Sagon returned to the castle and gave the key back to the queen.

"You are looking much better," she observed. "Did you enjoy the Gryphon Key?"

"Very much so, your Majesty," Sagon bowed. They talked for a few minutes about Sagon's plans for the future. The queen offered him a promotion if he would stay with the army, preparing to march against the enemy in the east. But once again he declined.

"Your Highness," Sagon began, unsure how to proceed.

The queen watched him in amusement. She had a feeling that she knew what was coming.

"The Gryphon Key," Sagon tried again.

"Yes?" The queen was no help at all.

"Does, um, does he belong to you?" Sagon finally got the words out.

"Alas, no," the queen replied. "He belongs to the Palace, but I have an option on him. Why, are you interested?"

Sagon caught the amusement in her tone, and smiled at her wryly. The queen had been around a long time, and not much got past her. "Yes, very. In fact, I thought I would inquire about purchasing him," he admitted.

The queen smiled. "Well, keys are very expensive. But maybe I can assist you."

Lio scratched idly at his wrist. For some reason, both of his arms had been itchy lately. He was restless and bored. The aftermath of a Master was always difficult, but losing Sagon had hit Lio particularly hard. He missed the warrior more than he would ever admit, especially to himself.

Sighing, Lio decided to do his exercises. He tried his meditation and yoga first, but couldn't summon the proper peace of mind. Irritated, he got up to perform one of his favorite Tai Chi routines. Stepping out, Lio grimaced. His ankle twinged, and he shifted his weight. The other ankle was sore, too.

Lio looked down. They didn't seem swollen, and Lio couldn't remember anything he might have done to twist his ankles. Ignoring the pain, Lio moved into the familiar routine. By the time he was done, Lio was breathing hard and sweating.

Annoyed with himself, Lio ran a bath and settled in to soak his aches away. He was just climbing out of the tub when the page knocked on his door. "Come in," Lio called.

He winced as he limped out to the main room, still rubbing the towel over his body. The page set the tray on the table and turned around. He noticed Lio's limp.

"Are you all right?" the boy asked. He had helped to take care of Lio when he was injured, and knowing that Lio's latest Master had just left, was somewhat afraid that the Gryphon Key had hurt himself again.

"Just sore," Lio assured him. "Must have twisted my ankles somehow."

"Should I send for the healer?" the boy asked.

"No, no. If I'm not better by tomorrow I might call for him. But let's just see how it goes." Lio knew that they would be keeping an eye on him to see how he would react to his Master's leaving. Lio scratched at his wrist and sent the page away.

After just a few bites of the fragrant stew, Lio decided he wasn't very hungry. In fact, he felt kind of funny, all hot and sweaty. But he had just had a bath, and had not done any exercises or activity that would make him perspire. Lio drank the cool juice, hoping that would make him feel better.

His stomach did feel better, but his head felt tight and achy, as if he had drunk too much wine. Lio had never been sick at the Palace, and didn't recognize the symptoms that plagued him. All he knew was that when he stood, his ankles and feet hurt, his head felt dizzy and sore, and his stomach refused to stay where it belonged. Lio stumbled across the room and fell into his bed.

Lio woke several times during the night, scratching frantically at his ankles and wrists. His hands and feet were swollen and hot, throbbing with his pulse. Tossing and turning, Lio didn't even realize he had soaked the sheets with his sweat.

The page that brought his breakfast in the morning found Lio burning with fever, writhing in his bed and calling out for someone named "Sagon". Instead, he got Demetri, the healer.

"Easy, boy, this is just a cool, wet cloth. Leave it alone." Lio quit trying to remove the damp object from his head and opened his eyes.

"Demetri? What happened? Did I hurt myself?" Lio asked weakly.

"No, boy. You're just sick, that's all," the old man assured him.

"Sick? I don't get sick. Demetri, what's wrong with me?" Lio was scared. He had never felt this way in his life.

Demetri sighed. "I'm not sure, Lio. I've never seen anything like this," he admitted.

Lio started to lift his hand to his aching head, but winced when he saw his arm. The flesh around the tattoos was red and swollen, with lighter red streaks leading from his wrists down into his hand and up his arm.

"What is this?" he asked. His whole hand was swollen and painful. Lio quickly looked at his other hand, finding it much the same. His feet hurt, too, feeling hot and pulsing with pain.

"I don't know," the healer said. "I think it has something to do with your tattoo, but it's nothing as simple as an infection or blood poisoning."

Sagon sat in the stuffy office, glowering at the officious young man behind the desk.

"Well, there is one option of providing your own Key and housing him here. Or you could purchase exclusive rights to a Key already in residence. If that is not within your budget, you can buy into a share of a Key, guaranteeing you access for a specific time period as specified. Then, there is…"

"No, you don't understand," Sagon said in impatience. "I want to buy a Key outright from here. Take him with me."

The young man blinked his eyes rapidly. "Well, they are, as you know, very expensive. We would have to average his yearly earnings for the Palace, factor in his projected income generating potential taking into account his age and the years of possible service left…"

"Can you just give me a price?" Sagon growled.

"Did you have a specific Key in mind, or one with a particular specialty?" the clerk asked.

"The Gryphon Key," Sagon stated.

The man frowned. He had heard something about that Key lately, but he couldn't quite remember what. He turned from Sagon to consult a large ledger book on a table behind his desk. After much 'hmm-ing' and 'um-hmmm-ing', he scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Of course, you understand, this is just an initial offer. I would have to clear any final offer through the business manager." He slid the piece of paper across the desk to Sagon.

Sagon looked at the paper and then up at the young man as if he had lost his mind. "Have you lost your mind?" he asked. "This is ridiculous. I could buy five top quality slaves for this amount down at the market."

"That is, of course, your choice. But I would like you to consider the training our slaves receive, not to mention the initial outlay we make in room and board."

"Oh, you've recouped your money ten times over, I would say," Sagon sniped. He looked back at the piece of paper and wrote another figure below it, shoving it back at the young man.

The man looked at the figure then smiled and shook his head. "Well, sir, all I can say is I will talk to my manager. Would you wait here for a moment?"

Demetri handed the bowl to the young page to clean. Lio had long since emptied his stomach, but was still heaving wretchedly. He was only bringing up a thin, bitter fluid now, and could not even keep water down. He was dangerously ill.

"Well?" Alexir asked, hovering anxiously on the other side of the bed. He fingered the paper in his pocket, a message from the queen. He had grown very fond of Lio during the years, and hated to see the young man suffering. He hated to see any of the Keys under his care suffer, but that was part of the nature of his business, and he tried to provide the best healers he could find. The Palace was not often touched with illness, and Lio's condition had the whole staff worried.

Letting Lio's head fall back to the sweat soaked pillow, Demetri sighed. "Well? He's going to die, and there is nothing I can do about it," Demetri stated flatly. The healer had not the slightest idea of what was wrong with the Gryphon Key; none of his potions or herbs had made the least difference in his condition.

"Sagon," the weak voice from the bed tugged at the healer's heart. "Take me home, please." Lio had been pleading with his latest Master since he had fallen into delirium. Demetri picked up the wet cloth as Lio began to cry again.

"Please, I must get home. Sagon?" Tears leaked from Lio's eyes. He no longer had the strength to sob. Twisting on the bed, Lio cried out as pain shot through him from his ankles and wrists.

The tattoo marks of the thorny vine that wove around his skin had begun to bleed. Not that the skin was broken, the dark markings just seemed to ooze blood steadily. Demetri had wound loose bandages around the areas, but Lio's hands and feet were swollen and inflamed, hot to the touch and excruciatingly painful. Dark red lines ran up his legs and arms toward his body. Demetri knew that as soon as those lines reached his heart Lio would die. Demetri looked up as Alexir left the room.

Sagon heard the hushed voices outside the small office where he was waiting. He stood up and went to the door. Outside, in the main lobby, the young man he had been negotiating with was talking with a much older man and another man, dressed as a senior page of the Palace. They all stopped talking and looked at him. Sagon frowned.

The older man said something else to the other two then moved toward Sagon. "Sir, if you would follow me, there seems to be a… situation involving the Key you have been inquiring about."

Sagon shivered in a stray draft then followed the man to a much larger, luxurious office.

"My name is Vacarod," he introduced himself. "Your name is Sagon, is it not?" Cautiously, Sagon nodded. The man consulted a sheet of paper in front of him. "You were recently the Gryphon Key's Master, is that correct?"

Sagon narrowed his eyes. These questions were beginning to sound very much like an interrogation.

"What's going on?" Sagon demanded. "Why all the questions? That you obviously know the answers to," he added.

Vacarod cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with Sagon's directness. "After you left, the Gryphon Key…"

"He has a name: Lio," Sagon snapped.

"Yes, of course. After you left, Lio became ill. He has been very sick. In fact, our chief healer thinks he is dying. But he has been calling for you. I would like to know if you… did anything to him."

"You think I hurt him? Or poisoned him?" Sagon was outraged. But to these people it might make sense. If the Key was too ill to perform his duties, then Sagon might expect a reduced price. Controlling his anger, Sagon sat straighter in his seat.

"No, I did not do anything to Lio to cause his illness," Sagon declared. "But I did find that I am capable of love once again. I came here for the sole purpose of freeing him from his slavery and taking him away with me. I am prepared to offer all I have in savings." Sagon stared challengingly at the man, knowing that he sounded like a love-sick teenager. But he wanted this man to know exactly how he felt and what his intentions were.

Vacarod smiled. "Very noble sentiments, I'm sure," he said dryly. "Look, have you thought this over? These Keys are ill equipped to make their way in the outside world. They really have no marketable skills. If you take Lio out of here, you will be completely responsible for him. He'll be like a child in a man's body. Are you prepared for that?"

"Yes, I am," Sagon replied. He had done little but think of all the ramifications of his decision since he had left the Palace.

"Well, in that case, I think I'd better take you to see him. Frankly, Demetri doesn't think he'll live." Sagon felt a cold chill as he stood, waiting for the other man to lead the way. He refused to think that, after all this time, he could come so close to having someone who really loved him just to lose him.