The Missing Eye  

Back in the courtyard's light, they gathered around a fresh spring bubbling up from beneath a statue—a good omen. Amara checked Rhys's bandages and vital signs as the men drank thirstily. But her thoughts inevitably turned to the missing member of their band.

Where was Bane? Had he fallen battling the demoness alone? Fear constricted Amara's chest. Whatever secrets still lay between them, she knew her heart would break if his light was extinguished. But she could not abandon the others to search for him now. Rhys and the rest needed her still. She must have faith in Bane's power and cunning.

"My Lady…"

Voices from the direction of the beach cut short her brooding. Amara looked up to see Bane striding through the ruined gate, travel cloak swirling. Relief left her legs unsteady as he came to her. But joy turned to shock at his next words.

"Lilosis is destroyed." Bane's tone throbbed with fierce satisfaction. At Amara's stunned look, he continued. "She fled the temple wounded, with essence depleted. I pursued and caught her vulnerable." His eyes burned with zeal. "She will never threaten these lands again."

Amara swayed, her mind was reeling insanely. "You found and defeated her alone? After we could not?" She read no deceit in his proud bearing. However it had been accomplished, the demoness was truly gone. Amara embraced him tearfully. "You saved us all!"

Bane returned her embrace before stepping back, expression growing serious.

"I regret not standing with you, but this was the only way." His tone softened. "Lilosis was my ancient foe. Fate decreed I finish her." He drew a leather sack from his belt and upended its contents onto the tiles.

An obsidian skull rolled forth, hollow sockets lambent with unearthly light—another replica like the one that had imprisoned Bane. But this skull emanated subtle hues of violet rather than crimson, and the energy pulsing from it set Amara's teeth on edge. Dark knowledge lay bound within.

Bane lifted the artefact with reverence. "This vessel holds whispers of Lilosis's forbidden lore. But it may also reveal the true Hallow Skull's location." He extended it toward Amara. "Learn where our true quest leads."

Heart thudding, Amara accepted the eerie skull. The sailors backed away nervously. The moment her hands closed around the slick surface she gasped, inundated by lurid images.

Scenes of demonic carnal rites flashed across her mind's eye. But throughout the chaos, one clear vision emerged: a jagged mountain range far across the ocean, half-shrouded in roiling mists. And within a deep crevasse at the range's heart glowed the unmistakable radiance of the true Hallow Skull.

Its light called to Amara across the leagues like a beacon before the onslaught of visions ceased. Breathing hard, she lowered the skull. All watched her intently. "I know now where the original lies," she told Bane solemnly. "We must voyage beyond the Misty Isles." Excitement and foreboding mingled within her. The end of their long road lay in sight at last.

Bane's expression mirrored her own strife of emotions. Wordlessly he drew her close, his relief and longing was palpable. There would be time later to speak of the harrowing trials through which they had come, and the dangers yet ahead. This moment was for joyfulness and hope.

The simple sailors understood this implicitly. They cheered Bane's victory over evil and Amara's mastery of the guiding skull. Men clasped shoulders in camaraderie, differences forgotten in the face of shared triumph. Even Hiwana's mood seemed to lift. She moved to help Amara tend to Rhys, the rogue who had caused them such grief and pain. But now only pity showed on the girl's kind face at his tortured groans. Perhaps some wounds could finally begin healing.

As dusk fell, they carried Rhys aboard his ship anchored offshore. Now returned to familiar surroundings, the sailors' spirits continued to rise. They laughed and swapped tales of the day's deeds with friendly rivalry. Bane left them to their mirth, joining Amara where she kept vigil in the small captain's cabin.

Rhys lay sleeping on the narrow berth, stripped to the waist beneath a light blanket. Amara studied the raw scars marring his torso and handsome face. He had lost an eye to the demoness's tortures. Pity welled up anew. However fierce their past clashes, she took no joy in his pain. She only prayed he would find some measure of peace should he wake again.

Bane's hands on her shoulders stirred her from morbid thoughts. "You should rest as well," he advised. "Your vitality flags, beloved."

There was sense in his counsel. She needed to recover strength for their next great trial. Boys could watch over Rhys for a time. She let Bane guide her from the cabin back to his warship abreast the Black Dragon. Their shared bed called, but anxiety gnawed at Amara still.

Pausing at the door, she turned to her dark lover. "Bane, before we left that cursed place, I heard...Lilosis tried to speak some dire warning about you, but her words were cut short." She searched his face. "Were her final words more lies?"

Bane's expression remained grave but untroubled. "Doubtless more deceit to poison us against each other. You were wise to ignore her venom." He brushed a stray hair from Amara's brow. "Forget the demon's wiles. Justice has been served." With a gentle kiss, he ushered her into his shadowed quarters, leaving further qualms unvoiced. There would be long leagues and many trials ahead ere they could rest. Tonight must be for replenishing their shared strength, not revisiting old doubts.

Amara let Bane draw her down onto the expansive bed. But as she relaxed into his familiar, comforting warmth, her disquiet lingered. Lilosis had echoed too closely the vague misgivings that sometimes still drifted at the corner of Amara's mind about her mysterious lover. Were all his secrets truly laid bare? The demoness could have been weaving poison even at the end. Yet doubt remained a pebble in her sandal, impossible to ignore.

But Bane's tenderness soon dissolved her brooding. However long the road ahead, this night they had triumphed against dire odds together. Lilosis was gone forever, and the Hallow Skull lay almost within grasp. Whatever came hereafter, she must retain faith in their bond. Amara desperately needed to believe one broken thing might be mended in this world torn by strife.

She let passion kindle until past and future fell away, leaving only this moment of bliss in Bane's arms. Questions could wait for the morrow. Tonight, hope would burn bright enough to banish the gathering shadows.