by C L Walker
“Alright,” Alain’s voice said. “One more time, but only because you did so well.”
“Fuck off,” I said.
Epilogue
I sat on a volcano and watched the funeral. I was miles away and protected by a shield that prevented them from seeing me as they said their final words.
Bec, Roman, Buddy, Dave, Nikolette, and Keith stood beside the marker they’d placed for me. Each had some words to say that I couldn’t hear, but I was sure were heartfelt and warm. Beyond them stood the remaining hollow men I’d torn from their heavens on my way back to earth.
It seemed like a hundred years had passed, but it had only been a few days. I wandered the heavens, trying to work out what to do next. I’d ended up on the blasted plain more by luck than anything else.
The angel of the heaven sat beside me. He was a beautiful creature, tall and lithe, dressed in a filmy robe that covered him but left nothing to the imagination.
“You’re not going to speak to them?” he asked. Even his voice was magical, like the god of this heaven had distilled art and love into sound and imbued the angel with it.
“You already know the answer to that.”
“I had to ask anyway.”
The blasted plain had been the heaven of a warlike species, the angel had informed me. They’d fought and slaughtered each other for hundreds of years, until I shut the gates and stopped the flow of fresh blood. When their numbers dwindled they knew they had to stop or risk killing everyone, but that wasn’t their way. They had fought on, until only one warrior remained.
That one warrior had lasted years, going crazy, screaming for more conquest, before killing herself.
“You’re thinking about the souls in my charge again,” the angel said. We’d been sitting on the volcano for hours, watching the maudlin gathering on the site of the old settlement I had once ruled. He kept talking and I kept answering, but I couldn’t work out why.
“I don’t want to become like that last warrior,” I said. “I don’t want to keep looking for the next fight until it drives me mad.”
“Then don’t.”
“It isn’t that easy.”
“I know.”
I shook my head and sighed. “Then why say it? Huh? It isn’t helpful.”
“Because that’s what I was supposed to say, Agmundr.”
“That isn’t helpful either.”
I wanted to go back to them, let them know I had survived and that the danger was passed. But if I did that I would be drawn into their plots and squabbles, and I wasn’t ready for that yet. I needed time, to breathe and to think, to be by myself.
“You could go back,” the angel said. “They would welcome you.”
“My presence would destabilize things again, and people would die.”
“You’re not a fun person, you know that?” the angel said. He was smiling and it was a glorious smile, but all I could think of was how good it would feel to punch him in the mouth.
I checked on Fairbridge before returning to the heavens. It was fine, recovering from the few enemies who had made it through. The vampires had done their part and fought well, and the city was returning to normal. Keith had withdrawn his troops and many of the hollow men had gone with him. Section Thirteen now had new creatures to study, and they wouldn’t fight back or try to escape. Doctor Keith would be happy.
My friends finished up, saying their final words and turning back to the gate.
I’d wondered what the best case scenario would be for me, if everything went well and I survived. Would I return to ACDCs and work behind the bar, attempt to date Bec as she thought she might want? Would I work with the vampires and the witches to create a lasting peace? Would I fight the next threat to face the city with my friends at my side?
Instead I would roam, I thought. Spend a few years in the heavens, relaxing and enjoying it. Then I wanted to return to earth and see what the new world had to offer. I could go anywhere, thanks to the gates, and I was curious what the rest of the world looked like. I had fragmented memories from my various masters over the previous year, but none of them had firsthand knowledge, or the memories they’d given me were incomplete.
I would see the world and try to make a place for myself in it. I would stay out of everyone’s business, for a while. I would let them mourn, and I would leave them alone.
Artem and Nikolette were arguing, but it was about the council the vampire king wanted to form. He didn’t want them to fight in the streets anymore. He wanted them to be allies, and to work with Keith on maintaining order in Fairbridge.
It was my idea, but he was welcome to it. I hoped it worked out for them.
“You’re going to leave soon,” the angel said. “I won’t see you again, which is a pity.”
“Oh? Why?”
“I get lonely, and you’re the only one I’m going to speak to until the last moment of this heaven.”
“I’ll visit,” I said.
“No you won’t.”
“No, I won’t.”
I’d never been free before, not even before I was cursed. I’d been controlled by my father until I joined the army to get away from him, then controlled by my leaders until I married Erindis and joined them. And then I’d been beholden to the kingdom, and the lives of the people.
To walk in a direction with no purpose beyond seeing what was over the next hill, that would be an adventure worth having.
“I think I see a smile,” the angel said.
“Shut up,” I replied, though I kept smiling.
My friends were sad but they didn’t understand. I was free and as my final gift to them I was letting them be free, too. They wouldn’t have seen it that way, but it was better that they remember me as a hero than learn what I truly was. If I could change over the course of my journey then I might return. If I could be the hero they thought I was, then I might see them again.
“You are a hero,” the angel said. “Just so you know.”
“You’re supposed to say that.”
“I can fall and tell you again, if you like.”
I looked at him and saw that he was serious. He would leave his post and give up his life, if it meant I believed him. I was tempted to do it, just to find out if he thought it was true.
“Don’t,” I said instead. “I’ve got enough on my conscience.”
“As you wish.”
Bec and Buddy were the last to step through the gate. They were using a different one and had to make a long trek through the heavens to reach earth again, and then take trains to get back to the city. The HND wasn’t next door to anything useful anymore.
Buddy had his arm around Bec, who was staring at the spot they’d decided to honor me. She wasn’t crying, because Bec didn’t do that. Most of the time, anyway. No, she was just watching the blasted plain and saying a final goodbye.
I would miss them all, but it was time to move on. Normally I’d enter a dreamless slumber in my prison and emerge in a new time and face new challenges. Now I would have to work out how to live a life. I wasn’t sure which was better.
“Time to go,” the angel said a moment before I started to rise.
“That’s really annoying,” I said.
“Sorry. It’s what I was supposed to say.”
I stood and watched them leave. The heaven was empty again, except for me and the angel.
“Can you see what happens to this place?” I said. “Can you see what finally ends it?”
“I can, but I’m not telling you.”
“Because that’s not what you do.”
“No.”
I walked down the volcano and toward the nearest gate. I knew which heaven lay on the other side, but not which one I’d go to next, or the one after that. I knew nothing about the coming journey, and not knowing was a marvelous thing.
“Agmundr,” the angel called out behind me.
“What?” I said, not slowing or turning to face him.
“You should have gone back with them. You�
��re an idiot.”
“Shut up.” I liked the angel, and I decided not to kill him for taunting me. It was a sign that I was getting better, that I could control my natural instincts. I was becoming more human.
I stepped through the gate, and started walking.
Authors Note
Thanks for reading the series, and I hope you enjoyed the conclusion. Agmundr returns in a guest spot in the third Halfway Dead book, Death Lord.
If you liked Summoned to Die, please consider letting others know. A review on Amazon goes a long way, even if it’s just a couple of lines. More people are willing to take a risk on a new author if they know others have enjoyed their work, so your voice matters.
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Colin
Copyright © C.L. Walker 2017
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Published by C.L. Walker