ShockWave had left Gomurr to the book she had found after the old mystic told her that Clarion was placing Blink as the new leader. It seemed that Clarion had awakened and although he was injured, he was still as business like as ever. ShockWave liked Blink, the princess was a dear friend. But the words of that prophecy left her with a sick feeling in the gut. ShockWave knew about prophecies. Maybe not the same things Gomurr knew, but she knew enough. Blink matched the description of the Fate Warrior in the prophecy. Even if it was false, it was a risk they couldn’t take. Also, prophecies could be invoked. ShockWave shuddered. She had read a book about the invocation of prophecies. It was a book she kept in her moderate personal library, back in her kingdom. If the Emperor had the prophecy and knew how to invoke it then they were doomed if they followed the Fate Warrior. Emperor Doom could bring it about if he knew. Oh moons! It was a horrible thought. She walked quickly across the grass, through the courtyard, and up the steps to the room where Clarion should be. She heard voices, and ducked behind a corner. The medics were talking to Blink. “The Emperor will never walk again, princess. We were lucky to have saved him at all. Indeed, it is a miracle that he is awake and aware! He is strong ad should live. But I must warn you that depression can often haunt the patient who losses a limb.” The old doctor finished his short little speech. ShockWave rolled her eyes at his haughty tone. Doctors couldn’t do much but sew wounds and make poultices with herbs. ShockWave had more healing power than the stuffy disdainful old medic. “Thank you. Let us now retire, leaving him to rest,” came Blink’s voice. The doctor harumphed. “Yes indeed. He will need plenty of rest.” ShockWave listened to the footsteps sounding as the descended down the main stairwell. She slowly exited the little conclave by the servant stairs. The hall was well lit, with the fine red carpets giving off a clean glow. ShockWave’s dainty skin boots hardly smudged the carpeting as she leaned against Clarion’s door, listening. She didn’t hear a sound. I hope he’s not out again, she thought as she cautiously swung the door open. His bed was by the wall, behind the door, but he knew her before he could see her. “What do you want ShockWave?” came his strained voice. “How did you know it was me?” she asked surprised. “Your scent. Every woman has a different scent.” “Gee, with all the other female scents gathered in this room you can still distinguish mine?” “I trust you didn’t sneak in here just to make cruel jabs?” “Well that depends on how you look at it.” She looked down at the haggard king. His face was ashen, his blond hair hanging limply in his face. It was strange to look at the sheets and see an empty spot where his other leg should be. She sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. “You, you can’t make Blink our leader,” she said hesitantly. “Why the hell not?” he asked irritated. “Because there is a prophecy in which a girl matching her description fails to win this war and therefore by choosing Blink you could doom us all.” There was a long pause. She looked abstractedly at the sheets, tracing a pattern with her fingers. “That means nothing to me. I don’t believe in prophecies. Blink is the ruler by chain of power and she will remain so no matter what the foolish predictions of old geezers say.” His voice had a harsh tone to it. He didn’t like having his authority questioned by someone below him in power. She knew that. She looked up and met his eyes. “You would be the fool not to pay attention to omens and prophecies. Our world is run by mystic magic’s such as those.” He glared at her, but she refused to look away, taking his glare with a calm expression on her face. “Why are you here to tell me this and not Gomurr?” he demanded. “Because I found the prophecy.” “You mean because he didn’t believe it.” “Look, I don’t know as much as Gomurr does about prophecies, but I do know we can’t afford the risk. What harm would it cause if you had Silver or SuperGrover!!! lead us?” “They aren’t next in line. It won’t be done that way. I won’t allow it. Not for some stupid prophecy that the expert won’t admit to as true and the fears of an adolescent bookworm with nothing better to do than waste time on nonsense!” ShockWave stood up angry. “You know I will not go against the chosen leader. You know that Blink is my friend and you know I am a reasonable person. My fears are in no way exaggerated. I know more about prophecies than you do, okay? I know that our enemy can use them against us in ways you couldn’t dream of. So don’t lie there and pretend I am some naive little girl you can just brush off. Your supposed great plan got Nem killed and lost you a leg. We are already losing and haven’t even begun! If you don’t think we should take every possible precaution then every death from here ‘till this is over will lie on your conscience, because you were to blind and stubborn to consider what others have to say.” Her face was flushed with anger. “You can waste your time rotting up here and sending people to their deaths, but you will pay for it in the end.” She got up ad stalked out the door. Clarion found himself slightly amused at her outburst. He hadn’t thought she had it in her. But his mind still remained unchanged. Blink had to lead. A change in the balance of power could tear the empire apart. Blink was ready to gather all the kings and queens of the empire together. She would have to magic up portals at each of their palaces. It would take a lot out of her, but it was the fastest way to get them all together. Time was now essential. Some still didn’t know of their loss. But she had a plan that could give them a fighting chance again. The first one she’d summon would be Psishot. He had better be awake to see the portal, she thought.

They were there at Blink’s summoning. Skippy, Avalon, Tangerine, Ryoko, SuperGrover!!!, Deadpool, Gomurr, Silver, ShockWave, Psishot, Bastion, Rahsas, Havok, Siryn, GlitterGirl, Havoc1, and Puma11. SuperGrover!!! had been the unlucky person who had to break the news of Nem’s death and Clarion’s injury since Blink needed to rest after the exertion of her magic to bring everyone there. The one’s who already knew(ShockWave, Gomurr, SG, Deadpool, and Psishot who felt the psi effects) tried to comfort the others. The news was depressing. Havok wasn’t surprised, but the injury of their leader. He knew the dire consequences that could have on the war. Siryn had heard the news, and conferred tactics quietly with Havok. Everyone looked grim as they sat around waiting for Blink. The war that they had committed themselves to could very well lead them to their deaths as it had Nem. Most of them did not fear for their own lives, but for the fate of their kingdoms in enemy hands. Many thoughts ran amock in their minds. Thoughts of vengeance, of fear, of suspicion. They all knew that someone among them had to be a traitor. It was the only way the enemy could have known of their plans. Gomurr watched them all silently. He hoped that distrust wouldn’t rip them apart. He had finished reading the book ShockWave had found, for indeed he had known the archaic tongue. It was the dairy of the wizard who had written the prophecy. Much of it was unintelligible and withered with age. But what he had read told him that there were other books the wizard had written. Books about the prophecy hastily scribbled in the book or farming and old references. He had no idea where he could find those books though. They weren’t in the Great Library. His personal library would contain no such books since he moved all the magical ones to the Great Library years ago. But he knew that ShockWave had a small library. She might have some books. She might eve have the very books he needed. He would have to speak with her...

Blink paced behind the door. She could hear SuperGrover!!! gathering the members of the Empire in the conference room. She had sufficiently recovered from her prior exertions. Now she had to present her plan to the others. For some reason she couldn’t help feeling nervous. She was unsure of herself. Would they follow her? She knew that one of them was a traitor, but she didn’t have time to ferret that person out. If the person acted she could catch him or her, but until them nothing could be done. SuperGrover!!! opened the door and slipped in. “They are waiting for you my queen.” “I’m not the queen Grover,” she said softly. “Yes, you are. After what has happened you are now our queen and our king. You will be the one to bravely lead us. Don’t forget that.” He put his arm around her comfortingly. She endured his touch, as much as she wanted to shy away. She needed to appear strong. SuperGrover!!! supported her, she couldn’t turn him away. He was her fried ad the only one she knew that really trusted her. She took a deep breath. “Let’s go,” she said. He opened the door and stood aside as she walked into the room. All eyes were on her and her cool expression. “My friends,” she began. “After the failed attempt of our first attack we have lost much. Even though Havok did accomplish something by destroying Kirai, we are in dire straits.” Ryoko was nodding. “Harbringer has already attacked the lands of the Triad, although he paid for it with his life,” she said. “Our enemy has anticipated our move. Maybe because we have been betrayed, our maybe through black arts. But o matter what has occurred, we cannot cease to trust one another. We must stand together to fight and avenge our dead.” She waited a moment, scanning the room, expecting a reply. “Only together do we stand a chance,” spoke up GlitterGirl. She smiled at Blink. The others agreed. Blink smiled at everyone. “My plan is simple and deadly. It will require that we work together and tax some of our magic’s. One thing that is essential is that we remain in constant communication. For this purpose we will need for Psishot to use his magic to link all our minds.” She looked over at the young king was sitting in his chair with a smirk-like grin on his face as usual. “I think I can manage that,” he said with confidence coloring his tone. “You’d have to remain here though. I’d need you close to communicate the plans to the others.” “I have a mage, Dark Wolf, who can run my kingdom in my absence.” Blink nodded. “Good. Cannonball, Nem’s consort, is taking over her kingdom and has pledged allegiance to our cause already.” She paused. “Of the rest of you, only Siryn, Havok, and Deadpool can take immediate action. The rest of you will have to go back to your kingdoms and raise armies to defend while they take the offensive. One very important thing is that this fortress can not fall. Anything you can provide to ensure that must be sent here. This is our stronghold. Should any of the kingdoms fall you and your people should come here. Deadpool will be our scout in enemy territory. He will communicate to Psishot everything we must know about our enemies plans.” Deadpool grinned beneath his mask. “My brother Belasco will be in charge of my kingdom. He will use my troops in any way I tell him to.” The meeting continued discussing the details of Blink’s plan. Everyone went along with her and no one tried to challenge her power. ShockWave felt somewhat reassured by the out come of the meeting, even though she still had doubts. ShockWave paced the hallway outside the small dining hall. Inside Psishot was establishing his mind link one person at a time. ShockWave was going to return to her kingdom and was impatient to leave. She wanted to look into some books she had... Gomurr came up, suddenly appearing by her side. “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” she said, irritated. “What? You don’t like my sudden manifestations? It does give the impression that I can see you when you can’t see me doesn’t it?” He was grinning mischievously. “You love bugging me when I’m irritable don’t you?” “What ever gave you that idea? It’s not like I try to annoy you or anything, even though you do your best to bug me at times.” She rolled her eyes. “So we’re calling it even this time?” “Yes. I wanted to ask you something.” “Go ahead.” “That book you showed me” “The one written in the forgein dialect?” “That same one. It doesn’t specifically say anything about the prophecy, not that I can read anyway.” “So then the prophecy is a fake like you said?” “Maybe not. Th flow of mystic energies has been, changing lately. It makes me think that maybe I should give this more thought.” ShockWave grinned. “Great! Because if the prophecy is real, then there’s gotta be some way to fight it, right?” Gomurr gave her this age old wise look that was becoming more and more frequent in his features. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. But I did make out that this wizard wrote other books. Books I don’t have here. Do you happen to know if such books could be at your library?” ShockWave thought for a moment. “I’m not quite sure. When I inherited my kingdom I didn’t stay there long, you know. I’ve been here.” Gomurr nodded. “It could be. I did read some books related to prophecies before coming here. That’s why I wanted so much to help with the Great Library.” Gomurr nodded pensively. “I’ve talked to Blink. Instead of staying here with the Library I’m going to go look for those books. But that means I’ll need you to stay here.” ShockWave frowned. “But what about my kingdom?” “I’m hoping that’s where the books are at. If they are in your library then I can run both your kingdom and mine from your castle, since it is near the border of my lands.” ShockWave sighed. “Well fine. Does that mean I can get this mind link thing later? I want to go catch some sleep.” Gomurr laughed. “Go ahead, catch some sleep. Psishot is staying here anyway.”

SuperGrover!!!, Blink, Psishot, ShockWave, and the injured Clarion were all that remained in the castle. All the others had left through more of Blink’s portals after being mind-linked to Psishot. Clarissa, the girl Deadpool had brought back remained in the castle as well. The merc hadn’t wanted her tagging along but he had promised her a safe place to stay. From time to time the girl made herself useful, but she mostly skulked about stairways. ShockWave came upon her as she was heading toward Psishot’s suite to join the mind-link. She looked suspiciously at the dirty-blonde girl whose recently clean face showed that she had pretty, angular features. “Shouldn’t you be making your self useful in the preparations to hold off a siege?” asked ShockWave sharply. “I’m not one of your little servants,” snapped the girl. “All useless personnel can be thrown out of the castle you know,” replied ShockWave. She had taken an instant dislike to the girl, although she didn’t know why. “You don’t have the power to have me thrown out little wizard.” Clarissa glared at ShockWave. ShockWave returned the glare. This woman was older than her, but she was in no position to belittle anyone. “You had better watch it, woman. You have no power and no rank here. Don’t presume to get smart with me.” “Typical little rich girl, huh? Rotten to the core.” ShockWave tried to control the urge to hit the arrogant little... She knew the woman was trying to goad her. She had no idea why though. “Don’t let yourself be caught sneaking around. We are after all at war, ad your motives will be suspect.” With that ShockWave walked across the landing and down the hall to where Psishot’s rooms were. “Come in,” came Psishot’s youthful voice before she even had a chance to knock. ShockWave opened the door and strode inside. Psishot eyed her with a foolish grin on his face. “Your roiling thoughts are like a signal flare announcing your presence from far away. It’s a good thing you have your necklace or Darque Foenix would have no trouble finding you.” ShockWave crossed her arms and gave him the look. His grin widened. “Did I also mention that you walk with the stride of a man?” “Excuse me, but is there some sort of writing on my face that say bug me or what is it?” ShockWave had never been known for having much patience, and h had already exhausted her meager store of it. “Nah, it’s just that you look so serious all the time that I can’t help it.” “I was under the impression that we were at war here. Isn’t that a good reason to be serious?” “You have to relax sometime you know. You can’t keep going around like you do without making yourself sick. A sick warrior will fall to the enemies blade.” “So your a medic now, huh?” “No. I have a totally selfish reason for this.” “What would that be?” “You are going to give me such a headache if I link to you when you’re pissed off!” He grinned at her, but his yes showed the strain he was under. She gave him a small smile. “Sorry, I’m just” “Worried?” he said, interrupting her. “Trust me, we all are.” He waved his hand toward a comfortable chair. “Have a seat.” she sat down as he pulled another identical chair in front of hers. He sat so that he was facing her, and their knees touched. He placed his index fingers on her temples. “How deep will this link be?” “Not deep enough to read your private thoughts. I couldn’t possibly keep something like that up with so many people. I will be able to read any thought you send to me though.” He didn’t mention the secret command Blink had given him. He would place a spell in her mind that would instantly alert him if she or any of the others tried to betray the Empire. That was the real reason he needed to be in physical contact with each person he linked to. A simple link could be done from a distance, although it had limits. “It won’t hurt,” he said. She gave him a look that plainly said that she didn’t fear pain. He closed his eyes telling her to do the same. He sent tendrils of his magic questing into her mind. “Don’t fight it,” he said. He felt her let him into her mind. Her mind was clear and bright. It didn’t surprise him. She was the kind of person who didn’t hide her thoughts. Most people could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her face. That could even be one of the reasons Darque Foenix was drawn to her. She was a refreshing change from the way most women guarded their feelings. But she was no fool either. Psishot had watched her for a while, trying to figure out the confusing complexities that made her an extremely interesting woman. This was the first time he had the chance to delve into her mind. It was too bad he didn’t had the time to explore more completely. He spun a web around her mind to detect traitorous actions and quickly established the mind link. The effort of using his magic and linking all these people was exhausting. ‘You can hear me?’ he thought at her. ‘Yes’ Her thought was colored by some amusement. He pulled out of her mind, keeping the link intact. He opened his eyes and saw her smiling face. Her eyes were still closed and the beauty she radiated gave him a flicker of temptation. “You can open your eyes now,” he told her. She opened hr eyes and grinned. “Your magic has a soft soothing affect,” she commented. “Yeah, I’m a real sweet-heart,” he said jokingly. “You look exhausted,” she said. ‘You should get some sleep,’ she thought at him. He grinned. “Trust me, not even the worlds most dazzling woman could keep me awake now.” She laughed. “I really doubt that!” Her laughter was sweet, but he was tired. He gave her another grin and excused himself, opening the door to his bedroom. He heard her leave moments after he shut the door. He fell onto the bed in an exhausted sleep, but his mind was ready to wake him if anyone used the link. Blink was supervising the storage of food and supplies when SuperGrover!!! walked across the courtyard toward her. “All the able men from the surrounding country side are training at this moment. All the women, children and elderly have taken refuge inside the walls, bringing only food and water with them,” he reported. “Good,” said Blink. “Once the families are settled in have the children gather feathers for arrow fletching, and set the women and the elderly that are able to fletching those arrows and gathering other things we will need for the siege. The old men with battle experience should be sent to the fields to help with the training.” SuperGrover!!! grinned. “It has already been done, my queen.” Blink couldn’t help but be impressed. She gave him a small smile. “You have done well then.” “I only strive to serve you, Blink. The task of being king and queen is too much for one to bear alone. I pledge to help in any way I can.” “Your help is welcome,” Blink’s tone clearly implied that she could handle anything and that her words were merely a courtesy. Blink was quite clearly in charge of herself and her surroundings. No one would doubt her anymore. Blink didn’t enjoy the hassles of being in charge. She figured that after she won this war she would run away somewhere quiet. Where she could be alone. But there was much for her to do first.....

The war was in full swing. The Black Hellfire Empire was under attack in all fronts. So far none of the kingdoms had fallen, but some, like Sylvian the land where Silver ruled were under an arduous siege. GlitterGirl’s kingdom was enjoying a few moments of peace after having defeated an enemy army. Blink was informed of all that went on through the network of links Psishot maintained. The mysterious part of it all was that neither Jon nor Darque Foenix had been seen since the first disastrous battle. Not even Deadpool could get a word on them. It was too much to hope for to think Foenix could’ve been killed by Deadpool. And even if he was it wouldn’t explain Jon’s absence from the numerous battlefields. Blink could feel the tension building. All lands on thee borders were being assailed except for the Empire’s main fortress. She couldn’t help thinking it was the calm before the storm. It would be a storm of blood. Gomurr hadn’t been able to discern anything through the link, and ShockWave wasn’t a mystic. That left Blink with no way to read the flows of fate. She pounded her fist on her desk. She needed to know! She now regretted letting Gomurr leave. His little pupil was no where near as good as he, plus she lacked all mystical talent. A thought sprung into Blink’s mind. Gomurr had found something in ShockWave’s library, so he wouldn’t come, but he wasn’t the only one with mystic talents. She could summon Aeka, Ryoko, and Kiyone. The three girls did have some mystic powers. Perhaps with ShockWave’s knowledge from Gomurr’s books the girls could channel the mystic arts to try and see into the currents of fate. She turned the idea over and over inside her mind. Could the girls be called away without their kingdom and the Empire suffering? Psishot had passed the news of Kiyone’s recovery on to her. The Triad was now pressing the attack into Harbringer’s now ownerless lands. But a capable non-magic entity could handle that for a bit. Was it worth pulling them out? Maybe they wouldn’t be able to tell her anything. The main question would be, was it worth the risk? Blink tapped her fingertips together in thought.

“Brace the gates!” yelled Tangerine loudly. “We can’t let them get in here!” Men rushed to carry out her orders. Tangerine’s lands had been under attack since early morning. It was already sundown. The enemy was ramming the gates, and nothing the defenders did seemed to make a difference. The attack had come to soon after the last one. Tangerine had counted on a few days before another army could make it there. Any closer army would have hurried to reinforce their comrades. She had been wrong. The Empire’s armies, led by the nefarious Madrox in this region, seemed to be using the wear down strategy. Like and insane beast the bashed their heads against the rock, that was her fortress. The would crack it and tear it down no matter what the cost to themselves. If things kept going soon the enemy could breach the walls by simply climbing over the bodies piled outside the walls. Madrox was letting his men die by the hundreds as he sat content watching his strategy unfold. It didn’t help that the wizard could produce several hundred more men out of himself every day, using his magic’s. Tangerine’s sock puppets were good at knocking down the ladders the men placed against the walls, but if the gate were breached she knew that her puppets would be ineffective against cold steel. Tangerine wasn’t about to give in though. She had an army coming from the other holding. The would arrive the next afternoon. If she could make her men hold out until then she knew he could wipe the mocking grin off Madrox’s face with her own sharp steel.

Belasco was on the turret, watching the battle unfold below him. His men fought well. They were in fact the best. After all, not only had Deadpool trained these men, but his demon brother had trained them as well. They all wore demon armor that was resistent to harsh blows and fire. The had demon blades, and demon fire kissed their arrows. They had been able to hold the enemy back without taking much damage to themselves. But something was up. Belasco could tell that the enemies attacks at the gate and walls were just ploys to distract them, to waste time. The enemy commander Tyru had already proven his slyness with the little ploy he implemented with the whores. He had managed to poison the women who served the army and having that poison pass on to the men they serviced. Belasco had detected the ploy soon enough. A bit less than a hundred men died in quiet agony before his demon magic’s had put an end to it. But Tyru was hatching something else up right now. Belasco had to remain alert so he could put a quick end to it. It was a good thing demon’s could go a long while without sleep. It had saved Belasco’s life before, and would again now. After all, Deadpool would kill him if he let the kingdom fall.

Silver paced in his sparsely decorated study. The siege was still going on. The enemy made no attacking moves, they just sat there cutting off the supply lines. Sylvian was a mountain kingdom, but the secrets of the mountains hadn’t helped the defense attempt yet. The attackers were very patient. They just sat there raiding villages and using the mountains to ambush supply trains. The knew eventually Silver would have to come out. Because even if you animated it, you couldn’t eat painted food. The enemy hadn’t fallen for any of Silver’s attempts to use his magic against them either. It was as if their commander knew Silver and the extent of his magic very well. And Silver still hadn’t found a way to identify their commander. It was very frustrating. All he could do was wait and see if luck would change in his favor.

Siryn smiled as her fire magic’s crisped another enemy. Battle was glorious she thought, turning her chestnut charger around to find another enemy. Her hair whirled about her in the breeze. It’s red color was nothing compared to the red of the blood on the field. It was mostly enemy blood too, she thought with a smile. She was winning so far. Siryn had taken a large portion of her army straight into Jubilee’s lands. She had left a defending force behind in her kingdom so she could have a home to go back to of course. But so far Siryn had been able to make a beeline for Jubilee’s main fortress unimpeded. It seemed almost too easy. As if Jubilee was laying a trap for them. Siryn wasn’t about to walk into the little firecrackers traps though. After this battle she would cut across country towards Jon’s kingdom. Jubilee would have lot so many of her people trying to lure Siryn into her trap, that the firecracker just might break ambush to pursue. If she did, a nice circling manuver would give Siryn victory. If not, then she could ransack the witch Jon’s lands. She could even dicover the whereabouts of the souless fiend who killed Nemesis. Then a reconing would take place, and Siryn was deternined to beat the evil witch. After all, black magic was strong, but Siryn was stronger. She was prepared.

GlitterGirl sighed as she tossed a lightning bolt from one finger to the next. She was bored. Her troops had defeated the enemy army. GlitterGirl wanted to press the attack, but through Psishot Blink had commanded her not to, stressing the importance of defense. Too bad she couldn’t just claim to haven’t received the message. She was anxious to strike her blows in Nemesis’ vengeance. Psishot had “told” her that Clarion would live, but in reality never be the same again. But Nemesis no longer even had a semblance of life. They didn’t even have her body! GlitterGirl could barely control her anger when she thought of Jon. The black witch, make that witch with a B, thought GG. She had killed Nemesis. Death was forever. She thought that it was only fair for Jon to suffer the same fate. Draw blood for blood. GlitterGirl had read that somewhere. A history chronicle Gomurr made her study about the survival of the Black Hellfire Empire when the Empire of the Dawn came. She recalled some of it still. How a courageous lord called Gregor fought to forge the alliance. Gregor’s love, a woman also called Jon had died in that forging. What a strange coincidence, thought GlitterGirl. Nytshade the witch must have been named after that woman. Too bad she didn’t share her character. Nytshade’s evil must make that poor woman roll over in her grave. A namesake destroying the Empire she died to help create. The bitter irony of it all. GlitterGirl had been lounging on her throne, her legs dangling over the left armrest. With a sigh she now stood. Time to get back to the boring task of defense.

Havok was fighting again. Recently all he did was fight and drink. He reveled in it. It was his true calling. What he was born for. His claws glinted in the dim light as he brought them down on another hapless soldier. Being the one nearest to Emperor Doom’s lands, Havok had been fighting constantly. Winning too. Doom it seemed, wasn’t home. He was probably at his Empire’s capital, the City of the Red Dawn. But meanwhile Havok was attacking the small towns and villages. The people and soldiers were no match for his army. And the army that had been waiting for them as Deadpool had warned, was still behind them. He could imagine the commanders frustration as he encountered the wake of destruction Havok was leaving behind. Dooms anger would be great as well. He must have executed at least a dozen poor fools in anger already. It gave Havok great satisfaction to think of that. It was about time the Emperor got what he had coming. When Nemesis had fallen he had crossed the point of no return. Havok wouldn’t rest until he had Doom’s head oozing blood onto his claws. Nemesis had been his queen. Her exotic looks and laughter would be sorely missed. Her dark sense of humor had been something Havok had enjoyed immensely. Soon Havok’s men had destroyed this village as well. Time to move on to the next one. The march began anew. But before he went with the rest of his men, Havok reached into his small leather coin purse. He drew out the golden Black Hellfire coin that was graced with an engraving of the queen. Nem had loved the idea of a coin in her honor. Now at each village Havok left one of the coins behind as a warning. He came seeking revenge for the proud queen. Gods help any who dared stand in his way.

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