Starchild: Mythopolis #4

By James A. Owens

A hard rain is shown whilst a blind man with his eyes covered, is outside the home of a boy asking to hear another story, but his ma wanting him to sleep. The boy gets his request, though, and a mysterious man speaks to an older man in weak health, they discussing the Starchild entering town, and how "it" always starts with the coming of a storm, which it had been for half a year. This storm had lasted for 30 years, until the hero would arrive, the Grey Men using fire as their main weapon of choice to punish, and exert power over Brigadoon. The hero is known as the Paladin, and when he comes, the GM's exertions slowly stop.

This is with the help of the sorcerer Moore's S'mores in his image, and despite dying easily, they breed ideas for tales. Townsfolk begin reading, writing, and speaking stories again, and when more kids go missing, 1 of the GM is killed, and the others leave, people continuing to share. The man chatting with the older man talks of the GM seeming to be getting collected, and who it could be. Outside, the Paladin is lurking, and the blind man attempts to listen for a particular boy's voice, his son Ander's pleading for another tale, but his ma calling him Charles Wallace.

The old man asks the man where the Paladin went after his shifts, the reply being of he'd been hanging around Max's. The old man suggests a scandal with the connection of the Paladin to Max, the man wondering aloud if it was real news, though, the old man saying they'd essentially create the reality. The boy the blind man, Matthew called Ander's meanwhile, is settling in for sleep, his ma hearing a thump, and returning upstairs to discover C.W. missing from his bed!

Lovely flocking series, and 1 helluva cliffhanger! Need more; If this is any indication it's at least worth 1 read...it is.