Here be Monsters

CHAPTER 17

“It is an army!” Cordelia cried. “How can we stand against them?”

“You cannot!” Quicksilver snapped. “Fly, witch, while you may!”

“And leave you to face them alone? Never!”

“Even so, sister-to-be!” Alain set his shoulder against hers as he raised his sword. “We live or die together!”

“Aye, together!” Geoffrey cried, setting his shoulder against Quicksilver’s and pulling Allouette up on his far side. She stared at him in surprise, then grinned in determination and turned to face the enemy with nothing but the dagger from her sleeve.

Then, behind them, a bugle blew and dozens of horses came thundering down upon them. The companions spared a quick look back and saw a fully armored figure with the royal coat of arms on its shield, riding at the head of scores of knights and hundreds of footmen, charging down upon Zonploka and his men with lances leveled—and pointed with Cold Iron.

The two forces met with a deafening crash. Instantly it turned into a melee, monster-man against steel-clad knight, bronze swords clashing against Cold Iron. Then the footmen came charging in their hundreds, pikes stabbing upward to unhorse Zonploka’s half-armored riders, halberds chopping into the huge oxen and giant lizards they rode. The alien soldiers howled with anger and tried to defend their mounts, but steel weapons chopped through bronze and left the invaders unarmed.

Through it all rode the knight with the royal arms on his shield, shouting for the leader to stand against him in single combat, but nowhere could he be found—until Alain caught at the knight’s bridle, pointing toward the river and crying, “There!”

The knight turned his visor to follow Alain’s pointing and saw Zonploka, standing alone in the vortex as it closed about him, shaking his fist and shouting threats that nobody could hear above the din of battle.

On the slope above the riverbank, Cordelia stood holding her brothers’ hands in her right and Allouette’s in her left. Her mother Gwendylon held Allouette’s other hand while her father the Lord Warlock stood before them with Quicksilver, guarding them as the witch-folk chanted a verse in a language that Zonploka could never even guess at—and as they chanted, the vortex closed, shimmered, then disappeared completely.

The army of horrors screamed with one united voice, then fell to the ground and, before the astounded eyes of the royal soldiers, melted away into a noxious steaming brew that evaporated and was gone.

Cordelia turned and fell into her mother’s arms. Gwen reached out and gathered Allouette in, too. Rod Gallowglass turned toward them grinning, his left hand holding Quicksilver’s high in triumph. Then Geoffrey was there to claim her, wrapping her in his arms.

Gregory gazed at Allouette with longing but said only, “Praise Heaven you have come, my father! How did you know?”

“You don’t think Tuan was about to let the six of you go gallivanting off without a small army to back you up, do you?” Rod asked. “And when he found out you were going up against the supernatural, of course he told your parents!”

“I am mightily glad he did,” Gregory said, then saw Lady Gwendylon relax her hug and the two young women step back. “By your leave,” he muttered, and strode forward to embrace his fiancée.

Rod smiled and went forward a bit more slowly to take Gwen’s hand just as Alain swept Cordelia up in a bearhug. Behind them, the royal knight rode up, sheathing his sword and lifting his visor to reveal the face of King Tuan, beaming down at them.

When Alain and Cordelia finished a very long kiss, the prince looked up at his father and asked, “How did you know?”

“Diarmid was good enough to leave word,” Tuan answered, “though he was clever enough to make sure he had a full day’s start on me. I have been tracking him ever since, and the six of you along with him.”

“Of course.” Tuan grinned up at him. “It would never do for the land to be left without a crown prince, would it? Or even his younger brother!”

“And it would never do for your mother and I to be left without a son,” Tuan answered, reaching down to throw a steel-clad arm about Alain’s shoulders, “either of you.”

A few hours later, when the wounded had been tended and the dead prepared for their final journey, Gwen and Rod sat with Tuan, watching the younger contingent, who seemed to be in engaged in a very animated discussion.

“Here is a new enemy come upon us, then,” Gwen said, “one whom our children have found and driven off almost without our help.”

“They have found and confounded this sorcerer by themselves, and held him at bay until he unleashed a whole army,” Tuan agreed. “They are a brood of whom you may be justly proud, my friends.”

“Thank you, my liege,” Gwen said, smiling, “and proud of them we are. But your sons have shown to advantage in this, too—and from what Geoffrey tells me, Alain has finally begun to show the qualities that will make a strong king, those which he has inherited both from you and from Catherine.”

“Still so humble in the showing of them, though.” Tuan shook his head with a fond smile. “So anxious to be sure no one else will rise to the occasion before he intrudes! Where could he have learned such overweening modesty?”

Gwen and Rod exchanged a knowing look, then beamed on their old friend, who would never acknowledge his finer qualities.

“Thank you for kind words, though,” Tuan said, “and I am deeply proud of the lad, almost as proud as I was when he showed such excellent taste in his choosing of a bride.”

“Thank you, my liege,” Gwen murmured.

“I am quite proud of my younger son, too,” Tuan went on, “both for his courage and for his determination not to let his brother face danger alone.”

“Not to mention his carefully delaying the message to you,” Rod said, “which showed responsibility and a certain yearning for adventure.”

“Which I had thought he would never evince. Yes.” Tuan nodded. “You must be proud of your future daughters-in-law, too.”

“Yes, indeed,” Gwen agreed, “but I am most proud of their accepting Allouette so completely into their fold.”

“Yes, she had proved quite treacherous in the past.” Tuan frowned. “To the Crown also—but how can we condemn a woman who has reformed so completely as to help save both crown and country?”

Gwen fairly glowed—Allouette’s reformation, and the cure of a twisted heart that underlay it, were the greatest feats of healing she had ever undertaken, and she was rightly proud of them—but even prouder of her children being so ready to forgive.

“We can’t condemn such a woman, of course,” Rod said, then sighed. “I do wonder, though, how Magnus will react to her when he comes home.” If he comes home . . . but he put that thought away.

“If your eldest is as good-hearted as ever he was, he will give her as fair a chance as the others have,” Tuan predicted, “and she shall prove herself just as true a friend . . . What do they wish now?”

The younger generation were coming toward them, all seven together. Tuan smiled with benign interest—excellent acting in several ways.

“My liege,” Alain said with no preamble, “we have been discussing the likelihood of the sorcerer Zonploka making another attempt to conquer the land.”

“He surely will.” Tuan tried not to sound too proud. “He has lost little in this attempt; in fact, one might think he was merely testing us to learn our strengths and weaknesses.”

“So I thought,” Diarmid said, “wherefore it behooves us to develop new strengths and close old weaknesses.”

“Well thought.” King Tuan nodded. “What have you determined?”

“First,” said Cordelia, “to press the Royal Witchfolk into service, maintaining guard over this place, and any others where Zonploka might try to establish a portal.”

“Assuming that he can,” Gregory added. “It may very well have come into existence by accident.”

“I mistrust accidents,” Diarmid countered.

“Accident or intention, it could very well happen again,” Tuan agreed, “and from what you have learned of the land of Trahison, if Zonploka is not near to the portal there, then another lord who is as bad as he, or worse, shall be—so set your sentries indeed. What else do you propose?”

“To discover the reason why Cold Iron injures faerie folk,” said Allouette, “and to try to invent an antidote—for surely Zonploka must already be doing exactly that.”

“Do so, by all means,” Tuan encouraged her. “Is there anything more?”

“Only to let the peasant folk know the tale of this encounter,” said Quicksilver, “so they shall know to call for help when nightmares like these start, and not to perform the Taghairm or invite the monsters in any other way.”

“Well thought indeed. How shall you do this?”

“We shall compose ballads telling of these events,” said Geoffrey, “and give them to minstrels to sing throughout the land.”

“Well planned.” Tuan nodded. “It will require some among you to wander singing for a space, to interest the minstrels and let the songs take on a life of their own. Damsel Quicksilver, to atone for your rebellion, you were sentenced to wander the land helping the poor and weak. I hereby declare that your service to the Crown and the people has fulfilled that sentence; you are now free to settle where you will.”

“I—I thank you, my liege,” Quicksilver gasped, eyes huge.

“Yet I will ask you to wander some months more in the company of your knight errant,” Tuan said, “to spread word of these events.”

“My lord, I shall!” Quicksilver turned to Geoffrey. “Shall I not?”

“Indeed you shall,” he said, smiling and gazing deeply into her eyes.

Tuan laughed softly. “Yes, for having her to yourself and the people is far more to have her to yourself, than to share her with our court.” He turned to his son. “What more, Your Highness?”

“That is all we have thought of thus far, Majesty,” Alain said.

“And well thought it was.” Tuan turned to his most trusted advisors. “Lord Warlock? Lady Gwendylon?”

“There is some chance this Zonploka may find or make another portal and bribe a poor man, or a discontented lord, to turn traitor and invite him in,” Gwendylon said.

“Well thought.” Tuan turned back to Alain. “Set spies throughout the kingdom, seeking signs of such treachery.” He turned to Allouette. “Do you ponder what manner of signs they should seek, damsel.”

“My liege,” she said, overwhelmed, “I will.”

“I thank you.” Tuan inclined his head to her, then turned back to Alain. “Do you confer with your friends, now, about ways to set all these matters in train.”

“Majesty, I shall.” Alain bowed.

Tuan rose, grinning, and threw his arms about his sons. “I am mightily proud of you both! Go now to plot and plan.”

Somewhat dazed, the seven young folk moved off. After a few minutes, Allouette offered, “I cannot thank you all enough, and am amazed at your kindness!”

“Kindness forsooth!” Quicksilver laughed. “You have saved each of our lives this past week, lady, whether you counted it or not!”

“And it is even more to your credit that you did not,” Cordelia agreed.

“How could we think of you as anything but a friend now?” Geoffrey asked, grinning.

Allouette looked down, blushing, but Gregory’s hand squeezing hers gave her the courage to say, “I do not deserve such kindness.”

“ ’Tis more than kindness,” Quicksilver said with a touch of exasperation. “You have saved us and we have saved you, and we have all depended upon one another in battle—for our very lives! There is only one bond closer than that.”

“There is?” Allouette looked up wide-eyed. “What bond . . .” She felt Gregory’s hand tighten again and blushed. “Oh . . .”

“We have become six parts of one whole now,” Alain said, “and I think we shall have to include Diarmid in our schemes in the future, for I begin to see we may not be able to do without his wisdom . . . Lady! What have I said? Why do you weep?”

“Why, because I cannot believe my good fortune,” Allouette said through her tears, “to be so intimately accepted by those who . . . have reason to hate me.”

“Come now, sister-to-be.” Cordelia put an arm around her shoulders. “ ’Tis not good fortune, but a place you have earned—by your courage, your skills in battle and in healing, and by your good heart.”

“Aye,” Quicksilver agreed. “Accept the fruits of your goodness, for you were quick enough to claim the wages of wickedness!”

“You cannot claim the one without the other, love,” Gregory said gently.

She turned to throw her arms about him and sob into his shoulder. Gregory stared in surprise, then smiled slowly as he brought his arms up around her.

The other five did not turn away, as perhaps they should have, but only beamed fondly at their little brother and their newfound shieldmate.

When her tears had stopped and Gregory was tenderly wiping away the last of them, Quicksilver turned to Geoffrey. “You three men had best marry us quickly, sirs, for we have already become sisters under the skin!”

“The ceremony does seem to have been delayed overlong,” Geoffrey agreed. He turned to Alain and Cordelia. “What would you say to a triple-ring ceremony?”

“Why not?” Cordelia smiled around at her sibs and their fiancées. “Life for the six of us will certainly involve three rings of some sort!”