58. Dawn

Kiren awoke—as was happening more and more frequently as of late—to a slew of aches and pains.

He groaned, shifted slightly, and felt something heavy weighing down his chest. Opening his eyes, he looked down at a head of brown hair.

Lace snored softly, curled up against him like a cat.

He smiled. It seemed that she hadn’t gotten herself into too much trouble, after all.

They were in the House of Healing, which wasn’t all that surprising. After all the battle damage he’d accumulated over the course of the night, he was surprised he could move at all.

Early morning sunshine came in through the window

Lace lay on a sore spot, so he shifted a little. She stirred from the movement and looked up at him with wide, bleary eyes.

“Hey there,” he said with a tired smile.

“Hey,” she said.

“Some night, huh?”

“No kidding. I feel like I could sleep for a day.”

Kiren took a moment to check Lace for injuries but found nothing serious apart from some bruises and cuts.

“I’m assuming the city didn’t burn down while I was out,” Kiren said.

“It was a close thing, but no. Evangel is dead.”

“You sure?”

“I put an end to him myself.”

Kiren breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s comforting.”

“What’s left of the Guild are working with the city guard to put out the fires and hunt down the last of the Beasts.” Lace paused, running a hand up Kiren’s arm as she let her fingers trail the bumpy skin. “So… I heard that…”

“Excelerate’s dead,” Kiren said quickly. “Yeah. Wasn’t pretty, but he went out defending us all. It was a good death.”

She nodded, and they spent a somber minute in silence.

“I also heard something about a wolf,” Lace said.

Kiren sighed. “Can’t fill you in too much on that. It’s all hazy. I guess I became a wolf, somehow? Must be some part of my Power that I haven’t explored yet.”

“You saved a lot of people in that form, apparently.”

Kiren scoffed, shifted uncomfortably. “Almost killed some friends in the process, too.”

They were quiet for a while, simply enjoying each other’s company, too exhausted to do too much more. The subtle, flowery smell of her hair put him at ease. Even the sweat and grime that clung to her skin was somehow comforting.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Lace said after a while. “Formally, that is.”

Kiren was about to respond when he spotted some commotion in the hallway through the open door.

A man in a bloody, feathered cloak was half-led, half-dragged through the hall by two apprentices. His slitted gaze flitted about, finally settling on Kiren. He was taken away, disappearing from Kiren’s line of sight.

“It’s Eagle-Eyes,” Kiren said, tapping Lace’s shoulder. “He’s back.”

“What about it?” Lace asked. “I mean, I’m glad he’s alive and all, but am I missing something?”

“Oh. Right. You missed some important stuff last night.”

“Like?”

“Like, Jahn and Bits tried to kill the Guild Master. Bits is probably one of Fade’s children, and he’s been disguising himself to gain entrance to the Heroes’ Guild. He was looking for something here at the Lodge, and whatever it was, he got away with it. Eagle-Eyes went to pursue him. Oh, and—”

“Stop!” Lace interrupted, holding her hands to the sides of her head. “This is too much. So you’re telling me that Fade, the Fade, has been an apprentice at the Lodge this whole time?”

“One of his children, but yes.”

“And Eagle-Eyes went to hunt him down?”

“Correct.”

“Do you think he got him?”

Kiren shrugged, hissed at the pain. “Dunno. Guess there’s only one way to find out.”

He tried to stand but found that his muscles protested at every turn and flopped back down on the pillow.

“You have to rest, young man,” Lace said, wagging a finger in front of his face. “Don’t worry, I’ll go talk to Eagle-Eyes for you.”

Kiren was about to protest, but Lace interrupted him with a hard kiss on the lips.

Lace pulled back, and Kiren couldn’t help but grin.

“One when I get back, too, if you actually stay in bed,” Lace said as she sat up and swung her legs over the side.

“That’s a bribe I can get behind,” Kiren said.

*****

After some trial and error, Lace entered the room that Eagle-Eyes had been brought into.

He was naked from the waist up, much of his torso and shoulders wrapped in bandages. Mina had latched onto his arm with her long, sharp teeth, and was busy sucking away under Good Doctor’s supervision. Every few seconds, the little girl tilted her head to the side and spat blood into a bucket.

Good Doctor looked back when Lace came in. She had clearly seen better days. Red eyes, dark circles, frazzled hair.

“He was poisoned,” Good Doctor declared. “Still hasn’t explained what happened to him. No Beast did this to him, that’s for sure.”

Eagle-Eyes threw his head back and forth, face beading with sweat. His limbs had been strapped to the bed. He struggled in vain against the thick leather.

Lace helped hold him down while Mina sucked out the poison. After that, Good Doctor set to healing the worst of his injuries. Eagle-Eyes was awake for some of it, passing in and out of consciousness.

“Would you mind keeping an eye on him for a minute, daughter mine?” Good Doctor asked once she had finished, washing her hands in a bucket of clean-ish water. I have many patients to get to, thanks to this madness.”

“Of course, Master,” Lace said, giving Mina a pat on the head. She seemed to be lacking in rest, as well, and had a wide, faraway stare.

“Good,” the healer said.

She was out of the door before Lace could say another word, Mina trailing behind her like a lost puppy.

Lace seated herself in a chair next to the bed. Eagle-Eyes’ intense, yellow eyes immediately flickered open and focused on her.

“Lace Amar, listen to me, and listen well,” he said. “How much has your companion told you?”

“Enough,” Lace said. She paused. “You lost, didn’t you?”

Eagle-Eyes nodded. “I was foolish. I went in without preparation. There were too many of them.”

“How many?”

“I didn’t get a full view. A few dozen is my guess. Three leaders, all Powered.”

“Tell the Guild Master. After what just happened to you, he’ll be forced to take you seriously. They’ll have no choice but to accept that the Dark Eye is still active.”

“And I will. But the Guild is in shambles. Many have died. Bloodhound will need to divide all his remaining assets between recovery and rebuilding. he will be unlikely to entertain a notion as far-fetched as this.

“For now, you, Kiren, and Jorge are the only ones I can trust with this.”

Lace bit her lip. “Jorge… is dead.”

Eagle-Eyes closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He was quiet for several long moments.

“I apologize,” he said as he opened his eyes. “This is… not the news I would have liked to hear. Then…”

“The responsibility falls on us,” Lace said gravely. “Don’t worry, Master—you can rest. Kiren and I will find a way to deal with this.”

Eagle-Eyes grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward. “No one can expect that of you, sirrah. These Villains are strong. Do not underestimate the Dark Eye.”

“Even so…”

“Do not engage them in open combat. They fight dirty. If you must look into this on your own, keep it strictly reconnaissance. Even then, be careful.”

Lace nodded. “I understand.”

*****

The next day, a funeral was held for every member of the Heroes’ Guild who had perished during the night.

Pyres were built for them in the courtyard of the Lodge after the spawnling corpses had been tediously disposed of. There were dozens of dead, many of which had had to be retrieved from various parts of the city.

Everyone well enough to leave their beds had turned up to watch. Every apprentice and Hero. Bloodhound stood before the pyres as several apprentices walked out with torches to light them. He faced the large crowd, arms behind his back. Sage was at his side, slumped in a wheelchair.

Lace was among those gathered, near the front. Mom stood on her left, and Kiren stood on the right, reluctantly leaning on a cane.

Lace held back tears.

We lost so much in one day, she thought. Almost everything.

“Everyone!” Bloodhound said. “This is a time of mourning, so I will keep this brief.

“Each one of the people behind me who died yesterday did so honorably. They died fighting for their Guild. Their city. Their queen. We all fought to our fullest, and even beyond. Stand proud knowing that you have saved Goldbrand.”

“Why didn’t Paragon come?” asked one of the apprentices.

A chorus of murmurs went through the crowd, quickly hushed by the more seasoned Heroes.

“She abandoned us!” cried another apprentice.

Sage thumped his staff against the ground. The sound didn’t carry far, but it caused a deafening silence to fall over the courtyard nonetheless.

“Our queen is suffering from an illness that prevented her from intervening,” Bloodhound explained.

“Bullshit!” Kiren called suddenly. “Excelerate defended us until every bone in his body was broken! Paragon could have ended all this, but she let it go on! Pawns, that’s all we are to her!”

Many of the apprentices muttered their assent. Lace tugged on Kiren’s arm and tried to shush him, but he ignored her.

“Paragon believed in the capacity of the Heroes’ Guild to resolve this matter,” Sage said. “Her illness is grave, but it is true that she could have fought despite it. In fact, she wished to. I advised her against it.”

“You…?” Kiren hissed. He pulled free of Lace’s grip and began shoving his way through the crowd.

Sage nodded slowly. “Indeed. If Paragon had fought, she might have saved the city with a fraction of the casualties we suffered. Or, she might have died a noble death fighting off the Beast horde, much like honorable Jorge Router behind me.

“The latter is an unacceptable outcome. Not just a city, but the whole empire would fall. Wars would be waged. Countless lives would be lost.”

“Stop spouting nonsense, old man!” Kiren shouted. He hobbled forward on his cane, headed straight for the Grandmaster. “Paragon is all-powerful! Unkillable! The only reason she held back is that she couldn’t be asked to care one whit for her people.”

Bloodhound and Sage’s two royal guards stepped forward to protect the old man, but he waved them all aside with the tip of his staff.

“Don’t be a fool, Kiren Odirk,” Sage said. “Of course she can be killed. Our queen is more vulnerable than ever before. It is our duty to maintain the perception that she is all-powerful. This empire is still young, teetering on chaos. Her presence is what holds it together.”

“Liar!” Kiren reached the Grandmaster and pulled back his cane for a backhand blow.

Sage knocked Kiren over the back of the knee with his staff, causing him to fall down with a grunt. The second blow caught him on the side of the head and sent him sprawling.

“Tempers are flared, I understand this,” Sage spoke softly. “As such, I will have mercy on your insubordination. But know this. Jorge Router believed in what I just told you. More than most. Do not sully his good name with these traitorous words!”

Sage nodded, and his royal guards rushed forward to carry Kiren away. Kiren growled like an animal, blood running down his forehead and into one eye, giving him an utterly deranged appearance.

Lace diverted her gaze. She could not bring herself to share his belief.

Kiren was brought back into the Guild Hall and was not allowed to view the funerals.

After that, the fires were lit, and Lace could not hold back her tears any longer. Excelerate was in the first row of pyres, clad in the same black robes that he always wore, his head wrapped up as well. Slowly, his body blackened, cloth flaking off.

Mom took Lace in a warm hug and whispered gentle words into her ear. She melted into her mother’s embrace, grasping at her clothing.

Creator, what a mess.

Torchbearer burned close to Excelerate. His body resisted the flames, even in death, and even once all other Heroes had been burned away, his body remained. It took more than twice as long until he had finally been reduced to cinders.

Once the funeral pyres had burned out and most of those gathered had gone back inside, Lace went to sit by Excelerate, or rather the ashes that remained of him. She remembered all he had done for her.

Good Doctor joined Lace, sitting down next to her. She wept quietly for a long time. Lace didn’t ask why. She didn’t need to.

“I will not let it be in vain,” Lace whispered. “I’m ready now. I will kill him.”

END OF BOOK ONE