“Galen? What are you doing in there?” Rhiannon’s voice broke into the memory.
“Coming,” he said, shoving the knife in his pocket. He threw the satchel over his shoulder and walked back into the living room. “Are you eating my dinner?”
“It was just getting cold in the microwave,” she said, spooning another mouthful of chili out of the bowl.
“I did plan on eating that before we left.”
“Oh, sure.” She took one last spoonful and handed the bowl to Galen.
He looked down at it, then back at her. She was grinning. “Sometimes I swear, Rhiannon.” He laughed, then with a shrug finished the chili. “Let’s go.”
* * * * *
The park was quiet, the trees casting odd shadows in the light from the streetlamps. A soft whisper of wind rustled the leaves on the bushes as Galen and Rhiannon walked silently along the trail. A dark shadow separated itself from a tree. Galen nodded at the large man who slipped quietly up beside them.
“Good to have you join us,” Greg Alexander said solemnly, nodding at Galen. “It’s always a pleasure when you come along to play.”
“Thanks,” Galen said by way of greeting. Always he is so reverent, so aware of who I should be, not who I am.
“I heard something down by the gardens,” Greg said.
“Okay, how do we handle it?” Rhiannon said, settling down to business.
“There are four main paths,” Galen said. “Two from up here, two from below. If one of us comes from below we might be able to cut off whatever it is.” He looked through the shifting shadows towards the gardens, full of empty branches. “I’ll head down there.”
“Be careful,” Rhiannon said.
“Always.” Galen walked silently down the path, sticking to the shadows, instincts honed in his youth serving him well. His senses were alert to every sound, shift of light and scent. He paused for a moment, something had moved off the trail to his left. A fat raccoon crossed the path in front of him, stopping to look at him for a moment before moving on.
Galen reached the lower paths to the gardens, glancing up the hill, he saw Rhiannon moving, ghostlike, down the hill. He was getting ready to move when someone screamed. Galen ran towards the sound, towards the back of the gardens where the leafless bushes were thick, obscuring his view. It was there, whatever it was, dragging a woman through the rosebushes. A shrill whistle let him know Rhiannon was behind him and to his right, the barking cough was Greg up and to his left.
Not a werewolf. Galen slowed down, drawing the falcata. “Let her go,” he said quietly. The thing turned black eyes in graying flesh towards him. It hissed at him. He smiled. “Okay, time to play, then,” he said, excitement buzzing through his hand. He caught sight of Rhiannon out of the corner of his eye and nodded slightly as she moved up behind the thing. Galen took a step forward, swinging the blade in front of him.
It let go of the woman and stood, looking at Galen for a moment. It reached a bony hand towards him. “Keeper,” it hissed.
“Not anymore,” Galen said.
“Yes, you are Keeper. Always Keeper.” It took a step towards him and paused. It sniffed the air, breath rasping into its lungs. Without warning it dove for him, knocking him off balance. Galen recovered, dancing away and brought the falcata up in an arcing swing. It launched itself at him again, one gray hand closing over Galen's wrist. It let out a harsh sigh. “You’re that Keeper?” Galen ignored it and sliced down, cutting the arm off at its wrist, the hand still clinging to his arm. He shook it off with a grimace. It came for him again, diving, the one claw-shaped hand outstretched towards his throat. It laughed, the odd dead voice full of glee. “Good,” it hissed. “That Keeper, here. The time is coming. The echoes build.”
“No.” Rage boiled out of Galen mixing with the exhilaration of the moment. He lashed out with the sword. The thing ducked, the blade swung through empty air. Galen shifted his balance, preparing for another swing. It came at him again, a knife in its remaining hand. He dodged the blade as it stabbed towards his abdomen. The movement unbalanced him enough for the body-blow of the thing to carry him down to the ground. “Shit!” he said, pushing himself out of the way as it brought its blade down towards his throat.
“Galen!” Rhiannon hit the thing, carrying it away from Galen. She didn’t move out from under it fast enough, he saw the blade sink into her flesh. She cried out, shoving it off of her. Galen saw a crossbow bolt shoot out the back of the thing. It screamed and stood, clawing at its back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Greg grappling with another one of the creatures. Well, if you can call turning it into hash grappling. Galen pushed up off the ground and launched at the creature in the same movement. He caught it that time, neatly severing the head from the neck. It dropped to the ground and after a huge convulsion lay still.
Galen ran to Rhiannon. She was trying to push herself up, one hand covering the bloody wound high on her shoulder. He pushed her hand away to get a better look at the wound. Black tendrils had already moved out from the wound. “Hold still,” he told her firmly. She stopped moving and looked at him, a questioning look in her eyes.
“What?” she said.
“Just don’t move until I tell you, okay?” He focused on the wound, “feeling” it carefully. Galen was still aware of the end of Greg’s fight, still aware of the thing he had killed on the ground. He dug through his first aid satchel and pulled out bandages and an herbal cream. Galen smeared a liberal amount of the cream on the wound before pressing the bandages in place.
“What’s that?” Rhiannon asked, her nose twitching as she caught a whiff of the cream.
“Clover, St. John’s Wort, vervain, betony and dill. It should stop the spread of the poison until I can deal with it at home.”
“Not here?”
“No,” he said, looking at the wound again. “It might be a little rough, I need to know we're safe before I heal it.”
She nodded, understanding. “How’d we do?”
“All finished,” Greg said, coming up behind Galen. “Although the woman’s dead. The one I killed grabbed her before she got away. Throat’s ripped completely open.” Galen glanced up at the other man, Greg had splatters of the thing’s black blood on him.
“Damn,” Galen sighed, then grinned at Greg. “Nice work finishing it.”
“A little messy, I know. Not like you.” Greg grinned back. “One swing. Nice, neat. Takes a bit of skill.” He laughed and Galen laughed with him. He always felt a little drunk after a successful party. Regret flowed on the heels of the exhilaration so quickly he barely had time to catch his breath. He shoved the memories away.
“Give me a hand with Rhiannon,” Galen said, pulling her to her feet. He and Greg half-carried her back to the parking lot and slid her into the passenger seat of her pickup. She mumbled a little as they buckled the belt around her.
“Will she be okay?”
“Yeah, I just need to get her home to finish treatment.” Galen slapped the other man on the shoulder. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Any chance to party with a Keeper,” Greg said.
“I’m not a Keeper,” Galen snapped.
“Yes, you are, and it’s an honor when you come out with us. A Keeper helping us?” the older man said kindly. “I know why you always say that, I understand. But it’s really who you are.”
“Who I was, Greg, not anymore.” Galen smiled and walked around to get into the truck. “I’ll give you a call and let you know how she is.”
“Thanks, and I’ll call you for play-time again really soon,” Greg said, grinning.
“Sure.” Galen turned the engine over and put the truck in gear. “How are you doing?” he asked Rhiannon, she smiled without opening her eyes. “Pain?” he said. She nodded. “We’ll be home soon.”
He pulled the truck out onto the dark road, the streetlights making glaring stripes on the hood of the pickup. It’s nearly midnight. It’s nearly…five years since Dad and Uncle Bobby, ten since… I wonder if
Rhiannon is right, that I should be worried. I have wondered about it. I thought I felt… and the scar has been acting up, twisting at night. Ten years, it might mean something, but what…? He shook his head and glanced at Rhiannon. Her eyes were open, watching him. He smiled. “Almost home.”
Chapter Two
Galen pulled the truck up behind his building, bringing it to a rattling stop. He grabbed his first aid kit and jumped out of the truck, walked around it and wrenched open the passenger door. “We’re here, can you help?” he said to Rhiannon. She opened her eyes with a wan smile and nodded, swinging her legs out of the truck and putting an arm over Galen’s shoulders. He helped her the rest of the way out and up the stairs to the apartment, dropping her gently on the couch before flipping on the lights.
“Time for the whammy?” she said, her eyes trying to focus on him.
Galen nodded, kneeling by the couch and rubbing his hands together before laying one on the wound on her shoulder and the other over her heart. He let the light flow, her eyes drifted close as he felt his hands heat up. Galen let his eyes close as he focused on the movement between his hands waiting until he felt the black poison from the blade recede. He pulled away and dropped back on his heels.
Rhiannon opened her eyes. “All fixed?”
“Mostly, the wound isn’t knitted, but it might need to drain a bit.”
“You know best, doc,” she said, pushing herself into a sitting position.
“I’m not a doctor.” Galen stood and wandered into the kitchen. The healing left him a little light-headed, as always. He pulled a sparkling water out of the fridge and took a long drink.
“That fancy piece of paper on the wall says doctor.”
“It says Ph.D. not M.D.,” he said with a laugh, grabbing another water and walking back to the couch.
“I remember when you got into grad school, Parry was bursting with pride.”
“He was a little embarrassing about it sometimes,” Galen laughed. “He and Bobby both. Even though…I still went and…I think they were a little sad, too,” Galen said suddenly. “It was a little symbolic of the break, that I continued even after what happened.”
“He was proud, he and Bobby both. They were planning such a party…” She stopped herself, looking at him. “Sorry.”
“Five years ago, right? I know. Right before my birthday, right before It came for me again.”
Rhiannon smiled gently. “It is today isn’t it?”
“One in the morning,” he said quietly. Memories were crowding in, pressing against him.
Rhiannon put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Galen?”
He looked at her. “Yeah?”
“What happened to Parry and Bobby wasn’t your fault.”
“It was though, they were protecting me. Shit, the Emrys line of Keepers ended that night, five years ago.”
“The line isn’t ended, Galen.”
“It is,” he snapped out. “And Dad and Uncle Bobby died defending that end. Defending me. It came for me, Rhiannon. I…I couldn’t even save them.” Galen sighed and got up again. He walked to the cupboard, and dug out two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila. “Since it is today.” He poured them both a shot and held one out to her.
“To Parry and Bobby,” she said, clinking her glass against his.
“When will we get there, Galen?” The bright smile beamed from the passenger seat. Galen took a deep breath, a lump forming in his throat, the loss suddenly fresh. “To Rob.”
“To Rob,” Rhiannon acknowledged quietly. “Galen? In all these years, I’ve never really asked, but do you want to tell me? How it began?”
“You were there.”
“About halfway through the beginning.”
“The beginning of the end?” He heard the bitter note in his voice. Galen poured them another shot. Suddenly the need to talk materialized as the old wound in his chest gave a hard twist.
“Galen?”
“It’s okay…” He took another slow breath, the past crowding him. “You know that as Custodes Noctis—Keepers—we’re raised by adoptive parents until we’re thirteen?”
“Yeah, you told me. And always brothers.”
“Brothers.” He sighed. “Five years apart. Always the same birthday. Like Dad and Uncle Bobby. At thirteen, we come to live with the older Keepers, to learn about what we do, to train for our lives as Custodes Noctis.”
“Protecting the world from the night?”
He nodded, they went over it every year, a familiar ritual, comforting. “Custodes Noctis, Keepers of the Night, the ancient line, keeping the world safe and protected from those things that the creatures of the night fear.” The words flowed off his tongue almost as a chant, a lesson learned and repeated hundreds of times.
“And ten years ago you…”
“I went to pick up Rob from his adoptive parents. Down in California. It was supposed to be a three-day drive. We were taking it in easy stages. We had gotten to know each other over the years, he came here for weekends and part of the summer, but that was the big move and I went to get him, the way the older brother always has, since the Custodes Noctis began.”
“A hero’s journey,” she said gently.
“I don’t know about that,” he said. He could hear the bitterness in his voice, the old emotions consuming him as the tequila loosened his tongue. “It was our second day on the road…”
Past
Ten years before
Day One
Afternoon was moving into early evening, the traffic thinned after they passed through the last town and the radio had given way to static. Galen was trying out various music choices, most met with disgusted grunts from the passenger seat. He finally gave up and slammed “Jupiter” into the tape player.
“When will we get there, Galen?” Rob asked after several minutes of Mozart. Galen looked over. His nearly thirteen-year-old brother smiled at him with a bright, carefree smile.
“When are we going to get where?”
“You know.” His brother rolled his eyes.
“We’ll be there tomorrow night,” Galen said and Rob sighed. Galen waited for a minute or two, but couldn’t stop himself from smiling at his brother’s repeated dramatic sighs. “Don’t worry Rob, we’ll be there in time for our birthday.” He knew Rob was asking about more than just their birthday.
“Promise, Galen?”
“Yeah, Rob. I promise, like I did yesterday and the day before…”
“And the day before,” Rob finished for him. He grinned at Galen. “And it’s a big day all around, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, you start your training with me the next day.” He grinned back at Rob.
“The formal training to make me Custodes Noctis, right?”
“No, the training to make you shut up sometimes,” Galen said, giving his brother a little shove.
“Yeah, right.” Rob shoved back. “At thirteen we leave our first family, begin our training with our brother and we learn how to use our Gift. We take the first steps into the night, the place others fear, but we walk. Right?” Rob had repeated most of it in a little sing-song. A lesson repeated many times over the years.
“Right. Our family has been Keepers since before Rome, since before the stone circles. We have protected people from the night and the things even the dark fears,” Galen went on.
“Always brothers, always of the same family.”
“Right.”
“We get to get stay at a hotel again tonight, don’t we?” Rob changed the subject with a sly grin. The trip was a huge adventure for him, and he was making the most of time with just the two of them. It had been sparing in the past, except for late nights talking in the privacy of one or the other’s room. The time had been filled with lessons and the first of their training.
“Yeah, we’ll get to stay in a hotel tonight, Rob. We’ll pull off for dinner first, how’s that sound?”
“Can I pick, Galen?”
“Sure, what do you want tonight?”
&n
bsp; “Burgers? We had pizza last night and tacos the night before.”
“Keeping track of everywhere we eat?”
“Yep, I don’t want to repeat until after our birthday,” he said, smiling at Galen. He took every chance to remind Galen their birthday was just around the corner.
“What happens if we repeat?”
Rob shrugged. “I don’t know. Just seemed fun, you know.” Rob’s smile faded just a tiny bit. Sometimes leaving his adoptive family hit him, and a slight sadness crept into his voice.
“Sure, something different is always good.” Galen smiled at him. Rob’s smile brightened again.
“Can I have dessert, too? A sundae?”
“Yeah, Rob, sure.” Galen noticed exit signs coming up. “Want to stop here? Or later?”
“Now? I’m kind of hungry now, Galen, if it’s okay?” His brother still sounded a little sad, Galen could sense the edge of Rob's uncertainty.
“Wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t.” He followed the exit down to a small town. “What do you think about Pat’s Burgers?” Galen said, pulling into a diner alongside the road. “Hey,” he said, putting a hand on Rob’s arm before the other could get out.
“Yeah, Galen?”
“I know it’s not quite our birthday, but I thought you might like this.” Galen pulled a small package out of his pocket and handed it to Rob.
His brother took it with wide eyes. “Can I open it now?”
“That’s why I gave it to you,” Galen said, smiling.
Rob ripped the paper off and carefully opened the box. His eyes lit up as he reverently pulled the copper, silver and bronze bracelet out. He laughed happily, a joyous sound. “This makes it official, doesn’t it?” he said with a proud grin.
Galen grinned back. “Yeah, Brat, it does.” Galen slid the bracelet over his brother’s left wrist. The design remained unchanged from the first ones made millennia before, the badge of the Keeper, Custodes Noctis. Each design was unique to a given family line. “There’s more.”
The Legacy: A Custodes Noctis Book Page 2