Aidan stopped reading. After that the pages were blank. He and Flame again exchanged looks. Both their faces showed their horror clearly. “The description he gave… it sounds like us!”

Drago nodded. “Using that description I was able to discover who was stalking my people. It was a married couple, to my surprise, a shapeshifter and an aerian vampire, your opposites. They are your mirror images as the Lord Drago you know is mine. With that information I hoped to be able to hunt them down and end the killing, but somehow they know my every more before I make it. I have begun to fear there is a spy among my order. They know where my people will be, and when. They counter every attempt I have made to attack them before I have hardly begun. By sheer luck I managed to capture Flame Song, hoping to learn the identity of the spy if there is one, but she was rescued even before I could begin questioning her. I had reached my wits end. And then I hit on an idea. From the moment I had learned who my adversaries were I recalled meeting you, their opposites, years ago. I thought it nothing more than an odd coincidence, but as everything I tried ended in more lives lost I thought of you again and conceived a plan. I must know who the spy is, and the thought came to me that if one of you could convince one of that devilish pair that you were the other, why then you could find out who it was, how they know my every move. I have told no one about this. I made this portal in the privacy of my own room, and I have not even hinted of this plan to any of my followers.”

He paused and sighed wearily. “I know you have no reason to help me, but I beg of you, I can think of nothing else to do.”

Flame and Aidan again exchanged a glance. “Give us a moment to talk this over,” said Flame.

“Of course,” said Drago. The couple got the their feet and went into their bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

“That’s horrible!” said Flame Song. “Imagining a scene like that and then thinking of you and me doing such things…” she trailed off.

“I know,” responded Aidan. “But how can we go chasing off to help him? What about the children? We left this sort of adventuring behind, for their sakes, when we left the Clan.”

Flame Song nodded. “I know, I hate the thought of being away from them, but…” she paused, trying to gather her thoughts. “Saint Drago isn’t called ‘Saint’ for nothing. He’s a good man and his people deserve help. And we owe him one. He hasn’t even mentioned it, but he saved both our lives, years ago.” Aidan nodded, remembering the terrible moment when Flame Song had nearly been killed while he looked one, helpless. “And,” added Flame, “somehow that fact that it’s us, our twins… it makes it feel like it’s somehow our responsibility.”

“You’ve hit on it right there. I think of you and me hunting down that poor bard like that…” he shuddered. “I want to stop it, undo it, make up for it somehow.”

“Then we’ll go?”

Aidan sighed. “Yeah, I guess so. We’ll have to find somebody to look after the kids while we’re gone, but yeah, we’ll go.”

And so they went. Arrangements were made with a Corinne in Snowcap Village to take care of the children. Goodbyes were said, hugs and promises to return as soon as possible were given, and then at a pre-arranged time Saint Drago opened the portal again and Flame Song and Aidan came through.

Drago’s bedroom proved to be a simple, almost bare cell. “Forgive me that I cannot offer you better hospitality, but I do not want any of my people to see you. You would doubtless give some poor soul a heart attack, thinking you were your opposites from this world.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Flame Song, seating herself cross-legged on the floor.

“So, what’s the plan?” asked Aidan.

“I shall sneak you two out of here and give you a map showing the location of the ruined castle where they are living. From there it will be up to you to separate them and one or the other of you work your way into their good graces, as it were.”

“Well then, let’s get going.”

“Allow me to make sure that no one will be out roaming the corridors at this hour. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Saint Drago left, closing the door behind him securely. Aidan sat down next to Flame Song. “Do you think we can pull this off?”

“I don’t know. It’s possible. I’m sure that you can act like your opposite, but I’ve never been any good at acting.”

Aidan laughed. “Yeah, I probably could pretend to be my evil twin. But don’t be too sure you couldn’t. You’ve pulled some pretty convincing acts before.”

“I guess so. I…”

She was interrupted by Saint Drago’s return. “All is clear,” he said. Flame and Aidan rose to their feet. Without a word they followed Drago through a series of empty halls. Aidan’s inhumanly keen hearing could detect dozens of people sleeping in the rooms that lined the vacant corridors, but no one emerged to see the trio make their way down dimly lit halls. Torches flickered in scones on the walls, and their footsteps echoed off of the bare stone. At length they went through a door and out into the night. It was still and the sky was clear. Drago handed them a packet, saying, “There’s a map in there with our location and the location of the castle marked. When you return, identify yourselves with the password ‘palindrome’ so that I can be sure it is you and not your doubles. Can you remember that?”

“Yes,” said Aidan.

“Then go, and may all the gods be with you.” He stepped back and closed the door, leaving the pair standing in the dark. Aidan opened the packet. To his vampiric eyes the dim moonlight was more than bright enough to read by. He looked over the map for a while, and then said, “We’ll need to head nearly due south.”

“Then let’s get going,” said Flame. She changed into aerian form, as she usually did when traveling long distances with Aidan. On white wings the pair set out into the night. They flew in perfect silence, each alone with his or her thoughts.

After a few miles had passed, Flame Song broke the stillness to ask, “Aidan, what’s a palindrome?”