing the bird to actually enter the house she pulled dropped her pouch and stepped to the door of the cabin. She could almost see the outline of the dead city, if she really focused and called up the few memories she had.

"I'm coming for you Brae, I promise."

Koudo sat in one of the most uncomfortable chairs she had ever imagined. After reaching zero progress with the woman she had met in the inn, she thought the local authorities may prove more cooperative. Sadly she was mistaken. As soon as she revealed herself as an agent of the AAMS, she was ushered into a small office and overwhelmed with intense and probing questions.

“By the sun, you must realize the AAMS had nothing to do with this!” Koudo stammered

The constable looked up at Koudo shaking his head “You are in a precarious position Miss Belore’alah. In light of current events, your presence here is quite interesting”

Koudo sighed “I told you before. My office is north of here in Ratchet. I came down here in search of a missing courier. I have only been here a few hours.”

Pointing at the remnants of an AAMS tabard he spoke “You do not deny that this is your colors do you?”

Koudo stared at the piece of cloth knowing what it was, shaking her head slowly she replied “No, I don’t deny what it is. But neither can I explain its presence.”

“Shall we start from the beginning?”

Koudo looked at the constable exasperated. She had lost track of how many hours had past. This was getting her nowhere, turning into a big waste of time. She rose from her chair, fixing her eyes on the goblin “I came to you to seek answers. Not to be questioned in such a manner. You have nothing to hold me here.” Her voice lowered “If you wish to be helpful and solve this crime I suggest you look elsewhere and stop wasting my time.”

She walked purposefully past the constable through the open door and out into the open air.

The constable watched her for a moment and finally blurted “You are being watched. If you do as much as sneeze I will put you behind bars for being a bio hazard”

Koudo turned narrowing her eyes back at the goblin now standing in the open door. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a business card. “I am not going to hide. I can be reached here” At that she tossed the card at his feet.

Turning she headed for the gates. She needed help. It wouldn’t take long to return to her office and let the others know what had happened. Her skills in detective work were less than stellar; any further questions might make things worse. A change of clothes and bringing someone to help might make all the difference. She really wanted to speak to the woman at the inn again, but not alone.

"Silly, grumpy troll. Let go, please."

The afternoon kept replaying like a nightmare. Apparently his recovery was coming along, because if she hadn't been able to fight through long enough to get his attention....well, they'd have all been attending her funeral, instead. It was terrifying to think Avanidra could goad him so easily, especially when she knew the last thing he wanted was to hurt her- hurt them.

Most of the conversation was a fog, really. She knew that Ava had used her skills to hurt or goad both Telirra and Yoresh in front of that damn painting she'd been looking for. Brae wondered, idly, how the pair had ended up working together but gave the point up as both moot and not worth chasing- she had more important things to do- like hang on to the bits of herself she had left floating in the toxin that was Avanidra Reece's presence.

"I'll keep coming back for you. Over and over and over- as many times as it takes until I can finally take you home with me, too."

Perhaps, she mused, some anchors could be ripped away. But hers? The current would always carry it back to her, one way or another. Now she just had to wait. They were coming. It was only a matter of time.

Tiri reclined back in her chair as she considered the two books sitting on the table in front of her. She finally grinned to herself and turned to dig through her satchel to pull out her stone. She fiddled with it for a moment, before, "Brae? I found some of the books you mentioned. Where do you want to meet?" She waited expectantly, which slowly turned into confusion as she was met only by static. She eyed the stone, before shoving it back in the satchel. "Odd." She eyed the books for another few moments, before she sighed. "Right. Booty Bay it is." She snagged the satchel from the arm of her chair and stuffed the books in it, before making her way out.

She tapped her foot in impatience at the dock. The boat was late, later than it should have been. Really she just wanted to make one last house-call before everything fell so nicely into place. Ava was looking forward to informing the troll how badly he'd lost. Eventually, all three of the journals would be required to restore her full self, but just one would do to rid herself of the abominably tenacious presence of her body's previous owner. And Avanidra knew exactly where it was, tucked safely away. The brat would help her past the wards and then....freedom. Finally. She fought to keep her smirk from turning to a grin of giddy delight.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go ahead and gloat. You won't be gloating for long...

The mage kept weaving tendrils of energy in her prison. Reece had no idea how wards actually worked- she'd seen for herself how simply the other thought things would fall into line. That was fine. She was about to turn the tables on her captor. The decades she'd devoted to being able to cast with only a thought to get around that damn stutter were finally going to pay off....if she could get her hands on that damn book.