“That is the question that I want to pose to you,” frowned Aakuta. “How many times must he reject you and abuse you before you see him as he really is?”

“You just don’t know him as I do,” retorted Lady Mystic as she turned and walked away.

Aakuta watched sadly as his love retreated towards the city. He sighed with frustration before his mind got around to thinking about what she might have observed while spying on him. Suddenly, his jaw opened in fear. He had been a fool to let her walk away. Lady Mystic might be a fool where her father was concerned, but she was a tremendously intelligent woman. Was it possible that she saw him weave the air tunnel? Would she take that knowledge to Vand if she did?

Filled with terror, Aakuta raced towards the city, uncaring about his appearance to others. He ran into the alley hoping to see Lady Mystic walking along it. She was nowhere in sight. He continued to run along the alley until he came to the door to her home. It was wide open. He entered the house hoping to find Lady Mystic inside. The house was empty.

Aakuta stood in the laboratory staring at the broken glass and ingredients strewn across the floor. He thought about his previous exit from the house and tried to understand his friend’s emotional state and determine what her reactions must have been. Finally, he nodded conclusively when he realized that she would take the air tunnel to Vand. There was nothing that Aakuta could do now to stop her. Instead of wasting time berating himself for his failure, Aakuta gathered up the ingredients that he had seen Lady Mystic use to make the pain-killing potion. He grabbed an old pack off the floor and filled it with what he would need to duplicate her potion.

With the pack in hand, Aakuta left the house, closing the door behind him. He immediately headed to the edge of the city and dashed across the open area to the forest beyond. Once he found a secluded glade, Aakuta sat down and opened the pack.