And just like that, Chance's decapitated head plummets to the earth, along with a lifeless corpse. The flames that had consumed the hedge maze go out in a blink, snuffed out as suddenly as their master's life. The Sacred Executioner lands from his flash step, bending his knees to absorb the impact from the drop. The bloody double handed sword is raised triumphantly to the sky as all of the von Amsterg guards lower their heads in impotence. 

Invincible. Unstoppable. The Sacred Executioner is everything the stories my nursemaid made him out to be. 

He is also my brother. 

My men and I have gathered around the gates of the von Amsterg manor, having scrambled here immediately upon hearing that Daffyd had arrived to start trouble. I had wanted to apprehend Daffyd here and have him sent back home, but the closing moments of the fight with Chance have proved one thing. Daffyd is not going anywhere or doing anything he does not want to. Chance was probably one of the strongest mages alive, and now all that is left of her is a headless corpse. 

"Get back." my men say to me, pulling me back towards my car. They all want to leave before Daffyd notices them. I don't blame them for that sentiment. This man is not the brother I had come to The City to retrieve. Chance was right. Daffyd had entered into a pact with another being, and he will never accept losing his new found power. I shake my men's hands off me and begin walking towards the Sacred Executioner. This is foolishness. But there is a burning question that needs to be answered. 

Is my brother still alive, or is the Sacred Executioner the only thing left within that body? Was my assignment a fool's quest from the start?

I must know. I have to know. Not to report back to Da, but to at the very least, get some closure. 

I stand face to face with the Executioner, his one good eye peeking out of the bloodstained black hood. An awkward silence settles between us. What am I supposed to say? A feeling of embarrassment creeps up my spine, coloring my cheeks. I can't very well ask the Executioner to put Daffyd on the line, can I?

"Siobahn." the Executioner says. A simple statement, but an opening, an invitation for me to begin the conversation. 

"Daffyd, what have you done to yourself?" I ask. Who will respond? The man or the myth?

"I have found my place in the world." Daffyd says, "I have been given the chance to become what Da always wanted me to be. Powerful. Successful."

"Who am I talking to?" I probe cautiously, "My brother or the Sacred Executioner?"

"I have become the Sacred Executioner." Daffyd explains, "Its a mantle that I accepted in return for the power I wield. So there is no difference Siobahn. I am still myself, if that was your question."

"But when we first met at the park -" I begin but Daffyd cuts me off. 

"There are times when I sleep, but I was aware of your visit." Daffyd replies, "You were in more danger than you realized. I had to restrain the other from attacking you."

The other. That must have been the "new" Daffyd I had interacted with when we first met. That explains some things, but isn't this just an admission from Daffyd that he is not well?

"Come home Daffyd." I urge, "We can get this "other" of yours exorcised or whatever back at Neo-Cardiff. It can't be fun letting someone else run around with your body, aye?"

Daffyd merely shakes his head, "We are bound. He needs my body. I need his spirit core. Our existence depends on each other."

So we come back to the same problem. Curing Daffyd requires him to give up his power. And he is not willing to do that. 

"I thought you would be more angry at me." I comment, remembering the difficult relationship Daffyd had with Da and myself. 

"I was. I was very, very angry at how Da treated me. And how you supported him." Daffyd's voice becomes somewhat strained, "But that is all in the past."

"You got over it?" I ask, feeling some relief. Something good might just have come out of this whole affair after all. 

"No. Not exactly." Daffyd sighs, "Its more like I realized how right both of you were."

Daffyd continues in a slightly uncomfortable tone, "Da wanted me to be strong like him. I resented that, of course, thinking there might have been another way for me in life. But there really wasn't. Not for the kind of life I wanted to live."

"Living rich back home was a lie really. Once Da kicked me out to The City, I really began to see how someone weak would live." Daffyd shuffles his feet restlessly, "It was not easy. It was not pleasant. And it was what I had to look forward to for the rest of my life. Until things changed of course."

I raise an eyebrow at Daffyd's statement, "Da provided you with money you know. And he was in constant contact with your supervisor. If things got too difficult, we would have intervened."

Daffyd spreads his hands as he replies, "I know. Da was always in the background. But it just drove home the point. Weak people don't get to make their own choices. Da made my life choices for me. And so it would go on. First Da, then you, then my boss. So on and so forth. It was a life, but not the one I really wanted."

Daffyd's good eye narrows as he concludes his tale, "To be free I needed to be strong. Like you and Da. Both of you give the orders, not take them. So that's why I'm no longer angry. I can't be, not when you guys were right about things."

I nod quietly. Its not the explanation I expected, but its something I guess. At least its a foundation for some kind of reconciliation between Daffyd and the rest of the family. 

"So, will you come back home?" I ask again, "Not to be cured, but to fulfill your role as my brother and Da's son?"

Daffyd shakes his head once more, "My place is not there anymore. I am the Sacred Executioner now. Not the son of the Gallant family."

"That's a myth." I snort. 

Daffyd rolls his eye, "Wake up Siobahn. The myth is real. I just beheaded Prince Enma."

What? I know Chance always claimed to be one of Enma's disciples, but is Daffyd saying that she entered into a pact as well? That would explain her frightening strength. 

"But I will return home one day Siobahn." Daffyd continues, "When I have made my mark on this world with my strength and exceeded what Da accomplished, I will return."

"Really?" I frown. Is Daffyd making excuses not to see us again? 

"Yes, really." Daffyd bends down and picks up a rusted short sword and hands it to me. The blade is pitted and cracked, looking like it could fall apart at any moment, but the sheer aura of power the weapon exudes is overwhelming. 

"Prince Enma's sword." Daffyd says, "It is the only weapon I have encountered so far that can hurt me. Take it back home and keep it safe Siobahn. I'll be back one day for it."

I grasp at the sword tightly, cradling it in my arms. Perhaps asking for a full reconciliation now would be too much. The mutual recrimination over the years had buried whatever love Daffyd had for Da and I. But one thing has not changed. We are family, and the trust between us is something not so easily shaken. Daffyd is placing his life in our hands knowing that we would never seek to do him harm. 

We will meet each other again. I know it. 

"Ah, the Stallion has arrived." Daffyd muses as a black cab comes to a stop by the manor's gate, "Goodbye Siobahn."

"Daffyd!" I shout as he walks away, "I will keep it safe! We will wait for you, no matter how long it takes!"

And the black cab leaves, taking Daffyd away with it. Where will he go now? What will he do next? I don't know. But I will wait. Because I believe in my brother. My men stand around, looking at me for further direction. 

"Everyone, let's go home."

End of Arc Three