Tilbus waved his hand. “I don’t want to go, and I’m the Emperor,” he admitted. Tilbus looked behind Jedek. “Uncle, I have to say you look…happy actually, and having known you as long as I have, that kind of worries me.”
Ahnon walked over and hugged his nephew. “I promise I haven’t destroyed anyone or killed off one of the three kings’ family lines,” Ahnon said. Tilbus let him go. “Lately.” Ahnon smiled.
“I must say the Aztan king was a little upset. He sent sixty kytensa to Nazar.”
Jedek looked alarmed. “They didn’t hurt anyone in your family, did they?” he asked.
Tilbus chuckled. “Jedek, they barely made it a mile into the capital, Nepon. We keep bhari along the borders and just roaming around the country. Mostly along roads and towns, the wilds are just too dangerous even for the bhari.”
“I lived in the wild for over a hundred years,” Ahnon replied.
Tilbus closed his eyes to that revelation. “That’s because you’re crazy.”
“I am not. It’s not that hard, Tilbus.”
A courtier for Tilbus stepped forward. “This is the Emperor of Nazar, sho-ka. Remember it,” he snapped at Ahnon.
Ahnon grabbed the man by the arm. “Hey, pretty boy. My sire knows the most amazing spell. It’s really fairy hair. You ever talk to me like that again, and you’ll wish he had gotten to you,” Ahnon warned. The man just nodded at him with an open mouth as Vilarius covered his eyes with his hand.
Tilbus grabbed Ahnon’s wrist. “Uncle, that is rude. I mean, he came with me. I get to do the mean talking. Why do you have to ruin everything?” Tilbus said, hurt.
“You didn’t say anything,” Ahnon snapped.
“You didn’t give me a chance,” Tilbus retorted. The courtier’s mouth was quivering, knowing this wasn’t going to end well for him. Tilbus looked at him. “You have really embarrassed me, Menka. I didn’t even get to scold you, so I have to take more direct means,” Tilbus said, pointing his hand at Menka and speaking magic.
“I’m sorry,” Menka moaned just as Tilbus finished.
Tilbus flipped his hand up, and Menka took off like he was shot from catapult straight up, screaming. “When you float down, remember your manners,” Tilbus said as Menka’s back touched the ceiling.
The entire hall, thousands of people, suddenly became quiet, looking up at the sobbing man. Many in the hall looked down and at Ahnon, who looked around at the stares. “Hey, it wasn’t me; it was him,” he said, pointing at Tilbus. “Keep staring at me, though, and he gets some company,” Ahnon warned, nodding up, causing hundreds of heads to turn away quickly.
Tilbus chuckled. “Same Ahnon I see,” he said.
“How’s your son coming along?” Ahnon asked.
“He’s out and starting his training. I hope you don’t mind; I told him some of what you did.”
Vilarius looked at Tilbus. “I thought there was no written record of what each sho-ka has learned?” he asked.
“Oh, there isn’t. I had Ahnon sit down and tell me some of what he has studied,” Tilbus answered.
“I’ve tried to get him to tell me since he got here, and he hasn’t told me much of anything,” Vilarius said.
Tilbus put his hand on Vilarius’ shoulder. “Don’t take this the wrong way, okay? You’re huge, with a big, bushy beard and love to drink. Vilarius, you terrify people.”
“I’m a teddy bear,” Vilarius objected.
“Yes, you are—with a battle axe,” Tilbus said. Vilarius nodded as he chuckled.
“I hope you didn’t send your son to check on the kytensa?” Ahnon asked.
“No, I forbade him to do that. I’ve only been able to get two bhari in and don’t want to push my luck. Seems you really pissed on their leg when you left,” Tilbus said.
“You could certainly say that. I was getting ready for my third class test to get my red face wrap. The plus side was I was going to meet one of the three traitors,” Ahnon sighed.
Tilbus put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad you didn’t get to meet him, Uncle. We have finally been able to put together some stuff about them. They never come together, that we can tell. That’s why they have been able to avoid our detection. Actually, they didn’t avoid it, but we never connected who they were.”
“You worry entirely too much for someone so young,” Ahnon said.
Tilbus just shook his head. “I’m glad you’re busy for the next few hundred years,” he said, raising his glass to Jedek.
Narrowing his eyes, Ahnon warned, “You know you’re really pushing your luck with me.”
Tilbus smiled. “Oh, do tell.”
“You took my bhari away,” Ahnon snapped.
“I put them under Michi and picked up the tab,” he replied, irritated.
Vilarius stepped between them. “Actually, I wanted to talk about that part,” he said, and they both turned to him.
“Butt out!” they snapped in unison and then locked glares again.
Ahnon shook his head. “They were mine.”
“They still are, and now, there’re more of them. You don’t have that much money.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“I’ve got a real good idea how much you’ve collected over the years,” Tilbus said, grinning. “It’s a lot but not that much.”
“You have no idea, nephew. I let yours and Fantshu’s little flunkies know what I want them to know. I can only think of one man off the top of my head that has more than me. Granted, that doesn’t include a king. Kings cheat; it’s the state’s money, not theirs, but no king will admit to that.”
Shock hit Tilbus like being run over by a horse. “That’s impossible.” Ahnon just smiled.
Vilarius tried again. “I want to pay for the bhari here,” he said, waiting for them to unleash on him.
Tilbus shook his head. “Vilarius, it’s covered. No matter what my uncle has told you, it’s not breaking the bank.”
“I’m sure it’s not, but I want to pay them. I should’ve done that long ago.” Tilbus looked at Ahnon, who crossed his arms.
“Hey, go ahead. Let him have my bhari. You took them away, saying, ‘Oh hey, I’m the Emperor King; do what I say.’ I don’t care. Take them all. I don’t care. I’m one, and you can’t get me,” Ahnon whined and complained, grabbing Jedek and leading him away.
Tilbus looked at Vilarius. “Trust me; let me keep them. He’s not going to let this go for at least fifty years. I live several thousand miles away. You would put up with it every day.”
Vilarius looked at Ahnon still complaining to Jedek and nodded. “You’re probably right, but when he forgets, it really is my duty.”
“This isn’t even a drop in the bucket for the sho-ka fund,” Tilbus said. “How is he doing? I was really worried about him.”
“Actually, he’s doing great. I was worried at first, but he and Jedek are two peas in a pod.”
Tilbus let out a long sigh. “I’m glad. Ahnon never truly accepted the sho-ka,” he said, looking at Ahnon. “He’s not going to forget, Vilarius. He’s irritated big time about this.”
“You know he can throw a tantrum.”
“Hey, I’ve seen them. Forty years ago, he stopped by, and a dragon was reported attacking the lower provinces. Ahnon took off and comes back ten days later so mad I think he could’ve eaten nails and passed arrowheads. He killed the dragon, but it fell into a really big, deep lake, and he couldn’t get it. He started pointing at trees around the palace, blowing them up. We were kind of happy to see him leave,” Tilbus said, ashamed.
Ahnon saw Michi talking to the Grand Mage of Nazar and grabbed Jedek, dragging him along. Jedek didn’t know where they were going, and by the way Ahnon was pulling, it was at least going to be fun. Michi stepped in front of Ahnon. “He doesn’t know why Karme was taken so early, but the four prime mages over selection gave their approval,” Michi told him, not wanting Ahnon to become rash.
The Grand Mage moved over. “Ahnon, I assure you, there is no subterfuge inv
olved on my part, but I guarantee you it will be looked into. If I find anything amiss, I’ll take action.”
“Mage, a sire would’ve died, and it would’ve been your fault. I assure you; I would’ve had Tilbus do a formal inquiry. If you study history, you remember what happened several hundred years ago.”
The Grand Mage stretched his neck uncomfortably. “I promise you, when I get back, this is my top priority.”
“I’ll keep my mouth shut if you send me updates and handle it,” Ahnon offered.
“Deal then, and if I find anything amiss, the parties will be dealt with. And no prison, I assure you.”
“I can live with that.” Ahnon nodded.
The Grand Mage looked at Jedek then at Ahnon. “It seems you have found some happiness,” he said. Ahnon looked at him suspiciously. The mage lifted his hands. “I’m just saying, Ahnon, you actually look rather well.”
Ahnon smiled. “You can say that, mage.” He wrapped an arm around Jedek. “My sire, Jedek,” Ahnon said proudly.
“So the young prodigy of Ahnon,” the Grand Mage said, smiling. “I was under the impression you were ten feet tall the way you wield magic,” he added.
“I’m sorry, Grand Mage,” Jedek said.
“The Grand Mage of Gratu asked if I would teach Ahnon and you a lesson for what was done to him. I told him my hands were tied; this is his province, not mine,” he said, grinning, then whispered, “If you do it again, get a painter. I want pictures.” Ahnon bit his tongue, pushing the images out of his head.
Jedek smiled. “Yes, Grand Mage. I thought you would be a little displeased.”
“No, here in Gratu, magic is not really embraced as it is elsewhere, and the Grand Mages here aren’t that great—or should I say grand,” he said, grinning.
Suddenly, Jedek’s face turned to stone. “Yes, Grand Mage, but he really disrespected my sho-ka, and it had to be dealt with.”
“What?” the Grand Mage snapped, making Jedek jump and Ahnon move a little closer.
“He disrespected Ahnon,” Jedek replied hesitantly.
“Tell me exactly what happened,” the Grand Mage said. So Jedek did, and Ahnon only chuckled a few times, but his tongue was bleeding when Jedek finished. The Grand Mage shook his head. “You do know you could have the Grand Mage of Gratu put to death for that, right?” he asked, turning to Ahnon.
Both Jedek and Ahnon jumped back. “What?” they asked together.
“It’s part of the Treaty of Antlas. Disrespecting the sho-ka is disrespecting the crown. To make matters worse, Ahnon is from the ruling family of Nazar, sworn to provide a son for the sovereign. King Tilbus can demand the Grand Mage’s head now and be well within the law. Also, the treaty clearly states a sho-ka has the right to teach his sire magic. It’s part of the clause of teaching the sire basic skills and tutoring.”
Ahnon just gave the mage a weird look. “Are you a lawyer?” he asked.
“No, my father was. He drafted treaties for Nazar,” the Grand Mage said, and Michi started laughing.
“Life just keeps getting better and better,” Michi said, still laughing.
The Grand Mage smiled at Michi. “Your father wants you to stop by before coming to the conservatory. He’s having a statue of you carved in marble, and the artist needs to see you.” Michi’s chest swelled with pride.
“Get drunk before you see them, Michi,” Ahnon warned.
“I don’t drink anymore, Ahnon. You taught me that eighteen years ago,” Michi reminded him.
“Make an exception.”
The Grand Mage grabbed Ahnon’s forearm. “Please don’t, Ahnon. There are repercussions even you will pay for; it’s part of the infusion.”
“Oh, I wasn’t going to say anything, but get drunk. Really drunk.”
“Michi, would you be so kind and bring me another glass of wine? I’ll be indebted to you,” the Grand Mage asked. When Michi left, the Grand Mage pulled Ahnon close. “It doesn’t work, Ahnon. After I watched the first infusion as a prime, I tried getting the next one drunk. It didn’t work. Then I tried potions, and they are my specialty, remember?” Ahnon nodded. “Nothing works to deaden the pain. I’m sorry. By the Gods, I swear to you, I’ve tried to find something since I was a prime on the council, but nothing works. It wears off before the first sacrifice is infused, and the sho-ka is caught completely off guard, and it’s much worse.”
Ahnon started cutting loose with less-than-desirable language, making several around them blush. “Ahnon, they just have to do it. I’m sorry,” the Grand Mage said. “You do know you’re the first for all twelve, don’t you?” he asked.
“Ooh, do I get a prize?” Ahnon asked with more attitude than Thanos should’ve held.
“Only one has even made nine,” the Grand Mage said, raising a brow.
Ahnon bobbed his head from side to side. “I know; it was one of the three traitors,” he popped off, unimpressed.
The Grand Mage took a step back. “You know, when you’re irritated, you scare me more than ten mages in a towering rage,” he admitted.
“You have no idea,” Jedek said as Michi came back.
They continued to make small talk, and Ahnon moved Jedek through the crowd, making sure he met the upper echelon of the group. After supper, he and Jedek left. Walking into Jedek’s room, Ahnon suddenly collapsed in a fit of laughter again. Jedek spun around, looking, and saw on the mantle of the fireplace a fish bowl with a big, gray fish swimming around.
Chapter 10
The next day after breakfast, Ahnon and Jedek were walking the battlements on the south wall. Jedek didn’t want Ahnon on the west wall anytime soon because once Ahnon started laughing, it was hard for him to stop. Looking down the wall, he saw three people beside one of the catapults. They were almost half a mile away, but he thought he recognized the hair and dress of one. “Ahnon, is that Kenna?” he asked, pointing.
“Yes, with Michi and Karme,” Ahnon answered. “Your eyes are getting good, sire.”
Turning away, Jedek fought his oncoming blush. “I just thought it might be her, Ahnon,” he said.
“Yes, sire,” Ahnon replied, grinning. “Just make sure you say something about her dress and her hair.”
“I thought you didn’t know anything about girls?” Jedek accused.
“I never said that; I just said I’ve never been married or courted a woman before. But I’ve studied under a lot of them. If you don’t compliment them often, they get…weird.”
“Thank you, Ahnon.”
“Hey, I’m just saying it so you don’t have to dodge stuff. I never knew proper ladies could throw stuff so hard. I’m sure Kenna wouldn’t ever do that though.”
“I hope not,” Jedek whispered as they walked up to the group.
Ahnon smiled at them. “Fifty miles of wall. What are the odds we would run into you three?” he asked.
“Pretty good actually,” Michi said. “Kenna knows you two walk parts of them every morning and evening then notified us we had to be here before you so it wouldn’t look suspicious.” Karme stomped on his foot. “OW!” he screamed, picking up his foot and holding it. “What was that for?”
“You weren’t supposed to tell them!” Karme shouted.
“Nobody ever said that!” Michi yelled back, letting his foot go and looked at Kenna, who was blushing and hiding her face. “Kenna, I’m sorry,” Michi said then looked at Ahnon. “Actually, Ahnon, we are here to wait on the griffons coming in from Nazar.”
“So are we; imagine that,” Ahnon said, elbowing Jedek in the side. Jedek continued to ignore him until Ahnon almost pushed him off the hundred-foot-tall wall. Giving Ahnon a grumpy look, Jedek turned to look at Kenna.
“Kenna, your dress is beautiful,” he told her.
Her little face lit up with a smile. “Really?” she asked.
Jedek started to blush. “Well, really, it’s your hair that makes your dress so pretty.”
Kenna ran over and hugged him. “Thank you, Jedek,” she said. “Karme made me b
rush it forever, and Michi threw a fit till I wore the blue dress. He kept saying he was going to change the color of everything till I wore it.”
Ahnon looked up at Michi. “What?” Ahnon asked, staring at him.
“What? She looks excellent in blue, Ahnon. It really sets off her eyes and hair.”
“Yes, Michi, but the light green dress does that also, but it brings out her cheeks as well. I mean, if you are going for color, Kenna does excellent with a light green or light blue,” Ahnon informed him as the other three looked at Michi.
“Are you kidding me? Dark blue is the color for her. Look at the way it sets off her eyes and makes her look regal. She is a princess after all,” Michi shot back, and the others looked at Ahnon.
“Oh yes, with blue stockings and light gray, leather shoes. What were you thinking?” Ahnon said, pointing at Kenna’s feet. “Gray, no matter how light, doesn’t go with blue. Blue stockings? Come on; they need to be white or at the very least black. Probably a pale black.”
“This is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever heard from two bhari,” Karme said in shock.
Michi looked at her with a scowl. “Karme, even you said the stockings and shoes looked nice. Your outfits always match, so you have some semblance of coordination.”
“Kenna picks out my clothes,” Karme informed him. Michi furrowed his brow at her. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I was learning how to kill people while my sisters learned fashion. I know what sword to use and what knife to throw. Thanks to you, I’m learning to throw some magic as well,” she added, hoping to cheer him up and direct the scowl elsewhere.
Michi nodded, accepting her explanation, then looked at Ahnon. “It really doesn’t look that good?” he asked.
“Kenna can pull it off because she’s petite and beautiful anyway. That’s what threw you off, Michi. But on someone else, we’d probably throw stuff at them.” Kenna ran over and hugged him. “What?” he asked, looking down.
“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him and smiling.
“Just telling the truth. Besides, Jedek spotted you three miles away and started hitting me till we came over here.”
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