Waithe laid Ceres on a cot at the clinic and gently covered her with a blanket. Her trembles stilled as he kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

He spoke to the three others who looked on. "Fighting the Darkness drains her. She will be better again once she rests."

Gracie kneeled near the edge of the cot and gently cleaned the coal dust from Ceres' face with a damp cloth. An ointment was then applied to the cut on her cheek. "Then rest well, our dear brave Lady. A great victory for freedom did you achieve this day."

Graham looked down at the sleeping Lady of the Order, his brows pulled together. The other man beside him, a tall but gaunt man with dark messy hair, seemed to be equally as concerned. His hands and face smudged with black due to his work at the foundry.

Waithe looked up at the unknown man. "Director of the Freedom Alliance, I presume?"

The man's chin trembled as he closed his eyes. "I be no longer worthy of that title."

Graham grasped the man by the shoulders. "Peto, it was not your doing, rather by the Darkness cast on you. I knew you would not willingly give up the cause. You may be restored."

Peto shook his head. "Nay, my friend. True that the betrayal was not of my will, but too great be it for any redemption. You must now lead the cause." Tears came to his eyes. "That which you called Darkness... It took away my very soul. I be eternally grateful to this young woman who returned it to me."

After a moment of silence, Waithe spoke. "No longer can we stay here."

Graham nodded. "Aye, more of Scias' men will come, especially with the fire. They will search everywhere. We have more places away from here where she may be safely hidden."

*****

Waithe came back inside the cottage, to find Ceres sitting upright in bed and stretching her arms high above her. She glanced around the room and wrinkled her forehead. "It seems every time I battle the Darkness I wake up in a new place. Where are we?"

"Another safe house. I think you shall like it. There be a clean dress on the chair and food on the table. A tub and hot water await you if you would like a bath. With all the coal dust at the foundry, you be a dirty mess, my dear Daughter."

She glowed. "Oh, that would be so wonderful! You prepared this, Father?"

"Nay. It all be courtesy of the resistance and all those you saved today. Most appreciative they be."

"What finally happened?"

"The workers be free of the Darkness, thanks to you. They looted Scias' foundry of all they could carry and set it ablaze. All that coal made for quite a spectacular fire. There would be far too much unwanted attention if we stayed near, so here we be on the west side of Welde, not far from the docks." He spread his arms. "And a fine cottage this be."

Four feather beds lined one side of the room, each separated by privacy curtains. A kitchen area sat at the other end, complete with a pot stove and washbasin. A stone fireplace took up much of one wall with a wool rug and cushioned divan placed before it. A sturdy wooden table with six chairs took up the middle space. Part of a metal bathtub peeked out from behind an open doorway in one corner. Compared to the last cottage they stayed at, this was luxury.

A young blonde-haired woman wearing an apron entered from a door near the kitchen area. She bowed with a smile. "My Lady, I be so happy to see you awake and well. May I prepare a bath for you?"

Ceres raised an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Alina, my Lady. I shall attend to you and your father's needs while you stay here." Her smile widened. "My brother Clavis, you saved his life at that wretched foundry. Thank you so much."

"Well, your brother did save me first, all too happy was I to return the favor." Ceres rubbed the scabbed cut on her cheek, the one caused by a sword edge pressed against her face. "Is he well?"

"Aye. He rests now at our home."

Waithe asked, "What is told of Ceres' deeds? Do tales spread?"

Alina nodded. "Far and wide, sir. The Lady becomes a legend among the people. Even the Freedom Alliance be of renewed spirit."

Ceres sighed. "I seek not such fame. But regardless, I come back to your first question, my dear Alina. A warm bath would be most welcomed."

*****

The next morning found Ceres lending her healing skills at a nearby clinic among a row of warehouses, close enough to the docks that they could hear the waves crash against the rocks and taste the salt spray in the air. She took a position toward the back of the building, partially obscured by a tattered curtain. Waithe kept a watchful eye out as she worked. He made out hushed rumors and speculative whispers among the patients. 'Is she the one?' they asked among themselves.

Word spread of a remarkable young healer. By late afternoon the line of potential patients had lengthened such that it extended out the door and into the street. It appeared to Waithe that some had little true need of medical attention, rather they were drawn by the celebrity aspect. This much attention concerned him.

The staff of the clinic did their best to screen the patients, turning some away and sending only the worst cases to Ceres' care. Heated disagreements broke out as some in the crowd argued their justification and jockeyed for favorable position. An apprehensive feeling rose from Waithe's gut, this might get out of hand quickly.

The crowd became unruly. Loud shouts pierced through the typical noisy hubbub of the docks and fights broke out. Several of the normally disinterested Dock Wardens began to take notice.

Waithe pushed himself inside the clinic and made his way to the back. He put a hand on Ceres' arm. "We need to leave this place now!"

"But there still be more to heal."

Waithe shook his head. "Soon some of Scias' police will be here. There would be no more healing when they take you into custody."

Two black-uniformed Wardens burst in the front door, shoving people out of the way while they scanned the room. Ceres widened her eyes and nodded. Waithe took her arm and pulled her toward the back door, but halted when another Warden appeared at the opened door.

The warden pointed at Ceres and yelled. "She be here. Take her!"

The officer pushed ahead through the rows of cots, toppling one over and sending the injured woman it held tumbling to the floor. A large enraged man, wearing a fisherman's jacket, jumped up and pounded a fist into the jaw of the Warden, sending him crashing over a cart into the wall. Overturned metal pails clattered to the floor.

Another man at the front doorway turned and yelled. "They would take her away!"

The crowd who once squabbled with themselves now turned their anger to the Wardens, shoving and pulling them outside. More angry shouts erupted as the melee turned into a riot that spread toward the docks.

Waithe put his arm around Ceres. "Best we depart."

They threaded their way out the back door to their horses and galloped away, weaving through narrow trash-strewn alleyways behind the warehouses.

Waithe slowed his horse to a walk as he looked back, taking a deep breath. "I think we be safe now. Your fame has become as much a detriment as it was an advantage."

*****

Ceres took to her bed early, exhausted from the day's activities. She laid back and folded her hands behind her neck, gazing up toward the ceiling, but with unfocused eyes. She closed them with a deep exhale.

Waithe sat down beside her. "Something troubles you?"

She reopened her eyes but kept them upward. "I wish..." She drew a long breath. "I wish I knew if Alden and Eira were safe." Her lip trembled. "I know I should be strong... But the fears plague me. What if I sent them to their doom?"

Waithe drew her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head as her tears flowed. "My dear Daughter, I miss them too. At this very moment, they may be thinking of you, fearing for your safety."

"The not knowing is a kind of torture."

Waithe straightened up. "Perhaps there may be a way... to know."

"Father?"

"Be there a way to send a message through the Spirit Phy? Both you and Eira have a strong connection to her."

Ceres bounced up to cross-legged sitting position and pushed the tears off her face. "Not a message, but at least a vision!"

She grasped her father's hand and clamped her eyes closed. Phy appeared immediately, her green light sparkling. Ceres reopened her eyes and cupped the Spirit before her with one hand. "Phy, tell Eira that we are safe and that I love her. Would you do that for me?" The light bobbed up and down. "Then go, my friend."

Phy flashed away. Ceres' grip on Waithe's hand became almost painfully tight as they waited. Her breathing was short and shallow as the moments seemed to drag on. A green light bathed the room again as Phy appeared and drifted down from the ceiling. Ceres held out a hand and closed her eyes as Phy settled before her. The tightness of her lips transitioned to a broad smile.

Ceres squealed as her eyes shot open and she jumped into her father's arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks, these of joy. "I saw them all, Father! They are well! In the vision, they are camped somewhere in a desert."

Waithe felt the same sort of joy rise within him. "Then they have made it to Woest, Alden's homeland!"

Ceres bounced as she pulled back. "There is more. Eira! She recognized me! And so did Alden! Oh, Father..." She collapsed back into his arms, bubbling over in elation.

Waithe trembled as a feeling of bliss overwhelmed him. The daughter he once felt lost forever now pulsed with joy in his arms. He lifted his eyes to the Spirit Phy who sparkled above them and mouthed the words 'thank you'.