The Means

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

06/25/1999:

It was a dark and rainy afternoon. Corbin was in the midst
of one of its occasional thunderstorms. I could hear it
pounding on the roof of the house, and echoing through the
attic above my head.

The noise wasn't enough to mask the sound of someone at the
front door. I was waiting for this, sitting on the couch
with a book, with Rhea resting at my feet. When I heard the
knocking I got up and went to the door.

Ren was waiting outside, trying to find cover on the front
porch. His white hair was plastered down against his skin by
the rain, his clothing soaked. He was holding a package
wrapped up in some cloth tucked tight under one arm. He
didn't look too pleased.

"Come on in," I said, opening the door for him.

He came inside, and I motioned for him to wait for a moment.
I ducked down the hallway, and returned a minute later with
some towels. "Here, you'll need these."

"Thanks," he said, taking one to dry off his dripping hair.
He glanced up at Ravindar, who was standing near the
entrance to the room. "Who's your new friend?"

"That's my bodyguard," I answered.

He nodded, and motioned for me to take his package.

I took it from his hands, and looked him over, trying to
guess his size.. "I have some spare clothing that should fit
you, if you would like to get into something dryer."

He gave me a smile. "I would appreciate that. The rain took
me by surprise."

I nodded, and escorted him out of the living room and
towards the nearest bathroom.

"Where did the rain come from?" he asked, as he followed me,
trying not to drip on the carpet. "One minute there were
just some dark clouds, the next the sky opened up."

I shrugged. "They must be adjusting the weather grid today.
It seems like every time it goes down we have a
thunderstorm. I think it's the normal weather patterns for
this area. The Hall was built before the terraforming was
finished, so I guess no one really knew what the weather was
supposed to be like."

He nodded his head slightly as I opened the door to the
bathroom. He shuffled in and pulled his shirt off, throwing
it over shower rod. I noticed that he still had a nasty scar
on the side of his neck from our one adventure together.

I closed the door behind him, and went off to my bedroom,
with a short side trip into the living room to drop his
package off.

I was pretty sure some of my clothing would fit him. We were
both humans after all, even if he was slightly more fit than
myself.

Oriana meet me as I entered the room, she looked a bit
tired, and her hair was a mess. Still, she had a smile on
her face.

"Who was that at the door, Hon?" she asked, coming up behind
me and giving me a hug.

"Ren," I answered, "and he's soaked. I'm getting him some
dry clothing. How are the kids doing, finally manage to get
them to sleep?"

She nodded, and let me slip out of her paws so I could turn
around and give her a quick kiss. "It took some work, but
they're asleep. I hope it lasts, they don't like the
thunder."

"At that age, who does?" I asked her as I started to rummage
through my closet.

She smiled. "I did," she said with a soft purr, running a
finger down my back. "Ask my parents about it some time."

I gave her a sly smile. "Don't think I won't, love."

"It's no fair, I can't bug your parents for stories about
you," she said with a slight pout.

"No," I answered her, pulling out some clothing that I
thought would be acceptable by Ren. "You just have my
sister."

"But Rhea won't tell me anything," she replied.

I snickered softly, closing the closet doors.

She thought for a moment, and smiled. "Of course! Your real
sister."

"Not that you would get anything from her," I said, starting
back towards the bathroom. "I have enough material on her,
she wouldn't dare."

Oria laughed. "Oh really?"

I shot her a short smile. "Really."

A smile filled her muzzle, large enough that a few teeth
were poking through, but she didn't say a word.

Now I was going to have to tell Tina not to tell her
anything.

We didn't say anything else for the minute it took to get to
Ren. Rhea had taken up position outside the door, looking on
with some interest.

I reached down to pet her between the ears before knocking
on the door. "I have some clothing for you," I called to
Ren.

The door cracked open, and he stuck out his hand. I gave him
the clothes, which he took and quickly shut the door.

"We'll be waiting in the living room when you're done," I
told him, then took Oria's paw in my hand, and pulled her in
that direction.

I got a few steps, then glanced back down at Rhea. "You too,
no need to scare him when he comes out the door."

>>Oh all right,<< she sent, sounding rather disappointed by
the prospect. Even so, she lifted herself easily onto all
fours, and followed us.

"How are you feeling anyway? Any better?"

She shook her large head >>My rump still hurts, and I can
feel the chip every time I move.<< The tone of her mental
voice easily convinced me that she was none too pleased by
that fact.

I smiled. "Remember, I went through the same thing when I
had my own tracker chip implanted. It's worse for me, I
spend most of my day sitting down."

She snorted softly, but didn't respond any further. She just
walked at my side until we reached our destination. Once
there she dropped down next to the empty fireplace.

"You didn't act any better when you got yours," Oria told
me, patting my shoulder gently.

I smiled. "I know, but at least I chose to have that thing
put in. I wish I could get her recognized as a sentient
being. Right now she has fewer rights than Zen."

My wife frowned, stroking my cheek gently. "You'll find a
way, Hon. I'm sure of it."

I smiled, and pulled her around, staring into her green
eyes. Before anything more could happen, we were interrupted
by the sound of someone else at the door.

Oria gave me a quick kiss. "That's probably Ken."

"Probably," I answered, pulling away from her, but not
without first returning her kiss.

I took a few steps to the door, and opened it. It was Ken,
who was happily standing outside in the rain. Or would be if
it was actually raining on him. It stopped about a foot
above his head, and rolled down an invisible barrier,
without ever getting a single drop of water on himself, or
his satchel.

"That's a handy spell to have," I commented, motioning for
him to come inside. "Especially in this weather."

He smiled, "I have a lot of handy spells," he said as he
stepped inside. He cancelled out his spell just before he
crossed the threshold, not bringing a single drop of water
in the house.

"I remember," I said with a short chuckle, closing the door
behind him.

"As you should," he shot back, pulling his satchel off his
shoulder. "So... is everyone here?"

I nodded. "Yep, we're just waiting for Ren to get dried out
before we start. You have the arrow, and the note?"

He nodded, and removed both from his satchel. "It took a lot
of work getting the bolt magiced the way you wanted it, but
I managed it. I also put a spell on it so it won't hit an
animal or a person."

"Good idea," I said taking them from his fore claws. "We
don't need to be killing the messenger." I unrolled the
message, skimming over it. "Looks good. Will it count down
properly?"

He nodded. "Going through all the symbols you gave me. Just
as you asked."

"Cool. I owe you for this," I responded, closing the message
and setting it down on the couch, next to Ren's package.

He shrugged with his wings. "Don't worry about it. It's what
I do for you, Fox; I help you when you need something done
with magic. You're a friend, and that's the whole point."

I smiled. "Thanks, then. Are you planning to stick around
for this afternoon's festivities?"

"Sadly no, I have other things I have to do today, but I do
have something else for you." he once more reached into his
satchel, and this time pulled out a rather old leather-bound
book that must have been a foot thick. The edges were
frayed, and there were a few holes in the binding. Rather
out of place in relation to it, a simple data PADD was
resting on top of it.

"For you and Oriana," he said, offering them to me. "Take a
look where I have book marked."

I nodded, taking them both from him. I was surprised at the
weight of the book, or rather how little it actually
weighed. I suspected it was some sort of magic text. I
handed the PADD to Oria, before opening the book, and
flipping the pages until I came to the one he had marked.

"Oh god," Oria gasped from behind me, where she had a clear
view of the book before I snapped it closed. The page in
question had a series of pictures on it, of someone dying
exactly the same way I remembered Cain dying.

"I see you found it then." I commented dryly.

He nodded. "Yes, I think. I want you to read that section,
see if it matches what you remember."

"All right. I'll make sure not to eat first."

"I think that would be a very good idea," Oria said, placing
a paw on my shoulder

I turned my head to look at her. "You didn't see it actually
happen. I did. It was a nasty way to die."

She nodded slightly.

"So," Ren said, from behind us. "Are we ready?"

I turned around to look at him. He was an interesting sight.
The jeans I had given him were just a bit too short on his
legs, hanging just above his ankles. The shirt was too
large; he had it tucked into the pants, and the sleeves
rolled up to his elbows. His hair was disheveled, and still
a bit damp, pointing all over the place. He was scanning the
room as he stood there. After a moment his eyes locked onto
Santhara. He looked her over, and gave her a small smile.
"And who might this lovely lady be?" he asked.

"She's my bodyguard," Oria replied, a touch of annoyance
edging into her voice.

"Really?" he said, and shot her a smile, before he turned to
look back at us. "I see."

"To answer your question, yes, we're almost ready. We just
need to get the arrow prepared."

He nodded, walking over to the couch, and picking up both
the arrow and the message. He examined the shaft, checking
it over back and front, tugging the feathers and eyeing its
length. "It looks good. I should be able to shoot this
perfectly." He then turned his attention to the message. He
opened it for a moment, then wrapped it around the shaft.
"Yes, this should be easy to shoot."

"Good, I'm glad you're so sure of that," I responded.

"Of course I'm sure of it," he replied with a smile, and
started to undo his package. He unfolded the cloth with more
care than I'd usually seen him use. Nestled inside, was a
very elegant-looking crossbow. It was folded down, but even
so I could see the intricate designs panted on the wood,
under the clear finish that protected it.

He snapped it open, leaving the string forward, then slotted
the arrow inside. He carefully checked its aim, before
removing the arrow and setting the bow back down.

"This should be easy," he repeated with a slight smile as he
pulled out a few thin strands of thread from inside the
cloth. He used them to tie the message tightly around the
arrow's shaft. With only a few moments of work, it was
firmly secured.

"That will keep the message out of the way, we don't want it
to jam the crossbow, or come off in flight." he checked his
aim one more time, before setting everything down. "Well,
I'm ready."

I nodded. "Good then. We'll just head to the fold room, then
get going."

"Fox," Ken interrupted, "Could I see you for a moment, in
private? It's about what I found."

"Oh, sure." I turned to Oria. "Will you take Ren to the fold
room?"

She nodded, and handed me the PADD. "Follow me," she said to
him as she walked past.

Ren gathered up the crossbow and the message, then followed
after her.

"What's up?" I asked my old friend.

"It's what I found in the old council database. Everything
is on the PADD, but it's not final." He slumped his
shoulders a bit. "I'm doing some extra research on the
spell, trying to find out how long ago it was cast, but I've
double and triple checked everything. I found the golem
spell."

Gently, I reached out with a hand, placing it on his
shoulder. "Ken, what's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Just look at the PADD, and just be safe
O. K.?"

"Of course, that's why we have bodyguards."

He nodded, and reached for the door. "I had better go, I
have something else I have to get done today. Good luck
getting in contact with your other self. I would like to
look over him if he decides to come and help."

"Sure thing," I said, taking a step forward.

Ken glanced back for a moment, and then quickly slipped out
into the rain, closing the door behind himself.

I shook my head. "What the hell was all that about?" I asked
aloud. This was unlike Ken; something had unnerved him,
something he found. Of course, it could be the spell used to
kill Cain, but I doubted that.

I glanced down at the PADD, suddenly very sure it held some
of the answers. Something was wrong with the golem that had
been following Oria, and clearly it was more involved than
just that.

"Fox?" Jadith said from a few feet behind me. "We're ready,
we are just waiting for you."

I nodded, placing my hand over the PADD. "Sure, let's go." I
said, turning around. "Just let me drop this in my bedroom."

She nodded, "Good. I'll go back and try to get Ren to shut
up. He keeps hitting on Santhara. I'm afraid if he doesn't
stop soon, she's going to break his neck."

I shrugged. "I see. Well, go keep him from being hurt before
he can shoot the arrow. Afterwards she can do whatever she
wants to him."

Jadith laughed softly, and headed back towards the fold
room.

I looked down at the PADD, and shook my head. It could wait
till later.

* * *

"Ren is quite full of himself," Oria commented a while
later. "All that strutting around and preening! I though you
had exaggerated that."

I shook my head, adjusting Beca, who was resting in my arms,
curled up, her face pressed against my chest. "Now you know
better," I responded, giving her a smile.

She smiled back, holding Adric in her arms, and gently
rocking him to sleep. Romana was already sound asleep in her
crib, curled up under a blanket, and looking far too cute
for her own good.

"At least he made the shot," I added, stroking Beca's large
tail. "Which, in the end, is really what he was here to do."

My wife rolled her eyes, "He didn't have to boast about it
for the next ten minutes."

"True," I commented.

She bent her head down to nuzzle Adric's cheek. He stirred
softly in her arms, but made no further sound. Gently she
lowered him into his own crib, and tucked him in.

I followed suit with Beca, placing her gently in her own
bed, and covering her. I paused for a moment, to stroke a
finger down the side of her muzzle. She was already starting
to look like her mother.

It was strange to think how different things were from just
a year ago. Naomi was still a young girl, with no hint of
the short future she had left to her. Oria and I were
finally becoming a couple, trying to take things slowly
between us.

Rhea and I were still at odds in my own mind; now we were
each our own person. The Council was still alive, struggling
to rebuild itself from the events of the years before. Page
was still around back then, of course she was technically
still here. I had never heard of Cain before and Little Fox
was my only double.

Oria and I had yet to work out the problems with the Guild.
I had just started building ships, there was no shipyard
yet, there was no need for one.

A year ago... All the problems we had then now seemed simple
in retrospect. Now I had a wife, two children of my own
blood, and one granddaughter, who was only a few months
older.

I wouldn't trade that for anything.

"Fox?" Oria said, jolting me out of my reminiscing.

I turned around to look at her, and smiled, slowly I took
her into my arms and kissed her. She returned it eagerly,
pulling me closer to her as the kiss grew ever deeper.

She finally broke away after a few minutes had passed. With
a smile on her lips she took my paw in hers. "I love you,
Fox."

"I love you, too," I told her, clasping my hand over her
paw.

She cast a short glance around the room. "We better slip
out, we don't want to wake the kids."

I smiled, pulling her towards the doorway. Once outside I
shut it gently, leaving it open just a crack so we could
peek in on them later on.

"What were you thinking about back there, Hon?" she asked,
as we walked slowly down the hallway.

My response came in the form of a noncommittal shrug.

"You know, you haven't been yourself for the last few
weeks," she said in a gentle tone of voice.

"I've had a lot on my mind," I answered.

She looked at me, pausing in front of our bedroom door.
"Maybe we should talk in private," she said, reaching back
to open the door as she cast a short glance at our shadows.

I nodded, following her into the room, and closing the door
behind myself. I stood in the doorway, watching her as she
walked over to the bed. Her long skirt shifted around her
feet as she moved. Her tail followed behind in a short arc.

She had taken to wearing that type of skirts in the last
month, and I really didn't mind. I thought they made her
more attractive.

With a quick turn, she sat down on a bed, letting out a
short sigh in the process. "You've been so quiet of late,
Fox. Always focusing on this or that, jumping from one
project to another every moment. It's a pleasure to have you
home more often now, but you don't really feel like you're
here."

Wordlessly I walked over to the bed, sitting down beside
her. I could feel her drape her tail along the small of my
back, a sign of comfort from her.

"Really?" I asked in a soft tone.

She nodded.

"I guess I'm just distracted, maybe," I said, shaking my
head slightly. "Dealing with Cain, watching him die like
that. Knowing he was working with Ruhk. It really has shaken
me up."

I felt her arm around my waist, pulling me closer to her.
"Is that why you haven't been sleeping well the last few
days?"

I shook my head. "I don't know why I can't sleep. I think
I'm just worried about Little Fox and getting Samantha
home."

"You shouldn't be," she replied in a tender tone. "It will
work out if it's meant to work out. Now that you've set
things in motion, they will succeed or fail on their own. If
Little Fox doesn't come, you'll find some other way to get
Samantha home. If he does, then your problems are solved.
You don't need to worry about it any longer."

"I suppose you're right," I told her, placing a hand on her
leg.

A smile played over her face, eyes, and ears. "Of course I
am, I'm your wife."

I let out a soft laugh and started to tickle her leg. She
burst into giggles and returned the attack, forcing us both
backwards onto the bed. Where I landed on something hard,
forcing me to let out a yelp.

Oria pulled back immediately, a look of concern on her face.
"Are you all right?"

I nodded, sitting back up, and twisting around to retrieve
the book and PADD from the bed, right where I had left them.
"I landed on these."

"You really should put your things away when you're done
playing with them," she commented with a smile.

I picked both items up, and held the PADD out for Oria.
"This is yours, Hon. Ken said it has the information about
the golem spell on it."

"Oh!" she said with a soft purr, taking it from my paws.
"Have you read it yet?"

I shook my head, and rose to my feet, book in hand. "Not
yet. He was a bit worried about it for some reason."

"Well, let's just see what it says, then," she said, as she
activated it. I walked over to the dresser, setting the book
down top of it, putting it out of the way for a moment.

When I turned around, I was shocked. Oriana appeared to have
lost all her color, her mouth half open in surprise, a look
of panic and horror on her face.

I was instantly at her side. "Love, what's wrong? You look
like you've seen a ghost."

She closed her muzzle, and gulped, holding the PADD out for
me to read.

Worry filled me as I took it from her fingers. I quickly
read over the contents of the file. It was when I got to the
end that I understood what was wrong.

I had been right. Oriana had seen a ghost. A ghost from both
our pasts, held right in my hand.

The spell that had been used to make the golem, with its
unique locking symbol, had been made for, and only ever used
by one group of people.

The HammerHeads.

-----

This story is copyright 2002 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy
reprints limited to one per person, all other rights
reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may
not be removed.