Whoever’s out there, we’ll find them, he thought.
“It’s time,” Allie said.
“Where’s Billy?”
Allie pushed him forwards gently. “She’ll be watching.”
Norman searched himself and found no trace of the chill that had bound him to Billy and the strange other world. He stepped from the crowd to meet Lucian, whose silver hair blended with the white robe he had donned: the robe of the elders of the Old Alliance. Though he wore it with visible reluctance, he wore it well.
Norman said, “I’ve been remembering a lot lately. From before this”—he gestured to the scar upon his head—“and before…” Flames in his mind’s eye, flashes of a much younger James, whole and brave and scared, racing into the heart of a faraway place called Newquay’s Moon. “I know it was never supposed to be me.”
Lucian’s eyes creased to slits. “Don’t go talking about things meant to be. Those are his words. Be yourself: that’s what we need.” Lucian held out a woodsman’s axe. “Do your brothers proud.”
Norman lifted the axe and approached a sheet covering the wall above the lobby. A rope held by a peg in the floor bound it in place. He stepped to one side and took a long look around at everyone. “There is no future set in stone. We are who we choose to be.”
He swung the axe into the soil, cutting the rope. The sheet fell away and revealed the crest of the New Alliance: a white-robed figure with an arm outstretched, upon which a pigeon alighted.
EPILOGUE
Billy sat cross-legged on a vent grating, high above London’s streets. Up here the wind was cold and mussed her hair, fresh and clear. Far below, Norm and the others disappeared into the tower.
“We did it, Daddy,” she said, kicking her heels. “We beat the Bad Men.”
She reached out inside, searching for a glimmer of Daddy’s voice, his face, hoping the Light might bring him back to her just this once. But not this time. She had only her memories.
“We did it,” she muttered.
A piece of her hadn’t wanted the quest to stop. Since arriving in Enger Land she had been hurt and scared, seen things that swept away pieces of her like dandelion petals in the wind—but she had had a purpose, and she hadn’t been so alone.
Without Daddy and Ma and Grandpa, she had nobody.
No, she reminded herself as Allie and Norm’s faces floated in front of her. Things had changed.
“It’s okay, Daddy. You don’t have to worry about me.”
The wind swept her hair under her chin, tickling her neck, and she smiled. She imagined Daddy by her now, and the wind became his hand on her skin, his lips kissing her cheek.
Stranger things had happened in Enger Land.
“It’s over,” she said, watching the sun climb higher in the sky. She let herself drift off, just staring, wondering whether maybe, just maybe, the world had grown a little brighter.
She wasn’t sure when she first sensed a presence close by, but when she returned from drifting in the clouds, cold crept up the vent under her legs, and somebody sat beside her. She didn’t look over, didn’t need to, just kept watch over the city twinkling in the sun.
“I did it,” she said.
“Yes. You did,” said Fol. He drew a long sigh.
“It’s not over, is it?”
“No.”
She looked at him. His pale face bore his signature half-friendly expression. His thin body was covered by the same dark overcoat. But something was different about him. The cragged cap to his head that looked like hair—but she knew had been the seat of his Jester’s hat—rustled in the wind. His clothing crumpled as he moved.
He seemed more there…
Billy reached out and prodded his arm. Her finger bent on contact with his overcoat. Cold, touched with Frost, but there.
“You’re…”
“Things are different now. We’re playing a whole new game. You saved this world for now, but the Vanished still labour, and All Where is still in danger. The gloves are off, girl. It’s time to take the fight to them.”
Billy swallowed. She knew she could say no, if she wanted. She could stay here with Allie and Norm and the others, and she might be happy.
But the Light would never fade, and one day soon, it would all go away for good—not just this place, but all places.
“We have to find the others,” she said.
“You feel them?”
Billy searched herself. “They’re so far away.”
Fol stood from the grate, dusting his coat. “Better get started then. Are you ready, Billy?”
She stole one last look at the city, held it in her mind like a glowing ember, and hopped down from the grate. “Where now?”
Fol walked to the roof-access door, gesturing with theatrical flair. “Our chariot awaits,” he said.
“You’re mad.”
“No,” he said, his face consumed by a leer lost between humour and insanity, revealing his pointed teeth. “Just a little foolish.” Then just as quickly, the grin fell into a solemn stare. “Comes with the job.”
He pulled the door open, revealing a perfect oblong of darkness; leading not down into the building, but elsewhere.
“Where?” she said.
“Now that would be telling.”
The start of a long, long road¸ she thought.
Fol held out the crook of his elbow, bowing slightly. “Shall we?”
Billy threaded her hand through his arm, hesitated, then led them through the door and into darkness. For a moment she thought everything had come to an end. Then came new light and beyond.
No. Not the end. The End was just the beginning.
GET THE PREQUEL: FROST
Phew, what a ride! The Ruin Saga has been a thrill to write, and I hope it was just as fun to read. It’s sad to be closing off this story, but there's good news: things don't end here.
Frost, a prequel novella, explores the secrets behind the series. What is the blanket? Who knew about the End? Who are the mysterious vanguards of All Where?
Click here to find out
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincere thanks go out to everyone who helped me put this book together. My family and friends I'll mention first; their support gives me the strength to keep sitting down to write each day. My editor Claire Rushbrook has once again helped me craft a better book, and it wouldn't have been the same without her. Several readers who followed the series as it was written also contributed suggestions and pulled me up on stupid mistakes, for which I am always grateful.
Special thanks to Norma Miles, to whom this book is dedicated, for all her work in helping me revise the manuscript. An author couldn't ask for a more wonderful reader.
All of you made the Ruin Saga that much more pleasurable to write. These books were crafted as much by your hands as mine.
COPYRIGHT
Fray
by Harry Manners
First published 2015 by Radden Press.
All characters in this novel are entirely fictitious, as are the events portrayed. Any resemblance to persons living, dead or imaginary is coincidental.
All rights reserved. This ebook is for personal use only; whilst the author’s works are published DRM-free, it is hoped that readers will purchase their own copies, and will not resort to unlicensed usage. Sharing books without purchasing may deprive the author of owed royalties.
Copyright © Harry Manners 2015.
Cover design by Levente Szabo.
Edit
ed by Claire Rushbrook
Proofread by Anne Victory
Formatting by Polgarus Studio
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Harry Manners lives in Bedfordshire, England. When he’s not writing, he studies science at university, reads anything he can get his hands on, and generally nerds out—for which he is staunchly unapologetic.
Website: www.harrymanners.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/OfficialHarryManners
Twitter: @harry_a_manners
Table of Contents
PART 5 - THE CENTRE CANNOT HOLD PROLOGUE
I
II
III
IV
V
FIRST INTERLUDE
VI
VII
VIII
IX
SECOND INTERLUDE
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
THIRD INTERLUDE
XV
XVI
XVII
FOURTH INTERLUDE
XVIII
XIX
FIFTH INTERLUDE
PART 6 - THE BATTLE OF CANARY WHARF I
II
III
FIRST INTERLUDE
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
SECOND INTERLUDE
IX
X
XI
XII
EPILOGUE
GET THE PREQUEL: FROST
LEAVE A REVIEW
JOIN THE MAILING LIST
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fray (The Ruin Saga Book 3) Page 38