There was a noise. It came, not from the door, but from the window.

Anya pushed herself up with her shackled hands. She turned to look at the window and leaned on the wall. Thorne would have no reason to send Damani again. Had he sent someone to kill her? Perhaps he feared that she would talk, although surely he knew that she could not. Or did someone else have a motive?

Did it matter?

She watched as a person rose into view. It was late afternoon and she could see his face clearly. He wore a dark mask that covered all but his eyes, but she recognized those cold blue eyes instantly.

"Thorne." How fitting that he would be there at the end of all the troubles when he had been the one to set them all in motion.

"Anya," he said, his voice mocking.

She supposed that he had come to kill her. She wondered if she should scream. Had he left someone with orders to kill the twins if he did not return?

"You look rather awful," he commented.

Anya did not answer. Of course she looked awful. She had not washed in days and she had been under terrible stress since the moment he came into her life. She did not care what he thought as long as he did not hurt the twins.

"Where are Damani and Kallie?" she asked.

He looked at her. "They are well and safe."

"Let them go, Thorne. You promised."

Thorne chuckled. "You're not dead yet. Nor is Wildwood. Nor is the king."

So she had failed. Anya gritted her teeth together. "I'm as good as dead. Send them somewhere far away where they will not be a threat to you."

"Your concern for your siblings is most touching," he said in a voice that suggested to Anya that he did not even truly know what the words truly meant. "But what about you? It's true. You will be executed for what you have done."

"For what you have forced me to do," Anya corrected, looking up at him. The blame did not solely rest upon her shoulders.

Thorne nodded. "It's true. But you have been useful, and you still have great potential." Thorne looked her over indolently. "And I must say, you do have a certain explosive flair I cannot help but appreciate."

"None of that matters," she said bitterly. "My hands are tied; I'll likely be dead in a fortnight," she said, rattling the chains on her arms as a potent demonstration.

Thorne chuckled. So he had come to laugh at the disaster he had created, had he?

Anya wished that she still had the ignition potion or the dagger. She would happily die along with the cruel manipulator standing in front of her.

Thorne spoke. "They have not decided what precisely to do with you yet. The king is rather out of commission at the moment. You probably would have succeeded, my talented little witch, but that bastard Wildwood shielded the king from the worst of it. He's always been a nuisance. The king will survive thanks to his meddlesome interference, more is the pity."

Anya narrowed her eyes. "How terrible," she agreed dryly.

"But you have little time left, so we must conclude our business quickly."

Anya let out a deep breath and waited. What business could he possibly have, now?

"I have come to offer you a chance to live, Anya," he said.

Anya could not stop her eyes from widening with shock. Clearly there was some ulterior motive. "What do you want?"

Thorne shook his head. "There's no time to discuss it now. Will you come with me? You must decide now." He held out his hand.

Anya's brain whirled. She did not want his help. She wanted to spit on his proffered hand. She knew that he would want something else from her.

But Anya did not want to die. She did not want everything to end like this. She wanted him dead. She got to her feet and looked the evil man directly in the eyes. "Yes. I will come with you."

He grinned, and Anya felt a cold shiver roll down her spine.

* * * * *

Thorne moved abruptly towards Anya, and she flinched as he took up her hands. He glanced at the chains and the shackles and said, "I'll deal with these later." Then he pulled her over to the window.

"Hold on tightly to me," he said. "If you don't, you'll fall." The devil sounded amused at the idea.

Anya did not want to get anywhere near him. She did not want to trust him to get her safely to the ground. But it was her only chance, wasn't it? Anya took a deep breath and held onto Thorne around his neck. She could feel that he was strong, but she knew that it was the sort of terrible strength he used to harm other people.

Then Anya was shifted out through the window and the ground was horribly far beneath her with nothing in between. She shut her eyes and clung to him harder. He laughed, probably at her fear. She did not care.

Then they were moving downward and it was a horrible jerking trip. Anya made the mistake of looking at what he was doing and it was unnerving watching him move his hands and climb down with nothing there. It something happened with his magic, they would fall.

But nothing happened, and they reached the ground. Thorne immediately pulled her away from the tower. The tower near the outer wall that bordered the city. "Come quickly now," he said. "It won't be long before they find you missing."

Anya did as he said. As awful as the thought was, he was probably her best chance. She followed him into a nearby building. It was empty but for some furniture. Anya stood there waiting mutely. She could tell that Thorne was doing something magical, although she could not feel it properly because of the inhibitor upon her. Her wrist shackles snapped open. Thorne threw her a bundle. "Change into that; then we will be off."

Anya nodded and shrunk into a corner. The clothing were nondescript peasant garments. She changed quickly. There was even a hooded cloak which she pulled over her head. Thorne had exchanged his mask for a wide brimmed hat. "We must be off quickly," he said, and she followed him outside.

A great black horse was standing tethered, and Anya allowed herself to be set on top of the beast. Thorne mounted in front of her and he guided the horse out of the city without difficulty. Anya wondered if they had not discovered her absence yet.

As the horse rode, she also wondered what Thorne wanted from her this time. He had taken a great risk to rescue her. Certainly he would expect much in return. Would it be mayhem or assassination? Anya was quite certain that it would not be something that she would want to give.

But at least she was alive. She would find a way to deal with whatever it was that he wanted. And then she would find a way to save the twins.

And if fortune finally turned in her direction, she would find a way to be done with Thorne when the time was right.

* * * * *

They rode and continued on even after darkness had begun to fall over the land. Anya was horribly sore and her exhaustion went deeper than just her physical body. She wanted to rest, but she clung to the back of the bounding beast without complaint. Finally they reached a small wooden cottage beside a running stream. Thorne stopped the horse.

"Go inside," he ordered, and he walked the horse over to the water without looking back to see if she had obeyed. Anya did. She did not want to fight over small things. It was better if he thought that she would obey him without question.

She might obey him, but she would never do it without question.

The inside of the cottage was a simple single room, but warm unlike the cold of the tower Thorne had taken her from. It reminded her of her own home. There was no hope to return to it now. They would look for her there. But it did not matter, as long as she found the twins safely. Anya sat down at the table.

Anya's body hurt badly. She suspected that she would find many bruises if she looked. She had not known how strenuous riding would be on her already stiff muscles. But the little pains did not matter. Anya was alive.

The door opened and Thorne entered. "Your crow," he announced, rather unnecessarily. Sabin hopped in the door.

"Sabin?" she said in surprise.

"You certainly have a dedicated follower," Thorne said with a sarcastic note, as if he could not believe that anything could be so loyal. She did not bother to answer. "Did you see us leaving?"

Sabin cawed.

Anya glanced at Thorne. "Could someone else have followed us?" she wondered.

Thorne shook his head. He was probably correct. Sabin had a special bond to Anya. He could always find her easily. Anya just could not feel it because her magic was still locked away.

She touched the magical inhibitor around her neck. "Can you get this off?" she asked. How she hated asking him for anything.

"It's more difficult than the shackles. We'll find a way once we reach our destination."

Anya wanted to know where they were going but she was not going to ask. Let him be all mysterious. She would not give him the pleasure of denying her inquiries.

"Sleep over there. We'll leave early in the morning."

Anya walked over to where he had indicated. There was a makeshift bed. Anya lay down her aching body and Sabin perched beside her. His presence was most comforting and Anya slipped into sleep.

* * * * *

"Anya. Awake. We must be off."

Anya opened her eyes. The inside of the cottage was dark, and the only light was a lone candle. It reminded her of the night that Thorne had first come to her. She shook her head to clear it.

He body felt more stiff and sore than it had the day before. The side of her face that she had landed on the previous day was puffy and hurt to the touch.

However, Anya recognized the need to continue moving so she forced herself up. She gently lifted Sabin. He opened a tired eye. Anya followed Thorne outside with her bird in hand and did not argue as they mounted the horse again. Sabin perched on her shoulder without a sound.

Anya's old hatred for Thorne flared up but she ignored it. This time she would use him for his help. She would let Thorne take them to safety. She would pretend meekness and obedience for as long as it suited her plans. She wondered what his plans were. For Anya to be truly free, he might need to be dead.

She would wait until he managed to remove the magical inhibitor from her, and then she would decide how to best go about getting rid of Thorne. She would never be free as long as he was alive. She did not know why he had come back for her, but she was certain that he had some way that he could use her again, if for no better reason than the simple joy of tormenting her. She would just wait patiently and everything would reveal itself in time.

They travelled for long hours, only stopping to give the horse a break. Thorne gave Anya dried meat and bread which she ate to keep her strength up.

The sun rose high in the sky and they reached an old guard tower in a small clearing. "We'll rest here," he said definitively. Anya slid off the back of the horse. Thorne tied the horse in the shade and drew water from an old well, which he gave to the horse.

She watched as Thorne went about caring for the animal, hatred burning inside her. She supposed that she was like the horse. He had a use for her, so he fed and watered and pulled her from certain death for his own purposes.

"It will be cooler inside," Thorne said. Anya walked to the door at the base of the tower. It looked as if it were about to crumble. She remembered that Damani had said they were being kept in a tower deep in the woods. Could it be this tower?

Anya's eyes widened. Surely not. And yet. She rushed inside.