by Zeppy Cheng
At least a dozen military helicopters are buzzing around the pillar at this point, though none have engaged. The whole battle on the ground beneath us seems to be at a standstill.
“Do you mind returning what’s mine?” Walworth extends his hand. “The sword. Please.”
“No,” I say.
Rarden leans close to me. “One minute.”
I frown. I have no idea what he means. However, I know that if I can survive that long, something may happen. It’s the only chance I’ve got. I’m under no illusion that I can successfully fight the power of the S-class portal, under the control of the man before me.
Walworth begins sauntering back and forth across the center of the pillar, tapping the ground with his scepter like a crystal-topped walking stick. “You were foolish to try and steal this portal’s power from me. I have command of an army greater than any that has ever been seen in this world. I shall conquer everything. The portal has given me what I always wanted — power. Power is the only thing that matters in this world.”
Part of me starts to relax. It looks like Walworth is going to just give me the time. I won’t argue with that.
“Forty-five,” whispers Rarden.
Whatever that means. I wish I knew, and shudder at the possibilities. “Yeah? What about the monsters that invaded Japan and Mongolia?”
Walworth chuckles. “That was nothing compared to my army.”
“Who are you, anyways? Why are you in charge here?”
Walworth stops all of a sudden and does an about-face. “I am not human, as you can probably tell.”
“No, you ain’t,” says Rarden. I can see blue collecting around his fists, then I realize it’s only visible to me. It’s my Anima vision, telling me that he’s powering up for a finisher move, and for the first time I’m grateful for my Blue Anima spirit.
Walworth doesn’t seem to notice.
Time. Rarden needs time. I swallow and ask what I really want to know. “What about Alice?”
“Alice?” Walworth scoffs. “That silly girl who opened my portal? I do not know anything about her. Maybe you should ask the previous owner — or should I say thief — of my sword.”
“Thirty seconds,” whispers Rarden.
I just need to keep him talking. “What are you planning on doing when you conquer Great Britain?”
“Everything!” Walworth chuckles. “Enough talk. Let’s finish this.”
We need more time. But maybe Walworth isn’t as clueless as I thought. The raptors close in on me. One of them strikes and I block it with my shield. The shield shatters, falling out of my hands, and my shield arm goes limp. I manage to parry a claw with the bone sword and take down another raptor. Rarden backs towards me, his fists glowing. Everyone has to be able to see that now.
“Now,” he says.
I know exactly what to do. With the sword, I rush Walworth. The raptors defending him try to block me but are torn apart by Rarden’s ghost scream. I plunge the bone sword deep into Walworth’s chest. He glares down at me, his eyes wide as saucers, and then he groans and crumbles into ash. His ghost appears in a flash of astonished white and is sucked back into the portal, which shuts off as if a light switch was thrown. Only a pale shadow remains, hovering atop the grass.
In the sudden silence, I can hear myself breathing. I glance at Rarden. “How did you know that guy?”
The pillar of stone floats back into the ground, bringing us level. The destroyed helicopters burn, one on each side of us, lighting the grass afire. Another gunship hovers nearby, as if trying to protect us with its useless rockets. And every single monster has stopped, frozen in place.
“Eh, I’ll tell you later.” Rarden punches me lightly in the side.
“They’ve stopped!” the pilot yells out the open side door. “What the bloody hell happened?”
The whole world is silent.
Then the portal monsters turn to me.
“Master.” It’s one of the alligator men who has just come from the portal. The monster bows to me.
“You were the one who returned the artifact,” says a baboon two meters tall. “You can give us a command. At your word, we will return to where we came.”
I nod. “Return.”
The two dozen monsters in the park bow to me. “As you wish. We shall watch the one who gifted us and protect him.”
It’s at this point that Gena would probably have enslaved the monsters to her will. However, I’m of the belief that I already have way too much power. Gaining the entire contents of an S-class portal as minions would just be too much. I don’t even have a temptation to keep any more than a token number of monsters for myself. All I want is to live happily ever after and maybe win a competition or two.
“Yes, you may return,” I say. “Except for a couple of you. I’d love to make a few friends.”
The monsters bow again. “We shall return to where we came from,” says the alligator man. “Though we shall leave some of our strongest warriors with you in thanks for releasing us.”
The monsters around the park begin returning to the portal, ducking into its pale shadow and vanishing. With each monster that leaves, the portal shrinks a little more.
“Are you sure you don’t want to be the master of an army of monsters?” asks Rarden as more monsters return from the surrounding forest and vanish into the portal.
I shake my head. “I already have a pretty powerful army on my side. Also, I don’t know what I’d do with command over the contents of an S-class portal. I mean, what, would I want to conquer the world or something? That’s just stupid. I’m happy to play video games and eat chips while sitting at my desk. Maybe win a few conjuring contests. Maybe clear a dungeon or two. Small ones, I mean.”
Rarden smiles. “That’s how I thought. But no one would believe me.” He claps me on the back. “You’ve done the world a great favor, kid.”
I do my best to smile. “Yeah!” I sigh. “I still have to teach a bunch of conjurers to create Rearden metal. That’s going to be hard.”
The alligator man has not left yet. He is still bowing.
“What?” I peer at him.
The alligator man looks up at me. “Your orders.”
I sigh. “Just, find a way to make the world a better place.”
“As you wish,” says the alligator man. The various monsters remaining in the park disperse. Not very many continue entering the portal. I assume this is because I told them to “make the world a better place.” Did they take that seriously?
Well, whatever. I turn to Rarden and the soldier in the helicopter. “Do you mind giving me a ride to London?” I am tired. I haven’t slept in twenty-four hours. I need to head to the apartment Crayton prepared for me.
Crayton… Crayton… Alice! I turn back to the portal so quick I crack my neck.
There she is. Alice. She’s lying on the ground at the edge of the portal. I race over to her and kneel beside her. Her pulse is slow, but still there. She’s breathing.
Her eyes flutter open. “Mom?”
I shake my head. “Gena tricked you. Your mother is still dead.”
Alice’s head falls limp. Her eyes close, and tears trickle down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble. I just wanted my mom to come back.”
A helicopter flies overhead and lands in the park. Crayton and two Men In Black climb out. Crayton’s face lights up when he sees Alice. He runs to where I am holding her and picks her up, giving her a huge hug. “You’ve done something for me that I’ll never be able to repay.”
I shake my head. “I don’t need to be repaid. All I need is for everything to go back to normal.”
Crayton looks at me as if he’s seeing me for the first time. “Then we’ll do that. You can spend two more months here, teaching my conjurers about Rearden metal.” He pauses. “But I’m not going to let you go that easy. I need to reward you somehow.”
I shrug. “I don’t know, let me date Alice?”
Crayton’s smile
falters. Then he seems to break on the inside. “Very well. I give you permission to date my daughter. But you have to take care of her. Don’t lead her on, don’t hurt her.”
Alice is still unconscious in Crayton’s arms. She probably wouldn’t want to hear this, anyways.
“I guess this is it, huh?” I say.
Crayton lowers his head. “I’ve given up on my ambitions to join…”
“You can say it,” I say. “Silverbones, right?”
Crayton cringes. “Quiet!” He looks around, seeming relieved. “Good thing no one heard that.” He’s more nervous than I’ve ever seen him.
“What about that… organization is so special?”
Crayton shakes his head. “Don’t. You don’t want to know. The knowledge will consume you.” His eyes are looking far away. “I’ve decided that my daughter is more important than immortality.” He smiles at me. “Thank you.”
Rarden walks up and claps me on the shoulder. “Hey, man! You saved the day!”
I chuckle. “Yeah, I guess I did. And you helped.” I sigh, looking at Crayton and Alice. “I guess now everything is going back to normal.” I survey the wreckage around the park, including dead bodies of raptors and helicopter crewmen.
The bone sword must have been the same kind of thing Japan and Mongolia used to defeat their S-class portals. I’m just glad that the UK is still a thing.
A government helicopter rotates overhead, looking for a place to land among the helicopters already here. Finding a spot, it lands. A small figure eases out of the hatch, one that I won’t ever forget.
The Queen of England! Glory beans, this is amazing!
She approaches me with all the dignity I would expect of her. She is flanked by a dozen guards. She stops in front of me. “Markus, right?”
I nod. “Uh, yeah. That’s me.”
“England is forever in your debt. Not only did you tame an S-class portal, you also removed a thorn in the government’s side in the form of Brine Ward. I don’t know what we can do to thank you.”
I shake my head. “I don’t need anything, your majesty. I’m happy to just go back to school.”
The queen smiles. “Very well. You are always welcome here, and we will be waiting for you to decide what we should reward you with, if you ever do decide.” She turns around and returns to the helicopter.
That was quick. Well, I suppose the queen has a very busy schedule, especially with the wreckage caused by that portal.
I see that Rarden and Crayton are staring at me with the most incredulous faces I have ever seen. What, is meeting with the queen such a big deal?
“Bloody hell…” says Rarden. He looks at Crayton.
Crayton shakes his head.
One of the Men In Black remains. He bows to me. “We would much like to show you better hospitality than this, but our queen is very busy at the moment. You will receive formal invitations to both an audience and a celebration for your deeds. You will also be given the title of Psionic Knight and awarded the Adventurers’ Cross.”
Okay, wow. That’s a lot to take in. I’ll probably be immersed in polite society again like before, but, well, I suppose I can handle that.
The queen boards the helicopter and the vehicle rises into the sky.
I turn to Rarden and Crayton. Both of them share a glance.
Then Crayton does his best to grin at me. “Well, then. I suppose now we should just go home?” He points to the helicopter he arrived on. “I can give you a ride.”
I nod. “Okay.”
I follow Crayton onto the helicopter. He is still carrying Alice as if he doesn’t notice her weight. “Of course,” he says, “I can’t control my daughter’s love life.” He seems to be continuing from before.
Then the helicopter’s blades drown out all conversation. Rarden waves as we lift off. Strange man. I wonder — no. It’s not the time for wondering. Somehow I know that he and I will meet again.
Hours later, we land on top of the Esmex building. Crayton steps off, still carrying Alice, and disappears inside.
I follow him. But a Man In Black holds out his arm. “Mr. Blanche has instructed me to lead you to your apartment.”
I nod and follow him instead. Inside, we take an elevator down to the twentieth floor, to a small hallway with a single door at its end.
“This is your apartment,” says the Man In Black.
“You mean this whole floor?”
“Yes.” He looks a little confused. “Isn’t that what you’re used to?”
I shake my head. “I only got rich recently.”
He nods knowingly. “Well, then. Enjoy your stay.” He vanishes back into the elevator.
I open the door and walk into a gigantic living room with an entire wall of windows looking out over the London skyline. It’s a beautiful place. The furniture is modern, there is a full kitchen, and there are several pieces of art hanging that I assume are worth a whole bunch of money, even if I’m not sure what they’re supposed to be.
I sit down on the fancy couch and breathe a sigh of relief. Before I know it, I am asleep.
My usual dream world is a lot more crowded than it was before. I almost groan as I realize that a good portion of the monsters who I turned using the bone sword have somehow entered my personal dimension. How am I supposed to work with this? There are alligator men, monkeys, automatons, and who knows what other kinds of beasts. There are also the boss monsters, at least six of them, including the gigantic aircraft-carrier size mammoth.
Jirgrar appears before me and bows. His usual emotionless expression is taut. “We tried to keep these outsiders away, but we were unsuccessful. They insisted on serving you. As if you needed any more help.”
Frustrated at my lack of success in returning the monsters to their portal, for once I agree with Jirgrar. Maybe I shouldn’t have given them the option of making the world a better place. I don’t know how I’m going to handle having power over the entire contents of an S-class portal. This was what Gena was after, anyways. What I’m wondering is why she didn’t open the portal herself. I ask Jirgrar the question.
Jirgrar shakes his head. “Gena did not want to risk her life. Opening a dormant portal is very taxing, and could put your life in danger.”
“So Alice braved that.” I wonder if she knew the risks.
Another bow. “I am sorry to inform you of this, but Alice is probably not going to recover from the stress of opening that portal.”
I feel a sinking in my stomach. “What happened?”
“Portals give off a huge pulse of psionic energy when they open. Anyone near will go into psionic shock. The D-class portals you’re used to will cause no more than a slight headache,” Jirgrar says. “But an S-class portal is on a whole different scale.”
“So Alice may not recover.” It hurts just to say it.
“Even if she did,” says Jirgrar, “she may never be the same.”
I am devastated. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve lost something important. “So she’ll be disabled.”
Jirgrar shakes his head. “I do not know, master.”
I sigh. “Well, then, we’ll just have to see what happens.”
Jirgrar nods. “Yes. One more question before I let you rest. What would you like us to do with all the new followers you have?”
What else can I say? “Just put them to good use making the world a better place,” I say.
Jirgrar bows yet again. “As you wish.”
And I fall into a much deeper sleep.
27 Ghost
I wake up to a doorbell ringing. When I stand up from the sofa, I realize all my clothes from yesterday are still on, complete with bloodstains. I want to change, but I have to answer the door first. It’s probably nothing.
But when I open the door, there’s a dapper man in a bright red bellboy’s suit. He bows and hands me two envelopes. “I have been sent from her majesty’s court. Please respond as soon as possible.” He then bows again and leaves.
I close t
he door. Both envelopes are marked with a royal seal. I open the first. You have been cordially invited to a specially scheduled Garden Party to celebrate the taming of Portal U-375. Present this invitation at the door.
Where I’d expect there to be an address, it reads simply Buckingham Palace.
Well, then. They said there would be a party.
The next envelope is also from the queen. It requests an audience tomorrow at two. I can make that!
The party is tonight. Before then, I have to fulfill my contract with Esmex, though at this point it feels a little bit anticlimactic, considering what I’ve been through recently.
I take a hot shower, change into some clothes I find folded next to my bed, and make sure to put on deodorant. I take the elevator to the floor with my lab. Since this is the Esmex building, I don’t even have to go outside.
Two conjurers are already there. The rest arrive before the day officially starts, and I spend the rest of my working hours trying to teach these people how to make Rearden metal. Who needs a professional conjuration professor? Hey, I think they’re showing promise!
When I return to my apartment after the working day is over, I see a formal tuxedo neatly folded on the table in the living room. I put it on, remembering when Sebastian had to help me, and look at myself in the mirror. I look a lot better than I thought I would, though I’m still not satisfied with my hairstyle. Tuxedos are nice.
Oh, well. I’ll get someone to fix my hair eventually. I head to the elevator.
Sebastian meets me in the entrance lobby. He bows. “Master.” If he’s glad to see me, it’s impossible to tell by his expression.
Strangely enough, I’m glad to see him, safe and well, even though he’s a devil. I follow him into the limousine, and we drive through London until we reach Buckingham Palace. There are already a lot of fancy cars waiting to drop off their important people.
I leave the limo at the palace entrance. A pair of men dressed in red livery escort me to the garden behind the castle. There are already several dozen dignitaries and high-level Adventurers milling about, drinking fine wine and eating hors d’ouevres.