Once In a Blue Moon (81 page)

The Champion nodded slowly, and turned away.

And then, just as Peace was breaking out, the Red Heart and the Green Man appeared out of nowhere. Huge and towering, they came striding across the clearing, side by side, smiling unpleasantly. King Rufus snatched the Crimson Pursuant out of his pocket, but before he could use it, or even say a word, the two great figures slammed to a halt and disappeared. Gone in a moment, replaced by a single dark and very familiar figure. A tall, bone white, almost human thing, wrapped in scraps of darkness, with two glowing eyes peering out from under its wide-brimmed hat. The Demon Prince, every bit as legend described him.

He resembled a man, but his features were blurred, and he was slender to the point of emaciation. He looked like a man because it amused him to do so. He had looked like other things before, and might again, but for now he moved in the world of men. He smiled horribly, and men turned their faces away. He was the Demon Prince, and he was compelled by his nature to terrify.

Hawk and Fisher moved quickly forward, to put themselves between everyone else and the Lord of the Darkwood. The full Moon above was very Blue.

“I thought you said you could only live inside people now?” said Hawk.

“I lied,” said the Demon Prince, in a happy, hateful voice. “I do that. And I do like to spread a little distrust wherever I go. Appearing as the Green Man and the Red Heart allowed me to manipulate the Kings of both Courts, by giving them both what they thought they wanted. I have always been well served by traitors. And look at what I have done! Two great thrones set at each other’s throat; the Unreal returned, and Wild Magic loosed in the world one more time! Look up in the sky; have you ever seen such a Blue Moon? Here I am again . . . One last chance to make Wild Magic triumphant in the world of men!” The Demon Prince grinned broadly, showing his sharp teeth. “The Darkwood shall return, men shall become demons, and the long night will never end . . .”

“You’ve left it a bit late,” said Hawk, doing everything he could to sound calm and composed. “The war is over.”

“The war was only ever a distraction,” said the Demon Prince. “So I could get my hands on what I really wanted.”

He gestured at King Rufus, with a clawed dead white hand, and the Crimson Pursuant tore itself out of the King’s grasp and sped across the air to slap into the Demon Prince’s waiting hand. And King Rufus sank to his knees, as all the strength and all the years went out of him. He cried out in shock and horror, as old age slammed down upon him again. His body shrivelled in upon itself, his hair became grey and his face wrinkled; and his eyes had just enough sense left in them to stare at the Demon Prince in betrayal.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Rufus,” said the Demon Prince. “I promised you all the strength you’d need, until the war was over. Remember? To be paid for . . . with all the remaining years of your life. Well, time’s up! Time to pay the piper. The war is over; and I win. I never needed you; I only wanted this jewel. You could have used it to win the war, and have absolute control over every living thing, but you humans always did think small. I couldn’t touch the Crimson Pursuant as long as the Lady of the Lake had it, with all the strength of the Land behind her. And I couldn’t reach it while it was still inside the Forest Castle, behind all those layers of protection. But you brought it outside, Rufus! And now it’s mine.”

“How?” said Fisher. “How are you even here? We sent you back to Reverie and destroyed you there!”

“So you did,” said the Demon Prince. “You destroyed the part of me that was there, and very unpleasant it was. But I had left a small part of me behind. Sent back into the past, hidden inside two Standing Stones—my anchors, so that I would always have a way back.”

“Why is the jewel so important to you?” said Hawk.

“Playing for time, are we?” said the Demon Prince. “To buy you time, to come up with some desperate last plan? Well, I don’t mind. I’ve waited long enough for this, and I want to savour it. You must remember, I was summoned into this world by King John and his Astrologer, using the power of the Crimson Pursuant. They brought me here, and so only they can ever fully expel me. And unfortunately for all of you, they’re both dead!”

“Why summon Fisher and me back here?” said Hawk.

“What joy would there be in my triumph,” said the Demon Prince, “if you two weren’t here to see it? And now I will use the jewel to bind you all to my will. I shall rule the long night forever, under an eternal Blue Moon, and you will all live in torment for all time as my slaves, in a nightmare that will never end.”

“You always did love the sound of your own voice,” said the Lady of the Lake.

Everyone looked round sharply, to see her standing just to one side, dripping over everything. She strode forward, heavy tides running back and forth in her watery body. And walking beside her, Sir Jasper the ghost, looking confused but determined. He looked very focused, very solid. He managed a quick, reassuring smile for Catherine, and then glared at the Demon Prince. Who looked the Lady of the Lake and Sir Jasper over thoughtfully, as they came to a halt before him.

“A water elemental and a ghost,” he said. “No, I don’t see how this is going to work. You cannot hope to stop me, not while I hold the jewel.”

“That’s not who we are,” said the Lady of the Lake.

“I remember,” said Sir Jasper, staring steadily at the Demon Prince. “I remember, finally, who I was. I’m not Sir Jasper; never was. It was the letter J on the tombstone that spoke to me, that seemed familiar. And I was so desperate for a name . . . But no. I’m not Jasper; I’m John. King John of the Forest Land. Though it took the woman who was my wife, Queen Eleanor, to remind me.”

Lady and ghost smiled at each other fondly for a moment.

“No,” said the Demon Prince. “No. You can’t be! You’re dead!”

“That’s right,” said the ghost. “Eleanor died, to become Lady of the Lake, protector of the Forest Land. And when I felt the need for penance, she made it possible for me to remain here, in her arms, for however long it took till I was needed. I died, but I remained. I waited all these years for you, Demon Prince.”

“But I have the Jewel of Compulsion!” shrieked the Demon Prince. He thrust the blazing jewel in the ghost’s face.

And Hawk stepped smartly forward and lashed out with his axe. The blade the High Warlock made, that could cut through anything. It sheared through the Demon Prince’s wrist, and his hand fell away with the jewel still in it. The hand dissipated into curls of black mist, and the ghost grabbed the jewel out of midair. The Demon Prince looked on numbly as King John nodded to Hawk.

“Thank you, my boy. I can always rely on you to save the day at the very last moment.”

“Anytime,” said Hawk.

The ghost turned to the Demon Prince. He held up his hand, as solid as any other, and the Jewel of Compulsion blazed very brightly.

“And now, as one who summoned you here in the first place, with all the authority of a King of the Forest Land, I banish you from this world.”

The Demon Prince screamed, but already the sound was fading, becoming distant, as he fell away in a direction none of them could follow and was gone. The light changed. Everyone looked up. The moon in the sky was no longer blue.

ELEVEN

OUT OF HISTORY AND INTO LEGEND ONE LAST TIME

K
ing Rufus was dead. He looked like he’d been dead for some time. Lying broken and crumpled, like something thrown away because it was no longer needed. He looked old, much older than he should have. As though all his years had caught up with him at once. Richard knelt beside him. Catherine stood over him, her hand resting gently on Richard’s shoulder. Just to make sure he knew he wasn’t alone.
He looks at peace now,
Richard told himself. But all he could think of were all the things he’d meant to say to his father but never did, because he always thought there’d be more time. He wondered if there were things his father had meant to say to him. After a while, Richard stood up and called out for someone to come and carry his father back into the Castle.

The Seneschal was already on his way, leading half a dozen servants with a stretcher across the drawbridge over the moat. He nodded quickly to Prince Richard, unable to speak. He stood by, crying silently, as the servants placed the dead King on the stretcher with as much dignity and reverence as they could manage. Laurence Garner came over, to stand beside the Seneschal.

“Who are you, again?” said Garner.

“I’m the Seneschal!”

“Bless you,” said Garner kindly.

He smiled at the Seneschal, and after a moment the Seneschal smiled back, briefly. Walking together, they followed their King back into the Castle one last time.

Richard watched them go. He would have liked to cry, but he had too much on his mind, too much still to do. He told himself he’d cry later, when he was alone, when he had time. He put an arm around Catherine’s shoulders, and she slipped an arm round his waist, and they stood together as close as they could get.

“The King is dead,” said Catherine. “Long live King Richard.”

“No,” said Richard. “I think . . . I’ve had enough of Kings, and all they lead to. I think perhaps . . . I’d like to put this all behind me. And put myself forward at the next election, to become the new First Minister. How would you feel about that?”

Catherine considered it. “I could live with that,” she said finally. “As long as I get to be First Wife.”

“Peregrine de Woodville will go absolutely mental when he hears,” said Richard.

“Best reason I can think of for doing it,” said Catherine.

She looked out across the crowded clearing. There were people everywhere. The Forest fighters, the force from the Hero Academy, and some people still trickling in from the Forest, from both sides, who’d been far enough away to avoid the dragon’s conflagration.

“Where’s Sir Jasper?” said Catherine. “Sorry, I mean King John? I don’t see him anywhere, or the Lady of the Lake.”

“They’ve gone,” said Hawk, as he and Fisher moved forward to join them. “Disappeared right after the Demon Prince did.”

“We saw them go,” said Fisher. “I’m pretty sure it was their idea.”

“Do you think they’ll ever return?” said Richard.

“With my family, who can tell?” said Hawk.

Catherine looked steadily at Hawk and Fisher. “You’re them, aren’t you? You’re Prince Rupert and Princess Julia.”

“Took you long enough to work it out,” said Richard. “It’s not the best-kept secret I’ve ever encountered.”

Catherine glared at him. “How long have you known?”

“Not long,” Richard said quickly.

“Rupert and Julia were never here,” Hawk said steadily. “This was your victory.”

“I never got to say goodbye to Sir Jasper,” said Catherine. “He was my friend.”

“I never got to say goodbye to either of them,” said Hawk. “They were my parents.”

“Oh, come on!” said Fisher. “You hardly knew your mother, and you couldn’t stand your father. Not surprising. He treated you appallingly.”

“He was my dad,” said Hawk. “Fathers and sons—it’s always going to be complicated.”

Raven came over to join them, along with the Redhart sorcerer, Van Fleet. Followed by Jack Forester, and the man who used to be the Stalking Man. Some rather complicated introductions followed, and then Raven took off his sheathed Infernal Device, Soulripper, and laid it deferentially but firmly at Richard’s feet.

“I don’t want it,” he said. “Nasty thing. And far more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Quite right, lad,” said Jack. “Couldn’t agree more.” And he laid down his Infernal Device, Blackhowl.

Fisher was already unbuckling the long scabbard from her back. She threw Belladonna’s Kiss onto the ground with the others.

“Put them back,” she said. “And let them be forgotten again.”

Bertram Pettydew, the Castle Armourer, was suddenly there with them, though none of them had seen him arrive. He smiled easily about him, tall and elegant as a flamingo, peering vaguely around through his thick spectacles.

“Oh, hello! Been having a nice war then, have you? Better let me take care of these and tuck them safely away in the Armoury. Too many people saw you carry them out of the Cathedral, after all. We don’t want them to go looking . . . No. I’ll find some nice shadowy niche to hide them in. Until they’re needed again. Because you never know, do you . . .”

He picked up the three heavy swords quite easily, hugged them to his sunken chest, and walked quite casually back into the Castle. They all watched him go.

“Strange man,” said Fisher.

“Strange Armoury,” said Hawk.

“He talks to fish,” said Richard.

Raven took the opportunity to confront Jack. “Where is my mother, Uncle Jack? I don’t see her here anywhere.”

“I’m sorry, Nathanial,” said Jack. He looked sadly at Hawk and Fisher too. “She didn’t make it. Gillian is dead. It took a hell of a lot of those creatures to bring her down, but . . . She died honourably, fighting all the way.”

“Of course she did,” said Hawk.

“My little girl is dead,” said Fisher. She turned away, and wouldn’t allow Hawk to comfort her.

“Damn,” said Raven. “I never got the chance to tell her I wasn’t really a Necromancer. Just a sorcerer putting on an act.”

“She would have liked that,” said Jack. “She never did approve of all that dark nonsense.”

Mercy arrived to join the family gathering. Her armour was a mess, soaked in barely dried blood. She limped heavily, winced when she moved, and had a great bloody wound down one side of her face, but she seemed cheerful enough, for all that. She’d already heard of Gillian’s death. Jack chose that moment to introduce the man who used to be the Stalking Man.

“Mercy, this is your half brother, Matthew.”

Fisher turned back, and she and Hawk both gave Jack a very hard look.

“You told us he was dead!” said Hawk.

“It was complicated,” said Jack.

“So,” said Fisher. “I have another grandson. That’s something.”

“Welcome back, Matthew,” said Hawk.

He shook Matthew’s hand firmly. They’d never been a touchy-feely type of family. And then Hawk and Fisher moved off to one side, for a short but intense discussion about who was related to whom, and how.