by Devon Vesper
“As far as I can determine, the Qos adherents are on their way to Cadoras but had the same idea as us to stop by Setira City and resupply. Only they don’t plan on buying their supplies and are hoping to use terror as currency.”
He rubbed the sash around his waist where he kept his pocket watch hidden. “I recognized a few faces.” When several people gasped, Valis held his hand up. “I recognized them from a previous vision I had back in Cadoras.”
“What was the vision?” Phalin asked. “You have had many.”
“It was one I had where I thought I saw my fathers fighting,” Valis replied, ensuring his voice was pitched to carry. “They had retreated to the circle of the way stones. In this vision, I saw many Qos adherent faces, and I saw some of those same faces in the vision where I saw the Qos adherents terrorizing Setira City through little Athar’s eyes.”
Valis spread his hands to the sides, palms up in a gesture to welcome them to see his point. “This means they are probably the remnants of the pocket of adherents who fought the army that had amassed around my fathers, Darolen and Kerac. If this is true, they may have at least some of the answers we need as to where my father was taken, and more importantly, how to get there. We will need to capture the highest ranked Qos adherents for interrogation.”
“How are we to know their ranks?” one of the reliquary guards asked. “None of us have ever been able to figure out their rankings during a fight.”
Grinning, Valis tapped his temple. “Dad might recognize some faces. But I can feel the difference in their power. So, I’ll be able to pinpoint who are high priests or greater and single them out for capture. When we fight, I want you to lay stasis on as many as possible. Try to kill as few as you can.”
Valis grimaced as he rested his hands on his hips. “I’m sorry to ask this of you. I know how much harder this will make the coming fight, but it is necessary. The more information we have, the more able we will be to meet our goal.”
“It is wise counsel, lad,” Shyvus said. It surprised Valis to hear him so calm now. “The more information we have, the sooner we can all get back home where we belong, with a mending Darolen in tow.”
Valis let a brief smile flit across his mouth and dipped his head in thanks. “That is the plan. Now, we need to think strategies. I had the idea of, as soon as we enter the city and get all our men and women inside and into position, setting an impermeable shield around the city so none can escape. This will make it easier to know we’ve fully eradicated the nest and won’t have any following us to report our location and direction to anyone higher in their ranks.”
Murmurs arose within the reliquary guards as well as the leaders present. Valis waited patiently for them to talk amongst themselves. They were more knowledgeable in war than he, and he didn’t mind. They would let their thoughts be known once they finalized them.
The one thing Valis was most thankful for was his time training most of these men and women, and the camaraderie they had. He trusted every man and woman who had accompanied him on this journey, both with his own life, as well as the lives of his mate, his friends, and his father. Giving them time to work out their own plans to present was little hardship, even if it did cost valuable time.
“What about the city folk?” Venabi asked. “Erecting such a shield could spur the Qos adherents to start killing innocents in order to force you to take it down.”
Valis nodded and let out a long sigh. “I had thought of that. But with the amount of Qos adherents I saw, coupled with our own numbers, if we were to put enough pressure on them, they would be too focused on us to do anything with the townsfolk. Or, that is my hope.
“Based on what I saw, we outnumber them by quite a bit. I would say it is a five-to-one ratio. Even if it is less, with the training I gave the reliquary guards in the months before we left the monastery, we should be able to put in enough force and pressure to break them with as few casualties as possible. It is completely possible none will even know there is a barrier up until it’s too late.”
“Are you willing to take that risk, lad?” one of the women asked.
Valis’s stomach squirmed, but he nodded. “We have to. For now, that’s our main plan. Go in, set up a shield over the entire city, and make it so people can go in, but no one can leave until I take it down. It may change once we get there, but I have a feeling this is what will be needed.”
“Then that is what will be needed,” Shyvus said. “We trust you, Valis.”
“And I thank each and every one of you for that trust,” Valis said with a small bow. “Now, let’s get the rest of this plan hashed out so we can get our asses back in our saddles and get underway.”
Chapter Three
They rode hard toward the city. On the tenth day, Shyvus called for a halt. He rode up beside Valis and pointed forward. “If we get any closer, they will be able to spot us. This hill marks the edge of the city’s limits. The town is just past the next hill.”
Valis blew a sigh through his nose and nodded. “I’ll cast a shield around the army to hide us until we’re within the city, then blow the shield up around the entire town and change the parameters so people can come in, but they can’t leave.”
He glanced behind him and called, “Jintas. Send out your scouts. I want a detailed report before we go in.”
“At once,” the redheaded mercenary leader called back. He turned to start issuing orders in his native language of Noldworian. In the next moment, ten men and women rode off at a ground-eating gallop. Valis had only a moment to toss shields over them, turning them invisible to all but him and each other so they wouldn’t run into one another. Gasps came from behind him, but he held his hand up for silence.
“I did that. Calm yourselves. The less they are seen, the more of a surprise we will be.”
While they waited, Valis concentrated and rode the length of the army, circling them. Once he had their lines mapped out in his mind, he cast the shield over them, added permanence and movement so it would stay with them as they moved, and finally added impermeability, invisibility, and soundproofing to keep their presence hidden. It taxed him a little, but nowhere near as much as he thought it would. Perhaps Thyran’s involvement did more than Valis assumed it had. When Avristin’s mages expanded Valis’s magic pool, he felt invincible. But he didn’t know that in doing so, magic would tax him less. That was a good bit of information to know.
“How are you holding up, love?” Tavros asked.
“Surprisingly okay.” Valis leaned over to press a chaste kiss to his husband’s lips. Tavros met him halfway. “Stay close to me. No matter what happens.”
“Always.” Tavros’s serious expression made Valis smile. “What are you grinning at?”
“Just how much I love you.”
Tavros flushed and grinned back. “I love you, too.”
“Okay, you two,” Seza said as she rode up. “Quit being adorable. It’s disgusting.”
Valis chuckled and winked at her. “Like you aren’t just as adorable with Zhasina.”
“He is right,” Zhasina said from beside her mate. “We really are.”
“Hush, you traitor.” Seza leaned over and kissed her wife, though, taking the sting out of her teasing. “We can’t tease the boys if we aren’t aloof ourselves.”
Zhasina giggled and shook her head. “Good luck with that. You blush so prettily.”
On cue, Seza blushed and sighed. “I’ll get you back for that. Just you wait.”
“Oh, I will wait. Eagerly, my wife.”
Valis laughed and turned his horse toward them as Maphias and Jedai trotted up on their horses. “Family meeting?” Maphias asked with a grin.
“Something like that,” Valis said. “Relaxing before battle sounds like a good idea. We don’t know how long it will take for the scouts to come back, so we might as well get in some love while we can.”
“Can’t let them leave us out, can we?” Jedai asked.
Maphias shrugged and leaned over. Then Valis’
s jaw dropped as they shared a less-than-chaste kiss that looked like it could possibly lead to more. “Wait. Wait… Wait… you two?”
Maphias grinned. “Stranger things, brother. Took us a while.”
Valis’s mouth worked for a few moments before his wits returned to him enough to make sound. “Whoa. Okay. Uh… I thought you both liked women.”
Both men shrugged and Jedai grinned brighter than the sun. “I think we both like both, but we’ve always been close. This journey really made it hit home for us, though. Sharing a tent also helped us with time to hash out our feelings for each other.”
Valis blinked. Then blinked again. For some reason, he was having trouble processing that. His two friends had never, not even once, seemed like they would end up together, or even liked each other that way. But a few moments later, his heart swelled, and he grinned at them. “Congratulations, guys.”
“Good,” Maphias clanked his armored elbow against Jedai’s side, “we didn’t break him.”
“His face was priceless, though.”
“It was.”
“It really was,” Seza said with a shit-eating grin. “I think you did break him there for a minute. His recovery time was excellent, though.”
Valis felt heat creeping up his neck and ducked his head with a grin. “Yeah. Yeah, it did break me for a minute. You two just never showed any signs. I never even guessed.”
Jedai gave him a fond look. “Your head’s been so deep into this journey, and war planning, and everything else, I’m not surprised you didn’t notice. We haven’t exactly been open about it. At first, we were just fooling around, and we were waiting to tell anyone, sure we were going to get teased. But then things started to get serious the longer we’ve been on this journey and sharing a tent. We’re engaged now.”
“Truly,” Valis said, unshed tears stinging his eyes. “Truly. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, man.” Jedai sighed as he glanced over to Maphias, then smirked. “Gotta keep it in the family.”
That made Valis let out a belly laugh and wipe at his eyes with the sash about his waist. “You two are terrible.”
“Always have been,” Maphias said after a snort. “Always will be.”
Valis couldn’t help his stupid grin. Now it felt like their family was complete in a way he hadn’t realized was missing before. He sighed, looked around, and called out, “All right. Get into formation. Laymen up front. I want this to go as smoothly as possible. We get in, eradicate the nest, and help with the clean-up, restock, and get back underway. Understood?”
“SIR!”
As a unit, everyone started taking their positions. Valis beamed at them all with such pride that his chest ached with it. Though, his chest ached with more than pride. How many of these men and women wouldn’t make it out of Setira alive? How many would he have to burn on the pyre when this battle was over? How many of his friends wouldn’t be returning to Cadoras once he’d secured his father’s rescue?
With a grimace, Valis fought to push those thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time or the place for it. If he kept up with that line of thinking, it could cost him this battle, or his life. He wasn’t willing to lose either. Either loss would mean he’d lied to his father when he promised his rescue. Darolen needed Valis’s undivided focus from now until he rested beside his husband again.
Valis glanced around again and noted that everyone was in position. He rode down the line and back up the other side, making sure everyone was in place and there were no questions. Each person had an attentive expression on their face, ready and waiting for the signal to ride into battle.
Valis only hoped his leadership skills were up to the task. But then he realized that he wasn’t doing this alone. Each of the reliquary guards would help him lead, would help shape the outcome of this battle for victory. Just that one thought took some of the burden off Valis’s shoulders, but not all that much.
Because Valis was now the Grand Master Aesriphos. That still didn’t feel real. He didn’t feel qualified, whether he and Tavros had beat the previous two or not. It didn’t feel like he deserved the title. He and Tavros were the youngest Grand Master Aesriphos in history. Neither of them had the experience to do the title justice, and that fact weighed heavily on Valis’s mind as he patrolled the army lines.
When he made it back to his friends—no, his family—Valis breathed a sigh and stared out at the top of the hill, waiting for the scouts to return. He hoped his invisibility shield would keep them safe. He also hoped his shield over the army was doing what it was supposed to be doing.
Tavros reined his horse in closer to Valis and reached out, his left gauntlet removed and sitting on his lap. Valis removed his right gauntlet and linked his fingers with his husband’s. “We’re going to be okay, Valis. Everything is going to work out.”
Valis smirked and stared into his lover’s clear gray eyes. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
Huffing a laugh, Tavros squeezed Valis’s fingers. “You never were able to hide your emotions from your face. Your brow was all sorts of furrowed, and your mouth was pulled into a frown so tight I feared your face would break.”
He released Valis’s hand and brushed the backs of his fingers across his cheek. “You were thinking about everyone but yourself as usual. I love that about you, but you need to focus on the fight ahead, not the people fighting. They are trained, and they can take care of themselves. They have over a hundred years’ experience each for most of the Aesriphos with us, and years of experience for the laymen except our closest friends.”
He smiled and leaned in, pressing a kiss to Valis’s temple when Valis leaned over to meet him. “Let your mind rest, love. Don’t invite heartache when nothing has happened yet.”
Valis nodded with a sigh. “I promise I’ll try. It’s harder than it seems.”
“I know, love.” Tavros reached over and squeezed the back of Valis’s neck, then started massaging the muscles there. “I’ll help any way I can.”
“You help just by believing in me,” Valis said as he dropped his head forward. “And I appreciate you every day.”
“So, how long do you think it will take for the scouts to come back?” Seza asked. “I’m itching for a fight.”
“Depends on what they find.” Valis rolled his neck and pressed back when Tavros let his fingers go lax. “Don’t you dare stop.”
Tavros laughed and went back to the massage. When Valis’s muscles turned to putty again, he continued. “They’re scanning in and around each of the houses to get an estimate of the numbers we’re going to be up against. They’re also going to try and pinpoint the leaders, so we know who to focus on when we’re throwing around stasis spells. So, it could be thirty minutes, or it could be hours.”
“Then we should settle in for the wait.” She got down off her horse and started stretching as much as her armor would allow. “We can get back in our damned saddles when they get back. Thirty minutes of relaxation should do us all a damned bit of good.”
“That’s a good idea.” Valis turned back and called out, “Thirty minutes! Take a break from the saddle, grab a snack, relieve yourselves, whatever you have to do. We want to be fresh for the fight ahead.”
“You know,” Shyvus said as he dismounted, “you young shits have some good ideas every now and then.”
Valis dismounted as well and grabbed a pack of jerky from his saddlebags. And thirty minutes later, everyone was back in their saddle, eagerly watching the crest of the hill for signs that their scouts were returning from their mission.
It took another two hours, but eventually, Valis saw the shimmer heading toward them. When it neared, Valis drew their shields into himself and opened a small portion in the front for the scouts to enter once he was sure they were their scouts.
“Report.”
The lead scout stopped in front of Valis while the others filed back into position with the army. “There are many,” he said in heavily accented Arlvorian. “But not as many as us,
I think. We found two leaders, but could not find more, so we are unsure about any others there may be.”
“What of those in the large building?” Valis asked.
“The town hall,” the scout said with a nod. “All residents are being herded into this building and others. The women and children are being kept separate from the menfolk. Homes and shops are being used for the Qos army’s quarters from what we can tell.”
He took a deep breath and raked his fingers through his short blond hair. “I heard some speak. They plan to restock and head to Cadoras to wage war on the city. More will be heading toward the city to join them.”
Valis’s stomach pitted, and he nodded. “Thank you. Anything else?”
“As you said after your scry, they kill any who oppose them, mostly men and mages who attack.” The man grunted and glanced back toward the hill he had just raced across. “It was a terrible thing. The stench of burned and dead bodies is thick in the streets.”
“And you went unnoticed?” Valis asked.
“Yes,” the scout said. “Thanks to your shields, we went completely unnoticed and were able to get a rough estimate. I’d say there are roughly four-hundred souls of the enemy.”
Nodding, Valis motioned behind him. “You and your men dismount, stretch, get a snack, relieve yourselves. Whatever you need to do to refresh. I need to contact Thyran and report.”
“Yes, sir.”
Valis dismounted also and retrieved his pocket watch. He leaned against Rasera’s side as he flipped the cover down and cleared his mind. After only a few moments, he had the scry in place and found Thyran’s face peering back at him. “Thyran.”
“You have news?”
“There are armies heading toward Cadoras with the intent of taking the city and the monastery. We’re about to go in and clean up one such army that has overtaken Setira City to restock their supplies. I plan on interrogating as many as possible.”