Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

  Elation didn’t even come close. It was the highest euphoria. Something that made him feel godlike and humbled at the same time. As their combined magic flowed into him, Valis felt such peace that he could have wept for the joy of it.

  As hard as the Aesriphos and Priests—even Thyran and the Sovereign Priest—tried, they couldn’t break his shield, and their power flowed into it, and then straight into Valis.

  Where taking in the magic of Qos made Valis feel agitated, murderous, and made his vision go into shades of gray, the magic of his friends brought on a heightening to his consciousness so powerful he felt he could almost touch Sovras in his ascended state.

  Valis let his head fall back, his eyes closed in his euphoria. When he opened them again, though, he gasped. An orb of light hovered over the group and shined bright enough to light up the night. Rays of golden light shone down onto him, touching his shield as if it, too, offered magic for Valis to absorb.

  Was it real? Could it be real? The Light of Phaerith had moved outside?

  It is real, Thyran said into his mind. It is still the Light of Phaerith. I have never seen it outside of the temple’s dome…

  Valis could only nod, smiling at the awe in Thyran’s voice. His eyes watered as emotion overwhelmed him. Sovras, his friend and God, was blessing him with magic, and Valis could do nothing but accept. It felt like the onslaught went on for hours, magic pouring into him like floodwaters through a broken dam. He nearly crumpled from the intensity, and just before he succumbed, Thyran called, “Stop the attack!”

  The golden light winked out all throughout the area save for the glow from the torches. Valis dropped his shield, drawing the magic back into himself. Soon after, someone attacked his face with a soft cloth.

  “I swear, Child, you and that Light must stop if you are going to leak like this,” Thyran muttered, though Valis heard the fond teasing in his voice as Thyran mopped up Valis’s face. If he had gotten used to anything, it was having his face dried by random priests, and maybe a friend or two. The fond thought made him lift his head, and he straightened his posture. He looked Thyran in the eyes, and the historian regarded him seriously. You now are more powerful than Kyris. Use it wisely and tell no one.

  Not even Tavros? Valis asked.

  You may tell Tavros. If he asks. Otherwise keep it to yourself. And if he does ask, make sure he is sworn to absolute secrecy.

  Yes, sir.

  Brother Bachris came up to him and without warning, pulled Valis into a hug so tight he feared the Patron Priest would break his own arms. He hesitantly returned the hug and sighed. “I love you, too, Bachris.”

  “I’m so sorry, my boy,” he whispered. “I just don’t want to see you hurt or dead.”

  “I know. But, have faith in me.” He squeezed a little tighter. “I won’t let you down.”

  “I will, Valis,” Brother Bachris said. “I promise I will if you promise to come back to us.”

  Valis grinned and rested his forehead on his friend’s shoulder. “I will always come home, Brother. I promise.”

  Back inside the monastery, the first place Valis wanted to go was to see Kerac. So much power swirled through him, that Valis needed comfort, and he needed to rest. And with Tavros tagging along by his side, Valis rushed through the halls toward Kerac’s suite.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Tavros asked.

  “Just jittery,” Valis said. “And it’s like a wave keeps crashing over me. It’s making me tense. I just need time to let it settle like I did back in Lyvea after siphoning Qeraden’s magic. It’s not making me fall into darkness. It’s actually a weird feeling of elation. But I still need to rest and let my body absorb everything before I go mad.”

  “Are you sure it was a good idea to leave our friends behind? You always calm down when you hold Aenali.”

  Valis smiled fondly. “Yeah, I do.” He sighed. “They know where we’re going. I’m sure they won’t be far behind. They’re just not running like we are. I just… I need…”

  “I know, love. It’s okay.”

  Once Valis reached Kerac’s door, he threw it open and rushed into his fathers’ bedroom, careful not to make much noise in case he was sleeping. But when he entered, he found Kerac in bed, awake, reading a book. He set the book down with shaking hands and smiled brightly. “Valis.” Then he must have seen Valis’s harried look, because he reached out. “What is wrong? Come here.”

  Valis went, but instead of sitting on the edge of the bed, he kicked off his boots and laid next to him on the vacant side, rolling until he carefully snuggled to Kerac’s side.

  When his Papa’s familiar scent was all he could smell, all the tension that had been thrumming through him finally started to ease away. And as Kerac’s bony fingers threaded through his hair, his body relaxed further into the mattress.

  “He just had his power augmented,” Tavros explained. “He said he’s jittery and needs comfort. He’ll be okay in a couple hours.”

  Valis felt Kerac shrug. “Then kick off your shoes and join us. No sense in you standing all the way over there while we laze about.”

  A few moments later, boots hit the floor, and the bed dipped behind Valis. Tavros’s arm wound about Valis’s middle, and he pressed a kiss to the back of Valis’s head.

  “Do you need sleep, or…”

  Valis glanced up at Kerac. “No. I just needed you, and to relax for a while.”

  Kerac nodded, and as he went back to reading, Valis dozed for a while. He didn’t know how long. Didn’t care. But the peace it brought was everything. After a while, he got used to the power that swirled in him. Then he realized that he didn’t need to absorb anything. He had already done that part. All he had to do was get accustomed to it.

  When that realization settled in his mind, the rest of Valis’s tension left him, and he cuddled deeper against Kerac’s side with a sleepy purr. Kerac chuckled and patted his back. “Someone sounds content.”

  “I am.” Valis cracked a yawn and grunted as he shifted. Tavros had fallen asleep behind him, and he was a heavy weight against Valis’s back. But at least he was a warm weight, so Valis didn’t care.

  “So, what have you been up to today?”

  Valis tried to sit up to tell him about it, but Tavros muttered something in his sleep and rolled more heavily on top of him. Since he couldn’t sit up, he gave up and settled for mumbling the story into Kerac’s side. “I became the new Grand Master Aesriphos with Tav.”

  “WHAT?”

  That woke Tavros up and he sat straight up in bed. Now that his weight was gone, Valis sat up and stretched his back. “I said, Tav and I became the new Grand Master Aesriphos. We beat Isophel and Ephala in a magical duel.”

  Kerac paled. “Oh…”

  “And in the process,” Valis went on, “we got the mission sanctioned, because I’m now the one who sanctions missions. We will have reliquary guards and Aesriphos amongst our ranks, and we will be leaving in a few days once we get all our plans finalized.”

  He gripped Kerac’s hand and squeezed. “We’re bringing Father home. One way or another.”

  Kerac sucked in a sharp gasp. He reached for Valis, and Valis didn’t deny him. He scooted over and wrapped his papa in a gentle hug and whispered against his ear. “We’re bringing him home. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but we will bring him home.”

  “I wish I could go with you,” Kerac murmured miserably. “I should be going with you.”

  “You should be staying here and getting stronger,” Valis said. “Because Father is going to need you when we get back. He’ll most likely be in a similar state as you are now, and he will need tons of care. Care that you will be able to provide by the time we return if you do what Firil says.”

  “Come to me before you leave.”

  “I’ll make sure he does,” Tavros said. “He’s been groggy in the mornings of late because of his nightmares. But we’ll be here before we leave. It should be in a few days. We have most of the supplies already rea
dy to go. We just need the last bits and time for the Aesriphos assigned to our mission to get their own gear ready for departure.”

  After a few moments of silence, just breathing each other in and holding on tight, Kerac pulled back and looked into Valis’s face, his golden eyes wet and searching. “I finally know what it meant.”

  “What what meant, Papa?”

  Kerac’s face brightened with a contented smile. “That dream. I am sitting in the grass, and you come cresting the hill. And you cry out, ‘Papa! I’m home!’ The dream I had for so long in my youth.” He snapped out of his reverie and smirked. “It almost caused me to brush off Darolen’s proposal. But he was strong, and I thought ‘This is real. This is a guarantee. That boy may never happen.’ But…” He stared at Valis again like a hungry man at a feast. “It will happen, Valis. You will make it happen by coming home to me. Do you understand me?”

  Valis swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “I promise, Papa.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  On the evening before Valis and his friends were due to leave, Valis started his rounds. He wanted to find as many of his friends who weren’t leaving with him as possible before dinner so that he didn’t miss anyone. He and his friends would be making last-minute adjustments to their saddlebags and gear in Valis’s sitting room and then taking everything down to the stables so it would be ready and waiting on their saddled horses when they were ready to leave.

  Tavros had gone to do his own rounds, and as Valis made his way to his next destination, he wished Tavros had joined him. But not because he wanted his lover’s support. More that he wanted him to hear everything that was said, too.

  He knocked on Brother Bachris’s door, and when the man called for him to enter, Valis opened the door a crack and peeked in. “You busy?”

  The Patron Priest set his pen down and smiled. “Never too busy for you, my boy. Come to say goodbye to an old man?” He motioned Valis to enter and shooed him toward the fire once he stepped in. “Come. Sit with me.”

  As Valis made himself comfortable on the couch, he watched as Brother Bachris poured two cups of tea and brought over a plate of cookies, setting them on the low table between Valis and Brother Bachris’s favorite chair. “Qisryn made these earlier today. They’re still fresh.”

  Then he busied himself with something else, and Valis got the idea that he was actually stalling because he didn’t want to have to say goodbye yet. That feeling solidified when he saw Brother Bachris tidying up his desk and muttering something about missing reports. The man had never fidgeted like this before in Valis’s presence, so it had to mean he was either nervous or avoiding something.

  “Brother Bachris,” Valis said. When the Patron Priest finally lifted his head and met his eyes, Valis smirked. “Come sit down before you accidentally start a fire from all that fidgeting you’re doing. Paper’s flammable, you know.”

  “Insolent brat,” he muttered, but it held no heat. He came over and sat in his usual chair with a sigh. “I am sorry, Valis.”

  “I’ll miss you, too, Bachris.”

  The Patron Priest combed his fingers through the frost at his temples and smiled into the fire. “I will miss you. I wish there was some other way…”

  “But there isn’t.” Valis reached for his tea and took a sip before going on, “There is only one way, and I’m going to succeed. You’ll see.”

  Bachris sighed. “I hope so, my boy.” He smiled sadly at Valis, his blue eyes as soulful as Valis had ever seen them. “I truly am sorry. I should not have put you under so much stress, especially for something that, deep down, I knew was inevitable. All I did was make things worse, and I apologize.”

  “Apology accepted, Brother.” Leaning forward, Valis set his cup down and took one of the cookies. He wasn’t going to let Sister Qisryn’s baking skills go to waste. Not that he thought Brother Bachris would let such a travesty happen, but he would pull his weight. “At the end I knew what your fears were.”

  “Still…”

  “That’s enough, my friend.” Valis sighed and looked over the stately man across from him, watching the firelight play across half of his face, casting the other in shifting shadows in a comforting way. “I want you to promise me something.”

  “What is it?”

  “Keep an eye on Kerac and Aryn for me. Visit them often and let them know they’re both still loved. Especially Aryn. He’s prone to depression in prison, and he needs someone who isn’t his therapist to visit him.”

  “Now that is an easy promise to keep, my boy.”

  Valis spent another hour with him. After dinner, he and his friends made a trip down to the prison. The last person Valis needed to see was Aryn. None of them could leave without telling him goodbye. He wouldn’t understand. Not in his current mental state. And it didn’t take much energy.

  They waited in the Duty Captain’s office while the guards went to get Aryn from his cell and into the interrogation room. Then they all filed into the room with that tiny cell in the back corner. The dingy walls seemed to close in, and as everyone stood around, wondering how to say goodbye, Valis eased to the front and reached through the bars.

  “You’re leaving…”

  Valis smiled as Aryn leaned into his touch. “We head out in the morning to rescue my father, yes. I got the mission sanctioned, and we’re waiting for daylight before we leave.”

  “But…”

  Taking his hands, Valis pulled Aryn closer to the bars and rubbed his arms. “Brother Bachris will come visit you often. I asked him to come apart from your therapy sessions and spend time with you since we won’t be able to. I’ve asked the Duty Captain to always let Aenali come in, too, and to allow you to have any books she brings you.”

  He gripped Aryn’s arms. “Just because we’re leaving doesn’t mean you’ll be forgotten. Papa said that when he’s able to move around, he’ll even come see you. He’s actually planning on convincing some of his Aesriphos friends who promised to sit with him on watches to carry him down here to spend time with you. So, please don’t think you’ll be forgotten, Aryn. Don’t break my heart like that.”

  Aryn wiped at his damp eyes and nodded. “I’ll miss you guys. Just be careful, okay?” He stared hard at his brother. “And you make sure Valis comes home safe.”

  “Always, little brother. You’ve got my word on that.”

  Then Aryn turned wet eyes on Valis, his tears falling over his lashes. “And make sure Tav comes home safe. Please, Valis.”

  “I promise,” Valis whispered thickly. “We’ll both come home, and we’ll have my father with us. You’ll see.”

  “And we just don’t matter,” Seza remarked to Zhasina in a conversational tone. “Aryn only loves those two. So glad we’re loved, Zhas.”

  “It is great, isn’t it?” her wife replied. “We should be—”

  “I haven’t gotten to you two yet!” Aryn protested. “I’ll miss all of you, damn it. I just can’t see most of you because of Valis and Tavros’s big heads.”

  “My head is not big!” Tavros cried.

  And all Valis could do was laugh. He moved out of the way after giving Aryn an awkward hug and a kiss to his forehead, letting the others have their turn for love. By the time Aenali got done with him, they all said their final goodbyes, and it was time to head up to finalize their packing.

  Aryn stopped them as they got to the open door to the interrogation room. “Valis…”

  Valis turned around and frowned at the way Aryn clutched the bars. “What is it?”

  The boy took a deep breath, his lower lip wobbling. “I’m sorry. I wish I could take back the last few months. I just… I’m so sorry. Neither you nor Tav deserved what I did.”

  Tavros stepped in and went to the bars, Valis close behind. They pulled Aryn as close as they could with the bars in the way as Tavros whispered, “That’s all we needed to hear.”

  Aryn clutched at their shirts, his hands trembling. “I couldn’t let you go… Not without saying it.
” He sobbed and rested his forehead against the bars. “I couldn’t. Couldn’t risk you never knowing how sorry I am.”

  “Aryn…” Valis reached in and stroked a hand down the boy’s hair. “We will be back. I promise.”

  “You can’t make that promise.” Aryn stared at him with wide, wet eyes, his face turning red from trying to keep his emotions in check. “Anything can happen on a mission. And I just wanted you to know…”

  “It means everything,” Tavros said. “And we’ll be careful. That is something we can promise.”

  Kerac clung to him with frail, trembling arms. It wasn’t even dawn yet, but his papa had been awake, waiting for him, tears already in his eyes and they hadn’t even said goodbye yet. Valis kissed his forehead and leaned in, resting their heads together. “Be strong for me, Papa. Be strong and brave and do your best. I won’t let you down.”

  Kerac shuddered and held on tighter. “And you do everything you must to stay alive. As much as it pains me to even think it, Darolen may be a lost cause, but you are not. Do you understand me, my son? You are not expendable. You must return.” His voice cracked on his last words, and Valis rubbed his back while Kerac tried to regain his composure.

  “I understand, Papa.”

  “Then go,” he whispered. “And serve us well. We are counting on you.”

  Valis knew Kerac was talking about himself and Darolen rather than the monastery or even the city. That thought was what made Valis break down, but he reined it in, if barely.

  “I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

  And before either of them could get more emotional, Valis strode out of the room and went to collect his bags and his friends.