Nightside 11 - A Hard Days Knight

away all the years of accumulated blood and filth on the floor. And out of that clear water stepped a tall young woman in a long blue gown, with dark hair and a face I immediately recognised. Gaea, mother of the world. It only took me a moment to realise this wasn’t the same woman I’d met in Castle Inconnu; this Gaea was gaunt and harried and had nothing of Gayle’s easy humanity. This was the Queen of all the Earth, free at last of Merlin’s domination, come walking amongst us.
    She smiled on us all and nodded easily to me. “You’re still not worthy, but my sister chose well when she granted you dispensation to bear Excalibur. Be grateful. It’s not every man who gets to be the world’s champion.” She turned to look at Stark. “The land needs a King,” she said bluntly. “You have my blessing. You do know who I am, don’t you, Jerusalem Stark?”
    “I know who you must be, Lady,” he said. “But ... I must be honest with you. I don’t know anything about being a King.”
    “Best kind,” Gaea said briskly. “It’s always the ones from long lines of succession who cause no end of problems. They have so much to unlearn. You can do this, Jerusalem. But you won’t have to do it alone.”
    She turned her gaze upon the ghost Julianne. “You’re not nearly as dead as you think, my dear. You soul was bound to your heart; you are dead but not departed. And so I call you back, to the man and the world that needs you.”
    Julianne cried out as she suddenly snapped into focus; real and solid, flesh and blood, and very much alive. She breathed deeply and clapped her hands to her chest, to feel her heart beat and her lungs move; then she laughed aloud and threw her arms round an unbelieving Stark, and the two of them hugged each other like they’d never let go. Gaea looked on them fondly.
    “Don’t you love a happy ending?” said Suzie.
    “It’s not over yet,” I said.
    Suzie looked at me. “What?”

SEVEN
    Return of the King
    “What do you mean, it’s not over yet?” said Suzie. “Who is there left to kill that needs killing?”
    “We still have to find a way home,” I said, in that calm, kind, and very reasonable tone I happen to know drives her absolutely batshit. “The Door we came through doesn’t exist in this dimension, and my Portable Timeslip doesn’t work here.”
    Suzie sniffed. “When in doubt, go to the top. Why don’t you ask Gaea? Maybe she could ... ring up her opposite number. Or something.”
    “Full marks for optimism,” I murmured. “But any port in a storm ... I really don’t feel like walking home.”
    “Not through all that mud,” said Suzie. I can never tell when she’s joking.
    So we went over to Sinister Albion’s Gaea, and I bowed politely and explained the situation. Gaea started nodding half-way through and actually interrupted me before I could finish.
    “I know who you are,” she said. “And how and why you came here. I know you because your world’s Gaea knows you. We’re all aspects of the same person, or personification. It’s complicated.”
    “Really,” I said. “You do surprise me.”
    “You want a slap?” said Gaea. “Then pipe down and pay attention. Of course I can get you home. All Earths are linked, on all kinds of levels. From the Dreamtime to the Chronoflow, you can always find some Door to open if you knock loudly enough. Ah ... It’s good to be back! I have been asleep for far too long, John Taylor, and you are responsible for waking me. It was the presence of Excalibur in this land that brought me back, you see, an Excalibur that wasn’t mine. I came here to investigate and found that you and your friends had already brought down Merlin Satanspawn and Morgan Le Fae, and set free all the trapped souls of this world. If I’d known it was that easy, I’d have done it myself centuries ago. Ah well ... Now that I’m back, I think I’ll stick round for a while to see what happens next. Stark and Julianne seem capable enough, and there’s a lot to be done. I am ... weakened by Merlin’s long centuries of abuse, but I am still Mother Earth, and all this land’s secrets are an open book to me.
    “Now I have to talk to you, John Taylor, about the sword you carry, the Excalibur of your world. It was given to you because you have a destiny.”
    It was my turn to interrupt her. “If you’re about to tell me that it is my duty to be King of the Nightside, you can forget it. I’ve already turned that down once. I