Char returned a few hours later, but he wasn't carrying any clothes that I could see.

"Let's go," he said, smiling, but his blue eyes had a dangerous glint.

"I thought you were bringing clothes back," I said, meeting his smile with a frown.

"I said I'd find something and be back. I never said anything about bringing clothes here. You were the one who was so impatient - or don't tell me you're scared?"

Rath had already made for the stairs, ignoring both of us. I set my jaw, glaring at Char's sly grin.

"Not scared, cautious." I brushed past him after Rath.

We emerged on the stone platform by the underground lake. I looked out over that black, glassy surface, my stomach twisting. It didn't help that I was between Rath and Char, and Char was making a point of standing way too close to me.

"Here," he said, handing me a dried leaf.

"Is this kelp?" I asked, studying it as he handed Rath another leaf. It was thin, about the size of my hand, and completely odorless.

"Eat up. That'll last for about an hour."

And then, with a splash, he disappeared into the black water.

I looked over at Rath - he had already taken a bite out of his. I followed suit. It was tasteless, too. I really felt like I was eating paper. I forced it down, and as I took my last bite, Char popped out of the water in front of me. He grabbed my ankles and yanked me into the water.

I was mad at him, and scared of getting in that water, but all that was forgotten the moment I opened my eyes. It was a completely different world below the surface. He released me and circled close around me as I got my bearings, his black fishtail lightly slapping my face. "Welcome to my world, Ashley."

The water was crystal clear and so bright it looked sunny. It was easy to see a long distance in every direction. Rows of plants grew far down below in underwater fields, with small schools of colorful fish swimming in and out of the leaves. I was automatically holding my breath, but I carefully exhaled and forced myself to try to inhale. It was easy. It felt like I was breathing in air, except for this weird tingling sensation as water filled my mouth and nose. And I could see and hear clearly, without any distortion. There was a splash beside me and a patch of darkness broke the surface above as Rath jumped in, but the light quickly pulled back together and all was as bright as before.

"Is that algae?" I asked, looking up at the surface. Talking was easy, too. I couldn't see through the soft glow to the cave above.

"Yeah, the same stuff that's in dragon caves. Come on." Char grabbed me by the waist with one arm and took off, his tail propelling him through the water much faster than I could have swum.

"Hey, let me go!" I protested, glaring at his laughing blue eyes.

"We'll get there faster this way," he said, pulling me tighter to his side. I could feel the undulations of his tail against my hip.

"Well, you don't have to hold me this close. What about Rath?" I asked, trying to push away from him.

"He'll catch up. Just enjoy the ride, Ashley." His other arm wrapped around me, too, holding me against his chest.

"You're ridiculous," I complained, but although I put my arms between us to provide some barrier, I stopped fighting. I turned my head to look away from him and watch my surroundings, but my eyes could barely keep up as everything flew past. He really was moving very quickly. The world around was a blur of colors - the grays of stone, the tans of sand, the greens of kelp, the myriad colors of fish and flowers. I tried to take in as much as I could, ignoring the very awkward way Char was holding me, the movement of his muscular tail against me.

"We're here," he spoke into my ear, finally letting me go as we broke the surface. I pushed away from him quickly, treading water as I looked around. We had come up some sort of tunnel into an air pocket, and another stone platform was just ahead. I swam over to it and pulled myself out, turning back to look at the water. It looked black and glassy here, too. That must be the algae. Odd that one side was pure black, and the other was soft, warm light.

Char emerged, breaking the surface of the black glass as he pulled himself onto the stone. The fishtail was gone, and he looked like an elf again. A wet elf. He grinned widely as he approached me, but I frowned and backed away.

"Hands off. I'm guessing this is where you live?"

"When I'm not in Hell, yes. I found some clothes that I think will suit you quite nicely, if you'll follow me."

I glanced back at the water. Rath would probably take a while to catch up to us. I reluctantly followed Char around a corner, where the cavern opened up into a single large room. The setup reminded me a bit of a campsite. There was a bed, a small stove, and very little else. It was completely undecorated. Char went to the bed, reaching under it to pull out a chest. He opened it and handed me some folded red cloth. I took it, shaking it out in front of me.

"You've got to be kidding," I said with dismay. It was a red dress, strapless, tight, and would probably cut off just above my knee on one side of the skirt. The other side was longer, reaching to my ankles.

"You want to blend in, don't you?" he said. "Try it on."

"Not with you watching. And there is nothing about this that will blend in anywhere."

"Actually, mer prefer to wear such things. We like bright colors, and we want to have plenty of freedom for our tails when we're swimming."

"That explains the bottom half. What's your excuse for the top half?"

His sly grin said it all. "It'll look good on you."

I frowned at him. "Let me have a look in that chest. You've got to have something else."

He pushed it toward me, the lid still open. "See for yourself."

The chest was about as bare as the cavern. There was another outfit in there, but when I took it out, it was very clearly meant for Rath. It was a bright blue robe and much too big for me.

I sighed, looking back up at Char's glittering eyes. "Fine. But I'm not changing in front of you. Give me five minutes alone."

"I'd be delighted to," he said. He walked out of the room. I hesitated.

"Get back in the water. I'm not doing anything until I hear a splash," I shouted.

His head peeked around the corner at me. "Not very trusting, are we?"

"Char!"

"Char-sar. Alright, I'm leaving."

I listened for the splash, and then I walked to the doorway and peeked out to make sure all was clear.

"This is ridiculous," I muttered as I quickly changed into the little red dress. It wasn't a perfect fit, but it was significantly better than Rath's robe. I wished there was a mirror so I could see what it looked like. I pulled the topline up as far as it would go, uncomfortably aware of my partially exposed chest and my bare shoulders. Not to mention all the leg I was showing.

A whistle echoed around the cavern. I spun to face the doorway, where Char was leering at me.

"That wasn't five minutes," I snapped.

"You're dressed, aren't you?" he retorted, his eyes walking up and down me. "I chose wisely."

I blushed. "If we get to Tharus and it turns out you're having me on-"

"Char-sar. Move." Char was so intent on me that Rath's deep voice startled him, and he jumped and stepped aside. Rath stepped through the doorway, stopping when he saw me. His black eyes actually widened a bit. I blushed even more.

"Not a word," I threatened. "Your clothes are in here." I kicked the chest on the floor, crossing my arms over my chest with irritation.

"Don't you think we should extend the same courtesy to Rath-sar that I gave to you? Come along, Ashley." Char held his arm out, smiling broadly.

"Just start walking."

He dropped his arm to his side and shrugged. "As you wish, my lady."

I followed him back out to the water, careful to keep a safe distance from him. "So what's the plan? Are we just going to walk in the front door, or are we going to sneak in, or what?"

"A little bit of both. You see, I am well-known in this kingdom. We have an...arrangement, of sorts. As long as they do as I say, I don't kill everybody I see." His smile took on a wicked edge. "So if they see me coming, naturally they'll give me their full attention so you and Rath can head on inside without any questions."

It made sense, although it was weird to think that an entire kingdom knew exactly who and what he was and did nothing about him. But then again, I was thinking from the perspective of somebody who could take on a sara. Normal people couldn't. Still, if they all banded together against him...

"Ready, Rath-sar?"

I turned around as Rath joined us. The robe suited him well, although a more emotional face would probably match the bright colors better. I wished he'd stop staring at me, though.

"Yeah."

"Here we go!" Char grabbed me again and dove into the water.

"Stop doing that!" I protested, but he had already transformed and started to swim.

"I've got to enjoy what I can, Ashley," he grinned. "After all, when Lucifer's done with you, you probably aren't going to look this good."

The threat was sobering. Rath had made a deal with me - find his sister, or take me to Lucifer. His word was good. He wouldn't double-cross me, would he?

"I'll let you in on a little secret," I said. Char's blue eyes glanced back at mine. Fortunately, he had to watch where he was going, so at least he couldn't stare at me the whole time he was swimming. "I'm not going to Hell."

He smirked and glanced back at me again. "Oh? And how do you plan on escaping two sara?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out."

"I'm looking forward to it," he said, chuckling maliciously.

Indistinct, blurred colors whizzed past us as he swam. I was starting to get a headache trying to pick out individual things. It was a wonder he wasn't running into anything. But then again, he had the sharpest eyesight of all the sara. As much as I hated it, I had to just trust that he wasn't taking me somewhere horrible. He didn't seem the type to do that, though. He really was enjoying this whole game he thought Rath was playing. Finally, he came to a stop and released me. We were still deep underwater with no sign of civilization anywhere.

"So where's the castle?" I asked.

"It's a bit up ahead. We'll need to split up from here, so now we wait for Rath-sar." He was circling me again, his blue eyes teasing.

"Supposing you weren't playing a trick on me and this is really what mer women wear, there's still no hiding the fact that I'm a human. Got any ideas about that?" I asked.

"Of course," he smirked. "You and Rath are a new dragon couple that just moved into a nearby cave, and you've come to greet your new neighbors."

"So now I'm a dragon?"

He shrugged. "You can't tell a dragon from a human until it transforms." He glanced back the way we came. "Rath-sar will be here soon. I think he'll enjoy your cover story greatly."

"Do you treat all women this badly, or am I just exceptionally unlucky?" I asked, frowning.

"What's so bad about being complimented and given pretty clothes?" he asked, feigning injury.

"If that's all you were doing, I wouldn't be upset. But you keep looking at me like I'm a piece of meat."

"What can I say? I know what I like." Suddenly he swam in and kissed me hard, wrapping his arms tightly around me. I pushed him away, my face bright red, just as Rath came into view.

"There you are," Char said, grinning at Rath. "I was just getting one last kiss from your new bride before we part ways. Let me be the first to congratulate you. You've got yourself quite the little woman."

Rath's cold, impassionate face showed no feeling whatsoever. "So that's your plan," he said flatly.

"I thought you'd approve. I'll go on ahead and start working my magic. You just follow my lead." He flashed me one more irritating smile before he swam quickly away.

"He's a real pain," I muttered, but I started swimming after him. Rath came alongside me. "So apparently we're a new dragon couple that just moved in, coming down to greet our neighbors," I explained.

"Yeah, I got that. You're going to have to act like you like me."

I frowned. "Suddenly, this whole thing just got a lot less fun."