Company Unknown 4, page 41
“Kind of did when we saw Criterion wielding his powers,” I said. “But good to get confirmation.”
Warham wrapped her whip around the corpse though nearly all its blood was littering the ground and it had a blast hole halfway through its face. “How can you be sure it’s not him?”
“The eyes . . . eye, I suppose now, with what Buttons did to the other one,” Mom replied. “Kozai always have brown irises, and this one’s are the same dark purple I remember seeing when talking to your grandfather through those devices Dread Katie empowered. Bits of my memories as Mask are returning, and they say that the eyes are the only part of your body that do not change when you assume the mantle of the Old Man of the Forest.”
“Got another mana potion?” I asked. “I should be able to catch him with Flight pretty easily.”
Commander Mom strode forward and gave me a gentle shove. Despite Buttons’ best efforts, I easily fell over. Unlike the younger me, I didn’t yell at my old friend or even scowl at him. I nodded in thanks to his efforts. Stranger still, I didn’t yell at Mom.
“Yeah, as bad as the shock from Warham’s whip left him, he’s probably not going at toddler-crawl speed,” I said from the nice divot my fall had made in the ground. “No reason other people can’t try on foot, though.”
The eyebrow arch of disapproved questioning was vintage Mom. Finally turning around to scan the rest of the area, it became obvious why. Owl and Lariat were already ranging forward to further extend the distance their Eagle Eyes added to their vision. Metric had a Tiny Eye out and Buttons was muttering an apology as he added his own Eye to the mix. It didn’t take long for Lariat to yelp in surprise and come running back to us with what he found.
“There’s an army headed this way, sir,” the dogman said between pants.
The commander turned her gaze to where he pointed. “Size and composition?”
“At least a thousand—maybe more?”
Without missing a beat, she quickly gave the hand signal for Owl to get a better estimate of numbers. Even though he’d never worked for her, the wide-eyed member of my squad did what she asked without pause.
“As for the other question, they were all infantry, or I should say infantry, archers, and mages. Mean they didn’t have any cavalry I could see.” There was a long pause as Mom remained fully focused on him before he realized what he’d missed. “Blue soldiers. All of them.”
“We can use them to help us look then,” I said in relief.
Mom didn’t ask another question. Her face asked it for her.
“Oh, God,” I groaned. “And they’ll do it because I’m their king now.”
The Commander’s attention returned to the distance, this time a little closer. I wasn’t sure what the rest of the squads were doing by looking around in the twisted wreck of what had once been a field. None of them had any scouting abilities and Criterion had to be much farther away by now. Almost as if on cue, Pits came trudging forward with an answer.
“Finally found it,” the gnome said. “The boy may like to think he’s divine, but it must not be on the father’s side of the family. Sorry for both of your losses, but King Travindumis didn’t have no divine Resurrection while we were in that other place. Still as dead as that yellow fellow over there.”
“What condition is the body in?” Mom asked. “How long has it been . . .”
The gnome’s eyes perked at the implication. “If that army has someone with Resurrection, it might be in just enough time. Don’t think the body has taken more than his health in extra damage after he went down. Your ex . . . uh, Mer’s father was a tough son of a gun and had an awful lot of the stuff.”
The Commander’s snap was not one of our official signals but both Flex and Clip knew exactly what she meant and began dragging the body forward.
“What do we do if they don’t have someone with that spell?” Pits’s words came out at nearly a whisper.
Mom tried to glare through the unfortunate squad leader, but her unrelenting pragmatism took over and she turned to me. “Do you wish to be their king?”
Though the answer had been so obvious that I’d screamed it multiple times since arriving in this place, I stopped to think about the repercussion—for once not to myself but to the Gaelkini—if I said no. “If the royal family dies out, who takes over?”
The fury that had been on Warham’s face since Criterion escaped abruptly faded. She tried to hide the scheming smile, but she was terrible at it. Everyone knew what she was thinking.
“How did you convince the Fahrkini to accept you as their leader?” I asked. “Must not have been a very strong hold if Murder and then Criterion were able to take it from you, but still, you look like their mortal enemies.”
“You never did figure out who my mother was, did you?” Warham’s smirk was probably supposed to appear superior and self-righteous, but it looked childish.
My trip through all the female Fahrkini and Gaelkini I’d met was a quick one since I really only knew . . . well, none, really. Mask had been an illusion to hide my very human mother and I hadn’t gotten the names of any other ones: a few soldiers, a couple of guards, and some now very dead councilwomen. Those were almost all Gaelkini too. Of course, I now knew those distinctions to be more cultural than of looks, though nearly all the blue demons were Gaelkini and the red ones Fahrkini.
“Did you?” I asked Warham, mostly to distract her from my own confusion.
“No, not really. But one look at Bounce and they started bowing and scraping. Guessing it had some significance, but not enough for them to not betray me and toss me out as soon as that orc beat me in a duel. Cheating bastard had an ability that could shove through my Bounce.”
I turned to Mom to see if her sporadic Mask memories could answer that. The pained expression on her face as she rubbed her forehead said she was way ahead of me.
“There was a legendary Fahrkini queen with that same ability long ago. I do not think the Gaelkini will have such a positive reaction to it.”
“Will they at least help me kill that traitorous backstabber?” Warham asked.
“The person leading the Fahrkini army currently?” Mom asked. “Of course. Though it would be wise for you to not use your ability in their presence.”
“And for you to hide your stupid face,” I added.
Warham was ready to make me pay when she realized the meaning I’d masked beneath the abuse. “Anyone have a helmet I can borrow?”
I considered tossing my bucket at her, but the thing had saved me more times than I could count. Plus, the sentiment attached to it. Still wasn’t sure if my squad had given it to me as a slight or not. It was ugly as sin, but it did have good stats and protections. Pits saved me from the dilemma by tossing a Gaelkini great helm he’d looted at her.
She got it on in time as the advance force of Gaelkini arrived. Well over fifty of them had initially approached our position, sighting us just after Lariat had, but only five of them moved forward once they realized who we were.
All kneeled directly in front of me once they were ten feet away. Only one rose. I recognized him as one of Gloam’s officers who’d escorted me to the arena. He had not been with Gloam in his ill-fated last stand, though a few had survived that battle.
“My prince, we saw the body of that vile, green-skinned monstrosity that recently took charge of the Fahrkini on our way here,” the officer said. “Was the king responsible for that heroic deed or was the honor yours?”
Mom cut me off to answer first. “Neither were, but that is not important.”
“I was speaking to—” If he recognized Mom, he didn’t show it. The fury at being interrupted still evaporated once he met her eyes. It wasn’t a skill. Mom just had that presence.
“The king has fallen and needs an immediate Resurrection. Is there a holy mage capable of casting it with the army?”
“No, only His Holiness the Grand Devotion is allowed such a spell, and he is back at the capital,” the officer said. “Are you sure he’s dead?”
Mom ignored the stupid question and looked past him at the Gaelkini. “What is the range of the teleportation abilities in the army presently?”
ALL HAIL THE . . .
As she talked through the answer, one of their number must have sent a message to the main force. Within two minutes, a dozen other officers arrived. While their ranges weren’t much greater than mine, they chained their Dimensional Trips to get us to the capital in under a quarter of an hour.
Living up to his title, the Grand Devotion wanted to perform the lengthy ceremony their religion had come up with, but Mom put a stop to that pretty quick.
Seeing Travis rise from the near dead brought forth an odd combination of relief and anger. On the one hand, him being alive removed the pressure for me to stay, but on the other, I liked him even less when I saw how Mom hugged him. Oh yeah, and the fact that he’d probably lead to the ruin of the Gaelkini.
If I was unhappy to see him, he was—
“That’s my boy!” Travis nearly bowled Mom over to embrace me in a hug.
Right when it was beginning to feel suspiciously like he was trying to crush me to death, he let go. To my greater surprise, he looked a tad ashamed when he saw me panting for breath. His powerful pat on the back even resembled an attempt to jumpstart my lungs. It may have worked, but I choose to believe it was all due to my efforts.
“Still proud of you for taking me out. It’s every father’s dream to be surpassed by his son.” He leaned in and whispered, “I won’t tell Rosalind you needed help if you don’t.”
My attention immediately returned to Mom. “It was a team effort that took both squads.”
Mom nodded once. “Good to see you remembered some of my lessons.”
“Good catch, son,” Travis whispered. “Forgot how much Rosalind loves teamwork.”
I leaned in and whispered back to him. “It wasn’t. Just told her because you wanted the opposite and I hate you.”
“You’ve the same fire as your old man.” His huge fist thundered into my back again. Fifty/fifty on if he was congratulating me or intended me to go flying across the room.
My landing was less than dignified, but I did manage to stay on my feet before I hit the wall. The Gaelkini present held back any reaction once they caught the glare of their king.
“Oops again. Really don’t know my own strength sometimes.”
After that, the true awkwardness began. Travis promised we’d spend some father/son time later and then went back to Mom. I should have been grateful they didn’t go full-on reenacting how I was conceived, but the moon eyes, kissing, and hand holding could have waited until everyone was far, far away, especially me. It was so bad that everyone else’s discomfort didn’t even make me feel a little better.
Thankfully, an officer rushed into the room an hour later to deliver the news that Criterion had been sighted and was beginning to gather the shattered remnants of the Fahrkini.
Stopping him from recklessly charging out immediately had been a tricky thing to accomplish when Mask, Gloam, and the council were still around, and I thought it still would be, but I was wrong. There was someone left. Someone I’d never considered. Someone I thought there was no way he’d ever listen to.
Travis stopped two steps into rushing for the door as soon as the messenger finished delivering her message. No words were spoken as cause. No looks delivered. I thought it a spell until one of the mages confirmed there was no magic involved. The King of Uncontrolled Violence and Unmitigated Aggression had halted on his own accord.
“Rosalind, my love, what would you recommend?” the large blue demon said, more to the door. Worry creased the lines of his wide forehead, though not for the reason less perceptive people would think. He cared only for Mom’s reaction to those two steps, not the tactical assessment she would deliver.
Rosalind turned to the messenger instead. “Apprise us of the situation. How large are his forces? How many do we expect will join him and in what timeframe?”
The officer’s eyes went to his king first, but one murderous look was all it took for the words to begin spilling out. Despite repeated variations of Travis’s initial question, Mom would not give him a final plan or even a portion of one until other scouts were sent out to gather more information. Every Gaelkini face looked ready to split open in shock that King Travindumis not only consented, but that he didn’t offer a single word or action of disagreement.
As tired as I was of fighting—impossible as that would have been days ago—I did join the army when it finally departed. The numbers Criterion had assembled shocked everyone. It had seemed a lot more had been killed. Travis was happy about having every Fahrkini left in one neat package to finally finish off, but no one else was.
Again, Mom was able to keep him from charging directly at the enemy center. Whether holding him back a bit for an unexpected hammer in the second wave was the best tactic in her opinion or whether she simply didn’t think she could constrain him much longer would henceforth be up for debate forever. Either way, it worked spectacularly.
The Fahrkini knew Travis too well, and upon not seeing him in the initial charge, they assumed he was not present and were completely unprepared for him slamming into their right flank. My smaller but more surgical hit into their left ten minutes later completed the route. The only thing that didn’t go right was the band Warham picked to catch the fleeing Criterion. They’d failed to account for the number of monsters he was able to summon from a nearby forest that hadn’t been on any of our maps. As was her habit, Warham again survived despite impossible odds and numerous mistakes.
Though the battle marked the end of the Fahrkini as a credible army, a lot of them were still out there in small groups, and Criterion would be sure to attempt gathering them. Both Travis and Warham were eager for the long slog to finally finish them off, but I was not. The fact that what Travis wanted the most was for him and me to bond over such a hunt sealed the deal.
In one of the few times she and the king weren’t joined at the hip, I caught Mom alone in front of the beginnings of the newest mural detailing the epic battle of a few days ago. While their version of her didn’t look anything like the real deal, she was tsking at the picture of me. I thought the rippling muscles were quite accurate, but she was always my worst critic.
“Soooo . . .” I said.
She didn’t even turn to look at me as she replied. “You would like to go back to the world of your birth.”
“You know how unsettling it is when you do that, right?”
“Wasting time—"
“‘Is wasting effort.’ And here I was thinking we’d had a breakthrough.”
She finally turned to stare me in the eyes. “We have, my son. It is too easy to fall into old ways, especially when so much has changed.” Her attention turned to the half-finished drawing of Travis. “I was hoping that you and your father would be able to bond, but it seems you each need time to get used to the idea of the other. I will work on him, but our reunion is a lot to take in. Once he is used to that, I believe he will begin to thaw.”
“Don’t think I can wait around for that. This whole place is just . . . not for me.”
“Agreed. That is why I think it is best for the both of you if you return home.” Her eyes fully bore into me. “For a while. A little time apart will do you and Travis good. Give you time to adjust to everything that has just happened and to the idea of having each other in your lives. However, it cannot be forever. You may not see it now, though . . . I am not asking you to love him or even like him, but accepting he is your father will do you a lot of good. I think it is some of the reason for that anger in your soul. The rest—”
I patted her on the arm awkwardly. “Is healing. We’re good for now, but Travis and I aren’t the only ones who will need to talk when I get back. Might be a while though.”
She bowed, fighting the effort to not meet my eyes and failed. “I will be here when you are ready. Take all the time you need.”
A series of bumbling, uncomfortable moments followed before we finally found ourselves in a hug. For anyone else, it would have been wooden and awkward, which it was, but it was still the best feeling I’d ever had.
With that perfect memory on my mind the next morning, I gathered both squads and summoned a portal home. My mom finally recognized me as her son, not in a biological sense but in her heart. All would be well, no matter what that portal showed on its other side.
. . . Even if it was on fire.
That thought made me smile—for the first time not because of the violence that I was about to deliver, but because I knew I’d be able to handle anything.
My old home might be aflame, but I would put it out. I would save the day. I would be the hero. And my mom would be there at the end to tell me she was proud. No, she already was. I would do this one for myself. I was free, and nothing would stop me.
“Whoever’s doing that to our town will pay. And the Unknown are coming to collect.”
Even though the second squad wasn’t in the Unknown, they cheered just as loud. More friendly voices joined in from the other side.
There were enemies who needed to pay, friends to save, a family to figure out, and I couldn’t be any happier. A new, lighter Mer was coming, and the world didn’t stand a chance. It was good to come home.
The End
Does this mean Mer has fewer or more issues? Why is everything on fire and why wasn’t Mer the one to start it? Will he ever reconcile with his parents?
Find the answers to these questions and more in the continuing saga of Company Unknown. But how will I know when the next book is released, you probably didn’t ask? Sign up for my New Release Mailing List here:
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