As it happened, none of the other royal family members had been on guard that afternoon. Nor had Midor, nor had Graten. They had all been off duty. Talon had been the only one from the royal household on guard duty that day. (The sorcerer of the castle was always considered to have the rank and privilege of a member of the royal household, even though he was not related to the royal family by blood.)
But, when they heard what had happened to Talon, George and Rufus rushed out to retrieve his body, and brought it back to the castle.
Talon was buried with full honors in the castle courtyard. Everyone had a word or two to say about him. “I can’t believe he’s really dead,” said Catherine. “I thought he’d outlive us all. He never really liked me, you know. He never forgave me for learning more about magic than he did. But once I realized that he was just an insecure little man who happened to have magical powers, then I learned how to deal with him.”
“I still haven’t forgiven him for imprisoning me in the portal for two years,” said Midor. “But I could never say that he was evil. He did have his good qualities. He died defending the castle.”
“He was always regarded like family,” said George. “Granted, he was like the grumpy uncle of the family, but we still grew up with him nonetheless. And he was capable of showing us kindness and tenderness at times when we were children.”
“He always looked so mean,” said Grace. “I always had a hard time understanding why the rest of you were so fond of him. I didn’t know him for as long as the rest of you did, but in my limited experience, I found that he could be quite selfish, but he was never malicious for no reason.”
“Yes, that’s him exactly,” Rufus agreed. “Selfish, insecure, but never cruel.”
“I disagree,” said Midor. “What he did to me was cruel. I understand he thought he had his reasons, but he still attempted to leave me in that portal world forever.”
“Yes, fine,” said Rufus. “He could be cruel and ruthless, but only for a cause. He was never cruel just for the sake of being cruel. He was never sadistic.”
Yes, I’ll grant him that,” said Midor. “Which is more than we can say for those monsters running through the forest. They delight in killing and in causing pain just for its own sake.”
“What happened to your men, General?” George asked Graten.
“I still haven’t gotten a complete accounting,” said Graten. “It seems that most of them were able to get away. I haven’t heard of any getting eaten by the monsters, but I haven’t been able to account for everyone yet.”
“Well,” said Henry, “these monsters can’t be that dangerous then.”
“I suspect they probably were not too intent on chasing all the men down,” said Midor. “The monsters wanted to escape into the forest, and hide. They are happiest when hiding in dark places so they can ambush. They hate a straight fight.”
“In the forest interior, there are so many dark places,” said George.
“Yes, that’s what I’m afraid of,” said Midor. “In the land where all the sunlight is choked out by dark vines, once those monsters get settled in there, they are going to be very hard to get out again.”
“Everybody’s got to live somewhere,” said Graten. “Why not let them have their part of the forest.”
“The history of this castle will attest to that,” said Midor. “Once the monsters inhabit the forest, there will be no peace for anyone. They won’t stay in their section forever. They’ll come out at night. That’s why this castle was built in the first place--to stand guard against them.”
“It is our ancestral duty,” said George. “I never thought it would come again in my lifetime.”
“And,” added Midor, his face worried, “the monsters who will come next are even worse.”
“What do you mean?” asked Graten.
“The monsters nearest to the portal door were the ones who were vulnerable to magic,” said Midor. “The ones who could be cut by magic lightning bolts, or could be turned into hamsters. The monsters who were in the middle, who are coming through now, are the ones who are invulnerable to magic--they can’t be harmed by spells. But the monsters who were furthest away from the portal door are the ones who can do magic themselves. And once they come through the portal door, then we are all doomed.”
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Talon was buried with all proper ceremony, and even a few tears were shed. Everyone had at least some fond memories of him. He had given them toys when they were children, or performed magic, or made sweetbread for them. He could be a kindly old curmudgeon at times.
Later, George and Rufus talked in George’s room. “I’m sad to see the old man go,” said George. “He was a part of our childhood, after all. But in a way, I’m glad he’s gone. It was virtually impossible to battle two sorcerers, but now we only have one to deal with. We just need to catch Catherine off her guard once, and then we can recapture the castle.”
“She’s not going to let herself be bound twice,” said Rufus.
“We’re going to have to be clever. And patient. But she can’t keep up her guard forever. Sooner or later, we’ll get a chance.”
“With Talon dead, it does make things easier. There’s only one sorcerer now.”
“Well, two if you count Vivian.”
“Yes, but Vivian’s on our side, so she doesn’t count as an obstacle.”
“Yes, but do you think Catherine is counting on the fact that Vivian is on her side? Why is Catherine taking so much time to train Vivian up?”
And then the two brothers became very quiet.
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