Lightning sparked and, for an instant, the room flared white without shadows. Frita sat her post with her sword pressed against her knee and her arms holding it rigid and ready. Her dark eyes glared at the child. She listened to her, watching her sleep. She listened to the storm rage outside. She listened to the manor and its creaks and moans against Hauge's howling wind.

    It had taken hours of calming and soothing the child to get her even to hold down hot broth without heaving it back up. It took even longer to get the child to rest. Even after Lady Fantista gave the child a command to make her sleep, she still moaned and tossed in nightmare. Lord Frito and Lady Fantista sat by her side until she finally drifted to sleep. Frita remained on guard, watching the child.
    Lightning flashed white again and the child suddenly sat bolt upright in the bed. Her eyes blinded by the white light, she sat blinking to see as her chest heaved in pain. Frita slipped quickly across the room, laying her sword on the floor by her feet, and took the child in her arms. Imitating her mother, she soothed and cooed to the child.
    Gasping as the tears rolled quickly on her face, the child reached out and grabbed onto Frita with all her might. Sobbing, coughing, she tried to speak through her pain, but her words stumbled in her throat. "A beast!" She cried, "A beast under the bed!" She finally blurted out, burying her face into Frita's shoulder.
    Frita felt awkward. She had no concept of what to do, what to say to the poor suffering child. "There is no beast under the bed." Frita tried to use her voice like her mother would, but it cracked awkwardly and didn't help at all.
    The child swallowed hard and gasped again. "His name is Thumber! He is coming after me!" Her fingers dug harder into Frita's back as if she was never going to let go.

    Frita wanted to call for her mother, but she knew it would only upset the girl more. She gripped the girl's arms and pulled her away far enough to look her in the eyes. The child used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears as Frita glared at her. "There is no beast in this house." Frita said firmly. "You are safe here." Frita's words drove into the girl as the child held back her fear. "You had a dream, child." She brushed the child's black hair from her wet face. "A dream cannot hurt you." Frita's words were clear and somber.
    The little girl's lips bent downward as she tried to be brave. "Bbu but..."
    "But no." Frita tried a soothing voice like her mother again. "There is nothing under the bed." Frita could see the child's terror on her face. Frita held the child's tiny hand and leaned over the bed. Lifting the tick, she went to look under. The little child gripped the shoulder of Frita's shirt. Frita took both of the girl's hand in one, and caressed the girl's face. "There is nothing there." She whispered. "I will show you." Frita again bent over and the tiny child held her breath and watched her.

    The lightning flashed and the thunder roared as Frita was jerked from the bed, her hand grasped the sheet and dragged it with her as she disappeared under the bed.
    The little girl sat paralyzed with her eyes glaring wide, exposed to the thunderous storm that raged outside her window. Trying to scream out, her breath rasped in and out of her throat as her voice tried desperately to catch it.
    The child screamed louder than the howling wind, louder than the storm, louder than Okshiru's fury.
    The door flung open as Lady Fantista darted in, her elvish eyes burned silver in the dark, piercing the shadow to show the girl on her knees, her body lifting and forcing herself to scream. Lady Fantista swept to the bed, her arms swept out to comfort the girl.
    "NO!" The girl screamed, "He will get you!" The tiny girl shoved at her, pushing her away. Lady Fantista gripped the fighting child into her arms and swept her from the bed into her grasp. The girl screamed into Fantista's shoulder, "He will get you! He will get you!"
    Frito stepped out of the shadow. His face drawn, he scowled as he entered the room, tying his robe's belt. The tiny child's voice cracked in a horse whisper as she could no longer scream. "He's under the bed! He's under the bed!" Fantista denied this idea. Cooing to the child that it was a dream, the child wailed at her with angry fists. Frito looked at the bed and saw the hand-and-a-half sword lying by it. He charged at the bed, shoving it across the room, sliding against the stone floor.
    There was nothing there.
    He dropped to his knees, his fingers slid across the rock testing its surface. Like a hot coal he found it, sucking into the stone like a vortex. Lightning flashed and exposed the black blood bleeding out of the floor.
    Magic!
    He probed into it, using his arcane skills to identify it, but it was too late. He could feel it slip from his fingers, like dry sand in an hourglass.
    And it was gone.