Knight Casefiles Book 1: Revelations

Revelations [Chapter 36]

Chapter 36

When I came back to my senses, a light dusting of snow had already covered me. I tried to focus on the night sky, shades of gray coloring it as natural clouds deposited their load. It was quiet. Neither lightning nor thunder overran my senses.

It was over.

I heard the audible clink of metal and looked up as a greaved foot pressed into the ground beside my face. Sigrun’s form stood out starkly against the monochromatic night, a silhouette of blue on an otherwise lackluster pallet. She extended a hand and I took it.

My body ached with weariness and I felt absolutely drained. I looked around at the wreckage. Robert was lying near me, body heaving with every breath. He’d be fine. The Lodge had been leveled so now, only the first floor remained. How we got to the bottom unscathed was probably thanks to the All-Father’s handmaiden.

“Some show, huh?”

Sigrun nodded. “It reminded me a lot of home.”

“Where’s Margaret?” I asked, my voice a croak.

“I suspect bits and pieces of her are falling along with the snow,” she answered.

“Ew. Nifty, but ew.”

My eyes finally drifted to Elaine’s motionless form, lying still as if she were only sleeping. I felt a tight ache in my chest that trumped the other pains my body threw at me. I had to grit my teeth to keep the tears from falling. She wouldn’t like that. She would laugh at me and never let me live it down. I walked over to her and pulled out the dagger that still protruded from her chest, throwing it as far as I could.

I heard Sigrun’s armor clatter as she strode to where I stood. “You’ve done a great service to the universe, Chris.”

Pursing my lips, I nodded. “I know. Could you give me a few minutes? I think the universe owes me some solitude for a while.”

A heavy hand gripped my shoulder. “The universe owes you more than that…as do I.”

I glanced at her and found her smiling at me.

“You did it. You stopped a madwoman from ascending to a power she couldn’t fathom; prevented her from corrupting the souls of thousands. You have proved your worth as the Knight of Gram tenfold.” She placed a hand to her chest and I watched as a light grew from there, dim at first, then flaring into a white orb. “You have saved my life, my being, and I owe you a personal favor. Many souls were lost in that storm but I believe there’s one that matters to you more than the others, correct?”

I eyed the orb warily as she knelt down beside Elaine. I could feel the warmth radiating from it, the passion that epitomized its being. Sigrun touched it lightly to the wound in Elaine’s chest and the light flowed into the opening.

The effect was slow but sure. Color returned to her skin and she began to breathe shallowly. Mouth agape, I watched as Sigrun’s aura dimmed into nothing and a golden haze coated Elaine’s body.

“I would probably be punished for what I’ve just done,” Sigrun said, smiling tiredly. “But I’ve no regrets.”

My knees buckled and I didn’t try to stop the silent tear that seeped from my eye. I wasn’t crying, no. Men didn’t cry.

Elaine’s eyes fluttered open and I struggled to compose myself, wiping my face with the sleeve of my jacket. I felt like a kid again. Only this time, I got my wish. No matter how much I shunned my parents, I still loved them and I’d prayed for days after their death for them to come back. Everyone who’s lost someone dear to them would. This time, I hardly had to pray.