(Not to be confused with the Shadow Heart game or other books.)

She watched from the back, a shadow among shadows. The darkness was her home. Everywhere she went they never noticed her. Between her breasts the silver pendent spoke of who she was without a word. The sword and the rose was a forgotten statement of power. Not that anyone here would know it.

She glanced to the door as the one she was waiting for entered. The game was going to begin again. She wondered if she would be seen this time? With a shrug she pushed away from the wall and in a practiced glide circled the room. Her target moved to the bar paying no attention to those around him. She smiled he is a very hansom man.

She was here to protect him. His family took the death threat seriously. Of course it was the office that choose to send her. Time to make her move. She altered her glide to slide up to him. She knew what he liked. She ordered a rare drink. That got his notice. Her looks were just what he tended to go for. She would play it cool at first. She would let him make the first move. Play the shy girl to bring out his manly instincts. That way he would want to keep her close. That would make her job easier.

This was why they choose her to protect him without him even knowing. She would stay near him till the threat was taken care of by the second team. This was the way it worked in the six missions she had been on. No time to think of that. She was paid to play a part and play it well. He smiled at her. She smiled back. The hook was set lets see if he bites.

(twelve months ago, same bar different life)

He had came here to die. This city had no pity for ones such as him. He drank the last of his money away on sloe Gin. He was trying to forget that inside him was a woman trying to break out. He wanted to let her out to be true to her. He did not have what it takes. He was a fool.

At that moment a monster of a guy pushed a gal out of his way. She fell and looked to be hurt. He could not stand when guys did that. He pushed up and went to the gal. She was hurt. Well he had come here to die and the drink was not doing it. He helped the gal to the chair he had left. Put the glass in her hand and smiled a sad smile. Then he squared his shoulders and went to confront the monster. He never made it to the monster someone had broke a bottle over his head. He was out before he hit the floor.

He came to on a bed in a motel room from the tacky furniture. the shower was going so he was not alone. He tried to sit up and instantly regretted it. The room swam and he fell back to the bed trying to regain his clarity. After a few moments three things became known to him. First he had breasts. Second he was wearing a nightgown. Third something that had always been between his legs wasn't. This had to be a dream. His wildest dream had come true. He or more properly she was a woman.

The shower shut off and the sound of a hair drier went on. She looked around. Two sets of make up laid out nothing male visible. Chances are that the person in the bathroom is female. Of course in her current state she could do almost nothing to whoever it was. It was so great to be able to say she and her and mean me. The drier shut off and the door opened and there stood the girl from the bar. Wrapped in a towel and smiling. She said "Good morning sleepyhead. My name is Ashley and you my dear are Amber. You might as well forget about your old life that person died in that bar. You are now a Protector. You will spend your life Protecting people. Your new look is part of your payment for doing this job. If you complete 100 jobs you will be released and will be free to live your life however you please. You will be paid as to the difficulty of the job. You will be provided with what you need to do the job. When you finish you time with us you will be a wealthy lady. I understand this necklace is something very special to you? But when we probed for information about it you would clam up even under our strongest techniques. So we are letting you keep it. It is the only thing from your past you will ever see again. I am your training officer. Don't worry once your up to speed you won't have to see me again. The Drug that kept you from getting up should be wearing off by now." I slowly sat up. "Good we can get started as soon as I am dressed. You already know how to be a woman. What I am going to teach you is how to pick a mark and get them to come to you. It does not matter if they are man, woman or someone in between. With your new looks Playing the Girlfriend is your best ploy to keep close to your target.

Training came in two parts. The physical and the mental. The physical was strait forward in that it was all about getting to know what my new body can do and how to do it. The mental was harder. It was all about getting into your targets head and learning to know what they will do before they do. How to read the minute signs that will let you be one step ahead of the game always. Mixing the two to make a perfect agent. This is what I needed to do or I would get my target and myself killed. I was the last line of defense for the target. The second team did the dirty work, I was there if someone slipped by them. So I learned to play the girlfriend no mater who the target was. Since I am an open minded Bisexual this was no problem. I was taught everything I needed to know. That even included how to kill bare handed if need be. I was shaped into the perfect girlfriend.

Two months went by while I trained. The outside world moved on and the person I was forgotten like he never existed. I now had a new name Amber Lyn Shane. Not the most notable name out there but that was the idea. True to her word after my training I never was around Ashley again. I was assigned to the office in California. It was far from my former home so I would never have to worry about running into anyone I knew. Not that would matter with my new look.

My first mission was a simple one. Get close to this lesbian and play arm candy for a while. The second team would take out the threat and the target would never know she was being protected.

I was given all the data we had on her and placed in her favorite tea shop to pick her up. I knew what tea she bought and what she munched on with her tea. I had just asked for the right Tea and scone when the attack came. Where the hell was the second team? I grabbed the girl and pulled her down as the spray of bullets came through the front window. Two people died but not the target. Damn drive bys! They had made there move way to early. Our people said they would wait a few days. The tea shop owner took a shot to the head he was gone. The old lady who was standing behind the target was hit in the chest she was gone as well. No one else was in the shop at that time dang it how am I going to spin this? I was wearing a ear piece hidden in a hearing aid. I heard "code 9". That meant get the target and get out of there, spin later. I got up pulling the target with me and headed for the back door. Staying low. She was scared and followed my directions. Out the back door and down the ally to a car that was there just in case. We got in and off I drove.

I glanced over at her and she was shaking. I said "Calm down I'll get us out of this." I hoped. It would suck to fail on my first mission. I drove to a clothing shop and stopped the car. "Time to do some shopping. We need to look different if we are going to fool those guys." She was calming down.

In my ear piece I heard "Tell her who you are." Oh great this should go over well.

She was looking at me like she was not sure about me. I smiled "It is going to be ok. I was hired to protect you. My name is Amber. Once we get new clothes We will lay low for a bit. I will protect you."

She frowned "Why would anybody want to kill me? I am a nobody."

I shrugged "That is not my area, I am just here to protect you. Let's shop." I got her in the store and looking through the clothes. It calmed her down. I was waiting for instructions from the office. Soon we had bought 3 changes of clothes each and were back in the car. I circled the town and randomly picked a direction to drive. This is so not how the day was to go. I drove out to the coast and watched a pretty sunset for awhile. I was sure things were totally FUBAR at the moment. I did not want to play the part I had been dropped into. I needed a plan. We found a no-tell motel and I told her to get some sleep.

About 3 hours later I finally got orders from the office. It was one word "Run!" I had her up and out the door in a flash. We walked away from the car in case it had been spotted. We found the bus stop and soon we were headed south. Three hours and many bus changes we were at the border. We crossed and I slipped into a side street. Heading away from the lights of the mid town and the chance of being noticed. I spoke Spanish and knew my way around the back ways of Mexico. I was using that knowledge to get us to a safe place. I am half Mexican and looked it. That made my moving around back here easier the Target not so much. We will have to be careful. I will have to use my trump card if things go bad.

We found a cantina just before dark and got some dinner and a room for the night. This is going to be a long night. I pushed the dresser if front of the door. It wont stop anyone but it will give me time to get ready to fight.

It was hard to get the target moving the next morning. I was trying to keep ahead of anyone trying to catch us. the earpiece said "Safe house 4 2:00 pm." Well that was something. a quick breakfast and we moved out. Moving back into the mainstream areas. It took us a hour to slip back across the border and catch a bus back to the city. The 3 hour round about trip to the safe house gave me plenty of time to think. This would be my life for awhile. I walked slowly with the target like just two girlfriends towards the safe house. After a walk around the block I got another message "Go in your contact is waiting." I kept the target behind me as we went up to the door. I got the key and entered to find three women waiting.

The leader of the women gave me the clear sign and I relaxed a little. She said "We have her now your mission is done. You did good. We will take it from here.

That is how my first mission went. Back to the present.

The hook was set and I was waiting for him to bite when somebody through a flash bang into the mix. I managed to get my arms around him. If someone was going to take him they were going to get me to. I acted the scared little girl and clung to him. I counted ten bad-ass guys came in to finish the job. This was not the plan.

Two guys grabbed him I was holding tight and was not going to let go. The big guy looked to the leader when he could not pry me off. the leader said "Take her too." So I was going for a ride. We were taken out and thrown into a van. Bags were put over our heads. I waited and played my part.

My earpiece said "Code 3" Play along and wait for backup.

Play along that is easy for them to say. They were not in a van with 4 bruisers heading for who knows where. This was bad! Where was the back up I was to wait for? They bound our hands and feet with duct tape. that would make my response limited. I could get out of this by myself pretty easy if bloody. This was going to be a hard fight to keep both of us alive.

It was an hour later when we got to where ever they were taking us. We were took from the van to a house. My guess would be somewhere in the country out of the way. We were put in a bedroom on a bed older than I am. They left us alone for now. The emergency beacon in my earpiece was always a option but would cut my battery life to 1 day. I waited and wondered if I would need to use my skills to kill the bruisers and get us out of here.

One guy came in and took off the bags and gave us some water. His face was covered so we had a chance. If they plan to kill us he would not bother to hide his face. When he left he left the bags off. His mistake. I studied the room. It had ranch style furniture and was old, real old. In one corner was something that made me smile. It was a full free standing mirror. The earpiece crackled "Escape at all cost!" came through.

Well I had a way out but this would be hard on him. I worked the tape with my sharp nails. Soon my hands were free. I cut my legs free the same way. I worked on his legs first then his hands. I gave him a look that said he better be quiet. Instead of heading for the window I headed for the mirror. I whispered "Don't ask questions just trust me to get us out of this." He hid not look happy but nodded. I turned to the mirror and touched the four corners, knocked on the center three times and whispered "Wind Haven." The mirror clouded over as the portal opened. I took his hand and stepped through pulling him along.

I stepped out into the room and pulled him through till I could shut down the portal. I sent a shatter spell before I did so. There was no way they could follow us now. The old stone keep was just as I left it. I turned to him and said "We are safe now. We will rest here an hour then go to a safe house I know of. Oh and don't ask any questions about where we are now. You would just find the answers disturbing." I pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses. "You look like you could use a drink." I poured the wine and took a sip.

He smiled "I wont ask how you did that but I will ask Who the Hell are you?"

I smiled back at him "I was hired to protect you. That's all you need to know. I am going to do just that. So just sit back and enjoy the ride." I sipped and waited for the rant I was sure was coming. He just looked around and gulped the wine sticking out his glass for more. I liked this guy. He was taking it a lot better than I did the first time I was brought here.

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20 Years ago in a different life.

The box was addressed to him but in it was a girls jewelry box. This confused him. Who would send such a thing to a 10 year old boy? My Mother gasped when she caught sight of the gift. What could this mean? She went to take it from me but decided not to at the last second. She said "Open it slowly Allen." I did as I was told and in the center of the box was a beautiful pendant. My Mother gasped again. She said "Put on the pendant and follow me." She took me to her room and told me "Touch the four corners of the mirror then knock three times in the center of the mirror and say Wind Haven." I did as I was told not knowing what to expect.

The Mirror clouded and swirled till there was a opening in the center. My mother took my hand then stepped into the mirror. It was so strange that I just followed with out questioning if I could. We had stepped out at another place. The walls were stone and very old. There was an ancient bed and other stuff in the room. there was a window so I went and looked out. From what I could see we were in a tower of a castle! Mother was looking around with a smile on her face. I asked "Mother where are we and how did we get here?"

She smiled "We are in the castle of Wind Haven. We traveled through a magical portal to get here. Your pendant is the key to make any large mirror into a portal using the ritual you did to open the portal this time. This is your inheritance. It seem your Grandmother thinks you are one of the special people. I will teach you what she taught me and we will see where it goes. All this is yours!"

And so began my education in the strange art of portal travel and magic. The next three years I was busy living in two worlds. Then my mother came down with Cancer and I was left alone. The Aunt I was sent to live with was not in the know so I did not tell her about Wind Haven.

Having to hide traveling to Wind Haven made the times few and far between. I did not want anyone to know about my ultimate escape. So I kept it all to myself.

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Wind Haven the present.

The one spell I knew real well was the forget spell. When we leave I will make him forget all about Wind Haven. I hope it wont go any farther than that. I don't use magic often but I do know how. I rarely make a mistake when working my magic. He seem to be a good guy I would not like to wipe him away.

It was hen that he surprised me. He smiled "How long have you been a Mage? I know about them but you are the first I have ever met." I shook my head he was a almost. He almost knew what was going on.

I smiled "Longer than you would believe. You know I can't let you keep that information. I have guarded that bit of info for more years than you have been alive." So I was exaggerating a bit there. I watched him as that sunk in. Here is where he tries to be the Big Man and Macho it up. He surprised me again.

With a grin he said "I know that if I try you will use your magic to stop me so I will just ask you don't take all my memories." This guy really is pushing my buttons. I am not sure what to do about him. No, he is a target not a boyfriend! I got to keep in control!

It is time to go back. We will be going to a safe house so all will be good. I cast the forget spell centered on anything to do with me. And while it worked I opened the portal. I pulled him through. I closed the portal and set him on the couch waiting for him to come out of it. I tried the earpiece and got a blast of sound orders and counter orders. I guess my little disappearing act really got them going. I used the safe house cell phone to call in and tell them the target and I are fine. The office was in a uproar over the whole thing. I got to my contact and reported in. She said the Brass were in a tizzy over how I got out of there. They could not figure it out and that made those control freaks mad. I was to stay out of the way till everything was straitened out. That means staying with the target for a bit. Oh joy.

He was waking up. He looked at me and smiled "The spell did not work I still remember you and what you are. Don't worry I am not going to tell anybody. I am quite good at keeping secrets." This was not good. Could he be a Null? One magic does not work on? That would just be my luck. What am I going to do now?

(I know this one is real short, sorry)

I was stuck with this guy that my spell did not work on. What am I going to do now? If the office pulls him in and interrogates him my secret will be out. What will I do then? I could always run to Wind Haven. I don't want to give up the work so that's out. I need to get a handle on this.

Two hours and I still had not gotten an order. I am getting worried. The office has never taken this long to send orders along when a target is in play. The safe house security system warned someone was coming up to the front door. Damn I don't carry a gun so there is not much I can do that wont give my secret away. I looked at the screen to see who it is. Tanna my contact at the office was at the door. I checked the rest of the screens no one in sight. I decided to let her in.

She kept her hands in plain sight. I opened the door an moved back. She came in closing the door behind herself. She looked worried. I know she was wired so I was careful what I said. She made small talk about the target but her hands were saying something very different. She signed "You are a mage. The only way out of that room was a mirror. Don't tell them. Take the target and disappear. The office is too hot for you right now. Revolution is coming. Run ,Run fast as you can. Leave everything and go! You both are in Danger! No earpiece no nothing just go!"

That's when a shot came through the window killing Tanna. They were storming the place. I grabbed the target and made for the mirror. We had only a few moments to get away. I opened the portal and grabbed his hand and went through the portal sending a shatter spell as I closed the portal. Well so much for that life. What am I going to do with him? I have about 6 months of food stored at Wind Haven. That is 3 months with two of us. That safe house is burned but I did have three others that are off the offices radar. We will lay low for a while and regain our strength. I might even teach him blade and bow. Of course I would need to relearn those myself with this new body.

For right now I was portal lagged. I guess now that I am going to spend several months with this guy I can't keep calling him the target. I smiled a tired smile "Well it looks like we are stuck with each other for a while. You are Dan right?" He nodded and staggered to the bed an dropped on to it. That is when I spotted the blood. I moved over to him and started the healing spell. I hope the first time was a bad cast, I am only so-so at healing without magic.

I cast and he began to heal. Well he is not a Null. I watched while the skin knit and the blood stopped flowing out of the wound. I pushed the spell to it's max! Gunshots are very hard to heal. It is all the collateral damage to heal as well. I had to hurry or shock would set in. I watched as his skin pinked up and he began to sleep peacefully. Well that was good. Well he will live and I wont be alone here. I guess that is a good thing.

I set to setting things up so we could live here comfortably. I had stashed a lot of stuff here over the years so we will be all right. It will be primitive but not a bad life. After he recovers we will hut to get fresh meat. That should extend our food supply a bit. There is wild veggies and berries to gather as well. In my old life I was pretty good with a bow so after I get used to handling the bow in a new way I should be good. I am ok at sewing and there is plenty of cloth here so I should be able to make some clothes if needed. There is the clothes from my old life that I should be able to modify to fit Dan. Well it is going to take a while to think of him by his name instead of the target. I am quite a bit smaller now so I will have to find or make clothes to fit this body. I wish Grandmother was still around. She would know what to do now. I better get to work while he sleeps off the healing spell.

It took me quite a while to see what I had stashed here and get it all organized. I had just stuck it all here and there in the past. Now I needed to know what we had to work with. Well there was a bit more food than I thought we should be able to hold out 4 months with out going back to shop for food. If we hunt and gather we can extend that to 5-6 months depending on the hunting around here. They should relax the hunt for us back home about that time. I hope so that is.

He is still sleeping and probably will all night. I am going to fix something to eat then try to get some sleep myself. If I can, so much has happened I don't know if my mind will shut down enough to sleep. Making mac and cheese over a open flame is not easy but it came out pretty good. Most of all it is a filling comfort food. Right now I can use all the comfort I can get.

Over the years I have been coming here I have only explored a third of the castle. Tomorrow I will explore some more. Maybe I will find something of use to us. Dan is in my bed so I will use the one next door. This is the one grandmother used to use when she came here. I miss her so. I open the chest at the foot of the bed and pull out the silk nightgown, grandmother loved her silks. I put it on. I have stashed some lingerie here since my new life began so I at least have that. I had only came here once since my new life began until I met Dan that is. Once I slipped into the nightgown and into bed sleep came surprisingly easy.

I wake with the sun, ready for the day. I use the cistern shower that I had rigged up. It was cold but woke me fully. After I got dressed I went to check on Dan. He was sitting up in bed looking around. When I came in he smiled. I smiled back "Feeling better?"

He nodded "What happened the passage here is a little blurry." I pionted to his side where he was shot.

"They stormed the safe house, you were hit. I pulled us out of there but my time with them is over. They did not like me being a mage. We can stay here 5-6 months before we need to go back for food and supplies." He looked at me with a amused look on his face.

"Stuck in a deserted castle with a beautiful maiden for 6 months don't sound too bad to me." The look on his face turned to playful lust. Damn it if I did not blush at that. I checked his wound trying to avoid his hands. That was quite the exercise. The spell had done it's work he was fine.

I asked "You want breakfast and I don't mean me? We have a lot to do today. If we are both feeling like it we can come back to this game later tonight. You would not happen to know how to use a bow or blade?"

He smiled "I was on the fencing team in high school and archery in collage. I even hunted with a bow a few times. I am guessing hunting is going to be a big part of our food supply. I can do that. Is the hunting good here? Do you have a bow I could use?"

I grinned "We have a whole armory to choose weapons from. I have not been outside lately but when I was last time there was plenty of wildlife. I am good with a bow in the past so we should be ok on the hunting front. There is everything else we need in the castle. We will get along fine I think. As long as you keep your mind on your work and not on my assets."

He laughed at that. So we got to work. We used one of the minor halls to gather what we needed. We explored about 1/2 of the castle in the daylight hours. We sorted and looked though all the things we had in the early evening. After supper he was feeling good and I wanted a little comfort so we began the game again. I did not know how far I would let it go and did not care. I was feeling my way through my emotions. I fought his hands at first but soon he was running his hands over my arms and legs. Then his lips found mine and I was lost in the moment. He was caring and did not push me too fast. Right now this is what I needed!

In the morning I found myself in his arms. I was wearing the nightgown and knew he had not forced himself on me. Maybe more will happen as we got to know each other better. It was such a fine day I got up and put on the housecoat and prepared breakfast. I think we will hunt today we could use some fresh meat.

After breakfast I dressed in leather armor ready for a day in the wilds. I picked up the bow that was my strength. Dan whistled "I love a woman in leather! Look out world here she comes." I laughed and pointed to the fact he was not dressed yet. He smiled as he made a production of putting on the armor I had found for him. He is very nicely put together buff guy. We headed to the gate and went out into the wilds.

The hunt went well we got 4 rabbits and tested ourselves. It was a good morning. I showed him the lake and we decided to fish in the afternoon. We cut long branches for fishing poles and I had line and hooks in my pouch. We dug some worms for bait. He skinned and cleaned the rabbits while waiting for the fish to bite. After my hectic life this was nice and relaxing. I guess I am a country girl at heart. I made a fire and started to cook the rabbit he had finished. It should last longer that way. I used some wild herbs that I picked early in the day. Damn that smelled good. I guess I could live like this for a while.

The smell attracted unwanted attention, a large puma. The fire gave it pause and gave us a chance to get our bows. We both loosed our arrows at the same time. The puma slumped with two arrows in its chest. I wonder how good puma meat is? As always happens that is when the fish decide to bite. We got to the poles before they were pulled in the lake. What a day!

The coat of the puma was kept for the leather it would make as well as the meat and I kept the claws. We finished up and headed back into the castle. We had enough meat to last awhile and fish too.

Preserving the bounty of the hunt with magic made so we could keep it longer. I looked at Dan, the day had been a good one and I was feeling playful. I slipped up to him and goosed him when his back was turned. We started to play fight for a bit and I was happy to end up in his arms. We embraced for a bit looking in each others eyes. I was finding my mind turning to the bed we could share. Thunk, thunk, thunk! the mirror in the corner sounded. Dang it! That meant someone was trying to open a portal! I pulled away from Dan and picked up the blade I had dropped. I was not very happy to be interrupted and was going to take it out on who ever came through the portal. I said "Portal!" through clenched teeth. He understood and picked up his blade and took up position on the other side of the mirror. The portal opened and a young girl dashed out and turned to close the portal. She sent a shatter spell through as she closed the portal. She eyed the two of us and backed up till she hit the bed frame.

The three of us stood there for a few moments wondering what to do. I noted the chaffing at her wrists and ankles. That told me she had been tied up and not playfully. I lowered my blade and asked "Who are you?" I was thinking she was a runaway from somewhere but where?

She pulled herself up and said "My name is Lily Fairbow. I just escaped from slavers who attacked our trade convoy. Who are you?" She is a plucky little girl I'll say that for her.

I made a decision and put away my blade. "My name is Amber Shane I live here in Wind Haven. Did you mean to come here or did you just get lucky?" I smiled at my sarcastic remark. Dan put away his blade and watched without saying anything.

"I am seldom lucky. I was just trying to get out of there. Slavers are not the nicest people in the world." Well seems she can be sarcastic as well. I did not want to but I was starting to like this girl. She could not be more than 15 or so but I could see a lot of life in her eyes. Somehow we were going to have to get her back to her people. Pulling her into my world would not be a kind thing to do.

I had to ask "Do you have a way to get a hold of your people? It is best we get you back to them." She shook her head.

She looked grave "The trade convoy was destroyed. Everyone I was traveling with are either dead or in the hands of slavers. None were kin to me, I have no kin. My Mother
died of a pox last winter, I never knew my father. I am alone." I could see the tears at the edges of her eyes but she refused to shed them. I felt for her. This will make things difficult on all of us if we keep her here.

I smiled "I don't suppose the slavers fed you? Lets see what we can find for you. Maybe a change of clothes as well." Dang, I am channeling my mother now. I guess it could be worse.

A half hour later after she had eaten and I found her something to wear I made up a bed for her in a room down the hall from mine. The way she sunk into the bed showed she had not slept for quite awhile. What was I going to do with her? Dan was staying out of the whole thing, so I was on my own to decide.

Tanna had signed that revolution was coming before she was killed. That may mean if I stay away long enough they will fight their war and I would not need to be involved. If I could make contact with a trading post maybe I can last out the year with out going back? There is plenty to trade here in Wind Haven. Lily was traveling with a trade convoy maybe she knows of a trading post or two. Getting to them will be the trick. I will talk to Lily and Dan in the morning. Dan is going to be disappointed that I am no longer in the playful mood. I went to check and found Dan was already asleep. So I went to bed myself.

The morning came stealing over my window sill and I wanted to have it arrested for being too early. I started my morning anyways. Dan was up but moving slowly. I checked on lily and she was still asleep. That was fine I told Dan my thoughts on the trading posts but he was noncommittal. I said "Are you ok with staying here a year. I think that would give us the best chance to be forgotten back home. When we go back I want to be safe."

He smiled "Here has its attractions. I really don't have that much back home to go back to. Get a few more people here and we could make a pretty good life here. Do you really think that the way we were living was all that good?"

That made me think. They tried to storm the safe house and kill me. Do I owe them anything? Sure there would be some things I would miss but not all that much. "I will have to think on this. What do you want for breakfast?" That was all that was said about going back. Lily came out pulled by the smell of frying lake trout. We ate without talking much.

I asked lily "Do you know of any trading posts we can get to by mirror? We could use a few things." I decided to keep it simple.

She thought for a moment "Dogtown is a trading post we passed through before we were attacked. It is a rough place but they have a mirror station. You should be able to get there from here. You need to watch yourself there but you should be able to get any thing you want there."

If I use a seeker spell on the mirror looking for Dogtown I should be able to make a link and open a portal. I will keep that in the back of my mind for later. For today we need to kit out Lily. I wonder if I can find some leathers small enough to fit her or if I will have to alter some. There are plenty of dresses if that is her thing. I guess I made up my mind she is going to be here for awhile. Well she seem like a good kid I guess.

Exploring the castle was put off till the afternoon. I wanted to finish exploring in 3 days if we could. Now that we had plenty of meat I did not see why we could not do it. Many things happened over the next few days but nothing of note.

Lily slid into our lives without a problem or so it seemed. The nightmares started 4 days after her arrival. I was woke from a good dream by scream. I was up a blade in my hand before I knew it. The second scream brought me to Lily's room. I looked around to be sure there was no enemy then went to the bed and tried to wake Lily. She was sitting up crying. Dan was at the door but did not come in. It took quite a lot to wake her even then she continued to cry and held on to me like a raft in a stormy sea. She did not go back to sleep that night and so I did not get any sleep as well. She told me of her life after her Mother died. It was not a nice life. I was relived to find out she is still a virgin. The nightmare was memories of the attack on the trade convoy. She seen many people die that day. She was taken with 4 other females but was kept separately so she could not find any of them when she managed to wiggle free. When she found a mirror she knew she had to escape. They had roughly searched her but did not take her necklace for witch she was very glad.

That is the first time I seen her necklace. It was the Sword and the Rose just like the one I wear. What could this mean? I slowly pulled my necklace out of my top and she gasped. We compared them and they were the same. She said "What can this mean? My Mother gave me this before she died. She said it held my future. Does this mean we are related some how?"

I smiled "I don't know I got this from my Grandmother. It is the key to Wind Haven. It might mean some relationship. It would be nice to have a little sister. maybe you coming here was not so much luck." She hugged me at that point. She needed someone and I just became that someone. Well things could be worse.

We talked till the sun came up. I got up to get my morning started I was going to check our stores today. Just what I needed inventory on no sleep. Well I will deal with it. Dan was already up when I got to the kitchen and had made breakfast. Well this guy is a keeper. We talked about a whole lot of nothing while we ate. Small talk was just that. Dan was going to go through the armory and see if any weapons needed maintained. Lily was going to alter some clothes for herself this morning. I had my inventory to get to so we all had our tasks for the day. About midday we all took a break for lunch. Simple salads and soup. Then back to work.

Our days went like this and only once a week we were woke by Lily's nightmares. She was trying to deal with what she seen that day but it is a long process. We were forgiving and they did get less often. We settled into a way of life that was comfortable. Months passed and the day we would need to make a move came. Try the trading post or try going back? We will have to choose. A temporary answer showed up at our gates in the form of a trade convoy. They stayed three nights and we traded a lot of things we did not need. Then they moved on. No fuss no muss. The trading we did left us with enough to last us till the end of the year at least. Plus something even more important Information. Locations of three trading posts and four towns in the area. The area being 4 days ride. This gave us more options and time to think things over.

I was sure the only place I would find my answers was the place I did not want to go. Grandmother's house was still being kept up as to her will and that is where my answers would be. Well some of my answers. Some of the questions had to do with Dan and why they told me to take him and run. I was not sure how to get those answers? I decided that I had to head to my safe house close to Grandmother's house so I could go have a look. One mystery at a time. I also decided to go alone.

The next morning I told Lily and Dan that I was going to scout the conditions on the other side and left through the portal. I moved fast so they could not protest. The safe house had not been used for a long time and dust was everywhere. I had set up this place when I thought I may run from the Office. It was not on their radar so I should be relatively safe for a bit. I checked my stash of clothes and money as well as food. I was good to go on all counts. I slipped into my black jeans and pullover while I watched the street to see if I could move soon. I bagged my gear so I could grab and go if needed.

I waited an hour then slipped out the back door into the alley. I skirted grandmother's house several times to make sure it was not being watched. When I decided it was safe I used the back door, I knew where there was a key hidden. I also knew what spell would let me enter without tripping the wards. My casting was good and the wards parted to let me in.

This place held a lot of memories for me. It was a part of the life I left behind when I became Amber. I stood in the kitchen and let my memories rush over me. It was almost too late that I felt I was not alone. I dropped into a fighting stance and scanned the room and pantry. There she was standing in the door of the pantry looking very much like the last time I was here. Many things went through my mind the one that stuck out the most was How could Grandmother be here when she died 8 years ago.

She watched me as I watched her. The strangeness of all this was slowing my reactions. She said "You must be of this house to know about the wards and how to negate them. I don't recognize you though. Who are you?"

I straitened up "I used to be Alec, your grandson. Much has happened in the 8 years since I last seen you. Why are you not dead? I was there when they put you in the ground? I know you are tricky but that is a lot to come back from!"

She looked me up and down "Alec, you have changed a lot yourself. Prove to me you are who you say you are and I will tell you why I faked my death."

I pulled the pendant out of my top and said "Wind Haven" Her eyes went big and she rushed over and gave me a big hug. I liked the hug but was bursting with questions. That is when the outer wards went off. She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the other room. There was a big mirror and she opened a portal and we stepped through. On the other side she sent a shatter spell as she closed the portal. I glanced around we were in a country cabin I had never seen before.

She smiled "I always meant to bring you here one day and now I have. Now to why I had to fake my death. The short answer is to keep them from you. I will make some tea and we will exchange stories." She moved around the kitchen and I was reminded of all the times we sat and had tea when there was something important to talk over.

We sat and sipped our tea at the table like the old days. I asked something that was on my mind. "Do you know a Lily Fairbow? I ran into her and she had the same pendant that brought her to Wind Haven." I seen her eyes get big again. It was plain to see she knew the name.

She sipped "Yes she like you were Chosen but never called. I tried to keep her safe but lost track of her and her Mother. How is she? Well I hope." There was a lot she was not telling me about Lily and myself. "The pendant is a marker that shows one is Chosen. There are only a few per world and not all of them are called to do what must be done. Then there are Watchers like myself who protect the Chosen. I was set to watch over you till the age of choice. Before that time I was needed elsewhere so had to make it seem like I died. I was told another Watcher would see to you." She sipped some more before going on. "Before you ask yes we are related just a little more distantly than you thought. Lily is connected to you in a round about sort of way as well. She is a third cousin I think. Wind Haven was once a place for the Chosen to run to when needed, now that has moved to a place called Sanctuary. That leaves Wind Haven to the Chosen that are not called like you and Lily." She refilled our cups. "Now you tell me how you became the young woman I see before me."

I took a long breath and told my tale from her dieing to this chat at the table. I left nothing out. Once I got started it all came tumbling out. She did not interrupt just sat there and took it all in. I was very tired when I finally came to the end. I looked back on what I told her and could not believe all that had happened in such a short amount of time. She sat thinking for a bit with a look of concern on her face.

Finally she spoke "We need to get to the bottom of this. Who is Dan and why is he important to all this? Something is going on that we need to get ahead of. I will put out a few feelers and then we will go to Wind Haven. Do you need to go back to your safe house for anything?"

I smiled "I can do a in and out. I bagged everything and put it near the mirror for a fast get away." She handed me a ring with a strange crest on it.

She smiled "This will bring you back here. Go fast leave nothing you wont be going back to that safe house. I will make some calls while you are gone. I don't like what's going on and we need to move." I went to the mirror and opened a portal to the safe house. I dashed out grabbed the bags and turned and changed the portal to the cabin. I stepped though. I sent the shatter spell as I closed the portal. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Grandmother was at a table mirror chatting with someone. I dropped the bags at the side of the mirror and sat waiting for her to finish. She ended her call and looked at me "I got good news and bad news. What do you want first?"

I smiled "I need some good news so give me that first." I rested myself ready for anything.

Grandmother smiled "Dan is a thorn in the side of a group of people called the Tangents. Your group was working to stop these people so protecting him made sense. So they sent you to do just that. Here is the bad news. The Tangents got into your group and turned a great number of them so there is a civil war going on inside your group. The fact you are a porter makes you a high target to the Tangents. Right now the protector group is no more. You need to find a place to hide and stay there for awhile. I will gather what data I can and get it to you. You may need to go in to rescue protectors that are still on our side from time to time. Right now you need to get back to Wind Haven so you are safe for awhile."

I sighed "Are you coming with me? There is so much more we need to talk about." She sighed and nodded. I got up heading for the mirror. I picked up the bags after opening the portal to Wind Haven. I grinned as I stepped through this had been quite a day.

Lily was waiting on the other side. Her eyes went big when she seen who was following me through the portal. She squealed and lunged into a huge hug. "Great Aunt Eve you are alive I was told you died 2 1/2 years ago. What are you doing here? What is going on?" The questions rushed out of Lily in a flood. Grandmother held her for a moment then shushed her.

Grandmother smiled "All will be told but lets get Dan in here so we wont need to tell it twice. I dealt with the shutting down of the portal as Lily went to find Dan. soon we were all sitting in the kitchen sipping tea and I told of my adventures today. Then Grandmother told her side of things making what happened make more sense.

After all the tales were told Dan spoke up "I need to tell you all why I got so many death threats. I am a P.I. and I was looking into a group known as the Tangents. They are a group of Earth-side mages that want to control all magic by stopping people using the portals. In my investigation I learned some magic including how to stop some spells. That is why your forget spell did not work on me. My family does not like what I do but I love it. There are some things you can not unlearn. Like when I found out about other worlds and other timelines. That one put me off the case for a bit. Then I met you Amber. I am still not sure where that is going but I am in for the whole ride. That is all I got to say at this point."

I smiled at him and took his hand. Grandmother smiled "I find you two are a good match and wont stand in your way. But know this the Tangents are a very powerful and dangerous group. Do not take them as any thing else. On some worlds they have been overcome on others they won. This Earth has not been decided yet. There are groups out there working to defeat them and there are this worlds Chosen. Just know Wind Haven is a place away from the fighting for now but that may change."

We talked most of the day and into the night. Grandmother told us of what she had seen and guessed. She did not know who this worlds Chosen was just it was not anyone we knew. She thought that our job was to keep those that would be on our side safe when we could. I thought of all the people in the Office wondering who I could trust enough to make contact with? Not many came to mind. The darkness outside mirrored my thoughts at that moment. We headed to bed about midnight but I was sure I would not sleep well if at all.

Morning found me sandy-eyed and cranky. Dan did not seem much better as he made breakfast. Grandmother and Lily were chatting up a storm and driving me up the wall across the ceiling and down the other wall! I decided to go hunting today alone. Taking my crankiness out on some beast would settle me down a bit. So after eating I leathered up and grabbed my bow. I was just grabbing my quiver when Grandmother said "Try not to kill more than you can carry dear. See you at noon." That was it. Off I went to hunt the rascally rabbit.

By 11:30 I had 4 nice rabbits and a better outlook on the day. I walked along the river thinking about my life knowing I would have to fight a cold war and stay under the radar to keep those I cared for alive. Looks like I would move from being a protector to being a spy. I hoped I am up to the task.

I reached the castle at just before noon. Grandmother and Lily were cooking a big lunch and chatting as I came in. I took care of the rabbits and washed up. Dan came in and we ate. Grandmother said "I need to go back to the cabin. From there I can monitor what is going on in the world. We need information if we are going o help anyone." She sipped her drink and continued "I think we need to explore what we can do in the way of helping. Would you be willing to take people in if we need to make them disappear?"

I smiled "If need be. We need to be careful who we bring here though. This place is not in the line of fire at the moment and I want to keep it that way. With the traders coming by every 3 months we should be good for awhile. If we hunt and gather more and preserve the meat by magic we could hold 20 or so. I don't want to go over that by much if we can help it. We could send some back after a bit but some may need to stay longer. A few will make Wind Haven their home. I am not sure if this is a good idea or not but it is the only way I can see right now. What do you think Dan? How about you Lily?"

Dan stretched and grinned "Sounds good to me." Man of few words.

Lily smiled "I'll help anyway I can. You lead I will follow." I guess that makes me the boss. Just what I don't need! Well if we are going to have people over I need to clean this place up more. More work great.

Grandmother left for the cabin a few moments and many hugs later. Lily and I made a list of what we needed to clean and do so we would be ready for guests. It was a long list. The three of us split the list up and began working. It took a week to get halfway through the list. That is when Grandmother called needing my help.

She had found a possible person to rescue. I got ready and headed to the cabin leaving Lily and Dan to work on the list. The Cabin was looking lovely shrouded in the fall leaves. I took a moment to take in the view out the window before turning to Grandmother. She had a map out and was studying it. "There do you have a safe house near there Amber?" I looked and studied the map for a bit. I only had two safe houses left and they both were equal distance from the target area.

I told Grandmother "They are both far away from that area. I would be taking a chance using them. Any Ideas? We need something close and safe."

She smiled "Have I ever taught you any Ice magic? I am thinking of the Ice Mirror spell? There are many lakes and ponds around there. With the Ice Mirror spell you could make a instant mirror to get out of there. It would not be long lasting but it would work for a portal.”

I chuckled "That is fine for getting out but what about getting in? The longer I am in the area the more chance they will catch on to me. I don't want to be caught or lead them back home!"

"I got another mirror in the shed. If you are ready you can use it to the house of mirrors in the closed down carnival in the target area. You can shatter the mirror I have in the shed, it has a crack in it anyways. That will get you near where you need to be."

I smiled "That will work. Teach me the Ice Mirror spell." So for the next two hours she taught me the spell. It was like old times, I loved it. The spell was fairly easy to learn and I picked it up fast.

I got ready for my run by dressing in a black track suit and sneakers. I know it screamed up to no good but hay I thought I looked good. We walked to the shed and I looked at the mirror. The crack was all along one side. That would make it tricky to hold a portal long enough to get through. I will do it, I had to. Grandmother handed me the folder with the info on the target. I would read it when I get there. I opened the portal quickly stepping through. I was just through when the mirror behind me on grandmothers side burst from the pressure. Well saved me from shattering it. I hope Grandmother was out of the shed.

I worked my way out of the fun house. It was early evening so there was some light but a lot of shadows to hide in. I moved from one shadow to another steadily moving to the west. I knew where my target was hiding already without reading the file. There was only one safe spot in the area. The gang called the Blades roamed this area all night. They left only one place alone. Most people left Graveyards alone at night the Blades were no different. I knew several places to hide there and I am sure my target is in one of them. I slipped into the Graveyard and found a spot out of sight to read the file.

Name: Sera Lee Dinly
Age: 16
Skill: Computer Programmer
Skill Level: Expert
Danger Level: High

That is what caught my eye how can a Computer Jockey earn a Danger Level of High? This is going to be a strange one. I put the file away it was no help. I scanned the yard looking for hints where she was hiding. I moved into the area of the crypts. Bingo foot prints leading to the Grayson crypt. I slipped up to the door and could hear light music coming from inside. The door was ever so slightly agar. I opened it slowly so I could slip inside. The place was mostly dark but for a low light coming from the back of the crypt. I moved without sound till I could see where the light was. It was a small girl working on a laptop.

Without turning she said in a tired voice "Are you here to rescue me? If not then you better run." That was it this girl was scary.

I said "I am here to help you escape from the Tangents." Her hand was hovering above the enter key. Slowly she placed her hands on her lap.

"Where can I go they control all of this city? We will never get out of the city they are closing in. They will be here by dawn." She sounded really tired.

I smiled "I am going to take you out of this world to one they can't find yet. I fight them and help people like you get away. We will go to Wind Haven."

She turned to me allowing me to see that she was transgender. I smiled at her. She gave me a small smile. I held out my had to her. She said "You know and you are not turning from me?"

I waited for her to take my had. "All I see is a girl that needs help and I am going to give it to her. Pick up your gear and let's go. The longer I am here the better chance they will find me and you." She scrambled to fit everything into a backpack and grabbed a laptop case. Then we were off. we made are way to the nearest pond. Here is were I put my new spell to work.

It took 1/2 hour to get to the pond and find a clear spot big enough for the mirror. I could feel that they were getting closer. I cast the spell letting it thicken as long as I dared. I turned to her "You will have to trust me this is going to be strange but this way they can not follow. They are coming here goes." I opened the portal taking her hand jumped in. With my free hand cast a shatter spell as we exited the portal. It was strange but we landed standing up portals are not logical. I smiled down at her "That was close but we are safe now."

She was not smiling "What did you do? Where are we? This can not be real!" She continued to babble on getting more and more frantic. I took here hands to calm her.

I looked her in the eyes "I used magic to take use through a portal to another world. The Tangents can not reach us here. I live here most of the time with a few others. Calm calm calm please calm down. Inside the castle there is nothing that wants to hurt you.

At that moment Lily came rushing in "There is a raging Bear in the castle! Run for your lives!" She ran up to me and stopped "Hi Amber how was your trip? Who is the new girl?"

I gave her a hard look "What Bear I just got her calmed down. Her name is Sera you two can talk after you tell me about the Bear?"

Lily smiled "Oh that it is just Dan he is mad at me. We were playing cards on a break and he lost big so he has to do his list and half of mine. He is not happy when he found out the cards were marked. I am staying out of his way and I think you should too. He is in a foul mood now."

I sighed "Go find him and tell him you are sorry and do your list ALL of your list! Got that young lady!" She sighed and went off to find Dan. I turned to Sera and shook my head "It is not like this all the time just when I leave those two together too long." I grinned at her.

After the rescue of Sera things changed in the castle. Her laptop slowly died from lack of power. This upset her greatly till I found a way to power it by magic. This also worked for her bag of tricks as she called it. Using a micro-portal she was even able to connect to the internet. She worked a way to hook a mirror to one of her bee like mech-pets to form a roving spy bug. Sera took to magic fast and well soon doing things I could never think of.

Using data from when I was part of the Office she got the spy bug into the main headquarters for this area. I wanted to know how badly the Tangents had taken over. There was a few of the people I knew there and they seemed to be on a war footing. She got the bug in the bosses office to listen to a Her talking to the high ups.

Boss: "How many do we have that we are sure about?"

2nd: "Too few, only a dozen. The Tangents have whittled us down and turned so many!"

3rd: "We need to get the ones we know are true out before the next big push. We will loose a lot but what else can we do?"

Boss: "It is just where can they go this city is infested with those damn Tangents."

In the corner of the Bosses office I caught a way to make contact. I decided to offer the people of the office a way out. It was dangerous but we would get a lot of people to our cause. I went over and used a seeker spell to find the mirror in the Bosses office. Once I was locked on I Took a deep breath and opened a portal. I stepped though to the surprise of the three in the office. I put my finger to my lips and went over and made sure the door was locked. I closed the portal and sat down smiling. "You were looking for a place to hide from the Tangents I can give that to you."

The Boss smiled "We thought you were lost long ago. I guess we were wrong. What do you propose?" She looked very tired.

I looked at the mirror "There are many worlds out there. I can take the ones you are sure of through the mirror to one of those worlds where I have been living. You can rest and recharge till you are ready to reenter the fight with the Tangents. The Tangents wont go there. This is a one time offer! I am putting myself and others in danger to make this offer!"

She frowned "How many can you take?"

I shrugged "How many are you sure of?" I was putting my neck out real far on this one. "I don't need to stress how important being sure of them first is! This place will fall to the Tangents as soon as they relies we are gone. Getting them out will be hard but we can do it." I looked tired. "The world you will be going to is not this one, it is sparsely populated and rich with animals to hunt for food. Take any files with you that we can use in the war with the Tangents."

The Boss decided "I have 12 I am sure of including those in this room. If you can get us out we will stay with you only a short while then set up somewhere back in the city. We need to continue the fight. I will order all we are sure of into the conference room connected to this room. Then we will bring them in here one by one and you will do your thing. I have all the files on a flash drive do you have something that can read it?" The spy bug grabbed the flash drive from her hand and did its thing. I love having a techy on my side. "MMM I guess that means yes. Well we will call the meeting."

I grimiest "No guns it will cause attention to be drawn to what we are doing. Just like a everyday meeting." I hoped I was doing the right thing. Once they had the people gathered we filed them into the office and through the portal. It took a lot of magic to keep the portal open for so many people to pass through. I was the last one sending a shatter spell behind me. For good or bad it was done. Dan had led them into the great hall to talk and plan. They were looking around like they were in a dream. I stepped up front and called them be quiet. Dan was standing beside me with a long sword at his side looking like he meant business so they all went silent. I noticed that Dan was the only man in the room. I smiled at that. The 12 women waited for me to speak "You are not on earth any longer we are on a parallel world. On this world the sword and bow are the weapons of the day. You all will be trained to use these for defense of this castle and yourselves. With so many we will need to hunt for more meat and fish the river and lake. Here magic works and I know how to use it. I will preserve the meat by magic so we can keep it for awhile. We will find you all clothes here in the castle and alter them to fit you. You will be here for awhile to rest and recharge before you go back to fight the Tangents." I smiled "Welcome to my home."

The Boss looked up at me "What do we call this castle and what title do you hold here? We would like to know who we are working with."

Grandmother came in "The castle is called Wind Haven and her Title is Countess. Looks like our numbers have grown since I last visited."

I smiled at her "Welcome Grandmother how is your day going?"

She smiled back "Nothing to complain about. I am sure your new people would like to settle in so we will talk later."

I turned back to the others "Lily will show you all to rooms in the west wing." I indicated Lily who was watching the whole thing. "Please do not pester her with questions all will be answered in the coming days. We will reconvene for supper in 4 hours so I suggest you all get some rest till then." I dismissed them with a wave and Lily took all but the top three away.

The Boss: "Well Countess looks like you have quite a setup here. We need a war counsel as soon as it is convenient. The Tangents will know that we have disappeared and move in. Those we left behind will fall fast. There are other groups like ours fighting the Tangents if we could make contact we could join up with them and hit back!"

2nd: "We know of at least five groups. They should all be in our files. How long to decode and find them?"

One of Sera's bugs settled on my shoulder and acted as a speaker "They are Decoded searching now."

The Boss: "Who was that?"

I chuckled "That is my Tech gal. She has everything in hand. She will have all the data gone over soon. She is very good."

3rd: "I thought computers would not work here? No electricity right?"

I smiled "Her computer is powered by magic. She is quickly becoming a mage as well as a tech."

The bug said "I will have all five groups of data ready by supper."

I grinned "See, I told you she is very good."

The Boss: "You really have a interesting life here. Just so you know my name is Carol. Few people know that and I would like to keep it that way."

I nodded "I understand we will keep your confidence. I still use the name your people gave me, that is Amber." We shook hands and a understanding was formed.

Grandmother chuckled "Now that is over we need to find what we are going to do about those damn Tangents! That is why I am here there is a major push on and two of our people are in danger. I plotted how to get them out but you can not do this alone. You need someone to watch your back this time. The longer we wait the more danger they will be in!"

Carol smiled "I am in the mood for a bit of a run if you will have me?"

I looked her over. She was in prime shape so I nodded "We go in quarter hour. Grandmother do you have the files on the people and the target area?" She took out two files and a map. I knew the area. I quickly had the path down. Carol nodded that she had it. Grandmother put away the map and pulled out a handgun.

She smiled "This will only shoot tranquilizer rounds so hit skin for them to work right. You only have 11 rounds so make them count." She went to hand it to me but I shook my head nodding to Carol. Carol took the gun and nodded to me. She knew I was trusting her to watch my back during this run. Damn I am sure living dangerously lately.

We were through the mirror on time and moving fast. This area was heavy in Tangent agents. We moved from shadow to shadow moving north towards the HQ. The first target was just south of there then we go west for the second target.

We found the first target easy enough. One problem 4 Tangent agents were moving in on her. She rounded the corner and practically ran into me. I pulled her into a shadow and used shadow blend spell to conceal us just as a truck was pulling out down the street. We waited as the agents turned the corner and went after the truck. Well luck was with us on this one. After the agents were all the way down the street we slipped into the alley and over to the next street. We moved quickly to the west to get to the next target.

The first target named Kera Nul started to make a fuss after a few streets. She calmed down when I told her Grandmother sent me. I pushed her to the wall and put a finger to her lips. I snuck a look around the corner and could see trouble. the second target Maxine Tarle was in trouble big! 6 Agents had her cuffed and were waiting for transport to arrive. I looked at Carol, we both knew we could not enter into a firefight with the target right in the middle of the bad guys. This called for a little bit of magic. I went over my spells in my mind and came up with a plan.

I asked if Carol could hit three targets before they could react? When she nodded and got ready I cast stone body on the farthest agents. Carol fired hitting the first three with neck shots. They dropped and the other three could not move so we hurried out and I used break spell to open the cuffs. We quickly ran away. Now if we could just get to the exit mirror. The problem was that Tangent agents were everywhere. I tried three different mirror sights but they were covered. We were getting backed up to the lake. I asked Carol to give me as much time as she could I had a last chance spell. I cast Ice mirror. I got it as thick as I dared just as Carol called she was out of ammo. I opened the portal and pushed Kera and Maxine through grabbed Carol and jumped as the Ice was breaking. We tumbled into the mirror room just as the ice shattered closing the portal for good! I could not help but laugh at how near it was. Carol looked at me "Are your runs always so exciting?"

I grinned "No this one was sort of easy." She just shook her head. Grandmother was helping our new arrivals and ignoring me and Carol. I got up and offered her a hand up. Well two more to feed and clothe. What a day.

Over the next week we came up with a plan. We were going to strike back at the Tangents so they would back off a little. The Tangents were pushing their lines outward and leaving there home area venerable to strike. Grandmother, Carol, Dan and I worked all night coming up with the plan. It was simple one of my safe houses was now behind enemy lines so we use that to slip in and hit them hard where they live! We will hit them in three spots at once. They wont know where to look for us! The strike is just a diversion to keep them looking away while Sera slips a few spy bugs into there HQ. We hit and pull out. We will only use three people for the strike, volunteers only. This will be a hard one to pull off. I thought long and hard how to get them in and out safely. In was easy, the safe house, out not so easy. They would be looking for portals going out after the attack so we don't use that. The Strike team will just fade into the woodwork and not come back to Wind Haven. This is something the Tangents will not expect. I hate the idea of sending three people on a one way strike but it needs to be done.

The preparations did not take long. We had our three volunteers ready to disappear into the night just after they strike at there targets. Grandmother and Sera rigged magic decoys to place at the strike sights to confuse the hunters. The decoys would mimic large portals making the Tangents think they were being invaded. That should make them come running. A magic bomb will go off when more than 10 people came in the target area changing all the peoples gender for 24 hours. That should confuse them to the point of distraction. Meanwhile our people will be making their getaway. Since all of our agents are trained to vanish into city streets I have no worries about them getting away.

Sera (short for Serenity) was in a tizzy getting the decoys and bombs ready. She had the spy bugs set to go through micro portals in the Tangent HQ when the strike happens. The Tangents should not notice the micro portals with all the magic from the decoys in the area. That will give us a leg up on knowing what they are doing so we can plan ahead. Well I guess it is fitting we 'Bug' them for once they have Bugged us with their tactics long enough. The gender bomb was Grandmothers idea. It is totally non-lethal but funny at the same time. I did not want to kill a whole lot of people so this works.

At 11 pm I opened the portal to the safe house. We sent the three through and I sent a shatter spell after they had passed through. That house was now burned so I would never use it again. That only left me with one safe house in the city to bolt to if I have to. I will have to go into the city by a back way and set up more safe houses if I can. The strike was set for midnight.

I was having trouble with this strike. My trouble was simple, I was not going on the strike. I have never been very good at sitting and waiting for others to do what I believe was my job. This is why I never took jobs that would put me in that position. Of course I was stuck in just such a job now and I did not like it! I am the Countess now that means delegating jobs out sometimes. Why did Grandmother give me that title? By rights it should be her giving orders here but she defers to me now why? I am not suited to being a leader just a agent out there living on the edge. Why did I let world push me into a place where I can't be me? I guess it is time to grow up and take the world by the horns. I am the Countess now so I should start acting like it!

I looked at my watch 11:30 pm half hour to go. I went to find Dan, neither of us have any thing to do at this point so we should spend it together. The trouble is we wont even know if the strikes are successful till tomorrow at least. Damn I hate waiting like this. Where is that old bear Dan? I found him in the room at the top of the old tower. He was looking out at the stars. I could feel his restlessness but he did not move just stared. I think he was feeling the same way I was not being in the thick of things. Since he came here he had pretty much been sidelined. For a man of action that would be hard to take. I slid up to him thinking of a way we both could take our minds off this whole thing. It had been quite awhile since I had held anyone in my arms. I placed my hand on his arm and he slowly turned to me. From that things proceeded nicely to dancing with no music to just starting the kissing stage when Lily came in. Dang it!

She smiled "Sorry to interrupt Grand Aunt Eve sent me to find you two. Results from the strike are in." I hated to be interrupted and this was the second time she had stopped my play! She was smiling so big I wanted to smack the grin right off her. Oh well she is just a kid so I will forgive her this time.

I sighed "All right we will be right there." I looked at Dan "We will pick this up later big boy." I took his hand and led the way to the meeting hall. Lily skipped ahead. It did not take long to get there and when we did everyone was waiting on us. "All right we are here lets hear it."

Grandmother grinded "Sera was able to get three spy bugs into their HQ as we planed. The real party was at the strike sites! They went for the decoys like candy they sent 45 troops to each from the HQ instead of the front lines like we thought they would. The HQ was nearly empty so Sera had an easy time getting the bugs into place. The Bombs went off when all of the troops moved in. The troops were all male till the bomb went off. The more male they were the more female they became and these were all macho guys! It distracted them to say the least. The spy bug at each site showed us the whole thing." Grandmother nodded and Sera projected a image up on the wall. It was total panic and mayhem. The bombs did their jobs and then some. As more and more images were shown the breakdown of all order was easy to see.

Sera was looking at her laptop "I think you should see this" She changed the image to one inside there base. In a cell was five women ranging in age from 12ish to 50ish nearby the cell was a mirror. I used the image to lock onto that mirror with a seeker spell. Sera handed me one of her bugs "This will open any normal lock."

I smiled "Thanks" Before I could open the portal Dan was at my side checking his gun ready to go with me. I smiled more and opened the portal. Stepping through I rushed to the cell and placed the bug on the lock. There was a loud click then I used a unlock spell to finish off the lock. "Quickly before the mayhem wears off." They followed me to the mirror and I sent them through. "Dan lets go!" he rushed over and we passed through the portal. As I closed the portal I sent a shatter spell. A Rescue right from under there noses, I love it!

Grandmother looked at the five women and asked "Who are you and why were you in that cell?"

The eldest said "I am Eleanor Rain. My daughters Elli and Eve as well as their daughters Emily and Erica. We are the head family of a mage clan. They killed our husbands and imprisoned us to control the clan. They drained our magic till we were too weak to escape on our own." She turned to me "Thank you for freeing us we owe you a great deal. How can we repay you?"

I smiled "It is simple, Take back you clan from the Tangents! If you can not do that take your clan away from the city." I leaned into Dan. I was flush with the success and feeling good. Dan put his hands around my waist an held me softly.

Eleanor smiled "We will do that. The Tangents are our enemy we will do anything to put them out of this city for good. We will go underground and strike at them as we can. We have many families that are part of our clan so they will know when we hit them!" She shook her head "Killing our men was a mistake on their part! We will call in favors from all the clans in the city. When we go to war they will find we don't hold back!"

I sighed "This is a dangerous time. We will do what we can to help but we are too few to hurt them outright. We will transport you to the place you ask for as soon as you have recovered a bit. Lily will show you to some guest rooms. Rest and recover you are safe here. We will talk later." I smiled and waved Lily to show them the way. I turned to Sera "Do they know about the escape?"

She shook her head "They are having too much trouble keeping control of what's going on at the strike sites! Their command structure is falling apart. Their leader was at site 2 when the bomb went off. He freaked when he was turned into a woman. He killed himself and half the troops in that room! Others have also freaked so not many of the top of their group are left. there is a power struggle going on right now. No one is in charge over there!" She chuckled "They are having computer problems as well as communications problems. My bugs can do more than watch. Their group is falling apart."

I smiled "Now would be the time to push them over the edge. Right now I just don't know how. Any thoughts?" I looked at Grandmother.

Grandmother smiled "Time to put our hidden troops into play. I will send out the order." She walked away. OK I did not know we had hidden troops? Hopefully this will put the Tangents down for good in this city.

Dan pulled me closer "We need to get some sleep. Sera will you let us know if anything else happens?" Sera nodded without taking her eyes off of her laptop. Carol took charge and Dan guided me out of the room. He led me to my room and he came in with me. We were about to finish what we started in the tower when the door opened and Grandmother entered. What is this did everyone not want Dan and I to get together?

I frowned "Yes Grandmother what do you need?" I don't know how I sounded so calm inside I was seething.

She smiled "Sorry to interrupt but we have work to do if we are going to take out the Tangents in this city. Sera has found the front runner for the new leader. I want you two to take him! We need to move he wont be alone for long!"

I sighed "How we getting in and out?" I was giving in to fate for now. Dan and I were still in our work clothes so that was no problem. Time to go to work.

Grandmother said "One of our troops have set up two mirrors, one to get you in one to get you out. The house the leader is in is right between them. Should be a simple run if all goes well." I sighed again those are the ones that go wrong most of the time.

We went to the mirror room. All was in readiness so off we went. We came out in a cul-de-sac the house right in front of us is the one we want. The mirror behind us shattered silently. Well only way to go is forward. I slipped from shadow to shadow Dan right behind me. I hope he liked the view from back there. No time for that keep focused. I tried the back door and found it open. We slipped in and to the back bedroom where our target should be sleeping. From the sounds coming from that room he was not sleeping! I peaked in the room and found our target alone and doing things to a blow-up sex doll that was wearing a strap on. I wish I had not looked but we needed to get the job done. I burst into the room and hit the target knocking him out. I turned off the video camera and pocked the tape. Dan through a robe over the nightgown the target was wearing. We dragged the target out of the back door and to the second mirror. I pushed him through the target through the portal I opened and Dan passed through. I was about to pass through when the mirror cracked closing the portal. Damn it I needed another mirror fast! The sun was coming up and I was lost in suburbia!

This sucked! All went well till the end damn it. I am sure the alarm has gone out so I need to find a way back to Wind Haven Fast! Sunrise was here and I needed to be gone. I then had a idea. There was a greenhouse two houses down I can work with that. I kept to the shadows till I got to the yard with the greenhouse. Most of the glass was broken but after searching I found a full unbroken one. This idea is risky so I was reluctant to use it. If it was not for morning coming I would not try such a stunt. First I used a reshape spell and combined the glass with a sheet of metal. I used a polish spell to create a Mirror surface. It was not the best but it looked like it would work. I opened the portal and stepped through sending a shatter spell behind me.

I was not in Wind Haven I was sure of that. I came out of a frosted over fountain in a park. Well Damn this is not good! I was exhausted so I did not have the magic to open another portal for hours! The portal shattered the frost I came through so I could not build it up to put another portal there. What am I going to do? I need a plan to survive the next few hours. I need to eat and sleep to replenish my magic or things will just get harder! I moved to the shelter of the trees and found a big one. I climbed it and found a place where I would not be seen from the ground and settled down for a nap. First I pulled out the two power bars I always carry and consumed them. That would not be much but it was all I had.

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Back in Wind Haven

Dan paced the mirror room like a grumpy bear. Lily sat in a corner ready to do whatever was needed. A few doors down Sera worked quickly checking all her spy bugs hoping and praying she would find nothing. Without knowing where Amber was there was nothing they could do.

In another room Grandmother tried a very dangerous spell to locate Amber. Using most of her strength she called upon the blood connection they had to seek the lost one. This type of magic was hard when the two were on the same world, when they are not it is a thousand times harder! She sent the seeking hoping the Tangents will not detect and follow the magic right to Amber.

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In the oak tree Amber stirred the touch of magic bringing her awake and alert. It was dusk so she should get going. She beleived she had the magic now to cast the ice mirror spell as well as opening the portal. Hopefully she was right in this because she could feel many minds searching for her. She moved from tree to tree till she could see the fountain as well as the area around it. No one around but why take chances she would cast the Ice Mirror spell from here.

Amber centered herself and cast the spell. It would take 1/4 hour to get the ice large and thick enough from here. She could not move or the spell would break as well as the ice. She sat still waiting as long as she dared. Damn the minds are getting closer! She needed 30 seconds to open the portal so she would have to hurry. The Ice will only be stable for a few moments so she will have to run. This will be a race ageist the clock!

The time went by very slowly. The seeking minds knew I was in the park now. Soon I would be surrounded by those agents. Damn Tangents are making me move faster than is safe! Times up here goes nothing. I dropped out of the tree and ran flat out to the fountain. The mirror was just big enough. I prayed and cast the portal. Slowly it opened and I jumped in as the first blast hit the fountain. I cast the shatter spell even as I past through the portal.

I tumbled into a fighting stance ready to be somewhere other than Wind Haven. I looked around, sighed and relaxed. Dan strode over to me and gave me a big hug. Lily was right behind him. I was home!

I quickly got caught up with what had been going on. Carol was waiting for our prisoner to wake up so she could have a few words with him. Grandmother put a spell to bind his magic for a bit so it should be safe. Where was Grandmother anyways? She should be here to meet me. I checked on Sera to see how close the Tangents were to coming together.

Sera smiled "This abduction has really messed them up. The infighting is getting real bad. The fact their computers are showing only cartoons now is not helping. No one seems to be in charge now at all." I smiled at this.

I grinned "Keep up the good work." I walked out of her room chuckling all the way to Grandmothers room. I knocked without getting an answer. I felt something was wrong so I opened the door to see Grandmother on the bed not moving. I rushed to her side checking her pulse. I could barely feel a beat. I was beside myself with worry. What could have happened to her? I held my hand over her heart to get a reading on her magic and life force, both were very low Dangerously low! I did not know what to do. She had not taught me what to do in this sort situation. This was very bad!

I called the others together to brainstorm a plan of action. I looked at the books she had in her room thinking maybe one of them had the answer but what one? What did not help is Grandmother did not help is she did not label the books. I grabbed the first on the shelf opening it and searched to find what kind of spells were in it. This was going to take awhile! I got lucky on the third book finding it was a medical book. I skimmed it stopping at the symptoms the each spell was designed to help. None seemed of them seemed to help. I tried the next book. It was also medical in type. After skimming this book I came upon a spell that might help. I was too weak right now to cast it but with Lily and Sera I just may be able to cast the spell.

I gathered them in a circle around Grandmother praying this would help. We joined hands and cast the spell. The spell boosted Grandmothers magic and life force above the danger level, if just barely. At this level her own body should be able to recover by itself. I was drooping and almost fell when I let go of Lily's and Sera's hands. Dan was there to pick me up and carry me to bed to recover. I had really been spreading myself quite thin this last week. I was asleep in Dan's arms on the way to my room.

I don't know how long I slept but it must have been for a long time. I had trouble waking up when my hunger woke me. I knew at once that something was different. It took me a moment to see that the difference was that I was not alone in bed. I was dressed in my favorite nightgown so someone had dressed me while I was asleep. I looked over in the dim light I could make out a form in the bed with me. A form I knew well. Well Dan and I finally slept together. Too bad the only thing I was fit for was sleep. My belly growled telling me it was time to eat! I put on my big old fluffy robe and went off to raid the kitchen.

After pigging out in the kitchen I went to look in on Grandmother. As I came in her room I noted that Sera was in the corner with her ever present laptop tapping away. I checked Grandmother who was recovering slowly but steadily. I smiled she was a tough old bird. I smiled when Sera looked up "She is doing fine I am going back to bed." She nodded then went back to tapping. I walked back to my room and dropped the robe and slipped into bed.

Dan said "Everything all right?" Opening his arms to me.

I smiled and cuddled up to him "Just fine." Soon I was in a deep contented sleep. I woke in the morning still snuggled up with Dan. I stayed in bed as long as I could before natures call got too strong. When I got back Dan was sitting up stretching. He smiled at me. I smiled back "I guess we should get our day started, what do you have to do today?" For some reason the look he gave me made me blush. I laughed "Stop that!"

Dan turned it down a notch "Yes my lovely Countess." Well he certainly knows what to say to get a girl going. I was about to crawl back into bed with him when a knock came at the door. I grabbed my robe and turned to see who was at the door. Lily again she sure has rotten timing or is trying to keep Dan and I from getting together. No it could not be that.

I smiled at her "What do you need Lily?"

She smiled back "Our guest are asking questions and we think you are the most logical person to answer them. Great Aunt Eve is still out of it so we thought you should as the Countess be in charge."

I chuckled "I will be down as soon as I am dressed. Tell our guests I will be glad to talk to them over breakfast. Please see that it is ready in an hour. I think it is going to be a grand day don't you?" She smiled and nodded before walking off to see that things were done.

I decided if they wanted the Countess that is exactly who they would get. I upgraded my look from my normal easygoing girl to the formal Countess look. It took longer but I am sure it will be worth it. Full makeup and my best skirt and blouse made me look a little older. I was creating a persona The Countess. I could be quite the actress when there was need. Light earrings were the only jewelry I needed most of the time this time I pulled them all out. Totally not me but the Countess yes that was her style. Dan watched me from the bed drinking in the transformation. He did not say a word just watched and smiled.

At the requested time I glided into the great hall full of confidence and knowing I would be the center of attention. I took my place at the head of the table ready to do what must be done. Everyone was there but Sera and Grandmother. It could be quite intimidating if I was not in Countess mode. The second I was seated breakfast started.

To say I was grilled by our guests would be putting it lightly. By the time I was sipping my tea at the end of the meal we had covered Who and what we were and what we were trying to accomplish in Wind Haven. I think I carried it off well and did myself proud. Dan Watched me the whole time ready to jump in to help out if needed, it wasn't. All an all I think I pulled it off real well. Everyone seemed to be satisfied and no fights so I call it a win.

After that breakfast everything settled down to what passed for normal here in Wind Haven. When I was not hunting or studying or playing the Countess I was watching over Grandmother's recovery. No one second guessed me when I talked of magic and what I thought happened to her. I was in charge so I felt I had to keep everyone from going back to the city for now. Sera said the Tangents were still floundering so we did not push it. She watched them with her spy bugs looking for signs that they were coming back together. I had time to plan how to take them out once and for all and I took it. I did not want to put anyone in danger till I had a plan.

Grandmother woke three days after we cast the spell. She was weak but recovering. I was in Countess mode when I was informed she had woke. I knocked before I entered her room. Seeing her awake made me smile. She looked at me and gave me a weak smile. I sat on the edge of the bed "You had me worried there for a while. I hope you don't plan to do that very often? We need you around here, I need you."

She pushed up a little "You seemed to be handling things fine. I think you are ready. Bring me my bag please. I have something for you." Her smile took on a hard edge I did not like. I went over to the dresser and picked up her bag turning I brought it to her. She took it and dug in it for a while making me wonder what she had in mind. She pulled out a silver box I had never seen. She sighed handing me the box. "Do you remember the box test? That is how you open this box."

I held the box and put my will into the box "Open please." The box took a lot more will than I thought it would to open. In it sitting on a cushion of velvet was a strange crested ring. I lifted the ring setting the box down. It had a crest of a Sword and Rose in crystal. I had never seen such a perfect ring. The ring called to me like something out of a dream. I could not take my eyes off the ring.

Grandmother sighed again "That is your key to Sanctuary. It is not part of this timeline. Sanctuary sits at a nexus point in the time stream. I can not advise you on this. You must decide if you are ever going to use that ring! To use it is to take on the role of a very unusual mage. A timeline rider. I can not teach you anything else. The rest you must learn from others or on your own. In Sanctuary maybe you will find someone who can teach you. You may learn some of what you can learn there studying here but it would be slow. You must decide if you need to learn fast or slow." She took my hand "The darkness is at bay, I can feel it. You are at a crossroad in your life. You need to decide if you are what you are now or more. Use the ring or not it is up to you." She changed the subject "I am hungry can I get some soup?"

I sent Lily for some food. I was lost in thought for quite a few moments. What was I going to do? I had responsibility here in Wind Haven but if I could learn more magic would that not help? This is quite the problem.

I thought about the problem for three days while Grandmother got better. Finally I decided to try the ring. I would leave Grandmother in charge while I was away. I debated if I should take Dan or not finally deciding to take him along. I wanted to know Grandmother was recovered so I took one week to plan my portal crossing.

In the week I made sure all of the guests that wanted to go back to the city did. So Wind Haven was mostly empty for the time Dan and I would be away. I felt all kinds of concerns about leaving Wind Haven even for the short time I planed to be gone. Finally I could put it off no longer I had to go now or not at all! I went to the mirror room with Dan in tow. I took a deep breath and used the ring to open a portal to Sanctuary. At first nothing happened then the portal open but not a normal portal. This one was super strong and pulled Dan and me off our feet into the blackness.