"Ohhhh…help." Stormlight gulped and attempted to inch away. However, she seemed to be stuck to the ground. "Uh…hi," she squeaked. "Um…I’m sorry if you didn’t like me drinking from your lake. I…uh…didn’t know it belonged to you…"

"Get away from there, Stormlight!" she heard Hotohori yell.

"Not possible," she muttered. "He’s not letting me go…"

<<Through this lake, dost thou wish to pass>>

Stormlight blinked. The deep voice hadn’t come from any of them! "Excuse me?" she squeaked, staring through wide eyes at the Kelpie. "Did you just say something?"

The Kelpie snorted, shaking his wild mane. <<Through this lake, dost thou wish to pass>> he repeated, sounding impatient.

"Er…yeah, that’s the general idea," the Listian stuttered. "I’m trying to get to Jareth’s castle…"

<<Then first a riddle thou must answer>>

"Uh…okay." Stormlight blinked again. "A riddle is good. At least you aren’t gonna drown us…"

<<If thine answer is wrong, drowned shalt thou be>>

Me and my big mouth…

The Kelpie shook his mane again, sending water droplets flying. <<If thine guess is correct, this lake thou shalt pass safely through>>

"Uh…okay. Sounds fair. I guess." Stormlight looked back at her companions, who were staring at the Kelpie mistrustfully. "Um…anybody here know how to solve riddles?" she asked.

"Yui, I bet you could figure it out easily," Miaka said, looking at her friend. "You were always so good with those brainbuster games, remember?"

"Yeah, but our lives never depended on me being right before!" Yui protested, her eyes very wide. "What if I guess the wrong answer?"

<<Drowned shalt thou be>> the Kelpie repeated imperviously.

"Well, you’re a ton of comfort, aren’t you?!" Stormlight snapped, glaring at the mystical horse, who merely snorted and shook his mane again.

"Go ahead and shoot," Stormlight muttered.

<<Very well. Listen closely.

The Kelpie paused dramatically. <<What is it I speak of>> he asked. <<Answer this, and safely shalt thou pass. Fail, and a watery death lies in wait of thee>>

There were muttered curses all around, and Yui asked, "How much time do we have to answer this riddle?"

The Kelpie stamped his hoof, sending a spray of water into the air. <<When sets, and again rises, the sun, so shalt I return>> he replied. <<As that time passes, think carefully of thine answer, Maiden>>

"How about I give you the answer right now?" Stormlight suddenly announced, a smug grin spreading across her face. "Really, this is too easy! I know what the answer is! It’s so obvious…at least if you know anything about the Fae. The answer is…"

<<STOP>>

Stormlight shut her mouth with a snap at the Kelpie’s sharp command. His red eyes burned into her own as he added, very seriously, <<Thou may not answer this riddle. It is only for thine companions to decide>>

"WHAT?!" Stormlight shrieked. "Why the hell not?! I’m a part of this group too, you know!"

The Kelpie shook his mane. <<Thou may not answer. If thou breaks this rule, forfeit shalt this game be>>

"But that’s not fair!" Stormlight wailed. "I know the answer, and I’m part of the team!" She looked to the Seishi helplessly, but of course they could do nothing. "Can’t I even give them a clue?" she pleaded with the Kelpie. "Not even a tiny hint? They’re from ancient China, for cripe’s sake!"

<<It matters not. It is for they to decide. If thou answers for them, this game is forfeit>>

He stamped his hoof in finality, and a great splash of water rose to conceal his black form. When it settled again, the Kelpie was gone.

Stormlight sat by herself, staring out over the lake, her gaze troubled. "This isn’t fun anymore, Jareth. This is dangerous," she whispered. "If the answer is wrong, will you really let us be killed? Even me?" She wanted to think no…but part of her just wasn’t sure. This was a dangerous game they were playing, and she knew that Jareth could be ruthless. Even her status as a Listian might not save her, if he decided beating the Seishi was more important than a stupid story. She sighed, glancing back over her shoulder at her companions, who were sitting in an uneasy stillness some distance away from her. Someone had managed to build a fire, and they sat around it with the firelight dancing off pensive expressions. At the other end of the beach, a similar fire reflected off the Seiryu Seishi. They, too, looked less than happy. She didn’t blame them for being worried; she had no idea how one Kelpie could drown the entire lot of them, but she didn’t doubt he’d get the job done.

"Mind if I join you?"

Startled, she looked up to see Yui standing over her. Blinking, she nodded and moved over on her rock so Yui could take a seat beside her. "Any idea what the answer is?" she asked.

Yui sighed. "I have an idea…but I have no idea if it’s right or not," she replied worriedly. "What if I let everyone down?"

"You won’t," Stormlight reassured her. "We have faith in you." She hesitated. "Miaka has faith in you."

Yui frowned slightly and turned away. "That doesn’t give me much comfort," she muttered.

Stormlight bit her lip, wondering if she should say anything. But…she had the chance…why not take it? "Yui," she began carefully, "I understand why you hate Miaka so much. But…she isn’t to blame for what happened to you, and if you would take the time to listen, you’d realize that, as well."

"What?" Yui looked over at the older girl, her eyes wide. "What are you talking about?"

"I’m talking about what happened to you when you got pulled into the book, after you got Miaka out of it," Stormlight replied quietly. "When you were attacked."

Yui went pale. "H-how do you know about that?" she demanded. "Miaka told you, didn’t she?!"

"No, when has she had time? We haven’t been alone at all," Stormlight pointed out. "Trust me, I know. I know the whole story, from beginning to end. And Miaka didn’t come to save you because she didn’t know you were being hurt."

"That’s a lie," Yui whispered harshly. "She didn’t even try! And when she came back into the world, it wasn’t even for me!"

"Yes, it was. When she realized where you were, she went back right away, despite what her brother told her. She was bound and determined to find you, which is why she left everyone to risk journeying alone into the enemy kingdom to save you. She knew what could happen to her, but she went anyway. Her falling in love with Tamahome…that just happened. But as she told you, even if he hadn’t been there, she still would have returned for you."

Yui remained silent, her eyes haunted.

"Look, Yui, what happened to you was awful…but it isn’t as bad as you think it is," Stormlight continued.

"What are you talking about! I was attacked! I was…I was…and if it wasn’t for Nakago, I’d be dead!" the Miko yelled.

"Hasn’t it ever occurred to you that Nakago could be lying?"

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, "No! H-he wouldn’t do that! He saved me!" Yui protested.

"Yes, because he knew who you are and who you could be. He knew he could use you for his purposes. Don’t you think he could be manipulating you? He does everyone else, after all, or have you forgotten what he did to Tamahome? How he brainwashed him?"

Yui’s eyes were glittering with tears. "He was only trying to make me happy," she replied. "He only did what I wanted."

"I know, but it served his purposes as much as yours. You said so yourself, when he sent Tamahome back to kill Hotohori." Stormlight sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "He manipulates everyone he comes across. He uses them to serve his own purposes, then disposes of them when he’s through. And he has an ulterior motive in mind for this whole summoning business, I’ll have you know."

"How do you know that?" Yui asked shakily.

"I’ve known everything else, haven’t I?" Stormlight shook her head. "Ask Suboshi about Tamahome’s family."

Yui blinked. "Wh-what about them?" she asked.

"If we hadn’t been taken when we were, Suboshi was going to kill them. He might have even been on his way to do so. An old man and five children, all younger than twelve years old. The youngest was five, a sweet little girl. In the story, Suboshi sliced them apart. He butchered them, and all for revenge of his brother. And I believe Nakago set him up to it."

"You’re lying." But she didn’t sound convinced, and her face had blanched to pure white.

"Am I?" Stormlight sighed. "Hate is a horrible burden to carry around. It eats away at you and twists your thoughts until you don’t know the difference between right and wrong anymore. It makes you do terrible things that normally you wouldn’t do. You don’t believe Suboshi would kill…but if Miaka had been killed at the hands of Nakago in the shrine would you have even cared? Or have you come to depend on Nakago so much that you can’t even think for yourself anymore without him to hold your hand?"

"That isn’t fair!" Yui exploded. "Nakago was always there for me! He isn’t the one who abandoned me when I needed help! He saved my life! He cares about me!"

"Nakago doesn’t care about anyone but Nakago," Stormlight replied bitterly. "Anything else is only an act."

"I won’t listen to you speak that way about him!" Yui cried, leaping to her feet.

"Fine," Stormlight snapped, "but answer one question for me, will you? I’ve been wondering something. Doesn’t a Miko normally have to be a virgin in order to serve her deity?"

Yui blinked at her, then frowned. "I suppose so. What has that got to do with anything?" she asked irritably.

Stormlight shot her an incredulous look. "Do I actually have to spell it out? Has Nakago scrambled your brains that much? Miaka is a virgin, and Taiitsukun told her she needs to remain pure and untouched in order to serve as Miko, so she refused Tamahome’s proposal of marriage until the summoning is over, otherwise it would ruin everything."

"He proposed to her?!" Yui wailed.

Stormlight glared at her. "Try and focus here, will you? What I’m trying to say is, if Miaka is required to be a virgin in order to summon Suzaku, then why…aren’t…you?"

"Wh-what?" Yui looked absolutely shell-shocked.

She never even questioned it. Nakago really did do a number on the poor kid, Stormlight thought pityingly. "Think, Yui," she continued gently. "If you were really raped, how is it that you’re able to summon Seiryu anyway? Huh? What makes you so special that you can get away with breaking that cardinal rule?"

Yui looked like she was about to pass out. "But…I was…he told me…"

"He was lying. Isn’t it obvious? He let you assume the worst, and he did everything in his power to turn you against Miaka to force you to become Seiryu no Miko. What you overheard Miaka telling Tamahome, that was the icing on the cake. But you only heard part of that conversation, and you jumped to conclusions and ultimately let him succeed in manipulating you into joining the wrong team. You cursed yourself the minute you began to doubt Miaka’s intentions. She is your best friend, Yui. Are you really willing to throw that away just because you got the short end of the stick? I mean, how well do you know these people? You’d take them over her?"

Yui didn’t answer, but the tears that slipped slowly from her eyes were answer enough. She swallowed, attempting to regain control. "I want to be alone," she whispered. "I need to think."

"You can have my seat. I’ll make sure you aren’t disturbed," Stormlight replied, getting up. "Yui…it isn’t too late to make amends, you know."

"I am Seiryu no Miko. She is Suzaku no Miko, my sworn enemy. There is no turning back," the younger girl replied, but it was more of a mechanical response than a heartfelt one. She lowered herself onto the rock and stared into the water at her reflection, troubled.

Stormlight watched her for a moment before turning away, hoping against hope that she had actually gotten through to her.