Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

  “Three?” Nevesar asked.

  Thyran nodded. “Valis said there are four anchors. His birth father was one, and he is dead, as you know. Valis also found out that there is a short time between the death of an anchor and the appointing of another, so we need to attack as fast as we can to eradicate the other three. Only then can we go after our ultimate goal and rid the world of the Sovereign Priest of Qos, and in turn, find the last god jar.”

  Cassavin gasped and clutched her hand against the breastplate over her heart. “You mean this could all end soon? Truly?”

  “It is possible, yes,” Thyran said. “I will make no guarantees, but if things go to plan, then yes. It could, potentially, all be over within a year or so.”

  She closed her eyes and covered her face. “Gods. Yes…” Dropping her hands, she looked over at Valis, unshed tears in her eyes. “I am so sorry, Valis, but—”

  “No,” Valis said. “I get it. This is more important, and I have a ton of allies to help. If you finish this quest early, we can contact each other via two-way scry and you can meet up with us if I can get this mission sanctioned. It isn’t over, Cass. It’s just delayed.”

  She gave him a beautiful smile and nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you for your support,” Valis replied. “I can’t thank you and the others enough.”

  Thyran clapped his hands and folded them on his lap. “Now that we have that settled, let us get this underway.” He nodded to Valis. “Valis will spend some time scrying. I would like one of you to write down what he sees and hears, as if he is successful, these notes will become part of your orders. It is apparent that he sometimes sees what I cannot.”

  He slid off the edge of the table and picked up a parchment. “Cassavin and Nevesar, you and your team will be heading to Ges to take down Angas Braywar.” He rattled off the rest of the names, assigning six reliquary guards to each of the three anchors: Angas Braywar, Carnis Doveran, and Valis’s maternal aunt Ortima.

  “Are there any questions?”

  The silence spoke for everyone. Valis had a ton of questions, and he was certain everyone else did, too, but they were all too stunned and subdued to ask them.

  No one stepped forward, so Valis cleared his throat. “I’m ready to start scrying whenever my scribe is ready. Let’s get this done. I assume the anchor teams will be leaving in a few days instead of in the morning, right?”

  Thyran nodded. “Yes. They will have enough time to say their goodbyes, get their gear packed, and give their final report on the lessons you have been teaching them. They will leave day after tomorrow.”

  Nodding, Valis glanced at the others. “Why don’t you all take a seat and start writing that report now so that you have more time to relax and prepare before you leave.” He glanced back at Tavros who had just entered and closed the reliquary door behind him. Valis smirked and held out his hand. “Tavros can be my scribe like he was when we were reading Roba’s books.”

  “I think that is a fine idea,” Thyran said. “You all can either stay to write your reports or go on about your business and I will summon you once your orders are finalized.”

  No one left, and soon the long table in the center of the reliquary had a butt in almost every seat. He watched them for a moment before shucking his gauntlets and laying them on a side table. Tavros followed suit, and they headed to the alcove where Valis’s scrying bowl sat. Or, at least the scrying bowl that he used when he was here for training. His own bowl sat dry in his suite’s bedroom. And honestly, he would have preferred to do his scrying in there where he wasn’t hemmed in by stacks of books. But he needed to be here in order to pass along any important information the reliquary guards or Thyran might need immediately.

  Still, he wished for the comfort of his own room where all he could smell was cool stone, Tavros, and home.

  How strange that the monastery itself was home, but he felt more at home in a room he’d only had for a short time.

  But, he pushed that thought aside and filled the bowl with the nearby pitcher of water. He had to clear his mind, get his focus honed so he could get this done and get to breakfast. Already his stomach was complaining noisily that he had expended a lot of energy and it needed fuel. Tavros quietly chuckled at his side, his eyes crinkled at the corners as he stared at Valis’s armor-covered gut. “Do you want me to bring you something to tide you over?”

  “No.” Valis sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I want to get this done and have a real breakfast where I can sit down, relax, and enjoy my food. And, hopefully we’ll be done by the time the others are up to eat so we can have breakfast with our friends.”

  “Sounds like a great idea. We don’t get that luxury often anymore.”

  “No, we don’t,” Valis agreed. “We should start making it a point to have a snack after training the reliquary guards and waiting to eat a full breakfast with our friends while we’re all still here.”

  “You really think you can get this mission sanctioned?”

  Valis turned to look into Tavros’s eyes. “Yes, I do. If I hadn’t before, then what little Thyran said about his vision makes me believe that we have a very good chance at success.”

  “Then I’m with you,” Tavros vowed, and punctuated it with a chaste kiss. “Always.”

  Valis smiled and kissed Tavros again, then focused on the bowl, clearing his mind and intent on the missions ahead for his students and friends. An hour or so later, Tavros had a good list, and Valis’s eyes felt like they contained sand. He staggered out of the alcove, Tavros trailing behind, and almost missed the chair he aimed himself at.

  “Rough time scrying?” Nevesar teased. “You look like ass.”

  “I feel like it, too.” Valis rubbed his eyes again. Soon, someone pulled his hands away and tilted his face up. Cassavin pressed a kerchief into his hands and smiled down at him. “I’m going to rinse your eyes. It will help that sensation go away. Keep the kerchief to wipe up the mess.”

  Relaxing, Valis let her pry open his eyelids and drip a few drops of water from a pitcher onto his eyeball. He blinked several times, mopping up the run-off. After she did it to the other eye, and repeated it twice for each eye, Valis groaned from the relief. “Ugh. Thank you. That is so much better.”

  She patted his cheek and went back to her seat. Then, Valis sat back and relaxed as the others finished their reports. While they waited, Tavros added bits to his notes and handed them off to Thyran.

  “You boys go on to breakfast,” Thyran said. “I’m sure someone here will bring you news of their final orders when things are settled.” He grinned up at Valis. “I could hear your stomach complaining all the way over here when you were scrying. Go feed it.”

  Valis laughed. “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

  They made it to breakfast just in time to get behind their friends in the serving line in the dining hall. Apparently Seza and Zhasina waited to eat with their friends, too, because they got in line behind Valis and Tavros.

  “What took you so long?”

  Valis glanced back at Seza and smiled. “I had to scry to help with orders for the three anchor teams. Thyran is sending out eighteen men and women in three days, six for each anchor. He wanted my assistance to give them a better chance at success.”

  She nodded and grimaced when Valis’s stomach let out another loud peal. People from the surrounding tables chuckled at him, and Valis felt heat start to creep up his throat.

  “I swear, your stomach acts like you never feed it,” Seza said, knocking her knuckles on his breastplate. “It’s always so noisy.”

  Chuckling, Valis filled his plate, got his spiced milk, and headed to their table. Aenali sat up straighter. Jedai set her tray in front of her, then went back to the serving line to get his own breakfast. When he left, Aenali pointed her small forefinger at him. “Why were you crying?”

  Valis shook his head. “Wasn’t crying. My eyes were so gritty from scrying that Cass poured some water in my eyes to rinse them out.”

>   “Oh, okay. Your lashes were wet, and I was about to go off on someone.”

  Leave it to the little girl to make Valis’s chest feel three sizes too small for his heart. He sighed and tucked into his food. Before long, he was so zoned into filling his belly, completely lost in the taste, that he didn’t hear anything until Seza poked his cheek.

  He blinked up at her. “Huh?”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You and your food obsession. I asked if you were going to see Aryn today.”

  Valis frowned down at his food and thought for a moment. “No. Not today. I need to spend time with Papa and get some things done in preparation for the anchor teams leaving.”

  “What things?” Seza asked. She tilted her head and stared at him. “You’re not planning to sneak off with one of the teams, are you?”

  “Oh, no,” Valis said. He waved that thought away with his fork and speared another piece of sausage. “I just want to make more notes on each of the anchors from what I remember of the visions so I can give them to each team. I also want to make sure they all have enough gold to see them through the mission, because it’s most likely going to be a long one, especially for the team headed for Evakis to deal with my aunt.” He shrugged. “Just little things, you know?”

  She smiled kindly at him. “Sometimes, it’s the little things that matter the most, if not to the mission itself, then to their morale.”

  Valis nodded. But her words stayed with him for the rest of his meal. He rolled them over in his head, because something about it felt precognitive, like a tug from Sovras that it was important. Was it immediately important, or would it be important in the future?

  He sighed and sat back to enjoy his spiced milk now that it was cool enough to drink. He wondered if he could get away with some of that creamy spiced tea, but thought better. It sometimes made him sleepy, and he couldn’t afford that right now. It was strange, though, because it usually helped wake everyone else up. Why was he so different in that regard?

  “What has your forehead bunched this time?” Aenali asked. “You’re thinking too hard. You should stop doing that. You’ll injure yourself.”

  Valis almost choked on his spiced milk. When he could breathe again, he shrugged. “Seza’s words felt precognitive.”

  “About morale?” Seza asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then you should see what you can do to help boost their morale even more.” She shrugged. “Maybe we can all do something to help. It wouldn’t hurt and may help in ways we can’t foresee.”

  “Like what?”

  She shrugged again and sipped her tea. “Don’t know, but we’ll figure something out. But, Aenali can draw them pictures if she wants. They’d find that adorable and cherish them.”

  “I can!” Aenali said. “I’d like that.”

  “Thank you.” Valis’s throat felt tight, but he smiled. “There are eighteen going after the anchors, if you’re really interested in something like that.”

  “I’ll write them letters on the backs of the drawings,” she added. “I’ll need all their names.”

  “You shall have them,” Tavros said. “I’ll write them down after we get back from breakfast.”

  With his friends all trying to think of things they could do or give to the anchor teams to boost morale, Valis glanced around the table. The conversation was lively, and it did much to erase the tension from the day before. And once again, he was left breathless that these wonderful people were his family.

  Chapter Seventeen

  After morning physical training, Valis took a leisurely bath and dressed in his soft uniform, then led Tavros out of their suite and through the halls to Kerac’s.

  “You are a bit too glowy there,” his husband remarked. “What has you floating around on your own little cloud?”

  Valis snapped out of his reverie and grinned at his lover. “I had an idea, and I need your help.”

  Tavros’s eyes widened, but he nodded. “Anything.”

  “I need you to go down and hitch Rasera and your horse to a rented wagon. I’ll be down as soon as I can.”

  “What do you have planned?” Tavros asked, his eyes even wider.

  “You’ll see.” Valis couldn’t help his stupid grin. “I promise, though, it’s nothing bad, and we’re going to have a good time.”

  His lover smirked and pulled him in for a kiss that made Valis’s toes curl. He panted into Tavros’s mouth and clutched him close. It was only when a passing Aesriphos whistled at them suggestively that Valis pulled back enough to give the man a rude gesture that matched his husband’s. The man laughed. Valis glanced at Tavros, and they both broke into laughing fits that made Valis feel so free in that moment that he wished it would never end.

  “Go on,” Tavros said, kissing him chastely this time. “I’ll go get the horses ready and the wagon rented.”

  “Thank you.”

  Valis bounced on the balls of his feet for a moment, then headed into his father’s suite with a grin stretching his face so wide that his cheeks ached.

  “What has you so happy today?” Kerac asked. His eyes were brighter today than the day before. He looked more comfortable, and Valis’s heart soared. “You’re positively radiant with it. Tell me.” He patted the bed beside him, and that was new. Before, he couldn’t move his hands even a few inches without help.

  “How strong do you feel?” Valis asked instead. He sat on the edge of the bed and took up Kerac’s hand, his heart stuttering when Kerac’s feeble squeeze felt so much stronger than it had just the day before.

  “I won’t be getting up and dancing anytime soon,” Kerac teased, “but I am feeling much better.” He frowned. “I still can’t walk, or even sit up by myself, but I do feel… stronger. Moving my hands and legs is still hard, but I’m getting better, especially with my hands and arms.”

  “Good,” Valis said and leaned in to kiss Kerac’s forehead. “Good. Because I have a surprise for you today, and I need to get you dressed in something warm.”

  Kerac’s entire face brightened. “Really?”

  Laughing, Valis went to his closet and pulled out his winter cloak, his warmer boots, and a clean uniform. “Yes. Really.” He also pulled out a thick blanket from one of the cupboards inside and tossed it on the empty side of the bed. “Did you want a bath first?”

  He shook his head. “Firil already came in and bathed me. I just need to get dressed.”

  Valis spent the next few minutes wrangling Kerac into clean clothes, tightening the drawstrings of his pants to make sure they wouldn’t fall off, and punching a new hole into his belt so that it would actually cinch around his painfully small waist.

  Though, Valis had to admit that his waist was fuller now that he’d been eating well. He no longer felt quite as light as he had when Valis had pulled him off his horse on the night of the Autumn Festival ten days ago. Hopefully when he came off the liquid diet and started eating solid foods again, he would start packing on more weight. He couldn’t wait until Kerac was strong again.

  As he dressed his father and laughed with him, Valis had a vision in his head of going through sword forms and physical training with Kerac in the mornings and evenings, making sure Kerac didn’t hurt himself, but also keeping his spirits up while he struggled through the exercises. And the longer that vision stayed, the more Valis wanted to make it happen.

  You can make it happen, my son, Roba murmured into his mind. It may be after we deal with the Sovereign Priest of Qos, or at least after we rescue Darolen, but you can make it happen. I have faith in you.

  Valis smiled. I have faith in us, Dad. You and I… we’re a team. Forever.

  I only hope that is true, Roba whispered. I keep feeling that I am a temporary guest in your mind.

  Let’s not borrow trouble, Dad. Enjoy it while it lasts, and if it lasts forever, then so be it. If not, then we’ll say goodbye and meet at Sovras’s meadow.

  Meadow?

  Valis mentally shrugged. When he pulled me to
him, he was in the middle of a meadow. Lush green grass, a river nearby, trees in the distance. It was gorgeous and peaceful.

  And you think that is where we go when we die? Roba asked.

  Probably not, but I have a feeling Sovras will make an exception for us. He’s my friend, after all.

  I hope so, my son. I do hope so.

  Me, too, Dad.

  “Where did you go off to?” Kerac asked. His lips twitched into a curious smile. “You were gazing out into middle distance.”

  Valis ducked his head. “I was having a conversation with Dad. He’s worried that he’s only with me temporarily and was getting a little maudlin. Now that he’s free of the darkness, he’s become quite sensitive about some things.”

  “He really has changed so much?”

  “So much, Papa. So, so much.” Valis leaned in to hug Kerac gently and sit him up to get his cloak on. “Just remember, that he can’t ever replace you or Father. I love you all, and always will.”

  “Your heart is so big.” Kerac sighed and smiled up at him. “You’ve always been such a love.”

  “When I wasn’t being a terror,” Valis half-joked.

  “It wasn’t your fault that you were terrified.”

  “No, it wasn’t. I was teasing, Papa.” He settled the cloak around Kerac’s shoulders more securely and adjusted the cloak pin, so the front closed better. Once he had Kerac’s boots on him, Valis carefully picked Kerac up and headed for the door. “Can you get door knobs, do you think?”

  “I can get them,” Aenali said as she came in. “It was my turn to watch Kerac. You’re going somewhere?”

  “Yep,” Valis said as he led the way to the door to the hall. “I’m taking Kerac for a surprise, but I have to go back to my suite to get winter cloaks for myself and Tavros.”

  “Okay!”

  “Could you get the blanket for me, ‘Nali? It’s the one on the end of the bed.”

  “Sure!” She ran over and grabbed it, almost dwarfed by the thick material. “You gonna need me to take it wherever you’re going?”