by Joe Jackson
Kari had her share of praise heaped on her in the last few years, but that comment still managed to bring tears to her eyes. She looked around at the gathering, and tried to imagine all of their other friends and siblings there with them. In those silent moments of being stared at, Kari had to wonder if any of them would ever have met – again, in the case of Eli and Danilynn – had Kari not been resurrected. She tried to imagine that she had been given the choice of whether or not to return, and if she had refused, how much different the lives of all of her friends and family might be.
For that matter, those of the entire world, as well. While Kari didn’t subscribe to the notion that she had somehow turned the tide of the Apocalypse, that was the reason she was returned from death, according to Trigonh. But she had changed the course of a lot of lives since her resurrection, and she was both honored to have had such an impact, and thankful that her deepest wishes were not considered. It almost shamed her to think her selfishness had almost been allowed to override the needs of her friends and family, and that last little bit of resentment that had clung to her since her return finally fell away.
Thank you, Trigonh, she thought. Thank the gods for you, my friend.
“Gil, you don’t have any way to contact your friends down south, do you? Other than by courier or going there yourself, I mean,” Kari asked.
The werewolf shook her head. “No, why? Thinking of inviting them to the wedding?” Kari nodded, but Gil made a noncommittal gesture. “I suppose we could try to get word down there quickly, but other than those two priests of Kaelariel in Barcon, I’m not sure who else might be willing to go speak with them. And then I’m not even sure those two would be willing or interested.”
“Piotyr and Deirdre Sol’Ipaxa?” Kyrie asked, though she clearly already knew.
Kari’s brows rose; she never had gotten their surname. “Yes,” she said. “They were a big help when I was working down in Barcon. I tend to think of them as friends.”
“Yes, they had no end of nice things to say about you,” her mother-in-law agreed. “They weren’t quite as fond of Eli, though. But they said that was for you to take care of.”
Eli looked sheepish, and Danilynn glanced at him questioningly. “Had something to do with Emma that they just didn’t understand,” he explained.
Danilynn nodded sagely; Kari was sure the priestess understood perfectly. It wasn’t likely anyone else would if just given the facts readily apparent.
“I will pass along word to them,” Kyrie offered. “Even if they aren’t interested in speaking to Gil’s friends, they may want to come themselves.”
“Oh, that would be sweet,” Kari said.
“Mama, time for chocolate!” Little Gray announced, climbing to Kari’s already-crowded lap from his own chair. It hadn’t taken him long to learn that word, and Kari had to laugh.
Grakin went to get drink glasses and some after-dinner sweets, and he brought back a plate of warm food for Gil as well. He seemed distracted despite the pleasant mood, and when he sat back down beside Kari, he asked, “When are you going to see Amastri?”
“As soon as Albrecht gets here,” Kari answered. She planned to go speak with Amastri, and arrest her if she didn’t like what she heard. But she was in no condition to handle an arrest on her own, so she requested that Lord Allerius come see to it with her. The rest of the family was anxious about Kari tangling with the servant of King Koursturaux, and Kari could well understand their fears. But she couldn’t let Amastri stay untouched in the city if it turned out her master was, or at least had been, a partner of some kind to Seril herself.
“Perhaps you should wait until the others return?” Liria suggested. “They may know more now than they did when your sister brought you the first journal.”
Kari looked across at the girl but didn’t say anything right away. She knew that would be the wisest course of action, but at the same time, she also knew that if she waited until everyone else was home to confront Amastri, that would end up taking priority. The wedding, any further work to introduce the werewolves to the Council, moving into the new house, and even Kari’s pending childbirth would all end up being overshadowed by the politics of the situation. She wanted to get that taken care of before the wedding and childbirth, but then she had to admit to herself that the possible backlash of arresting Amastri would be even worse.
She sighed and looked across at Danilynn, briefly entertaining the notion of just having the fures-rir priestess go chop off the half-elf’s head and be done with it. Things had been so much simpler just a few months before, when demons were still demons and killing them all seemed the most effective way of dealing with them. Now Kari had to consider that many of the so-called “demons” were not only mortal, but victims of the kings they lived under. And with that thought came the possibility, however unlikely, and however little Kari or Danilynn or anyone else wanted to believe it, that Amastri had no choice but to serve Koursturaux.
Kari smirked. Perhaps she could just send Erik to interrogate the half-elf, and tell him that Amastri had broken some obscure marine-life protection law. The thought of Amastri being escorted to prison with a broken nose made Kari laugh outright, and the reaction finally got the attention of everyone at the table.
“No, you’re right,” she said. “I’ll have to put it aside until everyone is home, and maybe even after I’ve had the baby. I just can’t let this lie…I have to find out what their connection is beyond the name. And, at the very least, I have to tell them there’s no way I’m setting foot in Koursturaux’ realm until I know. And maybe not even after I do.”
“I wish there was more I could tell you,” Liria said. “That any of us could. But I knew nothing of your Seril until I began attending your Academy, and really, I knew very little of King Koursturaux, either. Inter-realm politics aren’t exactly important to a seamstress.”
“Even my mother’s memories contained nothing of note on the subject,” Se’sasha added. “King Koursturaux was happy to use my mother and even be used in return, but she didn’t take my mother into her confidence or share secrets with her. I’m all but certain that my mother’s involvement with King Koursturaux was limited to embarrassing King Sekassus, and that was the extent of their relationship.”
“I think that is the wisest course of action,” Grakin said lightly. “I do not like the idea of you going to King Koursturaux’ realm for any reason, but if she was linked to Seril, I cannot imagine any positive outcomes from such a meeting.”
“You know, it occurs to me that Amastri shouldn’t have any idea you know, unless someone has told her,” Liria said.
Kari nodded sagely. “Exactly,” she said. “If I go to see her and she already knows why, it’ll tell me that someone is still feeding her information.”
Damansha held her hands up when Kari’s gaze fell across her. “I’ve no idea what you’re all talking about, and it sounds like it’s best things stay that way,” she said.
“Why don’t you let us go meet with her, then?” Danilynn asked. She made a placating gesture and added, “I’d already like to ask her if she knows who’s summoning so many people from Mehr’Durillia across the barriers. If there was an elestram assassin involved with the others down south, that just complicates the ambush we walked into. That’s a lot of assassins and attacks coming from Mehr’Durillia in such a short span. We may need help figuring out who’s doing the summoning and where.”
“What if it is Emma?” Grakin suggested without much conviction.
Eli shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t get involved in things like this. She’s more of an observer than anything else.”
“No, she isn’t,” Kari said. “But Eli’s still right on her; she wouldn’t be involved in these types of attacks. Whoever was involved in summoning the ambushers has ties directly to King Sekassus, and I think it’s safe to say Emma has no such ties after what she did on Tsalbrin.”
“What makes you say Emma’s not an observer, though?” Eli asked.
Eli started to say something, but Danilynn’s hand falling on his thigh silenced him. Kari couldn’t help but wonder how Eli could be so stubborn on the issue. Was there more to their interactions with Emma that they hadn’t told Kari about yet? If not, she couldn’t understand where this strange sense of friendship came from. Emma was trouble, no matter how useful she could seem at times, and between her and Amastri, Kari felt badly outmatched by her enemies.
Kyrie rose to answer another knock on the door, and the final guest had arrived. Lord Allerius saluted Kari when he entered the room, and she gestured toward the empty chair Little Gray had vacated. He took the seat and an offered glass of wine after glancing at Kari for her permission. In the first minute, Kari watched her friend and subordinate glance at all the faces around the table, and when he smiled, she knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Captain,” he said with a nod to Damansha, who returned the gesture and greeted him with a courteous m’lord. He turned to Kari and asked, “When would you like to go and confront Amastri?”
“Right this second, but we’re not going to,” she answered, surprising him. “We’re going to wait until I’ve had the baby, I think. I’m going to let Eli and Danilynn go talk to her, mostly about the fight they had down near Gnarr, and see if they can figure out if she knows we know. If she doesn’t, that’ll also tell us that all of her sources of information in the Order have been removed. So we…kill two demons with one vial of holy water, or something.”
Allerius laughed at the improvised phrase, and the others giggled as well. “That does make a certain amount of sense,” he said. “She isn’t likely to tell us anything, anyway, and all we’ll end up doing is tipping our hand to her again. Perhaps it’s best if we just kept this new revelation under wraps, and then, should you go and meet with King Koursturaux in person, you can spring the question on her directly.”
Kari pursed her lips, intrigued. “I think that’s my best option. Better we concentrate on weddings and babies and everything else now; the demon kings will still be a pain in the rump when all is said and done.”
They enjoyed their after-dinner drinks and sweets, and then Eli and Danilynn looked to Kari expectantly. She simply nodded her permission for them to do as they’d suggested, and they bid the company farewell and left the house. Damansha excused herself soon after to go get ready for the late-night shift, and Liria and Se’sasha gave their gracious farewells and returned to their people on the campus. Gil made her egress, apparently afraid of overstaying her welcome.
When it was just Kari, Grakin, Little Gray, Kyrie, and Lord Allerius, Kari turned to her subordinate and asked, “So…what do we do with the prisoner?”
*****
It took a few weeks for the others to return home. The currents ran south along the east coast, which sped up journeys to the southlands. The return trip, on the other hand, was a lot longer whether one went out and around the currents or circled the continent completely. There was so much anticipation among the family to see their missing loved ones and friends again, but the time spent waiting was not without its uses.
Liria had finished a gorgeous wedding dress for Kari. It was a striking, deep shade of purple that complemented her skin color beautifully. It complemented Grakin’s black priestly robes in the same way, and it was clear they would make a beautiful pair standing on the steps of the temple exchanging vows. Wedding bands and all of the other arrangements had been put in order, and as the return date drew closer, invitations were sent out to innumerable parties. With how many people Kari and Grakin knew directly and indirectly through their work, the guest list – for the ceremony, anyway – was considerable. Kari was particularly happy to hear that Piotyr and Deirdre would be coming, as would many of Sharyn and Gil’s pack.
There was to be a grand reception on the campus of the Order, despite Kari’s earlier hope to have a small gathering in her new home. That was the plan, but not until after the festivities took place on the campus of the Order. It was no secret that Kari, in her condition, would not last very long partying with hundreds of guests, so the plan was to have the first, larger reception on the campus. Afterwards, revelers could stay in that safe place for as long as they wished, while the wedding couple and their close family and friends would retire to Kari’s home.
Word came early in the morning that the Vanguard of the Tide, the ship carrying Kari’s loved ones, had been spotted on the horizon. She and the rest of the family made their way to the docks to welcome their companions home. It was a long walk, but despite getting closer and closer to the impending birth, Kari felt good getting some exercise. She tried to control her waddle as much as she could, not used to walking the streets of DarkWind without her armor. Still, she was surrounded by very strong and capable fighters – Eli, Danilynn, Damansha, and even Kyrie, if necessary. Kari had a fleeting image of Ty springing from his wheelchair to throttle someone if it came to that.
Kari glanced at her friends. According to Danilynn and Eli, Amastri had given no indication that she knew what Kari and her friends had discovered. In the end, that meant very little; the woman was a master at hiding things she had no reason to share. But at the very least, Kari figured it meant she could ambush Amastri with questions on the matter at some point in the future. That still wouldn’t be for several months yet – long enough for Kari to give birth and get her body back into fighting shape. Amastri claimed she knew nothing of the assassins or ambushers, but she was willing to ask around – for a price, of course.
Ty seemed happy. He was constantly updating his forecasts for Kari’s harvests, and the amount of money she could expect to make. She figured even if she only made half of what he was projecting, she’d still be doing better than she could’ve ever dreamed. He was also looking forward to hearing about the hunt in the south, and Kari was glad he was taking things in such a positive light. She had worried – and still did, a little – that having been left out might send Ty into another bout of depression. So far, that wasn’t the case.
Upon arriving at the docks, they inquired which pier the Vanguard of the Tide would be docking at, and waited there patiently. The ship was brought into port quickly, guided to its pier and docked expertly by a fine crew. Thanks to the fact that it was part of the Royal Navy, and also on account of its passengers being demonhunters and conscripts for the Order, there was no delay in Kari’s companions being allowed to disembark.
Corbanis came down first, having traveled light and – much like Erik, Kari mused – being prepared well ahead of time. He took the time to step before Kari and salute her, and after glancing at her belly, he touched her face tenderly but then stepped off to the side. He and Kyrie greeted each other cordially, but there was still no depth or warmth there beyond the initial hello. Corbanis certainly looked happy to see Kyrie again, and she was obviously pleased that he was well, but they didn’t embrace or kiss. Corbanis greeted Grakin and Typhonix warmly, but there was a lack of physical greeting there as well.
Erik was the next to descend the gangway, and he repeated his father’s salute to Kari before embracing her. She hugged him as tightly as she could without squishing her passenger, and he hefted Little Gray up afterwards. “We’ve definitely got a lot to talk about, but it can wait,” he said, and then he moved over to hug his mother, shake hands with his brothers, and greet Eli, Danilynn, and Damansha. His greeting of Damansha seemed rather stiff
and formal, and Kari wondered, with a smile, if he was kicking himself for not finding her first.
Sonja and Aeligos came down together. Aeligos’ wing was still wrapped in a bandage, and Kari understood that must have been the surgery Erik had mentioned. The rogue didn’t otherwise seem any worse for the wear, but Sonja was the only one Kari had seen so far whose armor wasn’t sliced or torn in several places. She was looking forward to a detailed briefing on the battle and the other matters Erik hadn’t discussed long-distance. But she cast those feelings aside and embraced her sister- and brother-in-law eagerly.
Kari didn’t recognize the next person to disembark. She took in Gabrius with a curious and discerning gaze, and quickly concluded this was the help the Duke of Sutherland had given her friends. He stepped before Kari and introduced himself politely, and she saluted him and then shook his hand. “What brings you back to DarkWind?” she asked him.
“I received word from the Duke that I was to proceed here with the rest of your family,” Gabrius answered. “It seems he would like me to offer my services to your Silver Blades on a permanent basis, to aid you and establish a stronger tie between our two orders.”
Kari smiled, but gestured toward Erik. “I take it you talked with him first? He’s in charge of who joins the group, not me.”
“That decision’s long since been made,” Erik said simply.
Aeligos gestured toward the half-brys paladin. “He fought Taesenus to a standstill, even with the Tilcimer harassing him.”
Kari raised her brows, but kept her attention on Aeligos. “You fought Taesenus again?”
“Long story. It can wait,” Erik said. “We have something more important to take care of first. Or witness, anyway.”
Kari shook her head and then Gabrius’ hand again. “Well, it’ll be good to have you with us,” she told him. “You’ll probably be working with Lord Allerius for a while, until I’m back on duty full time.”