Author of SF and Fantasy erotica

Epilogue

Claire emerged from the tower doorway and stepped out onto the eastern wall of the Dusk Ford in the dark of the early morning. She leaned heavily against the stone and looked out over the mountains. The clouds continued to wreathe the dark giants in a hazy blanket, yet she never saw the rain. Curious. Was the wetness of the earth then due to groundwater from subterranean supplies of liquid?

Her mind latched onto the simple question at once, glad of a problem that she could potentially solve. It willingly moved away from the refugees from Slate and the Black Palace now teeming in the Dusk Ford’s courtyards, the village of Hilldown with its unknown fate so far away to the west, the eerily bowing shapes of the ghouls that littered the land. And the silence of the east. Her dear, dear friends. Still no word.

Claire drank deeply of the cold wind as it brushed through her hair and then carried on towards the river at her back. Then it would pass over the forest, over Ducal Rout and the villages of the west. Maybe it would even reach the walls of the lands beyond. Yet, she remained here. It wouldn’t carry her away with it, like she wished it would. The wind wouldn’t untether her from this mortal coil, the way she wanted.

Charisse… Had she been wrong to leave him behind to readily? Perhaps she should have argued. Perhaps she should have followed him when he left. He wouldn’t have known she was there, the dull brute. But once the two elderly slaves from the kitchen had calmed down with a prayer to Oculus, they had told her of others that would need freeing. And Claire had let herself get distracted from the plight of Charisse and Lyssa and had thrown herself into the rescue of the unwilling workforce of the Dark Lord. Together, they had all slunk away from the Black Palace. They had passed by the great mass of Dark Adherents running to witness the fight taking place in the throne room, and they had escaped to safety.

That had been days ago. Claire tapped her fingers on the stone of the Ford’s high wall in a bid to relieve herself of her excess energy. Then, she started tapping her foot. When that also didn’t work, she pushed off from the wall and made to descend the steps to the earth once more. Maybe she could be back at the Black Palace again by tonight if she left-…

“Ho, there! Slow down, girl!”

Claire almost bumped into Ermengarde, and she stepped back with an apologetic smile. But before she could explain her reasoning for rushing off in search of her most precious of friends, Ermengarde’s yew staff bonked her right on her head. Claire flinched away with her hands on her wounded crown.

“I know that look,” the elf seer said with narrowed eyes. “You wish to run off and do something drastic. Something like going to find Charisse and Lyssa in the depths of the Dark Lord’s domain.”

“It has been too long,” Claire argued with a scowl. “We should have heard word of them by now!”

“Which means one of two things.” Ermengarde lifted her free hand and began counting off on her fingers. “One, they are dead, in which case, you going there will make you dead also. Or two, they have a reason to remain in the shadows. Since we do not know what that could be, I would say caution is our best ally.”

Claire shook her head. She wanted to remind Ermengarde that she only felt that way because brash adventuring had gotten her beloved Delain killed. But she didn’t say that, of course. She was no monster.

“Let us bolster our forces for a little while longer,” said Ermengarde. “We need not venture forth into the unknown as just a small band, remember. We can take a great mustering of the people of this land. Word is out that this place is safe from Karaszen’s influence. Just imagine what we will be able to accomplish once the first waves of humanity come to our doorstep. Dusk Ford may be the new centre of a revolution of the light, the beacon that will bring an end to the Era of Shadow! Doesn’t setting out under such a radiant banner sound better than rushing in unprepared?”

“You think that because you are arc penka,” Claire argued, folding her arms. “You have the wisdom of eons to fall back on. You can afford to be patient.”

“Hm, that is true. Maybe I know nothing after all.”

Ermengarde wandered away from her, over to the wall of the fortress. Her diminutive height meant that she couldn’t see over the top, so she had to hop. Once the elf had her arms hooked over the rim, she pulled herself up. It looked uncomfortable with her legs dangling, but she didn’t complain. Claire joined her.

“This age is beyond my kind,” said the seer. “This is a time for humans. Feel free to ignore me, Claire. It turns out that I might not know what I am talking about.”

“I would still value your advice, if I may receive it,” said Claire with a sigh. “I find myself without friends in this moment.”

“Friends are important.” Ermengarde looked over at her with a warm smile. “And I am yours, Claire. For as long as either of us live.”

Claire felt her heart pattering. She was going to cry again, she just knew it. But before she could emit the first sob, Ermengarde’s face was lit up with warm, red light. Both of them turned towards the mountains with wide eyes.

The sun was rising. The gloomy clouds over the Black Palace had parted for the first time in Claire’s memory, and the sun was finally allowed to trail across the sky unimpeded. It did so now as a glorious, red sunrise. Claire let out a breath from between her lips.

“It’s beautiful!” she sighed.

“How interesting.” Ermengarde’s eyes were narrowed as she regarded the sun.

“What is wrong?” asked Claire. “Is this not a good thing?”

“Perhaps,” the elf said with a shrug, almost losing her purchase on the wall in doing so. “It could be good, or it could be ill. The portents are… Never mind,” she amended. “It means that we have interesting days afoot. And that is the best place to be, in my humble opinion.”

Claire let herself drink in the heat of a new day. She tried not to worry about Charisse or Lyssa or the fate of humanity. All of that would come in time, whether she was rushing towards it or not. She closed her eyes, readying for herself a prayer to Oculus for the blessing of peace. And as she did, Claire heard the soft chuckling of Ermengarde.

“Interesting days indeed,” she said.

END

pathoflyssa