Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

  “Thyran?”

  “What is it, Child?”

  Valis smiled slightly at the endearment. Thyran had said at Valis’s birth anniversary that he could no longer call Valis “Child” anymore, but still did on occasion. “I think it’s safe to call off the search party. Darolen isn’t lost in the wilderness or fields.”

  “Yes. I imagine that is the case.”

  Still, Valis’s heart ached. “I will find him.”

  Thyran squeezed his hand and pushed him toward the reliquary doors and into the hall of communion. “Of that, my dear boy, I have little doubt. Now, go on to bed, the both of you. This has been a trying day, and you need rest for what is to come.”

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, Valis thrashed awake from a nightmare about Darolen, and he found he woke up early with a restless energy he couldn’t quiet. Waking up at this time had been routine for so long that he simply couldn’t sleep anymore. His body decided it was time to wake up, and nothing he did could persuade it otherwise. So instead of wallowing around in bed in the heat of Tavros’s arms, he got up, and kissed his husband’s forehead. After he bathed, dressed, and donned his armor, he left Tavros a note on the nightstand next to his head, and Valis headed out to round up his translocation students.

  He checked the arena first, but finding it empty, he groaned and started wandering the halls, knocking on doors and rousing his students. The guards he passed, he ordered to rouse the reliquary guards for their training in a few hours. If he was going to do this, he may as well take on both classes. No sense in half-assing things. If he had to be up and miserable, so did everyone else.

  And then he felt like shit for making his problems everyone else’s problems, but the damage was done. He’d already begun and had woken six of his students from their respite.

  “Help me wake the others,” he said to the group who followed him around like ducklings.

  “I thought you were off for a few days,” one of the women groaned. “We were supposed to be able to sleep in.”

  “Things changed.” Valis ran his hands over his face. “There’s little I can do for my father at this time, so we might as well get back to our normal routine. He needs rest, and we need to train.”

  By the time everyone made it to the Arena, Valis had finally worked out some of his nervous energy and was able to concentrate on the faces staring back at him. They all seemed tired but alert. Hopefully the tiredness didn’t equal disaster.

  “Today, you’re going to be learning how to phase with a person in tow.”

  “Phase?” Averni asked with her brows drawn in confusion.

  Valis nodded. “Phasing is just another word for translocation. It’s what Thyran sometimes calls it, and it’s easier.”

  “Ah, okay.”

  “Any other questions?” Valis asked as he glanced around the room.

  When no one spoke up, Valis waved a hand. “Pair up and get in line. You’re going to phase across the room with your partner, then your partner is going to phase back with you. It’s just like before. Intent is everything. If you truly believe you can do it, there isn’t much you can’t do with magic.”

  “What are the things we can’t do?” Stavlen asked.

  Valis shrugged and leaned against the wall at his back. “Bring someone back from the dead. Make someone love you. Phase to somewhere you can’t visualize correctly in your mind. Heal infections.” He shrugged again. “I’m sure there are more, but that list is small compared to the vast list of the things that are possible if you put your mind to it.”

  Shyvus chuckled. “Are you certain even those things are impossible?”

  Valis studied his reliquary guard friend seriously. Shyvus’s blond hair extended down his face in a neatly trimmed beard, a new fashion for him. His blue eyes danced with mirth. But, Valis felt no joy in that moment. “Truthfully? Some of those, I wish weren’t impossible. Some of them should never be attempted.”

  “Raising the dead,” Kogar said, just as seriously.

  “Exactly.” Valis let out a sigh. “We are getting vastly off topic. Shyvus, you and Kogar go first. Shyvus phases to the other end, Kogar phases you both back. Begin.”

  As the class got underway, Valis watched for any mishaps with his mind churning.

  I believe, Roba started, then hesitated. He took a moment of thought before continuing. Healing infections is not quite impossible. If I can eradicate poison from your bloodstream as I did with that poisoned arrow you were shot with back in Urkori when we were attacked, you should be able to eradicate infections from blood and tissue. It may be worth it to try when you next have the time available.

  Good to know. Thanks, Dad.

  You are always welcome, my son, Roba said gently. It may not be possible, but there is no harm in trying. He sighed and Valis felt his spirit grow restless. I have taken much from you. It is time I start giving back in any way I can.

  Valis felt a smile tugging at his lips as his heart swelled. Love you, Dad.

  I love you, too, my son.

  Translocation training progressed with no casualties, and as Valis dismissed one class, the reliquary guard class started filtering in, grumbling amongst themselves as they bemoaned their lost sleep. Valis smirked at them, knowing their pain all too well.

  “Valis, you shit, we were supposed to have a few days off!” Phalin muttered. His raven black hair looked like he’d rolled out of bed with just enough brain power to throw his armor on and stagger through the halls. His bloodshot brown eyes glared at Valis but held no heat. “I will get revenge. Do you hear me?”

  Valis chuckled. “Loud and clear, you grumpy ass. Get in line.”

  Even though his own energy wasn’t all that high, Valis kept his back straight and his shoulders back as the reliquary guard force lined up with their partners in neat rows, twelve abreast. It took that long for Valis to figure out what to teach them today. Now that they had all become adept at using intent instead of prayer, it was really getting to the point where Valis was pulling topics out of thin air and praying the men and women didn’t think him stupid or repetitive.

  But they needed to train. They all needed to keep their confidence high because Valis had a gut feeling that they would need these skills fresh for the days and weeks to come. He didn’t know where that feeling came from, but everyone told him repeatedly to listen to his instincts, and he was starting to take their demands to heart.

  “How is your father doing?” Kaltani asked.

  Valis glanced at the brunette woman with a sad smile. “He will recover. Papa is the strongest man I know.”

  “Is there anything at all we can do?” Netai, Kaltani’s wife, asked. Her hazel eyes shimmered with unshed tears, which was rare for the redhead.

  Valis’s heart all-but melted. “Whoever is close to him may visit him and even help in his supervision when the rest of our watch needs help. He is resting in his suite with the around-the-clock supervision from myself and Tavros, as well as my closest friends, and receives continued care from Firil. If you wish to visit him, make sure it is one or two at a time if you go with your partners. But if the watch on guard turns you away, please keep in mind that their first priority is Papa’s care, and they wouldn’t turn you away if he needs the rest or is receiving treatments.”

  Netai nodded. “Kerac’s care is more important than our need to see him. We will all respect your wishes and the guards you have posted. Thank you, lad.”

  “So, what do you have planned for us this morning?” one of the other guards said with a knowing smile. Everyone else relaxed, seeming to know Valis needed a change in subject if he was going to keep his composure.

  “More training against my black magic.” Valis rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Since I drained what little there was from Aryn and Tavros, as well as the Qos adherents who escaped their cells, I’ve expanded my power pool, and the more experience you all get in defending and attacking a stronger opponent, the better off you will all be when thi
s war escalates.”

  “And where is Tavros?” Phalin asked.

  “Tav is still sleeping since he hasn’t come yet. He’s been dealing with my thrashing and nightmares at night, so I let him rest. I left a note by his head, so he may yet show up.”

  Valis received more knowing looks. Everyone knew of his anxiety, so it probably wasn’t a large leap to figure out that his anxiety would trigger nightmares and fitful sleep with the trauma of finding one of his adopted fathers half-dead.

  Still, it took long minutes for Valis to clear his mind enough to start the exercise. Without Tavros there to keep him grounded, Valis needed to be extra alert so he wouldn’t become a danger during the mock battle.

  By the time they were done, Valis itched to go see Kerac, but he impatiently waited until the last group left in case they had any questions. Then he all-but sprinted through the halls to his fathers’ suite. He opened the door as quietly as he could, but the moment he ventured inside, he saw Aenali slipping out of Kerac’s room.

  “How is he?”

  Aenali brightened and skipped over to hug him around the middle. “He’s awake. Since you’re here, I’m going to go get Firil. Kerac’s hungry and probably needs medicine.”

  Valis hugged her tight and ruffled her soft auburn curls. “Thank you, dollface. Neither you nor Firil need to knock when you return. Just come on in.”

  “Okay!”

  Even before the door shut behind the little girl, Valis was in Kerac’s room. He carefully sat on the edge of the bed closest to Kerac’s side and removed his gauntlets, setting them on the nightstand. He suddenly wished he would have had the forethought to have removed his armor so he wouldn’t accidentally injure Kerac when hugging him.

  Kerac took in a soft, shaky breath as he opened his eyes. “Oh, Valis… You look stunning in your armor.”

  Blushing, Valis ducked his head with a grin. “Thanks. I’ve finally stopped growing, so I can stop getting it augmented.”

  Kerac’s snort turned into a hacking, rattling cough. When he calmed down, he looked at Valis with so much love that Valis’s breath hitched. “You have grown so much since I last saw you. You are so much taller and broader than you were when we left, your hair longer and an even paler blond, and your face has become so much more defined. We missed so much…”

  “Everything I’ve done,” Valis whispered, “was to make you and Father proud. Every single thing. Now, everything I do going forward is to become stronger in body and magic so I can rescue Father and retrieve the lost god jar.”

  Kerac’s lower lip wobbled. “You believe Darolen yet lives?”

  To tell him, or… Valis placed his hand on Kerac’s chest. Kerac deserved to know. “I scried after him last night, Papa. He’s alive. Sickly, but wheezing prayers for your safety. He’s staying strong, and I will bring him home. You have my word. No matter what I have to do, I will bring your husband home.”

  “I believe you,” Kerac murmured.

  His voice warbled with unshed tears and Valis plucked a kerchief from the drawer of his nightstand to dry his eyes. “No tears. I can’t imagine how much pain coughing or blowing your nose would cause.”

  Kerac sniffled and nodded. “Fair point.” Then he looked up at Valis intently. “And what of you? Have you found your Ezhav? Tell me of your adventures since I have been away.”

  Sitting back, Valis smiled and told Kerac all about his journey to retrieve the Kalutakeni caravan. He detailed Qeraden’s capture and the resulting Battle of Tigak. Then he lent excitement to his voice as he spoke of teaching the reliquary guard force and his translocation students.

  By that time, Firil had come with Kerac’s liquid food. Valis stood aside, regaling him about his excellence in his scholastic studies and war training while Firil fed Kerac through a tube. As the Master Healer put Kerac through his physical therapy, Valis spoke at length about the death of his first horse, Chath, and the intelligence and love of his new horse, Rasera, a gift from the Kalutakeni tribe. Kerac chuckled when Valis spoke about Rasera’s antics during the bonding hours Valis went out to the stables for every day.

  He saved the best for last. When Firil finished up with Kerac’s care, he wheeled his cart out and left them alone again. Valis sat on the edge of the bed and grinned. “And yes. I have found my Ezhav. Tavros and I had our joining night just a few days ago on the twenty-eighth of Spirituality. Today is Mobility second.”

  “Four days…” Kerac sighed and closed his eyes. “If I had only gotten here sooner…”

  “If you’d gotten here sooner, you would have been in fits because of all the drama that went down during the two weeks leading up to the event,” Valis muttered. “Truly. It was best this way given your condition.”

  “What happened?”

  Valis groaned and told Kerac the brief version of events where Aryn had used scrying to project lifelike hallucinations to Valis and Tavros, trying to break off their engagement because of Aryn’s toxic jealousy. He left off with, “Aryn is in prison, but I drained the black magic from him and Tavros, and Aryn will be getting intensive mental therapy. If it goes well, which I think it will, he will be released from prison in short order.”

  Kerac let out another long, gusty sigh that wheezed with his chest infection. “Life has not been dull for you.”

  “Not in the least.”

  “Just as well,” Kerac murmured. “You never could sit still.”

  Valis grinned and patted his chest. “True.” He winced and turned serious. “And things are only heating up. Things are escalating at a rate where I think this war will be over very soon. But my first priority is Father. Can you talk about it now? The more information I have, the more I can help him.”

  With the way Kerac shifted and looked away, Valis almost told him not to worry about it. But he needed to know. And he needed to trust that Kerac would let him know if he couldn’t talk about it. He wasn’t a child, and he knew his own mind. Just because his body was currently frail didn’t mean Valis could treat him as if his mind was addled.

  After a few moments of Kerac breathing heavily—probably gathering his courage, Valis thought—Kerac shuddered and gripped Valis’s hand in a tight, bony grip. “It happened so fast.”

  He choked on a breath. Valis waited for him to get his wheezing under control, and a thought hit him. Or, rather, Roba gave him a mental shove toward the thought that he could possibly eradicate the infections plaguing Kerac’s body.

  While Kerac fought for breath, Valis drew on his magic and, with the intent to gently burn away all the infection in Kerac’s blood and tissue, sent it flooding into Kerac.

  Almost immediately, Kerac started breathing better, and he relaxed, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh of relief. He looked up and furrowed his brow. “What are you doing?”

  Valis murmured, “Attempting to get rid of your infections. The Master Healer doesn’t know how. But I might.” He stared into Kerac’s eyes and offered him a small smile. “I can listen while I work. Go on with your story if you’re up for it.”

  Nodding, Kerac took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes as if he couldn’t bear to look at Valis while he recounted the story, or as if he was reliving it. “It happened so very fast. We had been chasing a nest of Qos adherents to the southeast. They led us out of Arlvor and into Aspar. It almost seemed as if, for every person we killed or put into stasis, four more would take their place. Their forces were never ending.”

  He struggled to lift his hand, and Valis paused in his hopeful treatment of the infections to gently rub Kerac’s eyes for him. “It’s okay, Papa. Take your time.”

  Kerac shivered. “It was a mess. We had a moment of success when we found a crop of way stones. One of our commanders herded us into the center of the circle, and we defeated many by using the gaps between stones to funnel in our adversaries. But that was a ruse. They actually sacrificed many of their men and women to lead us further into Aspar toward the center of the country.”

  His lips press
ed together as tears welled up in his eyes, making the amber turn to liquid gold. Valis took a moment to wipe away the tears with a soft kerchief and stroked Kerac’s cheek. “Go on. It’s okay.”

  “There were explosions everywhere,” he whispered. “Many of us were caught or killed. Darolen was knocked unconscious, and I fought, trying to protect him. But I failed.” His voice broke on the last word.

  Valis couldn’t help himself. He leaned in and pressed a warm kiss to his brow. “You didn’t fail. You can’t be held accountable for being overrun in a trap.”

  “It feels like I failed…”

  He shuddered and went on a bit stronger. “I was knocked unconscious soon after. Or maybe put into stasis. Either way, when I woke, Darolen and I, as well as a good number of men and women, were naked, chained to the floor and walls by our wrists, ankles, and throats, left to sit in our own filth, starved and beaten.

  “And then they started taking us out. One by one. And those who left never returned. I don’t know how Darolen did it, but one day when the door opened for them to take out another of us, he broke free of his bonds, killed the guard, and used his keys to set a number of us free. He found our armor and forced me into mine, donned his, and as weak as we were, we fought our way out. He found our horses, threw me on mine, tied his to my saddle, and smacked their rumps hard before turning to fight, screaming at me to return to Avristin and get help.”

  Valis squeezed his hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss his palm. “Help will be on its way as soon as possible, Papa. Do you remember where you were held?”

  Kerac shook his head. “No. I was delirious with pain and sickness and fatigue, both magical and physical. Someone found me, gave me medicine, but I continued on. If it hadn’t been for my horse instinctively following the pull of Cadoras, I don’t know where I would have ended up.”