“Get back here!”  Sarah screamed at the fleeing soldier. 

     The next thing that happened made Mavelle drop the crystal knife, cover her eyes and wish she had four hands so she could cover her ears too.  The sounds were dreadful.  When she opened her eyes again, she could see Sarah held high above the ground in the three-fingered grip of a stone ogre.  The four soldiers’ bodies torn to bloody pieces and scattered about brought bile to her throat.  Mavelle trembled with dread.

     Sarah’s screams assured Mavelle that her sister still lived.  The Ogre lifted the stone floor, dropped Sarah in the hole beneath it, replaced the floor above Sarah, and stomped off in the opposite direction from Mavelle’s hiding place.

     “Oh, Goddesses.  What can I do to get them out of there?”  She gave a low whistle and within seconds, McDougal was by her side.  His hackles stood on end and he growled deep in his chest.

     “Easy boy.  He’s gone.”  She directed him toward the ruins.  “Find Lovena.  There has to be a way in.”

     They crawled over lichen covered granite and broken marble.  Searching for hours with no luck, she called a halt by the remains of a guard tower.  Within there she found a covered section, not unlike a cave, where they could camp for the night.

     Restless sleep came to her and along with it another vision of her sister Lovena.  This time the vision showed Sarah asleep and Lovena pacing.  “Sister, we know not what he wishes us for but he is vicious.  Hurry, I fear we haven’t long.

     The snap of a branch woke Mavelle with a start.  McDougal was on his feet and growling.  The wee hours of the morning brought with them, no light to see by, she peered into the darkest of dark.  Mavelle clung to McDougal’s collar to keep him close. 

     “Hey the tower.”  A voice broke the silence.