Mark Chadbourn - Destroyer of Worlds

'You work with the Puck?'

'The Oldest Things in the Land are agents of a higher purpose.'

'How do I know you haven't been manipulating me?'

'I have been manipulating you.' His eyes glowed. 'But that does not mean that I do not look on you and the other Brothers and Sisters of Dragons with fondness. Your road has been long and hard and I have shone the light for you whenever you needed to see your way. But soon your journey will be over.'

'I don't know if I like the sound of that.'

After a moment of silence, the Caretaker said, 'Remember, Brother of Dragons, that even terrible events, from one perspective, may lead to great good from another, greater perspective. The view across Existence is limitless, and within that all things have their place. Leave the deep sadness in your heart behind, and turn your attention to the distant horizon.'

The Caretaker's words reminded Mallory of something Ogma had said to him in his great library and, as then, they touched him on a level he couldn't comprehend. 'So you're here to show me the way?' Mallory asked.

'An old friend will show you the way.' The Caretaker smiled, and as he raised the lantern even higher, the blue flame leaped and grew.

Mallory took a step back as the flame jumped from the Wayfinder and surged into the crackling shape of a man. 'Hello, Mallory,' it said.

Within the Blue Fire, features flickered. It was Hal, Mallory knew, the fourth member of his team, who had sacrificed himself to the currents of the Blue Fire to help and guide the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons across the ages.

'Hal. Everyone says you're hot stuff.'

Laughter rose and fell as the flames danced. 'I like you, Mallory. I've been keeping a particular eye on you from the depths of my blue home. Pity we couldn't have hung out, you know, when I had a body.'

'Not exactly a bundle of laughs at the moment. Lot on my plate.'

'Which is exactly why I'm here. You're going to the Grim Lands… or the Grey Lands… why does that place get two names? It's a big place, Mallory. Infinite, in fact. The chance of you just stumbling across the Extinction Shears is… well, it's not going to happen.'

'We like our missions impossible.'

'I bet you'd like some help more. Say, a lantern with a flame that will point relentlessly to the object you're searching for.'

Mallory grinned. 'That might come in handy.'

'Thought you'd say that. Only one problem: the Blue Fire doesn't reach there. You couldn't have such a powerful force for life in a place of death, right? And that means the Wayfinder wouldn't work properly… unless you took your own powerhouse of Blue Fire with you.'

'You?'

'Me. I have to detach myself from the flow, which will be a wrench. It's amazing in here, Mallory, like being in touch with everything, feeling everything, seeing how it's all interconnected, how it all means something. Can you imagine what that's like?'

The note of loss in his voice was powerful. 'But you're still going to do it?' Mallory asked.

'Of course. How could I not?'

'And… what? You get to be the genie in the lamp?'

'Yeah, that's me. I'll be able to help you out in a much more personal and direct way than I can now. But you're going to have to look after me too. Once I cut myself off from the flow of the Blue Fire, I lose so much power. In that form, I can be… I hate to use the term "killed" for a living flame, but that about sums it up. I die. I don't go back to the Blue Fire.' Again, that palpable sense of loss in his voice.

'We'll look after you, Hal. You can count on us.'

'Then it's done. Take the lantern, Mallory… and let's strike out for the great adventure.'

The figure flickered, faded and disappeared back into the lantern. The Caretaker held it out for Mallory to take. 'Be strong, Brother of Dragons, and trust the light to guide your way.'

When Mallory's fingers closed around the Wayfinder there was an electric burst and a feeling of well-being rushed through him. The flame engulfed his whole vision, and when he finally looked around, he was alone.

On the roof of the Fortress of the Enemy, amidst the smell of rotting meat and the thick, greasy smoke, the Libertarian watched the stars.

'How I hate them.' He sighed.

Niamh took his hand. 'Not long now.'

'Yes. Nearly there.' He turned his attention to the crackling outline of the Burning Man, now half-filled with fire.

'Tell me how it happens,' she said with a note of glee.

He cast a dismissive glance her way. 'A bitter desire for revenge is not a very attractive quality, you know.'

'You must feel it too. Hatred for him, for all of them, and everything they stand for.'

'Actually, no. They're misguided. Poor lambs who have lost their way. Unfortunately, once they are back on the path, they become sheep to the slaughter.'

'Tell me how it happens,' she repeated.

'Only I get to know that. This whole business is… hmm, let me select a cliche for your enjoyment… a house of cards. So fragile. A mass of subtle, interconnecting events. Change one and the whole thing falls apart.'

'Even now?'

'Especially now. As we approach the end, everything is in a state of flux. So many variables. But do not worry, my bitter, twisted love. I intend to keep a firm hand on the tiller. If the currents try to push us away, I will steer us back into the flow of the blood-dimmed tides. Subtlety is the key. A shift in emotion can be just as effective as a slice across the jugular. More so, in fact.'

'But you wait here?' Niamh said. 'Why are you not influencing the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons?'

Because,' he said with a faint smile as he turned back to the stars, 'all goes to plan.'

After sharing the news about the Wayfinder, Mallory and Caitlin made their goodbyes in a bright manner that belied the nature of what they were about to endure.

They took themselves to Math's chamber where the sorcerer had already marked out a ritual space in the centre of the floor. He stood in one corner, quietly mouthing incantations that left the atmosphere charged. Veitch perched on the edge of a table, flexing his silver hand rhythmically.

'You ready?' he said.

'You're joking?' Mallory said. 'Dying is the biggest human fear. You condition yourself to spend all your life running in the opposite direction.'

'It's not an ending.' Caitlin's axe was strapped in a harness across her back. 'If anyone should know that, it's the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons.'

'Easy for you to say, with the Morrigan riding you like a horse. This is home ground for her.'

'If it makes it any easier, I've been through it,' Veitch said.

'It doesn't.'

'Why did you do it?' Caitlin asked.

'I wanted to break any control the spiders had over me,' Veitch replied. 'I wanted to be my own man again.' He paused. 'This is going to sound weird, but the Grim Lands are the only place I ever felt at home.'

'That's sad,' Caitlin said.

'No, it's weird.' Mallory cast a suspicious eye towards Math, whose incantation had grown louder. 'What's it like?' he added uneasily.

'Pain, just for a bit. Then it's like being on a roller coaster heading down the biggest dip. Queasy. And then… nothing. Next thing you know, you'll be waking up in the temple in the Grim Lands. Don't touch anything there, right? It's the Void's place. Get straight out.'

'And the dead?' Caitlin asked.

'Don't expect them to be friendly. They welcomed me with open arms… I don't know why. But they're not usually so happy about the living trespassing on their ground.'

'How do I know this isn't just one of your ploys to do me in?' Mallory asked.

'Look, mate, I know you don't trust me, and I know you don't like me, but honestly, if I wanted to do that, I'd just gut you in your room at night when you weren't looking.'