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story out of someone. He relished having his knights report to him without hesitation. No time wasted.
    Lanclor tried to blend into the shadows, observing like Commander Warren had asked. He crossed his arms and fought the urge to flap the water from his wings. His size and personality made it difficult to go unnoticed. After leaving a mound of paperwork and plans for the trip to R’kelo unfinished, he was eager to complete this favor to the Royal Guard.
    "Oh, yes. I guess that would be last week. Hareld went into town to sell vegetables, like he does every week, only this time he didn't come back for days. I went to look for him and found him just standing in a field. No vegetables, his clothes soiled, and this blank look on his face. He didn't seem to recognize me at first, then he seemed okay and let me lead him home."
    Nalia shook her head and tears streamed from her eyes. "I thought he had just caught a chill when he sat in his chair unmoving for a couple of days. Then, all of a sudden, he just jumped out of it and grabbed me. I struggled to get away and tripped him somehow. He fell hard and his head slammed the table. He didn't move after that. Hareld was always a gentle soul. I don't know what happened to him." She started wailing and Mikael comforted her until her weeping passed.
    Lanclor remained silent trying to total the number of incidents in the past month. With this one and the one from last week, they had a total of ten Changed men. That was double the number from last month. Warren was right to ask him to come along. The Knighthood would have to get involved with the investigation.
    Mikael and Lanclor left the farmhouse a few hours before dawn, heading back to the castle at the head of Mikael’s squad. Lanclor guided his horse around a deep puddle, ignoring his discomfort from the rain. He tried to piece together why people found in the middle of a field suddenly started killing with no warning.
    These past few cycles held one damn thing after another. More frequent Daemon attacks, husbands killing their families, and now Earthlings, of all things. They hadn’t seen Earthlings on Av’lor for a while and now they were popping up in the middle of the Barrens, for the Goddess’ sake. The knights were spread thin enough as it was.
    Mikael’s men remained quiet as they dismounted and headed to the Royal Guard barracks. It had been a long day of hard riding, dead bodies and grieving people. Lanclor knew Mikael would have to report on all of it this afternoon, so now was the only time to grab a few hours of sleep to recover his strength. Mikael and Lanclor guided their horses to the other side of the courtyard and the officers’ quarters.
    A groom took their reins and they dismounted. Without a word, a boy guided Mikael's exhausted mount to a clean stall while another stroked Lanclor’s mount’s drooping head. Mikael headed toward his house on soft feet, but she heard his approach anyway. The door flew open and a small girl with flowing brown hair ran down the steps and threw herself into his arms.
    "Mikael, you're finally home!"
    "Finally? I was only gone the usual amount of time. What kind of trouble have you managed to cause while I was away?" Mikael said as he tossed her into the air, giggles filling the quiet dawn.
    "I don't cause any trouble," she said after the giggling subsided. "Nana showed me how to bake bread last night! Did you know there are all different kinds of bread? There’s wheat, white, sour dough, oat, grain," Mikael smiled.
    Lanclor forgot his exhaustion for the moment as her excitement filled him. All of the death, all of the cruelty he saw every day; all was pushed to the back of his mind as he watched Mikael enjoy the time with his adopted daughter. Mikael glanced his way and gave him a curt nod.
    "I’ll provide any help I can, but we’re short on knights as it is." Lanclor walked over and took the reins from the groom. "Keep me informed of any new developments. I’ll keep in