Knight Purged

by Jason Hamilton

  “I could’ve found another way.”

  “Maybe, but do we know that for sure? I’ve gathered that you don’t always have full control over your magic, or at least it’s difficult to control.”

  “You have no idea,” she said with a mirthless smile.

  He paused, then said. “So tell me.”

  She looked at him, questioning with her eyes.

  “Before we arrived at the Idle Isle, you said you couldn’t tell me everything about your imbalance. I figured you needed time. But in killing the two brothers, you revealed some of it. Tell me what the problem is, and maybe I can help.”

  But already she was shaking her head. “You can’t help me.”

  “I think I can,” he said with some confidence. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh, I might not be able to solve all your problems, but keeping everything bottled up inside like you’ve done...well it can’t be healthy. I promise not to judge you.”

  Una sniffed. “You won’t judge me? Mister perfectly balanced?”

  “Balance goes two ways, you know. If you try too hard to avoid one mistake, you can end up causing another. So it is with life. If I became so obsessed about balance, to the point that I judged others harshly for their lack of it, what would that make me?”

  Una gave a soft chuckled. “Imbalanced.”

  “Exactly.”

  She seemed to consider that, staring off across the waves for a long while. Then, she said. “I hear voices, Guyon.”

  He frowned. “I’m sorry?”

  “Voices, in my head. I don’t know what they are, or where they came from. I think they might be some kind of manifestation of my magic. But they know things, things I’ve never known myself. It’s how I was able to know who Occasion and Furor were, and how I sensed the Idle Isle before we arrived at it. And it’s how I knew to kill those men.”

  “And there are more than one?”

  She nodded. “They all sound like me, but one is angry, one is afraid, one is manipulative. They all work together. Sometimes they try to take my magic from me. To take control. That’s what happened when I healed Amavia after we first met.”

  Guyon nodded. Certain pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. “I understand. But are its intentions evil? Most of what you’ve described was very helpful at the time.”

  She shook her head. “They tried to convince me of that, and indeed much of what they’ve shown me has been genuinely useful. It allowed me to communicate with you while you were in Annwyn’s shadow. It kept me hidden from Archimago and the others on the island. But then…”

  Guyon understood. “But then you killed Pyrochles and Cymochles.”

  “Yes,” she said. “And I’ve been fighting them ever since. They want full control, but I cannot give it to them.”

  “But even killing the brothers was still, in the end, a blow to the Sins. These voices don’t want to help Acrasia or Duessa do they?”

  She shook her head. “No, but you can’t hear them, Guyon. You can’t...feel them try to take control. They’re hungry for the magic I have, and they will do anything to use it. Sometimes that means doing the right thing, but they want more than that. Much more.”

  She left it at that, and Guyon didn’t pry further. She had already confided more than he expected her to. And to be honest, it had not been what he’d thought she’d say. Oh, he had suspected that there was more to her magic than she was letting on, but voices? He’d never heard of such a thing before.

  “Perhaps we could visit Avalon,” he ventured. “I’m sure there are women there who have dealt with such things.”

  “I doubt it,” she said, shaking her head once again. “They don’t have what I have.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Old blood. Both Duessa and the dragon mentioned it. I think it’s partially responsible for why magic comes so easily to me and not others. I hear some sorceresses at Avalon take years of training, and even then can barely do more than light a candle.”

  Guyon nodded, he’d heard much the same, though as he understood it, there was a wide range of potential when it came to such things.

  “Now, if I could find Merlin…” Una mused.

  “Merlin?” he asked. He’d heard the name. “Isn’t that the advisor to old King Uther, the one who placed the sword in the stone? You’re saying he’s still alive?”

  Una nodded. “Arthur spoke of him, and so did the Faerie Queen. She said he’s also of the old blood. Perhaps he would have answers for me.”

  “Well then, I hope we can find him.”

  “We?” she asked.

  He turned his head and winked at her. “The Faerie Queen can wait. Some things take priority. I told you I would help you find answers.”

  The effect of that simple statement was far more dramatic than he anticipated. Una hung her head and let out a breath of air. Tears fell from her eyes into her lap.

  “Hey!” he said, putting a hand on her back. “I didn’t mean…”

  “No, it’s fine,” she said. “It’s just, I appreciate the sentiment, but I fear you won’t have much choice in the matter. George…well, he couldn’t stay.”

  “Yes, he was given a mission, right?”

  “It’s more than that. Those in the direct service of the Faerie Queen must refute all ties and all loyalties for at least six years. The only reason he and I are even able to see each other at all is because I agreed to help her too.”

  Guyon went still. Six years? He hadn’t known that. A month or so ago he wouldn’t have cared. He would have pledged himself to the Faerie Queen for six decades. But now...well now things were more complicated.

  That would mean his commitment to Medina…

  He shook his head to clear it. “We can’t worry about that right now. Such concerns for the future will distract us from the here and now. And right now, we need to deal with Acrasia before she does any more harm to the people of this island and this country.” He stood, steadying himself against the small mast, “Are you with me?”

  Her face was grave, but Una stood as well. “I’m with you.”

  “I will not ask you to use your magic again,” he said. “After what you went through, perhaps it would be too much to ask. But I welcome anyone who can…”

  “It’s alright, Guyon,” she said, and there was a dark determination in her eyes. “I will do what it takes to rid ourselves of other monsters, even if I become one. Just promise me one thing…”

  “Yes?” Guyon replied with some foreboding.

  “If I begin to turn on you, or anyone else who does not deserve punishment, then you will stop me, by whatever means necessary.”

  Guyon stared at her evenly. He wasn’t entirely sure he could stop her, given what he’d seen of the results of her magic. But if he could do something, he would. Una was a friend, but he would do what must be done to preserve balance. Even if that meant acquiescing to Una’s wishes. Ultimately, he nodded. “I will do what I must.”

  Una’s mouth grew tight. “That’s all I can ask for.”

  They spent the next few hours, helping Roslyn adjusting the sails and occasionally guiding the rudder. Overall, it wasn’t a difficult job, apart from the incessant motion of the craft. Guyon had thought himself used to travel by boat, but he had only done so on larger ships. Smaller boats were a much different story. As they picked up speed, it wasn’t long before his stomach turned even further.

  But perhaps it wasn’t the ocean that upset his gut. Una’s request still haunted him, and he spent the next few hours in silent prayer to the Faerie Queen, or if she wasn’t listening, to any god who was. He and Una had to see each other through to the end. He would not abandon her, even to her own demons.

  “We’re coming up on the place now,” said Roslyn, pulling Guyon out of his thoughts.

  He glanced forward, and immediately saw what Roslyn was referring to. They weren’t coming up on the island, at least not visibly. But an enormous storm waited for them ahead. Even as Guyon watched, it seemed t
o grow bigger, as if rearing itself up for an attack. It was alive, and it knew they were coming.

  Una glanced at him, and he nodded. Slowly, he pulled the Amulet of Odysseus out from under his armor so it lay on top.

  “Let’s hope finding that thing was worth it,” she said, looking back over the ocean.

  “Yes,” said Guyon in a grim tone. “It had better be.”

  He hadn’t told her much about his time in the Shadow Realm. He hadn’t bothered to tell her, as she had seemed far more preoccupied with her own troubles to worry about his. But that did not mean the place hadn’t left a scar on him. That last vision of his parents…

  But no, now was not the time to think about that. He had to keep his gaze fixed forward, fixed upon the maelstrom ahead.

  Lightning arced across the sky, illuminating a great maw of torrential rain hovering like a great devil’s circle above giant waves. Even at their distance, Guyon could tell they were at least as high as their current vessel, if not higher.

  He set his jaw and glanced down at the amulet. The artifact’s main purpose was to keep men from temptation. Would it really guide them through that living hell ahead of them?

  As if in direct answer to his silent query, the gem in the center of the amulet flared to life, shining a bright blue-green glow ahead of them, glinting against the waves. Then, as if alive, the beam narrowed, the light coalescing until it formed a single line, pointing out from Guyon’s chest. Pointing directly at the coming storm.

  Guyon removed his eyes from the sight to glance at Una and Roslyn. “Well if that’s not an invitation, I don’t know what is.”

  “It’s pointing us right at the worst part of the storm,” said Roslyn. “The ship will be torn apart if we go in there.”

  “It’s okay,” Guyon put out a hand and turned to stare back at the storm. “The path ahead is not always what we think when we set out.”

  Roslyn glanced at Una, who shrugged, seemingly unafraid on the surface. Roslyn shook her head in exasperation. “Well salt me and hang me out to dry, I haven’t seen any normal trinket behave like that one. Maybe it can get us through the storm.” She retreated back towards the rudder. “We’re going in.”

  The woman brought the boat around so that it moved in the direction of the light coming from the amulet. Guyon strode to the front of the boat, putting one hand up against the forward mast. Light streamed out of his chest like a beacon. Roslyn was right that it pointed at what looked to be the worst of the storm, but he had to trust that all the effort he’d put forth in obtaining the amulet would be worth it. Acrasia was there, somewhere beyond the tempest. He would find her, and he would end her atrocities one way or another.

  The boat sped forward, as if propelled by some supernatural force. The sails were full and yet they did not tear to shreds in the heavy wind.

  Darkness gathered around them as they drew closer, and yet the slight touch of a smile graced Guyon’s lips. He could feel it. They were going to make it through.

  “Look!” yelled Una, pointing forward at an enormous whirlpool that approached them ahead. Guyon leaned out to get a better look. It was massive, its water swirling down into the depths of the ocean, deep enough that Guyon could not make out its bottom. Perhaps it had no bottom in a place like this.

  And yet the light of the amulet crossed right above it.

  “I’ll take us around,” said Roslyn. “There’s no way we’ll survive that.”

  “No,” said Guyon, holding out a hand. “Follow the light.”

  “But…”

  “Trust me,” he said. “We can get through this. Trust in the magic.”

  Una glanced at him as he said that. He hadn’t meant her magic, and she likely knew that. But even though Una’s magic had done something terrible, he trusted Una. Both she and Roslyn would need to trust him now. Una gave him a brief nod, which he returned with a smile before looking out at the waters ahead again.

  As he had passed through Mammon’s temptation, through the gulf of greediness, they would pass through this.

  32

  Miraculously, as they approached the great whirlpool, the boat began to level out. On all sides, the waves continued to rise and fall, and bits of debris from what must have been other ships continued to whip past them, going round and round the whirlpool. Yet somehow they continued straight. To Roslyn’s astonishment, they were soon on the other side of the pool, and moving right along.

  “Well, I ain’t seen nothing like that in my entire life.”

  “You’re about to see much more,” Guyon placed both hands along the bow of the ship, leaning forward. “Keep us steady.”

  “That I will, Sir Guyon,” she said, adjusting the rudder so they continued on course with the light flashing out of Guyon’s chest. It was the first time she’d used his name and title before.

  They continued on, the storm doing almost nothing to impede their path, other than soak their clothes through. They passed through storm and what looked like monsters swooping out of the clouds. They passed through giant rocks that stood like great standing stones in their path, but the light continued to guide them forward, without damage.

  Guyon knew it would.

  After the light had appeared out of the amulet, he’d had no doubt. They would soon arrive at the Bower of Bliss.

  Indeed, it wasn’t long before they saw shallows. And soon after that, the first glimpse of land ahead of them. Unlike the Idle Isle, which had been little more than a large hill peeking out of the water, this was a proper island, comparable in size to the Holy Island itself. It appeared out of the sea at a low angle on one end, but rose steadily to become a great, almost mountainous peak at the other.

  And on that peak was a castle, perhaps one of the largest Guyon had ever seen. It had seven great towers, one of which was far higher than the others, and it was surrounded by layered walls that proceeded down the giant hill upon which it stood. They would likely have to pass through multiple gates to get there.

  “I’ve seen something like that before,” said Una, and she turned to meet Guyon’s gaze. “The City of Pride. That is definitely a structure belonging to someone from the Otherworld.”

  “A remnant of the dominance they once possessed over this land,” said Guyon, turning back to stare at the distant castle. “Let us ensure they do not hold it for much longer.”

  The storm above them broke, and sunlight streamed onto the island. Looking up, Guyon could see the storm still raging behind them and away beyond the island, but not in the center. Now they were encased in a sort of circular oasis from the tempest. They were safe.

  “I’ll bring her to the shore just ahead,” said Roslyn.

  “Keep watch over the boat,” said Guyon. “We don’t know how quickly we may have to leave.”

  “You sure you won’t need my help?” Roslyn narrowed her eyes in concern.

  Guyon shook his head. “Your help has already been invaluable. You can help us now by ensuring we can leave at a moment’s notice.”

  Roslyn nodded curtly. “Very well, good luck to ye.”

  “We’re going to need it,” said Una, checking to ensure her knife was secure around her belt.

  Guyon nodded slightly. Yes, they had the Amulet of Odysseus, but he had a feeling the storm had been the easy part. The real challenge still faced them with Acrasia and whoever else protected this island.

  They would find a way. After coming this far, they could not, they would not stop now.

  A small path wound up the bank from where they stood, a path devoid of large rocks and clear of all debris. Guyon and Una began to make their way up the path, Guyon slowly cataloging and ensuring that each piece of armor was securely fastened, and that his new sword and shield were ready. The amulet still hung from his neck, softly glowing and pulsing as they walked. It hadn’t glowed before they reached the storm, and if it was glowing still, that likely meant there was still danger nearby.

  They were not out of the storm yet.

  As they cres
ted the rise, the path stretched out in front of them, straight at the first of several walls that surrounded the great keep at the far end of the island.

  Everything about the island was beautiful. The keep gleamed in the sunlight that streamed in through the hole in the center of the storm. The walls were colorful, covered in something that Guyon couldn’t make out from this distance, but that gave them a unique look. And the fields in front of them were laden with soft grasses and flowers of every variety. It was a paradise.

  Movement caught Guyon’s eye, and he squinted to see what looked like small pigs wandering through the fields, some of them nibbling on the plants, but others simply...frolicking, there was no other word for it, among the flowers and grasses.

  “It’s like the Idle Isle,” said Una. “Only...more.”

  Guyon nodded but said nothing. It was indeed like the Idle Isle, and he imagined that place must have felt Acrasia’s power at some point. It had been enchanted in much the same way to lead the hearts of men away from their purpose.

  Oddly, he felt none of the lure that he’d experienced before. This place had to be full of enchantment, and yet his mind was calm. Perhaps it was the power of the amulet, which still pulsed in response to the magic permeating the place, or perhaps it was simply his experience with similar enchantment. But his heart was as calm as the eye of the storm.

  He glanced over at Una. “Can you feel the spells here?”

  She nodded, “It’s everywhere. I can...almost see it.” She stared forward, as if looking at something specific, though Guyon saw nothing.

  “I can give you the amulet if you need it,” said Guyon.

  She shook her head. “I will be fine. My own magic, dangerous as it is, I think it’s protecting me from the worst of it.”

  Guyon considered that. Una’s magic was a force to be reckoned with. Already she had shown the power to seek out magic, to be protected by it, and...to kill.

  Guyon squared his jaw. “Then let us continue. Acrasia must be in that keep.”

  Una confirmed his suspicion with a nod. “In the highest tower,” she added.