It was dark, moonless, with the smell of rain in the wind. We were surrounded, totally surrounded, with their campfires marking our bonds.

I thought we would be followed from Ithgar. Considering what we had done, I would've been surprised if we hadn't. That we had been overtaken and surrounded this quickly was something I...well...we... were not ready for. Dupin reminded us that the Ithgarians don't fight at night, fearing that violent death during the night would have their souls wandering, lost forever. Now, that would give us a brief respite at best.

Azar was pleased with our treasure. He assured us that the temple of Raknid in Shalonet would pay us royally for the spheres of Ithgar. That was fine, but his sacred temple was over a week away and his own priestly powers seemed rather meager in the face of the forces stacked against us. He claimed that, if necessary, Raknid would provide him with the ability to call up one bolt of lightning from the heavens to aid us. That was all. Some appreciation for our efforts. We had already been hit by several thunderbolts, and it was only the shielding wards Dupin had placed that kept us alive.

We could live until dawn. Pym wanted to attack them camp by camp, fire by fire, until either we died or they did. He didn't seem to care much who died, but eventually it would be us. Azar was of a similar mind but wished to wait until late in the night, then "slither in and slit the throats of the sleeping before putting the rest to the sword." He could probably do it, too...including the slithering. Raknid wasn't known as the serpent god without reason.

We could slither into the first camp, anyway. The battle would wake the rest of the camps, and once it came near dawn, I might well be doing my best to slither in with him. Foolish maybe, but it had more merit than Pym's "take as many with you in open battle" philosophy if you could even call it that. Maybe one or two of us could get away with Azar's plan...somehow.

Amar and Eserith didn't want to wait until morning either but had no other suggestions. I had come up with the heist, and everything had gone perfectly. Until tonight. Now I was out of ideas. How they got so many people ahead of us, I have no idea. We rode hard, had spare horses both with us and cached along our escape route, and rode all last night. It should've been enough but wasn't. That they were here was sufficient. If we were lucky, we'd die fighting.

I went looking for Dupin. Maybe he had some new idea. Even one of his hair-brained schemes would be welcome at the moment. He sat cross-legged, deep in thought, trance, or whatever it was he did at times like this. Maybe he was asleep. I knew enough not to disturb him.

I set up two-man watches, making sure neither I nor Eserith were on the first one. If this were to be our last night, I wanted at least part of it to be with her. She and I separated our bedding from the camp a little and were soon enmeshed within each other's embrace. We spent ourselves frantically, then quietly caressed each other until we slept.

I was back in Ithgar, atop the Temple chancelry, watching the golden spheres float, making circles in the air.

Watching.

Eserith slid down the rope and gathered the globes as if they were berries, ripe to be plucked.

Watching.

The golden idol moved from the altar in long slow strides.

'No. This didn't happen,' I screamed. No one heard.

Eserith saw the statue move, grabbed the last globe, and climbed back up the rope. The idol-statue-god moved so slowly, its arm rising from its side. I screamed noiselessly.

Her climbing slowed as she neared, the golden globes pulling on her like lead, trying to drag her away from me. I reached out, grabbed her hand, pulled her to me. The statue grabbed her waist.

Its eyes...black flames danced there...evil. It pulled her from me, squeezing, pulling her arm off like a fly's wing. 'Charmion,' she cried, as rough hands grabbed for me. 'Charmion....'

I awoke. The glowing eyes stopped me from plunging my dagger into the dark form bent over me. It was Dupin.

"Get up and get dressed, but be quiet," he hissed. "Everything is ready if you agree to it, but don't wake her. Clothes and your sword are all you need. Your leathers won't make a difference." As we moved away, Dupin started to explain while I dressed.

"If this works, it should give us enough edge to escape. If it doesn't, I'd rather be in your position when the priests of Ith get to us." I'd just gotten my other foot into my breeches. His chuckle sent a chill down my back.

"Just what is it that's going to save us?" There was no sarcasm in my voice, only trepidation. Dupin sometimes had solutions that weren't much better than the problems they solved. From the way his eyes glowed, this was certainly one of those solutions. His eyes always glowed slightly in the dark, but there was a bright hint of malevolence now which I'd only seen on occasions when the stench of blood and carrion were soon to be present.

"The priests of Ith have enough wards out there that Azar's plan is no better than Pym's, and would be deadly mainly to us. I have wards set to ensure no foolhardy Ithgarian will risk his soul wandering to gain status with his god. My plan is simple. I will call forth and control a demon. He will go out and kill some of our pursuers and cause enough mayhem, confusion, and panic that we can escape with only token resistance. What say you?"

I controlled a nervous laugh. Dupin's earlier solutions had been child's-play compared to this. It would be better to bare my privates to the entire priesthood of Ith than screw this up. Dupin was meticulous, however, and if he chose this route, it was most likely our only chance for survival. He didn't take unnecessary risks.

"What's the catch? It sounds too easy." I took a breath. "Do you, or is it we, provide this demon with seven years of service, or will Eserith's first-born do?"

"None of that will be necessary, win, lose, or draw. I will command the service of this demon. If it works, we owe him nothing. His pay will be the lives and souls he takes tonight. If it doesn't, he will probably be content with consuming me. Your only satisfaction should be that I will outlive you. Demons are crueler and more ingenious than those priests could ever be."

"I didn't realize that the priests could transport such a large contingent so far so quickly," he continued. "Except for that, your plan was foolproof, and had I known, I would have protested strongly before we took the spheres. Do not tell the others of this until it is over. I will need to drop the wards and their fear could alert the priests. The priests are rather inept at dealing with this sort of being, but they can combat it if they have sufficient preparation. We've thus far given them no indication that we have this sort of ability and we need to keep it that way until it's too late. Go and keep our group alert."

"Go yourself." I nearly spat the words at him. "I'm sticking with you on this one. If you fail, maybe the demon won't like the taste of steel. At least I might irritate him enough that he kills us out of hand. I've said my goodbyes, so let's get this over with, one way or the other."

Dupin laughed, a cold raw thing that sent chills up my spine, then he bowed, arms outstretched. "Very well. We'll check our companions together. We'll remind Pym that the seer said he wouldn't die in battle. That should cheer him up. We'll set them at watch away from our own ministrations. But remember this, friend. Do not interfere with that which you do not understand."

Very simply, we did as Dupin proposed, checking on Eserith as we moved through our camp. It had started misting so I put her clothes under the blanket next to her. Wanting to wake her, I turned instead. It would be better this way. If he didn't succeed, at least her last memory of me would be a good one. She wouldn't know what we were about to do.

I followed Dupin into a clearing a short distance away. The moon now shone in the west beyond the encroaching clouds, and I could see better than before. Faintly, two circles showed themselves, intricate patterns glowing in the moonlight. "Don't disturb the drawings, but step into the center of this near one."

I did, and he stepped in next to me and faced the other circle.

"Remember that bag of powders I've carried over the years. When this is over I shall need to replenish it. That is part of what made these circles of protection and binding."

"Umm...will this be a baby demon or the granddaddy of all demons?"

"Neither, actually," he answered with a nervous chuckle. "From my research, I think it will be somewhere closer to the middle."

"Somehow that doesn't comfort me much. You have done this before."

He smiled his thin, crooked smile. "Years ago, with Izirak." My eyes must've widened as his smile cracked a bit wider.

"Your mentor?" At his nod, I continued. "Was it a big demon?"

"It was a baby," he responded, his smile turning into a big grin.

Returning his grin with one that felt totally out of place, I said, "Great! What are you waiting for...let's get this over with."

Dupin stared at the other circle, so I studied it, too. There were lines inscribed, but in the dimness the tracery was unfathomable. He began intoning a chant in a steady deep voice. There were no similarities here to any other spells I'd heard him cast. Shivers rolled down my spine and my mouth went dry.

The words were foreign to me, but one word he repeated with every sentence. The word is burnt into my brain, but I hope never to have to say it out loud. He paused, then began the chant a second time, a sense of dread growing, something uncontrollable arriving. My eyes blurred.

He paused again. Then a third time he took up the same chant, that same word. I knew that word to be a name...the name of the demon. Dark flames sprung from the opposing circle. There was heat, but only strange motions and shimmerings within the moonlight that outlined the flames.

He finished his chant.

The flames disappeared, revealing a creature that could loosely be described as frog-like if a frog was taller than a man, stood upright with four clawed arms, talons for feet, and fangs. It looked at Dupin, looked into me, then regarded Dupin again and spoke.

"What do you wish of your lowly servant, Master?"

I breathed a sigh of relief as Dupin replied. It was over.

"You shall kill a dozen people around each campfire within one mile of this spot. This shall be accomplished within the hour. When it is accomplished, you are released to return immediately from whence you came."

He cocked his head, regarding Dupin. "I think not, little mage. Instead, I will take you and your friend back home with me. You will make such nice decorations." He sniffed the air as if only noticing it now and smiled a mouthful of ragged teeth." Unfortunate companion of the little mage, I smell woman on your, so she must be near. I will bring her to you and tear her to pieces in front of you, joint by joint...slowly."

The full remembrance of my dream hit me, of his stare of pure malevolence. Of Eserith's body being ripped apart with her screaming for me all the while. I felt Dupin's hand on my shoulder and realized I'd stepped forward, my sword halfway out of its scabbard. It laughed at me.

"Demon." Dupin called it by name as I slid my sword back down. "Bother me not with your idle prattle. Perform the duty of which I have commanded and disturb neither me nor mine own. Your time is short and you have much to do."

The demon stared at Dupin. His hand tightened on my shoulder as he returned the gaze. I looked away from the demon, turning toward Dupin instead. His eyes now glowed like full moons. Neither of them moved, not even a muscle twitching. Time seemed to stop. Then the hand on my shoulder relaxed and he swayed, seemed ready to collapse. A deep chuckle came from the demon.

I stepped in front of Dupin, catching the gaze, feeling it enter my being, grab at my body, smothering my breath. I fought back as a mouse might fight an eagle, trying to protect only what was vital, relinquishing everything else. I could feel him inside, grabbing, squeezing. I screamed. Something hit me and I fell.

I lay on the ground, gasping for breath for what seemed like infinity. Opening my eyes, I found Dupin standing over me, both hands on his staff. His breath came out raggedly, but he stared fixedly at the demon. The demon slumped.

Dupin lifted his hands above his head, the staff in his left, and spoke three words similar to those in his chant. The demon disappeared, the air crackling where it had been.

Dupin staggered back a few steps. I tried to get up, making it on my second attempt. Looking back at Dupin, he now sat on the ground, trying to breathe deeply. He pointed at a thicket in the direction of camp and coughed. "Check...there."

I staggered there and found Eserith lying there unconscious, as naked as the blade in her hand.

Dupin coughed again and stood as I looked back at him. "Eserith?"

"Yeah. Is she...."

"Sleeping. She hit the little ward I'd left to protect us from prying eyes. She's a strong woman...she drew enough of my power to put ten warriors to sleep. Almost killed us all. That's when you stepped in. I couldn't handle both her and the demon all at once. You can wake her if you like." He chuckled. "At least you kept her clothes dry."

I could hear distant screaming and yelling as I woke her. It had begun.