“Yeah, we’re all screwed. You mentioned that part already.”
Mattie chuckled and turned to peer through the windshield toward the Subway. They both saw Persh’al sitting at a table by the window, and the Nightstalker woman said, “We have a little time. Scoot over.”
“What?”
Mattie shoved open the door and got out to open the back passenger-side door and shoot Cheyenne an exasperated look. “Scoot.”
“Oh.” The halfling moved down the center row of seats, staring at the Nightstalker woman as Mattie closed the door again behind her.
“Now.” The woman’s green eyes glistened with awareness as she fixed them on her former student. “We have some time to set things straight, at the very least. Let’s not waste it.”
“I...don’t even know where to start.”
“I get that a lot. I’ll take over from here, then. Feel free to stop me if something comes to mind.” Mattie clasped her hands together and set them both primly in her lap. “I’m guessing the very first string tying this all together was when you overheard me talking to myself. You asked who Maleshi was, and I wasn’t prepared to answer that question. Now, I suppose, it’s a necessity.”
Cheyenne couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “Yeah, a bit.”
“Right.” The woman dipped her head and took a deep breath. “I chose the name Mathilda Bergmann when I made the crossing, Cheyenne. That was over four hundred years ago, and at the time, the name had a lot more flavor to it than it does now. Like I said, Mathilda sounds like an old cat lady.”
“I mean, you kind of are.”
Mattie’s lips twitched when the double meaning dawned on her, then she shook her head. “I like Mattie so much better. But before I started my life Earthside, as I’m sure you’re well aware, I was someone else. General Maleshi Hi’et, insert meaningless titles, et cetera, et cetera. I spent half a century as the Crown’s wartime advisor and leading strategist. I trained thousands of legionnaires while I served the Crown. Protected the people of Ambar’ogúl the best I could. Felled armies and quashed rebellions. The list goes on and on.”
The halfling’s eyes widened. “Sounds like it.”
“But none of that’s important anymore, you understand? The new cycle began… Well, I despise euphemisms, so I’ll just say it was a bloody affair that came about long before its time.”
“You mean, someone grabbed the throne.”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Mattie glanced down at her clasped hands and bit her lip. “The new ass to sit upon that proverbial throne—and I do mean ‘ass’ in every sense of the word—showed the entire world who she really was when she took things into her own hands. Literally. Things changed, kid. I have no problem getting a little dirty if that’s what’s required of me, but to say things got messy at the turn of the new cycle is a gross and disgusting understatement. Blood, mud, and black magic. Add a heaping portion of greed and entitlement, and you’ve splattered an accurate picture of the state of things all over a blank canvas. Make sense?”
“Yeah.” Cheyenne studied the pain in her friend’s green eyes and frowned. “That’s why you left, isn’t it?”
The Nightstalker replied, “That’s mostly why I left. I’ve seen things that give me nightmares, kid. Still. The things I did by order of the Crown were far, far worse, and no amount of advice or berating on my part made a goddamn bit of difference. So, yes. I laid down my banner, stripped off my badges, and shot the Crown a big ‘fuck you’ when I hightailed it out of there. It’s still home, Cheyenne. It...calls to me from time to time. And for four hundred years, I’ve been satisfied knowing the Crown no longer has General Hi’et at her side to do the dirty work she was so fond of ordering me to do.”
“And you didn’t tell anyone.”
A wry chuckle escaped Mattie, and she gave a little shrug. “Not a soul. I abandoned everything I believed in because I just couldn’t do it anymore, and apparently, that put me down in O’gúl history as the spark of the fucking rebellion!”
The sharp, bitter cackle coming from the Nightstalker’s mouth made Cheyenne lean away. She still hates herself for it.
“But if that’s what it took to keep things from getting as bad as they could have on the other side, kid, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Every single bit of it.”
The halfling nodded.
Mattie caught the hesitation in the halfling’s posture and leaned toward her. “What? And don’t tell me it’s nothing, Cheyenne. I’ve had enough practice reading you to know a seed of doubt when I see it.”
Cheyenne clenched her eyes shut, then turned just enough to meet Mattie’s gaze sidelong. “You might’ve accidentally started a rebellion, but I don’t think that kept things from getting worse over there.”
“Of course not. They were bound to get worse anyway. Which will always be my shame, and I have to live with it.” The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Why? What have you heard?”
“Some new friends of mine told me about their village on the other side. The Oronti Valley.”
“Oh, God. I haven’t thought of that place in centuries. Beautiful. Serene. I always wanted to take a few months off and build myself a hut out by one of the lakes. Very happy people. And I mean genuinely happy.”
“Not anymore.” Cheyenne waited for realization to dawn on the Nightstalker woman’s face before she said anything else. “The way I heard it, there’s nothing left. Even in the valley.”
The blissful nostalgia in Mattie’s smile disappeared immediately. “I see.”
“And it’s forcing even more magicals to make the crossing. Whole families. Kids. Christ, after what I saw at the new portal this morning, I can’t imagine trying to take
