A Fox in the Works
                    Singularity Collapse

                             By

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter Eight

Samantha listened to the rain as it came down, pounding on
the soft ground and the thick leaves of the trees, falling
down in big fat drops into the fire and the camp around her.

She was still in the long cotton gown from the night before,
now marred with mud, dirt and gunpowder burns. She huddled
under it, her knees pulled to her chin and her arms, bound
by rope, wrapped around her legs. Her legs were bound
loosely, loose enough that she could walk or ride when they
wanted her to.

Her kidnappers stood around her; a half dozen well-armed men
who looked angry to be standing out in the forest, huddled
around a campfire in the pouring rain. Occasionally one
would glance her way with a great deal of anger, but none of
them laid a hand on her unless they had to.

The leader of the group, an older man with a wrinkled face
and dark eyes, stood up from the fire and walked over to
where she was sitting. "Want some food?" he asked, offering
her some of what he was eating.

She turned her head away from him, letting out a snort as
she tried to curl her tail up, only to be frustrated by the
fact that the fabric had been cut from her clothing to aid
in her captivity.

The leader sighed softly. "Come on, you need to keep up your
strength. We have a long way to go," he said as he touched
her shoulder.

"Screw you," she snapped, twisting her hands in her bonds,
wiggling her fingers a bit. She had been working for hours
to loosen her bonds, and could almost touch the rope with
her middle finger.

The man sighed again and pulled his hand away. "Listen, I
know you don't care for me, but I'm just doing my job. We
can at least treat each other civilly. I'm Matthias," he
said.

Samantha sighed and turned to look at the man. With a grin
she lifted her hands and offered them up to him. "Since
you're being so civil, how about you cut these off?"

He laughed and shook his head. "You know I can't do that,"
he said.

She shrugged, and flipped him off with both hands before
pulling them out of his view.

He laughed again and took a bite of his food. "So, what's
your name?" he asked her, offering her his plate.

"Samantha," she said told him as she took the plate,
balancing it on her knees as she used one of her bound hands
to hold the fork and scoop the wet mash that was the food
into her mouth.

Matthias smiled and kept a hand on the plate, holding it
stable for her. "My men are already itching for you, but I
promise I won't let them touch you. That doesn't happen on
my watch."

"You don't get to touch me either," she told him as she drop
the fork on the plate.

He gave her a pleasant smile as he took the plate away, "Of
course not. My wife would be enraged if I did," he replied
as he set the plate to a side. "I have some extra supplies
for you, so you can at least have something to sleep on
other than the wet ground."

"Thank you," she said as she pulled her hands back down,
starting to twist them again, feeling the rope give just a
little bit more as the finger of her right hand touched the
bindings. A small smile spread over her lips as she started
the familiar fire spell, keeping it small and contained to
the tip of her finger as she began to burn at the ropes.

Matthias frowned a bit as he looked up at the trees above
them. "What's that?" he asked as he rose to his feet,
sniffing at the wet air.

Samantha twisted her hands back further, trying to keep them
and the slowly rising smoke out of view of the men. A moment
later a flash of lighting illuminated the trees around them,
giving everything an electric glow for a few moments.

The crash of thunder rolled over them, shaking the trees.
With a wet crash the canopy let go, sending a rush of water
splashing down onto the fire, letting up a cloud of smoke
and steam, as the smoldering remains hissed loudly.

The sudden crash of water took everyone's attention, and she
took the opportunity, letting the flames grow stronger as
she twisted her wrists. With a rip the rope gave away and
her hands were free.

She grabbed the rope between her legs with both hand, and
pushed as much magic into it as she could, the flames rising
around her fingers and parting the rope in a second. Once
she was free she rose to her feet and started running into
the forest.

As soon as she left the relative cover of the canopy over
the camp she found herself in the pouring rain. In only a
few seconds it had soaked her to the bone, her nightdress
sticking to her skin as she ran. Her hair hung in soggy
strings down over her face and neck as the water ran down
into her eyes, blurring her vision.

Behind her she could her the sound of her captors rushing
through the forest, chasing after her in the darkness.

She ran further in, twisting around the trees that she could
barely see, trying to find her way by the occasional
glimmers of obscured moonlight through the trees and clouds.
It was when she was glancing at one shaft of light that she
felt the ground move under her feet.

With a yell she felt herself skidding in the mud and muck,
her feet sliding out from under her and robbing her of her
balance. She tumbled to the ground, landing hard on her side
and rolling down a steep ravine.

She came to a stop in flowing water, sputtering as she
pulled her head above it. It was ice cold against her skin
as she tried to get to her feet. With a yelp she found that
the cotton dress had gotten caught up on something and had
twisted around her legs.

The water was getting higher.

She twisted, and groaned as the clothing clung the skin of
her legs, growing tighter as she struggled to get free. The
rain was pounding on her face as she fought against the
water, and she sputtered as it brushed against her nose.

In the distance she could hear someone moving. The sounds
grew closer for a few seconds, then started to fade.

Samantha realized that she wasn't going to get free without
help, and in a short time the water would be over her head.

"Help!" she yelled out, giving up her escape. "I'm down
here!" she called out, sputtering as the water ran around
her face.

The sounds of movement stopped, and started to move again,
getting closer to her, then passing once more.

"Down here!" she called, fighting to lift her head from the
rising water. She could hear her captors, and now saviors,
moving near by, but still not reaching her.

In desperation she lifted one arm high out of the water, and
summoning all her strength sent a blast of fire and light
high into the air, illuminating the forest around her and
the muddy stream she was trapped in.

A few moments later she heard someone rushing down the side,
coming to a stop next to her. "I found her," he called out
as he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her head clear of
the water.

Two more men were down there in a moment, holding her and
cutting her gown free from the root she had been caught up
on. In a couple of minutes she was free of the stream, and
back up onto the solid ground, three hands holding her
tightly.

"That was dumb," Matthias told her as they all walked back
to the camp.

She nodded, feeling her hair and clothing stick to her. "I
had to try," she told him, miserably.

He nodded, patting her on the back as they neared the edge
of the camp. "Of course, but we're going to have to keep you
under lock and key from now on."

Samantha sighed and nodded her head as she was sat down back
in the same spot as she had started. Matthias held her
tightly as the men rebound her legs.

"Bring the gloves," he said. A few moments later one of the
men came forward holding a pair of black, fingerless gloves.
He put them on her hands, pulling the cords around the
sleeves tight to her wrists then knotting them tightly.

"What are these?" she asked, trying to flex her fingers, the
circulation nearly cut off from the bonds.

Matthias gave her a small smile. "They will keep you from
doing magic again, or doing anything else with your hands."

She shook her head and allowed them to tie the ropes back
around her wrists, a little looser this time, as there was
little she could do. "I had to try," she repeated.

"I'm glad you did," he told her with a smile as he turned to
the fire, trying to start it again so they would all have
some warmth for the night.

* * *

A fat drop of water landed heavily on Rhea's muzzle, causing
her to let out a snort as it sank through her fur. Pulling
her head back she looked up with one eye, watching the
ceiling above her as it shed another drop of water.

Twisting herself around in the confined cage she was trapped
in, she moved out of the way of the leak, only to have
another drop land on her rump.

With another snort she tried twisting herself again, as two
more drops landed on her. With a grunt and a snap of her
teeth she curled her body up on the floor, twitching softly
as each drop landed on her fur.

The Mage turned to look at her, a curious look on his face
as he focused on her. "You don't like the rain?" he asked.

She snorted and turned her head away from him.

Rodrick chuckled and set down his quill and stood from his
desk. "I'm sorry, there's not a lot I can do about it," he
looked up at the roof and shook his head. "These aren't the
best rooms in the Palace, but I can experiment safely up
here."

Rhea let out a loud snort and placed a paw over her muzzle,
partly covering her eyes.

"I would try a spell, but magic doesn't work on water," he
said with a shrug as he turned away from her and walking
back to his little desk, flexing his gloved hands as he sat
down.

He tapped his fingers on the wood surface, then turned to
look back at her, "I'm not sure what spell was used to
create you. I can barely find any traces of it, and what I
can find makes no sense," he mused.

"I don't suppose you would tell me?" he asked Rhea, and
watched her as she flicked her ears back. "Of course not...
you can't actually talk," he said as he turned back to his
works.

Rhea shifted a bit, trying to get out of the worst of the
leaking rain as it continued to drip down on her. She
pressed her back to the cage. It wasn't large enough for her
to stretch out all the way and after only a few hours she
was already cramped.

He sighed and turned back to look at her. "I'll try to get
you a bigger cage tomorrow," he said watching as she twisted
herself against the wrought iron bars. The cage had
originally been made for the small animals that he
experimented on, and he had hoped the lioness would fit in
it, not realizing just how big she really was until it was
too late.

She wanted to snap at him, to tell him to just let her go,
but she kept the words back. It wouldn't do to show him that
ability just yet, and the more he thought of her as an
animal the better her chances of escaping, and of finding
Fox.

A sudden pounding came at the wooden door of the room
causing both her and the Mage to jump, and causing her to
hit her head on the bars. Rodrick pulled himself out of his
seat and walked across the room as the pounding came on the
door again.

"I'm coming," he called out as he brushed his hand over the
wooden door, deactivating the spells that covered it. With a
sigh he pulled it open, and was surprised when Zain pushed
into the room.

Rodrick smiled and motioned the lighter skinned man inside,
"I'm glad to see you," he said as he slammed the door. "I
need to see the other homunculus, the spells on her are so
weak I can barely see them," he said pointing towards Rhea.

Zain nodded his head as he looked around the room, he hand a
large bundle cradled in his arms that he tried to balance
with limited success. "That would be a problem. It's gone."

"Gone?" Rodrick snapped, "How the hell did that happen? I
know Alexander's guards can be brutal, but I can't believe
they killed her!" he snapped, throwing his hands up as he
stomped to his desk. "It's useless now. When the homunculus
dies so does the magic in it. I'm going to really have to
pick at the spells on Rhea to see how she was created."

Zain, who was the younger of the two by a few years, let out
a chuckle and walked over to the Mage. "No, you don't
understand. It's not dead, it escaped."

"Escaped?" Rodrick asked as he sat down at his desk. "How
could she have escaped?"

"By killing one man, and severing the arm of another," the
other man replied, his voice growing serious.

The Mage sat dumbfounded at this news. Never in his memory
had a magical creation turned on a human; it just wasn't
possible. The very core of the spells used to create them
prevented that. "We have to find her," he said after he
composed himself.

Zain shook his head. "The King has already called for it to
be captured and executed."

"That can't happen! I need Fox; I have to see how she was
made," Rodrick said as he clenched his gloved hands.

"You know how the King gets about these sort of things,"
Zain replied in the tones of a familiar joke between old
friends.

With a sigh the Mage rubbed his head, a frown spreading over
his face. "Yes, I know. Offer a reward for her. I want to
properly dissect the spell that made her."

Zain nodded, then dropped his load onto the Mage's desk.
"There are more pressing issues. We found this in their
possessions," he said as he unwrapped the cloth, revealing
the Third Holy Relic.

For the second time in as many moments the Mage sat in
shock, starting at the item on his desk. "How... they
couldn't...," he paused and looked closer at it. "Is it
real?"

"We can't tell," Zain replied.

Rhea turned her head, trying to look through the bars of the
cage to see what they had. She felt her heart sink when she
saw that it was their replica, then shook her ears as more
rain fell on her.

Rodrick leaned back in his chair and started to work his
gloves free of his hands, opening the clasps slowly as he
stared down at the item. "It look's perfect; if it's a fake
it's a masterful one," he said, pulling his gloves off as he
spoke. Gently he touched his scarred fingers to the golden
surface. "It's cool to the touch, and I can feel no magic
from it. It's a fake. Does the King know?"

"No," Zain replied with a shake of his head. "I wanted to
confirm what it was with you before I took this to him."

The Mage nodded his head as he ran his fingers over the
carvings on the item. "I wonder why they would have
something like this? If I hadn't handled the Relics myself
then I wouldn't even be able to tell. The only thing this
would be useful for is to steal the real one."

A short laugh escaped Zane, "So that's why they were here!
they were going to steal the Third Relic!"

"Apparently, or they had other plans. Still it is
interesting," he said, picking up the replica and holding it
gently in his hands. "It's too heavy as well," he commented.

Zane nodded as he walked around the room, rubbing his arms.
"So I noticed," he said, stopping for a moment to look down
at Rhea. She looked back at him, and gave a low growl.

"Interesting... the two homunculi are of the same species,
one is just more... human than the other one," he commented
as he watched the lioness.

"So I noticed," the mage said as he placed the fake on his
desk. "I think whoever created them used the same base
species, probably the same as Rhea."

Zain walked back around to stand behind the older man. "Why
do you insist on giving them names and genders?" he asked.

Rodrick paused and looked down at his hands, flexing his
fingers slowly as his mind raced for a proper explanation.
"It was just the way that I was raised," he finally said.

The other man frowned for a second, and then nodded his
head, reading between the lines. "I see," he said.

Leaning back the mage returned his gaze to the fake Relic.
"We could use this," he said after a few moments of thought.

"How?" Zain asked.

"Well, if we claim that it was found inside the Highest's
things, and that the Church was trying to remove the Relics
for themselves, then we could take them, to protect them
from the Priests and to keep them available for everyone. It
would give Alexander credibility when he takes over the
Church."

A smile played over Zain's face at this thought. "Yes, I can
see that. That would be useful for us. I'll present this in
the morning, and by noon the Relics will be in the Palace."

Rodrick nodded as he laced his fingers together. "I would
like to see The Sin's Scepter. Its ability to focus magic
would be of a great use to me it understanding the spells
used to create Rhea."

Zain nodded as he reached over to pick up the fake. "I will
arrange for it; you'll have it by nightfall tomorrow," he
said as he started to wrap the gold item up in the cloth he
had brought it in.

"Wait a moment," the mage said as he picked up the cloth,
unfolding the black material and holding it up to the light.
Rhea clenched her body slightly as she recognized the
material as Samantha's cloak. "There's quite a few spells on
this," he said as he ran his fingers over the cloth.

"Very interesting," he muttered.

Rodrick shifted the cloak around, fingering the edges with a
smile. "I've never seen anything like this before! This
magic isn't physical, it's more elemental than that. It must
be the same magic that created Rhea and Fox; if I can
understand this, I can understand how they were created."

"I'm happy for you, but I have to take this back to my
rooms," Zain said as he picked up the fake and balanced it
in his arms.

Rodrick nodded, not really paying any further attention to
the man. Instead he was engrossed in the alien magic.

With a shake of his head Zain left the room, moving slowly
to keep from dropping the fake relic. The mage noticed when
the door was closed, and with a wave of his scarred hand
resealed the spells that covered it.

Rhea watched this with idle curiosity, pleased to know that
she wouldn't be killed for the moment, and more pleased to
have learned that Fox had successfully escaped his
captivity.

With a sigh she curled herself up into a tight ball, cloning
her eyes and draping her tail over her eyes to block the
worst of the dripping rain as she listened to the Mage as he
studied the cloak.

<<If you keep that up, you'll go blind,>> she said, keeping
her head low and hoping he wouldn't realize she was talking.

"What? Who's there?" he asked, lifting his head to look
around the room.

Rhea let out a soft chuckle, but said nothing more as she
let her eyes close, and drifted off to sleep.

   To Be Continued...

-----

This story is copyright 2005 by Fox Cutter. Hardcopy
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reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
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