He'd found evidence of the man in black's presence in Sherwood, primarily the sweat lodge he'd constructed and used to tame the forest somehow. Robert had released the contents of the pouch here, a formality but one which he knew he had to go through for things to get back to normal. For the magic - the dreams - to return. They hadn't so far, but he figured that was only because they were granting him a desperately needed respite. He'd been through so much over the past few weeks and he was far from ready for any more emergencies.
It was strange, but he still felt the Native American here today as he was running. Felt like he might be behind the next tree about to spring out, or watching from a distance. Robert scrutinised every single patch of blackness as the day was waning, in case it might be him. No, the Native American had his own agenda. Something to do with what the Tsar had given him.
Just a stone, Robert told himself, but he didn't believe that for a minute - and he also wondered whether there were more where it had come from.
As if to prove him wrong, the shadows ahead lengthened and he saw movement behind one of the oaks. Robert stopped, his bow primed in seconds, ready for another duel if necessary.
But it hadn't been
the
Shadow. Robert eased back on the tension when he saw his old friend. The creature he'd left alive all that time ago, now walking through the forest towards him. Not scared at all, not worried Robert was going to hunt or kill it. Because the stag
was
him. He'd seen that so many times in those dreams.
It was wounded, or had been - red stains on the back of its neck. Robert was only guessing, but perhaps the animal had been trying to defend Sherwood against its intruder, in lieu of him being around.
They regarded each other, just as they'd done that first time - an understanding passing between them. They were guardians of worlds: both real and imagined. They were the stuff of legend, just like this place.
The stuff of song, of words and of deeds. They had always been here and always would be.
And really, their story was only just beginning.
THE END
Paul Kane
has been writing professionally for almost fifteen years. His genre journalism has appeared in such magazines as
The Dark Side
,
Death Ray
,
Fangoria
,
SFX
,
Dreamwatch
and
Rue Morgue
, and his first non-fiction book was the critically acclaimed
The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy
. His award-winning short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic, and has been collected in
Alone (In the Dark)
,
Touching the Flame
,
FunnyBones
and
Peripheral Visions
. His novella
Signs of Life
reached the shortlist of the British Fantasy Awards 2006,
The Lazarus Condition
was introduced by Mick Garris, creator of
Masters of Horror
,
and
RED
featured artwork from Dave (
The Graveyard Book
) McKean. As Special Publications Editor of the British Fantasy Society he worked with authors like Brian Aldiss, Ramsey Campbell, Muriel Gray, Robert Silverberg and many more, plus he is the co-editor of
Hellbound Hearts
for Pocket Books (Simon and Schuster), an anthology of original stories inspired by Clive Barker's novella. In 2008 his zombie story 'Dead Time' was turned into an episode of the Lionsgate/NBC TV series
Fear Itself
, adapted by Steve Niles (
30 Days of Night
) and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (
SAW II-IV
). He also scripted the short film
The Opportunity
which premiered at Cannes in 2009. Paul's previous books for Abaddon's Afterblight Chronicles -
Arrowhead
and
Broken Arrow
- detail the adventures of a post apocalyptic version of Robin Hood, and his other novels include
Of Darkness and Light
(with cover art from the award-winning Vincent Chong) and
The Gemini Factor
(with an introduction from Peter Atkins, screenwriter of
Hellraiser II-IV
and
Wishmaster
). His website, which has featured guest writers such as Stephen King, James Herbert and Neil Gaiman, can be found at www.shadow-writer.co.uk He currently lives in Derbyshire, UK, with his wife - the author Marie O'Regan - his family, and a black cat called Mina.
Acknowledgements
Thanks again, first and foremost, to editor extraordinaire Jonathan Oliver for his faith not only in the idea, but in this trilogy of Hood reworkings. Thanks to Jason Kingsley for being equally behind the books, and many thanks to Jenni Hill for her insightful edits on this one. My thanks also to Mark Harrison, who once more brought my protagonist to life in a stunning cover, quite possibly the best of the three. A heartfelt thank you to Richard Carpenter for his kind words and encouragement, not to mention his stamp of approval. A huge shout out to Trevor Preston for his tireless checking of military and weapons details, and for answering all my crazy questions. Thanks to Joe Daley at Seraphim, who invited us to the set of
Clive Barker's Book of Blood
in Edinburgh which sowed the seeds for the Widow. And thanks to my Welsh pals - you know who you are - the old homestead is once again yours, fellas. Thank you to David Bradley and the gang at
SFX
, not only for such a great mag, but also for inviting me to be a guest at their first Weekender. I thoroughly enjoyed myself chatting to fans of the
Arrowhead
books - and it helped immensely in the writing of this one. Thanks to my support mechanism of friends and family, who've kept me going through the writing of all the Hood adventures. And last, but never least, I want to thank my darling wife Marie, who helps me so much - not just workwise, but in life generally. We've shared this journey through the forest together, and for that I'll always be grateful. Love ya, sweetheart.