She awoke just before sundown. She had heard something, and when she lifted her head she saw that Aidan was already awake, and was watching the sun begin to sink below the horizon with something like regret. She had returned to firecat form to sleep, and so she rose and stretched, working her paws through the grass. She was hungry, and that suddenly brought to mind another problem.

"Aidan?"

He looked over her, and gave a sudden start. Something like fear flickered over his face for a moment before being banished. "Yes?"

"I can't remember, when was the last time you fed?"

He blinked. "Uh... a couple days ago, why?"

"I'm hungry, so I'm going hunting. I thought I might catch you something while I was at it."

"Oh. Uh, sure. Go ahead."

She nodded and padded off into the woods. It was wonderful to be able to put everything else out of her mind for a time and simply hunt. She spent much of her time looking human these days but she was not, and she loved the chance to indulge her true nature. It was spring and the forest was bursting with new life. She caught a baby rabbit almost immediately, too young and stupid to even know it should run. It was hardly more than a couple of mouthfulls, but it was a start. A half an hour or so later she had more than satisfied her own hunger with a lucky catch of a newborn fawn, and so she began her second, more difficult hunt. She had to take something alive. She had done it many times before, though, so it didn't take much longer to pounce on another rabbit, this one an adult. She pinned it with velvet paws and then took the trembling creature carefully in her jaws.

Aidan gave another start when she came out of the woods only a few feet away from where he'd been standing. There was that momentary flash of fear again as he actually took a step back from her. But he saw the struggling rabbit in her mouth a moment later, and stepped forward again. She lifted her head, offering it wordlessly to him, and he took it from her. His expression was hard to read. It was something like surprise, something like wariness, and something also like gratitude and warmth. She wondered for a moment what her double must be like, that he reacted so strangely to her.

He lifted the rabbit and fed without turning away as her husband usually did. She didn't mind the sight of blood, but the fact that he didn't wish to spare her the way her Aidan did reminded her that this was not her husband. She shouldn't be feeling sympathy for him, he was a cold-blooded killer. She turned away until he was finished. "Come on. We should get going."

The rest of the journey passed without incident. They arrived at the monastery a few hours before sunset on the third day. Flame led the way, simply striding confidently up to the door she and Aidan had left by and opening it. It wasn’t locked, and they passed inside. Almost immediately they found themselves frozen in their tracks as the net of a clerical spell fell over them. The mirror Aidan let out a cry of pain and Flame realized that the clerical magic must be hurting him.

Radu, with several other people flanking him, hurried up to them. "Speak the password," he said. They both said "Pallindrome" at the same time.

Flame looked over at Aidan in shock. "No! Don't let us loose!" she said as Radu raised his hand to release the spell.

"What?" Radu looked at her, puzzled. Aidan was giving her a puzzled look as well.

"He's not my husband," she said. "I don't know how he got the password, I never told him it, but he's the other one."

"What?!" Aidan's puzzlement increased to shock. "How...?"

Fame suddenly found herself able to move, though Aidan was still pinned in place. "You were trying to trick me, weren't you? Well turn about is fair play." She used one of her own husband's expressions, and Aidan's face darkened with rage. He glared at her, unable to do anything else.

"Thank you for your quick thinking," said Radu. "And now I am going to find out what's going on here. Come." He turned and strode down the hall. Flame followed, and Aidan was bodily dragged after them by the invisible net of Radu's magic. Radu descended a flight of stairs to a stone-walled basement. He opened a heavy wooden door with a tiny barred window in it. There was a heavy lock on the door, and a bar could be placed on it from the outside as well. He propelled Aidan into the cell on the far side.

"What are you going to do with him?" asked Flame.

"Question him with a truth spell," said Radu.

"But isn't that going to hurt him more?" asked Flame

Radu sighed. "Yes. But much as I dislike causing pain, I need to know. And after what he has done to my people I find that I will feel little guilt about it."

"I suppose." Flame felt uncomfortable with the thought, for some reason, but Radu was right.

Aidan was still glaring at the both of them. Radu lifted his hand and cast the spell. Aidan made a pained sound, but then he gritted his teeth and glared even more fiercely.

"Tell me. How have you been discovering what I plan?"

Flame could see him struggling to keep silent, but slowly, reluctantly, he said, "It was a spell."

"But I cleared every room of spells a dozen times, at least! How could it be a spell?"

"Because the spell wasn't on the rooms." He was giving the least possible information.

"What was it on then?"

"It was on you."

"What? How is that even possible?"

Aidan suddenly laughed. "Well the cat's out of the bag now, so I suppose I shall tell all. I think it's quite possibly the best spell I've ever crafted, I'm really rather proud of it. The nicest thing about it is that it was designed to mimic the aura of the person wearing it. Impossible to spot from the outside, and nearly as hard to spot from the inside. You'd only notice if you were looking for it. And it's a tiny little thing, very low-powered. All it does is listen. But every word that's been spoken in your hearing for the last year has been carried to my waiting ears."

Radu looked stunned. "How could you cast a spell on me without my noticing?"

Aidan grinned, showing his sharp fangs. "You're so trusting. I had it all prepared when I first came here. I did come here, you know. Just one supplicant among many. I was so grateful for the way you solved my little problem that I fell at your feet. And you weren't looking for magic, you were too busy being all humble and telling me to get up. But all it took was a touch to place it on you."

"And I suppose your Flame Song is listening to us right now then?" asked Flame.

Aidan laughed again. "Oh no. This was my magic, she couldn't use it. It only reports to me. I know better than to give her such leverage now. But even if she could listen in, she's going to be far too busy playing with her new toy for the next little while to bother."

Flame's heart sank. Did that mean what she thought it meant? "Toy?" she asked.

"Your Aidan, my double. She gets the chance to corrupt me all over again! I'm sure she's having a great deal of fun doing it. She certainly did the first time around. She'll play with him until he comes around to her way of thinking, or until she breaks him."