Alina's eyes stung in the flying dust, and her wrists blazed; the rope was digging into them. She took a deep breath and stared at her companions—her oaf of a brother and the brute Maev.

"War?" She shook her head, hair flouncing. "We're at war with the demons of Eteer. Not Bar Luan. The people of Bar Luan are scared. They've been suffering nightmares for too long; we all suffered the same waking dreams. So they blamed the Vir Requis, us among them. Out of fear."

Maev gnashed her teeth. "Fear always leads to hatred. It does not excuse one's crimes." She grimaced, struggling to shift. Scales began to flow across her, and horns began to bud from her head. But when her body began to grow, the ropes dug into her wrists and ankles, shoving her back into human form. "Damn useless."

Dorvin hopped toward the wrestler. "I can try to bite the ropes off."

"Bite my backside, Dung Beetle."

"I'd love to. Meatier than a mammoth steak."

The two began to bang into each other, cussing and trying to bite. Alina sighed and looked away from the pair, examining the rest of the chamber. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, and she gasped.

Stars above!

For the first time, she noticed that others were imprisoned here—all staring at her silently. She knelt, staring back, eyes wide. Thirty or forty other prisoners were here, huddled in the shadows—men, women, children. All were tied with ropes. All were thin, pale, haggard. All were Bar Luanites, short and slim, their hair pale, their faces oval and their eyes large. Yet there was something different about them. When Alina took a deep breath, she saw it around them, limning their forms, the auras she knew no others could see. Starlight. The glow filled her eyes and warmed her heart.

"Vir Requis," she whispered.

Her brother's voice rose louder behind her. "Stars damn it, Mammoth Arse, stop biting my heels!"

Maev's voice rose in answer. "I'm trying to bite the ropes off, you puddle of piss. Stop moving! By the gods, your feet stink worse than a bloated dead marmot."

The other prisoners stared with wide eyes. Alina spoke softly. "Dorvin? Maev? We're not alone."

"Damn right we're not alone," Maev said. "The stench of your brother's feet is its own entity. Damn smell's more powerful than any totem pole. I—" She bit down on her words, finally noticing the other prisoners. "Oh soggy witch's teats."

Dorvin too finally saw the others. He spat and his eyebrows rose. "Well, bugger me. Are these the other Vir Requis?" He groaned. "Not an impressive lot, these ones. Why is it Vir Requis are never the ones in charge, always the ones hunted, killed, or tied up in a dungeon?"