Inktober Day 31: Fire

 Chapter 26

In a great silvery beam, light poured from the brightest star in the sky and Magan’s body was lit with an otherworldly flame. The fire was pure white, and so consuming was it, that Magan had not even the chance to cry out in pain, so quick was his demise. All that was left in his wake was a heap of black ash, and Magda’s circlet, lying neatly on top.

Magda ran to Wendell’s side and helped him up. He had been very close to Magan when he burned, but he did not appear to have been affected by the fire in the slightest. He winced a little as he stood, and Magda remembered that his leg was still injured from the night before. She marveled at his courage and tenacity - could she have done everything he had done this night with such a wound?

Once Wendell was well on his feet, they rushed to her parents’ sides and cut their bonds. Magda burst into tears at the reunion. Her mother held her for at least a whole minute before allowing the king to have his turn embracing his daughter, and then they all embraced as one, a family reunited once again.

Wendell bowed before the king and held out his sword.

“My lord,” he said. “Forgive me for the peril into which I led your daughter. I accept any recourse you feel is due.” 

“My dearest Sir Wendell,” the king said, laying a hand on Wendell’s shoulder. “Rise and meet the eyes of your king.” Wendell did as he said. “I would entrust the safety of my daughter to none else, and you are the most honorable knight who sits at my table.”

Magda hugged Wendell then too and started crying all over again. He stooped to meet her eyes. 

“Can you also forgive me, my lady?” 

“There is nothing to forgive, dear friend.” And she hugged him again.

They all readied themselves to leave then, and Magda’s father took the circlet from the ground. He bent it back to the size it should be and set it securely on Magda’s head.

“There,” he said, smiling at his daughter. “Now, everything is as it should be.”

They were prepared to descend the tower when Magda stopped them.

“Wait, Kandra’s beast is still down there somewhere. We must be careful.”

So, they moved very quietly down the steps to the door at the foot of the tower. Because of Wendell’s state, the king insisted on taking the sword and clearing the way, but when he opened the door, the beast was gone.

“It must have fled when its master fell,” Wendell said. Magda wondered whether it was waiting around for her in the lake, so she said as much.

“It only came when she summoned it,” Wendell said. “I do not think it will attack us without her command. Besides, with your circlet back, I do not think even that beast could do much harm to you.”

Magda trusted him and he was right about the circlet, but that did not stop her heart racing as her father swam across the water to retrieve the boat for them. When he returned safely, she breathed a sigh of relief.

So, they left that place and began their journey home. They tarried a few nights in the home of Jon and Tabitha, as they still had little with which to sustain themselves. The road home would not be easy, but Magda felt in her heart that they would make it back safely. After all, she did now possess the power of not one, but two kings.

What she was burning to know, however, was who this other king was. Was the dagger tied to Tìrmàgach? What was the family which was separated as Kandra said? What was her supposed connection to the tower on the lake? She wanted to ask her parents all this and more, but decided they had more than earned a respite from these matters in all their suffering.

Still, Magda thought about the maps and books in her parents’ library, and she considered from a different perspective the travels of all those great explorers and adventurers she cherished so much and wondered whether they all felt so tired after it all as she did.

The one thing she knew for sure was that she could not wait to get back to her bed at home and have a proper rest once again.