The Shadow of Eons

Chapter 26

They killed the armored man together, and then Oliver gave Jonas the privilege of killing Lahey, to the pleasure of the cheering crowd. Jonas slowly walked up to the contorting man and stood there with his sword poised. "Why would Catherine want to disable us?" he shouted at him.

"Why do you ask this?" Lahey gasped, throwing himself this way and that. "I have no idea! All I know is that she is a malevolent—" and he gave a keening cry of pain. "Just get it over with, will you?"

"Gladly," Oliver said, and thrust his sword into the man's chest, which took skill, as his body was a rapidly-moving target. The sword entered Lahey's heart; he gave a final spasm and died.

"No! Oliver! Why did you do that?" Jonas shouted. "I needed to ask him some more questions!"

Oliver actually yawned. "I am sorry I caused you distress by killing him," he responded, "but it needed to be done. I did not know that the man was an alien from another world, but if he is, then the gods, with me included, can spearhead our defense against their malevolence. We are in good hands, not to worry."

Jonas had no rejoinder; he simply stood there and fumed. The crowd was still cheering, and several people threw down garlands of flowers. Oliver smiled, picking up one garland and throwing it back into the stands. "Quite a nice touch, don't you think?" he said, offering one to Jonas. "Put it around your neck, it will look good on you."

"Why did you come back?" Jonas asked, having to shout his question over the cheers.

Oliver was busy taking in the adulation of the crowd. "If you must know right now," he said, "it is because the ring I am wearing had a similar effect on me that your sword had on you when you first took it: it caused me to become quick to anger. And perhaps greedy, too, if you must know. I think that there is much to ringcraft that my mother did not tell me. Frankly, she didn't have to, and I don't blame her. I think the sword and the rings are essentially the same—whoever forged them will have to confirm my case, but he is probably already long dead.

"Come. Let us escape this wretched hole in the ground. Rose came with me—she is waiting for us, as well as an envoy from Zabaton, although you should not let anyone know of that fact. See? There is the ladder."

Rose! Jonas breathed an inward sigh of relief. The urchin girl had come back to the only family she had: Jonas himself. Although perhaps by now Oliver could be counted, as well as Lucille, Marta and Agatha.

A ladder was being lowered down by two soldiers, and they descended to retrieve the bodies of Lahey and the nameless man in armor. Jonas, Oliver and Jarron followed them up, to the cheers of the crowd, and then they were brought to stand before of the king. The king was flanked by the Hand and the mustached man in the military uniform, who promptly sneered at the men as they kneeled before them. All three of them remained kneeling, gazing at the ground before the king, until he commanded that they raise their heads.

"That was a little unorthodox, wasn't it?" the king remarked acidly, causing them to tense, and then he laughed a great, booming laugh. "You didn't actually think I was angry, did you? A little unpredictability adds spice. But my, that was a short fight. One second, the fight has started, and the next. . . poof!" and he snapped his fingers. "At least you had the grace to ask the earl for his last words before you killed him. Well, what did he say?"

Jonas stood humbled. "Well, he had much praise for his majesty, and he said that if there would just be a nice memorial for him in the garden, then he would be honored beyond measure and would rest happily in The Garden of the Gods. He said he knows that—"

"Nonsense," snapped the king. "He wouldn't want a memorial made for him. He wouldn't want anything of the kind. That's not what he said, and you know it."