The Undying Champions (The Eternal War Book 1)

by Brennan C. Adams

  Ren huffed, her head barely ducking.

  “Well, come on in. We’ll get you dressed and rested.”

  “Is Raimie here?” Kheled asked, refusing to budge.

  “He’s with his people on the beach. Why?”

  “I have to get to him, Ren! I bring urgent information. Which way is he?”

  She gently took his hand.

  “Brother, you look awful. How many days have you been running without sleep?”

  He tried to remember.

  “Two, I think.”

  “And did you use any magic to aid your flight?”

  “I expended a lot of Ele, yes,” he made a face at his sister’s glare. “And there may have been some leg modifications.”

  “How far into debt are you?”

  “I can keep going! Raimie needs to know there’s an army coming for him!”

  That pronouncement shook Ren enough to give her pause, but she continued on determinedly.

  “What good will it do for you to push on, give your friend this information, and die from over extensive magic use when he needs you most?”

  “What good will it do to arrive after the enemy has wiped him out?” Kheled asked bitingly, but Ren simply smiled.

  “You think an army of soldiers can move as fast as you when you’re desperate?” she asked with a chuckle. “You have time to take a single night to rest.”

  She made a good point. As fast as he’d raced and with how long the typical army took to mobilize, he probably had a good two or three day’s head start.

  “Will I get to meet your new family?” he asked gruffly.

  “Oh, they’re going to have so much fun with you,” Ren answered with a wicked grin.

  * * *

  “You’re my daughter’s famous older brother?”

  Kheled sat at the dining table in Riadur’s home, washed and properly attired.

  The bath had been wonderfully relaxing. He’d fought to keep his eyes open while he soaked in the warm water, and the new clothes were quite comfortable and almost fit. Only an inch of his ankle peeked from below the cuff.

  Ren had even found a saber and dagger set nearly identical to the one he’d lost at sea. It took him longer than he’d like to realize that it was his original pair abandoned in a village that had been destroyed long ago. All in all, he should be ready for bed. Falling asleep in the chair should be perfectly understandable, but the man glaring at him from across the table kept him from nodding off.

  “I’m Kheled,” he said in confirmation.

  “You left her to die,” Riadur stated.

  Ren sat forward to protest, but Kheled lifted his hand from the table to stop her.

  “I did, and that decision has haunted me for sixteen years,” he acknowledged. “You’ve every right to despise me for it. I certainly do.

  “If it helps, I went back. I spent weeks searching for her, slowly starving to death in my need to discover her fate, and I only gave up because I was needed elsewhere.”

  “You mistake me, young man!” Riadur exclaimed, leaning forward sympathetically. “All of us have had to do despicable things in this hell Doldimar has created. I merely meant to reassure you that your sister has been in the highest level of care since you left her to me. In a small way, your abandonment led to me finding her. Thank you.”

  Kheled didn’t know what to say, mainly because he wasn’t sure if the thanks were sincere. An underhanded compliment lurked under the surface of Riadur’s words.

  Ren’s adoptive mother chose that moment to return from the kitchen with a heaping plate of food.

  “Don’t pay him any mind, son,” she said motheringly. “He’s worried you’re here to wrest our little bird away from us.”

  “Eliade…” Riadur growled warningly.

  “You stop this instant, Dury!” Eliade turned on her husband. “Judging someone only from past deeds and stories about him. Shame on you! That’s twice in as many days, husband, and I won’t have it under my roof!”

  Riadur grumbled under his breath, but he made no more protestations.

  “Now, Kheled,” Eliade continued, setting the plate in front of him and sitting at the table, “I feel as if I already know you from all the stories our little bird has shared. I’m curious how much of them are true.”

  Kheled stared at the food. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten something other than hardtack and salted meat or dried fruit. The hot, home cooked meal before him looked like a little piece of heaven come to grace him with its presence.

  “Please eat, dear,” Eliade told him. “You look famished.”

  “Thank you, mistress,” Kheled automatically replied, reaching for his utensils.

  Eliade giggled and blushed a little.

  “Oh dear, I’m no mistress. Maybe a miss or a ma’am, but not a mistress.”

  “Apologies,” he inclined his head to her. “That’s simply a bad habit I picked up from where I’ve lived.”

  “And where’s that? Tell us all about it!” Ren demanded, joining the conversation eagerly.

  Kheled pointedly ignored her to take a bite. An explosion of tastes burst in his mouth, and he closed his eyes, making appreciative noises.

  A door slammed in the foyer, and feet pounded up the stairs.

  “Mom! Dad! Did you hear?” a voice drifted to them. “There was an Eselan at the gate, and he-”

  A blond-haired teenager burst into the dining room, and his teeth clicked together when his green eyes met Kheled’s gray ones.

  “Hadrion, this is my biological older brother, Kheled,” Ren said with poorly concealed amusement. “Khel, this is my adoptive younger brother, Hadrion.”

  “Pleased to meet-” Kheled started.

  “Is it true?” the teenager interrupted. “Are you one of them?”

  “One of who?” Riadur asked suspiciously.

  Oh, well. He’d hoped to introduce the topic more delicately, but since it was out there…

  “Yes,” Kheled stated quietly as he set his fork down. “I’m a primeancer. Of Ele specifically.”

  A beat of silence ruled the room, and then Riadur broke into snickers.

  “Ridiculous! What a cruel jest!” he exclaimed, wiping his eyes. “Primeancers aren’t real, simply stories told to keep naughty children in line…”

  Kheled casually materialized a tiny ball of Ele in the air above his waiting finger and flicked it to bounce down the table to the big man.

  “Well,” Eliade breathed, “you’re much more interesting than Ren led us to believe.”

  “I knew better than to share his secret,” his sister said.

  “Can you do anything else from the stories?” Hadrion asked, sitting beside his mother. “I always liked the idea of teleportation. Is that actually possible?”

  “That’s more a Daevetch thing,” Kheled answered with a wince. “Those primeancers can travel through the shadows, but I can move fast enough that it looks like I’m teleporting.”

  “What about invisi-?” Eliade began.

  “ENOUGH!” Riadur slammed a fist down on the table. “Have you forgotten what a primeancer is? They’re the demons from our stories, the bringers of calamity, and you’re having a friendly chat with one!”

  Eliade’s lips thinned.

  “Some of the stories paint them as demons, husband. Others name them as mere victims of circumstance, and still more call them heroes. You’re ever quick to judge, my love.”

  “I judge quickly because to do otherwise could lead to death!” Riadur roared. “I will protect this family!”

  “You needn’t worry about me where your family is concerned,” Kheled broke in. “In the morning, I’ll leave your fine city, and you may never hear from me again.”

  “What are you talking about?” Ren asked with concern. “I won’t let my father keep me from you, Khel. You’re my family too. Don’t think you can get out of visiting me so easily.”

  “No, I meant…” the healer sighed with frustration. “You didn’t s
ee the army coming for us, Ren. It’ll crush my people if we’re left as is. I intend to stay with Raimie and keep him safe as long as I can, but I can’t destroy an army of Kiraak single-handedly.”

  “An army of Kiraak?! We have to help!” Hadrion exclaimed. “There has to be something Tiro can do, right Dury?”

  Riadur narrowed his eyes.

  “You’re with Raimie? No wonder you repel me. I must have smelled the stench of his evil on you.”

  The strength of his anger clattered the chair behind Kheled as he calmly rose to his feet. He let his towering height help him for once, and the ever-present mask dropped like the chair to the floor. Years of suffering, calculated patience, and cold, hardened resolve gleefully burst forth past the lowered barrier to impact against Riadur’s anger and fear.

  “You will not,” he dispassionately informed the man, “speak poorly of Raimie in my presence. He is the first unequivocally good person I’ve come across in years, certainly better than many of those I’ve met since coming home to Auden. I won’t have his good name tarnished by someone who’s both terrified of the change he brings and rightfully furious at a ghost of the past.

  “Sister, have I dispensed my duty in greeting your family?” he asked, never taking his eyes off of Riadur.

  “There’s still Kylorian, but he hasn’t returned…” she trailed off as those otherworldly eyes landed on her.

  “Let’s go home.”

  * * *

  In the spare bedroom of Ren’s house, Kheled struggled to glue the mask back into place. It had taken multiple beatings in the last year, chinks gouged from it all because of Raimie. He was afraid that soon it would shatter because when that happened, everyone would flee. He’d be alone again, and the idea pained him more than it should.

  “Kheled, are you awake?” someone called through the open window.

  He lay still, willing whoever it was to go away. A leg flung over the sill, and the rest of the body soon followed to tumble to the floor. The intruder jumped to his feet, and Kheled lit the room in white light, sitting up as he did so.

  “That’s so awesome!” Hadrion breathed. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I just had to come and talk, and- wow, you’re scary.”

  Kheled wished the teenager would go away so he could finish assembling the mask. At this rate, he wouldn’t sleep at all this night.

  Hadrion skipped over and plopped on the foot of the bed.

  “How long did it take you to perfect that look? It’s marvelous,” he shivered. “Gives me goose bumps. I’d love a look that can cow Dury.”

  “You’re not afraid?” Kheled asked curiously.

  “Sure I am. Didn’t I just say so?”

  “I suppose that’s true.” A thought occurred to the healer. “What do you see when you look at me in this moment?”

  “I don’t know…” Hadrion squinted. “An attitude of vast experience, like you’ve seen it all. You seem like you’re older than you look. Like centuries older-”

  “I’m twenty-seven,” Kheled firmly informed him.

  “Never said you weren’t young!” the teenager shook his head. “You simply seem old. Then, there’s the hint of unspeakable tragedy that you fight with everything you have to forget…”

  They stared at one another a long time, a spell of understanding woven between them. An owl hooted outside, and Hadrion shook himself.

  “You can’t forget it forever,” he said sadly. “At some point, you have to deal with it.”

  “You’ve experienced your own tragedy?” Kheled asked.

  “Dury pulled me from the Birthing Grounds,” Hadrion looked away. “I… I fight demons from that place to this day.”

  “I’m surprised he did that. The place where Kiraak are converted isn’t easy to infiltrate.”

  “Yeah, dad’s not so bad,” Hadrion grimaced. “He does judge harshly and quickly, though.”

  “I noticed,” Kheled replied dryly, and Hadrion laughed.

  He actually laughed. The healer double checked that he hadn’t unconsciously slid the mask back into place.

  “Would you like to see me go invisible?” he asked.

  The delighted look on Hadrion’s face warmed Kheled’s heart, and he smiled.

  “Creation, do you mind since you insist on supervising?” he winked at the teenager. “Creation is my splinter of Ele. Don’t bother looking for him. You can’t see him.”

  “Why not?” Hadrion asked with a pout.

  “I’m not sure. Never got around to figuring that one out. If it helps, he’s standing at the foot of the bed behind you and to your left.”

  Hadrion twisted around. After a moment of quiet, he stuck his hand into Creation’s waist.

  “Please tell the child to remove its hand,” the splinter said distastefully.

  “A little higher, Hadrion.” The teenager lifted his hand. “Higher. Higher! There! You’re touching his nose.”

  The look on Creation’s face was priceless. Kheled couldn’t stop himself. He howled with laughter. Excited, Hadrion whooped and poked his finger into thin air. Kheled couldn’t catch his breath. The splinter rolled his eyes and stepped to the side.

  When he’d calmed enough to speak, Kheled crossed his legs and indicated Hadrion should sit back down.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  Before Hadrion could nod, he pulled the point of his source around his body and sealed it closed. The teenager’s eyes widened to saucers, and he went very still.

  The door to the room burst open, and Ren barreled inside with a dagger drawn.

  “Hadrion! What’re you doing here?” she asked. “Where’s Kheled?”

  The healer let the bubble drop with a pop, and Ren jumped. Both men dissolved into laughter again.

  “Brothers!” Ren huffed. “Come on, you. Mom and dad will be worried sick if you don’t sneak back to bed soon. I’ll take you home.”

  “All right,” the teenager sighed, reluctantly getting out of bed. “Thank you for the demonstration, Kheled. So you know, I like you without the mask.”

  “I- it was my pleasure, truly. And Hadrion? You can call me Khel.”

  * * *

  The tent city looked so peaceful in the calm morning hours before its inhabitants woke.

  “I hate delivering bad news, Ren,” Kheled murmured.

  “No one does.”

  While they watched, the early risers climbed from their tents and went about their business. The watch changed, and the two of them made their move, slipping through a hole in the screen of sentries.

  Raimie was on the beach, practicing forms.

  “Is he wearing…?” Ren asked wonderingly as they approached the sand.

  “Yes, sister. Yes, he is.”

  Sometime in the six days since Kheled had seen him last, his friend had acquired a new uniform quite similar to the ones that his soldiers wore. He stopped to tug on the collar and adjust a sleeve before returning to his morning drills. Both Esela observed with a critical eye.

  “He’s quite good,” Ren remarked grudgingly. “You’re teaching him?”

  “He’s my friend and my ally. Do you really think I’d allow another to teach him to fight?” Kheled frowned. “I haven’t introduced some of those forms yet. They’re more than a little advanced for his skill level.”

  “Maybe he’s a fast learner, brother. You tend to underestimate your students.”

  Rolling his eyes, he stepped out on the sand.

  “Raimie!

  His friend finished his exercise and sheathed Silverblade.

  “Did you know you’re just about the last person to call me by name, Khel? It’s only my family and you now. Everyone else insists on titles.”

  “Do you want that to change?” Kheled asked.

  Raimie faced him with a horrified look.

  “Gods, no! All the titles and honorifics make me sick. I only put up with them because it seems to make everyone else happy.”

  Noticing the woman trailing after Kheled, Raimie raised a hand.


  “Hello, Ren!”

  Kheled’s sister bowed mockingly.

  “Your Majesty.”

  “You’re hilarious. How did your scouting trip go, Khel?”

  The healer grimaced.

  “That well, huh?” Raimie asked sympathetically.

  “The Kiraak I was tracking led me to a fortress northeast of here. Small as forts go, only a single tower, but a large number of troops outside. I managed to get inside-”

  “You infiltrated Da’kul?!” Ren interrupted. “What are the defenses like? Do they have trebuchet? Is there another way in besides the front gate?”

  “Ren. Let’s focus on one problem at a time, shall we?” Kheled said lightly.

  She mumbled an apology, and the healer reluctantly continued.

  “Once I got inside, I climbed the tower. I gather it’s Teron’s headquarters, and he must be the Enforcer for this province because I overheard a conversation between him and a subordinate while inside the tower.

  “He knows where the fleet made landing, Raimie. He’s sending an army of overwhelming force, nearly twice our number, to destroy us. We don’t stand a chance.”

  Raimie took the news surprisingly well, Kheled thought. He paled a little, but that was the only physical reaction he gave.

  “We have to inform Eledis and Marcuset, and then we need to draw up battle plans.

  “Ren, I know you’re not involved, but can you please tell Oswin I need everyone of rank gathered? He should be skulking about nearby.

  “Kheled, I need you to give me everything useful you can remember.”

  “You plan to stay and fight?” the healer asked.

  “What else are we going to do? Run?” Raimie scoffed. “We made landing because space was cramped aboard ship and provisions were low. We wouldn’t make the trip back to Ada’ir alive, so we’re stuck here.

  “In the entire army, you’re the only one with an inkling of what conditions are like on this continent, and you haven’t set foot here in years. We’ve no way of knowing if there’s a better position tactically over the next hill or a place in the next valley to hide our people within. We can’t know if there’s somewhere else we can safely drop anchor further down the coast. The way I see it, making a stand here on ground we’re at least somewhat familiar with is our greatest chance of survival.”