Drinking Midnight Wine (44 page)
Read Drinking Midnight Wine Online
Authors: Simon R. Green
Toby shrugged. “He probably wouldn’t recognize my version. I’m a little concerned about Blackacre. What will people say when they see it’s come alive overnight?”
“Beats me,” said Gayle. “Some scientist will explain it, eventually. They always do. Veritie doesn’t have the patience for mysteries.”
“I can’t believe it all happened so quickly, that all the dramas and battles and destinies fulfilled took place in a single day and night,” said Toby.
“All your fault,” Gayle said easily. “After all the years, the centuries, of people and places and things moving into position, all the pressures building came to a head when you decided you were in love with me. When you crossed out of Veritie and into Mysterie, to be with me, you became a focal point, and the last piece finally fell into place.
“And everything could begin, at last.”
Toby considered that, thought about raising the subject of free will again, thought better of it, and finally decided to change the subject.
“What’s happening with your sister?” he said carefully. “How is she doing?”
“Apparently Luna is making arrangements to go traveling. She doesn’t want to stay in Bradford-on-Avon anymore, not after seeing her son die here. Now that she’s feeling more herself, and less like several other people, she’s looking to center herself by studying other people—real people. It’s been a long time since Luna went walkabout in the real world. I can’t help feeling she’s in for quite a shock, and a few surprises. She missed a lot, cooped up in her cage.”
“Will she be all right?”
“Of course. She’s Luna.”
Toby decided to change the subject. “How about Leo Morn?”
“Leo has returned to his cottage, and has let it be known that if ever we’re in urgent need and trouble again, if ever we need a hero . . . would we please ask someone else. Anyone else. And, that if we ever come knocking at his door again, he’s going to barricade himself in and throw things at us.”
Toby had to smile. “Yeah, that sounds like Leo. Do we have any news about his Brother and Angel?”
Gayle shook her head slowly. “No one’s seen anything of them since they disappeared together last night. They’ve dropped off the map completely, which is a pretty good trick in a town like this. Presumably they want to be left strictly alone while they do their catching up. Personally, I’m prepared to let them be lost for as long as they want. I have a feeling they could get really irritated with anyone who intruded on their reunion, the kind of irritation that ends up with the intruder being sent home in several small boxes. At least the Brother repaired his hill before he went missing. Though the chalk giant does look a bit crooked now.”
Toby looked Gayle straight in the eye. “You haven’t mentioned Nicholas Hob. Is he really dead and gone, this time?”
“Yes,” said Gayle. “Killed by the only people who could do it. Caught between, and destroyed by, the mother and father who gave him life.”
“What’s to stop the Serpent trying again?” Toby said slowly. “Could he create another child, another agent in the world of men? Could he try to . . . rape someone again?”
“We’re ready for him now,” said Gayle, and her voice was cold and hard. “Protections are in place.”
Toby decided not to press the point any further. He didn’t think he wanted to know the details. Certainly it was clear that Gayle had said all she was prepared to say on the matter. He changed the subject again.
“What happened to the Mice? Did they all get back safely?”
“Oh, yes,” said Gayle. “There are few things in either world fast enough to keep up with a properly motivated Mouse.”
“I still feel a bit guilty about endangering them,” said Toby.
“Nonsense,” Gayle said briskly. “They had the time of their lives, most fun they’ve had in years. The Mice live for pranks and putting one over on the bad guys.” She poured herself more coffee and offered the pot to Toby, who shook his head. Gayle frowned, suddenly thoughtful. “The only real victims were the dead, torn from their graves to serve the Hob. Jimmy’s arranged for the death-walkers to retrieve all the bodies from Blackacre, and from his hall. They’ll use their insider knowledge to identify each body properly, and see they’re put back where they belong. Minimum of fuss, for the families’ sake.”
“Must have been quite a long phone call, while I was out,” Toby observed to his coffee cup. Gayle put a hand on his arm.
“Don’t be jealous, Toby. I got over Jimmy a long time ago. I’m still fond of him, as a friend, but I have no illusions about him. He’s brave and he’s a hero because that’s what his nature compels him to be. You were brave and a hero through your own choice. It was your decision. That’s a hell of a sight more impressive. Whoever decided to make you a focal point knew what they were doing.”
Toby snorted. “I hope they also know that I am very definitely retired from the focal-point business. I don’t ever want to be that scared again. What if I’d chosen wrong?”
“But you didn’t. You’re a remarkable man, Toby Dexter. I’m very proud of you.”
Toby met her gaze squarely. “But mortal must not love immortal.”
“No one said this was going to be easy,” Gayle said quietly. “I’m human, but Gaia is not. Long after you’re dead and gone, Gaia will still be here.”
“Then let’s make the most of our time together,” said Toby, taking her hand in both of his. “Because the small picture is just as important as the big picture.”
They smiled together, lost for a long moment in each other’s eyes.
“This is why I stay human,” Gayle said eventually. “These transient, passing joys that are more important than sagas and destinies and the rise and fall of worlds. Because in the end, there’s nothing more magical than love, my sweet.”
They kissed, and for a while nothing else mattered.
“So,” said Toby, eventually. “Do I take it you have no plans to assume your aspect again, any time soon? To become Gaia, the Mother of the World?”
“No,” Gayle said firmly. “I decided long ago not to interfere. If Gaia were to get involved with your species’s progress, how could you ever learn to grow and evolve and transcend yourselves? I might preserve your present but deny you your future. I’m your Mother, not your Nanny. Humanity’s potential is too great to put at risk by meddling.”
“Even if we continue to pollute the planet, and maybe some day even destroy it?”
“Even then. You have to have faith, Toby.”
“So . . . what do we do next?”
“Well, first we clear the table and do the washing-up. Then . . . I have a life to get back to. My special children don’t care about my problems, they have too many of their own. Humanity is something you learn by doing. How about you?”
“I am not going back to my old job, my old life,” said Toby. “I couldn’t, not after everything I’ve seen. There’s so much out there that I want to know about. I’m going to go exploring in Mysterie, find all the weird places and weirder people. See everything there is to see.”
“Good,” said Gayle. “That should stir things up a bit.”
“Of course,” said Toby, scowling, “there is the problem of what I’m going to do for money. I don’t suppose your teacher’s pay is going to cover both of us.”
Gayle laughed. “Toby, I’ve been around for centuries, remember? I’m rich. Compound interest will do that for you, if you just live long enough.”
“I knew there was a good reason why I fell in love with you,” said Toby.
What value can one ordinary man have in a magical world? What can a mortal bring to the affairs of immortals?
Insight. Honor. Morality. Perspective.
Because nothing makes love and life matter more than the knowledge that some day it must end.
After they’d finished the washing-up, Gayle produced a bottle of wine she’d been saving for a very special occasion. Old, dark wine from the borderlands where night meets day. She opened the bottle expertly and poured two long glasses. They toasted each other and drank together, a wine so dark it had stars in it.
Midnight wine.
About the Author
Simon R. Green
is a
New York Times
bestselling author whose works include
Beyond the Blue Moon, Blue Moon Rising, The Adventures of Hawk & Fisher,
and the
Deathstalker
series. A resident of Bradford-on-Avon in England, he is currently working on the next
Deathstalker
novel.
is a
New York Times
bestselling author whose works include
Beyond the Blue Moon, Blue Moon Rising, The Adventures of Hawk & Fisher,
and the
Deathstalker
series. A resident of Bradford-on-Avon in England, he is currently working on the next
Deathstalker
novel.
Simon R. Green’sDeathstalker
saga continues ...DEATHSTALKER LEGACYAvailable in paperback December 2003DEATHSTALKER RETURNSAvailable in hardcover January 2004
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