Chapter 4
The Guard
6 months later.
"We really shouldn't be here, Tricia."
"Oh relax, we'll only stay a little while."
"Yeah Annie we'll only be here a little while."
The three girls walked deeper and deeper into the woods. Annie was a little freaked out by it. The woods seemed incredibly silent. She couldn't even here any birds anymore. She opened her mouth to voice her concerns again but Tricia was busy, leaning over doing something.
Tricia pulled the clandestine cigarette out of her coat sleeve and the disposable lighter out of her pocket. After several attempts she got it to light up. Ignoring the fumes she stuck it in her mouth and spun around. "What da ya think?"
The other two girls stared at her. Their eyes were wide with horror. They screamed.
"Jeez guys," said Tricia. "It's just a cigar – " Lindsey turned and ran. Annie jabbed a finger at something behind Tricia. There was a terrifying screech.
She turned. A monster stood behind her. It was massive, towering well over six feet. Its skin was coarse scaly hide but a humanoid face with black empty eyes leered at her. Spines grew from it's head and back. She screamed and the demon raised a massive claw to rip into her.
"Run!" Something or someone leapt between the beast and Tricia. He caught the claw between his two hands and tried to force it back. The demon recoiled with a snarl.
Her rescuer turned to look at her. "Get out of here!" The man was almost as frightening as the monster. He was grey haired and gaunt. His clothes were tattered rags. With the long razor sharp claws that tipped his hands he looked almost feral. She realised he was the tramp she had seen hanging around the garage yesterday. He waved her away. "Go! Now!" he yelled savagely.
Tricia dropped the cigarette and ran. It lay among the mast and dead leaves and began to smoulder.
He slashed at the creature with his claws. It growled and hissed, taking wild swipes at him. It was clearly not one of the smart ones. It backed up, lowering its head and baring it's sharp horns. It charged. He stood in its pathway until the last second and then twisted to its side, driving his claw deep into its abdomen. It stumbled backwards. It's knees buckled and it collapsed. Within seconds it had shrivelled up until nothing was left but an oily brown liquid.
Carter didn't even allow himself a smile of satisfaction. Where there was one, there was always more. Besides his ears were already picking up the crackle of flame.
He turned. The forest fire had already turned into a blaze and through the smoke he could see three more demons approaching. "Fantastic."
He leapt. But these three were smarter than the last. He managed to slash the eyes of the nearest demon but as he did so he felt two vicelike arms clamp around him, pinning his arms to his side. As the injured demon howled and thrashed the other two closed in on him. The one who was not holding him raised a claw to decapitate him…
…And disappeared in a blinding flash of golden light. Carter didn't even have time to contemplate what had happened when both he and the demon were bowled over by a black and white blur. A beautiful Siberian tiger had pounced on them and was mauling the demon with fangs and claws. With one efficient snap of its jaws its teeth closed around the demon's neck and the creature went still.
A moment later the tiger too had vanished and Carter lay on the floor of the woodland, looking up at a boy and a girl.
The girl put her hand on the boy's arm and pointed to something beyond him. Almost absently he waved a hand. "Out!" he commanded. The fire vanished. He said something quieter to the girl. She nodded and vanished.
The boy reached out a hand. Automatically Carter sheathed his claws and took it. Matt pulled him to his feet and they stood facing one another. "Is this to be my execution?" asked Carter.
Matt's jaw did it's characteristic slide. "Lets sit down." he said and pointed to a fallen log. Carter didn't want to sit, but he was tired. His feet sagged under him and he found himself sitting on the log.
"Have you anything to say for yourself?" asked Matt.
Carter didn't meet his eyes. "I'm sorry." he muttered.
"For breaking the conditions of your exile?"
"No!" The cry was sharper than he had meant it. Hurriedly he shielded his thoughts from Matt. He didn't want to enrage him further but he did not regret this violation or any of the others he had committed almost daily for the last six months. Risking his life and seeking out the portions of the other world that had intruded onto this one had been the only thing keeping him going and it was fitting penance after what he had done.
"Then what are you sorry for?"
"I remember." was the soft reply.
"Remember what?"
"Everything. Those last few days before the battle for the Citadel. I remember letting the Army of Chaos into the Citadel, how I travelled to the Underworld, what I did to Rochelle. You were right. I am the traitor. But you have to believe me when I say – "
"Enough Marcus. I don't need to hear your excuses."
Matt took a moment to collect his thoughts. "My instinct isn't known as one of my strong points. I'm quick to jump to conclusions. I'm overly suspicious. I tend to judge people on one or two specific actions and I'm openly biased when it comes to certain people, especially Isabel. Nine times out of ten my instincts are wrong.
"Six months ago when I first became leader my instincts told me to trust you. They told me to trust you because I remembered the day when you lay dying, crushed under a fallen meteor. You were severely burnt, in extreme pain and you knew you were about to die. You know what you did? You told me to protect my sister. That made me a little biased in your favour, and I had to admit I was shocked and hurt to discover you had betrayed us. But the Citadel was falling and I didn't really have time to worry about it and after Rochelle died my anger like everyone else's had to focus on something, and for the most part they focused on you, the snake in our midst. It was only when Isabel told me that you were alive that all the niggling little doubts started to come back."
"But it was ridiculous. You were guilty. You had betrayed the guard. The evidence against you was undeniable. There was proof you had opened the gates to the citadel. Neriah had read your thoughts. You had even tried to murder Rochelle. You hadn't been framed by the real traitor because no one else could be the traitor. It had to be you.
"We rescued you. And I thought I'd be perfectly happy to allow the Tribunal to handle your trial. But I knew if the Tribunal took you, you would die and be condemned eternally to hell. Dartemis was just establishing control. He couldn't afford to go easy on you. He had to show that treachery would not be tolerated. He had to make an example of you. But…" He heaved a sigh. "I don't like to see anyone, even my enemies die. Dartemis says it's my greatest weakness, an unfortunate by-product of my role in the prophecy. I don't know what it means to be pure of heart, and I've never really felt that I qualify, but I know I couldn't stomach the thought of seeing you executed. I tried to find a loophole that might save you.
"It's funny. When I started I was convinced you were guilty. But when I started looking for this loophole all these things kept coming back to me that I didn't think I remembered. Things just started to fit into place."
"For a while Ethan's instinct had me stumped. Unlike mine Ethan's instinct is famous. It's even recognised as one of his powers. After all didn't he rescue King Richard? And Ethan didn't like you. Everyone knew it. He went around calling you Croc-Face. People used to make jokes about it in school. So suspicion was naturally thrown on you. How could I doubt his instinct? We talked about it, just after we left you that day. At first he was determined his dislike of you was driven solely by instinct but in the end I got him to admit that his dislike of you came at least partially, not so much from a mystical sense of prophecy as the fact that you put him on detention for not having his shirt tucked in and because you were tough on him in a way no one else had ever been. I thought that perhaps just this once he could have been wrong."
"Despite what you told Rochelle two things made me doubt you had turned traitor as long as thirteen years ago. First, if you had the Goddess would have learned of our identities years ago and we'd all be dead. Second, whatever revenge plans Marduke had, nothing came before reclaiming Neriah and you acted as Neriah's guardian on several occasions and had knowledge of her whereabouts that Marduke obviously didn't. Your real betrayal had to be quite recent."
"What's this about Matt?" Suddenly Carter rose. "I'm the traitor. I freely admit it. Why can't you just hurry up and put me out of my misery."
"I've told you Marcus, I've never doubted that you were the one who betrayed the Guard. It just took me a while to realise it wasn't your fault that you did, it was mine."
"What!"
"That day when you were in the forest Marduke sent a flock of birds called vultons to attack Angel Falls. The birds were supposed to drop a mind-numbing drug over Angel Falls that would turn its inhabitants into Lathenia's slaves. Neriah and I stopped them. We led them away from the city and we got them to drop their load over the forest. You mentioned darkness and being choked by ash before blacking out. That was the dust raining down on you. It drugged you and while the Goddess was deprived of her new army the Order she was given a tool that was almost as valuable.
"Marduke entered your mind. He made you open the gate for him. Dillon once told me 'Once the master gets into your head his hold is next to impossible to get rid of'. When Rochelle discovered you had turned traitor she sensed a strong blood connection between you and Neriah, which was impossible. It was Marduke's relationship to her, not yours that she sensed. That's why you told the obvious lie about being his brother. It was to hide who was really behind the wheel. It also explained why someone who was supposed to be an ingenious traitor who had kept his identity secret for more than a decade was suddenly behaving so obviously.
"…At least that's what I believed. But all my proof was circumstantial and I couldn't be sure. So I devised a test."
"What test? What are you going to do to me now?"
"The test is over Marcus. The test came when I gave you back your memories of your lost days, and when I sent you into exile."
"What do you mean?"
"You could have joined the other side. I know Keziah has approached you on more than one occasion. Or you could have gone on and lived a normal mortal life as I told you to do. But you didn't. You chose to keep fighting Chaos and darkness. Even after you were banished from the Guard you still behaved as a Guardian of Time." He put a hand on Carter's shoulder. "It's our actions, not our powers that make us Guards. You should remember that."
He stood up and for a panicked second Carter thought he would vanish without another word. "Wait, if you don't think I'm the traitor, then who is."
Matt gave him a smile and said calmly. "There was no traitor. There was a shadow."
"What?"
"I asked around. The idea of the traitor among us arose after Arkarian was kidnapped from the Citadel, when the most suspicious member of the Named began to suspect that the Guard had been infiltrated. You were the one who made us believe there was a traitor in the first place."
"But Marduke…"
"Did what Marduke did best. He knew the prophecy as well as any other member of the Named. He'd heard the line, 'Suspicion will cause disharmony' and he knew our own insecurities would rip us apart far more effectively than he ever could. So he fanned the flames and made us doubt each other's loyalty. He was always brilliant at manipulating people. But he didn't create the traitor, you did. You fulfilled your roll in the prophecy. You cast your shadow among us. "
"And the Key – "
"Hidden by Lady Arabella in an attempt to protect Lorian."
"So what happens now?"
"That depends on – "
They were interrupted by a violent roar. A demon came rampaging through the undergrowth and burst out from among the trees. It turned to look at them, snorting angrily. A second later there was a loud war cry and a golden haired girl leapt after it, holding a glowing golden sword. With one smooth, beautifully executed stroke she ran the demon through.
The demon vanished and she turned to face them. "Matt you've got five minutes." she yelled. "We're a little swamped here. Ethan and Shawn have got their hands full with five demons that surfaced from a cave we didn't know about and Dillon managed to break his leg," She rolled her eyes, "Again. Besides we can't keep that nest of plague rats at bay forever. We need you to clean up."
"I'll be right there."
She nodded and dematerialised.
Carter gave a surprised gasp. He couldn't help it. "She was given her wings?"
He nodded. "King Richard was officially crowned King of Veridian at a ceremony last month. He presented a gift to all the members of his house whom he had not welcomed himself on their initiation. "Ethan was given strength of spirit, Shawn got permission to finally tell Laura the truth. I think Jimmy would have like have asked for Mom never to learn it but didn't dare. I don't know what Arkarian got. He's keeping it private."
"And you?"
"A very uncomfortable robe that I will never ever where." Carter sensed there was more behind this remark but didn't dare to ask.
"It was a nice ceremony." Matt continued. "But I think he was a little disappointed that the full compliment of the Named could not be present."
"Well of course. It must be hard for all of you to go on without Roch– "
"So he asked me to give you these." He held out a hand, in it sat a little white crystal that glowed with an inner blue fire.
Mesmerised by the glow Carter reached out and took the offered object from Matt's hand. Reverently he clasped it between his fingers. "What is –?" But the words died on his lips. Tremendous energy ran from the crystal up his arms and into his body. He realised that this finally, was it. He was about to die.
As suddenly as it had come the energy fade. He found that he could still breath and blink and think. The crystal was still in his hands, but the fire within it had died.
"What…what happened?" He felt rather dizzy now and everything was suddenly…louder.
Matt's words were formal but he smiled. "Marcus Carter I return to you your powers which I have been safeguarding and in recognition of your long and loyal service to the Guard and because you have proved yourself loyal to its principles even in the face of exile and excommunication the Tribunal is pleased to award you the power of flight. The Named would be honoured if you would stand with us once more."
"But…But…I betrayed you."
"Our greatest hero once served as Marduke's willing spy. Our newest trainer assassinated a Roman Emperor. The Guard does not hold the past against its warriors."
He tried to think of something to say. Something that would express his joy and relief and gratitude. Instead he managed, "Dillon is a trainer?"
"Yes."
"I pity his apprentice."
"Pity him. His apprentice is my cousin Sally. She makes Isabel look like a lady. And as there is no longer a Citadel to coordinate you've been assigned to help Dillon, Ethan and Shawn with the training of the new apprentices."
"How many are there?"
"Five. And after you've had them a week believe me the Underworld will start to seem inviting." He flinched. "Alright, Neriah I'm coming, I'm coming." he muttered. "Look I've got to go so I'm going to need an answer."
Carter shook his head. He looked like he was halfway between laughing and crying. "I don't know what to say."
Matt grinned. "Oh that's easy." he said. "Say yes."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: The story came from two places. The first is that I didn't particularly like the eight pages that deal with the truth about Carter. I found they were a little too brief and didn't do justice either to the end of the traitor arc or to Carter's character.
The second place it came from was this. Until those last pages where he basically runs around like a homicidal nutcase screaming, "Look at me! Look at me! I'm evil! I'm soooo evil!" and cackling madly Carter never does anything evil and that some of the things he did (i.e.: travelling to the supreme darkness of the underworld, finding the key that is deadly to the touch, getting it away from Lathenia's evil clutches and hiding it safely in Athens until Matt comes to claim it, which he does with ease) seemed downright heroic.
While Shadow of Doubt is obviously a fan work I'd like to point out at this juncture that all of the evidence (and more) Matt gathers to clear Carter's name is completely canonical and I have the quotes to prove it.
Things that really happened
Rochelle does spot Carter entering the forest about five minutes before Neriah convinces the voltons to drop their load over it.
Arkarian does in the Named tell Ethan that Marduke is even older than he is.
In The Dark this is backed up when Lorian has to tell Arkarian how Marduke gained the non-aging ability.
Arkarian also tells Ethan that Marduke is the traitor named in the prophecy.
And on a more subjective note was there a conversation on Olympus that went like this.
Lathenia: Ha! Ha! Now we have the Key. The ultimate weapon. Now we will surely win the war
Marduke: Yeeesss! Hey I have a good idea. Now that we've secured the turning point in the war which we hunted for throughout the last book, let's give it back to the Guard.
Lathenia: What an excellent idea. Not only will it lead them to suspect that there is a traitor but it will also allow them to control their ultimate god killing weapons. Yay!
Marduke: After all what fun is conquering the universe if it's not a challenge and that insecure kid they recruited as their trump card is hopeless. We might as well give ourselves a handicap.
Lathenia: Right as always honey. By the way, despite the fact that you, you reanimated corpse are my soulmate I don't find you physically attractive anymore, so I'm off to shag King Richard.
Marduke: Works for me. Anyway I've got to track down my moronic daughter.
Wait? What! Is that supposed to have happened.
This story is a sort of Twelve Angry Men. At the beginning the evidence seemed highly stacked against Carter, but if you examine the facts you'll see there definitely is room for reasonable doubt that he might have been innocent. Besides I don't think anyone, ever deserves to suffer an eternity in an absolute underworld. Though I'll admit when I started this I never imagined that it would end on such an up beat note. But for the gloomy among you simply replace the last scene with a scene where Carter locks himself into a motel room, drinks a bottle of gin and slits his wrists in shame, spending the rest of eternity in hell.
If you disagree with it, hate it or simply just want to flame me for the hell of it I don't mind. But as always constructive criticisms would be appreciated especially.