The King stepped from the great city, just outside the gate, and put his hand on my shoulder. I was aware of no one and nothing but him. I saw before me an aged, weathered King, thoughtful guardian of an empire. But I also saw a virile Warrior-Prince primed for battle, eager to mount his steed and march in conquest. His eyes were keen as sharpened swords yet deep as wells, full of the memories of the old and the dreams of the young. He studied my face, then opened his mouth, his voice rich and resonant.

“A moment after a man dies he knows exactly how he should have lived.”

I nodded, saying nothing, my words unworthy to share air with his.

“But it is too late for him to go back and live differently. After death, there is no second chance.”

He paused. Now I felt I should say something. “Yes. Those in Erebus can never come back. They cannot go back and live life over again and this time accept the gift you offered them.”

“True,” he said to me. “But it’s more than that, isn’t it? Something else haunts you—those in Charis can never go back either. They too have no second chance. They cannot go back and do it over again, this time pick up the stones, obey the TravelGuide, live for me instead of themselves.”

I hung my head and nodded.

“Earth is the dressing room. It’s where you put on clothes you’ll wear on the other side.”

I swallowed hard.

“I’ve given you my GuideBook. Do you know why?”

I wasn’t sure what to say.

“So you need not wait until you die to learn how you should have lived.”

“Have I not died, then?”

“Soon … but no, not yet.”

He clasped my wounded right hand in his wounded hands.

“My wounds will last forever,” he said, “but yours will not. Yet what I shall do in you through your wounds will.”

“Wouldn’t I serve you better without a wounded hand?”

“You would not serve me at all without a wounded hand. The hand that offers help is always a wounded hand.”

The King looked away from me, and his face turned more fearsome than I’d ever seen it—fearsome yet gentle. For the first time, I saw simultaneously the face of Lion and Lamb. Suddenly Charis, a moment ago just a few feet from me, was eclipsed by a dark cloud. I heard the thunder of a great door closing. The sky boiled and darkened. Great crashes filled the air.

“What is it?” I asked.

“The sound of battle,” he said. “Not the last battle, but nearly. The time has come. You must go for me.”

“Go where?”

“Back to where the need is greatest and the battle rages. Back to the one place in the universe that disputes my claim on it. Back to Earth.”