Chapter 15: Icelus

Icelus spied Piper lying down at the bottom of a little crater, and shrank herself down to meet him.
He was in a sorry state; weakened from his overuse of psychic energy, he was trying to crawl away. He would get back his strength soon, once the Nexus was restored and his power was tied once again to the dreams of humans, but for now he was weak and desperate. He stopped when he saw Icelus. She waited for him to try one last attack, out of anger, but instead he started sobbing – which she really hadn't expected.
“You...” he rattled out, his voice filled with utter malice, “you... tyrant.”
Icelus said nothing.
Piper breathed in slowly, painfully. “I did this... for my friend... and for all nightmares. Now nothing will change. Now we'll never -”
“Shut up,” Icelus interrupted, so coldly that Piper actually did so. “I've seen cities of nightmares who have suffered without the Nexus. They're on their last legs. And it's all because of you. A stupid little cretin who fell for a con man's lies. You thought that what you saw and what you heard were enough to blow up the world. It was foolish – and here is your friend.”
She opened her mouth and let out another glowing strand of energy. It curled on the ground next to Piper and slowly expanded to reveal another form – it was a frail, lizard-like creature.
“Canis...” Piper said meekly.
The other nightmare coughed and opened his eyes, then dragged himself to his feet. “Dammit,” he said, “Dammit! It's all for nothing!”
“I'm sorry,” said Piper.
Canis merely snarled and looked at Piper, as if he had just now noticed him. He shook his head. “Pathetic,” he growled, and began to limp off, the better to get away from Piper.“You've failed me.”
Piper took a long look at his former friend. Of course Icelus would go and capture Canis eventually, but by dragging out this scene she was hoping to make her point.
Piper turned back to her, his eyes black with hatred. “You'll never win,” he said. “You know nothing. You're just a lonely old relic with no friends, waiting to be demolished. ”
Icelus snorted. “Always talking about things you know nothing about. Maybe once I like that. Maybe I was still like that when you first came to me. But I have Remont, and Osette, and Lya. And Marc,” she continued, “I couldn't have defeated you without Marc. He stuck by me more than Canis did with you. That's a real friend.”
All of a sudden they were interrupted by the faraway sounds of shouting. Before Piper knew it, he was being dragged up by his arms and put in cuffs. He recognized the city guards who had him now. He had talked with them, worked with them, ate with them. And they knew full well that he had just betrayed them all - it showed in their hard, unsmiling faces.
As Piper was led away, he was really only wondering one thing: who the hell was Marc?

Marc's vision swam and he groggily blinked. Slowly a picture began to form – pink? A skinny pink thing. An animal. A dog!
Icelus!
He opened his mouth and the words came creaking out: “Did it work?”
Icelus laughed and shook her head. “I don't know exactly what you did... but yes. It worked.”
Marc took a long pause to process this information, then finally groaned in relief. “We don't have to worry about it anymore! Great... great.”
He heard two female voices giggle and turned his head to see Lya and Osette standing together. “Hey,” he said.
Lya crouched down next to him. “I'm glad you're okay.”
“We did it, Marc!” Osette said. “We did it!”
Marc smiled, broadly and deliriously. “What happened to Piper?” he asked Icelus.
“Exiled,” she said. “Canis, too. Town's going to have to elect a new chief, but at least everybody knows what rotten pieces of work they were. Piper's dream was for every nightmare to support himself, so let's see how he likes it.”
Marc chuckled and sat up – his joints ached weirdly. He cast a glance around and noted an absence. “Where's Remont? Is he okay?”
He couldn't miss the way that everyone's faces fell at the same time.

They decided to spread Remont's ashes all around the countryside. He hadn't left a will, but Osette and Lya thought it would be just the thing to do for someone who loved exploring and adventures as much as he had. This would take a few days, though, and Marc had to get back to his grandmother's house before she arrived.
So it was only a few hours later that Marc, Icelus, Osette and Lya were gathered outside town. Osette was preoccupied drawing up a plan for their trip, and Lya was listening good-naturedly while she explained the various ins and outs of it.
Marc and Icelus stood facing each other, wondering if it would be the last time.
“I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me,” said Icelus. “You've helped me protect so much more than you'll ever know.”
“Um... I kind of normally say 'no problem,' but that seems like an understatement here,” said Marc.
Icelus smiled. “Of all the people who could have been there when I woke up in that house... I'm glad it was you.”
“Well, I was kind of an asshole at the end there,” he said. “I nearly ruined... a lot.”
“You didn't, and that's the important thing,” she replied. “I hope you don't get too much of a big head with that memory of yours, though.”
Marc furrowed his eyebrows and then his face lit up. “Oh!” he said, “I never told you.”
“What?”
“It's gone,” Marc shrugged. “After I hopped in your mouth and got out... the whole perfect memory thing, I don't have it anymore. I'm just normal.”
Icelus' jaw dropped. “How?”
Marc made an “I dunno” noise.
“So does that mean... the fear is back?”
He knew what she meant. Marc took a good look at Icelus and had to admit it: that familiar feeling, that she might just leap up and kill him, was still there. It was more distant and vague than ever, but it was there. He gave a deep sigh. “Yeah.”
Icelus looked down for a second, then stamped her foot. “You know what? That's okay. I'll be okay. I know you're my friend, Marc. That won't change.”
He vigorously nodded. “Absolutely.”
She reached out a paw to shake his hand, but he let her hang for a second and changed his mind: instead he reached forward and pulled her into a hug. It was horrible and uncomfortable for her, but it was a nice gesture.
Then they disappeared.
Osette and Lya were left alone for the first time since Cizruviel. There was a lot unsaid in that silence. “So,” said Lya, “I guess you're in charge of your family's estate now.”
Osette nodded. “Yeah.”
“That'll be some work, I guess.”
“I think I'm gonna sell it.”
Lya was almost knocked off her feet at this. “What?!”
“I don't want it. I think I'm gonna sell it.”
“Why?!”
“I love you,” said Osette.
“Okay, but... that doesn't -”
“I love you. I want to stay with you. So I'm going to sell the mansion, I'm going to sell everything off and help Cizruviel with the money.”
Lya looked away, trying to hide her face as tears began to form. “You don't have to do that. You could do what Remont did.”
“No,” Osette said, “I don't want to, I'm not Remont. What I want is to be with you. Forever.”
And when Lya looked back, she saw Osette looking more confused, more vulnerable, than she ever had before. She never tried to reach out to someone like this – never even to her. Osette was going out on a limb here.
So Lya took Osette's hand. “Yes,” she said. “Okay. Yes.”
They leaned into a kiss. It wasn't a very hard kiss, or a very passionate kiss, but it was sweet, and it had been too long.

In the weeks since leaving Oniron, Marc had returned to his parents' house and had been preparing to start a new job with a landscaping company. He hadn't heard from Icelus at all, and the whole adventure had started to feel like a thing of the past – like a dream, even. She must have been busy, but Marc still hoped she'd be able to stop by before he found himself caught up with other things.
This all changed one day. He was upstairs straightening his room when he heard a strange noise from behind him. He had heard it once before – Marc turned around and sure enough, there was a portal.
“Thank god Mom and Dad aren't home,” he whispered, and got ready to receive Icelus.
Instead what came through the portal was a big awkward flurry of feathers that shot through the opening, circled his room, realized what a small space it was actually in, and came to rest awkwardly on a lamp. A giant owl stood in his room now, shaking itself and straightening its feathers.
“Solon!” said Marc.
“Marc, my boy! Oh, I haven't seen you since the Catharsis Ritual – I'm so glad you and Icelus managed to put everything right,” said Solon warmly.
“It... wasn't easy,” said Marc, “but you were a huge help. We couldn't have done it without you.”
“Think nothing of it,” Solon said, pleased at the compliment.
“So... what are you doing here?” asked Marc.
“I have come to convey a message from Icelus,” said Solon. “She truly regrets not being able to come herself, but right now she's very busy with helping repair the damage to Zamasea.”
“Oh!” said Marc. “Is she on good terms with the town, then?”
“On the contrary!” Solon piped up, “The town quite adores her! Not only were they shocked at the betrayal and cruelty of their former chief, they were glad to see her quickly dispatch him. She's been an invaluable asset with rebuilding the town! She uses her powers to perform difficult and menial tasks – moving rubble, things like that, you know – Icelus has become quite dedicated to helping the town.”
“That's great!” said Marc. “I'm really happy for her.”
“She said to me a few days ago that you were the one who really taught her what it meant to help those in need,” said Solon. “You have changed her, Marc. She's much more open towards humans now than she ever was. I have to say, you might make an old man jealous of your relationship with her!”
Marc awkwardly laughed, not exactly what Solon was trying to say there.
Solon didn't continue that train of thought any further. “Now then!” he said, hopping off the lamp and landing in front of Marc, “I shall give you this.” He held out a curled wing and dropped something in Marc's outstretched hand.
It was a crystal.
“I can get to Oniron with this!” Marc said.
“Indeed you can. Icelus, as I said, is quite busy and at any rate is worried she might enter at an inopportune moment and reveal herself to the world. So she sent me to deliver this to you and asked you to visit her at your convenience.”
“Thank you, Solon!” Marc beamed. “What about you? Can you get back?”
“I'm an old god, Marc,” Solon answered, “I can do so easily. Of course, I'll be seeing more of your world in the future.”
Marc furrowed his brow. “Why?”
Solon seemed quite mortified once he realized his gaffe. “Oh, my dear! I suppose I never got around to telling you! No, I think I never did. Please excuse my old, forgetful mind.”
“What is it?”
“Well, you see, it won't be very long before your kind discovers where the Nexus lies over on this side, and starts crossing over to our side, and vice-versa!”
“What?!”
“Well,” said Solon, “You don't give a dream to every human in the world and not expect them to follow up on it, now, do you? I expect it might take a few weeks, or months, but they'll find it soon, I daresay. The idea's caught in their heads now, and ideas are hard to kill. In fact, once it happens you might find yourself able to explain the part you played in the adventure to your friends and family! Get some proper credit for your hard work, eh?”
Marc was dumbstruck. The idea of having people actually know about Oniron was too much for him to think about. And it would be here in a few months? Weeks? It would literally change the world forever, and here Solon was talking about it like it was just some new movie he was excited for.
“Well, Marc,” said Solon, “Knowing me I probably forgot something important, but I do believe that's everything. I should be going now. I'll leave you to yourself. Come and visit Oniron sometime soon!”
Solon closed his eyes tight and screwed his face up, and with a flash he was gone from the room.
Marc sat down, utterly ruffled from the visit, and tried to process all that had just happened. He almost wanted to visit Icelus right now so he could ask her what it all meant. But he was interrupted by the buzz of his cell phone.
It was his grandmother, Mary. He hadn't talked to her since he finished house-sitting. That was what started this whole thing, he thought to himself as he answered it. “Hey, grandma.”
“Hi, Marc! How are you?”
“I'm good, you?”
“Fine. Listen, Marc, I'm just calling because I had a question.”
“What's up?”
“Well, I was going through my attic, trying to sort things out, and I realized I couldn't find that dog statue anywhere. I looked around the house everywhere and it just disappeared! Did you see it while you were over here, maybe? Do you know what happened to it?”
Marc gulped. “Uh...”

“Nightmare!” Tally shouted, running through the town square. “A big one!”
The alarm was raised, bells rung across the town, and the citizens rushed into the nearby houses. Tally caught sight of many of the guards guiding people back to their homes, or else finding somewhere safe they could take shelter.
There it was – the town hall! She ran up the short steps and pushed the door open. Curt Dreithart was in the hall, and turned to meet her in alarm. “Nightmare?”
“Yes. Big.”
“How big?”
“Like... five or six stories! It's crazy!”
Curt shook his head. “New horror movie monster for the humans, maybe?”
“I don't know, Curt. Is the chief ready?”
A door opened on the far side of the hall and the chief strode out, poised and collected.
“Show me where, Tally,” said Icelus. “I'll handle this myself.”
It was just as she had said – a gigantic red being with goat legs and nasty horns, a few kilometers out of the town, heading straight towards it. Icelus looked it up and down, appraising it.
“No problem,” she said. With a leap, she was off, flying dazzlingly high in the air and growing to an enormous size to meet this new threat.
Everyone who saw this spectacle rested a bit easier seeing it. They had nothing to fear with Icelus protecting them.