Showdown
Open up the door, see what you find,
Don't lose your way, don't lose your mind,
Better look ahead, better look behind,
Because the desert sands are never kind...
The Earthquake God is shaking the bars of his cage,
While the Scorpion Oracle whispers, 'come on, turn the page.'
He's the King of the desolate places, he's the wasteland's rage,
And he's ready to usher the world into a broken age.
The only confinement he knows is in the paint and pen.
He's been trapped that way before, he won't be tricked again.
He's been beating his fists on the places where the locks are thin,
And escape's not a matter of 'if,' it's more a question of 'when.'
So shine your spurs and grab your guns, the showdown's coming soon.
The clock tower's been broken, but you can't deny high noon.
It doesn't matter if you didn't volunteer,
This is still your town and what happens here
Is so much more than pretense or pretend.
I'm sorry, but you have to choose just how this story ends.
The sermons he writes are inscribed in the blood and the bone.
He's the empty confines of the heart, and he's the death of stone.
He's the darkness that waits at the end of everything you've known,
And you know you'll have to face him, but nothing makes you do it alone.
The stage was defined by the stories that you saw in your dreams;
Now the rules are fixed and the world is fraying at the seams.
He's the shadow you see in the desert where the wild cat screams,
And the laws of the land say that winning isn't quite what it seems.
So shine your spurs and grab your guns, the showdown's coming soon...
He will set the land against you, so be careful, so take care.
This is not the life you chose -- but tell me, who said life was fair?
And the shadows in the doorless canyon seem to hide your face.
You have drawn a world more real than your hand can erase.
He will break the rocks and shake the stone,
He will make the world into his own
Unless you stand against him, and defend.
I'm sorry, but you have to choose just how this story ends.
Open up the door, see what you find,
Don't lose your way, don't lose your mind,
Better look ahead, better look behind,
Because the desert sands are never kind...
So dare the darkness, the danger, deceit and dismay.
This is not the type of a tale you can wish away.
So listen to the secret things you hear the west wind say,
And remember that tomorrow's design is painted on today.
You know that he will call down the stone, so you must summon the sky;
He's the opposite face of the truth, and so you dare not lie.
And it's tempting to hide in the tide pools and refuse to try,
But this town is too small for you both, and now it's do or die.
So shine your spurs and grab your guns, the showdown's coming soon.
The clock tower's been broken, but you can't deny high noon.
It doesn't matter if you didn't volunteer,
This is still your town and what happens here
Is so much more than pretense or pretend.
I'm sorry, but you have to choose just how this story ends.
I'm sorry, but it's time to choose just how your story ends.Written on: 2006-10-02. Seanan McGuire