"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jed tried one last time, as he picked out all the soldiers surrounding the brick house.

Valina silenced him with a look. "Just find me a way in."

He groaned, but was agreeable. "What we need is a distraction."

"A distraction?" she thought about that for a moment, then grabbed the arm of a passing boy.

The child, a street urchin in his early teens, scowled at them. "What?"

"We need your help." Valina began.

"Good for you. Leave me alone." the boy replied and started walking away.

"We'll pay you." Jed called after him.

The boy stopped. "Let's see your money."

Jed held up something and apparently it was enough.

"What do you want?" the boy demanded.

"We want you to distract the soldiers." Valina told him. "Get them away from that house."

"Lady, you're crazy." came the stunned response. "That place is guarded like crazy. Those soldiers are dangerous. Nobody in their right mind would go anywhere near there."

"We're not in our right mind." Jed flashed some more money.

The kid cursed, but nodded. He jammed the cash in his pocket first before charging out towards the soldiers. In that instant, Valina and Jed knew they'd picked the right child. The boy lost his tough expression, replacing it with tearful anguish. "My dog!" he wailed to the soldiers. "I can't find my dog!"

"Well, go look for it." the head soldier snapped, bored.

But the boy wouldn't let up. "Please, sir... help me find him... I need to find him... he was in a fight today... I'm thinking he might've caught the crazies and if he starts biting people all over town..."

Stupidly, the soldier looked concerned. "Your dog might start biting people?"

"He's a big dog, too." the boy nodded. "But it's all right... thanks for your concern... I'll just leave him out there and hopefully he'll stay away from people and will find his way home."

"Boy, you'd better go look for your dog!" the soldier glared.

"It's useless... I'm just one person." the boy shrugged his shoulders. "Of course, I could always just follow the screams."

With a scowl, the soldier took the bait. He nodded to four other soldiers. "Go help this kid."

"Should we leave our posts, sir?" a subordinate asked, startled.

"I'm not getting blamed for some mutt mauling little children all over Trillagla. Now go!"

"Mission accomplished." Jed murmured as the soldiers filed by. A moment later, the group split up, which allowed the boy to slip away unnoticed. Everything had gone completely according to plan.

"We should be able to get in with no problem now." Valina decided. "We'll just need to slip past the abandoned posts and make it up the cliff."

"Let's go." Jed welcomed the adventure. He was right behind his friend as they headed for their chosen break in point.

"Ready?" Valina asked a moment later. This was their last chance to back down.

"Almost." Jed grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him. His lips landed softly on her own, in a gentle kiss. When he came up for air, he grinned. "The heroine has to get kissed before she saves the world."

For a moment, Valina stood there, stunned. Then she wiped her lips and made a face. "Can we just get going, please?"

"Before we do this, Valina..." he admitted, squeezing her hand. "I just wanted to let you know something... I love you."

"You what?"

"I love you." he repeated, surprising even himself.

Valina stared at him, her cheeks turning pink. Then she smiled. And without saying another word, she set off towards the cliff.