Ondrea slammed her fist against the counter top. Stupid selfish Kahlest! Couldn't she see the greater interest lay in securing the entire planet, not just her own preeminence on a battlefield? How dare she?

Mathilde shook her head. "They get like this before...." Her eyes filled with tears again.

"Give me the box with Demor. I will need her to complete the revocation."

"I should probably come with you..." Mathilde did not want to leave her home or engage in the conflict as much as her wayward daughter did. "I've never been without my dragon."

"Well, as you saw today, she's not a pet, my dear cousin, she's a valuable link in the healing of this planet." Ondrea swirled herself into Harpyiae form.

"Will you give her back when you're done?" She opened the box for a last peek, and was unprepared for the fiery blast that singed her eyebrows.

"You must accompany Ondrea Taan to the open sea and revoke your kai, Mathilde. The Council of Ladies will not be able to function if all kai are not revoked. This is mandatory." The tiny dragon bellowed.

Mathilde's eyes watered worse than with her tears and she dropped the box. Ondrea leaped forward and caught it before it could fall, but the little dragon had lifted off her velvet bed and flown to the window sill. Ondrea stared at it in speculation. This creature was not to be manipulated or fooled in any way.

"H-how long will we be gone?"

"Two days." The dragon answered before Ondrea could try and count it out. It had taken her a week to get there. "I will lead the way."

"I have to tell my family." Mathilde cried, wiping her face with a cold towel.

"No. There is no time. Quildor marches, but there is another consideration you will need to be aware of. In fact, several other considerations. We must go to the open sea now." The dragon said, and fluttered above the window in eagerness to begin their flight. No bigger than her doubled fist, Ondrea sized the tiny creature up for stamina.

"Will you be able to fly with us?"

"The question isn't whether I can fly with you, but whether you can keep up with me. I haven't transported two before. I believe I can as long as we are all touching. Please step closer, raise your wings." The dragon's little green wings rose and as she made contact with Ondrea and Mathilde's arms, they all three lifted off. "You mustn't let me go, no matter what happens."

The rush of wind beneath their wings caused Ondrea and Mathilde to gasp, and then the feeling of nothingness engulfed them and they were transported to another place before either of them could even protest.

The touchdown was rough, and they all three spilled onto the gravel and dirt. Mathilde screeched in astonishment, while Ondrea rolled and came up looking scared. The dragon righted herself and panted, licking flames from her lips delicately. "Well, that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

The hill they currently resided on was similar in color and size to that of Valdemar. She swallowed, feeling quite dehydrated. "Where are we?"

"One hundred miles from where we started. It would have taken you two over an hour to fly here and you'd be all worn out as well. This is much easier, though we will have to work on the landing. I've never been so clumsy, but never been so out of practice either." Demor was perched not far away on the limb of a bush. "Just six more of those jumps to go."

"Six more?" Mathilde's eyes were enormous pools of fear.

"We will arrive in a quarter of the time it would have taken you to travel this distance. Believe me, Ladies, this is infinitely better."

It still took the better part of the night to arrive at the sea shore, with no villages or castle Quildor in sight. Ondrea surmised correctly that they would need to rest before the private ceremony could be performed.

Their final resting place for the evening, landed them all three shivering at an unused Aerie.

"This is the northern shore of the main continent. We are not anywhere close to the undersea domes. Gather some kindling. I will start a fire to warm you."

Ondrea and Mathilde were only too glad to gather the kindling and a few larger pieces of driftwood as well. A few minutes later the dragon's talent was put to good use as a small warm fire took the chill away.

"So tell me, Demor." Ondrea huddled next to Mathilde eyeing the darkness outside their cheery little blaze. "What happens after we revoke our kai?"

"The kai will return to their natural habitat, thereby restoring their systems of living, and balance will be had once again. The more kai revoked the better all of your chances will be of receiving all Zalez has to offer."

Ondrea nodded. "And the assimilates? What about Quildor's men who have assimilated Salimantor's and Shadow Eaters to survive? What will they do?"

Demor cocked her glittering head to one side. "They will have to revoke them and return what has been stolen. The more of your people who complete this task, the more Zalez can be bestowed upon all of you. It will not be complete until all have been returned to their original states."

"I think we should get started." Ondrea pushed herself up and dug her feet into the wet sand, letting cool running water flow over her and wash up to her ankles. She immediately sensed her kai awaken as it hadn't in years, and it strained to feel through her in a way it hadn't before. Ondrea immediately felt guilt at keeping it prisoner all this time.

Mathilde joined her, standing too close for comfort. "What exactly do we do?"

"Enter the water. The kai will know."

*****

Ondrea shuddered. "I am in the water, Demor. Will you join me and perform the ritual?"

"I will. And remember. It is because you asked me to. I cannot force you to revoke your kai."

Mathilde's hand clutched hers as they both walked deeper into the water. The smaller waves circled and eddied around their legs as their Harpyiae clothing molded wetly to their slender forms, the tips of their hair began to collect droplets as well, and soon was sticking in damp tangles to their backs.

"Deeper." The dragon purred, and Ondrea walked fearlessly into the oncoming surf. When a wave crashed her in the face and she stumbled against its onslaught, Demor stopped her with a hushed sound in her mind. The kai inside her was alive, giddy with excitement, knowing suddenly what this strange environment meant. Ondrea let her own ambivalence rush around inside her as well, letting her kai know how much she had appreciated her service, letting her feel her gratitude and admiration before she could no longer communicate with her. She had been part of her life for so long, she couldn't imagine herself without the comforting presence.

"Kneel." Demor commanded.

Ondrea had expected it. She wasn't startled or afraid, but she felt Mathilde's hand trembling in hers, as she clutched it tightly. She let her body ease down, took a deep breath as her face submerged. She closed her eyes, and held her breath.

Dark, cold swept over her. The waves lapped and swirled, she held the hand beside her as it slowly lost conscious form. In her mind she heard the simple yet profound words, "I revoke my ownership of this moonfish as my planetary kai bond enabling me to usurp planetary power without accountability."

Ondrea repeated the words, vaguely hearing Mathilde's voice gaining strength from the simplicity of it. Ondrea felt a swishing movement around her, as her breath began to run out and her lungs ached for release. She opened her eyes.

Close by beautiful ethereal moonfish were gathered, swimming ever closer until one did gently latch on to her arm. A strength she hadn't known before, gathered there, as the kai inside her responded and returned to the body of one of its kind, if not the very one she had stolen it from. In seconds she burst out of the water, splashing waves in her face and mouth as she screamed in jubilant relief. There was blood on her arm, but she paid it no heed in her excitement and her freedom!

"I didn't realize how oppressive it was to host another species." She breathed more to herself than to anybody else. The water nearby churned with the avalanche of welcoming moonfish, now taking their returned loved one back to their home.

Mathilde surfaced a few feet away staring after the retreating moonfish in awe. "I didn't know." She gasped, her eyes filled with tears. "I didn't understand."

"You just took for granted what your ancestors had forced on you. This has gone well for you for that reason. There is no punishment, no repercussions. The moonfish are very forgiving." Demor was riding the smaller waves close to her trailing hands and the blood washed pinkly into the water as well. "Take care of that." She admonished and Ondrea instinctively felt the sudden desire to turn inward and asked her own body to heal its wound. In seconds it had. Her mind was open to Mathilde who easily followed suit, having stumbled upon Zalez healing by accident in her life already.

Ondrea threw her arms around Mathilde, tears flowing freely. "We must call the Council of Ladies here. We must release as many kai from our people as possible before they go to war. Quildor has power to force, but we will have planetary power to win if we release the kai."

"As soon as the balance is restored, Talisman will be able to release the healing powers into the air." Demor agreed, ruffling herself. "Can we get out of the water now?"

Ondrea grabbed her cousin's hand and pulled her up the sandy shore, then collapsed on the bank overlooking the water. She focused her newly unhampered Zalez on her daughters.

"Avarona, Jerrika, Kara." She whispered intensely, but with confidence. "I know you can hear me, but you don't have the strength to answer me yet. Just listen, you must come to the seaside, far north of where you are now. Come, girls. Come to me."

******