Chapter 1
Athens, Kansas lies on the eastern edge of the Flint Hills. It is nestled between two rivers, the Neosho to the north and the Cottonwood to the south. Native mythology exists that it is these two mild-mannered rivers, which protect the original town from destructive tornadoes.
It was founded as the American fascination with setting the magnificent continent started to take hold. The town was named after that famous ancient city of reason and democracy. An aspirational name giving the humble town an extra air of distinction to the adventure seekers back East.
It was an idyllic place to live, work, and raise families. Very peaceful. Crime was low compared to bigger places like Topeka and Witchita, but people, being people, kept the police of Athens busy with the odd theft, murder, or missing person.
During the events, which are laid out here and in other accounts, the unsuspecting prairie village was shocked by the mysterious murder of a pillar of the town. A private detective by the name of Gabe Silver. That event, while horrible, introduced the town to an odd group of visitors never before or since seen in Athens.
These visitors mostly kept to the shadows, but some suspect it was them who caused the train depot to catch on fire and a wild goose chase at the Walnut Grove Apartments.
They were not to blame for the strange fog that blanked the town for a week. The best meteorology experts at Athens State University had no explanation. Certainly, it had to do with the changing of the seasons as cooler air often caused condensation to visit the town. But that kind of fog burned off by mid-morning in most cases. No, this fog hung around day and night for a week. Sometimes it would lift a few feet, sometimes it was thinner, but it had come to visit, take its shoes off, and sit a spell.
On the night you’ve certainly read about in the Gazette, the night two of the strangers were gunned down on South Avenue, and another of the strangers was caught for Gabe Silver’s murder, the fog was unusually murky.
Cones of lamplight decorated the sidewalk across the street from the Quaker Park Apartments. The mist hung swirling in the autumn air, coating everything with a damp sheen.
On the second floor of the apartment building, a bright light burst out onto the moist street below. The glow beaconed like a lighthouse to the sleepy dwellings dotting South Avenue. So sudden and bright, that some of the meadowlarks roosting in their nests mistook it for noon and began their morning arias.
Inside the apartment, a glowing figure stood, her eyes ablaze and every inch of her radiated white-hot light. Moments before, her glory had been concealed in the form of a pearl. Her trusted guardian, Evan Gold, stood nearby not able to take his eyes off the woman’s glory.
Opposing the woman was another figure, dressed as much in darkness as she was in light. A reflective silver eye patch concealed his right eye. The remaining eye glared at the woman with contempt.
“It’s been a while,” Eye Patch laughed. “You’ve been up to no good, I see.”
“I have been doing what has been necessary to preserve my people and ensure their freedom,” Lillian said, her jaw set like stone.
The man in black cackled, “By being trapped in a man’s pocket? That certainly seems beneath you. I must commend you for that clever trick in the cave. You have much more grit than I gave you credit for.”
“You think so little of me that you imagined I would sit idly by while you plunder and kill my people and send me to my death? Especially when I am guilty of nothing?”
“Nothing?” the man in black said. “Shall I declare the charges again to you? You are not a fool, Lillian. You are the Princess. You are the one dedicated to overthrowing my people. You are the one who organized the rebellion. When will you realize the fate of all your people was set the instant my supreme leader escaped your father’s realm – a realm built on lies? No longer was he beholden to your corrupt ways. No longer was he a slave to your father’s whims.”
“And when will you see that your supreme leader didn’t escape but was allowed to leave? He was allowed to go and take all the rebels with him. What you don’t see, what you are incapable of seeing, is what a bitter end will come of your rebellion.
“I can see it. I can see it well. If I chose to, I could show this whole room, but you and I know that would change nothing. You are a rebel at heart, as are all of your people. We will continue to fight until the completion.”
“And yet, here you are, running and hiding like a guilty child,” the stranger cooed. “That, O princess, should speak volumes. Now, you can come with me peacefully back to prison, or we can do battle first. I haven’t had a good fight in a while, and it might do me some good. However, I think you know it would likely lay waste to this poor unsuspecting town.”
Lillian looked around the room. She looked at Evan. “Thank you for protecting me. But I realized I was acting like a coward. This is not your fight, yet I brought it to your world. I thought, it was vanity, but I thought I could help you and escape my hunter. I knew bringing your wife here was a risk, but a risk worth taking.”
Evan turned to see his wife, Katherine, crumpled in the corner. On her chest was burned a wound from Eye Patch’s weapon, a wound that looked like the one on his right hand.
“I’m glad you see this Merlain for what he is.” Lillian turned to look at her captor. “I’ll go with you willingly, you mocker of justice. For the freedom of my people, and so all of the realms will know that justice defeats rebellion.”
The room, momentarily, intensified with blinding light. After it dimmed, Evan saw that Lillian had transformed back into her pearl-like shape. The sphere hung in the air, floating like a large particle of dust in a sunbeam.
Eye Patch strode to the pearl, pulled out a strange silver box from inside his jacket, and closed Lillian inside it. Once the box rested in his coat, he turned to the rest of them. “Well,” he said with satisfaction, “my mission here is complete, and I must return the Princess to face her doom.”
Evan rushed to Katherine, whose lungs had stopped their spasms and were allowing air in and out again.
“I’m so sorry. Are you hurt?” He looked into his wife’s green eyes. Katherine looked confused and tired.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I’ll try to tell you later,” he said.
Evan heard a woman cry out. Evan looked up to see the woman point at the front door. Evan spun to see the last bit of Margo, one of Eye Patch’s henchmen, run out into the hallway.
Harold Huber, a sniveling man in brown looked at Eye Patch and asked, “Should we go after her?” Evan swung his gaze over to the table where all of Margo’s guns had been. The table was clear of all weapons.
The man in black hummed to himself, “I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on my back, won’t I?” the stranger said. “There was betrayal here tonight. It couldn’t be helped.” Eye Patch sighed, “Too sad. All too sad.” He turned to Evan. “A pleasure doing business with you.” He looked over to Harold. “I believe you should escape town, Mr. Huber. Without Margo around, my guess is Mr. Gold will do his best to hang all the murders around your neck.”
Huber nodded dumbly.
“Walk with me,” the inky man said, placing his hand on Harold’s shoulder. “I feel like we need a celebration.”
“But what about the police?” Harold whined.
“We will be long gone. And I wouldn’t worry about what Mr. Gold tells them about us. Anything he says, if he’s honest, will get him locked up in a sanatorium instead of jail.” At this thought, Eye Patch let out a deep-throated laugh.
Evan stood and strode up to Eye Patch. “You shot my wife!”
Eye Patch chuckled to himself, “Don’t get so worked up, Mr. Gold. The wound isn’t fatal. She should recover in a day or so. But she will always carry the scar. Consider it a reminder not to come looking for me.
The man in black put his arm around Harold and smiled at Evan. “Believe it or not, Mr. Gold, I wish you all the best. You proved a formidable opponent. I wish we could have had you on our side. But- what is that saying you have about spilled milk? Never mind. Come along, Mr. Huber. Our chariot awaits.”
