All Is Fair In Love And War

The Epilogue

They sat there for a few more seconds before they heard somebody shrieking Carter's name and he was being tackled by a small child.

"Sarah!" Carter held her tight, his body curled around hers like he was trying to protect her from the world. "Oh gods, you're okay."

"You did it!" His baby sister looked at him, grinning. She had a bruise on her cheek, but other than that she looked unharmed. "You stopped him."

"I did," Carter smiled at her. "And you're okay now. We all are." He looked around at his lingering siblings. His gaze fell on an approaching Akiridion, who was supporting the weight of a teenage girl, her arm hanging limply. They were being followed closely by a young black woman who was holding a baseball bat and apologizing profusely. "Marcy?"

Marcy looked up at him and smiled. She looked tired, but she was alive. "Carter!"

They stopped in front of him, and Douxie helped him stand. Sarah clung to his arm.

"What happened to your arm?" Carter asked, concern washing over his face.

"Darci is very good with a baseball bat," Krel informed them, gesturing to the black girl.

"I'm sorry," Darci said again.

"Don't be," Marcy said, shifting her weight. "I was trying to kill you."

Krel seemed amused and turned to Douxie and Carter. He eyed Carter's bleeding shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'll walk it off."

"No, you won't." Jim cut in. He was walking towards them, being followed closely by his mother and a troll Carter hadn't met yet. "You're going to get your shoulder looked at." He stopped in front of the half-blood, expression all commanding and kingly. He wasn't leaving it up for debate. "And I'd like my sword back."

"Oh, yeah." Carter handed him Excalibur hilt first. "It's terribly well-balanced, by the way."

Jim cracked a smile. "Yeah, well if there's too much weight you lose power on the swing."

Carter snorted a laugh. Krel rolled his eyes, and Douxie groaned.

"Oh, great now you two are going to be talking about swords all the time." Douxie complained.

"You like my sword," Carter shot back in a low voice.

Douxie's face went red. "Carter!"

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked innocently.

"Nothing!" The adults shouted in unison.

Barbara shook her head, trying hard to hide a smile. "Walt," she said, turning to the troll. "Let's help Blinky get all the injured people in one space. The paramedics are on their way." She looked at Carter, frowning at his shoulder. "You too, Carter."

Carter had the sense not to argue with her. He gave a polite smile. "Yes, ma'am."

Barbara nodded. "Good."

She walked away with the troll, Walt. Weird name for a troll. Carter's gaze scanned the crowd again, spotting Aja and Joel not too far away, helping a fellow half-blood. Then he caught a blur of red and black on the top of the hill. He held her gaze for a long moment before she turned and sprinted away.

Jim followed where he was looking, eyes narrowing. "Do you want us to follow her?"

Carter shook his head. "No. Daisy needs to figure things out for herself. She was just as misguided as everyone else."

Jim nodded. He let out a breath and turned to survey his people. "Well," he looked at Douxie. "Looks like we've got some work to do."

"A trollhunters work is never done."