Now, lad, I know you’re a smart one so you’ll have no trouble explaining this: why my best servant would disobey my instructions so completely. You didn’t forget what we’re at, did you? The killing and all?
“I didn’t forget.” Gary came closer until he was face to face with the bog mummy, staring directly into the dark hollows of his eye sockets. The Druid didn’t lift his head but thetaibhsearan hanging from the walls craned their necks around to follow Gary as he moved.
Then maybe you’ve gone soft again. Is that it? Did you go all pale when you were on the catbird seat? I don’t blame you feeling a little compassion, son, to be honest. If you want then I’ll send my own creatures to do the dirty deed.
Mael rose from his seat and hobbled toward the exit from the room. As he drew close to Gary he seemed to sense something. He stopped and raised his hand to pass it slowly over Gary’s face.
It wasn’t compassion, then, oh, no.Gary knew what the Druid felt-the energy that ran through Gary like waves on the ocean, massive and deep and strong. It buzzed and shook within him and he felt as if he might split open at any moment.You ate what, twenty of them? Thirty?
“I needed the strength. Otherwise I would have spared even them.” The men he’d slain had been old or unfit one way or another. They couldn’t help him achieve his desired end. “Mael. I’ve been thinking.”
Have you now? And what grand notion has you in its grasp?
“I need to know… I need to know what your plan is for me. For me and all the undead like me, the hungry ones. When the work is done and all the survivors are dead what will become of us?”
The Druid stroked his chin and paced back to his chair as thetaibhsearan followed Gary’s every fidget.You’ll be rewarded, of course. I’ll be giving you peace, peace and the satisfaction a man feels on completing a job of work.
“Peace? The only peace I know any more is a full stomach,” Gary tried.
Oh, lad, don’t be dense. I know what you’re driving at and it’s unnatural. No creature should have to live forever.It’s a curse.Take the peace I’m offering. I wish it could be otherwise but there’s only two sides in this thing: you’re either with me or against me.
Gary circled slowly around the throne, the seers on the walls craning their necks after him as he considered his next move. “You’re talking about the peace of the grave. When there aren’t any people left there’ll be no food for us to eat. You’ll let us starve until we wither away to dust. Or no-no, you would see that as heartless. When the work is done, when the last living man is dead, you’ll just cut us off. You’ll suck out our dark energy and let us just drop where we stand like so much meat.”
Do you see another option, then?
“Yes!” Gary crowed. “It starts with those people, those living people out there. We stop killing them, at least, we stop killing all of them. Some of them we cull out for food but the rest we keep alive and safe from the dead. It’s a renewable resource, Mael-they’ll keep making babies. It doesn’t matter how awful things get. Even in the middle of arma-fucking-geddon they still make babies. I can keep this going for-for as long as I care to.”
And if you do that, boy, my sacrifice will be wasted. My lifeand my death will have been for naught. No! I won’t let you make me meaningless! Now do as you’ve been told!
“I’m done, Mael. I won’t work for you any more,” Gary said, looking down at his feet.
The two mummies came at Gary with their hands up, clearly under orders to attack. Gary ducked under the arms of one of the mummies and saw an amulet tucked into her wrappings in the middle of her chest-her heart scarab. He tore it free and threw it away from him as hard as he could.