by Billy Wong
Jacob patted the thick wrap over his hip. "We didn't exactly get lucky, considering he already had a grudge against us."
"That's true, but the result's the same. How's your son doing?"
Brandon Junior, named after Ashleigh's late famous warrior of a husband, was a few years younger than the twins and had gotten acquainted with them during stays with the countess in past years. Ashleigh looked sadly west. "He's doing okay... as far as I know. He went off with Brandon's nephew, and I haven't seen him in months. I almost wish I hadn't let him go, but he wanted it badly and I couldn't deny him. Adventure's in his bloodline, I suppose."
Amber felt sympathy for the woman who clearly missed her son, but the mention of travel reminded her of her own parents. "I hope traveling's all my folks are doing."
"They'll be fine. They always are."
Jacob frowned. "I don't know; shouldn't they have contacted us by n-"
Ashleigh silenced him with a sharp glance. Amber supposed the noblewoman was trying to keep her from getting too worried, but knew he had a point. "They were only gone a week before the invasion. Maybe they sent a message, but it didn't get here in time."
Before her brother could respond, King Matthew walked by to look down at them. Thin and pale, the king did not exude the confidence Amber would expect in a young royal; but then, he must've had a hell of a childhood growing up in the royal court without a father. A warm, toothy grin spread across his face, and he asked, "You doing okay? Shannon told me you took some serious wounds back there."
"Yeah, we're good." Of course, she could hardly breath with the pain lancing through her body, but it'd pass eventually.
"You did well. We might not have made it, if you hadn't taken the enemy's leader from them when we were in a bad spot."
She giggled. "It's nothing. He got in our way, so what did you expect us to do but kill him." At least, she hoped they had. Though he'd looked dead, his body had been carried off by his bodyguards, and she wasn't sure they could count the little fiend out yet. It was worrisome too that the Kayland forces hadn't been able to locate whatever portal the monsters had used to transport themselves. Such an item would grant a great tactical advantage to whoever next made use of its powers.
"Is there anything you'd like as a reward for your fine deeds?"
Having given no consideration to royal boons, Amber turned to Jacob. "Anything you want?"
"I just want our parents to come home."
That was her first desire too, but not something she expected the king to help them get. "How about you send some soldiers to the Norh plains to help? Those folks are always having trouble with monsters and live in tiny vulnerable villa-"
Jacob interrupted, "No, that's not a good idea. The people up there don't take well to outside interference on that scale, and it'd only lead to bad things in the long run."
The king seemed as confused as she was at his response, and she decided to say, "We'll get back to you on that, Your Majesty. Thanks."
"No, thank you. Take care." Matthew walked away.
"So what do you think us great heroes should get as a reward?" Amber mused when she was alone with Jacob.
"How about more funding for the center? That never hurts."
"Yeah... so why didn't you suggest it?"
"I didn't think of it until just now."
As she hadn't either, she supposed. She turned over with a laugh and went to sleep, drifting swiftly away into blissful oblivion.
#
A few days later, Jacob, who was being sent home with a crutch and a warning not to exert himself too much, passed by Amber and informed her edgily, "King Matthew's sending troops up north to fight the monsters there."
The doctors still insisted she stay in bed, though she claimed to be more than ready to leave. Shrugging, she replied, "I know, the nurse told me. What, you're going to blame me for it?"
"You did bring it up. Amber, this is the stuff the imperialist nightmares Mom always gets caught up in are born of."
"Matthew's too fresh to have any such drive, I think."
He bit his lip. "That might be true, but his advisors likely aren't. I'm afraid they'll milk the Norh plains for all they're worth, with offering protection from the monsters as their excuse."
"Okay, sorry! But it's not like those guys wouldn't have thought of it themselves, right?"
"Probably," he acknowledged. Even though Matthew had been the one to mention Amber's idea in court, it wasn't exactly revolutionary. "It's okay, though I'd hope it goes to show what a few careless words can do."
She sighed. "I'm no politician, but yeah, I get you. Got to be cautious around powerful people, eh."
"You got it. So how are you feeling now?"
Sitting up, she smiled. "Much better. Let's go home, Corn Cob. I'm bored of this stinking place."
The crowded hospital did house a vile stench. Jacob helped his sister out of bed. "You sure you're ready?"
She held onto his shoulder with a grimace of pain before steadying herself, but said, "Absolutely. These people aren't doing anything for the worst of my injuries, anyway. They're internal after all."
Ouch. He'd have been scared for her life if not for her and their mother's consistency in surviving such wounds; actually, he still was a little scared. But Amber was right that her recovery would be no worse—and probably more comfortable, in fact—at home rather than here. They slowly began the walk away against the hospital staff's pleas, Jacob staying close by in case his strong sister needed his support.
She did lean on him a few times along the way towards home, and his own injured hip was quite sore by the time they arrived. Going to their parents' room first thing, they found several new letters which had arrived after the occupation of Gustrone. The most important, which Amber scrambled to open upon seeing the names on it, was for them. "They're alive, they're just fine!" she said joyously, and he knew she spoke of their parents. "It says they heard about the monstrous takeover, and will be back as soon as they can—but I guess they won't have to do anything since we took care of it."
He needed a moment for what that meant to sink in. "Wow, they're going to be proud of us, with all the people calling us heroes. Did Mom even had such grand deeds when she was seventeen?"
Amber grinned. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Corn Cob. Mom took on small armies before she was our age, and beat an ancient dragon single-handedly when she was seventeen. We might be good, but not quite that good."
True, but Jacob nonetheless felt strong pride in what they'd done. Performing "heroic" deeds was still hell on the nerves, but he seemed to be getting more used to it. "We've got plenty of time to catch up."
"In dragonslaying?"
"Well, probably not that." There might not even be any left, and if there were, the first thing he would try with one would be talk considering that dragons were transformed humans. "But this was a good start overall."
"Does this mean you'll actually be eager to fight with me now?"
"Eager? Hell no! But I won't shirk away from it when I have to."
Amber looked so happy it was hard to believe she bore near-fatal wounds underneath the tattered shirt she still wore. Jacob embraced her and kissed her cheek, making her laugh, then threw himself onto Rose and Finn's huge bed. "What are you doing?" his sister asked.
"They'll be back soon. Might as well enjoy their vacation as much as we can!"
She shook her head with faux exasperation and opened the liquor cabinet. "You think they'll miss this?"
"Going a bit far there."
Her face twisted at a sip from the first bottle she drew out. "In the case of this one, you're right. But I do need something for the pain!" Replacing it, she searched for a lighter drink.
#
Finally arriving before Gustrone, Rose stared at the large patches of dried blood that still adorned the walls and swallowed. "Looks like we picked the wrong time to take a break..."
Beside her, Finn patted her back. "Don't worry, things seem to be
okay. Our country doesn't always need us to save it."
"Yeah, but what about Jacob and Amber?" She hurried to ask the gate guards if they knew anything about her children's status, and their answer made her chuckle with relief. "Finn, they beat the leader of the enemy! They saved Gustrone!"
His heart must have swelled with pride, but though it showed in his eyes, Finn only said, "Of course they did. What else do you expect from our kids?"
"Let's go home. I'm going to give those two one heck of a party!"
But they arrived at the tower to find a party already underway, Amber dancing for a throng of young men in her underclothes while Jacob sat looking miserable in the corner. Still not noticing her parents, Amber crouched and poured gin into the waiting mouth of one of her admirers, only to spot Rose glaring at her out of the corner of her eye and spill her bottle all over the youth's face. "Mom! You're back!"
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Yes, and I see life's back to normal."
Despite the initial tension, they ran into each other's arms and Amber's guests emptied out of the dining hall, sensing the party over. "Thank heaven," Jacob breathed.
"Are you two okay?" While a little disturbed by Amber's loose behavior, Rose figured that talk could wait; more than anything, she was just glad to see her children alive and in one piece!
"Sis got the guts speared out of her, almost literally. I just got shot."
At least they looked healthy now, though Rose could see the scars of recent wounds on her daughter's exposed torso. "I hear you kids are heroes."
"Just following in your footsteps," Amber said with a smile. "So where did you and Dad go for so long?"
"We met someone who needed help, so we got kind of sidetracked."
Frowning as he opened their liquor cabinet, Finn snapped, "Who on earth drank all of my Volcano?"
Volcano? Rose didn't like the sound of that—her babies were already drinking the strongest spirits made in Kayland? She gazed accusingly at Amber, who to her surprise indicated her brother. Red faced, Jacob admitted in a slurred voice, "My hip hurt too much, so I drank up."
Finn shook his head. "Bet you couldn't even stand right now, can you?"
"Probably not..."
"Damn kids, can't leave them alone for a minute even when they're big as bulls and can save the kingdom." At that they all enjoyed a chuckle, even the half-swooning Jacob, and they began to share their latest adventures.
#
Together again, the warrior family spent some days resting at home and enjoying life after all they'd been through recently. Rose lectured her daughter a bit on being more careful with men, but didn't seem as worried as most moms would be knowing how well she could fend for herself. One afternoon Amber rushed into Jacob's room, breathing heavy after what must have been an intense sprint upstairs. Barely looking up from his drawing pad, he asked coolly, "Adventure?"
"Um, how'd you guess?"
"You're too excited for it to be anything else."
She blushed and conceded, "You got me. I hear somebody saw a walking metal statue inside the city, just now! Sounds like Hope, doesn't it?"
Yes, and though Jacob cared little for the golem after it'd almost killed his parents, he did want to know what it was up to. What if the Shadow personality had asserted itself again? "We should tell Mom and Dad."
"Nah, we don't need to bother them for this."
If it attacked them, that could prove quite a regrettable assumption. But Rose and Finn were fairly indisposed nowadays between running the magic center and increased alone time together, so against his better judgment, Jacob agreed, "Okay, let's go. We can always sic the city guard on it if it acts disagreeable."
"You're getting funny, Corn Cob. I think you've been hanging around your family too much."
He seemed to be getting brave, too. He often questioned whether or not that was a good thing. "So where did they see it?"
Jacob found himself growing doubtful as Amber led him closer and closer to the royal castle, and asked dubiously while guards waved at them, "Are you sure this is where Hope was spotted?"
"According to the map... aha! This is the street."
They were right next to the castle. "Are you sure somebody didn't mistake one of the king's knights for a statue?"
"What, you think my informant's a drunk?"
It wasn't unlikely in his estimation, but Jacob followed his sister as she walked around the massive dwelling. Suddenly, she said, "Hey look, golem tracks!"
How would she know if they were? Studying the patch of well-trampled grass she pointed to, he had to admit they seemed extremely heavy. Not that Finn in full gear wouldn't be... Following the trail, they found it stopped below a window. Before Amber said a word, he knew what she would propose, and pleaded, "No, sis, we're going to get in trouble. Let's just tell the guards and let them take care of it."
"In all seriousness, those guards wouldn't be able to do a thing if the Shadow's about."
"Neither would we."
She considered, and thankfully decided, "Then let's get Mom and Dad."
"That works."
Passing by Finn for now to allow him a few more minutes of work time, they found Rose relaxing in the cool air of the terrace garden connected to the top floor. They told her about the strange tracks and she fetched Finn, after which they all headed towards the castle. To Jacob's displeasure, it was decided that he would accompany his mother inside the "discreet" way. Though they didn't expect any of the inhabitants to be in cahoots with the Shadow, if the thing was hiding within, Rose wanted a chance to surprise it without having their presence given away by the greetings of people who saw them. As a team of four would be a tad large for infiltration, the other half of the family was to wait outside for their signal, which might well be the noise of battle.
"Why me?" he asked unhappily while Rose dragged him along.
When they were out of earshot of the other two, she explained, "Because your sister and father are more hotheaded and hungry for a fight, so you make a better sneak."
That made Jacob feel better about the situation, and he enthusiastically kept an eye out for guards while she climbed the castle wall to the window—no grappling hook or rope needed for her, when there were any handholds to be had at all. She threw a rope down after, and he joined her inside what appeared to be a maids' room.
To him, everything seemed fine. But Rose walked over to an apparently sleeping maid's bed and turned her over, revealing a frozen corpse. A revolted pause later, Jacob asked, "How'd you know, Mom?"
"I didn't hear her breathing, and sleeping people breath. The Shadow's back."
"You can beat it, right?" Jacob asked nervously. "You did before."
To his alarm, his invincible mother looked rather fearful at the moment. "I could probably beat it again. But if it decides to grow inside here..."
It sure wouldn't be good. A lot of people would be put in grave danger, themselves included. "So what are you going to do?"
The crafty smile she flashed returned some calm to his heart. "Blow it out of the building before it can do that hopefully, if possible."
But the first thing to do would be to find it, though leaving the room it seemed that would not be an overly difficult task considering the trail of bodies which led them to great double doors. For a moment, Jacob saw Rose's eyes grow misty as she no doubt recalled the time she'd been to forced to shed innocent blood here for the sake of her children's lives. Then she collected herself, and finding the doors locked ripped them open with a loud crack. So much for subtlety... Looking inside, Jacob blinked in surprise at what awaited them inside the throne room.
The Shadow did not stand with its hands clasped over King Matthew's head doing something to him which made him convulse lightly as his eyes stared into space. Instead, another beast neither mother nor son had seen before did so while speaking magic words Rose recognized as she whispered, "Soul magic. What is this thing?"
It did bear a strong resemblance to the golem known alternate
ly as Hope and the Shadow, but with its metal body darkened to a nearly black blue, and its armored skin lumpy like a jagged mountain crag. Sort of like Justin's rocky hide. And it shared his dirklike claws... Its presence seemed to dim the light around it, just a little bit, but enough to be noticeable and quite intimidating.
It spoke. "Rose. You hardly matter anymore, but it's just as well we get rid of you now."
"Who are you? Do I know you?" she demanded, motioning for Jacob to get help while he stood transfixed by the power he could feel radiating off the being. He had never felt anything like the raw force that seemed to thicken the air around it, not from Justin, the Shadow, or anything else, and couldn't bring himself to even run...
"You don't know us, but we know you. You're the woman who thwarted us at every turn... but we survive, and now we'll establish our ideals the world over."
"Justin?!" she asked incredulously, recognizing his voice only somewhat... changed.
"No," it claimed, but it remained evident that at least much of its persona was derived from Rose's former ally turned enemy. "We are the rejoined energy of the ancient demon, Justin's spellcasting ability combined with the Shadow's raw power and soul magic. In other words, we are truly the demon lord reborn!"
Rose looked it dead in the eyes and exhaled. "Whether you're Justin or the demon lord or something else, it doesn't matter. You've gone down before, and this time it'll stick." She raised her sword. As incredible black energy flared from the monster's face to crash over and envelope his screaming mother, Jacob finally ran for help.
#
Finn heard the deafening boom that sounded from upstairs and rushed to aid his wife, his daughter and a swarm of royal knights who joined them along the way trailing him towards wherever the cacophony of vicious battle came from. Halfway there, he met his white-faced son running to find him, and asked quickly, "What's happening?"
"Mom's in there fighting a thing—I think it's Justin and the Shadow combined!"
"What?" Finn took a deep breath and said, "Well, at least we can tell she's still alive, and fighting. Let's hurry up and make sure she stays that way!"
