“Good. Now we just need for Alec to show up. Then the four of us—” He paused a moment. “Thero, does it strike you at all that there are four of us working together on this?”

“Not really. Why?”

Micum smoothed his thumb and forefinger over his long moustache. “When we went up against Seria—”

Thero held up a hand in a warding sign.

“The one we called the Eater of Death, then. Nysander told us the prophecy of the Four: the Unseen Guide, which was Seregil; the Vanguard, which was me; the Shaft—Alec; and the Guardian—Nysander. And here we are, Seregil, Alec, me, and Nysander’s successor, about to fight a dyrmagnos, like we did then.”

“Hmm. Interesting, but I don’t think we’re in any shape to take on a god again.”

“Who’s taking on a god?” Alec asked, striding out from between two tents.

“There you are!” Thero greeted him with obvious relief. “It looks like you managed not to get yourself hurt for once. Where did you come out this time?”

Alec gave him a weary nod. “At the ruins over the ridge. It’s the same town as on the other plane, Thero. The river, the way the town’s laid out—it has to be the same, except that the river is dry now and there’s that round bare spot where the tower should be.”

“How is that possible for it to be two places at once?” asked Micum. “And why would the tower be gone on this side?”

“I don’t know, but I’m certain it is,” Alec replied. “On the other side it’s still intact and people live there, or at least ghosts do. And the woman in red.”

“Her name is Rhazat, and she’s a dyrmagnos, as we feared. And the town is called Zikara.”

“How do you know that?”

“Mika came back last night, too,” Thero explained. “Klia is alive and sent him back with some important information.”

“Thank the Light! We’ll get to her somehow, Thero.”

“Master!” Mika called from the tent.

Thero and the others ducked inside.

“Alec!” Mika exclaimed happily.

“Hello!” He knelt and took the boy’s hand. “How did you get yourself back?”

“I’ll explain later,” Thero said. “Mika, what is it?”

“I remembered something else, something Rhazat said to Klia just before she tried to put a dra’gorgos in me. She was doing it to scare Klia into helping her because I guess Klia had said that Rhazat could kill her but she wouldn’t do what the dyrmagnos wanted. I was really scared and Rhazat had already broken my arm, but she said to Klia, ‘You and your unborn child.’ Is Klia going to have a baby?”

There was a shocked silence, then Thero asked in an unsteady voice, “Are—are you certain that’s what she said, Mika?”