Featherdemon
3rd Level Red Feather
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2003
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Hello,
For you amusement, please find detailed blelow the second part of my story
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gedan.
Saying her name in my head made my thoughts tingle. It was the strangest thing. Her name had an odd effect on me, like it was something I had always known. It felt more than just a name – it felt like it was the definition of something wonderful, a named virtue or a listed Saint. I felt as though Gedan was not just her name; it was who she was and what she was.
"Well, Gedan," I said. "It is some small miracle that you arrived when you did. I thought I was going to die in this terrible place."
Gedan shook her head. "It is no coincidence that I found you," she said, "and I wouldn't have let you die."
Gedan's words, spoken so matter-of-factly, gave me a shiver and made me feel as if such things were always within her power to decide. "You are kind to say that," I said,
"It is true," she said.
"Still, there is luck in it. I had no expectation of being rescued. I was only there due to a chance encounter and no else knew where I was. Considering what this place is, by rights I should have died this night."
"Why do you say that?"
"This is the Brickten Mire," I said.
"That name fills you with dread. Why is that, Sergeant Daniel Rott?"
I frowned, "Have you not heard of this place?"
Gedan shook her head. "Tell me," she said.
I told her then what I knew of this place. I told her of how Father Simmons, the leader of Brickten's flock, had spoken repeatedly about how the Mire is a Godless place and that only those who are Godless can exist there. She giggled at that part, which I found irritating. I told Gedan of how Father Simmons spoke of an old and debased tribe living here in the long years of Brickten's past - vile and heathen degenerates, who had committed dark practices there and in doing so had given up their souls.
"It sounds like this place has a blood thirsty past," she said afterwards.
I nodded. "It is said that God created the Mire in order to rid the world of those who dwelt there."
"And do you believe that, Sergeant Daniel Rott?" Gedan asked, a half smile on her face.
I sighed. "I believe this place, along with all who enter, to be forsaken by God."
"But not, it seems, by Gedan," she said, a merry smirk on her face.
I laughed and found myself gripped with a sudden odd sense of giddiness, like I'd been drugged. "It seems not," I said and shook my head, enjoying both the warmth of the fire and the odd buzz her conversation gave me.
"Well if I must surprise you," she said, "better it be a nice surprise."
Again I laughed, feeling giddy under her gaze. "You are certainly that. I didn't expect to meet anyone quite so…enchanting as you tonight."
"Then tell me," she said and drew my eyes back to her. A twinkle appeared in her eyes. "Do I look still look like a devil to you?"
"No," I said and felt a blush on my face. "I apologise for my earlier reaction. You look quite…beautiful."
Gedan purred like a cat. "What did you expect to see, I wonder?"
"Ghosts and devils," I said.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yes," I said. The cold bleak history of the Mire surrounded us and stole some of the buzz from me. "They say that the ghosts of the dead tribe still haunt this Mire, doomed to scare and drag folk to their doom."
"Ghosts and devils," Gedan said, looking away as if measuring the words I'd said, then she giggled suddenly. "What a silly thought." she mused. "Everyone knows that there is no such thing as ghosts."
I looked at her sharply, thinking that she was making fun of me, and caught sight of the amused grin on her face. "Very funny," I said.
"There are no devils or ghosts in this place," Gedan said, as a mother might reassure her son. "I fear Father Simmons has been scaring you unnecessarily."
"You are so sure," I said. "This morning I would not have believed you existed but here you are. I think I have cause to be a little more open minded than that."
"Okay then," Gedan said grinning, "let me amend my statement. There are no ghosts or devils in this place – other than the one we were chasing, of course. But even if there were, you would still have nothing to fear from them."
"Why?" I asked, half joking "because I'm with you?"
"You catch on quick," she said, giggling.
"You're serious?"
Gedan nodded. "Let us hear no more of ghosts and devils," she said and smiled. "If I can forget about them, surely someone as brave as you can do the same. What do you say?"
"You don't strike me as the kind of person who has much to fear," I said.
"I don't," she said, "and nor do those I spend time with."
I have in my time done a reasonable amount of combat training, both as part of the police and as a once keen boxer, but there was something all together physically reassuring about Gedan. I was sure I could give a reasonable fight to anyone who wanted to trade blows, but I felt…ridiculously vulnerable next to her. It was a feeling I could not explain.
"I find you…very reassuring," I said.
"Good," she said.
"But I know nothing of you."
"That's not true," she said. "You know my name and now you know something else. You know that I will not let any harm befall you while you are at my side."
I felt a sudden buzz of confidence at her words. I could have Gedan help me catch Eccles; she could help me have my revenge. With Gedan by my side, I couldn't fail to bring Worzen Eccles to justice. I would be able to have my revenge.
* * * *
For a little while all that passed between Gedan and I were the sounds of the crackling fire and the background noise of the Mire. It was a calm and peaceful break in the unfolding drama of the evening.
I found myself staring helplessly at her; how her sweet face caught the flicker of the fire. Her eyes shimmered like pools. There was something utterly captivating about her and for a while chasing Eccles lost all importance.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked after a while.
"Of course," she said.
"What are you?"
Gedan laughed. "A good question for a Sergeant to ask; an important question," she said, "but one that requires more time for explanation than we have together. But let me see what I can tell you. My name is Gedan, which I have all ready told you. I am the First Kat and have more years behind me than you think. I am old and I am strong. I am sweet and I am kind."
I nodded. "What else?"
"What else do wish to know, mm?" she asked, an amused look on her face. "Perhaps something a little more intimate will sate your curiosity?"
I blushed at the look in her eyes. "No," I said quickly, "I was just…I mean it's just..."
Gedan laughed and it tinkled in the air, filling the space we sat in. It made me shiver, like the sound of it ran through me. "Do all Sergeants blush as easily as you?"
"Shut up."
Gedan laughed again and it made my cheeks feel warm. "It's all right," she said. "I understand. I have this way of making folk blush. It's not just you."
"Good."
"Tonight, Sergeant Daniel Rott," Gedan said and bowed her head for a moment, "I, Gedan, am honoured to be your friend and companion in this terrible place. I will not leave your side until I have you safely back in your house."
I nodded and grinned widely, feeling as if I could not put a step wrong for the rest of the evening. No matter how the chase to catch Eccles went, I knew I would be all right if Gedan was watching my back.
"Other than that," Gedan said, lifting her eyes to me once more, "I'm afraid you must settle with disappointment."
I nodded. "Fair enough," I said, mulling on what she'd said and pushing the grin from my face. "But…you said that you're a Kat?" I asked.
Gedan nodded. "Best you just accept what I say for now, if you will be so kind," she said, "and if we have more time, perhaps with a little more privacy, I will be better able to explain myself."
I took that to mean more than she probably meant, but to hear Gedan say it put all sorts of thoughts into my mind. "I would very much like to be with you in a more civilised environment," I said.
"If there is time," she said.
I frowned "You cannot stay long?"
"No," she said and shook her head. "I have come here for a reason and once that reason has been exhausted I must return."
"Return to where?"
"My home," she said in a tone that allowed no further enquiry.
I sighed, unable to feel a little disappointed. "That is not happy news for me."
"Don't fret Daniel," Gedan said with a smile, "we still have time together."
I nodded, not knowing fully why I felt sad at her words.
"Now," she said seriously, "the most important thing for you to remember is this: our paths have crossed tonight, a blessing for you and an opportunity for me. You are a kind and good man, one I am pleased to meet. You have me as a friend and an ally until sun rise Daniel – something you may not fully appreciate until after I am gone. But it is a blessing for you."
"I'm very thankful for it," I said, "you have kept me alive and even given me a fire by which I can warm myself. You have also given me a tremendous high by the sheer virtue of your presence, though it saddens me to know it will not last beyond this evening."
Gedan stared at me through the crackling flames. Something about how she looked, so pure and alive, made my heart miss a beat. I suddenly yearned for something, but had no clue as to what it was. I just knew it was impossibly wonderful and totally out of my reach. I gulped and looked away.
"Are you all right?" she asked, seeing my reaction change.
"Just thinking," I said a little gloomily
Gedan smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "Come now," she said. "It is not a night to be sad. It is a miraculous thing – we would not have met at all were it not our mutual pursuit. We will just have to make the little time we have together count for something. Ok?"
"Indeed," I said, smiling at her, "You are right."
"Of course I am."
"And if you ask for me to ask no more questions about you or where you are from, then I will do so." I couldn't help but grin at her. "Even if I did have more things to ask you, it would be rude to push it after all you've done for me..."
Gedan chuckled, tilting her head at me as she did so. "You have more questions for me, Daniel Rott?"
"Please, just call me Dan," I said, liking the idea of somehow making Gedan addressing me more intimately.
Gedan's smiled widened. "Very well then, Dan, you have more questions for me?" she asked. "Questions that cannot be ignored or put off until a cosier time?"
I nodded. "Just a couple," I said, grinning from ear to ear.
Gedan sighed but the smile remained on her face. "Then let me see what curiosity I can sate in the time we have; ask your questions."
"What are you doing in such an awful place?"
"The same thing as you, it seems," Gedan said gently, "chasing a very bad man through a very bad place."
Even better - Gedan and I had a common enemy.
"Oh, yes," she said in a brighter tone, "I'm here saving a young man from his muddy doom; a man who should know better than running and fighting at night in the middle of an infamous Mire."
"I'm not helpless," I said.
"No, not on your own terms," she said, "but some things will always stack against you. Fighting in the dark surrounded by treacherous terrain is one of those things."
"Are you are any better off than me in this matter?" I said. "I saw you running back there, faster than I ever could. Does that not put you in similar peril?"
"I can see a lot better than you," she said. "You've all ready observed my strength, yes? Well rest assured that my sight, smell and hearing are equally improved on your own."
I nodded, having no option to take her word on it. "You are right on one thing," I said, "that blasted man did get the drop of me and that would have been the end of me if it hadn't been for you."
Gedan's smile shrank a little. "It appears that my presence allowed him to get the better of you; apologies, Dan," she said and patted my shoulder. "I didn't mean for that to happen."
I waved her concern away. "Chances are he was going to get the best of me anyway," I said. "Worzen has this terrible luck of coming out of danger unscathed."
Gedan nodded. "It is a luck that will not last forever," she said. "And he is testing that luck sorely by trying to run through this Mire."
That was certainly true; if anything was going to test your luck at surviving it was travelling through this hell at night. I had a sudden thought at just how foolish my lone race into the Mire had been. "The more I think about it," I said, "the more I'm beginning to think that chasing him here was a dumb idea."
Gedan nodded and grinned. "I'm glad you said that," she said, "because if I'd have said that it would have come across as mean."
I chuckled. "At least I'm alive enough to learn from my wonderful hindsight," I said.
"And what is your second question?" she asked.
"It is a silly thing," I said, looking away with a blush, "a question than can wait till later, if I should ask it all."
I saw Gedan's eyes widen and a look of delight creep over her face. "Ooh," she said, edging closer. "That doesn't sound like your average question, Dan. You have to tell me what it is!"
I laughed nervously. "Oh no," I said, "not now - maybe later, once we have finished this chase and you have seen me safely home."
"Very well then," she said. "I will ask you again when you are home." The smile on Gedan's face thinned suddenly. "Now, may I ask you something, Dan?"
I nodded.
"Why are your out here?" she asked. "What business could possibly have brought you to this terrible place on such an evening?"
"Duty," I said. "My duty brought me here."
Gedan nodded. "And nothing else?"
I shook my head. "No," I said, "Just my duty."
"To your job?" said Gedan and her tone was inquisitive.
"And to those I am responsible for."
"A duty that could not have waited until morning?" said Gedan. "Perhaps you could do well to wait for when you have the benefit of sunlight and the warmth of the sun? Not to mention the benefit of other people being around to help you, should your feet lead you awry? Perhaps leaving Worzen alone until tomorrow will make your chase less risky business, hmm?"
Gedan's words touched a nerve with me and I frowned heavily. "No, this could not have waited."
"Why?"
"This is personal for me," I said testily. "If I waited, he would more than likely get away and I will have missed my opportunity."
"Surely you will have other chances to fulfil your duty?"
"Maybe," I said, "but I'm not prepared to risk losing him. Not on this night. That bastard has to pay for what he's done. And I'm going to be the one to bring him in…I want to see him swing."
"What has he done to have wronged you so?"
I took a deep breath and told Gedan about the three policemen he'd killed. As I did, I saw her ears flatten and a real sadness enter her eyes. It was a gesture that on any other person I might have missed or not given a second thought to, but to see it from Gedan meant a lot – I don't know why, but it sent a shiver of emotion through me to see. Gedan put her arms about for a brief moment, just long enough for me to feel the tenderness of her hug. "I'm sorry Dan," she said, "I really am so sorry."
I hugged her back. "It has to be me to bring him in," I said.
"But not for duty," she said and drew back. "You want this for revenge."
To hear that word from her lips sounded like a curse or even a condemnation. My heart tightened in response to it. But she was right. "Yes," I said through clenched teeth. "I want revenge for the three men he killed."
Gedan frowned thoughtfully. "The deaths of those poor men are not on your hands," she said. "They are on Worzen Eccles' hands. He is the one who killed them and he should bare the blame for it."
"And he will," I said. "He will pay with his life."
"At your hands?" she asked and even with my darkening mood, I knew it a question with a hair trigger on it. A wrong answer here would do irrevocable damage to the bond between Gedan and me.
"No," I said, "not by me. He is to go back and face judgement by the law. And they will do the right thing. I will see him hanged and I will have had my revenge."
Gedan nodded. "It's not your fault those men died," she said gently.
"They were on my shift," I said and slapped my clenched fist on my palm in temper. I instantly regretted it. "I was their Sergeant, Gedan, I was responsible for them. It was up to me to look after them and to make sure they got back home to their families. I failed them."
"Dan…"
"No, I will not be challenged on this!"
I was in no mood to be argued with over the guilt I felt and, to her credit, Gedan didn't push it any further. I had been the one to put them on those shifts and so it was me who had put them in harm's way. Whether anyone else believed it or not, as far as I was concerned, I was to blame.
Whether Gedan approves or not, I will have my revenge and Worzen Eccles will die.
For you amusement, please find detailed blelow the second part of my story
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gedan.
Saying her name in my head made my thoughts tingle. It was the strangest thing. Her name had an odd effect on me, like it was something I had always known. It felt more than just a name – it felt like it was the definition of something wonderful, a named virtue or a listed Saint. I felt as though Gedan was not just her name; it was who she was and what she was.
"Well, Gedan," I said. "It is some small miracle that you arrived when you did. I thought I was going to die in this terrible place."
Gedan shook her head. "It is no coincidence that I found you," she said, "and I wouldn't have let you die."
Gedan's words, spoken so matter-of-factly, gave me a shiver and made me feel as if such things were always within her power to decide. "You are kind to say that," I said,
"It is true," she said.
"Still, there is luck in it. I had no expectation of being rescued. I was only there due to a chance encounter and no else knew where I was. Considering what this place is, by rights I should have died this night."
"Why do you say that?"
"This is the Brickten Mire," I said.
"That name fills you with dread. Why is that, Sergeant Daniel Rott?"
I frowned, "Have you not heard of this place?"
Gedan shook her head. "Tell me," she said.
I told her then what I knew of this place. I told her of how Father Simmons, the leader of Brickten's flock, had spoken repeatedly about how the Mire is a Godless place and that only those who are Godless can exist there. She giggled at that part, which I found irritating. I told Gedan of how Father Simmons spoke of an old and debased tribe living here in the long years of Brickten's past - vile and heathen degenerates, who had committed dark practices there and in doing so had given up their souls.
"It sounds like this place has a blood thirsty past," she said afterwards.
I nodded. "It is said that God created the Mire in order to rid the world of those who dwelt there."
"And do you believe that, Sergeant Daniel Rott?" Gedan asked, a half smile on her face.
I sighed. "I believe this place, along with all who enter, to be forsaken by God."
"But not, it seems, by Gedan," she said, a merry smirk on her face.
I laughed and found myself gripped with a sudden odd sense of giddiness, like I'd been drugged. "It seems not," I said and shook my head, enjoying both the warmth of the fire and the odd buzz her conversation gave me.
"Well if I must surprise you," she said, "better it be a nice surprise."
Again I laughed, feeling giddy under her gaze. "You are certainly that. I didn't expect to meet anyone quite so…enchanting as you tonight."
"Then tell me," she said and drew my eyes back to her. A twinkle appeared in her eyes. "Do I look still look like a devil to you?"
"No," I said and felt a blush on my face. "I apologise for my earlier reaction. You look quite…beautiful."
Gedan purred like a cat. "What did you expect to see, I wonder?"
"Ghosts and devils," I said.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yes," I said. The cold bleak history of the Mire surrounded us and stole some of the buzz from me. "They say that the ghosts of the dead tribe still haunt this Mire, doomed to scare and drag folk to their doom."
"Ghosts and devils," Gedan said, looking away as if measuring the words I'd said, then she giggled suddenly. "What a silly thought." she mused. "Everyone knows that there is no such thing as ghosts."
I looked at her sharply, thinking that she was making fun of me, and caught sight of the amused grin on her face. "Very funny," I said.
"There are no devils or ghosts in this place," Gedan said, as a mother might reassure her son. "I fear Father Simmons has been scaring you unnecessarily."
"You are so sure," I said. "This morning I would not have believed you existed but here you are. I think I have cause to be a little more open minded than that."
"Okay then," Gedan said grinning, "let me amend my statement. There are no ghosts or devils in this place – other than the one we were chasing, of course. But even if there were, you would still have nothing to fear from them."
"Why?" I asked, half joking "because I'm with you?"
"You catch on quick," she said, giggling.
"You're serious?"
Gedan nodded. "Let us hear no more of ghosts and devils," she said and smiled. "If I can forget about them, surely someone as brave as you can do the same. What do you say?"
"You don't strike me as the kind of person who has much to fear," I said.
"I don't," she said, "and nor do those I spend time with."
I have in my time done a reasonable amount of combat training, both as part of the police and as a once keen boxer, but there was something all together physically reassuring about Gedan. I was sure I could give a reasonable fight to anyone who wanted to trade blows, but I felt…ridiculously vulnerable next to her. It was a feeling I could not explain.
"I find you…very reassuring," I said.
"Good," she said.
"But I know nothing of you."
"That's not true," she said. "You know my name and now you know something else. You know that I will not let any harm befall you while you are at my side."
I felt a sudden buzz of confidence at her words. I could have Gedan help me catch Eccles; she could help me have my revenge. With Gedan by my side, I couldn't fail to bring Worzen Eccles to justice. I would be able to have my revenge.
* * * *
For a little while all that passed between Gedan and I were the sounds of the crackling fire and the background noise of the Mire. It was a calm and peaceful break in the unfolding drama of the evening.
I found myself staring helplessly at her; how her sweet face caught the flicker of the fire. Her eyes shimmered like pools. There was something utterly captivating about her and for a while chasing Eccles lost all importance.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked after a while.
"Of course," she said.
"What are you?"
Gedan laughed. "A good question for a Sergeant to ask; an important question," she said, "but one that requires more time for explanation than we have together. But let me see what I can tell you. My name is Gedan, which I have all ready told you. I am the First Kat and have more years behind me than you think. I am old and I am strong. I am sweet and I am kind."
I nodded. "What else?"
"What else do wish to know, mm?" she asked, an amused look on her face. "Perhaps something a little more intimate will sate your curiosity?"
I blushed at the look in her eyes. "No," I said quickly, "I was just…I mean it's just..."
Gedan laughed and it tinkled in the air, filling the space we sat in. It made me shiver, like the sound of it ran through me. "Do all Sergeants blush as easily as you?"
"Shut up."
Gedan laughed again and it made my cheeks feel warm. "It's all right," she said. "I understand. I have this way of making folk blush. It's not just you."
"Good."
"Tonight, Sergeant Daniel Rott," Gedan said and bowed her head for a moment, "I, Gedan, am honoured to be your friend and companion in this terrible place. I will not leave your side until I have you safely back in your house."
I nodded and grinned widely, feeling as if I could not put a step wrong for the rest of the evening. No matter how the chase to catch Eccles went, I knew I would be all right if Gedan was watching my back.
"Other than that," Gedan said, lifting her eyes to me once more, "I'm afraid you must settle with disappointment."
I nodded. "Fair enough," I said, mulling on what she'd said and pushing the grin from my face. "But…you said that you're a Kat?" I asked.
Gedan nodded. "Best you just accept what I say for now, if you will be so kind," she said, "and if we have more time, perhaps with a little more privacy, I will be better able to explain myself."
I took that to mean more than she probably meant, but to hear Gedan say it put all sorts of thoughts into my mind. "I would very much like to be with you in a more civilised environment," I said.
"If there is time," she said.
I frowned "You cannot stay long?"
"No," she said and shook her head. "I have come here for a reason and once that reason has been exhausted I must return."
"Return to where?"
"My home," she said in a tone that allowed no further enquiry.
I sighed, unable to feel a little disappointed. "That is not happy news for me."
"Don't fret Daniel," Gedan said with a smile, "we still have time together."
I nodded, not knowing fully why I felt sad at her words.
"Now," she said seriously, "the most important thing for you to remember is this: our paths have crossed tonight, a blessing for you and an opportunity for me. You are a kind and good man, one I am pleased to meet. You have me as a friend and an ally until sun rise Daniel – something you may not fully appreciate until after I am gone. But it is a blessing for you."
"I'm very thankful for it," I said, "you have kept me alive and even given me a fire by which I can warm myself. You have also given me a tremendous high by the sheer virtue of your presence, though it saddens me to know it will not last beyond this evening."
Gedan stared at me through the crackling flames. Something about how she looked, so pure and alive, made my heart miss a beat. I suddenly yearned for something, but had no clue as to what it was. I just knew it was impossibly wonderful and totally out of my reach. I gulped and looked away.
"Are you all right?" she asked, seeing my reaction change.
"Just thinking," I said a little gloomily
Gedan smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "Come now," she said. "It is not a night to be sad. It is a miraculous thing – we would not have met at all were it not our mutual pursuit. We will just have to make the little time we have together count for something. Ok?"
"Indeed," I said, smiling at her, "You are right."
"Of course I am."
"And if you ask for me to ask no more questions about you or where you are from, then I will do so." I couldn't help but grin at her. "Even if I did have more things to ask you, it would be rude to push it after all you've done for me..."
Gedan chuckled, tilting her head at me as she did so. "You have more questions for me, Daniel Rott?"
"Please, just call me Dan," I said, liking the idea of somehow making Gedan addressing me more intimately.
Gedan's smiled widened. "Very well then, Dan, you have more questions for me?" she asked. "Questions that cannot be ignored or put off until a cosier time?"
I nodded. "Just a couple," I said, grinning from ear to ear.
Gedan sighed but the smile remained on her face. "Then let me see what curiosity I can sate in the time we have; ask your questions."
"What are you doing in such an awful place?"
"The same thing as you, it seems," Gedan said gently, "chasing a very bad man through a very bad place."
Even better - Gedan and I had a common enemy.
"Oh, yes," she said in a brighter tone, "I'm here saving a young man from his muddy doom; a man who should know better than running and fighting at night in the middle of an infamous Mire."
"I'm not helpless," I said.
"No, not on your own terms," she said, "but some things will always stack against you. Fighting in the dark surrounded by treacherous terrain is one of those things."
"Are you are any better off than me in this matter?" I said. "I saw you running back there, faster than I ever could. Does that not put you in similar peril?"
"I can see a lot better than you," she said. "You've all ready observed my strength, yes? Well rest assured that my sight, smell and hearing are equally improved on your own."
I nodded, having no option to take her word on it. "You are right on one thing," I said, "that blasted man did get the drop of me and that would have been the end of me if it hadn't been for you."
Gedan's smile shrank a little. "It appears that my presence allowed him to get the better of you; apologies, Dan," she said and patted my shoulder. "I didn't mean for that to happen."
I waved her concern away. "Chances are he was going to get the best of me anyway," I said. "Worzen has this terrible luck of coming out of danger unscathed."
Gedan nodded. "It is a luck that will not last forever," she said. "And he is testing that luck sorely by trying to run through this Mire."
That was certainly true; if anything was going to test your luck at surviving it was travelling through this hell at night. I had a sudden thought at just how foolish my lone race into the Mire had been. "The more I think about it," I said, "the more I'm beginning to think that chasing him here was a dumb idea."
Gedan nodded and grinned. "I'm glad you said that," she said, "because if I'd have said that it would have come across as mean."
I chuckled. "At least I'm alive enough to learn from my wonderful hindsight," I said.
"And what is your second question?" she asked.
"It is a silly thing," I said, looking away with a blush, "a question than can wait till later, if I should ask it all."
I saw Gedan's eyes widen and a look of delight creep over her face. "Ooh," she said, edging closer. "That doesn't sound like your average question, Dan. You have to tell me what it is!"
I laughed nervously. "Oh no," I said, "not now - maybe later, once we have finished this chase and you have seen me safely home."
"Very well then," she said. "I will ask you again when you are home." The smile on Gedan's face thinned suddenly. "Now, may I ask you something, Dan?"
I nodded.
"Why are your out here?" she asked. "What business could possibly have brought you to this terrible place on such an evening?"
"Duty," I said. "My duty brought me here."
Gedan nodded. "And nothing else?"
I shook my head. "No," I said, "Just my duty."
"To your job?" said Gedan and her tone was inquisitive.
"And to those I am responsible for."
"A duty that could not have waited until morning?" said Gedan. "Perhaps you could do well to wait for when you have the benefit of sunlight and the warmth of the sun? Not to mention the benefit of other people being around to help you, should your feet lead you awry? Perhaps leaving Worzen alone until tomorrow will make your chase less risky business, hmm?"
Gedan's words touched a nerve with me and I frowned heavily. "No, this could not have waited."
"Why?"
"This is personal for me," I said testily. "If I waited, he would more than likely get away and I will have missed my opportunity."
"Surely you will have other chances to fulfil your duty?"
"Maybe," I said, "but I'm not prepared to risk losing him. Not on this night. That bastard has to pay for what he's done. And I'm going to be the one to bring him in…I want to see him swing."
"What has he done to have wronged you so?"
I took a deep breath and told Gedan about the three policemen he'd killed. As I did, I saw her ears flatten and a real sadness enter her eyes. It was a gesture that on any other person I might have missed or not given a second thought to, but to see it from Gedan meant a lot – I don't know why, but it sent a shiver of emotion through me to see. Gedan put her arms about for a brief moment, just long enough for me to feel the tenderness of her hug. "I'm sorry Dan," she said, "I really am so sorry."
I hugged her back. "It has to be me to bring him in," I said.
"But not for duty," she said and drew back. "You want this for revenge."
To hear that word from her lips sounded like a curse or even a condemnation. My heart tightened in response to it. But she was right. "Yes," I said through clenched teeth. "I want revenge for the three men he killed."
Gedan frowned thoughtfully. "The deaths of those poor men are not on your hands," she said. "They are on Worzen Eccles' hands. He is the one who killed them and he should bare the blame for it."
"And he will," I said. "He will pay with his life."
"At your hands?" she asked and even with my darkening mood, I knew it a question with a hair trigger on it. A wrong answer here would do irrevocable damage to the bond between Gedan and me.
"No," I said, "not by me. He is to go back and face judgement by the law. And they will do the right thing. I will see him hanged and I will have had my revenge."
Gedan nodded. "It's not your fault those men died," she said gently.
"They were on my shift," I said and slapped my clenched fist on my palm in temper. I instantly regretted it. "I was their Sergeant, Gedan, I was responsible for them. It was up to me to look after them and to make sure they got back home to their families. I failed them."
"Dan…"
"No, I will not be challenged on this!"
I was in no mood to be argued with over the guilt I felt and, to her credit, Gedan didn't push it any further. I had been the one to put them on those shifts and so it was me who had put them in harm's way. Whether anyone else believed it or not, as far as I was concerned, I was to blame.
Whether Gedan approves or not, I will have my revenge and Worzen Eccles will die.
