It was strange being back. The fact that so little had changed gave it a sense of déjà vu that was disconcerting. Even most of the restaurants were unchanged from his childhood. It was a gray day, typical of the time of year, but there were several sailboats out on the water, keeled over and racing in front of the wind. A group of Canada geese floated serenely by the fishing pier, and judging from how close the water was to the deck of the pier, it was a very high tide. Rob watched it all go by, humming along to the music on the stereo. As he paused at the light in Ruston he decided to go into the Antique Sandwich Co. and get a coffee, then walk down into Point Defiance Park.
It was a block to the park and he was happily sipping his coffee when a car came to an abrupt stop beside him. He looked over and saw sick black of malice swirling through the car. He threw the cup of hot coffee at the man opening the door and ran. Rob had always been able to run. He could cover distance quickly, without losing energy in the race. He’d worked hard on that after what had happened when he was younger, and could now run faster for a long stretch than most people could sprint. He had further honed his abilities by running laden with various weapons and practicing turning and striking with them and running again. Unfortunately, his massive Bastard sword was in the Jeep. He didn’t think it was a good idea to carry it in Ruston, and other than the small knife in his pocked he was unarmed.
So he ran.
They caught him at the entrance to the park. A different car came out of nowhere and blocked his path. He was dragged into it, fighting the entire way. One of them managed to get his arm around Rob’s throat and began to apply pressure. Knowing this wasn’t the time to fight, he went limp, letting them think the choke-hold had worked. His captors didn’t speak. The window was open blowing cold air across his face, and he could smell the bay, then the heavier smell as they turned into the port area around Fife. He didn’t move, waiting for the right moment. The car slowed and he broke free, threw open the door and hit the road, rolling twice before getting back to his feet and running.
They followed—the car was right behind him so he turned into an antiquated strip mall, dodging between the buildings. Rob heard them stop the car and the sound of pounding feet behind him. If they caught him, it wouldn’t be good. He raced along a small ally, only wide enough for foot traffic. If he could get out from behind the strip mall and into the parking lot of the Poodle Dog restaurant he would be safe. The restaurant was not only popular, but it sat on one of the busiest intersections in the area. Rob pushed his body as hard as he could and was sure he was going to make it.
Something slammed into his back. He fell, his knees hitting the ground hard, but was already rolling over to get back up when they caught him. Rob was ready to fight—he wasn’t ready for the baseball bat. While he was turning to defend himself, the bat slammed into his knees, driving him down to the ground again. The next blow was on his back.
“No! That does no honor!” one of them said. A moment later hands were dragging him up and then the blows began again—this time fists, but it didn’t matter, one eye was already closing, he felt two ribs break.
“Stop! No one move!” The voice was sharp and authoritarian. Rob was dropped, he felt his head crack into a curb, the last thing he was aware of was a man in blue, a badge on his chest, bending over him.
****
The deep dark of unconsciousness was familiar. He recognized it from the time after the wreck—he also knew what it meant. He was dying. There had been brief moments of awareness before the dark had settled on him. The blare of lights and sirens, the bite of a needle, hands moving him from stretcher to bed. Then the silence came, the dark place where he hovered between life and death. There was no room for thought there, just that knowledge of death and the disappointment that all he had learned proved pointless in the end.
The trickle of light was so small at first, he didn’t notice it. It slowly began moving through him, healing and taking the pain away. The light was familiar, and he was sure he could hear Galen’s voice. He wondered if he had stepped over into the Other World and this was how you awoke in that realm—even though he had not yet dropped into the glittering lake he remembered. However, if that was true why was the healing light pulsing through his body, gently repairing the damage the beating had done? The question was still hovering in his mind when he eased from unconsciousness and into sleep.
Rob slowly woke. He could smell coffee—and not very good coffee at that. It had a sour note to it that he was sure meant it had been cooking for far too long. It was the scent of cafeteria coffee, cheap beans stored wrong, then brewed with water that was the wrong temperature and kept warm on a hot plate. Somewhere in the back of his mind he laughed. More than once he’d been accused of snobbery over that particular beverage, and in the end he had to admit he was a complete coffee snob. As he crept a little closer to fully awake, he realized that the whisper of the bond against his heart that had started after the ritual was now a steady hum. A warm, gentle hum that was more comforting than anything he’d ever experienced. He opened his eyes. Light was pouring through the window and a tall figure was standing there with his back to Rob. He blinked again, the silhouette was familiar, the quicksilver light flowing around him was the same as it had been even though the man was a little more muscular than Rob remembered, and the brown hair was longer than it had been, but it was… It had to be… The ritual had worked! His heart began to pound.
“Hello?” he said, unsure if the spirit of his brother would hear him.
The figure turned and walked towards the bed. “Rob,” Galen said, his dark green eyes bright.
“Galen?” Rob whispered, feeling tears in his eyes. It worked! It didn’t matter if Galen was still dead, he was there, and that was all that mattered. The ritual worked.
“Hey, Brat.” Galen sat down, the bed creaking a little under him as he did.
That made no sense. “Galen?” Rob asked again, reaching out to the spirit of his brother.
Galen made a noise half laugh, half sob, and pulled Rob up into a hug so tight it made Rob’s still bruised ribs ache a little. It didn’t matter. Galen was there, solid enough to hug him, the bond no longer whispering. “It’s okay, Rob,” Galen said softly. There was a thought—Rob almost caught it, but it was gone before he could focus.
“You’re dead,” Rob said, wondering if it was a question or a statement.
“I was,” his brother replied, tears tracking over his face. “I’m better now.”
Rob swallowed hard, trying to get his mind around that. He’d felt Galen die, he’d been the one who stopped his heart. He wasn’t sure how the ritual returned people to serve. “Galen? Are you sure you’re alive?”
“Yeah.” Galen laid his hand on Rob’s leg and the bond opened completely, slowly knitting itself together until it was as strong as it had been on the day they parted. He could feel the edge of his brother’s emotion. For all the calm on his face, Galen was nearly shattered. “I’m pretty sure I’m alive.”
Rob frowned, wondering where that emotion in Galen was coming from—there was something but what was it? Guilt? Grief? Whatever the emotion was, it was there, marring the bright quicksilver light that surrounded his brother. They would have to deal with that—Rob caught his breath, the tears still tumbling out of his eyes. They would have time. Galen wasn’t returned from the dead because of the ritual. He was alive. Alive. Before he could let his emotions run away with him, he took a breath and looked around. “Hospital?”
“You were brought in yesterday morning,” Galen said, scrubbing the tears off his face.
“Yesterday?” He’d been out that long? “What happened?”
“You were attacked, the police brought you in.”
Rob cast back through his mind, trying to find what had happened. There was only the memory of pain. “I don’t remember.” He frowned. “Can we go?”
“We need to get you checked out by the doc first, then we can go.”
“I don’t like hospit
als, Galen,” Rob said, swallowing. He never had, he could see illness and death. When he was a child and had ta stay in the hospital to get his tonsils out it had almost been too much. Even though Galen did his best to keep him calm, the experience left him haunted by the images for years. What happened when he was thirteen had just solidified that dislike into loathing. “You know why.”
“I know. I’ll go see if I can find someone, then we can go home,” Galen said, a soft note, not quite a sob, in his voice.
“Home?” Rob said, feeling a longing suddenly for that quiet shop he’d known when he was young. The large apartment over the store was filled with the light of love and the power and protection of generations of Custodes Noctis.
Galen smiled, tears in his eyes as the light around him brightened. “Yeah, Rob. Home.”
Rob smiled back at Galen, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. “Go find someone, I’m ready to head home, Galen.”
“It’s time,” his brother said—or maybe thought—Rob wasn’t sure.
“Past time,” Rob answered, feeling lighter than he had in years. “But it’s all good now. Let’s head home.”
About the Author
Born in California, Muffy Morrigan began her writing career at the age of six, when after completing her first hand written novel she attempted to sell it to the neighbors for the lofty price of ten cents.
After myriad careers, including archaeological consultant, teacher, herbalist, shop keeper, news editor, reporter and columnist, she has settled in to her first love and passion--writing.
A popular panelist at science fiction, fantasy and steampunk conventions, she has presented topics on everything from writing to Victorian medicine. She was a Featured Guest at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo 2012 and Author Guest of Honor at Pandoracon 2012. She currently lives and works in the Pacific Northwest.
A portion of the proceeds from this work will go to support Gastroparesis Awareness.
Gastroparesis Awareness
Author Links
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The Custodes Noctis Series
The Legacy
The Legacy is the first in the Custodes Noctis—Keepers of the Night—Series. Galen Emrys should be paired with his younger brother as the Emrys Keepers, providing safety and protection to the world as generations of Custodes Noctis had before them. But a tragic past and an abiding evil has left Galen alone, unwilling and unable to take up the role on his own. With the unexpected arrival of his brother, who believed Galen was dead, Galen must face both their past and present to defeat a legacy of ancient evil that has haunted his family for generations.
The Legacy on Kindle
The Hunt
More than a thousand years ago, the Hunt was founded to ride the Between World. Long believed to be a punishment for Custodes Noctis who have denied their destiny, the riders of the Hunt became the stuff of nightmare and legend. Ten years ago, Galen Emrys denied his destiny in a desperate attempt to save his family—and the world.
With his brother Rob’s return they faced that fate together, but the past does not forget. The call of the Hunt is back, sounding clearly for Galen, and even as he fights the call, he and Rob discover that joining the Hunt—and possibly losing themselves to darkness forever—might be the only hope they have to stop something far, far worse from rising and devouring the world.
The Hunt on Kindle
The Summoning
The Earth has long been the battleground between the forces of Light and Dark. There have been wars that have torn the world apart many times. The Custodes Noctis were created to help fight those wars and through the millennia have faced many Dark foes and driven them through the Veil into the Between World.
But the world is changing. Things are stirring that have not seen the light of day for epochs. The oldest family of Custodes Noctis—the Emrys—have fought on the side of the Light for thousands of years. Now, Rob Emrys is being called by something sinister and unseen, a command he must obey. While his brother, Galen, desperately attempts to save him, Rob finds himself unwillingly summoned to what could very possibly be his death—or worse.
The Summoning on Kindle
Also Available
The Sail Weaver
Enter a futuristic world of space exploration, rediscovered magic and a new age of tall ships.
Tristan Weaver is the most talented Weaver the guild has ever produced. Since he was a child and started his training to become a Weaver of the great sails of the navy’s galactic ships, he’s had no idea what fate planned for him. Then came the Winged Victory, the largest ship ever built, and he is given the task of Weaving her magical sails.
With a unique bond and friendship with the dragon Fenfyr, and in the face of hostile politics, prejudice and the threat of invasion by a horrifying enemy known as the Vermin, Tristan sets out on an unexpected adventure and discovers all is not as it seems. There are forces who want to win against the Vermin no matter what the cost. Struggling against enemies from within and without, Tristan and his companions fight to save the Winged Victory and the last hope of survival for humanity.
The Sail Weaver on Kindle
The Journey: A Custodes Noctis Story Page 2