EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy (215 page)

“I’ll miss your cooking!” she called back to him. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about your wings! I’ll keep searching for something to fix them, and if I find it, I’ll track you down whether you like it or not!”

She climbed into the carriage and turned back. The dragon was gone.

“Goodbye . . .” she whispered.

The carriage creaked off into the distance. When it was out of sight, Halfax slipped from the shadows. He took a few steps toward the stable, his eyes on the handful of coins that made up his hoard. Standing over them, his eyes turned to the distant sound of the carriage. He touched a claw to the crudely engraved amulet that hung about his neck. A moment later he was on their trail, carefully out of sight, the coins left behind.

An aging man sat alone at a table in the town of Isintist. His mind drifted back to years ago. It had all seemed to be turning around then, it--

“It all seemed to be going your way,” a voice uttered, finishing his thought, “didn’t it, Mr. Drudder?”

The man’s head snapped around to see a face from his past he’d hoped never to see again. It was the elf. Thanks to his kind’s frustrating freedom from the ravages of age, the scoundrel didn’t look a day older. He could have stepped straight from Drudder’s memory.

“What are you doing here!?”

“Plans often go awry, Mr. Drudder. I, for instance, have had an irritating number of schemes fail of late. For instance, do you remember Jade? The little girl I suggested that you pitch to the dragon?”

“Y-yeah.”

“The plan was for her to die. Just as her family died when you, in response to my own musings, touched a torch to her home.”

“Yeah.”

“I had my own reasons for wanting the lot of them dead, though, of course, it was you who performed the act. You see, Drudder, there are a number of very important families. Families descended from a handful of individuals I’ve had to deal with in the past. If I ever want to take another stab at what I was working toward back then, it would be immensely useful to end those families now. The Chosen bloodlines. There are only three left, and I’ve whittled each of them down to little more than a single representative. But these last ones . . . the dragon, the girl, and the prince . . . they
are
tenacious.”

“What prince are--”

“Jade, for instance. Good heavens, is she a lucky one. Dodged the fire, naturally. I knew the dragon wouldn’t kill her. Still, I genuinely thought that the classic scenario would play out. A damsel in distress under the watchful eye of a fearsome dragon. Egad, she even found her way into the highest room in the tallest tower. It should have brought the glory-hunters crawling out of the woodwork. A veritable
army
to slay that dragon. But it wasn’t to be. The damned girl was just too lucky, and the damned dragon too good at his job. He was even too smart to kill
you,
even though you richly deserved it.”

“The dragon didn’t kill the girl!?” Drudder stammered, falling further and further behind the conversation.

“I tried the more direct approach, obviously. I armed someone, made a weapon of her, and I sent her off. It didn’t work. I contemplated giving up then and there, but what can I say? I like a challenge. In situations like this, if you want to succeed, you need to be even
more
direct, put your own hands on the thing, or else find a different route to victory all together. So I threw the three bloodlines together. And do you know what happened? That girl is going to be a
queen!
It seems like a failure on my part, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t understand!”

“But look at it from the bird’s eye. There are three bloodlines now. When they are wed, there will be two. One less than before. I’ve eliminated a bloodline without killing any of them. I’m rather proud of that. So proud, in fact, that it has got me in a charitable mood. I’ll let her have her happily ever after. Perhaps in a few generations I’ll have another go, but she’s earned a respite.”

“Listen to me!” Drudder screamed, finally at wit’s end, “I killed the Rintons and I killed that little girl for
me!
For the
land!
And that little girl, she was a
witch!
She
had
to die! I don’t need you coming to me, after all of these years, and telling me I was doing it for
you!
That it was some insane plan! So if you are feeling so charitable, then why don’t you leave me alone. Take your lies and get off of
my
land!”

The stranger grinned as his host tried to catch his breath, fury in his eyes.

“You idiot. I’m not feeling charitable to
you.
All
you
did was play the villain, and if Jade is to have the fairytale ending she so richly deserves, we can’t very well allow the wicked stepfather to escape justice, now can we?”

Suddenly, the door to the house was kicked open. An ancient man, clinging to a walking stick to remain erect, stood surrounded by the strongest men the town had to offer. The muscle rushed into the room, restraining Drudder and the stranger. Delnick, the shriveled but still sharp-minded elder, stepped inside and stood face to wizened face.

“I always suspected you, Drudder. That Rinton house didn’t just burn down all of those years ago,” Delnick wheezed, “and in my town, we don’t forget a murder.”

“I didn’t, I swear!”

“I’m half deaf, and even I heard you crying out your confession. I’m not a complicated man. I believe in simple punishments. You killed those folks. You and your elf here. So I figure it is long past time for you two to swing. Tonight!”

In the light of the moon, a man could already be seen through the doorway draping a rope over a branch outside.

“Why!? Why would you do this!? You’ll be killed, too!” Drudder raved to the stranger as he was dragged outside.

“Death isn’t as thorough a punishment for some as it is for others,” he said calmly.

“Keep your mouth shut, stranger,” Delnick warned.

“Please,” he replied with a grin, “call me Epidime.”

As Jade had suggested, life for Halfax returned to what it had been before he encountered Jade. The capital of Vulcrest was nestled among the mountains at the very northernmost point on the continent. Among the icy peaks were an endless array of perches and alcoves. He settled himself into a cave, the same that had, at one time, been used by his brother before him, and stood vigilant in the cliffs around the castle. Hunting was scarce, but his skills were enough to keep himself fed. And so the days began to blend into weeks, months, and years.

There came prosperity, and peace. First as prince, then as king, Terrilius ushered in allegiance and partnership between nations. First as adviser, then as queen, Jade brought with her the teachings she had earned in the tower, and the dedication to show the world that knowledge was not to be feared but embraced. A long, dark age began finally to see dawn. The clouds of ignorance parted, and society began to take its first steps back into the light. True, as with all changes of the guard, it was not without incident. There were skirmishes, plots, and threats, but swift action by the royal guard--and, more than once, by Halfax himself--set things right again.

Things were as they should be. Each piece in its place.

“This will do,” the queen said with a smile.

Queen Jade, while much beloved by her subjects, did have some quirks that puzzled the palace staff. In general, she did not allow her servants to serve. Many of the activities seen as well below the concern of a royal were cheerfully undertaken personally. She spent far more time in the kitchen, or the infirmary, or the freshly reestablished library than in the throne room. Now she had been asked to be brought to a remote, icy field far to the southwest of the palace with nary an explanation given.

It had been nearly ten years since she had left the tower and just a bit more than two since she had become Queen. The time had, if anything, made her more beautiful, bestowing upon Jade a grace and wisdom every bit the complement to her radiance. She flashed a smile to those servants who had accompanied her.

“You can head back to Tus Point tavern for a few hours.”

“Which of us, your Majesty?” asked the most senior of her three escorts.

“All of you!” she said brightly, “I need a few hours to clear my head, and this is just the place to do it. Go, with my blessings, and enjoy yourselves. A few moments alone with my thoughts are all I’m after.”

“Alone? But what if-”

“Don’t make me order you. You know how I hate to do that,” she said politely.

Reluctantly, she was left with her carriage while the driver, the guard, and the handmaiden shared two horses back to the town in the nearby valley. Jade watched them go. When they disappeared behind the hills at the edge of the field, she turned to the mountains. After a time, a form appeared and moved, fast and low to the ground, toward her. Despite the fact that it was a green shape moving against a white landscape, if she didn’t keep her eyes carefully trained on it the form slipped quickly from notice. In no time at all, her old friend was standing before her.

“It has been too long, Hal,” she said, hugging the creature, “Too, too long.”

“You shouldn’t do this. If people were to see . . .”

“Honestly, Hal, you make it sound like I’m having an affair,” she said mischievously, “Besides, there is someone I want you to meet.”

Jade turned to the carriage and opened the door. Carefully she turned back, clutching what appeared to be a small bundle of fine cloth. Gently she pulled aside a flap of cloth, revealing the tiny pink face of a baby girl, sleeping soundly in her mother’s arms.

“I would have liked this to be a surprise, but I know you’ve been watching me all along, just as you said you would,” she said softly, “I wanted to name her after you, but, well . . . Halfax as a girl’s name, even for a princess . . . It wouldn’t do. But then I thought back to that story. The one you used to tell when I couldn’t sleep? The one about the Chosen that fought for this world . . . Halfax . . . Say hello to Myn.”

“My mother? You named her for my mother?” he uttered, in a gentle a voice as he could muster.

Even with his great care, the dragon’s voice woke the child. It sleepily opened its eyes and locked them on the beast. A tiny hand reached out, prompting Halfax to take a cautious step back. The baby smiled. Jade rocked her slowly in her arms until the little one’s eyes closed again.

“It only seems right. All of those years ago, Myranda found a tiny defenseless creature and named it Myn. She kept it safe, taught it well. Then you did the same for me. Now it has come full circle,” Jade said, looking at the face of the child.

She opened the door to the carriage and tucked the infant inside once more.

“When I was a little girl,” she said, turning back to her friend, “I made you promise me that you would take care of me forever. Even though it was already your duty, I wanted you to make the promise to me personally. You’ve kept your word better than I could have imagined, but from this day forward, I relieve you of that promise. From now on, your obligation is to this little girl. I want you to watch over her, not just because it is your purpose, but for me.”

“Of course . . .” he said, almost reverently.