He drew an agonized breath. 'I curse you, witch with the unspoken name. From this day forth—'
'Oh, do shut up.'
His eyes widened. It was a breach of etiquette to interrupt, but the death curse I now carried was quite enough.
'Well, how rude.'
He crumbled away. Penelope couldn't help but sweep his ashen remains into a neat pile.
The dragon disappeared. A portion of one massive golden wing was the last to fade. The figment of space was the last illusion to fade from Soulless Gustav's realm. The field of bare earth shrank and shrank until it was but a patch barely two feet across, the last monument to the foolish dreams of the greatest sorcerer that had ever lived.
'That's all it was?' asked Newt.
'Doesn't seem like much,' agreed Gwurm.
'Just because it became this,' I said, 'doesn't make it less than it was.'
A gust carried away the ashes.
'So that's it?' said Newt. 'It's over?'
'Not quite.'
I knelt low and put a palm to the earth. Fresh green grass sprouted over Soulless Gustav's monument.
'Some dreams are best forgotten.'
I'd hoped not tohave to do this final thing. Truth be told, I'd expected to be dead and not have to. Every victory comes at a price, and this was mine. I took Wyst away where the others couldn't overhear. Nothing had changed between us, but everything else had.
'I should be angry with you.' He took my hand. 'But you saved my life.'
I smiled. 'No. You saved mine.'
He took me in his arms. It felt so right, so perfect, but it could never be.
'Wyst...'
He held me tighter. 'We were meant to be together.'
It was a romantic notion. I would expect no less from a White Knight. A force beyond our control had indeed brought us together. Her name had been Ghastly Edna. But another power kept us apart, and his name was Nasty Larry.
'I'm never going to let you go,' he whispered.
I listened to his heartbeat. I could feel every throb of veins, every gush of blood. His embrace was a wonderful fantasy, and I enjoyed it just a moment more. Then I pushed him away. He couldn't hold me. I was much stronger than he was.
I wanted to hide my eyes, but I looked him in the face. 'We are what we are, Wyst. We can't be anything else.'
'I can.'
'No, you can't. You are a champion of righteousness, and this world needs you far more than I do.'
He put a hand on my shoulder. 'This world will get along just fine without me.'
'This can only end badly, Wyst. I am accursed. Every day my appetite grows. One day, maybe tomorrow, maybe a year from now, I will devour you. Or you will be required to kill 35 me.
'I could never kill you.'
'I know. That's why this can never be.' I put a palm against his chest to keep him from drawing closer. This was harder than I'd fathomed. 'One day, I would kill you, and I would become everything my curse intended me to be.'
Wyst cupped my chin. 'You won't.'
'I would. Unless you promise to kill me when the time comes.'
He closed his eyes. 'I could. If I had to.'
'If only I could believe that.' I kissed his cheek. 'You've given me a wonderful gift, but even if you could change who you are, I would always be what I am.'
The truth was a jagged barb. I wanted to believe he would kill me. I wanted to believe that devouring him wouldn't be so terrible a thing. I was too good a witch to believe a lie.
Wyst had no more arguments. I think, like me, he'd known this was the only way it could end. Though he might deny it, Wyst was a White Knight body and soul, and White Knights were defined by their sacrifices.
'There isn't a place for us in this world. Only in that phantasmal kingdom that no longer exists.' I took his hand and gave him my moldy squirrel hide. 'This was a gift from the first person who ever meant something to me. I pass it onto you. To remember me by.'
The hide smelled of dust, and most of the for had been worn away. Wyst rubbed it between his fingers with a soft smile.
And then, I kissed him one last time. A soft touch of closed lips. Anything more, and neither of us would have been able to walk away.
He wanted to argue, to find a justification, some hidden truth that would make this possible. I desperately wanted him to, but even all the magic in this world couldn't keep us together. It was difficult, but the both of us had faced difficult truths before. We were certain to face many more in the future. None so difficult as this last one for a good long while, I hoped.
He closed his eyes and drew in a soft breath. 'I'll always love you.'
'I know.' I turned away. 'I'll always love you too.' It was a whisper, but he heard.
'Wait.' Wyst of the West stood straight and inscrutable, every bit the stolid White Knight. 'I'd like to give you something.'
'You've given me enough already.'
Our eyes met for the last time. Neither of us smiled. We were a witch and White Knight again.
'One last thing,' he said. 'To remember me by.'
'I'd like that.'
He gave me my gift. He took his horse by the reins and went in search of his lost purity. The gray fox met me halfway back to my companions.
'Off on your own again?' I asked.
'No, I'm going with the Knight. I think he has interesting possibilities.'
'Watch over him for me.'
'I will because you can't.'
I stroked her muzzle and bestowed her with a touch of magic, a small enchantment to extend her years and allow her to speak with one White Knight. 'Thank you.'
She grinned as sly and canny as a clever, curious fox could. 'It's the least I can do for allowing me to share such an entertaining journey.' She ran after Wyst. He slowed that she might catch up.
It may have been morning in Soulless Gustav's dream, but it was a little past midday in the real world. I noticed the sun for the first time in all its vulgar brightness and pulled my hat low over my eyes. Somewhere in that small distance to my companions, I left behind the trappings of mortal womanhood. Only the trappings. Everything important, all the feelings and joys and memories, those would always stay with me.
I allowed myself one last unwitchly smile.
I said nothing as I met my companions and kept on walking. They knew enough to follow without being told. Penelope floated beside me and gently nudged herself into my hand. She held herself tense in my grip.
'I'm fine, dear. You don't need to worry.'
She relaxed.
'You aren't limping,' observed Newt, 'and you should tuck away your hair.'
I chuckled silently. I'd just defeated the greatest sorcerer alive, and my familiar still felt compelled to instruct me in what it was to be a good witch. I should've shown him his place, but I decided to be charitable.
'Where are we going?' asked Newt.
'Back to Fort Stalwart.' I listened, and I heard the magic for the first time. It was a soft, gentle voice, full of
