"I- I don't know what you're TALKING about!" Henna sputtered. The mysterious man in blue glared at her with glowing eyes. His skin, what little of it she could see, was like old leather... rough and evil. Henna's heart thundered in her chest, but she tried desperately not to let her fear show. "P-put me down!"

"You play me for a fool," he said. His words were quick and hard to follow. "A small, quiet town like this... and yet here you are running in the dark as if something were chasing you. My earlier warning still stands... TELL me what is going on, or DIE with the rest of your town. I'll take no pleasure in doing it, but it is what MUST be done if you don't tell me!"

"It's Thomas! He...he attacked me and now-"

"His behavior is out of the ordinary."

"Yes, but-"

"Where is he!"

Henna pointed into the darkness.

"There... end of this street. To the left. Four houses down on the right. It's a small-"

There was a sudden, violent burst of wind. Henna started to scream, but what came out was a only a whimper of surprise. The wind vanished as quickly as it had come, and she was then standing in front of Thomas's house.... transported there by some unknown magic. The blue-cloaked stranger stood beside her.

"This is the place?!" he demanded. His voice was becoming more urgent... and his words almost too fast to understand.

"Y-"

The man grabbed her and yanked her toward the door. He snatched it open and...

"MY GOD! RONCE!"

They were in the center of the main room. Henna's brother was standing over Sellia; his shirt was missing, and his pants were around his ankles. One of his hands was drawn back in a tight fist, and the other was clasped firmly around Sellia's throat... not strangling her, but holding her still so he could have his way. His eyes glared with lust and anger. Sellia's clothes had been torn earlier, but now the top half of her dress was missing entirely... ripped completely off of her body.

The terrified Sellia looked over at the door and screamed.

"HELP ME! HE'S CRAZY! PLEASE STOP HIM!"

Her eyes saw the blue-cloaked stranger and she screamed again... an incomprehensible wail of pure terror.

Henna started to run into the house, but by the time she took her first step, the entire scene had changed.

---

Blaymore rushed in and grabbed Ronce by the neck. He yanked the assaulting thug out of the house and threw him to the ground just outside.

Thank the gods he wasn't too late.

He snatched the man's pants off, ripped them in half, and used the cloth to bind his hands and legs.

Then he reached into the confines of his cloak and pulled out a light blue gem, slightly smaller than the palm of his hand. He squeezed it gently, and the gem threw forth a powerful light... brighter than a hundred torches, but with no heat whatsoever. He placed it on the ground and brought out several more just like it. He circled Ronce with six of the glowing gems, bathing him... and everything around him... in a light that rivaled the brightest day.

By the time Ronce even realized that something had happened, Blaymore was standing over him with his sword pressed against Ronce's throat.

"Leave this man!" yelled Blaymore. "Come out into the light and face me!"

"Who are you?!" replied Ronce. "What are you talking about!?!" Ronce wiggled and try to free himself, but Blaymore's blade bit into his neck, drawing a trickle of blood. The man lay still.

"You're no match for me in that body... come out and FACE me in your true form!"

"RONCE!" screamed Henna. She ran from the house and had to shield her eyes from the bright light just outside. "RONCE!"

"GET BACK!" Blaymore and Ronce yelled together.

"HE'S DANGEROUS," added Blaymore.

"ME!?!? I'M not the one with a damned sword to someone's throat!"

Sellia's scream pierced the night once again as she came out and saw her attacker being held prisoner by the strange man in blue.

"BACK INSIDE! BOTH OF YOU!" said Blaymore.

"NO!" replied Henna. "You leave my brother ALONE!"

"It's HIM!" Sellia pointed at Blaymore. "HE'S the witch! HE'S doing this! He made Thomas do those horrible things. HE made Ronce ATTACK ME! IT'S HIM!"

"I have no time for this!" spat Blaymore. He turned towards the women. Before Ronce could blink, Blaymore had shoved the women back inside the house, slammed the door, jammed two daggers into the door frame to prevent it from being easily opened, and then returned to place his curved sword to Ronce's throat once again.

The women began pounding on the door, and Sellia continued to scream for help.

Lights began shine in the other houses as the townspeople awoke. Blaymore eyed them with concern... he had to get his over with quickly, but there was still a chance to save this man's life.

"Come OUT of him!" commanded Blaymore.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I know your game. You hide inside innocents... you think that I will not slay this man and FORCE you out into the light"

"You're out of your MIND!"

Blaymore raised his sword.

"You thought wrong. I've seen your evil first hand... I will gladly sacrifice this entire town to stop you!"

"HEELLLLP!!!!" yelled Ronce. "HE'S GONNA KILL ME!"

Blaymore heard the sound of running footsteps. In the house behind him, one woman continued screaming while the other was breaking a window to escape.

This had to be done now before witnesses gathered. He had tried to save this man's life... but now there was no choice. The man had to die-

Blaymore swung his sword

fzzTHAAAZZZ!

The blast of magic took him completely by surprise. It struck Blaymore full in the chest and knocked him back against the house. He bounced off of the wooden wall and hit the ground. His sword flew from his hands.... and suddenly he couldn't move. Glowing bands of magic bound his ankles together and strapped both arms to his sides. Blaymore tried to wiggle free, but it was no use. He whispered the spell that made him intangible... but the magic still held him.

"DAMNATION!" he grunted. He managed to get a dagger out of his belt and tried to cut the magic bonds. As soon as the blade touched the magic-

ZZZZ-CRACK!

The bolt of miniature lightning scorched the metal and knocked the knife out of Blaymore's grasp. His hand stung painfully despite the protection of his gloves. The fingertips of his glove were smoking.

"Oh, you're caught plain and simple. " A man of dark hair and average build emerged from the night.... energy crackled between his outstretched fingers, which he was pointing directly at Blaymore. He was accompanied by three others. Two men wore leather armor and expensive-looking weapons. The third was a huge hulk of a man who had no weapons, but who walked with an air of authority.

Still in the circle, Ronce looked up at the large man with a mixture of relief and fear.

"GET HIM, HAX! HE'S CRAZY"

"NO! Do not let him leave the light!" yelled Blaymore.

"What the hell's going on here?" said Hax.

"HELLP!" Sellia screamed. She and Henna were climbing out of Sellia's window. She pointed and accusing finger at Blaymore. "HE'S a witch! He made THOMAS do horrible things! And RONCE, too! And when Ronce broke free of his spell, he tried to KILL him! He's a MURDERER."

Hax looked at Henna.

"It's TRUE!" she said. "He has magic... he... he said he was going to kill the whole town!"

"Not if I can help it," said the mage who had accompanied the warriors.

"If ANY of you want to live to see dawn you will KILL THAT MAN!" yelled Ronce. "He's EVIL! Just... just LOOK at him!"

"NO!" said Blaymore. "HE is the evil one, here! For your own sakes, do not let him leave the LIGHT!"

"So far, given when what I saw when we arrived, Ronce is making a whole lot more sense than YOU, stranger," said Hax. He turned to Ronce. "but not MUCH more."

Blaymore looked around at the large crowd that was gathering. Witnesses. The situation was rapidly deteriorating. He had no doubt he could free himself of the magic that bound him... but by then it might be too late. Trying to preserve the town had been a mistake... he should have just killed them all. He KNEW that from the beginning... but he at least had to try. It had been a mistake. Hopefully it wouldn't be a fatal one. He had to find a way to salvage this situation.

The light was the only thing containing the evil... and it would move to another body just as soon as it was able to do so. And with all these people gathered around... he had to do something.

"Ask the women what Ronce was doing when I arrived," said Blaymore. "Ask the woman whose clothes are torn and who's face is BEATEN!"

Hax turned to Sellia and looked at her torn clothes.

"He wasn't in control of himself!" Henna said. "It wasn't his fault!"

"Sellia?" said Hax. "What happened?"

"Thomas did this!" she replied. "And now he's sick in bed... bewitched by THAT MAN THERE!"

"But was it THOMAS standing naked over you wen I arrived?" spat Blaymore. "No... it was HIM!"

The crowd gasped.

"Is this true, Sellia?" said Hax.

"It's HIS fault!" Sellia yelled and pointed at Blaymore "He MADE Ronce do those things!"

"Do WHAT things?" said Hax.

"DON'T listen to that madman!" yelled Ronce. "Kill him!"

"Kill?" said Blaymore. "Are you always so violent? So quick to call for death and mayhem?"

"I've heard enough," said Hax. "Sorrins... conduct them BOTH to the cells."

"Gladly."

"Wait-" shouted Ronce, but never finished his objection.

The mage made an over-elaborate gesture with his glowing hands... there was a flash of light, and both Ronce and Blaymore vanished.

"NOO!" Henna screamed. "Ronce is innocent!"

"We'll find that out soon enough," said Hax. "Right now I see a half-naked woman who needs a doctor." Hax pointed at one of his men. "Go get Berwick," he ordered. "Make sure he's sober... and stay here with him and the woman. You..." he pointed to the other guardsman. "Escort Henna back to her house. Both of you make sure nobody bothers either one of 'em... they're both witnesses." The men gave a sharp salute. One ran off toward the healer's house, and the other grabbed Henna by the arm.

"NO! I want to see my brother!"

"In the morning," said Hax.

"NO, I want to see him NOW!

The guard pulled her away while Hax turned to the crowd. "All of you get back to sleep!"

The crowd grumbled, but it quickly dispersed. Men and women returned to their own homes without so much as a second glance at Hax and his men.

"Need anything else from me?" said Sorrins.

"You think your wards on the cells will hold that stranger?"

"They'll hold anyone," replied Sorrins. "Except you, maybe." The mage winked at Hax.

"That's the way I like it. If you'll excuse me, I've got prisoners to interrogate."

---

Ronce strained against the cloth that bound his hands and feet.

"Bad enough I'm in a cell," he grunted. "but the bastards didn't even untie me."

"What's the matter?" said a voice. "Don't like being confined to one body?"

Ronce looked at the blue-cloaked man in the cell next to him. He could see him clearly, and the more he saw the more uncomfortable he became. The town's mage had dumped them into adjoining cells... leaving them much too close to one another for Ronce's comfort.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Ronce.

"There's a lot of light in this room. Guards want to be able to see every move we make. Good for me. Bad for you. You're trapped as long as they keep those lamps lit."

"You're insane."

"You're a good actor," said Blaymore. "You always were... I'll give you that. But pretending won't save you. You know I'll get out of here... and my first order of business will be to drag you kicking and screaming into the light... and send you back to the hell that spawned you."

"Me? Hell? YOU'RE the one going around putting hexes on people!"

"QUIET DOWN THERE!"

The shout came from upstairs. The 'dungeon' was just a row of three cells in the basement of the town guard's headquarters. There were quite a few men upstairs, and apparently they didn't like being disturbed the mutterings of prisoners.

Blaymore turned his attention to the cell that held him. The mage's teleport had released the magical bonds that held his arms and legs. He still had all his weapons... except for his sword, which was laying on the street somewhere. So far, nothing he carried with him was of any use in getting out. The bars were enchanted, and gave a more than nasty shock to anyone that touched them or tried to squeeze through them. In the first three minutes after arriving, Blaymore tried to dig his way out of the cell in eighty-seven different places... all with the same result. He'd get a few inches down and hit the powerful... and painful... enchantment that sealed the dungeon. To his surprise, the enchantment covered the ceiling as well as the floor and rear wall. Blaymore then began searching every inch of the cell for gaps in the enchantment... or secret release switches hidden in the wall or floor. Nothing. Whoever had designed the wards had been very thorough... or dangerously paranoid.

"You're not getting out," said Ronce.

"Neither are you," said Blaymore.

Upstairs, the main door opened and closed. Heavy footsteps began to descend the stairs.

"Hax is gonna sort this whole thing out," said Ronce. "And THEN you're gonna be sorry you ever came to this...huh?"

Blaymore was gone. He vanished a second before Hax turned the corner.

Hax eyed the empty cells and raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't ME!" yelled Ronce. "I don't know HOW he got out... he just-"

"He's still here," said Hax. He pointed at the cell Blaymore was in. "Right there. Invisible. How stupid do you think I am to fall for that trick? I was born AT night... not LAST night."

A cloud of blue smoke rose from the floor and quickly coalesced into Blaymore's cloaked form.

"That might scare the locals," said Hax. "But it doesn't do a damn thing for me. Now who are you?"

Blaymore didn't answer. He and Hax stared at each other through the bars.

"I'll get out," said Blaymore.

"Yeah. When I LET you out. And that might not be for a looonnng while if you don't start talking. Who are you?"

"Why don't you come in here and take off my hood? Find out for yourself."

"Uh-huh. There you go taking me for a fool again," said Hax. He turned to Ronce. "Who is this man?"

"Never seen him before in my life... except when he snatched he by my neck, tied me up in the street and started threatening to kill me. And can someone UNTIE me! And GET ME SOME CLOTHES, DAMNIT!"

"This true?" Hax asked Blaymore. "You assault this townsman?"

Blaymore said nothing.

"You know," said Hax. "There's no law that says I have to feed either one of you. And I don't think I'll be in the generous mood until I get to the bottom of this thing."

"Hey, WAIT a minute!" protested Ronce. "I didn't do ANYTHING!"

"I know you, Ronce," said Hax. "And I find that VERY hard to believe."

"That's right... you DO know me and you know I wouldn't attack Sellia!"

"But you did," said Hax.

"Because of HIM!" Ronce pointed at Blaymore.

"He made you do it, is that it?" said Hax. "You weren't in control of yourself... that right?"

"I was... I mean... my memory is... no, I wasn't."

"Why don't I believe that?" said Hax.

"THERE'S your proof sitting in that cell RIGHT THERE!" Ronce nodded at Blaymore.

"Being a stranger doesn't make him a suspect in anything," said Hax.

"But trying to HACK ME TO PIECES DOES! YOU SAW HIM!"

"I'm trying to save you all," said Blaymore calmly.

"Ohhh... he speaks again."

"Save us from what?"

"I can't tell you."

"Isn't that convenient," said Ronce.

"The more you know, the harder this thing will be to contain."

"What thing?" said Hax.

"Your ignorance is the only thing keeping this situation under control," said Blaymore.

"Doesn't look like you're controlling much of anything from in there," said Hax. "And before you get any ideas... if you try to work any mind control or magic that reaches outside that cell, it's gonna get VERY unpleasant for you. Had a psionocist in there that tried to control one of the guards... took months to scrub his brains off the walls. Don't think it'll be any different for you."

"I cannot control anyone's mind," said Blaymore. He pointed at Ronce. "It's him you have to worry about."

"How's that?" said Hax.

"Oh, come ON, HAX!" yelled Ronce. "Don't listen to him! He's OBVIOUSLY a maniac assassin mage or something... I mean LOOK at him!!"

"Look, boy... last I looked, I was the sheriff and YOU were the spoiled troublemaker rotting in a cell wearing nothing but his underwear. Did that change and I not notice?"

"I'm trying to tell you-"

"Tell me then. What the hell's going on here?"

"Look... I get home and I find Thomas attacking my sister. I follow him home and find him in bed, sick as a dog."

"What kinda sick?" said Hax.

"In the head, sick. Mumbling and ranting about things nobody could understand."

"What happened with Sellia?" said Hax.

"Hanna left to go get Berwick... and Sellia... she... she attacked me!"

"Did she now?" said Hax with more than a touch of sarcasm.

"That's not what I saw," said Blaymore. "Ask the other girl... Henna... she saw it too. He was NOT being attacked, SHE was!"

"Okay, I'll admit... I didn't put up much of a fight. I mean... you know how it is, Hax... a beautiful woman-"

"Who happens your best friend's wife?"

"Okay, maybe you DON'T know how it is. But I realized that maybe... maybe something was wrong. She wasn't being herself. So... so I threw her off of me. She got up, ripped off her dress and threw herself at me again. I pushed her. She fell down and that's when THIS maniac burst in and-"

"Why were you naked?" said Blaymore. "Why were you hitting her?"

"I wasn't.... I mean..."

"He's lying," said Blaymore. "It's obvious that he's lying."

"Okay, I admit it TOOK me a while to realize what was happening. I wasn't exactly resisting at first... She had my shirt off and my belt loosened. When I tried to stop her, she... she got angry and-"

"You're saying that Sellia attacked YOU?" said Hax. "Sellia... who can't possibly weigh more than 120 stones. Sellia who's happily married to Thomas. Sellia who couldn't even-"

"Sellia was also the town SLUT before she got married and YOU KNOW IT!" yelled Ronce. "WHY is my story so hard to believe! ESPECIALLY with this LUNATIC sitting in the cell next to me who is OBVIOUSLY a mage of some kind!"

"Listen to him," said Blaymore. "Listen to what he's saying. Listen to how quick he is to shift the blame away from himself and onto me. Doesn't that make you suspicious?"

"No. That's about what I'd expect outta Ronce... but YOU, stranger... you I haven't figured out yet."

"I'm not the one you need to concern yourself with. I suggest you gather everyone involved... especially Sellia's husband... and separate them from the rest of the town immediately. They may know something that makes them dangerous. Don't question them-"

"So now YOU'RE tellin me how to do my job, eh?"

"I'm trying to help stop a great evil from spreading-"

"You know what?" said Hax. "It's the middle of the night. We'll settle this in the morning."

"NO!" Blaymore and Ronce yelled.

"YOU can't leave me in here with this... this LUNATIC!"

"I can and I will. I ought to turn out the lights and let you two stew in the dark. As a matter of fact, I think I'll do just that." Hax reached for one of the lamps.

"Yes," said Blaymore slowly. "Yes... turn off the lights."

Hax stared at Blaymore.

"Uh-huh," said Hax. "There you go... thinking I'm stupid again."

Hax adjusted the lamps to make the flames higher... casting even more light into the basement and making it almost impossible to sleep.

"Pleasant dreams," said Hax as he started up the stairs. "For your sakes, I hope you're both making more sense in the morning."

Hax was gone, and the prisoners heard a heavy door slam somwhere upstairs.

Blaymore leaned against the rear wall and stared at Ronce.

"You're just going to stand there and STARE at me the whole night, aren't you?" said Ronce.

"Evil of your calibre requires constant vigilance," said Blaymore. "Lest more innocents be corrupted by your darkness. But you're trapped now... and rest assured, I'll get out of this cell and deal with you before the dawn."

"You know," said Ronce. "When Hax kills you, I really hope that they've untied me so I can applaud loudly and with much vigor."

"Ahhh... that's the monster I know. Letting down your guard... starting to show a bit of your true face..."

"Whatever."

---

"I honestly have NO idea..." said Berwick. The town healer looked much older than he was... years of drinking and passing out in the gutters had leathered his skin and turned his hair a dirty shade of gray. Fortunately he was mostly sober when the guardsman fetched him from his house and brought him to see Thomas and Sellia. The guard was waiting outside now, leaving Berwick to his work. Unfortunately, Berwick's near-sobriety wasn't helping with the diagnosis. He'd treated Sellia's bruises and scratches, but was completely dumbfounded with Thomas. The young man babbled continuously, like a man with no control of his own mind. Most of what he was saying was completely unintelligible, but what little the doctor could understand was... disturbing.

"You have to do SOMETHING!" pleaded Sellia. "Please bring my Thomas back to me."

"I'm sorry to say that it looks... and sounds... like a mental imbalance," said Berwick. "Men are prisoners of their own minds... and his mind is troubled. I can give him something to make him sleep, but there's no guarantee he'll be any better when he wakes up."

Berwick looked at Sellia, who did not respond.

"Would you like for me to do that? Make him sleep?"

"Y-yes," she said.

"And what about you? You've been through a lot... you should rest."

"I... don't know."

"It'll do you good. And you should be well rested when Hax comes to question you... you know how he can be. How about I fix all three of us a little something, eh?" Berwick rummaged through is bag and found some sedative root powder. He mixed it with some of the hot water Sellia had brought him earlier and poured it into two cups. He also added a little whiskey from the flask in his shirt pocket... and took a more-than-generous swig of it himself. Berwick stirred the drinks and Sellia walked up behind him.

"I'll bet you know how to mix all sorts of interesting things," she said.

"Yes. It goes with the job, I suppose. There's a little chemist in every healer. Potions. Reagents."

"Poisons?"

"Well... that too, yes. This sedative will be ready in a moment; have to mix it well so it all dissolves..."

"That's very interesting," Sellia moved away and started dimming the lights. "Knowing all that could be quite useful."

"What are you doing?" said Berwick. It was almost pitch black in the room. Berwick had to squint to see the drinks he was making.

"I'm just turning the lights down so Thomas can sleep well."

"Well not quite so dark, dear... I might trip and fall."

"We wouldn't want that, would we? Damaging that body of yours."

"eh? No, we wouldn't."

"No... we wouldn't want that at all..."

[To Be Continued]