Previous Chapter

To the human eye the lighthouse must have looked normal for most of the night. While the eclipse should have ended and given way to a normal night once the lighthouse’s master cast his spell that was not entirely what happened. While the rest of the world continued forward to the next morning, within a hundred paces of the tower the eclipse still reigned. With the beacon burning the subtle change in the stars within von Nighburg’s spell was not clearly visible. Likewise, the fact the beacon’s light wasn’t flickering in the sea breeze was not something most would notice. The bright flashes and explosions of light that came with a pitched battle, slowed to the glacial pace of time inside von Nighburg’s pocket of unnatural reality, might have drawn notice if anyone had been awake to see them.

But by the time the people of Riker’s Cove began to stir those most obvious signs were gone and past. Very few people had any idea what was happening in the bay that night. Only Jonathan Riker’s statue saw it all. Whether it knew what those strange lights, moving at their unnatural speeds, might mean for the fate of the town was something it kept to itself.

Such an unnatural occurrence couldn’t go unnoticed forever. Even for the simple fishermen of the Cove a place where magic had prevailed over the march of time had to draw attention eventually. As men headed down to their boats to set out they couldn’t help but notice that part of the waters of the cove were locked at high tide even as the rest of the ocean ebbed to low tide. People began to gather at the docks, murmuring in dismay.

A few went to the jail to try and locate the sheriff. When he couldn’t be found there his candles were lit across the town. Once it was clear that even these talismans weren’t sufficient to conjure Warwick someone went to the mayor’s house and pounded on the door. Mayor Hughes emerged, his eyes red and bleary like a man who had slept little the night before. His attempts to calm their sentiments fell on deaf ears. Too many strange things had happened in Riker’s Cove for simple words to have an effect.

No one wanted to set sail in the face of the unnatural magic that wracked the bay but in spite of that the whole town wound up on the docks, watching the lighthouse with bated breath. Perhaps the candles they held bound them together in their anxiety. Perhaps not. Whatever drew them there, it had no effect on the statue of Jonathan Riker. It remained by the Riker family crypt all through that long night and that was where it was when the first streaks of dawn crept over the horizon behind it.

Roy picked himself up off the ground, his ears ringing. For a brief moment he wasn’t sure what was going on but his hands knew their work. By the time they’d retrieved his sword Roy had rallied enough to remember he’d been fighting Heinrich von Nighburg and there was a good chance Tanner was dead or dying. Roy’s first impulse was to return the favor on Tanner’s behalf but there was a wrinkle to that. The old sailor had sacrificed himself to keep Jenny Riker alive. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to leave her thrashing around during a fight with magic flying around all over the place after that. Could undo all Tanner’s hard work.

So Roy got to his feet and took one step towards the beacon. It was like walking into a whirlwind. Turned out his ears weren’t ringing, that was just the pressure on them from the ungodly wall of sound coming from the mouths in the beacon’s reflectors. The pressure was immense. At least it felt that way to Roy, von Nighburg moved about the lighthouse with the ease of a man out for a stroll. He raised his staff and pointed the end at Roy then spoke a word that echoed over the other noise. It wasn’t a word Roy understood but that was nothing new.

There was a moment of deja vu as the world snapped from the top of the lighthouse to the top of a skytrain. It was that weird mind place again. Except instead of being there in the dubious company of Avery Warwick, Roy’s companion for this little jaunt was Heinrich von Nighburg. The wizard threw an embroidered blue cloak back over his archaic tunic and stepped forward, his staff still held forward in offensive position. “Even in the mindscape you’re able to function normally.” Von Nighburg spoke Avaloni with a clipped, slightly nasal accent. It sounded like something European but Roy didn’t know the Continent well enough to guess where the exact point of origin might be. “An unexpected complication. I thought anger would capture you quite well, especially after your initial reaction when the T’aun began synchronizing with you. My intention was to enter your memories at the battle on the ridge. Or perhaps the sawmill. How did you divert us here?”

Roy raised his own weapon to the forward guard, debating whether he should engage with the question or just kill him. There was a lot going on here he still didn’t understand. On the other hand, bandying words with bloody handed murderers rarely resulted in learning anything useful. Mostly it was a waste of time. Occasionally it muddied the waters or gave the blackguard a chance to gain some kind of an upper hand.

“I believe it’s actually because I’m still here.”

There was a small sliver of satisfaction seeing von Nighburg’s surprise when Jenkins drifted down alongside the train. “A geist. Nothing in your reputation suggested you were a necromancer, Herr Harper. You are full of surprises.”

“Now look what you’ve done, Sam,” Roy said, sparing the ghost a glance. “I’m being accused of necromancy.”

“And still no anger about it. Very interesting.” With that von Nighburg snaked his weapon upwards and around Roy’s blade and snapped it down in a beat attack.

Roy disengaged around the staff and extended, trying to hook the weapon with the weighted tip of his falcata so he could trap it in a bind. The wizard flipped his palm in a hooking motion and swatted the blade back before Roy’s motion completed and they pulled back into a ready position again. “I don’t think you can hurt him here, Roy,” Jenkins said. “He’s just a thought in your mind right now.”

“What’s that make you?” Roy wasn’t really interested in the answer he was just making noise to keep von Nighburg distracted while he tried to find an opening.

“I suppose I’m a memory, although not what you’d think of as a memory. It’s all very strange, looking back at life from my side of things, and neither of you really have the frame of reference for it.” Jenkins drifted between the two of them, his semi-transparent body making life difficult for both parties. “Of course I’m only able to contact you because the barriers are weak right now.”

“Also surprising,” von Nighburg said. “I hadn’t intended to bring the world of the dead closer to ours but rather the world of the mind.”

“You planned to kill a person to do it.” Jenkins didn’t say it in anger but rather in the manner of a patient adult trying to explain something to a child. “Did you honestly think you could do that and not bring Eternity closer to you? I know the Mated Pair don’t speak much to what happens after death but certainly the great and learned wizards of the Teutons have some inkling of the mechanics involved.”

Von Nighburg frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that when a man dies he has to go somewhere, doesn’t he? But no one knows where. So how are we supposed to go on to the next place unless someone shows up to guide us?” Jenkins pointed along the roof of the train. In the past, when Roy had met Jenkins on this train, the ghost army had been guided onwards by Cassandra Fairchild and her gift with stonesong. However she wasn’t at the end of the train here in this memory. There was something else there, instead. “If we’re distracted by things in this life sometimes a soul can’t hear their guide’s summons until those distractions are dealt with. But once we answer those summons an accounting must be given.”

Both men followed the ghost’s finger and saw the thing there, a towering figure that seemed like it would swallow the sky. It gleamed orange and brown, like autumn leaves or lacquered wood. The shape was vaguely like a man but power rolled off of it in waves, obscuring all features and leaving the thing little more than a glowing silhouette that implied rolling robes and a crown or hair that rose around its head like roaring flames. The thing was so colossal they’d blocked it out of their perception, the same way a man ignores the sky unless he thinks about it. Except it wasn’t an empty space. It was aware and the full force of that awareness was currently focused on the man that stood before it at the fair end of the train. Roy squinted and realized it was Chester Tanner.

“Gotterdammerung,” von Nighburg whispered. “They’re real.” Then he spoke another word and vanished from the mindscape.

“What is going on there?” Roy demanded.

“Tanner is making his last appeal to the King of Scars,” Jenkins replied. “Once in a great while they send someone back for a second chance but it’s pretty rare and, as someone who’s had their chance at it, let me tell you it’s not an easy thing to do. Of course, I wasn’t really interested in going back.”

“You’re here now.”

“I had duties in the here and now, which is why I was allowed to come along when Hank and Chester’s time came, but I think Chester will be taken away soon and I’ll have to leave with him.” Jenkins was looking over Roy from head to toe. “Dust and ashes. I can’t find any sign of the T’aun attached to you.”

Roy pulled away from the ghost and gave it a horrified look. “Are you saying that thing is death?”

“Not as such although as I hear it the King of Scars and his peers have a lot of sway over death. Listen, Roy, there’s not time to answer all your questions. I’ve been trying to figure it out since the last time we met and I’m still finding new things I don’t understand.” Jenkins began to drift down the train towards Tanner. Roy still found his attention shying away from the immense presence that was interrogating Tanner but even out of the corner of his eye he could tell that the man was turning transparent much like Jenkins was. “I’m sorry, Roy. I thought I could work out what kind of magic that fellow was using but we’re too far removed from one another now. The cost of being dead, I suppose.”

“It wasn’t working on me anyway,” he replied.

“So it seems, but he was probably trying to correct that when he entered your mind. Don’t let him bring you here again. There’s not going to be anyone here to help you anymore. Just hold out! He’s almost out of time!” The strange autumn light from the presence suffused Jenkin’s form and the ghost vanished.

Roy flicked his attention out to the end of the train. For a brief moment his eyes met with Tanners ghost. The old sailor waved to him once and called out, “Tell Hannah I’m sorry!”

Then the last ghost vanished and the titanic presence beyond faded from existence, taking the mindscape along with it.

The snap back to reality was no less abrupt than last time. Perhaps more so given that the head of a staff was plunging towards his face, about to take him square between the eyes. Roy watched it approaching him with preternatural clarity. He could try to push it up and away, sway back to let it pass over him or parry with his weapon in any number of ways. With his unusual moment of awareness Roy chose to sidestep to his right, saying behind his guard.

Von Nighburg’s thrust slipped past him over his left shoulder and the wizard automatically countered Roy’s sidestep as he recovered. In the process he tripped over Johan’s leg as Roy intended. While his opponent was staggering Roy rushed forward, grabbing for the staff with his left hand while hacking at von Nighburg’s hands with his weapon. Unfortunately he didn’t take the nature of his opponent’s weapon into account. Iron’s nature somehow disrupted and absorbed magic in ways that were poisonous or even lethal to most living creatures. Steel retained some of that effect and, as Warwick had suspected, von Nighburg’s staff was shod in that mysterious metal. When Roy’s fingers closed around it they started tingling. It wasn’t as bad as your average iron burn but as soon as he felt it he yanked his hand back.

The sudden reversal threw his balance off, spoiling his strike and allowing von Nighburg to back away unharmed. The blackguard held his weapon in an unorthodox stance, gripping it a bit like a spear but with a wide grip in the last third of the shaft. It should have been confusing. The Columbian Regular Infantry was a modern fighting force, equipped entirely with sulfurite weaponry. Spears had little place in their formations. Swords did a much better job directing flame accurately and pole axes propelled via channeled flame hit much harder than spears, making them more suited to breaking formations. As a result Roy had faced off against a spear maybe twice in his life.

Yet when the wizard lunged with his staff Roy saw the correct counter instantly. Parry across. Push up and step in, try to trap the weapon high and out of position. Von Nighburg tried to choke up on the weapon to escape the bind but Roy took the opportunity to flick a cut at his hands once the bind weakened. The wizard backpedaled to the edge of the lighthouse. With the moon hidden by Low Noon and his cloak pulled forward his body became difficult to see. The hypnotic gleam of the beacon’s light on his staff and a series of weaving, unpredictable movements made reading his intention even more difficult. It was more like watching a quicksilver serpent than a rod of steel.

“You know, of all the people I had to deal with I thought you would be the easiest,” von Nighburg said, his tone conversational. “Everyone in the West has something to say about you.”

“None of it good,” Roy replied. He pressed forward with a few snap cuts to keep the wizard too distracted to pull them into the mindscape again.

Von Nighburg deflected the cuts easily. “As you say, everyone agreed on a few basic things. You arrive in a town in pursuit of whatever fanciful thing has your attention on that day, you grumble and bully the locals until you find what you need to get it then you burn and kill you way to success. It’s quite admirable, really, except right now you’re in my way.” He adjusted his grip to hold his weapon near the middle and went on the offense, striking rapidly with both ends of the weapon as he tried to create a little more room between himself and the low wall that ran around the outer edge of the roof. “Yet as predictable as that was, I don’t understand your attitude. Where’s that famous temper of yours, Herr Harper?”

The wizard had finally missed a bet. The extra reach his staff gave him had been his biggest advantage in the fight so far and sacrificing it for a higher tempo of attack wasn’t a wise move. He was pretty skilled with his weapon but Roy was a lifelong fighter. He parried the first attack easily, read the second, disengaged from the bind before von Nighburg could take his weapon out of line and blocked it as well. The third attack became an attempt to beat his weapon aside but Roy had the stronger wrist. The bronze edge of his weapon rolled from the force of the blow but his guard didn’t waver and by that point Roy had pressed in close enough to trap the wizard’s arms and prevent the fourth strike. He allowed himself the ghost of a satisfied smile and said, “I’m a professional. What did you expect me to do, throw myself down on the ground and scream like a child with a tantrum?”

Von Nighburg gathered himself to try and pull free from Roy’s grip. However, even with the wizard’s steel weapon between them causing his magical senses to buzz uncomfortably, the remarkable awareness he’d had since leaving Jenkins made seeing through that simplicity itself. As von Nighburg pulled Roy pushed. The two steps they’d taken away from the edge vanished as he did and von Nighburg’s back slammed into the wall. For a moment the wizard flailed, trying not to tip over it.

At the same time a sinister smile crept across his face. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet, Herr Harper.”

“Why do you care so coalstoking much about whether I’m angry or not?”

Von Nighburg braced the butt of his staff against the railing on the wall and levered himself forward, pressing the steel shaft up against Roy. The metal did more than tingle this time. Roy could practically feel it sapping life from his body but even so he didn’t feel threatened by it, which he knew was odd. There was no time to analyze it, so he focused on getting leverage over his opponent’s arms or torso. Somehow the wizard managed to keep his staff between them the whole time, foiling him. “It is impressive that you struggle so hard without anything to drive you.”

“You claim you know my reputation and think I’m not driven?” Roy would have laughed but at the moment he couldn’t muster the least bit of humor at that misunderstanding. “Not the brightest fella, are you?”

“But you don’t have ambition or drive anymore, Herr Harper, nor joy or grief or jealousy.” The wizard scowled and tried to break to one side but a half hearted strike from Roy’s weapon cut that idea short. “The only thing left for you should be your temper. You, a man famous for flying into a rage whenever you’re questioned by strangers. Where is it now?”

Roy smiled, not because he was amused but because he knew it was inappropriate for the situation. “You know the stories about me but you don’t know me. You think I get mad because people ask me questions? I get mad because I hate showing up a day late and short of silver!”

Von Nighburg froze, a look of astonishment writ across his features, then he glanced away, his attention drawn to where Johan still sat in a heap on the floor, muttering to himself. Roy wasn’t sure why but it was enough of an opening to finally get around the other man’s guard. The stalemate broke and suddenly Roy had the wizard by the elbow and wrist of his left arm. With a twist and a shove he flipped the wizard around and slammed him into the wall again. They teetered precariously.

“It’s too late, Harper,” von Nighburg called. “The spell’s already done!

“That’s the worst part, blackguard,” Roy replied. “I’m a firespinner. People don’t hire us until everything’s already gone wrong!”

“So why bother at all?”

“Because I’m Roy Harper.” He took a half step back, planted a boot in the wizard’s back and kicked him over the railing. As the man tumbled away, taking his staff with him, Roy’s sense for flame sprang back and he felt the beacon burning behind him once again. It was a simple matter to force the flame down into the oil reservoir then pull out the resulting fireball. He took half a step up and looked down at the wizard falling. “Out here in the West, I am the closest thing there is to vengeance.”

Roy sent the roiling ball of flame streaking down to strike von Nighburg. “If you didn’t figure that much out I don’t know why you bothered to look into me at all.”

The black hearted wizard burned all the way down to the surface of the water but, until the moment he parted the waves, he didn’t make a single sound. At the moment the water closed over him the place where the moon hung hidden in the sky began to laugh.

Previous Chapter

“Bright Coals, have you considered why The Blackguard has not released the daughter of Samson Riker, the Cliff Over Waves?”

Roy felt a twinge of amusement when he heard the obvious formality in the way Proud Elk said the word blackguard. He wasn’t sure how the Sanna made it so clear they were saying a name, not just a regular word. However he never had any doubt when they were. “I assumed von Nighburg thought having that man’s granddaughter as a hostage would give him more leverage over the town than the other two boys.”

Proud Elk pulled the end of his whip club out of the lock on the chest he was working on and it popped open. They’d discovered von Nighburg’s bedroom down a short hallway and were ransacking it. Under normal circumstances Roy would have just looked under the bed and in the closet for potential ambushes then moved on but Proud Elk’s lock breaking skills opened new possibilities. As he rummaged through the contents of the chest Proud Elk said, “Your theory makes sense at first glance. The problem is Cliff Over Waves. He does not have a disposition that encourages defiance. There are many people in this town that would be dangerous to cross, the sheriff and the mayor not least among them, yet he strikes me as the hardest to placate. In this he is like his father.”

“That’s so. Not everyone rides out to destroy famine incarnate at the age of fifty eight.” There was a bedside table with a small pile of books on it beside von Nighburg’s bed but Roy didn’t see anything unusual in the titles of the books he could read. Two had titles in Cyrillic characters and those he couldn’t read. He set them aside for later examination but he didn’t want to drag them all over the manse when he needed his hands free for fighting.

“It seems to me there must be some significance to choosing to provoke that man’s son in this way.” Proud Elk had emptied the chest of a pile of clothes and boots and now he took the container and turned it upside down and gave it a hard shake. Something rattled. He put it back and started prying at the bottom with a knife.

“You think he has some beef with the Rikers, father or son?”

“No, no, I’m afraid I did not state my point correctly.” The Sanna man paused with the point of his knife buried in the wood, his gaze focused in the middle distance for a moment. “I believe there is a point to choosing that man’s granddaughter. I think the advantages she offers surpass those of all other hostages and The Blackguard thought those advantages were worth provoking Cliff Over Waters.”

Roy paused rummaging through von Nighburg’s wardrobe long enough to give his friend a thoughtful look. Proud Elk was getting at something but he couldn’t figure out what it was. “This one of those famous Sanna intuitions you have?”

“In a way. It is something more likely to occur to us than to a Columbian, even a well educated one like Sheriff Warwick.” The bottom of the chest popped out and Proud Elk carefully set it aside and pulled out a thin metal case. “I have heard several people call the missing girl Jenny. This is an abbreviation that makes it more difficult to properly name a person, is it not?”

“It’s a nickname, sure. We don’t really use them to create confusion, kind of the opposite in most cases, but then we treat names differently than your people.” Roy thumped the back of the wardrobe carefully and stopped when he heard a hollow noise. “In most cases Jenny is the shortened version of Jennifer.”

The Sanna man gave him a meaningful look. “That is the name of the first queen of Avalon, is it not?”

“Yes.” Roy found a knot in the wood that served as a place to hook his thumb and pulled a narrow door open. It revealed a small compartment that could hold a sword or staff. At the moment it was empty. “Your people deal in names, Proud Elk. What’s the significance of that?”

“That man founded this town, Bright Coals. His son is a man of some importance here and his granddaughter shares a name with a queen who founded a kingdom. If you wished to work a magic that involved the life and death of this town, her life and name would be very powerful.” Proud Elk opened the case and removed a ring on a thin metal chain. “This… this is something I could not guess at.”

“Metal rings can do a lot of things depending on the alloys and patterns on them,” Roy said. “Better put it away. That’s a mystery we can spend more time on when its safe.”

“I defer to your expertise, Bright Coals.” Proud Elk put the ring away, closed up the carrying case then tucked it into his belt. “And the girl?”

“Your logic has a lot of merit to it but there is one thing I think you’ve mistaken.”

“Which is?”

Memories of irrational laughter and stifling anger flitted past. “Whatever von Nighburg is dealing with here it far surpasses the life and death of a town. Perhaps even a kingdom.”

“Let us hope you are the mistaken one on that score.” The Sanna man stood up and headed back towards the door. “Shall we explore the stairs next?”

Roy took his thistledown candle off the top of the wardrobe and followed him. They’d discovered a set of stairs leading up to a second floor, which wasn’t that surprising given that he’d seen when Warwick burned his revealing candles and showed the place from the outside. The top floor was dominated by some kind of astrolabe. The brass contraption was easily fifteen feet from one side to another and featured seven long, twisting arms circling the central sphere. Unlike most astrolabes it didn’t look like the solar system.

In fact as he peered through the slowly revolving arms Roy thought the centerpiece looked more like a globe representing the known world than anything else. Maybe it wasn’t a traditional astrolabe. Proud Elk walked around the outside of the room and found a few telescopes looking out but reported there was nothing to see through them but odd swirls of color. There were large stacks of paper covered in unfamiliar letters on the counter that ran around the outside of the room but both men ignored them. Given the circumstances it was just one more thing that would have to wait. Roy was about to suggest they try looking through a telescope while wearing the ring they’d found when Warwick interrupted.

After a brief aside about forges, steel and back doors Roy returned to the moment. “Johan and his group found a bottom floor but it looks just as empty as this one which tells me we chose the wrong doors at first. Von Nighburg is through the last one.”

“Why do you think he hasn’t retaliated against us so far?”

“I think what happened in the central room twenty minutes ago was him doing just that in the same way Hank Tanner was a response to the Fairchilds saving Stu Strathmore.” Roy was briefly tempted to dance around the issue of Hank Tanner but it didn’t help at the moment. He knew the Sanna recoiled from naming the dead and in most cases he deferred to that sensibility when dealing with them but it didn’t bother him at the moment. “Whatever von Nighburg uses to do that is his best weapon against superior numbers.”

Proud Elk shifted in discomfort and Roy felt a brief twitch of irritation but it quickly faded. The man couldn’t help how he was raised. “You have a point, Bright Coals. Did you have a chance to consult with the book you said might explain what it was he did?”

“I managed to spend an hour on it, yes. Unfortunately I didn’t find a record of anything like what we encountered in Pellinore’s Journal. Part of that may be my ignorance. The first entries are supposedly seven or eight hundred years old and the language in them is very different from what we speak today.”

“Many Herons is gifted with languages. He has spent much of his life tracing dialects of the Sanna back to their roots and trying to unify them into a single tongue again. He may be able to help you untwist your book.”

Roy felt a flicker of amusement at that. Most Sanna were gifted with languages, speaking six or seven of their own dialects plus Avaloni, but Many Herons knew some fifteen languages outside of Sanna dialects. Columbians as far east as Hancock knew him as a learned man. He was certainly likely to understand High Avaloni easily enough. “I think he’d be an excellent choice but there is a problem – Pellinore’s stories are to us much as creatures like the cold ones are to you. They are ours and not meant to share.”

Proud Elk broke eye contact and stared at one of the telescopes. For a brief moment Roy wondered if he’d made the other upset somehow, even though it was the kind of logic he’d expected a Sanna man to immediately understand. It was out of character, which was when he understood. “Proud Elk, this is going to sound strange but take stock. Are you feeling alright?”

The Sanna man froze and, although he still avoided eye contact, Roy could clearly see he was running through his own thoughts from the way his lips pursed and frowned. “No. There is something strange about my thoughts right now. I do not feel anger, even when I think of the captured girl, nor do I feel worry or fear when I think that I may die in the same way as the dead child from this morning. I only feel that I am watched and that is unsettling.”

“In the morning we laughed and just before we got angry. Now you feel embarrassed. Definitely seems like its the same thing… better let the others know before we decide what to do.” Roy tried to get Warwick’s attention via his candle but it didn’t work. In fact he no longer got annoyed at sensing the background hum of Cassie’s singing, either, and when he tried to get some response via the tap beads nothing came back that way either.

Proud Elk watched the proceedings with growing discomfort. Finally he said, “We should go down and check on them.”

Roy nodded his agreement and the two quickly retraced their steps to the central chamber only to find the guard team in complete disarray. They spent a few seconds trying to snap the trio back to normal. Proud Elk had brought a canteen of water from the bay and worked one of the most powerful dousings Roy had ever seen, sending globes of water circling around himself and Warwick in a large scale version of the soothing beads he’d bought with him. That broke the power of laughter enough that the sheriff came back to himself.

In the mean time Roy slapped Brandon out of whatever strange funk he’d fallen into. Both men told him they didn’t remember much but they had the impression that Johan and the others had left through the mirror room. Roy ran through a quick assessment of what had happened and came up with their next move. “Proud Elk, keep that ward going and cover the others in it. Brandon, snap your sister out of her panic and grab anything you can in the time it takes the sheriff to rig the Array.” Roy passed his lantern and its two siege grade sulfurite crystals to Warwick. “I trust you used these in the war?”

“I know the drill.” Warwick dragged himself to his feet and started working on the Immelmann Array.

“What will you do?” Proud Elk asked, spreading his water ward out further.

“Johan left the manse for some reason and I got one guess as what it is. I’m going after him.”

The transition back to the lighthouse seemed to take forever but when he stepped out into the tower he could still hear footsteps climbing the metal stairs overhead so he couldn’t be that far behind Johan and the others. It was a long climb up but Roy made it as fast as he could. As he ascended Roy took stock of his options. He had his falcata, sulfurite still unused, and the small crystals in his cufflinks that would give him a few sparks to throw around if his sword went out. Pellinore’s Journal rested in his inner jacket pocket. Unfortunately, while the book was a powerful piece of magic he didn’t have time to peruse its pages in a pitched battle.

There was the lighthouse beacon itself, far up above. It had a five gallon oil reserve he could ignite if he really needed extra firepower. Hopefully there were three other people he could count on. That was pretty much all the thinking he had time for, dashing up the stairs two at a time. He drew his falcata, ignited it and used it to catapult a fireball through the opening ahead of him and followed it straight up into the beacon room.

Two men – Samson and Johan – were collapsed right at the top of the stairs. Samson was sobbing so Roy guessed they were both suffering the influence of von Nighburg’s techniques. He made this guess as he leaped over the two of them to avoid tripping, so there was a real chance he was just imagining things. Two others fought by the beacon.

From the archaic dress and long staff he was using, Roy recognized one as Heinrich von Nighburg. The other was Chester Tanner. A thrashing girl was tied up and laid out atop the unlit beacon, the five reflectors intended to focus the light out towards the sea instead all pointed in at her, like a hand of glass was reaching down for her. A strange collection of mouths, twisted flesh and flailing limbs were visible in them. It was like the mirrors had turned into windows but rather than showing the ceiling above or the seas outside they looked into nightmares.

Roy landed heavily and cursed, distracting Tanner. Von Nighburg proved the more disciplined duelist, taking advantage of the opening and tripping the other man with the fast moving end of his staff. Tanner went down on one knee. The blackguard snatched up a sword that was laid out beside Jenny and raised it up to run her through.

It was at least fifteen feet from the stairs to von Nighburg and Roy did his best to cross it in the time he had but even as he lunged forward he knew it wasn’t enough. Tanner plunged the point of his cutlass into the ground and pushed up, diving across the beacon. He pushed Jenny out of the way, sending her tumbling to the ground with a panicked shriek.

Von Nighburg pinned him to the top of the beacon with his sword and every mouth in the mirrors opened wide in howls and screams.

Previous Chapter

The town was quiet through the early evening. For a moment, if a man looked at the Cove through the corner of his eye, he might think everything was normal. The statue of Jonathan Riker had no such grace. Its eyes stared straight down on the town, unblinking, and watched the people head home early and bar their doors. The Mayor walked the streets every hour, making sure things were quiet. The full moon rose overhead, its bright, baleful light casting the streets in unsettling shadow.

It was a bad night to be about and all could sense it. When the dark shadow of Earth moved over the moon’s face even Mayor Hughes went home and locked the door. Only the statue was there to watch as Low Noon moved it. The fell mood didn’t bother Jonathan Riker in the least.

It watched as the sky slowly turned dark without flinching, heard the wild laughter without answering and saw the lighthouse bend and stretch up towards the sky without comment. The world changed in the small circle of the bay. When the moon slipped entirely out of view the strange voices echoing faintly over the water grew more numerous and more varied. Then the the lighthouse and the water around it for a hundred feet froze, locked behind the irregular facets of an otherworldly prism.

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The second room of Heinrich von Nighburg’s hidden fortress was circular, like the lighthouse it was connected to. Stone floor and ceiling sandwiched tall shelves stacked with books, tools and paraphernalia. Bronze lines, about the width of a man’s hand, ran across the floor in every direction. Seven of them converged on the table at the center of the room where the strange geometric lattice, mesh globe and golden orb sat pulsing with arcane power.

Experience told Roy it was best to work out what to do about the mad wizard’s magic before anything else. “All right, Warwick,” he said, stepping through the doorway from the portal room to the Array. “I think it’s finally time a druid explained what’s so coalstoking dangerous about these things.”

Brandon cleared his throat. “Maybe you could explain what an Immelmann Array is, first?”

“It’s a shield of winter,” Avery said.

Roy felt himself start in shock, a rookie response he immediately regretted. “You’re not serious.”

“Isn’t that one of the godly weapons of the Mated Pair?” Proud Elk asked, studying the array with a skeptical eye. “This does not look very godly, Bright Coals.”

“We say the Lord in Raging Skies carries winter as his shield but I honestly don’t know what the connection is between one of these and the saying,” Avery replied. “However, there are ancient records in the Stone Circle that say Arthur Phoenixborn took a magic weapon much like this into his last battle with the Seventh Son of Eternity. Whether or not he actually wiped out Eternity’s Armies in one day, Arthur’s victory was decisive. The Forever Wars ended very soon after with Eternity’s allied nations on the Continent surrendering two years later. By that point the Circle’s Founders had already forbidden anyone building a shield of winter.”

“Why?” Roy asked. “They sound pretty handy.”

“Well, if it’s true that Arthur swept the Armies of Eternity from the world all at once and if he used a shield of winter to do it, the prevailing theory is that the shield is actually a kind of key.” Avery waved a hand to encompass the strange space around them. “The records suggest Arthur used it to lock out or lock away the Seventh Son and his forces and placed himself in the doorway to ensure they never came this way again. The concern is that using another key will reopen that door and pave the way for them to return. While there’s questions about the veracity of those records the possibility that someone could start up the Forever War again is daunting enough the Founders didn’t want to take the chance.”

That seemed like a reasonable enough motive to forbid them to Roy. “Is there a way to turn it harmless without doing that?”

“Not that I know of. Our Founders taught us to recognize them but Morainehenge was setup in a rather informal way and we didn’t have complete details on… well, anything. If there’s a safe way to deal with an Array, the secret stayed in Stonehenge.”

All eyes turned to Brandon. He held up his hands defensively. “No help here, lads. I’ve never heard of Immelmann Arrays or shields of winter and I honestly don’t think most knights ever do. That sounds like something usually confined to the Founder’s Circle. Our Founders, that is. Why did yours think it wise to spread the knowledge to the whole rank and file?”

Avery’s expression turned surly. “We couldn’t be sure Immelmann hadn’t produced them by the dozen and turned them over to the Columbians! We had to be ready to counter them.”

“He wasn’t a weaponsmith, Warwick, he was a skytrain engineer,” Roy snapped. “He was just trying to improve their furnace design. I don’t know that turning one into a weapon every occurred to anyone, unless you count skytrains as weapons.”

“Which you could,” Brandon said.

Roy shot him a glare. “Not my point.”

Avery jabbed a finger at the Array. “That is not something you create accidentally while trying to innovate on a skytrain furnace. He was dabbling with something he shouldn’t have, just like von Nighburg, that’s why we had to step in and confiscate the Array.”

A pulsing flash of anger shot across Roy’s vision and took up residence in the front of his mind. “You robbed a man of his life’s work, over the objections of your own druid there in town-”

“Harwick?” Avery practically spat the name. “He turned his back on the Circle and never showed his face again. Who cares about his opinion?”

A brief glimpse of a man, dead on the side of a lonely mountain in a forgotten corner of Tetzlan, rose from Roy’s memories. It was already fading when Roy closed his grip on the front of Avery’s coat and pulled the man down to eye level. “Brennan Harwick was a better man than you could ever hope to be.”

Roy’s own fury was mirrored in the other man’s eyes. “Then maybe he’ll find the fortitude to come back and answer for his actions!”

A dozen acid tongued replies rose up but before Roy could pick one a double loop of blue and gold painted beads dropped around his neck and the unnatural pressure on his emotions vanished. He hadn’t realized he was being manipulated a second ago. Now that Proud Elk’s beads were around him it was obvious that something similar to the laughter from that morning had come over him.

Brandon was prying the two of them apart as the Sanna man looped another set of beads around the sheriff. The same shock and disorientation was clear on his face. Roy cleared his throat. “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Avery replied. “I supervised some of Brennan’s training when we were squired, I always thought he was a man of respectable intentions. I didn’t understand his choices after the Avengard incident but I was never angry about them. Except just now. It was like I couldn’t feel anything besides anger… I don’t understand it.”

“But you use thistledown candles,” Cassie said. “Surely you were exposed to all kinds of magic that inflict confusion and arouse unnatural emotions as a part of your training.”

“I was. There was still nothing like this among what I experienced.” The sheriff shook himself and straightened up. “Something very strange is going on here.”

Roy shook himself off, clearing his head, and loosened his falcatta in its sheath. “No doubt. Otherworldly forces and all that. Proud Elk, how long is this going to protect us?”

The Sanna man gave a helpless shrug. “This is something far beyond my experience as well, Bright Coals. A Calming Shoal necklace prevents powerful emotions from overwhelming your mind but it doesn’t remove them and it isn’t meant for creatures that prey on feelings in this way. I made them after what we saw this morning but I wasn’t sure they’d work. I don’t know how long they will keep working. We could have minutes or hours before they fail or are circumvented by the enemy.”

“Wonderful.”

Avery straightened his jacket and cleared his throat. “We’ve felt this twice now and there’s a real sense of change in mental equilibrium when that thing moves against us. Everyone be alert for it. If you feel that change again try pricking a finger with a knife – physical pain can counteract mental influence. Once we have the link through the candles established Miss Fairchild’s song may provide some level of defense, too. I’ll try and counter any influence from the mindscape as well.”

“We’ll cut through the problem, then,” Roy said. The room had four doors out and he picked one of the three they hadn’t been through yet. “Proud Elk, we’ll start by going that way. Johan, take your boys and go the opposite. We’ll meet in the middle if we don’t find what we’re looking for or move to support Avery’s team if they get in trouble. Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Avery gave him a curious look. “You said Brennan-”

“Not now.”

For a moment the sheriff looked like he would protest but then he nodded his agreement. “When this is over, then.”

Roy left the obvious caveat unsaid. Instead he held up the beaded bracelet Proud Elk had given him and said, “Final check, make sure the taps are coming through.” Suiting actions to words, Roy tapped the large, central diamond in the bracelet’s pattern and waited until he felt answering taps from the beads on the opposite side, matching the taps Brandon and Samson made. “Everything’s working here. Miss Fairchild?”

She began to hum the slow, mournful notes of Tyson’s Nine under her breath as Avery lit his candle. Roy had initially been grateful to learn she didn’t have to sing the words to make her magic work. Now he found it didn’t matter. The melody brought the first lines to mind unbidden.

When spring turns to winter face the bitter hard truth

’bout the gnawing teeth of the famine

No woman or man has the strength to withstand when

icy cold fear puts its hand in

Roy had always found the rank sentiment and simple lyrics of the song distasteful, to say nothing of the way it seemed to miss all the things that had actually made the mill in Tyson’s Run frightening, lonely and miserable. However, as the smoke of Avery’s candle wafted into the air he found other opinions mixing with his own. Brandon found them quaint and charming. Tanner didn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about, since the tune was far older than the West and the words were the kind of thing sailors sang at sea all the time. Johan found Roy’s annoyance far more amusing than anything about the lyrics.

Most interesting of all, Samson took profound satisfaction from them. Roy thought he caught a brief glimpse of a younger Jonathan Riker in an unfamiliar house, speaking with a woman he didn’t recognize. Then, something directed their thoughts away from that memory. He had a sudden sense that he’d seen something private and anyway, there were more pressing matters at hand. “It’s two hours until the eclipse starts,” Roy said. “Whatever else happens we have to cripple the plans von Nighburg has for Low Noon. Sheriff, if he takes out our group and Johan’s, or if Low Noon comes and we’re not back, destroy the Immelmann Array and go back to the Cove. Hopefully that sends us over the horizon and into whatever place Arthur put the Seventh Son. It’s not a perfect solution but it’s likely better than the alternative.”

“Count on it,” Avery replied.

“Should I stand ready to assist you or Johan if you wind up over your head?” Brandon asked.

“Normally I’d be thrilled having a Knight of the Stone Circle as our reserve,” Roy said. “But after what just happened I’m not sure you should. I think it’s more likely that you’d be lured out by some kind of phantom sensations like what we just experienced than that you’d actually hear us in distress and respond in time to assist.”

“We can’t spend all our time worried about the enemy’s stratagems or we’ll never act when we have the chance,” Johan said. “Let the man stand ready if he wants.”

Roy hesitated for a moment, thinking it over. “Very well. If that’s what you want, Brandon, be ready to back us up if needed. But stay here until you get a message from us by candle or tap, understand?”

“I understand.”

“Stay safe.” Roy turned to the other search group. “Johan, Samson, Tanner. Good hunting.”

Then he and Proud Elk turned and headed down their own route into von Nighburg’s fortress.

Previous Chapter

“Are you certain?” Brandon demanded as he rushed forward, his sister a half step behind him.

“I’ve only seen it the one time,” Harper replied. “But it’s got the same look and magic around it acts funny, although in a different way from the last time I saw it. That could be something to do with the mirror itself or the shape of this thing, though.”

Sheriff Warwick joined them by the reflector, a hard look on his face. “If it is steel we could have a problem on our hands. When I looked into Stu’s memories von Nighburg had a staff made of this stuff with him when Stu was abducted. Which means our blackguard has a steel weapon.”

“If I may ask,” Proud Elk said, interrupting their careful examination of the reflector’s frame. “What is steel?”

“It’s a mythical metal,” Brandon said, carefully touching the cool metal with his bare fingers. “Supposedly the strongest metal ever forged. When the Armies of Eternity marched over the horizon, eight hundred years ago, and began the Forever War they carried weapons made of it. There are a few left, in the great armories of the Continent. No one ever discovered how they were made.”

Harper patted the hilt of his sword in a strange, almost ritual fashion. “That one told me his sword was made of steel and that it was a kind of refined iron, if you can believe it.”

“Iron scorns all magic,” Proud Elk said. “Thus you cannot refine or forge it with fire, so I find that difficult to believe. Yet if he said it, it may be possible.”

“He did,” Johan replied. “I was there when Roy asked about it.”

Brandon laughed. “The three of you talk like he’s standing around the corner, waiting to burst in when you say his name. Why are you so nervous about it?”

“Because we’ve seen him work,” Harper replied. “Enough about this. We can take this thing apart if you two want to keep it, I suppose, or we can sell it to cover our expenses later. Right now I think we leave it where it is. Johan, am I right in guessing this is the way into wherever von Nighburg is?”

“Almost certainly.” He was already setting up his own mirror opposite the reflector. “I’ll need a few minutes to assess how its defended and what exact mechanism its built on before we can go through. However, the fact that it is a mirror rather than a ring or something even more exotic helps.”

Harper nodded and looked around. “Riker, Tanner, grab one of those barrels and help me burn that foul shelled thing in case von Nighburg can use it again.”

The two locals dumped the barrel of oil over the biggest lobster Brandon had ever seen then Harper lit it with a spark from his lantern. Under normal circumstances it would take twenty minutes or so for something that size to burn. However, at some point Harper had learned to make things burn faster than they ought and he was able to reduce the creature to ashes in a matter of twenty or thirty seconds. Brandon had only seen this trick a few times before, and only from one firemind. That didn’t mean it was unique to Harper, Stonehenge druids were very secretive about the particulars of their abilities, but the fact that it worked on human bodies suggested it could also work on yew wood.

That was something Brandon felt it best to be prepared for. While Roy Harper seemed an honorable man there were many other fireminds out there, from within the druidic orders and from without, who were not. Sadly, he hadn’t been able to figure out how one might counter that trick yet.

Disposing of the lobster took Harper less time than it took Johan to analyze the reflector and Brandon found himself examining the lighthouse as he waited. The structure was some seventy feet tall but the third floor was slightly less than half that height. A rickety metal stair wound up the inside of the remaining tower up to the top floor, where the reflectors and oil burner were housed. There were no windows. Several iron hooks stuck out of the walls along the stairway, so presumably the lighthouse keepers used lanterns to make their way up or down.

A light touch at his elbow drew his attention downward. Cassie leaned in and softly asked, “Do you think this von Nighburg knows the secrets of steel?”

“I’d doubt it,” Brandon said. “Far more likely he’s found some old relics he’s labored long to understand. Isn’t that typically the way things go in the records? Someone finds a long forgotten piece of magic from the Forever Wars and, in trying to understand it, begins to tamper with forces we were not meant to deal with?”

Cassie nodded. “At the same time, he may have discovered writings the Armies of Eternity left behind. He could have learned the technique for forging steel from them.”

“Yes, I wondered about that as well. Whether von Nighburg created that steel himself or discovered it in an ancient armory is something we’ll have to determine at some point. Given how dangerous the man acts, I’m afraid it will have to wait until he’s dealt with.”

He could tell that notion didn’t thrill his sister but she nodded her agreement with it. “I was just thinking we should mention it to Mr. Harper. We’ll be staying by the entrance of von Nighburg’s manse and there’s no saying we’ll be able to go to and from it freely after he’s out of the picture. If Mr. Harper finds something and has the chance…”

There was merit to that point as well. “I’ll mention it to him.”

Whether he’d been listening while he watched the lobster burn or he’d just anticipated the issue, it turned out Harper didn’t need it mentioned. When Brandon approached him the firespinner preempted the issue. “I’ll keep an eye out for anything related to steel or the Forever Wars,” he said when he spotted the other coming. “Don’t know how much importance we can put on it, though. The other guy gets a say in how things play out.”

“I understand,” Brandon replied. “I appreciate your consideration.”

It took a few more minutes for Johan to finish his work with the reflector and set up one of his own mirrors opposite it. “There,” he said, “the doorway is open. Unfortunately von Nighburg has made visibility through the door one way so I can’t tell you what’s waiting on the other side. We’ll have to send someone well defended through first.”

“That’s pretty much what we cultivate the yew for,” Brandon said, his shift already underway. The layers of bark quickly grew over his body, already primed from his earlier use, and the roots of the plant stretched out through his muscles give him strength far beyond the human norm. Thus defended and empowered Brandon stepped up to the reflector. “Is there anything that needs done on the other side?”

“I would just look through and then report what you see,” Proud Elk replied, digging through his own bag of magical tricks. “Is that possible?”

“No, you have to go all the way through this kind of portal before you can come back. The literature stresses that’s a key part of making them function, as is making sure only one person uses it at a time.” Johan shrugged. “I don’t know if that’s true or the old wizards just thought it was a good way to slow down invaders trying to breach a sanctum.”

“Maybe,” Harper said, studying the reflector, then Brandon. “Go through, check it out and report back. We’ll check on you if you don’t come back in sixty seconds. You got another of those barrier breaker things, Johan?”

“Give me a second.”

It was more like a minute but eventually he handed Brandon a duplicate of the mirror he’d given the sheriff a while before. For Brandon it was starting to feel like they were taking too long. They’d entered the tower in late afternoon, as the sun was setting, giving them about five hours before the eclipse started. They’d already lost about an hour, fumbling through von Nighburg’s defenses. Under normal circumstances he probably would have insisted on a better plan for what would happen next but given the proximity of Low Noon Brandon knew they had to move as fast as possible.

He took a moment to test his right knee. With the yew fully awakened he didn’t expect any issues with it and, for the moment, he didn’t find any. Still, he didn’t want it to fold during what was likely to be his only contribution to the expedition.

“Stay safe,” Cassie said as he stepped forward.

That wasn’t likely but he kept that to himself. Instead he touched his brow in salute and stepped up to the reflector and touched his hand to it. He was drawn in as soon as he made contact with it and for a moment all he could see was rippling, prismatic colors, then he found himself in a much different room. He caught a glimpse of a small, enclosed space before the floor under him flew up and smashed him into the ceiling.

That was a clever place to put a barrier.

Fortunately yew wood was both tough and flexible and it absorbed most of the impact. He already had the counter charm in his hands and it didn’t break when he hit the ceiling. Brandon wound up crunched into a ball, pressed against the ceiling, a little pained but intact. The mirror Johan gave him wound up clutched to his chest and it took quite a bit of work in order to get it down, past his knees, and into direct contact with the barrier. At that point the spell shattered, just like the previous one, and he dropped to the ground again.

The room was little more than a square box with a polished oval mirror secured to the wall behind him. A quick glance told Brandon the mirror’s frame was identical to the one he’d come through. Opposite it was another door which Brandon quickly tested and confirmed was locked. He wasn’t an expert but it looked like that lock was made of steel. The rest of the room was featureless stone without windows, furniture or decoration, a quintessential antechamber and deathtrap hybrid. No other traps hit him so Brandon quelled the yew and stepped back through the mirror.

The others were gearing up to follow him when he returned, or so Brandon guessed from the slew of weapons they pointed at him when he emerged through the reflector in the lighthouse. He quickly gave them a rundown of what he saw then crossed back with Proud Elk in tow. To Brandon’s surprise, it took the Sanna man all of five seconds to pick the door lock using the narrow, almost prehensile end of his whip club.

Johan set a mirror on the floor by the door and they slowly opened it a sliver so the next room appeared in the reflective surface. To Brandon’s glee, it looked like a typical sanctum. There were bookshelves on the far wall and a large table in the center with some kind of magical contraption on top of it. A series of bronze or brass struts held up a gleaming silver mesh orb. Within it was a smaller, solid gold orb with strange, glowing pinpricks of light scattered around it in an indiscernible pattern. In the reflection it was hard to determine how big it was.

“Dust and ashes.”

Brandon glanced over his shoulder to find Sheriff Warwick staring at the mirror in horror. “What’s the matter?”

“That’s an Immelmann Array.”

Previous Chapter

The mayor of Riker’s Cove was a compact, beady eyed man in his late fifties. By name, Eustace Hughes. Some disaster, likely of a nautical variety, had taken his left arm but there was still a fierce vitality and charisma to him that made it clear how he’d come to lead the village after Jonathan Riker’s death. Like many villages of its size, the Cove didn’t have a dedicated office for the Mayor. So after they surrendered the body of Hank Birch to the Hearth Keepers the Mayor, who had arrived on the scene some time during Avery and Roy’s stint in the mindscape, asked them all to accompany him back to his dock.

According to the stories Avery heard when he arrived in town, Hughes was once a pirate of some sort. Whether that was true or not, he’d given up the sea when he lost his arm. He’d come to the Cove in an effort to start a serious shipbuilding enterprise there but the difficulty of getting good lumber and woodworkers when most of the timber on the western coast of the continent was in Sanna hands had thwarted him so far. He still employed a handful of shipwrights and managed a small drydock at the south end of town.

Like Riker before him, Hughes discharged most of his mayoral duties from his place of business. In his time living there, Avery had never heard anyone complain about this. Indeed, such things were common out West and of the people who made the five minute trek down to the Hughes dry dock the only ones who seemed surprised by it were the Fairchilds. Perhaps in Avalon they were used to more formal political arrangements. What did surprise Avery was the people who were waiting for them at the docks already.

There was a small, sheltered area atop the dock itself, little more than a pavilion with three walls and open toward the dock’s work area, where Hughes and his workers kept their tools and blueprints at a collection of work benches. However none of the mayor’s employees were there at the moment. Instead, Aaron Strathmore greeted them as soon as they arrived at the pavilion while further inside the hulking figure of Samson Riker stared down at papers scattered on a bench with a brooding expression.

Jonathan Riker’s only surviving son was a big man, about ten years older than Avery was and a similar amount younger than the mayor. His size wasn’t rooted in hard earned muscle nor did it hang from him in rolls of fat. His frame was simply tall and wide, covered with a typical amount of flesh of all kinds, although perhaps a trifle plump around the middle. A dull, red beard streaked with gray tickled the middle of his chest. When he glanced over, noting their arrival, sharp black eyes glinted under his thick, bushy eyebrows. In contrast with his otherwise hirsute face, not a single strand of hair grew from the top of his head although the sides and back of his skull were wreathed in a fringe that fell to his shoulders. Samson set down his papers and walked over to shake the mayor’s hand. “Mayor Hughes.” His polite manner turned hostile as he pivoted to glare at Avery. “Sheriff.”

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Riker, Mr. Strathmore,” Hughes said, ushering the group of them back into the shelter with gentle shooing motions. “Unfortunately Mr. Tanner will not be joining us this morning.”

“Is it true his sister’s boy turned up in a crystal coffin down by the docks?” Aaron asked.

“Not a coffin,” Avery said, “but close enough.”

Samson tugged at the end of his beard, which everyone in town knew meant he was loosing out when haggling. Or, in these circumstances, he was nervous about something else. Since his daughter Jennifer was now the only one of von Nighburg’s hostages still missing it wasn’t hard to guess what. “How bad?”

“Not good, Mr. Riker,” Harper said, pushing up past the group to look over the papers Samson had been studying before they arrived. “I’ve seen a lot of strange and frightful things since I came out West. Whatever von Nighburg did to that boy falls into a very special category of wickedness.”

Samson’s eyes tracked the firespinner around the room although he moved the bulk of his body as little as possible as he tracked Harper’s progress. “Do you know what it was?”

Harper picked up a piece of paper – Avery stepped close enough to see it was a blueprint of the lighthouse – and studied it as he answered. “I’ve never seen anything like it although I’ve heard of a couple of curses that could do something similar. Johan? Was that some kind of Teutonic curse? Or related to that moon magic you mentioned?”

“All Teutonic magic is based on repeating patterns.” Van der Klein clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes looking upward as if reading facts of the back of his eyelids. “Crystals, especially cut crystals, are one such pattern. The cycle of the moon is another, both widely referenced in the existing traditions and literature. However I can categorically say that warping the child into… that… was not done via any Teutonic methodology.”

“Categorically? How so?”

“There was no pattern to his laughter.” Van der Klein snapped back to the present. “And before you ask, yes I did take a moment to listen and count out the beats of the noise he was making. It was entirely chaotic.”

“Laughter?” Aaron looked confused. “Who was laughing?”

“What. The appropriate question is, ‘what was laughing?’” Harper set the blueprint back down. “Miss Fairchild, could there have been a musical pattern to the noise he was making?”

“No.” The stone singer shook her head. “I know it sounded like wild laughter but it was actually very repetitive, Mr. Harper. The rise and fall of the tone in his laugh was the exact same every time.”

The mayor swung his hand up, chopping it between Harper and Cassandra and catching both their attention. “I’m sorry. This is a matter of the peace in my town and the safety of its citizens. I don’t know who you two are but would you mind waiting just a few moments while I sort out the rest of this matter with the sheriff and my constituents?”

Out of the corner of his eye Avery saw Brandon bristle at the slight. He held himself back when his sister put a hand on his arm but Avery could tell he wasn’t sure why the mayor was brushing them off. The Stone Circle was probably used to much more cooperation in Avalon. He was about to try smoothing things over when Samson turned to Hughes and said, “Mr. Mayor, I asked Mr. Harper here to help. I wanna hear his opinion and if he has to talk to his friends to sort it out I reckon we should let him do it.”

The mayor shot the big man a deadly look through narrowed eyes. “You did, did you? I suppose you’re going to explain to Chester why you were willing to let his sister’s boy die like that? Dust and ashes, man, you didn’t even have to look at the corpse.”

A lesser man might have lost his temper at Hughes’ accusatory tone. Samson didn’t even twitch. “You and the sheriff have ignored every thing I’ve suggested for the past two weeks, Hughes. My daughter is no closer to coming home than she was when she vanished and I’m not willing to wait any longer. The most famous monster hunter in the west owed my pappy a favor so I called it in. Frankly, this whole stormwracked town wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the old man so I’d reckon you owe him a little bit, too. If you won’t help me the least you can do is get out of my way.”

Hughes squared up against Samson, a challenge that Riker’s son completely ignored. “Listen, I understand your concerns. The sheriff and I have been contacting everyone we know who’s skills-”

“Giant!” Samson pointed a finger at Harper, his voice razor sharp. “Killer!”

“I’ve heard the stories, Samson! But Hank Birch is dead because Nighburg got wind of your stunt and we might have been able to save him if we’d coordinated this better!”

“No, you wouldn’t.” Harper had focused on the blueprints for the last few minutes, ignoring the bickering around him. Only now did he bother to look at Hughes. “I’m sorry, Mayor Hughes, but in my professional opinion there was no way to save all three children. Frankly, I’m amazed you got any of them back.”

Hughes spun on him so fast the empty sleeve of his jacked whipped out and slapped Aaron, standing next to him. “Listen here, Harper. You’re a hireling here, not a citizen or even an Army man. I got no problem with firespinners but you better remember your place and stick to it. You’re not responsible for the lives of the people in this town.”

“Mighty rich coming from a privateer who nearly started a war with Iberia,” Harper said, a trace of amusement running under the words.

“My coalstoking point, Harper.” If the Mayor was put off by the firespinner’s reputation he didn’t show it, stepping right up into his face and jabbing a finger in the man’s chest. “I’ve been on your side of things and I know the blind spots from that point of view. I’m not saying you’re responsible for what happened out there. Nighburg is. But so help me, if you won’t respect the rule of law in this town I will have the sheriff put both you and Samson in jail until the circuit rider comes to drag you to Hancock!”

“Slow down, mayor,” Avery said, sensing it was time for him to say something. “He hasn’t broken any laws yet.”

“Who’s side are you on here?” Hughes said, glaring at him over one shoulder. “You’re supposed to work for me.”

Technically the sheriff of Riker’s Cove was elected, just like the mayor, so they both answered to the townspeople. The problem there was that Avery wasn’t elected. He was the only deputy to survive the first clash with von Nighburg so he’d succeeded to the office. According to the town charter he’d serve until the next election or until the town mayor and treasurer called for a vote to remove him. Which, in Avery’s opinion, wouldn’t be a great tragedy. Sheriff of a port town in the West turned out to be a difficult and unrewarding job even when there wasn’t a murderous magus threatening it.

However, now that he’d started a fight against von Nighburg Avery was reluctant to give up part way through and Hughes definitely had the political sway and vengeful attitude to strip him of office if he wanted to. Also, there was the fact that Low Noon was that night. If von Nighburg’s ambitions came to fruition then, as Harper and his allies suspected, they didn’t have time for any political shenanigans. “I work for everyone in the town, yourself included.” Avery gestured to Harper. “I originally didn’t think Mr. Harper had much to offer us in solving this problem but, to my surprise, he’s not only brought someone who can break whatever control von Nighburg has over the children; he even found someone who understands the magic he used to hide in the lighthouse. I don’t think we can afford to pass on their expertise if they’re willing to share it.”

Hughes chewed on his lower lip for a long moment. Then he looked back to Harper. “Word is you never work for free but I should make it perfectly clear that the town isn’t paying you. Whatever commission you get from Samson is all that’s in it for you. There’s a price on Nighburg’s head you can split however you like but I don’t want you coming to me with your hand out when this is all over, understand?”

A wistful smile touched Roy’s lips for just a moment then he said, “Don’t worry, Mayor Hughes. Jonathan Riker settled your bill long before we came here. The only ones in a position to ask anything more of you are the Fairchilds and something tells me they wont.”

“That’s so,” Brandon put in.

“Very well.” From the way Hughes scowled when he said it Avery guessed the mayor had brought up payment in an attempt to provoke Harper into giving up the job. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting the firespinner’s response. “Sheriff Warwick will work with you on this and any townspeople you want to go with you will have to prove they can meet his standards to be deputized. If you can wait three more days-”

“We can’t,” Avery said. “I’m sorry, mayor, I know you were trying to call in favors from the Navy just like I was looking for some of the old druids to help me out but there just isn’t time. There’s a good chance von Nighburg’s magic will become much more powerful during Low Noon tonight and he’ll be able to do… whatever it is that brought him here in the first place.”

“Dust and ashes.” Hughes ran his hand through his thinning hair. “Tonight?”

“Almost certainly,” van der Klein put in. “Eclipses of both types are of benefit to Teutonic magic and there’s good reason to believe a lunar eclipse will give his chosen field of magic unique opportunities. The sooner we get into the lighthouse the better.”

“Then I’ll leave you to make your plans. Sheriff, let me know if there’s anything in particular I can do that will be helpful or if there are precautions that will keep people out of danger.” He pointed at Aaron Strathmore. “Mr. Harper, I know the sheriff and your friends already talked to him once but Aaron wanted you to know he’s willing to tell you anything else he knows that might help you save the other children held hostage. I closed the docks today so you’d have a place hidden from view to make any preparations you need. No chance Nighburg will see you here.”

Samson turned to Avery. “Sheriff, I’d like to-”

“Samson.” Hughes took a firm grip on his arm. “Before that, I’d like to talk to you alone.”

The big man glanced between Hughes and Harper, then nodded and followed the Mayor wordlessly. Harper turned back to the blueprints on the table. “Okay, I suppose we’re offically hired now so gather around, everyone, we have a fortress to breach. Van der Klein, tell us how we magic our way into this place.”

Samson stopped for a moment to contemplate his father’s statue. The monument to his father continued to look out over his town, ignoring his son, in a perfect encapsulation of Jonathan’s own behavior. The statue, at least, had an excuse. The younger Riker dismissed the edifice after a moment, turning to the mayor and saying, “Alright, what’s this all about? I hope you’re not going to try and talk me out of rescuing my daughter again.”

“You have three other children to think about,” Hughes said. “You could think of them. I know you Rikers are incredibly big picture people, set on preserving the great and the good without any care for the cost-”

“Stop that,” Samson snarled. “Don’t pretend you know me or my father, Hughes, you and your crew may have won over the town but I don’t trust you. Pa told me about you.”

“Your father hated me for good reasons, Samson. We were professionally and personally incompatible, no doubt, but you hold the grudge just cause your papa did. I ain’t waylaid your ships or taken your cargo, have I?” Hughes shoved his hand in his pocket. “I’m not the heavy hand of Hancock on the high seas anymore. I’m the mayor of this town. I watched your mother slowly pass on from grief after Jonathan died and I don’t want to do it again, see?”

“Don’t bring Ma into this, either.”

Hughes glanced from the man to the statue, his bafflement clear on his face. It was like he couldn’t tell which was the statue and which was the man, which one was completely unyielding and which one was just stubborn. “Then if you really have to go up that coalstoking tower, take Tanner with you.”

Samson’s face turned cloudy. “Your lackey? Why.”

“He went home because I sent him but he wants a piece of old Nighburg, same as you. His sister sent the boy here to learn a trade because she trusted her brother. Hank was a gem, Samson. He didn’t deserve that.”

The big man thumped one heavy hand down on the mayor’s shoulder. “What’s in this for you?”

A weary look crossed Hughes’ face. “If it’s not clear yet, I don’t trust these outsiders. Ironic, I know, since I settled less than a decade ago over your papa’s objections, but there it is. I was the same kind of man as them. Someone needs to keep an eye on them and you two are the ones they’re most likely to bring with you.”

Samson thought it over for a moment. Then he looked up at the statue, nodded to himself and looked back at the mayor. “Fine. If the sheriff is okay with it. Did you talk to him?”

“No. Let Tanner work on him. Don’t mention this conversation to any of them, okay? I brought you out here because I don’t want them hearing we doubt them, not even the sheriff.”

“If you say so.” With that Samson turned his back on the statue and walked back towards town.”

Previous Chapter

“The sheriff told me von Nighburg cursed the waters of the cove at one point,” Roy said, taking them out over the waves. “You know a lot of the Sanna’s dousing magic, right? Can you check ocean waters for magic? Or is it something you can only do with rivers and underwater reservoirs?”

“Not from up here,” Proud Elk said. “And I have never tried a dousing on such a large body of water. Back before your people pushed mine out of the place you call the Lakeshires the elders say we could douse the Lakes. But I’ve never done such a thing and I don’t know if the ways are different than what I’ve learned.”

Roy nodded, shifting his attention to the lighthouse itself. He’d never actually been in one but from the outside, without one of Warwick’s candles to reveal anything, it looked much like any other lighthouse he’d seen before. “In that case let’s take a closer look at this thing. You watch the signal lamp and reflector and-”

A flare of light from the docks caught his attention. In front of him Proud Elk also shifted to look that way, his normally stoic expression suddenly apprehensive. “Is that Silver Glass?”

“Looks like his kind of magic,” Roy said. “But you’ve seen it before and I think you’re feeling something off about it too, am I right?”

“I’m afraid you are, Bright Coals. I think we must leave the tower for now and ensure that all is well with him.” As he spoke he readied his club and a collection of herbs, woven bead talismans and other magic tools of his people. “And hurry. I fear not all is well in that man’s village.”

Roy adjusted the skiff’s helm, putting the skiff in a tight turn and pouring on the speed so that the small, aluminum craft swung about like a paper in a breeze. They shot over the water as fast as Roy dared to go. In truth the docks were so close to the lighthouse that they couldn’t run up to anything like the skiff’s top speed but given the unknowns of the situation it wasn’t wise to approach that quickly anyways. Instead he ran up to the speed of a fast horse and covered the distance to the docks in just over a minute. They found a scene from nightmares.

Johan’s magic had gone haywire, two of the mirrors askew and sending beams of solid light into the air at odd angles and the remaining two beams crossing on the twisted, barely recognizable body of a ten year old boy. Hank’s body looked like giant hands had grabbed it by the top and bottom and twisted it around twice. His arms and legs pumped and churned around the torso at unnatural angles. From the kind of damage he had sustained the child should have been dead but Roy could see his eyes rolling and fingers twitching.

Something was laughing with a wild, shrieking voice that felt like dead iron filings burning their killing paths up and down his back. In the strange beams of light from Johan’s mirrors strips of flesh full of grinning, gaping mouths hung in the air. It was like looking through windows to a world of malicious glee. Roy dropped the skiff to the ground and left it there with the hull quietly sizzling on the ground. He yanked his falcata free of its sheath as he vaulted out of the skiff, his bag of supplies slung over one shoulder.

There was something terrible in the laughter. Some kind of empty, devouring will that sapped every feeling that welled up to him in response to what he saw. For years Roy Harper had traveled the West, disposing of the worst humanity had to offer. In that time his ambition and search for justice had cooled in the face of the daunting task and a certain cynicism and anger had taken root. The sight of Tanner’s nephew writhing, suspended in the air like that brought all those emotions to the fore. But as he took the first few steps towards the boy that changed.

He looked so silly, spinning like that, with nothing to hold him up but a few beams of light and the laughing voices that leaked out of them. How was he supposed to take that seriously? Roy found himself coming to a stop, a strange feeling working up through his chest. His shoulders shook once. Then his throat spasmed as his face contorted a bit. Then a deep, stomach clenching laugh erupted from his lips like a fish, caught on a brazen hook, being dragged from the depths of the ocean.

In his blood and in his bones small reserves of fire, trapped in nearly invisible flecks of sulfurite that had lodged in his body a decade ago flared to life. The traces of magic rushed to his mind and burned away the laughter there. Just like that his equilibrium returned and his rage, his bitterness, his purpose and his hope rushed back in and filled him to overflowing.

Roy snarled and ignited his falcata, the roaring flame drowning out the insidious laughter. He’d never been happier to hear the whispers of fire in the back of his mind even though he still didn’t trust them. With his mind clearer he could take in more than the horrific thing at the center of the square. Johan was wrestling with his lightbox, trying to wrench it out of the teeth of one of the strange mouths that peeked through the beams of light. Whatever they were they were real enough to be dangerous. The yew in Brandon’s body had asserted itself and now covered him from head to toe, with the toes turned to roots that let it dig deep into the ground. His face was still visible but from the grimace on his face he was struggling not to burst into laughter. He’d wrapped an arm around his sister’s waist and she leaned heavily against him, her mouth open in a wordless song that either didn’t carry over the cackling rift in space or resonated at a pitch humans couldn’t hear. Only Warwick was on the ground. He huddled over a single candle that spluttered and flared wildly, threatening to sear the hands he cupped around it.

Outside of the thing fighting Johan, Roy couldn’t see anything like an active threat to deal with. As he traced the beams of light a beaded loop dropped around his neck, dampening the sound of the strange cackling. Beside him, Proud Elk pointed at the mirrors. “You must destroy the glass, Bright Coals,” he yelled, straining to be heard over the laughter. “It’s become a window into something else!”

Roy wasn’t sure how he knew that but for the moment he was willing to trust the Sanna man’s intuition. Instead he dropped the tip of his weapon downward, letting the fat, heavy tip of the blade fill with flame before he drew it back and catapulted the fireball towards one of the mirrors. His aim was a little off so Roy reached out with his mind and tweaked the projectile towards its target. He followed it in just to be sure.

Whenthe fireball hit the small pane of silver and glass dead center it shattered from the heat, spitting slivers all over the ground. As he withdrew his attention from the flame it brushed up against something. At first Roy thought he’d found the connection between light and fire that Johan used though his sunstone. But the thing was far too vast. For a brief moment Roy felt like he’d brushed against an Avatar of the Primeval Fire, a creature so foundational to the universe that it permeated the entire cosmos. He’d seen such things before.

However this wasn’t one of them, although it felt similar in terms of size and scope. From his own, human position Roy couldn’t tell much about whatever it was other than it moved lazily, less like a flame’s insistent whisper and more like an amusing dream. What’s more, Roy somehow sensed it was pure power. Like flame, it was all force with no vessel at all and, by its very nature, it found all attempts to pour it into a vessel as amusing as they were futile. How do you contain a dream? The very notions are antithetical.

It was very tempting to linger on the connection but Roy new he couldn’t. It wasn’t until he tried to come back to the moment that he realized he was lost. He was lost, unsure of where he was or if what was around him was even real. Sight didn’t really apply to what he was experiencing, only his instinctive connection to the Fire gave him an sense of the distorted reality he’d wandered into.

That, and his ears. They picked up a low, steady, wordless tune sung by a dusky, feminine voice that reminded him of a cool, shady forest in the northern Lakeshires. As soon as the thought crossed his mind Roy found himself standing under a mighty stone dolmen. The wild, overgrown roots of a huge yew tree covered the ground around him and its branches loomed low overhead, the leaves turning brown as it slowly died. Roy’s breath caught in his throat as he realized where he was.

Two stone megaliths stood upright to his right and left, holding a third slab ten feet above the ground. It was one of a dozen such structures that formed the Morainehenge. It looked exactly like it had when the 43^rd Infantry marched under it at the end of the Siege of Martin Southwick. Roy picked his way forward, carefully stepping over the roots. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen strange things in the middle of a theoretically pitched battle against the supernatural. Tetzlani creatures, in particular, seemed to love this kind of thing.

He was aware, in the back of his mind, of the sound of shattering glass and yelling voices but focusing on them right now was likely to prove counter productive. He did notice that the ground shook underfoot when he heard the smashing sound, though. Lingering too long was probably a bad idea.

“Now where did this come from?”

The question drifted out of the center of the henge. Roy recognized the voice, too, and picked up his pace as much as he could without getting tangled in the roots. “Warwick? Is that you?”

“Harper?” Actually, the voice didn’t sound distant at all. As soon as it reached him Roy found himself standing next to the sheriff by the trunk of the mammoth yew tree that had once been the Master of the Morainhenge. “What’s going on here?”

“I think we’ve come across an aspect of the First Elements,” Roy said. “I brushed up against it while manipulating a fire and found myself here. It’s not a part of the Primeval Fire, that I’m certain of, but it sure feels like some kind of magical power rather than a vessel. So my money is on-”

“It’s not the First Elements,” Avery said, his hand resting on the trunk of the tree and his face pensive. “Whatever it is thinks and only those things that are truly alive think. The First Elements are powerful but they’re not really aware like living things are, they just exist and push towards their own ends.”

“What do you mean they’re not alive? Haven’t you heard of the Mated Pair?”

“They’re no longer truly elementals,” Warwick said, resting his head against the treebark like he was praying. “When the Lord in Raging Skies married the Lady in Burning Stone they created a balance of all four elements that transformed them into a single, living unit. That’s why Arthur gave them a name as a united deity. But the aspects of the First Elements don’t truly think they just seek their aspects and express them.”

Roy walked up to the tree and examined it, wondering if it fascinated the sheriff for the past it represented or as part of their present predicament. “Okay, I don’t fully understand that gobbledygook. Even assuming you’re right about it all, how do you know for sure this thing out here is a real, living thinker and not just an elemental good at faking it?”

“Would you understand the nuance if I explained it?” Warwick asked.

“Probably not,” Roy admitted grudgingly, studying the yew tree. He wondered if it was native to the place they stood or if it was some kind of illusion or figment created by the presence they’d brushed against. “But it might be a hint for how to get out of here and I’m willing to take any chance I can get.”

Warwick jerked away from the tree as the sound of another mirror smashing echoed through the henge. “I take your point. How did you get in here?”

“I threw a fireball at one of Johan’s mirrors since Proud Elk thought they were serving as windows for your living thing to look in at us.” Roy jerked a thumb in the direction he came from. “I’m not sure how it got me here but the mirror’s gone so I don’t think we can get out that way. How’d you get in?”

“I lite a candle of telepathy and got drawn in to the thing’s mind through that magic.” Warwick studied the treeline of the forest outside the dolmen. “Interesting. When we first met I tried to pick up on your thoughts using one but you’re a firemind. I’m not certain but I think the concentration of magic in your ego allowed your mind to burn off the attempt.”

“I’ve never thought of myself as an egoist.”

“It’s a philosophical term, Harper,” the sheriff said, turning in a slow circle as he spoke. “My point is your sense of who you are combined with your gifts allows you to piggyback on the candle’s magic and walk the mindscape. Perhaps the mirror had something to do with it but I don’t think so.”

“Well regardless, if I got in by mirror we can get out that way, so long as they haven’t shattered them yet.” The ground shook and another crashing sound filled the air.

“Dust and ashes,” Warwick muttered. “You’d the mirrors breaking would cause the world to get dimmer since van der Klein wouldn’t have ways to send light in from outside. This place must have its own light source.”

“Or maybe we’re just thinking about seeing too much,” Roy replied. As the last tinkling sounds of glass faded he caught a snatch of the tune he’d first heard when he found the henge. “Did you hear that, sheriff?”

“No, what?”

“Cassandra is calling us. Or perhaps just you, doubt she realizes I’m here.”

Warwick gave him an incredulous look. “Harper, assuming this isn’t an illusion created via an unwise use of telepathy and we are actually somewhere else then what makes you think a stone singer can even reach us?”

Roy’s memories flashed back to his first meeting with the Fairchilds, when he’d watched Cassandra guide a whole army of ghosts into the afterlife. “She can call to the dead and send them on to their final resting place, sheriff. Whether this is an illusion or we were pulled somewhere via your candle magic we can’t be further from her than eternity is. If she can send people to eternity then she should be able to call us back.”

The ground underfoot bucked and suddenly he and the sheriff were born aloft on the back of a skytrain car that erupted out of the ground. The change was dizzying to watch but Roy found he kept his feet quite easily. “What’s this?” Warwick seemed less surprised by the sudden change in venue. “Is it interested in your memories now?”

“Like I said, Miss Fairchild is calling us.” Roy struggled but failed to keep a testy note out of his voice. “C’mon, last time she was at the back of the train.”

He started picking his way along the roof of the train car, occasionally looking over the side for signs of the ghost army. Sure enough they turned up, too, as Roy passed the train’s halfway point. At first Roy thought they were passive figments like the tree and train were, scenery that didn’t feel like it had any effect on what was happening. But as he crossed the gap between train cars he heard a familiar voice calling to him.

The face of Samuel Jenkins when whipping by in the crowd of ghosts, moving so fast Roy wouldn’t have spotted it if he hadn’t heard the specter calling his name. So far he’d been taking the usual amount of care in navigating the train’s roof. When he spotted the ghost moving past he put on a burst of speed, crossing the vehicle’s roof at a dead sprint as he tried to catch up. Behind him, Warwick sputtered in surprise and poured on the speed.

“Harper!” Jenkins’ voice rose over the sounds of the train and the strains of Cassandra’s song. “Sorry I’m not there! Turns out death isn’t at all what I expected it was.”

“What in the name of hearthfire are you doing here, Jenkins?” Roy gasped, leaping between the train cars.

“There’s power in any oath, Harper,” the ghost replied, almost laughing. “Doesn’t matter what you swear it on. So long has the man has honor he gives the words a power we can’t begin to understand. Didn’t think I was a man of honor but I guess I was. At least enough of one to keep my word, at least indirectly, dead or not.”

“I don’t need a ghost to help out again, Jenkins!”

“You have to understand the Voices, Harper!”

“What voices?”

“You wouldn’t know their name and if I use it they’ll hear!” For the first time since he’d seen the specter Roy heard real fear in the ghost’s voice. “You’ll understand soon enough. Be careful not to listen too much, like that blackguard did, but understand them! At least then you can avoid their grasp. Hold them off and he’ll uphold the deal!”

His mad sprint brought Roy to the end of the train and he’d been paying so much attention to Jenkin’s ghost he didn’t see it coming. One moment he was running on the train. The next moment he was tumbling through a strange world full of smoke, the solemn strains of Cassandra’s song the only thing he could see or hear clearly. Then there was a final crash.

Roy dropped to the ground, the shards of the last mirror scattered across the cobbles of the square in front of him. He was back in Riker’s Cove. The strange bars of light full of laughing mouths were gone and Johan was fumbling with his light box as he locked it closed. Proud Elk poked at the remains of the mirrors in suspicious fashion. Brandon was slowly pulling the yew back inside himself while Tanner helped Sheriff Warwick to his feet.

The body of the boy in the prism lay on the ground, twisted and broken but still gasping out wheezing chuckles every other breath. Roy struggled back to his feet and staggered over to the body, carefully turning it over with the toe of his boot. Glazed eyes stared up at him, full of madness, its jaw flopping open in a grotesque, open mouthed laugh. Tanner helped the sheriff over to look at it. “Clara,” Tanner muttered, “I’m so, so sorry.”

Roy wordlessly offered the man the hilt of his weapon. Tanner stared at it for a moment, disgust and pity warring across his face. Finally he shook his head and turned away. It was a decision Roy could respect but it didn’t change what needed doing so he cut the boy’s head off and covered the corpse with his jacket.

---

When the light in the square faded peace returned to the town again. As if the passing of danger sent out a call, what seemed like every person in town came running to the scene of the disaster. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of people poured out of buildings towards the center of the commotion. None of them looked up towards the lighthouse.

There was no one to see the shadow of a man, watching them with a scowl from the top. He pounded the wall with his fist once then grabbed up a gleaming staff and stalked down into the tower, muttering to himself. Perhaps the men of the Cove would have relished the victory if they knew they’d won it. Perhaps not.

However, the statue of Jonathan Riker saw it.

Previous Chapter

Riker’s Cove was quiet that evening. There was nothing unusual about that, of course, but the quiet had a sinister cast to it. A trio of small creatures with a fell light in their eyes crept through the streets, breaking off in different directions and vanishing into the shadows. Then, just after sunset, a wistful melody carried through town. The mood over the town lightened. The sheriff hustled through town to a house near the water.

For the next hour or so two small forms watched that house, their eyes alight with anger and uncertainty. Then they abruptly got up and ran off. They scrambled down the beach to the long pier leading to the lighthouse and the statue of Jonathan Riker watched them go.

There were still many shadows over Riker’s Cove but for the moment the waxing moon banished them out to sea.

Brandon studied the sheriff named Avery with curious eyes. Harper had mentioned that many of the druids from Columbia’s Stone Circle still walked the land but Brandon hadn’t expected to find them holding office in public service. He’d assumed resentment or distrust would preclude it.

Warwick worked his magic for some ten minutes on the boy they’d found by the docks, apparently using a thistledown candle to peer into his memories in an attempt to learn the fate of other missing children from the village. Finally he admitted defeat and extinguished the candle, then thanked the family and spent a few minutes more reassuring them they’d done all they could to help find the other two missing children. The sheriff also took the time to check the house’s perimeter. Finally he approached Brandon and his sister. “Well met, Sir Fairchild,” Warwick said. He touched his fingertips to forehead, a gesture that represented removing a helmet among friends. “I have a lot of questions to ask you but I feel we’ve imposed on the Strathmores long enough. Would you and your companion, Miss…”

“Cassandra Fairchild, sheriff.” Cassie dipped slightly in an abbreviated curtsy.

“If you two would care to join me in my office then we could discuss things without bothering them further.”

Warwick turned and gestured to the door with obvious meaning. Brandon gave Cassie a questioning look. His sister had been quietly humming a tuneless note from when they’d discovered the boy out by the docks at dusk until shortly after the sheriff arrived. Since then she’d kept her peace, which he took as a good sign. Now she gave him a slight nod, telling him she was in fact done with whatever she’d been doing. “Of course, sheriff,” Brandon said. “It would be our pleasure.”

Cassie looped her arm through the crook of Brandon’s elbow and allowed him to lead her through the town. While it was of low intensity she’d spent a long time flexing her talent for stonesong. He wasn’t sure what the exact price for that would be but her vision had to be impaired to some degree at the moment. So Brandon kept an eye on her steps as they walked. He didn’t want to embarrass her by waving a hand in front of her face while the sheriff was present but he wasn’t about to let her fall flat on her face either. However, even if she was completely blind for the time being she could still listen.

While they crossed the town she closed her eyes and tilted her head this way and that as the cool ocean breeze swept through her hair. If she heard anything unusual she didn’t mention it. They reached the town jail without incident. “Thank you for being so accommodating,” Warwick said as he unlocked the front door and ushered them in. “The last month and a half have been trying for the Strathmores. I’d rather they have their peace.”

“I’m happy to give it to them, sheriff.” Brandon replied, guiding Cassie over the step and into the building. “It’s the duty of every Knight on errantry to uphold the virtues of Chivalry. How could I ignore a child in need? How could I impose on his family once the need was met?”

“Fair questions,” Warwick said. He closed the door to the jail and offered the two chairs in the front room. He perched on the edge of his desk. “I’d say your answers do you credit as a knight. I am curious, though. How did you know Stu was in distress? I’m told the ensorcelled children like him appear normal to the passing observer.”

“Perhaps,” Cassie said as she made herself comfortable in her chair. “But he didn’t sound normal to a stone singer.”

Both Brandon and Avery raised their eyebrows. Avery presumably in surprise that she was a stone singer and Brandon that she so easily revealed that fact. Avery set his candle on the corner of the desk and inspected Cassie with more care. “That’s a rare gift, Ms. Fairchild. If its not prying too much into your secrets may I ask in what way you determined something was wrong? Could you repeat it?”

“Every person has a melody to their life, sheriff.” Cassie hummed a few bars of slow, almost sleepy music. “That’s yours, for example. A thoughtful, deliberate tune to reflect a trained and careful mind. When a person is ensorcelled, their tune goes off key or, in extreme cases, it becomes dissonant.”

“That’s the only thing such a sound could indicate?” Warwick asked.

“It could be several other things. But Stewart wasn’t off key at all. He wasn’t even making music. All I could hear was a single note, sustained indefinitely, as if the melody of his life had shrunk into a single, constant scream. I knew we couldn’t ignore that. Unfortunately I’ve never heard anything like that before so I can’t guess whether other people will be the same under the influence of the same magic.”

“Well, your actions are commendable although it’d be better if we knew you could repeat it.” Avery steepled his fingers and studied Cassie in the same way senior knights from Avalon would. Like a new variable on the battlefield. “How did you go about breaking Stu’s enchantment?”

“I just sang a tune.” Cassie smiled her most disarming smile, the kind that kept their father wrapped around her finger. “Everyone has a tune they’re supposed to sing. If they lose track of it often the best way to help them is to sing your own song with them until they find their own again.”

Avery’s lips pursed like he’d just eaten something sour. “That seems a bit simplistic.”

“Simple, perhaps, but not easy to do, even if you know what you’re doing.”

“I suppose.” Avery rose and paced along the side of the building. “Well, it is good that Stu is safe and if you’re willing to help free the other two children that were taken with him I and their parents would be very grateful. But I am curious. You said you were here on errantry, Sir Fairchild. May I ask the nature of your quest?”

Brandon laughed. “You’ll find it ridiculous, I’m sure.”

“No more so than anything else in the Columbian West, I’d say.” Warwick gave them an inscrutable look. “So what is it?”

“The Secret of Steel. What else?”

Avery’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? I’d heard Stonehenge still searched for that bit of myth from time to time but why come here? The Sanna aren’t known for their metallurgy. The Hispaniola that rule Tetzlan guard the local magic jealously…”

“Technically we’ve been tasked with retrieving some of the Founder’s writings that came over with the first round of Knights that Avalon sent during the Sanna wars. Pellinor’s Journals, The Archives of the du Lac Lineage. But,” Brandon gestured to his sister, “technically it’s her quest. When she came of age she heard the call and the Founders decided to send her here. As far as I know Stonehenge has never sent a stone singer to this place on this quest so I think they were hoping she’d hear something new.”

Avery returned to his spot on the desk, his attitude curious now. “Have you had any luck?”

“We’ve heard a… name?” Cassie put a note of uncertainty in it. “Perhaps a title? Supposedly there’s a man in brown who carries a sword of steel and is called The Strongest Man in the World. Have you heard of him?”

“Yes, the Hodekkian,” Warwick mused. “He knew Jonathan Riker somehow, came to the dedication of his statue. He carried one of the curved swords their people favor at the time. A tachi, I think it’s called? He never drew it, though, so I assumed it was bronze like any other.”

“We’ve heard its a silvery metal that isn’t aluminum,” Brandon said. “It’s not much to go on but it’s a start.”

Avery frowned. “But he’s not here in the Cove. Believe me, I’d know if he was.”

“No, we haven’t heard that,” Cassie put in. “We came because we heard the sheriff’s deputy was also a knight from Morainhenge. We hoped he might know the fate of the henge’s relics. When we arrived we were told the sheriff had no deputy so we thought the man had moved on. Turns out he was just promoted.”

“As you say,” Warwick agreed. “Unfortunately I can’t help you. The Master did empty the Reliquary before Morainhenge fell but he didn’t pass them out to the standing knights. He gave them all to the assistant master and told him to find new, worthy guardians for them. I clearly wasn’t one of the worthies. I’ve heard rumors about Assistant Master Oldfathers in the years since but I’ve never seen him in person.”

Brandon sighed. “Well, don’t feel too put out. We’ve heard variations on that story at least a dozen times in the last year and a half. As near as we can tell only one Morainhenge knight was chosen by one of your relics. Very strange.”

“Oh?” Warwick’s brows shot up again. “Who’s that, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“A knight of the First Circle, very green at the time of the Lakeshire War, apparently.” Brandon drummed his finger, trying to dredge up the right name. “Was it Nat Thorton?”

“No,” Cassie said. “Nat was the one who survived. The one who received it first was Cole Thurmond. Nat was his squire for most of the war. When the assistant master brought Cole the Bedrock Shackles after the war they found both were able to wield them.”

“That’s right,” Brandon remembered it clearly now. “But Nat told us Sir Thurmond died running down the leader of a rogue Sanna warband about three years ago and the relic passed to Nat.”

Avery nodded. “I remember Thurmond and Thorton. They were good men, although not very remarkable from what I remember. I suppose time changes us all.”

“I suppose so.” Brandon got to his feet and reached down to help Cassie up. “Well, we will keep looking. Do you think we can be of help with the other children missing from the town?”

“Perhaps.” Avery studied Brandon for a moment. “Although I’m not sure if you’re quite up for dangerous work just yet. What happened to your leg?”

Brandon hadn’t thought he’d been favoring it that much but the sheriff must have noticed. “I injured it fighting some gold drinkers a few weeks ago. The Hearth Keepers have done their best but its not back to normal yet.” He wiggled his foot back and forth. “It’s useful for day to day work and if things turn bad, well, I cultivate the yew so I think I can compensate for it. I don’t expect a few ensorcelled children to be that dangerous.”

“So Roy Harper didn’t tell you to expect danger?”

Brandon suppressed a sigh. He’d hoped all the talk about errantry and relics might sidetrack the sheriff. Clearly the man knew his work better than that. When they’d first arrived in town Brandon and Cassie had discussed how to answer the sheriff if he asked them whether they knew Harper directly. Both of them had hoped it wouldn’t be necessary, given the circumstances.

“All we knew is that he left a note saying he had personal business in Riker’s Cove,” Cassie said. “He invited us to join him if we had no other leads to follow up.”

Avery tilted his head. “He left you a note? When was this?”

“About a week ago, according to the date,” Braondon said. “We met Mr. Harper in his capacity as a Railway Detective about three months ago. He offered his home in Keegan’s Bluff as a base of operations for our search. Since then we’ve spent much of our time traveling across the West and so has Mr. Harper. We’re rarely at Oakhart Manor at the same time so we leave messages for each other with Mr. and Mrs. Gardener who watch the house when Mr. Harper is away.”

“And he left you a note about Heinrich von Nighburg?”

“No, as I said he mentioned personal business here and that he’d heard there was an old knight from Morainhenge here. I’m not familiar with the man you name.”

Avery’s eyes narrowed. “He’s responsible for kidnapping Stu Strathmore and the other missing children. Do you often coordinate your work with Harper’s?”

Cassie shook her head. “Mr. Harper supports our quest and lets us know when he hears things that might help us but we only coordinate with him when Brandon’s sense of chivalry drives him to meddle, like with those gold drinkers.”

“Yes, that happens.” Brandon managed not to roll his eyes as he said it but it was a near thing.

“How was it that you wound up on the same train as his friend van der Klein?”

“Mr. Harper suggested we travel with him in his note,” Cassie said. “I suspect it was an offer made for our convenience. He tends to be very considerate of our traveling needs, seems to think it’s his duty as a host.”

“That’s commendable of him.” Warwick grunted and folded his arms over his chest. “He didn’t mention having a stone singer as a resource.”

“Of course not,” Brandon snapped. “He doesn’t speak for my sister or I and he wouldn’t presume to.”

Avery sat a little straighter, looking chagrined. “Of course not.”

“Would it changed your decision to have him leave town?” Cassie asked.

“Not really.” Avery took his thistledown candle and removed it from its base, carefully reforming the still soft wax with his fingers as he spoke. “The fact is I don’t trust firespinners to consider the good of the town first. Just having another ally with unusual talents doesn’t change that equation in a meaningful way. The fact that he was in the Regulars doesn’t help.”

“How did you know he was in the Army?” Brandon asked. “I was under the impression it was rare for people who lived this far West.”

“On the contrary! I’d guess old Regulars are more common out here than in the East these days.” Avery shrugged. “Jonathan Riker ran here to escape the war before it started. Many, myself included, came here after to escape its ghosts. But to answer your question, I knew Harper was from the 43^rd Infantry because most people who know about firespinners know that. He’s actually rather famous in these parts.”

Cassie got up and took Warwick’s candle off the desk and held it for him as he worked the wax drippings into it. “So you disliked him because you were at odds during the war?”

“Plenty of Lakeshire born firespinners out here, ma’am.” Avery took the candle from her and held it up for inspection. Cassie favored him with another winsome smile. “Though I suppose the old loyalties did play some factor in my decision.”

She nodded in understanding. “And now that you know there is another druid vouching for him, does that change your opinion of him?”

The sheriff gave her a sharp look. “I thought I was the one who looked into minds.”

“That’s you, certainly,” Cassie said gravely. “But I can hear a great deal that people leave unsaid and often that’s what’s most important. So how is it, Sir Warwick? Will you let the two of us, Mr. Harper and his friends help you save these children?”

Warwick stared at his candle for a long time then sighed and set it down on his desk. “Alright, Miss Fairchild. You’ve got a deal.”

Previous Chapter

The newest strangers in town had very different priorities from the last group. They never came to the graveyard. That didn’t mean they escaped the patient watch of Jonathan Riker’s statue. On the contrary. After first arriving they went down to the beach where the young man bathed one leg in the ocean. His sister kept him company, occasionally serenading him with snatches of light, wistful song.

Other than that small excursion they didn’t leave the inn for the first day. They were more active the second. The two of them walked up and down the docks, chatting with the captains of small fishing boats and tramp freighters. Money changed hands as if they planned a trip by sea in the near future. And they ended the evening on the beach once more, bathing the man’s leg and pensively watching the setting sun as it sank beneath the horizon, skewered by the Cove’s lighthouse like a giant, burning orange.

---

The town got very quiet at sundown. Avery found it strange, as habits formed years ago in Palmyra told him the cool evening was the perfect time for candle making. The rhythms of seaside life were very different from those of a druid’s forest stronghold. The morning tide was vital to the people of Riker’s Cove and it came well before sunrise. By sunset most people were long asleep.

As the town’s primary peacekeeper Avery did his best to remain awake until the night was well underway, so as to be on hand in case brigands tried to take advantage of the cover of night. He remained at the jail, his lone thistledown candle burning. With his senses expanded he looked out across the town, listening for the sound of thoughts. There were limits to his range, of course. With only his candle burning he could pick up on thoughts within twenty feet or so of where he sat. But if anyone lit the candles he’d shared with them he would pick up on their mind right away.

Well, with some exceptions. Roy Harper had proven immune to the candle’s power, somehow. Perhaps the hint was in the name of his talent. He hadn’t learned much about druids with the firemind but it stood to reason that such a person would have firey thoughts and that may explain the way the candle reacted to Harper’s mind by flaring up instead of carrying his thoughts. Avery hadn’t worked out a possible solution to the problem yet.

Fortunately Harper’s Sanna friend hadn’t been so impenetrable in his thoughts. Proud Elk had heard something from Harper that convinced him that following Harper could keep their promise to old man Riker one way or another. Avery was expecting the two of them and their friend from the train to turn up again any day now. Probably not by train. Most likely by horse, possibly by boat. Yet so far there was no sign of any of them.

Not for the first time he wished he could find a willing deputy. Sadly there hadn’t been any takers since von Nighburg reminded the town that the law was potentially a very dangerous profession. No one wanted to take the risk of wearing a tin star just to keep the peace.

Such grim thoughts kept him company through dusk. The evening was about to tip over into full night, the waxing moon high overhead just a sliver from fulfillment, when one of his other candles flared to life on the other side of town. Avery scrambled to his feet, snatching up his sword. With his candle holder in his left hand he bolted into the streets. The jail was high on the hill leading out of the Cove and the Strathmore home was almost on the waterfront. Even at a fast walk it took him almost ten minutes to get there.

He covered the last few hundred feet with a growing sense of unease. The closer he got to the house the more the smoke from his candle seemed to thrum with some other magical force. There was a large spell at work and Avery suspected von Nighburg was the source. The emotions of the family coming through the candle’s magic were mixed and the ethics of searching their thoughts directly outside of an active threat were clear. It was a dark thing to do and he wasn’t willing to take that step yet.

Avery did his best to work out how many people were in the Strathmore house before he knocked. He didn’t know the family well. The father was a fisherman and his steady, watchful presence was immediately obvious. The mother was equally apparent. Her concern and drive to nurture those in the house carried clearly through the candle, bright as flame. The Strathmores had three children, though one was currently in the clutches of the black magician that lurked in the lighthouse. Unfortunately, while there was a jumble of youthful excitement in the house, it was too chaotic for Avery to determine how many people were feeling those emotions at the moment.

Most surprising was the addition of not one but two other sets of emotions. One had an air of watchful satisfaction. The other was the source of the mysterious thrumming Avery had felt for the last few minutes. Judging that cautious optimism was the correct approach, the sheriff loosened his sword in its sheath but didn’t draw it. Instead, he knocked on the front door of the house.

Aaron Strathmore answered a few moments later, clearly expecting him as the Strathmore patriach quickly swung the door open and motioned him in. Avery glanced around the main room. Stairs to a loft, small kitchen area underneath, the stove in the opposite corner, doorway to the master bedroom of to the right. A large family table dominated the room and Rachel Strathmore sat there, her oldest child wrapped in her arms. The other two clustered around her, excitedly talking over each other. Standing by the back wall were two strangers with similar faces, a brother and sister at a guess.

Aaron closed the door quickly behind the sheriff. Before going any further into the room he took Strathmore aside and whispered, “Who are those two?”

“Out of towners,” Aaron replied. “The brought Stu back about twenty minutes ago, easy as you please. You wouldn’t think he’d been missing for weeks.”

Avery’s own experience suggested it hadn’t been quite as simple as that. “Did they say where they’re from?”

“Avalon.” Strathmore shrugged helplessly when Avery gave him an incredulous look. “How should I know for sure? They don’t sound like any Columbian I ever met but I’m hardly the expert now am I?

“Okay, I’ll talk to them in a minute. Is Stu all right? Is he acting strange that you’ve noticed?”

“No,” Aaron said, folding his arms. “I’m worried that being a captive so long might have hurt his mind but he seems normal and I didn’t want to worry the missus, see?”

“I understand. I really need to ask him some questions but I can wait ’til the morning if you’d like some more time to let him rest now that he’s back. Just keep in mind that we don’t know what might have happened to him in von Nighburg’s care. Does he remember anything?”

“Not that he’s said.” Strathmore shook his head in a resigned fashion. “Ask you questions now, sheriff. There’s still two missing children and if Stu knows how to help them we’d better find out as soon as possible.”

“Appreciate your cooperation.” Aver stepped over to the table with Aaron, who offered him an empty chair. The sheriff sat while the boy’s mother turned the child to face him. Avery removed his hat and laid it on the table. “Hello, Stu. How are you feeling?”

The child looked up at him with guileless brown eyes. “Hello, Sheriff Warwick. I’m feelin’ pretty fit, I guess, except Momma says I’ve been gone for six weeks and I don’t remember any of it.”

“Sounds like you’re doing alright, son.” Warwick smiled in spite of the serious situation. The energy and excitement in the boy’s voice felt infectious and had none of the sickly magical overtones of enchanted feelings. But Avery’s good mood quickly passed. “Stu, did you know that there are children besides you missing from town?”

Stu shook his head and gave his mother a questioning look. She nodded. “It’s true, Stewart. If you can think of anything that will let the sheriff help them it could be very important.”

Stu screwed up his face in a caricature of concentration. Then he slumped in dejection. “Sorry, sheriff, I really can’t remember anything.”

With a nudge Avery put his candle directly between them. “If I have you permission, Aaron, I might be able to help him remember.”

The Strathmore patriarch glanced at the candle then back at the sheriff. “By magic?”

“Thoughts and memories are my specialty. The candle generally facilitats communication but with a little time and work I can delve into parts of his mind he normally doesn’t recognize.” Avery got up and crossed to the window then took the candle there back to the table with him. “We might be able to dredge up something that way.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Not dangerous, Mrs. Strathmore, but it could certainly be called invasive. Like the barber checking your teeth for cavities.” Avery sat down with the second candle just in front of him. “Shall I?”

“There’s other children out there missing,” Aaron said. “We gotta help as we can.”

“If it’s not dangerous I think a little discomfort couldn’t hurt,” his wife added.

Avery stared at Stu across the candle flames. “What about it, Stu?”

The boy gave his parents a confused look. “But-”

“I heard them, son, and if they’d said no then that would’ve been the end of it. But you must agree as well.” Avery cut the beginning of his mother’s objection off with a look. “Listen well, Stewart Strathmore, for today you cannot be a boy. Today you must be a man. Only a man can take responsibility in a matter such as this.”

His mother overcame Avery’s glare and her objection burst out. “That’s not fair!”

“It was unfair when he was taken from you for six weeks, it was unfair when his memories were taken from him and it was unfair when the burden of being the only lifeline for others was placed on him.” Avery folded his arms across his chest and glared at the boy’s parents. “I won’t add to the unfairness by taking his decision from him.”

“I’m not scared!” Stu exclaimed.

“Good.” Avery gestured at the candles. “Then look at the flame and see the magic there. Have the courage to ask yourself whether you are prepared to grapple with it. Don’t be afraid that you’ll be a coward if you say no.”

Stu stared at the candle for a long moment his expression wavering from awed to nervous to solemn. “What will happen when you do the magic?”

“We’ll look into each other’s thoughts and memories at least as far as we’re able. My mind is very well trained so you probably won’t see much beyond me working the magic. However I’ll be able to see almost everything you’re thinking.” Avery gestured around the room. “Anything you’re thinking about your family, your favorite memories, any grudges between you and your brother and sister. Of course I’ll be looking for you memories from the last six weeks. However there will be many things besides that which I learn in the process because that’s how the magic works.”

Stu looked at him for a long moment then asked, “You won’t tell anyone? Promise?”

Avery considered how to best assure him of that then raised his right hand. “I am Avery Warwick, Knight of the Third Circle, and I serve at the pleasure of Arthur, First and Forever King of Avalon. In rain and sunshine I walk among the stone circle and steward its legacy for the coming generations and I swear on the Stones of Morainhenge all I learn from you will remain secret, save what is needed to defend the innocent.”

Avery felt the magic of the oath catch at him. It had been almost a decade since he’d sworn by the Circle and it felt different to him now. Perhaps the destruction of Morainhenge had changed the nature of his oaths. Perhaps the lack of another Knight to witness and solemnize the oath weakened it. Perhaps he was no longer worthy of his oaths. Regardless, he hoped it would be enough to convince the boy.

“I am Bradon Fairchild.” Avery nearly jumped out of his seat – he’d forgotten the two strangers in the room. The man had stepped away from the wall and also raised his right hand. “Knight of the Second Circle, servant of the Phoenixborn, sworn to defend his Circle and his Realm. I swear by the dolmen of Stonehenge, if this man forswears his pledge and breaks that circle then I shall teach him the error of his ways.”

The magic roared to full strength. Contrary to his musings of a moment ago, Avery felt the binding nature of the oath fall on him stronger than he’d ever felt it before. The magic of the oath settled into place, a gleaming ring formed around his right wrist and Brandon’s. Then the magic settled in place and the ring faded from view.

“There you have it,” the stranger said. “The strongest promise we can offer.”

Stu watched the proceedings in open mouthed wonder. Once the oath was done he snapped to attention. “Okay. Then I wanna do the magic.”

Avery had to shake off his own moment of nostalgia after experiencing that familiar ritual for the first time in ages. He nudged the candles into position and said, “Then look here. Let yourself relax and think about a recent memory. What was it like when you came home tonight? Think about that.”

The sheriff let his eyes go unfocused and sharpened his attention to the candle. He felt the boy’s memories radiating towards him on the waves of heat from the flame. Confusion and surprise at his parents teary delight when he walked in the door. Then, earlier, meeting a pretty lady singing on the street. Earlier still, the Riker girl taking him to meet a strange man.

Tall, dressed in a tunic that looked like it came from two hundred years prior and wearing a richly embroidered red cloak. He had a salt and pepper beard and flinty cold eyes. In his right hand was a staff with a gold banded crystal at the top. The staff was clad in a strange, silvery metal. Based on the description on the wanted poster, Avery guessed this was Heinrich von Nighburg.

Avery felt a pang of confusion. He moved forward in Stu’s memories and returned to the moment the boy met the songstress. Then Avery worked backwards with greater care. Yet no matter how careful he was he found the same fragments of memory and nothing else. It was like the whole time he’d been missing Stu Strathmore had been asleep and formed no memories at all.

Previous Chapter

The sheriff led the two strangers out of town, the shorter of the two still protesting. “I know you don’t want our help, Warwick,” he was saying. “But van der Klein is your last, best hope to sort things out before it goes sour. The three of us are the only ones coming to help you. It’s not like the Knights of Stonehenge are going to show up unbidden.”

“That’s fine, Harper,” Warwick replied in a more normal tone. “You just tell your friend there to get back on the train and light out to other parts.”

“I’ll be back if we learn anything about that lighthouse of yours,” Harper replied.

“Just send a note.”

The sheriff watched as the two men approached a third, a tall but thin fellow with a very pale face and hair. They argued for several moments but by that point they were far enough away that their voices didn’t carry to the statue. Neither sheriff nor the three he watched paid any attention to the other two passengers who got off the train.

But Jonathan Riker’s statue noticed. They were young, a man and a woman. They had very similar faces and blonde, curling hair and they moved with determination and purpose, though the man favored his right leg. As they passed the first buildings in town the man paused just long enough to look back and watched Harper and his friends climb on the train. Then they vanished into the heart of the Cove.

---

Johan van der Klein fiddled with the sides of the small black box that sat between him and his old friend. Roy was gnawing on a roast chicken leg while Proud Elk explained why the sheriff of Riker’s Cove threw them out of town. Every so often Harper would add a bit of context or fill in a detail. Johan thought the most interesting bit was the fact that Sheriff Warwick was a master of candles of revealing. Even among the druids such people were rare.

“Did you ever work out what the first candle he burned was?” Johan asked when the story was done.

“I was assuming it was a single instance of the candles he used in his office,” Roy said.

“Did he light it with the others when he showed you the house?”

Roy thought about it for several seconds. “No, now that you mention it I don’t believe he did. Any reason he wouldn’t? The others were a lot more burned down than the one he greeted me with.”

“Harmon’s Sons don’t have very many records of encounters with druidic magic techniques,” Johan said, pulling one side of his box so it slid an inch out along the grooves it sat in. The dull gleam of a mirror inside it caught the light from the afternoon sun. “Candles in particular are a tricky business to work out. Most druids give form to magic using plants as their medium of choice. They awaken trees that are too small to have minds of their own, they exist symbiotically with plants like the yew or ivy, they burn incense to release power from herbs and the like. Very few mesh directly with magic like you, Roy.”

Roy tossed his chicken bones down on his plate and looked warily around the hotel restaurant they sat in. They weren’t the only guests there but few seemed interested approaching the table where the three sat. There was a ring of empty tables all around them, as if Roy’s hostile attitude and reputation as a bounty hunter and monster killer repelled the peaceful people of Loewenburg. Satisfied he wouldn’t be overheard, Roy asked, “So what about the candles? Do you have a guess as to what they do?”

“Hard to say.” Johan carefully shifted the sides of the lightbox so the mirrors caught the light and focused it so it created the illusion of a flickering flame. “Druidic incenses do many different things and candles are similar in their approach. A lot of powerful magic herbs are toxic on some level and druids build up a resistance to them during their training. However the toxins in some herbs are so concentrated that the dose in normal incense is still too high enough to kill. Other herbs release magic so powerful it’s impossible to control except in the smallest amounts. So druids weave a few threads from the plants into candle wicks. That produces smaller, more manageable doses of magic – or toxins – that make the plants a usable lens to shape the magic.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that,” Roy said. “I knew a Harwick once. He could use a candle to turn to smoke and pass through gaps in walls and the like.”

“That’s not one I’ve heard of before.” Johan continued to tweak the shape of the light from his box to create more and more illusory candles. “Sadly, it doesn’t help us figure out what Warwick’s candles might do. The reasons druids chose candles as a medium for magic are secondary to the actual function of the magic they are creating. The candle is just a way to regulate it safely. There are potentially as many different kinds of magic candles as there are fibrous herbs to put in their wicks. If it wasn’t one of his candles of revealing I can’t guess what it is from what you’ve told me.”

Roy shook his head. “Those revealing candles work very fast and very obviously. Whatever that other candle did it was much more subtle.”

“Were the flames of the revealing candles silent like the one he brought to your first meeting?”

“Couldn’t tell.” Roy sketched the bars of a prison cell with his hands. “Iron in the bars, remember? That tends to dampen out the voices from an open flame unless the fire in question is much larger than the intervening iron. That’s one reason I carried an iron weapon for years. Helped me sleep with a campfire nearby.”

“Well, given the kinds of magic they tended to put in candles we can assume it’s a very powerful working we’ll have to be cautious of.”

Proud Elk studied the flame illusion intently. “It has been many years since I have seen such craft, Silver Glass. It seems much more impressive than a bit of candle wax.”

“Well, the First Son of Harmon was a true genius. But whether he was an equal to the First and Forever King of Avalon is very much an open question and one we’ll likely never see answered. What is certain is they created very different kinds of workings. The magic of light is much more ephemeral than that of the great, growing things of the earth.” Johan collapsed the lightbox down to its base form, closing up the many mirrors and leaving only the black lacquered exterior showing. “I would have liked to see this lighthouse. Changing the bend of space is a very difficult thing to achieve.”

“Ever seen anything like that before?” Roy asked.

“Problem is, like a druid’s candle, it could be any number of things,” Johan mused. “Illusion, actual bending of space or just creating a link between the top of the tower and distant place. But there’s no way to narrow it down without testing things.”

“Does it matter?” Proud Elk asked. “I did not see much of that man’s town but I did notice that every house and shop with a window had a candle behind the glass. Based on what you’ve said I do not think this can be coincidence.”

Roy nodded. “I saw them at the inn, too. I suspect our good Sheriff Warwick passed them out after von Nighburg came to town. Usually his lot are stingier with magic than that.”

“What about your friends?”

Proud Elk gave Johan a questioning look. “I thought all of us who signed the Pact were accounted for.”

“We are. But I met two travelers from Avalon on the train and learned they were coming to meet Roy as well.” Johan ran a finger along the edge of this lightbox. “They got off at the Cove but the sheriff clearly wasn’t expecting them. The girl seemed to know what was going on somehow.”

“Very sharp ears on that one,” Roy said. From the faint smile he had when he said it, Johan guessed that was all the explanation they were going to get. He’d been tight lipped even as a kid in the Regulars. “Her brother is a fully fledged Knight of the Stone Circle, straight from Stonehenge itself. They’ll stay ahead of Warwick pretty easily. Hopefully they can figure out a few things for us before we get back there.”

“You’ve got a lot of faith in those two,” Johan said. “I suppose it’s yours to give.”

“I was kind of winging it, to be fair, but we got as good an outcome as any of us could hope for,” Roy said. “I was thinking we’d give them a day to look around and then sneak back up on the Cove and whistle for the Fairchilds.”

“A serviceable plan given the circumstances,” Proud Elk said. “There is one question – no, two, that it leaves unanswered.”

Roy quirked an eyebrow and said, “What’s bothering you, Proud Elk?”

“First, we do not know why Heinrich von Nighburg chose this lighthouse building in that man’s village.” The Sanna man ticked off the possibilities on his fingers. “Is it a place of power? Is it the tides and ocean? Was it simply a convenient thing he found?”

“You’re an expert at dousing and the other river magics of the Sanna,” Johan said. “Do you have an opinion?”

“Like you, I would have to go there and examine it to make any kind of guess. That brings me to the second issue. What will we do if breaching the lighthouse requires some kind of talisman or special ritual that we do not know? The sheriff was unable to divine a way in. If we try and fail we will have revealed ourselves to von Nighburg and the sheriff.”

“A moment, gentleman.” Johan turned and motioned for one of the hotel’s waiters.

The man hurried over, smoothing the front of his suit. “Can I help you, sir?”

“Does the hotel have an almanac available?”

“Of course, sir. Would you like to see it?”

“Please.” Johan ignored his friend’s questioning looks.

It took only a moment for the waiter to return with a thick book in hand. He passed it to Johan, who quickly began flipping through it. “Is there anything else?”

“This will only take a moment.” Johan found the entry he wanted and skimmed over it, making a note of the timing of the situation, then handed it back to the waiter. “Thank you, that will be all.”

Once they were alone again he continued, saying, “We can solve the second issue by waiting another day to return to the cove.”

“Why’s that?” Roy asked.

“Low Noon is in two days. It’s a time of portent when the barriers between what’s seen and unseen are very thin and many forms of magic become more powerful. I believe we can create a new entrance to the unseen portion of the lighthouse – or perhaps drag it into our world – with the added power of the lunar eclipse on our side.”

Proud Elk frowned. “I have not heard of this Low Noon before. Lunar means the moon, but the what is eclipse? Why do you name it like you do the highest moment of the day?”

“Is that important?” Johan asked.

“It is a time of portent,” Proud Elk said in disapproval. “Shouldn’t the name have portent as well?”

“A lunar eclipse is when the moon is overshadowed by the earth,” Roy answered. “I believe the Sanna call it inil’anawak? The moon is full then turns dark for several hours.”

The Sanna man nodded. “I suspected as much but I also wish to understand why you’ve chosen this name.”

“Well, as I understand it the name came about because a lunar eclipse is the opposite of High Noon. Night versus day, happening rarely instead of daily, moon and sun.” Roy shrugged. “I don’t know the exact origin of the phrase. You know we’re not as particular about these things in Columbia as you folks are, Proud Elk.”

“On the contrary, Bright Coals, even in this I feel there is much to learn about your people. Now, I have a third question.” He turned to Johan and said, “Given the nature of this time won’t that make your magics difficult to work, Silver Glass? I recall you needed light to work them.”

“Not to worry. It’s been eight years since we went down to Tyson’s Run. I’ve picked up a trick or two that let me work my arts even if there’s no light at all.”

“Then we’ll leave in two days.” Roy got up, straightening the front of his vest with a sharp tug. “Until then we’ll make preparations as needed. I’ll arrange for a boat or skiff, I don’t think the sheriff will expect us by sea. Meet here this evening to check in.”

“Who will pilot the boat?” Johan asked.

“I have stood at the rear of many a canoe,” Proud Elk assured him. “I may need to spend some time outdoors tonight. Look for me tomorrow evening.”

“We may need you for that Proud Elk, although I’m going to be looking for something very specific. I’ve used them before working with Books. It’ll depend on what’s available out here, though, so if I can’t find it we may need your expertise after all. I’ll let you know for sure when you get back.” Roy stood up and gave them a sharp nod. “Get to it boys.”

Johan picked up his lightbox and got to his feet. A house outside of the world as they knew it would be a real challenge. The First Son of Harmon created the lightbox as a versatile and easily transported tool for the working of his arts. But a lot of sacrifices were made to achieve that versatility and portability. For a challenge like von Nighburg he was going to need more mirrors.

Previous Chapter

Most visitors to Riker’s Cove came by skytrain, validating Jonathan’s long push to build a formal station for them in town. However Riker himself and many of the first settlers arrived by boat. Indeed, the docks still accepted many newcomers to town in the present day. While popular, these large forms of transport were didn’t always fit the needs or wants of a man traveling alone. The trains in particular weren’t welcome in lands controlled by the League of the Sanna, either.

So it was no surprise that the Sanna man who came to Riker’s Cove the day after Roy Harper arrived on horseback, rather than by train. He rode in about late morning, old buckskin pants and worn linen shirt hidden under a long, brightly beaded coat. He gave the graveyard a wide berth. Jonathan Riker’s statue was not slighted by this as the customs of the Sanna and the Columbians were very different in regards to death. As they were in many ways.

However, when searching for someone the basics are much the same from one culture to another. So the stranger went to the hotel first. Then he crisscossed the public square a few times, visiting the pub, the smithy and the general store. Finally he went to the jail. But Sheriff Warwick was out at the moment so he sat down on the doorstep and waited.

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Avery didn’t know any Sanna men, so when one turned up outside the jail he was more than a litle surprised. The dark skinned man regarded him with impassive stoicism as he approached. Avery returned the sentiment. Before the Lakeshire War druids primarily drilled with the expectation that they would be called up to fight the Sanna when hostilities broke out between their nations again.

Ultimately that never happened but that didn’t mean there was no low level violence between the Sanna and the Columbians. Out in the west it was actually pretty common. But it was rare for them to come so far south.

Avery tipped the brim of his hat to the stranger. “G’morning. Can I help you?”

“Good morning.” The Sanna man stood with an effortless grace and spoke with the precise diction his people were famous for. “You are the sheriff of this town?”

“That’s right. I’m Avery Warwick, and you are?”

“You may call me Proud Elk.”

That was an awkward name and no mistake. Avery was tempted to ask how he’d say that in Proud Elk’s native tongue but he knew some Sanna tribes really hated revealing things like that. “Okay, Proud Elk, what brings you to my jail.”

“I came to this town to meet Bright Coals, the man you call Roy Harper.” Proud Elk tilted his head and pursed his lips oddly, seeming to indicate the jailhouse. “I am told he is here.”

Avery reassessed the Sanna man. He’d never heard of their people sending out firespinners or bounty hunters but there was a first time for everything. Problem was, he wasn’t sure how Proud Elk would react if placed under arrest. “Well you were told correctly. You’ll have to leave any weapons outside so as to ensure there’s no jailbreaks.”

Proud Elk nodded and extracted a whip club from his jacket. It was a heavy stick of hexwood with an equally heavy sulfurite crystal embedded at one end and a long, fifteen foot vine extending from the other. Sanna braves were supposed to be deadly with them. Avery took the weapon and found it to be very unwieldy in the hand. “You will allow me to speak to him now?”

“Sure. Come on in.” Avery unlocked the door and ushered Proud Elk into the jail.

“What crime did Bright Coals commit that you were forced to jail him? I have heard he’s quite scrupulous.”

“I am.” Roy got up from the bench where he’d been sitting and approached the bars of his cell. “Hello, Proud Elk, good to see you. Did you bring Many Herons with you?”

“The Elder was recently injured and is unable to travel. Your Thaddeus Heller now serves as mayor of a town and his obligations prevent his travel right now. They have had a difficult time.” Proud Elk looked uncomfortable crossing over to the empty cell, conspicuously avoiding meeting Harper’s eyes.

“I know Sam Jenkins is dead,” Harper mused, drumming his fingers on the bars. For some reason that was enough for Proud Elk to relax. “Add in you and me and that’s five accounted for.”

“Many Herons sent a message to Lost Crow but he returned to the north and we do not know where he lives now. It may take weeks to reach him.” Proud Elk finally met Roy’s gaze. “That’s six. Do you have any news of the other two?”

“Ty Hutch went prospecting from what I heard. It may take even longer to reach him than it does Lost Crow and we have semaphore towers to work with.” Roy sat back down on his bench. “Van der Klein is on his way. Not the greatest response we could hope for. Three out of eight.”

“No one thought only eight would live, much less that they would be such as us.” Proud Elk frowned his disapproval. “So why are you here in jail, Bright Coals? We gave our word to that man that we should defend his family and home yet you are unable to do so. Such a mistake is unlike you.”

Avery cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Proud Elk, but is it possible you’re also here to hunt down Heinrich von Nighburg?”

“Yes. As a brave of the Sanna I must uphold the promises we made to the founder of this town.”

He said it with the kind of grave certainty that suggested he thought everyone present understood him. Most Sanna spoke that way. In fairness, the Sanna prided themselves on learning languages and clearly speaking them. From the amused expression on Harper’s face he knew Avery was lost. He didn’t leave the sheriff in the dark long.

“Did you ever meet Jonathan Riker, Sheriff Warwick?” Harper asked.

“No, I came here about six years ago. He was dead and buried by that point.”

“You ever ask how he died?”

“I heard he went off to sort out some kind of problem up north before it got to the Cove but he never came back.” Avery frowned. “I always got the impression the townsfolk didn’t approve of him doing that so I never pushed to hard on the topic.”

“Yeah, I heard that, too.” Harper gave Proud Elk a look but it seemed to go right past the Sanna man. “Well, have you ever heard of the Summer of Snow?”

“Couldn’t hear about anything else back when I was coming out this way.” Avery raised his eyebrows. “Why? Is that the trouble he went to deal with?”

“One and the same.”

“Wait.” Avery massaged his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “Why wouldn’t people want him doing that? The Summer of Snow wiped out crops all over the West, nearly caused a famine over thirty counties. Stopping that was heroism on par with Arthur and the Founders. Why not talk about it?”

“Because he died doing it and it was his connections that brought half the ships here each year,” Roy said. “At least, that’s what I heard at the dedication ceremony for his statue.”

“Okay, I can somewhat understand that,” Avery conceded. “So historical facts aside, what does this have to do with you two?”

“When the snow was at its worst, sixty men from the northern Sanna tribes and the Western Columbian counties gathered in Leondale,” Proud Elk said. “We agreed that the cold must be broken, no matter the cost. If it remained it would cost us family and home and ultimately our lives.”

“But some folks weren’t keen on chasing down hunger incarnate,” Roy added. “If they died they couldn’t do much for hearth and home later, after all. So we made a pact. Anyone who survived would take on the obligations of those who died. We didn’t expect the numbers would be so lopsided at the time.”

“Nine all told, wasn’t it?” Avery rummaged through his memories and came up with half a verse of half forgotten song. “Sixty one men went down to Tyson’s Run and nine emerged when battle was done.”

Harper visibly flinched but Proud Elk didn’t seem to notice. “Not entirely correct,” the Sanna man said. “As I said, there were sixty of us in Leondale, the last man was someone we met at the sawmill by the river.”

“This is important because?”

“That latecomer was one of us who survived,” Harper said. “But he wasn’t a part of the Leondale Pact.”

Avery quirked an eyebrow. “You didn’t invite him, then?”

“I didn’t.” Harper shot Proud Elk a sideways look. “Did you?”

“The Sanna have learned it is better not to request help from him.” Proud Elk shrugged. “I don’t expect him, either way. Chipped Ax spoke as if he had contract with him recently.”

“No wonder he didn’t come,” Roy muttered. “Old man Heller must really be in a bad way if he cut another deal with him.”

“So that’s all very interesting,” Avery said. “But it’s not relevant to my main point. Proud Elk, I’ve arrested Mr. Harper because I don’t want him or anyone else tinkering with Heinrich von Nighburg. He’s a very dangerous man and the threat to the people of this town if you go and fight him, then lose, is very real. You’re not Columbian, so I’d prefer not to arrest you, too. But I will if I have to.”

Proud Elk scowled. “The pledge to that man is a matter of the Sanna’s word, not Columbian law, Sheriff Warwick.”

“Well we both know Sanna words can be pretty flexible. Ever heard of the Diamondback River massacre?”

Roy hurried to interrupt before Proud Elk could let loose the indignant retort building behind his stormy eyes. “Sheriff, do you really think you can keep things going like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Black magic isn’t a spell or a crime, it’s a way of life. Once you start killing for power its hard to stop.” Harper braced both feet on the floor and leaned forward until his nose almost touched the bars. “Von Nighburg is going to kill again.”

“Mr. Harper, that’s a remarkably astute observation. My concern isn’t maintaining the status quo indefinitely. I just need to stay the course until I can find a way into that coalstoking lighthouse of his. Since you didn’t even know it existed when you got to town I presume you didn’t come with a solution in hand.” Avery gestured at the pile of loose paper Harper had squirreled in the corner of his cell. “Unless you’ve worked it out over the last day?”

Harper absently ran a thumb over the spine of the book that sat on top of his messy scribbling. “I’m afraid not. However, Johan van der Klein is a Son of Harmon, one of the deepest theoretical magic traditions on the continent. He may be able to tell us something when he arrives.”

“He coming on that L&K train this afternoon?”

Avery’s question was rewarded with a chagrined look from Harper. “Yeah, I suppose he is.”

“Well the three of you can get back on it and leave, thank you very much.” Avery sat down at his desk and picked up his candle holder. “I respect your dedication to an old promise. Most men wouldn’t go so far for someone who died six months ago, let alone eight years. But I have access to many sharp magical minds from the old days. If you want to protect Riker’s home and family you’re much better off leaving this in my hands. ”

Proud Elk stirred. “Our oath-”

“One of von Nighburg’s hostages is Jennifer Riker, Jonathan’s granddaughter. Please. I’m begging you, leave this in the hands of someone who knows the town and who they’ll trust.”

For a moment the Sanna man looked crestfallen. Then he rallied, turning stubborn and saying, “The word of the Sanna is not-”

“Sheriff,” Harper interrupted. “May I have a moment alone with Proud Elk?”

Avery nodded and got to his feet. As he walked out of the jail he lit his candle and sat down on the doorstep. He’d give them all the time they needed so long as they finally agreed to leave in the end. In the mean time he trimmed up his candle, lit it and waited.