It looked as though I would be unable to meet James at the carriage house but luckily I still had the wooden message box, so I sent him a short note detailing the recent events and requesting they meet me at the palace.
My official story was that the Count di’Cameron had been summoned for an audience when the dragon attacked and partially destroyed the palace. I had no particular explanation for the shining god but I discovered quickly enough that few people questioned the king. I told a harrowing tale involving magic and the timely intervention of one very heroic wizard, Mordecai Illeniel. By the time I had finished my tale I was quite impressed and almost wished I could meet this amazing hero, for certainly I bore no resemblance to him.
When James and the others arrived that evening I had them brought in to one of the private guest suites (the royal chambers were partly demolished and unsuitable for visitors). Once I was sure that there were no eavesdroppers I dropped my disguise and addressed them as myself.
Because of his magesight my change in appearance was no surprise to Walter, but the others were still a bit shocked. “Damn Mordecai! Give us some warning next time!” said James.
I wanted to laugh but I was too tired to find the energy. “I did warn you as I recall.”
He snorted, “I mean, right before, that was hours ago. A man needs a chance to prepare himself.”
I wondered at the quirks of a man who had been unfazed by an evil wizard possessed by one of the dark gods assaulting his home, yet who found my sudden change of appearance unsettling. I passed over his remark and went on, “I am about as bone weary as a man can get. If you don’t mind I’ll get to the details before I collapse.”
After my transformation my physical body had emerged unharmed, but my mind was beyond tired. The sensation was similar to having stayed up three or four days without sleep and I was beginning to see double. “Let me tell you what occurred on our end first then,” replied James and he began to describe their raid on the Doronite compound.
It had started well, as they had easily gotten inside with the aid of Walter’s invisibility. When they reached the area where the hostages were being held things got a bit out of hand. Harold had tripped and alerted one of the door guards, partly because he couldn’t see while invisible. Fearing the worst he had slain the guard and an alarm went up.
The Duke’s men outside were waiting for a problem such as that and had been given orders. When the cries rang out they stormed the small collection of buildings and the fighting turned bloody. Meanwhile Walter and Harold had secured Walter’s wife and son, but they found no sign of his daughter. The older wizard’s wife was named Jessica, and some of the guards had played a cruel prank upon her, telling her that her daughter had been slain.
Neither she nor Walter had known the truth of the matter, and her husband reacted rather badly. Despite James’ efforts to calm his men they had taken no prisoners, or more precisely, Walter had not. He had even gone after the few that escaped into the forest, though he wouldn’t say what he had done to them.
I had a very good idea what the other man had been feeling. “I have excellent news for you Walter. Your daughter was here, though she gave me a bit of a hard time about being rescued.”
“What?!” he managed to say, before he lost the use of his voice. The news overwhelmed him to such a degree that it was some time before I could finish my story and we all got a bit misty eyed.
Then I explained what had happened in the palace, though I abbreviated the story as much as possible. Still, much of the tale was outlandish so I had to repeat some parts several times. Near the end I pulled out the glowing stone that held Celior, “Here, this is it. Now do you see?” Harold had asked me one too many times what the stone looked like.
As I drew the stone out it filled the room with a soft golden light that pulsed gently. Its presence in the room left no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was indeed a living thing, even if it did appear to be just a glowing rock. “What are you going to do with it?” Harold asked.
I rubbed my short beard, “I have no earthly idea. I will have to find some use for it though; otherwise it will eventually destroy itself and free Celior. We can worry about that later. First on my list of priorities is getting some rest.”
I had already shown Walter the spell for imitating the King’s voice, as well as demonstrating it for him. He had known how to disguise his appearance beforehand so that wasn’t a problem. I could see he was reluctant now when I mentioned him taking my place as Edward. After a moment I realized why. “You haven’t seen your daughter yet!” I exclaimed, “…or spent any time with your wife and son. I’m sorry Walter! I didn’t think.”
He shook his head, “No Mordecai, you’ve done enough for me today. I don’t mind this duty if it will help keep the kingdom in one piece.”
I started to argue with him, for I couldn’t stand the thought of him being separated from them any longer. It had been four years for him already. “Let me handle today and you can take over for a week or so after that,” I replied. “I’ll just sit down and rest my eyes for a few minutes and I’ll be right as rain.”
Needless to say… I didn’t wake up again anytime soon.
Epilogue
I woke in bed several days later. I might have slept longer but for the loud snoring in my ear. Penny lay beside me and her pregnancy had done nothing to diminish her nighttime noise, quite the opposite actually. I smiled and watched her for a while. Finding her beside me was the best thing to have happened to me since she had been kidnapped.
Using my fingers I lifted a stray piece of her hair away from her mouth and nose. I tried to do it without disturbing her but her eyes opened anyway. She had become a light sleeper as her belly had grown.
We spent a long time there, simply watching each other in the dim light. I could have stayed that way for years, but for the urgent call of Mother Nature. When I returned from the privies I found Penny sitting up and waiting for me.
“I thought you would never wake up,” she said as I climbed into the bed beside her.
I leaned in and smelled her hair. Something about Penelope’s scent had always captivated me. It was a smell of warmth, affection, and home. “I thought I might never see you again, and for a while I thought you were dead,” I replied.
“About that Mort,” she began but I shushed her with my hand.
“I was under a bit more stress than usual when I saw you yesterday. Don’t apologize, you did what you thought best and it worked out in the end,” I told her. “I’d rather apologize to you Penny. I failed you terribly, and I’ve done nothing but struggle with that knowledge every day since I found out what had happened to you.”
She leaned over awkwardly (her belly made it difficult), and kissed me quickly. “I know that’s what you felt, but it isn’t the truth. No one person can ever be prepared for everything.”
“Do you want to talk about it? What happened after they took you…,” I asked. I feared the story she might have to tell for the guilt it might leave me with, but I had to know nonetheless.
Penny looked down at her hands, “It wasn’t pleasant but nothing happened that you should worry over. I’ll get past it.”
Something in her features pulled at my heart. “I’ll worry anyway. Did they hurt you?”
“The King or the undead?” she replied with a bitter voice.
“Either.”
“While we were with the shiggreth there was no respite, no privacy, no comfort, and no warmth, but they did not hurt me,” she answered slowly. “They wanted us for hostages, but they kept us like animals.”
A dozen questions ran through my mind but I kept my tongue and waited, watching her carefully. Penny looked away before she spoke again.