The Wayward Godking (48 page)

Jozsef Daniel and Anna had been the first to take their leave, followed by Edgard, Galindwynne and Carlisle Corrigan. Soon after their departure, the Tuathans had received a dispensation of land in the overworld and they had taken Selwig, the now-revered healer and teller of tales with them. Lucio imagined that little Selwig might even find himself with a royal title before long, but they would never know the fate of Lugh’s colorful followers. Or would they? Would Selwig and Mrs. Selwig someday show up at his door for a surprise visit? Would it ever be possible? He knew the Tuathans were not staying in the underworld. That much had been made clear at the last meeting.

Twelve more longboats had arrived on the shore manned by a strange breed of elf folk dressed in long mantels with deep hoods over their heads. They worked together, quickly and quietly helping the people waiting on the beach load up their small bundles and personal effects. They would receive everything they needed from these elves. The two, moss green ships awaiting them were anchored farther out, almost invisible against the gray sky and greenish sea that seem to meld into one vast mist in the distance.

Il Dolce Mio had not turned out to see them off. He was prostrate with grief in his castle in the forest. Armand de Bleu had come at his behest to wish them well. The grief-stricken son of King Ramsay would never be the same after losing touch with his ‘adopted father’, Lucio, and his ‘adopted son’, Vannistephetti.

The good Queen Ereshkigal had not come to see her children off. None of them would be staying with her, and Lucio could only feel pity for her now. He wondered how long she would stay put. In fact, he wondered how long any of the greater powers of the Abyss would stay put.

A slender elf dressed in light green leather approached and saluted him briefly before they began to load one of the long boats with Lucio’s charges. Before long, he and Galen were the only ones left on the beach. One boat remained, waiting for them, but just as they were about to step into it, they heard a muffled shout from the north. They watched and waited as a black horse, bearing a lone rider topped the dunes and rode straight for them. The rider was dressed in black and his long mantel flew out behind him in the stiffening breeze. He stopped the horse a few feet away and slid to the ground.

“Brother!” Lucio smiled and then received the Templar greeting from Mark Andrew. “I thought you wouldn’t make it.”

“I was busy,” he said shortly before greeting Galen warmly. He glanced at the elves, who were patiently waiting for the last two passengers and then drew Lucio aside.

“I brought you a parting gift, Lucio,” Mark told him as he drew the golden sword from its black scabbard. “I wanted you to have this.”

Lucio was speechless as the former Knight of Death placed the sword in his hands.

“Since I never got to use it properly on your neck, I thought you might like to own it as a memento of our Brotherhood. It was never fair, but then nothing is,” Mark winked at him. “Besides, you might need it the next time we meet.”

“What do you mean?” Lucio frowned at him.

“Surely you should know by now.” Mark drew back slightly and glanced again at the elves.

“But we’re leaving…” Lucio began and then stopped.

“We never really leave, do we?” Mark asked him. “Didn’t you learn anything in the Halls of Amenti? Just as the stars are born again and again from the destruction of stars before them, we go on and on. There is no Death for us, Lucio. No Knight of Death. No grave, no tomb. It simply isn’t possible. As much as we might like to think it could be so. Take the sword, but beware the edge, it cuts both ways.”

“But what about you? Won’t you need it?” Lucio asked him as he examined the perfection of the legendary blade.

“Dunna ruffle yur feathers, Brother. Fur wot? Besides… I can olways steal anoother,” Mark turned away from him and caught the reins of his horse.

“Wait!” Lucio took his arm and drew him aside. The Italian glanced over his shoulder at the others before continuing in a low voice. “What about Meredith?”

“I ’ave t’ wark on thot,” Mark answered him. “I’m not sure what she wants.”

“Were we ever sure what she wanted?”

“A good point.”

“What about Anu? Surely he won’t allow it.”

“And so th’ show goes on, Brother.” Mark stepped around him and reached for the pommel of his horse. Lucio’s smile returned when he saw the hilt of the golden sword protruding from the scabbard attached to the saddle. He glanced down at the sword in his hands. Luke Andrew’s? The Dove’s?

“Go on now before yur ship sinks and remembar this… when you least expect it… trouble comes and auld debts must oll be repaid in kind.
Spes meo in Deo est
, Brother.”

“
Santa Maria
,” Lucio muttered as he watched Mark mount the horse and ride off down the beach.

Another horse, a white horse rode out to meet him and the Italian recognized the Lily Ramsay sitting in the saddle. She caught up with her beloved ‘John’ and turned back briefly to wave at him, flashing him her wonderful smile.

“Who is that lady with Sir Ramsay?” Galen asked as they watched them disappear around the curve of the beach.

“His… wife.” Lucio frowned and pulled up the hood of his mantel over his head against the damp, and then smiled broadly. “His Queen.”

Behind him, the elven chief of their long boat called his crew of ten to oars, while the second mate took hold of the rudder. The chief struck the skin of a colorfully decorated drum with his fist. The deep boom made Lucio jump, and then he was stunned to hear the crew raise their voices in unison as they started off.

“One!” they cried from under their hoods.

Lucio turned to watch in fascination as they struck the water with the long oars and the ship slipped soundlessly through the breakwaters.

The chief hit the drum again.

“Two!” The voices of the ten oarsmen in the longboat rose again together and the Captain raised his fist again

Fine. Fine. & Fine.

Quotations taken from King James Version Bible Old Testament Books: Daniel, I & 11 Kings, I & II Chronicles, I & II Samuel, Ezekial. New Testament Books: The Revelation of St. John, Jude, Mark, Luke, Matthew. The Ars Notaria: Lapis Philosophorum, The Golden Tractate of Hermes, The Pretiosissimum Donum Dei, the Testimony of the Mad Arab and the Necronomicon
.

Contact the author at the following places:

Email:
[email protected]

Author Blog:
http://brendancarroll.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @BrendanCarroll7

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BrendanCarrollRCG?ref=tn_tnmn

And now I would like to thank all my fans on Facebook, who have encouraged me and made me feel like a real author. Thanks to Angela, Aren, David, Dean, Debbie, Celia, Harry, Heidi, J.C., Jeanette, Joyce, Tammy, Kent, Laura, Lori, Lucy, Margaret L., Margaret M., Maureen, Monna, Roe, Sandy, Sue, Todd, th’ Twos and Yo.

If I missed anyone, please know that any and all support from my fans is greatly appreciated and cherished above all else for where else does the joy of writing come if not from fans?

And last, but not least, to my good friend/fan: Sir Ed King,
Chevalier des Choses Secrètes
, who can now claim that he is, indeed, in the series: Thanks!

(Better late, than never I always say! It just took a while and a bit.)

If you are reading this, it means you are one of my loyal readers/fans, and I want to thank you personally. Since I have no idea who you are, a
personal
thank you is unlikely, with very few exceptions.  In hopes of continuing these adventures (should the apocalypse be delayed or cancelled), I would like to gift a copy of one of my other works to you. If you have not read
Tempo Rubato
,
Hounds of Oblivion
or
The Apprentice Diaries I:. The Journey Begins
, send an email to me and request a coupon code for any one of them. The code will be for use at Smashwords only. Just put the words
“The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!”
in the subject line and indicate which book you would like in the body, and I will send the code to you. Oh! And if you really, really loved the series, please do not hesitate to write a few reviews here and there or stop by on Facebook and leave a note.

Of course, if you made it this far and you hated the books, I will give you a code in spite of your questionable sanity. *Insert Smiley Here*

Good luck to you in all your endeavors and remember: Keep it simple!