Mark Chadbourn - The Burning Man

The next carriage was a sensory rush of wild, fiddle-driven music and strange voices raised in song, of cloying, sweet incense and a mass of dancing bodies that were as colourful as they were inhuman: cloven hoofs and serpent tails, horns and wings and glowing eyes. Amongst them, achingly beautiful golden-skinned beings danced with a liquid grace that complemented their physical forms.

‘The Seelie Court,’ Church whispered in Ruth’s ear. ‘What are they doing here?’ Church edged through the dancers, who recognised him and parted out of respect. The queen of the court smiled sweetly at Church, but in her eyes was a honeyed desire that Ruth had recognised at their last encounter in Cornwall. She felt a twinge of jealousy. Church was oblivious and that annoyed her even more.

‘Brother of Dragons.’ The queen allowed Church to kiss her hand. ‘We meet again in these troubled times.’

‘Your Highness. This is a surprise.’

‘A pleasant one, I hope?’ The king had a supercilious air, but clearly respected Church.

‘You’ve been a great help to us. We won’t forget that,’ Church replied.

The queen’s gaze fell briefly on Ruth, and then moved on to Shavi and Laura without even registering Ruth’s presence. ‘Sit with us awhile,’ she said. ‘There is much to discuss. Like you, we are dispossessed, forced to flee this land we love. The Devourer of All Things and its vast, unyielding army drive us out like rats, harrying and slaughtering those who fall behind. We, and all those like us, are being purged to make this a world without hope.’

‘A new order has come,’ the king added. ‘The Devourer of All Things is building itself a body, and when it is complete, its legions will rule all that is, and has been, and evermore shall be.’

Courtiers cleared a space so Church, Ruth, Laura and Shavi could sit on the leather seats.

‘What’s changed since the last time we spoke?’ Church asked.

‘Why, you have, Brother of Dragons. The Quincunx has all but come together,’ the king noted. ‘Did you think the Devourer of All Things would sit idly by and watch while you organise a rebellion against its rule?’

‘There was always a degree of tolerance in allowing beings like ourselves to move through this land,’ the queen added, ‘as long as the balance of power was not unduly affected.’

‘So it is scared of us,’ Ruth said.

The queen turned her full attention to Ruth for the first time and smiled patronisingly. ‘Scared? The Devourer of All Things sees you as insects emerging from the fabric of its property. If the infestation is allowed to continue, then the foundations may be undermined. But still … insects.’

‘As are we all,’ the king said. ‘Even the Golden Ones.’

‘When the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons began to come together, ripples moved out across all Existence.’ The queen’s expression became grave. ‘When the Fabulous Beast was awoken from its sleep. When the last remnants of the Blue Fire eased out into a land grown cold and still. All parts of a greater picture. For anyone who has the eyes to see, it is the final act in the story that began when this place sprang into being.’

‘The end of the universe?’ Ruth said. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Ragnarok,’ Shavi explained. ‘In Norse mythology, it is the twilight of the gods when the universe is torn apart. It will be preceded by the Fimbulwinter, the winter of winters; conflicts will break out and morality will disappear. There will be a final battle between the gods and the forces ranged against them, and in the end, death will come to all.’

Silence stretched between them for a moment. Then the king said, ‘Everything that has happened to you has been leading to this. The Devourer of All Things knows it. It sought to subvert the ancient story by holding you Brothers and Sisters of Dragons in stasis. Now you are free, it rages, and seeks to hold back the end with the terrible power of its complete regard.’

‘So basically it’s not tolerating us any more,’ Laura said. ‘Or you.’

‘Or any beings like us, born of wonder and magic and spirit,’ the king replied. ‘All things of greatness in this place are being harried. Those who fall are being taken to the dark camps in the Far Lands to be fed to the crushing engines of eradication. The Golden Ones who once walked this land with impunity now hide in the shadows, and run before the darkness that seeks to cleanse them. Even in the Far Lands, in the great courts, a debilitating fear has taken hold. Our long rule has been shaken. For the first time we know that we might fall.’

‘Where are you going?’ Shavi asked.

‘Away,’ the queen said simply. ‘We seek safe haven, like many others on the Last Train.’

‘You haven’t found anywhere yet?’ Church asked.

A shiver of sadness passed across the queen’s normally implacable face, but she said no more.

‘You are welcome to join us in our search for asylum, Brother of Dragons,’ the king stated.

‘We’re not looking for a hiding place. We’re finding a way to fight back.’

An awed whisper ran amongst the Seelie Court. The queen smiled. ‘We recognised the potential in the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons long ago. This, then, is the moment when Fragile Creatures escape from the mire and start the long walk to their shining future.’

Laura was lost in the hallucinatory flicker of lights through the train window.

‘Deep in thought?’ Shavi slipped into the seat next to her. Apart from them, the carriage was empty. Church and Ruth were still locked in conversation with the king and queen of the Seelie Court in the adjoining carriage.

‘I don’t do deep thought,’ she lied. ‘Life’s for feeling.’ She could see from Shavi’s face that she wasn’t fooling him; she never did. Every time he would give his faint, knowing smile, but he would never challenge her. ‘Got a question for you,’ she said, deflecting the conversation. ‘Those lives we all remember from before we came together. They were fake, right? So who are we really?’

Shavi’s brow knitted; it was a question he had already considered. ‘I know, in a way unsupported by memory, that we are all good friends. The very best, a friendship that can only have been forged by travelling through the hardest of times.’

‘I only ask because since we all got together I’ve been getting flashes … images … snatches of conversation … things that don’t fit anywhere into my life at all, but feel more real than anything I do remember properly. You get that?’

‘I do. And it is growing stronger. We are throwing off the shackles of the Void. Moving closer to who we really are.’

‘So, us having sex together, on a warm night, with the stars overhead …’ She stopped, embarrassed at the dreamy tone that had materialised in her voice. ‘What does that mean?’

‘That you have excellent taste.’ He gave a teasing grin.

‘Did I mention it was a nightmare?’

‘I recall one thing from my previous life: an emptiness,’ Shavi said thoughtfully. ‘I remember searching many spiritual paths for answers, finding none. Until I joined with you.’

His words echoed Laura’s own thoughts.

They were interrupted by Church and Ruth returning from the adjoining carriage. ‘This train isn’t going anywhere we need to be,’ Church said. ‘We should get off as soon as we can.’

Laura glanced out into the dark. ‘Don’t want to burst your bubble, Chief, but no Railcard is getting us back home from here.’

‘We’re not going home.’

‘Where, then?’

‘Not sure exactly, but somewhere in Scandinavia.’

‘That narrows it down,’ Laura said sarcastically. ‘Any particular reason for that destination, or do you just like cheap furniture with clean lines?’