As soon as he pushed his way through the door, two goons zeroed in on him. “Get out of here, bum!” one man said. He had a chewed-up ear and wasn’t nearly as big as Venir. He shoved Venir in the chest. Venir picked the man up by the neck with one hand. He slugged the other man in the jaw with the other. The goon was out cold, possibly dead.
The one in his grip pleaded in a raspy voice, “Please don’t kill me. Please!”
Venir’s hood had fallen down over his shoulders, revealing his face. Sam, the barkeep, hustled over. With caution he said, “Let him down. He’s just doing his job. Sit, have a drink. It’s been a long time, stranger.”
He dropped the man and took a seat behind the table at the bar. He could feel every eye in the smoky room on his back. They weren’t the same kind of folk he was used to. Judging by their clothing, they were royals, a snickering and snobby ilk.
The pock-faced barkeep filled a tankard of ale to the rim and added a clay tumbler full of grog. “It’s on the house. As much as you want.” He looked over Venir’s shoulders at the men glaring at him from the table making crude remarks underneath their breath. “Just ignore those cackling hyenas. They don’t mean well, but they pay well.”
Venir gulped down the ale. “I need to get some clothes and get cleaned up.”
“I’ll set you up.”
Venir drank one after the other then staggered up the stairs. The chronic tension behind his eyes eased. For the first time in years he relaxed. Upstairs, a bath in an iron tub had been filled with steaming water. Fresh towels and suitable clothing were laid on the floor. He stripped everything off and took a seat in the hot water that sloshed over the rim onto the floor. He let out a long “Aaaaaah!” All alone, he soaked for an hour. He clawed at his beard that was down to his chest. For the first time, he realized that he had more hair than he ever had. He hollered out, “I need a trim and a shave!”
A simple maiden entered. Dressed in drab clothing, she made quick work of his beard and hair. Clean-shaven, Venir dried off and dressed. His boots had been polished, but blood had still soaked into the leather. Refreshed, he made his way down the stairs. The tavern was empty, aside from two dozen royal soldiers in full suits of chainmail armor. His eyes drifted toward the barkeep, who said, “I had no choice.”
Weaponless, Venir raised his hands. “What am I wanted for? I just got here.”
“You struck a royal henchman,” the commander of the group said. He was a stocky man with a coarse head of blond hair. His chin had been split by a blade at some point. “Will you cooperate?”
“I suppose.”
With his arms shackled behind him, Venir was marched down the streets to the Royal Roadway. They passed the West Gate, which was heavily guarded but wide open. They moved on in front of where Castle Kling once stood and entered the courtyard. From there, Venir was led into the throne room. A man in the full array of garish royal clothing sat on a chair cast from pure silver and encrusted with pearls. His head was down. He stroked the fur of a huge black cat on his lap.
He waved his hand, and the soldiers unlocked Venir’s bonds and departed, leaving the two men in the vast throne room all alone.
Venir studied the man. The cat was Octopus. The smoky eyes of the feline made him certain. But the man who could be Melegal he wasn’t so sure about. His fingers were too pudgy and his hips too full for the seat. But the stringy hair that hung in the man’s eyes was salt and pepper. Breaking the silence, he said, “Melegal?”
The man stopped stroking the cat. Octopus hopped away and glided out of the room. The man’s steely gaze met Venir’s. His eyes widened. His jaw hung for a moment, and he said, “Finally, the prodigal lout returns! Where have you been?”
“Killing underlings. What have you been doing, gorging on wine and pastries? Your arse is as wide as mine.”
“Hardly.” Melegal came to his feet with a smile. He trotted down the steps with the same nimble ease, but at least twenty pounds heavier. He slapped Venir’s shoulders. “Welcome, Venir. Welcome to Castle Melegal!”
Venir cocked a brow. “You stole a castle?”
“In a manner of speaking. You’ve been gone quite some time. Things have changed.”
“Yes, you are delusional.”
“No, I am a royal.” Melegal brimmed in a dark sort of way. “To be honest, when Sam reported you had returned, I didn’t believe it. I thought you were gone, forever. You’d never been gone so long. Have you really been fighting underlings all this time?”
“Yes.” Venir noted the crow’s feet, which hadn’t been there before, building in the corners of Melegal’s eyes. There was certainly more meat on his bones. “I just finished fighting the underlings. I killed the last one days ago.” Venir recalled the last time he’d come out of the Mist. He’d lost over two years of his life. He eyed his old friend. “How long have I been gone, Melegal?”
Melegal moved to a serving table and filled a golden goblet with purple wine. “No one has seen a living underling since the day you departed. We called it the Reckoning at the Gate.” He shivered like he’d seen a ghost, drank down some wine, looked Venir back in the eye, and said, “You’ve been gone over ten years.”
“Ten years!”
“Closer to eleven, maybe twelve, perhaps. As you can see, I’ve been very busy. When you run your own castle it’s easy to lose track of the less important things. No offense. I can’t believe you’ve been fighting the underlings for a decade! Only you. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I can’t help but be. Have you eaten since? You look as skinny as me.”
“That’s not saying much.” Venir’s tone got more serious. “Where are Kam, Erin, and Brak?”
“Kam waited for you for years, but tired of the turmoil in this city. They returned to the City of Three. Brak and Georgio looked for you, on and off, but I think they’ve moved on. I haven’t seen them in…”—he counted on his fingers—“six years, at least. Brak was standing at eight feet the last I saw him. I believe they ride with the Jung now.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Venir, that all you ever knew is gone, but at least you saved this wretched city. Perhaps the world. I know that. We all do. As for the rest of the fine citizens, well, the taverns still whisper about the Darkslayer.” Melegal gave Venir a quick wink. “But, their self-loathing lives move on to more important things. In truth, no one cares unless it’s about themselves. It is Bone, after all.”
“I wouldn’t expect it to be any different.” Venir took a seat on the steps. He found comfort knowing that his friends and family were alive, at least many years ago. He couldn’t blame them for moving on.
“I can send for them,” Melegal added.
“No, I suppose I can find them myself. It’s not as if I have anything else to do.” He eyed Melegal. “Did Kam leave with Fogle?”
“As a matter of fact, no, he left with Jarla to the City of Three. It’s my understanding that they have a nest of children.” Melegal sat beside Venir and patted his broad back. “You can stay here as long as you like, Venir. The linens are as soft as rose petals. I could use a friend at my back too. My enemies are always at the gate, and there is no better friend than you. What do you say?”
Venir sneered. “You sound like a royal.”
“And I feel like one.” Melegal puffed his chest out. “I wash, but I always feel dirty. I thought I would like it better.”
Venir nodded. Eyeing the vaulted ceilings, he said, “How did this all come about?”
“It’s a long story with as much peril and danger as I’ve ever known.”
“Was it worth it?”
“I took a lot of rotten royals down to find that painting in the process, so yes.”
He spied a painting on the wall with a group of people in it. Royals. Melegal appeared to be in the painting, but it appeared much older than from the present times. He pointed at it. “That’s not you, is it?”
Melegal grinned. “No, not me. As it turns out it was a very close relative. I spent years proving it.”
Venir slapped his kneecaps. “I’d like to hear this tall tale, but I’m leaving.” He stood up and rubbed Melegal’s head. “Enjoy your little castle. It’s been nice knowing you, Melegal.”
“What’s mine is yours, Venir. Take what you need.”
“A fine horse will do.”
“That’s all?” Melegal’s face tightened. “Slat, I knew it would come to this. You just can’t sit still and smell the blackening roses, can you?” He kicked off his shoes and frumpy clothing. In seconds he stripped down to his customary vest, shirt, and trousers. He placed his floppy cap back on his head. “Let’s go then.”
“What? You’re coming?”
“Yes, by Bish, I’m coming. Rayal!” Melegal called out. “Rayal!”
Rayal Kling came running into the throne room with a lovely dress hitched up to her ankles. Her belly was full, and she had the glow of pregnancy about her. “Venir! You’re alive!” Her hug might have broken a lesser man’s neck. Finally, she backed off, eyeballed Melegal’s attire, and said, “What do you and my husband think you are doing?”
“We are going to visit Kam and Erin.”
“You aren’t going anywhere. You have five children to rear and one more coming.” She stuck her finger on his nose. “Don’t you dare think you are going on some adventure!”
“You have a family?” Venir asked with a perched brow.
“Royals have to breed to keep the line strong. It’s a long story.” He gave Rayal a kiss and caressed her belly. “I miss you already.”
“Who’s going to run the castle in your stead?” she said.
“You and Ebenezer can handle it. As if you aren’t doing that already.” He pushed Venir along. “Let’s go, lout. Good-bye, love.”
Inside the stables, they readied a fine horse and Quickster. “Why do I get the feeling that you want to leave more than you let on at first,” Venir said.
“The throne room is a prison. Let’s get the Bish out of here.”
“Fight or die,” Venir quipped.
“So be it.”
***
After many weeks of travel, Venir reunited with Kam, Erin, Brak, and Chongo. Jubilee, Georgio, Lefty, Nikkel, Billip and his wife Joline were among them. Fogle and Jarla with their three long-faced children showed up too. The celebration lasted in the City of Three for weeks. From a distance, Trinos laughed and cried. The Darkslayer’s adventures never ceased, in Bish or in the worlds beyond.
FROM THE AUTHOR
One Million words later…and the underling menace is finally gone! I told you they wouldn’t be easy to get rid of. I have to say, when I published the Darkslayer way back in 2010 (now it’s August 2017), it didn’t envision it going this long, but I’m certainly glad that it did! More importantly, I want to thank all of you that have stuck with me all of these years. I mean it! It’s your emails, Facebook posts and such that has kept me going. I will admit that I did get sidetracked with too many other projects, but aren’t you glad it didn’t end years ago?’
With all of that said, I still don’t plan on putting The Darkslayer on the shelf by any means. Most likely, I will do an earlier series of books when he was younger. I just feel like the story isn’t complete and I want to ad in a new beginning. Venir and Melegal started with a history, and I touched on that, but now I want to tell the full story. It’s a ways off, but it will happen. Plus, I have some other story lines that I want to do. More than likely I will do some one-shot adventures with Venir, Melegal and whoever, getting into all sorts of trouble again. I hope you’ll still be there with me.
So, what did you think? Did you enjoy of the ending of all endings? I want to know so you better email me, or reach out on Facebook! Plus, leave a REVIEW HERE because I read them!
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Fight or Die!
Craig Halloran
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OTHER BOOKS AND AUTHOR INFO
Craig Halloran resides with his family outside his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia. When he isn’t entertaining mankind, he is seeking adventure, working out, or watching sports. To learn more about him, go to: www.thedarkslayer.com.
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