"I'd like to give props for stopping the ‘killed Lothar' part," the sorcerer in question interjected.

"You did good," Red said to Lothar. "You saved our asses."

"I just did what you gave me time to do. You and Jane and well, a little help."

"What . . . what was that?" Talia asked, talking to Lothar but looking at Jane. "That light . . . was it..."

"I... don't know," Lothar said. "But my guess is yes . . . It was God or Order or whatever you want to call It."

“But, it really didn't seem to do anything," Croc said, obviously confused. “Did it?"

ALL eyes were on Jane. “It... I. . . I didn't see any .

God or anything. I didn't hear Him or Her. I just heard . . ." She stopped and looked at Robbie and then back to Red. “I heard your parents. They told me your name," she said.

“Her name? Her name is Red, isn't it?" Tarloh asked. It had never occurred to him that it could be any other way.

Red blushed. "No. I never really liked my real name . . . which will NOT be repeated," she told Jane with mock sternness. "When Jane whispered it . . ." Red shook her head. "I hadn't heard even HEARD that name in years. And no one knew it but Robbie and our folks. And then I heard their voices in yours a”

"What did they say?" Robbie asked. He wished he remembered more about them.

"That they loved you and were proud of both you for everything you've done," Jane replied warmly. "Mostly, I just think they wanted you and Red . . . especially Red at that moment, to remember what you were fighting for."

“Why . . ." Anya started, clenching her fists. "Why didn't It show up sooner? Why . . . couldn't it have helped Chris?" She may not be blaming Red for what had happened, but she had a burning desire to blame someone or something.

"It probably couldn't Lothar said slowly. "The light . . . it didn't appear until AFTER Chaos had pushed its way into our world.

Before, both sides could only really exert influence through stuff like dreams. And when it came through, it was already too late for Chris. You saw how fast it worked."

Anya looked wholly unsatisfied with that explanation, but decided to leave it alone.

“We all have people we care about," Jane said, laying her head on Red's shoulder. "Maybe what It wanted was to remind us what was at stake."

Red stood up. "Has Chris been buried yet?"

Tarloh shook his head. "Not yet."

"Let's do it," she replied. "We'll bury the man who was our friend and then maybe celebrate what he . . . what all of us . . . fought for."

Anya hugged her friend. There would be hard times ahead for both, dealing with what had happened. But they would remain friends. And all that would have to wait for another night. They would celebrate, then take the Heaven's Eye back down south. Lothar was convinced that he wasn't meant to have it and that it should be buried somewhere safe. After that . . . who knew?

The dams of emotion that had been built up over the last month had finally burst. The Strays were almost afraid to feel relief, because they were so used to have something bigger and badder lurking around the next corner. But there was nothing "bigger" or "badder" than what they had just faced down. Red watched her comrades slowly beginning to unwind. Talia was hanging off Tarloh's arm, Besla was getting Robbie drunk for some reason, Mindy and Arthur were spending some time together . . . even Lothar was getting some attention from one of the succubae who had been impressed my the sorcerer's courage over the last week or so. Red's eyes met Anya's at one points and they both forced smiles. But neither one of them were kidding themselves ... it would take some time to accept what had happened. But with Croc being the perfect gentleman at her arm, Anya would at least pretend to forget.

Red was feeling a bit out of it herself. She looked around to find Jane, but the small woman was nowhere to be seen. The redhead raised her nose and tested the air. Jane had gone outside. Red followed the scent trail and found herself on the path back up to the cave. She went slowly, not wanting to spook her girlfriend. She saw light flickering from deep inside those stone walls and through the open door that Red herself had constructed and put up.

She peaked in the door and saw Jane. The long-haired girl had slipped into her footie-pajamas and was lighting candles placed on the book crates they were going to use as furniture. There were a couple of cans of some kind of soda next to the bed, stolen from the Strays' stores. Jane grabbed some flowers, similar to those found in the nearby woods, and sprinkled some of their petals on the blanket.