Page 93 of Search for the Lost

Wonder? What does that mean? It didn’t matter. I’m going to die. We’re all going to die.

During this quest they’d cheated death more times than he could count on one hand, but this time there was no coming back.

No pity was evident in those hard black eyes, and Crispin waited for the killing blow.

Something thumped onto the ground next to him. Then another, and another. Crispin couldn’t turn his head to see, but he caught glimpses of yellow flashes from the corner of his eyes. What in the Grand Vizier of Veloquis…?

The Duke looked up, and the spell was broken.

Crispin followed his gaze. Yellow droplets—no, lemon drops, the hard candy—were falling from the sky. A rainbow shimmered above them, each brilliant color bleeding into the next in shimmering waves.

Wonder.

And his enemy was transfixed by the sight.

Crispin surged forward, driving his sword into the Duke’s heart with all his might—if the guy even had one. The vanquished man howled, flailing about but unable to escape the two-foot blade embedded in his chest.

Crispin held it there tightly, twisting it for maximum damage as the Duke struggled and clutched at it futilely. They locked gazes, but the man’s power to paralyze was fleeing along with his own green blood. We have that in common. And it’s a bit amusing: Red Duke, but green blood.

His enemy sagged against the hilt of the sword, his eyes holding an infinite sadness, and passed into the realms of death.

To his right, Dietrich and Aspin had dispatched two of the other Dukes, and the WOLFs… well, three of them, anyhow… were making short work of a fourth, aided by one very angry squirrel.

The lemon-drops stopped falling from the sky, and Crispin spied Leo at last.

He was sitting cross-legged, like in the yoga classes he’d told Crispin about, and seemed to be centering himself.

“Acorn Man!” Minkis was sitting up, though he looked woozy. He managed to point his tail at something.

The fifth Duke turned away from observing the fading rainbow and his gaze fell on Leo. With a bellow of rage, he brought up his flaming sword.

“Take that, you misbegotten monster from hell!” Dorothy appeared behind him and flung a bucketful of water at him.

It slammed into the Duke like liquid fury and it… wet his back, sliding harmlessly off of his impressive muscles. Which now seemed even more impressive all wet and shiny⁠—

In the three seconds that Dorothy had bought with her otherwise fruitless gesture, Crispin shook his head and bounded across the distance between him and the Duke. With one bold stroke, he removed the Duke’s head.

The man’s eyes looked up at him for an instant before going blank, and then his body tumbled backward and slammed onto the ground. Guess there’s one more place they were vulnerable.

Crispin let out the breath he’d been instinctively holding. Then he saw Leo, lying immobile on the ground.

“Leo, are you okay?” Crispin fell to his knees next to his beloved, his partner… my everything.

Leo opened his eyes. “Cypher said wonder. I remembered that old song…. They did fall, right? The lemon drops?”

Crispin threw his arms around Leo. “They did. And the rainbow….” It had been beautiful: Leo’s soul, writ large across the heavens. “You did good.”

Leo grinned. “How is everyone else?”

Crispin looked over his shoulder at his fallen assistant. “We have to help Cypher.” Whoever was inside that house could wait.

Leo nodded. “He saved you. Now we have to save him.”

Crispin helped Leo to his feet and they rushed to the faun’s side. “We can do this. Together.”

People were imperfect creatures. If Crispin had tried to fix Cypher on his own with only Order, he might have overshot the mark, and no one could live with perfection. It might very well have killed his assistant. His… friend. Cypher is still my friend. The thought surprised him.

But Order and Chaos together… they were a perfect match.