My official story was that the Count di’Cameron had been summoned for an audience when the dragon attacked and partially destroyed the palace. I had no particular explanation for the shining god but I discovered quickly enough that few people questioned the king. I told a harrowing tale involving magic and the timely intervention of one very heroic wizard, Mordecai Illeniel. By the time I had finished my tale I was quite impressed and almost wished I could meet this amazing hero, for certainly I bore no resemblance to him.
When James and the others arrived that evening I had them brought in to one of the private guest suites (the royal chambers were partly demolished and unsuitable for visitors). Once I was sure that there were no eavesdroppers I dropped my disguise and addressed them as myself.
Because of his magesight my change in appearance was no surprise to Walter, but the others were still a bit shocked. “Damn Mordecai! Give us some warning next time!” said James.
I wanted to laugh but I was too tired to find the energy. “I did warn you as I recall.”
He snorted, “I mean, right before, that was hours ago. A man needs a chance to prepare himself.”
I wondered at the quirks of a man who had been unfazed by an evil wizard possessed by one of the dark gods assaulting his home, yet who found my sudden change of appearance unsettling. I passed over his remark and went on, “I am about as bone weary as a man can get. If you don’t mind I’ll get to the details before I collapse.”
After my transformation my physical body had emerged unharmed, but my mind was beyond tired. The sensation was similar to having stayed up three or four days without sleep and I was beginning to see double. “Let me tell you what occurred on our end first then,” replied James and he began to describe their raid on the Doronite compound.
It had started well, as they had easily gotten inside with the aid of Walter’s invisibility. When they reached the area where the hostages were being held things got a bit out of hand. Harold had tripped and alerted one of the door guards, partly because he couldn’t see while invisible. Fearing the worst he had slain the guard and an alarm went up.
The Duke’s men outside were waiting for a problem such as that and had been given orders. When the cries rang out they stormed the small collection of buildings and the fighting turned bloody. Meanwhile Walter and Harold had secured Walter’s wife and son, but they found no sign of his daughter. The older wizard’s wife was named Jessica, and some of the guards had played a cruel prank upon her, telling her that her daughter had been slain.
Neither she nor Walter had known the truth of the matter, and her husband reacted rather badly. Despite James’ efforts to calm his men they had taken no prisoners, or more precisely, Walter had not. He had even gone after the few that escaped into the forest, though he wouldn’t say what he had done to them.
I had a very good idea what the other man had been feeling. “I have excellent news for you Walter. Your daughter was here, though she gave me a bit of a hard time about being rescued.”
“What?!” he managed to say, before he lost the use of his voice. The news overwhelmed him to such a degree that it was some time before I could finish my story and we all got a bit misty eyed.
Then I explained what had happened in the palace, though I abbreviated the story as much as possible. Still, much of the tale was outlandish so I had to repeat some parts several times. Near the end I pulled out the glowing stone that held Celior, “Here, this is it. Now do you see?” Harold had asked me one too many times what the stone looked like.
As I drew the stone out it filled the room with a soft golden light that pulsed gently. Its presence in the room left no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was indeed a living thing, even if it did appear to be just a glowing rock. “What are you going to do with it?” Harold asked.
I rubbed my short beard, “I have no earthly idea. I will have to find some use for it though; otherwise it will eventually destroy itself and free Celior. We can worry about that later. First on my list of priorities is getting some rest.”
I had already shown Walter the spell for imitating the King’s voice, as well as demonstrating it for him. He had known how to disguise his appearance beforehand so that wasn’t a problem. I could see he was reluctant now when I mentioned him taking my place as Edward. After a moment I realized why. “You haven’t seen your daughter yet!” I exclaimed, “…or spent any time with your wife and son. I’m sorry Walter! I didn’t think.”
He shook his head, “No Mordecai, you’ve done enough for me today. I don’t mind this duty if it will help keep the kingdom in one piece.”
I started to argue with him, for I couldn’t stand the thought of him being separated from them any longer. It had been four years for him already. “Let me handle today and you can take over for a week or so after that,” I replied. “I’ll just sit down and rest my eyes for a few minutes and I’ll be right as rain.”
Needless to say… I didn’t wake up again anytime soon.
Epilogue
I woke in bed several days later. I might have slept longer but for the loud snoring in my ear. Penny lay beside me and her pregnancy had done nothing to diminish her nighttime noise, quite the opposite actually. I smiled and watched her for a while. Finding her beside me was the best thing to have happened to me since she had been kidnapped.
Using my fingers I lifted a stray piece of her hair away from her mouth and nose. I tried to do it without disturbing her but her eyes opened anyway. She had become a light sleeper as her belly had grown.
We spent a long time there, simply watching each other in the dim light. I could have stayed that way for years, but for the urgent call of Mother Nature. When I returned from the privies I found Penny sitting up and waiting for me.
“I thought you would never wake up,” she said as I climbed into the bed beside her.
I leaned in and smelled her hair. Something about Penelope’s scent had always captivated me. It was a smell of warmth, affection, and home. “I thought I might never see you again, and for a while I thought you were dead,” I replied.
“About that Mort,” she began but I shushed her with my hand.
“I was under a bit more stress than usual when I saw you yesterday. Don’t apologize, you did what you thought best and it worked out in the end,” I told her. “I’d rather apologize to you Penny. I failed you terribly, and I’ve done nothing but struggle with that knowledge every day since I found out what had happened to you.”
She leaned over awkwardly (her belly made it difficult), and kissed me quickly. “I know that’s what you felt, but it isn’t the truth. No one person can ever be prepared for everything.”
“Do you want to talk about it? What happened after they took you...,” I asked. I feared the story she might have to tell for the guilt it might leave me with, but I had to know nonetheless.
Penny looked down at her hands, “It wasn’t pleasant but nothing happened that you should worry over. I’ll get past it.”
Something in her features pulled at my heart. “I’ll worry anyway. Did they hurt you?”
“The King or the undead?” she replied with a bitter voice.
“Either.”
“While we were with the shiggreth there was no respite, no privacy, no comfort, and no warmth, but they did not hurt me,” she answered slowly. “They wanted us for hostages, but they kept us like animals.”
A dozen questions ran through my mind but I kept my tongue and waited, watching her carefully. Penny looked away before she spoke again.
“We were fed well enough, but they took Dorian’s armor and clothes from him. He was badly bruised and battered beneath it, with blisters where it had pinched and chafed. I had to bathe him with what water they would bring me and eventually I managed to convince one of them to give us a blanket,” Penny stopped and looked down, letting her hair cover her face.
A new fear replaced the ones I had held before, a fear not of abuse but of solace. Alone for so long I began to realize the toll her isolati
on might have taken… and the ways she might have held it at bay. Yet I could no more voice those fears than I could have deliberately hurt her in any other way, but the seed of doubt was there now. I had been tempted as well, though my situation had been far easier to bear.
“It was cold at night, especially when we were in the caves. They fed us nothing but meat and water. We had no fire and so we slept huddled together. Occasionally they approached us, but Dorian wouldn’t let them near me, though if they had wanted they could have slain us both very easily by then. When they eventually brought us to the King it was a relief. His men clothed us and gave us both privacy and warm rooms. It was almost like being a guest of the King again,” she finished.
I stroked her hair. “I suppose that is one thing I cannot lay blame on the King for… he did treat his hostages well,” I said at last.
Penny glanced up at me with wet eyes, “Mordecai… I need to talk to you… about Dorian.”
Closing my own eyes I summoned up all the strength I could muster before opening them again. “Penelope, I love you. Whatever happened I will not feel differently or lay blame upon you,” I answered with honest eyes and a liar’s heart. I knew that deep down it would bother me and it might take years to completely accept it. Still I knew I could not honestly blame her.
“Hey!” she said loudly, snapping her fingers in front of me. “Don’t ever think that again. Nothing of the sort happened! Are you listening Mort?”
Something like relief washed over me. “I just want you to understand that I love you, no matter what.”
She glared at me suspiciously and then her face softened. “You are right to worry. They kept us like caged animals and we had only each other for support. I was tempted Mort, sorely tempted, I will not lie. We slept together for warmth only, but I do not know if Dorian will ever get over his shame.”
I understood immediately. Dorian was the one man I would trust more than any other in that situation, but the toll upon his self-image might be too much for him. He held impossible ideals for himself and even having resisted temptation the reality of his own human frailty might have undermined his sense of self-worth. “I’ll talk to him,” I replied.
“No!” she said, alarmed. “He’d die of shame if he knew I had told you this.”
I shook my head. “He’ll die of guilt if I don’t. I know Dorian. He won’t be able to live with himself until he has confessed every sin that he didn’t actually commit, both to you and me,” I told her. Then I had a sudden realization, “Oh damn!” He would also want to confess to Rose. I trusted her reaction but things might get terribly awkward before it was all said and done.
“What?” asked Penny.
“Rose,” I said simply.
Penny shrugged, “I think you’re underestimating her.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I agreed. “She is a woman of rare talents.”
Penny gave me a discerning stare, “Something happened.”
I stared back, “Nothing. You have my word on it.”
Her features relaxed, “What was that look then?”
“Rose and I both suffered a tragedy at the same time, so I got to see her at her worst. There were some temptations… but mostly I just gained respect for her character. You are still the only woman for me my dear,” I said truthfully.
Penelope’s face contained a mixture of warring emotions, or so I thought. Eventually she leaned over and kissed me quickly. “I have to go.”
Confused I asked, “What?”
My bewilderment set her to laughing, “Nothing serious, I believe you… it’s my bladder. I think it’s the size of a pea these days. Honestly, I can’t go more than ten minutes without having to find a chamber pot or run to the privies.”
I laughed as well. Marriage was nothing like I had expected a year ago, instead it was different, better in some ways and simply weirder in others.
***
The weeks went on and things settled down. Walter and I took turns playing King and keeping the kingdom running, though he took the larger portion of the job. James was kind enough to stay near and lend his advice on policy matters. His newfound closeness to the King was the source of a number of new rumors but none of them amounted to much. A few weeks after the ‘incident’ at the palace Edward suddenly decided it was time to clear up the matter of his succession.
Cyhan had hidden the King’s body and I used the ‘stasis’ enchantment I had found to preserve his corpse until we would need it at a later date. I was quite grateful for his quick thinking… otherwise we might have had to find a body and then arrange some sort of disfiguring accident or fire. In either case there would have been rumors.
A proclamation was made and a document drawn up, setting out in clear language that James Lancaster was to be the next king. This created an uproar among the gentry, but most of the nobility were wise enough to avoid antagonizing King Edward… at least while he was still alive.
A month later he abdicated in favor of James, though Edward was kind enough to stay in the capital to provide advice and counsel to the new king. He also made it quite clear that it was fully his intention to make certain that James held the throne. There were numerous grumbles among the landed nobles but none were made within hearing of the King, present or past.
***
The summer had faded and autumn was beginning to make itself known. The leaves had yet to turn but there was a crispness in the air that hinted at the coming cold of winter. The mood in Albamarl had become rather festive as people began to anticipate the final harvest and the end of another year’s labors.
Penelope had ripened to a fullness that I had trouble believing and I had grown nervous with anticipation. I was also afraid she might fall every time she took to her feet.
We were sitting in the parlor on one of my days ‘off’ from playing the retired king and Penny was watching the fire when she suddenly rose from her chair. “Mordecai,” she said.
I was already up and across the room. The midwife had told me she was due in just a week or so and since then I had been unable to relax. “Let me help you,” I offered.
“I’m not dying you know,” she said irritably, “just pregnant.”
“I know,” I said for what was probably the twentieth time.
“I need to show you something,” she told me. “My time is soon and I need to talk to you beforehand.”
“Why don’t you sit down and let me fetch whatever it is you need?” I suggested.
The look she gave me was anything but grateful. “I want to show you what is in the stone,” she explained.
“Oh,” I said with remarkable wit. “Wait… what stone?”
She graced me with an expression of deep sympathy, such as one might bestow upon a very dim but well-loved child. “For all your cleverness you really do have the memory of a turnip sometimes Mort,” she answered. “Moira’s stone… the great stone,” she added to clarify.
I couldn’t understand her change of heart. “After months making me wait and putting me off, you suddenly want to show me… now?” I asked.
She nodded.
“You make no sense. Your water could break any day now. I don’t know if it’s even safe for you to leave the house. What if something happened?” I told her sensibly. “Why not wait till after the baby comes?” I suggested.
Penny laughed, “The baby won’t just fall out right after my water breaks you know. There would be plenty of time to get home and call for Sarah.” Sarah was the name of our midwife, a woman of towering confidence and experience. Penelope gave me a more serious look, “Besides, there is a very good reason why we need to go now… before I deliver.”
An hour later we had reached the great stone. As always it stood forebodingly over the road near the east side of the palace. Nothing had changed.
“Should I call Moira to open it for us?” I asked.
Penny shook her head negatively and approached the stone. “She said to show you this spot.” Her hand rested upon the stone in a
place roughly three feet from the ground. The stone was discolored there, a slightly different shade of grey than the rest.
I examined the area closely but I could detect nothing. No sign of magic or anything else, other than rough grey stone. “There’s nothing here.”
“You have to say the password,” Penny told me.
“And that is?”
“It’s your name… just your first name,” she replied. “She told me that she set the password a thousand years ago, Mort, just before she fought Balinthor.”
“Then why would she choose my name… oh!” I had just remembered that the man she had loved then bore the same first name as I did. Leaning closely I placed my hand over the spot and spoke, “Mordecai.”
Runes appeared, lightly etched in the stone around my hand. They were delicate and only visible to my magesight but I recognized the pattern. It was similar to the one in my house, the pattern that guarded the secret room in the library, shielding it from magesight. It must work in a similar manner to Walter’s invisibility when he uses it just to avoid magical detection, I thought.
I put the thought aside for later and used my hand to activate the runes. A modest doorway appeared in the rock near where I stood. The door itself was solid stone but even as I watched the massive granite door slid away into the interior of the great monolith, leaving an open passageway. Penelope stepped forward and led me inside.
Having entered, my mind immediately began to explore the interior, for it became visible to my magesight once I was past the outer enchantment. The corridor led ahead for almost ten yards before ending in a small chamber, one that was devoid of any furniture or adornment, save for a strange object in the center. My arcane senses could make little of it other than its strange egg-like shape, that and the fact that it glowed intensely with powerful magic.
Penny spoke as we walked down the tight hallway, “Moira built this place to guard something precious to her. It was the last and greatest of her tasks before she sacrificed herself to defeat Balinthor.”