“What now?”
“He was there today. That creep was at work, all smiles and pretending that everything was fine. He even asked me, in front of other people, how I slept last night.”
“The guys got guts. You have to give him that.”
“Yeah, well, I’d like to see those guts spilled. It’s happening tonight for sure.”
“He say something?”
“No, not in so many words. But he’s looking even more drawn than usual. He’s not going to be able to control that lich much longer, and it’s going to turn on him all the way. He’s got to use it or try to get rid of it soon.”
“Then I guess we stay on our guard tonight and finish this,” I said.
“I hope so. This isn’t quite how I hoped we’d start things off.”
I went to her, and steeling my nerves, put my arms around her. Thankfully, she didn’t push me away and ask me what the hell I was doing. Instead, she leaned against me and her arms went around me too. I could have stayed like that forever.
“It’s okay,” I said, and it really was.
The attack finally did come that night. We were both awake and we could feel the temperature in the room suddenly drop. Our breath came out in a fog as we looked at each other, and the front door opened on its own.
The lich entered slowly, walking regally, as if it were a king entering its palace without a thought to those lesser beings lucky enough to behold him. The flames in its eyes were a bright red, and a dread feeling came before it.
Lilly was on her feet and moving. Her voice rang out, syllables and words that made no sense, but didn’t sound like gibberish either. The air was charged around her, her hair stood out from her head, and a wedge of bright, white light appeared in front of her. With a final exclamation, she threw her hands forward and the light sped toward the lich like an arrow.
The lich never stopped walking, and he batted the arrow of light away as if it were nothing. Lilly told me to expect that however, and when he did so, I stepped forward and fired my gun, which I set to lich that morning. The gun went off with a loud bang, and the little metal ball flew out, straight at the lich’s head, and then simply stopped in midair.
For the first time since I owned it, my Ultimate Weapon failed. I hoped, despite what Lilly told me, that I could put this thing down fast, but she was right. However, it did stop the lich. It stopped walking and was holding its hands up in front of it, skeletal fingers crooked like claws. It looked like it was straining, the fires in its eyes growing dimmer.
“It’s working, Duke!” Lilly cried. “The gun was stronger than it thought and it’s taking all its concentration to stop that ball!”
I was about to respond when Reginald came in the door behind the lich. He looked at his pet creature with the ball in front of it, and at Lilly and me.
“Well,” he said. “This is interesting. I suppose I could help my creature and watch as it destroys you both. Or, you could come to your senses, Lilly.”
He turned and grinned at her. I couldn’t believe the hubris of this guy. After all this, he still somehow thought that Lilly would suddenly realize that he was the one for her after all. I took a step forward, ready to crack him one again.
“Uh uh,” he said, moving his hands into a particular position. “One more step, and I boost its power. Enough to free it and end you both.”
I was stuck. The lich was only being held back by whatever magic powered that little metal ball. If Reginald could free it, we’d have a hard time with both the lich and him to fight.
Lilly, however, just sighed.
“Reginald, you always did think way too much of yourself.”
With that, she chanted something, quickly and loudly. Reginald started to do the same, but where Lilly stayed calm; sweat broke out on his brow. The lich continued to strain against the ball, which I would swear inched closer to its skull.
Suddenly, Reginald gave a cry and stumbled backwards. Lilly advanced, her hands moving and her voice rising. As I watched, a second Reginald, pale and translucent, started to rise from the original one’s body.
“No!” Reginald cried out, “Please, Lilly, don’t do this!”
He sounded in genuine terror. My eyes kept switching back and forth between Lilly, Reginald and what I presumed was his soul leaving his body, and the little, metal ball creeping closer to the lich.
“You’ll report yourself, Reginald,” Lilly said. She stopped moving, but kept her hands in the last position they were in. “You’ll resign and I’ll never see you again. I have a door to your soul now, and I can take it whenever I want.”
Her voice grew cold and majestic, like an ice queen commanding her subjects.
“Yes!” Reginald cried, and his soul cried out the same, a thin echo. “Anything!”
Lilly stepped back, lowered her hands, and in a normal voice, said, “Get out Reginald.”
He got. His soul suddenly sucked back into his body and he scrambled to his feet and stumbled past his lich and out the door.
“Uh, Lilly?” I said. “What do we do about that now?”
She glanced at the lich, who glared back at her.
“Oh,” she said, “I almost forgot. Shoot it again.”
She didn’t need to tell me twice. I raised the gun again and fired, the second ball joining the first and both of them slowly moving closer to it.
“Good,” she said, “that will definitely keep it occupied.”
She reached inside her robe and pulled out a round, golden disc. Walking to the lich, she stepped right up to it and pressed the disc against its skull. There was a thin keening sound, the disc sucked into the skull and disappeared, and Lilly stepped back. A moment later, the balls finished their journey and the lich exploded. Bits of bone and tattered, moldy old robe went flying everywhere, and then, there was nothing but quiet.
“Wow,” I said, when I could use my voice again. “What was that?”
“Something I had laying around. But it wouldn’t have worked if the lich had any power to spare to ward it off. Those little metal balls made all the difference.”
“And Reginald?”
“He won’t be back,” she said. “He doesn’t dare. I wasn’t kidding, Duke. I have a conduit to his soul now, and I can rip it out of his body whenever I want. He knows that.”
I swallowed. Despite my feelings for Lilly, I wasn’t wrong. Necromancers don’t play around.
There was only one thing more.
“And us?” I asked, looking straight at her.
“Duke,” she said, walking toward me. “We’re just getting started.”
INTERLUDE 4
When Duke finished his tale, his grandson laughed.
“That’s how you and Grandmother got together? A battle against an evil wizard and a lich?”
“Well, I don’t know that the wizard was really evil. More like a pompous ass, really.”
“Whatever happened to Reginald?” the young man asked.
“Oh, he’s around. Your grandmother relented after a while and let him reapply for his job with the Watch. He’s still an insufferable ass, but at least he knows enough to leave your grandmother alone.”
“Besides,” Lilly’s voice called out from the kitchen. “He knows I can still yank his soul out of his body whenever I want.”
She came out of the kitchen, holding a mug of ale, which she handed to the old man.
“Really?” Duke asked.
“I like that story,” she said with a shrug.
“I do too,” the young man said. “It’s nice to know a little family history. So, what’s next?”
“Next?!” Duke said. “What do you mean next? How many of these do you think I have?”
“Tons. I think you have tons of them. You were a Nuisance Man for a long time.”
“Stop teasing, old man,” Lilly said. “You know you love the attention.”
“Humph. Well, if I must, I must. Come back tomorrow afternoon. Bring your cloak. I have an errand to run, and you can go with me. After t
hat, we’ll talk.”
The young man smiled and rose, kissed his grandparents goodbye, and left. The elderly couple sat in front of the fire, Duke sipping his ale.
“Tomorrow is Thursday,” Lilly said.
“Yep.”
“That’s the day you go see him.”
“Yep.”
“Oh, stop ‘yepping’ me. You’re going to take him with you, aren’t you?”
The old man smiled.
“Yep.”
The next afternoon the young man entered and helped his grandfather to his feet.
“Where are we going?” he asked, putting on his own cloak after helping his grandfather into his.
“The same place I go every Thursday. To visit a very old friend. With any luck, he’ll be in a good place today.”
“Who?”
“You’ll see.”
They left the house and walked down the street. After a few blocks, they came to a large building, with the symbol of the Watch on a sign hanging over the door.
It was not a watchhouse. Instead there was a large common area, with tables and chairs set around it. Several elderly men and women sat at the tables, playing games or cards, or talking. Off of the common room were private rooms, some with their doors open. The young man could see that they were bedrooms.
“What is this place?” he asked his grandfather, keeping his voice low.
“It’s for the Watch, for when they’re done and they have nowhere to go. Now, come with me.”
He looked around and led the way into the common area. They approached an ancient man, dozing near the fire, a newssheet folded in his lap.
“Hey, Sarge,” Duke said quietly.
“Duke,” the ancient man replied, one eye opening. “And who’s this?”
Duke smiled. “He’s my grandson. I thought he might like to meet you.”
“It’s an honor, sir,” the young man said politely.
The ancient man grinned, his mouth empty of most of his teeth.
“Well, at least Duke has taught you how to bullshit well.”
Later on, Duke and his grandson walked home.
“That was Sarge,” the young man said. “And you go to see him every week?”
“Yep. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not. It depends on how he’s doing. But he’s a friend, and one of the few I have. So as long as I can, I’ll visit him. Sometimes your grandmother comes with me too.”
“I guess I didn’t realize you were that close.”
Duke stopped outside of a tavern, looking up at the sign.
“This is where Jessup and I used to drink. Another good place. Buy your grandfather an ale and I’ll tell you about Sarge.”
“I don’t think Grandmother would like that.”
“Bah! She enjoys her time alone when I’m gone visiting. She’ll be fine.”
With that, he entered the tavern, making it clear that if the young man wanted his story, he was going to have to come in and get it there.
THE TOKEN
There were times that I would go to the watchhouse now simply to see Lilly. I tried not to bother her too much at work, but since I was basically self-employed, I sometimes had time to kill. I’d show up and see if she could go to lunch, or to go out with her after work.
That was a change from when I’d only go there to get a job off of the Nuisance Board. Sarge gave me a hard time about it, at first, but now he’s gotten used to me showing up for Lilly. Besides, he likes her, so I think he was glad to see her happy.
I’ve gotten along well with Sarge for years now, ever since he realized that my chances of returning from a job are pretty good. If he’s not too busy, which is usually the case, we’ll chew the fat about things he’s read in the newssheets, or what some of the nuisances on the Board are there for.
But when I said hello to him today, he seemed different, like he was preoccupied with something.
“Hey, Sarge,” I said, approaching the counter at which Sarge was an almost permanent fixture.
“Duke,” he replied.
He was looking down at his hands that were below the level of the counter, and didn’t look up when I came near.
“What’s going on?” I said.
“Hmm? Oh, nothing.”
He looked up briefly and gave me a quick smile, and that, more than anything else convinced me that something was up. Like I said, Sarge and I got along great. We traded insults and jabs, we worked well together, and he had even started to come around to my way of thinking when it came to picking nuisances off of the Board. Sarge did not, however, smile at me simply for saying hello.
“What’s going on, Sarge? You’re acting weird.”
“Nothing Duke,” he said.
He put something away under the counter and looked at me. He studied me for a moment, and then went back to reading the newssheet in front of him, as if everything was normal.
“Look,” I said, “if you need to…”
“What do you need, Duke,” he interrupted me. “Are you here for a job, or waiting around for Lilly?”
There was something in his voice that told me not to push this. Some things a man has to work out for himself.
“I’m actually waiting for her,” I said. “Tomorrow, I’ll probably need to take a job. Anything good up there?”
“See for yourself. I’m sure the mighty Duke Grandfather can find some horribly guilty miscreant to rid the world of.”
Ah, sarcasm. That was more like it.
I rapped my knuckles on the counter by way of reply and walked over to the Nuisance Board, where there were several notices, as there always was. I looked them over, but I was having a hard time concentrating. My mind kept wandering off, both to my date with Lilly that evening, and to whatever it could be that was bothering Sarge. I didn’t always like it, but sometimes, you have to let people come to you if they want your help.
Lilly soon came through the doorway behind Sarge that led into the recesses of the watchhouse. I had only been a short way through there myself, enough to see a few holding cells and offices, and to go down the stairs that led to the domain of the necromancers. It still astounded me that my girlfriend was a powerful necromancer who could pull my soul out of my body and make me watch it dance around. Not that she would do that, but still, I had no intention of giving her any reason to.
She came over and slipped her arm through mine.
“Ready?” she asked me.
I smiled. Lilly has that effect on me.
“Yep. Let’s get out of here.”
We walked out, Lilly’s arm still linked with mine.
“Goodnight Sarge,” she said as we passed him.
“Yeah,” he said, and I noticed he was looking at something again. “You two have fun.”
“Did you notice anything off about Sarge?” I asked Lilly, when we got outside.
“He did seem a little preoccupied.”
“He kept looking at something that he was keeping out of sight. Do you think he got bad news or something?”
Lilly pondered this.
“I haven’t heard anything through the grapevine about his job. Maybe something personal?”
“Maybe. Could be something with his family.”
As I said this, it occurred to me for the first time that I actually knew very little about Sarge. I didn’t know if he was married, or had kids, or even what his real name was. He was always just Sarge. I asked Lilly what she knew.
She stopped walking, turned, and looked at me.
“No,” she said. “That can’t be right, can it? Do neither one of use really know anything about him?”
I shrugged.
“I guess so. Kind of makes me feel bad.”
“Yeah, me too. I’m going to have to do something about that.”
“Don’t pry!” I said. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like that.”
“You underestimate me.”
“Not for a second. Still, be tactful.”
She snorted, a sound that was endearin
g coming from her. It usually meant that she thought I was being a dunce, but didn’t want to say it out loud. How could I complain? Pretty much everyone else would just tell me outright.
The next day, I headed back to the watchhouse to pick a job. It was getting to the point that more and more Nuisance Men would only take on jobs that involved someone who was actually guilty. Word of that was getting around, so the majority of individuals ending up on the Board, actually deserved to be there. Ivar’s organization was having its intended effect.
I walked in with my usual, “Hey, Sarge” on my lips, but stopped cold. Sarge wasn’t behind the desk where he always was. Did you ever have that weird kind of disconnected feeling when something is totally wrong? Like you made some terrible error and the world kind of tilts for a minute, then you realize that no, you were right, something is horribly amiss. That’s what happened to me.
Sarge wasn’t behind the desk.
I tried to think back to the last time I hadn’t seen Sarge at his usual post. There was the one time during that thing with Adrian when I saw him actually out on the street, but that was it. Every other time I came into the watchhouse, Sarge was there, steady as a rock.
Instead, there was a young man standing behind the counter, looking like it was his first day on the job.
“Hey,” I said, reaching my hand across, “I’m Duke Grandfather.”
He shook my hand.
“I’ve heard of you,” he said.
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, since he didn’t say anything else. He heard of me, good? Or he heard of me, bad?
“Where’s Sarge today?” I asked.
He looked down his nose at me.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss Watch business with civilians.”
I nodded. That made sense. You couldn’t have any old Joe off the street coming in here and asking questions of the Watch.
“I’m going to see what’s on the Board. Didn’t catch your name by the way.”
“Private Smithfield.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you Private Smithfield. I’ll let you know what I decide to take.”
He nodded, but I could feel his eyes on me as I walked to the Nuisance Board. He was one of those who obviously felt the need to be suspicious of anyone who wasn’t in the Watch, no matter who they were. I was pretty certain that something was wrong with Sarge, given his strange behavior yesterday and his unprecedented absence today. I was also certain that I wasn’t going to get any information from Private Smithfield.
Duke Grandfather- The Whole Story Page 11
