The Dark Lord Cecil

by Wade Adrian

  Lady Aldora, a might ruffled but standing, crept closer to Redding’s back. Her hair was a mess and she was covered with dust, but she moved with purpose, a bent red knife in her hand.

  Cecil shrugged. “But I’m not exactly in a position to argue. You want to fight? Let’s fight.”

  The slimy grin crept back onto Redding’s face. “Good. Always better to ensure a thorough transfer of power. Can’t have an old Dark Lord running around.”

  “Agreed!” Cecil held his sword high.

  Redding’s eyebrow crept up. “You have no idea how to use that, do you?”

  “Kind of. I’ve carved a few turkeys in my day.”

  The new dark lord sighed. “Wonderful.” His eyes went wide when the red dagger struck his back with all the force Lady Aldora could put behind both hands, swinging it like a club.

  Redding lurched forward a step, his eyes turning. “What in…”

  Cecil brought the sword low and thrust it ahead. He didn’t have high hopes for it to pierce the man’s armor, but if he could slide it between the plates…

  The blade sailed straight through the armor as if it wasn’t there.

  Lady Aldora jumped back a step in surprise as the blade leapt out of Redding’s back.

  Redding’s head turned forward again. He looked down at Cecil, eyes wide. “Huh…”

  Cecil let go of the sword as Redding fell to his knees. His hands gripped the hilt of the black sword, but his eyes glazed over a moment later. His arms fell limp to his sides and he fell forward, his face landing in the dust.

  The crown fell off of his head and rolled away…

  Down the hill.

  35

  “I guess that’s what the sword does.” Cecil muttered as he stared at the dead man. Granted, he hadn’t been a peach or anything, but still. Dead. It was… kind of a big deal. It had taken two of them to do it, and there had been a line behind them.

  The sword had blood on it… but it moved and slid along the blade, pulled into the fuller where it disappeared.

  Ugh, gross sword.

  Redding had wanted war, to make the world worse for the sake of his own pride and standing. Really, this wasn’t a loss for the world at large.

  But Cecil still felt awful as Redding’s glassy eyes stared up at nothing.

  A hand waving in front of his face woke him from his thoughts.

  Lady Aldora pointed down the hill. “We still have a problem, here.”

  “Oh. Right.” He glanced around. Murray was still a pile of bones, and Egerton and his horse had collapsed as well. Gomer was dusting himself off as he climbed out from under the horse bones.

  Out in the field skeletons were still fighting. A few of them near the tower seemed less lively, just standing around, but distant ones were on the war path. He didn’t know what caused the difference, or if given time they would all stop, but they had wasted enough time with Redding. The people out there didn’t have time for him to figure it out.

  Cecil leapt down the hill, sliding and trying to keep his feet under him. The loose dirt played hell with his feet, and despite digging them in as best he could it looked a lot like he was going to slide right past the crown.

  He reached out to where the crown had come to rest against an old dead tree, only slightly ironic, as he kicked his feet at the stupid dirt that wasn’t cooperating. Time was of the essence here, dirt.

  It was a bit surprising when he lurched to a stop. He looked up to see Lady Aldora holding his coat in one hand and the old dead tree with the other.

  He slid his feet and hands around until he found stable bits of ground and could climb the few feet back up.

  She had made it up first, and had the crown in hand, just looking at it. She seemed a little surprised when his shadow fell over her. She blinked up at him before holding the crown out. “This is yours.”

  Was it? It had been, but that was… before. It wasn’t his now. He wasn’t the Dark Lord. Was he free of it, or was it just waiting until he died again to call him into service? Aside from some lingering pain in his chest he didn’t feel any different…

  She held the crown out, pushing it closer. “Please, take it. You have to fix this. I don’t want it. I mean, I thought I did. For a long time I thought I did, but then I saw what he did with it and… and…” She shook her head and pushed the crown against Cecil’s chest, as far from herself as possible, like it was a poisonous animal. “Anastasia looks terrible without skin.”

  That was… a strange thing to say. He took hold of the crown gingerly. It felt… heavier than he remembered. All six gems were glowing now. Not sparkling in the mid morning light, but producing light of their own.

  He wasn’t the Dark Lord. He didn’t have to be the Dark Lord. He knew better now. Putting it on would condemn himself all over again. Worse, because he would be doing it willingly.

  There was no time for second guessing. Men were fighting. Potentially dying. He lifted the crown high. If this is what it took to save them, he would. It was his fault they were here. All of this was his fault.

  His responsibility, whether he had asked for it or not. Kynes didn’t shy away from their work.

  The crown was definitely heavier now. It felt… almost cold to the touch as it settled on his head.

  Something was definitely different. Very different.

  The world seemed dim to his eyes. He could feel every skeleton in the field, and still more below that hadn’t had time to free themselves of the dirt. Murray and Egerton were bright red spots on the hill above, even though he couldn’t see them, he knew where they were. Three more distant spots played in his mind. A third dim point waited on the hill as well. A sixth overall.

  Cecil gently lifted a hand toward the rampaging army Redding had called up. He knew what to do now. His fear washed away. “Dismissed.”

  The sound of bones falling to the ground in a wave stretching away from him and Lady Aldora was almost deafening. The men out there held hands against their ears.

  He could feel them, too. They were… different. Dim points of light that pulsed with each beat of their hearts. The crown made no secret of them not being his to command… but that could change in an instant. They were his but for a few breaths…

  The world around him brightened as Lady Aldora shook him. He blinked away a few last shreds of darkness.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  A good question. He shrugged a bit. “I think?”

  “Good.” She pointed at the top of the hill.

  Cecil groaned, but nodded. “Yeah…”

  It took them a few moments to climb back to the top. It was a lot easier with someone looking out for him, and with him looking out for her. A sense of… purpose almost. Murry and Egerton helped them to the top.

  Cecil eyed the tower as he stood at the top of the hill. He could see it now, in all its past glory. A ghostly image of the past laid over the present. Banners blowing, skeletons crawling over it like ants… and humans serving as little better than beasts of burden, with no future to speak of but servitude as walking bones.

  It was what everyone was so afraid of. He understood, now that he could see it. The power was there waiting to be grasped, to be born into this world again.

  He lifted his hand toward the tower.

  The ground shook and rumbled. The crown gave him no power over stone and dirt… but there were a great many bones down there amongst those things. Those were his to command.

  Cracks shot up the sides of the tower, bits of the masonry coming loose and falling away. The top broke into giant shards and fell to the ground with a roar that almost knocked him off his feet, and that was before the wave of dust washed over him.

  It was a few moments before it began to settle, but when the sky could be seen once more the Dark Citadel was no longer touching it.

  “Aww…” Murray sighed. “My hat was in there.”

  Egerton smacked Murray upside the skull, and Gomer shook his head. Cecil could hear other voices, too. They were far more�
�� elated? It took a moment to spot them in the billowing dust still falling, but Gomer’s men, as well as Redding’s, were cheering at the fallen tower. Cheering their victory over the army of evil.

  Gomer appeared beside Cecil. “I take it that means you surrender.”

  Cecil scoffed. In truth, there wasn’t a thing in the world that could stop him now, tower or no. But he nodded. “I suppose so.” He pulled the crown from his head.

  “My lord?” Egerton pointed. “Someone is approaching.”

  Cecil and Gomer turned. The sound of hooves wasn’t far off. He must have missed it for the tower falling, battle raging, and incessant yammering from various sources.

  Banners. Blue ones. Gomer raised an eyebrow. “Not mine.” He noticed some of his people down the hill where they had been fighting. Redding’s men stood down there as well. Everyone seemed confused. “Hey!” Gomer’s voice boomed as he held up his hands. “Go tell everyone to stand down, the day is won.” He pointed at one of Redding’s men. “That goes for you, too. If you want to flee, so be it. Your master is dead, and his dreams of conquest with him. If you would leave our lands peacefully, you shall be allowed to do so. Pass that on.”

  The men in blue saluted, those in red threw down their weapons. Both sets moved down the hill toward their respective camps.

  A few still scrambled behind horses in the distance. Those were the luckiest of all, having had nothing to do with the insanity. They might not even believe it, depending on how transfixed they had been on their task.

  Cecil stared out at the approaching banners. “So, I guess they’re going to kill me now? Or I get locked in a tower for the rest of my life?”

  Gomer rubbed at his chin. “Well, I don’t see that as fitting reward for stopping Redding.”

  Cecil tilted his head to the side a bit. “Hi, I’m the Dark Lord Cecil. We’ve met.”

  Gomer shrugged. “The… tension we had seems to have been based on a misunderstanding, at least some of which was my fault. And it only really became a problem when Redding tried to exploit it for his own gain. Seems you put an end to that. And for a brief, shining moment… our two kingdoms worked together. I looked across the field, saw Rojo soldiers, and was actually glad of it. Perhaps something good will come of it, or perhaps not. But that’s a seed you planted.”

  “Heh.” Cecil shrugged a little as he looked down at the crown. “Well I was a farmer.”

  It became easier to see the horses approaching as the dust settled. Men were still cheering behind them where the battle had taken place.

  Gomer tapped Cecil on the shoulder and pointed at Murray. “Give that chap your crown for a bit. They can stay close, if you’re afraid, but let me talk.”

  Cecil shrugged and handed the crown to Murray. “Don’t get any ideas. It’s mine.”

  “Doesn’t fit anymore.” Murray tossed his helmet aside as he held up the crown. He dropped it over his head and it slid right down over his skull and landed on his shoulders.

  Egerton rolled his eyes. “We won’t be far.” He was still on top of his horse. He waved to shoo Murray down the back of the hill, where they both promptly fell to piles of bones that hide the crown from sight.

  Gomer’s eyebrow had crept up. “I don’t think I’ll get used to that.”

  Cecil nodded. “Ditto.”

  Lady Aldora moved up beside them as the horses crested the little hill. Easy from that side, it had always been there. The other side, though…

  An armored Lord Yale Thorn rode at the head, a pole bearing a blue and yellow banner in his hand, the end of the pole tucked into his stirrup. The men behind him wore fine shining armor as well. Behind the small retinue were less pristine soldiers. Breastplates over blue coats. Behind those were irregulars. All the armor they sported had rust in hard to clean places.

  Gomer stepped in front of the pair. “I’ve got this.”

  He could claim he’d killed Redding with his mustache for all Cecil cared. He was pondering sliding down the hill for the fourteenth time or so. They probably wouldn’t find him in the rubble…

  Lord Yale thorn stopped, a hand raised. “Good morning, General Gomer. My, you’re looking a bit disheveled.” A smirk crept onto his face, but it faded again when he noticed his daughter in a similar state. “Aldora?” He practically tossed the banner to one of the men riding beside him, who fumbled with it for a moment before he caught it. By the time he did Lord Thorn was on the ground and running.

  All the lordly air was gone as he embraced his daughter against his armored torso. She looked embarrassed for a moment, but it passed as she shut her eyes and hugged her father in return.

  Gomer smiled. “Yes, Lady Aldora has been… assisting us with this problem. She volunteered, but well, frankly we didn’t know who to trust out here so we were trying to keep our actions quiet.”

  Thorn looked at Aldora, then at Gomer. Then back to Aldora. The girl shrugged. “My apologies, father. We had also seen this threat of skeletons first hand, but didn’t think anyone would believe us.”

  Gomer nodded. “Quite right.”

  Leaving sounded like a delightful idea to Cecil. He would just slip away and…

  “Seesil?”

  Cecil’s shoulders slumped.

  Reginald climbed down from a far more frumpy looking horse than Thorn’s, his armor more in line with the second division, a bit of steel over a blue coat. “What in the world happened here, Seesil? I told you to farm not…” He waved his hands at the ruined tower, the distant battlefield littered with skeletons and men still cheering. Most of them were in areas that had been excavated, so it was more or less one giant hole. “Well, whatever this is!”

  Gomer laid a hand on Cecil’s shoulder. “Hold your tongue. This man here is a hero.”

  Reginald squinted at Gomer incredulously. “A what?”

  Cecil wore the same expression as he stared at Gomer.

  The general pointed at what was left of Redding. “Mister Cecil, being stationed here, uncovered the plot of this mad Rojo general. He thought to unearth these ruins using dark magics. Cecil here didn’t believe any of it, certainly, but sought help when our known enemies made it so far into our borders unchecked. It was he that sought out Lady Aldora, a diplomat known to him, and she in turn sent word to the king. He sent me to investigate these skeletons, though in truth I think he also suspected a Rojo threat. He certainly spoke the name of their country enough in the briefing. So we came, and with the help of a few brave locals and Herr Redding’s own men who turned on him, we were able to foil this plot. Cecil himself struck the invader down only moments ago, with the help of Lady Aldora. I witnessed it with my own eyes, after Redding captured me. They came to my rescue.”

  Reginald’s expression hadn’t changed much. “Pull the other one.”

  Gomer stood a good head taller than the town manager. “Do you question my word?” He pointed at the field. “There’s not a man down there, of Greater Azul or Rojo, that won’t tell you about the last few days of hell, watching this threat rise and fearing it would be too great to stop. Those men put aside their differences this very morning, putting steel to bone for the sake of people like you.” He jabbed a finger into Reginald’s chest. “And you question us? Good lord.”

  Reginald balked. “Umm, well…” He pointed at Cecil. “You could have come to me!”

  Cecil shrugged. “Yeah, I meant to report that there’s a bit of a hole.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Can’t really plant here. Sorry. Got a bit caught up in the fighting for our lives bit.” Funny how… at this point he really didn’t care how Reginald felt about all of this. “I came here as instructed, and none of this was what I signed up for. Who do I take that complaint to? You, Thorn?”

  The lord only just seemed to notice him. “Hmm? What?” He glanced about, his eyes landing on the clerk. “Did you screw up something else, Reginald?”

  Reginald let out a squeak.

  Gomer clapped him on the shoulder. “Now, now. There is no cause for
fighting. Not today. We’ve just overcome a great evil. Perhaps the greatest of our time. We should be celebrating!”

  “Capital idea.” Lord Yale Thorn nodded. “We’ve supplies for days. We’ll make camp and prepare a feast from them. All of your men are welcome of course, Gomer. Any of the Rojo men that fought, too. We’ll make inroads if it kills us.”

  It didn’t take much more convincing to have them all parading back down the safe and stable side of the hill. Reginald was only too happy to take the suggestions as demands.

  Cecil lagged behind, stopping and sitting on a rock. He let out a sigh.

  He was exhausted. Morning or not, he was ready to call this a day.

  “Cecil?”

  He blinked and turned his head. Well, that was… unexpected.

  36

  “Father?”

  Calder Kyne stood a few feet away wearing an ill fitting blue coat and rusted bits of armor. “When I heard what was happening here I dug out my militia gear and joined up. I was afraid…”

  Cecil hopped to his feet.

  The older man didn’t say a word as he crossed the distance and embraced his son. “They say you helped stop this thing.”

  “Uhh… yeah. Sort of.”

  “Sort of? You alright, boy?”

  “It’s a long story.” He smiled a bit, and a chuckle left his lips as he turned his head to the field. “Look what happened when they gave me a plot of land. I’ve never been much of a farmer.”

  Calder rubbed at his chin. “Mmm. Bit of a hole.”

  “Full of skeletons.”

  “That is a… unique feature.”

  “I’m selling it cheap, if you’re interested.”

  “Psst.” The voice whispered. “Boss?”

  Cecil rolled his eyes. “What’s up, Murray?”

  “You should do something with this, before people start poking around.” Murray wandered over, the crown held out in front of him.

  Cecil nodded as he took it. “Probably right.”

  Calder’s jaw was practically touching his belt buckle.

  Murray waved. “Hey.”

  Cecil blinked a few times. “Oh, right. Forgot. Sorry. Long day.” He shrugged. “Pop, this is Murray. Murray, Pop.”