Destroyer of Worlds

4

Anxious, Hunter, Laura, Shavi and Veitch paused briefly at the entrance. Nearby, Tom held his head with both hands.

'This is it,' Hunter said. 'We can't hold back any longer. If it looks like he's going to become the Libertarian, one of us has to stop him. And by that, you know what I mean.'

'I'll do it,' Veitch said. 'It's my responsibility.'

'You can't,' Laura said desperately. 'He's the king. That's what you keep calling him. The king.'

'Throughout history, when the land has to be saved or renewed, the king has to be sacrificed,' Tom said.

'Shut up, you old git!' Laura glared at him.

'I'm just saying. If you can find another alternative… If not…' Tom looked to Veitch.

A roar echoed above the clamour of battle. Shivering, Laura watched a figure silhouetted against the flames on one of the rooftops, part-beast, part-vegetation.

'Oh God, he's come for me,' she whispered.

Cernunnos, the Green Man, bounded into the throng. He was not alone. A flash, low and lean on the edge of vision, signalled the arrival of the Puck. A glimmer of blue light. A small figure, filled with a power that dwarfed the world.

Time appeared to stand still. There was silence and a cold, cold wind as the Oldest Things in the Land drew rapidly closer, never in plain sight. And then Cernunnos was towering over Laura, and all she could see was his eyes filling her vision.

'I'm sorry,' she said.

'Do not be afraid, daughter,' his voice boomed, 'I harbour no ill feelings. You played your part well, and bore your own personal pain like a true Sister of Dragons.'

A tear of relief sprang to Laura's eye.

Cernunnos turned to the others. 'This road is nearly done, your parts played out. An end fast approaches, but its outcome is yet in doubt. Existence holds its breath, and here, in the heart of the final battle, all is still.'

The shimmer of the Puck's grin, there, then gone. 'Fools and lovers, all. The clock has turned, the final moment beat. Stay your hands now. Only three — that magic number — can stand.'

Cernunnos towered over Veitch. 'You have learned of death, Brother of Dragons. That was your role. Go now, and put into practice all that you know.'

Veitch nodded, and raced into the dark after Church.

'Lovers,' the Puck added in a quiet, enigmatic tone, 'and fools.'