Amber Shards

Chapter 4

Fire and Revelations

By

Michael Liebhart

Sitting alone at night

This world is so familiar

This place is mystery

But I’ve known this sky here before

I’ve seen these mountains

The clouds and sea before, but I say

I’ve been here before, but not alone

I stand before the world

The light is blue and gray and I say

I have seen these souls

Forever stretched across the past

In you I see a light

A felling warm and so familiar

You’ve been here before, but not alone

Elven Drums – Tir nAn Og

Marcus let loose a string of colorful swear words as another burning branch struck him and flung him forward to the ground. He stood, carefully, and continued the search for his quarry. He had only a vague idea where to look, but was following the gut feeling he had. The meta thought back and recalled how he got drug into this.

Sergeant Davis had contacted him with another assignment. This one was a little milk run, this was "right up his alley", the sergeant had said. It seemed that some sort of creature was loose in north Texas and was burning acres of farmland, homesteads and forests. This was compounded with the unseasonable drought that the area had been suffering. Since he could control heat and cold to such a powerful degree, he could assist with fire fighting and hunting down this thing. Surely the Meta, Frost Fire could handle such a simple assignment. Marcus had quickly agreed to it without comprehension of the full magnitude of the task.

Marcus had wanted to become more useful to the military and the surrounding communities. He worked very hard to prove himself and show people that not all Metas were evil. There could be many good uses put to their powers. Now he had not met any men yet that hadn't let the power take them over, but there had been a couple women that had displayed useful abilities. They weren't very powerful, but through his example he had begun to pave the way for others. They had begun to prove themselves very helpful to their communities.

The military had shipped him up north and he had been of great assistance putting out several fires in fields and woods. There were reports of some weird creature spotted in the flames, but up to now they had found no evidence of it. There had seemed to be a cycle to the fires as well. First they had happened about once a month and had been minor outbreaks no real damage, but the fires had been in areas where breakouts should not normally happen. Then the time between the outbreaks grew shorter and the size of the fires grew larger. Marcus also noted that the drought seemed to start around this same time too, but Sergeant Davis dismissed this as well. Now the outbreaks were happening nearly every day. The situation was getting desperate and the Rebels were counting on him!

As he battled the fires and pushed himself, Marcus honed and discovered new aspects to his power. Creating firebreaks and using cold blasts to disrupt hot spots were standard uses, but the power he had stumbled upon was absorbing the heat and energy of the fire into himself. It was like he could become a human battery, using the stolen energy to power his own abilities.

That was the upside of all of this. The down side was having to traipse around with breathing tanks, being battered by falling trees and limbs, and seeing the carnage and death the fire left in its wake.

Marcus gazed at the huge branch that had clipped him and for the umpteenth time thanked God for his kinetic force field. Even with his power protecting him from the heat he might not have survived the falling limbs and trees. He stared at the limb, caused it to flash hotter and absorbed the energies into himself. The youth stepped over its remains and began to turn in a new direction when he heard a scream through the roar of flame. No, heard was the wrong words, he felt a scream. It was laced with pain and terror.

He sprinted as quickly as the burdensome air tanks allowed and moved in the direction of the scream. He could feel the fire growing hotter as he got closer to the source. Ahead though the inferno the young meta sensed power, but different than anything he had come across before. Then suddenly he found the epicenter of it, a large circle of ground untouched by the fire.

In the middle of it was a woman in a burnt dress covered in ash huddled protectively over a small child. Five creatures moved into the ‘untouched' space. Marcus stood, stupefied, watching them. Nothing in his previous eighteen years had prepared him for what he saw. They were creatures of flame and they radiated power that he could sense, like sensing Ian or when the wood nymphs had been summoned. The creatures appeared to be somewhat solid at moments, with dull black skin with flame dancing about them, and then other moments they were humanoid shapes bathed in yellow and blue fire.

The five approached within twenty feet of the woman and seemed to be stopped by some unseen force. The woman held something in her hands and spoke words he could not make out over the flames. What ever she said seemed to enrage the creatures. He sensed something horrible was going to happen and not even the power she was wielding would protect her. This dread fell over him and spurred him into action once more. He ran toward the scene, and hurled blasts of cold into the area, but these were unable to pass through the barrier that held out the fire.

As he ran the creatures extend their arms and pointed at the woman. Power flared and fire poured over the woman and child. Marcus struck the barrier that had held out his power. He pushed and struggled to pass through it, but was unable to. He could now hear the screams as well as feel them. Tears came to his eyes as he continued to push in vain.

The unseen wall fell at the same moment the screams ended. Heat washed into the area and everything flammable that had been untouched began to smolder. The largest of the creatures approached the burnt husks that up to a few moments ago that had been two living people.

The things crackled and seemed to be laughing and enjoying this event. Though he could not completely understand them he could grasp general desires. The largest wanted something from the woman, some sort of power.

Rage swam before his eyes. An unintelligible cry tore loose from his throat. The things turned and fixed their attention on him. If he had been less angry he may have been unnerved by the inhuman expressions of cruelty and lust that they exuded.

"You bastards want to see power," he screamed "then watch this."

Marcus thrust his hand forwards began to rip the heat and energy from these things. An unearthly wail started shortly after he begun.

As one, the hideous creatures turned towards him and began to pour fire in his direction. He sucked it up like a sponge. Their fire began to burn brighter, from yellow to blue to white and still he continued drawing in their flame.

First one and then another other flashed out of existence, leaving nothing but a rending sound in the air as he drew the last of their power within him. On one level he felt uneasy about this, but on another he didn’t care and wouldn’t stop. The brutal slaughter of the woman and her baby had pushed him past the point of rational thought.

Finally there was only the leader left. It stood over the burned corpses and it swayed on its feet. Marcus knew he couldn't draw in much more power. He was burning up inside and it wasn't from the forest fire. In fact the fire within a hundred feet of him had vanished along with the creatures.

Something shifted within him and caused his left arm to stab with pain. If he had been less pressed he would have felt it open up in his mind, but he was too busy. He felt he was going to rupture when the air shook and the final creature vanished. Silently he cried out trying to contain the power he held, desperately clawed to keep it from exploding and possibly taking him with it.

"You bastard, what have you done!!" a voice bellowed. Through the haze of power and pain he saw someone in green staking toward him menacingly.

"…please…leave now…"

Rogue flew over North Texas and helped fight the forest fires. Once again she enjoyed her new Kryptonian powers. She never could have done what she did now to fight this fire. X-ray & infrared vision to locate survivors and dangerous hot spots, super strength to create fire breaks and super speed to curn up earth at such a rate to quickly smother fires.

The Kandorians had notified them of the outbreaks, their continued frequency and increased severity. Not only was she here, but Kara, Jenny and Lar were also helping. She regretted that the Twins were not here as well. This situation would have been an excellent training exercise for the fledgling heroines. Besides, their help was really needed. People were so spread out in this section of the country and this fire appeared to start in five different places at once and moving out in all direction. It would take all of them working together bring this disaster to a close.

She contined to fly her search pattern over the fire, when she spotted a huge hot spot ahead. It had registered hotter than anything she had seen so far. Rogue brought up her communicator.

"Kara, I think I might have spotted something." She spoke into the device. Zor-El had asked them to keep theirs eyes open for a possible origin to these fires.

"Be careful.” Kara’s voice sounded tiny coming from the device and was full of concern. “Father sounded kind of strange when he told us about these. I'm not sure but something has disturbed him about this."

Rouge smiled at Kara's concern and assured her that she would be all right. Cautiously the kryptonian approached the area. There was a slight flash as she approached a section of the forest that had been burned but its center seemed to have somehow avoided the fire until a few minutes ago. A man with red hair tied back in a bandana stood with a breathing tank. He was facing a stump, no…it was a corpse. She landed slowly. The air around this the corpse was the hottest thing in the area. She also recognized one further fact, it wasn't just one corpse there were two, the larger one cradled a smaller one, that of a child. The smell of charred flesh assailed her nose. Images of Carrie and Karen as infants flashed through her mind. Heat rose off this apparent meta in waves.

"You bastard, what have you done!!" Rogue bellowed

The figured turned and it a young man probably not older than twenty years at most. Fire danced over his skin and in his eyes. Smoke curled up around his feet

He mouthed something "leave now…" The words so quiet she nearly missed them against the background noise of the fire. They seemed to carry a heat as well.

"Like hell I will." Rogue stalked towards him. She was tired of these metas throwing their power around and hurting others. He backed away as if in a dream or on drugs. She had probably found the firebug. Some meta punk on drugs who started fires. She had dealt with enough of these kinds when she was an X-Men. Show some force and something that wouldn't burn and they would back down really fast. The kryptonian grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shook him. "You little worm. This is going to stop, right now!"

The young man wailed and hell erupted from him in a wave of white-hot flame. Rogue knew immediately that something was wrong, because this hurt, a lot! She tossed him across the clearing to try and escape his wrath.

Her skin was blistered and it had singed away part of her hair. She looked down and nothing was left of her uniform except burning tatters of cloth. Another uniform burned off.

"Damn it! This is getting really old, really fast." Rogue stalked over to the lad. He had landed against a burning stump. She had managed to break his left arm, probably cracked a couple of ribs and knocked him out cold. The kryptonian looked down and contemplated what to do with this firebug. She gazed down at her naked form and wondered if this afternoon could get worse.

Ian put the finishing touches on a conjuration to deal with the drought that Northern Texas had been suffering under and stored it away in his ring. He stood and walked over to another table in his lab. There he picked up a pair of boots. These he had set aside and would now begin to enchant for Marcus when a small jet of white flame appeared before him.

Within the flame was the unmistakable presence of Frostfire. Immediately he realized that Marcus was trying to contact him via the link he had empowered the lad with. The jet spoke to his mind but it did not relay words the way it was supposed to. Instead, it conveyed pain and a great need for help.

He dropped the footgear, waved his hand and spouts of flame manifested about the room. Ian he used his power to transport his items of power onto his person, then in a burst of light he vanished from the lab…and into a forest fire.

His wardings kept away the heat, but not the smoke. He closed his eyes, focused his thoughts inward and tried a trick that he had been taught only a little while before he had been exiled. His mother's people were natural shapechangers; his father's people still carried the gift, but not as strongly. Ian had learned a little of the skill, but not significantly. He had learned a couple of forms, but what he needed was something that had to be improvised.

Ian held his breath, his brow furrowed in concentration and need. The need helped to focus his body on the changes he desired. His lungs burned with the desire to breathe but he continued to focus his will. The wizard felt what he hoped were the desired changes taking place in his head. Finally, he breathed in through his nose and filled his lungs with air. Hot, air, but clean. In his sinuses now were new membranes and they should filter out the smoke, at least for a while. He wasn't really planning on staying here that long either.

Instantly he cast about with his mind and searched for Marcus. The tattoo he had given the young meta worked as a homing beacon, as well as its other functions. At the same time he called The White Flame to fill him and empowered himself, mind and body. "With my luck some god had decided to romp around and play in these flames." He muttered.

Ian followed the pull of the tattoo and he let The White Flame transported him from his current location to a clearing that seemed to have escaped the ravages of this fire until just recently. In this clearing stood a dirty muscular and naked woman. She had singed red head, with a mohawk-like white stripe that ran through the middle of it. She contemplated Marcus who appeared to be unconscious. A cursory scan showed that he was still alive, but badly hurt. The aura about her was angry. Obviously from the texture of her surface thoughts and emotions the lad had got in some licks. Judging from her lack of clothing as well as the badly blistered skin and singed hair he had probably managed to destroy her possessions as well

The woman began to move towards the youth's body, still generating anger. He needed to stop her, probe her mind and discover what her motive was. Ian now kept a spell prepared for just such a situation like this, especially after the attack at the ceremony with the wood nymphs, a spell to incapacitate more than damage.

Ian began to speak the trigger word for the spell. Tintreach. The woman seemed to sense his presence, turned with blinding speed and launched herself at him. The assailant got about five feet from him when electricity arched from his hands and threw her back to the ground. She shuddered for a moment and fell unconscious.

The wizard stepped into the clearing and moved cautiously towards her. She was beautiful but very dangerous. He shifted some of his power from empowering his strength & stamina, to empowering his will. He needed his instincts and mental skills to be faster.

He closed his eyes, touched her forehead for best contact, entered her mind and met with no real resistance. Good she wasn't a telepath. Swiftly he moved to various centers of her mind and began to lock them down. Shortly Ian had her locked into a coma-like state. He stood and contemplated her. From the glimpses he had seen in her mind he realized that she wasn't a standard meta. She wasn't human either, but she was incredibly powerful. At least in this reality she might be a good match for some of his relatives. Ian wondered how he had managed to take her out so simply. He needed to study her through The Pattern Lens. "Celia…" He never finished the command.

Kara was concerned, something nagged at her and she wasn't sure why. Rouge had checked in a several minutes ago, and had not responded back. She realized this was stupid. Rouge could take care of herself, but something continued to bother her. She checked the link again and realized that it wasn't even receiving a passive signal from Rogue.

"Damn!" Kara clicked the communicator. "Jenny, Lar, I think there is a problem. I've lost Rogue's signal. Do either of you register her com?"

"No Kara." Double Damn.

"I haven't seen anyone in this area at all. If you guys are busy I may go see why Rogue turned off her com."

"Go for it girl." Jenny said. "I feel like Old McDonald right now. Quite a few animals were trapped by the fires and I couldn't watch them die." Lar chimed in. "I also am trying to bring an elderly couple to safety." In the background some squabbling could be heard. "If the good lord hand intended men to fly…" and "…didn't do anything to you." Lar stated dryly. "I stress the word trying!"

Kara smiled in spite of her worries. "Roger that. I'll let you know when I find something."

She gained further height over the fire and zipped off in the direction that Rogue had been in. The woman of steel rapidly performed a zigzag pattern over the forest and scanned it with her x-ray vision. Then she spotted Rogue; her lover was unconscious on the ground, her clothes in tatters with a dark haired man standing over her prone form. She was slightly burnt and her communicator was gone. Also in the clearing was a red headed youth lying at the base of a tree and the burnt corpse of another woman. Only metas could survive in this fire without any safety gear as he was.

"Lets knock this fool out, find out who and what he is and what's happened to Rogue."

Bells went of in Ian's mind. Blindly he teleported as something clipped him hard. The force of the blow had not been completely absorbed by his warding armor and he thudded into a tree in another section of the forest, even after he had teleported. He recalled for a moment seeing something gold and red. Sigh! The red head was not alone. He shook his head to try to clear it and dropped another trigger word. Cathéide. His form shimmered as a fantastical gray plate armor materialized on him. This was one of his emergency contingencies that he had also started using after the incident with the wood nymphs. It was an enhancement to his wardings. Very few things were going to be able to make an impact on this. This was really bad timing. Marcus needed help; Ian needed this to be over quickly.

Ian reached within again and shifted the power of The White Flame completely to his instincts and Will. Whatever that thing was, it moved at frightening speed. Quickly he began to lay out a plan to deal with this other creature.

"What?!" Kara exclaimed after the dark haired man vanished when she had barely touched him. She turned back to Rogue and landed at her side. Her love breathed slowly as well having a slow heartbeat as if in a deep sleep. She seemed to suffer some sort of burn all over that was not healing, but beyond that there were no other injuries, external or internal. Kara tried to shake her gently to wake her, then harder, with no reaction what so ever. Her love lay motionless as if in a coma.

Kara gently laid Rogue back on the ground, stood and looked around. A cold fury fell over her. This man would pay, and he would restore Rogue or he would suffer! She rapidly used her x-ray vision and spotted the man, now wearing some sort of shielded armor.

"Little man, that is going to do you very little good" she hissed, her voice deadly cold. Her face became a mask of determination and she was gone.

Eyes closed in concentration; Ian had finished laying out the last pieces of spell when he felt the precognitive warnings of the approaching entity. He vanished a moment before she passed and appeared fifty feet forward from his previous position and put himself behind the gold and red blur.

The instant it had passed over his previous position it was encased in granite. Only the head was not covered and showed him briefly the face of a beautiful blond woman and the next second she exploded out of the stone cocoon. It didn’t stop the chain of events he had laid down. The first spell had been daisy chained to a second and brought into existence a golem. It was a creature of living metal, stood fifty feet tall and appeared to be a humanoid shape with no distinct features. In its hand were two flaming scimitars.

The woman stopped, and beams shot from her eyes that struck first one blade and then the other and melted them to slag. Before the golem could react, she flew at the creature, performed an overhead smash on its head that shoved it into the torso. Then, in a flash, she reached out and ripped off one of its arms and then the other. It stumbled back and she grabbed it by one of its legs flew up in the air, held the thing upside down and drove it like a post into the ground. The part of it that showed was its shins and feet.

This …distressed Ian. He kept running into more and more powerful creatures in this reality. He thought to himself "You had to make the crack earlier about running into a god…" and resolved to pull out some big guns. Ian conjured a short-term simulacrum of himself, coated it in Universal Glue, tied another prepped spell to the general area and teleported about one hundred yards behind the golden fury.

In another moment the woman was a blur and had grabbed his simulacrum. The movement triggered the Air Strike spell he had hung there. Somehow the woman sensed it a moment before it arrived but she was trying to move the simulacrum. It held her fast but only for a moment, then she tore it apart just as the bombs fell.

Ian faced away from the explosion and pondered this. This creature was incredibly strong, but she had to tear the simulacrum apart instead of pulling away from it. He found that curious. With her general strength, she might have survived the air strike. As he was beginning to mentally probe the wreckage the instinct klaxons went off in his head and he blind teleported. The warning bells kept up, he kept teleporting… and she kept moving through the forest as a blur.

Luckily his cousin Veil had run him through exercises like this in some very dangerous realities or he would not have been able to pull this off. The landscape flowed and wherever he went she was there right behind. Not only had she continued to follow but was trying to assail him with hurled branches, stones, fists and eye blasts.

As Ian avoided these, he in turn had dropped a couple of attack spells. Tine, Tintreach, Fuinniúil Scamall. She avoided; another lightning blast, a fireball and a large plasma cloud. The one thing that did seem to faze her was the silver phoenix construct, TineÉan; a creature of pure flames and energy. He dropped it where his instincts told him she would be. Before she would react she passed through it and it seemed to hurt her. The woman's responded and tore a tree from the ground and repeatedly struck the construct with it. It managed to strike her with a couple of strikes before she disabled it.

The wizard moved himself further out of the area and realized what it was that hurt her; direct magic. The spells she had avoided would have hurt her had they made contact, the woman was completely susceptible to magic. Ian smiled; finally he could get a handle on this situation, subdue her and get back to Marcus. Then fate handed him a bad hand.

The breathing filters that he had created through shapeshifting had finally filled up with smoke and dust. The teleportations and combat situation had loosened their contents. The next breath he took was full of dust. Ian vainly tried to continue the combat teleportations, but had trouble focusing as he hacked and choked. At the moment he felt he had finally got his lungs cleared out, his luck ran out.

Kara continued through the dying forest and followed what she assumed was some kind of wizard. Whoever he was, he was fast. After dodging several spells, he conjured a bird of silver flame. She was unable to avoid it and screamed in frustration and pain, as its mystic flames roared over her. She ripped up a tree, dispersed the flaming creature and continued to chase the man. Then for some reason he began to grow erratic in his teleportations. Kara did not care why; she needed him to restore Rogue.

Finally he began to teleport over and over in the same area. She poured on the speed to catch him before he vanished. Tears and ashes covered his face. She caught him across the chest and held on tight. The man stared into her face and was breathing hard, his face a mask of determination. Then the expressions fell away revealing one of wonder. He looked up and made eye contact. He said "Mara?" Then the world simply went away.

When Profession Xavior had made contact with her mind it had been careful, if somewhat distant, this was very powerful and somehow intimate. Images and knowledge spun through her mind. These centered on a woman, a woman with her face and this man.

He was Lord Ian Patrick, exiled son of Corwin, ruler of a kingdom in another reality. His people seemed to wield the power to cross realities and he had found a woman, reflected across reality, his love, and his soul mate. Was she this Mara? They seemed be endlessly meeting and parting. Bits and pieces of these lives danced about her mind…

…music swelled as she danced with Ian. She was in a sea green ball gown. Emerald and silver rings adorned her fingers. She wore a matching necklace and tiara of silver, emerald and diamonds. Ian held her hand and stared lovingly into her eyes as they glided about the room. “So have you spoken with my father yet?” She coyly asked. He smiled mischievously “Ask your father what? I was planning on just spiriting you away to my kingdom.” She laughed at this…

…the hyper spanner slipped off of the hyperdrive unit. Ian swore in some strange language. She smiled up at him from under the engine. Dirt smudged her face and she wore a type of coverall. Her hair was short and utilitarian. “So where are those vaulted mind techniques you claim to have?” A sigh escaped Ian. “I still have them, but if we cannot get this ship working, these medical supplies are not going to get to any of the colonists in time” She smiled back and continued to work on the hyperdrive from below. “Don’t worry love, I think you did manage to get the units aligned up top.” She crawled out from under the unit, “in spite of being a klutz” and kissed him on the nose…

…the room was dark and a storm raged outside the bedroom window. A low fire burned in the fireplace. Soft music filled the room. Then impressions, skin on skin, lips on lips and passion…

…Ian stood in a spaceport awaiting his love. He dressed in a stark black uniform, which included black gloves. The greek symbol Psi was on a pin on his chest. Another man, a supposed superior arrived. “I have some disturbing news. The Corp’s transport has been destroyed, apparently by The Underground.”

Ian stood in shock. “I know this is a trying time. Mara was a vital member of our team. Her skills will be missed.” Slowly Ian turned to the man. “Just her skills?” A slow rage built at this dispassionate discussion of his lover’s death…

Still they continued and in each memory, her, a different world or time, but it was her… Then comprehension, Mara was a telepath and…Kara…she was not.

There was a shudder in the images as if something wasn't synching, at this Ian pulled away, but not before she caught one last thing from his mind, loneliness, a hollow bitter disconnection from life. The anger and rage that she had felt before had been drown in the merging of minds. Ian had not held anything back, thinking that she, Kara, was his lost love. He hadn't intended on hurting Rogue, he was concerned for one of his people. Obviously something had happened and he wasn't sure of everything, but he had only disabled Rouge. "I'm terribly sorry. I'm not Mara."

"I know. You are so very close. Your nobility, compassion, pain…so very close...but your are right... (sigh)."

The world slowly came back to Kara. She found herself in the center of a crater. When Ian had initiated the mind contact she must have continued her flight and plowed into the side of a hill. She then realized that Ian lay back, was looking directly into her eyes and was pinned underneath her.

"Kara? Kara are you ok?" Lar's voice came back to her. He looked down into the pit at the two of them with a confused expression on his face. She then realized that during the flight Ian had somehow managed to get his arms around her as well. Her face grew red as some of the memories that had been shared rushed back to her. Ian let go immediately and seeming to understand the situation. She stood, brushed herself off and tried hard to look as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. In the back of her mind she wondered what it would be like to be a telepath…she immediately blushed as memories came back and shoved all of it aside.

Ian groaned as he stood. His armor had been scarred and dented in the impact. He winced and looked down at it. "I'm impressed. It takes quite a bit to do this kind of damage."

Kara smiled in spite of herself. "I'm sorry. I hadn't meant to hit you so hard."

"Kara are you all right?" Lar looked at her and at Ian suspiciously.

She then realized that she and Ian were still tentatively linked mentally. Oh Rao, if he had 'heard' what she had been thinking earlier.

Ian shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs and she felt the last touch of his mindlink vanish.

Lar began to a step forwards towards Ian. Kara came to and stepped forwards. "Lar, there was a…misunderstanding between the two of us. I thought he had hurt Rogue, but he was defending a student of his who Rogue attacked for some reason."

Lar frowned in confusion. "Kara are you sure you are all right?" Concern tinged his voice.

Kara stepped forwards and in a voice she pitched in the subsonic range so only the daxamite could hear. "I can't really explain now, but I know that he is a friend. He doesn't mean us any harm. In fact he has been trying to help the people here in Otherverse."

"Do you trust him?" He replied back.

Kara's face was blank as she contemplated this. "For the most part." She had seen the rage and the potential damage he was capable of, and then she considered herself and realized that she was capable of the same destructive power. "Yes, I do."

"Thank you." Ian said. Kara and Lar whirled to look at him. The gray armor had vanished and stood with his thumbs tucked in his belt. "I'm sorry, but time is of the essence and I trust Kara, but I didn't know if I could trust you." He stepped forward to the Daxamite and held out his hand. Cautiously Lar took it. "Ian Patrick. Wizard, enchanter and Telepath at your service".

Ian kept his face bland as Lar applied increased pressure in the handshake. If he hadn't been an Amberite and had his standard personal armor on it would have broken bones. He looked into Ian's eyes and smiled a dark smile as if to sayithat he had the power to crush him if needed. Ian smiled back, his respect for Lar raising a notch. It had been some time since he had met someone who subtly threatened instead of overtly. It reminded him of home.

They turned and looked at Kara continued to watch them. Ian could feel the suspicion radiating from her. "Just more male posturing." Ian sent.

"Just what I need, we're in the middle of a forest fire and you two are in a pissing contest." Lar blushed as he remembered why they were here, but he still didn't trust this man's motives.

Ian did not show any outward signs expressions from Kara's comment.

"Rogue and Marcus need our assistance. I'll meet you there." He shimmered in white fire and vanished.

Kara sighed "Show off!" Lar turned to Kara and said with a mock bow said. "Lead the way". She rolled her eyes, wondered what strange force drove men sometimes and took to the air.

The two arrived to find Rogue and Marcus still unconscious, but the youth was propped in Ian’s arms and being coaxed to drink something. He didn't look up as they arrived. "No, Lar, he is not going to choke on this. I have taken over control of some of his bodily functions. What I am giving him is a regenerative." His mental tone was somewhat abrupt.

Kara stepped forward, concerned. Before she could speak he Ian pulled the question from her surface thoughts and replied. "I'm fine. I'm just upset. I know Rogue didn't mean to do what she did to Marcus, but he has a broken arm, a fractured leg, several torn muscles, some broken ribs, but what I am most concerned about is the head trauma. He's suffering from a severe concussion. That is why I am using this elixir and 'encouraging' his system to try and jump-start itself."

After a few moments Ian took a deep breath and looked up at the two heroes. "I'm sorry about that. I was…busy." He turned to Lar and said. "When entering the mind of a person and assisting with activating healing factors and keeping…life support online, you have to share the pain of the person. Marcus had some substantial damage done and it was far easier to continue in a mental mode than the distraction of vocal communication.” He took another step forwards and then turned and seemed to examining something in the air.

Kara looked down at Rogue and back at Ian. "Aren't going to restore her?" She was irritated that Rogue still lay on the ground unclothed.

Ian took another step, his gaze seeming to see nothing and everything. "Yes, but something needs to be done about this fire. I don’t believe this drought is completely natural. There are forces gathered here that need to be dispersed. I had worked out something to deal with the drought, but it will for this as well too." He held out his right hand and with the same distant gaze he spoke “Thoriní Cuthath”.

The air above him shimmered. There was a crackling noise and the smell of ozone and something materialized. It was an enormous serpent, pitch black, and electricity rippled on its scales here and there. Its head was wide enough to swallow a man without effort. A pair of large black-feathered wings fanned themselves slowly. Its gaze passed around the clearing and seemed to halt on things in the distance. Slowly it turned its attention to the people in the clearing.

Kara felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. This was something old and it did not look happy. The air crackled as it turned its attention to Ian. "Who has called forth Xilligharth from his slumber!" He stepped forward so that his face was a couple of feet from the creature. "I, Lord Ian Patrick call you forth...". Their eyes locked and something seemed to transpire, but Kara could not make out what it was.

She caught Lar turn around and look behind him. His face lit with a smile; therefore Kara was not surprised to hear Jenny whisper. "Who is that, what is he talking to and why are we standing here watching it?"

"He is…an ally." She ignored Lar’s upturned eyebrow. "I have no idea what that is, but it may be able to deal with the fire." All this was delivered in a whisper. Jenny then noticed Rogue, was about to ask why she was lying on the ground naked, when the creature roared.

Immediately the three were ready for battle, but instead of an attack, it seemed to do something that none of them would have imagined. It had laughed. With a frightening speed that belied its size, it spun about in a circle above their heads and then rocketed into the skies.

Darkness was left in it wake, but after a moment it was apparent that it was not darkness, but instead clouds. It reached a point in the sky far above the smoke of the fires, there was a sound of thunder and clouds began to billow out from it rapidly.

Lar broke the silence. "…um, Lord Ian, what just happened with that thing."

If Ian noticed the stress that had put on his title, the man ignored it. In fact he appeared somewhat cheerful. "That is not just any thing. It’s a Storm Serpent, a type of elemental of weather. If they were classified, this one would be considered nearing hurricane size. I had been going to use him to try and bring an end to the drought that had struck this area, but this may ‘kill two birds with one stone.’ Ending both the drought and the fire.." During this he walked across an empty blasted section of the clearing to check on Marcus. Kara noticed something was amiss, but could not place it.

The wind picked up rapidly. Ian looked around. "If we don't get out of here soon, we are going to be soaked." He finally took a full notice of Jenny who had been hanging to the back of the three. Their eyes met and Ian had a strange expression disturb his continence. To the green woman, a courteous nod of his head, "My Lady." She nodded back somewhat confused by the level of cordialness he had showed to her, a complete stranger. Lar watched as well, his expression unreadable.

Ian bent down, carefully picked up Marcus and stood. The wind blew more smoke and ashes. "I cleaned my internal filter after Kara and I tangled, but I'm not sure how much longer I can keep them up." He paused a moment and the winds picked up even more. "If we wait here much longer we are going to get soaked. If you do not object I can take us to my tower where we can get cleaned up and restore these two." He inclining his head towards Kara who had picked up Rogue after Ian had picked up Marcus.

Lar frowned, Jenny looked to Kara who nodded. Ian smiled a slight smile. "Good, gather close, I will transport us to the tower." The first splatters of rain had begun to fall through the ruined husks of trees, hissing as they landed. “I will warn you, it may be little disconcerting.”

White flames jumped from Ian to the others and they vanished from the forest and appeared in an old infirmary. Candles burned releasing a light yet unidentifiable aroma into room. A small waterfall was set into the corner of the wall and burbled away.

The three heroes swayed as they materialized. Kara steeled herself and took Rouge to a bed. Jenny was glad that she was already green because if not she would have been. Ian carefully laid Marcus in another bed and returned to Kara’s side with a blanket.

She smoothed back Rouge’s hair and covered her with the blanket. “Would it be a problem if we got her some clothes”. Ian stared into the distance for a moment. “I’m having someone bring her up something.” He said softly.

Ian moved to the head of the bed and cleared his throat. “I am going to bring Rouge out of her fugue state, but I will need assistance. Kara, Lar, would you please take up a position to either side of Rogue. She was in a very agitated emotional state when I disabled her, she may recover in such a state.” He thought to himself "The last thing I need is an enraged powerhouse running amuck in here with Marcus recovering from a severe concussion."

The Kryptonian and Daxamite took up positions at either side of Rogue. Lar wore a somewhat smug look on his face. Jenny watched, at the ready, in case she was needed.

There was no real signal, one moment Ian looked down into Rouge’s face and the next the woman had launched herself out of the bed. Though foggy, she recognized a man standing by her; and a man had struck her unconscious. Before Lar could react, she grabbed his arm, spun and slammed him face first into the wall. There the sound of the stone cracking, but the wall did not give. The Daxamite stood shakily as he faced the stone wall. Jenny encapsulated Rogue in a bubble of green energy while Kara rapidly spoke low to her, in a calming voice.

While Rogue faced away from Lar, Ian walked over to check him out and the wall. The cracks had already begun to repair themselves. The Daxamite had turned and slid down the wall. Ian figured by his aura that Lar’s power must be similar to Kara and Rogue, including the susceptibility to magic. He glanced at Jenny, now her aura was something all together different.

Lar began to loose the glassy look in his eyes and he looked around and saw Ian studying him. Lar wasn’t happy with this meeting. He did not trust this wizard/telepath and Kara seemed to trust him completely.

“Are you all right?” Ian asked.

Lar scowled, wiped blood from his face, looked down at his hand and back up to Ian. “I’m fine no thanks to you.”

Ian raised an eyebrow. “I did warn you she might wake in an agitated state. It was your duty to be prepared for that.”

The daxamite stood slowly. He spoke each world slowly and with stained patience. “I said I am fine.”

“Oh Rao, Lar I am sooo sorry.” Rogue stood wrapped in a blanket and stared at Lar's bloody face. “Kara briefly explained things and when I came out of the stupor I was still in fight mode. I saw a man and just attacked.”

Lar wiped his face again. His had continued to bleed slightly. He frowned at this, looked at Kara and she shrugged. “We are in a wizard’s home, the wall is probably reinforced by magic.”

Lar walked over to get a towel to stop his nose from bleeding when the door to the infirmary opened.

A white haired gentleman in a black formal suit opened the door and entered the room. In one hand held a silver tray with a set of silver bows and a large crystal stoppered bottle. The other bore a set of clothes.

"Ah, Gerald. Thank you." Ian took the tray and set it on one of the numerous tables in the room. He began to carefully pour water into each of the bowls. Lar continued to dab his nose with a towel.

Gerald in turn walked straight to Rogue and held out the garments. "Madame, here are some garments for you. They may not be the best fit, but I believe they will do in this case. Once you have freshened yourselves, I can show you to a room that you may use to change in."

"Ladies and gentleman. If you wish to freshen up…" Ian gestured to a set of five bowls and towels and grinned like a Cheshire Cat.

The heroes walked over to the bowls cautiously. Ian not waiting for the others began to wash his hands and splash his face with the water. Lar took the clean towel, dipped it in the water and started to wash the blood of his face and hands. The others followed suit.

The water was cool and refreshing and smell strong of peppermint. Rogue and Kara sighed audibly as the cool water soothed their burnt skin. They noticed only moments before Lar that the water seemed to carry healing properties with it. The burns that the women had suffered began to rapidly heal. Lar's nose stopped bleeding and the swelling began to go down. The tingling continued to spread across their bodies. Ian continued smiling and pointed to the bowls. The water in all of them was filthy now, but their bodies and uniforms were now clean.

"Travel water. It's something I developed a long time ago. After having to go out and perform various duties, we always seemed to come back to some sort of function where the was little time to get cleaned up and ready, so I created this. My cousin Veil dubbed it 'Bath in a Bottle'. I continue to keep it stocked for just such situations."

"Madame, if you would follow me, I will show you to a room you may change in." Gerald said.

Rogue frowned at the title, but took the clothes and followed the butler out of the door.

Ian began to empty the bowls of dirty water to a sink built into the wall. Lar perked up.

"Soooo, you keep women's clothes on hand around here too?"

"Lar!" Kara said.

"No, that's ok. To answer you question, no. Rogue will have to make do with some of mine."

At that moment Rogue strolled in. In a soft gray poet's shirt, black pants, dull silver sash and low soft leather boots. The look was striking. Nothing about the outfit looked like it had belonged to a man.

Kara looked over at Ian and raised an eyebrow. "Now don’t tell me that you used wear those."

Ian looked over at her. "Well actually I did, but while you all were cleaning up, I altered the clothes. Rogue was already feeling uncomfortable enough, I wanted to try and help. Do I get brownie points?" The last was 'pathed in mock seriousness.

The blonde kryptonian rolled her eyes and muttered "Men."

"Lord Ian,” Gerald had returned with Rouge. "I have prepared a small meal in one of the meeting rooms if you wish you could continue your discussion in a better location and allow Master Cole to rest."

"That would be fine Gerald." Ian addressed the three heroes. "If you would follow Gerald, I will be with you all shortly." With this he walked over to Marcus' bed to check on his progress.

“Please follow me.” Gerald walked down the hall leading them to another section of the tower. Kara came up behind him. “Gerald, by chance, have you ever worked for the Wayne family before?”

The butler slowed a pace and turned to her. “No madame, I don't recall every having worked for anyone of with that surname. Why do you ask?”

Kara, who had hoped to have a link with her past sighed. “No reason really. You just reminded me of someone I knew.”

An uncomfortable silence ensued. They passed through a set of double doors into a large meeting room. A dark mahogany table occupied the center of the room. Paintings adorned the walls. A large stone fireplace was centered across from the table, a fire quietly burned in it. On the table was a light brunch of finger sandwiches, fresh vegetables, tea and coffee.

Jenny piped up to fill the silence. “So how did you come to be employed by Lord Patrick?”

“Actually Madame, it is just Lord Ian. The surname of Patrick was a hold over from another realm and according to Lord Ian, was something to annoy his father and family, none of which actually have a last name.” The visitors began to seat themselves around the table. Both Rogue and Lar watched the food with some level of suspicion. Kara grabbed a plate and a sandwich and began to eat.

Jenny ignored the food, and listened to Gerald. “But to answer your question, he healed me and I recognized his need for someone to take care of the routine workings of this tower and offered him my services.”

“Badgered me is more like it.” Ian said dryly and stepped into the room. “Though he did have a point, when I first arrived and conjured the tower, I was working on so many projects the tower was in a state of shambles. Ever since he arrived Gerald has been indispensable.”

Ignoring both the praise and the jibe the butler simply said, “Can I get any of you anything.”

The response was the shaking of heads and chorus of no’s.

“Thank you Gerald, that will be all.” The Lord of the tower replied.

The butler took three steps back, turned around and left. Ian took up a seat opposite the four heroes.

Jenny, who sat next to Kara, turned to say something to her and realized she was staring at a painting on one wall of…Kara! Next Rogue and Lar noticed it as well. The woman in the picture was in a emerald colored gown, in silver jewelry with a coil of dark hair upon her head. Behind her stood a staircase that traveled up a mountainside.

“Mara.” The others turned back and looked at Ian. “Her name is Mara. She has been either my wife or love through a number of realities. She is my soul-mate.” The Lord poured himself some coffee and took a couple of sandwiches. “But we did not come here to hear about this. We first need to discuss what happened. I have gone over what Marcus remembers from the incident and can relay it. Perhaps then each of us in turn can tell our stories.”

The fire had burned low. Everyone had finished his or her stories. Neither Rogue nor Lar had touched any food, while Kara had several sandwiches and Jenny ate enough to be polite. Ian made up for the two by putting away the rest of it.

Jenny had finished her brief narrative of the summation of what had happened. “So what seemed to have happened was a collection of bad fortune? Marcus managed to absorb the energies of these creatures, harmed Rouge in the process and started the fiasco rolling. That I can accept, but something that you have not explained is what happened to the bodies of the woman and child?” While she was no longer a lawyer, her mind was still as keen as it ever was. “When I arrived in the clearing after you had summoned the Storm Serpent there was no body, just a scorch mark on the ground.” The others looked around at each other surprised that somehow they had missed that fact. Kara looked up at Ian. "That was what was out of place in the clearing when we returned to Rogue and Marcus"

Ian nodded in ascent to Jenny's logic and Kara's statement. “True. I transported the bodies here to a protected chamber in my tower. Power still emanated from them after death and it might have interfered with calling the Storm Serpent. I have also had Celia analyzing them for me.” As he spoke, his gaze kept falling back on Jenny.

Rogue spoke up “You have someone performing and autopsy on them?”

The wizard turned to Rouge and spoke. “Nothing so crude as that.” He held out his hand, white flames danced within it and a device that looked something like a small laptop appeared. It was a foot square and about a half inch thick with a screen in the center of the top surface with buttons arrayed around the sides. He laid it on the table “Celia is a biotechnical construct; a living piece of hardware and software if you will. She has been imbued with an array of technical and mystical sensors and is programmed with a wide variety of skills. Celia, please report your findings.”

A three dimensional image hovered above the screen of the two cadavers and a stiff sounding woman’s voice started. “Subjects, both female; the older, approximately 25 years in age, of Native-American decent. The younger nearly 31 months old in age and biological offspring of older subject.” Ian started at the device for a moment. "You can brief me on the details later. Can you give us a more general report?" The voice warmed and took on a less mechanical and more human quality.

“The truly interesting fact is that neither was completely human.” Ian nodded quietly to himself. Rogue looked a Kara questioningly for they were the only two who had seen the bodies. Kara shrugged but kept silent.

“The DNA is a compatible match for breeding with humans, but there is are other tags in DNA which indicate latent shapeshifting abilities. When examined through The Pattern Lens and filtering out the extraneous auras and death shroud, it revealed that this woman was a sorceress of sorts. The talisman she held was definitely elemental in origin.” The images of the two corpses vanished.

“It was probably the source of the barrier that had kept out Marcus. The fire elementals most likely had breached it earlier.”

Ian reached into a pocket inside his doublet and held out in his open palm a large silver nugget about the size of his thumb covered in runes. He held it in Jenny’s direction. “Can you sense the power within it?”

The Green Lantern stared at it for several moments, then nodded slowly. “I sense something, but what, I’m not sure.”

Ian nodded to himself he set the talisman on the table. “I wasn’t sure if you could sense its power. It is a formidable tool and very valuable in the right hands. Most likely these creatures were conjured and sent to retrieve it. From what Marcus remembers, they did seem to be after it.” He turned to Rogue and explained, “Part of Marcus’ power is absorbing flame and heat. The elementals were made of magical energy and so when he took that power in and released it, it still contained most of it magical potential, which is why it damaged you.”

Jenny folded her arms across her chest and said. “How do we know that you weren’t the one responsible for the attack on this woman? You have proven you can conjure powerful creature, Marcus is your associate and you are a sorcerer.” Kara looked from Jenny to Ian and frowned. She knew he wasn’t responsible, but it was not anything that could be proved to the others.

The conjurer smiled a quiet smile and nodded. “Very good milady, but if I truly wanted it…” and in a flash of white fire, vanished from the chair only to appear on top of a large bookcase at the other end of the room. “I could have sent less obvious spies and simply transported myself to its location and taken it.” He reappeared back in his chair. “My home is heavily warded to avoid mystic intrusions, and as Rogue and Lar demonstrated can withstand a considerable amount of force, so I would fear no reprisal. Besides, I could not use it if I wanted. I am not sufficiently advanced in the arts of magic to use it. I'm not a sorcerer, only a wizard.”

Kara who had sat quietly through most of this spoke up. “What do you mean that you aren’t sufficiently advanced? I saw some of the things you did. Tossing lightning and conjuring those creatures like you did. That seems pretty advance to me.”

Ian replied by removing the silver rose signet ring that he wore and tossed it to Kara. “You hold in your hand my crutch. Each of those spells took hours to cast and then I hung or a better word would be stored them in the ring. There is also a difference between the creatures and the energy attacks. One is Conjuration and the other is Sorcery. As a Sorcerer, I am mediocre only holding the title of wizard, but as an Enchanter and Conjurer I am very good. Not as good as others in my family, but better than most. Perhaps I should give you all a better picture of myself for you to see.”

Rogue leaned forward, “Yes, please.” Kara seemed to trust this man and for the life of her, she didn’t understand why. Kara tossed back the ring back to the wizard and he replaced it on his hand.

Standing the Ian said. “Celia, please assist me with visuals. Staring with Castle Amber.” Above the device a holo-image appeared of a huge castle on a mountainside. “At one end of reality are two kingdoms, The Kingdoms of Amber and Avalon.” The first castle vanished and was replaced by another beside a lake. “They are significant because from each of these is where the forces of Law spread out through the multiverse. Those who rule here wield the power of Pattern, the ability to pass between one reality, or shadow as they believe all thing are reflections of their kingdoms, and another. Those significantly advanced in this can even alter the rules of a reality to their desires given the time.”

“At the other end of reality lies the kingdom of Chaos.” The image of the castle was replaced by a wider shot of a dark castle and surrounding spires of a bizarre city. The sky above seemed to spin and was colored in different shades. “From here the forces of Chaos and change spill out into the multiverse. Those who have the talent and are in powerful enough ruling houses wield the force of The Logrus, the ability to reach through realities and find a place, creature or object and either go to that place or bring the creature or object to them. It can also be used for various sorcerous applications as well.”

“These two kingdoms have warred openly on occasion but mostly do a great deal of political maneuvering. My father, Corwin, was from the Kingdom of Amber and eventually created and became the king of the realm of Avalon. My mother, The Lady Jasmine, was from House Jesby, a noble house in Chaos. I’m not sure of the how and why of my birth, but it must have been an awkward situation because I have learned nothing from it in all these years. My mother raised me for my formative years, teaching etiquette and the basics of nobility and magics. When she deemed I was old enough, she took me to meet my father. I never went back to Chaos to visit my mother again. She always visited me in Avalon. Perhaps it was a agreement between the two."

"I learned all the things a noble should know, warfare, the rulings of a kingdom and power. I was initiated in the power of The Pattern as well as becoming an Enchanter. This was not the particular direction Corwin wanted me to go, but I was nearly as headstrong as he.”

“Eventually I became a Trump artist. A specialized form of enchantment which enchant an image of a person with the ability to contact that said individual across the sea of reality as well as it being a form of transportation."

"When I felt I had learned enough, I took off, Father seemed to have more important things to worry about. For years I explored the different realities, honing my powers and skills, shaping worlds into the image of what I wanted. That was until I met Mara, she managed to do what unnumbered worlds could not, she changed my heart. I began to become more introspective. As I have shown Kara, Mara was a Telepath. Now all of my people have differing levels of telepathic abilities, but my love inspired me to explore them to greater depths.”

Ian took a drink of coffee and continued. “I traveled through world after world meeting and parting with Mara. Amberites and Chaosite live for millennia, but most peoples do not. The losses became harder and harder to take."

"I returned once more and took up the duties that I had left behind. The time I had been abroad had matured me and I thought more prepared to deal with the politics of Kings and kingdoms. I was wrong. I was manipulated into a confrontation with my father and after a horrible fight I turned to an Uncle, Finndo, long thought dead, but who had returned to Amber, apparently changed. He had always been sympathetic and listened to my rantings. He took me in after I left Avalon and began to teach me new magics. At once point in the studies it required me to release all my defenses. Reluctantly I complied and was taken by his power."

"I was taken to another reality with no knowledge of who I was and lived another life as a telepath in a technologically advanced society. Mara and I again met and parted. Eventually through many situations I went seeking a teacher of the mystic arts, I was introduced to my Uncle in another guise."

"Then one day he vanished. I was brought back to Amber, but I had been changed, mind and body and was not recognized. I met other contemporaries my own age, all children of the elders of Amber. The scheme was to convince everyone that I was my Uncle's son and through me he sought to control Avalon."

"Through may trials and tribulations, the machinations of my Uncle were uncovered and thwarted, I was restored, but at a price. When my connection to the power of The Pattern was recovered, my true form was returned as well as my memories of my real life. But my mind recalled both lives, they both clamored that they were both real. My mind was caught in a paradox”

"I am not sure what precipitated this. Either my Uncle had warped me in some hither to unknown fashion that even the vast sorcerous power of my Aunt Fiona failed to notice, or the power of Pattern, which has some sentience to it, took offense to my choosing it as a second choice, or my nature had changed to deeply. I was no longer the lad that had wielded this power as before. I was a new man and my character was different. I could no longer blindly follow Law. Either way, the conflicting memories and power began to drive me slowly mad, by inches I began to loose myself to rage and fits of irrational behavior. "

"I covered these as best as I could, but my elders were just that, elders. Some of them began to see the fractures in my sanity. In a lucid moment I presented myself to them and had the power of Pattern forever purged from me. With it my insanity left, my memories were returned but I was a liability to my Father's court and my companions without my powers. Not only had Pattern left, but the ability to fashion trump as well."

"Searching desperately I discovered an ancient power, one forgotten, but it that had been used in the time of my ancestors; The White Flame. It is the quintessential essence of live generated by all living creatures. By tapping into the power I could communicate mind to mind with anyone I’ve met. I could also transport myself to their location or any location that I had ever seen, conventional and dimensional barriers not withstanding. I also could flood myself with its power, enhancing myself with it, body and mind. I could become faster, tougher, stronger & smarter. I could also draw upon its strength to make more powerful conjurations and spells. Even enhancing my telepathic abilities."

"All was good for a time, but all good things must end and I got enmeshed in the politics again and in solving one dilemma created another one. One morning I was awakened, taken before a tribunal headed by my father. I was given the power to cross reality one last time and was told to keep walking until I found a world to my liking and stop. That world would be my new home, and here I am."

Throughout the narration Celia had continued projecting images to assist with Ian's tale. This had not completely distracted the four the fact that the storyteller's eyes returned again and again to Jenny. Kara cleared her throat which caused Ian to shift his eyes again from Jenny to herself. "Ian, exactly how old are you?"

"Somewhere a little over Five hundred years old." He replied

Jenny chuckled, Rouge lifted an eyebrow and Lar frowned. It seemed that he had also noticed the enchanter's eyes on his wife.

Ian looked over at the Jenny and slightly bowed his head. "I must apologize. My behavior must seem very rude…"

Lar muttered quietly "I'll say."

" But your aura is so powerful. You are connected to a very great power and for those with eyes to see, it is a magnificent thing. I deeply apologize for any offence that I may have caused."

Before the Daximite could reply, Jenny squeezed his leg hard under the table. Politely she said, "That is all right. I think I'll take that as a compliment. Please call me Jenny." His formality and deference were going to drive Lar nuts.

Kara stood. "Ian, thank you for your hospitality and candor, but we really need to go. If you could show us the way out, we will be out of your hair and you can go back to your work and we to ours." This was a lot for the others to absorb as well as herself. They needed to get back home and talk this over.

"Of course." As if on queue, the door opened and Gerald walked through. "Gerald, if you will escort these good people to the front door."

As they began to file out the door Ian spoke up. "Oh Kara, could I speak to you for just a second before you go."

Rogue turned and looked at Kara quizzically. "That's ok, I'll catch up." She turned back into her room and looked to Ian. Before Rogue left, she said softly. “I hope Marcus gets better. Tell him…I'm sorry about the misunderstanding.”

Ian nodded “I will relay that.” He could fell that Rouge wasn’t completely sorry. After all she had been baked by the boy's power. She had only reacted out of instinct.

The amberite waited until the door had closed and turned to Kara. "I wanted to ask you a question without the others and give you something. First, do you trust Jenny?"

Kara was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know how to politely phrase this so I'll just say this. Of the three of your companions I think that Jenny is by far the most dangerous. I can tell by the aura she radiates that if given the motivation, she has the power to destroy all of you."

Kara snorted. "And….? I know she is dangerous. I'm not sure she does yet. Besides I'm not going to try stopping her or anything, she is my friend. I don’t go around eliminating threats because they exist." She reached out, took his hand and looked at him. "You are not in Amber any more. You don't have to play those games. Beside if I was removing possible dangerous people, you would have to be on that list too." She patted his hand to emphasize the point.

Ian smiled and gave her a rare unguarded look of appreciation. "Of course, you are right. I…I was just concerned…never mind." He removing his hand from hers, reached into the pocket in his doublet again and handed her what appeared to be an oversized playing card. Kara turned it over and looked at it. The back was black with a single image of a silver phoenix, the front was an image of Ian, dressed in black, gray and silver, he sat in a large high-backed chair in a library, his elbows on the table with fingers steepled, books and strange apparatus surrounded him. He seemed to just have looked up and a quiet smile was on his face. She could tell that this has been hand painted. "Thank you, but what is it?"

"It is a trump, one I drew of myself. Remember that power mentioned earlier? This is one I had created, before I lost the ability. If you ever need to contact me, hold the card, concentrate on the image, the card will grow cold and you will be able to speak with me across any distance. I only have a few left, but I want you to have it."

"Thank you, I guess if you need to contact us you can always use your White Flame?"

Ian smiled again. "Yes, but I will be very discrete in calling. I understand that everyone needs his or her privacy. Well we must go. Gerald will have you friends at a reception area. If you don’t mind I can send you back to where we met." His gaze grew distance and white light danced in his eyes for a moment. "The fires seems to have been extinguished"

"That will be find, thank you."

The two walked down the hall towards the others, both of their heads full of the revelations of the day.

End of Amber Shards - Chapter Four.

-- and may not be reprinted without permission.

-- Otherverse as an apocalyptical setting is an original

--creation of Dylan Clearbrook

-- Some characters in Otherverse stories are original

--creations of Dylan Clearbrook, Michael Liebhart,

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