by Unknown
“Mam’selle! Mam’selle!” called out the breathless and hoarse voice of a young boy she recognized right away.
“Oh, Gerald! You look upset,” she said, noticing his distress. He avoided her eyes by searching for something his bag.
“I’m so sorry, Mam’selle! Mama boxed my ears earlier to punish me, but I didn’t do it on purpose, honest!”
“What are you talking about?” Virginie asked with curiosity. She frowned as Gerald brought a large crumpled envelope out of his bag and held it out to her.
“I was to give it to Clovis with the other letters, but later I saw I’d forgotten it. Then it was the cap’n who returned from Egypt with my papa and I completely forgot about it, until this morning when my mama told me to clean the mess in my bag.”
Virginie’s head was spinning and she held her breath. She recognized the distinctive handwriting on the cover as Georges Maltinard’s. Quaking inside, her trembling hands took the letter from Gerald and she felt a sense of hope coming back to her. Could he have sent her proof incriminating Darius in her father’s death before he was murdered?
“I’m really sorry Mam’selle.” Gerald repeated, feeling very guilty. “I can see ‘tis very important to you.”
“I’m not upset with you my boy.” Virginie spoke softly to him, lifting his chin and looking him in the eyes. “In a way, it was good that you forgot this letter because it is now that it has a precious value.”
If the letter had arrived earlier, it could have made things more difficult, if Darius had searched her belongings and found it before she had a chance to talk to Kalaan about it, it could have been her body they found instead of the sheep. Now that danger was out of the way, the letter could only bring more support for what was to follow.
“True?” Gerald smiled.
“Oh, yes!” Virginie exclaimed, flashing a wonderful smile before leaning over to kiss the boy on the cheek. “Run along now. You’re a hero!”
He took off down the steep slope into the village, running in his wooden clogs, which made Virginie worry he might fall and hurt himself. But the boy was used to running that way. He whooped in joy as he went along, raising his hands to the sky.
Smiling, Virginie opened the envelope and began to read Georges’ letter. She quickly leafed through the four pages he’d sent, getting paler and paler as she read.
“’Tis worse than I thought,” she gasped, her hand on her throbbing heart. She had to find Kalaan, right away!
When she reached the broken circle, he was there. He had obviously taken a detour on his way back from seeing Jaouen and, as she had earlier, was admiring the view of the sea, which was even more beautiful on this side of the island.
“Kal... Catherine!” Waving the letter from Georges Maltinard above her head, Virginie called out to him, but was careful with his name in case there were indiscreet ears around.
The lady pirate turned to look at her and waved, a big smile on her face. Kalaan was happy to see her, here in this unique and magical place, the spot where they’d loved each other passionately for the first time. As he watched Virginie approach, his smile became hesitant. She looked devastated by something, almost in a state of shock.
“What is it, Ginny? What’s wrong?” he asked in a worried tone, quietly cursing his feminine voice.
“It’s… the letter from the detective! Gerald forgot to give it to Clovis the morning you arrived here. You must read it. It…it’s beyond understanding.”
Kalaan eagerly took the pages with his slender fingers and fervently began reading the letter. When he came to the end, his face was taut with tension and his amber-green eyes were colder than Virginie had ever seen them.
“I will kill him,” he growled.
“And who do you wish to kill, young lady?” It was the inimitable and reviled voice of Darius Borgas, mocking the couple.
Virginie let out a scream of horror and turned to see the man close to one of the standing stones. His clothes were covered in dark dirt and straw and he didn’t have the same bearing as before, yet he had a terribly dangerous aura about him. How did he manage to escape?
Kalaan grabbed Virginie by the arm and pushed her behind his back to protect her from the man pointing a pistol at them. The young count unconsciously made the same life-saving gesture his father had just before taking the bullet that killed him.
“Oh now, how very sweet,” Darius said, maliciously mocking them. “There is a code of chivalry among women. Isn’t that interesting! However you are wasting your energy trying to protect the marchioness, young lady,” he continued, “I have a bullet for each of you.”
Kalaan berated himself for not bringing a weapon with him. How was he going to save Virginie? He would have to find a parry and distract the monster. With a little luck he might be able to seize the weapon and kill the man before he carried out his threat.
“Don’t you move young lady!” Darius ordered, when he sensed that Catherine was preparing to act. “So,” he added waving the barrel of his gun in their general direction, “What did Georges the snoop tell you? Oh! I know… First he told you why I killed your beloved papa.”
Virginie stiffened behind Kalaan and gripped the back of his jacket. He heard her gasp when Darius mentioned her father. Don’t move, Ginny, he thought, praying the young woman would remain still.
If only he had Dorian’s gifts! Kalaan widened his eyes and Darius misinterpreted the expression. The repulsive man thought Georges hadn’t mentioned the Marquis de Macy, whereas Kalaan had simply thought of a way out of this situation. He would summon Dorian by calling him using his thoughts. He would tell him where he was, who was with him and that Virginie was in deadly danger.
“Your dear father, Virginie, was nothing more than a damned snoop! In order to meet him at your home several times, and thwart him, I invented the excuse that I wanted to ask your hand in marriage. Sorry to dash your illusions, but ‘twas only a ruse. You are of no significance to me whatsoever. Then one day I caught him red-handed. He’d seen me conversing with a few disreputable characters. They, and I, are members of the Poisoners’ Guild[71]. Hmm, yes… I see that you’ve heard of us; our reputation as assassins precedes us. It is nothing more than a job, but with very lucrative contracts. So, I couldn’t let him live, with that knowledge. It was very easy to have him drink a lethal substance such as Cantarella[72]. Especially since as an apothecary, I have all the necessary ingredients at hand.”
“You are an abominable human being!” Virginie preferred to hide her pain behind a mask of anger, but Catherine, kept her safely in place behind her.
“Oh no, I’m not abominable in the least; I’m only trying to get my throne! Yes, yes, yes... Georges Maltinard must have told you my plans, which were to mount a coup d’état, and overthrow Charles X, that buffoon! Besides now ‘tis only a question of time. I will poison him as with the others; and it will be easy, because I’m often with him. Then I will kill everyone who might potentially stand in my way — from the aristocrats such as the pudgy Delatour to the members of parliament and even the clergy. All those who go against my wishes will die! Each and every one, down to the very last rebel! And in less than a year I will become the King of France!”
Darius spoke with demonic pomposity, his eyes lit up with complete insanity. Only a madman could possibly believe in a project of that kind, or that degree of slaughter. The bloodthirsty madman only had one word on his lips: kill!
Darius was trembling from head to foot and had an ecstatic smile on his lips. Caught up in his murderous euphoria, he could already see himself on the country’s throne with his assassin’s guild as bodyguards and executioners.
“Now you understand why I couldn’t let that detective live; but it was an error not to have burned the pieces. I’m still annoyed at myself for that today.” Darius sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “Now, I will also have to take care of Vidocq when I return to Paris. Such a pity, but then, also such an honor to confront a great man such as him! I may even keep his hea
d as a trophy! And now, ladies, you know everything about my plans, from Georges as well as straight from the mouth of your future king. Oh, but I’m being stupid! You will never see me as king… for you will be dead!” Darius, still jeering, raised his gun.
At the exact same time that Darius fired the pistol, Kalaan pushed Virginie to the ground out of the bullet’s trajectory and felt a searing pain. Stunned by the shock of the impact, he brought his hands to his abdomen and looked down to see that they were covered in blood, which was pouring from his wound soaking through his white shirt.
“You shouldn’t have moved!” Darius sneered, “Now you will die a horribly slow and painful death. I was aiming for your heart. I’ll finish you off later, with a large rock, since my dagger was taken from me. But for the moment, I’ll deal with the Marchioness of Macy.”
“No,” gasped Kalaan. He fell on his knees, as if all his strength was abandoning him at the same time as his lifeblood. To block out the pain, he turned his thoughts to his beloved.
Night was falling and in the distance they could hear the church bells and the sound of horns echoing throughout the isle. It wasn’t to announce the arrival of a ship, but an alarm, warning that the prisoner had escaped. Too late, much too late for Kalaan but probably not for Virginie.
Darius reloaded his weapon as the young woman threw herself to the ground next to her love, sobbing. Tears of sorrow flowed down her cheeks when she understood he’d been fatally wounded. The murderer raised his pistol again, aimed and… screamed in pain when a dagger hit him in the shoulder, making him drop his weapon. A second later, the husky jumped on him, digging his fangs in the criminal’s throat, then dragged him to the cliff’s edge.
Darius managed to break free of the dog’s grip, and tried to stem the flow of the blood running from his deep wound. He stood up, shakily and his eyes bulged when he saw the being coming towards him surrounded by a very visible dark aura of vengeance… Dorian!
But it was not the same man that Darius had glimpsed, nor the pagan dressed in blue fabric from head to toe. No, this was a demon… or was it an angel who descended on earth, to save him and help him take the throne?
“No!” growled Dorian in his gravelly voice that seemed to echo throughout the circle. “I have come to destroy you and see that you no longer harm anyone!”
The child of the gods surrounded by a red aura, his eyes gleaming with a myriad of white sparks, conjured fire in his hands and formed a huge ball of flames which he threw at Darius who caught fire like a living torch. Screaming in agony, being consumed both inside and out by the fire, Borgas swayed backwards beating his arms. His screams turned into hoarse wailing, then gurgling and he fell backwards off of the cliff landing on rocks below, before being carried off by the waves.
Virginie, on witnessing the entire scene, went into a trance-like state. It was the only way to avoid losing her mind. She watched Dorian hasten towards them, closed her eyes, shedding a few tears then shook her head to clear her troubled mind. When she reopened her eyes, the celestial being that Dorian had been was now once again Kalaan’s friend, an ordinary man… almost.
“Do... Dorian,” Kalaan moaned as his friend took his hand and pulled back his shirt to inspect the wound. “Take care … of Ginny,” he whispered, “and my mother … and Isabelle.”
“You will do it yourself,” Dorian replied gruffly.
“Liar…” Kalaan’s voice was getting quieter as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. Death was approaching, far too quickly.
“Kalaan!” cried Virginie, leaning over to kiss him. “You must fight, for us, for our future! I love you! Oh, I love you so very much! Fight this, my love, please fight!” she begged him as he closed his eyes letting his head roll to the side.
“I love… you…” he whispered in his silvery voice. It was his last breath, just before his heart stopped beating, just as the sun disappeared off the horizon.
“Oh, I love you too… more than you’ll ever know.” Virginie took him in her arms and held him to her heart.
Night was moving in on the group and Dorian, with his gravelly voice, began chanting in a language no one knew. He raised his hands to the stars, exuding a warm, luminous aura at the same time. Thanks to the magic of the elements that he was calling, the child of the gods lit up the five standing stones of the broken circle and the sacred knoll was cradled in their celestial light.
Jaouen, who had observed everything from afar, went up to Virginie and taking her by the shoulders gently pulled her way from Catherine’s dead body.
“Catherine had to die,” he said softly. “It’s time to let Dorian do what he can for Kalaan, now. It might not be too late for the man imprisoned in the woman’s body.”
The child of the gods was running his hands over Catherine’s body, chanting words in a strange language. Virginie could feel the extent of their power and her whole body trembled. Much to her bewilderment, all the blood on Catherine’ body slowly disappeared and the open wound on Catherine’s skin closed. And yet the lady buccaneer was still dead.
“Return to us!” commanded Dorian, while pumping her ribs with his hands then blowing air into her mouth while lifting the chin, then back to pumping again.
“Wh… what is he doing?” Virginie exclaimed, turning to look at the druid.
“He’s trying to bring him back to life.”
“Return!” Dorian shouted again.
Just he was beginning to doubt he would succeed, something unbelievable happened. It began with the scar in Catherine’s hand slowly fading until it disappeared completely. Then in a sudden movement she threw her head backwards and arching her back gasped for air. Her body began to transform, taking on the shape of Kalaan’s. Dorian, drained and surprised, stepped back and fell sitting on the ground.
“You succeeded,” said Jaouen, breathless with admiration. He looked at Dorian with eyes full of devotion. The young man looked exhausted and close to fainting, so the druid reassured him.
“’Tis the magic that does that. You had to draw on much of your life force to accomplish such a deed.
“Kalaan?” Virginie took her soulmate’s hand both laughing and crying at the same time when he opened his eyes.
“Am I dead and gone to heaven?” he asked in a heavy voice, thick as if he’d been sleeping for hours.
“You were really gone, my love.” she answered tenderly, wiping the tears from her cheeks, before smiling and kissing him.
“But, where am I then?” Kalaan asked raising his head to see the shining standing stones flickering with the light from Dorian.
“You’ve returned from the dead, my brother,” Dorian said, smiling.
“Can you explain?”
“’Tis our Kalaan, he is,” Jaouen gently mocked and he quietly laughed taking out his pipe and lighting it with his tinder lighter.
“And ‘tis you, our eternal smoker,” Kalaan retorted, laying his head Virginie’s lap.
“It’s quite simple really,” Dorian began explaining, “But it wasn’t supposed to happen in this manner. The curse said ‘Only death shall release you’ and Jaouen and I thought, well, we planned to suggest provoking Catherine’s death so that Kalaan would return forever. There was a risk, but as we now know, it was a risk worth taking, as it worked. Except that it was Darius Borgas who shot you and we were far away when it happened. I was afraid I’d never see you again, my brother.”
“I would have missed you too.” Kalaan was deeply moved by Dorian’s expression of fraternal friendship. “And Borgas? He was going to… Virginie, are you all right?”
“Yes, my love,” she replied, amused at his sudden solicitude. Her face clouding over, she turned to look at Dorian. “Then the standing stones started shining almost as radiantly as the moon … but I’m not sure of everything I saw tonight. Dorian was different. He… he had a ball of fire in his hands and threw it at Darius who was literally consumed alive before falling over the edge of the cliff. So, gentlemen, do you not think it’s about time yo
u told me everything?”
Just then Skedaddle started barking happily as if to greet someone he liked and they heard people shouting as they approached.
“Kalaan!” Amélie, Isabelle, and Lil’ Louis who had just returned from the mainland, were coming towards the broken circle.
“My lord!” called out Clovis, who was with them. All four appeared in the circle and stood transfixed by the enchantment.
“Ohhh...”They all gasped in unison, turning all around to admire the magical phenomenon of the luminous stones.
“Thank you, I’m doing well and Virginie is too!” Kalaan said, as the two of them laughed.
Amélie was the first to see him lying on the ground in Virginie’s arms and went to him with a worried look on her face.“Darius has escaped! What are you doing lying there on the grass?” she asked, in surprise, but then returned to admire the shining stones again.
“I died. Well Catherine did. And I was resuscitated, as myself, as Kalaan.”
“What?” Amélie gasped, her legs almost giving way under her.
“Would the three of you please tell my family and friends what happened here? I’m far too tired to do it.” Kalaan murmured, closing his eyes while Virginie lovingly stroked his hair.
And so the young woman told Darius’ insane story, about the Poisoners’ Guild and why he murdered her father and Georges. She also described his murderous rage when he tried to shoot Catherine. Dorian and Jaouen took over from there, telling them about the magic, the young highlander’s background, that he was a child of the gods and how he’d killed Darius.
After a long moment of silence, Kalaan finally asked Jaouen, “Why didn’t I feel any pain when I transformed in Ginny’s presence?”