Smells Like Finn Spirit

by Randy Henderson

  “By the way,” I said to the faun, “you look familiar, but I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Hermes,” he said. Then after a beat, added, “But everyone calls me Crockett.”

  “Why’s that? You a Miami Vice fan or something?” I joked.

  He gave a martyred sigh. “Because I’m Don Faun’s son.”

  “Oh. Uh, well—” We emerged from the forest into the clearing of the Elwha steading.

  The hidden lodge and spa at Elwha had been restored to something of its original glory for Pete and Vee’s wedding. White flowers covered everything, grown with the help of Silene and the other plant-friendly brightbloods no doubt, and fairies were zipping about with colored streamers like Olympic hummingbirds. The fauns, centaurs, and other brightbloods had ribbons tied in their hair, or wore necklaces and bracelets of woven flowers. And a large number wore knit ties or bonnets, no doubt courtesy of Sal and his growing circle of brightblood knitting enthusiasts.

  Sal strode up with his long swinging strides, his fringe of red-brown hair gleaming in the sunlight. “Welcome!” he said. “Youselfs all go inside quickfast! Pete and Vee are very nervous.”

  His tone made me worried.

  “Is everything okay? They’re not having cold feet or anything?”

  “I am not thinking so,” Sal said, frowning. “Iself knit them many warm socks. But Pete started to, erm, mark areas. And Vee keeps trying to run off with the food to hide in her favorite tree.”

  “It’s just nerves,” Fatima said, looking back at me. “It will be okay. We’ve got this.”

  “Yeah,” Sammy said, sounding much less convinced.

  “I’ll deal with Petey,” Dawn said and marched off toward the lodge, with Fatima and Sammy falling in beside her.

  “Wait!” Mattie said. “I’m coming, too! I want to see Vee!” She ran to catch up with the other women, leaving me with Father and Verna, who were distracted by all the color.

  I looked past Sal at the brightbloods moving about. “So, uh, you sure it’s okay I’m here? After the whole exile over Dunngo, I mean?”

  “For the bonding, youself invited,” Sal said, then blushed slightly. “Well and true, youself still not most popular magebright with someselves. But Borghild no longer speaks against youself. And there are sure-true many magebrights that are liked less.”

  “Well, I guess that’s something.”

  Sal slapped a giant hand on my shoulder, nearly knocking me to the ground. “Do not Chihuahua. Even big-bad wounds can heal.”

  “Chihuahua?”

  “Yes.” He lifted his hands up close to his chest, shivered, and made a whimpering sound. “Be all full of fretting and worry and shiver-shakes. Chihuahua. They say this is why there are no waer-Chihuahuas, because theyselves all scared themselves to death.”

  “Right. Okay. Thanks, Sal. Where is Silene?”

  Sal stood up straighter, his chest puffing out, and said in a voice with a hint of purring, “Silene is being named new Silver Archon.”

  “What?” I said. “That’s great!”

  Sal nodded. “Herself is very nervous, but also very excited, already talking about many changes.”

  I remembered then how I’d first met Silene, and why she’d run into trouble with the ARC, agitating for brightblood rights and speaking of one day having brightbloods on the Arcana Ruling Council itself.

  We were in for interesting times.

  “She’ll be a great Archon,” I said, leaving it at that.

  Sal led me toward the lodge. I noticed that a number of those who wandered the grounds held crossbows, staffs, or swords.

  “Worried about another Shadows attack?” I asked.

  “Not big-worried,” Sal said. “The Archon Assembly gave the Shadows Archon much bad-words for the attack.”

  “That’s it? Just another warning?”

  Sal shrugged. “The Shadows Archon said heself did not know of it, it was the action of ‘rogue’ selves and heself would investigate and give great punishments.”

  I rolled my eyes. It was no coincidence that the attack had coincided with our battle against the Arcanites. The Shadows Archon knew of the battle, and so likely had the Shadows Fey. “That guy is slippier than a naked cat dipped in oil,” I said.

  Reggie stepped out of the lodge as we approached, wearing his old Miami Vice–style enforcer outfit of white jacket and pants and azure T-shirt, the jacket clearly stretched a bit over his modest belly, though not terribly so. Merlin followed him, flowing brown robes covering the Samoan druid’s considerable girth, and a polished metal helm gleaming in the sun.

  “Looking good,” I said as we reached them.

  Reggie tugged at his jacket. “I wanted Vee to feel Zeke’s presence, at least a little,” he replied, looking down. “Though it is kind of depressing how hard it was to fit into these pants again.” I patted my own stomach. “I don’t know. Now that Alynon isn’t complaining about how I let all his hard work go to waste, I’m looking forward to letting some things, well, go to my waist.”

  Merlin laughed. “That is why I wear robes. That, and the breeze.”

  “Uh,” I said. I turned to Reggie, and asked in a quieter voice, “So how’s the cleanup at the ARC going?”

  “It’s a mess,” Reggie said. “There’s no easy way to tell which of those who remained in power were Arcanites, or just deemed harmless by the Arcanites. And there are a lot of important positions unoccupied. They’re even bringing George—or, uh, Merlin here—in from the cold.”

  Merlin garumphed. “Didn’t say I’d go. Lots of work still to do in the world. And J needs someone to keep him out of trouble.”

  “How is he?” I asked.

  “Recovering,” Merlin said. “He’ll be fine. The ARC’s already wiped his memories of the fight and healed his wounds.”

  Reggie grunted. “Except now he plans to sue HBO, and we have to go back in and undo that as well.”

  “What?” I said. “Why?”

  “Apparently the infomancers gave him a memory of binge-watching Game of Thrones to explain the time-loss, and now he’s convinced the show was purposefully created with an addictive subliminal signal to distract anyone who might be inclined to seek out true magic, or some such nonsense.”

  I slapped Merlin on the arm. “Sounds like we still need our ambassador to the lunatic fringe.”

  “Funny you should say that,” Reggie said. “I happen to know the ARC is going to offer you an actual ambassador position.”

  “What?” I said. “Me? Why?”

  “Well, you’ve already gone into the Other Realm twice to basically do an ambassador’s job. I guess they figure if you’re going to go over there anyway and represent arcana, you might as well do it officially.”

  “In other words, they want more control over what I say and do over there.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Well, I don’t plan to go back. Ever. So if they do ask, I’ll politely decline.”

  “Uh huh. And when you got back from exile, exactly how many times did you think you’d be going back over there?” Reggie asked.

  “But we’ve stopped the Arcanites,” I argued. “And it’s just a matter of time before the conspirators in the Other Realm are exposed.”

  “Right. And the Chaos Fey are going to confess to everything and promise to stop whatever grand plans they had.”

  “Not my problem anymore,” I said, as much to convince myself as him. “I mean, the ARC and the Colloquy can’t deny at this point the need to get involved and take care of things themselves. They don’t need me anymore. Dawn and Mattie, they’re my only concern now.”

  Father giggled. “Odd to see, all on TV, Phinaeus Fancius gods at sea.”

  I pretended not to hear him. I could drive myself mad trying to figure out if there was some meaning in his words, and what that meaning might be. And I didn’t want to understand, not right now, especially not if gods were involved.

  Reggie glanced sideways at Father, then s
aid, “Hey, look, if you can really step away from all of this, including Alynon, then I’m happy for you.”

  I winced. “Anyone found him yet?”

  “Alynon? No. You sure you don’t have a way to find him? Or a guess about what his plans might be?”

  “Nope. No idea,” I lied.

  “Uh huh,” Reggie replied, fully able to detect my lie. “How about we just pretend for today that everything is great then, and enjoy the moment?”

  “Here here,” Merlin said. “Let us find the beer.”

  “Enjoy,” I said. “I’ll see you at the ceremony.”

  “See you there.” Reggie gave a nod to Father and Verna before marching off with Merlin in tow.

  I led Father and Verna into the lodge, and nearly ran into Garl and Heather as they strode across the lobby area. Garl remained in his normal attire of baggy jeans, no shirt, and no shoes, his waerbear winter weight clearly evident. Heather wore a red dress that ended at the knees, her bare shoulders deeply tanned for the first time since I’d known her, her straw-blond hair up in some kind of weave with flowers in it.

  “Finn,” she said, thrusting a blue-collared shirt in the direction of Garl. “Will you explain to him that nobody wants to see his giant belly at a bonding ceremony.”

  Garl patted his belly. “I am proud of this belly. And shirts itch and scratch and choke.”

  “Well—” I said, and with that, I was swept up in the frenzy of last-minute preparations.

  * * *

  I escorted Pete up one sloped side of the grassy “stage,” as Reggie escorted Vee up the opposite side, until we met at the peak where Silene stood waiting behind a pedestal holding an ornate two-handled chalice.

  Vee looked like an American Valkyrie, or perhaps a superhero with her red and blue dress and Nordic features. She wore a crown of flowers that bloomed and shed their petals, then bloomed again, creating a colorful snowfall around her. And a veil of spider silk hung over her face, the shimmering strands strengthened against breaking, and bejeweled with morning dew that could not be shaken off.

  Pete had been outfitted by a waer-Elvis he once battled, the remorseful rocker now clean of the mana drug used to manipulate him and seeking to make amends. Pete was also dressed in red and blue, his high-collared jacket bedecked with rhinestones, and his pants flared out at the bottom. He looked like a disco nobleman.

  Silene stood between them in a dress made entirely of white roses in full bloom, presumably without the thorns.

  Vee and Pete joined hands, and Reggie and I both grinned while we placed our hands on top and bottom of theirs as a sign of blessing and approval.

  Then I descended the hill to join Dawn in the front row with the rest of our family and friends, and Reggie did the same. The crowd of brightbloods spread out beside and behind us in a fan shape, occasionally adding a snuffle or soft bleat or sniffle to the background noise of chirping birds.

  Silene raised her hands. “Cousins, and guests,” she said. “We gather in the light of the sun and the grace of the Aal to bond these two brightsouls together. For as our own nature teaches us, when two spirits are bonded, it creates something greater than just the sum of those two souls, it creates a new life filled with possibility and promise.

  “Paeterus Gramaraye and Violet Wodenson were not born brightbloods, but they have chosen to serve the Silver, and this clan. And so I now have the honor and blessing to bond them in their love.”

  The ceremony continued, as Silene spoke to each of their bond and their responsibilities to the other, and then had them seal the bond by both picking up the Quaich, the large ornate chalice, off of the pedestal and taking turns sipping from it.

  Silene smiled as they set the Quaich down.

  “Now you shall be the shelter for one another, protecting each from rain and snow. Now you shall be root to one another, providing a strong foundation for growth, nourishing each other in mind, body, and spirit. Now you shall be trunk to one another, supporting and helping each not to fall. Like two trees entwined, you are separate yet joined, with one shared fate before you, one shared life. May that life be filled with beauty and happiness.”

  “Paeterus wolf-bright and Violet squirrel-bright, you are now bonded in love.”

  Applause burst from the gathered crowd, causing a flight of starlings to erupt from the tree line and flutter into the blue sky.

  I watched them lift free of the earth, swirling in a choreographed cloud, their shifting patterns mesmerizing. They each had the greatest form of freedom, the ability to go anywhere in the world they wanted, anywhere their wings could carry them at least, and anywhere where they could find food and a bit of water. And yet, they flew together, wheeling through the air like a single body.

  And I realized, looking around me, that this is what I now wanted, too.

  Before my exile, I had wanted to escape the life of necromancy, of Talking, of dealing every day with death and facing the possible request to drain my own life energy to meet my “duty” as a Talker. I wanted to avoid my mother’s fate. I’d wanted to create games instead, without any real idea of how to make that dream come true.

  When I returned from exile, I’d intended to pick up where I left off, to take advantage of my absence to start a new life away from the family business, away from necromancy. It was almost a reflexive, conditioned drive at that point.

  And yet I’d felt unmoored, without direction or purpose, in this world of smartphones and dumb television, where video games had evolved from the simple pixelated programs of my youth to become multimillion-dollar cinematic epics, and the people I’d known best were now virtual strangers.

  But I realized that bit by bit, person by person, I’d somehow fallen into a new life while I was running around trying to figure out what life to live.

  I looked down the line of smiling faces, and remembered the hardships brought on so many of them by Grandfather, or his conspirators. Sometimes because Grandfather had acted against me, sometimes because I got myself involved in his conspiracies.

  I did not blame myself though. It felt like a great weight being lifted off of my shoulders just to think that. I wished I could have spared everyone gathered here any pain I had been involved with, of course. I wished more than anything I could bring Mort, Zeke, and Dunngo back, and undo Father’s madness and Petey’s waer curse. But I could not.

  I turned my thoughts instead to the good.

  Father had found Verna. And in trying to help him remember himself, I had also learned so much about him, and grown closer to him.

  I’d got to see Sammy happy with Fatima and a job that she took pride in. Or at least as happy as she had ever been.

  I helped Petey find true love with Vee, and helped in his transition to a new life.

  Mattie struggled with all that had happened, but it all seemed to have also propelled her growth, the transition from childhood to adult, of figuring out who she was beyond all the old fears and disappointments. And I could already tell the person she would grow into would be amazing, possibly a true leader of the arcana.

  And then there was Dawn.

  Dawn, always happy to put me in my place, but also to support any dream I chose to pursue. Dawn who continued to show me what love really was.

  I leaned over to her. “Can I talk to you a minute?” I nodded my head toward the forest.

  “You can talk to me for two. After that, I have to charge you.”

  “Uh huh.” I led her away from the crowd a little bit.

  “What’s up?” Dawn asked as we reached the shade of the trees. “You look weird.”

  “Dawn,” I said. “Will you marry me?”

  Damn it. I hadn’t meant to just blurt it out, I’d meant to make a nice romantic speech.

  She looked at me a long, silent moment, then said, “No.”

  It took a second for my brain to process that. “What? Why not?”

  “Finn, I wanted to wait until after the wedding, but I’ll just tell you now, I don’t want you to come
with me on my album tour. I think it will be good for us to have that time apart.”

  “But—you were just gone for a month. We’ve been through so much, I just—”

  “I love you, Finn. I really do. But, frankly, I just need to step back and make sure you’re good for me. I kind of have a history of getting mixed up with guys who aren’t good for me. I thought you were different—”

  “I am! Or at least, I hope I am,” I said. “I know there’s been a lot of craziness, and you’ve gotten hurt, but—”

  “Damn it, Finn, you were going to sacrifice yourself! Without even telling me, without even saying good-bye. I mean, I understand why, and it makes me question if I’m really just a selfish person, but I am angry that you were going to do that after I just risked my life and put my dream on hold for you. And, I don’t know, I’m trying to think of when you’ve done the same for me, sacrificed for me, put your world on hold for me. Not that I wish you had to, but … I just need to make sure I’m not being stupid for love, here.”

  “But—” I tried to think of something I had done for her, just for her, and came up short. I had gone with her to the massage therapy sessions for her shoulder, where they worked to loosen up the damage done by the jorõgumo attack, but she wouldn’t have even been attacked if not for me, and that had hardly been a sacrifice. “Was there something I should have helped with, something I could have done that I didn’t?”

  “I don’t know. That’s part of the problem: I don’t know what the problem is. It’s more like it feels like there should be a problem, and I need to make sure the fact that I don’t see what the problem is, well, that that’s not a problem.”

  “Are you leaving me?” I asked, confused.

  “No. I’m leaving on tour. And you need to focus on helping Mattie. We’re just going to be doing our own things for a bit, which we need to do anyway. It isn’t that big a deal. Don’t freak out and let your imagination run crazy the way you do. I love you, Finn. I really do. All this means is, I just can’t say I’m going to marry you, not right now.”