Blaymore sat cross-legged on the floor of the dungeon. His blue cloak was torn and soaked with his own blood, but his mind was locked in deep concentration. Ronce and Henna, the two other prisoners with which he shared the dungeon, were lost in their own conversation. It was mostly about him, but Blaymore ignored it.

"What do you think he's doing?" whispered Ronce. His sister Henna had just finished untying him, and was now seeing to her own relatively minor wounds. Though they were no longer in their cells, the three of them
were still very much prisoners. There was only one way out... a stairway
leading up to a very thick, and very locked door. And on the other side of that door was Hax.
Blaymore frowned inwardly. He shoved thoughts of his painful encounter with the less-than-human leader of the town guard out of his mind. He couldn't let that distract him... not now, when such a distraction could shave a decade or more off of his life.

"I don't know," said Henna. "He's just sitting there bleeding."

Blaymore had a few bruises that were of no consequence, but his lower leg had a large hole running completely through the calf. He had impaled it on one of Hax's spikes. It hurt then, and it hurt even more now that it was healing. Blaymore easily pushed through the pain and focused his control.

While his thoughts and movements could easily reach hundreds of times the speed of an ordinary human, Blaymore's metabolism... his heartbeat, his healing, his aging... remained close to normal. That was the difference between him and those who sought to haste themselves with potions or magic. Their efforts aged them rapidly... creating weak old men out of young wizards and warriors. But not Blaymore. He had been hasted since birth,
and, with the exception of the first few years, he'd aged like a normal man. However, with the proper concentration, he could speed up the normal processes of his body. He could re-route the magic that powered his abilities... healing wounds in minutes that would ordinarily take many months. Of course, he'd age just as rapidly, and if he lost control he could end up very old very fast. The risk was high, but at times it simply could not be avoided. He just had to keep control.

Blaymore felt the heat building up underneath his skin as his metabolism raced faster and faster. His heart pounded like the beating of a bee's wing. Blood roared through his veins. The grand mechanism that is the human body churned faster than it was ever intended, and almost faster than it could withstand. Only Blaymore's iron will kept his body from tearing itself apart even as it put itself back together. Bruises and small cuts vanished in the blinking of an eye. The bleeding leg-wound closed... muscles mended, skin re-grew....

"Hey, look," Ronce pointed at Blaymore, who's body was humming audibly. The rhythmic rise and fall of Blaymore's chest was so fast that it created a blur around his torso.

"What's he doing?"

"Looks like some kind of magic."

Henna and Ronce tried to back away, but since they were already cramped into a corner as far away from Blaymore as they could get, the effort proved impossible.

Seconds ticked by in near silence. And then Blaymore's eyes popped open.
He stood and pulled his bloody cloak around him. He adjusted the hood and sash that hid his face... adjusting it for the full beard that had sprouted underneath them. Then he stretched his newly healed leg. It was a sore
and stiff, but he could deal with that. He would have to eat soon,
however, so his body could replace the energy and raw materials that it had used to heal itself. Other than soreness and hunger, he felt fine.

And all it cost him was a little less than a year off his life.

"Your leg-" said Henna.

"Healed," said Blaymore. He looked down at the siblings, then up at the
stairs. He could get through the door with no problem, but what then?

"You're pretty fast," said Ronce.

Blaymore didn't reply. He was already coming up with a plan. He'd been
dazed and wounded when he and Hax first fought. Now his head was clear and he could use all of his spells and speed. Hax would come down soon to retrieve Vance and put them all back in their cells. He would expect Blaymore to be injured. As soon as Hax opened the door, Blaymore could be past him and away. He'd still be trapped within the enchanted walls of
the building, but he could deal with Berwick before anyone could stop him.

Of course, if the shadow had taken this time to move on to another body, then things could get much more complicated. True, they were all
supposedly sealed within the building, but it would find a way out.

"Who are you?" said Henna. She stood and walked towards him.

"Henna, sit down!" Ronce cried. "He's dangerous."


"No he's not," she said. "If he was he'd have done something already."

"I am dangerous," said Blaymore.

"Why are you here? What do you want?"

"I came here to stop something. And I will, as soon as I get out of here."

"The doctor?" said Henna. Ronce was standing beside her now.

"Something inside of him."

"Inside of him like... what?" said Ronce. "Like worms? Like a plague? What?"

"Like those things, only worse," Blaymore wondered how much he could tell them. He'd never figured just how much knowledge was TOO much... how much could set the shadow loose again once it had been safely banished. He
decided to play it safe and tell them nothing. He turned away from
them and moved toward the stairway. The guard's dead body was still laying at the bottom of the stairs. Blaymore stepped gingerly over it and started up. Perhaps he could listen at the door and find out what was going on in the other room.

"Hey come back here!" Ronce shouted. "Come back down here and tell us what's going on!"

"If you knew what was going on, I'd have to kill you," said Blaymore.

"Oh, there he goes with the threats, again," said Ronce.

"Not a threat," Blaymore replied. "Merely the truth. To have knowledge of this thing is to subject yourself to it. The more people know about it, the harder it will be to contain."

"Oh, that explains everything," said Ronce. "Why was Berwick trying to kill us?"

"Don't you get it, Ronce," said Henna. "THAT wasn't Berwick. It was
something else pretending to be the doctor. Am I right?"

Henna looked expectantly up at Blaymore, who just stared back at her.

"I'm right," she said.

"And HE knows what it is, but he ain't telling."

"How do we stop it?" said Henna.

"You don't stop it," replied Blaymore. "I do."

"And its a fine job you've done so far," said Ronce. "Let's count the sterling examples of your success... Thomas attacks my sister-"

"I had nothing to do with that."

"Then his wife attack ME. Then YOU attack me... and we BOTH end up in Hax's little play-pen here. Which helps us out tremendously when Berwick shows up to kill us all and the two of us can't do anything but stand here and watch. None of this stuff happened until you got here... and now you're saying that some... thing... is going around possessing people and you're here to stop it. Only you're STILL locked down here with the rest of us while the doctor is running around killing everyone in the village for all we know. SPLENDID work there, stranger. Absolutely marvelous."

"He outsmarted me," said Blaymore

"Obviously not a very hard thing to do," snapped Ronce.

Blaymore's eyes pulsed fiery red. It was just an illusion, but still quite effective in shutting Ronce up.

"Hax is going to come down here eventually," said Blaymore. "When he does, you two will stay out of the way. And no matter what happens, keep all the lights in this room lit."

"Lights?" said Henna. "Why?"

"So we can have a good view of Hax kicking his arse again, that's why." mumbled Ronce.


---


"Tie him up tight, boys," said Hax. "And lash him to that chair in the
corner."

Sev and Dwar obliged, tightening the ropes around their new prisoner's hands and feet. Then they carried Berwick over to a sturdy wooden chair and
began to tie him down.

"Sorry about this, " said Sev. The slow-witted guardsman didn't quite understand what was happening, but he knew and order when he heard one.

"It's okay." said Berwick. "I understand precautions are necessary." The elderly doctor suddenly squinted as if in pain. "It's awfully bright in here. My old eyes... mind turning down the lights or something?"

"Hmmm..." Sev looked around. Even though it was daytime, the shutters were closed tight over the windows. It's how Hax always kept it. The room's light came from the six enchanted lamps placed on tiny hooks in various places. It didn't seem unusually bright to Sev, but then Berwick
WAS an old man... "Okay-"

"What the hell are you doing, Sev?" said Hax.

"Uhhhh... nothing?"

"That's right. Leave the lights up and don't do anything he says. In fact, if he talks too much, I'll be putting a gag over his mouth myself."

"Aw, is that really necessary, Hax," protested Sev. "He's Berwick... you
know... good ole' Berwick."

"Uh-huh. Berwick who was somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. Berwick
who's son Vance is laying dead at the bottom of the dungeon stairs."

"Yeah," said Dwar. "So can we give him a break?"

"Does Berwick look particularly upset about his son being dead?" said Hax.

"Uhhh..."

"Its shock," said Berwick. "It all happened so fa-"

"Shut up. There'll be plenty of time for you to talk after I secure things downstairs."

"Do you suppose that fellow in blue is dead?" asked Berwick. "Horrible, horrible fellow..."

"Elric is still outside," Hax said to Dwar. "If he shows up, tell him to go fetch Sorrins and bring him here. We'll need some of his magic to figure out what's what."

"Yes, sir," said Dwar.

"You..." Hax addressed Sev. "I'm gonna be bringing Vance's body back up. We'll put it in the store room. Clear out a space."

"Okay." Sev lit one of the unused lamps and grabbed the storeroom keys
from the desk.

Hax walked over to the door leading downstairs. He looked at it as if it were going to open by itself.

"Hmmm..."

"Hey 'wick," Sev nudged Berwick. "Watch this... betcha ain't never seen anything like this before."

Without so much as a deep breath, Hax shifted to golem-form again. His human-seeming body morph into a huge figure composed of solid metal, every ounce of it capable of responding instantly to his every thought. Even his clothes were metal. He stood before the door for a second... and then he began to melt. A silvery puddle formed on the floor, and it grew larger
as Hax's feet and legs sank into it. In the space of just a few seconds Hax was only half a man... the upper half of his body jutting from the floor like a half-melted ice statue. Even as the rest of him sank down and vanished, the puddle flowed forward. It didn't move exactly like water... but it clearly wasn't solid metal either. The leading edge of the metallic liquid disappeared under the tiny crack at the base of the dungeon door, and the rest of it quickly followed. Just as Hax's head joined the rest of him, the pool surged forward and was gone.

"Whoa," said Sev.

Dwar nodded silently.

"Amazing," added Berwick. The elderly doctor had a peculiar gleam in his
eye...


---


"What's THIS now?" Blaymore backed down the steps as the shiny liquid poured under the door and flowed towards him. The strange substance
collected in a large pool on the second step from the top, and then shot upwards like a fountain. The 'fountain' grew wider... and then it began
to take shape. Blaymore recognized it immediately.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Blaymore. As Hax's metal body solidified in front of him. Blaymore backed away a few more steps.

"Play time's over," said Hax, who was back in his human form. "Everybody back in their cages."

Blaymore thought about attacking while Hax was human, but then what rushing into things had gotten him so far. Instead, he mouthed a spell to detect the presence of magic. Not only did all of the walls around him begin to glow with a light that only he could see, but Hax's body was shining like a raging fire.

"You're not human," said Blaymore. "Your human body is just an illusion, isn't it."

"Good eyes," said Hax as he began to descend the steps.

"What are you?"

"I'm the man that's gonna put you back in your cell, and ask you some questions. In that order."

"I'm not going. We're all in danger, and there's nothing I can do to stop it if I'm locked up down here."

"As far as I can see, the only danger we're in is from you."

"You don't believe that," said Blaymore. "If you did, you'd have tried
to kill me already." He was standing at the bottom of the steps, with
the heels of hid boots backed up against the body of the dead guard, Vance. Hax was half-way up the steps. Blaymore could easily run past him and
quite possibly pick the lock on the door before Hax reached him. Something told him not to try. But he couldn't just stay down here...

"We still have due process in this down," replied Hax. "But that don't apply to people who try to escape from custody." said Hax as he continued to descend. "Why'd you kill Vance?"

"I didn't. The man you think is Berwick did."

"It's true!" added Henna. She and Ronce stood a few feet behind
Blaymore. They were trying not to cower.

"Yeah," Ronce said. "He was poisoned. And whatever happened, it happened when that blue guy was down here with us. You want a suspect, talk to
Berwick."

"Vance's father," Hax said blankly. "Berwick killed his own son."

"And he tried to kill us," said Henna.

"That's not what Sev said," replied Hax. "Sev said he found you attacking Berwick with a sword."

"Sev is an IDIOT and you know it!" Henna screamed, seeming not to care that Dwar was just upstairs.

Hax eyed Blaymore. The assassin stood his ground at the bottom of the steps.

"Lyburn and Tucker. Sellia, Thomas, and John. I suppose you want me
to believe Berwick killed them as well."

"What!?!" Henna swooned. "Sellia and Thomas? What happened to
Sellia!?!"

"Dead."

"NOO!"

"That's a lot of corpses in such a small stretch of time," said Hax. "A stretch that starts with this man's arrival."

"It isn't me," said Blaymore. "Your enemy is elsewhere, and he's just stretching his muscles. He hasn't even gotten started yet."

"And neither have I. I've got three murder scenes to investigate, and I don't have time to stand here-"

"Then let me go and allow me to handle it," said Blaymore.

"Just what kind of fool do you take me for? Everyone back into the
cells."

"No," said Blaymore.

"Round two, then?"

"If that's what it comes to."

"You'll lose."


---


Elric knew something was wrong as soon as he reached the door. It was
closed, which wasn't all that unusual, but the faint green halo around the lock was. In fact, once Elric took a few steps back and looked at the
town guard headquarters, he could see a light, almost imperceptible glow around the entire building. He'd never seen it before, but he could guess what it was. Magic. Sorrin's magic... activated by Hax to seal the
building from the inside. No one could get in or out, except for maybe Hax himself. Maybe.

Something bad must have happened inside to warrant such a measure. Elric's stomach lurched... not because of what could have happened, but because of what Hax was going to do to him when he found out that Elric had fallen asleep on the job.

Elric walked over to the window and knocked on the shutter. It opened,
and Dwar peered out. The green haze over the window still sealed the building, however.

"You made it," said Dwar.

"Yeah, I, uhh..."

"Vance is dead."

"What?"

"So's John."

"What the hell!?!-"

"I think it's that new prisoner, except the killings happened after we had him locked up."

"Think there could be another one?"

"Maybe. We got Berwick in here. And Henna. At this point I think
everyone's a suspect."

"Doc Berwick?"

"He ain't been actin' right, that's for sure. Bastard tried to bite my ear off just a second ago. Had to knock the old man out."

"You hit Berwick!?"

"Hey, it's definitely weird in here. Hax sealed the building... we're in
here for the duration. He said if you showed up, to tell you to go get Sorrins and bring him here. If anybody can figure this thing out, it's Hax and Sorrins."

"Right. Uhh... w-where's Hax?"

"Downstairs rattling the cages. The prisoners got out earlier."

"Huh, how'd they manage-"

"Just go get Sorrins. I'd better close this window."

Dwar closed the shutter.

"Vance and John. Dead. That bastard..." Elric walked quickly away.

Inside, Dwar secured the shutter and turned back to what he'd been doing when Elric had arrived. Berwick's chair was laying on its side behind the desk. Berwick was still tied to it, but he was unconscious and bleeding from a blow to the head. Dwar heard Sev moving around in the storage closet. The poor fool probably wouldn't know he was locked in for another half-hour.

Dwar walked over to the nearest lamp. He extinguished it, then moved on to the next one. The room quickly grew dark as he put out the light sources one at a time.

[To Be Continued]