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her chambers in front of her mirror as her handmaiden finished plaiting her long black hair and began to pile it on top of her head. Another servant, a chambermaid, arrived and spoke, “Pardon me, my Lady, but the captain of the guard has returned and is requesting time in your presence."
    "Tell him I shall be along,” was her response, and she waved her hand as if waving at a nagging insect. “That's enough, Marisol. I have more important things than beauty today."
    "Yes, my Lady,” said Marisol, who looked all of sixteen and curtsied as she scurried out of sight.
    The queen walked down her hallway and into a large, chandeliered meeting room where the massive brick fireplace was glowing. The captain of the guard and his second-in-command sat at a long table and stood as the queen entered the room.
    "My Lady."
    The slight first officer merely nodded his head and kept his eyes averted.
    "Captain Dennehy, tell me of the status of our rangers and what sort and number of chattel we have obtained."
    "Keep in mind, my Lady, it is only the first quarter of the moon. We do have till it is full."
    The huge man suddenly looked boyish as he fidgeted with his glass of port.
    "The number, Captain.” Her eyes narrowed and she looked almost catlike—a Siamese cat to the first officer.
    "Twenty!” he blurted out.
    " Twenty! You know full well that is not acceptable when our safety, as well as the shire's, depends upon our having obtained fifty by the end of the lunar cycle."
    "Yes, my Lady, I am aware. However, you must keep in mind that the shirefolk no longer bear children since they know their offspring's destiny. Those who do are able to keep them hidden, even from our best scouts."
    "Yes, I am aware that the pitiful, ignorant scum keep their spawn hidden. We must build up our efforts to find them. Double the scouts to increase the effort."
    "But, my Lady!” The second-in-command finally spoke. “That will leave the castle unguarded. As you know, rangers need to be trained with many ... um ... skills that our typical soldiers are unfamiliar with."
    "If we do not meet our quota, it will not matter how many soldiers or scouts you have to guard this castle or our shire..."
    "Understood.” The captain eyed his subordinate. “I will have Colin begin the training of extra men tomorrow."
    "I will expect to hear from you by week's end. Send some out into the wastelands, you are aware that sometimes, the rifts occur there and we may locate more there."
    The captain and his mate nodded and walked from the great room. Queen Ivana walked to the window and gazed up at the sun. She envisioned the first quarter moon and shuddered involuntarily as she put her hand to her throat protectively.

Chapter 10
    Little Girl Lost
    Raena sat in the cellar of the town library, glasses falling off the end of her nose and her dark brown eyes beginning to water from staring at the computer screen for several hours. “Chris, there isn't anything on this one either!"
    "Well, keep checking. It has to be in the microfilm somewhere."
    "Please, Chris, isn't there anything else?” Raena was beginning to resemble her twin in her frazzled, wild look and was becoming more desperate with every passing hour.
    A look of revelation shot across Chris’ face. “I may have some old town documents from the mayor to the chief of police...” The librarian hurried out of the room and up the stairs.
    Raena took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She fought back the tears as the familiar metallic taste, which always preceded a meltdown, filled her mouth. Suddenly, sadness turned to rage within her. When I find him, with God as my witness, I will make him regret his decision to take our child.
    Chris had reentered the cellar. “Ray, hon, are you okay?"
    "Yes. What did you find?"
    "Here's a whole pile of documents. Please be careful with them, they're originals and you'll need to look at them here. I'll be upstairs if you need me."
    "Okay. Thanks.” Raena squared her