Squire of War

by M. H. Johnson

  Malek grimaced as he met her gaze. As cold and unforgiving as the ice capped peaks that separated Erovering from so much of the continent. Never had he seen his shieldsister look so ruthless, so determined as she did at that moment.

  He swallowed, breathless, gazing back to the snow covered keep they had called home for so very long, somehow knowing that there was nothing that would bring them closer to disaster than that helm in the school proper. For a second he entertained the wild fantasy of grabbing the sack and racing for the trees, but the look in Jess's eyes froze him in his tracks.

  He loved her too much to doubt her now.

  Even if it doomed the entire school.

  58

  Twilight?

  You know this has to happen, Jess. This tale must come to an end.

  “By the great Goddess herself, Jess, I think that really is a shirt of mithril mail you’re wearing!” Alex whistled admiringly, though blushing as soon as he caught Jera’s reproving gaze. “And thank you for saving our friend. We were truly terrified she was lost to us, forever. But um, Jess, I can’t help noting that our dear Josie appears to be covered with hmm… sigils or runes of dried blood?”

  Jess nodded matter-of-factly as her boots crunched through the snow, her focus primarily upon the grand double oak doors that served as the entrance to the massive keep they had all called home for so very long. “Correct. I needed it to help keep her from being crushed by the eldritch essences that form the fluid ether of the Dreamrealm. And to pull her through the veil.”

  Alex raised a speculative eyebrow. “Interesting use of terms, my friend. I didn’t realize you had taken up such a deep study of the metaphysical properties of the Shadowrealms. May I ask your sources? I’d love to follow up with your research, to study the formulae and equations that form the framework for your protective sigils.”

  Jess flashed a cheeky grin. “That would be kind of hard, Alex. I just made it up as I went along! Eldritch essences, fluid ether, nice crunchy words with a good ring to them, don't you think?”

  Alex chuckled softly. "Of course. I should have known. And I'm guessing the sigils aren't the product of dedicated research into the underlying arcane principals forming the framework of dream constructs, but rather a flash of inspiration you just pulled out of your derriere, without a single equation to guide those of us who are less inspired?"

  Jess winked. “Of course!”

  Josie smiled for all that she was clearly exhausted, shivering in frigid weather despite Alex's magics and the cloaks the guards had solemnly handed Malek, who quickly wrapped a shivering Josie snugly in them before carrying her effortlessly in his arms. "A scholar's masterwork or a Druid's inspiration, either way, Alex, I'm just grateful beyond words that Jess was there for me. I shudder to think what would have happened, had I been forced to endure those hideous pressures even a moment longer."

  Josie's words turned solemn, filled with meaning, and she gazed deeply into Jess’s blushing face as Malek strode by his shieldsister's side. “She saved my life, when I was doubly doomed. Just as Malek refused to let me go at the barrier between reality and dream, no matter how those evil specters of nightmare whispered vile temptations and horrific threats, doing all they could to compel him to drop me and flee. And I will never forget it. Never be able to repay it, save to let them both know that I will always be there, should they ever have need of me.”

  Jess grinned, her heart lightening with those words, doing her best to ignore the growing glances of panic and alarm Malek sent her way.

  For some reason, he blanched at her glare, stumbling back. Really. Didn't he understand that this was the way it had to be? Jess frowned at her familiar, who flashed a smug smile in turn. "Sometimes your Hound can be remarkably dense. A character flaw, I suppose."

  One of the guards awkwardly cleared his throat. "Well, all's well that ends well, by Justice! Let's get you students back to the main hall. There's a big celebratory dinner for the adventurers that helped save the enchanters' circle. And, of course, the bards will be wanting to hear your story so they can put it to song, a tale to be remembered through the ages."

  Jess chuckled. "Gods above know I could certainly use a bite to eat!" She gave vent to a great, jaw-cracking yawn and blinked in bleary-eyed surprise. "Strange. An hour ago, back at the tower, I felt like I had the energy of a dozen men. Now? I feel like I can barely stand."

  Jess winced at her familiar's prick. "And stand you must, Jess. Stand tall and strong through this bitter cold night, and see this through to the end."

  Jess swallowed at those words, heart pounding, the faint prick of terror instantly washing drowsy fatigue away.

  She could almost swear she had heard the cold mocking laughter of Winter's helm, for all that she tightly held her rune lined sack, relieved to see her familiar's measured nod.

  "It should hold, Jess. For now."

  Alex nodded solemnly as the group headed back toward the keep. “There is a reason for your fatigue, Jess. And a reason why bards are so revered in our culture, especially by adventurers themselves. The events of Delvings, however fantastic, tend to fade from one’s mind once one succumbs to sleep upon returning. That is why the image of adventurers telling their tales to bards and storytellers over campfires is such a popular one. It is an image based on truth. Otherwise, the Delvers have no way to capture their glory.”

  Alex flashed Jess a bemused smile even as he continued his lecture as they made their way back to the central keep, though Jess didn't see how she could possibly forget a single moment of the wild and terrible adventure she had just survived.

  “For the memories, however potent and visceral they seem to you right now, will like as not to fade to dream once your eyes close in sleep, as the realm of dreams seeks to ease away memories of those events taken place outside the realm of man. Why else do we slumber, after all, but to refresh our minds and bodies? And freeing ourselves from the lingering filaments of dream to anchor ourselves more firmly into this reality is one of the purposes of sleep, or so proposed any number of early philosophers.”

  Jess gazed at Alex. “But what about the items we found? My mithril mail. Anything else we might have discovered.” This with a meaningful glance at her sack. “Will it fade to the land of dreams as well upon the morning’s dawn?”

  Alex grinned, shaking his head. "No worries on that account. You pulled it, you keep it. Or else there would be no reason or motivation for adventurers to risk their lives, right? The moment you managed to break through the barrier between the realms of Shadow and mundus with your shirt of mithril intact, at that very instant it became a true thing. One might even argue that you did not find that mithril hauberk at all, so much as create it whole cloth from your own imagination, your entire adventure but a dream, its formation powered by the force of your own spirit and will. This would explain why Delvers report that it is far harder to cross the barrier between worlds with many items, as opposed to only a few."

  Jess nodded. “A dream that near killed a dozen of our fellows. Nearly doomed our entire school.” Jess flashed a bitter smile. "A dream that we have yet to wake from, when all is said and done."

  “A dark dream indeed,” Alex agreed with a sigh, handing Jess a flask of still hot cider as they strolled back to the college. Jess nodded her gratitude, taking a refreshing sip of the drink before passing it to Malek and Josie.

  “But no worries, Jess. Regardless of how it comes to be, once an item manifests here upon the plane of mundus, it is here in truth. And that is but one way the power of Shadow manifests itself here. You already know the tales. Those Delvers that survive their trials often become far stronger and tougher than other men, perhaps even gaining odd talents and powers of their own.” Alex gazed meaningfully at the red sigils covering Josie.

  “It will be interesting to see how you two fare on the training fields,” Alex grinned. “I have no doubt that General Eloquin himself will probably want to spar with both of you, whatever your current status as adventu
rers or students, simply to measure how much your adventure has changed you, if at all.”

  Buoyed by Alex's cheerful banter, Jess hardly minded the biting cold, she and her companions soon safely inside the great keep of Highrock once more. Of course, not everyone was happy to see them.

  "You failed this school, you failed yourself! How dare you set foot within these hallowed halls, failed supplicant! Had you any decency, you would have taken vows at the nearest monastery, too ashamed to, raise your head before anyone. How pathetic that delusion still claims you. That you think yourself worthy of the least shred of acclaim or virtue!"

  Jess shuddered at those words, cutting her deeper than any blow.

  After all she had been through, all she had endured, to be so castigated... her hands trembled with fury as she glared at Professor Chevalier, lurching back in sudden alarm, trembling before Jess's gaze.

  Dark laughter filled her mind, caressing her soul. The howling winds of Winter caressed her bitter wrath, whispering dark secrets of all the things she could do to the mocking, derisive fools that had made so much of her time at Highrock a bitter, struggling hell.

  "Jess! What are you doing?"

  Jess shuddered, shoulder stinging with Twilight's reproof, catching her familiar's alarmed gaze, only then realizing how her hand had almost released its tight grip on the sack of crimson runes glowing faintly in the magelight... but a heartbeat from picking free her careful knot.

  "Jess!" Malek, haunted gaze, catching her own.

  She shuddered and lowered her head, suddenly filled with shame.

  "That's right, wretch! Lower your head and get the hell out of this keep!" Professor Chevalier screamed, her voice raw with unmistakable terror, her desperate sob not that of an instructor but of a young woman in terror, even as protective arms held her close.

  Jess blinked, seeing Neal's arm protectively around her, gently clasping her maimed hand.

  "That's enough, Sue," Neal whispered. "That's enough."

  She gave a furious shake of her head. "No, Neal. It can't be. She almost got you killed. All of you killed! One moment of unchecked fury, goaded into her foe's trap, a moment she can never take away."

  Neal sighed, holding her close, eyes filled with unspoken apology. "It's not that simple, Sue. She didn't charge in alone. I was by her side, leading half our number. I'm sorry I can say no more than that, but honestly, Sue, had Jess not led the charge? I was a heartbeat from doing so myself, consequences be damned."

  The young professor blanched. "Oh, Neal. Please tell me you would not have given in to such folly. Please..."

  Alex sighed, shaking his head. "Jess and Neal might have sworn oaths never to reveal a Squire's missions, but this idiocy has gone on long enough."

  Professor Chevalier frowned at Alex's tone, for all that she did not part Neal's comforting embrace.

  "Professor Chevalier, the reason why Jess was made to wear a supplicant's robes isn't because she shirked her duty. It isn't because she was goaded by the enemy like a fool. It's because she was mad with fright to save her friends."

  Jera nodded. "We swore no oaths to Eloquin, so we will say what you should have heard long ago. A dozen of us were tricked and drugged while on an arcane expedition. We awoke to find ourselves being led to an ancient sight of black mass, our captors gloating with Velheim accents about how we would soon be spending all of eternity screaming in hellfire, bitter sacrifices for their unholy master." Jera shuddered and paled with those words, the professor gazing at Jera with something close to shock, turning to Neal, his grim expression denying nothing.

  Alex shuddered. "It's true. They, they had just drawn obsidian knives, had leaned the first of us over in preparation for sacrifice, when I swear I could hear the awful awful of something far off, cackling for our souls." He turned to Jess, his gaze so reverent that Jess flinched and looked away, feeling utterly unworthy.

  "That's when Jess, Malek, and Neal led their charge, racing to our rescue, a flood of Squires just behind them. And thank all the gods above that they did." Alex bowed. "Jera and I owe Jess, Malek, your beau, and all those Squires who dared to disobey their master a debt of love and honor we can never hope to repay. And every time I see some damned fool slight Jess, it is everything I can do not to set them ablaze with fire hot enough to scorch stone."

  Jess forced a laugh. "No need for that, my friend. I'd prefer that at least a few of us manage to graduate without getting expelled."

  Sue trembled, haunted gaze locking with Jess's for some moments before she abruptly spun out of Neal's grasp with a soldier's grace, heading back down the hallway at a clip Neal would be hard pressed to match.

  Neal's smile tore at Jess's heart. "I am sorry, Jess, that things went the way they had. I've tried to reason with her, but..."

  "But she still hasn't forgiven her own folly. Whatever mistake that cost her men their lives and her the full use of her hand haunts her still. And to see folly in another, when she still condemns herself... I understand, Neal, I always did."

  Neal frowned, before slowly dipping his head. "Of course you would figure it out. Thanks for never taking it out on her, Jess."

  Jess sighed. "I think that in another time and place, she and I could have been friends. It's good to see you, Neal. No doubt you will hear about our adventures soon enough. But I think a certain girl needs you by her side."

  "I think you're right." Neal smiled. "I look forward to hearing of your adventures later. And Jess? Welcome back." With that he pivoted on his heel, hurrying after his girl, Jess and Malek exchanging bemused grins.

  "Of course he would fall for the professor that hates your guts," Malek teased.

  Jess shrugged. "She's young, beautiful, brilliant and damaged. Neal never forgave himself for losing Erica's heart. I'm not surprised, really."

  Malek clapped her shoulder. "I think your right, Jess, and I do believe I hear the sound of revelry just ahead."

  Alex nodded. "Let's head to it! The guards had the taste to fade away so they wouldn't be obligated to report anything they saw, not that I'm going to judge one of my rescuers with pursuing a professor, mind you, but the less they are out in the open about it, the less accusations of favoritism they will have to endure."

  Jera grinned. "And he studies under her, too. Really. If he had chosen to pursue one of the magi, no one would bat an eye, as Neal is as magical as a fish."

  "Ah yes, but no professor of magic is a beautiful woman almost Neal's age, looking for a hero to save her." Malek winked. "Though if it's all the same, I think Jess and I would be best served sitting with you and Jera. I'd rather avoid any further hostile glares, if it's all the same."

  Alex nodded, sparing Josie a concerned glance. "I won't ask how you have the strength to carry Josie like she weighs next to nothing, Malek, but don't you think we should go to the Healers Wing first?

  "Nonsense!" Josie shook her head, flouncing from Malek's bemused grip. "The last thing I want is to be alone in the cold dark. Give me light, warmth, revelry and laughter any day." Holding a borrowed cloak tightly about her, Josie led the way into the dining hall before them, shouts of merriment and good cheer welcoming them all, the hall toasty with the warmth of half the keep's residents crowded within, the smell of ale and roasted meats permeating the air.

  59

  Jess! You made it back!” Jess felt her heart swell with warm tenderness as she beheld little Louise waving happily at her, her mother favoring Jess with the warmest of smiles as Louise raced toward Jess to catch her in a fierce hug. Jess gently squeezed her back, not even realizing how much she had missed the little girl’s cheerful smile until she saw it once more.

  “Ow, Jess. You hug too tight!” Jess laughed softly at this, easing her grip, gazing fondly at a now content Louise, snug in Jess's protective embrace. Louise gazed up at Jess, suddenly shy, for all that she had rushed into her hero’s arms. “I brought you these,” she said softly, bringing her curled fist around so Jess could admire the carefully plucked flowers her dea
r little helper had gathered, smelling fragrant and wonderful. Jess blinked away a sudden tear as she gently kissed Louise’s forehead before taking a deep whiff of the flowers.

  “They are very beautiful,” she assured a now ecstatic Louise. “So colorful, and they smell so wonderful! I’ll bet you picked them out yourself.”

  Louise smiled, nodding her head vigorously. “Yes, I did! The roses, tulips, and those pretty wildflowers you like so much I bundled together. But mom helped, a little.”

  “And you did a wonderful job," Jess assured a now very pleased Louise, who gave her a tight hug even as Jess gently passed Louise back to Lady Vaila. "It is good to see you both, safe and well," Jess said to the head herbalist as she straightened her daughter's rumpled dress.

  Lady Vaila gazed warmly at Jess. “It is I who am grateful to you, dearest Jess. Thank you. For risking your life to save Master Rens and a dozen of our own.”

  Jess flushed and grinned, impulsively dragging her shieldbrother close. “Malek deserves at least as much credit as me. Not bad for a couple of students expelled only a week ago.” Malek and Jess smacked palms and hooted, even as Alex, Jera, and several students Jess recognized as fellow apprentices gave a good-natured cheer.

  Lady Vaila frowned. "A week? Forgive me for even saying it, but you were expelled months ago. This is the winter solstice, after all."

  Jess stumbled with those words.

  The grand chamber full of revelry and laughter was suddenly still, warmth replaced with deathly chill, Winter's howling breath shrieking through the air.

  "Focus, Jess! No time for folly now. We must see this through." Twilight's words, pulling her back.

  Jess shivered, blinking the odd vision away, back in the moment once more, warmth and noise and delightful scents flooding her senses. She ignored Lady Vaila's concerned gaze.

  "Come, heroes both. Let me lead you to your table. A feast has been prepared for our triumphant saviors. Feast and be merry, while I put the little one to bed.”