by Philip Ligon
We removed another mask and sent its owner to the floor. Seven Treyo Duthkus remained.
Reckard shot again. Our left arm shook. Though blood oozed from our forearm, the entire appendage remained numb.
I said, “Stop before I kill you.”
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. “I am dead unless those elves work on me. I will not allow you to harm more of them.” He reloaded his gun.
We took two more Treyo Duthkus out of the fight.
Our body buzzed like the wings of a hummingbird. Our heart beat so hard that our arms shook. We tasted the fumes from the beakers and detected traces of sugar and carimenth, a spice from the magical realm. The smell of fear filled our nose as the remaining elves, all five, emerged from their trance.
Not a one appeared interested in challenging us as evidenced by the blue glow of their magic disappearing.
We did not hesitate to knock them back with a wall of magic.
The gnome lady said, “They are defeated. Now finish them. Kill them and take revenge for all the years they oppressed us and for all those they just killed.” Loathing filled the lady in a very un-lady like way. “We will deal them a crippling blow.”
The elves regained their feet and backed away. Perhaps they saw the hatred of the gnomes blazing forth on our face. Perhaps they understood fear for the first time in their lives.
Reckard hobbled between us. He turned his back to me. “Please. That man is not going to kill you.” He pointed to the table. “Give me the elixirs of life. Give me the means to live in a mechanical body.” He dropped to his knees as he coughed up a bloody puddle. With a weakened voice he added, “Please. I beg of you.”
“Kill them,” the threatening gnome said. “You will obey us. You will destroy them.”
Perrin said, “Would you seek revenge for their oppression by oppressing us? Are you no better than they?” He gave a mocking laugh. “We are slaves to no one!”
The gnome said, “You have cost us dearly. Had you obeyed and returned the Heart, we would not have had to fight these elves. And now you will repay our sacrifice.” He paused. “It is their lives or your life. We will have our payment.”
We said, “The only true payment for taking lives is to save lives. You will stand aside as we free the captives in these tanks – the very people enslaved by these elves. To see their work undone is the greatest means of revenge.”
The gnome scoffed. “This is not a negotiation. There are no debts to be repaid, no bargains to be struck. We saved you. We gave you one condition for your life, which you have failed to meet.”
The elves moved for the door.
Reckard reached for them. “Wait…help me.” He collapsed as another cough took hold.
“Kill them,” the gnomes, all of them, said.
We…I…had enough of killing. I had the opportunity to save lives. And I would not let that pass. Aimee claimed that I desired to be the hero. I preferred to believe I enjoyed doing the right thing.
“We forbid it,” the gnomes said. “You will chase down these elves—”
“You can take my life, if that is what you wish,” I said. “But first we have people to save.”
The magic of the Heart reached for the tanks. It shattered the glass. It consumed the power behind the stasis fields.
Bishop Donnavan, his wife, and Rebecca fell free from their prisons.
We ran to Rebecca and cradled her in our arms.
The magic destroyed more tanks, freeing Lord Diggerty, Lady Avery, and the others from the Cathedral. Next, it reached the ones kidnapped at Chen’s Dragon Theatre.
The magic moved through the room, then entered the first room. It tore the guardian spider-elf apart, then freed the cyclopes and gnomes and dwarves and elves and giants and lizards.
“There she is!” Perrin said.
I held onto Rebecca a moment longer. Her eyes fluttered open. When they focused on me, she drew in a quick breath.
She did not recognize my cyclopean form. “You’re safe,” we said as we helped her to sit. Beauty defined her, inside and out. And yes, to answer her question, I…the Ash part of us…could love her. Perhaps I had all along.
Because I did not want her to remember me as a cyclops, I kept my identity to myself. We hurried to the other room and caught Sera as she slumped from her tank. We removed the breathing mask.
“By all that is good,” Perrin said with a sob. We squeezed her tight.
The magic destroyed the last of the tanks in the third room.
The gnome lady said, “It is finished. Our power is yours to command no longer.”
The other gnome said, “And now we require our payment.”
Few emotions ran as deep and honest as Perrin’s joy in finding his sister. My own satisfaction in freeing the Donnavans paled in comparison. The combination of both, however, created a contentment that had eluded us for many years.
Though we had made many mistakes, though we had caused much grief, for once we had done something far better than the sum of our sins. It had cost us our life…but we had saved two worlds.
We could die in peace…or at least the Ash part of us could.
“No,” Perrin said. “They will take me.”
“Nonsense. You have your sister. You need to take care of her.”
“No. Campden still needs you, Alexander Asherton. Work remains. There is rebuilding. There is the need to find the creatures from my world that were unleashed on yours. You still have much to do. You will continue. I only ask that you keep watch over Sera.” He laughed a deep, cyclopean laugh. “As strange as it may be, she is your sister now.”
“No. You are her brother. You are a fighter. You can take on the orcs and the giants and the dragons. You have the experience. You can lead your people to freedom.”
Perrin grunted. “This is my choice, human. I will not deny you Rebecca’s love. Go to her. Cherish her.”
The vindictive gnome said, “No more arguing. It is time. It is the price you agreed upon the first time we saved you.”
A final surge of magic flowed from the Heart and filled us. It tore at every fiber of our being as it consumed from the inside. It drew us towards the magical realm, ripping us apart. Everything turned blue.
A final burst of pain, of the type that goes beyond anything a mortal body can bear, shot both inward and outward. The gnomes called the last of the Gray Heart’s magic into the stone.
Silence followed.
Chapter 16
“Alexander?” a soft, distant voice asked.
It sounded familiar and tried to stir something deep within – a longing? A need? A desire?
Aimee?
No, she had died.
Sheela?
No, she remained at Saint James’.
“Alexander?” the voice asked again, but with a quiver of fear and concern.
Something struck my left cheek, something similar to a drop of rain. More followed.
Was I on the Orange Fields of Donsham seconds before a storm released the rains that made the fields bloom in orange for as far as the eye could see?
No…Perrin had witnessed that…and Perrin…
A hand pulled my arm close to something warm and soft. The movement made my bones protest. They ached as if they had been pounded by a giant just to the breaking point.
“Alexander?” Warm breath washed over my face.
Rebecca Donnavan.
I wanted to open my eye to confirm that she lived, yet the thought of the effort made me hurt all the more. The heat of her body filled me as she pressed close.
“You are so cold.” The concern and the fear remained in her voice.
Part of me wanted to slip away. I wanted nothing more to do with troubles and pain.
Yet a larger part did not want Rebecca to suffer the anguish of my death. It also wanted to honor Perrin’s sacrifice.
Had the cyclops truly given himself up? Why? Why did he insist when he had finally gained everything he had wanted?
“Because he want
ed you to live.”
Hearing the canon’s voice made me gasp and open my eyes.
Both of them.
Rebecca covered her mouth in surprise.
I peered on a sight so beautiful, I would see nothing else to compare it to in this life. Rebecca lived. The color had returned to her cheeks. And when she uncovered her mouth and smiled, she made every bit of pain worth the sacrifice.
But I did not want Perrin—
“He made the choice,” the canon whispered. “The gnomes demanded a life, and he gave his. Do not blame yourself for his sacrifice. He wanted you to know the love he longed for, that he dreamt of. He wanted you to know the peace he always hoped he would have.” The voice paused. “So why don’t you kiss her?”
Why? Because—
She collapsed on top of me, her tears flowing. I think mine joined them. She kissed me over and over and over. She laughed. She sobbed. When she finally pulled away, she wiped her eyes with her hands and said, “I had the most terrible dream. I thought I—”
I touched her cheek. “You are here, now, and that is all that matters.”
She shook her head. “You saved me, didn’t you? Again?”
How could I explain so much that had happened?
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” I said, “though it’s complicated.”
She held my face between her hands. “Then tell me about it. Tell me everything, and don’t stop talking.”
“Rebecca…”
She traced the scars on my right cheek. “I don’t care, Alexander. I know who you are. I have always known. I know the man in here.” She tapped on my chest.
My throat tightened, and I could not respond.
She ran her finger over my lips. “Do not give me excuses, Alexander. Do not pretend you are unaware of what I am speaking of. You are Alexander Asherton, and you love me. Is that not enough?”
“You deserve better.”
“Don’t be such a fool. I deserve you, the man who has risked his life for me. Again and again and again.”
“He risked his life for us all, if I interpret the mess around us correctly,” Bishop Donnavan said. He wore the coat of a Guardsman. His wife, who stood beside him, wore one as well.
A glance at Rebecca showed that she wore the shirt and trousers of one.
As for myself, I still wore Perrin’s clothes. Needless to say, they were much bigger than my current size. My helmet rested, glass side down, several feet away.
Many others who had been freed from the tanks stood in a daze.
“Help me stand,” I said. Rebecca did so. She had to let me lean on her to keep from falling. I also held my trousers up with one hand.
Cavendish moved among those freed, offering water. He waved to me as he rubbed the back of his head.
Could anything kill the creature?
And speaking of those belonging to the magical realm, I needed to find Sera. As strange as it sounded and as unlikely as it seemed, I did have a sister. Though we looked nothing alike, I held the same affections for her as Perrin.
She sat to the right and watched me closely. She rubbed the sides of her head. The scar on her chin had never looked so lovely.
Instead of running up to hug her, I shuffled over and said, “Sera…I need to introduce—”
“How is it,” she said with a raspy voice, “that you looked like my brother one minute, then changed into a human the next?”
“It’s a long story best told in fresh air instead of in this damnable room.” I offered her my hand. “Would you please join us?”
She took my hand and stood.
Rebecca helped me as we departed. The Bishop and Lady Donnavan followed. We passed Reckard, whose body remained where it had fallen. The attending elves had abandoned him. My old friend, sadly enough, had died. The magic wars claimed a final victim.
We passed through the exterior room and walked down the corridor. When we reached the steps, I had to take them one at a time, methodically and slowly as if I had a lead foot again. I had to stop three times to gather my strength. On the final one, the Bishop said, “Let me help.”
Between Rebecca and him, we moved quicker through the rest of the building. The three of us, along with Lady Donnavan, and Sera stepped into the light of dawn.
Lady Donnavan gasped while the Bishop said, “By all that is good and holy. What happened?”
The scene before us resembled the morning that Perrin’s family was taken captive and their home burned. The cyclops never saw a sunrise the same way again, and I better understood why.
A smoky haze filled the air over the town. Fires continued to burn in the farthest reaches. Where it had already swept through, it left smoldering buildings, blackened ruins, and scorched earth. The Cathedral still stood. Its lone tower glistened in the emerging light. The Bank of Campden also remained, though the wound it had suffered from Aimee’s bomb had left it vulnerable to the fires.
I said, “Our world was saved from an invasion. Campden has sacrificed herself for the good of mankind.”
The Bishop took his wife in his arms. “And from the look of things, there is much work to do to help the people of this town recover. Many are homeless. We will need to find shelter and food. My daughter will have to put her healing skills to work.” He paused. “We need help, Alexander. Can we count on you? We need someone on whom we can depend.” He looked on me with pride. “I can think of no one better suited for this task.”
Rebecca squeezed my arm and nodded.
The canon said, “For the first time in many years, you are wanted for the right reason. Do not turn him down.”
If I accepted then I would never leave Campden.
The canon said, “You have been brought to the here and the now for a reason. Do not be a fool this time.”
What would Perrin have thought?
One look at Sera gave me the answer.
I said, “I will do what I can. Yet there are some things I still must do. There are promises I have to keep.” It would make Rebecca worry when she learned I had to go to the magical realm to return the Heart to its rightful owner.
The Bishop looked between Rebecca and me. “Do what you must, but do not tarry. This town will need a lot of healing and a lot of understanding. I do not expect much help from outside of our own. I only hope Reginald Schaever can see the need and open his dark heart enough to assist.”
“You need not worry about Schaever,” I motioned to the fountain and after Rebecca helped me to it, I sat on the edge. “You should worry more about the monsters he helped unleash.” I told them some of what happened since their capture. For Sera’s sake, I included details on the transformation. By the time I finished, all four also sat on the fountain’s edge.
Lady Donnavan said, “Maybe we should leave Campden as it is – a testament to greed. Maybe this is the judgment it deserves.”
The Bishop patted his wife’s hand. “With the Duke’s demise, there will be a struggle for power and control. There will be those who seek to do good. There will be those who seek to do evil. We cannot abandon those caught in the middle. They need to be reminded of something greater than ourselves, of hope and faith and love.”
The man never ceased to amaze with his ability to care, to seek the good of others. Even after all he had suffered, he refused to be anything other than himself.
Rebecca asked, “So where do we go from here? What do we do next?”
We had one place left to go…a place that would have been untouched by the fires, for it sat beneath the surface…a place, like me, that belonged to two worlds, yet belonged to neither.
I said, “I need a drink.”
Rebecca shivered as she sat next to me. Though I tried to talk her out of coming, she insisted on staying at my side, as she had every moment since we departed the University. She glanced around at the exotic clientele of Branagh’s.
“Try this,” I said as I gave her a mug of ale. “It will calm your nerves.”
She took it and drank half the m
ug before I stopped her. Upon seeing my surprised expression she said, “Do you still insist on seeing me as an angel? Then you have much to learn.” She drank more.
“Slow down,” I said, almost laughing.
“Why? Maybe I need more of this. Think of what possibilities the evening would hold for us.” She raised her brow, and a mischievous glint appeared in her eye. “I do not believe I have given you a proper reward for saving me over and over and over.” She shifted closer and whispered, “But I will, and I daresay you will thoroughly enjoy it.”
I took a drink from my own mug. I tried not to think about what she alluded to – and failed.
Sera watched us both. “I have a difficult time convincing myself that you know my brother as well as he knew himself, but I see glimpses of him in you. The way you smile speaks of him.”
I gave my sister that very smile, which brightened her eye.
Cavendish stood on the table as he looked over the crowded room. He searched for Ravenlea.
When Leesal hurried over to scold the gnome, I asked Sheela’s best friend, “Any word from her?”
Leesal placed her tray on her hip. “We have been overrun with patrons since the fire. I have barely stopped long enough to look. We could use her help, though.” She chewed on her lip. “I hope she sends word soon that she is safe.”
There had been no sign of Sheela when we returned to the Cathedral. For her sake, I hoped she had left the town to start her life anew without the trappings of her past.
At Leesal‘s insistence, Cavendish hopped into a seat. He scowled as he stroked his beards. “I lost her, then found her, then lost her. Where has she gone? Will I ever see her again?”
The Gateway popped as an elf entered our world. The lady held her head as she tried to re-orient herself.
Soon enough, I would enter the passage. Soon enough I would visit the strange land. It would be my first time there, yet it would also be a homecoming. I would see it through two eyes even as I remembered it through one.
Sera would go with me and we would pay our respects to our people.
Her people.
My people.
Who am I?
The canon said, “You are much more than you were.”