Page 68 of Concluded
They all tromped upstairs.Ish looked marginally less gaunt, and his eyes tracked them even though he didn’t respond to their greetings.Charles knelt at the bedside like a penitent and spoke softly.“We’re going to send you to a quiet place to rest.With friends.I will come back for you soon.I promise.”
Ish lifted a hand and set it on Charles’s.Although his voice was tissue-thin, the words were clear.“Your shadows are so deep and your lightness so bright.You exceed my hopes.”
Charles covered his face and his shoulders shook.
Achilles tried hard not to think about his own parents.That was his personal baggage and not relevant now.Maybe when all of this was over, though, he might track down his sister and drop her a letter.Just to wish her well.
After a moment, Tenrael plucked one of his feathers and ceremoniously handed it to Dee with a small bow.“I very much hope that someday we have more time to speak,” Tenrael said quietly.“You are an intriguing person.”Before Achilles could decide whether he felt jealous, Tenrael turned to him.“When a person endures great hardship and deprivation yet goes on to care for others, as you have, that person is a hero.”
“I haven’t?—”
Tenrael set a clawed hand on Achilles’ shoulder and, smiling slightly, shook his head.
It really was time to move on; everyone knew it.Nobody bothered to try to talk Achilles out of joining this particular adventure, which saved a lot of wasted words.He was gratified to know they all trusted him to volunteer.
“I think Achilles should make the wish,” Dee said.“If you don’t mind, Charles.”
Charles stood and backed away from the bed, then gestured them forward.
“Any special instructions?”Achilles asked him.
“If all goes well and you can make your way to civilization, call Henry on the emergency line.Con has made sure it’s secure.But if you’d prefer to remain in sanctuary yourself?—”
“No.”
And that was that.This is gonna be weird, Achilles thought.Out loud, he said, “I wish that Dee and Ish and I can go to Art Gunderson’s cabin.Safely.”He intentionally left the means of transport vague, in case teleportation really was beyond Dee’s skills.He didn’t want to stretch the magic beyond its capabilities.Hopefully, the magic would come up with an alternative.Did magic itself have some kind of data-processing abilities, like AI?Maybe best not to think about that right now.
Dee did… whatever he did to grant wishes.He stared at Achilles the entire time, smile wide and cheeks flushed, and damned if Achilles’ jeans didn’t suddenly feel too tight.It appeared that he’d acquired a new kink.
He winked when Dee handed over the feather, then spoke to Ish.“I’m not sure exactly what’s going to happen now.It might be really strange.But Dee came through for us before, and I know he will this time.”
Ish said something in ancient Greek.Although Achilles had to struggle to understand him, he got the gist of it.
“I’m… cruel?I don’t care about my comrades?”
With a ghost of a smile that made him momentarily beautiful, Ish shook his head.“The blind poet was mistaken,” he said in English.“You care very much.”Then he closed his eyes again.
Cryptic as all of that was, Achilles decided it constituted consent to be magicked.He gestured Dee to take one of Ish’s thin hands, and he took the other.He gave a final nod to Charles and Tenrael—they both looked tense—and made his wish.
CHAPTER28
Dee was a deck of cards, shuffled and reshuffled.A blizzard swirling across a plain.A sandy beach battered and stirred by stormy seas.A rubber band stretched allllmost to breaking.
And then he was a person again, kneeling in the dirt and puking his guts out, as Achilles did the same right next to him.Ish was there too, curled into a tight ball and possibly unconscious.Maybe angels didn’t barf.
“I most sincerely hope,” said Achilles, pausing to spit, “we never have to do that again.”
“Amen.”
“But you did it.None of us is a fly.”
That seemed to be the case.Dee rose unsteadily to his feet and looked around.They’d landed—if that was the right term—on soil that was covered with layers of evergreen needles.Trees towered so high overhead that it was difficult to see their tops, while the understory was thick with brush and small greenery.He heard water burbling nearby.The air was cold enough to make him shiver.
Twenty yards away, in a small clearing, was a wooden cabin with solar panels on the roof and what looked like an early-spring vegetable garden in front.It was rustic but adorable, the sort of place where you could imagine Snow White and her entourage hanging out.
Instead, two Paul Bunyans with full gray beards came rushing from behind the cabin.The larger one was barefoot.
Achilles, who was evidently still dealing with the aftereffects of being magicked, shot upright and held up his hands.“Art Gunderson?”he yelled.“I’m Achilles Spanos.”
