Holly rounded the corner and stopped dead when she spotted Logan standing at the opposite end of the corridor speaking with Crowley. She frowned as she watched them. Logan seemed agitated and Crowley looked saddened by whatever it was they were discussing. She frowned as she studied them. As far as they knew, Logan and Crowley didn't know one another well. Their first close meeting was when Logan came to speak to him about Ranger Paul and Seacliff.

Yet, as she watched them the conversation seemed very personal. It appeared as if they knew one another well. Crowley shook his head and slashed a hand through the air as if he'd heard enough and that was an end to the discussion.

Holly quickly ducked into a small alcove nearby as he turned to come back down the hallway. She held her breath when she heard them approaching, Logan following him down the corridor, pleading as he tried to convince Crowley of whatever his cause was.

"This isn't any easier for me than it is for you, Logan. You must let it be though. You know I would change things if I could, but I can't and for that I'm sorry. Things will remain as they are."

"Why after all this time would it matter to let the truth be known? For everyone to know?"

Crowley blew out a weary breath. "Because it would affect the lives of many people. You know we are not the only ones who would have to deal with the consequences. Let it be, I'm begging you. I cannot help you with this."

Holly remained hidden in the alcove as Crowley's footfalls echoed down the corridor, fading away. She gazed out between the separation in the curtains that hid the little alcove. Logan stomped in a tight circle, cursing. He then did something unexpected, he slammed his fist into the wall. She slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her shocked gasp.

Logan was cursing his stupidity, shaking out his now sore hand, when he heard a small noise from behind the nearby curtain. He reached forward and whipped back the curtain, blinking in surprise when he discovered a blushing Holly.

"Holly, what are you doing?"

"Would you believe I'm waiting for my secret lover?"

He arched a brow at her.

Her shoulders slumped. "I'm rather disappointed you didn't buy that excuse. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to listen but the two of you were intent on your conversation and I didn't want to interrupt! I had no idea you'd stop in front of this exact spot!"

With a groan he turned from her. "It's fine. It doesn't matter because he simply doesn't want to hear what I have to say."

She wrapped her hand gently around his injured one and smiled. "You really shouldn't have hit the wall, it's stone you know."

A smile lit his face. "So I've very recently discovered."

"Look, I don't know what the two of you were discussing but it obviously means a great deal to you. I'm sorry Crowley didn't want to listen." Her curiosity was poking at her to ask the dozens of questions bouncing around inside her head. To find out what they had been discussing, but it really wasn't any of her affair.

"So am I. I had hoped ..." He shook his head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter." He seemed to push it back as if dismissing the importance of what he'd been discussing with Crowley.

"Hey, if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here you know? For now, let's go get your hand fixed up."

Without warning, he pulled her close and hugged her tightly. "Thanks, Holly. I think I needed that right now."

Stunned by the unexpected hug, she blinked up at him in mute shock when he released her. It wasn't the fact that he hugged her, it was the sudden swarm of butterflies that invaded her stomach when he held her close that stunned her. The feeling confused her and she could only nod at him and smile like a dope, her voice seemed to have suddenly found somewhere else it needed to be just now.

They moved off down the hall together so they could go find someone to look at his injured hand.

"We need to hurry up, I came to find you because we're leaving for our little spy mission," she told him.

"All right, let's go." He grasped her hand and pulled her down the hallway.

"Logan, slow down!"

He laughed and pulled her faster and it wasn't long before she was laughing too.

***

Halt glanced over his shoulder at the four apprentices where they rode behind them. When he turned to face forward again there was a small frown marrying his features.

Will took note of the frown and glanced back, looking for whatever caused Halt's frown. He could find nothing amiss and turned to face forward again. "Is there a problem?"

His old mentor shook his head. "Nothing that I can see, yet ... I've noticed our young charges aren't very talkative today, which is highly unusual for them. Do you know if they've had some sort of a tiff?"

Will's brows rose and he shot a glance back at the kids, watching them for a minute. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in every detail. His daughter kept shooting secretive little glances at Mitchell when his gaze was directed elsewhere and he would do the same when he believed Deva wasn't looking his way. Holly and Logan seemed to both be looking anywhere but at one another.

They were behaving rather oddly. Halt was correct.

"Hmmm, they've had no argument that I'm aware of but something is definitely going on."

They kept moving until they reached the prearranged spot they were going to keep watch from just before dusk. It took them little time to set up camp and get settled in. The waiting would now begin.

"I'm going to ride on a bit further and see what I can see," Will told them.

Two hours passed before he rode back, quickly dismounting and then hurriedly settling Tug before he came to speak with the group.

"I found then. They're camped not very far down the road. The army is large. I'd say several thousand strong. This seems like much more than a simple plan to seek vengeance. This is an invasion."

Everyone sat and stared. Stunned into silence.

Halt was the first to recover. "Did you discover anything else?"

"Their leader is some chap named Morgan, beyond that there wasn't much that we don't already know." He lifted his shoulders and let them drop.

Halt stood and began pacing. "Will, take Logan and Holly and ride back to the castle. You need to report what you've discovered to Cassandra. They need to prepare."

"And you?" Will asked. He knew his friend would have something all planned out inside his head. He wasn't just going to sit around the campfire twiddling his thumbs.

"The three of us will do what we can to slow them down. The longer we can stall them the better. It will give you a chance to get to the castle and give them time to mount a defense."

Will clapped him on the shoulder. "Stay safe."

Halt waved a hand at him. "I have Deva and Mitchell. I think we can handle it."

With a grin, he turned and led Logan and Holly away from the camp. They mounted their ponies and left quickly.

Once the others were gone, Halt turned to Deva and Mitchell. "Get some rest and we'll figure out how to stall our new friends in the morning."

Mitchel frowned at Halt. "We should start right now. Tonight. We need to give them all the time we can to mount a defense at the castle." He sent Halt a sly grin. "Besides, a night time attack would be easier for us to pull off with our smaller numbers."

"He's right, Halt."

He sighed, looking between the two apprentices. "All right, let's have a look at this bunch of would-be invaders, shall we?"

The massive camp was easy to find. They weren't trying very hard to remain hidden. He supposed they felt they were far enough from any sort of civilization that no one would notice them.

Deva released a silent little breath as they stared at the gathered soldiers in the camp. Her father was correct, this was a large scale invasion. It could mean only one thing, Morgan planned to obliterate Duncan not simply take his revenge.

Mitchell sent Halt a small grin and pointed at something near the perimeter of the camp. She also followed the direction he pointed. He waved a hand, indicating they should follow him and he began moving in the direction he had pointed, they angled slightly away from the camp so they could speak without fear of being overheard.

"What do you have in mind?" Halt questioned Mitchell.

"They've made a fatal mistake placing those barrels near the edge of the camp. Anyone can get to them and they might decide to tamper with the contents," he answered with a fat grin.

Deva looked between them. "What's in the barrels?"

"Most likely ale."

"Could be water," Halt added.

Mitchell shrugged. "Probably not, there's plenty of fresh water between the Mountains of Rain and Night and the castle."

Halt nodded his agreement. "This is very true."

"Great, so what do we do?" she asked.

A wicked little grin spread across Mitchell's face. "Poison them."

Her eyes went wide. "Poison?"

Halt chuckled. "Little squeamish, Deva? Those men wouldn't grant us mercy if our roles were reversed."

She sighed and her shoulders slumped. "No, they wouldn't."

Halt gave her a brief nod before turning back to Mitchell. "Do you have a plan?"

"I'll leave the how's to you Rangers. I do know how we can taint the barrels though. Be back in a bit!" He slipped away through the trees into the darkness.

Halt gestured for Deva to follow him. "Let's go have a little look-see at the camp and figure out a plan."

***

"Are you certain this will work?" Deva asked in a hushed voice as she hefted the small pack she held.

Mitchell nodded. "Yes, very."

She arched a brow at him. "How exactly do you know this?"

He snorted at her. "I'm not an idiot. I do know things. That is wolf's bane. It's toxic. Hunters use it to kill wolves. If we drop the plants into the barrels it will taint whatever is inside. The symptoms will be similar enough to what happens when you eat meat that's gone bad. It will take them time to figure it out." He shrugged. "Though when the men begin dropping dead they'll start looking elsewhere for answers."

"He's correct. It will start with vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. Just make certain you don't touch any part of the plant. It's deadly even if you touch it. Handle it carefully," Halt warned.

She nodded and looked at the camp, steeling herself, she slipped forward through the darkness. Halt and Mitchell would circle around the camp, farther from where she now entered the camp, and cause a distraction that would keep any eyes from moving in her direction.

Her nerves were on edge as she drew closer to the barrels. She froze in place when a sentry passed around the edge of the encampment near where she stood. The man was doing his rounds by rote. Complacent and bored, he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. Not an effective way to protect the camp, she thought as her eyes followed him until he was out of sight.

She slipped forward moving to crouch among the barrels, remaining out of sight until she could move freely. With the many fires of the camp now close at hand, she was wary of being discovered.

Very slowly, she reached up and pried the lid off the closest barrel, lifting her body up on her toes to peer inside. A quick whiff told her it was definitely not water. Moving with a sense of urgency, she pulled open the pouch, gasped it by the bottom and tipped it so several of the plants fell inside.

She ducked back between the barrels when several men wandered up, pried open another of the barrels and filled their mugs, before they wandered back away.

"Where's my distraction?" she muttered.

A shout rose from somewhere and she froze with an arm extended to pry up another lid. The cry of alarm wasn't because someone had discovered her. The men went running toward the far side of the camp. It seemed as if a tent had caught fire in some way. A tiny grin lifted the corners of her lips as she continued her work.

It appeared Halt had taken a page from his daughter's plan book. Holly would be disappointed she missed a plan that included fire.

She moved quickly now, adding the pants to the barrels.

Done with her mission, she slipped off into the darkness to wait with the horses for Halt and Mitchell to return.

***

Deva lay prone on the ground between Halt and Mitchell as they watched the arm from inside the treeline. They watched the slow progression of Morgan's army as they meandered down the road. It was obvious a few of the men were having some difficulty keeping up. They dropped to their knees often, vomiting into the bushes near the edge of the road. Several rode in the back of the supply wagons, unable to gain their feet.

Halt sent Mitchell a grin. "An excellent plan."

Mitchell seemed a tad embarrassed by the praise. "It couldn't have happened without all of us working together."

Halt nodded silently, turning to look back at the slowly progressing army. His eyes narrowed on a man moving near the edge of the line of men, shouting abuse at the men in an effort to urge them to greater speed. "It looks as if I've found Morgan." He tipped his head toward the man.

Deva watched the man kick out at a soldier who was staggering slightly in an effort to remain on his feet. "Wow, nice guy. I don't know why we don't try and discuss a peaceful conclusion to this whole mess."

Halt's hand stroked his beard as he stared at Morgan. "He remind you of anyone?'

"Should he?" Mitchell asked.

"Well, he reminds me of Morgarath," Halt told them.

Deva and Mitchell watched Morgan as he heaped insults and curses on his men. Neither of them had ever met Morgarath in person. They had only heard the many stories about him. Morgan had a cruel streak that would remind one of Morgarath. His hair was nearly white-blond, which was also a trait Morgarath had.

"Do you think he's some relative of his?" Mitchell asked with a frown.

Halt shrugged. "Possibly, although as far as I know he has no living relatives."

Deva sent a look at the man. "A son maybe?"

Halt snapped his gaze to her. "That is something we never considered. It's a thought we must contemplate. He spent a long time isolated in those mountains, anything would be possible I suppose."

Mitchell snorted. "I can't see there being a love match in that man's life."

"No, neither can I," Halt answered. "I'm certain whoever the mother was she wasn't there by choice. Children to carry on his plans after he was gone and all that." Halt waved a hand in the air.

"That would be one hell of a backup plan," Deva said with a snort.

"There's also the fact his name is Morgan. Named after his father maybe?" Mitchell added.

Halt shrugged. "Possibly."

They fell silent, considering everything they learned thus far. Once the bulk of the army passed them by, they turned and followed, keeping to the trees so as not to be spotted by any of Morgan's men.

***

"This isn't good news, Will," Horace said with a frown.

"I realize that, believe me, I do. We have some warning though, so we can prepare for the arrival of the army."

Horace responded with a small nod and turned to look at Cassandra. She gave him a small smile before looking at Will. "You're right, of course. This gives us some warning. We know what kinds of numbers we're dealing with and if Halt and the others are able to slow them down then we should be able to be better prepared when they finally arrive."

Crowley nodded solemnly. "All of us will do what we can to assist with the preparations."

"I'll need to send word to the barons who make up the war council and assemble them. We need a plan."

Holly remained silent, listening with only half her attention. There wasn't much for her to do right now. Her eyes drifted to Logan where he sat beside Crowley. Her gaze kept coming back to them. At some point she realized Logan resembled Crowley a great deal. They even shared some similar mannerisms. Their smile, for instance, was nearly identical. They had both mentioned at one time or another that the identity of Logan's father was unknown.

She frowned. Was it possible he was some relative of Crowley's? Was that what they had been discussing? Maybe Logan wanted to let everyone know who his father was. But why wouldn't Crowley want anyone to know? She pursed her lips, thinking. Maybe the relative was the black sheep of the family. A neerdowell that Crowley didn't want anyone to know about. Maybe he wanted Logan to be able to prove himself without the taint of his father's reputation. She sighed, there were no answers to her questions.

As soon as possible she would get Logan alone and try to get him to spill his guts about this. It was a curse of hers, she always needed all the information she could gather. If there was a puzzle she couldn't leave it be until all the pieces had been put into place.

She was determined to corner Logan and she wasn't going to release him until he explained things.