Aster Wood and the Blackburn Son by J B Cantwell

presence brought me calm, but I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because he, alone, had offered to protect Kiron and I when we first landed in Stonemore so many months ago. And at great risk to his own life. He had never betrayed us, as Kiron had feared he would.
    “I’m—alright, I guess,” I said.  
    “Ah, I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “We were worried about you for some time. Kiron was having fits after you fled Stonemore.”
    “Was he?” My eyebrows raised.
    “Of course he was,” he said. “That old crank may not show it to you, but he’s very concerned for your well being.”
    “Huh,” I said. “To me it’s always seemed to be about the Fold, not me.”
    “Ah, well, there you are mistaken. Or maybe misled.”
    I looked over at Kiron, who had his nose an inch from the page he was inspecting.
    “So you two are friends now?” I asked.
    He laughed.
    “Yes, of course,” he said. “I don’t know that it’s possible to fight an army of possessed torturers side by side and not become friends. No, after you left we hid together for a time. And then, after Cadoc’s demise, he stayed with me in the shop.”
    “Really?” I asked. This surprised me. Kiron had clearly loathed Chapman’s little store in the square.
    “Of course!” he said. “Where else might he have gone?”
    Lots of places, I thought.  
    “He’s not so harsh as he may seem,” he continued. “Well, not all the time.”
    I looked around at the group. One man had his hand held over the ground, and tiny bolts of lightning sprang from the dirt into his palm.  
    “And what about these men?” I asked in a murmur. “What are they like?”
    “Well, you’ve seen them yourself,” he said quietly. “Most are friendly enough. Though not all.”  
    His eyes had come to rest on Finian, who glared into the fire as if he could see the face of the enemy swimming within it.  
    “I don’t like him,” I said, looking at him, too. “He’s so…angry. How can that be helpful?”
    “Ah, well, he has good reason to be. Cadoc killed his family when he refused to give up the location of our meeting spot. But even before that, he was a serious fellow. He can tend to take things a bit seriously, Finian.”
    “His whole family?” I asked, shocked.
    “His wife and two daughters,” he said, dropping his gaze. “After you left, things were difficult for some time.”  
    I had never seen Chapman look so sad. His hands played absently in the dirt, and he did not look up.
    I guess I wasn’t the only one who had lost people. Important people.  
    A feeling that had been eating away in my gut suddenly bubbled to the surface.
    “I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” I said.  
    “I know,” Chapman said. “None of us do. But you do understand that you must try.”  
    Our eyes met for a brief moment, and then I nodded my head. I did understand.  
    “The way I see it, you and this Jade have a connection. Though her memory of your time together may be skewed by the Corentin, somewhere inside of her she remembers you the way you truly are. From your tale, it sounds like she has fought this darkness for some time now. Fought it bravely, though she has now crumbled beneath it. It is you who must fight now. For her”
    “I’m scared she’s going to kill me,” I said. But that was too simple an explanation. Other, more insidious thoughts swirled in my head. I wasn’t sure how I would recover if I found that she really did hate me as much as she had led me to believe. “I’m scared I’m not enough,” I finally finished.
    Chapman leaned back and looked up into the night. Above, the stars dangled down like shining ornaments on strings.
    “If you die at Jade’s hands,” he finally said, “then your death will have been a noble one, full of purpose and hope. It is only if you give up now that you will fulfill this fear of yours that you are not enough. It is a fear we all share. And it is one we all must combat.”
    “Finian