Absolute

“The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished. None knew why or how. Wizards and philosophers of all sorts took to studying the phenomena. They asked the important questions and explored every manner of text. No answers could be found. No spell could reverse the river’s new course.

“While some continued the quest for a solution, others sought a source. Our armies scoured the countryside in search of the missing monarch, and whoever or whatever might have stolen her away. The neighbouring kingdoms bore the brunt of the blame, though they refused to admit to having any hand in our misfortune. Many wars were waged. We threw all our resources into finding Queen Ellearra and bringing her captor to justice. No matter where we looked, she was nowhere to be found.

“Ellevania eventually grew destitute. The search became our ruin. Then, when we were at our weakest, our most desperate, that’s what hailed the arrival of . . ..” He paused in his telling, absorbing the stares of the children who hung on his every word with abated breath. Raising his arms to lift his cloak, he made himself as big and dark as possible, towering over the seated innocents. “The Black King,” he finished with a snarl.

The children screamed with fright. Most ran to their mothers who cast annoyed glares in his direction. Those who remained frozen to their seats burst out in tears.

“Matthew Cobb. How many times must I tell you not to frighten the children!”

He laughed at the scolding, leaning back in his seat. “And yet you keep insisting I tell them stories. Dear sister, if you don’t want them frightened, you shouldn’t let me speak.”

“I have a right good mind to . . ..” She paused, glancing around at the still trembling and wailing babes. “Things are bad enough as it is without you adding to their nightmares. Have you no decency? No fear?”

“Of what, Anna? The Black King?”

Anna stormed across the room towards him as the kids wailed louder. Grabbing him by his ear, she dragged him from the house out into the open field.

Shadows raced across the grass to dance with the stalks of wheat bending in the breeze. The third moon had started showing its face just above the horizon, an indication that the fair weather of autumn would soon be changing to the harsh cold of winter.

“Ow. Ow. Anna, ow!”

“Serves you right!” she spat remorselessly. She released him, hands instantly landing on her hips sternly. The pose was one she had mastered from childhood, and it reminded him all too much of their late mother.

Rubbing his ear, Matt glanced towards the house. “It was just a bit of fun. No harm done.”

“No harm done,” Anna spat.

“Essy and Sybil were enjoying it.” He knew his protest was weak at best.

Anna simply stared at him. Though she only had one year on him, she took her responsibility as the eldest very seriously. It was her job to make sure everyone kept to their tasks, a position he did not envy.

“I’m sorry, alright? I won’t do it again.”

“That’s what you said last time. You can’t help yourself. I ask you to tell stories because you have the skill, yet you squander it on nonsense. Why are you so hung up on that old tale anyway? Even as a child it was always your favourite.”

“It was yours too, if I recall.”

Her lips tightened for a moment. Then she continued. “The Queen is never coming back. Even if she could . . .. It’s been centuries. Matt, this has to stop. Queen Ellearra is just a bedtime story. One that should be put to rest.”

“Why?” he demanded. “Why do you give up on hope?”

Anna raised her arms in a hopeless gesture. “Look around, Matt. Our town, our home is barely scraping by. The land is failing. There are too many sick children. Too many still-births. Too little food to feed what mouths still crave sustenance. Whatever scourge the Black King brought with him cannot be stopped. Nothing will make the River Delerak flow back down its natural course.”

He turned away from her, but she gently grabbed him by the arm.

“I don’t give up on hope,” she told him softly. “It’s just that there isn’t any hope left to hold onto. We have no future, and the past cannot save us. Tell the others it’s time to come in for the night. The black hour is nearly upon us.”

Refusing to look at her, he waited until he heard the door to the main house open and close. Then he glanced up at the sky. Sure enough, the second moon was nearing the first. Though the nights had always gone dark for a week at a time each month when the moons aligned, many things had changed with the arrival of the Black King. When the moons blocked each other out, they now took even the light of the stars with them, plunging the world into absolute darkness. Such nights were no longer safe. Neither were the nights with moonlight, or the days, for that matter, but the nights when the moons crossed paths were especially dangerous. Things happened in darkness. Foul things.

Hurrying his steps, he ran for the barn where his sisters’ husbands were finishing their daily duties. The animals had to be properly penned for the night. Losing even one to black hour would cost their family and the village too dearly.

“Matt, perfect timing,” Perry, Anna’s husband, greeted with a grunt. “Gavin and Anwar could use the extra muscle getting T’Mar settled. There isn’t much time, and she’s in a right foul mood tonight.”

He nodded, rushing to the back of the barn where the other two men fought with a beast whose shoulders stood nearly twice their height.

T’Mar was generally a gentle beast. She took her role in farming with a serene ease. During the day, at least. Nights, however, made her nervous. Despite her immense size, she remained a coward, typical of her species.

“Matt, thank the gods. Can you calm her?” Anwar asked. “She’s stubborn tonight.”

Without hesitation, Matt pulled the lute from the wall meant for just such occasions. After a quick check to make sure the instrument was in tune, he began to play. The gentle melody soon calmed the hulking beast, allowing the others to settle her in for the night.

“You could have played for her, Gavin,” Matt commented as he returned the lute to its place.

Gavin shrugged. “She responds better when you play.”

“It’s your natural talent,” Perry added, dropping an arm around Matt’s shoulders. “You’ve always had that certain magic touch.”

“Nothing magic about it,” Matt told him. “But we’d better get back to the house before your wives lock us out.”

“Right. Wouldn’t want to sleep in the barn,” Anwar laughed.

“Again,” Gavin corrected playfully.

They crossed the distance with hurried steps, each taking their turn glancing up at the moons as their edges began to converge. Matt took up the rear, and as he surveyed the fields as he passed, he thought he caught sight of unnatural shadows moving along the nearby forest’s edge, waiting. Though he’d seen them before, the sight still sent shivers down his spine, and he closed the door behind him with more force than intended. His hands trembled only slightly as he made sure the locks were secure. Though nothing had ever gotten in before, he double, and triple checked that he hadn’t missed a single one.

“Everything is locked?” he heard Perry asking.

“Everything,” Anna replied. “Sybil is doing the final check.”

“The children are in bed?”

“Essy is singing them the lullabies.”

“Whose turn is it for sentry duty?”

Matt peered out the window just beside the door, watching as the light of the moons slowly faded. Soon, darkness would reign. “Mine,” he answered, letting the thick curtain drop back into place. “You’d better get to your rooms. It’s time to douse the lights.”

Perry nodded to him, grabbed Anna by the arm, and the two of them disappeared upstairs.

Gavin handed him a loaded crossbow and several spare arrows, his expression grave. Then he and Anwar raced up to the second floor, turning off the lights as they went.

Taking a deep breath, Matt doused the last of the candles. Only the smouldering coals of the fire remained glowing a dim red. He sat with his back to the fireplace, so he had a clear view of every door and window on the main floor. The crossbow he kept gripped tightly, his finger hovering next to the trigger.

“The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished,” he whispered to himself. “And on the day she returns, all things will be made right once more.”