[quote]"Thank you, but I did not do this to be rewarded. I only wish to bring the Forest back from the dark place it has become." She remembered Tyaelaem's tale about how this forest was once a lively place before the dragon was sealed away. "I am no longer Princess of Riverforde. I am the Lady of Light and I wish only to protect and save those that need it." She hoped the Lady of the Pond understood that she was included in that statement.[/quote]
The Lady's form rippled like water, but her thin smile never wavered.

[b]"[i]Do[/i] you?"[/b] There was a lilt of amusement in her voice. [b]"Tell me, whom have you helped? Whose life is better now that they've met you? The boy who held that Lantern before you? The old pirate who tried to protect you? The spirits still bound to the Lord of Shadow? The river boy? Hania, Randold, Talan, Simon. Reus. Tyaelaem."[/b] Her eyes were cold.

She pressed a hand to her heart. [b]"I am the first to be indebted to the Lady of Light, am I not? You've decided you have no enemies, that your intentions are pure. That you will never return to your throne at Riverforde and your husband-to-be, instead to restore the gods and spirits to a foreign land. To save us all."[/b]

Her smile broadened slowly, and she raised a thin hand. The gold-flecked water around the raft began to swirl and churn.

[b]"I'm sure you've realized by now that it is not an accident that you were brought here, Anise Sinclair -- but it is not the reason you think."[/b]

Cold water rushed up out of the lake and surrounded Anise's head, filled her mouth and nose, forced itself down her throat. The blue Lantern did not react, but was only passive and hollow. It did not see danger.

[b]"You amuse me. You may well accomplish all you declare. But first you may wish to ask yourself what happened to the last Lady of Light."[/b]

When Anise awoke, she was lying face-down and soaked on the raft, floating dangerously close to the shipwreck and the gryphon that could spot her at any moment. The Lady of the Pond had disappeared.

An elegant rune shimmered blue on the back of Anise's right hand. It slowly faded away.

[hr]

[quote]"Your work, I take it." She'd meant to sound appraising, but her words came out in what could only be called a wondered hush. The sound of her voice pulled her back and she quietly berated herself. She needed to get it together.[/quote]
[b]"Of course it is."[/b] The old woman watched Artemis with a thoughtful frown. [b]"A rotten boy with a blue Lantern broke into my house and killed my power source, so I was forced to use my own energy. I barely managed to reactivate the barriers before the whole damn forest could come waltzing in uninvited."[/b] Frustration and anger motivated her to climb to her feet again, using the axe for balance.

[b]"Then I found Argen half-digested in one of those trees. He was the ambassador from Gryphon's Roost, going to help me contact the rest of the Pirate settlements and warn them that the Dragon was gaining power again -- but the fact that [i]you're[/i] here with [i]that[/i] tells me it's about to be too late for negotiations."[/b]

The old woman stepped to the edge of the roof. [b]"Well, you've found me. I'm the one called the Witch. I'll have you know I don't intend to go down without a fight. To my dying breath I will do everything in my power to ensure that Dragon is sealed away for good."[/b]

Her wrinkled mouth set grimly, and she faced Artemis fully expecting to be attacked.