Aether's Guard

by Schinhofen, Daniel

  “Well, we’re done early again and have a few hours before the auction house opens,” Hao said. “Should we relax here for a while?”

  “You’re welcome to stay until you wish to go,” Dia said.

  ~*~*~

  The auction seemed like it was going to be a bust, as it had every other night, until the last few items were coming up for bid. Lightshield blinked, sitting up a little straighter when the next covered item was brought onto the stage.

  “Oh, please excuse me for a moment,” he said to Yoo-jin, interrupting the conversation they’d been having.

  Everyone stopped talking, interested in what had gotten Lightshield’s attention.

  The auctioneer cleared his throat. “Our next item is a book. It appears to be a journal from Lionel Lighthand, written during the First Eurtik War. We will be opening the bids at fifty thousand.”

  “Five hundred thousand,” Lightshield said in his normal tone, but his voice carried through the whole hall with ease.

  All eyes went to him with surprise. Grandmaster Shun stood up in his box and spoke, pulling everyone’s attention to him, “Elder, it’s well known that he was your grandfather, but that high of a bid makes me think it has something embarrassing to your family.”

  Lightshield just smiled at Shun.

  “I bid one million vela,” Shun said, staring at Lightshield.

  “I believe it’s back to me, then,” Lightshield said, still smiling. “I’ll double yours: two million.”

  The audience broke into excited murmurs. The rumors about what the journal might contain started growing wild.

  Shun’s lips puckered as if a lemon was wedged firmly in his mouth.

  “I have two million,” the auctioneer said after a few seconds. “Do I hear two and a half?”

  “Two and a half,” Shun snapped.

  Lightshield’s smile grew wider. “Well, if you desire to read his words that much, far be it from me to stop you. I concede the bid.”

  The auctioneer tried to get someone else to bid, but no one did. As the seconds ticked by, Shun grew angrier. When the auctioneer finalized the sale, everyone looked at Shun and saw him red in the face.

  “I see,” Shun spat. “Very well.”

  Lightshield just shrugged and turned back to Yoo-jin. “Some people are easy to manipulate if they let their emotions control them.”

  “Elder, did you not want the journal?” Gregory asked.

  “No. I was the one who gave it to the auction, after all,” he replied with a sly smile.

  All three of the novices did their best to not laugh, but their humor was obvious. Lightshield shrugged and looked across the hall to where Shun was glaring at them all.

  “Alas, it seems he isn’t as dumb as some would like one to think. This might cause some trouble, but it was worth it.”

  “Are you sure?” Yoo-jin asked. “That family and clan already have a grudge.”

  “Well, all that delightful money he just paid is about to be spent,” Lightshield said.

  “Our last item for the evening is an odd pair of boots. Our best enchanter couldn’t understand them. There is no telling what they do, as they haven’t reacted to any of the people who tried to test them for us.”

  Gregory jerked forward in his seat when he caught sight of them. Black, supple, leather boots sat on the pedestal. “Yoo-jin—!” Gregory started to say.

  “I’ll be bidding on them,” Lightshield said, cutting Gregory off.

  Yoo-jin looked from Gregory to Lightshield. “Elder, the man my daughter loves is asking me to bid on them for him.”

  “I know,” Lightshield said, “but I’ll be winning the bid and making them the prize for a novice who finishes in the top three of the tournament.”

  Gregory settled back in his chair. “Mother, it’s alright.”

  Yoo-jin’s lips twitched into a smile for a second at Gregory calling her mother. “Very well. It’s yours to win, Elder.”

  “I have two hundred thousand from the Swift Wind clan,” the auctioneer said.

  “Two hundred fifty thousand,” Magus Marcia said from her box.

  Elder Lightshield rose to his feet, and everyone turned to look at him. “I apologize to the other clans and individuals who are bidding on the item. One million vela.”

  The auction house went silent as Lightshield yet again jumped the price to heights they hadn’t thought it would get to. The person representing the Swift Wind clan shook his head and set his paddle down. Magus Marcia’s lips pursed as she studied Lightshield.

  “Does anyone wish to contest the elder?” the auctioneer asked. “The next bid we are looking for is one and a quarter million.”

  Marcia sat forward, ignoring the auctioneer. “Elder, have you encountered such an item before?”

  “I have never seen or held one,” Lightshield replied. “It’s novel, and as such, interests me.”

  Eyes growing lidded, Marcia smiled. “I do hate to interfere with an elder’s plans, but if you’re interested in them, my grandfather would be, too.”

  Lightshield just stood there impassively, his cane helping keep him stable.

  “Auctioneer,” Marcia said slowly, “I bid one and three quarters.”

  An excited murmur filled the room, and everyone looked back to Lightshield.

  “That’s problematic,” Lightshield sighed, looking defeated. “I haven’t spoken with him in many years, and this might make it so we never talk again.”

  “Then I’ll accept them and let him know you backed away from the bid to preserve your friendship,” Marica said.

  “Alas, it isn’t to be,” Lightshield said. “Two and a quarter million.”

  A small smirk appeared on Marcia’s face for a moment before a resigned expression filled it. “That is regrettable, Elder. I can’t bid higher.”

  “Please convey my regrets to your grandfather,” Lightshield said. “I’ll do my best to see him again and apologize personally.”

  “Anyone else? We’re looking for three million,” The auctioneer said.

  When no one else spoke up, the auctioneer finalized the sale.

  Lightshield sighed as he turned to the others in the box with him. “I do apologize for taking them away from you, but you’ll have a chance to get them back. If you all will excuse me, I need to go pay for my item.”

  Gregory watched Lightshield go, wondering how far into the future the old man could see.

  Chapter Fifty-four

  Exiting the training building, Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn moved to the side to wait for the matches posting. Some of the other novices waiting there gave them appraising looks, though a few gave them discreet smiles.

  Hayworth and some of his friends moved toward them. Once they were close, Hayworth grinned. “Fringer, couldn’t you hit him a little harder? If you had, he’d be dead,” he said, jerking his head toward Nick and the Eternal Flame group.

  “I was just happy to end the fight,” Gregory said.

  “Yes, curious that,” Hayworth said. “How did you manage to become immune to his flame?”

  Gregory could see the hunger in Hayworth’s eyes and shrugged. “There are ways. They’re very expensive, but they exist.”

  “The other part of the fight was your foresight?” Hayworth asked.

  “I just kept moving, but I knew I’d have to attack him eventually. Thankfully, my gamble paid off for me.”

  “I might have misjudged you,” Hayworth said. “I’ve never seen or heard of a fringer who could rise above their impoverished beginnings.”

  “Greg is only going to keep rising,” Yukiko said.

  “You might be right,” Hayworth admitted. “Jenga said you bested him with remarkable grace, too. I missed that, though I did see your acceptance of his apology. You didn’t gloat at all. Considering your former friends,” he said, glancing at Nick’s group again, “I thought you would.”

  “They were never our friends,” Gregory replied. “They were acting and tried using me to get to Yuki. It
failed.”

  “Yes, yes it did. If you grow tired of your small clan, Swift Wind would be more than happy to embrace you.”

  Gregory chuckled. “Thank you for the offer, Hayworth, but I doubt anything could take me from Aether’s Guard. It feels like home.”

  “Considering how small your clan is, it would,” Hayworth said. “I’ll see you in the next few days. It’ll be interesting to see which of us will prevail.”

  Gregory’s gaze went to Nick’s group, and his eyebrows shot up. Jason was restraining Nick and furiously whispering to him. Yukiko saw where he was looking and the argument going on, her lips thinning.

  Before anything else could happen, Magus Paul came striding toward the novices. “Novices, today is the last day of the tournament for most of you. The majority of you are not exceptionally good or bad, although several of you are in dire need of more combat training. A few of you are even on the other side of that curve. When today’s fights end, the final eight will be chosen. For those of you still in the running, I wish you well.”

  The worst fighters of the class looked about ready to die of embarrassment, while the others looked relieved that it was all but over.

  Paul posted the matches and went striding off. Nick’s group pushed to the board to see who got to fight each other today. They let out an eruption of laughter before walking away, smirking at Gregory and his group.

  “That can’t be good,” Hayworth said. “Best of luck to you three.”

  Hayworth joined the others to see who they were going to be paired with. He looked over at Gregory and shook his head as he and his small group left. The last ones to check the board, Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn found out why Nick’s group had been laughing.

  “Dia did say this might happen,” Yukiko said.

  “Yes, she did, but I wanted to fight him,” Jenn sighed.

  “Unfortunately, you two have to fight each other, instead,” Gregory said. “I have Hayworth. And today, we’re both in the main arena… the last two bouts of the day.”

  “Might as well go let our parents know,” Yukiko said.

  ~*~*~

  The crowd was loud as Gregory crossed the open arena to where Magus Paul stood. Hayworth was advancing toward him from the opposite direction.

  Gregory had been in the tunnel during Yukiko and Jenn’s fight. Jenn moved quickly, making it hard for Yukiko to try shadow binding her. Since their fights were later in the day, there were plenty of shadows for her to move to. The fight had taken the majority of the half-hour— Yukiko kept herself as far from Jenn as possible while trying to take her down with the shurikens.

  Jenn chased Yukiko down, only taking glancing hits from the shurikens. Just as she got to Yukiko, she stumbled. The shadows had been prepared and waiting for her, but that wasn’t enough to stop Jenn from lashing out with her wakizashi. Yukiko let out a yelp of pain as she went down, flinging the last throwing star she had.

  Paul stopped the duel and spoke with both of them. Mindie and Klim examined each of them, adding their opinions, as well. The outcome was a tie: both lost or won, depending on how it was viewed. If it had been to the death, with real weapons, Jenn would have carved through Yukiko’s femoral artery, but Jenn’s jugular would have taken a hit from Yukiko’s shuriken.

  That announcement caused a stir in the stands, as it left bet outcomes up in the air. When the two women walked off the arena floor, they went side by side to where Gregory had been watching. He was glad they were in high spirits, neither upset about the outcome. They both gave him words of encouragement for his fight.

  Taking a deep breath, Gregory gave Hayworth a nod and got one in return. Paul was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t taunt each other like so many of the novices had.

  “Novices, you know the rules. Bow to the council.”

  They followed his directions, and each of them took a defensive stance when he began to step away from them. Once he ordered them to fight, Gregory was the one charging forward.

  Hayworth smiled over the lip of his shield, his sword coming up from its defensive posture into an attack pose. Gregory’s eyes widened and he jerked left when he saw what was about to happen. Hayworth’s wooden practice sword vanished and reappeared a foot away from where Gregory had been, extending as Hayworth completed the lunge.

  “Damned foresight,” Hayworth sighed. “I’d been keeping that move secret.”

  Gregory shook his head. “That was different... Now that I know about it, it won’t work.”

  “A pity,” Hayworth said. “I’ll just have to do it the hard way.”

  Gregory was surprised when Hayworth charged him, but he didn’t give ground. Their exchange was fast and furious— Hayworth controlled the thin wooden blade with precision and poise, giving quick, sharp jabs and deft slashes that had Gregory defending for the first part of their clash.

  The scales tipped hard toward Gregory as his foresight and his skill with the naginata combined. A perfectly executed block caught Hayworth’s next attack, forcing the blade wide and disrupting his balance.

  Taking that opportunity, Gregory went on the offensive, his naginata weaving a complex attack pattern. Gregory was frustrated by the shield, as it kept Hayworth in the fight longer than he expected. That reprieve was short-lived when Gregory angled the naginata past the shield, bringing the blade back against Hayworth’s weapon arm.

  “Stop!” Paul commanded, striding in. “Your arm would have been lost,” he told Hayworth, who grimaced at the contact from the weapon.

  Hayworth lowered his shield and sword, a frustrated look on his face. “I acknowledge the hit, Magus.”

  Gregory bowed to Hayworth. “You’re very good.”

  “I could say the same to you,” Hayworth said, bowing back. “A pity you chose that clan. No one had any idea what they missed with you, but it’s starting to become apparent.”

  Both of them turned to bow to Paul, then the boxes, before heading for their respective tunnels. Gregory thought about Hayworth’s magic and how he would have lost if he hadn’t had foresight. Space magic... how deadly can that be once he becomes a magus?

  ~*~*~

  They skipped the auction house that night, heading straight to Stabled Hunger instead. The conversation on the ride over was lively as the three of them excitedly talked about reaching the final eight, even though it hadn’t been said yet if Yukiko and Jenn would both be included. The place was packed when they walked in. Everyone went quiet and looked at the group expectantly.

  “I know what you’re all wondering,” Hao said. “We won’t know until later. Unfortunately, two of them had to fight each other, so we might not see all three in the final eight.”

  A round of complaints went through the throng, as some people disparaged the academy council for making the novices fight each other.

  “Their fight was a draw, so however the council figures that into their standings, we won’t know until later,” Hao went on after a small pause. “We do know that Gregory remains undefeated, the only one to not lose or draw any of his nine fights.”

  Applause, whistles, and foot stomps echoed throughout the room. Gregory gave them an embarrassed smile and tried to downplay their celebration. Yukiko and Jenn were laughing and applauding along with the others.

  “Once we know, it’ll be known to you, as well,” Hao said once things calmed down a little. “We have dinner waiting for us, so please pardon us.”

  A path opened for them and they went through the main room. Gregory exhaled once they were in the private dining room.

  “I will never get used to that,” Gregory sighed.

  “Just imagine what it’ll be like if you win the tournament,” Jenn said. “Novices don’t repeat often.”

  “Surprised no one has tried to attack me outright, yet,” Gregory admitted. “Though it looked like Nick was considering it earlier.”

  “I heard some of what they were saying,” Yukiko said. “He isn’t far from getting to that point.”

  A knock on t
he door interrupted their conversation, and it opened a moment later to reveal Vana. “Excuse me, I have your meal and drinks,” she said, pushing the cart into the room. “It’s bane boar for the novices, and plain boar for the others, both with spiker fruit sauce.”

  Yukiko giggled softly, seeing Gregory start to grin. “Your favorite,” she whispered.

  “Second favorite,” Gregory whispered back, giving her a knowing smirk.

  Yukiko’s cheeks heated and she looked at the table, but her hand gave his thigh a brief squeeze.