Caelin mourned the death of each of the faeries they found. He loved all the creatures of the forest, but the faeries were his favorite. He looked at his son when he asked him if he wanted him to carry them to the faerie circle with him, and Caelin told him he’d do it. He supposed his son was trying to save him the grief, but it was too profound.

“I’m sorry, Father. I thought that they’d been warned to stay out of the forest for now.” Caelin said that he had warned them, but some of them had thought they were safe to work. “Those poor creatures. I hate that they gave their life to that man.”

Caelin had never told his children anything different than what he knew of his father. They all knew that the man was their grandfather, but they never thought of him like that. He was always that man, or the monster. He supposed that had things gone differently they might have called him grandfather, but that was old news, and nothing could be done about it now. Although secretly, Caelin thought that his father would have hated being called that as well.

Putting the last of the dead into their little burial shrouds, he said a quick apology to Lady Earth and told her that he’d take care of them. The burial shroud was nothing more than a large leaf that was wrapped around them and tied with a piece of reed. Everything would go back to the earth, and sometime in the future flowers of the most beautiful colors would spring up over them. Some of the very plants they’d been working on had been born the same way.

He and his son worked through most of the morning making things right for the forest. Caelin could talk to all the things in here, including the trees and plants. Asking about the man who had killed the poor things had been his first query, and now he talked to them about having someone contact him when he returned. Mighty Oak said that he didn’t think he’d come back.

“Why? Do you think he got all that he wanted? Are we to find more of our creatures about?” Mighty said no, that they were all found, but he had been very taxed when he’d gotten here and left. “So, he won’t return because he is lazy. I can see that with him. He has always been the sort of man who would take before he tried to get for himself. And take he did, of everyone and every living thing in the world. I am most sorry about all this. I hope that one day soon, we’ll no longer have any problems with him.”

He is most dangerous, my lord, but he was thinking that he had enough magic to contact your family, the newly arrived ones. Caelin told him how they were going to bring Warrior out. Yes, we have heard, and we are all very excited for the magic to return. You must be as well, to have things put to rest after so long.

“I am. Very much so. And the castle is finished too. Have you heard?” Mighty said that he had. “When we are finished here, I shall have someone come and clean around your roots. I hadn’t been here in a long time, and it has gotten too dense for you and the other trees.”

Thank you, my lord. I only hope that the new residents at the castle are as kind as you are. He said that they would be. That’s wonderful to hear. We all hope, you know, but we’re afraid to believe. It has been so long in coming, but this is good news. Very good news, sir.

He and his son worked on some of the denser areas until lunch time. Caelin came across the fruit and the pineapple that had been bitten into. He and his son laughed for a good twenty minutes with that. What sort of fool bites into a pineapple without peeling it first? Shaking his head, Caelin planted the remnants of it and then set off for home. It was time to ready things for his family dinner tomorrow. It would be the beginning of the end for them all.

After lunch, he made his way to the castle. There were things that he needed to talk to them about. Some of the houses that they now owned, as well as buildings too. There were also charitable things that needed to be taken care of. An appearance by one of them would go a long way in making more money for the different groups that helped the townspeople.

Caelin was nearly to the drive when he spotted his father sneaking toward the barns.

Are you ready? He could talk to them all now, and was glad that they said that they were. The only one that he was worried about was Vance of all people, but he knew that he’d come through on this too. He was a warrior, after all. He comes to you by the barn doors. I know that you’re seeing him as I do, but he has a bit of magic that he didn’t before. Butler murdered several faeries, and has taken their magic.

I am so sorry for your loss.

He thought of Micky and told her that he’d taken care that they were resting at peace. She thanked him in the only way she knew how—she said that she would give the earth a little of herself to help with the flowers. It was a very lovely gift, one that he cherished even more because she’d given it so willingly.

Butler moved along the house. He looked upset, and Caelin reached into his head to find out what had bothered him today. The people from the town, he knew, had been giving him a very difficult time of it. Not that he cared, but he had told them to be careful of him. Butler was a sneaky bastard and would hurt anyone that might be around when he was mad.

“So, you think that my flesh and blood would stay in a hotel rather than the castle that belongs to them?” Butler stopped moving and looked around. Caelin showed himself, but stayed away. There was no reason to let him come any closer. “You went to a lot of trouble to find them, I think. As there are only two hotels in town, where else did you think my family to be?”

“They’re not your family unless they are also mine. And I do not wish to claim such upstarts. Why are they in my home anyway? And what have they done to it? I want you to tell them to get out. To pack their bags and to leave here this minute.” He saw them coming out of the keep but said nothing to Butler. “This is not the way it should be, Caelin. You’re my son, and you will obey me.”

“Will I? I doubt very much that you even knew my name until someone told it to you.” Butler blamed that on his mother. “She was brilliant, I think, in keeping me away from you. There is no telling what sort of person I would have been should you have had a hand in my upbringing.”

“You would have been a better man to me, that’s what you would have been. And we would have found much more magic than this piddly amount that I found for myself.” Caelin asked about the faeries. “Yes, I killed them. What did you expect me to do? Meet with the dragons with nary a thing to protect myself? I am your father, after all. Did you not want me to survive?”

“No. I would like very much if you were to die, actually. As for you killing them, there is a penalty for that. One that I will take from you soon enough.” They were all there then, the McCades and their mates. Even the queen, Alisha, was there, and she did not seem happy to see Butler. “What will you do to the McCade men, Butler? You cannot kill them. You have tried before to take their jewelry, and all that got you was more pain and heartache. Not to mention, all your money too. There wasn’t much, not as much as you promised people that helped you. But it was never your intention to pay them anyway, was it? You had them die for no other reason than greed.”

“Of course I have greed. Every man, woman, and child has greed in their hearts. They just don’t admit it as I do. What do you have, Caelin? A fine house that has servants? A pot of gold that you dip into when the need arises? I have nothing.” Caelin told him that he deserved nothing. “So says you. But I was king here once, and I will be again. This is my castle. The money here that was left by your mother, it is mine.”

“Nay, it is not. As for my pot of gold? No, I have none of that. I have a wife that cares for me deeply. Children, both sons and daughters, who have given me plenty of grandchildren to bounce upon my knees. I have a home that is warm in the winter months, cooler in the hot ones. We have plenty enough food to share with anyone that needs it, as well as enough love to make us happy.” Butler made a gagging sound, much like a small child when retching up their dinner. “You do not believe me? Or is it love that you do not believe in?”

“Neither. You have magic galore and you think you’re better than me. What will you do with your fine house and lady wife when I am king? How will you live when I take all that you have from you, just as you have me?” Caelin laughed, thinking Butler a fool. “You will not laugh when this all comes true. See if you don’t.”

“Oh, I shall laugh. All of us shall, won’t we?” Butler turned and looked at the people there. He might have seen a few of them around town, but he’d probably not know their names. “Shall I introduce you to my family, Butler? This is Kenton and his wife Emma. She wears the ring that brought the heart to life. Next to them is Jorden and his wife, Jasmine. Jasmine found the earrings in a box of junk, paying only a few dollars for them. Grady there, he inherited the castle from me. His wife Harper wears the arm bands, the torques that were made from the necklace. Dalton and Gabe, his wife, shared the hair combs. They’re the color in her hair, the blue of the dragons. Lewis is married to Raven. You remember her, don’t you? She’s the witch whose mother you killed. You promised her no harm would come to her mother when she helped you become immortal. She can see now, see you for the monster that you are. Then there is Vance. His wife is a faerie, Micky. Micky and Vance are warriors. And true to that, they have the sword that my mother had made for me. The very one that I used to cut into your fatted belly. They have the necklace.”

Butler laughed. Caelin made his way to the family, his family, as they stood there watching the man who would be dead soon. Butler opened his shirt, displaying the wound that he’d given him, as well as the fake necklace that he’d worn around his neck since he’d nearly lost it several times.

“As you can see here, I have the necklace. You’re a fool if you thought that I’d believe that you had it. I’ve had it since your whore of a mother left it behind when she fled the castle with you at her side.” Caelin watched the men, their dragons, so close to the surface that he wondered how they were holding them. “Your mother is dead now. And if not, she will be soon enough.”

“My mother lives, with the spark that will bring forth the dragon. And she didn’t lead me away, Butler, but sent me to our place, a place that I’d be safe from you and your ways.” Butler laughed again. “You will know soon enough that you have lost. When the dragon comes forth and you are killed.”

He grabbed Micky to him. Caelin hadn’t seen Butler move, but was aware that at some point he would. As he held her to his body, the long knife at her throat, the dragons showed themselves, their sizes much bigger than he’d thought they’d be.

“Tell them to give it all to me.”

The only one that hadn’t shifted was Vance, but it was working out the way it should. There was a time for him to come forth, and he would soon enough.

Butler screamed again. “Tell them that they’re to give me the jewelry so that I might have the dragon. They have what I want, and if I don’t get it, I’ll kill her.”

No one moved; the dragons seemed to be held back by some magical force. Caelin thought that was about right. The magic of them all needed to be there before they could kill this man. As a small drop of blood slipped from the wound at Micky’s throat, he spoke to Vance. It was time.

~~~

Vance called for his dragon, screamed for him to come to him. When nothing happened, not a sound from him, he reached for the sword at his back and pulled it forward. He felt the power of it, all the magic that he’d been ignoring in favor of finding his dragon.

He cannot kill her, my lord. Warrior spoke to him when all he wanted to do was change into something that would save his wife. He cannot kill her, for she is as immortal as you.

“I don’t understand.” Warrior said that he did. “No. I don’t. You can’t mean for me to stab her so that I can kill him.”

No. You cannot kill him that way. You will need to remove his head while he holds your wife. Vance felt like he’d been sucker punched. He wanted him to kill his wife to kill Butler? She cannot die.

“You keep saying that. I don’t know what you’re saying. If you mean that I should remove his head while doing the same to her, then no, I can’t kill her to get to him. And if I remove her head, she’ll be as dead as I will be without her there with me.” Warrior told him again that she could not die. “She will. Removing her head will kill her. It’ll kill anyone, and you know it.”

“Vance.” He looked at Caelin and the woman standing beside him. “My mother has faith in you. I do as well. You must be the one that ends his life—the sword has chosen you to do this.”

“No, I won’t do it. I won’t kill her.” Caelin said to trust him. “Trust you? You should have killed him when you had the chance. I won’t cut her head off to kill him. No one should be asked to do such a thing.”

“Then she will die. As will you all. The child that she now carries, your son, will die with her because Butler will rule, and he will order your deaths. Without the magic of all of you, then nothing you have been given will live either.” Vance wanted to scream at him to shut up, he had to think. “You have to trust me.”

“I don’t have to trust anyone. You just want me to kill her.” He knew deep in his heart that wasn’t true. Caelin would never make him kill his own wife. Then the queen, Prisane, came to stand beside him. “I don’t want to kill her.”

“As my son has said, then all will die.” He looked at his brother, large dragons spraying fire on the grasses before them. “The townspeople will die. Everyone will. He will rule the earth, because he’ll be able to with the dragon, and there will never be another McCade born to take up the path again.”

“You said that it would restart if we didn’t kill him. You said that.” She told him that she’d not known that the sword had come to him. “What does that have to do with it? Someone else will just take it up.”

“No, Vance. If you die, and you will if you don’t use it, then the sword will die with you. And that is the only thing that will kill Butler.” This was too much. What they were asking him to do, telling him to do, was too much. “Swing the sword at their throats and she will live. This I promise you with all that I am.”

He stood there with the sword in his hands. Butler was screaming at them to give the jewelry to him. And he knew that he’d not heard a word said to him, not from Caelin nor the queen. When the blade at Micky’s throat cut deeper into her, he knew that he’d have no choice in this. He either tried it their way, or she’d be dead anyway.

Vance gripped the pommel tightly in his hands. The heat coming from it made him think his dragon was finally coming for him. But when he thought of the sword cutting through only Butler’s throat, he felt a calmness settle over him.

Swinging the sword back over his shoulder, Vance took the two steps necessary toward them. He looked only at Micky. He mouthed that he loved her and that he was sorry for this. At her nod, she closed her eyes and he swung the sword with all his strength.

Sparks flew off the necklace that was around Micky’s neck. Even the sword seemed to shudder at the feeling, like metal hitting metal. The vibration shook his body, and he wasn’t sure what had happened until he saw Butler on the ground, with Micky on the ground in front of him.

Now that Butler was no longer holding her, he reached for his bride and pulled her to him. But before he was able to touch her, to bring her to him, the blue of the sparks surrounded her and engulfed her in their brightness.

The sword grew hotter. The ground shook more, and he wasn’t sure where to find Micky. Vance thought that the spark was keeping her safe, making her whole again after he’d cut her. But almost as soon as he touched the blue orb that held her, a great dragon came out of it, larger than all his brothers together, and it spewed out fire, white hot, all over Butler as he laid there screaming at them to give him his due.

“Kill him, my love.” He could only stare at the dragon that was his wife. She was the spark, the dragon that was brought forth. “Kill him with the sword.”

The fire rained down on Butler, but still he lived. He wasn’t an immortal as they were, he remembered. So, to end this, he would need his head removed. Drawing the sword up and over his shoulder again, he sliced it through the flames and removed the head of the man who would have killed his only true love.

It was over in a matter of seconds. Butler’s head slipped from his body, rolling toward him so that he looked up at him. Vance started to kick it away when the flames poured over him and the head.

He wasn’t hurt. Not even warmed up a little. Instead, he watched as the head, along with the body, dried up. There was nothing left when the flame stopped but a small black spot on the ground.

When small arms wrapped around him, Vance pulled Micky to him. Holding her like this was just what he needed as he watched his brothers, one by one, take to the sky. They were a sight to behold, he thought, all the shades of blue circling around and around until they blurred into a large circle.

As they flew over the castle the townspeople came to see them, and a roar of approval rose from them all. It was over. The bastard was dead, and they were all safe from him for the rest of their days.

Sitting down on the ground, suddenly exhausted, Vance lay on his back and looked up at his family. He wasn’t sure he could join them, but right now, he didn’t care. They were alive, all of them safe, and he had done what he had to do. Not willingly, of course, but he’d done it.

Vance must have closed his eyes. The next thing he knew he was being carried into the castle and laid out on his bed. He didn’t even have the energy to thank the person carrying him, but rolled over and let sleep take him once again.

Waking several times, he only raised his head enough to see that he wasn’t alone. Sometimes the room was bright with light from the window, and sometimes it was dark in the room. But every time he woke, Micky was there with him, sleeping in the bed or reading a book.

There were people talking when he woke this time. He didn’t know the voices because they were hushed. Vance had a feeling that they were talking about what had happened and what would now happen since Butler was no longer around. Vance wondered what would change now. For them all.

“You’re awake.” He sat up then, looking at his mom as she sat in one of the forever occupied chairs. “I sent Micky for some dinner. She’s not left you very much, only when I bully her into it.”

His throat was dry, and it took him two tries to speak. “I bet that went over well. How is everyone? They’re all safe, right?”

“They’re all fine. We’ve been worried about you, but we were assured that using the sword for the first time would drain you. Something about it having to get to know you before you could become one person. I’m not sure how that works, but you’ll understand once you’re up and about.”

“How long have I been here? I’m assuming a few days.” She told him he’d been here for ten. “Ten days? No wonder you were worried. And why I’m so hungry.”

“Yes, the cook and her staff have been getting ready for you to wake to feed you. Also, the people of the village have been coming by almost hourly to check on you and to leave a token. I had no idea that was a tradition when you killed a slayer, but then I’m new to this whole dragon thing.” She laughed as she laid her knitting down. “I always believed my boys were born for great things. But I never would have thought they’d be the ones to find the jewelry. And you? You killed the monster.”

“I think that.... Is Micky a dragon?” She laughed and told him that Warrior took her body when he needed it. “So, he’ll take a person when he needs one? I don’t understand.”

“You have a great deal to hear, I’m afraid. We’ve been figuring things out a little at a time. Apparently, with you being down as long as you were, the queen, Prisane, and Caelin have been resting as well. Caelin’s son came to tell us that his father is doing well, and his mom is taking care of him. They’ve been waiting on you to wake.”

“I need a shower. And my wife. Not necessarily in that order, either.” Mom stood up and came to him. After kissing him on the forehead, then his cheek, she walked to the door. “I love you, Mom.”

“And I love you as well, Vance. And I’ve never been prouder of my boys than I am right now. All of you, good boys and greater men.” She left him there, and he got up to take a long-needed shower. As soon as he was done, he walked into his bedroom to not only find Micky on his bed, but she was naked as well.

“I think the talk will have to wait.” She laughed and reached for him. “I’m so glad that you’re all right. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Vance had everything that he would ever need, right there.