The Finisher

I stopped drawing closer when I saw Morrigone sitting in a chair next to Thansius as he stood by the hole that would quite soon become a grave. She was dressed not in white this night, but in black. The far darker color seemed to suit her better, I thought. Yet I had to admit I had never seen a Wug more stricken than Morrigone. Her face was a hard knot of rigid pain. She looked sessions older. Lines on her face I had never seen before now were bared to us all. Tears stained her cheeks and, while she was doing her best to hide it from us, every so often her body shuddered.

From time to time, Thansius placed a large, supportive hand on her shoulder and spoke quietly to her with words I could not hear. What was going on between those two spe- cial Wugs would take a great deal more thinking than I could give it right now.

As I continued to look around, I noted that there was one Wug conspicuously absent. Ladon-Tosh was nowhere to be seen. I wondered if charges were to be referred against him.

What he had done was murder in my eyes, plain and simple.

He could have beaten poor Tilt easily and with no need to kill him. It was an evil act, but then again, I wondered if the rules 427 of the Duelum exempted combatants from any such punish- ments. If they did, the rules should be changed.

Wrong, after all, was wrong, no matter in what venue it might have occurred.

Everything had a moral hitched to it if one bothered to look for it.

I was surprised to see Delph slowly coming up the path.

He was still limping and still holding his arm funny, yet he seemed to be getting stronger with each light and night.

However, I was stunned to see Duf walking next to him, wearing his new timbertoes and using his new stick, which he gripped in his right hand. He seemed to have adapted to it well and it was hard to tell who was supporting whom more, injured son or legless father, because each had an arm around the other.

I hurried over to them and hugged first Duf and kissed him on the cheek, and then I embraced Delph, who was as cleaned up as I had ever seen him. I think he had actually used some of his winning wager to buy new clothes at the male shop next to Herman Helvet’s confectionary.

“Heard ’bout your last round, Vega Jane,” said Delph.

“But we need to talk,” he added solemnly.

I shushed him as Ezekiel came forward, the only sparkle of white in a sea of dark.

He prayed out loud and then led us through another. We sang. He committed the body of Newton Tilt, a fine Wug struck down long before his proper time, to the dirt.

Then Thansius rose and said some comforting words, his huge frame quivering with emotion. All of Wormwood was distraught, but I had heard no protests that the Duelum 428 should be canceled before the last bout was held. Our collec- tive empathy apparently had certain limits.

After Thansius finished speaking, all heads turned to Morrigone, figuring that she would close the sad ceremony with some appropriate female commentary, but that was not to be. She never rose from her chair and never looked up at any of us. She just sat there as though cast in unyielding mar- ble. Her grief seemed even greater than the stricken Tilt family’s.

Later, as the box was lowered by some sturdy Wugs into the grave, the crowd started to disperse. I was surprised to see Morrigone leave her perch and walk over to the Tilts. She put her arm around Tilt’s parents and started speaking to them in a low voice. They nodded and cast tearful smiles and seemed consoled by her words. She was evidently evoking kindness and sympathy and support. A more inscrutable Wug I had never encountered, because I was certain she had used her powers to try and kill me in that looking glass. Anyone who could control a maniack in order to murder was not someone I wanted as a friend.

Then I turned to Duf.

“You seem to have taken to the timbertoes and stick very quickly, Duf,” I said encouragingly. “You’re getting around like your old self.

” He seemed pleased by my words but in his gritted teeth I saw the pain behind his smile. And I noted how his hands kept clenching and unclenching. “Takes a bit of gettin’ used to, I’ll grant you that. But I’m gettin’ there, I am.

” He added with a lifeless chortle, “And I’ll never have to worry ’bout me bad knees no more, will I?” 429 “No,” I said with a smile, admiring greatly his attitude but feeling awful at seeing his obvious discomfort.

“Still, I probably shoulda kept to me bed this night,” said Duf, his face suddenly contorted in pain. He gasped and held on to Delph for support. Then he righted himself and added weakly, “But known the Tilts for ages. So sad. Couldn’t not come, could I? Wouldn’t be right. Can’t believe little Newtie’s gone. Held him in me arms when he was just a wee Wug.

Never gave no one a lick of trouble. A good lad. A fine lad.

” A tear trickled down his face even as he gave a sharp cry and grabbed at his right stump.

I was becoming more and more bewildered by this. I thought with the legs gone and the timbertoes on, there would be no more pain for him. When I looked over at Delph questioningly, he explained, “They had to burn the ends of his legs, Vega Jane, to get the stumps ready for the timbers.

” His father said admonishingly, “This pretty female don’t need to hear no rubbish talk like that, Daniel Delphia.

” He smiled back another bout of suffering that crossed his face and said, “Now, that is the loveliest frock I believe I’ve ever seen, Vega,” he commented. He nudged his huge son. “Ain’t it, Delph? Eh?” Delph nodded shyly and said, “ ’Tis, Dad. ’Tis.

” I reached in the pocket of my frock where the Adder Stone lay. After nearly losing it I’d decided to always keep it with me. I palmed the Stone so it could not be seen by either of them. Maybe it could not regrow limbs, but I knew it could make pain vanish. When they turned and spoke to some other Wugs who inquired how Duf was doing, I surreptitiously waved the Stone over what remained of Duf’s legs and thought 430 as good thoughts as I could. The change in Duf was almost instantaneous. I had just put the Stone back in my pocket when Duf turned to look at me, the most serene expression on his face.

“Are you okay, Duf?” I asked innocently.

He nodded. “Okay? I’m like a new Wug, ain’t I?” He slapped his thigh.

Delph saw this and exclaimed, “Cor blimey, don’t do that, Dad.

” Duf slapped his other thigh and stood totally erect with- out his son’s help. “Lookit that, Delph. No more pain. Bloody miracle, i’tis.

” Delph eyed his father’s legs and then he turned to me, suspicion all across his features. He knew. I could just tell he knew what’d I done. When Delph glanced away, I passed the Stone over him too. He turned once more to stare at me. His leg was now fine. His arm no longer hung funny. He was healed too. I was a git for not thinking of doing this before.

But I was happy, and some of my guilt melted away.

We parted company on the High Street. Delph and Duf were headed back to the Care. But Duf felt he could head home soon, especially with the pain gone.

I heard the carriage wheels long before I turned. I was on the Low Road now and the carriage shouldn’t have been. I finally looked back to see Bogle pulling his steeds to a halt next to where I stood.

As she stepped from the carriage, Morrigone still looked awful, which made me feel immeasurably better, despite the grief she had shown at the Hallowed Ground, despite her consoling words to the Tilts. Her gaze searched mine. I 431 merely stared back quizzically. I did notice with unconcealed relish that with my heels on, I was now taller than her. She had to look up to me.


She said, “I was glad to see Duf here this night. The tim- bertoes seem to be working for him.

” “I think they’ll work just fine now,” I replied tersely, watching her closely.

“And I have spoken with Delph recently. He . . . he seems far more assured in his speech than he once did.

” “He is,” I said. “It simply took him remembering some- thing that others did not want him to recall.

” “I see.

” “So you can stop paying him coins, Morrigone. He doesn’t need your pity or your coin anymore to recompense for what you did to him.

” I had finally figured that one out too.

“Is that what you thought it was, pity?” “Wasn’t it?” I challenged.

“You have much to learn, Vega. However, I came not to speak of Delph but of the Duelum,” she began.

“What about it?” I said.

“You versus Ladon-Tosh.

” “That’s what the competition board says.

” “He didn’t mean to kill poor Newton Tilt.

” I shook my head stubbornly. “I was there. I saw what hap- pened. He didn’t need to hit him that hard.

” She looked down and I thought I saw her lips tremble.

She looked back up and her features were tight and com- posed. “I think he sees that now.

” 432 “Lucky for me, since I’m next. Where is he, by the by?” “I asked him to stay away. I didn’t think it would be . . .

appropriate.

” “Why is he even in the Duelum?” I asked.

“Why shouldn’t he be?” she said warily.

“He’s clearly older than twenty-four sessions, for starters.

” “Not according to his records.

” “I’d like to see those records. Just to confirm where the Hel he came from.

” She looked at me with a degree of incredulity that I found pathetic under the circumstances. “He came from Wormwood. Where else would he have come from?” I shook my head again, plainly showing my disappoint- ment with her response. “Well, if he is a Wug, he’s a most unusual one. I’ve never even heard him speak. And the rumor about him killing that Wug at Stacks. You have to admit, it’s all a bit dodgy.

” “It is a bit dodgy,” was her surprising reply. She had low- ered her eyes again, but then she raised her head and looked directly at me, her green eyes glowing as though they had been ignited. “You don’t have to fight him, Vega.

” “Then I’ll end up in Valhall, won’t I?” “I can meet with Krone. I can work something out. Any sentence in Valhall would be relatively short. But there would be another condition.

” I folded my arms over my chest. “What?” “You know far more than is good for a Wug.

” “You mean I know the truth,” I shot back.

433 “The condition is that you will not be allowed to remem- ber such things anymore.

” “So the red light, then?” I remarked coolly. “I think I’ve figured that out. Red must be more powerful than blue. Delph was much bigger than me, even back then. The blue light was sufficient to wipe my thoughts nearly clear, although I could still remember the scream, Morrigone. And the blue light.

” “What?” she said, clearly astonished by this.

“I thought it was just a nightmare. And Delph eventually remembered, with a little help from me. That’s what I meant when I said he no longer stutters. He remembers, Morrigone.

All of it.

” We stared at each other in silence. I finally said, “So I’ll take my chances in the quad, thanks anyway.

” I added firmly, “You’re not messing with my mind, ever again.

” “I am well aware that you dispatched your other competi- tors with relative ease.

” “Except for Racksport. He shot himself accidentally. Or so they say.

” “What do you mean ‘or so they say’?” “What I mean is that a suspicious Wug, namely me, would think that Racksport was got out of the way so I would have to meet Ladon-Tosh in the final bout.

” She said, “If true, that would be a very evil thing to do.

” “I completely agree,” I replied, staring back at her. “I also know that our last few encounters have ended badly, very badly.

” “And I also know that you have visited my home twice now while I was away. May I ask why?” “Once to confirm something.

” 434 “What?” “Your taste in looking glasses.

” We once more stared at each other in silence. I could tell that Morrigone was appraising me in a whole new light and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.

“And the other time?” “To wish my brother a happy birthlight. And to give him a present.

” She looked down. “That was thoughtful of you, very thoughtful, considering the circumstances.

” “He is my brother, Morrigone. No matter what happens, he will always be my brother. And I love him. Uncondition- ally. Far more than you ever could.

” I said all of this in a loud voice because I just knew that John was in the carriage listening intently.

“I can understand that,” she said. “Blood is blood.

” “As to the Duelum. Why are you suddenly so concerned about my welfare? You said I had to fight my best. Well, I’m fighting my best. And if I die, so be it. I die for the right reasons. I die with the truth in my heart. Not like the adars that Wugs have become, just parroting back what they’re told.

Not understanding who they really are. Where we came from. What Wormwood really is.

” “And what do you think Wormwood is, Vega?” she said, giving me a deadly stare.

“Well, speaking for me — it’s a prison.

” “I’m sorry you feel that way.

” I cocked my head, studied her. I was comfortable doing so, because now, more than ever before, I was seeing myself in a different way. I was seeing myself — as her equal. Or 435 better. “I saw you at the Hallowed Ground. I believe your tears were very real.

” “They were. I was crushed by what happened. It was unthinkable.

” “I’m curious that you had a chat with Ladon-Tosh, and you said he understands he was in the wrong?” “That’s right.

” “So he does talk, then?” She seemed caught off guard by this. “Yes, I mean, he . . .

communicates.

” “But only with . . . you?” “I can’t really speak to that. I’m not with him for much of the time.

” “I see. Well, put in a good word with him for me, will you?” I said casually.

She suddenly gripped my arm tightly. “Do not take this lightly, Vega. Please do not. If nothing else, think of your brother. You would not want to be lost to him, would you?” I glanced at the carriage. I thought back to my last encounter with John. To the things I had seen on the walls of his room.

“I think he might already be lost to me,” I replied slowly.

“So you see, there is really nothing left for me here. Noth- ing at all.

” She released my arm, stepped back and looked down.

“I see.

” “Do you really see, Morrigone?” I asked.

She glanced up sharply, her gaze probing, almost menac- ing. “I see far more than you realize, Vega.

” 436 I squared my shoulders and stared down at her. “If I fight, I was told I would be free. I intend to fight to the end. And if I survive, I intend to be free. Really free,” I added. Then I turned and walked off. As always, it was a good idea to keep moving in Wormwood.


And so I did.

I had two more lights. Perhaps to live.

437 Q U A D R A G I N T A O C T O A Hodgepodge Plan I was Just thinking of crawling into my cot and pull- ing the covers over me when someone rapped at my door.

Harry Two barked and started clawing at the wood. I walked to the door and said, “Who is it?” “Wotcha, Vega Jane.

” I opened the door, stepped back and let Delph pass through. He knelt to pet Harry Two, who was jumping all over him and trying to lick every exposed piece of skin Delph had. I closed the door and motioned him to the chair by the empty fireplace. I perched on the cot, my hands in my lap and stared at him.

“What do you want?” I asked.

He gave me a furtive glance. “You okay?” “Well, let me see. I just went to watch a Wug being planted at the Hallowed Ground. I no longer recognize my brother. My parents are gone. In two lights, I’m probably going to die in the Duelum at the hands of a murderer. So, yeah, I’m definitely not okay.

” He bowed his head and I felt bad for having said what I had.

“I’m sorry, Delph. None of this is your problem.

” “But ’tis my problem. You dying? Can’t let that happen, can I? I mean, I just can’t.

” “I have to fight Ladon-Tosh,” I said. “And nothing you say will make me change my mind.

” He nodded at this, which surprised me. “So the thing is, you got to not get killed.

” “Trust me, that point I understand.

” “How you going to do it, then?” I stared at him. It had just occurred to me that as much thought as I had given to my upcoming bout with Ladon-Tosh, I had given no thinking time to how I was actu- ally going to win. Or at least survive. “I’ve been thinking,” I said slowly, allowing myself time to actually “think” of something.

“Well, I been thinking too,” said Delph forcefully. “And some blokes told me what he done to poor Tilt.

” I sat forward, suddenly feeling engaged. “The thing is, Delph, I never even saw Ladon-Tosh strike. That’s how fast the blow was. It knocked Tilt completely out of the quad. He weighed over two hundred pounds if he weighed an ounce.

He was dead before he hit the dirt. Killed with one blow. I’ve never seen anything like it.

” This all came out in a rush of fear that had been welling up inside me ever since Tilt had struck the ground.

“But look what you done to that cobble at Stacks,” he pointed out. “That thing weighed more’n Tilt, I’ll tell you that.

And you didn’t just kill it. You exploded it.

” “That was because I had Destin.

” “And you’ll have Destin when you fight Ladon-Tosh.

” 439 “That would be cheating.

” “Bollocks!! Do you really think Ladon-Tosh is a normal Wug? Something’s going on there, Vega Jane. You having Destin when you take him on won’t be cheating. It’ll be mak- ing the fight fair, way I see it.

” I sat back and thought about this. What Delph was say- ing made perfect sense. I had won all my other matches on my own by a combination of luck, planning and instinct. But I knew in my heart that none of those would allow me to pre- vail against Ladon-Tosh. He had killed a Wug with one blow.

That was not possible, only it had definitely happened.

“Okay, I guess I can see that,” I finally said.

He looked vastly relieved by my acquiescence on this critical point.

He said, “So it comes down to you landing your blow before Ladon-Tosh can land his.

” “Like I said, I never even saw him hit Tilt. I might have killed that cobble with one blow, but I was nowhere near as fast as Ladon-Tosh.

” “Then we have to come up with a way that you’re even faster. Or else you have to make him miss with his first strike and finish him off before he can try again.

” “And how exactly am I supposed to do that?” I said incredulously.

“ ’Tis why I’m here. Fought in enough Duelums, haven’t I? Know my way around the quad, don’t I?” “Okay, what suggestions do you have?” “Watched Ladon-Tosh’s second round. He dinnae killed no Wug that time, but there are some things I noted.

” 440 “Like what?” “He don’t move on the bell, not up or back.

” “That’s right, he didn’t move against Tilt either.

” “He lets you come to him, then he strikes.

” “Faster than the eye can see,” I groused.

“Where’s the chain?” “Why?” “Want to see something.

” I fetched Destin from under the floorboard and put it around my waist. Delph stood and put up his hands. “Put yours up too.

” I did so. “Now I’m going to throw a punch, and I’m not going to say when —” He snapped a blow at my head. I easily flicked it away.

He smiled but I didn’t. “That wasn’t nearly as fast as Ladon-Tosh’s,” I said.

“Back up to the wall over there.

” “What?” “Wanta try something else.

” I did as he asked, reluctantly. From his coat he pulled out a long strip of rubber with a small square patch of leather attached. On the patch he placed a stone he’d taken from his trouser pocket. He started to spin the rubber, which I now saw as a shotslinger, faster and faster.

“Can you see the stone?” he asked.

“Barely.

” He spun it faster. “How about now?” “Just a glimpse.

” He whirled it even faster. “Now?” “Not at al —” 441 Before I finished speaking, he had fired off the stone right at me. When I looked down a sliver later, I saw the stone cupped in my hand.

I looked up in amazement. “How did I do that?” Delph grinned and pointed at Destin. “Reckon the answer lies there.

” “But it lets me fly. And it gives me strength. But —” And now Delph was about to shock me.

“I think what it does, Vega Jane, is give you what i’tis you need at the time you need it.

” I gazed openmouthed up at him. This was stunning. Not what Destin could do, although that was amazing. No, it was that Delph had thought of it and I hadn’t.

“Do you really think so?” I asked hopefully.

“Fly when you need to? Give a pasting to a cobble when it needs doing? Stop a stone from hitting you in the face?” I touched Destin. It felt warm, as though it had just had a bit of exercise.

“But that’s not all, Vega Jane.

” I looked at him with wrinkled brow. “What do you mean?” “Chain is a big help, no doubt. But you got to have more than one way to beat Ladon-Tosh. He’s big, strong, fast. Can’t count on taking him with just speed.

” “What, then?” “You got to move. Wear him down. Let him punch.

” He paused. “And if you got to take to the air, Vega Jane, take to the bloody air.

” I stared wide-eyed at him. “Okay, up to that last state- ment, you didn’t sound mental at all. But you want me to fly? In front of Council? In front of every Wug?” 442 “Would you rather be headed to the Hallowed Ground for all of eternity instead?” What irritated me most about this exchange was that Delph sounded the far more logical one of us. “A bit of me says yes. Most of me says no.

” “Listen to most of you, then.


” “What else?” “At the bell you don’t move either. It’ll confuse the lout.

Make him come to you. He’ll throw a punch. Then you’ll move away. Hit him if you can. Taps at first. Let his confi- dence build.

” “I think he has plenty of confidence already.

” “You know what you done with that other cobble at Stacks?” “I didn’t know you were watching.

” “Oh, I was. You spun him like a top. Got him all jargoled, didn’t you?” He pointed a finger at me. “Now, I reckon with Ladon-Tosh, you do the same. You’ll get one shot to get ’er done. You got to bring all you got. All you and the chain got.

” I looked down at Destin and felt once more guilty.

Delph must have read my look, because he snapped, “Don’t be barmy. Like I said, you think something dodgy’s not going on with Ladon-Tosh? Bloke don’t even talk. And he ain’t younger’n twenty-four sessions, I’ll tell you that. I’m not sure he’s even a Wug, tell the truth. Har.

” “I guess you’re right,” I said slowly.

“Course I’m right. Now, what we’re going to do is prac- tice right and proper every sliver we can till it’s time to fight.

” “You really think I can beat him, Delph?” “You’re going to beat him.

” 443 “Thanks, Delph.

” “Thank me after you win the Duelum, Vega Jane.

” eVerywhere i went the next lights and nights, Wugs came out of all corners of Wormwood to wish me well or, in some cases, to say their good-byes. Pieces of parchment were slipped under my door. Most were kind and encouraging.

However, one was particularly nasty. But I recognized Cletus Loon’s poor scrawl and I didn’t take any heed.

Delph and I had practiced his strategy over and over until I could do it in my sleep. It lifted my spirits. I felt as if I had a fighting chance, which is all one is entitled to in my view.

Thansius visited me on the night before the Duelum’s final bout. He came not by carriage; I would have heard that.

He simply walked up to my humble door and knocked. I of course asked him in. Harry Two let Thansius scratch him on the head before settling down by my cot. I insisted Thansius take the more comfortable chair while I perched in the other.

At first, Thansius remained silent, his face brooding and his long fingers slowly stroking his beard. Finally, seeming to have reached a decision, he leaned forward and finally focused on me.

But I broke the silence first. “I’m fighting Ladon-Tosh. So please don’t bother trying to talk me out of it.

” “I never intended to. I believe you must fight him.

” This stunned me. I sat back, gaping at him.

“You’re surprised by my statement?” he said unnecessar- ily, for my mouth was still hanging open.

“I am.

” 444 “So many of our fellow Wugmorts never manage to see past the sole light facing them. Past the borders of Wormwood or their own narrow minds. For our borders are indeed narrow, Vega.

” “You put it far more eloquently than I could have, Thansius.

” “I understand that you and Morrigone have had words on a number of occasions. Harsh words.

” “If she said so, I don’t deny it.

” “You believe her to be evil?” “No. I know her to be evil. What do you consider her to be?” “Her history is an interesting one. A sterling Wug family.

Good upbringing. Brilliant at Learning.

” “She has lots of books. Most Wugs don’t.

” “That is very true.

” “And her house is probably the most beautiful home in all of Wormwood.

” “Doubtless it is.

” “And the things she can do? Where did that come from?” He paused and gave me a stare so sharp that I thought I would bleed. “You mean the things you also can do?” “How did you —” He waved away my surprise. “Every Wug has a job, from the lowest to the highest. Now, my job is to know things, Vega. I don’t know all, but I know close to all. And I know that the powers with which Morrigone has been endowed are showing themselves in you. There is, however, a critical dif- ference, I think.

” 445 “And what is that?” “Simply that your powers are greater.

” I turned away from those penetrating eyes. “I have no idea what I’m doing. She does.

” “On the contrary, I think you do. You recall your tree?” I turned back to him. ”What about my tree?” “It wasn’t petrified of course,” said Thansius matter-of- factly. “But I knew that explanation would suffice for the likes of Non and his followers.

” “Didn’t you harden my tree and protect it?” I asked.

Because this is what I had thought had happened.

“No, indeed. I don’t have the means with which to do so.

You, Vega, you saved your tree.

” “How?” “By, I believe, simply willing it to survive. I saw your face.

I could easily realize what was in your heart. Thus, your beloved tree became hard as rock. And it survived.

” 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 any- more. 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 rea- son he is no longer among us.

” 446 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 cer- tainly. 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?” 447 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.

448 Q U A D R A G I N T A N O V E M To The Death That night it was no surprise that I found it diffi- cult 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 Elemen- tal 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 dan- gling 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 shoot- ing 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 450 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 vis- ible. 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 451 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 other 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 the sounds of 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 draw- ings 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.

452 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 parch- ment bits.


When Wugs saw me coming, something truly extraordi- nary happened. They started to clap. Just a few at first, but then others took it up and within a sliver, the pitch was thun- dering with the sounds of hands coming together. As I continued to march forward and the sea of Wugs respect- fully 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 453 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 sim- ply stand at one end and kill me with one blow without either of us moving our feet. The strategy Delph has 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 fol- lowed 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 454 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 criti- cal time? The official bell rang. Silas beckoned both Ladon-Tosh and me to the center of the ring so he could deliver his instruc- tions. 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 455 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 456 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. Everything, 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.

457 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 oppo- nent’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 shoul- der. 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.

I had an instant to glance toward the platform and shud- dered as I saw Morrigone staring directly at Ladon-Tosh, as though she were willing him to stand. And then I knew I couldn’t win. I knew that Ladon-Tosh had an ally I couldn’t defeat.

He came at me again. With my right arm totally useless, but my senses otherwise intact, I easily sidestepped him.

458 Instead of hitting him with my good hand — since it would be good no longer — I spun around, supported by my one able arm, and flicked my feet against his buttocks as he flew past me. This propelled him out of the ring and into the crowd. Wugs ran hither and thither trying to get out of his way. He was like an enraged creta, only a hundred times more powerful and a thousand times more murderous.

Old Silas toddled forward and said, “Wug out of ring.

Penalty against Ladon-Tosh. Free blow for Vega Jane. Well done, lass.

” Fortunately, Delph snatched Silas out of the way before he was crushed by Ladon-Tosh leaping back into the ring to attack me.

He was now throwing punch after punch with astonish- ing speed. I dodged them all and then I started to employ my other tactic. I started to race in a circle around him. He spun too, punching at me but landing nothing. I told myself that he had to tire at some point.

When I glanced over at Morrigone, she still had her gaze fixed on Ladon-Tosh, yet I could see the rising panic in her eyes. She was upset that I was not yet dead. She was afraid I might win. Well, I just might.

I ran one more circle around him and then leapt and kicked him in the head with my left foot. Again, the shatter- ing pain swept down my limb. Again, he went down hard. I noted with satisfaction that he took longer to rise this time.