The Finisher Page 35

  I slowly took this all in. “And my grandfather?”

  “I think you know the answer to that. These things are handed down in Wug families. Only a few possess it anymore. It seems that the passage of time has diluted it to almost nothing for most of us.”

  “But what is it, Thansius?”

  “Power, Vega. And power is a funny thing, for handled by different Wugs for different reasons, the very same power can look very different.”

  “I think I can see that.” And in my mind’s eye, I saw Morrigone using Ladon-Tosh as a lethal puppet to kill me.

  “Your grandfather possessed it in abundance. It is the reason he is no longer among us.”

  I looked at him eagerly. “So you know where he’s gone? You said you know all, or at least almost all.”

  “He is gone from us, Vega. To another place, most certainly. A place assuredly beyond the Quag.”

  “And why did he go?”

  “It was his destiny to do so,” Thansius said simply. “And please do not ask me more than that, because I will have no answer for you.”

  I looked away, disappointed. “So what is Wormwood, then, Thansius? And please, don’t answer my query with a question or a riddle.”

  He didn’t respond right away. When he did, his speech was slow and measured. “For most Wugs, Wormwood is their home, the only one they’ll ever have. For some of us, it is our home but not our destiny, like Virgil.” He gazed off for a sliver and then glanced back at me. “Was that too much of a riddle for you?”

  “We have always been taught that this is all there is.”

  He looked around. “Taught, perhaps. Yet that is not the same as belief or, more significantly, truth, is it?”

  I shook my head. “No, it’s not.”

  He nodded, seemingly pleased that I understood the difference.

  “Why do you stay here, then, Thansius? You are a mighty and special Wug. Surely your destiny cannot lie simply in Wormwood.”

  “Oh, indeed I think that it does. And Wormwood is my home. Wugs, my brethren. Those concepts should never be taken lightly.”

  “And what of the Outliers? The Wall?”

  For the first time I could ever recall, Thansius, mighty Thansius, looked embarrassed, even ashamed.

  He said, “There is a sense of duty sometimes, Vega, which compels even the most honest of Wugs to do things that lack that very honesty.”

  “So it’s all a lie, then?”

  “Lies are sometimes given for the very best of intentions.”

  “Do you think that’s the case here?”

  “On the surface, unequivocally yes. When one reaches more deeply?” He shook his head sadly. “Then it merely becomes an act of dishonesty for which there is no sound basis.”

  “My grandfather once told me that the most bitterly awful place of all is one that Wugmorts don’t know is as wrong as wrong can possibly be.” I grew silent and looked at him questioningly.

  Thansius studied his large, strong hands for a few moments before looking up at me. “I would say that your grandfather was a very wise Wug.” He rose. “And now duty calls and thus I must be off.”

  At the door, he turned back. “Good luck, Vega, next light.” He paused and seemed to stare off for a moment before looking back at me. “And beyond. For I knew this time must come at some point.”

  And then Thansius was gone.

  THAT NIGHT IT was no surprise that I found it difficult to sleep. At the fourth section, I gave it up as a bad job. I pulled out my cloak and, using strong thread, sewed Destin into the garment’s sleeves and across its shoulders. This would hide my chain from view and also prevent it from being torn off me too easily. I put the Stone and the Elemental in my pocket, and set off with Harry Two.

  I had fashioned a harness and a cradle of sorts, using scraps of leather and metal from Stacks. When we were safely away from Wormwood proper, I tied the shoulder straps around me, placed Harry Two in the cradle and buckled him in against my chest. I had bound him up like this before and he had taken to it good-naturedly.

  I took a running start and soared into the air. This might be my last chance to leave the ground and feel the wind in my face, let it lift my hair. This light could very well be my last one. That made a Wug think.

  I flew along for a great many slivers with Harry Two dangling happily underneath me. I don’t know which of our grins was bigger. But there was a melancholy behind my smile, for obvious reasons. And as I looked down at Harry Two from time to time, I could sense the same with him. It was as though what was in my heart was magically transferred to his. Canines were indeed curiously marvelous beasts.

  We landed on the dirt, and I freed Harry Two from the harness. I had a cookie in my pocket, and I broke it in half and gave my canine his share, which he wolfed down while I took my time with mine. I chewed methodically, probably because I wanted to slow every sliver down now. It was all very morose and I wished I didn’t feel this way, but I did.

  Many things passed through my mind. I wondered if it hurt to die. I thought back to how Tilt looked when the blow from Ladon-Tosh had hurried him on to the Hallowed Ground. To tell the truth, I don’t think Tilt ever realized he had died. It had happened just that fast. So maybe there was no pain. But you were still dead. So the consolation was not simply small, it was nonexistent. At that moment, I happened to look up at the sky and felt a sudden thrill when I saw it.

  A shooting star. It raced across my point of view while all the other winks of light remained stationary. It had soon left them all behind. A sudden thought occurred to me.

  It seemed lost, that star. And alone. In such a big place as the heavens, I guess this was always a possibility. I harkened back to what my grandfather had said. When you see a shooting star, it meant change was coming for some Wugmort. I had to believe that the change was finally coming for me. Whether it would be my death or my escape from here, only this coming light would tell.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off the shooter. The little tail of fire kept going, powering the thing to, I’m sure, unimaginable speeds. I had never really believed my grandfather, just as youngs often don’t believe their elders when they’re trying to teach something. Yet now, sitting here, I somehow knew that Virgil had been entirely literal when telling me this. Change would come. It just would. Maybe he knew that one light, it would come for me. I kept sitting there and kept staring at the little pulse of brilliance. Since I had never glimpsed one before, I had no idea how long it would be visible. For some reason, in my head, I desperately wanted to keep it in sight. If it disappeared, it seemed to me, then so might I.

  And it was there, for the longest time, until something came to dispel it for good. Or at least from my eyes. The break of the first section of light.

  When the glow finally vanished, I rubbed my eyes and stretched my limbs. I picked up Harry Two and settled him into his cradle. I soared into the sky, performed a long dive and then came swooping back up into the lightening sky. Harry Two seemed to love this maneuver and barked happily.

  I landed on the outskirts of the Delphias’ property. I didn’t wake them, though they would be up soon enough. I had brought a bit of parchment with me and used my ink stick to mark a few words down and then slipped it inside the Delphias’ door.

  I bent down and gave Harry Two a long hug. It was hard to leave Wugs. It seemed just as hard to say good-bye to a beloved canine. I told Harry Two to stay with the Delphias. That the note would be read and they would understand.

  In the note I had asked Delph to take in Harry Two if I was killed this light. I knew he would. My canine would make a wonderful addition to the lives of Delph and Duf and that was a good thing. And I didn’t feel bad about this. Harry Two had given me much happiness in the brief time I’d had him. I hoped I had at least done the same for him. Other than Harry Two, I really had no instructions to give. I had nothing left that anyone would care about. John was provided for. My parents were gone. My digs would go back to being empty. Another Finisher
would take my place at Stacks. Life in Wormwood would go on, just like it always had.

  I didn’t fly back to my digs. I walked. By the time I got there, it was nearly time for me to go to the pitch. I would get there neither early nor late but rather right on the sliver. I was surprised to see some flowers that Wugs had left in front of my door with parchments attached containing hopeful words. I took them all inside and placed them on the table, where they looked awfully fine.

  I sat alone in my chair in front of the empty fireplace and counted off the slivers in my head. I turned to the window when I heard footfalls outside. Wugs were headed to the pitch. I waited a bit more and then rose and checked to make sure Destin was securely sewn into my cloak. As I touched the chain, it was warm. I took that as a good sign. I’m not sure why. Then I reached my hand in my pocket and touched first the Stone and then the Elemental. For luck? Again, I wasn’t sure.

  I went around the room and touched everything I had found here. The stacks of clothes and papers. And the drawings I had made as a very young. I looked over every square inch of what used to be my home and was once more where I dwelled. As I opened the door to leave, I took one last look around. Then I stepped outside, closed the door and headed to the pitch.

  It seemed that every Wugmort in Wormwood was here this light. I had truly never seen the pitch fuller. When I looked over at the betting boards, I was stunned to see not a single wager had been placed. Litches McGee and Roman Picus did not seem especially bothered by this. In fact, they were together mumbling things, their hands free of parchment bits.

  When Wugs saw me coming, something truly extraordinary happened. They started to clap. Just a few at first, but then others took it up and within a sliver, the pitch was thundering with the sounds of hands coming together. As I continued to march forward and the sea of Wugs respectfully parted so I could pass, I felt my face redden and my eyes moisten.

  Selene Jones, who ran the Noc Shop on the High Street, stepped forward and said excitedly, “Did your future reading last night, Vega. And guess what.”

  I looked at her expectantly. “What?” I finally asked.

  “Well, let’s just say I see bloody stacks of coins in your future, luv.”

  I smiled appreciatively, yet her words did not hearten me much. To my knowledge, Selene Jones had never made one correct prophecy in all her sessions.

  Darla Gunn came up seemingly from nowhere and wrung my hand. “You are so brave, Vega, so brave. But I still wish you weren’t doing this. I mean, we just got your hair looking so nice, didn’t we?”

  I laughed and it did my spirits good. “You got my hair looking nice, Darla. I had nothing to do with it.”

  I looked away when tears filled her eyes. I was not going to let myself cry. Ladon-Tosh would probably just kill me harder.

  Since there was only one bout this light, I was directed to the very center of the pitch where a special ring had been laid out. It seemed so small that I wagered Ladon-Tosh could simply stand at one end and kill me with one blow without either of us moving our feet. The strategy Delph had laid out was a good one, but right now it seemed absurdly inadequate. My confidence had totally deserted me.

  The referee was old Silas, whose eyesight had apparently worsened over the last few lights and nights, because he was standing at one end of the ring and looking the wrong way for the last two combatants to arrive. He remained that way until Thansius emerged from the crowd and gently pointed him in the correct direction.

  I next watched as Bogle and the carriage rattled up, and out stepped not just Morrigone but John. I caught her gaze for an instant but then she looked away. John’s eyes lingered on me. I had hoped to see something in them, something that told me … I wasn’t exactly sure what. But he dutifully followed Morrigone onto the platform and took his seat while the other members of Council sat in a row below.

  Krone was seated at the end of this row with Duk Dodgson next to him. They both seemed self-satisfied, as though my fate had already been decided.

  Their superior smiles made every muscle in my body tighten. Ladon-Tosh might end up killing me, but the lout would know he had been in a fight.

  Delph showed up a sliver later. He had Harry Two next to him. He caught my eye and held my canine up as if to say firmly, I’ve got him till you come to take him back.

  I smiled and then had to look away before the tears started to fly. I was here to fight, not cry. The clapping for me had continued all this time and then it abruptly stopped. A moment later, I knew why.

  Ladon-Tosh came striding down the path to the ring. He had on a plain shirt and a pair of old, dark trousers. He was barefoot. His eyes looked neither right nor left. Wugs pushed against each other trying to get out of his way. As I watched him approach, I felt Destin start to grow cold against my skin and I panicked. Was my chain abandoning me at this critical time?

  The official bell rang. Silas beckoned both Ladon-Tosh and me to the center of the ring so he could deliver his instructions. I stepped forward although my legs seemed unwilling to follow the command of my mind to move. Ladon-Tosh stepped right up to the center as though he were going for a stroll. He didn’t look at me, and I could manage only to shoot glimpses at him. My heart was pounding so fiercely in my ears that I could barely hear Silas’s by-now-familiar words.

  “Fair fight. Keep it clean. Penalty if one of you falls out of the ring.” Here Silas stopped and seemed to remember what had happened to Newton Tilt. He glanced at me and for the first time I think the wizened old bloke actually saw me. His look of fear for me was not very encouraging. And then from the corner of my eye, I saw Ezekiel stride toward the crowd in his flowing white robe. I assumed he was here to measure me for the box and an appropriate prayer when all was said and done.

  Silas stepped back, but before the second bell for the start of combat was sounded, Thansius came forward.

  He said, “This bout will determine the champion of this Duelum. As you all know, tragedy struck last time and we all hope that it does not do so again.”

  He looked at Ladon-Tosh when he said this part, but the latter’s gaze rested on a spot about six feet above my head. I even looked that way to see what he was staring at, but there was nothing there.

  Thansius continued. “If Vega Jane wins, she will be the first female champion ever and more than entitled to the one-thousand-coin reward.” He looked at Ladon-Tosh again, but since the git obviously wasn’t even paying attention, whatever else Thansius was going to say, he apparently decided not to. “Let the bout begin,” he said, and stepped clear of the ring.

  Silas motioned Ladon-Tosh and me to opposite ends of the ring and I obeyed with alacrity, naturally wanting to put as much space between us as I could.

  Right before the bell sounded, I looked over and saw Domitar. He was staring directly at me. I could swear he was saying something to me. I tried to hear the words.

  “All before. Done it before” was all I could make out.

  Then my attention snapped back to the bout. The bell rang. Neither Ladon-Tosh nor I moved. For all my feelings of hopelessness, I had my strategy — well, actually Delph’s strategy — and I intended to carry it out.

  For two long slivers, we simply stood there staring at each other. My heart continued to beat like a runaway slep as time ticked by. The crowd was holding its collective breath. No one was moving there either.

  And then it happened. I have no idea how or when. It just happened.

  I saw the fist coming at me so fast it seemed impossible to avoid its crushing impact. But as the knuckles raced at me, I flipped sideways in the air and came down on both feet. The crowd screamed as Ladon-Tosh was suddenly now on my side of the ring.

  “Oh my holy Steeples,” screamed Darla Gunn.

  I circled away from Ladon-Tosh as he straightened up and looked at his fist as though he couldn’t quite fathom how I was not dead.

  He turned toward me. I went into a crouch and studied him. And then another amazing thing happened. Everythin
g, and I mean everything, slowed down. My breathing, the movements of the crowd, the birds in the sky, the wind and even the sounds. They all seemed to be moving at a mere hundredth of their normal speeds. I watched one Wug sneeze and it seemed to take him a sliver to accomplish. Another excited Wug was jumping up and down and it seemed as if he was suspended in the air before he began his descent.

  But most important of all was the slowing down of Ladon-Tosh.

  The next punch came, but I saw it so well in advance that I had already moved, it seemed, before he even threw it. In fact, I leisurely watched it go by at the spot I had been a moment ago. He whirled around and looked at me. Yes, now Ladon-Tosh was looking at me. I was glad the git had finally condescended to actually see who he was trying to kill. Though when I saw the eyes, I wished he hadn’t. They were terrifying, to be sure. But they were also something else.

  They were familiar. I had seen them before; I just didn’t remember where.

  I heard a scream. I had lost my focus and I spun out of the way in the nick of time as a fist screamed past me with so much force that it seemed to carry a wake of turbulent air with it. This time I struck. I slammed my fist into my opponent’s back with such violence that I was convinced I had punched a hole right through him.

  Pain shot all the way up my arm and burst into my shoulder. I had never hit anything so hard in my life. Not even the rock cobble had been that hard. And I had exploded him. I hadn’t exploded Ladon-Tosh, though I had accomplished the seemingly impossible.

  I had knocked him flat on his face. A great cheer rang from the crowd.

  But as I stood there, my right arm dangling like a limp rope, I had nothing much to cheer about, for Ladon-Tosh was getting back up. I had hit him as hard as I possibly could and he was getting back up with no signs of permanent damage. I had forgotten Delph’s instructions. Tap-tap. Don’t hit him hard at first. But I had. And it was an enormous mistake.