Herald of the Nine

by Tiger Hebert

  When her tears finally stopped, Vacinne looked up to him with red eyes. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For being here,” she said.

  “Where else would I be?” he asked.

  “In your perfect little Inn, eating all of Gerald’s good cooking.”

  “He is an excellent cook,” said Renlar with a nod, “but we’re in this together.”

  Vacinne looked deep into his eyes. “What about after this is over? What about then?”

  “We’ll worry about that when the time comes,” was Renlar’s casual reply.

  It wasn’t the response that she was looking for. They were not words of undying commitment. He didn’t say that he’d follow her through the pits of the Nine Hells and back, if that’s what it took. He didn’t say he’d leave everything to follow her if that’s what it took. Vacinne’s heart sank. It wasn’t fair to expect those things of him, but love wasn’t supposed to be fair, it was supposed to be all-in, costs be damned.

  Her gaze dropped away from him and she pulled away from his arms.

  Had she looked at him, she’d have seen the confusion spelt across his face. “What? What’s wrong now?”

  “I’m just a stupid girl,” she replied.

  “What? You’re not stupid. What are you talking about?” asked Renlar.

  “Just forget it. We’ve got a mission to finish,” she insisted.

  Renlar crossed his arms. “To hell with the mission. I want to know what your problem is?”

  “You won’t understand,” she replied.

  “That’s unfair! And quite frankly that’s a load of bullshit,” snapped Renlar.

  Vacinne wiped tears from her eyes.

  You’ve really screwed this up, Vacinne. You should have just kept your mouth shut.

  “You’re right, the expectations I placed on you were unfair. You have more than fulfilled your contract, and you’ve more than earned your wages. It’s not right to expect anything more from you,” rambled Vacinne through sniffles and tears.

  Renlar roared, “I don’t give a damn about the contract or the wages or anything. All I’ve cared about since we met is you! Being with you, supporting you, encouraging you, and when necessary—protecting you—is all I want. I couldn’t give a damn where it takes us or what it takes us through. I’d fight my way through the very bowels of the Hells and I’d demand the heads of the Nine—if that’s where this journey leads—if that’s what it takes to call you mine.”

  Vacinne’s mouth fell open in stunned silence, but inside her mind she screamed with joy.

  She dove back into his arms. With passion her lips found his, and she pushed him back against the wall. She pressed her body hard against his and kissed him with passion. Renlar pulled her close, but then he began to push her away.

  Hurt and confused, Vacinne looked up at him.

  With slow and deliberate words, Renlar said, “Not yet. You—we need—we deserve to do this right.”

  “This feels right,” said Vacinne as intense desire roiled within her like the flames of a wildfire.

  “You deserve so much more than this,” said Renlar as he gestured to everything from their disheveled appearances to the tiny, cell-like room.

  Vacinne’s fingers squeezed his muscled arms. Feelings of passion and desire swelled within her. Vacinne had never experienced anything like it before. It was intoxicating and confusing. Everything within her told her that he was wrong, and she just had to show him.

  Renlar smiled at her and said, “I know. It will pass.”

  His words hit her like a tidal wave of disappointment. As the feelings inside surged and crashed upon her, frustration soared to new heights. Her heart thundered inside her heaving chest and a wave of something like nausea washed over.

  Vacinne turned away and roared, “Ugh! This is torture!”

  Renlar laughed.

  She growled, “You are cruel if you find this amusing!”

  Renlar laughed again and said, “Now my dear, you can finally begin to understand the male species.”

  “What?” she snapped.

  “Desire tries to drive us too. Every day,” answered Renlar with a gentle voice.

  “It’s not the same. This is different.”

  “Said every person ever.”

  “Ugh, you’re impossible,” she grumbled.

  “Good, hopefully it’s helping take the edge off,” he laughed.

  Vacinne didn’t reply for a long moment. The silence hung in the air and the two just studied each other.

  She asked, “Did you mean what you said?”

  “Every word.”

  Vacinne unbuckled her belt and let it fall to the floor. The she reached up and unclasped her cloak. She could see Renlar staring back at her with wide eyes as she continued to remove the layers of her armor.

  “What are you doing?” asked Renlar, his voice seemed like it might crack.

  “I need rest and I’m not going to be able to sleep like this. Plus, If I have any hope of it drying by tomorrow, it will need to be hung up.”

  With that Vacinne peeled away her armor and garments, layer by layer. Renlar watched as her nubile form became fully exposed. She watched him. His chest heaved with each breath, then Renlar turned away.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I choose to honor you.”

  Conflicting emotions battled within her. The passion hadn’t faded, if anything it had grown. Renlar was not only smart, and handsome, and strong, but he was a good man, a man of honor; and if they survived this, he was hers. Joy unlike any she’d ever known filled her soul.

  She stepped into the small nook that she used for a closet and she threw on some dry night clothes. She gathered up her wet gear and carried it to the broad hearth of her fireplace. She spread her stuff out on one side, leaving room for his clothing. She grabbed a few logs from the small pile near the hearth, and stacked them in the fireplace.

  Renlar went about removing his wet gear, leaving his undergarments on. Vacinne busied herself getting a fire going. Then she turned around and saw him standing there in just wet underwear.

  “I have some extra sheets you can wrap up in,” she said without looking.

  She went into her small closet and retrieved it. She returned to him with the sheets in her outstretched hands. He just stared at her as he took the sheets, but he didn’t move.

  She crossed her arms and cocked her head as she stood there expectantly.

  Renlar said, “Um—”

  “Nope! You saw me, it’s only fair!”

  To her surprise, Renlar blushed. His brown cheeks shaded red as he removed his last line of defense. Vacinne found she wasn’t blushing, but a huge smile covered her face from one end to the other. Renlar hurried to wrap himself in the sheet, much to her dismay.

  “I’m trying to do the right thing here, and you’re making it really hard,” complained Renlar.

  “Alright, alright!” fussed Vacinne. “Have it your way, and be all noble. Sheesh.”

  Vacinne made sure all their things were laid out neatly on the hearth. The fire was now roaring, filling the chilly room with newfound warmth. Then she sat on her little bed, next to Renlar. She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

  I could get used to this, she thought.

  The silence lingered for long enough that Renlar actually had to look over to see if she was still awake. She met his eyes and smiled, then a thought hit her and she suddenly sat upright, her eyes wide.

  “What?” he asked.

  “The stone! We’ve forgotten to turn it on,” she said with excitement as she jumped up and scurried toward her belt near the fireplace. He followed suit and got up too. She found the pack that held the stone and dug it out. She held the smooth runestone in her hand and wore a large grin on her face.

  Renlar said, “Why are you so excited, it’s not like you are going to hear anything this time of night?”

  “Wanna bet?” she replied.

&nb
sp; “Huh?” said Renlar, a quizzical look on his face.

  “Oh, right. I didn’t tell you about my little run in with Jherenon.”

  “Your what?” screeched Renlar.

  “Yeah, I was planting the stone and then I heard someone talking behind me. I was sure that I was done for. Come to find out that the old man was walking and talking in his sleep,” she said with a laugh. “He even went out onto the balcony, right out into the storm.”

  Renlar’s face twisted with confusion. “Is that what happened to the rug?”

  Vacinne laughed. “Oh, I forgot about that part. Yeah, the rug was wet when he stepped on it, so he lost it! He rolled it up and heaved it off the balcony. What a hoot!”

  “That’s crazy.”

  “I know,” said Vacinne with a laugh.

  Vacinne spoke the words of command and activated the second of the sound stones. The runes on this stone actually carried a very faint blue glow. The glow confirmed that there was an active link between the two stones. Vacinne stared at the stone for a few moments.

  “You do realize that staring at it won’t help, right?”

  Vacinne shot him a glare. “Thanks, wise guy.”

  “Why don’t you set it on your night stand, and we get some rest. If there’s anything we need to hear, I doubt we’ll miss it,” reasoned Renlar.

  Vacinne reluctantly agreed, then reached back and set the stone on her nightstand. Then she pulled back the covers of her bed and slipped in. She stared at him, waiting.

  “Well, are you coming?” she asked.

  “Uh, I—”

  “Oh relax. That moment passed. Let’s go to sleep.” With that she pushed one of her pillows to the side of the bed against the wall. Then she rolled on to her side, tucked a pillow under her head, and closed her eyes.

  Renlar chuckled quietly to himself. Then he climbed into the bed, extra sheet and all. The bed wasn’t large. Fortunately, he wasn’t the biggest man in the world. He had enough room to settle in behind her. He fluffed the pillow and tucked it under his head. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

  10

  Spies

  Vacinne heard a noise. She was so tired; she didn’t want to open her eyes. The noise persisted though. She forced her eyes open and saw the tall dark man buckling his belt.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  She groaned in response.

  “You’re going to want to get moving. We already have activity over the stone,” said Renlar.

  She sat upright like she’d been jolted awake. “What’s going on, what have you heard?”

  “Nothing much yet. It’s mostly been him chatting with one of his attendants, but he did say that he had a big meeting this morning. We’re going to want to be ready to act when the time comes.”

  Vacinne nodded. “Was your gear even dry?”

  Renlar shrugged, “Drier than last night.”

  Vacinne said, “Sorry I don’t have any clean clothes for you.”

  “If you had clothes that fit me in your room, I’d begin to have other concerns,” joked Renlar.

  “Yeah, that’s not anything you need be worried about,” she said with a laugh.

  Their conversation was intruded upon by voices coming over the sound stone.

  “Grand Master, are you there?”

  “Good morning, Marcellus. Let me fetch him for you,” replied another unfamiliar voice that Vacinne figured must be the attendant.

  The first voice merely grunted in response.

  The momentary silence was broken by arguing.

  “Tolem, I don’t give a damn what you need to do. I can’t attend two meetings at once. I will deal with the Second and the War Masters after meeting with Marcellus. Besides, we’ve a few other matters that require our attention this morning,” said Jherenon.

  “They will not take kindly to the delay,” replied Tolem.

  Jherenon snapped, “Do you think I give a damn what they take kindly to? I really don’t, and the sooner we’re rid of them the better. Each of them are stuck in the past, with no vision for the future. I’ve tried and tried and tried to get them to expand their minds, but they are too damned rigid.”

  “Great speech, but that doesn’t fix our problem,” Tolem replied flippantly.

  “You insufferable ass, I will flog you one of these days,” said Jherenon with an ironically lighter tone.

  “Promises, promises.”

  “Get out of here,” barked Jherenon. “And tell the Council that I’ll reconvene with them this evening. We’ve got a small window of opportunity here, and I can’t be bothered to miss it.”

  “Very well,” said Tolem with a sigh.

  His footfall could be heard over the stones as he presumably left Jherenon’s chambers.

  The first man’s voice came over the sound stone. “Another lover’s quarrel?”

  “Don’t you start, Marcellus. Even if that were my vice, I couldn’t imagine ever having such poor taste,” replied Jherenon.

  Marcellus laughed. “I can’t argue with that.”

  “All right, status report?”

  “I’ve got those new mimic stones that were made by that weaselly inscriber of yours. They are situated all throughout the city. I’ve got the heart and the offering in position in the sewers as well. The city will be ours,” replied Marcellus.

  “Excellent.”

  “What’s the status on Masoc?”

  “I lost communication with him a few days ago. Last I heard everything was in position. He just had to deal with a small matter that arose,” answered Jherenon.

  “It was that cute little blond, wasn’t it?”

  “Indeed,” said Jherenon with a sigh of irritation.

  Marcellus replied, “That’s one problem I wouldn’t mind dealing with.”

  Gross, thought Vacinne.

  “Masoc will take care of it, if he hasn’t already. The man is a force, and he won’t be denied his ambitions,” said Jherenon.

  “Well I’ve done my part, more than we can confirm for him.”

  “And you’ll be rewarded for your efforts when the kings return,” replied Jherenon, his voice full of reverence.

  “I better, I’ve sacrificed too much for anything less.”

  “We all have...” the old man’s voice trailed off into the silence that lingered several long seconds.

  Marcellus finally spoke up. “Well, unless you have anything else, I’ll be off. Preparations are all in place, but I’ve got a few vices of my own to exercise before it’s showtime.”

  Jherenon’s voice cut in sharp as drenamine steel, “Nothing that alters your mind. You’ll need your wits about you.”

  “I’m not a damned idiot, Jherenon,” he replied, irritation clear in his voice.

  “Very well, but keep your stone on hand and be ready for the call,” commanded Jherenon.

  “Yes, Warlock Supreme.”

  The call was over.

  “Warlock Supreme?” said Vacinne. “What in the Nine does that mean?”

  “You’ve never heard of Warlocks?” asked Renlar.

  “No, what’s that mean?”

  Renlar was biting his lower lip, but he said nothing for a moment. She could tell his mind was racing with this new information.

  He said, “Warlocks are a breed of magic user. A wrong kind of breed. They get their power directly from the realms of Hell.”

  “Demonic magic,” responded Vacinne with a shudder.

  “Exactly. It’s nothing like Riftborn or even those that can channel the arcane magic found in our world, this is some dark stuff.”

  Fear crept up Vacinne’s spine, tickling her with its icy, heart-stopping fingers. She shivered.

  She asked, “So, what do we do now?”

  Renlar said, “Well, we know that the corruption would not seem to extend to your uncle or the War Masters, but it does extend to at least his attendant Tolem and this Marcellus. Do you know either of them?”

  Vacinne ran her fingers through her long, m
essy blond hair. “Yeah, Tolem is a strange older man. He’s a pretentious jerk. Marcellus, um, well he’s been a Warden for a long time. Word is that he’d been passed up for both Second and War Master multiple times, and that he was... I don’t know... frustrated. He traded his duties in the temple for field work, just to get away, or at least that was the rumor.”

  “Overlooked, cheated, under-appreciated—that’s the perfect target to radicalize,” said Renlar.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Create a victim, make them believe that it is the organization or the system that cheated or oppressed them, then offer them a chance to overthrow that establishment. You will have a fanatically loyal follower, when in all actuality, it was probably Jherenon that created the injustice himself,” he explained.

  “Oh... damn the Nine! That’s twisted, but brilliant,” admitted Vacinne.

  “Yeah, and sadly it works.”

  “I wish you didn’t tell me that, because now I actually feel bad for Masoc and Marcellus.”

  Renlar snapped toward her. “No, don’t! Masoc was mad, he killed innocents and Marcellus has made it clear that he is no different. He just admitted that he has a prisoner ready to be sacrificed.”

  “He did?”

  “Of course he did, what did you think he was referring to when he said heart and offering? He was referring to an immortal heart and the person he is prepared to sacrifice to satisfy the stone’s blood requirement. He’s prepared to open a rift.”

  Vacinne was in shock. “I... I...”

  “He said he had mimic stones around the city, do you know what or where he was talking about?”

  Vacinne stammered, “I... uh... mimic stones are just as they sound. They can mimic any stone they are linked to. It’s a way for a group of people to be able to communicate over a single vision stone. The mimic stones would allow an entire group to have a shared conversation.”

  “That bastard! He’s going to link the mimic stones to the Immortal Heart,” shouted Renlar.

  Dread filled Vacinne. “Oh no...”

  “Where do you think he was?”

  “It’s got to be High Crown,” she guessed.

  “Why? They are one of the few cities to actually have a substantial military force.”