The Roots of Wrath

by B. T. Narro

  Now with victory certain, there wasn’t a single one of Davon’s sorcerers who wasn’t running away from the fray. I had just landed in front of Davon as he tried to squirm out from underneath Graham when I heard something crash down behind me.

  I knew it had to be Valinox. I could see it in the scared look on Graham’s face. I tried to drive my sword through Davon’s head before Valinox could get to me, but I was too late. Dteria struck me in the back and sent me hurtling over Graham and toward the many onlookers.

  I caught myself in the air, adding shock to their expressions, and turned around before landing. With a hurl, I threw myself back toward Davon as Valinox tossed Graham off him with one hand as if the huge boy weighed nothing.

  Ray was just about there, but Valinox threw him back with a spell of dteria. He laid his heavy gaze on me next as he lifted a hand. I produced as thick a wall as I could manage as the demigod made a clawing motion in the air.

  I could almost feel his clear energy trying to grab me, but my dvinia not only kept it at bay, it pushed it back toward him as I continued my sprint. His surprise lasted just a moment. He punched the air and a dense cluster of dteria broke through my wall and slammed into my armor. I never would’ve guessed that the cushiony energy could create such a loud thud, as if it were as hard as a rock, as it struck my Valaer steel.

  The force of the blow slid me across the dirt on my back. Michael and Leon charged at the demigod’s back. He looked over his shoulder before turning fully around. Leon made a dense wall of water that stopped one blast of dteria. I was taking off again as I figured Valinox would try another spell, but he took out his extraordinarily long blade instead.

  Michael seemed to be faster than Leon, taking the lead. He showed no fear as he was about to engage with Valinox, but then Valinox clutched his hand in the air and Michael stopped with whiplash. Valinox hoisted him up and squeezed his fingers. Michael dropped his weapon as he screamed in agony and tried to pry the energy away from his body where it crushed him below his short chestpiece.

  Leon ignored Michael for the moment, making another cube of water to block a second blast of dteria. He burst through his own disintegrating wall of water and looked ready to chop off Valinox’s head. As the demigod got his sword up to block the blow, Leon revealed his trick, stopping to scorch Valinox with a jet of fire.

  Valinox screamed as he backed away and hurried to form a barrier of dteria, the fire threatening to wrap around it. But the demigod extended the energy until it protected him completely. Then, smoking and charred, he pushed the dteria into Leon, who rolled over himself.

  Michael was back on his feet, doubled over in pain. His eyes seemed to meet Valinox’s.

  “Oh shit,” he wheezed, then put up a wall of wind.

  It did little good as Valinox’s cluster of dteria broke through and punched Michael hard enough to flip him several times before he crashed into the ground.

  As Valinox turned toward me, I let gravity take me down. I didn’t have the wherewithal to hold myself up with dvinia and make a wall, and I knew I needed the wall more. Valinox, with his metal mage standing by awkwardly, scowled at me with a mouth missing half its lips.

  He cast. My thick barrier of dvinia couldn’t stop his spell, a piece of the dteria breaking through and colliding with my mouth. It disoriented me a moment as Valinox got ready for a more powerful version.

  I tried to strike first. Maybe I could knock him out. I tried to aim at his head as my mana condensed into the hardest cluster of dvinia I could make. I threw with all my strength.

  Unfortunately, aiming at a small target was not something I had practiced very much. It seemed to strike him in the chest just as he was casting at me, and his spell hit me in the same place.

  Both of us flew backward away from each other, and both of us caught ourselves midair.

  I soared toward Valinox, my weapon still in hand. I could see his hair regrowing even though Cason’s hadn’t when Leon had scorched him. Valinox’s face also repaired itself, his scowl reforming as his lips regenerated. I trusted my armor as I prepared to meet the demigod sword to sword in the air.

  He dipped below me as we were about to collide, perhaps unsure of himself or reluctant to kill me because of his oath. I landed and turned around in hopes of facing him again, but he took himself high into the air. Arcing, he came down toward my head feet-first.

  I jumped out of the way to avoid being crushed. He doesn’t seem too worried about the oath.

  I didn’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t going to be able to kill this demigod without the help of another demigod.

  But I might be able to kill his metal mage.

  I tossed myself away from Valinox and toward Davon as fast as I could. The officer turned and fled from me, but I was much faster.

  Unfortunately, Valinox was even faster than I was. He cut in front of me and scooped up Davon in his arms. It barely slowed the demigod, and soon both were far gone.

  I could’ve chased after them. I did think about it, but what could I hope to do alone? Valinox would eventually find some way to kill me without Leon and Michael there to help, especially if neither Failina nor Souriff showed up.

  Anger forced a few expletives out of my mouth as I barely managed not to throw my sword. “This is why we need a callring—!” But I stopped as I saw how much pain Michael was in. He clutched his sides as Leon dragged him to me by his arms.

  “I think he’s got a few ribs cracked,” Leon said.

  Most everyone else in the town slowly gathered around. All of Rohaer’s soldiers had fled, and none looked as if they had any wish of returning. Two of them lay dead.

  Michael was wheezing uncomfortably. I let my mana course through him. There was more damage than just to his ribs, but it wasn’t anything my healing spell couldn’t handle. There was no point in trying to hide anything any longer from the people of Drayer. I healed Michael in front of many of them. I heard many gasp and others claim that I must be Lycast’s healer they had heard about. I ignored them for now.

  “Thanks, Jon,” Michael muttered when I was done. “I’m sorry we couldn’t get that bastard before his daddy showed up.”

  “Me, too.”

  A silence fell over the crowd as what looked to be the entire town of Drayer now stared at me in shock.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The more time that passed, the less we looked to the skies for Valinox to return. Although we probably wouldn’t be able to kill him if he tried to take us on by himself, he must know there was a slim chance we could. He was a coward. He wasn’t going to risk his life when he felt that his victory in this war was certain.

  It took about an hour after the short battle ended before we could investigate the lord’s manor and find out what had happened. First we had to explain things to the people of Drayer. Yes, it was Valinox the demigod who had come to rescue the metal mage after Davon had signaled for help using his callring. Yes, I’m not just any sorcerer but one who can fly and heal. Yes, I’m that healer you’ve heard of. Yes, there is something special about Leon and Michael, which is why I brought them here over other sorcerers.

  The explaining part was actually quite brief. It was offering my healing services to the entire town that took the rest of the hour. Fortunately, not many people needed treatment.

  No one had checked on the lord and the guard who had claimed he would stand beside us. Most everyone was too afraid to enter without a sorcerer nearby. I headed there with Leon and Michael as I complained to them about our demigods who had not come to our aid.

  “I don’t care what Souriff or Failina says. The next time we speak to them, I’m going to demand that at least one of them has a callring so we can signal to them when their brother shows up again.”

  The last time we had brought it up to Souriff, she had arrogantly replied that she was not our pet that we could call upon whenever we wanted her help.

  “At least Failina should agree,” I continued. “She doesn’t seem as proud as Sour
iff.”

  “I don’t care who agrees as long as one of them does it,” Leon said. “It’s in their best interest. I don’t see why they won’t after this.”

  Michael was oddly silent. He looked to be in thought as he kept his head down.

  “What’s on your mind, Michael?” I asked.

  “That maybe Reuben would’ve been better for you to choose.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Instead of me,” he said. “Because Reuben could’ve disabled the enchantment of the callring.”

  Leon said, “But what would Reuben have done against all those dark mages? He doesn’t have any defensive magic that could block their spells or arrows. He would’ve been killed, then I would’ve been soon after. You kept both of us safe. That’s exactly what we needed here. The plan was to hold the rest of them off as Jon took out the metal mage, and it would’ve worked had Valinox not shown up.”

  “If he’d arrived just a few seconds later, I would’ve had that mage,” I said.

  “Well, then Eden could’ve done just as good a job,” Michael said.

  “Eden wouldn’t have been the right person for the first part of the plan,” I explained. “I needed someone who could speak to these people the way you could. Yes, I suppose if we had predicted that we would be betrayed and the metal mage would use a callring to signal for Valinox, Eden might’ve been better in your spot then. But we couldn’t have expected it.”

  “I just hope next time we’ll have more with us.” Michael’s voice quieted as he checked on the dozens of denizens following behind us. “We’re not staying here, right?”

  “No,” Leon answered softly. “I’ll tell you what’s going to happen after we figure out the situation with the lord.”

  We crossed through the gate and into the courtyard of the lord’s manor. The mansion looked just as I remembered it from yesterday. There were no broken windows, and the door was perfectly intact and most likely locked. I had little idea what had transpired. I thought at first that the boy might’ve snuck out, but then the guard would’ve informed us. The other thought that crossed my mind was that the guard remained loyal to this lord and Rohaer’s army, and he let the boy inform our enemies of our plan.

  I was surprised when Leon twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open freely. He entered cautiously with Michael and me on our guard behind him.

  We walked into the antechamber. Out of an opening along the wall stepped a serving woman with blood on her apron.

  “We didn’t know what to do,” she said in a soft voice, her face stuck in a sad expression. “He said we would be tried for treason if we told.”

  “Who said that?” Leon asked.

  “The young lord, sir.”

  Leon impatiently walked up to the woman and turned for a look into the room behind her. “Airinold’s taint,” he muttered in shock.

  “We tried to save them,” said the serving woman as Michael and I followed Leon for a look.

  “Save who?” Leon asked. “All of them?”

  “Yes.”

  In the sitting room lay three bodies in pools of blood: the lord, his wife, and the guardsman who’d claimed to be on our side. A few servants stood around the outskirts of the room, most with blood on their shoes.

  The lord and his wife had been stabbed multiple times in their torsos and had most likely bled out. A great number of red-soaked towels lay near them. The guardsman lay on his stomach, his head turned to the side. There seemed to be only one wound in his back, but I couldn’t see if there were any on the other side of his body.

  “What the hell happened?” Leon asked. “And don’t bother me with any names. I don’t know any of these people. What happened to him, the lord’s guard?”

  “He was stabbed in the back by the lord’s son,” said the woman meekly. “The guard then grabbed the lord’s wife and threatened to kill her if the lord’s son fled the mansion.”

  “He did this with a knife in his back?”

  “He did, but the young lord ran anyway. The guard cut the throat of the lord’s wife as the lord took the knife from the guard’s back and tried to use it against him. They stabbed each other several times as the lady of the house bled out.”

  “Good god,” Michael uttered. “The little shit must’ve known the guard might follow through with his threat, and he still ran off. Where is he now?”

  “He never returned,” said the serving woman.

  “He probably fled with Rohaer’s soldiers,” I suggested. “He might not know the guard actually went through with it.”

  The townspeople slowly filed into the mansion. One by one they saw the scene in the sitting room and reacted with shock and disgust. They tried to warn the others behind them not to look, but it seemed like everyone wanted to see for themselves.

  No one seemed to mourn the loss of the lord, which did not surprise me. As Leon and Michael discussed what to do now, Ray asked if he could speak with me. He brought me outside the mansion, to a far corner of the courtyard where Graham was waiting.

  “We want to join your army,” Ray said.

  “I’m glad to hear it,” I replied without hesitation. “But what about your mother, Graham?”

  “I reckon she’ll try to talk me out of it, but she can’t force me.”

  “Well, I don’t think either of you will have to leave Drayer. We’re going to need people here who we can trust to keep the town safe. With the lord dead, I’m sure we’ll send someone who will keep in mind the best interests of the people here, as well as provide aid to our cause.” It was what Leon and Michael were discussing before Ray asked to speak with me.

  “Does that mean we won’t be fighting?” Ray asked dubiously.

  “You want to see more combat?” I asked in return.

  “I do.”

  “So do I,” Graham added.

  “What about your father?” I asked Graham. “He fights for Rohaer.”

  “I hope to see him. I can convince him to join us.”

  “That might be hard in the middle of a bout.”

  “I have to try.”

  “That’s very brave of you, but it could be impossible.”

  They looked at me imploringly.

  “I’ll have to bring it up with my officer,” I said, thinking of Byron Lawson. He would know what to do, if Leon didn’t figure it out beforehand. “First, I have a favor to ask of you, Ray. Meanwhile, Graham, you should explain the situation to your mother.”

  The large boy nodded and headed off.

  I checked to make sure there was no one listening before I leaned in. “Can you keep this between us, Ray?”

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “There are two bodies where we fought Rohaer’s sorcerers. I need you to get their papers and bring them to me. Try not to get any blood on them if you can. If someone sees you and asks, tell them you’re just curious.”

  “Why do you want the papers?”

  “That’s not something I can share right now, not even with my friends. Trust that it’s for the greater good. You’ll keep this request between us?”

  “I will.” He hurried off.

  When I went back into the mansion, it looked like Leon was giving directions to the small crowd of townspeople crammed in the antechamber.

  “Lycast is going to send people here. They’re going to work with you fine people, but they will require supplies. It won’t be anything like what Rohaer would’ve taken from you had we not intervened.” Leon paused. “All of you know why we’re fighting, don’t you?”

  There were a few murmurs about dteria, but no one seemed certain.

  “We’re only trying to stop them,” he said. “That’s it. There is no conquest into Rohaer, no desire for land. As soon as the war’s over, we’re gone. We’ll try to keep your town in the good shape it is now; I promise you that.”

  There were more murmurs. The people sounded nervous.

  “I’m not demanding,” Leon said, and they quieted once again. “You can send us away
now or later, and we’ll leave peacefully without taking anything. But know that you’ll be on your own as soon as we’re gone. I don’t know which Rohaer noble looks after these lands, but he’s not going to be too happy after hearing what happened. He’ll send men, lots of them. If you want to deal with them yourselves, just say so. We never wanted to come here, but we were asked for help and thought it might be a mutually beneficial situation. We’ll just need some food and supplies for our fort in the forest. It’s up to you.”

  The fire mage who had volunteered yesterday before she had been insulted for her heroic efforts stepped out of the crowd. “I’m sure we’ll find a way for all of us to help each other.” She looked back at the crowd.

  There seemed to be no hesitation as people nodded and murmured in agreement.

  “I’m glad,” Leon said. “Then all that’s left to do now is rummage through this mansion and take what we feel like we’re owed. Now there’s a civil way to go about this. The three of us from Lycast are going to spread out, and a few of you can join us to keep us honest. We’re going to collect all the valuables we find and bring everything here, and I mean everything. No one is to pocket anything until everything of value has been collected and sorted. Once that’s done, my sorcerers and I are going to take some valuables to help pay for our army, then you all can distribute the rest fairly. I imagine this lord has a pretty penny stashed away, so all of us can leave happy today. Now how does that sound?”

  Applause followed.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  I brought Leon back to the fortress. After dropping him off, I returned to Drayer for Michael. It was a quick trip, but I could already feel a difference in the town in the short time since I’d left. It was the quiet after the storm. I was used to it at the end of every battle, small or large. I looked forward to this feeling when the war was good and over.