Its huge head thrown back as it became intoxicated with the acrid scent of hate and fear in the air, the demon flicked out its long tongue to try and capture the acrid taste. With a rumble of satisfaction, Garoth the Soul-Eater let the taste of fear dance on its forked tongue. Its colorless grey eyes gleamed as it waited for one of its prey to call out its name, begging for the endless death to come quickly. Impatient for its feast to begin again, Garoth flicked its tongue out as it hissed, “Hurry, little prey. Call me…I am so very hungry…”

All hell was breaking loose. It was a nightmare.

It was something that was conjured up from the dark recesses of his screwed up mind. This could not be happening here, now. Not in this fucking, stupid crystal that they were trapped in. His wild and angry Ripper could not be back and wanting to fuck that stupid bitch, he just couldn’t be.

His whiskey colored eyes narrowed as he saw Ripper pin the stupid bitch against the cave wall and thrust his hard cock at her. To hell with it, he wouldn’t let Ripper fuck her, not if he could help it. If Ripper was going to be fucking anyone, it was going to be him and not some dimwitted blonde.

With fury and hate in his heart, Ethan took a step towards the couple, not noticing that the vampire Slayer at his feet was starting to stir.

It was all going so fast.

That was the only thing that she knew. Joyce didn’t know what else was going on. She didn’t know what to think. Rupert had suddenly turned into the angry, wildly sexual teenager he had once been. She didn’t know why or how. She only knew that Rupert was making her real hot and horny for him real fast and if he kept this up, she was going to be walking around in wet panties until they got out of the damn crystal. Wrenching her mouth away from his, Joyce gasped, “Rupert! We have to-Ow!”

Suddenly, Joyce was on the floor, her hands empty and her body aching with need. Dazed, she looked up blindly to see Ethan standing up over her. Joyce screamed as he grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head up, pulling her to her knees.

“Listen to me, you bitch!” Ethan snarled as he drew back his fist and relished the look of fear in her eyes. “I don’t care who the fuck you are! If anyone’s gonna be fucked by Ripper, it won’t be-Urk!”

Suddenly, Joyce felt herself fall to the ground, hitting her head against the cave floor. Grabbing her throbbing head as she watched Rupert casually throw Ethan against the cavern wall. He looked at her for a second, then calmly lifted Ethan off his feet and shoved him hard against the wall and held him there, pinned against the cave wall. “Keep your hands off her, you got that? He hurt you bad, Joyce?”

“I don’t think so,” Joyce stammered as she forced herself to concentrate. She winced as she dusted off her hands. “Rupert-“

“Be with you in a sec, baby. You stay the fuck away from her, Ethan,” Ripper growled as he shoved Ethan against the wall again. Then he pinned him with one arm as the other hand grabbed Ethan’s crotch. “And what makes you think that I want any more of this old thing, Ethan?”

She tried to listen in on what Rupert was saying, but a strangled scream from her right drew her attention…

Bringing his face closer to Ethan’s, Ripper gave a low and harsh laugh as his hand worked on Ethan’s cock through his pants. “Your hole doesn’t interest me, your cock does nothing for me.”

“And her hole does?” Ethan sneered as he grabbed at Ripper’s crotch, delighted when the flesh below the denim grew beneath his touch. “You know I can do more for you than that vanilla dimwit, screw you seventy ways to Sunday. And with the things I’ve learned, the things I’ve done since we were together, I can make you scream and beg for more, Ripper-Argh!”

Ethan’s eyes grew white as Ripper squeezed his balls hard and sneered, “You honestly think that your new expertise, that the new delights you’ve learned is of any interest to me? That just because you’ve improved this, I’d want it? News flash for you, mate. I don’t.”

With that, Ripper abruptly let go of Ethan, who lay crumpled on the ground, looking up at his former lover with hate in his eyes. “Bastard. Why the fuck do you want that stupid bitch for? Her ass that good? Should I take a turn at her and find what hidden delights she might know?”

“Touch her and I’ll do more than squeeze your cock, I’ll rip them off and shove them down your throat raw,” Ripper said as he crouched down to sneer at Ethan. The sorcerer shivered as he looked into the cold hazel eyes of his lover. “I haven’t forgotten what you did, Ethan. What we found out when we were separated from the others. Sending that wish-vengeance demon after me, spoiling my fun. It’s almost enough to make me want to feed you to the nasty beastie in here.”

Ethan cursed his wayward tongue as he sneered back. “Well, why don’t you? Don’t tell me it’s ‘cause you’ve got a bleeding heart, a hard cock and a softhead! Has to be a soft head if you want to stick it to-Oof!”

“Now, who has the soft head?” Ripper said casually as he flexed his fist and studied Ethan’s folded form. He grabbed a handful of Ethan’s hair and yanked his head up. “You know my temper, Ethan. Don’t test it else I just might not care if you do know the way out of here. Understand me?”

Ethan’s answer was lost as screams echoed in the cave.

It was as if all that she had learned in the crystal had never existed.

The freedom she always yearned for was not to be hers. She did not deserve it. She was a mother who left her children to die. A slave who had died for her master. A woman to be punished.

“Pietro…Nalla,” Joao whispered as she watched Niall put down her children. Her heart broke as they clung to his legs and looked at her with cold, empty, hollow eyes. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew they were images made by the cave, but they looked so real. So very real. “Mama is here-come to Mama-please-“

“And why should they do that? Why should they go to the mother that abandoned them to slow starvation?” Niall sneered as he patted the head of Nalla. He looked down at Nalla and smiled, ”Should we punish Mama, Nalla?”

A smile lit the little girl’s face as she nodded happily. Joao’s eyes widened as she saw her son pull at Niall’s waist…and saw the knotted vine emerge, then placed into Niall’s waiting hand. She looked up at his face and started to whimper, to cower as he tested the vine. “You have been very bad, Joao. A very bad, girl, for that you must be punished.”

Scrambling away from the painful chords, Joao screamed as the whip lashed out at her.

Years ago, many things could be said about Karl Kattenheinrich.

He was a strong and good son to Wilheilm and Inez Kattenheinrich. His younger brothers and sisters adored him. He was a dedicated soldier of an elite force. A man devoted to the cause for a better and stronger Germany. His orders were unquestioned as he strove to protect the Fatherland. He was a rising star in Hitler’s growing army before he was used as a sacrifice for the crystal. He was a man that many, both young and old, had admired, envied.

But looking in Adelaide’s accusing eyes, Karl Franz Kattenheinrich saw himself for what he truly was- a monster that condemned the only woman he loved to a living Hell. Shrinking from her cold, cold gaze, Karl whispered, “Nein! Nein! Adelaide-you-here-why-how are you here?”

“Because you brought me here, Karl,” Adelaide replied simply as she held out her emaciated hand to him. Pain, raw and deep, filled Karl as he looked down at her hand. The broken fingers of the scarred hand that once fit so perfectly in his. On a twisted little finger, he could see the small engagement ring he placed there when he promised to love, protect and cherish her. “I am with you wherever you are. I promised you that, don’t you remember?”

“I remember,” Kattenheinrich whispered hoarsely as he fell to his knees. “I remember everything about you, Adelaide. I remember everything that happened since last I saw you. I am so sorry, mien Adelaide.”

“You should since you’re the one that put me into that camp,” Adelaide said as she knelt down. Her hair fell around her shoulders as she lifted her hands to him. “Now come, it is time, Karl. Let us go.”

“Time for what?” Karl asked as he looked at her emaciated face. Scars, both old and new, marked her cheeks and neck. A tattered red scarf awkwardly bound her golden hair that used to curl lovingly around his fingers as they lay in bed together. “Where are we going?”

Adelaide grabbed his hand as she gave him a toothless grin as she pulled him towards a tunnel. “Why, to take you to the devil himself! Where else would we go, silly Karl? Surely you don’t think you deserve heaven after all you’ve done for me?”

Karl started to scream as Adelaide’s grip tightened and a melodious cackle escaped from her lips.

It was that night all over again.

Muhyi stared fearfully at the veiled woman as she stood before him. Proud and scornful as she looked at him with accusing eyes filled with disgust. “Mother-“

“I should have listened to the seer and killed you as you suckled against my breast,” the woman spat. “You, the eldest son that destroyed our house! The name of his father!”

A young boy thirteen or so years old came from be hind the woman and stood before Muhyi. “You killed us, Brother? Why did you bring us into the crystal and have the monster kill us?”

Tears ran down Muhyi’s face as he reached put to his youngest brother. “No-no, Abu! I did not-Hakim!”

His face throbbing with pain, Muhyi stared up at his father’s second son, standing angrily above him. “You will keep your hands from them, Muhyi! You are no brother of ours! No true brother of ours would condemn Abu, Farid, Namir or I to be meat for a monster! No true son would let his mother suffer the loss of all her sons!”

Muhyi covered his ears as tears rolled down his face. “No-I didn’t mean to do this to you! I only wanted to avenge Father! I didn’t mean to-“

“But you did, Brother!” cried two other brothers who appeared at Hakim’s side. They looked at Muhyi with cold dark eyes as they picked up some small stones and started throwing them at him. “You promised us vengeance against the infidels for Father’s death but you did not deliver it. Instead you let the monster kill us!”

“Ai! Farid! Ai! Namir! Stop! Ai!” Muhyi screamed as he tried to cover his face. He felt a stone hit his temple. “Please! Stop! I did not mean to condemn us to this hell! I swear by Allah! I did mean to kill-“

“But you did kill us! All of us!” screeched a woman as she sped out from a cavern entrance. The left half of her face was scarred and she wore a cloak of rags. Beside her was a mirror image of the woman, but the scarring was on the right. “Your arrogance killed us all! Were you not happy to just destroy your father’s name? Your mother’s heart? Did you need to murder your brothers as well? Did you need to condemn your Guri and I to eternal shame?”

“Enough talk!” intoned Mush’s mother as she help up her hand. Her eyes were cold as she pointed at Muhyi’s cowering form. ”Take him to the monster!”

Muhyi started to kick and scream as his brothers and wives descended upon him, dragging him towards a cave entrance.

He knew that voice.

In his dreams, that voice haunted him. It was the voice of the innocent. It was the voice of his only family, his cousin.

“C’est moi, mon cousin, that you must worry about,” spat the man with eyes like his. It was quite a strange feeling to realize that though he remembered what his cousin looked like, he could never remember that they both had Grandmere’s eyes. “Voyons, cur!”

“Maurice,” Grilliot whispered as he stared at his cousin. He started shaking his head frantically as he backed away in fear. “Mon Dieu, this cannot be-you cannot be-“

With the expertise of a master swordsman, Maurice whipped his sword in the air and slashed at Grilliot. “Silence! Dog!”

Automatically jumping away from the sharp point, Grilliot felt a flash of heat, then searing pain. Gingerly, he touched his cheek and felt a wetness dribble on to his fingers. “Mon Dieu! You cut me!”

“It is still less that what you did to me, cousin,” Maurice sneered as he brandished his sword again. His cold brown eyes reflecting nothing but death. “Mais, I will remedy that! Prepare for your death, Francois Alain Grilliot! The shame of all Grilliots!”

“Maurice! S’il vous plait!” Grilliot shouted as he dodged Maurice’s sword. It was not happening, this could not be. His cousin was dead, but he was here. In the crystal, it could not be! “Je regrette mon-“

“Silence! Cur! Je n’entend pas! I will not hear your pleas!” Maurice shouted as he thrust his sword and hit the cavern wall. He swirled around and snarled, ”Just like you did not hear my pleas as I begged for mercy and asked you why. I will not hear them! Prepare to die!”

He was a little boy again.

He was waiting for Daddy to come home and to punish him. He was a bad boy and bad boys need to be punished. Jerrod stiffened as he saw his father’s stone cold face, a face that he saw every time he had looked in a mirror.

Funny, it never occurred to him that he looked like his father until now. Then he stiffened as he saw Richard Barns hold a gun at him. “Dad-“

“No more talk, Jerrod,” said Richard Barns said severely as he frowned at his son. “You have been a very bad boy and you must be punished.”

“Yes, you must punish Jerrod, darling,” agreed Maureen Barns lazily as she sauntered to her husband’s side. She gave Jerrod a derisive look, then with an air of jaded boredom; she studied a lock of her hair. “The boy must learn to obey his-Argh!”

“Mom!” Jerrod screamed as he leapt in front of his mother. Jerrod barely registered the pain as Richard Barns casually pistol-whipped him as he had done his mother. “Dad-“

“My God, Richard! Are you insane?” Maureen Barns screamed as she held her face. “What was that for?”

“You are an evil thing, Maureen Barns,” Richard spat as his cold eyes stared at her, then at his son. “And you are a spawn of that evil, Jerrod.”

Shuddering at his father’s cold look, Jerrod violently shook his head as he moved towards his mother. “No-I’m not-I-Mom-”

“Yes, you are,” spat Maureen as she shoved Jerrod away from her. She sat in the dirt, her eyes accusing and her finger condemning him. “You are the devil’s spawn, Jerrod! What decent mother would be seduced by the looks of her son? What decent woman would be entangled with you? A man who plays at witchcraft! It’s all your fault, Jerrod!”

“No! No! It wasn’t me!” Jerrod screamed as he scrambled away from her. “It was you-you said-I-you- Dad-“

“Shut up you Hell’s spawn!” Maureen screamed as she looked up at her husband and clutched at his wrist desperately. “Richard-Richard listen to me! I am your wife! I have never lain with any man except you! This boy- this- this thing we had-is the devil’s work! You know that we tried for years to have a baby and couldn’t! Then suddenly he was born! You remember how he was born! Remember? He had a caul when he was born!”

“I remember,” Richard said slowly as he looked at his wife. “A caul and he was born in the deepest part of the witching hour-“

“Dad! You can’t believe this!” Jerrod screamed as he stared at his father. “This is nonsense! I am your son! I am not the devil’s spawn- I-”

Maureen slowly rose to her feet, her voice calmer as she looked at her husband. “And he seduced me! He seduced me with his looks! Made me think that I was lying with my husband! He is evil, Richard! We harbored a serpent into our good God-fearing home-Argh!”

“I am not evil!” Jerrod screamed as he grabbed Maureen’s arm up and yanked her to face him. He pulled his hand back to slap her when a gunshot fired above his head.

“Shut up, hell spawn! Get away from her! Get away!” shouted Richard as he fired the gun just above Jerrod’s head. “No good son would even think to hurt his mother!”

Richard fired another one as Jerrod scrambled away. “Killing you now is too good for you! Hellfire and brimstone must clean your dirty soul now!”

“No!” Jerrod screamed as he covered his head. He could feel the tiny shards of rock fall into his hair. “Dad-no!”

“Hellfire and brimstone won’t clean that dirty soul!” Maureen screamed as she picked up a rock and threw it at Jerrod’s covered head. “You are evil! What man would attack his mother?”

She picked up another one and looked at Richard. “It’s too late for Jerrod! All he’s only fit to be a meal for the demon!”

“No! No!” screamed Jerrod as he dodged the rocks his mother threw. Blindly, he reached out to find shelter from their accusations, from their hate. “I’ll be good! I swear! I’ll be good!”

“You’re right, Maureen,” Richard agreed solemnly as he looked at his son. Then he fired another shot, ignoring Jerrod’s pleas. “It’s too late to be good now, Jerrod. You must die.”

Dodging into a black cave entrance, Jerrod screamed as the shards of rock rained on his face. “Oh, God! Please! Dad! Stop! Please!”

With a heavy heart he watched the breath of fear work its evil around the trapped souls. There were only nine souls left, two more devoured and the beast would open a crack out of the gem and let its demonic spirit into the world, able to possess its Devil’s Knight. Then the crack would grow wider with each soul devoured. And when there were none, Garoth the Soul-Eater would be fully released into the world again. That must not happen, but there was nothing that he could do. Except try to counteract Garoth’s foul breath.

Standing, the ancient druid raised his gnarled hands in supplication and concentrated as he cast his spell. “I beseech ye of pantheons long gone, I implore to ye Gods of Fire and Air, I beg the Eternal Mother to hear my pleas. Let the fires of hope burn through fear, let the cool wind spread hope’s flame, and let courage lead the way.”

Suddenly, a small fiery whirlwind crackled in his hands and then flew out of the small cavern chamber and into the caves. Sitting against a rock heavily, the ancient druid hoped that the Wind of Hope’s Fire would reach those poor souls before Garoth found them. If only…

If only he could completely stop the demon’s foul breath…if only the conditions of the concealment spell would allow him to speak with the captured souls directly... if only he knew who the Nightingale was, then the demon would be defeated for all eternity and he would be able to join his long gone family and friends. So many ‘if only’s and regrets that lasted a thousand lifetimes.

He sighed as he watched Garoth’s breath take hold of the souls, and hoped that he had worked his counter spell in time. With tired eyes, he watched the souls battle their fears and vainly hoped that the Nightingale would realize the power within its soul and appear.

“STOP!” Joyce screamed as she ran through the cave towards the maniac attacking Joao with a whip. “STOP!”

Without breaking his rhythm, the maniac laughed as he whirled around to lash his whip at her face. Screaming, Joyce recoiled at the attack, then felt the stinging pain on her cheek. The maniac looked at Joao and sneered, “I will deal with you later, Joao!”

The maniac then turned to look at Joyce. “As for you, wench, I will deal with you now!”

Stunned, Joyce could only stare at him as the maniac recoiled his whip to lash out at her again…

“Dad! Stop!” Jerrod screamed as a bullet ricocheted past his head. Running blindly, he crashed into someone’s back. Then suddenly he was on the ground, sprawled on top of a mass of bodies. Trying to scramble on to his feet, he fought against the clawing hands and the black looks of hate.

“Let go of me! Let go!” Jerrod screamed as his fists rained down on the grasping hands. He ducked as he heard an explosion and felt the heat of a bullet whiz past his head. “Oh God! Let go!”

“Stay still, demon spawn!” shouted Richard as he cocked his gun again then shot it. Jerrod rolled to his side then felt a blinding pain at his temple. Blindly, he stared at the direction the rock came from.

“Die! You spawn! Die!” screamed Maureen as she threw another rock at Jerrod. “Die! Ooof!”

Stupidly, Jerrod stared at Muhyi as he punched his mother out, then fall as a shot rang out. Horrified, Jerrod stared at Muhyi as his father sneered at the Arab with cold black eyes and aimed his gun at Muhyi’s head. “You will not save that demon spawn!”

“Meddler!” screamed a voice. Jerrod’s head immediately shot up as a veiled woman with her hands coming at him at him like claws screamed at him. “Fiend! Infidel! Saving the curse of my womb!”

As Jerrod grabbed the clawing hands of the woman, then he shoved her at his father. “Get away from me you crazy bitch!”

Jerrod rushed to pick up the gun his father dropped, and aimed it at his father and the crazy woman as he stood protectively over Muhyi. “I have no idea on how you got here, Dad-but you have to listen to me!”

“Please! Maurice! Stop!” begged Grilliot as he avoided another thrust from his cousin. He clutched at the walls and felt it crumble beneath his fingers. Grabbing a rock, he held it as he pleaded. “Maurice! S’il vous plait! Maurice-We are cousins!”

“A fact you ignored when you killed me, you cur!” Maurice sneered as he wildly slashed his sword at Grilliot. “You think to kill me with that rock, traitor?”

“No! I will not kill you again!” Grilliot shouted as he crushed the rock with his hands, threw it at his cousin’s eyes and blindly turned to run from Maurice’s blood thirst.

Blindly rubbing his eyes, Maurice slashed the sword at where he last saw the cur. Then hearing a scream, he thrust his sword straight ahead…and felt his sword go through a body…

Garoth smiled as it heard the exquisite sounds of souls in agony and the scent…the scent of fear was intoxicating. It flicked out its tongue again and let the flavors dance upon it. As it flicked out its tongue again and again, Garoth let out a howl of glee. Like wine ready to be served, the souls were ready to be eaten. They were all so helpless and afraid. Guilt tainted the stale air; fear permeated the souls. It flicked its tongue out again…and stopped.

Garoth lifted its head and cautiously flicked its tongue out. Anger filled the beast. There was something disgusting in the air, something sweet. Then it flicked its tongue out again, and it stopped. It was not possible-there was a robust tang in the air. It was the robust tang of strength, of courage.

Garoth flicked its tongue out again to be sure and let out a howl of rage as it smashed its claws into the cave walls. It let out another howl of rage.

“Druid!” Garoth howled as it rushed through the caves. “Druid! I will find you and I will feast upon your soul if it is the only thing that I will do! Do you hear me, Druid?”

“Adelaide! Nein! Nein!” Karl screamed as he wildly started to yank his arm away from her iron grip. But Adelaide merely cackled at him as she ignored his desperation. Adrenaline rushed through him as he suddenly pulled her towards him, then thrust her away from him and into another man.

In horror, Karl watched as Adelaide’s body jerk up as a sword protruded from her chest. “Adelaide!”

“Karl,” Adelaide whispered as she looked at him with her dead eyes. “I am dead again, my love.”

“Adelaide!” Karl screamed as she stared at him with lifeless eyes. His eyes shot up to look at the man with the sword. “You-you killed her!”

The man merely pulled his sword from her body and smiled as he looked at Karl, then the smile grew wider….

She could not think. She could not run. He was back. Niall was back and he was displeased with her-her master was displeased with her-“NO!”

“This is not real! It is not!” Joao slapped her hands on the cave walls, forcing pain into her hands. “No! I am not a slave! I am not a slave! I am Joao!”

“You are a slave! Once a slave, always a slave,” shouted a singsong voice. Joao looked at Nalla as she clapped her hands happily. “Once a slave always a slave. Master’s pleasure is your pleasure, if Master is displeased then you are at fault for the Master displeased.”

“The Master is always correct, the slave is always wrong,” Pietro intoned as he looked at Joao accusingly. “It is his right to punish the slave, his privilege to punish his slaves. You have displeased the master, Mother. You and your friend must be punished.”

Joao stared at her son, then looked to where Niall stood, grinning at Joyce as she glared at him defiantly. Even as her cheek bled, the woman was still defiant to Niall.

Fear and anger filled her heart as she focused on Niall’s whip. And suddenly she was running, seeing nothing except that whip-

He had to get away. He could not face him and win against him. He could not kill his cousin again.

Forcing his feet to run to safety, Grilliot stared to run…and he found himself falling face first into the dirt. As his head cleared, Grilliot heard a voice from behind him.

“Ow! That hurt!” shouted the figure from the floor. Horrified, Grilliot tried to scramble away when her hand latched on to his ankle. “Hold it there, Mr. Hit and Run. You the bastard that kicked me while I was napping?”

“Non! Please! I-I did not kick you!” Grilliot babbled frantically as she pulled him closer. “Please Buffy-I did not-“

“But you are one of the idiots that wanted me killed, weren’t you?” Buffy said laconically as she rose up to her feet, pulling him up with her. Then she laughed as her eyes glowed with unholy glee. “Doesn’t matter now, does it Frenchman? Too little, too late and it’s supper time!”

“Non! Please!” Grilliot screamed as he fought to release himself from Buffy’s iron grip. “Please!”

“Oh, go on begging, I like the sound of it!” Buffy laughed as she easily caught his fist in her hand. She smiled as she started to crush Grilliot’s hand. “But I think that I like this sound better, Frenchman. I’ve always wanted to know, just how high can a Frenchie scream?”

Screaming, Grilliot went down on his knee, as Buffy’s grip on his hands grew tighter. “Buffy-Please! The pain-“

“Is good! And is making me hungry!” Buffy laughed as she brought his neck closer to her mouth. As she opened wide, she listened to the screams in the cave. Inhaling his scent of fear, Buffy knew it would be pure heaven to listen to the cacophony of screams as she fed…then she heard a familiar shout.

“By the Gods!” cried the Druid as he fell to his knees. With great interest, he watched the drama within the caves unfold. He had never seen the breath of Garoth fail so miserably!

The souls were indeed crippled by their own fears, yes, but they were also helping each other, though it was all done inadvertently. He watched as the torment of the Kattenheinrich soul impaled herself on the weapon of Grilliot’s nightmare and that the wretched newcomer, Jerrod, stand protectively over Muhyi’s soul as he confronted the Arab’s nightmare and his own with a shaky hand. Could he be the Nightingale? Or was it the Arab?

He watched as the Slayer’s mother confront Niall and his whip with nothing more than her body. Was she the Nightingale? Or was it the Watcher or the other man? He looked more closely at the men, only one man had changed and the other had remained the same. Who was did the nightmare belong to? Or had the breath of Garoth failed here?

But for the young Slayer…for her to have changed into her deadliest enemy, it was unbelievable, but not unthinkable. He had seen the breath of Garoth work its foul magic too many times and succeed most of those times. The Druid sighed heavily. Would she or the others realize that it was her own belief that kept her in that state?

Looking at the other faces, he saw the face of the slave girl, Joao, change as she watched Niall lash his whip against the new soul. Would she find bravery in her heart? Could she be the Nightingale? It had to be a sign from the Gods! “By the Mother, please! Let them unite!”

Letting go of Ethan, Ripper roared as he saw Joyce being attacked by a maniac with a whip. “Joyce! Get away from her!”

Niall immediately shifted his attention from the defiant woman to lash his whip out at the oddly dressed man, keeping him away from the woman. He lashed out the whip again, forcing the man back. “Get back, cur! The wench is mine and needs to learn her place. She is nothing but what I make of her. And the comely wench will warm my bed.”

“To hell with that, you Flintstones reject,” Joyce spat as her hands fisted. “This ‘comely wench’ will never warm your bed. She’d rather burn it!”

The maniac narrowed his eyes at her as he coiled his whip. “You would be wise to keep your sharp tongue, wench.”

“This ‘wench’ is way past keeping her tongue,” Joyce snapped as her eyes flashed. “A real man doesn’t need to resort to violence to get a woman to obey him. Only real cowards do that.”

“Your acid tongue does you no credit, harpy! Wenches like you are meant to be beaten,” the maniac shouted as he lifted his arm to lash it out. Then he heard a guttural scream come from behind him. Half turning, he lifted his hand up and caught the throat of Joao. Lifting her up off the ground, he casually threw her at the man charging at him. “Joao! You have not learned your lesson yet!”

“You crazy bastard!” Joyce screamed as she started to see if Rupert and Joao were hurt, but was forced back when the maniac lashed his whip out. “Ow!”

Instead of answering Joyce, Joao immediately scrambled to her feet and spat at Niall, “You are nothing! A coward! In this cursed place I have finally learned who I am and what you are! I am Joao and I am NOT your slave! And you! Niall of the Southlands! You are nothing but a coward!”

“You will remember your place, slave!” Niall shouted as he coiled his whip again. As Niall’s arm started to come down, he felt himself thrown against the wall. “Who dares-“

“Shut up, Fred!” sneered a voice as she faced the maniac. “No one hurts my mother except me!”

“Buffy!” Joyce gasped as she saw her daughter in full game face and looming over the maniac. She felt someone grab her from behind as she started to stop Buffy from killing Niall. “No! Buffy, don’t!”

Yellow eyes flashing, Buffy grinned evilly at her mother. “Don’t worry, Mom-you’ll get your turn. You can count on it!”

Sniffing the air, Garoth roared. Something was happening! Something was changing the air, scenting it, making it sweeter, more robust! It would not happen! It will not happen! The souls would not unite! They will not fulfill the ancient prophecy!

Lifting its head again, Garoth sniffed the air then flicked out its tongue, searching for where the nauseating robust scent of was strongest. There! Turning to his side, Garoth ran through an entrance as fast as its legs would allow it.

Gasping as he held his aching cock, Ethan watched as Ripper ran to his lover’s rescue. “I’ll get you for this, lover. Just you wait.”

As he slowly rose from the ground, leaning hard against the cave wall, Ethan’s eyes widened as he saw what was going on: the Kraut about to be attacked by a Frenchie madman with a sword; Grilliot the Frog gasping for life as he stared at the Slayer, Joao, Ripper and Joyce; and Jerrod and the Arab were in a stand off with a pack of other Arabs. “Who the hell invited all these other blokes to the party?”

Maurice smiled as he looked at his opponent and pointed his bloody sword at him. “You swine! Do you ally yourself with my cousin or me?”

“You killed her!” Karl whispered harshly as he stared at the mad swordsman. “You killed Adelaide!”

“Yes, yes, I heard you already,” Maurice said impatiently as the man simply stared at him. “I regret that, but it was necessary. Do you understand me? I regret the action, but it was necessary. It was not my fault, Herr Soldier.”

“Necessary? Not your fault,” Karl repeated as he stared at the swordsman unbelievingly. “Not your fault?”

“The fraulein was in my way, Herr Soldier. She was holding me back from my true goal. It is necessary for me to get to my cousin,” Maurice said casually as he flicked his wrist. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the stricken man. “And you are also in my way. My argument is not with you, sir. It is with my cousin. Now move or I shall run you through!”

Karl stared at the swordsman as his words penetrated the haze of shock. It did not occur to him that the man was dressed as if he had stepped out of the history books. It did not occur to him that the man was not from his past. It did not occur to him that he was speaking in German. He only knew that the man had killed Adelaide. Adelaide was dead.

Numbly, Karl stepped back as Maurice scanned the cave for his cousin. He spotted him, kneeling on the ground, unaware and cradling his throat. “Ah! There the coward is-Argh!”

“You killed her!” Karl screamed as he grabbed a fistful of the swordsman’s hair. Rage gave him strength as he rained his fists on the madman’s face. “You killed my Adelaide!”

“You dare lay your common hands on me? You dare?” gasped Maurice as he threw up a fist and felt it connect with the man’s face. He threw another punch and watched the fool double over. “Fool! She was already dying! I merely helped her along!”

Karl threw up his fist and felt it connect with the madman’s face. He saw the man double over as his fists became like Thor’s hammers. “She was not dead! She was alive! The gods curse you!”

Maurice caught a fist and threw the madman away from him. Enraged, he pointed at Adelaide’s lifeless corpse. “You think that thing was alive? Her? She was the walking dead! It was not my fault that I only gave her the merciful final blow! It was yours!”

His chest heaving with rage, Karl snarled. “You killed her!”

“Fool! She was already dead!” Maurice shouted back, his eyes blazing with hate. He spat at the other man, his words dripping with scorn. “You were the one that condemned her to her fate!”

“No! I will not listen to this!” Karl screamed as he covered his ears to prevent the madman’s words from penetrating. “I will not listen!”

“You will listen, my little fool,” Maurice sneered, his eyes full of gleeful malice as he yanked Adelaide’s lifeless body up by her sparse golden hair. “Your beliefs in your leader would not allow you to hide her! Your duty to your country would not allow you to save her! Your pride in your station would not allow you to help her! Your fear would not allow you to save her! Your selfishness would not let you kill her! I did not kill her, I saved her!”

“You are the murderer, Herr Soldier, not I!” spat Maurice as he threw the corpse at Karl, and her dead eyes stared accusingly at him. Moving stealthily towards his sword, Maurice reached for it. “And murderous pigs like you should be destroyed!”

“I-I killed her,” Karl whispered as he cradled her cold body close to him. His body shook as he fell to his knees with her in his arms. “Adelaide! My sweet Adelaide! What have I done? What will I do?”

“You will die,” Maurice said as he lifted his sword high in the air.

“Dad! Please! Listen to me! Listen to me!” Jerrod pleaded as he looked at his father. He held the gun out, not aiming, but ready to pull the trigger if he needed to. “I didn’t-“

“I will not listen to you and your words, you hell spawn!” Richard Barns intoned as he pointed at Jerrod. He flicked his eyes towards the Arab. “You and your friend are to be damned!”

“Fool! And what makes you think that you are free? In this Hell?” Muhyi spat as he clutched at the wound in his arm. “Who are you to judge us?”

“The ones that gave you life!” screamed Muhyi’s mother as she lifted her fists at him. “The ones that you left behind because of your arrogance! We judge you as you should be judged! Allah curse you a thousand times!”

“Allah has already cursed me! A thousand times a hundred times, Allah has cursed me!” Muhyi screamed back at her. His chest heaved as he stepped from behind Jerrod. “I accept that-what my arrogance, what my selfishness had done to all of you. You cannot hurt me more than I can hurt myself-but I will not let my guilt rule me! I will not let my nightmare rule me anymore!”

Muhyi stepped forward and studied all the faces of those he had loved most when he had been alive, his brothers, his wives and finally, his mother. “In my nightmares, in my heart, I know that you had probably cursed me a thousand times, Mother and I blame you not. I should not have gone against your wise counsel. I should not have lusted for revenge. But I will no longer allow my guilt or my nightmares to torment me any longer. I have finally learned that what is done is done and there is nothing to do but go on. I will not be afraid of my nightmare anymore.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Jerrod said as Muhyi stepped closer to his mother. “Are you fucking nuts, you crazy sand nigger?”

Ignoring Jerrod, Muhyi stared at his mother as she sneered, ”And who taught you this charming thing? That you should be without guilt? That you should be without nightmares? That we are nightmares?”

“A very young and wise Slayer,” Muhyi said simply. “And are we still not in the Caverns of Nightmares?”

“Very wise of you, Arab,” sneered Richard Barns as he lifted his hands and a gun suddenly appeared. “And very foolish. We might be nightmares, but we can still kill you and feed you to the monster.”