To the Victor

by Samantha M. Derr

  "Well done on foiling my attempts to take you out quietly," Merlin said. "But I really can't have you free to act at large. Be good boys and die, will you?"

  Lam couldn't answer, was doubled up in pain, his suit not reacting to controls. Safere took a step back from him.

  "Merlin, I presume," Safere said. "I'm afraid you'll find we don't die easy, else we wouldn't have lasted this long. Do your worst."

  "Oh, I was hoping you'd struggle," Merlin said, and there was a groan of metal and a crackle of energy. Lam watched as Agravaine's and Gaheris's suits shifted and moved. From their wounds a blue energy pulsed and grew, a twisted mockery of arm and leg ,but capable enough that the suits stood.

  Lam tried to will his suit to react, to listen to his commands, but he was completely paralyzed.

  "You should never have let me so close to your suit," Merlin said, and Lam nearly cried. Sabotage. And magically concealed, if Ruwena had missed it in her repairs. "Now, I have to be safely away before Nimue traces me far enough to stop this. Die well."

  "Safere, I can't move," Lam said. "You have to get out of here. Whatever those things are..."

  "I'm not leaving you," ey said, eir voice iron. "You'll just have to watch as I give you a run for your money for the tourney prize." And ey launched emself forward, sword cutting a wicked arc. Blue energy flared and Agravaine's suit moved with supernatural speed, parrying while Gaheris's suit moved in compliment to counter.

  Lam strained against the pressure that seemed to be pushing against him from every direction. The pain in his shoulder was nearly unbearable, and his vision tinged red at the edges, swam with pinpricks of light. He needed to help. Already Safere was forced back by the two suits acting nearly as one, their movements clumsy but their coordination expert. There was no way even ey would be be able to stand indefinitely against them.

  "Lam, I don't know why you can't respond, but I'm coming." Lam felt something in him drop, like his throat had suddenly shifted to his gut. It was Percy's voice. He couldn't turn his head, but he could still see the small speck in the distance. A human running out on the melee field. A damn fool.

  "Percy, no!" Lam cried, even knowing that it wasn't going through. It was suicide for a squire to run out on the field. With the chaos of the melee, the movements of the suits, which wouldn't be expecting something so small, the ways to die on the field were nearly infinite. An errant step would be all that it took. There was a reason people were not fielded against suits. The results were... messy.

  Percy didn't stop and didn't falter. He ran, and Lam could do nothing but watch, watch and fear and admire his brother. If their positions were reversed, he couldn't say that he would do the same, despite his recklessness. There was, after all, very little that Lam could do. But Percy... maybe there was something that he could do, some way that he could find and disable what Merlin had done. Lam looked at the fight unfolding before him. There was a flash as Safere tried once more to stun eir opponents, but the light had no effect on them. It was obvious that, for all that Gaheris and Agravaine had to still be inside, it was nothing human controlling their suits.

  Lam locked his eyes on Percy, on the small figure rushing through certain doom, and hoped. He nearly stopped breathing when Safere's battle moved between Percy and his suit, but it moved on again, and the next thing he knew, Percy was climbing his suit, speaking to him through the hatch.

  "What's happening?" Percy asked. "What's wrong with the suit?"

  "Merlin did something to it," Lam said, forcing himself not to scream at Percy for being so foolish, so reckless. What was done was done, and they had work to do. "I don't know what, but I can't move anything."

  "Merlin... is he who's controlling those suits?"

  "Yes!"

  "Give me a minute," Percy said, and Lam bit back a comment that they might not have that long. One of the suits scored a slash across Safere's chest, and Lam winced as ey retreated, as ey took another wound to eir hip. This battle was winding down, and Lam was missing it. Frustrated tears streamed down his face. It wasn't fair. All he had ever wanted was to be free to live his life, to follow his own feelings instead of the mandates of his family. All he had ever wanted was—there was a lurch and the pressure disappeared. Lam sucked in a breath.

  "That's it," Percy said. Lam looked down, saw Percy standing with a stupid grin on his face. There was no way Lam was living this one down, but he could handle that as long as they all lived.

  Pushing himself into a run, Lam still couldn't move his off arm, but he reached the battle in time to stop a swing that would have taken Safere's legs out from under em.

  "Took you long enough," Safere said, pushed back by a different attack.

  "Blame my brother," Lam said. They fell into step, Safere making up for Lam's busted shoulder and Lam anticipating Safere's movements. Their swords were twin snakes, their suits dancers. Lam felt everything melt away except the feel of Safere beside him and the two suits now suddenly pushed back onto the defensive. They might have been full of magic energy, propelled by a single will, but as coordinated as they were, it wasn't enough.

  Steel met steel. Blue energy flared, leaked into the sky. Lam and Safere together were a wall of grace and sharp edges and there was no escaping them. And then there was a flash of indigo and Gaheris's and Agravaine's suits crumpled, the blue energy fueling them disappearing entirely.

  For a moment, Lam did nothing, just stood there, numb. He could feel Safere beside him, but the rest of the field seemed... empty. And then he realized that it was because it was empty. The day had been called, and only they remained. The field was theirs. With a wince, Lam raised his sword into the air—a salute, a declaration. They had won. And all around them they were met with cheers.

  *~*~*

  "I wish you'd let me do more about Gaheris and Agravaine," Uwain said as Ruwena and Percy oversaw the last of the preparations to leave.

  "I think they've had quite enough punishment for the moment," Lam said. Both were headed back to Camelot in wagons. Both had suffered multiple broken bones and even with Merlin's magic, it wouldn't be a comfortable trip.

  "They won't let it drop there," Uwain said.

  "People like them never do. You watch yourself, okay? You're not really their favorite person, either." Lam didn't say anything about the plot to kill them both. To what end? It had been stopped, and nothing they did would stick to Merlin or the sons of King Lot.

  "You sure you don't want to come with? The Queen could use a knight with your talents. She could offer you protection, of a sort. Even from your family. You might even be able to reach the Round Table if you're—"

  "I think you forget that it's not just the Queen who gets to decide who gets named to the Round Table. I think I'll keep my sights a little lower, for now. Like paying off my debts. After that... Well, if I find my way to Camelot, I'll certainly drop a line. I might even bring a friend."

  A slyness glinted in Uwain's eye. "Well, I'm sure we could find some... things to get up to," he said.

  Lam grinned. "I'm sure we could."

  Uwain tossed his head back toward where his carts were waiting. "Well, I'm off."

  Lam leaned forward, planted a kiss on his cheek.

  "For luck," he said.

  Uwain smiled, nodded, and walked away.

  "You're a surprising young man," a voice said from behind him, and Lam did his best not to jump. Turning, he saw Nimue and Pelleas standing at their ease.

  "Not because I sneak up on people unawares, though," he said.

  "No, that's my job," another voice said, and all three of them jumped at that, Pelleas's hand going for her sword, but pausing as Safere strode forward from behind them, eir mask completely hiding eir face.

  Nimue looked almost cross a moment, then shook her head and laughed.

  "I suppose we had that coming," she said. "All for the best, though. I wanted to thank both of you. For pissing off Merlin, first, and also, I suppose, for preventing a civil war."

  "As we
should thank you, for dispelling Merlin's magic at the end," Safere said. Lam himself didn't really understand all that had happened, but he did understand that it had been Nimue to banish the magic keeping the suits active. Why she had waited so long to act, though...

  "If you're ever in Camelot," she said, "I would be honored to have words with you there. I respect that you are your own people and have chosen to act as knights perilous, but Merlin wasn't wrong when he said lines are being drawn. Standing aside might not be possible forever."

  "Thanks," Lam said. "Really. For everything. If I ever decide to pick a side, I promise I'll let you make your pitch."

  "And I'll make no promises at all," Safere said, "but I won't forget what's happened here."

  "Then I've done all I can," Nimue said. Pelleas gave them each a long look, then shrugged, and they walked off in the same direction Uwain had gone.

  "Nothing can be simple, I suppose?" Lam asked.

  Safere chuckled. "Not in my experience, no. Just look at us."

  Lam looked down at himself, then took his time looking over Safere, remembering their night together.

  "Well, simple's overrated anyway," he said.

  "I take it you're ready to tell me about the Questing Beast, then?" Safere asked. It was a question that Lam had been in some ways dreading. There was a sense of finality to it, like after he explained there would be nothing holding them together, and he wasn't ready for them to be over.

  "After a fashion," Lam said. "I need to pay off Sir Breuse with most of what I won in the prize, but as I wouldn't have won it without your assistance, I thought that, perhaps, there might be some way of paying you back for everything you've done."

  Safere reached out, ran eir hand along the side of Lam's face. "I really can't stay. I have to find my brother."

  "But that's just it," Lam said. "I thought, instead of telling you about the Questing Beast, I'd do you one better and help you find it. And your brother."

  Safere said nothing for a moment, just looked at him, eir head tilting slightly. "You would do that?" ey asked.

  "Well, I'm starting to think that I could do to learn more about suit mechanics," Lam said. "And I'm too embarrassed to ask my little brother. So..."

  "I'd be honored if you traveled with me," Safere said. "And I'm sure I could organize a very strict study regimen, if you'd like."

  "Very strict?" Lam asked, biting his lower lip. His mind roamed over the possible implications, and he couldn't help but blush.

  "Very," Safere said, and though eir face was covered, Lam could feel the devious smile spreading behind eir mask.

  FIN

  About the Authors

  ANNABETH LEONG

  Annabeth Leong is frequently confused about her sexuality but enjoys searching for answers. Her work appears in dozens of anthologies, including Best Lesbian Erotica 20th Anniversary Edition. She is the author of Untouched, Liquid Longing, and other books, and the editor of MakerSex: Erotic Stories of Geeks, Hackers, and DIY Projects. She divides her time between duties on Earth and in Azeroth (the land of World of Warcraft), can be found on Twitter @AnnabethLeong, and blogs at annabethleong.blogspot.com

  ASTA IDONEA

  Asta Idonea (aka Nicki J Markus) was born in England, but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied several foreign languages.

  Asta launched her writing career in 2011 and divides her efforts not only between MM and mainstream works but also between traditional and indie publishing. Her works span the genres, from paranormal to historical and from contemporary to fantasy. It just depends what story and which characters spring into her mind!

  As a day job, Asta works as a freelance editor and proofreader, and in her spare time she enjoys music, theater, cinema, photography, and sketching. She also loves history, folklore and mythology, pen-palling, and travel; all of which have provided plenty of inspiration for her writing.

  C.C. BRIDGES

  C.C. Bridges is a mild-mannered librarian by day, but by night she writes about worlds of adventure and romance. A fan of science fiction and comics since the ripe old age of twelve, she incorporates her love of genre into her work. She writes surrounded by books, spare computing equipment, a fluffy dog, baby toys, and a long-suffering husband all in the tiny state of New Jersey. In 2011, she won a Rainbow Award for best gay sci-fi/futuristic novel.

  Website: http://www.ccbridges.net

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccbridgeswriter

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccbridgeswriter

  Blog: http://ccbridges.dreamwidth.org

  L.S. ENGLER

  L.S. Engler writes from outside of Chicago, though she grew up chasing dragons in the woods of Michigan. She is the editor of the World Unknown Review, as well as the author of several books, with many more to come. Her short stories have appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies. Keep tabs on her latest works at her blog (http://lsengler.com) or on twitter @lsengler

  DANIELA JEFFRIES

  Daniela Jeffries lives and loves on the East Coast. She can typically be found with her feet in the clouds and her nose in a book.

  MEREDITH KATZ

  Meredith Katz started writing around the same time she started to walk, a 6 page ‘book’ called “The Baby Dragon” (spoilers, there was an egg, it hatched, and then there was a baby dragon). She hasn’t stopped since, and after many years of writing slash and femslash fanfiction, she is only too excited to share her original fiction. She lives in beautiful BC, Canada with her gorgeous fiancee and adorably nerdy cat.

  Website: https://meredithakatz.wordpress.com/

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/meredithakatz

  Tumblr: http://king-of-katz.tumblr.com/

  KAYLA BAIN-VRBA

  Kayla Bain-Vrba has been living in daydreams ever since she was a little girl and writing about them for as long as she can remember. It was her discovery of m/m romance that inspired her first published work at age nineteen and is the genre she feels most at home in. When she’s not writing—or is procrastinating writing—Kayla enjoys spending time with her other half, crafting, and planning things to a tee.

  Connect with Kayla on her website, www.kaylabain-vrba.com.

  CHARLES PAYSEUR

  Charles Payseur currently resides in the frozen reaches of Wisconsin, where his partner, a gaggle of pets, and more craft beer than is strictly healthy help him through the long winters. He works an incredibly boring day job so that his nights can be filled with spaceships, magic, and attractive men kissing (and maybe a bit more than kissing…). His work can also be found at Torquere Press, Circlet Press, Dreamspinner Press, and in Lightspeed Magazine’s Queers Destroy Science Fiction! When not writing fiction and poetry, he contributes to a number of blogs and review sites, and runs a home for his thoughts on short speculative fiction at Quick Sip Reviews (www.quicksipreviews.blogspot.com). On Twitter as @ClowderofTwo he annoys the internet with far too many cat pictures and cocktail recipes. He’s also on Facebook, Goodreads, and Google+