CHAPTER SIX
DRAGAN
The Veil
I’m nervous for Eilish, as much as I wish I weren’t.
I keep replaying Revenant’s words—that Pyre will keep her safe. I only hope it’s the truth. Regardless of the frustrating and confusing relationship between Eilish and me, I want to protect her and keep her safe.
I don’t understand why I care so much, after realizing what she is-- succubus . But, I do and I can’t help it. And that bothers me because it’s a sign of weakness. Caring about someone else hurts you—it affects your decision making in a negative way. You can’t think clearly or logically.
I don’t know if it’s owing to my anger with myself over Eilish, but I feel different. I don’t want to lose my will to fight, but each day I feel like I’m drifting away from the man I used to be. Not the King of Shadows, the betrayer, or even the man who killed the last of the succubae... I feel like I’m drifting away from myself, from Dragan, and everything I thought I was.
I can see changes in the others, as well. Revenant is more cautious and even a little bit optimistic. His newfound friendship with the necromancer, Pyre, seems to be giving him some type of purpose. Even Flumph, despite his complaining, has found some sort of meaning to his life. Cambion is, as usual, too concerned with whatever’s going on in his own mind to notice the outside world.
My heavy boots cause the boards beneath my feet to creak as I search for Noni. She shakes her head and clicks her tongue in disappointment when she sees me up and moving.
“Mr. Dragan, you should be resting. Noni take care of you.”
“Thank you, Noni, but... I need your help with something,” I say, hedging around the subject. I can’t go after Eilish and Pyre because Cambion was right—I can barely walk. Furthermore, no one knows the way to the Echoing Spire. So, I have no choice but to stay here and wait for their return. In the meantime, there’s some unfinished business I need to take care of, and I’m not familiar with the other areas of The Veil.
“What Shadow King need Noni help with?”
“I need to see Thoradin,” I say. “Do you remember when we talked about him?”
Thoradin was my lead Centurion and my friend. He was killed and Noni told me his spirit was in The Veil.
“Oh, yes. The big stone man. Noni like him.”
“Can you take me to him?” I ask. When Noni nods her little head, I can’t help the smile that lands on my face. She pats my cheek and scurries off to grab her coat.
“Winter coming soon,” she says. “Will be good to be prepared for it.” Noni leads me outside.
“When did you first see Thoradin?” I ask her.
“When he first come here,” Noni replies. “When Master busy, Noni like to help spirits find their way to a place where they be happy.”
“How do you take them to this place?”
“There be portals that help Noni get around. She use the portals to take the spirits.”
“Is that where we’re going?”
“Yep! Noni take you there.”
She scampers alongside me. I look around the forest, taking in the landscape. I’ll never get used to this place. Not when the trees are bare and towering over me, backlit by an endless sky filled with millions of swirling galaxies. Here, I don’t have to worry about turning to stone. That’s when I remember Pyre’s promise—that he’s working on some type of magical elixir that will keep me from turning to stone while we’re in the realms. I can only hope he’s successful. As it now stands, the only reason I haven’t been doomed to my gargoyle form is owing to Eilish. There’s something about her light and dark magic that allows me to keep my mortal form.
We arrive at a stone slab surrounded by a circle of rune-marked rocks. I have to take a break and rest after the walk. It wasn’t far but it’s exhausted me, all the same. I lean on a large outcropping of dark rock and breathe in deeply.
Noni takes a piece of chalk from the small pouch that hangs around her waist and begins scrawling symbols on the stone.
“Stand back, Mr. Dragan.” She hurries over to my side, hand fisted in my pant leg, dragging me back a few paces. With a few whispered words, purple light flares at the heart of the stone slab. It crackles like lightning and breaks open like shattered glass.
“Come. Quick, before it close.”
That strange feeling of cold reaching down into my soul rushes through me as I step beyond the portal. My vision briefly goes black before clearing once more. I stand in the center of what appears to be a graveyard. Noni climbs up my side and onto my shoulders. She stretches one arm, pointing to a cave partially hidden along the rock face of what appears to be a canyon.
“The stone man in there, Mr. Dragan.”
I follow Noni’s lead once again and head towards the cave. Spirits roam the graveyard and I wonder why Thoradin chooses to stay in such a grim place. “Noni, did the stone man say why he remains here?”
“Him say it remind him of home. And he protect the spirits here.”
We come to the mouth of the cave and Noni rubs her hands together quickly, causing sparks to fly. A tiny ball of fire appears in her palm and she smiles victoriously. I walk deeper into the cave until I reach the back. Something shifts. Something large. Then, I see it: Thoradin’s face appears among the stone. His eyes open and he steps into the light, removing the magical camouflage, his gargoyle stone breaking apart as his mortal form appears.
“My liege.”
“I come as a friend, Thoradin. Not your king.”
Despite my words, Thoradin takes a knee and lowers his head. “I’m sorry I failed you,” he says.
“You didn’t fail me. I failed you,” I say as I reach out and wrap my fingers around his upper arm. “I wasn’t the king I should have been.”
“You were always a good king to me, liege.”
I shake my head, as my old friend notices Noni and holds his arm out to her. She walks over to him. It’s strange to see the gargoyle pick the little brownie up with such gentleness. He regards her with something akin to affection and friendship.
I walk with them through a secret passage in the cave and come to an outlook above a large valley.
I shake my head and inhale deeply. “You weren’t supposed to die.”
“We all set out on this journey knowing death was a possibility,” he says and his tone is flat. “The outcome is unfortunate, but I wouldn’t change what happened. I died so that others could live. I see it as a fair trade,” Thoradin huffs. “After the balance is restored, I’ll cross over into the afterlife. All the spirits here will, unless we choose to stay, I suppose.”
“Do you want to go to the afterlife?”
“I do,” he nods as he turns to face me. “But only if you let me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You need to release me, liege, and everyone else you lost.” He grows quiet for a few seconds and only the wind whistling through the trees speaks to us. Then he faces me once more and speaks again. “You must let go of the past and the mistakes you made. The war isn’t over, my liege. It never was.”
“We have a real chance now,” I start but Thoradin shakes his head.
“Variant is not the real threat.”
I eye him with interest. “What do you mean?”
“Someone else pulls Variant’s strings.”
“Who?” I ask.
Thoradin shrugs. “I don’t know, liege. I see truth in bits and pieces here. It comes on one wind and is stolen by another.”
After a few more minutes with my old friend, Noni and I make our way back through the cave. We stroll slowly towards the portal and Thoradin stops us right before we cross the threshold.
“One last thing…” he starts as I turn to face him. “Death is never the end,” he promises. “Baron and I are proof of that.”
***
FLUMPH
The Veil
“Wake up! Wake up, Mr. Flumph!”
That fuckin’ brownie squeakin’ in my damn ear again. She do this every mornin’, but it extra annoyin’ this time. I shove her ass off me an’ giver my tough face, lookin’ all mean-like. She don’t understand. She never do. It make me mad, but Noni always givin’ me them sad eyes. But I ain’t gonna be walked all over again. Nope, not when I a badass with my fuckin’ crossbow.
“Mr. Flumph, Noni going to the Unseelie Kingdom.”
“What the hell you talkin’ about? Why?”
“Cause Noni not hear anything for a long time. Master say if the Unseelie quiet, that no good and Unseelie must be checked on. But Noni not allowed to go by herself. She want Mr. Flumph to go with her.” She wiggle herself off my bed an’ I wanna throws a pillow at her for wakin’ me up. I jump down an’ slip my fuzzy little toes into my new boots.
Least the necromancer know how to treat us sprites. I been misstreated since I started helpin’ these fuckin’ giants. It nice to finally gets some damn respect ‘round here. Noni follow me down the hallto the kitchens, wheres all the good shit is. I take out them sweetrolls while she hobbles her ass right up to me. That smile, real creepy-like. “No! I ain’t goin’.”
I goin’.
Next thing I fuckin’ know, I’m halfways across this stupid forest an’ on my way to the portal that take us right to the Unseelie Kingdom. Right where I don’t wanna be. “Can’t believe I let you talks me into this stupid shit!”
“Come on, Mr. Flumph. It an adventure. Noni love adventures.”
“You ain’t the one flyin’ with a brownie on yer fuckin’ back!”
“Noni heavy?”
“Well, you ain’t light, that for sure!” Actually, she is light. I guess Shadow Dick was onto somethin’ when he say I like the sound of my own complainin’. I got a real sexy voice, so‘course I do! Good thing I asexual, otherwise I be up to my fuckin’ neck in naked people tryin’ to get a piece o’ Flumph.
Noni take us right to the front door o’ the big freaky castle. She outta her mind if she thinks I goin’ in there. And then, whatta you know? I’m actually fuckin’ goin’ inside.
Theren and his big dumb soldiers don’t even sees us, ‘cause Noni can make us all invisible an’ whatnot, but it still scary as fuck. She take me right into some weird meetin’ in a big echoey room where Aima an’ Assface—er, Kolvar the satyr—kneel before Cambion’s fuck-head brother. Then, I hear some real fucked-up shit.
“Aima Nafliari, former advisor to the throne, I hereby sentence you to execution by soulfire . Kolvar Zylioth, Chieftain of Banefire Horde mercenary clan, you are sentenced to the same fate. Let the judgment be passed and may the gods turn a blind eye to your suffering as you face the executioner on the full moon.”
That only three days away! Fuck. Fuck. Shit. An’ more fuck!
Noni gasp. We hurry back to the portal, an’ she cryin’ real hard-like.
“What a soulfire?” I ask.
“It burn the spirit, Mr. Flumph. That mean no afterlife, no rebirth, no soul, no Veil, no nothing. Just... just nothing but darkness. Noni don’t like nothing . It not natural. There’s got to be something, Mr. Flumph. Come on. Noni tell the others.”