Comfortably sandwiched between the warm slumbering bodies of a boy and a girl she had known since childhood, Evie stared up at the Scottish night sky. Stars filled the heavens, silver against black. A cool breeze stirred her hair, bearing the fragrance of the sea and the land, smells that blended harmoniously while retaining their distinct perfumes. Evie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, wishing she could take in the peace of this place and carry it with her, breathing it in day after day.

She had come back to the grove of her mother’s clan just for the night. It was the weekend, and she had obtained permission from the necessary authorities at school. She needed to be here for a little while, needed the peace and the clarity of thought that the grove always afforded her. She had not been disappointed. Though the absence of her mother was brought more keenly to bear here, being in the place and with the people Iona MacLeod had loved so passionately helped ease the ache a little. Evie had been welcomed back with open arms. Her brother and sister visited the grove often, but she doubted they would do so again after the passing of their mother. To them it was simply a part of their history. To Evie it was home.

As she listened to the deep, peaceful breathing of her companions, Deagan to her left and Una to her right, she was tempted to stay...to make her life here, as she was, watching the days and years blend together in the warm, solid collage of life and love, and finally a peaceful death. But even as the thought formed, she turned her back on it. She had promised Angel and Amber- a promise that meant something to her, if not to them. She wouldn’t leave again. Not while they might need her. In her mind she saw Amber’s vacant gaze, and heard again the words Angel had spoken to her in the courtyard, a suggestion that had rocked Evie’s peaceful nature to its core. She sighed. No...she couldn’t leave them now. Nestling her head between Deagan’s shoulder blades and reaching behind her to wrap an arm around Una, she offered up a silent, wordless prayer made of all her hopes and fears, and finally drifted into a deep slumber.

~~~~~~~

The street was empty, save for the lone figure of a girl who stood unnaturally still, facing the east. The set of her shoulders spoke of determination, but weariness was etched upon her pretty features. The sun beat down on her, too hot and too bright for dawn. And yet dawn it was. Streaks of coral and gold reached across the sky, driving back the sheltering clouds. As the sun rose higher and burned hotter, the light touched the gray paving stones and turned the street to a blood-red path. The air was heavy, oppressive, the pervading silence ominous. Still the girl stood, unmoving. Rusted armor covered her thin frame and she held a battered shield in one hand and a broken sword in the other.

Finally, from the east, from the hottest red of the sun, her adversaries came- two girls with beautiful, cruel faces and eyes the color of blood. Their lithe forms were sheathed in blindingly white robes; gold adornments gleamed at their necks and waists. Their hair made bright halos about their heads, the tall girl’s auburn, the strong girl’s gold. Together they walked, each footfall measured and confident. Behind and beside the girls, monstrous beings fanned out in a precise formation. Roaring and shuddering with bloodlust, the manticores were held in check only by the authority of their mistresses. As they drew near to the Knightess, the tall girl issued a command...

~~~~~~~

“Amber!”

Evie awoke with the frantic cry on her lips and her heart hammering in her ears. The roots of her hair dark with sweat. Pressing her fists against her closed eyes, she willed the horrible images to fade. Her druid companions awoke, the faint light of dawn illuminating their concerned faces as they turned toward her. Evie gently shook off their sheltering arms. “No...just a dream...I have to go...” she panted. She had no clear path of action in mind. She wasn’t even sure there was a need for one. She just knew she had to get back to Hogwarts. Pausing only to grab her things and hug her friends goodbye, Evie mounted her broom and pushed away from the warm, solid ground. Within seconds she was high above the trees, flying away from the grove as fast as the Firebolt could take her.

_________________
"We are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory."

“You know...how when you fall into the void...how your mind shatters, how your life is drained...”

Evie nodded slowly.

“If it works, there would be no more fitting ending for me...and the mirrors.”

“For them.” Evie whispered, her voice aching. “Not for you. Not even close.”

“I’m beginning to think so.” Amber replied, her apathetic tone suddenly sending a foreign jolt of rage through Evie. She bowed her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, forcing calm back into her mind. “Do you want to go elsewhere?”

“It doesn’t matter. Soon enough I’ll see...what I can do...what I’m capable of.”

That voice. The flat, emotionless voice of a dead girl who single-mindedly pursued her grave.

Evie took a deep breath. “Amber...I know none of us are what we were. Mostly by our own choosing. But just know...if anything happened to you, by your will or otherwise...I would break. Because I couldn’t stop it...because I was fool enough to just stand by when it started.”

Amber just stared at her, her gray eyes too bright, unseeing. Evie continued doggedly.

“Maybe that doesn’t mean anything to you. But please....please, look for another way.” Evie reached up and placed her hand against Amber’s thin cheek, her own gaze tormented.

Finally Amber spoke, still in the dead voice. “They have only shown themselves to me once. If they do it again, I need to be able to finish them off...quickly. Or...trap them...” Amber stared into her sister’s eyes, her expression a mask of confusion and misery.

The fury washed through Evie again, but she kept her voice low, tender. “Since when do you accept anything that isn’t of your own choosing? Knightess...Defender...” Evie was pleading now. “Go into the void if you must. But defy it as you did before.”

“I am defending this world.” Amber said woodenly, as if reciting lines she’d repeated to herself over and over. “The battle has spilled from their world to ours. I have taken up the standard. I have chosen to fight.”

Evie let her hand slide from Amber’s cheek to the back of her neck, drawing their heads together as the whispered conversation continued. “Then fight. Fight for all you’re worth, and let the rest of us be damned for not standing with you when it would have helped. Just live. LIVE, Amber. Fight this. Beat it. We can put you back together when it’s over. No cost is too great for that.”

Amber mumbled something, far too quiet for Evie to hear. Evie remained silent for several moments, just watching the other girl. Finally she spoke again, all anger erased by love and determination.

“Don’t you know I’d go anywhere to bring you back? I’ll never stand in your way...but I’ll never just let you go either.”

“I just don’t want to see the last lines of the prophecy fulfilled.” Amber was on fire...burning from the inside out, and not even feeling it.

Pain ripped through Evie again. She asked the question, even though she already knew the answer. She deserved to hear it again. “What are they?”

“From the void shall a soul be reclaimed...to the void shall a soul be consumed.”

“You think it’s your death sentence?”

“It’s someone’s.”

“Regardless...” Evie persisted, her face pale beneath the tan. “There are ways.”

_________________
"We are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory."

A tiny black cat looking up at her, its yellow eyes winking in the gloom. The comforting feel of the warm feline body beneath her hand, the silky caress of dark fur against her skin.

So tired...

Eyelids forced open by sheer determination for the hundredth time in just a handful of days.

He’s still out there...owe them this much at least...

Amber’s voice...the guidance so long sought. Evie was not powerful enough to destroy the thing. Not smart enough to out-think it...but she could find it. Detain it, until it could be dealt with.

Keep moving. Left foot...right foot...eyes open...

A strange barrage of images that superceded the Shade Hollow. Creed, covered in gore and writhing on the ground as the monster burrowed itself into his torso. Sierra’s tear-streaked face...Mary casting with precision...Angel’s hand holding tightly to hers as red waves of energy and light pulsated around them...

Not alone...

Sounds in the dark forest.jolting her awake. A rustling- a burst of magic. Her wand thrown from her hand. Too late, the realization that she had let her defenses go in her weariness. Too late, the desire to keep her promise, to send word at the first sign of anything.

Keep talking...stall...maybe they know something...

Her own voice, warm and gentle in the night. “Please...I’m looking for my friend...he needs help...”

Is it you...?

Another flash of light, and then...

Sleep.

_________________
"We are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory."