“You should have your hand taken care of,” Nyx quietly mutters.
“My grandfather left to get a healing ointment when I started approaching you,” Luke assures her with a kind smile. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine. I had a bad moment and lost control before I could stop myself,” she answers, turning her attention to Lord Highrider. “I don’t like the idea of someone else being drawn into my mess. When I arrive in Hero’s Gate, I request that this mercenary be allowed to leave for better jobs.”
Lord Highrider shakes his head and crosses his thick arms. “That would be impossible because this woman requested the assignment. She refuses to leave until the job is done, so you will have to work with her if you help us.”
“Stop saying if! This is my mess and I’m going to be involved!” Nyx exclaims, her frustration exploding. She reaches out to grip Luke’s unburned hand as Sari takes her other hand. “All three of us are going to save Hero’s Gate.”
Sari leans around Nyx, beckoning for Luke to bend down, so she can whisper, “Nyxie is being a little over-dramatic, isn’t she?”
“It’s better than her trying to set the house on fire,” Luke points out. He can feel a sudden blast of cold run up his arm and notices that Sari is shivering.
“Are you two done making fun of me?” Nyx growls with a threatening stare. She lets go of their hands, leaving numbing ice crystals on their skin.
“You had to help her improve her ice magic, Sari,” Luke hisses, breathing warm air on his cold flesh. He can see that Nyx is smiling as she approaches Lord Highrider. Without the caster noticing, Luke and Sari shake hands and smirk at each other.
“I must say there’s something different about the two of you,” Lord Highrider mentions, pointing at Luke and Nyx. “I remember you two being very bold and, pardon the term, immature. Back then, you were skilled in your trades, but there was a childish casualness to your attitude. I would go so far as to say unearned cockiness. Now there’s an air about both of you that makes you appear more . . . adult.”
“We’ve been through a lot since we parted ways, Lord Highrider,” Luke says, sharing a knowing stare with Nyx. “Maybe we can tell you the stories later. It sounds like Hero’s Gate needs immediate action.”
“One dead ally, one crippled ally, one betrayal, Nyx reached a new level of power, Luke died, Luke came back, and Luke was given gifts by Uli,” Sari cheerfully lists, ticking off the items on her fingers. She blows kisses at the irritated half-elves as she easily dances out of their reach.
“I would like to hear the details, but I must return to Duke Solomon,” the half-orc knight announces. “We’ll meet again in Hero’s Gate.”
Lord Highrider shakes each of their hands, unable to hide his surprise when Sari leaps into the air and kisses him on the cheek. He chuckles and takes a final glance at the amusing gypsy before heading out the door. An awkward silence fills the room with nobody sure if they should say what is on their mind. This silence continues until Talos returns, the elf stopping in the doorway to roll his eyes in mock frustration.
“I don’t want to know why you three are moody, so cheer up and get moving,” the old warrior snaps, tossing a jar of healing salve to Luke. “Fix your hand, Luke, and then you kids have to pack.”
“Thanks, grandpa,” Luke says in a dull voice, spreading the salve on the itching burn.
“Everybody packed?” Nyx asks. She shivers and rubs her arms as if she is cold.
“It shouldn’t take long with the bottomless pouch you made for me,” Luke answers, feeling the skin on his palm gradually heal. “You can take Sari out shopping, so she can get more dresses and supplies. She won’t need much because I’ll be flying us there. I can get us there quickly, but I’ll need to stop for rest halfway there. I’d say she needs two days’ worth of food and water.”
Sari steps in front of Luke to speak, her voice full of hope “This is your hometown, Luke, so maybe you can take me shopping and get me a few local hero discounts.”
“They know you’re my friend, so you would get the discounts anyway,” he calmly responds, scratching the back of his head. “It would be better for Nyx to take you because I don’t know anything about dress styles. I’d be confused and slow you down.”
“You can still help me.”
“I don’t see how.”
“You stand there and say I look pretty.”
“That sounds like a waste of my time, Sari.”
Sari looks like she is about to cry before she shoves Luke out of her way and races out the door. The stunned warrior moves to follow her until Nyx grabs him by his ponytail, roughly yanking him back. Luke whirls around to yell at her, but he stops when a sudden, mind-numbing pain cuts through his skull. The pain causes him to switch to his sound sight, but he only sees scrambled, pulsating images that make his stomach lurch.
“Come with me, idiot,” Nyx hisses, pulling Luke out of the house by the tip of his right ear.
*****
“You didn’t have to pull me by the ear,” Luke complains as he finishes cramming his gear into his magical belt pouch. He experimentally juggles the bag from one hand to the other, genuinely amazed at how light the pouch feels.
“Be thankful I didn’t do worse,” Nyx states from her chair in the corner of Luke’s room. “You hurt Sari’s feelings when she only wants to spend some time alone with you. Do you even think before you speak to her?”
“I was thinking and I made, what I consider, the right decision,” he argues while carefully examining his twin sabers. He tenderly buffs the red gems in the hilts before sheathing the weapons. “We need to fix Hero’s Gate and make it back to Visindor Forest before Fizzle wakes up. I need to bathe and change, so it makes more sense for you to take Sari shopping. Are you trying to stall because you’re too scared to return to Hero’s Gate?”
Nyx calmly coats one of her hands in fire and the other in ice, her expression calm and blank. She flicks her wrist to hurl the minor spells at Luke. They whirl around each other, becoming a gusher of warm water that slams Luke against his dresser and soaks him to the bone. He sputters and coughs while Nyx gets to her feet and approaches him. She is tempted to grab him by the ear again, but settles for crouching in front of him and pushing his dripping, blonde hair out of his eyes. Reaching into his magical pouch, she pulls out a rough towel and drapes it over his head.
“Now, you’re bathed,” she says with a cold smile. “Dry off and get dressed so we can find Sari. We can leave as soon as we find her and say our goodbyes.”
“Alyssa refuses to talk to me after I beat Caspar into the infirmary last month and I already said goodbye to my family. They have work to do and a weepy parting would be a hassle,” Luke states, shucking off his shirt before Nyx can leave the room. He pats his chest and arms dry while shaking the water from his hair. “They claimed they were happy I said goodbye this time. Now, is there something you want to say about Sari or are you only interested in watching me change?”
“You wouldn’t dare strip down while I’m watching,” Nyx confidently declares. Her violet eyes bug out when she sees Luke grab his waistband and she swiftly spins around to face the wall. “Sari tells me that you refuse to kiss her or even talk about your situation. I thought you were going to have a relationship with her to appease Kira and cure you of your loneliness. From what she’s told me, you’re treating her like an adorable plague carrier.”
“I know what I agreed to, but I don’t think I can do it,” Luke says as he dries his legs and puts on fresh clothes. “Sari is an incredible woman and there is an intense spark between us. It’s like a surge of raw aura runs through my body when we touch. It’s invigorating, but I’m scared things will go badly. If it does then I could lose a friend or two at the end of this. Also, if Sari and I fall in love, where does that put Kira?”
“I doubt Sari will let it get that far,” Nyx replies, her voice hinting that she can barely believe her own words. “If you don’t trust yourself then you sh
ould at least trust her.”
Luke straps his sabers to his belt and sits on the edge of his unmade bed to lace up his boots. “My mind switches between Kira and Sari now. I feel different toward each of them, but the emotions are very strong. At first, I thought Sari’s love spell was still active, so I asked the town healer to check my aura. He didn’t find any residual spells, which means I have real feelings for her. They may be lust and an instinctual interest in someone that feels like a kindred spirit, but that can grow into something more. I don’t want it to grow into something more and cause all of us trouble, Nyx.”
“Stop being a child, little brother,” Nyx groans, turning around to face him. “If the feelings grow then be a man and make a decision. I can tell you now that even if Sari does love you, she is the type of person to give you up to Kira. Sari has always been more concerned with making other people happy than being happy herself. When we were kids, she gave up dancing partners to me all the time even though I knew she wanted them to herself. I’d go so far as to say she feeds off making people happy.”
“That doesn’t make this any easier. I don’t like causing pain,” Luke claims in frustration. He starts heading out the door and down the stairs with Nyx a few feet behind him. “I broke Alyssa’s heart and I refuse to break another. When the time is right, I’ll talk to Sari about this, but I really want to keep my distance from her for now. I can barely handle the situation as it is, so I don’t want to make it worse.”
“How much does it hurt, Luke?” Nyx bluntly asks, causing him to stop at the bottom of the stairs.
“I have a pain in my heart like you do when you think of Hero’s Gate,” Luke whispers as he leans against the wall. “If I had to name it, I would say it’s pure fear that I feel. I love Kira and I love Sari because they are two different women. Each one appeals to a different side of my life. Kira is the stable future that I want when I’m done adventuring and Sari is the exciting future that my wanderlust desires. I think I know who will win in the end, but that makes me feel even worse. I feel like I’m leading them on like a horrible monster.”
“Well, maybe you should face your fear like I’m about to face Hero’s Gate. That’s really the only way to handle fear. Face it head-on and blast it in the face,” Nyx declares, trying to get a smile out of Luke. She sighs when he stares blankly at her and shrugs. “This situation with Kira and Sari isn’t as bad as you think. A monster would be manipulating them without any concern for their emotional well-being. You’re in a situation that all three of you have created of your own free will. I’m sure Kira has concerns for Sari as well and I know Sari cares for Kira. You’ll see this when they finally meet.”
“You’re right, Nyx,” Luke says with a sudden grin on his face. “They have to meet at some point and we’ll be at Hamilton Military Academy in a few weeks. Kira and Sari will meet there and everything will be settled. After all, Kira is the woman I’m engaged to, so she can easily tell Sari that it’s over without a big mess. There’s a part of the Bor’daruk courtship tradition that says a person can convince their partner that a companion is a mistake and ask that the temporary relationship be ended. I’m sure Kira will do that when she finds out that Sari is a gypsy. If something happens between me and Sari first then it’ll be within the rules of the relationship. It isn’t like Sari and I can fall deeply in love with all the trouble that we have to handle in Hero’s Gate.”
“I remember Nimby telling me that you and Kira fell for each other while you were searching for Kellia, battling a Hellfire Elf, and avoiding detention,” Nyx mentions as she walks by Luke and leans on a thick support beam. “There’s also the possibility that Kira will support you and Sari. I doubt she’ll see a gypsy as a threat considering her confidence.”
“You’re not helping me, Nyx!” Luke exclaims, his voice full of irritation.
“I’m not helping anybody in this mess. I’m entirely on damage control now and even that I want to avoid,” Nyx snaps with an angry scowl. “You didn’t honestly believe that junk you just spouted about Kira putting an end to this, did you?”
“Not entirely, but I really need to believe in something that doesn’t result in utter disaster,” Luke sheepishly admits. With a groan, he pushes off the wall and makes his way to the front door. “Listen, Nyx, I promise to talk to Sari when I have a better understanding of my own feelings. Besides, I’m pretty sure she can easily gypsy me into doing whatever she wants me to do.”
“Yeah, you’re basically doomed,” Nyx teases, sticking out her tongue.
Luke opens the front door to find a wall of clothes and traveling gear blocking his way. The wall gently sways from side to side as a delicate hand desperately tries to grab the door handle, which is no longer there. Nyx joins him at the door and cocks her head to the side, looking dumbfounded at the amusing sight. They can hear Sari grunt and whimper while she searches for the elusive door handle. A loud bang and shattering glass can be heard when something on the other side of the wall crashes to the ground.
“There goes my new lantern!” Sari cries, letting her new belongings fall to the ground. She looks at Luke and Nyx with a quivering lower lip.
“This is the saddest attempt to get a hug that I’ve ever seen,” Nyx says, fighting to hide her smile.
“Did you find everything you needed?” Luke asks. He chuckles at Sari’s glare of irritation that includes an adorably scrunched up nose.
“No thanks to you, hero,” the gypsy angrily mutters.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t go with you and that I’ve been distant,” Luke apologizes, bending down to help her clean the mess. “I promise that I’ll talk to you about us when we get settled in Hero’s Gate.”
“You’re going to take me out drinking on our first night there,” Sari demands as she tenderly folds her new dresses and places them in her bottomless pouch.
“Are you two actually going to have a date and leave me with a bunch of armed, probably anti-me, strangers?” Nyx asks in surprise. She takes a seat on the porch and uses a gentle wind spell to fold some shirts. “Come to think of it, Luke left me behind with a bunch of armed strangers last time we were in Hero’s Gate. I’m noticing a pattern.”
Luke glances up at Nyx and makes an exaggerated sigh. “You really have to let that one go, Nyx. You were injured and I was chasing a Hellfire Elf. Nothing went wrong and that barbarian healed you. I still owe that man a drink, so I hope he’s still there. I don’t have the time to track a barbarian down. Not even sure I have the skill.”
“Barbarians aren’t known for staying in one place when they’re in their journey phase,” Nyx mentions. She floats the pile of folded shirts into Sari’s pouch and wipes her sweaty hands on her pants. “I guess I can go along with you guys and sit at another table. I’m sure I can challenge a guy to a drinking contest and get some free ale out of it. They can’t all be against me.”
“That’s the last of it,” Sari announces as she places the last of her gear in the magic pouch and ties it to a skirt loop. She shakes her hips and adjusts the pouch until it feels comfortable when she dances.
“Well, I guess it’s time for us to get back to adventuring,” Luke half-heartedly says. He takes a deep, shaky breath and takes in the view of his hometown.
Nyx flicks his arm with a ball of force as she gets to her feet. “Are you going to be okay, little brother? We can wait a few more hours if you want to spend some more time here. I’m not in any rush to leave.”
“I’m getting a final look since I don’t know when I’ll be coming back,” Luke admits, taking in several more deep breaths of the crisp, country air. “Last time I left home was in the middle of the night. I focused more on sneaking out and not leaving a trail than remembering what the town looks like. Bard’s memory can only do so much in the dark. Okay, I’m content to leave right now.”
“Then let your friend out to give us a ride,” Sari playfully orders the forest tracker.
Luke smirks as he walks away from the house, stopping when he
is in the middle of the street. He closes his eyes and concentrates on the griffin talon that hangs from a leather strap around his neck. A ruffle of feathers tickles his neck, running along his shoulders and up to the top of his head. His body twists and grows until he is forced to his hands and feet. Golden fur grows from his body, rippling from the bottom of his shoulders to his fingers and toes. With a roar-like shriek, a pair of feathery wings erupts from his back and flex in the sunlight. The griffin stretches before rearing back and happily flapping her wings.
“She’s so pretty,” Sari whispers before she rushes over to hug the griffin. She nuzzles the soft fur until Nyx pulls the gypsy away.
“Stop molesting our ride,” Nyx states, hoisting Sari onto the griffin’s back. “I’m never going to get used to calling Luke a she when he’s in this form.”
Nyx takes Sari’s hand and pulls herself up behind the giddy gypsy. They hold onto the griffin’s back as she rises into the sky with a few powerful flaps of her wings. Within seconds, they are above the trees and Haven steadily becomes a peaceful dot on the horizon.
2
Nyx can already tell something is wrong as the griffin approaches the silent city of Hero’s Gate. Once full of brightness and life, the white-walled city has an aura of tension and despair. The blue rooftops they remember sparkling in the sun have lost their luster and are dotted with strange robed scarecrows. Even the enormous red dragon tower on the western wall has lost its vibrant luster. All of the large iron gates in the wall have been closed with massive wooden beams attached to their city sides to prevent them from being opened. The only ways into the city are the small emergency doors that flank each gate. Nyx is thankful that the Flooding Falls are still flowing and covering their section of the city in thick mist, but she is disheartened to see that the top of the falls are manned by armored archers.
Legends of Windemere: 03 - Family of the Tri-Rune Page 5