“Oh thank god,” was the first thing Orenda heard from the pipe, and had been said, eagerly, by Sonny.

“Thank Sarya,” Mary Sue said, “And gather everyone. We have much to tell.”

“Where the hell have they been?” Gareth asked as he leaned heavily on his walking stick to pull himself to his feet. He scooped up the baby, Autumn, easily in his free hand, his mechanical hand, as if he had been made to hold a child, as if he had gotten used to doing everything with a baby in tow.

Orenda went sprinting down the hall and pulled open the shelf- and realized for the first time that she was waiting on people- that she had moved faster than them without meaning to. She stood, contemplating this, as everyone assembled behind her, and pushed the shelf open without the effort it had once taken. She walked slowly, mostly waiting on Gareth, and took Autumn from him when she saw how heavy his steps were as he tried to move up the stairs. The child was asleep, and she had been stirring in his arms.

The kitchen was full of Brigaddons, and Solomaur was putting on a kettle to boil and setting up a press to make coffee, while her siblings came in carrying crates and barrels from the back door, presumably from the wagon which had to be outside.

“Colder than a witch’s tit out there,” Sarya said.

“What happened?” Sonny said as he sat at the table and began to roll out a cigarette.

“The textile merchant was gone, so we had to do our trading at the general store,” Mary Sue explained, “We got far less than we normally could, but we’ll make due. We’ll get by. Then the storm blew in. It’s far worse in Basilglen than it is here. Winter is going to hit hard, it has to be right behind us.”

“Snow’s already falling,” Barbra Allen said as she opened a cabinet and began to take down cups.

“Any news?” Sonny asked.

“We took up at the tavern and I asked around all I could,” Sarya said, “But ain’t nobody seen hide nor hair of your mommy or your brother. Ain’t nobody even found a runaway. Woulda been all over small town gossip if they was found, so at least we know the Queen ain’t got um.”

“Small consolation,” Solomaur said, “Ifin they’d found mommy, at least we’d know where she was at.”

“Sometimes no news is good news,” Sonny argued, and went to the stove to light his cigarette on the flame.

“Make me one of those,” Mary Sue demanded, and he handed her the lit cigarette, then went back to the table to roll another for himself.

She took a long drag, and then said, “But that isn’t all we learned. The Urillian navy is returning. They’ll be back at the capital… probably by now. If they haven’t returned it will be any day now. The Emerald Knight is with them.”

“Well,” Gareth said, “It’s truly been lovely visiting with all of you, but I’m afraid we really need to return. The sea is calling out to me!”

“Gareth!” Bella snapped.

“We can’t be here!” Gareth told her, his eyes wide and frantic, “We can’t be here with the Emerald Knight here! Not with Orenda and how foolish she’s been! We need to go home!”

“Nobody can leave once that storm blows in,” Sarya said, “Ain’t no travelin back to the coast in that. I reckon a body could leave on the docks in the capital, maybe? Ifin they had a damn good ship.”

“We’re not going to the capital!” Gareth snapped, and the baby Orenda held began to cry.

“Give her to me,” Solomaur said, and began to gently rock as she walked back down into the cellar to get some milk.

“Well, you’re sure as hell not goin back to Seaweed,” Sarya told him, “not through the wind and snow. You won’t make it and I won’t take you.”

“I’ll walk!” Gareth proclaimed. He was taking in too much air, and it was making him frantic. Orenda recognized the madness in his eyes.

“You’ll stay right here,” Orenda told him, surprised by her own calm, “Underground and safe. You’ll wait out the storm.” She turned to Sarya and asked, “Do you think we can stay ahead of the storm? If we were to drive away from it, right now?”

“I ain’t goin nowhere,” Sarya told her, “I just got back and it ain't my wagon.”

“Sarya, please,” Orenda stepped forward and grabbed her arm, “I need a ride. I need to get to the capital.”

“Have you lost your mind!?” Gareth snarled, “Why the hell would you go- that’s where the Emerald Knight is!”

“Yes, Uncle Gary,” Orenda said, amazed that she felt no fear, or apprehension, or any strong emotion. She felt strangely serene. “I came here to get the artifact and dethrone the queen. Right now the Emerald Knight has just returned from the Frozen North, from a long journey. He won’t be in any shape to fight. I have to find the artifact the staff spoke of. I need to do it now. There’s no point in sitting around waiting.”

“You… you weren’t… actually going to do that!” Gareth said as if he truly believed it, “It was just something we said. We came here to find Xaxac, to… so you could meet him and bond with him, because he loved you, because Ronnie loved him! We were never going to take on the Emerald Knight!”

“You think a great many things that aren’t true,” Orenda told him, “Because you would prefer to live in a world you made up over the one that exists. I won’t do that anymore. This is the world. There is no other. I will break into the castle, find the artifact, and dethrone the Empress. I will do this whether anyone will help me or not. I’ll find a way there. The snow doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“Fuck it,” Sonny shrugged tossed the butt of his cigarette to the ground and snuffed it out with his heel, “I’ll drive you.”

“That makes no sense, Sonny!” Mary Sue snapped at him, “What could your cover story possibly be? A human and a fire elf traveling to Capital City together?”

“Cover story?” Sonny laughed, “The navy is back! That place will be crawling with security! We’re breaking into a castle. I don’t think this is a cover story situation. This is a ‘fuck it we’re doing this’ situation! Get me a pass to get me in the gate, say I’m trading goods for Uncle Lappy or some bullshit, and that’s the extent of planning we can do! We don’t know what’s beyond the gate. Nobody here has ever been to the castle! The Knights can’t get anybody inside, and the damn psychic queen is going to know we’re there the second we step foot on the grounds. This is a suicide mission. I’m volunteering.”

“You absolutely are not!” Mary Sue shouted, and all four babies awoke and began to shout with her.

“Orenda!” Junior had to shout over the sound of his siblings, “Come to my workshop. You can’t leave without your gun.”

“This isn’t happening!” Gareth fumed, and the room around him began to heat.

“Gareth,” Bella warned, but he ignored her, marched up to Orenda and shook her by both shoulders with a grip so tight she knew it would bruise.

“We can’t do this, Ronnie!” he said, staring so deeply into her eyes that she saw the fire burning in his soul, “I mean- I- we- We can’t do this, Rendy! I watched my brother die on that shore! Doing this same goddamn thing! You’re not going to do this! I swore I would keep you safe! I’ll burn this place to the ground and drag you kicking and screaming back to the boat! I won’t watch it happen again! I won’t! You’re all I have left! You can’t do this! I won’t let you!”

“Ronnie didn’t have the sacred staff,” Orenda said, “He wasn’t the Chosen One.”

“That staff doesn’t work!” Gareth argued.

“It will!” Orenda argued back, “It will work! Once I find the artifact. I pulled that staff from the Sacred Flame where you couldn’t- where Garon couldn’t. I’m the Chosen Child of Thesis, and I will dethrone the Empress.”

“This is madness!” Gareth argued. “Rendy you’re going to die! If you do this, you’ll die!” He began to cry, and his body wracked and convulsed with the force of it, “I won’t let you do this! I’m not going to lose you, too!”

“You’re getting hot,” Orenda told him, “You’re going to set something on fire.”

“I don’t care!” Gareth shouted, “I’ll fight every Urillian in this place to keep you safe! We have to get you back to the ship!”

“Captain,” Falsie said, but Gareth ignored him.

“I’ll burn this place to the fucking ground! I’ll do it right now if you won’t come with me! I’m not going to let you run off on some fool errand! You’re not Ronnie! You’re not that stupid! Please, for the love of god and all that is holy, learn from his mistakes!”

“You need a time out,” Sonny grabbed Gareth from behind and pulled him off Orenda, and in the same motion barreled out the door so hard he bypassed the porch and stairs completely landed on his back in the snow in the garden with Gareth on top of him.

“Let me go!” Gareth shouted, “Don’t get between us! I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you if you hurt her!”

“I’m not going to hurt her, you crazy old fuck!” Sonny shouted into the wind, and Orenda could see that the storm was blowing in, that the wind was moving quickly and the snow falling more heavily.

“I promised Ronnie I would keep her safe!” Gareth flipped so that he was on all fours, but Sonny did not let go and rolled with him.

“I promised my daddy I would help my family!” Sonny argued, “And Rendy is my sister!”

“Your father was a useless, drunken whore!” Gareth snapped, “I’m tired of pretending we aren’t all useless idiots scrambling in an unforgiving world for meaning! I’m tired of pretending that we’re special! Xac was nothing! I’m nothing!”

Orenda saw a change come over Sonny. She couldn’t remember ever actually seeing him angry- but she saw it now. His silver eyes narrowed and he heaved all his weight onto Gareth, pinning him into the snow.

“My father was a good man,” Sonny said coldly, “He saved my life. He helped hundreds of people. He believed in hope. What the hell did you ever do? You fucking coward. You’ve been running for years. There really is no amount of gratitude that would ever make you risk your neck is there? All you care about is yourself! DON’T try to get up.” Gareth had moved, and Sonny had seen him. The Brigaddons moved so fast that he slammed his hand over Gareth’s before he could reach his gun. “Were you going to kill me old man? Did you really try to pull that thing on me?”

Gareth was panting, but the energy had drained from him, and he seemed to be coming to his senses.

“You’ve lost your goddamn mind,” Sonny drew Gareth’s gun from its holster, “That’s what’s wrong with you. Don’t you ever run your mouth about my daddy again. I don’t want to hear it. There’s only so far ‘respect your elders’ can carry you. At least your dumb ass knew I wouldn’t burn.”

He stood, and Gareth rolled over to look up at him. He took a deep breath, then fell backwards onto the snow and stared up at the sky.

“I think I’m dying, boy,” Gareth said.

“Me too,” Sonny said.

They remained like that, in silence, for some time.

“I don’t like snow,” Gareth finally said.

“I know,” Sonny said, “It makes you sick. Makes magic hard. That’s why I brought you out here.”

“That’s not why I don’t like it,” Gareth said, “It reminds me of ash. It covers everything in a white expanse of nothing. I don’t do well with nothing. But that’s all I am.”

“Is he alright?” Orenda asked.

“He’s fine,” Bella said, “He… he had an episode. He gets like that. He’s fine now. He’ll… get very… blank. For a while. Very tired. I knew Sonny wouldn’t hurt him.”

“Rendy, get your stuff together,” Sonny said, “I can get you there by morning.”

“How?” Orenda asked, “It’s at least a week’s journey.”

“Not as the rabbit runs,” Sonny said.

“Orenda,” Gareth sat up and she saw the snow melting as it landed in his hair, “Are you… are you really-”

“Yes,” Orenda said. She didn’t know whether he was asking if she was really the chosen one, or if she was really going to the capital, but the answer was the same either way.

“Come help me up,” Gareth pleaded, and Orenda pulled her gloves out of her pocket to fight against the magic of the snow. She still felt it in her head and stinging her face, without her balaclava, but it was more manageable. And when she reached down to pull him up, she did not feel the magic flowing from him.

He wrapped his arms around her, this time without the anger, looking much less like a fearsome pirate and much more like the broken old man he was. He sobbed into her shoulder and spoke, begging, pleading with her.

“Please, Rendy,” he begged, “Please. Please don’t do this to me. Think of all the people who love you.”

“Uncle Gary,” Orenda said softly, “I swear to you. I will be fine. This is what I came here to do. Please, just stay here. Heal.”

“But you don’t have a plan,” Gareth begged.

“I have faith,” Orenda told him, “Thesis will provide.”

Gareth clutched her tighter, and sobbed into her shoulder, and Orenda knew, even though she had never met him, that she sounded like her father.