Echoes of Demons (The Memoirs of Abel Mondragon Book 2)

by Chase Erwin

Beltrin nodded. “Do you think I should be forgiven? For all I’ve done in the past.”

  “You’re trying to make things right,” I said. “I think you’ve got just a big a shot at forgiveness as the rest of us.”

  By this point we had made it to the steps leading to the main door to the castle.

  Jonathan greeted us at the door. He was dressed in the same regalia I remembered him wearing the night of the party – formal pants, a dark green suit with gold buttons all down the front, gilded shoulder edging glistening in the morning light. His face was dotted with powder to cover some of the worst bruising.

  “Good morning, Winds of Andusk,” Jonathan said, giving a respectful salute. “Queen Enwel of Galek is expecting you.”

  He turned his back toward us, opened both front doors wide, and took four loud steps into the foyer.

  “Your Majesty,” he called. “I present to you The Winds of Andusk…” and just like at the party, we were called one after another, and we made our way inside.

  “Would you mind wheeling me in?” Taryn asked me. “It’s probably not proper decorum for me to grunt and thrust my arms across these wheels!”

  I suppressed a snicker. “Of course,” I said.

  “…Finally, Master Taryn Turnipseed, accompanied by Master Abel Mondragon.” Jonathan bowed before Enwel as we flanked his right side with Irek. Remi, Beltrin and Caeden stood to Jonathan’s left.

  Enwel sat upon a green velveteen-cushioned throne at the wide landing of the grand staircase. The remaining six steps below her feet were adorned with a red carpet.

  “Thank you, Jonathan,” Enwel said. “You may close the doors.

  Jonathan obeyed his mistress’ request, closing the doors and standing before them silently.

  “I would like to apologize to you all for canceling this meeting yesterday,” Enwel began. “Clearly I was still not in the right frame of mind to proceed. I was struggling to figure out how to run this kingdom when I was not sure I wanted the responsibility in the first place.

  “My father was a good man, but despite all his achievements and accolades in life, he decided to spurn his son. I am convinced that had he taken a fatherlier approach to his son, rather than that as a King alone, what transpired in the fields might not have come to fruition.

  “To that end, I did a great deal of soul searching,” she continued, rising from the throne and holding her sapphire scepter. “I decided that I want to have a more active role within my kingdom. I will be out with the populace often; I will not use this castle as a place to block out the world or observe it from behind stone walls only.

  “But that only helps me fix problems within the confines of this kingdom. There is still the matter of the Ravens, and their decree to overtake this land, its people, and the lands and peoples surrounding it. It is for that reason I decided I shall have a specialized group of adventurers. They already have a background of knowledge about this group and are each individually suited to take on this challenge. I stand before that group this morning.”

  She held her scepter at an angle. Jonathan knelt on one knee from his post at the doors. We each knelt in unison, apart from Taryn, who just bowed his head in respect.

  Enwel walked across our paths, from right to left, and as she spoke tapped us each on the left shoulder with the bulb of her scepter.

  “From this date forward, you shall collectively be known as the Queen’s Storm Guard. I shall call on you for counsel and protection for all matters connected to the Covenant of the Grey Raven.”

  She stopped where Ricken knelt, and with a hand placed on his shoulder, beckoned him to rise. “Ricken Col, late of the Daggers of Allach. Known to few as ‘The Kaa,’ I appoint you as leader of this group. With deft actions and quick thinking, you shall lead the Storm Guard in matters of reconnaissance and plans of attack.”

  Ricken nodded solemnly.

  “Abel Mondragon,” she said, returning to me. As she placed a hand on my shoulder, I slowly stood to my feet and looked into her face respectfully.

  “You know more about the Ravens, their behaviors and methods more than perhaps even you realize. You have more knowledge and memories locked within you. They will reveal themselves when the moment is right; for this reason, I hereby deem you Chief Counsel of the Storm Guard.”

  Turning back to her throne, she said, “You may all rise.” The rest of the party acquiesced.

  “You are called the Storm Guard because you, along with my guard Jonathan, are the only ones that know of my Wild Mage background and that I can summon the storm. You are to guard that secret along with many more secrets as time goes on.

  “You shall know your Queen requests your assistance when the wind changes and disturbs the normal course of Galekian weather. The Kaa will fly at midnight to receive his orders and report his instructions to the rest. Are there any questions?”

  There was a moment of silence before Remi raised her pink-furred paw and Enwel acknowledged her. “Do you have a base of operations you wish us to use?

  “Not at this time,” Enwel replied. “As I understand it, you were seeking a place to build a keep on Galekian soil?”

  “Yes, but I’m afraid we haven’t found the land to build upon,” Beltrin said.

  I grinned as an idea suddenly planted itself in my brain.

  “I believe I have the solution to that,” I said. All eyes turned to me. “The family farmland is many hundreds of acres. I am the last living family member, thereby the deed to the land belongs to me.”

  I turned to face the rest of the group. “I would consider it a great honor if you would allow me to provide you with the land to build your keep.”

  There were looks of uncertainty among the group as they processed my offer.

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” Caeden was the first to speak up. “That is healthy farming land; it could be of great profit to you.”

  “I thought about that, but I am no farmer,” I replied. “I am a chef, and as long as there’s a small plot of land where I could plant vegetables and a patch of wheat, I shall have all the cultivation space I need. And, no better place to work than where I live!”

  “Could I oversee that?” Caeden asked, ever the druid. I nodded affirmatively.

  “What do we need to do to make this official?” I asked.

  “I can expedite the process,” Enwel said, “in my official capacity.” She smiled.

  “Very well,” I said. “That is that.”

  With those words, a new beginning was born, for each of the Winds of Andusk, for the new queen, and for myself.

  17. The New Day

  Builders worked from sun-up to sundown for four months, clearing the farmland, re-shaping the land and building the keep housing the Winds of Andusk.

  I couldn’t decide whether to watch the workmen raze the family home. For one, there were so many happy memories there – holidays, birthdays, various celebrations… There were even many quiet nights that I could recall, where just being close to my mother, brother and father was enough to remain in my memory.

  But then it was all too easy to remember the horror of that one night when it all changed. The invasion, the abduction, and the violent start to my new life as a Wild Mage. Perhaps it was better to watch the destruction of my old home, symbolically burying that part of me under the soil and build something new and promising over its remains.

  The neglected wood-plank fence around the land was replaced by stone masonry. There were mounds and hills shaped throughout the former pasture; bushes, trees and assorted topiary were imported from surrounding cities to be dotted strategically through the property.

  Construction of the keep itself was the most exciting transformation. Where a humble homestead once stood began to grow a three-story stone superstructure. I had never seen anything so dark gray in color be so thrilling in appearance. The building conveyed strength, solidarity, protection as it took shape.

  As the Winds of Andusk and I sat a safe distance from the construction si
te one day, we discussed my plans for the tavern.

  “Have you decided on a name for the establishment?” Beltrin asked.

  “Never mind that,” said an excitable Remi, “have you nailed down a menu yet?”

  I laughed, the first time I felt I had in many months. “Yes, to the both of you,” I replied. “The menu will include breakfast options as well as a full lunch and dinner list. I thought maybe I could come up with some dishes based on your personalities and any stories that come from your adventures!”

  The team smiled at that, and Irek snickered. “Misadventures, more like. Remember the warehouse explosion in the Far West district?” He prodded Beltrin, whose eyes rolled upwards.

  “Will you ever let me live that down?” he asked.

  “No!” laughed the rest of the team.

  I looked around each of their smiling faces. I was enjoying being included with the gang, even if I was clearly missing an inside joke.

  Beltrin explained, attempting to save face. “We were attempting to locate and destroy three suspected Raven hideouts on the outskirts of Galek,” he said. “We were at the third on the farthest side of the Warehouse District. And this place was teeming with Raven agents – all of whom could have located us and turned their swords and magics on us in a second! So, I thought the best course of action was to cast a swift fireball at the warehouse and wipe them all out.”

  He sighed, leaning back in his chair as he chose his words carefully. “Unfortunately, I may have acted a little too swiftly, for you see” –

  Taryn interrupted with a wry smile. “He did act too swiftly. Little did he know that the warehouse wasn’t just holding a ton of Ravens. It was an actively used warehouse, and it happened to be holding tons and tons of explosives.”

  “Oh, no…” I winced, also trying to hold back a laugh.

  “Well, the fireball certainly worked,” Caeden chimed in. “It blew all those Ravens to Kingdom Come, and it also knocked us all back several hundred yards, over to a stone outlay. We were pretty scraped up when all was said and done.”

  Beltrin was becoming more and more uncomfortable with this story. Remi saw this and smiled softly, taking his hand in hers. Beltrin smiled back, as did I.

  It did get the wheels spinning in the back of my mind. I reached for my journal. Taking my pen, I scribbled a quick note, which I dictated aloud: “Beltrin’s Fireball Chili,” I said. “Available in mild, hot, and… ‘Say a Prayer.’”

  This earned a hearty laugh of approval from everyone, Beltrin included.

  “See? It won’t take me long at all to build up a menu tailored to everyone,” I said, closing up the journal again.

  “Now, what about the name?” Remi pressed.

  I held up a hand. “Ah, ah, ah. Not just yet. I’ve commissioned a sign maker to carve me a special sign to hang outside the tavern entrance. I’ll reveal it to you all once we move in.

  “We have a sign to show you, too,” Taryn said. He was holding a small wooden sign that appeared to be for a directional sign.

  Holding it up, he displayed it to the whole table. It read, “MONDRAGON WAY.”

  “This is the official name of the path leading to the keep,” Taryn said. “To thank you for your generosity, and in memory of your family.”

  “I am… touched,” I said. I dabbed at my eyes with a napkin.

  Remi raised a glass of juice. “To the New Day,” she cheered.

  “The New Day,” we said in unison, glasses raised in toast.

  When that day finally came, it was among a tremendous bustling of activity. Teams of movers jostled crates of belongings from every member of the party, hustling up and down stairs and creating small traffic jams in the hallways.

  I decided to stay clear of all that work and remain in the dining area of my brand-new tavern. I looked around at the knotted-oak bar, polished wood tabletops, and bottles of fine spirits lined up carefully along the walls.

  It was all mine, I thought to myself. And along with that, something even more precious.

  “Well, I think that’s all of our stuff,” Ricken said, dusting his hands as he came down our private staircase at the far end of the tavern. “It sure was kind of the party to add plans for an entire flat above the tavern for us.”

  “They’re a pretty fine group of people,” I said, holding out my hand for him to join me. When he reached me, he took my hand and kissed it. Sitting down across the table from me, he looked at the menagerie I had strewn about the tabletop. He noticed a large parcel in the seat beside me, wrapped in brown paper.

  “Is that the sign?” he asked.

  “It is indeed. I wanted you to be the first to see it before I reveal it to the rest.” Carefully peeling the paper back, I exposed a carved, burned and inked sign. It depicted a fiddle and a bow in the background. Raised letters in the foreground spelled out the name: “The Talented Vagabond.”

  “I like, I like!” Ricken said, clapping his hands together. “This is pretty exciting. The chance to create our own menus, hire our own staff, run things our own way… I am quite eager to get started!”

  “Speaking of, here’s the menu as it stands now,” I said, handing him three leaves of parchment. “Am I missing anything?”

  Ricken ran an eye over each sheet. “No, you have everything we’ve talked about. And may I say, the calligraphy on your headings is stunning. Is there no end to your talents?”

  “Oh, stop,” I said, blushing slightly.

  “I don’t see the wine list,” Ricken said. He thumbed through some of the other pages I had lying about.

  “Ah, they’re upstairs. I’ve been jotting notes in my journal; I’ll go get it.”

  I dashed up the stairs and down the hallway leading to the front of our apartment door.

  What a charming place. Clean, light colored walls, lush carpeting, brand new fixtures… such a dream come true. And it was ours, Ricken and mine.

  My journal was on the kitchen countertop as I entered. Strange, I thought, I didn’t remember leaving it there. Ignoring the thought, I grabbed the journal and hurried back downstairs.

  “Do you remember the name of that one red wine I mentioned? The one that includes a drop of Galekian passionfruit in it?” Ricken was gazing out the window as he asked.

  “Uhh… I think you said it was called ‘Loverwood Reserve,’” I replied, setting the journal on the side of our table as I sat back down.

  Ricken snapped his fingers. “That’s what it was! I want to make sure I request a cask of it from the vineyard when I visit this weekend. Shall I write that down?”

  “Go ahead,” I said. “It’s just the last page, you won’t be invading any of my private thoughts back there.”

  Ricken grinned and spun the journal around. As he did, a loose, folded sheet of paper fluttered to the ground at my feet.

  “Curious,” I said. “I don’t keep any loose sheets tucked in there. Is it yours?”

  “Couldn’t be,” Ricken replied, already writing inside the journal. “I haven’t touched it until just now.”

  My brow furrowed as I got a strange cold chill down my back. I reached down, picked up the paper, and unfolded it.

  The chill spread as I read the words on the page. “No… no…,” I began to stammer, as a flood of disturbing images began to overwhelm my mind once again. After weeks and weeks of relief and progress, it felt as if I were right back where I started with an invaded psyche.

  “Abel! What, what is it?” Ricken stood from the table and came to my side. In tears, I pointed to where I had dropped the paper.

  Ricken looked down, picked up the paper and saw what had upset me so badly.

  The page had been torn out from my journal; it matched the hue and thickness of the rest of its pages. The sun which was shining through the front glass of our tavern was casting light onto the page, and while the words were facing Ricken, I could see their markings in dark, dark crimson. Turning to face the window, I noticed the note’s reflection, reading the words back to m
e as if taunting, forcing me to heed its message.

  “THE DOCTOR WILL BE WITH YOU SHORTLY.”

  Beltrin’s Fireball Chili

  Beltrin’s fireballs are known for being swift, effective… and often destructive. For that reason, I created three different “mix-ins” to make the base chili hotter and more daring. -A

  I have adapted Abel’s recipes from the original Galekian to suit modern-day measurements and commercial availability. - C

  Hot chili base:

  1 lb. ground beef

  20 oz. cooked pinto beans* or 1 can prepared chili beans

  18 oz. (2 cans) unseasoned tomato sauce