Got Hope

by Michael Darling

  “Are you taking the credit? Or the blame?”

  “That’s what I’m wondering.”

  Interesting how Hope had found me in the barn. “She told me you would be growing as a person and if I didn’t have someone to grow with too, you wouldn’t want me by the time we could be together. She said my heart would be wrinkly.”

  “Wrinkly?”

  “I know, right?”

  “The wrinkly part wasn’t me. I did tell her about your father marrying us and Blake turning up and how that’s complicated things. How I needed to be there for Blake. I told her you haven’t been yourself lately. You seem upset sometimes, even angry, and that’s not really you.”

  “I can’t say you’re wrong.”

  “She said she liked you. She told me she’d had a dream about you before you even met.”

  “That’s news.”

  “She dreamed she was walking up a mountain with her mother and her grandmother, who passed away years ago. They were talking at the same time but saying the same thing.”

  “That’s a little creepy.”

  “Yeah. They said she should trust her heart no matter what, and let nothing stop her.”

  “Did they write Hallmark cards in life?” I asked. “I guess that explains why she got so upset about being left behind.”

  “Guess so. They also said the right man for her would have ‘hands of flame.’”

  “I don’t think she’s seen me use fire magic. She had a chance but missed it.”

  “She didn’t see but everyone was talking about you losing your temper and almost burning down the forest.”

  I didn’t burn anything!

  I protested in silence.

  “She asked me if it was true. I told her you’d killed a deamhanlord with fire that came from your hands.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She asked if I was sure. I told her I taught you how to use your power and you were very strong with fire. Then she got a funny look on her face and said that cleared things up.”

  “Huh. That explains why she took such an interest in my hands. I thought she was going to do a Madame Voodoo.”

  “What?”

  “She held my hand and touched my palm. I thought she was going to tell me my life line was cut short and I only had minutes to live.”

  “She must have been remembering her dream.”

  “Yeah. I wonder why she didn’t tell me about it herself.”

  “Come on, Got. Think about it. A girl you’ve only known for two days tells you her mother and grandmother came to her in a dream and told her to be with you. You’d run screaming to the hills.”

  “I’d run. I wouldn’t scream. I’d babble. Maybe grunt. Yeah. I’d run grunting to the hills.”

  Fáidh laughed. “If she tells you about the dream, pretend you didn’t hear it from me.”

  “Okay.”

  “Oh. Guess what her mother and grandmother are named.”

  “Mumsy and Nam-Nam?”

  “Faith and Charity.”

  Under the warm covers, I felt a chill run up my back. “Oh. Given names. I thought we were still on nicknames.”

  “I’m glad I had a chance to talk with her, Got. Just be careful. She’s obviously attracted to powerful men. But underneath all the confidence, there’s a girl who’s very sweet and very vulnerable. If you don’t mind my saying so, I think we can use a little Hope in our lives. And she could use a little Luck.”

  * * *

  Cold mist and a gray dawn lay in wait like a steel bear trap as we rode through a world with scant resemblance to the beautiful land of yesterday.

  “This sucks.” Hope shivered. Realistically, it felt like the air was still in the forties, but the contrast from yesterday was striking. For a Florida girl, the temperature was more than thirty degrees colder than she was accustomed to.

  The horses were affected by the wintry drizzle too, walking with their heads down as if skulking up the road were warmer than walking upright. We’d been given breakfast in the Palisade, a last hot meal before leaving our kingdom behind. The sausages and eggs sat in my stomach like a miniature furnace at first but every passing mile got colder and colder as the road took us higher and higher.

  “How far are we going today?”

  “Sir Siorradh said it was twelve leagues to the rendezvous but we’ll camp halfway tonight. We should arrive at the meeting place tomorrow evening.”

  “That’s eighteen freaking miles today,” Hope said. “This sucks.”

  Her mantra had started almost from the gate. We’d ridden out into the weak light, the sun a bare gray smudge hardly visible in the pervasive gray of everywhere. The road had descended for the first hour or so before abruptly turning upward into a forest of pines and as we ascended, a cold rain tumbled down to meet us.

  We rode on. I turned my head to catch a sound. A silvery music like a thousand miniature bells teased the air and I realized it was Hope’s hauberk. Her shivering had taken over her whole body and the silver links of chain rang against each other in song. She already had a cloak on over her hauberk and doublet and shirt, but it wasn’t enough to keep her petite body warm. I took my cloak off and leaned over to wrap it around Hope’s shoulders, giving her another layer. Her chin shook, which made it hard for her to speak. She started to say something but the only sounds that came out were mumbly-quavery sounds.

  “Could you spell that, please? For the record?”

  Hope grinned. “M-m-b-b-b-v-v-v-n-n-n-b-b-b-m-m-m,” she said.

  I held my hands in front of me and used a non-existent pen to write every letter she said in my invisible notebook. “I see. Well, if the extra cloak doesn’t warm you up, we’ll find something else.” It would have been handy to have Wince with us, for a change, to ask about warmer gear but he’d stayed behind at the Palisade. Apparently, it was not his place to tag along when a trip became an expedition. His duties were limited to castle and kingdom and we were leaving those behind.

  Fáidh rode in front of us. She said she didn’t want to look like she was chaperoning us, but she was close enough to listen in on Hope and me. She looked back and smiled.

  “Speaking of abrupt changes in conversation,” I said. “Does Sir Siorradh ever take off his armor?”

  Fáidh joined in. Sitting sidesaddle put her partway around to start with and she pivoted even farther so she was almost riding backwards.

  “The King’s Guard are one of the best-kept secrets in the realm. They’re never seen without armor,” she said. “Nobody knows whether that means they only remove their armor while alone or,” she held up a finger for emphasis, “they never remove it at all.”

  Hope tried to put a sentence together but it still came out shivery-gibberish, although I caught the gist. I gave my interpretation. “They gotta pee and stuff some time.”

  “Not if they don’t eat or drink.” Fáidh’s eyes twinkled in the flat light.

  “Huh,” I replied, eloquence never far from my lips. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him eat or drink anything. Ever. And last night he said he didn’t need sleep.”

  “Their motto means ‘Vigilance Unending’ so that makes sense.”

  “I don’t think he has a face.” I said spooky-like. “He always has that visor down so it’s hard to be sure, but there may not be anything under there although he talks somehow.”

  “Hold!” Siorradh’s voice echoed down the road, channeled between the massive gray sentinels of the forest on either side.

  A bird stood on long legs in the middle of the road.

  “I have a message for Prince Luck,” said the bird.

  I squeezed Peachfuzz and she moved out of the line and walked up to the front. I reined her to a stop as soon as we drew abreast of Siorradh.

  “Douglas?” I asked. “Is that you?”

  “No. I am called Terry.” The secretary bird tilted his head in the distinctive way of acknowledgment used by his species. “Here is thy message. Ahem. Dear Prince Luck, I trust thou d
idst sleep well and hope the day’s journey will be pleasant. I look forward to renewing the congenial relations between our kingdoms on the morrow. Be well. Sincerely, the Máithrín.” Terry tilted his head again.

  Message end.

  The bird bowed and took off, lost within moments to the fog.

  “Hope the day’s journey will be pleasant,” I repeated. Mocking.

  “Th-that b-b-bird sucks-s,” Hope managed.

  “The way out is through,” I murmured.

  Siorradh’s voice was a hollow wind in his helm. “Robert Frost. ‘I can see no way out but through.’ Very appropriate."

  “You know the quote better than I do.” I replied. “Why is that?”

  “Look.” Siorradh avoided answering, pointing instead at spare clusters of tiny pink blossoms adding dots of color to the gray-upon-gray landscape. “We’re properly in the borderlands now. The flowers on our side of the border are pink. When we cross into the Máithrín’s realm, the flowers will turn blue.”

  “P-prob’ly ‘cuz they’re f-freezing to d-death,” Hope said to the music of her hauberk.

  I laughed. “Those flowers are forget-me-nots.”

  Just in case we don’t make it back.

  The trees brooded over us. The gelid sleet slowed but it felt like the sky was taking a breath, preparing for a fresh blast of cold. We rode on for a league. Then two. I wondered if the whole ride would be a miserable slog through the gray and started wishing for something “quest-like” to do. A creature to fight or a puzzle to solve. Something to break up the cold, slate-colored boredom.

  Be careful what you wish for.

  Chapter Twenty-Six: Vapor and Glass

  We stopped for lunch. I sat beneath a giant oak and read more from the Book of Stains. I wanted to find out what the Stains on Marcus meant. It might tell me how Vapeman got control of him or who Vapeman was. I made some progress but it seemed that half the Stains in the book were meant to control things in some way and the other half were meant to make controlling things easier. Including people.

  The bread and cheese and golf-ball sized grapes were a filling meal at least. An afternoon sun offered to cut through the mist as I sought Sir Siorradh. “Should we get moving?”

  “I’ll give the command.” Siorradh shouted instructions and the company returned to the road. I found myself in a pocket. Hope on one side, Fáidh on the other, and Sir Siorradh behind.

  The sun warmed Hope enough to speak normally again. She said, “I think I’ve figured you out, Got. You’re a Taoist.”

  “I’m a what?”

  Siorradh echoed her. “Yes, Lady Hope. That fits Prince Luck completely.”

  “What did she call me?” I asked.

  “A Taoist,” Fáidh replied.

  “Oh. I thought she said ‘Taoist.’”

  Hope laughed. “You’re doing it again.”

  “More interesting, Sir Siorradh calling me ‘dude’ and knowing about Toad the Wet Sprocket,” I said.

  “I want to know why Got’s a Taoist.” Fáidh grinned.

  “Mutiny’s a capital offense,” I said. “Lucky for you, we’re on land.”

  Hope got into it. “That’s a good example, Got. You make jokes to deal with life in a way that doesn’t go against the natural flow of the universe. Conflict is more acceptable when you make fun of it instead of fighting against it.”

  I sighed. A long, exaggerated sigh. I had a passing familiarity with Taoism but let them have their fun. “I’m not following you. I may be doing it on purpose.”

  Siorradh said, “One of the central tenets of Taoism is action through non-action, which is part of going with the natural flow, as Lady Hope said.”

  “I can see that.” Fáidh nodded.

  Hope said, “It allows you to let spontaneity and simplicity and ambiguity have their place. It also allows you to remain calm in stressful situations and not panic.”

  “Oh, I panic,” I said. “I just panic at the disco.”

  I looked around as everyone stared at me, smirking.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I just proved your point. But you’re giving me way more credit than I deserve. I’m not that deep. Let’s talk about somebody else now. I vote Sir Siorradh.”

  Our conversation ended there.

  Concern written on his face like a mask, a member of the company ran up to us, boots slapping on the road. Panting, he pointed back the way we’d come. “My son Jons is missing, milords,” he said. “He wast tending the Asaliompair but he cannae be found. Please, milords.”

  “Where did you see him last?” I turned Peachfuzz around.

  “He heared a sound in the trees and went to look, though we told him to leave it be. These woods aren’t pure, milord, and the farther in ye go, the more foul they become.”

  “How long has he been missing?”

  “A quarter of an hour. Nae more.”

  We rode and ran until we were almost back to the spot where we’d stopped for lunch. I dismounted. “He couldn’t have gotten far. We’ll find him.”

  Siorradh and Fáidh and Hope had followed. I gave Peachfuzz’s reins to Fáidh as Siorradh dismounted from Trident. We followed the margin of the road. Siorradh spotted the footprints before I did.

  “This way,” he said.

  “Everybody else stay back.” I said. Everybody stood in place except an archer wearing a hooded cloak, who gave me a nod but said nothing. He had strung his bow and nocked an arrow. He could be useful if we found something that needed to be shot.

  “You’re welcome to come if you want,” I said. He followed us off the road.

  The gloom-dark hung between the trees like a curtain that moved and breathed, as if the shadows were appendages of something massive and alive. I brought a flame to life in my hand to help us see the way.

  The ground was soft where Jons had walked and his father’s words “the woods aren’t pure” hung in my ears, making me hesitant. These were the borderlands, infected still with the leftover magics of battles long ago decided.

  Siorradh stayed off the ground, using fallen logs and rocks to run parallel to the route Jons had taken. A flash of silver came out of the heavy darkness before I could warn Siorradh.

  A spear embedded itself in Siorradh’s shoulder, finding the seam between the pieces of his armor. It happened so fast. He didn’t even scream. I expected to see blood gushing from the wound. “Are you all right?”

  Siorradh had no time to answer. A hulking figure came around a tree, swinging a second spear like a staff. The archer drew his bow as Siorradh slid his sword from its scabbard and dodged the spear.

  “Don’t hurt him!” I shouted. “That’s Jons!” I recognized the young man from our company. Moving my lighted hand like a torch, I detected a darker patch of dark that tumbled and rolled behind Jons, emitting the feeling of wrongness that assaulted the senses and the soul. The blackness was a hole, swallowing the light from my fire.

  Vapeman.

  The archer hadn’t taken a shot. Siorradh waited for Jons to attack. He used the trees defensively to keep from getting hit, slipping in and out. How he could even move with a spear through his shoulder was beyond me. Jons moved oddly, as if he wasn’t really looking where he was going. Yet he thrust the spear with speed and swung it, trying to deal more damage to Siorradh. The knight was liquid power, stepping smoothly and using the sword with judicious grace. Another thrust and Siorradh neatly cut the spear in half, leaving Jons with little more than a broomstick handle to attack with.

  Jons fell to his knees in the shallow water.

  Cautiously, I went to Siorradh. “Are you all right?” I repeated.

  He pulled the spear out of his shoulder but it took some effort. He had to tug the weapon partway out, then grip it again and pull it out the rest of the way. He turned his arm in a quick circle to show he was unharmed.

  Huh.

  “You must be a six-foot cucumber, you’re so cool,” I said.

  Personally, my pulse was ready to spurt from a vein in my
neck like a stream of water from a damaged garden hose. The fresh scrapes on Siorradh’s armor were evidence of the attack, but he wasn’t hurt.

  “Be wary,” Siorradh said.

  Ya think?

  “Okay,” I said.

  Siorradh undamaged. Another mystery.

  “Prince Luck,” said Jons. His eyes were closed, head bowed.

  “What do you want, Vapeman?”

  The voice echoed down the rat pipe. “You tried to deceive us.”

  “You tried to kill us.”

  Another delay, then the hollow reply. “We gave our word we wouldn’t try again, if you complied. You did not.”

  “My agreement with Hope preceded yours. I’ll keep her safe in the way I think best. Apparently, she disagreed. She’s here now, in the flesh. You know that already.”

  Pause, wind, voice, “We know.”

  “Great. So why are you forcing people to attack my friends?”

  The voice tumbled out of Jons’s mouth. “We wish to speak with you only.”

  “I’m here. Say whatever you have to say.”

  There was no sound, but Jons raised his hand and gave me the carnivorous bunny. The world went red and beads of sweat drenched my brow. Anger erupted in my center and my fire went from a torchlight to a half a bonfire before I could think.

  Something dies now.

  Jons’s hand went down and my rage subsided.

  “You haven’t learned to control it.” Vapeman accused me.

  “Whatever you’re doing to me, stop it.” I had to consciously unclench my hands and force my flame back down.

  Vapeman’s words came faster. “You have heard of the Dubhcridhe, Prince Luck? You are one of us.”

  “I’m a Halfling. That doesn’t make me one of you.”

  “Why not? We seek to bring fairness and equality to the Behindbeyond.”

  “By overthrowing monarchies?”

  “Halflings outnumber Eternals ten-to-one, but Eternals only share power with other Eternals.”

  “At least they don’t hide behind innocent people.”

  The Vapeman’s laugh made layers of my skin want to crawl away. “Don’t they?”

  I said nothing.