Luther, Magi: Blood of Lynken II

by Geoffrey C Porter

  Luther sat down. He remembered he had an extra pair of cleaner socks and put those on. The shoes went on next. No pain. His feet were good as new.

  Mom pushed herself off the ground. "Now we jog."

  His stomach growled, but he jogged as she said. He didn't want to set the pace, so he lagged barely behind her. The next day, the town was evident on the horizon, and they stepped into the temple of the One True God around noon. A priest looked up from a book.

  Mom said, "We need food."

  "And shelter," Luther said.

  "Our journey's not over." She turned to look at the priest. "What's your name?"

  "Nate," the priest said.

  "Whatever food you can spare. You should flee with us, too. There's a blight coming. This whole town needs to flee."

  "I don't fear death, and neither should you," Nate said. "You're a priestess. You know death is the only way to reach the One True God."

  Mom smiled half a smile. This priest was clearly a purist in the teachings. Some of the truly radical priests joined with the One True God at an early age through hanging or drowning. Mom said, "Whatever food you can spare. I'll join with the One True God soon enough: he is eternal, and he'll wait for me."

  Nate pointed at the saddle bag across Luther's shoulder. "I can fill that saddle bag with wheat, rye, and dried apples. This town sports twenty-three apple trees, and I provide their water. Every year it's more than we can consume."

  "Thank the One True God for our fortune then."

  Nate put a marker in place in the book he was reading and stood up. "I'll slaughter a chicken for our lunch, too. The boy is rather thin."

  A chicken! Damn straight! "Thank you, Nate," Luther said.

  Nate turned out to be a brilliant cook, and the saddle bag was heavy. Mom wanted to jog again, and Luther saw no reason to bitch or moan about it. The sun set. They slept.

  A few days passed as they marched farther north. They started to run low on food again, and Mom closed her eyes and looked about for a new town.

  "Forty miles, northwest, a big town," she said.

  They had enough food to make it there. Forty miles was nothing. They even had a kind of path to follow. A wave of something hit Luther right in his chest, and he fell. He knew a kind of bliss in his heart, and the tendrils of dark poison disappeared from his palms and fingers. "Juxta's ending it. I can feel the life-magic from here."

  "Good," Mom said.

  Luther lay on the ground, essentially crippled, while the life-magic coursed through his body. He was strong for the first time in his life. If only he could shape it. He sat up with a blaze of fire in his eyes. "Forty miles? Let's run."

  "I can run," Mom said.

  And they ran, with the torrent of magic pulsing through his heart, energizing him. He could have moved mountains, if only he knew how to craft with this force.

  Chapter Five

  Power arced in Luther for the rest of the day. They stopped at nightfall. The strength coursing through Luther drained out of him, and he drifted off to a blessed slumber.

  It snowed again in the night. The heat of the sun woke them. Tired and wet. Luther looked into his mom's eyes. "We're going in the wrong direction."

  "You're right. We should be going home."

  "No. Not that."

  "What then?"

  Luther smiled wide and bright. "I want to meet him. Juxta."

  "That's a fair request, I guess."

  Would Luther call him dad? Or father? Perhaps. Hiding with priests was no fate for him. Mom prepared some of the wheat and flax they had. They turned to the south and jogged.

  Within a few days, they were back at the town with 23 apple trees. Nate greeted them and slaughtered another chicken. Luther liked this Nate fellow, a better priest he had never met.

  "You're traveling to Lynken?" Nate asked.

  Mom nodded.

  Nate frowned. "Many dark magic users in Lynken."

  "My father is one of them," Luther said without thinking.

  "You must not pursue the dark arts."

  He would pursue whatever he wished. The laws of Lynken were clear. Juxta would choose his path in life. "Thank you for the chicken. It's not often I have such a feast," Luther said.

  "Nork is a harsh and barren land. But they say there are countless groves of fruit trees, deer, boar, ducks--food for the taking, in Lynken."

  Luther nodded.

  Nate let out a little chuckle. "You can't get there with one lousy saddle bag of food." He pointed at Mom. "And you, with four skins of water. Make the boy summon a stream and take some of my extra saddle bags."

  "You're very generous," Mom said.

  "It's all the property of the One True God anyhow, and we all live to serve. Am I right?"

  No. Luther was his own man.

  "Aye, live to serve," Mom said. "Serve to live."

  "Say it, boy," Nate said.

  Mom glared at Luther.

  With a tiny sigh, the boy said the words, "Aye, live to serve, serve to live."

  They loaded up on saddle bags and dried apples. Nate even threw in some jerky. They traveled south until nightfall. Days passed while they alternated jogging and walking. They came across a rocky stream and filled their skins.

  In two more days, they encountered their first copse of trees. They had green leaves on them, and some even bore fruit, but it was no kind of fruit Luther had ever seen.

  "What are they?" Luther asked. The fruit varied in color from green to a light brown and were shaped like teardrops. The flesh was clearly ripe as some of the pieces were on the ground.

  Mom sighed. "I don't know. Don't eat them."

  Every so often, there would be a bird eating the fruit. Luther said, "Surely this fruit is good."

  "Do you wish to meet the One True God sooner than is your fate? Eat the fruit."

  "You're afraid. If the birds aren't dying."

  Mom pointed at his chest. "You're not a bird."

  Luther climbed into the nearest tree. He grabbed a green fruit and plucked it. The flesh was tender and sweet. He ate a second one.

  "If you die, I'm not even going to bury you, just leave you to rot," Mom said.

  Luther laughed and grabbed another fruit. He climbed down out of the tree.

  Mom reached out and touched him on the shoulder. "You're not immortal. You can die. You understand that?"

  "Of course, I can die. But from a piece of fruit?"

  "Give me that last one. At least we can die together."

  He handed the fruit over. "We're not going to die. Would the One True God create a gazillion fruit trees that were poison to us?"

  Mom ate the fruit down to the core. "I don't think these trees are the work of the One True God. He moves slowly, spanning the ages, moving one tiny pebble at a time. This is the work of Juxta."

  Luther raised one eyebrow. "Juxta did not do this."

  "I'm not so sure. The life-magic he swears by is intertwined with the lives of trees. These trees were not here a week ago."

  Did Juxta truly create this small forest? Luther smiled at the thought of meeting him. "Let's jog."

  They jogged. A road ran north and south, and they turned south. Within two days, they crossed the border into Lynken. The road was simply a hardened dirt path, but it wound along the terrain alongside a stream. They did not sicken from the fruit, and the trees were plentiful. They stopped at a farmhouse, and the farmers fed them a meal. Mom didn't give them any coins, and they didn't ask for any.

  It seemed to Luther that priests and priestesses of the One True God were actually leeches upon the world. At the same time, if a man were hungry or homeless, he could go to any temple and be fed and given shelter. They made good time on the road, traveling from sunup to sundown. Every so often a rider would pass them on the road, traveling south. The horsemen seemed to be cut from the same stock. Broad shoulders, narrow hips. Bows across their backs and swords at their sides. Leather armor from head to toe. Tanned faces and hands.

  The roa
d led them to a great city, and Mom seemed to know the way. They approached a farmhouse set on the outskirts. She pushed the door open and shouted, "Juxta!"

  Chapter Six

  Footsteps came down the stairs. A man turned to face them. His eyes were like Luther's, with black streaks spanning out from the center. He had the same brown hair, too. His frame was thin, and he had no gut. "Lisa!" He shouted.

  Mom reached down to touch the boy's shoulder. "Juxta."

  He looked Luther in the eyes. A smile creased his lips, and he bent down low and touched Luther right on the nose. "This one is mine."

  Luther held his hand out to shake, but Juxta grabbed him up off the floor and squeezed, spinning him around. Luther growled a primal snarl. "Put me down."

  Juxta put him down on his feet and laughed.

  "The church says you're evil," Luther said.

  "Hush!" Mom said.

  Juxta showed off all his teeth. "I fell into a trap set by the elder gods, is all. It won't happen again."

  He seemed so sure, but Luther was not.

  Mom poked Juxta in the belly. "Do you have any real food? We've been eating this new fruit and nothing else."

  He shook his head. "All the grains are rotted. Jerky is gone from the blight."

  That fruit was not bad, but three meals a day?

  "Something must be done. We're not the only ones in need of a meal," Juxta said. "Let's go see the king."

  They were just going to go see the king. Right. Juxta was insane.

  "Where's the cat?" Mom asked.

  Juxta sighed. "The blight."

  Mom started to cry. Luther hugged her.

  "Come on. The castle isn't far," Juxta said.

  The castle, right.

  Juxta took off at a brisk walk heading into the city. Luther had to hurry to keep up, but he did. The castle was maybe five hundred yards wide, with a tower on each corner. Juxta walked right up to the gate and entered. Luther paused. They were going to just walk into the castle and talk to the king.

  "Come on," Mom said. "William has a son about your age."

  Juxta led the way deeper into the castle. The king was pacing back and forth in front of the throne. He didn't wear a crown, but he had a blade at his side and the same leather armor, so many riders in this realm seemed to wear. A stunning woman sat in a chair next to the throne. She had emerald green eyes and straight black hair.

  The king turned on Juxta and pointed. "You're late! There's no food. Even the stockpiles are destroyed."

  "Send the Rangers out to hunt for meat," Juxta said, "and there's fruit."

  "My kingdom cannot survive on fruit and ducks."

  "There are other things in the woods now. I've seen things that are half fowl and half boar. They look tasty."

  The king stopped and seemed to notice Luther for the first time. "Somebody fetch Simon. Where's my boy?"

  The queen whistled. A young boy maybe a year older than Luther came running. He had the brown hair of the king, but emerald eyes like the queen. His shoulders spanned almost twice the width of Luther's, and his arms were muscular almost like a young blacksmith's. A man, the king's age, came running as well.

  The king said, "Introduce your boy, Juxta."

  Juxta reached down and touched Luther's shoulder. "This is Luther. I just met him today, and he accused me of being evil."

  The new man who had entered laughed. "I'm Simon, and yes, Juxta's evil. I have a boy about your age."

  The king nodded. "And this is William, my oldest. The queen is Teresa."

  The younger William stepped forward and extended his hand. Luther grabbed it. Both boys smiled. "You look like you could use a decent meal or fifty," William said.

  Luther shrugged. "I grew up in a temple to the One True God."

  "Well, you're not in one now."

  The king clapped his hands together quickly. "Simon, take a hundred Rangers, and a wagon full of coins and bring back food."

  Simon nodded. "Weslan will have more to spare than Nork."

  Young William said, "Arrroooo! Invade the Southern Badlands and take what we need!"

  The king glared. "You're going to get beaten if you don't wise up."

  William poked at the ground with his toe. "Just an idea."

  "A very bad idea," Simon said. "We have been at peace with the Southlands for generations."

  The king punched Simon on the shoulder. "We need real food! Go to Weslan, and buy every spare cow and grain stock they have. Seed too. It's not too late to sow the lands."

  "We'll have to go along, too. The High Council will want to meet Luther," Juxta said.

  "Take the gold from the Lost City. I'll send Fredrick with a wagon train to Nork. Weslan won't have enough seed or livestock. And make sure you bring back some chickens."

  "We'll see to it, my lord."

  A man with a similar cut to his brow as the king, stood up from a bench. "I'll go with Fredrick's men. It's possible they'll encounter Necromancers or worse on the road."

  "Good, brother." The king smiled. "Haggle with the Norks, for they still hold my sister captive."

  Teresa laughed a secret little laugh you'd expect from an eight-year-old. "She's no more captive than I am."

  "Have you tried to leave?"

  Teresa's eyes squinted.

  The king leaned into Teresa and stole a kiss. He turned to Luther. "Good to meet you, Luther. Now, everybody, get moving!"

  Simon and Juxta seemed to know the way, and Mom and Luther followed them.

  Chapter Seven

  Simon, Juxta, and William's brother Mathew headed into the courtyard. Simon shouted at men milling about.

  Mathew walked up to a man easily six feet tall. "Fredrick, we're heading into Nork. Ready wagons and your best one hundred."

  "I only have about eighty men," Fredrick said. "Some haven't returned."

  "Put two men in a wagon, and we'll take forty then."

  Fredrick howled like a great banshee. "We're going back out, men."

  Simon oversaw as they readied the transports.

  Juxta pointed off in the distance. "Our wagon is at my house." He hopped onto one of the horses and headed off at a gallop.

  Everybody was running around and shouting, and Luther mostly hid, clutching his mom's leg. Simon jumped on a horse and rode off. Luther noticed a well and took a drink. William, the young prince, walked out of the castle proper. He had things in his hands, but he held them back against the opposing sides of his arms. The boy-prince caught Luther's eyes and nodded.

  Luther nodded back for no reason. William took off like a rocket at the other boy. He threw his left arm under-handed at Luther. A wooden sword was hidden back there, and it flew hilt first at Luther's chest. He didn't do anything as William ran full speed. The sword bounced off Luther, and he simply stared dumbly ahead.

  William paused, clearly confused. "You didn't catch it."

  "No," Luther said. Throw a sword at him, and he's supposed to know what to do.

  "Pick it up."

  So you can beat him with the other one in your hand. "Why would I do that?"

  "Because you're in Lynken, and I thought you had a penis."

  Some of the men readying wagons laughed.

  He had a penis, for sure. Mom reached down to his shoulder and stood between him and William. The young prince spat on the ground and picked up the other sword, then pretended to do battle with two opponents at once, right then left, and back again.

  Mom hugged Luther close. Simon returned to the courtyard with an extra horse in tow. Atop that horse sat another young man of similar girth and age as the prince. This new boy jumped off his horse and landed in front of Luther.

  He bowed. "I'm Jason."

  "Luther."

  "Are you traveling to Weslan with us?"

  "Juxta's pretty sure the High Council will want to meet him," Mom said.

  Jason nodded. "They likely will, with his eyes."

  The priesthood often spoke of Juxta as some kind of chosen one; was L
uther going to face the same discrimination?

  Juxta rode to the castle with a wagon. Mom said, "Come on," and she pulled on Luther.

  They climbed aboard Juxta's wagon. Juxta said, "We haven't even loaded the gold yet. Earn your keep, Luther."

  Simon, Juxta, Mathew, and Fredrick headed into the bowels of the castle, and Luther followed.

  They found their way into a torch-lit hallway. Two guards stood at an iron door. Simon shouted, "We're here for the gold."

  The guards laughed. "Robbing the kingdom?"

  "You know we're on the king's order."

  The guards moved out the way. Inside the vault was a nearly endless supply of stacks of coins. Fredrick grabbed four bags and filled them up. Simon did the same. Juxta and Mathew filled two bags each. Mathew pointed at Luther's chest. "Grab a bag, idiot. Take only coins with the dragon on them."

  Luther took a bag and put coins in it, and it got awfully heavy very quickly.

  They made trip after trip hauling coins up, and some of the men going with them helped. All the dragon coins went in Juxta's wagon and the smaller coins in Mathew's. By the end of it, Luther was sweating in the armpits and down his back. Mom motioned for him to climb on the wagon. He rested as soon as he got up on the bench.

  Juxta stepped up next to Luther, so he sat in the middle. The caravan proceeded to the west with Juxta in the lead, and Simon and Jason riding up ahead to scout. In total there were 37 wagons, with two men per wagon, two horses pulling each one, and an extra horse or two tied to the back.

  Mathew's troop headed to the north, with Fredrick playing scout in advance of their passage.

  A few other troops in Juxta's group scouted for meat, and every so often a man on a horse would show up with a carcass to put in a wagon. They stopped before sunset to find deadwood. Twenty fires were lit, and each had some kind of flesh turning over it by nightfall.

  The meat from the fowl/boar creatures dripped with fat in the fires. The beasts had webbed feet and pig-like snouts for noses. The flesh had a sweet, almost spicy taste to it.

  Luther ate his fill. Juxta produced a tent, and the three of them fit in it easily. Mom held Juxta tight, and he wept. Luther didn't know why, and he fell asleep. Juxta stirred him awake at dawn, and the wagon caravan headed west.