by Steve McHugh
“I’m just glad to see you’re still alive.”
“Of course I’m alive. I survived this long, some up-jumped little prick is hardly going to be enough to end me.”
“Jumped-up,” I corrected.
Leonardo stared at me, which made me smile even more. “Galahad is looking for you,” he said between clenched teeth. “He’s in the great hall at the other side of the palace.”
“How’d Karl get into the palace anyway? I thought this was the only entrance.”
“Apparently the designer forgot to add the secret tunnels that he’d built to the blueprints. I say apparently, because I think he’s a lying little shit who sold out his king, but considering he’s one of the people I’ve been yelling at all morning, I guess that this is Galahad’s idea of punishment.”
I placed a hand on Leonardo’s shoulder and followed his gaze to a young looking man with long, dark, curly hair. He didn’t appear happy to be there, and everyone else avoided him like the plague. “I think he needs to be repeatedly reminded how bad he is at everything he does,” I said with a grin.
“That’s my thought too.”
I walked off toward the palace, only stopping when Leonardo called my name. I turned back to see my old friend.
“I’m glad you’re okay, life would have been considerably more boring without you in it. No one else would have tried my bike. Which, by the way, I thank you for not blowing up.”
I grinned and nodded in his direction before making my way into the remains of the palace.
I walked up the stairs, carefully avoiding the busy workers, and almost tripped over Caitlin as I stepped around the corner into one of the long hallways. She was seated against a wall eating a pear. She saw me and smiled, finishing the fruit before offering me her hands to help her stand.
“I’m a bit achy,” she said as she stretched. “The last few days have taken their toll; apparently I’m not as fit as I thought I was.”
“Battles really take it out of you,” I told her. “How are you doing?”
“Getting there.” She smiled, but there was a tiredness behind it. “I’ve decided to stay in Shadow Falls for a while. I want to learn more about my alchemy, and I want to spend time with Galahad…sorry, my dad. That feels weird. I had to bury one father only to find another.”
“It’s not weird, you’ve had a lot to come to terms with in a very short period of time.”
“How are you?”
I told her about what had happened since we’d separated, something that felt like a lifetime ago.
“I’m sorry for your friend.”
“Thanks. I’ll have to arrange a burial for him with his colony. That’s if they accept the body. He told me he’d left them. But he’s at peace now, so that’s something.”
“I saw my brother’s body,” Caitlin said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had descended after we discussed Rean. “Or what was left of it.”
“I’m sorry about that. He didn’t—”
“I know. He didn’t give you a choice. He was a murderer and an evil man, but he was still my brother. I’ll miss the boy he was, not the man he became.”
I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of her mum, but I figured head-on was the best bet. “What happened to your mother?”
“We managed to subdue her. Harrison wanted to take her for questioning; it took a lot of effort. We’re going to find a pit just for her. Will you be staying in the city long?”
I shook my head.
She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “You sort of turned my life upside down, you know that, right?”
“I’m aware of it, yeah. Sorry about that. I never meant to.”
“Not your fault. But I think I need some time to let things sink in. Next time you’re in the city, come say hi. Until then, take care of yourself, okay?”
I promised I would and let her walk off down the stairs. I wasn’t sure if she really was okay with everything that had happened, but I hoped she would be. The previous few days had been a lot for any one person to absorb, but if anyone could do it, it was Caitlin.
It took me a while to find Galahad—I got wildly different directions from the people I asked. In the end I found him outside on the same balcony where he’d found me only a few days previously.
“Hello, Nate,” he said, turning from the balcony railing as I opened the door and closed it behind me.
He wore a suit with a pair of trainers and held a glass of scotch in one hand. The rest of the twenty-five-year-old bottle was on the table beside him, one of the benefits of being king, I guessed.
“You were hard to find,” I said as he poured me a drink and passed it to me.
“I’ve been in the dungeons all day, hence the drink. Patricia has proved to be as stubborn as Simon in answering questions. I should be helping people repair my palace, my city, but instead I’m talking to psychopaths and ordering the jail terms for any of Karl’s men who surrendered.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” I told him and took a drink of the scotch. “Wow,” I said, holding the glass up.
“It’s good, isn’t it? I never used to drink the stuff, but recently I found myself enjoying the odd glass. I’ve got a dozen bottles of this, help yourself.”
It was a very tempting offer. “No thanks, this gives me a reason to come back and say hi.”
Galahad laughed for a moment, but it was quickly replaced with a somber expression. “This could all have very easily gone wrong. If not for you, they could have beaten us.”
“I wasn’t about to stand by and do nothing, Galahad. What happened to Karl?”
“I removed his head. Keeping him alive would have been a foolish idea and I had to show that I could carry out what needed to be done. There’s a time for mercy, but that wasn’t it.”
“What are you going to do with Simon?”
“Rebecca tells me he’s damaged in the head now. It would be inhumane to execute him when he’s incapable of even taking care of himself. There are people here who would like to see him lose his head no matter his mental or physical condition. I will have to think on it and make a decision when the city is repaired. Maybe cooler heads will agree with me.”
“And until then?”
“You remember that little hut of Leonardo’s, up near the second realm gate? Well, he’s decided to outfit it as a prison in the interim. He assures me it will be able to hold Simon, but I’ll be placing a considerable number of guards around it. He won’t escape again. I’m going to contact Hades, something I shouldn’t probably allow, but he knows more about necromancy injuries than anyone I know. Maybe he can tell me if Simon will ever regain his old memories.”
“Hades would probably relish communication between his people and Shadow Falls. It could be the start of this place becoming less insular.”
“I’m not sure how my citizens will feel, but I think it’s something we need to do. We need allies outside of Shadow Falls. We don’t have many and I’m setting to change that.”
“What about Father Patterson and Fern. How are they doing?”
“Well…actually, I’m not sure. They’re not exactly the most open of people. I think Fern only talks to the Father, and he’s not the trusting type. We’ll be able to arrange something so we can keep them safe. I’m going to be stationing a garrison in the city of Stratford. Not officially, you understand, but that city is going to be safer than anywhere else in the country by the time I’m done.” I thought he was going to say something else, but he quickly closed his mouth and glanced out over the balcony.
“So, you have Patricia in the dungeons. How’s that going for you?”
“She’s a stubborn, nasty little woman. I have half a mind to throw away the key and let her rot, but she may know of more people who are working against us. She thinks she’s Vanguard, did you know?”
“It came up, yeah.”
“The Vanguard are a concern at the best of times, but having some psycho spout nonsense about them is only going to cause problems for us. If it gets out, it would worry people about another attack. And if she did actually work with any of the Vanguard…well, that could mean some very bad people might come looking for her.”
“I doubt very much she was working with anyone from there,” I admitted. “Karl, Simon, and company were just stringing her along.”
“I think the same, but I can’t rule it out. One of the bad parts about being in charge is having to think of every conceivable terrible idea and trying to work out which ones I can actually prevent.”
I knocked back the rest of the drink. “If you need me, you know where I’ll be. Caitlin has my number.”
“Don’t wait so long to visit next time,” Galahad said and offered me his hand, which I took. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. I thought you’d like to know, Martin’s family are safe. They had no idea what he did, but we’re going to bring them here. Turns out his fourteen-year-old daughter is an enchanter too. We’re hoping she might be interested in training here.”
“Good luck with that and with getting your realm back together.”
I’d just turned to walk away when Galahad spoke again, “I’m sorry about Rean.”
I froze and glanced over at my friend, who had his eyes closed and was shaking his head slowly. He opened his eyes and we locked gazes. “I’m so sorry, Nate. He was one of the good guys.”
My mind flashed back to his dying moments on the floor of the blood-covered basement. “Yes, he was. He went down swinging. Wasn’t about to let them kill him without a fight.”
“I’ll ensure he has full military honors; if you have any trouble with the colony, just tell them that. Songs will be sung about him.”
I knew he felt guilty over what had happened all those years ago; being responsible for the deaths of Rean’s family would have left a stain on all but the blackest of souls.
“He said that you two sort of came to an agreement,” I said. “That you made up in a way.”
Galahad nodded. “I wanted to give him reparations, arrange for a day of mourning for his family. He wouldn’t allow it, he said that his grief was his alone to shoulder, but the gesture appeared to create a bridge between us. I gave him free rein of the state of Maine to do as he wished. I’m led to believe that he helped people.”
“He did. He’s at peace now. I don’t know what the troll version of the afterlife is, but he’ll be with his family. That’s all he ever wanted.”
“That was the worst decision I ever made. I pledge to his soul that I will do everything in my power to ensure I never make another like it.”
I walked over and grasped Galahad’s shoulder. “My old friend, don’t let the burden of your position overwhelm you. You are only one man. Just remember that.”
A smile broke through the solemn expression on Galahad’s face. “Thank you. I will try. You sure you don’t want this job?” He waved to the scotch. “King Nathan?”
I laughed, a deep belly laugh. It felt good. “Not for all the scotch, women, and money in this or any other realm.”
EPILOGUE
I received the first phone call from Galahad six weeks after leaving Shadow Falls. He asked me to come talk to Simon. Apparently, the psychotic bastard had decided to stop being a dribbling mess and had asked to see me. To say I wasn’t interested was an understatement, but Galahad had insisted until I agreed.
It wasn’t until I saw Simon that I realized why Galahad had been so eager for me to talk to him. Simon said that he remembered nothing of his life before waking up in the hut that Leonardo had decked out as a one-man prison. He said he knew names and faces, but nothing of his past.
When confronted with the information about what he’d done, he actually had the audacity to look shocked, even saddened by the news that he was a mass-murdering fuckwit.
The interview had been short, me asking him questions and him never having an answer. I wanted to know who he worked with, was there any truth to the notion that he was only a cog in a bigger machine, but there were no answers coming.
Once a week for three months, I traveled to Shadow Falls, in an attempt to trip Simon up and get him to reveal that it was all an act, but he never did. Which only made me the more determined to find the truth.
“This is the last time,” I told Father Patterson as Fern activated the realm gate.
“You say that every single time,” he said with a smile. “I’m beginning to think you’re enjoying the challenge.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but this really is the last time.” I shook his hand and nodded toward Fern, who smiled, before I stepped through the realm gate.
Caitlin met me on the other side, along with several dozen soldiers. The huge fort that was built in the mountain protected the realm gate, but also served as an impressive introduction to anyone using the realm gate in the church. A show of power, Galahad had called it. And it worked.
“Last time,” she said with a smile.
“One way or another, yes,” I told her. She’d dealt with her brother’s death and mother’s imprisonment as well as could be expected. She appeared to be settling into living in Shadow Falls.
She wore a simple, but elegant, dark suit. Her once long hair was cut short. She was in charge of the fort and did an excellent job. She’d taken to carrying a dagger in a sheath worn at the small of her back.
We walked through the impressive fort, past even more soldiers, all of who snapped to attention as we passed them. Rumor had it, Caitlin ran a tight ship, but that she was a fair and good commander.
“How’s the police force coming along?” I asked as we exited under the enormous fort entrance into the plains beyond. Caitlin had arranged for a standing force to take the place of the militia that had mostly turned against Galahad.
“Going well, training is slow, but it’s not like we have a huge amount of crime to deal with. All of the prisoners who escaped were captured or killed, the prison has been rebuilt and the enchanter, Martin, is making up for his mistake by working his ass off on a regular basis. In fact that’s him there.”
She pointed toward a lone figure beside the hut, which was my destination. Twenty soldiers stood guard in one of four huge watchtowers, keeping the hut in constant examination night and day.
We stopped a few hundred feet away from the hut and I turned to Caitlin. “This is going to be it for a while. Good luck with everything.”
She hugged me, kissing me on the cheek and drawing a few glances from her subordinates, who quickly looked away when she turned towards them. “Take care, Nate. Don’t be a stranger.”
I nodded and walked off toward the hut, where Martin saw me and jogged over. “It’s all set for what Galahad and you have planned. You sure it’s a good idea?”
“We’ll see, I guess.”
I pushed the door open, and the runes placed on it burned brightly. I wasn’t really sure what would happen if Simon tried to escape, but the words “smoldering crater” were used, so I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.
Simon sat at a desk, reading one of the dozens of books that littered the two-room hut. The bedroom and kitchen made up one room, with the bathroom being separate.
He put the book down and glanced up at me, smiling as I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.
“Nate,” he said with genuine enthusiasm. “Is it that time of the week already? I’m burning through these books faster than they can be given to me.” He showed me his latest acquisition, a horror story about a clown.
“Yeah, I’ve read that one. It did very little to change my opinion of clowns as being creepy assholes.”
“It’s amazing that someone can come up with a story like that, with a monster who is so dangerous.”
“Like you?”
Simon sighed. “I know I used to be a monster, and I know that whatever you did to me was utterly deserved, but I’m really not that man anymore. I lie in bed and try to remember the horrible things I used to do, but I can’t. The idea of hurting someone…it makes me feel sick.”
“Well, this is our last time together.”
For the tiniest of moments, I thought I saw the tug of a smile at his lips.
“Oh, why’s that?” he asked.
“A decision has been made about you. You’re going to be taken away from here, allowed to go back to our realm.”
“You’re freeing me?” he asked, hopeful.
I shook my head. “Not exactly.” I sat on the bed beside Simon. “Just one last time, do you remember anything? You sure you want to continue telling me you can’t recall anything?”
“Damn it,” he snapped. “I can’t remember a thing. I told you, Nate. Don’t you think I want to remember?”
“Do you?”
Simon paused. “I’m not sure. If I was the evil man you claim, I’m not sure I want to know what I did. But if I don’t remember, how can I make amends for it?”
“Fair enough.” I stood. “You can leave whenever you’re ready.”
I motioned toward the door and Simon stood tentatively, knocking over a stack of books onto the floor. Then he ran toward the door, bursting through it as I remained in the hut.
I poked the books with my toe and dislodged a sheet of paper. On it was my name, written over and over again until it filled the paper. I glanced up at the screams outside. I smiled. I couldn’t help myself.
The screams turned to pleas as I left the hut and found Simon kneeling in the dirt, begging Galahad to spare him. Hades stood beside the king of Shadow Falls and stared at Simon with a look of anger and contempt.
“I assume you’ve already met your new jailer,” I said to Simon.
The murderer turned his gaze toward me and sprang up, almost foaming at the mouth as he screamed obscenities. I didn’t even flinch as Martin stepped forward and touched Simon with one hand, freezing him in place.
