“So the crops just… disappeared?” he asked the farmer beside him.
The farmer, a middle-aged man named Jeb with a straw hat and a leathery face, spat on the ground and scowled at Killian. “I told you ya wouldn’t believe me,” he said. He looked ridiculous with his hands on his hips and his bottom lip pushed out, full of spitting herb. But Killian believed every word Jeb said.
“My apologies. Please don’t confuse my astonishment for skepticism,” Killian answered. He shielded his eyes from the glaring sun as he gave Jeb a sympathetic look. Maybe he’d have to get himself a straw hat.
Jeb cocked his head. “Huh?”
“I believe you,” Killian rephrased.
Jeb eyed Killian with distrust. “I don’t need no city boy coming here and makin’ a fool of me,” he said.
Killian sighed and wondered if Manny and Sera were faring any better. The three of them had made their way to the village of Domistad with the help of some transportation potion. From there, they’d split up, each heading to a nearby farm where the crops had mysteriously vanished a few days earlier.
It was the sixth town they’d investigated over the past two weeks. There’d been a spree of strange and supernatural occurrences throughout Rhodan, all of which started the day after Lazarus’s rebirth. None of them thought for a second that it was a coincidence. Killian, Manny, and Sera had chased after as many as they could, hoping to find some clue as to Lazarus’s motivations. So far none of their inquiries had produced any real merit. As Killian continued to ask Jeb questions, he feared this interview would be no different.
They walked along the fence, passing hundreds of rows of barren soil, all while Jeb explained how he’d woken up to find everything had simply vanished. One hundred acres of wheat simply… gone.
Killian’s stomach twisted as he surveyed the land. Jeb wasn’t the only one who would suffer from the lack of crops. His family, his farmhands, and of course the people it fed were also relying on the harvest. Though Killian wasn’t well versed in agriculture or economics, he worried the effects would be dire.
He wondered if Elyse would have been able to remedy it. The thought brought him pain, and he shoved it down. He hadn’t seen her since she’d stormed out of Mr. Grayson’s house. Sinceshe’d resurrected him, and then abandoned him. Since she’d traded her soul for his life.
“Do you have enough to get by for the time being?” Killian asked Jeb.
Jeb nodded slowly and spat again. “I’m fine fer now. It’s harvest time that will hurt me.”
“I understand. We’ll be relaying these details to the king and his counsel, and urging them to step in and help,” Killian answered. They were approaching Jeb’s house—a modest cabin with a porch that stretched the entire width of the house. It must have been beautiful in the summer, to sit on that porch and stare out at the fields. He could picture it, a beacon of rest in a sea of golden wheat. Now, it was dead and empty.
Killian thanked Jeb again before he headed toward the dirt road that would lead him back to town. He could have used another transportation potion to take him back to the inn, but they were trying to conserve their stock. Apparently, brewing the potion was time consuming, and the ingredients expensive. Especially since the Enchanted Emporium was out of business, and its owner on the lam.
Besides, walking allowed him time to think. He mulled over his conversation with Jeb, trying to pick out any details that might point to Lazarus’s location, his method of operation, his weaknesses. Nothing came to mind. They were no closer to finding and stopping Lazarus than they had been the day he became corporeal. He moved too quickly, his attacks too unpredictable. They were always three steps behind with no hope of catching up.
Even with the support of King Maelor and the Royal Guard, they were still struggling. Manny popped back to Sevhella every few days to report to the king, but the monarch had no direction for them. A spree of demon attacks wasn’t something Rhodan had faced before.
Killian and Manny had gone to the king together to explain the situation to him. They’d set their stories straight first, explaining that Elyse had been the one to murder King Cyril and claiming that she was possessed by a demon at the time. They vowed that Elyse had done everything in her power to try and stop Lazarus from rising, that she had redeemed her actions and shouldn’t be held responsible for the murder.
“And where is she now?” Maelor had asked, his features remaining stoic.
“We haven’t heard from her,” Manny had answered. “We suspect she’s lying low until her name is cleared.”
It was half true. They hadn’t heard a word from her, not even Sera. But Killian doubted she was hiding so much as avoiding them. He’d heard of Royce’s murder and couldn’t help wondering if Elyse had been involved.
But the lie was better than the truth. If they’d explained how she’d disappeared after giving up her soul, after helping restore Killian to life, it would have resulted in far too many questions. Questions they had no answers for.
Maelor had been silent for a long time after hearing their report. He’d leaned back in his chair and stared at Killian across the table. Killian had noted there was more gray in the king’s beard than there had been mere months ago.
“If this is all true—if you find this demon and stop him from whatever havoc he intends to wreak—I’ll consider restoring you to the Guard.”
Killian hadn’t needed any extra motivation to find Lazarus. Destroying the demon who had taken so much from Elyse—so much from him—was satisfaction enough. He didn’t need to be in the Guard to feel a sense of duty. Even so, Maelor’s words had caused hope to bloom in his chest. To no longer bear the burden of being dishonorably dismissed, to rejoin his brothers in their service… He couldn’t think of anything he wanted more, except forher. He wanted his Elyse—needed her so badly it hurt. He needed her and for his mother to be safe.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Killian had said with genuine humility. “If I may make a request—would you allow my mother to work and live in the palace? She’s a superb cook and a kind soul. She’ll make an excellent addition to your staff.”
Maelor had narrowed his eyes, a bit of uncertainty in his expression.
“I can’t protect her if I’m off hunting this demon,” Killian had explained.
Maelor had agreed, for which Killian was grateful.
Later that very day, Mrs. Southwick had moved into the palace, and Killian, Manny, and Sera had begun their exhaustive search for Lazarus. Which had brought Killian all the way to this shabby dirt road outside Domistad.
